…a bridge for sale.
You know the following groups extol truth, light and the American way. Why would they fudge the facts or let them get in the way of desired ends.
The “Truths” We Accept
Archived in: Congress, Education, Global Warming, Government mandates
I see a parallel from the world of Earth science. We think of the scientific community as a group of noble, fair minded, dedicated professionals. And we think of oil company executives as self-interested, pompous obstructionists who care little about protecting our environment.
Let’s not kid ourselves. The scientific community is as self-interested as anyone else. As their monolithic thinking can be on any particular issue. The grant-writing potential in saying global warming is caused by humans is far greater than it is in saying otherwise. I do not know enough about global warming to dispute the statements of anybody on the topic. But I know enough about human nature to be skeptical of the statements of everybody on the topic.
And let’s not kid ourselves. The education community is as self-interested as anyone else. [snip]
Don’t believe me? The President’s Commission on Excellence in Education said the exact same thing a few years ago:
Since 1975, the “up to 40 percent” APPE target has taken on symbolic value far beyond congressional intent in 1975. Many still perceive this 40 percent figure as a representation of “full funding.” Over the past several years, marked increases in IDEA Part B funding have been based on a desire to meet this “full funding” target. However, the increases to meet this target have been based on expenditure-driven data, rather than on estimates of the true excess cost of achieving excellence for students with disabilities.
The Commission recommended a formula for determining true excess cost that hasn’t been followed at all. So imagine saying the federal government has imposed this burden on states and local school districts, when the exact opposite is the case!
We should all be skeptical now. Almost enough to wonder if the same twisted arguments are used in other areas of our lives, such as Earth science.
February 24, 2008 at 10:29 am | Trackback
9 comments
Systematic lying. I no longer believe anything I hear, from anyone who has power over me. It’s the only rational response to any proclamation from any corridor of power, no matter how small. Given enough time, the truth will emerge by default.
While agree there are no groups that are immune to the human trait of sef-intrest, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that man made pollution has a serious impact on the naturally occuring phenomenon of global warming. I think there’s a real leap in making any correlation from global warming to education funding other than, a whole lot of tax money is spent on frivolous grants. Of course the republicans prefer to bury their heads in the sand and ignore both issues and the democrats think they can spend their way out of both problems. Meanwhile the rest of us suffer while the rich get richer.
Speaking of self-intrests, how about your opinion about this issue instead of simply copying and pasting from someone else’s blog?
If you’d been around for the past few years, Cidman, you’d know what the editorial opinion is at NER on this an other issues.
Particularly liberal Vermonters! If the rich didn’t get richer, no one would start businesses, hire people and allow the “poor” to earn a living. By the way, the poor in this country own cars, plasma screen TV’s and still cry poverty.
FYI this is my opinion, summed up quite nicely by the author. When some one else gets it so right, why not spread their word.
I’m very surprised that Cidman includes himself in a class of people who “suffer”; someone whose background is as he claims, blogging from Vermont.
In re his remarks about Dems and Repubs, he’s vaguely right, but one does wonder how the Republicans bury their heads in the sand on education funding. That’s quite a claim in itself, but not supported by any commentary from Cid.
He’s ahead of most people like himself on global warming; which is to say he’s added one property to global warming, and that is global warming ASSISTED by an anthropogenic factor. Not being a rocket scientist he seems to have figured this out. Pretty good.
Now, if this is measurable and true, there has to be some observable contribution from non-anthropogenic sources, and the introduction of aggravating sources that can be attributed to mankind. Separation and quanatification, of course. I guess Cid has this figured out, too, and he challenges us, in a way, to state our opinions on it.
Actually, I’m more interested in Cid Science for now. Maybe he’ll disclose the forumulae for all this.
He considers himself to be the savior of the fellaheen, the oppressed and misunderstood sympathy warrior who brings justice to this cruel state. From his collection of symbols, he can select the appropiate signs of the allegiance du jour, red Aids ribbon, Code Pink puff or a solidarity fist depending on need. Squishy beliefs are handy.
Whatever sense Cid made in his first paragraph was demolished by his absurd observation: “Meanwhile, the rest of us suffer while the rich get richer”.
This is cheap wealth envy; it’s pure resentment, the belief that if the rich were less rich, Cid would be better off.
Cid’s answer would be to tax the rich at higher rates, which would not reduce Cid’s tax burden by a mill. Therefore he wouldn’t accumulate any more wealth, which might result in more savings (genuine wealth) and more asset accumulation.
The “rich” is a word used to avoid the complications in analyzing the real, and ever-changing, fact of income inequality and the reasons for it, and the other problem of defining wealth-inequality.
These topics will never be settled as long as fools yammer about “the rich”, and the imaginary suffering their existence imposes upon the non-rich.
When one sees life as a Zero Sum game, this is what one gets for logic.
“cidman” reads alot like “Mr. Whiner” from a later post on another topic. Of course, all leftists tend to sound and look alike…