Scientists have gone public with allegations that the Obama Administration has continued the practice of the Bush administration in blocking scientists and ignoring scientific conclusions for political reasons.
While, upon taking office, President Obama ordered his advisers to develop rules to “guarantee scientific integrity throughout the executive branch,” scientists claim that his administration has continued controversial projects where politics trumped science and has continued the practice of ignoring scientific reviews.
For example, in Florida, water-quality experts have complained that the White House is continuing to block efforts to assess damage to the Everglades stemming from development projects. Other scientists complained of being pressured to minimize the damage of dams on salmon populations and overgrazing on federal land.
Source: LA Times
Gyges,
I can’t argue kids today don’t need to know more fundamentals, but I will argue that what fundamentals in the ’30’s lacked in quantity they made up for somewhat in quality.
And I really need to catch up on Good Reads. I’ve done nothing but initially set up the account although I’ve read quite a bit since then. Bad Buddha! Mea culpa.
Elaine,
What Mike A said. A beautiful bride indeed and, by your description, an inveterate smart ass just like her lovely mother. Your son-in-law is a lucky man.
Elaine, thanks for the wedding link. Beautiful bride. Beautiful wedding.
Gyges,
Ah yes … Ted Chiang … some of the best stories I’ve ever read.
Mildly related to collected works and the written word…
I suggest getting a hold of a copy of “Steampunk” edited by the Vandermeers.
I got it for “The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down: A Dime Novel” and ended up discovering several good authors (Including Jay Lake and Ted Chiang)
BIL,
Don’t forget that the fundamentals of a 30’s teen were much lesser in quantity than the fundamentals of a 00’s teen. In order to turn in a paper on Thomas Jefferson, the 30’s teen needed to know how to use the library, a pen and paper. Where as the 00’s teen has to know how to use the library (assuming most teachers still require X number of physical book sources, like they did 4 years ago when I had to give my brother-in law a ride to the library), a pen and paper, a word processing program, a printer, possibly a copier, and quite likely be versed with internet sources.
In the mean time, the stupidity of the 30’s teen was transient in nature; The collective work of hormones have become the “Collected Works of Hormones.”
Gyges,
I will stipulate that is an excellent adjunct to what I said, but not an alternative. Human nature is required for bad actors to exploit human nature. As to the ’30’s vs modern teen stupidity, I would argue that on the whole the ’30’s teen was probably better educated in fundamentals (if educated at all) but the hormonal stupidity that is being a teen has never changed nor is it likely to any time soon. Teenagers do stupid things simply because they are wired to do stupid things regardless of their formal education and knowledge base. The Hormone Fairy is a real bitch. 😉
Gyges,
Thanks for your slightly less depressing alternative. The internet is certainly a cheap medium in which to publish one’s stupidity… I guess that just means that the intelligent people need to use the internet better. Finding the quality in the quantity is (to me, at least) the crux of using the tubes as a source of information.
Buddha,
If I may offer an alternative: People are people.
I think it’s less that the general populace is getting more ignorant, as much as the ignorant are getting more visible.
Exhibit A: The written word. As a cheap way of producing books was invented, more and more people were able to access books. Eventually you went from the only best and brightest writing books meant for the best and brightest, to adding in the generic story teller writing books for the generic reader. He wasn’t worth printing when printing cost X and no one could read it, but now that there was a market and printing cost much less than X you’ve got a reason to start using him as a dime novelist for the masses.
Now we’re to the point where everyone has a platform to share their most idiotic thoughts for free, and easily. Has Teenager X really gotten stupider than his 1930’s counter part, or is it just that he’s able to show the world just how stupid he is?
I imagine the process worked even faster for movies, being as there’s no learned skill (like reading) necessary for the audience to enjoy the media.
“pointing”
I are edumacated but my fingers didn’t get the message. 😀
Elaine,
You are correct and I was point to one cause of the “stupidification” of America, not the sole cause. The media (including entertainment) share a large part of the blame too. The news is now little more than propaganda and pablum that actually requires a fair amount of effort to sort through to get at the truth about anything. Absent the Internet (which we won’t have for long is my prediction), there is no news anymore. No “what, when, where, and how”. Just spin. News has ceased to be news and to find out what’s really going on in the world simply requires research and analytical skills many simply don’t have or if they do they don’t have time to do it.
As to entertainment? Just look at what constitutes a “summer blockbuster” now. What was once “Jaws”, a scary titillating story but foremost an actual story with three-dimensional characters, is now weak plotted thinly veiled teen vampire porn or a Michael Bay exploding transforming robots with no story or characters to speak of whatsoever. The titillating over the substantive. Art ceases to be art if it’s all flash and tells nothing about the human condition.
But there is as you point out plenty of blame to go around – including to parents but I have to cut them a little slack because many of them simply don’t know any better either due to the same influences dumbing down their kids.
Back in the day, I’d say the split was about even between teachers just watching the clock and teachers actually teaching with about 10% having no business teaching anyone anything and about 15% being really good or above average teachers. Today? After talking to kids who came up after me in the system? I’d imagine teachers like you are few and far between.
Right now my biggest gripe showing what I feel is the stupidity of the younger generation is at the local checkout line. I buy wet cat food by the dozen. All the same type. In Kansas, about one in four would conduct the transaction logically – scan one and tell the register to multiply by 12, 24, whatever. The other 75% used what I now call “The In-bred Redneck Method”. Since moving back to Louisiana? They scan each individual packet or take one and rescan it 12, 24, whatever times – which takes much longer, is much more work and defeats the purpose of having a computerized cash register to do that work for you. It makes me want to scream.
And it happens 100% of the time.
Working hard may be an ingredient to success in life, but working stupid is simply stupid. Only working hard is the life of a slave. Working smart is the life of a productive member of society.
One more disappointing piece of news … one more lie revealed
Buddha–
Don’t blame it all on the educational system. The news media certainly have dumbed down news. We get more covereage of the lives and times of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Branjolina–than we do of important issues. We have moronic political characters like Bachmann, Angle, Gohmert, Bush–and so many others. We have millions of parents in the US teaching their children that the Earth is 6,000 years old and that humans and dinosaurs co-existed. There is plenty of blame to go around.
P.S. There are a lot of us teachers who never dumbed down anything for our students. Unfortunately, I think the current testing craze in schools is the most destructive thing I’ve seen happen in education. It’s one of the reasons I decided to retire early.
**********
On another topic: We had a fabulous wedding weekend! The rain stopped just before we got on the trolley that took the wedding party to the church. I had a blast at my daughter’s reception. My daughter was the most beautiful bride I have EVER seen!!!
If you’re interested in looking at some of the wedding pictures that the photographer posted on facebook–I have a link to it at my blog.
http://wildrosereader.blogspot.com/2010/07/special-wedding-day.html
Apparently we just can’t have policy discussions based on fact in this country. How depressing…
I agree with you buddah.
Michele Bachmann thinks shit is shine-ola too, Seriously, that’s the moronic leading the stupid. Just what you’d expect from 40 years of dumbing down the educational system.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/bachmann-obama-turning-our-country-into-a-nation-of-slaves.php?ref=fpblg Michele Bachmann thinks we have become slaves of the socialist state.
Anyone who thinks Obama is a socialist doesn’t know the meaning of the term socialist. Or fascist for that matter. He takes his orders from industry just as much as the war criminal and traitorous Bush/Cheney cabal did.
I think they are afraid of causing any type of job loss and upsetting the locals and the corporations. They don’t want to appear to be anti business although 55% of Americans think Obama is a socialist according to a recent poll.
Just another indicator of who is actually giving Obama his marching orders.
And it isn’t either the facts or what is in the best interests of We the People.
Fascism is in part based on the repression of information as it is inherently anti-intellectual. Too much critical thought from the populace means an end to Obama’s corporatist bosses.