LowerCaseRepublican

We may disagree on damn near everything but Happy B-Day. /Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

I'm actually in an ed minor program to teach secondary education (History major). It's quite interesting to see funding desparities in schools. While true that NCLB did increase funds for schools, it underfunded the amount of money needed to fulfill the bill's demands. Class size has a lot to do with education. In most "bad" schools, class sizes are up into the mid-30s. And with the new federal mandates for education (aka passing examinations), most classes in "bad" schools no longer have time for individual attention and must divert efforts to teaching for the test. By funding schools with property taxes, it drastically implements what sort of education is going to be available for a child. The disparity in per pupil expenditures is enormous in some parts of the state of Illinois and I think, IMO, that this is a reason that some kids don't "want to learn". If they are in a science lab that does not have enough money for beakers, bunsen burners, or even to provide books to the entire class (which has actually happened a lot in IL schools...see Kozol's "Savage Inequalities"), then it's easy to see the reasoning that "getting an education is pointless" and where they are coming from dropping out. It's not that the kids don't want to learn, it's that they've been getting the screw job from the education system. Most politicians come out and score points saying that education is inefficient and it should be run like a business and that they should be giving quality educations and if not, then they need to be shut down. It's stacking the deck against people when you realize that businesses get to be picky and choose what resources they are going to make their "quality products" out of. Public schools have to take all people of all ability levels so there may be some who come in not having the same skill level at the outset. With a propensity of poor parents living in a condensed area (as what happens with the "white flight" concept of movement), property taxes are no longer able to sustain a quality school. Their jobs aren't going to be that good so their houses aren't going to be that good and therefore the school system isn't going to exactly be the caliber of New Trier HS because they don't have as much money to pour into education. The real kick in the ass is that all the administrators at the state and federal level making decisions on education have absolutely no background in educational theory or any background in classroom experience as a teacher/administrator. So where do these people get off saying what will work in a classroom?

Jas, straightforward answers my ass. 9-11 Air Quality Saying post 9/11 that the air in NYC near Ground Zero is fine to breathe. Months later, they find a report saying that the EPA told Bush and Co. that the air was still dangerously toxic, yet Bush told NY inhabitants to go about their daily lives breathing in dangerously tainted air. Social Security Or straightforward in this statement: "We're going to keep the promise of Social Security and keep the government from raiding the Social Security surplus." from March 3, 2001. Unfortunately, "the president's new budget uses Social Security surpluses to pay for other programs every year through 2013, ultimately diverting more than $1.4 trillion in Social Security funds to other purposes." "Despite his campaign rhetoric in favor of a patients' bill of rights, Bush fought such a bill tooth and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill coauthored by Republican state Rep. John Smithee in 1995. He... constantly opposed a patient's right to sue an HMO over coverage denied that resulted in adverse health effects." [salon, 2/7/01] HMOs and Patients' Right to Sue "We're one of the first states that said you can sue an HMO for denying you proper coverage... It's time for our nation to come together and do what's right for the people. And I think this is right for the people. You know, I support a national patients' bill of rights, Mr. Vice President. And I want all people covered. I don't want the law to supersede good law like we've got in Texas." [Governor Bush, 10/17/00] "To let two Texas consumers, Juan Davila and Ruby R. Calad, sue their managed-care companies for wrongful denials of medical benefits ‘would be to completely undermine' federal law regulating employee benefits, Assistant Solicitor General James A. Feldman said at oral argument March 23. Moreover, the B ush administration's brief attacked the policy rationale for Texas's law, which is similar to statutes on the books in nine other states." [Washington Post, 4/5/04] North Korea "We developed a bold approach under which, if the North addressed our long-standing concerns, the United States was prepared to take important steps that would have significantly improved the lives of the North Korean people. Now that North Korea's covert nuclear weapons program has come to light, we are unable to pursue this approach." [GWB, Nov. 15, 2002] Well, we will work to take steps to ease their political and economic isolation. So there would be -- what you would see would be some provisional or temporary proposals that would only lead to lasting benefit after North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. So there would be some provisional or temporary efforts of that nature." [White House Press Sec. Scott McClellan June 23, 2004] http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site...WJcP7H&b=118263 has a s***load more. We all know Kerry has different positions quite often and he gets slimed for it. I wonder why the liberal media doesn't do the same to Bush. They are both total and complete idiots -- I just ask, what the f*** did this country do that we deserve to have an election with these two assclowns be our main choices for who is gonna drive us back into the Stone Age for the next 4 years?

Yeah and insinuating that a vote for Kerry is a vote for bin Laden isn't a scare tactic (Rep. Congressman from Nebraska, I believe it was, did that one) Or Cheney saying in so many words that if Kerry gets elected, we'll get slammed with another terrorist attack. Or that we needed the PATRIOT Act passed without letting Congress read it? It's funnier cuz AQ even gave a public statement saying they want Bush to win the election saying that they could "not find a bigger idiot" than Bush because his idiocy is helping them recruit so many more members and prosper. Whichever one of the neo-con goons gets into office (Kerry or Bush), if you read the PNAC founding documents in 1997, they call for the invasion/destruction of over 60 countries. And just recently a group of US soldiers whose term of service is ending in months said that higher ups in their base told them that if they did not re-sign again that in the last few months of their term, they would sent to units being deployed to Iraq. Now if that isn't a threat...Thousands of troops have been put on a stop loss order, others have had their tours of service extended 3-9 months unvoluntarily by the DoD. It's obvious that you said that we need more troops in Iraq to stabilize the situation there, Nuke. Hell, even the US War College agrees with that. Granted, the current restructuring of the military will make more soldiers available for combat duty and move most of the non-combat jobs to contractors etc., they may find some of the people they need to fill their manpower needs there. H.R. 163 and S. 89 were both introduced by Democrats Charles Rangel (NY) and Ernest Hollings (SC) respectively. The bills were introduced in January 2003 and would require both men and women to either perform mandatory military or civilian service. Both of these pieces of legislation are currently stalled and there's no indication that they are going anywhere anytime soon. But, just when you thought the draft debate ended here comes Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (NE). It's a bi-partisan effort which may not pass but a draft is always a reality if they need people. As for the volunteers and recruiters, this ex-recruiter and former Marine pretty much exposes a lot of the crap spewed in order to get as many people as possible involved in the military: http://www.objector.org/insider.html

Yeah, that damned liberal media never hounded Clinton at all for any sexual improprieties at all. There was something involving a girl named Monica. Did anybody ever hear about that? The media is only as liberal as the conservative business interests that own the outlets.

Libertarians break with Republicans mostly in that they are more socially progressive (i.e. ending the war on drugs, being pro-choice, not wanting government involvement in gay marriage etc.) They are also for as little government as possible.

The big diff is that Kerry's rallies don't make the participants sign loyalty oaths to only contribute to the Bush/Cheney campaign and support only Bush/Cheney whereas Bush/Cheney do have loyalty oaths.

The one girl in the green has that total "Whatever, you f***ing moron." look to her body language. It's funnier cuz Bush's rallies have big screenings to get through to make sure that the people coming actually are 100% behind Bush and people there have to sign loyalty oaths to get in (I'm not joking about this)

This was from Bush's speech in PA on 9/22/04. I saw this photo and started cracking up. I love the kid in the upper right with the total "What the f***?" look on his face.

This story has been pretty well debunked. The guy in the photo doing the tearing looks eerily similar to a known photo of the father (of the 3 year old)'s son. Also the photographer trailing them for the paper has a relationship with the father. http://mediamatters.org/items/200409170013 And this guy has done the same thing at a Clinton rally in 1996, a Gore rally in 2000 and now the Kerry rally in 2004. He stages this bulls*** in order to slime Democrats. There is plenty enough to slime Dems with without having to resort to making up bulls***. C'mon people.

So an alleged (and alleged is the key word since nothing has been proven and he is supposed to have a presumption of innocence) supporter of Hamas is denied entry into this country when we allow actual admitted terrorists like Orlando Bosch and the leader of the Rwanda mass slaughter of the Tutsis into the US? Where in the f*** is the logic in that?

Yep. Before Perot made the debates, the threshhold to make the debates was 5%. After he made the debates, the corporate sponsors of the DNC and RNC and the debates "suggested" (via the voice of Benjamin Franklins in campaign donations) to up the threshhold to 15%. The best part of the 2000 election was when Nader was banned from going to one of the presidential debates as simply a viewer in the audience. He then got a press pass to go in as a media observer and Boston state troopers stopped him from entering and threatened him with arrest if they continued to try to get in just to watch the debate.

There is Badnarik (Libertarian), Cobb (Green), the Natural Law Party, the Constitution Party, the Socialist Equality Party and a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head.

He's been denied entry into the US and is going to be deported. Gee, I'm glad the Justice Department and Homeland Security has the time, energy and effort to protect me from Cat Stevens. I feel so much safer now. :rolly Personally, I think this is just a means by which slowly John Ashcroft will deport every person who is able to sing better than him and that way Ashcroft's "Let the Eagles Soar" album will go platinum.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040922/D858E8780.html A plane bound for Washington from London was diverted to Maine on Tuesday after passenger Yusuf Islam - formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens - showed up on a U.S. watch list, federal officials said.

Don't throw him in prison. Put him in an insane asylum. Let him sit next to people who are driving invisible cars, etc. Hell, we could even turn it into a reality show.

I think the Vietnam debate should end at the fact that while Kerry was getting shot at on the front, GWB was doing shots. This election is a joke. Neither of these candidates have an issue to run on because they're the same damn candidate policy wise. Neither Lurch or the dry drunk moron give a s*** about the everyday average American who *gasps* works for a living and does not have their father hand them numerous companies to run or a baseball team despite running them into the ground or marrying into incredibly obscene amounts of cash. It's a false choice for Americans to have to choose either one of these momos to lead this country for the next 4 years.

I loved Dennis Kucinich's Top 10...by far the best one. 10. Keep doing what I'm doing — I'm winning, right? 9. Constitution is amended stating presidents must be 35 or older, a natural-born citizen and named "Dennis." 8. Act like a boob so people will perceive me as more presidential. 7. You want crazy campaign promises — fine! If I'm elected, everybody gets a million bucks. 6. Enter and win next "American Idol." 5. Announce your running mate will be a plate of fudge — people love fudge. 4. Just wait till I unleash my new campaign slogan: "Kucizzle in the hizzle!" 3. According to the order of presidential succession, if George W. Bush were to resign today, along with Dick Cheney and about 300 other people, the presidency passes to a congressman from Ohio. 2. Get the governors of every state to rig the election. 1. I'm praying for a sex scandal.

I just find it weird that Dan Rather ran with his gut believing that these were real and he has been slimed beyond belief as a liar, etc. Bush went with his gut on bad intelligence believing that Iraq had WMD etc. and he hasn't gotten slimed by the major media when it's essentially the same situation (believing something is real, running with it and having it blow up in one's face)

I love the one with the Star Wars idiots.

http://www.local6.com/news/3738885/detail.html TAMPA, Fla. -- A weight may soon be lifted off a Maryland woman charged with carrying a concealed weapon in an airport. It wasn't a gun or a knife. It was a weighted bookmark.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...storyID=6273279 Leading members of President Bush's Republican Party on Sunday criticized mistakes and "incompetence" in his Iraq policy and called for an urgent ground offensive to retake insurgent sanctuaries. In appearances on news talk shows, Republican senators also urged Bush to be more open with the American public after the disclosure of a classified CIA report that gave a gloomy outlook for Iraq and raised the possibility of civil war.

Mmmm....Negra Modela.

Who needs champagne when one has Pabst Blue Ribbon?

Since it's all about movie discussion...has anybody seen the 1962 version of the Manchurian Candidate? Thoughts? I thought that this movie was amazing. The dream sequence at the beginning was really cool, IMO. And unlike most thriller/action flicks, this one actually had a script.