The race between Larry Aceves and Tom Torlakson for California Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2010 is unique, because it pits two non-party-affiliated educators rather than two politicians. What does a vote for Larry Aceves over Tom Torlakson mean? Here’s a quick California voters guide.
Aceves is running on a progressive platform, and he has made five major pledges:
Increase equitable school funding
Reduce mandates on educators
Provide modern instructional materials
Ensure accountability
Enhance career technical education
He has also received endorsements from the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, Fresno Bee, Bakersfield Californian and dozens of educators throughout the state.
What do you think? Which candidate is better suited for the job and will help your kids the most?
The race between Larry Aceves and Tom Torlakson for California Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2010 is unique, because it pits two non-party-affiliated educators rather than two politicians. What does a vote for Larry Aceves over Tom Torlakson mean? Here’s a quick California voters guide.
Aceves is running on a progressive platform, and he has made five major pledges:
Increase equitable school funding
Reduce mandates on educators
Provide modern instructional materials
Ensure accountability
Enhance career technical education
He has also received endorsements from the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, Fresno Bee, Bakersfield Californian and dozens of educators throughout the state.
What do you think? Which candidate is better suited for the job and will help your kids the most?
The deal was done by the time Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN/U.S., flew to Los Angeles and had lunch with Larry King on Tuesday.
Mr. King would be stepping down from his daily talk show sometime in the fall — no later than November — paving the way for a new CNN program at 9 p.m. for the first time in 25 years. A new contract would allow Mr. King to come back on CNN for occasional specials.
At lunch, after some chit-chat about the Dodgers and the Yankees (Mr. King sides with the Dodgers; Mr. Klein, the Yankees), talk turned to the future.
“He already had the wheels turning about what these specials could be,” Mr. Klein recalled in a telephone interview Tuesday. He conjured up Mr. King’s voice: “Big! Ground-breaking! Global!”
“At this point, he’s thinking far and wide and big,” Mr. Klein added. Mr. King said on his show that the specials would be about “major national and international subjects.”
The terms of his new contract are unknown, but Mr. Klein said Mr. King would be hosting specials for several years.
Asked what he would say to people who suspect that the change wasn’t all Mr. King’s doing, he said, “I saw it happen, so I can tell you. This is what Larry wants to do. He’s embracing it. He is naturally wistful about the change, but at the same time, he’s very excited about the new opportunities.”
After lunch, Mr. King picked up his children at school. That evening, he told tell viewers that the end of “Larry King Live” would allow “more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.”
And then he talked with the comedian Bill Maher, who he said he had invited especially for the announcement. Mr. Maher said he missed Mr. King already, prompting a reminder that “I will be here for a while.”
“Then I will be doing specials and you will see me in other places,” Mr. King said. “Remember, I’m free.”
The deal was done by the time Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN/U.S., flew to Los Angeles and had lunch with Larry King on Tuesday.
Mr. King would be stepping down from his daily talk show sometime in the fall — no later than November — paving the way for a new CNN program at 9 p.m. for the first time in 25 years. A new contract would allow Mr. King to come back on CNN for occasional specials.
At lunch, after some chit-chat about the Dodgers and the Yankees (Mr. King sides with the Dodgers; Mr. Klein, the Yankees), talk turned to the future.
“He already had the wheels turning about what these specials could be,” Mr. Klein recalled in a telephone interview Tuesday. He conjured up Mr. King’s voice: “Big! Ground-breaking! Global!”
“At this point, he’s thinking far and wide and big,” Mr. Klein added. Mr. King said on his show that the specials would be about “major national and international subjects.”
The terms of his new contract are unknown, but Mr. Klein said Mr. King would be hosting specials for several years.
Asked what he would say to people who suspect that the change wasn’t all Mr. King’s doing, he said, “I saw it happen, so I can tell you. This is what Larry wants to do. He’s embracing it. He is naturally wistful about the change, but at the same time, he’s very excited about the new opportunities.”
After lunch, Mr. King picked up his children at school. That evening, he told tell viewers that the end of “Larry King Live” would allow “more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.”
And then he talked with the comedian Bill Maher, who he said he had invited especially for the announcement. Mr. Maher said he missed Mr. King already, prompting a reminder that “I will be here for a while.”
“Then I will be doing specials and you will see me in other places,” Mr. King said. “Remember, I’m free.”
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Virginia Commonwealth power forward Larry Sanders 15th overall in the 2010 NBA draft on Thursday night.
Sanders increased his points and rebounds per game every season while at VCU, but is still considered pretty raw. His offensive game, while getting better, is not NBA-ready at this point. His value lies in his rebounding (9.1 averages last season) and shot blocking (2.6 per contest).
Sanders stands 6'9" and has an incredible 7'5" wingspan, making him a potentially great shot-blocker in the NBA.
There were rumors that the Bucks promised Sanders that they would pick him 15th overall, but the organization denied any such promises. That said, many outlets had Sanders going in the 20's, so there will be talk about the Bucks reaching to get him.
It became pretty clear after GM Hammond traded for Corey Maggette on Tuesday that the team would not be going with a shooting guard in the first round. Nevada guard/forward Luke Babbitt, who was expected to go between picks 10-15, was still available when the Bucks selected, but Hammond went with Sanders, instead.
Sanders could eventually force his way into the starting lineup in the post alongside Andrew Bogut, which would create quite the defensive presence for the Bucks. If Sanders' offensive game can keep improving, the pick would be a solid one for Milwaukee.
But as with a lot of picks in the NBA draft, the Bucks are banking on Sanders' athleticism to turn into basketball ability. It's hit and miss with a lot of post players in this regard, but obviously Hammond sees something in Sanders.
The Bucks still have three picks in the draft, all in the second round (37, 44, 47). Look for the team to possibly trade some of those picks as there isn't a whole lot of space for four rookies on the squad.
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The Milwaukee Bucks selected Virginia Commonwealth power forward Larry Sanders 15th overall in the 2010 NBA draft on Thursday night.
Sanders increased his points and rebounds per game every season while at VCU, but is still considered pretty raw. His offensive game, while getting better, is not NBA-ready at this point. His value lies in his rebounding (9.1 averages last season) and shot blocking (2.6 per contest).
Sanders stands 6'9" and has an incredible 7'5" wingspan, making him a potentially great shot-blocker in the NBA.
There were rumors that the Bucks promised Sanders that they would pick him 15th overall, but the organization denied any such promises. That said, many outlets had Sanders going in the 20's, so there will be talk about the Bucks reaching to get him.
It became pretty clear after GM Hammond traded for Corey Maggette on Tuesday that the team would not be going with a shooting guard in the first round. Nevada guard/forward Luke Babbitt, who was expected to go between picks 10-15, was still available when the Bucks selected, but Hammond went with Sanders, instead.
Sanders could eventually force his way into the starting lineup in the post alongside Andrew Bogut, which would create quite the defensive presence for the Bucks. If Sanders' offensive game can keep improving, the pick would be a solid one for Milwaukee.
But as with a lot of picks in the NBA draft, the Bucks are banking on Sanders' athleticism to turn into basketball ability. It's hit and miss with a lot of post players in this regard, but obviously Hammond sees something in Sanders.
The Bucks still have three picks in the draft, all in the second round (37, 44, 47). Look for the team to possibly trade some of those picks as there isn't a whole lot of space for four rookies on the squad.
Like what you see? Please click on the Subscribe button at the top of the page to receive email alerts every time I publish a new article!
It's a sad day for all of us devoted Larry King admirers and acolytes.
TMZ broke the news today that -- ouch! -- King is getting divorced from his eighth wife, Shawn Southwick. Irreconcilable differences were cited as the cause, though we all know it just must be too much of a burden to live with a man of King's intellectual heft and stature, even if his CNN ratings are plunging and we rarely see him blurbed in movie ads anymore.
TMZ noted, ever so dryly, that back in 2007, celebrating the 10th anniversary of her marriage to King, Southwick had boasted that she was the only one of King's wives to have made it into "the two digits." But apparently there will be no 15th anniversary celebration.
I'm what you might call a longtime King aficionado, having been on the King bandwagon since I was a kid in Miami, where in the late 1960s you could hear King on the powerhouse WIOD radio station, holding forth and interviewing the celebrities of the day. He gave his all for his career, even changing his name from Zeiger to King when the general manager who gave him his first gig told him it was too ethnic -- meaning, of course, too Jewish -- even for Miami Beach. The joke was on that GM, since King, especially in his later years, has always sounded like the prototypical Jewish grandfather.
I'm hoping that, with the divorce, Larry will get out and see more movies, so he can revive his blurbing career. When I interviewed him a couple of years ago, he acknowledged that his standards were, well, pretty lax, saying, "If I like the movie, I give 'em a quote. If I don't like something, I'm not gonna rap it."
However, as I discovered back then, it turns out that King sometimes will even blurb a movie he didn't like. He told me of the time he and Southwick took their two sons to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." "I had no idea what was going on," he says. "I turned to my wife and said, `What is this movie about? I don't get it!' "
But when I dug up King's old blurbs, guess who was at the top of the ad for that movie, enthusing: "Finally, a Movie Worth Seeing Over and Over Again!" I said to King -- I don't get it, I thought you didn't like the movie. He said he didn't. But, as he explained, "I told the CNN person to tell the studio, 'I didn't understand the damn movie at all. I'd have to see it over and over again to figure out what happened.' And then they went and used it!"
When a man has that much self-possession and equanimity, don't you think he'll get lucky the ninth time around? Does anyone have any suggestions about who we could fix Larry up with? Surely there's a woman out there who's right for him. Any ideas?
It's a sad day for all of us devoted Larry King admirers and acolytes.
TMZ broke the news today that -- ouch! -- King is getting divorced from his eighth wife, Shawn Southwick. Irreconcilable differences were cited as the cause, though we all know it just must be too much of a burden to live with a man of King's intellectual heft and stature, even if his CNN ratings are plunging and we rarely see him blurbed in movie ads anymore.
TMZ noted, ever so dryly, that back in 2007, celebrating the 10th anniversary of her marriage to King, Southwick had boasted that she was the only one of King's wives to have made it into "the two digits." But apparently there will be no 15th anniversary celebration.
I'm what you might call a longtime King aficionado, having been on the King bandwagon since I was a kid in Miami, where in the late 1960s you could hear King on the powerhouse WIOD radio station, holding forth and interviewing the celebrities of the day. He gave his all for his career, even changing his name from Zeiger to King when the general manager who gave him his first gig told him it was too ethnic -- meaning, of course, too Jewish -- even for Miami Beach. The joke was on that GM, since King, especially in his later years, has always sounded like the prototypical Jewish grandfather.
I'm hoping that, with the divorce, Larry will get out and see more movies, so he can revive his blurbing career. When I interviewed him a couple of years ago, he acknowledged that his standards were, well, pretty lax, saying, "If I like the movie, I give 'em a quote. If I don't like something, I'm not gonna rap it."
However, as I discovered back then, it turns out that King sometimes will even blurb a movie he didn't like. He told me of the time he and Southwick took their two sons to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." "I had no idea what was going on," he says. "I turned to my wife and said, `What is this movie about? I don't get it!' "
But when I dug up King's old blurbs, guess who was at the top of the ad for that movie, enthusing: "Finally, a Movie Worth Seeing Over and Over Again!" I said to King -- I don't get it, I thought you didn't like the movie. He said he didn't. But, as he explained, "I told the CNN person to tell the studio, 'I didn't understand the damn movie at all. I'd have to see it over and over again to figure out what happened.' And then they went and used it!"
When a man has that much self-possession and equanimity, don't you think he'll get lucky the ninth time around? Does anyone have any suggestions about who we could fix Larry up with? Surely there's a woman out there who's right for him. Any ideas?
The Redskins' attempt to find a complement for Clinton Portis continues today with the scheduled visit of Larry Johnson.
"Larry is extremely excited and anticipates having a great visit with the Redskins," Johnson's agent, Peter Schaffer, said in a phone interview. "He grew up a Redskins fan. He was born in the D.C. area and he's a lifelong fan. To some extent, this could be a dream come true for him.
"He looks forward to meeting with the coaching staff and front office to explore his opportunities, how they would use him and if it's going to be a good fit. Obviously, I will have to hunker down with [General Manager] Bruce Allen and Eric Schaffer [the team's vice president of football administration] to see if we can work out a contract that is fair to both sides."
Willie Parker left the complex without a contract earlier in this week, and it seems Coach Mike Shanahan and Allen are content with letting things play out for a bit. There could be many second- and third-tier free agents left on the market in a couple of months, and since those are the players the team has targeted, Washington should have many options deep into the process.
But Johnson, 30, could be an intriguing option because of his past success as a power runner. If Johnson and the Redskins do not reach an agreement, Johnson is expected to visit the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
The presence of another big-name back on the roster might prove to be a source of motivation for Portis. He is coming off a concussion that sidelined him for the final eight games last season.
Portis, 28, reported to training camp out of shape, attempted to have fullback Mike Sellers demoted during a game - prompting a locker-room altercation - and also was critical of quarterback Jason Campbell in a radio interview after the season. Portis is guaranteed $6.4 million of his $7.19 million base salary for the 2010 season.
The Redskins' attempt to find a complement for Clinton Portis continues today with the scheduled visit of Larry Johnson.
"Larry is extremely excited and anticipates having a great visit with the Redskins," Johnson's agent, Peter Schaffer, said in a phone interview. "He grew up a Redskins fan. He was born in the D.C. area and he's a lifelong fan. To some extent, this could be a dream come true for him.
"He looks forward to meeting with the coaching staff and front office to explore his opportunities, how they would use him and if it's going to be a good fit. Obviously, I will have to hunker down with [General Manager] Bruce Allen and Eric Schaffer [the team's vice president of football administration] to see if we can work out a contract that is fair to both sides."
Willie Parker left the complex without a contract earlier in this week, and it seems Coach Mike Shanahan and Allen are content with letting things play out for a bit. There could be many second- and third-tier free agents left on the market in a couple of months, and since those are the players the team has targeted, Washington should have many options deep into the process.
But Johnson, 30, could be an intriguing option because of his past success as a power runner. If Johnson and the Redskins do not reach an agreement, Johnson is expected to visit the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
The presence of another big-name back on the roster might prove to be a source of motivation for Portis. He is coming off a concussion that sidelined him for the final eight games last season.
Portis, 28, reported to training camp out of shape, attempted to have fullback Mike Sellers demoted during a game - prompting a locker-room altercation - and also was critical of quarterback Jason Campbell in a radio interview after the season. Portis is guaranteed $6.4 million of his $7.19 million base salary for the 2010 season.
Did Jesus Die for Little Green Men?
Is it possible that there is intelligent life out among the stars? And if there is, what would be the theological implications of this fact? Many Christians have assumed that there could not be intelligent extraterrestrials, and that if some were discovered then this would somehow constitute a challenge to the Christian faith.
Apparently that wasn't the view of Larry Norman, the father of Christian rock. Norman always sang about interesting, relevant and unusual topics. And in his classic song "UFO" (off the album In Another Land) he even explored the largely uncharted territory of “exotheology”, that is, the discipline that is concerned with theological reflection on the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
In the song Larry likens the returning Christ to an "unidentified flying object". In keeping with this cosmic theme, Larry then sings that if life exists on other planets, then Jesus has already visited there as well, and has died to save their souls.
Fascinating, isn’t it? I mean back in the early 1970s, at the same time that the Christian group Love Song was considered risqué for singing about a “little country church” with a rocking beat, here is Larry Norman making loaded theological claims about alien salvation!
Larry Norman was undoubtedly ahead of his time, for recent years have seen a growing number of theologians turning to the questions of exotheology. The interesting thing is that these seemingly esoteric topics often have very practical implications.
Let’s consider Larry’s claim that Jesus would die for aliens. This strikes me as a mistake, for the New Testament writers understand the salvation offered by Jesus in truly cosmic terms. As Paul put it, through Christ God is reconciling all things to himself, “whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:20)
Surely “all things” would include any alien civilizations that exist in distant galaxies. And if so then Jesus wouldn’t have to go and die again, for his atoning work is a once-for-all act.
But that only leads us back to another interesting question: who would like to volunteer to be the first interstellar missionary?
Did Jesus Die for Little Green Men?
Is it possible that there is intelligent life out among the stars? And if there is, what would be the theological implications of this fact? Many Christians have assumed that there could not be intelligent extraterrestrials, and that if some were discovered then this would somehow constitute a challenge to the Christian faith.
Apparently that wasn't the view of Larry Norman, the father of Christian rock. Norman always sang about interesting, relevant and unusual topics. And in his classic song "UFO" (off the album In Another Land) he even explored the largely uncharted territory of “exotheology”, that is, the discipline that is concerned with theological reflection on the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
In the song Larry likens the returning Christ to an "unidentified flying object". In keeping with this cosmic theme, Larry then sings that if life exists on other planets, then Jesus has already visited there as well, and has died to save their souls.
Fascinating, isn’t it? I mean back in the early 1970s, at the same time that the Christian group Love Song was considered risqué for singing about a “little country church” with a rocking beat, here is Larry Norman making loaded theological claims about alien salvation!
Larry Norman was undoubtedly ahead of his time, for recent years have seen a growing number of theologians turning to the questions of exotheology. The interesting thing is that these seemingly esoteric topics often have very practical implications.
Let’s consider Larry’s claim that Jesus would die for aliens. This strikes me as a mistake, for the New Testament writers understand the salvation offered by Jesus in truly cosmic terms. As Paul put it, through Christ God is reconciling all things to himself, “whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:20)
Surely “all things” would include any alien civilizations that exist in distant galaxies. And if so then Jesus wouldn’t have to go and die again, for his atoning work is a once-for-all act.
But that only leads us back to another interesting question: who would like to volunteer to be the first interstellar missionary?