"“Each year since 1988 the gap between boys’ and girls’ reading skills has widened a bit more,” Whitmire writes. Boys aren’t wired for early verbal skills — and teachers aren’t trained in “boy-friendly” techniques to help them catch up."
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Pulitzer Prize Committee Will Consider National Enquirer for Breaking John Edwards Scandal
Per ABC: The body behind journalism's most prestigious award conceded Thursday that the self-proclaimed tabloid can compete with mainstream news outlets for its prizes. Because it broke the story about former presidential candidate John Edwards's mistress and love child, the Enquirer's staff is eligible for the Pulitzer in two categories: "Investigative Reporting" and "National News Reporting."
Friday, February 19, 2010
New underground economy
Going the way of Greece. "The underground or "black" economy is rapidly rising, and the fault is mainly due to government policies.
Obama Eyes Restricting Western Land for National Monuments
Presidential use of the Antiquities Act is highly controversial because the White House, with the stroke of a pen, can lock up thousands of square miles of federal lands used for timber, ranching, mining and energy development without local input or congressional approval. The Act is generally interpreted to commemorate or protect a specific historical landmark, not prohibit development or deprive local communities of jobs and tax revenues.
"Any federal action that could lead to limited access should be done in an open and public manner using extraordinary caution," said Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., upon seeing the leaked report. "The fact that this administration is already circulating internal memos to bypass Congress and the public process is troubling."
Thursday, February 18, 2010
A fix for low High School graduation rates
Let them graduate after 10th grade. (Apologies for linking to the NY Slimes.)
Dr. Zero on the tea party - Principle and Action
Starting with the town hall meetings on health care, "This blossomed into a more comprehensive rejection of the entire direction our government is taking, along with a mature understanding that Barack Obama didn’t so much change our course, as radically increase our velocity. The madness of a bankrupt government itching to spend even more money, and incompetent central planners unveiling even more complex and doomed designs, has produced an energetic and determined resistance."
Going after the underground economy in Greece.
Effective January 1, 2011 every transaction above 1,500 euros will be considered illegal if it is done in cash. Transactions will have to be done through debit or credit cards.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Spengler: The case for an Israeli strike against Iran
"Iran's perceived attempt to acquire nuclear weapons, though, is not Israel's problem as such; the problem is that Israel is the ally of a superpower that does not want to be a superpower, headed by a president with a profound emotional attachment to a nostalgic image of the Third World. If America were in fact acting like a superpower, the problem would not have arisen in the first place, for the United States would use its considerably greater resources to destroy Iran's nuclear program."
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Dr. Zero on "Silent Spring" and radical environmentalists
"Who is the worst killer in the long, ugly history of war and extermination? Hitler? Stalin? Pol Pot? Not even close. A single book called Silent Spring killed far more people than all those fiends put together.
Tuesday stuff
Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything. Also, Japanese Scientists Create Elastic Water.
Hearing Aid Uses Your Tooth To Transmit Sound.
Compare Aerial Images of World War II Destruction With Today in Google Earth. Somewhat related: Viking frogmen vs the Google streetmobile.
Pakistani President Zardari sacrifices goats to 'ward off evil'.
A short history of the search for perpetual motion.
Monday, February 15, 2010
ACORN's pending $4 billion in funding
Didn't Acorn, the corrupt community organizer, get its federal funding yanked after its last scandal? Actually, no. Through municipal middlemen, it's poised to rake in another $4 billion. Where is the outrage?