The Hollywood Liberal

Short takes of today’s opinion columns in the Post
This is a digest of the Post’s opinion columns for today. For full versions, check out the Opinion section on the mobile site:

R.I. District Dismisses All Teachers
The Providence, R.I., school district plans to send out dismissal notices to every one of its 1,926 teachers, an unprecedented move that has union leaders up in arms. “This action gives the School Board the right to dismiss teachers as necessary, but not all teachers will actually be dismissed at the end of the school year,” wrote Supt. Tom Brady in an e-mail to all teachers and school staff.

Late Late Night FDL: A Harmonica In Carnegie Hall
Buddy Greene — A Harmonica In Carnegie Hall.

Buddy Greene — A Harmonica In Carnegie Hall.

What’s on your mind?

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Can’t laugh, better cry
A bank-handed defense of the American way.

Gadhafi as Gene Simmons as Sgt. Pepper via Hans and Carolyn at flickr.com

This must have been a regular Legion of Doom get together:

Moammar Gadhafi’s regime controls $32 billion in liquid assets around the world, including hundreds of millions of dollars invested in U.S. banks, according to a confidential cable written by the U.S. ambassador to Libya last year. The leaked diplomatic message was distributed through WikiLeaks.

The same cable reported that Libya had been approached by two men accused of running huge Ponzi schemes, Bernard Madoff and Allen Stanford, but had resisted offers from them to invest Libyan funds with them.

So he had one up on Citibank.

Meanwhile, in America we give the banksters billions (*shakes fist* CITIBANK!), cut taxes for them – not for you – and bust unions and our elected officials will always be willing to talk to any rich crank any time. So we’re obviously awesome.

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Bracketology

By Mike Luckovich

Related Entries

• February 23, 2011 Yes, America Still Needs Unions
• February 23, 2011 Rising Food Prices Spark Protests in India

Rising Food Prices Spark Protests in India
We’re not even two full months into the new year, and protest has already become a prominent theme for 2011 in multiple nations. Add India to that growing list, as climbing food costs, combined with diminished employment opportunities, drove thousands of demonstrators to take to the streets of Delhi on Wednesday.  —KA BBC: The protest has been organised by major trade unions, including the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre for Industrial Trade Union (CITU). The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)—which is backed by the governing Congress party—is also supporting the strike saying it wants to remind the government about its commitments to the poor. Read more

We’re not even two full months into the new year, and protest has already become a prominent theme for 2011 in multiple nations. Add India to that growing list, as climbing food costs, combined with diminished employment opportunities, drove thousands of demonstrators to take to the streets of Delhi on Wednesday.? —KA

BBC:

The protest has been organised by major trade unions, including the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre for Industrial Trade Union (CITU).

The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)—which is backed by the governing Congress party—is also supporting the strike saying it wants to remind the government about its commitments to the poor.

Read more

Related Entries

• February 23, 2011 Yes, America Still Needs Unions
• February 23, 2011 Rising Food Prices Spark Protests in India

Nebraska Pushes Measure To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers
A state legislator pushes a bill that’s even more sweeping than the South Dakota proposal that sparked a national controversy. â?? By Nick Baumann and…

HuffPost TV: WATCH: Howard Fineman Talks Budget Fight And Government Shutdown On ‘Hardball’
The Huffington Post’s Senior Political Editor Howard Fineman appeared Wednesday night on MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews” along with Politico’s Jonathan Allen to discuss the…

Linda R. Monk, J.D.: How Unions Saved the Constitution
Make no mistake: What is at risk in Wisconsin is the quality of life American workers have fought — and died — for during the past century. Without the sacrifices of union activists, free speech might never have become a reality.

Limbaugh, Beck Leave Out Context On Test Scores To Smear Wisconsin Teachers

Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have both misled listeners about Wisconsin students’ performance on national reading tests in order to smear union teachers. In fact, Wisconsin public school eighth-graders’ reading test scores surpass national averages.

Beck And Limbaugh Suggest Wisconsin Teachers Are Doing A Bad Job

Beck And Co-Host Insinuate Wisconsin Teachers Have Done A Bad Job Because Of Purportedly Poor Student Reading Performance. From the February 23 edition of Beck’s radio show:

BECK: By the way, let’s ask the teachers this. There’s research out that shows that two-thirds of all eighth-graders — two-thirds of all eighth-graders cannot read.

PAT GRAY (co-host): Proficiently. Two-thirds.

[…]

BECK: Only 32 percent of Wisconsin public school eighth-graders earned proficient rating while another 2 percent earned advanced. Another 66 percent of Wisconsin eighth-graders earned ratings below proficient, 44 who earned a rating of basic and 22 who rated below basic. Well, you guys are sure doing your job, aren’t you now?

GRAY: Give ‘em a raise. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 2/23/11]

Limbaugh: “If You Or I Failed At Our Jobs As Badly As” Wisconsin Teachers, “Not Only Would We Be Fired, We Wouldn’t Be Talking About Lifetime Pensions And Health Care Benefits.” From the February 22 edition of Limbaugh’s radio show:

LIMBAUGH: Now, if you or I failed at our jobs as badly as teachers in the public school system clearly have failed, not only would we be fired, we wouldn’t be talking about lifetime pensions and health care benefits paid for by somebody else. We might be put in jail for fraud for taking money under false pretenses.

“What are you talking about, Mr. Limbaugh?” This. Two-thirds of the eighth-graders in Wisconsin public schools cannot read proficiently. According to the U.S. Department of Education. Not according to me, not according to Sarah Palin, but according to the Obama administration. Two-thirds of the eighth-graders in Wisconsin public screw-els cannot read proficiently, despite the fact that Wisconsin spends more per pupil in its public schools than any other state in the Midwest.

In the National Assessment of Educational Progress Tests administered by the Department of Education in 2009 — that’s the last year available — only 32 percent of Wisconsin public school eighth-graders earned a proficient rating, while another 2 percent earned an advanced rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public school eighth-graders earned ratings below proficient, including 44 percent who earned a rating of basic and 22 percent who earned a rating of below basic.

They’re not even being taught to read. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 2/22/11]

FACT: Wisconsin Eighth-Graders’ Reading Scores Are Above National Average

Wisconsin Public School Eighth-Graders’ 2009 Reading Scores Are Above National Averages. According to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP):

• 78 percent of Wisconsin public school eighth-graders scored “at or above Basic in NAEP reading,” compared to 74 percent nationwide. [Page 64]

• 34 percent of Wisconsin public school eighth-graders scored “at or above Proficient in NAEP reading,” compared to 30 percent nationwide. [Page 65]

• 22 percent of Wisconsin public school eighth-graders scored “below Basic,” compared to 26 percent nationwide. [Page 66]

• Wisconsin public school eighth-graders’ average score was 266, compared to 262 nationwide. [Page 34] [The Nation’s Report Card, National Center for Education Statistics, March 2010]

Presented By:

Is The Wisconsin Bill Really Hiding A Secret Bonanza For Energy Companies?
While most of the attention over the last few weeks has been on the parts of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s budget bill that would strip most state workers of their collective bargaining rights, some have started to sound the alarm about another provision in the bill, one allowing the state to sell the power plants it owns.

Walker’s Office Confirms Governor Fell For ‘Koch’ Prank Call (AUDIO)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s office has confirmed that it fell for a prank call from a liberal blogger who was apparently posing as David Koch. A blogger at buffalobeast.com posted audio of a call he claimed was with Walker earlier on Wednesday. At time of writing, buffalobeast.com appears to be down.

The Tattlesnake – Jon Stewart Interviews Hermann Goering Edition
STEWART: My guest tonight served as Adolf Hitler’s air force chief and one of his closest advisors — let’s welcome to the program former German Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering! (They shake hands and sit down while the audience applauds.) Let me just say, sir, thanks for being here, and you look pretty damn good for a […]