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As an introduction to Santa Monica and Marina del Rey Patch's newest blogger, Lisa Tomlinson Starr, we're publishing this Q&A about her time as a delegate at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and involvement in national politics. She is a Westchester resident and part-time counselor at Santa Monica College. Welcome, Lisa!
Patch: How did you wind up at the DNC?
Tomlinson Starr: When I was volunteering at the Obama headquarters, I received an email asking if I wanted to apply as a delegate for the national convention. I talked it over with my husband because it would be time away from my family right at the start of the school year, and it was a financial decision. Each delegate is responsible for his/her own expenses. I have been volunteering with the campaign for some time, so being able to go to the convention would be a chance of a lifetime. We both decided that I had to do it. I applied in my congressional district. My application was verified and then I ran against 16 other women in my district for one of four spots. The fourth spot was an alternate position. The alternate goes to the convention and fills in as a delegate on the main floor to assure quorum, when someone is missing.
I showed up at the caucus with my husband and three daughters in tow, star stickers that read "Vote Lisa Starr" and we all handed out Starburst candies to everyone in line. It wasn't a polished campaign but it was heart-felt. I am so thankful for all my friends that showed up to vote. Some of my daughter's friends even joined in handing out the candy and stickers, it was a blast.
To my surprise, it worked. We gained support in the line and lots of people that I didn't know before that day, along with my friends that I did recruit, voted for me. Lisa Starr came in fourth—I was going to North Carolina and the DNC in the alternate position!
Patch: You've called yourself the "Geek Delegate." Why were you so enthusiastic about attending?
Tomlinson Starr: This was in the context of running into a KCRW reporter on the first morning, on my first day in North Carolina at the California Delegation breakfast. I was asked about issues that were important to me and I did briefly answer that I had a great concern about women's rights, overall equal rights, education, environment and the economy. But then we laughed about the excitement in the air and that's when I said that I was a "Total Geek Delegate" I was giddy and felt like a kid, taking it all in. I was seeing friends I had made, while helping with the campaign and during the delegation process. Taking photos of the volunteers holding signs, signing t-shirts of people, not certain if they thought I was someone else. I'm a mom and I work part-time, so getting away from carpool is a big deal. I don't do that for just anything. This was my chance to enjoy every second of this process and my enthusiasm was bubbling over. So, yes I own that statement.
I have been a President Obama supporter from early on. He inspires hope for me and my family. I loved his message of personally taking responsibility for the state of the union but also telling the American public to roll up it's collective sleeves and work together to make change for the better. Change will take all of us, regardless of party association.
I am really tired of individuals (politicians and private citizens) making blanket statements about what is wrong but don't appear to be working to make it better. We all do what we can, when we can, but this time, I wanted to do more. I wanted to make a statement of change for myself and my family. If I want things to be better, I'm going to help make it better.
Patch: In your blog postings on fivestarrs.com, you appear enamored by the fanfare of the convention. Was there business to be conducted, too?
Of course there was business to be conducted, but I started the blog for my family and immediate friends. They knew my interest in being at the convention, so preaching to the choir was not the intention of the blog. I wanted to capture my day to day experience, and the excitement of being a part of the political process, instead of hearing about it on the news.
What was a bit unexpected for me was the overwhelming feeling of appreciation for being able to be there. Beyond the obvious fact that it was difficult to leave my family for the week, but the literal fact that I could be a part of a peaceful political process to nominate the leader to our country. It's a bit sappy but I know I have taken that for granted in my lifetime. I have been fortunate to have individuals fight the fight, so being a woman didn't keep me on the outside. I indeed love a process that allows that and I'm glad it came across in my blog.
Patch: The conventions are criticized for being too much like rock concerts. What's the value in keeping them exciting and fun to watch?
Tomlinson Starr: I'm certain a big factor in the televised side of the convention is about draw, flash and advertisers, but on the ground, it's about energy and staying power. Isn't the purpose of all conventions, political or otherwise, to gather your constituents, deliver your message and get them fired up, so that they will return home and share that energy or sell that product with/to others that weren't there?
As a delegate to your national party's convention, you are voted to represent your congressional district, by passing a platform and nominating your candidates for positions of the President and Vice President of the United States of America. The hope is that you will attend the meetings and speeches and then go home and get others to vote for your person too. Each delegate has made a financial and personal commitment to that process but that isn't the hard part at all.
The election is just over a month away. The hard work is the day after the convention when you're back home and your individual reality hits again. Work, family, school schedules, sports schedules, you find out you have a sick relative, or your kid's school is facing more budget cuts, that's when you draw from the amazing "rock concert" experience. For me, now is when I need to remember the energy of amazing people from all over the country gathering to inform and absolutely entertain with their speeches. Meeting people you admire in the news while listening to James Taylor and dodging the lightening storm, or getting to meet Lilly Ledbetter, and thanking her in person, for taking a stand for equal pay for woman.
Meeting real people in the caucuses, who have conveyed their stories and facts of the issues. And then they tell you why they support our President. They are back to their day to day and it is a different picture than mine, perhaps they are concerned that their health care for their child is in jeopardy, or that they are in jeopardy themselves of keeping health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Or they live with the love of their life, but are told they can't have the same rights as other couples because they are of the same sex.
All this happened outside the TV cameras, but you add the evening convention sessions and, pow!, it's electric! To see the various state representatives in a positive light and hear them talk is all that is good in the process. Excitement, hope and support. Everyday life isn't that, especially in the news, so to have it for a week, is very special and in my opinion much needed. That is why the conventions need to be high energy, "rock concert-esk". I'm fired up and I see those people's faces everyday now. So even when I'm dog tired after work, carpool, homework checking, various practice/games, dinner, baths, books and tuck in time, I'm "Fired up and Ready to go" thanks to the DNC!
Patch: How do you explain to your children the importance of national politics?
Tomlinson Starr: My girls are relatively young, so I try to convey the importance of the fact that their voice matters. We certainly talk national issues, but I have to be honest, I don't talk national politics at home with them much of the time. I talk to them about starting with what they know and go from there. Have an impact in your school or community and see what happens. I try to lead by example. If I have had concerns at their school or in our community, I have worked to make the situation better and they have seen the positive results. One day, as they get older, it could lead more into national politics and I know we will have wonderful discussions on our beliefs and dreams for our country. They're all involved in student council at their schools to that's a great start.
Patch: How will you continue your involvement with the Democratic party as we approach the November election?
Tomlinson Starr: I will continue to help at the Obama Headquarters. I plan to assist in the effort to get people to register to vote. And I want to stay on point with women's issues, equal rights, education and the environment in my blog. It started as a personal message to my immediate family and friends, but with a wider audience that have already tuned in, I want to open up the communication lines and try to post weekly updates on how to get involved, register and stay connected with the election, especially for women. November 2012 is our time


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Efforts to get rid of the Belmont Circle, the rotary at the east end of Main Street, Buzzards Bay, took a step forward this week when the state Senate included $3.5 million for that project in its $683 million bond bill for transportation improvements for Fiscal Year 2013.
Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) said, "Improving the Belmont Rotary in Bourne continues to be a top priority for the town and officials have long been looking for funding opportunities that will support this project."
As long ago as October of 2006, the now-defunct Buzzards Bay Village Association hired Wesley J. Ewell of Pocasset, a professional planning consultant and member of the Local Comprehensive Planning Committee, to conduct a transportation study of the village.
Mr. Ewell completed that study in June of 2007.
In discussing his traffic analysis at the time, Mr. Ewell said people had said that the commercial vibrancy of Buzzard Bay's Main Street was harmed when the bypass road was built. What he was surprised to learn, however, was that it was not the bypass, itself, that caused the harm, as much as it was the traffic circles located at both ends of that roadway. His analysis said that if those rotaries were eliminated, it would double the road system's capacity to handle traffic and increase the use of Main Street.
He estimated, at the time, that a project that combined the elimination of both Belmont and Memorial Circles, as well as changes to the bypass road and the access road to Route 25, could be completed at a cost of about $3 million. Drawings of his proposed reconfigurations were a part of his plan.
The town adopted that plan, making some changes to the proposed new traffic flow. Between the adoption of that plan and now, Town Planner Coreen V. Moore said, the town has worked to bring the elimination of the rotaries to the attention of regional and state officials.
Selectmen heard in the fall of 2007 that Mr. Ewell's ideas had been presented to the Cape Cod Joint Transportation Committee, and the next step would be a presentation before the Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization, which makes funding recommendations on projects competing for state and federal funds.
Town Administrator Thomas M. Guerino announced the Senate's addition of funding for the elimination of Belmont Circle, of one of the two Buzzards Bay rotaries, to selectmen this week, saying it took the involvement of Senate President Murray, along with State Representatives Randy Hunt (R-Sandwich) and David T. Vieira (R-Falmouth) to get the funding this far along in the process.
The Senate bill and the House bill will now go to a conference committee that is expected to produce a compromise bill for final passage and subsequent consideration by the governor. If the funding is ultimately approved, it should pay for both final design and construction.
Mr. Guerino said that the elimination of Belmont Circle would simplify the choices that need to be made by drivers accessing the Bourne Bridge and would "greatly help to reduce traffic congestion on the Scenic Highway; thus making travel safer."
In October, Bourne also received $1.25 million from the state's supplemental budget for the improvements to the Main Street streetscape that are currently under construction.
The town had hoped that the other rotary, Memorial Circle, could be eliminated as a part of the work being done on the Cohasset Narrows Bridge, but that work could not be changed. It was funded with federal economic recovery dollars that targeted already engineered, shovel-ready projects.

subset: commoncrawl


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minimifidianist n. One who has almost no faith or belief.
Mellors: "Ah, Lady Chatterley. You say that you think that there will come a day when I will no longer wish to plunge my spade into your soft borders. I'm afraid that will never be the case. Indeed, I am something of a minimifidianist when it comes to that prospect."


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This project began in 2005 as a study of Incan farming methods and has morphed into a serendipitous investigation of California farming, native plants, and agriculture in the developing world with the aim of providing practical advice (and inspiration) to modern farmers.
In the most densely populated state in the US, land use is fiercely contested, making it a unique laboratory for exploring the borders between human and indigenous land use. We seek answers to questions about native, urban and agricultural space: making videos about treks hunting down trillium plants just outside of San Francisco, growing experimental bean seeds with the help of Tierra Vegetables, and visiting local food heroes to interview them about their work.
In the Andes farmers have been raising crops on extensive sets of terraces for hundreds of years. These andenes modify steep cactus-covered slopes into arable land, prevent erosion and make the most of what rain comes along. While malnutrition and poverty are rampant, in a place where only 5% of the land is suitable for agriculture, thousands of hectares of andenes lie abandoned and unused. The Seedling Project is working to document and encourage sustainable farming methods as they are recorded, studied and developed by agronomists working with The Cusichaca Trust in Peru.


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22 U.S. Code § 4134 - Time limitations
(a) Limitations period
A grievance is forever barred under this subchapter unless it is filed with the Department not later than two years after the occurrence giving rise to the grievance or, in the case of a grievance with respect to the grievant's rater or reviewer, one year after the date on which the grievant ceased to be subject to rating or review by that person, but in no case more than three years after the occurrence giving rise to the grievance. There shall be excluded from the computation of any such period any time during which, as determined by the Foreign Service Grievance Board, the grievant was unaware of the grounds for the grievance and could not have discovered such grounds through reasonable diligence.
(b) Failure of Department to resolve grievance; grievance filed with Foreign Service Grievance Board
If a grievance is not resolved under Department procedures (which have been negotiated with the exclusive representative, if any) within ninety days after it is filed with the Department, the grievant or the exclusive representative (on behalf of a grievant who is a member of the bargaining unit) shall be entitled to file a grievance with the Foreign Service Grievance Board for its consideration and resolution.
(c) Grievances based on alleged discrimination
(1) In applying subsection (a) of this section with respect to an alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or policy directive referred to in section 4131 (a)(1)(H) of this title, the reference to "2 years" shall be deemed to read "180 days", subject to paragraph (2).
(2) If the occurrence or occurrences giving rise to the grievance are alleged to have occurred while the grievant was assigned to a post abroad, the 180-day period provided for under paragraph (1) shall not commence until the earlier of—
Source(Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 1104,Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2144; Pub. L. 102–138, title I, § 153(b),Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 673; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title III, § 330(a), (b)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–438; Pub. L. 107–228, div. A, title III, § 317,Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1379.)
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–228substituted "but in no case more than three years" for "but in no case less than two years".
1999—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title III, § 330(a)], in first sentence, substituted "not later than two years after the occurrence giving rise to the grievance or, in the case of a grievance with respect to the grievant's rater or reviewer, one year after the date on which the grievant ceased to be subject to rating or review by that person, but in no case less than two years after the occurrence giving rise to the grievance." for "within a period of 3 years after the occurrence or occurrences giving rise to the grievance or such shorter period as may be agreed to by the Department and the exclusive representative."
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title III, § 330(b)], substituted " '2 years' " for " '3 years' ".
1991—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–138, § 153(b)(1), inserted "under this subchapter" before "unless".
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–138, § 153(b)(2), added subsec. (c).
Effective Date of 1999 Amendment
Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title III, § 330(c)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–438, provided that: "The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1999] and shall apply to grievances which arise on or after such effective date."
Effective Date of 1991 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 102–138not applicable with respect to any grievance, within the meaning of section 4131 of this title, arising before Oct. 28, 1991, see section 153(f) ofPub. L. 102–138, set out as a note under section 4115 of this title.
The table below lists the classification updates, since Jan. 3, 2012, for this section. Updates to a broader range of sections may be found at the update page for containing chapter, title, etc.
The most recent Classification Table update that we have noticed was Tuesday, August 13, 2013
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You know how you sometimes have good friends you fall out of touch with? The longer you go without calling them, the more you think about how awkward it will be when you do call, and so you put it off some more? Eventually you wake up one morning to realize that its been months/years/copious-quantities- of-time and now you're too lazy to change things? Yes, me and my blog have lately been like that only, although drawing parallels between my blog and a close friend probably alludes to a cuckoo-ness and lack-of-life that I shall cleverly not get into.
A regular reader gently brought it to my notice that this is the first time that a whole month has gone by and I have not written anything. Big whoop, I said. Then another reader not-so-kindly pointed out that I am supposed to be a bunny rabbit, not a bear, so could I please stop hibernating? Oh, oops, I said, slowly starting to see the point. I guess I haven't written. And I guess a blog is a blog only if the blogger actually blogs on it. So .. um .. er .. *gulp*
But to be fair, I *have* noticed. Every day I tell myself, that I shall snap out of this, write something spectacular and the darn block will be gone. Poof! Like that! Except for one minor matter. I can't think of anything spectacular. Or non-spectacular even. Gah. I look around to see how people do it. Some write about things on their mind but I checked and there's not much going on there. (Ah, the price of shallowness.) A silly verse about my inability to write might work. But that's already been done. And there's the kind that write pseudo-intellectual stuff using the season as a metaphor .. Oh wait, that was me. Never mind.
So anyway, I've decided to do something different and place my faith in my dear readers. (Yes, those handful of you who still read this blog.) – Pliss to suggest something to write about? Anything, anything at all. Ooh-aah-ing about music, cheesy movie reviews, ways to cause bodily harm to Mika Singh, ten things that annoy me, photoblogs with pretty fall pictures that I promised once upon a time, the importance of ichhadhari nagins in Hindi movies .. any earth-shattering issue of global importance that you think I ought to have an opinion on. You tell and I'll write.
Here's wishing you all a warm and wonderful new year. Now give me ideas.


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On Monday, roads and streets flooded all over the Tri-State; from Madisonville to the east side of Evansville, and a lot of places in between.
Hopkins County was soaked with reports of over five inches of rain.
Lots of pictures were sent in from viewers of flooding in their area. But the most dramatic images we've seen so far are from Madisonville, where many there will be dealing with the effects of this flood for weeks to come.
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Today, 350,000 students return to school in Chicago where the striking teachers' union has agreed to a tentative contract.
Much commentary has been written about the seven-day strike but I found this piece by New York Times columnist Joe Nocera among the most interesting. He talks to noted education researcher Marc Tucker, quoted here on the blog a few months on why Finnish schools perform so well.
An ongoing frustration with education debates — including many on this blog — is that we focus on things that don't matter, that appeal to ideologues and bumper sticker voters who don't have time to read the fine print.
Georgia is now in a frenzy over a charter school amendment that will do nothing to dramatically alter school transformation. Millions will be spent in the battle, a fair share coming from for-profit education companies that see Georgia a potential new market for their wares.
And the amendment won't do a thing ultimately for the overall performance of students in Georgia. How do I know? Because we have the examples of other states that have gone down this road before us. And they did not find redemption. Not one has seen remarkable improvements by a dramatic expansion of charter schools. As I have noted again and again, the states that are gaining on us are doing so by investing in standards, curriculum and teacher quality.
But we don't seem to benefit from anyone else's mistakes or successes, locally or abroad. The countries transforming their education systems have trained, lifted and empowered teachers, elevating the profession to the status of doctors and lawyers. They have not beaten teachers down, marginalized them and run them off.
I agree with the frequent observations of many folks on this blog — Lee, for one — that every profession is working a lot harder for a lot less. I have done something in the last few years that I never did before in 25 years as a journalist, walked away from unused vacation because my workload won't allow me to take the break.
Here is the difference. If I get burned out and quit, the consequences are not dire. The blog could fade away without loss to the state's well-being or future. Or Jerry, Bootney, Dunwoody Mom, Dr. Henson, Jordan Kohanim, Catlady or any number of talented writers could apply for the job.
But if we lose teachers in large numbers, there are serious consequences to the state. Their contribution to the public good is more important than many other professions. If you want to see what happens to a country without an effective, functioning education system, look at the third-world nations.
Here is an excerpt of Nocera's interview with Tucker. Please try to read the full piece before commenting.
"It is not possible to make progress with your students if you are at war with your teachers," says Marc Tucker.
Tucker, 72, a former senior education official in Washington, is the president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, which he founded in 1988. Since then he has focused much of his research on comparing public education in the United States with that of places that have far better results than we do — places like Finland, Japan, Shanghai and Ontario, Canada. His essential conclusion is that the best education systems share common traits — almost none of which are embodied in either the current American system or in the reform ideas that have gained sway over the last decade or so.
"We have to find a way to work with teachers and unions while at the same time working to greatly raise the quality of teachers," he told me recently. He has some clear ideas about how to go about that. His starting point is not the public schools themselves but the universities that educate teachers. Teacher education in America is vastly inferior to many other countries; we neither emphasize pedagogy — i.e., how to teach — nor demand mastery of the subject matter. Both are a given in the top-performing countries. (Indeed, it is striking how many nonprofit education programs in the U.S. are aimed at helping working teachers do a better job — because they've never learned the right techniques.)
What is also a given in other countries is that teaching has a status equal to other white-collar professionals. That was once true in America, but Tucker believes that a quarter-century of income inequality saw teachers lose out at the expense of lawyers and other well-paid professionals. That is a large part of the reason that teachers' unions have become so obstreperous: It is not just that they feel underpaid, but they feel undervalued. Tucker believes that teachers should be paid more — though not exorbitantly. But making teacher education more rigorous — and imbuing the profession with more status — is just as important. "Other countries have raised their standards for getting into teachers' colleges," he told me. "We need to do the same."
Second, he believes that it makes no sense to demonize unions. Instead, he points to the example of Ontario, where a decade ago, a new government decided to embrace the teachers' unions — to treat them as partners instead of as adversaries. The result? Ontario now has some of the best student achievement in the world. (Alas, relations between teachers and the government have recently deteriorated after a two-year wage freeze was imposed.)
High-performing countries don't abandon teacher standards. On the contrary. Teachers who feel part of a collaborative effort are far more willing to be evaluated for their job performance — just like any other professional. It should also be noted that none of the best-performing countries rely as heavily as the U.S. does on the blunt instrument of standardized tests. That is yet another lesson we have failed to learn.
The Chicago teachers' strike exemplifies, in stark terms, how misguided the battle over education has become. The teachers are fighting for the things industrial unions have always fought for: seniority, favorable work rules and fierce resistance to performance measures. City Hall is fighting to institute reforms no top-performing country has ever seen fit to use, and which probably won't make much difference if they are instituted.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
September 19th, 2012
10:25 am
Yes but the problem persists…shortening budgets that have to be shored up somewhere. You get what you pay for Maureen. If salaries continue to fall, so will teacher quality. I for one do not alter my teaching effectiveness in the classroom because I continue to get my salary and benefits lowered, but I have begun looking for gainful employment in other fields. Wouldn't you?
September 19th, 2012
10:34 am
Banshee said "but I have begun looking for gainful employment in other fields. Wouldn't you?"
Good for you but here is some advice. Don't think you will find employment in other fields that has not drop significantly over 2008 levels. Every job in the private sector has been impacted by the "lowering of salaries'" and the outright elimination of benefits. Most people looking for private sector employment are finding it takes at least a year to find something better that a fast food clerks job. Anyway welcome to the real world. Let us know how it works out OK.
September 19th, 2012
10:40 am
I found a job in two weeks. I don't want you to leave teaching, but please don't let the doomsayers tell you there is NOTHING else out there. It is untrue.
September 19th, 2012
10:47 am
I will say that the approach some teachers take in saying "we aren't responsible for a students performance, because their parents aren't involved" is really a disastrous approach. What that says to taxpayers is, our (teachers) hands our tied, there is nothing we can do to deal with the situation, and so it's not our fault. If that's the case, then why spend so much money on schools and teachers?
I still love the statement from the guy who ran the NYC school system that went something like "people tell me we can't fix the schools until we fix poverty…..I think they have it backwards, that we can't fix poverty until we fix the schools". Now…I know it's hard, or it would've been fixed already. but simply throwing your hands up and complaining isn't a good way to win back the taxpayers support.
September 19th, 2012
10:48 am
Teaching Was at one time, a Noble Profession In America.There is trend afoot that has taking once NOBLE professions and are now slowly turning these same professions into TECHNICIANS. It has already occurred with Physicians and now we see a forward motion to do the same with TEACHERS. We must re-evaluate this trend to insure, we are not doing more harm culturally and spiritually in the long run our attempt make these short term gains. We must seriously consider is it worth the long term harm, we are inflicting on ourselves as a society.
TECHNICIANS ARE not TEACHERS………
September 19th, 2012
10:48 am
If you look at the Get Schooled for the last (any length of time) you would see why teachers in Georgia feel so beleaguered.
September 19th, 2012
10:51 am
Colleges of teacher education would welcome higher and rigorous standards for entry – if the esteem and pay of the profession rises as well. If standards are the only thing to rise, then the mediocre students who are currently teacher ed's bread and butter won't make the cut, and the better-performing students will not even give the profession a glance. Those colleges would then vanish, and there would be a severe teacher shortage. Standards for teacher ed cannot rise alone without other professional factors improving as well.
September 19th, 2012
10:56 am
"Anyway welcome to the real world." This taunting phrase is somewhat indicative of the problem in American schools. "Karl Marx" seems to think that my 31 years experience as a teacher, coach and administrator in public and private schools is comparable to a weekend in Disney World. Believe me, educating other people's children is about as "real" as work gets. Teaching was truely a "calling" for me, but I wonder if I would even consider it were I coming along today.
September 19th, 2012
10:56 am
One thing is very clear. The pay/benefits/pension/medical for these folks is WAY more than they deserve. The citizens of Chicago, much like the citizens of nearly every city in america will be on the hook for these people's retirement benefits until the end of time or until the city finally declares bankruptcy. In the private sector a business makes a decision about its ability to fund a long term pension obligation based on its belief in its ability to continue producing products/services that will generate sufficient revenue combined with investment return. In city govenrment, these pensions are all funded through the non-stop theft from the citizens. NOTHING IS PRODUCED. There is no voluntary exchange. While folks in the private sector see their 401ks lose money (a government forced creation by the way), they are forced to cut back, skip meals, etc. in order to pay their ever-rising property taxes so that these non-workers can sit back and enjoy their full salary pensions, full medical, etc. It is just plain disgusting.
It is not enough that all of these folks made their entire salaries in a marketplace where free choice was prohibited and their wages were stolen from the taxpayers. Now they help further empoverish these same folks for the rest of their lives with benefits that no private sector employee could ever dream of.
When these pension promises are made, they are in perpetuity. It is the equivalent of taxation without representation as multiple future generations will be paying for the decisions of these bought and paid for city councilmen and women. All retirement accounts should be private. They should not be dictated by the govenrment nor funded through this kind of taxation scheme. No citizen should have to make the choice of eating or losing their house just so a $75K government employee can get their regular paycheck and full medical for the rest of their life.
It will be interesting to see how these folks manage when the end comes for the US dollar and our overall economy. No doubt they will be the loudest screamers demanding that grandma be robbed some more so they can enjoy their own retirement.
September 19th, 2012
11:04 am
"Colleges of teacher education would welcome higher and rigorous standards for entry – if the esteem and pay of the profession rises as well. If standards are the only thing to rise, then the mediocre students who are currently teacher ed's bread and butter won't make the cut, and the better-performing students will not even give the profession a glance.Those colleges would then vanish, and there would be a severe teacher shortage."
That would be a good start – then maybe administrators would get the idea about how to fix education – through making good working conditions and dealing with the REAL problems in the school system and not blaming teachers for things not in their control.
September 19th, 2012
11:09 am
NOTHING IS PRODUCED????? Wow, that says it all.
September 19th, 2012
11:16 am
@Once Again Cool story, bro.
September 19th, 2012
11:18 am
@Maureen: excellent post.
In our district, most new teachers, who have completed a traditional university education program, arrive adequately prepared to face their first year. The non-traditional teachers are the ones who are the least prepared.
We also do a poor job of helping teachers develop and hone their craft. Staff development is weak or nonexistent. Quality staff development is hard to find and costs money.
This post appeared in the Washington Post last week:
September 19th, 2012
11:20 am
No product? Therefore my work is all for naught? Explain dear sir how you can determine if my pay is way more than I deserve? Are my 4 college degrees useless as well? I concur with 3school kids…you have summed up the issue perfectly.
September 19th, 2012
11:20 am
Based on my punctuation skills, I'll never replace a newspaper reporter.
I just re-read my post and realized I should never try to post on the way to lunch.
September 19th, 2012
11:41 am
THe product is supposed to be n educated teen ager who can impact the world in a positive way.
The realizaton is that the children that are sent to us are the "best kids their parents can send".
that is not to say that the upbringing has a lot to be desired, but ignorance begets ignorance..
when you have to deal with discipline, ignorant parents, missed school days, guns in the school…did ai say ignorant parents…then how do you expect to successfully teach.
I am all for separation of students/schools based on grades and
Students with 2.75 GPA and above attend a school and those with GPAs below that attend another school.
Yuo have to want to learn on order to succeed…..
September 19th, 2012
11:49 am
Cry me a river. Nothing like a storm in a teacup to get the ole juices flowing. Many of these teachers are no more intelligent/educated than those they teach. They massacre the English language, complain, expect more for less then make these noble statements like "I do it for the children" etc.
All bunk and baloney. They do it for a paycheck, benefits and job security.
Let the mollycoddling cease and firing being, IN EARNEST!!
September 19th, 2012
11:52 am
@Maureen, I return to your blog again for one reason. And I quote:
"Georgia is now in a frenzy over a charter school amendment that will do nothing to dramatically alter school transformation. Millions will be spent in the battle, a fair share coming from for-profit education companies that see Georgia a potential new market for their wares.
And the amendment won't do a thing ultimately for the overall performance of students in Georgia. How do I know? Because we have the examples of other states that have gone down this road before us. And they did not find redemption. Not one has seen remarkable improvements by a dramatic expansion of charter schools. As I have noted again and again, the states that are gaining on us are doing so by investing in standards, curriculum and teacher quality."
Herein lies the problem. You again have made very clear your political bias and not speaking in a bi-partisan fashion. We have talked ad nauseum about the fact that you have to give charter schools a bit of time to demonstrate results. The research is premature at best. As an analogy, read Michael Horn's criticism of the Daily News counterproductive attack on the NYC "School of One"
There are no standards in "education journalism," especially with how newspapers conduct research. As an industry, we need to develop some standards herein. My friend Audrey Waters raised this issue in her blog back in April
You claim that the amendment won't solve our education woes. Maybe it will. What we are dealing with is a public education system that has demonstrated time and time again it is incapable of reforming itself. So for that reason, we need to let innovation take place by allowing other public options, and the amendment is necessary because local school board monopolies have not been friendly to charter schools. Examples: Tech High, Ivy Preparatory Academy, Drew Charter, KIPP, etc. The list goes on and on.
Your comment about the charter school amendment has nothing to do with the Chicago teachers strike. I too have read the article above even before you re-published it. Marc Tucker is a very smart guy and I respect his work immensely. The problem with your comments are that teachers unions have shown very little appetite for compromise. And it doesn't help matters when school districts such as Dekalb have a shortage of math teachers! How can a student not be getting math in school??? This is perfect reason to explore the opportunities that digital learning can afford students, but such recommendations are lambasted by the majority of readers on this blog.
We need to get back to basics, and that means getting back to training and preparing great teachers for a world that is vastly different than the one with bricks and mortar. Peter Mayer of EducationNext talked about the fact that in Chicago, "99.7% of Chicago teachers are rated satisfactory while the graduation rate is just 60%, only 20% of eighth-graders are proficient in reading and less than 8% of 11th-graders are college-ready on state tests." I am not saying we need more tests, but as an indicator, they show a failure in educating our children. And it is happening everywhere, even in Georgia.
This week marked the Jewish New Year, and I committed myself to getting back to the American values of "civil discourse." We have forgotten as a society to debate civilly. I acknowledge having made some aggressive posts in the past, but that will not recur.
The Chicago strike indicated one thing: that if all parties cannot collaborate on reform, then we need to look at alternative school designs which will show us the way. That is what the charter school amendment is about. It is not about private vouchers or lambasting teachers unions or taxation without representation. It is about new solutions for Georgia's students. And lets not be afraid to look at other nations that are doing it well, like Singapore: http://asiasociety.org/education/learning-world/how-singapore-developed-high-quality-teacher-workforce
Lets start thinking of our children and ensuring that our teachers are well educated, well trained, well compensated, and fairly evaluated. And lets get back to basics, which means collaboration or die. I choose the former.
September 19th, 2012
11:58 am
Seems that most of the Chicago teachers' demands have everything to do with a quality education for the kids. And these demands have actual, independent research (as opposed to bogus) to stand behind them.
CTU demands:
Smaller class sizes.
More playgrounds, recess time, and physical education classes.
More art, dance, theater, music, and foreign language instruction.
More funding for libraries.
Healthier school lunches.
School nurses
An end to the "apartheid-like" Chicago Public School system today and an end to "discipline policies with a disproportionate harm on students of color."
Guarantee pre-K and full-day kindergarten for all students.
Higher teacher salaries and more teacher autonomy.
Better bilingual and special needs programs.
Higher-quality school facilities.
How many of us have troubled ourselves to learn just what the strike was about? I know I haven't spent enough time learning the facts.
September 19th, 2012
11:58 am
What are we teachers and our professional groups doing to reach out to parents generally and parents of our own students specifically?
September 19th, 2012
12:10 pm
Tucker makes some good points. I would add that many professions have suffered the same fate as teachers; retail clerks used to be paid well and command respect as well.
Comparing the US to Finland, Japan, and Shanghai is problematic considering their homogenous demographics of those countries and the lack of significant immigration.
"It should also be noted that none of the best-performing countries rely as heavily as the U.S. does on the blunt instrument of standardized tests. That is yet another lesson we have failed to learn." — This statement should not be glossed over so quickly. My sister has been a teacher in Cobb schools for 20 years now. She reports the amount of time spent on bureacratic paperwork instead of teaching and planning has gone through the roof. The more govt. involvement esp. at the federal level there is, the less actual teaching will be emphasized in the classroom. Fact.
September 19th, 2012
12:11 pm
We are certainly the most diverse country in the world with people from over one hundred countries right here in Georgia. We are involved in every possible occupation and activity. Yet, we want to teach every student exactly the same things, This cheats the high and the low achiever equally. Some students in the middle do OK. Teachers can only teach what is on the script for the day.
Regardless the teacher's skills, everthing they teach is determined by State Board of Ed. and the Federal Dept of Ed. I have a vision of these people working in a windowless silo with no way to communicate with the outside world. There is no logical way to compare us with Finland or Japan. We still have many winners in our system.
September 19th, 2012
12:19 pm
I agree with Mortimer Collins, I would just add that esteem is earned by a lifetime of hard work and performance. Comparing education majors to physicians is insane, pre-med along is many times as demanding as any education degree, let alone the four years of medical school, and the three plus years of residency. I will not defend the worthless lawyers, I suspect teachers are marginally better than the worthless, parasitic lawyers.
September 19th, 2012
12:32 pm
Solutions said "I suspect teachers are marginally better than the worthless, parasitic lawyers."
That explains most of your posts. Is this all teachers? Should we get rid of all of them?
September 19th, 2012
12:51 pm
Also, if one accepts international tests (as do all who say that the U.S. public education system is broken), then the U.S. scores very well when we control for rates of poverty. Poverty is not an "excuse" for anything. Poverty affects everything from nutrition to access to books to school attendance, and so much more. If the richest country in the world did not have the highest rate of child poverty in all industrialized countries, our scores would shine.
I do, however, like some of the thoughts in the piece–that teachers should be respected as professionals and that unions are important. Well, at least, those are some things I took.
But I don't trust Marc Tucker, who has made his fortune from creating entities that toot his horn and serve the corporate takeover of education. I also wonder why the NYT thinks Joe Nocera, whose entire life and background are in business, profits, financial matters, and the like, should be writing about education. Perhaps both men are symptoms of a deep lack of respect for the profession of teaching.
September 19th, 2012
12:53 pm
I was fortunate to attend schools up North in a small school district with union teachers. My school district consisted of 3 small towns and part of the unicorporated town of a larger town/village. We had only one high school, one middle school and 3-4 elementary schools. This district with the district next door, which is the one everyone in the area (including my Parent's, Aunts and Uncles went to until 1960 when they open my High School) share a Vo-tech school. Those who want to learn a trade go 1/2 a day to the Vo-tech school every afternoon of Jr. and Sr. year. They are fully prepared for a trade career. If they want more trade training they can go on to a 2 year school in the State Univ. System. They have no problem of being accepted.
The communities are all stable and have diverse economic backgrounds. I have one set of Grandparents that moved out from the city in 1934 and bought a part of one of the Estates at a Foreclosure Auction. My father grew up with a Nanny and Cook, his mother drove around as a socialite in her Packard. My mothers immigrant family moved out to work on one of the Estates as a the gardner and the maid. They lived a 1/2 mile from each other. The town had the Fisher Price toys factory, now closed, it is the Corporate Headquarters. It also has an electronic factory. Another town in the district has Moog synthisisers, factors. There are small business, as well as people commute into the city.
The main thing about the union teachers and the small districts. The teachers have always been well compensated. They are able to live a middle class life and live within the community. Sure the tax rate is higher, but then does everybody need to live in a 3,000 to 4,000 sq. ft. house. The answer is no. The square footage of the houses up North are smaller, because the taxes are higher. It also costs alot more to heat alot of unused space. Most of us could live just as easily in 2000 sf. as in 3000 sf. But this area like Texas has become the build more as better.
I would pay more for better pay and benefits for teachers. I would also expect that we start with the District size and reduce it, to small local control districts. No county wide districts. No school board emprires. We must get rid of one side fits all. We must split up classes based on what the students ability is. Target or Tag doesn't do it. The kids in the middle or who just miss Target/tag should not be with the 80 IQ kids. Also, kids shouldn't be stuck in a class with the kid on parole.
There must be higher teacher education school standards. They are way to low in this state. There also must be some sort of oral exam to ensure that teachers can speak proper English. Adminstrators too. Parents should be required to volunteer. Every single free lunch application should be audited. That would solve alot of problems.
If teachers want to be professionals I am all for it. They should be paid as professionals. But please do not complain about extra hours.
Teachers should not have to buy supplies. Some parents also should not be expected to supply the supplies for the school and other children. We all know that only a certain percentage of the students actually bring in the supplies. When my children were at Catholic School they started making the supplies a fundraiser. They had a deal with a supplier that you could pre-order your supplies for about $25 they would be there on the first day in a box for your child, the school would then get free supplies or cash rebate. If you bought by your self it was double of triple this cost to buy these things. It was made clear this was mandatory.
September 19th, 2012
12:54 pm
Maureen, I do think RttT is a nightmare that will cost us far more in dollars (not to mention destruction of schools) than the the grant.
September 19th, 2012
12:57 pm
Teachers should be treated for what they are:
employees – nothing more, nothing less
It's interesting to see how much test scores have improved the past couple of years since:
- Class sizes have gone up a good bit
- Teacher pay/benefits have been cut
- Teachers have more pressure to perform or be cut
Same students, books, school buildings, school buses, parents – just more pressure on the teachers – and test scores have gone up.
September 19th, 2012
1:19 pm
Cindy had it right. All the media focused on was salary. The teachers in Chicago were fighting for a lot more than that. Did you know that 1/3 of the schools in CPS don't have a LIBRARY? I find that astonishing. Yet, the BOE can find millions to send to charter schools that are run by private corporations.
Sunday on Up with Chris Hayes, they had a great discussion about the teachers strike. Google Matt Farmer. He's a parent whose kids go to a high achieving school in CPS, but he understands that ALL students need the same resources at schools his kids have.
September 19th, 2012
1:24 pm
Would we care to do some demographic comparisons between these foreign countries/provinces and Atlanta, GA? Ontario is one of the most marriage/family centric communities in the Western Hemisphere.
From the article, "About 80% of first children born to black women were outside of marriage; 18% of these women were cohabiting. Among Hispanics, 53% of first children were born outside of marriage, and 30% of the women were cohabiting. Among white women, 34% of first children were born outside of marriage, 20% to cohabiters. Among Asians, 13% of first children were born outside of marriage; 7% of women were cohabiting."
I'm not a religious person. Not even close. Too many years of studying history & anthropology can do that to a person. However, I have awesome parents and a wonderful family. I'm 39 years-old and I still benefit greatly from my relationships with my mom & dad. There is just no replacement for the "team-work", "partnership", "support structure", etc. etc, that comes from being in a family. It's a cultural condition that provides tremendous advantages in life.
I watched from the front row for decades as my mom & her fellow teachers marched off into noble battle in public elementary education. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, made a greater impact in the lives of those kids than the level of stability and support in their homes and communities.
Teachers, schools and the public education system in general cannot compensate for the cultural and moral breakdown in so many communities. The achievement gap and the perception of "failing public schools" are never going away. Teachers would be so well served to constantly make that distinction. Just repeat over and over to the media, "There are so many awesome public schools in our country, but we CANNOT be responsible for the breakdown in family and cultural values in some of these communities. We are professional educators, not social workers".
There need to be two distinct worlds in public education. One that pursues the traditional course of academic instruction/achievement and one that focuses on proxy parenting/social skills/life skills/trade skills/etc. I'd be fine with us spending a lot more money on the latter, so long as it exists to keep the atmosphere in the former; cleaner, healthier & more professional. This one size-fits-all approach to public education that we have now is its undoing. Public education should end-run the voucher movement by creating its own voucher system from within the existing system. We are going to end up with this type of model anyway; the only question being who will be in control of it.
September 19th, 2012
1:38 pm
So the salary for the Chicago teachers are 80k now with benefits? So more money equals better students? Technicians are not Teachers? I am glad this blog is for teachers and I know teachers are tax payers but the other taxpayers would never visit this blog often. So what am I doing here? Small newspaper?
September 19th, 2012
1:41 pm
You are only telling half of the Finnish story though. Here is a great article on their system. http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/oecd/finland.html
Check the key facts on the side. It supports everything you say, but also shows the level of professional that is recruited into education in Finland. In addition to the support of the administration (who have to share in the teaching load) and the nearly 97% of the population being Finnish (no transients), the teachers in Finland are required to hold Master's degrees and they are recruited out of the top 10% of their college classes.
By contrast, American primary education majors score among the lowest on our nation's entrance exams. In a recent stud of GRE scores, our Primary Ed Grad Students scored 49, 49, and 46th on the three sections of the GRE in a list of 50 graduate school programs requiring the GRE for entrance.
Why is teaching held in esteem there like Medicine and Law is here? Because specialized skills are more needed for it in Finland.
September 19th, 2012
1:53 pm
@GOLDENRAM: Your 1:24 post is one of the best I've ever seen on this blog. GOOD JOB!
September 19th, 2012
1:56 pm
"Same students, books, school buildings, school buses, parents – just more pressure on the teachers – and test scores have gone up."
We all know how APS achieved their increase.
September 19th, 2012
1:57 pm
Do we Georgians value our teachers and their work enough to volunteer to help them do it?
If not, what must we teachers, practicing AND RETIRED, do to achieve that level of valuation from our fellow Georgians?
September 19th, 2012
1:58 pm
@mountain man: True. We should not broad brush all teachers/school districts as being cheaters like those in Atlanta.
September 19th, 2012
2:02 pm
How do we regard teachers? Well, I know how Mortimer regards teachers:
"Many of these teachers are no more intelligent/educated than those they teach. They massacre the English language, complain, expect more for less then make these noble statements like "I do it for the children" etc. All bunk and baloney. They do it for a paycheck, benefits and job security."
Ahhh…to possess the power to look into one's soul and determine their true motives…must be nice, Morty.
Mort…I'll concede that there are bad teachers, very much like those you describe. And for every one of them, there are 10 teachers busting their butts trying their damnedest, to do their jobs as best they can. But I guess it's easier for you to just to throw it all into the teachers' laps…keeps things black and white, so simpletons like you (and Solutions) can just blame all the shortcomings of public education on "teachers".
Mr. Tucker has presented the evidence and provided a better way forward, and it's not like we haven't seen it before. Finland, Japan, Shanghai and Ontario are showing the way. The problem is that these systems have made progress by lifting teachers up. Don't know about you, but I just don't see that happening here. I suspect there's as much political influence geared toward killing public education as there is trying to improve it.
At least until some enterprising capitalist finds a way to make a buck on it.
BTW…I left teaching and went straight into another job without missing a paycheck (as a matter of fact, I was getting two paychecks throughout that first summer!). Plus I got a pay raise and better benefits, I no longer have to carry my work home, and I get to spend my days with adults. I had forgotten how nice it was to be able to sit down and eat a quiet lunch…without 30 kids at my table. And although I left teaching with the intention of coming back, it's been five years now and I have no desire to return to it…plus, I can't afford a pay cut right now.
September 19th, 2012
2:03 pm
Teachers are basically a public servant. They work for the taxpayer; not the Unions. Their mind focus is on "entitlement". Students are held to accountability through tests. Teachers should have a performance report as any other agency or group for accountability. When taxpayers look at how our State compares to other States on SAT scores, etc. plus how much remedial HS students need to do to be in college; tells a big story. Let's concentrate on the kids outcome and the rest of the problems will take care of themselves.
September 19th, 2012
2:05 pm
"It is not enough that all of these folks made their entire salaries in a marketplace where free choice was prohibited and their wages were stolen from the taxpayers"
I bet you say that to the cops that pull you over too. And what about the firemen and EMT's we all count on? Or the people who pave our roads or pick up our trash? Are they all stealing wages from taxpayers? By your definition, anyone who receives a salary or wages from the taxpayers is stealing.
September 19th, 2012
2:05 pm
We cannot improve education in Georgia until we improve teacher quality. My child's teachers "Do he need a pencil?" and " My principal inform me …." I aksed …..
How did this person ever graduate high school? Does Georgia give black students a "pass" for speaking poorly?
Children learn grammar HEARING it. They learn present and past tense in GRAMMAR school — in kindergarten NOT from a book.
It is absolutely necessary for EVERY teacher in GA to speak English correctly. When we allow uneducated teachers with education degrees to speak to our children six hours a day using poor English, we are making sure our children will be jobless. How one speaks is extremely important. How one writes a resume is extremely important. We don't have room for teachers who AKSes questions.
September 19th, 2012
2:07 pm
If you focus on parenting (not parents specifically) and discipline, I would expect these results. There's no way you can compare the demographics.
September 19th, 2012
2:13 pm
I once went on strike with my school district for six weeks. We went out in mid November after months of good faith bargaining. We went to fact finding. We did arbitration rejected by the Board. We went to binding arbitration which the board attorneys unbound and rejected and finally with no other recourse we struck at the start of a Western Pennsylvania winter. Issues of salary and benefits had been decided and agreed to in the first week of negotiations and were forgotten.
We struck over whether the independent bus company could dictate the school day, class size and the length of class periods. The bus company served several districts and admittedly was interested in making money.
Finally, the county judge had all the union officers and all the board members picked up by the sheriff and unceremoniously dumped in his court with instructions that no one could leave until there was a settlement. The Board brought in the bus company and settled (for that contract) on the side of kids and schools.
I went back to work earning my public teaching salary that qualified me for food stamps and a few years later I would become a university teacher accepting a cut in pay to do so.
September 19th, 2012
2:15 pm
@Ron F.: *shhhh* Those professions are mostly staffed by men, so they're entitled to more respect.
September 19th, 2012
2:20 pm
It may be that those professions do a whole lot less whining on blogs and everywhere they can find someone to listen (than the female dominated teaching "profession" does).
September 19th, 2012
2:36 pm
"Same students, books, school buildings, school buses, parents – just more pressure on the teachers – and test scores have gone up."
I can beat my employees with a 2 x 4 and make them work harder and productivity will go up – temporarily. My employees might put up with it while they have no other choice, but eventually they will get tired of the beatings and find another (better) company to work for.
That is all academic if you don't believe test scores have REALLY gone up.
September 19th, 2012
2:43 pm
Pride: I'm gonna go ahead and call you out on the racist nature of your comment about language. Pronunciation differences abound, especially here in the South. I wouldn't want someone from Boston teaching my child about the word "park" anymore than I want the sing-song of Southern English with its added syllables "cay-ut" for "cat".
It's definitely no worse than the thousands of teachers imported over the last decade by charter schools for whom English is a second language. I'd rather have someone "ax" me a question I can at least understand as English.
September 19th, 2012
2:44 pm
Oh really?
Cops: http://www.realpolice.net/forums/, http://theerant.yuku.com/
Firemen: http://www.firehouse.com/forums/, http://detroitfirefighters.net/
EMTs: http://www.emtlife.com/
There, your plethora of other people complaining about their jobs. Ego, you are wrong.
September 19th, 2012
2:48 pm
"Do we Georgians value our teachers and their work enough to volunteer to help them do it?"
Absolutely…NOT! Ive yet to have a teacher, french fry cook, attorney, volunteer to assist me in my job. The teachers wanted it, now they have it and will continue to belly-ache about all issues.
It doesnt take a village. It takes leaders and thanks to this politially correct society we are quite lacking in that area. That area being leaders with character, morals, conscience etc.
All this positive reinforcement is a recipe for disaster. Look at any union as an example but I guarantee you begin firing/terminating some rear-ends and the other worker-bees will fall in line.
Let the firings continue until employee morale improves.
September 19th, 2012
3:02 pm
You didn't know about those forums until a few minutes ago – did you?
Don't see any general public forums (AJC, etc.) for whiners in those professions – or am I missing something?


text:
What Do These Oil Companies Have in Common?
Austin is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
Oil and gas companies are focusing their efforts on providing the most valuable operations to their investors. While gas prices have risen steadily over the last 6 months, downstream operations are not the most profitable space to control. There is a new trend of oil and gas exploration companies selling or spinning off their downstream, retail operations in an effort to develop their core practice of finding and drilling for oil and gas.
Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES)
Hess Corporation announced last month it plans to sell its retail operations. Chairman and CEO John Hess said the company is "pursuing a multi-year strategy to transform Hess into a focused E&P company." The sale of retail operations is only one track towards this goal.
Hess is also selling a number of its current assets. It plans on selling its Samara-Nafta division in Russia to the Russian oil company Lukoil. If this sale is approved by Russian anti-trust authorities, the proceeds will be $1.8 billion. The company is also selling an interest in an oil field in the North Sea, a shale deposit in Texas, and other positions in offshore oil fields near Azerbaijan. The total proceeds from these sales will be roughly $4 billion. Hess said it will use this to pay down debt and refocus on less risky assets.
The company is carrying $22.3 billion in total liabilities. The company has a decent quick ratio of .85 but its current ratio is right at 1. So, it has an incentive to reduce some of its total debt-load to maintain liquidity for daily operations.
With a new focus, the company expects a compounded annual growth rate for its production to be between 5 and 8% in the next few years. By 2014, the growth rate will likely be in the mid teens. More good news is coming to investors. The company is planning on increasing its dividend payout, as well.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO)
Valero just received approval from its board of directors to spin off the retail business CST Brands, Inc. 80% of outstanding shares will be distributed to Valero share holders at a rate of 1 share for every 9 Valero shares. These shares will be sold and the cash payments will be distributed to investors. The spinoff will occur on May 1.
The company currently owns and leases 1,032 retail gasoline locations in the United States and an additional 848 in Canada. In 2012, the company earned $348 million from its retail operations. That makes it the second most profitable division out of refining, retail and ethanol.
Initially, total income may slip but with the refocus on exploration and production it will quickly recover.
The company is also planning on selling its plants in California. During 2012, the company purchases refining plants in Louisiana and the United Kingdom and will be offloading some of its lesser performing plants.
Previous example
Hess and Valero aren't the first companies to offload business divisions in pursuit of greater efficiency. In June of 2011, Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) spun off its refining and marketing operations to a new company, Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC). This new company new operates 1,460 retail gasoline locations under the brand name Speedway. Since this divestiture, the stock price of Marathon Oil hasn't changed much. But, Marathon Petroleum has seen a stock price increase of 122%. Wall Street analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to continue growing as its refining and retail sales increase. Some analysts even see a price target of $130 per share. This is largely due to its recent acquisition of a refinery from BP fueling future growth. The company also owns 71% of a pipeline company MPLX.
Final thoughts
Selling assets to refocus operations is nothing new for the oil and gas industry. Investors should see Hess' actions as positive measures to ensure future success. Valero is following in the footsteps of a great case study in retail spin offs. Investors should be happy with both of these companies' decisions on how to move forward.
Austin Higgins has no position in any stocks mentioned. He is the Principal Consultant for Avant Venture Group and focuses on building businesses through innovation, growth and investment. Read his company's blog at BuildInvestGrow.com and follow him on Twitter @Austin_Higgins.
The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is this post wrong? Click here. Think you can do better? Join us and write your own!


text:
In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, honey, sesame seeds, and scallion. Add carrot, kale, and tofu. Season with salt.
@ clovia, you can buy baked tofu at a healthfood store, but it's pretty salty. I prefer to drain and freeze mine, then defrost and bake. It makes the tofu firmer
Anyway, great recipe! ThanksReply
Nice and simple. The first time I made this it was a tad too vinegar-y for me, so I only used 1.5 tsp the next time. Surprisingly complex flavor for a dish so easy to make (assuming you've already made your tofu).Reply
so simple, yet so flavorful! The dressing was just right and the baked tofu recipe made the tofu seem hearty and filling. A great way to start the 3rd week and final stretch...Reply


text:
Perfectly positioned opposite the main route into Petra, the Treasury (al-Khazneh in Arabic) was designed to impress, and, two thousand years on, the effect is undiminished. What strikes you first is how well preserved it is; carved deep into the rockface and concealed in a high-walled ellipse of a valley (known as Wadi al-Jarra, "Urn Valley"), it has been protected from wind and rain from day one. The detailing of the capitals and pediments on the forty-by-thirty-metre facade is still crisp. It is normally dated to the first century BC, possibly to the reign of King Aretas III Philhellene ("the Greek-lover"), who brought architects to Petra from the centres of Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean.
The best times to view the Treasury are when the sun strikes it directly, between about 9 and 11am, and late in the afternoon, around 5 or 6pm, when the whole facade is suffused with a reflected reddish-pink glow from the walls all around.
To the left of the facade, a set of stairs comes down into the valley from the Danqur al-Khazneh area. Off to the right, a wall blocks the narrow north end of the Wadi al-Jarra; if you climb over the wall, then double back to scramble up the rocks, you'll reach a small, jutting plateau, with a perfect view from above of the Treasury and the whole bustling plaza in front of it.
The Treasury facade
The carvings on the Treasury facade, though much damaged by iconoclasts, are still discernible and show to what extent Nabatean culture was an amalgam of elements from the Hellenistic and Middle Eastern worlds.
Atop the broken pediments, framing the upper storey, are two large eagles, symbols of the Nabateans' chief male deity, Dushara. In a central position on the rounded tholos below the urn is what's been identified as a representation of Isis, an Egyptian goddess equated with the Nabatean goddess al-Uzza; in the recesses behind are two Winged Victories, although the remaining four figures, all of whom seem to be holding axes aloft, haven't been identified. Two lions, also symbolizing al-Uzza, adorn the entablature between the two storeys. At ground level, the mounted riders are Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus. The parallel marks up the side of the facade, which occur in a couple of other places in Petra, may well have been footholds for the sculptors and masons.
One column is obviously new, a brick-and-plaster replacement for the original, which fell in antiquity. This neatly demonstrates one of the most extraordinary features of Nabatean architecture. A normal building that lost a main support like this would have come crashing down soon after; these Nabatean columns, though, support nothing. Like most of Petra's surviving monuments, the entire Treasury "building" was sculpted in situ, gouged out of the unshaped rock in a kind of reverse architecture.
At the base of the facade, excavations into the four metres of gravel that overlie the original Nabatean road surface revealed that the Treasury was carved above a line of older facades, also probably tombs, which are now viewable through a grille set into the ground.
The Treasury interior
Inside the Treasury doorway – unlike the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Indy finds stone lions and Crusader seals set into the floor – there's only a blank square chamber, with smaller rooms opening off it, the entrance portico flanked by rooms featuring unusual round windows above their doors. Access to the interior is barred, but you can poke your nose in. The function of the Treasury is unknown, but a significant clue is the recessed basin on its threshold with a channel leading outside, clearly for libations or ritual washing. None of Petra's tomb-monuments has this feature, but the High Place of Sacrifice does, suggesting that the Treasury may have been a place of worship, possibly a tomb-temple.
Pharaoh's gold
Pharaoh's gold
The name "Treasury" is not Nabatean, and derives from the local name for such a seemingly inexplicable construction – Khaznet al-Faraoun ("Treasury of the Pharaoh"). Unaware of classical history, and unable to fathom why anyone should carve such a monument, the bedouin tagged it as the work of the pharaoh, lord of black magic. In pursuit of the Israelites after the Exodus (the legend goes), the pharaoh was slowed down by having to carry all his treasure, so he created the Treasury and deposited his riches in the urn at the very top of the facade, out of human reach. For centuries after Petra's abandonment, bedouin marksmen tried to shatter the urn, and so release the treasure, but to no avail: their only success was in blasting chunks off the solid urn.


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Viewing entries tagged with 'international'
International Federation praises 2013 World Cup progress
THE Rugby League International Federation this week expressed their excitement at the progress being made by the RFL in preparation for the England and Wales Rugby League World Cup in 2013.
Friday Footy Wrap
ANOTHER big week in footy news, here's what you missed... (includes teams for Sunday mornings' Four Nations double header!)
Weekend NRL Wrap
WE take a quick look at the news from the NRL and rugby league over the last few days...
V for Vic Arious
VIC address the state of the nation...
V for Vic Arious
VIC taste tests rugby league's international delicacies...
Bill Tupou added to Kiwis squad
WINGER Bill Tupou has become the latest Vodafone Warriors NRL grand finalist to be chosen for the Kiwis' end-of-season tour incorporating Sunday's one-off Test against Australia and the 2011 Four Nations.
Honours shared: NZ 1 Australia 1
A clean sweep proved elusive for the NZ Residents 18s when they played their second match against the Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League (ASSRL) team this afternoon at Bruce Pulman Park.
Australian lineup for October 16 test
THE Australian Rugby League has today selected the following players for the Test against New Zealand at Ausgrid Stadium, Newcastle, on Sunday, October 16, starting at 4pm...
Junior Kangaroos squad named
ELEVEN players with NRL experience have been named to represent the ARL Junior Kangaroos for their upcoming international against the New Zealand Junior Kiwis on Sunday, October 16, at Ausgrid Stadium, Newcastle.
Junior Kiwis dominated by Warriors and Cowboys
NYC grand finalists the Vodafone Junior Warriors and North Queensland supply all but five of the Junior Kiwis' 18-man squad for their one-off international against the Junior Kangaroos at Ausgrid Stadium in Newcastle on October 16.
V for Vic Arious
VIC casts his eye over the upcoming Internationals...
2011 Youth Development Cup
TEN teams representing the cultural diversity which exists in Rugby League will take part in the annual
Kiwis forced to call off Cook Islands test
NEW Zealand Rugby League chief executive Jim Doyle today announced the national body had reluctantly decided to call off next week's Test against the Cooks Islands in Rarotonga.
International Origin Review - Exiles edge out England
A late try saw Exiles edge out England in the inaugural International Origin match.
Team Canada announce training squad
THE thirty man Canada Wolverine's squad has been named for upcoming 2011 internationals against Jamaica, USA and South Africa


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REST API for getting data
Hi, I am researching the possibility of using CouchBase for a project. If our payloads are exclusively JSON documents, it would be nice if we have direct access to CouchDB's HTTP document APIs to get to the data. From the CouchBase document, it seems to indicate that data operations should be done via the memcached binary protocol just like Membase. Is there a way to use REST APIs akin to CouchDB's to access the documents in CouchBase?
2 Answers
At the moment there is not, Couchbase Server 2.0 uses the memcached protocol for accessing data. We chose this for easy compatibility with our existing Membase users and also for the much higher performance that it can provide over the HTTP protocol.
If performance and scalability are not very much concern to you right now, I would recommend using the Couchbase "Single" product which exclusively uses the CouchDB HTTP interface.
The plan is to support the full HTTP protocol (as well as the memcached one) with our 3.0 product.
Thanks Perry for the quick response, do you know what that time frame will be (not holding you guys to it - not even expecting any specific feature, but just want to get a general sense if the cadence if there is one). I would love to see more details when the HTTP support is on the roadmap and how it might be done.
From looking at CouchDB, it seems to support horizontal scalability through replication (full or partial) but membase actually distributes data among the clusters. So it does not seem trivial to me to support the range of CouchDb HTTP APIs across the membase like cluster (maybe through map reduce?) Anyways, thinking out loud here but you guys are doing some exciting things. :) Let me know if you can give me a ballpark of when I *might* be looking for the HTTP protocol support. This will help with my discussion with folks on my team.
The work around the REST API at the top of Couchbase has started you can look at the design document here:


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LOCKHEED MARTIN Corp(NYSE: LMT)
176.34 -2.65 -1.48%
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|Lockheed Martin Corp
|Aerospace & Defense
|Lockheed Martin Corp was formed in 1995 by combining the businesses of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta Corporation. It is a Maryland corporation. It is a security company that is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems and products. It also provides a range of management, engineering, technical, scientific, logistic, and information services. The Company serves both domestic and international customers with products and services that have defense, civil, and commercial applications, with its principal customers being agencies of the U.S. Government. The Company operates in four principal business segments: Aeronautics, Electronic Systems, Information Systems & Global Services and Space Systems. Aeronautics is engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, sustainment, support, and upgrade of advanced military aircraft, including combat and air mobility aircraft, unmanned air vehicles, and related technologies. The Company's Electronic Systems segment manages complex programs and designs, develops, and integrates hardware and software solutions to ensure the mission readiness of armed forces and government agencies worldwide. Major lines of business include: air and missile defense; tactical missiles; weapon fire control systems; surface ship and submarine combat systems, anti-submarine and undersea warfare systems; land, sea-based, and airborne radars; surveillance and reconnaissance systems; simulation and training systems; and integrated logistics and sustainment services. The Company's Information Systems & Global Services (IS&GS) segment provides federal services, Information Technology (IT) solutions, and advanced technology expertise across a broad spectrum of applications and customers. IS&GS provides full life-cycle support and highly specialized talent in the areas of software and systems engineering, including capabilities in space, air, and ground systems, and also provides logistics, mission operation support, peacekeeping, and nation-building services for a variety of defense and civil government agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Space Systems is engaged in the design, research and development, engineering, and production of satellites, strategic and defensive missile systems, and space transportation systems, including activities related to the Space Shuttle and its planned replacement. The Company businesses are heavily regulated in most of its fields of endeavor. The Company deals with numerous U.S. Government agencies and entities, including all of the branches of the U.S. military, NASA, the U.S. Postal Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Departments of Defense, Energy, Justice, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, and Transportation. Similar government authorities exist in other countries and regulate its international efforts.
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Series aims to prepare entrepreneurs
The 2013 Advantages series aims to help people plan to be a successful entrepreneurs.
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43 U.S. Code § 2304 - Disposal of public land
(a) In general
The Secretary shall establish a program, using funds made available under section 2305 of this title, to complete appraisals and satisfy other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal under approved land use plans (as in effect on July 25, 2000) under section 1712 of this title.
(b) Sale of public land
(1) In general
(c) Report in Public Land Statistics
The Secretary shall provide in the annual publication of Public Land Statistics, a report of activities under this section.
Source(Pub. L. 106–248, title II, § 205,July 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 615; Pub. L. 111–212, title III, § 3007(a),July 29, 2010, 124 Stat. 2339.)
2010—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 111–212substituted "11 years" for "10 years".
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The most recent Classification Table update that we have noticed was Tuesday, August 13, 2013
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