Education

So What Has the Department of Education Done for Us Lately?

Failures sometimes need to be removed from the equation

The federal Department of Education, heralded by its supporters as a vital institution for ensuring equal access to quality education across the country. The freak outs are happening as Trump Taps McMahon to ‘put a fork in it.

Let’s pause a second, and ask the obvious question: What has it actually accomplished lately?

The results of the 2024 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, known as M-STEP, show that 39.6% of third-graders statewide passed the state’s English language arts (ELA) test, compared with 40.9% last year, 41.6% in 2022 and 42.8% in 2021.

Is it really any better than an ever-growing bureaucracy that’s burning taxpayer dollars faster than Michigan Democrats spend transportation funds on bike lanes no one uses?

You Betcha! (3)Nuh Uh.(0)

If there was any doubt as to whether or not an education actually means being intelligent.

This post is going to be a little bit of what happened to me yesterday (and I’m pretty sure that some of you will be able to relate to it) and a little bit from my inbox.

I finally had a chance to spend some time with my friends over the weekend whom I haven’t seen in a while due to the unknown virus from unspecified origin ™. To put it very, mildly things didn’t go very smoothly.

These are friends (and they still are) that I’ve had going back several decades now. We don’t see eye-to-eye on all things politically. Despite that, we still got along over all that time and doing things that friends normally do for one another like helping each other out here and there and attending each other’s family events.

That ended about two years ago when they went into pretty much full lockdown mode, not wanting to have anything to do with anyone. Until last weekend, any attempts to meet earlier have crashed and burned when they would only agree to meet if certain ”precautions” were taken (mask wearing, “vaccine” status, meeting only in medically “safe” parts of the state, etc.).

I’m not 100% sure of what had changed.

Quite honestly, I didn’t care.

They were still my friends and I was still interested in meeting with them after they had finally agreed to drop their ludicrous conditions.

As sad as that is for them, how they choose to live their own lives is their concern. I had been living my life as close to normal as I could without succumbing to the fear and paranoia created by the propaganda promulgated by the government.

Speaking of which…

{Post continues below}

You Betcha! (3)Nuh Uh.(2)

And WE are considered the dangerous ones?

All I’ve got to say is, “WOW! What a difference 48-hours makes.”

Rather than waste my time focusing on a bunch of community agitators this weekend, I spent most of it focusing on the NASA feeds watching the SpaceX Launch yesterday.

Little did I realize how quickly an arrest over someone using fake ID (and apparently his unwillingness to follow basic commands) quickly spiraled into a series of riots which not only burned a large chunks of Minneapolis to the ground, but spread to a number of other cities across America, including several here in Michigan, resulting in at least one death (so far) and an as-yet to be determined dollar amount of property damage.

Which begs a rather obvious question regarding perceptions and politics?

{And exactly what they might be you may ask yourself? You know the drill.}

You Betcha! (10)Nuh Uh.(0)

Might I suggest a nice rubber room? Be sure to bring your friends Dana & Jocelyn with you.

Talk about disconnect!

Gov. Witless demonstrates (yet, again) how so out of touch she is with her despotic “leadership” method.

It goes a long way towards explaining much of what is in the media over the last few days.

{Continued after the fold.}

You Betcha! (14)Nuh Uh.(0)

Oh, benevolent governess, will you please allow me to work?

So, by now, everyone should’ve had an opportunity to watch what passes for objective news coverage from yesterday’s rally in Lansing.
Allow me to go over what did happen, what didn’t happen, and what others would like for you to believe happened.

I even have some interesting images from the Michigan Senate Floor that didn’t quite make the “official record”.

{More below the fold}

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April 30 ***Corrected***

Word from my sources tell me that the Michigan Senate had granted Gov. Witless’ extension to her “Emergency Powers” about two hours ago.

This has been sent over to the Michigan House where it is expected to be approved later this afternoon and then signed by the guv.

On the plus side: The extension only lasts until April 30th, when it will be “reevaluated”.

The down side: there was nothing extracted from the guv to put a muzzle on her wanton actions until that date.

Mandatory statewide lock-down? Nothing to address it.

Increased penalties for those found “ignoring” the guv’s commands? Nothing to address that one, either.

Anything else the guv’s staff can conceive to further erode our Constitutional Rights?

Ahahahahahahahahahaha!

Twenty-three days, my friends.

Stay tuned.

 

*** Going by what was sent to me earlier from my source in Lansing (the Senate’s session was unusually brief), what was passed this morning and then later in the House was SCR 24 (information now posted here).

It will not require the signature of the governor before going into effect (See MCL 30.404 Section 3 (4)).***

 

 

You Betcha! (11)Nuh Uh.(0)

I would be far more concerned with our governor’s actions at this time, than with a bug.

They say that in building and maintaining a brand, messaging is vitally important.

The Guv didn’t stray too far from that lesson tonight.

{The Right Michigan rundown from her (second) Statewide Huwan Virus Town Hall continues below the fold.}

You Betcha! (9)Nuh Uh.(1)