This would include implementing a public review when proposing to close a school and reforming our state’s method of standardized testing. It would additionally be beneficial to eliminate schools’ mid-year budget cuts. I have, and will continue to, visit schools and parent meetings within my district, seeking credible ideas and input on this important issue. Approving mayoral control allows the Department of Education (DOE), a city agency, to oversee our education system. Under the old Board of Education, there was neither transparency nor accountability. It was granted a $6 billion budget and the public had no clue of spending practices and few voters participated in school board elections. Under mayoral control and the DOE, the public is more aware of the budget, spending and the they are acutely aware that, in fact, they are just like everyone else. In my opinion, either everyone is special, or no one is special. America is supposed to be a place of equality, and whether a person is homeless or a billionaire, he should be treated well and equally. There is no social class or political class that has the right to lord it over everyone else unless “we the people” confer such power upon them or allow them to confer it upon themselves without resistance. Obviously, the billionaire can afford to pay for certain things like luxurious homes and cars and the best seats on airplanes and at the theater. There is nothing wrong with that. It should not cause resentment in a society in which anyone is free to work hard and use their God-given talents to excel and increase their own value in the marketplace. Some will not admit it, but our society would be pretty dreary if everyone shared the same level of Let’s Get Mayoral Control Right by State Sen. Joseph Addabbo It doesn’t happen often in government that we get a golden opportunity to broadly improve the education of our children, but with the expiration of mayoral control of our school system and the pending negotiations to extend it, we have only one clear mission—let’s get it right for the sake of our children. The U.S Constitution was designed to preserve the freedom and rights of all citizens. Our Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal and that we have certain God-given rights. With documents like these, how have we arrived at the state of such discord between purported haves and have-nots in our society? Some will try, of course, to discount any discussion of this topic by talking about the treatment of slaves, indentured servants, Native Americans and others who historically were not treated well. I am willing to acknowledge that the same human frailties that characterized societies throughout the world found their way into America, but it is unfair to demonize a nation and its many constituents based on the shortcomings of some of its members. Those who condemn America for its past seldom talk about the tremendous good and generosity that have been demonstrated by the country that cannot be denied the title of most benign pinnacle nation in the history of the world. One of the reasons that I find the concept of royalty and celebrity amusing is watching people putting on airs and trying to act like someone special when MMAAUURREEEENN EE. WWAALLTTHHEERRSS..........................................PPuubblisshheerr && EEdditoorr JJOOHHNN TT.. WWAALLTTHHEERRSS................................................................................................PPuubblliisshheerr EEmmeerriittuuss RROOBBEERRT POOZZAARRYYCCKI.................................................MMaanaaging EEdditorr JJOOSEE VVAARRGAAS.............................................Prrodducction//Saaleess MMaanaageerr DDEEBBOORRAAHH CCUUSSICCKK..............................................CClaassssiffieedd MMaannaaggeerr MMAARRLLEENNEE RRUUIZZ............................................AAssssisst. CClaassssifieedd MMaanaageerr TTIIMMEESS NNEEWWSSWWEEEEKKLLYY IIss LLiisstteedd WWiitthh TThhee SSttaannddaarrdd RRaattee && DDaattaa AAnndd IIss AA MMeemmbbeerr OOff TThhee NNeeww YYoorrkk PPrreessss AAssssoocciiaattiioonn TIMES, THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015 • 4 BEN CARSON News & Opinion Times Newsweekly EEDDIITTOORRIIAALL Lafayette, We’re Weren’t There With all due respect to Jane Hartley, the U.S. ambassador to France, the executive who appointed her to the post should have been in Paris on Sunday, Jan. 11, for that stirring rally against the terrorists behind last week’s massacre at the office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satire magazine. Millions of people—led by French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and other world leaders—courageously stood in the face of barbarism and vowed never to let murderous tyrants take away their freedom to speak, to read, to associate, to draw, to write and to live. Hartley represented the U.S. at this rally rather than President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden or even Secretary of State John Kerry. Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder was in Paris at the time for security meetings, and even he was not in attendance. When asked why the president or another high-ranking American official was absent, Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained security for the president could not have been so quickly arranged—the rally was announced last Friday, Jan. 9—and would impede the event itself. “There’s no doubt that had the president or vice president, on this very short time frame, gone to participate in this event that took place outdoors with more than a million people in attendance, that it would have significantly impacted the ability of those who attended the march to participate in the way they did yesterday,” Earnest said. He later conceded, however, that “it’s fair to say we should have sent someone with a higher profile.” The president’s security is obviously important, but questions about security didn’t stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas—whose sides are almost always an eyelash apart from all-out war—from standing near each other in helping to lead the proceedings in Paris on Sunday. France has been with the U.S. literally from the beginning, providing us with assistance in so many ways in our nation’s struggle for independence from the British. Marquis de Lafayette embodied the French commitment; he helped train the Continental Army and fought alongside the father of our country, George Washington. Generations later, we came to France’s aid in two World Wars, repaying that incredible debt a hundred-fold. Our loyalty was best summed up in a line Colonel C.E. Stanton delivered in 1917, after the U.S. intervened on behalf of the Allies during World War I: “Lafayette, we are here.” But we weren’t there for Lafayette on Sunday when the world needed to see our highest-ranking official walking shoulder to shoulder with his global colleagues and taking a united stand against terrorism. We owed France at least that much given our strained relationship with them more than a decade ago over our intervention in Iraq. The White House expressed security fears, but the point of the rally was to take a stand against fear itself. The participants demonstrated in the wake of bloody, barbaric terrorism they would not cower from genocidal terrorists such as those who walked into Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters last week and murdered journalists essentially over cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. The terrorists were tied to al-Qaeda, which—along with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—is hellbent on imposing its medieval caliphate based on subjugation, ignorance and murder. That crowd on Sunday seemed to send them all a message: there may be 30,000 of you, but there’s 3 million of us—and millions more around the world—who refuse to suffer under your tyranny and will work toward your destruction. That message was powerful enough. Imagine how much more powerful it would have been with one of our leaders in the forefront. Our high-profile absence—and our leaders’ default silence—was a travesty. Times Newsweekly Established In 1908 As Ridgewood Times PPhhootoo SSuubbmmissssioonnss AAnndd RReeqquueesstss Photographs submitted to the Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times should be in electronic high resolution (300dpi) JPEG (.jpg) or TIFF (.tif) formats. Sharp and clear non-Polaroid photo prints in color or black and white are also acceptable. Photographs submitted will become the property of this newspaper, with the exception of photos or other materials sent for use by The Old Timer and photos which are part of paid announcements. We welcome the submission of unsolicited photos or related materials for consideration of publication, but we cannot guarantee their use. The return of such photos or materials, except in cases as noted above, is not possible. We regret that we are unable to accommodate requests for photos taken by photographers working on assignment for the Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times. Reaching The Queens Homes Of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria, Long Island City, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Richmond Hill, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Woodhaven, Elmhurst & Kew Gardens. Reaching The Brooklyn Homes Of Ridgewood, Bushwick, Cypress Hills, East Williamsburg & Williamsburg. COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement. CCOOPPYYRRIIGGHHTT 22001155 RRIIDDGGEEWWOOOODD TTIIMMEESS PPRRIINNTTIINNGG && PPUUBBLLIISSHHIINNGG CCOO., IINNCC. 60-71 Woodbine St., Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 General Pub. Office: P.O. Box 863299 Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386-0299 Periodicals Postage Paid At Flushing, N.Y. (USPS 465-940) TTEELEEPHHOONEE: 11--771188--882211--77550000/77550011/77550022/77550033 FFAAXX: 11--771188--445566--00112200 EE-MMAAIILL: iinnffoo@@ttiimmeessnneewwsswweeeekkllyy..ccoomm WWEEBB SSITTEE: www.timessnnewssweekklyy.ccoom OON TTWWITTTTEER @@timessnnewssweekklyy PPUUBBLLIISSHHEEDD EEVVEERRYY TTHHUURRSSDDAAYY FFOORR OOVVEERR 110066 YYEEAARRSS Dispelling The Myths Of Haves and Have-Nots -SEE CARSON ON PG. 24- Mayoral control over New York City’s education system is up for renewal by June of this year. In this situation, my fellow government colleagues and I, in the State Legislature, can vote to pass, amend or cancel the 2002 law that gives the mayor and his administration the power to appoint a schools chancellor, oversee the system’s operating budgets and make decisions about how the city will try to lift student achievement across thousands of schools. The law also created the Panel for Educational Policy, in which eight of 13 members are selected by the mayor. In this next session, as we discuss mayoral control, it is my intention to promote the extension of the law, but with revisions. It is important to have increased input from our teachers, administrators and parents, while also enhancing transparency of various educational processes. -SEEMY SAY ON PG. 26- My Say
RT01152015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above