Politics and science; is science being corrupted? (Introduction)

by xeno6696 , Sonoran Desert, Saturday, January 23, 2010, 20:11 (5417 days ago) @ David Turell


> > (As a non-partisan with Libertarian leanings, I find disgust with all of this.)
> 
> I'm mainly a libertarian also, which in my view leans strongly to a conservative viewpoint to begin with.-I have a hard time calling myself a conservative; doing so means I put myself into a category of being close in line of thinking to guys like Jerry Falwell or Rush Limbaugh--and that's not good company. -What the hell, I've already taken it off topic. -I'm for free markets, but not unregulated ones, because there will always be instances where a company gets so big that they can do whatever they want--and this poses security complications for any nation. Already, some decisions get made about American Foreign Policy due to the presence of large MNC. While you could argue that this is good in some instances, obviously its going to have long-term questions for sovereignty. -I'm not against having social programs in all instances, as long as they serve a vital function of the state: Welfare is something that I look at in a Roman view: if you provide just enough assistance that they can eat, they won't riot and tear your state down. The problem with it is one of sustainability, because Rome was able to do it because they continuously conquered and raped the lands to the east to pay for it. What makes this tricky is that the only way to generate more wealth is to grow GDP, some of which will always be eaten up to pay this extra bribe to the poor. -My wife is student teaching right now in the worst school in Nebraska. I am convinced now of at least two points. The first--Libertarians are right. Dissolve the Dept. of Education. The second--NCLB must go. My wife had to teach a highschooler what a Meter was the other day. The school has a 30% pass rate on physics education, and they've gone so far now as to eliminate homework in order to try and get the kids to care. You can lead a horse to water, as they say. -This is the problem: Schools need to serve their local communities, and the culture of the parents in this part of town does not support academics, but trade jobs. Therefore, this school should be converted to one that builds skills for these kids. Most of the kids are new immigrants and 1st gen citizens. If you watch the historical progression of immigrants, the parents and first generation of kids nearly always start out in exactly these kinds of conditions. Low-paying, unskilled labor. As for NCLB, it says that that kid who just learned what a meter is at age 16 must be able to pass a standardized test on physics. Yeah, good luck with that. -NCLB is trying to shove college down the throats of kids that aren't going to be prepared for it and then blaming THAT on teachers, and the Dept. of Education gives constant mandates and directives that shouldn't be federal in the first place.

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\"Why is it, Master, that ascetics fight with ascetics?\"

\"It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with ascetics.\"