Do it for the children
There was a heart-wrenching post on the East Nashville list the other day. A woman who had seen first hand a family's interaction with our juvenile justice system shared briefly a family's experience in fighting the system to get help for their child. I posted the following to the list but because the list is a deliberately politically left-leaning one, my post was not approved. I've no doubt that most of those folks will vote for the liberal courthouse contender because he's got a D after his name and they hate Eric Crafton to such a degree that they're willing to sacrifice more children to their political ideology--their own Sophie's choice. Regardless, I'm hoping there are people with ears to hear and so I post my comments here.
Just a reminder....there is currently an election to install a new Juvenile Court Clerk. Those of you appalled at the way the system is run might want to seriously consider who will be in charge. While some folks think it's just a paperwork job, and that's important, the office could serve the children much better.
Operation Helping Hands
The Juvenile Court Clerk's office doesn't have to be just about administration, although a professionally run, service oriented office is the Clerk's primary function and will be my top priority. However, I think the Clerk's office could do so much more, like helping the most vulnerable segment of our society - our at risk children.
You may be surprised to know that there are over 13,000 active cases in our Juvenile Court System. This is the equivalent of 1 out of every 6 of our public school students! When I talked with Juvenile Court Judge Betty Green recently, she explained that 90% of these children have one or more of the following: emotional, psychological, educational, or physical needs. If nothing changes, these children won't be graduating from high school, but into our adult prison system.
With my volunteer-based program called Operation Helping Hands, we will evaluate and provide these children with the support they need. This will enable us to determine whether or not these children are performing at the proper level academically, whether they are having vision or hearing problems, if they are having trouble at home, or if they just simply need someone to talk to. Once their specific challenges are identified, these children will receive the services or training they need to get back on track.Help me help them by voting for me on August 5th, early voting begins July 16th. Together we can set a new standard of integrity and leadership in public service. Together we truly can make a difference.
Sincerely,
Eric Crafton
Eric Crafton and his Save Our Students was spot on pointing out that MNPS wasn't doing as well as [former Superintendent Pedro] Garcia et al said they were. Several years later MNPS was/is under State oversight. I believe Eric's right again about what can be done to help these children.
I'll add that if you looked at this election with the cold eye of an HR manager...Eric's resume is far and away the better one. Vandy educated, managerial experience and a proven record of advocating for children.
Early voting is now open. Monday satellite voting locations are open. http://Nashville.gov/vote for voting information. Please, get out and vote for Eric. He is the better man for the job.
10 comments:
Kay,
What day did you post this to the list? Did you post it at http://groups.google.com/group/east-nashville? Did you post it with your regular account named Kay Brooks?
As is quite obvious to anyone reading my list, I do NOT moderate for content or political viewpoint. I moderate for porn spam [a particular problem on open Google groups], and I manage community behavior....very, very slightly. I ask that folks not engage in name-calling or personal attacks.
I DO moderate new accounts, since that prevents spam on the group. Since I've traveled a lot this summer, I have some posts in the queue dating back to 7/19....and occasionally Google tags regular posters as spam -- but I don't see your name in the queue.
Please send me the details and I'll be glad to search for the post, though.
I happen to think anyone encouraging people to become better informed and to vote is a great idea, whether or not they support the same candidate I do.
Laura Creekmore
P.S. I will tell my liberal sister and husband that you're characterizing me as "left-leaning." I think they'll get a laugh. I'm frightfully moderate on most issues.
Clearly you don't moderate Max Otterland for content. And allowing his hate speech seems to disprove your 'frightly moderate' designation.
I won't ask you to waste your time tracking my post down. It's your list. You get to run it anyway you want. Thankfully, there are options...like blogs.
Frightfully moderate on many issues....raging libertarian on the First Amendment. I know I'm not the government, and in theory _I_ could regulate someone's speech on my own list, but it [obviously] takes a lot to push that button for me. I tend to believe that crazy will out, and the more you know, the better--the better to judge for yourself.
I don't have to "track down your post." It's not there in the moderation queue. Who knows why?? Google is a mysterious beast, and it doesn't always work as promised. I'd be glad for you to try posting again -- just let me know if you do and I'll watch to make sure it goes across.
Election Day is this Thursday, folks!!
P.S. Do not mean to imply by my previous comment that anyone in particular is actually crazy. As I say, it's all in the eye of the beholder, and my definition from that will be different from Kay's, from readers of this blog, and from many members of the East Nashville list.
Cheers!
"crazy will out" ...in the meantime other members are regularly subjected to vile and acidic rantings, the crazies have free reign and valuable posts are lost in a sea of disgusting bilgewater--including my own effort to "better inform" voters.
Cheers!
Yep. It's just a different theory than the way you run your list. I think it's better, but clearly you disagree, and that's OK with me. I'm not promoting my view of the world with this list. I do that other places.
To me, the East Nashville list is a reflection of the entire community. It's not always accurate in its percentages of participation, but it does vary, and I don't presume to say any particular opinion is good, bad, right or wrong. If someone really believes it, that's valid to me.
I enjoy knowing and trying to understand the wide variety of viewpoints out there. It's certainly not the prettiest way to run a list, and it's not the only way.
Please do let me know if you ever have trouble posting to the list. Google does trip folks up from time to time, through no fault of their own, and I spend a lot of my moderator time helping folks sort that out. Will be glad to do so for you if you run into that.
I appreciate the way Laura runs her list. She set it up to be a community list, not her own personal property suited to her personal biases, and while I don't appreciate some of the comments posted, I do appreciate the list itself. It has a much greater sense of community than other lists in the EN/Inglewood area. That said, I recognize that only a couple of dozen people regularly post to a list that has thousands of subscribers, so painting everyone on the list with pejorative language is just small minded.
I don't like landotter's comments, and I don't believe he'd be nearly as abrasive if he weren't behind a computer. However, if I want to read about church happenings and what people believe about Christ, I should be willing to read about people who don't believe--or at least willing to hit delete. I also don't think true Christians are offended or frightened by his sad rants, and I wonder why so many fail to respond with love, prayer and forgiveness as Christ would have.
I don't believe for one minute that Laura denied the post, and I find it shameful that she was falsely accused and insulted. An apology is in order. If you honestly sent a post and believe she did deny it, you refuse to accept her offer to make sure it gets posted now, and I think that reveals quite a bit about what's really going on. The pot is calling the kettle biased when the kettle's already proven she isn't.
Opinions are one thing, but making "factual statements" that don't contain fact is quite another--blog or no.
House Democrats raced back to Washington this week to cast a vote on a state assistance bill. They passed the bill yesterday and the President immediately signed it into law.
And, because of it, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be saved -- including an estimated 3,700 public school teachers across Tennessee.
Republicans called this bill a "bailout" and a "handout." They called the police officers, firefighters, and teachers whose jobs were on the line "special interests." And nearly every House Republican voted no.
...and Kay Brooks is a Republican.
Yup. I'm a Republican--and a fiscal conservative who is concerned about whether children are actually learning.
How are they going to pay for those teachers?
Do we actually need all those teachers?
Are they actually earning their pay as evidenced by children who are gaining knowledge?
Or is this merely payback to the NEA for all their support during the last election cycle and paying it forward for the next one?
The public school system isn't supposed to be a jobs programs for adults...it's supposed to actually educate children first and foremost. Saving teacher jobs does not automatically equal educated children.
There is little doubt that smaller classes, more teachers, generally = better education.
The same group of Republicans who vote NO for teachers salaries will fight tooth and nail for the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% - worth over a $trillion in the next decade. That could train a lot of great teachers and/or pay back some of the national debt.
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