I havent read a paper book since I bought my first kindle (well that's not totally true I guess since I read children's books to my son). Id guess digital libraries are libraries of the near future providing a ton more access 24/7 for a lower overall cost.

saw that wreck while working last night....then saw some drunk students walking by later on stealing 'souvenirs' from the debris thinking it was fun times.

I would contend all this has more to do with parents that care and are involved with their kids education than any school system. Behind almost all successful students are involved parents.

edit: as an addon...I'd suggest that the top students in Clarke county actually get more opportunities than the surrounding counties due to a lot higher amount of govt monies available to them.

amazing to me how many of the 'bosses' in govt don't have to take responsibility for their employees or have any idea what their employees are doing.

[quote][b]Mr Lightborn[/b] - @sweept:
Tough talk is cheaper than dirt.
[/quote]

Not sure what you're calling 'tough talk'. All Ive said is evident thruout America's history.

[quote][b]Mr Lightborn[/b] -
That is a somewhat psychopathic view of what makes up a desired society.
Or a paranoiac's utopia.
[/quote]

call it paranoia or whatever. Americans are just fine sitting back letting things happen slowly without lifting a finger. But push them too hard or fast and theyll push back. The Japanese found out in a war situation, but it goes for all types of causes also. The in your face type of thing doesn't work in America, but the slow moving, passive, change almost always does. Step by step we will allow freedoms to be taken away, but if govt tried to take it in a big bit all at once, ppl would stand up and say no.

[quote][b]Shalmaneser[/b] -
If the Civil War didn't doom the country, what's going on now that's more dangerous? [/quote]

Id suggest that when Americans have to actually fight for something, they're at their best and most active. We are way to passive as a country freely willing to go quietly into the night when not feeling attacked.

[quote][b]grove600[/b] - 3 am? I'd be packing too. [/quote]

Yeh, as a person that works nights and carries for protection..and uses it almost monthly for self defense, it always makes me giggly watching some posters here talking about how THEY have never needed one so why should anyone else. Sounds like my mother in law. Facts don't matter, just how they feel matters in the real world according to them.

@E.J.:We've discussed it before, but I'll bite. Can start with welfare housing being changed to barely subsistence. There should be no cable tv, minimal AC (set to 82 and heat set to 60), lights out at 900 pm along with a curfew (with permits excusing the curfew only for night time jobs), reveille at 600 am, and stuff like that. It should be about survival living and not something pleasant or halfway desirable. Food stamps go for milk, cheese, veggies only. None of this namebrand stuff, no candies, high fat cereals, etc. Once again, enough to live on but not be happy times.

Instead of the perks they get today, focus that money on educating the kids and parents in whatever way will help them get off welfare and become productive citizens able to make a better life for themselves.

To reiterate...welfare needs to be a temporary stop in hard times instead of a way of life. It shouldn't be comfortable or pleasing or fun to be on welfare. There has to be incentive to get off welfare and back to being a productive citizen.

As an aside, this goes for all the ppl physically/mentally able to become productive citizens. I recognize there are some ppl out there that arent able to join productive society due to physical/mental reasons and they should be taken care of.

[quote][b]mpd0.59[/b] -
Those decisions are made by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, Ben Bernanke, a George Bush nominee, and are independent of the President of the U.S.
[/quote]

I thought something smelled wrong here when you posted it a couple days ago, but couldnt put my finger on why.....

"The current chairman is Ben Bernanke, an academic nominated by George W. Bush and sworn into office on February 1, 2006, for a term lasting until January 31, 2010. He was nominated for a second term by President Barack Obama in 2009, and was confirmed by the Senate in 2010. Bernanke's second term ends on January 31, 2014. Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan, who served for more than 18 years during the terms of four U.S. Presidents."

This cleared it up for me....while youre right in that Bush nominated Bernanke in 2006.... Obama nominated him for a second term in 2009.

[quote][b]avenger[/b] - @sweept: This goes for a whole butt ton more than hope monies.
I thought that phrase was so dear to conservative hearts. Liberals have been condemning welfare for the rich as long as conservatives have been railing against welfare for the poor. Liberals like me know the there are problems in welfare but welfare in the form of subsidies for the rich is much more pervasive and costly to our country. [/quote]

and this is the type of garbage that liberals try to paint conservatives with. Conservatives have no problem with welfare being a hand up for those in need or during hard times. Conservatives do however have a problem with welfare becoming a lifestyle and a way of living. Who is more cruel.... those that want to keep the poor down by keeping them satisfied on welfare or those that want welfare to be a temporary state of life used just when needed to be able to move on to better things and a better life. Too many ppl have gotten used to living on welfare and taking the freebies as a lifestyle. That's why the average length of time on welfare is now up to four years. Ppl have gotten too comfortable just sitting there living at low levels with little reason to try to work their way to a better life. That's what conservatives don't agree with.

But change is unlikely to be swift or easy. “Once you give people stuff, it’s hard to take it away,” Cornwell says.

This goes for a whole butt ton more than hope monies.

[quote][b]mpd0.59[/b] -
Those decisions are made by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, Ben Bernanke, a George Bush nominee, and are independent of the President of the U.S.
[/quote]

yeh I know...it's bush's fault..... on a side note, I hope the economy does great and keeps growing. It just worries me that we keep getting sunshine and unicorn stories on the economy doing so well when it's built on foundations that cant be sustained. Im not one to hope for the worst in our economy in hopes of future political gain. I just want it to be done on sound foundations and not things that create artificial bubbles for short term political gains that are destined to burst.

@PutPositiveN2theWorld: thx for that info....didnt know that at all.

[quote][b]Shalmaneser[/b] - As if you'd stay well-fed during an uprising?[/quote]

Fortunately I have a private water source and garden that would keep us fed. It'd be skinny times for sure, but we'd survive. If I did see that really coming to fruition, I'd plan on stocking up on more ammo.

edit>>>
"The ironic part here is when you note which party invests more effort in keeping people fed"

as for that statement..... arent the conservatives the ones for farm subsidies keeping food prices lower and more farms in business? I thought it was the liberal side that was more into taking away the subsidies and more into hand outs? If there's nothing to hand out, then that idea sorta dies out. Subsidies allow the feds to have some control over what is produced, without that, the farmers would produce only what made the most money the easiest. Take dairy vs beef farmer... who in their right mind would do dairy farming if beef made the same money? Dairy farming sucks butt, but the federal govt gives a subsidy to the dairy farmers to keep them dairy farmers. Im sure that's how it works for grains etc...I just have personal experience with the dairy farming side.

[quote][b]mpd0.59[/b] - How could it be happening under a Muslim socialist President from Kenya hell bent on destroying America and free market capitalism? How does he get away with playing golf 12 hours a day and taking luxury vacations every other week?
[/quote]

maybe because of the 85 billion a month they're printing up at this point..45 billion goes to buying foreclosed houses from banks so the banks don't have to eat the loss? and just maybe, the govt isn't putting these houses on the market at this point (kinda like the 2 across from my house owned by the govt sitting there gathering dust and growing 3ft tall grass) causing a short term shortage in houses for sale leading to a fake increase in housing prices?

[quote][b]Shalmaneser[/b] - Presumably, folks would get tired of being hungry with no electricity.[/quote]

In the distant, or maybe not too distant, future. This is where I expect the next huge rioting will come from. If we have enough crop/animal failures and the cities dont get fed, I could see a huge backlash incoming. Think the quote is' 8 meals from violence'. I think most ppl are too lazy to rise up against political changes unless the changes are forced too quickly.

[quote][b]Shalmaneser[/b] -
With the flipside that you do have the follow legal ones. Shooting armed Insurrectionists? Legal as can be. [/quote]

That's true....but I wasnt talking about that in that post....I was helping out EJ letting her know where that rule came from and when. Not sure if youre pulling a msnbc or not, but always use all of posts to give background for statements.

@Shalmaneser: I think youre thinking small scale insurrection. Im saying IF a widespread (think civil war sized) rebellion were to happen (vs rodney king). I think you guys are thinking a weekend riot or 100 hillbillies with shotguns running around. Im talking millions of ppl.

Once again....Im not saying this is going to happen and Im not pushing/hoping for it to happen in any shape or form. But IF it did happen. At this point, Im talking scifi/fantasy and you guys are acting like Im talking imminent near future.

If a small scale riot sized uprising happened, theyd be put down quick fast and in a hurry...I agree.

@avenger Above post goes for you too....Talking fiction here...fantasyland etc. All Im saying is, in the theoretical massive rebellion (ie millions which isnt in the cards no matter how high those polls get) the ppl here saying the military would save them are naive to think they know who the military would fight for.

[quote][b]Mentok[/b] - @Ellie Mae: Is fatback addiction considered a handicap? [/quote]

sadly I know 3 ppl on disability right now due to being fat

[quote][b]E.J.[/b] -
Wasn't a law or rule just recently passed that required soldiers to not obey an order if they knew it was wrong? That's a real can of worms if you ask me.
[/quote]

actually that has been the military law for as long as I remember....UCMJ says you dont have to follow an illegal order.

[quote][b]Shalmaneser[/b] -
Well, historically, how often have they not, and on what scale? Mutiny of US Armed forces is pretty rare, and I doubt it's because of widespread constant support of what the US policy was at the time.
After all, if you've trained someone to follow orders that may get him killed, having him follow orders that hinge on details of Constitutional Law is probably simple...particularly if the government is, in fact, being perfectly obedient to the Constitution and rule of law. That the powers this gives the federal government are wider than some people's ideal of government isn't relevant there- the guys who start an insurrection are, properly, running afoul of the Insurrection Act.
If you don't expect soldiers to obey legal orders just because they disagree with them, that's a bigger problem. [/quote]

I wouldn't worry about most of the soldiers decisions at first. They will probably follow orders (until they get into actual combat situations where they're killing American citizens). Id worry more about the military leadership. On a side note, if you think soldiers are non thinking automatons doing only what they're told, you need to talk to a few. There is not much love for Obama in the rank and file of the military due to many reasons. Liberal policy could be one, but in truth, that is far outstripped by the overall lack of respect/support that the administration has given to the military. I think you'd be surprised how many of my currently serving friends are talking about men being left behind to die for political gain in Benghazi. Or even moreso how fast the admin was to turn to cutting personnel pay via furloughs instead of cutting contracts that havent even been served yet. When you screw the little man over and over for political gain/expediency, you cause hard feelings..when these disgruntled men/women control the arms of our country, you exacerbate the problem. If you havent noticed, the men and women of our military have very little confidence in their political leadership (that means the politicians not the military leadership as a whole).

Once again, Im not calling for or saying an armed revolution is incoming. Im just saying thinking that the US military would blindly follow the current admin in the case of a large armed rebellion is naive.

Does anyone here think that if Mexico starting showering us with missiles daily due to taking Texas, that the U.S. wouldn't respond militarily? Or if, hypothetically speaking, Iran was next door to us making nuclear bomb material, we wouldn't respond? Or how about Canada decides to give biological weapons/materials to Anti U.S. terrorists (yeh I know this is a fairytale)...we wouldn't attempt to stop that? Why do we ask Israel to do that?

[quote][b]cyou299[/b] - gosh, fellows, you're right - these disinformation guys are good. They're even fooling the tycoons on Wall Street. DOW at record highs.
classic neo-cons chime in...posting refutations of the realities in front of their faces. [/quote]

I guess the increased liquidity via fake printing of cash and no where else to invest for any real gain has nothing to do with the inflation of the stock market? At this point, we have fake money propping up the housing market and excessive liquidity, along with a lack of investment opportunities other than the stock market and housing, leading to an inflated stock market. When does the bubble go boom....who knows.

Not sure Ive seen this much without a hurricane being involved in Ga. Was noticing a lot of standing water on yards as I paddled along in my truck on saturday night.