Obama's Education Policy Sucks

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Monday March 21, 2011 · 6:40 AM PDT

2011/03/21 · 06:40

Before I start this little rant, I need everyone to bear in mind that I am ultimately a huge supporter of President Obama. One has to consider the institution the man is placed in when judging the man. This is why I have forgiven him for Gitmo, Afghanistan, and the Inadequate Stimulus. I do think that his health care reform bill, if implemented, would be the most substantial pro-middle/lower class piece of domestic policy since at least Clinton’s Earned Income Tax Credit, if not LBJ’s great society legislation. That’s why the Right has poisoned the debate around said bill; it has real, substantial subsidies for poor/working class/middle class families.

And there’s no question we will all be collectively FUCKED if Mr. Obama isn’t re-elected.

With that caveat out of the way, Obama’s education policy sucks. It is a boondoggle. A right-wing Trojan horse corporatization of education, obscuring the fact that we spend far more on prison and bombs than we do on books and teachers. My anger relating to this issue is so pervasive, in fact, that it’s difficult to organize my thoughts in a coherent manner. This may require a subsequent rewrite, but here goes.

Cross Posted on PersonalInfamy.Tumblr.com

AfterThought

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Tuesday December 07, 2010 · 11:24 AM PST

2010/12/07 · 11:24

I'm a far left lefty. Mr. O has disappointed me on a number of occasions. I wanted a public option as a trojan horse for a single payer system. I wanted us out of Afghanistan. I wanted prosecution of Bush torture, not the systematic regularization of Bush imperial polices.

But I have to wonder, why all the rage over this deal? Why??

He got THIRTEEN MONTHS of extended unemployment benefits. That will be (1) a very solid stimulus to the economy, which is good for everyone looking for a job and (2) more security than the long term unemployed have seen in a while.

Similarly, the payroll tax holiday will be another several hundred billion dollars in short term stimulus for the economy. THIS ... IS ... VERY ... GOOD.

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Tuesday July 20, 2010 · 6:16 PM PDT

2010/07/20 · 18:16

Tea party dialogue:

This racism scam is just another one of Rahm Emmanuel's mob style political hits meant to take down the tea party so that big brother can take your hard earned money and give it to the world government for abortions in Somalia.

I've seen Breitbart's video and that woman was a racist. White farmers are terribly oppressed by Blacks, and this bureaucrat's racist remarks showed how corrupt the Obama socialist machine is. They tell me that it was edited. Well she shouldn't have had the nerve to say words that could be put together that way then. And I'm glad she lost her job. One less government bureaucrat. I'm sick of my taxes from my job at General Dynamics going to support some bureaucrat getting fat sucking off of the public tit.

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Friday July 16, 2010 · 6:15 PM PDT

2010/07/16 · 18:15

I'm not going to win an originality award for talking about this, but I have to say that no one has commented the blatant lies that Krauthammer perpetuates as he warns republicans not to underestimate President Obama. The fact that this op-ed piece is getting so much attention means that these lies must be refuted even more loudly.

There is one singular glaring lie, surrounded by many supporting lies and misrepresentations. It's the "Obama is responsible for the deficit" lie.

But Obama's most far-reaching accomplishment is his structural alteration of the U.S. budget. The stimulus, the vast expansion of domestic spending, the creation of ruinous deficits as far as the eye can see are not easily reversed.

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Tuesday July 06, 2010 · 11:53 AM PDT

2010/07/06 · 11:53

Note: the China issues I'm about to discuss are tied directly to U.S. economic policy and politics. One issue I find interesting is the size ($586b) and effect of China's stimulus package.

Although I'm not generally a critic of the NYT's reporting apparatus, today's article "Supply Chain for iPhone Highlights Costs in China" obscures important truths about China's labor market and the China/US trade relationship. To put it more bluntly, there was a total lack of context.

Although there are a number of material omissions in the NYT's article, I'll focus on two specific issues: the undervaluation of the Chinese currency and the Chinese (stimulus induced) labor shortage. Today's article in the NYT misleads on the first point and thoroughly obscures the other.

(Follow me...)

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Wednesday June 09, 2010 · 10:52 PM PDT

2010/06/09 · 22:52

I'm pretty sure the MSM likes covering this about as much as the Iraq war protests in '04, but more and more reports are piling up. There is something pretty wild going on in China right now.

Basically, a bunch of Chinese workers have spontaneously gone on strike, all over the country. This is all coming out of China, meaning the scope of the problem is probably 100x larger than reported.
(Background on Xinhua, the news/intelligence organ.)

It started with scrutiny of all the Foxconn suicides. Something like ten Foxconn workers have killed themselves in the past year, and the western press started scrutinizing this massive supplier for Apple, HP, etc.

Foxconn's response was to hike pay 30%.
NYT article on Foxconn. One of many.

(follow me)

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Thursday May 06, 2010 · 8:27 PM PDT

2010/05/06 · 20:27

I'm not exactly sure why, maybe because it's super-depressing, but nobody seems to be talking about the fact that the Dow dropped 980 points in 30 minutes today.

Folks, it is becoming clear that the international financial system is broken. I mean really, great depression broken. The massive salaries and misallocation of capital should have been the first clue. Why are MIT PhDs getting jobs on wall street?

But I digress, the root of this problem is Greece and its relationship to the Euro. But it's not just Greece. It's Spain. It's Italy.

They are going to have to devalue their currency at some point in the future. That will require a currency that is not the Euro.

That's why I'm thanking Christ that Barack Obama is president right now. There is a sane adult in the White House and he is thinking about this problem. And it's a big problem that will probably require a fundamental restructuring of our financial system.

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Wednesday January 20, 2010 · 4:48 PM PST

2010/01/20 · 16:48

Kossacks, there comes a time when a community must admit defeat and adopt the tactics of its enemies. Clearly, the tea party has single-handedly elected Scott Brown and crushed our socialist dreams. They have shown Obama to be the true nazi/kenyan/muslim(terrorist)/tiger woods that he is. Their protests were credible, informative and persuasive.

From where I stand, there is only one path back to power: calling everyone that opposes you a Nazi.

Yes, I know that this is ignorant and historically insane. Yes, it trivializes the holocaust by equating it with basic state policies like universal health care. BUT, it must be done.

Let's think and act like teapartiers. Also, you might want to gain between 20 and 50 pounds.

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Wednesday January 13, 2010 · 4:31 PM PST

2010/01/13 · 16:31

Has anyone been reading this interview? Harold Ford's answers read like they were written for the Colbert Report. This is through the looking glass stuff.

I think that a Ford run could be really good for the Democratic party (and, ultimately, really good for Gillibrand). Ford is so elitist, so privileged, so out of touch that he will be blatantly rejected by Democratic primary voters. Another repudiation of DLC style politics will be good for the party.

This interview is beyond bizarre. It's somehow analogous to MTV's Jersey Shore... Where is the shame?

Chill, Obama has it sewn up.

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Monday March 17, 2008 · 7:41 PM PDT

2008/03/17 · 19:41

I was out of the country for the past week and I seem to have missed quite an interesting news cycle. Spitzer resigns. Bear Stearns collapses. Obama's reverend says controversial things that scare white people.

I'm feeling a swift-boaty vibe right now in the blogosphere. Obama supporters seem a bit nervous. All I can say is:

Chill out.

These Wright remarks came at the perfect time. Long before the convention. Long before PA. There was a very CROWDED NEWS CYCLE, so the story didn't get as much play as it could have.

Basically, this was the best time this could have come. The whole 'Obama associates with terrorists (and scary mad black people)' meme was the media's most potent attack, and it failed. They went nuclear and he's still standing. Oh, and he has an INSURMOUNTABLE DELEGATE LEAD.

WHAT DO THEY HAVE LEFT TO SMEAR HIM WITH IN THE GENERAL?

Nada. BARRY OBAMA IS NOT A TERRORIST

Final thought: this recession is going to be bad. Just about ANY Dem could beat John McCain in that political atmosphere. This thing is sewn up.

Go Obama.

Have you read "Politics and the English Language" lately?

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Wednesday February 13, 2008 · 2:44 PM PST

2008/02/13 · 14:44

Also at KWL
There used to be a guy who wrote essays. His name was George Orwell.
People usually think of 1984 (or perhaps animal farm) when they think of Orwell, but I think that his most presently relevant and timeless work is his "Politics and the English Language" essay. Here's a sample:

Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent and our language -- so the argument runs -- must inevitably share in the general collapse. It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.

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Tuesday December 11, 2007 · 1:17 PM PST

2007/12/11 · 13:17

This is a serious question.
I'm not a Hillary fan, and I'm not even a fan of Bill's policies, but I don't understand how or why Bill is suddenly making bad headlines.

The man oozes charisma. When he speaks, I can't help but listen. It almost makes me forget about NAFTA, privatized medicare, and 'welfare to work'. Really. If he actually had a liberal record, I would be a zealous supporter.

He is obviously a genius. So why has he been such a liability as of late, and why is there talk about infighting BETWEEN THE CLINTONS??

Lets run down what's happened in the last couple weeks...

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Obama's Education Policy Sucks

Um... This is a good deal for America.

Vilsack Chicago Mafia Anti Tea Party Conspiracy

The Insidious Lie Embedded in Krauthammer's 'Praise' of Obama

NYT Obscures Truth on China Economic Issues

There's something crazy going on in China

Thank God Barack Obama is President

PROTEST SCOTT BROWNSHIRT!

Harold Ford is Amazing.

Chill, Obama has it sewn up.

Have you read "Politics and the English Language" lately?

When Did Bill Clinton Become a Liability for Hillary's Campaign??