Letters to Bush

As part of a letter-writing lesson at the school where I was teaching until last week, my young students wrote to George Bush during the outbreak of the Second Gulf War. Recently, someone commented that he would like to see some of the letters my students wrote to George Bush. Now, they’re a bit dated, as they were written on March 22nd of 2003, but, I think they’re still interesting. Sure, some kids are only repeating (via translation) what they’ve heard from their parents, or on the news… but the anger they’re expressing is surprisingly strong considering how far away …

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Games, Simulation, and Learning

The Adrenaline Vault | The Developers Corner This little blurb made me think of my sister’s job, teaching kids about what it means to be a refugee basicallyh by inflicting on them a slightly padded experience of being a refugee. It’s her comments about that which make me wonder about how effective electronic simulations can be for many many types of learning. After all, in games one can learn to shoot people to pieces, but I am not sure it’s so easy in real life. The visceral part is missing, and sometimes (often?) that is the most cruciual thing. Still, …

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Rule of Law? Rule of Law? Oh, the Irony!

The Rise of the Russian Criminal State by David Satter Updated Link: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State by David Satter David Satter writes about the rule of law and its necessity in order for democracy and capitalism to succeed, something which, as the world knows, has not happened in Russia. He’s right, of course, Russia has become a horrible criminal state. But I couldn’t help reading the beginning of the article with a slowly mounting sense of irony. Consider this excerpt, from the middle section on “Kleptocracy in the Guide of Reform”: Perhaps more important than these economic features, …

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Shooting Fish in the Political Barrel

USS Clueless – The reaction Over at the USS Clueless, the Captain is busy bringing up the most idiotic examples of leftist criticism and smashing them down. Does anyone know the word “strawman”? It doesn’t just mean “imaginary idiotic argument”, it can quite easily mean “real idiotic argument not espoused by anyone who matters.” I know these ignorant rhetoric-spouting leftist whingers, believe me, and despite my sympathies (I dislike most of what they dislike, to be honest), they embarass me. But it doesn’t make Bush acceptable, or the situation in America or Iraq acceptable, either. However, shooting fish in the …

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