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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jttmab who wrote (12697)	5/27/2002 8:56:52 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Finger-gun families win small victory (Democratic thought) By Valerie Richardson THE WASHINGTON TIMES CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Children still aren't allowed to point their fingers like guns at Dry Creek Elementary School, but the principal can no longer quiz them about their family's firearms. In a partial victory for the seven boys punished for wielding finger-guns on the playground, the Cherry Creek school district in the suburbs of Denver last week reversed its stance, stating that any questions about a family's gun ownership should be directed to the parents, not the children. Dry Creek Principal Darci Mickle had asked the seven boys if their families owned guns after catching the boys playing army-and-aliens on the playground in March, prompting an outcry from some parents. "Criticism was directed at Mrs. Mickle for asking the students if there were guns in the home," said Cherry Creek Superintendent Monte Moses in a May 16 letter to Dry Creek parents. "We agree that in the future questions of this kind, when based on a legitimate safety concern, should be directed to the parents, respecting family privacy." But Mr. Moses said nothing about softening the school district's zero-tolerance policy, which was cited by the principal when she disciplined the boys. The seven fourth-graders were using their fingers to shoot each other in a game of army-and-aliens March 22 when they were pulled off the playground and taken to the principal's office. The principal asked the boys about their families' gun ownership and then called their parents to tell them to pick them up immediately. Parents later complained that the punishment was too severe for what they viewed as normal horseplay. The district, which defended the principal's actions as "well within the boundaries of district policy and common sense," became a target for criticism after a report on the incident appeared earlier this month in The Washington Times. The Denver Post awarded the school district its "Doofus of the Month" prize, while the Rocky Mountain News said that "it is simply none of a principal's business whether a family owns guns. And nothing we've heard about the game of army-and-aliens at Dry Creek school suggests it could pose any risk at all to anyone." In his letter Mr. Moses stressed the need for "a learning environment that is physically and psychologically safe for every child." But he also adopted a more conciliatory tone by noting that Mrs. Mickle was a first-year principal who had "good intentions in trying to handle a situation in which children were pretending to shoot one another." "Perhaps the consequence could have been a simple correction, but I support Mrs. Mickle in directing the students to stop pretending to shoot one another, particularly in view of the fact that all students had been instructed to refrain from this behavior at school," said Mr. Moses. His response left some Dry Creek parents disappointed, saying they had wanted the superintendent to call for a review of the district's zero-tolerance policy. "I think zero tolerance has its place, but the operative word is 'tolerance,'" said Charles Andrew, whose son Connor was one of the seven boys. "As shown in this case, we need to be much more tolerant of the individual student. Being 'psychologically safe' is fine, but how far do you carry that? Because the damage can be done on both ends here." Dave Kopel, research director at the Independence Institute in Golden, Colo., praised the superintendent for backing off of the guns-at-home inquiry, although he said he would have also liked to see the district distance itself from zero tolerance. "I think that's a wise step forward and a mature step by the school district to not keep defending its mistakes," said Mr. Kopel. "On the other hand, it's pretty clear they're still going to keep persecuting kids for finger guns. They were doing several things wrong, and now they've corrected one, which is good progress." The district's conduct code prohibits "violent and aggressive behavior," but parents said they were never told that finger-guns were forbidden. The principal later directed teachers to explain the finger-gun ban to students. Parents had also complained that their sons were shaken and humiliated by the episode. Mr. Andrew said that nearly two months later, Connor continues to dread school. ( lets not let the kids point fingers..... Democrats) washtimes.com

To: jttmab who wrote (12697)	5/27/2002 8:59:10 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Democrats report dissatisfaction By Donald Lambro THE WASHINGTON TIMES Nearly half of all Democrats are complaining that their party's congressional leaders are not doing a good enough job of standing up for working people, minorities and the poor, a new poll reported yesterday. (• Daschle retracts claim Bush knew of threat) As Democratic leaders struggle to find an election year issue that cuts into President Bush's popularity, a survey of 1,002 adults by the independent Pew Research Center uncovered deep dissatisfaction in the party over the kinds of issues its leadership has been focusing on lately. Only 64 percent of Democrats approve of the way House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota are doing their job, the Pew survey showed. This compares with an 80 percent job approval score that Republicans gave their party's leadership. "Perhaps more significant, barely half of Democrats [51 percent] say the party is doing an excellent or good job of standing up for such core principles as representing the interests of working people, protecting minorities and helping the poor," the Pew report said. Pew findings come at a time when other polls show that Mr. Bush's job approval numbers are still in the high 70s and that 44 percent of Hispanic voters — who account for a major part of the Democratic Party's voter base — say they will vote for Mr. Bush in 2004. That is 9 points higher than the percentage of Hispanics who voted for him in 2000. "The Republican Party continues to inspire much more confidence than the Democrats on major international issues — the war against terrorists and the conflict in the Mideast. When it comes to the war on terrorism, a sizable number of Democrats think the Republicans have better ideas than their own party," the Pew report said. Notably, the Pew poll found that by a margin of 37-to-33 percent, Democrats preferred the administration's handling of the war on terrorism over their own party's proposals. These findings partially explain why questions raised by Democratic leaders about how much Mr. Bush may have known about the terrorist threats before September 11 have failed to undermine public support for the way the president has dealt with the terrorist threat and his handling of national security. Democrats abandoned or noticeably muted their criticisms this week when the administration aggressively struck back and it became clear that their attacks on Mr. Bush were backfiring on them, especially with their party's base. In an analysis of the Democrats' shift away from their earlier, sharply worded charges, The Washington Post said, "So far they have learned that anything that smacks of questioning Bush's competence is a losing strategy." "People trust George Bush to deal with this problem," Democratic pollster Mark Mellman told The Post. "There will be little to be found out that will cause people not to trust him to deal with this problem." The Pew poll, conducted between May 6 and 16, also found that "as many as one-third of Democrats believe the party's leaders are speaking out too little in response to Bush's policies. That number rises to 46 percent among Democrats who express general disapproval of the job Democratic leaders in Congress are doing." The poll showed that the Democrats led Republicans on domestic issues such as providing prescription-drug benefits through Medicare and strengthening Social Security. And Democratic strategists like Mr. Mellman think the party's leaders should focus more on these kinds of bread-and-butter issues that he and other Democrats think will determine the outcome of the congressional elections this November. Other Democrats agree with that strategy. "Democrats ought to be preoccupied with health care, not trying to 'get' Bush on the war," a party strategist told The Post.