Fake news

I was thinking about fake news today.  (And upon starting this post I realized the previous one is also about fake news - d'oh! Still on my mind). Recently Facebook posted about filtering out fake news from their news feeds. I didn't really think much of it, I know there are several entities out there fighting it, they are just another on the list, but then my cousin posted about it. She pointed out that she doesn't need Facebook to tell her what's fake news or not, she can do her own research, so now I was intrigued.

Intuitively I know that Facebook is a liberal entity (please tell me if you think I'm wrong), so having them program code that weeds out news they deem fake can immediate cause concern. How unbiased will the programming be? What is their criteria for fake news? Will their code research the source and author? Does it take into account opinion papers/articles? So, yeah, I get it now, this could be a concern. My ideals probably align well with their ideals, so, personally I may enjoy the new coding, but those of opposing opinions may never see information aligned with their opinions.

Upon closer inspection I also realize it's becoming more and more difficult to find accurate information. The current U.S. administration has even caused many journalists to throw unbiased writing out the window (again, I realize this could also be my own bias relating this to the current administration, but I digress) and attack ideals, executive orders, and comments that, they may otherwise, agree with in a different time and place. [OK, wait, I see it now, many people rejected the Affordable Healthcare Act because it was dubbed Obamacare - same idea right? Different place, different time and many protesters would be on board]. Really though? How can I find the time to research articles from various news sources along with the background of the author?

I still stand by my previous post - check out fact-checking websites, at least it's a good place to start. Listen in on Sean Spicer's daily press conferences (get the stories straight from the horse's mouth instead of the media ranting about his mistakes later on). Also, talk to each other. My mom and I have opposing views and have never discussed politics before, but have managed at least 2 civilized discussions in the past 3 months, at least I know a little about where she is coming from.

It's difficult navigating in this new world but soldier on fellow Americans!

Cite 3 Sources

Remember in school when your English teacher told you to cite three sources on your paper? Well, your teacher was trying to prepare you for the real world - when you hear the news or read an article you should look for other sources to back it up.

As a mathematician I can publish a paper full of research, but in order for it to have any credibility it needs to be peer - reviewed. In other words, other mathematicians should read and correct or approve of my work.

Scrolling through Facebook or watching your favorite news network may be a good way to find out what's going on in the world, but is it really reporting the facts? Spend a few moments researching the topic on the web and ask yourself a few questions:

1. Are there other news sources with similar information?
2. Are these news sources citing credible sources? [If everyone is using the same source be sure to double check their work too.]
3. Is the author or news reporter a reliable source of non-biased news? [e.g. does he/she tend to report facts.]
4. Could this be a joke? [The Onion is not a reliable news source and is known for satire - there are others just like them, so it doesn't hurt to double check.]
5. Double check the date on the information.

One of Politifact's truth-o-meter icons.

Last, but not least, check out one of the fact checking entities:
FactCheck.org
Snopes.com
PolitiFact.com
The Washington Posts fact checker

Or you can start there.

The above fact checking organizations get paid to do all the research (which saves the typical consumer tons of time). They provide reliable links to documents, articles, videos, etc. that back up their research. Follow them on Twitter for daily fact checking claims to help you decide what to believe.

Most of the above guidelines came from Politifact.org in an article titled How to Spot Fake News.

Thanks for reading and please leave your comments, questions, feedback!

A Piece of History as VP is Required to Cast Vote in Confirmation of Sec. of Ed.

History was made this morning as Vice President Pence was required to cast the deciding vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. The Senate was split down the middle, 50-50, as two republican senators listened to their constituents and voted against their party's nominee.

As stated in my previous blog post, Democrats held the floor for 24-hours in an attempt to convince just one more republican senator to vote no in the confirmation hearing. Unfortunately, their efforts did not have an effect and the votes were cast as predicted.

I was able to watch some of the session prior to the vote and several senators spoke about their public school experiences. One senator stuck out to me, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D - Hawaii), spoke about coming to America and not knowing any English. The public school system and teachers helped her learn English and encouraged her love of reading. Not only was Senator Hirono an immigrant but she is a product of public schools - she has a classic American story - and now serves her country representing her constituents of Hawaii.

Many of my concerns for Betsy DeVos' nomination are stated in my blog post Department of Ed. - Secretary of Education.

The Scary Mommy blog also posted some ways that you can get involved and stay informed as Betsy DeVos takes her place.

One thing to keep in mind if you are a Colorado resident is that vouchers have been deemed unconstitutional in the state. In 2015 the Supreme Court of Colorado said the Douglas County voucher program "violated a plank of the State Constitution that explicitly prevents public money from going to schools 'controlled by any church or sectarian denomination whatsoever,' "
Here is the New York Times report on this issue: Colorado court rules use of public funds for private use is unconstitutional 

Colorado has many non-profit charter schools that offer an alternative choice for students in need.

Thank you for reading!

Secretary of Ed - Dems Holding the Floor

Tomorrow the Senate votes on whether or not to instate Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Tonight Democratic senators are holding the floor to present their reasons as to why she should not be given the job.

Watch the live feed on C-SPAN2 or here:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?423606-1/us-senate-democrats-hold-senate-floor-night-devos-vote-looms&live=

Call your senators, "light up the phones," to tell your senator to vote against her. See my previous blog post for more information.

Forest Rangers head the revolution

One of the most surprising events to come out of Trump's first week in office is the rising up of Forest Rangers in national parks.

On January 20th the National Park Service retweeted a side-by-side photo of the crowds at Obama's 2009 inauguration and Trump's. Soon after they were banned from tweeting.

In less than 24 hours the NPS tweeted an apology and the Twitter account has been up and running since. As a side effect of this temporary shut down and ban was the creation of an alternative account aptly named AltUSNPS (@altusnps). They claim to be forest rangers from national parks all across the nation.

The Alt USNPS account is not holding back, climate change is the foremost topic covered and now they have created stickers and t-shirts with a brand new "alt" logo for purchase. All proceeds of these items go to the National Park Foundation which is even better. If you are curious for more info you can follow them on Twitter or email them altusnps@gmail.com.

Then on January 24th I posted the following article:

USDA scrambles to ease concerns after researchers were ordered to stop publishing news releases

NPS was not the only entity asked to stopped sharing scientific information about climate change and this has many on their toes.

Keep an eye out for the March for Science. Dates have not been set yet, but you can sign up here.
Update: The March will take place on Earth Day, April 22, 2017.

There is a lot more information I could share on this topic, but I have chosen to leave it at the beginnings and follow it more from there. Please leave your comments, thanks for reading!

Department of Ed. - Secretary of Education

In January I started sharing a lot of articles and information about my political beliefs on Facebook. In the few weeks since I have realized that it may not be the best place to make these statements, so I am moving some of my FB posts to this Blog to continue the work. Some may be a bit outdated but I want to keep track of where I am going here and where I would like to end up.

January 18:

I promised myself I would not work for a for-profit school ever again. Their priorities are not for the students, but for making money. DeVos and her ties to K12 Inc. make me nervous, and that's just a start.

The article that was attached:

Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearing went off the rails

My teaching career goes back a handful of years (or more!) and I have worked for many types of schools. Starting in public school, in a highly populated city near low-income housing, was a shock to me. Yes, I am white and yes, I grew up in an affluent community - I had no idea what I was getting into. It was a struggle to stay and I started to doubt my passion for teaching - could I even do this? So I left and took a very long break.

After more than a year I decided I could not see myself anywhere else, so I started applying to schools again. My goal was to find an online school - I needed to try something different than a typical classroom. Soon I was hired at my "dream job!" The students were online but they came to school everyday. It was a way to build relationships with them, but give them an alternative environment to learn. I was part of something I had never heard of before either - our school was partnered with a for-profit organization that handled our HR and budgets. We were disliked by our district and after many struggles they just the school down (after I had moved on to work overseas).

After leaving the online school I started to learn a lot more about the situation I was in - a for-profit school! Who ever heard of such a thing! Reading about the "umbrella" corporation really opened my eyes to what I was a part of and made me glad to leave. Tax dollars were being funneled right into the CEO, CFO's etc pockets for their own benefit, but what about my students? That was not the purpose of the school, so maybe the district was right to shut them down (my big complaint is they dropped the ball on redirecting our students to other schools).

So, when Betsy DeVos came across my radar I knew that this could only be bad. Her stance for for-profit schools means that our tax money will go into the pockets of fat cats. I have so many questions that I could ask:
a. How does she think school vouchers will work for rural populations?
   Her response in the above linked article was all about distance learning, but from experience this does not work for all students.

b. How will school continue to perform if voucher students start to leave in droves? How will this effect the staff and remaining students if funding dwindles?

c. Are they other ways she can see the public school system being improved?

d. What would be done with the new Common Core Curriculum?

e. How can she encourage non-profits within the charter school systems?

f. Will she work hard to find out more about important policies that effect public schools and colleges (e.g. sexual assault policies and the IDEA, to name a few)?
    Her answers, mentioned in the above linked article, showed insufficient knowledge on both topics.


Tomorrow, January 31, the Senate will vote whether or not to confirm her as Secretary of Ed.
Progressives launch last-minute push against Betsy DeVos, and conservatives counter with online ad campaign

Please add your comments for or against Betsy DeVos.
Thanks for reading!

Update January 31: Betsy DeVos has been confirmed by the committee and will now stand to be confirmed by the Senate.

ACA (Obamacare) and the first efforts of our new senators

In January I started sharing a lot of articles and information about my political beliefs on Facebook. In the few weeks since I have realized that it may not be the best place to make these statements, so I am moving some of my FB posts to this Blog to continue the work. Some may be a bit outdated but I want to keep track of where I am going here and where I would like to end up.

Here is my first political post of 2017 (Jan. 4):

I have family members and students that have benefited from the ACA, I'm really worried about what is going to happen if it's fully repealed and there's no back up plan. Are they going to leave those in need floundering for health care?!?!

A close family member was paying $700 a month or more before ACA and even though the premiums are going up the monthly payment is significantly less than before, it's perfect for a fixed budget. If ACA goes away insurance won't be affordable again 

The first act of some senators - even before they were confirmed - was to attack the ACA. Here is the article that was posted with the above statement:

Replacing Obamacare with be difficult, Repealing it could be just as hard

I agree that the Affordable Care Act is not perfect, but it has set us on the right path. Making changes and updates to the system could make it better.

What I think has gone right:

a. Allowing 26 year olds to still be a part of their parents' insurance plans (this would have been great for me after college, sometimes you just need a few years to get fully on your feet).

b. Requiring health insurers to take on people with existing conditions (I have known family and friends with existing conditions who have, in the past, frequently had trouble getting affordable health insurance (or even insurance at all)).

c. Creating a competitive market for people to find insurance that can match their needs (My husband and I took advantage of this for several months during a major life change).

d. Encouraging, ok, pretty much requiring, people to have insurance (there are plenty of twenty-somethings that just do not opt in and when they are sick and cannot pay, taxpayers do anyway).

This list can go on and on, but these 4 immediately come to my mind as to why it has been effective.

A second FB post from January 12:

Approximately 1 in 18 people in the US is currently benefiting from Obamacare (ACA). No matter if you are for or against the Senate shutting it down I highly recommend finding someone benefiting from it right now and asking them about pros and cons.

Here's the article too:

The senate just took it's first step toward repealing Obamacare

Currently I know several people taking advantage of ACA, please share your stories as to why it's helpful to you or your family.

There are several people that I know whom are against it too, please share your stories here too.

Thanks for reading!

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