>> ^thepinky:

Yeah, America is useless. I mean, just look at our movies: Airplane! The Big Lebowski, Blazing Saddles, Duck Soup, It Happened One Night, Some Like it Hot, Annie hall, The Princess Bride, There's Something About Mary, The Producers, etc. You're right, America sucks at comedy.
Who's ethnocentric now?
>> ^westy:
very good , Conan delivers again. maby if i watch conan clips for another say 4 years i might respect American humor.



any movie newer than 1998?
was rhetorical btw, just pointing ^ that out... plenty of funny ones since then

So far, the 112th congress--which is GOP/Tea Party--is the least productive congress in history

Pht - not to put too fine a point on it - but the LESS PRODUCTIVE government is, the better off the American people are. Clinton got saddled with a GOP congress in 1992 that put the brakes on his agenda. And America BENEFITED. President Reagan and Bush1 had Democrat congresses to put the brakes on them. And America BENEFITED.

Who are the two worst presidents in American history. Bush2 and Barak Obama. Why? Because under both of them government spending has skyrocketed, fiscal policy has deteriorated, and government has increased in size, scope, lack of transparency, and lack of accountability. And what is the common thread to both of these presidents? The Congress was the SAME PARTY as the President, and thier administrations were "highly productive" (in the sense that they passed a ton of legislation).

So you guys should be praising the Tea Party for slamming the brakes on a lousy government, because when thin-skinned, tin-plated self-deluded dictator-wannabes like Obama take office we NEED a 'do nothing' Congress shutting them down. Problem with Obama is he is such a crazy dictator that he just keeps doing what he wants with czars and cabinets. In a sane world, every American would demand he be thrown out of office, pilloried in town square, and then run out of town on a rail to be dumped in Cuba, or Venezuala, Iran, or some other communist dictatorship where he could feel more at home.

These ***holes won't even debate an unbelievably important ... jobs bill,"

Good, because it isn't important. It's a disaster. And you are allowed to whine about the GOP 'not debating it' only after it makes it out of the SENATE, which is controlled by the Democrats. The fact that even the Democrats can't stand this loser piece of crap should tell you a lot about how awful it is.

Great find, Chris seems to be one of those people that sees through all the bullshit, isn't saddled with partisan views and has a great deal of empathy for others. I feel really humbled hearing him speak each time.

when businesses are saddled with too much debt, profits go to paying off the debt, and don't go to workers. Ever think of why you have to pay so much money for your cell phone/ internet bill? Because cell phone companies are in debt.

1. Hangover 2
2. Empire Strikes Back
3. Fight Club
4. Scarface
5. Dazed & Confused
6. American Beauty
7. Superbad
8. The Godfather
9. Are We There Yet?
10. There Will Be Blood
11. Road to Perdition
12. Coming To America
13. Airplane
14. Borat
15. Pee Wee's Big Adventure
16. American Pie
17. Ghost
18. The Graduate
19. The Karate Kid
20. Hangover
21. Death To Smoochy
22. Wedding Crashers
23. Half Baked
24. Fatal Attraction
25. Jerry Maguire
26. Little Shop of Horror
27. Tron
28. A Christmas Story
30. The Last Starfighter
31. The Dark Knight
32. Anchorman
33. E.T.
33. Along Came Polly
34. Wanye's World
35. Devils Advocate
36. 40 Year Old Virgin
37. Jaws
38. GoldFinger
39. Delirious
40. Full Metal Jacket
41. The Cooler
42. Ferris Bullers Day Off
43. Men In Tights
44. Men In Black
45. Blazing Saddles
46. Cable Guy
47. My Girl
48. Napolean Dynamite

How hard could it be? You show up and communicate information within your field of expertise. The students take it all in. Job done.

It's not that simple.

You would have a very different perspective if you ever tried teaching yourself.

If you were responsible for educating 200 - 300 students with different learning styles, different motivating factors, different attention levels, different levels of discipline, different levels of comprehension, different types of psychology, different levels of intelligence, different levels of interest, different levels of sanity, different stages of physiological development (AKA puberty), etc. you'd get it.

In addition to 'teaching', an educator also needs to be a leader, a negotiator, a salesman, a disciplinarian, a politician, an administrator, a motivator, a receptionist, an advocate, a librarian, a manager, a public relations agent, a psychologist, an entertainer, an accountant, and for some students, a parent. If you are a music teacher, you get even more hats - arranger, copyist, bus scheduler, event planner, fund raiser, critic, graphic designer, contractor etc. (Running a high school band is like running a business, complete with a board, fundraiser income, expenses, employees, audits, etc.)

The 'teaching' part is the easiest part of the job. If there weren't so many responsibilities outside of the actual 'teaching', you and chilaxe would have a point. And, I haven't even mentioned dealing with administrators and parents, which is an art in and of itself.

I know you grew up in a region of the country that does not have high educational standards (and cruel stereotypes that reinforce these low standards), so I don't doubt that you've had more than your fair share of bad teachers. If anything, I think you have first hand experience of what happens when public education is neglected and underfunded. If you get the cuts you want in education, you will be saddling future generations with the same substandard education you experienced growing up. Is that really what you want?

I grew up in middle class Southern California, with teachers that were paid fairly, schools that were well funded and parents that involved themselves in the academic lives of their children. (3 of the biggest factors in student achievement). Out of the 40+ teachers I had from K-12, I can think of two that were bad (one was a morbidly obese right wing history teacher that spent as much time praising Reagan and Capitalism as he did teaching history, the other was a self-loathing Science teacher who seemed to fear any kind of social interaction). I can think of 14 that were exceptional teachers and human beings - I'm still in touch with a few of them. The rest were competent at their jobs, if not particularly memorable.

I got good grades and received a half scholarship to a prominent west coast university (fight on). Since then I've had the luxury of being able to play music for a living (and occasionally teach or compose). Public education did me a solid.

PS: I like when you share stories from your life with me. I find it much more moving and persuasive than being called a statist idiot.

They may not use the same exact words, but for the atheist there is no intelligence more supreme than humans (at least until the Singularity).

Per Judeo-Christianity, humans are considered created in God's image, but are not God. They may have dominion but are not creators on the scale of God, and they (we) are saddled with responsibility, our continued existence is threatened by failing to rule wisely. Also, being 'fallen' creatures in a 'fallen' world, there is much work to do.

Wherever God is ignored, the people that take over in God's place as The State are typically the worst humanity has to offer, no matter how good their intentions.


>> ^hpqp:

>> ^quantumushroom:
On the other side of the coin: people who either worship themselves as the pinnacle of creation or worship Big Daddy Government.

Why should there only be two sides?
Also, isn't it the utmost in irony to accuse non-theists of "worshiping themselves as the pinnacle of creation"? Remind me who it is that claims they are made in God's image to have dominion over the earth and all other species?

@chilaxe

"atrocious racial discrimination"

You mean little Johnny will have to go to Davis instead of Berkeley. Or Notre Dame instead of UCLA. Or (gasp!) De Anza instead of San Jose State. Oh the horrors!!!! Yeah, its worse than the Japanese Internment. Is that all? I bet latinos and blacks in Cali wish they could suffer the atrocities you say Asians have instead of the ones they are saddled with.

@Mcboinkens Actually, I read that coinage has different laws pertaining to them, and that the only legal infraction is to attempt to pass off something as a coin that it is not (slug quarters). You can destroy or do whatever else you want to coins (if you shoot a penny near the rim with a BB gun it makes a tiny saddle).

The Rake's Song
I had entered into a marriage
In the summer of my twenty-first year
And the bells rang for our wedding
Only now do I remember it clear
Alright, alright, alright

No more a rake and no more a bachelor
I was wedded and it whetted my thirst
Until her womb start spilling out babies
Only then did I reckon my curse
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

First came Isaiah with his crinkled little fingers
Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn
Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery
Mercifully taking her mother along
Alright, alright, alright

What can one do when one is widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Isaiah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath
Alright, alright, alright

And that's how I came your humble narrator
To be living so easy and free
Expect you think that I should be haunted
But it never really bothers me
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

Hazards of Love 3
Father I'm not feeling well
the flowers me you fed
Tasted spoiled for suddenly
I find that I am dead
But father don't you fear
your children all are here
singing ooooh the hazards of love

Father turn the water down
the basins overflown
the water covers everything
and me left all alone
but papa here in death
I have regained my breath
to sing ooooh the hazards of love
to sing ooooh the hazards of love

Spare the rod, you'll spoil the child
but I prefer the lash
my sisters drowned and poisoned
all of me reduced to ash
and buried in an urn
but father I return
singing ooooh the hazards of love
singing ooooh the hazards of love
the hazards of love
the hazards of love

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:

@NetRunner I think the point is that if you want to not exist on tax dollars, you don't also get to legislate out competitors.

Big shrug here. I don't really see a problem with that. Maybe if I thought the service we were getting was a bad deal I'd feel differently, but I think we're getting a pretty good deal.

I'm a lot more worried about the near-monopolies we've got in broadband internet and mobile phone service than I am about the USPS's monopoly on 1st class mail service.
>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
They loose money as well, perhaps it is time to let someone else take a stab at it?

Ahh, do they? Or is their financial situation being weighed down by a requirement Congress saddled them with to pre-fund health benefits?

Again, I just don't see the point in messing with how the Post Office works. It seems like the (half-hearted) efforts from the right to destroy it have more to do with long-term political strategy than an actual effort to make someone's life better.

After all, it's pretty hard to tell people scare stories about how socialism leads to death camps, when one can just point at the postman and say "oh really?"

where's a saddle and an underwater friendly cowboy hat when you need it

Most of the people I've introduced to this song (Blood on the Saddle by Tex Ritter) have said it's the most depressing song they've ever heard.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Yeah more baskets and saddle bags would be good - and optional kid seats too. >> ^MarineGunrock:

I love it. To make it truly versatile, they should have at minimum a rack or basket, if not a couple of saddlebags.

Hilarious to me and definitely worth an upvote. However, I don't understand how Blazing Saddles didn't make it on their list, exempli gratia "Excuse me while I whip this out."