Archive for May, 2012

Obama Spending Binge Never Happened

Rex Nutting Commentary: Government outlays rising at slowest pace since 1950s
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Of all the falsehoods told about President Barack Obama, the biggest whopper is the one about his reckless spending spree.

As would-be president Mitt Romney tells it: “I will lead us out of this debt and spending inferno.”

Almost everyone believes that Obama has presided over a massive increase in federal spending, an “inferno” of spending that threatens our jobs, our businesses and our children’s future. Even Democrats seem to think it’s true.
But it didn’t happen.

Although there was a big stimulus bill under Obama, federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s.
Even hapless Herbert Hoover managed to increase spending more than Obama has.

Here are the facts, according to the official government statistics:
* In the 2009 fiscal year – the last of George W. Bush’s presidency – federal spending rose by 17.9% from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. Check the official numbers at the Office of Management and Budget.
* In fiscal 2010 – the first budget under Obama – spending fell 1.8% to $3.46 trillion.
* In fiscal 2011, spending rose 4.3% to $3.60 trillion.
* In fiscal 2012, spending is set to rise 0.7% to $3.63 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of the budget that was agreed to last August.
* Finally in fiscal 2013 – the final budget of Obama’s term – spending is scheduled to fall 1.3% to $3.58 trillion. Read the CBO’s latest budget outlook.

SAVE THE DATE – Bullying Workshop

Bullying Workshop
Friday, October 5 8:00 am- 4:00 pm

Beth-El Mennonite Church
4625 Ranch Dr. Colorado Springs, 80918

REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST, 2012 ($55 includes lunch)

Research has identified specific strategies that schools, adults, and students can use to provide effective support for
those who bully and those who are being bullied!

* After this workshop you will know what those are, AND you will:
* Get an overview of highlights from the research on Bullying from the 1980′s to the present.
* Learn how to distinguish bullying from other forms of conflict.
* Learn how to respond to bullying behaviors in order to create safe and healthy school cultures.
* Gain effective strategies for dealing with those who bully that lead toward behavior change.
* Clarify when and how to use restorative justice responses to bullying.
* Collaborate with colleagues to walk away with a personal action plan!

Beverly Title, Ph.D For 25 years Dr. Title was a public school educator specializing in high-risk youth, and she
was the program developer of the No-Bullying Program. She founded the Longmont Community Justice
Partnership, a not-for-profit agency delivering restorative justice services in collaboration with the criminal justice
systems. She now focuses her work on helping schools create safe and healthy cultures by diminishing bullying
and using restorative practices.