It's As If They Were Just Talking Out Their Ass

The MacIver Institute for Making Stuff Up has a new piece by their CrackerJack tm Education Analyst (sic) Chistian D'Andrea bemoaning a decrease in reading scores on NAEP standardized testing for a select group of students, and then using that as a call for more privitazation of your tax dollars.

There are a couple of points that the make-believe news service people left out.

First, the "grim trend" in the numbers shows a drop of 6 points in reading scores from 2007 to last year. This is probably less significant than they'd like you to believe when you look to the study and see that we are on a 500-point scale. If all things were equal, a 1.5% decline could be chalked up to noise in the data.

But they're not equal, either. The test was revised for 2009 and cannot be directly compared in a simple summary.

Don't lose track of the fact that MacIver is funded by same groups that fund the other GOP "think" tanks in Wisconsin and are doing their level best to make people believe that turning over tax dollars to their funders is a wise use of the resource. Don't fall for it and don't let your local paper get away with using them as a source, either.

Everything Old Is New Again

A man without honor then.

A man without honor today.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he would run fake
Democrats again.

Because 4 and 2 was such a good result for him before.

Okay. You Want One Name?

Here's a bunch of voter fraud being discussed right out in the open. What's the chance that JBvH does a damn thing about it?

I mean, if we're taking threats on FaceBook seriously, and we should be taking threats seriously, then some folks need a visit from their friendly Policeman.

Leave Herman Cain Alone

"After listening to Cain’s speech and analyzing it, Ward said there is no
doubt, Cain is innocent. "

Says computer voice analyst hired by campaign. No word yet from cartomancy and haruspicy communities.

I'd be a lot more surprised if he couldn't hire someone to say that.

Breaking News: Blind Pig Finds Acorn

Binversie gets one right when he writes about RWNJ opposition to business-requested check-off program. Conservatives will attack businesses if it looks as if Obama can help them.

As weird as the idea of what's been called a “Christmas Tree Tax” sounds, in
American agricultural policy it’s not that uncommon. USDA has set up a number of
promotion boards for trade associations to aid in the promotion of agricultural
products, such as milk, beef, lamb, pork and even honey or avocados. These
boards have member producers pay into a general fund, which is overseen by the
promotion board to direct money for ads, billboards and other ways to increase
sales.

So much for that laser-like focus on jobs.

Cain Campaign Continues Koch/Block Tandem

Ed Morrisey points out the failure of leadership that continues to support Block in the wake of his failures and why misguided loyalty matters.

If the defense of Cain is that we’re being big meanies for pointing out his
campaign failings, then I think we’re missing the point of having a primary
process. It’s not to glorify all candidates, or any of them. It’s to
pick the person with the best policies who has the best chance of beating Barack
Obama in November 2012. If this campaign keeps Mark Block on board after
his misrepresentations, it’s not serious enough to warrant support. In
other words, to quote The Godfather, “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s
business.”

C'mon. Tell Us What You Really Think

“Mark Block has to go,” Ed Morrisey of Hot Air wrote Wednesday morning.
“If he’s not gone by tomorrow, no one will take this campaign seriously again —
nor should they.”

Seems a little harsh, doesn't it? Let's see what the people who work with Poor Mark have to say.

A former Cain staffer agreed. “Mark Block has no regard for basic ethics or
accounting practices,” the anonymous staffer told The Hill. “He is no
strategist. He is impulsive and obsessive.”

Oh. Well, good to know

Watch the Debate...

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Choose the pledge you’d like to make. Every time the candidates say one of
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campaign.

One Sure Sign of Leadership Deficit

Fitz the Lesser leads(sic) all-night session on moot point.

Remember when Walker promised no sessions after midnight? 250,000 new jobs in 4 years? A development hotline for out-of-state business that would generate responses in 24 hours?

I suppose you could call it a management "style" to generate so much outrage that people don't feel compelled to revisit your smaller failures.

Are the Sexual Harrassment Revelations the Best Thing the Cain Campaign Could Have Happen This Week?

You know? Since this is the story they took the spotlight off,

Relying on Herman Cain’s Chief Of Staff Mark Block to investigate his own
financial dealings is “like asking Willie Sutton to hire an independent
counsel,” a former Cain regional field staffer told T[alking]P[oints]M[emo] in an interview this week.

You Think It's Bad In Wisconsin?

North Dakota has zombies, apparently.





Clean water-loving, clear air-campaigning, tree-hugging zombies.