(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)
Yippie kai yay!
December 19, 2017
4 Comments | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: Arizona NAEP scores, AZMerit trends, Hans Gruber, Kool and the Gang | 
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Posted by matthewladner
Wildflower Fever
April 10, 2015(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)
So I am struggling not to nominate the most blindingly obvious choice for the Higgy this year….must……resist!
In the meantime, I decided what this blog needs this Friday is a late 20th Century folk-revival tune…enjoy!
Leave a Comment » | random pop culture, William Higginbotham Inhumanitarian Award | Tagged: 10000 Maniacs, Hans Gruber, Natalie Merchant, The Higgy | Permalink
Posted by matthewladner
Oooooooops!
May 27, 2009
(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)
One of my favorite scenes from Die Hard is when the evil villain Hans gets found by our hero, John McLain. Hans, dastardly fellow that he is, passes himself off as an American. John gives him a gun to have him help fight the bad guys. John turns his back, and the villain confidently pulls the trigger, only to hear a loud
**CLICK**
McLain looked at Hans, shocked to be holding what he now knew to be an unloaded gun, and said, if memory serves: “OOOOOOOPS!!!! Do you think I’m f****** stupid Hans?!?”
Apparently, an outfit calling itself the “Arizona Economic Council” thinks that Arizonans are stupid. They shot an advertisement in Africa claiming that the looming budget cuts in K-12 threaten to move Arizona to Third World Status.
There is just one little problem with this: objective reality.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has this pesky habit of actually collecting spending per pupil data. Here is Arizona compared to the Third World Countries:
Oooops! Arizona spends five to nine times more than any of them. How does Arizona compare to Second World (former Communist) countries?
Ooops! All the former communist countries would kill to switch places with Arizona. How does Arizona compare to First World European Countries?
Ooops! Arizona’s figure is 48% higher.
I could dig up comparisons on academic outcomes but that would just be running up the score. Like Hans, the so-called Arizona Economic Council is shooting blanks. And given that they could have looked up these numbers before flying to Africa, I have to say they look pretty stupid.
5 Comments | school funding | Tagged: Alan Rickman, Arizona Economic Council, Die Hard, Hans Gruber | Permalink
Posted by matthewladner
Jay P. Greene's Blog 