Bill Maher announced the winner of his "Flip A District" contest and it's none other than Minnesota's own John Kline! The Republican Representative from the 2nd congressional district. RCP currently rates this district as "likely GOP" but Kline's opponent, Democrat Mike Obermueller, is going to get a big boost from this national attention.
My hope is that voters in MN-02 will take a look at Kline's voting record (detailed most eloquently by Maher in the clip from the link) and turn out to vote. If that happens, Obermueller has a chance of winning. Perhaps Maher could do a live show from MN-02 as well. It will be interesting to see if the polls shift over the course of the next few weeks:)
Saturday, September 13, 2014
George Zimmerman...again
‘Do you know who I am?’ George Zimmerman threatens to kill driver in road rage incident: Florida cops
“I looked over - George Zimmerman was the driver - and they were threatening to kick my ass and to shoot me,” Apperson told a dispatcher. “I said, what are you going to do, shoot me? I’m not messing with you.”
The truck followed Apperson “in an aggressive manner” into the lot and Zimmerman threatened to shoot Apperson “dead,” he told police. Zimmerman “peeled off” after Apperson went inside the store to call police.
I wonder if there is still anyone out there who still supports this guy.
“I looked over - George Zimmerman was the driver - and they were threatening to kick my ass and to shoot me,” Apperson told a dispatcher. “I said, what are you going to do, shoot me? I’m not messing with you.”
The truck followed Apperson “in an aggressive manner” into the lot and Zimmerman threatened to shoot Apperson “dead,” he told police. Zimmerman “peeled off” after Apperson went inside the store to call police.
I wonder if there is still anyone out there who still supports this guy.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Good Words
From a question on Quora about guns...
Like much of public debate and politics in the US, a small fringe element, with support from a willing press, tries to control the narrative by making extreme statements. Sometimes this gets picked up worldwide and it 1) is a successful coup by the fringe group to drive the direction of the dialog and 2) it leaves the remainder of the world with a distorted perception of American society. Most Americans, like 99.9999999%, have no desire for teachers to be armed.
The idea of a kindergarten teacher "packing iron" to save her students makes little sense except to someone who has never had children and has lived under a rock for twenty years. There are "certain things in everyday life that have gone terribly wrong" in the US, this is not one of them. Declining "civil" discourse, increasingly invasive government and corporate data collection, and wealth disparity are signs of things going terribly wrong. The gun control debate is a sideline issue used to divert people's attention from the real issues that are impacting their lives.
Excellent point and it makes me wonder...perhaps the whole gun debate is a distraction that pushes liberals away from accomplishing the bigger things.
Like much of public debate and politics in the US, a small fringe element, with support from a willing press, tries to control the narrative by making extreme statements. Sometimes this gets picked up worldwide and it 1) is a successful coup by the fringe group to drive the direction of the dialog and 2) it leaves the remainder of the world with a distorted perception of American society. Most Americans, like 99.9999999%, have no desire for teachers to be armed.
The idea of a kindergarten teacher "packing iron" to save her students makes little sense except to someone who has never had children and has lived under a rock for twenty years. There are "certain things in everyday life that have gone terribly wrong" in the US, this is not one of them. Declining "civil" discourse, increasingly invasive government and corporate data collection, and wealth disparity are signs of things going terribly wrong. The gun control debate is a sideline issue used to divert people's attention from the real issues that are impacting their lives.
Excellent point and it makes me wonder...perhaps the whole gun debate is a distraction that pushes liberals away from accomplishing the bigger things.
She Stood Her Ground!
A teacher in Utah was wounded when the gun she was carrying discharged while she was in the staff bathroom. It's legal for teachers in Utah to carry guns in schools and they don't have to let their administration know about it. Here's my favorite part from the story.
Police initially thought the gun had discharged directly into her leg but now believe she was injured when the bullet struck a toilet and caused it to explode, sending bullet and porcelain fragments into her lower leg.
So, Toilet 1, Gun Cult paranoid who thinks she needs a gun at a school in fucking Utah 0.
Ah well, she may have lost but at least she stood her ground!
Police initially thought the gun had discharged directly into her leg but now believe she was injured when the bullet struck a toilet and caused it to explode, sending bullet and porcelain fragments into her lower leg.
So, Toilet 1, Gun Cult paranoid who thinks she needs a gun at a school in fucking Utah 0.
Ah well, she may have lost but at least she stood her ground!
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Good News Round Up
Most of the news that is heavily reported these days is bad news. There are number of reasons for this but the main one is that bad news sells better. I think this is complete bullshit and, quite frankly, a cop out by the media. They could decided tomorrow to focus on all of the progress in the world (like the Christian Science Monitor did) and people just might feel better about the future. In fact, they could evolve away from anger, hate, and fear into much more reasonable beings. I haven't talked about good news on here in a while but starting today, it's going to become a more regular feature here at Markadelphia.
First up, we have this story about the Earth's ozone layer.
The ozone layer that shields the earth from cancer-causing ultraviolet rays is showing early signs of thickening after years of depletion, a UN study says. The ozone hole that appears annually over Antarctica has also stopped growing bigger every year. The report says it will take a decade before the hole starts to shrink. Scientists say the recovery is entirely due to political determination to phase out the man-made CFC gases destroying ozone. The study was published by researchers from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). "International action on the ozone layer is a major environmental success story... This should encourage us to display the same level of urgency and unity to tackle the even greater challenge of tackling climate change," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.
Very good news on a problem that has been around all of my life.
Next we have this report on US child wellness and education which concluded there have been gradual and incremental improvements in the lives of American children. Child-wellness indicators in four main areas – economic well-being, education, health, and family and community – reflected an overall increase in the well-being of America’s youths.
Areas of improvement included the drop in teen births per 1,000 (from 40 to 29) and a decrease in the number of children without health insurance (from 10 percent to 7 percent). All four education trouble spots addressed in the study – children not attending preschool, fourth-graders not proficient in reading, fourth-graders not proficient in math, and high school students not graduating on time – dipped at least slightly, between 2 and 8 percent. All health issues improved as well, with fewer low-birth-weight babies, fewer child and teen deaths, and fewer teenagers abusing drugs and alcohol. The CDC also confirms some of these improvements.
Very cool!
Finally, we have news from the United Nations that Rwanda and Ethiopia have the fastest growing economies in Africa. This is especially amazing when you consider that, historically, the names of each of these countries meant violence, death, famine, and literally, a boiling pit of sewage! Each country has provided better access to health care, diversified their economies, and reduced child mortality by nearly 30%.
Look for good news like this every week at Markadelphia!
First up, we have this story about the Earth's ozone layer.
The ozone layer that shields the earth from cancer-causing ultraviolet rays is showing early signs of thickening after years of depletion, a UN study says. The ozone hole that appears annually over Antarctica has also stopped growing bigger every year. The report says it will take a decade before the hole starts to shrink. Scientists say the recovery is entirely due to political determination to phase out the man-made CFC gases destroying ozone. The study was published by researchers from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). "International action on the ozone layer is a major environmental success story... This should encourage us to display the same level of urgency and unity to tackle the even greater challenge of tackling climate change," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.
Very good news on a problem that has been around all of my life.
Next we have this report on US child wellness and education which concluded there have been gradual and incremental improvements in the lives of American children. Child-wellness indicators in four main areas – economic well-being, education, health, and family and community – reflected an overall increase in the well-being of America’s youths.
Areas of improvement included the drop in teen births per 1,000 (from 40 to 29) and a decrease in the number of children without health insurance (from 10 percent to 7 percent). All four education trouble spots addressed in the study – children not attending preschool, fourth-graders not proficient in reading, fourth-graders not proficient in math, and high school students not graduating on time – dipped at least slightly, between 2 and 8 percent. All health issues improved as well, with fewer low-birth-weight babies, fewer child and teen deaths, and fewer teenagers abusing drugs and alcohol. The CDC also confirms some of these improvements.
Very cool!
Finally, we have news from the United Nations that Rwanda and Ethiopia have the fastest growing economies in Africa. This is especially amazing when you consider that, historically, the names of each of these countries meant violence, death, famine, and literally, a boiling pit of sewage! Each country has provided better access to health care, diversified their economies, and reduced child mortality by nearly 30%.
Look for good news like this every week at Markadelphia!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
ISIS or ISIL?
As the country prepares to take on the Islamic State extremists currently located in Syria and Iraq, we still have a lingering quandary that needs to be solved. What the hell are they called?
The Washington Post has a piece explaining why our government and the UN calls them ISIL or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
In Arabic, the group is known as Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. The term “al-Sham” refers to a region stretching from southern Turkey through Syria to Egypt (also including Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan). The group’s stated goal is to restore an Islamic state, or caliphate, in this entire area. The standard English term for this broad territory is “the Levant.” Therefore, AP’s translation of the group’s name is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
To be certain, this is something only social studies teachers like me geek out to but I think it's important nonetheless because they geography explains why ISIL is who they are. This is where they believe the next Islamic state should be located. Of course, as the rest of the article notes, even this acronym is up for debate.
The president will address the nation tonight at 9pm Eastern regarding ISIL.
The Washington Post has a piece explaining why our government and the UN calls them ISIL or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
In Arabic, the group is known as Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. The term “al-Sham” refers to a region stretching from southern Turkey through Syria to Egypt (also including Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan). The group’s stated goal is to restore an Islamic state, or caliphate, in this entire area. The standard English term for this broad territory is “the Levant.” Therefore, AP’s translation of the group’s name is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
To be certain, this is something only social studies teachers like me geek out to but I think it's important nonetheless because they geography explains why ISIL is who they are. This is where they believe the next Islamic state should be located. Of course, as the rest of the article notes, even this acronym is up for debate.
The president will address the nation tonight at 9pm Eastern regarding ISIL.
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Founding Fathers A Go Go
There have been some pretty strange assertions over the past couple of years about our founding fathers. Politifact has a piece up which collects some of them and rates them for their accuracy. Here is a classic:
"By the word religion in the First Amendment, the founders meant Christianity." Bryan Fischer, Tuesday, December 10th, 2013.
Uh, no they did not.
I will always be amazed at the fervor on display by conservatives in regards to the founding fathers. They feel as though they have some sort of deep and special connection with them. More troubling is their invention (quite literally out of their ass) of what the founding fathers really believed.
Do they think that people aren't capable of picking up a book and verifying their assertions?
"By the word religion in the First Amendment, the founders meant Christianity." Bryan Fischer, Tuesday, December 10th, 2013.
Uh, no they did not.
I will always be amazed at the fervor on display by conservatives in regards to the founding fathers. They feel as though they have some sort of deep and special connection with them. More troubling is their invention (quite literally out of their ass) of what the founding fathers really believed.
Do they think that people aren't capable of picking up a book and verifying their assertions?
Monday, September 08, 2014
Obama Outperforms Reagan
Well, this will most certainly lead to conservative heads exploding, the predictable 8 year old boy tempter tantrum and the overly emotional belief that people are entitled to their own facts.
Obama Outperforms Reagan On Jobs, Growth And Investing
Holy shee-it! Forbes, a bastion of conservative thought, went and done did it. They sacrileged Saint Gip and completely torpedoed the irrational belief that President Obama's policies were bad for the economy. My message to conservatives today.
Stop playing make believe and thank the president.
It's because of him (and the spirit of Franklin Delano Roosevelt) that you still have money.
Obama Outperforms Reagan On Jobs, Growth And Investing
Holy shee-it! Forbes, a bastion of conservative thought, went and done did it. They sacrileged Saint Gip and completely torpedoed the irrational belief that President Obama's policies were bad for the economy. My message to conservatives today.
Stop playing make believe and thank the president.
It's because of him (and the spirit of Franklin Delano Roosevelt) that you still have money.
Big History
A recent piece in the New York Times led me David Christian's Big History project and I have to admit I am completely fascinated by it. Professor Christian divides history-ALL history-into sections he calls Thresholds and shows how all scholastic subjects relate to the history of the world. Here is an example..
It's a different way to teach history and Bill Gates has gotten the class in several schools. It also adheres to the Common Core standards which will remove some hassles if teachers want to get it in their schools.
I think it's way past time that we change the way we teach history in our schools. Big History is an excellent first step!
It's a different way to teach history and Bill Gates has gotten the class in several schools. It also adheres to the Common Core standards which will remove some hassles if teachers want to get it in their schools.
I think it's way past time that we change the way we teach history in our schools. Big History is an excellent first step!
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Saturday, September 06, 2014
The Architects of Supply Side Economics Recant
I came across both of these videos recently and thought it would be nice of have one post of both of the chief architects of Reaganecomics not only admitting they were completely wrong but also accurately assessing conservatives today and how completely batshit they are.
Mr. Stockman, Mr Bartlett...you have the floor...
Mr. Stockman, Mr Bartlett...you have the floor...
Friday, September 05, 2014
Thursday, September 04, 2014
R.I.P-Brave Sir Marxy
Without a doubt, the most hilarious thing that conservatives do is accuse liberals of doing the very thing that they, in fact, are doing. This is more commonly known as 'The Rove," named after Karl Rove who consistently used the tactic of attacking an enemy with what was most clearly the attackers greatest weakness.
They say liberals aren't logical yet their entire ideology is based on appeal to fear and misleading vividness. They say liberals are too emotional yet they behave like adolescents given to fits of irrational outbursts. They say liberals are weak on national security yet they allowed the worst attack on US soil in history and failed to capture or kill the person behind it. They say everything they believe in is based in facts yet they believe they are entitled to their own facts (Benghazi, climate change, racism, evolution etc). The list goes on and on.
In short, they excel at Projection/Flipping. This simple truth becomes crystal clear when one is engaged in the comments section of web site or blog. My interactions with conservatives here, on The Smallest Minority and now on Quora illustrate that they project/flip consistently and it really cracks me up. They are just that fucking insecure.
My favorite project/flip of all time has to be the accusation that I was a coward, running away from discussions when they didn't go my way. They called me, in all too typical adolescent bully-ese, "Brave Sir Marxy" (after Brave Sir Robin from Monty Python's Holy Grail). It was truly a classic because I wasn't so much running away as calling them on their bullshit way of framing questions to "win." Man, did that really piss them off!
Even with all of their childish whining about it, the forum at The Smallest Minority still voted me off their island. This happened right around the time I made Unix Jedi my son in a very long economics discussion. It was also after I invited any takers to debate me in an open and unbiased forum. No one has, as of today, accepted my challenge.
My regular commenters on this site (a few TSM holdovers) have also not accepted the same challenge. In fact, they have not come forward to reveal who they are on Quora although I do have my suspicions. They prefer to throw snipes at me here, where the readership is far less than Quora, and where their comments go unchallenged from those pesky facts (largely because the same seven people read comments...me, Nikto and the five of them).
And just last week, the head cheerleader of the "Brave Sir Robin" crowd, Kevin Baker, blocked me on Quora. Someone who prides himself on being a courageous, critical thinker, completely unable to handle the reality that is slowly shrinking his bubble...stunning. I've had about a half a dozen people block me on Quora and they are all the same personality...conservative, childish, insecure, clear inferiority complex, angry, filled with hate, and afraid. Not surprisingly as well, Kevin and these others that have blocked me don't really offer much on their own on Quora. It's upvotes and a few comments but never any questions and rarely answers.
I don't block anyone there. People can comment as freely as they like on my questions, answers, and comments. With such high traffic at Quora, it's a much more interesting forum with all of the diversity of thought. I've got over 100 followers now and have posted around the same number of questions and answers. I've also been asked, via message, some changes I'd like to see to the site. Pretty cool!
So, with Kevin blocking me and Guard Duck, juris, Larry, and 6Kings completely failing to come forward on Quora, the "brave Sir Marxy" meme is officially torpedoed and the true cowards are revealed for who they are. Of course, this could change if anyone decides they want to see how they fair on Quora or any other larger forum.
The challenge is always extended and I hope that someday it's accepted.
They say liberals aren't logical yet their entire ideology is based on appeal to fear and misleading vividness. They say liberals are too emotional yet they behave like adolescents given to fits of irrational outbursts. They say liberals are weak on national security yet they allowed the worst attack on US soil in history and failed to capture or kill the person behind it. They say everything they believe in is based in facts yet they believe they are entitled to their own facts (Benghazi, climate change, racism, evolution etc). The list goes on and on.
In short, they excel at Projection/Flipping. This simple truth becomes crystal clear when one is engaged in the comments section of web site or blog. My interactions with conservatives here, on The Smallest Minority and now on Quora illustrate that they project/flip consistently and it really cracks me up. They are just that fucking insecure.
My favorite project/flip of all time has to be the accusation that I was a coward, running away from discussions when they didn't go my way. They called me, in all too typical adolescent bully-ese, "Brave Sir Marxy" (after Brave Sir Robin from Monty Python's Holy Grail). It was truly a classic because I wasn't so much running away as calling them on their bullshit way of framing questions to "win." Man, did that really piss them off!
Even with all of their childish whining about it, the forum at The Smallest Minority still voted me off their island. This happened right around the time I made Unix Jedi my son in a very long economics discussion. It was also after I invited any takers to debate me in an open and unbiased forum. No one has, as of today, accepted my challenge.
My regular commenters on this site (a few TSM holdovers) have also not accepted the same challenge. In fact, they have not come forward to reveal who they are on Quora although I do have my suspicions. They prefer to throw snipes at me here, where the readership is far less than Quora, and where their comments go unchallenged from those pesky facts (largely because the same seven people read comments...me, Nikto and the five of them).
And just last week, the head cheerleader of the "Brave Sir Robin" crowd, Kevin Baker, blocked me on Quora. Someone who prides himself on being a courageous, critical thinker, completely unable to handle the reality that is slowly shrinking his bubble...stunning. I've had about a half a dozen people block me on Quora and they are all the same personality...conservative, childish, insecure, clear inferiority complex, angry, filled with hate, and afraid. Not surprisingly as well, Kevin and these others that have blocked me don't really offer much on their own on Quora. It's upvotes and a few comments but never any questions and rarely answers.
I don't block anyone there. People can comment as freely as they like on my questions, answers, and comments. With such high traffic at Quora, it's a much more interesting forum with all of the diversity of thought. I've got over 100 followers now and have posted around the same number of questions and answers. I've also been asked, via message, some changes I'd like to see to the site. Pretty cool!
So, with Kevin blocking me and Guard Duck, juris, Larry, and 6Kings completely failing to come forward on Quora, the "brave Sir Marxy" meme is officially torpedoed and the true cowards are revealed for who they are. Of course, this could change if anyone decides they want to see how they fair on Quora or any other larger forum.
The challenge is always extended and I hope that someday it's accepted.
Nothing Is The Matter With Kansas
The withdrawal of Kansas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Chad Taylor spells big trouble for the GOP's chances to take back the upper chamber in November. Independent candidate Greg Orman is polling much higher than Pat Roberts and is running a very effective campaign that appeals to both Democratic and Republican voters. When asked who he would caucus with if he was elected, Orman replied that he would work with whatever party wanted to fix the problems our nation faces.
Hmm...I wonder which party that is?
Imagine if it's 50-49, GOP, on the morning after election day. Greg Orman will be the most popular man in the country!
Meanwhile the last two polls from Georgia show Michelle Nunn ahead of David Perdue. The Republicans can't lose either of these states if they hope to take back the Senate. They already have to sweep Iowa, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Real Clear Politics has them doing that with razor thin leads but much of that polling is old, summer numbers. It's going to be interesting to see what polls we see in the next few weeks.
One thing we can definitely glean from all of these tight numbers is that it's very unlikely to be a wave election. Politico's LARRY J. SABATO, KYLE KONDIK and GEOFFREY SKELLEY all agree.
So where’s the wave? This is President Obama’s sixth-year-itch election. The map of states with contested Senate seats could hardly be better from the Republicans’ vantage point. And the breaks this year—strong candidates, avoidance of damaging gaffes, issues such as Obamacare and immigration that stir the party base—have mainly gone the GOP’s way, very unlike 2012.
Nonetheless, the midterms are far from over. In every single one of the Crystal Ball’s toss-up states, (Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana and North Carolina), the Republican Senate candidate has not yet opened up a real polling lead in any of them. Democratic nominees have been running hard and staying slightly ahead, or close to, their Republican foes.
The reason is quite simple. The voting public dislikes the Republicans more than the president.
So, now we starting to see stories like this one.
Why Democrats will keep the Senate: A contrarian analysis of the 2014 midterms
Or this one.
How Democrats Can Hold Their Senate Majority
Here's another cool site for all you statistics and polling nerd.
We're in the home stretch, kiddos. Buckle up for a crazy ride!!
Hmm...I wonder which party that is?
Imagine if it's 50-49, GOP, on the morning after election day. Greg Orman will be the most popular man in the country!
Meanwhile the last two polls from Georgia show Michelle Nunn ahead of David Perdue. The Republicans can't lose either of these states if they hope to take back the Senate. They already have to sweep Iowa, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Real Clear Politics has them doing that with razor thin leads but much of that polling is old, summer numbers. It's going to be interesting to see what polls we see in the next few weeks.
One thing we can definitely glean from all of these tight numbers is that it's very unlikely to be a wave election. Politico's LARRY J. SABATO, KYLE KONDIK and GEOFFREY SKELLEY all agree.
So where’s the wave? This is President Obama’s sixth-year-itch election. The map of states with contested Senate seats could hardly be better from the Republicans’ vantage point. And the breaks this year—strong candidates, avoidance of damaging gaffes, issues such as Obamacare and immigration that stir the party base—have mainly gone the GOP’s way, very unlike 2012.
Nonetheless, the midterms are far from over. In every single one of the Crystal Ball’s toss-up states, (Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana and North Carolina), the Republican Senate candidate has not yet opened up a real polling lead in any of them. Democratic nominees have been running hard and staying slightly ahead, or close to, their Republican foes.
The reason is quite simple. The voting public dislikes the Republicans more than the president.
So, now we starting to see stories like this one.
Why Democrats will keep the Senate: A contrarian analysis of the 2014 midterms
Or this one.
How Democrats Can Hold Their Senate Majority
Here's another cool site for all you statistics and polling nerd.
We're in the home stretch, kiddos. Buckle up for a crazy ride!!
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Back To School Round Up
With a new school year under way, I thought I would clear out my "Education" folder of saved links in one post. The first story comes from my favorite news source, The Christian Science Monitor (daily news feed located on the right side of this site). They have a great piece up about Common Core and why both the left and the right hate it. Why do the Republicans hate it?
Most people agree that for Republicans, the seeds of the backlash were planted when President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan got behind the standards, encouraging states that wanted to apply for federal Race to the Top funds to either adopt the standards or adopt comparable ones deemed “college- and career-ready.” What had been sold as a state-led effort, supported by the National Governors Association, suddenly became associated with Mr. Obama, and rumors circulated quickly of a national curriculum (the standards don’t actually prescribe curriculum) and a federal takeover of education.
So the usual adolescent rebellion. I'd also add in that Common Core critics from the right have religious objections to what is considered basic standards (evolution, climate change, etc) as well as any sort of history being taught that paints the US in a negative light (unless it's criticism of liberals). Of course, this sort of thing goes on all the time.
The letter takes the framework to task for its "negative" approach to U.S. history. As an example, it attacks the framework for portraying U.S. colonists as "oppressors and exploiters while ignoring the dreamers and innovators who built our country." The signatories also say that at 98 pages, the framework essentially replaces the five-page topic outline with a full-blown curriculum, and one that conflicts with many states' social studies standards.
Essentially, they want to be entitled to their own facts:)
What about the left's criticism of Common Core?
There has also been vocal opposition from blue states – some around the standards themselves, particularly for younger grades, but much of it around implementation, as well as the tests and high-stakes consequences tied to the new standards.
Here we see the usual reluctance to be accountable for student learning. Part of this I get because the real problem in education today is the parents. Students also have different learning styles so the assessment mechanism should be altered. But this still doesn't excuse the fact that teachers should be held accountable and high stakes testing should be implemented for ALL subjects including basic civics. There is a reason why states have standards and there needs to be more serious consequences for instructors that don't follow them.
Interestingly, it's a Reagan era report that is driving Common Core.
The report’s five proposed solutions – improving content, raising standards, overhauling the teaching profession, adding time to the school day and year, and improving leadership and fiscal support – are clear in current reform. They can be seen in the spread of the Common Core standards, a set of streamlined but intense new standards introduced in 2009 that, though controversial, are still in use in more than 40 states; in new teacher ratings based partly on standardized test scores; and in the invention and rise of charter schools with longer school days and no union contracts.
Initially embraced by a coalition of conservatives and liberals, the solutions offered in “A Nation at Risk” stoked a backlash among many on the left who argued that its criticisms of public education were over the top and that its solutions ignored poverty and inequity in the system. But the Republican-driven revolution is being driven home, as never before, by a Democratic president. The Obama administration admits there’s a connection. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said the report was “influential” in the administration’s education reform strategy.
Huh. I thought President Obama was presiding over a mass indoctrination program turning our nation's children into communists. Instead, he's embracing Reagan?
Well, guess what. So am I. I fully support Common Core because there needs to be some sort of umbrella for our nation's 100,000 schools and 13, 000 school districts. Everyone complains about how we seem to be falling behind the world in education but no one does anything about it. Well, Secretary Duncan (Best SecEd ever in my view) and the president have done something and it's about fucking time.
Criticism from the left is beginning to take its toll on the unions as we see in this piece from Politico.
Responding to all these challenges has proved difficult, analysts say, because both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are divided internally. There’s a faction urging conciliation and compromise. Another faction pushes confrontation. There’s even a militant splinter group, the Badass Teachers Association.
In many ways, they are starting to sound more and more like the Republican Party:) Ah well, I've been persona non grata with the union since I questioned tenure. I have the same advice for them that I do for the GOP...change or become irrelevant.
Speaking of conservatives, one of their big pet peeves has always been zero tolerance laws so they should be happy about this story from NPR.
Saying that "zero tolerance" discipline policies at U.S. schools are unfairly applied "all too often," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is urging officials to rethink that approach. The Obama administration issued voluntary guidelines today that call for more training for teachers and more clarity in defining security problems. The move by the Education and Justice departments comes after years of complaints from civil rights groups and others who say the policies are ineffective and take an unfair toll on minorities. The zero tolerance approach has been blamed for boosting the number of suspensions and expulsions and for equating minor infractions with criminal acts.
Agreed. Although it's not as big of a problem as the right wing bubble will have you think (misleading vividness and all), it is something that needs to change.
Turning to the world of the wacky, we have this...
10 RIDICULOUS THINGS THAT HAPPEN AT SMALL TOWN HIGH SCHOOLS
My favorite?
5. “The woods” is a perfectly normal location for a party. Want to get drunk and shoot guns and make out? So does everyone else! Meet us in the forest half a mile off the highway–take a left at the big rock.
Party, dudes!
Finally, we have this amazing piece from Sarah Blaine called "The Teachers."
We need to stop thinking that we know anything about teaching merely by virtue of having once been students. We don’t know. I spent a little over a year earning a master of arts in teaching degree. Then I spent two years teaching English Language Arts in a rural public high school. And I learned that my 13 years as a public school student, my 4 years as a college student at a highly selective college, and even a great deal of my year as a masters degree student in the education school of a flagship public university hadn’t taught me how to manage a classroom, how to reach students, how to inspire a love of learning, how to teach.
Eighteen years as a student (and a year of preschool before that), and I didn’t know shit about teaching. Only years of practicing my skills and honing my skills would have rendered me a true professional. An expert. Someone who knows about the business of inspiring children. Of reaching students. Of making a difference. Of teaching.
Amen.
Most people agree that for Republicans, the seeds of the backlash were planted when President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan got behind the standards, encouraging states that wanted to apply for federal Race to the Top funds to either adopt the standards or adopt comparable ones deemed “college- and career-ready.” What had been sold as a state-led effort, supported by the National Governors Association, suddenly became associated with Mr. Obama, and rumors circulated quickly of a national curriculum (the standards don’t actually prescribe curriculum) and a federal takeover of education.
So the usual adolescent rebellion. I'd also add in that Common Core critics from the right have religious objections to what is considered basic standards (evolution, climate change, etc) as well as any sort of history being taught that paints the US in a negative light (unless it's criticism of liberals). Of course, this sort of thing goes on all the time.
The letter takes the framework to task for its "negative" approach to U.S. history. As an example, it attacks the framework for portraying U.S. colonists as "oppressors and exploiters while ignoring the dreamers and innovators who built our country." The signatories also say that at 98 pages, the framework essentially replaces the five-page topic outline with a full-blown curriculum, and one that conflicts with many states' social studies standards.
Essentially, they want to be entitled to their own facts:)
What about the left's criticism of Common Core?
There has also been vocal opposition from blue states – some around the standards themselves, particularly for younger grades, but much of it around implementation, as well as the tests and high-stakes consequences tied to the new standards.
Here we see the usual reluctance to be accountable for student learning. Part of this I get because the real problem in education today is the parents. Students also have different learning styles so the assessment mechanism should be altered. But this still doesn't excuse the fact that teachers should be held accountable and high stakes testing should be implemented for ALL subjects including basic civics. There is a reason why states have standards and there needs to be more serious consequences for instructors that don't follow them.
Interestingly, it's a Reagan era report that is driving Common Core.
The report’s five proposed solutions – improving content, raising standards, overhauling the teaching profession, adding time to the school day and year, and improving leadership and fiscal support – are clear in current reform. They can be seen in the spread of the Common Core standards, a set of streamlined but intense new standards introduced in 2009 that, though controversial, are still in use in more than 40 states; in new teacher ratings based partly on standardized test scores; and in the invention and rise of charter schools with longer school days and no union contracts.
Initially embraced by a coalition of conservatives and liberals, the solutions offered in “A Nation at Risk” stoked a backlash among many on the left who argued that its criticisms of public education were over the top and that its solutions ignored poverty and inequity in the system. But the Republican-driven revolution is being driven home, as never before, by a Democratic president. The Obama administration admits there’s a connection. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said the report was “influential” in the administration’s education reform strategy.
Huh. I thought President Obama was presiding over a mass indoctrination program turning our nation's children into communists. Instead, he's embracing Reagan?
Well, guess what. So am I. I fully support Common Core because there needs to be some sort of umbrella for our nation's 100,000 schools and 13, 000 school districts. Everyone complains about how we seem to be falling behind the world in education but no one does anything about it. Well, Secretary Duncan (Best SecEd ever in my view) and the president have done something and it's about fucking time.
Criticism from the left is beginning to take its toll on the unions as we see in this piece from Politico.
Responding to all these challenges has proved difficult, analysts say, because both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are divided internally. There’s a faction urging conciliation and compromise. Another faction pushes confrontation. There’s even a militant splinter group, the Badass Teachers Association.
In many ways, they are starting to sound more and more like the Republican Party:) Ah well, I've been persona non grata with the union since I questioned tenure. I have the same advice for them that I do for the GOP...change or become irrelevant.
Speaking of conservatives, one of their big pet peeves has always been zero tolerance laws so they should be happy about this story from NPR.
Saying that "zero tolerance" discipline policies at U.S. schools are unfairly applied "all too often," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is urging officials to rethink that approach. The Obama administration issued voluntary guidelines today that call for more training for teachers and more clarity in defining security problems. The move by the Education and Justice departments comes after years of complaints from civil rights groups and others who say the policies are ineffective and take an unfair toll on minorities. The zero tolerance approach has been blamed for boosting the number of suspensions and expulsions and for equating minor infractions with criminal acts.
Agreed. Although it's not as big of a problem as the right wing bubble will have you think (misleading vividness and all), it is something that needs to change.
Turning to the world of the wacky, we have this...
10 RIDICULOUS THINGS THAT HAPPEN AT SMALL TOWN HIGH SCHOOLS
My favorite?
5. “The woods” is a perfectly normal location for a party. Want to get drunk and shoot guns and make out? So does everyone else! Meet us in the forest half a mile off the highway–take a left at the big rock.
Party, dudes!
Finally, we have this amazing piece from Sarah Blaine called "The Teachers."
We need to stop thinking that we know anything about teaching merely by virtue of having once been students. We don’t know. I spent a little over a year earning a master of arts in teaching degree. Then I spent two years teaching English Language Arts in a rural public high school. And I learned that my 13 years as a public school student, my 4 years as a college student at a highly selective college, and even a great deal of my year as a masters degree student in the education school of a flagship public university hadn’t taught me how to manage a classroom, how to reach students, how to inspire a love of learning, how to teach.
Eighteen years as a student (and a year of preschool before that), and I didn’t know shit about teaching. Only years of practicing my skills and honing my skills would have rendered me a true professional. An expert. Someone who knows about the business of inspiring children. Of reaching students. Of making a difference. Of teaching.
Amen.
He Who Dies With the Most Toys in His Cold, Dead Hands Wins
The death of an instructor at a Nevada shooting range at the hands of a nine-year-old girl is the perfect example of what the Gun Cult is all about.
It's not about protecting our Second Amendment rights, or defending ourselves from a tyrannical government. It's about the toys.
When Barack Obama was elected president the Gun Cult ran around shrilly screaming that Obama was going to take their guns away from them, like nine-year-old girls afraid their parents were taking away their Barbies.
Guns are weapons. Tools of particular trades: hunting, policing, national defense. It is sheer folly that this poor girl's parents, the instructor, the shooting range owner and the state legislature allows and encourages children to play with fully automatic weapons as if they were toys.
It's clear that many in the Gun Cult think of guns as toys from the way they leave them lying around their houses where children can get them. Or the way they think it's perfectly safe to take them into public places, where they can fall out of their purses and pockets and shoot themselves and others. Or the way they show them off to each other at parties where everyone is drinking.
Would these parents have placed a jackhammer in this girl's hands? Would they let her use an electric drill that was too heavy for her to properly control? Or operate a table saw? Or light birthday candles with a propane torch? Maybe. But probably not, because those tools aren't fun.
In a culture where hunting is common, you can argue that responsible children should be taught how to properly handle weapons at an early age to instill the proper respect and care for weapons. To that end my dad gave my 11-year-old nephew my grandfather's ancient bolt-action .22 caliber rifle. It's a long weapon with minimal recoil.
If the nine-year-old girl in Nevada had been using such a rifle, that instructor would almost certainly be alive today. Even if she couldn't handle the weapon's kick, she couldn't accidentally get a second shot off.
But her parents wanted their spindly nine-year-old to fire a fully automatic Uzi because it's fun!
The Gun Cult rejects reasonable gun laws not because they're protecting their rights, but because the Government is a bunch of big meanies who want to take away their fun.
It's not about protecting our Second Amendment rights, or defending ourselves from a tyrannical government. It's about the toys.
When Barack Obama was elected president the Gun Cult ran around shrilly screaming that Obama was going to take their guns away from them, like nine-year-old girls afraid their parents were taking away their Barbies.
Guns are weapons. Tools of particular trades: hunting, policing, national defense. It is sheer folly that this poor girl's parents, the instructor, the shooting range owner and the state legislature allows and encourages children to play with fully automatic weapons as if they were toys.
It's clear that many in the Gun Cult think of guns as toys from the way they leave them lying around their houses where children can get them. Or the way they think it's perfectly safe to take them into public places, where they can fall out of their purses and pockets and shoot themselves and others. Or the way they show them off to each other at parties where everyone is drinking.
Would these parents have placed a jackhammer in this girl's hands? Would they let her use an electric drill that was too heavy for her to properly control? Or operate a table saw? Or light birthday candles with a propane torch? Maybe. But probably not, because those tools aren't fun.
In a culture where hunting is common, you can argue that responsible children should be taught how to properly handle weapons at an early age to instill the proper respect and care for weapons. To that end my dad gave my 11-year-old nephew my grandfather's ancient bolt-action .22 caliber rifle. It's a long weapon with minimal recoil.
If the nine-year-old girl in Nevada had been using such a rifle, that instructor would almost certainly be alive today. Even if she couldn't handle the weapon's kick, she couldn't accidentally get a second shot off.
But her parents wanted their spindly nine-year-old to fire a fully automatic Uzi because it's fun!
The Gun Cult rejects reasonable gun laws not because they're protecting their rights, but because the Government is a bunch of big meanies who want to take away their fun.
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
Needed: An Airline Passenger Bill of Rights
It's official: flying on airplanes is now even worse than riding a bus. Human beings packed into the flying crates that pass for airliners may even be more uncomfortable than cattle packed into semitrailers on their way to the slaughterhouse.
In the last nine days three flights have had to make emergency landings because passengers are fighting over reclining seats. You might blame hot-headed passengers who are stuck in unbearable conditions. You might blame airline execs who cram more and more seats into less and less space to make an extra buck in an industry in which every airline is perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy. You might blame the federal government for allowing consolidation in an industry in which a few major airlines have a monopoly on major routes, or the FAA for allowing airlines to get away with collusion in ticket pricing, which they accomplish through temporary ticket price changes that other airlines watch for.
In one incident air marshals blew their covers to subdue and handcuff an unruly passenger.
But the real problem is the deregulation of the airline industry that occurred in 1978. This has led to numerous problems besides the wretched state of affairs in the coach cabin, including massive consolidation in the airline industry creating de facto monopoly routes; airlines bailing on their pension commitments and letting American taxpayers pick up the tab; rural areas that have lost service; airlines going to the Supreme Court to argue that lying about ticket prices is free speech.
Passengers are being squeezed in every direction: going through the airport security checks is a nightmare, and sitting in coach is like being stuck between two puling brats on a cross-country road trip.
The state of affairs in the air has become dangerous. Not because terrorists are going to take over the plane, but because the guy sitting behind you might haul off and slug you because you reclined your seat -- because the guy in front of you reclined his seat.
Of course, nothing will be done about this because the decision makers and the 1% are completely unaffected by the chaos in the skies: they are literally wined and dined in business class and first class. They get to skip airport security, board first, and miss out on all the indignities the plebes are made to suffer.
And the thing is, the airlines are intentionally inflicting misery on their passengers in order to squeeze more dollars from them. They claim they're just making everyone pay for the services they use, but this is nonsense. Charging for carry-on baggage should be classified as a crime against humanity. And they intentionally use the slowest boarding method possible, just to rub it in.
And the stupidest thing is, all these shenanigans have not made the airline industry any more profitable: they're always on the brink of bankruptcy.
The experiment in airline deregulation is clearly a failure. Exactly how much latitude they should be given is not clear, but a good first step would be a passenger bill of rights that specifies minimum services and personal space for all passengers, regardless of what class they're flying in.
It's either that, or withing 10 years we'll be reading about riots aboard airplanes, air marshals whose guns have been taken away and shootings at 30,000 feet.
In the last nine days three flights have had to make emergency landings because passengers are fighting over reclining seats. You might blame hot-headed passengers who are stuck in unbearable conditions. You might blame airline execs who cram more and more seats into less and less space to make an extra buck in an industry in which every airline is perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy. You might blame the federal government for allowing consolidation in an industry in which a few major airlines have a monopoly on major routes, or the FAA for allowing airlines to get away with collusion in ticket pricing, which they accomplish through temporary ticket price changes that other airlines watch for.
In one incident air marshals blew their covers to subdue and handcuff an unruly passenger.
But the real problem is the deregulation of the airline industry that occurred in 1978. This has led to numerous problems besides the wretched state of affairs in the coach cabin, including massive consolidation in the airline industry creating de facto monopoly routes; airlines bailing on their pension commitments and letting American taxpayers pick up the tab; rural areas that have lost service; airlines going to the Supreme Court to argue that lying about ticket prices is free speech.
Passengers are being squeezed in every direction: going through the airport security checks is a nightmare, and sitting in coach is like being stuck between two puling brats on a cross-country road trip.
The state of affairs in the air has become dangerous. Not because terrorists are going to take over the plane, but because the guy sitting behind you might haul off and slug you because you reclined your seat -- because the guy in front of you reclined his seat.
Of course, nothing will be done about this because the decision makers and the 1% are completely unaffected by the chaos in the skies: they are literally wined and dined in business class and first class. They get to skip airport security, board first, and miss out on all the indignities the plebes are made to suffer.
And the thing is, the airlines are intentionally inflicting misery on their passengers in order to squeeze more dollars from them. They claim they're just making everyone pay for the services they use, but this is nonsense. Charging for carry-on baggage should be classified as a crime against humanity. And they intentionally use the slowest boarding method possible, just to rub it in.
And the stupidest thing is, all these shenanigans have not made the airline industry any more profitable: they're always on the brink of bankruptcy.
The experiment in airline deregulation is clearly a failure. Exactly how much latitude they should be given is not clear, but a good first step would be a passenger bill of rights that specifies minimum services and personal space for all passengers, regardless of what class they're flying in.
It's either that, or withing 10 years we'll be reading about riots aboard airplanes, air marshals whose guns have been taken away and shootings at 30,000 feet.
Good (and a very many) words.
From a question on Quora wondering what the future is of the Republican party. I am reprinting the entire answer because I couldn't pick a favorite part, although I will highlight:)
It's starting to become a monotonous preamble, but I identify as a Jeffersonian Republican with a dash of Teddy Roosevelt. At this point, I'm not sure the party has a future, because the party is no longer Republican.
Ensuring that government is funded adequately to meet what we charge it to do? As Dick Cheney said, "Deficits don't matter." Enshrining fundamental rights? The Bush administration brought us indefinite detention, extraordinary rendition, and torture, and tossed aside habeus corpus. Responsible, considered foreign policy? Nope. Civil rights? Nope. Conservative ethics? Utterly gone. Pursuing scientific advancement? Not so much. Right to live your life as you like? Gone as well. Valuing education? Don't be silly. Separation of church and state? *&@# that, we don't need religious freedom! Value the Republic? No need for that, right?
In the end, the party has become something of a self-parody, steeped in hypocrisy and weirdness, and I'm sorry to say that most of it can be traced to the absorption of the Southern Democrats (who were pissed off at JFK's and LBJ's acceptance of the civil-rights baton from the Republicans who had been carrying it all those years) during the Nixon administration during the period of his "Southern Strategy." Certainly, the false piousness, the surge in racism, and the hysterical xenophobia started around that time, and has now virtually taken over the party—and I don't see it changing.
I'm not saying that the Republican party has always done well in this regard, either. Historically, we've had brilliant moments, and we've had appalling ones. Actual conservatives would admit to this, but those are scarce in the GOP now as well. McCarthyism was a black stain on the Republican Party's reputation that we will never be able to erase, but at this rate, we'll never overcome it, either.
The modern-day GOP cannot convince any person who puts rationale and logic before hysteria and panic, and so it has devolved into playing election shenanigans through voter intimidation, lies, and laws designed to block people from voting. This isn't a new tactic, but it used to be the Southern Democrats who did it a lot. Thanks, Nixon.
These aren't conservatives—they're theocratic, hypocritical, dystopic radicals who cannot compromise, think, or be productive. They have spent four years blocking this president's policies, so that they can point in his direction now and claim that his policies don't work. They lie, insult, smear and distort; they are full of bile and feces, and fling it indiscriminately.
There will always be people who delight in this sort of behavior, and so there may always be what this party has become. But if enough thoughtful people who know what Republicanism was meant to be, who understand the constitutional principles at stake, who would dare to shout down the hysterics and the liars, who would dare to be honest, who would dare to shame those who would sacrifice the Republic on the basis of some of the most bizarrely inaccurate interpretations of the Bible and the Constitution ever rendered in this country, finally come together with one voice, the party might be restored.
I wish I could see that happening. The GOP has become a threat to the Republic, and will be so until it comes to its senses. Perhaps another party will come along to replace it. Something will eventually happen, but I dread some of the forms that could take.
And all of this was written 2 years ago and it's still fucking happening!!
It's starting to become a monotonous preamble, but I identify as a Jeffersonian Republican with a dash of Teddy Roosevelt. At this point, I'm not sure the party has a future, because the party is no longer Republican.
Ensuring that government is funded adequately to meet what we charge it to do? As Dick Cheney said, "Deficits don't matter." Enshrining fundamental rights? The Bush administration brought us indefinite detention, extraordinary rendition, and torture, and tossed aside habeus corpus. Responsible, considered foreign policy? Nope. Civil rights? Nope. Conservative ethics? Utterly gone. Pursuing scientific advancement? Not so much. Right to live your life as you like? Gone as well. Valuing education? Don't be silly. Separation of church and state? *&@# that, we don't need religious freedom! Value the Republic? No need for that, right?
In the end, the party has become something of a self-parody, steeped in hypocrisy and weirdness, and I'm sorry to say that most of it can be traced to the absorption of the Southern Democrats (who were pissed off at JFK's and LBJ's acceptance of the civil-rights baton from the Republicans who had been carrying it all those years) during the Nixon administration during the period of his "Southern Strategy." Certainly, the false piousness, the surge in racism, and the hysterical xenophobia started around that time, and has now virtually taken over the party—and I don't see it changing.
I'm not saying that the Republican party has always done well in this regard, either. Historically, we've had brilliant moments, and we've had appalling ones. Actual conservatives would admit to this, but those are scarce in the GOP now as well. McCarthyism was a black stain on the Republican Party's reputation that we will never be able to erase, but at this rate, we'll never overcome it, either.
The modern-day GOP cannot convince any person who puts rationale and logic before hysteria and panic, and so it has devolved into playing election shenanigans through voter intimidation, lies, and laws designed to block people from voting. This isn't a new tactic, but it used to be the Southern Democrats who did it a lot. Thanks, Nixon.
These aren't conservatives—they're theocratic, hypocritical, dystopic radicals who cannot compromise, think, or be productive. They have spent four years blocking this president's policies, so that they can point in his direction now and claim that his policies don't work. They lie, insult, smear and distort; they are full of bile and feces, and fling it indiscriminately.
There will always be people who delight in this sort of behavior, and so there may always be what this party has become. But if enough thoughtful people who know what Republicanism was meant to be, who understand the constitutional principles at stake, who would dare to shout down the hysterics and the liars, who would dare to be honest, who would dare to shame those who would sacrifice the Republic on the basis of some of the most bizarrely inaccurate interpretations of the Bible and the Constitution ever rendered in this country, finally come together with one voice, the party might be restored.
I wish I could see that happening. The GOP has become a threat to the Republic, and will be so until it comes to its senses. Perhaps another party will come along to replace it. Something will eventually happen, but I dread some of the forms that could take.
And all of this was written 2 years ago and it's still fucking happening!!
Monday, September 01, 2014
Great Question!
Here is a great question from Quora with a whole pile of great answers! I can't pick my favorite because they are all that fucking good:)
Where Would They Cut?
So, conservatives whine about cutting the budget. Alright, where would they cut? And what would the ramifications for our economy be? I've also included total spending by all governments (state, local etc) in the second graphic.
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