Lots of interesting news today

ponykilr said:
I think perhaps fully privatizing school, take it out of government hands, could be a great option. If parents have skin in the game then it won’t be thought of as free daycare. Parents might push their kids to do well. I know most here probably helped their kids to do well in school but trust me that a huge % do not. I have worked with families that had absolutely no interest in how their kids did, none. My program had some success in changing that, we absolutely did, but some just saw what we did as an extension of the free daycare itself.

Taxes are ground up in unnecessary positions and programs that more efficient private businesses would streamline. More successful schools would drive competitive systems of learning instead of the grind of mandatory and largely poorly thought out standards. Teachers would be the best, not those with longevity status.

For lowest income students some kind of partial assistance % could be subsidized but still require a minimum investment of the parents. I know of no parents paying for private school (and I’m not talking wealthy families but families that decided education of their kids is important enough to sacrifice for) who don’t push their kids to do well.

My probably most controversial idea would be to not be so eager to push all kids into college. Some that have a proclivity for trades or others who simply do not have the drive or will to succeed in higher learning could learn to be productive and make a good living doing unglamorous but necessary jobs. By 10th grade it is getting obvious which students desire more education or at the least are capable if helped. For some students, going all the way to grade 12 at 18yo (or older for some) is simply a waste of time that could be spent learning something that will actually prepare the student for real life.
Click to expand...
Two points you make are spot on.

1) College is not for every person or for every trade. It has been mentioned several times here that we should be pushing kids towards practical jobs that are needed to make life 'go'. You don't need a college degree to be an HVAC Technician but you do need advanced skills.

2) Involved parents and chosen schools are high indicators of success. You will not get the US (or any established society) to cancel public education. But I advocate for vouchers and magnet/charter public schools. We pushed my son in to an early college program for highschool. It was free. At the end of the program, he will have his associates degree in computer science and some certifications in network security and programming. The one thing you can see in every kid in that program is a parent that has skin in the game. You have to at least be willing to drop your kid off in the morning (no morning bus service). Plus, if you don't help your kid they fail the program in the first year. It's just a lot of work for a 14 y.o. to take college classes.
 
RatLabGuy said:
I really don't think that is that controversial at all.

I think there is a rebound in action where appreciation for trades is coming back and a lot more people are recognizing that major push for college as the primary way was a bad idea... now that we are seeing bitter fruits of that in action today with a glut of useless college kids and major undersupply of trademen.
Click to expand...
There were certainly some lawyers and a couple of doctors that came from my graduating class but the next most successful I can think of were those who took a trade class (auto, masonry, carpentry) and created a business or worked for a large business and went high into it. One has travelled the world and makes extraordinary money with no college as a buyer for a large but local owned company.

My father was dying of cancer and we were really struggling when I graduated. I had good grades but didn’t take advanced classes, I had no desire for more school. I did OK, made big money working on crappy GM cars, writing service and managing fixed ops. I eventually sold Snapon and then ran a business I created for a niche in the rental management industry. I know college grads from the era who did worse.

The Chinese begin trade education for students who don’t show ability or desire for higher education by 8-9 grade. Not sure of the exact age but I know high school is full of kids that wish they were somewhere else and that quadratic equations and chemistry just do not interest.
 
Southern_Transplant said:
Once again, if the tax is too high for the services provided (see the state of Oregon), I will settle else where (notice my North Carolina location).
Click to expand...
Except NC is getting ruined by out of staters driving up prices and taxes to make it like where they came from (not picking on you, see Ohio and New Jersey people for example).
 
jeepinmatt said:
Except NC is getting ruined by out of staters driving up prices and taxes to make it like where they came from (not picking on you, see Ohio and New Jersey people for example).
Click to expand...
Actually, it's out-of-state folks (mainly California) that tipped Oregon to where it is today. So, I get it.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Except NC is getting ruined by out of staters driving up prices and taxes to make it like where they came from (not picking on you, see Ohio and New Jersey people for example).
Click to expand...
don't forget that not all, but many more of the northern transplants are narcissist assholes.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Except NC is getting ruined by out of staters driving up prices and taxes to make it like where they came from (not picking on you, see Ohio and New Jersey people for example).
Click to expand...
Just quoted this so I could like it again.


And property taxes are a crock of shit. My house costs a bit more than a trailer house, but 90% of the fire calls we run are to trailer houses. They consume far more fire service dollars than I do. My kids will consume the same amount per child as people living in cheap houses when they are in school, why should I be penalized for having more valuable property?
 
If I'm ever governor.... stopping the yearly property tax madness will be my FIRST order of business.

Even though it's obvious that 99.999% of the morons walking around don't care and just sit back and take it. I don't get it.
 
awheelterd said:
Just quoted this so I could like it again.


And property taxes are a crock of shit. My house costs a bit more than a trailer house, but 90% of the fire calls we run are to trailer houses. They consume far more fire service dollars than I do. My kids will consume the same amount per child as people living in cheap houses when they are in school, why should I be penalized for having more valuable property?
Click to expand...

We have to vote. It's all we can do. Lower taxes, and the taxes we do pay should be moral, equal, and fair. Taxes equals part of a taxpayers life taken by the government and given to someone else. It's maddening.
 
ponykilr said:
www.chicagotribune.com

Jussie Smollett trial begins with prosecutor alleging a bogus hate crime and actor’s defense insisting case was ‘tremendous rush to judgment’

After years of controversy and roller-coaster twists and turns, the trial of former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett finally began Monday with prosecutors alleging the actor faked a hate …
www.chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com
Click to expand...

article said:
Webb said police “reacted swiftly” to Smollett’s allegation, putting the “full force” of the department on the case. At one point they had 26 officers and detectives working it, tallying over 3,000 man hours, according to Webb.
Click to expand...

That's some lawyer billing kind of math. That would mean 26 people averaged 115 hrs of time each. Even working extra shifts thats two solid weeks work time of doing literally nothing else.

Either this is a massive exaggeration or this police chief has no sense of priorities or time management skills.
 
RatLabGuy said:
The point is, if you want lower taxes, you're barking up the wrong tree. Much larger money is spent on much more useless things that don't directly affect the wellbing of our future workforce. Hello DoD...
Click to expand...

This is my point exactly. In fact, in NC, if we would delete alot of the extra crap that they spend money on, that only lines pockets; the entire lottery could go to education, plus we would have plenty of tax revenue, and be able to drastically reduce the taxes to the people.
 
RatLabGuy said:
www.insider.com

The first complaint filed under Tennessee's anti-critical race theory law was over a book teaching about Martin Luther King Jr.

Tennessee's education department declined to investigate the complaint filed by conservative parents group "Moms for Liberty."
www.insider.com www.insider.com
Click to expand...
Reading the article, I've got mixed thoughts. On the one hand, the course curriculum is needed for kids in America to understand where we have been and where we are going.

But the article makes mention of this being a 2nd grade curriculum. I'm not sure I agree with dedicating a significant teaching block to this complex issue for 7 year olds. So, I can understand the complaint depending on how in depth the material was and how much time was devoted to the learning objectives compared to other subjects and material in the history/civics/social studies area.. @Keith1138 might have more insight...
 
RatLabGuy said:
Either this is a massive exaggeration or this police chief has no sense of priorities or time management skills.
Click to expand...
Probably got a call from big Al (Sharpton) and thats why he dedicated so many resources to it.
 
Monkeynono said:
I'm feeling a little attacked here..... FUCK NJ I hate that state and all the bullshit there.
Click to expand...
I promise it's not you either. :laughing: See also Michigan and New York (aka Florida) people.
 
Was discussing something with the wife tonight, which led me down this rabbithole, and the numbers are mind boggling. Friends was 4% of Time Warner media's total revenue in 2015 :eek:
www.nexttv.com

'Friends' - A Timeline of Obscene Profitability

Why Thursday's 'Friends' reunion special on HBO Max is just one stop on a very long, very lucrative, never-ending continuum that may never be duplicated in the video business
www.nexttv.com www.nexttv.com
 
Last edited:
www.mediaite.com

Chris Cuomo Suspended Indefinitely By CNN

CNN suspended Chris Cuomo indefinitely on Tuesday, one day after the New York state attorney general's office released transcripts showing the extent of his involvement in assisting his brother, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), as he faced multiple allegations of sexual assault. Anderson Cooper...
www.mediaite.com www.mediaite.com
 
jeepinmatt said:
Was discussing something with the wife tonight, which led me down this rabbithole, and the numbers are mind boggling. Friends was 4% of Time Warner media's total revenue in 2015 :eek:
www.nexttv.com

'Friends' - A Timeline of Obscene Profitability

Why Thursday's 'Friends' reunion special on HBO Max is just one stop on a very long, very lucrative, never-ending continuum that may never be duplicated in the video business
www.nexttv.com www.nexttv.com
Click to expand...
That is a shocking amount of money! I've never watched a single episode of that show.
 
Back
Top