All spin all the time, unfair and unbalanced, distorting what we decide, this is the media we have, instead of the media we wish we had

I sure do miss the good old days when the mainstream media used the public airways to inform the public with just the facts so we could make informed decisions.  Of course that was back in the day when the media was a voice for the people and not a corporation answerable to shareholders. Now it's all about controlling the message and  the outcome.  It's also why so many people  vote against their economic self interest, but I digress.

Huntsville School Board President David Blair's   media  enabled attempt to discredit Commissioner Bob Harrison crashed and burned when it was revealed on WEUP Talk with David Person the 2006  letter to former Superintendent Ann Roy Moore wasn't about demanding to close J.O.Johnson High School in exchange for his vote,  but an attempt  to leverage his position  as the swing vote for a proposed sales tax increase.  

Harrison said the Blair's accusations take the 2006 dialogue with Moore out of context. The discussion with the former superintendent was about bringing an International Baccalaureate school to North Huntsville and combining two high schools, he said, not closing Johnson.
The issue now is about unitary status and getting away from racially segregated schools, which is totally separate from the discussion about helping North Huntsville eight years ago, he said.
The statements by Blair, Harrison added, are coming from a political candidate seeking attention. Blair is seeking the Republican nomination for the District 7 state senate seat held by Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville.
"He's trying to get all the attention he can get at this time. So he's engaging in the process of prevarication," he said.

Next up this headline/post:   Huntsville City Councilman Vows to stop "calling out" Supertindent,School Board,  accompanied by an interview with Councilman Richard Showers by Venton Blandin.  You can read/ watch/listen to the interview for yourself,  but I didn't hear Showers vow to stop "calling out" the super and the school board. I heard a lot of carefully edited sound bites and I read a lot of  editorializing.

Huntsville City Councilman Richard Showers is ready to drop his public fight against the Huntsville City School Board and its Superintendent.
Whatever you call it, bickering, grandstanding or advocacy, started earlier this month. Most black elected officials in Madison County were upset Huntsville school leaders were leaving out their voice on big decisions. Councilman Showers is now taking a step back.
Commissioner Harrison came out swinging. Councilman Showers was his back up.

Ventin Blandin doesn't get it.  We the people aren't stupid. We know better than to believe something just because it's on TeeVee.  As they say on one my favorite TeeVee Shows, let's go inside the headlines.

Showers vowed not to call out the superintendent or any school board member going forward. He says he’s now happy to give the money to the schools
“I am not going to deal with that anymore,” added Councilman Shower. WHNT News 19 asked, “But why say it?” Councilman Showers replied, “I said it because I wanted to get the attention.”
What did those words do?
“Before then, the superintendent would not meet with us. After that, I got a call and email asking, will you meet,” added Councilman Showers.

Psst Ventin! I didn't hear Showers say any of that and the meeting with the elected officials isn't going to happen because Wardynski doesn't want the meeting to be a media event, and,  he wants to make BOE member Laurie McCaulley the token, I mean, centerpiece.  You might want to call Commissioner Bob Harrison or WEUP Talk's David Person and get the real dealio.  According to Harrison, it doesn't look like that meeting is going to happen.

Speaking of WEUP Talk be sure and tune in to 1190 AM and 1700 AM, Monday, March 31, 2014 at 5:00 PM to hear long time Alabama media group education reporter/ state enterprise reporter Challen Stephens weighs in on the state of the Huntsville City Schools.

You see the problem with Huntsville City Schools is they don't realize there is no right (pun intended) way to do the wrong thing. If they weren't hell bent on maintaining a separate and unequal school system they wouldn't be in this mess. It's expensive to operate a dual educational system.

It's the media. They think we are stupid.

 ". . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." (as cited in Padover, 1939, p. 88)

The racial politics of the Huntsville City Schools Pinnacle Policy

The motto of Huntsville City Schools  used to be Education is the Hope of the Republic, with the dismantling of the Fletcher Seldon Center and other radical changes, this motto is no longer true for black/brown/poor and special education students because the superintendent,  enabled by the school board, is destroying  any hope for the future of our republic, choosing to fuel the cradle the prison pipeline instead.

One of the many, many, things wrong with the Pinnacle Policy is the denial of students right to equal protection under the  law and due process.  I turn the floor over to The Mertz Center Monitor.

So, kids, the bottom line is this. Don’t fight on school property. If you fight there, you could find yourself living in a teepee for a year — or maybe longer. You won’t have legal counsel (“Ordinarily no attorney will be present in an advisory capacity for the expulsion hearing”), which you are provided in juvenile court. Unless you do someone an obvious serious physical injury, if you fight away from school, and get arrested, and the case isn’t diverted from the courts, and you are found guilty or enter a consent agreement, likely you’ll end up with six months probation. Shipped off without legal counsel to a teepee for “however long it takes” — that, kids, is scary, very scary.

It is very scary indeed, especially for the parents of poor/black and brown students  who are given the choice of expulsion, or sending their child to a private, "Therapeutic" facility  for fighting on school property. A fight we would never have known about if it hadn't be recorded on a cellphone and posted on the WHNT TV website.  For the record, I don't condone fighting by anyone, anytime, any place. My question is, where were the school resource officers/administrators/teachers while this fight was going on? Adult supervision is required so students don't have the opportunity to fight.

It is a documented, historical, fact  Huntsville City Schools are still racially inequitable.

The investigation further found that the city's predominantly black schools reported significantly more discipline issues.
Ed White Middle reported 1,115 disciplinary actions compared to the predominantly white Hampton Cove Middle School's 285, according to the investigation.
Even kindergartners were being suspended as forms of discipline in black elementary schools. At Montview Elementary School three students were suspended, two on multiple occasions, and at University Place Elementary, seven students were suspended a total of nine times.

There are some who say it's the parent's fault, and/or, black students are natural born thugs.  Unfortunately, these are the voices the Superintendent and the majority of the School Board pander to and listen to.

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

None dare calls it racism but that is exactly what it IS.

Today's Must Read
The Poor as Politically Expendable

Second Mile Development Inc. is not connected to The Second Mile Charity, but

According to WHNT News reporter David Kumbroch Huntsville, Alabama's Second Mile Development, Inc. is being confused (his word) with The Second Mile Charity connected to Jerry Sandusky in Pennsylvania.

Executive Director of Huntsville's Second Mile Development Bill McDowell says, "We've been getting several calls a day and comments asking if we're affiliated with them, and we have no affiliation with them. They started in 1977, and they're in three cities in the state of Pennsylvania, where our whole service area is here in Huntsville."

They are not affiliated with each other, however they are both non profit, tax exempt, faith based, organizations, run by a board of directors with similar mission statements.

Second Mile desires to empower the community where the hopeless can find hope; where children can find love and laughter, where young men and women can look to the future with pride and eager anticipation rather than with fear and dread; where men and women of all ages can discover the depth and the breadth of Christ's love.

The ultimate dream of Second Mile is to bring about, through Christ, reconciliation between all people: the rich and poor, the educated and uneducated, the fortunate and less fortunate.

I wonder why WHNT TV felt compelled to clear up the confusion regarding the two charities but not one word about the Second Mile Development Inc./Terry Heights Elementary School offer?

Bill McDowell, executive director of Second Mile Development, confirmed Tuesday that the Christian nonprofit has made an offer for the 48,000-square-foot building.
"We're excited about our offer," McDowell said. "We'll be scared and excited if they accept it."
The district seemed to have accepted the offer last week, when approval of the $575,000 contract was placed on the school board's meeting agenda. But the contract was pulled before the meeting.

Again
I am not saying the Second Mile Development Inc.>in Huntsville, AL is associated or affiliated with the Second Mile Charity (sic) in Pennsylvania. I don't have anything personal against the Board of Directors/employees/clients of Second Mile Development, Inc. and I'm not saying Second Mile Development, Inc has done or will do anything wrong.

I'm just saying if Terry Heights Elementary School is turned into an after school center it should be a public endeavor, under public control and accountable to the people, not a board of directors.

I'm also saying something is out of line with the deal

Second Mile Development, Inc. is actually paying $200,000 for the 48,000 square foot building and the land it's sitting on. Not a bad deal for Second Mile Development, Inc. but it's stinking deal for we the taxpayers.

Has the property been appraised?If so what is the appraised value? Surely it's more than $575,000 in light of the fact the Downtown Rescue Mission appraised for 3.9 million and nearby West Huntsville, Elementary appraised for $900,000.
Gene Garrett, a private real estate appraiser, valued the newly abandoned West Huntsville Elementary at just $900,000. Four short blocks up Ninth Avenue from the former mission, West Huntsville has less interior space but more land.
"It's a good building," said school board President Doug Martinson Jr., referring to West Huntsville. "Certainly if the rescue mission is worth $3.9 million, then ours should be worth more or closer to it."
"It continues to cause me concern," Russell said this week. "It looks bad that we paid so much."
But Kling, who had long complained of crime near the mission, said that the neighborhood is much improved and that Russell is out of line.

That's the confusion WHNT TV should be trying to clear up IMHO.

A tale of two Charter school town hall meetings

David Dieter/Huntsville Times
State Rep. Laura Hall listens to residents during tonight's town hall meeting.

Compare WHNT News 19 coverage of Madison County Community Discusses Charter Schools With Legislators to al.com's coverage of Alabama State Representative Laura Hall's town meeting

Lead paragraph at WHNT TV

HUNTSVILLE, AL— State lawmakers plan to talk about charter schools during the next legislative session. Madison County parents learned Monday night what that could mean for their children. They were part of a town hall meeting to talk about the specialty schools.

Organizers wanted those at the meeting to know charter schools provide flexibility and accountability. They believe both are needed to help get Alabama's education system out of 49th place nationwide.

Lead paragraph at al.com

HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Some people at state Rep. Laura Hall's town hall meeting tonight implied that charter schools harken back to the day of segregated schools, while some others said people should keep an open mind to anything that could help children get a better education.
The issue of charter schools was the main topic for more than 40 people who attended the 90-minute meeting hosted by Hall, a Huntsville Democrat, at the Richard Showers Recreation Center.

Quote at WHNT TV

Rep. Williams is sponsoring a bill to bring the independently-operated public schools into the state of Alabama. He believes parents and students will benefit.

"It gives them options they do not currently have. Charter schools can come into a neighborhood and focus on specialty education. You still have your core, but you might do science and engineering, art and dance, or debate and political science," said Williams.

Quote at al.com

Hall covered several topics in front of the Legislature during her opening remarks. She said a bill to allow charter schools in the state never got out of committee, but similar bills have been introduced again.
She said her constituents have sent the message that they don't want charter schools but do want excellence in public schools.
Huntsville Councilman Richard Showers, a retired city school teacher, said during the question and answer period that he supports public schools. He said charter schools take precious education tax dollars from public schools and create segregated schools.
"We don't need any schools just for black children and we don't need any schools just for white children," Showers said.

al.com got a quote from the HCS board President

Laurie McCaulley, a city school board member, said the school board is OK with charter schools if they are under the local school board's control and if public schools had the same "wide parameters" as charter schools in establishing rules and standards.

Huh? The school board is OK with charter schools if they are under the local school board's control? What "wide parameter" is she talking about?
This?
Politicians who would just love to have their family and friends hired in those Charter Schools, regardless of their qualifications, and if their family and friends aren;t hired by those Charter Schools, those Politicians can cut their Funding from the Alabama Treasury?
This?
Republican Candidate for Governor, Bradley Byrne, claims he sent some people to prison for their CORRUPTION in the Educational System of Alabama. How much worse would it be with the Politicians given a vehicle to have those Charter Schools Employ their family and friends?
This?
The larger question is who is willing to pay the Big Bucks to get Charter Schools in Alabama, but those Corporations who would benefit from being able to have their Corporate Agenda taught in those Charter Schools?
Or this?
definition of the term " charter school":
privately run, publicly financed school: a publicly financed school run by parents, educators, and companies.

Remember this mantra, "Charter Schools are backdoor privatization of education".
9.13, 4.82, Just left of Gandhi.
by: archangelsk

THE WHNT TV report was slanted in support of Charter Schools IMHO.

I report.
You decide.