Whether you knew him as the dopey Deputy Barney Fife helping Andy Griffith keep the law in Mayberry, as a member of The Apple Dumpling Gang in Disney movies, or as the lovable and energetic landlord Mr. Furley on "Three's Company," you knew Don Knotts would make you laugh. His distinct personality, bugging eyes and skinny frame always delivered the goods during a time when television had class and was just plain clean fun.
Don Knotts died Saturday at age 81.
His filmography.
Knotts' final substantial on-screen cinema role came in 1998's "Pleasantville," where he played the TV repairman who is the catalyst for all the changes among the residents of the sheltered town. He was perfect for the role.
I'll miss the genuine enthusiasm and wit, the warmth he brought to every role. I have a vivid memory after watching a re-run of "The Andy Griffith Show" and then running around all afternoon saying "Nip it in the bud!" in my best Deputy Barney Fife impersonation, and having no real clue what that meant. And I can just see him in that denim leisure suit, a kerchief tied around his neck in that swingin' 1970s look he tried to portray on "Three's Company."
Yes, rest well, Barney and Mr. Furley. We'll miss you.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
It wasn't CWU
I sent a query to the local paper reporter with Ellensburg ties to determine of the backdrop at the Grammy Awards was really Central Washington University behind Kanye West. According to the reporter, CWU University Relations people said they matched some pictures after receiving a lot of calls about the Grammys. Turns out it was not Barge Hall, though I swear it was.
All that makes me wonder which school it was if not Central.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
All that makes me wonder which school it was if not Central.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
February Funk
It's been two and a half weeks since my last blog post. I apologize to my loyal readers -- the few dozen people who accidentally stop by here. I just have not been in the mood to write much lately. I have not been depressed or too busy. I just have not had much to say about things in the news. More accurately, I have not been motivated to write about what I have been thinking.
Oh, sure, there has been plenty in the news to write about -- the vice president shooting his pal and the president apparently trying to let the Arabs run six major United States ports. Truthfully, though, I just have not desired to write.
But, with winter fading and spring on the horizon, I vow to get back on that and to have a few posts each week for the next couple months. I have a major project to finish for my masters, which I will complete by May 1. After that I should be a lot more free to pursue other activities.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Oh, sure, there has been plenty in the news to write about -- the vice president shooting his pal and the president apparently trying to let the Arabs run six major United States ports. Truthfully, though, I just have not desired to write.
But, with winter fading and spring on the horizon, I vow to get back on that and to have a few posts each week for the next couple months. I have a major project to finish for my masters, which I will complete by May 1. After that I should be a lot more free to pursue other activities.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Wenatchee News Digest
A couple bits of news from the Apple Capital:
Yahoo! appears to be headed here. The Internet brand will operate a data center at the Confluence Technology Center, located in the Olds Station area just north of the city. Apparently, the cheap electricty and high-speed fiber optic network infrastructure made the area attractive to a major player such as Yahoo!
Speaking of cheap power, the Bush Administration again has included increased debt repayment from the Bonneville Power Administration in its annual budget. While a year ago the administration sought all of the BPA power be sold on the open market and revenue used to pay down debt, this year the administration only seeks to have surplus power sold and used to repay debt. Northwest Senators and Representatives in Congress are united in their efforts to keep the current model, which uses surplus power to reduce rates paid by NOrthwest power customers. It's the deal we have had for generations, and it is the deal we expect to keep. Look for Sen. Maria Cantwell to continue to use energy as a primary issue in her re-election campaign this year.
The Eastmont School District across the Columbia River appears to have failed its maintenance and operations levy, falling short by three percent of the necessary 60 percent.
Officials in Kittitas County to the south have put up some money for a study that would determine the viability of a road to Wenatchee's Mission Ridge ski area from the Ellensburg area over Colockum Pass, currently a primitive road passable only during the summer. THe road would allow a back entry to the ski area and easier and faster access from I-90 and Seattle. The route would bypass Wenatchee. I say go for it.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Yahoo! appears to be headed here. The Internet brand will operate a data center at the Confluence Technology Center, located in the Olds Station area just north of the city. Apparently, the cheap electricty and high-speed fiber optic network infrastructure made the area attractive to a major player such as Yahoo!
Speaking of cheap power, the Bush Administration again has included increased debt repayment from the Bonneville Power Administration in its annual budget. While a year ago the administration sought all of the BPA power be sold on the open market and revenue used to pay down debt, this year the administration only seeks to have surplus power sold and used to repay debt. Northwest Senators and Representatives in Congress are united in their efforts to keep the current model, which uses surplus power to reduce rates paid by NOrthwest power customers. It's the deal we have had for generations, and it is the deal we expect to keep. Look for Sen. Maria Cantwell to continue to use energy as a primary issue in her re-election campaign this year.
The Eastmont School District across the Columbia River appears to have failed its maintenance and operations levy, falling short by three percent of the necessary 60 percent.
Officials in Kittitas County to the south have put up some money for a study that would determine the viability of a road to Wenatchee's Mission Ridge ski area from the Ellensburg area over Colockum Pass, currently a primitive road passable only during the summer. THe road would allow a back entry to the ski area and easier and faster access from I-90 and Seattle. The route would bypass Wenatchee. I say go for it.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
CWU at the Grammys?http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
I was watching the Grammy Awards on CBS television Wednesday night. The performance by Kanye West and Jamie Foxx of the song "Gold Digger" used a college marching band theme and a huge backdrop was behind the band -- and it featured a photo of the front of Barge Hall at Central Washington University. I think.
I grew up in Ellensburg and went to Central, and I am almost positive that was Barge Hall. It was just the ground floor, but the words "State Normal School" were clearly visible above the door arch, and the red bricks and window features appeared to match. The original name of Central was the Washington State Normal School.
Anyway, if the backdrop was, in fact, Barge Hall, that would be extraordinary. Surely there is a back story. I would sure like to know if I spotted my alma mater at the Grammys and if so why and how it was chosen.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
I grew up in Ellensburg and went to Central, and I am almost positive that was Barge Hall. It was just the ground floor, but the words "State Normal School" were clearly visible above the door arch, and the red bricks and window features appeared to match. The original name of Central was the Washington State Normal School.
Anyway, if the backdrop was, in fact, Barge Hall, that would be extraordinary. Surely there is a back story. I would sure like to know if I spotted my alma mater at the Grammys and if so why and how it was chosen.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Super Sunday
I will admit this: I am no football fan. I almost never watch the Super Bowl. Not for the game, not for the commercials, not even for halftime. So, Seahawks in the championship or no, I was not planning to watch today's game in Detroit.
But, the party called and I stopped in for a bot of socializing, some food and beverage and a bit of the game. I even wore a shirt with blue and green stripes.
My thoughts about Super Bowl XL:
The best thing was Dan Davage blogging about it at The Stranger's blog. That stuff was hilarious. I am glad I stumbled across it this evening.
Now we just have a few months until Seattle's other losing team, the Mariners, get started. And in the meantime, the Winter Olympics.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
But, the party called and I stopped in for a bot of socializing, some food and beverage and a bit of the game. I even wore a shirt with blue and green stripes.
My thoughts about Super Bowl XL:
- Can the Super Bowl really be 40? It is middle aged? Wow. I remember Super Bowl XX, two-thirds of my life ago.
- The graphics and mania around the event are pretty crazy.
- The whole thing looks pretty kickass in high-definition TV, which my friends just purchased. Nice. Well, everything except John Madden. He looked creepy in hi-def.
- The Rolling Stones can still rock, but dang, Mick Jagger is skinny and Keith Richards looks like a Muppet. Again, hi-def was not so good here.
- The commercials were pretty lame. I mean, WTF was with the Broadway/Cirque du Soleil Burger King commercial? The woman who was the meat was creepy. And who really wants to be mayonnaise?
- Turns out one of my former students is a Sea Gal! Yes, Wenatchee girl makes it to the big game.
- And the Seahawks got screwed by the bad officiating.
The best thing was Dan Davage blogging about it at The Stranger's blog. That stuff was hilarious. I am glad I stumbled across it this evening.
Now we just have a few months until Seattle's other losing team, the Mariners, get started. And in the meantime, the Winter Olympics.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Bush already thinking about his retirement...
... and so are we.
Check out what bops around inside the vast expanse of the Presidential Mind.
President Bush is thinking about his legacy, as many presidents do amid their second terms. He is planning his library, which will definitely be in Texas. My bet is on Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Texas Tech could be a West Texas favorite, but I doubt it.
So the cap of President Bush's week was not giving a truly lame State of the Union address. No, it was an honor far greater. He was named A.H.O.Y. 2005. He won in 2003, only to be unseated by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2004, but the President had a truly crappy year and deserves to reclaim the mantle of A.H.O.Y.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Check out what bops around inside the vast expanse of the Presidential Mind.
President Bush is thinking about his legacy, as many presidents do amid their second terms. He is planning his library, which will definitely be in Texas. My bet is on Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Texas Tech could be a West Texas favorite, but I doubt it.
So the cap of President Bush's week was not giving a truly lame State of the Union address. No, it was an honor far greater. He was named A.H.O.Y. 2005. He won in 2003, only to be unseated by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2004, but the President had a truly crappy year and deserves to reclaim the mantle of A.H.O.Y.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Two legendary American women, now gone
This week saw the deaths of two great American women, both trailblazers: Coretta Scott King and Betty Friedan.
King, the widow of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., carried her husband's legacy into the late 20th century, ensuring he would be remembered with the King Center, which advocates nonviolence, and with a national holiday commemorating his life and a day on which we remember not only his contributions but the dream he imagined. Coretta Scott King lived her life since 1968, when Dr. King was assassinated, as a role model and as a graveful leader.
Today, she became the first woman and the first African American to lie in state in the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, an honor refused her husband after his death in April 1968. That throngs of citizens would wait for hours to pay respects to her as she lies in state is a testament not only to the respect the held but also to how far our nation has come.
Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963, articulated a vision for American women that launched a movement. She said women could -- and should -- be more than just housewives and secretaries, that they should not have their value judged by their housecleaning or their children. Women, she said, could have careers and not families and that was OK. Husbands were not required for satisfaction or value.
The feminist movement today has lost some of its momentum. Women, and men, take for granted the rights and equalities that women in another generation worked hard to acquire. Demonized by radical right-wing radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, feminism has become a dirty word. In fact, everyone who believes women deserve the same treatment and rights as men should rightfully be called feminists. I'm a feminist.
King and Friedan represent the leadership in civil rights that is fading in 21st century America. Who will pick up the banner for people of color and for women? Who will smack the young people of today into shape? Who will motivate our citizens to take action against the slow erosion of rights, against the apathy of satisfaction? We need a new generation of leaders to step up and quench the thirst that exists among today's Americans. We also need to take steps ourselves to initiate action. It's time for a new civil rights movement in America, time to take back the rights we've lost to the false promise of security. We've gained nothing and lost too much ground.
That is the legacy of Coretta Scott King and Betty Friedan.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
King, the widow of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., carried her husband's legacy into the late 20th century, ensuring he would be remembered with the King Center, which advocates nonviolence, and with a national holiday commemorating his life and a day on which we remember not only his contributions but the dream he imagined. Coretta Scott King lived her life since 1968, when Dr. King was assassinated, as a role model and as a graveful leader.
Today, she became the first woman and the first African American to lie in state in the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, an honor refused her husband after his death in April 1968. That throngs of citizens would wait for hours to pay respects to her as she lies in state is a testament not only to the respect the held but also to how far our nation has come.
Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963, articulated a vision for American women that launched a movement. She said women could -- and should -- be more than just housewives and secretaries, that they should not have their value judged by their housecleaning or their children. Women, she said, could have careers and not families and that was OK. Husbands were not required for satisfaction or value.
The feminist movement today has lost some of its momentum. Women, and men, take for granted the rights and equalities that women in another generation worked hard to acquire. Demonized by radical right-wing radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, feminism has become a dirty word. In fact, everyone who believes women deserve the same treatment and rights as men should rightfully be called feminists. I'm a feminist.
King and Friedan represent the leadership in civil rights that is fading in 21st century America. Who will pick up the banner for people of color and for women? Who will smack the young people of today into shape? Who will motivate our citizens to take action against the slow erosion of rights, against the apathy of satisfaction? We need a new generation of leaders to step up and quench the thirst that exists among today's Americans. We also need to take steps ourselves to initiate action. It's time for a new civil rights movement in America, time to take back the rights we've lost to the false promise of security. We've gained nothing and lost too much ground.
That is the legacy of Coretta Scott King and Betty Friedan.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Take that, censoring administrators!
Below is one of the items from the Student Press Law Center's e-mail report Feb. 1. The report is also available at the SPLC Web site.
These girls represent the best of what we as educators hope students will achieve: the ability to think critically, to know their rights and role in society, and to act on their convictions. As models of excellence it is a shame they are not being supported by their school administration.
I have confidence my own students would act in a manner much like these girls. They know their rights, and they have strongly held beliefs.
In their honor, consider making a donation to the Student Press Law Center's Tomorrow's Voices Campaign (every $2 gets a matching $1 through September from the Knight Foundation).
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Washington student editors suing school district take their paper underground -- with a little help from a friend
The Kodak, a student newspaper in Everett, Wash., finally saw the light of day earlier this month, with a slightly new image.
The newspaper, which has not been printed since November, emerged as an underground paper called the Independent Kodak. Two student editors distributed the paper after school as the most recent move in a battle-turned-lawsuit pitting the newspaper staff against administrators who want the students to remove a statement saying the paper is a student forum.
Co-editors Sarah Eccleston and Claire Lueneburg distributed their newspaper on the sidewalk outside the school after-hours and encountered no opposition from administrators. The paper looked virtually identical to the school newspaper, complete with the masthead declaring the paper a student forum. In the Independent Kodak, the words “student forum” are in boldface type.
The 8-page paper cost $270 to print, most of which was donated by Jim Patten, a retired reporter and journalism professor. Patten was head of the journalism department at the University of Arizona until 2002.
“It struck me as being another in a much too long line of situations where administrators, instead of being proud of journalism students, they come down all over them,” Patten said. “They should be saying ‘We don’t agree, but we’re proud they think for themselves.’”
Patten purchased a $250 ad featuring the text of the First Amendment to run in the first issue.
Eccleston and Lueneburg plan to keep the Independent Kodak coming out every month, even if it means reaching into their pockets, and their parents’, for funding.
The students sued the Everett school district in mid-December, saying the district violated their free speech rights when the high school’s new principal required them to submit the student newspaper for prior review before distribution.
The student’s lawyer, Mitch Cogdill, said Principal Catherine Matthews demanded prior review “immediately” after a story ran in the Kodak saying she was the third choice of students on the hiring committee.
District Spokeswoman, Gay Campbell has denied that claim and said, “There is no way that this has anything to do with some vindictive action against the students.”
These girls represent the best of what we as educators hope students will achieve: the ability to think critically, to know their rights and role in society, and to act on their convictions. As models of excellence it is a shame they are not being supported by their school administration.
I have confidence my own students would act in a manner much like these girls. They know their rights, and they have strongly held beliefs.
In their honor, consider making a donation to the Student Press Law Center's Tomorrow's Voices Campaign (every $2 gets a matching $1 through September from the Knight Foundation).
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Hollywood's liberal agenda
Just for a change of pace, I watched a segment of "Scarborough Country," a sort-of conservative shout show on MSNBC, tonight. It was about the Academy Awards and whether the Hollywood elite had a liberal agenda because of the five movies nominated for Best Picture.
The nominated films are "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck."and "Munich." I have seen each of the films, and I say enthusiastically that they represent the best of a fantastic year in film. Together, they demonstrate the kind of thought provoking that can come from cinema. Whether it is a story of forbidden love, of telling the story of murder, of terrorism, of racism, of freedom of speech, these films had something to say. They prompted dialog.
The panel on "Scarborough Country" tried to convince viewers that these films represent a tilt to the left and that Hollywood is outside of where mainstream America is. As testament, one panelist said that these films made almost no money at the box office (keep in mind some of them have been out a very short time). Commercial success is not always a measure of artistic success. I know that sounds strange. Entertainment does not always equal quality -- sometimes I like a movie because it is fun or escape, but it is not good. The same logic would say that McDonald's is the best food because the most people eat it. Many would agree that a lot of the food served there is of low quality. A burger ain't Kobe beef.
The panelists said no one would watch the Oscar telecast because of how small the films were and because they did not achieve mainstream or widespread success. I doubt that will hold true.
So, I say to some of those panelists: Blow it out your ear. The Academy recognized five fine films. Steven Spielberg reportedly said that the current crop of films in America today might just be a reaction to the Neo-Conservative thinking that has become pervasive. That illustrates how important the arts are -- they provide perspective and contrast to the dominant thought and voice.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
The nominated films are "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck."and "Munich." I have seen each of the films, and I say enthusiastically that they represent the best of a fantastic year in film. Together, they demonstrate the kind of thought provoking that can come from cinema. Whether it is a story of forbidden love, of telling the story of murder, of terrorism, of racism, of freedom of speech, these films had something to say. They prompted dialog.
The panel on "Scarborough Country" tried to convince viewers that these films represent a tilt to the left and that Hollywood is outside of where mainstream America is. As testament, one panelist said that these films made almost no money at the box office (keep in mind some of them have been out a very short time). Commercial success is not always a measure of artistic success. I know that sounds strange. Entertainment does not always equal quality -- sometimes I like a movie because it is fun or escape, but it is not good. The same logic would say that McDonald's is the best food because the most people eat it. Many would agree that a lot of the food served there is of low quality. A burger ain't Kobe beef.
The panelists said no one would watch the Oscar telecast because of how small the films were and because they did not achieve mainstream or widespread success. I doubt that will hold true.
So, I say to some of those panelists: Blow it out your ear. The Academy recognized five fine films. Steven Spielberg reportedly said that the current crop of films in America today might just be a reaction to the Neo-Conservative thinking that has become pervasive. That illustrates how important the arts are -- they provide perspective and contrast to the dominant thought and voice.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
A wild week in state politics
The last couple days have brought two significant developments on the state political scene where the Legislature passed a law that will ban discrimination against gays and lesbians, and where both state parties replaced retiring leaders with newcomers to the party leadership.
Friday the state House and Senate did what had failed to be done for roughly 30 years perviously: add sexual orientation to the list of reasons for which a person cannot be discriminated against in employment, housing and insurance. Gov. Chris Gregoire has said she would sign the bill into law this week. It is shocking to think that it took until 2006 for the state to protect gay men and lesbians from being fired, being denied housing rental or sale or being able to get insurance because of their sexual orientation.
Opponents of the measure -- mainly Republicans and a couple conservative Democrats -- used two main arguments to fight the ban on discrimination. They said the measure would lead to the state allowing people of the same sex to wed. It does not allow such marriages. However, the state supreme court is expected to issue a ruling soon in a case heard last spring about whether the state's constitution does allow such marriages. The other argument basically said employers, landlords and other business people should not be forced to accept something to which they are morally opposed (homosexuality) or that gays and lesbians do not face the same discrimination as people of color or the disabled. However, state law already forbids discrimination because of a religion -- something that arguably has a moral perspective and which is clearly a choice. Using the Repiblican logic, one could ask whether an employer who is Muslim should be forced to hire someone who is Christian.
Some have raised the idea of taking the recently passed law to the people as a referendum. By the time that made its way to the ballot it would have been a law already for months or more, and I suspect people in Washington state, known for their tolerance and progressive attitude, would be reluctant to remove rights once granted.
Saturday the two main parties elected new chairs. The Democrats chose Dright Pelz, a former King County Councilman and state legislator from Seattle, who was the favorite of the state's senior U.S. Senator, Patty Murray, and Gov. Gregoire. He replaces the retiring Paul Berendt, who led the party for several years, culminating in a contentions election recount and court challenge from November 2004 to June 2005. Pelz beat Laura Ruderman, a former state legislator who was the Democrat candidate for Secretary fo State in 2004.
Thhings for the Republicans did not go as predictably. The party's vice chair, Fredi Simpson of Wenatchee, had collected the endorsements of the state's most prominent Republicans, including the 2004 GOP gubernatorial nominee, Dino Rossi, Attorney General Rob McKenna and the state's Republican U.S. Representatives: Dave Reichert, Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris. The successful candidate instead was Diane Tebelius, who lost to Reichert in the primary in the suburban Eighth District in 2004. She is an attorney with Justice Department experience and replaced Chris Vance, who left to take a job in the private sector. Wenatchee's reputation as the nexus of GOP power in Washington state seems to be slipping in favor of the Eastside suburbs of Seattle.
With a contentious 2006 election approaching, these two new chairs each have an uphill battle. The GOP hopes to make gains in the Legislature and perhaps a Congressional seat, but their big prize is the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Maria Cantwell, who barely beat Slade Gorton in 2000. The Republicans are also still bitter about the gubernatorial election of 2004, which they say was stolen from Rossi despite three vote tallies and an airtight court case that did not prove anything and in fact cost Rossi four votes.
The Democrats seek to hold the Legislature and Congressional seats as well as send Cantwell back to the other Washington. Sen. Hillary Clinton was in Seattle Friday for a Cantwell fundraiser, the first of what will likely be several Democrat stars traipsing through the state to keep that seat in the Democrats' hands. It's key to the Democratic National Committee's hopes of regaining the U.S. Senate in 2006 and the White House in 2008.
There are no other statewide races in 2006, so these will get all the media attention. Pelz has promised to do something that has not occurred in many Eastern Washington counties in a long time: field a candidate in every race in the state. Issues such as the WASL, the state budget and the newly passed gay-rights measure will surely factor into the races. If Pelz is successful at finding candidates, 2006 may shape up to be interesting as some incumbents are forced to engage in debate where they have run unopposed for years.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Friday the state House and Senate did what had failed to be done for roughly 30 years perviously: add sexual orientation to the list of reasons for which a person cannot be discriminated against in employment, housing and insurance. Gov. Chris Gregoire has said she would sign the bill into law this week. It is shocking to think that it took until 2006 for the state to protect gay men and lesbians from being fired, being denied housing rental or sale or being able to get insurance because of their sexual orientation.
Opponents of the measure -- mainly Republicans and a couple conservative Democrats -- used two main arguments to fight the ban on discrimination. They said the measure would lead to the state allowing people of the same sex to wed. It does not allow such marriages. However, the state supreme court is expected to issue a ruling soon in a case heard last spring about whether the state's constitution does allow such marriages. The other argument basically said employers, landlords and other business people should not be forced to accept something to which they are morally opposed (homosexuality) or that gays and lesbians do not face the same discrimination as people of color or the disabled. However, state law already forbids discrimination because of a religion -- something that arguably has a moral perspective and which is clearly a choice. Using the Repiblican logic, one could ask whether an employer who is Muslim should be forced to hire someone who is Christian.
Some have raised the idea of taking the recently passed law to the people as a referendum. By the time that made its way to the ballot it would have been a law already for months or more, and I suspect people in Washington state, known for their tolerance and progressive attitude, would be reluctant to remove rights once granted.
Saturday the two main parties elected new chairs. The Democrats chose Dright Pelz, a former King County Councilman and state legislator from Seattle, who was the favorite of the state's senior U.S. Senator, Patty Murray, and Gov. Gregoire. He replaces the retiring Paul Berendt, who led the party for several years, culminating in a contentions election recount and court challenge from November 2004 to June 2005. Pelz beat Laura Ruderman, a former state legislator who was the Democrat candidate for Secretary fo State in 2004.
Thhings for the Republicans did not go as predictably. The party's vice chair, Fredi Simpson of Wenatchee, had collected the endorsements of the state's most prominent Republicans, including the 2004 GOP gubernatorial nominee, Dino Rossi, Attorney General Rob McKenna and the state's Republican U.S. Representatives: Dave Reichert, Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris. The successful candidate instead was Diane Tebelius, who lost to Reichert in the primary in the suburban Eighth District in 2004. She is an attorney with Justice Department experience and replaced Chris Vance, who left to take a job in the private sector. Wenatchee's reputation as the nexus of GOP power in Washington state seems to be slipping in favor of the Eastside suburbs of Seattle.
With a contentious 2006 election approaching, these two new chairs each have an uphill battle. The GOP hopes to make gains in the Legislature and perhaps a Congressional seat, but their big prize is the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Maria Cantwell, who barely beat Slade Gorton in 2000. The Republicans are also still bitter about the gubernatorial election of 2004, which they say was stolen from Rossi despite three vote tallies and an airtight court case that did not prove anything and in fact cost Rossi four votes.
The Democrats seek to hold the Legislature and Congressional seats as well as send Cantwell back to the other Washington. Sen. Hillary Clinton was in Seattle Friday for a Cantwell fundraiser, the first of what will likely be several Democrat stars traipsing through the state to keep that seat in the Democrats' hands. It's key to the Democratic National Committee's hopes of regaining the U.S. Senate in 2006 and the White House in 2008.
There are no other statewide races in 2006, so these will get all the media attention. Pelz has promised to do something that has not occurred in many Eastern Washington counties in a long time: field a candidate in every race in the state. Issues such as the WASL, the state budget and the newly passed gay-rights measure will surely factor into the races. If Pelz is successful at finding candidates, 2006 may shape up to be interesting as some incumbents are forced to engage in debate where they have run unopposed for years.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Waiting to exhale: Countdown to WASL
The Seattle Times announced in its Sunday edition that it is launching a yearlong series of stories following students from around the Puget Sound as they prepare for, take and receive scores for the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the state's high-stakes test required for all students to graduate in 2008 and which will count for the first time when taken by this year's sophomores beginning in March.
The newspaper has one of the strongest education reportersw around in Linda Shaw, and she probably knows more about the WASL than most educators. Shaw wrote an introduction for the piece:
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
The newspaper has one of the strongest education reportersw around in Linda Shaw, and she probably knows more about the WASL than most educators. Shaw wrote an introduction for the piece:
This spring, when high-school sophomores take the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the stakes will be very high. So will the stress.
The Class of 2008 is the first group of students required to pass the WASL in order to graduate. For educators, parents and students, that's a sobering prospect: So far, more than half of the state's 10th-graders each year fail to pass at least one part of the test.
Today, The Seattle Times begins a series of stories examining the use of the WASL as a graduation requirement. Over the next several months, we'll explore a number of key questions about the exam.
How are schools preparing students? How is the test affecting low-income and minority students, groups that have struggled with it the most? What has happened in states that already have graduation tests in place? Did Olympia, in demanding the state's students meet tougher standards, give schools the money and materials needed to succeed?
And we'll track the debate in the Legislature, where lawmakers are reconsidering whether so much of a student's future should ride on the outcome of one test.
We'll also view the WASL through the eyes of a handful of Puget Sound sophomores — all of whom failed at least part of the test in seventh grade — as they gear up to take it this time around.
Today, we introduce you to three students who have agreed to share their experiences, pass or fail.
The Times' Executive Editor, Mike Fancher, wrote about the endeavor in his Sunday column about the paper:
"I was surprised at how scared they are."
— Ben Graeber, teacher at Hazen High in Renton
"They" are members of the Class of 2008, the first students who must pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning to graduate from high school. They obviously have a huge stake in the WASL test, but so do the rest of us. That is why The Seattle Times today launches an extended project we call "The Class of 2008: Facing the Test." Throughout the year we will look anew at important questions:
How good is the test? What does it expect of students? How has the education system and the state helped them to do what is being asked of them?
We begin today with Linda Shaw's overview of the WASL and some arresting statistics about the students whose futures are on the line. The number of students thought to be at risk to fail some portion of the test this year is alarming. And for the Class of 2008, the test is a hurdle they must get over to graduate.
Small wonder Ben Graeber's language-arts students are scared, as many sophomores throughout the state must be. And today we introduce readers to three sophomores who have agreed to let us follow them through the WASL experience.
Everyone is holding his or her breath this spring to see if all the questions we've had for a decade will be answered when the scores come back -- and they'll be back earlier than ever, by June 6 so students can take summer remediation courses. Some of my questions:
- Will we really see scores increase dramatically as so many leaders have predicted? The thinking goes that because this year it finally "counts," students will take the WASL more seriously and will perform better. In 2005, just 47 percent of students passed all three sections (mathematics, reading and writing -- science is not required until the Class of 2010). In Wenatchee, it's even tougher -- students in the Class of 2007 need to pass the WASL to graduate because of a local requirement.
- Will students of color, students living in poverty, students with English as a nonnative language and students with special needs perform as well as other students? These groups have a far lower pass rate than other students. Not surprisingly, affluent, suburban students who are Caucasian or Asian perform the best.
- What will the retakes and alternative assessments look like? If a student cannot demonstrate competency on the WASL, how will we allow him or her to demonstrate competency in a way that maintains the rigor of the WASL and does not duplicate the requirements of one of the other three graduation requirements (transcript, culminating project and fifth-year plan)?
- What will happen after another year or even two and the state's Class of 2008 is still far from 100 percent passing the WASL? That's the $64,000 question, and if I knew how to solve this and others, I would be shouting it from every mountaintop.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
A memory forged in fire
Jan. 28, 1986, I know exactly where I was and exactly what I was doing. In classrooms across the country, kids were watching the launch of the space shuttle Challenger. Shuttle missions were still rare and widely watched. This one was extra-special. This mission carried a special astronaut, Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire and who would have been the first teacher in space. Everyone had talked about it.
And while space shuttle launches had become just a bit routine, this one soon turned into anything but typical. Just moments into the launch, as the shuttle catapaulted into the stratosphere, the dwindling shape of the orbiter and its rocket-fuel boosters exploded into a ball of fire as family members watched below and millions of people watched on live television around America.
Today is the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, and the intervening years have not been smooth for the space shuttle program with the shuttle Columbia disintegrating on atmospheric re-entry in 2003.
The Challenger explosion was a striking benchmark in my life, perhaps because of what it stood for -- exploration, science and the pursuit of knowledge. A new day was dawning in space research, a day that was postponed, perhaps for 20 years. It's time to renew the drive that took Americans to the moon and become a program that conducts scientific research for knowledge's sake. The American spirit needs the shot in the arm, and the seven astronauts who dies on Jan. 28, 1986, deserve for their legacy to be nothing less.
-- Seattle
And while space shuttle launches had become just a bit routine, this one soon turned into anything but typical. Just moments into the launch, as the shuttle catapaulted into the stratosphere, the dwindling shape of the orbiter and its rocket-fuel boosters exploded into a ball of fire as family members watched below and millions of people watched on live television around America.
Today is the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, and the intervening years have not been smooth for the space shuttle program with the shuttle Columbia disintegrating on atmospheric re-entry in 2003.
The Challenger explosion was a striking benchmark in my life, perhaps because of what it stood for -- exploration, science and the pursuit of knowledge. A new day was dawning in space research, a day that was postponed, perhaps for 20 years. It's time to renew the drive that took Americans to the moon and become a program that conducts scientific research for knowledge's sake. The American spirit needs the shot in the arm, and the seven astronauts who dies on Jan. 28, 1986, deserve for their legacy to be nothing less.
-- Seattle
Friday, January 27, 2006
'Transamerica' shines spotlight in small corner
The movie where Felicity Huffman earned a Best Actress in a Drama Golden Globe award registered with me as a fun tale about a small corner of the gender spectrum, one where most viewers will have their first exposure. In short, "Transamerica" is a solid film with a knockout performance by Huffman. The plot begins with Huffman as a pre-operative transsexual woman in Los Angeles who discovers she has a son, who is a juvenile delinquent in New York. She heads to New York to try to deal with the issue -- without informing the boy of the true story. She brings the boy cross-country by car, and the adventures bring them closer together while giving viewers insight into two characters with a lot in common about covering things up.
While the main plot winds along as a tender story about growing closer to family and learning to drop facades in order to gain acceptance, there are a lot of humorous situations to make this a charming movie. The nice part is that the film doesn't push the humor at the cost of the story or treating its characters as flat. Instead, the humor seems to work as a safety valve for what could have been a film that buckled under the weight of its message.
I'm pleased to be able to find nice, sweet films like "Transamerica" and "Junebug" that treat the characters as people with a story instead of a story filled with people just to ger from the opening to closing credits. Although I have seen a few of the movies in 2006, this is a ripple effect of the great year of film taht was 2005.
-- Seattle
While the main plot winds along as a tender story about growing closer to family and learning to drop facades in order to gain acceptance, there are a lot of humorous situations to make this a charming movie. The nice part is that the film doesn't push the humor at the cost of the story or treating its characters as flat. Instead, the humor seems to work as a safety valve for what could have been a film that buckled under the weight of its message.
I'm pleased to be able to find nice, sweet films like "Transamerica" and "Junebug" that treat the characters as people with a story instead of a story filled with people just to ger from the opening to closing credits. Although I have seen a few of the movies in 2006, this is a ripple effect of the great year of film taht was 2005.
-- Seattle
Senior Par-tay
Jan. 26 was a first-ever event at school. The senior class senate, which I advise, planned a party to mark the end of the students' seventh semester and dubbed it the "7/8 Party." It was a chance to have fun with a goal of bringing the seniors together.
The components included four stations for the "Halo 2" video game, a projected movie, card games, two sets of "Dance, Dance Revolution," basketball and dodge ball. We also ordered 20 pizzas, and one senator brought 12 two-liter jugs of pop. The senators and I had our fingers crossed that we would get at least a few dozen people attending and that people would not try to be "fashionably late."
We were surprised at the turnout of well over 100 people, between a quarter and a third of the class. There was also a diverse mixture of students, not just the usual faces. The best part was that the kids seemed to just be having fun -- the senators called it "chill." I also appreciated the dedication of our dozen or so parent and community chaperones, who mainly had to work the next day.
If the goal was to have fun and bring the class together, I say "mission accomplished."
-- Seattle
The components included four stations for the "Halo 2" video game, a projected movie, card games, two sets of "Dance, Dance Revolution," basketball and dodge ball. We also ordered 20 pizzas, and one senator brought 12 two-liter jugs of pop. The senators and I had our fingers crossed that we would get at least a few dozen people attending and that people would not try to be "fashionably late."
We were surprised at the turnout of well over 100 people, between a quarter and a third of the class. There was also a diverse mixture of students, not just the usual faces. The best part was that the kids seemed to just be having fun -- the senators called it "chill." I also appreciated the dedication of our dozen or so parent and community chaperones, who mainly had to work the next day.
If the goal was to have fun and bring the class together, I say "mission accomplished."
-- Seattle
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Finals Week fracas
I don't know what it is about Finals Week at school, but it always seems to be a sort of weird, subdued environment that belies the reality of bedlam. Everyone seems stressed except for me. Frankly, I think this week is one of the easiest weeks for me as a teacher -- all the students are present, everyone is academically focused, I don't have to do much because the kids are performing speeches or tests or whatever, and at the end of the week no one has any homework. Dang, what could be better?
Two main things have frustrated me this week, though. One is the ridiculous schedule, and the other is the arrogance of some of my colleagues. A compounding factor is the whininess of some of my students who need to be told to shut up for once in their life.
The schedule is absurd. With six classes as the basic schedule, one ould think we could do three finals one day and three the next. But no, we have a Tuesday that includes a 20-minute period followed by a 90-minute final. Wednesday has three 90-minute finals, a 50-minute regular class that is completely pointless and an end time that is five minutes earlier than normal. Thursday brings two 90-minute finals and a start time that is five minutes later than normal. It also includes a final exam period after lunch for the "zero period" even though no one uses that time for a test because they have already taken it earlier.
That leads me to the arrogance part. Some of my colleagues seem to think they can cancel a class or test at whim without regard for the impact on the rest of us. The "zero period" teachers usually have their test earlier in the week and then cancel the Thursday afternoon test period. We could all have a smoother week if the Tuesday final were moved to Thursday if the "zero period" classes continue to do whatever they please. Other colleagues told students not to come to class -- they said they would not be taking attendance -- if the student already had an A grade. That is ridiculous! Every student of mine has to come to the final. I had a student today with a 101 percent grade who took the final. No exceptions.
These are the things that bug me and make it hard to maintain order and accountability during the week of nuttiness. So, here is my proposal for a smooth finals week:
And honestly, some people need to get over the fact that a disappointing grade is not my fault -- they need to accept the fact that I don't round grades and I should not need to remind them to study. Grow up and move on.
Whatever the case, I am looking forward to having the day off Friday for "Records Day" and then starting fresh on Monday.
Happy New Semester!
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Two main things have frustrated me this week, though. One is the ridiculous schedule, and the other is the arrogance of some of my colleagues. A compounding factor is the whininess of some of my students who need to be told to shut up for once in their life.
The schedule is absurd. With six classes as the basic schedule, one ould think we could do three finals one day and three the next. But no, we have a Tuesday that includes a 20-minute period followed by a 90-minute final. Wednesday has three 90-minute finals, a 50-minute regular class that is completely pointless and an end time that is five minutes earlier than normal. Thursday brings two 90-minute finals and a start time that is five minutes later than normal. It also includes a final exam period after lunch for the "zero period" even though no one uses that time for a test because they have already taken it earlier.
That leads me to the arrogance part. Some of my colleagues seem to think they can cancel a class or test at whim without regard for the impact on the rest of us. The "zero period" teachers usually have their test earlier in the week and then cancel the Thursday afternoon test period. We could all have a smoother week if the Tuesday final were moved to Thursday if the "zero period" classes continue to do whatever they please. Other colleagues told students not to come to class -- they said they would not be taking attendance -- if the student already had an A grade. That is ridiculous! Every student of mine has to come to the final. I had a student today with a 101 percent grade who took the final. No exceptions.
These are the things that bug me and make it hard to maintain order and accountability during the week of nuttiness. So, here is my proposal for a smooth finals week:
- Two days of finals only. "Zero period" classes schedule their final when convenient because there are few to whom this applies. Each day has three tests.
- Each day has a 60-minute lunch period. Juniors and seniors with a 3.0 GPA are allowed to go off campus for lunch, freeing space in the cafeteria. That would be a privilege worth earning, I think. And, students would be sure to return because they all have a test to take.
And honestly, some people need to get over the fact that a disappointing grade is not my fault -- they need to accept the fact that I don't round grades and I should not need to remind them to study. Grow up and move on.
Whatever the case, I am looking forward to having the day off Friday for "Records Day" and then starting fresh on Monday.
Happy New Semester!
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Computer repaired -- early and under budget
I am so glad to have back at my home the trusty computer that has helped me through so many online courses and Weblog postings. It came home with me today after I had it repaired this afternoon. I was not expecting it to be done until tonight, but the repairman got it done fast and it ended up costing less than we both expected.
Gotta love that.
And now back to the 14-inch screen, too! Yay.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Gotta love that.
And now back to the 14-inch screen, too! Yay.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Ivins says thumbs down to Hillary
I am not usually a fan of Molly Ivins. Too folksy. Too much of a cheap Bush-basher. Frankly, I think she would not be a nationally syndicated columnist without the electoral success of George W. Bush.
Anyway, her column Jan. 23 is a solid one:
It's enough to make every true yellow-dog Democrat question whether the politics of Hillary Clinton, and the other centrists who woo both sides of the aisle, will be the message that wins in 2006 and 2008. Increasingly, I find myself looking at candidates such as Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, a senator with conscience and with a voice that sounds more and more worth listening to.
Don't get me wrong; I don't want to support a candidate who can't ever win an election, but I don't think the alternative to George W. Bush and the corruption of the Republican Party has to be just to the left. Why can't we step back and say, "Hey, they're weak. Let's put up a candidate that is a sharp contrast, not just bluish shade of red."
I don't know who that candidate is, but it ain't Hillary Clinton.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Anyway, her column Jan. 23 is a solid one:
It's time for Democrats to put up or shut up
By Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
AUSTIN - I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.
Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. The senator is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.
The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times when a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.
If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy -- rough, tough Bobby Kennedy -- didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.
What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing President Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich.
The majority (77 percent) think we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) think big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
I listen to people like Rep. Rahm Emanuel superciliously explaining elementary politics to us clueless naifs outside the Beltway ("First, you have to win elections"). Can't you even read the polls?
Here's a prize example by columnist Barry Casselman: "There is an invisible civil war in the Democratic Party now under way, and it is between those who are attempting to satisfy the defeatist and pacifist left base of the party and those who are attempting to prepare the party for successful elections in 2006 and 2008."
This supposedly pits Howard Dean, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, emboldened by "a string of bad news from the Middle East ... into calling for premature retreat from Iraq," vs. those pragmatic folk like Rep. Steny Hoyer, Emmanuel and Sens. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman.
Oh, come on, people -- get a grip on the concept of leadership. Look at this war -- from the lies that led us into it to the lies they continue to dump on us daily.
You sit there in Washington so frightened of the big, bad Republican machine that you have no idea what people are thinking. I'm telling you right now, Tom DeLay is going to lose in his district. If Democrats in Washington haven't got enough sense to own the issue of political reform, I give up on them entirely.
Do it all, go long, go for public campaign financing for Congress. I'm serious as a stroke about this -- that is the only reform that will work, and you know it, and so does everyone else who's ever studied this. Embrace redistricting reform, electoral reform, House rules changes, the whole package. Own this issue or let Jack Abramoff politics continue to run your town.
Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The minute that someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means.
That, or you could just blow them off elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."
Do not sit there cowering and pretending that the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can.
It's enough to make every true yellow-dog Democrat question whether the politics of Hillary Clinton, and the other centrists who woo both sides of the aisle, will be the message that wins in 2006 and 2008. Increasingly, I find myself looking at candidates such as Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, a senator with conscience and with a voice that sounds more and more worth listening to.
Don't get me wrong; I don't want to support a candidate who can't ever win an election, but I don't think the alternative to George W. Bush and the corruption of the Republican Party has to be just to the left. Why can't we step back and say, "Hey, they're weak. Let's put up a candidate that is a sharp contrast, not just bluish shade of red."
I don't know who that candidate is, but it ain't Hillary Clinton.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Term's up
The news today from Los Angeles is that my favorite show, "The West Wing," has been cancelled. The plan is for the coming election nin the show's plot line to be the finale, and as President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) boards Air Force One to return to his native New Hampshire, the new president will be sworn in. The new president -- either Alan Alda's Sen. Arnold Vinick or Jimmy Smits' Rep. Matt Santos -- won't have much time to enjoy the Oval Office.
The final episode will air May 18, preceded by an hourlong retrospective. The show will also deal with the real-world death of John Spencer, the actor who played Leo McGarry, former chief of staff and later the Democrat nominee for vice president.
Read what Melanie McFarland, television critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has to say.
Russell Shaw at the Huffington Post, via Yahoo! News, had some alternate reasons.
Here's a blog site about the cancellation.
For seven seasons, "The West Wing" has been my weekly solace, a chance to remember some of my ideals and enjoy them portrayed in believable and engaging characters on one of the best-written series on television. I own five seasons on DVD, and I watch every extra, every episode. Simply put, I love the show.
Come fall, I won't be turning to that other White House show on ABC. I'll find something to grab my attention, and I'll remember fondly the glory days of the Bartlet Administration.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
The final episode will air May 18, preceded by an hourlong retrospective. The show will also deal with the real-world death of John Spencer, the actor who played Leo McGarry, former chief of staff and later the Democrat nominee for vice president.
Read what Melanie McFarland, television critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has to say.
Russell Shaw at the Huffington Post, via Yahoo! News, had some alternate reasons.
Here's a blog site about the cancellation.
For seven seasons, "The West Wing" has been my weekly solace, a chance to remember some of my ideals and enjoy them portrayed in believable and engaging characters on one of the best-written series on television. I own five seasons on DVD, and I watch every extra, every episode. Simply put, I love the show.
Come fall, I won't be turning to that other White House show on ABC. I'll find something to grab my attention, and I'll remember fondly the glory days of the Bartlet Administration.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Pranks for the memories
The last few weeks have brought an occasional prank phone call at strange hours. The number usually is blocked, and my phone announces this with an abnormal ring tone and the phrase "Unknown caller" spoken in a pseudo-human voice. Sometimes I answer, trying to grasp a clue as to this unknown caller. Other times, I just let the call go to voice mail. Sometimes there is a message.
Saturday at about 2:40 a.m., that exact situation occurred. As I awoke to the chirp noise that indicates a voice message, I knew I needed to leave the snuggly warmth of my bed to see who had called, just in case it was an emergency. With family members spread around the country and time zones, and with a disabled parent, the likelihood of an early morning call with bad news is not out of the question.
But this call was no emergency. This call was just a stupid prank along the lines of those I have received in the past. This time, though, the prankster was sloppy and left the phone identification. My interrogations and research should be able to ascertain the culprits, and I have just one reminder: I love a good practical joke, and I like to get even. I always do.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
Saturday at about 2:40 a.m., that exact situation occurred. As I awoke to the chirp noise that indicates a voice message, I knew I needed to leave the snuggly warmth of my bed to see who had called, just in case it was an emergency. With family members spread around the country and time zones, and with a disabled parent, the likelihood of an early morning call with bad news is not out of the question.
But this call was no emergency. This call was just a stupid prank along the lines of those I have received in the past. This time, though, the prankster was sloppy and left the phone identification. My interrogations and research should be able to ascertain the culprits, and I have just one reminder: I love a good practical joke, and I like to get even. I always do.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
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