The Bush Cash "COW"

The Bush Cash "COW"
16 Sep 2007

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) requested that the Department of Education’s Inspector General (IG) investigate why federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) funds are being spent on educational products sold by Ignite! Learning, a company founded and headed by Neil Bush, President Bush’s younger brother.

Neil Bush, who has no education background, is best known for his role in the failure of Silverado Savings and Loan, which cost taxpayers $1.6 billion. CREW is asking the IG to discover why federal money is being funneled to a company with no proven track record of effectiveness, but so happens to be run by the president’s brother.

Congress has set rigorous standards for the types of educational approaches and products on which NCLB funds can be spent, but CREW’s research shows that Ignite! products do not meet those criteria. In fact, there is no scientific data, as defined by NCLB, supporting the effectiveness of Ignite!’s products.

CREW’s three-month investigation revealed that school districts are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, including NCLB funds, on Ignite!’s Curriculum on Wheels (COW), a cart-mounted video projector and hard drive loaded with a year’s supply of Ignite!’s social studies, science, or math curricula. At a standard price of $3,800-$4,200 per unit, the COW is a very expensive device with limited use.

Adding to the initial expense, schools must pay an annual $1,000 licensing, upkeep and upgrade fee in order to retain the COW for more than one year.

In Houston, Barbara Bush donated money to a hurricane Katrina relief fund, but mandated the money be used to buy her son’s Ignite! program for schools.

Ask yourself (and your government) why schools would invest money in this product?

References:

The Raw Story

chron.com

campaignwatch.org

austinchronicle.com

mediatransparency.org

businessweek.com/magazine/

Americanfreepress.net/

washingtonpost.com

motherjones.com

associatedcontent.com

citizensforethics.org

Ignite Learning

Wikipedia

Why Is Bush's Kid Brother Neil Getting Federal Funding? Posted by Liliana Segura at 12:06 PM on September 13, 2007. Alternet

Border Patrol Agents Need Pardon

In light of President George W. Bush’s recent commutation of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s prison sentence, North Carolina Congressman Walter B. Jones has written a letter to again call on the President to pardon U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.

“I am writing to express my deep disappointment that U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean remain unjustly incarcerated for wounding a Mexican drug smuggler who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across our border,”
Jones wrote.

“While you have spared Mr. Libby from serving even one day of his ‘excessive’ 30-month prison term, agents Ramos and Compean have already served 167 days of their 11 and 12-year prison sentences,” Jones wrote.

“By attempting to apprehend an illegal alien drug smuggler, these agents were enforcing our laws, not breaking them.”

“Mr. President, it is now time to listen to the American people and members of Congress who have called upon you to pardon these agents,” Jones continued. “By granting immunity and free health care to an illegal alien drug trafficker and allowing our law enforcement officers to languish in prison – our government has told its citizens, and the world, that it does not care about protecting our borders or enforcing our laws.”

“I urge you to correct a true injustice by immediately pardoning these two law enforcement officers,” Jones concluded.

Send your letter to Bush
Urgent Appeal for Presidential Pardon Two Border Patrol Agents Being Railroaded for Political Purposes

Progress in Iraq

George Bush released his administration's report on the "progress" in Iraq. It's another example of how deep in denial he is about what's really happening. The past three months have been some of the deadliest since the war began, and things are getting worse -- not better.
Read the report

The war in Iraq should never have been authorized, never have been waged, and it must end now.


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