@Yogi

I'm sorry my fellow sifters advocate "offing" these guys. These guys work seven days a week and they work to make a profit - just like every other business.

J.P. Morgan Chase was the go to entity to take over Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual when they failed. Why? Chase was strong enough to bear the burden.

Regarding TARP money Chase never wanted it or needed it. Link

The Dodd Frank and Consumer Protection act is a poorly written gargantuan hydra of a bill. I know this because the small community bankers I know are saying they are not going to be able to stay afloat.

My companies president - someone who I know for a fact has voted as a democrat for over 40 years - told me yesterday he will vote against Obama in the upcoming election. Why? We work in real estate and the paperwork needed to finance a project has multiplied - and with it the number of lawyers and legal hours required - that is if we can get something financed period. Good for lawyers - bad for anyone who might want to work building a new shopping center(architects, tradesmen, engineers, etc) or working there in the future.

Make the rules simple, make them fair, and enforce them effectively.

Wow I hadn't actually watched the video when I made my last comment so I didn't realize the extent of use here. But considering they didn't just use it once and park it at their house and return it the next day your argument falls apart. They repeatedly used it to run errands and were obviously joyriding at high speeds in some segments this guy will be lucky if all he gets is a UUMV charge. And even if his contract does cover this sort of use with customer cars one thing I know from watching civil court TV is that you can't write a contract that essentially allows you to break the law and then go back later and claim it's the other parties fault for not reading the contract. If you break the law you break the law end of story and with the footage they have this guy has zero chance of getting off the hook here.

[edit] Though your right without the video it might be harder to prove and it might have ended up in civil court rather than criminal court though I would think even a civil court Judge would realize this was way beyond fair use. And most car parking companies wouldn't include "special" language in their contracts to cover their asses. It would seem to me that the contract itself would be incriminating at that point.

>> ^Porksandwich:

>> ^Auger8:
In Texas they would charge you with "Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle" or a UUMV which is different than Grand Theft Auto. So say I live with a room mate and he has access to my keys cause I leave them on a peg in my kitchen or something and maybe I've even let him use it before but not this time, this time he takes my car to the store when I'm asleep and crashes it or doesn't return for a few days. That's what the charge would be since he didn't really "steal" it he just used it without asking me. I believe it's a either a high class Misdemeanor or the Lowest Class Felony. Sorry for the run-on sentence there not sure how to word that differently lol.
>> ^Porksandwich:
Is there anything they can even charge the guy with though? I mean you are leaving your car with them and giving it over to their care.......so I am betting their paperwork covers their ass for this kind of stuff if it should arise.
I guess the only thing you could possibly do is try to get them on the personal use stuff. Like the hauling of wood, peeling out on dirt roads, etc.


Still betting their agreement has language to cover a very broad number of reasons for them to move your vehicle. Without the video evidence, he could say he took it home because security chased off someone messing with it the night before.
I mean if you sign something saying "it's OK to...." and then they do something that could be construed to fall under that. You've got a much larger argument to be made, IE you entered into a bad agreement and they took advantage of you versus them just behaving beyond the normal for that kind of business.
I'm not saying this guy isn't an absolute dirt bag and deserves someone to beat him soundly for using their vehicle in an asshole way, but......I'm just not seeing it happen in a court of law knowing that no one is going to watch your car without an agreement you sign if you're leaving your keys with them during it. Long term parking is different because you park it yourself and are in charge of handling whatever comes up problem wise with it...never seen a written agreement in that scenario. There the people working the lot getting your car (no keys or keys) would be obviously unauthorized use and not outright theft since it was there when you got back.

>> ^Auger8:

In Texas they would charge you with "Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle" or a UUMV which is different than Grand Theft Auto. So say I live with a room mate and he has access to my keys cause I leave them on a peg in my kitchen or something and maybe I've even let him use it before but not this time, this time he takes my car to the store when I'm asleep and crashes it or doesn't return for a few days. That's what the charge would be since he didn't really "steal" it he just used it without asking me. I believe it's a either a high class Misdemeanor or the Lowest Class Felony. Sorry for the run-on sentence there not sure how to word that differently lol.
>> ^Porksandwich:
Is there anything they can even charge the guy with though? I mean you are leaving your car with them and giving it over to their care.......so I am betting their paperwork covers their ass for this kind of stuff if it should arise.
I guess the only thing you could possibly do is try to get them on the personal use stuff. Like the hauling of wood, peeling out on dirt roads, etc.



Still betting their agreement has language to cover a very broad number of reasons for them to move your vehicle. Without the video evidence, he could say he took it home because security chased off someone messing with it the night before.

I mean if you sign something saying "it's OK to...." and then they do something that could be construed to fall under that. You've got a much larger argument to be made, IE you entered into a bad agreement and they took advantage of you versus them just behaving beyond the normal for that kind of business.

I'm not saying this guy isn't an absolute dirt bag and deserves someone to beat him soundly for using their vehicle in an asshole way, but......I'm just not seeing it happen in a court of law knowing that no one is going to watch your car without an agreement you sign if you're leaving your keys with them during it. Long term parking is different because you park it yourself and are in charge of handling whatever comes up problem wise with it...never seen a written agreement in that scenario. There the people working the lot getting your car (no keys or keys) would be obviously unauthorized use and not outright theft since it was there when you got back.

In Texas they would charge you with "Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle" or a UUMV which is different than Grand Theft Auto. So say I live with a room mate and he has access to my keys cause I leave them on a peg in my kitchen or something and maybe I've even let him use it before but not this time, this time he takes my car to the store when I'm asleep and crashes it or doesn't return for a few days. That's what the charge would be since he didn't really "steal" it he just used it without asking me. I believe it's a either a high class Misdemeanor or the Lowest Class Felony. Sorry for the run-on sentence there not sure how to word that differently lol.

>> ^Porksandwich:

Is there anything they can even charge the guy with though? I mean you are leaving your car with them and giving it over to their care.......so I am betting their paperwork covers their ass for this kind of stuff if it should arise.
I guess the only thing you could possibly do is try to get them on the personal use stuff. Like the hauling of wood, peeling out on dirt roads, etc.

Is there anything they can even charge the guy with though? I mean you are leaving your car with them and giving it over to their care.......so I am betting their paperwork covers their ass for this kind of stuff if it should arise.

I guess the only thing you could possibly do is try to get them on the personal use stuff. Like the hauling of wood, peeling out on dirt roads, etc.

@dystopianfuturetoday:

I see what you're going for, so here's your Yes. Where our opinions diverge is a matter of perspective.

Slavery is not unique to the Black race, nor even Black Americans, it's a worldwide institution with ancient origins that is still practiced in parts of Africa TODAY. Every race on earth has at one time been enslaved, just as every race on earth has also enslaved other races. As horrible as it seems to us, for centuries slavery was accepted as necessary and a part of life. For Black Americans to feel singled out is, to me, just silly.

So enter the Civil War, a complex struggle involving myriad factors that became more about slavery about halfway through. Republicans ended slavery. Not that is was all sugar and poetry: Lincoln said it didn't matter if he had to keep slavery or end it, he would do whichever it took to save the Union. Lincoln did the paperwork but the Abolitionists did the real work.

We had a Civil Rights movement and it was just. (Now we have a Special Rights movement that is unjust, but that's another chapter).

I don't buy this crap about psychic injuries from slavery. And yes, here is the part where I provide the transcript of Bill Cosby's "Poundcake speech". I know you're going to have your reasons for not liking what he had to say (and I'm sure Jesse Jackson, who was right beside him was shocked and pissed) but all the same, please READ IT.


Yes, there was a time in America where lynchings were common, racism was institutional and opportunities for Blacks were severely limited. That time has passed. Yes, there are remnants of the klan out there, but they're not the ones forcing Blacks to drop out of school, disparage reading books and getting an education as "the White Man's Game" or impregnating young girls like it's nothing.

We've had generation after generation of immigrants now, from Vietnam, India, the failed soviet bloc. They came here with nothing and in a generation or two have risen. And if the excuse is, 'Well, they're not Black," here come Blacks from the Caribbean, working hard and doing just as well. All of these immigrant groups have one HUGE advantage: they haven't suffered decades of this American victim mentality.

I trust your sincerity and the sincerity of all the liberals who want to see Black Americans improve their lot (and they have, most are middle class). But there are forces that demand the dependency of Black Americans and use a victim mentality to get their votes. I don't see why anyone would heed voices that say, 'You Can't Do It'.


RE: the "science" article bashing conservatives. In Japan there are "scientists" whose entire output is exceptionalist-nationalist philosophy (nihonjinron) that is to be taken very seriously. This article is on the same level as, "liberals are better lovers".








>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

qm - Imagine if you and the rest of your ethnic heritage were brought to this country as prisoners, to be sold as property to other people. You are bought and sold and expected to do hard labor without protest. Any resistance could mean your life, or your foot, so you quickly learn to submit yourself to the authority of the ruling racial class. Your ethnic heritage, as a whole, is kept in poverty and ignorance for many generations. Old proud traditions are beaten out of you, and new ones are created in secret, out of the watchful eye of your master. You cannot sing your music, but you can sing in the church choir, so you create your own new culture under the restrictions imposed by your masters.
Then a century down the road, it is decided that slavery is wrong and you are set free. Unfortunately for you, you are in your middle age with no money or education in a culture where you are thought of as subhuman. In this hostile environment, you are expected to compete with people who have been free all their lives, and more sinisterly, people who loathe you and are actively against your progress. They even create organizations to make life worse for you and to form lynch mobs to murder you and your kind.
This new generation continues to pass along the legacy of poverty, lack of education, self doubt, fear and shame to further generations. For the next few generations, laws are set up to discriminate against your people, and it is publicly acceptable to insult, attack and even kill your underclass with minimal consequences. There are new freedoms and a desire to rise above, but there are so very many cultural barriers.
Eventually society decides this underclass should have the same rights as everyone else, but at this point, the legacy of slavery has been imprinted on an entire culture for many generations - Hundreds of years of negative cultural conditioning. Although free in law, there is still much animosity aimed at your group. Not only are ou different in color and culture, but you also carry the stigma of being poor and not having access to the same level of education of the ruling racial class.
Eventually steps are taken to reverse this legacy of hate, poverty and slavery through government assistance programs, and while costly, they do yield success as your underclass rises in wealth and social acceptance. The fact that we, the racial ruling class, see them as equal and expect them to do as well as we do speaks greatly to the change in culture over the last half century. But, just are the legacy of slavery lives on in black culture, so does the legacy of hate live on in white culture. Groups of neo-confederate whites are angry that there is an effort to help remedy a problem created by our forefathers. They don't care whether or not these programs have been successful, they just hate the idea of this long hated underclass getting some help.
Just as the legacy of poverty has made it's way from generation to generation, so has the legacy of hate.
Perhaps the neo-confederates should take the log out of their own eye, before cataloging the failings of others. Or at least, they could attempt some understanding of why these stats are the way they are, how much progress has been made, and what could be done to stop these destructive legacies in the future.

Do you see what I'm going for here, qm? I'd love a yes, even if it comes with heavy reservations.

after watching this, the main thing that strikes my mind is what if buehler had just been some ordinary joe shmoe and not a west pt grad/army vet/stanford mba...

would he be in more serious trouble? would this have still made the news? if so, to the same degree? and what does that say about our media?

he'll have all charges dropped, i'm sure, if the police dashcam doesn't show him intentionally spitting on the officer... but i doubt he'll have any tortious legal claim

aside from all of that... this whole snafu just highlights for me again how aggressive us police officers can be -- i've spent close to two decades as an american living in asia, thirteen of those years in taiwan... the difference between the police at home and those here is night and day...

patrol cars here actually drive around, very slowly, with their police lights lit at all times - this struck me as odd initially, but i came to realize that it acts as a deterrent to lawlessness - there're also no speed traps, and if you're stopped by the police, they're always very courteous... almost apologetic

there are a few downsides to this though... they're slow to respond to calls for help, and practically do backflips in order avoid any sort of paperwork on their part

i often wonder about what the cause of such differences (i.e. aggressiveness / discourtesy) between the two might be -- part of it is certainly the fact that everyday americans have ready access to firearms, whereas the only armed taiwanese are gangsters -- another aspect i suspect is the level of officer empowerment by the local government (e.g. us officers are given an enormous amount of power to be used and/or abused, while taiwanese police for the most part act as society's shepherds in uniform)

how to reconcile these differences, and perhaps reach a happy medium?

@chilaxe

The link you had with the text "Can't figure what they did" is the same one you used to argue "US outcomes in general are driven by cultural groups." Are you trying to say that allowing (as if they could stop it without A LOT of cost) immigration is replacing the population?

I could see that, but I am not sure why that is considered a specifically socialist policy. I know they could stop immigration somewhat, or at least make them illegal immigrants by not giving them the paperwork they need to stay. But beyond that, can they really stop a legal immigrant from living in the state? I couldn't see the connection you were making to socialism honestly.

I think it's that socialism works in other countries, and works quite well. While in the US capitalism has become very predatory, everyone is out to tie you up in confusing deals and contracts or hit you with hidden fees. There's almost no straight forward business being done when it comes to things that are considered "necessities" by most citizens.

Healthcare, every one says they are doing what they do to keep costs down...overwhelmingly your experience at the doctors office gets shorter and shorter, they order more tests that show nothing and you pay more and more. Most doctors, if you have even the slightest cause for a test, they are off the hook for frivolous tests....you should be able to trust the doctor to have your best interest in mind and not withhold information to earn themselves referral fees and what not.

Banking, just look at all the fees fiascos we've been having recently. Then look at the mortgage situation, they were filling out completely false paperwork in people's names and submitting it. Now they are coming to take your house, whether they have a right to do legally or not. They aren't so helpful with loans anymore either, you'll find it more difficult to get a reasonable loan (than say 7 years ago), despite all the federal aid and such they took in.

Phone, you have so many fees on cell phones and landlines. They used to toy with area codes and have "local long distance" areas that would change randomly over periods of time. I remember a friend of mine could walk across the street and make a no extra fees local call while at his house it was local long distance rates. It's equivalent to roaming on cell phones.

Internet, not only are they trying to pass laws to censor everything they rape you on most plans. You pay the same or more for less every year as they over burden their networks and never expand. Then complain about all the congestion like they weren't adding more people the whole time and it's YOUR fault.

Air travel, you get felt up, treated like a criminal, and you better have a smile on your face while this is all going down. Plus pay extra for your bags, use special containers, etc etc.

The idea of capitalism is great, but only when the companies can't leverage their monopolies or size to quit being competitive and become predatory. And we have predatory capitalism, where instead of offering the best possible services for the lowest possible prices, you get less and less as time goes on for the same money. Or they offer a "standard service" but it becomes more costly as times goes on for unexplainable reasons in many cases that usually end up being "Rising costs" but no one knows where or why they are rising.

Plus there's more and more barriers to entry for small businesses who only make enough to support their employees. New required licensing for a job they've never required licenses for previously, minimum insurance coverage for their work, minority ratio requirements if you are working on something that is receiving public funding.

And then we have outrageous requirements for jobs, such as 4 year degrees for jobs that even 10 years ago probably didn't have those requirements.

Rising education costs which pair up with the above point, making it even costlier to simply function in our capitalist society. Less apprenticeships and similar training programs to receive hands on experience under a working professional.

30 years, it's just become more and more complicated to do anything at all many times with no good reason for it being that way beyond allowing a small group of people to exploit everyone else.

It is obvious that people "close" early. I used to try to close the shop 5 minutes after we were supposed to close. Theoretically, it was supposed to take 30 minutes to close to go through all of the paperwork, money, etc.

Sometimes I would have people get there five minutes after. And even though we were closed and I had my coat on, I would re-open the store. I would answer the phones a clear fifteen minutes after we were closed... it's a job, do it well. Do your fucking job.

>> ^BoneRemake:

@Stu
I have never seen or heard of this idiotic practice before, I do not live under a rock. What I have experienced is a different posted note on the front of the store that states the different closing hours due to holiday or fire drill or what not.
This assumed alignment to un-posted opening hours is in poor practice. If you are going to change your regular hours, post a fucking note a couple days before, I would be and will continue to be pissed off if some dick smack closes earlier then posted times, because they are being dick smacks.
It is laughable how some of you people are putting this on the shoppers for going last minute.

Pro-tip: to avoid excess paperwork, ensure your political party doesn't sponsor an invasion of illegal aliens instant democrats.

@blankfist

Research that purporting that teaching is a difficult job based on 6 criteria. I suggest the whole document but here's the jest of it.
______________________________________________
---------->Societal Attitude:
The participants in this study believed that the attitude of society toward the teaching profession was unfair and detrimental to their overall functioning. They did not believe that they were valued, despite their advanced levels of education. In a recent nationwide survey of over 11,000 teachers and teacher candidates, Henke, Chen, Geis, and Knepper (2000) found that only 14.6% of the teachers surveyed were satisfied with the esteem in which society held the teaching profession.

--->Denise, a high school English teacher addressed the issue of respect:

"There is a lack of respect for teachers. It's not just the money, but also the attitude I get from administrators and politicians that teachers are trying to get away with something. We have taken these cushy jobs where all we have to do is stand up in front of a bunch of kids and BS for a few hours, and only work ten months of the year, at that teachers have it easy! Every time we ask for something (like, in my county, that the county pay our contribution to the state retirement system, for example), they make us out to look like whiners - give 'em an inch; they'll take a mile. The truth is, though, that teachers care so deeply and work SO much beyond our "contract hours." I can't tell you how many come in for weeks during the summer, as I do, and take on clubs after school (for which we are not compensated), and work during vacations. This lack of respect for teachers gets me down."
______________________________________________
---------->Financial Issues:
On top of the perception that they are not being valued by society, teachers are notoriously underpaid in our country. Four years after their graduation, Henke et al. (2000) surveyed a large sample of college graduates between 1992-1993. They found that the teachers were tied with clerical staff and service workers for the lowest salaries. A recent report from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT, 2000) found the following to be the case for the 2000-2001 school year:

For new teachers, the $28,986 average beginning salary lagged far behind starting salary offers in other fields for new college graduates. For example, accounting graduates were offered an average $37,143; sales/marketing, $40,033; math/statistics, $49,548; computer science, $49,749; and engineering, $50,033.
The $43,250 average teacher salary fell short of average wages of other white-collar occupations, the report found. For example, mid-level accountants earned an average $52,664, computer system analysts, $71,155; engineers, $74,920; and attorneys, $82,712.
The majority of the participants in this study related that they were simply not paid enough to live comfortably. They drove old cars and lived in inexpensive apartments. Others struggled to save enough money to buy a home.

--->Calvin, a high school science teacher, talked about his pay:

"I love teaching, but I don't know if I love it enough to deprive my family and myself of necessities. I have a baby and another on the way. I can't see how I can ever save enough to make a down payment on a house, even with a second job in the summer."
______________________________________________
---------->Time Scarcity:
Many new teachers were physically and emotionally fatigued to the point of exhaustion. They reported that they worked long days at school, and then took home lesson plans to create, papers to grade, and parents to call. They also worked nights and weekends on school-related work.

--->Jessica, a high school math teacher:

"I work 70 hours a week, and after 3 years it's not getting any better. When Friday night rolls around, all I want to do is fall asleep at 8 p.m.! Obviously that doesn't lead to a very exciting social life, or much of a "life" at all, if I can hardly stay awake long enough to go out to dinner with my friends and family. Even at holidays there are always papers to grade."

--->Fred, a high school English teacher also had difficulty with the amount of time required to do his job, pointing to the effect the time constraints had on family relationships:

The time commitment is the worst. During my first two years of teaching I worked 70-80 hour weeks, including time worked during the school day, in the evenings and over the weekend. Time commitment varies with the subject taught and with experience, but this aspect of the job nearly ran me out of teaching on several occasions and I witnessed one great new teacher leave teaching for this very reason. "It's my job or my marriage," she explained. "I never see my husband, and we're living under the same roof."

______________________________________________
---------->Workload:
The data reveal that it is nearly impossible for a conscientious teacher to complete all that is expected of them in one school day. At the high school level, teachers were teaching five or more classes in a traditional school, and three in a block schedule school. For each class this meant that the teacher's task was to design a complete lesson lasting at least one hour. This lesson had to follow the state curriculum, be engaging and interesting to students, and include various components as required by the school district, such as a warm-up, class activities, and homework. The teachers wanted to use outside resources such as the Internet to connect the material to real world applications. Additionally, they reported that there were often several special needs students in the class, and each of them needed some special accommodation. They found that planning was not a trivial task; it took several hours to design one effective instructional plan.

According to the teachers in this study, class sizes were another difficult feature of the teacher's day. In public high schools, most class sizes ranged from 25 to 35 students for a total of 125-175 students in a traditional school, and 75-105 in a four period block school. Henke et al. (2000) reported that the average number of students taught by secondary teachers each day is 115.8.

--->Abby, a high school history teacher explained the effect of large class sizes:

"Imagine any other professional trying to deal with the needs of this many "customers" at one time. If a physician were seeing patients, and grouped this many together, it is readily apparent how ridiculous it would be to expect her or him to address the needs of each person. The same is true for teachers.
Each student is an individual, with needs and issues that must be addressed. In a class period, the teachers expressed frustration because they could not address the needs of 25 or more students. "

--->Gina, a former high school science teacher described the variety in her workload as well as in her students' abilities:

"What I least expected was the amount of paperwork I had to do. Grading papers, progress reports, parent conferences, English-as-a-Second Language, exceptional students, ADD paperwork, and even work for absent students seem to take more time than "teaching."

To compound the issue, teachers also related many learning issues, where students had questions or misunderstandings that could easily have been cleared up with a few minutes of one-on-one time. They also reported discipline issues that got more serious when they were not addressed. Some students were bored. Some lacked basic skills and could not perform without help. In general, the teachers expressed being frustrated because they are educated professionals who could address these issues, if there were time to get to everyone. There was simply not enough time to address the variety of issues that simultaneously too place. Farkas et al. (2000) reported that 86% of new teachers report that the change most likely to improve teaching is reducing class size.

--->Eva, a high school English teacher summed up her frustration with large class sizes.

"This was not a matter of poor time management; it was a matter of too many students with too many needs and one harried teacher trying to be superhuman. There were times that I had a great lesson plan, only to have it totally derailed because of one or two students who needed individual attention and could not get it."

The total number of students that this professional was expected to evaluate, plan, and care for each day was as many as 150.
______________________________________________
---------->Working Conditions:
School administrators varied in their support of young teachers, and many teachers reported that this support was inadequate. The new teachers felt that they were evaluated and judged, but they would have preferred real feedback and suggestions for improvement of their teaching. They felt that they were often not supported in discipline issues or in conflicts with parents.

--->Carol, a former high school math teacher:

"I was very frustrated with the lack of support from my principal/administration in that after three observations I never got any feedback either in written or verbal form. I never really knew how I was doing. I felt I was doing a good job, but did not think the administration cared one way or the other."

--->Fran, a high school mathematics teacher expressed a need for more funds:

"Teachers should be given all the supplies that they need - $25 is not enough! At all other jobs that I have worked at, whatever you need to do your job is provided."
______________________________________________
---------->Relationships with Students and Parents:
A common problem reported by beginning teachers was student apathy. Many of the novice teachers reported that students had no interest in learning. In addition to attendance problems, a number of students often came to class without pencil, paper, and textbook. It was difficult to force or entice them to participate in classwork, and virtually impossible to get them to do homework.

--->Owen, a former high school mathematics teacher, was frustrated by his students' apathy:

"The vast majority of my students had no interest in learning math and I quickly tired of trying to force them (or entice them). They refused to bring paper or pencil to class, refused to do homework or classwork, and frequently came to class late or not at all. Most of them, to my great surprise, were not at all belligerent or confrontational about their refusal to do anything in class; they just had no intention of working at anything."

--->Mattie, a former high school history teacher, could not deal with the frustration:

"I just became very frustrated teaching to a class of 20 students and about 5 were interested or at least concerned with their grades. I decided not to return, because I was so exhausted and depressed at the end of the year. I just couldn't see "wasting" my time in a classroom where the kids don't care about themselves or what you're trying to accomplish."

--->Eugene, a former high school math teacher, also reported problems with apathy:

"I was frustrated with the apathy of the students. Many days I felt as though I was standing up there talking to myself. It was the longest year of my life. I was an emotional wreck because I felt as if the kids/parents didn't care enough to try or participate."

First of all, of course is was the bank's idea. That is simply a silly statement. That we agreed to it is secondary and after the fact.

Yes, the debit card made things more convenient - that's a fact. Sometimes a little too convenient but that another issue. But more importantly, it also made it more convenient for the banks. Far less people in bank line-ups means less tellers, less paperwork, less behind the scenes people filing and organizing. It also eliminated inter-bank transactions which used to be a huge process. (Remember when you wanted to make a withdrawl, but it wasn't your branch?) I can't imagine the process for corporate money and investment money managing on a global scale without digital accounts. The process alone just for taking in, processing and returning checks/cheques must be arduous.

The point is, this system wasn't made for MY convenience, it was made for THEIR convenience.

Yes, you are right, we did embrace the convenience. Who wouldn't? The nature of the word is obvious and we embrace every new convenience. That we were slowly lulled into compliance through this convenience is more the issue. That's how most traps are set. Now the system has been institutionalized, there is no way we can do without it, so now the service charges start to increase - and there is nothing we can do about it.

Actually, I can't get my paycheck in cash. I have to have a bank account for the automatic payroll. I also cannot pay my bills without the bank, I either need to pay online using my bank account, pay at the bank teller, (which I also need my card for) or pay by mail using checks (yup need the bank for that too - and an added service charge.) I can't rent anything without a credit card deposit. I can't stay at a hotel without a credit card, I can't make a reservation anywhere, I can't book a flight or plan holidays. I can't rent a movie, I can't get tickets to the theater or see a concert. Starting next year, I won't even be able to purchase the lunch program at my kids school without an online-transaction (Yup - credit card.) So don't tell me that I am not required to have the cards because we ARE required to have them.

I could take out a wad of cash every two weeks, except the banks are only open while I am at work and closed before I get off. The problem is, I can't stuff that cash into the phone line or mail it. Yes there are things I can still do with it. Buy groceries and gas... but there are many things I can't use it for.

>> ^EMPIRE:

I know Texas get made fun of a lot, but is it really possible to buy the 2 weapons in this video in Texas? I'm really asking, I don't know, but it would seem overkill even for Texas standards.


The guy is in Georgia. Laws in regards to such things are the same, as in that they are not regulated at the state level, only federal. Anyone with a clean background and the cash can own them. Fill out the appropriate paperwork and pay the excise taxes and you're ready to go.


Also note, on stuff like explosive rockets and grenades, there is a $200 tax on each one, so it can add up fast...But there are limits on what is considered an explosive. Off the top of my head, I think anything under 1/4oz of powder and it's not considered an explosive. Furthermore, to have explosives, you have to have a proper magazine to store them, can't just keep them in your house.

So in other words, the things are so regulated to get and use, that you have to be smart enough to know the laws to get through the paperwork, and rich enough to be able to buy them. Unless you are a manufacturer, then you can do what you want. I have a hunch he is either a manufacturer, or son/relative of one. And whoever owns them is rich and has a lot of land. You'd be surprised at how many collectors there are with the same stuff, they just don't post it on Youtube

He did claim the job is easy. I'm sorry, but that's what it implied.

He's not saying teacher's are all Einstein's. He's saying the swath of skill a teacher must possess is very wide, and it's not a cursory level of knowledge and skill. And his description is absolutely correct. He never said teachers are full time experts in every single one of those fields.

Before you say something idiotic like teachers don't need or are not required to have in depth knowledge of psychology, you could do a few common sense things like, oh I don't know, check college requirements for education degrees.

I must have imagined all those undergrad & graduate level psychology and education classes that were REQUIREMENTS to getting an education degree, which I had to have to get a teaching license! You know, classes that couldn't have a thing to do with psychology. Let's whip out that transcript and take a look:

101 Introduction to Psychology
300 Foundations of Education (heavy doses of educational psychology)
301 Human Development and Learning
607 (That's a graduate level class) Advanced Educational *PSYCHOLOGY*
605 Theory and Practice of Education/Special Needs Students

There were also Practicum classes with heavy doses of psychology.

Does your job require you to take five semesters of psychology in college to get licensed to do your job?

And that's my point with both of you. You have absolutely no clue whatsoever about the teaching profession, and yet you insist over and over and over you somehow do because you attended school. You clearly don't have a clue, so how about you go learn about these specific areas before you speak to them instead of trying to prove an ignorant point of view.

>> ^blankfist:

>> ^heropsycho:
That's what he said. You don't think he was saying the job is easy?! So what did he mean by "low-human-potential"?!

Obviously he was inferring you.
I kid. I kid. But no one is claiming the job is "easy". I'm sure it has it's difficulties. @chilaxe didn't even infer that it was. He was responding to this ludicrous notion that being a teacher is as difficult as you guys are alluding. I mean, have you read dft's summation of the job? You'd think the teachers were fucking Einsteins wearing every hat imaginable.
I mean, you guys are laying it on thick. I've had jobs where I was hired because of a specific skill, but also had to do things unrelated to that skill set. But you don't hear me over here claiming I'm a file clerk because I had to file the occasional paperwork. Or that I'm a receptionist because I answered my own phones. Or that I'm a disciplinarian because I was the lead on a team. Or, and this is my personal favorite, a psychologist! A fucking psychologist! Seriously, dft claimed that being a teacher is akin to having eight years medical school! I mean fuck me in the face! lol
Whatever, you guys have become parodies of yourselves by this point. I'm done with this discussion. Haha. Fucking psychologists teaching at our public schools! This is phenomenal! Our kids should be geniuses! lol.