Thursday, December 23, 2010
On the Eve of the Eve
There are so many things that could be written about today. Oprah believes in the intelligence of the American Public. HuffingtonPost.com Reality TV might be taking over scripted dramas. CNN.com or any other number of odd stories today. But for this daily blog, I just have one thing to say! Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Teach Your Children Well
Or not. The AP reports today "23 percent of recent high school graduates don't get the minimum score needed on the enlistment test to join any branch of the military." That means that the education system is turning out people who can't "answer basic math, science and reading questions."
And their social studies skills are in danger too. "A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade." HuffingtonPost.com
And what type of "conservative ideals" are they injecting? Well, taking Thomas Jefferson OUT of the world history standards; No church-state separation; describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic," rather than "democratic"; won't require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others”; 'the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s - but not anything about liberals.
There are a few more, like no hip hop, so sex/gender differentiation, and no Edward Kennedy. Yet some Democrats were able to keep out the part that said the civil rights movement led to "unrealistic expectations for equal outcomes."
Sad part about this is that since Texas is the biggest, the standards that the school board adopts gets printed in all the text books throughout the states. So, teach your children the good ol' Texas way. Not the right way.
And their social studies skills are in danger too. "A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade." HuffingtonPost.com
And what type of "conservative ideals" are they injecting? Well, taking Thomas Jefferson OUT of the world history standards; No church-state separation; describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic," rather than "democratic"; won't require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others”; 'the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s - but not anything about liberals.
There are a few more, like no hip hop, so sex/gender differentiation, and no Edward Kennedy. Yet some Democrats were able to keep out the part that said the civil rights movement led to "unrealistic expectations for equal outcomes."
Sad part about this is that since Texas is the biggest, the standards that the school board adopts gets printed in all the text books throughout the states. So, teach your children the good ol' Texas way. Not the right way.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Amazing what you can learn on TV
Last week, the Daily KC reported on a University of Maryland study that proved that Faux News viewers were the most uninformed. The demographics for Faux News is primarily Republican, since Faux News is spewing the GOP platforms as "news". There were some blatant, out-and-out lies that Faux News was "reporting" to the viewers.
In light of poll results released today, one would wonder if Faux News has ever reported on Creationism vs. Evolution. Well, obviously they have. A quick Google search of "fox news creationism" returned "About 203,000 results (0.26 seconds)". So that might explain the poll results.
"A new Gallup poll, released Dec. 17, reveals that 40 percent of Americans still believe that humans were created by God within the last 10,000 years." And of those who responded, 52% of the Republicans believe in creationism. HuffingtonPost.com
The Wikipedia entry on "Creation–evolution controversy" states that "Within the scientific community and academia the level of support for evolution is essentially universal." Wikipedia.org
Hmmm, maybe that 52% hasn't evolved much?
In light of poll results released today, one would wonder if Faux News has ever reported on Creationism vs. Evolution. Well, obviously they have. A quick Google search of "fox news creationism" returned "About 203,000 results (0.26 seconds)". So that might explain the poll results.
"A new Gallup poll, released Dec. 17, reveals that 40 percent of Americans still believe that humans were created by God within the last 10,000 years." And of those who responded, 52% of the Republicans believe in creationism. HuffingtonPost.com
The Wikipedia entry on "Creation–evolution controversy" states that "Within the scientific community and academia the level of support for evolution is essentially universal." Wikipedia.org
Hmmm, maybe that 52% hasn't evolved much?
Friday, December 17, 2010
How does that make you feel?
CNN Breaking News: President Obama signs $858 billion measure that extends tax cuts for two years. It probably makes the wealthiest Americans feel very, very happy. Folks like Bill Gates, who is Forbes number one billionaire with $54B, are gushing with excitement.
But maybe Bill and the others won't show too much emotion. A study in Psychological Science finds "affluent people -- in terms of income, social status and education -- have trouble detecting others' emotions." The co-author Michael Kraus says, "They show a deficit in empathic accuracy." So, they may not be dancing in the streets. HuffingtonPost.com
One would think that perhaps Forbes #97, George Lucas at $3.25B, would be able to show emotions. Come on, he invented Yoda. Now the rest of America, not able to make it to Forbes list, will show emotions -- but probably not happy ones. "U.S. income inequality will exceed the records set in the months preceding the crash of 1929 and the financial crisis of 2007."
DailyFinance
Guessing that the Politicians who caused this should be happy too. Wait, they are affluent people, too. Nevermind
But maybe Bill and the others won't show too much emotion. A study in Psychological Science finds "affluent people -- in terms of income, social status and education -- have trouble detecting others' emotions." The co-author Michael Kraus says, "They show a deficit in empathic accuracy." So, they may not be dancing in the streets. HuffingtonPost.com
One would think that perhaps Forbes #97, George Lucas at $3.25B, would be able to show emotions. Come on, he invented Yoda. Now the rest of America, not able to make it to Forbes list, will show emotions -- but probably not happy ones. "U.S. income inequality will exceed the records set in the months preceding the crash of 1929 and the financial crisis of 2007."
DailyFinance
Guessing that the Politicians who caused this should be happy too. Wait, they are affluent people, too. Nevermind
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Not sure if it is all that accurate
FoxNews.com put out poll results today that says only 29% think President Obama would win re-election, while 64% said they expected him to lose. That is not too suprising. These would be FAUX News viewers. FAUX News likes to slant the news to meet their objectives (read - email instructing news staff to avoid the term "public option," and call it "government-run health insurance" or something about climate control).
So, it is not surprising that after displaying their Republican bias, FAUX News would be able to sway their viewers to believe that Obama has no chance. Now, a NBC/WSJ poll found that 42% to 39% think Obama would beat a generic Republican candidate. PoliticalWire.com
Is Huckabee generic enough? What does he look like in a black and white plastic bag?
So, it is not surprising that after displaying their Republican bias, FAUX News would be able to sway their viewers to believe that Obama has no chance. Now, a NBC/WSJ poll found that 42% to 39% think Obama would beat a generic Republican candidate. PoliticalWire.com
Is Huckabee generic enough? What does he look like in a black and white plastic bag?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Out of (Parental) Control
A completely ridiculous story today from NPR.org: "Consumer Group Sues McDonald's Over Happy Meal Toys." Yep, that's right. "The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a lawsuit today against McDonald's in state court in California to stop the company from advertising toys with Happy Meals." NPR.org
"Marketing to kids is an end-run around parental control," says Stephen Gardner, CSPI's director of litigation. But wait?? What about that "parental control"? How many children under the age of 8 are actually able to buy a Happy Meal? Plaintiff Monet Parham, a 41-year-old mother of two from Sacramento, is just "fed up with the pestering". So it is really worth all the time and money spent on a lawsuit so that this mom just doesn't have to say no?
Ms. Parham has other options. Don't let the kids watch television, and definitely don't hit the drive thru.
"Marketing to kids is an end-run around parental control," says Stephen Gardner, CSPI's director of litigation. But wait?? What about that "parental control"? How many children under the age of 8 are actually able to buy a Happy Meal? Plaintiff Monet Parham, a 41-year-old mother of two from Sacramento, is just "fed up with the pestering". So it is really worth all the time and money spent on a lawsuit so that this mom just doesn't have to say no?
Ms. Parham has other options. Don't let the kids watch television, and definitely don't hit the drive thru.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
It Really is Faux-ed Up
It is amazing that 2,024,000 people watched Fox News on Friday December 10, 2010. 42% of those viewers were ages 35-64 and 23% were 25-54. (TVByTheNumbers.com) All of these viewers are over 18, which makes them eligible to vote. But, sadly, if they are watching Faux News, they are being lied to about what is going on in the world.
The DailyKos.com reports today "World Public Opinion, a project managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, conducted a survey of American voters that shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources." That's right, Faux News makes you stupid. (DailyKos.com)
So, although Faux News tells us that the stimulus lost jobs or health reform will increase the deficit or Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout and wasn't born in the US, it just ain't so. Faux News is "deliberately misinforming their viewers" because of the Republican Party's vested interest in these topics.
Fair and Balanced? Nope... Dumb and Dumber
The DailyKos.com reports today "World Public Opinion, a project managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, conducted a survey of American voters that shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources." That's right, Faux News makes you stupid. (DailyKos.com)
So, although Faux News tells us that the stimulus lost jobs or health reform will increase the deficit or Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout and wasn't born in the US, it just ain't so. Faux News is "deliberately misinforming their viewers" because of the Republican Party's vested interest in these topics.
Fair and Balanced? Nope... Dumb and Dumber
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