Long-Predicted Death Toll in Nepal Earthquake Reflects Wider Himalayan Seismic Risk →

The Himalayas are one of the world’s most worrisome hot zones for earthquake risk, which is a function of tectonic activity, human population size and the quality (or lack thereof) of construction.
That is why the death toll in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake near Katmandu today is almost certainly going to be far higher than initial reports of hundreds...

Horrifying devastation from this quake, with aftershocks causing damage around the region.

Burying Bill: Why Hillary Clinton must turn her back on parts of her husband’s political legacy to win in 2016 →

If Bill Clinton had a chief political goal in his two terms as president, it was to win working-class whites and restore the Democratic Party as the home for their concerns. To that end, Clinton and his allies were enthusiastic supporters of legislation such as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, and the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996—laws that spoke to the cultural concerns of lower-income whites.
Clinton didn’t succeed in luring working-class whites back, but he stopped the bleeding, strengthening Democrats in Rust Belt and mid-Atlantic states, where they were crucial...
...would she reject that part of her husband’s legacy?
If Hillary’s overarching political task is capturing the Obama coalition while distinguishing herself from him and Bill, the obvious answer to that question is yes, she must. A Hillary Clinton who ran as a political corrective to both presidencies—who refused to pander to social conservatives or bend to Republicans in Congress—might preclude liberal challengers and do well in the general election.
But there’s a downside. A Hillary Clinton who did that—who touted the liberal line on crime and social spending and other areas—would continue the political story of Obama’s presidency; not of shaping the new Democratic coalition, but of ending the old one her husband tried to rebuild.

Pentagon Releases New 2015 Cybersecurity Strategy →

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter unveiled the Pentagon’s new cybersecurity strategy at Stanford University in a speech entitled “Rewiring the Pentagon: Charting a New Path on Innovation and Cybersecurity.”
According to the Associated Press, the strategy is the first document in which the United States has publicly said that the U.S. military intends to use cyberwarfare as an option in potential conflicts. Thefirst cyberstrategy document, released in 2011, focused heavily on defense. However, the 2015 version clearly states that the United States “should be able to use cyber operations to disrupt an adversary’s command and control networks, military-related critical infrastructure and weapons capabilities.”

Where are the student teachers? →

In Kansas:

In the 1990s, K.S.D.E. data on secondary teaching licenses in the sciences showed that all programs across the state together produced nearly 240 new biology teachers, over 125 new chemistry teachers, 115 new physics teachers and 62 new earth science teachers annually. By 2013, production of new science teachers in Kansas dropped to less than one-tenth those levels. What happened?
Science teachers are particularly repulsed by mandated curricula and teaching-to-the-test. The nosedive in science teacher production began with QPA and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that forced science teachers to drill students for the state assessments. In many cases, field trips and laboratory exercises were reduced or eliminated.
The NCLB focus on testing continues today, and remains in the current proposed renewal of NCLB in Washington, DC. I went from having 50-60 biology teacher advisees in the 4-year pipeline and 4-6 student teachers per semester, to having just 15 students with 1-2 student teachers per semester last year.
Then, the Kansas Legislature ended due process for Kansas teachers...
...
They also heard that if the Legislature fails to renew the provision where teachers can return and teach after retirement, it will cost Kansas 2000-2500 teachers, exacerbating the teacher shortage (particularly in special education).
Even more devastating to our supply of future student teachers is the proposal by the Coalition of Innovative Districts to bypass teacher training and allow out-of-field and even non-degreed teachers into Kansas classrooms as full teachers. Why enter a job that is no longer a profession?

An Incredibly Insecure Voting Machine →

A couple of the most famous people in computer security have stated that voting machines will never be as reliable as paper (even given as many problems and inefficiencies as paper ballots have). I'm optimistic, but when I see these companies almost completely ignoring security, it makes me wonder:

It's the AVS WinVote touchscreen Direct Recording Electronic (DRE). The Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA) investigated the machine, and found that you could hack this machine from across the street with a smart phone:...

It's Not the 1 Percent Controlling Politics. It's the 0.01 Percent. →

This is the kind of thing that worries me: for the past few decades, money has been flowing from the average American to the very tippy-top of the ultra-rich, at the same time that laws have been [re-]written to allow them more control over political campaigns...

Even before presidential candidates started lining up billionaires to kick-start their campaigns, it was clear that the 2016 election could be the biggest big-money election yet. This chart from the political data shop Crowdpac illustrates where we may be headed: Between 1980 and 2012, the share of federal campaign contributions coming from the very, very biggest political spenders—the top 0.01 percent of donors—nearly tripled:...

If we believe in the "marketplace of ideas" that democracy is supposed to represent, we need to change the way political campaigns are financed.