Dallas ISD Board Meeting Today Behind Closed Doors Might Violate Texas Open Meetings Act

A scheduled Dallas ISD meeting of Trustees today raises several questions about the legality of the meeting under the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The Texas Open Meetings Act was passed to protect the right of the public to observe and be fully informed about public business conducted by public bodies.

A discussion of Trustee differences clearly falls within the concept of public business since the discussion relates to the differences of elected Trustees acting in their official role as Trustees.

Any such discussion should be open and public – not secret and hidden.

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Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan Says Iraq War About Oil

 

Brendan Nicholson
September 17, 2007

 

Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan.
Photo: J. Scott Applewhite

IT HAS been blindingly obvious to everyone except Prime Minister John Howard and some of his senior ministers that oil has a lot to do with the war in Iraq.

Mr Howard has vigorously denied that that was the case, but now no less an authority than former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says that is what the war is mainly about.

In a new book, Dr Greenspan says he is saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge “what everyone knows: the Iraq War is largely about oil”.

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“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.” — Alan Greenspan (lifelong Republican) – September 2007

“The Republicans in Congress lost their way. They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose.” — Alan Greenspan (lifelong Republican) – September 2007

TAVIS Smiley – Republican Presidential Candidates Ignore Minorities

By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Three of the four leading Republican presidential candidates turned down invitations to a PBS debate this month at a historically black college in Baltimore, leading moderator Tavis Smiley on Thursday to accuse them of ignoring minority voters.

Smiley told USA TODAY the rejections are part of a pattern, noting most GOP candidates declined invitations to address several black and Hispanic groups, including a Univision debate for a Latino audience.

“No one should be elected president of this country in 2008 if they think that along the way they can ignore people of color,” said Smiley, host of radio and TV talk shows. “If you want to be president of all America, you need to speak to all Americans.”

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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Quote To Remember

I will no longer represent only the White House; I will represent the United States of America and its people. I understand the differences between the two roles.

– Alberto Gonzales, who resigned from the office of U.S. Attorney General on Monday, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing in January 2005. (Source: The New York Times )

Alberto Gonzales Resigns – Leaves A Badly Damaged Department of Justice

Alberto Gonzales was one of the worst Attorney Generals in modern American history.

He was a man truly out of his depth who was installed as a crass political operative at a time when the nation deserved a professional Justice leader and defender of the Constitution.

Gonzales was simply a political hack doing the bidding of the White House – not an independent voice of reason and sanity.

This politically beholden Attorney General Alberto Gonzales did so much damage in so little time – especially to the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Divisions.

The Department of Justice will be hard pressed to soon recover any semblance of the integrity and regard it has now lost as a result of the many indefensible actions of Alberto Gonzales.

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‘All American Presidential Forums On PBS’ Moderated by Tavis Smiley

Republican Candidates to Appear on Live Broadcast From Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD, Airing Nationwide on PBS on September 27

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following release is being issued by PBS:

WHAT: The “All-American Presidential Forums on PBS,” moderated by Tavis Smiley, is a historic broadcast marking the first time that a panel exclusively comprised of journalists of color will be questioning the Republican candidates.

Tavis Smiley, along with journalists Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ray Suarez of PBS’ THE NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER and NPR’s Juan Williams, will pose questions on issues ranging from healthcare and housing to Katrina relief, the economy and the environment, among others, as outlined in the #1 The New York Times best-seller, The Covenant With Black America. This forum will provide the first major opportunity for the Republican candidates to present a detailed discourse and dialogue on their social agendas.

WHO: All Announced Candidates Expected to Appear

WHERE AND WHEN: Thursday, September 27, 2007
Morgan State University Murphy Fine Arts Center
9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT

Democrats Running for President Reject Using Test Scores To Pay Teachers

Candidates Continue To Call for Major Changes to ‘No Child Left Behind’

WASHINGTON — Democrats running for President reject any mandatory pay-for-performance schemes as part of the reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The candidates also reject any plan to tie teacher pay to student test scores. The candidates stated their opposition to merit pay during a nationally televised debate in Des Moines, Iowa, where they also called for universal pre-school and an overhaul of the No Child Left Behind Act.

NEA President Reg Weaver believes the Democratic candidates for president show they understand what it takes to create great public schools for every child. The following statement can be attributed to Weaver:

“The Democratic Presidential candidates have the right instincts on merit pay. Pay for performance — so-called merit pay — undermines the collegial relationship among teachers, and there is no scientific evidence to show that merit pay plans improve student academic achievement.

“The 3.2 million members of the National Education Association hope the positions of the candidates are heard loud and clear by their party’s Congressional leadership.

“Democratic leaders in the US House of Representatives have said publicly that they intend to include pay for performance as an element of a reauthorized No Child Left Behind Act. NEA will oppose any legislative proposal that mandates implementation of a pay for performance plan.

“Teachers are underpaid, and NEA believes America should establish a minimum pay for public school teachers of $40,000, reward teachers who become nationally board certified, and provide additional pay to educators who teach in high poverty schools.”

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Kanye West To Urge Presidential Candidates To Focus On Education

Superstar rapper Kanye West and his Kanye West Foundation has partnered with Strong America Schools and will be featured in a series of public service announcements (PSAs) urging the presidential candidates to address issues within America’s educational system.

West is the spokesman for the Ed in ’08 campaign, a $60 million dollar nonpartisan initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and ironically, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

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Oprah Winfrey Aids Barack Obama With Factor ‘O’

Philip Sherwell, in New York, Sunday Telegraph

Last Updated: 4:01am BST 20/08/2007

In America, it is known simply as the “O” Factor. As the reigning talk-show queen, trusted arbiter of taste and general adviser on everyday life, Oprah Winfrey has persuaded millions of devoted viewers to buy everything from bras to books.

Now the world’s richest black person is aiming to transfer her Midas touch to the world of politics, as she tries to market Barack Obama as the first black American president.

	Oprah Winfrey: hosting a celebrity fundraising party

The billionaire television star is hosting a celebrity-packed fundraising party for the Democratic senator at her $64 million southern Californian estate, in what promises to be Hollywood’s glitziest political gathering of 2007. Such is Winfrey’s media clout that the “O for O” Factor, as it may now become known, could well help Sen Obama into the White House.

The guest list at her vast oceanside Georgian-style mansion is being kept secret, but famous Obama supporters such as the actors George Clooney, Halle Berry and Jamie Foxx, the singer Beyoncé Knowles and the film studio moguls David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg are expected to attend.

However, Winfrey, 53, says that her endorsement of Sen Obama, 46, a fellow adoptee of the city of Chicago, is about much more than filling his coffers.

“My money isn’t going to make any difference,” Winfrey told her fellow chat-show host Larry King. “My value to him, my support of him is probably worth more than any other cheque that I could write.”

The largest categories among her loyal audience are women and blacks, both crucial electoral targets for Sen Obama, who is seeking to make up ground on Hillary Clinton, the front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

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State Senator Royce West Town Hall Meeting

 

 

 

State Senator Royce West

(District 23)
invites you to attend
Uptown Dallas Town Hall Meeting
Join your neighbors and Senator West for coffee and lively discussion about issues facing our community and how the Texas 80th Legislative Session impacts you and your family.
Wednesday, August 22
7:00 P.M.

Borders – West Village

(corner of Lemmon and McKinney)

Don’t miss out on this fun and informative event!

For more information, please contact: Lauren Doss at 214.467.0123 or lauren.doss@senate.state.tx.us