The South losing political influence
by David Safier Here's a short piece from Kevin Drum on his Mother Jones blog (He used to do the Political Animal blog for Washington Monthly) about the south's diminishing political clout. I hope he's got this right. For many years, the Democratic Party controlled the agenda of American politics and Southerners controlled much of … Read more
Voter turnout
by David Safier A very interesting analysis of voter turnout nationally. Generally, the number of Democratic voters increased while Republicans decreased. But in states that went for McCain . . . Here are a few excerpts. The entire article is worth a read. Turnout in last week's election increased from four years ago but fell … Read more
Can some good come out of this?
by David Safier I tend to scoff at people who talk about good coming out of evil. ("Doesn't it gladden your heart to know that some Germans put their lives at risk to hide Jews in their homes during World War II?" No, it doesn't, when I balance it against the vast majority who condoned … Read more
Social promotion is not the Great Satan
by David Safier Kudos to Rhonda Bodfield for the series of investigative articles she wrote in the Star awhile back about social promotion. It's a topic worth looking into. But in today's article, which slams local school districts for not taking action on her findings, she gets a little carried away with herself. Actually, she gets … Read more
J the P tries to stretch his 15 minutes
by David Safier Tedski over at Rum, Romanism and Rebellion noted that Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, aka J the P, now has a website, secureourdream.com. Yes, that Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. I I had to follow up. It seems Samuel (Can I call you Sam? Thanks.) . . . Sam believes he has something to share with the world. … Read more
The latest right wing meme: What school for Obama’s children?
by David Safier If one conservative pundit writes a column about the hypocrisy of Obama sending his kids to private school, it's just a column. When the next day another conservative pundit writes that, to be consistent, Obama should send his kids to public school, we're seeing the creation of a new talking point from … Read more
Pay for grades?
by David Safier (TASL) I find this encouraging. Freshmen in the Sunnyside School District will get free laptops if they keep a 2.5 or better GPA and have a 95% attendance record. Will this change behavior or just reward the students who are already doing well? Single-period absences for freshmen at Desert View High School … Read more
