Discussion: New Superintendent

It is hard to imagine, but there actually is a small possibility that the new Super, after being given a chance, may actually do a decent job.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: The Rose Garden and White House happenings: Listening to voters’ concerns

it really gets tiresome arguing with people here who continue to insist the Trump campaign Russia investigation was a "hoax." It was not, and it never was, and the Mueller report made that clear.

These 11 Mueller Report Myths Just Won’t Die. Here’s Why They’re Wrong

Here's one example:

Myth: Mueller found “no collusion.”

Response: Mueller spent almost 200 pages describing “numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign.” He found that “a Russian entity carried out a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.” He also found that “a Russian intelligence service conducted computer-intrusion operations” against the Clinton campaign and then released stolen documents.

While Mueller was unable to establish a conspiracy between members of the Trump campaign and the Russians involved in this activity, he made it clear that “[a] statement that the investigation did not establish particular facts does not mean there was no evidence of those facts.” In fact, Mueller also wrote that the “investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.”

and another:

Myth: The investigation began with the Steele dossier.

Response: According the Mueller report, the investigation began in July 2016 after Wikileaks had released materials stolen from the computers of the Democratic National Committee. The FBI received information from a foreign government that Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos had told one of its representatives that “the Trump Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.” Mueller’s report states, “That information prompted the FBI on July 31, 2016, to open an investigation into whether individuals associated with the Trump Campaign were coordinating with the Russian government in its interference activities.” Mueller makes no statement to indicate that the investigation was predicated on the Steele dossier, a series of reports that were compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who was hired by a research company that was working for a law firm paid first by a conservative website and later by the Clinton campaign.

I guess some people think by sheer repetition the myths will become true. Or maybe they are just trying to wear out anyone who will try to argue with them.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: Hot with Thunderstorms & Air Quality Alert Today 6/14/24

Friday June 14th

Happy Flag Day

Today, hot and sunny with thunderstorms this afternoon

Air Quality Alert for excessive ozone today, sensitive individuals should take precautions

Temps in the low 90⁰s. Thunderstorms possible after 2pm and likely from 5 - 8. Slight chance that a storm might be severe, with heavy rain and wind. Clearing after 8pm

Weekend will be clear dry and warm with Temps in the 80⁰s

By the middle of next week we could be looking at the first heatwave of the season, with Temps in the 90⁰s likely every day from Tuesday through Saturday

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM EDT

THIS EVENING...

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued an

Air Quality Action Day for the following counties:

Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, and Union,

from 11 AM to 11 PM EDT Friday.

An Air Quality Action Day means that Ground Level Ozone within the

region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.

For additional information, please visit the New Jersey Department

of Environmental Protection Web site at http://www.njaqinow.net

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

You laugh now. You won't laugh later.

I wasn’t laughing. There’s nothing funny about an advocate of preventive war’s efforts to incite alarm.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: HEAT WAVE

June 17th, 2024

Heat Wave

The NWS has issued a Heat Advisory starting Tuesday for our area. Excessive heat should continue through at least Friday.

Today, warm, clear, and dry with a high in the upper 80s.

Tuesday through Friday, a building upper ridge will drive daytime temperatures into the low to mid 90⁰s each day. A southern wind will bring some humidity, and take the heat index ("feels like temperature") to the mid to upper 90⁰s. The same southern breeze will keep the nighttime lows in the upper 60⁰s or 70⁰s here in MAPSO.

Warm weather could continue through the weekend and into next week, although a cold front might bring some relief over the weekend (along with showers).

A heat wave is defined as heat index temperatures over 95⁰ for three or more days (this definition is location specific a heat wave in Texas is hotter than one in Maine. The use of the heat index takes humidity into account).

I expect that, in New Jersey, will will come close or break some June heat records this week. Please be mindful of the heat. Stay cool. Stay in the shade, and indoors during the midday heat. Check on the elderly and disabled, check on your neighbors. Drink plenty of fluids.

Because of the sea breeze, temperatures will be hotter in MAPSO than in the city, and likely hotter here than at the airport. Most apps report the airport temperature, so if your local thermometer says 97⁰ and the app says 92⁰, believe your thermometer not the app.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: Weekend Weather Update

Wednesday Weekend Weather

June 12th, 2024

Another nice weekend on the way

Today and tomorrow, clear and warm

Friday, hot with thunderstorms possible to likely in the afternoon and evening. Friday poses our first real chance of a severe thunderstorm, too.

Saturday and Sunday look positively delightful, warm but not hot, dry, with a gentle breeze.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: Inconsequential Chat

:(

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: Curious if South Orange Maplewood schools teach about anti-racism, systemic racism,whiteness as problematic

notupset said:

How Public Schools Became Ideological Boot Camps

In nearly every public school in the country, children are given curriculum materials that have no official oversight or approval.

By Robert Pondiscio

… Not your child’s school or teacher? Wanna bet? A 2017 RAND Corporation survey found that 99 percent of elementary teachers and 96 percent of secondary schools use “materials I developed and/or selected myself” in teaching English language arts. The numbers are virtually the same in math. But putting teachers in charge of creating their own lesson plans or scouring the internet for curriculum materials creates an irresistible opportunity for every imaginable interest group that perceives—not incorrectly—that overworked teachers and a captive young audience equal a rich target for selling products and pushing ideologies.

Did you notice what the writer did there? Citing a finding that nearly all teachers used materials they developed or selected themselves in classroom lessons, he leaped to the assertion that they put themselves in charge of creating their own lesson plans or scoured the web for replacement curriculum materials.

Except nearly all teachers in the same survey also reported using “materials developed and/or selected by my district (including any materials formally circulated to teachers across the district for use in classroom lessons).”

That is, the use of teacher-chosen material does not signify an abandonment of a district’s curriculum. It’s a supplemental way for individual teachers to do an individual job. The writer’s attempt to suggest otherwise was my cue to stop reading.

Like  2 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

Stop preparing for attack with esoteric situations from the 17th century to explain why Putin eats nails for breakfast.  OK?

It's not esoteric -- which, I suspect, is why you'd like to avoid this discussion. After all, if Russia was an colonial power in the past, then the natural follow up is when did it stop, or even if it has stopped.

Moscow's expansion was unambiguously imperialistic -- it did call itself the Russian Empire. Is imperialism synonymous with colonialism? I'm not sure, though at the very least they do often seem to go together very closely. But let's just stick with your definition of colonialism and look at some candidate examples from Russian history -- how about Crimea, to start?

The Russian Empire annexed Crimea in 1783, and from that time forward engaged in repeated purges of the Crimean Tatars and settlement of Russians in that territory. This culminated in the 1944 forced deportation of nearly all of them to central Asia (yes, I'm explicitly treating the USSR as continuous with the Russian Empire).

How does that match up with your definition of colonialism?

Colonial power refers to a country that extends its political, economic, and military control over other regions or territories outside its own borders. This domination often involves establishing settlements, exploiting resources, and imposing cultural norms and values on the colonized people.

Russia annexed Crimea, territory that was outside of its borders. It used Russian law and military might to place the inhabitants of Crimea into a subordinate position and Russian language and culture in a dominant one. It encouraged the emigration of Crimeans and engaged in the resettlement of Russians on Crimean land, finally completely removing non-Russian Crimeans.

This would seem to meet all the criteria you laid out for colonialism.

Like  2 Likes

Discussion: The Rose Garden and White House happenings: Listening to voters’ concerns

mtierney said:

One of the many reasons — IMNSHO — that the Rose Garden has had staying power over the last  decade or so includes the reality that multiple topics, overlapping issues, diverse POVs, etc, arrive spontaneously, and it is a little like a civics class you might actually enjoy — But, naturally, being political junkies, at times our tempers and frustrations erupt and we are unkind to others who have a different take on what’s happening in our Rose Garden. 

But, I shall soldier on, ducking the anger, and smelling the roses!

for me, the thread has staying power because every day I'm curious to see what sort of outrageous lies you've posted.

Like  2 Likes