There’s No Arguing With Conservatives … No, Seriously, Scientific Studies Prove It
A new study out of Yale University confirms what argumentative liberals have long-known: Offering reality-based rebuttals to conservative lies only makes conservatives cling to those lies even harder. In essence, schooling conservatives makes them more stupid.
Prof tells students: ‘Undermine Palin’
Students in an English class at Metropolitan State College in Denver have been told to assemble criticisms of GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin that “undermine” her, and students say they are concerned about the apparent bias.
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The assignment was just one issue that several students raised. Hallam, who previously told students he expected them to be “courteous,” assigned an essay about Palin’s nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.
“Arguably, the entire event was designed to present Sarah Palin in an idealized – indeed, as if her life is like a fairy tale in which America could be included if she is voted into office with John McCain,” he wrote in a copy of the assignment provided to WND by students. “Note her body language, facial expressions, the way she dressed, what she said and who she pointed out or talked about in her speech. How do these elements form a ‘fairy tale’ image about Sarah Palin as a person and as a politician that the Republican Party may wish its members and the American public to believe? How may the story ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and/or Tanith Lee’s ‘Awake’ be used to compare the image of Palin with fairy tales, especially as they portray women, their behavior, and their lives?”
He said students should find commentaries that criticize Palin.
“Using clear reasoning, explain how these sources may undermine or otherwise paint a different picture of Palin as a person and as a politician than what she or the Republican Party may wish the American public to believe,” he said.
There was no opening for students to find commentaries or statements supporting Palin or her positions. But Janna Barber, who is among the students who have raised concerns about the instructor, said she would do the assignment and include a number of supportive arguments as well.
OLPC faces ‘vicious’ rivalry in laptop market
When the One Laptop per Child organization first mooted the idea of a super low-cost laptop aimed at schoolchildren in the developing world some years ago, it was arguably on its own in the market.
Since the not-for-profit organization first unveiled its coveted wind-up PCs, however, it’s seen the number of commercial interests hungry for a piece of the same pie grow and grow.