All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Mister Mets]

Makes you wonder what might have been had Hillary gone that route instead of seeking the presidency.

Interesting question.

I think she would have comfortably won the 2006 gubernatorial election (Spitzer and Cuomo would likely be failed Senators.)

Even then, she would likely see being Governor as a stepping stone for the White House (This isn't unusual; I'm sure Ron DeSantis, Gavin Newsom and Greg Abbott see themselves as plausible Presidents.) Being the first female President would also be a bigger deal than being the first female Governor of New York.

When she was looking at the political landscape in 2005, she probably saw weak competition for President. Obama was a first-year Senator. John Edwards had known character flaws. Gore and Kerry were General Election losers lacking important constituencies. So it would make a lot more sense to run for the presidential nomination as the frontrunner than to run for Governor as a frontrunner.

I think Apple still donates to a lot of schools. "Free" is a price most schools can afford.

This is not the case in most places.

The DOE gets discounts, but not major discounts.

https://nypost.com/2020/04/25/nyc-sp...irus-lockdown/

The city Department of Education has paid $897 each for 300,000 iPads, plus various services to get them running, for students learning from home during the COVID-19 shutdown, officials said.

The DOE claimed it scored discounts, paying Apple $429 apiece for an iPad model — 7th generation with 32 gigabytes — which retails for $459, and $49.95 for cases that retail for $69.95. That came to $478.95 for each iPad and case.

The educrats plunked down another $478 for each device to pay various companies, including IBM and T-Mobile, to equip the devices, the department acknowledged.

The total cost: $269,187,271, the DOE said. The department will seek federal reimbursement, it added.

At a bulk purchase of 300,000 Ipads, the New York DOE was not able to get even a ten percent discount.

[InformationGeek]

Looks like the infrastructure bill passed I guess? It may explain why Hice is salty.

How in the world did that $1.2 trillion bill pass in the Senate 69 to 30?

Two words. RINO Republicans!!!

[skyvolt2000]

"We could either spend the money to teach them what they need to know, or just send them out there unprepared. Which is cheaper?"

Is there an education specialist here? Because I can't think of any two topics more important in high school education than math and English.

Yes ME- 20+ years.

Yes math and English are important. Those tests don't tell you everything. And just offer an opening for whatever crook with a program to "HELP" the poor children of color. MAINLY BLACK ones.

Those test show you the RESULT-but NOT how we got there. It does not tell you how many kids in AP classes did NOT have a certified teacher. Instead they had a full time SUB or WORST a Teacher Assistant with a certified teacher signing off on grades.

Those tests don't show you what was NOT covered in a classroom. Yes teachers have a curriculum-not all of them can get to it. Why? Because state testing takes over a school from April to the end of the school year in most states.

I would say for the last 10-11 weeks you might get 5 weeks of instruction. That is important for a reason I will talk about later.

Here is the Texas STARR test for US History-a test taken by 11th graders. This is a test needed to graduate.
https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/...est_tagged.pdf

First question is about Nancy Reagan. No high school textbook is going to talk about her before this test is given in the Spring. At MOST a middle book would.
It's pretty much more stuff you should have LEARNED before you got to the 11th grade.
Question 29-that was NEVER taught in school. I can guess the answer but exodusters? Never heard of them.

Now lets look at the student-kids of color (mainly black) are in school districts that are migrate districts. Meaning kids move around too much. Which is an ISSUE.

See (at least in Texas) the state does a full count of kids in the last Friday in October. That determines how much funding a school/school district gets. Why is this important? Because that determines how much STAFF you keep. Too few kids-you lose staff and you get NO SAY in who you lose.

Next you have kids that move around so much they are NOT in a class long enough to be taught.
What I cover at MY school may not be what YOUR school is covering.
So when testing arrives-you either got a kid behind or on pace or ahead.


All the computers and crap mean NOTHING if you don't handle issues that state testing does not deal with.

The first thing I would look at is what certifications do the teachers have in those courses. Some of those math & English require teachers in those fields.

Next is why are kids moving around so much?

[skyvolt2000]

https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-...p-Reports.aspx

I decided to look at Oregon's test scores. 2018-19 that is.

At first I agreed with what she had done but after looking at the available data. She is FLAT OUT wrong.

I am assuming Number 1 is the lowest score you get on those tests.

How does every other race and Non-Binary kids DOMINATE the black kids except in Number 1? Even the Homeless ones did better.

Something else is going on-scores for black kids got worst until 7th grade where they improve and then got worst in the 8th grade.

Something caused that-teacher retiring or something outside of the schools.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Looks like the infrastructure bill passed I guess? It may explain why Hice is salty.

Compared to the king's ransom on steroids flushed down the toilet on those campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, $1.2 trillion is chump change. But, I suppose those "RINO Republicans" were fine with that. Hice can take a long walk on a short pier with a barbell in his hands.

[ed2962]

Just got an alert that Governor Andrew Cuomo just resigned. Can't say I'm surprised, when his party, including the president came out against him, he really had no choice but to fall on his sword and call it a career.

I'm really curious as to the phone calls Cuomo must have been getting from the higher ups in the DNC until last night.

[kidfresh512]

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan signs arrest warrants for absent Democrats in bid to end chamber’s weekslong stalemate

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Tuesday evening signed civil arrest warrants for 52 House Democrats still missing from the state Capitol as he aimed to regain the quorum needed for the chamber to begin moving legislation during the second special session.

The move was confirmed by Phelan spokesperson Enrique Marquez, who said the warrants "will be delivered to the House Sergeant-at-Arms tomorrow morning for service."

The warrants were first reported by The Dallas Morning News. Democrats who may be arrested would not face criminal charges or fines and could only be brought to the House chamber. Dozens of minority party members fled to Washington, D.C. during the first special session to block a GOP voting restrictions bill.

They have made a stand and made the nation take notice that they are willing to fight voter disenfranchisement any way possible. They did the right thing imploring DC and the federal government for the past few weeks to do something Federally.

Sadly one way or another this Texas bill was going to pass. They couldn't just drop their lives and live in DC forever. The GOP is relentless in their efforts to make minority votes as difficult as possible. With all the other issues Texas has at the moment that that is the NUMBER 1 speaks volumes

[4saken1]

Looks like the infrastructure bill passed I guess? It may explain why Hice is salty.

How in the world did that $1.2 trillion bill pass in the Senate 69 to 30?

Two words. RINO Republicans!!!

More likely they are starting to see that following the same hard line fringe right stance will not be serving them well politically with their rapidly shrinking COVID laden constituency.

[JackDaw]

Of course, Virginia Giuffre’s pending civil case against Prince Andrew is big news in UK.

Obviously, I hope the Prince co-operates in court process.

But a few cynical thoughts occurred to me on seeing usual “no one is above the law” guff from Viginia’s lawyers.

One of those thoughts was “Roman Polanski”. He drove a coach and horses though US law and it doesn’t seem to have done him much harm...stay making films, still getting immense critical praise, still with influential friends that support him.

[worstblogever]

In the interests of not amplifying a twit's message, I will not say why Marjorie Taylor Greene got a one week ban from Twitter, or link to any article about it.

I will, however, note that it is her fourth time being banned from Twitter, and her next one will be her last.

That's probably four more chances than she deserves.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan signs arrest warrants for absent Democrats in bid to end chamber’s weekslong stalemate



They have made a stand and made the nation take notice that they are willing to fight voter disenfranchisement any way possible. They did the right thing imploring DC and the federal government for the past few weeks to do something Federally.

Sadly one way or another this Texas bill was going to pass. They couldn't just drop their lives and live in DC forever. The GOP is relentless in their efforts to make minority votes as difficult as possible. With all the other issues Texas has at the moment that that is the NUMBER 1 speaks volumes

The delta strain of COVID is on the rampage down there, and god only knows if the state's electrical grid will hold up under a blistering hot summer after it went down over the winter. But all Texas Qpublicans care about is getting their voter restriction bills passed. Yeah, their priorities sure are in place.

[JackDaw]

In the interests of not amplifying a twit's message, I will not say why Marjorie Taylor Greene got a one week ban from Twitter, or link to any article about it.

I will, however, note that it is her fourth time being banned from Twitter, and her next one will be her last.

That's probably four more chances than she deserves.

Seems like an easy going regime over on Twitter.

Years ago I got banned from Facebook. Not for anything I said..but because some unknown other user for some reason reported to Facebook “he’s not the person he claims to be”.

Really never found out what it was about...Facebook weren’t willing to provide any details. Their stance was “supply passport details if you want to be restated”. No chance!

[Gray Lensman]

In the interests of not amplifying a twit's message, I will not say why Marjorie Taylor Greene got a one week ban from Twitter, or link to any article about it.

I will, however, note that it is her fourth time being banned from Twitter, and her next one will be her last.

That's probably four more chances than she deserves.

Rand Paul got a week off from Twitter too.

[worstblogever]

Rand Paul got a week off from Twitter too.

Somewhere, Dr. Fauci is grinning.

[Tami]

Chinese state media has seized on a Swiss scientist critical of a covid origins probe. The one problem: He might not exist.

Under the name Wilson Edwards, a Facebook user on July 24 penned a post critical of the U.S. position on the World Health Organization’s investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus. Claiming to be a Swiss biologist, Edwards argued that the probe had been politicized. The Biden administration had “spared no efforts in rebuilding U.S. influence in the organization,” he wrote.

He was wading into hot water: China has rejected new efforts to learn more about how the coronavirus spread to humans, for which the United States and WHO have pushed. Few Western scientists have taken up Beijing’s cause.

It was the United States, not China, that was seeking to influence the investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, Wilson argued, citing sources at the WHO who he claimed had told him: “The U.S. is so obsessed with attacking China on the origin-tracing issue that it is reluctant to open its eyes to the data and findings.”

The post drew wide attention from Chinese state media, which used it to vindicate China’s stance on the investigation. CGTN, China’s state broadcaster, wrote that the post indicated “intimidation” on the part of a WHO advisory group tracing the origins of the coronavirus.

But on Tuesday, Swiss diplomats raised an inconvenient detail: Wilson Edwards does not actually appear to exist. Suggesting that the account was likely a source of “fake news,” the Swiss Embassy in Beijing asked Chinese media companies to take down their stories. CGTN and other outlets appear to have quietly complied.

The dispute over the supposed Swiss biologist and his prominence in Chinese state media came amid continuing disputes about the origin of the coronavirus and a renewed push for the WHO to investigate further. More than a year and a half since the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, before going on to kill millions around the world, the exact path it took remains unclear.