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Posted: **Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:00 pm**

As I stated previously:

All standardized tests are bullshit. They are the essence of "fuck how you got the answer, just give it to me."

Posted: **Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:56 am**

GORDON wrote:I've always said this shit was about money, and not any particular concern about giving kids an education. There wasn't enough money in teaching tired ol' reading, writing, and arithmetic.... they had to invent something completely different and sell a whole new set of textbooks.

Then they had to monitor social media to see what people were saying about it:

http://tinyurl.com/p7e5jwg

Pearson, the world’s largest education company, is monitoring social media during the administration of the new PARCC Common Core test to detect any security breaches, and a spokeswoman said that it was “obligated” to alert authorities when any problems were discovered.

....

Students in New Jersey are now taking the PARCC, a Common Core test created by the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, one of two multi-state consortia given $360 million in federal funds to design new standardized tests that align with the Common Core State Standards. PARCC testing is underway in several other states amid a growing opt-out movement by parents who are refusing to allow their children to take the test. Pearson has a contract of more than $100 million to administer the PARCC in New Jersey.
Moneymoneymoney Mon-AY..... MONEY!

Money or power. Most bad ideas are about one of those.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:44 pm**

You would swear Ted Cruz was paid off by the jack-asses. That's how stupid he sounds.

Apparently, the official presidential candidate of the Republican Party non-jokingly compared himself to the 17th century scientist Galileo Galilei. He proclaimed the comparison during an interview with the Texas Tribune while discussing climate change.

Ted, come the fuck on. You would have been one of the dudes yelling at the top of you lungs to burn GG alive.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 2:22 pm**

He's absolutely right. Al Gore was at the South by Southwest thingie saying

"We need to put a price on carbon to accelerate these market trends,” Gore said...“And in order to do that, we need to put a price on denial in politics."

I thought at the time that these guys are becoming the same as the 16th century church burning folks at the figurative stake for heresy to their church.

I would suggest you stop reading articles that take snippets of what Ted Cruz says at least until you spend some time watching him unedited. They are in panic mode because he's starting to be heard in context and if you don't agree with him, that's fine. But he's a well reasoned speaker and his positions are very well thought out. He graduated cum laude from Princeton and magna cum laude from Harvard. He won the top speaker award at the US National Debating championship and best speaker for the North American Debating championship. Princeton named one of their freakin debate awards after the man.

Seriously, if you read something where it sounds like he's talking like a lunatic take the time to hit youtube and find the source of the quote. Unseen I would bet money that they pulled something out of context. I watched a couple of interviews already with him and reporters are trying to spring "gotcha" questions on him and he answers with reason and facts and you can see in the reporter's eyes that they know they're outgunned, that they don't like him and that they've lost that round.

If he had a personality, he'd probably have already won this hands down. They've been trying to taint the well concerning him since he hit the scene because his arguments are very well presented. Like I said, you may not agree with him but you'll have a hard time faulting his logic.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 2:50 pm**

Ted Cruz won't be getting my support, vote, or approval ever. He is insane.

In 2014, Cruz spoke at an event held by the group In Defense of Christians (IDC). He was booed by the group after making statements considered pro-Israel. Cruz left the stage after telling the audience, "Those who hate Israel hate America...

You're shitting me.

His international policy seems to change as the suns sets and rises.

-In 2013, Cruz stated that America had no "dog in the fight" during the Syrian civil war and stated that America's armed forces should not serve as "al-Qaeda's air force".

-In 2014, Cruz criticized the Obama administration: "The president’s foreign policy team utterly missed the threat of ISIS, indeed, was working to arm Syrian rebels that were fighting side by side with ISIS", calling ISIS "the face of evil".

- Cruz has called for bombing ISIS, but is doubtful that the United States “can tell the good guys from the bad guys” in a plan to arm "moderate" rebels, and the plan to defeat ISIS should not be “laden with impractical contingencies, such as resolving the Syrian civil war.”

So, he goes from "Eh, fuck it, not our problem," to "Holy shit, how'd you miss these dudes, you blind fuckwit," to "Well, we could do something about it, but it's so unlikely to work we shouldn't even try."

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:00 pm**

It's almost like that is a complicated issue without any real black and white options.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:14 pm**

GORDON wrote:It's almost like that is a complicated issue without any real black and white options.

I'm getting more and more inclined to leave the Middle East alone to have its own decades-long melee so something can get settled. Ted seemed to have some black and white opinions when he was in Congress, as opposed to potentially running for prez. How convenient.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:25 pm**

Malcolm wrote:Ted Cruz won't be getting my support, vote, or approval ever. He is insane.

I'm almost afraid to ask who you WOULD support at this point.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:29 pm**

Vince wrote:
Malcolm wrote:Ted Cruz won't be getting my support, vote, or approval ever. He is insane.

I'm almost afraid to ask who you WOULD support at this point.

The last time I voted, I settled for the party that didn't have any platforms I disagreed with. After looking into them a bit more, I found several things that make me not want to vote for them again. All the people who run for public office seem to be the exact opposite of the folk I think ought to be there. There are literally no candidates that reflect my views. Even if I found one, there's barely above a 0% chance his party will ever have a realistic chance of being elected. Voting in this country's political games supports the illusion of freedom.

Edited By Malcolm on 1427484577

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:51 pm**

Malcolm wrote:
In 2014, Cruz spoke at an event held by the group In Defense of Christians (IDC). He was booed by the group after making statements considered pro-Israel. Cruz left the stage after telling the audience, "Those who hate Israel hate America...
You're shitting me.

Only nation in the Middle East with anything approaching Western values. So I tend to agree with him on this.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:56 pm**

Vince wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
In 2014, Cruz spoke at an event held by the group In Defense of Christians (IDC). He was booed by the group after making statements considered pro-Israel. Cruz left the stage after telling the audience, "Those who hate Israel hate America...

You're shitting me.

Only nation in the Middle East with anything approaching Western values. So I tend to agree with him on this.

Yeah. I see the similarities. Both countries seem to have a problem owning up to their backdoor shit while claiming the moral high ground.

Edited By Malcolm on 1427486220

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:03 pm**

Malcolm wrote:
-In 2013, Cruz stated that America had no "dog in the fight" during the Syrian civil war and stated that America's armed forces should not serve as "al-Qaeda's air force".

-In 2014, Cruz criticized the Obama administration: "The president’s foreign policy team utterly missed the threat of ISIS, indeed, was working to arm Syrian rebels that were fighting side by side with ISIS", calling ISIS "the face of evil".

- Cruz has called for bombing ISIS, but is doubtful that the United States “can tell the good guys from the bad guys” in a plan to arm "moderate" rebels, and the plan to defeat ISIS should not be “laden with impractical contingencies, such as resolving the Syrian civil war.”
So, he goes from "Eh, fuck it, not our problem," to "Holy shit, how'd you miss these dudes, you blind fuckwit," to "Well, we could do something about it, but it's so unlikely to work we shouldn't even try."

Don't disagree with him here either. Not getting into Syria to aid ISIS against Assad was the right move. Unfortunately, the media was so influenced by Muslim Brotherhood agents here that we couldn't really come out and support Assad (though that would have been the smart thing to do). Assad isn't a good guy, but he's a stabilizing force there. If there's anything we can learn from the last few years it's that leaving dictators in the middle east alone is generally better than toppling them. By the way, we eventually DID arm ISIS and that's what Stevens was doing in a safe house in Beghazi instead of the embassy.

Now, I think our best bet is to just try to contain what's happening over there before it turns into world war III if that's possible to avoid at this point.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:05 pm**

"The next world war isn't going to be the east versus the west, it's going to be the civilized world versus the middle east."

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:12 pm**

Now, I think our best bet is to just try to contain what's happening over there before it turns into world war III if that's possible to avoid at this point.

Decades too late. I'd argue centuries. I'd like to believe they're serious about living side by side in peace, but history suggests otherwise. Whenever they use that word, I mentally translate it as "buying time to build up our military forces until we have a decent reason to decisively annihilate the other side."

Assad isn't a good guy, but he's a stabilizing force there.

Bleh. I'm not going back to the previous US strategy of undermining the despotic assholes, unless they're our despotic assholes. Fuck that noise.

Edited By Malcolm on 1427487895

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:47 pm**

GORDON wrote:"The next world war isn't going to be the east versus the west, it's going to be the civilized world versus the middle east."

I think that's true and it's going to make things very complicated. Russia is already trying to establish itself as the only nation willing to protect Christianity. Lots of propaganda coming from Putin to that effect. Mostly for the consumption of his own country, but also for Europe. Here, we're mostly ignoring it because if it's not involving the Kardashins or gay marriage, it doesn't matter.

Now ISIL has declared war on the armies of Rome. We can assume they're talking about Christians with that statement. I look to them going after western AND Christian icons. The ones they mentioned in their statement like the White House and Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower, but also things like the Vatican and Notre Dame Cathedral and things like that also.

So ISIL blows up a cathedral during High Mass and suddenly the Russians are looking like the only ones willing to call a spade a spade because he's already said he would stand up for the Christians and we in the West will still be stuck in PC gear and won't call them Muslim Extremists and that "Bubba Effect" that I was explaining in Unk's thread is going to kick in. While NATO is busy shifting forces away from Crimea to deal with whatever ISIL might be planning next in Europe, Russia will waltz on in and take Crimea and most of the world won't say a thing. Because Putin is protecting the Christians in a war our leaders won't even acknowledge.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:50 pm**

Malcolm wrote:Bleh. I'm not going back to the previous US strategy of undermining the despotic assholes, unless they're our despotic assholes. Fuck that noise.

I'm not suggesting we do. I'm suggesting we stay out of it. Which we didn't. Instead we armed ISIL and got an ambassador killed while trying to recork that genie.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 6:47 pm**

I look to them going after western AND Christian icons.

Hopefully they take out Congress during a full session. Course, that'd require those lazy fucks to show up for work.

If there's anything we can learn from the last few years it's that leaving dictators in the middle east alone is generally better than toppling them.

Not the heavy-handed way we do it. Targeted assassinations are awesome ways to set off regional conflicts. Keeping killing the brains until the most incompetent fuckwit takes power. Then let the revolution roll in. It'll take a few years, but effective leaders are the last thing I want over there. I want commanders that make Sgt. Schultz look good. That way, they'll never get anything accomplished.

EDIT: Think about it. Send in a wolf pack of drones. Take out the mark. Fly away. Self-destruct over the nearest friendly country or no man's land.

Edited By Malcolm on 1427496574

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:01 pm**

I kinda wonder if we should let ISIS take over everything, let them consolidate all their shit into nice piles, then blow the fuck out of the piles.

The mistake we have made in our recent nation building projects is that we haven't been nation building. We have been policing the streets while those stupid tribal chucklefucks are writing religion into their constitution. We haven't been putting Americans in charge of everything until competent, honest locals are ready to take charge. We have just been bombing the shit out of them and then telling them to unfuck themselves. Doesn't work because they don't know how to not put their religion in charge of everything.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:13 pm**

Come on, man. What's the last nation we rebuilt that isn't a radioactive cum dumpster fire? I'm not counting Korea because it's still split. Shit, the last one was Japan. I think that only flew because they were a group of islands out in the middle of the ocean.

We haven't been putting Americans in charge of everything until competent, honest locals are ready to take charge.

What happens when that second category of guys never shows up? We have allies over there who think sharia law is mega, uber, sweet tits. We're helping Iran up north while we're trying to stop them down south. Apparently Iran is the only Muslim-led country with any balls over there. Where the fuck is Egypt? Jordan? Saudi Arabia? Can't they all just pretend ISIS is Israel and converge on them at once? It's the same first two letters. That's 50%. Come the fuck on.

Edited By Malcolm on 1427498372

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:11 pm**

Malcolm wrote:Not the heavy-handed way we do it. Targeted assassinations are awesome ways to set off regional conflicts. Keeping killing the brains until the most incompetent fuckwit takes power. Then let the revolution roll in. It'll take a few years, but effective leaders are the last thing I want over there. I want commanders that make Sgt. Schultz look good. That way, they'll never get anything accomplished.

EDIT: Think about it. Send in a wolf pack of drones. Take out the mark. Fly away. Self-destruct over the nearest friendly country or no man's land.

The way I look at it now days is that revolutions? Not our business. "Death to America" threats? Our business. Though I am thinking on the whole "kill any effective leader over there".

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