CABE - Can we change the name to RUBE?

Man, are these people in the dark. They sent me another CABE Journal the other day. The last one featured this Jodi Rell money sink. You'd think these people would stop throwing good money after bad. But Noooooooooooooooooo.

In this issue they announce yet another waste of taxpayer's money called CABE-Meeting. I know you're holding your breath wondering what magic this thing brings to the educational table. Get this... it promises to...

• Make documents available in REAL-TIME [hooo-hoo]!
• Allow for board members to follow along electronically [no not with a pacemaker - with a laptop]
• Allow minutes to be put together as the meeting progresses! [Stop the world! I want to get off!]

All for the introductory price of $2K/year and $1K/year after that. There's more but really you have better things to do than ponder this buffalo chip [It makes my eyes water].

Between the lines CABE tells us the true agenda. The Gates Foundation is underwriting some of the cost of this boondoggle because they are soooooo interested in better school board meetings. It's coincidental that each school board will requisition laptops requiring Microsoft software to actually run this thing.

AH, PHILANTHROPY, where art thou?

What's that?

Sold to the highest bidder, you say.

Pity.

Truth be told this software sounds as useful and necessary as a third shoe. Region 19 can already post documents to the internet [there's zero urgency in doing so and so on]. This software aspires to be dubious but dubious refuses to compromise its integrity in this case.

I will attempt to help this organization the best I can but I'm not miracle worker - just keep that in mind.

Jodi Rell and Taxpayer's millions in the toilet!

Yeah, that last post gives you a taste of the effectiveness of CABE -shudder-. Here's another whopper. CABE's The Journal reports that "one of the goals of then Lieutenant Governor Rell's technology initiatives was to build a statewide network linking schools, universities and libraries together."

Oh, that ain't all. CABE "has recommended, that there be adequate annual operating funding to maintain, support, and operate the State Education network and that there be sufficient content on the network to provide every school and library with comprehensive and beneficial information."

Really. Let's ask Ms. Rell what this costed the taxpayers, the article says, "after four years and millions of dollars spent". That's right folks, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT!

Um, I hate to sound like a Monty Python rerun but did Jodi work for the Redundant Department of Redundancy when the State was spending MILLIONS OF [Taxpayer] DOLLARS to build something that sounds an awful lot like the internet but not as good?

In fact, CABE's suggestion for this thing is that we now find something to do with it. Huh? Why in god's name would we spend another penny on this?

Rell should be impeached long before we spend another dime on something like this. It's an outrage and an insult to people's intelligence that good money be flushed after bad.

Maybe, Rell never heard of the internet (CABE's Journal waxes poetic about the need to keep up technologically yet their publication is hardcopy only!). Or maybe her vision was a MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR copy of this freebie, SchoolTool.

I won't be voting for more of this any time soon.

Please, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY tell me the State didn't outsource the work. Lie to me if you have to.