NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 09:40 AM) There is a slight disparity in what I pay in real estate taxes compared to the average Chicago resident. Chicago property taxes are out of control. We are selling our 2 BR condo in the city, looking at 4 BR houses in nice suburbs with very good schools. And yet, we are looking at our property taxes probably going down, or staying the same at worst. But that is more than just school money.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 09:32 AM) The last article that was posted contained this: . That would put them near the top. Sure, New Trier blows them away, but there are still many schools doing more with less. Sorry, I should be more clear - that is 5% in Illinois, which is a silly statistic. The Chicago metro has a very different economy than the rest of the state. I'd imagine CPS is more like middle ground for Chicago metro school districts (but I can't say for sure). Have to admit though, now that I look at that number, its a lot larger percentage of New Trier's (for comparison) than it was in the 80's or 90's when Kozol's book was written. I wonder if its that CPS has grown so much in spending, or other districts have slowed spending growth, or both.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 09:27 AM) Wow, then we agree. But next question, how much is enough? it has already been pointed out that Chicago spends way up near the top per pupil, but ranks well below many other schools spending less. Chicago does not spend "way up near the top" per pupil. New Trier, for example, spends something like 5 times as much per student as some city high schools. I read that in the Kozol book, and other places since, but don't have a link, or know the exact number.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 09:26 AM) I believe Palin has hit a level that Edwards has not, apparent VP running mate. She is the first GOP female to be in that position. Add it all up and there are enough firsts to make her a bigger story then Edwards. Perhaps they should have compared the Edwards coverage and limited this coverage, or maybe went back and added some more Edwards for balance. But that seems really silly. Well yeah, obviously if Edwards was the VP candidate, that story would be ALL that the MS was discussing.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 09:19 AM) US didn't seem to have any interest in Edwards baby scandal, but front page cover for Palin? Maybe she should have announced that Edwards was the baby's father, that would have kept them all quiet, for Elizabeth's sake. Its US magazine. I really don't see how you can make any point one way or another about news media and use them as an example.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 09:06 AM) I went to a poor school, and the sysytem I left was one of the lowest funded grade school systems in the state. Yet they still managed to teach. I disagree that the money is an automatic disadvantage. Chicago is in the top tier of spending. How much more money should they get? I agree that public school funding is not quite right. But try convincing the people in naperville that the several thousands of dollars they spend on property taxes should go to help pay for Chicago school teachers. A tax revolt would happen pretty fast. I agree that's a tough or impossible sell, and I agree that money is not an automatic advantage or disadvantage. But I ALSO think that money isn't irrelevant - its a factor.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 08:34 AM) Well said. however, even in the newspapers, is it laziness or willing deceit that they forget to mention that Kwame Kilpatrick is a Democrat but blare in the first sentance that Larry Craig is a Republican. And yes, I know one is a Senator and one is a mayor, but there isn't an official style sheet that says only list party designations if it is a Senator or US Rep. Some reporters truncate quotes, or use the infamous 'some say' to bring up a point that they thinke needs mentioning. Some are lazy, some have agendas, some have favorites that color their writing styles, some ask softball questions to people they like, some are just plain idiots. Oh sure, I wasn't saying there isn't SOME bias even in the pure reporting. There is. I don't think its 100% in one slot or the other, but in the net, its probably slightly left. I think that's the nature of who tends to become journalists. But in that area, the real newsies, I think the bias is minimal on a net basis, and not nearly as bad as the TV MSM and the blogosphere.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 08:43 AM) I understand the message, but also cannot agree to keeping kids out of school. At least until the system is fixed, by not having them there the first day, they will be deprivng the school of even more money. Attendance is used in funding formulas, and first days count alot. As for the rest, mixed feelings. Education disparities are vast. But part of the reason I moved where I did was to get my kid into a good school. I busted my ass to get here for them. My real estate taxes from old house to this one went up 500%. Lines like this make me want to tell them to fix thier own house first "In fact, among unit school districts, those that include both elementary and high schools, CPS was in the top 5 percent in terms of its operating expenditures per pupil". Money isn't the issue. Or isn't the ONLY issue. Meeks should find a way to get more parents involved, and to change the perception that getting good grades in school is 'acting white'. I heard that phrase even back in MY high school days. While I agree that people should feel proud that they earned good schooling for their kids, there is an important aspect to be considered here. People who grow up poor, have poor schools. They are then automatically put at a disadvantage to start with. So they don't have a level playing field, to go get those better houses and better schools. Also, we are not talking about private schools here - these are public schools. If we are going to have public schools at all, shouldn't they be eminently fair? Because they aren't right now. And the idea that more money doesn't necessarily mean better schools is true, but the correlation is pretty strong. More money sure helps.

School funding is one of those things that every politician likes to talk about, but no one wants to actually touch. Problem is, you can't fix the school system without fixing the funding. Being a New Trier grad myself, I'm embarrassed to say, I think these students and educators and parents all make a valid point. The way school funding is currently handled, the poor stay poor, and the rich stay rich (in general). Savage Inequalities, as the book title goes.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 3, 2008 -> 07:36 AM) If we're going to disqualify commentators, well, then what are we talking about? Nothing? I think this gets at one of the REAL problems in mainstream media, particularly TV media - the blending of commentary/editorial with news reporting. The two have become merged into one big mess. That allows for all sorts of bias from both sides or non-sides to leak into the "news". This is why TV news is nearly useless. Unfortunately, its where many Americans get their "news". Then there is the internet, where anyone can say anything and try to pass it off as fact. And then there is the whole time-shortening phenomenon, resulting in the information overload style of reporting. All flash, no substance. And this lends itself towards the usual suspects - sex, politics, scandal, controversy, death... IMO, you want a place where news is still news for the most part, go to the high end papers - NYT, WaPo, Trib, even WSJ for a certain segment. They still understand the difference between news and opinion. Read the NEWS. So considering all that, I think its tough to determine a left-right bias in the "MSM". Depends on who is in the MSM, and which outlet we are talking about. Also, are we talking commentators, or news anchors, or story selection, or what? And further, I think the media "bias" changes over time. It follows American angst, which right now is heavily against the GOP. I'd say the main TV news channels - CNN, MSNBC, and the big 3 - are probably, on a net basis, slightly left of center.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 10:24 PM) Well I'm not leaving this area because of my job, and I doubt you could match these prices. 1014 sq feet for $72k um, yeah, I can't really touch that price. But good luck! Sounds like a very affordable market!

QUOTE (BearSox @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 11:41 PM) I have one thing to say, if anyone tries to make a point against her using Bristol as their example, I'm going to punch my monitor. So what if her daughter is preganant, guess what, she's a teenager! It'd be one thing if her daughter was going to get an abortion, but she isn't. Teenagers do stupid things about 90% of the time. Hell, when I'm done with this post I'll probably do some dumbass thing. I think its worth noting that I haven;t seen a single poster here do that.

Teams have benches. Teams use benches. Teams play 162 games. Players, individually, don't play 162 games anymore. This is not so hard to fathom, and it makes enough sense to me. Who would you use to PH for Owens there anyway? Crede already left hurting, Griffey and CQ hurting and out. That leaves, I believe, Brian Anderson and Toby Hall. I'll take Owens.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 07:15 PM) That he is a different kind of politician and he is going to change things. He is just as corrupt as anyone, he isnt different, he is exactly the same. OK. I disagree, but, this being the Republican thread, I won't delve into that any further.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 07:18 PM) Explain (I mean this in a good way to create discussion) Sorry, I left the game thread (I don't hang out in game threads much anymore). Let me get back to you another time on that comparison. I'll post something tomorrow, somewhere.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 07:42 PM) I agree for the most part that politicians all have skeletons in their closet, I just honestly think that out of the 4 Palin definitely has by far the least. I don't see how anyone can know that yet. We still know very little about her. Given her relatively young age, it may certainly be possible though. QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 07:42 PM) Also, I continue to bring up this stuff about Obama because it shows he is exactly the opposite of the platform he is campaigning on, which is different. Exactly the opposite of his platform? How is that?

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 07:45 PM) Well most people in the buster follow politics at least mildly so we have heard about Rezco to some extent, especially us living in Chicago. However, there has been more coverage of Bristol Palin from the MSM the past three days than there has been about Rezco in 19 months. Theres no doubt that there are significantly more people that dont follow politics that know that she is pregnant that probably have no idea who Tony Rezco is or why he is going to jail. I just don't see this. Rezko came up a lot, on and off, for a while. Much more so than Palin's daughter, who has been in the news for 2 days. Now, if we're still hearing a bunch of hulabaloo about her in a month, we can talk. By the way, to be clear, I find the Palin daughter coverage to be sickening. Its completely irrelevant to the political process, and I think it should be left alone. Unfortunately, sex sells, and sex + politics sells BIG TIME (see John Edwards). If this was Biden's daughter, you'd be hearing it just as much, and it would be just as disturbing.

fathom made a post after Danks' last start about Danks being tired, worn out. I hadn't seen it - I saw a game where he left pitches up in the zone and was trying to hard to paint the corners. So tonight, I decided to watch Danks more carefully, mechanics and all. I think fathom is right. Danks looks worn down to me. His mechanics look it, the results look it. I do NOT however agree with fathom about this team and 2004 - very different teams.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 03:51 PM) Just going along with the atmosphere of the board. Whats the point getting into a discussion when any decent post will have 12 instant snark pro-Dem posts? I was going to commend you on your blue tinted glasses and note how stylish they are. But telling a poster they have tinted glasses and only see things from one perspective is what we are trying to avoid, correct? Ok, I can go along with that. We'll see how long any sense of civility will last. There are just as many posters from the right in here who spray snark all over the board, as there are on the left. The only reason the POST count for rah-rah and snark and shallow references in favor of the Dems is higher is one poster whose post frequency is so much higher than everyone else doing it.

Discuss at will.

I am starting a Media Bias discussion thread. Let's get this one back on track - the election.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 04:11 PM) Free time home buyer soon (I hope.) Looking to buy a used condo that was built less than 5 years ago. Do I qualify for any free money? I've got one of those for sale, as it happens. In the city. PM me if you want the link to the listing.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 04:31 PM) The media coverage has been historic (in a bad way unfortunately) and it deserves ridicule. And honestly, the whole snarky Obamatron schtick is everywhere on these forums, your 'disapproval' of my posts is somewhat suspect. If you don't like my posts put me on ignore or whatever. Not sure if you've noticed through your red-colored glasses, but ask AHB how I've been responding to some of his posts as well. My 'disapproval' of your posts is just me pointing out that your posts are basically all one, long, repeater of the same theme now. Yes, I realize other posters are the same. Do you want to emulate them? Seriously folks, the past week or two this forum has been uglier than usual. Can we get to some decent discussion here? Oh, and, being a Mod/Admin in this forum, I can't really put anyone on ignore. I have to read all the Obama worship AND The GOP victim plays.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 04:19 PM) Who cares if it's true, just run with it! MSM 08' woot Seriously, do you have anything other than this schtick right now?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 02:08 PM) Definitely not, because the AIP stuff is fabricated left wing nonsense. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/john-stephens...ce-party-are-fa The fact that she was a registered GOP'er does not mean she wasn't part of the AIP. But, I am now curious as to whether or not this is true. I guess we'll wait for that to shake out.