Free Republic

The Republican primary is still nearly four months away, but former Gov. Pete Wilson on Thursday declared that the general election has begun and that the party needs to unite behind front-runner Meg Whitman as its candidate for governor. Wilson's e-mail to Whitman supporters was sent a day after three Democratic and pro-labor groups said they were ready to raise more than $40 million to begin targeting the former eBay chief in statewide ads. "Meg and our campaign team are beginning the general election today, and we are not wasting time,'' Wilson, Whitman's campaign chairman, wrote. To counter the Democrats'...

"Today, I again seek to act for the good of our community," "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so. I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my party will emerge stronger and our district and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for...

Breaking DeDe has dropped out of the race here in the NY-23. A source colse to the Hoffman campaign confirms that DeDe Scozzafava has bowed out of the race. Stay tunes to 73wire for more details and audio of Dede addressing supporters.

BLACK MALE DROPOUTS LEAD NATION IN INCARCERATION, ACCORDING TO NEW REPORT, WEEK OF OCTOBER 22-28, 2009The Wilmington Journal Originally posted 10/22/2009 SPECIAL TO THE NNPA FROM THE LOUISIANA WEEKLY (NNPA)--On any given day, nearly 23 percent of all young Black men ages 16 to 24 who have dropped out of high school are in jail, prison, or a juvenile justice institution in America, according to a disturbing new national report on the dire economic and social consequences of not graduating from high school. Dropouts become incarcerated at a shocking rate: 23 of every 100 young Black male dropouts were in...

With nearly one-third of all U.S. public high school students failing to graduate each year, AT&T* today announced results from the latest study conducted by Civic Enterprises and Peter Hart Research with America’s Promise Alliance entitled “On the Front Lines of Schools,” where the voices of our nation’s education practitioners reflect their outlook on the high school dropout crisis. ( ... ) Teachers and administrators who are confronted every day with daunting challenges in the classroom, understand the reasons students drop out of school, and express strong support for reforms in our schools to address dropout rates. The research indicates...

Diplomas Count by: Emily Kanyi, June 18, 2009 A report released by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center shows that despite a marked improvement in the national high school graduation rate, three out of ten U.S. public schools students still fail to get a high school diploma. The U.S. national graduation rate rose from sixty-six percent in 1996 to sixty-nine percent in 2006. From 1997 to 1999 the statistics recorded a yearly sixty-six percent graduation rate and between 2000 and 2003 there was an improved annual graduation rate of sixty-eight percent. In 2003 to 2005...

Dropout Grants Subsidize Dropouts by: Daniel Allen, April 01, 2009 The policies of Beverly Perdue, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, were brought into question recently by a report showing that North Carolina’s high school dropout rate is getting worse, despite millions of dollars set aside in the state budget. The dropout grant programs have many supporters, but new research carried out by the John Locke Foundation suggests that evidence does not offer a bright forecast for the program’s future. The author of the report, Terry Stoops, found that “only 14 [out] of 100 North Carolina schools served by state-dropout-prevention-grant...

For too long, high schools and states have played hide-the-dropout, artificially inflating their graduation rates. In many places, a teenager practically has to show up at the principal's office and shout "I'm a dropout!" to get counted as one. Considering that the dropout rate is, even by sunny estimates, distressingly high, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is right to plan a standardized method of reporting nationwide. The public won't demand change when it cannot clearly see the problem. This is one subject, though, that calls for delicate handling -- not the bludgeon-likeapproach of the rest of the No Child Left...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Seventeen of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland, according to a report released Tuesday.

President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has announced that Mexico will not participate in the Beijing Summer Olympics. He stated: "Casi cada uno que puede funcionar, saltar, o la nadada ha salido ya del pams." Translation: "Pretty much everyone who can run, jump, or swim has already left the country."

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Mike Huckabee accused Mitt Romney of dirty politicking at a morning rally today, suggesting that Romney is telling voters that a vote for Huckabee is a vote against Romney. On Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" last Thursday, Romney said: "I think most people recognize that a vote for Mike Huckabee is a vote for John McCain, and if they want John McCain as their nominee, why, that's exactly what that vote would do." Today, Huckabee responded: "I know Mr. Romney has been trying to do a little voter suppression by telling people a vote for me...

Just announced by C-SPAN that Ron Paul would not be interviewing live today from New Hampshire (I think they were going him 30-60 minutes). No explanation was given. Seems odd given given his shutout from the Fox "debates". Anyone know what's up?

WASHINGTON - It's a nickname no principal could be proud of: "Dropout Factory," a high school where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. That description fits more than one in 10 high schools across America. "If you're born in a neighborhood or town where the only high school is one where graduation is not the norm, how is this living in the land of equal opportunity?" asks Bob Balfanz, the Johns Hopkins researcher who coined the term "dropout factory." There are about 1,700 regular or vocational high schools...

I have told my daughter that she will continue to attend the school she currently goes to the following school year. She said no, she wants to go to the local public high school because many of her neighborhood friends go there. I told her no, she will go to where I tell her. She seems to think that she can drop out of school as a result of my choice!! I don't think she can do that so easily. Does anyone know how that works in Arizona? Do parents have the ultimate authority? I read that a student can...

AT 22, Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout, is being labelled as the next Bill Gates. But even the Microsoft founder might have hesitated before blowing the chance of a $1.6 billion (£819m) offer for his fledgling business. Zuckerberg, founder of the Facebook social networking website, has told Yahoo!, the internet giant, that $1 billion is not enough to sell out. Now leaked documents suggest that Yahoo! was willing to raise its bid to $1.6 billion. Facebook, which he launched as a service for Harvard students in 2004, has become the seventh busiest website on the internet, and with 13m users...

Since there is much buzz these days about an apparent relationship between Bill Clinton and Canada's Belinda Stronach, some of you might find it amusing to see just what kind of person she is. Click on the source URL to get to a list of articles about her. You will be amazed. Most of them were written durring the time she was running for the leadership of Canada's Conservative Party. After she lost the leadership race, she was elected an MP and became a member of the opposition cabinet. She basicly did next to nothing there, then jumped ship to...

Cedric Griffin talks to Austin police amid investigation of Longhorn athletes. AUSTIN, Texas - Texas standout cornerback Cedric Griffin has talked with police, a lawyer advising the player said Friday night, amid reports authorities are investigating an alleged assault and a robbery they believe might have been committed by Longhorns athletes. Police would not identify the suspects, say how many are being investigated or if they are members of the second-ranked Longhorns football team, which is scheduled to play top-ranked Southern California in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4 for the national title. The Houston Chronicle and News 8 Austin...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday plunged into the kind of controversy that could underlie his role as the first Latino leader of the multicultural city in over a century. Villaraigosa, 52, the high school dropout son of Mexican immigrants, scored a resounding election victory over incumbent James Hahn in Tuesday's mayoral elections, making him one of the nation's highest profile Latino leaders. Despite a campaign that underplayed race and a result that reflected cross-cultural support, Villaraigosa's historic win also underscored the growing influence of Latino voters in California and across the United...

The high-school dropout crisis in Los Angeles and across California is far worse than anybody knew. Researchers at Harvard University reported Wednesday that more than half of the students who enter Los Angeles Unified School District high schools, and nearly 30 percent across the state, don't graduate within four years. The dropout rates are sharply higher for Latino and African-American children. Those numbers are roughly twice as bad as members of the education establishment led the public to believe. For years, they have blamed transiency of the large immigrant population and a lot of other reasons for the lack of...

Thirteen years ago, our state published "Washington's First Annual Progress Report" to let citizens know the status of sweeping education-reform efforts. The report, signed by then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Judith Billings, made several promises. Among them, by the year 2000: • The high-school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent; • Students will leave grades four, eight and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including English, mathematics and science. Unfortunately, these promises have been broken. Back then, the state's high-school dropout rate was 23 percent. Today it is 33 percent (and more than 60 percent for...