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Bob Myer
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September 29, 2009
Another Push for More School TimeIn an article published on multiple website (Fox News link here), it appears that President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan are renewing the push for schools to be in session for more hours and perhaps more days. The overarching goal would...
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December 23, 2008
The Vampires of Our YouthSomething interesting is happening in our society, and while it may seem obvious to many, restating the issue in different terms may be beneficial. For our young people, it appears that all things bad - and by bad, I mean evil -- are being made...
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November 13, 2008
Obama's CzarsSuddenly a rash of czars is in prospect for the Obama Administration.The title "czar" in the executive branch has some history. The "drug czar" title appeared during the Reagan administration. The term has always...
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September 26, 2008
Stop speaking in the name of the American People!A recent advertisement by the Al Gore backed we-can-solve-it-dot-organization closes with the claim that it has been “approved” by “the American people.” No, it hasn’t. Count me out. I demand it. T...
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September 21, 2008
The Fight Before Us and Teaching the ClassicsTwo articles have come out at the end of this week. I would like to characterize them, but I’m not sure how to do it without sounding overly partisan or, perhaps, rabidly anti-something. Then again, I suppose that isn’t possib...
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August 18, 2008
Australia and MedalsA look at the medal count (as of Monday morning, 18 August) shows a predictable one-two at the top. China, with its 1.3 billion people, has garnered 65 medals including 37 gold medals. That’s one medal for every 20 million people....
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July 28, 2008
Imposing Educational OutcomesTwo articles in the last week indicate just how far some attitudes about education have shifted away from something students work for and toward it being a birthright, an entitlement. Somewhat paradoxically, education is often portrayed as some...
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July 18, 2008
Mapping the Victim CurriculumNot surprisingly, around the end of the school year comes a chorus of cries all claiming unfairness. Poor grades, non-existent study habits, skipping class, sleeping in class, forgotten this and that, inability to follow even the simplest of di...
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July 17, 2008
Beginning government education at birth?Recently, after reading an excellent article at American Thinker, I decided to take a glimpse at Senator Obama's education plan. This plan is presented in a more detailed format in a document titled "Barack Obama's Plan for Lifetime Succes...
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July 8, 2008
A Four Day School Week? (updated)In order to save money, a rural school district in Minnesota has opted for a four day school week, running Tuesday to Friday. Now comes the hard part.KSTP TV reports that one hour will be added on to the school day and that the change will save ...
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July 1, 2008
Let's Talk QualificationsSenator Obama said the following in his prepared speech on patriotism Monday: "I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine." Later in the prepare...
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June 21, 2008
Obama's Funding GambitThe day after Sen. Obama announced that he would not take public financing for the general election, part of his overall plan for the general election came into focus. MoveOn-dot-org announced that “it's time to close [their] 527 forever...
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May 10, 2008
Carter on Hamas: Blame the US and IsraelOur former president Jimmy Carter placed himself back in the news this week by authoring an article in the Guardian. Mr. Carter claims, "The world is witnessing a terrible human rights crime in Gaza, where a million and a half human beings...
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May 10, 2008
Gore Tells How 'We Can Solve It'In my effort to soak a penny or two out of Al Gore's "we can save the planet" Global Warming/Climate Change publicity machine, I clicked on a banner ad at a website I frequently visit. My rationale, however flimsy, being that as long ...
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April 27, 2008
Meet the ProtestorsIt is no big surprise that there have been protests after the New York police officers in the Bell case were acquitted. There will be more, Mr. Sharpton assures the world. Indeed, there will be. And it is instructive to look at just...
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March 19, 2008
Palm Beach County Schools and the ACLUThe Sun-Sentinel reports that the Palm Beach County School Board is being sued by the ACLU (on behalf of parents and students, of course) for "failing to provide students with a high-quality education guaranteed under the state constitution...
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February 4, 2008
Dissecting the 'Change' MantraWe need change in America. That's the message that every politician seems to push. They are all "agents of change". Each one of them believes that the brand of change he or she pushes is the kind of change that the elector...
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January 4, 2008
Raw Numbers and the Bigger PictureBased on the last week of coverage, culminating in hours of talk about the Iowa caucuses last night, one might think that much was decided in the contest. Much was also made of the record turnout. But I feel that making too much of this c...
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November 21, 2007
Politicized Science and the IPCCJust in time for Thanksgiving, the IPCC has delivered another warning of impending doom. This time, it has to do with the world's oceans' ability to absorb carbon dioxide. While I am not qualified to get into the science of this, I think ...
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November 18, 2007
Politicized Science and the IPPCJust in time for Thanksgiving, the IPCC has delivered another warning of impending doom. This time, it has to do with the world's oceans' ability to absorb carbon dioxide. While I am not qualified to get into the science of this, I think ...
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October 17, 2007
Fear, parents, and schoolsWhile I agree with Chrisopher Chantrill's article "Fear is the Missing Ingredient in Government Schools" for the most part, I think that perhaps he's missing an important point in the tale: that parents are, at least to some significan...
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July 16, 2007
Atheists and Difference in Kind (updated)This past weekend, the Washington Post published two pieces: one by Michael Gerson titled "What Atheists Can't Answer" and a response by Christopher Hitchens. Gerson poses the question of what would happen if the idea of God were remo...
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July 2, 2007
Thoughts on Independence DayIn a couple of days, Independence Day will be celebrated in the US. There will be a lot of fireworks and parades and cookouts and such. There will be lots of flag waving. All good things, to be sure.Perhaps it would be wise for us t...
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June 29, 2007
The bill may be dead but the issue remainsWhile the defeat of S-1639, known as the immigration reform bill, in the Senate may be loudly praised by many, I hope that this is not that last that we’ll hear from our elected officials on the issue. It is too important.As elected offic...
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June 25, 2007
Evasive actionListening to Senators Lott and Feinstein talk about immigration "reform" on Fox News Sunday yesterday, I was amazed at just how much these two seem to believe that compromise and bipartisanship are more important than doing ...
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June 22, 2007
The application of violenceThere is both the right application and the wrong application of violence. The media for the most part gets it wrong. From Foxnews.com, a story about violence during Juneteenth celebrations. One incident in Austin, Texas, resulting from a car a...
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May 27, 2007
Educational Spending PerspectiveThe Census Bureau reported this past week that in 2005 an average of $8701 was spent per student in government schools. That number in itself doesn't really say much because it doesn't provide a comparison to anything in particular. But it does...
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April 25, 2007
ANZAC Day, April 25Today is ANZAC Day, and it's my second since coming to Australia. It's a singular day from an American point of view, and there are two aspects of it that I'd like to share which make this "holiday" so different from any other I've experien...
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March 13, 2007
A Longer School Day?In some places in the US, as well as in the UK, schools are either considering or experimenting with extending school hours. In Massachusetts, the extended school day is suggested as a possible remedy for schools who fail to meet No Child Left ...
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February 6, 2007
Defending marriageThe story of the Washington state ballot initiative to cancel heterosexual marriages if they don't produce children within three years has achieved wide visibility this morning. The idea of course is to respond to arguments that homosexual ...