Lies, damn lies, and headlines

Two different takes on the same statistics and story.

Chicago Tribune:

New record: Americans give $300 billion to charity
Annual contributions rise in correlation with the stock market.

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New York Times:

Absence of Major Disaster in ’06 Affected Giving

link

A couple more quotes from the Tribune:

Giving historically tracks the health of the overall economy, with the rise amounting to about one-third the rise in the stock market, according to Giving USA. Last year was right on target, with a 3.2 percent rise as stocks rose more than 10 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis.

"It tells you something about American culture that is unlike any other country," said Claire Gaudiani, a professor at NYU's Heyman Center for Philanthropy and author of "The Greater Good: How Philanthropy Drives the American Economy and Can Save Capitalism." Gaudiani said the willingness of Americans to give cuts across income levels, and their investments go to developing ideas, inventions and people to the benefit of the overall economy.

Gaudiani said Americans give twice as much as the next most charitable country, according to a November 2006 comparison done by the Charities Aid Foundation. In philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. ranked first at 1.7 percent. No. 2 Britain gave 0.73 percent, while France, with a 0.14 percent rate, trailed such countries as South Africa, Singapore, Turkey and Germany.

Wonder why the Times is in such a funk. I certainly would expect better reporting from a paper thinking it is the best in the country. . .

Bugliosi on the JFK Assasination

"There's no evidence, forget about technology, that the CIA or mob or any of these groups were behind the assassination. Three people can keep a secret, but only if two are dead. Technology won't change people's instincts: People can't keep a secret."

link

Same with Rosewell, and the other conspiracies; the "wild fantasy" is much more interesting, but simply not true. ..

The Problem with "Zero Tolerance"

Here is the policy:

All touching -- not only fighting or inappropriate touching -- is against the rules at Kilmer Middle School in Vienna. Hand-holding, handshakes and high-fives? Banned. The rule has been conveyed to students this way: "NO PHYSICAL CONTACT!!!!!"

School officials say the rule helps keep crowded hallways and lunchrooms safe and orderly, and ensures that all students are comfortable. But Hal, 13, and his parents think the school's hands-off approach goes too far, and they are lobbying for a change.

Here is how the principal explains it:

"You get into shades of gray," Hernandez said. "The kids say, 'If he can high-five, then I can do this.' "

The problem: Has the school given up on teaching the students to think for themselves?

"How do kids learn what's right and what's wrong?" Henri Beaulieu [Father of student reprimanded for giving a fellow student a brief hug] asked. "They are all smart kids, and they can draw lines. If they cross them, they can get in trouble. But I don't think it would happen too often." Beaulieu has written a letter to the county School Board asking it to review the rule.

I have always believed that "strict adherence to black-and-white rules" that discourage any self-thought are a hallmark of totalitarian regimes. Democracies are best served when we teach our children values and judgement.

Let me add a few things:

1) Physical contact is at the core of human development and well being. Dr. John Suler writes:

Humans need physical contact with each other. Infants sink into depression and die without it. How parents interact physically with them becomes a cornerstone of their identity and well-being. Adults deprived of tactile contact for long periods will tell you just how depriving it feels. In day to day relationships, never underestimate the power of a handshake, a pat on the back, a hug, or a kiss.

So, we worry about giving kids milk in case they miss it at home, but we deny them physical contact?

2) Now that we had distance / computer based learning, we are finding that it is not the best for education. Western Kentucky Community and Technical college points this out as the first "Major disadvantage" of their distance learning programs.


3) Study the Chinese techniques used on POWs during the Korean War. You don't need much in the way of physical or emotional harrassment/abuse if you deny human contact. That is why is played such a large role in Orwell's 1984 and other books that explore living in totalitarian regimes.

In my opinion, rules like this are inhuman and create the very problems they are trying to avoid.

Coverage of the schools is from Washington Post.