text:
April 3, 2011
"I was determined... not to raise a soft, entitled child...."
I read books with a pen in hand and mark passages I want to be able to find later. That's the only thing I marked in "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," which I'd read about a third of a few weeks ago and picked up and read to the end yesterday. Those 2 quotes appear on page 22 (of the hardback). As you probably know, the book is a memoir written by a lawprof, Amy Chua, who goes to great lengths driving her 2 daughters to learn to play the piano and violin and portrays this intense venture as Chinese.
You're left on your own in deciding whether to hate her for being so cruel or to worry that you should be (or should have been) a whole lot tougher on your own kids. In the process of making that decision, you've got to face up to or struggle to deny the way you are influenced by the extremely high level of accomplishment the 2 daughters reach. There has to be some degree of admiration or envy pushing you around.
See? She's a lawprof, and, I, a lawprof, see the book as setting up a Socratic inquiry. The lawprof keeps her distance as she gives you something complex to try to pull apart and examine. I can see why I marked the passage I marked and then left the pen capped. There's a very basic goal that is easy to accept in itself: We don't want to raise soft, entitled children. But how do you do that? Here's one example of someone trying to achieve that goal. Now, what have we learned about the goal and how to achieve it?
There's something skeletal about the story Chua tells. The accomplishments of the daughters are documented objectively. There are specific honors that can't be denied. But we can only imagine the cost. Chua presents herself as a cartoon character, and she all but excludes her husband from the picture. I have no idea why these 2 people are married or what their relationship is like. That's one way to write a memoir. I've read other memoirs that deal with ongoing marriages that way. (One is "Dreams From My Father.")
A novelist could find rich material for a brilliant rewrite in "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" (or "Dreams From My Father"). There is so much missing from these stories. Create the flesh that could hang on those bones.
91 comments:
- edutcher said...
The one thing that jumped out at me as I read the post was a phrase that doesn't apply, seemingly - stage mother.
You see the same ruthlessness on the part of a parent who must live through the children.
PS Among the "achievements", will an early suicide be one of them?
- Michael K said...
Maybe the fact that I am an older parent affects how I look at this. My older son is 46 and my youngest daughter is 20. They (except for the oldest) went to private schools, mostly so I could ride herd on their homework and studies. The public high school in my upper middle class community would not cooperate with my efforts to make sure homework got done.
My oldest son sailed to Hawaii with me when he was 16 in the Transpac Race. When he was applying to college, he wrote his personal essay about the experience and was berated by his high school counsellor for doing so. I guess protest marches were more his style.
My younger son was a fire Explorer Scout and had the experience at 17 of slipping down a muddy hill after putting out a vehicle fire and coming face to face with a dead woman. The drunk driver had forgotten he had a passenger.
My oldest daughter is a lawyer and FBI agent. MY middle daughter spent college summers working on archeological dig in Ecuador at 14,000 feet elevation. They bathed in a bucket. She is now starting a PhD program on full scholarship.
I don't say these things to boast. These were the things the kids wanted to do and I helped them. None of them play classical piano. Three of them are married and two have kids now. The youngest has had a harder time but is shaping up. I have watched schools and academics deteriorate over the 40 years I have had kids in school.
- shoutingthomas said...
Whole lotta BS here.
Children of a Yale law professor are going to do pretty well in life.
They've got money, access, status.
You're running low on material, Althouse. Protest fatigue?
Not much to talk about here, sad to say.
- chickelit said...
I think that freeman hunt is on to answer here: link.
- Quayle said...
Just imagine how far her kids could have gone if, instead of being off at work, Chu was home nurturing and playing with the kids in the down times.
- AJ Lynch said...
"She does not talk about the girls' father"...
I wonder ....tiger mother and girls are piano players. Charlie Sheen has tiger blood & plays the piano in his sitcom! Could he be the father?
- themightypuck said...
I wonder what the median salary of a violinist is? You can't outsource live music so it might be a decent profession.
- LarsPorsena said...
....But we can only imagine the cost. Chua presents herself as a cartoon character, and she all but excludes her husband from the picture. I have no idea why these 2 people are married or what their relationship is like....
Relationship? Sperm donor.
- shoutingthomas said...
The stuff of chicklit... egghead version of "Eat, Pray, Love."
Fabulously wealthy, incredibly intellectual, glamorous, interracial couple raises super children! At Yale!
Intellectual porn.
See, I found something to say.
- Dust Bunny Queen said...
I'm not good with the idea that you must push your children to excel in something JUST for the sake of excellence. Forcing anyone to do something, like playing the piano, when they may not especially like the piano or have the ability to be excellent at it is cruelty.
I would not do that to my child. However, once she started a project, a chore, a hobby I would insist that she complete it or give it her best try.
It is never too young to give a child responisbilities, chores and jobs and expect that they try their very best. Children want to be helpful and feel important about their work.
Even at the age of 2 or 3 my child had a few 'jobs'. She may not have done them very well or to my satisfaction, but I would never dream of criticizing her. Instead we would do the chore together until she got the hang of it.
Neither would I heap piles of false praise. I hate it when you hear adults say "Good job!!!" in that high whiney voice when they and their child both know it wasn't a "good job". All that does is to encourage the child to NOT try harder and do sloppy work because they know they will get away with it.
- Jeff said...
I have not read the book, but I did read the original WSJ article, and while I do think she went to extremes in her family relationships, she made some very good points about our American educational system and personal accomplishment in general.
I remember her writing that nothing worth doing is easy when you start--to get a real sense of accomplishment in the end, one must endure frustration and serious discomfort in the beginning. And it's hard to impose discomfort and frustration on our children.
And Chua's blasts are quite justified in light of the bias against the mastering of facts and prejudice against practice that is systemic in the public schools (and is present in a lot of private ones as well). Every time I read that a school "strives to provide a great learning experience", I want to throw up. It takes a lot more than a pleasant experience to accomplish anything worthwhile, and that's one thing about which Chua is dead on.
- Michael K said...
The best experience my youngest has had the past year is a job as a waitress on weekends while she is in school. I wonder if Ms Chua's kids know much about the world ? They will probably be well prepared for a spot in Obama's second administration. I fear these are the people running the country these days.
- Ann Althouse said...
"Relationship? Sperm donor."
No, the husband is a highly accomplished law professor. He's obviously in the picture but his role and the marital relationship are edited out of the book. He probably didn't want personal things about him exposed. And it kept the book simple. It's kind of a young adult book, really. Kids having trouble with their parents could read it and get some psychic rewards. It's not an examination of marriage. We get glimpses of the husband, and in those glimpses, he looks really unhappy with what his wife is doing. But obviously, he must also have approved and even participated in pushing his daughter's achievement. It's interesting to me that he chose (I assume) not to be seen doing whatever he did to inspire his daughters' achievements. His invisibility in the story is an editorial choice, just as it's an editorial choice to present the mother's approach in a racial framework. There is a lot missing, and it's done to make the book more interesting and more simple, to make it something specific to be talked about. The success of the book proves that these were great editorial choices (assuming the goal of writing a book is to get a lot of people reading and talking and to make a lot of money).
- Hagar said...
I hate people who mark in books.
- ironrailsironweights said...
I would like to know about Amy Chua's grooming habits. Asian women have been among the last traditionalists, often remaining in their full flavor states even after almost all other women succumbed to the false allure of the Hideous Pedophilic Bald Eagle. Tragically, that has begun to change, as five minutes' research in the Asian category at Image Fap or You Porn will show. My sneaking (if un-confirmable) suspicion is that not a single hair follicle can be found on Ms. Chua's body. God damn it.
- AJ Lynch said...
I agree -most of us learned a lot from part-time or summer jobs in high school & college. We gained practical, common sense knowledge. Obama seems to have sidestepped that learning experience. As far as I can tell, I have never heard him mention any of his summer work experiences.
- Bruce Hayden said...
I think that the book will have a certain audience, maybe people trying to figure out how to best raise their kids. Mine is in college, and so whatever I can do now would have little, if any, affect, so I won't bother to read the book.
But, 20 years ago, I probably would have read it. And suggest that my, soon to be ex, wife do too (or, it probably would have worked the other way around). We were the type of new parents who wanted to do things right, and turn out a successful, happy, child, which I think we did fairly well at, using a somewhat different approach.
I think that Prof. Chua's approach would have failed miserably with me, esp. as I entered my teen years. They may have worked with her daughters, because they lacked to a great extent what teenage boys have an excess of - testosterone. I look back to my teen years, and the best way to describe my actions during that time might be as passive-aggressive rebellion.
I would say though that the idea of forcing kids to learn an instrument can be counter productive. The problem is that different kids have different aptitudes, and, if they do not have an aptitude for music, they are likely to find themselves in a situation by the time they are into high school where they are working harder and harder for something, and finding that others can achieve that with less work and much more joy. And, as a result, those with aptitude and desire easily leave those without in the dust.
As is probably obvious from that, I lacked that aptitude, as did my kid. I played French Horn into college, but that later was mostly to relate to my music major girlfriend, who did have the aptitude. And my kid tried hard, but didn't have the aptitude to excel either. Other places yes, music no.
- Ann Althouse said...
"I hate people who mark in books."
The very first post ever on this blog is about this subject.
- Martha said...
Tiger Mom triumphs! Daughter #1-- Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld-- was just accepted at Harvard.
and acceptance at Harvard must be the ultimate accomplishment of every driven, Type A mother.
- John said...
The thing that always stuck me about Tiger Mother was how appalling imasculated her husband is. Where the hell was he while she was abusing their two daughters? He never noticed that she was denying them trips to bathroom during paino practice? How did he allow her to treat them that badly and never say anything?
Chua is a deeply silly woman. If she were poor, she would be called at best a stage mother and at worst the state would have long since come and taken her daughters. But in many ways her imasculated husband is even worse. He makes me ashamed to be a modern male.
- themightypuck said...
The best things Harvard produces is dropouts. People who can do. People who can't get diplomas and go work on Wall Street.
- ricpic said...
Is there any right way to raise kids? Or to live, for that matter? If you grow up in the tightly scheduled guilt driven upper middle class yes, you achieve, but is unwinding ego free living even possible after such bootcamp brainwashing? No.
- ironrailsironweights said...
According to the General Social Survey, adolescents of Asian descent have significantly lower self-esteem than white or black adolescents (though Mexican-American teens rank even lower). I wonder whether Ms. Chua's half-Asian daughters suffer from poor self-esteem. If so, her "tiger mother" child rearing habits may be less successful than she thinks.
- John said...
"Tiger Mom triumphs! Daughter #1-- Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld-- was just accepted at Harvard. "
Because there is no value in producing a happy, productive well adjusted child who doesn't get into Harvard.
The excerpts of the book I have read are (unintentionally hilarious). I love the part about how she wouldn't let her daughters be anything but number one at whatever they did. I guess she is so blissfully un-self aware that it never occurred to her that only one kid in the class can be number one making such a dictate a little difficult for everyone to practice. The whole book is about her figuring out, after her one daughter finally rebels, that she can't torture her kids to success. She apparently before that had the wisdom and empathy of a 12 year old.
- ironrailsironweights said...
Chua's husband sounds like a classic Mangina. Which really isn't surprising given their mixed ethnic marriage. Asian women generally aren't caught up in the whole Alpha-loving, chicks-dig-jerks scene, and often will consider dating and marrying Beta males that other women LJBF and ridicule. Now, not all non-Asian men who marry Asian women are Betas, not by any means, but a significant portion are. My guess is that Chua's husband is among their ranks.
- John said...
"We get glimpses of the husband, and in those glimpses, he looks really unhappy with what his wife is doing."
But he never does anything about it and allows his crazy bitch wife to continue to abuse his daughters. Disgraceful.
- themightypuck said...
He might be very Alpha and just waiting until he has a son.
- Freeman Hunt said...
I've been arguing about this book all over the place, but I agree with pretty much everything in Althouse's post.
The only thing I disagree with is it being a given that the reader must be heavily influenced by the daughter's accomplishments.
Since both daughters are still relatively young, I thought the great (and unavoidable) absence in the book was the outcome of Chua's parenting style for her daughters. It's how the kids turn out that matters. What kind of adults will they turn into? We don't know yet because they aren't yet adults.
It could be that their childhood accomplishments snowball through adulthood. Or it could be that one or both of them are burned out and looking to take it easy when school ends. Or the outcome could be something in between or something else entirely.
And then, of course, it's a sample size of only two.
So yes, I think the book is intended as more of a discussion prompt than a how-to with end product examples.
- John said...
"He might be very Alpha and just waiting until he has a son."
So he cares so little about his daughters, he lets his wife abuse them? That is even worse? And have you seen this woman? No way would she have ever married anyone with a set of balls.
- Michael said...
On Marking Books; I am in favor. I have hundreds that are in perfect shape, in perfect bindings, that I read forty years ago. Now, I got at the things with a vengeance and when I am done they are marked, the spines sprung, and in dreadful shape. My life has gone in the opposite direction.
On Children: I have a friend who went to Harvard and then to Harvard Law. He has four children, all went to Harvard, all went to Harvard law. I sometimes wonder what a horror their life could be. But perhaps I wrong, perhaps it was bred in the bone.
Michael K: I have them from 30 to 14, under two administrations. All privately educated, each their own person, none pushed to do what they have no passion for. My youngest is a hockey player and a poor one but he loves it. Oldest son in Panama saving the world. Daughter happily working like a mad woman at an intense poorly paying job.
- virgil xenophon said...
As a "pre" "Baby Boomer" born in 1944 and hence learned to read pre-TV and grew up on a college campus going to a Univ Lab School as the son of college professors, the ONE take-away/admonition I WOULD subscribe to is that much of basic education is NOT fun--that much has to be--SHUDDER--"conned by rote" (to use a term from my parents/grandparents generation) in order to have ANY sort of base-line foundation from whence one can exercise "judgement" about what is academic B.S and what is worthwhile as one progresses. As we all know today the let-the-students-teach-themselves meme with teacher as "facilitator" is much in vogue. If ever there was a cringe-worthy phrase that makes me want to reflexively reach for my gun it's: "I learn so much from my students." Really? Then why are you their teacher? Let's face it: K-12 students brains are pretty much empty vessels needing filling with all that's necessary to be an informed citizen of the world. Lets use an analogy borrowed from the USAF pilot training. NO instructor pilot (IP) would EVER allow his students to solo on their first flight--no matter how precociously intelligent and physically coordinated they are. Yet EXACTLY THAT approach--solo on first flight--is now the standard in elementary ed instruction. The little dears are so "creative" you know..
(I know, but I exaggerate only slightly. We all now readily acknowledge--in fact its become a standing "late-nite" running joke--that the "self-esteem" everyone-gets-trophies movement has triumphed over real accomplishment and mastery of skills K-12., so let's not kid ourselves)
- Bruce Hayden said...
One thing that I think has to be taken into account when modeling child rearing on how this woman did it, is that not everyone is the same. She comes across as Type-A. Some of us are Type-B, and fairly happy like that. My mother was a high achieving Type-A, and she could never understand why a majority of her sons didn't want to emulate her.
I look back 40 years to when I was in college, and sometimes compare myself to a classmate who would get maybe a point lower on math and physics tests, but graduated with straight A's, went on to YLS, and was managing partner of one of the larger offices of one of the biggest firms in the state by 40. In the end, he did the homework, and I didn't, when it wouldn't have helped my understanding.
Yet, now I realize, I wouldn't have been happy as that high powered lawyer. I am a lowly worker bee attorney at a comparably sized firm, which means that I make a lot less than the top attorneys do there. But that also means that I have a lot lower stress level, and I appreciate that. So, I can go skiing before work some days this spring, and that is just fine.
Getting back to child rearing - my kid works at the 90-95% level, instead of the 100% level required by the author of her kids. That still works out to a 3.95 from a good college. But there are times that homework isn't totally completed, because of social functions over the weekend. Or, because of gospel choir, hiking club, etc. Or, just talking to friends.
The important thing to this kid it seems is balance. And, apparently having achieve it fairly well, is extremely happy. If they don't go on to YLS, I won't be disappointed (ok, maybe a little, since I am second generation lawyer).
So, I am happy for the author, her husband, and daughters, for all being driven, Type-A, achievers. But that doesn't fit with a lot of us, and I wouldn't have been happy being raised by her, and likely wouldn't have turned out nearly as well as her kids did. For my kid, what we did worked well, and that is what is important to me.
- Ann Althouse said...
"The only thing I disagree with is it being a given that the reader must be heavily influenced by the daughter's accomplishments. "
I didn't say heavily. I said "to some degree." An issue, while reading, must be: to what extent am I affected by knowing how well this method worked and by my own envy? Either you engage on that level or you're doing something in the denial category. It's just a question fo how conscious you are about this and how much you want to deal with these cross-currents of thought.
Many people get into the idea of: Well, what's so great about being a highly accomplished classical musician? Is that a good career choice? Etc. etc.
I think you ought to at least ask yourself whether that is a psychic defense against envy.
- John said...
"My youngest is a hockey player and a poor one but he loves it. "
Didn't you get the memo from Ms. Chua? Children are supposed to never do anything they can't finish number one doing. How dare your son do something for the joy of doing it. My God he might turn out to be something besides a neurotic over achieving drone.
- Ann Althouse said...
There's also the line of thought that says: Yeah, they are Yale professors and those girls had every advantage. Sure, they accomplished. That says nothing about regular people.
There's some truth to that and some measure of envy. To what extent do you care about examining the emotional component of the judgment?
To me, it's *the* most interesting thing, but I've had many encounters in life with people who are so well defended about the emotional content of their judgments that they actually get quite angry with me.
One reason I blog is so I can say these things from my remote undisclosed bunker instead of where I have to see the faces of the people I piss off.
- John said...
"I think you ought to at least ask yourself whether that is a psychic defense against envy."
So it is out of envy that I find this woman silly and morally repulsive? I don't think so Ann. You might want to ask yourself if your defense of her is just class snobbery. Imagine if she were poor and treated her daughters like this while making them beauty queens or basketball players rather than living a tidy white upper middle class existence? My guess is Ms. Chua would have a lot fewer defenders even though she would be morally no worse.
- Ann Althouse said...
"Didn't you get the memo from Ms. Chua? Children are supposed to never do anything they can't finish number one doing. How dare your son do something for the joy of doing it. My God he might turn out to be something besides a neurotic over achieving drone."
Well, if you read the book and get to the end, you'll see there is development on that point. The younger daughter takes up tennis for her own reasons and plays according to her own standards and requires the mother to back off, which the mother does.
So don't say "never"...
- lemondog said...
Chua's father is distinguished in his field. No mention of her mother.
Was Chua herself driven by a demanding parent or self-driven by the need for approval from a high performing parent?
Chua presents herself as a cartoon character,....
How does she do that? Does she poke fun at herself or exaggerate perceived shortcomings?
What is the purpose of the book? Does the book smack of self-satisfaction, or does Chua sense something lacking in her soul?
- LarsPorsena said...
"..Tiger Mom triumphs! Daughter #1-- Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld-- was just accepted at Harvard. "
Another Han passes the mandarin entrance exams.
- John said...
"Well, if you read the book and get to the end, you'll see there is development on that point."
And Chua is how old and has had children for how many years before she realizes that? That is one of the biggest reasons I find her so objectionable. She seems to have written a book about how it took her until her 40s and until her children were teenagers before she achieved the wisdom and empathy of a well adjusted teenager. And we should listen to such a childish person why?
- Ann Althouse said...
"So it is out of envy that I find this woman silly and morally repulsive? I don't think so Ann."
I think there is a question about what the mix of your reasoning and emotion is. Clearly, you come on strong with denial. I think you should be less shallow and more sophisticated.
"You might want to ask yourself if your defense of her is just class snobbery."
Why are you characterizing me as defending her? Did I really do that? That's your perception. You also perceive me as being in her social class. That is your perception. Where does that come from? What are your feelings around that? If you don't care about such things, why don't you? I am a snob in the sense of looking down on people who don't want to talk about the complexity of the mind's operations.
"Imagine if she were poor and treated her daughters like this while making them beauty queens or basketball players rather than living a tidy white upper middle class existence?"
What's with the "white"? She's Chinese!
Generally, I think poor women who stress accomplishment and hard work are greatly admired.
"My guess is Ms. Chua would have a lot fewer defenders even though she would be morally no worse."
The press is full of stories about poor and working class people who are tough on their children and get them to achieve. And Chua absolutely did not get off the hook for the really abusive things in the story. She doesn't excuse herself either. She purports to tell it straight, not to claim that she's a great hero.
I'm more interested in the things she doesn't tell. She makes some savvy choices about how to present herself which include some confessions that have shock value. That's storytelling.
- John said...
"The press is full of stories about poor and working class people who are tough on their children and get them to achieve."
Contrast the treatment of Chua with the treatment of Richard Williams the father of the famous tennis playing sisters. He also drove his daughters. And his daughters are a lot more talented, rich and successful than Chua's kids. And Williams has been vilified by the media, as are most stage parents.
And yes, she may be Chinese but her lifestyle is upper middle class white all the way. She is most definitely a part of the class that the media identifies with. And yes, she has had some mild criticism in the media. But she is guilty of abusing her kids. Had she been poor, she might be in jail. There are people out there who have lost their kids, at least for a time for less.
And no I don't envy Chua. I am successful. What is their to envy about Chua? She seems to have a lot of emotional problems. No professorship, even one from Yale, is worth that.
- John said...
"She doesn't excuse herself either."
No Ann, she just exploits it and writes a book to make millions via the movie rights. Did it ever occur to you or to Chua that mayber her daughters didn't want their home life splattered all over the Wall Street Journal? It wasn't enough for her to abuse her daughters. She now has to exploit that abuse and the "lessons she learned from it" to make money. For Chua there seems to be nothing in the world that doesn't revolve around her. And no situation or mistake that is ripe for exploitation. The woman is just awful.
- jamboree said...
The whole book is an exercise in trolling.
Do Not Feed The Trolls.
- John said...
Make you a bet Ann,
In ten years Chua is divorced from her husband and estranged from at least one of her daughters.
- Belkys said...
You can't outsource live music so it might be a decent profession.
But you can hire a foreign socialist to direct the orchestra like LA did
- Freeman Hunt said...
Many people get into the idea of: Well, what's so great about being a highly accomplished classical musician? Is that a good career choice? Etc. etc.
I think you ought to at least ask yourself whether that is a psychic defense against envy.
That makes sense. I didn't have that reaction to the book, so I'm coming from a different perspective.
I liked Chua. I thought she was funny. Was she a pushy parent? Does she, perhaps, have some character flaws (bit of a temper and tendency to be overbearing) just like anyone else? Sure, but she also obviously loved her daughters, and I admired that she was willing to spend so much time with them and truly cared about what lives would await them as adults. Also that she wasn't so rigidly locked in to her method that she couldn't evolve her style over time.
If it turns out that her method fails, it will not be because she couldn't be bothered and didn't try.
As it stands now, it seems to be working out fine. If it were me, I would do certain things differently, but I don't know if those changes would create the same, better, or worse results.
I suppose the admiration that could push me around would be the admiration for the way both daughters developed both work ethic and the ability to strategize for improvement. The second daughter illustrated that these were transferable to other endeavors. The girls were raised to be go-getters, not people who just wait around for something to happen for them. I think Chua did an excellent job there.
My hunch is that both daughters will continue to do very well. I think they've processed through their childhood experiences so well, partially through the writing of this book, that most anything negative Chua brought to her parenting will be almost entirely mitigated.
As you mentioned though, there is a lot that isn't there. Most importantly, how is their moral development? How do they treat other people? I don't remember there being much indication either positive or negative.
But the book isn't about that. It is what it is.
It has sparked long and intense discussion among parents I know, and that's been great.
- Maguro said...
Sounds like kind of a self help book or how to manual for affluent white women who want their kids to achieve like Asians without being complete grinds.
- Freeman Hunt said...
John, your comments could be summed up by writing, "I haven't read it."
The daughters helped to write the book.
- William said...
The conflict is between Ms. Chua's duty as a writer and her duty as a parent. Her duty as a writer is to get her book talked about and sold. She succeeded there. My guess is that she used a certain amount of hyperbole and sensationalism to achieve this effect. The incidents she detailed probably happened, but there were probably other acts of tolerance and kindness that she minimized. Her duty as a parent is to raise happy, successful children. The kids seem well launched. The nagging may have been interpreted as a form of loving, which, of course, it was......I wonder if there isn't a certain amount of sex discrimination among Asian families. If there are tiger moms, there are also a lot of baby boys treated like Emperors.
- The Crack Emcee said...
After reading the book, my friend's ultra-liberal baby mamma has switched to raising their kid like this, and the kid - a good kid - is totally rebelling. Acting out, getting into fights, behaving in ways he never did before.
My friend, a pretty conservative father, is actually happy to see it because it indicates to him that, in time, he'll finally get his son to himself, when the baby mamma can't deal any longer. She's one of those who'll do anything to keep the kid from his father's influence (shooting guns, etc.) so Amy Chua is having an effect, though not the kind anyone's expecting.
- Freeman Hunt said...
Written by the eldest daughter.
Seems pretty well-adjusted and well-prepared for life to me.
- reader_iam said...
Do recommend the book, Althouse?
- ironrailsironweights said...
He might be very Alpha and just waiting until he has a son.
Considering that Amy Chua is close to 50, that's not too reasonable a prospect. Unless he ditches her and snags some young chick, which is always a possibility.
- Freeman Hunt said...
I think the daughter's essay highlights that context is everything. Being relentlessly nagged by a loving and affectionate mother is far different than being nagged by an icy and emotionally unavailable one.
- Methadras said...
- themightypuck said...
It is human nature to be tricked into over weighting anecdotal evidence. I doubt Ms. Chua would have written the book if her daughter ran away from home and got into porn (although you never know). Parents (especially mothers) really want to believe in their ability to mold their children and are easily tricked or cajoled into all sorts of educational snake oil (I've heard of parents paying college tuition prices to have quacks babysit their preschoolers).
- Alex said...
I'm reading a lot of ENVY in these comments. Ya'll can't stand Amy Chua's success and the fact that her daughters will be the elite and your children won't be. Bow down to your Han masters!
- themightypuck said...
From Tyler Cowan's blog a week or so ago.
Now that's some real Asian shit. None of this white people Asian shit.
- ken in sc said...
My step-son is self driven. He has none of my genes but he grew up in my house from age six. He has two masters degrees from different schools and a PHD from Harvard. He is currently teaching at Yale. My step-daughter is a tax lawyer with two law degrees. Me? I'm retired and my wife's out of town. I am totally non-driven.
- mm said...
"Tiger" or not, nearly all parents of high-achieving kids are "home-schoolers" to some degree.
Sometimes kids 'get it' early on and parents can guide from the background. My goal (through college) was that at every transition point, no options were closed off.
When son was in HS, he got a D in chem and I made him take the class again. Teacher was not pleased - said my guy was bright enough but just couldn't 'do' chem. Turned out, he could. After graduating in pre-med from UCLA, he decided he liked teaching and became head of the Chem Dept at one of the best private schools in LA - also much in demand as tutor of sprouts of Tinsel Town 'names'.
I became a single parent during the HS years and immediately realized I knew nothing and went to principles so simple, both dad and kids could understand -"Reward" and
"Elimination of distraction".
$$$$ for every "A", $$ for every "B", reduction of above for any "C" and complete forfeiture for any "D". Also, 2 hours at the dining room table five nights-a-week. No TV. No music. No phone. I didn't force them to do homework -if they just wanted to stare at each other for two hours, OK with me. They were not as pleased with this as they were with 'bribery' and did try sitting there and day-dreaming for a couple of nights. And then, the strangest thing happened. Their friends thought this arrangement was so novel, they had to see for themselves. For the next two years, our house became a study hall for 8-10 kids almost every night.
Maybe we were just lucky. But, even "knowing what I know now", I doubt I'd change much.
- Chip Ahoy said...
Bow down to your Han masters
That reminds me, I intended to check out a new Chinese restaurant today that opened up nearby next to Whole Foods.
- Kirby Olson said...
Chua was on Charlie Rose and said it was the AMERICAN success story, not the Chinese success story (she said this kind of thing couldn't happen in China, but she said, work ethic still counts in America. Her husband is Jewish. She has a retarded sister who works at Wal-Mart, and participates in the Special Olympics. There's nothing wrong with Chua. She just doesn't think sitting in front of the TV popping cheese curls and waiting for the welfare check is how America should roll. I'm with Chua. I haven't read the book, but I thought she had the right values when I saw her on Charlie Rose.
- Michael K said...
The mother's behavior seems an awful lot like that of many Asian mothers. Larry Elder used to talk about walking past the public library in his neighborhood in LA. Outside were black kids doing tricks on their skate boards. Inside were Korean mothers standing over their kids doing homework.
There is another book, written by an Asian female anesthesiologist about her experiences with a similar mother and how she hates her. It came out a couple of years ago.
- chickelit said...
I find the notion of the mom's success somehow being "Chinese" racist and offensive. She's just an immigrant mom, terrified of American "laxidasical" parenting style.
I've seen similar success in the children of Europeans and I've seen Asian "Tiger moms" flop terribly as parents and be miserable themselves.
I've also seen success in good old fashioned American parents.
- John said...
"She just doesn't think sitting in front of the TV popping cheese curls and waiting for the welfare check is how America should roll."
Neither do the people who are criticizing her. Just because you are not lazy doesn't mean you should fall into the other ditch. If Chua's daughters are great, good for them. But they are great because they have chosen to do so not because of their mother's bizare and abusive parenting methods. That is the conceit of Chua that makes her so offensive. Your children are people to. They choose their own destiny. You can't mold into what you want to be. If her whole book is about her discovery of that benile point, then she is an idiot with no sense empathy or self. And why bother to read a book by such a person?
- John said...
"I think the daughter's essay highlights that context is everything. Being relentlessly nagged by a loving and affectionate mother is far different than being nagged by an icy and emotionally unavailable one."
No. The essay just shows that she was lucky in that her daughter turned out like her father and just rolled over and put up with the abuse. There is no evidence from the essay that her daughter is any different than any of the other ten million or so east coast upper class brats.
I say to Chua's parenting methods the same thing I say to Bobby Knight's coaching methods. Sure, Knight's players all graduated and his program was never on probation. But, Mike K at Duke and Roy Williams' players graduate to and they have also never been on probation. So couldn't he have done that without throwing the chairs? Same thing with Chua. So what her kid got into Harvard. So did several hundred other kids and several thousand got into schools just as selective. And it happens every year. And I bet most of their parents didn't do the things Chua did.
- Jason (the commenter) said...
But the children of well to do Chinese people are known for being spoiled and decadent. Entitlement is one of the defining characteristics of the Chinese upper class! What is this woman thinking?
- somefeller said...
"Tiger Mom triumphs! Daughter #1-- Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld-- was just accepted at Harvard.
Boy, it'll be quite a scene if she brings a townie home for the holidays!
WV: whizess, what a young woman needs to be to get into Harvard.
- somefeller said...
But seriously, the main thing that jumps out at me from this story isn't that this is what a Chinese parent is supposed to do, but that Chua is approaching things from the classic immigrant (of any ethnicity) perspective - you have to work twice as hard and rack up the accolades because you don't have other networks (connections, rich relatives, etc.) to back you up. This isn't necessarily a bad thing in itself, but it seems a little odd to keep it going past one generation.
Also, Chua appears to make the classic mistake of assuming that the main determinant of success in life is what school you went to, but she isn't alone in making that mistake (it's the bread and butter for so many college counselors and admissions officers!) so it's hard to single her out for criticism on that score.
- prairie wind said...
John said, He never noticed that she was denying them trips to bathroom during paino practice? How did he allow her to treat them that badly and never say anything?
This made me chuckle when I read it. When I was in grade school, we went to the restroom before or after recess and after lunch. Maybe after PE, too. We went when we were allowed to go and I don't remember anyone wetting their pants in class. Today, kids go to the bathroom when they want to go. It seems that we've forgotten that waiting to use the restroom is something that children are able to do. So when Chua doesn't let her girls go to the bathroom, I don't get too excited about it. (While I don't remember it happening among my classmates, I suppose some kids did wet their pants at school. Funny thing is that it STILL happens once in awhile, even though kids no long have to wait to use the restroom at school.)
I've heard several comments (here and elsewhere) that it would be cruel to subject a child to music lessons if the child isn't particularly interested or gifted in music. Why not? Do you expect your child to learn to read only if they are gifted or interested in it? Children can learn to be musicians. The Suzuki method of teaching music proves that over and over again. Will all Suzuki-taught children become Perlman? Nope, but not all "gifted" children who love violin will become Perlman either.
- John said...
"if the child isn't particularly interested or gifted in music. Why not? "
Playing a musical insturment, unlike reading, is not an essential skill to have in society. Yeah, I suppose there is some intellectual value to be had from the pursuit of it. But couldn't that same value be gained by doing something the child enjoys?
And of course Chua's insistence on only classical music is especially humorous and pathetic. I guess if one of her girls were the next Louis Armstrong, they would have been out of luck. The fact that she insisted on only classical shows that Chua was posing more than anything else.
- lemondog said...
He might be very Alpha and just waiting until he has a son.
Considering that Amy Chua is close to 50, that's not too reasonable a prospect. Unless he ditches her and snags some young chick, which is always a possibility.
Number 6 on past Law School Dean hottie list
- reader_iam said...
Just an observation: I've met many a parent who doesn't see the point in having their children take music lessons if they're not particularly talented or interested in music but yet insist that every child ought to get involved in a team sport at least for a while, on account of the discipline and unique attributes such participation can provide.
wv: nonag
LMAO! Seriously. Sometimes I swear blogger's just f'n' with me.
- John said...
And the idea that people find Chua objectionable out of envy is especially offensive and annoying. I will freely admit there are people I am envious of, Brazilian soccer stars, Formula 1 drivers, the hosts of Top Gear, Derek Jeter just to name a few. Crazy abusive Yale law professors, not so much.
- themightypuck said...
We now know that Prof. Althouse is envious of Amy Chua for nothing to do with her child raising techniques and everything to do with her hot silver BMW driving hubbie. We also now know why hubbie has his wife and children on a long leash. He was busing fighting off the advances of his students.
- themightypuck said...
busing = busy DOH!
- Michael K said...
"And of course Chua's insistence on only classical music is especially humorous and pathetic."
There is a theory with some evidence that practicing classical music, especially Mozart and Bach, at an early age improves math skills.
I can't prove that rap makes kids stupid but I do wonder.
- prairie wind said...
Perhaps learning to play classical music is a good place to begin because the music is disciplined and teaches so much about music theory and music history along the way? A classical music education is no barrier to someone who wants to be a rock star. Learning to play Beatles songs or folk tunes and moving to classical does not seem to be as easy. I could be wrong.
Another thought about kids and restrooms and what kids are able to learn: Used to be that children were potty-trained by age 2. Now it is USUAL for parents to begin thinking about potty-training after the child is three. Parents need to raise their expectations of what their children are capable of doing.
- Old Dad said...
Parenting is a crap shoot. There are no experts, Chinese or otherwise. If Tiger mom raised happy kids and got a good pay day from her book, good on her, but she doesn't know shit about parenting. And neither do I.
When I would whine to my mom about my kids, she'd tell me to shut up, keep loving them, and do the best you can.
I guess that's right.
- Martha said...
Amy Chua parents by demanding excellence. Not all children are able OR want to deliver excellence. The amount of self-discipline, focus, and maturity demanded by Chua is incalculable.
Two of my three sons graduated from Harvard--both Phi Beta Kappa. My parenting style was nothing like Ms. Chua's. In fact I firmly believe that my sons would have gotten into Harvard regardless of what kind of parent they had. They demanded excellence of themselves.
I think that by demanding that her daughters be #1 in everything Amy Chua is/was ridiculously short-sighted and narrow. There is more to life than being #1.
- SteveR said...
She's very tiresome
- David said...
I don't give a damn how she parents. That's up to her (and her husband?). Lot's of parenting styles can work.
I do criticize her making her parenting, and thus her children, a means of self promotion. Those kids are going to be under a microscope for their entire childhood. Not a good move, mom.
- Lucius said...
In my experience, anybody who plays or even professes to love Classical music, is looked upon as some sort of Pod Person until they've been seen grinding their ass against a pole to the sound of "Baby Got Back." It's demanded of you to pay the Pound of Flesh to the gods of popular culture.
So I wonder what kind of scenes these prodigies might be impelled to in their social life in college-- and what, if any, effect that might have in undoing all the high-minded good effects of their mother's mode of raising them.
- Alex said...
In my experience, anybody who plays or even professes to love Classical music, is looked upon as some sort of Pod Person until they've been seen grinding their ass against a pole to the sound of "Baby Got Back." It's demanded of you to pay the Pound of Flesh to the gods of popular culture.
What are you talking about? There is plenty of good pop music infused with classical. I mean heck, putting strings on a pop song goes back to the 1940s!
- Lucius said...
Strings alone don't really make it "classical"-- though of course they've made for a nice touch in a lot of pop songs.
Classical training/taste in music invites the mad urge in a lot of people to demand shows of solidarity, particularly by way of mad debauchery.
Or just pure trashiness, a la Vanessa Mae.
- Alex said...
I guess you never heard of the alternative pop/rock genre. There's plenty of intelligent, modern music there.
- Lucius said...
Alex, I'm not challenging the intelligence of pop music one way or another (I just replayed Bjork's "Homogenic" last night if that matters)-- what I'm pondering is whether the 'discipline' of Classical music actually has some specific impact on these kids that stays with them for life, or whether it's something that brushes off them.
And I'm also noting, a la "Black Swan", the way the perceived 'restraint' or 'innocence' of a personal fondness for Classical music acts like Idiot Catnip on the vast majority of people one might socialize with, for whom the "Eroica" Symphony is more obscure than the Epodes of Horace.
- knox said...
She's very tiresome
LOL. Indeed.
- udaya210 said...
When I design custom invitations, I offer to design custom postage for my clients to complete the look of their invitation package. The party starts when the guests open their invitations, so setting the tone of the party with the invitation is important. But even before the envelope is opened, the first impression the guest has of the invitation is what's on the outside.
- GuildWars2Items said...
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I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches RS GP, Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first RuneScape Gold, Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that rs gold you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.


text:
Nuggets' Lawson, Warriors' Curry find all draft spots aren't created equal
Fortune can be a funny thing. So can a little perspective.
On draft night in June while Stephen Curry beamed from ear to ear, Ty Lawson was making his list and checking it twice. The 17 teams that passed on him were going to pay when he faced them. He'd punish them with points, assists, steals and spectacular plays. All designed to make them wonder what on earth they could have been thinking by going in a direction other than with him.
But between then and now an interesting thing happened – Lawson stopped caring.
While being picked in the high teens and immediately traded didn't do wonders for his ego five months ago, it turns out the Denver Nuggets rookie point guard has found something better: Success and happiness.
And that's priceless.
Just ask Curry.
His bank account is a bit bigger, but so are his stress levels. Golden State is as far away from the Nuggets in the standings as Curry was drafted (7th) ahead of Lawson (18th). On top of that, Curry, expected to do big things quickly (how ever fairly or unfairly) hasn't delivered just yet.
He's struggled with defense. His consistency ebbs and flows on offense. Golden State has had a dysfunctional start with finger-pointing between players, feuding between ex-forward Stephen Jackson and coach Don Nelson before the player was traded; and a budding star in guard Monta Ellis who before the season even began said he could not co-exist with Curry in the same backcourt.
And through all of that, the baby-faced kid from Davidson is supposed to learn and grow and become a true professional.
"I'm not happy with how things are going so far, right now anyway, the consistency of my game," Curry said. "So, I'm just going to continue to work hard, work on that, and see what happens. My confidence is high. I just gotta try to keep my happiness level up with how we're playing. It's not there. We're going to fight back. We're not going to quit on the season or anything like that. But we have a long way to go."
Meanwhile, Lawson has found that going later can have its privileges.
Outside of Carmelo Anthony's MVP start to the season, Lawson has been the next-best story on the team. He has come from a rookie that wasn't pegged for much playing time to a player that in the preseason veterans whispered to coach George Karl had to get on the court, to a player that has moved into the reserve point guard role previously occupied by an 11-year veteran.
Everywhere the Nuggets go, every new team the Nuggets face, Karl fields a bevy of the same questions all in effort to write the latest round of glowing stories about the impact Lawson has had on the team. It's been so much that Karl joked he'd been told to stop gushing so much about him. And it's just December.
Which brings us back to draft position and what it really means. In Lawson's and Curry's cases, it's meant an early reversal of fortune.
"If you go to a team that's not really winning, like the New Jersey Nets, they haven't won a game yet. I might go crazy if I haven't won a game. I'm a competitive person," Lawson said. "I'm glad I'm on a team that's winning like we are right now."
Lawson's words come with smiles.
Many of Curry's come with sighs.
"We have some ups and downs as a team right now," Curry said. "We come out some games really competitive, getting where we want to be on the court, making you feel real comfortable. And some nights we really don't have it and get blown out like (Tuesday against the Nuggets). So, we just got to stay focused on getting better every day."
Working in Curry's favor is an energetic interim coach, Keith Smart, who keeps sunshine and rainbows present in a season full of storm clouds.
"This is not an easy league for a rookie to come in," Smart said. "Even LeBron (James) struggled when he came in, but of course he's a super talent. But young players are going to struggle because they have to go through all of the ins and outs of the NBA – how they prepare, how they deal with a back-to-backs. So he's on track. It's going to be tough on him for a moment, but he's still going to be a good player in our league."
Chris Dempsey: firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Ranked third in Class 3A, Estherville Lincoln Central should face its toughest test of the postseason to date against tenth-ranked Nevada tonight in Garner.
The Nevada Cubs opened tournament play with a 60-29 victory over South Hardin, Eldora and then beat Iowa Falls-Alden 44-40.
Six-foot freshman Kati Cassabaum led the Cubs in both games, scoring 18 points against South Hardin and 25 against Iowa Falls-Alden. However Cassabaum is averaging 10.6 points per game this season.
Teammate Jessica Helton, a 5-5 junior, leads the team in scoring with 11.5 points per contest. She is shooting 30.4 percent from 3-point range, making 42-of-138 for the season. Megan Pringnitz, a 5-10 junior, is averaging 8.7 points per contest with a majority of her shots also taken from beyond the arc. She is 41-of-131 from 3-point range for 31.3 percent. From the field, she is 64-of-177 for 36.2 percent.
Nevada (17-4) has two losses this season to North Polk 54-44 and 50-44, one to Greene County, 56-40 and one to fifth-ranked Bondurant-Farrar, 28-26.
Like ELC, Nevada's team appears predicated on defense as the Cubs have given up more than 40 points just once in a victory.
Both the Midgets and Cubs are giving up around 32 points per game, but ELC is averaging 57 points on offense compared to 49 by Nevada.
The Midgets are coming off one a good game in Wednesday's 53-32 win over Hampton-Dumont.
Again the Midgets have more weapons that most teams with two career 1,000-point scorers in Allie Sievert (14.4 points per game this season) and Emily Kirchner (13.3 ppg) Also point guard Sara Heywood is averaging 9.2 points per contest, but has averaged 14 points per game in two playoff games.
Regardless of the stats, ELC is looking for its third straight bid to the state tournament.
Looking at the other Class 3A Region final pairings, second ranked MOC_Floyd Valley is taking on unranked South Central Calhoun in Cherokee; ninth-ranked Spirit Lake is taking on unranked Garner-Hayfield/Ventura in Algona; unranked Crestwood is taking on fourth-ranked Cascade in Manchester; top-ranked Davenport Assumption faces 11th-ranked Center Point-Urbana in Wilton; 13th-ranked Mid-Prairie is taking on unranked Williamsburg in Cedar Rapids; eighth-ranked Central Lee is taking on fifth-ranked Bondurant-Farrar in Albia; and unranked red Oak is taking on unranked ADM in Creston.


text:
LOWELL -- A 21-year-old city man is being held on more than $10,000 cash bail after Lowell police raided his Middlesex Street home Sunday where he lived with four young children and allegedly found 37 bags of heroin and thousands in cash.
In Lowell District Court on Monday, Pedro Torres, of 56 Middlesex St., Apt. 41, was ordered held on $10,000 cash after pleading not guilty to trafficking in heroin (36 grams or more) and possession of a Class C drug.
During the 6:55 p.m. raid, police said they found heroin, nine pills of Alprazolam, the generic name for Xanax, in a kitchen cabinet, a bag of marijuana in the kitchen and a pellet gun in the master bedroom, according to court documents.
Torres allegedly told police he had just "bagged up'' the heroin before the raid and that he was holding the Aprazolam pill for a friend. Police also found $3,569.
Police say Torres was alone in the apartment with four children, ages 6, 3, 1, and a baby, 3 months.
Police also had a warrant for Torres' arrest on charges of possession with intent to distribute and assault and battery. Torres also had a pending case in District Court.
Defense attorney Keren Goldenberg argued for Torres' release explaining that her client is participating in United Teen Equality Center to earn his high-school equivalency degree while working.
Gregg Croteau, executive director of UTEC, disputed that assertion after reading it in an online story.
Judge Thomas Brennan set an additional $5,000 cash bail on the drug case linked to the warrant and revoked Torres' bail on the pending case.
A probable-cause hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3.
Follow Lisa Redmond on Tout and Twitter@lredmond13_lisa.


text:
It's a hot July afternoon just outside of Los Angeles in the northwestern San Fernando Valley, and Showtime's "Californication" has taken up residence on top of a hill in the town of Chatsworth, at a midcentury modern mansion reputed to have housed both Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.
On this night, it's the setting for a dinner party featured in the finale of the show's fourth season, currently under way on Sunday nights.
The house is the home of Stu Beggs (Stephen Tobolowsky), the producer of the movie being made from the memoir written by perpetually messed-up novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) -- a memoir that, through a complicated series of events, wound up getting him accused of statutory rape.
Out in back, there's a pool surrounded by lawns and hedges, which are home to a number of rabbits that fortunately escape the gaze of hawks circling nearby.The highlight of the evening comes when Rob Lowe, who plays Eddie Nero, the intense and unbalanced actor playing the character of Hank Moody, decides to show off by doing a number of push-ups.
"Listen," says Lowe, talking in his trailer at the bottom of the hill later in the evening, "in 'Parks and Recreation,' in my first episode, I did pull-ups. I did them all day long. That was nothing."
Impromptu exercise is far from the craziest thing Eddie Nero does in the show. Next to him, Moody looks almost grown-up and sane.
"This is by far the most outrageous character I've every played," Lowe says. "It's just the things he says, his worldview. He tongue-kisses Evan Handler (who plays Charlie Runkle, Hank's agent). I don't know what was more romantic, kissing Callista (Flockhart, on 'Brothers & Sisters') or Evan Handler in the same week."
When he first appeared in the show, Nero was wearing a big knit cap, and had a mustache and goatee -- a look similar to one Brad Pitt had sported.
"It wasn't so much Brad Pitt," says Lowe, "as it was that sort of things that a lot of actors do. I mean, a lot. Colin Farrell's sported it; Johnny Depp sported it; Brad sported it. Who else? There are other ones. Heath Ledger sported it.
"It's sort of a particular look that actors gravitate toward. I call it homeless couture. It's like a $7,000 homeless look. Literally, I mean the knit cap is probably Hermes. It was my homage to a school of actor, not just one person."
As to whether he ever did the look himself, Lowe -- who, at this point, is short-haired and clean-shaven -- says, "I probably had my share of affectations in the younger days. It's hard to continue sporting affectations in your 40s. You gotta really want it."
"I didn't know that Brad Pitt had a beard like that," says Duchovny. "Now he's trying to look like me. He's doing the role of me in the movie, so now he's "
Lowe strolls by with his bangs brushed over his forehead, and Duchovny quips, "I hope I don't look like that, but he's trying."
Duchovny even has a nice memory of Lowe, saying, "One of the first jobs I had, barely a job, when I first came to L.A., was one line in 'Bad Influence,' that Rob was the star of. I remember being in the makeup trailer with Rob, and he was kind to me then, and he didn't have any reason to be.
"He's a good guy, and he's really terrific in this part. I think he appreciates the license to play that we try to give people here."
Lowe has many lines in the dinner scene, and at this point -- having just flown in to Los Angeles from Italy -- he's yet to film his close-ups.
"Honestly," he says, "my head is literally turning by the minute into jelly. The jet lag, I know how it works. I said, 'Start me at 7 in the morning, I'll be sharp as a laser, but from 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I will be exponentially more useless.'
"So when will I be doing my coverage? At 8:30 at night, which is three o'clock in the morning from where I used to be.
"This is the kind of stuff they can't teach you in acting class. This is what I want to tell young actors, 'Look, the s... you're going to need to know, there's no way you can learn this in school.' By the way, I got this scene, how long ago, a day and a half ago? I read it for the first time coming from the airport.
"That's one of the things I take a lot of pride in. What does Harrison Ford do? He's an action star. My thing is, I can do this with jet lag and no sleep. That's my monkey trick."


text:
White House marks 50th anniversary of poverty war
- Associated Press
- January 7, 2014 - 6:30 PM
WASHINGTON — The White House says that although progress has been made in reducing poverty, government can still play a positive role in reducing hardship and increasing economic opportunity.
President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers is marking the 50th anniversary of the nation's "War on Poverty" by releasing a progress report covering the past five decades. President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the effort in 1964.
The White House says poverty has dropped from nearly 26 percent in 1967 to 16 percent in 2012.
But the report says there's more to be done and that government has a role. It says government programs to help those in poverty have largely been responsible for the progress.
The anniversary comes as Obama is proposing steps to reduce income inequality, including a minimum wage hike.
© 2018 Star Tribune


text:
OREGON — Ashton Rutherford of Oregon signed a letter of intent to attend St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, as a member of the track and field team next season.
Rutherford is a senior at Oregon High School and participates in pole vault, as well as 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relays.
For information: sau.edu.


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican White House candidate Mitt Romney is offering new ideas on the controversial issues of taxes and immigration, sparking a fresh flashpoint with President Barack Obama before their inaugural debate Wednesday.
The GOP nominee suggested an option of limiting deductions to pay for his across-the-board income tax cut and revealed that he would honor temporary work permits for young illegal immigrants granted by the Obama administration.
"The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. I'm not going to take something that they've purchased," Romney told The Denver Post in an interview published Tuesday. "Before those visas have expired we will have the full immigration reform plan that I've proposed."
Obama announced in June that he would prevent deportation for some children brought to the United States by illegal immigrant parents. Applicants must not have a serious criminal record and must meet other requirements, such as graduating from high school or serving in the U.S. military.
The program closely tracked with the DREAM Act, a bill that failed to pass Congress that would have provided a path to legal status for many young illegal immigrants. Romney said during the Republican presidential primary campaign that he would veto DREAM Act legislation.
Obama campaign spokesman Gabriela Domenzain said Romney's statement to the Denver Post "raises more questions than it answers," including whether he would repeal Obama's policy or deport those who have received a deferment after two years.
"We know he called the DREAM Act a 'handout' and that he promised to veto it," Domenzain said. "Nothing he has said since contradicts this and we should continue to take him at his word."
The Denver Post interview comes as Romney and Obama are fighting a heated battle for Colorado, whose significant Hispanic population could determine which candidate receives the state's nine electoral votes.
Throughout the Republican primary, Romney took an aggressive tack on immigration, saying in debates that he approved of "self-deportation," where undocumented workers would choose to leave the country on their own because they were unable to find work. He assailed rival Rick Perry, the Texas governor, for allowing illegal immigrants to attend Texas state colleges and universities at reduced, in-state tuition rates. Romney always has said he supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who serve in the military.
After Romney secured the nomination, he indicated he would review potential legislation from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio that would allow some young illegal immigrants a way to stay in the country.
In another interview Monday with Denver television station KDVR, Romney laid out a possible scenario for paying for proposal to cut all income tax rates by 20 percent. He's previously said the cuts would be funded by closing loopholes and deductions, but that the specifics would have to be worked out with Congress.
"As an option you could say everybody's going to get up to a $17,000 deduction; and you could use your charitable deduction, your home mortgage deduction, or others — your health care deduction, and you can fill that bucket, if you will, that $17,000 bucket that way," Romney said. "And higher income people might have a lower number."
The new details came as Romney and Obama went into seclusion Tuesday to practice for the debate, underscoring the high stakes for both in their first televised encounter. Obama is at a resort in Henderson, Nev., while Romney was spending most of the day at a hotel on the outskirts of Denver, where the debate is being held. He planned at some point Tuesday to tour the debate stage that was set up on the University of Denver campus.
With just five weeks until Election Day, they dispatched their wives and running mates to court voters in key states, such as the critical battleground of Ohio, where early voting began Tuesday. Balloting already is under way in other states.
In Pennsylvania, a judge blocked a requirement that all voters show photo ID in this year's election, a victory for Democrats who argued it would prevent the elderly and minorities from voting. But voters will have to show identification in some other states as part of a wave of new policies approved primarily by Republican-controlled legislatures.
GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was visiting three Iowa towns during a bus tour Tuesday, while Vice President Joe Biden scheduled two events in North Carolina, another swing state. First lady Michelle Obama was campaigning in Ohio and Seattle, and Ann Romney was attending a rally in Littleton, outside Denver.
In Clinton, Iowa, a voter asked Ryan about video of Romney saying 47 percent of Americans don't pay income taxes and are dependent on government. The voter wanted to know if there is a way to collect something from everyone.
"I have an idea: Let's help them get jobs so they can get good paychecks and then they're good taxpayers," Ryan said. He did not mention that military members serving in war zones and retired seniors are among the millions of people who do not owe federal income taxes.
Ryan acknowledged, however, Romney's comments about those people muddled the political landscape.
"Sometimes the point doesn't get made the right way," he said.
Biden told about 1,000 supporters in Charlotte that Romney and Ryan don't give Americans enough credit for all the responsibility they take on.
"The question I have is: How could they have such a profound misunderstanding of the people of this country?" Biden said. "And folks, I've got news for Congressman Ryan and Gov. Romney. America's neither dependent nor in decline. And gentlemen, let me say it to you straight into the camera, it's never, never, never been a good bet to bet against the American people."
Ryan tried to invoke optimism as his ticket trails in the polls. He predicted the debates would spark a shift.
"Now we're entering what we call the debate and choice phase of this campaign," Ryan told The Jay Weber Show on Milwaukee's 1130 WISN talk radio. "People are going to focus on this. The debates are going to give us a chance to highlight our differences, and we're entering the phase where we get to frame the choice of this election."
(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Embedded Linux Software Engineer - DVB STB
- Recruiter
- Computer Futures
- Location
Bristol (City Centre)City of Bristol
- Salary
- Negotiable
- Posted
- 22 Jan 2013
- Closes
- 19 Feb 2013
- Ref
- Contact
- Tom Kelly
- Sector
- Technology & New Media
- Contract Type
- Contract
- Hours
- Full Time
We have an immediate requirement for an embedded Linux software engineer for an initial 6 month contract. You will be working in one of the best teams devoted to this area in the UK. It is essential that you are experienced in Set Top Box development with Digital Video Broadcast experience.
You will be working with complex Kernel development for embedded systems. Your role will encompass various technical areas such as embedded C, embedded C++ and embedded Linux onto ARM.
Essential skills:
- Embedded Linux Kernel
Desirable skills:
- Embedded C++
- Embedded C
Please submit your CV for review and I will be in touch ASAP to discuss.
To find out more about Computer Futures please visit www.computerfutures.com


text:
Talk:Ilyena Faustin
Jump to navigation Jump to search
| This talk page is for discussing the Ilyena Faustin article.
This includes commenting on the article, questioning whether it is correct, or adding suggestions for improvements
Questions about GTA games, not about the wiki page itself, should be asked at Community:Questions.Remember to always add your signature to the end of your comments/replies using four tildes:
Voice Actor?
Who is the voice actor for Ilyena Faustin? It doesn't say in the article.--MrLanceVanceDance (talk) 02:25, 30 October 2011 (GMT)


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Tuesday, January 31, 2006
M Zone Pre-Signing Day Diversion: The Year in Movies
With signing day still a week away and Oscars noms on the horizon (and a shitload of time to kill in the off-season), regular M Zone reader PajamaGuy suggested we post a link to his site taking a look back at The Year in Movies, 2005 Edition. Since it saved us actually having to come up with anything else ourselves for today and being the lazy bastards we are (especially Wangs), we quickly agreed.
3 comments:
Interesting. I was going to leave a comment here, but I guess I'll leave it there.
- January 31, 2006 11:44 AM
Best Michigan football movie? The Big Chill. Is there any competition?
- January 31, 2006 2:52 PM
If you want football movies, you need to be a Notre Dame fan, since they have both Knute Rockne and Rudy.
- January 31, 2006 5:13 PM
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Are you investing in your employees and their professional development? Does your organization create real incentives for technology innovation? Do you encourage staff to learn new technologies and IT skills, even if they're not explicitly relevant to a person's job description?
If you answered with a shoulder shrug, you may have no one to blame but yourself for that supposed skills shortage. You're also likely leaving lots of opportunities untapped. Prioritizing and rewarding employee skills development can improve hiring and retention, for starters. It can also help build internal technical expertise, even in organizations that lack a robust centralized IT department. Take heed, small and midsize business (SMB) pros.
"I am a firm believer that technology-savvy people are always looking to improve their knowledge and work with cutting-edge technology," said Rona Borre, CEO and founder of IT recruitment firm Instant Technology, in an email interview.
[ Feeling stuck? It may be time to take things into your own hands. See 9 Tips To Avoid IT Midcareer Slump. ]
Creating that kind of environment is easy to not do. Doing so requires the right mindset and a commitment of time and, in some instances, money. But Borre said it's also a matter of scale, meaning that a 50-person company doesn't have to go punch for punch with Google's HR operations to create a culture of learning and innovation.
"A lot of times, [SMBs] think they don't have the time or resources to invest in these types of training; however, that's not the case," Borre said. "These things, as well as many other training activities, are all about scale and can be done to fit any IT department size and budget. They lead to more efficient and knowledgeable employees, making the businesses better in the process."
Read on for six ideas from Borre on how to do just that.
1. Offer Real Training Opportunities
Training's one of those dangerous words in the corporate vocabulary. It sounds boring and bureaucratic -- and it often is, which is a problem. It's also easy to drop a pile of software documentation on someone's desk and call it "training." But that won't cut it.
"It must be quality training. Don't hand them a manual and ask them to read it or make them sit in a classroom for eight hours straight," Borre said. "Actually provide them with exciting training they want to take. This should be done often and in every IT department no matter the size, as the IT environment is constantly changing." You could poll employees periodically to find out which areas they'd like to learn more about, such as security or data analytics. Borre also suggested offering serious skills development opportunities -- again, no "read the manual" approaches -- as a performance bonus for employees that meet or exceed certain goals.
2. Send Employees Back To School
"One way employers can help their employees out is by offering them some type of educational benefit," Borre said. This will usually cost money, of course, but Borre noted that you can offset some of that budget if the educational programs qualify for a pre-tax educational benefit.
"This makes the employee happy and also allows them to get a fresh take on today's IT solutions and practices from someone outside of the organization," Borre said. "They can then bring what they learned back to the workplace to share."


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I am a novice / not-strong developer building an intranet site that must be internet explorer7 compatible. The site will be rather large as it is for a healthcare company.
I will likely be using Dreamweaver 6 to build the site. Does anyone have any advice for building a responsive / dynamic site that is ie7 compatible?
Thank you so much in advance for any input you might be able to share.


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As the youngest of my dad's three daughters, I know how important it is to deliver a big "thanks" on Father's Day. Despite being the only man in the family, my dad has met every challenge with a jolly smile and a quirky sense of humor, and for that, he deserves a little more than just a neck tie.
Believe it or not, I actually look forward to buying gifts for Father's Day. Dads aren't too difficult to buy for, and if you find the right stuff, the gifts you give him will actually be put to use. Be on the lookout for these deals while you shop for your dad this weekend.
Kmart's circular this week is loaded with good deals on items that would make for great Father's Day gifts. If your dad is an outdoorsman, look for deals on fishing and camping gear. All fishing rod-and-reel combos are 15 percent off. Portable furniture such as the canopy chair by Sportcraft, on sale for $20, and a folding hammock by Northwest Territory, $49, are fun additions to any camp site.
Many tools are on sale at Royall Ace Hardware on Coleman Boulevard in Mount Pleasant. Buffers and circular saws by Craftsman are marked down to $30. They also have plenty of good deals on smaller tools, such as $15 screwdriver sets. Hand tools and accessories by Irwin are on sale for $10 each.
TV and music accessories are great gifts for high-tech dads. Wireless Bluetooth speakers are popular right now because they're portable and offer just enough volume for the beach or other outdoor activities. Radio Shack has smaller speakers for $30, about $10 off, and larger ones from $60-$80.
If you want to throw in a gift for your dad's youthful side, check out Radio Shack's deals on remote control toys such as helicopters, planes and even bugs, some of which are on sale for as low as $5.
Ollie's Bargain Outlet in North Charleston is a sensible spot to shop for gifts because they offer such a wide array of items for extra low prices. Outdoor games such as horseshoe and badminton sets are marked down to $30, toss games are $25 and footballs are $15. Ollie's also has hair cut kits and trimmers for less than $10, and a back massaging seat cover by Dr. Scholl's on sale for $20.
If you want to impress your dad, you'll probably want to steer clear of the clothing aisles.
Dress shirts and ties don't exactly call for a celebration, no matter how sensible they may seem. Instead, look for gifts that will enhance his hobbies or interests.
Reach Abigail Darlington at charlestonsavvyshopper@postand courier.com.


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Some of Sony Ericsson's new and upcoming phone models have a simple built-in feature that lets you remotely control your computer as if your phone was a wireless keyboard and mouse. Unfortunately, popular Mac applications are not supported out-of-the-box. Salling's Remote Basics fills the gap by adding controllers for iTunes, EyeTV, DVD Player, VLC, PowerPoint, and Keynote.
Our full-featured Salling Clicker has many benefits over the Basics product: search and browse music from your phone or PDA; view PowerPoint slide notes; automatically pause
- Bluetooth-equipped Mac with Mac OS X 10.3.5 or later
- Sony Ericsson K700i, K700c, or S700


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Supplier Quality Engineer (Contract)
- Recruiter
- Real Staffing
- Location
- Galway
- Salary
- £18.00 - £36.86 per hour
- Posted
- 06 Feb 2013
- Closes
- 06 Mar 2013
- Ref
- Contact
- Derek Sheridan
- Sector
- Engineering
- Function
- Quality Management
- Contract Type
- Contract
- Hours
- Full Time
One of our key global clients, a leading Medical Devices company, located in the Galway area, is in need of a Supplier Quality Engineer on a contract basis. The company is aimed at developing innovative medical devices to increase patient care. This would be an initial 6 month contract role with an opportunity for a further 6 month extension
The Supplier Quality Engineer will have the following responsibilities:
- Planning, executing, tracking, and completing supplier audits
- Manage supplier issues and risks
- Communicate regularly with procurement, site management, and program management
- Assess supplier capability of meeting manufacturing needs
- Act as a liaison between Quality, Engineering, Product Development, Purchasing, Quality Control, Marketing, and Suppliers
The Supplier Quality Engineer must meet the following requirements:
- B.S. in Engineering or related field
- Minimum of 3 years experience in the Medical Device industry
- ASQ, CQA, or ISO Lead Auditor certified
- Strong communication skills
- Team oriented
This is an exciting opportunity to work with one of the worlds leading medical device companies, if you feel that you would be suited to this role please apply with an updated CV for immediate consideration or call Derek Sheridan at 01 888 3466
To find out more about Real please visit www.realstaffing.com


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By Erica Verrillo
The holidays are a busy time. Families and friends get together, good food is shared, gifts are exchanged. There is shopping to be done, special meals to be planned, wrapping presents, decorating the tree …
Just reading that list is exhausting.
The fact is that whenever there is an expenditure of energy – and this goes for anyone – the inevitable consequence is the post-event letdown. For people with CFS and ME, who don't have the ability to recuperate easily, the result is a crash – a period in which the exhaustion is total. All the other symptoms you have may flare up as well, not just because you've been expending energy, but because you may also be eating food you don't normally eat and altering your sleeping patterns. People with CFS and ME simply don't have the flexibility to handle changes. And Christmas is a major change from daily routine.
There are several things you can do to help mitigate the post-holiday crash.
First, if you've overdone it over the holidays, and are now crashing, don't beat yourself up. Having an illness that relegates you to living your life in a box is not only restricting, it is stressful. If you do a little too much at Christmas, it is simply because you are trying to join the human race. There is nothing wrong with that. The ability to enjoy company, to eat and drink and make merry, and to do simple, normal things becomes all the more precious when it's been curtailed. So, even if you do crash – it may have been worth it for the sake of your overall wellbeing.
Second, you can take breaks. A number of years ago, when I was spending the vast majority of my days in bed, I had to attend a wedding. The reception was in a house, so I simply found a couch and lay down. Eventually, someone wandered into the room, noticed that I was lying down, and said, "That's a good idea." She lay down on the floor beside me, and we had a pleasant conversation. Soon, several other people had joined her. There were now five people lying next to one another on the floor, chatting. Throughout the evening, people got up and left, and others took their places. The lesson I learned was that I didn't have to (literally) rise to the occasion. (And, it appears, other people were more than happy to take a break as well.)
Third, plan to have one or more "down days" (as many as you need). It's one thing to have a crash, it's quite another to prepare for one. I have found that whenever I need to do something that requires more energy than I have, planning to have sufficient rest time afterward makes it easier to get through the event – and to recover from it. This may require a bit of scheduling, but it will reduce your stress levels considerably.
Managing this illness is just as important as treating it. The trick is to find a strategy that works for you.
My best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!
Erica Verrillo is the author of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide, 2nd Edition, available as an electronic book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Payhip (PDF file). Her website, CFSTreatmentGuide.com, provides practical resources for patients with ME/CFS. She also writes a blog, Onward Through the Fog, with up-to-date news and information about the illness, as well as the full text ofCFS: A Treatment Guide, 1st Edition (available in translation). Ms. Verrillo has been the editor of ProHealth's ME/CFS Healthwatch and Natural Wellness HealthWatch since February 2013.


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LePage unveils plan to pay Maine hospital debt, issue bonds to pay for public works
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) � Gov. Paul LePage is announcing a wide-ranging jobs plan, which includes repayment of a big hospital debt, release of voter-approved bonds for highways and other public improvements, and construction of a new prison in Windham.
LePage presented details of his plan at a news conference in Portland on Tuesday. He wants to repay Maine hospitals for a $484 million Medicaid debt with a combination of revenue bonds and a federal match.
With that paid, the governor would release $105 million in voter-approved bonds for transportation, conservation, clean water projects and energy-efficiency projects.
Finally, he's proposing $100 million in government facilities bonds to build a replacement for the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.
LePage says his plan will create jobs, especially in hospitals, which laid off workers because of the state debt.


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Winners for 2011 Loyal E. Horton Awards announced
May 25—The National Association of College and University Food Services has announced the winners of its annual Loyal E. Horton awards. Grand-prize winners will be announced at the association's national conference, which will be held in Dallas July 13-16.
Residential Dining Concepts
Small School
Gold: Concordia College
Silver: Hendrix College
Medium School
Gold: Case Western Reserve University
Silver: Cleveland State University
Bronze: Kansas State University
Honorable Mention: Azusa Pacific University
Large School
Gold: University of Michigan
Silver: North Carolina State University
Bronze: University of Georgia
Honorable Mention: University of Rhode Island
Residential Dining—Special Event
Small School
Gold: Alfred State College
Silver: Bryn Mawr College and Hendrix College
Bronze: Ferrum College
Honorable Mention: Marist College and Concordia College
Medium School
Gold: SUNY Cortland
Silver: University of San Diego
Bronze: Southern Illinois University
Honorable Mention: University of North Carolina
Large School
Gold: Virginia Tech University
Silver: Ball State University
Bronze: University of Georgia
Honorable Mention: Virginia Tech University and Ohio University
Retail Sales—Single Concept
Small School
Gold: Rhode Island School of Design
Silver: Hendrix College
Bronze: Concordia College
Medium School
Gold: Azusa Pacific University
Silver: Messiah College
Bronze: Cleveland State University
Honorable Mention: Johnson & Wales University
Large School
Gold: University of Illinois and University of North Texas
Silver: Miami University
Bronze: Brown University and University of Cincinnati
Honorable Mention: University of Oklahoma
Retail Sales—Multiple Concepts/Marketplace
Medium School
Gold: Brock University
Silver: University of Dayton
Bronze: Azusa Pacific University
Large School
Gold: Miami University
Silver: University of Washington
Bronze: University of Colorado at Boulder
Honorable Mention: University of Rochester
Catering—Special Event
Small School
Gold: Washington and Lee University
Silver: Hendrix College
Bronze: Ferrum College and United States Military Academy
Honorable Mention: Roanoke College
Medium School
Gold: Brock University
Silver: Azusa Pacific University
Bronze: University of Northern Colorado and University of Dayton
Honorable Mention: Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.
Large School
Gold: Iowa State University
Silver: University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn.
Bronze: Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
Honorable Mention: Miami University
Catering—Online Menu
Small School
Gold: Hendrix College, Conway, Ark.
Silver: Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.
Bronze: College of Saint Benedict
Medium School
Gold: Northern Michigan University
Silver: University of Nevada, Reno, Nev.
Bronze: Azusa Pacific University
Honorable Mention: College of the Holy Cross
Large School
Gold: University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
Silver: University of Akron
Bronze: Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
Honorable Mention: Villanova University, Villanova, Pa.


text:
Nine Days by Toni Jordan
Text $37
There's a moment about 60 pages into this novel where your resistance - primed and provoked by the stickers plastered on the front cover "guaranteeing" you'll love it (or your money back, conditions apply) and that it's one of "50 books you can't put down", and stiffened by the author's reputation as an exponent of "rom-com" - just crumbles.
It might be the dialogue, it might be the introduction of a character (Jack) in whom you can finally believe, but after a creaky start, it gets its hooks into you.
Nine Days was apparently inspired by a photograph Toni Jordan found - it's on the book's cover - depicting a woman being hoisted from a crowded platform to the window of a troop train where a soldier is stooping to kiss her. There's a story there, she decided.
In fact, there are several stories, rippling out from that Kodak moment and down the generations of the Westaway family. The Westaways in 1939 are down-at-heel in Melbourne's cheaper reaches - Richmond, to be precise - with Jean trying to keep things together after the freak death of her husband in a drunken fall from a tram.
She's got her hands full: Francis, one of her adolescent twin boys, is a promising scholar but the other, Kip, has been expelled and now, with a reputation as a waster and a layabout, is working as a stablehand.
The boys' older sister Connie intercedes between Jean and Kip, while also casting about for her own life possibilities. As she lies awake at nights she's conscious that next door, Jack Husting, who has lately returned from the country to live with his parents, is restlessly seeking to find his place. It seems inevitable their paths will cross.
The narrative jumps back and forth in time, from the defining moment in 1939 to its downstream effects in the present, where Kip's own grown-up twins, Stanzie and Charlotte, grapple with their own lives and problems, which for Charlotte include her teenaged son, Alec. Along the way, all kinds of collisions, and crossings of destinies occur, and the difference between our lives in the 21st century and those of our ancestors only one or two generations removed is starkly illuminated.
Compare, for example, the choices available to the likes of Charlotte, and the consequences of making a foolish mistake, with the constraints and the dire consequences with which her aunt Connie was confronted. For it's Connie's tragedy back in 1939 that can't help but define the Westaways, as it keeps turning up like a bad penny, or the obverse of the lucky shilling the family hands down.
It's a shame that Jordan has been pigeon-holed as a writer of rom-com, or chick-lit, call it what you will. For this is a better book than those genres ever aspired to produce. It's not a million miles away from Kate Atkinson's Behind The Scenes At The Museum in the way it blends wit and cruelty, comedy and tragedy.
After the aforementioned creaky start, the characterisation is superb, perhaps most of all in the case of the sour matriarch Jean, but also in the obnoxiousness of Francis, and the New Age gormlessness of Charlotte. Most families have a photograph in their album featuring jug-eared naivete and khaki uniforms: if nothing else, those photos, and the stories in the frame behind them, should make us thankful for our own comfortable lives.
John McCrystal is a Wellington writer.


text: Right now I have a 99 Saturn with 157 K on it and I intend to get over 200K. My previous car was s Geo Metro that I put out of its misery at 175 K. I had to carry a gallon of water around and refill the coolant tank about twice a day. Then there was my old Willy's station. The passenger's door would pop open when I hit a pot hole. I fixed it with a door bolt. And, if I hit a pot hole full of water my feet got wet. When I drove it across town, I never knew if I was going to come back in it. Ever have the "pleasure" of driving a car that you had to open the window and reach outside to open the door? What are your junker stories?