Politics

Politics

There are 1,058 posts filed in Politics (this is page 49 of 106).

Broadie Tata fired by Wake County school board | Parents Across America

Here’s another look at Tony Tata’s firing. I have to say as likable as the General is, I think his lack of experience in education was one of his biggest flaws.

I’m hoping the board can find a Bill McNeal type to be the new superintendent.

It is telling that the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Wake County Tax Payer’s Association, Wake County Republican Party, and Tea Party members of the BOE are supporting Tata. They are calling the firing a partisan distraction. Nonsense. First, a vote along party lines isn’t necessarily a partisan vote, and not all partisan decisions are necessarily bad decisions. Second, how is it a “distraction” to ensure WCPSS has a qualified, effective superintendent?

via Broadie Tata fired by Wake County school board | Parents Across America.

Mark Turner: Horse sense – Letters – NewsObserver.com

My letter to the editor ran in today’s N&O.

Horse sense

Contrary to what the N.C. GOP would have you believe, you won’t find any horses on Raleigh’s 80 miles of beautiful greenways. What you will find are citizens of all political stripes appreciating one of Raleigh’s more popular and unique amenities.

While the N.C.GOP has backed off a bit for implying Sig Hutchinson “raised taxes” (which is, um, interesting as he’s never held public office before), it has not apologized for insulting our city by calling greenways “horse trails.”

(Looks like they didn’t fix my typo, where I wrote “support” instead of “supported.” Oh well.)

via Mark Turner: Horse sense – Letters – NewsObserver.com.

Gus Gusler gets hacked by Mitt Romney

I found out last night that Gus Gusler, owner of Raleigh’s Player’s Retreat, discovered to his surprise that he was now a fan of Mitt Romney’s Facebook page. Anyone who knows Gusler knows how ludicrously improbable it is that he chose to do this willingly.

“I wouldn’t vote for that empty suit phony for dog catcher,” Gusler says.

Still hoping that the media starts taking this Mitt Romney Facebook hacking seriously.

N&O’s Steve Ford gets it right

I took a swipe at the N&O for its coverage of the firing of Tony Tata the other day and I stand by my criticism. If I’m going to point out the bad, though, it’s only fair that I should also praise the good.

Editorial page editor Steve Ford took up the issue in his column today and does so with a fairer, far more deft touch than most anything else I’ve read in the paper. Ford’s sober consideration of the issue was what I’d been looking for from the newspaper.

That I can say this even while not necessarily buying into every point he makes shows Ford struck the right balance. More of this, please.

Campaign consultant Perry Woods, who often pops up to assist Democratic candidates hereabouts, does his best to rebut the notion that the firing of Wake County school superintendent Tony Tata was an exercise in partisanship.

In a letter that we ran yesterday, Woods – noting he had advised all five of the Democrats who won seats on the school board last fall and who now have told Tata to make himself scarce – said that from a partisan political standpoint, the timing was wrong.

via Ford: The battle Tata couldn't win – Ford – NewsObserver.com.

Our partisan school board and the N&O

I was about to call out N&O editor John Drescher on his opinion column today regarding a “partisan” school board. Drescher had this to say:

No doubt, Tata made some mistakes. But he was the person who did the most these last few years to unify the Wake schools community. In his first year, Tata visited nearly every school and scores of community groups. He listened hard. He was pragmatic and constructive. He calmed a system in turmoil and brought hope that this community could reach consensus. He provided a powerful example of effective public leadership.

As chairman, Hill had a chance to lead the board toward nonpartisanship. He chose otherwise.

There’s a reason we describe the Wake school board as partisan. Because it is.

Continue reading →

Another unknowing Romney Facebook fan


A Facebook user posted this account in Facebook’s forums earlier today:

I was scrolling my feed two nights ago when I saw that my husband ‘liked’ Mitt Romney’s page. I whacked him in the head. He said, “I didn’t do that.” So we went immediately to his account and ‘unliked’ the page.

How can they do this? I know why they are doing it, though: media pundits are talking about social media ratings and how “everybody” is talking about Romney! No doubt they want lots & lots & lots of “likes” to his page, and it ain’t happening on its own.

See? He’s all about “APPEARANCES” and nothing about SUBSTANCE! These phony “likes” will not equate into votes, Mittens. Don’t count on it.

Apparently the Romney Facebook hacking continues.

N&O school coverage fails again to provide perspective

I was reading this N&O story about Wake school board members Kevin Hill and Keith Sutton providing background on Tata’s firing. The story by Thomas Goldsmith inexplicably ended with a quote from some random guy and included no context as to why what we think he says actually matters:

“I think the man got a raw deal,” said Arvin F. Dixon, 76, who lives just outside of Rolesville. “I think the school board should have been working together and taking care of our tax money like they ought to be.”

Who is this guy, Arvin Dixon? He’s not mentioned anywhere else in the article. Nowhere does it state whether he was one of many who called or emailed the board. At the age of 76, it’s safe to say that Mr. Dixon has no kids currently in school. Voting records show he is a white male and registered Republican who only sporadically votes in local elections.
Continue reading →

Partisan? Where do we start?

“With this partisan decision, the board has now guaranteed that there will be far fewer great schools in Wake County,” board member Debra Goldman said. “I grieve for our children, our teachers and our staff. There will certainly not be the security and stability that the citizens of Wake County want.”

Yeah, Goldman grieves sooooo much that she’s canceling her political bid for State Auditor to focus on the Wake County school chirren.

What’s that? You say Goldman is only using the Wake Board of Education as a stepping stone to higher political office? Surely you jest! I’m sure John Tedesco is so outraged that he’ll drop his bid to become State Superintendent of Education, too, just so he can stay and set the Wake school board right. I mean, it’s not about him, it’s about the kids, right?

Someone please wake me when all the cheap political grandstanding is over.

via Ousting of Wake schools chief could jeopardize funding :: WRAL.com.

Tata’s culture of fear

Tony Tata


I’ve heard rumors from sources inside the school system that superintendent Tony Tata had created a “culture of fear” among teachers and staff. They say that people were afraid to speak out when something concerned them and those who stuck to their guns when they felt strongly about something were dismissed.

That’s no way to run a school system, or even an army brigade for that matter. I trust that we’ll here more of the reasoning as things progress.

School assignment madness

Two miles or two hundred feet?

You want to know how messed up the proposed 2013-2014 Wake County school assignments are? Above is a photo of our kids’ school, Conn Elementary. Highlighted in red is the long-time home of Mrs. Williams at 300 Plainview Avenue in the Belvidere Park neighborhood.

As you can see, Mrs. Williams’s property is actually adjacent to Conn Elementary. The neighborhood crosswalk for Conn runs right in front of her property. From her back porch she could honestly throw a rock and hit the school (provided of course that Principal Richburg isn’t around).
Continue reading →