gdp's Comments

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:44:47 +0000

"I'm more surprised this legislation ever made it into law." It almost didn't. The bill passed by a single vote in the state assembly and state senate in January, as part of a larger package of special legislation to better position California to compete for a piece of federal Race to the Top money. There was a huge fight among Democrats. The California Teachers Association strongly opposed it. The president of the California Federation of Teachers called the provision a "lynch mob law." "...unless charter schools must employ unionized teachers..." That's the reason teachers unions generally deride and oppose charters; because most are NOT unionized. (There are a few exceptions. Green Dot in Los Angeles is one.)

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:40:02 +0000

Great idea. There's a guy in Georgia who is proposing exactly that. Wrote about it here: http://www.heartland.org/schoolreform-news.org/Ar...

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:29:47 +0000

Because the Los Angeles Parent Revolution is a self-styled "progressive" organization directed by a fellow who used to work for Bill Clinton. But that's OK, because the California law can be used by anyone with the savvy to collect signatures on a page. Interestingly, several of the other parent trigger bills popping up in places like New Jersey, Indiana, and West Virginia are being carried by Republicans. I've been dropping this link a lot, but in case you missed it, read more about the parent trigger's expansion here: http://www.heartland.org/schoolreform-news.org/Pa...

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:24:18 +0000

Correct. But here's the thing: All California did was adopt the language from the Federal Register on "school turnarounds," as part of the state's ill-fated effort to get a piece of $4.35 billion in Race to the Top money. California didn't get the money -- or the additional red tape -- but parents still have the law. Other states are looking at this parent trigger law now and saying it's got real potential. But instead of adopting the language of federal regulations, they're saying, "Let's do vouchers instead." New Jersey, Indiana, and West Virginia are taking that route. Four or five others are likely to follow soon. Read all more about the pros and cons of the parent trigger here: http://www.heartland.org/schoolreform-news.org/Pa...

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:15:23 +0000

New Jersey, Indiana and West Virginia have either introduced legislation or are circulating draft bills that improve on California's law greatly. Several other states, including Georgia and Michigan, may follow. There's a lot happening with the parent trigger outside of Compton, and well beyond California. We've been all over it for months. Read more about it here: http://www.heartland.org/schoolreform-news.org/Pa...

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:10:45 +0000

Think bigger. California's law offers a kernel of an opportunity. The remedies offered under the California law were taken straight from the Federal Register. Remember, California passed the law as part of a package of special legislation to compete for Race to the Top money. Well, any other state could say, "We like this trigger idea, but we'll come up with our own remedies, thanks." And that's exactly what's happening in New Jersey, Indiana, and West Virginia, and will probably happen sooner or later in five or six other states. No law is perfect. But this one sure has the unions and the school districts bureaucrats running scared. They wouldn't be lying so much if they weren't afraid of this spreading. The point of the negative coverage over the past week is to discourage other parents from following suit.

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:03:20 +0000

Nope, not Green Dot. Although much has been made of Green Dot's involvement in the parent trigger, as if a single charter school operator could shape parents' actions up and down a state of 30 million people. The charter operator under consideration for Compton's McKinley Elementary is Celerity, which runs four schools. Here's the website. http://www.celerityschools.org/. You can find the board of directors there.

Big Government : L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:06:44 +0000

He is. On Monday, state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, who served as Christie's campaign chairman, introduced his own version of the parent trigger in the New Jersey legislature. Unlike California's law, however, the New Jersey version would strip away some of the bureaucratic impediments and give parents access to a voucher to send their kids to the school of their choice. Indiana and West Virginia will likely soon follow suit. The Heartland Institute, where I'm managing editor of School Reform News, has been following this for awhile. We even drafted model legislation, with the idea of improving what California started. You can read more about the parent trigger here: http://www.heartland.org/schoolreform-news.org/Pa... There's a lot more going on.

GeekTyrant : VENGEANCE and TAKEN 2 News

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 00:56:48 +0000

I don't know if the world needs a sequel to "Taken," but I hope the filmmakers and the studio have the wisdom to call it "Retaken." (Or, in a concession to silly typographical tropes: "ReTaken.")

Big Hollywood : Review: Year One

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:42:00 +0000

"I loved the 'Inquisition' musical extravaganza." What a show!

Big Hollywood : Tony Scott's 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' Opens Everywhere Friday

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 18:53:01 +0000

No way this can be good. No way. It looks like another by-the-numbers action-caper pic. The original had a great sense of humor. Hard to say for sure from the trailer, but the remake looks humorless. And nothing could top David Shire's original score, which is arguably the coolest caper soundtracks of all time. Joel Mathis and I discussed the Pelham 123 remake along with other summer movies and music with Big Hollywood contributor Christian Toto and A Fistful of Soundtracks blogger Jimmy Aquino on our podcast last week. You can listen here: http://blog.infinitemonkeysblog.com/?q=node/6436

Big Hollywood : 'Up' Open Thread

Sun, 31 May 2009 23:37:22 +0000

Pixar has long given lie to the idea that animated = "kids." This is a studio that does not condescend to its audience. The opening montage featuring Ellie and Carl's life together was brilliant and poignant. It manages to speak to adults without necessarily alienating kids. Few children under the age of 13 will understand what that brief shot of the doctor's office meant -- it flew right over my 7-year-old's head -- but every adult in the audience I was in last night said, "Oh!" Deftly handled, I thought.

Big Hollywood : Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Sun, 24 May 2009 06:09:53 +0000

If they starting filming in 2007, they must have assumed John Edwards would win. Well, maybe in some alternate universe. In any case, assume they were being subversive and meant Bush. Too bad the movie is terrible. Not that the first was any great shakes. But at least Mickey Rooney was in it.

Big Hollywood : 'American Idol' and Dumbing Down the Definition of Homophobe

Fri, 22 May 2009 16:34:10 +0000

Adam Lambert mangled "A Change is Gonna Come." Lambert makes Michael Crawford look like James Brown.

Big Hollywood : 'American Idol' and Dumbing Down the Definition of Homophobe

Fri, 22 May 2009 16:29:17 +0000

Every season, when my wife and I watch the show, I find myself saying after some rip-roaring performance, "Yeah, I'd buy that record." I almost never do -- once the butchers at J Records get ahold of these winners, they overproduce the material and siphon out whatever substance made them interesting in the first place. But I didn't do that with any of the top 13 this year. None of them sounded interesting to me at all. Except for Norman Gentle, purged from -- what? -- the Top 36? Top 24? I don't remember now. He's something of a novelty act, sure, but he was and remains brilliantly funny. I'd buy that record, for certain.

Big Hollywood : 'American Idol' and Dumbing Down the Definition of Homophobe

Fri, 22 May 2009 16:24:10 +0000

Good point. Also, in retrospect, I think I was unfair to meat.

Big Hollywood : 'American Idol' and Dumbing Down the Definition of Homophobe

Fri, 22 May 2009 05:54:20 +0000

Well, I didn't like either of the finalists -- I referred to them, perhaps too cruelly, as "Meat Sack A" and "Meat Sack B." I didn't like any of the top contestants this year, and I really didn't like the way the judges seemed to play favorites week after week. The strange thing about the Lambert phenomenon was how his over-the-top Broadway theatrics continually won the praise of Simon Cowell, who has been known to criticize contestants in the past for exhibiting precisely such characteristics. Truth be told, I wanted Norman Gentle to win. Homophobia, indeed.

Big Hollywood : 'Star Trek' Flicks -- Worst to Best: Part 1

Thu, 7 May 2009 22:00:58 +0000

The first Star Trek film was pretty lame. But the Jerry Goldsmith score is terrific. (Listening to it now.) Goldsmith's stuff almost never disappointed, and almost always elevated mediocre material on screen.

Big Hollywood : Mainstream Media: Only Conservatives Are Sore Losers

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:08:50 +0000

Great post, Mr. Slagle. The Prop. 8 example is devastatingly apt. I attended the Rancho Cucamonga tea party, where there were plenty of "sore losers," "plutocrats" and "extremists" to be found. Many of them seemed to be smiling for some reason. See here: http://blog.infinitemonkeysblog.com/?q=node/6371 And here: http://blog.infinitemonkeysblog.com/?q=node/6367

Big Hollywood : Mainstream Media: Only Conservatives Are Sore Losers

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:00:06 +0000

The woman who organized the San Bernardino tea party and the highly successful Rancho Cucamonga tea party is planning another demonstration for May 18 -- the day before California's absurd special election. http://TeaPartyIE.com