Month: September 2006

“We are experiencing a service interruption in your area… ”

So, yeh, I know twc is looking a lil anemic today, but I’m currently limited to a very s l o w dialup connection (always have a backup, now matter what, right?) and updates will just have to wait until I have a real internet connection back. I’ll try to stay on top of the comment/tb moderation queue, but no promises.

Maybe tomorrow I can do a roundup of interesting posts and articles, and new (to me, at least) blogs and such.

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Meanwhile, beating a dying horse… (Why? Because it’s not worth the bullet it’d take to put it down, that’s why.)

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Yes, an expansion of a post quickly slapped up yesterday…

I’ll get back to this in a minute, but for now, just hold this thought in mind, would you?

Commonly reported side effects include difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, irritability, stomachaches, headaches, blurry vision, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness and tics and tremors. There have been concerns that ADHD medication temporarily delays growth, and one study found that up to 5 percent of children experience tactile hallucinations, often involving a sensation that bugs or snakes are crawling on their bodies. The FDA recently announced that certain ADHD drugs should caution users about the risks of serious heart problems and psychotic behavior.¹

I’m tempted to think it’s a conspiracy corrupt young minds and deliberately manufacture easily manipulated sheeple, but then I’m reminded of the quote attributed to Napoleon:

“Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity.”

I’m speaking, of course (and again), of the public “education” system in these micromanaged-from-the-swamps-of-D.C. United States.

But it’s not just micromanagement of local schools by remote bureaucraps and educraps or even bad (or lazy–and there are plenty of those) teachers or even pubschool adminstrators *spit* that are at work creating mind-numbed children (future citizens). Nope. Parents are the ones most responsible for the failures of American schools that have created a populace that is largely subliterate (while feeling good about itself, falsely calling itself literate). Parents could require discipline in school, could require their children to learn useful information, turn off the video games and TV and, well, read… Parents could vote in such a way as to lessen or even eliminate remote micromanagement of their public schools, even to voting in school board members who would turn down fedgov funds in order to maintain some semblance of local control.

But no.

Remember that list of side effects for ADHD drugs? Well, apparently more and more parents would rather drug their children out of their minds than address real concerns in public education. From the same source as linked above,

Academic doping — using these stimulant prescriptions in an effort to enhance focus, concentration and mental stamina — first started on college campuses, especially Ivy League and exclusive, competitive schools. Now, the problem is filtering down to secondary schools, Yates says, and more parents are playing a role in obtaining prescription ADHD medication for their teenagers.

So, in order to give their kids an edge in producing grades, grades based on regurgitating crap curriculum that arguably produces subliterate and illiterate high school and college graduates, parents would subject their children to unnecessary risk of side effects like those listed above.

Stupid.

A better way is suggested by the following exchange between Harry Erwin, an university instructor and researcher in England, and Jerry Pournelle (as quoted yesterday):

There is a recent Scientific American article (August 2006) on expertise that suggests what we should do for our students is motivate them to continuously push themselves beyond their current levels of ability and then provide accurate feedback on their performance. I did that this summer with some of my programming students, and their performance was *much* improved. So perhaps the problem in education is not with the students, but rather with the approach to teaching–an interesting implication for the current high- stakes testing regime in the schools–it might be wrong-headed. The SA article also suggests that the differences in talent and intelligence between students are much less important than the differences in motivation. So when your goal is to educate experts, don’t worry about their raw talent and IQ, but instead keep them pushing their limits…

Pournelle rersponded, in part, with:

[T]hat experience exactly matches not only my own experience, but that of most of my generation. Being pushed to just beyond one’s limit is apparently the best way to learn almost anything; and the experience that motivation can be as important as intelligence is very much in line with the work of Marva Collins and some of the other inner city teachers…

But do you think this has a snowball’s chance in hell of impacting prisons for kids in these United States? Nope. Too effort for parents, teachers and students. And it’d put a raft of educrats and professors of education out of work. (Or reveal them for the fools they are–which would be just as bad in their eyes.)

And it would stand a chance of producing an electorate that could see the emperor’s new clothes for what they truly are. And so, 23 years after “A Nation At Risk”—the Congressionally-mandated report from the National Commission on Excellence in Education—sounded the alarm,

If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have even squandered the gains in student achievement made in the wake of the Sputnik challenge. Moreover, we have dismantled essential support systems which helped make those gains possible. We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.

…we are even more “at risk” than before, largely because of an increasingly “mis-undereducated” population.

But hey! That works just fine for a country with borders like a chicken wire swimming pool, the TSA, generational welfare and all the other abortions of public good wrought by *spit* politicians elected by dumb, fat and sappy Americans, doesn’t it?

But not to despair! Bill Gates, the progenitor of wonderful things like the world’s most bloated, overpriced (even the “free” software, like Internet Exploder) and insecure software (“Where do you want your computer to crash today?”) is coming to the rescue!

Microsoft-designed School Opens in PA

OK, granted the author of the article linked above has a dof in the fight, she still makes a few points I had occur to me when I first read about the Gates school project. I can tell ya one thing” I’m glad the twc.us kids didn’t have to go to a school quite that shallow and stupid.

Ah, but the Gates school is all in the tradition of Dewey, et al, preparing good (dull) drones for American business to turn into wage slaves.

“Now there abide these three: phonemes, syntax and semantics; but the greatest of these is semantics.”

Still, phonemes and syntax are important. So this lil mini-rant touches on all three…

Drive-by Rant: ON

Not that these are gripping gripes for most folks, but does the constant pejoration of English get to anyone else the way it does me?

For example, can anyone explain to me why folks use the word “terror” (“intense, sharp, overmastering fear”) instead of “terrorism” (“the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.”) when talking about the acts of Izlamic savages, nowadays? When (and how) did that lil piece of stupidity get started? And who started it? I’d like to know, because Dr. Tarr and Mr. Fether are awaiting an introduction to that particular troglodyte.

Or how about a simpler, less blatant (to most) example of linguistic stupidity?

“There’s reasons why Osama bin Laden is still at large.”

Every time I hear some Mass Media Podperson—supposed to be professional wordsmiths, conversant in the English language—or any other person for that matter, use that fav construction of subliterate morons I want to get out a hemp necktie and get ’em measured for their tree party.

Dumbasses. “Reasons” in that sentence is plural. “There are reasons…” so it’d be “There’re reasons… ” A tongue twister, you say? Suck it up. People who’d say “there’s” when “there’re is appropriate would probably say “Feb-YOU-ary” for “February”… another inexcusable mallocution.

Heck, why get all bent outa shape about illegal aliens (or even legal ones) not learning to speak English when it seems 90% of Americans born here can’t speak—or write or read, let alone understand—the language, either?

Rant: OFF

…mostly

N.B. Is my use of the English language always grammatically perfect? No. But there’s a “but” there (note the proper use of “there’s”). Fracturing the English language ought only to be done by those who know what they’re doing (note the proper use of “they’re” instead of the common written dumbass usages, “their” and “there”–those who don’t know the differences between common homophones, are illiterate). *heh* Arrrrgggg! Just another reason why 99% of the Mass Media Podpeople, Academia Nut Fruitcakes and politicians *spit* should simply STFU.

NOW the rant is off… But have no fear; there’re (there ARE) more rants to come.

A couple of excerpts from Jerry Pournelle’s Chaos Manor Musings (Mail) and an invitation to talk about this among yourselves for a while. I’ll chime in (referring to this post) another time…

From Harry Erwin, an university instructor in England:

There is a recent Scientific American article (August 2006) on expertise that suggests what we should do for our students is motivate them to continuously push themselves beyond their current levels of ability and then provide accurate feedback on their performance. I did that this summer with some of my programming students, and their performance was *much* improved. So perhaps the problem in education is not with the students, but rather with the approach to teaching–an interesting implication for the current high- stakes testing regime in the schools–it might be wrong-headed. The SA article also suggests that the differences in talent and intelligence between students are much less important than the differences in motivation. So when your goal is to educate experts, don’t worry about their raw talent and IQ, but instead keep them pushing their limits…

Pournelle rersponded, in part, with:

[T]hat experience exactly matches not only my own experience, but that of most of my generation. Being pushed to just beyond one’s limit is apparently the best way to learn almost anything; and the experience that motivation can be as important as intelligence is very much in line with the work of Marva Collins and some of the other inner city teachers…

Any thoughts?

Still short shrift time, so this Fair Tax Blogburst post from Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous is also an Open Trackbacks Alliance post. Simply link to this post and track back.

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by Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous

To borrow what was spoken of last week in the Fair Tax BlogBurst, I thought I would take this burst, and build upon the debate begun by one of Debbie’s readers at Right Truth. For those of you knew to the audience, here is the original burst, and here is the assertion made by “Ralph Ekwall.”

We now have a progressive income tax system that imposes a higher rate of taxation for high income earners. The so-called “Fair Tax” would impose a higher rate of taxation on middle and low income earners and allow most of the money earned by wealthy people to be untaxed.

I tend to disagree entirely with the thesis underpinning any progressive tax system delineating that there are certain brackets of individuals who should be punished just for the simple fact that they earn higher incomes than other individuals.

The fundamental creed of this dogma accepts the premise that the spectrum of incomes is nothing more than a zero-sum game. [In this view] …individuals do not have any chance whatsoever to rise to those higher brackets and better themselves as they move throughout life.

However, I digress, for I wanted to discuss was the specifics surrounding “the prebate.” I believe this scheme encapsulates the “equality” sought by “progressive” proponents of any progressive tax scheme better than the progressive tax could ever hope to achieve. That is, equality can be seen only if one does not have class warfare and envy as the basis for their tax structure.

So, how does this “prebate” work?

All valid Social Security cardholders who are U.S. residents receive a monthly rebate equivalent to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services, also known as the poverty level expenditures. The rebate is paid in advance, in equal installments each month. The size of the rebate is determined by the Department of Health & Human Services’ poverty level guideline multiplied by the tax rate. This is a well-accepted, long-used poverty-level calculation that includes food, clothing, shelter, transportation, medical care, etc. (See chart in Figure 1 below)

[CLICK on pic for larger image]

And, as we see in how this “prebate” works, one is able to ascertain the notion of equality realized by the “prebate.” The prebate seeks to treat a “necessity” just as their name implies they should be treated. The necessities are the substance and the needs that every American needs in order to survive. It treats every American as if they are the same in the basics of what they need to survive.

It treats all Americans equally.

In this definition of “equal” all Americans are treated the same no matter their socio-economic status, which brings up another subject….constitutional history.

At this moment, I would really like to express my appreciation to TD for being patient with me throughout the course of this summer. As some of you may know, I sat for the bar recently and I have been detained with an interstate move, new employment and biting my fingernails off as I wait for the bar results. But, enough of my excuses, Terry and I started this BlogBurst and, unfortunately, Terry has had to shoulder much of the load this summer. He has done a tremendous job and I know all of you appreciate his hard work and dedication. I just wanted to say thanks, good buddy!

The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.

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