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Ignorance Part 2 : Haddadi Issue http://www.nba.c...

2012-05-04T22:57:25.940-07:00

Ignorance Part 2 : Haddadi Issue

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/originals/2012/04/03/20120403_aircheck_mem_lac.nba/index.html

Nobody did mention it yet.

Ok loving your mom!

2011-10-13T00:38:08.940-07:00

Ok loving your mom!

Mr. Rogoyski, your math is ok, but the application...

2011-09-16T19:18:11.621-07:00

Mr. Rogoyski, your math is ok, but the application and methodology is off. Simply put, you have a body of people that is different everyday in its makeup but still only 27,000 people. You come up with 9.8 million by counting a new person for every day a single individual is included in the group. Yet with the 800,000 police, you only count them once for the whole year. In other words, .00014 percent of the commuters dying annually would be 3.78. Not an unheard of death toll on busy city streets. The point of the article is that the police too often cite job stress as an excuse for acts like shooting a stick thin autistic man who is holding an obviously hoky plastic toy gun.

Sorry, that last comment should have read if "...

2011-07-10T18:49:28.576-07:00

Sorry, that last comment should have read if "If they have NO access to interpreters, access to telephones etc, then what?"

Zed - you've just got one of your assumptions ...

2011-07-10T18:41:51.805-07:00

Zed - you've just got one of your assumptions right, with the rest very wrong. Not everyone who presents an alternative view, is doing so from an idealistic textbook or your fixed stereotypes y'know. The university of life comes in many forms.

In order to be able to trade with money, certain conditions need to be in place. Like health, communication and language; without which, you're not going to be able to earn money. E.g. money ultimately exchanges hands, *after* communication has taken place. You cannot have a contract without the ability to communicate. Sometimes for this to happen, then you need so called "social justice" for communication to take place. And by suggesting such conditions need to take place, doesn't mean you are finanically illiterate either.

Want to disagree with me? Please go ahead. Since you don't care much for diversity and seem to think that inclusion is just textbook brainwashing; I would be most interested in reading what you think should happen to deaf people in your vision. If they have access to interpreters, access to telephones etc, then what? No communication > no work > no money > no food / shelter. What next, Einstein?

A society that doesn't give a "rat's wet patootie" and any suggestion of being included is simply brainwashing so obviously learnt at some cheap state school, right?

Alison, let me guess... You're white, under t...

2011-06-01T07:48:08.672-07:00

Alison, let me guess...

You're white, under the age of 40 and have lived in urban environs all your life. You have a college degree from a state school, where you studied almost exclusively, and majored in, the social sciences. You either work for the government or a non-profit/NGO.

You firmly believe 'the wealthy' could buy life, liberty and happiness for the world if they were not so cold hearted and greedy. You've probably never been in a discussion about economic OR social issues in which you did not invoke the "If-Everyone-Would-Just..." argument.

Try this thought experiment: The EU collapses in a daisy chain starting with Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc. falling into national bankruptcy. The US soon follows, pulling the rest of the world with it. Having no market for its goods and holding trillions in worthless American and EU paper, China closes it's borders and economy and resumes mass starvation/execution of the 'non-productive' elements of it's domestic economy.

In this scenario, who is left that gives a rat's wet patootie about Maslow, 'social justice', or frankly anything that proceeds from the thoroughly brainwashed collective mind of 'progressives'?

North Face should be in the top 10 of all time on ...

2011-04-19T08:26:45.078-07:00

North Face should be in the top 10 of all time on this list. See it & you will agree.

Fidel Bobblehead...so many memories from my two ye...

2011-04-06T18:10:58.617-07:00

Fidel Bobblehead...so many memories from my two years in GTMO..thanks...just put mine in my office yesterday...took plastic off from around neck first...lol

You're wrong that elected officials and the co...

2011-04-03T18:23:20.041-07:00

You're wrong that elected officials and the community are powerless against unions. First and most importantly, elected officials openly vote at public meetings on whether to accept a proposed contract. The community is given the opportunity to speak for or against a proposed contract.

And not all union contracts are accepted. For example, the Ashland City Council voted in March to deny a union contract.

http://ashlandcurrent.com/article/11/03/09/ashland-council-rejects-firefighters-union-contract

And if the community feels that their elected officials are beholden to unions, they have the power to vote the officials out and replace them. That's the power of the ballot.

So if you have a problem with a union contract, contact your elected officials and ask why they voted for it. Better yet, get involved in the process. Or if you want to make real change, run for office and get elected.

And yes, you can win without union backing. It's been done countless times. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed was first elected to the office of Mayor without any real union support and so was San Jose City Councilmember Sam Liccardo.

@Tropolis: for me, the issue is a little bit diffe...

2011-03-14T16:03:28.912-07:00

@Tropolis: for me, the issue is a little bit different--I don't like painting entire religions with a broad, flat brush. Obviously there are bad Muslims, and America needs to be vigilant against threats.

But singling out any particular religion tends to create absolutist, overbroad positions, which is counterproductive. A majority's failure to be nuanced when it comes to a minority living within its borders will frighten loyal, peaceful minority members. Moreover, a perception that the majority will not treat the minority fairly will make intelligence gathering, inclusion, and integration difficult.

In short, one of the best defenses to terrorism is the loyalty of all or almost all residents within a country's borders, and McCarthy-style tactics don't usually promote loyalty from all or almost all residents/citizens. I hope that makes sense.

I think this woman is absolutely right. There'...

2011-03-14T10:25:25.310-07:00

I think this woman is absolutely right. There'd have been much fewer problems with muslims if other people learnt to respect their point of view as well. It's rather difficult to remain kind and nice when there're so many who hate you.

I'd be upset at that, but the fact is my Europ...

2011-03-09T13:52:52.451-08:00

I'd be upset at that, but the fact is my European friends and relatives have more money than I do, so I expect the credit card companies to treat them better.

@A: your numbers, much like the teachers' pens...

2011-03-02T15:40:25.749-08:00

@A: your numbers, much like the teachers' pension plans, don't add up.

First, the current contribution formula requires inadequate contributions from teachers. As a result, their pension plan is basically insolvent. Without major changes, taxpayers appear to be on the hook for yet another bailout.

See here: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/calstrs-california-state-teachers.html

Second, as I've shown in the article, after 29 years of work, the average California teacher receives a benefit worth around $500,000.

Generally speaking, California teachers contribute just 8% of their salaries and gain access to a pension after just five years of work.

California teachers averaged $67,531/yr in 2009-10. See http://www.ed-data.org/fiscal/TeacherSalary.asp?tab=0&level=06&ReportNumber=4096&County=43&fyr=0910&District=69393

8% of $67,531 is $5,402 per year. Multiply that by 29 years, and a teacher has contributed about $156K for a benefit that is worth about three times as much.

Perhaps you are correct in arguing that the real amount given to high earning teachers upon retirement is somewhere between $300,000 and $350,000, not $500,000. However, I would argue that peace of mind--where a high rate of return is guaranteed by the state regardless of the performance of the stock market--is worth at least $5,400/yr. After all, most Americans in the private sector cannot afford to max out their Roth IRAs, and even if they do, they must rely on an ever-increasing stock market for their retirement. Certainly no one is guaranteeing them an 8% average annual return over 29 years.

In any case, an average teacher would contribute a total of $156,658 over 29 years, not "hundreds of thousands of dollars" as you falsely state.

P.P.P.S.... You also omitted the fact that teache...

2011-03-02T11:44:19.890-08:00

P.P.P.S....

You also omitted the fact that teachers and other state employees often have to make MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR RETIREMENT PLAN... OFTEN AMOUNTING TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS over the course of the decades of employment...

I think it's really dangerous to privatize edu...

2011-02-23T18:06:01.502-08:00

I think it's really dangerous to privatize education. The biggest victims would be low-income people.

Quite frankly, I don't know of any private non-parochial schools in which the tuition is a mere $4,000 a year in California. In fact, tuition for private schools in the San Francisco Bay Area range from $9,000 for elementary schools to $14,000 a year for high schools.

http://www.baprivateschools.com/faq.htm#Q4

In this downturn economy, more and more families are entering the ranks of the newly poor. They are living off unemployment benefits and they simply do not have the money to supplement any tuition subsidy that you propose.

The only other option is for the parent to send his/her child to a parochial school which average about $3,500.

And I have serious reservations about this. No one should be forced to send their children to a religious school because they can't afford anything else. Also, there may be a serious conflict between the separation of church and state.

Moreover, I am deeply concerned about the quality of private schools. I think it's a fallacy to presume that private schools are superior to public schools.

Case and point is that there is no law in California requiring that teachers in private schools possess a teaching credential.

Nor does the California Department of Education regulate private schools.

More importantly, private schools in California do not have Academic Private Index scores.

See http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/psfaq.asp.

If you can't measure quality of academic success, how can you argue in good conscious that a private school would be better?

Moreover, I think your proposal for parents to vote on the renewal of teachers' contracts is quite dangerous.

We do not live in a meritocracy. Oftentimes, workers are rewarded based on personalities and not work ethic. For example, Teacher A has a great personality and is good with parents. However, her classroom's performance may be average.

Teacher B is a quiet and shy with parents. However, he has a great rapport with the children. Hence, they excel in the classroom.

Whose contract would be renewed? I would bet my bottom dollar that Teacher A would win due to personality and not work performance.

Finally, I think your proposal to provide people without children a tax credit to spend in their county of residence would plunge our state into a deeper fiscal crisis.

First of all, the state of California should not be giving money to those who do not need it services. Yes, I realize you have capped your proposal at $125,000. However, why should a person making sixty grand get this money?

Instead, this money should be spent on vital social programs and services that help those in need. Period.

More importantly, there would be tons of bureaucratic tape created if those who receive this special tax credit are forced to spend it in their county of residence.

How do you prove these monies were spent in your county of residence? A receipt? A declaration from the service provider or merchant?

And who would pick up the costs for the audits to make sure there was compliance?

I foresee a bureaucratic nightmare in the making if such a proposal were adopted.

-Just my two cents

@Transplanted Lawyer: excellent point. Thank you ...

2011-02-10T15:00:10.857-08:00

@Transplanted Lawyer: excellent point. Thank you for commenting.

...isn't it better to have more teachers an...

2011-02-09T15:49:14.971-08:00
...isn't it better to have more teachers and police officers than fewer of them?

Yes, at least up to a point somewhere along the curve of diminishing marginal returns. When that point has been reached is obviously subject to a lot of debate, but consider that nationally and statewide, crime has been in a steady decline for quite a long time now. We should consider that such a situation means we have achieved, exceeded, or at least come close to maximum effective saturation of police in society and we risk an inefficient surplus. I'd much rather have 25 really good cops than 30 only-okay cops or 40 not-so-good cops.

Similarly, we may say that a teacher-student ratio of 1:40 is too high, that a teacher faced with 40 students cannot be effective. A 1:30 ratio is better, a 1:25 ratio better yet. But how much better does the teacher become when the ratio falls from 1:25 to 1:20? If there is a student body of 100 students to teach, does it matter that much if we hire 4 as opposed to 5 teachers to do the job?

... as "lyrical" as it sounds to us, we ...

2011-01-29T12:47:35.732-08:00
... as "lyrical" as it sounds to us, we decided NOT to name our puppy "Fluffer" due to vulgarity concerns :)

To the Deaf community: FLASH NEWS for the Deaf Co...

2011-01-19T08:41:22.681-08:00
To the Deaf community:

FLASH NEWS for the Deaf Community: It could be a BAD news. The Netflix is going to remove "Add DVD to your queue" and add "Instant Play" on the Netflix website. The reason is that the Netflix is trying to make big profit by getting rid of phsycial discs (DVDs) and encouraging

the Netflix users to use the Internet to watch an instant play. It is really a nightmare for Deaf Netflix users because there is no CC capability on a computer so you won't read CC on Instant play on the Internet except English subtitle. Check this link for more details at http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/432-netflix-is-abandoning-dvds-customers-who-prefer-dvds

If you object to the Netflix's plans, you better do something about that. No complaint. Just take quick action by contacting NAD.

Unions have nothing to do with companies failing. ...

2010-12-28T08:26:23.401-08:00
Unions have nothing to do with companies failing. Bad products and bad management cause companies to fail. When people get a clue about how badly grocery stories really treat their workers, these grocery stores will begin to fail. They don't give employees sick leave anymore, until the third day you're sick. That means you've got sick checkers at work. Brilliant. They fire journeyman employees every chance they get. Workers are allowed one mistake a month, regardless of years of exemplary service. Safeway is one of the worst. They are even trying to take away basic holiday pay like New Years, 4th of July and Labor Day. The reason WE don't have good jobs is because WE worry more about ten stupid shares of stock than our working family and friends.

Very interesting. I recall an Economist article a ...

2010-12-21T17:05:28.548-08:00
Very interesting. I recall an Economist article a few years back that said a sizable chunk of the terrorist population are engineers.

Captioned movies so far: http://ncmacasl.blogspot....

2010-12-09T05:25:03.553-08:00
Captioned movies so far:
http://ncmacasl.blogspot.com/2010/10/netflix-instantwatch-titles-with.html

And I hope someone is suing Netflix over whatever the US legislative equiv. of lesser standard of service. They've had long enough.

(For the record, in the UK ... Lovefilm says it can't subtitle streamed films "due to copyright issues").

Might want to check these articles out as well: h...

2010-11-28T20:41:07.874-08:00
Might want to check these articles out as well:

http://blog.deafpolitics.org/2010/11/tell-netflix-no-captions-no-money.html

and

http://blog.deafpolitics.org/2010/11/dear-netflix-enough-is-enough.html

Glad to see more and more articles on Netflix are popping up everywhere.

As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton would need ...

2010-11-07T19:06:06.035-08:00
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton would need to resign first before doing any of the work required to run for president, as her role in government is required to be non-partisan.
The story of 2012 will be that unemployment and the economy came under control. Given that, the Republicans will need to find a voice which unites them and can speak above renewed prosperity. This is unlikely and the Democrats will sweep in 2012.

Progressives range from the religious to atheists....

2010-11-03T21:52:29.524-07:00
Progressives range from the religious to atheists. I don't think you can pigeon-hole progressives into one category.

I'm a progressive and in no way do I compare myself to a God-like figure.

I also don't think that the average progressive thinks that the government is a substitute for God. Yes, government can make change happen. However, government is not omnipresent.

It doesn't have the power to prevent natural disasters. It cannot solve all of our issues. For example, the government doesn't have the power to solve alcoholism, eating disorders and drug abuse.

Yes, it can penalize those who engage in unwelcome behaviors. However, penalties have their limitations. Ultimately, change in a person must come from within.

An alcoholic will not stop drinking unless he or she surrenders himself/herself to a higher power. The same holds true for those who suffer from eating disorders and drug addiction.

And I think my philosophy is shared by most progressives. We aren't looking to replace God. We understand our limitations as human beings. Ultimately, our existence depends not only on good and fair government, but also on a higher power.