Too incendiary for GOPUSA: The facts

June 12, 2011

GOPUSA, a radically right-wing blog claiming affiliation with the Republican Party, can’t stand the heat, and so works to keep serious comments out of their blog kitchen.

That’s the only half-way rational explanation for why they won’t let this comment out of moderation, at their post stupidly claiming President Obama dishonored fallen soldiers by golfing after spending 6 to 8 hours in ceremonies honoring fallen soldiers.

Context:  I called bluff on the claim that George Bush gave up golf to honor vets (turns out he did in  fact give up golf after his physician told him he should to avoid further injury to his knee, but that’s almost beside the point).  I also questioned the attempted smear, that Obama went golfing on Memorial Day instead of honoring fallen soldiers (he spent the entire morning and a good chunk of the afternoon honoring fallen soldiers).

In any case, I offered a photo of Bush off to  . . . not golf, it appears now, but hardly giving up recreation to support soldiers.  Also note that Bush is wearing socks emblazoned with the Presidential Seal.  Good heavens, is there no institution Bush wouldn’t disparage, even his own?

No one could offer any evidence Bush gave up golf, but the photo must be suspect because it is found at a “liberal” blog.  My response still suffers in moderation over there:

Comment by edarrell
June 6, 2011 @ 10:52 am Your comment is awaiting moderation.

onewildman, the author of that site is a former Reagan administration official, one of the original leaders of the neo-conservative movement.

The photo is 2007 as stated — you could have checked it out:
http://www.thefashionpolice.net/2007/06/george_bush_giv.html
Or here:
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2007/06/14/quick-call-the-fashion-police

Or, if you claim it’s incorrect, show us Bush’s schedule, show us the Bush announcement.  You’ve been suckered by a made up tale.

GOPUSA is run by a guy named Bobby Eberle, probably a scion of the radical right-wingers who thought Ronald Reagan too liberal back in the 1980s.

Bottom line:  Making up petty charges, like criticizing Obama for golfing on Memorial Day, reveals the paucity of policy and patriotism both in Republican political circles.  On Memorial Day Obama continued his administration’s formal dedicated work to help veterans, inviting Gold Star families to breakfast in the State Room of the White House (Gold Star families are those who have lost a member of the family in war).  Then he visited the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, laying a wreath to honor them and their colleagues who served and died in service; then he participated in the formal ceremony honoring fallen heroes.  From at least 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Obama spent his time honoring our fallen soldiers.

Mrs. Obama motored to Walter Reed Hospital in the afternoon, to spend a couple of hours visiting wounded soldiers.

We’re supposed to feel that a golf game then dishonors soldiers?  How many hours did Bobby Eberle spend with soldiers and the families of fallen soldiers on Memorial Day?

Any normal, well-balanced person must wonder:  Is there anyone with horse sense left in Republican circles?  Is there anyone there with the sense God gave chickens?

Here’s the logo of GOPUSA:

GOPUSA logo, a hand creeping across the table to steal your wallet

Logo of GOPUSA. What is it?

What is it?  To me, it looks like a hand creeping towards you to steal your wallet.  I wonder what they think it’s supposed to be?

5 Comments | Barack Obama, History, President Obama, Presidents, veterans | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Big bone sale in Dallas, part 2: Is P. Z. Myers bidding on this one?

June 12, 2011

It’s perfect for him.  Perfect.  Bidding stands at about $2,500 at the moment:

Gem tektite octopus - Heritage Auctions June 12, 2011 - IMGP6864 - copyright Ed Darrell, use permitted with attribution

Did our cephalopod overlords leave this for us, 29 million years ago? It's looking right at you, you know.

Is P. Z. Myers bidding on this thing?

According to the catalogue from Heritage Auctions, this piece of glass was formed in what is now the Libyan Sahara 29 million years ago when a meteoroid struck the sand, creating massive heat that fused sand into glass.  This light lemonade colored glass comes from only a small part of the Libyan sands.  Tektite is collectible by itself.  Some craftsman (unidentified and unplaced in time by Heritage Auctions) carved this piece into a cephalopod.

Taking an uncommonly large and clear specimen, the master lapidarist has carved the form of a malevolent-looking octopus, with superb rugose skin texture and a mass of curling tentacles. With a gorgeous translucence and lovely delicate green/yellow color, this exceptional sculpture measures 2¾ x 2 x 1¾ inches. Estimate: $2,800 – $3,200.

Compared to the giant articulated dinosaurs about 50 feet away from the display, one could easily overlook this little gem.  Still, bidding online looked to be pretty active.  Is P.Z. still in the British Isles?  Is he bidding by internet?  Is his Trophy Wife™ planning a Father’s Day surprise?

Tektites should pique your interest, Dear Reader.  Glass formed only when interplanetary objects smash into the planet, providing clues to the makeup of our solar system and universe, dating back well before recorded time, found in only a few fields around the Earth.  They are the perfect marriage-merger of geology, astronomy, geography, natural history, history and, in this case, art.   They are popular among collectors.    Who walks away with this one this afternoon?

Leave a Comment » | Art, Astronomy, Geography - Physical, geology, History, Museums, Science, Texas | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Can public schools work? Texas Tribune’s interview with Michael Marder, Part II

June 11, 2011

From my earlier post on the Texas Tribune interview with Michael Marder, in which he questioned the assumptions that monkeying with teacher discipline, accountability, pay, training, vacations, or anything else, can produce better results in educating students, especially students from impoverished backgrounds.

Marder is the director of the University of Texas’s program to encourage much better prepared teachers, UTeach.

Michael Marder’s numbers show that it’s not the teachers’ fault that so many students are not ready for college, and not learning the stuff we think they should know.

Texas Tribune said:

In the popular 2010 documentary Waiting for Superman, former DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee said, “But even in the toughest of neighborhoods and circumstances, children excel when the right adults are doing the right things for them.”

After looking at the data, Marder has yet to be convinced that any teaching solution has been found that can overcome the detrimental effects of poverty on a large scale — and that we may be looking for solutions in the wrong place.

[Reeve] Hamilton’s interview of Marder takes up three YouTube segments — you should watch all three.

Here’s Part 2:

Read the original introductory article at Texas Tribune.

For the record, Michelle Rhee is probably right:  In the toughest neighborhoods, children excel when the right adults do the right things for them.  But the right adults usually are parents, and the right things include reading to the children from about 12 months on, and pushing them to love learning and love books.  Teachers get the kids too late, generally, to bend those no-longer-twigs back to a proper inclination.  The government interventions required to boost school performance must come outside the classroom.  Michelle Rhee’s great failure — still — is in her tendency not to recognize that classroom performance of a student has its foundations and live roots in the homes and neighborhoods who send the children to school every day.

Leave a Comment » | Education, Education assessment, Education reform, Education success, History, Poverty, Research, Teachers, Teaching, Texas, Texas Lege | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Big bone sale in Dallas

June 11, 2011

Big bones.  Big sale.

Heritage Auction's triceratops, for Jun 12, 2011 auction

Triceratops welcomes bidders and gawkers to the Heritage Auction sale of fossils, gems, meteorites, and other national history ephemera. HA estimates this nearly-complete triceratops, mounted, to be worth about $700,000; less than 24 hours before the live auction, it has an online bid of $500,000 already.

Heritage Auctions set up a bug bunch of fossils, gems, meteorites, taxidermy, and art work from natural materials, for an auction on Sunday, June 12, 2011.

2011 June Dallas Signature Platinum Natural History Auction – Dallas, TX.  Auction #6061.

I can’t afford to bid, but they let me in to get photos.  Nice people.

Heritage Auctions' June special, a triceratops - IMGP6882 photo by Ed Darrell; use permitted with attribution

Heritage Auctions' June special, a triceratops - photo by Ed Darrell; use permitted with attribution

The triceratops greets visitors and bidders at the display site, the Tower Building at Dallas’s art deco gem, Fair Park.  (If you look at the ceiling above the triceratops, you can see where restorers have stripped away several layers of paint to reveal the original ceiling paintings — original artwork, including murals, was painted over in the years following the dramatic debut of the buildings; restoration work proceeds slowly because of lack of funding.)

Triceratops horridus
Cretaceous
Hell Creek formation, Harding County, South Dakota

Researchers dug this particular specimen out of the ground in 2004.  HA’s description just makes one’s science juices flow:

Triceratops has enjoyed much cultural publicity ever since its discovery. It is an iconic dinosaur that has appeared in movies ranging from black and white cinema to modern movies like “Jurassic Park.” It has also been in cartoons, such as the children’s classic “The Land before Time.” Triceratops is also the official state fossil of South Dakota and the official state dinosaur of Wyoming.

The present specimen was discovered in 2004 in two parts: First, the fossil hunters came upon pieces of dinosaur bone eroding down a gully. Following these bone fragments, they eventually came upon large bones that would indicate the presence of a large Ceratopsian dinosaur. While this large mass of bones was being excavated, other members of the team followed another bone trail which led them to an amazingly well preserved skull 750 feet away from the original discovery. Over the course of months, the specimens were carefully excavated in large blocks; each specimen was covered in plaster jackets and removed from the field to the lab. It was only during preparation that they discovered the dinosaur was a Triceratops, and it happened to be a Triceratops with an incredibly complete skull. The bones and skull were carefully removed from their field jackets and prepared using hand tools. Broken bones were professionally repaired and restored while a few missing elements were cast from other Triceratops skeletons. A custom made mount was created to support the bones and the skull; innovative bracket mounts were crafted for each bone so that no bones had to be damaged in order to mount them. The bones were mounted in osteologically correct position; making it comparable to and possibly surpassing the accuracy of older mounts in museum displays. Though it is impossible to say whether or not the skull is original to the specimen, being discovered 750 feet apart, it is certainly possible that the two elements are associated for a number of reasons: first, the size of the skull is consistent with the proportional size dimensions of the skeleton, and second, the surrounding matrix (host rock) was identical in composition.

The completed skeleton is enormous; measuring 19 feet long from head to tail, 11 feet across, and towering 12 feet tall. The skull itself measures 7 feet long with 3 ½ foot long horns; placing it near the top of the size range for Triceratops skulls. The leg bones stand 10 feet tall from toes to the top of the scapula; dwarfing many other Triceratops skeletons. Given that the skull represents about 30% of a dinosaur’s entire skeleton, the present specimen is about 75% original bone, with the right leg, pelvic region, several cervical vertebrae and a few tail vertebrae being cast reproductions.

Who owns the thing?  Who put it together?   Who is losing the specimen, should it go to a private collection (you got a living room that big?), and which museum really wants it?

But that’s just one of the specimens up for sale at this auction, and not necessarily the best.  Also up for bid:  A stegosaurus, and an allosaurus, posed as a “fighting pair.”

Fighting pair - allosaurus and stegosaurus, from Heritage Auctions' June 12, 2011 sale of fossils IMGP6839 - photo copyright by Ed Darrell, use permitted with attribution

The "fighting pair," an allosaurus (left) and stegosaurus (right) posed in combat positions. Photo by Ed Darrell, use permitted with attribution.

If it sells, the stegosaurus will cost a lucky bidder more than $1 million.  The allosaurus requires $1.6 million.

Am I jaded?  On the one hand you can’t look at these specimens without thinking they deserve to be seen by kids, and adults, and studied by paleontologists and biologist of all stripes — and so who has the right to sell these off?  On the other hand, this is a Second Gilded Age, and the search for prize fossil specimens is often financed by the proceeds from these auctions.  I enjoyed an hour’s browsing and photographing — a slide presentation on the wonders of America for some sleepy class next fall.

How many of these specimens will I get a chance to see again in the future?

Or, Dear Reader, how many of these will you ever get a chance to see?

HA will sell a lot more than just a few dinosaur fossils.  This same sale includes the largest shark jawbone ever found, stuffed Kodiak and polar bears (from the same hunter), gems, art from petrified wood and fossilized fish, and a large selection of meteorites, including the only meteoroid ever confirmed to have struck and killed a living creature (a cow in Argentine; you can’t toss a stone without hitting a cow in Argentina, I hear).

Giant shark jaw for Heritage Auctions' June 2011 sale

Requires a large wall and high ceilings to display

I don’t plan to go bid; there’s about an hour remaining for online bidding tonight, but if you’re interested and you’ve got your income tax refund burning a hole in your pocket, you can also bid by telephone and hotlink on the internet (go to the Heritage Auction site for details).   Frankly, I don’t think the sale will get the attention it deserves.  I hope these spectacular specimens will land where they can get  a great, admiring and studious audience.

Leave a Comment » | Archaeology, Evolution, Fossils, geology, Museums, Paleontology, Science, Texas | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Why so few streets named after Vietnam veterans?

June 11, 2011

Junior Cruz of Salt Lake City was 15 when his Eagle Scout Project honored a fallen soldier from our war in Iraq, Adam Galvez.  You can read a stirring story from The Deseret News at Adam Galvez.com.

Junior Cruz, with Cpl. Adam Galvez's parents Tony and Amy Galvez, at Adam Galvez Street in Salt Lake City

Boy Scout Junior Cruz, with Cpl. Adam Galvez's parents Tony and Amy Galvez, at Adam Galvez Street in Salt Lake City

Marines honor fallen comrade Cpl. Adam Galvez, Salt Lake City, 2007

Marines honor their fallen comrade Cpl. Adam Galvez, at the ceremony naming a street after Galvez.7

Once upon a time I might have wondered about the utility of such a project, not because naming a street after a veterans isn’t a great idea, but because the actions required for naming streets might not measure up to the usual expectations for great service in an Eagle project.  This project and the stories about it quickly dispel such worries — for example, notice that the city required Cruz to raise the $2,000 required to change the street signs, such fundraising itself a major accomplishment.  Our son James’s project at the DFW National Cemetery required similar fundraising, and got at least as much in in-kind contributions — but it was major work.

Marines at the naming of Adam Galvez Street, 2007

Marines salute at the ceremony for the naming of Adam Galvez Street, 2007

Reading the news story, I thought back to a question that has plagued me for years:  Why didn’t we have the good sense to welcome back Vietnam vets with parades, and other welcome home activities?  That was one great lesson of Vietnam I think we, as a nation, learned well.  Today national news programs, like the PBS Newshour, honor each fallen soldier in our nation’s wars.  Here in Dallas, and at other cities I suspect, there is a formal volunteer program to make sure soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan deployments get a flag-waving cheer when they get off the airplane.  Churches, schools, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts volunteer to go wave the flags and cheer the soldiers.  The volunteers may get more out of it than the soldiers, but the message is clear all the way around:  These soldier men and women served their nation, and they deserve thanks and a cheer.

Ceremony naming Adam Galvez Street, February 2007

Ceremony naming Adam Galvez Street, February 2007

Is it too late to do that for Vietnam veterans?  A chief complaint over the years, especially from the war-hungry right wing, is that the Vietnam peace movement dishonored those veterans, chiefly by not honoring them more when they came home.

My brother, Wes, served four tours in Southeast Asia in that war, returning each time to no great celebration other than his family’s great gratitude at his return.  He’s too great a patriot to complain — as are most of the other Vietnam vets.  Our periodic patriotic celebrations now do better:  Vietnam vets get honored at July 4 and Veterans’ Day celebrations, and the fallen get special honors on Memorial Day, in most towns in America.

Junior Cruz hit on a great idea, though:  Name a street in honor of the fallen.

Why not do that for more Vietnam vets?  My hometown of Pleasant Grove, Utah, had a population of fewer than 10,000 people during the Vietnam conflict, but well I remember in my high school years when the list of fallen passed 11, including a recently-graduated studentbody president and basketball star and the brother of a woman in my French class.   Neither of them has a memorial other than their gravestone, that I’m aware.

Adam Galvez Street, Salt Lake City, Utah

Adam Galvez Street, Salt Lake City, Utah

Street names can tell us a lot about a town or city.  In the great booming times of 1950s through 1990s, a lot of streets in America were named after developers’ kids, wives and ex-wives.  More recently developers have taken to cutesy names on a theme designed to sell homes:  “Whispering Waters Way,” “Mountain View,” etc.   Those cities where history gets some note in street names do well, I think.  Ogden, Utah, named a bunch of streets after presidents, in order of their service, from Washington through the second Harrison (and as a consequence, a lot of people who grew up in Ogden can name the presidents in order from Washington through almost to Teddy Roosevelt).  New York has not suffered from renaming a stretch of road The Avenue of the Americas, Washington, D.C. has done well with both Independence Avenue and Constitution Avenue.

Why not rename some streets in American after Vietnam veterans?  While we’re at it, how about Korean War veterans?  We can’t recapture the time and do what we should have done about 58 years ago for Korea or about 45 years ago for Vietnam.  We can do noble things from now, forward.  Why not create memorials that remind us of the great service these people did for their nation, and name and rename streets in their honor?

Resources:

2 Comments | Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout, History, korean war, veterans, veterans day, Vietnam | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Immigration policy in an era of globalization: U.S. needs more immigration, not less

June 11, 2011

Anathema to many partisans of the immigration debates:   What if we look at the real value of immigration?  The U.S. needs more to encourage immigration than to discourage it.  God, and devil, in the details.

From the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank:

In advance of an immigration policy conference, Dallas Fed Senior Economist Pia Orrenius discusses how immigration policy can help the U.S. economy and how the global competition for high-skilled immigrants is increasing. The Dallas Fed and the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University are co-sponsoring “Immigration Policy in an Era of Globalization” at the Dallas Fed on May 19-20, 2011.

This piece had only 329 views when I posted it.  Shouldn’t carefully studied views of immigration get more circulation on the inter’tubes?

Do you recall seeing any coverage of the May 19-20 conference  in your local news outlets, or anywhere else?  The conference included high-faluting experts who discussed immigration policies for the U.S., Canada, the EU, Europe, Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany.  One might think to find some value in the information there.

Can we get the immigration we need, legally?  Do present proposals in Congress offer to boost our economy, or hurt it?

More:

2 Comments | Demographics, Economics, Education, Geography - Economic, Globalization, History, Human Geography, Immigration, Labor and unions, Politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

How to tell the Republican Party is not serious about fixing America’s problems

June 9, 2011

If Republicans were serious about looking for a candidate for president who could fix some of America’s tougher problems, they’d have an official delegation go see Robert Gates.

Actually, there is a tour underway that highlights the great things about America, but it isn’t Palin’s. It’s the farewell tour of Robert Gates, defense secretary to presidents George W. Bush and Obama, whose work over the past 41 /2 years has dramatically improved the state of the U.S. military. While Palin played cat-and-mouse with the press corps on Interstate 95, Gates set off on a tour of Asia and Europe, where he is receiving the gratitude of soldiers and the acclaim of allies.

Gates, who remained on the job at Obama’s request, took on sacred weapons programs at the Pentagon, fired ineffective generals, won the surge in Iraq, revived a crumbling war effort in Afghanistan and got Osama bin Laden.

During that same time, Palin quit midway through her term as Alaska governor, then went on to a life of $100,000 speaking fees, reality TV shows and incendiary political speech.

There is no such delegation from the Republican Party on the way to Gates’s house, and there probably will not be.   We are afflicted with Palin from the Republicans, even while Robert Gates affects us.  Why can’t they figure that out?

23 Comments | 2012 Elections, Campaigns, Politics, Republican Party | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Cool solar flare this week

June 9, 2011

Old Sol spoke out this week:  Huge solar flare on June 7.

For scientists, it was a cool deal — especially since the flair was on the side of the Sun facing us, and there were cameras of various types trained on the action.

But just watch:  The internet will light up with concerns about 2012, and those who deny warming occurs or that humans cause it, will find some reason to claim the solar flare shows that Al Gore is fat and Rachel Carson is a mass murderer, plus Darwin was the inspiration for Adolf Hitler.

If the Sun knew it would get such a reception, would it bother?

Take a look:

June 7, 2011 solar flare -- NASA/SDO

Still shot of the June 7, 2011 solar flare -- NASA/SDO via PopSci

Here’s a pixillated video of the event in UV at 304 Angstroms — it runs under 30 seconds, but the time covered is about two-and-a-half hours; from SOHO – SDO via TheSunToday.org:

Another view, again UV, but at 171 Angstroms:

Tip of the old scrub brush to PopSci.

Resources:

2 Comments | Astronomy, NASA, Natural history, Nature, Science, Space exploration | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

The Sarah Palin History Network 06/07/11

June 9, 2011

The Sarah Palin History Network explains the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The Sarah Palin History Network 06/07/11, posted with vodpod

Is any comment really necessary?

Tip of the old scrub brush to Joan Samuels Kaiser.

2 Comments | Bogus history, Humor, Politics, Voodoo history | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Declaration of War on working Americans

June 9, 2011

I get e-mail, even sometimes from the CATO Institute:

For your interest…

Cato has launched the Department of Labor portion of www.DownsizingGovernment.org

http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/labor

The site includes essays on unemployment insurance, job training programs, labor union laws, and trade adjustment assistance.

Please enjoy,

Chris Edwards
Editor, www.DownsizingGovernment.org
Cato Institute

Doesn’t that sound like a declaration of war on working people, to you?  If not, why not?

16 Comments | Government, Labor and unions, Politics | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Annals of global warming: Al Gore didn’t invent it, Isaac Asimov explained in 1989

June 8, 2011

Amber Jenkins wrote over at NASA’s site:

I stumbled upon this video earlier today. It’s Isaac Asimov, famous science fiction writer and biochemist, talking about global warming — back in January 1989. If you change the coloring of the video, the facial hair style, and switch out Asimov for someone else, the video could pretty much have been made today.

Asimov was giving the keynote address at the first annual meeting of The Humanist Institute. “They wanted me to pick out the most important scientific event of 1988. And I really thought that the most important scientific event of 1988 will only be recognized sometime in the future when you get a little perspective.”

What he was talking about was the greenhouse effect, which, he goes on to explain, is “the story everyone started talking about [in 1988], just because there was a hot summer and a drought.” (Sound familiar, letting individual weather events drive talk of whether the Earth’s long-term climate is heating up or cooling down??)

The greenhouse effect explains how certain heat-trapping (a.k.a. “greenhouse”) gases in our atmosphere keep our planet warm, by trapping infrared rays that Earth would otherwise reflect back out into space. The natural greenhouse effect makes Earth habitable — without our atmosphere acting like an electric blanket, the surface of the earth would be about 30 degrees Celsius cooler than it is now.

The problem comes in when humans tinker with this natural state of affairs. Our burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) constantly pumps out carbon dioxide — a heat-trapping gas — into the atmosphere. Our cutting down of forests reduces the number of trees there are to soak up some of this extra carbon dioxide. All in all, our atmosphere and planet heats up, (by about 0.6 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution) with the electric blanket getting gradually thicker around us.

“I have been talking about the greenhouse effect for 20 years at least,” says Asimov in the video. “And there are other people who have talked about it before I did. I didn’t invent it.” As we’ve stressed here recently, global warming, and the idea that humans can change the climate, is not new.

As one blogger notes, Asimov’s words are as relevant today as they were in 1989. “It’s almost like nothing has happened in all this time.” Except that Isaac Asimov has come and gone, and the climate change he spoke of is continuing.

Asimov’s full speech can be seen here.

Scientists have been on the job that long, yes.  Al Gore didn’t invent global warming or climate change, contrary to the working beliefs of much of the “no human warming” crowd.

One of the commenters at Jenkins’ blog put things in perspective:

Jim
January 8, 2011 – 10:22 PST

Interestingly, 1988 was
• the last year that we were not in ecological overshoot
• the last year we were at 350 Parts per million CO2
• the publication date of Joseph Tainter’s he Collapse of Complex Societies http://intersci.ss.uci.edu/wiki/index.php/The_Collapse_of_Complex_Societies

6 Comments | Climate change, climate_change, CO2, Environment, Environmental protection, Global warming, History, NASA, Science | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

June 7, 1776: Politics, heavy lifting and Richard Henry Lee

June 7, 2011

Thomas Jefferson got much of the glory, and we celebrate July 4.

We might learn about how politics works, and who does the heavy lifting, if we remember the full history.

Richard Henry Lee by Charles Wilson Peale

Richard Henry Lee by Charles Wilson Peale (wikimedia)

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia rose in the 2nd Continental Congress to propose a resolution calling for a declaration of independence of the thirteen colonies, from Britain.

Lee came to Philadelphia as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774, and was reappointed to the Second Continental Congress.

On June 7, 1776, Lee proposed a resolution which read in part:

Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

He had returned to Virginia by the time the Declaration of Independence was drafted and approved on July 2, but he signed the document when he returned to Congress.

Lee served as president of the Second Continental Congress (November 1784 to November 1785), and after the formation of the United States, as U.S. Senator from Virginia.  In the Senate, he was President pro tempore.

Richard Henry Lee's resolution calling for a declaration of independence - National Archives

Richard Henry Lee's resolution calling for a declaration of independence - image from the National Archives

6 Comments | America's founding, American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, Heroes, Historic documents | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

About D-Day: View from 2011, “I can’t imagine what the world would look like if they’d failed”

June 7, 2011

At Metafilter, I found these comments on a D-Day thread, “Fading to yellow in a brown leather frame”:

  • When I was in 11th grade, the grandfather of one of my other students, who was at Normandy, came to talk to our history class about his experiences. He sobbed openly when he talked about storming the beaches and seeing what he thought were sand dunes, but were instead “waves” of corpses of those who had gone ahead of him. It was an experience which marked me deeply.
    posted by dhens at 7:40 AM on June 6 [3 favorites]
  • My Mum still remembers the sound of planes flying over southern England. She and her family were awakened early by the noise and knew the push has begun. She remembers people being very quiet and determined as they went about their day and most folks dropped into a church at some point.
    posted by pentagoet at 7:44 AM on June 6 [1 favorite]
  • My gran was shot at by the Luftwaffe. The bastards.
    We owe a huge debt to the people who went through it for us. I can’t imagine what the world would look like if they’d failed.
    posted by Summer at 7:59 AM on June 6

That last one’s worth repeating and remembering:

We owe a huge debt to the people who went through it for us. I can’t imagine what the world would look like if they’d failed.

Omaha Beach from the American Cemetery, June 6, 2004 - Sedulia blogs.com

Peace at Omaha Beach - Omaha Beach from the American Cemetery, June 6, 2004 - Sedulia blogs.com

1 Comment | Darfur, History, veterans, World War II | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

It’s official: Dallas school Superintendent Hinojosa resigned today

June 6, 2011

Dallas Independent School District’s (DISD) Superintendent Michael Hinojosa resigned about an hour ago to accept the job in Cobb County, Georgia.  The board meets tonight, perhapsto appoint an interim superintendent.

Here’s the message sent out through the Dallas systems today, to teachers and administrators:

SUPERINTENDENT MICHAEL HINOJOSA RESIGNS FROM DALLAS ISD

Accepts Superintendent Position in Cobb County, Georgia

Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa submitted his letter of resignation from the Dallas Independent School District today to accept a similar position in Cobb County, Georgia.

Dr. Hinojosa has served as the superintendent for the stateâs second-largest school district for six yearsâthe longest term since Linus Wright held the position in the 1980s. His last day with Dallas ISD will be Thursday, June 30, 2011.

“It has been an honor to serve as superintendent for the school district I attended as a child and where I started my teaching career,” said Hinojosa. “I am enormously proud of our shared accomplishmentsâthe biggest of which is that the number of students graduating from Dallas ISD schools is at its highest since 1983.”

This school year, Dallas ISD expects to graduate a total of 7,200 students, up from 5,800 four years ago. The number has steadily risen each of the last four years.

Under Dr. Hinojosaâs leadership, the school district implemented a systemwide curriculum that was developed by teachers. In addition, principals for schools that had vacancies during the last six years were selected through a collaborative process that allowed staff and the community to provide input.

A $1.37 billion bond program to build and improve school facilities that was approved by voters in 2002was implemented on schedule and under budget. Another $1.35 billion bond program that was approved by voters in 2008 will build 14 more schools, 13 additions, and provide renovations to more than 200 district facilities.

Dallas ISD also became known throughout the country for its leadership in arts education. The Wallace Foundation provided an $8 million grant for the district to partner with Big Thought and the City of Dallas to provide more arts opportunities for students both during and after school.

Under Dr. Hinojosa’s leadership, schools in the southern sector received a significant boost. Two early college high schools are now operating, an all-boys school will open this fall as will a New Tech High School, and three renovated/new schools will open in Wilmer-Hutchins signaling a rebirth of public education in that community.

Grants from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation enabled the Dallas Independent School District to become a pioneer in the world of student data. The grants gave principals and teachers access to data dashboards, as well as established a Parent Portal for parents to monitor the progress of their students.

During his six-year tenure, Dr. Hinojosa responded to several crises, including the dissolution of neighboring Wilmer-Hutchins ISD and hurricanes Katrina and Rita, all of which caused an unexpected influx of additional students into Dallas ISD. The biggest crisis was a budget miscalculation that eventually forced the layoff of hundreds of staff during the 2008-09 school year.

Since then, the district has put in place a number of financial controls and rebuilt its fund balance to safer levels. The district now faces a significant cut in state funding because of a statewide budget shortfall.

“It certainly isn’t easy to be an urban school superintendent in todayâs environment, but I am proud of what this community has accomplished during the last six years,” said Hinojosa. “More students are graduating, more students are scoring at college-ready levels and our teachers and principals are better-trained. I hope whoever the board chooses as its next superintendent is provided the same opportunities to make improvements to continue the momentum on behalf of the students of this community. I am thankful to trustees, our staff and so many other leaders and stakeholders in Dallas who have been part of this experience.”

One of Dr. Hinojosaâs hallmarks was to make unannounced visits to the district’s 225 schools each Wednesday morning. He said the experiences kept him grounded on what was most important in the life of a large, urban school district.

“Every school has individuals who are devoted to helping our students succeed,” said Hinojosa. “I couldn’t help but be moved by the dedication of so many people, from custodians to food service workers, librarians to counselors, aides to front office staff and of course, principals and teachers. The Dallas Independent School District will continue to shine because of each of them. My address may soon be in Georgia, but a part of me will always be in Dallas. It has been a privilege.”

Dr. Hinojosa said he is moving to Georgia in part to be closer to his son whose wife is pregnant with their first child. He has two sons who have recently graduated from Hillcrest High School in Dallas who will be attending Ivy League colleges in the fall.

In Fort Worth, the board is expected to approve a separation agreement for Superintendent Melody Johnson, who is resigning to move to California to be closer to her aged mother.  Most people expect a tough fight to find a capable person to head either district.

7 Comments | Education, Texas | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Teachers meet in Austin June 7, to plead for Texas children and education

June 6, 2011

Yeah, this video was first created for the April 2 teacher demonstrations in Austin; but the Texas Lege got filibustered at the last minute.  Now the Lege is in special, emergency session.

They still plan to begin the dismantling of Texas public education.  After the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, Texas did not follow the errors of Mississippi, Arkansas and Virginia, shutting down some or all of the state’s schools rather than education students of color.  As a result, Texas students leapt ahead of their counterparts in those states.

But today, in 2011, the Texas Lege plans two years of budget cuts that will kill Texas education reform efforts and backtrack on 20 years of progress.

Teacher groups ask Texas teachers to go to Austin June 7 to protest budget cuts.

It may be like Canute speaking to the sea, the Texas Lege is that stone deaf (water deaf?) — but if Texas teachers don’t stand up for education and Texas kids, who is left to do it?  Niemöller is dead.  Who is left?

Leave a Comment » | Education, Education reform, Education spending, Teachers, Texas, Texas history, Texas Lege | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

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