• Is Speaker Buckley Sexist?
• Titus & I Agree
• Las Vegas KVBC Airs Interview
• What a Deal

Is Buckley Sexist?
Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley said after being made speaker of the Assembly in a local interview to News Carson City that, “Women legislators do tend to focus more on education, healthcare, day to day issues because that’s reflective of their day to day lives when not in session.” So does that mean men tend to not focus or even care about education, healthcare and are focused on irrelevant issues? In other words men are out of touch.

If a male public figure made such a blatantly sexist statement to the press, he would be put in the stocks in front of the Legislative Building facing Carson Street and forced to take hours of sensitivity and diversity training. You would think Nevada’s first female speaker of the Assembly would know better than to stereotype men as inattentive. Then again most men missed it as they were not listening while reading the paper on the couch.

Titus & I Agree
“Say it’s not so Joe!” Well yes, kind of, sort of, what was the question? Titus and I agree Empowerment and All-Day K are not mutually exclusive. As I noted Monday, schools will be empowered to allocate resources for All-Day K if they so choose. Titus is quoted by Ed Vogel of the Las Vegas Review-Journal as saying, “I hate for it to be empowerment versus kindergarten,” she said. “If they are both good, how come we’re not doing them both?” Possibly money can be found in the budget for both ideas, Titus said.

Her last sentence about money for both is where we differ. If All-Day K is so effective and such a priority, schools and districts would be willing to fund it within the proposed budget and plan of the governor. The only explanation why districts and schools in Nevada haven’t and won’t without massive additional, program specific funding for it is because they really don’t believe in its merits.

Just as any of us as parents can testify, children really “need” and want items until it is made clear they have to use their own money. The “must have” quickly disappears when they are forced to prioritize followed by the parental comment, “I guess you really didn’t want it that badly.”

You can read the full text of Vogel’s article with the quote from Titus and my own regarding the first day of the 2007 Legislature by clicking here.

Las Vegas KVBC Airs Interview
An interview I gave for Kendall Tenney’s Kids First program will air Wednesday at 5 and 11 o’clock on KVBC Channel 3 News, Las Vegas. The subject is All-Day K, an issue I understand Kendall has been following closely well before it made the headlines. Those of us up north can view the streaming video on their Web site at www.kvbc.com shortly after it’s aired.

What a Deal
Marc Deal that is. Marc Deal, the chief operating officer of The Bridge Center, was interviewed Monday on Nevada Newsmakers by Sam Shad and Randi Thompson. Marc heads an innovative center that addresses the serious needs of students and their families regarding truancy and the connected causal factors.

The Bridge Center is an ambitious, first of its kind in Nevada model program to fill the major gaps between school districts and current juvenile services. They provide assistance to kids who would otherwise fall through the cracks of the system without being noticed. Parents may also want to check out their Learning Tree Pre-School and meet the talented staff.

The political spirit is the great force in throwing the love of truth and accurate reasoning into a secondary place.
John Viscount Morley (1838—1923)

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