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Outrage Over Prayer Service Held Before School Tests

Prayer service at city school called improper

Prayers sought success on statewide tests

Prayer service flier             Prayer service flier

 

Erica L. Green, The Baltimore Sun 9:20 p.m. EDT, March 13, 2011

A Baltimore principal's decision to use prayer in preparation for recent statewide tests is drawing criticism as improperly mixing religion and public education.

For two years, prayer services have been held at Northeast Baltimore's Tench Tilghman Elementary/Middle School as the Maryland School Assessments, a standardized test for third through eighth grades, neared. Fliers promoted the most recent event, on March 5, as a way to "come together, as one, in prayer and ask God to bless our school to pass the MSA."

Asked about the event, city school officials said they would investigate. In a prepared statement, the school system said that, "while we as a district understand that prayer plays an important role for many in our school communities … it is not appropriate for public institutions of education to promote any particular religious practice."

An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, called the event a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits organized prayer in public school settings.

"It's not even a close call," ACLU attorney David Rocah said. "The whole flier is clearly conveying a religious message, overtly proselytizing, and somebody should have known better."

Jimmy Gittings, president of the city principals' union, said he supported Principal Jael Yon, "an exceptional principal trying to do what's best for our children in the Baltimore City school system."

Gittings added, "The only individuals I hold accountable for these injustices for Ms. Yon are the narrow-minded politicians from some 50 years ago, for removing prayer from our schools. Once prayer was removed from our schools, the respect for our teachers and administrators has been increasingly out of control."

Dating back to the 1960s, the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled prayer in public schools unconstitutional. Two landmark cases, in 1962 and 1963, established the current prohibition on state-sponsored prayer in schools. Moreover state-run schools cannot promote or inhibit religion, or hold prayers that are sectarian in nature. The only prayer that is constitutional is private, voluntary student prayer that does not interfere with the school's educational mission.

The 30-minute, voluntary prayer service this month at Tench Tilghman, in the 600 block of N. Patterson Park Ave., marked a culmination of Saturday classes the school has held to provide additional preparation for the Maryland School Assessments. The flier, which included images of praying hands and cited common Christian Bible verses, was distributed to staff to circulate to the school's 400 students and their families.

Yon was asked by parents at the school to hold the Saturday classes, as well as the prayer service, according to Gittings. He said Yon "was doing what she thought was right."

Yon, who is in her second year at the school, declined to comment. Gittings said he was speaking on her behalf.

Gittings, a proponent of prayer in schools, said he fully supported Yon's actions. He said he was aware that it wasn't constitutional, but he still believed in the message.

Local officials said they will use the incident as an opportunity to emphasize to school leaders appropriate school-sponsored events. The school system declined to comment on whether Yon received any disciplinary action, citing its policy of declining to address personnel matters.

After seeing the flier, Rocah said the event violated constitutional provisions that prohibit organized prayer in public school settings and the promotion of an individual religion. He said some phrases were clear indicators of Christian beliefs: "He will do it again" and "All things are possible."

"The implication is: believe in God, and you'll succeed," Rocah added. "I'm sure there are plenty of people who believe that, but I would hope that teachers and administration would be focused on teaching the students the necessary material. There's no substitute for that."

According to some Tench Tilghman parents, Yon did not lead the communal prayer service, but prayed with the group. They defended the event, saying a gathering of parents and school administrators who care about students is the only tool they have to instill confidence in students.

Glenda Shepperson, a parent of three Tench Tilghman graduates and a fourth grader at the school, said the prayer service was identified by the school and the community as the best way to encourage students. She attended last year's service also.

Shepperson said she, her son, grandson and nephew joined about 25 other students and 30 parents in praying for health and peace of mind on the standardized tests. She said the group prayed for "our children for testing, the families, and to make sure that everyone stayed healthy and kept their minds focused."

She added, "We really want to embrace our kids, and let them know that we need to pray together and stay together to make them successful. If this is what makes our children serene and peaceful, and in a healthy environment, then so be it."

LaTonya Greene, a parent volunteer at the school and mother of four students, said, "A lot of our kids have a lot of problems, and sometimes the school is their safe haven. I see what they go through every day, and sometimes you need to just pray about it."

Other city schools have held special events to prepare for the Maryland School Assessments.

At George Washington Elementary School, for example, students and faculty created a rap video called "My Pencil." More than 17,000 people had viewed the video last week on YouTube.

George Washington's principal, Amanda Rice, said finding creative ways to lift spirits and blow off steam makes a difference as students near the test. She said the staff, parent-teacher organization and family council begin brainstorming for appropriate motivational strategies at the beginning of the school year.

"It's very important," Rice said. "The stakes are higher; our kids are exposed to more and we have to meet them where their interest is currently at — pizza parties and stickers are not enough."

Jessica Shiller, education policy director for Advocates for Children and Youth, a nonprofit organization that monitors Baltimore schools, said all the special test preparations speak to a larger issue: an over-emphasis on standardized testing.

"The issue for me isn't the religion at all," Shiller said. "It's that there's so much pressure on schools to get their scores up for fear of punitive consequences, that there are these lengths people at schools feel that they need to go to in order to get their kids pumped up to do well on the test, because the test has become the end-all, be-all for learning.

"Whether it's prayer or the video, or the pep rallies, it's the mass hysteria because they're all scared."
 
LINK TO VIDEO:
 

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/03/14/many-outraged-over-prayer-sevice-held-before-tests/

Entry #4,127

Obama's Social Security Hoax

March 11, 2011 12:00 A.M.

Obama’s Social Security Hoax

Charles Krauthammer

National Review Online

 
The president will demagogue Social Security as his ticket to reelection.

Everyone knows that the U.S. budget is being devoured by entitlements. Everyone also knows that of the Big Three — Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security — Social Security is the most solvable.

Back-of-an-envelope solvable: Raise the retirement age, tweak the indexing formula (from wage inflation to price inflation), and means-test so that Warren Buffett’s check gets redirected to a senior in need.

The relative ease of the fix is what makes the Obama administration’s Social Security strategy so shocking. The new line from the White House is: no need to fix it because there is no problem. As Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Jack Lew wrote in USA Today just a few weeks ago, the trust fund is solvent until 2037. Therefore, Social Security is now off the table in debt-reduction talks. 

This claim is a breathtaking fraud.

The pretense is that a flush trust fund will pay retirees for the next 26 years. Lovely, except for one thing: The Social Security trust fund is a fiction.

If you don’t believe me, listen to the OMB’s own explanation (in the Clinton administration budget for fiscal year 2000 under then-director Jack Lew, the very same). The OMB explained that these trust-fund “balances” are nothing more than a “bookkeeping” device. “They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits.”

In other words, the Social Security trust fund contains — nothing.

Here’s why. When your FICA tax is taken out of your paycheck, it does not get squirreled away in some lockbox in West Virginia where it’s kept until you and your contemporaries retire. Most goes out immediately to pay current retirees, and the rest (say, $100) goes to the U.S. Treasury — and is spent. On roads, bridges, national defense, public television, whatever — spent, gone.

In return for that $100, the Treasury sends the Social Security Administration a piece of paper that says: IOU $100. There are countless such pieces of paper in the lockbox. They are called “special issue” bonds.

Special they are: They are worthless. As the OMB explained, they are nothing more than “claims on the Treasury [i.e., promises] that, when redeemed [when you retire and are awaiting your check], will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures.” That’s what it means to have a so-called trust fund with no “real economic assets.” When you retire, the “trust fund” will have to go to the Treasury for the money for your Social Security check.

Bottom line? The OMB again: “The existence of large trust fund balances, therefore, does not, by itself, have any impact on the government’s ability to pay benefits.” No impact: The lockbox, the balances, the little pieces of paper, amount to nothing.

So when Jack Lew tells you that there are trillions in this lockbox that keep the system solvent until 2037, he is perpetrating a fiction certified as such by his own OMB. What happens when you retire? Your Social Security will come out of the taxes and borrowing of that fiscal year.

Why is this a problem? Because as of 2010, the pay-as-you-go Social Security system is in the red. For decades it had been in the black, taking in more in FICA taxes than it sent out in Social Security benefits. The surplus, scooped up by the Treasury, reduced the federal debt by tens of billions. But demography is destiny. The ratio of workers to retirees is shrinking year by year. Instead of Social Security producing annual surpluses that reduce the federal deficit, it is now producing shortfalls that increase the federal deficit — $37 billion in 2010. It will only get worse as the baby boomers retire.

That’s what makes this administration’s claim that Social Security is solvent so cynical. The Republicans have said that their April budget will contain real entitlement reform. President Obama is preparing the ground to demagogue Social Security right through the 2012 elections. The ad writes itself: Those heartless Republicans don’t just want to throw granny in the snow, they want to throw granny in the snow to solve a problem that doesn’t even exist! Vote Obama.

On Tuesday, Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia denounced Obama for lack of leadership on the debt. It’s worse than that. Obama is showing leadership. With Lew’s preposterous claim that Social Security is solvent for 26 years, Obama is preparing to lead the charge against entitlement reform as his ticket to reelection.

—  Charles Krauthammer is a nationally syndicated columnist.

Entry #4,126

How the highly effective habits of millionaires could help you

How the highly effective habits of millionaires could help you

 

Cindy Perman

CNBC

March 12, 2011

Millionaires are more optimistic about the economy but unlike the rest of us, they don't blow their whole paycheck on videogames and Little Debbie snack cakes.

Getty Images

Instead, they keep their eye on the prize: Keeping their money — and making more.A recent survey of wealthy Americans revealed what millionaires plan to do with their money this year.

Their priorities are still to pay down debt and save money:  The average millionaire household saved over $39,000 last year, and plans to save the same or more this year, according to a recent survey by Spectrem Group.  But they're also ready to increase their bets on the recovery:  Forty-five percent plan on increasing the amount they have invested in the stock market, the survey showed.   The biggest area they plan to invest in is technology (58 percent), followed by the pharmaceutical industry (48 percent) and health care (47 percent).And the gold rush isn't over:  Forty-one percent said they plan to invest in gold and 24% were considering other precious metals. 

They may be poising themselves to cash in as the economy grows but they maintain the discipline of monks:  Eight-one percent said they don't believe the recession is over and just two percent consider themselves "aggressive" investors.  That discipline not only applies to how they spend their money but how they live their life and how they navigate business. 

Millionaires only have 24 hours in a day, just like the rest of us.   What separates them from us is time management.   While the rest of us go home and flop on the couch in front of the TV, the wealthy are reading and doing things that contribute to their success. 

As a teenager in Seattle, Bill Gates used to sneak out of his house at night and on the weekends to go down to the computer lab.   He was doing real-time computer programming by eighth grade.   He didn't spend his high school years watching television and dreaming of studying computer science in college, he spent it actually working on computers.   Knowing that, it makes more sense that he dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft— he was just a guy ahead of schedule!

Apple founder Steve Jobs, in his commencement address to Stanford University in 2005, explained his daily ritual to make sure there isn't any grass growing under his feet:  "When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like:   'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.'   It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself:   'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?'   And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. 

Another highly effective habit of the wealthy is that they are decisive.  One of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett's business tenets is "Never Suck Your Thumb."   That means that, at a certain point, you've got to stop thinking — and start acting.    In his 1989 annual report, Buffett explained how he learned the thumb-sucking lesson the hard way: "It's no sin to miss a great opportunity outside one's area of competence.   But I have passed on a couple of really big purchases that were served up to me on a platter and that I was fully capable of understanding.   For Berkshire's shareholders, myself included, the cost of this thumb-sucking has been huge."At a certain point, you just have to ask yourself:   How's that couch working out for you?

 

LINK TO STORY:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/basics/2011-03-12-cnbc-millionaire-habits_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip#

Entry #4,125

Middle School Teacher Arrested For Public Indecency

Middle School Teacher Arrested For Public Indecency

 Daniel Mer

 6:46 p.m. EDT, March 13, 2011

 

VERNON —

Police arrested a man on Saturday who they say exposed himself to a passing woman while performing a sexual act on himself earlier that day.

Police said that the man, Daniel Mer, 31, of 117 Delmont St., Manchester, is a teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in New Britain. He is also listed in the school staff directory.

New Britain schools spokesperson Helen Yung said that at this time, the school has no comment.

Mer was charged with public indecency and breach of peace. Police say the woman was walking on Lake Street, near the Lake Street School, when Mer passed her in a car and then pulled onto Rosewood Drive, where he stopped. He parked in such a way that the woman was forced to walk around his car and as she did so he opened the driver's door and stuck his left leg out of the car. As the woman passed, she saw he was naked from the waist down and performing a sexual act on himself as he looked at her, police said.

Mer then drove up Rosewood Drive, which is a dead end, and the female was able to get the license plate number and a description of the vehicle. Police followed up on this information and spoke with Mer. He was released after posting a $2,500 bond and is due in court on March 22.

Entry #4,124

Burger King CEO Calls British Women Ugly

Burger King boss insults British women and food

 

The chief executive of Burger King has described British women as ugly and English food as “terrible”, in a gaffe likely to enrage his customers in this country.

 

Burger King boss insults British
Bernardo Hees' gaffe came only six months after taking the helm at Burger King 
Photo: REUTERS
Nick Britten 4:44PM GMT 13 Mar 2011 
 

Bernardo Hees, 40, told a group of students in Chicago that “here the food is good and you are known for your good-looking women”.

Comparing the city to his student days at the University of Warwick, where he studied for an MBA, he recalled of his time in England: “The food is terrible and the women are not very attractive."

His gaffe came only six months after taking the helm at the chain, which has 11,500 outlets worldwide, and unsurprisingly were not welcomed in Coventry, where Warwick University is based.

Charli Fritzner, women’s campaigns officer at the University’s student union, said: “If he views women as potential distractions in academia, I wonder how he views them in the workplace?

“It doesn’t make Burger King an attractive employer for women.”

Marcus Wareing, a Michelin-starred chef at London’s Berkeley Hotel, who specialises in English produce, said his comments were an “insult to British gastronomy”, especially given what the Burger King menu contains.

After Mr Hees’ comments, which were made in an unguarded moment, were picked up and reported in America, a spokesman for the company said he regretted them, adding: “Mr Hees apologises if his comment has offended anyone. It …. was intended as a humorous anecdote to connect with his audience.”

One way for British women to make themselves more attractive might be to avoid a visit to one of Mr Hees’ fast food outlets.

Boasting 950 calories, a Burger King Double Whopper with cheese accounts for half of a woman’s recommended daily calorie intake of 1940 calories.

The burger has twice the calorie count and, with 22g of saturated fat, more than double the saturated fat count than its comparable rival, the McDonald’s Big Mac.

Entry #4,123

Hairdressers arrested for stealing gold and jewelry from clients while they attended church

Charges against hairdressers mount

Wayne Ford

Saturday, March 12, 2011

 

The number of charges against two Elberton hairdressers accused of stealing gold and jewelry from their clients has continued to rise in the month since their arrest - and the prosecutor says he expects it will keep growing.

Nikki M. Coker is accused of stealing gold and jewelry from her hairdressing clients.
Special

A judge denied bond Friday on the two dozen charges the women already face.

Nikki M. Coker, 35, faces 29 counts of burglary, and Whitney Hope Mooney, 26, faces 28 counts, plus two drug violations, Northern Circuit District Attorney Bob Lavender said.

More charges are on the way, according to Lavender and Investigator David Cleveland of the Elbert County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators are uncovering more victims, sometimes by tracing recovered jewelry with initials or children's names engraved on the pieces, Cleveland said.

Lavender is considering a special session of the Elbert County grand jury to hear the women's case.

"We'll probably have to call the grand jury back early because the grand jury just met not long ago and it wouldn't meet again for about six months," he said.

Theft victims range from salon customers to relatives and friends, according to the Elbert County Sheriff's Office.

Most of the burglaries happened on Sunday mornings when the victims were in church or on Mondays, a day most hairdressers in Elbert County take a day off.

Investigators found three pawn shops where the women sold the jewelry and coins in Athens, Crawford and Anderson, S.C.

Deputies recovered some of the jewelry after people saw news reports about the thefts, Cleveland said.

"A lot of people became aware of the fact they had been given some of this jewelry by the defendants or had purchased some of the jewelry from these two," he said. "They have done the right thing and come forward and brought it back to us."

"We've received a lot of cooperation from the public," he said.

Both women and their attorneys attended a bond hearing Friday in Elbert County Superior Court, where Judge John Bailey denied bond. In his ruling, the judge cited the number of charges against the women and the possibility they could flee if released, Lavender said.

 

LINK TO ORIGINAL STORY: 

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/021711/new_786811159.shtml

Entry #4,122

Mom Kills Son for Potty Training Accident Then Eats Pizza

Mom Kills Son for Potty Training Accident, Then Eats Pizza

Ryan Evans
on March 7, 2011 at 1:24 PM

Potty trainingis one of the most frustrating parenting experiences I've faced, but I still can't muster even a fraction of an ounce of empathy for Robin Greinke, 26, an Illinois woman, who along with her boyfriend beat her 3-year-old son to death because he wet his pants. Once they were finished, and he lay nearby dying, they ate a pizza and watched a movie.

Greinke and Steven Neil, 33, admitted that they took turns beating the boy for more than an hour after he had an accident February 8 while they were visiting Florida. "They were upset with him and they tossed him and spanked him and punched him," a homicide investigator told Central Florida News 13.

After enjoying themselves with the pizza and movie, Greinke finally called 911 around 5 a.m. to say her son, Noah Fake, was wheezing, and she couldn't sleep. She couldn't sleep. No one with even a hint of a conscience possibly could, but apparently she has none.

If it was a rash incident, it wouldn't make it any better, but at least there would be a tiny hint of understanding of how someone can snap. Potty training can be brutal, but this? This is truly one of the most horrific, unconscionable acts against a child by his own mother I've come across. It makes me physically ache to think about what this child endured.

I just can't imagine what cold, callous people these individuals must be, and what an awful life this boy must have led during the years he was alive. With a mother like that, I can't imagine they were anything but awful. I don't want to believe he's better off dead, but he would likely be better off anywhere than in the care of a woman who could not only kill, but sit by and chow down on dinner afterwards. Monster is the only word for someone like that, and no alcohol or drugs or anything else can provide even a hint of an excuse for these actions.

The couple has been charged with aggravated child abuse, child neglect, and first-degree murder. Greinke was denied bail on Saturday and remains in jail and on suicide watch. I hope they watch her closely, because she doesn't deserve such an easy escape from her actions.

While I don't support the death penalty, it's cases like this that make me question that stance. I hope whatever punishment they face is as severe as the law allows and that they never get to enjoy a piece of pizza or view a movie ever again.

LINK TO PHOTO OF MOTHER:

http://thestir.cafemom.com/toddler/117162/mom_kills_son_for_potty

Entry #4,121

Monday's Pi Day -- the celebration of a number

Monday's Pi Day -- the celebration of a number

Liam Ford

Tribune reporter

10:10 AM CDT, March 13, 2011

 

Monday's Pi Day -- the celebration of a number

 

Monday is Pi Day — a day to celebrate a number with desserts, numerical recitations and hot-dog throwing.

Pi, the number that expresses the ratio of a circle's circumference over its diameter, was first calculated in ancient times, and sometimes is called Archimedes' Constant, for an ancient Greek mathematician who calculated an approximate value for the number. It's believed to be a number with no endpoint, although its digits start with 3.14159. Thus, March 14, or 3/14, for Pi Day.

The first Pi Day was celebrated in 1989 at the San Francisco Exploratorium, whose staff celebrates most years by walking in a circle around a "Pi shrine" a little more than 3 times.

And these days, the celebration has spread around the world, and math teachers, students and other self-proclaimed math fans amused or intrigued by Pi celebrate the number.

At Morgan Park Academy, a pre-K through 12th grade school on the Southwest Side, every one of the six math teachers, along with teachers in the lower grades, will focus on Pi in class, said the math team leader, James Kowalsky. In his geometry class, Kowalsky in the past has had students cut cardboard circles multiple times to fit them into squares, which allows students to calculate the area of the circles without using Pi.

 

In an after-school Pi event at Walter Payton High School, students will throw hot dogs on a floor marked with evenly spaced parallel lines. Why? Because the proportion of hot dogs that cross the lines when they fall works out to be approximately 1 over Pi, said Payton mathematics chair Paul J. Karafiol.One highlight of many Pi Day events is a competitive recitation of the numerous digits of Pi, which modern computers have calculated to a trillion deciminal places. At Morgan Park Academy, the record is 312 digits. The DuPage Science Fiction Society has had someone recite more than 100 digits, and a Payton student who's now at Yale University remembered a mind-blowing 500 digits.But those unacquainted with Pi might be more drawn to what's usually a big feature of the number's celebration: pie.The DuPage group was holding its Pi Day at a Bakers Square pie house on Sunday. Morgan Park Academy students bring in pies to share at lunchtime. And at Payton, with each digit of Pi that a student's able to recite beyond the first few, their piece of pie gets a little bigger — by one degree, measured with a protractor, Karafiol said.

Entry #4,120

Democratic senators return to Madison to tell crowd fight isn't over

 

Democratic senators return to Madison to tell crowd fight isn't over

Michael Sears

Protesters flood the streets of Madison around the Capitol to welcome the 14 Democratic senators and protest the passage of the budget-repair bill.

Bill Glauber and Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel
March 12, 2011
 
Madison — Unbowed and unrepentant, 14 Democratic state senators returned to the Capitol on Saturday and received a tumultuous welcome from tens of thousands of pro-labor demonstrators.

Despite last week's passage of Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill, the senators said they did the right thing by fleeing to Illinois last month in an unsuccessful bid to block the legislation.

And they vowed to fight the law in the courts and at the ballot box in a longer struggle to restore the collective bargaining that was eliminated for most public employees.

As they made their way up the steps of the Capitol, they heard the roars of a crowd that clogged Capitol Square, and listened as chants of "thank you, thank you" rained down.

But not everyone was happy to see the 14 Democratic senators back in Madison.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) issued a withering statement ahead of their return.

He called the senators "the most shameful 14 people in the state of Wisconsin" and said it was "an absolute insult" to hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites that the senators ran away to Illinois to block Walker's budget-repair bill.

Fitzgerald wrote: "To the Senate Democrats: when you smile for the cameras today and pretend you're heroes, I hope you look at that beautiful Capitol building you insulted. And I hope you're embarrassed to call yourselves senators."

The senators showed no such shame as they took the stage, one by one, and addressed the audience that fanned out on muddy ground and spilled out into State St. Other demonstrators kept up a continuous march in the square, the scene all playing out beneath cloudy skies and a brisk late-winter wind.

State Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) told the demonstrators, "Thank you for being our voice while we were gone. Thank you for being Wisconsin's voice while we were gone. Thank you for being America's voice."

Coggs said it was time for the "fabulous 14" to "come back and unite with you."

"We want to unite, we want to fight, we want to get back workers' rights," he said. "The people united will never be defeated."

"This is not the end. This is the beginning of phase two," said Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison).

In a news conference earlier Saturday, the Democrats talked about their future plans. They have returned to a Capitol that has been transformed by a bitter political battle. They had been held in contempt by their Republican colleagues in the Senate while they were away.

"They won the battle; we're going to win the war," said Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay).

Some in organized labor are seething over the actions taken by Walker and the Republicans to curtail collective bargaining for public employee unions. Several signs carried by protesters suggested the launching of a general strike.

Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) said consumer actions may be a better option in continuing the fight against the Republican budget proposals.

"People we're up against care about money and are very greedy," Vinehout said. "Look at the companies and products these people manufacture. When I buy something, I make my vote known."

Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said the thousands rallying in Madison have another alternative to continue their opposition: recalls.

"A lot of the people shut out of the process in the last two weeks will be heard," Larson said. "They'll be trading in those rally signs for clipboards as the recall efforts heat up."

Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) said she would use the Republicans' action to gain support back in her district, focusing on the coming fight over the budget.

Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville), who spearheaded negotiations to try to come to a deal over the bill, admitted that damage was done to the institution of the Senate. He said both sides were responsible.

He also lamented the likelihood that recall elections will soon be held.

"We've gone from a 24/7 news cycle to 24/7 elections," Cullen said.

The crowd that gathered in Madison was the biggest yet during four weeks of protests. It was filled with teachers, police, firefighters, nurses, students and farmers. Those moving for a look at the likes of the Rev. Jesse Jackson and actor Tony Shalhoub pressed shoulder-to-shoulder, from curbside to the storefronts.

Labor groups and supporters gathered signatures to start recall petitions against eight Republican senators, and others collected names and e-mail addresses for a database in the event a recall is started next year against Walker. Eight Democrats also face recall efforts.

Farmers join protest

A "tractorcade" rolled around the Capitol Square; the parade of vehicles included farmers and labor supporters and, in some cases, the people at the wheel had a hand in both.

Dairy farmer Tod Pulvermacher of Bear Valley pulled a manure spreader with a John Deere tractor. Over the manure spreader was a sign: "Walker's Bill Belongs Here."

"I support all of Wisconsin workers," the 33-year-old said, while the diesel idled. "There are many horrible things in this bill: worker rights, health care, selling the rights of middle-class Americans."

Sam Anderson grew up on a dairy farm, but spent most of his working life as a Teamster.

"If the unions lose out, everybody will lose out," Anderson said from the seat of a tractor. "Gov. Walker is out to destroy municipal unions."

Charley Weeth of La Crosse led the "tractorcade" in the 1953 Ford firetruck he drove to Madison.

Weeth said farmers had reason to join with labor in protesting the budget-repair bill, even though the most inflammatory item was the elimination of most collective bargaining.

Many farmers have benefited from the expansion of BadgerCare and would lose out on health insurance in the changes pursued by Walker, he said.

"A lot of them are on the edge, especially with fuel prices being up," Weeth said. "And a lot of them are just disgusted with the process. This is not the Wisconsin they knew and grew up with."

Weeth collected money to help pay for the fuel used by the 60 tractors, and found the protesters to be generous.

There were a few counterdemonstrators, such as Mike Foht.

The small-business owner from Monroe carried a sign that read: "No More Free Rides. Thank you Republicans. Please Strike. I Could Use Your Job."

Foht said he had been defending Walker and the Republican legislators throughout the rallies in recent weeks.

"Obviously, the majority here are opposed to what Walker did," Foht said. "I support what Walker did."

He was outnumbered, but not alone. Another sign in the crowd read: "Democrats are sore losers."

Cullen Werwie, a spokesman for Walker, said those protesting Walker's budget moves "certainly have a right to have their voices heard, but we are not going to let them drown out the voices of millions of taxpayers all across Wisconsin."

John Fauber of the Journal Sentinel staff in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

 
Entry #4,118

Daylight Saving: Don't Forget To Set Your Clocks Ahead

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour -- Daylight Saving time begins Sunday.

Technically the switchover doesn't happen until 2 a.m. Sunday. Time will fall back when DST ends  at 2 a.m. Nov. 6.

Daylight saving time for many years began in April, but since 2007, it has started on the second Sunday in March and ended on the first Sunday of November, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

If you want to read more about Daylight Saving Time:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/110311-daylight-savings-2011-time-savings-when-does-spring-forward-nation/

Entry #4,117

School Bus Driver Facing DUI Charge Kept Driving Kids

WREG

School Bus Driver Facing DUI Charge Kept Driving Kids

Scott Noll

4:42 PM CST, March 11, 2011

FAST FACTS:

  • DeSoto County school bus driver busted for DUI off-the-clock
  • District admits he was allowed to keep driving students for nearly two weeks after his arrest
  • William Bentley is also a teacher and coach at DeSoto Central High School

 
(Southaven, MS 3/11/2011) A DeSoto County school bus driver won't be allowed to drive students, until administrators sort out allegations he was driving under the influence.

The charges did not come while the driver was on duty.

Tonight, the district's director of transportation admits, he didn't know about the arrest until we started asking questions.

William Bentley is a teacher, coach and bus driver for DeSoto County Schools. He was arrested nearly two weeks ago.

A concerned parent contacted WREG On Your Side Investigators, and we called the school district.

At first, the transportation director said he had been out of the country, and wasn't aware of any drivers facing charges.

But this afternoon, the district confirmed, the bus Bentley won't be behind the wheel as the investigation into what happened takes place.

According to the DeSoto County School District's website, Bentley is a social studies teacher and basketball coach at DeSoto Central High School.

Court records show the 29-year-old is facing DUI charges after he was arrested driving a pick-up truck on February 27.

Other details of the case are contained in a police report.

Today, the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office told us it couldn't release that paperwork without a court order.

Bentley is free on a $1,000 bond.

In a statement this afternoon, a spokeswoman for DeSoto County Schools told us, the arrest occurred during non-school hours.

The district says Bentley reported the arrest the day after he was picked-up.

The spokeswoman called Bentley an "excellent employee with no previous driving violations."

He will be allowed to teach and coach.

The district confirms Bentley did drive students this morning, but as of this afternoon, the statement says Bentley "has been relieved of driving a school bus."

According to the district, Bentley still has a valid driver's license.

He didn't respond to a phone message we left for him at the school today.

A court date on the DUI charge is scheduled next month.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.wreg.com/videobeta/5a68a998-0d5c-4e8d-b33d-f582a6392c80/News/School-Bus-Driver-Facing-DUI-Charge-Kept-Driving-Kids

Entry #4,115
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