An internal poll conducted by the Republican National Committee revealed that “57 percent of people who describe themselves as strong Trump supporters don’t believe Democrats have a chance” of winning back the House. That has Republican operatives worried because it signals complacency, which is a problem for the upcoming midterm elections where turnout is key. It’s not hard to imagine … Read More
Houston Police Chief Has Had Enough
Another school shooting occurred last week. It is getting so that it barely registered as news anymore. The same script was followed. Thoughts and prayers. We need to do more. Yada yada yada. It occurred at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, in the Houston metropolitan area, on May 18, 2018. Ten people were fatally shot and thirteen … Read More
Another High School Shooting
WATCH: Police respond to reported shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland. Latest updates here: https://t.co/ttLqQjWsZ0 pic.twitter.com/yaLGZwDpdq — NBC News (@NBCNews) March 20, 2018 Initial reports of the shooting came after classes at Great Mills began at 8 a.m. ET. About 1,600 students attend the school. We are Here for you, students of Great Mills 💗 together we can … Read More
Moments From Sec of Education Betsy Devos’ Crash-And-Burn Interview On 60 Minutes
Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos struggles to answer fairly basic questions on school performance on 60 Minutes pic.twitter.com/lFVq3USwUW — Axios (@axios) March 12, 2018 Will Secretary DeVos scrap Obama-era “guidance on how to identify, avoid, and remedy discriminatory discipline”? “We’re studying it carefully,” the secretary tells 60 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/RiQKyenMQB — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 11, 2018 Reactions: MAGA people are … Read More
Breaking: Another School Shooting (Guaranteed To Make NRA Heads Explode)
Well, NOW what’s the solution??? From The Daily Beast: Police in Dalton, Georgia say an adult is in custody after reports of shots fired at a high school. The suspect barricaded themselves inside a classroom, police said, and investigators believe the suspect is a teacher. No students were injured. The incident comes days after President Trump called for arming teachers … Read More
All Politics Is Local
How is Trump’s “Arm The Teachers” solution playing across the states? Not well for the most part: The State (South Carolina): “SC politician giving guns to teachers in message to ‘deranged psychotic degenerates.’” Greenville News (South Carolina): GOP “Governor candidate Catherine Templeton calls for arming teachers while opening campaign.” News & Observer (North Carolina): “NC education chief says more cops … Read More
Armed Teachers: A Pathological And Ineffective Idea
School teachers carrying firearms and readied for gun battles in grade school classrooms is a level of social pathology that signals the end of any viable, coherent society. Travel such a path, and the barbarism and fearmongering of the American abattoir can only accelerate. — David Simon (@AoDespair) February 21, 2018 UPDATE:… but it’s lucrative! JUST IN: President Trump suggests … Read More
The Tax Bill Is An Attack On Higher Education
Trump is in hard core twitter world again, attacking the media for — well, not exactly sure. The news isn’t good for Trump with the net closing on the Mueller scandal. Trump is obviously concerned. But he did talk about the tax bill and how wonderful it supposedly is. I like how he calls the wealthy “job producers”, as if … Read More
Breaking: Scotus Decisions
Three big cases remain outstanding on the SCOTUS docket: one on abortion, one on immigration, and one on affirmative action. The last one was just handed down moments ago. FISHER v UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS Facts of the case In 1997, the Texas legislature enacted a law requiring the University of Texas to admit all high school seniors who ranked in … Read More
Are We At The Mercy Of Stupid People?
David Harsanyi, senior editor at the Federalist, opens his op-ed at the Washington Post: Never have so many people with so little knowledge made so many consequential decisions for the rest of us.A person need only survey the inanity of the ongoing presidential race to comprehend that the most pressing problem facing the nation isn’t Big Business, Big Labor, Big … Read More
Trump DoubleSpeak
A classic example of Donald Trump’s relentless double-speak. First he denies he ever advocated having guns in classrooms, then, within seconds, says “teachers should have guns.” Then, incredibly, he backs up, does another denial about advocating guns in the classroom, and then adds that some teachers should have guns. I don’t care what your politics are on guns… can’t we all agree … Read More
Concept Creep And Why We Suddenly Are All Made Of Candy Glass
When I grew up, third graders could walk to school, play alone at the park, or bike 10 minutes to a friend’s house without anyone worrying or objecting, so long as they came home for supper or before the street lights came on. Today, though kidnapping is just as rare, a parent who allows that same behavior is at risk … Read More
This Explains Trumpism In Part, But It Is Depressing (or… F*ckin’ Millennials Part XVII)
We really need to do something about the state of education in this country.
University Coddling And “Safe Spaces”
I keep reading about “safe spaces” showing up in our universities, and it strikes me as just bizarre. As far as I can tell, a “safe space” is a designated space intended to give people who might find comments “troubling” or “triggering,” a place to recuperate. Safe spaces are an expression of the conviction, increasingly prevalent among college students, that their … Read More
A Revisit To “Yes Means Yes”
The New York Times did a great story yesterday about the virtues and the difficulties of teaching, and enforcing, a “yes-means-yes” policy in schools, particularly colleges. I have written about this before, but by way of quick background, there is a movement on college campuses and in high schools to move away from the “no means no” mantra and teach/enforce “yes means … Read More