Jim

There's dumb as a stump stupid (the Shrub) and then there is intelligent but dumb F*** stupid. Exhibit 201: “A lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay.” This was his scientific evidence that being gay is a choice. “So if there were a container of contaminated urine, and somehow it managed to find its way to someplace a lot of damage could be done. Someone comes up to a lab worker. He knows he’s got the urine. ‘How would you like to have a million dollars?’ … Such things have been known to happen.” This is a doctor talking now, about ebola, and how it could be used as a chemical weapon even though every other doctor said no, that couldn’t happen. “Why did evolution divert in so many directions — birds, fish, elephants, apes, humans — if there is some force evolving to the maximum? Why isn’t everything a human — a superior human?” Brilliant! I say, just brilliant! “For most of our history, schoolchildren were taught the guiding principles of the Constitution from the earliest age, and even members of Congress with controversial civil rights histories such as the late Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia kept a copy of that great document in their jacket pocket to remind them of the responsibilities and limits of governance.” This quote belongs on this list mostly because the two heroes of the Constitution he mentioned were both KKK members who did everything in their power to subvert the Constitution and keep people like Dr. Ben Carson from having any rights. Sometimes I wonder if maybe this is guy is just suffering from Stockholm Syndrome

He's neither ignorant nor a hick. And probably has a solid 100 IQ points above yours. Well, on the GOP intellect genius scale he is pegging the meter: In a speech delivered in 2012, Ben Carson said the big bang theory was part of the “fairy tales” pushed by “high-faluting scientists” as a story of creation. Similarly, Carson, a noted creationist, said he believed the theory of evolution was encouraged by the devil. “Now what about the big bang theory,” said Carson at speech to fellow Seventh-day Adventists titled “Celebration of Creation,” about the theory for the origin of the universe. “I find the big bang, really quite fascinating. I mean, here you have all these high-faluting scientists and they’re saying it was this gigantic explosion and everything came into perfect order. Now these are the same scientists that go around touting the second law of thermodynamics, which is entropy, which says that things move toward a state of disorganization. “So now you’re gonna have this big explosion and everything becomes perfectly organized and when you ask them about it they say, ‘Well we can explain this, based on probability theory because if there’s enough big explosions, over a long period of time, billions and billions of years, one of them will be the perfect explosion,” continued Carson. “So I say what you’re telling me is if I blow a hurricane through a junkyard enough times over billions and billions of years, eventually after one of those hurricanes there will be a 747 fully loaded and ready to fly.” Carson added that he believed the big bang was “even more ridiculous” because there is order to the universe. “Well, I mean, it’s even more ridiculous than that ‘cause our solar system, not to mention the universe outside of that, is extraordinarily well organized, to the point where we can predict 70 years away when a comet is coming,” he said. “Now that type of organization to just come out of an explosion? I mean, you want to talk about fairy tales, that is amazing.” Later, Carson said he personally believed Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was encouraged by the devil. “I personally believe that this theory that Darwin came up with was something that was encouraged by the adversary, and it has become what is scientifically, politically correct,” said Carson.

See Meru instead: Meru is playing at the Guild 45th in Seattle .......and a review of Everest

PM sent

PM sent

Absolutely. The old "tracking" model has been dead for some time -- for a lot of good reasons. The model now is integration, where kids spend all or some of their time in regular classes with an Instructional Aid assisting to accommodate the lesson and homework to match their ability. And then they periodically get pulled out for more small group instruction and practice. It's not my field, but I think a couple of reasons for this is to help kids learn social integration skills and get bumped up a bit by association with higher learners. And I can only speak from my limited first-hand volunteer experience and from what my science-teacher spouse tells me. But for some kids, especially the bright Ausburger kids this really helps. Other developmentally handicapped kids - they get some basic skill out of the class but it's more for socialization. And yea, it can be quite the challenge for teachers. And the "normal" kids also learn from the experience, help these kids, are often quite protective of them, and learn some important humanity lessons.

I'm having trouble with this last sentence - which is a double negative inferring that developmentally impaired kids are not in "regular" school??? Nope... they kept the special ed kids in the basement, when I was in school. Did you have "speshuls" in class when you were a kid? Then I assume you meant to put a past tense verb in the sentence -- today it's different. Which is one of the Seattle Teacher's strike issues - very underfunded student-teacher ratios for speech therapists and various special education needs.

I'm having trouble with this last sentence - which is a double negative inferring that developmentally impaired kids are not in "regular" school???

I'm just saying it is what it is. It works out great for the folks who have enough time, money, energy to put into a system and then draw off public funds. And then the "real" public schools get to deal with the real-world problems of dealing with all-comers. Ya can't fault parents wanting to have the best for their kid - it's just a shame that we don't want to put the resources where they are needed in dealing with the relevant issues. It's more of the same -- those with more time, money, education, and resources come out on top.

I'm pretty sure charter schools have the same admittance standards and requirements as any other publicly funded school.. In theory yes - in actuality, a big no. Charter schools most often start by a active parent group with some goal in mind - this doesn't include special education students - least I haven't seen it. And the reason is clear - WA doesn't provide enough resources. It's the same reason that if you have a special needs kid a private school doesn't have to provide these resources - but, supposedly a public school does. So if you have a kid with moderate Ausburgers you are not going to send him to the new Charter School with an emphasis on technology - rather you will look around at the existing public schools that have the best reputation for inclusion and good special education staff. So it ends up a self-selecting filter.

Good point - could be.

Except there is not valid proof of this.

Sanders Shamelessly Pandering to Voters Who Want to Hear Truth BY ANDY BOROWITZ CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE (The Borowitz Report)—Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is gaining legions of new admirers by shamelessly pandering to voters who want to hear the truth, critics of the Vermont senator say. According to those critics, Sanders has cynically targeted so-called “truth-based voters” to build support for his Presidential bid. “People come to Sanders’s rallies expecting to hear the truth, and he serves it up to them on a silver platter,” the political strategist Harland Dorrinson said. “It’s a very calculated gimmick.” But while Sanders’s practice of relentlessly telling the truth might play well in states that are rich in truth-based voters, like the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, critics say that his campaign could stall in states where the truth has historically been less important, like Florida. “At some point in this campaign, voters are going to get truth fatigue,” Dorrinson said. “Right now, the novelty of a politician who doesn’t constantly spew lies is grabbing headlines. But after months of Bernie Sanders telling the truth, voters are going to start wondering, Is that all he’s got?” Dorrinson is just one of many critics who is eagerly waiting for the Sanders phenomenon to come down to Earth. “Telling the truth may be working for Bernie Sanders, but it shows a serious lack of respect for the American political system,” he said.

Dang - what is it? Are these guys so deep into the corporate pockets that they only voters they can now attract have to throw them this crap of red meat? I noticed that Jeb, who used to be considered a moderate - has decided he needs to run with the pack and has abandoned his support for Common Core and now agrees we need to change the Constitution to remove in-country birthright citizenship. Really. You couldn't make this stuff up. I'm out of popcorn already and it's a year before the GOP convention.

Nice - thanks. You guys were lucky to find a way up given how crappy that glacier looks right now.

One day a long, long time ago. The story for the latest decade: fail [video:youtube]

Who's oly and who FW in that cage fight? A metaphor indeed.

This is downright scary.

Hands down - Carl's Foreign Cars near U Village

At least they look much younger than the Rolling Stones

With clowns like Trump and this guy, who knows who could pop to the surface. It's come to this

MGG route - 15 yrs ago? I remember very exposed, lot o' shaley stuff - something about it all gave me the willies unroped.

I call it B-B-Bonanza because of that dang long extent of crappy "3rd Class" scrambling. Maybe a valium would have helped on that one.

For a pleasant diversion: The following post first appeared on FactCheck.org. Real estate developer Donald Trump’s speech announcing he is running for the Republican nomination for president contained a number of false and misleading statements on the economy, trade, health care and terrorism: •Trump claimed that economic growth has “never” been below zero until last quarter’s drop, which is far from true. It has been below zero 42 times since 1946. •He said “there are no jobs” to be had. In fact, there were 5.4 million job openings recorded at the end of April, the most in 15 years. •He said the “real” unemployment rate is “anywhere from 18 to 20 percent” and “maybe even 21 percent.” We see no factual basis for this opinion. •He boasted he would have blocked new Ford plants in Mexico by threatening to impose a 35 percent tax on vehicles and parts made in Mexico and shipped to the U.S. But only Congress can impose taxes and such a tax would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement. •Trump claimed the five Taliban leaders exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us.” But all five remain in Qatar, where they continue to be monitored and are subject to a travel ban, according to the State Department. •He also made the misleading claim that health care premium costs are going “up 29, 39, 49 and even 55 percent.” He’s talking about some proposed rate increases on the individual market that still need regulatory approval. There are also proposed rate decreases or single-digit increases that did not have to be submitted for review.

x2 No, that would be entirely too cost effective and oh, cut out the unnecessary and bloated insurance system. For dog's sake - what would all those CEO's do for "work"?