____________________________ ^ 'ÍJ n rtla u ít ©bsseruer________________________ ocioberzy.zooa Racial Wealth Gap W idens Voters Have Election Doubts (A P ) — T he enorm ous w ealth gap betw een w hite fam ilies and blacks and H ispanics has grow n wider. A private analysis o f governm ent data finds that w hite households in the U.S. had a median net worth o f greaterthan$SM,(MX)in2()O2,11 times m ore than Hispanics and m ore than 14 tim es that o f black A m ericans, the Pew Hispanic C enter said in a study released Monday. A frican A m ericans w ere slow ­ est to em erge from the econom ic dow nturn that started in 2(XX) and ended in late 2(X) 1, the report found. Net worth accounts for the values o f item s such as a hom e and car. checking and savings accounts, and stocks, m inus debts such as m ort­ gage, car loans and credit card bills. G reater w ealth m eans a g reater ability to w eath er a jo b loss, e m e r­ g ency hom e repairs, illness and o th er unexpected costs, as well as being able to save for retirem ent or a c h ild ’s colleg e tuition. Doublespeak and Common Sense in Education For the last four years, we have been fed a steady diet o f O rw ellian d o u b le ­ By Reg Weaver, President, N ational E ducation Association speak. leg islatio n that allowed for increased air-p o llu tio n was nam ed the C lear Skies Act. T h e H ealthy Forests Initiative was a w indfall for the logging industry. A nd the Patriot Act actually curtails the rights o f A m erican citi­ zens in th e nam e o f freedom . But to m y m in d n o th in g was m o re cynical than to label as school refo rm the so-called N o C hild I eft B ehind Act. W hy d o I call it cynical? C ertainly not because it called for raising stan d ard s o f achievem ent in o u r public schools o r required highly qualified teachers in the nation's classroom s. The 2.7 m il­ lion m em b ers o f th e N ational E ducation A ssociation - classroom teachers and o th e r ed u catio n professionals - have w orked for those things for years. We take issue with th e way the bill was crafted. You see, w ith its com plicated m ath em atical form ulas for scoring tests, Cloud cast by memories of 2000 in Florida (A P ) — M em ories o f F lo rid a’s co n tested 2000 presidential elec­ tion and a grow ing num ber o f pre­ election law suits are m aking A m eri­ can s skeptical about a voting pro­ cess they on ce took for granted. Six in 10 o f those surveyed in an A sso ciated Press poll say it’s likely there will not b e a e le a r w inner in the presidential race by Nov. 3 - the day a fter the election. A bout h a lf say they fear the results w ill be c h a l­ lenged in court, according to the poll co n ducted for the A P by Ipsos Public Affairs. B oth D em ocrats and R epubli­ can s w orry about the possibility o f an u nresolved election - though D em ocrats express m ore w orries. W ith both political parties putting th o u san ds o f law yers on call for E lection D ay, a m ajority o f voters ex p ect the election results w ill be ch allen g ed in court. A m ajority say they are confident the vote count in their ow n state will be accurate. But few er than half o f D em ocrats say they are ‘very confi­ dent” their state’s vote count will be accurate, w hile three-fourths o f R e­ Sen. John Kerry (left) gets a big presidential campaign boost from former President Bill Clinton during a rally in Philadelphia Monday. It was Clinton's first public appearance since he underwent heart by-pass surgery last month. publicans feel that way. In the closing days o f the cam ­ paign, the national parties are keep­ ing especially close tabs on Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and New M exico, all presidential battleground states w here a challenge to a close race m ight be lodged Nov. 3. M ore than h a lf in the poll, 54 percent, say they think the vote count in Florida in 20(X) w as not fair and accurate, w ith R ep u b lican s overw helm ingly saying it w as and D em ocrats overw helm ingly saying it w as not. E lections officials in m any states are taking steps to im prove secu­ rity at polling places but are looking for w ays to heighten readiness w ith­ out posting arm ed police. A lm ost h a lf in the poll say hav ­ ing arm ed police at the polls w ould m ake them m ore inclined to vote, w hile about on e in six say it w ould m ake them less inclined. M inority voters w ere m ore likely than w hites to say arm ed police w ould m ake them less inclined to vote. N CI.B provides at least 37 different ways for a sch