Peter Greene’s CURMUDGUCATION blog: John King’s Evidence-Based Revisionist History

John King’s Evidence-Based Revisionist History Posted: 17 Sep 2016 06:14 AM PDT The US Department of Education and Secretary of Education John King are out with a one-two punch of silly bureaucratic blather and revisionist history. Friday’s PR release carries the pithy title “U.S. Department of Education Releases New Guidance on Using Evidence to Strengthen Education Investments During Back to School Bus Tour ” and it provides a handy link to Non-Regulatory Guidance about Using Evidence To Strengthen Educational Investments Punch Number One– Some Friendly Guidance So let’s start with the blather. I’m not entirely sure what the word “investments” is doing in there, other than the Department’s love for the business world. The twelve-page document is designed “to help SEAs, LEAs, schools, educators, partner organizations and other stakeholders successfully choose and implement interventions that improve outcomes for students.” The document covers two points– how to implement this evidence-based stuff, and an explanation of what evidence-based means to USED. The Process (and Irony) Okay, listen carefully boys and girls, because this is some pretty heavy-duty stuff. Here’s the process for implementing evidence-based interventions: 1) Figure out what problem needs to be solved 2) Pick a solution that looks like it would work 3) Get ready to implement the solution 4) Implement the solution 5) Check to see if it worked

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CURMUDGUCATION: Petrilli: Mission Accomplished

Petrilli: Mission Accomplished Posted by Peter Greene: 16 Sep 2016 Remember when we had a terrible, terrible crisis in the number of terribly bad awful really no good schools (filled with stinky, disastrous teachers) and we had to put the reform pedal to the scholastic metal toot de suite! Common Core, teacher evaluations, choice-flavored systems– we had to have them RIGHT NOW and couldn’t afford to wait another second because crisis crisis CRISIS! Remember all that? Well, good news. Crisis over. All fixed. Mission accomplished. At least that’s the word from Mike Petrilli (Fordham) over at the Flypaper blog.

Source: CURMUDGUCATION: Petrilli: Mission Accomplished

New Film Tells the Story of Edward Snowden; Here Are the Surveillance Programs He Helped Expose

Oliver Stone’s latest film, “Snowden,” is a dramatized version of the life of Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who revealed the global extent of U.S. surveillance capabilities.

New Film Tells the Story of Edward Snowden; Here Are the Surveillance Programs He Helped Expose
By Jenna McLaughlin, Talya Cooper
Oliver Stone’s latest film, “Snowden,” is a dramatized version of the life of Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who revealed the global extent of U.S. surveillance capabilities. Source: New Film Tells the Story of Edward Snowden; Here Are the Surveillance Programs He Helped Expose

I Was a CIA Whistleblower. Now I’m a Black Inmate. Here’s How I See American Racism.

A former CIA officer, imprisoned for disclosing classified information to a New York Times journalist, speaks out about the mechanics of racism and his hopes for overcoming it.

Source: I Was a CIA Whistleblower. Now I’m a Black Inmate. Here’s How I See American Racism.

Alcohol Industry Bankrolls Fight Against Legal Pot in Battle of the Buzz

Alcohol Industry Bankrolls Fight Against Legal Pot in Battle of the Buzz
By Lee Fang
Alcohol and painkiller manufacturers, terrified they might lose market share, are major players in the fight against pot-legalization ballot initiatives.

Source: Alcohol Industry Bankrolls Fight Against Legal Pot in Battle of the Buzz

Colin Powell Urged Hillary Clinton’s Team Not to Scapegoat Him for Her Private Server, Leaked Emails Reveal

“HRC could have killed this two years ago by merely telling everyone honestly what she had done and not tie me to it,” Powell wrote in emails leaked by the website DCLeaks.com.

Source: Colin Powell Urged Hillary Clinton’s Team Not to Scapegoat Him for Her Private Server, Leaked Emails Reveal

Bayer-Monsanto merger: Two Washington-savvy companies get their game on | OpenSecrets Blog

If you shuddered at the possibility of St. Louis-based crop titan Monsanto Co. taking over Swiss pesticides giant Syngenta AG last summer, you’re probably having a bad week: Monsanto has agreed to be acquired by German chemical conglomerate Bayer AG for $56.5 billion.

Bayer-Monsanto merger: Two Washington-savvy companies get their game on

If you shuddered at the possibility of St. Louis-based crop titan Monsanto Co. taking over Swiss pesticides giant Syngenta AG last summer, you’re probably having a bad week: Monsanto has agreed to be acquired by German chemical conglomerate Bayer AG for $56.5 billion … read more.

Source: Bayer-Monsanto merger: Two Washington-savvy companies get their game on | OpenSecrets Blog

FEC stalemates on how to deal with foreign-owned companies spending in elections | OpenSecrets Blog

Federal law states that foreign nationals cannot donate or spend money in U.S. elections. Period.But how should the law treat companies with foreign ties, such as U.S. subsidiaries wholly owned by foreign companies? Basically, companies owned by foreign firms can spend in U.S. elections

FEC stalemates on how to deal with foreign-owned companies spending in elections

Federal law states that foreign nationals cannot donate or spend money in U.S. elections. Period.

But how should the law treat companies with foreign ties, such as U.S. subsidiaries wholly owned by foreign companies?

… read more.

Source: FEC stalemates on how to deal with foreign-owned companies spending in elections | OpenSecrets Blog

Clinton, despite the pneumonia, far outstrips Trump in health industry funding | OpenSecrets Blog

Clinton, despite the pneumonia, far outstrips Trump in health industry funding

Many Americans, understandably, want to elect a healthy president. With Hillary Clinton’s recent pneumonia diagnosis, the media has increased its focus on the relative health of both Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump as the presidential race enters its final two months  … read more.

Source: Clinton, despite the pneumonia, far outstrips Trump in health industry funding | OpenSecrets Blog

Funds gush in deep blue Land of Lincoln as Kirk struggles to hold seat | OpenSecrets Blog

One-term Sen. Mark Kirk‘s success or failure in his heated struggle to retain his seat will help determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate come January.

No surprise, then, that the race’s fundraising totals have soared. The most recent fundraising reports show that Kirk, a Republican, and his opponent, Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth, each had raised more than $10 million as of midyear, the combined $21.4 million making theirs the fifth-most expensive Senate contest … Click here to read the full article.

Source: Funds gush in deep blue Land of Lincoln as Kirk struggles to hold seat | OpenSecrets Blog