In theory, charter schools could work and “disrupt” the system and goad public schools into doing better and everyone wins. In practice, they take resources away from fully public schools and waste that money, then management runs away and the whole movement is basically a con job. We know what works in education. Alright so the US is notContinue reading “Not All Charters! A Solution to a Problem that Itself is a Problem that Doesn’t Solve the Original Problem”
Author Archives: dsfjr
More Food; Canada
I’ve been babbling for years about making pesto. For some reason tonight was the night. Here’s Steve’s Artisanal Reduced Carbon Footprint Spinach Pesto: two cups finely chopped spinach 1/4 cup finely chopped almonds 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped (though I’d heed my wife’s advice and use half that amount next time!) X amount grated parmesanContinue reading “More Food; Canada”
Morning Coffee in China Links
Working for an English training school in China means teaching on Saturday and Sunday, so my weekend is actually Wednesday and Thursday. It’s a gorgeous day here, as you can see, but I’ve come down with a cold. Better take it easy and catch up on my internets. Like Josh Marshall, I really like ViceContinue reading “Morning Coffee in China Links”
Morning Coffee in China Links
Here are some of the things I’ve read this morning before I go into work: Judd Legum does Republicans a solid and conducts a preliminary investigation into who was the president on 9/11/2001. Mike Huckabee, a non-trivial Republican presidential candidate, muses about forcing nonviolent criminals into indentured service. Yes, it’s a REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OPENLY TALKING ABOUT THEContinue reading “Morning Coffee in China Links”
The House Leadership Crisis, Explained
Republicans in national politics all basically agree on the same agenda: keep taxes as low as possible, raise the eligibility ages for Medicare and Social Security and decrease their benefits, destroy Obamacare, gut the Environmental Protection Agency, force all women to bring their pregnancies to term regardless of circumstances, allow fundamentalist Christians to impose their beliefs on others, roundContinue reading “The House Leadership Crisis, Explained”
Weekend Links
I’ve been back from vacation a week and a half and am only now re-establishing my routine. I’m teaching all weekend so longer posts will have to wait. In the meantime here are some links that show what I’ve been thinking and reading about recently. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo wrote a series of posts about theContinue reading “Weekend Links”
Back From Vacation (or, Angkor Wat Is Awesome)
This latest break from blogging was due to a trip my wife and I took to see the Angkor temple complexes in Siem Reap, Cambodia. October 1st is China’s National Day and many workers, including me, got a week off starting that date. I’d been to Cambodia once, back in 2006, but since we’re planning toContinue reading “Back From Vacation (or, Angkor Wat Is Awesome)”
How Not to Govern in America, A Continuing Series
The most recent Republican push to shut down the government is about Planned Parenthood, the reproductive health and family planning provider that was recently the victim of sting videos purporting to show that Planned Parenthood illegally sells fetal tissue for profit. Planned Parenthood has consistently denied this, and the groups and lawmakers going after PlannedContinue reading “How Not to Govern in America, A Continuing Series”
How Not to Govern in America
John Boehner’s decision to resign as Speaker later next month can help explain why the Republican Party in its current state is incapable of governing. As Jonathan Chait points out, Boehner resigned/was ousted because of extremely unrealistic expectations that he would, or could, force Obama to cave to conservative demands. The story here is quite simple.Continue reading “How Not to Govern in America”
Boehner’s Out and the Crazy Is In
Wow, this is a big deal. Republican U.S. Representative from the 8th district of Ohio and Speaker of the House since 2011 John Boehner will resign from Congress in late October. The man was one of the most useless Speakers in history and will not be missed. He presided over a Republican majority that repeatedly caused theContinue reading “Boehner’s Out and the Crazy Is In”
Nonsense Consensus 