Thomas Sowell to 11 Year Old: Get Off My Lawn!

thomas sowell, education, science, evolution, economy,

Just when I think wingnuts can't get any lower, Thomas Sowell verbally assaults a little kid.

In short, schools are supposed to prepare children for the future, not give teachers opportunities for self-indulgences in the present. you know, like doing something other than reading aloud from a book. One of these self-indulgences was exemplified by a letter I received recently from a fifth-grader in the Sayre Elementary School in Lyon, Michigan. and he makes that child identifiable, too.

He said, "I have been assigned to ask a famous person a question about how he or she would solve a difficult problem." The problem was what to do about the economy. I'm not sure why anyone would ask this tool anything, but i thought it was kinda cute. but just being nice to a little kid is utterly beyond a wingnut, he has to make a point all over this kid.

notice to 11 year olds: stop reading this blog. srsly, this blog is not edited for family content. however, if you'd like to ask me questions as a famous person, go ahead. i'd be tremendously flattered. do try to keep your parents from suing me afterwards.

Instead, I replied to his parents: With American students consistently scoring near or at the bottom in international tests, I am repeatedly appalled by teachers who waste their students' time by assigning them to write to strangers, chosen only because those strangers' names have appeared in the media.

yes, that's why American students are falling behind: letter writing. it has nothing to do with constant standardized testing that forces teachers to teach to the test and nothing else* or the fact that a large portion of the country thinks the universe is 6,000 years old and our president may be the antichrist.

It is of course much easier-- and more "exciting," to use a word too many educators use because you can tell how effective an educator is by how boring they are. if they can put you to sleep in 30 seconds or less, they're the Beyonces of education-- to do cute little stuff like this read the preceeding seven words and ask yourself who might have benefited from a little more letter writing. than to take on the sober responsibility to develop in students both the knowledge and the ability to think that will enable them to form their own views on matters in both public and private life. in fifth graders, no less. i wonder when the last time was that Mr. Sowell was within 50' of an 11 year old. What earthly good would it do your son to know what economic policies I think should be followed, especially since what I think should be done will not have the slightest effect on what the government will in fact do? well, in your case, none. however, i think it wouldn't hurt the kid to hear a rational person's point of view. and we should we definitely teach children that unless they are currently in a position to effectuate change, they shouldn't even think of ways to do so. that's a valuable lesson to learn. And why should a fifth-grader be expected to deal with such questions that people with Ph.D.'s in economics have trouble wrestling with? that's right, we should prepare them to take on the sober responsibility to think (something), but they shouldn't think about hard stuff. that Mr. Sowell probably doesn't know anything about. yeah.

I'm guessing Mr. Sowell's house is the one that receives an unusual supply of toiletry items a little later in the month.

*My niece hasn't had science in a year and a half because of this. i've been teaching her science. i'm a legal secretary.

The Part Where I Scam the System

economy, health care, obama, stimulus, conservative, liberal, congress
What percentage of people who declare bankruptcy due to medical bills have health insurance? 68%. What percentage of people who declare bankruptcy do so due to medical bills? 50%. (Link)

Yup, that's right: health insurance won't help you if you develop a devastating illness. Get cancer, lose your house.

Isn't life grand?

Today I will spend the better part of my day scamming the system. Not that I want to, it's totally unethical, not to mention a waste of my time, but because I have to.

See, I 've developed a problem. I don't know what it is, and I can't afford to find out. I have a $500 deductible that I can't pay. So, I can't go to my doctor or get tests done unless I can come up with $500. At the beginning of every year, I may as well not have insurance.

What are my options? Well, I suppose I could rob a bank- or I go to the hospital, sit in the ER for 6, maybe 10, hours with some vague complaint that will force a bill over $600. (I owe the first $100 dollars of ER visits unless I get admitted.) I end up waiting 10 hours because I keep the complaint vague enough that they don't put me ahead of people with immediate problems. (What's wrong with me may really be a problem, but I've had it for 3 weeks, so it's not an immediate problem.)

Then, when I'm done, I have to stiff the hospital for the bill. I can't come up with $500, and the hospital will let me come back if I don't pay them. My doctor, not so much.

Everyone's making a big deal about "socialism" (though I doubt those people know what socialism is) and "spending bills" (please, explain to me the difference between "stimulus" and "spending") and how families don't fix their finances by spending more (yeah, because the economy of your household and the economy of the entire country are two completely different things). [I read a really awesome article on this that I now can't find. If you can help me out with linkage, please do. My comments do allow for ahref.]

Well, you explain to me why a person who works hard and has insurance can't afford to go to the doctor without engaging in hospital chicanery first- then explain to me why that's better than Obama's plan. Be prepared to show your work.

Joe the Economic Advisor

joe the plumber, GOP, republican, conservative, economic, liberal, obama, recovery, economy

Okay, look, when you're taking economic advice from a plumber that isn't even legally qualified to give advice on plumbing, you need to admit that "flailing around helplessly" is your only remaining plan.

Or, the GOP has been involved in the longest-running piece of performance art in history.

It's getting a little hard to tell.

Politico.com:

Fresh off his stint as a war correspondent in Gaza, Joe the Plumber is now doing political strategy with Republicans.

When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.Wurzelbacher, who became a household name during the presidential election, will be focusing his talk on the proposed stimulus package. He's apparently not a fan of the economic rescue package, according to members of the group.

If nothing else, GOP aides are using the appearance to get staffers to attend the 9 a.m meeting.“In case you weren’t planning to attend CWG tomorrow morning, you might want to reconsider because Joe the Plumber will be joining us!” Kimberly Wallner, an aide to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, wrote in a message to her e-mail list this afternoon.

Keep in mind, Mr. Wurzelbacher was famously against an economic plan that would have helped him.

Stimulus Package- How Spending Works

economy, depression, recession, stimulus, economic, conservative, liberal, acorn, national, mall, nea, john galt, libertarian

Okay, so I'm not an economist, and if you are, feel free to correct/educate me. (No, really, I learn a lot from people who take the time to correct me in my comments. It's pretty cool.)

First of all, Democrats are pushing spending as a way to help the economy, and Republicans are pushing tax cuts. Ideologically, this pretty much defines Democrats and Republicans. Here's the thing: both spending and tax cuts do stimulate an economy, the questions is how much and how quickly. For every dollar of spending, you get a $1.50 of stimulus, and it's quick. (Think about it: if Jack isn't working, he isn't paying bills or buying food or renting movies. Give Jack a job, and that's exactly what he'll do.) For every dollar of tax cuts, on the other hand, you get $0.75 of stimulus. Why? Anyone affected by a tax cut already has a job. They're already paying bills and buying food and renting movies. Give them a tax cut, and they might spend more, but maybe not. They might just put more money in their 401k, which doesn't help the economy right now.

So, let's take a look at the evul librul stimulus package, shall we?

$2.4 billion carbon capture products... that's clean coal technology ( i had to look it up.). That $2.4 billion will give people jobs: jobs in development, jobs in actually building the products, jobs in transporting the products, jobs in advertising the products. Jobs are good! (And a cleaner environment doesn't hurt, either. Please don't excoriate me on whether or not clean coal actually works, I don't know. Feel free to educate me, just don't yell.)

$4.19 billion for ACORN and other bogus "community organizing" groups... Yes, I know, the barely there scandal with ACORN. What does ACORN do, anyway? Well, for one thing, THEY EMPLOY PEOPLE. Again, jobs are good. ACORN employees help poor people, which is good, too. (I think that's what sets the bigotsphere off. How dare they help poor people! We all know poor people are immoral and lazy and promiscuous. How do you think they got poor in the first place?) They help with housing, they fight to end predatory lending, they're helping with the Gulf recovery, they help poor children get good educations, they fight for paid sick days and a living wage . . . ACORN is Teh Evul!

$650 million digital tv conversion... I don't really understand the whole conversion thing, but I'm guessing somebody will get a job out of this.

$79 billion to bail out the state education system...god knows we wouldn't want somebody teaching evilution or gay sex to 4 year olds!

Hundreds of millions for family planning...what, no number? damn those poor people wanting to control their fertility! how dare married poor people want to have Teh Seks! how dare poor women want pap smears! (i shouldn't have read that sinner's prayer. i think it worked.)

$400 million global warming research...scientists need jobs, too! (oh, and i'm pretty sure we all need air to breathe- unless Who Is John Galt? has gills.)

$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts...$12 billion dollars A MONTH for the war in Iraq, and this asshat is angry about a onetime payment of $50 million for art? artists need to eat, too, buddy!

$200 million to refurbish the National Mall..does asshat think we will be refurbishing the National Mall by taping $200 million in ones over every surface? Hello, construction workers REALLY need jobs right now. And, George W. Bush's reign of terror allowed the National Mall, a symbol of our history, to turn into a national disgrace. It should have been refurbished years ago. Shameful.

so, true to his name, Who is John Galt? is against people having jobs. Good for you. See how well it works out for you when we hit depressionland. Asshat.

Civil Rights Less Important than a Balanced Budget

I wouldn't have said so, but apparently that's the latest line being given to the LGBT community: "How dare you complain about your civil rights while the economy's such a mess? Jeez, you people have bad timing. Come back when we've balanced the budget."

No, really.

From the AP at boston.com:

The gay marriage issue moved onto the legislative agenda Tuesday as supporters of the idea said this is the time to recognize marriages between same-sex couples — even if the debate comes amid major concerns in the State House over budget cutbacks and their impact. Now, how dare you want civil rights while we're running a deficit! Come back when we've balanced the budget. Can't you see what's really important here? Don't you people have any sense of perspective?

Sen. Dennis Damon said he is introducing a bill to rewrite Maine’s existing statute that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, instead defining it as a union between two people. In addition, it recognizes gay marriages from other states. Good for Senator Damon!

Damon, D-Trenton, answered critics who questioned the timing of the bill as lawmakers face a $838 million shortfall by saying it’s “long overdue.” what the fuck does a shortfall in the budget have to do with civil rights? are they trying to say the writing the bill will cost too much money? i'm just not getting the argument. Can you imagine saying to MLK, "look, there's a war going on. We'll deal with this whole discrimination thing another time. No rush."

“Currently there is discrimination. Heterosexual couples who have decided to spend their lives together are treated differently than same-sex couples who have … that same commitment to each other,” Damon said. “I don’t see the fairness of that. I don’t see the need for that, and this bill will put an end to that.” Huzzah!

Maine currently has a domestic partnership registry that’s open to gay couples. But that’s not enough for gay marriage supporters. yeah, cause it's not marriage. separate-but-equal didn't work for the blacks and it doesn't work for the gays, either. Damon says it’s time to “fully end discrimination in Maine.”

Seriously, if you're down to arguing that gays should stay in the back of the bus because the economy is bad, you've run out of ideas.