Short takes... - Granite Grok

Short takes…

Dems

When is a poll not to be taken seriously? Why, when it doesn’t show the results you wished for…

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chicoms

The Hegemon rises… Gordon G. Chang writes,

The Chinese have always threatened neighbors in order to enforce their outsized territorial claims. Now, it is threatening an American firm. It’s time for Washington to defend every nation’s right of passage-and the interests of its own businesses.

I believe we maintain carrier strike groups for this very purpose.

Will China overtake us? When looked at in some ways, the question is "How could they NOT?"

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IB

To those that claim the newest fad to hit NH in education, the International Baccalaureate Programme, is all about education, I say look at the facts. This posting, by a writer who is in FAVOR of IB, glowingly reports of its main raison d’etre:

The IB combines high academic standards with a powerful humanist purpose. Its mission statement speaks of developing “inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”

"But Doug–It’ll also help our kids be more competititve when it comes to getting into college. Sure, maybe they teach peace and all that, but surely it’s a small piece of the overall programme." Maybe you think so, but that’s not how the cheerleader/blogger views it:

Because the IB’s mission is centered on changing the world, it is constantly learning and changing itself.

See? And you thought your kids were going to school to learn readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic…

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hostages

We’re not really going to give the Iranians another bite at the apple, are we? Max Boot on the crazy notion of an American Interest section in Tehran:

who can ever doubt that the current Iranian regime, which is exactly the same regime that presided over the barbaric seizure of our personnel during the Carter administration, is capable of such acts in the future?

And the news in today’s papers tells us that engaging in diplomatic talks with the Iranians is nothing more than a joke, anyway…

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