Rep. John Kline (R-MN) was elevated to the top minority spot on the House Education and Labor Committee not because he has any expertise in education or much knowledge about economics and labor. No, he was the highest ranking available Republican not tainted by scandals involving prostitutes, diapers, corruption or some combination thereof.
So consider this little snippet of Kline displaying his ignorance in a New Hampshire newspaper:
Voting yes: Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes, both Democrats.
Abusive student discipline: Voting 262 for and 153 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 4247) setting federal standards and authorizing grants to states to curb the abusive discipline of K-12 students in public and private schools. Now before the Senate, the bill addresses practices such as duct-taping and other forcible restraints that inflict harm, seclusion in locked rooms and the application of drugs not prescribed by the student's doctor. The bill would extend to schools the same federal protection against physical abuse that applies to hospitals and other community institutions receiving federal funds.
Rep. George Miller, a Democrat from California, said: "When these abuses occur, it isn't just the individual victim who suffers. It hurts their classmates who witness these traumatizing events. It undermines the vast majority of teachers and staff who are trying to give students a quality education. It's a nightmare for everyone involved."
Rep. John Kline, a Republican from Minnesota, said the bill infringes on state authority and is "an invitation to trial lawyers who will eagerly take every opportunity to sue school districts. . . . In fact, there's a very real danger that schools will stop addressing safety issues entirely out of fear they could be sued."
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
This bill is to prevent restraining kids with duct tape, locking in closets or restraining kids in ways that torture or even lead to killing children.
Kline is more concerned about trial attorneys than he is with the safety of our nation's children.
Here's my take on what the new DFL governor needs to do as quickly as possible.
1. Implement the Minnesota Health Plan
2. Revamp Minnesota's educational system. Talk to actual students about what works and what doesn't work. Get input from the students themselves on how to change things. Talking to the students will be more effective than getting all ideas for change from teachers and administrators. There's a huge gap in how the two groups see things. Above all, treat the students with respect. Treat them as the young adults they are, not like prisoners. Seniors in high school will soon be able to put their lives at risk in the military, will soon be able to vote, and will soon be out on their own. Many school administrations don't treat their students with the respect they deserve.
3. Find ways to get people back to work. The money we just got for high speed rail will help bring jobs to Minnesota. There is no doubt a ton of ideas for creating new jobs. We need to implement those ideas. Once the economy is up and running again, more and more jobs will open up. Meanwhile, encourage people to find nontraditional ways to bring money into their lives, such as internet and outside sales, writing, public speaking engagements, motivational seminars, pet walking/grooming. The imagination knows no bounds.
4. Find ways to get more doctors to keep up with the latest medical research so that they can better treat their patients. Some doctors are so far behind current medical knowledge because the requirements for furthering their knowledge are too lenient.
5. As soon as feasibly possible, put back the things that Pawlenty took away, especially as it pertains to Minnesota's poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
6. Expand a few of the sections at MDH.
7. Don't forget to stand behind and promote Toastmasters for state employees so that every employee can be an effective communicator and excel at leadership.
8. One of the top priorities should be fixing the roads. We have way too many potholes. Have you driven on Highway 61 through Maplewood/White Bear Lake lately? That road has been extremely bad for years now. The same holds true for almost every road in Minnesota.
9. Look for new ways to conserve energy and make buildings more energy efficient. Find other sources of energy. About 15 or 20 years ago I knew a senior citizen gentleman who had invented a device that attached to an engine part in a car. This device increased gas milage up to 100 miles/gallon. He told me that everytime such an invention is created, the oil companies come along, buy it out and bury it.
(In April of 2001, as quoted in the Aitkin Independent Newspaper, then Majority Leader Pawlenty said: "Children who are victims of failed personal responsibility are not my problem, nor are they the problem for our government." Here's a new addition to the MPP Community who feels otherwise. - promoted by TwoPuttTommy)
300 years ago an Irish Minister wrote a highly acclaimed critical satire ("A Modest Proposal" - in its entirety below) in protest of the cruel public policies imposed on poor families that were destroying the lives of Irish children.
Public policy at the time treated the Irish more like animals than people and their children were doomed to living lives of crime, prostitution, and destitution.
Jonathon Swift's satirical theme was that Irish children would be better off dead than raised in such horrible and inescapable circumstances.
As a long time guardian ad-Litem, I have come to understand Swift's rage at the cruelties a community can pile on to poor children.
The idea that America's poor working families don't deserve education, health care, & safe homes for their children in the richest nation in the world is a cruel and unsupportable position.
The other industrialized nations have figured out that caring for their youngest citizens guarantees healthy adults and productive communities. We now don't rank anywhere near the top in the majority of quality of life indices among the 24 industrialized nations.
America can't quit building prisons and filling them with juveniles and preteen moms. We continue to quit subsidizing daycare, early childhood programs, healthcare for the poor, & education funding, while at the same time listening more and more to the mean spirited philosophies of radio and TV hosts that blame the nations ills on people that have (and always will have) the least.
The economic arguments of caring for children are all in favor of creating productive citizens by early intervention and early childhood development. It actually costs a great deal more to continue to punish the weakest and most vulnerable among us.
Check out the most recent issue of the journal Science which takes a look at ways to improve food security as the world's population is expected to top 9 billion by 2050. To best nourish both people and the planet, the journal suggests a rounded approach to a worldwide agricultural revolution by encouraging diets and policies that emphasize local and sustainable food production, along with the implementation of agricultural techniques that utilize biotechnology and ecologically friendly farming solutions.
Everywhere I travel in Africa, there's increasing acknowledgement about the importance of nutrition when it comes to treating HIV/AIDS. Many retroviral and HIV/AIDS drugs don't work if patients aren't getting enough vitamins and nutrients in their diets or accumulating enough body fat.
According to Dr. Rosa Costa, Director of the Kyeema Foundation in Mozambique, many farmers are often too sick to grow crops, but "chickens are easy."
Unlike many crops, raising free-range birds can require few outside inputs and very little maintenance from farmers. Birds can forage for insects and eat kitchen scraps, instead of expensive grains. They provide not only meat and eggs for household use and income, but also pest control and manure for fertilizer.
Jessica Milgroom isn't your typical graduate student. Rather than spending her days in the library of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, her research is done in the field-literally. Since 2006, Jessica has been working with farming communities living inside Limpopo National Park, in southern Mozambique.
When the park was established in 2001, it was essentially "parked on top of 27,000 people," says Jessica. Some 7,000 of the residents needed to be resettled to other areas, including within the park, which affected their access to food and farmland. Jessica's job is to see what can be done to improve resettlement food security.
But rather than simply recommending intensified agriculture in the park to make better use of less land, Jessica worked with the local community to collect and identify local seed varieties. One of the major problems in Mozambique, as well as other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is the lack of seed. As a result, farmers are forced to buy low-quality seed because nothing else is available.
In addition to identifying and collecting seeds, Jessica is working with a farmer's association on seed trials, testing varieties to see what people like best. In addition, farmers are learning how to purify and store seeds (see Innovation of the Week: Investing in Better Food Storage in Africa).
Weevils, the farmers tell Jessica, are worse than ever, destroying both the seed and crops they store in traditional open-air, granaries. But the farmers are now building newer granaries that are more tightly sealed and help prevent not only weevils but also mold and aflatoxins from damaging crops.
Today, farmers and breeders alike have a greater respect for Mozambique's indigenous seed varieties. According to Jessica, one of the biggest accomplishments of the project has been getting breeders and farmers to talk to each other. "It's been interesting for both groups," says Jessica, "and it needs to be a regular discussion" between them.
For the past few months, we've been collecting information about agricultural innovations from all over the world (survey in English and French). We shared the initial responses in September and even more responses in November, but continue to receive interesting information and recommendations from farmers, NGOs, research groups, and policymakers in a multitude of countries. Below are a few tidbits we'd like to share.
The following projects, already featured on the Nourishing the Planet blog, have recently provided information for our survey, further describing their agricultural innovations and helping us as we seek to define innovations that best nourish people as well as the world in our upcoming report, State of the World 2011.
From Never Ending Food in Lilongwe, Malawi: The Nordins are educating others about permaculture and growing indigenous crops to increase income and improve food security. You can read about Danielle's visit to their home and farm here: Malawi's Real "Miracle" and Sweeping Change.
Please continue to share your agriculture innovations with us. We look forward to featuring your success stories on our blog and in Nourishing the Planet. Stay tuned for more updates from the survey-maybe next time it will be your innovation we highlight!
2012 Republican presidential candidate and occasional Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has his priorities straight. His presidential ambitions come first. Before his state. Before anything.
So it is no surprise that he's proposing to steal $90 million from Minneapolis kids as part of his plan to slash the state's budget to deal with the financial mess he and his Republican colleagues have created. This is roughly 20% of the Minneapolis school budget.
I have gotten my hands on his proposal on education cuts. You can look up how much he would like to steal from the kids in your town here (warning, PDF). This research is from the nonpartisan House Research folks.
Mokolodi Wildlife Reserve used to be known more for raising livestock than protecting wildlife. But after years of ranching degraded the land, the owner decided to devote the area to protecting elephants, giraffes, impala, kudu, crocodiles, hippos, ostrich, warthogs, and various other animals and birds. But the reserve hasn’t stopped raising food.
In addition to teaching students and the community about conserving and protecting wildlife and the environment, they’re also educating students about permaculture. By growing indigenous vegetables, recycling water for irrigation, and using organic fertilizers—including elephant dung—the Reserve’s Education Center is demonstrating how to grow nutritious food with very little water or chemical inputs. (See Malawi’s Real “Miracle” and Emphasizing Malawi’s Indigenous Vegetables as Crops.)
I met with Tuelo Lekgowe and his wife, Moho Sehtomo, who are managing the permaculture garden at Mokolodi. Tuelo explained that the organically grown spinach, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, green peppers, garlic, basil, parsley, coriander and other crops raised at the garden are used to feed the school groups who come regularly to learn about not only animals, but also sustainable agriculture. Tuelo and Moho use the garden as a classroom, teaching students about composting, intercropping, water harvesting, and organic agriculture practices. The garden also supplies food for the Education Center and Mokolodi’s restaurant, feeding the hundreds of students and tourists who visit the non-profit reserve each week.
The Mokolodi Reserve is another example of how agriculture and wildlife conservation can go hand-in hand.
Before we ask ourselves who should be the next governor, we need to ask ourselves what questions we should be asking to make that decision. Do we ask ourselves: "Who do I like? Who represents my hopes? Who can I relate to? Who is best for me?" Yes, maybe we can do that. Or maybe, just maybe we can ask "Which candidate is the best candidate for the most people?"
Without a doubt, I would have to say that candidate would be Entenza because he comes with a disposition and political history that sees the dignity, value, and worthiness of all people- be it the GLBT communities, racial and ethnic minority groups, the employed, the unemployed, the youth, the elderly, the poor, the forgotten, and the unwanted.
He is a listener, and a deep thinker. It means a lot to me that he initiated the Minnesota 20/20 think tank group to ascertain and focus on the issues that are of greatest concern to all of us, and has used that knowledge to formulate policy, legislation, and strategy to develop plans and realistic goals to rebuild this state so that all of us, in whatever corner of the state we reside in, can begin to hope that the future will be better, and that we each carry a dignity no matter who we are, how we were made, and how much we have in our pocket. This is a candidate who sends a message that we all matter. We are all equal and deserving of fairness, safety, healthcare, good educations, good opportunities and we are all welcomed participants in a stronger and healthier Minnesota.
While many candidates are talking about the need for better healthcare, better schools, more jobs, and more opportunities, Entenza is the only candidate who has bridged these hopes with a sound economic plan that will allow us to realize these hopes. We can talk all day about what's wrong with Minnesota, and what needs to be fixed, who is responsible for breaking it, and how hard it is to be living like this, but talk won't change things. If we want a better future, we need a strong economy, and our government needs to rebuild a strong tax base to support our values and our goals for better schools, healthcare, and opportunities.
Entenza has well-developed plans for a new clean energy economy that has the ability to translate into immediate action through policy and initiatives that can take place when he takes office. He's not talking about pipe dreams ten years down the line. He's talking about what can happen now. His strategy will have short-term and intermediate steps to a recovery that will build a stronger and more stable Minnesota economy that can support his vision that we all matter, that we are all welcomed to share in the benefits of a better Minnesota, and that we can do this together.
We can do this together by collectively saying "Yes" to hope. When our friends and neighbors are biting their nails about the economy and joblessness, or when our siblings or parents are worried about how they are going to deal with their health issues, or when our children are worried if they can afford to stay in college, or whatever conversation or encounter that you have that begins to pry open yet another dialogue with despair, send them a link to Entenza's website, and talk to them about what you have read, and do your part to spread the word that our time is now, and that our vote and support for this exceptional candidate really truly matters more than ever.
Sylvia Banda started Sylva Professional Catering Services Limited in 1986, even though just 30 years ago women weren't allowed to own businesses-or even eligible for loans-in Zambia. She began her business by serving people food she cooked and brought from home on what she calls, a "standing buffet," because she didn't have enough money for tables and chairs.
Not having furniture didn't stop Sylvia's business from taking off; she made almost a hundred dollars after a few days. And with her husband listed as the proprietor of her business because land rights are limited if not inaccessible to women in Zambia, Sylvia was able to grow her small "standing buffet" into three subsidiary businesses.
Sylva Professional Catering Services Limited is dedicated to creating, selling and serving nutritious foods, made from indigenous and traditional products that are purchased from local farmers and merchants. Sylvia provides work for 73 people and has developed partnerships with local development organizations, using her financial and popular success to become a proponent of farmer and employee training. She calls it "economic emancipation."
Sylvia's success has benefited not just her own family, but the wider community as well. And Winrock International, an organization that collects examples of projects focused on sustainable food, improving livelihoods and preserving local food traditions, hopes to extend her positive impact even further still by making her case study available as a resource and model for potential entrepreneurs-and for policy makers and NGOs who support potential entrepreneurs-around the world.
For more information about Sylvia's work and other projects that are focusing on sustainable food, improving livelihoods and preserving local food traditions, see Winrock International's site on Community Food Enterprises.
This is the first in a two-part series about my visit to the home of Kristof and Stacia Nordin in Lilongwe, Malawi. Cross posted from Nourishing the Planet.
Stacia and Kristof Nordin have an unusual backyard. Rather than the typical bare dirt patch of land that most Malawians sweep “clean” every day, the Nordins have over 200 varieties of mostly indigenous vegetables growing organically around their house. They came to Malawi in the 1990s as Peace Corps Volunteers, but now call Malawi home. Stacia works for the Malawi Health Ministry, educating both policy-makers and citizens about the importance of indigenous vegetables and permaculture for improving livelihoods and nutrition.
Malawi may be best known for the so-called “Malawi Miracle.” Five years ago the government decided to do something controversial—provide fertilizer subsidies to farmers to grow maize. Since then maize production has tripled and Malawi has been touted as an agricultural success story. But the way they are refining that corn, says Kristof, makes it “kind of like Wonderbread,” leaving it with just two or three nutrients. Traditional varieties of corn, however, which aren’t usually so highly processed, are more nutritious and don’t require as much artificial fertilizer compared to hybrid varieties. According to Kristof, “48 percent of the country is still stunted with the miracle.”
Stacia and Kristof use their home as a way to educate their neighbors about both permaculture and indigenous vegetables. Most Malawians think of traditional foods, such as amaranth and African eggplant, as poor people foods grown by “bad” farmers. But these crops may hold the key for solving hunger, malnutrition and poverty in Malawi.
Rather than focusing on just planting maize—a crop that is not native to Africa—the Kristofs advise the farmers they work with that there is “no miracle plant, just plant them all.” Maize, ironically, is least suited to this region because it’s very susceptible to pests and disease. Unfortunately, the “fixation on just one crop,” says Kristof, means that traditional varieties of foods are going extinct—crops that are already adapted to drought and heat, traits that become especially important as agriculture copes with climate change.
And indigenous crops can be an important source of income for farmers. Rather than importing things like amaranth, sorghum, spices, tamarinds and other products from India, South Africa, and other countries, the Nordins are helping farmers find ways to market seeds, as well as value added products, from local resources. These efforts not only provide income and nutrition, but fight the “stigma that anything Malawian isn’t good enough,” says Kristof. “A lot of solutions,” he says, “are literally staring us in the face.” And as I walked around seeing—and tasting— the various crops at the Nordins’ home, it’s obvious that maize is not Malawi’s only miracle. Stay tuned for more about my trip to the Nordins.
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) most recent elevation to ranking minority on the House Education and Labor Committee means that he needs to do everything humanly possible to obstruct, oppose and attack anything the Obama Administration tries to accomplish on education. Most recently, he's conveniently forgotten the 8 years of the Bush Administration's politicization of every single department of our government.
His hypocritical outrage is focused on the Obama Administration's work to pass SAFRA (Student Access and Fiscal Responsibility Act). This bill will decrease the cost of college education for millions and increase the amount of money available to students by significantly reducing the cost of student loans. Kline is outraged because his corporate minders won't be able to make massive profits on the backs of students anymore. Here's the essence of his whining:
... I am troubled by recent media reports that imply federal funds and federal property are being used by the Department of Education to promote the Administration's political and legislative agenda. Such political activities undermine the Department's duty to enforce current law impartially and may violate federal law.
Kline points to an article from the Mooney-owned Washington Times which "claimed" to break this story.
Where was Kline's outrage as Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales politicized the Department of Justice? Has he forgotten Lurita Doan? Why did Kline have nothing to say about the Bush Administration politicizing the government hiring processes for various departments? He had no problems as the Bush Administration tried to fill low-level and mid-level government jobs with unqualified, young neocons straight out of school.
By Larry Bivins • Times Washington correspondent • October 4, 2009
WASHINGTON - Tens of thousands of Minnesota college students would get a boost in financial aid from legislation that aims to dramatically alter the student loan landscape.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would generate a projected $87 billion in savings by terminating the Federal Family Education Loan Program, in which private lenders provide government-backed loans for eligible students...
Saves money, which means more money for education--sounds good. But Bachmann hates it because it's big government. (continued)
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) had an editorial published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune today on education. This is odd because Kline is rather ignorant about education issues and has been a back-bencher until his recent promotion to the House's Education and Labor committee. The National Education Association gives him a 17% rating. His main qualification for his new role is his willingness to say "no" to anything the Democrats propose.
As students throughout Minnesota settle into a new school year, area schools, like many around the country, are coping with the stifling effects of the recession. School districts throughout the state are facing multimillion-dollar deficits, and Minnesotans feel the pressure of financial shortfalls on our communities and our students.
Some of the factors leading to these cuts are out of our control, but some should not be. ...
(Star Tribune)
One major reason schools are feeling the financial crunch even more than they might already have is MN's Governor. Tim Pawlenty's education cuts year after year and now his disastrous choice to unallot rather than negotiate a budget with the DFL-controlled legislature are important factors we cannot control. And Kline fails to mention.
We cannot control Tim Pawlenty's desire to become President. He is running for President and is placing his personal ambitions before Minnesota's needs.
I suppose I'm also required to remind everyone that the Republicans consistently slash education budgets. Year after year. So of course our schools are in trouble. Duh?
Jessica Milgroom isn't your typical graduate student. Rather than spending her days in the library of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, her research is done in the field-literally. Since 2006, Jessica has been working with farming communities living inside Limpopo National Park, in southern Mozambique.
The following projects, already featured on the Nourishing the Planet blog, have recently provided information for our survey, further describing their agricultural innovations and helping us as we seek to define innovations that best nourish people as well as the world in our upcoming report, State of the World 2011.
