Radley Balko has more on the absurd case of Shaneen Allen, a Pennsylvania mom facing three years in a Jersey jail for bringing her Pennsylvania-legal handgun into the Garden State.
But just to elevate the old blood pressure let's hear from Bryan Miller of Heeding God's Call, who apparently thinks that God wants this 27 year old mother of two in prison:
Recent reporting in the Courier-Post and elsewhere has made much of the plight of a South Philadelphia woman, Shaneen Allen, reportedly charged in New Jersey with transporting and concealing a handgun loaded with armor-piercing bullets — three transgressions of long-standing state law.
Heeding God’s Call, the faith-based and grass-roots movement to prevent gun violence headquartered in Philadelphia and operating in New Jersey and other states, applauds the fact of the coverage, if not all of its tone.
The good news is that, by working to promote attention to this case, pro-gun zealots, such as Allen’s lawyer, have inadvertently done an important public education service, as the case’s notoriety may make it less likely Pennsylvanians holding permits to carry concealed and loaded handguns in public will bring them across Delaware River bridges, thereby making themselves and New Jersey safer from gun violence.
Yeah, it's those rampaging moms I worry about when I hit the mean streets of Jersey. And far be it from me to suggest that this guy has no idea what he is talking about, but... every other report I have seen (e.g., here) describes her bullets as "hollow point". Although I would consider myself a very casual observer of the gun scene, (as family members will attest, and they know who they are), I am highly confident that "armor piercing" is essentially the opposite of "hollow point".
Maybe the next time Bryan hears from God he can clear that up.
Speaking of Missouri and quietly merging what used to be career tech into academics and then calling it project based learning for all. http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2014/08/13/glendale-kids-radical-new-program-real-world-work/14004035/
Digital learning and laptop initiative are always data gathering tsunamis. LA's planning side in touting itself to policy planners brags about how much useful data for planning purposes the new laptop program will be gathering invisibly about la households.
Posted by: rse | August 16, 2014 at 10:12 AM
OH my - that Gov. Nixon - I'm sure he was discussed here - I will never catch up - I was driving to a Dr.'s appt. for 2 hours and heard him on the radio. The radio format emphasized his horrible speaking style. If one of my students spoke that way in public, I would be horrified and recommend remedial intervention. I do not honestly think I've EVER heard an official use "UH" so many times - I do not think they could even be counted.
MM - that was a very interesting comment and makes a lot of sense to me. BTW - I love Tuchman's books. Are we attempting to make that awful movie "Idiocracy" a documentary?
Posted by: Gamom | August 16, 2014 at 10:20 AM
Gamom,
I had never seen that movie "Idiocracy" until a couple of months ago. It was on the TV and my daughter thought it was a funny movie that I would enjoy.
I told her that I was horrified because I thought that our country was going to turn out exactly that way. It disturbed me so much that it still pops into my head every once in a while.
Posted by: Miss Marple | August 16, 2014 at 10:23 AM
New thread
Posted by: Stephanie tortoise not the hare | August 16, 2014 at 10:36 AM
This ought to help!
http://weaselzippers.us/196611-nyc-mayor-to-pay-ex-gang-members-13-million-to-act-as-violence-interrupters/
Wonder why no one in Ferguson has tried this?
Remember there is still no report of work boots being stolen.
Posted by: Pagar | August 16, 2014 at 10:39 AM
Yes...& there's China with men, men, men without women to marry because of their one child policy.
The mobs in Ferguson are just out having a good time now. It's thrilling & something to do.
Posted by: Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself | August 16, 2014 at 10:48 AM
rse, that Mid- Continent thing was in St. Louis? That explains the jr high I went to. No interior walls except the gym, shop, central core (library, science labs, and tornado safety hiding zone). Total chaos (but good girl watching), I think they put walls in later.
Posted by: henry | August 16, 2014 at 10:51 AM
Yes henry.
Students are no longer supposed to benefit from having financially successful, well-educated parents. That's only possible if those parents refuse to recognize what is going on. Otherwise you simply fix outside of school.
Missouri has been on this aggressive ed 'reform' kick for a long time. The shift to Colorado though meant that the aggressive model transferred to a high growth state with a large suburban population. Always Ground Zero for where the shift away from the Axemaker Mind had to occur.
Posted by: rse | August 16, 2014 at 11:13 AM
If bad side effects follow social changes driven by "good intentions" people shouldn't be connecting the two or considering them to be consequences.
Good intention social changes are absolutely necessary ... consequences be damned. Certainly should not be a basis to question the changes so put that right outta your mind.
Posted by: boris | August 16, 2014 at 11:26 AM
So Boris-
Just help me understand your above statement. I firmly believe in the adage "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Are you saying you disagree with that old and perhaps too worn phrase?
Thanks
Posted by: glasater | August 16, 2014 at 12:58 PM
I believe Boris was being sarcastic, glasater.
Posted by: clarice | August 16, 2014 at 01:30 PM
Thanks, Clarice.
Subtle sarcasm is not my forte :-) But then with the goings on in every aspect of life is not understandable to me it seems anymore.
Posted by: glasater | August 16, 2014 at 01:49 PM
Who should decide how children are shaped by public schools? Their parents or the state.
Seems to me if it's the former the state gets defined by citizens but if the latter then citizens get designed by the state.
Unless Robin is making a bunch of stuff up the state has been rather successful in taking school decisions out of the hands and and off the radar of parents. Don't know if the state can succeed in redesigning a new type of citizen more to its liking ... or if they will FUBAR the effort like always ... either way the result is going to suck IMO.
Posted by: boris | August 16, 2014 at 04:28 PM
Boris-
Years ago I had a great golfing buddy/friend who was an educator in our local schools district. She is very liberal but with a great sense of humor and a great story teller.
Anyway, she told me that teachers had made the huge mistake of telling parents they didn't know how to teach their own children and that only professional educators were qualified to do so.
She ended her career as head of the districts psych department and had to deal with the students who had problems. And the number of kids with problems grew exponentially the last fifteen years of her tenure. She feels most of the problems came from parents abdication of educational and other responsibilities.
Posted by: glasater | August 16, 2014 at 05:13 PM
"She feels most of the problems came from parents abdication of educational and other responsibilities"
From Robin's 11:13AM ...
"Students are no longer supposed to benefit from having financially successful, well-educated parents"
If the way to deal with the student disparity between responsible parents and irresponsible parents is for the state to change education to take away the advantages of responsibility ...
Makes one wonder if parents really did get so terrible all of a sudden or if it's another crises not going to waste.
Posted by: boris | August 16, 2014 at 06:19 PM
OK, Boris. Now I am smiling.
When I was young... :-)
My Dad was a school teacher/principal of a six room country school. There were kids whose parents who were big time farmers and landowners and kids who were from migrant workers families.
There would often be forty kids in a classroom and every kid could read and write good english. And for being such a mixed group everyone's manners were pretty acceptable.
But then those were the good ole days...
Posted by: glasater | August 16, 2014 at 07:05 PM