STRONG Salem is for everyone who wants to help and participate in getting Salem, Oregon, to quit chasing Growth Ponzi Scheme plans and instead become a resilient, fiscally responsible place that lives by the wisdom that "Communities exist for the health and enjoyment of those who live in them, not for the convenience of those who drive through them, fly over them, or exploit their real estate for profit."
The Friends of Salem Public Library
Monster Book Sale
- Thursday, November 7 (Members Only)
4:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Memberships offered at the door
- Friday, November 8
10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, November 9
10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.- Sunday, November 10
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
($4 per bag day)
Sale will be held at:
A huge selection of materials, including rare and collectible books will be available. And parking is free!
Congress is often compared to pre-K, which seems defamatory of small children. But the similarities also offer hope, because an initiative that should be on the top of the national agenda has less to do with the sequester than with the A.B.C.'s and Big Bird.
Growing mountains of research suggest that the best way to address American economic inequality, poverty and crime is — you guessed it! — early education programs, including coaching of parents who want help. It's not a magic wand, but it's the best tool we have to break cycles of poverty.
President Obama called in his State of the Union address for such a national initiative, but it hasn't gained traction. Obama himself hasn't campaigned enough for it, yet there's still a reed of hope.
One reason is that this is one of those rare initiatives that polls well across the spectrum, with support from 84 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans in a recent national survey. And even if the program stalls in Washington, states and localities are moving ahead — from San Antonio to Michigan. Colorado voters will decide next month on a much-watched ballot measure to bolster education spending, including in preschool, and a ballot measure in Memphis would expand preschool as well.
"There's this magical opportunity" now to get a national early education program in America, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told me. He says he's optimistic that members of Congress will introduce a bipartisan bill for such a plan this year.
"When you think how you make change for the next 30 years, this is arguably at the top of my list," Duncan said. "It can literally transform the life chances of children, and strengthen families in important ways."
Whether it happens through Congressional action or is locally led, this may be the best chance America has had to broaden early programs since 1971, when Congress approved such a program but President Nixon vetoed it.
The massive evidence base for early education grew a bit more with a major new study from Stanford University noting that achievement gaps begin as early as 18 months. Then at 2 years old, there's a six-month achievement gap. By age 5, it can be a two-year gap. Poor kids start so far behind when school begins that they never catch up — especially because they regress each summer.
One problem is straightforward. Poorer kids are more likely to have a single teenage mom who is stressed out, who was herself raised in an authoritarian style that she mimics, and who, as a result, doesn't chatter much with the child.
Yet help these parents, and they do much better. Some of the most astonishing research in poverty-fighting methods comes from the success of programs to coach at-risk parents — and these, too, are part of Obama's early education program. "Early education" doesn't just mean prekindergarten for 4-year-olds, but embraces a plan covering ages 0 to 5.
The earliest interventions, and maybe the most important, are home visitation programs like Nurse-Family Partnership. It begins working with at-risk moms during pregnancy, with a nurse making regular visits to offer basic support and guidance: don't drink or smoke while pregnant; don't take heroin or cocaine. After birth, the coach offers help with managing stress, breast-feeding and diapers, while encouraging chatting to the child and reading aloud.
These interventions are cheap and end at age 2. Yet, in randomized controlled trials, the gold standard of evaluation, there was a 59 percent reduction in child arrests at age 15 among those who had gone through the program.
Something similar happens with good pre-K programs. Critics have noted that with programs like Head Start, there are early educational gains that then fade by second or third grade. That's true, and that's disappointing.
Yet, in recent years, long-term follow-ups have shown that while the educational advantages of Head Start might fade, there are "life skill" gains that don't. A rigorous study by David Deming of Harvard, for example, found that Head Start graduates were less likely to repeat grades or be diagnosed with a learning disability, and more likely to graduate from high school and attend college.
Look, we'll have to confront the pathologies of poverty at some point. We can deal with them cheaply at the front end, in infancy. Or we can wait and jail a troubled adolescent at the tail end. To some extent, we face a choice between investing in preschools or in prisons.
We just might have a rare chance in the next couple of months to take steps toward such a landmark early education program in America. But children can't vote, and they have no highly paid lobbyists — so it'll happen only if we the public speak up.
From: "Elizabeth Warren, Congress: Dont renew fast track authority Campaign" <noreply@list.moveon.org>
Date: October 26, 2013 at 6:56:14 PM PDT
Subject: STOP THE FAST TRACK TO CURRENCY MANIPULATION: National TPP Team Conference Call Sunday!
Reply-To: "Elizabeth Warren, Congress: Dont renew fast track authority Campaign" <lizwarrenmail@earthlink.net>
The world is buzzing now with trade talk - from D.C. to the Pacific Rim - and the pressure is mounting for Congress to grant the president fast track authority for the TPP. Be sure to join us this week and catch up on what's happening - and what you can do! Our National TPP Team Conference call is tomorrow, Sunday, October 27, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific, 7:30 Eastern.
AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS: Following activist updates from coalition partners and reports from organizers in the field, we'll fill everybody in on the status of mobilization plans currently in the works for a rapid response day of action in the event a Fast Track Vote is announced. (This would be a coalition event, with a number of organizations participating for maximum impact.)
TPP ISSUE OF THE WEEK: The second half of our call will focus on Currency Manipulation and the TPP.
GUEST SPEAKER: Jacqui Dunne, an award-winning economic journalist from Ireland, and co-author of Rethinking Money: How New Currencies Turn Scarcity Into Prosperity, will walk us through the role our present currency plays in the inevitable flow of wealth to the 1%, and how policies buried in trade deals like the TPP will serve to accelerate wealth disparity. (The good news: she offers road tested solutions, beyond merely stopping fast track and the TPP, for fixing the problem.)
Jacqui is a regular contributor to print and online publications worldwide, and has appeared on both NPR and BlogTalk Radio. She is the founder and CEO of Danu Resources, and an emerging leader in helping entrepreneurs develop technologies and initiatives that restore the earth's equilibrium globally. A 15-minute Q & A session will follow.
You will need both a telephone AND a computer to participate fully in this conference call.
Phone in 5 minutes before the call time and then log in as instructed below. You'll need to have Adobe Flash Player installed to use the online meeting room. (You may also participate in phone-only mode if you wish.)
NATIONAL TPP TEAM CONFERENCE CALL
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 4:30 P.M. PDT/ 7:30 EDT
CALL IN FIRST from a land or cell phone, before you click on the link to log in to the online meeting room.Dial-in Number: (559) 726-1300 Participant Access Code: 536655 #
Be sure to enable cookies, then follow this link to the meeting room and follow the directions to log in: http://www.anymeeting.com/moveforjustice1
When the microphone and phone icons pop up, click on the phone icon (on the right.) When the next screen opens, go to the bottom right corner of the page and click on the shaded box that says "CLOSE." That's it.
Looking forward to talking with you on Sunday!
In Solidarity,
Liz :)
Elizabeth Warren
National TPP Team Coordinator
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/congress-dont-renew-fast?mailing_id=16448&source=s.icn.em.cr&r_by=1545923
MoveOn Regional Organizer
North San Diego County
Land line: 760-305-7010
Cell: 951-203-2260
Email: liz.moveon@earthlink.net
Facebook: Liz Warren (Woyton)
Twitter: LizWarrenWriter
When the people fear the government you have tyranny...when the government fears the people you have liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson
Below is a new Op-Ed piece, just posted this morning on Oregon Live, by retired
Chief Justice Edwin Peterson.
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/10/oregons_death_penalty_is_unjus.html
Subject: At long last...
...on this morning's NPR in an interview with a 5th generation Taft - John Taft - an accurate analysis of our current U.S. situation: We are in an era of zero growth - following decades of 3%/y growth - brought on by resource shortages and environmental degradation; therefore gains anywhere in the economy must come at the expense of everywhere else in the economy. Taft also translated that to be the cause of fruitless negotiations between Obama and Boehner as heads of the 2 major parties - in the past during growth, compromise meant that both sides could benefit (grow), but now it translates to one side losing if the other gains. While skeptical of that translation, I suppose it might follow in our age of corporatocracy, with the two sides actually representing different moneyed interests rather than 'dear fellow americans.'The reason for the interview was a Taft op-ed in the NYT by Taft flaming the current republican party:You can listen to the NPR interview here, and the zero growth analysis is near the end.If Taft is aware of the causes & implications he mentioned concerning a zero-growth economy, he almost surely is also aware of the other major corollary - that the current situation is but a way-point on a trend line that will take us into increasingly negative growth territory - again because of more severe resource shortfalls (peak oil etc.) and environmental degradation (climate change) to come.
This is the first time I've heard an NPR story related to peak everything, and hearing it from a coherent, 'genetic' republican was stunning. Who knows, maybe a 'genetic' democrat somewhere will pick up on it? And, how long before Wall Street muzzles this guy?cheers,Tooj
I don't know if you are aware of my involvement in the non-profit Mid-Valley Literacy Center in Keizer(www.midvalleyliteracycenter.org). I began volunteering there last November, and since then have been maintaining their student computers. The staff and students are wonderful, appreciative people.During this last year the Center was able to train 69 new volunteer tutors and open 6 new tutoring sites. We now have over 150 volunteer tutors working with 600 students in four counties. The tutors provided 19,171 hours of instruction enabling adults to improve their English skills, and obtain their GED certificate in English or Spanish. Ten students have just passed the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) class and will be taking their State Board Exams in two weeks. All of these students have full-time jobs waiting for them at the Providence Benedictine Nursing Center in Mt. Angel. If you know any adults who need to improve their English skills or prepare for the GED certificate, please feel free to look at the Center web site for more information about classes to help them.The Center was started by two ex-Chemeketa employees when Chemeketa cancelled their tutoring program about four years ago. You may know Vivian Ang or Debra Gaul. Two more passionate people helping people, you will not find...well, maybe me, but I'm too modest to say so.Statistics show that at least 50% of the unemployed are functionally illiterate and it is estimated that limited literacy skills cost business and tax payers $20 billion in lost wages, profits, and productivity annually. Of course, these statistics do not speak to how one feels by not being able to read to their children or even make change at the grocery store.This email isn't just a story about my volunteer time. It's about me asking for your help. The Center does not receive state or federal funding, but operates almost entirely on grants and donations from people like you and it is struggling.Every term, $70 will help two adults prepare for the GED or improve their computer skills; $50 will prepare two adults for entry level medical careers; and $25 will help one student improve their English skills each term.In September, the Center will be having a 100 hole "golf marathon." I'm not sure how this works, but I hear the rules are "adjusted" a little. Anyway, I have pledged $1 per hole for myself ($100) and have reluctantly said I would ask my friends and family if they would match my pledge. I say reluctantly because I hate asking for donations, and I don't think you have ever heard me do so before. I feel strongly about this non-profit organization, and have seen what the Center can do.
So here I am with hat in hand asking for your support. Of course, I would gladly accept a pledge of more than $1 per hole or any other pledge you feel comfortable making. Since this is a 501(c)(3) organization, your contribution is tax deductible.Please let me know your response. Otherwise I may just stop by your house and then it gets uncomfortable. I will graciously accept "no way Jose" as an answer as I have said that plenty of times myself, but if you can see your way to help, I will jump up and down in your name.Thanks for reading this email. I'm sorry it was so lengthy, but there is a lot to say about the Center.P.S. The Center could also use all sorts of tutors or office help. And you would get to see more of me !!
4th Annual Shedd, OR
Purchase bulk quantities of staple foods directly from your local farmers!
Sunday, October 20th 2 to 6 p.m.
Former Methodist Church
30090 Hwy 99E, Shedd, OR.
Approx. 5 miles south of Hwy 34, on Hwy 99E at the intersection of Boston Mill/Fayetteville Roads.
Grains Flour Root Crops
Nuts Honey Frozen Meats
Onions Garlic Potatoes
Beans …and much more!!!!
Quick Overview:
Your Local Farmers include, but are not limited to….
Horseshoe Lake Farm
J/K Cattle
Lake View Farm
Lonesome Whistle
Open Oak Farm
Randy's Main Street Coffee
and more to come…
This event is hosted by Stalford Seed Farms & Greenwillow Grains
For more information call (541) 926-2043
Posts
All Comments
Posts
All Comments
