Texsox

A falling tide lowers all boats. At this point every elected leader is falling or will be falling.

Last night I was sitting at my favorite island bar and a few guys were arguing college football. One guy was a huge Florida State fan. Knew just about everything you could possibly know about the program. When I asked him how a Seminole grad wound up in Longhorn or Aggie country he said he didn't actually go there. In fact he never even lived in Florida. It seemed like he just picked a top program to cheer for. Once he settled down he was a decent sort of chap, bought a round of drinks and told a few decent jokes. So how does someone become so enamored over a college or university they never attended? I get physical proximity. I get sending your kid to that college (Go Illini!!). I get having a family member work there (Go UTSA Roadrunner!!) But I don't quite get just picking some university and being a fanboy. Isn't it kind of weird in a way? Willing to understand.

See if there is an umpire training nearby. I needed a crash course in soccer and an official's program was an excellent way to achieve that. In middle school coaching we really try to follow the HS program and their plays, philosophies, etc. A solid HS coach should not mind spending a few minutes with you either in person or sharing some emails.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 4, 2013 -> 02:04 PM) +1 +2 Tie goes to the cops. We've had some instances here that clearly law enforcement / military went too far and tried to cover it up. This seems to me, from the early reports, more a failure of our mental health systems than our law enforcement system.

Health care is a necessity, as much as eating. Why is the insurance companies' profits added to the health care system? What value do they actually serve to the consumer? Once we can agree on those answers, we begin to create a health care system that everyone can agree on. But, we can never agree on their role. Currently our system relies on people who pay insurance premiums and remain healthy to finance those people paying premiums and needing treatments while ignoring the people who cannot pay and do not have insurance. That inequality was accepted by damn near everyone for a long time. Now, when we say these taxpayers that remain healthy will be financing these other taxpayers who need health care, people rage against the new system. The current system worked great in the 1950s when an office visit was a couple hours wages or you died before running up huge bills. We need a new system that fits 2013. I truly wish the GOP had a proposal that wasn't "this is working just fine, no need to change". People were smart enough to know that meant the system was working just fine for the MOSTLY white, middle and upper class, GOP base. I forgot who said it, we have the party of bad ideas versus the party of no ideas.

https://tcta.org/node/13678 I chose to teach in a district where there is a large migrant population, where there is a high level of poverty, where parents more often than not did not graduate from college. I am interested in how they will find a system that fairly allows my efforts to be compared to say Highland Park, Texas (which is similar to Highland Park, Illinois, if everyone in Highland Park, Illinois suddenly received large pay raises). Not only that, but I teach English Language Arts with a high percentage of English language learners. Perhaps that makes my job easier as gains are easiest to achieve with new motivated learners. Is it fair to use gains when a few times a year I receive students who are reading 7 grade levels below average versus other teachers who may receive mostly students reading above grade level. I am glad I am not trying to devise the system. I fear an unbalanced rating system will cause good teachers to flee these schools and head to where the going is easier. Which is about the opposite of what is necessary to keep the US competitive in a world economy that values intellectual skills over manual labor skills. Also we are taking away human judgement. Gone are the days where a supervisor evaluated the employees. We are trying to achieve an unbiased, numerical formula where one really doesn't exist.

1:1 ratio Shlitz and sliders . . .

^^ thanks for sharing.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 3, 2013 -> 01:13 PM) In related news: Nice move.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 3, 2013 -> 12:54 PM) Unless you're a business donating to the DNC or Obama campaign... I am not following what you mean.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 01:07 PM) He deserved it, so I guess he deserves it now. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 3, 2013 -> 09:11 AM) Exactly. It would be the same as saying that Hank Aaron shouldn't be in the HOF because he hit .229 his last year in baseball. Tell me you had to look that up.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 3, 2013 -> 10:17 AM) Was that a compromise? I recall 2013/2014 being implementation dates during passage and dems were worried they'd be punished before it was helping people. Maybe it was to help out the stupid 10 year scoring window so we could have that nice round number. Balta, do you remember? Right Dems wanted an earlier start date, the GOP was, and still is, for delays.

The ACA was passed three years ago, then delayed until now. (as part of a compromise) The President was relected even after the election was made about "Obamacare". So tell me again why it is still being debated.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 10:13 PM) yes, really. but your hypocrisy doesn't surprise me. i've actually come to expect it. so did you actually ban that guy? I asked you to find one example where I cheered someone losing their paycheck. I am still waiting. I have consistently supported people in earning a living. The innocent people at Penn State, undocumented workers, and now government workers. I have proven my case. Besides repeating a baseless accusation, what have you proven? And no single mod or admin, besides the sites owner, can suspend or ban anyone. Personal attacks have never been tolerated here.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 01:25 PM) If Hawk is the best announcer in the game, then Konerko is the best 1b in the game.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 02:01 PM) RE: The Senate, I want to revise my statement. Looking at the races that are even remotely in contention, I don't think the Dems are likely to pick up seats, though it is possible if the GOP keeps shooting themselves in the foot. But the GOP would basically have to sweep all the currently close races to break even in the Senate, and that just seems incredibly unlikely right now. I'll say the Senate likely stays around where it is. House races are just really tough to predict this early. I have a slightly different take on this. Honestly, I do not care if they switch to blue or red. I hope both sides send new players who will be more cooperative. The old school guys like McCain and the late Paul Simon could come up with solutions that worked. I would rather see a balanced left and right who worked together than all red or all blue.

He deserved it, so I guess he deserves it now.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 11:57 AM) How many states is that allowed in these days? And wouldn't Dems be interested in voting in their own primary in 2016? QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 12:00 PM) Why would Democrats want to actively halt the destruction of the GOP? Most states allow you declare on voting day which ballot to take. And most voters call themselves independents. Perhaps if I said if enough "middle of the road, democrat leaning" voters switched. A couple decades ago we called them "Reagan Democrats". Christie needs to energize groups of middle of the road types who find partisan politics wrong and who do not vote to get out and vote in the primary to block the far right candidates from running roughshod over the party.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 12:47 PM) See, when Obama, and you, say 'pass a budget', what you really mean is pass MY budget so I get what I want. The house passed at least 3 CR's in the last day or two, all of which were just ignored out of hand by Harry Reid. Even in the reagan days with Tip O'Neil, they compromised sometimes. Tip was a two-faced liar like most politicians, but you still negotiated and gave up something to get something. What do the Dems want to give up to get? Nothing. The ACA was passed three years ago, it wasdecided then, and agreed on, to wait until now to begin. There was a presidential election during that time, and the guy who Republicans hung the ACA on by calling it Obamacare, won. The judicial branch had a chance to review and they agreed it was constitutional. Now why should a continued fight over that enter into a budget?

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 12:34 PM) How about it ends with the government stop spending money it doesn't have? That would be a good place for it end up. Like starting a war and cutting taxes to pay for it?

Or Christie convinces enough Dems to grab a GOP ballot and vote in that primary.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 10:08 AM) Perry is way too extreme. Christie would be a great candidate IMO because he's an actual conservative but not crazy. And the Hurricane Sandy stuff showed he's not going to put stupid party politics over getting s*** done, even when that means *gasp* working with a Democrat. I agree. But wouldn't you agree that Perry would have an easier time in the GOP primaries and Christie would have an easier time in the general? I see Christie being described as a Rhino all the time. That doesn't play well with the Tea Party types and the solidly right of center.

And then there is luck and factors that are too complex to measure.

As I wrote in the GOP thread, and looking ahead to 2014, the shut down benefits candidates who are not in the house. Clinton and Biden, but Clinton more so, can avoid getting dirty and attracting negative attention. On the other side, you have to love Christie's position. If he could survive the GOP primaries, he would be a tough candidate to beat.

If I am a prominent Republican with a federal position and with presidential goals, I would be trying to find the very fine line between willing to compromise (gain moderate votes in the general) and not caving in to the President (to win the nomination). That is an almost impossible task. Which I think is why the current governors have a better shot at 2014. They can position themselves and say "we're not part of the gridlock and shut down". Nice position for a reinvented and more ready Perry and a slimmed down Christie. I think their chances go way up the longer this drags on and the longer incumbants have to garner negative attention.