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In the 6.13 Newsweek, Anna Quindlen draws down on a subject near and dear to my heart – the replacement of education with “assessment.” On the whole, she’s “enraged by the process, and by the forced march that seems to have replaced creative thought, critical thinking and joyful learning for so many kids.” Yup. Testing isn’t teaching. Passing scores aren’t

sunfell comments on Christian gaywashing camps, noting that the “anything but queer” message is actually a pretty sinister one. Jeez, I thought high school was hard, but I guess it was a picnic compared to what a gay kid with militant faux-Christian parents has to face, huh?

Hunh. This is interesting.

ultimate_seeker was poking at some of what I said on the “What is a moderate?” post (post + comments here). I thought I’d pull my most recent comments up to the top here, as they raise an interesting question about the relationship between critical thought and Grant’s definition of a moderate. ____________________ I’ve always felt like genuine critical thinking drags

Of potential interest – Jack Grant of Random Fate and The Moderate Voice has recently taken on the task of defining “moderate.” His initial take contrasts moderates with ideologues, explaining that moderates are people with “deeply held principles” who are “willing to listen to those advocating other beliefs and principles and weigh them against his own beliefs and principles.” Key

drdenny has a fantastic take on why CNN is in such trouble these days. Read it here. Denny is so right. Somewhere along the line journalists slipped into thinking that news is something that happens and then you go cover it. Of course, news is happening all the time. As long as there are politicians and wealthy business interests, news

I still say Bush is dumber than straw, but all of a sudden I respect Kerry a whole lot less. Kerry, Bush score similar grades at Yale By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON — Sen. John F. Kerry’s academic performance at Yale University was virtually identical to President George W. Bush’s academic record, despite repeated portrayals of Kerry as being more

Paul Anka has done an album of swing covers of rock hits. Words can’t do this justice.

Bush Aide Softened Greenhouse Gas Links to Global Warming By ANDREW C. REVKIN Published: June 8, 2005 A White House official who once led the oil industry’s fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents. Let me make sure I

HIST 376: Ancient American Political and Social History State University of New York – Mars Campus Professor X60062 Johnson Case Brief: “Hypocrisy” and the American Political Context June 7, 2205 Scholars examining America circa 2000 occasionally look back with some curiosity at the antiquated concept of “hypocrisy,” which dictionaries of the day defined thusly: noun. Inflected Form(s): plural -sies Etymology:

Originally posted last September – but it seems appropriate to repost in light of yesterday’s rant…. _____________________________ Covenant Our legions are marching on theCity of Rain, our bleedingbare feet, bone against concrete,tearing ruts in the King’s highway.

[Warning: this one is going to ramble a bit.] It’s good to be da king! — Louis XVI, as channeled by Mel Brooks All other things being equal, ’tis better to have than to have not. — Sam Smith, circa 1990 Have I noted in the past that the gap between the haves and the, ummm, have-lesses, seems to be

Say hi to cwmackowski. We need as many skeptics as we can get.

drdenny has some useful analysis on the recent decision by the two Detroit dailies to sell their front page to Marshall Field’s. And he’s more than right. The viability of the paper as an ad medium is precisely equal to its ability to attract readers. And readers are attracted by meaningful content. Publishers need to remember that most consumers buy