Tuesday Debacle

Okay, I don't know how to describe the events of today.

My best advice, grab a cup of coffee and click here. Be sure to click on 6/23/2009 at 12:59 pm. Get ready to commit to 30-45 minutes of the smackdown on the House floor over this bill. It got tense, especially when the one representative specifically mentioned the teacher's union, only to be objected to for "impuning testimony". Listen to him take issue with that, "they are listed at the top of the bill!"

Highlights as I listened:

Sara Gelser carried this bill, and has done nothing but canoodled and politicked for this bill. Yes, the bill she presented on the floor today is drastically watered down and we can be happy for that. BUT! And all of us say this, but! Will she make good on her promise that the bill will go back to the Senate committee with the changes? She promised up and down. Turns out not.

Check out this blog. This is Rob Kremer's blog, who is one of our lobbyists. Turns out the bill which she vehemently promised on record in the House of Representatives of our fine state, is NOT the bill handed over to the Senate.

Are you barfing yet?

So the concessions while it didn't kill the bill, certainly put into place things that we could live with. Things like my youngest son could attend ORCA while this two year "time out" takes place. Not so, as promised

Now, after listening to this, do you feel as I have felt all along?

You can hear well articulated, thought out, proven facts about online virtual schooling. Every argument (about 6-8 of them) presented well.

The three or so in the pro position (one of them my idiotic representative, Michael Dembrow) can easily have holes poked in them. His whole argument that he represents and teaches at our local community college, which is a cutting edge college in online education. I do agree, it is. Yet he is having problems getting materials to his online students. We are comparing apples to chicken wings! ORCA's, as well as the other virtual schools already have a tested infrastructure. We have a tech support number to call to help us. If he would pick up his phone at his desk and call his community college's tech support, he might be in business. More than anything, his ineptness showed how he is in that generation that isn't electronic. So why should we all have to pay for his inability to post his syllabus?

Same for the two other folks who posted "pro" arguments. So it was 6-8 well positioned and argued statements against three. They were compelling. It would make anyone listening think, "Well of course, this is a silly bill. Vote no."

And yet, it passed.

My husband watched it at work, and barged through the door with shards flying out of his eyes. There is no other tactful way to say it.....he is now officially pissed off.

I have been saying it all along, how can you listen to that much reason and pass this bill?

Hmmm....must be something fishy going on.

I have huge hope in that Rob Kremer's promise to force Sara (the anti-christ) Gelser to keep her promise on the enrollment conditions. That distinction makes a huge difference for families for the next two years.

A long drawn out two years, wondering if this legislation stacked task force will have a majority of votes that have had their campaigns bankrolled by unions. It's a concern.

And this legislation session ends Friday. We can hope for a long shot that it just lingers in these dumb committees and we all go home. Ha! I know a lot of Dems are looking for a way for this bill to die without having the union cut their campaign funding.

Yucky!



Here is one of our best advocates, Representative Matt Wingard, who is a Republican for the House. These are his closing arguments, and he sums up the whole charade very well.


As things arrive on youtube, I can add more. This is Kim Thatcher's testimony several minutes before Matt's conclusion show above, from the House floor smackdown this last Tuesday. You are also seeing Sara Gelser, she is the one with the dark hair and incredibly busy dress, that Kim addresses at the beginning. Sara is in the pockets of the unions and cahoots with the Dems.