Michael,
OK, I'll revise it and get back to you. Actually I realized that the
version I posted this morning was an earlier draft -- the final email
was longer! It would have been helpful to know these guidelines, or how
long a statement you wanted, before embarking on the writing. However I
appreciate your finding the opportunity.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
Starchild,
I would be happy to post it with a few modifications:
1. Shorten it to no more than three or four paragraphs,
with each paragraph approx. no longer than the average
paragraph in your current draft.
2. Omit references to your diet. I will introduce your
post by stating you're a vegetarian.
3. Don't mention me or the list. Focus exclusively on
your political thinking and agenda.
4. Include contact info and, if possible, where and
when they can meet you or attend an event you'll
be at. (This could be an event you hold in your
residence.)These changes will conform to past political postings
and make it more likely it won't get rejected by the
coordinator of the list.I hope this helps.
Best, Michael
From: "Starchild" <sfdreamer@earthlink.net>
To: "Dr. Michael R. Edelstein" <DrEdelstein@ThreeMinuteTherapy.com>
Cc: <lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 9:34 AM
Subject: Re: Candidate PostingMichael,
Thanks for the offer. You can post the following for me. Perhaps
others on this list would like to review it for potential changes
before posting?:================================================================
My friend Michael who is on this list tells me that people sometimes
post messages about vegetarians running for office. Knowing of myplans
to run for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Education, offered
to
post something for me. Therefore with your indulgence, I'd like to
tell
you a bit about my candidacy.
Like Michael, I have a strong belief in non-aggression. It is this
outlook that caused me to become a vegetarian in 1990, and later to
join the Libertarian Party. According to libertarian philosophy, one
may (although is not required to) use force in self defense, or to
defend others, but one may not initiate force. Some libertariansview
this injunction of force against others as being limited to human
beings, but I feel that it properly applies to any creature capableof
suffering. This belief informs my approach to life and politics.
Admittedly I am not perfect. I have not eliminated dairy products
from
my diet, although I feel that the circumstances of factory farming
makes their use ethically dubious. I have made some progress in this
area, only buying free range eggs and only buying soy milk, for
instance. However I still have a weakness for ice cream.But let me talk a little bit about the ideas I bring to the race for
school board. My plan for San Francisco's schools is simple.Government
is spending a tremendous amount of money on its public schools.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle (Aug. 27, 2003, p. B5), the
California state government is spending 45.7% of this year's $98.9
billion budget on K-12 education.Unfortunately, these resources aren't reaching the classroom. Year
in
and year out we continue to hear about underpaid teachers, broken
lockers, leaky classroom buildings, etc. Even with a renewed focuson
standardized testing, students in government schools are
outperformed
by students in community schools and students who are homeschooled,
even though parents and educational non-profits are spending muchless
per student. Government schools are simply failing to provide
anything
like a decent education for millions of kids, particularly those who
are less well off and have fewer other avenues open to them. This is
unacceptable.Where are those billions of dollars going? The answer is that we are
paying for a very expensive bureaucracy when the focus ought to bethe
classroom. What I propose is putting the teachers in charge for a
change. Give the money for each school directly to the teachers. Let
them use it as they see fit -- on classroom aides, field trips,
administrative support staff, whatever. The non-teaching staff oughtto
be paid less than the teachers, because it is the teachers who have
the
most important and most difficult jobs in the schools. The
non-teaching
staff ought to be there to support and work for them, not the other
way
around as it is now.
The second part of this plan is that the teachers would be directly
accountable to students and parents. Periodically, students andparents
would evaluate the teachers and decide which ones to retain and
which
to let go if any. So we would simultaneously be giving teachers all
the
resources, help, and authority they could possibly want to get the
job
done, and holding them directly accountable to education
consumers --
that is, parents and kids -- for their success or failure at
delivering
a quality education.
I am not seeking any additional funding for the San Francisco
Unified
School District, nor would I cut the district's funding. The money
would simply go directly to the teachers rather than being diverted
into programs, salary, and overhead that have little or no positive
effect on what happens in the classroom.Therefore I am hoping that this plan, although bold, will be one
that
San Franciscans of all ideological stripes can support. In order to
reduce the hardship for non-teaching staff of expected cuts in these
positions and reductions in pay to cover the raises for teachers, I
would seek to phase the program in over five years.This is just a preliminary plan, so if you have any suggestions or
feedback, they are more than welcome. In fact, I am going to beasking
for everyone's "two cents," and also for fifty cents donation to go
with it.Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>================================================================
Starchild,
I'm on a vegetarian email list, where members sometimes
post blurbs about vegetarians running for office. Should you
email me info about your candidacy, mentioning your
commitment to vegetarianism, animal rights, etc., I would be
happy to post it to the list.This offer stands for all vegetarian LP candidates who are
running in the next election. (Currently, I believe Starchild
is the only veg, however sudden religious conversions are
acceptable.)Best, Michael
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