• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Come on, man.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

People are weird.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / “We’re Trying To Prevent Young People From Taking Your Career Path”

“We’re Trying To Prevent Young People From Taking Your Career Path”

by Tim F|  January 13, 200811:56 pm| 52 Comments

This post is in: Politics

FacebookTweetEmail

Granted that Barack Obama’s campaign be much ado, but the mania didn’t appear out of nowhere.

The first time I heard Obama speak, on a radio quiz show in 2005, my first reaction was that the guy could be a contender. One thing that jumped out at me was his weird knack for being a dick, genial and funny at the same time. Obama happy fun time isn’t quite the same as a Barney hour, it’s more like the comic who rips you a new one but you can’t help enjoying the experience. He has an oddly anti-political habit of telling special interest audiences what they don’t want to hear. Give a listen and see if you agree.

The kind of Republican who regards ideology uber alles may not enjoy an Obama presidency any more than Clinton or Edwards.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Sunday Late Night Open Thread
Next Post: Transcending Race »

Reader Interactions

52Comments

  1. 1.

    srv

    January 14, 2008 at 12:20 am

    He has the oddly anti-political habit of telling special interest audiences what they don’t want to hear.

    Yeah, right, sure he does.

    It is important to remember this history—that Israel had unilaterally withdrawn from Lebanon only to have Iran supply Hezbollah with thousands of rockets.

    He seems to have forgotten about the oh, that INVASION, that made Hezbollah what it is.

    Playing the Cosby act doesn’t lose him any votes. But it sure does win over them white folk.

  2. 2.

    myiq2xu

    January 14, 2008 at 12:30 am

    One thing that jumped out at me was his weird knack for being a dick, genial and funny at the same time.

    Like a frat-boy that would be fun to have a beer with?

    He’s already a uniter, so if he starts talking about not leaving any kids behind or being compassionate, I’m outta here!

  3. 3.

    John Cole

    January 14, 2008 at 12:40 am

    Hey now- while I am enjoying tweaking all the Obama supporters for their laughable and over-the-top odes to Obama, I think it is beyond unfair to compare him to Bush.

    I am not disputing in any way, shape or form that Obama might be a good President, nor am I disputing that he might be a great President. I certainly will dispute that any of the Democratic candidates could be as bad as Bush.

    Their are legitimate criticisms to be leveled of his supporters (and much fun to be had), but comparing Obama to Bush is BS.

  4. 4.

    Jeff S

    January 14, 2008 at 12:54 am

    He has an oddly anti-political habit of telling special interest audiences what they don’t want to hear.

    That sounds like what pick-up artists refer to as Negging.

  5. 5.

    srv

    January 14, 2008 at 1:03 am

    Their are legitimate criticisms to be leveled of his supporters (and much fun to be had), but comparing Obama to Bush is BS.

    You’re right. Bush has way more substance.

  6. 6.

    Keith

    January 14, 2008 at 1:09 am

    You’re right. Bush has way more substance

    All depends on the substance in question. Would you rather have a handful of shit or a handful of a fart?

  7. 7.

    srv

    January 14, 2008 at 1:26 am

    All depends on the substance in question. Would you rather have a handful of shit or a handful of a fart?

    If you think people have been putting up with shit for too long, how long do you think they’ll put up with gas? If living with the Democratic Party is going to be like living with a dog with bad gas, I for one am ready to take it out in the back forty and put it down.

    I guess I’m voting Republican this year for the first time in my life. Obviously it has to get worse before people will demand something really better.

  8. 8.

    bago

    January 14, 2008 at 1:33 am

    srv: So what’s it like posting from the year 2000?

  9. 9.

    grumpy realist

    January 14, 2008 at 1:38 am

    Considering who Obama managed to get to sign off on some of his legislation, anyone who can’t see a difference between Bush’s “bilateralism” and Obama’s ability to get people to work together–well, I really would like to see what exactly you’re smokin’.

  10. 10.

    myiq2xu

    January 14, 2008 at 1:46 am

    Obama’s ability to get people to work together

    I’ll ride the magic unity pony if Obama Girl comes over my place and asks me real nice.

    PS – “Real Nice” = Butt nekkid!

  11. 11.

    Badtux

    January 14, 2008 at 3:39 am

    Bush… substance… is vacuum a substance? Hmm… well, anybody who would get the U.S. involved in a land war in Europe has a vacuum inside his head, so yeah, I guess if vacuum is a substance, Bush has lots of substance. Alrighty, then!

    – Badtux the Snarky Penguin

  12. 12.

    Badtux

    January 14, 2008 at 3:39 am

    Bush… substance… is vacuum a substance? Hmm… well, anybody who would get the U.S. involved in a land war in Asia has a vacuum inside his head, so yeah, I guess if vacuum is a substance, Bush has lots of substance. Alrighty, then!

    – Badtux the Snarky Penguin

  13. 13.

    TenguPhule

    January 14, 2008 at 3:44 am

    You’re right. Bush has way more substance.

    Shorter SRV: I can haz the One True Pure Knight on Shining Armor now?

    Any Democrat is better then Bush by virtue of not being completely batshit insane.

  14. 14.

    DVDA

    January 14, 2008 at 5:03 am

    Any Democrat is better then Bush by virtue of not being completely batshit insane.

    I don’t know. The more I see them operate, the more the Clintons look like imperial elitists. They are not so different than the neo-cons, just much, much smarter.

    They understand things like nuance, and they think through the likely consequences of their actions. And no, they’re not crazy.

    But they’re naked attempt to use racism to knee-cap Obama is disgusting, and it speaks to a very dark worldview… and an insatiable lust for power.

    Many people predict the next energy crisis will unleash unseen horrors on this world, and it was Bill Clinton who regime change in Iraq US Policy. They weren’t so stupid as to go barging in as clusily as the neo-cons, but they sure as shit wanted to.

    If you believe in trading US blood for middle eastern oil, then yeah… Clinton will be better than Bush. But if you wish to move in different direction, Clinton may be the biggest obstacle to doing so.

    If McCain gets elected, he’ll be much easier to take out in 2012 with someone who may yet end the oil wars, or at least end US involvement in them. But if Clinton is the incumbent in 2012… it’s hard to see anything but endless war.

  15. 15.

    Pb

    January 14, 2008 at 6:37 am

    srv,

    Heh; I remember that was when Obama was being attacked for saying this:

    Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.

    …it reminds me of when Howard Dean got attacked for saying this:

    even-handed

    …not that you’ll find a primary source for that, mind you–apparently it’s something he said to The Washington Post that they forgot to actually publish until later, when he was already being attacked for saying it to them.

    However, I can show you a later Washington Post editorial that says this:

    The United States should be promoting an agenda that is explicitly even-handed, balanced and both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine.

    …so go figure…

  16. 16.

    Wilfred

    January 14, 2008 at 7:08 am

    You might want to read this, too:

    It is not yet clear whether Obama’s candidacy will come to full fruition, even though it has already produced early fruits. But the alarm bells are already ringing in Jerusalem: “Israel is worried about Obama.” The media reports: “Senior government officials in Israel fear his meteoric rise.” And the main reasons for this concern, it is reported, are Obama’s support for dialogue with Iran and his weak connections with the Jewish lobby in Washington.

    Don’t worry. Anyone who is elected in America will maintain the friendship with Israel and treat it as an ally. But it would be a welcome change for the friendship not to be a blind one, and for the alliance not to lead to a mishap. It is worthwhile conducting talks with Iran, just as much as it is worthwhile conducting talks with Syria, just as it was worthwhile talking with Libya and North Korea. And it is not worthwhile dancing like a trained bear on every issue according to the tune of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) or the evangelical pastors.

    That last alliance will sink Obama like a stone. Article here

  17. 17.

    Randolph Fritz

    January 14, 2008 at 7:59 am

    “He has an oddly anti-political habit of telling special interest audiences what they don’t want to hear.”

    That is a hopeful thing, possibly one of the best things I’ve heard about the man.

  18. 18.

    Pb

    January 14, 2008 at 8:35 am

    Re: that WaPo Dean quote, Billmon had it:

    In an interview, Dean sought to clarify his statement but did not back down from his belief that the United State cannot negotiate peace unless it is seen as a neutral party in the region. “Israel has always been a longtime ally with a special relationship with the United States, but if we are going to bargain by being in the middle of the negotiations then we are going to have to take an evenhanded role,” he said.

  19. 19.

    TheFountainHead

    January 14, 2008 at 8:39 am

    I hear srv has a sign on his front yard that says, “Dick For President”.

  20. 20.

    Scotty

    January 14, 2008 at 8:58 am

    I hear srv has a sign on his front yard that says, “Dick For President”.

    So is he supporting Giuliani or Mitt?

  21. 21.

    cleek

    January 14, 2008 at 9:16 am

    I hear srv has a sign on his front yard that says, “Dick For President”.

    is that an endorsement or an offer ?

  22. 22.

    Zifnab

    January 14, 2008 at 9:31 am

    That sounds like what pick-up artists refer to as Negging.

    Mystery Method ftw!

    So is he supporting Giuliani or Mitt?

    Worse. Cheney.

  23. 23.

    4tehlulz

    January 14, 2008 at 9:40 am

    I guess I’m voting Republican this year for the first time in my life. Obviously it has to get worse before people will demand something really better.

    ‘sup traitor?

  24. 24.

    ThymeZone

    January 14, 2008 at 9:53 am

    But they’re naked attempt to use racism to knee-cap Obama is disgusting

    Sorry, not seeing that. One has to suspend all disbelief and argue that any putdown is racist.

    The “fairy tale” remark wasn’t racist, wasn’t even dogwhistle racist. I thought it was over the top, but I can’t call it racist.

    The “lazy” remark isn’t racist. That’s standard politics. People who seek national office from a Senate perch are always going to be vulnerable to those kinds of attacks, because the Senate is such a weird place with such weird protocols and processes.

    What looks really troubling to me is the zeal of Obama supporters to go after all criticisms as if they were “racist.” That’s a huge mistake. Americans don’t want walking-on-eggs, politically correct touchiness. They don’t want Obama attacked because he is black, and they don’t want him defended just because he is black.

    If two people at the level of Obama and Clinton can’t carry on a campaign like this, in these times, without falling back on race and gender as “issues,” I don’t think it speaks well of either of them.

    I also wasn’t impressed with Hillary’s “some of my best friends are black” routine on MTP yesterday. I’d have been more impressed if she said you know, I called Barack and we talked about race and gender and I guaranteed him, and he guaranteed me, and we both guarantee you that we won’t let this campaign descend to that level. Next question, Tim.

  25. 25.

    Bombadil

    January 14, 2008 at 9:54 am

    cleek Says:

    I hear srv has a sign on his front yard that says, “Dick For President”.

    is that an endorsement or an offer ?

    Nominated for PotD

  26. 26.

    John Pedo

    January 14, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Well me and my mate steven hawkins think that the maths of this equation are rather interesting, im going to eat some bacon on my wet flaps. Good day to you sir!!

  27. 27.

    Neal

    January 14, 2008 at 10:20 am

    I actually like that aspect of Obama. He once told a group of teachers that there should be some consideration of merit based pay, not just tenure. Of course they didn’t like that…but God damn it, it’s true.

    I also remember hearing about him telling a black audience that the black community has a problem with homophobia.
    I’m not completely in the saddle in regards to the unity pony but I think it beats Bush/Cheney’s habit of speaking to only friendly audiences and caressing their ears with what they want to hear.

  28. 28.

    cleek

    January 14, 2008 at 10:32 am

    “is that an endorsement or an offer ?”

    (no offense to srv, of course)

  29. 29.

    D-Chance.

    January 14, 2008 at 10:39 am

    Is “electability” becoming another Clintonite code word for Obama’s campaign (nice guy, but…)?

    No worse than “vertical” (the word Josh Marshall freaked over when the Huckster used it), I guess…

  30. 30.

    Caidence (fmr. Chris)

    January 14, 2008 at 10:45 am

    You’re right. Bush has way more substance.

    Am I the only one here that thought “cocaine” as the first word?

    “illicit substance”? Anyone? anyone?

    /me sits back in corner.

  31. 31.

    myiq2xu

    January 14, 2008 at 10:48 am

    No worse than “vertical” (the word Josh Marshall freaked over when the Huckster used it), I guess…

    It’s too early on Monday morning for any goldberging.

  32. 32.

    Caidence (fmr. Chris)

    January 14, 2008 at 10:55 am

    You know, the one thing that’s starting to drive me up the wall is that Obama is a guy risking his young political career to become President, and by doing so is standing in the way of the speeding train of martyrdom that is Hillary. He has people that support him, an actual personality, and position papers that aren’t written in crayon and aren’t schemes on the next political gambit.

    Like him, distrust him, or reject him… you have to admit: This dude certainly has substance.

    And anything has more substance than an ex-President’s straight-C, frat-boy, alcoholic fundamentalist son.

  33. 33.

    Zifnab

    January 14, 2008 at 10:56 am

    The “lazy” remark isn’t racist. That’s standard politics. People who seek national office from a Senate perch are always going to be vulnerable to those kinds of attacks, because the Senate is such a weird place with such weird protocols and processes.

    Perhaps, if we lived in a non-bullshit society, this might fly. But when you read Karl Rove’s latest Op-Ed, you can’t help but hear him whistling past dixie.

    Her remarks helped wash away the memory of her angry replies to attacks at the debate’s start. His trash talking was an unattractive carryover from his days playing pickup basketball at Harvard, and capped a mediocre night.

    He is often lazy, given to misstatements and exaggerations and, when he doesn’t know the answer, too ready to try to bluff his way through.

    ~ via CrooksAndLiars

    The hat-tip towards “black people are lazy basketball players” meme is abundantly clear. Obama is going to be a racial punching bag in this election, with shills like Rove taking underhanded verbal swipes one minute while screaming about the poor disenfranchised white man the next.

    Hillary needs to get as far away from that rhetoric as possible. Reinforce the level of politically correct discourse. She’s already been the target of mysoginistic gender-baiting, with all sorts of “Crazy old post-menopasal woman with a finger on the nuclear button who can’t stand up to terrorists” whinefests. Playing this game – even to the lightest degree – just encourages Chris Matthews to cry “Hillary did it too!” while he talks about how Monica’s blowjobs got the former First Lady a Senate seat.

    Now more than ever, the Democrats need to keep their noses sparkling clean.

  34. 34.

    Scotty

    January 14, 2008 at 10:56 am

    I actually like that aspect of Obama. He once told a group of teachers that there should be some consideration of merit based pay, not just tenure. Of course they didn’t like that…but God damn it, it’s true.

    There’s no way to make a fair system for it. And no way to make it equal in a cross-subject manner. It’ll never happen on a large scale.

  35. 35.

    Jen

    January 14, 2008 at 10:58 am

    I liked this from the article:

    “Turn off the television set and put away the Game Boy and make sure that you’re talking to your teacher and that we get over the anti-intellectualism that exists in some of our communities where if you conjugate your verbs and if you read a book that somehow means you are acting white,” he said during a speech in Selma, Ala., to commemorate the civil rights march there.

    Does this mean GWB acts black…?

    Seriously, though, tough love. I like it. I don’t think there’s any Democrat short of the previously “Democratic” incarnation of Lieberman that the R’s would be happy with. Don’t care. “Increasingly irrelevant vestige of a less enlightened time”, that’s the R motto as far as I’m concerned.

  36. 36.

    Steven Hawkins

    January 14, 2008 at 10:59 am

    Ah John Pedo had a very good answer to this interesting topic, hmmm im going to eat some bacon on my wet flaps to with a bit of pickle off my tackle. Nice to see you, to see you nice!

  37. 37.

    Jill

    January 14, 2008 at 10:59 am

    Tim F… you didn’t see Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention?

  38. 38.

    ThymeZone

    January 14, 2008 at 11:09 am

    But when you read Karl Rove’s latest Op-Ed, you can’t help but hear him whistling past dixie.

    Well, we’re changing the subject. The subject I responded to was that the evil Clintons were dogwhistling racism on Obama.

    I don’t buy that. Politics is a mean and cruel business, and Obama strikes me as a guy who can take a punch without crying “foul — racism!”

    Rove, of course, is Rove. He would gladly use race or any other factor against Obama. He’ll use it both ways, suggesting that Obama is an uppity colored boy out of one side of his mouth, and then suggesting that Obama is injecting race into the thing by complaining about it. That’s Rovian politics, and we fully expect to see it this summer no matter who the Dems nominate. If it’s HRC, then Rove will use his knives against her. So be it.

    Like I said the other day, Rove will have his work cut out for him trying to elect the corpse-like McPain, whose slogan is “I can run a better war that George Bush can. And just to prove it, I’ll make it a 100-year war.”

  39. 39.

    Pb

    January 14, 2008 at 11:15 am

    I also remember hearing about him telling a black audience that the black community has a problem with homophobia.

    So does the white community. In fact, pretty much everyone but the liberals do, and a few of them do too. But in retrospect, that anecdote is almost amusing, considering Obama’s earlier McClurkin debacle.

  40. 40.

    Zifnab

    January 14, 2008 at 11:17 am

    There’s no way to make a fair system for it. And no way to make it equal in a cross-subject manner. It’ll never happen on a large scale.

    I disagree. We measure job performance in a thousand other fields. I get a performance review every six months at my office. I know friends at Schlumberger who receive bonuses and other incentives depending on how well the company performs on a given year.

    Are you honestly telling me that rating a teacher is more difficult than rating an engineer or a lawyer or a doctor or a sales rep? The problem I hear is that merit based pay won’t be perfectly “fair”. Well, shit. Life’s not fair kids. But the idea is to create incentives for improved performance. After 12 years of public education, I can tell you that you really do have to want to be a teacher to be a good teacher. The administration at my high school was perhaps the most detrimental school-based factor in my education. They knee-capped, underfunded, and harassed all the good teachers. But the bad teachers who could fly below the radar existed at that school for decades without a problem. And this was at – arguably – one of the best public high schools in the state, perhaps even the country.

  41. 41.

    Tim F.

    January 14, 2008 at 11:21 am

    Tim F… you didn’t see Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention?

    I don’t weigh prepared speeches all that much, even barn burners like that one. Michael Gerson wrote all kinds of pretty talk for a president’ who didn’t deserve it. The audio I linked to was the first time that I noticed Obama being witty and quick on his feet.

  42. 42.

    Scotty

    January 14, 2008 at 11:25 am

    But the idea is to create incentives for improved performance.

    But that can’t take into account all improvements or performances. Would it be an improvement if a teacher gets a student who does 1 out of every 5 homeworks to do 2 out of 5 homeworks? Or how about helping a student who averages 50% get a 55%. Or does merit pay come into play only when students achieve high marks in a particular class?

  43. 43.

    Jen

    January 14, 2008 at 11:28 am

    Rove accusing someone else of trash talking “transcends” pot, meet kettle. Kind of like, “pot, meet the vast infinite blackness that is the universe”. And pickup basketball? Sheesh. What a dick. (okay, that’s always an appropriate reaction to MC Rove.)

  44. 44.

    Caidence (fmr. Chris)

    January 14, 2008 at 11:36 am

    I disagree. We measure job performance in a thousand other fields. I get a performance review every six months at my office. I know friends at Schlumberger who receive bonuses and other incentives depending on how well the company performs on a given year.

    I disagree on your disagree. (Take that! You wanna go! Huh?!)

    Companies have fairly straight forward ways of making sure that no employees get out of line. For example, I’m working in a hedge fund’s IT dept. and I have a boss sitting behind me, passwords that keep me from taking the easy route, co-workers I have to interact with, etc.

    Teachers work in a fairly independent environment, and it’s not like the kids that already hate school are going to call the teacher out when she starts bending the rules to start looking good.

    Are you honestly telling me that rating a teacher is more difficult than rating an engineer or a lawyer or a doctor or a sales rep? The problem I hear is that merit based pay won’t be perfectly “fair”.

    This, however, is true.

    The answer is likely to be a mix, but I think the weakness is in the teacher independence. This concept of having one teacher dominate the subject matter does not provide fertile ground for checks and balances.

    The problem to that is that the schools are underfunded as a whole, and nobody wants to become a teacher for the pay we’re giving.

    One: Pay more across-the-board. Make it hip to be a teacher again. Then,

    Two: Institute checks so that evaluation actually works. Then,

    Three: Institute evaluation-based salaries.

    We’re way behind.

  45. 45.

    Caidence (fmr. Chris)

    January 14, 2008 at 11:38 am

    Oops, addendum.

    Are you honestly telling me that rating a teacher is more difficult than rating an engineer or a lawyer or a doctor or a sales rep? The problem I hear is that merit based pay won’t be perfectly “fair”.

    This, however, is true.

    I meant to say, Zifnab, that you were right that nothing is going to be perfect.

  46. 46.

    Neal

    January 14, 2008 at 11:44 am

    Pb, I agree. I’m not singling out the black community on that one, I just was using it as an example of Obama being willing to make unpopular statements. That is all.

  47. 47.

    Zifnab

    January 14, 2008 at 11:48 am

    One: Pay more across-the-board. Make it hip to be a teacher again. Then,

    Two: Institute checks so that evaluation actually works. Then,

    Three: Institute evaluation-based salaries.

    I think we’re in total agreement there. Merit based pay is the final cap on the teacher-pay problem. But when you’re already paying teachers starvation wages, the first step is an across-the-board hike.

    Unfortunately, that can’t really take place at the federal level. For starters, a $40k / year salary in Montgomery, Alabama is not the same as a $40k / year salary in New York or LA, so some federal salary floor for teachers would be silly on its face. People need to want to fund education at the local level, because that’s where education takes place. Federal programs should encourage researching and promoting systems that work. I just don’t know what the federal government can do across the board effectively, though. Your community either wants good schools or it doesn’t. No President can change that.

  48. 48.

    Scotty

    January 14, 2008 at 11:55 am

    Your community either wants good schools or it doesn’t.

    It wants good schools, but doesn’t want to pay for them.

  49. 49.

    Pb

    January 14, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    Neal,

    Pb, I agree. I’m not singling out the black community on that one

    Sure, but if / to the extent that Obama was, I think he would have been wrong to do so.

  50. 50.

    ChristieS

    January 14, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    It wants good schools, but doesn’t want to pay for them.

    Also, it may want them, but can’t afford to pay for them.

  51. 51.

    MBL

    January 15, 2008 at 8:12 am

    Are you honestly telling me that rating a teacher is more difficult than rating an engineer or a lawyer or a doctor or a sales rep?

    Yes. A whole hell of a lot.

    I’m pretty good at my job, but if Johnny’s mother is on crack and his daddy isn’t around? He’s not going to do well at school regardless of what I do. The guy down the hallway who hands A’s out to his honor students like they’re candy? His kids are going to do well even if he’s lousy at his job. He’ll look better than me, by just about any metric you can imagine, even if I’m better at my job than he is.

    In fact, even if I’m the one teaching the honor students, I can be the best teacher in the world, and moving them from a 95% average to a 98% average ain’t gonna look like much to an outside observer.

    It is very, very difficult to come up with a way to measure teachers that is not heavily confounded by the SES of the students and the skills of their parents. Particularly in comparison with sales reps, for God’s sake.

  52. 52.

    Birdzilla

    January 15, 2008 at 11:15 pm

    Obama is too liberal we dont need BILL CLINTON II in the whitehouse

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Brachiator on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:05pm)
  • WaterGirl on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:03pm)
  • Dangerman on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:02pm)
  • Paul in KY on Medium Cool – Old Time Music Thread (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:02pm)
  • Baud on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:01pm)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!