School VS Individual and Community Learning?

My major interest in college through today has been the topic of learning and how an individual (human and others) gained survival knowledge and skills alone and within their community.  The article (and video) by Sugata Mitra, This years TED Prize winner "We Need Schools..Not Factories' makes sense to me. (Via Huffington Post)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sugata-mitra/2013-ted-prize_b_2767598.html

Free online access to taxer-funded research

 We The People e-petition asked for free online access to taxpayer-funded research and the White House responded. (Via O'Reilly Radar)

http://radar.oreilly.com/2013/02/white-house-open-access-research-online.html

Where is the outcry regarding federal spending cuts?

Good questions!   "So where's the outcry? Why aren't more people up in arms? Why aren't big businesses (including major military contractors) and Wall Street screaming into the ears of the GOP? Where's the outrage from Main Street?"   "Yet the silence is deafening."

"It's no time for showdown fatigue."  "It's time to fight."  

Quoting Robert Reich on Sequestration & massive cuts in federal spending. (Via HuffPost -The Blog)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/showdown-fatigue_b_2741694.html

Read "How the State of the Union Worked"

President Obama's 2013 State of the Union Speech analyzed by George Lakoff, a Professor of Cognative Science and Linquistics at University of California at Berkley. (via BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT)

http://bit.ly/Wzbybt 

Following is one of the final statements in the article.

"President Obama, in this speech, created what cognitive scientists call a “prototype” — an ideal American defined by a contemporary progressive vision that incorporates a progressive market with individual opportunity and initiative.  It envisions an ideal citizenry that is in charge of the government, forcing the president and the Congress to do the right thing." 

2013 Global Protest against Iraq war ignored!

Do you remember, & did you participate in the biggest Protest in World History - 20 million people - 10 years ago? I do and I did in Boise, Idaho! 

 Why were we ignored?

(via Ishaan Tharoor, Time Magazine February 15, 2013)

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/15-7

President Obama Inauguration statement urging citizen involvement

"You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course..You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals."  President Obama, 2013 Inauguration speech.

In my opinion we all must become much more involved in public discussions about important issues that affect our families, neighborhoods, & communities on local, state, federal & global levels. Popular media, corporate and organizational lobbyists. religious and political groups all have a stake in trying to guide us toward their viewpoint. (is the word "Propaganda" appropriate?)  We, as citizens, should feel a strong obligation to try to search for information that is factual, truthful, and verifiable and share this with our friends, family and associates. 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/inauguration-2013

Winter Photos - Boise River 2013

I posted a Picasa Web album of some winter photos taken near the Boise River on January 12, 2013 during the Audubon Society Bald Eagle Count.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108466423567536607112/BoiseRiverWinter