Starfighter08

quote:Originally posted by $iLk: What is your favorite color! Blue. Aaaaaaaaaah. I'm color blind. I just like British humo(u)r. Btw Blackadder rules too.

quote:Originally posted by Cmdr. WeeGee: Here's a good ad to expand its roles. Martyrism. Come and get your nifty, one of a kind, inflatable church! Complete with inflatable priest! Ever wanted to be a martyr like Thomas A'Becket? But are toooo lazy to walk 10 miles to the nearest church? Well fear no more people, cause all you have to do is inflate this nifty church and wait for the muderers to arrive! Call now and the muderers, priced at $99.95 are free, yes thats right free! So call 555-555-5555 now and get your inflatable church today! When you hear "somebody free me from this priest" you know that your order is being processed.

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Well there goes the neighborhood! Anyone remember the days when you could buy a vinyl album and make a cassette tape to play in your car, steroe etc without fear of the death penalty? Those were the days. But we got that nice "intellectual property" thingy which means that you are no longer allowed to listen to/watch a record where you want. Property yes, intellectual no way. Especially if talking about the music industry. The fun part is that the license agreement is on the dvd itself. You only get to see it if you buy that damned thing. Very funny guys...

Saw it just yesterday on tv. I agree the movie is good but I had a hard time finding out what were the added scenes since the last time I saw the original was quite some time ago.

quote:Originally posted by Dragon Lady: Now, it may be the case that aliens really are peaceful tree-hugging, flower-smelling, hick-probing pansies, but it seams like something of a stretch to assume that with the overwhelming lack of information.We would be the stone-age native Americans to an Alien's Columbus. And last time I checked the natives didn't fare too well against the Europeans. What do you think, could the National Missile Defense shoot down UFOs?

quote:Originally posted by Dragon Lady: Ok, the article was clearly leftist propaganda, but it also had a very good point. The practice of strong arming schools (and can you come up with a better term for it?) into giving out lists of student names is just plain low. This article uses the term brainwash way too many times, but students shouldn't have unrestricted exposure to military propaganda like that. Don't take this wrong, I have nothing wrong with recruiters or people joining the military, but they should do so with there eyes open, not clouded by spiffy looking brochures are promises of college money.Agree. I've read some other articles on that site. They have points but their unreasoned leftwing position makes them unbelievable. I took it as an exercise of finding the needle in a Heuhaufen (don't know the word in English and can't find the dictionary at the moment).

Thanks for the links Draconis Rex. The Schulz speech is quite an eyeopener, the guy really has some points. The last one will certainly incite the ire of some right wingers. What do you think about following bet? I bet that within the day a guy we know well (no matter what, I share some opinions with him) will offer you a tin foil beanie. Seriously now. The editor thinks that the parents didn't use the "opt-out" form because they were drunk or watching sitcoms. I think that might describe the average person but I also think that some parents didn't choose to opt-out because of their fear that the child might become the victim of obstructionism by the school. "You want to opt out? Well, I'll make sure that you will be out. Out of this school that is."

quote:Originally posted by DraconisRex: I've read part of them, but not the whole set. Be that as it may, my whole point of this thread is this: Anytime the Federal Government is involved in any money-related situtaion, they somehow manage to spend at least twice as much as the old program cost when the States ran it, and create at least six-times the red tape. And we want them to continue the trend???Not at all. Switzerland's fiscal quota has reached around 45% and public debt 50% of GDP. IMO it's high time we do something about it. And to be fair the gov't is reducing expenses to get a balanced budget but that's not enough. The debts need to be payed too. quote: You match the extreme majority of US Citizens in your lack of knowledge of the Federalist Papers, except for this: You've heard of them before, if only in this forum. While I realize you're not from here, you still beat most of our citizens in this respect. That just goes to prove my point about the value of Public Education in America.Actually I've heard about them in another forum and even read a bit of the Federalist Papers some time ago. I remember there was a quiz about what the constitution, bill of rights and the federalist papers are about and some questions about the war of independence on the hp of netscape on July 4th and I even did well in them. What can I say, the American revolution was part of our history curriculum. quote: If you'd like, I can find you the links to the Fed. Papers, etc., but if you keep my rule about the Feds and Red Tape in mind, then it remains an economic thread, for the most part. I may rant about other things, but venting is the one MAJOR thing I like about posting on these forums....I'd like it very much if you could find some links with good overviews (I lost mine when I did a purge of all the dead links in my list of bookmarks a few months ago). I had the impression that this thread had turned into a discussion about the conformity of welfare programs with the constitution. Well, over here there are articles in the constitution about education, ecology and social security respectively. Ranting about things we can hardly change all by ourselfs is a major reason to rant on an internet forum. You might even learn something new or at least get to know another world view.

quote:Originally posted by DraconisRex: Where did everybody go? Is education reform not important? We're talking future generations, even if they did manage to screw up most of us in terms of facing reality....Yes education is essential for the future of any country. I'm still following the discussion but since it has turned away from economics to constitution/federalist papers (where my knowledge is sorely lacking), I no longer participate.

Guess I'm part of that club too. Aside from BC I also play Europa Universalis 2, a history nerd game that doesn't appeal to the masses.

quote:Originally posted by J.Smith: all countries are welcomeok. Silvano Gehri Airforce Observer (Soldier) Swiss Army Recruit school (15 weeks) in 1997, 10 years left till discharge (conscription )

quote:Originally posted by DraconisRex: Depends on how the schools deal with it. Without incentive, and reward, few students will try any harder than they did in the public schools. What's the reward for doing well in a public school? Honorary titles like Geek, Nerd, Teacher's Pet, etc. But if everyone is shooting for that new Jam-Box with the Ultra-Boom, then some students who aren't considered smart will tend to shine... You may consider this "bribing the students." I agree wholeheartedly. But, as they teach in some martial arts, "If it works, use it."Actually, I was talking about gifted people leaving public schools for private ones. quote: At the same time, the Federal Government has no right to tell anyone that they can't go to a religious school. Freedom of religion -- if a given school is accepting vouchers, then the student can go there. But again, I doubt the Catholics or the Luterans will go for it...I didn't say the feds should prevent anybody from going to a religious school. I just mixed up the issue of religious schools with my personal feelings about them, sorry. Btw, why would catholics and lutherans not accept vouchers? quote: No, it wasn't exagerated. It happened, to me and my wife 2-years ago. I had lost my job (passed out at work for no apparent reason), and we needed temporary food stamp assistance for one-month. However, since she had $200 that was due 27-days later (new job), they wouldn't help us at all. $200 for an effective 2-months -- glad I had the rent prepaid. However, as I looked over the "needy" in the waiting room, we saw kids with $90 tennis shoes, ladies with $100 hairdoes, long nails that cost about $200 a month to maintain, and a lot of these people getting out of late-model (1998 and up) cars. As you can imagine, I had a serious problem with this. Our problem may not have been "drastic," but compared to most of the clients, we were more in need than they were. We just wanted food, even if it was only the excess the FDA maintains. In Texas, a woman with 5-kids can clear $1,000 in benefits. But if they have 9-kids (they don't have to have them -- just be responsible for them), they can clear $1,800. That's more than I grossed as a Restaurant Manager. Do you see a problem with this?Talk about incentives to work... quote: I live in Baltimore. Everything is so politically correct, that I'm tounge-tied and feel like an idiot trying to hold a casual conversation.At least you guys don't have hate speech laws. Not that I'd want to publicly call for beating/killing foreigners but I still think that such laws are a severe infringement on free speech and extremely hypocritical for a democracy to pass. PS: I've seen several people who advocate that welfare should be left to the states. I see a problem where a poor state has many poor people. How is such a state supposed to help the people? Or are poor people supposed to move to richer states?

quote:Originally posted by Dragon Lady: I'm not sure how this is a problem? People who can't be economically successful get exactly what the deserve. Misery. If there is really a job for them that someone who hasn't flushed there life down the gutter can take, then if they work hard they can get it. Besides, I've seen plenty of beggars, and very few of them seem to be in a situation where they can't work, just where they don't want to.Not wanting to spend money on social programs doesn't make it cheaper for society. You will just have to build more prisons to take in all these people who are basicly forced into crime. I have a rather utilitarian approach to the issue and not based on moral (like in: you deserve misery). Minimizing overall costs means you'll have to support the really poor ones IMO. quote: Bah! That isn't social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is the belief that we are stunting our evolution by enacting social programs that are fundamentally a waste of time anyway. It's an interesting theory and I, for one, am rather fond of some of the policies it advocates, but the nonsense about how we are evolving towards something is rubbish. Genetic science will take over far before evolution gets us anywhere.I wasn't speaking about the "evolving into something better" part, that's indeed rubbish. But rather about the unrestricted employment of "survival of the fittest" in human society. quote: An anti-intellectual stance eh? Talk about asking for it.Hu? You mean by spending on public schools? quote: You're not a xenophobe darling, and I think that is very interesting that successful countries tend to have homogenous populations. It is also my opinion that we don't need any more people here and immigration should be brought down to a trickle.Glad to meet somebody who thinks alike. Over here that sort of ideas can get you the stigma of a xenophobe or racist. quote: Well, ok, so let's assume that private schools wouldn't be able to do any better then public schools as far as test scores go. That's not too bad though, because at least they will do the same bad job while costing less money.Good point indeed. quote: No, I disagree. If someone can keep a job then they don't need public assistance (beyond the aforementioned training program). I see no need to support someone who works simply because they arenÔÇÖt making enough money at there job.No pity with working poors? quote: So what kind of family are we talking about? A gaggle of kids is the only excuse for someone not to be able to manage (other family members can work just like anyone else) I see no reason to support people who have a lot of children. It's there choice, and if they can't manage to avoid getting pregnant (not a hard task for anyone even moderately competent) then they deserve what they get.The parents yes, but what about the children born from such parents?

quote:Originally posted by DraconisRex: Gangs? Simple. There's on-campus, then there's off-campus. If a student lets a non-student (other than a parent or guardian) onto campus, then that student joins the ranks of the off-campus crowd. Someone comes onto campus who doesn't belong, arrest them with jail time. Tickets don't work. You got drugs or guns on campus, or anything else illegal? Busted, and gone. Period. No if's, and's, or but's. Enforcement of rules is a must. The rule of law must be enforced, or we're wasting our time, money, and resources. And I thought our educational system was in trouble. quote: Religious schools (Catholic, Lutheran, etc.) will not take kindly to having the government enforce regulations on them. In fact, they'll close the schools before they let that happen. They won't take the vouchers, period. (I could be wrong about that, if they can maintain their basic free-hand without a lot of new rules, they might go for it. But government likes to control....)Not accepting vouchers means that only parents who can afford to pay the tuition fee twice can send their children there. Besides I think education shouldn't be infested with religion. quote: As for costs, I don't have a problem with the current education costs ÔÇô my earlier example (in my original post that showed in-pocket savings) was an example of what would happen if we made no improvements to the private schools. If they received the same monies to do the same job, teacher salaries would be dramatically improved, and extra money would be available for field trips, equipment, etc. However, they would have to raise test scores by something like 30%. They do that, then our money is well-spent. However, I still want the State to administer the tests of every school, to make sure there's no underhanded nonsense going on. (Watch the watchers.) Failure to do this means lower income to the school (use profit motive as a tool, but control its use.)What would you say to my "adverse selection theory" I stated in my previous post? Does it have some merit? quote: The State would have to audit records, etc., on a regular basis, to make sure all the students and classes were taken care of. This does not eliminate the Dept. of Education; it simply changes and down-sizes much of its excess. But Test Scores must be based on a Federally mandated, flat-score, universal program, or we're wasting our time (again.)Agree. Quality must be comparable. quote: What about the workers that run the cafeteria, janitorial work, etc.? Actually, most of them would go to work for the school, usually with a pay-hike. The ones who weren't selected by the school would qualify to go into other jobs with the city or county. (Don't want to create too much tension over the changes by the local workers. These people already work for local government, and there's almost always other jobs they can do.)I don't think that it's the gov't first task to create jobs but if they need workers anyway, they might as well work there. quote: Most parents don't have the time or energy to watch their kids, and many don't even see their kids until after 6:00 in the evening (if then.) To keep gangs from being a problem, curfews are effective. Apply them to anyone under the 10th grade ÔÇô you must go to a parent, guardian, or other approved location after school, even if it's only to Study Hall. What about 10th through 12th? Work, home, approved location, library, or anyplace you need to go. You will need a properly signed pass, though (parent, teacher, principal, peace officer, judge, or employer can sign these.)I think the problem that parents don't have time or energy is closely related with the discipline issue. If I had to guess, I'd say that this is because both have to work to support the family. quote: While we're on the subject of public assistance, if you can work, there are jobs. Might not be what you want to do, but if you like eating, and living in something other than a cardboard box, then working is your only real option (unless you find someone who takes care of you anyway.) The ones that are on welfare, food stamps, etc.... Get them into high school diploma programs. Help them get a 2-year degree in selected technical or skilled labor fields. Give them the option, but this restriction must exist: By help, we mean you must partially take care of yourself, which means maintain a part-time job (even if it's McDonalds.) Helping someone and doing it for them are two different things. Helping people to help themselfs looks like a promising concept to me. quote: There is a vast difference between the Needy, which would include people lacking employable job skills, and the Lazy, which do nothing but spend my tax money. Do you see the difference? Do you understand? It's simple: If you're going to spend my tax money, the least you can do is be productive with it. Having 9 kids and lounging around at the house all day on welfare with your $200/week nails, $90 tennis shoes, and late-model car, at State's expense, is not productive. It's long-term genocide.That sounds somewhat exagerated IMO. Concerning the 9 kids, I've heard that sex-ed isn't exactly popular with the religious right.

quote:Originally posted by J.Smith: all right here we go again. I have another progect to do over population that has served, are serving, or want to serve in the military. so as the topic says sound off!!!! Jesse M Smith Seaman(active) United States NavyOnly Americans or foreign countries too?