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Kenyan police nab 6 terror suspects in coastal town
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 6: Politix
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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Test meant to screen teachers instead weeded out minorities
[ABCNEWS.GO] New York education officials are poised to scrap a test designed to measure the reading and writing skills of people trying to become teachers, in part because an outsized percentage of black and Hispanic candidates were failing it.

The state Board of Regents on Monday is expected Monday to adopt a task force's recommendation of eliminating the literacy exam, known as the Academic Literacy Skills Test.

Backers of the test say eliminating it could put weak teachers in classrooms. Critics of the examination said it is redundant and a poor predictor of who will succeed as a teacher.

"We want high standards, without a doubt. Not every given test is going to get us there," said Leslie Soodak, a professor of education at Pace University who served on the task force that examined the state's teacher certification tests.

The literacy test was among four assessments introduced in the 2013-2014 school year as part of an effort to raise the level of elementary and secondary school teaching in the state.

Leaders of the education reform movement have complained for years about the caliber of students entering education schools and the quality of the instruction they receive there. A December 2016 study by the National Council on Teacher Quality found that 44 percent of the teacher preparation programs it surveyed accepted students from the bottom half of their high school classes.

The reformers believe tests like New York's Academic Literacy Skills Test can serve to weed out aspiring teachers who aren't strong students.

But the literacy test raised alarms from the beginning because just 46 percent of Hispanic test takers and 41 percent of black test takers passed it on the first try, compared with 64 percent of white candidates.

A federal judge ruled in 2015 that the test was not discriminatory, but faculty members at education schools say a test that screens out so many minorities is problematic.

"Having a white workforce really doesn't match our student body anymore," Soodak said.
Having an illiterate workforce does.
Posted by: Fred || 03/13/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We want high standards, without a doubt.

So we are going to lower or eliminates literacy standards for teachers...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/13/2017 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Literacy is a privilege of contemporary elites. Antiquity is filled with tribes who thrived without it. The science is settled.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/13/2017 3:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Illiterates don't read blogs = don't vote the wrong way.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/13/2017 3:47 Comments || Top||

#4  "Weeding out"... how very crass and awkward. Hasn't anyone read Darwin ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/13/2017 4:01 Comments || Top||

#5  Um, guys, the test isn't the problem. It's the low standards minorities have for themselves that's the problem. All you're doing is saying *YOU* don't expect any better of them, either.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/13/2017 7:18 Comments || Top||

#6  And the circle of poverty for the inner city continues...
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/13/2017 8:19 Comments || Top||

#7  46 percent of Hispanic test takers

41 percent of black test takers

64 percent of white test takers

So hire the Hispanic and blacks that passed and improve the quality of students educations. The above is not as bad as the article makes it out to be.

The problem is not so much the quality of the teachers (although it is a factor) as it is the students, their parents and the support the students get at home.

My solutions, get rid of many, if not most, of the "experts" that seems to not have anything to do with actual teaching. Go back to the three "R"s (the basics) with additional core subjects as warranted. Give strong support to home, including home visits, to enlist parents support and enforcement in their children education.

/rant
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 03/13/2017 11:08 Comments || Top||

#8  Having an illiterate workforce does.

Perfect snark. In so many ways.
Posted by: gorb || 03/13/2017 11:59 Comments || Top||

#9  It's fun and often funny to make snarky remarks. But that means we're part of the problem. Lets try to be part of the solution and come up with some suggestions to resolve the education problem. Clearly the left failed, can we do better or do nothing and leave it to others to solve this?

Voting for a decent board of education is part of the solution, not keeping the same old tired do nothing board.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 03/13/2017 15:39 Comments || Top||

#10  Why concern ourselves with illiterate teachers, where there are so many pressing bathroom gender choices to sort out?
Posted by: regular joe || 03/13/2017 15:49 Comments || Top||

#11  It's fun and often funny to make snarky remarks.

We make snarky remarks because it keeps us from getting murderously angry, SCFI.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/13/2017 16:32 Comments || Top||

#12  We make snarky remarks because it keeps us from getting murderously angry

And we know it will burn itself out given time. In the meantime, we roast marshmallows.
Posted by: gorb || 03/13/2017 16:38 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Bitter Old Man Throws Tantrum - Hint: It's Maverick

A senior Republican lawmaker on Sunday challenged President Donald Trump to prove his claim that his phone was tapped by predecessor Barack Obama during last year's campaign -- or else retract the unsubstantiated allegation.
Maverick is the Prodigal Son of Media Darlings when he's attacking Reps. F*ck off, RINO
Senator John McCain, a frequent Trump critic, issued his demand in an interview with CNN.

"The president has one of two choices, either retract, or to provide the information that the American people deserve," McCain said.

"I have no reason to believe this is true, but I also believe that the president of the United States could clear this up in a minute," he continued.

"All he has to do is pick up the phone, call the director of the CIA, the director of national intelligence and say, 'OK, what happened?' Because they certainly should know whether the former president of the United States was wiretapping Trump Tower."

Obama, through a spokesman, has denied Trump's claim, which the billionaire-turned-politician made in a series of tweets earlier this month.

Obama's director of national intelligence Notorious Liar James Clapper also said in an interview that there was no wiretap of Trump or his campaign.
Well, then. If you can't believe Clapper...nevermind
Posted by: Frank G || 03/13/2017 09:15 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Fuck off John.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/13/2017 9:42 Comments || Top||

#2  To think, this guy was once the Republican nominee for president. No wonder Trump won.
Posted by: Iblis || 03/13/2017 10:31 Comments || Top||

#3  He's hurt because candidate Trump joked about his heroism, and now he's trying to hurt President Trump, with collateral damage to the Office and the U.S.

Posted by: regular joe || 03/13/2017 10:40 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/13/2017 11:09 Comments || Top||

#5  "John?"
"Hi, this is Don."
"I thought you read the NYT and WaPo."
"The've already told Americans about it."

"Bye"
Posted by: AlanC || 03/13/2017 11:37 Comments || Top||

#6  Ditto, Joe.
Posted by: gorb || 03/13/2017 11:44 Comments || Top||

#7  "Because they certainly should know whether the former president of the United States was wiretapping Trump Tower."

"They" being the guys who don't want to tell Trump anything, because he's 'scary'?

I thought Trump had as much proof as the media did about Russian interference - which marches on.
Posted by: Bobby || 03/13/2017 13:34 Comments || Top||

#8  Senator McCain is right. (god that's painful to admit) President Trump needs to back up his charges with conclusive proof that the Obama WH was complicit in surveillance of his personal communication at Trump Tower. If he can't then he needs to fully retract his statements. If they choose to thread the needle with some mealy mouthed politispeak POTUS will forever be viewed as just another lying politician.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 03/13/2017 13:48 Comments || Top||

#9  I look forward to the day when its time to elect somebody else as Senator for Arizona.
Posted by: Crusader || 03/13/2017 14:19 Comments || Top||

#10  If they choose to thread the needle with some mealy mouthed politispeak POTUS will forever be viewed as just another lying politician.

Liberals voted for Obama in spite of the fact that he was just another lying politician, dating back to before he became one. They voted for him because he would advance liberal causes. And Obama did. He got Americans killed for no good reason so he could engage in moral preening over reduced civilian casualties, which also brought about fewer enemy casualties and a revival in their war efforts.

I understand why Trump has to make plausible but unproven allegations. Because the media and the Democrats are retailing implausible unproven allegations about him. And engaging in a campaign of lies and distortions. Trump needs to attack in order to avoid letting much of the media's lies, distortions and implausible unproven allegations stick to him. That's all there is to it.

Bush crushed the GOP by refusing to respond to his critics. Trump is keeping it alive by giving as good as he gets. If Trump gets the American public to understand that the media's relationship with liberals/Democrats is basically the Soviet Union's relationship with Pravda (albeit without the coercion), then he could accomplish nothing else during this term and still have rendered an important service to the American people.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 03/13/2017 14:37 Comments || Top||

#11  Senator McCain is right

Since when?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/13/2017 15:14 Comments || Top||

#12  Trump is making all the right enemies. Just think where America was one year ago -- on the ME/terrorism, illegals, govt expansion, SJWs, taxes -- and McCain had been right there with them.

Good bye swamp, and Sod Off Swampy.
Posted by: regular joe || 03/13/2017 15:45 Comments || Top||

#13  Maverick is a legend of the wets.
Posted by: charger || 03/13/2017 16:30 Comments || Top||

#14  His other call sign was 'Blue Falcon'.
Posted by: Pappy || 03/13/2017 16:44 Comments || Top||

#15  Zhang Fei, so if I understand you correctly President Trump is, at times, forced to make "plausible but unproven allegations".(aka; Bullshit) So when the WH asks the congressional Intelligence committees to investigate said allegations they would be best served not to waste time and money on such a BS request. And because the rest of us now won't be able to distinguish if any of the POTUS statements are factual, until further notice, we would be wise to first treat them as BS. Saw Gov. Jessie Ventura try that less than successful strategy. Who knows maybe DJT can pull it off.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 03/13/2017 17:17 Comments || Top||

#16  Mister McCain represents the Sonora Desert region populated by Prickly Pair Cactus, scorpions, lizards and Pygmy Owls.

Because he is Sin-ator for life he thinks he represents everybody else no matter who gets elected from far more populated regions of the US.

About the only way I can figure that he gets elected is that maybe when meskins come over for checkups, s.s. checks and taco food stamps they get the occasional ballot already filled out with their required false address, etc. to be signed.

Just sayin.
Posted by: Skunky Glaiting9993 || 03/13/2017 17:22 Comments || Top||

#17  Yep. I do believe DepotGuy did say reporters were not involved in rioting and lo and behold one gets charged with rioting. Typical low IQ commenter. Now when evidence (which has already been presented) is spelled out muss brains such as the afore mentioned just go quite until the next stupid comment gets posted.
Posted by: Skunky Glaiting9993 || 03/13/2017 17:27 Comments || Top||

#18  DepotGuy @8: ...POTUS will forever be viewed as just another lying politician.

Really? The Romans deified their emperors. The US has almost deified FDR and JFK (Not, repeat not Kerry!). Isn't this a good time for a healthy republic to remember that their leaders are only mortals and that their actions speak for them -- not the office?
Posted by: magpie || 03/13/2017 17:57 Comments || Top||

#19  POTUS will forever be viewed as just another lying politician

Now, that's unfair - I believe he was a successful liar (a category much rarer then you might think) long before he became a politician.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/13/2017 18:04 Comments || Top||

#20  If he is successful at getting the economy humming and keeping the nation safe nobody will remember the lies except gibbering lefties. If he fails that is all people will remember.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 03/13/2017 20:58 Comments || Top||


Cummings: 'May be' connection between Bharara firing, investigations of Trump
[The Hill] Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said there could be a connection between the firing of former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and investigations into President Trump.

During an interview on ABC's "This Week," Cummings, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said the president has the right to fire U.S. attorneys.

But he noted that not very long ago, the president said he was willing to "keep the U.S. attorney there in New York."

"And then suddenly, he's, I guess, changed his mind," Cummings said.

"I'm just curious as to why that is, and certainly there's a lot of questions coming up as to whether ... President Trump is concerned about the jurisdiction of this U.S. attorney and whether that might affect his future," he continued.
"You look at everything surrounding the investigations -- there are a lot of questions that need to be asked, but again, the president does have that prerogative."
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/13/2017 04:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How has Cummings avoided prison? Does he have blackmail goods on someone?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/13/2017 7:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Connection? Yes, Donald Trump and Preet Bharara are both upright primates. Rep. Cummings exhibits forms of bipedalism as well.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/13/2017 10:06 Comments || Top||

#3  There may be. And there may not be.

Now we wait for McSquishy to inform Cummings about his two choices.
Posted by: gorb || 03/13/2017 11:46 Comments || Top||


Steve King: Geert Wilders tweet sparks a social media backlash
[BBC] Senior Republican congressman Steve King has sparked a backlash on social media after tweeting his support for the Dutch anti-Islam politician, Geert Wilders.

"Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny," Mr King wrote on Twitter.

"We can't restore our civilisation with somebody else's babies," he added.

The US Republican Representative of Iowa is a strong advocate of putting a stop to birthright citizenship.

All children born in the US currently get citizenship under the constitution, including the children of families living in America illegally.

Mr King has pushed for radical reform of the interpretation of the 14th amendment of the US constitution so that it no longer gives the children of undocumented migrants colonists the right to a US passport.

Posted by: Fred || 03/13/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh NOES! Not the Dreaded Social Media Backlash™!!
Posted by: Frank G || 03/13/2017 9:06 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2017-03-13
  Kenyan police nab 6 terror suspects in coastal town
Sun 2017-03-12
  Double suicide attack kills 40 in Damascus
Sat 2017-03-11
  Syrian force a ‘few weeks’ from Raqqa, U.S. Marines deployed
Fri 2017-03-10
   Ax attacker at Düsseldorf main train station arrested
Thu 2017-03-09
  Baghdadi abandons Mosul fight to field commanders
Wed 2017-03-08
  IS gunmen dressed as medics kill 30 at Kabul military hospital
Tue 2017-03-07
  Mufti Hannan jailbreak attempt fails
Mon 2017-03-06
  New wave of US air raids on Qaeda in Yemen
Sun 2017-03-05
  Jordan hangs 15 death row prisoners at dawn in further break from moratorium on executions
Sat 2017-03-04
  Kurdish YPG fighters repel treacherous Turkish attack near Syria’s Afrin
Fri 2017-03-03
  Syrian Army recaptures Palmyra, aided by Russian Air Force: Kremlin
Thu 2017-03-02
  Islamic State supreme leader’s speech admits defeat in Mosul
Wed 2017-03-01
  Two women in nerve agent attack on Kim Jong-nam charged with murder
Tue 2017-02-28
  Islamic State claims attempted bombing in Algeria -AMAQ
Mon 2017-02-27
  Taliban shadow governor among 21 killed in counter-terrorism operations

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