DarkStar Spouts Off

Quickly, Giving Props

I'm not entirely comfortable with how Obama is handling world affairs although I realize there are only two real choices on Iran: talk smack and sanctions, which do nothing, or military action, with an already strained military.

I don't like that he seems to be hesitating on Afghanistan, just go in full bore and see what happens, call it Surge II.

But I think the domestic terrorism case coming to light is being handled well, so far.

OK, What About This?

Football Sunday, 3

Ravens CRUSH.

Washington.... Lost to Detroit. The Lions. The team that hadn't won in 19 tries.

And the Steelers lost to the Bengals with a great comeback drive by the Bengals.

You gotta luv it!!!!

Query On Rights

Without your health, you have nothing.

What about heat or electricity or water?

If people think the former is a right, why isn't heat, electricity, and water?

Just pondering....

Do Charters "Cream" The Best?

Do Charters "Cream" The Best?

'Creaming" is the word critics of charter schools think ends the debate over education choice. The charge has long been that charters get better results by cherry-picking the best students from standard public schools. Caroline Hoxby, a Stanford economist, found a way to reliably examine this alleged bias, and the results are breakthrough news for charter advocates.

Her new study, "How New York City's Charter Schools Affect Achievement," shows that charter students, typically from more disadvantaged families in places like Harlem, perform almost as well as students in affluent suburbs like Scarsdale. Because there are more applicants than spaces, New York admits charter students with a lottery system. The study nullifies any self-selection bias by comparing students who attend charters only with those who applied for admission through the lottery, but did not get in. "Lottery-based studies," notes Ms. Hoxby, "are scientific and more reliable."

According to the study, the most comprehensive of its kind to date, New York charter applicants are more likely than the average New York family to be black, poor and living in homes with adults who possess fewer education credentials. But positive results already begin to emerge by the third grade: The average charter student is scoring 5.8 points higher than his lotteried-out peers in math and 5.3 points higher in English. In grades four through eight, the charter student jumps ahead by 5 more points each year in math and 3.6 points each year in English.

More at the link provided.

Spouting Off On: Options With Iran

All of the blather about Iran and nuclear capabilities comes down to three options:

1. Do nothing and Iran develops a nuclear capability.
2. Jawbone and apply sanctions on Iran and Iran develops a nuclear capability.
3. Take military action against Iran to try to stop or retard their nuclear capability.

People making public comments about Obama's response know these are the only three options. If they don't admit it, their comments should be dismissed.

Just my point of view.

I Told You So

Somewhere in the comments I left all over the net, I wrote that people shouldn't be concerned about what Obama would say when he addressed grade school students. Instead, they should be more concerned with the day to day teaching going on in the school when it concerns politics. Exhibit A:

I told you so.

Follow The Money

Follow the money.

The sun is setting on the US dollar as the ultra-loose monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve forces China and the vibrant economies of the emerging world to forge a new global currency order, according to a new report by HSBC.

"The dollar looks awfully like sterling after the First World War," said David Bloom, the bank's currency chief.

"The whole picture of risk-reward for emerging market currencies has changed. It is not so much that they have risen to our standards, it is that we have fallen to theirs. It used to be that sovereign risk was mainly an emerging market issue but the events of the last year have shown that this is no longer the case. Look at the UK – debt is racing up to 100pc of GDP," he said

Crucially, China and rising Asia have reached the point where they can no longer keep holding down their currencies to boost exports because this is causing mayhem to their own economies, stoking asset bubbles. Asia's "mercantilist mindset" of recent decades is about to be broken by the spectre of an inflation spiral.

The policy headache was already becoming clear in the final phase of the global credit boom but the financial crisis temporarily masked the effect. The pressures will return with a vengeance as these countries roar back to life, leaving the US and other laggards of the old world far behind.

How About Gangsters OWNING The NBA Team?

Gangstas playing in the NBA?

A Russian billionaire, an amateur basketball player the size of an N.B.A. power forward, signed a tentative $200 million deal Wednesday that would make him the principal owner of the New Jersey Nets and an investor in the team’s new home, an arena planned for Brooklyn.

Mikhail D. Prokhorov, the richest man in Russia and president of Onexim Group, would become the first foreign owner of an N.B.A. team who is not Canadian. Prokhorov, who once owned a stake in the CSKA Moscow basketball team, wrote on his blog Tuesday that he intended to improve Russian basketball by using N.B.A. training methods and sending Russian coaches to the United States for internships.

How about mobsters OWNING an NBA team?

I'm not saying the new Nets owner is tied to the mob, but a lot of the Russian rich are tied into criminal activities.

I hope the vetting process by the NBA is better than that of the Obama administration.

Fee or Tax?

When is a fee a tax? I don't use 9-1-1 services but I pay a tax on the
portion of my telephone bill for 9-1-1 services. When I go to a state
park, I pay an entrance fee. If I don't use the park, I don't pay,
but, if I don't use 9-1-1, I still pay for the service.

A Big Ole Company Town

The word of the day is that Detroit is about to be declared financially insolvent.

That is to be expected when a company town like Detroit, loses the company that keeps it running. In this case, the company is "The Big 3" and the businesses that support them. A city or town facing bankruptcy is the norm when the company closes.

So, what is with the political rhetoric blaming Democrats for Detroit's failure?

More later, ...

Obama Administration Foreign Policy

My thoughts these days are brief and to the point.

Missile Defense Shield

There are many critics of Obama's policy to scrap the Europe missile defense plan against long range missiles for a smaller plan to defend against medium range missiles. My initial thoughts were that it was a bad move and I wondered exactly what is on his mind. It really appeared to be caving into Russian interests.

But after thinking about the state of missile defense some, I wonder if it was a bad move. From what I've read over time, the state of missile defense is really not that good. Essentially, people are designing systems to "hit a bullet with a bullet" and the occasional news reports of the tests seem to indicate success until you read further and the indications are that the tests are rigged for a positive outcome. Of course, it could be set up that way so that we learn enough in the process to be able to increase accuracy, but it can also be a case of making sure there is a pre-determined successful outcome.

So, in the end, I'm neutral about the policy shift.

Afghanistan

They beat the Russians, with our help. More troops must enter or defeat is certain.

'nuff said.

There was one other item but I forgot. So, publish it is.

Ravens Win Because of Offense

The Ravens won a tough game and it was a game that people expected The Ravens to lose.

While people are amazed at the offense, once again, I'm looking at the defense who seems tough until the fourth quarter. San Diego lost this game cause of penalties.

But a win is a win and the Steelers lost!

Men II Boys

Men II Boys is a must see movie. It needs to be viewed by Black boys, tweens, and men.

And if you follow it up with I Can Do Bad All By Myself, you will feel compelled to DO something.

I Know, Criticism Of Obama != Racism

I know, criticism of Obama policies does not equal racism.

[ UPDATE ]

I know that Obama was placed into office because of support from white voters.

Logically, I know this. But,

• When I independently verify from source who knows, the number of threats against Obama is way on the right side of the bell curve...
• When people bring guns to or near town hall meetings on health care...
• When a Black woman with a sign of Rosa Parks is removed from a town hall meeting because she had a sign, while another white person with an anti-health care sign is not removed...
• When screams of "I want my country back" matches the rhetoric of Pat Buchanan...

Yes, I'm looking askance, AKA

giving the side eye.

In Bad Taste, But Funny

Microsoft, You Have A Problem

When a hardware maker feels compelled to install
a SSD drive to speed up O/S boot time, the O/S maker has a
problem. Right now, I'd say Windows 7 is a big old stinking turd.

Givin The Side Eye

When the first Tea Parties were thrown earlier in the year, there wasn't much coverage of it nor was there really a strong response, no matter what the backers said. Then came the ratcheting up of the rhetoric because of the health care "debate" and the town hall meetings. This time, the Tea Party on The Mall in Washington, D.C. drew a decent sized crowd.

I supported the initial Tea Parties because I thought it was a real ground roots response to the prior spending binge done by Republicans and Democrats during the Bush administration years. To me, people were FINALLY fed up at the spending madness and the TARP bailout.

When people started protesting against the "health care reform" being discussed, I supported the criticism of the general ideas and when I read sections of one of the bills, I saw things that I didn't like but I also DID NOT SEE things some critics said about "the bill." But that's a part of normal politics. What caused me to step back and go, "Wha?", was some of the behavior at the "town hall" meetings and some people showing up in the vicinity of the meetings with guns.

Come on. Let's be real. What does gun ownership have to do with what is being "discussed" at the time?

And then came the criticism of Obama's speech to children when the same people complaining didn't complain when such speeches happened before, curriculum or no curriculum.

As I've written before, some of the Obama administration policies I don't like. I think they are wrong and will do more long term harm than good. But the rhetoric is way over the top and I'm giving some of the critics the side-eye.

Is the criticism the result of "the final big government straw" breaking the back of taxpayers or is it more likely something else. Frankly, I'm no longer outright dismissing the "fear of a Black POTUS" cries.

Yeah, that's the side eye.

Football Sunday, I

GO RAVENS!!!!!

Update:

RAVENS: Ravens won the game. I heard the game but didn't see the game. From what I heard, the Ravens need to be worried. And I don't care how good a quarterback Flacco seems to be, why focus on the pass?

WASHINGTON: Again, I heard the game but didn't see the game. I'm now convinced that Jason Campbell is not a starting NFL QB. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they lost, but this had to be the year Campbell broke out, and it looks like he isn't going to do it.

ACORN

When I saw the video of the "set up" of the ACORN, Baltimore branch, my radar was triggered because I couldn't see ANYONE falling for the over the top story that was given. Then I read that it was tried in other areas and it made my radar really go off.

Then I read that the Washington, D.C. branch was caught as well.

Applying RICO seems to be the right move to me.

Oh. [Wo]Man!

Hermaphrodite.

If
she goes home, I think her life is in danger.

Listened To It While Multi-Tasking

I listened to Obama's speech on "health care" while doing other things.

Dude straight up said the "death panel" comments were lies. You don't hear that word used to much by politicians. And then he was called a liar when he said illegals won't be covered.

I'm going to have to read the text.

Role Of The President

If the role of the President of the United States does not include addressing students to motivate them to do well in school, then is it the role of the President of the United States to address men to be better fathers to their children?

Simple Question

Given all of the information that came out about Van Jones, except for the comments on Columbine, don't you just wonder if the Obama administration knows what "vetting" means?

The People Of "Personal Responsibility"

The people who claim to be about "personal responsibility", actually aren't. They blame others for their ills. Don't believe me? Consider:

• If you are a parent and are personally responsible for your children, how can a speech by the President of the United States, totally erase all that you have taught?
• If a person is responsible for their personal choices, then how can the availability of welfare be responsible for the destruction of family?
• If a person is responsible for their personal choices, then how can the eugenic background of a person who pushed for abortions, years ago, cause a woman to get an abortion, today?
• If a person is responsible for their actions, how can an organization, that isn't "speaking out" against an issue, be responsible for for a person not doing something to address an issue?

See where I'm going with this?