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When searching for a childcare centre, you’re naturally looking for the best quality you can find. You might initially be attracted by the one with the best facilities, the one that fits in with your commute, and/or that meets your budget.

You’ll frequently hear that when you find the centre for you it just feels right. In my experience that’s true, but being in a new country I was concerned my feelings might be blurred by cultural or operational differences. Might the preconceptions I bring from experiences in the UK put me off a centre in Australia, when it’s just that things are done differently here?

When choosing childcare in a new country going on gut feelings is fine, doing some local research is invaluable. Having a set of questions to ask, and checking the centre is compliant with Australian childcare standards are two things you can do to assess a centre.

Here are Mum’s tips and useful resources to help in picking quality childcare;

What should you be looking for in quality childcare in Australia?

The National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) is responsible for the quality assurance of child care establishments in Australia. They provide accreditation to centres who have met the quality standards. This means the first thing you can check about a centre is whether they have accreditation. You could ask the centre or use the childcare search tool on the NCAC website.

NCAC also provide a number of booklets and documents on all aspects of childcare. Choosing and using quality childcare is useful. This booklet highlights the key areas to look at in a centre: good relationships, effective communication, learning and development, health and safety, and management. The booklet describes aspects of quality childcare for each age group (0 – 12 months, 12 months – 3 years and 3 – 5 years), and provides a list of questions you should ask.

What standards do centres follow?

Although it’s not fully in place, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care is an excellent benchmark when assessing the centres you’re looking at. Here’s a booklet with information for parents .

The implementation of the framework began in July 2010 and is expected to complete by July 2012. The most significant changes are staff to child ratios and the qualification requirements for those working in childcare.

Staff to child ratios

Under the new framework childcare centres will be required to use the following staff to child ratios.

Long Day Care and Preschool

Birth – 24 months – 1 staff member to 4 children (to be in place by 1 January 2012)
25 – 35 months – 1 staff member to 5 children (to be in place by 1 January 2016)*
36 months – school age – 1 staff member to 11 children (to be in place by 1 January 2016)*
Mixed age groups – a proportional formula will be used

*Some states differ so refer to the booklet for full details.

Family Day Care

Family day care centres typically have a mixed age group of children. The recommended staff to child ratio as described in the new framework is, “1 staff member to 7 children with a maximum of four children not yet attending school.”  This ratio is expected to be implemented by January 2014.

Staff qualifications

Another aim of the framework is to have more, highly qualified staff. There are a number of detailed requirements relating to preschools. The requirement for long day care centres is below;

“Within each long day care centre or preschool, half of all staff will need to have (or to be actively working towards) a diploma-level early childhood education and care qualification or above, and the remaining staff will all be required to have (or be actively working towards) a Certificate III level early childhood education and care qualification, or equivalent.”

The link I’ve provided above takes you to information on the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care, aimed at parents. A more comprehensive document is available here.

Although the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care isn’t fully in place, when Mum was looking for childcare standards in Australia it seemed to be the most comprehensive information available. It has been useful as a rule of thumb, and topic of conversation with centre managers.

You may also like to discuss Working with Children Checks with the centre manager, they’ll be  able to confirm that they are compliant with state regulations. I’ve written separately on this topic: Working with Chidren Checks in Australia.

Making decisions about childcare can be a stressful and emotional thing for parents. It’s particularly hard if you’ve just said good-bye to a comfortable setup in your country of origin. I hope the information you find at Mum’s gone 2 Aus helps with your choices. It might take a little time to get things right and to settle into a new centre, but you’ll get there – we did.

p>A study of 2-year-olds in Oregon finds that almost 20 percent watch more than the recommended two hours of television a day.

“The findings are pretty generalizable to the rest of the country,” said study co-author Dr. John Oh, an epidemic intelligence service officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, working with Oregon Public Health.

Experts have warned that too much time in front of the TV could hamper a young child’s mental development and raise the odds for obesity, and the new findings are “what many pediatricians know and have feared,” said Dr. Gwen Wurm, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She was not involved in the study.

According to guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, children’s TV time should be limited to no more than one or two hours a day of “quality programming,” and TV sets should be kept out of their bedrooms.

However, Wurm said, “we know that many, many children are watching too much television. When TV becomes a major part of a child’s life, there’s a problem.”

“That goes for anything that involves screen time,” including computers and video games, she added. “Anything that involves a screen is really where the problem is at.”

The study is published in the July 16 issue of the CDC’s journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In the report, Oh and colleagues used data from the Oregon Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey to determine the TV watching habits of 2-year-olds throughout the state.

They found that on an average day, 19.6 percent of 2-year-olds watched at least two hours of TV. Several factors were associated with the amount of TV these children watched.

For example, about 36 percent of black mothers reported their child watched at least two hours of TV a day, compared with just under 19 percent of white mothers. Also, children who had a TV placed in their room were more likely to watch a lot of TV (about 34 percent) than children without a TV in the room (16.3 percent), according to the report.

Being kept at home throughout the day mattered, too. Almost 23 percent of the children who went on fewer than four outings a week watched at least two hours of TV a day, compared with 14.5 percent of the children who went on frequent outings. Moreover, children who spent time in a child care center were less likely to watch a lot of TV (7.8 percent) than children who didn’t (about 23 percent) or children who had other types of child care (18.6 percent), the researchers found.

Limiting the amount of TV children watch when very young may help reduce the amount of time they spend on media as they get older, the researchers said. Right now, the average school-age child spends 4.5 hours watching television each day and 7.5 hours using media overall, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found.

“Most parents, probably don’t recognize that watching television in this age group has potential harms,” Oh said. “There is no scientific evidence that shows that television and video viewing in children of this age has any educational benefit. Instead, there have been several studies that have shown that TV viewing at 2 years of age and younger can have negative impacts on learning, language and attention and it’s also linked to childhood obesity.”

Too much screen time can take a toll on a child’s development, Wurm agreed.

“The more kids are spoken to, the better their language development,” she said. “When children are engaged in the television, they are not being spoken to by adults. We know that cognitive development is linked to speech development, so children who don’t learn to speak well, those are the kids who will not reach their cognitive potential.”

The problem, Wurm said, is that TV can become a substitute for a “healthy interaction with adults and other humans. Parents often discount what they mean to their child. There is nothing a child likes more than sitting down and doing something with their parent.”

In addition, because images on TV go by at lighting speed, it may be taking a toll on a child’s ability to concentrate and may be partly responsible for the increase in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children, Wurm theorized.

And there’s a potential physical cost of too much media in childhood — obesity, due in part to the kind of foods children see advertised, Wurm said. “They advertise Apple Jacks not apples,” she said.

The solution, according to Wurm, is simple: turn off the TV and spend more time with your kids, and get them outdoors more often.

“The more outside time your children have, the healthier they are going to be,” she said.

More information

For more information on children and TV, visit the Nemours Foundation.

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporte

I like this one:

familymwr posted a photo:

PHOTO CAPTION: Workers continue construction on one of the two identical Child Development Centers on Bastogne Avenue, across from Fort Campbell High School, this morning. Once complete, each center will create 195 new child care slots. (Photo by Heather Southall, Fort Campbell Courier, cleared for public release, not for commercial use, attribution requested.)

www.armymwr.com

Fort Campbell parents eagerly await new CDCs

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Nicole Chumley and her Family are new to Fort Campbell. As they adjust to life on a new Army post, Chumley is quickly learning that child care can sometimes be an issue.

%26ampquot;I just registered my 28-month-old with Child, Youth and School Services in hopes of using hourly care,%26ampquot; said Chumley, on the Courier Facebook page, %26ampquot;but from what I’m hearing, it’s hard to get a spot. I’m due with my second baby any day now…mama is going to need a break every now and then!%26ampquot;

Her story is a common one. As Families expand and newcomers get settled into the community, the ever-expanding wait list for child care gets longer. The Directorate of Public Works, along with CYSS, hopes to alleviate the problem with the addition of new Child Development Centers.

%26ampquot;The new centers at Gardner Hills, near Gate 10, are scheduled to be completed in March,%26ampquot; said Sally Castleman, Chief of Master Planning. %26ampquot;There is one building designated for children ages 0-5, and another for children in the 6-10 range.%26ampquot;

The $18.6 million project will offer some reprieve from the long wait with a prospected 150 child care slots.

The expansion, however, does not stop there. In a continuing effort to meet the growing demand for child care facilities on post, construction is currently underway for two CDCs near Fort Campbell High School. This project, valued at $18.5 million, is scheduled for completion in February 2011.

These new facilities, however, will not be an immediate fix for the current child care shortage, according to CYSS Director Katy Eccles. Currently, there is no exact date for which the centers are scheduled to open.

%26ampquot;We are hoping for the next school year,%26ampquot; says Eccles.

While the time frame might be longer than many Families hoped for or expected, the end result is likely to be well worth the wait. Each new center is set to provide an additional 195 child care slots. Combined with the slots made available through the Gate 10 center, Fort Campbell will see potential day care solutions for more than 500 children.

With news of CDC construction circulating post, the number one concern voiced by parents seems to be the hope for more part-time and hourly child care.

%26ampquot;We are new here, and I don’t have anyone to watch my kids so I can go to doctor appointments,%26ampquot; said Carolyn Malick-Dionne, mother of two.

Many Families hope that the addition of new facilities will mean less rigid time frames and turn-aways for hourly child care.

In the meantime, it is recommended that parents interested in hourly child care contact Parent Central Services to obtain login information for Webtrac. Using this system, parents can try to book time slots and keep track of sudden availabilities.

Connect with us:
www.Facebook.com/FamilyMWR
www.Twitter.com/FamilyMWR
www.YouTube.com/FamilyMWRFort Campbell parents eagerly await new CDCs – FMWRC – US Army – 100827

Tags: development

Activities such as bathing, cleaning and security of special hygiene of the child must be cared for by their mother. Bathing and cleaning of the child is of utmost importance because it keeps baby free of infections. Develop good habits must be practiced at an early age.

To meet the essential requirement of the child, it is essential to bathe the baby in warm water morning and night. This allows the baby stay fresh and hygienic throughout thy bee day. There is a misconception that cold water bath shower-enclosures strengthens the baby. Instead, it might detrimental to the welfare of the child and may give rise to many diseases. It is best to avoid cold water bath for babies who are a couple of weeks.

Swimming in the sea is a good practice, but we must ensure that the child does not tire. If the child has a low accumulation, prolonged swimming in the sea could be very harmful. Sea bathing also helps to learn to swim, which is considered a very good exercise. Sea bathing can have many advantages such as resistance, increased appetite, etc good skin tone If these symptoms are not positive, swimming in the sea must be avoided.

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Baby Sleep Problems and Solutions Part 1  The New Queen of Green in Eugene >>

Introduction:

Crying is a normal event in the lives of all babies.When a baby comes out of the woomb the first thing to do is crying.By the first cry he will take some air in to the lungs for the first time in their life.After delivery if the baby doesnot cry then it should be initiated by slightly pinching or gently strocking the feet.From this it is clear that the healthy baby should cry and it is a normal physiological event ,still some times it can upset the mother or family members.

We all know that a baby can’t tell his needs or troubles in words. The only way for him to communicate with others is by crying.Babies show some other signs like feet kicking,hand waving and head turning ect.But the best way to take the attention of others is by crying.

Excessive crying may not have a firm definition because the crying habit changes from baby to baby and some babies can be calmed easily but some are difficult to sooth.If crying is distressing for the mother and home nurse it can be called excessive.Many a times baby become quiet by giving breast milk or by carrying with a gentle rocking.Sudden onset of excessive crying means baby is distressed and needs attention.The causes of crying extends from simple reasons to life threatening conditions.Hence crying of a baby should not be ignored.

Most of the time it is difficult to find the cause of the cry .Common causes are discussed here for awareness.

Common reasons for crying:

1,Hunger:–

A hungry baby will cry till he gets the milk. Here the old saying comes true’crying baby gets the milk’.

2,Wetting:–

Urination and defecation causes some discomfort and results in crying till his parts are cleaned and made dry .

3,Company:–

Majority of the kids need somebody near. If they feel lonely they cry.When their favourite doll slips away from the grip they cry for help.

4,Tired:–

When the baby is tired after a journey and unable to sleep just cry simply.They feel tired in uncomfortable sourroundings and due to unhealthy climate.

5,Heat & cold:–

If they feel too hot or too cold they become restless and cry. Child is comfortable in a room with good ventilation.

6,Tight cloathing:–

Tight cloaths especially during warm climate is intolerable for kids.Tight elastic of the the dress can also produce soreness in the hip region.

7,Dark room:–

When the baby wakes up from sleep he needs some dim light.If there is darkness he will disturb the sleep of parents by crying.Ofcourse he will be irritated by strong light resulting in cry.

8,Mosquito:–

Yes,these creatures disturb the sleep by their blood sucking and make the baby to cry.

9,Nasal blocking:–

Child may not be able to sleep when there is a cold and go on crying till the passage is open.

10, Phlegm in throat:–

This also causes difficult breathing resulting in cry.Often a typical sound can be heard with each breath.

11,General aching:–

Generalised body ache with restlessness is seen in flu and prodromal stages of some infectious diseases can result in continuous cry.

12,Habitual cry:—Some babies cry without any real cause ending the parents in agony.Many a times doctor is called for help.

13,Nappy rash:– If a tight and wet nappy is kept for a long time results in this conditon.

Rash can also be due to some allergic reaction to the elastic material of the nappy. When the rash appears it causes soreness and baby become sleepless and cry. All other skin lesions like eczema,ecthyma ,candidiasis ect also causes same problems.

14,Earache:–

Ear infection is common in wet climate.The infection may spread from the throat.Ear infection can result in rupture of ear drum causing discharge of pus.Eareache usually becomes worse at night when lying down.Child will become restless with cry and may not allow you to touch the ear.Some children with earache rub the affected ear frequently.

15,Colic:–

When the baby cry continuously most of us diagnose it as colic.This roblem is still a topic for debate because exact cause for colic is not known and diagnosis is also difficult to confirm.Colic may be associated with rumbling and distention of abdomen.Child often feels better when lying on abdomen.Some children may not allow you to touch the abdomen.If the child cries continuously doctors help is needed.

16,Infections:–

All infections causes some kind of pain or irritation resulting in cry.Infection may be anywhere in the body.Usually it is associated with fever, redness and swelling.

17,Reactions to certain food:–

It is said that one man’s food is another man’s poison. Some food articles can produce some allergic reactions.Allergy is manifested in the form of redness, breathlessness,gastric symptons and continuous cry.

18,Hard stools:–

Constipated babies with hard stools may cry when they get the urge for stool.Some children hesitate to pass stool because of pain .

19,Gastro esophagial reflex:–

Here baby cries with spilling of food after feeding.If this continues it may be due to gastroesophageal reflex.This is due to failure of the lower part of esophagus to close after food causing regurgitation from the stomach.It is difficult to diagnose this condition and can be confirmed by giving antireflex medicines.

20, Dentition:–

During dentition child becomes restless with crying.Often associated with gastric troubles and diarrhoea.

Some rare reasons

—————–

1,Bowel obstruction:–

Bowel obstruction is associated with severe pain and vomiting.Abdomen is distended with rumbling sound.Baby is constipated with absence of flatus.

2,Septicemia:–

Invasion of pathogenic micro organisms in to the blood is called septicemia.Fever is associated with this condition.

3,Torsion of testes in male kids:–

When a male baby cries continuously his scrotum should be examined.Torsion of the testes produce severe pain which will be worse by touching the affected testes.When the testes is pressed upwards pain is releived.If this is not treated properly it can damage the affected testes due to lack of blood supply.

4,Meningitis:–

Initially there may not be fever,hence crying baby with alternate vacant stare and irritability should not be ignored.Fontanel is bulging. Neck rigidity and seizures may appear later.

5,Retention of urine:–

Children with retention of urine will have agonising pain making them restless.

7,Major injuries:–

Major injury to any parts of the body causes pain.Occasionally children will fall while arrying and results in head injury.Head injury is associated with reflex vomiting and convulsions.

John Ugoshowa. For more information about child care see the child care section of The Free Ad Forum at: http://www.thefreeadforum.com/infowizards/CAT/Child-Care_80_1.html

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Seeking loving and experienced nanny for infant boy, M-Th 8-6, someone who has experience and can engage, stimulate and provide loving care, someone who is active and is professiona, reliable and mature. We are open to a share care situation in the future, we pay competively, some holiday’s, sick pay and vacation as well. We look forward to hearing from you.

Loving family with 15 month old boy, with share care family in place, the other child is 8 months old, looking for someone who will be active with the children, engage and stimulate both of them at the same time. The living

quarters are a separate jr one bedroom apt with a kitchentte and utilites, and stipend. You would need to take the one child to the other house in the morning to do the share care, 8:30-5:30 M-F. We are looking for someone to take the children to activities, teach, inspire and be a part of the family, we will pay vacation, holidays and some sick pay as well. We look forward to hearing from you, thank you and take care.

Must be 25 years of age or older

Must have reliable car with insurance

Must have a clean driving record

Must have current CDL

Must speak, write, read, and understand English fluently

Must be trustlined or willing to be

Must be a U.S. Citizen and legal to work in the U.S

Must have 3 years of professional experience working in someone’s home or child care related experience

Must have excellent references

Must be CPR certified or willing to be re-certified

Must be Drug free and willing to be tested

Must have experience with infants

Willing to be trained as a Newborn Care Specialist, we will pay for the class

Please submit your resume and a contact number, thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.

As Southpoint has Green Kids drop in child care, Crabtree Valley Mall has the brand-new Magic Kids Care. With it’s grand opening celebration occurring at the end of May, I have fingers crossed that this place makes it. It is a great idea.

Magic Kids Care is located on the upper level of Crabtree Valley Mall. You check your child in to play and then head out to shop, dine or whatever else suits your fancy.

Magic Kids accepts children ages 1 (do not have to be walking) through age 10. They are open from 9:30 am – 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday (late enough to have a dinner date with your honey) and then 11:30 am – 7:00 pm on Sundays.

The first hour is $10, each hour after that is $5. The maximum stay is 4 hours. If you have 2 kids staying at Magic Kids, it is $15 the first hour, each hour after that is $5 per child per hour. If you have 3 kids staying, it is $21 the first hour, each hour after that is $5 per child per hour.

You are free to bring food and they will feed your child, but they do not provide food.

This place was not nearly as fancy as Green Kids, but it was very clean and looked fun. It was a very large space with a lot of entertainment for kids. For younger kids there is a play mat, books, and other age-appropriate toys. On the other side of the room there is a Wii and a bounce for older kids. Magic Kids is also planning on offering Spanish classes but details on that are to be revealed at a later date.

I am not sure I would leave my child here for too terribly long as it doesn’t have seem to have the same personal service Green Kids has, but to walk a couple of stores away for a little while so that I could shop easier and/or eat at Cheesecake Factory for a datenight? Absolutely. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about this place until after C and I have completed our errands. But holiday shopping is right around the corner (believe it or not) so this something to know about, parents!

Magic Kids Care Crabtree Valley Mall between Hudson’s Belk’s and Merle Norman on the Upper Level 919-782-2844 magickidscare@yahoo.com (no website)

August 31st, 2010 by admin

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Sources: www.themiddleclass.org; www.ontheissues.org; www.opensecrets.org

Continuing my periodic profiles on members of Congress who do not deserve to be re-elected either because they are rigidly ideological partisan hacks and/or they are not acting in the best interests of most of the population, I now focus on California 49th District Representative Darrell Issa. He, like many others in Congress, doesn’t really understand and is far out-of-touch with the struggles and needs of average Americans in this cash-strapped time of recession and high unemployment. That should come as no surprise, though: his net worth has been estimated at $251 million, which makes him the wealthiest member of Congress.

On the surface, Issa comes across as a sharp, affable, and reasonable man. His manner of speaking seems common-sensical and to the point. He doesn’t go off on wild tirades like we have seen from Michele Bachmann or Glenn Beck, but in his beliefs he is every bit as far-right extremist as they are. Like nearly all Republicans, he is ranked very low by themiddleclass.org (garnering only a 24% approval rating) from that group. He has received an F grade for a good share of his tenure in Congress. Here are a few examples why.

Issa’s Middle-Class Grades
2009 D
2008 D
2007 F
2006 F
2005 F
2004 F
2003 F

2009 Voting Record:
Bill / Vote / Supportive of the Middle Class?

H.AMDT. 534 TO H.R. 4173
Amendment #534 (Mortgage “Cramdown” Amendment) to Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 /
TOPICS: Consumers, Debt & Bankruptcy, Housing, Mortgage lending, Personal bankruptcy / NAY / NO
H.R. 4173
Wall Street Accountability and Consumer Protection Act /
TOPICS: Consumers, Corporate Accountability, Corporate bankruptcy, Corporate taxes, Credit cards, Debt & Bankruptcy, Deceptive advertising and marketing, Executive compensation, Financial literacy, Government Accountability, Housing, Mortgage lending, Payday loans, Personal bankruptcy, Refund Anticipation Loans, Shareholder rights, Student loans, Tax Fairness / NAY / NO
H.R. 3962
Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009
TOPICS: Consumers, Corporate Accountability, Health Care, HMOs and insurance companies, Hospitals, Medicaid, Medical research, Medicare, Prescription drugs, Public health, SCHIP, Tax Fairness, Universal health care / NAY / NO
H.R. 3269
Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009
TOPICS: Corporate Accountability, Executive compensation, Shareholder rights / NAY / NO
H.R. 3221
Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009
TOPICS: College tuition, Community college, Debt & Bankruptcy, Education, Job training, Pell Grants, Preschool, Student loans / NAY / NO
H.R. 2847
Jobs for Main Street Act of 2009
TOPICS: Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Child care, Community college, Economic stimulus, Education, Efficient technology, Elementary school, Energy & Environment, Government Accountability, Green buildings, Green jobs, Health Care, High school, Housing, Job training, Layoffs, Medicaid, Middle school, Public employment, Public housing, Public infrastructure, Teachers, Unemployment, Workplace & Job Creation / NAY / NO
H.R. 2749
Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009
TOPICS: Civil Justice, Consumers, Food safety / NAY / NO
H.R. 2454
American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
TOPICS: Consumers, Education, Efficient technology, Energy & Environment, Energy conservation, Global warming, Green buildings, Green jobs, Job training, Pollution, Renewable fuels / NAY /NO
H.R. 1728
Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009
TOPICS: Consumers, Debt & Bankruptcy, Housing, Mortgage lending / NAY /NO
H.R. 1664
Pay for Performance Act of 2009
TOPICS: Corporate Accountability, Executive compensation / NAY / NO
H.R. 1586
A Bill To Impose An Additional Tax On Bonuses Received From TARP Recipients of 2009
TOPICS: Corporate Accountability, Executive compensation, Tax Fairness / NAY / NO
H.R. 1106
Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
TOPICS: Consumers, Debt & Bankruptcy, Housing, Mortgage lending, Personal bankruptcy / NAY / NO
H.R. 1
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – Conference Report
TOPICS: Alternative minimum tax, Child care, Child tax credit, College tuition, Consumers, Corporate Accountability, Earned income tax credit, Economic stimulus, Education, Efficient technology, Elementary school, Energy & Environment, Energy conservation, Executive compensation, Global warming, Government Accountability, Green buildings, Green jobs, Head Start, Health Care, High school, Housing, Income taxes, Medicaid, Medical research, Middle school, Pell Grants, Preschool, Public housing, Public infrastructure, Renewable fuels, Sales taxes, Shareholder rights, TANF, Tax cuts, Tax Fairness, Unemployment, Workplace & Job Creation / NAY / NO
H.R. 1
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – House Version
TOPICS: Child tax credit, College tuition, Consumers, Earned income tax credit, Economic stimulus, Education, Efficient technology, Elementary school, Energy & Environment, Energy conservation, Government Accountability, Green buildings, Green jobs, Head Start, Health Care, Heating fuel, High school, Housing, Income taxes, Job training, Medicaid, Medical research, Middle school, Pell Grants, Public housing, Public infrastructure, Renewable fuels, Student loans, TANF, Tax cuts, Tax Fairness, Unemployment, Workplace & Job Creation / NAY /NO
H.R. 626
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2009
TOPICS: Family leave, Workplace & Job Creation / NAY / NO
H.R. 2
Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009
TOPICS: Health Care, Immigration, Medicaid, SCHIP / NAY / NO
S. 181
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
TOPICS: Civil Justice, Employment discrimination, Workplace & Job Creation / NAY / NO
H.R. 11
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 – House Version
TOPICS: Civil Justice, Employment discrimination, Workplace & Job Creation / NAY / NO
H.R. 12
Paycheck Fairness Act of 2009
TOPICS: Civil Justice, Class action lawsuits, Employment discrimination, Workplace & Job Creation / NAY / NO
———————————————————————-
Some of Issa’s MOST troubling votes over the years are these:

Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Nov 2007)
Voted NO on $40B for green public schools. (May 2009)
Voted NO on additional $10.2B for federal education & HHS projects. (Nov 2007)
Voted NO on enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution. (Jun 2009)
Voted NO on tax credits for renewable electricity, with PAYGO offsets. (Sep 2008)

Voted NO on tax incentives for energy production and conservation. (May 2008)
Voted NO on tax incentives for renewable energy. (Feb 2008)
Voted NO on investing in homegrown biofuel. (Aug 2007)
Voted NO on criminalizing oil cartels like OPEC. (May 2007)
Voted NO on assisting workers who lose jobs due to globalization. (Oct 2007)
Voted NO on requiring FISA warrants for wiretaps in US, but not abroad. (Mar 2008)
Voted NO on Veto override: Congressional oversight of CIA interrogations. (Mar 2008)
Voted YES on removing need for FISA warrant for wiretapping abroad. (Aug 2007)
Voted NO on restricting no-bid defense contracts. (Mar 2007)
Voted YES on allowing electronic surveillance without a warrant. (Sep 2006)
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)

Voted NO on extending AMT exemptions to avoid hitting middle-income. (Jun 2008)
Voted NO on paying for AMT relief by closing offshore business loopholes. (Dec 2007)
Voted YES on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends. (Dec 2005)

Voted NO on investigating Bush impeachment for lying about Iraq. (Jun 2008)
Voted NO on redeploying US troops out of Iraq starting in 90 days. (May 2007)
Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
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How is it that Mr. Issa can continue to be re-elected, voting as he does for big business and against the best interests of the majority of his constituents, average everyday working people? Being the wealthiest person in Congress, he has sometimes paid for part of his campaign expenses out of his own pocket, as you will see below. But he has also had plenty of backing from the usual big money Republican backers whose interests often do NOT coincide with those of regular working Americans: defense contractors, telecommunications giants, pharmaceutical companies, and the like, as you will also see:

Top 5 Contributors, 2000 – 2010
Contributor /Total / From Individuals / From PACs
SAIC Inc. / $66,150 / $21,400 / $44,750
AT&T Inc / $55,500 / $0 / $55,500
Edison International / $46,000 / $0 / $46,000
National Beer Wholesalers Assn / $38,500 / $0 / $38,500
BAE Systems / $35,100 / $6,100 / $29,000

(FYI: SAIC is our 12th largest defense contractor. It was once convicted on 10 felony counts of lying about results of environmental tests it conducted. It also contributed $3,600 to CA Republican Duke Cunningham, a former Representative who was jailed for bribery. BAE Systems develop, deliver, and support defense and security systems).

Top 5 Industries, 2000 – 2010
Industry /Total From individuals / From PACsalth Products Pharmaceuticals/ Health Products /$223,114 /$24,145 /$198,969
Republican/Conservative /$184,821 /$154,474 /$30,347
Electric Utilities /$184,708 /$2,000 /$182,708
Computers/Internet /$170,199 /$31,075 /$139,124
Defense Electronics /$158,585 /$54,835 /$103,750

Source of Funds
Individual Contributions $2,945,798 (18%)
PAC Contributions $2,234,612 (13%)
Candidate self-financing $11,279,429 (68%)
Other $154,846 (1%)

PACs 2009 – 2010

Total PAC Money for 2010: $432,233
Number of Contributions: 321

Sectors, 2009-2010

Agribusiness $6,500
Communications/Electronics $97,274
Construction $41,400
Defense $39,000
Energy & Natural Resources $38,500
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $32,500
Health $45,750
Lawyers & Lobbyists $17,504
Transportation $17,500
Misc Business $40,750
Labor $48,500
Ideological/Single-Issue $6,055
Other $1,000
Based on Federal Election Commission data available electronically on Sunday, August 22, 2010.
2009 – 2010 Cycle PAC Contribution Breakdown
Business $341,428 (88%)
Labor $40,000 (10%)
Ideological/Single Issue $5,652 (1%)

NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2000 – 2010 election cycles and based on Federal Election Commission data available electronically on August 23, 2010.

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SUMMARY: Darrell Issa is not a friend of the average worker or middle class voter. He votes 94% of the time with his very conservative anti-labor, pro-business, obstructionist Republican voting bloc. He, as you have seen, has voted aginst helping workers whose jobs were lost to globalization and voted for the oil companies while turning his back on environmental causes. He has also followed a strict authoritarian, pro-military line with his votes on Iraq and domestic surveillance. He has strongly supported and defended mercenary companies like Blackwater. In the February, 2007 Blackwater hearings of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Issa was almost dismissive of four women whose family members were killed by Iraqi insurgents and dragged through the streets of Fallujah and who had raised complaints against Blackwater by saying: “Although I don’t think your testimony today is particularly germane to the oversight of this committee, I am deeply sorry for the losses that you’ve had.. One question I have is, the opening statement, who wrote it?” Later on, Issa’s defense of Blackwater resumed when he claimed on October 16, 2007, that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and his committee chairman Henry Waxman were trying to “go after our troops” [by raising questions about Blackwater's sordid activities]. Two weeks earlier, Issa jokingly pressed Blackwater CEO Erik Prince to acknowledge his ties to the Bush administration and the GOP, only to then claim “labeling some company as Republican” because of a family’s background “is inappropriate.” He never did address the reason why an investigation had been begun on Blackwater, that it had been involved in the murder of innocent Iraqi civilians and so on. He was obviously more interested in defending a defense contractor from harm by an oversight committee than he was in pursuing justice and proper oversight.

Not long ago, he spolke to some Pennsylvania Republicans, and boasted about what would happen if the GOP wins control of the House this fall, and he were to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee and get the power to subpoena. “I won’t use it to have corporate America live in fear that we’re going to subpoena everything. I will use it to get the very information that today the White House is either shredding or not producing.” That means, of course, a return to the laissez-faire Bush approach to oversight of corporations, but is also a strong hint that he will tie up lots of House time and money on needless attempts to witch hunt or even impeach the President. This strongly partisan hack has already pledged to nearly double his staff to subpoena and investigate White House documents. FOR THIS ALONE ISSA SHOULD BE PERMANENTLY RETIRED FROM CONGRESS!

Apparently an advocate of the new extreme right, in addressing a state GOP meeting in San Diego last June, Issa said, “We have to say to the tea party: You’re not strident enough, you’re not angry enough and the government has gone far enough,” Just another conservative Republican who hates government oversight and views its main purpose as helping big business rather than everyday citizens. This, my friends, is exactly what the country does NOT need as it struggles to deal with high unemployment, a dropping standard of living, and infrastructure decay CAUSED by the excesses of big business, and another good reason Darrell Issa should NOT be re-elected!

Who DARRELL ISSA REALLY Represents: The military/industrial complex and its defense contractors, pharmaceutical giants, big oil companies and big business in general. NOT YOU, 49th District California voter. Please do yourselves and the whole country a big favor by RETIRING Darrell Issa this November! Let him revel in his vast fortune, and keep him from adversely affecting your own well-being any longer!

Education was once the foundation of American society. To advance in life, one saw receiving a quality education as the ticket to the middle-class and a comfortable life. However, over time Americans began placing less emphasis on education. The public school system began to suffer and the achievement gap between American children and their foreign counterparts widened.

Both Barack Obama and John McCain emphasize education reform in their platform, but whose plan benefits you and your children the most?

McCain believes the key to education reform is the ability of parents to choose which schools their children attend, similar to his colleagues in Congress who are able to send their children to the best private schools in their area. The Republican nominee equates equal education to equal access to the best education. According to his website, “John McCain will fight for the ability of all students to have access to all schools of demonstrated excellence, including their own homes.”

The Arizona senator wants to encourage competition among schools to be the most innovative and flexible, and compete for the best teachers and administrators.

Furthermore, McCain believes that financial assistance must be based on a parent’s desire to relocate their child to the best school available.

However, Obama sees teacher retention and affordable higher learning as the key to education reform. According to his website, thirty percent of schoolteachers leave the field of education within their first five years. In addition, the cost of a college education has grown by forty percent in the last five years.

Obama and running mate Joe Biden’s plan for education reform includes the Zero to Five Plan, reforming No Child Left Behind and supporting college credit initiatives.

The Zero to Five Plan will not only place emphasis on early childhood education but also early care and education for infants, which they see as paramount in preparing a child for kindergarten. The senator from Illinois will quadruple Head Start, increasing its funding and improving its quality. In addition, he wants to make high-quality child care affordable for working-class families.

Obama believes the problem with the much-maligned No Child Left Behind program was a lack of funds for the law. He will fund the law, but not force teachers to spend an entire year preparing for a standardized test, but instead will find other tools to assess a student’s achievement and readiness for higher education. He plans to support the formation of more high-performing charter schools by doubling the funding of the Federal Charter School Program, while closing low-performing existing charter schools.

The Democratic nominee wants to make math and science a national priority by recruiting college graduates with math and science degrees and supporting efforts to team teachers with professionals in the fields of math and science. In an effort to retain teachers, he would allow a mentoring program that would team young teachers with experienced teachers.

Another key to Obama’s education reform plan is his “Make College a Reality” initiative, which will increase advance placement courses in high school and implement a new American Opportunity Tax Credit, which will ensure that the first $4,000 of college tuition is completely free for most Americans. According to his website, “Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.”

Consequently, whether it is McCain or Obama in the White House in January 2009, both candidates are determined to make education the foundation of American advancement once again.