SPEAKOUT

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Move it on over

I just heard on the news that a motorcycle man was killed because he did not yield when he was trying to get on the interstate. I also drive the interstate when I am going to work to Cape Girardeau. When I am getting on the interstate from Scott City, I'll be darned, those trucks, tractor-trailers, cars, whatever, they do not get over in the far lane to let me get on the road. I think some of the police in Scott City need to sit over there and issue tickets for these people are not getting over in the other lane so I can get on the road and go to work. I was ran off the road trying to get on. I have to yield, that is the law, I know. But they have to get themselves over in the other lane so I can get myself to work. And like I said, these cops need to crack down on these people that are not moving over to let other cars get on. This happens all the time to me when I am getting on at Scott City going to Cape. I pay taxes just like they do, and they need to move over.

Opinion is not fact

I read with interest the response to my praise of your paper for printing the presentation of the facts of the Common Core. I made that response referred to. I am not a teacher, educator and I have no children in the school system. I am only a concerned voting citizen who pays lots of taxes to ensure an educated citizenry of the future of this country. I found little presentation of facts in the shrieking debate over the Common Core, only gross distortion of the real facts, which is becoming more and more common in the public arena, particularly in Missouri where hollow vessels make the most noise, drowning out our ability to intelligently approach our problems. History teaches us when demagogues dictate what facts mean, puppets march in force. The person who responded obviously hates teachers, educators, school systems and anyone or anything that does not follow their position. Facts become what they say they are, regardless of reality. You may have noticed that no facts were presented in the response to my speakout. That speakout caused only opinion. You may notice that the responder cited Dr. Sandra Stotksy, who they brought in to bolster their position, a person who they admit had nothing to do with the final draft of the Common Core standards. She just shared their opinion that they were no good. That is not a factual presentation. Opinion is not a fact. Then a teacher from New York was produced to tell you what a failure Common Core was, whose opinion was given about teaching it two years before it was written. I don't consider that fact. My best judgment at this point is that Common Core is an attempt made by the best educators, school boards and state systems to ensure a child graduating from any school in any state knows as much as any other child of the same grade in that state. This is not a federal program, as much as the opponents want it to be. It helps them sell their opinions. It would seem that they are school, education, teacher and government haters. Millions of dollars and great powers are amassed by these demagogues. They are like pawns and puppets. My research leads me to believe that Common Core is an attempt to race to the bottom in the field of education. It appears to attempt to make our children more competitive with children of other nations who are doing a better job of education. Thank you, Mike, for presenting the facts.