Geography

Donald Trump’s Ignorance Of Science, History, Geography, Spelling, Math, Reading: Just Like His Poorly Educated Base!

Ronald 4 Comments

Donald Trump has proved himself to be totally ignorant of so many fields of knowledge.

He is ignorant of science, and of the dangers presented by climate change and global warming.

He is ignorant of history, displaying his total lack of basic historical facts.

He is ignorant of basic geography, and could not point out nations or states on a map of the world.

He cannot spell, making constant mistakes on Twitter. It is true that anyone can misspell occasionally, and that typos can occur, but it happens so often that it demonstrates that he cannot spell, or if he does, he has no concern about how his blunders in spelling appear to readers of his Twitter account. He has no concern to correct himself, or admit shortcomings in spelling.

He has no concern about math, and what kind of increased costs his Mexico Wall proposal and vastly increased defense spending request would do to the budget.

He has no interest in reading, and lacks concentration power to stick to anything he reads, the reason why he wishes all memos to him to be one page, so he has never read the text of any healthcare bill conjured up by Congress to destroy ObamaCare.

He has no concern about details about anything, just wishing to add a notch to his so called “accomplishments” list, which now after eight months is one name–Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch–but by a smaller vote margin of 55-45, the least of anyone in the 20th or 21st century, except for Justice Clarence Thomas, who was confirmed in 1991 by a vote of 52-48.

What is truly sad is that Donald Trump’s gaps of knowledge are shared by a large portion of his poorly educated base, who hate universities, professors, and intellectuals, because they revel in their own inferiority and ignorance.

This is a definite long term crisis for America, the ignorance and lack of appreciation of education and knowledge, by a substantial percentage of the masses, who would rather follow an ignorant billionaire, and hang on his every word, rather than use reason and evaluation in their daily lives.

National Spelling Bee Champion Brings Up Issue Of Our Educational System NOT Teaching Spelling As Important Skill!

Ronald 4 Comments

It was thrilling to see 13 year old Arvind Mahankali of Bayside, New York, win the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC on Thursday evening.

His accomplishment, and the fact that he had competed three earlier years and been in the Top Ten all three times, is something to honor and admire, as much as any athlete doing well in any team or individual sport.

But does such an accomplishment get the kind of attention it deserves, as compared to sports? Of course not, and in that, there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

It is not “cool” to be smart, to be intellectual, to have academic skills, and it might very well be that this talented young man, for all that he has accomplished, might face bullying or taunting, as not being “masculine” enough, because his accomplishment is in that lost art, spelling.

But it is not just spelling; it is also history; it is also science; it is also geography; it is also poetry; it is also ANY intellectual area of knowledge!

And in that fact, we have a long range problem. And it is in the loss of economic growth, competition with other nations, and in the future of our children.

Why is not spelling emphasized in the school system, and why is it allowed that young people, including many of my own students in the past and present, cannot spell, and do not see that weakness as a big deal they need to work on?

Why is it that ignorance is seen as bliss, and that we have people in Congress who display their ignorance regularly, showing their lack of knowledge or acceptance of science, of truth really in any area of learning, and in fact, wish to cut expenditures and investment in education and in teachers?

And as wonderful as it was to see boys and girls of South Asian heritage being the top ten finalists, why is it that white Anglos of European heritage, and Hispanics-Latinos and African American young people did not end up competing with these kids from South Asia, and often in the past, from East Asia as well?

Could it be the role of parents, emphasizing spelling and history and science and geography and poetry and other fields of learning at home, and could it be also the fact that education is the way that past generations of immigrants and their descendants succeeded in America?

We, as a nation, need to look within ourselves, and work to promote the levels of excellence that these children of South Asian heritage demonstrated, putting the rest of us to shame!

Ultimately, we must praise and give honors and attention more to academic excellence than our worship of sports, as good as it is to promote that field of human endeavor!

More Years Of Education, And Yet High Levels Of Ignorance In America Persist!

Ronald 9 Comments

More Americans have graduated high school and attended and graduated two and four year programs at colleges and universities, and yet high levels of ignorance persist in the most advanced nation in the world, or are we?

Examples abound:

40 percent of Americans are not even aware of the signature achievement of the Obama Presidency, what the critics have labeled “ObamaCare”! And some think the Congress repealed it, and others think the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional!

21 percent believe a UFO landed in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and the government has covered it up!

14 percent believe in a monster called Big Foot, that it really exists!

65 percent cannot name even one Supreme Court Justice, not even the Chief Justice, when there are constant references to the “Roberts Court” in the news media!

30 percent cannot name who the Vice President of the United States is, and this has been shown on David Letterman many times!

35 percent do not know which century the American Revolution occurred in, and many cannot name who we fought in the Revolution!

6 percent do not know when Independence Day is, cannot find it on the calendar.

Many Americans cannot find any state of the Union on a geography map, or name the continents!

Many do not know who American fought in World War II, or point out where Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan are on the map, despite the fact that many Americans died in these wars.

Many Americans would be unable to pass the basic citizenship test all immigrants must pass, even though we are all insistent that they must know information many of our citizens born here do NOT know!

And many Americans persist in believing that Barack Obama is a Muslim, and think that Medicare is not a government program, when they say they do not want the government engaged in health care!

Many Americans do not know who their own Congressman or Senators are, and have no clue or understanding of the Constitution or Bill of Rights!

This is all very sad and disturbing, and makes one wonder about the “will of the people”, and their ability to make judgments about what American domestic or foreign policy should be!

125th Anniversary Of The National Geographic Society, Promoting Study Not Only Of Geography, But Also Nature And Science

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On this day in 1888, 125 years ago, the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC.

It became over time the standard periodical that would publish stunning photography and articles on our natural and scientific world.

It sponsored expeditions and research that have expanded the understanding of the world we live in, and overcome lack of knowledge of science.

It has become a guardian of our natural resources and the globe on which all of us live, and has succeeded in broadening the scientific horizons of millions of people, in its mission to educate and inform us of the natural world, and the need to respect it.

It is in the forefront of fighting ignorance, often promoted by big business interests who have no concern about the environment, and also of religious elements which fight against scientific knowledge in favor of Biblical theories. It is part of the constant struggle of science versus Know Nothings, who undermine our future in America and worldwide.

Happy Anniversary, National Geographic Society, and may you prosper long into the future!

The Discomfort Of Mitt Romney With The Outside World: A Danger For America’s Future

Ronald 5 Comments

Mitt Romney showed great discomfort and awkwardness in his performance in the Foreign Policy debate held last night in Boca Raton, Florida.

He made it clear that he does not know the geography of the Middle East, when he said Syria was Iran’s connection to the Mediterranean Sea, forgetting or not knowing that Iraq lies between Iran and Syria.

He talked of Iran as if it was Arab, when Iran is Persian, an unbelievable misunderstanding.

He has talked of military action against Iran and Syria in the past, but now backed off on that.

He has made trade threats against China, even though he has invested in Chinese trade through Bain Capital.

He has called Russia the leading geopolitical threat to America, which brings back memories of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which ended 20 years ago.

In a poll of 21 nations, public opinion polls demonstrate that all of them massively prefer Barack Obama as America’s leader for the next four years, as they feel uneasy about the lack of knowledge and interest of Mitt Romney in their nations’ futures, Ironically, only Pakistan prefers Romney, maybe due to the raid into Pakistan that gained the end of the life of Osama Bin Laden.

The outside world knows that Barack Obama, with the assistance of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and others, has shown respect and concern for their nations, and has become overwhelmingly popular and respected, a great relief from the low esteem felt in other nations toward George W. Bush.

Mitt Romney only sees the outside world as a profit motive, and has never shown interest in anyplace except as one to make money, or proselytize his Mormon faith, as in France in the late 1960s, and yet it is France that has the highest support for Barack Obama of any of the 20 nations that prefer that Obama be elected to a second term.

We cannot afford an ignorant, poorly informed, and less than motivated person to become our President, as he could, too easily, be manipulated by foreign policy extremists who want new wars to advance their agenda of American dominance and promotion of corporate interests. Mitt Romney is the wrong person to be our Commander in Chief in the 21st century, and having a potential Vice President, Paul Ryan, who has no greater grasp or interest in foreign policy than he has, makes that conclusion even more powerful!