As the country struggles to pay billions for three wars, states continue to shutdown basic services and programs. Chicago this week joined other jurisdictions in dropping writing as part of the standardized exam for students to save $2.4 million a year. It is not clear if children will be given lessons on the oral tradition of story telling and refreshers in cave drawing.
Schools Superintendent Christopher Koch explained, orally, that “writing is one of the most expensive things to assess.” Oregon and Missouri also recently cut writing from exams. This is part of a broader rollback on school programs and resources that could prove disastrous for this country.
With writing ability already falling in our country, such decisions accelerate our decline as a competitive educational system.
While other countries are investing heavily in producing highly educated and productive students, we are cutting whole grades to allow us to keep spending on more important things. The inevitable result is that our population will become less and less viable in the modern economy — a nation of consumers without a productivity to match our appetite.
Source: WLS
OMFG. How lame can you get? You must be tired because of the late hour. You can do better than that.
Don’t hold back your best stuff on my account, little trollings.
mespo,
I played that particular piece when I was 28 years old as a guest performer … it is damn hard but fun!
This is a whole lot like poking a corpse with a stick as far as real challenging argument or discussion is concerned. After a while it is no longer interesting and you get bored.
Elaine,
What a coincidence! The fish in question seems to have a lot of lie too.
From OS’s link:
Me: “All cellists are mammals, but a trombonist isn’t a cellist, so he can’t be a mammal.”
kderosa: You’re sucking up to OS again.
Otteray,
FYI: I’ve got plenty of lye.
In that case, we have a start on some lutefisk.
OS,
kd has proven that trolls are like fish…after three days they stink….
Blouise,
http://jonathanturley.org/2011/07/07/tomahawks-over-turtles-congress-and-obama-administration-move-to-slash-noaa-budget/#comment-246159
Everyone knows that the best musicians are liberal.
From The Russia House (which by the way has a killer sound track).
CIA Interrogator: Have you ever met any jazz musicians you would describe, or who would describe themselves, as anarchists?
Bartholomew “Barley” Scott Blair: Hmmm… ah, there was a trombone player, Wilfred Baker.
[the interrogator starts writing]
Bartholomew “Barley” Scott Blair: He’s the only jazz musician I can think of who is completely devoid of anarchist tendencies.
To paraphrase the late Flip Wilson, beauty is only skin deep but stupid goes all the way to the bone.
Isn’t he cute when he flounders, helplessly flailing about? I can answer that. No, not really.
SM:
That explains it … and this explains Lang Lang:
Bloiuise Saw Lang Lang last night at Ravinia. He played Liszt’s piano concerto number one.
AY:
Dubya works equally as well … maybe better.
Bloiuse:
“I’ll go play something is the key of E-flat to soothe my slighted self.
***********************
If you’re taking requests, Shostakovich’s a favorite:
mespo,
We can name kd the new unappointed Dubya……his story’s are correct….his facts are all wrong…I wonder if he has a Card up his sleeve or or he is just Rove-ing around…with his Chaineys….but that could not be Atwater as he is up to his next in the Brown stuff….
o.t. but it looks like georgia found people to pick melons
http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/NewsRoom/PressReleases/110616c.html
@OS, stop being stupid for a second. (not an ad hominem) I explained to you why most of your statements are actually ad hominems, even though ad hominems are actually rare. In fact, I was the one who pointed out the difference a few threads back. Your statements are mostly of the discrediting variety (as I explained) which you are using to subtly undermine my character in lieu of attacking my actual arguments which you almost never do (at least not in a on-conclusory manner.) It is a classic ad hominem technique. And the accuracy of the ad hominem doesn’t take it out of the logical fallacy territory. These last statements of yours are borderline at best, but still ad hominems.
One of the surprising benefits of having been a professional musician specializing in cello is that trolls know even less about that world than they do about this one. I keep waiting to be attacked for improper bow handling or uppity rosin use as indicators of my liberal politics ruining a perfectly good Sonata.
I’ll go play something is the key of E-flat to soothe my slighted self.
K, you have been told repeatedly what an ad hominem is. Try looking it up since you appear to be confused. If a truth is pointed out, it may be painful to behold, but it is not an ad hominem attack.
In point of fact, a true ad hominem is relatively rare in argument. Yet, and quite curiously, it is one of the accusations most often bandied about on the internet. Your recent behaviour certainly is a good example of that.
Try reading this article about ad hominem accusations and perhaps you will gain some glimmer of understanding of the term you use so often, so loosely and so inaccurately.
http://plover.net/~bonds/adhominem.html