Texsox

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 11, 2014 -> 01:18 PM) You drive slow. I'm on the far west side of SA. 85 miles to 6th Street. So yeah, just over an hour. Plus. I have to stop at Buc-ees

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jul 10, 2014 -> 10:33 AM) Had a phone interview with Baxter labs yesterday and they scheduled a face to face interview for next Tuesday. The problem, it's in f***ing Round Lake, IL. straight. f***ing. boonies. I plotted a metra course but it only gets me 3.0 miles away from the lab. Anyone live out or near this area that could give me tips? I grew up out that way. Not at "boonies" as you might imagine. But it is "need a car land".

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Jun 28, 2014 -> 10:18 PM) I'm late to the party, but congrats! I just happened to notice that on the first page of this entire thread, you mentioned that you wanted to end up closer to Austin. Glad you were able to make it happen. San Antonio is only about an hour from Austin, isn't it? Longer than that but not too bad.

Whites 12% And 30% is about the lowest estimate I read. How can we be supporting that many people in prison?

Today's selection -- from On the Run by Alice Goffman. The high rates of imprisonment in the United States. "The number of people imprisoned in the United States remained fairly stable for most of the twentieth century, at about one person for every thousand in the population. In the 1970s this rate began to rise, and continued a steep upward climb for the next thirty years. By the 2000s, the number of people behind bars stood at a rate never before seen in US history: about 1 for every 107 people in the adult population.' The United States currently imprisons five to nine times more people than western European nations, and significantly more than China and Russia. Roughly 3 percent of adults in the nation are now under correctional supervision: 2.2 million people in prisons and jails, and an additional 4.8 million on probation or parole. In modern history, only the forced labor camps of the former USSR under Stalin approached these levels of penal confinement. "The fivefold increase in the number of people sitting in US jails and prisons over the last forty years has prompted little public outcry. In fact, many people scarcely notice this shift, because the growing numbers of prisoners are drawn disproportionately from poor and segregated Black communities. Black people make up 13 percent of the US population, but account for 37 percent of the prison population. Among Black young men, one in nine are in prison, compared with less than 2 percent of white young men. These racial differences are reinforced by class differences. It is poor Black young men who are being sent to prison at truly astounding rates: approximately 60 percent of those who did not finish high school will go to prison by their mid thirties. ... "The tough-on-crime era ushered in a profound change in how the United States manages ghettoized areas of its cities. For most of the twentieth century, the police ignored poor and segregated Black neighborhoods such as [Philadelphia's] 6th Street. Between the 1930s and the 1980s, an era which saw the Great Migration, restrictive racial housing covenants, the Civil Rights Movement, growing unemployment, the erosion of social services, an expanding drug trade, and the departure of much of the Black middle class from the poor and segregated areas of major cities, reports from firsthand observers paint the police in segregated Black neighborhoods as uninterested, absent, and corrupt. "This began to change in the 1960s, when riots in major cities and a surge in violence and drug use spurred national concern about crime, particularly in urban areas. The number of police officers per capita increased dramatically in the second half of the twentieth century in cities nationwide. In Philadelphia between 1960 and 2000, the number of police officers increased by 69 percent, from 2.76 officers for every 1,000 citizens to 4.66 officers. The 1980s brought stronger drug laws and steeper sentences. In the 1990s, the tough-on-crime movement continued, with urban police departments across the nation adopting what became known as zero-tolerance policing, and then CompStat to track their progress. "For many decades, the Philadelphia police had turned a fairly blind eye to the prostitution, drug dealing, and gambling that went on in poor Black communities. But in the late 1980s, they and members of other urban police forces began to refuse bribes and payoffs. In fact, corruption seems to have been largely eliminated as a general practice, at least in the sense of people working at the lower levels of the drug trade paying the police to leave them in peace. Also during this period, large numbers of people were arrested for using or possessing drugs, and sent to jails and prisons. "The crackdown on the drug economy in poor Black neighborhoods came at the same time that welfare reform cut the assistance that poor families received and the length of time they could receive it. As welfare support evaporated, the War on Drugs arrested those seeking work in the drug trade on a grand scale. "By 2000, the US prison population swelled to five times what it had been in the early 1970s. An overwhelming majority of men going to prison are poor, and a disproportionate number are Black. Today, 30 percent of Black men without college educations have been to prison by their midthirties. One in four Black children born in 1990 had an imprisoned father by the time he or she turned fourteen." On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City (Fieldwork Encounters and Discoveries) Author: Alice Goffman Publisher: University Of Chicago Press Copyright 2014 by The University of Chicago Pages: xi, 2-3 If you wish to read further: Buy Now If you use the above link to purchase a book, delanceyplace proceeds from your purchase will benefit a children's literacy project. All delanceyplace profits are donated to charity.

From an email list I subscribe to http://NowIKnow.com

Huge bump, but I've thought about this thread several times in the past five years. I've wondered how my opinion may have changed since I've been teaching English literature for several years now. It hasn't, in fact I could probably build an even stronger case now. There are certain requirements or concepts that are required to be taught and those never mention a specif work. At most there are genre requirements. Teachers use materials to teach that requirement. So substituting a different novel would not be a problem. I've had parents contact me about class novels, particularly Homeboyz with all the profanity (f***, b****, etc) that I've been using in 8th grade. So far each parent has been cool with it after we have had an opportunity to discuss why it is being used. Today I would substitute another novel in a heartbeat *and* get the parent involved in discussing the alternate novel with their child. Then I am certain one kid actually reads the material. I will be teaching concurrent enrollment classes in 2015/16 so I will be in the exact same position as this. I wonder how LCR is doing as a teacher.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jul 8, 2014 -> 12:55 PM) If this guy did it, I hope they have more evidence on him than Google searches. If so, he deserves a special kind of hell and everything the system can throw at him, but as damningly circumstantial as that is, I'd be uncomfortable finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt based on only that. And that sums up our legal system. I agree totally. I couldn't image being falsely accused of this crime on top of losing my child.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) Yes! I use Frontpoint and couldnt be happier. Thanks Rock, I'll check it out.

The house I am buying is not wired for a security system which we will be installing as one of the first projects. I've been researching wireless systems and thinking about integrating with other home technology both current and what seems to be coming over the next 3-5 years. Thoughts? Experiences?

My personal account is with DropBox, my work account uses Google Drive, I had signed up for an Evernote account years ago, HP included some Cloud storage offer with my then new computer. So now I have crap all over the place. I use Dropbox the most and it has become my default. I rarely store anything on my computer anymore it all goes to Dropbox.

If this was indeed premeditated, the parents knew exactly what the child was experiencing hour by hour that day. That level of depravity is beyond my comprehension.

Home inspection in a couple hours.

The circumstantial evidence keep mounting against the guy and possibly his wife. I'd rather be the prosecutor than the defense attorney on this one.

The last time I financed a home purchase the interest rate was above 10%. I like seeing sub 3.5%

We're deciding between a canoe or kayaks

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 09:17 AM) You're gonna miss the ocean more than anything. A dirty river is a poor substitute. The gain is being much closer to Big Bend National Park. But, yes, the surfing really sucks on the river lol

We're moving to San Antonio and spent the past couple weekends looking at homes. We fell in love with a slightly smaller 3/2.5 that had an amazing city lot. We will be in a gated area on a cul de sac. The lot is pie shaped with the house pushed way to the front leaving almost no front yard but a very large back yard. The original owners had planted an awesome garden. As I was walking through the garden I saw an engraved stone that read Willie and Bills Garden (the missing apostrophe was annoying). It went on the market Saturday and at 2:00 pm we were the sixth showing. We went back Sunday and by then close to twenty people had toured the home. We were told they would be taking offers until 5 pm Monday. My wife is very practical and wasn't going to get in a bidding war. We offered close to the asking price which was in line with the comps for the area. We did make one demand of the seller; we asked for a history of the garden, planting guide, and any other information that would be important to maintaining the garden. That got us the house over the high bidder. Their Realtor mentioned to our Realtor that when they were reviewing the offers our request and interest in the garden moved us to the top even though another person offered more money. Another factor in the decision while so many people were viewing the house, Bill passed away. They were an older couple and they were only moving because Bill was dying. My wife loves to garden and I love stories, so this house works great for us.

Thank y'all.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 24, 2014 -> 04:53 PM) Since it's acknowleged they will be among the poor as they will work for low wages, these will not amount to much. most will not own property so there will not much property tax. I should amend the "will not pay taxes" to they will pay very little in taxes. Again, I'm not against the idea of immigrant workers. I think they are necessary. I just think the open borders and unrestricted policy would work. Who ever works that job fits that description of not paying taxes. Most Americans who we've invested $$$$ in their education, do not want nor do they need to, work those jobs. If people wish to stop this immigration issue, stop the violence in South America (some of which we started), and have your children work these jobs.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 09:28 AM) But the balance changes a whole lot when you actually count the payroll tax. His number $24k is a person who, if being paid as a normal worker and paying payroll taxes, would be paying a pretty solid amount to the federal government even after counting the EITC because of the payroll tax hit. Serious Q: how exactly would an employer who has an undocumented immigrant working for them be paying the payroll tax for them? That seems like a pretty dead giveaway to the government and it seems like probably a big part of the motivation for places like walmart to hire undocumented workers. As I've read the numbers the negative income tax rate includes the employer contribution. Basically the employee winds up with what the employer sent in. Most of who we call undocumented use fraudulent social security numbers. Most of the illegal workers are not working for cash. Which by the way happens a lot for retired people trying to circumvent social security and other pension rules. When someone applies for a job and has the necessary paperwork, it is hard to find fault in the human resource department. The worker avoids filing a return because two returns on the same account sends up flags and is more traceable. I am told there are even people who will "lend" their social security number to someone and file the taxes as if they worked the job. They add social security wages and quarters to their retirement benefits, and pick up the refund. Our immigration system is set up to hire $75,000 workers, not minimum wage workers. We don't mind when someone comes here and takes a high paying job but they damn well better hire an American to be their gardener or nanny.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 15, 2014 -> 09:16 PM) You can't honestly be comparing 70's taping technology to what we are talking about here. These are two massively different things, and one of them has all kinds of checks and balance to NOT be erased as public record. If you mean erasing computer files is easier, I agree. When his secretary demonstrated how she would have had to sit for 18 minutes it was laughable. But, things happen.

Anyone earning less than $24,000 and files a return has a negative tax rate. After credits and deductions, they will not pay federal income tax, and probably receive a refund check beyond what they actually paid in taxes. Think about that for a moment. Now if the person does not file, for example if they are here illegally and using a fraudulent social security number, they will not be receiving a refund. The federal income tax that the employer paid and the contribution from the worker will stay in the treasury. Now, if that worker files a return, that money leaves the treasury as a refund to the individual. For more information look up effective federal income tax rates.

Starting in August I will be the head golf coach and English IV teacher at a San Antonio high school. It was my #1 district choice, my #1 coaching choice, and my #1 teaching choice. I mean it doesn't compare to getting an admin spot here, but it still is pretty nice. There is a freshman player coming in that was last year's 8th grade champion. Now if I can find a couple more to build a team . . . Relocating is going to be a struggle.

I stopped by a local shelter run by a group of Churches. You have never seen desperate like this. The stories I heard from volunteers are that many or most of these people didn't want to leave their homes but were fleeing violence and poverty. It is a literal life or death struggle.