http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/facts-alter-schools-debate-3648/ Nationally Acclaimed Politics, Science and Culture Coverage Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:00:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/facts-alter-schools-debate-3648/#comment-419 Timothy Durham Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:58:56 +0000 http://blog.miller-mccune.com.s72010.gridserver.com/2009/06/11/sprinkling-of-facts-dramatically-alters-schools-debate/#comment-419 "If knowing one simple fact makes a 10% difference..." Hey, that sounds fun, let ME try: Fact: It gets down to -70º fahrenheint in the winter for many towns in alaska. Question: Would you agree that we need to do more or less mountaintop removal coal mining to heat the country?Later: Wow, that WAS a big change in opinion when you present a single free-floating factoid- completely without context- which may or may not have anything to do with the matter at hand. And since I work for the Mountaintop Removal Coal Company™ and I get to pick and choose the factoids AND the questions I ask, it's no wonder that I can get EVEN TEACHERS to agree that they make too much money and that we should shut down the public school system so my employers- the Mountaintop Removal Coal Company™- can rake in some of the $400 billion spent on public school every year.Then we can work it just like the banks did with ATM cards, we'll dole them out with free use for a few years (or in the case of privatized schools, we'll make them operate below costs and/or move the cost accounting to future years- hey, it's an INVESTMENT!) until everyone is hooked on them, then, like a heroin dealer, we'll start charging people a little more every year. Then a little more. Then a little more. By then, they'll be hopelessly hooked and the public schools will be gone so then there will be no alternative and then we can charge whatever we like. See how easy it is to get people to vote directly AGAINST their own interests? “If knowing one simple fact makes a 10% difference…” Hey, that sounds fun, let ME try: Fact: It gets down to -70º fahrenheint in the winter for many towns in alaska. Question: Would you agree that we need to do more or less mountaintop removal coal mining to heat the country?Later: Wow, that WAS a big change in opinion when you present a single free-floating factoid- completely without context- which may or may not have anything to do with the matter at hand. And since I work for the Mountaintop Removal Coal Company™ and I get to pick and choose the factoids AND the questions I ask, it’s no wonder that I can get EVEN TEACHERS to agree that they make too much money and that we should shut down the public school system so my employers- the Mountaintop Removal Coal Company™- can rake in some of the $400 billion spent on public school every year.Then we can work it just like the banks did with ATM cards, we’ll dole them out with free use for a few years (or in the case of privatized schools, we’ll make them operate below costs and/or move the cost accounting to future years- hey, it’s an INVESTMENT!) until everyone is hooked on them, then, like a heroin dealer, we’ll start charging people a little more every year. Then a little more. Then a little more. By then, they’ll be hopelessly hooked and the public schools will be gone so then there will be no alternative and then we can charge whatever we like. See how easy it is to get people to vote directly AGAINST their own interests?

]]> http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/facts-alter-schools-debate-3648/#comment-414 Anonymous User Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:13:06 +0000 http://blog.miller-mccune.com.s72010.gridserver.com/2009/06/11/sprinkling-of-facts-dramatically-alters-schools-debate/#comment-414 Some facts are more significant than others. Some facts are more significant than others.

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