Word of the day

Cryophilic – growing, preferring or thriving at low temperatures.

Sowell says

Too much of what is called "education" is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) May 1, 2024

Woman of the day

Woman of the Day WW2 German Resistance activist Traute Lafrenz born OTD 1919 in Hamburg, the last surviving member of the White Rose resistance movement. Arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned by the Nazis’ People’s Court, she was rescued by the US Army in 1945 when they… pic.twitter.com/253rN1QaIZ

— The Attagirls (@TheAttagirls) May 3, 2024

Quotes of the week

What transforms a raw material into a resource is knowledge — knowledge of how that stuff might satisfy a human need, and how to place it in a causal connection to satisfy that need. (The great Carl Menger explained this process way back in 1870!) And since new knowledge is potentially limitless, so too are resources.

Infinite, because the ultimate resource is the human mind. – Peter Creswell 

School should be a safe place. Home should be a safe place. Surely there is nobody, nobody who would speak against a ban on cell phones in schools? It’s a good move.– Kerre Woodham 

I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they can achieve to the best of their ability and gain skills and qualifications that will support them into further study and employment.

Children and young people at school today are New Zealand’s future. Receiving a world-leading education not only sets children up for success, it sets New Zealand up for success – economically and socially.

But our declining achievement statistics clearly show that the school system is not delivering for all students. To turn this around, we need to make fundamental changes, including getting back to basics. –  Erica Stanford

Well, it’s pretty hard [to impose anything considered crushing] in the New Zealand sentencing regime. – Judge Brooke Gibson

How do these college activists suppose they are going to win an intifada when they hyperventilate at the sight of a banana?

— Ani O'Brien (@aniobrien) April 30, 2024

The fundamentals of this idea work, right? Phones are distracting, we all know this because we’ve all got one. And if they’re distracting to adults, who have some degree of self-discipline, they’re going to be much more distracting to kids.

And distraction is bad for grades and it’s bad for behaviour, so if we follow it through – obviously it’s common sense to take the phones out of schools.

There are too many naysayers on every suggestion nowadays, so the lesson I’m taking is – in the future, ignore them. –  Heather du Plessis-Allan

I just saw the gun and thought f*** that, I’m tired of cowboys running this town, infesting the Viaduct, and it’s time we acted to bring this s*** to an end and make these lunatics accountable,– Leo Molloy

A woman is an adult human female… no women’s record or sports place in their own category WOMEN ( or girls ) should be held by a man or boy. It’s cheating in plain sight. Men would not put up with it, so why are women expected to? Stop misogyny in sport!

— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) April 30, 2024

Competition is nearly always the best way to regulate markets and ensure that consumers win. It is a powerful force for improved asset allocation and driving prices down, it drives productivity improvements and is a massive spur for innovation. It is a hugely positive economic force.

Too often we downplay it here because “New Zealand is small”, or “you need scale”, or people might not want to run businesses here, or because it’s inefficient, or allegedly unfriendly to the people that work in the industry. Or it’s just not that important.

Yet without it we become a slow-moving cost-plus economy where only those already winning win. – Steven Joyce

If you – like me – loathe authoritarian, faux-progressive scolds, it’s actually been a good few years. I know it might not seem like it, with the ‘Queers for Palestine’ contingent currently running riot on American university campuses, but hear me out. Across the Anglosphere, one politician after another, beloved by the media but increasingly disliked by the public, have exited the stage, often jumping before they were pushed. – Tom Slater

Covid added further fuel to this fear and loathing of the populace. Politicians, already gripped by the panic about supposedly dim, irresponsible voters being manipulated by disinformation, gave full vent to their most authoritarian tendencies – locking us down and raging against any dissent. Arguably, no one did so as enthusiastically as New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, who was showered with praise by the globalist great and good for subjecting her own citizens to an unhinged ‘Zero Covid’ experiment. Naturally, she also became a campaigner for global censorship during this time, telling the United Nations in 2022 that ‘misinformation’ constituted a modern ‘weapon of war’, and calling on global leaders to confront climate-change deniers and peddlers of ‘hate’. She announced her resignation as prime minister and Labour leader in January 2023, just as she was enjoying her lowest-ever poll ratings while in office, all to the swoons of international media. – Tom Slater

Politicians seem to be going out of their way to alienate and infuriate voters, pursuing unpopular policies at the very same time as they demonise and clamp down on debate. On climate, they have embraced a programme of national immiseration, to be borne on the backs of the working classes, who are expected to just accept being colder, poorer and less mobile. On immigration, they have thrown open the doors to migrants and refugees on an unprecedented scale, without seeking public consent and without ensuring proper provision for – or vetting of – those arriving. On culture, they have embraced a new form of racism under the banner of anti-racism, and a misogyny and homophobia posing as ‘trans inclusion’. Meanwhile, voters are beginning to realise that all those calls to censor ‘hate’ and ‘misinformation’ are calls to censor them. – Tom Slater

Wokeism. Climate extremism. Kindly authoritarianism. This is now the operating system of Western, ‘centrist’ politics. – Tom Slater

Everywhere, political leaders are pursuing the same batshit, authoritarian policies and everywhere they are colliding with reality – and the electorate. Yousaf, Varadkar, Sturgeon and Ardern may have stepped down, but they did so in the face of growing public fury. Biden and Trudeau may not get the same privilege. Plus, while technocratic centrists remain in power or the ascendancy in various nations, they are at least being forced to adapt, albeit insincerely, to the new political reality – one in which voters are increasingly unwilling to put up with the punishing green policies, out-of-control transgenderism and woke censorship that have been rammed down their throats for years.  – Tom Slater

The new authoritarianism is far from defeated. It is a feature, not a bug, of our technocratic ruling class. Worse than that, it is what gives our leaders meaning. The conviction that they are saving the world from a climate armageddon, that they are the protectors of all those supposedly easily offended minorities, that they must censor and re-educate the masses for our own good, has provided moral purpose to an otherwise simpleminded and disorientated elite. It won’t be easy to dislodge this stuff. But as one political leader after another exits the stage, having shredded their authority with voters, we see that the common sense of the demos remains our greatest defence against the insanity of the elites – if only we can find better ways to channel it. If there is hope, it lies in the masses. Always. – Tom Slater

Rebating GST on rates to council pushes councils away from user charging on stuff that can reasonably be user-charged. It also distorts toward council over private service delivery – at the margin, some things best provided privately get shifted into council’s wheelhouse because council provision is tax-preferred. 

And if you set it instead such that councils get a GST rebate on both rates and user charges, you still have the distortion toward council over private provision.  – Eric Crampton

Climbing is an exercise in self-absorption. There is nothing mystical about it. You don’t take in the view. You don’t commune with the mountain. You plant your stick and take two steps and plant your stick and take two more. Your eyes are down, your breath is audible and your indomitable will is in dialogue with your domitable flesh. Go on, says the will. Stop, says the flesh. – Joe Bennett

There’s a lot to be said for being a cattle beast. You live with friends. Your food is all about you. You own nothing but an ear tag. And castration frees you from the main source of worry and expense. Admittedly you make one bad journey in the end, but you don’t see it coming, and your mates go with you. And you’re spared the horrors of old age. – Joe Bennett

The Reserve Bank’s prudential and monetary roles should be split across two separate agencies. A monetary authority with independence in the use of monetary policy to keep inflation within tight bounds. And a prudential side restricted to dealing with actual prudential risk.   –  Eric Crampton

 Retirement. I do not understand it. I do not comprehend it. I cannot fathom why a person would remove themselves from the joy of commercial life by choosing to play golf or spend more time with the grand children, as if grand children had any desire to play bridge with old people who smell of cabbages.

I do not fear death, although I’m not excited about the prospect. What I fear is irrelevance. Of being locked out of meetings that I do not wish to attend, of not responding to emails that, as I type, are demanding attention, of not having urgent calls to screen.

Moments to myself are precious because they are a break from the endless demands from family, colleagues, clients, editors, creditors, regulators, social media trolls and the relentless pressure to find enough cash to cover the wages bill every week.

I love these demands. They tell me, or at least create the illusion, that I am wanted, or perhaps just needed. That my existence matters, if not to humanity but to those within my circle. If this was to vanish, if I was to spend my days pottering about the garden reading books for pleasure rather than for purpose, for what do I exist? – Damien Grant

Local solutions work better

Auckland is getting a local solution for its water:

The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining local control of water assets.

The announcement was made at a joint press conference at Watercare’s Central Interceptor construction site in Māngere this afternoon by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown.

“Under the Local Water Done Well solution we have announced today, Aucklanders will avoid the 25.8 per cent water rate increases previously proposed by Watercare. We have worked closely with Mayor Brown and Auckland Council, and are thrilled to announce that Watercare’s more financially sustainable model will ensure water rates remain affordable both now and into the future,” Mr Brown says.

“The previous government wasted $1.2 billion over several years to deliver a water reform plan that was wasteful, took away local control, and was divisive. It was resoundingly rejected by voters.

“Some said that Local Water Done Well could not be done. But within the space of just six months, the Coalition Government has worked with Auckland Council on designing a new model for Watercare.”

The new model means Watercare will be able to borrow more money for long-term investment in water infrastructure and spread the borrowing over a longer period rather than front-loading the cost on to current ratepayers.

It’s fairer to share the cost of multi-generation infrastructure rather than forcing present users to fund those in the future.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says he has been working closely with central government to provide a simple, affordable water solution for Aucklanders, and that hard work paid off when the Council’s Governing Body unanimously voted for their preferred option at Thursday’s meeting. 

“This outcome is exactly what we’ve been looking to achieve. The new government asked us to come up with a preferred model, and they’ve agreed to implement it, which is good. I want to thank the Minister and the Prime Minister for the way they have handled this,” Mayor Wayne Brown says.

“The idea of water rates increasing by more than a quarter in the year ahead was unacceptable. There had to be a better way, and by working in partnership with central government we have found one.

“I have long said that this was a balance sheet issue and needed to be treated like one. Councils should have more say about how we manage and deliver our water systems. The Government have taken this feedback seriously and worked closely with me to come up with this solution which will put water rates on a much more sustainable footing for the infrastructure we need.”

International credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings has determined the model would mean Watercare’s borrowing is considered separate from Auckland Council for credit rating purposes.

This is a far better approach to handling the delivery and dispersal of water than Labour’s top-down approach.

The government has worked with the council rather than imposing its policy on it.

What works in Auckland might not work in other areas, but involving locals in working out what will work for them will work better than Labour’s overly-bureaucratic, multi-layered and undemocratic approach.

Word of the day

Weathercock – a weathervane in the form of a cockerel; (of a boat or aircraft) tend to turn to head into the wind; one who is fickle or changeable

Milne muses

“Spring came in softly through his open window; it whispered to him tales of green hedges and misty woods and close-cropped rolling grass.” ~A.A.Milne #spring #nature pic.twitter.com/KFT2eUP2fy

— A.A.Milne (@A_AMilne) April 19, 2024

Beautifying the blogosphere

There is an orchid called the Gomesa Jiaho Queen Orchid, and this is what it looks like pic.twitter.com/9q9JJAxGWH

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) March 22, 2024

The Wild Iris

THE WILD IRIS
by Louise Glück

At the end of my suffering
there was a door.

Hear me out: that which you call death
I remember.

Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting.
Then nothing. The weak sun
flickered over the dry surface.

It is terrible to survive
as consciousness
buried in the dark earth.

Then it was over: that which you fear, being
a soul and unable
to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth
bending a little. And what I took to be
birds darting in low shrubs.

You who do not remember
passage from the other world
I tell you I could speak again: whatever
returns from oblivion returns
to find a voice:

from the center of my life came
a great fountain, deep blue
shadows on azure sea water.

Hat tip: The Marginalian

Sunday soapbox

Sunday’s  soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, amuse, bemuse or simply muse, but not abuse.

Anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything. – Lawrence Douglas Wilder

Word of the day

Prognosticate – foretell or prophesy a future event; to predict or foreshadow something; to give a judgment about what is likely to happen in the future, especially in connection with a particular situation.

Sowell says

Some people who are very dissatisfied with their lives nevertheless have no intention of changing their own behavior. They want to keep on doing what they have always done, but just have it turn out differently.

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) April 26, 2024

Woman of the day

Woman of the Day chemist Clara Immerwahr, the first woman in Germany to pass the predoctoral qualifying examination for professional chemists and the first woman awarded a doctorate in physical chemistry at a German university, died OTD 1915 aged 44, by her own hand. Please be… pic.twitter.com/LjVE3WFPks

— The Attagirls (@TheAttagirls) May 2, 2024

Diversity needs free speech

There’s an irony in the propensity for some proponents of diversity to want to limit free speech.

Limits on free speech of those who oppose diversity can also be used to limit those who support it.

Silencing views some don’t approve of can also silence views those people do approve.

Diversity needs free speech.

pic.twitter.com/6Sfsev5evq

— 🗣 Free Speech Union ✊ (@NZFreeSpeech) May 1, 2024

Word of the day

Slubber – to perform hastily, imperfectly, carelessly, sloppily or in a slipshod fashion; stain, sully; to smear or daub; slur; to do in a hurried or imperfect manner; an occupation in the West Riding scribbling and spinning mills, whereby loose cardings were drawn out and slightly twisted so that they could be wound on to bobbins.

Sowell says

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did.

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) April 30, 2024

Women of the day

Women of the Day painter and ornithological illustrator Jemima Blackburn, born OTD 1823 in Edinburgh, and Emma Wedgwood born in 1808 in Staffordshire. There is a link between the two women and it was when I went searching for Emma that I found Jemima.

Jemima’s watercolours were… pic.twitter.com/lALUJ4drJe

— The Attagirls (@TheAttagirls) May 1, 2024

Better way to learn

Education is one of the most challenging ministerial portfolios and one in which ministers often struggle to gain support.

Education Minister, Eric Stanford has only been in the role for a few months and is already making positive, and largely popular, changes.

The cell phone ban during class time has got widespread support from teachers, pupils and parents.

Yesterday’s announcement on structured literacy has also been well received:

Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read – improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

“Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that just 56 per cent of Year 8 students are at the expected level for reading, and just 35 per cent for writing,” Ms Stanford says.

“Domestic and international evidence shows this method is the most effective way of equipping children with strong reading skills that are critical for their futures.

“A number of schools in New Zealand are already teaching structured literacy and have experienced significant improvements in student achievement. I want all children to have this opportunity.

“That is why, beginning in Term 1 2025, all state schools will teach reading using the proven structured literacy approach.

“Structured Literacy is about getting back to basics and teaching children to read by using sounds and phonics to understand words.

“This Government has set an ambitious target of getting 80 per cent of Year 8 students to curriculum level by 2030, and teaching structured literacy is a critical part of how we plan to get there.”

The rollout includes a $67 million commitment as part of Budget 2024 to support:

• Professional development on structured literacy for teachers.
• Books and resources for schools and teachers.
• Introducing phonics checks to assess student progression.
• Additional support for students that need it.

“Structured literacy goes hand-in-hand with our requirement for schools to teach an hour a day of reading, writing and maths, as well as implementing a curriculum that is rich in knowledge and clear about what students should be learning and when.

“Today’s funding announcement ensures teachers will receive the training, support and resources they need to deliver this.

“Our teachers are amazing and we are supporting them to deliver improved outcomes in reading and writing.”

Literacy is one of the very important keys to future success for children. Too many haven’t been achieving as they need to with the current method of teaching reading.

Structured literacy will give far more children a much better chance of learning to read, and read well.

We’ve set an ambitious target to boost student achievement. Today’s announcement will help us get more kids gaining the skills they need. pic.twitter.com/eBJYpuqsh0

— NZ National Party (@NZNationalParty) May 2, 2024

A better way to learn, funding for professional development and additional support for pupils who need it is a recipe that gives hope for the future.

Word of the day

Allision – the action of dashing against or striking upon a fixed object; the act of alliding or an instance thereof; the running of one ship upon another ship that is stationary.

Woman of the day

Woman of the Day doctor, teacher and suffragist Emily Stowe of Ontario died OTD 1903 aged 71, the first woman to publicly practise medicine in Ontario, the first woman principal of a public school in Ontario and a founder member of the Canadian Women’s Suffrage Association.… pic.twitter.com/24XoBIkp9A

— The Attagirls (@TheAttagirls) April 30, 2024