question about hillary

[Xavier_Onassis]

What about the fact that income for "theater people"Wink, and athletes is so very high, and  teachers are paid pennies in comparison?

==========================================================
There is nothing that the government can do about the disparity between entertainers and teachers. Teachers cannot get Beer and soap companies to pay them huge amounts to draw viewers to their ads.

The government COULD tax the entertainers at a high rate and spend the increase on taxes to educators, but tax lawyers always have found a way to dodge high income taxes and always will. It's just something we have to live with.

There are millions more teachers than people who have a knack for pretending to be someone else and playing with balls. We are not respected as they are, even though the worst teacher imparts more knowledge to any of his or her students than the most talented ball player.

The people and culture of the US respects entertaining more than education. This is because of advertising and the consumer economy.

Over half the price of a tube of Colgate toothpaste is advertising, and it sells for $3.99 for 7 oz., whereas the same size tube of my favorite Ultra-brite goes for 99 cents. The main difference is advertising. Many people (even poor people) are willing to pay the extra $3.00 because ads have convinced them of "quality".. We do not teach our students how to recognize or inform themselves about true quality, or even how to invest and be successful capitalists. It is not in any curriculum that I know of.

Most years, I make about 150% more on my investments in mutual funds than I do in teaching. The time required is only about four hours a week, and the education I neede to do this took me about five years of reading, trial and error.

There so so much bad advice out there about investing: always trust in Morningstars stars, keep most of your investments in the USA, bigger funds are best, you pay for what you get (when it comes to load funds vs no load funds and fees and commissions), and always try to avoid taxes. Forbes, Business Week and Money magazine are stuffed with bad and mediocre advice. All that late night infomercial investment advice is just crap designed to get you to pay huge amounts of money for info far inferior to what is available for free from Yahoo finance and Yodlee.


The excellent Mutual Funds magazine was bought out by Money and discontinued. There has been no decent replacement.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Should Cheney go to jail if he did indeed break the law?

He lied like a rug. He was blatently incompetent. His incompetence has resulted in the deaths and hideous maimings of thousands of US troops and Iraqis. Of course he should be jailed.

This won't happen, but if I ever get a chance to pee on his grave, I won't miss it.

[BT]

did he break the law?

[Xavier_Onassis]

He sure as hell did in my book.

If I could be the decider in his case, he's be in Leavenworth until 2030 or so.

[BT]

What law?

[Cynthia]

What about the fact that income for "theater people"Wink, and athletes is so very high, and  teachers are paid pennies in comparison?

==========================================================
There is nothing that the government can do about the disparity between entertainers and teachers. Teachers cannot get Beer and soap companies to pay them huge amounts to draw viewers to their ads.

The government COULD tax the entertainers at a high rate and spend the increase on taxes to educators, but tax lawyers always have found a way to dodge high income taxes and always will. It's just something we have to live with.

There are millions more teachers than people who have a knack for pretending to be someone else and playing with balls. We are not respected as they are, even though the worst teacher imparts more knowledge to any of his or her students than the most talented ball player.

The people and culture of the US respects entertaining more than education. This is because of advertising and the consumer economy.

Over half the price of a tube of Colgate toothpaste is advertising, and it sells for $3.99 for 7 oz., whereas the same size tube of my favorite Ultra-brite goes for 99 cents. The main difference is advertising. Many people (even poor people) are willing to pay the extra $3.00 because ads have convinced them of "quality".. We do not teach our students how to recognize or inform themselves about true quality, or even how to invest and be successful capitalists. It is not in any curriculum that I know of.

Most years, I make about 150% more on my investments in mutual funds than I do in teaching. The time required is only about four hours a week, and the education I neede to do this took me about five years of reading, trial and error.

There so so much bad advice out there about investing: always trust in Morningstars stars, keep most of your investments in the USA, bigger funds are best, you pay for what you get (when it comes to load funds vs no load funds and fees and commissions), and always try to avoid taxes. Forbes, Business Week and Money magazine are stuffed with bad and mediocre advice. All that late night infomercial investment advice is just crap designed to get you to pay huge amounts of money for info far inferior to what is available for free from Yahoo finance and Yodlee.


The excellent Mutual Funds magazine was bought out by Money and discontinued. There has been no decent replacement.

Xavier,

This forum presents me the luxuary of reading what other adults have to "think" about the state of our nation politically and otherwise. I have taught primary school for so many years, that I don't know a hedge from a hog sometimes when it comes to this world. I am not afraid to admit that.....I am still a fabulous educator when it comes to my job.

I "need" this forum, if for nothing else than to learn.   I want to know more. I have always been that way. I realize that there have been times when your stance rubs me the wrong way, but by God, man...you know your stuff.

Who the hell needs to watch a political debate via the media when we can watch one right here on the "gate" with more info. I guess you could consider me an intern of sorts in this world....don't ever confuse me with THAT intern, however!!.....

 I have always been on the side of the right in the world of politics, as I come by it via familia.

Your knowledge has tweaked my interest otherwise. I am paying attention.

IF, for nothing else, at least you tell it like it is with facts of the liberal persuasion.


Sirs has a knowledge base for such facts, as I am sure others have......I would love to see such details debated in this forum.

It's been a few years since I have darkened these gate doors...in fact my last post was about or during the beinning of the Iraqi war  in about '03. I said back then that we could have success if we had support. I was, of course, in full support of the women of the middle east. I was tired of hearing that women were being killed for wearing westernized make-up...or at least having their fingers cut off. I was outraged enough to see Saddam's head come off back then, but I also knew one thing about the middle east. There have been factions of religious sects who are so deeply cemented in the region (centuries old) that the likelihood of a 'win' for democracy was going to be a hard up hill battle. There's more to the story than anyone in the Bush admin. could understand.
Is there a pendulum swing between the likes of Rosie O'Donnell and those of us who wanted freedom in the region of Iraq and Afghanistan? Be damned those people who consider 9-11 an inside job. sorry, but I feel that way.



Toothpaste? Well, hells bells.....all my teeth and I can say about that is....'didn't know that'.

Professor...keep talking..I am listening. I need to know more as an educator. I live with liberals in my world, albeit raised as a republican. I am caught. I am. Thank GOd there is an independent parking place for me.

NOt a sparrow or a turncoat yet, but I am listening and becoming informed from within these gates.
Thank you for your knowledge, XO.

Counterpoint?

[Plane]

I "need" this forum, if for nothing else than to learn.   I want to know more. I have always been that way. I realize that there have been times when your stance rubs me the wrong way, but by God, man...you know your stuff.

Who the hell needs to watch a political debate via the media when we can watch one right here on the "gate" with more info. I guess you could consider me an intern of sorts in this world....don't ever confuse me with THAT intern, however!!.....

 I have always been on the side of the right in the world of politics, as I come by it via familia.

Your knowledge has tweaked my interest otherwise. I am paying attention.

IF, for nothing else, at least you tell it like it is with facts of the liberal persuasion. ....................

Counterpoint?

Although I agree much more often with Sirs than with XO , I must commend your post and your attitude.

Sad tho it is to see you fall prey to the leftist error....

It is wonderfull to see someone express interest in listening and not only expounding.

This may be the best attitude that any of us has ever brought here  ....

[Cynthia]

Well, Plane, thanks.

I am listening...didn't say I was voting, quite yet.

XO makes sense, as does Sirs and you and BT.....

I am a teacher. I am also tired of the bullshit that accompanies education.

Funny, because tonight, while I am sure a lot of men were watching the NE game on CBS, I was watching Larry King. Susie Orman(Sp?) was on his program.

She talked a bit about the economic situation in this country coming upon the election time....and yet, she is a gay American woman. She is liberal. Go figure. I had no idea.
So, it was clear why she votes Democrat..."her words">

I am a teacher...and I am tired......So, my heart comes and goes within this arena, Plane.

Having great discussions in this nation of ours is what it's all about.
The skill to listen is what I try to teach my children on a daily basis. Listening for the sake of understanding and decision making. 

We MUST listen to all sides of a topic and have time to think.

Mistakes made are part of life....but paying attention, grappling with ideas and making errors in the midst of the learning process is a whole other ballgame.

 Sirs and Xavier aren't immune to mistakes or misguided points.

But, knowledge is more than a dangerous thing...it is the only thing. IMO

[BT]

Cynthia,

There really isn't that much diffrence between liberals and conservatives.

I think they both want affordable health care for everyone.

They disagree with how to reach that goal.

Some want to fund it with a tax on vice or the rich.

Other want to fund it more closer to the people via sales tax.

Others say it is the individuals responsibility and the govt might help with tax breaks and savings accounts.

And while none of the solutions are deal breakers, nothing will get done while they argue over credit and control.

 

[Cynthia]

Cynthia,

There really isn't that much diffrence between liberals and conservatives.

I think they both want affordable health care for everyone.

They disagree with how to reach that goal.

Some want to fund it with a tax on vice or the rich.

Other want to fund it more closer to the people via sales tax.

Others say it is the individuals responsibility and the govt might help with tax breaks and savings accounts.

And while none of the solutions are deal breakers, nothing will get done while they argue over credit and control.

 

Thank you BT.

I am learning here, as you can tell....no apologies....

But, I will stir up dust with questions from time to time.

My house taxes were raised this year because of a bond that was voted in....to build more high schools in the district.
I was pissed.
Then, how can the money be raised from within the school district as some conservatives are crying for around here.....? I think it's a good point. But, then again, I am working in a classroom without a decent ceiling. Mold is growing and walls are older than I. ha!

I suppose the issue of money is going to be the devil for us all in the long run...but over spending and waste is the bigger culprit.

[Cynthia]

I want a government that encourages children to learn, to be intellectually curious and to have questioning minds. More government-funded TV and radio stations could do this at a minimal cost, and DVD's and such could be distributed to those who pay a minimal fee and show promise in learning beyond the curriculum


Plane,

It's statements like this one that make me want more.

Xavier knows what my world is all about....just in that statement, alone.

[Plane]

I want a government that encourages children to learn, to be intellectually curious and to have questioning minds. More government-funded TV and radio stations could do this at a minimal cost, and DVD's and such could be distributed to those who pay a minimal fee and show promise in learning beyond the curriculum


Plane,

It's statements like this one that make me want more.

Xavier knows what my world is all about....just in that statement, alone.

All right,...

... but every coin has a tail.

Should it be the government that takes that role in every child's life?

The government is self serving , it is prone to put its own needs into the roots of the education it provides.

The government needs citizens that it can depend on to perpetuate the government .

When this is not a good fit for the kid , the government is not prone to be accommodating to the non standard need.




http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pink+floyd/another+brick+in+the+wall+part+ii_20108776.html


I prefer vouchers, which would not necessaryily replacepublic schools , but would certainly produce competition and variety of choice.

Potentially , a competition for teaching talent too.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Vouchers basically are a way to get the government to instill a religious belief (such as creationism) in your children, when you are unable to do it yourself, perhaps because of sloth or the inability to explain your beliefs. It is unfortunate that the religious nutballs have taken over the issue of vouchers, because there are many reasons why public schools can fail to teach students to learn and teaching evolution is not any sort of major issue.

The schools that would get the vouchers will not allow teacher unions, will have far lower standards, because they will pay their teachers a whole lot less. I sent my daughter to a Cuban private school from grades one through three so she would learn Spanish better as well as English, and she did, but she also never learned math because the teachers the private school hired did not know enough about match to teach it. Public schools can be very low in quality, because they have to take every kid, even the goof-offs that disrupt the class all the time, who won't be expelled from public schools because they can't be, but will be thrown out of private schools when the parents of the other kids in the class get together and threaten to pull their kids out.

The main thing wrong with education in America is that schools are run by doofi elected to the school board by maybe the 15% of the population that bothers to vote in the elections. Miami-Dade School Board is about par for the course, and is pretty much incompetent at running schools that excel. They tell the teachers that they must sign an "override" to fail more than 6% of their students. If you have too many overrides, you will get canned. If you are a veteran teacher, they will replace you with some beginner at a much lower salary. If they rehire you later, and have fired you for too many overrides, you will have to start over at the bottom of the scale.

Hardly any field is so poorly taught as foreign languages. Europeans with highschool diplomas often speak English as well as or better than native Americans, because in many European countries, clases other than English are actually taught in English. The Germans (especially those in the West) the Dutch, Belgians, Luxemburgers, French and Scandinavians are especially good at teaching English and other foreign languages. Here, they send a Se?orita Garcia in for "cultural enrichment" twice a week in grade school, but then start language classes at the Sophomore level, when all the boys' voices are changing and the girls are getting their first zits. The School Boards do not fund language labs adequately and FL teachers are usually an assortment of first and second generation immigrants who are pretty much clueless about how English grammar really works and therefore cannot compare it with Spanish or French beyond what the textbook says.

So only about one in thirty US students actually attain a decent fluency by taking Spanish I, II and III in HS.

We don't teach English in this country, either. What we teach is how not to misuse English: spelling of difficult words, how to not write run on sentences, how to never use "ain't" (but here it is in the dictionary, teacher), that sort of stuff. Twelve years of it.

If you don't believe me, please give me the rule foir when English uses the present progressive tense vs the simple present tense (I am speaking vs. I speak. Go on, I dare you. Double dog dare you.

The actual grammatical structure of English is best described by something called 'transformational grammar', and is generally only taught in graduate schools as an optional subject. Most PhD's in English can speak the language correctly, but they can't give you many grammatical rules, because these are never taught to them. English is taught as though it were a Romance or Latinate language, which is isn't (Never end a statement or a question with a preposition, for example. Where did that come from? Ooops! From where did that come?
No, wrong again, no one says it that way. Right the first time. English is NOT a Romance language and Latin grammar does not always apply. It's a fusion of a teutonic language (Anglo/Saxon), a Scandinavian language or two (Danish, Norse), Latin, Norman French, and several Celtic languages (Irish, Erse, Welch, Briton). So the grammar is a hodgepodge, with myriad rules and exceptions to damn near all of them.

[The_Professor]

Remarkably, you might be very surprised that we do not seriously agree here. You didn't have a heart attack over that, did you? 

XO: I want an end to the stupid war in Iraq and an expos? of the profiteering that resulted from it, and an end to the oligarchy making foreign policy forever.

Prof: I concur that this debacle needs to end, quickly.

XO: I want a government that will work toward more equitable incomes, and less disparity between the mega-rich and everyone else.

Prof: I again concur.

XO: I want a government that does not lie, cheat and steal.

Prof: Totally concur here as well.

XO: I want a fair assessment of what is happening with Medicare and Social Security and a sincere attempt to keep benefits from slipping.

Prof: Concur. One example is that if you lifted the cap, there would be NO money problems here.

XO: I want my country to stop borrowing from China ( and others) and squandering on military and secretive plotting, dirty tricks and meddling in the affairs of other countries.

Prof: I concur and I postulate UP would as well.

XO: I want government funded research in sustainable energy and resource management. Solar, Tidal, Wind, Geothermal, Biomass energy should be amply funded and even subsidized until it can compete. Alcohol from corn is silly, and everyone knows this.

Prof: Totally concur even if tax cuts are needed. Gimme a serious tax break for solar energy and I will pursue this, tomorrow.

XO: I want a stable dollar, not one that constantly spirals down in value against the Euro, Pound and Yen.

Prof: Agreed.

XO: I want decent medical care for all Americans, I am tired of hearing that we can't afford to fund cures for drugs, treatments and diseases while they piss away millions per minute in Iraq. Amei=ricans deserve the benefits of their own taxes.

Prof: Yes, something really needs to be done in this arena.

XO: I want equal treatment for Israel and the Palestinians. Israel is NOT our best ally, it is an annoying embarrassment the way he Israeli lobby steals our money to harass Palestinians, which in turn makes the rest of the world loathe us. We should realize that Israel is no more important than any other country with 4,000,000 people, and does not deserve an annual subsidy of $1,000 per head. I am not for subsidizing any other country in this amount, either.

Prof: Sorry, this one we disagree on.

XO: I want a government that encourages children to learn, to be intellectually curious and to have questioning minds. More government-funded TV and radio stations could do this at a minimal cost, and DVD's and such could be distributed to those who pay a minimal fee and show promise in learning beyond the curriculum.

Prof: I concur with the first statement here. We do not promote education well enough. It should begin early and be continuing.

XO: I want it to be easier for students from abroad to come to the US and study. We need more scientists, researchers and engineers and the post-9-11 laws are making it too hard for them to come here.

Prof: Hmm, perhaps. I would say we also need to promote the sciences to US-born more intently than we currently do instead of having to rely on non-native born students.

XO: We need to do something to intellectualize the culture, which is being constantly dumbed down by the media.

Prof: Agree.


XO: That's a start. A good president could figure out how to get most of this done within the Constitution.

Prof: Totally concur; who wouldn't?

XO: Also, Dick Cheney behind bars if there is any way to convict him, just to show that we aren't going to put up with assholes like him any more.

Prof: No, only make him take lessons on how to properly take aim.  I will admit I have little respect for whatever skills he may possess.

[The_Professor]

Well, she won't be able to do much about the Defense budget since that would mean too many jobs being lost, so a "transfer of funds" is probably not going to happen. Expect a tax increase of some sort, however, since the money has to come from SOMEWHERE. No more printing of money, please. (ala AMT).