liberal N proud
liberal N proud's JournalThis is interesting Best Schools are Blue States - Worst - Red States
Top five best states for schools:
5. Vermont
4. New Hampshire
3. New Jersey
2. Maryland
1. Massachusetts
Five worst states for schools:
5. Alabama
4. West Virginia
3. New Mexico
2. Louisiana
1. Mississippi
Source:
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/01/14/states-with-the-best-and-worst-schools-2/
Why is that?
You knew it had to happen: Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class
BAGHDAD — If there were such a thing, it would probably be rule No. 1 in the teaching manual for instructors of aspiring suicide bombers: Don’t give lessons with live explosives.
In what represented a cautionary tale for terrorist teachers, and a cause of dark humor for ordinary Iraqis, a commander at a secluded terrorist training camp north of Baghdad unwittingly used a belt packed with explosives while conducting a demonstration early Monday for a group of militants, killing himself and 21 other members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, army and police officials said.
Iraqi citizens have long been accustomed to daily attacks on public markets, mosques, funerals and even children’s soccer games, so they saw the story of the fumbling militants as a dark — and delicious — kind of poetic justice, especially coming amid a protracted surge of violence led by the terrorist group, including a rise in suicide bombings
“This is so funny,” Mr. Hashim said. “It shows how stupid they are, those dogs and sons of dogs.”
More seriously, he said, “it also gives me pain, as I remember all the innocent people that were killed here.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/world/middleeast/suicide-bomb-instructor-accidentally-kills-iraqi-pupils.html?hp&_r=0
Empty seats
SOCHI, Russia (AP) It's an issue that comes up in the early days of almost every Olympics: What to do about those empty seats and lack of buzz?
It's the case again in Sochi, with some senior Olympic officials voicing concern about less-than-capacity crowds and a dearth of spectator enthusiasm.
One International Olympic Committee member suggested Monday that school children and unarmed soldiers be let in to help fill venues.
Gerhard Heiberg, a Norwegian member who heads the IOC marketing commission, praised the overall organization but said the games weren't as lively as hoped.
''We feared that a little bit,'' Heiberg said. ''We were warned about this. The TV pictures are wonderful, the competitions are wonderful, the venues are great. But I feel a bit the lack of enthusiasm and the joy of sports.''
http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/sochi-faces-issue-of-empty-seats-atmosphere-021014?gt1=39002
Funny, I feel the same way about watching the Olympics this year too. I usually tune in more but the enthusiasm just has not been there this year, partially due to the commentary.
50 Signs You Watch Too Much Fox News
Talking to people who religiously watch Fox News is better than space travel. You get to see what life is like on another planet without the risk of explosive decompression. But if you’re a Fox News devotee and insist that the rest of the world is crazy, this list is for you. Please, get help.
You might be watching too much Fox News if:
1. You are OUTRAGED at how Obama has shredded the Constitution but can’t name any rights you’ve lost since January 20, 2009.
2. You think record breaking cold weather in the middle of winter disproves “Global Warming.”
3. You think record breaking cold weather in the middle of winter disproves “Global Warming” but record breaking heat waves in the summer are just a fluke.
4. You hate Obama for the almost 1700 American lives lost in Afghanistan under his watch but have no idea how many died in Iraq before he took office (Hint: more than 4000).
5. You call Afghanistan “Obama’s War” but ignore the entire first eight years of it.
6. You think there’s no way Chris Christie knew about the scandal unfolding in his own office but Obama clearly knew what a small IRS office in Cincinnati was up to.
7. You think 4 Americans dying in Benghazi is “the worst tragedy since 9/11.“
8. You denounce Bill Clinton as an adulterer but give a pass to David Vitter and Mark Sanford because they apologized.
9. You are both convinced Obama is a secret Muslim and still go into a frenzy when someone mention Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
The other 41 at link: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/01/27/50-signs-watch-much-fox-news/
Silhouette Man - Wonders WTF is wrong with Americans
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/26/1103368/-The-One-Comic-That-Explains-Just-How-Screwed-America-Is
Spoiler alert - the Olympic commentators SUCK
I thought I would tune into NBC and catch some Olympics, the were showing snowboarding and the announcers sounded like they had never covered a winter event before. Cured me from the Olympics!
Baton Rouge’s Rich Want New Town to Keep Poor Pupils Out: Taxes
n East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, middle-class and wealthy neighborhoods want an educational divorce from a neighboring community where four out of 10 families live in poverty.
Saying they want local control, they’re trying to leave the 42,000-pupil public-education system. They envision their own district funded by property taxes from their higher-value homes, which would take money from schools in poorer parts of state-capital Baton Rouge, home of Louisiana State University. They even want their own city.
Similar efforts have surfaced in the past two years in Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Tennessee, some of them succeeding as the end of court-ordered desegregation removed legal barriers. The result may be a concentration of poverty and low achievement. A 2012 report by ACT, the Iowa-based testing organization, found only 10 percent of low-income students met college benchmarks in all subjects, less than half the average.
“It’s going to devastate us,” said Tania Nyman, 45, who has two elementary-age children in the Baton Rouge system. “They’re not only going to take the richer white kids out of the district, they are going to take their money out of it.”
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=BLOOM&date=20140206&id=17328094>1=33009
10 Reasons Why Republicans Love The New Patient CARE Act And You Won’t
The Republicans have come out with an alternative to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as “Obamacare.” The Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act (Patient CARE Act). Catchy anagram isn’t it? But what does it really involve?
The GOP’s ‘Patient CARE Act is a band aid.
Well, for starters, it’s basically the same thing. But there are a few glaring differences. Keep in mind that the ACA is a hybrid of originally Republican ideas. If Democrats and liberals had their way we would be talking about single payer. A simple, proven way to provide healthcare to a country’s citizenry. But nothing in Congress is done because it’s simple or proven. The Patient CARE Act is no different.
10. Exclusion of coverage for those who just signed up.
9. Fewer subsidies.
8. Annual limit caps.
7. Removing consumer protections.
6. No free preventative maintenance.
5. A gaping loophole for pre-existing conditions.
4. Higher premiums for sick and elderly
3. Higher costs for women.
2. Higher costs for ALL.
1. More people can be denied coverage.
“Right off the bat, the Patient CARE Act would repeal Obamacare in its entirety, meaning that the three million Americans who have already enrolled in new plans through the law’s state and federal marketplaces and the millions more deemed newly eligible for Medicaid coverage in states that expanded the program would lose their health coverage.”
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/02/02/gop-patient-care-act-worse-than-aca/
List of cities cut from United's Cleveland service
The document shows the following destinations as retaining nonstop service out of Cleveland: Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington-Dulles and Washington-Reagan.
In addition, it says that United will fly seasonal nonstops to Charleston, Cancun, Nassau and San Juan.
The fact sheet says United currently has 199 departures on its busiest or peak days, a number that will drop to 72 peak-day departures by the summer, a 64 percent decline. More small planes than mainline jets are being taken out, so the percentage decline in peak-day seats will be smaller, a 51 percent drop, from 12,284 to 6,121 seats.
More than three dozen routes will be phased out as United begins reducing flying in the spring. Most of them will remain attached to other United hubs, and will continue to be part of the airline's overall network and available to Cleveland travelers on a connecting basis.
Those cities are Atlanta, Austin, Bradford, Pa., Buffalo, Burlington, Charlotte, Columbus, Dayton, Dubois, Pa., Erie, Flint, Franklin, Pa., Grand Rapids, Greenville/Spartanburg, Harrisburg, Hartford, Indianapolis, Jamestown, Kansas City, Louisville, Madison, Wis., Manchester, N.H., Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul. Montreal, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Parkersburg, W.Va., Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Me., Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Rochester, Syracuse and Toronto.
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/02/united_documents_lists_nonstop.html
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