Friday morning link dump

Educators have called for national teaching guidelines for science in schools around the nation — and they called for the curriculum for Middle Schools to focus more on the junk sciences like Evolution and Global Warming.

I notice they don't allow comments.

I can see why.

#1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-05-17 07:48 (Reply)

Well, evolution does involve propagation of the species, so I guess it is about your junk. Hence, junk science.

#1.1 JKB on 2013-05-17 08:04 (Reply)

Good point, as we get shafted again. How, on God's Green Earth, can anyone see through the AGW charade and then call evolution a hoax? Since this probably isn't the "Jesus riding around on the back of dinosaurs" crowd, I gather they're big on Intelligent Design? That is, evolution wasn't smart enough to invent the eye, therefore outside help was required.

As I put it in one article, if evolution was smart enough to invent the platypus, it can invent just about anything.

#1.1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-05-17 12:42 (Reply)

BD, you don't want to miss Kim Strassel today. She's not fooling around, and gets right to the point: these messes in Washington are Obama's doing.

http://on.wsj.com/16DPGD2

#2 MTF on 2013-05-17 08:12 (Reply)

Last night, my local news led with the IRS scandal as the local Tea Party had had a meeting. Right with an on-camera anecdote about IRS overreach.

This crazy IRS request, assuming true, had humor if you ignored the IRS malevolence. Apparently, they wanted the party to report on what their members were thinking. Mind reading under penalty of perjury.

But to my point, WaPo may wish these scandals have no substance. Let us assume they don't. They have a far more effective feature, they are local. The IRS scandal is like closing the local post office. It's local, it's in every congressional district and it's personal to constituents.

The IRS Tea Party, et al, harassment is not some story about one group of Ivy League ring knockers being out smarted by another group of ring knockers off in the DC arena. It's out in the country, among the folks, and there a million, well thousand, stories in the countryside. They all start with "The IRS hounded us with...."

Oh and when I was in government, we had a simple rule on behavior, don't do anything you don't want to see reported in the Washington Post. I guess, with these "low level" IRS employees, the fact that the WaPo was in the bag for Obama they lost that simple rule of thumb.

#3 JKB on 2013-05-17 08:19 (Reply)

There is that "excuse" again, that the government is to big for Obama to manage. Well, it is not just Obama, he has the cream of the Democratic party to help him but they seem unable to oversee the vast bureaucracy.

And yet, every program or idea they have is to increase the size of that government. The one the Democrats can't provide effective oversight to now.

#4 JKB on 2013-05-17 08:28 (Reply)

I think we should run with this "the government is too big to manage" meme. Might be our best hope to get some momentum in pulling it back. Well one can dream anyways.

#4.1 phil g on 2013-05-17 08:58 (Reply)

That they argue the impossibility of the elected/appointed officials to oversee and manage the government due to size, should definitely be pointed out every time those elected/appointed officials attempt to add more responsibilities or control to that government.

"You want to give government more power? You can't control the government with the power it has. Only an idiot would make it bigger."

#4.1.1 JKB on 2013-05-17 09:24 (Reply)

Also a reminder to Republican candidates who believe the problem is just bad management versus the size and scope.

Nonsense, the Fed gov has simply become too big, trying to do way too much to ever be managed effectively and to be anything more than a drag on the economy and a limitation of liberty.

#4.1.1.1 phil g on 2013-05-17 10:09 (Reply)

A couple of points about "sexual assault" in the military:
1. The rate of complaints seems high but mirrors society in general. The complaint rate at colleges is actually much higher. In general the age group in question is the age group of excess both in drinking but in sex as well (I miss those days, sigh). So I'm thinking this is more about forcing the military to do something special interest groups want and not about sexual assault at all.
2. I spent 20 years in the military and I can assure you I never say sexual assault but I saw a lot of fooling around. At what point and who decides when the "fooling around" becomes sexual assault? I had heard many women in the military at many times bring up the subject of charging someone with inappropriate sexual acts. It was a way of pushing people around. Overhearing a joke or a swear word would often cause some women to threaten going to the commander to get the guy or guys in trouble. This tactic was most used against their immediate superior and most often used to prevent the women from having to accept responsibility for mistakes or failures in their job. This extortion was not uncommon and had zippo to do with any real sexual assault.
3. Every military man knows the sexual assault charge is hanging over their necks. It is used by women to get special treatment and to deflect punishment for mistakes or even crimes they commit. It is so common for this charge to be misused that commanders are reluctant to act on a charge where there is no evidence of sexual assault AND commanders have knowingly punished innocent men simply to avoid being charged themselves. The situation is one of open and clandestine false charges to extort special treatment and promotions.
4. Obviously there is real sexual assault and it should be treated as the crime it is. Just as obviously there is false charges and a environment of fear of false charges and none of this ever gets punished or any attempts taken to stop it. If this situation is not fixed it will seriously impact military readiness.

5. I think it is time for the grand experiment of women in the military to end. Yes it's true I am a Neanderthal. My experience was that generally the women who entered the service could do their (non-combat) jobs as well as the men could. But other then the goal of having more women in the military there is no advantage to it. I am suggesting we go back to the day when women in the military were mostly nurses or admin and 99% of the military jobs were 100% men. The purpose of the military is to be able to fight/defend and to be so capable as to scare nations enough so that they won't even try to attack us. This is not the impression one gets when the military is being used to further the cause of political correctness and the people who do the real combat are afraid of being charged falsely or has to accept inferior personal simply because of their gender.

And lastly and most controversely: I find it strange that in a warrior society we indulge and even mandate anyone who cannot even defend themselves. If I, as a man, were sexually assaulted by another man I would kick his ass! And if I were unable to or over powered I would catch the son of a bitch when he least expected it and I would kick his ass and probably kill him. Would you honestly expect anything less from a warrior??? If the fair sex cannot do this (and I agree in general they cannot) then what the hell are they doing in the military???

#5 GoneWithTheWind on 2013-05-17 10:04 (Reply)

Well I guess I'm a Neanderthal as well. Having women in combat roles, in subs and ships is particularly idiotic and no way provides any type of benefit to justify the obvious and many issues.

I love women, but they were designed/created/evolved to fill particular roles and tasks and men were designed/created/evolved to fill their other particular roles and tasks. Mixing the two is against order.

#5.1 phil g on 2013-05-17 10:14 (Reply)

I agree completely with your last paragraph.

#5.2 mary on 2013-05-17 11:22 (Reply)

Wholeheartedly agree. Women do not belong in these sorts of positions. It has nothing to do with our intelligence or willingness or ability and everything to do with our physiology. Same with being a firefighter. When I'm trapped on the 2nd floor with fire and smoke closing in, I want to see a burly, tough fireman coming up that ladder to scoop me up. (And I hope he's cute, too! LOL)

#5.3 KellyM on 2013-05-17 11:58 (Reply)

I'd venture to guess given the circumstances he'd be the most gorgeous man you've ever seen in your life.

I agree that women in the military issue has nothing to do with intelligence. That's just a red herring. It has everything to do with the culture of radical feminism and egalitarianism and rebellion against the male/father archetype.

#5.3.1 phil g on 2013-05-17 12:36 (Reply)

Racist ads: I recall reading about a complaint about a white guy singing "Kung-Fu Fighting" as raaaaaacist. And it seems to me that I commented some days ago that it must be raaaaacist to eat fried chicken and watermelon to celebrate Black History Month if it's raaaaaacist to eat tacos on Cinco de Mayo.

Minnesotans: Doc, could be just me, but I think this is Minnesota humor; sometimes hard to detect if'n ya ain't lived up north.

Windfarms: And a school in England had to take theirs down for killing a/some birds.

WaPo and NYT--Tass and Pravda, though WaPo has glimmers of smartening up.

Gummint: Too big for Benghazi Barry? Then let's cut the budget by a trillion now, and then a trillion next year, and get it down to a size that even I could run the gummint>

#6 Sam L. on 2013-05-17 16:01 (Reply)

The $40K portrait: What were they thinking? Is that supposed to be a woodland spring gushing from between her legs? Let's hope they really do hang that embarrassing portrait up. Anyone who views it has got to be chuckling inside.

#7 Agent Cooper on 2013-05-17 22:57 (Reply)

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Friday, May 17. 2013

Friday morning link dump