Quiet teacher changed a school

In-depth coverage: Education Page |  The Answer Sheet

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Posted at 10:21 PM ET, 06/20/2012

By Jay Mathews

The teachers we hear most about are larger than life — charismatic, aggressive, loud. Educators like Jaime Escalante, Rafe Esquith, Dave Levin, Mike Feinberg and Harriett Ball are impossible to ignore. But we overlook many teachers who use quiet persistence and soft words to change our schools for the better.

Date Lab: What happens when your dating patterns change

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Martina: Is she straight? Is she gay? Who can keep up with the revolving door of men/women? On this week’s episode, she decides to take the 44-year-old Portuguese man as her date to a family dinner, with her 55-year-old father. Good times.

Jenn: It’s like “How I Met Your Mother” except with a hot gay chick.

Interests to share ...

Martina: Love of literature and appreciation of the natural world. BEER KNOWLEDGE IS UBER SEXY, major points.

Jenn: Hanging out, going to sporting events, etc.

Your idea of funny ...

Martina: Witty banter.

Romney, the Rich and the Rest

OP-ED COLUMNIST

By CHARLES M. BLOW

Published: February 3, 2012

No one should be surprised that the Tin Man has a tin ear.

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Damon Winter/The New York Times

Charles M. Blow

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More Poor. A Cause for Concern.

Related News

• ‘Poor’ Quote by Romney Joins a List Critics Love (February 2, 2012)

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• Editorial: The Darkening Tone of the Primaries (February 2, 2012)

Paul Krugman: Romney Isn’t Concerned (February 3, 2012)

Gail Collins: Mitt Speaks. Oh, No! (February 2, 2012)

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After all, Mitt Romney is the same multimillionaire who joked that he was “unemployed” while he was “earning” more in one day than most Americans earn in a year and paying a lower rate on those earnings than most Americans do.

This is the same man who bragged last month that he liked to fire people at a time when nearly 13 million people are out of work and who accepted the endorsement this week of Donald Trump, who has made “You’re Fired!” his television catchphrase.

This is the same man who in November claimed that federal employees are making “a lot more money than we are.” What?! We? What we? Please direct me to the federal employees with the $20 million paychecks. In fact, The Washington Post pointed out in November that federal employees on average “are underpaid by 26.3 percent when compared with similar nonfederal jobs, a ‘pay gap’ that increased by about 2 percentage points over the last year while federal salary rates were frozen.”

And who could forget his remark that “corporations are people.” Classic.

But this week when Romney said that he wasn’t concerned about the very poor in this country, he jumped in the pickle barrel and went over the waterfall.

First, his statement:

“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich. They’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America — the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

Romney went on to say that his campaign was focused on “middle-income Americans” and that “we have a very ample safety net” for the poor.

He later tried to clarify, saying that his comments needed context. Then he said that the comments were a “misstatement” and that he had “misspoke.” Yeah, right.

Where to begin?

First, a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities last month pointed out that Romney’s budget proposals would take a chainsaw to that safety net. The report points out that cuts proposed by Romney would be even more draconian than a plan from Representative Paul Ryan: “Governor Romney’s budget proposals would require far deeper cuts in nondefense programs than the House-passed budget resolution authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan: $94 billion to $219 billion deeper in 2016 and $303 billion to $819 billion deeper in 2021.”

What does this mean for specific programs? Let’s take the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, since “food stamps” have been such a talking point in the Republican debates. The report says the Romney plan “would throw 10 million low-income people off the benefit rolls, cut benefits by thousands of dollars a year, or some combination of the two.  These cuts would primarily affect very-low-income families with children, seniors and people with disabilities.”

Does that sound like a man trying to “fix” our social safety nets? Absolutely not. Romney is so far up the beanstalk that he can no longer see the ground.

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: Michele Bachmann

 

During the 2008 presidential campaign, liberals who griped about Sarah Palin’s conservative values got an introduction to another rising female GOP star: Michele Bachmann , the first-ever Republican congresswomen from Minnesota.

Bachmann announced her 2012 presidential bid in August after months of visits to early voting states like Iowa, where she later won the Ames Straw poll and has enjoyed early grass-roots support.

Many cable viewers got to know the GOP firebrand when, in an October 2008 interview on MSNBC’s Hardball, Bachmann raised the specter of Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-Wis.) in expressing her belief that Barack Obama and many members of the federal government were “anti-American” and calling for Congress to investigate.

Iowa caucuses: GOP presidential hopefuls making final push before Tuesday vote

View Photo Gallery —  Republican candidates are campaigning in Iowa for the Jan. 3 caucuses, with the exception of Jon Huntsman, who is looking ahead to the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 10.

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By Karen Tumulty, Sunday, January 1, 9:54 AM

DES MOINES — Two days before the voting begins in the wildest Republican race anyonecan remember, the GOP candidates for president were engaged in a frenzy of old-school retail politicking acutely aware that a poor finish in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses would probably end some of their prospects.

Enrica Cotellessa-Pitz pleads guilty to role in Madoff fraud

By David S. Hilzenrath, Tuesday, December 20, 1:20 PM

The former controller at Bernard L. Madoff’s investment firm pleaded guilty Monday to participating in Madoff’s fraud.

Enrica Cotellessa-Pitz, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, falsifying books and records, and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He faces up to 50 years in prison.

FBI considered a sting aimed at Newt Gingrich in 1997

View Photo Gallery —  A look at the former House speaker now seeking the GOP presidential nomination.

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By James V. Grimaldi, Published: December 16

It is a curious case in the annals of the FBI: The bureau considered a sting operation against then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich after sifting through allegations from a notorious arms dealer that a $10 million bribe might get Congress to lift the Iraqi arms embargo.

After Kim Jong Il's death, N. Korea tells country to rally behind the ‘Great Successor’

View Photo Gallery —  Following the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, the isolationist state will try to pass power to Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong Eun, who is in his 20s.

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By Chico Harlan, Published: December 19

TOKYO — Kim Jong Eun, introduced on Monday as North Korea’s new leader, faces more formidable challenges than his father and grandfather, who ruled the country for a combined 63 years, as he assumes power in the impoverished nation without the stature and experience of his predecessors.

Death of Kim Jong Il has U.S. waiting and worrying

View Photo Gallery —  After years of speculation about Kim Jong Il’s declining health, North Korean television has reported that the leader has passed away. He was 69.

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By Karen DeYoung and Joby Warrick, Tuesday, December 20, 3:18 AM

The death of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il finds the United States with little knowledge of and virtually no leverage over what is to come in a country whose nuclear arsenal and belligerent foreign policy have long made it a leading threat to the West.