wmw999 2,514 #851 December 17, 2021 1 minute ago, airdvr said: OK...what are those reasons? I have my own ideas but I'd like to hear yours. Ask each kid. Really. What we see from the outside isn't necessarily what is true on the inside. Yes, some have worthless parents -- but maybe we don't throw away those kids. After all, the kids of worthless rich parents sure don't suffer the same consequences. Some kids are just less resilient, and less creative in looking at things -- what's in front of them is what they see, and that's an endless line of people who are working shit jobs for shit pay and shit hours and no respect, or drug dealers and gang members who promise to "take care of them," or just parents who don't have the imagination to overcome those same issues. Note that kids who kowtow to gangs aren't that different from business owners who live where there is gang control of bars, trash, or whatever. All those references to people paying for protection -- is it that different on a personal level? They're participating, too, to protect themselves and their families. It's what they know. Wendy P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,058 #852 December 17, 2021 2 hours ago, airdvr said: I've always felt education is how you at least start to solve it. And I'm not talking about being educated as to the trials of others. I'm talking about K-12. I agree! Education is one of the best investments we can make in the future. K-12 mainly - but also (conventional) higher education and trade schools. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,058 #853 December 17, 2021 2 hours ago, airdvr said: The closest big city school system around here is Cleveland. Graduation rate a tick over 75%. 1 in 4 has no high school diploma. Good luck in a capitalist economy. Yep. We should work to understand why that is - and how to fix it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,393 #854 December 17, 2021 2 hours ago, airdvr said: The closest big city school system around here is Cleveland. Graduation rate a tick over 75%. 1 in 4 has no high school diploma. Good luck in a capitalist economy. That's actually up 25% from ten years before. I lived in Cleveland, well, Strongsville. I didn't last a year. I think a lot of it has to do with Seasonal Affective Disorder. From November to February, the sun was out for a day and a half. Second in snow to Albany. I asked my assistant, "How do you make it through the winters here?" She said, "Lotsa football and bars." Interesting thing though - when Cleveland was locked down for COVID - the HS graduation rate went up 5%. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,241 #855 December 17, 2021 7 minutes ago, BIGUN said: "How do you make it through the winters here?" She said, "Lotsa football and bars." It's not that hard. Even snowflakes manage here. Sunrise today 08:22 sunset 16:28. We have electricity. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdvr 210 #856 December 17, 2021 2 hours ago, wmw999 said: Ask each kid. Really. What we see from the outside isn't necessarily what is true on the inside. Yes, some have worthless parents -- but maybe we don't throw away those kids. After all, the kids of worthless rich parents sure don't suffer the same consequences. Some kids are just less resilient, and less creative in looking at things -- what's in front of them is what they see, and that's an endless line of people who are working shit jobs for shit pay and shit hours and no respect, or drug dealers and gang members who promise to "take care of them," or just parents who don't have the imagination to overcome those same issues. Note that kids who kowtow to gangs aren't that different from business owners who live where there is gang control of bars, trash, or whatever. All those references to people paying for protection -- is it that different on a personal level? They're participating, too, to protect themselves and their families. It's what they know. Wendy P. I agree with most of what you said. I have one caveat; admit that we've lost most of these kids and concentrate on the ones who haven't yet entered school. Also, stop paying people for having kids. Many of these poor zygotes are nothing more than a pay raise for mom and dad. Take away the incentive. Give teachers the authority to remove kids who are a distraction. Reward parents instead when their kid does well in school. Most of us understand that having the government just throw money at a problem with no means of tracking it's effectiveness is not working out very well. There's no hard and fast solutions but the definition of insanity, you know. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,241 #857 December 17, 2021 1 hour ago, airdvr said: Also, stop paying people for having kids. Many of these poor zygotes are nothing more than a pay raise for mom and dad. Take away the incentive. Discouraging people from breeding did not work out well for China and it would not be wise in America either. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdvr 210 #858 December 18, 2021 13 hours ago, gowlerk said: Discouraging people from breeding did not work out well for China and it would not be wise in America either. If what I said is discouraging breeding the current situation must be encouraging. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,514 #859 December 18, 2021 Sex is the only thing that's free for the moment. Yes, there are downstream consequences, but when you consider how many Americans are obese, how many Americans have type 2 diabetes (often largely from food choices), how many Americans are addicted to various painkillers and drugs, and how many Americans don't think COVID can actually hurt other people if you infect them -- maybe people aren't real good at forseeing the future. And maybe expecting them to do it in this one case, by particularly punishing the mother, isn't effective. No, I don't know what is. But we haven't stopped "indiscriminate breeding" with anything else tried. And most of what's been done in the more distant past is really close to eugenics... Wendy P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,241 #860 December 18, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, wmw999 said: No, I don't know what is. But we haven't stopped "indiscriminate breeding" with anything else tried. Plus the American right has a new SCOTUS all set to force the birth rate higher! Edited December 18, 2021 by gowlerk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdvr 210 #861 December 18, 2021 1 hour ago, wmw999 said: Sex is the only thing that's free for the moment. Yes, there are downstream consequences, but when you consider how many Americans are obese, how many Americans have type 2 diabetes (often largely from food choices), how many Americans are addicted to various painkillers and drugs, and how many Americans don't think COVID can actually hurt other people if you infect them -- maybe people aren't real good at forseeing the future. And maybe expecting them to do it in this one case, by particularly punishing the mother, isn't effective. No, I don't know what is. But we haven't stopped "indiscriminate breeding" with anything else tried. And most of what's been done in the more distant past is really close to eugenics... Wendy P. How is what I'm saying punishing the mother? There are a multitude of ways to not have a child. If you choose to have a child you bear a responsibility to their rearing. I'm all for helping temporarily where it's needed but once the government starts giving the cash it's difficult to take it away. I know anything I've said here is tilting at windmills. I can't speak to the abortion issue. I seriously doubt Roe v. Wade will be overturned in my lifetime...but that's probably 20 years at best. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,241 #862 December 18, 2021 17 minutes ago, airdvr said: I seriously doubt Roe v. Wade will be overturned in my lifetime. Then you are not paying attention. It will be overturned in June of 2022. Hopefully we are both still alive then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,514 #863 December 18, 2021 I have feeling they'll, ahem, edit it. Effectively ending it, without actually overturning. Kind of like how the Voting Rights Act has effectively been ended without overturning. Wendy P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,241 #864 December 18, 2021 51 minutes ago, wmw999 said: I have feeling they'll, ahem, edit it. Effectively ending it, without actually overturning. Kind of like how the Voting Rights Act has effectively been ended without overturning. Wendy P. Yes, the usual expression is “gutting it”. But the effect will be that states will be able to ban it. And that will touch off something a little like “SHTF”. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,393 #865 December 18, 2021 3 hours ago, wmw999 said: I have feeling they'll, ahem, edit it. Effectively ending it, without actually overturning. Personally, I am opposed to abortion, nor do I think we should be fucking with RvW. I believe that my own personal circumstances should not dictate what other people I don't know should or shouldn't do. Well, except for people without vaccines; I should get to dictate what they do. Now leave my 2nd Amendment alone - Deal? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,514 #866 December 18, 2021 Ah, if only you were on the SC, instead of some of the folks who are... Minimalist interpretations shouldn't only be in favor of the rich and powerful. Wendy P. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,099 #867 December 18, 2021 3 hours ago, BIGUN said: Personally, I am opposed to abortion, nor do I think we should be fucking with RvW. I believe that my own personal circumstances should not dictate what other people I don't know should or shouldn't do. Well, except for people without vaccines; I should get to dictate what they do. Now leave my 2nd Amendment alone - Deal? I don't have a problem with anti-vaxxers as long as they are kept away from me and mine and the rest of the sensible folk, and are willing to pay for their treatment if they get sick. What a woman does with her own body is no-one's business but her own. Certainly not the business of any politician. I have no problem with anyone having access to guns if they can pass the same background check as is needed for a Global Entry card and are willing to affirm under penalty of perjury that they will properly secure their firearms so kids can't get them. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,058 #868 December 19, 2021 1 hour ago, kallend said: I don't have a problem with anti-vaxxers as long as they are kept away from me and mine and the rest of the sensible folk, and are willing to pay for their treatment if they get sick. I do. Because even if they die off without infecting me (which I hope they don't) they are going to infect other people, and the pandemic will worsen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeWeber 2,807 #869 December 19, 2021 On 12/17/2021 at 6:55 PM, gowlerk said: Discouraging people from breeding did not work out well for China and it would not be wise in America either. Sorry yo, it's working out great. Think about it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,241 #870 December 19, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, kallend said: I don't have a problem with anti-vaxxers as long as they are kept away from me and mine and the rest of the sensible folk, and are willing to pay for their treatment if they get sick. I thought your wife was an MD? She must be retired. Vaccine refusers are overwhelming the very stressed healthcare systems everywhere. And money can not solve the staffing issues. At least not in any effective time frame. Edited December 19, 2021 by gowlerk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,099 #871 December 19, 2021 1 hour ago, gowlerk said: I thought your wife was an MD? She must be retired. Vaccine refusers are overwhelming the very stressed healthcare systems everywhere. And money can not solve the staffing issues. At least not in any effective time frame. As in everything related to the US healthcare "system", if you can't pay you go to the back of the line. That's where 99% will go if they have to pay for their own treatment** (which is very expensive). ** "and are willing to pay for their treatment if they get sick." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
winsor 236 #872 December 22, 2021 This could go in a number of threads, but since either of these guys are the antithesis of Woke, this is as good a place as any. The usual suspects will attack the source rather than the content, but I'd worry if that didn't happen. Woke is a disease of denial, so have at it. BSBD, Winsor Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
winsor 236 #873 December 23, 2021 Elon Musk agrees that Woke is a 'mental virus' (aka mental illness). He makes a good case, and the synopsis is solid: When someone goes out of their way to tell you what they're not ("I'm not xxx, but...") they usually are a poster child for whatever it is. One case in point is AntiFa, who closely resemble Brown Shirts, and Anti Racism, which makes the KKK look egalitarian by comparison. Woke is repellent. BSBD, Winsor Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lippy 918 #874 December 23, 2021 1 hour ago, winsor said: Elon Musk agrees that Woke is a 'mental virus' (aka mental illness). He makes a good case, and the synopsis is solid: When someone goes out of their way to tell you what they're not ("I'm not xxx, but...") they usually are a poster child for whatever it is. One case in point is AntiFa, who closely resemble Brown Shirts, and Anti Racism, which makes the KKK look egalitarian by comparison. Woke is repellent. BSBD, Winsor Your stamina on this is downright impressive Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,241 #875 December 23, 2021 1 minute ago, lippy said: Your stamina on this is downright impressive I wonder how much of his day is spent thinking about it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites