Sunday, August 31, 2008

Media sexism towards Sarah Palin

Wow, who would of thought that a vice presidential pick could bring out so much blatant sexism in the media. Only a few weeks ago, they had nothing but love for Governor Bobby Jindal despite him being even younger and having way way less experience than Governor Palin.

It seems like the whole main stream media is on the edge of their collective seat waiting for Governor Palin to fail. They obviously haven't watched any of the multitude of interviews she has done in the last year. I can not wait until the first public televised interview when Governor Palin makes the media look foolish.

I am not afraid. McCain let her loose.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

More Palin Photos

Megan McCain has a bunch more "insider" pictures on her website McCainBlogette, but here are a few teasers.


Set Todd Palin free

Hopefully, the McCain/Palin campaign releases Todd Palin from campaign stumping duties soon. He just isn't built for it. The guy is obviously charming, but it's equally obvious the guy belongs back in Alaska in a pair of jeans. Personally, I think it looks a little ackward for Governor Palin to have him hanging around in the background of all these media stops.

Sarah Palins Alaskan Style Feminism

As the father of four daughters, the sexism against Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin disgusts me. A majority of it comes from the main stream media, but there is a good chunk of it coming from the Obama campaign and disappointingly, the good old boy network of the Republican party.

To understand how Sarah Palin looks at things, please go read this Times interview with her.

Here is what she had to say on being a woman in politics.

I've totally ignored the issues that have potentially been affecting me when it comes to gender because I was raised in a family where, you know, gender wasn't going to be an issue. The girls did what the boys did. Apparently in Alaska that's quite commonplace. You're out there hunting and fishing. My parents were coaches, so I was involved in sports all my life. So I knew that as woman I could do whatever the men were doing. Also that's just part of Alaskan life.
I sincerely hope that I can instill the same sort of attitude in my Alaskan raised daughters.

Sarah Palin's Alaska

I have only lived in Alaska for one year, but I wanted to share with you my impression of Alaskans so that you might have a better idea of what sort of environment Sarah Palin comes from, and what sort of person she is.

Alaskans are incredibly independent. This is the sort of place that attracts people looking to earn their fortune the old fashioned way, with their hands and their wits. It is the sort of place where success isn't automatically assumed to happen to only those with a college degree, but that success happens due to a good old fashioned work ethic and a little bit of miners luck. While they definitely lean towards the conservative side, there is a strong libertarian way of looking at things. Alaska is full of mavericks and people here have a live and let live sort of attitude.

Alaskans are conservative, but in a different sort of way than southerners. While there are plenty of Churches, religion here is not worn on a persons sleeve, but is demonstrated in the way people live their lives and treat other people. People here are just as likely to spend Sundays worshiping in nature as they are in a building, especially during fishing season in June - August.

One of the things that shocked me and my wife when we first moved here from South Carolina, is how friendly people were, even at typically bureaucratic places like the passport office or the DMV. And when I say friendly, I don't mean the sort of "good manners" type of friendly, I mean in a sincerely, eager to welcome you to Alaska, friendly.

Outdoorsy; Alaskans are very outdoorsy. When you live in a state as beautiful as Alaska, it is a given that people would enjoy the outdoors, but what really surprised me was how much even the winter doesn't slow them down. Their hardiness is bred in elementary school. In my kids elementary school, they have outdoor recess unless it gets down to something like -10 to -20 degrees F. In most places in the lower 48, any temperature 5 or more degrees below zero is enough to shut down the school. My kids spend more time playing outside in the middle of winter that they did during the spring, fall, and summer of South Carolina put together.

Now what does this mean for Alaska. Well I think the first thing to note is that many politicians are going to look at Sarah with an initial condescending attitude. Her looks, camouflage a no nonsense, take no prisoners, lets get down to business sort of attitude. What many Republicans have yet to realize is John McCain has probably single handily started the reform and modernization of the Republican party by choosing her as his running mate. Make no mistake, that she is loyal to a tee, and will stick with and by John McCain unwaveringly, but she will have very short thrift for the "good old boy" network that exists in today's Republican party.

She will be the antithesis of Barack Obama's elitism and arrogance. As you have may already noted, she is a social conservative based on her deeply held religious convictions, but unlike many Christians out there, her beliefs are tempered by a sense of doing right and respecting others point of view. This is a woman that resigned from a pretty cushy job as Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, because a member of her own party of legal and ethics violations. Then after defeating a corrupt governor, she swept into the old boy system of Alaska politics and completely turned it on its ear.

Finally, I want to say something about her experience. Let's be real here, no one has the entire breadth of hands on experience to deal with the complexity of the job of the American Presidency. What we need in the office is someone who has executive experience to take in information and to quickly make an executive decision based on sound advice and the information available at hand.

I ask you this. In the next couple of days, carefully watch her, watch the way she handles herself. Metaphorically look her in the eyes, and then... then do the same with Joe Biden and Barack Obama. I also want you to listen to her on the issues. If you truly don't think she has what it takes to be President or don't agree with her, then don't vote for her, but I think that you are going to realize that she is one of the few politicians out there that is truly sincere and is someone you will trust to lead this country.

Bears are behind Sarah Palins stance on guns

Election: Palin's Stance on Guns Newsweek Politics: Conventions Newsweek.com

Like many Alaskans, Gov. Sarah Palin is a lifelong hunter and strong proponent of Second Amendment rights. A longtime member of the National Rifle Association, she told USA Today when she was running for governor as a Republican in 2006 that "We hunt as much as we can, and I'm proud to say our freezer is full of wild game we harvested here in Alaska." Her own parents had just returned from hunting caribou when they learned that she had been tapped as Sen. John McCain's running mate.
Note to all you liberals out there without a sense of humor or the common sense to recognize satire when you read it, the following statements are not to be taken seriously. We now continue our regularly scheduled blogging.

Sarah Palin's stance of guns is entirely reasonable considering the rash of Bear Attacks we have had in Alaska recently.

Alaska Govenor Sarah Palin gallery: Alaska Photo Galleries | adn.com

Alaska Govenor Sarah Palin gallery: Alaska Photo Galleries adn.com

Just in case you haven't been able to find a decent collection of photos anywhere else on the web, check out the Anchorage Daily News photo gallery.

Here is a teaser photo for you: (She is #22)

After she trashes Joe Biden in the debates, she is going to school Barack Obama on the court.

If you wanted that Sarah Palin biography, you are going to have to wait...

Epicenter Scores with Palin Bio - 8/29/2008 9:41:00 AM - Publishers Weekly

Epicenter went through its 7,000-copy first printing in less than a month, and then reprinted 3,000 more copies. "Those will be gone today," Sturgis said. The press is working with print-on-demand printer Lightning Source to meet the initial demand and hopes to start shipping copies next week; it is also going to print offset copies in September. "Right now I can’t get to all my phone messages," said Sturgis. "I walked in the door this morning and the first call was from Barnes & Noble; they wanted 15,000 copies. I’ve got an e-mail queue here that’s longer than I can see."


Don't worry, I can sum up her story for you.

She entered politics. People underestimated her. She kicked their ass.

Now, head over to Amazon or Barnes and Noble and order a copy to get the rest of the details.

Sarah Palin Biography - Sarah was a bookworm

There is a biography out on Sarah Palin by Kaylene Johnson called Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down available from Epicenter Press Inc.

You can read the first chapter for free [pdf] at least for now.

Here is something that might surprise you:

Sarah had two childhood traits that her family says played trajectory roles in her life. From the time she was in elementary school, she consumed newspapers with a passion. “She read the paper from the very top left hand corner to the bottom right corner to the very last page,” said Molly. “She didn’t want to miss a word. She didn’t just read it—she knew every word she
had read and analyzed it.”

Sarah preferred nonfiction to the Nancy Drew books that her classmates were reading. In junior high school, Heather—a year older in school—often enlisted Sarah’s help with book reports. “She was such a bookworm. Whenever I was assigned to read a book, she’d already read it,” Heather said. Sarah’s thirst for knowledge was nurtured in a household that emphasized the importance of education. There was never any question that all the Heath kids would go to college. With her love for newspapers and current events, Sarah majored in journalism and minored in political science. Her brother, like their father, became a teacher. Heather works for an advertising firm. Molly is a dental hygienist.

Sarah’s other trait is what her father calls an unbending, unapologetic streak of stubbornness.

Campaign U.: Sarah Palin on Higher Education - Chronicle.com

Campaign U.: Sarah Palin on Higher Education - Chronicle.com:

Ms. Palin, who is the first woman and youngest person to have been elected governor of Alaska, has not made higher education an especially prominent priority of her administration. But the state’s government—which is enjoying an economic boom, thanks to rising oil and natural-gas prices—has recently been treating the University of Alaska system well, at least in terms of its budget.

Friday, August 29, 2008

This bear underestimated Sarah Palin too

Photo by STEPHEN NOWERS / Anchorage Daily News

A day after Obama's big speech...

The New York Times is...

All about Sarah Palin.

I sort of thought Obama's Denver speech sucked anyway.

Sarah Palin on Education

Supposedly, this is an education oriented blog so...

Sarah Palin from a Time magazine interview

Yeah, just a myriad of examples I can give and how being a mom changes my perspective. And education is very, very important to me because I have got kids today in the system, in the public school system. I want to make sure that we are adequately funded, but that we have high standards and accountability in our schools so that every public dollar is spent wisely. Because I walk into those schools on a regular basis and I want to make sure that our public schools are as good as they can be because my kids are a part of them.

Hot Governor

Wow, I am the number one link when you google the term "hot governor".


No wonder my traffic went up.

Still, she is the hottest governor, and soon to be hottest VP in our nations history.


But, let me be absolutely clear. I support Palin (and McCain), not because she is hot, but because she kicks ass. Besides, Barack Obama scares me.

Mayor of a Small Town vs Community Organizer

Palin as Mayor of a Small Town

- elected by people who looked her in the eye

- executive experience equivalent to that of a CEO of a medium size company

- responsible for day to day operations in a city that was going through astounding growth and that is located in Alaska

- made critical budget decisions

Obama as Community Organizer

- elected by nobody

- no executive experience

- responsible for organizing street marches in a windy city

- made office supply purchase decisions

Now would someone please hit the "shut-up" at the Obama campaign, please.

UPDATE: Corrected spelling error (spell check didn't work so well)

Parentalcation Endorses McCain/Palin

Ok, it was a no duh endorsement, especially considering my previous posts on how Obama scares me.

The cool thing about McCain picking Palin is how it has the democrats completely worked up.

Guess who posted this:

But a heartbeat away from the presidency? Someone with virtually no serious political experience, and no serious experience of any other kind to make up for it?

Rush Limbaugh? Nope, it was liberal blogger Kevin Drum.

He then goes on to say:
I don't know how she'll do on the stump or in the debates. Maybe she'll be great. Who knows? But a potential leader of the free world? You gotta be kidding.

I wonder if he forgot that he supported Obama?

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Preschool gains aren’t universal at Joanne Jacobs

Preschool gains aren’t universal at Joanne Jacobs

Preschools don't make lasting gains because they are poorly run. Their curriculum often boils down to nothing but a glorified Sesame Street episode.

To top it off, when the students reach elementary school, they are introduced to the world of fuzzy math, whole language, sight words, constructivism, all run by educators that despite four to eight years of "higher education", haven't even heard of Project Follow Through, or accurately define direct instruction.

Meanwhile, publishers make millions and millions of dollars off of text books that are nothing more than more colorful versions of the same antiquated way of teaching that was used twenty years ago.

Simultaneously, well meaning charter schools spend tens of thousands of man-hours developing programs to try and bring middle schoolers up grade level, all while remaining silent on the atrocious process our country calls "education".

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Badass link of the day

Math Facts

I have been using this website to quiz my kids. It does multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division. It allows you to review missed questions, set time limits, etc, etc...

My kids love it. I have my 3rd grader reviewing her addition facts, and my fifth graders doing multiplication tables to review (get them in the groove after the summer). After they get through the sequence, I will start them on subtraction and division.

They normally run 3 minutes tests and see how many they can answer correctly. They love it. I normally have to kick them off to let another kid have a go.

Friday, August 22, 2008

"Everyday Math" teaches students about sequencing | islandpacket.com

"Everyday Math" teaches students about sequencing islandpacket.com



Via Math Without Tears

I am embarrassed for them.

Teaching Needy Kids in our Backward System by Zig Engelmann

I just received the book Teaching Needy Kids in our Backward System by Zig Engelmann. I will let you know how it is.

Prescriptive Schools

Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Eduwonk Charter Naming Contest Draws in More Celebrities, Fails to Find Clear Winner.

Richard Whitmire is looking for a catch phrase to refer to the KIPP, Achievement First, Match style of schools.

I nominate the phrase "prescriptive schools".

Thursday, August 21, 2008

If your mortgage is through Indymac, you might want to stop paying your mortgage

FDIC: Loan Modification Program for Distressed Indymac Mortgage Loans

The streamlined loan modifications will be available for most borrowers who have a first mortgage owned or securitized and serviced by IndyMac Federal where the borrower is seriously delinquent or in default. IndyMac Federal also will seek to work with others who are unable to pay their mortgages due to payment resets or changes in the borrowers’ repayment capacities.


If you pay your mortgage on time, you're a fool. The government only helps out those who are irresponsible.

More "No duh"

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls from birth - CNN.com:

As a good postfeminist-era mom, I certainly didn't push my son toward trucks and my daughter toward tutus.

In one study, when 18-month-old boys and girls saw pictures of a doll and a vehicle, most girls chose the doll
If anything, I went out of my way to avoid giving them gender-stereotyped toys, offering glittery finger paint to my son and trains to my daughter. But it didn't matter: My son turned his doll's crib into a race car and my daughter was obsessed with shoes.


Calculators Okay In Math Class, If Students Know The Facts First, Study Finds
The researchers found that the calculator’s effect on subsequent performance depended on how much the students knew to begin with. For those students who already had some multiplication skills, using the calculator before taking the test had no impact. But for those who were not good at multiplying, use of the calculator had a negative impact on their performance.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

New school year starts

Tomorrow is the first day of school, and I am very optimistic.

My 8th grader was a straight A student last year, and I fully expect her to continue her streak. She isn't in Algebra, but will be next year.

My 3rd grader has the same awesome teacher she had last year, the one who helped raise her reading 2.5 grade levels.

As an experiment, we are putting both of our 5th graders in the same class. Basically, we were sick of having two kids in the same grade with different amounts of homework, different assignments, different field trips, etc... This way we figure if one forgets something, the other one can help out. Besides, they are a boy and a girl and both pretty well adjusted and independent.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Forbes editors needs to go back to school

America's Best Colleges sorted by State - Forbes.com

Went to Forbes list of "best colleges", sorted by state and only two entries came up for Alaska; Hendrix College and John Brown University.

One problem, they are both in Arkansas, not Alaska.


UPDATE


Should of taken a screen shot. They changed it already. I did get this from my site meter.


Monday, August 11, 2008

This Week In Education: "We Are Not Government Issued"

This Week In Education: "We Are Not Government Issued":

Russo linked to this article.


“If you go to some Manhattan schools or places where the families have a higher income, you don’t see the recruiters there,” said Ebony Thurman, 18, who was once approached by recruiters at the Atlantic Avenue subway station. “But if you’re in Brooklyn or in lower income neighborhoods, that’s where you really find them trying to recruit people. They tell you that you’ll get job skills or college money. And if you’re a girl they’ll flirt with you and say there a lot of cute guys you could meet if you enlist.”
Here is my response on This Week In Education.

"The military is proud of its diverse makeup and makes a conscious effort to have it's force mirror that of the civilian population, The military firmly believes that it is healthy to have all factions of the population represented in it's rank... for obvious reasons it would be unhealthy to have the military consist entirely of white men from Idaho (or any other group). The military also firmly believes that diversity improves performance and that a diverse group of members adds knowledge and flexibility and makes it stronger.

What many people don't realize is that the military is very selective. The military doesn't have problems finding people wanting to join... it has problems finding people wanting to join AND WHO ARE QUALIFIED. The medical requirements, educational requirements, moral/legal requirements, and ASVAB all disqualify a large (very large) part of the population.

Unfortunately given the poor HS graduation rate and low test performance by minorities, it is a challenge for it to find a proportionate number of minority candidates. It's the exact same problem that Universities and Colleges have.

To counter this struggle, the military uses affirmative action like it was originally meant to. It casts a wider net... it goes to schools to ensure that it can offer opportunities to populations that might not be aware of the benefits and privileges that the military has to offer.

Does this Art teacher protest against universities that recruit in minority schools?

I would wager that the teacher would probably protest if the military was disproportionately white, arguing that it was discriminatory.

I am a bit disappointed that you linked to this story, giving its false insinuation credence."

Friday, August 08, 2008

Edwards is a son of a ....

Edwards admits to extramarital affair - CNN.com

Edwards is a son of a something... besides for being a son of a mill worker.

Ironically, now I sort of wished I had voted for him. He could of totally been the second coming of JFK.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

By the way...

By the way, Right Wing Professor totally looks like a biker, tattoos and all. He is just as interesting in real life as he is on his blog.

He didn't even make fun of me and my friend for being slightly left leaning.

Yuengling rocks

Official Yuengling Web Site: America's Oldest Brewery

Yuengling is the best beer in the United States. Several days of hardcore drinking, and not a single hangover.

Eduwonk has fish porn, I am officially starting beer porn.

Me and some friends enjoying a pint of Yuengling at a pub in Harrisburg, Pa. I'm the blurry guy on the right.