Actor Matt Damon says teachers don’t need incentives to teach. Then why do teachers give students grades?
Author: Papa Giorgio
Red Tape and Business/Job Growth (Heritage Foundation)
Federal agencies publish an average of over 200 pages of new rulings, regulations, and proposals in the Federal Register each business day. That growth of the federal statute book is one of the clearest measures of the increase of the government control of the citizenry (James Bovard, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty [St. Martins Griffen; 1994], p. 1.)
Zo on Matt Damon (take note I also take apart a mantra Matt Damon memes from the left)
Just a quick note on Matt Damon’s mantra about rich people not sending their kids to war. The first excerpt is a breakdown of racial diversity of death in Iraq:
The latest census, of Americans, shows the following distribution of American citizens, by Race:
1. European descent (White) ….. 69.12%
2. Hispanic ……………………..…… 12.5%3.
3. Black………………………………. 12.3%
4. Asian ……………………..………… 3.7%
5. Native American ……………….. 1.0%
6. Other ……………………..………. 2.6%
Now… here are the fatalities by Race; over the past three years in Iraqi Freedom:
1. European descent (white) …74.31%
2. Hispanic ……………………..… 10.74%
3. Black ……………………..……… 9.67%
4. Asian ……………………..……. . 1.81%
5. Native American ……………… 1.09%
6. Other ……………………..……… .33%
You do the Math! These figures don’t lie… but, Media-liars figure then distort these numbers to try and sway public opinion!
(From: 4,000 Combat Deaths)
This is an also from my old blog (also a response to a liberal friend) responding to a Charilie Rangel video (Video Link) about him wanting a draft so more rich kids would be drafted and thusly, the war in Iraq wouldn’t happen (a non-sequitur by the way):
Another piece O’ information Rangel cannot see through the political forest is that most of the volunteers are from affluent neighborhoods, as the following Washington Times (November 8, 2005) article points out:
◆ The Heritage Foundation research paper found that a higher percentage of middle-class and upper-middle-class families have been providing enlistees for the war on Islamic militants since the September 11 attacks on the United States. Researchers matched the ZIP codes of recruits over the past five years with federal government estimates of household incomes in those neighborhoods. Contrary to complaints from some liberal lawmakers and pundits, the data show that the poor are not shouldering the bulk of the military’s need for new soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines. The poorest neighborhoods provided 18 percent of recruits in prewar 1999 and 14.6 percent in 2003. By contrast, areas where household incomes ranged from $30,000 to $200,000 provided more than 85 percent…. About 98 percent of all enlistees from 1999 to 2003 had a high school diploma, compared with 75 percent of nonrecruits nationwide.
Sorry Charlie, your “Bumper-Sticker Slogans” aren’t working out for you to well, at least those who can type into Google the words, “military record number middle-class”, which apparently your staff cannot.
(From: Democrats Calling for the Draft… AGAIN!)
This from the Heritage Foundation:
- U.S. military service disproportionately attracts enlisted personnel and officerswho do not come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Previous Heritage Foundation research demonstrated that the quality of enlisted troops has increased since the start of the Iraq war. This report demonstrates that the same is true of the officer corps.
- Members of the all-volunteer military are significantly more likely to come from high-income neighborhoods than from low-income neighborhoods. Only 11 percent of enlisted recruits in 2007 came from the poorest one-fifth (quintile) of neighborhoods, while 25 percent came from the wealthiest quintile. These trends are even more pronounced in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, in which 40 percent of enrollees come from the wealthiest neighborhoods-a number that has increased substantially over the past four years.
- American soldiers are more educated than their peers. A little more than 1 percent of enlisted personnel lack a high school degree, compared to 21 percent of men 18-24 years old, and 95 percent of officer accessions have at least a bachelor’s degree.
- Contrary to conventional wisdom, minorities are not overrepresented in military service. Enlisted troops are somewhat more likely to be white or black than their non-military peers. Whites are proportionately represented in the officer corps, and blacks are overrepresented, but their rate of overrepresentation has declined each year from 2004 to 2007. New recruits are also disproportionately likely to come from the South, which is in line with the history of Southern military tradition.
And from the American Forces Press Service,
…. On the socioeconomic side, the military is strongly middle class, Gilroy said. More recruits are drawn from the middle class and fewer are coming from poorer and wealthier families. Recruits from poorer families are actually underrepresented in the military, Gilroy said.
Other trends are that the number of recruits from wealthier families is increasing, and the number of recruits from suburban areas has increased. This also tracks that young men and women from the middle class are serving in the military.
Young men and women from urban areas are not volunteering, Gilroy said. In fact, urban areas provide far fewer recruits as a percentage of the total population than small towns and rural areas.
Did Matt Damon “School” This Reporter?
Two quick responses ~ Firstly, teachers ARE well paid:
Mr. Damon is simply passing on talking points probably heard from “memes.” A second point is that tenure is a huge part of the problem. A teacher reaches tenure after just two years of doing what, working. This should be based on how well they perform and have a go at tenure after say, 5 years with a two-year interim to try again.This will weed out bad teachers or teachers that may be predators of younger persons. You see, is a teacher is tenured after only two-years, when it comes to light that they may have some indecent relationships with students it is almost impossibly to fire them and they get moved from district to district before they are finally canned. Having a longer period of tenurship often times allows some committee that would tenure teachers more insight into the teachers character.
Here is the video from the people that asked the question of Matt:
And from REASONTVS BLOG on the topic:
MORE from this great post from EDUCATION NEXT:
One should remember that this pay rate to teachers varies from state to state, for instance:
High Paying State and Low Paying State
- Teacher pay, as mentioned earlier, varies a lot depending on which state you teach in. California ranks number 1 in teacher pay with an average pay of $63,640. South Dakota ranks number 50 in average teacher pay with an abysmal $35,378.
The reality is that unions are a big part of the problem, not the teachers individually, but corporately.
For a longer, more in-depth discussion on this topic, see C-SPAN’S video, but here is a snippet from JOHN STOSSLE:
For a more updated look at the numbers, see AEI’S report: Debunking The Myth Of The ‘Teacher Pay Gap,’ Again
A Newsbusters Update:
Part of the issue as well is that unions merely want to hire more and protect existing jobs of teachers and administrators… not take care of students learning ability. As an example of this we see the hiring practices of these unionized organizations:
Which brings to mind these two great short videos:
Who poses the biggest threat to America’s economy by striking deals with crooked politicians? Big Oil, Big Pharma, or Big Unions? Daniel DiSalvo, political science professor at the City College of New York, gives the answer.
Marine Combat Footage from the Upper Sangin Valley,Afghanistan
Taking Over Private Businesses Packaging
What do you get with a Drunk Russian,Dolphins,and Security Who Ask Questions Later? Fisticuffs
Pfc. Naser Abdo Would Harass Jewish Soldiers-Media Is Mum
From Libertarian Republican:
[….]
He would also, we found use anti-Semitic rhetoric. He would harrass a Jewish soldier within our platoon.
[….]
Editor’s comment – Where in the bloody hell is the rest of the media on this story? Why are we not hearing about this on any other network, or on-line news outlet, except for Fox? If he had been harrassing a black soldier or a gay soldier, it’d be on every nightly newscast and a headliner at the NY Times, Washington Post, HuffPo, CNN, and MSNBC. But he was just harrassing a Jew. Nothing to see here. Move on, move on…
Dennis Miller on the Debt Deal
Every American President a Terrorist~Rapper Lupe Fiasco
From video description:
Every American President Is A Terrorist: Cornel West and Rapper Lupe Fiasco Inspire a Clapping Audience of 13 to 18 Year Olds At Leadership Conference By Telling Them America is Biggest Terrorist in The World & Army Navy & Marines Only Kill People
Global Warming Follies and Computer Models vs the Real Deal-Raw Data
Fox News reports on a portion of what I noted in an earlier post:
Tea Party Congressmen/Women Considered Terrorists
STENY HOYER: (rotunda noise) The Republicans are holding hostage the credit of the United States of America.
DEBBIE “BLABBERMOUTH” SCHULTZ: …our Republican colleagues to hold our economy hostage.
DINGY HARRY: The Republican Party is holding our economy hostage.
CHUCK-U SCHUMER: (rotunda noise) It didn’t say, “Hold America hostage.”
LOUISE SLAUGHTER: …hold the debt ceiling hostage.
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE: One party is holding the country hostage.
JOHN OLVER: The debt limit has never before been held hostage.
BARBARA LEE: Republicans are holding our economy hostage.
EARL BLUMENAUER: …willing to take hostage the debt ceiling.
JASON ALTMIRE: Stop holding America’s credit rating hostage.
ROSA DeLAURO: The Republican majority continues to hold the American economy hostage.
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Let’s not hold the entire American economy hostage.
JOHN LARSON: …ideological hostage situation…
LLOYD DOGGETT: The only belt they’re really tightening is right around the neck of those hostages.
JAMES CLYBURN: Holding the American economy hostage.
JESSE JACKSON, JR.: This president is being treated differently!
SPEAKER PRO-TEM: (gavel banging)
JACKSON: No other president has been stuck up, shook down, or held hostage!
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NBC News’ Sharpton Airs Lame Segment Calling Tea Party ‘Monster’ that ‘Will Destroy You’
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Dem Rep to GOP: ‘Stop Fragging the American People’
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Pelosi: Boehner Turned to ‘Dark Side’
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Charles Krauthammer Scolds Margaret Carlson for Saying Tea Party ‘Strapped Explosives to the Capitol’
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MSNBC ‘Morning Joe’ Panelists (Yet Again) Call Tea Partiers ‘Economic Terrorists’
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Van Jones : GOP Putting a “Gun to the Head of 310 Million People”
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Bob Schieffer’s Social Security Fear Mongering on CBS
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CNN Incorrectly Hypes Seniors’ Fears of Social Security Default
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Pelosi: ‘We’re Trying to Save World From GOP Budget, Trying to Save Life On This Planet as We Know It”
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HuffPo’s Frank Schaeffer Compares U.S. Evangelicals to Taliban, MSNBC’s Bashir Fails to Object
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Pelosi: GOP Using The Budget Deficit to ‘Destroy’ and ‘Undermine’ Government
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Hoyer: GOP “Want to Shoot Every Bullet they Have at the President”
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Pelosi: Republicans Want to Destroy Your Rights
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MSNBC’s Martin Bashir Slams ‘Right-Wing Nutters’ as ‘Biggest Threat’ to Global Financial System
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GOP “Ideological Terrorists” Threaten Default: Sally Kohn on The Ed Show
(In regards to the above cartoon ~ The Blaze):
The cartoon, drawn by Arizona Daily Star artist David Fitzsimmons for his August 1 “Cartoon of the Day,” shows the U.S. Capitol looking more like Beirut in the 1980′s- pockmarked with bullets, buildings in near collapse, even the Washington monument snapped in half. The Flags of Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan fly high above the U.S. Capitol.
As inflammatory as this talking point may be, it is also based on a false premise. As Ken Shepherd of News Busters points out, the proposed balanced budget amendment:
“would require the President to submit and Congress to enact a balanced budget, cap federal spending at 18% of GDP, and prevent future federal tax increases. Congress could only waive these provisions by a two-thirds vote, except in times of declared war or by three-fifths majority during times of military conflict. It would also require a three-fifths majority to raise the federal debt limit.”
Facts are indeed stubborn things. Congress promptly declared war on Germany and Japan in 1941. And perhaps with a balanced budget amendment in place, Congress would reassert its Constitutional authority to declare war going forward.