Huffington Post: Read the Latest News from the U.S. [March ‘11 Diet]

Started by THP, Mar 01, 2011, 12:05 AM

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THP

#80
Mar 17, 2011, 04:05 AM
My first full-time teaching job was as a Latin and religion instructor at a religiously-affiliated (Episcopalian) middle and upper school. I had just exited seminary, and was now faced with the rather daunting task of teaching biblical literature to classes ranging from the seventh-grade level to seniors in high school. I was highly anxious and hopelessly naïve, but still confident that I could convey my experience of academically engaging the biblical text with a critical eye to these young students. It came as a surprise then that I was most often challenged not by the students themselves who embraced such an enterprise, but the parents.  One particular seventh-grader came up to me one day, relating that she told her parents of our class on the tower of Babel story as an etiology, a creative mythic account explaining why things came to be for a particular audience. "My dad told me that you are wrong and that I should not listen to you," the student sweetly said, "but I like this class anyway."I have ruminated on episodes like this recently as the issue of teaching the Bible in schools has entered public debate. The commonwealth of Kentucky passed a bill in the Senate in February proposing that "Bible courses" can be offered as electives. Known as Senate Bill 56, the stated intention of such legislation is "to acquaint students with a book that has had tremendous impact on American society and western culture." More recently in early March, the general assembly of the state of Arkansas passed a similar measure in the House to direct the Board of Education to adopt an elective course on the "academic study of the Bible" in any public school district. Such measures not only blur the line between government and religion but they should force parents and students to question whether such an adoption is truly worth the effort, and whether this movement is more politically inclined than pedagogically motivated. Using the Bible in courses at the secondary level is not only beneficial (Song of Solomon as an illustration of Hebrew poetry) but sometimes inevitable when discussing European history or art history. Unlike in Europe, where teaching a course on biblical literature is a non-issue, here in America it becomes a problem as the dip towards a more confessional and less-academic approach seems inevitable. By looking closely at both pieces of recent legislation, one can realize the problem of offering such a course in an American context.More...

Source: Legislation of Biblical Proportions: Can We Really Have an 'Academic' Study of the Bible in Public Schools?

THP

#82
Mar 17, 2011, 04:05 PM
Gov. Cuomo has never been a fan of the Indian Point Power Plant, and now he has new evidence to support its closure.A new report by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows that, of American plants, the Hudson River facility is the most vulnerable to a quake because one of its reactors is on a fault line.More...

Source: Cuomo Wants Indian Point Power Plant Closed After Earthquake Report

THP

#83
Mar 17, 2011, 08:05 PM
As we begin to shed our winter layers and enjoy the sun slowly peeking out from behind the clouds, our transitioning closets may be needing a bit of spring cleaning. Here are a few great places where you can get the most out of your closet's clutter.Buffalo Exchange: Buffalo Exchange offers fashion-savvy Chicagoans the opportunity to trade their closet's cast-offs for other items for sale in the store or cold hard cash. Bring your gently used clothing to one of the Chicago locations and their associates will choose what they believe they can resell and give you cash or store credit for the items on the spot. You can either take home any pieces they pass on or donate them to a local charity. The Wicker Park location is currently giving away prizes, including $5 coupons and reusable "bolsa" bags to those who sell five or more men's items through the month of March. Wicker Park: 1478 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-227-9558 Lakeview/Lincoln Park: 2875 N. Broadway St.; 773-549-1999More...

Source: Spring Cleaning: Sell Your Goods For Cash

THP

#85
Mar 18, 2011, 08:05 AM
WASHINGTON -- A Wall Street Journal editorial writer who has been closely involved with the paper's recent attacks on Elizabeth Warren is a former Goldman Sachs banker. The same editorial writer, Mary Kissel, is readying another piece critical of Warren and the new consumer agency, according to a source familiar with the coming article.Like most major newspapers, the Journal does not disclose the authors of its editorials. Kissel recently appeared on the John Batchelor radio show as a representative of the Journal's editorial board do discuss Warren, and repeated the main arguments used in the editorials.More...

Source: Ex-Goldman Banker Behind WSJ 'Smear Campaign' Against Elizabeth Warren

THP

#86
Mar 18, 2011, 04:05 PM
Perhaps you've heard the term "helicopter parenting" as a way to describe the way today's 20-somethings (Gen Y) were hovered over in childhood by their parents. As a life coach to 20-somethings and consultant to corporations with Gen Y employees, I've seen the effects of an even more intrusive child-rearing style that I have coined as "cockpit parenting." Cockpit parents did more than hover. They sat right in the pilot's seat of their child's life, charting the course and navigating all of the twists and turns. And they often remain there well into their child's adulthood. The result is a trend of 20-somethings who are having trouble thriving as independent adults.Cockpit parenting does come from a place of love. However, this intrusive and often controlling way of child rearing has caused many 20-somethings to be unequipped for life outside of the nest (which is why so many never leave or move back home after college). It is the children of cockpit parents who most often fit the stereotypes of Gen Y: sense of entitlement, consistent need for validation, non-self-starters, mediocre work ethic and a general lack of soft skills. Conversely, 20-somethings who come from backgrounds that may appear to be more difficult (such as having absentee parents) are more prepared for grown-up life because they had no choice but to grow up.More...

Source: Cockpit Parents: How They're Flying 20-Somethings into the Ground

THP

#88
Mar 19, 2011, 12:05 AM
At the stroke of midnight tonight -- Friday, March 18th, Cindarella's coach might have turned back into a pumpkin and the White House could have shut down the government. But fairy tales are true to form, and so we have a Continuing Resolution that lets everyone live happily ever after -- at least for 3 weeks.Regardless of how this next chapter of the budget morality tale ends, the moral of the story is the same:  we all need a bit of magic in our lives or a handsome prince with a glass slipper. Reality is just too hard. Watching Washington wrestle with how to cut another swatch from the national budget cloth is getting darn depressing.More...

Source: Another Continuing Resolution: A Real Life Fairy Tale in Washington

THP

#89
Mar 19, 2011, 04:05 AM
University of Pennsylvania paparazzi-in-training captured our nation's second in command on an admissions tour at the Philadelphia campus today, reports Under the Button. A genealogically savvy commenter said that Biden was likely there supporting his granddaughter Naomi, who is of college-entering age.LOOK:More...

Source: Joe Biden Visits Penn (PHOTO)
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