The greatest thrill known to man isn't flying--it's landing.
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Chart of the Day
Image of the Day
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| Via Dennis Smith on FB |
Remember When the Lawless Obama Administration Said That It Was Dropping Strict Enforcement of Immigration Law to Focus on Enforcing the Law Against Seriously Criminal Aliens?
I have been beating the drum for seriously liberalized immigration reform, but I refuse to defend this corrupt, lawless administration.
TSA Terrorist Checklist (Tongue in Cheek)
Asshole Socialist of the Year: Evo Morales, Bolivia
This manipulated photo up includes this necklace which, unknown to the Pope, carrying the same disgusting image of a Jesus crucified on a symbol of Communism:
He immediately took off the necklace which was awarded to him and quickly placed on him, I doubt he even realized what was on it. This whole thing seems like it was an evil trap just for this photo opportunity. - Catholic Libertarians
Facebook Corner
(Reason). Nearly 10,000 people turned out to hear U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in Wisconsin. Why? Apparently, many Democrats want socialism.
Enough of unsustainable, morally corrupt bread and circuses, of populist Trojan horse political whore Statists like Sanders who try to argue they have the moral authority to steal and spend from the other guy's pocket. Sanders is just another economically illiterate wannabe Alexis Tsipras.
(Amash). On Wednesday, I was honored to stand up for parental rights by voting no on #HR5, the bill to reauthorize #NoChildLeftBehind. The bill increases federal control of education. Here are the facts you should know about H.R. 5 and the current status of NCLB:
The funding authorization for No Child Left Behind expired more than seven years ago. Contrary to some statements and press reports, H.R. 5 does not repeal NCLB; it reauthorizes NCLB with modifications. If H.R. 5 becomes law, NCLB will be authorized for the first time since FY 2008.
Why do states and schools continue to act as though No Child Left Behind is current law? Because Congress has continued to appropriate money for NCLB as though the funding authorization never expired! In other words, the program is legally dead, yet Congress continues to send federal funding to schools, with strings attached, as though the law remains in effect.
How should Congress deal with No Child Left Behind? Simply stop funding it. There's no current authorization for the funding, so the funding needs to stop.
Don't we need this new bill to stop Common Core? No, we don't. H.R. 5 reauthorizes No Child Left Behind, which provides federal funding for education. The bill says none of that money may be used (or withheld) to push Common Core. But voting no on H.R. 5 means voting no on the funding authorization that the federal government uses to compel states to adopt Common Core. So, either way, Common Core loses.
Doesn't this new bill include an amendment to allow parents to opt out of standardized testing? Yes, but it's H.R. 5 that authorizes federally mandated standardized testing in the first place. Voting no on H.R. 5 means voting no on such standardized testing.
Was there an amendment to allow states to opt out of No Child Left Behind even if H.R. 5 becomes law? Yes. I voted yes on the Walker amendment, but remarkably it failed 195-235 in a Republican-led House of Representatives.
Let's be clear: standardized testing is a critical part of assessing student performance, including in public schools. Among other things, testing can provide early diagnosis of learning problems; it also increases accountability in local performance (vs. bloated self-serving inflated subjective assessments in teaching performance). Thus, I have some issue with how Amash is approaching this issue; it's another thing to argue that the federal involvement in education violates the principle of Subsidiarity and violates the Constitutional origins of a limited-scope government, that the government in education is the problem, not the solution, that what we need is a restoration of the education market to the private sector and competition, set free from the corrupt bargains of self-interested teacher unions.How should Congress deal with No Child Left Behind? Simply stop funding it. There's no current authorization for the funding, so the funding needs to stop.
Don't we need this new bill to stop Common Core? No, we don't. H.R. 5 reauthorizes No Child Left Behind, which provides federal funding for education. The bill says none of that money may be used (or withheld) to push Common Core. But voting no on H.R. 5 means voting no on the funding authorization that the federal government uses to compel states to adopt Common Core. So, either way, Common Core loses.
Doesn't this new bill include an amendment to allow parents to opt out of standardized testing? Yes, but it's H.R. 5 that authorizes federally mandated standardized testing in the first place. Voting no on H.R. 5 means voting no on such standardized testing.
Was there an amendment to allow states to opt out of No Child Left Behind even if H.R. 5 becomes law? Yes. I voted yes on the Walker amendment, but remarkably it failed 195-235 in a Republican-led House of Representatives.
Marriage and Family
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Michael Ramirez via Townhall |
Dionne Warwick, "Heartbreaker". My favorite Warwick tune--BeeGees' classic pop songwriting.
