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Greetings, Internet and screen-savvy users. If you have children and are worried about their screen exposure, new research from Maryland indicates that screen time and time spent playing games can actually help reading, problem-solving and social skills, although it's possible random surfing has a small negative effect.
Speaking of educational objectives, though, most searchers prefer to hammer keywords on the free web until they hit satisfaction, rather than use specialized resources that will provide better data when doing research.
Speaking of education, if you're going to do a conference about teaching and education, you should probably invite teachers and educators to talk about what's going on in schools. When you don't, you end up with Mr. Stossel claiming that more money is not the solution to schools failing, nor smaller class sizes, but a ruthlessness toward discipline and firing any teacher whose students aren't always working all the time.
In the world today, Afghans vote in what will likely be a low-turnout, high-disruptions election for parliament. Whether they will then accept the results of that election is to be seen. Accusations of fraud and corruption are already mounting up.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern about the increased role the Iranian military is taking in the government, appealing to the "republic" part of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the government and people to not let the military take over.
Climate disruption continues to have effects - witness the second time in recorded observation that two Category 4 hurricane storms are in the Atlantic simultaneously, among other records and firsts.
A United Nations-backed tribunal indicted the surviving members of the Khmer Rouge for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder, torture, and religious persecution.
Finally, Several men arrested for joking about how they could potentially kill the pope were released without charges, after the investigation concluded they were just joking around. The system worked, although the potential weak link in the chain there is the co-worker who couldn't tell if they were joking or not and called to police. I suspect, though, that's actually what the authorities want them to do so they dont' get caught with their pants down on a real attempt.
Doemstically, Mr. Bolton and the Washington Times criticize the Obama Administration for not being more vocal and public about crticism of the United Nations, making a passing mention to the more Taoist approach taken by the administration to voice their concerns in private and streategically. The Administration also claims that by not standing on the street corner, it has also managed to get a lot of good work done.
The numbers on unemployment and underemployment continue to look grim, although technically, we've been out of the recession for almost a year now. On the issue of jobs, Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said the President needs to make them his focus, so that he can achieve in economics what he's achieved elsewhere. And as for the housing bubble, well, the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are hounding mortgage servicing companies and banks to take back properties that they currently own, accusing them of delaying the process entirely too long, while everyone tries to sell houses at a price they feel is going to be fair and profitable for them.
The state of Texas sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block new pollution regulations, claiming the EPA based its decision on the IPCC report and thus used flawed facts and discredited arguments as the basis for the new regulations.
Last for this section, Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics shows an interest in CNS correlating the increased amount of gun sales with a reduced amount of violent crime, although they spend most of the time using those two items to claim that gun control advocates are wrong about their statistics regarding increased violent crime and the prevalence of guns. I'm guessing there's a lot more analysis that could be done to make validity claims on both sides of the debate, because I'm guessing there are a lot of other variables that have to be accounted for.
Into technology, where we find pocket projectors for cell phones and tablet computers, using bacteria strains to turn sugars into plastics, instead of creating plastics from petroleum, some very close approaches of Jupiter and Uranus for stargazers, and Mr. Holdren, the Office of Science and Technology director, saying that the United States needs to brings its economic reality in line with the reality of ecology and resource shortages, aiming for a sustainable and non planet-destroying country. (Which will cause a freakout among plenty of people, whether they beleive God wants us to use up the entire planet so it can be reborn or that the United States' wealth and superexceptional way of life gives us a free pass on having to relate to the rest of the world and share resources with them.)
Ah, and then there are researchers that indicate they may have found combinations of genes that can predict more or less general intelligence in humans. But it's a big set of combinations, possibly thousands, that they're analyzing.
In opinions, Ms. Rubin examines the focus of blame for liberals and conservatives when things go wrong, and while she touts the inherent superiority of the conservative position because it trusts that the people around you are smart, sane, hard-working people, she does give a fair approximation of the liberal position (we do think, though, that liberals want competent people in charge, not necessarily elites - liberals would probably characterize the greedy Wall Street barons as the elites in need of fixing, as well as certain political parties). When things go wrong, liberals examine why the people did what they did and usually come up with "they acted on their worst impulses", and they want to put laws and regulations in place to curb them. When conservatives examine the same situation, they come up with "the people were harmed by regulation and laws", and they want to get rid of those harms by getting rid of the laws and regulations. Working together, they could find a comrpomise spot to curb the bad impulses without unduly burdening the people. That's usually what we call bipartisanship, and we've been missing it for a very long time.
Mr. Cannon touts Tea Party victories as a warning to Washington that the people still care about social issues in addition to economic ones, and that Republicans should adjust their campaigns to include how socially conservative, starting with being pro-life and pro-heterosexuals only, they are to get votes.
George Soros rules the Democratic Party, says Discover The Networks. I'm betting this has been happening before, but now we can finally pit Rupert Murdoch against George Soros for control of the political landscape, with pet organizations and puppets fighting each other in skirmishes much like a game of Illuminati. Should be awesome to watch, for those with enough perspective to see it unfolding.
The editors of the WSJ feel Elizabeth Warren's appointment as advisor to the new consumer protection bureau is a run around the Senate and the Constitution to ensure that the thing that Elizabeth Warren wants in place gets put in place, and then, most importantly, will be turned over to a Director that goes through the regular approval process. We think the WSJ editors are worried that the Democrats will retain some measure of control and then be able to push through someone with the same amount of consumer fire and stones as Elizabeth Warren. (We also note to them that we're talking about Democrats, here, some of which are too afraid to stand behind their accomplishments because they think of them as millstones, instead.) The editors see this as continuing the pattern of the President acting on his own and thumbing his nose at the Senate and their advice and consent. We're of two minds about it - one, it gets results, so there's something to be said of it, and the current morass that the Senate is would basically ensure nothing gets done, so end-around is better than morass... but at the same time, it is using the powers of the President in novel ways to get around the Senate. It sets and/or reinforces precedent that someone else will be able to use to the detriment of your side later.
Mr. Solway chooses to remember the 11 September attacks by reiterating that Islam is The Bloodthirsty Religion and won't rest until the world is conquered, so our government needs to wake up and acknowledge that we are actaully at war with Islam and go crush it. Otherwise, we'll suffer from Iranian EMP attacks or cyber-warfare from our enemies and be crippled. (Recall, not too long ago, the report of an EMP study group saying that missile-based EMP is an unlikely proposition.) More mildy, Mr. Ajami asserts that Islam has the potential to be a Bloodthirsty Religion, and that the Park 51 project was a stupid idea because the assertion of rights in the country should give way to common sense, so if the people don't want a mosque around where WTC stood, then mosque-builders should not build there. The undertone there and in many of those arguments, though is, "Be quiet, minority, and defer - remember that your rights are not guaranteed in law, but in whether or not we, the majority, decide you should be able to exercise them." That attitude is responsible for a lot of pain and suffering in our history, and progress was usually made when that minority gave the finger to the majority and said, "Our rights are enshrined in law, and we are able to do things that you think are in bad taste." And then, with time, those things that were thought to be in bad taste are a part of us normally. The undertone has been brought out as its own melody, though, whenever people comment on the recent French legislation to ban full-face coverings. Those in favor of the ban often make the argument that wearing those kinds of covering signifies an unwillingness to assimilate into French society that should be purged from them, regardless of whether such things are an important part of their larger cultural identity. We can have a spirited debate about whether such things signify repression or are or are not part of the religion's requirements, but when it rolls into "French values" or "American values" or other nationalist concerns, it gives voice to the serpent that sees a hostile Other everywhere and wants to preserve itself by lashing out. That particualr serpent wants you to think that the repeal of the ban on LGBT people serving in the military is catering to special interests, that those who object to having LGBT people around them in the military will be shown the door and discriminated against instead of accommodated, and the military should be able to discriminate against LGBT people because they will impact the good order and functioning of military units.
Mr. Sowell advocates for an arms race in the name of being prepared for when your opponents inevitably attack you. So the possibility of disarmament and world peace just doesn't exist, I guess.
The Washington Times editors complain about European regulation that would set a maximum wattage on vacuum cleaners, saying the US will adopt it and a maximum wattage celing means less cleaning power. That seesm a bit sketchy to me, so I went and brushed up a little bit of basic electrical science. Turns out Wattage is Voltage multiplied by amperage, so my initial thought of "Don't they usually measure cleaning power in amps?" is right, just incomplete. Still, since it's a multiplication thing, I'm sure there are engineers who will work at reducing voltage by reducing resistance and then be able to amp things up on the new, better-greased pathways. Lots of power for a little bit of voltage.
And finally in regular opinions, Mr. Feulner attacks activist judges, saying they've made up justifications to stop SB 1070 and to repeal Proposition 8 that have no actual basis in Constitutional or federal law. The rulingon Proposition 8, as I recall, mentioned that Prop 8 also ran against the California constitution's guarantees, so Mr. Feulner has less of a leg to stand on for that, and as for SB 1070, as I recall, the main legal argument is that it usurps the jurisdiction of the federal government to provide uniform rules regarding the borders of the nation. The bits about the invitiation to racial profiling are also problematic, but I think those were the actual challenges.
Last for tonight, a guide to the alcohols of Star Trek, the real ones in ToS and the less-than-real ones of TNG.
And pancakes that make a dinosaur skeleton when assembled.
Speaking of educational objectives, though, most searchers prefer to hammer keywords on the free web until they hit satisfaction, rather than use specialized resources that will provide better data when doing research.
Speaking of education, if you're going to do a conference about teaching and education, you should probably invite teachers and educators to talk about what's going on in schools. When you don't, you end up with Mr. Stossel claiming that more money is not the solution to schools failing, nor smaller class sizes, but a ruthlessness toward discipline and firing any teacher whose students aren't always working all the time.
In the world today, Afghans vote in what will likely be a low-turnout, high-disruptions election for parliament. Whether they will then accept the results of that election is to be seen. Accusations of fraud and corruption are already mounting up.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern about the increased role the Iranian military is taking in the government, appealing to the "republic" part of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the government and people to not let the military take over.
Climate disruption continues to have effects - witness the second time in recorded observation that two Category 4 hurricane storms are in the Atlantic simultaneously, among other records and firsts.
A United Nations-backed tribunal indicted the surviving members of the Khmer Rouge for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder, torture, and religious persecution.
Finally, Several men arrested for joking about how they could potentially kill the pope were released without charges, after the investigation concluded they were just joking around. The system worked, although the potential weak link in the chain there is the co-worker who couldn't tell if they were joking or not and called to police. I suspect, though, that's actually what the authorities want them to do so they dont' get caught with their pants down on a real attempt.
Doemstically, Mr. Bolton and the Washington Times criticize the Obama Administration for not being more vocal and public about crticism of the United Nations, making a passing mention to the more Taoist approach taken by the administration to voice their concerns in private and streategically. The Administration also claims that by not standing on the street corner, it has also managed to get a lot of good work done.
The numbers on unemployment and underemployment continue to look grim, although technically, we've been out of the recession for almost a year now. On the issue of jobs, Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said the President needs to make them his focus, so that he can achieve in economics what he's achieved elsewhere. And as for the housing bubble, well, the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are hounding mortgage servicing companies and banks to take back properties that they currently own, accusing them of delaying the process entirely too long, while everyone tries to sell houses at a price they feel is going to be fair and profitable for them.
The state of Texas sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block new pollution regulations, claiming the EPA based its decision on the IPCC report and thus used flawed facts and discredited arguments as the basis for the new regulations.
Last for this section, Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics shows an interest in CNS correlating the increased amount of gun sales with a reduced amount of violent crime, although they spend most of the time using those two items to claim that gun control advocates are wrong about their statistics regarding increased violent crime and the prevalence of guns. I'm guessing there's a lot more analysis that could be done to make validity claims on both sides of the debate, because I'm guessing there are a lot of other variables that have to be accounted for.
Into technology, where we find pocket projectors for cell phones and tablet computers, using bacteria strains to turn sugars into plastics, instead of creating plastics from petroleum, some very close approaches of Jupiter and Uranus for stargazers, and Mr. Holdren, the Office of Science and Technology director, saying that the United States needs to brings its economic reality in line with the reality of ecology and resource shortages, aiming for a sustainable and non planet-destroying country. (Which will cause a freakout among plenty of people, whether they beleive God wants us to use up the entire planet so it can be reborn or that the United States' wealth and superexceptional way of life gives us a free pass on having to relate to the rest of the world and share resources with them.)
Ah, and then there are researchers that indicate they may have found combinations of genes that can predict more or less general intelligence in humans. But it's a big set of combinations, possibly thousands, that they're analyzing.
In opinions, Ms. Rubin examines the focus of blame for liberals and conservatives when things go wrong, and while she touts the inherent superiority of the conservative position because it trusts that the people around you are smart, sane, hard-working people, she does give a fair approximation of the liberal position (we do think, though, that liberals want competent people in charge, not necessarily elites - liberals would probably characterize the greedy Wall Street barons as the elites in need of fixing, as well as certain political parties). When things go wrong, liberals examine why the people did what they did and usually come up with "they acted on their worst impulses", and they want to put laws and regulations in place to curb them. When conservatives examine the same situation, they come up with "the people were harmed by regulation and laws", and they want to get rid of those harms by getting rid of the laws and regulations. Working together, they could find a comrpomise spot to curb the bad impulses without unduly burdening the people. That's usually what we call bipartisanship, and we've been missing it for a very long time.
Mr. Cannon touts Tea Party victories as a warning to Washington that the people still care about social issues in addition to economic ones, and that Republicans should adjust their campaigns to include how socially conservative, starting with being pro-life and pro-heterosexuals only, they are to get votes.
George Soros rules the Democratic Party, says Discover The Networks. I'm betting this has been happening before, but now we can finally pit Rupert Murdoch against George Soros for control of the political landscape, with pet organizations and puppets fighting each other in skirmishes much like a game of Illuminati. Should be awesome to watch, for those with enough perspective to see it unfolding.
The editors of the WSJ feel Elizabeth Warren's appointment as advisor to the new consumer protection bureau is a run around the Senate and the Constitution to ensure that the thing that Elizabeth Warren wants in place gets put in place, and then, most importantly, will be turned over to a Director that goes through the regular approval process. We think the WSJ editors are worried that the Democrats will retain some measure of control and then be able to push through someone with the same amount of consumer fire and stones as Elizabeth Warren. (We also note to them that we're talking about Democrats, here, some of which are too afraid to stand behind their accomplishments because they think of them as millstones, instead.) The editors see this as continuing the pattern of the President acting on his own and thumbing his nose at the Senate and their advice and consent. We're of two minds about it - one, it gets results, so there's something to be said of it, and the current morass that the Senate is would basically ensure nothing gets done, so end-around is better than morass... but at the same time, it is using the powers of the President in novel ways to get around the Senate. It sets and/or reinforces precedent that someone else will be able to use to the detriment of your side later.
Mr. Solway chooses to remember the 11 September attacks by reiterating that Islam is The Bloodthirsty Religion and won't rest until the world is conquered, so our government needs to wake up and acknowledge that we are actaully at war with Islam and go crush it. Otherwise, we'll suffer from Iranian EMP attacks or cyber-warfare from our enemies and be crippled. (Recall, not too long ago, the report of an EMP study group saying that missile-based EMP is an unlikely proposition.) More mildy, Mr. Ajami asserts that Islam has the potential to be a Bloodthirsty Religion, and that the Park 51 project was a stupid idea because the assertion of rights in the country should give way to common sense, so if the people don't want a mosque around where WTC stood, then mosque-builders should not build there. The undertone there and in many of those arguments, though is, "Be quiet, minority, and defer - remember that your rights are not guaranteed in law, but in whether or not we, the majority, decide you should be able to exercise them." That attitude is responsible for a lot of pain and suffering in our history, and progress was usually made when that minority gave the finger to the majority and said, "Our rights are enshrined in law, and we are able to do things that you think are in bad taste." And then, with time, those things that were thought to be in bad taste are a part of us normally. The undertone has been brought out as its own melody, though, whenever people comment on the recent French legislation to ban full-face coverings. Those in favor of the ban often make the argument that wearing those kinds of covering signifies an unwillingness to assimilate into French society that should be purged from them, regardless of whether such things are an important part of their larger cultural identity. We can have a spirited debate about whether such things signify repression or are or are not part of the religion's requirements, but when it rolls into "French values" or "American values" or other nationalist concerns, it gives voice to the serpent that sees a hostile Other everywhere and wants to preserve itself by lashing out. That particualr serpent wants you to think that the repeal of the ban on LGBT people serving in the military is catering to special interests, that those who object to having LGBT people around them in the military will be shown the door and discriminated against instead of accommodated, and the military should be able to discriminate against LGBT people because they will impact the good order and functioning of military units.
Mr. Sowell advocates for an arms race in the name of being prepared for when your opponents inevitably attack you. So the possibility of disarmament and world peace just doesn't exist, I guess.
The Washington Times editors complain about European regulation that would set a maximum wattage on vacuum cleaners, saying the US will adopt it and a maximum wattage celing means less cleaning power. That seesm a bit sketchy to me, so I went and brushed up a little bit of basic electrical science. Turns out Wattage is Voltage multiplied by amperage, so my initial thought of "Don't they usually measure cleaning power in amps?" is right, just incomplete. Still, since it's a multiplication thing, I'm sure there are engineers who will work at reducing voltage by reducing resistance and then be able to amp things up on the new, better-greased pathways. Lots of power for a little bit of voltage.
And finally in regular opinions, Mr. Feulner attacks activist judges, saying they've made up justifications to stop SB 1070 and to repeal Proposition 8 that have no actual basis in Constitutional or federal law. The rulingon Proposition 8, as I recall, mentioned that Prop 8 also ran against the California constitution's guarantees, so Mr. Feulner has less of a leg to stand on for that, and as for SB 1070, as I recall, the main legal argument is that it usurps the jurisdiction of the federal government to provide uniform rules regarding the borders of the nation. The bits about the invitiation to racial profiling are also problematic, but I think those were the actual challenges.
Last for tonight, a guide to the alcohols of Star Trek, the real ones in ToS and the less-than-real ones of TNG.
And pancakes that make a dinosaur skeleton when assembled.
