Texas GOP Platform Opposes Critical Thinking

Here’s a direct quote:

“Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”

GOP Opposes Critical Thinking: Party platform paints original ideas as a liberal conspiracy – News Blog – The Austin Chronicle.

and see the platform.

Bat Boy to be Romney’s VP pick

‘According to sources close to the Romney camp,  Bat Boy could get the nod as soon as this week.  Campaign insiders say that Mitt Romney has looked at Marco Rubio, Condoleezza Rice, Rob Portman and Chris Christie as possible running mates, but he feels that Bat Boy will give him the “sizzle” his campaign sorely needs.’

Gosh, I love the Weekly World News. And a tip of the Hatlo hat to MrMild for this item.

BAT BOY TO BE ROMNEY’S VP | Weekly World News.

City of Milwaukee doesn’t keep list of police officers who broke the law — so local newspaper compiled one

“It took the Journal Sentinel nearly two years of records requests, a court case and $7,500 in fees to compile the list of 93 – which is about 5% of the force. The list doesn’t include cops with juvenile records, arrests before they were hired or discipline under different department rules.”

via At least 93 Milwaukee police officers have been disciplined for violating law – JSOnline.

Climate change skeptic Muller goes with the science

After years as the darling of climate change deniers, Richard A. Muller, professor of physics at UC Berkeley, MacArthur Fellow and co-founder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, has pulled a 180 and come out saying that climate change is real and caused by humans.

Here at Biteme.me, we like science. Currently, we tend to believe in global warming but, if the scientific consensus were to change, we’d get used to it.

Koch-funded climate change skeptic reverses course – latimes.com.

Epidemic of police shootings continues

“Eighty-five shots: That’s the total number of bullets German police used in all of 2011, Der Spiegel reports. But what does it say when US cops use as much ammo to bring down one man as German cops need to keep the peace nationwide?

“The rate at which German police discharged their firearms is further underscored by how rarely they shot with fatal intent.  Of the 85 bullets used in 2011, 49 were warnings shots, 36 were aimed at criminal suspects, 15 people were injured, and 6 were killed, the German daily continues.”

85 shots: US cops use more ammo per man than Germans per year — RT.