December 13, 2007
Liveblogging The Final Dem Debate Of 2007!
4:10. All over, no more debates until next year, hurray!
Up until a couple of months ago, there seemed to be a critical mass of Democratic support building behind Clinton, in part because of her metamorphosis into a suddenly "human" and likable politician and the assumption that the Clinton machine could best take on the Republican nominee next year. The political press carried on that change vs. experience debate all summer and into the early fall.
But now the nomination fight has been upended, and polls [PDF] show (subscription) that Obama and Edwards are viable in general election matchups, too. That eliminates for some voters their primary thesis for supporting Clinton, and it's why she's been struggling to stay afloat this month.
Most of us can look forward to relaxing with family in a week or so, but for the presidential contenders and Iowans it's closing arguments time. One thought to keep in mind: Part of the shifting around in this field and in the GOP as well is that the Iraq war has largely dropped out of the debate. Iraq no longer dominates the front page because of the decrease in violence and because of the campaigns. That changes in March at the latest, when Gen. David Petraeus is due back in Washington to report on the ground situation. We know the military part of the surge is working, but we are not much farther than we were in September on political reconciliation. The "what's next?" question is still hanging out there, unanswered. The GOP front-runners have more or less indicated loyalty to the Bush administration's policies, so answers will have to come from the Democratic field.
Early reactions: boring, boring, nice, snark.
Continue reading "Liveblogging The Final Dem Debate Of 2007!"
Posted at 4:10 PM
Posted to:
Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Economy, Education, Health, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Iraq, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Middle East, Republicans, Taxes, Trade, WH 2008
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December 04, 2007
We Need To Send The Dept. Of Ed To Asia...
...where officials might learn a thing or 10 from Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and even Macao(!). The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released the results of its 2006 testing of 15-year-olds' math and reading skills from around the globe; the Financial Times and Washington Post have writeups.
"The US, the world's largest economy, is below the OECD average in science and maths, and fails even to make the tables in reading because a misprint in the test confused too many students and invalidated the results," FT reports. Ouch.
Posted at 5:20 PM
Posted to:
Asia, Education
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October 24, 2007
Today In Bad Economic News...
A significant writedown and a bracingly grim housing forecast has driven the Dow down more than 150 points, slightly up from this morning's nosedive of 200.
AP: "Merrill said it wrote down $7.9 billion in fixed-income instruments called collateralized debt obligations and from defaulting subprime mortgages -- more than the $5 billion writedown the investment bank estimated earlier this month. The result was a net loss for the quarter of $2.3 billion." Merrill Lynch & Co. is the nation's largest investment firm, and its worse-than-expected third-quarter losses bode ill for the rest of the sector as it grapples with an apparently worsening housing implosion.
Lending arms are clamming up to stanch the bleeding of the subprime lending crisis, effectively putting the brakes on the housing market. MarketWatch reports that "sales of existing homes and condos fell 8% in September to the lowest level in at least eight years as inventories of single-family rose to a 20-year high." In other words, there is quite a bit more property out there than there are buyers. Those who are managing to sell are doing so at reduced prices.
While there is some concern that home sales are being "artificially depressed" -- as one analyst put it -- by panic at the credit crunch, the one-two punch of investor losses and credit cutoff for many Americans means a longer-term negative trend.
Continue reading "Today In Bad Economic News..."
Posted at 2:21 PM
Posted to:
Bush Administration, Economy, Education
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October 09, 2007
Bush Issues Plea For No Child Left Behind
One week after losing precious political points for his party by vetoing a bill to expand a popular children's health care program, President Bush stepped into the White House Rose Garden today and pleaded with Congress for a bipartisan solution to another major children's issue: education.
"No Child Left Behind is replacing a culture of low expectations with a commitment to high achievement for all," Bush told reporters as he called on members from both sides of the aisle to renew his landmark 2002 education reform act. Emphasizing the original goal of having "every child reading and doing math at grade level by 2014" -- a benchmark some lawmakers and educators have balked at -- Bush said he was not willing to compromise "on holding schools accountable."
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Posted at 3:28 PM
Posted to:
Bush Administration, Congress, Education, President Bush
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September 26, 2007
Bush: 'Childrens Do Learn'
President Bush has done it again.
The misspeaker in chief was promoting his No Child Left Behind educational testing program in New York City, with first lady Laura Bush, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at his side.
Referring to a new National Assessment of Educational Progress, Bush said, "As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured." You won't find that gaffe in the White House transcript, though; the Washington Post reports that it's been corrected to "children."
While campaigning for the job he currently holds, Bush famously wondered aloud, "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
This got us to thinking that Bush's verbal gaffes make him a disturbingly good candidate for the confounding LOL phenomenon. Turns out others agree.
Posted at 4:44 PM
Posted to:
Bush Administration, Education
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September 04, 2007
Another Reason To Send Your Child To Private School
OK, that headline was meant somewhat in jest. But the Arizona Republic has an incredibly depressing story about the state of English teaching in public schools. (Hat tip: VDARE via The Corner.)
A five-year review of English classrooms at all levels found that Arizona English teachers had a poor grasp of the language, which explains why test scores have declined in recent years (the reason for the study in the first place). Some of the more frightening snippets heard in class:
"If you have problems, to who are you going to ask?"
"Read me first how it was before."
And last but not least: "How do we call it in English?"
Continue reading "Another Reason To Send Your Child To Private School"
Posted at 3:35 PM
Posted to:
Campaigns, Education, Republicans, Tom Tancredo, WH 2008
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August 28, 2007
SAT Scores Drop For Second Year In A Row
The College Board released a report on the infamous SAT college entrance exam today and found that the Class of 2007 posted the lowest test scores in several years. The report focuses on the growing number of students taking the exam and, particularly, on the record numbers of minority test-takers. It trumpets a modest increase in reading scores for Asian- and Hispanic-Americans. However, national critical reading and math scores dropped by one and three points, respectively, and the relatively new writing section, introduced in 2006, also posted a drop of three points.
This is the second year in a row that the board has reported a drop in SAT scores. The New York Times reports that "in 2006, the first class to take a new three part test including a writing section, average SAT scores showed the largest decline in 31 years: 5 points in critical reading and 2 in math." Educators and guidance counselors blamed a longer test and student fatigue for last year's drop in scores, while the College Board attributed it to a drop in the number of students who took the test more than once.
Continue reading "SAT Scores Drop For Second Year In A Row"
Posted at 1:30 PM
Posted to:
Education
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