dc0de wrote:
Lastly, your use of the term 'bourgeois' to describe the media is very interesting... I have to make an assumption that your definition of the term is from the Marxist camp, instead of the original meaning of the word. And that being the case, makes your entire statement, and your viewpoint moot. If you're a marxist, you want everyone to be the same, and you just haven't realized that those of us who WORKED OUR ASSES off to get where we are, don't want to subsidize those who are too stupid or lazy to get ahead.

Oh boy. Viewpoints different from yours are "moot"? I better shut up then. Sounds like we disagree on a lot. Unfortunately, it sounds to me like while you were busy "working your ass off" you forgot to get an education consisting of a variety of viewpoints. (Some of which might turn out to be... different than yours.) Oh and speaking of which, here are some more:

1. Illegal immigrants do pay social security and other taxes which they don't collect. I won't argue with you further since you obviously have access to a computer and can look it up. (That study I mentioned in the last one is a good place to start.)

2. Um, where are you reading that undocumented individuals have access to healthcare? I assume that you are referring to emergency rooms. In which case, sorry, but its a human rights as well as public health issue that if someone is severely hurt and/or sick they have to be helped, regardless of their status or insurance-holding situation. (Otherwise, you would untreated disease-carrying individuals walking around infecting all those nice legal health-care holders.) But you're crazy if you think that illegals have access to "health-care" in any comprehensive way. They can't even get shitty Medicaid packages.

As for schools, the school systems are fucked because, among other reasons, the school funding systems in most states are a disaster. All children living here are entitled to an education, regardless of their parents' status, ethnicity, or tax-paying abilities. Sorry, but its the law- and its a good one. School funding systems are (mainly) based on property taxes as well as federal funding. Since both do not provide enough for either equitable or adequate education, you see a decline in the quality of education- regardless of the percentage of illegal or legal immigrants in that area. If you think kids in areas where there is little or no illegal immigration are better off, think again.

Also keep in mind that people who don't have children pay taxes for YOUR children to go to school and don't bitch about it all the time. Why? Because it is in the public interest to have a well-educated citizenry. The argument that your kids are missing out because other kids get a basic education is a cop-out and misses the point completely. You shoukd be arguing for better funding for ALL children in the U.S. (And I would agree with you on that!)

And "state-paid interpreters?" please. Many LEGAL immigrants do not have access to those even when they go to court. The most many schools have is a poorly run ESOL program and a guidance counselor who speaks spanish. That does not begin to cover the problem for LEGAL immigrants from other countries.

So what's your problem here, really? You don't like unions, marxists, people who speak other languages, what?

I agree this problem is complex and filled with propaganda on both sides. But you owe it to yourself to take a look at both sides of the arguement and realize that deportation/ fences/ a permanent lower class is not the answer to a problem that is (at least partly) the result of a hundred years of U.S. interference in Latin America. I sure don't have the solution, but I know that blind hatred and scapegoating is not it.

RE: How can Illegal Immigration help our Homeless situation?

"I was afraid I might inadvertently write something harmful," Justice Breyer said. "People read every word. Everything you do is important. There is a seriousness to every word, and you really can't go back. Precedent doesn't absolutely limit you. In almost every case, you're in a wide-open area. The breadth of that opening, getting up to speed on each case, constitutional law as a steady diet, the importance to the profession. ..." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. "My goodness!" he exclaimed.

Court Veteran Remembers a Scary Start - New York Times

Don't you see? We need to learn Chinese not math and science!

I HAVE to point out this quote...."Students put a lack of science and math near the bottom of problems they see at school. They are much more worried about bad language, cheating or the pressure for good grades."

Bad language? Are you kidding me? I am really surprised that bad language beat out drugs and violence to make it into the top three, or maybe the survey conveniently left those choices out seeing as they really don't affect education at all.

CNN: Parents don't see a crisis over science and math

First it was Napoleon. Now it is Jesus Christ. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has compared himself to both, prompting the open scorn of his political opponents and even the quietly raised eyebrows of his coalition partners.

"I am the Jesus Christ of politics," Italian media quoted him as saying at a dinner with supporters on Saturday night. "I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone."

Berlusconi is quite a character...

He is not only the current Prime Minister, he is Italy's richest man, and he owns most of Italy's media. His political party, which he founded, is named "Forza Italia" (translation: Go Italy), after the chant used to support a local footbal team, which he owns. When not running the government or making billions in advertising, insurance, food and construction, he deals with the fallout from getting caught bribing judges.

CNN.com - Berlusconi: I'm Christ of politics - Feb 12, 2006

In honor of Freedom to Marry week, send an equal-marriage themed valentine or learn more about NOW's Equal Marriage Campaign.

Freedom to Marry Week

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. Lets do it.....

Flirts: doing what comes naturally

What follows are excerpts from Paul Pillar's essay, "Intelligence, Policy,and the War in Iraq", which appears in the March/April 2006 issue of Foreign Affairs. I originally posted about this article on Friday.

What is most remarkable about prewar U.S. intelligence on Iraq is not that it got things wrong and thereby misled policymakers; it is that it played so small a role in one of the most important U.S. policy decisions in recent decades.

Congress, not the administration, asked for the now-infamous October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq's unconventional weapons programs, although few members of Congress actually read it. (According to several congressional aides responsible for safeguarding the classified material, no more than six senators and only a handful of House members got beyond the five-page executive summary.)

In the shadowy world of international terrorism, almost anyone can be "linked" to almost anyone else if enough effort is made to find evidence of casual contacts, the mentioning of names in the same breath, or indications of common travels or experiences. Even the most minimal and circumstantial data can be adduced as evidence of a "relationship," ignoring the important question of whether a given regime actually supports a given terrorist group and the fact that relationships can be competitive or distrustful rather than cooperative.

I made a similar comment in 2004.

Although distance from policymakers may be needed for objectivity, closeness is needed for influence.

The intelligence community should be repositioned to reflect the fact that influence and relevance flow not just from face time in the Oval Office, but also from credibility with Congress and, most of all, with the American public.

Excerpts from 'Intelligence, Policy,and the War in Iraq'

A Vatican paper????

Vatican paper article says 'intelligent design' not science

In the workplace, the people pleaser often resorts to time abuse to vent her anger. For example, she agrees to take on a task she doesn't want and then devotes obsessive attention to its minutest details. Although this form of overcompliance can win approval from others, unchecked it can lead to conflicts with the very authority figures she is endeavoring to please.

People pleasers are the worst!

The Time Abusers

flynn23 wrote:
]] Time abuse is a symptom of a problem, not the problem
]] itself. It is therefore impossible to cure a person of
]] time abuse by actually managing his time. Instead, you
]] must understand your time abuser's need for control and
]] fear of evaluations.

From "Brother's Little Helper", enjoy this clip:

Lisa: [runs into Bart's room] Bart, Bart! Krusty just fired his associate producer.

Bart: [looking up from his book] I'm reading.

Lisa: No way. [looks at book cover] The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pre-Teens? Is this all because of the ... [pantomimes gulping pills, and then walking like a zombie]

Bart: Joke if you will, but did you know most people use 10% of their brains? I am now one of them. Before, my energy was all over the place. Now, it's concentrated like a laser beam. [stands up] Well, this has been terrific. Let's do it again sometime.

Lisa: Are you standing up to get me to leave?

Bart: It's from the book.

Lisa: [reads] Hey, I'm not a time burglar.

Bart: [types in electronic organizer] Memo to self: Lock door.

Lisa: All right, I'll go. You don't have to be a jerk about it.

Bart: [types] Memo to self: Shut up, Lisa.

Lisa: Grrr! [leaves]
-- Highly effective, indeed, "Brother's Little Helper"

Hey, I'm not a time burglar!