NEA chief Eskelsen hits school vouchers bill in UEA address

By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 10/29/2007 12:46:18 PM MDT

Posted: 12:49 PM- Hundreds of Utah teachers gathered today to share strategies, learn skills and, largely, to protest school vouchers.
National Education Association secretary-treasurer and former Utah Education Association (UEA) President Lily Eskelsen focused her opening remarks on the joy of teaching and Utah's Referendum 1 at the UEA's annual convention, which started this morning at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
"Just when you thought politicians couldn't pass something dumber than No Child Left [Behind], along came Utah politicians proving them wrong," Eskelsen told a crowd of hundreds during her opening remarks in reference to bills Utah legislators passed that would give families voucher money to send their children to private schools.
The UEA followed her opening remarks with a media event where teachers, education union leaders and educators from across the state spoke against vouchers. UEA President Kim Campbell then encouraged teachers to pull out their cell phones to call legislators who voted against vouchers in order to thank them. Hundreds of teachers pulled out their cell phones to make the calls during the event. They then marched along West Temple Street carrying green Utahns for Public Schools signs proclaiming, "STOP VOUCHERS/ Vote AGAINST Referendum 1."

New Posting Policy at Spyglass, and Subscription Service

I received a nice email from my writer friends at one of the publications I follow and post many of their articles. They commented on how many direct links to their publications come from the Spyglass, and how happy they were that I posted their news stories.

They suggested however that instead of just posting a article, that I should post the first comment about the article itself to give my perspective and hopefully get others to comment as well.

Also I'm on the final stages of my newsletter that will be kicking off on November 1, 2007.


Mark

McCain takes fifth place in Iowa poll

The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Mike Sunnucks Phoenix Business Journal

Arizona Sen. John McCain sits in fifth place among Republican presidential contenders in the early battleground state of Iowa, according to a new poll.

The University of Iowa poll released Monday gives McCain 6 percent in the 2008 GOP presidential field. That is behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 36 percent, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (13 percent each) and actor Fred Thompson (11 percent).

One of McCain's U.S. Senate colleagues, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH., also announced Monday he was backing Romney's White House run.

On the Democratic side, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was favored by 29 percent of those polled, leading Illinois Sen. Barack Obama at 27 percent and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards at 20 percent.

The Iowa poll interviewed 689 voters between Oct. 17 and 24 with a margin of error of 4 percent.

Immunity deal hampers Blackwater inquiry, Spyglass Heads Back East for Training

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer 20 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians, The Associated Press has learned. The immunity deal has delayed a criminal inquiry into the Sept. 16 killings and could undermine any effort to prosecute security contractors for their role in the incident that has infuriated the Iraqi government. "Once you give immunity, you can't take it away," said a senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

State Department officials declined to confirm or deny that immunity had been granted. One official — who refused to be quoted by name_ said: "If, in fact, such a decision was made, it was done without any input or authorization from any senior State Department official in Washington."