MaxRedline

Leave It To The Educators?

That's the title of a well-intentioned but poorly thought-out article in American Thinker.  The author notes correctly that

About thirty years ago, it became fashionable to think that everyone who had an opinion about education should weigh in on the appropriate way to teach children. A thriving cottage industry grew up in our colleges and universities, an industry that ever since has been churning out doctors of education whose graduate theses elaborate experimental ideas about the best way to give children a proper education. Armed with their freshly minted credentials, this class of modern day education wizards has been stunningly successful at infiltrating its ideas into the educational fabric of our society.

but thereafter, the train of thought derails.  He fails to understand that this is precisely why education cannot be safely left to the "educators", as far too many produced in the past 30 years are more into vegetation than education.  This is why many posts here are tagged under "growing vegetables". Education in the Western world has become largely a joke.  In the USA, that's due primarily to the NEA and affiliate organizations working in concert with the "modern day education wizards" to effectively undermine the entire process of education.

In the U.K., at least, the union goes by a more appropriate moniker: the National Union of Teachers (NUT).  And the NUTs are presently all worked up, over there: 

As the rest of Britain fights for its financial life, teachers demand a four-day week AND 10% pay rise.  It also wants a 35-hour limit on the working week.

35 hours a week, every holiday imaginable off, summers off, and a 10% pay increase.  Right.  Got it.

Well, you know, It's All About The Kids.

 

We're From The Government. We're Here To Help.

Those are among the scariest words on the planet.  Pity the flood victims in snowy Fargo - Obama says he's going to help.

It's worth taking a moment to consider the many ways in which government helps.  Two that come to mind:

In California, government has backed away from its plan to outlaw dark-colored vehicles in the face of furious opposition.  As you may recall, the idea was to mandate sale of only light-colored vehicles as a means of fighting Climate Change - the government's view was that light-colored cars are more reflective, and so vehicle air conditioners wouldn't need to be run as often.

Fear not, however - the California Energy Commission (CEC) proposes now to ban televisions.  Wait.  What?

Yes, believe it or not, that's what they want to do, and it's for your own good.  Why?

Well, it seems that a honking 48-inch plasma screen, that bright symbol of the bygone days of conspicuous consumption and purveyor of drooling vacuity, uses too much electricity, and electricity production makes too much greenhouse gas emissions (at least in America, where half of our electricity comes from coal - in France, a plasma screen would emit nary a CO2 molecule as the TVs there are nuclear powered). 

Accordingly, the CEC proposes to ban some 200 models of televisions.

Greens grumble that old-TVs (many of which are still in service - when I was a kid, we had one black and white TV in the apartment - how quaint) only produce 220 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year.  Larger plasma screens produce 880 pounds though.  Hence, they must be banned.  Unsaid is the fact that, if anything decent were being produced for television, emissions would skyrocket.  On this basis NBC should make out like a bandit with a carbon cap-and-trade program since their sole show in the prime-time top-20 Nielsen ratings is rated an energy-saving #20, translating weak viewership into an Earth-friendly virtue, and a few million tons of valuable carbon credits.  

Of course, televisions, like most electronics and other appliances, have become increasingly energy-efficient over the years; a process that has been driven not by government, but by the market and its associated innovations.  Circuit boards are much more efficient than vacuum tubes, and boast increased reliability and longevity, as well.  Government, of course, doesn't like the free market.  This is entirely understandable, because if the markets are allowed the freedom to operate on their own, then government bureaucrats would have nothing to do.  And that's a situation that is simply intolerable.

Meanwhile, over in Cape Coral, Florida:

CAPE CORAL, Fla. - A tea party to protest government spending and taxing is canceled. Canceled by the government.

Why? They feel too many people could show-up.

Apparently, if more than 500 people show up for such an event, it could be a problem.  Besides, having a whole pile of folks attending a tax revolt would likely indicate that increasing numbers of people are fed up with big government, and this could exert a negative effect upon the funding for any number of government agencies.  Obviously, this would be a huge problem for government, so it's in the best interest for everybody if the event is simply cancelled.

As noted on the Rasmussen Reports website:

While it is quite common to think of the political debate in America as one between Left and Right or between Democrats and Republicans, our polling has found a sharper distinction beyond these traditional labels - the Political Class versus Mainstream America.

Free Horse Manure

Man, every time you visit Craigslist there's another ad:  FREE HORSE MANURE (Washington County).  Any county, actually.  Who would want to go and haul the stuff away?

It's not as though it isn't being dumped on you every day; at this point, you probably shower after every newscast.

Dems Pay Homage To Their Overlords

Don't forget - Teddy's just a figurehead; he's no more governor of Oregon than is your dog.  Two union thugs are in charge.  They're the ones actually calling the shots in Salem, and lest you disbelieve, just keep in mind that they hate the whole concept of charter schools.  That's largely because charter schools are under no obligation to hire union members.

Going for the low-hanging fruit for now, Democrats are following their union orders.  Senate bills could virtually halt online charter schools

If that effort proves successful, you can bet they'll be going after others sooner than later.  Never mind that kids in these schools are in many cases performing above grade level.

Look, you schmuck!  This ain't an election year, okay?  There ain't no bond measure on the ballot - if there was one, why we'd be all conciliatory because It's All About The Kids™.  No measure, no mercy.  It's really all about the cash.  Get over it.

Portland Hits The Big Time

The New York Times has a story about the city, and one might expect Randy and Sammy to be right out there, taking credit.  In this case, it's a crickets event.

But in recent months, Portland has devolved into a symbol of much that is wrong.

With an unemployment rate that's more than doubled in the past year, it's easy to see why folks back at the NYT might write something like that.  But they're missing the big picture:  thanks to the continuing efforts of Portland's pervert-in-chief and the rest of the City Council, the city remains a shining beacon to the "creative class".  It's a city of visionaries.  Sure, Michael Powell (pictured in the story with his lovely daughter) may not be going ahead with that ambitious multi-million-dollar expansion to his City of Books, but he's firmly on board when it comes to the civic side of things.

There are "couplets" to build, and streetcars.  You can't keep attracting that coveted, high-rolling "creative class" without spending a whole lot of other peoples' money.  And just look at how the PHART has revitalized the "South Waterfront" district!  Soon, we'll have a brand-spankin' new bridge down there as well, for bicyclists, buses, pedestrians, and of course Light Rail.  That'll add even more vibrance to the area.

Nearby Milwaukie will get a dose of vibrance, as well, as the billion-dollar seven-mile light rail "extension" brings reliable crime and gang-banging service to their downtown corridor.  The New York Times just has it all wrong.

Randy Wants Control

Fireman Randy and the others on the Portland City Council could all do with a little control - especially the pedophilic liar presently known as the mayor.  Control is a good thing.  Of course, they don't want to exercise self-control; they just want control of others.

The latest on the Fireman's radar, having to all intents and purposes crammed another white elephant down the throats of residents in the form of "major league" soccer, is the iconic White Satin sign near the Burnside bridge.  Before the sugar company was run out of town, they erected the sign.  Subsequently, ownership passed to White Stag, a now-defunct sportswear company.  They're the folks who added the stag, whose nose turns red every Christmas season.  Then ownership passed to the legendary Bill Naito, who changed the sign's wording to reflect the name of his "Made In Oregon" company.

And that's where things stand today.  The actual owner of the sign is Ramsey Signs of Portland.  The University of Oregon is now renovating the White Stag building which serves as the sign's stage, and they have a lease-option on the sign.  They want to change the wording to read "University of Oregon".

That has the Fireman's knickers in a knot, and he's pushing to use eminent domain to condemn the sign so that the city will always control the wording on the sign.  In many ways, that's a scary thought.

Bipartisan Opposition

It turns out that, oddly enough, minor miracles do occur.  In Oregon, we're seeing that now:  first of all, the Oregon legislature is tackling something a bit more substantive than the crucial issues such as schoolyard bullying that have so preoccupied them to date.  And secondly, several of the bills under consideration at the moment have actual bipartisan support.

This is bad news for Oregon governor SEIU Ted Kulongoski, because what has triggered such legislative unity is opposition to state-mandated tainting of fuel supplies with ethanol.  Teddy's a big booster of biofool, but Democrats and Republicans alike are having second thoughts about the mandate.

On Thursday, the House environment and water committee held a first hearing on bills that would repeal the 10 percent mandate altogether, eliminate it for premium gasoline or kill tax breaks for biofuels made with food crops.

Other bills would provide tax credits for engine damage done by ethanol or require the state Department of Environmental Quality to study the merits and demerits of the fuel and report back by March 2011.

Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, co-sponsored the bill that would eliminate the ethanol blend requirements. She testified Thursday, saying the ethanol blend reduced the mileage in her hybrid Toyota from 42 mpg to 36 mpg.

"I hate ethanol," Walker told the committee. "We all voted for this thing (in 2007), and I'm not liking what's happened."

Of course, the main thrust here involves a pushback against ethanol, as opposed to biofools in general, but it's a good start.  There are generally far fewer complaints regarding biodiesel; it's the ethanol blend mandate that generates most of the identified problems, such as reduced mileage, poorer performance, and engine damage.

Moreover, the ethics of turning food into fuel has drawn heavy fire, as (among many environmeddlists, at least) has the hypocrisy of relying upon heavily fertilized - and heavily subsidized - corn.

Of course, Teddy and others claim that the ethanol mandate has been wonderful for Oregon.  They claim that it's generated jobs here, and has served as a linchpin for the evolving "green" economy.  Oregon now stands as a leader in sustainability, they argue, and removing the biofool mandate would sully our state's wonderful image.

Note that they don't get around to saying exactly how many jobs the mandate has generated.  As Oregon once again has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the nation, at over 10%, that argument rings hollow.  Also left unsaid is exactly how the state achieves "sustainability" even as it relies upon billions of federal tax dollars to subsidize choo-choos in Portland.

Best-Kept Secret

Member of Congress	Favorable	Unfavorable
Nancy Pelosi	34%	60%
Harry Reid	29%	45%
Mitch McConnell	29%	31%
John Boehner	28%	34%

In the mainstream media, there's been precious little note of the apparent tanking of their political favorites.  While majority and minority leaders in Congress now hold similar ratings in terms of voter favorability, the most recent Rasmussen numbers (shown above) indicate a dramatic shift in unfavorable views of the Democrat leaders.

One thing that seems certain, especially with regard to Pelosi, is that folks either love her or hate her; only 6% express ambivalence.  It's a good thing that she's from California, as she appears increasingly to be on shaky ground.

The popular Mexican song “La Cucaracha” was not, contrary to rumor, played at a March 2009 meeting of illegal immigrants where Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told them they were “patriotic” for breaking laws by being in this country. That meeting should not be referred to as “Nancy’s Mexican Lap Dance,” and her speech had nothing to do with pandering to illegals prior to granting them amnesty, hoping they would sign up as Democrats.

We Could Use This

Behold!  An endangered species: a politician with a spine.

The internet has changed politics - changed it utterly and forever. Twenty-four hours ago, I made a three-minute speech in the European Parliament, aimed at Gordon Brown. I tipped off the BBC and some of the newspaper correspondents but, unsurprisingly, they ignored me: I am, after all, simply a backbench MEP.

How did it happen, in the absence of any media coverage? The answer is that political reporters no longer get to decide what's news. The days when a minister gave briefings to a dozen lobby correspondents, and thereby dictated the next day's headlines, are over. Now, a thousand bloggers decide for themselves what is interesting. If enough of them are tickled then, bingo, you're news.

Earth Hour

Don't forget to shut off all power for an hour on this critically important day.  It'll help to show that you care about Saving The Planet!  And that's really special.

Know anything about power grids, by chance?

Ah.  Didn't think so.

When a lot of folks power off to Save The Planet - or for whatever reason - suppliers respond by winding down their most expensive energy sources.  This makes perfect sense, economically speaking.  What this means is that they take wind systems offline, they take gas systems offline, and reduce output from hydro systems.

The least expensive systems - coal-fired generators - are left at full capacity.  In some areas, nuclear output may be reduced as well, but of course, this is not an issue in "Green" Oregon.  Here, "nuclear" is a dirty word.

So when you power off during "Earth Hour", the coal plants keep chugging on - and that power is where the juice for your fridge and freezer and heating systems is coming from.  Irony, thy name is Global Warming.