1 Foist?

2 But, First, you will blow me.

3 Now bring on the &&&&&&&&&&! That's what I'm talking about.

4
Started my day off badly by watching Carol Costello on CNN.

5 She pisses me off just watching her condescending face.

6 Carol, if you're reading this, go kiss the president's ring. I know you want to.

7 Open thread in the comments.

...so far today we've discussed Halloween candy and alcohol, and some asshole has put vegetables in my lunch instead of Halloween candy and alcohol.

8 And I think you know which "ring" I'm referring to.

9 Started my day off by eating a dead frog. Surely, nothing worse will   happen to me the rest of the day, unless I   see  The Idiot  Alan Grayson's demented mug.

10 Started my day off by eating a dead frog. Surely, nothing worse will happen to me the rest of the day, You're hunting hobos in France???

11 I never know what to say on these podcast threads.

12 Started my day off by eating a dead frog. Surely, nothing worse will happen to me the rest of the day, unless I see The Idiot Alan Grayson's demented mug.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit. at October 25, 2013 10:41 AM (0HooB)

 

 

Ewww.   I hope you hosed him off first before eating him.   They don't shower much in France.

13 9Started my day off by eating a dead frog. Surely, nothing worse will happen to me the rest of the day, unless I see The Idiot Alan Grayson's demented mug. --- Was it a Crunchy Frog?

14

7Open thread in the comments.

...so far today we've discussed Halloween candy and alcohol, and some asshole has put vegetables in my lunch instead of Halloween candy and alcohol.

 

---

 

You were going to have homemade Skittlebrau, huh?

15 If everything goes according to plan, the podcast will be available on iTunes, etc. at 6:00am each Friday. So #twoweeks then? MWR, JRM is playing Dracula in a new series on idefk one of the alphabets starting tonight. Here's the promo trailer - http://youtu.be/Z1jVcmDH43Y This is going to be awesome. Either awesome awesome or Ghost Shark awesome. I am fine either way because I get JRM in Victorian era clothing being all vampirey.

16 Was it a Crunchy Frog?

Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at October 25, 2013 10:47 AM (/Crba)

 

 

Is that related to a crunchy fig?

17 Galveston Gal crashed in the Bay Wednesday.  She was a two seat    trainer version of the P-51 Mustang.  Pilot Keith Hibbett and passenger John Busby, flying with Hibbetts as a wedding anniversary present    from his wife   were both killed in the crash when the 1944 plane crashed in shallow water in western Galveston Bay.  I    saw Hibbetts    flying    Galveston Gal last weekend at an airshow in Fort Worth.  Sad.

18 Open thread?  I didn't think the old one was past its sell-by date.  Somebody better grab willow.  And MWR, too - she's sulking about some pretty-boy actor and Dracula show or some such thing; I never listen.

19 Issa threatens subpoena once again. Quit threatening you pussy and just do it.  And while your at it, how about some more criminal contempt charges.


And while you are at it, ask that damn 1st ckt court why the foot-dragging on Holder's charge,

http://tinyurl.com/p5sgejp

20 Ben Domenech?  Lulz.  How much of his daily e-mail is copy-and-pasted?

21 Guess somebody has to ask it.  How did you eat a dead frog BB?

22 This is going to be awesome. Either awesome awesome or Ghost Shark awesome. I am fine either way because I get JRM in Victorian era clothing being all vampirey.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Mmmm. Blondies with whipped cream. at October 25, 2013 10:48 AM (VtjlW)

 

DO WANT.  

 

I admit it.  I have a thing for vampire stuff.   Not Twilight,   though,    because   I like my vampires to be interesting,   and not particularly sparkly.   

 

JRM is such a good actor.     If he hams it up JUST enough, it could be epic.

 

 

23 And MWR, too - she's sulking about some pretty-boy actor and Dracula show or some such thing; I never listen.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2013 10:49 AM (zF6Iw)

 

 

*GLARE!*

 

You are lucky I am a sweet, innocent, delicate flower of virtue, or you'd be getting the hose for that.

 

24 You were going to have homemade Skittlebrau, huh?

I've done that.  It's awful.

25 *GLARE!* You are lucky I am a sweet, innocent, delicate flower of virtue, or you'd be getting the hose for that NOT the hose again!

26

Guess somebody has to ask it. How did you eat a dead frog BB?

 

Fried,  starting with the legs.

 

Really, that's   just an old joke.  And so is Alan Grayson.

27 Interesting, the "vacationing" Rick Tempest is on the show.

28 Interesting, the "vacationing" Rick Tempest is on the show.


Maybe there really is a "Rick Tempest"?

29 Interesting, the "vacationing" Rick Tempest is on the show. It's all CGI done in post.

30

Maybe there really is a "Rick Tempest"?

 

Posted by: EC at October 25, 2013 10:54 AM (GQ8sn)

 

 

Then the stories are true!   I thought he was just a myth....

31 DO WANT. I admit it. I have a thing for vampire stuff. Not Twilight, though, because I like my vampires to be interesting, and not particularly sparkly. JRM is such a good actor. If he hams it up JUST enough, it could be epic. Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 10:50 AM (4df7R) I KNOW RIGHT! Though since it's not on Showtime or whatever, there's far less chance of some tasteful nudity. Boooooo. He did an interview recently where he was asked about always playing the villain and his response was pretty much look at me. I look like a bad guy. I love me some vampires and I do like that they are going down the traditional he's obsessed with the possible reincarnation of his wife route. Plus I vaguely recall that there's going to be some steampunk elements tossed in. *makes popcorn* Between this and Sleepy Hollow, there might be some very lovely brain candy for me this season. Also *paws screen* I want Intelligence noooooooow. Not February, noooooooow. *draws hearts around Josh Holloway*

32 NOT the hose again!

Posted by: rickb223 at October 25, 2013 10:53 AM (xZxMD)

Somewhere, there is a basket missing its lotion.

33 Well, if the Gop hadn't engaged in futile shutdown theatrics of its own (you know, taking an initially brave stand and then caving in), the last few weeks may have been all about O-care, but noooooo, teh Stupid Party just had to.

34

16Was it a Crunchy Frog?
Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at October 25, 2013 10:47 AM (/Crba)


Is that related to a crunchy fig?

 

---

 

It's a Monty Python skit about a confectionary shop.

 

In this case, the item in question is a frog covered in chocolate.  It's crunchy because they didn't debone it first.

35 You are lucky I am a sweet, innocent, delicate flower of virtue...

Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 10:51 AM (4df7R)

Ahem...

36 My wife has been looking forward to the Dracula show.. she loves JRM.. she musta watched The Tudors like 12 times.. or maybe it just seems like it..

37 Meh, Victorian mens clothing is meh.  Lengthen the coat, turn up the collars, large cravat instead of a necktie.  There you go.  OTOH, with the wimenz, we get lots of flounce, corsets, peak-a-boo ankles, well-supported boobies....

38 Ace is on vacation, but Rick Tempest isn't.

39 Life is fickle. One minute a terrific birthday present, the next, tragedy. Imagine what his wife has to live with now.

40

I love me some vampires and I do like that they are going down the traditional he's obsessed with the possible reincarnation of his wife route. Plus I vaguely recall that there's going to be some steampunk elements tossed in. *makes popcorn*

 

 

Ooh, steampunk, too?   FUN!  

 

I haven't yet gotten to watch the msot recent eppy of "Sleepy Hollow."  *is sad*  Have they finally gotten him some modern clothes?   Because come on, folks.  A couple shirts and some jeans from WalMart aren't going to set you back THAT MUCH money, okay?

 

Also *paws screen* I want Intelligence noooooooow. Not February, noooooooow. *draws hearts around Josh Holloway*

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Mmmm. Blondies with whipped cream. at October 25, 2013 10:56 AM (VtjlW)

 

*SIGH*  AND Josh Holloway has a new show?   Dammit!   I've been so GOOD about not getting addicted to    TV shows for so loooong.  *POUT*

 

But... Sawyer.   *whimper*

41 ah.. okay.. guess I'm not well informed on the frog thing.  That's okay tho

42 Well, have  we ever seen Rick Tempest and Ace together in the same room?

43 Ahem...

Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 10:58 AM (fwARV)

 

Are you denying that I am a sweet, delicate, innocent flower of virtue?  *halo*

44 In this case, the item in question is a frog covered in chocolate. It's crunchy because they didn't debone it first.

Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at October 25, 2013 10:57 AM (/Crba)

OH!   Right!   I remember that   now!   Wow, I'm ashamed I forgot.     What kind of Python fan am I?

45 Meh, Victorian mens clothing is meh. Lengthen the coat, turn up the collars, large cravat instead of a necktie. There you go. Codpiece. Codpiece!

46 OH! Right! I remember that now! Wow, I'm ashamed I forgot. What kind of Python fan am I? I don't know. Ever been bitten by a moose?

47 Codpiece. Codpiece! Posted by: rickb223 at October 25, 2013 11:05 AM (xZxMD) I don't get why you would put a fish there.

48 They can be rather nasti.

49 45Meh, Victorian mens clothing is meh. Lengthen the coat, turn up the collars, large cravat instead of a necktie. There you go.



Codpiece. Codpiece! --- "I got this wonderful diamond-encrusted codpiece!" "Hey, yous guys!  I gots this wonderful codpiece toos!" "Uh, Toki, that's not a codpiece.  That's a dildo."

50 Well, have we ever seen Rick Tempest and Ace together in the same room? Never will. Streams crossing & all that.

51 Are you denying that I am a sweet, delicate, innocent flower of virtue? *halo*

Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 11:03 AM (4df7R)

Denying?  Not a chance. 

Obliquely and noncommittally hinting at a suggestion of the shadow of a possibility that the halo may or may not be held up by horns?

Absolutely.

52 I don't know. Ever been bitten by a moose?

Posted by: blaster at October 25, 2013 11:05 AM (W6bkf) /i]

A moose bit my sister once.   No, really!

 

 

Moose bites can be pretty nasty.

 

53 Ooh, steampunk, too? FUN! I haven't yet gotten to watch the msot recent eppy of "Sleepy Hollow." *is sad* Have they finally gotten him some modern clothes? Because come on, folks. A couple shirts and some jeans from WalMart aren't going to set you back THAT MUCH money, okay? I haven't watched the new Sleepy Hollow yet either so I don't know. They better have because I mean, seriously, c'mon. As awesome as he looks, it's just ludicrous. *SIGH* AND Josh Holloway has a new show? Dammit! I've been so GOOD about not getting addicted to TV shows for so loooong. *POUT* But... Sawyer. *whimper* Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 11:03 AM (4df7R) It looks like Chuck but Serious You Guys which is kind of totally hilarious. That being said, Sawyer as a badass super agent? Yes, please. Think his MI4 character before he was, you know, shot.

54 Denying? Not a chance. Obliquely and noncommittally hinting at a suggestion ofthe shadow of a possibility that the halo may or may not be held up by horns? Absolutely. Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 11:07 AM (fwARV) Can I have your stuff?

55 I don't get why you would put a fish there. Dead, rotting fish covers the funk from....

56 Moose bites can be pretty nasty.

Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 11:08 AM (4df7R)

The people responsible for the sacking of the people who produced the credits have been sacked.

57

JRM - now THERE'S a guy they should consider casting in "50 Shades of Grey".

 

Haven't  read the books, but just  from what I've heard about them, he seems like more of the "personality" that would be required for that type of character, not these metrosexual lightweights they've been tossing out there.

 

I mean, honestly - if JRM just LOOKED at a lady a certain way, her panties would be off before he could blink, amiright?

58

Obliquely and noncommittally hinting at a suggestion ofthe shadow of a possibility that the halo may or may not be held up by horns?

Absolutely.

 

Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 11:07 AM (fwARV)

 

 

*squint*

 

*harumph* 

 

Because of your utility to a future Moron enclave, and your boyish good looks and infinite charm, I will let you live.   But mostly    because   of    your boyish good looks and infinite charm. 

59 I just had an acceptable online "shopping experience" with a govt web site.

Other than the cash extraction aspect, FL's online vehicle registration renewal was painless, straightforward, and the site offered useful and correct helps when it needed some obscure old transaction number off the old registration.  Presumably that detail was to ensure that you are in fact you to keep people from trying to hijack vehicle registrations on renewal by just knowing a license plate number.

60 Codpiece. Codpiece!

Word up!

61 I mean, honestly - if JRM just LOOKED at a lady a certain way, her panties would be off before he could blink, amiright? Voice of experience, hmmmm?

62 But mostly because of your boyish good looks and infinite charm.

Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 11:10 AM (4df7R)

*Breathes sigh of relief and makes a note to thank my genetic code*

63 I mean, honestly - if JRM just LOOKED at a lady a certain way, her panties would be off before he could blink, amiright?

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX at October 25, 2013 11:09 AM (PZ6/M)

 

*cough*

 

I plead the Fifth.

64 Dipped to freezing last night. Hard freeze tonight. In 1891, the high for the 25th was 79 deg., but Global Warming.

65 I mean, honestly - if JRM just LOOKED at a lady a certain way, her panties would be off before he could blink, amiright?

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX at October 25, 2013 11:09 AM (PZ6/M)

Um... They were on to begin with?

Lies.

66 I mean, honestly - if JRM just LOOKED at a lady a certain way, her panties would be off before he could blink, amiright? Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, TX at October 25, 2013 11:09 AM (PZ6/M) *fist bump* Because of your utility to a future Moron enclave, and your boyish good looks and infinite charm, I will let you live. But mostly because of your boyish good looks and infinite charm. Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 11:10 AM (4df7R) But I still get his stuff, right?

67 Cool enough down here to open the windows this morning. 72.

68 The people responsible for the sacking of the people who produced the credits have been sacked.

Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 11:09 AM (fwARV)

 

 

*coo*   Once upon a time I had that entire movie memorized.

 

 

My mother blames the re-emergence of her accent -- which had mellowed over the years since emigrating here from England -- on   my obsession with Monty Python and    PBS    BritComs     as a kid.  

69 But I still get his stuff, right?

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Mmmm. Blondies with whipped cream. at October 25, 2013 11:12 AM (VtjlW)

I'm sure we could come to some sort of... agreement...

70 I'm sure we could come to some sort of... agreement...

Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 11:13 AM (fwARV)

Which would probably consist of you asking for my stuff and me giving it up without a fight.

71

OTOH, with the wimenz, we get lots of flounce, corsets, peak-a-boo ankles, well-supported boobies....

 

*grins*

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading  The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the War by Juliet Nicolson.  In a passage about weekends at the great country houses, she mentions that, among their perfumes and flowers, a good Edwardian woman had small silver rings clamped to her nipples in order to provide a sort of shelf for her dress' decolletage.

 

I immediately looked to see if there was any footnote or reference for this claim, but there wasn't.  And it's the first I'd ever heard of the custom, even though I'm fairly well versed in late-Victorian and Edwardian history.

 

Anyway, a little tidbit to occupy your afternoon, as it did mine. . .

72 on my obsession with Monty Python and PBS BritComs as a kid. Monty Python, Benny Hill, Are You Being Served, Black Adder...

73 Which would probably consist of you asking for my stuff and me giving it up without a fight. Don't forget the shin kicking. Never forget the shin kicking.

74 But I still get his stuff, right?

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Mmmm. Blondies with whipped cream. at October 25, 2013 11:12 AM (VtjlW)

 

I'm sure something can be arranged.

 

 

Um... They were on to begin with?

Lies.

 

Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 11:11 AM (fwARV)

 

We're good girls we are!    *trying to obscure shelves of soul jars in   background*

75 a good Edwardian woman had small silver rings clamped to her nipples in order to provide a sort of shelf for her dress' decolletage. Nipple rings FTW!

76

Since it is open thread I am going to go off on Common Core some more. If you read articles about it at places like the Washington Post you'll notice in the comments section that there are always two or three people with what appears to be very thought out responses arguing why common core is the best thing since sliced bread and you just don't understand it and for reals it is based on research, and experts, and 46 states all signed off on it, and it doesn't restrict teachers, etc. These people will spend a lot of time in the comments section replying to comments with "facts about common core"

 

 

 

I know we all know there are Internet shills, but I can speak from personal experience on this one that these are indeed shills, because while I was the legislative chair for the school PTA I was given the opportunity to attend a "grassroots activism training" on common core that was paid for by a Gates Foundation grant. Its entire purpose was to train us on how to shill for common core. The things these commenters say are straight from the materials we were given in our training.

77 Monty Python, Benny Hill, Are You Being Served, Black Adder...

Posted by: rickb223 at October 25, 2013 11:14 AM (xZxMD)

 

For me it was Python, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Servied?, Blackadder, Keeping Up Apperances, Good Neighbors...

 

And of course "Dr. Who."   Not a BritCom, but oh so very, very British.

78 I'm sure we could come to some sort of... agreement... Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 11:13 AM (fwARV) Which would probably consist of you asking for my stuff and me giving it up without a fight. Posted by: Washington Nearsider at October 25, 2013 11:13 AM (fwARV) See! In addition to the boyish good looks and boundless charm, you are also possessed of a strong survival instinct. I admire that in a minion.

79 The things these commenters say are straight from the materials we were given in our training. Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at October 25, 2013 11:16 AM (RZ8pf) That should tell you all you need to know. If you have to hold a class on how to convince people a program is worth having, it isn't much of a program.

80 Voice of experience, hmmmm?

Posted by: rickb223 at October 25, 2013 11:10 AM (xZxMD)

 

 

 

I'm probably old enough to be his mother, but  DAAAAAMN  if that boy  being on the screen doesn't make my husband smile in anticipation of  things to .....well..... you know...... :-)

81

there are always two or three people with what appears to be very thought out responses arguing why common core is the best thing since sliced bread and you just don't understand it and for reals it is based on research, and experts, and 46 states all signed off on it, and it doesn't restrict teachers, etc. These

 

 

And they are   spewing pure, unadulterated bullshit.

82 For me it was Python, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Servied?, Blackadder, Keeping Up Apperances, Good Neighbors... Oh yeah. All those too. Basil Fawlty & Manuel. LOL. Brit version of The Skipper & Gilligan...

83

See! In addition to the boyish good looks and boundless charm, you are also possessed of a strong survival instinct. I admire that in a minion.

 

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Mmmm. Blondies with whipped cream. at October 25, 2013 11:18 AM (VtjlW)

 

 

He's a    good   lad.   *nod*

84 I like The Thick of It. A swear word a second.

85

The things these commenters say are straight from the materials we were given in our training.

 

Here's my shocked face.

 

Funny, isn't it, how Axelturfing has morphed into its own federal  department.  It make the Ministry of Silly Walks  look serious by comparison.

86

By the way, I am not saying morons here who think common core is a good thing are shills, they are long time commenters and I respect their comments and know they are commenting out of their understanding of how common core works in their specific instances.

 

 

 

But, overall bottom line is that common core is a way to radically change the education system in this country and most of the "facts" about common core are inaccurate. And, the most important thing about this is that common core, like Obamacare, is an area where Republicans would find LIV Democrats agreeing with them that it pretty much sucks and therefore could have an opportunity to swing some voters with some well thought out plans for modifying the common core standard. Of course that will never happen since Jeb Bush and other prominent Republicans are fully on board (thanks to large sums of money they are getting from various entities to drive it).

87 Oh yeah. All those too. Basil Fawlty & Manuel. LOL. Brit version of The Skipper & Gilligan...

Posted by: rickb223 at October 25, 2013 11:19 AM (xZxMD)

 

They would soooooo never get away with Manuel today.  lol!

 

I love impersonating Sybil   on the phone.  "Oh I knooooow.  I knooow.   Oh, I KNOOOOW."

88 Don't forget Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line.

89 Just for the record Moon : Waning gibbous

90 Wooster and Jeeves

91 JRM has had me since "Bend It Like Beckham."  I'm such a sucker for that accent. 

92 I don't know if it's Common Core specific, but my liberal hometown paper was aghast to learn that all of a sudden their list of top 10 paid school system employees included a few brand new Federal Compliance facilitators.

93 PGiS,

What exactly is wrong with Common Core?  I don't know anything about it, but they have it at my son's school for math and science.

94 Lincoln - In NC? Where, Charlotte?

95 No, sorry. My old hometown, Worcester MA.

96 "Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit Chelsea at October 25, 2013 11:20 AM"

But whatever you do, don't talk about the war.

97 Don't forget Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2013 11:20 AM (zF6Iw)

 

The   Thin Blue Line!   I loved that show.   They didn't make enough of it.

 

I honestly was never a great fan of Mr. Bean.  I far prefer Rowan    Atkinson   when he's all sarcastic and dry.   That's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of the first season of Blackadder.

 

It IS funny to watch Hugh Laurie as    Gregory House, though, when I grew up watching him as the foppish Prince George and then the bumbling upperclass twit George in Blackadder,  not to mention in "A Bit of Fry and Laurie."   And Bertie in "Jeeves and Wooster!"  PG Wodehouse FTW.

 

98 Heh. Worcester and Jeeves

99 Oh, and I just had a chat with my father-in-law, and he is mad a the Tea Party for shutting down the government and obstructing moderate Republicans.  He says the country needs to move forward.  To where I'm not sure.  How are you supposed to move forward when you fundamentally disagree about the direction to head?

100 Where is that comparison of tests from 1890, 1950, & 2000. Where they compare what students had to know to graduate? 1890 = brain surgery. 2000 = smarter than a stump.

101 and 46 states all signed off on it

If all those other states jumped off a bridge, you're gonna do it too?

102 I hope the Podcast isn't controversial.

103 The Dave Allen Show and The Two Ronnies  And Man About the House where the brunette (I think she was a traffic warden) was completely sex-mad and trying to seduce the Jack Tripper character.

104 I hope the Podcast isn't controversial.

Posted by: garrett at October 25, 2013 11:26 AM (smkBM)

 

It includes commentary from   a known   urban myth (Rick Tempest), so I'm not too sure...

105 He says the country needs to move forward. To where I'm not sure. How are you supposed to move forward when you fundamentally disagree about the direction to head?

 

Posted by: no good deed at October 25, 2013 11:25 AM (k55Fc)

 

Did he have an answer to that other than "RAYYYCIIST!!"

106 Man About the House!   Yes!    Egads, it's been ages since I've seen that one.

107 See! In addition to the boyish good looks and boundless charm, you are also possessed of a strong survival instinct. I admire that in a minion.  

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Mmmm. Blondies with whipped cream. at October 25, 2013 11:18 AM (VtjlW)

You are, as always, magnanimous in your praise, milady. 

108

Oh, and I just had a chat with my father-in-law, and he is mad a the Tea Party for shutting down the government and obstructing moderate Republicans. He says the country needs to move forward. To where I'm not sure. How are you supposed to move forward when you fundamentally disagree about the direction to head?

 

I've been mulling a new post for my blog - Progressives vs. Progress. In keeping with  theme of the blog, it seems that what Progs are proposing and moving us toward is hardly what one would consider   real progress. Real progress would seem (to me, at least) to be an enhanced standard  of living, more money,  more free time, and more freedom to pursue your own personal happiness. More of the good things  in life,   in short.

 

What we're seeing from Progs is not that. Not by a long shot.

 

109 Idiocracy spreads to South America: Meet Mr. Balls, BrazilÂ’s Disturbing New Testicular Cancer Mascot http://tinyurl.com/k5jl6n6 (I don't even...)

110 Random Thought: If someone five years ago told me they thought the government was tracking all their phone calls, I would have though somebody should call the nice young men in their clean white coats with the butterfly nets.

111

EC, one specific example that is wrong with common core are the math standards. For example now students are not taught how to add and subtract numbers until 4th grade. Until 4th grade they are taught several other strategies for doing those types of problems, strategies that do not include just stacking the numbers and adding and subtracting them. There is not a path to algebra in middle school now, which means kids who want to go on to be math or computer science majors in college don't get to the calculus class they need their senior year so they either have to do a running start program or are set back a year in their college programs as compared to kids who will be coming out of private schools.

 

 

Or, to be even more specific, my son (6th grade) asked me what a compatible number is because he had to estimate using a compatible number. The honest to God explanation I could find on the Internet is "numbers that look nice or friendly with each other when we do mental math" so, the problem he kept getting wrong was estimate 28 x 3. He rounded up to 30 to get 90, then he rounded down to 27, broke that into its factors and multiplied those together to get 81. But, the answer they were looking for was "75" because 25 looks friendly next to 3, i.e., it is easy to multiply 25 x 3. My son KNOWS how to do math quickly in his head and they are breaking his ability to do so by forcing him to do this kind of thing in order to get the right answer on his quizzes.

112 New one!   If willow's here, hop aboard the    biplane.  *zoom!*

113 I am not a very eloquent speaker for what is wrong with common core, but Michelle Malkin has really been on top of it from the start and she has lots of links that go into better explanations of the problems then I can.

114

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at October 25, 2013 11:20 AM (RZ8pf)

 

The real key is that 'Common Core' is the mechanism that increases the Federal Control over education that started under Carter with the Dept. of Education being created.

 

Or should I say.... under Reagan?   Because it actually was funded under Carter, but opened its doors und Reagan...

 

Then the power was expanded un Bush with no child left behind...

 

This is just the next step... as it takes control of what our children are taught away from the local school boards, and makes it a Federal Issue, and thus impossible to change.

 

Just like they did with Environmental Law...

115

Meet Mr. Balls

 

 

Wewl, I am stho  gwad to finawy  meet you.  It'th been a wife wong dweam of mine. 

Weawy.

116 What we're seeing from Progs is not that. Not by a long shot.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit. at October 25, 2013 11:32 AM (0HooB)

 

THis is why I call them "regressives."

117

My son KNOWS how to do math quickly in his head and they are breaking his ability to do so by forcing him to do this kind of thing in order to get the right answer on his quizzes.

 

The wrong questions asking for the wrong answers will do that.

118 This AOSHQ blogcast is making fun of PREsidEnt OBAMA! You are mean and racist and cant do anything nearly as well as OBAMa and you are jealous!

119

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at October 25, 2013 11:33 AM (RZ8pf)

 

Yup.... they are teaching that even in MATH, there is no right, or wrong... its all about 'feelings'...

 

/spit

 

And I SOOOO want one of these folks designing the next bridge I drive over...

120 Paranoid - Yikes! My instinct was to multiply 30 x 3 = 90, then, 2 x 3 = 6 (i.e., 30 - 28= 2) and 90 - 6 = 84.

121 Just like they did with Environmental Law... Posted by: Romeo13 at October 25, 2013 11:35 AM (lZBBB) That's why the understanding that Ed policy has nothing to do with a political party but is all about statist goals is important to understand. I don't blame any of the politicians like Reagan or bush or even carter, They relied on education professionals to give them options for programs that would improve education. I don't think they realized they were being written by communists and leftover weather underground terrorists.

122 the problem he kept getting wrong was estimate 28 x 3. He rounded up to 30 to get 90, then he rounded down to 27, broke that into its factors and multiplied those together to get 81. But, the answer they were looking for was "75" because 25 looks friendly next to 3, i.e., it is easy to multiply 25 x 3.


My son is 6th grade too.

For the most part, his math teacher seems to know what she is doing.  I'm a total hardcore teacher at home with him, especially with math, so I expect him to be figuring out answers and not "guessing".  Sometimes, he shows me methods to find answers that are completely backasswards from what I learned.

Why is the school looking for 75 in your example?  The right answer is 84. 

123 Ah! That's it! Obama's people use 'compatible' math.

124

EC, yes I ended up telling my son that it was OK with me if he got the "compatible math" problems wrong on his quiz, that I cared more that he knew how to get the right answer the right way.

 

 

The school is looking for "75" because the tests are no longer graded by the teacher, they are online math tests and so you have to put in the number the computer has been programmed to accept as the correct answer. Even if the question is about "estimating." You also cannot put in any extraneous stuff, like saying "275 tacks" because the inclusion of the word "tacks" makes the computer grade it as wrong. And you have to either leave out or put in the commas (i.e. 25,735) depending on who programmed the computerized test for that particular quiz--and so far there is no consistency so kids seem to be wholesale failing one computerized test and then not the next one because on one test the comma is needed and the next it isn't and so it is counted as wrong.

125 Ah!

That's it! Obama's people use 'compatible' math.
---

Yeah, compatible with the narrative.

126 Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at October 25, 2013 11:44 AM (RZ8pf) Computerized testing isn't as good as pencil and paper because a good teacher will examine the childs work to see where mistakes are made. If a number of children make the same mistake the teacher will know it is something they have done wrong or failed to do. The hard part of teaching has always been grading papers, evaluating the students and the teacher evaluating themselves. Computer math takes all of that away.

127 Reading these Common Core horror stories makes me glad that 1) My son is graduating high school in 2015, so these insane guidelines won't do him any harm, and 2) My daughter and son-in-law are homeschooling my granddaughter. The only thing "common" about Common Core is that, like everything else the gummint gets involved with, it's one big clustershtoop.

128 Much better podcast than the last two weeks.  Lot more humor. 

Clearly a function of how cheerful the Obamacare fail is making all of us.  Shutdown in the rearview mirror, the Failure of the Liberal Project ahead...joy.

129 I wish the podcasts were more frequent than once a week.

On the other hand, I've not been paying for them, so...

130 >> I wish the podcasts were more frequent than once a week. I do too, but my wife'd kill me if I spent any more time on it :-)