I should have been more clear. I'm not talking about the actual affirmative action law that states that people can't be passed over based on the race, religion, etc. I'm talking about the quotas and some other things that came out of that law. I think the original law was good.

I think we have to solve the problem by punishing the hell out of companies that discriminate. Fuck Texaco and companies like them. I think most people would support that and there wouldn't be the backlash. Which is kinda my point -- most people support the idea behind the laws. It's when a white person can say they were legitimately passed over for a job because of the color of their skin that causes the problem. It's end up perpetuating racism, imo.

Personal note: I was up for a scholarship in college and was passed over in favor of a black woman who was the daughter of a DA from Louisianna. She had money coming out of her ears and my family had nothing. My grades were also better than hers and I was involved in some research in the dept and she was doing nothing extra. I used to play racquetball with a prof and he told me we were the finalists and she got the scholarship because they were trying to draw in minorities and be more supportive of them. He shouldn't have told me about it and he may have had another motive for letting me know, but it's always pissed me off. I ended up with more student loan debt while she never would have had any debt. I think that's unfair.

Bucky wrote:narcissist in chief

Man I’ve seen the video now. He’s talking about, what else, crowd size. And then he goes on to say that Beto O’Rourke hardly had anybody had his thing. What like 400 people? He says.

So he is swinging away at his aids because he doesn’t think that he got enough credit We’re going to Ohio and Texas. And he blames his aids for keeping the cameras and press away.

Apparently only two survivors of the shooting met with Trump. And none of them were actual patients who are still at the hospital. One of the two was the two-month-old baby. Some hospital staff told it was very disrespectful for him to keep bringing up O’Rourke rather than focus on the victims or the events. They felt he was distant and focused on politics. Moreover, they felt he lacked empathy.

This guy is just beyond compare.

JFC, D/DNI Sue Gordon is resigning after Trump let it known that he didn't want her.

Monkeyboy wrote:I should have been more clear. I'm not talking about the actual affirmative action law that states that people can't be passed over based on the race, religion, etc. I'm talking about the quotas and some other things that came out of that law. I think the original law was good.

I think we have to solve the problem by punishing the hell out of companies that discriminate. #$!&@ Texaco and companies like them. I think most people would support that and there wouldn't be the backlash. Which is kinda my point -- most people support the idea behind the laws. It's when a white person can say they were legitimately passed over for a job because of the color of their skin that causes the problem. It's end up perpetuating racism, imo.

Personal note: I was up for a scholarship in college and was passed over in favor of a black woman who was the daughter of a DA from Louisianna. She had money coming out of her ears and my family had nothing. My grades were also better than hers and I was involved in some research in the dept and she was doing nothing extra. I used to play racquetball with a prof and he told me we were the finalists and she got the scholarship because they were trying to draw in minorities and be more supportive of them. He shouldn't have told me about it and he may have had another motive for letting me know, but it's always pissed me off. I ended up with more student loan debt while she never would have had any debt. I think that's unfair.

Get over it and back a candidate that wants to wipe out debt

Will do, PAC!

I’m already doing the latter.

It will take a while to do the former!

lol, I think it will probably always tick me off for reasons that I won't go into here because they aren't relevant.

Like any other slogan, promises to eliminate student loan debt and offers of free college quickly raise important questions regarding the details. Are we talking Stafford loans? All student loans? Is there an upper limit? Does it include PLUS loans? Should say a big law associate pulling in 200k get the same kind of relief as a teacher pulling in 40k? Does it matter that the lawyer has 250k in loans, while the teacher has 15k? What about people who keep taking out loans to avoid paying loans? (This is a thing--people enroll in one grad program after another so they can avoid making payments. Of course, in the long run this is disastrous.) And most important, the real issue for current and future students is reducing costs. That, it seems is more critical, because if you don't do that, you will find yourself in the same place you're in now with a new generation of students.

Since the rising costs of college have multiple causes, solving that problem isn't easy. There's not a lot any President can do regarding tuition at either private or public universities. You can say "free college" but again, lots of details to consider. How will colleges replace their tuition dollars? Advocates for free college often point to Europe, but you need to keep in mind that the better European universities are highly selective.

But, we could significantly expand the Pell program, making it both more generous and getting more students eligible. It's too bad no one is really talking about that.

Which raises another interesting problem that again no one seems to talk about. Families have different ideas about who is responsible for college costs. At my university, many families basically tell the student they are on their own, even though in many cases they have adequate resources to help pay at least some of the costs. Indeed, I've seen families who think nothing of getting a 20k truck for their 16 year old, but won't help with college costs. Other families pay for everything, including grad school. The assumption underlying financial aid policy of course is that families are expected to contribute. (You fill out your fafsa, and you get "expected family contribution".)

One last weird wrinkle that may be unique, but seems worth mentioning as well. Most work study pays minimum wage. Lil' Vulture is going to college in Tennessee, where the minimum wage is 7.25, the federal minimum. My student workers, by contrast, will make 9.25 and then get a raise in the spring semester, because Arkansas voted to raise its minimum wage. Generally, work study is limited to 10 hrs. per week. It might make sense for federal work study to have its own minimum of 10 or even 12 an hour. (Again, there are lots of complications to this, because not all work study is federal work study.)

One other small thing that might help a lot--increasing support for high school guidance counselors. Given counseling loads at the typical public high school, there is simply no way that a counselor can give families enough guidance to really help them navigate the complexities of college admissions and college financing. Federal dollars could help here too, and I'd guess you'd get a lot of bang for your buck.

Judge just ruled to release a ton of Epstein docs. Quote from the ruling:

"Giuffre also alleged she was 'forced' to have sex with Dershowitz, 'model scout' Jean Luc Brunel, and 'many other powerful men, inc. numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister..."

momadance wrote:

Hey, the man knows his audience.

thephan wrote:I enjoyed Seth Myers reviewing the last day or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJgdxokVbTg

At about 3:04 in that video is that trumps head on Kalas’s body and the Vet in the background?

Bill McNeal wrote:

thephan wrote:I enjoyed Seth Myers reviewing the last day or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJgdxokVbTg

At about 3:04 in that video is that trumps head on Kalas’s body and the Vet in the background?

LOL it is

LOL - I saw the Mudhens banner and only glimpsed thinking that the Toledo digs could not possibly be that nice. THAT NICE! I was bagging on the Vet. I did not even pickup on the Harry Cut'n'Paste. Good catch.

TenuredVulture wrote:Like any other slogan, promises to eliminate student loan debt and offers of free college quickly raise important questions regarding the details. Are we talking Stafford loans? All student loans? Is there an upper limit? Does it include PLUS loans? Should say a big law associate pulling in 200k get the same kind of relief as a teacher pulling in 40k? Does it matter that the lawyer has 250k in loans, while the teacher has 15k? What about people who keep taking out loans to avoid paying loans? (This is a thing--people enroll in one grad program after another so they can avoid making payments. Of course, in the long run this is disastrous.) And most important, the real issue for current and future students is reducing costs. That, it seems is more critical, because if you don't do that, you will find yourself in the same place you're in now with a new generation of students.

Since the rising costs of college have multiple causes, solving that problem isn't easy. There's not a lot any President can do regarding tuition at either private or public universities. You can say "free college" but again, lots of details to consider. How will colleges replace their tuition dollars? Advocates for free college often point to Europe, but you need to keep in mind that the better European universities are highly selective.

But, we could significantly expand the Pell program, making it both more generous and getting more students eligible. It's too bad no one is really talking about that.

Which raises another interesting problem that again no one seems to talk about. Families have different ideas about who is responsible for college costs. At my university, many families basically tell the student they are on their own, even though in many cases they have adequate resources to help pay at least some of the costs. Indeed, I've seen families who think nothing of getting a 20k truck for their 16 year old, but won't help with college costs. Other families pay for everything, including grad school. The assumption underlying financial aid policy of course is that families are expected to contribute. (You fill out your fafsa, and you get "expected family contribution".)

One last weird wrinkle that may be unique, but seems worth mentioning as well. Most work study pays minimum wage. Lil' Vulture is going to college in Tennessee, where the minimum wage is 7.25, the federal minimum. My student workers, by contrast, will make 9.25 and then get a raise in the spring semester, because Arkansas voted to raise its minimum wage. Generally, work study is limited to 10 hrs. per week. It might make sense for federal work study to have its own minimum of 10 or even 12 an hour. (Again, there are lots of complications to this, because not all work study is federal work study.)

One other small thing that might help a lot--increasing support for high school guidance counselors. Given counseling loads at the typical public high school, there is simply no way that a counselor can give families enough guidance to really help them navigate the complexities of college admissions and college financing. Federal dollars could help here too, and I'd guess you'd get a lot of bang for your buck.

Tuition dollars cover a lot of student resources that would disappear with free college. Along with what you said about being highly selective.

Many negative externalities being ignored because free college sounds fun.

Yes, that's why. Because it's "fun".

Warren's plan has actually thought about a lot of these externalities, TV. I'd enjoy your thoughts on it once you read it.

Free stuff is fun bro.

‘If you’re a good worker, papers don’t matter’: How a Trump construction crew has relied on immigrants without legal status

There is nothing surprising at all about this, but it merits recognizing.

"Hollywood, I don’t call them the elites, I think the elites are people they go after in many cases," Trump told reporters, adding, "but Hollywood is really terrible."

"You talk about racist, Hollywood is racist," he continued. "What they’re doing with the kind of movies they’re putting out is actually very dangerous for our country. What Hollywood is doing is a tremendous disservice to our country

What is he talking about? The article thinks it is some trash called "The Hunt" which sounds like a scare tactic film made to sure up his base.

Sweeping student debt elimination is bogus. Speaking for myself and others who realized a college education was not feasible, and seizing a chance to quote the Buzzcocks:

What do I get?