December, 2015 archive
Chartering a Course for Disaster 0
Where does the money go?
N. C. charters don’t want you to know.
North Carolina’s charter school advocates are fond of noting that their schools are public schools.
That is, until they’re asked to disclose the salaries they pay with public money.
According to the story, the charters are claiming that accounting is hard.
Details at the link.
Occluded Front 0
I’ve been for several bicycle rides wearing gym shorts and a tee shirt in the last week. When I was growing up in these parts about 40 miles north of here, I’d have been wearing hooded parkas and fur-lined gloves while waiting for the school bus by this time of year.
Don’t try to tell me that there isn’t something strange going on.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Words fail me.
Nothing I can say expresses the depth of my disgust and contempt.
America’s First Ponzi Scheme 0
It predated Charles Ponzi by a couple of centuries. (The interview starts at about the 30-minute mark.)
If you don’t have time to listen now, bookmark or download it for listening later, but be sure to listen.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz, TV weatherperson, marvels at the hate mail directed towards persons who discuss without dismissing the existence of climate change.
The hatred and vitriol takes one aback.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
A little better.
(snip)
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, was little changed at 270,500 last week after 270,750. That compares with an average of 271,000 during the comparable employment survey period for November. The economy added 211,000 workers last month, more than projected, and the unemployment rate held at 5 percent.
A. “Wellness” Costs Twice as Much 0
Q. What’s the difference between “health” and “wellness”?
The Candidates Debate 0
Dick Polman sums up last night’s cavalcade of stupid.
“Do You Have Anything To Declare?” 0
Jeff Gauger remembers his time in Saudi Arabia during his early days as a reporter. A nugget:
While there, I stayed in three different hotels, one each in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar. As here at home, booking a room required guests to fill out a registration card. The cards asked the usual stuff: Name, car tag number, method of payment.
They also asked for a guest’s nationality. And one other thing — religion.
I wrote “Christian,” although doing so made me queasy. I wasn’t ashamed of the faith of my upbringing but providing details to conduct normal business made me uncomfortable.
Read the rest.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Shorter Lou Dubose: “Know them by the company they keep.” (Follow the link for the longer version.)
Dealing with Climate Change 0
Reg Henry considers a new strategy for coping.
What a bore! I don’t want to hear any climate change doom from reality-respecting scientific know-it-alls. I want to enjoy the luxury of blissful denial in the face of the facts. In short, I want to become a conservative.
More at the link.
