@asymmetricinfo NO! The best gauge of learning is how well the student can APPLY what is studied—in reasoned, well written essays.
Also, some students are great at that—and will be great at their future jobs—but NOT great at memorizing and regurgitating material in closed book or timed exams. ⬇️ @asymmetricinfo Just make writing quality—aka “style”—part of the grade! (We can all spot AI-speak on sight.)
Or have students show their work/notes via multiple drafts, research outlines, check-in chats with profs, etc.
Or AT LEAST: have students do some of the work in a supervised environment—

@tampatude @LCyrocki AND it will hamper—not help—economic development.
It reduces available parking (all of which really IS needed, at peak times). It removes parts of driving/parking lanes for “bulb outs”—to slightly shorten street crossing distance. (For pedestrians who don’t REALLY want to walk?) @tampatude @LCyrocki Overall, schemes like these reduce access for most residents and visitors—who get around by driving our cars—and even for the non-negligible minority who get around by bus.
All to promote the cycling hobby, which is suitable or preferred transportation for only a tiny minority.

@girlziplocked Higher education USED TO BE more or less tuition free at state colleges, and financial aid—to attend any school—USED TO BE mostly scholarships, not loans!
So WTF HAPPENED—and WHY?
Here’s a clue:
hipcrimevocab.com/2016/10/05/why… @girlziplocked “According to Powell, Communist firebrands were…brainwashing America’s youth to overthrow the free enterprise system….
College campuses were…an injection system for radical ideas into the body politic…and…needed to be stopped, or else the free enterprise system was doomed!”

@Boenau @NHTSAgov I’ve looked at “senior” apartments for a relative. And many were a half mile to mile+ from a transit stop!
Those who don’t drive but still go out—even to work—need curb to curb bus service, not a long difficult/impossible walk!
We can better address issues like this—WITHOUT
⬇️ @Boenau @NHTSAgov the draconian anti-car road sabotage schemes, and regressive “taxes” on driving and parking, that a few activists are pushing.
These measures hurt most people, who NEED to drive—working families, and some with disabilities—without even fixing the “problems” they pretend to “fix”.

VOTE WISELY!
Some people who THINK they’re “progressive” have mistakenly jumped on this bandwagon of regressive congestion taxes, and other draconian measures, that hit working and many disabled people hardest—and won’t even “save the planet”.
What do REAL progressives think? 👇 Green Austerity and the Climate Culture War

“Capitalist politicians are increasingly wrapping-up austerity measures in ‘green’ packaging – provoking a backlash amongst ordinary people….”

marxist.com/green-austerit…

@bidenaintlyin @7Veritas4 @radiostatic74 @nytimes Cool. We’re exploring other platforms, and that’s great. One may yet emerge as the near-universal gathering place THIS has been.
But unless and until that happens, it might be wise to at least maintain a presence here—where the most people still check in at least occasionally. @bidenaintlyin @7Veritas4 @radiostatic74 @nytimes Remember a few years ago when some conservatives thought this place was too “leftist”-oriented?
Some went to other new (right wing) platforms—but most also stuck around here, to keep their voices in the mainstream debate.

I think it’s the left and center’s turn to do likewise.

@bidenaintlyin @7Veritas4 @radiostatic74 But many “poo flinging monkeys” are in a position to drop $8—or $16 or more—every month without thinking about it; while many rational activists, entrepreneurs, and “citizen journalists”—and political dissidents worldwide—are not!
I want to hear from EVERYONE, not just the rich. @bidenaintlyin @7Veritas4 @radiostatic74 And I want the option of reaching and interacting with everyone—from other peons who might be interested in joining a union or whatever, to the credentialed pundits you seem to like—who checks into the “Town Square” now and then.
WITHOUT another monthly bill that I can’t afford.

@LauraMiers Blocking Blue buyers may not be a good idea. But many of us consider this new system itself to be elitist and siloing, because Blue buyers get features the rest of us don’t—most importantly, you get “boosted”. Which means the rest of us are DEboosted. It’s “PAY-for-full-reach”! @LauraMiers This system bifurcates Twitter into two tiers—those who can easily spare “a few dollars a month”, and those who can’t. The “haves” will rarely even see the tweets of the “have nots”.
We grassroots activists and entrepreneurs will now find it even harder to “reach” the “haves”.

NO MORE REGRESSIVE TAXES!

We should support transit—through our PROGRESSIVE taxes, as well as through fares.
AND we should support the roads and parking that transit AND bikes AND cars AND pedestrians AND (work) trucks ALL USE—
and NOT privilege any one form of transportation.

https://twitter.com/AFineBlogger/status/1636695192412495882

Some say we’ve “privileged” car use—and accomodations for cars—over transit and other transportation.
That’s debatable; we all use roads and all that arrives by means of them.
In any case, to now “OVERCORRECT” by favoring transit is wrong.
#DifferentFolksDifferentNeeds
#ProChoice

@jenny_schuetz NO—it’s YIMBYs who don’t represent the people.
Especially when they push these draconian anti-car policies, like abolishing parking minimums for “affordable housing” and other development.
Working people want and need cars to “get it all done”; and we need PARKING for our cars! @jenny_schuetz To add so called “affordable housing”—or “middle housing”—without parking minimums is just a cruel tease.
“You want a place you can afford to live? Okay—but YOU CAN’T BRING YOUR CAR!”
And the same goes for business construction without ample parking for workers and customers.

@J_lem21 @criticalurban @BradWagon @BFryback @MotoristRights @NoBikeLanes @infopobn @NoMoreBikeLanes @PoundstoneWill @ZEROVISIONPHIlL @hgigante @savehopkins @MikeFromWoburn @DriveBikeWalk Transit and biking aren’t free either.
And don’t forget the cost difference between being a captive customer of the pricey “convenience store” near home, vs driving a little to load up the car at the big box discount stores.
And HEALTH?
Can you say “stranded in a food desert”? @J_lem21 @criticalurban @BradWagon @BFryback @MotoristRights @NoBikeLanes @infopobn @NoMoreBikeLanes @PoundstoneWill @ZEROVISIONPHIlL @hgigante @savehopkins @MikeFromWoburn @DriveBikeWalk And FITNESS?
For many, “just get more exercise—THEN you’ll be fully able bodied (again), and able to walk to bus stops or ride a bike” is NOT a thing.
Neither is “get more exercise—then you’ll be ‘fit’ enough to outfight/outrun any predator you might meet on the street at night”.

@Llib7 @Kachowsterxd @PoundstoneWill Want to fund public transit?
Add public $$ for expansion—a bus everywhere every 5 minutes 24/7.
Then, SOMEWHAT more people will ride—and pay fares.
But these transit nuts should stop trying to bully us all out of driving cars. Even the “ideal” transit won’t work for everyone. @Llib7 @Kachowsterxd @PoundstoneWill Transit would win more public support if these transit nuts would STOP framing cars and car use as the enemy, and STOP claiming that we can’t support ALL transportation options being available, feasible, and affordable—so we can EACH get around in whatever way works best for US.

@criticalurban This right here ☝️☝️☝️—Shoupism—is the ideology behind this whole anti-car movement and its draconian policy proposals. The intent is to bully us all out of driving by banning cars and parking and/or making them prohibitively expensive. Shoupist policies are NOT progressive. @criticalurban We need to educate the public—most of whom drive and/or want to drive—about this movement and the harm its pet policies do to working and middle class people. Some liberals and moderates unthinkingly parrot the Shoupist party line; and many give apparent consent through silence.

@ejfagan What about THE POWELL MEMO?
hipcrimevocab.com/2016/10/05/why… @ejfagan “The Powell Memorandum is, of course, the impetus for the creation of all of the subsequent right-wing think-tanks (AEI, Cato, ALEC), propaganda news outlets (FOX, talk radio), foundations (Bradley, Heritage etc.), astroturf groups (Tea Party) and the like.”

This is a good idea only if it causes the company’s market value to tank—and THEN a collective of public-spirited parties buys it to manage as a public trust. (Without expecting profit; but for the pr/tax writeoff. And because it’s the right thing to do.)
BUT—

https://twitter.com/VoteBlueIn2020/status/1596811222393196545

We may not want to actually kill the patient.
OR give Mush any further excuse for paywalls or multi-tier class systems in the name of revenue.
The goals of he and his backers may be to steer Twitter rightward, scare away or deboost grassroots voices, or to kill it entirely.
And…

@Deborahohio @MeidasTouch PLEASE at least leave your account up with your alt/future contact info/destination in bio!
If we don’t all do that, we may never meet again. It takes TIME to remember who we might want to follow elsewhere and seek that info on each.
If the account is gone, so is the info!
IDEA: @Deborahohio @MeidasTouch 💡: Can someone compile a LIST of every account holder’s alt account/s, before they leave, to post/link to on their own Twitter AND alt (Mastodon/Facebook/?)
Would someone announce FAR & WIDE “I’m the clearinghouse—“#Resistance/#WritingCommunity/etc check in w/ME before you go”?

@aginggleefully I know what you’re getting at—but disagree strongly.
Some of the connections we’ve made around here are valuable beyond measure.
(For instance, YOU!)
I hope we can keep and grow the networks we’ve developed here, and that IF we go elsewhere we can all reconnect there. @aginggleefully Exactly how do you propose keeping in touch? By exchanging our other online handles and platform locations? By exchanging and storing each other’s contact info—such as email addresses—PIECEMEAL, as we did 20 years ago?
That would be inefficient and we would lose SO many contacts!

@PamKeithFL This is questionable!
Don’t know WHAT their motive is—whether it’s as stated, or a scam to psych US into waiting until the last minute—but waiting IS a BAD IDEA!
What if people wait—then something comes up? Blizzard, car trouble, family emergency?

Best NOT to promote waiting! @PamKeithFL The POINT of early/mail voting is to allow ample time and ways to vote, as feasible for us—and leave time to rectify any glitches.

REPUBS usually oppose early and mail voting—because these options make voting easier!
Should we let them trick US out of using all our options now?

For the ✡️ #HighHolidays
—if you belong to a congregation you love…enjoy!
If not, there are still many options.
Contact your favorite egalitarian, inclusive shul and see if you can take part in services—in person or virtually—for whatever you can pay without financial hardship. THIS THREAD will list congregations and groups that offer equal-participation #HighHolidays services, in person and/or virtual, without set “ticket” prices—or at least with the option to give “another amount” (just send it in; no humiliating negotiations or discussion required).

@danielgibber Should making a living and working toward justice be the focus of most of our time?
For most people, yes.
Is religion a supplement and inspiration—but NOT how we use the bulk of our time?
For most people, yes.
It’s no sin to live mostly in THIS world.
After all, who PUT us here? @danielgibber If some choose to sideline themselves from the public discourse for 22+ DAYS—with elections only 54 days away—be my guest.
Those who do so hurt only their own interests and causes.

Yes, the High Holy Days call for meditation and 2-3 full DAYS in “timeout”.
Not 3 whole WEEKS+.

@F125AXer @bungarsargon But which courses of study “have limited utility towards better paying careers”?
Virtually all those who succeed in every field—journalism, academia, writing, the arts—DO have elite degrees in relevant subjects.
The degree is a prerequisite for—though not a guarantee of—success. @F125AXer @bungarsargon Why should a student with an interest in and aptitude for a given field not have access to the academic prerequisites to work in that field, just for lack of parents who can pay out of pocket?
And why should our political and cultural leaders be drawn only from the upper class?