http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/21/politics/waka-flocka-flame-for-president-election/
A surprising candidate threw his name in the presidential debate on Monday, and it was not somebody who's father and grandfather have both been president (Jed Bush). No, on Monday Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame announced his intention to run for president in 2016 to the surprise and horror of many, and he is not kidding (we think). He has become famous in the past decade for his Flockavelli albums and his hit single "No Hands". On Monday he announced via Twitter that he is seriously running for president and later released a video stating his campaign promises to legalize marijuana, increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour (even at fast food restaurants), and even making it illegal to have dogs in restaurants, although not for health reasons. Waka Flocka Flame gained fame outside of the music industry for his surprisingly well-spoken speech about racial intolerance in America and how we need to change in response to the Oklahoma SAE fraternity's racist chants. This is all apparently due to a promise he made over twitter years ago. Despite his lack of political experience, we at least know he's a man of his word.
When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke. How can a pot-smoking rapper who has been to prison for attempting to bring weapons and drugs on an airplane become elected? In short he probably won't, however some of his points surprisingly make sense. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would help many people be able to make an ok living and almost double their pay, and in theory would help tremendously. What Waka is overlooking is that this would lead to massive unemployment. These beliefs likely stem from growing up in poverty on the streets of Atlanta realizing that an extra $8 an hour would go a long way. Another promise he has made is education reform. He realizes that being book smart is important but realizes that street smarts can get you pretty far if you possess them. He would like to include "common sense" or "street smarts" into classroom curriculums across America. He also would not get caught up in political party lines, because clearly he does not care what other people think about him or he would not be running. He would simply do what he thought was right. While I'm not saying I would vote for him, or agree with all of his views I believe Waka Flocka Flame is smarter than he is given credit for.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Georgia Standardized Testing Fraud
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/14/us/georgia-atlanta-public-schools-cheating-scandal-verdicts/
On Monday April 13, several of the educators in the Atlanta school district were sentenced to several years in prison, hefty fines, and countless hours of community service for racketeering and changing answers on students tests or urging them to change answers. This problem stems back to over a decade ago when some Atlanta public schools in 2001 showed a remarkable increase on their standardized testing scores. In 2013 people took notice of that and many Atlanta educators were charged with racketeering and cheating. The judge said that if they plead guilty they would have to issue a public apology and do some community service. Many educators took them up on that offer and over 20 took the deal. Some, however, figured it was a victimless crime and they could get away with it and it wouldn't be proven. Obviously they were quite wrong. This led to many long court sessions of bickering and arguing in the court room which came to a head on Monday when the teachers were found guilty. The teachers, principals, and even superintendents were shown to have had told kids to change answers on standardized testing and even had "cheating parties" where they would get together and change answers on the tests. They did this to receive more money from the United States government for getting high test scores and also to advance their own careers and keep their jobs. Some may have even done it based on pride.
The claim that this cheating did not victimize anyone is completely and utterly false. First off it harms taxpayers who are paying for these teachers and schools to receive bonuses that they did not earn. More importantly however, this system turns students into victims. Historically these districts have been some of the worst in America. Instead of trying to solve this problem of poorly educated students, those so-called educators took the easy way out and cheated. They made the kids appear average or above average on their tests when n fact many of them were unable to read or could barely do basic math as the judge, Jerry Baxter, pointed out. Judge Baxter also pointed out that many of these students he later had to put in jail and will have to put in jail due to their lack of education and inevitable life on the streets. The ironic thing here is that if the teachers would have spent as much time and effort that they did on cheating, had they used it instead on working with these students to educate them they likely would have done better on the tests as well as in life. These teachers should be ashamed of themselves for cheating, and by doing so harming their own students.
On Monday April 13, several of the educators in the Atlanta school district were sentenced to several years in prison, hefty fines, and countless hours of community service for racketeering and changing answers on students tests or urging them to change answers. This problem stems back to over a decade ago when some Atlanta public schools in 2001 showed a remarkable increase on their standardized testing scores. In 2013 people took notice of that and many Atlanta educators were charged with racketeering and cheating. The judge said that if they plead guilty they would have to issue a public apology and do some community service. Many educators took them up on that offer and over 20 took the deal. Some, however, figured it was a victimless crime and they could get away with it and it wouldn't be proven. Obviously they were quite wrong. This led to many long court sessions of bickering and arguing in the court room which came to a head on Monday when the teachers were found guilty. The teachers, principals, and even superintendents were shown to have had told kids to change answers on standardized testing and even had "cheating parties" where they would get together and change answers on the tests. They did this to receive more money from the United States government for getting high test scores and also to advance their own careers and keep their jobs. Some may have even done it based on pride.
The claim that this cheating did not victimize anyone is completely and utterly false. First off it harms taxpayers who are paying for these teachers and schools to receive bonuses that they did not earn. More importantly however, this system turns students into victims. Historically these districts have been some of the worst in America. Instead of trying to solve this problem of poorly educated students, those so-called educators took the easy way out and cheated. They made the kids appear average or above average on their tests when n fact many of them were unable to read or could barely do basic math as the judge, Jerry Baxter, pointed out. Judge Baxter also pointed out that many of these students he later had to put in jail and will have to put in jail due to their lack of education and inevitable life on the streets. The ironic thing here is that if the teachers would have spent as much time and effort that they did on cheating, had they used it instead on working with these students to educate them they likely would have done better on the tests as well as in life. These teachers should be ashamed of themselves for cheating, and by doing so harming their own students.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32202768
World war II in Europe ended nearly 70 years ago with the surrender of the Nazi's also known as the German surrender. Germany has made many reparation payments over the years for the atrocities that they committed during the war to various countries including Greece who they paid 115 million marks to in 1960. So It's all over correct? Wrong. This past week Greece demanded that Germany pay them 300 billion dollars in reparations. They claim it was due to the fact that during the occupation of Greece during world war II damage was done to the infrastructure and also an errant loan of 400 million dollars was sent to the Nazis in Berlin. This is what they are claiming. It is really because Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy and needs the money direly. This week Greece has payments due on foreign loans that will be unlikely to be able to meet. In the past the members of the EU have been able to bail them out, but they now owe payments on those loans. They have lost all faith in Greece and are refusing to pay them. I can't say I blame them. Bailing them out is just delaying the process. Greece in return is now desperate for money and is doing anything to get that money so they do not default. Greece is just trying to find an easy way to make money. This is a ridiculous claim for multiple reasons. Among them are the fact that the German government then is entirely different than the one during world war II other than the fact that they occupy the same area and the fact that the issue was resolved 50 years ago. Back then Germany was a dictatorship reflecting the views of 1 man and now they are a republic reflecting the views of all of their citizens. They have a different name now and have tried to distance themselves from the Nazis. That would make blaming them for world war II like blaming The United States for something that Britain did while we were it's colony. Not only that, 50 years ago Greece agreed to a deal in which they made 115 million dollars and forgave Germany for the crimes. Now your retracting that and claiming 299.885 billion dollars more. This is an apparently sad way for Greece to try and claim money to pay off their debts.
World war II in Europe ended nearly 70 years ago with the surrender of the Nazi's also known as the German surrender. Germany has made many reparation payments over the years for the atrocities that they committed during the war to various countries including Greece who they paid 115 million marks to in 1960. So It's all over correct? Wrong. This past week Greece demanded that Germany pay them 300 billion dollars in reparations. They claim it was due to the fact that during the occupation of Greece during world war II damage was done to the infrastructure and also an errant loan of 400 million dollars was sent to the Nazis in Berlin. This is what they are claiming. It is really because Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy and needs the money direly. This week Greece has payments due on foreign loans that will be unlikely to be able to meet. In the past the members of the EU have been able to bail them out, but they now owe payments on those loans. They have lost all faith in Greece and are refusing to pay them. I can't say I blame them. Bailing them out is just delaying the process. Greece in return is now desperate for money and is doing anything to get that money so they do not default. Greece is just trying to find an easy way to make money. This is a ridiculous claim for multiple reasons. Among them are the fact that the German government then is entirely different than the one during world war II other than the fact that they occupy the same area and the fact that the issue was resolved 50 years ago. Back then Germany was a dictatorship reflecting the views of 1 man and now they are a republic reflecting the views of all of their citizens. They have a different name now and have tried to distance themselves from the Nazis. That would make blaming them for world war II like blaming The United States for something that Britain did while we were it's colony. Not only that, 50 years ago Greece agreed to a deal in which they made 115 million dollars and forgave Germany for the crimes. Now your retracting that and claiming 299.885 billion dollars more. This is an apparently sad way for Greece to try and claim money to pay off their debts.
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