Monday Open Thread [10.6.14]

Megan Thee-Brenan compares Americans’ views on the economy to Obama’s approval ratings:
The economy outpaced all other issues in importance to voters in a New York Times/CBS News poll in mid-September, and 44 percent of Americans rated the economy as good. This marked the highest positive reading since 2007. Even as Americans are feeling better about the economy, they decline to credit the president with its improvement. The Times/CBS News poll found 53 percent of Americans disapproved of Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy, and his overall job approval rating was under water, with 40 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving.
How Paul Waldman explains this disconnect:
[D]espite the healthy job growth, incomes aren’t rising. A good economy isn’t just one where you’ve got a job, it’s one where you’ve got a job and you’re being paid what you’re worth. The income benefits of the recovery have all gone to the top. Millions of people are also still digging themselves out of the holes they got into during the Great Recession, whether it was foreclosure, credit card debt, or what have you. Even if you now have a reasonably good job, if you lost your home and cashed out your 401K on the way, it isn’t like things are looking spectacular.
And so they blame Obama, who saved the country from Depression, and are going to install the Republican Party, who promises to give even more of their money to the wealthy, and whose policies make another Depression likely. No one ever said the American voter was particularly smart.
The “Voluntary” End of Slavery

The “Voluntary” End of Slavery

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a conservative member of the state Board of Education in Colorado, which has attempted to reject the AP History Framework and force a "patriotic" revisionist history that glorifies America at all times and ignores ugly blemishes in our past, has said in recent debates that America deserves credit, and praise, for voluntarily ending slavery. From Talking Points Memo, this is what she said:
[Businesswoman Pam Mazanec] then wrote that her concern for the course "is an overly negative view of our history and many of our historical figures (if mentioned)" and cited history professors with "impressive credentials" who told her that the AP History curriculum is designed to "downplay our noble history." She used slavery to illustrate the point:
As an example, I note our slavery history. Yes, we practiced slavery. But we also ended it voluntarily, at great sacrifice, while the practice continues in many countries still today! Shouldn't our students be provided that viewpoint? This is part of the argument that America is exceptional. Does our APUSH Framework support or denigrate that position?
This is a perfect example of the conservative oversimplification of history.
Tom Gordon Calls Take Backs on Secrecy for Denmark Trips

Tom Gordon Calls Take Backs on Secrecy for Denmark Trips

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Over the weekend, the Gordon Administration started releasing some details in the planned trip to Denmark for a library tour by the Community Services Manager and an Administrative Librarian. The NJ article now has some estimates of the cost of the trip for two people and the planned dates of travel. There's also some estimates of the costs of previous trips. The NJ is still pursuing its FOIA request for this data. Still -- it's all so much bull:
Some council members said they had never been briefed on the project. When they were finally given details last week, the Denmark trip was left out of the presentation. One council member happened to ask about it because he had heard a rumor. "They all knew the principle behind this, which was to design the best library in the country," Gordon said of council. "To attack that, it looks like we're fighting and hurts our ability to attract more partners."