1: Education needs the parents back in charge. Yes, that means some bad decisions, but it will have more people involved with the education of their own children. As a parent of a 4th grader, I can tell you I am all but excluded from a lot of the decisions that get made for him at school.Too much money is being spent in administration of the school system, and that takes precious resources away from the teachers themselves. Parents can be counted on to do more for their children. We are waiting for the opportunity.
2: Technology could make schools more interactive for the purpose of easing the burden on teachers. Teachers don't need home rooms, students do. Then you only have to move around teachers to the virtual desk they have in the system. The result is less time in the halls for the students, and more time in a familiar place.
What camera would you recommend for getting into basic photography?
Have you considered an iphone? The photo quality is really good and the latest is 8 megapixel. You won't leave it behind, and given the price points of cameras, not a bad deal if you are talking about taking pictures of family and friends. If you want to take a larger variety of pictures and you need more features, like optical zoom, try the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS. It is fast, simple, and cheap.
"But I don't have the expertise to know at what point spending more money isn't going to do me, as a camera newbie, any good. Any thoughts?"
If you want to stop spending at couple of hundred, go with a quality smartphone or a small point and shoot. If you consider spending more than 300, you should wait, get comfortable fiddling with the settings of a point and shoot (take a class), and then buy an Cannon or Nikon DSLR. Beyond that, it does not make sense to burn $600-$2000 on a device you are not committed to lugging around.
I use the Pulse Pen as well and it flat out works. Not only can you sync audio with your notes (which not all professors allow), but your handwritten notes are searchable after you upload the information and the battery lasts for days.
There is only one real difference between public and private management of the economy: The government is, at least mildly,ACCOUNTABLE.
Really? We should not forget where the current economic meltdown began. Congress, particularly one committee in the House, regulated and looked out for the interests of the nation monitoring the financial health of Fannie and Freddie Mac. Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, both high ranking members of that committeereceived the most political money from Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac over the past 10 years (Obama was in the top 3 as well [quite the coup for someone who has not been in politics that long]). Their failed oversight may have gotten Dodd a sweetheart deal on his home loan, but the rest of us? We get the to pay for the bailout. Those two knuckleheads are still on Congress.
When a company fails, it fails a percentage of the people. When government fails, it fails all of the people.
To be fair, Microsoft's customization data is from users who participate in their "Customer Experience Improvement Program." If 2% of slashdot users are in it, I would be surprised. I am currently in the program only because I have Office 2007 and I want to represent aggravated users.
Ireland maybe the least "EU" of the EU countries. They voted no on the last EU constitution mainly to protect their lower corporate tax rates, which is bringing a lot of business to Ireland.
We need tax reform (simplification, clarity, yada yada yada), both personal and corporate, not just tax increases.
A test of internal controls has nothing to do with a company's solvency. A company can be hemorrhaging cash and have excellent controls in place to protect from theft of money and information.
The argument is that the law of diminishing returns applies to government regulation and you can reach a point of over-regulation. Since law is not a monolith we have passed that point in some areas and clearly haven't in others.
There are still people who believe that government cannot solve every problem, and, to stay on topic, the current financial crisis happened with SOX in place. The real problem is that government requires businesses to invest in unprofitable markets and then deregulates when the businesses complain about being over regulated. They create a company (Fannie Mae) then allow said company's leadership to contribute to its regulators in Congress. After 20 years of new laws, unwillingness to repeal older laws, and turning a blind eye, the system is left to teeter until it does the inevitable.
Yes and no. If a non-publicly traded company wants to do business with a company that falls under SOX, they may be subject to additional requirements (like an audit of internal controls). SOX is much bigger than most people think and bad for business.
Here is the most common use of Web 2.0: Talk about the "idea" of a better UI and add embedded video. Lower the content and add tracking cookies to tailor the content for a later date. Sounds like government already.
The idea being missed is democracy. We currently have, by our own hand, a ruling class. A group of people who claim special knowledge and intellect to rule. It is not true. As George Orwell, in Animal Farm, and George Washington, in real life, proved, good character should be the most important prerequisite for office. Otherwise you get nothing but people who wish to rule others, pigs or demigods over the rest of us.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. ~Alan Simpson
MSU's 269 votes would have not swayed the election to Gore except in on one standard and it was not a standard being used in Florida (specifically Palm Beach) or promoted by Al Gore's lawsuit.
All laws are not written for all entities without limitations. The American's With Disabilities Act does not apply to state governments or the federal government. There are other laws and reasons that the fed and state governments make their buildings handicap accessible, but no one can sue the fed or state to make it happen.
McCain and Obama have basically the same energy policy so far. Obama wants to tax windfall profits of oil companies, McCain wants states to decide if they drill off of their coasts or not. Obama is ignorant of the history of taxation and McCain is letting states contribute to an increase in supply. They may agree on drop in the bucket issues, but on the issue of how to deal with the current problem: one is thinking about the short term gain of government and the other is thinking about the long term gain of the people.
You are incorrect about McCain and torture. He is against it like most veterans. He is for interrogation, which is not a code word for torture. Andrew Sullivan agrees with you, but I invite you to read McCain's full statement on the Feinstein Amendment.
He is still for small government, against nation building (he recognizes that once you start you must finish), and pro-human rights. McCain voted against Bush's tax cuts b/c they did not include spending cuts. He backs keeping the cuts in place now b/c of the economy, and, as President, he would have more influence on spending issues.
There will be two legitimate choices in November: McCain and Obama. If you supported McCain before because of the principles you have stated, it would be irrational to abstain or vote for Obama in November.
If just war theory would support our policy in Bosnia, but would not support our policy in Iraq, it is not a theory I would subscribe to. War, as terrible as it is, should be used only in the interest of the nation. We may disagree that the Iraq war is, but there are arguments on both sides.
Do you think what Kucinich is doing is a waste of time?
If Bush is a mass murderer then so was Wilson, FDR, Truman, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr., and Clinton. Each called the military against another country and groups of people died.
People that hate Bush 43 are going to have to choose: too stupid to tie his own shoes or the mastermind of the Iraq war for his oil buddies. I believe he is neither, but he can't be both.
I started using Office applications before there was an office and I have used Office 2007 for over a year. The combination of the ribbon interface while excluding backward compatibility is the stupidest decision I have ever seen Microsoft make. I am including Windows ME, Microsoft Bob, and that annoying Clippy.
4. More recently, as things in Iraq are clearly getting worse and our presence there is increasingly causing problems for us there, in the Middle East and around the world, he wants to more actively remove our troops. He still thinks he can do this, while doing it right - and do that much more quickly than the Bush/GOP. Where do you get this idea? Just this week the WSJ reported that attacks in Iraq are at a 4 year low?
France, Canada, Germany, and the British Parliament have all gone pro US in the last couple of election cycles.
In addition, as part of his description of his plan he says he will send the troops back if terrorism increases. Our military, our allies, and our enemies say that terrorist will flood Iraq if we withdraw before Iraq is stable on its own. Isn't what Obama is doing political posturing? I agree that Obama does not plan a complete withdrawal from Iraq, but that isn't what he is preaching from the stump.
Thank you for a civil disagreement. Unlike many who shout slogans, you do read and think and it is appreciated.
As only a minor correction to a pleasant conversation: Hamas runs the current Palestinian Authority as the majority party of their parliament. I believe you were thinking of the current leader of Israel and I do not know his name either.
I really do not expect the big corporations to be the leaders in alternative fuels or to improve "fill-in-the-blank" problems of the current day. I do expect individuals and start-ups to keep pressing edges of the envelopes and finding what others believe cannot be done. It still happens and encouraging it is government's job, not picking which ones they think will succeed. People are not that smart.
Not everyone is rude, but it is important for those of us who consider civil discourse important to note civility.
1. Not true.
a) not all tax cuts benefit. Case in point, our current cuts for people who don't need it - and thus won't necessarily spend it on the economy. To avoid the issue of who gets to decide who needs their own money, even if they put it in the bank the economy benefits because the banks can lend more money. The wealthy tend to avoid mattresses as retirement vehicles.
The deficit reduction under Clinton came after the Republicans took over Congress and actually stopped spending like drunken sailors (not to offend drunken sailors, they are fun in the bar).
Other major part of the deficit was the welfare reform act and Clinton's reduction in military spending. All budgets have inflows and outflows, we tend to ignore the latter.
When Bush took the oath of office, we were in a mini recession that started in (I think) November 1999. Since then we have had a natural disaster 10 times the economic impact of 9/11, 9/11, the Enron mess that lead to the larger SOX mess, and the rise of China's and India's economies that have driven oil prices to record prices. With all that has happened, I am amazed the economy is as strong as it is. Increased taxation and government regulation is not going to make the economy better.
Reasonable people do not believe dissent is always treason nor should they believe that dissent is better than consent. Both concepts require information and reason.
Slashdot Mirror
1: Education needs the parents back in charge. Yes, that means some bad decisions, but it will have more people involved with the education of their own children. As a parent of a 4th grader, I can tell you I am all but excluded from a lot of the decisions that get made for him at school.Too much money is being spent in administration of the school system, and that takes precious resources away from the teachers themselves. Parents can be counted on to do more for their children. We are waiting for the opportunity.
2: Technology could make schools more interactive for the purpose of easing the burden on teachers. Teachers don't need home rooms, students do. Then you only have to move around teachers to the virtual desk they have in the system. The result is less time in the halls for the students, and more time in a familiar place.
Have you considered an iphone? The photo quality is really good and the latest is 8 megapixel. You won't leave it behind, and given the price points of cameras, not a bad deal if you are talking about taking pictures of family and friends. If you want to take a larger variety of pictures and you need more features, like optical zoom, try the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS. It is fast, simple, and cheap.
"But I don't have the expertise to know at what point spending more money isn't going to do me, as a camera newbie, any good. Any thoughts?"
If you want to stop spending at couple of hundred, go with a quality smartphone or a small point and shoot. If you consider spending more than 300, you should wait, get comfortable fiddling with the settings of a point and shoot (take a class), and then buy an Cannon or Nikon DSLR. Beyond that, it does not make sense to burn $600-$2000 on a device you are not committed to lugging around.
I use the Pulse Pen as well and it flat out works. Not only can you sync audio with your notes (which not all professors allow), but your handwritten notes are searchable after you upload the information and the battery lasts for days.
There is only one real difference between public and private management of the economy: The government is, at least mildly,ACCOUNTABLE.
Really? We should not forget where the current economic meltdown began. Congress, particularly one committee in the House, regulated and looked out for the interests of the nation monitoring the financial health of Fannie and Freddie Mac. Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, both high ranking members of that committeereceived the most political money from Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac over the past 10 years (Obama was in the top 3 as well [quite the coup for someone who has not been in politics that long]). Their failed oversight may have gotten Dodd a sweetheart deal on his home loan, but the rest of us? We get the to pay for the bailout. Those two knuckleheads are still on Congress.
When a company fails, it fails a percentage of the people. When government fails, it fails all of the people.
Accountability in government is a shell game.
To be fair, Microsoft's customization data is from users who participate in their "Customer Experience Improvement Program." If 2% of slashdot users are in it, I would be surprised. I am currently in the program only because I have Office 2007 and I want to represent aggravated users.
Ireland maybe the least "EU" of the EU countries. They voted no on the last EU constitution mainly to protect their lower corporate tax rates, which is bringing a lot of business to Ireland.
We need tax reform (simplification, clarity, yada yada yada), both personal and corporate, not just tax increases.
If they are losing money, they are not being taxed anyway (even the federal tax code has limits).
Just between us, are you comfortable with a newspaper's independence if government officials and bureaucrats can threaten their tax-exempt status?
Couple this with the return of the fairness doctrine, and you have a recipe for an Orwellian experience.
Not everyone who uses the internet is out to watch television.
A test of internal controls has nothing to do with a company's solvency. A company can be hemorrhaging cash and have excellent controls in place to protect from theft of money and information.
The argument is that the law of diminishing returns applies to government regulation and you can reach a point of over-regulation. Since law is not a monolith we have passed that point in some areas and clearly haven't in others.
There are still people who believe that government cannot solve every problem, and, to stay on topic, the current financial crisis happened with SOX in place. The real problem is that government requires businesses to invest in unprofitable markets and then deregulates when the businesses complain about being over regulated. They create a company (Fannie Mae) then allow said company's leadership to contribute to its regulators in Congress. After 20 years of new laws, unwillingness to repeal older laws, and turning a blind eye, the system is left to teeter until it does the inevitable.
Yes and no. If a non-publicly traded company wants to do business with a company that falls under SOX, they may be subject to additional requirements (like an audit of internal controls). SOX is much bigger than most people think and bad for business.
Here is the most common use of Web 2.0: Talk about the "idea" of a better UI and add embedded video. Lower the content and add tracking cookies to tailor the content for a later date. Sounds like government already.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. ~Alan Simpson
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2001-04-03-floridamain.htm#more
MSU's 269 votes would have not swayed the election to Gore except in on one standard and it was not a standard being used in Florida (specifically Palm Beach) or promoted by Al Gore's lawsuit.
Oh, and can we stop talking about this now?
But we already know that he has said, for years, that he was part of 9/11 and the 9/11 commission traced the evidence to him.
This is not discourse. This is not reason.
We need to consider why this information is out now.
All laws are not written for all entities without limitations. The American's With Disabilities Act does not apply to state governments or the federal government. There are other laws and reasons that the fed and state governments make their buildings handicap accessible, but no one can sue the fed or state to make it happen.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/02/mccain-against.html
He is still for small government, against nation building (he recognizes that once you start you must finish), and pro-human rights. McCain voted against Bush's tax cuts b/c they did not include spending cuts. He backs keeping the cuts in place now b/c of the economy, and, as President, he would have more influence on spending issues.
There will be two legitimate choices in November: McCain and Obama. If you supported McCain before because of the principles you have stated, it would be irrational to abstain or vote for Obama in November.
Do you think what Kucinich is doing is a waste of time?
People that hate Bush 43 are going to have to choose: too stupid to tie his own shoes or the mastermind of the Iraq war for his oil buddies. I believe he is neither, but he can't be both.
Why are they not paying for it? More importantly, why am I?
I started using Office applications before there was an office and I have used Office 2007 for over a year. The combination of the ribbon interface while excluding backward compatibility is the stupidest decision I have ever seen Microsoft make. I am including Windows ME, Microsoft Bob, and that annoying Clippy.
France, Canada, Germany, and the British Parliament have all gone pro US in the last couple of election cycles.
In addition, as part of his description of his plan he says he will send the troops back if terrorism increases. Our military, our allies, and our enemies say that terrorist will flood Iraq if we withdraw before Iraq is stable on its own. Isn't what Obama is doing political posturing? I agree that Obama does not plan a complete withdrawal from Iraq, but that isn't what he is preaching from the stump.
Thank you for a civil disagreement. Unlike many who shout slogans, you do read and think and it is appreciated.
I really do not expect the big corporations to be the leaders in alternative fuels or to improve "fill-in-the-blank" problems of the current day. I do expect individuals and start-ups to keep pressing edges of the envelopes and finding what others believe cannot be done. It still happens and encouraging it is government's job, not picking which ones they think will succeed. People are not that smart.
Not everyone is rude, but it is important for those of us who consider civil discourse important to note civility.
The deficit reduction under Clinton came after the Republicans took over Congress and actually stopped spending like drunken sailors (not to offend drunken sailors, they are fun in the bar).
Other major part of the deficit was the welfare reform act and Clinton's reduction in military spending. All budgets have inflows and outflows, we tend to ignore the latter.
When Bush took the oath of office, we were in a mini recession that started in (I think) November 1999. Since then we have had a natural disaster 10 times the economic impact of 9/11, 9/11, the Enron mess that lead to the larger SOX mess, and the rise of China's and India's economies that have driven oil prices to record prices. With all that has happened, I am amazed the economy is as strong as it is. Increased taxation and government regulation is not going to make the economy better.
Reasonable people do not believe dissent is always treason nor should they believe that dissent is better than consent. Both concepts require information and reason.