'We're raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate," David McCullough tells me on a recent afternoon in a quiet meeting room at the Boston Public Library. Having lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities over the past 25 years, he says, "I know how much these young people—even at the most esteemed institutions of higher learning—don't know." Slowly, he shakes his head in dismay. "It's shocking."
He's right. This week, the Department of Education released the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which found that only 12% of high-school seniors have a firm grasp of our nation's history. And consider: Just 2% of those students understand the significance of Brown v. Board of Education.
[...]
Mr. McCullough began worrying about the history gap some 20 years ago, when a college sophomore approached him after an appearance at "a very good university in the Midwest." She thanked him for coming and admitted, "Until I heard your talk this morning, I never realized the original 13 colonies were all on the East Coast." Remembering the incident, Mr. McCullough's snow-white eyebrows curl in pain. "I thought, 'What have we been doing so wrong that this obviously bright young woman could get this far and not know that?'"
Answer: We've been teaching history poorly. And Mr. McCullough wants us to amend our ways.
[...]
Another problem is method. "History is often taught in categories—women's history, African American history, environmental history—so that many of the students have no sense of chronology. They have no idea what followed what."
What's more, many textbooks have become "so politically correct as to be comic. Very minor characters that are currently fashionable are given considerable space, whereas people of major consequence farther back"—such as, say, Thomas Edison—"are given very little space or none at all."
DETROIT – The Red Wings got their man when legendary defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom told team officials last week that he will return for a 20th NHL season.
Terms of Lidstrom’s one-year contract were not finalized before today when the 41-year-old captain and general manager Ken Holland got together in Las Vegas. The Wings' pair is in Vegas for Wednesday’s NHL Award Show, where Lidstrom will learn if he won Norris Trophy for the seventh time in his career. He is also a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy and the Mark Messier Leadership Award.
[...]
Clearly, the big piece to the puzzle for the Wings was resigning Lidstrom for at least one more year. Last season, he rebounded nicely from a sub-par 2009-10, defying Father Time again, and becoming the first 40-year-old defenseman to score 60-points in an NHL season, and last December, he scored his first and only hat trick of his illustrious NHL career.
[...]
Lidstrom is near the top of every career list in Red Wings franchise history. He is fourth all-time in games played (1,494), and he should likely pass Steve Yzerman (1,514) and Alex Delvecchio (1,549) on that list in 2011-12.It's SO very good to learn Our Captain will return for yet another season. Nothing lasts forever, of course, not even Hall o' Fame careers. It's with that in mind I'm thinkin' this upcoming season prolly will be Lidstrom's last. But wouldn't it be NICE if he went out by skating the Cup around JLA's ice just one more time? I most certainly think so.
Lidstrom is also third among Red Wings’ greats in assists (855); fourth in points (1,108); and ninth in goals (253), which is 12 behind John Ogrodnick.
He leads all active NHL players with an astonishing plus-429 rating.
Dear MSgt. Buck,It is a pleasure to write to you for the first time. My name is Michael and I am from Atlanta, GA. The reason I am writing is because I just visited your blog "Exile in Portales" today. It was my first time doing so and I am darn glad I did!! To tell you the truth, I was mucking about on Google searching for cigar-related items and it directed me to your blog. So far I have not had time to read all your postings but hopefully I will soon.I understand you are an Air Force vet and that your sons are in the "family business." One of my uncles served in Vietnam with the Army and my granduncle was in the Pacific during WWII so my colors run deep. I just want to say "thanks" for serving our country and I truly mean it.Now back to cigars -- I am a fellow cigar man myself and have done so for eleven years. My granduncle loved cigars and when he visited my late aunt he would always have one in his mouth. I finally had my first one when I was eighteen and so far I LOVE it!! Every time I have a good cigar I always think of him.Thank you for your attention and I wish you a good day.
I'd take a day or three of your rain and so would everyone here on THPoNM. We are drier than dry and lost another 45K acres to wildfires this weekend. It's getting beyond obnoxious.
On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 9:54 AM, (Occasional Correspondent) wrote:
(me, quoted) Happy Monday! I'm ready to kill someone or break something... the damned wind, like that dog, just won't QUIT. Note: (snipped)You just made me really laugh. Out loud. I’d almost trade you some wind for the rain that Just Will Not Stop. I think I’m starting to grow webs between my toes.
Officials estimate a fire Saturday on the Curry and Quay county line burned 20,000 to 25,000 acres.
Karen Burns with the Clovis Fire Department said the number is a rough estimate and officials will get a better figure in daylight.
Five structures were burned but there were no injuries, she said, with 22 fire departments fighting the blaze from Curry, Quay and Roosevelt counties and West Texas.
[...]
While the blaze was at its peak, with vortexes that rose as high as 40 feet, Jones said officials closed State Roads 268, which runs north of Melrose, and 288 which runs east and west to intersect with State Road 209.
Sigh. One of the downsides of small-town livin', I suppose. Just as an aside: the Cannon Class VI is no better, if not worse, as far as selection goes. I see internet liquor purchases in my near future, even tho I managed to score a nice 12-year-old Glenmorangie.20-Sumthin' Cashier: Hello!
YrHmblScrb: Hiya! Where are yer single malts?
20-SC: Right here. (Takes me to the beer cooler and points out the Country Club, Schlitz Malt Liquor, etc.)
YrHmblScrb: Ummm... no. Whiskeys.
20-SC: (Leads me to the bourbon rack.) Here.
YrHmblScrb: Ummm, no, again. Scotch.
20-SC: Oh. Here. (Shelving full of Johnny Walker, Cutty, Chivas, etc., and five lonely single-malt brands, none of which are older than 12)
20-SC: I've never had Scotch... izzit good?
YrHmblScrb: Would I be buyin' it if it wasn't?
This shit is gettin' OLD. It's way beyond "old" but I don't have words at my command to express just how annoying and obnoxious this situation really is.West to southwest winds will increase today across New Mexico and moreso on Sunday. Sustained speeds on Sunday will range from 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. These winds are in response to an upper level system that will track across the central rockies. The strongest winds each day will be located over the west central and Southwest Mountains as well as areas along and east of the Central Mountain chain.
The unseasonably strong winds will combine with critically dry and very warm to hot conditions across the region. Even some near record warmth may occur throughout the southeast plains on Sunday. Extreme fire weather conditions will develop statewide today and linger into the evening hours... then redevelop and potentially be more dangerous on Sunday. The threat may persist into Monday for the eastern plains of New Mexico where windy conditions are likely again.
An End to RPA Incentive Pay?: House defense appropriators funded assignment incentive pay for remotely piloted aircraft operators at Creech AFB, Nev., only for the first quarter of Fiscal 2012, according to the report accompanying the House version of next year's defense spending bill. They said this mark is consistent with the Defense Secretary leaning towards not extending this pay beyond December 31 "without substantive and compelling econometric analysis to validate continuation." Since July 2008, Creech-based RPA personnel have been eligible to receive $300 per month for the first 36 months and $750 per month for service beyond that under this initiative. This pay was meant to offset the base's high operations tempo, austere location, and limited infrastructure. However, the House legislators wrote that conditions at the base have since improved, with new facilities constructed. (HAC report; caution, large file.)
Since September 11, 2001, Americans have come together as never before in our generation. We have banded together to overcome adversity. We have weathered direct attacks on our own soil, wars overseas, corporate/government scandal, layoffs, unemployment, stock price plunges, droughts, fires, mad cow, SARS, high gasoline prices, and a myriad of economic and physical disasters both great and small. But now, we must come together once again to overcome our greatest challenge yet.
Hundreds of Professional Football players in our very own nation are going to be locked out, living at well below the seven-figure salary level. And as if that weren't bad enough they could be deprived of their life giving pay for several months, possibly longer, as a result of the upcoming lockout situation. But you can help!
For only $27,080 a month, about $902.75 a day (that's less than the cost of a large screen projection TV) you can help an NFL player remain economically viable during his time of need. This contribution by no means solves the problem as it barely covers the annual minimum salary, but it's a start, and every little bit will help!
Although $900 may not seem like a lot of money to you, to a football player it could mean the difference between spending the lockout golfing in Florida or on a Mediterranean cruise. For you, nine hundred dollars is nothing more than a month's rent, a mortgage payment, or a month of medical insurance, but to a football player, $900 will partially replace his daily salary.
Your commitment of less than $900 a day will enable a player to buy that home entertainment center, trade in the year-old Lexus for a new Ferrari, or enjoy a weekend in Rio.
HOW WILL I KNOW I'M HELPING?
Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the player you sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds, 401(k), real estate, and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the player lounging during the lockout on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean (for a signed photo, please include an additional $150). Put the photo on your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples' suffering.
HOW WILL HE KNOW I'M HELPING?
Your NFL player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to help in a time of need. Although the player won't know your name, he will be able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses.Remember, a lifestyle is a horrible thing to waste...---------------------------------------------------------
YES, I WANT TO HELP!
I would like to sponsor a locked out NFL player. My preference is (check below):
[ ] Offense [ ] Defense [ ] Special Teams [ ] Entire team
Please charge the account listed below $902.75 per day for the duration of the lockout. Please send me a picture of the player and my very own Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) pin to wear proudly on my hat (include $80 for hat).
Your Name: ____________________Telephone Number: ___________________Account Number: __________________Exp.Date:_______
[ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] OtherSignature: _______________________
Alternate card (when the primary card exceeds its credit limit):
Account Number: _______________________ Exp.Date:_______[ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] OtherSignature: ______________________p.s. If you have a little extra, please enclose for the cheerleaders. Contrary to public opinion, cheerleaders are people too.
Vancouver residents awoke Thursday to the aftermath of the city's worst riot in decades, facing a massive cleanup and questions about how the mob fury came to be unleashed after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the Boston Bruins.That's just a gotdamned shame. There's much more at the link.
City crews and glass repair companies were still working to repair the smashed windows of about a dozen businesses targeted by rioters and looters in the downtown core as the sun rose over the city early Thursday morning.
Some Game 7s are like a bridge wired to blow, and the tension builds and billows and flares until, the next thing you know, you’re white-knuckling your armchair. And some Game 7s are like a bridge that collapses, and the losing team is suddenly grasping at air, wishing they could just start over, reset the clock, and just get one more chance to get it right.
But the whole point of a Game 7 is that you get one chance, and one chance only. The Boston Bruins have faced this scenario twice in these Stanley Cup playoffs; the Vancouver Canucks found themselves on the precipice once. Both these teams went to overtime in Game 7 in the first round, meaning they were a bounce from the void. But that bounce never came, and Wednesday night, they will play the last game of the season, with the whole of the season on the line.
[...]
And while every game in Boston has been a rout — 8-1, 4-0, 5-2 — every game in Vancouver has been a one-goal tightrope, with the Canucks scoring the winning goals with 18.5 seconds left to break a scoreless tie in Game 1, 11 seconds into overtime in Game 2, and early in the third period to mark another clean scoresheet in Game 5. If those games were any indication, this Game 7 will have a lot of fans on both sides of the aisle feeling, for most of the game, like they are going to vomit.The "whole of the season on the line"... and it don't get much better than this, Gentle Reader, impending nausea or no. You can bet I'll be on the edge of my seat when the puck drops in a lil over two and a half hours' time... and I'm likely to stay there for the next two hours or so.
Fire Destroys Flying Fortress: The crew of Liberty Belle, a vintage B-17G Flying Fortress operated by the Liberty Foundation of Tulsa, Okla., declared an in-flight emergency after a fire broke out onboard the bomber aircraft shortly after takeoff from Aurora Municipal Airport, Ill. They skillfully executed a forced landing in a field near Oswego, Ill., during Monday's incident, safely offloading the seven volunteers and crew aboard the aircraft. However, after coming to a stop, the fire, which reportedly began in one of the aircraft's engines, spread and burned through the fuselage, destroying the historic aircraft. Officials are investigating the fire's cause, reported the Chicago Tribune. Built in 1944, Liberty Belle flew 64 combat missions over Europe during World War II while assigned to the 390th Bomb Group. It returned to flight in 2004, following 15 years of restoration. (See also Britain's Daily Mail report.) (Liberty Foundation website)
