Raising a child can be a challenge for any family in US, Why ?

No, You’re Probably Not Smarter Than a 1912-Era 8th Grader - What do you Think ?

In the early years of the 20th century, the students in Bullitt County, Kentucky, were asked to clear a test that many full-fledged adults would likely be hard-pressed to pass today. The Bullitt County Geneaological Society has a copy of this exam, reproduced below—a mix of math and science and reading and writing and questions on oddly specific factoids–preserved in their museum in the county courthouse.

But just think for a moment: Did you know where Montenegro was when you were 12? Do you know now? (Hint: it’s just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. You know where the Adriatic Sea is, right?)

Or what about this question, which the examiners of Bullitt County deemed necessary knowledge: “Through what waters would a vessel pass in going from England through the Suez Canal to Manila?” The Bullitt geneaological society has an answer sheet if you want to try the test, but really, this question is just a doozie:

A ship going from England to Manilla by way of the Suez Canal would pass through (perhaps) the English Channel, the North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay (possibly), Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden/Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Thailand (may have been called Gulf of Siam at that time), South China Sea.

Eighth graders needed to know about patent rights, the relative size of the liver and mountain range geography. They had to be able to put together an argument for studying physiology. Though some of it is useful, much of the test amounts of little more than an assessment of random factoids.

So, if you’re anything like us, no, you’re probably not much smarter than an 1912 Bullitt County eighth grader. But that’s okay.

Tests like this are still done today, of course, often in the form of “scientific literacy” tests. The tests are meant to give an idea of how well people understand the world around them. But, in reality, what the these tests share in common with the Bullitt County test is that they quiz facts in place of knowledge or understanding. Designing a standardized test to quiz true understanding is of course very difficult, which is one of the reasons why these sorts of tests persist.

Writing for The Conversation, Will Grant and Merryn McKinnon argue that using these types of tests to say that “people are getting dumber” or “people are getting smarter” is kind of dumb itself. “Surveys of this type are, to put it bluntly, blatant concern trolling,” they say.

We pretend that factoids are a useful proxy for scientific literacy, and in turn that scientific literacy is a useful proxy for good citizenship. But there’s simply no evidence this is true.

Like asking a 12-year old Kentuckian about international shipping routes, “[t]he questions these [science literacy] tests ask have absolutely no bearing on the kinds of scientific literacy needed today. The kind of understanding needed about alternative energy sources, food security or water management; things that actually relate to global challenges.”

So, really, don’t feel too bad if you can’t finish your grandparent’s school exam—the fault lies more in outdated ideas of education than in your own knowledge base.

But, with all that aside, taking the Bullitt County quiz is still kind of fun:

Doesn't he Deserve Death Penalty - Pennsylvania Judge Sentenced For 28 Years For Selling Kids to the Prison System -

In the private prison industry, longer sentences earn more money from the state.

Since 2003, Ciavarella received millions of dollars in bribes for condemning minors to maximum prison sentences. In one case, Ciavarella sentenced a 10-year-old to two years in a detention facility for accidentally bottoming out his mother’s car.

According to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, over 5,000 young men and women were unjustly sentenced to prison and denied their constitutional rights. Many of them have now been released and cleared of their charges.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has overturned some 4,000 convictions issued by him between 2003 and 2008, claiming he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles – including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea. Some of the juveniles he sentenced were as young as 10-years old.

Ciavarella was convicted of 12 counts, including racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion. He was also ordered to repay $1.2 million in restitution.

His “kids for cash” program has revealed that corruption is indeed within the prison system, mostly driven by the growth in private prisons seeking profits by any means necessary.

Ciavarella, known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom manner, was convicted of racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud, and tax evasion. He was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution.

“Unfortunately, two judges in Luzerne County have caused unimaginable taint to the laudable efforts of many dedicated individuals,” Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille said, “conduct for which those two judges presently are paying dearly,”

Ciaveralla’s attorneys requested a reasonable sentencing, arguing that the media attention brought to the case was punishment enough: “He will forever be unjustly branded as the `Kids for Cash’ judge.”

Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan was accused as a co-conspirator, but pleaded guilty on the charge. Since 2003, he collected more than $2 million from PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care detention centers.

What do you think about Colorado's medical marijuana industry?

At first glance, Colorado's medical marijuana industry seems like an unmitigated success story. Hundreds of dispensaries and grow houses have sprouted up since the state began taxing weed sales three years ago, bringing in millions of dollars in extra revenue. Colorado's fiscal windfall has led many to herald its program as a model for other states to follow, but in the capital of Denver, things are in a state of disarray.

According to an audit released last week, regulators in Colorado's largest city are still struggling to keep up with its booming medical marijuana business. Despite an influx of weed tax revenue, local agencies remain understaffed, underfunded, and woefully disorganized. Records on licensed vendors are incomplete or inconsistent, and oversight is spotty, at best. As the report notes, Denver officials don't even know how many weed dispensaries are currently in operation, or where they're located.

"IT’S LIKE, HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?"

The report comes at a critical time for Colorado lawmakers, who are still deliberating over how to regulate the sale of marijuana for recreational use. Both Colorado and Washington voted to fully legalize the drug in November 2012, and have since become something of a drug policy laboratory — a test case for whether marijuana legalization can actually work on a large scale.

City regulators blame their disorganization on recent budget cuts, and say they've already begun implementing substantive changes. But with Colorado less than six months away from opening its doors to retail marijuana sales — and with the national spotlight getting brighter by the day — many are now wondering whether the state will be prepared, and where all their tax dollars went.

"I would say there’s definitely a feeling of, 'Yo, we're turning in so much money all the time so how does the state not have the money to regulate it?'" says "SB," manager of a Denver-based medical marijuana shop. SB declined to be identified by his real name on the grounds that he is unauthorized to speak on behalf of his company.

"It's sort of a mystery when you call the city and no one has an answer or there's not enough people there to help. It's like, how does this happen?"

To date, 19 US states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. New Hampshire became the latest to pass medical marijuana laws this week, and similar legislation is pending in a handful of other states. But Colorado is unique in that it's the first to legalize both medical and recreational cannabis, and its early struggles to regulate and finance the industry could influence similar policies across the country — especially at a time when so many states are facing budget shortfalls.

Image credit: Laurie Avocado/Flickr

The perils of underfunding regulatory programs were laid bare in Denver's audit, released last Thursday. The report described Denver's oversight as "ineffective," warning that widespread mismanagement and understaffing poses "substantive risks to the city." There are no formal licensing procedures for medical marijuana centers in Denver, the audit noted, and related fees are determined on an arbitrary basis. Record-keeping is similarly haphazard and incomplete, with data on licensed vendors scattered across two incongruous databases.

Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2000, but didn't implement a regulatory framework until 2010 — largely due to concerns over federal law, under which marijuana is still illegal. The extent to which Colorado's medical and recreational marijuana programs will overlap remains unclear. The state passed a set of preliminary provisions on July 1st, and has announced that medical marijuana dispensaries will have the first chance to apply for retail licenses in January.

The provisions won't be finalized until later this summer and voters will decide on how to tax the drug in November, but critics say the government may be biting off more than it can chew.

"THIS IS GETTING IN THE HANDS OF OUR KIDS."

Smart Colorado, a nonprofit that works to stem the commercialization of marijuana, was quick to herald last week’s audit as evidence of "impending disaster" throughout the state. In a phone interview with The Verge, Smart Colorado volunteer spokeswoman Diane Carlson said that a lack of government oversight would make it easier for children to purchase the drug, and cautioned other counties from rushing into commercial marijuana when the industry opens in January. (Colorado’s Amendment 64 allows for local governments to legalize or outlaw retail marijuana sales as they see fit.)

"The real concern for us is diversion," Carlson said. "This is getting in the hands of our kids. Our kids have been told it's a wellness product, and they honestly think there are no harmful effects. It’s an epidemic."

EVEN LEGALIZATION ADVOCATES SEE CAUSE FOR CONCERN IN COLORADO

Carlson says outsiders would be "shocked" at how prevalent marijuana is at local high schools, though a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year found that marijuana use actually declined among Colorado teenagers between 2009 and 2011 — the period when medical marijuana came under state regulation.

Even legalization advocates acknowledge that the audit's findings are cause for concern, albeit for different reasons. Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said the lack of government oversight represents a broken political promise more than anything else.

"The public wanted oversight, which is why the government spent so many hours debating and drafting regulations," Armentano told The Verge. "They were promised oversight, so they ought to get oversight."

Critics say taxes collected from marijuana sales should have gone back into regulating the industry. According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, medical marijuana brought in nearly $6 million in sales tax to the state last year, with Denver sales alone accounting for $2.4 million.

"THE SKY IS NOT FALLING IN COLORADO."

"At some point I think the consumer has to ask if these taxes are going to be used to pay for the regulatory oversight that lawmakers have promised," Armentano said. "At least with medical marijuana, that doesn't seem to be happening."

Less clear is whether Colorado's ongoing struggles will have ramifications on the national level. Carlson says other states should see Colorado's experiment as a cautionary tale, but Armentano downplays her warnings.

"We’ve been told that the reason we can't change [marijuana policy] is because if we do, the sky will fall," he says. "The sky is not falling in Colorado. People that live in Colorado recognize that, and people outside of Colorado will recognize that, as well."

Vendors like SB, meanwhile, are cautiously optimistic about the future of commercialized marijuana in Colorado. SB doesn't know yet whether his company will make the transition to retail in January, though he describes it as a "huge" business opportunity. And despite the threat of higher taxes or licensing fees, he says the industry would welcome tighter regulations.

"We definitely need more regulations," SB says. "If any other substance was marketed as a medicine and regulated the way medical marijuana is, it would be a joke. A fucking laughing stock."

Debate: Does Ariel Castro deserve the death penalty?

The man who imprisoned three women in his home, subjecting them to a decade of rapes and beatings, pleaded guilty Friday to 937 counts in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

Ariel Castro told the judge he was addicted to pornography, had a ‘‘sexual problem’’ and had been a sexual abuse victim himself long ago.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors recommended Castro be sentenced to life without parole plus 1,000 years.

Castro, 53, said he understood that he would never get out of prison, saying he expected he was ‘‘going to get the book thrown at me.’’ He later added, ‘‘I knew that when I first spoke to the FBI agent when I first got arrested.’’

Castro, wearing glasses for the first time in court, was far more interactive than in previous court appearances when he mostly kept his head down and eyes closed. He answered the judge’s questions in a clear, intelligible voice, saying he understood the proceedings and that he would never be released from prison.

Who is innocent Zimmerman or Trayvon ?

Prejudice means to make a judgment before evidence, reflexively. Prejudice does not necessarily mean supporting segregation or racial subjugation, but can imply deep social feelings. Prejudice is usually negative, although I suppose we could have a prejudice towards assuming innocence in the absence of evidence. Pretend it is not so if you want, prejudice in some places, remains institutionalized.

Could this explain the whole sordid affair that took place in Standard one dreadful night when Trayvon Martin lost his life and one day when George Zimmerman won his freedom?

Car pooling helps drivers save cash, eases congestion

More than ever, Americans are getting to work by driving alone.


Today, only 5 percent of workers take public transportation, down from 11 percent in 1960; only 4 percent walk to work, down from 7 percent in 1960.



One surprising detail in the numbers: The share of workers who work at home is actually lower today than it was 50 years ago (4 percent today versus 7 percent in 1960). A 1998 Census report pointed to "the steep decline in the number of family farmers and the growing tendency of professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, to leave their home and join group practices resulted in a loss each decade of the number of at-home workers." The share of people working at home has been rising for the past few decades, as telecommuting has become more popular, but the rise hasn't been nearly enough to make up for the earlier decline.