Peter Greene is our greatest debunker of phony ideas. Today he takes on a program called “the Learning Machine,” which big-time thought leaders are promoting. Think of a program that can “build intelligence.” Think of a mechanistic approach to human development. Think of turning out people that meet the specifications of their designers. Think of humans programmed to be corporate tools.

Learning Machine’s website has the phrase “Build Intelligence” right there on their page, which gives you an idea of were they’re coming from. But it’s this post from Natalie Smolenski, “Cultural Anthropologist & Dedicated Account Manager at Learning Machine,” that really captures just how deeply and fundamentally wrong this particular band of education reform is.

In “A DSM for Achievement,” Smolenski lays out how educated human beings can be produced just like toasters or wood screws. And do note– the whole article is not just Smolenski whipping something up on her own, but spinning off of a speech by Arthur Levine, President of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, delivered as the keynote at the 2016 Parchment Conference on Innovating Academic Credentials. This is not just some insane notion from the fringes, but an insane notion that a lot of Really Important People are attached to.

I have a bedrock belief that sanity eventually conquers crazy ideas, no matter who else endorses them.

The fight to beat them back is very time-consuming. But it is a fight that is worth having.

In his inimitable style–crude, rude, and hostile–Donald Trump expressed the hope that Russia had hacked the emails on Hillary Clinton’s server.

Donald Trump on Wednesday said he hopes Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails have fallen into the hands of Russian hackers.

By actively hoping that American servers were hacked by another nation, Trump broke an unwritten but cardinal rule of American public office: You don’t root against the United States, even when your political opponent is in power.

David Frum on Trump and Putin, best buddies.

Is Donald Trump the Manchurian Candidate?

These were three powerful speeches, each powerful in a different way.

Here is Michelle Obama’s speech. She was wonderful, eloquent. The Atlantic called it “a speech for the ages.”

Here is Elizabeth Warren speaking. She was sharp, tough, and funny.

Here is Bernie Sanders’ speech. He was met with raucous and sustained applause. He made two important points: the revolution he started will continue, and Hillary Clinton must defeat Donald Trump.

All the speakers said, “I’m with her.”

There are nearly 400,000 comments on the blog. Every once in a while, some critic pops in to say that the blog is an “echo chamber” where everyone agrees. That is ridiculous. We agree about the dangers of privatization and the absurdity of teacher-bashing, but we have vigorous disagreements on many other topics.

Right now, there is a raging debate about the election. Many readers of the blog are passionate supporters of Bernie Sanders. Hillary supporters are fearful of awakening their wrath. Just read the last couple of days of comments, which are dominated with angry comments about Hillary, the Democratic party, and the failure of democracy. We have even had a few Trump trolls, who pop in to offer an incendiary comment linked to a far-right website. Sometimes, they recommend voting for Trump as the only one who will end Common Core, or they just stick to smearing Hillary. Their goal is consistent: Vote for Trump.

I let the arguments rage, although I have put the obvious Trump trolls into moderation (meaning I don’t post their comments until after I read and approve them) as they make me sick.

The Democratic convention starts today.

There is something I want to add about the current situation.

I believe the emails hacked from the DNC are authentic.

They demonstrate that the DNC favored Hillary and did not like Bernie.

This is hardly surprising since she has long been a Democrat stalwart, and he only recently joined the party to run for president.

It is not clear whether the DNC changed anyone’s vote.

I heard Bernie’s campaign manager on CNN saying that the election was not “stolen.”

Bernie ran a remarkable and inspiring campaign, depending on small donors, not big givers. He lost.

Hillary won more votes than Bernie, 15.5 million for her and 11.9 million for him.

She won more delegates (not including the super delegates). The final pledged delegate count was 2,220 to 1,831. The super delegates put her over the top, but why would they have voted for the candidate who won fewer votes?

If the Russian government hacked the DNC, then released the emails to help Trump, then, yes, that does matter independently of what the emails say.

And I reiterate: the emails are real, not fabricated.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz should have been fired long ago, along with the top staff.

She should not have left with an honorific title as “honorary chairman” of the campaign.

If she appears at the convention, she will be booed and jeered, and if she is wise, she should not go to the podium.

The Democratic party needs to embrace Bernie Sanders’ ideas and stop aligning with the 1%.

Here is where matters stand today:

Bottom line: the choice now is Hillary or Trump.

If you don’t like Hillary, vote for Trump or Stein or Anderson or stay home.

If you opt out of this election, prepare for President Trump.

As readers of this blog know, I think Donald Trump is unqualified to be president of the United States. He is both arrogant and ignorant, a bully and a flimflam man, a con artist and a nativist. A man who is quick to sneer and insult others, especially Hispanics, African Americans, women, people with disabilities, and anyone who dares to disagree with him. It is no wonder that the leaders of the Republican party refused to attend his coronation in Cleveland. One of his rivals, John Kasich, not only refused to attend the convention but put up a TV ad (see here) warning that he is dangerous (“first they came for the Muslims, but I was not a Muslim, so I didn’t care…”).

He seems never to have read the Constitution and has no understanding of checks and balances. He alone can “fix” all our problems. The Supreme Court and the future hang in the balance.

I believe this is the most consequential election of my lifetime.

No matter who you supported in the primaries, the choice is Hillary or Trump. No one else will be elected president.

I hope you will use your vote to stop Trump.

This is a C-SPAN video of today’s event where Hillary Clinton introduced Tim Kaine, and Tim Kaine told the nation who he is, what he believes, where he comes from.

His wife Anne is the daughter of a former governor of Virginia. After the Brown decision, he state had a history of fighting desegregation and court orders. Anne’s father enrolled his children in the local integrated public school to be an example of complying with the law and the courts. Tim and Anne Kaine sent their own children to integrated public schools in Richmond.

Tim was educated in a Jesuit high school, and he takes his faith seriously. He wants to make a difference in helping others. When he left law school, he spent a year in Honduras as a missionary, where he became a fluent speaker of Spanish. After Honduras, he became a civil rights lawyer. He helped people who had been defrauded by landlords, bankers, real estate developers, and agents. He is one of only 20 people who have ever been elected mayor, governor, and senator. He knows politics from the ground up. He listens.

I was very impressed when I watched this event live. I thought, this is an honest man. This guy is real. He doesn’t boast or brag. He is humble. He is sincere about faith, family, and hard work. He connects with people because they see and feel that he has character.