• Hot Off The Presses - Mini-Posts

    Retire the ‘R’ Word

    April 7, 2010 - By 

    I don’t use it, and you shouldn’t either. #FB The R-word: Evanston High School students fight the R-word – chicagotribune.com Evanston Township High School senior Megan McCareins wants to stamp out the R-word as she and others try to change how fellow students talk and think about people with intellectual difficulties. McCareins and a handful of students recently gathered more than 3,000 signatures from students and staff, who pledged to stop using the words “retard” or “retarded” as an offhanded insult or in a derogatory manor. “Hopefully this campaign will mean people will always be thinking about their choice of…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Radio

    Cinnamon French Toast

    April 7, 2010 - By 

    I’m off for the next couple of weeks, and today I’m out of the house, spending time at Panera while “the ladies” do their twice-monthly thing. It seems the clientele here this time of day is older than I’m used to seeing in the evenings, but there are plenty of people using laptops and taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi. One guy has a small monitor and full-size keyboard set up with a dock; pretty serious gear. No doubt more than a few are unemployed or between jobs. Several are chatting with each other as if they’re regulars. Me, I’m…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Religion

    Portland Catholics Mostly Ignore Archbishop’s Demand They Cancel Newspaper Subscriptions

    April 7, 2010 - By 

    That’s a nice message, Abp. Vlazny – go ahead and demand your flock adbpt a “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” attitude to the child abuse scandal in the Catholic church. How about demanding priests in your care “do no evil” instead? Local News | Portland priest attacks Oregonian newspaper’s coverage of sex-abuse scandals | Seattle Times Newspaper PORTLAND — Hundreds of churchgoers who attended Mass on Easter Sunday at St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception received an unusual written message tucked inside a weekly bulletin. In a two-page statement, Archbishop John Vlazny declared that he…

  • Hot Off The Presses

    Lost Time Does Not Equal Lost Lives

    April 7, 2010 - By 

    Mining company defends history of violations by claiming their record is better than most companies’ for “lost time.” How about LOST LIVES? Meanwhile, company CEO’s salary unfortunately not tied to penalties assessed for safety violations… Nation & World | Mines fight strict laws by filing more appeals | Seattle Times Newspaper Officials at Massey did not respond to a telephone call seeking comment. The company’s Web site says its safety record is better than the industry’s average when it comes to accidents that result in lost time. And Don Blankenship, the company’s chief executive, cautioned in a radio interview Tuesday…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    Decoder Ring Not Required

    March 31, 2010 - By 

    Sayonara, Rev. Paperboy. Make maximum use of improved textbooks : Editorial : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri). Still, the problem remains finding ways for teachers to make really good use of the beefed up textbooks. After all, if they try to teach everything, the amount of material may overwhelm the children’s capacity to absorb it all, consequently returning to the much-criticized “cramming” style of education. Yet teachers are expected to have the competence to proceed with lessons after sorting out what part of the textbooks are to be taught, while accurately gauging the level of their students’ comprehension. ===…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    That Nopey, Derangey Thing

    March 31, 2010 - By 

    … coming from the Dopey Strangey thing is even more clueless than usual. UNLOAD! #fb Sarah Palin Tells Tea Partiers To Stop Drivers With Obama Bumper Stickers « Alan Colmes’ Liberaland. Less than a week after a man was driven off the road for sporting an Obama bumper sticker, Sarah Palin told a tea party rally in Searchlight, NV to stop cars with Obama stickers on them. (and demand to know how that “hopey, changey thing” is working out for them)