"Mike Huckabee says he’ll seek presidency for a second time; Aims to position himself in GOP as Clinton nemesis" by Trip Gabriel New York Times May 06, 2015
HOPE, Ark. — Mike Huckabee, who excited evangelical voters in his first presidential race in 2008 and retains much of their good will, is returning in hopes of once more dominating among social conservatives, but he is acutely aware he needs broader support to avoid the snares of last time, when he ran dry of money and failed to appeal much beyond the South.
At last, a true savior! Christie was the closest we'd come!
After describing a childhood of school prayer, fishing for catfish, and running for student council in Hope, Huckabee said, “So it seems perfectly fitting that it would be here that I announce I am a candidate for president of the United States.”
It was no small detail that he declared his candidacy in Hope, where he was born. Its fame as the hometown of a better-known Arkansas politician, Bill Clinton, highlights a major theme of Huckabee’s 2016 pitch: that he is well suited to be the Republican nemesis for Hillary Rodham Clinton, if she becomes the Democratic nominee, because Huckabee spent years in state politics fighting the “Clinton machine.”
Then, truthfully, he knows where the bodies are buried? Knows why Vince Foster was killed? Records were removed from the First Lady's office, and two decades later she wipes e-mail servers clean? What was going on at Mena air base in the 1980s under Bill, and were the Whitewater deals simply a way to launder money? You gonna drive that home in the name of charity?
When one pieces together the puzzles, one can see why the Clintons and Bushes are very close, why the presidencies have been passed between them, and why there will likely be a run-off this fall for which family gets to live in the White House.
Like Bill Clinton, Huckabee grew up with little and casts himself as a populist champion of the working class, though with conservative solutions.
PFFFFFFFFT!
The biggest question in voters’ minds about Huckabee, 59, may be why he has returned to the fray. Although American politics is full of stories of the ultimate triumph of also-rans, Huckabee would seem to face greater obstacles than in his first presidential campaign, when he battled only a couple of rivals for the party’s conservative base. Now, half a dozen or more declared and likely candidates appeal to social conservatives, and Huckabee’s party has moved further rightward....
Whatever that means (more money for the military -- as per Obama's requests as he goes along with social service austerity -- and being all butch for Israel as far as I can tell).
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I'm surprised nothing was said about his Fox News show (they already called Arkansas for him).
Related:
Bushwhacking His Way to the 2016 Republican Nomination
Walkering His Way to the 2016 Republican Nomination
Rubio Running Towards 2016 Republican Nomination
Cruzing His Way to the 2016 Republican Nomination
Christie Building Bridge to 2016 Republican Nomination
Perry's Pirouette to the 2016 Republican Nomination
Rand Paul and the Rest of the Republican Also-Rans
I apologize if the Globe has forgotten anyone.
To continue with the hot issues of the day according to the CommonCore(??):
"School testing dissenters criticized" Washington Post May 06, 2015
WASHINGTON — A dozen civil rights groups issued a statement Tuesday criticizing the growing movement of parents who refuse to allow their children to take standardized tests, saying the anti-test push ‘‘would sabotage important data and rob us of the right to know how our students are faring.’’
I'll start the test later.
By removing an increasing number of students from the testing pool, the so-called opt-out movement skews test score data, the groups argued, making it impossible to gauge whether persistent achievement gaps are narrowing.
You know, I don't know what to do about the politically-correct indoctrination and inculcation centers posing as schools for AmeriKa's youth. They are serving as acclimation centers in preparation for future tyranny for the most part (sorry for the roasting? Am getting kind of sick of grousing about it. Good thing we have six years supply of water in what was a perfect melting season).
‘‘We cannot fix what we cannot measure, and [it] only makes it harder to identify and fix the deep-seated problems in our schools,’’ the statement said.
That's the problem. Like in Baltimore and these other places, the decades of neglect will take decades to fix -- and that is a$$uming the good graces and generosity of the greed heads that have neglected us for so long.
The groups that signed the statement included the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, the National Disability Rights Network, and the National Urban League.
As it has always been, the designed tests are biased towards those groups.
Students who refuse the tests are still a tiny minority of all test-takers nationwide, but their numbers are growing.
Yeah, it's redneck whites(??)! That's what prompted a veto threat and shut down of the classroom.
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More good news! Teen pregnancies dropped again, although no one is sure why (I think it is sterilization brought on by a combination of factors, GMOs, toxic food additives, and vaccines not being the least of them). I'll bet the problem is they didn't play sports (disregard the domestic violence and character issues regarding the best and brightest of this generation and future leaders), thus they haven't developed a decent work ethic of obey the executive commander or whatever. Salute smartly and run the play!
Related: Boston educator named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year
We're not the best (another war president that deserves more $tudy)?!
Former Springfield principal chosen to head troubled Madison Park High
Just don't take a bike or bus to school.
State to take over Holyoke schools
Isn't that the guy from the Shawshank Redemption?
Yeah, maybe that will lead to $ucce$$. Sorry if I appear Prouty.
"Terms lowered for three in Ga. cheating case" Washington Post May 01, 2015
WASHINGTON — An Atlanta judge on Thursday reduced the sentences of three former school administrators convicted of participating in a widespread test-cheating scandal, saying he was uncomfortable with the stiff sentences he handed down this month.
In a rare move, Judge Jerry Baxter reduced each of the administrator’s prison terms from seven years to three, with seven years of probation instead of 13. He also reduced their fines from $25,000 to $10,000, but he maintained the requirement for 2,000 hours of community service.
Not to excuse their conduct, but looting bankers and lying war-mongers get nothing.
The original prison term — far longer than prosecutors had sought and longer than many violent criminals serve — triggered public debate and a flood of criticism.
They were only trying to please the masters in the state capital and beyond.
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Of course, there is always college to look forward to:
"Ohio State drum major instructor accused of rape, kidnapping" Associated Press May 01, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A drum major instructor for Ohio State University’s marching band was arraigned Thursday on rape and kidnapping charges.
Stewart Kitchen, 28, was arrested Wednesday. He did not enter a plea at his arraignment and was expected to be released after his bond of about $50,000 was posted.
Franklin County Municipal Court records under his full name, Christopher S. Kitchen, did not list a lawyer for him. No public defender has been assigned to the case.
Court documents allege Kitchen and a woman went out drinking April 15, then walked to his home.
What were they drinking?
The woman reported that Kitchen refused to return her to her home and sexually assaulted her in his bedroom as she tried to escape and told him to stop, an investigator said in an affidavit.
Kitchen led the band as head drum major in 2006-07 and is now a drum major instructor.
I wonder where he learned such things.
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Time to face the music.
Maybe you can pick through the fratrooms. Just knock on the door first.
Only one thing left to do. Join the military:
"Marine sergeant faces hazing charges in Va." by Brock Vergakis Associated Press May 01, 2015
NORFOLK, Va. — A decorated Marine accused of humiliating and physically abusing those under his command — ordering one to punch another hard enough to make him urinate blood — is facing a court-martial in Virginia.
Staff Sergeant Dustin A. Barker of Scott, Ky., is accused of hazing Marines at the Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2013, the year he joined the Norfolk-based Marine Corps Security Forces Regiment, an antiterrorism and security force that deploys to hot spots around the world. He also faces charges over alleged incidents in Virginia.
Barker’s general court-martial was scheduled to start at Naval Station Norfolk on Monday.
A general court-martial is the most serious type of court martial in the military and is generally considered to be the military equivalent of a felony trial in civilian court.
Documents provided by the military regarding alleged incidents in Guantanamo say Barker ordered one Marine to strike another with a rock; ordered two other Marines to punch each other; and ordered another Marine to punch a comrade in the kidneys to make him urinate blood. Charge sheets provided by the Marines say he also forced another Marine to punch himself in the face.
Barker is also accused of having his Marines at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., run excessive distances while wearing heavy equipment, and in another incident, having so much equipment tied to his Marines’ arms that they couldn’t lift their arms above their chests.
Can you handle the truth?
At Camp Allen in Norfolk, Barker is accused of requiring an excessive number of advancement exercises known as ‘‘buddy rushes’’ and requiring his Marines to shave each other’s faces while standing outside of their barracks in the presence of other Marines. The Marines define hazing as any conduct that causes someone to ‘‘suffer or be exposed to any activity which is cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning, or harmful.’’
Barker joined the Marines in 2002 and has earned numerous honors throughout a career that has taken him to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Marines have been striving to stamp out hazing, and the issue has drawn increased scrutiny from Congress since US Representative Judy Chu’s nephew killed himself in 2011 after being hazed by fellow Marines in Afghanistan.
Weren't they cleared of that?
Related:
"Months after President Obama formally declared that the United States’ long war against the Taliban was over in Afghanistan, the US military is regularly conducting airstrikes against low-level insurgent forces and sending Special Operations troops directly into harm’s way for what it calls “training and advising,” as the insurgents have continued to make gains against struggling government forces. Rather than ending the US war in Afghanistan, the military is using its wide latitude to instead transform it into a continuing campaign of airstrikes — mostly drone missions — and Special Operations raids that have in practice stretched or broken the parameters publicly described by the White House."
U.S. taking the lead while we are being lied to again!!!
Sorry I no longer take peace talk seriously from a war paper because it is just a waste of time when the wave of Taliban attacks underscore how elusive peace is.... the incident sparked nationwide outrage and a civil society movement to limit the power of clerics, strengthen the rule of law, and improve women’s rights.
I'm sure the airstrikes will help them.
So what member of Obama's new team left the place that way? They call him ‘‘Fighting Joe?’’
So where will the troops be going now?
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Related: Pentagon accused of withholding information about sex crimes
It's bad for morale and recruitment.
That's it from the campaign trail for a while.
NDUs:
In shift, Hillary Clinton moves to embrace super PAC
I'm loving it.
4 Afghan men sentenced to death over horrifying mob killing
If airstrikes land in a village and the propaganda pre$$ doesn't report them, do they make a sound?
UPDATES: The new Mike Huckabee is mad as hell
