Nutjobs Ranting About Politics.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Gattigap
And Hank, to think we have you to thank. Though I'm sure it'll cause some controversy (or at least confusion) in a new Kerry Administration, we'll be putting you in for a plum political appointee position. Maybe Special Liaison to the French Ambassador or something.

If Don Nichols gets to be president in 08 I'll be Commissioner of Patents!

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Gattigap
It's beginning to look like a God of War, a total monster who kills for the sheer pleasure of it, and saves lives for the pure enjoyment of watching a puny human whimper below him in quivering gratitude, giving tribute, sacrificing animals and the first born to His power and whims.

Uh huh. Beware the mighty wrath of Pee Wee Herman.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by bilmore
Uh huh. Beware the mighty wrath of Pee Wee Herman.
[an unfortunate opening salvo photograph]

bilmore,

You've been away for a while, so you should know that some of the lefties on this board have taken umbrage at the Kerry-as-dope photographs occasionally posted, and sometimes feel compelled to respond in kind with inane Bush images.

Usually this triggers a series of unpleasant exchanges and images, ultimately devolving to the posting of items that can only have been photoshopped (or at least taken with the subjects having been drugged). I mean, I for one find it hard to believe that Bush's is really that small.

Just so you know.

Gattigap

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by Gattigap
bilmore,

You've been away for a while, so you should know that some of the lefties on this board have taken umbrage at the Kerry-as-dope photographs occasionally posted, and sometimes feel compelled to respond in kind with inane Bush images.

Usually this triggers a series of unpleasant exchanges and images, ultimately devolving to the posting of items that can only have been photoshopped

Just so you know.

Gattigap

Further, as if Bilmore didn't already know this, I have the biggest arsenal.

Don't make me go nuclear on y'all's leftwing asses.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by the Spartan
Further, as if Bilmore didn't already know this, I have the biggest arsenal.

Are you sure?

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
Are you sure?

Save it for Slave.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Gattigap
You've been away for a while, so you should know that some of the lefties on this board have taken umbrage at the Kerry-as-dope photographs occasionally posted, . . .

Sorry, but the Kerry-as-Thor idea simply cried out for that response.

[Secret_Agent_Man]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
No dog in the fight, but if Bush did fund the research he'd have to cut something else, right? what other medical research should he cut?

False choice, Hank. It doesn't have to be medical research he cuts, if he decided to make a spending cut to offset the cost. Or, the government could raise a tiny morsel of revenue to pay for it.

Hey -- I've got this wild, old-school idea from way back in the 1990's!

Listen to this, guys, the government could take steps to make the incoming revenue match or even exceed the expenditure of funds each year! {No Way!} Then we might have some money for the medical research. {Wow! Dude, what've you been smokin'?}

S_A_M

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
False choice, Hank. It doesn't have to be medical research he cuts, if he decided to make a spending cut to offset the cost. Or, the government could raise a tiny morsel of revenue to pay for it.

I can't believe you fell for the head fake, SAM.

While you raise cogent points, nothing in the stem cell debate has anything to do with spending more or less money. It has to do with placing restrictions on money that is already being spent. Changing the law isn't going to cost you, me or Hank one more dime than it does now, and might save money in that it will eliminate costs that come from research facilities maintaining two artificially seperate research programs so that one can get federal funding and one can actually do cutting edge stuff to save wonk's life.

ET spell cogent correctly. Hey, I went to public school.

[The Larry Davis Experience]

According to this article, the admin's Education Department released a bunch of educational testing data known as "the nation's report card" but didn't bother to analyze the data relating to the performance of charter schools. Turns out that students in those schools appear to be doing worse than students in similarly situated public schools.

The No Child Left Behind Act cited charter schools as one remedy for the multifaceted ills of our nation's educational system, so I was less than surprised to read that it wasn't the admin who first pointed out these disappointing test scores. In fact the admin didn't even publicize that such data was available until it was asked by a nonprofit to do an analysis.

I guess on the bright side this time the failure was blamed on "poor publicity" instead of a printing deadline.

I find myself in a strange posture on this particular snafu because I support the charter school concept. But I just don't get how we are supposed to have confidence in the admin's policymaking when its efforts at empirical analysis are so driven by ideology. (See also the suppressed Medicare bill cost projections.)

[Say_hello_for_me]

Originally posted by The Larry Davis Experience
I support the charter school concept

So do I. At some point though, in places like, say, Chicago, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if each school was affiliated with a major institution, like a university.

Something like: The University of Chicago Charter School, subject to University of Chicago rules and requirements. I'm being serious. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with some of these schools if they were implemented by the ivory-tower dudes who are throwing out the new ideas.

And if anyone in Chicago hears of such a thing happening for a "small school" charter school, please let me know. At the end of the day, the "small school" concept is the most convincing I've heard. Despite my absolute hatred of the Chicago dems, that is a concept that they seem to be implementing there as best they can.

Hello

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
So do I. At some point though, in places like, say, Chicago, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if each school was affiliated with a major institution, like a university.

Something like: The University of Chicago Charter School, subject to University of Chicago rules and requirements. I'm being serious. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with some of these schools if they were implemented by the ivory-tower dudes who are throwing out the new ideas.

And if anyone in Chicago hears of such a thing happening for a "small school" charter school, please let me know. At the end of the day, the "small school" concept is the most convincing I've heard. Despite my absolute hatred of the Chicago dems, that is a concept that they seem to be implementing there as best they can.

Hello

Houston Independent School District and Rice University teamed up to develop the Rice School/La Escuela Rice here in Houston. I think that they're taking on a team approach to teaching and the class sizes are pretty small. I know a kid who goes there, and she's really enjoyed it and does very well academically.

English is her second language. Her mom is a naturalized American from El Salvador who works as a housekeeper, and her older brother unremarkably went through the regular public school system. I expect she will be going to college in a few years, and that wasn't even a consideration for her brother. Obviously, there are differences in the kids, but I think the school really helped her in being excited about pursing her education.

http://es.houstonisd.org/rice/ (the school's website)

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Something tasteless about Abu Ghraib maybe?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop


Something tasteless about Abu Ghraib maybe?

Ty AG Club and Sidd act out my prison hypo.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
Are you sure?

What gets me is the guys who are anti-war, but pro-Kerry. How do you justify that? Or is it a wink and a nod that you know Kerry isn't really willing to go to war, he just says he is?