dagblog - Comments for "Questions: Stimulate Me"

This is nuts easy. Batteries.

quinn esq — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:42:14 +0000

In reply to 3) $2 billion for advanced

This is nuts easy. Batteries. Battery R & D can save us HUNDREDS of billions, vs building a one-off project.

thank you, blue. my main

Deadman — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:38:52 +0000

thank you, blue. my main point is we just need to accept the fact that our public school system is failing our children. plain and simple. ill-equipped and/or unqualified teachers, underfunded decrepit buildings, too-large classes, unruly student bodies. the list goes on and on, and i think the problem is generally getting worse.

we need to start thinking outside the box in terms of how to fix it. free and open competition for students is certainly a great idea. i think we can all agree that universal education for our children should be a right, but we should leave all options open in terms of how best to provide that.

yes, it becomes a sticky constitutional area if government is providing vouches for religious schools, but as long as there was clearly no discrimnation based on what religion was providing the education, i don't think it's a 'threat to our democracy' - you could argue the same about the tax breaks we give churches and synagogues because of their nono-profit status.

This is reply to all the

Bluesplashy — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:42:34 +0000

In reply to i just think schooling should

This is reply to all the comments in this section but I'll stick it here. In Delaware, and I'll say it first - the population is small - they let the people decide where to send thier kids (public school system). You have to apply if you go out of your district, but you have to be okay to get accepted. So, what happened was the districts realized if the kids left for another they lost funding. They needed to improve to keep the kids there. What started was a competition for the schools to be BETTER to ATTRACT more students and keep what they had in order to get the funding. My brother had kids in a private school at the time, when he saw what was happening he put them in public schools. Says you wouldn't believe the difference in just a couple of years.

I see the voucher issue forcing the same thing. I say let the kids go anywhere they can. And then when the bad schools don't get the funding they will straighten up. They other thing that happens is the parents get involved more - where is my kid going to school? And parents involved is good. My dad, bless his heart, embarassed us by coming in and sitting in one of our classes at the begiining of every school year just to 'let the teacher know he cared' and that was just the begining of his involvement.

How about option #3? Stop

DF — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:23:18 +0000

In reply to 10) $1 bln for nuclear

How about option #3? Stop incarcerating non-violent drug offenders and criminalizing them for life. Then you can put money back into the federal coffers instead of paying out for more prison beds.

I don't know who thought we need more nukes. Our nuclear arsenal is massive.

Ah, yes. Let's spend more

DF — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:17:34 +0000

In reply to 1) $1.2 billion for aviation

Ah, yes. Let's spend more money on "aviation security". The TSA has been absolutely stellar.

I think that's a truly

Orlando — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:23:00 +0000

In reply to i just think schooling should

I think that's a truly horrible idea. (sorry)

It sounds nice, but when you put profit into the mix, education will not be the number one priority.

Here's an arguement against school vouchers on the basis that they pose a threat to democracy.

http://www.adl.org/vouchers/vouchers_main.asp

I wouldn't go straight to that argument, but again, I think vouchers are a bad idea. Essentially, they reward smart kids and screw everybody else.

A novel approach would be to fund schools at levels where they could keep class size down and hire good teachers. If we did that, the administrators and teachers could focus on solving other problems like accountability. As it is, in some districts, they are overloaded with discipline issues and trying to get everybody to pass the standardized tests.

i just think schooling should

Deadman — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:43:25 +0000

In reply to I think vouchers are

i just think schooling should be run like health care (at least as i envision as it would be run in a universal system) - private providers, both for-profit and non-profit, with public funds to guarantee access and affordability and accountability. It's time we realize the current system does our children, and by extension our competitiveness as a nation, a disservice.

Federal building funds. Can

Orlando — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:42:38 +0000

In reply to 7) $9 billion for federal

Federal building funds. Can you guess why? (Yeah, more jobs.)

I think vouchers are

Orlando — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:41:45 +0000

In reply to you'll be glad to know i

I think vouchers are horrible. What do you do with the kids that can't get a voucher and then have to stay at a school that has just lost it's best students? It doesn't create a good learning environment. And I haven't seen much compelling evidence about the success of voucher programs. What's more, they're only viable in urban areas. In rural areas, where funding is equally criminal, there is only one school to choose from. What then? My pick is elementary ed. Because it will create/save jobs.

High speed rail, even though

Orlando — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:36:55 +0000

In reply to 3) $2 billion for advanced

High speed rail, even though it's not coming to a neighborhood near me for a long, long time.