TEXAAAAAAS
ye-yahhhhh, Texas ranked #13 on the 50 worst states list :
“But mostly Texas is awful because despite all the miseries it inflicts upon the rest of the country (and its own citizenry), Texans rarely stop loudly and aggressively stating what a great, awesome, perfect place Texas is. The Texan ego is as big as the state, and no matter how much you point out to them that, uh, hey what about all this extremely terrible stuff, they will not listen. If you guys would just shut up about if for a while, the rest of us might like you a little more.”
love it.
Promise Neighborhoods
Is the White House committed to Addressing the Role Poverty Plays in the Achievement Gap
More money is coming to the U.S. Department of Education’s year-oldPromise Neighborhoods program. Modeled after Geoffrey Canada’s successful Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) initiative, the Promise Neighborhoods program awarded $10 million in 2010 to 21 mostly nonprofit and higher education-based applicants. That money funded the planning stage of comprehensive, cradle-through-college-to-career wraparound services with great schools at the center.
I didn’t know the Promise Neighborhoods program existed, but AWESOME. Modeling a program after Canada’s and actually attacking the complex, adverse effects of poverty in a holistic manner will hopefully lead to more success than more simple measures, like the Race to the Top grants.
smh
Florida to Begin Subjecting Welfare Applicants to Mandatory Drug Tests
“These taxpayers sure seem concerned about subsidizing drug use, to the point that it makes sense for the government to deprive people of the assistance that they need to survive in the name of preventing it. Drug use is bad and users are losers and just say no to drugs or McGruff the Crime Dog will give you The Rabies of Justice and all that. Let’s enact policies that promote The Greater Good. I’m sure these taxpayers are equally as concerned about not giving any of their money to, say, banks that contain bankers that spend their weekends doing rails off of illegally trafficked Ukrainian sex workers. I’m sure they also are extra careful to verify that they don’t buy any clothing made by Indonesian toddlers who are missing some fingers and paid 12 cents per hour. I’m positive that these supremely socially active taxpayers are vigilant to buying products with the smallest carbon footprint, insisting that grocery stores they visit buy local produce. And how can we forget the hundreds of thousands of Floridians who have taken to the streets to protest the multiple civilian killing military operations our country is engaged in at this very moment! Florida taxpayers sure are concerned about the well being of everybody!”
a hilarious commentary on this piece of shit proposal.
urbanization…
The Difference Between Urban Brains and Rural Brains
We all know the stereotypes of the high-strung urbanite versus the laid-back country dweller, but now there’s scientific evidence for them. A new study published in Nature finds that people living in the city had a higher level of activity in the amygdala, the brain region that assesses threats and generates fear. The activity can be heightened or simply “out of kilter”; the latter can signal mental illnesses like schizophrenia, which has been proved to be more common in the city.
I once read that urbanization and the dense concentration of a large variety of people also leads to the categorization of those around you, read: racism/discrimination. The fact that city folk have brains that focus on assessing threats and generating fear seems to fit.
Really?
Oregon Expands Online Charter Schools
Bill 2301 would allow up to 3 percent of the students in any local district to enroll in online charters.
This is horrible. Who is going to be taking this route? Probably kids who need the most support and who will receive the least.
Revolution!
Four Reasons We Must Re-engineer Free Market Capitalism
Many voices are proclaiming that capitalism must change. Respected economists, thought leaders, and social visionaries are saying that capitalism has become a deeply flawed system. The financial crash of 2008 and the resulting deep recession exposed a corporate system determined to fight against government regulations, ignoring public opinion, and overlooking the greater good of society. If we allow capitalism to continue down this path, we will find ourselves living in an increasingly imbalanced, dysfunctional and unsustainable world.
aaaactually made me optimistic about the possibility of reforming free market capitalism. is it possible?
Mr. Schue’s pep-talk
best moment in the Glee season 1 finale:
Mr. Schue: Besides, we have got something the other groups don’t.
Artie: What?
Mr. Schue: Finn’s dancing.
