Flapjacks and Flip-Flops..The Messiah Barack Obama is in St. Paul

Sorry for the Messiah title given to Senator Obama by other media figures, but his candidacy reminds me more of movement rather than a campaign. Doesn’t mean that a movement is a bad thing. The flapjacks reference is credited to the fact that he had pancakes at his breakfast fundraiser. I promise to make equal fun of Senator “Straighten up and talk” when he comes to town. The flip-flops reference is to the “all not so mighty’s” changing positions on issues such as oil drilling.
The Minneapolis Shadow focuses the subject matter regarding the Presidential race on areas as they relate to city policy and areas of concern on a local level. The fact that the presumptive Democrat nominate for President has presented us with his grace (or is that grace us with his presents) it gives me an opportunity to fire my first salvo in this war for the big chair.
One aspect that a city must focus on as a key livability factor is education. Looking at the two main presumptive candidates there are a number of differences that are key.

McCain talks about reform, innovate, responsibility, accountability and parental choice. These areas all are critical to fixing education mess that cities such as Minneapolis find themselves in.

Obama talks about overall increased funding, increased programs, providing daycare, and school and community partnerships. We have done all these things for years and have produced little results. He does talk about mentoring, tutoring, and extended learning time which I agree is critical to improving education.

I look forward to hearing more from these two on this issue as the season really heats up. Right now I think Senator McCain has the better plan.

The results are in ….more bad test scores

After reading this article all I have to say is that it takes more than “hope” and “luck” to fix these problems. Maybe that is the problem! All that MPS is doing is clinging to the hope they get lucky and the problem goes away, because they sure aren’t doing what it takes to fix it.
http://www.startribune.com/local/23928854.html?page=1&c=y

Minneapolis one of the best places to build net worth…more Hogwash

Surveys such as this from Salary.com in an article from the StarTribune http://www.startribune.com/local/24034604.html?location_refer=Minneapolis:highlightModules:5 can be very deceiving. Given the fact that we are one of the highest taxed areas in the nation, the education results in Minneapolis are horrible, and the sprawl of the Twin Cities area; the conclusion can be drawn away from these survey results. Need I say more!

Minneapolis Public Schools..Complete and Utter Failure

All you need to do is look at the test results from the StarTribune at ww2.startribune.com/dynamic/no_child/district.php?dst=metpu. Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Richfield are the lowest in the entire state. Shameful! No plans to improve, no public announcement of responsibility, and there should be no more excuses. It is time for someone, or a group of someones, to take decisive action to improve upon these issues. A complete overhaul is in order at all levels of government on the issue of education. When the government you elect no longer serves the public’s interest, it is time for new representation. Ignoring the education crisis, especially in the cities, is irresponsible and it’s past time for change.