New York City Mayor de Blasio’s Push for Universal Pre-K

As promised during his campaign, New York City’s new Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing for citywide universal pre-kindergarten classes and promising to pay for them by taxing NYC’s wealthy. This may not come easily if Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is up for re-election, has anything to do with it.

On the same day, Governor Cuomo vowed to lower taxes throughout the state. Maybe these two should employ SMS termination as a means of communication as it seems they are not on the same page.

Both the Mayor and Governor agree that pre-K classes offer great value to a child’s education. The conflict arises because both these politicians have drastically different ideas on how to pay for it. Mayor de Blasio wants to fund it by taxing those NYC residents making $500,000 or more a year instead of going the traditional route and asking Albany for a bigger budget for education. The fear, according to de Blasio, is that pre-K could potentially be cut in the future should economic times take a downturn.

Government, like business, is always looking for ways to cut spending. It’s like a company with international demands seeking premium call termination to gain powerful communication tools and allocate the funds saved to valuable projects. For Mayor de Blasio’s dream of universal pre-K for all New York City children to come true, it seems there would be value in investigating all viable options for funding his program before pursuing tax increases for any New Yorker.

With the battle for NYC universal pre-K just beginning, it will be interesting to see what outcome the Mayor and Governor agree on. With every top labor leader at his side, Mayor de Blasio has steadfastly vowed to see his education plan come to fruition.

Image courtesy of Paul Gooddy/freedigitalphotos.net

Donna Ryan's Educational Background: Query Through CGI's Contact Us Page

"To Ms. Donna Ryan, President CGI Federal: Your professional biography at the CGI site (http://www.cgi.com/en/management/donna-ryan) states that you were graduated from Queen’s University in Canada with a B.A. and a "High School Teachers Certificate". It also states you received a Certificate in computer programming from the Cambridge Institute in Boston, MA. Please explain how this educational background helps qualify you to head CGI's Federal group. Thank you for your kind consideration of this request. Michael J. Farrand"

Cambridge College is a Cambridge-based private institution that "offers a unique environment where working adults can build their education on a lifetime of learning. Cambridge College recognizes diversity as an asset to the classroom, the community, and to our society."

Cambridge Institute of International Education is a "Boston-based educational consulting firm committed to increasing international participation in American education, broadening its diversity, and strengthening the ability of institutions to educate students of different backgrounds and foster meaningful cultural exchanges." (In response to a query, Cambridge Institute suggested Cambridge College might be the place Ms. Ryan studied.)

According to their professional biographies at the CGI site, vice-president of Government Secure Solutions, Tom Kirk, holds a B.S. degree in mathematics and a minor in economics from Penn State University. Their vice president of National Security Programs, Tim Hurlebaus, has a B.S. in computer information systems from Purdue University.

Cheryl Campbell's Educational Qualifications: Query through CGI's Contact Us Page

"I notice Cheryl R. Campbell, CGI's Senior Vice-President, Health & Compliance Programs and Defense Agency Programs, whose professional biography appears at your page http://www.cgi.com/en/management/cheryl-campbell, has no mention of her educational background--as do the biographies on other professionals in her group. Could you please provide (and post) this information? Thank you for your time."

Sent 10/26/13.

Cheryl R. Campbell testifying before Congress

Ms. Campbell appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on October 24, 2013 to answer questions regarding her company's role in creating the website designed to facilitate signing up for health care through the Affordable Care Act.

Evaluating the Student Success Act

If you are having trouble viewing this email, view it online.

IN THIS EDITION

What to Watch A-PLUS: a conservative alternative to No Child Left Behind. Number of the Week A-PLUS uses 13 pages to free states from thousands of pages of regulation. Quote of the Week County Executive David Craig explains why Common Core will never work. Don't Miss Rapper Pitbull speaks in favor of charter schools.

Evaluating Education Policy in the Student Success Act By Lindsey Burke The House will debate the Student Success Act over the next week, which provides a few good first steps toward limiting burdensome federal intervention in education. But in its current form, the proposal has some serious policy limitations. On the positive side, the bill would eliminate some of the most onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), such as Adequate Yearly Progress, which mandates universal student proficiency; the Highly Qualified Teacher provision, which requires prospective teachers to secure paperwork certification that has little to no relevance to classroom performance; and maintenance-of-effort regulations that require states to spend money to access federal dollars. ON THE OTHER HAND... >> What To Watch A-PLUS: A Conservative Alternative to NCLB "The Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act (A-PLUS) would allow states to completely opt out of the programs that fall under NCLB and empower state and local leaders to direct funding to their most pressing education needs. Specifically, A-PLUS would send funding under NCLB back to states in the form of block grants, and states would then be able to direct that funding to any education purpose under state law.” See the full article, from The Foundry. Student Loans Will Add $95 Billion to a $1 Trillion Student-Loan Debt The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated taxpayer losses on student loans at $95 billion over the next decade, with student-loan debt currently at $1 trillion. See the full article, from The Wall Street Journal.

Number of the Week 13 Freeing states from 600 pages of No Child Left Behind and thousands of pages of regulations, in 13 pages, the A-Plus Act offers a conservative plan for limiting federal intervention in education. A better alternative to education policy restores decision making to those closest to the student. See: The Foundry's "A-PLUS: A Conservative Alternative to NCLB” Quote of the Week “Common Core is a backdoor way of nationalizing education, one based on a notion that children are to be churned out of schools on conveyor belts and into the workforce. It will never work." -David Craig, County Executive of Harford County, Maryland

Don’t Miss Rapper Pitbull Speaks in Favor of Charter Schools Last week, Rapper Pitbull told the National Charter Schools Conference audience that he is convinced charter schools will “revolutionize education in America”.

About The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute -- a think tank -- whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

How Ladylike

Drunkenly dancing on tables or collapsing in the street used to be a source of acute embarrassment for young women the morning after the night before.

Today, they are more likely to boast about it - to the world, with pictures - on social networking sites.

More than 150,000 girls have signed up to Facebook's online forum "30 Reasons Girls Should Call It A Night", where they openly discuss the various states of inebriation - and undress - they have found themselves in.

Among those included in nearly 5,000 images which have been posted on the website is young blonde Jennifer Rentfrow, who was caught kneeling over a toilet after a night out.

Other images show friends Claire Munday and Zoe Bates sleeping on a dance floor, while Ashley Spellmeyer is shown sleeping in the bath.

Other young women can be seen being sick on themselves, falling into bushes, answering a call of nature in public or inadvertently exposing themselves.

These include having no idea where your friends are, slurring your words so badly no one can understand what you are saying, having make-up "smeared all over your face" and passing out.

A topic group on the website entitled "Funniest/Stupidest s*** you did while drunk" allows members to post details of their binge-drinking antics.

Katie O'Connor, from Manchester, wrote: "A few days ago on a birthday night out I was absolutely ratted - and upon entering an 80's club, offered to flash the DJ my left b*** if he'd play 'Never gonna give you up'."

Lindsay Gordon, a student at Canterbury Christ Church University, wrote: "Pole dancing on lamp posts is always a good laugh." A recent Government-commissioned study found one in five 15-year-olds now drinks the equivalent of almost a bottle of wine a week.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics last month revealed twice as many young women are dying from alcohol abuse as 15 years ago.

An increasing number of young people are now being diagnosed with life-threatening conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver.

Alcohol Concern yesterday warned the Facebook site was "symptomatic of the culture of acceptability around drunkenness".

Spokesman Frank Soodeen added:

"There are the obvious mishaps young people get into but this doesn't act as a disincentive because it provides excellent material for anecdotes. People are perfectly happy to post these sorts of pictures because they recognize that alcohol-related embarrassment will actually improve their social standing."

- - - - - -
From 'The ladettes who glorify their shameful drunken antics on Facebook', an article by ANDREW LEVY appearing November 5, 2007 in the Daily Mail.

A Smart Girl's Guide To Sticky Situations: How To Tackle Tricky, Icky Problems And Tough Times