Online headline: "Obama accused of handing out 'amnesty' cash * Republicans lashed out at the president Friday claiming his latest executive actions allow immigrants to get tax credits from the IRS. * Way some can get up to $24,000" -- Excuse me, buy will someone explain to me how giving $24,000.00 to an illegal alien..with or without "amnesty" .. who will send it back to parts unknown will help the American economy? At this point, I'd even like to hear mainstream media explain with made-up "facts".

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HuffPOOPOO story: "Democratic senators unveiled legislation Friday night to repeal the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, a sweeping 9/11-era war authorization that never expired and that President Barack Obama is now using to justify the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State. * Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the bill. It would terminate the 2001 AUMF in three years and clarify that Congress "never intended and did not authorize a perpetual war" by passing that authorization." -- Good grief.. Senator Cardin was "there" when HEBDObama was elected and both houses had majorities of Democrats, and he waits until now to introduce anything?

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About claims for "jobs created".. under the OObamaCRAP rules, shouldn't 'jobs created" only be counted if they are at least 30 hours a week?

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Online story: "Students at vaunted Cornell University are plenty smart enough to know they should not have to pay a penalty for not buying the school's health insurance if they already have coverage, but that's exactly what a new policy at the Ivy League school requires." -- Well.. it is nice to know that all students aren't completely brainwashed... of course,, most of their parents are footing their healthcare AND paying the school's healthcare fee...

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Online headline: "Little League team stripped of title turns to Jesse Jackson to cry racism" -- Good grief.. why not.. Jackson probably "fathered" some of them...

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You know, this paper has given light to Michelle Obama's efforts to revamp school lunch menus, but why has the L-E been silent on the MCSD Board/System trying to force feed us " mystery meat" in the SPLOST issue?

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L-E headline: "CRACKS IN THE WALL * Built in 1978 on ‘plastic soil,’ Spencer High School tops the list of SPLOST projects with a proposed $56 million replacement building" -- You know.. my home gets' cracks in the wall"... it's caused by settling, and it's correctable , especially if you get to it promptly. And what is with the school system's love affair with "plastic soil"? All the spoil in Columbus is either "plastic soil" or granite. "Plastic soil" is basically clay combined with varying moisture content. You'd think that the MCSD was nominating "plastic soil" as a new scientific discovery, and trying to "coin it" for inclusion in the 2016 Webster's Dictionary. Hey, Maintenance... "Just Do It"!

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From above L-E story: "WHAT IS A SPLOST? * A Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for education is known as a SPLOST or ESPLOST. The money collected can be used for only capital projects, such as: school construction, addition or renovation; technology; new buses; furniture, fixtures and equipment. SPLOST money can't be used for: day-to-day operating expenses; salaries and other personnel expenses; to offset a budget shortage; books and curriculum."-- Hey, L-E.. you left part of the definition out (by choice, perhaps?) Here is the whole GA regulation: "A special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) is a financing method for funding capital outlay projects in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is an optional 1% sales tax levied by any county for the purpose of funding the building of parks, schools, roads, and other public facilities.[1] The revenue generated cannot be used towards operating expenses or most maintenance projects.[2]" -- "The revenue generated cannot be used towards operating expenses or most maintenance projects.[" Get that...?

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Oh... here's another GA regulation for SPLOSTs that has not been complied with:

"Each SPLOST must define the projects on which the money is to be used, hence the designation of a "special purpose" tax."

$34 Million here, $28 Million there. "here a tax-there a tax- everywhere another tax" does not cover it...

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Copy of "Letter to the Editor" sent to the Columbus L-E:

First, I am not against having better schools.. not even against SPLOST taxes being used to attain better schools/education, but I am against waste, and this current SPLOST proposal is full of such.

Recent information provided by the MCSD shows that there are 127 "empty" classrooms within the school system..51 in Elementary, 55 in Middle School, and 21 in High School. That's enough for 4-to-6 schools.

Instead of building even another school, why doesn't the school system try something to save money such as some school realignments; change configurations to: Elementary K-6th grades, Middle 7th-9th grades, and High 10th - 12th.

By doing so, we need no new Spencer, and at least 4 complete schools can be closed altogether which would save millions of dollars on Principals/vice-principals/guidance and non-teaching support job salaries/benefits, and, in addition, this would consolidate school busing which would save costs of drivers/maintenance/fuel, PLUS.. generate millions of additional state funds for schools that don't have the state minimum enrollments. These savings and increased revenues would continue on EVERY year in the future and would also eliminate a ton of SPLOST related projects from being "needed".

One other note is that high schools with full magnet programs could be an exception and have 9th graders admitted since these programs have their own requirements of students maintaining certain grade achievement and have 4 year curriculums.

Let's stop this madness. Don't just vote "no" on the proposed SPLOST... vote "no confidence" that the proposed one will help. If we "beat" this one, saner heads can put another one on the table next year that will give more time to evaluate the real needs of the school system,. and allow better communication with the voters. A SPLOST for education should not be a confrontation of what the school system wants and what taxpayers/parents want.

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L-E story: " In the 1920s, black students attended a school on Fifth Avenue that went only to the ninth grade. Leading black residents then renewed longstanding requests for a black high school, so families would not have to send their children out of town to finish their education. * The board finally relented and a bond referendum to build the new school passed in 1929. * It was built on 13 acres off 10th Avenue at Eighth Street. Named for Spencer, it opened Oct. 1, 1930. * Though classes in chemistry and physics were offered, the courses mostly were vocational. Brick masonry, auto mechanics, carpentry and plumbing for boys. Laundry, cooking and sewing for girls. The prevailing attitude among whites was that black students should be trained as workers, not prepared for college. * Superintendent Roland Daniel wrote, “It is my opinion that we should give little attention at this time to the preparation of pupils for college. Only a small percentage will attend.” -- Good grief.. Roland Daniel's comment applied to every student of every color at that time.. very few went to college... and high schools prepared students better than today to go out in the world prepared to work and be an integral part of society...

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From same L-E story above: "During a 2005 Columbus State University oral history project, 1963 graduate Nicholas Scott noted how adults drove students to succeed. * “You know, when we were young we were taught that education was the only way out, and you’d have to go get it. The parents pushed it; the community pushed it. … The churches were very involved; the parents were very involved. There used to be a big PTA, band boosters. They came together to try and encourage the children, and they encouraged us. We were all pushed to get an education. It was a thing and they were going to make sure that we got it.” -- I have but two words to add, "What happened?".... I'll tell you... the school systems started taking over parental roles.. transporting, feeding, babysitting the students...

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Jonathan Gruber stupid LIV's L-E "soundoff": "Spending $400,000-plus on a top-to-bottom audit without any reasonable justification ever given for such an audit is about as un-“accountable” as you could ever get" -- .

I'm curious... why would anybody but MCSD Board and school personnel be against a proper forensic audit that would cost only .001 (that's 1/1000th of an annual budget?)

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Jonathan Gruber extra-stupid LIV's L-E "soundoff": "Only the NRA will be opposed to the classification of the killing of three outstanding Muslim students in Chapel Hill, N.C., as a hate crime." -- Good grief.. the White House still considers Major Hasan's outburst at Ft Hood "workplace violence".

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Hmmm... I'm looking at the L-E/WRBL weather prognostication as we speak...it's now 6:30 AM EDST and according to WTVM.. 40 degrees outside.. according to the L-E/WRBL weather,, temperatures are going to drop to 27 degrees by sunrise at 7:23 AM EDST..

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L-E's "Quotable": “All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” - Ellen Glasgow American author (1874-1945)" -- Hmmm...sorta diminishes HEBDObama's campaign slogan... HOPE CHANGE is on the horizon in 2016...