Davis asking for six debates, Abbott wants her to first accept the invitation to two

5/25/2014

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Senator Wendy Davis wants to go toe-to-toe with her gubernatorial opponent, Greg Abbott, at six debates she's proposing, the first one to be hosted in the Rio Grande Valley.

However, Action 4 News contacted Abbot's camp, they say that Davis has yet to accept the invitation to the two debates he already committed to in Dallas and McAllen.

On Saturday, Texas gubernatorial Democratic candidate Wendy Davis stopped once again in the Rio Grande Valley as part of her campaign tour.

For this stop she brought along her running mate Leticia Van de Putte, candidate for lieutenant governor.

Both candidates spoke to a crowd of hundreds at Archer Park in McAllen during a "Pachanga."

Action 4 News asked Davis about the six debates she's proposing leading up to the general elections in November.

"We need to go all over the state and assure people who are going to make a big decision in November are sure about who they are voting for," Davis said. " What the differences are between us and what it is that we will offer them if we are elected."

Senator Davis wants to debate her republic opponent, Attorney General Greg Abbott, in San Antonio, Houston, Lubbock, Dallas, El Paso and McAllen.

She is asking to move the first one, which is in McAllen, from September to June.

"We asked to be a voice for people in every community of 37 million people who live here," Davis said. "We don't ask only to serve two communities and of course right now he is wanting to limit debates to that."

The Democratic candidate is also proposing two debates should focus solely on education and the economy.

Davis argues that more debates will allow voters to truly get to know the candidates.

"A couple of our debates should take place in town hall type settings where people can ask questions that are important to them," Davis said.

Action 4 contacted Abbott's camp, which in statement questions Davis' true commitment to multiple statements.

In a statement sent by Abbott's Press Secretary, it reads:

"Greg Abbott has affirmed his commitment to engage in a substantive discussion about issues by accepting debate invitations from the McAllen Monitor and WFAA, to be broadcast statewide. Meanwhile, Sen. Davis has yet to accept a single debate invitation and appears to be using any excuse to avoid debating Greg Abbott. If Sen. Davis continues to engage in political theatrics rather than make a commitment, voters in the Rio Grande Valley and across Texas will take note."

Davis says that she hasn't answered to the invitation for the debates due to scheduling conflicts but will accept.

"I most certainly be accepting debates we of course are working right now on schedule as I said I want to move that McAllen day up," Davis said.

Davis and Van de Putte also commented on San Antonio Mayor, Julian Castro, and nomination to be the next US Housing and Urban Development secretary.

Both candidates say they couldn't be more proud of him and he's one of the best examples to the community.

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New Dallas ISD teacher pay-for-performance plan is key part of district reform effort

5/25/2014

Rex C. Curry/Special Contributor

With his usual critics busy battling the home-rule district threat, Mike Miles' pay-for-performance plan for DISD teachers sailed through.

Superintendent Mike Miles achieved a major piece of his reform plan for Dallas ISD when the school board approved an evaluation system that ties teacher pay to performance.

Trustees voted 7-2 late Thursday to end the standard practice of paying teachers based on years of service and college degrees. Trustees Bernadette Nutall and Carla Ranger voted against the measure. They questioned whether a pay-for-performance system can improve student achievement.

Mayor Mike Rawlings has staunchly supported Miles and his Destination 2020 reform plan. He applauded the board for approving the new evaluation system, called the Teacher Excellence Initiative.

“This key component of Superintendent Miles’ Destination 2020 plan represents the largest program in the country that robustly evaluates and rewards teacher effectiveness,” Rawlings said in a statement. “I am convinced that TEI will improve teacher effectiveness, boost our students’ academic achievement and have a tremendous overall impact on the success of DISD. Great teachers deserve great pay.”

The new system will start in the 2014-15 school year. Changes to the salary structure will launch in 2015-16.

Home-rule’s shadow

The change comes as Dallas ISD is undergoing a process that could place the district under a home-rule charter. Such a charter could change the way the district is operated and governed and would allow it to ignore some state mandates.

The group Support Our Public Schools initiated the home-rule effort and turned in enough signatures last week to force the next step.

Trustees now have 30 days to appoint a 15-member commission that will create a charter. A majority of voters must approve the charter in an election with at least a 25 percent turnout.

Some observers say the home-rule issue overshadowed the teacher evaluation proposal, making it less controversial than expected.

It remains to be seen whether the board’s approval of the new system bolsters claims by home-rule opponents that big changes can occur under the current system.

“It’s clearly a significant change in policy,” said Dallas attorney Mark Melton, who offered a compromise charter in an attempt to bring both sides together.

“If you are going to make an argument for home rule, certainly there are things that you can do that you otherwise cannot do. This doesn’t happen to be one of those things,” he said.

Trustees heard a mix of opinions from teachers and others Thursday before voting on the evaluation system.

Rhonda Barnwell, a DISD instructional coach, spoke in support of the change.

“We are asked to hold students to a high standard. Why is it so outrageous for teachers to step up and be held to a high standard,” Barnwell asked. “This will not only attract outstanding candidates, but it will also keep the talent that we have here.”

School librarian Hobie Hukill disagreed. He warned that more teachers would leave under the new system. “If TEI passes tonight, the teacher exodus will continue,” he said.

Miles has said he believes the new evaluation is the most rigorous in the U.S. Under the plan, teachers will receive more thorough observations and more feedback.

Miles said after the meeting that he is encouraged by the show of support from the trustees on such a big change.

“I feel great about that,” Miles said. “It’s a strong, fair, comprehensive evaluation system, bold and revolutionary. It’s going to help us define what excellent teaching looks like and support our teachers with good professional development.”

Miles said that while DISD has some great schools, not all 160,000 students are getting the best education.

The latest STAAR results show that DISD elementary and middle school students improved on the math exams this year but did not make gains in nearly all other subjects, especially reading.

Pay by points

Under the new system, teachers will be paid based on points received in their two most recent evaluations, except in the roll-out year when only first-year ratings will be used. Their pay would not drop below their 2014-15 salary.

Classroom performance will make up 50 percent of the evaluation for most teachers. Student test scores will account for 35 percent, and student surveys will make up 15 percent.

Ratings range from “unsatisfactory,” with a $45,000 salary, to “master” at $90,000. Teachers new to the profession will come in at the “novice” level and be paid $47,000; those with experience could come in at higher levels.

Teachers currently making below $47,000 will be brought up to the “novice” level. The district has said that 28.5 percent of its 10,000 teachers make under $47,000.

Before teachers reach the “proficient II” level ($59,000), they would have to go through a “distinguished teacher” review. The top level, “master,” requires two years at the “exemplary II” level and at least four years as a “distinguished teacher” in a low-rated school.

Trustee Lew Blackburn cautioned teachers who think they will make a lot more money in a short period of time. He said the shortest amount of time to get from the bottom of the pay scale to the top is 10 years — and that’s if they do a “bang-up job.”

‘Generational gap’

To control costs, there will be a “target distribution” for each level. For instance, the district could say that no more than 40 percent of teachers can be at the “proficient I” level, which has a $54,000 salary. The district could also control costs by adjusting pay for the rating levels. And, normal attrition is expected to help contain pay levels and costs.

Miles expects teacher salaries to continue to account for about 47 percent of the budget. Teacher salaries next year will cost about $560 million.

Trustees had nearly a two-hour discussion about the evaluation before taking a vote. Ranger, who voted against it, cited various concerns and questioned whether merit pay systems work.

“As I look at this one, I see that this can lead to diminished cooperation among teachers. It can lead to less collaboration. It could lead to cheating,” she said.

Trustee Nancy Bingham, who backed the plan, noted that younger speakers were more supportive. She said they would be paid on their worth under the new system.

“We have a generational gap,” Bingham said. “It seemed like the teachers who were more experienced … are more reluctant to try out this new system. But then the ones who were in favor of it were the younger teachers.”

Staff writer Matthew Haag contributed to this report.

What’s next

Dallas ISD trustees will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to determine how they will select candidates for a charter commission under the home-rule process. Trustees have 30 days to appoint a 15-member commission to create the proposed charter. The meeting is at district headquarters, 3700 Ross Ave. in Dallas.

DISD residents interested in serving on the commission can apply at www.dallasisd.org/homerule. Applicants must provide certain information, such as race, household income, education and availability. The online application is expected to be just one method used to select candidates.

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Narco War Billboards Mysteriously Appear in El Paso

5/25/2014

Borderland Beat

El Paso Police are investigating the vandalism of two billboards overnight that included messages and hanging mannequins.

An El Paso Police spokesman said they do not have any information to suggest this was done to target a particular person or business at this time.

One message was painted on a billboard in far East El Paso at in the 9400 block of Gateway East, off I-10 East, and read “plato o plomo."

In Mexico, that type of message was directed at people in power such as police or government officials. It is interpreted to mean either take the bribe being offered (plata) or take the bullet (plomo).

Viewers that called into the ABC El Paso newsroom found the mannequin hanging from a noose from the billboard dressed in a suit to be more disturbing than the message.

Mike Mons, regional manager for Lamar Outdoor Advertising which owns the far East billboard, says the "plata o plomo" billboard is “vandalism” and El Paso Police are investigating it as a “crime scene.”  

“It’s not an advertisement. As of 3:30 yesterday, it (the billboard) was blank,” Mons said by phone from Albuquerque.

The second billboard was in the 5200 block of Gateway East, off I-10, and had "dying for drugs" painted on it with a mannequin hanging from the billboard in a noose.

A rumor circulated that the "plato o plomo" message was advertising for the second season of FX's "The Bridge." An FX publicist told ABC-7 that the show is not connected to the message

However,  New Era Films, reported to KXAN El Paso, that  is in the planning stages of making a film titled “Plata O Plomo.” The CEO for the company told El Paso media that no one from their business orchestrated the displays. But they did say a marketing campaign with similar artwork had been planned.

The movie is supposed to be a fictional tale of drug cartel violence, and is set along the El Paso-Juãrez border.

El Paso police aren’t laughing though and say those behind the display could face, at a minimum, charges of criminal mischief and criminal trespass.

ABC EL Paso and KXAN

VenEconomy: Forced Path towards ‘New Man’ Continues in Venezuela

5/25/2014

VenEconomy: Forced Path towards ‘New Man’ Continues in Venezuela

From the Editors of VenEconomy

Nicolás Maduro, as did Hugo Chávez back in his days, is advancing undaunted in the deepening of the so-called “Socialism of the 21st century,” now embodied in the “Plan for the Homeland” conceived at first by Chávez a few years ago. This is a sort of bible followed closely by all supporters of the chavo-madurismo in each subject, area or sector, and with which they have torn Venezuela to pieces.

Nothing and no one in Venezuela has been safe from the negative effects of this advance toward the implementation of a Castro-communist political system. Today, these effects are visible in the economy, in agribusiness, in the oil sector, housing, trade activities and so forth.

Yet, there are other vital areas where the “revolutionary” corrosion has been rapidly spreading without most Venezuelans being fully aware of what this may represent for the future of the country. This because the effects of ideology and indoctrination that have engulfed the entire Venezuelan educational system will only be felt in the long term, when the “new man,” one with a conscience, values and “revolutionary” principles, becomes a reality. And that’s what the Venezuelan government has been working on since 2000, when Marxist sociologist Carlos Lanz launched his much-criticized National Educational Project (PEN).

Over the last fifteen years, the Castro-Chavista regime has been progressing slowly and skillfully in permeating the educational system of Venezuelans through guidelines and concepts of the Revolution with the aim of creating this so-called “new man,” who is crucial for the sustainability of the “Plan for the Homeland.” As Adán Chávez, Governor of Barinas state and brother of the late president, put it sometime in 2007, “The essence of the Revolution is education”; and it was him who kicked off the process of a “transformative education that will fight today’s colonial capitalist education.” And both Chávez and Maduro have stuck to the following principle once defended by Aristóbulo Istúriz, now Governor of Anzoátegui state, back in his days as Minister of Education: “The State should train citizens in accordance with its political theory, in accordance with its vision of a Republic.”

This goal was present long before Chávez came to power, when he spoke about a “structural transformation of the ideological-cultural component, as an essential part of a second phase of a proposal Chávez had for Venezuela,” as quoted in the book “The Commander Speaks” on page 558. As recalled by Maureen Ardila in her article “The new man behind the wheel of the third engine” published by VenEconomy in its monthly edition of March 2007, Chávez had proposed in that document (submitted two months before he was elected president for the first time in December of 1998) that among the five “poles of balance” needed to transform Venezuela were the dissemination of “national values” not yet defined and education as matters of high priority to achieve social balance.

Direct attacks against Venezuela’s educational system stepped up during the years 2001 and 2003, including the private sector of education, universities and trade unions, and forced interventions at experimental universities as a result of a “budget fence” imposed by the Government. At the same time, it gave the “Bolivarian education” a boost through decrees, a reform in the Education Act and other legal devices.

And now the so-called “National Consultation for the Educational Quality” is in full development since April 29 in more than 29,000 schools nationwide, whose objective is to shape education in the image and likeness of the socialist model of a country containing the “Plan for the Homeland.”

A pattern already seen by Venezuelans would be repeating here. This is a quasi-dictatorship that maintains the appearance of a democracy, in which elections are rigged and not free.

This “consultation” also seems to consist of a case in which appearances of a popular consultation are maintained, but the outcome is predetermined. If not, how can it be explained that the Government’s “new” school textbooks were already released and are being distributed everywhere?

VenEconomy has been a leading provider of consultancy on financial, political and economic data in Venezuela since 1982.

Click here to read this in Spanish

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TalCual: Repression in Venezuela? Are You Serious?

5/25/2014

TalCual: Repression in Venezuela? Are You Serious?
We thought that the Ombudswoman could not ever surpass herself, as to the degree of submission to the Government, but we were wrong. Gabriela Ramírez said on Wednesday that no arrests have been made during peaceful protests nationwide, since these must strictly stick to containing violence. “I’m saying this because the Ombudsman Office has monitored all the peaceful demonstrations and none has had any problems at all; demonstrators have also counted on the protection of the nation’s law enforcement bodies,” said Ramírez. But facts prove otherwise. 

By TalCual

We thought that the Ombudswoman could not ever surpass herself, as to the degree of submission to the Government, but we were wrong. Gabriela Ramírez said on Wednesday that no arrests have been made during peaceful protests nationwide, since these must strictly stick to containing violence. “I’m saying this because the Ombudsman Office has monitored all the peaceful demonstrations and none has had any problems at all; demonstrators have also counted on the protection of the nation’s law enforcement bodies,” said Ramírez. But facts prove otherwise.

Just as Ramírez gave a definition of what she considered torture a few months ago, with the express intention of justifying and defending the repression unleashed by the government of Nicolás Maduro over students and everyone else who dares to protest against his administration, now she is doing the same exact thing. According to Ramírez, students camping out at Plaza Alfredo Sadel in Las Mercedes or Chacao (both located in Caracas) were protesting violently.

Neither were protesting violently those who had set up their tents across the Francisco de Miranda avenue in Caracas, although this lady believes that the fact of blocking a street is a violent action and people doing so deserve to be robbed at gunpoint in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t surprise us if Ramírez requested the Government to decorate Miguel Rodríguez Torres, the Minister of the Interior, for carrying out such a risky operation.

The Ombudswoman has had a consistent performance. She plays a key role for the PSUV (the Government’s party) and acts accordingly. Constitutional rights and guarantees for those against the revolutionary process are not within her purview. Her trade is practically that of ignoring half of the Venezuelan population. We would only like to remind her about article 29 of the Constitution, which stipulates that violations to human rights are not subject to statutes of limitation. Does she think she is untouchable?

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Bad News For Mainstream Media and it's Online Facade

5/25/2014

How Americans Spend Their Time Online

Submitted by Tyler Durden

We have good news for budding entrepreneurs considering launching yet another online method of stalking the object of their affection: exhibitionism and sharing photos of your dinner, pardon social networking, remains as popular as ever on the internet.

According to an online survey by GfK and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, people said they spent about an average of 37 minutes a day on social networks like Facebook and Twitter in 2013. That internet staple, emailing, clocked in at a 29 minutes, while watching online video was 23 minutes.

However, in a troubling trend for the YouTubes of the world, the WSJ notes that while people doubled the amount of time they spent watching online video over the past four years, the overall percentage of their online time spent watching video slipped to 12% in 2013 from 13% the year before.

But the worst news is for that biggest loser of all in the New Online Normal: legacy media, whose paper publications are an endangered anachronism in a day and age when everyone reads (if only the headlines) on their mobile device, is also getting hammered when it comes to its online incarnation, with the average American spending just 5 minutes reading online newspapers, less than even blogs.

Of course, when the day comes that the final investigative reporter and journalist loses their job, suddenly the question will arise what will all those 20-some year old "journalism" majors whose only skill is to copy and paste, do?

For now nobody cares to even contemplate this issue: they are too busy updating their NSAFacebook profiles.

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Gridlock Works!: House Republicans do what they were elected to do. Stop Socialist Progression

5/25/2014

Unlike most, I have been a staunch supporter of gridlock for years. Particularly when it's used to conserve elements of the society I grew up in. Though I may not say it often, and deservingly so, now is one of those rare and opportune time to justifiably speak those words... Thank You Republican Leadership!

House GOP leaders block immigration votes

House Republican leaders on Wednesday blocked any votes on immigration legislation, raising doubts about the prospects for election-year action on overhauling the nation's laws.

The Rules Committee voted early Wednesday against allowing votes on a measure offering citizenship to immigrants here illegally who serve in the military. The panel also rejected legislation that would have opened the U.S. military academies to young immigrants brought to the country illegally.

Republican Rep. Jeff Denham of California has pressed on the citizenship measure, and Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas had backed the military academies measure. Both lawmakers had offered their legislation as amendments to the sweeping defense policy bill that the House is considering this week.

"I'm disappointed that expanding opportunity to all of our students to the U.S military academies is not allowed to be part of the discussion about our nation's defense readiness," Castro said in a statement.

The Senate passed a comprehensive bill last year that would have bolstered border security, remade legal worker programs and offered a path to citizenship to the estimated 11.5 million people now living here illegally. That bill remains stalled in the Republican-led House where Speaker John Boehner has attributed the inaction to distrust within GOP ranks about President Barack Obama's commitment to enforce any border restriction law.

Despite a wide coalition of business, labor, religious groups, farmers and others pushing for an immigration overhaul, many individual Republican House members who represent largely white districts have been unmoved. That's particularly true in an election year amid concerns about angering core GOP voters.

Denham's measure was widely popular among supporters of overhauling the immigration system and was seen as perhaps the likeliest area for compromise on the divisive issue.

It was co-sponsored by 50 House members, 26 Democrats and 24 Republicans. But an outspoken minority remained staunchly opposed to it.

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Ted Cruz: Democratic Senators Want to ‘Repeal the First Amendment’

5/25/2014

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told attendees at a Family Research Council pastors retreat that Senate Democrats want to limit free speech through amending the Constitution.

“When you think it can’t get any worse, it does,” Cruz said at the FRC’s Watchmen on the Wall 2014 event in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. “This year, I’m sorry to tell you, the United States Senate is going to be voting on a constitutional amendment to repeal the First Amendment.”

Calling these “perilous, perilous times,” Cruz said Senate Democrats have said they are ready to vote on the amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 19 – “an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.”

“Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has announced the Senate Democrats are scheduling a vote on a constitutional amendment to give Congress the authority to regulate political speech, because elected officials have decided they don’t like it when the citizenry has the temerity to criticize what they’ve done,” he said.

“They don’t like it when pastors in their community stand up and speak the truth,” Cruz said to an audience of hundreds of pastors from across the country.

“And I’ll note this amendment, which has 41 Democratic senators as co-sponsors – 41 Democrats have signed on to repealing the First Amendment,” Cruz said. “It explicitly says nothing in this new amendment shall abridge the freedom of the press.

“So the New York Times is protected, but it doesn’t say the same thing about the freedom of speech,” Cruz said. “It doesn’t say the same thing about religious liberty.”

Cruz said Democrats want to limit free speech.

“What it says is that politicians in Washington have unlimited constitutional authority to muzzle each and every one of you if you’re saying things the government finds inconvenient,” Cruz said.

Cruz was not scheduled to speak at the event but showed up to introduce one of the speakers – his father, Rafael Cruz, an ordained minister.

Cruz said his father embodied the American dream, having emigrated from Cuba, landing his first job as a dishwasher and going on to be a successful businessman.

Cruz related his father’s advice on preserving liberty in America.

“When we faced oppression in Cuba, I had a place to flee to,” the senior Cruz said. “If we lose our freedom here, where do we go?”

An Side Effect Of Obama's Great Recovery: 25% of Americans saving $0 for retirement

5/25/2014

Amanda Rohde | E+ | Getty Images

Retirement savings for about a quarter of Americans amounts to ... $0.

One in every four Americans is not saving for retirement at all, either because they are not thinking about it, do not really know how or, worse, do not feel they can afford to, according to a report by Country Financial.

Read More The millennial retirement problem

Americans ages 18-29, often called "millennials," are among the worst when it comes to saving for retirement, the firm said. Nearly a third—32 percent—aren't saving at all for their "golden years."

PLAY VIDEO

Saving for retirement is going to get harder

Saving for retirement is about to get a whole lot more complicated. CNBC's Allison Linn reports on the "new normal" that may mean those planning to retire in 20-25 years may have to get used to a slightly lower standard of living than in the pension heyday.

Many 20-somethings might just be pulling themselves out of the swamps of student debt, or maybe they just think retirement is too far in the future to worry about.

Read More Need a 401(k) boost? Sell collectibles

The latter might not be the best approach, said the report. Almost half of people 40 years or older claim to regret their retirement decisions.

But there may be some deeper problems at work. Forty-six percent of those who aren't saving say they cannot do so on a middle-class income. That number has risen since 2011.

Read More Older Americans seek roomies to survive

There are also knowledge gaps, though. Fifty-five percent of Americans don't know if they are participating in a 401(k) plan, and of the 45 percent who do, only three in 10 know how their money is being invested.

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Chicago's Gun-Free Utopia: 2 dead, 7 wounded in Saturday shootings

5/25/2014

Saturday shootings left two men dead and seven wounded on the South and West Side.

The first fatal shooting took place about 3:45 p.m. in the 700 block of West 69th Street in the city's Englewood neighborhood when two gunmen opened fire at two men who were standing across the street from the assailants, police said. 

A 31-year-old man was shot in the back and died later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to police. A second male, 21, was shot once in the right arm.

Kenneth Anthony, 31, of the 400 block of West 66^thPlace,was pronounced dead at 4:44 p.m. at Stroger, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. 

Chicago Fire Department officials said they took one victim to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and the other to John H. Stroger,  Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Both were initially listed in serious-to-critical condition, fire officials said.

Fifteen or 20 shell casings were found at the scene, police said.

Sources said the incident was gang-related. Area South detectives are investigating.

About 8:05 p.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the chest in the 900 block of Windsor Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

Most recently, a 20-year-old man was shot in the back at 54th Street and Harper Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood. He made it to the University of Chicago Hospital without the assistance of paramedics and is in good condition, police said. That happened about 11:15 p.m.

Two men were dropped off at Holy Cross Hospital with gunshot wounds after they were shot near the intersection of 66th Street and Fairfield Avenue, about a block from the hospital. A 20-year-old remained at the hospital with a leg wound while another 20-year-old man was stabilized at Holy Cross and transferred to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

In another shootings on Saturday evening, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the jaw in the 9300 block of South Ada Street at 7:27 p.m., said Police News Affairs Officer Stacey Cooper. He was listed in critical condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Cooper said.

An additional attack Saturday evening wounded two men on the West Side, according to Cooper.  

A 19-year-old man was shot in the back and a 20-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting, which happened in the 500 block of North Laramie Avenue, said Cooper. Their conditions were not available.

Check back for details. 

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