Politics

[BSO Dave]

And as far as the SRO goes, shame on him. That’s on his conscious for the rest of his life.

Absolutely...! His guilt will haunt him for the rest of his days...

I know a few SRO's that took that assignment because they truly care about the kids. I don't think this guy was one of them... He was basically a career SRO with his last 9 years at MSD High School. Unfortunately, some of these SROs take these assignments to cruise in the twilight of their careers or ironically to get off the streets to avoid violent altercations. In either case, those are not the right reasons. The criteria for how these SRO positions are assigned needs to be reevaluated by every law enforcement agency that utilizes them.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Absolutely...! His guilt will haunt him for the rest of his days...

I know a few SRO's that took that assignment because they truly care about the kids. I don't think this guy was one of them... He was basically a career SRO with his last 9 years at MSD High School. Unfortunately, some of these SROs take these assignments to cruise in the twilight of their careers or ironically to get off the streets to avoid violent altercations. In either case, those are not the right reasons. The criteria for how these SRO positions are assigned needs to be reevaluated by every law enforcement agency that utilizes them.

His relief upon being announced as not guilty condemns him. He obviously had no thought in that moment of all those who died. Disgraceful.

 

[spike.t]

Put in humour thread as well...couldn't decide...

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

Read Mark's comments again, TT. It was all about the past and that was what I was addressing.

Gosh, I almost missed all the fun. I was mowing a few acres.

My point, if you missed it, was that Trump would still be President if he acted more mature and perhaps even a little bit presidential! Think how different the USA and probably the world would be of Trump was still in office. Life would be good, but Trump blew it for everyone including himself.

As long as Trump stays in the race for 2024, we must be aware of the baggage he creates. If he wants to still the pot with a paddle connected to a 1/2" power drill, he should do it from an advisory position, not as the potential Republican presidential candidate.

Trump is like Hillary Clinton to their opposing parties, just plain poison.

 

[wesheltonj]

As I under l stand the case, he was charged under a statute that applies to daycare workers and parents. Hard to get a win when you are trying to bend a statute that far.

 

[HuntingGold]

I am hesitant to post regarding the issue in Florida as I would rather read and learn about the international politics and discussions as well as the present decisions by SCOTUS. However; the first training I received in Active Shooter training was to arrive on scene, relay information to responding officers and to WAIT for a three-man team before engaging! I remember the discussions during training of those officers who stated they would not be waiting while others who stated they would follow training. As the "Game Warden" for the area, I often patrolled remote areas of the state where children were bussed to the closest "town" for school. Depending on the circumstance, I could be the closest responder and would be required to wait 30 minutes or longer for the first back-up unit to arrive if I followed policy. I left the training knowing what the right thing to do was versus what current policy was directing. I am thankful I never had one of these events in any of the communities I patrolled.

A few years later, the training changed to the first officer goes in to the active shooter scene, regardless of how close the next responding officer was. This made more sense to all of us that patrolled these rural areas.

Shortly after the Florida incident I remember watching the officer on the news and like all of us thought why in the heck is this guy not getting into the fight??? I was mad at him. After an hour or two it dawned on me that if this cat was working under an old policy or somehow missed the updated training, he very well could have thought he was doing as he was trained. It was a travesty. By the time Uvalde came around, I cannot believe any police agency in the nation would still be operating under a wait and contain approach.

Lastly, police agencies are undergoing rapid transformations across the nation. Policies are changing quickly. I've been retired almost five years now and continue to get feedback on the changes that are constantly coming down. Some of the changes are mind-blowing. Some agencies are changing faster than others, but suffice it to say that what is policy with the agency (s) in your local area may not be policy elsewhere in the nation.

 

[Tbitty]

Yes, this is a very big deal as well. The millennial heads over on Reddit are exploding.

Supreme Court rules against Biden student loan debt handout

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in cases dealing with President Biden's student loan debt cancelation program, which had been on hold pending a decision.

www.foxbusiness.com

I had to go look at Reddit after this post just to see the comments. It scares me to see the stupidity of their thought process.

 

[Tanks]

I paid for 4 years of Rice, 4 years of Yale and 3 years of Harvard Law school between my two kids. I don't see why the government should have paid for their personal choices (though I did suggest Navy ROTC for my son at Rice, he didn't want to).

My daughter did take out a student loan when she was at Harvard Law, but that was for extra spending money and paid it back immediately with her signing bonus when she got hired by a law firm. She did not expect the government to pay for it.

Finally, if my kids wanted to study a major that would not have enabled them to make a living we would have had a long talk about cost vs benefits and I would have strongly encouraged them to go to colleges where they were offered free rides if they still wanted to go that route.

Yes, this is a very big deal as well. The millennial heads over on Reddit are exploding.

Supreme Court rules against Biden student loan debt handout

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in cases dealing with President Biden's student loan debt cancelation program, which had been on hold pending a decision.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[BSO Dave]

Awkward: Supreme Court Rules Against Affirmative Action With Affirmative Action Hire Sitting Right There​

 

[mdwest]

I paid for 4 years of Rice, 4 years of Yale and 3 years of Harvard Law school between my two kids. I don't see why the government should have paid for their personal choices (though I did suggest Navy ROTC for my son at Rice, he didn't want to).

My daughter did take out a student loan when she was at Harvard Law, but that was for extra spending money and paid it back immediately with her signing bonus when she got hired by a law firm. She did not expect the government to pay for it.

Finally, if my kids wanted to study a major that would not have enabled them to make a living we would have had a long talk about cost vs benefits and I would have strongly encouraged them to go to colleges where they were offered free rides if they still wanted to go that route.

Agree.

My pedigree isn’t quite as impressive or expensive as yours… but I paid for a BS, an MS, an MBA, and am now a bit more than 1/2 way through a DBA… I busted my ass, working multiple jobs while studying, cashed in on the GI Bill, and did whatever it took to make it happen… I never asked for, much less expected for any debt I incurred to be “forgiven”…. And my career and my bank accounts haven’t suffered in any way as a result..

My wife is a similar story… a BS and an MS… worked her ass off through school… came out on the back end with no debt…

I’ve currently got 1 kid through school, 2 more in school, and another one that will go off to college in about 12 months… each is making their own way.. they have all earned significant scholarships that have covered most of the costs… and all have worked in addition to going to school to keep from going into debt… and all are doing quite well…

Hand outs aren’t needed.. hard work, commitment, and a desire to perform is all a kid needs, even in light of outrageous tuition costs these days…

I’ve got 5x proof of concept examples in my house alone…

 

[jpr9954]

 

[Louis Toadvine]

On student loan forgiveness: I agree with pretty much all of the opinions that have been shared thus far. As a millennial who came through undergrad and graduate schools with almost no debt (scholarships, grants, and employer sponsorships), it's hard for me to have sympathy for very poor decisions that were made by young adults and their parents who should have known better had they conjured even a shred of common sense.

I do think the issue is deeper and more rotten than it appears on the surface. It's not just idiot kids and unreasonable expectations (that's certainly a big part). Endless flows of government-backed debt to prospective students incentivized universities to bloat beyond reason and continually raise their tuition without recourse. So far, the universities have taken the backseat in these conversations, happy to avoid negative attention, but they have culpability in this big mess right alongside the dumbass students.

Below is one of the more solid takes I've seen floating around the internet re the student loan forgiveness decision:

 

[jpr9954]

I think Louis hit the nail on the head about the culpability of colleges and universities in the whole mess. Every time the government offered more money in increased loan limits and grants, schools figured a way to vacuum it up.

I started college in 1975 at a four year, private liberal arts college run by the Quakers (Guilford). My tuition, room and board, and fees for my freshman year was $3250. This doesn't include books but expensive ones like a calculus book were $20 and not $250. Scholarships and grants cut my out of pocket cost that year to about $1250. I earned spending money by working in the college cafeteria washing dishes at minimum wage. It literally was cheaper for me to attend college there than at a state school.

Today, the all-in cost for Guilford College is now $54,490. They "guarantee" you at least $15,000 in financial aid but I am assuming most of it is a loan and not a grant.

The annual inflation for the overall economy from 1975 to 2023 is 3.67%. Meanwhile, college costs at my alma mater have risen by an average annual percentage of 6.05%.

The money certainly has not gone to increasing faculty numbers. I majored in both econ and political science. We had 3 FT economists and 4 FT political scientists. Econ now has 2 FT faculty plus an adjunct while political science has 2 FT faculty plus three adjuncts. The number of administrators has exploded as has their salaries.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I see the the SC ruled against student loan debt forgiveness... POTUS lacks authority to do this under the law the administration expected would permit doing this without congressional approval.

A good thing. Bad enough they bail out every incompetent bank that fails.

 

[spike.t]

The last option given in the possible outcome isnt great...

BBC News - Load-shedding could switch South Africans off the ANC

Load-shedding could switch South Africans off the ANC

With South Africans experiencing worsening power cuts, the crisis is fuelling demands for change.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Ray B]

The Black Africans who vote for incompetents just because they are black are no different from Black Americans who vote for some incompetent person just because he/she is black. But then they shouldn't complain when they get the results of their vote.

 

[mark-hunter]

The Black Africans who vote for incompetents just because they are black are no different from Black Americans who vote for some incompetent person just because he/she is black. But then they shouldn't complain when they get the results of their vote.

In many cases - we Europeans and Americans vote in the same way. (I admit my flaw)
We vote for the party which we prefer, regardless who is their nominated person to take position after election. Campaigns are run by professional PR.

In the same time, a possible independent and capable candidate has small chances because he does not have large political platform to be supported from.

 

[sgt_zim]

FFS. The democrat party hasn't changed in almost 200 years. Still leaning on the "white man's burden" argument after all this time is just disgraceful.

 

[jpr9954]

The last option given in the possible outcome isnt great...

BBC News - Load-shedding could switch South Africans off the ANC

Load-shedding could switch South Africans off the ANC

With South Africans experiencing worsening power cuts, the crisis is fuelling demands for change.

www.bbc.co.uk

The last option is certainly not great. If it were to come to fruition, I think you would see South Africa on its way to becoming Zimbabwe v.2.0. That would be a tragedy.

 

[sestoppelman]

Here is a well written piece about Trump that the easily wounded and insulted anti Trumpers should read.
It really says it all.

Jack Nicholson, Donald Trump, And The Ugly Work That Needs To Be Done

Movies are sometimes a Rorschach test regarding how one views the world. Like Rorschach tests, they can leave observers scratching their heads. As an example, my top 10 movies are probably, in no particular order, Gladiator, Tombstone, Braveheart, LA...

www.americanthinker.com