The below image illustrates how Obama is WATERBOARDING our economy. Welcome back to REALITY.

(07-09-2012 11:47 AM)ImMoreAwesomeThanYou Wrote:  The below image illustrates how Obama is WATERBOARDING our economy. Welcome back to REALITY.

Speaking of waterboarding, sounds like you have been waterboarded too long and it destroyed your brain.

1980 was 32 years ago. Simpler times and different challenges. We've entered into a time of economic darwinism. Our middle class will be the middle class of our trading partners. Our trading partners are the world. How's the middle class in India and China doing? I've said this before. The honor roll class in India. Their top ten percent of graduates. That's the size of our entire graduating class in this country. We as a country are behind the 8 ball. Only way I see out? We have to have fair trade instead of free trade. We can only open up our markets to countries that employ our standards. We've started this race to the bottom in the late 90's. We were living off the fat of the system for 10 years. We used the equity in our houses as ATM's. That floated us til 08'. Then the party came crashing down. We've entered into the "age of plutonomy". If you can google plutonomy look at the citi bank memos from 05 and 06. I'm having trouble finding the memo's. The one link I had was taken down at the request of citi.

Here's the choices we have....

We have one party who panders to the electorate and looks to get elected by promising people free stuff. What they can do for them.


The other party is just fine and dandy with the above scenario. They are doing their best to dismantle public education. They want to privatize everything and would be happy to remove any social safety nets we have acquired over the last 50 years.



I'm beginning to think we are screwed no matter what way we go. One bleeds us along a little longer than the other, but in the end. I think both drive us off the same cliff.

As much as it pains me I don't really disagree. Cheers.

BY READING THIS POST YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IMATY IS THE LAST GREAT CRUSADER FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE SO HELP YOU GOD.

and what drives me batty. It's all driven by greed. Greed on both sides.

You've been batty for a while now... The level of crazy depends on the day and topic.

BY READING THIS POST YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IMATY IS THE LAST GREAT CRUSADER FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE SO HELP YOU GOD.

"Dismantling public education" is a good start. It's needed a ground up renovation for some time. Charter schools are a much better option.

The safety nets you speak of needed repairing 15 years ago.

Serious starter


Do you see any merits in the argument that dismantling public education is just an end around of Brown v. Board of Education?

When you say charter schools are a better option. Why do they compare so poorly against the public schools in many metrics?

(07-09-2012 02:00 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  When you say charter schools are a better option. Why do they compare so poorly against the public schools in many metrics?

Who sets the metrics? Serious question.

I'm only familiar with Ohio, but in Ohio the Charters fought like hell and won to be excluded from ® Gov. Kasich's new school ratings. They performed so poorly they thought (they were right) that it would undermine their overall goal of expansion. 36 of them I guess didn't pass 1 of 21 criteria. They were that bad.

Serious question...

We should only have these types of exchanges.

(07-09-2012 03:01 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  I'm only familiar with Ohio, but in Ohio the Charters fought like hell and won to be excluded from ® Gov. Kasich's new school ratings. They performed so poorly they thought (they were right) that it would undermine their overall goal of expansion. 36 of them I guess didn't pass 1 of 21 criteria. They were that bad.

I would be interested to see the results and criteria. Here in NC they tend to perform pretty well when compared to public schools. It depends HIGHLY on the public school district though and where its located. The demographics of the school play a MAJOR part of the performance around here. Where I live the public schools are fantastic but in more economically depressed areas I think Charter schools should be an option for parents. I think thats all anybody really wants. Options.

(07-09-2012 03:05 PM)ImMoreAwesomeThanYou Wrote:  

(07-09-2012 03:01 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  I'm only familiar with Ohio, but in Ohio the Charters fought like hell and won to be excluded from ® Gov. Kasich's new school ratings. They performed so poorly they thought (they were right) that it would undermine their overall goal of expansion. 36 of them I guess didn't pass 1 of 21 criteria. They were that bad.

I would be interested to see the results and criteria. Here in NC they tend to perform pretty well when compared to public schools. It depends HIGHLY on the public school district though and where its located. The demographics of the school play a MAJOR part of the performance around here. Where I live the public schools are fantastic but in more economically depressed areas I think Charter schools should be an option for parents. I think thats all anybody really wants. Options.

Bingo....... public school performance is all about the demographics. I've said a million times - A public school is a reflection of the community it serves.

The elephant in the room that all politicians ignore........ if you drive through a nice community, it normally has pretty good schools. When you drive through an area that looks depressed and not much different than a war zone - guess what, the local schools are normally poor performing.

Before anyone gets their panties in a wad, I understand there are outliers in each direction - but generally the above is true.

In many of the crappy areas (large swaths of big urban cities) and also some rural poor area - it's like trying to make silk purses out of sows ears.

It should be noted, Ronnie Reagan raised taxes 11 times during his presidency. Here is his own budget director David Stockman talking about the Reagan years and taxes. Hold on conservatives, I think some on the right may have a seizure after listening to this one. David Stockman you guys remember him, the budget director under Ronald Reagan? Talking about taxes. Turn up the volume !!! We need more conservatives like Stockman. He is a true conservative in my mind.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBcY6zUn48A

(07-09-2012 04:43 PM)Vewb1 Wrote:  It should be noted, Ronnie Reagan raised taxes 11 times during his presidency. Here is his own budget director David Stockman talking about the Reagan years and taxes. Hold on conservatives, I think some on the right may have a seizure after listening to this one. David Stockman you guys remember him, the budget director under Ronald Reagan? Talking about taxes. Turn up the volume !!! We need more conservatives like Stockman. He is a true conservative in my mind.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBcY6zUn48A

I didn't click the link but is this relevant to our discussion or are you just trolling?

(07-09-2012 04:59 PM)ImMoreAwesomeThanYou Wrote:  

(07-09-2012 04:43 PM)Vewb1 Wrote:  It should be noted, Ronnie Reagan raised taxes 11 times during his presidency. Here is his own budget director David Stockman talking about the Reagan years and taxes. Hold on conservatives, I think some on the right may have a seizure after listening to this one. David Stockman you guys remember him, the budget director under Ronald Reagan? Talking about taxes. Turn up the volume !!! We need more conservatives like Stockman. He is a true conservative in my mind.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBcY6zUn48A

I didn't click the link but is this relevant to our discussion or are you just trolling?

Back to the subject at hand.....I like your avatar.

(07-09-2012 05:07 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(07-09-2012 04:59 PM)ImMoreAwesomeThanYou Wrote:  

(07-09-2012 04:43 PM)Vewb1 Wrote:  It should be noted, Ronnie Reagan raised taxes 11 times during his presidency. Here is his own budget director David Stockman talking about the Reagan years and taxes. Hold on conservatives, I think some on the right may have a seizure after listening to this one. David Stockman you guys remember him, the budget director under Ronald Reagan? Talking about taxes. Turn up the volume !!! We need more conservatives like Stockman. He is a true conservative in my mind.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBcY6zUn48A

I didn't click the link but is this relevant to our discussion or are you just trolling?

Back to the subject at hand.....I like your avatar.

Me too. I think everyone should send me some rep points for it. Just sayin.

(07-09-2012 01:59 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  Serious starter


Do you see any merits in the argument that dismantling public education is just an end around of Brown v. Board of Education?

Not only this, but also a way around the teaching of legitimate science and instead teaching thinly veiled religion parading as science (in both evolution and sex-ed), along with straight up state supported religion. I just don't see the positive outcome that taking funding away from the public school system, especially since those schools most needing the support will be those which will lose the most funding.

Not to say I have another answer, but I do believe that your above statement and my first one are a significant driving force behind this movement.