O/T: You Gotta Be Kidding

[Lew Hodgett]

From Huffington Post:

'Confederate History Month' Declared By Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell

[skeez]

why not? we celebrate everybody elses history dont we?

skeez

[notbob]

There's a difference between celebrating it and clinging to it like a desperate cancer patient. Get a clue, people! The South is NOT gonna rise again.

nb

[skeez]

prolly not but it is heritage for some folks and it is part of our american history. It wasn't all about slavery or black vs white either. Look at what is going on in america today. could history be repeating itself? possibly.....

skeez

[LDosser]

Neither is the North.

[J. Clarke]

But with any luck the West (or a certain annoying part of it anyway) will sink into the sea.

[Larry Jaques]

On Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:51:46 -0400, the infamous "J. Clarke" scrawled the following:

Yeah, that damned rainy Warshington must go!

Hopefully, we can load it up with all OR's Portland Demonrats and CA's Bay Area Demonrats before it does. I'll miss Griz, but there are other outlets. Maybe we can sneak it down to OR before WA sinks, too.

(California is far too precious a state to go, though.)

-- Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn. -- John Muir

[Casper]

So you're saying we cannot learn from our past mistakes? Sounds about right from what I see on television these days. `Casper

[Charlie Self]

McDonnell is one amusing politician. He's doing exactly what he said he'd do if elected, cutting state spending. Many of those who voted for him are now getting slapped upside the head with the realization that, no, their school is not special, so teachers are going to be, as the euphemism goes, "laid off", and they are teachers. Add to that that pay cuts may be implemented elsewhere, for almost all non-elected employees affected by the state budget, while those in elected offices, like sheriffs, are gonna have to make do with less, unless they can pry some out of the Feds. In toto, the government job cuts are claimed to be reaching up near 50,000, so that McDonnell can use the money to attract 25,000 new jobs to the state.

In the meantime, his nest mate, Cucinnelli (sp?) (state attorney general) has filed two lawsuits against the Feds, suits that will draw heavily on state coffers that are already bare, suits that have a chance so close to being none as to classify as that.

The funniest thing really is the reaction of those who are affected in even minor ways. My home county, Bedford, went for McDonnell by 77%. The day teacher pay cuts were put on the line, 71% of Bedford's teachers refused to allow the cuts so that some jobs could be saved.

My take? Teachers salaries are probably not what they should be in this county, though by a lesser margin than the teachers would have us believe. Given the quality of teaching here, I'd say a 7-8% overall boost might be fair. But a 5% pay cut, lasting two to four years, to allow maybe 100 people in the school system to keep their jobs, isn't that hard a pill to swallow in rough times. Unfortunately, this age and professional group (22 through 55 and teachers) has not a clue as to what a hard time really is. The angry red faces and "They can't do this to me" attitudes of probably 85% of the classroom teachers I talked to seemed to me a stunning metaphor of a totally spoiled society. Sort of an "I got mine, screw you, Jack" all around attitude.

You have to look around at people today and ask, "Is this what the Founding Fathers intended?"

I don't think so, but it's sure what we've got. I do not think this attitude is confined to rural southwestern Virginia, either. The "greatest generation" is dying off quickly, and some, looking around to see what they wrought, are probably glad to go.

[Swingman]

Bleeding on foreign soil for the current crop of entitlement junkies is not exactly what most of us had in mind some 40+ years ago either.

What fools we turned out to be ...

[HeyBub]

One of the lawsuits Cuccinneli filed was to prevent implementation of the new federal Health Care legislation. The suit no doubt did cost the state a modest amount to prepare and prosecute. On the other hand, if the suit prevails, it will save the taxpayers of Virginia literally billions of dollars in mandated health care premiums.

As to whether the suit has a chance of succeeding, opinions are, admittedly, mixed. There are powerful arguments to be made on each side. At the very least, as the suit moves through the court system it will serve as a continuing reminder of how perfidious are the Democrats which will accrue to everyone's benefit come election day.

I'm not in your neighborhood, so I can't speak to your direct problems. I can say, however, as an ex-teacher, than 90% of teachers in the public schools are grossly OVERpaid.

How can I say that? Well, first there's no way of judging a teacher's worth. Result-based evaluations are not permitted. Seemingly, a teacher is hired or promoted based almost entirely on academic credentials. After that, it's time in grade. Whether her students learn is irrelevant.

Secondly, the inmates are in charge of the asylum. In my state - and probably yours - it is impossible, or at least strikingly difficult, for acknowledged experts to teach. In my state, not a single living Nobel Laureate, Pulitizer Prize winner, or sitting federal judge is qualified, by law, to step into a classroom. Do you doubt a retired civil engineer could teach geometry off the top of his head? Or that a retired chemical engineer could teach high school chemistry without opening the book? Well, they can't. Because they don't have the requisite teaching courses. Of course a retired PhD in physics has twenty years of classroom experience, plus, about seven years teaching experience (as a grad student), but no matter. He hasn't yet passed the required course "Blackboard Technique 101."

But wait, there's more: In my local school district, only 40% of the payroll budget goes to teachers! Oh, sure, you've got to have people to sweep the floors, drive the busses, and print the paychecks, but when less than half of your payroll is for staff, something's amiss.

The Chicago public schools and the Catholic parochial schools each have about the same number of students. They differ in staff. The Catholic schools have about one-tenth the number of supervisors and staff as do the public schools (Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, Regional director, Adjunct Regional director, District Supervisor, District Supervisor Trainee, School Lunch Compliance Officer, Certified Notary Public, blah-blah-blah).

[Larry Blanchard]

You obviously have never been to eastern WA - we get the same amount of precip as Los Angeles. Of course, most of ours comes down white :-).

[Larry Jaques]

On Wed, 7 Apr 2010 23:49:13 +0000 (UTC), the infamous Larry Blanchard scrawled the following:

Frozen rain, thawed rain, what's the difference? It's still a mess and a PITA.

I haven't been east of the Cascades here in OR yet, either. Time for a road trip some long weekend.

-- Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn. -- John Muir

[Chasgroh]

...how 'bout this: If you produce children you are required to educate them. (In this sense, the Catholic system is doing just what it is designed to do...although the parents are double-dipped when their taxes are used to support public schools...)

cg

[Lew Hodgett]

From Huffington Post:

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's apologized on Wednesday for declaring April as "Confederate History Month," but failing to mention slavery anywhere in his proclamation.

---------------------------------- Wonder why he forgot?

Lew

[HeyBub]

He didn't forget. The Recent Unplesantness (some call it the "Second War of Independence") had nothing to do with slavery directly, Northern propaganda to the contrary.

[LDosser]

Suggestions: Fort Rock, Crack In The Ground, Newberry Crater, Alvord Desert, Lake Abert, Steens Mountain. Sumpter, if you're of a mind to go that far north.

[Larry Jaques]

On Thu, 8 Apr 2010 19:31:46 -0700, the infamous "LDosser" scrawled the following:

I'll check those out online. Thanks.

I haven't even made it to Diamond Lake or Crater Lake Park yet, let alone Bend or farther. I did finally manage to go down 199 to Crescent City, CA once, though. I delivered an electric wheelchair to a lady there. I love it when clients pay me to take interesting road trips. ;)

-- Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn. -- John Muir

[LDosser]

Crescent City - 17 tsunamis and hit bad in 1964!

[Larry Jaques]

On Thu, 8 Apr 2010 22:19:02 -0700, the infamous "LDosser" scrawled the following:

How lovely! Was '64 the quake which hit Anchorage, AK? [I was born there (Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage) but left in '54 at age 1.]

-- Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn. -- John Muir