{"id":68889,"date":"2019-04-09T17:19:17","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T21:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=68889"},"modified":"2019-04-09T17:19:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T21:19:24","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-april-8th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=68889","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, April 8th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Monday, April 8th, 2019…but before we begin, in what’s become one of our pet peeves of late, this<\/em><\/span> is what passes for “journalism” these days:<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘Flying blind’: United Express flight diverts to Houston when pair of cockpit screens go blank<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“An ExpressJet\u00a0Airlines\u00a0flight was diverted to the Dallas\/Fort Worth International\u00a0Airport<\/em><\/span><\/span>\u00a0on Thursday evening after a pair of cockpit screens reportedly went blank before reaching its intended destination.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cExpressJet Airlines flight 4390, operating as United Express from Knoxville to Houston, diverted to Dallas and landed safely following a mechanical issue,\u201d an ExpressJet spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Fox News on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

The cockpit crew informed passengers of the reason for the diversion upon landing<\/span><\/em><\/span>, telling travelers that the crew would have been<\/em><\/span> \u201c<\/span>flying blind\u201d if<\/em><\/span> the aircraft stayed in the air<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>…”<\/p>\n

The link on the FOX News<\/em> webpage carried this photo and caption:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Holy “Blind Man’s Bluff in the Cockpit”, Batman!<\/strong><\/p>\n

But in reality, (1). the flight didn’t divert to Houston; rather it was headed to Houston<\/em><\/span> and diverted to DFW<\/em><\/span>; (2). the pilots were\u00a0never<\/em><\/span> “flying blind”; they rather\u00a0advised<\/em><\/span> the passengers after touching down<\/em><\/span> at DFW if they’d\u00a0continued<\/span><\/em>\u00a0on to Houston, they migh<\/em><\/span>t have eventually<\/em><\/span> been doing so; and, (3). ExpressJet doesn’t fly the aircraft shown, which we believe to be a Boeing 777.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other than those minor errors, the story was 100% accurate; which leaves us to wonder, are there no longer any editors?!?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

The only thing we despise more than inaccurate<\/em> reporting is inaccurate<\/em>, sensationalized<\/em><\/span>\u00a0reporting.\u00a0 Yet it’s so common<\/em><\/span> today there’s a name for it: Fake News<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 Sure, the term is usually reserved for the MSM’s unsupportable, fabricated attacks on Trump, but hyping an otherwise minor inflight incident into an almost-fatal system failure should be reserved for the pages of the National Inquirer<\/em>…l<\/strong>eaving any Fake News concerning The Donald to\u00a0CNN<\/em>, MSDNC<\/em>, ABC<\/em>, CBS<\/em>, NBC<\/em>, the WaPo<\/em> or The NYT<\/em>s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since we’re on the subject of Fake News, when will<\/em><\/span> the MSM stop spreading out and out lies about what The Donald has said<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span> and what he didn’t<\/em><\/span><\/a>?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, here’s The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the top of today’s order, writing at\u00a0NRO<\/em>, Rich Lowry echoes an observation we made to The Boss and G. Trevor last week:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Biden\u2019s Problem Is His Ego<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

Biden lost all self-awareness somewhere in the Senate chamber about 40 years ago<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“J<\/span>oe Biden wants us to believe that all his touching speaks to how deeply he cares about other people. It\u2019s really<\/span> a testament to how much regard he has for himself<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…<\/span>his fundamental offense is not realizing that some people<\/em><\/span> might not be as into Joe Biden as Joe Biden<\/span> is into Joe Biden<\/em>.<\/span> He has an ego<\/em><\/span>, not a libido<\/em><\/span>, problem<\/span>. Biden lost all self-awareness somewhere in the Senate chamber about 40 years ago.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just that Biden\u2019s a figure from a different era; he\u2019s been in the bubble<\/span>, deferred to and adored as a matter of course, for decades<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> He won his first Senate race at age 29. He served with Barry Goldwater, William Fulbright, Adlai Stevenson, and Sam Ervin. He was in the Senate for 36 years before moving to the even more rarefied air of the vice presidency.<\/p>\n

So, he\u2019s clueless in the way that old Washington hands who refer to themselves in the third person and consider themselves living legends always are \u2014 only more so<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0To use Biden\u2019s own term, he believes his own malarkey<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He really thinks<\/em><\/span> that he\u2019s the most charming man in the room and a master at human interaction<\/em><\/span>. In his<\/em><\/span> view, he\u2019s doing everyone a favor<\/em><\/span> by giving them a warm bath of Biden.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s truly never occurred to him<\/em><\/span> that some<\/em><\/span> women might not want<\/em><\/span> to be grabbed, smelled, held, nuzzled, Eskimo-kissed, whispered to and generally handled by their great champion and defender, Joe Biden<\/strong><\/span>…”<\/p>\n

Joe’s ego brings to mind two stories, the first involving someone we worked for several decades ago.\u00a0 Having played golf earlier in the day with a group of more than 30 customers during a Vegas convention, we were joined at Spagos for cocktails and dinner by our boss, a non-golfer.\u00a0 Needless to say, it was an expensive day.\u00a0 Upon being greeted with numerous expressions of appreciation for his largesse, this individual, somewhat socially awkward but by no means unlikeable, uttered words to the effect, “They’re talking<\/em><\/span> to me; they must really like<\/em><\/span> me!”\u00a0 It never occurred to him, after enjoying his hospitality for most of the day, his guests were simply being polite.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Likewise, there was the time some years back we were in a group of four walking down a long hallway on our way to a convention at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, when a very attractive lady smiled at us as she passed.\u00a0 The oldest guy in the group, a nice looking man sporting his best Don Johnson\/Miami Vice<\/em> outfit, excitedly stated, “She smiled<\/em><\/span> at me; she must like<\/em><\/span> me!”…at which point Jimmy Crilley, that great judge of human nature dryly observed, “Ya think<\/em><\/span> maybe she was just being polite<\/em><\/span>?!?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Say it ain’t so<\/em><\/span>, Joe!\u00a0 Sorry<\/em>, kid…but it is<\/em><\/span>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next up, writing at\u00a0City Journal<\/em>, Max Eden relates how the Education Establishment is recording…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Racial Resentment As Pedagogy<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

Education researchers seem far more interested in \u201cinterrogating whiteness\u201d than in developing methodologies to help black students improve their skills<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“This weekend, more than 14,000 academics will gather in Toronto to share their research for the American Education Research Association\u2019s annual conference. In past years, I\u2019ve\u00a0documented<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0the focus of AERA academics on matters that seem only obliquely connected to curriculum, instruction, and policy. It looks like more of the same this year<\/em><\/span>, from the symposium on \u201cLiberating Oppressed Ontologies and Cosmologies for Transformational Praxis\u201d to the paper \u201cQueer Evolution: (Re)invigorating Environmental Education through Queer Interpretations of Evolutionary Onto-Epistemological Choreography.\u201d But this year\u2019s conference has especially<\/em><\/span> lofty ambitions.<\/span> Under the title\u00a0Leveraging Education Research in a \u2018Post-Truth\u2019 Era: Multimodal Narratives to Democratize Evidence<\/em>, the event\u2019s promotional\u00a0poster\u00a0features a lighthouse inscribed with the words \u201cTrust, Integrity, Methodology, and Reliability,\u201d which looks out over a sea of \u201cPost-Truth, Propaganda, and Fabrication.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, rather than a renewed commitment to methodologically sound research into education policy and practice<\/em>, the conference program demonstrates a preoccupation with promoting a virulent new brand of racism<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> A keyword search of the conference program reveals 422 hits for\u00a0whiteness<\/span><\/em>\u2014more than<\/em> for<\/em><\/span> \u201cpersonalized learning\u201d (16), \u201cschool boards\u201d (19), \u201cstandardized testing\u201d (20), \u201chigh school graduation\u201d (23) \u201creading achievement\u201d (24), \u201cdigital learning\u201d (25), \u201cpolicy analysis\u201d (31), \u201cearly education\u201d (38), \u201cteacher evaluation\u201d (41) \u201cliteracy instruction\u201d (42), \u201cbilingual education\u201d (48), and \u201cachievement gap\u201d (75) combined<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…Perhaps the most remarkable<\/em><\/span> symposium analyzes fanfiction about \u201cBeckys.\u201d<\/span> \u201cBecky<\/em><\/span>\u201d is a\u00a0slur\u00a0for \u201ca stereotypical basic white girl<\/em><\/span>; obsessed with Starbucks, Ugg boots, and trying to have a bigger butt.\u201d The panel, titled, \u201cCritical Becky Studies: Critical Explorations of Gender, Race, and the Pedagogies of Whiteness,\u201d includes a paper called \u201cBecky Book Club: White Racial Bonding in the Living Room,\u201d which explores the \u201cmore insidious workings\u201d of book clubs \u201claced with white supremacy and surveillance<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/span> Another essay, \u201cBorder Becky: Exploring White Women\u2019s Emotionality, Ignorance, Investment in Whiteness,\u201d examines white women who find themselves \u201cat the border between choosing to be a race traitor and repledging their allegiance to white supremacy<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

America\u2019s education system is far<\/em><\/span> from the envy of the world, and academic achievement for black students has lagged stubbornly behind white students for decades<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> The task of improving literacy, numeracy, and building the skills necessary to help black students advance themselves could not be more urgent<\/em><\/span>\u2014and education researchers have a crucial role to play in developing and disseminating knowledge toward that end. Unfortunately, judging by the AERA program, practical questions about improving teaching and learning appear to be taking a backseat to an increasingly pervasive dogma of racial resentment<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

As Jack Reacher observed in what we personally hold to be Tom Cruise’s best role ever…<\/strong><\/p>\n