Sunday, July 31, 2011
On Being Unextraordinary
Extraordinary teaches can't overcome poor classroom situations - latimes.com .
"...And that's my biggest problem with the myth of the extraordinary teacher. The myth says it doesn't matter whether the crazy kid in the back makes me laugh so hard I forget what we were talking about, or two brilliant kids refuse to accept my rubrics, scrawling their long-winded objections as a two-part argument that circles over every square inch of the backs of their essays — the makeup of the class, the nature of each student and the number of students are immaterial as long as I'm at the top of my game.
But nobody talks that way about the children of the wealthy, who can pay for individual attention in tutoring or private schools with small classes. I understand that we need to get rid of bad teachers, who will be just as bad in small classes, but we can't demand that teachers be excellent in conditions that preclude excellence..."
"...And that's my biggest problem with the myth of the extraordinary teacher. The myth says it doesn't matter whether the crazy kid in the back makes me laugh so hard I forget what we were talking about, or two brilliant kids refuse to accept my rubrics, scrawling their long-winded objections as a two-part argument that circles over every square inch of the backs of their essays — the makeup of the class, the nature of each student and the number of students are immaterial as long as I'm at the top of my game.
But nobody talks that way about the children of the wealthy, who can pay for individual attention in tutoring or private schools with small classes. I understand that we need to get rid of bad teachers, who will be just as bad in small classes, but we can't demand that teachers be excellent in conditions that preclude excellence..."
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Comment Of The Day: Debt
John McCain unloads on the tea party | The Ticket - Yahoo! News: "The biggest share of US debt is owed to... Social Security. This means that they have robbed the Social Security to pay for the Federal Tax deificit. This means they have STOLEN OUR MONEY. Anyone who thinks that Social Security is an ENTITLEMENT must not look at their paycheck stub. If they take my money for Social Security and use it for anything other than its intent, they OWE me!"
Collapse In The Center
The Centrist Cop-Out - NYTimes.com: "The facts of the crisis over the debt ceiling aren’t complicated. Republicans have, in effect, taken America hostage, threatening to undermine the economy and disrupt the essential business of government unless they get policy concessions they would never have been able to enact through legislation. And Democrats — who would have been justified in rejecting this extortion altogether — have, in fact, gone a long way toward meeting those Republican demands..."
Friday, July 29, 2011
Pell Grant Welfare
Pass the debt ceiling without conditions « The Confluence: "...Congress needs to go back to the blackboard and craft a new stimulus package. Republicans and Tea Party lunatics need to get off of the social safety net slash viagra and get in touch with their human side, assuming they have one. I’ve read that Tea Party activists have complained that the $17 billion in Pell Grants in the budget bills were “welfare”. Let me just say that after all of the years that I sent enough money to Washington in taxes to support a family of four, I do not want to hear from the jerks who think that a Pell grant is “welfare”. We’re unemployed professionals. If you don’t want us sucking off the government, you’d better get the economy back on its feet..."
Biting The Feeding Hand
Tea Baggers chew on Boner. Boehner’s Grip on Fractured Party Slips - Bloomberg:
Graphing O'Bush
Click on the link to see the graph.
Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post: "...What’s also important, but not evident, on this chart is that Obama’s major expenses were temporary — the stimulus is over now — while Bush’s were, effectively, recurring. The Bush tax cuts didn’t just lower revenue for 10 years. It’s clear now that they lowered it indefinitely, which means this chart is understating their true cost. Similarly, the Medicare drug benefit is costing money on perpetuity, not just for two or three years. And Boehner, Ryan and others voted for these laws and, in some cases, helped to craft and pass them...
Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post: "...What’s also important, but not evident, on this chart is that Obama’s major expenses were temporary — the stimulus is over now — while Bush’s were, effectively, recurring. The Bush tax cuts didn’t just lower revenue for 10 years. It’s clear now that they lowered it indefinitely, which means this chart is understating their true cost. Similarly, the Medicare drug benefit is costing money on perpetuity, not just for two or three years. And Boehner, Ryan and others voted for these laws and, in some cases, helped to craft and pass them...
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Another Tea Bagger Hypocrite
Tea Party Congressman Joe Walsh Being Sued For $100K In Child Support | TPMMuckraker: "Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), who has made the media rounds bashing President Obama on the national debt, is being sued for $117,437 in back child support he allegedly owes his ex-wife and their three children, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, according to divorce documents filed in court in December..."
Recovering From Fiscal Disaster
Bush's mischief is the gift that keeps on raising the debt (letter) | MLive.com: "...So let's recover those past $1.812 trillion tax cuts through a net worth tax."
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thieving GOP In 2004
Forget Anonymous: Evidence Suggests GOP Hacked, Stole 2004 Election | Benzinga.com: "...'The 2004 election was stolen. There is absolutely no doubt about it. A 6.7% shift in exit polls does not happen by chance. And, you know, so finally, we have irrefutable confirmation that what we were saying was true and that every piece of the puzzle in the Ohio 2004 election was flawed,' Wasserman said..."
Lies By Boner
Boehner’s Response Is Work of Political Fiction: Jonathan Alter - Bloomberg: "...And it only means “you pay more” if by “you” Boehner meant Americans who make more than $250,000 a year, a tiny proportion of his TV audience..."
Monday, July 25, 2011
No Females In Budget Negotiations
Another item in a long list of mind boggling stupidity. (The news not the post-- which I absolutely agree with.)
WTF?? Another example of how sexism costs all of us « The Confluence:
"...These GUYS excluded the former speaker of the house and now minority leader from the negotiations because she sticks up for liberal principles? I’ll be the first one to say that Nancy shouldn’t be surprised and is paying royally for the mess she made in Denver in 2008. But Jeez, it is completely unacceptable that there wasn’t even one woman in the room when these assholes met, not even the House Democrats’ minority leader. It happens in the business world all of the time. Women don’t get the email, are conveeeeeniently left off the meeting list, their phone calls are ignored. And THIS is womens’ issues are never considered in the final bills. If you’re a liberal woman, you’re doubly screwed.
And Barack Obama was OK with this?
You betcha..."
WTF?? Another example of how sexism costs all of us « The Confluence:
"...These GUYS excluded the former speaker of the house and now minority leader from the negotiations because she sticks up for liberal principles? I’ll be the first one to say that Nancy shouldn’t be surprised and is paying royally for the mess she made in Denver in 2008. But Jeez, it is completely unacceptable that there wasn’t even one woman in the room when these assholes met, not even the House Democrats’ minority leader. It happens in the business world all of the time. Women don’t get the email, are conveeeeeniently left off the meeting list, their phone calls are ignored. And THIS is womens’ issues are never considered in the final bills. If you’re a liberal woman, you’re doubly screwed.
And Barack Obama was OK with this?
You betcha..."
The O Riddle
Who are these people that keep giving Obama money? I don't know anyone who has donated since '08. Obama draws highest donations in Texas for presidential candidates - Politics Wires - MiamiHerald.com: "...Obama has gotten the most so far, slightly more than $1.4 million..."
Blue Dog Retiring
Conservative Dem Mike Ross to retire from Congress - On Politics - USATODAY.com: "Rep. Mike Ross, a leader of the so-called 'Blue Dog' Democrats in Congress, said today he will not seek re-election next year and might run for Arkansas governor..."
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Third Party Hope?
Make Way for the Radical Center - NYTimes.com: "...Thanks to a quiet political start-up that is now ready to show its hand, a viable, centrist, third presidential ticket, elected by an Internet convention, is going to emerge in 2012. I know it sounds gimmicky — an Internet convention — but an impressive group of frustrated Democrats, Republicans and independents, called Americans Elect, is really serious, and they have thought out this process well. In a few days, Americans Elect will formally submit the 1.6 million signatures it has gathered to get on the presidential ballot in California as part of its unfolding national effort to get on the ballots of all 50 states for 2012..."
And for another, more negative, take, look here.
And for another, more negative, take, look here.
Tea v. MoveOn
Tea Baggers made the original video-- I suppose to show everyone how tough they are. Via The Confluence:
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Evil Son Of Evil
‘The Devil’s Double’ - The Shoes of a Psychopath - NYTimes.com: "...Tales of the abhorrent behavior of the first-born scion of the Hussein regime, who was killed in a shootout with American forces in 2003, are legendary. A cocaine-snorting party boy with a taste for fat cigars, flashy pimp outfits and luxury cars, Uday was a loose cannon whose sadistic exploits included routinely ordering the torture and imprisonment of athletes under his supervision on the Iraqi Olympics and national soccer teams. His violent, sexually predatory nature was equally notorious, treating the abduction, rape and murder of young women as sport..."
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Fox Bad Behavior
Fox's behavior in this case sounds more like organized crime than a legitimate business.
US senator invokes website-hacking trial in call for Murdoch inquiry | Media | The Guardian:
"...During the trial, the jury heard from a former News America manager, Robert Emmel, who recalled the chief executive Carlucci telling his staff: 'If there were individuals concerned about doing the right thing – bed-wetting liberals in particular – then he could arrange for them to be out-placed from the company...'"
US senator invokes website-hacking trial in call for Murdoch inquiry | Media | The Guardian:
"...During the trial, the jury heard from a former News America manager, Robert Emmel, who recalled the chief executive Carlucci telling his staff: 'If there were individuals concerned about doing the right thing – bed-wetting liberals in particular – then he could arrange for them to be out-placed from the company...'"
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Fox Influence Biz
Wednesday: Fines, jobs and influence « The Confluence:
"...Well, you get to reach and influence a lot more people through Fox than through NPR and the money is probably much better for doing it. Some people are into power. That’s what motivates them more than anything else. I suspect that the journalists who flock to Fox and News Corp are those kinds of people just as the finance industry attracts compulsive gamblers and people who value money above everything else.
If pandering to the public’s baser instincts were not so rewarding and didn’t result in greater influence, these people wouldn’t be doing what they do. The reason they are so successful at it is that there are very few rules in place to make them accountable for their actions. There is no “fairness doctrine”, no penalties for lying and misleading the public and our laws to keep one person from owning as many media outlets as they like are laughable..."
"...Well, you get to reach and influence a lot more people through Fox than through NPR and the money is probably much better for doing it. Some people are into power. That’s what motivates them more than anything else. I suspect that the journalists who flock to Fox and News Corp are those kinds of people just as the finance industry attracts compulsive gamblers and people who value money above everything else.
If pandering to the public’s baser instincts were not so rewarding and didn’t result in greater influence, these people wouldn’t be doing what they do. The reason they are so successful at it is that there are very few rules in place to make them accountable for their actions. There is no “fairness doctrine”, no penalties for lying and misleading the public and our laws to keep one person from owning as many media outlets as they like are laughable..."
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Comment Of The Day
Journo: If 9/11 victims were hacked, ‘Fox News is finished’ | Raw Replay:
"penman1 15 hours ago
Rachel Maddow just reported on MSNBC that in 2006, Murdoch's company, News International, a subsidiary of News Corp, was caught hacking into the personnel files of an American company. This company filed a criminal complaint. What did News Corp do? It BOUGHT THE COMPLAINING COMPANY.
To the Justices in SCOTUS: this is what you have wrought: by allowing corporations to take control of society, they are able to avoid justice for their crime, just like they avoid paying taxes, by using the system to defeat the system, thanks to you, Supreme Court.
The GOP(f)ers want a Balanced Budget Amendment? We really need an amendment to control corporations. Such as:
Proposed 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
'Inasmuch as Human Beings are primary and sovereign in American society, with all political power derived therefrom, the rights and responsibilities of corporations shall be determined by Congress, through legislation signed by the President.' "
"penman1 15 hours ago
Rachel Maddow just reported on MSNBC that in 2006, Murdoch's company, News International, a subsidiary of News Corp, was caught hacking into the personnel files of an American company. This company filed a criminal complaint. What did News Corp do? It BOUGHT THE COMPLAINING COMPANY.
To the Justices in SCOTUS: this is what you have wrought: by allowing corporations to take control of society, they are able to avoid justice for their crime, just like they avoid paying taxes, by using the system to defeat the system, thanks to you, Supreme Court.
The GOP(f)ers want a Balanced Budget Amendment? We really need an amendment to control corporations. Such as:
Proposed 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
'Inasmuch as Human Beings are primary and sovereign in American society, with all political power derived therefrom, the rights and responsibilities of corporations shall be determined by Congress, through legislation signed by the President.' "
On A Frozen Mind
No rational person should adhere to an idea frozen in time and circumstance. Even Raygun had his "concrete breaking" moment. Politics: Take the no-pledge pledge - Los Angeles Times:
Monday, July 18, 2011
Recallin' Wisconsin
Wisconsin voters go to polls Tuesday in first recall election | Reuters: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Raygun Looms Large
Reagan mythology is leading US off a cliff - Opinion - Al Jazeera English: "...Entirely forgetting the real history of how Franklin D Roosevelt used activist government to save American capitalism from itself, the entire US political establishment is instead hypnotised by the false history woven around its most over-hyped president of all time: Ronald Reagan. Idolatry of Reagan's supposed tax-cutting wonders propels the now widespread economic belief that up is down, that cutting government spending is the way out of - rather than into - a severe recession. At the same time, idolatry of Reagan's supposed political wonders propels GOP extremists to ignore all other considerations..."
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Murdoch Agonistes
Macbeth:
Macbeth Act 1, scene 7. 25–28
I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself,
And falls on th'other. . . .
Dear brethren, let us pray this news story is prophetic: The beginning of the end of the Murdoch era - The Globe and Mail:
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Ryan Wine Flap
Rep. Ryan Tastes The Grapes Of Wrath | TPMDC: "Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a leading advocate of shrinking entitlement spending and the architect of the plan to privatize Medicare, spent Wednesday evening sipping $350 wine with two like-minded conservative economists at the swanky Capitol Hill eatery Bistro Bis..."
O Must Go Sez GOP
McConnell: no real deficit deal until Obama is gone - Political Hotsheet - CBS News:... or until the GOP is gone from the House.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Military Retirees Targeted
The other shoe is dropping. Federal retiree benefits could face cuts in deficit talks -- GovExec.com: (There is no mention of Congressional benefit cuts.)
Rich Getting Richer: Education Edition
Over the past three decades, "executive fever" has gripped our economic institutions; the relative value of CEOs over all other employees has risen dramatically. The top level of executive pay has become increasingly obscene and has affected all our instituions. Now days, even glorified principals think they're worth a fortune. San Diego State: Salary plan for San Diego State president stirs furor - latimes.com:
Friday, July 08, 2011
The GOP Is A Cult
From The Really, Really Obvious Department: A grand old cult - The Washington Post:
O Calling GOP Bluff
So says Eugene Robinson. Let's hope. for everyone's sake, he's right. Obama calls the GOP’s bluff - The Washington Post:
Thursday, July 07, 2011
O And The Third Rail
It’s Change! Alright « The Confluence:
"...You people who supported Obama after we begged and pleaded with you to not do it, to consider what you were doing to the “old coalition”, who tried to tell you he was not who you thought he was, you people have lost all credibility. Do you get it? No one is going to listen to you anymore. No one wants to hear about Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinich or Russ Feingold or whoever your latest cerebral but impractical choice of a presidential candidate is. If you don’t, right this moment, thoroughly and completely abandon and repudiate Obama and immediately embrace the only legitimate Democrat who can turn this ship around, you’re finished. You will fade into the crazy, elite, lunatics who ruined the working class by shoving a weak, Republican in disguise down our throats. Don’t ask for any help from us. We’ll be too busy killing ourselves to make a living.
If you don’t join us and push Obama out in favor of the true Democrat, be prepared to be the most loathed people in the country."
"...You people who supported Obama after we begged and pleaded with you to not do it, to consider what you were doing to the “old coalition”, who tried to tell you he was not who you thought he was, you people have lost all credibility. Do you get it? No one is going to listen to you anymore. No one wants to hear about Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinich or Russ Feingold or whoever your latest cerebral but impractical choice of a presidential candidate is. If you don’t, right this moment, thoroughly and completely abandon and repudiate Obama and immediately embrace the only legitimate Democrat who can turn this ship around, you’re finished. You will fade into the crazy, elite, lunatics who ruined the working class by shoving a weak, Republican in disguise down our throats. Don’t ask for any help from us. We’ll be too busy killing ourselves to make a living.
If you don’t join us and push Obama out in favor of the true Democrat, be prepared to be the most loathed people in the country."
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
The Commies Are Coming!
Joe reacts to a youtube featuring Michele Bachmann. Cannonfire-- 'New definition of "commie"': "Good lord. I...even I...have no idea what to say. Here we are, decades after the fall of the USSR, and 'communism' is considered our greatest problem. The nation has gone mad."
Same Old Loopholes...
...equals no new taxes. Tuesday: Someone needs a dopeslap « The Confluence: "So, James Clyburn has correctly identified the problem behind the resistance to solving the impending budget crisis. The Republicans have taken a “no new taxes” pledge, like they always do, and have decided that closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and multinational business community is equivalent to new taxes..."
Monday, July 04, 2011
Happy Birthday, America
All of which somewhat explains why I get so infuriated when Republicans accuse liberals and Democrats of not loving their country, of not being patriotic. My family is by far majority Democrats and liberals-- all the way back as far as I can tell, so excuse my liberal cheers for my country-- and no, you are not going to take it back from me.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Children,War,Parents
Even if you don't have a connection to someone deployed, you should read this post, While My Son Serves in Iraq - WSJ.com:, to get a feel for those of us who do.
Why Labor Loses
BMW, Teamsters: BMW layoffs exemplify the evisceration of the middle class - latimes.com: "...Yet what gives BMW the freedom to convert good American middle-class jobs into low-wage piecework is the evaporation of American workers' power of collective action. The labor lawyer and writer Thomas Geoghegan contends that BMW could never outsource union jobs like this in its home country, Germany, where union solidarity extending from the professional staff down to the shop floor would stomp the living daylights out of the very idea. "Foreign companies know there's no solidarity here," he says..."
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Friday, July 01, 2011
The Real Founding Fathers
Before the Tea Baggers enshrine and bronze some of our guys, they should be advised-- they were our guys-- liberals and radicals all. Today's Tea Baggers would be lining up with the Tories to kiss the King's butt while killing their neighbors. Just like now. The Founding Fathers Were Flawed - Newsweek:
Debt No Biggie
Who's afraid of the debt? Everyone except Wall Street - USATODAY.com: "...Lost in the debate have been several key facts. The U.S. debt, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product, isn't particularly out of line with most developed nations. The bond market, which should be most worried about the U.S. debt burden, doesn't seem concerned at all about the U.S. debt load..."
Will Fake Conservatives Get Bucks?
FEC rules in favor of Stephen Colbert - The Hill's Ballot Box: "The Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday that comedian Stephen Colbert could form his eponymous political action committee and use his show to promote it..."
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