Archive for June, 2010
5 predictions for 2011
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010Freddie Mac analysts point to five features that they believe will likely characterize the 2011 housing and mortgage markets:
Open thread for night owls: Rep. George Miller on smashing the middle class
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Rep. George Miller, former chairman and now ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, gave a speech today that everyone should watch.
Here’s the transcript:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight a very serious and dangerous attack on middle class Americans being waged by the Republicans in the Congress and in State Houses across the country.
The Wisconsin governor’s assault on public employees is getting most of the media attention, but it is just one of the fronts of the extreme right-wing and anti-worker agenda trying to be carried out in this country. In fact, there is a well financed and coordinated national attack against working families in the unions they may belong to – the goal of which is to take away power from the middle class and give it to the wealthy special interests that have backed Republicans in their elections.
Here’s how it’s playing out: The Republicans are taking a real problem, a serious problem, that of the budget deficits and long-term debt in this country, and they are assigning it to a fake cause. Under the guise of cutting deficits, they say the working people’s union rights and workplace protections must be eliminated.
In fact, this attack against working people is designed to remove the vital check on special interest corporate power from overrunning our democracy. This is an extreme agenda that they have always pursued, but they are now using their newfound political power to relaunch the attacks – to attack the guarantee to a decent wage, to attack the rights to ensure a safe workplace so when the workers leave home in the morning, they know they will return safely at night. They attack the right to have access to affordable health care and secure retirement. And, yes, they are even attacking the rights of working people to join together and to bargain for a better life and better conditions in the workplace.
So, at the same time that the governors of Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and New Jersey are demanding more and public-private union employee sacrifices, the Republicans in Washington are using the budget fight to roll back the rights and protections of American workers. Their spending priorities and so-called continuing resolution of last week showed their hand.
They (Republicans) voted to take away the workers’ ability to repeal unjust and unfair and illegal actions in the workplace by getting rid of the national labor relations board. They voted to undermine the wages of construction workers. They voted to rollback workplace and safety protections guarantee by federal law. All of this while protecting the corporate interest they have sought to cut education funding and critical support for workers and the need for job training, and, yes, even kids in Head Start.
These rights and services help to build and sustain our nation’s middle class in the last century, making the United States the greatest economic power in the history of the world.
We have the greatest workers in the world because of these rights, but now the rights and economic strength of America’s middle class is at risk. It’s under systematic assault in the statehouse is controlled by Republican legislatures and Republican governors and in this House of Representatives controlled by the Republicans – a systematic assault that goes beyond after the unions, after the workers, have agreed to give back furlough days, to give back health care benefits, pension benefits, they want more. They (Republicans) want their union, they want their rights in the workplace to be terminated. It’s un-American.
There’s a reason we have collective bargaining in this country because we know that workers have a right — should have a right — to bond together to improve the workplace, to improve the working conditions, and when they do, those rights flow to the rest of middle class working families in this country and even the nonunion workplaces, those rights are there. That’s how we achieved an eight-hour day. That’s how we achieved vacation time. That’s how we achieved health care. That’s how we achieved overtime whether in the union or not. Now they want to take away the rights of unions to organize in the workplace, the rights of workers to organize.
But, the Republicans have asked for no sacrifices in all these cuts. They have asked for no sacrifices of the well-off and the well-connected. In fact, these cuts are being made in the name of the well-off and the well-connected so that they’ll be able to push for lower wages, for lower benefits, for lower health care for our workers, for lower take-home pay. What does it do for our economy? It makes America poor.
How do you build a strong middle class community on the back of lower-wage workers? You can’t do it. Many years ago in America we wanted to add a strong, vibrant middle class and we did that by forming the union and giving people the right to have a say at work. Study after study where workers have a say in the workplace, they work harder, more productive, more open to new ideas.
But what do we say to workers with the governors of Wisconsin and Ohio and Indiana? Do what we tell you to do, do it for less pay, do it for less benefit, and do it because we told you so. That doesn’t sound like America to me. It doesn’t sound like a powerful country that has the best and most productive workers in the history of the world. That sounds like something that we are not familiar with in this country.
That sounds like an autocratic system that just demands and takes but never gives.
Every Democrat worthy of the name ought to be making speeches like this, frequently, and not just on the floor of Congress. Fighting words, of course, demand fighting action.
At Daily Kos on this date in 2006:
Let’s review: The Justice Department – very unusually – fires seven U.S. attorneys. First they say it was because of poor performance. Indeed, Alberto Gonzales personally assures the Senate Judiciary Committee of that:
“I would never, ever make a change in a United States attorney for political reasons or if it would in any way jeopardize an ongoing serious investigation. I just would not do it.”
Then actual performance evaluations surface, and it turns out they’re very positive. So it’s not too surprising when reports emerge that it was political. Now we get confirmation that not only was it political, the White House approved the decision.
The White House approved the firings of seven U.S. attorneys late last year after senior Justice Department officials identified the prosecutors they believed were not doing enough to carry out President Bush’s policies on immigration, firearms and other issues, White House and Justice Department officials said yesterday.
The Arnold Sports Festival – March 3-6, 2011
Friday, June 25th, 2010The largest multi-sport event in the Nation will be back to Columbus when the Arnold Classic Sports Festival returns to the Columbus Convention Center from March 3-6, 2011. Drawing more than 18,000 athletes annually who compete in more than 45 sports & events, including 12 Olympic sports, along with over 700 booths at the [...]
Click on the post for more details!
More Media Coverage of Bacillus Cereus Lawsuits
Friday, June 25th, 2010MSNBC is reporting that another personal injury lawsuit has been filed arising out of a hospital-acquired B. cereus infection and that a number of would be plaintiffs are inquiring about their own claims. Meanwhile the difficulty in tracing the geneology of members of the bacillus family, and a new way forward, are coming into focus. See: "Bacillus Taxonomy in the Genomic Era Finds Phenotypes to be Essential Though Often Misleading".
2010 Central Ohio home sales show market improvement
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010Home sales statistics for central Ohio in 2010 showed marked improvements compared to previous years according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS® (CBR).
The average sale price of a home in 2010 was 8,893, just 0.6 percent lower than the average price of homes sold in 2009. However, the average price of homes sold in 2009 was 2.4 percent lower than 2008 which was 5.1 percent lower than 2007. “Our market saw average sale price increases for eight of the 12 months of 2010,” says CBR’s 2011 President Rick Benjamin. “As we’ve experienced annual decreases in our average sale price since 2005, we see ending the year just half a point lower than 2009 as a positive for central Ohio homeowners.”
The 1,460 homes sold in December 2010 is just 0.3 percent lower than the number of homes sold in December of 2009. Annual 2010 home sales (19,676) finished 2.8 percent behind 2009 (20,235).
“There’s no question the home buyer tax credits had a significant affect on last year’s home sales,” adds Benjamin. “Providing home buyers with a substantial monetary incentive really helped to energize the market in the first half of 2010.”
“Homes in contract (which are expected to close in January or February) are up slightly from the previous year suggesting that home sales in the first of the year could be strong.”
Homes spent an average of 90 days on the market, a reduction of seven days from the average time to sell a home in 2009.
In December 2010, the month’s supply of homes was down to 9.93, the lowest since last June. Month’s supply is the ratio of inventory to sales which takes into account both supply and demand. A healthy market has a 6.5 to 7-month supply of homes, meaning if no new homes were added to the market, it would take about 6.5 or 7 months to sell all the available homes.
info from the cbr newsletter released Jan 20,2011
The Columbus Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Madison, Morrow,Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Champaign, Clark, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Licking, Logan, Marion, Muskingham, Perryand Ross Counties.
Creativity at the Childhood Development Center
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
 |
The Columbus State Child Development Center's mission is to provide a high-quality developmental program that embraces the opportunity to share in the joy of learning and discovery with children in a safe and nurturing environment.
The Center is a field site where students majoring in Early Childhood Development participate at various levels of education and training. Students learn to how to observe children during play and plan and facilitate developmentally appropriate activities under the direct supervision of Center staff Educational Philosophy The Child Development Center's teachers have been studying the work of the preschool educators of Reggio Emilia, Italy. The preschool programs in Reggio are internationally known for their rich learning environments, thoughtful and meaningful documentation to make learning visible, respectful interactions with children, and strong and sincere relationships with families. Participation in study groups and visitations to other Reggio-inspired programs have helped the staff better understand this approach to early childhood education. As a result of this study, teachers have begun to be more intentional listeners and place high value on the words and ideas of the children, as well as their everyday experiences through play. Transcriptions of children's remarks and discussions, photographs of their activities and representations of their thinking and learning using many media are displayed to document their work and theories about their world. This documentation method has several functions including making children aware that their effort is valued; making parents and other adults aware of their children's experiences; and allowing teachers to better understand children and evaluate their own work. |
Views:
128  1
ratings |
| Time: 01:11 |
More in Education |
Can Medicaid Reform Make a Difference for Homeless Individuals?
Monday, June 21st, 2010| As parts of the Affordable Care Act are phased in, state leaders are facing complex decisions on issues. This issues – as well as possible solutions – are discussed in this brief about applying the ACA to benefit at-risk and homelessness populations.
National Alliance to End Homelessness
Dental Screening at SSMS deemed a success
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Dental Screening at SSMS deemed a success
SILVER SPRINGS–Silver Stage Middle School nurse Vicki Aveiro reported that a number of students participated in free dental screening provided by the dental staff of Healthy Smiles Dentistry of Yerington.
Read more on Fernley Leader
The Nashua NH Dentist Resource
Rock and Roll Art!
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
Thursday, January 20th, at 4:15pm, musician and artist Craig Matis will be giving a Gallery Talk in Gallery 2001, which is in BEEGHLY LIBRARY, followed by a reception.
Craig uses cut paper collage to illustrate his lyrics and music. The work was recently reviewed in the Columbus Dispatch, and this is the last chance to experience it! The talk is free and open to everyone, so I hope to see you there!
Facilities Maintenance Associate Degree
Friday, June 18th, 2010
 |
Facilities Maintenance Associate Degree
The Skilled Trades — Facilities Maintenance major degree program prepares individuals for careers in technical jobs supporting the maintenance, upkeep, and light repair of residential, commercial, industrial, and multi-family properties. Facilities maintenance requires that employees have a broad range of knowledge and skills across multiple trades. The technical coursework in this program provides education and training in five technical skill areas: welding, carpentry, electricity, plumbing, and heating/air conditioning. In addition, to the technical theoretical knowledge coursework, students will study nontechnical coursework needed to provide the necessary support of this technical degree. Area facilities managers have been consulted and involved in the development of this program. Its goal is to prepare entry-level workers and to provide opportunities for developmental training of current employees within this growing industry. Upon completion of the program, students earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Skilled Trades–Facilities Maintenance major. The program is designed to: Provide students with basic skills and knowledge in the core trades of carpentry, electricity, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and welding. With their knowledge in this wide-range of technical trades, graduates will be prepared to enter the workforce as facilities maintenance technicians. Those who are interested in specializing in a specific trade may use this education as a foundation to help them qualify for entry into any of a variety of skilled trades registered apprenticeship programs. |
Views:
56  0
ratings |
| Time: 01:33 |
More in Education |