Politics

[Jfet]

Our kids aren't growing up and becoming responsible for themselves.

They are growing up and becoming responsible for themselves. They are just doing it at an older age. This is do to the wonderful society that we have given these people. For example my elementary teachers were born or spent part of their childhood during the Great Depression and WW2. They had a very different life experiences than my niece and daughter-in-law who were both born in the early 1990’s. Both of these women are exceptional teachers, however, they are not telling their students about growing up in a house with no running water either. A ten year old that has to fetch water to cook a meal is going to grow up faster than a 10 year old that had to print their book report on a dot matrix printer.

”Kids these days!” Is something every generation says.

Quit watching the news and go watch those kids that are coming off of the football field after 3 hours of practice and then they go and get their band instrument to go through a couple more hours of marching band practice. Go to a 4H/FFA Ag show and talk to those kids. You will be impressed.

 

[Ray B]

The military is one place a college degree will pay off but....

I did it in reverse- After high school I went in the military for 3 years, then after working and saving for two years I went to college on the GI Bill. Between pmts from the GI Bill, money I'd saved and my part-time job at the Chicago Tribune statistics dept I paid for most of the college, which was one of those "high priced" private universities- Then made pmts on the student loan and paid it off about 4 years after graduation. so was I crazy or stupid?

 

[Sabattiboy]

They are growing up and becoming responsible for themselves. They are just doing it at an older age. This is do to the wonderful society that we have given these people. For example my elementary teachers were born or spent part of their childhood during the Great Depression and WW2. They had a very different life experiences than my niece and daughter-in-law who were both born in the early 1990’s. Both of these women are exceptional teachers, however, they are not telling their students about growing up in a house with no running water either. A ten year old that has to fetch water to cook a meal is going to grow up faster than a 10 year old that had to print their book report on a dot matrix printer.

”Kids these days!” Is something every generation says.

Quit watching the news and go watch those kids that are coming off of the football field after 3 hours of practice and then they go and get their band instrument to go through a couple more hours of marching band practice. Go to a 4H/FFA Ag show and talk to those kids. You will be impressed.

Thank you!
It the un-seen un-news things going on that will save America.
It is easy to throw "Everybody" into these things but it is not everybody.

 

[Sabattiboy]

I did it in reverse- After high school I went in the military for 3 years, then after working and saving for two years I went to college on the GI Bill. Between pmts from the GI Bill, money I'd saved and my part-time job at the Chicago Tribune statistics dept I paid for most of the college, which was one of those "high priced" private universities- Then made pmts on the student loan and paid it off about 4 years after graduation. so was I crazy or stupid?

Not sure what year frame you are referring to but the GI bill and various college deferred active duty arrangements worked for a lot of young folks to get an education and not walk away encumbered with student load debt for life.
Over the last decade I've heard several mention they would go in the military if there were no wars going on.
My parents and grandparents could get a job at the local factory and retire there.
Maybe in coming generations they will be able to work from home and retire never having traveled to an office or other to work.
There goes that old story of walking to school in a foot of snow up hill both ways.

 

[Jfet]

Since NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship has been in the news this year you might want to view the results for the Men’s NCAA Swimming Championship. These young men are blessed with a great deal of natural ability but have shown an amazing amount of discipline in training to accomplish these feats.

California wins the DI men's swimming and diving championship

The Golden Bears take home the DI swimming and diving championship at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

www.ncaa.com

There are far more of these types of young people than that swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

[Areaonereal]

Older couples with separate incomes living and not married declaring separate tax returns are beating the system
, not only only in taxes but the SS means test

 

[Wheels]

They are growing up and becoming responsible for themselves. They are just doing it at an older age. This is do to the wonderful society that we have given these people. For example my elementary teachers were born or spent part of their childhood during the Great Depression and WW2. They had a very different life experiences than my niece and daughter-in-law who were both born in the early 1990’s. Both of these women are exceptional teachers, however, they are not telling their students about growing up in a house with no running water either. A ten year old that has to fetch water to cook a meal is going to grow up faster than a 10 year old that had to print their book report on a dot matrix printer.

”Kids these days!” Is something every generation says.

Quit watching the news and go watch those kids that are coming off of the football field after 3 hours of practice and then they go and get their band instrument to go through a couple more hours of marching band practice. Go to a 4H/FFA Ag show and talk to those kids. You will be impressed.

If I had thought my statement out, I would have added, "and becoming responsible for themselves and their family at the same age as previous generations."

If I remember correct, the demographics you live and work in are similar to mine. (If I remember incorrectly, I apologize) I agree there are a number of fantastic kids and over performers in the younger generation in this demographic. Your son and daughter-n-law that I know, would fit this category. You would probably consider my kids the same way. You are blessed. I am too. There are a number of amazing young people out there.

There are however kids that don't fall in the above category. A family member worked in a high school where there were stabbings and firearms shot at school. Teachers and administrators were abused regularly and an assault on a teacher happened most weeks. A number of male students had children. I believe the most was five. If the school was allowed to get rid of about 100 students, then probably 1,000 of the 1,500 others would have a real chance. Unfortunately, no child was left behind and the 100 was a revolving door of chaos to the rest of the school. The above can be said about many urban schools and school systems.

I used to have a company. We used a number of blue collar/no collar employees. Part of my mission was to hire high school dropouts along with offenders coming out of the prison system. We gave them nothing but an opportunity and they had to work their butts off at physical work to keep their job which was a stepping stone to a better job or a career. Most, even those in excellent shape did not have the work ethic to do the job I required. About one in five to ten were successful. Those are poor odds but I was offering them a hand up, and would help them get better jobs. I had a former employee that worked for me 20 years ago that I didn't recognize thank me for that opportunity a couple weeks ago. It makes it worth it.

I appreciate your standing up for the younger generation and I'm sure you do a fantastic job helping the kids you are around excel.

BTW, Apart from watching tornado/storm coverage, I doubt I have seen more than two hours total of news on TV in the past year.

 

[cpr0312]

 

[Wheels]

 

[Newboomer]

I did it in reverse- After high school I went in the military for 3 years, then after working and saving for two years I went to college on the GI Bill. Between pmts from the GI Bill, money I'd saved and my part-time job at the Chicago Tribune statistics dept I paid for most of the college, which was one of those "high priced" private universities- Then made pmts on the student loan and paid it off about 4 years after graduation. so was I crazy or stupid?

You were(are) one of the few who accepted their responsibilities and made good on them. Sounds a lot like me. After I graduated High School I worked in the woods for a year and promptly decided I did not want to knock my head against a tree for the rest of my life like my ancestors did. I enlisted in the Navy, did my four year hitch, then went to college. I had a much better understanding of this old world after globetrotting in the Navy and knew what I wanted to do with my life.

I married while in the service which was a big contributing factor in completing my education. Amazing what a wife and child can do to one's ambition. I started my own business and we became quite successful, invested what we could afford and watched it grow.

Construction being subject to the whims of the economy prompted me to reenlist in 1975. With two young kids we needed benefits and the military was a perfect opportunity. One of the smartest moves I ever made. I retired from the Army Reserve in 2000 with 30 years total combined service with full benefits.

I highly recommend military service for everyone. They will train you for anything you want to do which will transfer to civilian life.

 

[rdog]

You were(are) one of the few who accepted their responsibilities and made good on them. Sounds a lot like me. After I graduated High School I worked in the woods for a year and promptly decided I did not want to knock my head against a tree for the rest of my life like my ancestors did. I enlisted in the Navy, did my four year hitch, then went to college. I had a much better understanding of this old world after globetrotting in the Navy and knew what I wanted to do with my life.

I married while in the service which was a big contributing factor in completing my education. Amazing what a wife and child can do to one's ambition. I started my own business and we became quite successful, invested what we could afford and watched it grow.

Construction being subject to the whims of the economy prompted me to reenlist in 1975. With two young kids we needed benefits and the military was a perfect opportunity. One of the smartest moves I ever made. I retired from the Army Reserve in 2000 with 30 years total combined service with full benefits.

I highly recommend military service for everyone. They will train you for anything you want to do which will transfer to civilian life.

The world needs more people like you. And i agree the Army was better than my civilian jobs i got to shoot & got paid for it. Army rifle team & small arms instructor.

 

[spike.t]

Not great....

BBC News - Inside Chernobyl: We stole Russian fuel to prevent catastrophe

Inside Chernobyl: We stole Russian fuel to prevent catastrophe

Staff at the former nuclear plant tell the BBC they were forced to negotiate when Russian forces took over.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[spike.t]

Interesting how the information leading up to the invasion was released and why

BBC News - Ukraine: Inside the spies’ attempts to stop the war

Ukraine: Inside the spies’ attempts to stop the war

As the invasion of Ukraine loomed, Western intelligence officials decided to tell the world what they knew.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Tundra Tiger]

@Jfet ... I like the optimism of your post, as I too am generally a very optimistic fellow. But...

Here is what I think as a career professional educator and father of 3: there are still good, hard working kids being produced but the ratio is changing, and it's doing so in the wrong direction. I attribute this to changing societal norms and parents themselves that don't have it figured out. We are losing the percentage of @Newboomer s that make up our society to something that's more the polar opposite.

You are right. There are some good organizations to help with that. I have two nephews in central KS that are heavily involved in FFA and 4H and they are fine hard working young men. I am proud of them. But there are other organizations that are not helping because they are sinking too and taking kids with them. When I was a kid almost everyone belonged to Boy Scouts of Girl Scouts. As a young adult and teacher I was heavily involved in being a Scout leader. My wife was a GSA leader until she couldn't take it anymore (we have American Heritage Girls in our community now). Both organizations have changed so much that, as a Bible believing Christian, I do not believe as a whole they have the same value or right impact anymore.

Because I am an optimist I choose to believe it can and will get better, but probably not by much over the rest of my life. It's like a huge cargo ship at sea: it's going to take time to change course. We need to get and keep proper minded people in government positions that matter, and even then there is going to be a tide of folks who think differently to overcome.

Some of the madness that's common and accepted now I never would have guessed we'd ever see, back when I was that naive, fresh out of college teacher. Now, as a Department of Interior employee, I am glad I work at an outpost that's so far flung that none of that madness so prevalent in DOI (and it's a crap-ton) really reaches me. Everyone just leaves me alone because they don't really know I'm here.

My two worthless (inflation) cents on a sunny Saturday...

 

[Jfet]

@Jfet ... I like the optimism of your post, as I too am generally a very optimistic fellow. But...

Here is what I think as a career professional educator and father of 3: there are still good, hard working kids being produced but the ratio is changing, and it's doing so in the wrong direction. I attribute this to changing societal norms and parents themselves that don't have it figured out. We are losing the percentage of @Newboomer s that make up our society to something that's more the polar opposite.

You are right. There are some good organizations to help with that. I have two nephews in central KS that are heavily involved in FFA and 4H and they are fine hard working young men. I am proud of them. But there are other organizations that are not helping because they are sinking too and taking kids with them. When I was a kid almost everyone belonged to Boy Scouts of Girl Scouts. As a young adult and teacher I was heavily involved in being a Scout leader. My wife was a GSA leader until she couldn't take it anymore (we have American Heritage Girls in our community now). Both organizations have changed so much that, as a Bible believing Christian, I do not believe as a whole they have the same value or right impact anymore.

Because I am an optimist I choose to believe it can and will get better, but probably not by much over the rest of my life. It's like a huge cargo ship at sea: it's going to take time to change course. We need to get and keep proper minded people in government positions that matter, and even then there is going to be a tide of folks who think differently to overcome.

Some of the madness that's common and accepted now I never would have guessed we'd ever see, back when I was that naive, fresh out of college teacher. Now, as a Department of Interior employee, I am glad I work at an outpost that's so far flung that none of that madness so prevalent in DOI (and it's a crap-ton) really reaches me. Everyone just leaves me alone because they don't really know I'm here.

My two worthless (inflation) cents on a sunny Saturday...

Solutions?
Failure is not an option.

 

[Ray B]

The problem is that politicians think that they need to "do something" to address some issue. Unfortunately a lot of the time even the best intended actions result in making things worse. Motivations may fall into two categories- seeking to gain allegiance from voters, or rewarding the results of bad behavior. In either case it is certain that the results will be counter-productive.

 

[Sabattiboy]

Maybe God sent a Fox to Washington??

 

[Wheels]

The runoff will be interesting. This seems much closer than than projected.

 

[VertigoBE]

The runoff will be interesting. This seems much closer than than projected.

View attachment 461516

The three first parties after Macron being hard-right, extreme left and then extreme right…

Division is increasing everywhere.

After Macron’s second term will be up (because he’ll win the second round) it looks like one of the extreme (left or right) parties will be taking over.

 

[Wheels]

The three first parties after Macron being hard-right, extreme left and then extreme right…

Division is increasing everywhere.

After Macron’s second term will be up (because he’ll win the second round) it looks like one of the extreme (left or right) parties will be taking over.

Interesting.

So you don't think Le Pen will be close in the second round then. It's hard to get a good feel for European politics in America. At least for me. Thanks for the feedback.