I went to elementary school down here, but my middle and high schools were all over the world because I’m a military brat. I was shocked to learn over at the Pensacola Beach Blog that students in Florida schools don’t have to take Civics to graduate. The curriculum is so heavy on English and mathematics to pass testing, that social studies have been pushed to the side.

I don’t understand how a public school system can claim to graduate people who don’t understand how the state and Federal governments work. How can you really be a citizen of a country, if you don’t know its history? Am I the only one who thinks that requiring flags in classrooms, and having a recitation of a pledge to that flag is asinine if those making the pledge know nothing of the country? Shouldn’t a native-born citizen know as much as a naturalized citizen?

This is disturbing on many levels.

So we are going to stop buying oil for the strategic reserve at these inflated prices and we are going to talk about tax credits for buying hybrid vehicles, great.

Now, since oil companies are rolling in huge profits, maybe we should look at all of their tax breaks, and we should drill for oil everywhere those same companies feel that they can make money.

That’s the Shrubbery’s plan, the oil man, the MBA President.

According to NBC’s First Read, oil traders say that the spike in prices is caused by unrest in Nigeria and the possibility of an attack on Iran.

Jimmy Carter explained the problem: reliance on foreign oil from unstable areas. His solution was: reduce our reliance on the oil by conservation and research on alternatives.

If Reagan hadn’t dismantled the policy, we would be in much better shape with much reduced pollution levels. GM wouldn’t be going broke because it was selling vehicles no one could afford to drive. We wouldn’t need to get involved in oil producing countries.

In the near term, backing off on threats against Iran would have the biggest effect on the price of oil.

According to the latest CNN poll: one-third of Americans aren’t as bright as a golden retriever.

Via Altercation –

The New York Times Book Review offered a capsule review of a new book by TV dog trainer Cesar Millan (host of the show Dog Whisperer):

Millan likes to talk about the importance of being a pack leader and projecting what he calls “calm-assertive” energy around your dog. The thing to avoid, he writes, is being “angry-aggressive,” a trait he identifies in Bill O’Reilly of Fox News. This type of person “would not make a good pack leader,” Millan writes, “because the other dogs would perceive him as unstable.” (Our presidents are often unable to control their dogs, Millan said in a recent lecture. He added, “We are the only species that follows unstable pack leaders.”)

Although I must bow before the snark of Billmon on the recent polling:

If this continues, cholera is going to end up with a higher approval rating. It looks to me like the only “five point” plan that could possibly revive Shrub’s political fortunes is the star on the end of Tinkerbell’s little wand.