The advancements haven't made their way through the snake yet but Mississippi and California are tied.
Reading has similar numbers. 4th grade reading has Mississippi four points above the national numbers and California 3 points below (but California is 2 numbers below the national numbers and Mississippi is 3).
But Mississippi is really turning things around and we should probably take what they're doing and see if it can be made to work in other places.
I'm not suggesting what might be done, mind... Merely pointing out that "why do you care, they're only college students" has stopped working for a large number of carers.
It's more that the "why do you care? They're stupid college students and will grow out of it" has been demonstrated to be false for a non-zero number of the stupid college students.
Some of them gain power not over Israel, but over more local Zionists.
"Why do you care? They're only DAs." Will become "It's not like they're judges."
(In Lee's defense, "They're just college students! Why do you care?" has sort of evolved since the first time I heard it in the 90s. Not all of them turn into yuppies driving beemers. Some of them become DAs.)
Eight years ago, the Democratic Party was at one of the lowest points in its history. Not only did we fail to stop Donald Trump’s election, but we had lost the faith of Democratic voters. The DNC was besieged by accusations that it had favored one candidate over another during the presidential primary process. The controversy alienated even our party’s most loyal supporters who felt that party bosses, not Democratic primary voters, were deciding which candidate would emerge in the general election as the Democratic nominee. They threatened to leave the party for good.
And as we stared down the barrel of the Trump presidency, our party was weak at a moment when working families needed us to be strong. When you lose the trust of your voters, you lose your ability to fight for them. Indeed, 2016 was an existential moment for our party. To dig ourselves out of this crisis, we had to make structural changes.
I suppose I can see his POV... Hogg doesn't get to do this as a DNC Vice Chair. He can do it with his SuperPAC, if he wants (not like he can stop him), but he doesn't get to do it as Vice Chair.
The main thing that I'd wonder is whether Hogg's theories are correct. Would nominating some firebrand over the guy with seniority result in more votes where it counts?
All politics are national anymore. You can run against Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren in more places than just Massachusetts and California.
The Trumpers seem to be pretty faithful Israel supporters.
Maybe you should be better at seeing them as allies?
If your response is to sputter and point out that no matter how good they are on *THIS* issue, they're really bad on *THAT* issue, then why are you surprised that the DEI/Intersectional Omnicausers are the same way?
They’re trying to change the rules because I'm not currently breaking them. As we’re seeing law firms, tech companies, and so many others bowing to Trump, we all must use whatever position of power we have to fight back. And that’s exactly what I'm doing.
This moment requires us to have the strongest opposition party possible to stop Trump from destroying people’s retirement savings, disappearing people, plunging our economy into oblivion—and to provide a real alternative to the Republican Party for voters that we simply do not have right now.
That will not change if we keep the status quo. We have no other option but to do the hard work of holding ourselves and our own party accountable.
The fact that we spent 2 BILLION dollars and still lost an election to a convicted felon who literally attempted to overthrow our government must be a cause for serious reflection and a prime example of why change is so needed.
We can’t fix a 27% approval rating by just changing our words. We need to change who we are.
Three weeks ago, we lost a vote that resulted in the largest cuts to Medicaid that we’ve ever seen, because two people passed away while in office. That is unacceptable.
Voters trust Donald Trump more on the economy than Democrats. That is an indictment of our party. Too many of our leaders are asleep at the wheel while Trump creates new crises every day that jeopardize our way of life.
The role of the DNC is to set the Presidential primary calendar, set the Presidential debate schedule, to help strengthen our state parties, play a key role in building our data infrastructure for the party, and to be the campaign in waiting for whoever the next Democratic nominee is. Nothing I'm doing is at odds with any of that.
Imagine, if you will, one of the Sunday shows in the US. This Week, maybe. Meet the Press.
And they had a guest who argued that we needed to kill the Jews.
The other guests could argue with this person and point out that the overwhelming majority of the country disagrees and does *NOT* think that we need to kill the Jews. Which is true!
Okay. We didn't talk about this last week, but we should have. Last week, David Hogg, in his official capacity as DNC Vice Chair, said that they were going to start primarying safe incumbents who were "ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel". Like, and spending DNC money to do it.
No, not in battleground seats (so Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is safe! Whew!) but in the *SAFE* seats. You're too old and you ain't no good? OUT ON YOUR KIESTER. It's time for some young blood in there!
Well, wouldn't you know it, the Establishment Dems took exception and Politico is reporting that the Chair Ken Martin is going to tell Hogg to pick between his DNC Vice Chair position or to keep hanging out with the "Leaders We Deserve" group that intends to spend twenty megabucks on giving safe incumbents a whiff of grapeshot.
The proposal to make it official that you have to stay neutral will be voted on in August.
Which only seems glacial because of the internet. In the beforetimes, something like this happening in August would be timely.
Well, if the cost of avoiding persecution and death is causing persecution and death, you're going to find yourself resorting to all sorts of "Will to Power" kinda arguments rather than ones steeped in morality.
Which is fine. Everybody loves Nietzsche.
It's difficult to pivot from that position to one that appeals to higher morality, though. It comes across as spectacularly insincere.
Should have done instead? In order to achieve what goal?
If the goal was "to avoid being compared to Apartheid South Africa", I'd probably point to something like "avoid being particularly comparable to Apartheid South Africa".
If the argument is that, hey, sometimes ethnostates are necessary and the steps required to maintain an ethnostate can be distasteful but they're a price worth paying, well... I guess we're going to have to establish that sometimes ethnostates are necessary and the steps required to maintain an ethnostate can be distasteful but they're a price worth paying. Or having someone else pay them, I guess.
It's more that ethnostates and the mindsets required to maintain them are incompatible with the current year.
"But Jewish Ethnostates are different than White ones!", you may wish to argue and I wish you well in doing so but, lemme tell ya, the number of folks willing to agree with that seems to be getting smaller every year.
I would say that if Jews want to be treated the way that Native Hawaiians are, doing so is possible, but it involves being treated the way that Native Hawaiians were first.
On “Open Mic for the Week of 4/28/2025”
Wait, you're describing a program where students who haven't earned the right to advance don't advance until they have the required skills to advance.
Except you're describing it as bad.
"
Goodness! That's quite a claim!
"
New education numbers are out and we're going to have to change our jokes about the Deep South because of how much Mississippi has advanced!
Here's fourth grade math according to Nation's Report Card:
Mississippi is two above the National Public and California is four below. That's right, Mississippi beats California at 4th grade math.
8th grade math?
The advancements haven't made their way through the snake yet but Mississippi and California are tied.
Reading has similar numbers. 4th grade reading has Mississippi four points above the national numbers and California 3 points below (but California is 2 numbers below the national numbers and Mississippi is 3).
But Mississippi is really turning things around and we should probably take what they're doing and see if it can be made to work in other places.
On “Open Mic for the Week of 4/21/2025”
I'm not suggesting what might be done, mind... Merely pointing out that "why do you care, they're only college students" has stopped working for a large number of carers.
"
It's more that the "why do you care? They're stupid college students and will grow out of it" has been demonstrated to be false for a non-zero number of the stupid college students.
Some of them gain power not over Israel, but over more local Zionists.
"Why do you care? They're only DAs." Will become "It's not like they're judges."
On “Saturday Morning Gaming: Blue Prince”
On day 54, I finally had a floorplan with 45 rooms.
Doing so got me no closer to finding the 46th.
But I understand that now the game can actually begin in earnest.
On “Open Mic for the Week of 4/21/2025”
(In Lee's defense, "They're just college students! Why do you care?" has sort of evolved since the first time I heard it in the 90s. Not all of them turn into yuppies driving beemers. Some of them become DAs.)
On “Saturday Morning Gaming: Blue Prince”
Have you found the bank?!?
On “Open Mic for the Week of 4/21/2025”
Another question floating around my head is "will firing Hogg have negative consequences for the DNC?"
Some have speculated that it will look like the party is the party of the olds rather than of the young firebrands.
The Chair is in a darned if you do, darned if you don't position.
"
May we compare to the pro and anti Israeli/Jewish DEI/Intersectional movement?
"
There is no doubt in my mind that the party needs it and I have similar skepticism to yours.
That said, it makes sense to me for the Chair to say "you don't get to officially do this in your official capacity as an official."
"
Huh, he even wrote an op-ed yesterday...
Here's the money:
"
The DNC Chair does, however.
I suppose I can see his POV... Hogg doesn't get to do this as a DNC Vice Chair. He can do it with his SuperPAC, if he wants (not like he can stop him), but he doesn't get to do it as Vice Chair.
The main thing that I'd wonder is whether Hogg's theories are correct. Would nominating some firebrand over the guy with seniority result in more votes where it counts?
All politics are national anymore. You can run against Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren in more places than just Massachusetts and California.
"
The Trumpers seem to be pretty faithful Israel supporters.
Maybe you should be better at seeing them as allies?
If your response is to sputter and point out that no matter how good they are on *THIS* issue, they're really bad on *THAT* issue, then why are you surprised that the DEI/Intersectional Omnicausers are the same way?
On “US Department of Education Announces that it is Restarting Loan Collection”
Trump has not been succeeded yet.
But he will be.
"
As I said in 2016: Trump doesn't scare me particularly. The guy who comes after Trump? Yeah. He's the scary guy.
On “Weekend Plans Post: Caffeine Rituals”
Back in 1997, William Topley went solo and came out with a really good album that nobody bought called "Black River".
The song that I remember from it and have had bumping around in my head for a week or two is "I Don't Wanna Go Uptown".
I don’t wanna go uptown baby
Any friends I’ve got are downtown anyway
On “Open Mic for the Week of 4/21/2025”
Dave has a thread!
"
"Nut picking"
Imagine, if you will, one of the Sunday shows in the US. This Week, maybe. Meet the Press.
And they had a guest who argued that we needed to kill the Jews.
The other guests could argue with this person and point out that the overwhelming majority of the country disagrees and does *NOT* think that we need to kill the Jews. Which is true!
Do you see the problem?
"
I'm not trying to prove that all of Israel is evil.
Comparisons to the Muslim countries in the region? I could easily compare Israel to the Muslim countries in the region.
"
Zaid Jilani points out a discussion taking place on Israeli television about the extent to which Palestinian babies should be considered "innocent".
Now, I'm not going to take a position on whether babies are innocent or not. That's outside of the scope of this comment.
I *WILL* say that the debate of whether babies are innocent or not is a debate that didn't used to be useful for a society to have.
"
Okay. We didn't talk about this last week, but we should have. Last week, David Hogg, in his official capacity as DNC Vice Chair, said that they were going to start primarying safe incumbents who were "ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel". Like, and spending DNC money to do it.
No, not in battleground seats (so Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is safe! Whew!) but in the *SAFE* seats. You're too old and you ain't no good? OUT ON YOUR KIESTER. It's time for some young blood in there!
Well, wouldn't you know it, the Establishment Dems took exception and Politico is reporting that the Chair Ken Martin is going to tell Hogg to pick between his DNC Vice Chair position or to keep hanging out with the "Leaders We Deserve" group that intends to spend twenty megabucks on giving safe incumbents a whiff of grapeshot.
The proposal to make it official that you have to stay neutral will be voted on in August.
Which only seems glacial because of the internet. In the beforetimes, something like this happening in August would be timely.
"
Well, if the cost of avoiding persecution and death is causing persecution and death, you're going to find yourself resorting to all sorts of "Will to Power" kinda arguments rather than ones steeped in morality.
Which is fine. Everybody loves Nietzsche.
It's difficult to pivot from that position to one that appeals to higher morality, though. It comes across as spectacularly insincere.
"
Should have done instead? In order to achieve what goal?
If the goal was "to avoid being compared to Apartheid South Africa", I'd probably point to something like "avoid being particularly comparable to Apartheid South Africa".
If the argument is that, hey, sometimes ethnostates are necessary and the steps required to maintain an ethnostate can be distasteful but they're a price worth paying, well... I guess we're going to have to establish that sometimes ethnostates are necessary and the steps required to maintain an ethnostate can be distasteful but they're a price worth paying. Or having someone else pay them, I guess.
"
It's more that ethnostates and the mindsets required to maintain them are incompatible with the current year.
"But Jewish Ethnostates are different than White ones!", you may wish to argue and I wish you well in doing so but, lemme tell ya, the number of folks willing to agree with that seems to be getting smaller every year.
I would say that if Jews want to be treated the way that Native Hawaiians are, doing so is possible, but it involves being treated the way that Native Hawaiians were first.