leh-nerd skin-erd

This is all very real to me.

Come on Cray, braggadociousnessicity is a fool’s game. If you’re getting an award, take the high road. I didn’t go on about the fax I received just the other day, where I shall act as an emissary between the relatives of a certain Dead prince and the international banking cabal. When I lock down a cool £10,000,000, it’ll be catch ya later numbnuts! (can anyone in your practice tell me how much an £ is in US currency?)

You really have some issues with parents, Transpy. Between that and the “glorified babysitter” issue I really wonder how you’re coming off to parents. I think part of the challenge is that you view your commitment to teaching as your noble calling. I can respect that, and if you had a teacher who inspired you to pursue your passion, that’s awesome. I had some great teachers, some not so great ones and many sorta in the middle. The biggest impact in my life was from the coach of one of our sports teams, a good guy who cared an awful lot about the kids and doing the right thing. Though many years later we found out that one of his associates was messing around with at least a couple students, and you have to wonder how he let that happen if he knew. The rumor always circulated about the bad coach, and my family is large so we can look at the same rumor over a decade plus. Many people probably view it more as a vendor/service model, where they pay xxx and the school is expected to deliver yyy. NY specific—-When you factor in mandatory participation for life (or as long as you own your home), the perception that the cost is unreasonably high, the budgeting model murky at best, and the impression that teachers make substantial money with cradle to grave entitlements, why would you think your consumer would not expect or demand an exceptional product? I’ve come to the conclusion that education is just another corporate model. There are winners and losers. If your child is lucky enough to have a series of Transpy or Buffalo T type teachers, maybe you view it as worthwhile cost. If not, if your child experiences apathetic teachers, or teachers who aren’t organized or otherwise very effective, you probably think it’s substantially overpriced. At the end of the day, teachers protect teachers and operate in their best interest more often than not. That’s understandable, but let’s not kid ourselves that part of the allure for many teachers is stable employment, good pay, good benefits and (in NY), a very generous pension that is offered far, far too early to make any reasonable sense to those outside who help to fund it. A few years ago, our district was appealing for 4 additional ‘English as a second language’ teachers. I understand that you may think there is value there, I personally did not. A couple years ago, our district was looking at a $44,000,000 bond (on top of the $110,0000,000 annual budget) to upgrade facilities, new roofing on a couple of the buildings, a new computer lab so we could be “state of the art”, etc. However, the actual need was for $35,000,0000....the other $9m was a fudge factor “just in case”. Interestingly, the plan was for the district to just use the extra $9,000,000 for whatevs the district decided in the likely event it was not needed. The bond was rejected, the superintendent sent out an email complaining about the last minute disinformation campaign that mischaracterized the slush fund. IMO, it’s that type of institutional arrogance (admin, not teacher) that drives some of the push-back you likely receive. As @Chef Jimboyardee stated earlier, for most of us, push back is just another day at the office. Btw, again, NY Specific...I’m wondering what is going to happen to the $$$$ allocated to services and busing that obviously have not been used. According to our superintendent, facilities costs/busing are a HUGE cost to the taxpayer. That money should be refunded, or at least a detailed accounting should take place so it doesn’t disappear into the netherworld, like the $9m that was going to be gobbled up. In the end, don’t take it so personally.

What's motivating many dems is voting in an establishment candidate, the soft racist, the guy old enough where they can suggest his patented sniff n' cup mechanics are just signs of affection (for people he doesn't know), who are comfortable with only one major sexual assault complaint against a throw away victim, and who when he suggests that the police are the enemy they think/hope/pray he's just playing for votes and the status quo remains, at least in their community. When he famously espoused fears of his people attending schools in a jungle, they knew what he meant and trust he still means it. Many dems want a return to the "old days"?. (The emoji used was intended to signify the familiar wink exchanged between people with similar mindsets demanding progress and change as long as their particular situation remains the same as it was in 1975. No emoji was harmed in the production of this post.)

My God--it's the mahafahkkin swiss army knife of words.

Indeed.* I don't understand why Mr. Kemp doesn't understand this. Personally, I'd have loved to see Barrack Obama release his college records. If there was nothing to hide, he would have. Or, not. But maybe. Mr. Kemp wants everyone else to do his heavy lifting. That is an unreasonable request imo.

You're the man with experience as a law enforcement agent, I'm just a guy on the street reacting to what has been suggested my Mr. Kemp. Can't we already assume that Mr. Kemp's failure to publish his returns voluntarily is, indeed*, substantial evidence of wrongdoing? *I added the "indeed" for effect. @Koko78tells me that when you add it to your repertoire, your summation gets suspersized and is nearly bulletproof.

Your musings on my intelligence is relevant only with respect to the much larger picture: you’ve bought the narrative that Trump appeals only to voters that are uneducated and as you so eloquently stated “the poorly educated”. Here’s my read on you: You’re angry about something in your life, you feel you’ve gotten a raw deal, you feel like people less qualified than you have benefited from the system and as a result, project your own insecurities onto others. As a result, you’re easily manipulated because you react emotionally, and the only logical conclusion is that by extension, the 60,000,000+ citizens who voted for President Trump must be deficient in some way relative to your own soaring intellect. Yet, you’ve personally had nearly 5 years to formulate a thought process on what might be revealed on the Trump tax return(s), to consider the historical relevance of data gleaned from published tax returns, and so far you’ve offered up: 1. there may be data reflecting an “indictment” of DJT; 2. the returns may show “nothing bad to see”; 3. the release of the returns could result in a “game over” moment for DJT; 4. that innocent people should be required to submit to the collective or be judged guilty default; 5. that the regulatory authority charged with reviewing, accepting and/or auditing the return is, in this case only, deficient or inadequate to pass judgement on the submission; To summarize in terms you MENSA types can process, I think if there is bad stuff to see on a candidate's return, it’s the job of the tax return reviewer people to find it.

The first three sentences you wrote make me think you actually believe what you’re saying, even though you’re not really saying anything that makes any sense. Your last sentence sounds an awful lot like something this guy might say:

Thanks.

You should vote for someone else.

What do you think it is, this hidden information shared with the largest tax collection authority in the world? And where do you think he's hidden it? Where would you start looking?

You confused me when you said that President Trump's tax returns might show "he committed fraud on taxes, insurance etc." Then a couple posts later I see you confused yourself. All is right in the world again.

Yes, the point of the meeting was to search employee records to develop a list of individuals by skin color, notify them of a mandatory training designed to illuminate them on the harmful and destructive nature of said skin color, and suggest they contribute to the greater good by remaining hyper-vigilant on how white they act, speak or think. I think everyone can benefit from an old fashioned emotional cleanse at work, and yes, this certainly feels like equality.

Also known as “Frog Whistles”.

Tibsy, I have no major issues with your support for Biden. We all rationalize on some level, and yearning for a time when the political patriarchy made some people feel safe is just a part of that process. You can pretend that Biden's hypothetical response to covid were he in any position of power would have been different than what he actually said, but please, don't ask me to take the journey with you.

The difference is rationalizing that there is an equivalence between Joe Biden’s 50 year record of misrepresentation/lying/plagiarism and a passage from a tell-all book being mass marketed for $29.95 (Kindle $19.95) in a blitz designed for maximum effect. Biden has literally hidden in plain sight. The other difference, of course, is postulating that Biden’s skeleton’s are in a closet, which makes sense only if the closet is in the most awesome green house on the planet. Finally, make no mistake, the modern democrat party and folks who line up to vote for Joe will put him in the White House should it come to pass. He’s the choice, THE one, like Hillary before him. Politics as usual. It seems that in spite of what many say, it’s like the song goes...you’re all still preoccupied with 19...19...1985. It’s odd.

And I’d argue that what we allow to happen in Washington repeatedly leads to a most predictable outcome. But, we probably agree on most of this conceptually.

We get so much less than what we deserve, but we get just about everything we have a right to expect.

WHAT IF TRUMP KNOWS ALL THE BEST WORDS (GUESS SO), STAYS IN OFFICE AND USES THEM?

I’d give you two smiley emojis If I could—because that was damn funny.

Halle Berry should only actually play herself in movies. In fact, I'd probably eagerly anticipate "Halle Berry on Halle Berry".

My assumption is that if you take the time to consider the government's reaction to the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, and feel it is reasonable to make derogatory comments about folks who disagree with you, then it would seem reasonable that you would consider the totality of the response. I consider the big picture on most issues, especially as it relates to the modeling of appropriate behavior as defined by those in charge. It seems to me there is a major disconnect in the approach to addressing the 'seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic' when those in charge flex legislative authority on hair dressers/barber shops/plumbers/swimming pool repair firms/attorneys/title companies/school teachers/movie theaters/gyms and other industries, yet full-throatedly support and often participate in outdoor gatherings/protests with thousands of people converging on one spot at a designated point in time. I'm guessing you don't see that disconnect, or don't see it as a disconnect at all. It bothers me because based on what our political leaders are saying, maybe: They believe COVID-19 is much more transmittable in St. Paul the Apostle Church parking lot during a socail-distanced prayer-in than it would be in Times Square with 22,000 people milling about; or They encouraged the protests with an eye toward some sort of social engineering to cull out the weakest of the herd and their extended families, because for several months the message was 'be out and about and you or someone you know dies', but then suddenly it wasn't. They don't think it's as serious as they originally claimed, but that doesn't make sense because they keep saying it's a life or death issue; I just wondered how you saw it, but since you didn't see it, I humbly withdraw the question to avoid putting you on the spot.

Serious question....why would you think people of color would stereotype you based on the 4 or 5 criteria you shared? At least insofar as the next person might be a Jewish guy from the Bronx? Or a female from Westchester County?

I agree...Peter(?).