…and the worst shall be first…

…in line for all that “free” federal money. See “State lists ‘lowest-achieving’ schools“, BDN, 3/10/10

Now let’s talk about inversion, perversion, and subduction* (my new favorite word).

The federal government makes money available for “failing” schools.  States compete for the money, putting forward their sub-standard candidates. If sucessful, they get the federal money.

So, the [...]

A Disturbance in the Force (Sudden Subduction)

The days are shorter now, and we wobble more.

Sudden subduction of the Nazca plate carried large amounts of mass closer to the center of the Earth — which, conceptually but on a vastly different scale, works like spinning skaters bringing their arms closer to their bodies, says Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet [...]