Rants & Raves: Duval County School Board unfit, overpaid for the job

[Patricia M. McBride]

Rants & Raves: Duval County School Board unfit, overpaid for the job

Posted: September 13, 2010 - 11:49pm

Wake up, [Duval County Public Schools Board]. The total incompetence from the top down, including the over-priced board members, cannot be allowed to continue. The superintendent has proven he cannot be trusted and his word on a contract means nothing as he has proven by his attempt to renegotiate the teachers' contracts. Only stimulus money gave the teachers the much needed but paltry pittance raises, not the superintendent (and of course with no help whatsoever from the teachers' union, which is about as incompetent as the board and the administration).

GOP and Social Security

Another misleading Times-Union "Fact Check:" Republicans don't want to do away with Social Security as charged by [President Barack] Obama. They offered Mitch McConnell's statement that Republicans don't want to end Social Security as proof. Now I just ask you how many Republican politicians have you heard call Social Security a Ponzi scheme and charge that young workers will not get their Social Security upon retirement? Did not [President George W. Bush] try very hard to end Social Security by diverting Social Security payroll taxes to individual stock market accounts? Have you ever heard a Democratic politician disavow Social Security? I rest my case.

Running red lights epidemic

The number of people blatantly running red lights is epidemic. Texting and phones are probably the main culprits, but the police appear to be little or no help. On three separate occasions I have observed police totally ignore violators. One incident involved a police car behind me who could not have missed the violator but apparently did not feel the need to ticket the violator. Maybe the paperwork is out of hand and the violators are just ignored to lessen the paperwork. But to ignore the people running the lights is insane. Maybe they should cut back on the speed traps on Kings Road and ticketing little old ladies doing 45 in a 35 mph zone instead. Or is that just the easy way?

Pointing fingers

Does the person who ranted and raved about Terry Jones being a Republican know that for a fact? Maybe he is an Independent or even (God forbid) a Democrat. Why is it that whenever a person disagrees with someone else they must be a Republican or a tea party person? Maybe they can blame it on [President] George W. Bush.

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