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| gromit |
 Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 7:22 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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In the 80's, I went to a state university, which was at the time cheap enough that I could pay for tuition myself just from working part-time. My first semester was under $1000! And there were plenty of good professors and challenging courses. (the star profs would often get poached by Princeton or Columbia, though they retained some with big salaries).
Then I paid for law school with a combo of about 1/3rd loans, 1/3 family, 1/3rd my summer law jobs (which paid well and luckily I hit almost the right time when it was easy to get a cushy summer intern job after both 1st and 2nd years).
But now one year tuition is a whopping $40K at most schools. It seems rather hard to justify going to university and coming away with say a degree in English and over $150K in debt. I think most state universities are around $15K per year now, which is well beyond any part-time job.
For my sister's family, I don't see how they could have afforded anything but community college. This whole idea that education will make you better off -- as Frank talks about in the linked interview -- seems to have largely fallen apart, or at least have become a risky gamble. Many Euro countries maintain a free state university system at a high level, with some expensive private schools for elites. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 8:24 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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One irony with all this rise in college cost is that there are so many students now who really don't belong there. They are not academically inclined and would be happier in some vocational school or tech Institute. What we really need, for such students, are better high schools, where they are at least exposed to civics, lit, arts, and the history of ideas sufficiently to give some critical thinking skills and maybe some chance to form reasoned opinions about what politicians and other authority figures tell them. Instead of just rote learning of facts, teach how facts are derived. Some high schools do this (I went to a fantastic one), but many have dropped the ball and just obsess over
national testing. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 11:30 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Rather disturbing: Toddlers have shot at least 23 people this year
That's 23 shootings by kids 3 and under, who happened to find loaded guns, in just 4 months. Ahead of last year's one a week average.
Quote: In the vast majority of cases, the children accidentally shoot themselves. That's happened 18 times this year, and in nine of those cases the children died of their wounds.
Toddlers have shot other people five times this year. Two of those cases were fatal.
One infant killed his mom on the highway after finding a gun in the backseat of the car. And a 3 year old blew away his 9 year old brother. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 3:55 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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| When I was teaching there were a number of student deaths by shooting. One incident involved a Dare officer (drug education) whose 3 year old son grabbed her gun and shot himself to death. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 10:52 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Another facet is all of the babies and toddlers shot and killed in various drive-by shootings. But it's too depressing to get into.
Hard to believe Trump is going to be the GOP candidate. Though it's what I was hoping for since the early stages. Really he's a terrible national candidate for so many reasons. And he will rally any Dems who might otherwise be lukewarm on Hillary. I really think Hillary has to make it a priority to take back the Senate. Well within range and there are I think 9 female senate candidates.
Anyway, here's some positive news. From WaPo (I haven't checked the history, but the vote totals are right:
Quote: If Clinton wins the 19 states* (and D.C.) that every Democratic nominee has won from 1992 to 2012, she has 242 electoral votes. Add Florida's 29 and you get 271. Game over.
The Republican map — whether with Trump, Cruz or the ideal Republican nominee (Paul Ryan?) as the standard-bearer — is decidedly less friendly. There are 13 states that have gone for the GOP presidential nominee in each of the last six elections. But they only total 102 electorate votes. That means the eventual nominee has to find, at least, 168 more electoral votes to get to 270. Which is a hell of a lot harder than finding 28 electoral votes.
* The 19 states:
- all of the NE from Maryland on up, except swing state NH
- 4 large Midwest states (MI, IL, MN, WI)
- the West Coast & HI
242 is a pretty good base, though of course Clinton could lose some of those.
To get the extra 28:
Most Likely ... Most EV's
NM = 5 ... ... FL = 29
NH = 4 ... ... OH = 18
NV = 6 ... ... NC = 15
IA = 6 ... ... VA = 13
CO = 9 ... ... CO = 9
OH =18 ... ... NV = 6
FL = 29 ... ... IA = 6
VA = 13 ... ... NM = 5
NC = 15 ... ... NH = 4
______________
Less Likely:
LA = 8
MO = 10
AZ = 11
AK = 6 |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 12:51 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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| Trump thinks he can get states like Michigan and Wisconsin to flip. |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 5:08 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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It's fortunate there are no blacks, latinos, or women living in those 2 states. He'll be fine. He's got the "Gran Torino" demographic!
Unless he drank too much Flint tapwater and keeps saying brain damaged things like "I'm reversing my stand on minimum wage." Those Gran Torino curmudgeons HATE that kind of talk. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 10:34 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| One reason I want Hillary to win is to see how Trump handles the loser role. He'll blame it on someone else, I'm sure--couldn't be anything he's said or done. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 7:32 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12890
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| It's because the Electoral College is rigged! |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 2:53 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/3-planets-orbiting-dwarf-star-prime-spots-search-150619567.html
In case you are thinking of moving elsewhere after a Trump win. Though, if he said to Chris Matthews that he might be willing to use nukes in Europe, who knows where a safe haven might be.
Interesting discovery, in terms of maybe detecting actual evidence of life on exoplanets. Would be nice to have more than our present single data point when running the Drake Equation. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 12:16 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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SCt is very important. 4-4 now with next president getting to fill Scalia's seat, unless somehow O gets his appointment through (be unlikely to even get him voted upon/down).
Ruth Ginsberg is 83; Kennedy turns 80 this Summer; Breyer 78 this Summer.
So next term the Prez will fill Scalia's seat breaking the 4-4 standoff, and probably replace Ginsburg and possibly one other. Big stakes. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 12:31 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Quote: In an interview on CNBC Thursday morning, Trump suggested he would cut down on the U.S.'s debt by paying U.S. creditors less than the full amount that they are owed.
"I would borrow knowing that if the economy crashed you could make a deal," Trump said. "And if the economy was good, it was good. You can't lose."
While renegotiating debt is a not uncommon practice in the business world, it would be devastating for the U.S. government to even consider such a move, financial experts have said.
Trump seems to think that running the US Gov't is akin to building some glitzy hotel casino in Atlantic City. It also exposes his business MO. Borrow a lot and bail if the debt becomes too much or the project otherwise fails. Rather slimy. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 12:54 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| I read something about a number of businesses that Trump never paid fully for their services. Seems they accept a certain amount of loss as cheaper than going to court to collect. I guess Trump thinks international finance works that way too. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 8:36 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12890
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Pretty impressive Derby win today by Nyquist, even if his name makes him sound like a cough medicine. I'll be surprised if he doesn't win the Preakness and go for a Triple Crown himself. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 9:31 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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| Was he named for Bergman's cinematographer? Can't imagine anyone but Swedes naming a horse Nyquist. It means New Twig in Swedish. |
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