John Katzman, founder of The Princeton Review (via madgay)
Actually higher SAT scores correlate ‘strongly’ (in math terms, a strong correlation is defined by a correlation coefficient above .8 - long story short that means the correlation is really reliable) with higher intelligence - Case Western scientists found the association strong enough that they declared “the SAT is mainly a test of g. [g is shorthand for the general intelligence factor - a measure of intelligence used by psychologists]”.
While the SAT as a whole has not been studied in correlation with college achievement or GPA since its changes, the writing section (the most major change to the test) has been studied in this way - and the results speak in favor of the test’s validity. Higher SAT writing scores correlate with increased collegiate GPA’s, increased credit counts, decreased course withdrawal, and increased ability to maintain achievement-based scholarships.
I’m not going to bother with the last rhetorical question because its purpose is clearly to comfort people who feel as though they’ve been dehumanized by test scores, and it’s not my goal to criticize that (not to mention that there’s no data on the matter since the creation of the writing section, though old studies did find a significant correlation between math scores and earnings as wellas level of education reached), but when it drops to calling the SAT a “scam”, there’s no foundation. It’s a strong tool of measurement for both a subject’s intelligence and college grades, as well as other measures of college desirability. Using it as a sole measure of an individual’s worth would obviously be terrible, but this particular accusation went much farther than that, and way past the land of true criticisms.
You can actually research these things, and probably should before you endorse them, because right now this ball of misinformation has 20,000 people ready to fight the power (of a pretty well founded exam for college admissions officers to use).
(Source: thesummerofmark, via mormondad)
The NRA is bringing in some really charming people for their annual conference, including a number of conservative media figures known for their violent rhetoric and promotion of pro-gun conspiracy theories.
Ah, a much appreciated tip of the hat to Glenn Beck, portrait of journalistic integrity and sanity.
(via justinspoliticalcorner)
Jim Geraghty wrote an article
And named “most Democrats’ view on immigration reform,” and then linked to Twitter.
Which takes you to…
Jim Geraghty’s Twitter.
(via justinspoliticalcorner)
President Obama said on Tuesday that his he still believes that the Guantánamo Bay prison does not serve American security interests and said that his administration will try again to close Gitmo.
“It is not a surprise to me that we’ve got problems in Guantánamo,” Obama said when asked during a White House press conference about the ongoing hunger strike crisis there. “I think it is critical for us to understand that Guantánamo is not necessary to keep America safe,” he added, pledging to take another shot at closing Gitmo:
OBAMA: It needs to be closed. Now Congress determined that they would not let us close it and despite the fact that there are a number of folks who are in Guantánamo who the courts have said could be returned to their country origin or potentially a third country. I’m going to go back at this. I’ve asked my team to review everything that’s currently being done in Guantánamo, everything that we can do administratively and I’m going to reengage with Congress to try to make the case that this is not something that’s in the best interests of the American people. And it’s not sustainable.
Obama signed an executive order in January 2009 vowing to close Gitmo within one year but largely because of congressional intransigence, the facility remains open today, housing 166 inmates, of whom 100 are currently on hunger strike. The State Department reassigned the special envoy for closing Gitmo in January and Obama did not reappoint anyone to fill the position.
However, the Obama administration does have some room to maneuver. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) recently urged the White House to take steps to repatriate some of the 56 Yemeni detainees who are cleared for release. The U.S. halted the Yemeni process after it was learned that militants in the country trained the so-called underwear bomber in 2009; but new Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s eagerness to take on al-Qaeda could calm recidivism fears.
Of the 100 Gitmo detainees on hunger strike, 21 are being force-fed, a process that the American Medical Association and a bipartisan detainee expert task force have condemned.
There’s been a lot of exaggerated, inflammatory rhetoric about gun control recently, and let me tell you something — exaggerated, inflammatory rhetoric is worse than Hitler.
One of the strangest memes to arise is that Hitler was really big on gun safety laws, and the first thing the Nazis did when they took power was outlaw firearms and snatch guns like liberals.
And if you don’t believe me on this, go on Twitter and search “Hitler and gun control” — see the response to Sen. Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin’s bipartisan gun safety plan from the American illiterati.
Or take a look at this recent poster that compares the Third Reich to Americans who want to save American lives by supporting popular and mild gun safety reforms in the wake of the Newtown massacre. Rush Limbaugh, by the way, uses this for porn.
Now as far as I’m concerned, anybody who compares people they disagree with to Hitler is a complete Nazi. But because you may have to deal with folks like this in your family or at your job, or maybe the next time you’re at the same outpatient clinic as Alex Jones, it’s worth looking into.
Because they did have gun registration and licensing in Germany — before Hitler took power.
After Germany was defeated in World War I, under the Treaty of Versailles they passed a law in 1919 that pretty much banned private ownership of firearms, and Germany’s center-left government did confiscate guns.
And if Adolf had been a more successful painter, it might have stayed that way. But in 1938 the Nazi government almost totally deregulated the acquisition and transfer of rifles and shotguns. Permit lengths were extended from one year to three, and the legal age of purchase was lowered from 20 to 18. Nazi Party members were exempt from any gun regulation, and they even dropped the limit of firearms one could own.
That’s right. Hitler was anti-gun control.
He did ban guns for some people: Germany’s Jews. Hitler defined citizenship in ethnic terms, so since Jews were no longer legally German, they couldn’t take advantage of his relaxed gun laws.
Does that sound, my friends, anything like background checks for criminals? Or a ban on high-capacity ammo clips while you’re duck hunting?
See, right-wing media’s not going to tell you this. They want their followers to believe Hitler was a liberal because he belonged to the National Socialist Party. But the National Socialists were not liberal — they just really liked cabaret shows. And most historians agree they were socialists in name only.
In ’33, when he took power, Hitler famously said, “We must close union offices, confiscate their money … reduce workers’ salaries and take away their right to strike.” I know. Just like Bernie Sanders, right?
Hitler banned labor unions, took away collective bargaining rights — ’cause sometimes, it’s a fine line between chancellor of Germany and governor of Wisconsin. He substantially increased the German economy’s military spending and believed in using force to dominate the world, invading countries that never attacked him. Nowadays, we call that “pre-emptive war.”
And in case you didn’t know, Hitler hated the gays so much he could have had his own show on modern AM radio.
Don’t take my word for it. Google all this stuff. The Nazi big lie theory continues to play out, especially among guys who draw Hitler mustaches on pictures of Barack Obama for their protest marches.
But remember: Somewhere in hell, Hitler is furious at these right-wing American guys for painting his ’stache on a black dude. But don’t worry — he’ll tell them when he sees them.
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In which Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan explains menopause to an anti-gay marriage lawyer
(via current)
AWKWARD: Witness embarrasses a GOP Senator who wants to divide immigrant families. She leaves him completely flustered.
