My Blog

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Then vs. Than

    Then is an adverb referring to a period of time. Than is a conjunction used to make a comparison. I guess no one should be surprised given that 79% of CPS 8th graders are not proficient in reading.

  • How to Help Black Kids Graduate? Vouchers!

    Since CTU is out on strike, this appears to be timely. Educational choice is the civil rights movement of our generation. Then look at a breathtaking new study from researchers at the Brookings Institution and Harvard University. Brookings fellow Matthew M. Chingos and Harvard government professor Paul E. Peterson tracked 1,363 New York elementary school…

  • Double-Dipping Payments from the “G”

    As many as 117,000 Americans simultaneously collect unemployment benefits and federal disability each year, a form of double-dipping that investigators say costs taxpayers $850 million annually and should be ended. To understand why such “double-dipping” constitutes fraud, please note the following general requirements for each program: To receive unemployment insurance benefit payments, claimants must state…

  • Big Money in Freon Smuggling

    I love stories like this; Government run amok. The chief executive of the century-old company from America’s heartland shifted nervously on the witness stand here as he tried to explain how a trusted senior vice president had been caught on a wiretap buying half a million dollars in smuggled merchandise, much of it from China.…

  • Teachers’ Unions vs. Children

    When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children. — Albert Shanker, former president of the United Federation of Teachers I wrote about this before, how the truth is that CTU, WEAC, and all other teacher’s unions have a fiduciary duty to the union members.  The union cannot do anything…

  • Poem on Congress

    CONGRESS Full of jack-assery; Should be a glass menagerie Of the most morally thoughtful minds, But instead it’s a sty full of bleeding-heart blue hacks, And red holy-rollers who probably grind Hunks of yellow scale into white powder … via artlesspoems. Go read the rest… Excellent Bud.

  • Illinois – 4th Worst Legal Climate for Business

    Illinois, along with California, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia, are among the worst states in the country for businesses because of their legal climates, according to survey of corporate attorneys released Monday. Two Illinois counties did not fare well in the survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s institute for legal reform, either. Cook County…

  • U.S. Department of Education: 79% of Chicago 8th Graders Not Proficient in Reading

    Seventy-nine percent of the 8th graders in the Chicago Public Schools are not grade-level proficient in reading, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and 80 percent are not grade-level proficient in math. via CNS News. Very… very… sad. Teachers make over $60/hour.  Get awesome benefits.  Not getting the job done.  On strike demanding more…

  • How Mitt Wins

    Yesterday I read something over at Hillbuzz that got me thinking: Today I want to think about just who are the people who will be voting for Obama in November and see how that compares to the people who voted for him in 2008. I don’t believe anyone who DIDN’T vote for him last time…

  • Chicago Teachers Union: It’s About Children Greed

    According to the Chicago Tribune key issues separating Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union: SALARIES AND BENEFITS. The district offered 16 percent increase over four years and “modified step increases that both reward experience and provide better incentives for mid-career teachers.” The union said it’s closer on pay but is still concerned about…

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