Polite Politics

[Andie]

Chewy,  I’m older than you but the economies we lived in were similar and relative.   I worked through school, got scholarships, entered art competitions.   
I got 2 BAs. One in Psychology and 1 in Fine Art.  Still graduated on the Dean’s List with no debt.  
The economy was relative to the times.  Plenty of inflation, war, and conflicts at home.  Not unlike today.  
It’s all relative.  Now, we didn’t have a fool like Biden in office but, they’re All fools if you ask me.  Takes a fool, an egomaniac, or a genius to run for that office and we’re really short on the later!!

I wanted to get my PhD in Clinical Psych but work and life tripped me up.  I had an awesome major Professor. Double PhD. Psych and Religion/Episcopal Minister. Interesting guy.  Really miss him. 

[roadtonowhere08]

2 hours ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

Listened to a story this morning about OB/GYNs leaving states with strict abortion bans in place in droves.  I think it said there were only 4 full time OB/GYN's left in the state of Idaho.  Kinda creates a problem for women needing prenatal care, especially high risk pregnancies.

 

But it's ok, nothing to see here, move along.

Ideologues want what they want with little to no regard for the consequences.

[hawkstwelve]

A majority of voters believe that both Biden (64%) and Trump (51%) are mentally unfit for another term. Yet we are going to pass on Haley who is beyond mentally fit for the position. All because America loves chaos and self-flagellation apparently.

https://news.yahoo.com/most-voters-biden-trump-both-225000542.html

[Iceresistance]

16 minutes ago, hawkstwelve said:

A majority of voters believe that both Biden (64%) and Trump (51%) are mentally unfit for another term. Yet we are going to pass on Haley who is beyond mentally fit for the position. All because America loves chaos and self-flagellation apparently.

https://news.yahoo.com/most-voters-biden-trump-both-225000542.html

Other factor was that Trump and Biden have presidential history and Haley doesn't

[roadtonowhere08]

43 minutes ago, Iceresistance said:

Other factor was that Trump and Biden have presidential history and Haley doesn't

Yeah, and I have had history with COVID.  I'll pass on another bout of that.

Sometimes "The Devil You Know" sucks a** and it's time to try something new.  I'm not hot on Haley, but she ain't got one foot in the grave.

Oh, and here's a fun fact: I'm not voting for Biden because of the way he is turning a blind eye to Gaza.  That's worse than anything Trump has done.  Seriously.

I'll vote for a flaming bag of crap before I vote for either Trump or Biden.  California will be blue until the end of time, not like my vote matters one way or another due to the stupid a** electoral college.

[Chewbacca Defense]

3 hours ago, Andie said:

Chewy,  I’m older than you but the economies we lived in were similar and relative.   I worked through school, got scholarships, entered art competitions.   
I got 2 BAs. One in Psychology and 1 in Fine Art.  Still graduated on the Dean’s List with no debt.  
The economy was relative to the times.  Plenty of inflation, war, and conflicts at home.  Not unlike today.  
It’s all relative.  Now, we didn’t have a fool like Biden in office but, they’re All fools if you ask me.  Takes a fool, an egomaniac, or a genius to run for that office and we’re really short on the later!!

I wanted to get my PhD in Clinical Psych but work and life tripped me up.  I had an awesome major Professor. Double PhD. Psych and Religion/Episcopal Minister. Interesting guy.  Really miss him. 

Yeah sure, it was still possible then, or if you ended up with debt, is was relatively small.  Average student debt was $14k in 1990.  Average Student debt now is almost 40, or more than 2.5 times higher.

By your logic that it's all relative, I guess minimum wage should be north of $18/hr and the median household income should be $117k (that's taking the 395% increase from the average tuition increase).

 My son went to Montana State but got in state tuition through a program they have out here on the west coast.  He was in the band all 4 years and got scholarship money (about $2.5k/year), he worked part time through the school year, full time in the summer, and got about $5-7k from grandparents.  He got a few hundred bucks from us every month to cover food expenses. 

Even with all of that, he still ended up with almost $30k in student loans, and he is lucky considering many of his peers have north of $50k in loans.  Of course there are kids out there who were stupid and racked up $100k in debt living well beyond the means of a typical college student, and yeah, those kids need to own that.  My son lived with 3-5 other people once he moved out of the dorms, drove a 20+ year old car that he bought for $700 and bought most of his clothes at a  thrift store. 

 

While I admit I don't know exact details of all of these smaller forgiveness programs Biden is doing, I do know that the original plan was to forgive $20k in debt.  Yes, my son would have benefited greatly from that since he only has $30k.  But considering that the average student loan debt is almost $40k, that $20k forgiveness still leaves them about $20k (on average) to pay off. 

If nothing else, it would be easy enough to determine what portion of the student loans was tuition, fees and books, and what portion went to living expenses.  Forgive the tuition/fees and make the kids pay back the living expenses.  And maybe cap it at 5 years, to prevent "professional students."  My son would be laughing in that scenario since all of his loan debt is for tuition.

 

We give BILLIONS of dollars to corporations in the form of tax breaks, seems only fair we cut these kids some slack for a problem they did not create and did nothing to cause in the short time they have been adults in this country.  I guess they could also just NOT go to college and be welfare leeches.  There's an idea.

 

 

 

[Andie]

6 hours ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

Yeah sure, it was still possible then, or if you ended up with debt, is was relatively small.  Average student debt was $14k in 1990.  Average Student debt now is almost 40, or more than 2.5 times higher.

By your logic that it's all relative, I guess minimum wage should be north of $18/hr and the median household income should be $117k (that's taking the 395% increase from the average tuition increase).

 My son went to Montana State but got in state tuition through a program they have out here on the west coast.  He was in the band all 4 years and got scholarship money (about $2.5k/year), he worked part time through the school year, full time in the summer, and got about $5-7k from grandparents.  He got a few hundred bucks from us every month to cover food expenses. 

Even with all of that, he still ended up with almost $30k in student loans, and he is lucky considering many of his peers have north of $50k in loans.  Of course there are kids out there who were stupid and racked up $100k in debt living well beyond the means of a typical college student, and yeah, those kids need to own that.  My son lived with 3-5 other people once he moved out of the dorms, drove a 20+ year old car that he bought for $700 and bought most of his clothes at a  thrift store. 

 

While I admit I don't know exact details of all of these smaller forgiveness programs Biden is doing, I do know that the original plan was to forgive $20k in debt.  Yes, my son would have benefited greatly from that since he only has $30k.  But considering that the average student loan debt is almost $40k, that $20k forgiveness still leaves them about $20k (on average) to pay off. 

If nothing else, it would be easy enough to determine what portion of the student loans was tuition, fees and books, and what portion went to living expenses.  Forgive the tuition/fees and make the kids pay back the living expenses.  And maybe cap it at 5 years, to prevent "professional students."  My son would be laughing in that scenario since all of his loan debt is for tuition.

 

We give BILLIONS of dollars to corporations in the form of tax breaks, seems only fair we cut these kids some slack for a problem they did not create and did nothing to cause in the short time they have been adults in this country.  I guess they could also just NOT go to college and be welfare leeches.  There's an idea.

 

 

 

The colleges are a problem as well.  Consider the salaries, perks, even waste they are part of. Colleges are incredibly inefficient as ‘for profit’ entities. If I had run my chem plant the way they run their schools I would have gone belly up in no time.  

Some people blame the students. They should shift the light onto the way the school is run. 
If I were a young man today I would go into a skilled trade.  I have a high school friend that became a plumber. He had poor grades, not much of a future.  Today he’s a multimillionaire with a sizable firm, nice estate.   
I would follow skilled in demand trades today if I was starting over. 

Theres something not right when 4 yr colleges profess to exist to launch successful careers but actually strap their clients with long term (often crippling) debt. Million dollar salaries of University Presidents is just obscene.  
The student exits to fund these schools today not the school existing to benefit the client/the student. The shoe is on the wrong foot.  I’m all for profit but this situation is out of hand.  

[Chewbacca Defense]

2 hours ago, Andie said:

The colleges are a problem as well.  Consider the salaries, perks, even waste they are part of. Colleges are incredibly inefficient as ‘for profit’ entities. If I had run my chem plant the way they run their schools I would have gone belly up in no time.  

Some people blame the students. They should shift the light onto the way the school is run. 
If I were a young man today I would go into a skilled trade.  I have a high school friend that became a plumber. He had poor grades, not much of a future.  Today he’s a multimillionaire with a sizable firm, nice estate.   
I would follow skilled in demand trades today if I was starting over. 

Theres something not right when 4 yr colleges profess to exist to launch successful careers but actually strap their clients with long term (often crippling) debt. Million dollar salaries of University Presidents is just obscene.  
The student exits to fund these schools today not the school existing to benefit the client/the student. The shoe is on the wrong foot.  I’m all for profit but this situation is out of hand.  

Definitely agree with you on this, and I too wish in hindsight that I went into a trade.  There is a small percentage of students that max out their student loans and enjoy a very cushy lifestyle while going through college.  They are part of the problem as they generate the most extreme student loan stories.  College is supposed to be about scraping by.  My wife and I chuckle at my son's transformation.  Before college, he was all about the organic, fresh, basically really expensive top quality foods.  He was eating very healthy (something my wife and I are not necessarily very good about) so we didn't really push him or put our foot down.

That said, we told him he was getting $200 a month for food from us in college, and beyond that he was on his own.  When he came home his preferences had definitely changed.  He is still eating very healthy, but he for the most part dropped the requirement for the "organic" and "all-natural" foods, and he learned how to cook quite complex elaborate meals with basic ingredients.

 

[hawkstwelve]

Trump supporters have donated $954k on a GoFundMe setup to help Trump cover his legal fees. This amounts to 0.003% of the total $355 million goal.

@Stormy - Instead of going back and weenie-ing my posts, perhaps that time would be better spent helping your God Emperor reach his goal. Just 99.997% to go! You can do it!!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-trump-raise-the-settlement

[snow_wizard]

Scary!  One of the best most open minded reporters at CBS was fired and her files seized recently.  She was stepping on too many leftist toes.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4481433-cbs-faces-uproar-after-seizing-investigative-journalists-files/

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Seems as if Taylor Swift is becoming problematic. I hadn’t heard much about this until my wife started educating me that TS is apparently satanic. 

Edited February 22 by SilverFallsAndrew

[Iceresistance]

Violating the Civil Rights act? Plus they can't get away with this since someone will report them.

Denver school district and its 'Latinx' Supt SLAPPED with federal complaint over memo asking 13,000 staff to endorse anti-racism pledge about the 'deep harm whiteness brings to students' (msn.com)

[Iceresistance]

If you think the USA's education system is horrible, wait until you see what China is doing

 

[roadtonowhere08]

1 hour ago, hawkstwelve said:

Trump supporters have donated $954k on a GoFundMe setup to help Trump cover his legal fees. This amounts to 0.003% of the total $355 million goal.

@Stormy - Instead of going back and weenie-ing my posts, perhaps that time would be better spent helping your God Emperor reach his goal. Just 99.997% to go! You can do it!!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-trump-raise-the-settlement

The URL is a bit funny.

Cool.  Let's make it an even 400 million!

[Andie]

3 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Seems as if Taylor Swift is becoming problematic. I hadn’t heard much about this until my wife started educating me that TS is apparently satanic. 

She’s also an average at best entertainer.  Singing? OMG

[SnarkyGoblin]

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

22 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

A majority of voters believe that both Biden (64%) and Trump (51%) are mentally unfit for another term. Yet we are going to pass on Haley who is beyond mentally fit for the position. All because America loves chaos and self-flagellation apparently.

https://news.yahoo.com/most-voters-biden-trump-both-225000542.html

Biden is so far gone its scary to think he is making any decisions that effect people's lives. Just insane.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

7 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

Trump supporters have donated $954k on a GoFundMe setup to help Trump cover his legal fees. This amounts to 0.003% of the total $355 million goal.

@Stormy - Instead of going back and weenie-ing my posts, perhaps that time would be better spent helping your God Emperor reach his goal. Just 99.997% to go! You can do it!!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-trump-raise-the-settlement

I like a strong economy.  That's the only thing I get into with politics.  The economy was stronger with trump. If the democrats get this in 2024 again anyone who owns a business might as well just give up and lock the doors. 

[Iceresistance]

This is WAY more than Trump had to deal with!

7.2M Migrants Have Illegally Crossed US Border Under Biden, Exceeding the Populations of 36 States? (msn.com)

[snow_wizard]

Time for a little rant on white shaming.

My sister in law, who is an extremely intelligent and thoughtful woman, was forced to endure a seminar at her workplace yesterday where the key note speaker proceeded to dress down white people for all being racist and privileged people who are responsible for most of the problems facing our country today.  We are talking about a woman who is about as middle of the road as you can get, and she was outraged by how close minded and bigoted this speaker was.  How does anyone think this ridiculous viewpoint is going to help heal the country?   Morons like this have no way of getting into other people's heads to know what they are thinking.  At any rate if lunatics like this continue to spread their hatred of whites they are going to assure Trump gets re-elected in a landslide.

[SnarkyGoblin]

https://wapo.st/3SRt1OH

I'm sure the trump voters in these rural areas will be quick to understand that it was Biden who is trying to improve their crappy, underfunded network infrastructure.

[snow_wizard]

It turns out there is more to the story of the Katherine Herridge firing at CBS.  She was working on a story about the Hunter Biden laptop when she was axed.  The really scary thing is they seized her personal and confidential records which included information on informants she used.  Anyone care to defend that move by CBS?  Employees there say this is an unprecedented move that is deeply concerning.  If I were one of the informants she used I would be leaving the country right now.  These people are getting to KGB levels of corruption.

https://nypost.com/2024/02/22/business/cbs-seizes-confidential-files-of-fired-reporter-pursuing-hunter-biden-laptop-story-in-unprecedented/

 

[Andie]

That’s scary.  Freedom of the press has been a sacred support beam to this nation.  As an informant, I would be packed and gone to parts unknown.  
She’s a top reporter so I can’t imagine how she feels.  If they can trample over her, imagine what they’d do to lesser high profile reporters.  
Makes you wonder how far this will go?

edit:  Seizing her computer is not good if she had any personal communication on it.   I always text my husbands personal phone when he’s at work and never use his City email.  Way too risky with any govt. phone.  Just can’t believe they’ve treated her like this.  

[Andie]

Will someone shoot the D**n thing down!?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-tracking-balloon-western-us-military/

[hawkstwelve]

"As President Joe Biden prepares to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress, Americans are feeling less content with numerous aspects of the country than they were when he took office three years ago.

Of 29 aspects of the country Gallup has tracked during Biden's presidency, public satisfaction has declined in 12, while it has been steady in 12 and improved in five. As a result, in a reversal of the pattern seen before 2021, anemic (sub-33%) public satisfaction ratings of national conditions now outnumber strong (50%+) ones, and by a substantial margin."

https://news.gallup.com/poll/610916/americans-offer-anemic-state-nation-report.aspx

[Andie]

Read an article today that insiders say we’ll have aliens revealed to us all in 2027.  
All you preppers better lock and load!  
I was just wondering how a Pres. Biden or Pres. Trump would respond?  

[snow_wizard]

3 hours ago, Andie said:

Will someone shoot the D**n thing down!?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-tracking-balloon-western-us-military/

With Biden in charge?  Fat chance.

[Andie]

Still there  

https://time.com/6807139/high-altitude-balloon-utah-us-fighter-jet-intercepts/

However Reuters 

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-detects-balloon-over-western-united-states-not-threat-us-official-2024-02-23/

If it’s a weather instrument , there’s no mention.  

[Rubus Leucodermis]

On 2/22/2024 at 11:52 AM, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Seems as if Taylor Swift is becoming problematic. I hadn’t heard much about this until my wife started educating me that TS is apparently satanic. 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

5 minutes ago, Andie said:

Still there  

https://time.com/6807139/high-altitude-balloon-utah-us-fighter-jet-intercepts

Quote

SALT LAKE CITY — A small, nonthreatening balloon spotted flying high over the mountainous Western United States was intercepted by a fighter jet over Utah on Friday, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

NORAD fighter pilots sent in the morning to investigate the balloon determined it was “not maneuverable” and did not present a threat to national security, spokesperson John Cornelio said. The balloon was still in the air, under close observation.

Emphasis added.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

On 2/23/2024 at 10:13 AM, SnarkyGoblin said:

https://wapo.st/3SRt1OH

I'm sure the trump voters in these rural areas will be quick to understand that it was Biden who is trying to improve their crappy, underfunded network infrastructure.

The majority of voters cannot remember the names of their one Representative and two Senators.

[Andie]

Agreed. However, large high altitude instruments should be on FAA lists. 
Some professor launching a ballon for whatever reason is just not responsible.  Clearly, higher altitude, it’s a flight hazard. 
Imagine it over an air base.
We have fighters taking off 5 miles N of me regularly. Suck that into an engine…

[Rubus Leucodermis]

2 minutes ago, Andie said:

Agreed. However, large high altitude instruments should be on FAA lists. 
Some professor launching a ballon for whatever reason is just not responsible.  Clearly, higher altitude, it’s a flight hazard. 
Imagine it over an air base.
We have fighters taking off 5 miles N of me regularly. Suck that into an engine…

It is in fact relatively easy to launch a high-altitude balloon. Many hobbyists with limited resources have done so. Such balloons get launched all the time.

[Andie]

I know they do.  
But imagine that baby sucked into a fighter jet due to a hobbiest not considering these pilots.  
Around here so far people have thought about their surroundings.  
A downed plane here would hit neighborhoods.  
We live with low flying fighters several times a year. It’s a national security thing as they must qualify on these carrier take off practices.  
We don’t mind it.  But a crash could kill many.  

[snow_wizard]

2 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

The majority of voters cannot remember the names of their one Representative and two Senators.

With me I don't want to remember their names.

[snow_wizard]

BTW I'm just mystified why so many conservatives are so bent out of shape by Taylor Swift.  We have way more important stuff to worry about guys!

[Iceresistance]

2 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

BTW I'm just mystified why so many conservatives are so bent out of shape by Taylor Swift.  We have way more important stuff to worry about guys!

They are afraid she endorses Biden and she will be viewed as the reason why Biden won 2024 if that happens.

[Andie]

2 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

BTW I'm just mystified why so many conservatives are so bent out of shape by Taylor Swift.  We have way more important stuff to worry about guys!

I think she’s a kind of lightning rod.   
I just think she’s over-rated.  

[SnarkyGoblin]

But biden's age!

Quote

The most disturbing thing I’ve ever heard a president say did not come from Donald Trump.

It came from Joe Biden. Speaking with reporters in California on Thursday, the president said this *about* Donald Trump. “Two of your former colleagues not at the same network personally told me if he wins, they will have to leave the country because he’s threatened to put them in jail,” Biden told Katie Couric. “He embraces political violence,” Biden said of Trump “No president since the Civil War has done that. Embrace it. Encourages it.”

https://www.salon.com/2024/02/24/joe-biden-gives-the-media-a-desperately-needed-lesson-about-donald/

[SnarkyGoblin]

2 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

With me I don't want to remember their names.

Lol.  This was exactly my point.