Over and over again we have read about the sharp knives that are out aimed at backstabbing the first Republican Liberty County Judge in over a century. And over and over again the end result of County Judge Craig McNair’s decisions has been a great plus for this county.
The most recent action by Judge McNair that put a target on his back would be considered routine by most county judges in Texas. He requested bids for the county’s emergency management service. The knives came out immediately just like they did when Judge McNair made a similar move with the jail contract.
No doubt some of the negative onslaught was from people who sincerely desire to keep business local. Liberty Dispatch and its readers can certainly understand that sentiment. Local companies providing local jobs can be a boost to the economy and we like to think our neighbors benefit when local businesses do well.
But there are exceptions to the idea that local businesses benefit the local economy. If the local businesses are not competitive it could cost the local economy by billing taxpayers more than the taxes generated by local jobs. Judge McNair wanted a win/win situation. Last week he was vindicated again as all of the bellyaching was silenced when the local EMS lowered its price 15% but also received an expanded contract.
Just like there is no doubt some people hoped the county would stay with the local EMS company, some were hoping this Judge McNair could be painted to be an ineffective elected official who should be voted out of office. People that are yellow dog Democrats and people that have been behind the scenes running things the way they want them have been hunting for an issue to show the voters they made a mistake when they elected Craig McNair have been shut up again.
And soon undoubtedly they will come again and say, “People work with us here.” They will ask us to forget all the shots they have taken at McNair and all of the right decisions he has made that they would have done something differently. The smoke-filled backrooms are working overtime to try and get the voters to put one more of their type politician in office.
3 comments:
Dont trust cuz I can't verify. These people be dawgin McNair when it is they that have been irresponsible
Keep up the good work Craig!
NEWSFLASH: Austin caves in to teachers, - eliminating 7 of the 12 end-of-course exams required for high school graduation,
Facing huge lobbying from the coaches' association, two of the three social studies exams were eliminated (world history and world geography,) leaving only U.S. History. Also, Austin noticed huge resignations from the chemistry and physics teachers, statewide (see the job board at texas association of school administrators www.tasanet.org, or the employment page of the websites of any area school district...) The problem was that both chemistry and physics had math and equation solving components, for which the students were unprepared. Physics was moved down to eleventh grade, where students not only had zero minutes of either physics math component (trigonometry or calculus,) but included the kids who had failed the Algebra I end-of-course exam in the prior year(s). These mathematical deficiencies rendered the equations and calculations, of both chemistry and physics, impossible for a large group of kids. (note: the class of 2014 was the first class to be required to pass the end-of-course exams to graduate. This legislation had to happen this year, to save the class of 2014, as the legislature only meets biannually.)
The final straw was the demise of the distinguished diploma, which originally, had entailed a third year of foreign language, together with four advanced indicators such as passing AP exams or dual credit courses. That diploma failed to pass the smell test of the Americans with Disabilities Act proponents (how DARE you create an exam, let alone a diploma, which nobody in special ed can earn)? Stay tuned, wait until we're forced to accept special ed pharmacists and doctors...yes, it's probably coming, but they can't force us to patronize their establishments, howsowever shortlived they may be, until the state boards revoke their licenses.
The result? The distinguished diploma has basically been dumbed down to the requirements of a mere letter jacket (if your high school activites qualified you for a letter jacket, and whose doesn't, then you get a distinguished diploma! Ditto for any career license... hair dresser, apprentice in anything, drivers license, meth lab certification (NOT)... get the picture? )
The bottom line is that TEA still doesn't have the intelligence to write the exams, nor the curriculum (Region XIII's little pet disaster (Austin.))
CSCOPE curriculum also went the way of the dodo, (and darned sure SHOULD have,) putting almost nothing, mathematically, in the sequence, let alone the course, where it belongs.
i.e. 3rd grade math: both January and February are pre-empted to insert 9th and 10th grade Algebra and Geometry, leaving multiplication facts to complete in May... AFTER 9 times 7 is tested on April's TAKS and STAAR exams!!!)
In Educational terms, testing what hasn't been taught has a name: educational malpractice! Hopefully, the readers will now understand how Austin's education service center (region) got its number- Region 13, snafu central (notorious for pushing print, before they finish thinking)! Don't think so? Here's the list of the dozens of prints that all had to be replaced, by the next one (and at costs of hundreds of millions per snafu):
TEAMS, TABS, TAAS, TAKS, STAAR, essential elements, TEKS, TECAT, TASP, EXCET, TEXES (that's just the list of student exams, course requirements, and teacher licensing exams.)
Both the essential elements, now the TEKS, the TAKS exams, now the STAAR exams (and STAAR got its name (five letters, instead of four, in its acronym)because of yours truly, who loudly insisted that TAKS was named because the other four letter words were taken!)- ALL are produced by Pearson Publishing of London.
Sadly, our legislature, though certainly trying to put lipstick on the pig, still lacks the cajones to declare Texas' independence from England.
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