2016 Presidential Election

[Shoes]

Wish this were an April Fools joke, but it isn't...



California, New York poised to raise minimum wage to $15

So, the Democrats' "solution" to the income gap is to basically double the minimum wage, thus forcing businesses to increase prices and layoffs, which will largely cancel out the minimum wage increase while at the same time eroding everyone else's spending power.

In other words, let's close the income gap by effectively making EVERYONE poorer! Brilliant. Just brilliant.

I'm honestly not sure if the country can survive another 4 years of this shit...

And just think if crazy Bernie wins.

[teegre]

Look at education just over the last few generations. The depression era people finished 8th grade and were considered done with school. High school was secondary education that was not expected of most. A high school diploma meant something. Move ahead and high school become the water mark and now everyone has a high school diploma so that once brass ring is now mostly worthless. Moving ahead again and now most students can get a bachelor degree on grants and scholarships. I actually made money going back for a different degree at 40. So today, a bachelor degree only puts you on par with everyone else. Make all education free and see what becomes of master and doctorate programs. Not saying that I would not like to see more people get their education at all. Just be aware of the diminishing value of that education when they become free and commonplace.
What this has to do with the election? Depends on which side you wake up on. On one side, we have worked our asses off to get where we are. That means working to put ourselves thru school, while raising families, and paying a mortgage. On the other side, maybe my children/grandchildren don't have to go thru sleep depravation just to get the same education everyone else has. And I don't have to pay for them while they do it either. There are pros and cons to both but I think it has to come down to what makes this country better. I like the idea of a better educated, well armed citizenry.

I agree. An educated citizenry is never a bad thing.

My take is slightly different. Instead of using that money for masters & doctorates, I propose that that money be put into EARLY education.

--class sizes maxed at 20
--STEM labs at every school
--educated & qualified teachers
--educated & qualified teachers
--educated & qualified teachers

Research has shown that 1 hour spent with a first grader is equivalent to spending 2 hours with a second grader and equivalent to 5 hours with a fifth grader (and 12 hours with a twelfth grader). The point being: if you get everyone up to speed in first grade, it costs 1/12 the cost (of getting seniors all up to speed).

Plus, brain research says that the most significant development (most impact can be had) early on.

Real world example: Finland and New Zealand have two of the highest literacy rates in the world... and, most of their educational funding goes to primary grades.

Did I mention that we need educated & qualified teachers???

[GBMelBlount]

I agree. An educated citizenry is never a bad thing.

My take is slightly different. Instead of using that money for masters & doctorates, I propose that that money be put into EARLY education.

--class sizes maxed at 20
--STEM labs at every school
--educated & qualified teachers
--educated & qualified teachers
--educated & qualified teachers

Research has shown that 1 hour spent with a first grader is equivalent to spending 2 hours with a second grader and equivalent to 5 hours with a fifth grader (and 12 hours with a twelfth grader). The point being: if you get everyone up to speed in first grade, it costs 1/12 the cost (of getting seniors all up to speed).

Plus, brain research says that the most significant development (most impact can be had) early on.

Real world example: Finland and New Zealand have two of the highest literacy rates in the world... and, most of their educational funding goes to primary grades.

Did I mention that we need educated & qualified teachers???

Great post.

It is amazing how using a few simple facts to guide decisions on how to best allocate our resources could yield amazing results.

It is a shame there is so much bureaucracy and so little interest in what is truly best for our children...education

[teegre]

Great post.

It is amazing how using a few simple facts to guide decisions on how to best allocate our resources could yield amazing results.

It is a shame there is so much bureaucracy and so little interest in what is truly best for our children...education

Here's how I see it unfolding...

SENATOR 1: How about we allocate $200,000 to each & every elementary school, specifically for STEM labs and teacher education on science standards.

SENATORS 3-100 start to raise their hands in agreement.

SENATOR 2: I think that California should get $210,00 per school, because of our large bilingual population. We need an extra $10,000 per school for translations...

SENATOR 3: Fuck California!!!

SENATOR 4: Kill the rich!!!

SENATOR 5: Marriage is between a man & a woman!!!

SENATORS 6-100: ATTICA!!! ATTICA!!! ATTICA!!!!!

[Born2Steel]

I agree. An educated citizenry is never a bad thing.

My take is slightly different. Instead of using that money for masters & doctorates, I propose that that money be put into EARLY education.

--class sizes maxed at 20
--STEM labs at every school
--educated & qualified teachers
--educated & qualified teachers
--educated & qualified teachers

Research has shown that 1 hour spent with a first grader is equivalent to spending 2 hours with a second grader and equivalent to 5 hours with a fifth grader (and 12 hours with a twelfth grader). The point being: if you get everyone up to speed in first grade, it costs 1/12 the cost (of getting seniors all up to speed).

Plus, brain research says that the most significant development (most impact can be had) early on.

Real world example: Finland and New Zealand have two of the highest literacy rates in the world... and, most of their educational funding goes to primary grades.

Did I mention that we need educated & qualified teachers???

Good points. Thing is, K-12 are already free to the public. Even if the parents refuse to pay taxes, the kiddos still get to go to school, while mom and dad go to jail. I think I was just saying before that giving education has never made people want to better themselves. We can spend trillions on programs and do studies and learn all about HOW to better educate our citizenry. But the only people who will use it are the ones who want it. My grandparents generation didn't finish thru high school because there was no need to. As the need for more education became more commonplace, more people got their high school diplomas. Pretty soon that became the standard education and those that wanted to excel, or get out of being drafted, got 4yr college degrees. Today pretty much every job requires a 4yr degree. Yes there are many exceptions, but that's mostly true. My 2 oldest kids are in college now. They had their Master's degree plan before they even started. Because that's what will be required for what they want to do.
Nobody can give a child a book and that child automatically want to learn how to read. So no, free books are not the answer. Teachers that know how and want to reach and teach kids, that's step #1. I understand the class size issue. Just not practical to get an average classroom size to 20. I've seen the studies, I'm with you. Just impractical in the real world. Already not enough real teachers for the classrooms the way they are. I swear I don't know how to fix education. I don't think privatizing is the answer. I don't believe putting the federal government in control is either. Maybe a mix of both. Let the US run the schools, but let the teachers remain independent. Honestly, the way it is now, it's all taught to pass the standardized tests anyway.

[steelreserve]

Sanders' plan to make college free is like the $15 minimum wage: It looks like a noble gesture, but all you're really doing is a lot of churning. Over the past 20 years or so, there has been a tremendous education "inflation," where having a college degree is the bare minimum to certify that you're not dumber than dirt, and having a high school diploma basically counts the same as being completely illiterate.

The people who a generation ago quit after a high school diploma now quit after a bachelor's degree - BUT NO ONE IS ANY SMARTER. I know people with master's degrees who are dumber than a post. I'm taking a class at the community college right now, and there are people in there who are struggling with some really basic shit that I still remember from high school 20 years ago. Kids now get pushed through grade school and high school levels whether they know the material or not, because failing or getting held back would cost the school funding. So I don't really see free college as anything more than an opportunity for the Demoncrats to pat themselves on the back and score points with the editors of the Huffington Post or the Daily Outrage or whatever other political site du jour. All it does is add to the inflation and perpetuate the big show of a degree making you smarter - makes it MORE crucial, in fact. Better primary and secondary schools are absolutely the way to go.

And the fact is, a free or at least a very reduced-cost college education is already available if you can't afford it. At nearly every university, more than half of the "full-fare" tuition goes toward financial aid for other students, so in other words, if you are fortunate enough to pay for your own education, you are also paying for someone else's. For those keeping score at home, that's a 100% higher education surtax on the rich right there. The only thing that Sanders' plan would do is move control over how that money is collected and disbursed to the federal government.

If you are truly struggling, there are literally hundreds of programs set up to help you, in everything from education to health care. YES, you have to go out and look for them. YES, it takes some effort. There are very few people who, after 40 or 50 years, can look at the place where they have arrived in life and say it's exclusively because of bad luck. Nearly always, it has to do with choices that you make. And yes - if you start out with less money, you have harder choices, and fewer choices that are 100% pleasant. But you always have a choice. And the fact of the matter is that there are few if any other places in the history of the world where the path to being wlel-off and living comfortably has ever been as wide-open to as many people as it is here, today, in the U.S. But thanks largely to the milennials, the Democrats have gone from being a party that wants to help people have their shot at the American Dream to one that just wants to piss all over anyone who has actually achieved it (and drag everyone down to their level in the process). Shameful and stupid - but getting their way because they are loud. Isn't that exactly what they're mad at Trump for?

[GoSlash27]

After tonight, I'm pretty sure there's no way Trump can get the nomination on the first ballot. This means that Trump can't get the nomination period.
Interesting times...

[stillers4me]

Bernie Sanders voters scare me way more than Trump voters.

[vader29]

[BnG_Hevn]

Two people having the same amount of education, even from the same school, does not make them equal. You can always tell a slacker and in the end, slackers will fall behind.

What happened that Trump will not get the nomination?

[GoSlash27]

Two people having the same amount of education, even from the same school, does not make them equal. You can always tell a slacker and in the end, slackers will fall behind.

What happened that Trump will not get the nomination?

He has fallen behind where he needs to be in the delegate count. It's worse for him now than it was when I posted that.
In order to get the nomination on the first ballot, he will need 1,237 delegates. He would need 57.8% of the remaining delegates to get there.

If he doesn't get to that number, then they will go to a brokered convention and the delegates can vote for whoever they like. I'm not sure who they are going to wind up picking, but it won't be Trump.

[Mach1]

He has fallen behind where he needs to be in the delegate count. It's worse for him now than it was when I posted that.
In order to get the nomination on the first ballot, he will need 1,237 delegates. He would need 57.8% of the remaining delegates to get there.

If he doesn't get to that number, then they will go to a brokered convention and the delegates can vote for whoever they like. I'm not sure who they are going to wind up picking, but it won't be Trump.

It wont be Trump or Cruz. The establishment hates Cruz just as much as they hate Trump.

[GoSlash27]

It wont be Trump or Cruz. The establishment hates Cruz just as much as they hate Trump.

It could be Cruz. In fact, it probably will be. The "establishment" doesn't pick the candidate in a contested convention, the delegates do. Cruz will have the lion's share of delegates on the second ballot.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...r-donald-trump.

[silver & black]

It doesn't really matter. SHE is already elected. All of this is just a formality to make us think "we" have a choice.

[salamander]

It doesn't really matter. SHE is already elected. All of this is just a formality to make us think "we" have a choice.

Yepp. All of this is to just ensure her election.

[fansince'76]

It doesn't really matter. SHE is already elected. All of this is just a formality to make us think "we" have a choice.

Yepp. All of this is to just ensure her election.

I firmly believe the presidency is an "election by media" at this point.

[fansince'76]

Even more apropos now than when it came out back in '72. Hey, I'd gladly vote for Alice over any of the chumps currently running.

[fansince'76]

[steelerdude15]

[Born2Steel]

We should protect our elderly and weak. By protect, I mean provide for as we would like to live. The parasites that feed off of the deserving, should be held to the same penalty as a kidnapper/rapist/molester. A presidential candidate that would make such a statement as his/her platform would win this election on merit of ideals alone.

There is no benefit to electing any current candidate. NONE

[Mach1]

[GBMelBlount]

This election is going to be the most entertaining show on the air.

[stillers4me]

http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...es%20office%22

[Mach1]

[GBMelBlount]

Morning Mix
Ugly, bloody scenes in San Jose as protesters attack Trump supporters outside rally

SAN JOSE, Calif. —Protests outside a Donald Trump rally in downtown San Jose spun out of control Thursday night when some demonstrators attacked the candidate’s supporters.

Protesters jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons, snatched signs and stole “Make America Great” hats off supporters’ heads before burning the hats and snapping selfies with the charred remains.

Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters. At least one attacker was arrested, according to CNN, although police did not release much information.

“The San Jose Police Department made a few arrests tonight after the Donald Trump Rally,” police said in a statement. “As of this time, we do not have specific information on the arrests made. There has been no significant property damage reported. One officer was assaulted.”

In one video circulating widely on social media, two protesters tried to protect a Trump supporter as other protesters attacked him and called him names.

Another video captured a female Trump supporter taunting protesters before being surrounded and struck in the face with an egg and water balloons.

Police eventually cleared the protest, which they called an “unlawful assembly.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...outside-rally/

[stillers4me]

[stillers4me]

[Mach1]

Morning Mix
Ugly, bloody scenes in San Jose as protesters attack Trump supporters outside rally

SAN JOSE, Calif. —Protests outside a Donald Trump rally in downtown San Jose spun out of control Thursday night when some demonstrators attacked the candidate’s supporters.

Protesters jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons, snatched signs and stole “Make America Great” hats off supporters’ heads before burning the hats and snapping selfies with the charred remains.

Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters. At least one attacker was arrested, according to CNN, although police did not release much information.

“The San Jose Police Department made a few arrests tonight after the Donald Trump Rally,” police said in a statement. “As of this time, we do not have specific information on the arrests made. There has been no significant property damage reported. One officer was assaulted.”

In one video circulating widely on social media, two protesters tried to protect a Trump supporter as other protesters attacked him and called him names.

Another video captured a female Trump supporter taunting protesters before being surrounded and struck in the face with an egg and water balloons.

Police eventually cleared the protest, which they called an “unlawful assembly.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...outside-rally/

[stillers4me]

[st33lersguy]

Choosing between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is like choosing between eating cat shit or dog shit