Decision to buy more educational software from Neil Bush raises red flags

[CatWoman]

Neil's deal
HISD's decision to buy more educational software from the son of a former president raises red flags.

The Houston Independent School District board has authorized spending up to $200,000 for educational software and projectors sold by a company founded by Neil Bush, the son of former President George and Barbara Bush. It's a waste of tax dollars that doesn't pass the smell test.

Ignite Learning is an Austin-based venture that markets learning programs tailored for children with short attention spans. Its reliance on jingles, cartoons and other snippets seems more likely to reinforce that limitation than to nourish intellect and learning.

Neil Bush started the business in 1999 with millions of dollars from Middle Eastern and Asian business and political figures connected to the Bush family. The business has not made money and has required repeated cash infusions from his parents. Taiwanese interests that had given Neil a job consulting for a semiconductor manufacturer provided $2 million; $3 million came from Saudi interests.

The youngest Bush brother has led a checkered career notable for his involvement in the failure of Colorado's Silvarado S&L in the '80s. Since then he has worked as a consultant, mostly for interests having or seeking connections with his family.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/4117023.html

[annabanana]

1. He should just give up and retire now.

He doesn't seem to have shown an aptitude for anything he's tried. (just like his erstwhile brother).

[Kutjara]

2. GHWB and Babs must be so proud.

Neil's another incompetent chip off the old block.

Coming from his family, you think he'd know all about the educational needs of people with short attention spans. I mean, he could get his bro to do the ads: "I have the attention span of a comatose carp yet, thanks to my brother Neil's excellent product, I have become President of the United States."

[China_cat]

3. Isn't he also the one who is seriously interested

in children? And vacations in Thailand?

[FSogol]

4. "No child left behind" = funnel some more money to Neil Bush n/t

[WinkyDink]

26. EXACTLY!! IT'S THE ENTIRE RAISON D'ETRE!!

And I'm INCENSED about it, as a retired teacher and on-going school-tax-payer!

[seafan]

5. Dubai funds Neil Bush's company

Remember this little gem? And it's even from World Net Daily.

From February 27, 2006

Investors from the United Arab Emirates helped fund the $23 million Neil Bush raised for Ignite!, the learning systems company that holds lucrative No Child Left Behind Act contracts in Florida and Texas. The "Cow" is an Ignite! portable computer designed to work in a classroom, providing interactive instruction aimed at improving students' scores on standardized tests.

snip

Reports also document Neil Bush traveling around the ex-Soviet Union to raise money for Ignite! with the notorious Boris Berezovsky, a Russian wheeler-dealer who has sought asylum in London to avoid Russian authorities who want to prosecute him for fraud. Bush has also turned up in the Philippines and Taiwan at the side of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the head of the controversial Unification Church. State Department and White House spokespersons often disavow any comment when pressed to respond to reports of Neil Bush's business activities. In a separate business venture involving semiconductors, Neil Bush took investment money from Jiang Mianheng, the son of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

snip

And some related information from my journal in March, 2006.

It's a veritable rat's nest.


Isn't it a great set-up that Brother Jeb pushes the FCAT standardized tests in Florida schools, *Co's Dubai pals fund Neil's business, and Brother Neil rakes in the dough from his *wonderful computer software* that helps our kids pass the FCATs.

And Babs writes off as a charitable donation an earmarked sum of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/03/23/barbara-bush-katrina-dona_n_17768.html"> with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil. Lovely.

It's all for our children, y'all know. :sarcasm:

[sarcasmo]

6. The whole family is getting rich off of their corruption. Kick and Nom

[stillcool]

7. Neil Bush of the savings and loan debacle....

it seems to run in the family... everything they put there hands on turns to shit, but not until they've squeezed every cent out of it. Neil's also the one who's babysitter had the misfortune of getting run over outside his home ...and he was a board member of the World Trade Center's Insurance Co....and I seem to recall some other connection with the twin towers....The Bush family also has some connection...marriage maybe?...with an old family publishing company...which prints a slew of text books. Scary thought that it's these family's of industry that are providing the tools to educate the world.

[reichstag911]

9. Marvin was involved with the WTC:

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0204-06.htm

[stillcool]

10. oops...right church...wrong pew...

thanks...:hi:

[babylonsister]

8. I HOPE HISD is embarrassed out of this.

:grr: :grr:

[Missy M]

11. Did they test the learning programs on his brother.....

the president, seeing as it is tailored for children with short attention spans?

[lies and propaganda]

12. something makes me think the kids arent going

to get much smarter using software produce by a *

[momster]

23. Call me paranoid....

but what might be subliminally encoded in this software? War is Peace? Strength through Joy? I think I'd pull my kid from a school system before I'd let her use a Bush product.

[DemonFighterLives]

25. My thoughts exactly

Must produce more drones (young republicans).
Thought Police!
:tinfoilhat:

[Frustratedlady]

13. I am continually amazed at how much this inept family gets

from so many people in so many places. WHAT do they have that makes them so popular? Look at the UAE, Saudis and God only knows how many other countries that contribute to this dysfunctional family.

All I can do is shake my head in disgust.

[PATRICK]

14. I once checked out the site

and it gave the impression of being shallow mediocre pap, a front, or some venture capital pablum of inferior quality. The use of interactive machinery starts me reaching for the tinfoil from everything to what exactly else that machine does, or the shipments conceal, to vast money shcmes that have nothing to do with education. Destroying quality education with expensive idiotic tools is definitely a plus for the Bush clan. It has gone from "never give a sucker an even break" to "break the sucker". Power and its perpetuation does that.

[LuckyLib]

15. Neil is involved with organized crime in some fashion in a number

of locations (he looted American $$ in the S and L crisis back when) -- what happens when some of these "loans" come due? B-)

[LWolf]

16. Nothing new here, but worth noting.

The Bush family has a 3-generation relationship with some ed publishing corporations who've greatly benefitted under NCLB.

[Solly Mack]

17. "The business has not made money" - quote from the article

lots of start-up money and repeated cash infusions from parents and contracts from schools...and still not making money?

So uh, where's the money going?

Time to audit Ignite!

[gratuitous]

18. Neil "has led a checkered career"

Charitably, I'd call him a ne'er-do-well. Realistically, the only reason he's not behind bars making little ones out of big ones is because of his last name. And as long as Neil Bush is on the sunny side of those high gray walls, I really don't want to hear any Republican griping about "welfare queens" or "soft on crime" or any other moralistic bullshit.

[gatorboy]

28. A checkered career sounds alot like Dubya's failed past in business.

I guess that makes Neil the PERFECT presidential candidate!

[struggle4progress]

19. Have they released their "Sex Tourism in Asia for Dummies" yet?

[donco6]

20. This stuff is the worst form of dumbed down crap.

I've looked at a lot of instructional software - some is not bad - but this particular setup is just appalling. You buy this "COW" (basically a projector/computer thing sorta shaped like a cow), and it shows a movie or jingle or rap video about something. About the level of "Schoolhouse Rock" but not as good. Then it asks questions - very very shallow ones. Does not collect any data, does not show mastery of any subject, does not inform instruction. Horrible. Total waste of money.

[WinkyDink]

27. Not to Neil!

[tbyg52]

21. They'll always find a way

to funnel more guv'mint money to their own.

[elehhhhna]

22. ATTENTION : Isn't that the Katrina Donation Babs directed to Neilie's Co?

Remember her tax-deeeeeeductable charitable GIFT, made only on the condition that it must be spent on Neilsie's software?

[DemonFighterLives]

24. New brainwashing software

Get those little attention spans and turn them into b*sh zombies.
Great Plan!
:dem:

[formercia]

29. It's all part of the plan

Someday it will be called Serfing the Web.