Froth Slosh B'Gosh

They Write Letters

Today's P-G:

This country spends more on education than any other country, yet our students are increasingly falling behind compared to others. Maybe, just maybe, the reason for this is that schools and educators here have taken on tasks that should be done in the homes of the students -- free breakfast, lunch and discipline, to name a few. Lack of personal responsibility is the problem with this country.

I'm tired of hearing about how disadvantaged youths don't have the same opportunity to get a good education as others. You can't educate them if they don't show up. Ever hear of the old saying that "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink"?

M. McCRORY

M. McCrory is of course, wrong.

Among the OECD countries reporting data in 2008, the top five countries spending the highest percentage of their GDP on total education expenditures were Iceland (7.9 percent), Korea (7.6 percent), Israel (7.3 percent), Norway (7.3 percent), and the United States (7.2 percent)

Even if M. McCrory were correct (I have no idea if M. McCrory is male or female) free breakfasts and lunches for disadvantaged students consititute a fairly minimal expense (less than $2 per day per student) and have been around since 1946. 

 

North Pond Hermit

He spent 27 years living alone in the woods of Maine, surviving by stealing food and supplies from area camps.

He built a hut on a slope in the woods, where he spent his days reading books and meditating.

There he lived, re-entering civilization only to steal supplies from camps under the cover of darkness. During those nearly three decades, he spoke just once to another person – until he was arrested during a burglary last week.

Unfortunately for him, he isn't a bank.  If he was, he'd be too big to jail.

This Is A Crime?

Errr, what?

The founder of a tea party group in Oklahoma was charged with two felonies on Tuesday for allegedly sending threatening emails to a Republican lawmaker after he refused buy in to the notion that the United Nations was conspiring to transform the country into a communist dictatorship.

According to the Oklahoman, 54-year-old Sooner Tea Party founder Al Gerhart faces up to five years in prison for blackmail and violating the state computer crimes act.

I don't care at all for the Teabaggers, but this is some pretty weak sauce.  Reading the e-mail, I don't find anything terribly threatening about it, unless you consider the ranting of loon to an elected official to be "threatening." 

“Branan, Get that bill heard or I will make sure you regret not doing it,” Gerhart wrote in the email. “I will make you the laughing stock of the Senate if I don’t hear that this bill will be heard and passed. We will dig into your past, yoru [sic] family, your associates and once we start on you there will be no end to it. This is a promise.”

I don't see any threat to harm the elected official.  The "threat," such as it is, is to do nothing more than what an opposing candidate might do during an election.  What is "opposition research" other than an effort to "dig into your past" in order to try an politically wound your opponent?  What's next?  You'll be charged with a felony by "threatening" to work for an elected official's defeat if said official does things you don't like?  Isn't that the very heart of politics?  While the tone is belligerant, there is no threat to physically harm anybody. On the other hand, there's Ted Nugent.

I guess some politicians are a bit touchy.

Post-Racial Society

My ass.

 And what happens when we call it out? We’re told it’s a misunderstanding. We don’t understand. It is explained back to us. When we call it out again, we’re told we’re overreacting. When we call it out again, we’re causing trouble. When we call it out again, we’re really fucking annoying. When we call it out again, we’re asked what we’re trying to accomplish. When we call it out again, we’re pointed to all the times it HASN’T happened. When we call it out again, we’re told to be quiet already. And when we finally get angry, we’re told that we’re not going to get anywhere with THAT attitude, and if we want to calm down, maybe someone will be able to take us seriously. And when we call it out again, we’re accused of just seeing systemic oppression everywhere and maybe it’s time to take a break. And if we call it out again, we’re militant. And if we call it out again, we’re told that no one is going to be bullied into giving us the respect and equal treatment we deserve.

Via Skepchick.

What Duncan Said

What Duncan said.

Your Asshole Of The Day

Joe Davidson of Oklahoma Joe's BBQ.

Click to donate to Camp Quest.

Ruth Ann Is Offended By Teh Gays Getting Married

Mind you though, she's not a homophobic bigot, because she's all in favor of teh gays getting civilly unionized, just don't call it marriage, because when you do that, you are opressing her religious beliefs.

News flash Ruth Ann, your church, or any church, is no way required to perform a marriage if it doesn't want to, but no church gets to own the definition of a word either.   Your religious freedom is in no way threatened by gays getting married, and by calling it marriage.

When I married the first time, the ceremony took place in a judicial magistrate's office, presided over by a judge.  No clerics were involved.  But we didn't get a "civil union" certificate, we got a marriage certificate.  When we applied for the license we didn't get a "civil union" license, we got a marriage license.  Our marriage was recognized by the state, although it wouldn't be recognized by a church.  That said, society viewed us as married, and not "civil union-ed."

Definitions of words and terms change.  At one time, divorce was considered scanalous, and divorcees were socially looked down upon.  Before that, divorce was difficult, if not impossible to obtain.

Ruth Ann might want to remember that, seeing as she's on husband number 2, IIRC.

Voter Fraud!!

And once again, its the Republicans committing it.

But...but...ACORN!

Lasagna

Nomnomnomnom....

Here's A Better Idea

Instead of chained CPI, how about lifting the earnings cap?  Problem solved.