Joomla! site syndication http://www.dctedrow.net Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:39:38 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.dctedrow.net/content/view/66/45/ A curious snippet from an article in The Nation (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080602/mcduffee):A study by the National Priorities Project released in January determined that just over 70 percent of new recruits joining the active-duty Army in 2007 had a high school diploma, falling nearly twenty points below the Army's goal of 90 percent. The Army has long known that high school graduation is an important factor, not for performance but for retention.The article also mentions that the 2009 Department of Defense (DoD) budget proposal put a $20.5 billion line in the budget for recruiting, nearly doubling it from 2008. In 2003, the budget was $4 billion Interesting when you put the two together and consider the actual functions of high schools today. Combating English Teachers - In the Classroom Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:20:44 +0100 http://www.dctedrow.net/content/view/65/ According to a recent Pew survey, more Americans believe McCain would be better than Obama at handling the war. Did I hear that right? Really, people? Jesus Christ. I put a lot of stock in the power of mainstream media to manipulate and propagandize, but that's just stupid. Anyway, today's Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903844.html) (yesterday's as I write this) reported that both the Obama and McCain campaigns think the Iraq debate will work to their advantage. McCain and the Republican Party will use it to paint their likely general-election opponent as a foreign policy naif, too weak to defend the country. The fact that any candidate would go with stay the course as their publicly preferred Iraq policy is just nuts at this point. Not to mention that the U.S. is the aggressor nation in this case. Surely enough people, even conservative folks, are sick of the occupation and want to pull U.S. forces out. Or is that just wishful thinking? Politics - Republican Party Fri, 30 May 2008 22:45:50 +0100 http://www.dctedrow.net/content/view/64/9/ No updates lately due to grad school, moving, and the semester winding down. My first year at UT-Austin was rough. The quantitative methods courses I took were hands-down the hardest, time-consuming, life-draining courses I've taken -- ever. Much worse than Calculus III, although the work was enjoyable (even if it's unlikely I'll really dabble in a lot of the methodology we went over). AEJMC rejected my paper submission, which was predictable since my results were weak and I submitted to the wrong division. Looks like I should have gone with the Critical and Cultural Studies division when applying rather than the International division. Still need to read my reviewer's comments, though.On the plus side, a lot of this work will be recycled into the historical/background section of my thesis, which I'll start writing in the fall.No real update here. I've been slacking on this site and other, more important projects, such as TNTR. Some stuff in the works to bring Michael Albert (ZNet and ZMag co-founder) down to Austin, which involves coordinating something with APPS. Been reading several books lately as well, now that I'm not flooded with course work, so I might try to get some book reviews and maybe some sort of literature out this summer. No promises, but if I'm goaded enough I'll certainly do something worthwhile. Blog - Blog Entries Sat, 24 May 2008 07:27:07 +0100 http://www.dctedrow.net/content/view/63/57/ Ala the New York Times, Democracy Now! reported on the Pentagon's use of so-called military analysts (http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/22/pentagons_pundits_a_look_at_the) who portrayed Iraq as a threat leading up to the 2003 invasion. This propaganda included writing op-eds, appearing on CNN, etc. Might be worth reading if you're interested in press-state relations.Something that caught my attention near the end of the piece is this idea that analysts weren't really mouthpieces so much as they were employed to explain the facts on the ground. As if. FAIR's Peter Hart disagreed as well.DN! also reported that the Pentagon is allowing more felons into the army (http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/22/headlines):New Pentagon statistics show the number of felons recruited by the Army more than doubled last year. Between September 2006 and 2007, the Army granted so-called conduct waivers for felonies and misdemeanors to 18 percent of its new recruits. Conduct waivers were given to recruits convicted of burglary, grand larceny, kidnapping, making terrorist threats, rape or sexual abuse, and indecent acts or liberties with a child. Congressman Henry Waxman, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released the statistics yesterday. Waxman said, The significant increase in the recruitment of persons with criminal records is a result of the strain put on the military by the Iraq war. Sounds like tough times for war profiteers.DN! also reported that George W. Bush now officially holds the record as most unpopular president, at least according to Gallup Polls. (Yeah, even more unpopular than Truman.) Research in Journalism - Research Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:38:58 +0100 http://www.dctedrow.net/content/view/62/9/ I sent the email below off to a complete stranger on a whim. A slice of internet history for the curious, though:Hi,I came across your cat resource site by accident and noticed you bring up the infamous Tubcat on a page discussing feline obesity (http://www.messybeast.com/freak-size.htm). On your site, you mention that the cat's weight is unknown. I figured you might be curious to learn more about the animal. As it happens, I have a framed picture of Tubcat hanging over my desk, which was actually clipped from the publication the picture initially appeared in (here in the states, at least). My mom showed me the picture when I was a senior in high school (I'm now in grad school), and I've kept it ever since. This was well before Tubcat became an internet superstar. First, the picture initially appeared in Us Weekly, p. 96, on October 1, 2001. The cat's name is Tulle, and the 12-year-old girl holding him is Tahabita (spelled Tabitha elsewhere) Pedersen. They're from Denmark, and Tulle was 6 years old in the picture. The caption also mentions Tulle's weight, which was 43 pounds when the picture was taken -- at the time, about 4 pounds shy of the then-fattest cat on record, an Australian tabby named Himmy. My Dutch is awful, but it's my understanding that Tulle died in January of this year, of diabetes. Link below, if you're interested. Anyway, I thought I would send this along, since it looked like you'd poured a lot of time into writing that page. http://www.kvp.se/nyheter/1.992641/varldens-fetaste-katt-ar-dod (http://www.kvp.se/nyheter/1.992641/varldens-fetaste-katt-ar-dod)DC TedrowRIP, Tubcat. Ye shall be missed. Blog - Blog Entries Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:03:08 +0100