Nursing shortage? It's a matter of paying teachers

To contact us Click HERE
republicans hate teachers. The rich ones don't care if you get health care. republicans don't want higher education available to everyone.

[PSJA ISD Superintendent Daniel King] has been interested in solving the nursing shortage since the early 1990s, when he was a high school principal. He noticed well-qualified students were being turned away from nursing programs because community colleges did not have enough teachers.

“The colleges need nurses with master’s degrees to teach those courses and those nurses can get more money working in private practice. You would think we could build that program up so we can have enough nurses. We are very short sighted,” King said.

“We do not invest in the programs that matter. We end up importing a large percentage of our nurses. I have nothing against someone coming here to better themselves. My concern is we are creating a perpetual underclass. We are trying to do everything on the cheap.”

Public corruption unit investigating Perry's cancer slush fund

To contact us Click HERE
I hope they look long and hard at the institute's dealings.

Texas put up $3 billion in taxpayer money and promised cancer breakthroughs. But a criminal investigation, widespread rebuke from scientists and the resignations of embattled state officials came faster than medical discoveries.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas launched in 2009, flaunting the second-biggest trough of cancer research dollars in the country. Nobel laureates eagerly took jobs with the agency and celebrity Lance Armstrong lent visible and then-coveted support. It was an unprecedented state-run battle against a worldwide killer.

Three years later, it's become unhinged by suggestions of politics and personal profit and is on the ropes.

Corpus Christi Caller Times slams Perry's slush fund

To contact us Click HERE
George Bush was big on using government for his cronies. Perry followed his lead. Voters thought they were approving money for cancer research.

When are all of these unsettling events surrounding what was to be a noble step forward in the fight against cancer going to have more serious consequences?

How long is it going to be before the members of the foundation board for CPRIT start resigning?

What will happen to CPRIT if the state Legislature gets into the game?

What long-term effects will this story about CPRIT, that should not be happening, have on future efforts to fund much-needed research with Texas taxpayer dollars?

What kind of damage is being done to the support of science by the public and our ability to attract our brightest students to careers in science?

Today, there remains funding on the order of $2.2 billion to be dispersed by CPRIT for cancer research. Until all investigations are completed and any and all legal actions that may arise out of the findings of such investigations are finalized, it is suggested that further disbursement of funds by CPRIT be suspended.

We're #1 In insurance premiums

To contact us Click HERE
That's because Texas republicans love their cronies and promoting crony welfare.

Texas homeowners are still paying the highest insurance premiums in the nation, although residents of two other Gulf Coast states are paying almost as much, new figures from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners show.

The average annual cost of the most commonly sold policy in Texas in 2010 was listed at $1,560, which is well above the national average of $909 and about 3.2 percent more than the group’s figures showed last year. Eleven states had average premiums higher than $1,000 a year — including Louisiana at $1,546 and Florida at $1,544.

Poor Perry, nobody's darling anymore.

To contact us Click HERE
So, no winky, winky on Perry's pension greed?

Gov. Rick Perry was at the height of his power in 2011 when the most Republican Texas Legislature in modern times enacted deep spending cuts and handed him one victory after another.

But after a botched run for the presidency and growing disenchantment among Tea Party activists, Perry is facing some potentially awkward policy discussions when the Legislature convenes in January, as well as deeper scrutiny of an administration that has endured for 12 years.

For starters, fellow Republicans want to ban a provision Perry has used to “double dip” — taking both his salary and his state pension — a benefit that has boosted his earnings by more than $90,000 a year. Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, has filed a bill to end the perk, reserved for long-serving elected officials. It would not apply retroactively to the governor.

Corpus Christi Caller Times slams Perry's slush fund

To contact us Click HERE
George Bush was big on using government for his cronies. Perry followed his lead. Voters thought they were approving money for cancer research.

When are all of these unsettling events surrounding what was to be a noble step forward in the fight against cancer going to have more serious consequences?

How long is it going to be before the members of the foundation board for CPRIT start resigning?

What will happen to CPRIT if the state Legislature gets into the game?

What long-term effects will this story about CPRIT, that should not be happening, have on future efforts to fund much-needed research with Texas taxpayer dollars?

What kind of damage is being done to the support of science by the public and our ability to attract our brightest students to careers in science?

Today, there remains funding on the order of $2.2 billion to be dispersed by CPRIT for cancer research. Until all investigations are completed and any and all legal actions that may arise out of the findings of such investigations are finalized, it is suggested that further disbursement of funds by CPRIT be suspended.

We're #1 In insurance premiums

To contact us Click HERE
That's because Texas republicans love their cronies and promoting crony welfare.

Texas homeowners are still paying the highest insurance premiums in the nation, although residents of two other Gulf Coast states are paying almost as much, new figures from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners show.

The average annual cost of the most commonly sold policy in Texas in 2010 was listed at $1,560, which is well above the national average of $909 and about 3.2 percent more than the group’s figures showed last year. Eleven states had average premiums higher than $1,000 a year — including Louisiana at $1,546 and Florida at $1,544.

Poor Perry, nobody's darling anymore.

To contact us Click HERE
So, no winky, winky on Perry's pension greed?

Gov. Rick Perry was at the height of his power in 2011 when the most Republican Texas Legislature in modern times enacted deep spending cuts and handed him one victory after another.

But after a botched run for the presidency and growing disenchantment among Tea Party activists, Perry is facing some potentially awkward policy discussions when the Legislature convenes in January, as well as deeper scrutiny of an administration that has endured for 12 years.

For starters, fellow Republicans want to ban a provision Perry has used to “double dip” — taking both his salary and his state pension — a benefit that has boosted his earnings by more than $90,000 a year. Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, has filed a bill to end the perk, reserved for long-serving elected officials. It would not apply retroactively to the governor.

John's Last Christmas

To contact us Click HERE
The last Christmas John enjoyed was in 2004. He spent with his mom, sisters, brother in law, neice, nephew and great nephew. This is a picture of John playing with Mega Blocks with his great nephew, Connor who was only 1 year old at the time.
The only memories Connor has now of his Great Uncle "Greg" (John) is of him lying in his hospital bed at Shands and spending many hours at the hospital visiting him and getting to know all the wonderful nurses and hospital staff. No child should have to have such memories of a loved one.

John spent Christmas 2005 in a hospital bed at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. thanks to JSO. What a wonderfull bunch of law enforcement officers! NOT!!!

Subscribe to John Laughon: Jacksonville, Fl. Inmate Brutally Beaten; His Family Wants Answers

City, JSO Want Gag Order on Inmate's Family

To contact us Click HERE
City, JSO Want Gag Order on Inmate's Family

John Laughon

Ginger Laughon

10/17/2006 11pm report

By Lindy Thackston
First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- First Coast News is looking into why the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is trying to keep a First Coast mother from talking.

Ginger Laughon claims her son was beaten into a vegetative state while in the custody of correctional officers in February 2005.

Now, JSO and the City are asking for a gag order, arguing they may not get a fair trial.

Pictures family members say they took of John Laughon in the hospital after a struggle with officers show the 37-year-old with several bruises.

The family attorney told First Coast News that Laughon had broken ribs, collapsed lungs, and bleeding in the brain and chest cavity.

Laughon was serving a six month sentence on drug charges.

His mom says he is now in a persistent vegetative state that could last his lifetime.

Laughon is now on a hospital bed at his mother's house.

"I don't know if he's going to be better," Ginger Laughon told First Coast News earlier this year. "They've really taken his whole life away from him. He can't do anything."

She claims her son was assaulted by officers.

Documents from Shands Hospital show the Emergency Room doctor checked the box for "assault."

Last year, JSO made a statement, saying Laughon left the jail with minor injuries.

"There were no outward signs of visible injuries requiring medical attention, but he was transported to Shands because of his mental health condition," said JSO Chief Steve Weintraub in February 2005.

Since that time, Ginger Laughon and her attorney, Sean Cronin, have been outspoken.

First Coast News has obtained a motion, filed on behalf of JSO and the City of Jacksonville, requesting a gag order on Ginger Laughon and Sean Cronin.

The motion claims "the fairness of the trial is seriously threatened."

Howard Maltz represents the City and JSO.

Maltz would not comment on the motion on camera, saying it defeats the purpose of filing a motion for a gag order.

Maltz did say on the phone that "it's inappropriate for certain lawyers to be trying a case in the media."

Maltz would not elaborate.

NOTES: What is JSO trying to hide? They know if their officers and guards start feeling the heat someone will come forward!

Subscribe to John Laughon: Jacksonville, Fl. Inmate Brutally Beaten; His Family Wants Answers

Nursing shortage? It's a matter of paying teachers

To contact us Click HERE
republicans hate teachers. The rich ones don't care if you get health care. republicans don't want higher education available to everyone.

[PSJA ISD Superintendent Daniel King] has been interested in solving the nursing shortage since the early 1990s, when he was a high school principal. He noticed well-qualified students were being turned away from nursing programs because community colleges did not have enough teachers.

“The colleges need nurses with master’s degrees to teach those courses and those nurses can get more money working in private practice. You would think we could build that program up so we can have enough nurses. We are very short sighted,” King said.

“We do not invest in the programs that matter. We end up importing a large percentage of our nurses. I have nothing against someone coming here to better themselves. My concern is we are creating a perpetual underclass. We are trying to do everything on the cheap.”

Public corruption unit investigating Perry's cancer slush fund

To contact us Click HERE
I hope they look long and hard at the institute's dealings.

Texas put up $3 billion in taxpayer money and promised cancer breakthroughs. But a criminal investigation, widespread rebuke from scientists and the resignations of embattled state officials came faster than medical discoveries.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas launched in 2009, flaunting the second-biggest trough of cancer research dollars in the country. Nobel laureates eagerly took jobs with the agency and celebrity Lance Armstrong lent visible and then-coveted support. It was an unprecedented state-run battle against a worldwide killer.

Three years later, it's become unhinged by suggestions of politics and personal profit and is on the ropes.

Corpus Christi Caller Times slams Perry's slush fund

To contact us Click HERE
George Bush was big on using government for his cronies. Perry followed his lead. Voters thought they were approving money for cancer research.

When are all of these unsettling events surrounding what was to be a noble step forward in the fight against cancer going to have more serious consequences?

How long is it going to be before the members of the foundation board for CPRIT start resigning?

What will happen to CPRIT if the state Legislature gets into the game?

What long-term effects will this story about CPRIT, that should not be happening, have on future efforts to fund much-needed research with Texas taxpayer dollars?

What kind of damage is being done to the support of science by the public and our ability to attract our brightest students to careers in science?

Today, there remains funding on the order of $2.2 billion to be dispersed by CPRIT for cancer research. Until all investigations are completed and any and all legal actions that may arise out of the findings of such investigations are finalized, it is suggested that further disbursement of funds by CPRIT be suspended.

We're #1 In insurance premiums

To contact us Click HERE
That's because Texas republicans love their cronies and promoting crony welfare.

Texas homeowners are still paying the highest insurance premiums in the nation, although residents of two other Gulf Coast states are paying almost as much, new figures from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners show.

The average annual cost of the most commonly sold policy in Texas in 2010 was listed at $1,560, which is well above the national average of $909 and about 3.2 percent more than the group’s figures showed last year. Eleven states had average premiums higher than $1,000 a year — including Louisiana at $1,546 and Florida at $1,544.

Poor Perry, nobody's darling anymore.

To contact us Click HERE
So, no winky, winky on Perry's pension greed?

Gov. Rick Perry was at the height of his power in 2011 when the most Republican Texas Legislature in modern times enacted deep spending cuts and handed him one victory after another.

But after a botched run for the presidency and growing disenchantment among Tea Party activists, Perry is facing some potentially awkward policy discussions when the Legislature convenes in January, as well as deeper scrutiny of an administration that has endured for 12 years.

For starters, fellow Republicans want to ban a provision Perry has used to “double dip” — taking both his salary and his state pension — a benefit that has boosted his earnings by more than $90,000 a year. Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, has filed a bill to end the perk, reserved for long-serving elected officials. It would not apply retroactively to the governor.