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First Look at Latest National Test Scores: Is It Cultural?0
- Culture
- October 31, 2019
The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – the “Nation’s Report Card” – scores are out, and they aren’t encouraging. But how discouraged should we be? The main NAEP tracks national, state, and selected local scores back to the early 1990s, though there have been some changes that have affected comparability among years, and not all states have participated
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What’s Behind the Explosion of Pet Costumes?0
- Culture
- October 31, 2019
I did a double take reading a headline on The Conversation the other day. It appears that pets plus Halloween makes for a lucrative enterprise: Americans are expected to spend US $8.8 billion on candy, costumes and decorations this year – or $86 for every person who plans to celebrate. That includes a half a
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Copycatting Melania Trump 0
- Culture
- October 31, 2019
Recently, my friend John and I were discussing intelligence and the media. “Find any picture of reporters with that woman,” John said, “And you’ll see she’s the smartest person in the room.” “That woman” was Melania Trump. I only knew a little about Melania Trump, so I thought I’d do some digging. She speaks six
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Father Brown and the Nature of Logic 0
- Culture
- October 30, 2019
Society seems to be rejecting logic, embracing a feelings-based approach to politics and other subjects instead. Experts and data are no longer valued and emotions rule the day, causing how one feels about a situation to hold more weight than actual reality. This is problematic on a number of fronts. For one, the abandonment of
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California: The Blue Ribbon Poverty State 0
- Economics
- October 30, 2019
The U.S. Census Bureau released new poverty data this month, and California once again has the nation’s highest poverty rate, according to the “Supplemental Poverty Measure.” According to the SPM, California’s poverty rate in 2018 was 18.1 percent, followed by Louisiana with 16.5 percent, and Florida with 16.2 percent. The states with the lowest poverty rates
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Judge Allows Nick Sandmann’s Libel Lawsuit Against Washington Post to Advance 0
- Culture
- October 30, 2019
A federal judge reversed his ruling Monday and announced that the family of Kentucky teenager Nick Sandmann may sue The Washington Post for libel over its coverage of the teenager. Sandmann’s family sued the Post in February, writing that the publication allegedly “target and bullied” the teenager after an incident involving a Native American activist
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