Karl Rove “Frog Marches” the Press Through Their Sunday Morning Paces

Do you remember when that idiot, Clown Wilson said that he wanted to see Karl Rove “frog marched” out of the White House for “leaking” the name of Valerie Plame? Never mind that Rove did not leak Plame’s name, that her name did not have to be leaked because most of the Washington DC establishment already knew her name, and it would have been impossible to “leak her name” since Plame had not been covert in over five years.

Watch Karl in his own version of a slapdown/smackdown this morning with David Gregory-known Bush hater on Meet the Depressed. Rove also appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.

Nancy Reagan attends service for Merv Griffin

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Hollywood stars fondly remembered Merv Griffin at his funeral Friday, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who credited the creator of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” with jump starting his own acting career.

Among mourners who filled the Church of the Good Shepherd were former first lady Nancy Reagan, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Alex Trebek, Dick Van Dyke and Griffin’s son, Anthony, and his family.

Schwarzenegger, who attended with wife Maria Shriver, gave one of the eulogies.

“I can say today I wouldn’t have gone as far in my career if it wouldn’t have been for Merv Griffin,” Schwarzenegger said, recalling his appearances on “The Merv Griffin Show,” which date back to 1974.

“He had me on many times, and I was on his show to teach him about fitness and he would be teaching me about acting. Well, neither worked,” the bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-governor said to laughter.

Griffin’s son followed with a mix of humor and affection: “I never knew anyone who loved life as much as my father,” he said.

Griffin, who created “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” was 82 when he died Sunday of prostate cancer.

 

Thespis Journal Exclusive Essay: Media Played Like a Violin by the ODE

So, the state of Ohio has given the media another measurement with which to hammer teachers and school districts. Today, the Dayton Daily News has printed huge comparison charts showing student performances on the college entrance exams. Also, there is another chart indicating success or failure on AP (Advanced Placement) tests. (The folly of AP courses will be the subject of another post sometime soon.) In this tortuous world of endless testing regimes, the state has changed the rules of the game again, and the media has bought it, hook, line and sinker.

These articles, typical of the drive-by media, represent a nasty critique of Ohio schools that are functioning under the cumbersome mandate to help all students pass the Ohio Graduation Test. Playing on a stage set with the tapestry of unrelenting societal ills, each school district is supposed to perform well under the unrealistic paradigm set by the Ohio Department of Education while their complicit allies in the press lap up the spoiled milk and report it faithfully every time.

While the focus of our limited resources and time has been on making AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) in all of the legally required sub-groups, the state of Ohio department of education has once again changed the rules. These insulated edu-crats appear to have formed a wretched alliance with their friends in the media who are determined to report on complex educational issues using a tabloid template created for them by so-called national journalists. The resulting headlines cause Superintendents to cringe and Curriculum specialists to jump. In fact, School Board members and administrators tend to react very negatively to these spurious reports in the press at first. Unfortunately, these same individuals race to jump through the artificial hoops established for them by the press and flawed political leaders. Competent, independent, professional leadership of a school district by local administration appears arcane in this media driven environment.

It would be interesting to note the number of times that the Dayton Daily News, or any other Ohio newspaper, does any reporting on the poor parenting, and often lack of any proper parenting reflected in today’s society. It would be a wonder if any of these popularized assessments ever included any dimension relative to the performing arts and other essential electives.

Our society demands simplistic reporting that results in easy reading designed for consumers interested only in the lowest common denominator. It is not surprising that in a culture driven by values reflected in the preposterous salaries paid to “professional athletes” that a majority of voters and journalists would be looking for the lowest common denominator to compare and evaluate our schools. It’s almost as if we find comfort by creating contemptible competitions that are inherently unfair. Worse, it appears that some people think the answers to our greatest dilemmas are to be found in talking about our educational system as if it were professional baseball.

The ever changing standards and the requisite, sensationalist reporting generates a lot of debate and conversation that results in nothing but a zenith of hot air. Meanwhile, caring and proficient teachers return to their classrooms with little or no support from the education establishment or the journalist who so readily grab the latest statistic and use it to define the winners and ridicule the excess of losers. And, the untold stories of individual student success that occurs against all odds will still go un-reported.

By the way, have a good year.

More from Get on The Bus. More on the flaws of NCLB from the Education Wonks.