Already more people have signed up to march Friday than showed up
at the Chamber’s event last night.
Here are
some flyers.
There’s an Occupy Valdosta organizational meeting tonight;
more in the blog after that.
The traditional media are starting to flock around, as well.
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The Chamber’s Meet the Candidates Reception provides an opportunity for Chamber members to meet and hear from candidates running in the Nov. 8 general election. All Chamber members and guests are invited to attend this event at the Rainwater Conference Center. There is no cost to Chamber members to attend.Here’s the link to RSVP or if you need directions.
Here’s a list of who qualifed to run. As you can see, most local incumbents are running unopposed. Maybe they’ll show up anyway, and there are at least a few contested positions (Valdosta Mayor and Council At Large, Hahira Council 3, Dasher Post 3, and Lake Park Council At Large. This being an odd year, there are no county-wide posts up for election, but the municipal elections affect everyone around here, even people like me who do not live in any of the cities. Whether at this event or elsewhere, you may want to ask the candidates their platforms and positions on local issues.
Usually there’s also an AAUW Lowndes County Political Forum; I don’t know what’s up with that this year. Usually it’s immediately after the Chamber thing, and the AAUW Forum is open to all.
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What’s the Shock Doctrine?
It’s been around for a long time, but Naomi Klein researched it for
her book of the same name. It’s
“the rapid-fire corporate reengineering of societies still reeling from shock”She was writing mostly about wars, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters. Locally here we haven’t had any of those. But we may be about to create a disaster, a shock, at the ballot box in November, if voters fall for the school “unification” snake oil.
What’s the next step after CUEE has accidentally revealed that Continue reading
But he doesn’t. Because that theory and those ideas did not hold up.The whole idea was could it help us with economic development in our community. At the same time could we increase student achievement. And could we save the taxpayers money.
Well, I’m here to tell you tonight that I was one of the board members… that if that theory and those ideas had held up after research and study, I would be supporting this idea.
He might have settled for something less than that: Continue reading
Dan Davis suggested letting professional educators deal with education
and let the Chamber attend cocktail parties.
That got a big round of applause.
First he established his credentials in business and education: 20 year veteran of CPIE and of the Chamber of Commerce; has businesses in many countries, but chooses to live here. Having seen the world and many educational systems, he thinks:
This consolidation is really a bad issue; very very bad.He thinks consolidation proponents are
very misinformed and very misguided.He invited CUEE and Chamber members to join him and Jerome Tucker in Community Partners in Education (CPIE).
Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading
He elaborated:You looking for people who look like you or are you looking for people to do a job?
If you pay enough, I’ll find you people to work. That’s a lie: you can’t find people to work in a business. That’s a lie.He talked about his experience with other schools and the local schools. About business development:
I use the school systems.He concluded:
If you live outside the city limits, call somebody in the city limits, and please, please vote no.
[Applause]
Here’s the video:
People who look like you or people to do a job? —Jerome Tucker @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011
Why we oppose consolidation,
Community Forum, Lowndes County Board of Education (LCBOE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
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He pointed out what most children want: Continue readingThree weeks ago, at JL Lomax, I had lunch at Southeast Elementary Community Partners in Education. I didn’t see a Chamber […] person there; I didn’t see a CUEE member there. How in the world are you going to know what’s going on in school if you don’t go in?
[Applause]
Then he established his personal credentials, stated the truth as he knows it, and issue a challenge.You told me not to cheerlead, but I’ve got the mic in my hand.
I don’t have the right to vote, but I’m encouraging everybody to vote no. I have friends in the city. Call them; tell them to vote no.
[Applause.]
This is too important an issue in our community not to lead a cheer.
First he bragged on the local school systems:
Somebody’s supposed to be about business thinks we don’t have what it takes to compete; somebody make a statement, and I’m an old country boy. My granny told me things that are said are the truth or a lie. The things I say … this afternoon are what I’ve experienced.That’s what I call a primary source. He discussed other places that brag on our school systems, then:
I challenge anybody to have been as involved as consistently and as long as I have in business and community development in and around Valdosta and Lowndes County. I’ve served as chairman of the Industrial Authority. I’ve served as chairman of the Tourism Authority. I’ve served as chairman of the Valdosta Technical Board of Education. I’ve been on the superintendent’s council of schools. A member of CPIE since its inception. I challenge anyone….What’s the challenge? Continue reading
Also in Galloway’s AJC column yesterday, Gary Black and the shifting debate over illegal immigration, Black won’t back off HB 87, but admits it’s the source of the problem:“One of the discussions we have to have is, do we want to have our food produced here or somewhere else? I don’t think Wal-Mart is going to cease to carry cucumbers. I think they’re going to get them somewhere,”
The state agriculture commissioner is walking a fine line. “Let me be clear. My position from a standpoint of amnesty and pathways to citizenship has not changed one iota,” he said.Black seems to have organized some interesting timing of a report release by his department: Continue readingNor has Black renounced HB 87. Rather, state efforts to enforce federal immigration laws — blocked as a consequence of lawsuits — have contributed to “a sea change” in Washington’s attitude, he said.
“Without HB 87 and some of the other proposals, I don’t know that we’d be having this discussion about changing the guest-worker program,” Black said.
Sherry Wheat (Hannah Solar), Sharon Jackson (South GA Solar Power), Ron Jackson (Production Community Services), Bill Branham (21st Century Telecom), ?, Dr. Dennis Marks (Chair), Matt Jansen (Boys and Girls Club), John S. Quarterman (Okra Paradise Farms), ReKasa Deen (VLCoC Opportunity Central)
picture by Myrna Ballard (VLCoC President) for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange
Sherry Wheat of Hannah Solar drove down from Atlanta to help me announce that Okra Paradise Farms got the USDA REAP grant we applied for, to add about 52 solar panels to our farm workshop. Hannah Solar helped us submit the paperwork in 3 days. More on that as it transpires.
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