@hypocritebuster: When former deniers change their minds, ignore them. You live in a world of ideology, not reality. I'd pity the deniers their ignorance/stupidity but they're putting my grandkids future in dire peril.

Maybe you should contact the White House and complain about runaway spending and a deficit nearing $17 trillion dollars. that is muchmore likely to bring down our country than global warming.

@hypocritebuster: Did you check on the political affiliation of that tornado? NOAA has nothing to do with global warming. Besides, the outbreak of tornadoes in the Midwest in 1975 was blamed on global cooling and the coming ice age. British scientists are concerned because there hasn't been the predicted levels of global warming since 1998, Their doomsday models are only about 20 % accurate. They are unable to explain why the warming they predicted isn't manifesting itself. If they don't know, they don't know, and Al Gore keeps banking his money.

@Chombito: The rash of tornadoes that hit the Midwest in 1975 were blamed on the upcoming global cooling. Time magazine had a big article on the pending ice age. Al Gore is not correct about anything except his bank accounts. The possibility of tornadoes exist throughout the summer in the midsection of our nation. It's unfortunate that Moore, OK was in the way of this monster. Pray for the victims.

@E.J.: I think that it is entirely possible to develop an individualized education plan for each student. Teachers typically have homerooms and they could be responsible for establishing an individualized plan for each student. It would take an extra effort, but administration could dump all the data analysis meetings and find the extra time for teachers to develop such plans. At the middle school level it would be extra effective if the teacher could loop with their homeroom students for all three years. That way, the same teacher would be responsible for the same group of students and planning for each one would be much more thoughtful. Additionally, parent contact would definitely be better because the parents could get to know one teacher really well.

@grove600: You are correct. Tests, such as the CRCT or the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills are intended to provided teachers and parents a report on how the student is progressing. They are used to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses so the teacher can focus on providing more instruction in those areas. They were never intended to measure school progress. A borderline student can pass one year and fail the next because he answered one question correctly or incorrectly. So if this is the year he guesses correctly, I am automatically a good teacher because he passed under my watch. The teacher whose watch he was previously under when he failed was not as good. Emphasis from administrators is to get those students who were borderline to pass and so everything is geared toward making sure the students understand the terms of the standards and understand the styles of the questions. We are teaching test-taking skills and not necessarily knowledge. The tests are too easy and the students are given too much time to take them. We give them too much time to answer a 30 question multiple choice test. We have to make sure the students are rested and have snacks to help them keep up their energy and maintain their focus. Where in our daily existence do we have the opportunity to answer multiple choice questions when making decisions about our lives?

@E.J.: Cameras would be a good tool to have in the classroom. Schools already have them in the halls so it shouldn't be difficult to install them into the classrooms. As a former special education teacher I sometimes recorded student behavior and played the tapes back to the parents when I wanted to get their help. Students who saw their behavior played back as well often responded in a positive nature and actually tried to change. Cameras are also effective tools for teachers to use in a self-evaluation of their performances in the room. Teachers and administrators could sit down together and discuss positive and negative issues and the evaluation could be more useful instead of the carbon-copy type handout now given out. Any evaluation form has general terminology and the tapes would allow for specifics to be discussed in the context they happened.
Relying upon student performance is bogus because the scores judge this year's class against last year's class. Individual performance can't really be evaluated because the stimuli change each year. There is no control group. If the students remained in the same groups, kept the same teachers, and advanced from year to year, then maybe their progress this year could be compared to their performances last year.

Even the fired head of the IRS didn't know anything or couldn't recall details. He took his cue from Holder and the Deflector-in-Chief, BHO.

@avenger: Here is one of the sources for abortion facts in the US.

http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/

@Shalmaneser: Lying under oath--PERJURY. Lying in general--CHARACTER FLAW. See the difference?

@avenger: The states with higher gun violence tend to have much less stringent gun laws than other states with less violence like New Jersey, Connecticut and Hawaii. For instance, none of the states with the highest gun violence require permits for handgun purchases. In the 10 states with the lowest gun violence, seven have this requirement, including all six states with the lowest levels of gun violence. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave seven of the 10 states an F for their gun control policies, with the remaining three receiving a D or D–.

Your concern over gun violence is commendable but you are aware, aren't you, that nearly four of every ten pregnancies in the US end up being aborted? Why aren't you concerned about that loss of life as well? By the way, 17 of the top twenty states with gun violence have the most restrictive gun laws and are run by Democrats. See the latest DOJ statistics.

@cyou299: “No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.”

He's not calling the Benghazi attack an act of terrorism. He's not even referring to Benghazi in the quote above. It is a general statement on acts of terror, something that Obama is good at, making general statements without any specifics. "Hope, Change." General or specific?

"Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House national security council .....also noted that President George W. Bush used the phrase “act of terror” while visiting victims of the Sept. 11 attacks in the hospital, and critics such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) have used that phrasing as well in speaking about terrorist attacks. (She provided citations.) "

This is in context because Bush is visiting actual victims of an act of terror.

@Abc: The real problem was security at the OUTPOST. This was not an embassy but an outpost and the security increases asked for were REFUSED by the GOP. In the end Ambassador Stevens died because of the republicans refusal to increase security and staff for overseas mission...the violence was triggered by a few events...whether it be the video, unrest in many other areas spilling over to there and an act of terrorism by a gang of extremists...it makes no difference it still came down to lack of security...which Amb Stevens was responsible for

Bogus argument. The sequester didn't occur until after Benghazi. By the way, the sequester was Obama's idea.

@Shalmaneser: Whether he was carrying on an affair with an intern. Do we give a damn whether he's diddling the staff? Not a bit- sounds like a personal problem for him and Hillary. Who asked such a silly question? Republicans. Well shame on them...

Then what's all the noise about sexual harassment in the military? According to you, it sounds like a personal problem. Who asked such silly questions? Women. Well shame on them.

@Millionexus: You obviously haven't read the book on the Fair Tax. Your references so indicate. Try reading it and you may have a better idea. Workers would get to keep 100 % of what they earn. There is also a pre-bate to offset basic needs (food, energy, etc.) that goes to everyone for the first $18,000 K. the 23 % tax rate would be applied to everything you buy in excess. The user pays the taxes. We really haven't had anyone pushing it yet because we have a tax code that is 72,000 pages long.

@mpd0.59: Ok, show me evidence of the Treasury Department giving orders to the IRS director to have his agency specifically target conservative organizations seeking 501(c)(4) status.

OK, show me evidence that it didn't. The Treasury Department Secretary is his boss. It is as valid for me to point out that fact as it was for you to point out that the head of the IRS was a Bush appointee. When will Obama quit making excuses for his inability to take responsibility for anything? He leads the largest free nation in the world and yet he has to get his news from the TV like everyone else? Doesn't the White House have cable? If he would stick around and try his hand at governing instead of continually being on the road partying with his elites, he might actually learn something. Obama is a slippery character who never answers a question directly. Listen to him talk sometime.

@mpd0.59: Bush appointee or not, he was still taking orders from the Treasury Department, a cabinet level position of an Obama appointee. If Bush's appointee wasn't as corrupt as Obama, he could have always resigned. Otherwise, I guess you could say he played ball with the current POTUS. Firing a guy who was leaving in a couple of weeks anyway is a real display of leadership. Minimal at best, but what else can we expect from a man who touts the most transparent administration in American history?

@Millionexus: I doubt that you know anything about the fair tax other than your Democratic talking point. You would be taxed for what you use. What could be fairer?

@Ben Had: 13,000 people die in this country from gun violence, and we're supposed to focus on the economy.

Five times that number are aborted each year by Planned Parenthood. Where are your priorities? "God bless Planned Parenthood." (Barack Obama) "God damn the America, its chickens have come home to roost." (Rev. Wright)

@THX1138: You two right wingers are aware that Obama doesn't control the IRS aren't you?

Neither did Nixon, but he had the IRS audit his enemies anyway. By the way, what was Obama's call in hotline for when he asked citizens to report anyone speaking out against Obama care?

@cilanti: I don't think we will find many locals who will be pleased to do yardwork

I know several and none of them are Hispanic. I can talk to them and let them know exactly what I want done and not have to worry about getting my rose bush in the front yard whacked.

@Normaltown: No group is safe. Individuals with their own agenda at any government level can reach out to your non-profit group.

With this kind of policy, I can't wait to see how they handle Obama care collections and enforcement. I hope the investigation is thorough and complete before we give them any other responsibilities. Some of the questions they asked were beyond the pale. Brings to mind McCarthy types of questions and thought police. Not very comforting.

Stop funding Planned Parenthood with Federal dollars. Abortion is the number one reason for their existence. Why not consider adoption? There are plenty of people out there looking for children. It could be a way for gay couples to have a family. Win, win for everybody, especially the newborn, the truly innocent victim of abortion.

Obongo Malik Obama received tax-exempt status for his Barack H. Obama foundation located in Kenya from the IRS in less than a month during the same period of time. The real kicker though is that he also received legal status for his group retroactive for the previous two years because he had been collecting contributions illegally. By the way, his organization claims to use the money for building a madras and a home for an imam in KENYA. Obongo is Barack's half brother and was the best man at his wedding.

The agency started targeting groups with "Tea Party," ''Patriots" or "9/12 Project" in their applications for tax exempt status in March 2010, the inspector general's report said. By August 2010, it was part of the written criteria used to flag groups for additional scrutiny.

This was when the ACA was passed and signed into law. Coincidence? I don't think so.

The House is voting again to repeal Obama care this week. I can't blame them seeing that the IRS, the principal enforcing agent, has become politicized by the Obama administration. Since Obama care was passed, heath insurance premiums have risen dramatically and are predicted to rise from between 110 to 400 percent over the next two years. After all is said and done, there will still be 30 million Americans not covered by health insurance. Obama cares about only three things: 1) eliminate his opposition by using Chicago-style politics; 2) spend money the US doesn't have; and 3) hang out with the elites and raise money for his parties (Democrat and social functions).

Gun control is dead in the water as it is not a foremost concern of the majority of Americans. It's the economy, stupid, and his limp along "recovery" just isn't cutting it. Immigration reform has a long ways to go and there will be no path to citizenship for those who are here illegally. They broke the law to get here and they don't deserve to be called citizens.

I guess Obama will think twice before he asks God to bless Planned Parenthood. I hope he doesn't lose too much sleep over the definition of "if." Remember, Bill argued about the definition of "is."