...that means it's ok to pick on the ontheborderline.net clowns!
Two animal rights activists who were arrested in the HP Pavilion parking lot while protesting the treatment of circus animals were each awarded $2,400 by a federal jury in San Jose that found their free speech rights had been violated.
Read all about it! Mercury News
"When the rich concern themselves with the poor, that’s called charity. When the poor concern themselves with the rich, that’s called revolution."
--William Winpisinger,
President, IAM, 1981
"I know of no other country where love of money has such a grip on men's hearts or where stronger scorn is expressed for the theory of permanent equality of property."
Alexis de Tocqueville(1805-1859)
French historian
Source: Democracy in America, 1835
OTBL’s main intelligence agency (yes, I know that’s a contradiction) on Monday accused several unnamed HSO readers of spying — using electronic equipment hidden inside a fake rock in a remote part of Stone Pine. Sources close to OTBL leadership have spoken off the record with the press saying: “Details of our secret plan to overthrow public education have leaked out, we suspect one of our own.” There have been rumors of late that several core OTBL members have been dabbling with Socialist ideas lately. They have been overheard to say things like “Maybe Wal-Mart should provide healthcare benefits to their full time employees” and “I guess my children are getting a fairly good education at Hudson High.” Naturally, this kind of thinking is blasphemous. Our sources report that OTBL leadership has their “undies in a bunch” over this breach in their usually air tight security.
There have been suggestions that the OTBL moles pass their information to outside sources by transmitting data to the spyrock while on latenight walks with their dogs.
Witnesses say they’ve seen members of the OTBL leadership out late at night with metal detectors trying to pinpoint the location of the spyrock.
Meanwhile, the public statements from OTBL continue to claim that critics “Protesteth Too Mucheth”, and “We are concerned citizens who are pro-education reform not anti-public education extremists bent on dismantling the Public Education plague that has befallen our nation.” OTBL leadership refused to comment beyond saying. Or public propaganda clearly states our goals for reform, there is no secret agenda.” (Really?)
"Any business that cannot pay living wages is not viable and ultimately hurts our economy."
"Foreign business owners laugh at the suckers we taxpayers have become."
Read more: USA Today.
Wages drop from $22/hour to $9.50
Number of jobs drop from 475 to 220
Union busted...
The Colgate-Palmolive Co. announced last week that it will build a toothpaste factory in Morristown, Tenn., as part of a cost-cutting strategy that includes closing a similar plant in Clarksville, Ind. The 475 employees at the Clark County facility learned in October the plant would stop production by Jan. 1, 2008, ending more than 80 years of Colgate manufacturing in Southern Indiana.
Rick Davis of New Albany, Ind., a 30-year veteran of the Clarksville plant, called the decision to move to Tennessee "sickening." Davis said he earns about $22 an hour, the average wage for a union employee. He said the move to Morristown was based on "corporate greed" and the company's desire to "get rid of unions." In a statement yesterday, Colgate said the move was based on the cost of land, the cost of preparing a site and unspecified operating costs.
Read more in the Louisville Courier Journal.
Remember: What's good for business and the consumer is usually bad for the worker.
ASKED his opinion of gay cowboy romance movie Brokeback Mountain, US President George W. Bush ummed and hawed.
A man told Mr Bush during a gathering at Kansas State University on Monday he would "love it".
Mr Bush, who owns a ranch in Texas, replied hesitantly: "I'd be glad to talk about ranching, but I haven't seen the movie." 
The most poignant point in the documentary suggested the money we spend on education in the public school system should be "attached to the kid" (vouchers in another word) rather than the way we currently spend educational dollars - giving it to the schools and the kids being assigned to the schools based largely on where they live.
...
South Carolina was referred to time and time again as having the worst public schools in the United States. If I were in charge of the public school system, I would be ashamed of this statistic and do everything in my power to see that our school system moves from the bottom of the scale.
...
There was a mention of states with teachers' unions, where it is almost impossible to fire a teacher.
...
Fortunately, he gave us a solution - school choice. Our Legislature has an opportunity to help move the state forward by implementing real education reform this year. School choice must be a part.
...
I agree and don't understand why our education and elected officials are so hesitant to try something that could be of benefit. As "20/20" showed, it certainly can't hurt.
Read the letter to the editor: Charleston Post and Courier.
Senators argued that the state needs to overhaul how it nurtures and runs charter schools Tuesday as the first day of floor debate began amid criticism the proposal would take money and control from local school systems.
The legislation ultimately could make it easier for charter school supporters to set up the schools over the objections of local school districts.
Read more: Tuscaloosa News.
Are Educators squandering public funds, too?
There is a fundamental debate going on about public education. Almost everyone agrees that the schools in general are failing in myriad ways, but the agreement pretty much ends there.
One side believes that schools simply aren’t getting enough money, even though school funding consumes more than 40 percent of California’s general fund. The other side argues that schools have plenty of money, but that the money is misspent on bureaucracy, and schools lack competition and oversight.
Read more: The Monitor
Investigator: U.S. 'outsourced' torture
JAN SLIVA
Associated Press
STRASBOURG, France - The head of a European investigation into alleged CIA secret prisons in Europe said Tuesday that evidence pointed to the existence of a system of "outsourcing" of torture by the United States, and that it was highly likely European governments were aware of it.
Read more: San Jose Mercury News
Teachers paid from sale of Mercedes
Car is only asset worth much from failed voucher school
The six dilapidated school buses brought only a paltry sum. The desks and other classroom furnishings weren't worth the cost of transporting them. Rumors swirled about other assets, but none could be found.
$330,000: Amount David Seppeh was convicted in October of stealing from the state during the 2003-'04 school year.
$43,000: Approximate cost of one of the two Mercedes Seppeh is said to have bought with the stolen money.
$27,648:Amount the sale of that same Mercedes brought.
More than$200,000: Amount in the school employees claimed in back pay.
Read more at Milwuakee Journal Sentinal Online.
On Jan 13th School board candidate James Baker wrote in the Hudson Star Observer,
”I am frequently asked what motivates me to run for a position on the Board of Education. As a parent and publicly educated science wonk, I am deeply concerned about curriculum content and academic standards.”
It would appear to me that Mr. Baker seems to be promoting wonkiness as one of his finest qualities. From Mr. Baker’s statement most reasonable voters would conclude that wonkiness is a character trait that motiviates him to run for the School board. So what's the big stink Mr. N. Onimous ?
Mr. Muchlinski compliments Mr. Baker on his wonkiness, “Man, what a wonk.” And asks a question, about the schools”But what is the wonky solution to the problem?”
Mr. N. Onimous, after coming home from a hard day of filling out public information requests for teacher compensation packages seems to take offense. (Oh, as an aside, compensation does not equal salary. About 3o% of compensation is for benefits similar to what most employees in industrialized nations receive as part of their employment. Wal-Mart doesn't count.) So, when ole’ N. Onimous starts broadcasting compensation packages of our local teachers, to embarrass them, and "Citizen Joe" extrapolates that “compensation package” into months that teachers don’t work (or get paid) they're putting out information to the public which my Grandpa used to call “a fib”.
One more point, taxpayers should take a little trip down to the High School to see some of the extraordinary art work on display by Ms. Muchliski and her students, before they determine how “overpaid” she is. Perhaps N. Onimous will add "art critic" to his long resume and do a critical review for us in one of his future blathers at ontheborderline.
But for now N. Onimous seems content trying to launch his comedy career.
Lets sit back and enjoy his latest shtick.
From: N.Onimous.
“Here's a conversation coming from a common taxpayer's kitchen table-
"Hey Marge, that art teacher's husband really makes sense this week, I think I'll vote for one of the five socialists in the race rather than Jim Baker"
"Yes Marge I suppose I should attend one of those morning coffee meetings at the Muchlinski's to meet the teachers union choices. I hear he held several of those for Tjernohoj and Muenich last year."
Columnist Katherine Kersten asked this question is her column today (1/23/06):
So why is teachers union running costly TV ads?
If I didn't know better, I would have thought that Mark Yost had jumped ship from the Pioneer-Press and joined the Star-n-Sickle (-- that's what all my media-bias, right-wing neo-con friends ontheborderline.net call the Minneapolis paper.)
Kersten's column raises some interesting questions concerning the motives of a million dollar ad campaign currently being run by Education Minnesota.
Read the entire column: Kersten column.
Check out the Education Minnesota website that is the focus of the ad campaign: see site & take survey.
'Wal-Mart bills' focus on getting workers off government health care
Kitty Rhoades says:
Getting big business of government welfare sends a dangerous message to businesses. Supports letting the individual taxpayers and small businesses pay for Wal-Mart health benefits.
"It's hard to say we want to bring jobs here, and we want businesses to come to this state, and by the way, we're going to slap you with these things," said Rep. Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson), who specializes in Medicaid issues for the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee
(Hey! There's $6 million Governor Doyle could use to help pay for the heating bills of the poor this winter or use to help provide poor kids with schlorship and college education assistance to they can earn degrees in engineering.)
"Why should small-business people have to foot the bill for someone who is making millions and millions in profit?"
That question is at the core of a new law in Maryland that effectively requires Wal-Mart to spend at least 8% of its payroll on health benefits or make a contribution to the state's health programs for low-income families.
Wal-Mart says 5% of its 1.3 million U.S. employees receive Medicaid, and 27% of its employees' children get health care through Medicaid or affiliated programs such as Wisconsin's BadgerCare. It says that percentage is lower than the retail sector average of 36%.
Unions and activists say dozens of states are considering variations of the Maryland legislation - including Wisconsin. In most states, the bills are given little chance of becoming law. Hearings were held last week on Wisconsin's version, backed by Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison) and Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), but the bill is all but dead in committee.
Read more in Milwuakee Journal
The following is a news brief taken form the 1/22/06 Sunday edition of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
Washington: Nearing a diploma, most college students cannot handle many complex but common tasks, from understanding credit card offers to comparing the cost per ounce of food. Those are the sobering findings of a study of literacy on college campuses, the first to target the skills of students as they approach the start of their careers. More than 50 percent of students at four-year schools and more than 75 percent at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks. That means they could not interpret a table about exercises and blood pressure, unable to understand the arguments of newspaper editorials or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.
I noticed the same information was posted ontheborderline.net. It just goes to show you that great minds think alike -- or even a blind squirrel finds a nut. Anyway, I was interested in seeing what the OTBL'ers had to comment about this study. My guess is that this would apppear to another tally mark on their reasons why public education is bad, unions are evil, etc.
Well consider the following comment:
Here is another comment from the study:
“Almost 20 percent of students pursuing four-year degrees had only basic quantitative skills. For example, the students could not estimate if their car had enough gas to get to the service station. About 30 percent of two-year students had only basic math skills.”
I have heard this from several college professors, a high school math teacher, and business people that students do not have the ability to estimate. Wouldn't have anything to do with the constant parade of "new math" curriculum or the dependency on calculators would it?
Unfortunately our children are being used as laboratory rats upon which curriculum directors and social worker experiment on in order to justify their very existence.
Comment by Mark Pribonic, 1/20/2006 @5:22 pm
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I highlighted the "unfortunately..." conclusion to Mr. Pribonic's quote, because he might not have written this had he read a little deeper into the survey links provided in the OTBL post.
Read the complete American Institute of Research study.
Below is the fact sheet provided with the study. It is an interesting summary of the findings in the study. The laboratory rat experiments being done on today's children. I highlighted the finding that the results don't differ between public and private school students. Likeiwse, note that these students scored higher that non students -- which we would hope.
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FACT SHEET: THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF AMERICA'S COLLEGE STUDENTS
The National Survey of America’s College Students (NSACS) surveyed the English-language abilities of 1,827 students in their final year at 80 randomly selected 2-year and 4-year public and private colleges and universities across the United States.
The survey measured abilities related to three types of skills: prose, document, and quantitative literacy. Prose literacy indicates the ability to read and understand information in newspapers, brochures, and instructional materials. Document literacy involves the ability to comprehend job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables, and food or prescription drug labels. Quantitative literacy involves the ability to perform computations – including balancing a checkbook, calculating a tip, or completing an order form. Literacy levels were categorized as Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient based on the abilities of participants.
The Literacy of College Students Compared to the Nation
The average prose, document, and quantitative literacy of students in 2- and 4-year institutions is significantly higher than the average literacy of adults in the nation.
Across the literacy scales, the percentage of students in 2- and 4-year institutions with Below Basic literacy is significantly lower than the percentage of adults in the nation with Below Basic literacy. Below Basic literacy involves simple literacy skills, such as reading instructions to find out what a patient is allowed to drink before a medical test, or adding up amounts on a bank deposit slip.
One percent of students in 4-year institutions have Below Basic prose literacy skills, while one percent have Below Basic document literacy, and another one percent have Below Basic quantitative literacy.
Students in 2-year institutions scored similarly, with one percent having Below Basic skills in the prose and document categories, while four percent are Below Basic in quantitative literacy.
Students in 2- and 4-year colleges have the most difficulty with quantitative literacy:
approximately 30 percent of students in 2-year institutions and nearly 20 percent of students in 4-year institutions have only Basic quantitative literacy. Basic literacy skills are those necessary to compare ticket prices or calculate the cost of a sandwich and a salad from a menu.
Among college students, there are no significant differences in the average prose, document, and quantitative literacy of men and women – indicating that women may be making process in bridging a divide that has long existed between the sexes.
The average literacy of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian students in 4-year colleges is significantly higher than that of adults in the same racial and ethnic groups in the nation.
The average prose and quantitative literacy of White students in 4-year institutions is higher than for any other racial/ethnic group, mirroring trends in the general population. White students also have the highest prose and document literacy among 2-year colleges.
Institutional Context and Literacy
There are no significant differences in the literacy of students graduating from public and private institutions. Additionally, there are no differences in the skills of part-time and full-time students. Generally, there is no relationship between literacy and the length of time it takes to earn a degree, or between literacy and an academic major.
Students in 4-year colleges have higher average prose, document, and quantitative literacy than their peers in 2-year colleges.
The literacy of students in 2-year schools does not differ based on the academic or technical curricular emphasis of the school.
Student Characteristics and Literacy
Among students in 2- and 4-year institutions, average prose, document, and quantitative literacy is higher for U.S.-born students than for their foreign-born peers.
Despite variations in income, most differences in the literacy of students across income groups are not significant. The only significant differences exist between students in 4-year institutions with the lowest and highest income backgrounds. Students in the highest income group (either their personal income or the income of their parents) have higher prose and document literacy than students in the lowest income group.
The literacy levels of college students are directly related to the education of their parents: children whose parents graduated college or attended graduate school have higher literacy than students whose parents did not graduate high school or stopped after receiving a high school diploma or GED.
This pattern of results related to parents’ education among students in 2-year institutions is similar to that of their peers in 4-year institutions.
Students who graduate from U.S. high schools have higher literacy than graduates from foreign high schools, though the literacy of students from foreign schools is similar to or greater than the literacy of all U.S. adults.
College Experience and Literacy
Prose and document literacy is higher for students in 2- and 4-year institutions who take classes that emphasize analytic thinking, such as evaluating the strength of arguments and applying theories to practical problems or new situations. Prose and quantitative literacy is lower for students in 4-year colleges and universities who say they frequently meet with their professors outside of class to discuss readings.
Although students who switch colleges may face challenges, the average literacy of students in 2- and 4-year institutions does not differ based on the number of institutions they attend.
For students in 4-year colleges, average prose, document, and quantitative literacy is similar across most majors.
Students in 2-year institutions have similar literacy to one another regardless of major.
Among students in 4-year colleges, document and quantitative literacy is highest for students who plan to earn a professional degree (e.g., law, medicine, or dentistry).
For students in 2-year institutions, literacy is lowest for students who report they will stop their education after obtaining an Associate’s degree.
Established in 1946, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is an independent, nonpartisan not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research on important social issues and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts serves the public interest by providing information, advancing policy solutions and supporting civic life. Based in Philadelphia, with an office in Washington, D.C., the Trusts will invest $204 million in fiscal year 2006 to provide organizations and citizens with fact-based research and practical solutions for challenging issues.
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What I find interesting in the debates over K-12 education, be it public or private, charter or voucher, is there are valid arguments on all sides of the issues, but none of the sides seem to be interested in listening to what the other side has to say. It's like everybody wants to "teach" the other side on the issue and nobody wants to "learn" how to fix the problems.
Sounds like they too have a Governor with some sense...
In 2004, almost the exact same bill passed both the House and Senate, but was vetoed by the Governor.
"I think it's a good thing, because there's a lot of crazy people out there and you don't know when some hot-headed person's going to pull out a gun or something on the road."
VS.
"The opponents will try to waive the bloody shirt or say the sky is falling like Chicken Little. But, the reality is all of those dire predictions do not come true, and citizens should have the means to protect themselves and their families."
---
Meanwhile, the Governor says her position on the matter hasn't changed.
Read more: KAKE TV report.
Summary:
ABC's John Stossel presented a "special report" on the failure of American public schools that included a series of misleading claims, a lack of balance in reporting and interviews, and video clips apparently created primarily for entertainment to argue for expanding "school choice" initiatives such as vouchers and charter schools.
Read more @ Media Matters. Numerous helpful links included in this story.
(Note to our readers: Below is a piece of original poetry submitted by one of our millions of readers. Being very shy and unassuming, this reader prefers to be known only as THE BARD. We hope you enjoy this classic piece of Western writing and, as always, we welcome such submissions from our readership. JPN)
GUESS WHO
A catholic sits in the front pew,
His wife spites the seder meal jew,
She gave the principal a buck,
He taped his face like a duct,
Their videos are on pay-per-view.
Poor gooberman is really quite funny,
The weed makes his failed life seem sunny,
Kudos his wife, of course,
Despite a face like a horse,
She at least provides the family with money.
Dr. Nowhere pipes in bloviation,
Short man syndrome his prime motivation,
Writing War & Peace is just sad,
It leaves his kid with no dad,
And each word is just regurgitation.
Spirit of pubonic floats in like a bird,
“Irregardless” is his favorite non-word,
Says collectivists are rubes,
But with his man boobs,
He has more curves than corners, the turd.
Dr. Luke sticks her dolls with a pin,
But it ne’er helps her candidates win,
And her Carnac is weak,
‘Cause the jokes simply reek,
So she’s off to the old loony bin.
The blogman’s face is frightfully white,
Like Bela Lugosi he stalks the night,
Hack, plagiarize and steal,
He does with great zeal,
And drains bil’s blood with one fangy bite.
The groundhog has popped up for a day,
Though his picket sign might get in the way,
He hung out with Curt,
‘Cause he didn’t think it’d hurt,
But now he craves nuts and wants a toupee.
A group of independent, free-market business men had finished a day’s hunt and were relaxing around the fire. Their hunting dogs occupied a clearing
nearby. One of the men observed that it was remarkable how the dogs had acquired the traits of their owners.
The musician’s dog was softly howling strains of the Moonlight sonata. The engineer’s dog was using his paw to perform calculations in the dust. The On The Border Line blogger's dog was screwing all the skunks.
January 16, 2006 Issue
Copyright © 2006 The American Conservative
Radical globalist ideology has possessed the occupant of the Oval Office and is bringing about the revolution Communism never could.
By John Laughland
It is often overlooked that George Orwell’s Animal Farm predicted not only the horrors of communism but also the end of the Cold War. At the end of the fable, the farmer, who symbolizes the capitalist West, returns to the farm and plays cards with the pigs, who symbolize communism. The shivering creatures outside, symbolizing ordinary people, “looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
We normally think of the end of the Cold War as having marked the unambiguous victory of capitalism over communism. But has Orwell’s prediction proved right, and has there instead been a convergence of the two? We hear much about how former communist states are Westernizing, but has this process been bought with the price of our own subjection to what used to be communist ideals?
Take revolution, for instance, a key Marxist concept. Fifteen years ago, it still carried—at least for conservatives—the negative connotations of “Bolshevik,” “sexual,” and “French.” Now, by contrast, George W. Bush has elevated the promotion of “a global democratic revolution” to the central goal of U.S. foreign policy. In his second inaugural speech, he announced nothing less than a program of political emancipation for the whole planet—he said that America was pursuing “the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” Trotsky would have been proud.
Read more in the American Conservative
Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006
CONSERVATIVES outside the beltway have warned for years that the Republican Party was headed for a crackup if it didn’t return to the principles that brought it to power in 1994. Now, as the fallout from the Jack Abramoff scandal begins, Congressional Republicans are talking about reform for the first time in a decade. But it probably is too late.
“I have a hunch, and it’s only a hunch, that we’ve probably seen the climax of the conservative movement from 1994,” Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley said during an interview yesterday.
Blankley said he was “very concerned” about Republicans’ ability to hold on to power in Washington. “I think if I were a Democratic operative I’d put a lobster bib on,” he said. He isn’t the only one worried. Conservatives are wringing hands and stroking chins.
The only chance Republicans have of shedding this albatross is to institute real reforms, not paper ones. Rep. Charlie Bass is pushing that idea, as are others. But we won’t hold our breath waiting for it to happen. Power corrupts, and GOP leaders have given little indication that there is anything they value more than holding on to the power they attained the first time they promised to reform Washington. Why would Americans expect these new promises to be any less empty than the first ones?
January 19, 2006
TV show downplayed problem of gun violence
I was astonished recently to see the ABC news program "20/20" portray the prevalence and significance of gun violence in America as a "media-fed myth." As a trauma surgeon, I can assure you that the daily deaths and disability caused by gun violence are a reality that should not be dismissed in this manner.
Commentator John Stossel made claims based on a misrepresentation of data and presented conclusions that cannot be supported by facts. Most disturbing was his implication that the risk of gun violence to children is exaggerated. In reporting that less than 100 children ages 15 and younger die annually due to gun accidents, he ignores the more than 500 deaths due to intentional injuries and the approximately 3,000 non-fatal firearm injuries in this group.
In Indianapolis in 2004, eight children younger than 15, 76 between 15 and 19, and 130 ages 20 to 24 were victims of gun violence. One in four victims of gun violence in Marion County dies of his injuries. These data are compiled from hospital, police and coroner reports and published annually by the Indiana Partnership to Prevent Violent Injury and Death.
Gun violence is a public health problem that calls for multiple strategies to prevent injury and death. Injuries and deaths can be prevented by working on multiple levels, from societal issues that breed gun violence to education about how to prevent it. When prevention fails, both the patient and the perpetrator should get medical treatment and criminal justice deterrence. This issue need not be about gun control versus gun rights. As long as we politicize this issue, we are wasting time and energy that could be spent solving the problem.
Erik Streib, M.D.
Director, Trauma, Surgical Critical Care Unit Wishard Health Services Board member, Indiana Partnership to Prevent Violent Injury and Death
From the Indianapolis Star
"As I lay in bed, I thought about what fun I had. Then I chuckled out loud. What would the Wendy’s employees have done if they knew what was in Danny’s heavy leather bag!"
by Jeremy Sapienza
For our visitors from ontheborderline.net, here's one from one of Dr. Bill's favorite web sites: Lew Rockwell.com
Forget the Constitution and the rest of the Amendments, for some the 2nd Amendment covers their needs
"To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. Get a gun, and when they attack you shoot 'em."
--Ted Nugent
The Motor City Madman
"If you want the votes of people who are good on guns, good on taxes, and good of faith issues, that is a very small intersection of voters. But if you say 'Give me the votes of anybody who agrees with you on any of these issues,' that's a much bigger section section of the population. With that group, you can take over the country, if you start with the airports and the radio stations. But with all of the three circles that's sixty percent of the population, and you can win politically. And if you add more things, like property rights and home-schooling, you can do even better."
-- Grover Norquist
Americans for Tax Reform
I don't know about you guys but I get my news from the "Roswell Reporter" and ontheborderline.net
...but unquestionable.
President Bush went to an elementary school to talk to the kids to get a little public relations boost. After his talk he opened the floor for questions. One little boy put up his hand and President Bush asked him his name.
"Stanley," responded the little boy.
"And what is your question, Stanley?"
"I have 3 questions. First, why did the USA invade Iraq without the support of the UN? Second, why are you President when Al Gore got more votes? And third, whatever happened to Osama Bin Laden?"
Just then, the bell rang for recess. President Bush informed the kiddies that they will continue after recess. When they resumed the question session, President Bush said, "OK, where were we? Oh, that's right: question time. Who has a question?"
Another little boy puted up his hand. Bush pointed him out and asked his name.
"Steve," he responded.
"And what is your question, Steve?"
"Actually, I have 5 questions. First, why did the USA invade Iraq without the support of the UN? Second, why are you President when Al Gore got more votes? Third, whatever happened to Osama Bin Laden? Fourth, why did the recess bell go off 20 minutes early? And fifth, what the hell happened to Stanley?"
More wisdom from the borderline!
John Stossel Filed under: General, Education General, Finances, Free Markets, Education Hudson, Education New Richmond, Education Somerset --- conn @ 7:36 pm
I hoped to see the report on "publix edjumication" but I see it is pre-empted by millionaire liberals throwing a ball...
The Ontheborderline Executive Celebration Committee will meet secretly this week to make plans to celebrate the death of the next "liberal" News Anchor.
Dr.B welcomes wayward blogger back into the fold and gives instructions on "how to blog for the uninformed".
1. Who is Peter Jennings? I get my news from the internet and talk radio.
Comment by: ziller on:8/9/2005 @ 10:36 am
Comment by: bildanielson9 on:8/9/2005 @ 11:25 am
Per the discussion on ABC's 20/20 program "Stupid In America" reported by John Stossel, I ran across an interesting overivew of the Finish school system and how it is run. The overview provides good insight into how this system opperates under democratic socialism.
Here are a few interesing points:
1. Majority of education publicly funded
2. Two-tiered public funding: the State and the local authorities
It's becomes interesting quickly when you have the anti-public education people like those at the ontheborderline.net quacking about how Finland out perfroms the US in math and science testing. Stossel gave the same test to a class in Finland and New Jersey and the Fins did better.
I'm sure we won't be hearing the OTBL'ers starting a back-to-Finland movement (although the Fins are big into hot tubs). If they do start moving over there, I'm sure they'll be back here in a heartbeat where the taxes are much lower.
Overview of the Finish education system.
"It was we, the people;
not we, the white male citizens;
nor yet we, the male citizens;
but we, the whole people,
who formed the Union."
-- Susan B. Anthony
Kids Can't Think On An Empty Stomach!
Poverty has been recognized as one of the most powerful factors that can affect children's brain development. As poor children grow into adolescence and adulthood, they are more likely to drop out of school, have children out of wedlock, and be unemployed.
Last Friday, January 13, ABC's 20/20 aired a segment reported by John Stossel titled "Stupid In America: How We Cheat Our Kids."
Stossel missed some important factors that no doubt influence his opionions -- he didn't share at lot of facts and figures with the viewers. He relied on individual antidotes to make his point.
Here's a few points to ponder:
1. UNICEF states that although the U.S. is still the wealthiest country on Earth, with income levels higher than any other country, it also has one of the highest incidences of child poverty among the rich, industrialized nations.
2. Denmark and Finland have child-poverty levels of less than 3 percent, and are closely followed by Norway and Sweden, thanks to higher levels of social spending. In the U.S., 17 percent of children live in poverty.
3. Children are a disproportionate share of the poor in the U.S. Although they are 26 percent of the total population, they constitute 39 percent of the poor.
Read more@ Seattle Times in the an editorial titled:
Rich man, poor man: hungry children in America
By César Chelala
"I did not like school very much and there was no reason why I should. I was the dumbest kid in the class. What did I have to look forward to? The others laughed at me and made jokes about me every day."
-- Dr. Ben Carson
former inner-city kid
currently world famous pediatric neurosurgeon
Dr. Carson has written a book about his life, Gifted Hands: A True Story of Healing and Inspiration, which is to be made into a motion picture. A review of this book described it as a portrait of a man's "extraordinary path to success." When his journey began, he was living in poverty, had a pathological temper, poor self-esteem and awful grades. His book, The Big Picture: Getting Perspective on What's Really Important in Life, explores how we can overcome obstacles to take action on behalf of something greater than ourselves. His second book Think Big also explores his life philosophy. Someone who has made such a dramatic change in the course of his life can certainly inspire others to have faith in their own intellect.
More info on Ben Carson
Am I the only one who finds it curious that an anonymous blogger at ontheborderline.net keeps quacking on and on about an anonymous threat letter sent to the Hudson city administrator?
What difference would it make to some one who doesn't have the guts to use his real on a blog post that the mystery surrounding the threat letter? It's my understanding that it's hard enough for local law enforcement to get the FBI over here for an armed bank robbery let alone a threat letter in the mail.
I believe Luke was the one casting out the list of potential suspect way back last summer...very interesting!
Could this be just another example of hypocrisy ontheborderline?
Posted January 17, 2006
From the Appleton Post-Cresent:
Ross Bielema makes a few errors in judgment in his Jan. 15 community column about the supposed benefits of concealed weapons.
First, he equates common items like spare tires and jumper cables with guns. The former are examples of reasonable precaution; the latter are simply overkill.
Unless you're a bodyguard, courier, private investigator or living in the most crime-ridden area of the country, you have no real need to carry a concealed weapon.
If simple precaution justifies guns, then perhaps we should all be investing in things like defibrillators, anti-venom kits, parachutes and armored vehicles. Fear is a bottomless pit. There is never enough security for some.
Second, he believes that most criminals think rationally. They don't. If a criminal is desperate or daring enough to commit a burglary or assault, they're not going to be deterred by the possibility that the victim might be carrying a gun. Criminals will do their best to get the advantage and the "drop" on the victim.
Third, Ross probably also believes that gun-carrying citizens actually possess the coordination, skill and presence of mind to successfully use a weapon in a crunch. They don't.
Ross speaks of deer hunters, but not the ones who couldn't hit a deer standing still with a scoped rifle. Standard, required gun training doesn't make a person a marksman or a citizen soldier.
Alas, conceal and carry may indeed happen in Wisconsin, but it appeals most to those obsessed with security and fear.
The rest of us don't need weapons any more than we need a second spare tire.
Richard Froemming, Neenah
...Ziller Squeaks!
I have been a follower of you site for sometime and I've enjoyed reading it. However, I've recently read something at ontheborderline.net that made me realize it's time to put my two cents worth in. Here's the post I find very interesting:
St Croix Democrats get marching orders from the teacher’s union
Filed under: General --- BobZiller @ 4:18 pm
If I can believe their announcement the St. Croix/Pierce County Democrats had a meeting January 12th at their usual watering hole, the Coachman Supper Club.
Speakers were to be Scott Ellingson, Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) VP and Paul Hambleton, WEAC President and current National Education Assoc. Director.
They are going to give Jim Doyle credit for lowering property taxes and being favorable to education. I'm sure they won't mention that he cooked the books by sliding some of the highway fund into education and issuing $1.0 billion in new debt. WEAC will pour tons of money into the reelection of Jim Doyle.
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Isn't Ziller the communication director for the St. Croix Republican Party? He read this meeting notice in the local paper, but he didn't attend the meeting. Have you noticed that the Republican's seldom put public notices in the local papers for the Republican meetings. What are they trying to hide?
The two people mentioned above did talk at the meeting. I'm not sure what Ziller finds so wrong with taxpaying, US citizens getting an overview of our state's education system. That's right, the OTBL'ers don't actually talked to anyone involved in the education process. They mainly just anonymously toss elephant droppings at anyone who shows a concern for the public education system.
At the November Democrat meeting, a St. Croix County board member talked about planning and growth in the county and two others talked about land stewardship. I suppose there's not need to be concerned about these issues either. Afterall, there's been a house for sale for two years across the street from an anonymous OTBL blog and this means the growth is St. Croix county has stopped. Likewise, there's probably no need to care about the land because Rush Limbaugh said there is no globle warming and we have more trees today than ever.
It's good to know Ziller and company are keeping the world safe for his grand kids by keeping the pressure on to pass the "guns, gays and God" wedge issues they so highly praised. Maybe the Republicans should spend more time "doing" than "showing." Do the names Jack Abramoff or Michael Scanlon ring a cash register bell?
Did you hear about the Baptist minister who thinks homosexuals can become heterosexuals? He has been charged with offering to engage in oral sex with an undercover male police officer. Police said the Rev. Lonnie Latham was arrested Jan. 3 in Oklahoma City. He was released the next day on bail. Latham said he was set up in an area where he was "pastoring to police." His lawyer said Latham will plead not guilty. I believe Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Baker were also innocent...until proven guilty.
Keep ministering to us with your Republican propaganda BobZ. It's starting to ring hollow...
Fortunately, you have your OTBL lap dogs to sniff out your tales. Here's what spiritofpublicus had to say (it must have been really hard for him not to play the commie card):
Bob, this why the whole government education system is broken. As the name implies, it has long ceased being about the education of children. The system is about the ability to control power and the redistribution of wealth to members of a political organization. It is obvious spending more money for what ever reason, including new buildings, will do nothing to improve the education of our children. In the end, the system needs to be scrapped in favor of one which does not involve political gamesmanship; only by giving parents free economic choice will such a political-free system be attained.
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I thought parents have free economic choice in education. They can use the public schools or pay for private schools out of their own pockets.
Give US a Break John:
"I have come to believe that markets are magical and the best protectors of the consumer," he once declared. "It is my job to explain the beauties of the free market" (Oregonian, 10/26/94).
In reality it's more like voodoo.
The following is from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
"Stossel once reported (11/12/99) that "98 percent [of Catholic school students] graduate, vs. 49 percent for the public schools." Actually, according to data from the Department of Education, no state reports a public high school graduation rate as low as Stossel's figure--in 1995-96, the last data available when Stossel made his claim, the rates ranged from 53.2 in the District of Columbia to 89.9 in Vermont (Postsecondary Education Opportunity, 9/99)."
"While there is a long and honorable tradition of U.S. journalists with definite points of view who hoped that their reporting would have a political impact--from Thomas Paine to Ida Tarbell to I.F. Stone--what distinguishes Stossel is his willingness to warp reality to fit his ideological preconceptions. His reports, notable for their one-sided sourcing and rejection of inconvenient facts, are frequently marred assertions from Stossel and his favored guests that are misleading or factually incorrect.
Stossel's errors are often so obvious that one wonders how they could have ended up on the air. In a 20/20 report on medical research (10/11/99), Stossel complained that too much funding was going to AIDS research, claiming that spending on the disease was "25 times more than on Parkinson's, which kills more people."
In fact, AIDS killed more than 16,000 people in the United States in 1999--down from 43,000 in 1995. Parkinson's, which is not itself generally fatal but contributes to other illnesses, has a mortality rate of 2 per 100,000 to less than 1 per 100,000, depending on the demographic group (BC Medical Journal, 4/01)--which works out to a death toll in the United States of less than 4,000 per year."
His report on education is no different, the only "facts" are the ones that support his propaganda.
On the John Stossel ABC 20/20 blog iledu adds a few facts that John neglected to include.
"Other countries stack the deck by just having their highest academic achievers take the tests, whereas the United States has a mixed bag of low, middle and high academic achievers take the tests. In other words, Mr. Stossel is making an apples-and-oranges comparison by not explaining why the raw test scores for the United States are lower than other countries' scores. If the United States only had its highest achieving academic students taking these tests like other countries do, then the United States' test score numbers would show up at or very near the top consistently.
Perhaps Mr. Stossel will do the right thing by explaining this in a future report. It's something that the mainstream media in the United States don't often like to mention. That's because shaping facts into "bad" news by not telling the whole story results in higher radio/TV ratings, advertising revenue and newspaper/magazine sales."
One of the countries whos math scores are highest is Finland. You'd think that the most successful country in teaching math and science just might have a "Free Market" educational
system if you believe in Stosselism or Danielsonism. But here's a discription of the how Finlands schools are funded from the source EDU.FI
"Instruction is usually free of charge at all levels of education. Basic education is completely free of charge for the pupils, but with higher levels of education, students may have to pay for study materials, meals and transport.
Students receive financial aid for full-time post-basic studies lasting at least two months. Student financial aid is payable for studies at upper secondary schools, folk high schools, vocational institutions, polytechnics or universities through to doctorate level. Financial aid is also available for study abroad. The ordinary student financial aid comprises a study grant, a housing supplement and a government-guaranteed student loan. In addition, there is an adult study grant for mature students, which is determined on different criteria."
Sounds like a place where the "Government schools really work, eh"
Give US a break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In 1960, the top 20 percent of the wealthiest enjoyed 30 times the wealth of the bottom 20 percent. Four decades later, this gap increased to 75 times.
More children are growing up poor in America than in any other industrial nation. Millions of workers are making less money in real dollars than they did 20 years ago.
Working Americans are working on average more hours than ever before.
Forty-five million Americans -- eight of 10 of whom have jobs -- have no health insurance.
Overall, 37 million Americans live in poverty, and poverty levels are now on an uptick since a record low in 1973.
Read more from the Boston Globe
"We do not boycott to put anyone out of business. We are boycotting to put justice into business."
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
