ICYMI: Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest

The book arrived a couple of days ago, and man, is it impressive -- at 644 pages (not counting footnotes and end-matter).

I can't start this one right now, as I want to really savor it. I'll wait until the semester's over.

At Amazon, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest.

Interestingly, Mr. Josephy wasn't an academic historian. (You'd never know it by looking at the book.) He passed away in 2005. See his obituary at the New York Times, "Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., 90, Historian on Indian Life, Dies."

City University of New York to Revamp Remedial Programs

Well, good luck with that.

At the New York Times, "CUNY to Revamp Remedial Programs, Hoping to Lift Graduation Rates":

80% of CUNY freshman need remedial classes. But now, CUNY is rethinking its remedial programs from end to end https://t.co/yj09o1wxBj

— Elizabeth A. Harris (@Liz_A_Harris) March 20, 2017

Twenty-thousand new students arrived at public community colleges in New York City last fall only to be told they were not ready for college-level work. Instead, they were placed in remedial classes to complete the preparation they were supposed to have received in high school.

But for a significant portion of these students, remedial courses will not put them any closer to a degree. The courses take time and cost money — or consume a portion of a student’s financial aid — while offering no credits. Many students, frustrated that they are sitting in class without progressing toward a degree, drop out. It is a pattern replicated every year, not just in New York but at community colleges across the country.

Now, the City University of New York, the largest urban public university system in the United States, is moving to fundamentally rework its traditional remedial programs. Administrators hope program changes this year and in 2018 will make necessary catch-up less of a stumbling block, while ensuring that students who are in college-level classes are prepared to do the work.

“The notion is that if you can succeed in college, we want to help you get there,” said Vita C. Rabinowitz, executive vice chancellor and university provost at CUNY. “No artificial barriers or screening devices. It’s a matter of true college readiness.”

Dr. Rabinowitz said that about 80 percent of freshman entering community college in the CUNY system require remediation in reading, writing, math, or some combination of those subjects. Students of color are twice as likely to be assessed as needing remediation as white students. But at the end of one year, only half of all students in remediation have advanced out of those classes. The need for remediation is a chronic problem at community colleges around the country as students graduate from high school without the skills they need for college.

“We had outcomes that were in line with national averages, which is to say very disappointing,” Dr. Rabinowitz said. The system, she said, was not working. “And if that’s not working, then CUNY is not working.”

One fundamental shift CUNY is planning will address how students are assigned to remedial courses. Traditionally, most students entering CUNY community colleges take placement tests in reading, writing and math, which determines who needs help. But researchers and college administrators around the country worry that these tests put people in remedial classes who could have done well without them.

In fact, ACT, the testing company, withdrew its placement test from the market last year over such concerns. Ed Colby, a spokesman for the company said that the test, called Compass, and others like it, were not placing students where they should be. Students who had been out of high school for a few years when they took the exam were particularly likely to be unnecessarily steered toward remediation, Mr. Colby said.

For now, CUNY has switched to a different test — ACCUPLACER, which is a College Board exam — but the plan is to incorporate other measures as well. David Crook, associate university provost for academic affairs at CUNY, said they were considering looking at students’ grades in relevant classes, or perhaps their overall grade point average. They hope to have a new system in place for the fall of 2018.

CUNY has also put in place an automatic retesting policy for those who score just below the passing cutoff on the math and reading placement tests. Since the option was put in place last fall, about 550 students have taken advantage of it on the reading exam, and of those, 49 percent passed on their second try. Three hundred students retook the math test, and of those students, 55 percent passed...

More.

One of the things they're doing is removing the algebra requirement: "CUNY will now require all of its associate degree programs to offer an alternative to remedial algebra, like quantitative reasoning or statistics."

Check back with me in a couple of years and we'll see how that's working out. Basically, keep dumbing down community colleges, and then guarantee your students won't be successful after transferring to a university for the bachelor's degree.

Healthcare Reform Will Pass, Gorsuch Will Be Confirmed, and President Trump Will Be Proven Accurate on His Surveillance Claims…

Well, President Trump's already being proved correct on his surveillance claims, and I expect Gorsuch to be confirmed.

Not so sure about the healthcare bill, however. I'm not following it that closely, but lots of folks on the right aren't pleased. But we'll see.

Meanwhile, see the Conservative Treehouse.

David W. Grua, Surviving Wounded Knee

This looks very good.

Out just last year, it appears current and hip with the latest trends in the (progressive) literature.

At Amazon, David W. Grua, Surviving Wounded Knee: The Lakotas and the Politics of Memory.

London Under Attack — And Leftists Laughing at Tommy Robinson (VIDEO)

Via the Rebel:

British Prime Minister Theresa May Condemns Westminster Jihad Terrorist Attack (VIDEO)

I do like Theresa May, but at times like this I can only reflect on how she's brought on the terror herself. She's not all to blame. The entire radical left collectivist culture has infected everything, to the point where even so-called conservatives have sold out the old-line Brits who should be the country's salt-of-the-earth (the folks who voted for Brexit, in particular). But the Tories' sick pandering to Islam is a big part of the problem, and it won't be getting better anytime soon.

Canadian Woman Videotapes Two Large Black Wolves Running Along the Highway as She was Traveling to Work (VIDEO)

That's wild, literally!

Here's the video, at the Mother Nature Network, "Woman films encounter with wild wolves running along a highway in Canada."

And at Telegraph U.K.:

A Canadian woman was travelling to work when she noticed two large black wolves running on the road alongside herhttps://t.co/Uj455v9cGQ

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

Four-Year-Old Minnesota Boy Accidentally Hangs Himself (VIDEO)

Just devastating.

At CNN:

After Westminster Jihad Attack, Britain Vows to Defend 'Tolerance'

Pfft.

There's going to be nothing to defend too much longer.

See Robert Spencer, at FrontPage Magazine, "Jihadi Attack in London, U.K. Vows to Defend 'Tolerance'."

Melanie Phillips, Londonistan

At Amazon, Melanie Phillips, Londonistan.

The suicide bombings carried out in London in 2005 by British Muslims revealed an enormous fifth column of Islamist terrorists and their sympathizers. Under the noses of British intelligence, London has become the European hub for the promotion, recruitment and financing of Islamic terror and extremism - so much so that it has been mockingly dubbed Londonistan. In this ground-breaking book Melanie Phillips pieces together the story of how Londonistan developed as a result of the collapse of traditional English identity and accommodation of a particularly virulent form of multiculturalism. Londonistan has become a country within the country and not only threatens Britain but its special relationship with the U.S. as well.

Federal Staffers Panicked by Conservative Media Attacks

These "federal staffers" are supposed to be nonpartisan bureaucrats who serve elected officials without prejudice. If these same people are afraid of conservatives, that's good. That means they've figured out "the people" are on to them and their far-left schemes of endless government expansion and collectivist utopia.

At Politico:

Obviously, the truth is making career staffers at State uncomfortable. That is not our problem. - @gastonmooney https://t.co/n1uTd9dtfP

— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) March 22, 2017

Three New Books on the Frankfurt School

This stuff would have been right in Andrew Breitbart's wheelhouse (and if you're not getting my meaning, see his book, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!).

Here we are:

* Peter E. Gordon, Adorno and Existence.

* Stuart Jeffries, Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School.

* Stefan Müller-Doohm, Habermas: A Biography.

And see the review, at the New York Review:

Samuel Freeman reviews three new books on the lives and ideas of the Frankfurt School https://t.co/hvQCb6baBl

— NY Review of Books (@nybooks) March 13, 2017

Sean McMeekin, The Russian Revolution

Before I embarked on my reading and research on American Indians and the frontier West, I was reading a lot of history of Russia and Stalin.

So, it turns out there's more such historiography on the way.

See Sean McMeekin, at Amazon, The Russian Revolution: A New History (out May 30th).

NBC's Matt Bradley Worried Westminster Jihad Attack Will 'Put Wind in the Sails' of 'Right-Wing Movement'

Hey, brother, the sails have been billowing for years now. Frankly, the chickens of political correctness came home to roots in Westminster today.

But see NewsBusters, via Ed Driscoll at Instapundit, "RIGHT ON CUE: NBC Reporter Fears London Terror Will ‘Put Wind in the Sails’ of ‘Right-Wing Movement’."

Five Dead, Dozens Injured in Westminster Jihad Attack at British Parliament (VIDEO)

Information is still coming in, for example, the identity of the suspect is still unknown.

Following-up from earlier, "Shots Fired Outside British Parliament."

At the Guardian U.K., "Parliament attack: police officer among five dead in 'sick and depraved' incident":

The Guardian understands the initial working theories of the police investigation are the attacker was inspired by Isis and was most likely a “lone actor”. The attacker’s identity was already known to counter-terrorism officials. Rowley said investigators were trying to establish the attacker’s associates and his preparations for the attack.

Apparently, "police refuse to name" the suspect, and that's apparently after a number of outlets identified the wrong person.

See also Pamela's, "U.K. news outlets WITHDRAW claim that Abu Izzadeen was London jihad murderer."

More at the Telegraph U.K., "How Westminster terror attack had echoes of Brussels, Nice and Berlin."

#PresidentTrump Vindicated on Surveillance Claims

Heh.

I've been saying this all along, and now here comes Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, indicating that some of President[-elect] Trump's communications were captured at Trump Tower during the transition.

At Bloomberg, "Nunes Says Trump Team Conversations Caught in Surveillance."

'ALARMED' AS DETAILS WIDELY DISSEMINATED... https://t.co/Y49xQXb9Ld

— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) March 22, 2017

Hot New Releases, Updated Hourly

Shop today, Amazon Hot New Releases.

Also, Richard Slotkin, The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800–1890.

Bernard DeVoto, The Course of Empire.

And, Dale L. Morgan, Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West.

Allan Nevins, Frémont: Pathmarker of the West.

More, Robert M. Utley, A Life Wild and Perilous: Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific.

Richard White, "It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own": A New History of the American West.

Plus, Anne F. Hyde, Empires, Nations, and Families: A New History of the North American West, 1800-1860.

BONUS: ICYMI, Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West.

Shots Fired Outside British Parliament

This is a developing story, at the Telegraph U.K., "Live Parliament shooting Armed man 'shot by police' after charging through Westminster gates and stabbing officer."

#BREAKING: Man shot by police outside Parliament. More details to follow. pic.twitter.com/aa8IVWpj5k

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

A policeman is understood to have shot an intruder three times at close range outside the Houses of Parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/9f0qNpsg5z

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

Westminster in lockdown: Two people were seen lying within Old Palace Yard, immediately outside Westminster Hall https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/bGimxJPOKR

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

At least a dozen injured people on Westminster Bridge near UK parliament, a Reuters photographer reports https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/CJ86cc6W5a

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

Scotland Yard said it was called to a firearms incident on Westminster Bridge amid reports of several people injured https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/u9tQKvqXfj

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

An Air Ambulance outside the Palace of Westminster after an armed man was 'shot dead by police' https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/mmiFRk8bwP

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

Major security alert under way at Palace of Westminster: man reportedly shot by police outside Houses of Parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/h3TCjMMn6v

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

House of Commons Leader David Lidington tells MPs a "police officer has been stabbed" and the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police" pic.twitter.com/dSvn86qdGD

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

The scene on Westminster Bridge. A major security alert is under way at the Houses of Parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq https://t.co/6jtXVsNJat

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

Staff inside Westminster were told to stay in their offices and the PM was reportedly bundled away from parliament https://t.co/oiCGGVWrPq pic.twitter.com/lp44TdIfrY

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 22, 2017

We'll see if it was a vehicle jihad attack, but it's best not to speculate until more information becomes available.

ADDED: The headline at Daily Mail's calling it a "terrorist attack."

Police shoot 'knife wielding man' outside Parliament after car mows down five people on Westminster Bridge https://t.co/H6XQNCZRrs pic.twitter.com/QgEoj8PKs0

— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) March 22, 2017

MORE: It's a very bad situation:

Looks like they have stopped CPR on the intruder at Parliament

— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017

Intruder has been lifted onto stretcher and is being put in ambulance

— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017

A blanket has been put over person down who we think was police officer. First aiders have stopped treating them

— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017

Ambulance carrying intruder has left Parliament. The body of the person we think was police officer is dead, body covered by red blanket

— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017

Commons tannoy: "Due to security incident all buildings have been locked down - please stay in current location until further notice"

— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 22, 2017

NEW: Metropolitan police say they're treating firearms incident "as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise." https://t.co/6ilOxFEvKs pic.twitter.com/XyEqRPnyRV

— ABC News (@ABC) March 22, 2017

UPDATE:

#ParliamentAttack: "Witnesses describe 'Asian guy' in his 40s carrying eight-inch long knife": https://t.co/Z4TZ1k6Y0Q

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 22, 2017

I've got to get in the shower and head to work. Folks in Britain call Pakistani Muslims "Asians," so you can see where this is going. More tonight.

Vandalism of Vietnam War Memorial in Venice (VIDEO)

The vandals should do time.

Jeez, this is despicable.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Sears, Roebuck & Company, Circling the Drain

Well, it's been a long time since the overwhelming success of the Sears catalog, and the company's feeling the pain.

At USA Today:

#Sears owner says 'substantial doubt' it can stay in business: https://t.co/tJ5nYp8om3

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 22, 2017