Podcast for 6-20-2011

[MrBogosity]

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News of the Bogus:

• Chicago State's Attorney Lets Bad Cops Slide, Prosecutes Citizens Who Record Them http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/08/chicago-district-attorney-recording-bad-cops_n_872921.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl3|sec1_lnk3|69598
• Tong Ren Therapy - NBC 7 NEWS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I4r3FrzFBc
• Report: Students don't know much about US history http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110614/ap_on_re_us/us_history_test

Biggest Bogon Emitter: Stella Morabito http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2011/06/why-libertarian-drive-repeal-doma-will-grow-leviathan

Idiot Extraordinaire: President Barack Obama http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/43391550#43391550

• Bastiat's petition: http://bastiat.org/en/petition.html

This Week's Quote: "The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design." —F.A. Hayek

[AnCap Dave]

The Chicago story pisses me off on so many levels. Here in Connecticut, we had a similar problem where cops were trying to arrest people for recording them in public. If I'm not mistaken, we passed a law here stating that they can't do that. Cops are told that they should act as if they're always being recorded, which I find to be a good policy. Unfortunately, that still doesn't stop some members of law enforcement from being assholes.

The US History one doesn't surprise me really. Back when I was in high school, they taught us that the events happened, but never really went into details for the reasons why. They usually throw a few catchphrases like "Taxation without representation" or "Abe Lincoln freed the slaves" and call it a day.

[Travis Retriever]

The Chicago story pisses me off on so many levels.

Ditto.


I've been boycotting the News Media for years now.  I can only handle so many bogons.

[Travis Retriever]

It sounds like Stella Morabito is making the "power vacuum" argument that, if we get rid of that law, worse laws will end up taking its place--in the beginning of her rant at least.

[AnCap Dave]

Oh, also, it should be noted that "No Child Left Behind" is partly to blame as well. Schools now primarily teach kids how to take regional tests, rather than how to actually think or provide knowledge. In fact, this nonsense was heavily enforced roughly around my sophomore year of high school. We'd take an entire marking period just for the sake of going over how to take the CAPT test, when we could be using that time to actually learn things.

[MrBogosity]

Oh, also, it should be noted that "No Child Left Behind" is partly to blame as well. Schools now primarily teach kids how to take regional tests, rather than how to actually think or provide knowledge.

That was the case LONG before NCLB (although that horrible law just made it worse).

[AnCap Dave]

That was the case LONG before NCLB (although that horrible law just made it worse).

Yeah, they always emphasized on tests, but as you said, the insane law made it that much worse.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

In Florida we had a test called the FCAT that determined everything for a school. During elementary school practically the whole time between coming back from Christmas break until mid-March we would do nothing but take practice tests. History and Science were practically scrapped.

Hell even in high school that test was a pain in the butt. The year USA Today ranked my school as one of the 10 best high schools in the country, the state threatened to put the school "on probation" because they still took into account kids who had left the school as failing the test.

[AnCap Dave]

In Florida we had a test called the FCAT that determined everything for a school. During elementary school practically the whole time between coming back from Christmas break until mid-March we would do nothing but take practice tests. History and Science were practically scrapped.

Hell even in high school that test was a pain in the butt. The year USA Today ranked my school as one of the 10 best high schools in the country, the state threatened to put the school "on probation" because they still took into account kids who had left the school as failing the test.

Yeah, here in Connecticut, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th grade kids would take the Mastery Tests, and 10th graders would take the CAPT. In my high school, if you failed any part of the CAPT test, you either had to retake it or take a course to cover the failing grade. If you didn't do either, you wouldn't be allowed to graduate. Sophomores who got a 4 or a 5 out of 5 though didn't have to take the finals for those particular courses come junior year though.

[AnCap Dave]

I posted the US History report on another site, and someone posted this video in response:

[yt]zDZFcDGpL4U[/yt]

So what are your opinions on this person's analysis of public education?

[Travis Retriever]

I posted the US History report on another site, and someone posted this video in response:

[yt]zDZFcDGpL4U[/yt]

So what are your opinions on this person's analysis of public education?

My doctor says I should limit my bogon intake, so I won't be watching that.  However, if it's like what I have seen from RSA Animate, it's going to be full of leftist crap, riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions and in some cases even pandering to creationists.  I am not kidding about that last one.

[AnCap Dave]

My doctor says I should limit my bogon intake, so I won't be watching that.  However, if it's like what I have seen from RSA Animate, it's going to be full of leftist crap, riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions and in some cases even pandering to creationists.  I am not kidding about that last one.

Yeah, one thing I caught in there that I didn't care for was the part where he kept complaining about this "one answer only" standard.

[MrBogosity]

I posted the US History report on another site, and someone posted this video in response:

[yt]zDZFcDGpL4U[/yt]

So what are your opinions on this person's analysis of public education?

Sounds right to me. Those RSA animations seem to be hit or miss, but I'd call this one a hit!

[MrBogosity]

Yeah, one thing I caught in there that I didn't care for was the part where he kept complaining about this "one answer only" standard.

Well, there quite often ARE multiple answers--and even when there is only one objectively-right answer there are quite often multiple ways of arriving at that answer. Many tests seem to be more about reading the teacher's mind than about applying a correct answer.

[AnCap Dave]

Well, there quite often ARE multiple answers--and even when there is only one objectively-right answer there are quite often multiple ways of arriving at that answer. Many tests seem to be more about reading the teacher's mind than about applying a correct answer.

That reminds me of back in high school when I had points taken off of a test I had to take in sociology because I don't pay attention to school sports and got a question wrong about the school football team.