Author: jbenton

“Memphis, Michigan — A high school senior says he earned an A+, not an A, and has sued to get the grade changed to bolster his chance at becoming valedictorian.”
A little later in the story, you learn the class in question was a work-study gig in his mom’s office. In other words, Mom said I deserve an A+, so I deserve an A+!

Word of the day: jackleg. Very useful.

Letters, we get letters:
HELLO MY NAME IS [omitted]. I HAD TO REPLY TO YOUR WRIGHT UP IN THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS. I WANTED TO SUGGEST THAT THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN STOP OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS FROM SUFFERING SANCTIONS, DUE TO WEAK ENGLISH STUDENTS, IS TO STOP TRYING TO BE SO POLITICALY CORRECT. I DO NOT KNOW FOR A FACT, BUT I AM WILLING TO BET THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF THE LIMTED ENGLISH STUDENTS CAME HERE ILLEGALLY, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. AND UNTILL WE STOP REWARDING PEOPLE FOR BREAKING THE LAW, OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM WILL FALTER. THANK YOU [name omitted]

The Wifely Duty: Marriage used to provide access to sex. Now it provides access to celibacy. One less thing to look forward to.

Missed this: Hugh Trevor-Roper, the gentleman historian who (oops!) said the “Hitler diaries” were genuine back in 1983. That obviously put a dent in his credibility, and unfortunately brought the Holocaust denier and anti-Semitic historian David Irving to prominence.
Isn’t that a great name for a British aristocrat? “Hugh Trevor-Roper.” He could have been a West Texas rodeo star.

Oh, one other thing: I’ll be “performing” at 20×2 at SXSW next month. I’m supposed to take up two minutes answering the question “What are you waiting for?,” in whatever way I choose. Ideas are welcome.

Two stories in today’s paper: a new report claims that afterschool programs are a failure and new federal testing requirements target kids who can’t speak English.
The first story there was a national exclusive until 5 p.m. yesterday, when the U.S. Department of Education went ahead and released the damned report I had an advance copy of. Damned P.R. people and their release of reports!
I said it on Friday and I’ll say it again: I need a weekend.

Here’s my story from today’s paper, on how teachers will talk to children about the shuttle disaster.

Film Movement. “Film Movement is an innovative new film club that gives you unprecedented access to award-winning independent and foreign films. Finally you have the freedom to experience the best new releases whenever and wherever you choose.”
Join up and you get one indie DVD (hot off the festival circuit) mailed to you each month. An interesting way to get around the absence of quality art-house cinemas in most places. I’m sure some people would be interested.

Gregg Easterbrook (who has one of the truly odd job descriptions in journalism: liberal policy-wonk writer by day, cheerleader-happy football columnist by night) predicted the Columbia’s demise back in 1980. (At least if you’re a supporter of the tiles-did-it theory.)
Columbia must be fitted out with 33,000 of these tiles, each to be applied individually, each unique in shape. The inch-thick tiles, made of pyrolized carbon, are amazing in two respects. They can be several hundred degrees hot on one side while remaining cool to the touch on the other. They do not boil away like the ablative heat shieldings of capsules and modules; they can be used indefinitely. But they’re also a bit of a letdown in another respect — they’re so fragile you can hardly touch them without shattering them.
The tiles are the most important system NASA has ever designed as “safe life.” That means there is no back-up for them. If they fail, the shuttle burns on reentry. If enough fall off, the shuttle may become unstable during landing, and thus un-pilotable. The worry runs deep enough that NASA investigated installing a crane assembly in Columbia so the crew could inspect and repair damaged tiles in space. (Verdict: Can’t be done. You can hardly do it on the ground.)