In an interview with The Washington Post's editorial board, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) ... stumbled through a discourse on race and education, leaving the impression that he believes one reason that so many District of Columbia schools fail is the city's high minority population. His campaign quickly issued a statement saying he meant to indicate that the disadvantages were based on economic status, not race.
After a lengthy critique of Bush administration education policies, Biden attempted to explain why some schools perform better than others -- in Iowa, for instance, compared with the District. "There's less than 1 percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than 4 or 5 percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you're dealing with," Biden said. He went on to discuss the importance of parental involvement in reading to children and how "half this education gap exists before the kid steps foot in the classroom."
The Biden campaign moved quickly to clarify the senator's remarks in a statement: "This was not a race-based distinction, but a discussion of the problems kids face who don't have the same socio-economic support system (and all that implies -- nutrition, pre K, etc.) entering grade school and the impact of those disadvantages on outcomes."
Obviously, nutrition is crucially important in the difference. Since all the Washington D.C. schoolkids grow up to be short and scrawny from lack of nutrition, that's why Georgetown U. has always been so bad at basketball, compared to the mighty U. of Iowa basketball team with its starting line up of corn-fed farmboys.
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
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10 comments:
Watson was suspended as Chancellor by Cold Spring Harbor.
Does this mean that Biden will be suspended from the Judiciary & Foreign Relations committees?
Seriously, when he isn't lying through his teeth, or plagiarizing Neil Kinnock's biography, Biden sometimes has some interesting things to say.
If he weren't a DEM, it almost seems like he wouldn't be such a bad fellow - the kinda guy you might even be able to drink a beer with.
Of course, episodes like this also prove that The Left knows damned well that The Diversity Theorem is false, just like everyone else knows it.
senator biden "slips" like this once or twice a year it seems.
The Diversity Theorem: Groups of people from anywhere in the world, mixed together in any numbers and proportions whatsoever, will eventually settle down as a harmonious society, appreciating—nay, celebrating!—their differences... which will of course soon disappear entirely.
Yes, no one could really believe something so absurd-but it's quite separate from the issue of IQ and racial differences.
A theme Steve has touched on before:
"Let's test your recall of the transitive property. Lectures are free, college requires lectures, therefore college is worthless. Makes sense. But of course, college isn't worthless, not if you ever want to get a job. The lectures may have no value, but the sheepskin and transcripts certainly do--$200K please."
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=14250&R=1156F20D8D
Biden knows the score. That's why Biden and the majority of Congress live in affluent suburban enclaves, or in the far northwest corner of D.C., and send their kids to the snottiest of prep schools such as St. Albans and its sister institution National Cathedral School http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cathedral_School
God forbid Biden, Gore and others would live east of the Anacostia River, and send their kids to DC public schools.
They don't call it redlining, but it's exactly what they do.
I get your sarcasm Steve, that DC kids really aren't suffering any significant nutrional problems but your analogy to disprove it is weak. Georgetown recruits nationally, and even internationally, so their basketball success has over the years had little to do specifically w/ blacks who grew up in the district.
Having lived in DC though I am sure you are right, malnutrition certainly isn't a huge factor in educational success there.
Does this explain Biden's pleasant surprise and laudatory comments over Obama’s cleanliness and well-spokeness?
Actually Biden does live East of the Anacostia River. He takes the train in every morning from his home in Wilmington, DE.
U of Iowa does not primarily recruit corn fed white boys.
Instead, it raids my home state of Illinois for black guys, often with criminal records, from the big cities of St. Louis and Chicago.
The ratio of corn fed white boys to blacks is 1 to 2 or thereabouts.
That is also why Biden is vigorously promoting his plan for a partition of Iraq, because he realizes that Iraqis are incapable of working together and can only get along with those of the same sub national group.
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