THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2023The silence of the stars: Long ago and far away, almost surely in the late 1970s, we were lucky enough to meet Jonathan Kozol.We met him at an informal event staged by the futurist caucus of the U.S. House. We last saw him in Los Angeles, during the 2000 De … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2023For today, a brief interlude: In his lengthy report for the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof described the key reform.Kristof is a good, decent person; he has superlative values. On this one unfortunate occasion, he was describing a changed procedure in Mi … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2023Sacred Thoreau and his joy: Our view? The New York Times got it right when it signed Margaret Renkl as "a contributing Opinion writer."Having said that, also this:Suffering is visible all over the globe. Even so, rightly or wrongly, Renkl's new essay bears a … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2023And with it, the revolution: We'll borrow from sacred Chekhov:Over the course of the past five weeks, "the new arrival on the front" has been those Mississippi Naep scores.Specifically, we refer to Mississippi's recent scores on the Naep's Grade 4 reading te … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2023...concerning one basic point: We disagree with (the long-admired) Kevin Drum with respect to one basic point.Before we revisit that basic point, let's recall why Nicholas Kristof claims that a revolution is underway in Mississippi's public schools.Simply put … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 2023Skips past what's blindingly obvious: What the heck has been going on with Mississippi's public school kids?Has a "Mississippi miracle"occurred in that state's public schools? Carelessly, the Associated Press was willing to float that pleasing idea in the h … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2023Main Naep as opposed to Long-Term Trend Assessment: In yesterday morning's New York Times, Dana Goldstein penned a somewhat cogent report about the latest batch of test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (Naep).At various points, the … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2023...these Naep scores can look very good: Below, you see one of the sets of Naep test scores which helped launch a thousand ships.If you're prepared to suspend disbelief, these numbers can look very good:Average scores, Grade 4 reading2022 NaepU.S. public sc … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2023Our press corps' careless ways: In fairness, let's be fair.In the reports we're starting today, we'll explore the basic claims which are currently being made about Mississippi's public schools. Here's a quick review:In a lengthy report on May 17, the Assoc … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2023The silence of the elites: In the end, it has come down to this. It has come down to those four (4) letters in yesterday's New York Times.The letters appear beneath the heading shown below. The letters appear in service to long-standing, vastly-preferred, la … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2023Back in the saddle again: On this glorious Juneteenth Day, the New York Times is at it again:LETTERS / Mississippi’s Many Education LessonsInevitably, three readers fumble and flail.Incompetence is in the saddle, as always. At the highest end of this discou … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 2023...than the one David Brooks wrote: How rational are we rational animals, even at the highest end of our upper-end mainstream press corps?At long last, you ask! For an answer to your question, we direct you to David Brooks' latest column for the New York Ti … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2023We expect to post tomorrow: As you've almost surely already heard, we lost a large chunk of time today, on this our latest Bloomsday.What the Vinegar Hill can you do? We expect to post tomorrow. | Continue reading
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023Dr. Dodes describes Donald Trump: As he has occasionally done in the past, Lawrence O'Donnell spoke with Dr. Lance Dodes in the final segment of last evening's Last Word.Who the heck is Dr. Dodes? At the start of the brief closing segment, Lawrence let view … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2023We're looking for one forthright journalist: We're going to be rather brief today, for reasons we'll detail below.That said, it's time for our (mainstream) journalists to drop their charade concerning one Donald J. Trump.It's more and more clear, then more … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2023The "Trump's bathroom door locks" joke: We had a somewhat dispiriting day in the ongoing realm of health care. Hence this very late post.That said, we wanted to supply the missing punchline to the "Trump's bathroom door locks" joke.We assume that others hav … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2023Years later, Trump arrived: Beavers have an impressive technology.In fairness, ours is better. Concerning that first technology, here's the way the leading authority on such construction projects thumbnails the complex undertaking:Beaver damA beaver dam or b … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2023Front page of the Washington Post: We rise today to speak in praise of the Washington Post's Devlin Barrett.More specifically, we refer to the analysis piece which tops the front page of this morning's print editions. The piece is a model of clarity and clari … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2023Wilhoit's Law in the modern world: The formulation known as Wilhoit's Law was promulgated in 2018, in a comment to a Crooked Timber blog post.It wasn't promulgated by the American political scientist Francis M. "Frank" Wilhoit, who died in 2010.In fact, the f … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 2023A nation in great distress: As predicted on Wednesday, here we are, once again, at our accustomed post.More on our recent circumstance will appear below. For now, we offer this:Our nation is in a state of great distress following this week's indictments. It … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2023In search of the raucous board meeting: We may not post for the rest of the week. It will be Friday at the earliest before we post again!In our absence, we'll leave you with a warning from Thomas Edsall. But also, with a chance to stage an eight-hour hunt i … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2023In Grade 4 reading and math: Just this once, we're going to let you ask us about Mississippi's Hispanic kids.More specifically, we'll show you the average scores achieved by those kids on last year's Grade 4 reading and math tests—on the Naep, of course!Like … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2023At this site, the search goes on: The search in which we're now engaged began in the distant past.More precisely, it began on May 17, 2023. It began in the wake of the publication of a lengthy AP report.We'll be suspending our search for the next few days, du … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2023For those who are playing at home: For those who are playing at home, we'll offer some basic information concerning the wide range of scores fourth graders achieve on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (Naep).(For today's main report, click here.) … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2023Her work was astoundingly bad: All last week, we outlined some of the background to our latest search. (Note: We'll be AWOL for several days later this week. For that reason, we're covering a lot of ground in this morning's report.)As you may recall, the curre … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2023Who got into Stuyvesant High? At the New York Times, it happens (almost) every spring.It isn't on the front page this year. At this early stage in the game, the topic is being downplayed as opposed to some preceding years.Still, they do it (virtually) every … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2023It's time for these flyweights to go: If there were such a thing as horrible people, they would be horrible people.We don't believe in the concept of horrible people. If we did, that's who they'd be. At this site, we prefer to regard them as people people. Sti … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2023Instead, we'd suggest a search: In this morning's column about the debt limit, Paul Krugman recalls a certain demographic group—a group which experienced its heyday earlier in this century.Krugman is discussing the debt limit deal. Along the way, he says this: … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023At long last, two bullies were squelched: As we noted this morning, Nicholas Kristof starts today's long and important essay with an old regional saw.Two weeks ago, the AP report about Mississippi's schools started the same darn way. Kristof's rendering of t … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023Accepts what the experts have said: Nicholas Kristof has excellent values. We've often noted this fact.On occasion, those excellent values have been outstripped by the journalistic performance. We're forced to report a nagging sense that this may perhaps hav … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023Is Mississippi for real? Below, we show you another trigger for our current search.You won't hear about any of this on Deadline: White House. You won't hear about any of this this from Rachel or from Lawrence.Our blue tribe tribunes don't care about this. T … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023The history of that search: In February 2006, one of our favorite journalists—a person we flatly admire—made a substantial mistake. As you know, we human beings sometimes make mistakes. In this case, the mistake was bannered across the top of the front page … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2023Is everything as it seems? Last week, we explored a topic we called THE UNDISCUSSED.This week, we're discussing THE SEARCH.It's important to remain clear about the trigger for that current search. In the present circumstance, here's the specific question we'r … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2023Somehow it went undiscussed: The history of this type of boondoggle goes on and on and on.After that, it goes on and on some more. Then it goes on and on.We first learned about it in 1971 or 1972, in our third year as a fifth grade teacher in the Baltimore Ci … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023Does anyone care about black kids? Has a miracle occurred in the public schools of Mississippi?Has something resembling a miracle taken place there? If so, why don't our major blue tribe news organs ever discuss it?You may be old enough to remember when we sta … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023Wallace TV program cited: Centuries ahead of where we are now, Future Historians Living in Trees are already preparing the textbooks, according to sources familiar.They may be forced to live in trees following the cataclysmic defeat of the West, but the hist … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2023Three cheers for Mississippi's black kids (if everything is as it seems): As readers nay know, we don't (do not) recommend holding contempt for other people.That said:If not for that wise admonition, it would be hard to have sufficient contempt for "cable news … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023We expect to be posting tomorrow: As previously announced, we don't expect to be posting today. We expect to be posting tomorrow.Today's semantic puzzler:Has a book been "banned" when a single K-8 elementary/middle school decides to move it from the elementa … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2023Let's take a look at the data: Have Alabama's test scores soared? The headline on last week's AP report seemed to say that they have.Also, a miracle had been spotted in Mississippi! As we noted yesterday, the AP headline said this:‘Mississippi miracle’: Kid … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2023A claim that scores have soared: "I want to talk really quickly," Morning Joe's chief host said.He wanted to "talk really quickly" about a topic which is rarely discussed by our blue tribe's tribunes and journalists. He wanted to discuss a miracle which had o … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 22, 2023Miracles claimed and ignored: It was the most unlikely Morning Joe discussion of all time.The discussion lasted less than two minutes. Last Thursday morning, at 6:46, it started exactly like this:SCARBOROUGH (5/18/23): I want to talk really quickly, before we … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2023Also, deaths in the District: We'll start with a quick confession:We hadn't heard of the viral incident until this very morning. We'd never heard of the viral event involving the rental bike! This morning, the incident was mentioned at 7:30 by a caller to C- … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2023What, us citizens worry?: An interesting headline appeared in this morning's New York Times.In print editions, that headline went like this:If the U.S. Defaults, Then What?You can read the attendant report online. Online, the headline says this:What Would Happ … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2023Our walls keep insiders separate: Donald Trump's performance at last week's "town hall" created a sense of shock and concern within our blue tribe's tents.Certain parts of Trump's performance were seen as grossly insensitive. Also, his blizzard of shaky factua … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023As we all know, our favorites won't listen: In the wake of CNN's "town hall" with Donald J. Trump, Maureen Dowd offered the following comments:DOWD (5/14/23): Trump is spiraling into even more of a self-deluded narcissist, if that’s possible. And he’s even m … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023New walls have gone up Over Here: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"The famous statement was made by President Reagan in June of 1987. He was speaking at the foot of the Berlin Wall, which separated East Berlin from West. During the years of the Cold War, … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023Is that really the best it can do? Frankly, we were puzzled. A front-page report in today's New York Times offered this head-scratching headline: Microsoft Says New A.I. Shows Signs of Human ReasoningThe new A.I, has begun "to show signs of human reasoning? … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023...the walls didn't come tumblin' down: In the wake of CNN's town hall, Ross Douthat had a better idea.His idea concerned the kinds of questions a candidate like Trump should be asked. He began by noting, quite effectively, the way blue tribe moderators hav … | Continue reading