[Severian]

Originally Posted by tw2113

I consider myself socially liberal, fiscally conservative. I agree we need to have a lot of change happen, but I disagree with how we'd pay for it. I'd prefer we scaled back the foreign policy spending long before we should scale back the welfare spending. I wish we'd more effectively spend the taxes we already collect than just keep collecting more and waste it just as badly. I don't believe in "free college" or "free healthcare" and know that those get paid one way or another by taxpayers. We'd have a sticker shock at first, but over time, we'd grow used to paying for those types of things gradually and collectively.

I know where you're coming from (nice handling of p-green by the way), and I think it's just a natural part of "growing up" to begin to take on a more fiscally conservative belief system. I mean, you get out of college and you no longer need "fee college," but you could definitely use a tax break unless you dropped right into the upper class. So I get it.

But if we look at other countries -- Symblls has mentioned Germany several times, but there's also France, Norway, Iceland, Poland -- there are a massive number of working models for government funded education in place that we could easily borrow from.

I think the real problem, even more than education, is health care. You don't physically need education to survive (yet), but you goddamn well need healthcare, and it could and should be socialized in the U.S. as it is virtually everywhere else. This is being done practically by nations all over the world who are maintaining a presence in the industrial world, and killing it with job creation. It's really not a pipe dream for the U.S.

Also, I really don't think Johnson exemplifies the libertarian platform very well. He's a libertarian because he needed to be to have any kind of shot at continued political relevance. But Jesus he's a stupid man. I'm sorry, no offense. A lot of the long-haul libertarians I know voted for him because of his affiliation, and were mortified by how he actually handled himself during all this.

I see a certain amount of promise in libertarianism, but the platform needs to evolve beyond benign a once every 4 years sleight of hand grab for votes and turn into a truly viable third option.

[!@#$%!]

^^ johnson lives in taos so i think he travels to colorado waaaaay too often if you know what i mean lol (taos is right next to it).

as for higher education, cost controls are out of hand in the USA. i went to a very fine latin american university that had only a cafeteria and a cement soccer pitch... no dorms (most of us lived at home, others rented rooms), no stadiums, no gym, no student union, no movie theatre, no extensive parking facilities, no private bus system, no campus police, no dean of student affairs, no athletics department.... yet the education was top-notch, and there was great research being done on campus--and the people doing the research taught us.

the problem with college in america today, and i say this as someone who taught college extensively through 4 years of grad school (2 courser per semester plus summers, levels between 100-300), is that college is not "higher education" but a massive daycare system for overgrown children.

and people in their dumb disney ways are still nostalgically attached to giving their children "the college experience" at the tune of 1/2 million bucks per fucking brat, so that they can go get high for 5 years.

what in the living fuck, people.

we could very well have a string of barebones colleges to provide all of the education with none of the fucking pampering and time-wasting that these educational resorts provide.

part of the problem, though, see, is federal funding of debt. some spoiled horny 18 year old wants nothing to do with work or career or money-- they wanna fuck, drink, get high, fuck some more, get high again, expand their minds, sing about revolution, and do it all for free-- except it's not free, someone else is paying for it-- their parents, their future selves, the taxpayer, whoever.

and because the federal government guarantees your debt until the end of time... guess what... you can get 4 or 5 years of federally funded permanent vacation, worry about paying it back later.

and here's the kicker though... because the spice flows unrestricted, colleges have to COMPETE for that resort money. offering better dining, more luxurious facilities, greater football teams, RAs and counselors and student activities, all the while classes are being taught by GAs and adjuncts. but the debt piles on regardless.

FUCKED UP. FUCKED UP. FUCKED UP.

[ilduclo]

hmmm, I'd be willing to pay an additional 30% or so on taxes if it would be targeted towards a few things I support, like drug treatment programs, early childhood education, dental care for the poor, stuff like that. I'd even go more if I could direct that it wouldn't ever go to the military, veterans or Israel

[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

^^ johnson lives in taos so i think he travels to colorado waaaaay too often if you know what i mean lol (taos is right next to it).

as for higher education, cost controls are out of hand in the USA. i went to a very fine latin american university that had only a cafeteria and a cement soccer pitch... no dorms (most of us lived at home, others rented rooms), no stadiums, no gym, no student union, no movie theatre, no extensive parking facilities, no private bus system, no campus police, no dean of student affairs, no athletics department.... yet the education was top-notch, and there was great research being done on campus--and the people doing the research taught us.

the problem with college in america today, and i say this as someone who taught college extensively through 4 years of grad school (2 courser per semester plus summers, levels between 100-300), is that college is not "higher education" but a massive daycare system for overgrown children.

and people in their dumb disney ways are still nostalgically attached to giving their children "the college experience" at the tune of 1/2 million bucks per fucking brat, so that they can go get high for 5 years.

what in the living fuck, people.

we could very well have a string of barebones colleges to provide all of the education with none of the fucking pampering and time-wasting that these educational resorts provide.

part of the problem, though, see, is federal funding of debt. some spoiled horny 18 year old wants nothing to do with work or career or money-- they wanna fuck, drink, get high, fuck some more, get high again, expand their minds, sing about revolution, and do it all for free-- except it's not free, someone else is paying for it-- their parents, their future selves, the taxpayer, whoever.

and because the federal government guarantees your debt until the end of time... guess what... you can get 4 or 5 years of federally funded permanent vacation, worry about paying it back later.

and here's the kicker though... because the spice flows unrestricted, colleges have to COMPETE for that resort money. offering better dining, more luxurious facilities, greater football teams, RAs and counselors and student activities, all the while classes are being taught by GAs and adjuncts. but the debt piles on.

FUCKED UP. FUCKED UP. FUCKED UP.

I did some summer work at a college when I was in grad school. A state college with state of the art dorms, on-site everything, and transportation. Such a shiny school it was, but it was a non-research institution with hundreds of thousands thrown into its tiny little football program.

It's true. Many colleges are sleepaway camps.

[!@#$%!]

the cost of education will not be solved until the middle classes can get a quality higher education without the upper class and aspirational "college experience" aka "adult disney".

the for-profits could quickly serve this need but they have also been encouraged to rack up the big bucks while providing a sub-par education due to federally subsidized loans which again incentivize overpaying rather than cost-cutting and optimization. plus they overwork and underpay unqualified instructors = more scam.

[!@#$%!]

http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/14/th...ore-state-legi

[!@#$%!]

1200 people explain why they voted for Trump, 21 published here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graph...mepage%2Fstory

brilliant. simply brilliant. i don't agree with a lot of those people but i respect their reasons (so far anyway... haven't seen any KKK comment yet). the religious one is a bit funny to me (trump being who he is) but to each their own, i still respect it their motives.

[ilduclo]

we generally attribute good intentions and motives to ourselves, though, so I find that pretty self servile

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by ilduclo

we generally attribute good intentions and motives to ourselves, though, so I find that pretty self servile

which one?

[!@#$%!]

how the dems can take back politics:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...mepage%2Fstory

[Severian]

Originally Posted by ilduclo

we generally attribute good intentions and motives to ourselves, though, so I find that pretty self servile

Fundamental attribution bias FTW

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Severian

Fundamental attribution bias FTW

i didn't know about this concept and had to look it up. was this the first time i hear about it or what? either way, new to me as a formal concept though we all have experience with it. thanks for naming it.

===

ilducio, what happened to love trumps hate? come on buddy, let's not get bitter when we need good energy the most.

here this journo says what is obama smiling about but i think obama is right and not in denial-- he's leaving the country in pretty good shape.

“Unemployment rate is as low as it has been in eight, nine years, incomes and wages have both gone up over the last year faster than they have in a decade or two. . . . The financial systems are stable. The stock market is hovering around its all-time high and 401(k)s have been restored. The housing market has recovered. . . . We are seeing significant progress in Iraq . . . Our alliances are in strong shape. . . . And gas is two bucks a gallon.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...c35_story.html

obama has more rastaman vibrations than that journo (journos drink a lot, as severian can likelly witness/attest), and should keep his high mind intact. no drama obama!

as for the republican monopoly we face today, remember that a climax is also the beginning of decline. the moment gas prices begin to rise (e.g. saudi arabia gets pissed at trump and cuts production) republicans are gonna shit bloodclots ha ha ha.

which reminds me i need to fix this old little VW we have unused. lololol. good mileage.

WELL. FRIENDS. DESPAIR NOT.

let's learn from the people who voted trump this way around. a lot of them were obama voters in the past! let's figure out how to persuade them for THE GLORIOUS MIDTERMS OF 2018.

(and WARREN 2020)

but first instead of seeking salvation in the future let's deal with today today.

[ilduclo]

It didn't take Shrub very long to change the USA and I don't think it will take Trump long, either. I think we are a minority party in a lot of ways and marginalized for power due to gerrymandering, money, lack of fairness doctrine, etc. Hang on to your hats, it's going to blow ugly.

[Rob Instigator]

Trump does not have any idea what being a public servant is like, what government is like, and how things work. it is NOT like business world.

If he apoints fat fuck Christie as Attorney General and fucking asshole Guliani as Secretary of State? look out. Guliani is "ex CIA" (once cIA always CIA, there are no "EX")

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by ilduclo

It didn't take Shrub very long to change the USA and I don't think it will take Trump long, either. I think we are a minority party in a lot of ways and marginalized for power due to gerrymandering, money, lack of fairness doctrine, etc. Hang on to your hats, it's going to blow ugly.

but that's precisely what i'm trying to do here, right? hanging on to my hat.

i'm just trying to NOT experience the ugly before it actually happens. know what i mean? preparation yes. being trapped in the scenarios of the mind no.

like-- dying a thousand deaths. i don't wanna. i just wanna die once. i do prepare every day for my death with the expectation that it will prepare me to die well. but only once.

meantime, we live. let's do something with it and not grow embittered.

the marginalization from power is due to a lot of things. but where it's due to incompetence and wrongheadedness and ideological insularity we can do something about it. really can't blame everything on everyone else.

an internal locus of control is good for sanity and coping with stress. let's exercise it now that we need it the most.

[Severian]

Journalists do tend to like their booze. This is not just a stereotype. From my experience with both family members in the field and seeing kids jump righ in out of college, it's very nearly an epidemic. Remember though that many of us are on the clock 10 hours a day min. even in small towns with small beats. The national reporters must have livers of steel.

Me, I like legally prescribed anxiety meds. But I am an outsider (and a realitive newb).

[Severian]

Also, I'm thinking Warren 2020 too.

People want Bernie to return, but having lost once is pretty damaging from a historical perspective (and a current perspective). Fresh blood will be needed. Not to mention Bernie will be 79 by then. I know he's New Jersey tough, but that's pushing it for a prospective leader. He'd have to shatter yet another precedent, and he already has several going against him.

[pepper_green]

Originally Posted by Severian

Me, I like legally prescribed anxiety meds. But I am an outsider.

you wish!

[pepper_green]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

Trump does not have any idea what being a public servant is like, what government is like, and how things work. it is NOT like business world.

If he apoints fat fuck Christie as Attorney General and fucking asshole Guliani as Secretary of State? look out. Guliani is "ex CIA" (once cIA always CIA, there are no "EX")

have you even watched the news lately? it's much worse than this.

I'm also getting sick of the whole im "socially political and fiscally conservative" excuse. my barber told me the same thing. is this a catch phrase now?

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Severian

Journalists do tend to like their booze. This is not just a stereotype. From my experience with both family members in the field and seeing kids jump righ in out of college, it's very nearly an epidemic. Remember though that many of us are on the clock 10 hours a day min. even in small towns with small beats. The national reporters must have livers of steel.

Me, I like legally prescribed anxiety meds. But I am an outsider (and a realitive newb).

shit, i know first-hand. bro-in-law used to be a journo. they'd have these conferences-- holy shit! quaffers. i've sat next to them a few times.

plus recently i read an article about this journalist who died young. apparently she woke up & drank-- that's what she considered "normal"

not universalizing the particular though-- her story just reminded me of the rest

Originally Posted by Severian

Also, I'm thinking Warren 2020 too.

People want Bernie to return, but having lost once is pretty damaging from a historical perspective (and a current perspective). Fresh blood will be needed. Not to mention Bernie will be 79 by then. I know he's New Jersey tough, but that's pushing it for a prospective leader. He'd have to shatter yet another precedent, and he already has several going against him.

bernie was already ancient and hunchback.

warren ftw.

BUT FIRST, THE MIDTERMS.

a president without a congress doesn't have a chance in hell.

the house is the most powerful entity in the government and we're stupid to neglect it with this president-worship.

WHO WRITES THE LAWS?

2018.