MONDAY | 10.25.04 | 2:52am | nothing means everything means nothing... there is absolutely no purpose to this new site design... no theme. no rhyme. no reason. no. no purpose. only the result of a free afternoon.
THURSDAY | 10.14.04 | 11:02am | but the question, mr. president, was... from last night's debate: schieffer: the gap between rich and poor is growing wider. more people are dropping into poverty. yet the minimum wage has been stuck at, what, $5.15 an hour now for about seven years. is it time to raise it?
bush: ...let me talk about what's really important for the worker you're referring to. and that's to make sure the education system works. it's to make sure we raise standards.
listen, the no child left behind act is really a jobs act when you think about it. the no child left behind act says, "we'll raise standards. we'll increase federal spending. but in return for extra spending, we now want people to measure -- states and local jurisdictions to measure to show us whether or not a child can read or write or add and subtract."
you cannot solve a problem unless you diagnose the problem. and we weren't diagnosing problems. and therefore just kids were being shuffled through the school.
and guess who would get shuffled through? children whose parents wouldn't speak english as a first language just move through.
many inner-city kids just move through. we've stopped that practice now by measuring early. and when we find a problem, we spend extra money to correct it.
i remember a lady in houston, texas, told me, "reading is the new civil right," and she's right. in order to make sure people have jobs for the 21st century, we've got to get it right in the education system, and we're beginning to close a minority achievement gap now.
you see, we'll never be able to compete in the 21st century unless we have an education system that doesn't quit on children, an education system that raises standards, an education that makes sure there's excellence in every classroom. .................... um, okay... but when can i get more money, please???
FRIDAY | 10.08.04 | 12:41pm | that's it - i suck... okay, this whole posting once every two weeks really needs to stop... but i do have legit excuses for such a thing these days... my schedule is kicking my ass... between waiting tables in hell and working on this show, i don't have a lot of time to make exciting-everyday-life-sort-of-things happen... thus - my journal here sucks... and who wants to read about stupid cheap non-tipping assholes or attempts at bringing broadway to high school??? i've become boring... sigh... you think it's just the site that's suffering??? oh no!!! check it (i really always wanted to use "check it") - this may be the first year EVER that i don't dress up for halloween... EEEK!!! first of all, i don't have time to put anything together (i've usually got the whole costume thing wrapped up by the end of september) and my creative juices are spent!!! i was thinking about being the creepy "burger king in bed with man in pseudo-homo-erotic television commercial" king, or perhaps the creepy "old bald man in bad makeup and tux that drives the six flags bus and roger-rabbits to the venga boys", but neither of those options satisfy me... suggestions???
