http://scoville.pmpblogs.com Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:11:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="347" caption="Wayne Boss smiles after speaking at the Boulder Colorado Stake's 'Most Inspirational Teacher' Awards Night in Louisville, Colo., on Feb. 24, 2010."][/caption]   The quality of our nation’s teachers is more basic to excellence in education than even textbooks and curricula though the latter two are also ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2010/03/11/caring-teachers-improve-education/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="347" caption="Dr. Chris King honored BVSD teachers at a "Most Inspirational Teacher' awards night Feb. 24."][/caption]   Superintendent Chris King took time out of his busy life to underscore the value he places on Boulder Valley School District teachers. He spoke as a special guest as the Boulder Colorado ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2010/03/01/authentic-teachers/ When President Obama wanted to talk directly to our nation’s children in September, I had no problem with that. He’d been on T.V. nearly every night with one press conference or the other. A speech directed to children sounded fine. Though it turned out children were in school rather than ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2010/02/11/bvsd-disputes-after-obama%e2%80%99s-speech/ Elia Gourgouris, who hopes to leave for Haiti on Feb. 8, poses with his wife Sona, and sons, Dimitri (front) and Nicholas at a family celebration in March 2009.   Superior Town Trustee Elia Gourgouris plans to give hands-on help in Haiti after its devastating earthquake on Jan. 12. Gourgouris explained over the phone ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2010/01/31/superior-trustee-heads-to-haiti/ The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that government is out of the business of regulating corporate political speech. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the 5-to-4 majority “If the First Amendment has any force, it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2010/01/25/america-up-for-all-political-speech/ Health care reform compromise talks between the House and Senate bill versions need a heavy dose of disinfectant or, in other words, plenty of sunshine. During the campaign, candidate Barack Obama touted openness in government. He said, “I’ll make our government open and transparent so that anyone can insure that ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2010/01/07/health-care-talks-need-disinfectant/ We’re not in as much need as New York City in the 1984 made-for-TV movie “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” starring Mickey Rooney. The city had no Christmas spirit and Annie Potts’ character, a reporter, couldn’t find one uplifting story for the Christmas Eve newscast. However, reporters have brought ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2009/12/15/christmas-gifts-from-the-heart/ A recent CBS news poll on global warming asked, “Do you think there is solid evidence of man-made global warming?” Seventy percent of the respondents questioned whether humans have anything to do with climate change. Forty-six percent responded, “Global warming is a myth” and another 24 percent said, “No, the ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2009/12/09/saving-the-planet-from-global-warming/ Just like most Thanksgivings, this year I thought about one thing a University of Colorado political science professor taught me in the 1990s. Dennis Eckert told the class you don’t leave a tip on the table after Thanksgiving dinner. As I remember it, he was making the point that you ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2009/12/01/the-value-of-thanksgiving/ President Obama’s signature tax break of up to $400 for individuals and up to $800 for couples is turning into a confusing mess for millions of taxpayers. What looked to some like free money in February amid the hoopla of Obama’s $787 billion “stimulus” bill was really a decrease in ... http://scoville.pmpblogs.com/2009/11/19/obama%e2%80%99s-tax-break-bad-economically/