School Reform News 

News not reported by some Iowa Newspapers...News not reported by some Iowa Newspapers...News not reported by some Iowa Newspapers

IOWA LIVE: A growing network of volunteer Citizens & Professionals for improving Iowa

HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INFORMATION AND ISSUES

  11 NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES CAUSE 94% OF US HEALTH CARE COSTS & 63% OF WORKER ABSENTEEISM

   SUGGESTED PREVENTION & TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR AUTISM

SUGGESTED PREVENTION PROTOCOL FOR DOWN'S SYNDROME

  SUGGESTED TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR COMMON COLD

 SUGGESTED CAUSE, PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR ALZHEIMER'S

   SUGGESTED CAUSE & TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR ASTHMA

  CANCER TREATMENT AND PREVENTION PROTOCOL--SUGGESTS HOW YOU CAN  HELP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WHIP CANCER

CANCER WHIPPING INVENTION EVALUATED & SCORED HIGH NATIONALLY 

   ARCHIVES

AMERICALIVE

SPECIFIC INFORMATION AND ISSUES OF INTEREST

35 AND 44 FOOT FLOOD CRESTS FORECAST FOR CEDAR RAPIDS

THE WORST CEDAR RAPIDS FLOOD IS YET TO COME

The 32 foot crest in 2008 was a warning of what is to come.  The Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service have yet to give Cedar Rapids officials the  brunt of the flood bad news.   Even worse, Cedar Rapids officials have a tendency to ignore reality with respect to floods.  The behavior ranges from denial to delusion.  Neither serves C. R. residents and businesses adequately, much less fairly. 

Iowalive net workers have honed the algorithms and methods used to forecast river flood crests--that were within an inch of the July 28 crest, compared to the National Weather Service forecast that missed the same crest by a foot.  

The following chart shows the results of Iowalive's Cedar River flood forecast.    The Mayor and Council are challenged to produce a comparable chart used to determine the flood crest ‘protection’ level for Cedar Rapids!!  It is doubtful anyone has, or will even claim to have,  better numbers on which to base flood protection and other decisions—than those in the chart??!!  Those levels would almost certainly destroy the bridges on 1st, 2nd and 3rd avenues.   They would also devastate all efforts to revitalize downtown and other flood plain reconstruction as well. 

 LONG RANGE CEDAR RIVER FLOOD CREST FORECAST FOR CEDAR RAPIDS

Peak flood crest from 2063 to 2135 forecast to be no more than 30 ft.

Anyone claiming to have better flood crest forecasts is asked to provide them for evaluation and comparison. 

    TOP 20 PRIORITIES FOR CEDAR RAPIDS

 DERIVATION OF OPERATING EFFICIENCY LEVELS

      INTEGRITY LEVELS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL AND HOUSE DIST. 2 RACES

   EVENING PRAYER FOR AMERICA

  ELCA HAS BAD FIRST QUARTER

  ACCURACY COMPARISON OF PRICE SYSTEMS AND SEER COST ESTIMATING SYSTEMS

  CEDAR RAPIDS AND CORRIDOR INTEGRITY AND OPERATING EFFICIENCY RANKINGS

  IOWA PUBLIC ENEMY # 3 IS THE URBAN EDUCATION NETWORK OF IOWA  (UEN)

 INTEGRITY OF GUBERNATORIAL AND LT. GOVERNOR CANDIDATES

  THE OIL LEAK IS MUCH WORSE THAN ANYONE REALIZES AND WILL BANKRUPT BP

  MARION--EVALUATION AND RESULTS OF MARION AND EASTERN  IOWA CORRIDOR PLANNERS

  LISTEN BELOW TO GOVERNOR CHRIS CRISTIE RIP THE TEACHER'S UNION FOR TRAPPING  STUDENTS

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/06/02/christie_students_trapped_by_selfish_greedy__disgraceful_teacher_unions.html

  IOWA TORNADO DAMAGE REDUCTION EXPERIMENT

   THE GOOD IMPACTS ON IOWANS--WHO RADIO'S MICKELSON IN THE MORNING PROGRAM--IA. PUBLIC DEFENDER # 1

  THE BAD IMPACTS ON IOWANS--DES MOINES REGISTER--IA. PUBLIC ENEMY # 2

 THE UGLY IMPACTS ON IOWANS--ISEA TEACHER UNION--IA. PUBLIC ENEMY # 1

  3 EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AMERICA (ELCA) OFFICES WASTE OVER $12 MILLION PER YEAR

   CLICK TO HEAR WHO RADIO'S MICKELSON IN THE MORNING ON TOLERANCE AND ACCEPTANCE OF GAY MARRIAGE

 BIG SHOTS STILL CLAMORING ABOUT MERGING COUNTIES

Sunday's 1-31-10  “Merge the Counties” big shot Gazette editorial laments about “change” five times, with zero use of the word “improve”.   Do you suppose people living in the counties know the difference between change and improve, and that is why they wisely thumb their noses at big shot, inefficient counties, cities and newspapers, who stupidly harp at them about “change”??

 What services will improve if counties merge?  What taxes will be lowered, by how much and when?  Why should any county folks believe anything the big shot city twinks are saying?—especially since the operating efficiencies of lower populated county governments average about 20% better than highly populated counties!   This is the same negative economy of scale we find with the public schools, state universities—and newspapers.  The bigger they get, the worse they become. 

 The Big Shots should tell highly populated county governments to raise their operating efficiencies by 20% and tell them to quit screaming for more money.  Do the same for large cities, sate universities and large public schools.  Push those big hogs away from the tax money trough.  Return all the savings to state taxpayers. 

 Small counties and towns could then take care of themselves--and easily figure out what is better for them. 

 Is this Heaven?  No, it’s Iowa!!

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AMERICALIVE

  DERIVATION OF INTEGRITY INDEX LEVELS

Derivation of Integrity Index Levels involves proprietary use of algorithms, somewhat similar to those used in deriving operating efficiencies, described farther below on this website. 

An operating efficiency of 100% defines perfection, the condition of zero waste.  Similarly, an Integrity Index Level of 1,000 applies to the Divine--the ultimate level of perfection and truth--and 0, the ultimate absence of perfection and truth. 

On this 0 to 1,000 scale, significant integrity starts at level 300.   The levels are logarithmic, (powers of ten)--which provide more than sufficient range to cover all conditions of integrity--to the highest level of accuracy obtainable.    The levels are intended to be used for making comparisons and for determining improvement, rather than absolutes--at this time.  

To some extent, the Integrity Index Levels can be considered as measures of energy levels--where a 'truth' has a different energy level than a 'false'.    It is expected that use of memristors will eventually lead to precise measurement of such energy levels, including the frequencies of each.   

A memristor behaves like a non-linear resistor with memory.  It will substantially (30% or more) increase speed, reduce size, weight, power consumption, heat dissipated and cost of computers--approaching brain-like computation and memory capability.  A memristor will not lose memory resulting from a power loss. 

Memristor technology will provide the means for the ultimate truth or lie detector.  This technology eliminates the rounding errors resulting from forced use of zeroes and ones, in existing digital technology.  It will make voice recognition more precise than existing DNA.  It will show if a person's unique energy imprint was present at the scene of a crime--at the precise time of the crime! 

An excellent video on memristor technology is available on website;  http://www.memristor.org/emerging/387/hp-stanley-williams-who-discovery-of-memristor-video-lecture-invented      

Integrity awards for deserving newspapers, radio and TV stations will become routine!!   The same applies to clerics, lawyers, businesses, schools, governments, judges, teachers, journalists, politicians and political parties etc.  Are you ready for this?  Will there be efforts to halt or drive memristor technology development, refinement and use out of the country--to avoid exposure of the truth?   Who would fear the truth and want to do that--criminals, the Federal Government?  Please keep a very watchful eye on development of this technology--or its sudden demise.

The Integrity Index Levels derived by Iowalive net workers are infantile, compared to the levels obtainable from use of memristor technology.  The numerical,  Integrity Index Levels provided by Iowalive net workers merely introduce you to what is to come.   Anyone claiming to have better numbers is always asked to provide them for evaluation and comparison. 

 TWO OUTSTANDING PUBLIC SERVICE IMPROVEMENT WINNERS FOUND IN MARION, IOWA

In their quest to find news not reported by newspapers, Iowalive net workers occasionally find examples of outstanding public service performance improvement.  Such is the case with the following two public service improvement winners.  They are outstanding examples of public organizations making much better use of the money they have—rather than demanding more.  Money provided to these two organizations is a very good investment!!  These people do not covet or demand plush offices or other perks.  They are focused on performance improvement—and they achieve it, almost in oblivion.  Bless their unselfish hearts, big time!! 

 First and foremost, is the Linn County Solid Waste Agency located on the northern boundary of Marion , Iowa .   The average annual operating efficiency of this agency improved from 41% in 2003 to 59% in 2009—a 44% improvement in 6 years.    Executive Director Karmin McShane ,and her competent, cost conscious staff, continually look for, find, and implement better methods and processes for handling and disposing of municipal wastes.   As we figure it, waste tonnage increased by at least 10%, head counts were reduced by about 15%, cost and space for overnight covering of waste were reduced by about 20%,  equipment life cycles were increased by about 20%,  leased office space was vacated and offices were relocated to existing, non-plush buildings on the landfill site.  These folks manage money and negotiate lower prices and costs as well as the most efficient farmers--operating at 70% efficiency in Linn County !!   To our knowledge, Marion ’s tipping fees were not increased for the period.  There were many other improvements made as well! This Agency gets the nod over the following outstanding performance improvements because the end result of 59% was highest of the two.  The higher the efficiency becomes, the more difficult it is to improve it substantially. 

 A very, very close second in performance improvement was achieved by Tom Newbanks, Public Services Director for the City of Marion .  The average annual operating efficiency for road use fund usage increased from 36% in 2003 to 55% in 2009, a 53% improvement in 6 years.  Tom and his staff of workers emphasize continuous performance improvement and it pays off.  A major improvement was achieved in reducing the cost of road salt from about $144 per ton to $58 per ton—a 60% reduction totaling over $180,000 per year.  Not one to rest on his laurels, Tom is now looking to collaborate with other cities and further reduce the cost!   The litany of other ways Tom and his staff reduced costs include installing new painting system and sewer line televising systems on the old vehicles rather than buying new, self servicing vehicles etc., use of LED signal lights, eliminated a man and a truck and did an equal or better job of street crack filling, effectively negotiating lower prices, and holding head count down as street mileage increased about 15% from city growth. 

 Congratulations to Karmin and Tom for distinguishing themselves, their staffs and their organizations in this unique and laudable manner.  There is no need for Iowalive to ask them to continue their efforts, as they do so well on their own initiatives!!  

Performance improvement specialists consider a 30% improvement as the minimum for launching an improvement project--and a 60% improvement as a significant stretch.  From where they started, their achievements are definitely in the stretch range!!  GOOD JOB!!

You can visit  http://www.solidwasteagency.org/Agency_Staff.html  and http://www.cityofmarion.org/pubserv  to learn more about these two organizations and their oversight.   

Anyone claiming to have better numbers, or greater performance improvements, is asked to provide them for evaluation and comparison.  

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EASTERN IOWA SCHOOL TEST SCORE INTEGRITY  RANKINGS

Kudos to 23 Eastern Iowa schools, officials and teachers who have not been corrupted by cheating in other schools in their area, or by the pathetic Cedar Rapids Gazette and Des Moines Register editorials!!!  Hopefully, these same schools and officials will soon dump the bogus constructivist belief that poor and minority kids can't be taught--and can't learn.   This is the belief that CORRUPTED and doomed Iowa education--and Iowa students as well.  

 INTEGRITY RANKINGS OF SCHOOL TEST SCORES REPORTED IN 3-15-09 GAZETTE

THE CEDAR RAPIDS GAZETTE CARRIES THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL TEST SCORES WITH NO CONSIDERATION FOR THEIR INTEGRITY.  THIS TABLE FILLS THE HUGE INTEGRITY VOID LEFT BY THE SCHOOLS, GAZETTE, IA. DEPT. OF EDUCATION & GOVERNOR CULVER.
INTEGRITY RANK	DISTRICT	TEST SCORE INTEGRITY INDEX LEVEL, BASED ON ALL ETHICS PRINCIPLES, ON SCALE OF 0 TO 1,000 TOPS, WHERE SIGNIFICANT INTEGRITY STARTS AT 300.	% OF REPORTED SCORES BELIEVABLE
1	I. C. HERITAGE CHRISTIAN	940	99%
2	NORTH-LINN	930	99%
3	OLIN	910	99%
4	C. R. METRO CATHOLIC	905	99%
5	MOUNT VERNON	870	95%
6	SOLON	830	95%
7	CLEAR CREEK AMANA	820	95%
8	VINTON-SHELLSBURG	820	95%
9	DURANT	810	95%
10	CENTER-POINT URBANA	720	95%
11	MID-PRAIRIE	560	90%
12	LISBON	520	90%
13	IOWA VALLEY	510	90%
14	BENNETT	470	85%
15	MONTICELLO	470	85%
16	I. C. REGINA CATHOLIC	460	85%
17	ENGLISH VALLEY	460	85%
18	MIDLAND	460	85%
19	NORTH CEDAR	460	85%
20	ANAMOSA	430	80%
21	LONE TREE	425	80%
22	BELLE PLAINE	420	80%
23	SPRINGVILLE	415	80%
24	EAST BUCHANAN	260	70%
25	ALBURNETT	220	70%
26	BENTON	215	70%
27	COLLEGE COMM.	190	65%
28	MAQUOKETA VALLEY	160	60%
29	EDGEWOOD --COLESBURG	120	50%
30	HIGHLAND	120	50%
31	INDEPENDENCE	120	50%
32	CENTRAL CITY	110	50%
33	DEEP RIVER --MILLERSBURG	110	50%
34	H-L-V	105	50%
35	JESUP	105	50%
36	TIPTON	90	50%
37	WASHINGTON	90	50%
38	WEST BRANCH	90	50%
39	MARION	70	40%
40	LINN-MAR	70	40%
41	CEDAR RAPIDS	50	40%
42	IOWA CITY	40	40%
Anyone claiming to have better numbers is asked to provide them.  Any superintendent who claims there is no cheating in the district is asked to explain how it is known.

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YOUTUBE VIDEO REVEALS THREATENING U.S. TECHNOLOGY STATUS

This revealing technology presentation  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY  , is likely the single most depressing and disappointing technology forecast you will likely see.  It is similar to the recent ABC TV program, Stupid in America, as it reveals what newspapers will not report about education challenges and failures. 

At the end of World War II, the United States clearly had the finest public education system on the face of this earth. So that you don’t become too depressed while watching the video, remember that U. S. schools can be fixed, just as other poorly performing monopolies have been fixed—by immediately exposing them to effective competition—and the immediate consequences of failure to compete effectively. 

 For at least the past 20 years it has become obvious the US had fallen behind other Countries in the education level of US students. In just the past 10 years the true low ranking of US students became so obvious, the Federal Government had to pass the No Child Left Behind act to try and stop the decline in the education level of the average US student.

 Unfortunately, due to lack of awareness, public apathy, Teacher's Union dominance and a philosophical change in the perceived need of curriculum, the education level of today's US student continues to decline. Today, only the top 4-5 percent of US graduates can even begin to compete with their foreign counterparts. Equally as disturbing is the fact that the two most populous countries in the world, China and India have been and will continue to produce millions more top students than will the United States . For example, the top 25% of India 's population, with the highest IQ's, is greater than the entire population of the United States .  Hence, we will continue to lose share in the global economy--today and tomorrow.

 Many maintain that if the present situation is not turned around, the US will be forced to bring back to it's shores, the menial labor work and products it exported overseas during the past 20-30 years, because the foreign countries that once accepted that work will do so no longer.  Their labor market which is already replacing the current US labor market is fast taking over and quite likely will dominate, in numbers especially, the upcoming high technology labor market.  

 The US no longer holds the competitive edge in high technology today and with the difference in numbers advantage, held today by China and India , the US will likely never be in a position, in the future, to regain that advantage. The present economic downturn in the US may also, in and of itself, preclude the US from ever recovering it's once vaunted position.  

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THE CAUSES OF DECLINES OF AMERICA'S LARGER NEWSPAPERS ARE RANKED

The following table ranks the causes of the declines suffered by larger newspapers in America.  Iowalive net workers performed the analysis as a result of unresolved issues with the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gazette newspaper.  The primary and other unresolved issues are pasted below the table.   

It is of particular interest that poor management, biases and political correctness caused 70% of the decline.  The newspapers did it to themselves, and it is up to them to fix it.  In addition, poor subscriber reading skills added another 6%.  This is indeed poetic justice since the newspapers blindly supported all the failed programs and increased funding the public schools were provided--at the insistence of constructivists and the teacher unions.   The poorer readers are lost to the newspapers forever, since reading skills are not improved significantly after graduation from high school.  

CAUSES OF NEWSPAPER DECLINE
RANK	CAUSE FACTOR	% OF DECLINE CAUSED
1	POOR MANAGEMENT	28%
2	POLITICAL BIAS	18%
3	PRO GOV. SPENDING BIAS	12%
4	COMPETITION FROM INTERNET	11%
5	POLITICAL CORRECTNESS	7%
6	COMPETITION FROM TV	6%
7	POOR SUBSCRIBER READING SKILLS	6%
8	PRO TAXES BIAS	5%
9	COMPETITION FROM RADIO	3%
10	FEAR OF ADVERTISERS	2%
11	ALL OTHER	2%
	TOTAL	100%

 The primary unresolved issue with the Gazette is it is not doing its constitutional job.   The same applies to many other large newspapers as well.  There are other unresolved issues with the Gazette.

A FEW OF THE UNRESOLVED ISSUES THE GAZETTE REFUSES TO REPORT AND TAKE A POSITION ON

1. How Kirkwood Community College inflated its enrollment
1. And made bogus enrollment growth projections to pass an unneeded bond issue
2. Problems in the Cedar Rapids schools district
1. The district has no interest or effective policy to find and punish cheaters
2. The district refuses to encourage and protect whistle blowers
3. The district has no idea what goes on in a classroom once the classroom door is closed
4. The buyout of the superintendent was hidden by false salary reports in the Gazette
5. What is the honest and accurate enrollment of the district?

                                                              i.      There have been 3 different numbers reported in the Gazette to date

                                                            ii.      None are verified in any reliable manner

                                                          iii.      Iowalive finds the ‘best’ number to be inflated by at least 3%. 

6. District made bogus enrollment growth projections to pass an unneeded bond issue. 
7. Use of the fraudulent Iowa Proficiency standard deceives students and parents with inflated academic performance levels
8. The failure of the superintendent to raise student achievement, as he said he would do, was hidden for nearly four years
9. The growing number of costly empty desks in the school district
10. The district has no effective performance improvement plans
2. Why flood victims had insufficient warning to remove their vehicles from the streets and parking lots
3. Why it is ludicrous to expect floodwalls and levees to protect residents from flooding, when those erected in the 1960s failed to do so—and more upstream development continues unabated
4. The devastating effect raising floodwall and levee heights in C. R. will have on Palo and Vinton
5. The cost of bogus and hyped snowfall and other weather forecasts
6. The inaccuracy of weather forecasts and precipitation measurements
7. Bogus reporting of state budget cuts
8. Supporting every tax increase proposed by anyone
9. The failure to include--Make much better use of existing funding and taxes—in today’s Gazette list of Legislative previews. 
10. Pathetic operating efficiency and integrity of state, county and local governments—especially including public schools
1. The Gazette refuses to ask officials for their performance improvement plans—and then report the responses given by these officials
11. The failure to recognize the issue of why there are no newspaper awards for integrity
12. The Gazette is more apt to attack and discredit whistle blowers than it is to support and help them
13. Gazette refuses to report citizens’ comments or presentations at school board and other public meetings—and if they are reported—they appear at or near the bottom of articles.
14. The Gazette refuses to retract its “Go ahead and break the law” editorial.
15. The dismal failure of Metro High school
16. The growing number of C. R.  schools on the watch and in need of assistance lists
17. The Gazette remains mum on the litany of failures, of school funding increases and new programs--to improve student achievement—such as special ed., mandatory kindergarten, higher teacher pay, teacher training, smaller class size, in-service days for teachers, AEAs, Community Colleges, counselors, allowable growth, full funding for phantom students, the fraudulent Proficiency standard, Phases I, II & III, etc. etc.!!
18. The Gazette won’t post state academic rankings for C. R. and other area schools
19. The damage done by constructivists and the teacher’s union goes unnoticed by the Gazette

The Gazette Ombudsman has been asked to resolve the above issues.  For now the Gazette is trying to solve its problem by placing inadequate news items on its website.  They are doing the same thing with the same flawed news and expecting a better result--which is insane!!

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SNOWFALL FORECASTING CONTEST--IOWALIVE VS. KCRG-TV9 in Cedar Rapids, IA

KCRG-TV 9's  3 STORM FORECAST ERROR IS OVER TWICE THAT OF IOWALIVE, thru 12-19-2008

KCRG-TV9    58.18 inches

IOWALIVE      26.4 inches

Iowalive is finding that National Weather Service actual snowfall amounts are posted late, if at all--and are not likely to be any more accurate than other measured amounts.   The measurement processes are not that reliable or accurate.   

Iowalive is also concerned about the large (up to six hours) error in KCRG-TV 9's forecasts for the times when a storm will start and end.   This results in substantial worker distractions and lost production, for starters.  It gets  worse from there, with needless cancellations etc.--that likely cost the Cedar Rapids community a total of at least $400,000 for the Dec. 18 & 19 storm alone.  

As a result, the Iowalive net worker is evaluating the best method to demonstrate that much better weather forecasting can and should be done--if not how to do it.  Saturday's 12-20-2008 snowfall was not forecast for that reason.   In addition, as shown above--KCRG-TV 9's forecast  error is over twice that of Iowalive's, after just three snowstorms.   

There is little point in proceeding with the existing competition, for that reason alone.  The competition is therefore terminated for being no contest.  

FORECAST FOR ROUND 3

The National Weather Service has not yet posted Tuesday's snowfall amount as of 6:00 PM Wednesday.

The following snowfall forecasts were made at 6:00 AM Wednesday Morning, Dec. 17.  Iowalive mentioned .3 inch of ice for Cedar Rapids and .2 inch for Waterloo.  KCRG-TV 9 gave no comparable ice numbers in the forecast.   On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Iowalive mentioned .4 inch of ice and power outages for Cedar Rapids.  

TOTAL SNOWFALL FORECAST--INCHES, for Thurs & Friday, Dec. 18-19
LOCATION	KCRG-TV 9		IOWALIVE  PINPOINT
	MIN.	MAX.
CEDAR RAPIDS	6	12	5.2
WATERLOO	6	12	6.7

RESULTS OF ROUND 1 AND SNOWFALL FORECAST FOR ROUND 2

The running score total snowfall forecast error in inches, as of 12-15-08,  is:

KCRG-TV 9    38 Inches             Iowalive 6 Inches

The snowfall forecast amounts for the two cities selected for round 2 are:  

TOTAL SNOW FALL FORECAST--INCHES, FOR STORM ON TUESDAY/WED,  DEC 16  & 17
LOCATION	IOWALIVE		KCRG
	PINPOINT	FOR COMPARISON WITH NWS ACTUALS
CEDAR RAPIDS	8.6	8.9	5.6
WATERLOO	4.2	4.6	6.3

The table shows two numbers for Iowalive's forecast because to compare with the National Weather Service (NWS) official snowfall numbers, the Iowalive forecast must be inflated to include sleet, pellets etc. that fall along with the snow--and artificially inflate the correct snowfall number.    

CEDAR RAPIDS KCRG-TV 9's SNOWFALL FORECASTS VS. IOWALIVE’S

12-10-08

Greetings, Joe Winters, KCRG-TV 9 METEOROLOGIST:                                  C. L.  999

 The snow storm has passed and the snowfall forecast accuracy results are in.   We have yet to receive KCRG’s actual snowfall amounts from you, so used National Weather Service amounts instead. 

 As shown in the table below, KCRG-TV 9’s total forecast error was about 6 times that of the Iowalive net worker—who is in the process of learning how the game is played, which should be “fun”.   It is noteworthy that the forecasts were made but 12 hours before the actual forecasted event, on Tuesday, 12-9-2008. 

 Iowalive’s 8.8 inch total snowfall amount forecast, was .4 inches below the 8% margin of error for the 10.01 inches that fell.    KCRG’s  Minimum/Maximum forecasts ranged from 7.9 inches to 25.9 inches above the mark—far above the margin of error. 

 Net worker lessons learned are:  

1.      Actual snowfall amounts, as reported by the National Weather Service and others, include sleet and pellets etc. that fall along with the snow—and can serve to significantly inflate actual snowfall amounts.   The Iowalive net worker will include sleet and pellets etc.  in future forecasts to compensate upward, for these conditions.

2.      When ‘expert’ forecasters come close to the mark, the results are widely televised.  When they grossly miss the mark, the results are very difficult to obtain.

3.      There is very little, if any, oversight of ‘expert’ forecasters. 

4.       Obtaining information from some ‘expert’ forecasters is difficult, especially when it involves accuracy and performance.  However, some are very cooperative!!

5.      The integrity of weather forecasting and forecasts needs more scrutiny and evaluation, and this will be performed by Iowalive net workers in the near future. 

6.      Official, National Weather Service snowfall amounts are significantly less than other amounts reported.

7.      PINPOINT forecasts are far superior to broad range forecasts.  

Joe, we agree with you!  From the table, it looks like it could be a fun winter!!

KCRG-TV9 TOTAL SNOWFALL FORECAST ERROR IS SIX TIMES AS LARGE AS IOWALIVE ' s  ERROR
TOTAL SNOWFALL FORCAST--INCHES, FROM 7 PM MONDAY TO 7 PM TUESDAY				ACTUAL SNOWFALL--National Weather Service	TOTAL ERROR--INCHES
LOCATION	KCRG-TV 9		IOWALIVE
	MIN.	MAX.	PINPOINT		KCRG-TV 9	IOWALIVE
CEDAR RAPIDS	3	6	1	0.11	8.78	0.89
DUBUQUE	3	6	1.8	1.8	5.4	0
WATERLOO	6	12	3.2	0.1	17.8	3.1
DECORAH	6	12	2.8	8	6	5.2
TOTAL	18	36	8.8	10.01
*TOTAL FORECAST ERROR--INCHES					37.98	6.2
*KCRG-TV 9 ' s use of a two number range shows high uncertainty (guesswork) and results in increased error, as it should, since either or both numbers can be wrong.  The error is calculated by subtracting the actual snowfall from each number in the range, and then adding the results together.  A two-to-one spread in the KCRG forecast is inherently inaccurate!
NOTE:  Actual snowfall amounts include sleet and pellets, etc. that fell with the snow--and as such, were not included in the Iowalive snowfall forecasts.  They will be included in future Iowalive forecasts--even though their inclusion significantly inflates snowfall amounts.  But that ' s how the ' experts ' play the game.  Actual snowfall amounts are the best available.  Anyone claiming to have better numbers is asked to provide them for evaluation and comparison.

 

Stay tuned for the next significant snowfall event.   

Sincerely,   

Iowalive                                A growing network of volunteer citizens and professionals for improving Iowa

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 HOW TO RECOGNIZE RADICAL LIBERALS

Radical Liberals and their behavior etc. are clearly described by Dr. Lyle Rossiter, MD, in his outstanding book, The Liberal Mind, available for $19.95 (paperback)  or $9.95 (E-book) at http://www.libertymind.com/index.php?page_id=220 .  

Since discussing the book's contents in describing the integrity of 2008 IA legislative action farther below, and in several emails to Iowans, people have been telling us they have been exposed to radical liberal behavior, and didn't like it, but didn't know what it was--or what caused it.  Now they are finding out more about it.   The following table was prepared by Iowalive net workers--based on Dr. Rossiter's book.  

The table is Iowalive net workers' attempt to put Dr. Rossiter's theories to practice, with the best, but not claimed to be perfect, numbers available, derived and provided at no cost by volunteer Iowalive net workers.  The table's contents make it much easier to recognize radical liberal behavior and beliefs--even though some, who are so afflicted, try to hide or disguise it.  Those of you who work with, or associate with radical liberals, are aware of the havoc they can raise with others--and with an organization's morale and productivity.  They can inhabit a business or a church congregation, as well as a public institution.  They are not limited to activities in politics alone--as you can easily observe from the descriptions in the table, and the ensuing discussions. 

When you observe individuals behaving with any single behavior described in the table with red or orange numbers--you can be reasonably sure you are dealing with a radical liberal.   For example, extravagant demands, political or otherwise, readily identify a radical liberal.  Here are some typical, radical liberal extravagant demands made by:

• Business CEOs deviously demanding compensation in excess of 100 or more times the compensation of the lowest paid employee

• Teacher unions and teachers blatantly demanding higher teacher pay for teaching smaller class sizes--and for delivering less student achievement

• The public school monopoly fighting to avoid competition, from even home schoolers, who just had their funding cut by radical liberals in IA state government

• Environmentalists to stop oil exploration and certain kinds of energy generation and use

• Environmentalists to stop what they claim to be 'manmade' global warming

• Politicians and others who want to force others to use ethanol made from food grains--as fuel for automobiles

• People wanting it legal and morally legitimate to kill fetuses in the womb

• Politicians limiting the right of property owners to use their property in pursuit of legal commerce

• Business executives for severance compensation--known as golden parachutes

• Public officials raising tax rates, fees and taxes paid for equal or diminished services provided by public schools, city, county and state governments

• Federal Reserve Board officials authorizing the inflationary printing of more money

• Educrats forcing a statewide constructivist 'core curriculum' on local school officials (Constructivism and constructivists are discussed farther below)

• Those deviously seeking front door parking privileges, corner offices, or the very best office furnishings etc. 

• Those trying to blame others for their failure to meet expectations or promises made--such as educrats blaming parents for poor student  performance

• IA  Department of Education officials demanding Federal officials accept Iowa's 40th National Percentile Rank as the student achievement standard for Iowa.  The standard is the lowest in the Midwest and allows IA educrats to claim students as Proficient (Expert) when scoring nearly two grades below enrolled grade level.  

Numbers in the table were derived from observations, conversations and advanced statistical methods.  Anyone claiming to have better numbers is asked to provide them for evaluation and comparison.  You can expect the table to be updated as more information and data become available.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A RADICAL LIBERAL
RADICAL LIBERAL'S BEHAVIOR	% OF PEOPLE HAVING THIS BEHAVIOR WHO ARE RADICAL LIBERALS	% OF RADICAL LIBERALS HAVING THIS BEHAVIOR
The radical liberal’s neurosis is evident in his extravagant ' political ' demands, in his furious protests against economic freedom, in his arrogant contempt for morality, in his ruthless use of force to control the lives of others.	98%	98%
Believes others are conspiring to harm him and hold him down	95%	97%
Believes others deliberately ignore, neglect, deprive and exploit him	87%	89%
Is self righteous, arrogant and grandiose in his demands for indulgence and exemption from accountability--and in his claims to entitlements, in what he gives and withholds, and in his protests that nothing done voluntarily is enough to satisfy him.	86%	95%
Lacks deep seated confidence in himself	72%	75%
Feels disadvantaged, frustrated and deprived	70%	76%
Paranoid--Believes he must defend himself from others	62%	66%
Forces others to meet his needs	52%	75%
Pessimistic	51%	98%
Cynical	23%	65%
Skeptical beyond reason	22%	81%
Cannot trust others

   RADICAL LIBERALS' IMPACT ON ORGANIZATION'S PERFORMANCE

Once you have determined there are radical liberals in your organization, it is reasonable for you to become concerned about any impact they are apt to have on your organization's performance or integrity--for which you might be held accountable.  People are telling us they don't trust people behaving as described in the table above--nor do they want to be around them.  We doubt few people would argue that this lowers morale and performance in the workplace.   

The following table is the first attempt to quantify how much of an impact radical liberals are apt to have on large organizations.  It is understood that one radical liberal could break up a partnership or a small organization.  The numbers in the table below will be improved as time goes along and more data is obtained.  Anyone claiming to have better numbers is asked to provide them for evaluation and comparison.  

Before you study the following table, please compare the radical liberal's behavior in the table above to what Dr. Rossiter says about the "competent citizen", who is often expected to cooperate or work with radical liberals.  The contrast of radical liberals with competent citizens strongly supports the numbers in the following table--that show the harm radical liberal behavior does to organizations.  

THE COMPETENT CITIZEN DIFFERS GREATLY FROM THE RADICAL LIBERAL

This is how Dr. Rossiter describes a "Competent Citizen".

• The competent citizen obeys the rules that temper human destructiveness, deter human negligence and aspire to human excellence.

• What the competent citizen wants, in contrast to the modern liberal, is a coherent and dependable structure for ordered liberty, secured by a limited government that respects the autonomy and sovereignty of the individual and protects his property rights against the constant invasions of collectivism.   

Clinical treatment methods for radical liberals are beyond the scope of this discussion.  

RADICAL LIBERALS' IMPACT ON AN ORGANIZATION OF COMPETENT CITIZENS
DESCRIPTION	CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS ' PRODUCTIVITY	CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS ' INTEGRITY
DECREASE OF 2 RADICAL LIBERALS PER 100 EMPLOYEES	20%	10%
ELIMINATION OF LAST RADICAL LIBERAL FROM 100 EMPLOYEES	15%	10%
EFFECTIVE CLINICAL TREATMENT OF 2 RADICAL LIBERALS PER 100 EMPLOYEES	15%	10%
ADDITION OF THE FIRST RADICAL LIBERAL TO 100 EMPLOYEES	-10%	-5%
INCREASE OF 2 RADICAL LIBERALS PER 100 EMPLOYEES	-30%	-20%
ADDITION OF THIRD RADICAL LIBERAL TO 100 EMPLOYEES	-30%	-30%

 

DESCRIPTION OF 12 RADICAL LIBERAL MINDS NOW CONTROLLING IOWA LEGISLATURE

Iowalive has been asked to release the names of the 12 legislators, some who are Committee Chairs, but believes it to be unnecessary at this time since they can be identified by anyone paying close attention to Dr. Rossiter's description of their public tax and spend behavior etc.  Despite their litany of school failures--smaller class size, mandatory kindergarten, higher teacher pay, New Math, Whole Language, Social Passing, Feel Good about Failure, teacher training and Phases I, II & III, the Radical liberals just passed a mandatory, constructivist Core Curriculum--that will fail as well.  

Excerpted from Dr. Lyle Rossiter's book, The Liberal Mind--The Psychological Causes of Political Madness

   Lyle H. Rossiter, Jr. received his medical and psychiatric training at the University of Chicago and served for two years as a psychiatrist in the U.S. Army. He is board certified in both general and forensic psychiatry. For more than forty years he has diagnosed and treated mental disorders, with a special interest in personality pathology and its developmental origins. He has been retained by numerous public offices, courts and private attorneys as a forensic psychiatrist and has consulted in more than 2,700 civil and criminal cases in both state and federal jurisdictions. He has lectured to various groups on subjects ranging from psychotherapy to the prevention of suicide.

 The Cynicism of the Radical Liberal Mind

“Based on his early deficits in trust, the radical liberal’s skepticism about life is deep seated and cynical. It undermines his ability to be hopeful, leaving him at least pessimistic and often depressive in his outlook on life. Indeed, the radical liberal is not optimistic about himself and the world: he lacks a deep-seated confidence in his and others’ abilities to manage life’s problems, achieve security and feel contented in a framework of individual freedom. Not only can he not trust that other persons will cooperate with him for his and their benefit, he also believes that they will deliberately ignore him, neglect him, deprive him or exploit him.

 The radical liberal believes that he has to defend himself against this basic fact about the human condition by getting power over others. He must force other persons to meet his needs or he will remain deprived, frustrated and disadvantaged. When his early trauma has been especially severe, his conviction that he is deprived and abused rises to the level of paranoia. He is then convinced that his suffering is not only painful but intended. He believes that others are conspiring to harm him and keep him down. In adult life this paranoid development finds a home in the politics of victimization

 All of this and more will of course be adamantly denied by the radical liberal, who must defend against his deficits by projecting them into the outside world. He will not realize that he misinterprets the present through perceptions from the past. He will not understand that his cynicism flows from the traumas of his childhood. He will insist instead that in a free society under the rule of law, he and many others like him will be deprived, neglected and abused by villains who use freedom to exploit their victims. He will not understand that by projecting his mistrustful perceptions into the world around him he distorts the realities of human relating. But this denial will not withstand scrutiny.

 The radical liberal’s neurosis is evident in his distortions of human nature and human relating. It is evident in what he seeks and what he fears, in what he praises and damns, in what elicits his sympathy and pity, in what stimulates his rage and outrage. It is evident in the values he celebrates and in those he scorns, in the policies he promotes and the principles he opposes, in the responsibilities he rejects and the obligations he shirks, in what makes him envious and jealous, in what agitates him and calms him, in what humiliates him and makes him proud. His neurosis is evident in his ideals and fantasies; in his self-righteousness, arrogance and grandiosity; in his self-pity; in his demands for indulgence and exemption from accountability; in his claims to entitlements; in what he gives and withholds; and in his protests that nothing done voluntarily is enough to satisfy him.

Most notably, the radical liberal’s neurosis is evident in his extravagant political demands, in his furious protests against economic freedom, in his arrogant contempt for morality, in his angry defiance of civility, in his bitter attacks on freedom of association, in his aggressive assault on individual liberty. And in the final analysis, the irrationality of the radical liberal is most apparent in his ruthless use of force to control the lives of others. As will be noted in more detail below, the radical liberal’s obsession with force against others is the child’s solution to developmental failures in the first six years of life.”

* The Book is available for $19.95 (paperback)  or $9.95 (E-book) at http://www.libertymind.com/index.php?page_id=220

   INTEGRITY RANKING SUMMARY OF ISSUES PASSED AND FAILED IN IOWA'S HORRIBLE 2008 LEGISLATIVE SESSION  controlled by 12 Radical Liberal Minds.   

Iowalive net workers have completed their assessment and analysis and have ranked the Integrity Index Levels of Legislation passed, and not passed, in the 2008 session.  The levels are based on moral and ethics principles of Iowans.   Anyone claiming to have better rankings or numbers is asked to provide them for evaluation and comparison.  

Like the 2007 Legislative session, 2008 is again the least integrous of the many sessions evaluated by Iowalive net workers.  It is the second legislative session in several years that was controlled by Radical Liberals, and a Democrat governor.   The table shows only 6 of 23  issues scoring above the 300 threshold for significant integrity.

   

INTEGRITY RANK	ISSUES PASSED	INTEGRITY INDEX LEVEL ON SCALE OF 0 TO 1,000  TOPS.  SIGNIFICANT INTEGRITY STARTS AT LEVEL 300.
1	INCREASED VETERANS BENEFITS	410
2	DOG FIGHTING PENALTIES	400
3	END OF GIFT CARD FEES	320
4	$200,000 for maternity homes, pregnancy centers and adoption agencies	260
5	CHILD HEALTH INSURANCE	201
6	CUT HOME SCHOOL FUNDING TO SCHOOLS	180
7	ENVIRONMENT FUNDING	170
8	SMOKING BAN	110
9	BONDING FOR NEW PENITENTIARY	95
10	INCREASED VEHICLE LICENSE FEES	60
11	EXPANDED PRE-SCHOOL FUNDING	10
12	SCHOOL ALLOWABLE GROWTH	2
13	INCREASED TEACHER PAY	2
14	MANDATORY CORE CURRICULUM	0
15	LABOR UNIONS IN CONTROL OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS	0
16	SCHOOL SALES TAX	0
17	$750,000 Family Planning--Abortions	0
	AVERAGE	159
	ISSUES NOT PASSED
1	TEEN DRIVER USE OF CELL PHONES	350
2	INCREASED BOTTLE DEPOSIT	310
3	STRICTER OPEN RECORDS LAW	0
4	END CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLE	0
5	STIFFER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT EMPLOYMENT	0
6	PROPERTY TAX RELIEF	0
7	TOUGHER SCHOOL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS	0
	AVERAGE	94

 CEDAR RAPIDS CITY GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE NOT IMPROVED  

The following table shows the operating efficiency and integrity index levels of Cedar Rapids' 39 City Departments has not improved since the formation of the City Manager form of government.  Changes have been made, but they did not result in significant improvement, nor are they apt to.  Two Radical Liberals in the Mayor and Council positions appear to hold performance down at this time--as the Council is only 10% efficient and ranked 38th--and the City Manager's department at 30% is ranked 24th.  Neither demonstrate the leadership or an example for improved performance.  As usual, for poorly performing organizations, they want more and more money to sustain present performance levels.   

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA CITY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT ' S OPERATING EFFICIENCY AND INTEGRITY RANK.  OVERALL CITY EFFICIENCY IS 28% AND INTEGRITY INDEX IS 280, WEIGHTED AVERAGE.
EFF. RANK, OF 39	INTEG. RANK, OF 39	39 CEDAR RAPIDS DEPARTMENTS	AVG. OPERATING EFFICIENCY, YEAR-TO-DATE 3-30-07	AVG. INTEGRITY INDEX LEVEL BASED ON ETHICS AND MORALS PRINCIPALS, ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 1,000 TOPS, WHERE SIGNIFICANT INTEGRITY STARTS AT 300.
1	5	Veterans Memorial	67%	570
2	2	Treasurer’s Office	66%	670
3	4	Purchasing	62%	620
4	13	Ushers Ferry	54%	360
5	11	Information Technology	52%	415
6	15	Riverfront Services	51%	325
7	6	Parking	48%	530
8	21	Recreation	47%	270
9	18	Traffic Engineering (Division of Public Works)	47%	315
10	1	Water	44%	720
11	7	Animal Control	43%	520
12	3	Assessor	43%	640
13	19	Transit	43%	310
14	29	Police	38%	170
15	16	Forestry Maintenance (Division of Public Works)	37%	320
16	30	Neighborhood Liaison	35%	170
17	14	City Clerk	33%	340
18	10	Eastern  Iowa   Airport	33%	450
19	17	Public Works	33%	320
20	24	Building/Zoning	32%	210
21	27	Development	32%	190
22	20	Housing Inspections	32%	310
23	8	Engineering (Division of Public Works)	31%	520
24	23	City Manager	30%	220
25	12	Civil Rights	23%	400
26	9	Fire	20%	520
27	38	Sewer Maintenance (Division of Public Works)	20%	80
28	32	Golf	18%	150
29	22	Street Maintenance (Division of Public Works)	18%	240
30	31	Auditor	17%	160
31	34	Facilities Management	17%	110
32	25	Parks	17%	210
33	33	Water Pollution Control	15%	125
34	26	Library	14%	210
35	39	Joint Communication	13%	70
36	35	Housing Services	12%	110
37	36	Human Resources	12%	110
38	28	City Council	10%	180
39	37	Solid Waste & Recycling	10%	105

 

   65 YEAR CHART SHOWS AWFUL IOWA SCHOOL TRENDS

Constructivism, now required by IA teacher licensing law--is damaging Iowa kids for the rest of their lives!  The Core Curriculum law sticks the schools with constructivism, until it is repealed, as it should be. 

  

SCHOOL CONSOLIDATIONS HAVE NOT IMPROVED TOTAL COST PER STUDENT 

The following two charts show Cedar Rapids Gazette and Des Moines Register editors don't know what they are talking about--when they blindly promote school mergers and school closings.  The wasteful, large school districts, showing reverse economies of scale, are much more hurtful to students and the state's economy than all the small schools in the state combined.   *Total cost per student is going out of sight as the number of districts continues to fall.  

* Total cost per student includes buildings, AEAs etc.