Last Friday, I posted this piece about “revisiting education reform” after the Nation’s Report Card came out and showed that students are falling further behind the rest of the world that is growing all the more competitive in the global economy.

Now we have this story about Florida students performing abysmally on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test exam, specifically the writing portion, which was “made more difficult” than years past.

Back in March and April of 2011, I did an eleven-part series on the state of education in America and efforts to reform a failing system (I’ll provide links at the end for anyone interested). I bring this up now because the Nation’s Report Card is out and shows more of the same: an educational complex in shambles with special interests more engrossed with furthering their own causes than championing the learning of today’s youth and tomorrow’s leaders.

Consider this:

“About 22 percent of California’s eighth-graders tested on a national science test passed, ranking the Golden State among the worst in the nation, according to figures released Thursday.”  (Fermin Leal, “Calif. Students Rank 47th In Science,” The Orange County Register,” 5/10/12)

It seems President Barack Obama’s foreign policy is on full display, for the whole world to see. The President, seeking to capitalize on the killing of 9/11 terror mastermind and founder of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden, started the conversation by seeking political gain from the one year anniversary by alleging Mitt Romney, the eventual Republican nominee for President, would not have ordered “the raid to capture Osama bin Laden last year.”

Following such an outrageous accusation (without merit or basis), I posted this piece on Obama’s real foreign policy record on accommodation and appeasement, specifically towards Russia and Communist China.

On Friday, I posted this piece about President Barack Obama’s record on foreign policy, specifically his record of accommodation and appeasement with the Russians and the Communist Chinese. I noted at the end that there was much more to President Obama’s foreign policy record that should be of concern to Americans.

Little did I know that The Washington Post would publish a story only two days later touching on another very serious issue: Afghanistan. Before I get into the Post’s story and some other tid-bits, consider what Obama said at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in August 2009.

Unless you live in a hole or just pay no attention whatsoever to what is going on, you know by now that President Barack Obama kicked-off his reelection campaign this weekend with stops in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia.

As the Presidential election kicks into high-gear, foreign policy has been brought to the fore with the one year anniversary of the killing of terror mastermind and al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. With some tit-for-tat going back and forth between President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney over whether Romney would have ordered “the raid to capture Osama bin Laden last year,” I began to think about President Obama’s record as Commander-in-Chief. The more I thought and the more I dug into his record, the more I couldn’t help but think about Ronald Reagan and a few choice words he had to say:

In an op/ed for The Washington Post on Monday, April 30th, Marc A. Thiessen covered the “explosive memoir” by “former CIA counterterrorism chief Jose Rodriguez” which “provides new evidence that Rep. Nancy Pelosi lied when she declared she had not been briefed about the use of waterboarding.”

It’s been a while since I last posted here at ThinkFY, the ThinkFY Facebook page, or even tweeted a single letter. So, naturally the three or four people that come here (or visit Facebook or Twitter) to read up on my latest rants have wondered, “where have you been?” Well, it isn’t so much that I’ve been anywhere. I’ve been at the same place I’ve always been… chained to my computer. But I’ve been busy-busy with my real job and that’s what pays the bills.

Never fear though fellow ThinkFY’ers, I’ve been meaning to get back to posting some interesting bits of news and research. In fact, that should start very soon. Like later today, tomorrow or at the very least, sometime early this week.

And be sure to be on the look-out for a couple big projects I’ve been working on that may be of interest to you, your friends, family, pets… or perhaps not. Who knows? Anywho, ThinkFY will be active again soon.

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) penned an opinion piece for Politico on Monday evening titled, “Updating No Child Left Behind.” In it, Senator Harkin argues the No Child Left Behind legislation needs an overhaul that retains “its commitment to educating all children to high standards, while overhauling elements of the law that have proved ineffective.” Harkin’s measures for reform sound very reasonable, including focusing on “teaching and learning, not testing and sanctioning,” and eliminating “one-size-fits-all approaches” by replacing existing law with “state-designed accountability systems.” Further, Harkin writes, “the bill aims for a federal role that does fewer things – more effectively.” Wow, he almost sounds more like a Republican here than a liberal Democrat.

Few would argue that Harkin, as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions, is a central figure in efforts to reform education. And to many, Senator Harkin seems the ideal man for the job.

Back in mid-August, it was reported that the Obama Administration was considering denying Taiwan’s request for new F-16C/D fighter jets out of political pressure from Communist China. At the time I pointed out that denying Taiwan’s request could be direct evidence of our national security coming under direct threat as a result of our dependence on China’s willingness to gobble-up U.S. debt.

Well, we don’t have to speak hypothetically anymore, as Bill Gertz of The Washington Times reports, “The president decided against selling Taiwan 66 advanced F-16 C/D model aircraft, despite several requests from Taipei and Congress.”

So why did Obama decide against selling these advanced fighter jets to Taiwan? Money, money, money… borrowed money that is.