He is a great basketball player, no doubt about that. But it is also common knowledge that LeBron James is a crybaby. This fan was apparently trying to demonstrate that fact to her friend when the object of her affection turned to her and caught her in the act.
Saved by Poland Springs water bottle.
Video
Warriors fan appears to have been busted by LeBron while calling him a crybaby pic.twitter.com/YFaaRYcSD9
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) December 26, 2015
This quote was taken from Donald Trump’s 1987 bestseller, The Art of the Deal. In it, Trump explains that people who think little of themselves find comfort in those who lies and indulge in “hyperbole.”
“People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts… People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion.”
A 55-year-old mother of 5 and a 19-year-old college student were both shot and killed by Chicago police Saturday morning. And another person was shot and critically wounded by police. The police involved shootings all happened within a 12 hour time period.
According to reports, the father of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier called police saying his son was threatening him with a baseball bat. When police arrived, the father in an upstairs appartment called to his downstairs neighbor, Bettie Jones and asked her to open the door for police. When 55-year-old Jones opened the door, witnesses said Quintonio came running down the stairs. Police opened fire, killing both Bettie Jones and Quintonio LeGrier.
The police department released a statement saying, “upon arrival, officers were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer’s weapon which fatally wounded two individuals.” The statement continued, “the 55 year old female victim was accidentally struck and tragically killed. The department extends it’s deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends.”
“He was having a mental situation” said Quintonio’s mother, Janet Cooksey. “Sometimes he would get a little loud, but not violent.” Cooksey went on to say she saw her son on Christmas but after the shooting, viewed his body at the hospital and that Quintonio was shot 7 times.
For their work protecting and serving the citizens of Chicago, the police involved in the shootings will be placed on desk duty for 30 days while an investigation into the shooting proceeds.
Seeing as how I’m an education dinosaur, having taught for the past 32 years, I’ve seen many a fad, meme, phase and reform come and go during my career. Each of these aforesaid events was billed as the new reality and the change that would ignite the staid and conservative field into a dynamo that would catapult American students into the learning stratosphere, nay, outer space, when it came to classroom success and global competition.
It turns out that all of that change resulted in a lot of change which resulted in a lot of public money going to programs that were quickly abandoned for the next change. As for the students, well, SAT scores are up and more students are taking Advanced Placement tests in the suburbs, but poverty has increased and with it so has the attainment and achievement gap in the less wealthy areas of the country. This does not auger well for the latest and, perhaps, greatest new education focus which is, that all students must go to college.
Education has run into this “all” problem before. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush proposed education programs that required that all students become proficient in their subjects and that all students pass either state or national tests to prove their learning. Of course, this is impossible; not all students can pass all tests and not all students can become proficient in every subject as measured by a test. So we know that, at least in statistics, all three of these president were substandard. All students can certainly learn, but not all students can achieve at the level they need in order to succeed in higher education. And the dirty little secret is that they should not be forced into doing so.
One of the consequences of this race to college is playing out across the country, and is laid bare in this article about the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district in New Jersey. The problem there is endemic to other suburban, wealthier school districts where the focus is on competition, grades, extracurricular activities and building a resume for college. I can say from first hand experience that this is the norm in many of these districts. It is also the norm that many students feel too much pressure to succeed, to earn high grades consistently, and to be busy at all hours of the day doing homework. Not all schools follow this norm however, as some districts including West Windsor have adopted a modified no-homework policy, playing sports – which has become a major conduit for girls to get scholarships for college – performing community service, or taking part in the arts, dance and theater programs (and no, they are not Broadway quality. Sorry).
The problem is that schools are now starting to abandon their roles as educational institutions and are quietly becoming warehouses where students spend a less-than-engaging part of their day being unproductive until they can get to the fun stuff. The issue is that the school day places enormous pressure on the students to do things that do not come naturally, such as analyzing data and writing, manipulating ideas, and creating new knowledge out of disparate theories. They also need to, here goes, fail. That’s right. If you truly want to learn, you need to fail a few times before you can master ideas. It’s necessary to fail, but failure – goodness, even a C – is not an option. So parents put pressure on children. The school puts pressure on children. Children put pressure on themselves, and society says that if you don’t go to college your life will be ruined.
Thus, the problem described in the article.
I do not agree with relaxing standards or enacting less or no-homework policies (another fad), but I do think that we need to rethink the college part. It’s not an admission of failure if your child does not go to college right away or ever if that’s truly in their best interests. Not all students are academically inclined, and that’s what higher education is all about. Colleges and universities are not job factories or technical-training institutions, they are laboratories for academic and theoretical research. They do provide internships and work experiences, but very few students who graduate with a BA or BS are well qualified or ready to actually work. That’s another step in the process that all adults need to master.
Students who do well in college are proficient readers and can organize their time. They can sit for long periods and can absorb sophisticated and often contradictory ideas. They can navigate the social structure of an institution that might be radically different in scope, size and demographics from the community in which they lived, grew up and were educated. Does that sound like everyone? No, it does not. It’s no wonder that 35% of adults in this country have a college degree. It’s not for everyone and it wasn’t meant to be for everyone.
Our challenge is not to shoehorn (dinosaur term) all students into an experience that is not meant for them but rather to find experiences in which they can succeed, enjoy and challenge themselves. Many parents want colleges to be those kinds of institutions, and that’s why colleges are fighting back and saying that their purpose lies in other areas. We would do far better as a nation if we recognized that there are, or at least should be, other avenues for students who can be productive citizens without academic work. Then we can reduce some of the pressures that students feel and address the problems associated with outrageous and unnecessary expectations.
For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest
Sometimes, someone on Fox News gets hit with a jolt of truth. After yet another dumb statement by the Republican leader, Donald Trump, Greg Gutfeld, co-host of The Five showed his frustration at Donald Trump for his bullying of Hillary Clinton and his network’s unending attempt to defend the bully!
I just wanted to hear you defend this. Because I’ve heard people defend him about making fun of a disability, making fun of John McCain, making fun of women, a woman’s face, I wanted to hear somebody defend this as well. Because it never ends.
No one will ever stop defending the crass stuff he says. By the way, I haven’t used that word since I was seven years old. I don’t understand this. And I also, I don’t understand the comment about the bathroom. And I’m sick of hearing people defend this stuff. By the way, we’re not even allowed to use the word that he said, but somehow we’re going to have him on our network all the time. Meanwhile, we treat our employees far differently than that.
A little later in the interview, Gutfeld continued his outburst of truth, explaining that Trump is surrounded by “toadies” and because of that, Trump is always trying to be “the comedian,” saying foolish things and acting “very impulsive.” Gutfeld then concluded that an impulsive leader will not win against Hillary Clinton.
“When are you surrounded by toadies that cheer you on, you’re like a comedian, and you like the laughter. So I don’t — he’s very impulsive. Instead of thinking about what he says, he’s impulsive and it makes you wonder, do you want an impulsive leader, or do you want a leader that thinks? I want somebody who can beat Hillary. I don’t think an impulsive leader is going to beat Hillary.”
Video
Bristol Palin is rejoicing in the happy occasion of child birth, albeit, out of wedlock. The daughter of Republican half-term governor Sarah Palin, often preaches abstinence as her preferred way of life gave birth to her second child on Thursday.
Palin, 25, who has been an advocate of sexual abstinence before marriage, tweeted on Thursday that she had given birth to a girl, Sailor Grace. “My Heart Just Doubled,” she wrote.
The father was not named. Palin announced she was pregnant in June, a few weeks after her engagement to Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer was called off.
Her first pregnancy as a teenager gained widespread attention in 2008 when it was disclosed during her mother’s campaign as the running mate of Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain.
Sarah Palin, a former Alaska governor, tweeted that the baby was born late on Wednesday. “Oh, perfect love! The best gift ever!” she wrote.
The President of the United States was joined by the First Lady of The United States to wish a Merry Christmas to all, and to send a special message to all Americans who support the troops.
Video
Republicans hate Obamacare, although many of them are enjoying the benefits of the President’s Healthcare reform law. That said, Republicans would gladly vote for any presidential candidate who promises to end Obamacare and rid them of this life-saving healthcare.
That said, the Marco Rubio’s campaign is going a step further to get the support of these Republicans. Rubio’s campaign is claiming that Marco Rubio is the only candidate who managed to “kill Obamacare!”
Yes, for those of us enjoying real healthcare for a change, Marco Rubio apparently killed the thing and we are now finding this out.
That said, Yahoo News is reporting that some 11.7 million signed up for Marketplace plans, the Obamacare website estimates, while around 17.6 million people were covered under the ACA as of September. Open enrollment for 2016 opened on Nov. 1 and ends on Jan. 31. As of Dec. 21, upward of 9 million qualified health plans are thought to be confirmed for 2016.
But, according to Team Marco, Marco Rubio killed Obamacare. Who Knew?
Video
The leader of the Republican went on Fox News to answer questions about some of the things he has said during his presidential campaign, and whether he can seem more presidential to win over independents if or when he wins the Republican nomination. Trump, who apparently thinks he is God’s gift to make America great again, patted himself on the back, stating that he has done great things in his lifetime, all of which were presidential. Among those great presidential things, Trump mentioned “The Apprentice.”
“When you have to deal with the independents in a general election should you get the nomination, are you going to have to change your language a bit and appear, what I call, more presidential,” ask Fox host, Greta Van Susteren.
“Well I think I’m presidential,” Trump answered. “And I think I’ve done presidential work… even with The Apprentice…”
Video
Have you been outside lately? Today is December 24th, and here in the Northeast average temperatures should be in the 20’s or if we’re lucky, in the 30’s. But today, December 24th, we’re expecting temperatures to be well into the 70’s. That’s like… summertime temperature!
Well Bill Nye went on MSNBC and tried to explain the science behind the warmer temperatures, and yes, it has something to do with “Climate Change,” something Republicans refuse to acknowledge although the signs of climate change are blowing down their front door!
Video
HUGE shout out to Rachel Maddow for highlighting these political ads on Wednesday’s show. Ms Maddow called this ad by Republican presidential candidate, Ben Carson, of the “best television political ad” she’s seen this year. And after checking it out for myself, I must agree. Ben Carson and his team outdid themselves with “These Hands.”
But with a mega-mouth called Donald Trump running for president, political ads are just a waste of time and money. Don’t believe me? Ask Jeb! who has spent almost $40 million on ads so far, only to see a return of 3% support for his campaign.
Political ads are mute in 2015.
With that said, check out “These Hands” by Ben Carson.
Video
Are you getting used to this yet? Police officers taking it upon themselves to decide who deserves a death penalty and then enforcing that death penalty on American citizens? You’ve seen numerous examples of this. You should be used to it by now.
But I’m not. Although I’ve seen countless videos of people being gunned down by police, I still cannot understand the act. It seems to me that gunning down the same person you’ve sworn to “serve and protect” is the ultimate living oxymoron.
On April 30th, Officer Neal Browder took a call to investigate a report of a man with a knife at an adult book store in San Diego. When Browder pulled up on the scene, the video shows him stopping his car and asking dispatch for a description of the perpetrator. After getting the description, Browder replied that he has the man in sight. The man, a 42-year-old mentally-ill homeless man named Fridoon Rawshan Nehad, walks into the video as Browder opens the drivers door and steps out of his car, gun drawn. Almost instantly, a flash of light leaves Browder’s gun and Nehad falls to the ground and dies.
The footage below was released by San Diego County District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis. However, Bonnie Dumanis held a press conference stating that there will be no charges against the officer, according to reporting by KGTV.
Video
