Some of the kids are okay

Nice story about The Gadsden Kid earlier this week. Don't comment on old threads. There have been a couple of other stories this week that have involved kids taking anti-woke positions.

A win against secret school transitioners

You may remember back in December of 2021, when we discussed Abigail Shrier blowing the lid off the outrageous behavior of teachers and school officials in attempting to transition a girl into a boy behind her mother's back. There was also a great speech at Princeton by Abigail Shrier about speaking up when these kinds of insanities occur. Though she didn't just speak up. She acted strategically.

Well, after some publicity about the case, the Center for American Liberty filed suit, and have announced a $100,000 settlement. Could have been more, but it's a start.

If you follow the link, you will see that the girl is definitely not a boy.

A mother and daughter have settled with Spreckels Union School District in California after the school allegedly tried to socially transition her daughter behind her back.
Jessica Konen, represented by The Center for American Liberty, filed the lawsuit after a school allegedly recruited her sixth grade daughter, Alicia, into an "Equality Club," where she was taught about bisexuality and transgender identity. The school allegedly took active steps to help Alicia conceal her identity as a boy, giving her articles on how to keep her identity a secret from her parents. Alicia was also allegedly allowed to use the unisex teachers' restroom instead of the girl's restroom without her parent's knowledge.

"Parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children. Parental Secrecy policies, as employed by the Spreckels Union School District and by schools across the country, unconstitutionally rob parents of that right."
School staff reportedly threatened to call Child Protective Services when Jessica refused to refer to her daughter as a man. Konen's husband, Gunter, was informed of his daughter's transition during a meeting with the middle school's principal and another teacher.
"We are thrilled to have played a role in this landmark victory, which sends a clear message that parental rights must be respected," Harmeet Dhillon, CEO of the Center for American Liberty, said in a statement provided to the Caller. "Jessica and Alicia's courage has inspired countless others to defend their rights against unwarranted intrusions."

Another California school district is hanging with their secrecy policy despite a similar lawsuit . . . . And the State of California is suing a conservative-leaning school board for requiring notification of parents if their child identifies as transgender.

California, but it could be elsewhere.

* * * * *

Free Press High School Essay Contest

Three essays were chosen from 400 submitted as winners of their high school essay contest. Maybe some other outfits should try high school essay contests, instead of hiding state education test results, like New York.

There is a common theme to the three essays, involving social media and hand-held devices.

Back in June, when we announced our first-ever high school essay contest, we invited teenagers to describe a problem troubling American society--and how they would fix it. We told young writers that we were especially interested in hearing about challenges older generations have misunderstood, missed, or maybe even created.

1. A Constitution for Teenage Happiness

. . out of the hundreds of essays we read, one writer really stood out: 17-year-old Ruby LaRocca from Ithaca, New York.
Ruby is a homeschooled rising senior. She told us she entered the contest because she believes in our mission of finding "the people--under the radar or in the public eye--who are telling the truth." . .
When we tried to reach Ruby to tell her about her win, she gave us the number for her mother's cell phone because she doesn't have one of her own. And when we asked her to respond to some of our edits, she said she'd tackle them as soon as she was done "putting in 15-hour days at a Latin program. I translated about 500 lines of the poet Propertius today!"
All of which is to say: Ruby lives by her ideals, as you will see below. We look forward to seeing what she does next and we're sure you'll understand why. --BW

The essay:

When people ask me why I sacrificed the sociable, slightly surreal daily life at my local school for the solitary life of a homeschooled student in 2021, I almost never reveal the reason: an absence of books.
For many students, books are irrelevant. They "take too long to read." Even teachers have argued for the benefits of shorter, digital resources. Last April, the National Council of Teachers of English declared it was time "to decenter book reading and essay writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education."
But what is an English education without reading and learning to write about books?
Many of our English teachers instead encouraged extemporaneous discussions of our feelings and socioeconomic status, viewings of dance videos, and endless TED Talks. So five days into my sophomore year, I convinced my mother to homeschool me.
Distance from high school affords a clearer view of its perennial problems. . .

Is that what school is like for the kids you know?

A few highlight from her recommendations below:

Like human happiness, teenage happiness does not flourish when everyone has the freedom to live just as they please. Where there is neither order nor necessity in life--no constraints, no inhibitions, no discomfort--life becomes both relaxing and boring, as American philosopher Allan Bloom notes. A soft imprisonment.
So, here is my counterintuitive guide for teenage happiness:
#1. Read old books.
Today's teachers and students talk a lot about "relatability"; they want to see their own lives and experiences reflected in the books they read. I, however, am electrified when a book gives me the feeling Hector brilliantly describes--words from someone who is not at all like me, from a very different time and place, yet speaks words that feel written just for me.
#2. Memorize poetry. Learn ancient languages.
Timms: I don't see how we can understand it. Most of the stuff poetry's about hasn't happened to us yet.
Hector: But it will, Timms. It will. And then you will have the antidote ready!
Like Timms, I sometimes don't understand what I'm learning or memorizing when I study poetry, but I believe Hector when he says it prepares us for the very real events of the world--going to war, falling in love, falling out of love, making a friend, losing a friend, having a child, losing a child.
Understanding ancient authors as they understood themselves is the surest means of finding alternatives to our current way of seeing the world.
#3. Learn from the monks, and slow your pace -- of reading, of writing, of thinking.
I used to think speed equaled competence.
#4. Learn how to conduct yourself in public.
Part of learning how to conduct yourself in public is learning how to interact with people of different ages and experiences--who read different books, watch different shows, and grew up in a different time than you.
#5. Dramatically reduce use of your phone.
The final key to being a happy teenager is to do away with the "machine for feeling bad," as we call it in my house. Seriously, walk away from your phone. You've seen the statistics, you've read the Jonathan Haidt articles, and you've watched that Netflix documentary with Tristan Harris. You know it's bad for you.

*
My suggestions for teenage happiness are, I know, unlikely to appeal to the intended demographic. And yet I hope my peers will hear me: if you choose to take on three out of five of these precepts, I guarantee your heart will stop sinking.

What do you think? There are comments at the link. Bet most teenagers never thought of learning ancient languages as a key to happiness.

2. Why I Traded My Smartphone for an Ax

At 15, Caleb Silverberg made the most important decision of his life. He ditched technology and headed to the forest.

During the pandemic, I became a slave to screens. Online classes were followed by scrolling Instagram or playing Fortnite for hours, ignoring hunger pangs while I immersed myself in a world of pixels.
My Saturdays were pretty grim: I'd wake up and drag myself to the couch where my Xbox had been waiting for me all night long. The closed shades blocked the beaming sun and any hope of enjoying it--swimming in the ocean, biking in the mountains, hiking with my dogs.
At 15 years old, I looked in the mirror and saw a shell of myself. My face was pale. My eyes were hollow. I needed a radical change.
I vaguely remembered one of my older sister's friends describing her unique high school, Midland, an experiential boarding school located in the Los Padres National Forest. The school was founded in 1932 under the belief of "Needs Not Wants." . .

3. I Had a Helicopter Mom. I Found Pornhub Anyway.

Porn is not content. It's a substance. And it must be controlled like one, argues 16-year-old Isabel Hogben.

I was ten years old when I watched porn for the first time. I found myself on Pornhub, which I stumbled across by accident and returned to out of curiosity. The website has no age verification, no ID requirement, not even a prompt asking me if I was over 18. The site is easy to find, impossible to avoid, and has become a frequent rite of passage for kids my age.
Where was my mother? In the next room, making sure I was eating nine differently colored fruits and vegetables on the daily. She was attentive, nearly a helicopter parent, but I found online porn anyway. So did my friends.
Today I'm 16, and my peers are suffering from an addiction to what many call "the new drug." Porn is the disastrous replacement for intimacy among my sexless, anxiety-ridden generation.
First, let's get on the same page about what porn really is today. When I talk to adults, I get the strong sense they picture a hot bombshell in lingerie or a half-naked model on a beach. This is not what I stumbled upon back in fourth grade. I saw simulated incest, bestiality, extreme bondage, sex with unconscious women, gangbangs, sadomasochism, and unthinkable physical violence. The porn children view today makes Playboy look like an American Girl doll catalog.

I am told that in the less explicit twentieth century, porn stars looked human. Today, they are fake: the boobs, the butts, the pleasure. Even the erections are artificial. The Los Angeles Times reported as far back as 2001 that Tyce Bune, a former L.A. porn actor, brought a "vial of Viagra" to work every day.
But the preadolescent and adolescent brain doesn't know it's all fake. It believes wholeheartedly what it sees. I certainly did.

. . . some, including Nadine Strossen, the former national president of the ACLU, argue that minors' access to porn content is a "free speech" issue, noting young people have a constitutional right to information about sexual health.
They are wrong. Porn is not about sexual health. Nor is it "content." It's a substance.
If a child ordered three shots of vodka at a bar, the bartender would object. If a child asked for cigarettes at a gas station, the attendant would laugh. But with a quick Google search, a child has access to millions of hours of a dangerous substance.
With that same Google search, children consume dangerous lies about sexual pleasure. A recent BBC study of 2,000 UK men ages 18-39 found that 71 percent have gagged, slapped, choked, or spat on their partner during sex. A third said they don't think to ask for permission before committing these acts.
An Indiana University study shows that the earlier a girl is exposed to porn, the more she will accept behaviors like choking, facial ejaculation, and "aggressive fellatio" from a sexual partner.
Meanwhile, models and female entrepreneurs--women who little girls look up to--are flocking to OnlyFans to sell naked photos of themselves.
In short, most of my friends think this stuff is normal.

Grim. She has suggestions.

I think there must be a connection between some of this scary porn and the transgender/bisexuality craze. Not to mention the looming transhumanist ideology we see coming down the pike.

Does a high school girl need to be the one who blows the whistle?

* * * * *

Music

R.I.P. Jimmy Buffet. Come Monday

* * * * *

Hope you have something nice planned for this long weekend. Doing something outside with kids?

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Serving your mid-day open thread needs

* * * * *

Last week's thread, August 26, Welcome to Election Season!

Seems like a long time ago, somehow.

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 11:16 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Morning, KT!

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:19 AM (u73oe)

2 Called the otters

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:19 AM (u73oe)

3 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at September 02, 2023 11:20 AM (pbHIM)

4 Good morning KT

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2023 11:20 AM (MOY79)

5 Now to the content

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:20 AM (u73oe)

6 ask me why I sacrificed the sociable, slightly surreal daily life at my local school for the solitary life of a homeschooled student

—-

I know a few families who home school. The kids are by not means non-social. Hell 1/2 the time they’re hanging out with my kids, lol.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:20 AM (lJ8Y+)

7 Heh.

The cucksden flag.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at September 02, 2023 11:20 AM (pbHIM)

8 Good morning everyone.

Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:21 AM (+5YjI)

9 I remember a film they showed us in elementary school. It involved anthropomorphic mice. One of the child mice had a teacher who touched him wrong and also told him not to tell his parents (also mice of course.)

That was a creepy film, but I guess it did it's job since I remember it... oh forty years later.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:22 AM (zZu0s)

10 7 Heh.

The cucksden flag.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at September 02, 2023 11:20 AM (pbHIM)

Tread on my Balls.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:22 AM (zZu0s)

11 Kids of teachers and teachers HATE homeschooling.

'Kids run wild!'

'They are poorly behaved!'

'Don't know anything!'

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:23 AM (zZu0s)

12 Texas wrote a law that mandated age verification to consume pr0n. As well as mandating a warning on pr0n sites that pr0n can be addictive, cause social issues and is a contributing factor to sex slavery.

Of course the left would have none of this. Some groups including I believe the ACLU - Sued Texas, and a Hawaiian judge nuked the law.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:23 AM (lJ8Y+)

13 That was a creepy film, but I guess it did it's job since I remember it... oh forty years later.
Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop

So the lesson learned was: If a mouse touches your mouse. . . .

Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:23 AM (+5YjI)

14
Tread on my Balls.
Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:22 AM (zZu0s)

"Take my wife.....please....right in front of me....in my bed.....from behind......"

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at September 02, 2023 11:24 AM (pbHIM)

15 So the lesson learned was: If a mouse touches your mouse. . . .
Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:23 AM (+5YjI)

I can see the point, wanting to give the kids some emotional/intellectual distance from the subject while imparting the info. I guess it was probably less traumatizing than that episode of Different Strokes...

Or EVERY MOMENT of the modern era.

Geez, I would not want to be a kid now.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:25 AM (zZu0s)

16 All three of the kid's essays are far more insightful and well written than anything I've seen from the MSM in a long time.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 02, 2023 11:26 AM (I/Qkd)

17 teachers HATE homeschooling

Soooo....the homeschoolers are doing it right. Carry on.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 02, 2023 11:27 AM (I/Qkd)

18 16 All three of the kid's essays are far more insightful and well written than anything I've seen from the MSM in a long time.
Posted by: Archimedes at September 02, 2023 11:26 AM (I/Qkd)

-----------

The clickbait that passes for news on the web is so poorly written I figure most of it has got to be AI.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at September 02, 2023 11:28 AM (bQKgA)

19 Soooo....the homeschoolers are doing it right. Carry on.
Posted by: Archimedes at September 02, 2023 11:27 AM (I/Qkd)

Absolutely. To be honest, teachers look at homeschooling the way the GOPe looks at Tea Party/Trump/MAGA.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:28 AM (zZu0s)

20 The clickbait that passes for news on the web is so poorly written I figure most of it has got to be AI.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at September 02, 2023 11:28 AM (bQKgA)

Or non-english speakers.

Or AI written by non-english speakers.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:29 AM (zZu0s)

21 teachers HATE homeschooling

Coke employees hate Pepsi for the same reason,

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:29 AM (lJ8Y+)

22 Great content, KT! Those are some wise young people….

I have a trivial pet peeve; one of the articles referred to the young lady as a “rising senior”… that is she’s finished her junior year and is about to start her senior year (I think that’s right). But the whole “rising” whatever language is annoying. Why not just say she’s starting her senior year? I know brevity, but it’s rather new so…. Get off my lawn!!

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 02, 2023 11:30 AM (xT8gx)

23 Rightwing of American politics is all about SEX
They are the Party of YOUR sexuality.
Is there something lacking in their own?

Posted by: Paul at September 02, 2023 11:30 AM (eVFZz)

24 OK.

Paul is a dickhead.

Satisfied?

Posted by: pawn at September 02, 2023 11:31 AM (wsHtO)

25 Rightwing of American politics is all about SEX

—-

Lol.
Coming from the guy who represents the groomer party. Paul you’re too much my dude.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:31 AM (lJ8Y+)

26 The left fights tooth and nail for kids to access porn and also fights tooth and nail to ban wrongthink on YouTube or Twitter.

It’s wild.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:33 AM (lJ8Y+)

27 I'll have you know I love boobs on women from a aesthetic point of view. Not PURELY from an aesthetic point of view, but still, it's in there...

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:33 AM (zZu0s)

28 26 The left fights tooth and nail for kids to access porn and also fights tooth and nail to ban wrongthink on YouTube or Twitter.

It’s wild.
Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:33 AM (lJ8Y+)

It's easier to get molested by your teacher than it is to buy a gun to shoot the fucker dead.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:34 AM (zZu0s)

29 Hypothetically.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:34 AM (zZu0s)

30 Paul: I want to take your 7 year old and teach him about oral sex

Me: Fuck off groomer

Paul; Why are you so concerned with SEX right winger?

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:34 AM (lJ8Y+)

31 Great collection of essays, KT.

"The machine for feeling bad"! Ha! Yes it is.

(Full disclosure: I'm reading this on my BadFeelz device)

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:35 AM (BjTmF)

32 Ruby LaRoca writes better (and thinks more clearly) than many of today's college graduates.

Posted by: Question authority bumper sticker at September 02, 2023 11:35 AM (Rbu5d)

33 (Full disclosure: I'm reading this on my BadFeelz device)
Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:35 AM (BjTmF)

I doubt anyone is reading and commenting from a teletype.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:35 AM (zZu0s)

34 Both my wife and I agree… if we could go back in time, we would NOT give our kids smart phones until age 17 earliest. As it was they got them at age 13 and it was not a positive; no catastrophes but they were a negative influence. Alas, can’t go back and re-live life….

Yes…. Helicopter parenting is a huge mistake. Mrs VanPelt had that tendency because of her own helicopter mom so I had to constantly cut ‘em loose to let them learn (maybe even by failing). My parents were mostly hands off…. We have no idea what a huge influence our own parents had (and have) on our own patterns

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 02, 2023 11:36 AM (xT8gx)

35 Paul was touched by The Mouse.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:36 AM (BjTmF)

36 Jimmy won an essay contest then everything went down hill. He accused his parents.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037798

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 02, 2023 11:37 AM (63Dwl)

37 Paul, you ignorant slut.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:37 AM (u73oe)

38 I think that if a schoolboard is going to act without parental consent on most anything regarding children then the schoolboard and/or school system should be liable for all costs for said child. All costs.

Paid to the parents.

Sure, if enacted it would probably be abused by some parents. Those parents that currently seem just fine with the school system grooming their kid(s). But... as with anything involving involuntary payments (money in general) some of these "educators" will have second thoughts about paying out of their own pockets for diddling with kids.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 11:37 AM (Q4IgG)

39 Pron also severly damages the soul.

Posted by: Question authority bumper sticker at September 02, 2023 11:38 AM (Rbu5d)

40 So the lesson learned was: If a mouse touches your mouse. . . .
Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:23 AM (+5YjI)

I can see the point, wanting to give the kids some emotional/intellectual distance from the subject while imparting the info. I guess it was probably less traumatizing than that episode of Different Strokes...

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:25 AM (zZu0s)

I went to an all male high school. There were male teachers there who clearly enjoyed the company of young boys. In my circle, there wasn't a single fella who didn't know what these men were about, and everyone knew how to not be a victim. Which was a much better method of learning than any presentation by the Sexual Harassment Panda.

But I assume there were other boys who didn't know how to avoid it, and those are the ones who had to experience it.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 11:38 AM (Mxeka)

41 I doubt anyone is reading and commenting from a teletype.
Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:35 AM (zZu0s)
-----

*CHUGGA *CHUGGA *CHUGGA *CHUGGA*

"This just in: Paul s*cks d*ck by choice!"

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:39 AM (BjTmF)

42 Damn, those 3 essays articulate major problems with kids these days... including mine!😳
I was with friends last night who all have high schoolers and we were discussing these very issues. We were also talking about how Covid broke and accelerated, in a big way, these problems. How kids are turning into a bunch of sociopaths in public schools and it's scary. 🤯😱

Posted by: lin-duh at September 02, 2023 11:39 AM (UUBmN)

43 Spam.
I use the can opener for one hole on the underside.
Then, the whole thing slides out.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse
-----
The same ER procedure nurse ratched told us for getting vacuum-stuck wine bottles out of women's hoohahs!

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 02, 2023 11:39 AM (krqg6)

44 *CHUGGA *CHUGGA *CHUGGA *CHUGGA*

"This just in: Paul s*cks d*ck by choice!"
Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:39 AM (BjTmF)

*golfclap*

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:39 AM (zZu0s)

45 We need cameras in every room of every school.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:40 AM (lJ8Y+)

46 The same ER procedure nurse ratched told us for getting vacuum-stuck wine bottles out of women's hoohahs!
Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 02, 2023 11:39 AM (krqg6)

Huh. Missed that comment. Duct tape the bottle? Break the end, carefully. Remove?

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:41 AM (zZu0s)

47 Dear Teachers,

When we said you were heroes, we were just being nice. We didn’t really mean it.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:41 AM (u73oe)

48 The same ER procedure nurse ratched told us for getting vacuum-stuck wine bottles out of women's hoohahs!
--

Box wine!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:42 AM (BjTmF)

49 "The machine for feeling bad"! Ha! Yes it is.

(Full disclosure: I'm reading this on my BadFeelz device)

Most of us are 29. As with alcohol, the rules are different for us. We are mostly not looking for spouses, and have already reproduced, if that's in the cards. Society doesn't need us to be productive.

Nonetheless, I periodically resolve to spend less time online (With the exception of AOSHQ, of course. We aren't madmen).

Posted by: Archimedes at September 02, 2023 11:42 AM (I/Qkd)

50 Sponge I saw your comment last thread about Christmas shopping in September. Yesterday morning my husband and I were getting ready for work and he asked me what I want for Christmas. I said, "CHRISTMAS? It's not even fall yet. F*ck off with that."

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 02, 2023 11:42 AM (W9fmc)

51 Box wine!
Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:42 AM (BjTmF)

For the woman who wants to stretch the envelope.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:42 AM (zZu0s)

52 How kids are turning into a bunch of sociopaths in public schools and it's scary. 🤯😱
Posted by: lin-duh at September 02, 2023 11:39 AM (UUBmN)

Two days ago around 9pm I’m driving down a semi busy street. It’s pitch black dark already. These two kids are throwing a football back and forth on the street. They gaveno fucks that drivers had to swerve around them and that the ball could easily have hit (and maybe did eventually) hit a car and could cause an accident.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:43 AM (lJ8Y+)

53 I thank the gods of learning that I grew up in a house stuffed to the gills with books.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 02, 2023 11:43 AM (BjTmF)

54 When we said you were heroes, we were just being nice. We didn’t really mean it.
---
I think they're usually the ones calling themselves heroes.

(Some of them. My SIL is a teacher, one of the good ones.)

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 11:44 AM (aBJcM)

55 Box wine!
Posted by: All Hail Eris

You're going to hell for that one you know. LOL

I'll be the guy standing in line next to you.

Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:44 AM (+5YjI)

56 I said, "CHRISTMAS? It's not even fall yet. F*ck off with that."
Posted by: Jordan61 at September 02, 2023 11:42 AM (W9fmc)

—————-

Harsh, but fair.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:45 AM (u73oe)

57 Sadly a majority of society views teachers as heroes. And underpaid. When in reality they are grossly overpaid and pieces of shit.

Teacher Unions and the media do a marvelous job of propagandizing on their behalf.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:45 AM (lJ8Y+)

58 I was reading by the time I hit Kindergarten. Mom and Dad taught me, and I'm sure they could have handled the rest of the stuff. Fortunately, we had pretty good schools then. If my kids were school age there is no way they would attend a public school. Either a well vetted parochial school or homeschooling.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 11:46 AM (0EOe9)

59 We need cameras in every room of every school.
Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:40 AM (lJ8Y+)

Body cams for all teachers! And since you are a public employee, footage is available upon request by anyone.

Teachers are allowed to turn off the camera when on the toilet. Otherwise it stays on, all day. You turn it off at any point while interacting with a student? Instantly fired.

Done.

Or just close all public schools.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 11:46 AM (Mxeka)

60 I think that if a school board is acts without parental consent it should be fired and prosecuted.

Posted by: Braenyard at September 02, 2023 11:46 AM (lCWOD)

61 Jimmy Buffet has died?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 02, 2023 11:47 AM (EjbI+)

62 My kids were reading before they entered kindergarten as well. It’s not that hard to teach. Which shows you shitty the profession as a whole is when a significant percent of kids go through 12 grades and graduate Functionally illiterate.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:48 AM (lJ8Y+)

63 Huh. Missed that comment. Duct tape the bottle? Break the end, carefully. Remove?
-----------
An ONT [or late evening Open Thread] a long time ago; and just drilling a hole in the bottle punt.

[That's PUNT, morons!]

Or was it Running Nurse??

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 02, 2023 11:49 AM (krqg6)

64 Jimmy Buffet has died?
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 02, 2023 11:47 AM (EjbI+)

——————-

Yes, but the jury’s out on whether he’s enjoying a cheeseburger in paradise or not.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:49 AM (u73oe)

65 Harsh, but fair.
Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:45 AM (u73oe)

=====

It didn't help that I hadn't had any caffeine yet.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 02, 2023 11:49 AM (W9fmc)

66 "Jimmy Buffet has died?
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon"

Wasted away in Margaritaville.

Posted by: The Helpful Hardware Xan at September 02, 2023 11:50 AM (vFG9F)

67 My kids went to a charter school, in fact, they were original students, 2nd and 3rd grade. We parents literally helped set up the school to get it ready. The curriculum was Core Knowledge (NOT to be confused with Common Core - see how these leftist fookers confuse everything?!!)

Best thing we could have done for them. they are both smart, successful men now, largely because of that.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Missing the Point at September 02, 2023 11:50 AM (T/Lqj)

68 An ONT [or late evening Open Thread] a long time ago; and just drilling a hole in the bottle punt.

[That's PUNT, morons!]

Or was it Running Nurse??
Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 02, 2023 11:49 AM (krqg6)

Huh. I thought about that, but how do you keep from breaking the bottle?

Like a very small, fast drill- like a dentists drill?

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:51 AM (zZu0s)

69 I know a few families who home school. The kids are by not means non-social. Hell 1/2 the time they’re hanging out with my kids, lol.
Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:20 AM (lJ8Y+)

Works well for many. But it depends on the parents. My experience with it was hellish, isolating, socially stunting and spiritually crushing, but that's because of an emotionally unstable and not infrequently violent mother and largely absentee doormat of a father. But if you have non-fucked-up parents of good will doing the homeschooling things can go extremely well for the kid and they can thrive.

I envy those kids. Glad for them, but envy them.

Posted by: I am something of an outlier in pretty much all respects at September 02, 2023 11:51 AM (fhX0j)

70 I said, "CHRISTMAS? It's not even fall yet. F*ck off with that."
Posted by: Jordan61 at September 02, 2023 11:42 AM (W9fmc)

Halloween candy has already been out for over a month...

They have no idea what that does to my diet...

Reeses.... are like crack.

Posted by: Romeo13 at September 02, 2023 11:51 AM (oHd/0)

71 Another California school district is hanging with their secrecy policy despite a similar lawsuit . . . . And the State of California is suing a conservative-leaning school board for requiring notification of parents if their child identifies as transgender.

California, but it could be elsewhere.
_______

Not 'could be', but 'will be'. I don't think there's much doubt any longer.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 11:52 AM (brAQZ)

72 Jimmy Buffet has died?
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon

Yeah. Wasting away unless they embalmed him.

What? Too soon?

Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:52 AM (+5YjI)

73 62 Mom and I would walk downtown and stop at the library weekly. She let me bypass the kids section and start out in the young adults section. Also, school libraries. I wonder if they have been eliminated in some systems. Our high school library was bigger than most branch libraries you see today.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 11:52 AM (0EOe9)

74 Reeses.... are like crack.
Posted by: Romeo13 at September 02, 2023 11:51 AM (oHd/0)

Fun size snickers.

Or just a simple hershey's.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:53 AM (zZu0s)

75 When we said you were heroes, we were just being nice. We didn’t really mean it.
Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 11:41 AM (u73oe)

Same with nursing home employees during the Covids.

Most of us aren't heroes. Anybody who tells you that you are is lying to you. For a reason.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 11:53 AM (f30aK)

76 Great thread content, KT. Well done!

Posted by: Eromero at September 02, 2023 11:53 AM (z3WCn)

77 73 62 Mom and I would walk downtown and stop at the library weekly. She let me bypass the kids section and start out in the young adults section. Also, school libraries. I wonder if they have been eliminated in some systems. Our high school library was bigger than most branch libraries you see today.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 11:52 AM (0EOe9)

I voted in 2020 at a local library. It looked like a kids playland without books.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 11:53 AM (zZu0s)

78 What? Too soon?
Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:52 AM (+5YjI)

Prolly found that shaker of salt, finally.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 11:54 AM (f30aK)

79 At my kids’ school they say about 10-15% of kids self identify as ghey. And it’s no big deal. Girls dance with girls boys dance with boys at school dances. Both my kids treat it as nothing. it’s like you have brown hair, you’re ghey, it’s just a characteristic of who you are.

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:55 AM (lJ8Y+)

80 And my award winning essay in HS was about my trip to West/East Berlin interlaced with history…

Anyways, excellent points, all. My first year of teaching was a shocking experience. I’d be happy if I saw kids reading, with actual books. I made it my class policy (unwritten) that if any of my students had books with them, I’d talk to them about the books. Sounds silly, but one of the most amazing adults I met as a kid was my fourth grade teacher, and she did the exact same thing with me. Not even my parents did that. The English teachers struggled with students who were oftentimes not prepared to study HS level material. And that is shameful. What was going on in elementary school?

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 11:56 AM (f0XAF)

81 I liked Buffet when The Song came out, and then it wore thin and I found out he, like a lot of entertainers, hated our guts, so there. Speedy journey, Jimmy, wherever you're going.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 11:56 AM (0EOe9)

82 Article I read this morning on Jimmy Buffet's passing said he was worth over $1 billion.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM (V8he0)

83 Jimmy Buffett is not dead he just had a change of attitude.

Posted by: fd at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM (vFG9F)

84 Good morning KT

re: A win against secret school transitioners

I will reiterate that the notion of non-family members interposing themselves between parent and child got its start in the mid 1980's with the emergence of Adolescent Medicine as a sub-specialty within the broader field of Pediatrics and fully backed by the AAP. Adolescent doctors prided themselves initially on helping teens make the transition from child to adult. This phase of development was couched as "challenging" and "difficult", thereby predicating a need for an outside expert to chart the course. Teens were encouraged to exercise autonomy and it became standard practice to offer an interview and examination without a parent in the room to discuss issues such as sex and its consequences in a nonjudgemental way (i.e. tacitly approving). This wedge technique grew to include progressively younger kids, progressively more exclusion of parents and progressively more topics. And now it has spread to include teachers, psychologists, social workers and many other interlopers actively pitting kids AGAINST their parents. Good for parents for fighting back. Shame on the AAP for doubling down in support.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM (991eG)

85 Both my kids treat it as nothing. it’s like you have brown hair, you’re ghey, it’s just a characteristic of who you are.
Posted by: Montec

Yep - that was the whole point of the exercise: Having the normies accept that deviant behavior is totes cool.

Posted by: Tonypete at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM (+5YjI)

86 Time to go pour my coffee.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM (EjbI+)

87 Works well for many. But it depends on the parents. My experience with it was hellish, isolating, socially stunting and spiritually crushing, but that's because of an emotionally unstable and not infrequently violent mother and largely absentee doormat of a father. But if you have non-fucked-up parents of good will doing the homeschooling things can go extremely well for the kid and they can thrive.

I envy those kids. Glad for them, but envy them.
Posted by: I am something of an outlier in pretty much all respects at September 02, 2023 11:51 AM (fhX0j)

My ex was home schooling her kids, and spent HOURS trying to demonstrate that they were doing their school work.

Why? Because their dad was disputing that they were doing the school work while she had them. Frankly, I think he was right. I would hear about how they wouldn't do the work for her, but then I never really saw her put any effort into it.

Those poor kids, a year later, and everything I thought about her and her ex, as far as those kids are concerned, I have to face the truth, which is that he was the good parent.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 11:58 AM (f30aK)

88 Like a very small, fast drill -- like a dentists drill?
-------------
I don't know -- I'm a Supreme Court Justice not a doctor!

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 02, 2023 11:58 AM (krqg6)

89 Well, those teenagers do seem cause for hope.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 11:58 AM (brAQZ)

90 At my kids’ school they say about 10-15% of kids self identify as ghey. And it’s no big deal. Girls dance with girls boys dance with boys at school dances. Both my kids treat it as nothing. it’s like you have brown hair, you’re ghey, it’s just a characteristic of who you are.
Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 11:55 AM (lJ8Y+)

The long march, skin suits, politics is downstream of culture….. sigh

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 02, 2023 11:59 AM (Q/v9F)

91 Now do Warren Buffett.

Posted by: Eromero at September 02, 2023 11:59 AM (z3WCn)

92 I can eat 50 Buffets.

Posted by: Tank Abrams at September 02, 2023 12:00 PM (vFG9F)

93 Warren Buffett > Jimmy Buffet > All you can eat cheap Chinese buffet

Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 12:00 PM (lJ8Y+)

94 Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM (991eG)

Makes sense.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 12:00 PM (zZu0s)

95 #2: memorize poetry - hmmmm, maybe my memorizing song lyrics and poems by giants of literature like Neil Peart helped me in ways I never imagined?

As for ancient languages - learning Latin is nice, but I’d argue learning even languages spoken today is a good thing. (Maybe I’m giving myself away too much here. Screw it.) In my classes I would from time to time rattle on in German, if even only to get attention when necessary. (More…

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:00 PM (f0XAF)

96 "The left fights tooth and nail for kids to access porn and also fights tooth and nail to ban wrongthink on YouTube or Twitter."

Weirdly, the same ACLU that challenges restrictions of access to porn for kids includes a guy who said that stopping distribution of Abigail Shrier's "Irreversible Damage" on the transgender craze was a hill he would die on.

Posted by: KT at September 02, 2023 12:01 PM (rrtZS)

97 Each of my public schools I attended had a dedicated "library" room. The high school's library was about the size of 3-4 regular classrooms.

The last time I was in a public school was about 25 years ago when our kids where in high school. It was a zoo.

I can't imagine what one would be like today.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 12:02 PM (Q4IgG)

98 I'm wondering whether we'll reach a tipping point where enough kids are LGBTQwhatever that being normal is rebellion, and therefore cool.

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 12:02 PM (aBJcM)

99 I notice another lost freedom in the Jimmy Buffet video - they stop and some friends hop in the back of the truck.

Not in Peoples Republic of California you don't.

Plus no seat belts!

RIP Jimmy!

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:03 PM (QGaXH)

100 Now do Warren Buffett.
Posted by: Eromero at September 02, 2023 11:59 AM (z3WCn)

Don't get me started.

Posted by: Secretary Who Pays More Taxes Than Him at September 02, 2023 12:03 PM (f30aK)

101 73 Memory lane. That young adult section at the library was The Brainard Room. There was a portrait of a young man, very well dressed, with 1899-1918 on a brass plaque. Son of a local very wealthy family, killed in the Meuse Argonne offensive. Nowadays there would be protesters gluing their hands to the portrait. Triggering.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:03 PM (0EOe9)

102 98 I'm wondering whether we'll reach a tipping point where enough kids are LGBTQwhatever that being normal is rebellion, and therefore cool.

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 12:02 PM (aBJcM)

Or at least passé.

Posted by: Being gay is, like, SO two years ago! at September 02, 2023 12:03 PM (fhX0j)

103 I thank the gods of learning that I grew up in a house stuffed to the gills with books.
Posted by: All Hail Eris

Your house had gills ?

Posted by: JT at September 02, 2023 12:04 PM (T4tVD)

104 Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM

Interesting perspective on that. Thanks.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at September 02, 2023 12:04 PM (V8he0)

105 hiya

Posted by: JT at September 02, 2023 12:05 PM (T4tVD)

106 California, a state with so many laws and yet no prosecutions...

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 02, 2023 12:05 PM (MeG8a)

107 Whoever said teachers were "heroes" was an idiot. I realized many decades ago that a large percentage of teachers are barely functional semi-literate imbeciles. And now days, apparently, also corrupt and degenerate.

Posted by: Angzarr the Cromulent at September 02, 2023 12:05 PM (XMwZJ)

108 I'm wondering whether we'll reach a tipping point where enough kids are LGBTQwhatever that being normal is rebellion, and therefore cool.

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 12:02 PM (aBJcM)

Eventually. On the politics side, MAGA is now counter-revolutionary. I’m certainly not conservative anymore as there’s nothing in contemporary society or politics that I’d like to conserve

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 02, 2023 12:05 PM (Q/v9F)

109 #3. Learning to pause and reflect is a good thing. Even adults can and should learn this. But it is, I acknowledge, difficult to do in a world like this one where everything is high speed and no one can be afforded the chance to think about things.

#4 is major. There were some seriously disrespectful students last year who could afford to be that way because of Laissez-faire parenting and near-zero discipline at the front office. As I pointed out to them, today it’s me, tomorrow you’ll try to run your mouth to a cop who will have a shorter fuse and much less patience than me. Eventually I resigned myself to the fact that they want to learn how to conduct themselves the hardest way possible. Frustrating to say the least.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:06 PM (f0XAF)

110 They have no idea what that does to my diet...

Reeses.... are like crack.
Posted by: Romeo13

There are a bag of Snickers Bites, and another bag of individual Reeses in the kitchen. Dang it Romeo13. Now I gotta go put a hurtin' on one of them bags. Pretty sure I heard one of them call me a vegan cross training jackass.

Posted by: BifBewalski at September 02, 2023 12:08 PM (3CCua)

111 College football!

Posted by: Jamaica NYC at September 02, 2023 12:08 PM (Eeb9P)

112 'Bye, Jimmy. Thanks for all the fish.

Posted by: creeper at September 02, 2023 12:09 PM (cTCuP)

113 Does a high school girl need to be the one who blows the whistle?

Most commies aren't even as mature as a 12-year-old...

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at September 02, 2023 12:09 PM (llON8)

114 #5 I won’t lie, I love my phone and iPad as much as anybody. But after last year, I want to launch the bloody Butlerian Jihad against cell phones. They are destructive to imagination and creativity to these young minds.

It blew me away: I was showing them coverage between classes of the events surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, and the typical response was “Did the Queen die?”

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:10 PM (f0XAF)

115 This stealing children and turning them into mental illness cases is burning me up.

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2023 12:10 PM (MOY79)

116 Got rid of my TV a few months ago. Don't miss it.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at September 02, 2023 12:10 PM (NBVIP)

117 "this looks a lot like the Florida Keys..."

Posted by: Jimmy Buffet in Paradise at September 02, 2023 12:12 PM (QGaXH)

118 116 Got rid of my TV a few months ago. Don't miss it.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at September 02, 2023 12:10 PM (NBVIP)

I have never hooked the cable up to my tv. I use it to watch movies and stream some ewetub. Play games. It does not get used that much. It's more a giant monitor.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 12:12 PM (zZu0s)

119 > Whoever said teachers were "heroes" was an idiot.
__________

During the covid op there were a lot of self described "heroes."

And dancing.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 12:13 PM (Q4IgG)

120 I don't remember spending much time in my school libraries as a kid. The school librarians I remember were of the dour and shushy variety. As far as I could tell their goal was to keep kids out of the library so it would stay clean and quiet. I was in my local public library all the time, though. Got my own library card at age 5, had been reading since age 3.

My university library supposedly had a flasher in the basement stacks, but I never encountered him. At my first post-MLS library job, there was a dude with a foot fetish. (Academic library, so at least no kids involved.)

I'm rambling. Time to wander off and do stuff.

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 12:13 PM (aBJcM)

121 During the covid op there were a lot of self described "heroes."

And dancing.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 12:13 PM (Q4IgG)

One 'could' make the argument that doctors and nurses in combat are heroes. You could make an argument that people who ministered to the sick during the real plagues like the Spanish flu or the Black Death were heroes.

I am not sure that is what we had here, though.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 12:15 PM (zZu0s)

122 118 Lately, my TV is background noise. If I need some entertainment I have five streaming services, all free (well one came free with Wally World free delivery) and I can always find something to watch, my choice. Might have a few commercials, but look at the TV.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:15 PM (0EOe9)

123 71 Another California school district is hanging with their secrecy policy despite a similar lawsuit . . . . And the State of California is suing a conservative-leaning school board for requiring notification of parents if their child identifies as transgender.

California, but it could be elsewhere.
_______

Not 'could be', but 'will be'. I don't think there's much doubt any longer.
Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 11:52 AM (brAQZ)

There is talk of qualifying several initiatives for the ballot here in California to put a hard stop to this teacher grooming cr*p. It's not a lost cause, the voting on initiatives has been pretty conservative even here in recent years. A few exceptions slip thru,like the 'shoplifting' one, but overall surprisingly 'conservative'.

From my perspective....of course.

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:16 PM (QGaXH)

124 Got rid of my TV a few months ago. Don't miss it.
---
I've turned my tv on exactly once in the last 3 months, to watch a few hours of a classic car auction.

I'm not quite ready to let go of the tv entirely because I've got the complete Twilight Zone series on dvd and every so often I like to binge watch it.

Sorry I was supposed to be gone by now... I am avoiding unpleasant tasks...

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 12:16 PM (aBJcM)

125 I’ve been teaching, and I put a pause on it for now…but no, teachers are not heroes. I can put together a list of the good ones I had on one hand.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:18 PM (f0XAF)

126 speaking of libraries...

here is a video of Margot Robbie being a sexy librarian...Joe Mannix NAC would be so proud of me !

https://tinyurl.com/4hbae5w6

Posted by: runner at September 02, 2023 12:18 PM (V13WU)

127 >>>The site is easy to find, impossible to avoid, and has become a frequent rite of passage for kids my age.

Easy to find? Very much true. Just type in the url and there you are. But impossible to avoid? Completely false. Just don't go there. The choice not to go there is just as easy to decide as the one to go there.

An adblocker also helps if you tend to surf places where ads for porn sites are displayed.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 02, 2023 12:18 PM (klJTj)

128 I stick to what I've believed for decades. The publics schools are evil, and should be destroyed. (Scholae delenda est?)

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:19 PM (brAQZ)

129 Konen's husband, Gunter, was informed of his daughter's transition during a meeting with the middle school's principal and another teacher.

And the words that would have escaped my lips would have been, "Right now, you're lucky that I want to see your names and faces smeared all over the news and you driven out in shame and never employed with children again. It's the only reason you're still breathing right now. And if I did beat you to death right here in this room, I doubt there's a jury in this county that would convict me. Don't push me to test that theory."

Posted by: GWB at September 02, 2023 12:19 PM (mTyc3)

130 One 'could' make the argument that doctors and nurses in combat are heroes. You could make an argument that people who ministered to the sick during the real plagues like the Spanish flu or the Black Death were heroes.

I am not sure that is what we had here, though.
Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 12:15 PM (zZu0s)

Early in the plandemic there were lots of nurses who complained about having to go in to work, and to a certain extent I understood it. Especially those in large cities where the reports sounded horrific, even if they weren't.

As the months wore on though, their bitching just started sounded like lazy bitching.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 12:19 PM (MsPFh)

131 Lately, my TV is background noise....
---
The first few months after J died, I needed the tv as a coping mechanism, even if it was usually just on in the background.

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 12:19 PM (aBJcM)

132 Funny, but I just used an app on my phone to renew the checkout of an audiobook from my local library.

So to there's that.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at September 02, 2023 12:20 PM (NBVIP)

133 73 62 Mom and I would walk downtown and stop at the library weekly. She let me bypass the kids section and start out in the young adults section. Also, school libraries. I wonder if they have been eliminated in some systems. Our high school library was bigger than most branch libraries you see today.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 11:52 AM (0EOe9)

My high school library - in smallish town Florida (suburb of West Palm Beach) had a collection of (english language) Russian Science Fiction from ~1950s. Some of it was quite interesting and well written, beyond obligatory platitudes to socialism and death to america. 50 years on, I still remember it...

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:20 PM (QGaXH)

134 Beautiful weather here and I got out for a bit this morning. Neighbor is out on the golf course, and I envy him. He had his practice net up a week ago, and I executed a decent drive with a six iron and the ol' hip was shot for two days.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:20 PM (0EOe9)

135 And now it has spread to include teachers, psychologists, social workers and many other interlopers actively pitting kids AGAINST their parents. Good for parents for fighting back. Shame on the AAP for doubling down in support.
Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 11:57 AM (991eG)

Excellent point.
I find myself glad that my kids came up in the DOD school system. A different and better environment I think. If it were today, I think I'd be one of those parents the school district would have arrested.

Posted by: Diogenes at September 02, 2023 12:22 PM (hv9bm)

136 Teacher here. Many of my best students were homeschooled. They knew how to conduct themselves in class and they knew how to study. They were sweet and friendly.

On the other hand, I've seen "homeschooling" that amounted to letting kids stay home unsupervised and unoccupied because it was less hassle than hearing from the school about misbehavior every day. Silly school staff wanted parent support for guiding the kids toward better social skills and personal responsibility.

The latter poisons the well. But also, the NEA vilifies homeschooling every chance it gets and that's where a lot of teachers pick up the narrative.

Posted by: Emmie at September 02, 2023 12:22 PM (Sf2cq)

137 Before I went to school, my grandmother taught me to read. My sig here comes from the books she used.

But the teachers were not pleased. She'd done it the "wrong way", that is "sound it out". And that was the 50s.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:23 PM (brAQZ)

138 The district right south of me decided to go to a four day week. Lots of talk about how it will improve recruiting new teachers and improve their lives. Not a peep about the students.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:24 PM (u73oe)

139 93 Warren Buffett > Jimmy Buffet > All you can eat cheap Chinese buffet
Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 12:00 PM (lJ8Y+)

Bravo!!

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:24 PM (QGaXH)

140 Since 1972, the Census in its General Social Survey, has asked people how happy they are.

Unsurprisingly, there has been a decline since 1972.

There have been a number of reasons advanced for this decline in happiness, but Sam Peltzman, an emeritus University of Chicago economist, just released a paper claiming that the entire decline in happiness over time can be explained by one factor - people are less likely to be married.

Peltzman summarizes:

The happiness landslide comes entirely from the married. Low happiness characterizes all types of non-married. No subsequent population categorization will yield so large a difference in happiness across so many people.

Peltzman also finds the common result that conservatives are happier than liberals, but that is an artifact of the fact that conservatives are more likely to be married.

https://tinyurl.com/mv7zkan4
https://tinyurl.com/56echr67

Helps explain why the Left goes to such lengths to discourage marriage.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at September 02, 2023 12:25 PM (2tUFv)

141 TV sets here are mostly for the females.
I don't watch much, the occasional movie, the Pluto channel stays on Johnny Carson Classic tv channel.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 02, 2023 12:25 PM (MeG8a)

142 138 The district right south of me decided to go to a four day week. Lots of talk about how it will improve recruiting new teachers and improve their lives. Not a peep about the students.
Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:24 PM (u73oe)
______

But, but, everything the schools do is for the children.

You know, there's a Chesterton essay mocking "save the children" from over a century ago.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:26 PM (brAQZ)

143 The only thing I missed out on was learning Finnish at home. Mom and Dad kept that to themselves for when they were having a beef or otherwise. I have no problem with families teaching their kids their native language, but English comes first.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:26 PM (0EOe9)

144 Though I buffet my body and make it my slave...

Posted by: Apostle Paul to the Corinthians at September 02, 2023 12:26 PM (NBVIP)

145 But the teachers were not pleased. She'd done it the "wrong way"

I got punished for doing math my way. Decades later a college professor told me I was "factoring", doing college level math on my own. 1960s.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko stuff at September 02, 2023 12:27 PM (cv2yY)

146 I knew something was very screwed up when on a standardized test I scored at a grade 12+ in reading, in fifth grade. Wth? It makes a young kid happy and proud, but in hindsight is is very much what the hell?

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 12:27 PM (zZu0s)

147 Four day school week? Teachers need even more time off?

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 12:28 PM (zZu0s)

148 K.T., absolutely PERFECT pick for the Buffett song. Thank you.

Posted by: GWB at September 02, 2023 12:28 PM (mTyc3)

149 My parents taught each of us kids to read, and by the time I came along, I had two parents and two older sisters who were encouraging me to read. My father told me I more or less learned to write on my own - by taking how I held crayons and applying it to pencils. Teachers for the next ten years (save my fourth grade teacher - that saint,:and I mean that) could not conceal their rage at the way I held a pencil. Because “it wasn’t right”. By the time I hit kindergarten I knew how to read. By second grade in TX they were already putting me in advanced reading classes.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:28 PM (f0XAF)

150 All three of the kid's essays are far more insightful and well written than anything I've seen from the MSM in a long time.
Posted by: Archimedes at September 02, 2023 11:26 AM (I/Qkd)

^^THIS^^

Posted by: GWB at September 02, 2023 12:30 PM (mTyc3)

151 66 "Jimmy Buffet has died?
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon"

Wasted away in Margaritaville.
Posted by: The Helpful Hardware Xan

Well, he knows it's his own damn fault.

Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 02, 2023 12:30 PM (kjOVp)

152 Well, my coffee cup is empty, and it's time for me to get on with my day. Later.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 02, 2023 12:30 PM (EjbI+)

153 146: I was one of those kids who took the SAT in 7th grade. Did well enough to be invited to an awards ceremony at Duke U. Where I fell down the stage steps after receiving said award.

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 02, 2023 12:31 PM (aBJcM)

154 140 ...
There have been a number of reasons advanced for this decline in happiness, but Sam Peltzman, an emeritus University of Chicago economist, just released a paper claiming that the entire decline in happiness over time can be explained by one factor - people are less likely to be married.
...
The happiness landslide comes entirely from the married. Low happiness characterizes all types of non-married. No subsequent population categorization will yield so large a difference in happiness across so many people.

Peltzman also finds the common result that conservatives are happier than liberals, but that is an artifact of the fact that conservatives are more likely to be married.
...
Helps explain why the Left goes to such lengths to discourage marriage.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at September 02, 2023 12:25 PM (2tUFv)
______

Color me skeptical. I don't really trust economists when they go even slightly outside their lane. That's true of experts in general.

I don't doubt he is describing something real, but any "only/wholly because" statement is the most suspect possible claim in human action.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:31 PM (brAQZ)

155 Glad those people are suing but why hasn't anyone sued the schools for sexual misconduct with a minor?

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at September 02, 2023 12:31 PM (Wy1BU)

156 Jimmy Buffett grew up in Mobile as did I.

Here's his Stars Fell On Alabama:

https://tinyurl.com/mr29svac

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at September 02, 2023 12:33 PM (NBVIP)

157 K.T., absolutely PERFECT pick for the Buffett song. Thank you.

Agreed. I was never much of a fan but always liked that tune.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at September 02, 2023 12:33 PM (V8he0)

158 I'm a product of public schools, but I understand they are an entirely different critter now. I owe a good portion of my education to natural curiosity and hard work. Even tho' I have some letters in my CV, no one ever asked to see them. Every job I ever had was gotten because I worked hard, learned quickly and, best of all, I SHOWED UP reliably with a smile on my face and a cheerful disposition.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 02, 2023 12:33 PM (MeG8a)

159 This morning I blundered into images of who I consider to be my very first crush - crushing before I even knew what crushing was. And I got philosophical about it all, thinking of the sheer innocence of it all, as it was at such a young time so long ago…

My development as a heterosexual male was not hampered in any way by some idiot teacher wanting me to “transition”. Because people left kids alone and nature took its course. Besides, teachers, as much as they were pains in the ass, had better things to do (like constantly trying to correct my pencil-holding).

We really have lost our way, haven’t we?

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:34 PM (f0XAF)

160 So you can't so much as take a 'cough drop' or a pocket knife to school, but you can decide to secretly take life-altering drugs (puberty blockers) or sign up for permanent mutilation - is that how I understand it to be?

I agree with GWB at post 129. If you're on a jury for someone who did this it's time to just say no (not guilty).

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:34 PM (QGaXH)

161 I remember spending lots of time in the library at school, and as a kid whomever I was with would dump me off at the book store and come get me when it was time to go.

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2023 12:35 PM (MOY79)

162 For starters, when I was in public school, every school day started with the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
That's probably only done in private schools now, if at all.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 02, 2023 12:37 PM (MeG8a)

163 Color me skeptical. I don't really trust economists when they go even slightly outside their lane. That's true of experts in general.

You can download the paper.

Peltzman caused a considerable amount of controversy in 1975 when he published a paper showing that mandatory seat belt laws caused people to drive faster and drunker, thereby killing more pedestrians.

This was denounced as evil and wrong, but the result was replicated in other safety research, and there is now a generally accepted "Peltzman effect" - that putting new safety devices into cars cause people to drive more aggressively in response.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at September 02, 2023 12:37 PM (2tUFv)

164 I was reading in Kindergarten. Arithmetic in my head in 2nd grade. One of the biggest problems I had in school was already knowing what was being taught. Thus bored and prone to act out. I was a detriment to my classes. They should have just stuck me in the library with a chemistry set and a slide rule. Instead they labeled me ADD. Never did anything about it but labeled me.

Posted by: Reforger at September 02, 2023 12:38 PM (B705c)

165 This was denounced as evil and wrong, but the result was replicated in other safety research, and there is now a generally accepted "Peltzman effect" - that putting new safety devices into cars cause people to drive more aggressively in response.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at September 02, 2023 12:37 PM (2tUFv)

3 second rule.

Pulling to a stop behind a car where you can see it's tires meet the pavement.

I remember both of those rules but today it seems like I had a psychotic episode.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (zZu0s)

166 Why is who spelled who and not hoo ?

Posted by: JT at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (T4tVD)

167 137 Before I went to school, my grandmother taught me to read. My sig here comes from the books she used.

But the teachers were not pleased. She'd done it the "wrong way", that is "sound it out". And that was the 50s.
Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:23 PM (brAQZ)

Reminds me of the character 'Scout's experience on first day of school in 'To Kill a Mockingbird".

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (QGaXH)

168 160 So you can't so much as take a 'cough drop' or a pocket knife to school, but you can decide to secretly take life-altering drugs (puberty blockers) or sign up for permanent mutilation - is that how I understand it to be?

I agree with GWB at post 129. If you're on a jury for someone who did this it's time to just say no (not guilty).
Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:34 PM (QGaXH)
______

And if I'm ever on a jury trying one of these poor kids who goes after the transitioners, I'll vote not guilty.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (brAQZ)

169 Here's his Stars Fell On Alabama:

******

Is stars falling on Alabama a thing? Emmy Lou Harris in Red Dirt Girl mentions "the stars may fall on Alabama..." twice. Any Alabamans here?

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 12:41 PM (991eG)

170 Education and Marine Corps story. The Corps was cracking down on guys who didn't have a HS diploma or GED in the early 70s. One of our Gunnys goes over to training and asked what is this GED I've heard about. Guy took it, no prep, maxed it. Pretty soon, Gunny is asked to take a CLEP and maxed it. He was from some bumfuck GA town, possibly an eighth grade grad. They signed him up for the NESEP program and the guy got a degree at Auburn and a set of bars under 2 years.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:41 PM (0EOe9)

171 I needed this post.

We homeschool and fight to protect not only our kids but as many others as possible still in area school districts. It can feel isolating. The district admins and lawyers do a good job making parents and advocates feel like they are alone and on the fringe.

Some of the kids are indeed okay.

Posted by: reason at September 02, 2023 12:41 PM (YHZy+)

172 143 The only thing I missed out on was learning Finnish at home. Mom and Dad kept that to themselves for when they were having a beef or otherwise. I have no problem with families teaching their kids their native language, but English comes first.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:26 PM (0EOe9)

Time was when my oldest sister decided to take German in HS. My German mother said “don’t worry, I’ll help you!” Ha! She didn’t, according to my oldest sis, so she cheated her way through two years of HS German.

Ten years later, I was in HS, and decided to take Latin. A few of my friends were taking it and learning a ton of Roman history so I figured it would be the way to go. (My parents: why can’t you for once in your life study something practical??? Like Spanish?). Anyways, later I thought about it, and figured, I spent three years in Germany, I know how to say things in German, I remember some German…so…why not?

I told my mother I was taking German instead, and my native German speaking German mother looked at me with abject horror.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:42 PM (f0XAF)

173 163 Color me skeptical. I don't really trust economists when they go even slightly outside their lane. That's true of experts in general.

You can download the paper.

Peltzman caused a considerable amount of controversy in 1975 when he published a paper showing that mandatory seat belt laws caused people to drive faster and drunker, thereby killing more pedestrians.

This was denounced as evil and wrong, but the result was replicated in other safety research, and there is now a generally accepted "Peltzman effect" - that putting new safety devices into cars cause people to drive more aggressively in response.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at September 02, 2023 12:37 PM (2tUFv)
______

Not really relevant. The above is similar to the fact that batting helmets led to more HBP.

But, while I buy that marriage leads to greater happiness, I'm not convinced it's the whole reason. It's a wider area.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:42 PM (brAQZ)

174 that putting new safety devices into cars cause people to drive more aggressively in response.

When electric utilities started weatherizing people's homes in the 1980's they found that the people in those newly-weatherized homes generally responded by turning up the thermostat in the winter.

Same thing - people's behavior changes when the relative costs of doing something changes, even if those costs are non-monetary.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at September 02, 2023 12:42 PM (2tUFv)

175 I don’t know which is worse. That the teacher didn’t know the origin of the Gadsden flag or that she couldn’t be bothered to do a ten second internet search to find out. No, she “knew” the flag was racist therefore it was.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:43 PM (u73oe)

176 Why is who spelled who and not hoo ?
Posted by: JT at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (T4tVD)

PIE Kw>>>Hw>>>>Wh

Some archaic accents still use the Hw. A kinda Huh-what. Very soft huh.

Posted by: Thesokorus at September 02, 2023 12:43 PM (VZitQ)

177 Star Fell on Alabama is a song from the Great American Songbook. Frank Perkins and Mitchell Parish.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 02, 2023 12:43 PM (MeG8a)

178 Stars Fell on Alabama was the title of a 1950s jazz song and a 2021 TV movie (rom com)

Not sure what the original source of the phrase is.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 12:44 PM (991eG)

179 Great comments.

I was very lucky because I was raised at a time where my parents didn't hover. They were too busy building a business. In the summer I would tell them I was going camping for a day or two. I told them with who and roughly where. That was it. My buddies were not malicious but we stretched boundaries. Drinking on the beach, or swimming out in the harbor and camping out in some moored sailboat or yacht. The freedom was wonderful.

Posted by: Levin at September 02, 2023 12:44 PM (kk8TL)

180 176 Why is who spelled who and not hoo ?
Posted by: JT at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (T4tVD)

PIE Kw>>>Hw>>>>Wh

Some archaic accents still use the Hw. A kinda Huh-what. Very soft huh.
Posted by: Thesokorus at September 02, 2023 12:43 PM (VZitQ)
_______

Melville covers this; insist the "h" is important in "whale".

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:44 PM (brAQZ)

181 The source of the song is an 1833 meteor shower in Alabama.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 02, 2023 12:45 PM (MeG8a)

182 156 Jimmy Buffett grew up in Mobile as did I.

Here's his Stars Fell On Alabama:

https://tinyurl.com/mr29svac
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at September 02, 2023 12:33 PM (NBVIP)

Yeah; he's an Alabama classic. RIP. So many great memories with his songs.

Posted by: AlaBAMA at September 02, 2023 12:46 PM (5xURv)

183 175 I don’t know which is worse. That the teacher didn’t know the origin of the Gadsden flag or that she couldn’t be bothered to do a ten second internet search to find out. No, she “knew” the flag was racist therefore it was.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:43 PM (u73oe)

People on the Right use it, therefore it MUST be racist, right?

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:47 PM (ynpvh)

184 The source of the song is an 1833 meteor shower in Alabama.
Posted by: gourmand du jour

********

Ah, thanks! That sort of makes sense. Makes me wonder why not Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, etc.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 12:48 PM (991eG)

185 Gave my 15 yo grandson a complete collection of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. He read the whole thing in one weekend, then started researching 19th century Britain. He just started The Deerslayer.

Posted by: Queequeg the Harpooner at September 02, 2023 12:48 PM (9X60i)

186 161 I remember spending lots of time in the library at school, and as a kid whomever I was with would dump me off at the book store and come get me when it was time to go.
Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2023 12:35 PM (MOY79)

I always loved libraries. In Germany they became a refuge. The 900s were my home and I kept using every trick in the book to get down to the library in third grade so I could hit the 900s. I even had some friends that did the same. I took home atlases bigger than me so I could study the maps.

From that point forward no matter what school I was in I always nailed down where the library was first and foremost.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:48 PM (f0XAF)

187 168 And if I'm ever on a jury trying one of these poor kids who goes after the transitioners, I'll vote not guilty.
Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (brAQZ)

Absolutely! I don't think these transitioners understand the potential hell they've unleashed once these innocent, mutilated children mature to the point of having adult passions and desires and no way to satisfy them.

If I'm on some future jury for one of these kids and they went after the teachers, doctors, judges who allowed it, parent who forced it, etc. as long as they have an otherwise clean record, 'Not Guilty!!'

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:48 PM (QGaXH)

188 They signed him up for the NESEP program and the guy got a degree at Auburn and a set of bars under 2 years.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:41 PM (0EOe9)

Worst day of my life was the day TRADOC yanked me from first week of basic training to go take the DLAB test. I didn't know how coveted that test was. DSs fucked with me endlessly afterwards and my short career as the silent dumbass third in line guy my dad recommended me to aspire to ended.

Posted by: Reforger at September 02, 2023 12:48 PM (B705c)

189 Maybe it was clear skies in Alabama while it was a rainy night in Georgia...

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 12:49 PM (991eG)

190 As if the Lolbert Gadsen Flag is "right-wing".

Total collapse of categories.

That infernal right-wing school of Austrian Economics.

Posted by: Thesokorus at September 02, 2023 12:49 PM (VZitQ)

191 Why is who spelled who and not hoo ?
Posted by: JT at September 02, 2023 12:39 PM (T4tVD)

——————-

Dunno. I’ll ask the damn owl that stole my tootsie pop.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:49 PM (u73oe)

192 I'd bet the majority of "teachers" have no relevant education in history, science, civics or anything else.

What exactly constitutes a "teaching" degree these days?

That's rhetorical BTW.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 12:50 PM (Q4IgG)

193 170 Education and Marine Corps story.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:41 PM (0EOe9)

We were a magnificent country once. Great story.

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:50 PM (QGaXH)

194 179 Great comments.

I was very lucky because I was raised at a time where my parents didn't hover. They were too busy building a business. In the summer I would tell them I was going camping for a day or two. I told them with who and roughly where. That was it. My buddies were not malicious but we stretched boundaries. Drinking on the beach, or swimming out in the harbor and camping out in some moored sailboat or yacht. The freedom was wonderful.
Posted by: Levin at September 02, 2023 12:44 PM (kk8TL)
______

Yes. Some years ago I saw a comment by a guy from NYC asserting that suburban boomers' parents were the beginning of "helicopter parenting". Some back and forth brought out the fact that he had no actual basis, just thought it "stood to reason."

That tells a lot of why reasoning has become so rare. I've come to realize that "stands to reason" really means "I have no good reason to believe it, but I like to think so".

It's like "I choose to believe". Well, then if you really did, it wasn't wholly rational. I can't "choose" to believe 2+2=4. I really cannot disbelieve it. The weaker that is, the less rational it is. (May still be true, of course.)

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:50 PM (brAQZ)

195 185 If the kid starts smoking a pipe, wearing a deerstalker hat, and wants to be Viscount of India, you may have a problem.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 12:51 PM (0EOe9)

196 I don’t know which is worse. That the teacher didn’t know the origin of the Gadsden flag or that she couldn’t be bothered to do a ten second internet search to find out. No, she “knew” the flag was racist therefore it was.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:43 PM (u73oe)

People on the Right use it, therefore it MUST be racist, right?
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:47 PM (ynpvh)
***

Somebody was, allegedly, offended.
Odd. Every time I mention I'm offended by something, nobody gives a damn.
That's offensive!

Posted by: Diogenes at September 02, 2023 12:51 PM (hv9bm)

197 Anyone else remember when the school nurse couldn't even give you aspirin without a permission slip from your parents?

Posted by: GWB at September 02, 2023 12:52 PM (mTyc3)

198 Maybe it was clear skies in Alabama while it was a rainy night in Georgia...
Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 12:49 PM (991eG)

—————

The night the lights went out in Georgia?

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:52 PM (u73oe)

199 So. I learned something new (to me) today. I can go to bed happy.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 12:53 PM (991eG)

200 "Stars Fell on Alabama" is a jazz standard but it's based on Alabama lore about a spectacular Leonid meteor shower that occurred in 1833.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at September 02, 2023 12:53 PM (fTtFy)

201 We should make this kid President. Make a special exception for his age.
He's already proven himself smarter than 98% of DC.

Posted by: AlaBAMA at September 02, 2023 12:53 PM (5xURv)

202 196...
Somebody was, allegedly, offended.
Odd. Every time I mention I'm offended by something, nobody gives a damn.
That's offensive!

Posted by: Diogenes at September 02, 2023 12:51 PM (hv9bm)

You're probably not the right color, sexual orientation, religion, gender identification, or some other "disadvantaged" group.
I mean, females are the largest minority in the country; they only make up over 50% of the population.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:53 PM (ynpvh)

203 The song was written in 1934, more than 100 years after the Leonid shower in November of 1833. It is a very successful song having been "covered" hundred of times. I love the chord progression which has been analyzed to death by songwriters over the decades. The bridge (starting at bar 17) resolves to the III major chord (in bar 24) before returning to the V7 of the I chord, why has been attributed to Russian composers.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 02, 2023 12:54 PM (MeG8a)

204 189 Maybe it was clear skies in Alabama while it was a rainy night in Georgia...
Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2023 12:49 PM (991eG)

ISWYDT

Posted by: Brooks Benton at September 02, 2023 12:54 PM (QGaXH)

205 201 We should make this kid President. Make a special exception for his age.
He's already proven himself smarter than 98% of DC.

Posted by: AlaBAMA at September 02, 2023 12:53 PM (5xURv)

Obama and Hunter prove it's not about being smart, it's about being connected.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:54 PM (ynpvh)

206 There is talk of qualifying several initiatives for the ballot here in California to put a hard stop to this teacher grooming cr*p. It's not a lost cause, the voting on initiatives has been pretty conservative even here in recent years
___

Citizens need a check on their legislature through the initiative process.

Ironically.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at September 02, 2023 12:54 PM (ZZhZf)

207 Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:43 PM (u73oe)

People on the Right use it, therefore it MUST be racist, right?
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:47 PM (ynpvh)

That's part of it, but it's also about how the system dictates from above, and people like this bint assistant crack whore principal will enforce it, no questions asked.

I hate to always "go there," but this is why the nazis thrived as long as they did, because the mindless middle managers were willing to go along, without question.

To not ask questions, but to enforce the rule is very much a tactic built into the equation. It's more about that than it is whatever b.s. rayciss claim they're making.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 12:55 PM (ZP3iC)

208 I knew students in my classes who were pulled out to be homeschooled, and I did not blame their parents one little bit.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:55 PM (f0XAF)

209 206 There is talk of qualifying several initiatives for the ballot here in California to put a hard stop to this teacher grooming cr*p. It's not a lost cause, the voting on initiatives has been pretty conservative even here in recent years
___

Citizens need a check on their legislature through the initiative process.

Ironically.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at September 02, 2023 12:54 PM (ZZhZf)

A picked libbie judge will declare any initiative that makes it to the ballot and passes, that does not toe the party line, is unconstitutional (State Constitution).

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:56 PM (ynpvh)

210 Saw this on the intertubes the other day.

You think it’s offensive, I think it’s funny. That’s why I’m happier than you.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 12:56 PM (u73oe)

211 Those who can, do. Those who cannot, teach.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at September 02, 2023 12:57 PM (8fpTj)

212 Good to see the sodomites in the government skools being held accountable.

Jimmy Buffet is off to see the lizard. Happy trails!

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 02, 2023 12:57 PM (R/m4+)

213 212 Good to see the sodomites in the government skools being held accountable.

Jimmy Buffet is off to see the lizard. Happy trails!

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 02, 2023 12:57 PM (R/m4+)

...and he's still looking for that lost shaker of salt...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:57 PM (ynpvh)

214 Obama and Hunter prove it's not about being smart, it's about being connected.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:54 PM (ynpvh)

And this is exactly how Americans want it. And if it is corrosive to society, and leads to massive corruption, so be it.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:57 PM (f0XAF)

215 185 Gave my 15 yo grandson a complete collection of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. He read the whole thing in one weekend, then started researching 19th century Britain. He just started The Deerslayer.
Posted by: Queequeg the Harpooner at September 02, 2023 12:48 PM (9X60i)
______

The same grandmother who taught me to read gave me The Adventures when I was in 4th Grade. My teacher told Mom to take it away because it was "ahead of my grade."

Mom trusted the teachers. Dad, though, called BS on it.

Many of my attitudes toward schools and teachers no doubt trace to that. To be fair, my 3rd grade teacher was excellent.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 02, 2023 12:58 PM (brAQZ)

216 209 A picked libbie judge will declare any initiative that makes it to the ballot and passes, that does not toe the party line, is unconstitutional (State Constitution).
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:56 PM (ynpvh)

Jim - hope you are wrong! But I understand.

Well - I'm going to go enjoy my day off - maybe check in later on the ONT.

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:58 PM (QGaXH)

217 214 Obama and Hunter prove it's not about being smart, it's about being connected.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:54 PM (ynpvh)

And this is exactly how Americans want it. And if it is corrosive to society, and leads to massive corruption, so be it.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 12:57 PM (f0XAF)

Well, for some definitions of "Americans". I certainly don't, and I'm sure you don't either.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:59 PM (ynpvh)

218 188 My bud and I took the ALAT at Cherry point, and things were looking good. Waxing up our surfboards for a trip to Monterey, so to speak. And then the First Sergeant, gloating, calls us in. "The only foreign language you clowns are gonna learn is stuff like bac si and chieu hoy and remember dung lai means they stop. WESPAC quota came in, Adios".

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 02, 2023 01:00 PM (0EOe9)

219 216 209 A picked libbie judge will declare any initiative that makes it to the ballot and passes, that does not toe the party line, is unconstitutional (State Constitution).
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:56 PM (ynpvh)

Jim - hope you are wrong! But I understand.

Well - I'm going to go enjoy my day off - maybe check in later on the ONT.
Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan at September 02, 2023 12:58 PM (QGaXH)

This happened to Prop 8: Californians didn't want gay marriage, and judge said "Hey, voters, you're wrong, pig-headed and stupid. I'll decide what's best for you!" and invalidated it. Not the first prop done this way, won't be the last. Gotta put those pesky voters in their place.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:01 PM (ynpvh)

220 Somebody was, allegedly, offended.
Odd. Every time I mention I'm offended by something, nobody gives a damn.
That's offensive!
Posted by: Diogenes at September 02, 2023 12:51 PM (hv9bm)

Which is another part of the op. Like when a Dinsey "star" mouths nonsense about the farce being female or whatever, and they find a handful of tweets from rayciss sexciss hobophobes who say mean things.

And then use that to paint the broad brush of The Patriarchy holding them down.

Bushit. You're in charge, constantly acting like you're the victim, and you're being brave for standing up to the bullies is the ultimate in gaslighting.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:01 PM (9dN7z)

221 A picked libbie judge will declare any initiative that makes it to the ballot and passes, that does not toe the party line, is unconstitutional (State Constitution).
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia)
_____

Ah yes, rule by judges, another aspect of our white supremacist patriarchal government. Oh wait....

Posted by: Chuck Martel at September 02, 2023 01:01 PM (ZZhZf)

222 Let's not get all wrapped up in 'oo spelled 'oo...

Posted by: Monty Python at September 02, 2023 01:02 PM (NBVIP)

223 *while it was a rainy night in Georgia...*

Especially if you were on the midnight train.

Posted by: Gladys at September 02, 2023 01:04 PM (NBVIP)

224 221 A picked libbie judge will declare any initiative that makes it to the ballot and passes, that does not toe the party line, is unconstitutional (State Constitution).
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia)
_____

Ah yes, rule by judges, another aspect of our white supremacist patriarchal government. Oh wait....

Posted by: Chuck Martel at September 02, 2023 01:01 PM (ZZhZf)

And judges that SHOULD recuse themselves don't. The trial for the guys that exposed what PP was doing in Kali? Judge and his wife were intimately involved with donations and funraising for PP. So many judges should not only be disbarred, but put in stocks in SF so they can be enjoyed by the homeless and gay masses there.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:05 PM (ynpvh)

225 I think that should become a thing. The Broad Brush. It's when anyone on the left plays the victim card.

The Broad Brush can be a noose on a garage door, or a mean tweet, or a swastika drawn on a bathroom door in a dorm.

You transphobes you! Why won't you let us gyrate our taints in front of your children!!

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:05 PM (9dN7z)

226 Gotta put those pesky voters in their place.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:01 PM (ynpvh)

... but enough about Brexit.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:07 PM (9dN7z)

227 225 I think that should become a thing. The Broad Brush. It's when anyone on the left plays the victim card.

The Broad Brush can be a noose on a garage door, or a mean tweet, or a swastika drawn on a bathroom door in a dorm.

You transphobes you! Why won't you let us gyrate our taints in front of your children!!

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:05 PM (9dN7z)

'cause it 'taint right.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:07 PM (ynpvh)

228 Why do people need pron? Don't they have an imagination? I mean seriously...you can't even do yourself without voyeurism?

Posted by: creeper at September 02, 2023 01:07 PM (cTCuP)

229 Excellent point.
I find myself glad that my kids came up in the DOD school system. A different and better environment I think. If it were today, I think I'd be one of those parents the school district would have arrested.
Posted by: Diogenes at September 02, 2023 12:22 PM (hv9bm)

In a DoD school in Germany, my fourth grade teacher absolutely encouraged my worst habits (reading, writing, learning things on my own because I could). When she found out my father was taking me with him on a TDY to Berlin, I thought she was going to call my parents and schedule a conference with them - to tell them the places I needed to see (she herself visited Berlin before the school year). She especially insisted that I visit the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, which I did. She was also very religious and could figure this out easily.

In today’s time a teacher like her wouldn’t be fired. She would be shot.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 01:07 PM (f0XAF)

230 Why do people need pron? Don't they have an imagination? I mean seriously...you can't even do yourself without voyeurism?
Posted by: creeper at September 02, 2023 01:07 PM (cTCuP)

Do myself???

That would be gay.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:08 PM (9dN7z)

231 In today’s time a teacher like her wouldn’t be fired. She would be shot.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 01:07 PM (f0XAF)

My 1st grade teacher (public school) was a former Catholic school teacher. Tough woman (had to be to put up with me). I apparently gave her an ulcer...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:09 PM (ynpvh)

232

Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who dedicated his post-political career to working to free Americans detained overseas, has died. He was 75.

The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said in a statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 02, 2023 01:10 PM (63Dwl)

233 I been to Georgia on a fast train honey

I wudn't born no yesterday

Got a good Christian raisin' and an eighth grade education

Ain't no need in y'all a treatin' me this way

Posted by: Thesokorus at September 02, 2023 01:10 PM (VZitQ)

234 Hope I get In before the nood.

My local district has banned cellphones during class hours. Can't be on one's person unless you have a waiver (e.g. your diabetes monitor alerts you via phone). The parents are amazingly supportive.

My siblings live in a district where a similar approach is planned. The parents are going apeshit. Their kids' phones will be stolen from their lockers or the in-class assigned pockets. They heard about a shooting (Where? When?) was averted because kids saw and reported an Instagram post by the would-be killer. The kids won't feel safe now. Blah, blah, blah.

Unsurprisingly, their district is one of the few in which children were charged as adults for terroristic threats against the schools.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at September 02, 2023 01:11 PM (4UrNc)

235 230 Why do people need pron? Don't they have an imagination? I mean seriously...you can't even do yourself without voyeurism?
Posted by: creeper at September 02, 2023 01:07 PM (cTCuP)

Do myself???

That would be gay.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:08 PM (9dN7z)

Reminds me of a joke.
Involves a grandpa and his grandson and the grandson wanting to do adult things (like drink beer).
Punchline: Grandkid: "Then go F**k yourself!"

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:11 PM (ynpvh)

236 >>211 Those who can, do. Those who cannot, teach.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at September 02, 2023 12:57 PM (8fpTj)

Those who can, eat. Those who cannot are tenderized for at least two hours in lemon juice, garlic, and oregano, spitted, and rotisseried over embers.

Posted by: ZOD at September 02, 2023 01:11 PM (5HQE5)

237 Hmm. Bill Richarson croaks.

Posted by: Infidel at September 02, 2023 01:11 PM (CEX6j)

238 Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who dedicated his post-political career to working to free Americans detained overseas, has died. He was 75.

The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said in a statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 02, 2023 01:10 PM (63Dwl)

[Redacted]

Posted by: Thesokorus at September 02, 2023 01:11 PM (VZitQ)

239 Well, for some definitions of "Americans". I certainly don't, and I'm sure you don't either.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:59 PM (ynpvh)

Yes, but unfortunately we are two people out of hundreds of millions.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 01:11 PM (f0XAF)

240 The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said in a statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 02, 2023 01:10 PM (63Dwl)

That's a shame. Given his role in the Epstein/Clinton pedo ring, he should have died with a pitchfork in his arse, being eaten by red ants.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:12 PM (9dN7z)

241 Oh well, Satan's got him now.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:12 PM (9dN7z)

242 239 Well, for some definitions of "Americans". I certainly don't, and I'm sure you don't either.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 12:59 PM (ynpvh)

Yes, but unfortunately we are two people out of hundreds of millions.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at September 02, 2023 01:11 PM (f0XAF)

Ask your average church-attending American if they want corruption in government. Almost without exception, the answer will be a resounding "No!". It's put up with because:
1) Many are not aware of it (MSM hides it)
2) They are afraid of it (Gov't SS will get ya)

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:14 PM (ynpvh)

243 Bill Richardson died? Oh no!

Anyway...

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 01:14 PM (u73oe)

244 Err...ah...here's a hot toddy, Bill!

Posted by: Zombie Uncle Ted Kennedy at September 02, 2023 01:14 PM (V8he0)

245 243 Bill Richardson died? Oh no!

Anyway...

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 01:14 PM (u73oe)

Bill Richardson was no Jimmy Buffet.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:15 PM (ynpvh)

246 Hope Q done blow'd up the Resurrection Ship where these "ppl" get new bodies.

Posted by: Thesokorus at September 02, 2023 01:16 PM (VZitQ)

247 243 Bill Richardson died? Oh no!

Anyway...

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 01:14 PM (u73oe)

https://youtu.be/cRJE2n3qjrY?si=u5Pr4Cj2bYMd0sgR

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:17 PM (ynpvh)

248 My "aging politico death watch" bingo card is taking a beating.

Richardson? What about Carter, DiFi, Glitch and *biden?

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 01:18 PM (Q4IgG)

249 Geez, Louise. Two-term governor retires three thousand miles away from the state that elected him its leader twice.

Guess who Billy-boy was really looking out for.

Posted by: creeper at September 02, 2023 01:18 PM (cTCuP)

250 Jimmy Buffet? Phil Richardson?

Don't care. Let me know when Biden, Pelosi, McConnell, or Bergoglio croak.

Then there will be some celebration.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at September 02, 2023 01:21 PM (8fpTj)

251 My "aging politico death watch" bingo card is taking a beating.

Richardson? What about Carter, DiFi, Glitch and *biden?
Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 01:18 PM (Q4IgG)

Meanwhile, Epstein remains on an island in an undisclosed ocean, sipping tea and getting "massages."

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:21 PM (9dN7z)

252 Over moving bed furniture now

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2023 01:21 PM (PIMgt)

253 248 My "aging politico death watch" bingo card is taking a beating.

Richardson? What about Carter, DiFi, Glitch and *biden?

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 02, 2023 01:18 PM (Q4IgG)

I keep waiting for Bill Clinton to drop dead from one of the dozens of diseases he's caught...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:21 PM (ynpvh)

254 Don't care. Let me know when Biden, Pelosi, McConnell, or Bergoglio croak.

Then there will be some celebration.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at September 02, 2023 01:21 PM (8fpTj)

The 51 "senior intelligence officials" who signed the Russian hoax letter.

Or the Hunter laptop letter, I forget which one. Probably both.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2023 01:22 PM (9dN7z)

255 93 Warren Buffett > Jimmy Buffet > All you can eat cheap Chinese buffet
Posted by: Montec at September 02, 2023 12:00 PM (lJ8Y+)

Inequality comparator inversion detected.

Posted by: antisocial justice beatnik at September 02, 2023 01:23 PM (DTX3h)

256 Over moving bed furniture now
Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2023 01:21 PM (PIMgt)

—————

Remember to put the chair against the wall.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 01:23 PM (u73oe)

257 Watched the Carlos Ghosn documentary on Apple. Went into it thinking Ghosn was railroaded by the Japanese and came out of thinking that still, except he is an ungrateful shit who might have earned it, and Mike Taylor is the real hero of the story.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 02, 2023 01:23 PM (Agjev)

258 Gardening NOOD

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 02, 2023 01:24 PM (ynpvh)

259 Don't care. Let me know when Biden, Pelosi, McConnell, or Bergoglio croak.

Then there will be some celebration.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at September 02, 2023 01:21 PM (8fpTj)

——————

The bill for their deal with the devil hasn’t come due yet.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 02, 2023 01:24 PM (u73oe)

260 GARDEN NOOD IS BLOOMING

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2023 01:27 PM (PIMgt)

261 ... When a military junta arrested President Ali Bongo Ondimba on August 30, Gabon became the ninth African nation to depose its government through a military coup. As citizens of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali did before them,
-----

Is this more unraveling of the west?

Posted by: Braenyard at September 02, 2023 02:00 PM (aDPLI)

262 Peltzman effect = high sticking after hockey helmets required.

Posted by: From about That Time at September 02, 2023 02:03 PM (4780s)

263
Spreckels, California?
More gophers than people in that hole in the wall.
Hell the population doubles during the work week.

Posted by: Potato Of The United States at September 02, 2023 02:17 PM (t6XCL)

264 You ask "does it need to be a HS girl who blows the whistle", maybe it does.

This reminds me that is was here, at Ace of Spades, that I saw the point made that the children, especially the youngest ones, being educationally deprived of education during covid, were losing crucial learning years. Years of aptitude for learning that they would never have again.

I read a bunch of stuff, all right wing and most pretty high end, but Ace was the ONLY person I saw make that point.

Because most of the "adults in the room" are now AWOL and derelict of their duty.

So, yep, think we ARE going to have to rely on the young to straighten things out.

Posted by: jocon307 at September 02, 2023 03:09 PM (EuROc)

265 Come Monday is an appropriate song to remember Jimmy Buffett since it references the Labor Day weekend.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at September 02, 2023 03:25 PM (d9Cw3)

266 Grim milestones abound.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at September 02, 2023 03:52 PM (O1z4v)

267 Come Monday is an appropriate song to remember Jimmy Buffett since it references the Labor Day weekend.

That was my thought, as well.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at September 02, 2023 03:56 PM (V8he0)

268 The woke trigger flag irritates me, because woke people don't stand for anything a flag could mean, so it should be a tear stained safety blanket.

Posted by: Brian H at September 02, 2023 04:44 PM (HZRry)

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