A few Weds. morning links

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Wednesday, July 10. 2013

A few Weds. morning links

On Immigration, Strong Words

Mourning the Birds and the Bees

Fear and Loathing at Commerce - How a simple computer bug was mistaken for an act of war.

D.C. Council poised to chase off 900 jobs because they don’t like Wal-Mart, so there

Charter Schools and Their Enemies - Why undermine institutions that have benefited thousands of city students?

Early photos of the Middle East

A brief version of Glenn Reynold's Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything is a Crime

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 06:08 | Comments (12) | Trackbacks (0)

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Am I correct to say that your "charter" and "private" schools are synonymous (by definition)? I just want to confirm the terminology. Up 'ere, the terms are differentiated.

TC

#1 Garry on 2013-07-10 08:20 (Reply)

No. They are different. Here's my impression but my daughter is no longer school aged so my involvement is more from the sidelines.

Charter schools are public schools (funded with tax dollars) that have more leeway in how they are run. There is no union presence, they can institute dress codes, I believe they have more flexibility with their subject matter. There are less regulations in general and they are not funded to the same level as "normal" public schools. Students are not assigned to charter schools and I don't believe they have to take just any student. The students sometimes are chosen by lottery and in some cases, like New Orleans, they have to compete for students since there are so many charter schools there. Just as in public schools, there is no religious instruction or practice.

Private schools are funded by tuition and donations. They have much more freedom in all areas than charter schools. They choose the students and are free to kick them out. Some are very pricey, but not all. Catholic schools are generally not that expensive because they are subsidized by the church.

There are always exceptions, but in general, the private schools tend to be the best, charter next and public the worst (often tragically).

#1.1 mudbug on 2013-07-10 09:22 (Reply)

mb,

Thanks for that explanation. It aligns with our structure up here. The only twist is that Catholic schools also receive public tax dollars, for their funding as well (as of 15 yrs ago or so). Our tax rolls go to education and Catholic supporters had to pay twice...funding the public system (for which they received no benefit) and their own separate system (out of their pockets). But, as a consequence, they have to allow non-Catholics to attend the Separate School system.

TC

#1.1.1 Garry on 2013-07-10 09:46 (Reply)

P.s.,

Forgot to mention that a family that wants to take their child out of the public system into a charter school can get a chunk of their allotted taxes returned to apply to the charter school's tuition (that is my understanding).

While I haven't researched how the charter schools are running...I haven't a lot of good things about the few that are in existence but, then again, it's a relatively new concept around here.

We have been very pleased with the public system where we live.

TC

#1.1.1.1 Garry on 2013-07-10 09:51 (Reply)

The most pernicious provision of the proposed amnesty bill is the automatic grant of H-1B visas to STEM graduates from overseas. Today, around three-quarters of all PhD students in our graduate programs are foreigners. Under current law, they may stay in the US after graduation for 18 months to get work experience. almost all do. Then, almost all go home. Under the proposed law, nearly all of them will stay, flooding the economy with STEM workers. This can only lead to a collapse of STEM salaries.

This collapse will eventually extend from practitioners in the private economy to the university faculties. Oh, sweet irony.

Non-STEM workers will also be affected, and even more so. The worst affected will be working class blacks, who will be forced into the black lumpen-proletariat. This is undoubtedly the most anti-black piece of legislation since the slave laws of the antebellum South.

#2 bob sykes on 2013-07-10 08:25 (Reply)

I was reading the comments posted to the WP op-ed where Walmart announced it would pull out if the law passed. It is sad, both the ignorance of so many in DC and their endemic socialism. Walmart is smart to pull out. They should build stores just over the line. Of course, those we see comment are not the poor people who would like a job or a good place to purchase food and clothing.

It is interesting, the commenters harp on "living wage" for DC but won't even acknowledge the logic that if Walmart employees need a "living wage" in DC, what about just raising the minimum wage across the board? I'm sure employees and interns of non-profits in DC could use a wage boost.

#3 JKB on 2013-07-10 08:50 (Reply)

I suspect that the more people in DC blather about a "living wage" the more likely they are to have unpaid interns working for them.

#3.1 Knucklehead (Link) on 2013-07-10 18:22 (Reply)

Dissimulating, prevaricating shameless artful dodgers stooping scofflaw yankers and La Raza; all strong antonyms for the illegal
philes who'd saddle US with miserable shadow figures for years to come.

US may rocket employment among the good citizens should we grow a pair and round up the errant doggies and herd them back across the Rio Grande and cause US agribusiness to pay Americans decent wages to bring in US harvests.

Rubio and other hacks say we can't repatriate the skids but it worked before, during previous depression, circa 1930.

#4 Leag on 2013-07-10 11:12 (Reply)

"D.C. Council poised to chase off 900 jobs"

A developer is tearing down 2 old factories across the street from my house and will develop a hotel, shops, proposed new townhomes. On the other side of the parcels is the largest tract of public housing in town along with the inevitable blighted private homes surrounding it. The hearings regarding the new development have been something. One guy from the projects was complaining that it would increase property values. Yes, complaining that it would increase property values. Another guy stood up and asked what the development would do for people on public assistance. The developer said a couple hundred jobs. Of course jobs was absolutely not what the community organizer was looking for. He wanted feebies for the park next to the public housing. The mentality on display depressing, but at least a bunch of the blighted housing that nobody wants to live in because it's adjacent to public housing will be getting demolished as part of this.

And as a side note, a swank liberal arts college is across the tracks from the P.H. projects. Needless to say, all the leftist professors live on the opposite side of town.

#5 forest on 2013-07-10 11:37 (Reply)

Has it occurred to anyone else that the Waltons may be too darned Republican for the overwhelmingly Democratic D.C. Council and the whole idea of the Council's discriminatory regulation is to get Wal-Mart to back out? Hey, the district boundary with MD is just up the road a short distance away. Maybe Wal-Mart should just start over with plans for their three unbuilt stores and put them somewhere across the district line in MD instead of in D.C.

#6 Agent Cooper on 2013-07-10 14:18 (Reply)

I see DC passed the wage penalty for large retailers. Stand by for vilification of people who aren't as stupid as a DC politician.

Wouldn't be surprised if President stupid chimed in as well.

Here's a tip, why don't they mandate the same wage for Washington interns now that they can't work them for free?

#7 JKB on 2013-07-10 19:09 (Reply)

Canadian geese...not a big loss. But, with the inexplicable decline in bees recently, additional losses are regrettable. They are vital, because of how they pollinate so many species of plant. That said, crying over birds and insects when those defending children against abortion are persecuted, is offensive and wrong on many levels.

#8 Mark on 2013-07-10 21:16 (Reply)

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Wednesday, July 10. 2013

A few Weds. morning links