As we all know, newspapers in the United States are struggling. Subscriptions are down. Ad revenue is down. The internet is becoming a frequent source of written news in ways unimaginable 30 years ago. As newspapers struggle with these new realities, what are paper-loving folks to do? How can they […]
Says John Boehner, Republican from Ohio and House Minority Leader, “The era of big government is back.” Had it gone somewhere? When did it leave? Bill Clinton declared big government over in 1992. So maybe it was then? But surely Boehner is no Clinton fan. But if Clinton ended […]
Season 5 of Top Chef was surely not about about being top. It was about scraping by with decent dishes and then somehow pulling off a win in the finale. For Hosea, the least talented winner in all five seasons, that’s how he won. For Stefan, it was proof that greatness through […]
Republicans, continually out of touch with the American people, often seem like children trying to understand complicated information. They get focused on one issue and seem unable to move away. During Clinton’s years, it was attacking Clinton. If they did that, they viewed themselves as having success. For Bush, it was […]
I missed it on television. Oh, great sadness! But, I’m right now watching it from the New York Times’ website. I did see the Republican response and the analysis afterwards from MSNBC (whose evening lineup is the strongest on any cable network). I laughed at first (in pleasure) to MSNBC saying […]
Tonight - it’s a mini State of the Union! President Obama will address both houses of Congress on the economy and so much more. Lately, he’s been in campaign mode drumming up support for the stimulus package. It’s now passed, so the time has come to move on to whatever is next. […]
Today in discussion section, I’ll be going over the Theory of Reasoned Action, which says that, for volitional behaviors, if you can measure someone’s attitudes about the behavior and how they feel about the attitudes of specific important others, you can predict behavioral intention, which has a strong correlation with the behavior itself. Basically, […]
Welcome to the final installment in my 3 part segment, ‘Tests and Grades.’ To begin, this series of posts was all inspired by this New York Times article, now days old.
First, Tony’s comment on Part 2:
I discussed that article with a professor last week. My view is that the student’s attitude is […]
After re-reading this New York Times article, on student expectations and grades in college, I was left with more questions than anything. For example, is the article really arguing that college students think they deserve high grades for just showing up to class? Are professors really going so easy on students that grades […]
I’ve been pondering this article in the New York Times since I read it yesterday morning. It echoes a frequent concern among older adults that today’s school grading standards are not tough enough. Subsequently, there is rampant grade and ego inflation. Students have no trouble getting A’s in high school and expect […]
Reality: The Federal Government has passed a broad stimulus package designed to help the nation’s economy get back on track. Included in the package is significant support for states who are dealing with massive budget deficits.
Republican Reality: How dare the Federal Government attempt to help people? What a waste! I’ve got […]
Amos gave me David Bowie’s classic album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” a couple years ago. Since then, I’ve listened to it innumerable times. And each time I spin it again, I usually listen two or three times through. At some point in time after […]
Roland Burris, embattled junior Senator from Illinois, is feeling the heat again. This time, it’s over his contacts with impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother Rob. When first asked about contacts with anyone close to the governor regarding the seat, Burris did not mention contact with Rob. But in an affidavit […]
If Wisconsin increases penalties for drunk drivers, it will hurt Wisconsin’s taverns, says Jim Treu of the Marathon County Tavern League. I don’t know why Wisconsin Public Radio featured him for their story (scroll down a ways to read it) - perhaps because he was the only idiot willing to say this out loud. […]
Evidently some GOP senators are saying that Obama is off to a bad start, because the stimulus bill passed, but without bipartisan support. They say his message of change has failed. But think about this - Obama promised a change from George Bush. Now the GOP senators say that he hasn’t delivered […]