Politics Critical thinking about the public good I believe that at every level of society - familial, tribal, national and international - the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities. His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso   political clicks Regular reads Prometheus 6 Alas The Left Coaster The Daily Outrage Peevish Mark Fiore Cal Pundit Notes on the Atrocities Occasional Subversion Bohemian Mama Tacitus   prologue July 2003 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31     Jun   Aug Talk to me

Friday, July 25, 2003 More on House Head Start Bill passed today... I still cannot believe this won by one vote and Gephart wasn't there to vote.  I really think this is going to hurt him.  Key paragraphs from NYTimes.com: After a tense and bitter debate that ended a 38-year history of bipartisan cooperation on Head Start, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill early this morning that would allow eight states to take over Head Start, the largest federal program for nearly 1 million preschool children in poverty. [...] The bill passed 217 to 216. Twelve Republicans voted against it, and no Democrats voted for it. [...] Under the bill that passed this morning, eight governors could take over Head Start in their states in a demonstration program. States that do so must pledge not to reduce state and local money spent on preschool centers, and to maintain the level of services children receive under the federal program. The bill also raises the educational requirements for Head Start teachers, demanding that all teachers hired after 2005 have at least a two-year college degree, and that half of all Head Start teachers have four-year college degrees by 2008. [...] The Trust for Early Education, which supports parts of the bill, has nevertheless estimated that an additional $2.2 billion a year is needed to pay competitive salaries to Head Start teachers with college degrees, which is not in the bill. [emphasis mine] The bill also allows religiously affiliated Head Start providers to consider religion in hiring decisions for jobs paid for out of taxpayer money. [...] Despite the bill's demands that states continue serving at least as many children without lowering the quality of services, Representative George Miller, the ranking Democrat on the education committee, said states could still cut corners. "You can exclude 3-year-olds, you can increase the child to teacher ratios, you can run half-year programs and serve more children." More to come ... 3:07:00 PM     Head Start Update From CBS news The House put its mark on the landmark education program early Friday, voting by a hair-thin 217-216 margin to give up to eight states control over Head Start so they can coordinate it with other programs. The White House backs the idea. I have read at several places this morning that Gephart was onthe campaign trail and did not vote.  I will look to confirm.  If this is true .... gggggggrrrrrrrrrr.... Update: Sourcing myself.  The first place I heard of Gephart's absence was from Sean at KOS' open thread today.  He included this link to confirm.  And as "Mr. Happy" comments in the same thread, "If Mr war lite can't do the job he has, why does he deserve a promotion?"  Hear, hear. 9:19:50 AM     © 2003 ibyx Last Update: 8/3/2003; 12:10:40 AM