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The Idiotic ACLU
UPDATE: It's hard to always update on the latest idiotic things the ACLU does, as they come so often. The latest is an 8th grader that went online, made a video on Youtube or some sight, saying the principle was a pedophile and other things. The school suspended her. The ACLU claims the school shouldn't be allowed to do that, as she did the videos on her own time, not the schools time. Gotta love those ACLU idiots! Let students make false charges against school administrators. And no harm should be done to "kids" because...oh, they deserve freedom of speech. Amazing.— June 9, 2009 9:35 p.m.
Hooray for Hollywood
Sorry. I didn't explain that properly. Because, when I first heard about Jackson starting that charity, I thought it was great. Years later, when I hear that, I cringe. When I hear Al Gore doing all this stuff for the environment, I think it's great. Then I hear he's made $200 million with his "green" companies, see he takes private jets just to do lunch with someone in Phoenix, and his electricity bill at his house is some insane amount...and I cringe. In the early days, I loved Michael Moore. When I see he does all this stuff, and it makes him $200 million dollars (98% of which he doesn't donate to any charities), I cringe. Yet other liberals don't see this. They just go on and on about the big, bad Republicans (all that being said, I'm a Democrat... I just don't throw logic out the window. So, when I hear stats, or am willing to debate whether women make less than men, I can have an open mind. Or use logic. My liberal professor friend, simply can't do that. Neither can refried. And the crazy thing is, both those people are smarter than I am. I am convinced of that. Yet, they don't use proper logic, which makes me wonder...what really is intelligence? They obviously both have more schooling then I do. They have bigger vocabularies than I. They have more experiences (world wide) than I do. Yet, you throw something at them that shakes their world-view, and logic goes out the window. It's like listening to Rosie O'Donnell talk about how 9/11 was a conspiracy. This was a woman I thought was intelligent. I don't think you could be a good stand-up comedian (which she was), and not have a brain. Yet, she doesn't look at how poor that logic is, thinking 9/11 was a conspiracy by our government.— June 9, 2009 4:05 p.m.
Idiotic Football Players
SD...I don't agree with rickey that it's ALL the intelligence you got from your folks. But I do believe it's about 15% environmental, and 85% your own intelligence and how far that will take you in life, no matter where in the U.S. you are born. It could be the worst ghetto. If you're intelligent and you want to get out of that scenario, you will. It doesn't mean that it won't be harder than if you were born to a family in La Jolla... This is exactly why the book "Freakanomics" talks about how surprising it was that adopted children did worse in school. Because, they had better families raising them. Families that were exposing them to reading at an early age, learning a musical instrument...stuff that the family (ie Mom) that gave them up probably couldn't afford. Yet the children weren't doing as well in school (and I think they mentioned they ended up in prison more often than kids that weren't adopted). Why do you think that would be? Well, the simple answer is...they got their brains from their biological parents. My cousin married a guy that did this big brother program on the east coast. He told me about it when an argument about race came up. I won't tell you the race of this child, but he wasn't Caucasian. He was from a poor neighborhood. My cousins husband would visit him a few times a week, take him to museums, the zoo, help him with his homework, etc. The kid was making lots of progress. When the kid became a teenager, he started hanging around with a gang. They still met up, but the kid was changing and turning into a thug. He hadn't heard from the kid in a while and when he did, found out the kid had shot two people. He initially heard it was a robbery, but found out the details were more bizarre. Someone in his gang did something to a persons car, and they were all talking about how crazy that was. This kid said, "Oh yeah, you wanna see something crazy?" He took a gun in the car, hopped out and just shot a woman right in the head. Not to rob her, just to show he was a crazy bad a**. He was tried as an adult and is going to spend the rest of his life in jail. So...why was this kid gravitating towards gang-bangers? He had a "big brother" and was making progress. And yes, I understand this is only one example. But it's these examples I hear, time and time again (from the news, magazines, etc), that make me think there's more to all this then just where you live and the opportunities presented to you. It's having the brain...whether that means intelligence or just desire to not want to hang out with losers...that make you decide what path you'll go down.— June 9, 2009 3:55 p.m.
Idiotic Football Players
I'll respond in order -- REFRIED: I don't mind Spliffs approach to me. His somewhat aggressive demeanor, should be something you and SD can learn from. For example, what if he's at the work place and acts that way towards his boss. When he's "let go" he might claim it's racism. Or do you think he possesses the ability to sit back and reflect on how he acts/talks to people? Does he realize that a lot of getting along in the work force involves, what he may consider "butt kissing" but what others consider common courtesy. You're seeing a person that might show attitude towards a cop, and what to you think will happen? They might get cuffed. They might get their car searched. They might just get yelled at by the officer. But that person then wonders why their Asian friends, or white friends, don't have this same problem. Is that racism by the cops? Or..is that a person being treated the same way they are treating another? You say this country can't deny racism. Well, okay. Racism still exists in some circles. But you know what? Maybe it's not as bad as all you hardcore liberals think it is. After all, I can't count the amount of people (and these are people on talk shows, in the know, etc), who said Obama would never be elected President because of his race. Others said because of his unusual name. Guess what? Not only was EVERYONE wrong about that, he won in a landslide. And so many companies and people bend over backwards to show they aren't racist (and do things like throw out a firefighters test, etc). At this point in time, this country (for the most part) provides equal opportunity for everyone of every race, to succeed (or fail).— June 9, 2009 3:38 p.m.
Hooray for Hollywood
and refried, it's not just a first time novelist. i think a first time actor would have a tough go of it, too. i'm talking about an actor like...let's say Jon Cryer. he did some 80s movies. then, his look alike mathew broderick went on to bigger and better things, while he didn't. now, he's on a successful show with Charlie Sheen. imagine some guy trying to break into acting, and he's up against someone that has a famous sibling, or was a child star. You can guess who would get the part.— June 9, 2009 3:20 p.m.
Hooray for Hollywood
Well SD, the problem with underrepresented social groups is...just because you defend them (meaning my friend) doesn't make him right. He does what a lot of people do. They throw logic out the window. This friend is the first person I had the hardcore argument about women making less than men in the work place. And he things that police and court systems have an agenda for wanting to jail minorities over Caucasians. When you start with a flawed premise, I'll listen. But when I give you facts, well..I expect that person to listen as well. And admit they are wrong on things. Jesse Jackson raised $20 million for inner city, poor schools. I thought that was wonderful, until they looked at his books and only $900,000 of that money went to schools. They asked him where the rest went, and he said "administrative costs". Now, my friend doesn't make money when he does these things, marches, protests, all that. As refried said, he's very noble. But he also throws common sense out the window. And just because your heart is in the right place, doesn't mean you can disregard facts.— June 9, 2009 3:18 p.m.
Idiotic Football Players
so...uh, refried, the guy above me is the one that you say you agree with a lot. baffling. so refried, please tell me you aren't one of those idiots that doesn't believe 9/11 wasn't terrorists, but believe the dopey conspiracy theories. i won't address the rest of spliff, because he's an idiot and doesn't get anything. anybody that reads anything i write, knows I don't care about "being right." i'm giving my opinions. the reason I say "I think" is because they are not facts. spliff says he provides facts, yet he isn't providing any fact that there is a god, which he seems to believe (and doesn't believe in any kind of evolution). i guess that means refried also feels that away on that subject. i also love how some people on this site, will send me messages saying "you know spliff isn't a real person," because they can't believe a person is that stupid. yet, they won't write that here. again, it's all so baffling. but, if it entertains...then what the heck. we can keep doing it, going 'round in circles, reading his idiotic stuff, and either believing it. or thinking it's some fake, dumb character created by a mad genius out there that has nothing better to do.— June 9, 2009 10:15 a.m.
Idiotic Football Players
I know! Although, that being said...do you NOT agree with his points above?— June 9, 2009 1:43 a.m.
Idiotic Football Players
Now SD, do you disagree with any of that? Because to me, talking about tests being biased because certain races can't pass them, is along the same lines. If it were a problem, it would be fixed. I heard a comedian talking about how every parent thinks their kid is a genius. He asked, "So...who has the dumb kids?" I don't want to extend this debate into the homeless problem, but there's one similarity. When I've debated the homeless problem with some hardcore liberal friends, and they say "It could happen to any of us," I always laugh. Because, if I lost my job and source of income tomorrow, I wouldn't be homeless. And, I get the feeling that none of my friends would be, either. Now, if that means moving back in with the folks, staying on another friends couch, or whatever...you certainly wouldn't just end up on the streets. People aren't on the streets because they can't afford a home, or rent. They have drug problems or mental problems. And people at bad schools, aren't getting a poor education because of "bad teachers". I saw the documentary on spelling bees (Spellbound). There was a girl from a ghetto in D.C. Her mom looks and sounds like a loser, but she's a smart kid. She talks about drug dealers she has to walk by on the way home from school. But ya know what? She'll probably end up doing fine in life. So, how would one explain the 75% of her classmates that don't? Did they have a bad teacher, that got thru to one kid? Or, was that one kid smart and decided to make something of her life? You know how many people said Obama would never be elected President because of race? Well, guess what? He's president. I think we can safely say...this country isn't the way Spliff claims in his rants. Yet, you do that liberal logic thing that kills me. Which is that we think everyone has something to say of value. Guess what? Some people don't. The guy knows sports, but little else (it appears).— June 9, 2009 1:11 a.m.
Idiotic Football Players
rickeysays continued with: Second, that differences of outcome between schools are due to “bad” teachers, creating “bad” schools. You state: “Wealthier neighborhoods have better schools because there’s more money to attract good teachers and pay for professional development and regular teacher training”. So if they can attract “good” teachers, the “disadvantaged” schools must be full of “bad” teachers. Aside from this being insulting to the talented teachers who give their all in these “bad” schools on a daily basis, it’s also inaccurate. The teachers in these “disadvantaged” schools are the most motivated, dedicated and hard-working people you’ll ever meet. They are also compensated and trained just as well as their peers in the “good” schools. The only inequality comes about when they are blamed for the failures of their students. The faulty premise from which this article, and most thought on the topic proceeds, is that the causes of student’s, and all people’s failures, are environmental. That if there is a difference in outcomes it must be due to inequal opportunity. Perhaps merely based on external factors, like economics, or perhaps, as you suggest, on overt racism. Sadly this is rarely the case. If it was, it would be fixable. What the past fifty-five years have shown is that, as a popular comedian likes to put it, “you can’t fix dumb”. You point to the differences in economics as a cause of the differences in educational outcome. But isn’t it more likely this is not a cause, but a symptom of the underlying problem? To put it simply: dumb parents. Parents economic performance dictates where they live. Parents who have less success in their lives economically tend to be less intelligent, as well as being troubled in other ways. They also tend to have kids that inherit these traits - the kids who fill up the schools in these neighborhoods. Instead of trying to assign blame to any and every environmental cause for the failures of these “bad” schools, why don’t we cut to the chase. ‘Bad” schools are full of “bad” students. The reality is, we are all products of our nature. Smart capable students are capable of overcoming troubled neighborhoods and “bad schools”. It happens all the time. Just as “good schools” put out “underachievers” and criminals. But we will never get ahead as a society until we can admit to ourselves that everyone is not the same. That everyone is not cut out for college. For every “gifted” student there’s a dumb one. For every Barack Obama there’s a new star of “COPS” or “Jerry Springer”. For every Michael Phelps there’s a Dom Deluise. For every Mother Theresa there’s a Charles Manson. We must celebrate our talents, but we must also accept responsibility for our shortcomings. Only then will we achieve all we are capable of.— June 9, 2009 1 a.m.