I noticed a number disgruntled parents last night on the tube, griping about the left-wing indoctrination their young kids are about to get from Barack Hussein Obama in a few days. They are threatening to not send them to school that day. I don't blame them and if I had any small fry curtain-climbers hanging around the house, I'd keep them home that day, too. Situation taken care of.
But what about the ones that are forced to undergo left-wing indoctrination at colleges and universities all over America. One minute, it seems, the kids are sane, or at least as sane as one can expect of 18-year-olds, and the next thing you know they're parroting the likes of Ward Churchill, William Ayers and Noam Chomsky, bad-mouthing America and yodeling the praises of such left-wing troglodytes as Hugo Chavez, the Castro brothers and Barack Hussein Obama. I feel their frustration. Even if the little nincompoops can't do long division or write a coherent sentence, parents feel like child abusers if they don't pony up the dough to send their kids off for what is laughingly referred to as higher education.
If I were running things, most high school grads would enter trade schools. America will always need nurses, plumbers, carpenters, glaziers and mechanics. What nobody needs is some 21-year-old schnook who's wasted four years and most of his inheritance majoring in black, hispanic or lesbian, studies. And, then, to make matters worse, because like the Scarecrow of Oz, they have a sheepskin, they're actually convinced they're smarter than their parents.
Of course, the other thing I would promote is an end to the tenure system. The original idea behind it was to protect professors from being fired because of their unpopular political beliefs, but in 2009, conservatives aren't hired in the first place, so the only people whose jobs come with a lifetime guarantee are those addlebrained morons, safely ensconced in the Humanities, espousing liberal claptrap.
Somebody recently took me to task for referring to Michael Jackson as a pedophile. This yutz pointed out that Jackson had never been convicted in a court of law, as if that proved anything. The fact remains that the King of Pedophiles had paid out millions of dollars in hush money to keep a case from going to trial. And, by his own admission, he admitted he enjoyed sleeping with young boys. Where I come from, if it waddles and quacks like a duck, it's either a duck or most likely Barney Frank.
Whenever people use that court of law argument to make a point, I know they're desperate. Hell, O.J. Simpson and Al Capone were never convicted of murder, and Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Idi Amin and Kim Jong-il, have never even been convicted of jay-walking.
Something else I always find that irks me is when Obama's liberal groupies.... which we have a few of those clowns on this forum.... along with a few Cable News commentators, deny that the President is a left-wing ideologue. All of his schemes, from gobbling up car companies and banks to wanting to nationalize health care and redistribute the wealth, show his true colors. As I say, if it waddles and quacks like a duck, feel free to pop it in the oven and serve it with string beans and sweet potatoes this Labor Day... and if it's Barney, stick an apple in his mouth.
In fact, while mulling over ol' BHO who slimes... sorry.... who sits in the Oval Office, I was reminded of a riddle from my childhood. You'd be asked what was black and white and read all over, and the answer was a newspaper. These days, I'm afraid the appropriate answer to what is black and white and red all over is Barack Hussein Obama.
There's no way to disagree with anything said on this one.
I read it twice. Red all over for sure. Right on, Warph!
I don't know what they are serving at the nineteenth hole, but I'm gonna get me some!
Larryj
What's Black & White and Red all over? I don't know but I do know what is Red, White and Blue all over - a newspaper in the park on a windy day. ;D
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FLO, you just gave me a HUGE grin!! Thanks ;D ;D ;D
:angel: You are most welcome, Jo.
Warph, I always enjoy your posts and the creative way you word things. I usually get a laugh and send you an "'atta boy".
Unfortunately, I do have to disagree with part of your post this time. The part I disagree with is your paragraph about colleges and universities, and your chastizing the curriculum that supposedly is taught there. I attended a 4-year university, as well as completed a 2-year post-graduate degree program. I did not have to (nor choose to) sign up for any "left-wing indoctrination" classes or major in any "black, hispanic or lesbian studies". My parents encouraged all their children to go to higher education... YES, so we could learn more and be smarter than they had the opportunity to be! We were expected, too, to come home during breaks and summer vacations and also learn the hard-life lessons of working and learning real-world skills... not just rely on those that came from READING about them. Maybe it was the particular state college that I attended, or the fact that my chosen major was on the "other" side of campus, but I didn't even have much of an opportunity to intermingle with the type of students you reference.
I do, however, know that my education and employment path in life could not have been achieved by attending a trade school. I DO agree with you that trade schools are VERY important and DO provide certain students with excellent opportunities in life and work. I just disagree that trade schools are for everyone (yes, I note that you did say "most high school students"). Like I've stated before, I do NOT think that one type of education is superior to another... NO WAY. Just like employment and job opportunities, we need all types to make the industries go 'round.
I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY with you about the tenure situation, FOR SURE. Probably not for the same reasons you stated, "Liberal claptrap" (although the sound of that makes me giggle), but because I had many a professor who didn't care to TEACH his students anything... he was just there to make his 59-1/2 minute lecture in the same mundane voice that he has every semester for the past 20+ years, and then sit in his office with the door closed and a sign outside that says to "consult TA's for assistance". Of course, most of those TA's were people who, maybe like the professor, did not originate from this country and preferred to work in their lab acheiving statistically irrevalent results while practicing their own mundane, untranslatable answers to your questions. I held TRUE to my belief throughout my 6-year education that professors should be REQUIRED to teach a 2nd grade elementary school class for at least a semester before becoming a professor. That probably would have weeded out more than HALF of those professors! ;D
I understand the premis of your post, though. There is too much "fluff" and "jaberish" being taught at some of those liberal schools where it seems most of the lawmakers hail from. It is comforting, though, to know that most of our lawmakers in Kansas have hailed from local schools and proudly have their feet planted in the soil (not just on the ground, but actually IN the soil). Even if you disagree with their party affiliation or liberal (or conservative) views, most Kansas lawmakers grew up like the rest of us... on farms or ranches, or relying on farms and ranches to make our living. And most of them have stayed fairly true to their roots and the people they represent.
Thanks for another entertaining post!
Tobina, I guess it depends on where you went to school. When I was in college Sociology and Psychology were required for my degree. It wasn't the subject so much as the instructors that were waaay left. 10 hours community service was a requirement for each class, not to mention how it was the fault of evil, white, male capitalist that were keeping the minorities down.
Having spent 6 yeas in the Army I figured that time would count towards the community service requirement. But no, because, and I quote, "...that is serving the government, not the community. Besides, it would do you some good to see what minorities go through." I ended up dropping the class and taking it under another instructor.
I, too, had to take psychology in college and I really liked the course. I wasn't very thrilled with the instructor, but most of the course was just reading and I liked that. Unfortunately, the class was too much for the instructor and he committed suicide. So instead of me dropping the class, the class dropped me. It was a small college and they had noone else to teach the class. But I still like psychology.
Larryj
Quote from: Varmit on September 11, 2009, 05:07:15 AM
Tobina, I guess it depends on where you went to school. When I was in college Sociology and Psychology were required for my degree. It wasn't the subject so much as the instructors that were waaay left. 10 hours community service was a requirment for each class, not to mention how it was the fault of evil, white, male capitalist that were keeping the minorities down.
Having spent 6 yeas in the Army I figured that time would count towards the community service requirement. But no, because, and I quote, "...that is serving the government, not the community. Besides, it would do you some good to see what minorities go through." I ended up dropping the class and taking it under another instructor.
I would have too. They have no right as a employee to dictate that i give up 10 hours of my life to their cause.
Quote from: larryJ on September 11, 2009, 07:32:21 AM
I, too, had to take psychology in college and I really liked the course. I wasn't very thrilled with the instructor, but most of the course was just reading and I liked that. Unfortunately, the class was too much for the instructor and he committed suicide. So instead of me dropping the class, the class dropped me. It was a small college and they had noone else to teach the class. But I still like psychology.
Larryj
I'm with you Larry, psychology was one of my favorite classes even tho I had to take it when I was majorin in Art and Animal Science the first time I went to college. I've always enjoyed tryin to figure out what makes people tick so it really caught my attention for more than 10 seconds Lol. I hated the teacher but loved the class :P
Varmit; that's an interesting story. I don't know how old you are, but I've always wondered if the military was less respected at universities and colleges "back then". At the Univ I attended, we'd often see ROTC running through campus, doing their drills in the middle of campus, etc. I always had a high respect for military, and I always thought my college instructors did, too (again, may have been the "right" side of the campus).
You all refreshed my memory... I did also have to take psychology and sociology, but I don't remember much about them. I did enjoy the subjects, but I don't remember feeling out of place or any "left-ist" curriculum. Again, probably stems from the college I attended... or the fact that I wasn't in tune to that sort of stuff. I was probably just looking forward to my meat science lab or livestock reproduction class!
Quote from: Tobina+1 on September 11, 2009, 09:56:34 AM
may have been the "right" side of the campus.
probably stems from the college I attended...
Tobina,
I attended the same university as you did, and possibly at the same time since I had more than one go at it. I was also an Ag major (Ag-business), but also took a lot of poli-sci, and a lot of non-ag applied science. Even in the poli-sci department, I never once came across a professor with 'an agenda'. If anything, they leaned to the right, not left.
My theory on this is that we attended a land-grant institution, one that is deeply rooted in research and extension in applied sciences like agriculture, engineering, etc. IMHO the universities that get labled as liberal or leftist (west of the Appalachian Mountians) are the non-land grant institution in states that have a dominate two (or three) universty system. For example: UC Berkely vs. UC Davis or Cal-Poly, UT vs. TAMU or TTech, U of COL (Boulder) vs COL St.
My two-cents worth.
Charles
P.S. I didn't say all non-land grant universities deserved the label!
I had Basic Psychology, Abnormal Psych., Child Psych, Human Geography, and Sociology. I was very lucky to have had good moderate professors who were very approachable and encouraged questions.and discussion.( They were the ones who taught me how to debate correctly.) The only poor one was "Whispering Willie" Reed ( European History 101 ) who was about 80 years old, used the same 30 year old notes and the same old slides year after year. We were in a huge auditorium classroom and he wouldn't use a mike. But by taking notes from the slides and reading the book and doing well on the term paper, hourlies, and studying old tests from the frats test files, I got an A. Boring, but necessary. The ROTC guys were always treated well, even by the SDS who protested the Govt. not the students. They knew the students had no choice. I loved watching the Pershing Rifles practice.They were really good! There were two extremist teachers on campus who were the SDS advisers, who were given a lot of latitude for awhile, but eventually were fired. UD is a land grant school too, and with a lot of research and a really big deal Chemical Engineering and Marine Biology School.
Quote from: Tobina+1 on September 11, 2009, 09:56:34 AM
Varmit; that's an interesting story. I don't know how old you are, but I've always wondered if the military was less respected at universities and colleges "back then".
ROFLMBO ;D ;D Yeah, Tobina I went to school waaaay back in, oh, lets see now, must've been in 04. Thats 2004. I saw very little respect given to the military, at least on the Artsy-Fartsy side of campus. I remember a couple of Army recruiters came and set up a table in one of the common areas, the comments they recieved not only from the teachers but from the students blew my mind. I won't repeat them here, but lets just say they were less than kind. I would have expected that kind of behavior on the campus of Berekly, or UCLA, or NYU, but not at a Community college in Arkansas City, Kansas. I only had a few classes on that side of campus, and dreaded going over there. I was a criminal justice major, most of my classes were in the same building.
As a side note, I liked the subject matter of Psychology, but completely loathed the instructor.
What about the instructor didn't you care for?
OOPS, sorry Varmit. I apparently have no idea who you are. ::)
Anyway, that is strange that even a community college in such a small town treated military like that. But, then again, 2004 was when people were getting upset about the new "war". I just thought that people had learned that it's not the military people who's fault it was... they were just following orders from who they were trained to take orders from. It saddens me to think about how the military people were treated when they came back from Vietnam, and I hope that never happens again. I really had no idea until I met my father-in-law who served in Vietnam and heard stories from my mother-in-law and husband.
Along with taking the required psychology and other classes, ROTC was also mandatory for all Freshmen and Sophomores at Colorado State College (now the University of Northern Colorado). I don't recall any bad feelings against those who were in ROTC probably because all male students were required to take it. As the ROTC classes were held in another part of town which required a 15 minute walk, and only having ten minutes between classes, the instructor in your class before ROTC would allow you to leave a little early in order to make it on time. ROTC students were required to wear uniforms so on those days, you had to wear your uniform to school. This was just before Vietnam really got going so there were no feelings about that war at that time.
ROTC was basically learning how to march and drill and classes on military etiquette. I found it boring and was there only because I had to be. Who knew three years later I would be in the Army, not by choice, and kinda/sorta remembered how to march and drill. Being in the marching band all of my school years from the seventh grade on really helped me out when marching. Continuing on in ROTC in your Junior and Senior years almost guaranteed you an Officer's position in the Army after graduation, much like attending a service academy, tho not as intense.
Larryj