Time As My Only Measure

From Immigration to Education now:

via MSNBC:

Students at Arizona's three state universities will have to pay -- or borrow -- at least $2,000 a year to get an education under terms of legislation approved by a House panel today.

 

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said students should have some "skin in the game.'' He said students will take their schooling more seriously and be less likely to drop out if they have made an investment.

"I really believe that when something is given to you, you don't have the appreciation of having put in some work,'' agreed Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction.

He said $2,000 out of $9,000 annual tuition is not that big a deal. Even with books and fees, Kavanagh said that adds only another $1,500 a year.

Kavanagh said that would leave students with $14,000 debt after four years, "less than the cost of a Chevy Sonic.''

"And I personally believe that degrees from our universities are worth far more than Chevy Sonics,'' he said. Anyway, Kavanagh said that is a small amount, as college grads earn anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million more over their lifetimes than those who do not have a higher education.

A petition to drop this is here.

Republican Wisconsin senators bypass Democrats in vote on collective bargaining

Senate Republicans abruptly passed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's plan to sharply curtail collective-bargaining rights for public employees Wednesday night, using a legislative maneuver to approve the measure without 14 Democratic senators who fled the state in an effort to block it.

After stripping the bill of fiscal measures that require a 20-member quorum for action, the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate passed the collective-bargaining measure. Analysts say the legislation would cripple most of the state's public employee unions.

The bill would eliminate most collective-bargaining rights for public employees across Wisconsin. It also would prevent unions from collecting dues with payroll deductions and would not allow unions to require members to pay dues. Collective bargaining is negotiation between an employer and a group of employees to determine the conditions of employment.

Well then. Where are the rocks? They need to start falling because this is some mess.

In better news, Illinois abolishes the death penalty.

Congressman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), and nine others were shot this morning by an unidentified gunman.

There's going to be a lot of talk from the right about how the police can't be sure of the gunman's motives and that it had nothing to do with the current political environment. In another world, it'd be easier for me to believe that it was entirely random, or even personally motivated, i.e not political. But this is the world we live in, so on the count of three, I'm going to need everyone to call bullshit.

We can go on and on about the right to free speech but to forget the responsibility that comes with it is just as horrible as not having it at all.

The dead included John Roll, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Arizona. Also killed was Gabe Zimmerman, 30, the congresswoman's director of community outreach, and a 9-year-old girl. Two other Giffords staffers were injured.

LINKS:
in usamerica news: - mekosuchinae
"just words," huh? - glass_icarus
sickened - heathershaped