Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[entropy]

[ame]https://twitter.com/iamjoonlee/status/808415700905787392[/ame]

this had to take years of training..

[Wild Hoss]

[Dr. Strangelove]

From 5 years ago...

[ame]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/131807138262679553[/ame]

[Da Geezer]

So private-sector entities are inefficient on purpose?

No. But they do have a market to "punish" them if they are too inefficient. You gave an example of a cable provider. I suspect you could move to Dish. I just moved from Dish to Charter. Both have a substantial number of idiots manning their phones. I have the option of not purchasing service from either, or from both.

For a black kid in the inner city, what options does have? Why do the jobs of teachers who have proven themselves to be incompetent "need" to be protected in a monopoly situation? Why is it not possible for teachers to be judged on competence?

So, without changing the subject, what is your defense of teacher tenure?

[froot loops]

Just to build on the evidence about government assistance and who they vote for, the Urban Institute had a study out about who would lose out under a repeal of the ACA. The uninsured would rise by 30 million to 58.7 million. 80 percent of the newly uninsured under a repeal would be that group. The group that would be affected the most would be working class people without a high school degree or less. Trump won that constituency 51 to 46. I am making the assumption they get assistance for food as well.

So to put it flatly, Geezers math or claims, just doesn't cut it on that. Plenty of people on government assistance voted for the GOP. His claim was lazy.

[iam416]

Pew Research: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank...mp-recipients/

22% of Ds used food stamps at some point; 10% of Rs. This is on point and, IMO, a far better proxy for other govt assistance than ACA coverage.

[iam416]

Also on Public Housing: http://rare.us/story/81-of-people-re...ndout-iceberg/

It's also clear that more white folks use government aid than any other group. Duh. But it would appear that that group is far less uniformly partisan than other ethnic groups. So, while the majority of white folks may vote R, it's not a sufficient majority to offset the borderline 100% ethnic D vote.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The primary defense of tenure, at least in theory, is to encourage academic freedom which, again in theory, benefits society. Your mileage may vary.

[hack]

No. But they do have a market to "punish" them if they are too inefficient. You gave an example of a cable provider. I suspect you could move to Dish. I just moved from Dish to Charter. Both have a substantial number of idiots manning their phones. I have the option of not purchasing service from either, or from both.

Why don't you just get your service from one that doesn't have idiots manning the phones?

[hack]

Sounds like we're getting there on the who-gets-government-assistance issue. We've come a long way from ``most Democrats''. Lots of enthsiasm to go get the numbers; at least for the urban side of the equation.

[SeattleLionsFan]

Personally I think it should be easier to fire public school teachers. The problem is that if a teacher gets fired, it's a scarlet letter that ruins their lives in many cases. You would immediately be viewed with suspicion, when maybe the teacher just didn't mesh with administration or the student body.

The biggest problem with schools are the students and parents,IMO.

[hack]

Well the kids aren't going to grow up any faster. The parents might not grow up at all.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Really good thread on the meaning of Trump parading Kanye around Trump Tower today. Worth reading it. Intended to distract the media from several stories that Trump hasn't figured out how to address yet (i. e. business conflicts, Tillerson's ties to Russia, etc.) Instead the Media gushes over what Trump and Kanye could've talked about.

[ame]https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/808766799735115777[/ame]

[Jeff Buchanan]

Give him credit, Strange. The man knows how to work the press.

Look, I'm willing to give Trump a pass for now. Let's see how things actually play out.

Personally, I think he is going to be a stupendous failure as POTUS but we may not know how much of a failure he is going to be until well after he leaves office. That is because he has demonstrated a capacity to paint a different realty of himself and the outcomes he achieves.

[Wild Hoss]

I can hardly comprehend how these next four years are going to go. You'd think that a man in his position would be moving forward with at least the appearance of tact, rationality and professionalism...but no. He's the same puerile, impulsive jackass he's always been.

For God's sake...what's he going to act like when he's under real pressure?