WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2016
Yglesias talks about narrative: To answer the question we most frequently get:
Yes, we had a surge protector! As with the pocket protectors of old, it seems they don't always work.
Moving right along:
We've spent the past few weeks living in 1980 (or before). We still had a working radio and a daily hard-copy newspaper, but not a whole lot else.
In some ways, the experience could be seen as cleansing. This Monday night, we started watching cable news again. When we did, we were struck by its practiced foolishness even more than before.
That practiced foolishness isn't necessarily restricted to cable. As we start our labors again, we have a substantial list of topics we'd like to explore.
Let's start with a major policy area. That back-to-school piece in last Sunday's Washington Post was a (highly familiar) piece for the ages. For our previous post, click here.
As we've endlessly noted down through the years, data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) suggest major achievement gains by all major parts of our student population. Black and Hispanic students have persistently recorded score gains. White students have been recording score gains too.
On Monday, we posted the score gains recorded by black and Hispanic fourth graders in math since the 2000 testing. These score gains seem to be large, but very few people have ever heard about them, or about the larger set of score gains (dating to the 1970s) of which they're just one part.
Based on their repeated performance, the New York Times and the Washington Post would rather shut down operations than tell the public about those persistent score gains. Instead, we're persistently told that nothing is working in our schools—that our schools are an ungodly mess.
Down through the years, we've developed a counter-intuitive term to describe this type of journalistic behavior. Brace yourselves, because here it comes:
"Not recognizably human."
Not recognizably human! How can it be that our major news orgs refuse to report these persistent score gains? Cynics could postulate theories, of course. But we'd have to say that the basic journalistic behavior is not recognizably human.
Understandably, some people are put off by that characterization. We think their reaction is understandable. But in its essence, we think their reaction is wrong.
Not recognizably human! That characterization enters our head when we see such basic information persistently disappeared. And please understand: Everyone agrees that the NAEP is "the gold standard" of domestic educational testing. Our big newspapers cite NAEP data quite routinely. But they only cite the achievement gaps; they refuse to cite the persistent gains which have been recorded by all major demographic groups.
(When all major groups record score gains, the so-called achievement gaps remain, though at a higher level. For the record, the gaps are smaller today than they were in the past.)
They report the gaps, disappear the gains! At some point, we'd have to say that this journalistic conduct is not recognizably human.
A cynic would tell you that our news orgs are adhering to a certain "narrative," or preferred elite story-line, when they pick and choose their basic facts in this otherwise puzzling way. For many years, we've told you this:
Our mainstream journalism tends to be narrative all the way down. That's true in the coverage of public schools. It's also true in the coverage of candidates.
From 1999 on, we've begged the rest of the liberal world to challenge the way the mainstream press constructs controlling story-lines about presidential candidates. A cynic would tell you that career liberal journalists have refused to do this because their career paths run through the major newspapers and broadcast news orgs which have engaged in this conduct.
Have journalists refused to heed our cry in service to their own careers? Such behavior would be human, all too human! At any rate, ever so slowly, it seems to us that a few liberal journos have started to turn. Tomorrow, we'll start with a new piece by Matt Yglesias, a piece which appears beneath this headline at Vox:
"Colin Powell’s foundation and Hillary Clinton’s are treated very differently by the media"
Yglesias' piece concerns the type of journalistic narrative we've been discussing since 1999. We were struck by the salience of the piece, and by the high levels of courtesy it extends toward the unnamed journalists whose work it samples and cites.
Ever so slowly, have we started to turn? On the merits, that Yglesias piece is very important. It also arrives very late in the game, and it's just one highly salient drop in a very deep sea.
Tomorrow: More on the Yglesias piece
Coming this afternoon: Chozick recalls Lewinsky
I'm no expert in such matters, but as I understand it from something I was told many years ago, after the first "surge" those "protectors" become essentially extension cords. For true protection you need something more substantial,such as a "line stabilizer."
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't keep a surge protector in your shirt front pocket.
DeleteBob Gardner
My guess is Bob thought he had a surge protector. In fact, he bought it on sale at Home Depot for $5.99.
DeleteI think that was about the price Hillary paid for her surge protector.
DeleteTHIS IS GENUINE. NO SCAM. Hi! My name is Myriam Boyer. I want to tell my testimony to the whole world how this great and powerful man called great baba helped me to bring back my partner. My man left me for another lady for five years. I almost gave up until my friend advised me and introduced me to this great man whom she met on the internet. I never believed at first but she encouraged me and i tried to believe and contacted him on his email. I told and explained everything to him and he assured me that he will help me and that i should not worry too much. I believed him and i did all that he asked me to do which i did and it work perfectly and my husband came back to me begging for forgiveness. I am so happy and excited now. I discovered that when my husband came back he even loved me more than the way he used to love me before he left me. great baba opened up his eyes to see how much i love him and how much love we ought to share together as one. This is not brain washing contact great baba now on his email: Highersolutiontemple@yahoo.com
DeleteAND YOU CAN ALSO CHECK HIM ON:
Greatbabaofsolution.blogspot.com
Highersolutiontemple.blogspot.com
THIS IS GENUINE. NO SCAM. Hi! My name is Myriam Boyer. I want to tell my testimony to the whole world how this great and powerful man called great baba helped me to bring back my partner. My man left me for another lady for five years. I almost gave up until my friend advised me and introduced me to this great man whom she met on the internet. I never believed at first but she encouraged me and i tried to believe and contacted him on his email. I told and explained everything to him and he assured me that he will help me and that i should not worry too much. I believed him and i did all that he asked me to do which i did and it work perfectly and my husband came back to me begging for forgiveness. I am so happy and excited now. I discovered that when my husband came back he even loved me more than the way he used to love me before he left me. great baba opened up his eyes to see how much i love him and how much love we ought to share together as one. This is not brain washing contact great baba now on his email: Highersolutiontemple@yahoo.com
AND YOU CAN ALSO CHECK HIM ON:
Greatbabaofsolution.blogspot.com
Highersolutiontemple.blogspot.com
Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteYaa welcome back
ReplyDeleteWhat else can i say rather than to thank Doctor Okpamen who God used to reunite my marriage. Each day of my life, i ask God to bless Dr. Okpamen for he has made my life complete by bringing back my husband to me and for this reason, i made a vow to my self that i will testify on the internet to let the world know that Dr. Okpamen is a God on Earth. My husband and i had a fight for three days which led to our divorce. On this faithful day, i came across a testimony of how Dr. Okpamen helped a lady in getting back her lover. So, i contacted him and explained to him and he told me that my days of sorrows are over that my husband will come back to me within 12 to 16 hours.. Could you believe it, my husband came home begging that he needs me back. Do you need any kind of help? Contact him now via email: ( Doctorokpamenspelltemple@hotmail.com ), call and whatsapp him via +2348135254384 OR for more confirmation call or text me on my cell# +1 (914) 517-3229. Becky Nolan USA.
ReplyDeleteTestimony On How My Ex Come Back.
ReplyDeleteMy life is back!!! After 2 years of Broken marriage, my husband left me with two kids . I felt like my life was about to end i almost committed suicide, i was emotionally down for a very long time. Thanks to a spell caster called Dr Mako, which i met online. On one faithful day, as I was browsing through the internet,I came across allot of testimonies about this particular spell caster. Some people testified that he brought their Ex lover back, some testified that he restores womb,cure cancer,and other sickness, some testified that he can cast a spell to stop divorce and so on. i also come across one particular testimony,it was about a woman called Sonia,she testified about how he brought back her Ex lover in less than 2 days, and at the end of her testimony she dropped Dr Mako's e-mail address. After reading all these,I decided to give it a try. I contacted him via email and explained my problem to him. In just 48hours, my husband came back to me. We solved our issues, and we are even happier than before Dr Mako, is really a gifted man and i will not stop publishing him because he is a wonderful man... If you have a problem and you are looking for a real and genuine spell caster to solve all your problems for you. Try High Makospelltemple@yahoo.com anytime, he might be the answer to your problems. Here's his contact: Makospelltemple@yahoo.com or call him :+2347054263874
I am no proficient in such concerns, but as I recognize it from something I used to be advised many watch online movies
ReplyDeleteyears in the past, after the primary "surge" those "protectors" turn out to be just about extension cords. For actual safety you want some thing more significant,comparable to a "line stabilizer."
I'm Lisa Richson by name I have a few testimony to share with you all about myself, I was in a relationship with this guy and for 6 years and we were about getting married when we both have misunderstanding with each other and he ask me for a divorce and we both agreed and after 4 months I head that he was having an affair with one of my closest friend and I was very upset and worried so a friend of my advice me and told me if I still love my ex and if I really want to have him back so I told her yes, and she ask me to contact Great Matatan the spell caster and I did although I never believe on spell so he gave me something when he was casting the spell and ask me to say my wishes on it and after the casting of the spell a receive a phone call from my ex and was ask me at which I did and now we are back together again I'm so happy and I wish not to ever have this mistake again in my life. I will also advice anyone with this kind of issue to contact him for help he is really nice on phone and always there to answer you question giving you the good advice that you need. his email is( matatanspell@yahoo.com CALL/WHATS-APP:+233 20 926 0493 )YOU can visit his blog for more info. https://greatmatatan.blogspot.com/2019/10/true-powerful-spell-that-works-great.html
ReplyDeleteIt is understood that you do not have adequate time to write. Buy Custom College Papers and submit the Pre Written Research Papers. Make a decision to order Term Paper Writing Help today.
ReplyDelete