The 2008 message ain't gonna change for 2012.
There's no reason it should.
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Showing posts with label President Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Obama. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Take your pick...
...and share, share, share.
The 2008 message ain't gonna change for 2012.
There's no reason it should.
Click images to view full-size & download.
The 2008 message ain't gonna change for 2012.
There's no reason it should.
Click images to view full-size & download.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Outreach to Albion
Albion – place name, archaic or poetic Britain or England (from Latin, of Celtic origin)
**********************************************
Memo to United Kingdom
c/o Simon Jeffery
The Guardian
Hello,
Just an ordinary American citizen here. Wanted to let you know that we're not all insane on this side of the salty pond. Glen Beck, who is otherwise unqualified for any form of gainful employment, has an audience of only 1% of the adult US population. Yes, he's a complete fraud. But only one percent buy his rubbish.
Sarah "Death Panels" Palin appeals to the same demographic. White, generally middle-aged+, less educated, dis-empowered, bitter, not terribly bright and wallowing in ignorance. We have 307 million people here and the bell curve applies like a human law of physics. Of course we're going to have millions of stupid people. It's just that the confounded Internet has everyone clacking away, even the illiterati.
Carl Paladino can only be described as someone who seeks suicide but lacks requisite courage. As opposed to flinging himself off a bridge, he'd rather self-combust by giving voice to antique notions precisely aligned with his age, gender, ethnicity and political representation in the Tea Party. Paladino would be a breakout star in South Carolina. Perhaps he just needs a map.
Christine no-ohhh'Donnell is another dreary huckster who discovered the stupid demographic as a road to riches. It's no coincidence she looks like Palin's little sister. At least the American Right has the decency to serve female ignorance in distasteful packaging. Palin, Coulter and Gellar are "sexy" or "attractive" only if you're sight-impaired. Seeing women prostitute truth for filthy lucre becomes untenable in a smart package.
Which brings us to Michelle Malkin. Why would a bright, well-educated babe like Malkin forge a career of filthy lies? She earns $300,000/year from her blog alone. Throw in book deals, TV and speaking engagements and she's easily at a half-mil per year. At least we know her price.
And then there's Rich the idIott, Tea Party candidate for Ohio's 9th Congressional district. This is the SS 5th Panzer Division fool who claims ignorance while impersonating someone who understands history. It's the same story, with O'Donnell's broomstick swapped for symbols of genocide. He's badly trailing a seasoned opponent. Republican party reaction was swift and furious. This signals that IdIott's chances weren't terribly good to begin with and that SS optics retain their luster after all these years.
All things considered, America's sudden lurch towards the late 19th century isn't as bad as it appears. Ratios of education attainment have never been higher and the proportion of people holding university degrees tracks higher still in younger cohorts, even in our developing states. This explains a paucity of young adults at Tea Party events.
No, our seeming return to populism is more like a system purge. Stupid was contained for so long that a pressure release is prudent. Recent displays of mass ignorance are due more to Republican disintegration, and less to Democrat rule. Reagan put a lid on Stupid and Rove let it slip off. Michael Steele isn't exactly a disciplinarian.
It should come as no surprise that a black, democrat outsider to national machine politics in the White House has sparked visceral reaction from the stupid demographic. Obama is only the best President since Truman and he may prove to be the best since Roosevelt. That would be Teddy Roosevelt. The Right simply has no answer - they've got no one who comes close. Scare-mongering is always a last resort but it was the only Republican option. The eruption of Stupid calls to mind an old saying regarding care in what one asks for.
The real America is urban, literate and worldly. Millions of us ordinary folk have good command of history. Not university professors, hobbyists or military fetishists. People with mere bachelors degrees who study American history and quickly learn that mastery is impossible without also studying Europe's. Do we counter-balance Stupid?
Time will provide an answer. Meanwhile, I offer this bit of weighty evidence. David Hackett Fischer is an American professor, historian and prize-winning author. Fischer's treatise on the origins of American culture is worshiped by professional historians and read by all serious students of history. No other book provides so many answers regarding modern America.
It's called Albion's Seed.
Best to all,
TRS
**********************************************
Memo to United Kingdom
c/o Simon Jeffery
The Guardian
Hello,
Just an ordinary American citizen here. Wanted to let you know that we're not all insane on this side of the salty pond. Glen Beck, who is otherwise unqualified for any form of gainful employment, has an audience of only 1% of the adult US population. Yes, he's a complete fraud. But only one percent buy his rubbish.
Sarah "Death Panels" Palin appeals to the same demographic. White, generally middle-aged+, less educated, dis-empowered, bitter, not terribly bright and wallowing in ignorance. We have 307 million people here and the bell curve applies like a human law of physics. Of course we're going to have millions of stupid people. It's just that the confounded Internet has everyone clacking away, even the illiterati.
Carl Paladino can only be described as someone who seeks suicide but lacks requisite courage. As opposed to flinging himself off a bridge, he'd rather self-combust by giving voice to antique notions precisely aligned with his age, gender, ethnicity and political representation in the Tea Party. Paladino would be a breakout star in South Carolina. Perhaps he just needs a map.
Christine no-ohhh'Donnell is another dreary huckster who discovered the stupid demographic as a road to riches. It's no coincidence she looks like Palin's little sister. At least the American Right has the decency to serve female ignorance in distasteful packaging. Palin, Coulter and Gellar are "sexy" or "attractive" only if you're sight-impaired. Seeing women prostitute truth for filthy lucre becomes untenable in a smart package.
Which brings us to Michelle Malkin. Why would a bright, well-educated babe like Malkin forge a career of filthy lies? She earns $300,000/year from her blog alone. Throw in book deals, TV and speaking engagements and she's easily at a half-mil per year. At least we know her price.
And then there's Rich the idIott, Tea Party candidate for Ohio's 9th Congressional district. This is the SS 5th Panzer Division fool who claims ignorance while impersonating someone who understands history. It's the same story, with O'Donnell's broomstick swapped for symbols of genocide. He's badly trailing a seasoned opponent. Republican party reaction was swift and furious. This signals that IdIott's chances weren't terribly good to begin with and that SS optics retain their luster after all these years.
All things considered, America's sudden lurch towards the late 19th century isn't as bad as it appears. Ratios of education attainment have never been higher and the proportion of people holding university degrees tracks higher still in younger cohorts, even in our developing states. This explains a paucity of young adults at Tea Party events.
No, our seeming return to populism is more like a system purge. Stupid was contained for so long that a pressure release is prudent. Recent displays of mass ignorance are due more to Republican disintegration, and less to Democrat rule. Reagan put a lid on Stupid and Rove let it slip off. Michael Steele isn't exactly a disciplinarian.
It should come as no surprise that a black, democrat outsider to national machine politics in the White House has sparked visceral reaction from the stupid demographic. Obama is only the best President since Truman and he may prove to be the best since Roosevelt. That would be Teddy Roosevelt. The Right simply has no answer - they've got no one who comes close. Scare-mongering is always a last resort but it was the only Republican option. The eruption of Stupid calls to mind an old saying regarding care in what one asks for.
Time will provide an answer. Meanwhile, I offer this bit of weighty evidence. David Hackett Fischer is an American professor, historian and prize-winning author. Fischer's treatise on the origins of American culture is worshiped by professional historians and read by all serious students of history. No other book provides so many answers regarding modern America.
It's called Albion's Seed.
Best to all,
TRS
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Country of the credulous?
Glenn Beck again invokes not-so-subtle racism directed at the President.We've caught Beck at the antebellum game of southern aristocrats. Beck urges his audience to study history. He's apparently confident that most will instead stick with People magazine and the National Enquirer.
Beck runs a clip of the President's recent address to the AFL-CIO. The President thanks union members for their work keeping special interests in check. Beck then throws a tantrum, marches up to the video screen, points to "AFL-CIO" in the backdrop and screams...
The AFL-CIO is a "special interest"? It's very important to note that Beck is using "special interest" in a pejorative context. He impugns current and retired AFL-CIO members as participants in special interest privilege.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations is the largest federation of labor unions in the United States. It consists of 56 national and international unions, which represent more than 11 million workers, or roughly 8% of the U.S. workforce. The AFL-CIO also represents a wide swath of occupations, including: nurses; airline pilots, federal government workers; transit workers; postal workers; construction trades; fire fighters; miners; utility workers; merchant marine; police; longshoremen; and, others.
Bearing in mind that Beck's audience skews to an older, whiter, more blue-collar demographic, his slam of the AFL-CIO is more surprising than his racist rant at an 11 year old girl. Perhaps it's not as shocking as his history of on-air abuse, including cruelty towards a woman who had recently miscarried, but given that the Alliance for Retired Americans is an AFL-CIO affiliate claiming 3 million members, Beck's outburst potentially enraged far more than the 11 million people who are currently active union members.
How can Beck get away with an attack on his own audience? The video clip is mercifully short. The next thing he says reveals a game older than nullification:
"Planet of the Apes" is a not-so-veiled reference to the President's skin color. It also invokes 19th century hate speech, when blacks were commonly referred to as apes or monkeys. Beck used the AFL-CIO slam to set-up his real message, a racial taunt designed to resonate with his core audience.
Beck knows his audience will understand "Planet of the Apes". He's counting on them not to comprehend his cynical reuse of the slave master's manipulation of public opinion.
Antebellum aristocracy feared two things: (1) loss of slavery; (2) empowerment of the white underclass. Slavery, and only slavery, was the primary cause of Civil War. The slave-holding class effectively disenfranchised poor whites and owned a hugely disproportionate share of southern wealth, since slaves as an asset class exceeded the combined worth of all railroads and manufacturing businesses in America. Poor whites were kept in line by: (1) obsequence to aristocracy (inherited from their English Borderlands forebears); (2) a sense of racial superiority imparted to them by slave-owners.
Beck is repeating the cornerstone of the Great Southern Lie. TheRaven wonders, once again, if Beck hasn't gone too far. Unions have served to promote racial equality. Some of the individual unions and occupations slammed by Beck are well-integrated (police; postal workers) or known for disproportionately large minority representation (Federal government). Beck says that Obama's praise of the AFL-CIO makes him think that he woke up on the Plant of the Apes. If Beck isn't brought to heel by millions of outraged AFL-CIO members, the alternative conclusion is that we're living in a country of the credulous.
Beck runs a clip of the President's recent address to the AFL-CIO. The President thanks union members for their work keeping special interests in check. Beck then throws a tantrum, marches up to the video screen, points to "AFL-CIO" in the backdrop and screams...
The AFL-CIO is a "special interest"? It's very important to note that Beck is using "special interest" in a pejorative context. He impugns current and retired AFL-CIO members as participants in special interest privilege.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations is the largest federation of labor unions in the United States. It consists of 56 national and international unions, which represent more than 11 million workers, or roughly 8% of the U.S. workforce. The AFL-CIO also represents a wide swath of occupations, including: nurses; airline pilots, federal government workers; transit workers; postal workers; construction trades; fire fighters; miners; utility workers; merchant marine; police; longshoremen; and, others.
Bearing in mind that Beck's audience skews to an older, whiter, more blue-collar demographic, his slam of the AFL-CIO is more surprising than his racist rant at an 11 year old girl. Perhaps it's not as shocking as his history of on-air abuse, including cruelty towards a woman who had recently miscarried, but given that the Alliance for Retired Americans is an AFL-CIO affiliate claiming 3 million members, Beck's outburst potentially enraged far more than the 11 million people who are currently active union members.
How can Beck get away with an attack on his own audience? The video clip is mercifully short. The next thing he says reveals a game older than nullification:
"Planet of the Apes" is a not-so-veiled reference to the President's skin color. It also invokes 19th century hate speech, when blacks were commonly referred to as apes or monkeys. Beck used the AFL-CIO slam to set-up his real message, a racial taunt designed to resonate with his core audience.
Beck knows his audience will understand "Planet of the Apes". He's counting on them not to comprehend his cynical reuse of the slave master's manipulation of public opinion.
Antebellum aristocracy feared two things: (1) loss of slavery; (2) empowerment of the white underclass. Slavery, and only slavery, was the primary cause of Civil War. The slave-holding class effectively disenfranchised poor whites and owned a hugely disproportionate share of southern wealth, since slaves as an asset class exceeded the combined worth of all railroads and manufacturing businesses in America. Poor whites were kept in line by: (1) obsequence to aristocracy (inherited from their English Borderlands forebears); (2) a sense of racial superiority imparted to them by slave-owners.
Beck is repeating the cornerstone of the Great Southern Lie. TheRaven wonders, once again, if Beck hasn't gone too far. Unions have served to promote racial equality. Some of the individual unions and occupations slammed by Beck are well-integrated (police; postal workers) or known for disproportionately large minority representation (Federal government). Beck says that Obama's praise of the AFL-CIO makes him think that he woke up on the Plant of the Apes. If Beck isn't brought to heel by millions of outraged AFL-CIO members, the alternative conclusion is that we're living in a country of the credulous.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Journalism that reeks
This New York Times article feels good at first blush. The headline news is that Wal-Mart will spend $50 million with an online university, in a new program that supports higher education attainment for rank and file employees. In actuality, Wal-Mart got greater value in free publicity from a credulous New York Times.
American Public University (APU) is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virgina (not to be confused with Charleston), a 1.4 square mile hamlet of less than 3,000 people. APU is Wal-Mart's chosen education partner. Wal-Mart claims that a survey of 32,000 of its employees revealed a strong preference for online education. The Times piece isn't completely amiss. One can deduce that Wal-Mart's low-paid workforce (averaging under $12/hour) will bear the brunt of their education costs. This puts the onus on Wal-Mart to procure cost-effective education for its workforce.
Charles Town is most famous as the place where John Brown was tried and hanged, in 1859. Almost 16% of its population lives below the poverty line. Charles Town has no infrastructure or geographic positioning relative to higher education. A Google Earth view of Charles Town suggests that APU may be located in a residential structure (Google Street View isn't available for Charles Town):
The times article claims APU has 70,000 students while APU's own website says "...more than 50,000 students in 100 countries.." (a discrepancy of 40%). American Public University is owned by American Public Education, Inc., a NASDAQ listed corporation. The Times article doesn't mention this. From the APEI website:
American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI) is a leading provider of online post-secondary education focused primarily on serving the military and public service communities. American Public University System (APUS), wholly owned by APEI, comprises two universities: American Military University and American Public University (APU)....APUS serves more than 63,800 adult learners worldwide......In 2002, American Public University was founded.
APU is only eight years old? The Times didn't mention that, either. Based on APEI's financial statements, explosive growth over the past few years has created a cash machine:
Purely online education has a well-earned reputation for recruiting abuse, student loan fraud and lack of academic rigor. Accreditation and academic worth do not correlate. There are twelve decidedly mixed reviews of American Public University here from current and former students. This sample alone isn't enough to provide a basis for conclusions but the negative comments have an uncomfortable ring of truth.
University of Phoenix is the big gun of online colleges. It grew explosively in its early years and was subsequently the target of lawsuits and investigations into abuse and fraud. According to this NPR piece, U of Phoenix anticipated an $80 million fine only last November. Comments posted by current and former students to the NPR piece offer the same disquieting mix of support and derision, in greater volume, with negative comments reinforcing lack of academic rigor as a primary failing. This former U of Phoenix employee has some damning things to say.
U of Phoenix is not directly connected to APU but its history, similar business model and APU's stellar growth trajectory beg some questions, such as: how did APU grow so fast? The Times wasn't interested in such inquiry and we are left wondering if APU offers genuine education at a fair price.
The core problem lies in this statement: "With the work credits and tuition discount, an associate’s degree for a Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club cashier (from APU) would cost about $11,700 and a bachelor’s degree about $24,000". The Times reporter (or editor) lacked the sense to put a $12 thousand Associate's degree in context. It's doubtful that any Times staffers have ever attended a community college. Very few of them likely attended a public university. An $11,700 Associate's degree must look like a bargain to someone who dropped $200,000 on a degree from Columbia.
This image points to the problem and perhaps explains some of APU's revenue growth.
APU charges $250 per credit hour, for online-only instruction! Wal-Mart employees will pay 15% less ($212.50), which explains why APU's stated price for a bachelor's degree is $30k while the Times quoted $24k.
Wal-Mart estimates that half of its 1.4 million domestic employees are high-school graduates. Given their average pay and Wal-Mart's modest level of support in the new program, the only education options otherwise within reach for most of these 700,000 potential college students is the nearest community college. Therefore, The Times should have compared APU's pricing to community colleges. Such comparison would determine if Wal-Mart had truly acted in the best interests of its employees.
Community Colleges are a tried and true model, most have decades of experience turning out graduates who are qualified for careers in technology, health care, business roles, law enforcement or for transfer to a bachelors program. Community Colleges offer flexible scheduling and online education options. They are the original evening education model. The President is a believer and this piece in Slate nails the reason: community colleges have succeeded despite a long-running dearth of Federal support. The $12 billion program announced last year works out to roughly $10 million per school.
Community colleges are also cost-effective, as shown by these examples:
This post identified key facts that The Times missed. If the journalist had invested 1-2 more hours, The Times could have benefited from public interest in an expose of (take your pick):
UPDATE 1: The Washington Post weighs in here, noting that "For-profit schools may be offering an educational alternative, but that choice often comes with crushing student debt..."
UPDATE 2: Score another win for WalMart. This blogger at theAtlantic gets taken, just like the New York Times.
UPDATE 3: The New York Times published a decent (but small) article that provides online university industry facts & figures, in anticipation of a series of congressional hearings. Senator Tom Harkin has issues a report which states that "profit-making colleges generally charge higher tuition than comparable public colleges, spend a large share of revenue on expenses not related to teaching, experience high dropout rates, and, in some cases, use abusive recruiting and debt management practices." Steven Eisman, a hedge fund manager, has prepared testimony for the hearings and calls the for-profit colleges “marketing machines masquerading as universities.”
UPDATE 4: The Times appears to be catching on to what may be a sensational story of fraud and exploitation, with coverage of a new GAO report. Several undercover operatives documented fraud and deception at 15 for-profit colleges. "...recruiters at four of the colleges encouraged prospective students to lie on their financial aid applications — and all 15 misled potential students about their programs’ cost, quality and duration, or the average salary of graduates...courses in massage therapy and computer-aided drafting that cost $14,000 at a California for-profit college were presented as good values, when the same courses cost $520 at a local community college". The GAO is releasing a video of undercover investigation.
UPDATE 5: The story continues to develop and some ugly outlines are beginning to emerge. This NY Times article provides a key data point:"In the 2008-9 award year, students at for-profit schools represented 26 percent of borrowers — but 43 percent of defaulters. The median federal loan debt for students earning associate degrees at for-profit institutions was $14,000.....Most community college students do not take out student loans". This means that high default rates are driven, at least in part, by "online educators" charging almost 3-times as much for an associates degree as does the average community college. Combined with years of reports of illegal sales tactics and education finance irregularities, this situation has acquired the odor of massive fraud.
American Public University (APU) is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virgina (not to be confused with Charleston), a 1.4 square mile hamlet of less than 3,000 people. APU is Wal-Mart's chosen education partner. Wal-Mart claims that a survey of 32,000 of its employees revealed a strong preference for online education. The Times piece isn't completely amiss. One can deduce that Wal-Mart's low-paid workforce (averaging under $12/hour) will bear the brunt of their education costs. This puts the onus on Wal-Mart to procure cost-effective education for its workforce.
Charles Town is most famous as the place where John Brown was tried and hanged, in 1859. Almost 16% of its population lives below the poverty line. Charles Town has no infrastructure or geographic positioning relative to higher education. A Google Earth view of Charles Town suggests that APU may be located in a residential structure (Google Street View isn't available for Charles Town):
Click image to view full-size
To be fair, APU says its back office operations are located in Manassas, Va. The point on headquarters location pertains to the unlikely confluence of higher-education institutional leadership in a small West Virginia town (that otherwise has nothing to do with higher education).
The times article claims APU has 70,000 students while APU's own website says "...more than 50,000 students in 100 countries.." (a discrepancy of 40%). American Public University is owned by American Public Education, Inc., a NASDAQ listed corporation. The Times article doesn't mention this. From the APEI website:
American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI) is a leading provider of online post-secondary education focused primarily on serving the military and public service communities. American Public University System (APUS), wholly owned by APEI, comprises two universities: American Military University and American Public University (APU)....APUS serves more than 63,800 adult learners worldwide......In 2002, American Public University was founded.
APU is only eight years old? The Times didn't mention that, either. Based on APEI's financial statements, explosive growth over the past few years has created a cash machine:
- Revenue grew over 5x from 2005 to 2009.
- 2009 revenue was $148 million
- 2009 after-tax margin was 16%
- 36% return on equity
- 2010 1st quarter revenue grew 43% over 2009
- 2010 1st quarter cash flow doubled over 2009
Purely online education has a well-earned reputation for recruiting abuse, student loan fraud and lack of academic rigor. Accreditation and academic worth do not correlate. There are twelve decidedly mixed reviews of American Public University here from current and former students. This sample alone isn't enough to provide a basis for conclusions but the negative comments have an uncomfortable ring of truth.
University of Phoenix is the big gun of online colleges. It grew explosively in its early years and was subsequently the target of lawsuits and investigations into abuse and fraud. According to this NPR piece, U of Phoenix anticipated an $80 million fine only last November. Comments posted by current and former students to the NPR piece offer the same disquieting mix of support and derision, in greater volume, with negative comments reinforcing lack of academic rigor as a primary failing. This former U of Phoenix employee has some damning things to say.
U of Phoenix is not directly connected to APU but its history, similar business model and APU's stellar growth trajectory beg some questions, such as: how did APU grow so fast? The Times wasn't interested in such inquiry and we are left wondering if APU offers genuine education at a fair price.
The core problem lies in this statement: "With the work credits and tuition discount, an associate’s degree for a Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club cashier (from APU) would cost about $11,700 and a bachelor’s degree about $24,000". The Times reporter (or editor) lacked the sense to put a $12 thousand Associate's degree in context. It's doubtful that any Times staffers have ever attended a community college. Very few of them likely attended a public university. An $11,700 Associate's degree must look like a bargain to someone who dropped $200,000 on a degree from Columbia.
This image points to the problem and perhaps explains some of APU's revenue growth.
Wal-Mart estimates that half of its 1.4 million domestic employees are high-school graduates. Given their average pay and Wal-Mart's modest level of support in the new program, the only education options otherwise within reach for most of these 700,000 potential college students is the nearest community college. Therefore, The Times should have compared APU's pricing to community colleges. Such comparison would determine if Wal-Mart had truly acted in the best interests of its employees.
Community Colleges are a tried and true model, most have decades of experience turning out graduates who are qualified for careers in technology, health care, business roles, law enforcement or for transfer to a bachelors program. Community Colleges offer flexible scheduling and online education options. They are the original evening education model. The President is a believer and this piece in Slate nails the reason: community colleges have succeeded despite a long-running dearth of Federal support. The $12 billion program announced last year works out to roughly $10 million per school.
Community colleges are also cost-effective, as shown by these examples:
- Atlanta Technical College (Georgia) - $45 per credit hour (full-time)
- Harford County College (Maryland) - $77 per credit hour
- National average for 987 public community colleges - $85 per credit hour
- Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (Ohio) - $89 per credit hour
- Genessee Community College (New York) -$113 per credit hour (full-time)
- Nashville State Community College - $117 per credit hour
- Ocean County College (New Jersey) - $122 per credit hour
- Average community college cost - $85 per credit hour
- APU's discounted rate for Wal-Mart employees - $212 per credit hour
This post identified key facts that The Times missed. If the journalist had invested 1-2 more hours, The Times could have benefited from public interest in an expose of (take your pick):
- "Wal-Mart's High Price for Employee Education"
- "Wal-Mart Prices Education Out of Employee Reach"
- "Low-Prices Always? Not for Wal-Mart Employees"
UPDATE 1: The Washington Post weighs in here, noting that "For-profit schools may be offering an educational alternative, but that choice often comes with crushing student debt..."
UPDATE 2: Score another win for WalMart. This blogger at theAtlantic gets taken, just like the New York Times.
UPDATE 3: The New York Times published a decent (but small) article that provides online university industry facts & figures, in anticipation of a series of congressional hearings. Senator Tom Harkin has issues a report which states that "profit-making colleges generally charge higher tuition than comparable public colleges, spend a large share of revenue on expenses not related to teaching, experience high dropout rates, and, in some cases, use abusive recruiting and debt management practices." Steven Eisman, a hedge fund manager, has prepared testimony for the hearings and calls the for-profit colleges “marketing machines masquerading as universities.”
UPDATE 4: The Times appears to be catching on to what may be a sensational story of fraud and exploitation, with coverage of a new GAO report. Several undercover operatives documented fraud and deception at 15 for-profit colleges. "...recruiters at four of the colleges encouraged prospective students to lie on their financial aid applications — and all 15 misled potential students about their programs’ cost, quality and duration, or the average salary of graduates...courses in massage therapy and computer-aided drafting that cost $14,000 at a California for-profit college were presented as good values, when the same courses cost $520 at a local community college". The GAO is releasing a video of undercover investigation.
UPDATE 5: The story continues to develop and some ugly outlines are beginning to emerge. This NY Times article provides a key data point:"In the 2008-9 award year, students at for-profit schools represented 26 percent of borrowers — but 43 percent of defaulters. The median federal loan debt for students earning associate degrees at for-profit institutions was $14,000.....Most community college students do not take out student loans". This means that high default rates are driven, at least in part, by "online educators" charging almost 3-times as much for an associates degree as does the average community college. Combined with years of reports of illegal sales tactics and education finance irregularities, this situation has acquired the odor of massive fraud.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
What could be worse than a black President?
If your name is Glenn Beck, the answer is "black children in the white house".
Beck surpassed the low expectations of even his harshest critics by ridiculing Malia Obama in his national radio show. TheAtlantic provides an audio feed here and the following transcript, which can't provide the undisguised hate in Beck's mocking tone.
Beck is running out of ideas on how to keep his name front & center. He made headlines several months ago by declaring that the President hates white people. Now the President hates black people, because he's "part white". Painting the President as the Conspirator-in-Chief could only appeal to the white, uneducated population that abounds in the gulf states. The demographic aiming of "not enough damage yet" is unmistakable.
This skit is a recoded Jim Crow taunt. It crosses all known boundaries on decency. There's recent evidence that Beck may finally be wearing out his welcome, which would explain why this former morning zoo clown would stoop to a new low. Andy Warhol's dictum on publicity is true, but shock wears thin.
Attacking an 11 year old girl could mark the beginning of the end for this risible fool.
Beck surpassed the low expectations of even his harshest critics by ridiculing Malia Obama in his national radio show. TheAtlantic provides an audio feed here and the following transcript, which can't provide the undisguised hate in Beck's mocking tone.
BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy? Daddy? Daddy, did you plug the hole yet? Daddy?
PAT GRAY (co-host): (imitating Obama) No I didn't, honey.
BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy, I know you're better than [unintelligible]
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Mm-hmm, big country.
BECK: (imitating Malia) And I was wondering if you've plugged that hole yet.
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Honey, not yet.
BECK: (imitating Malia) Why not, daddy? But daddy--
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Not time yet, honey. Hasn't done enough damage.
BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy?
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Not enough damage yet, honey.
BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy?
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yeah?
BECK: (imitating Malia) Why do you hate black people so much?
GRAY: (imitating Obama) I'm part white, honey.
BECK: (imitating Malia) What?
GRAY: (imitating Obama) What?
BECK: (imitating Malia) What'd you say?
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Excuse me?
BECK: (laughing) This is such a ridiculous -- this is such a ridiculous thing that his daughter-- (imitating Malia) Daddy?
GRAY: It's so stupid.
BECK: How old is his daughter? Like, thirteen?
GRAY: Well, one of them's, I think, thirteen, one's eleven, or something.
BECK: "Did you plug the hole yet, daddy?" Is that's their -- that's the level of their education, that they're coming to -- they're coming to daddy and saying 'Daddy, did you plug the hole yet?' " Plug the hole!
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yes, I was doing some deep-sea diving yesterday, and--
BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy?
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yeah, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, I was doing--
BECK: (imitating Malia) Why--
GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yeah, honey, I'm--
BECK (imitating Malia) Why, why, why, why, do you still let the polar bears die? Daddy, why do you still let Sarah Palin destroy the environment? Why are -- Daddy, why don't you just put her in some sort of a camp?
Beck is running out of ideas on how to keep his name front & center. He made headlines several months ago by declaring that the President hates white people. Now the President hates black people, because he's "part white". Painting the President as the Conspirator-in-Chief could only appeal to the white, uneducated population that abounds in the gulf states. The demographic aiming of "not enough damage yet" is unmistakable.
This skit is a recoded Jim Crow taunt. It crosses all known boundaries on decency. There's recent evidence that Beck may finally be wearing out his welcome, which would explain why this former morning zoo clown would stoop to a new low. Andy Warhol's dictum on publicity is true, but shock wears thin.
Attacking an 11 year old girl could mark the beginning of the end for this risible fool.
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