By formerbludevil, unverified — Tue, 11/30/2010 - 19:58
Since we all hate taxes so much...let's just start eliminating...
Schools, public water and waste disposal, public works, police and fire departments, courts, DHS (without a referral, that guy from Farmington could have kept his "relationship" going with that 13 year old girl...lucky him in Mr. Dumont's world), wildlife and environmental services, transportation, communication and utility infrastructure...just to name a few...
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's"...Sorry Mr. Dumont...I'll gladly pay my 20 bucks
By formerbludevil, unverified — Thu, 11/25/2010 - 21:58
EXACTLY the problem with our society at present. First, we only have enough of an attention span to respond to "sound bites" and we can't continue an intelligent, reasoned, factually-supported debate without resorting to bickering and partisan ideology. Second, we have gotten so far away from the freedom and independence our fore-fathers had envisioned for us it's appalling. Initially, most of us have assumed that the writer of the column has been a drain on society because of his smoking. We have assumed that the writer receives entitlements that are a direct result of his smoking which may, or may not be so. If we look at some statistics...such an ugly word for most SJ bloggers...the $327 billion in annual Medicare expenditures for end-of-life medical care far exceeds the $96 billion per year the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services has identified that goes directly to the care of America's smoking population. Or how about the approximately $150 billion spent on America's obese population? Should we start including happy meals and other fast food in the "sin tax" category? Would that wake you up, fatandhappy?
By formerbludevil, unverified — Sun, 05/09/2010 - 17:14
The mark of a truly great and memorable teacher is when their former students come to their classrooms for a visit and a "how-do-you-do." Diane and Bud had no shortage of former students visiting their classroom throughout the years. They have touched the hearts and minds of a number of young adults over the years, and thankfully, I can count myself among that group. Diane in particular, grew to know me so well as a student, that when I began preparations for a research paper on JFK she actually gave me a small Kennedy/Johnson campaign button that she had stored away at her house. I fell in love with that button, and I still have it to this day. As she said in the article, she always finds a way to motivate her students. Diane, you were such an inspiration to me that I chose to become an educator myself and one of my goals everyday is to be just a little bit like you were in classrooms of my own. You will be missed, you will be very difficult to replace, but we all sincerely wish you the best in your much deserved retirement. I hope to run into you at Shaw's sometime soon :)
By formerbludevil, unverified — Wed, 04/07/2010 - 17:18
Since I have been living in South Korea for the past four years...I think he's extraordinarily stupid...but also lucky.
Last year, a 50-some odd year old Korean woman was shot to death for an illegal crossing. After "repeated warnings" said the North Korean media, the woman was shot to death at a popular tourist area known as Mt. Keumgang. This inter-Korean spe
cial tourism zone, actually past the DMZ in the North (I've actually visited this place myself) is completely fenced in with tall bright green metalic fences, that it is so surprising how this woman wouldn't have known she was crossing into a restricted area.
As for Gomes, if he had any knowledge of recent events on the penninsula, which I'm sure he did, he knew that he was risking more than a slap on the wrist for his actions. I've visited the DMZ site of Panmunjom, as well as Mt. Keumgang, and there is no way that I would ever risk such an idiotic move. It had to have been a premeditated move on his part because these areas are so protected and inaccessible that he would have had to have planned every movement of such a risky undertaking.
Furthermore, his visa status in the South (E2) specifically prohibits political demonstrations by foreign residents. His activities in the South could have had him deported as it was. It sounds like the moment he stepped off the plane in Incheon, he had some kind of agenda. An educated man such as himself...should have known better...I'm just a UMF grad working here...and I know better.
Simply dumb. I wish him and his family well, he will have a very difficult next few years. Hopefully another "envoy" will be sent for his safe retrieval
By formerbludevil, unverified — Tue, 12/08/2009 - 22:29
Malicious intent or not...if a student "accidentally" brought a weapon to school, that student would be severely punished. In this case, a "responsible" gun-owning adult brought hers. No weapons of any kind should ever cross the doors of a school building...period. If I "made the mistake" of reaching for money that I dropped in the car to pay my toll, and I "accidentally" rear ended a car and killed a family of four...should I be treated differently by the justice system? This isn't a question of being politically correct, this is an issue of personal responsibility. Very few in our society, or the world for that matter, take full responsibility for our actions. In defense of the woman in question, she did plead guilty and realized that she did commit a crime...however accidental it may have been.
formerbludevil's Comments
I suppose...
Since we all hate taxes so much...let's just start eliminating...
Schools, public water and waste disposal, public works, police and fire departments, courts, DHS (without a referral, that guy from Farmington could have kept his "relationship" going with that 13 year old girl...lucky him in Mr. Dumont's world), wildlife and environmental services, transportation, communication and utility infrastructure...just to name a few...
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's"...Sorry Mr. Dumont...I'll gladly pay my 20 bucks
and that is...
EXACTLY the problem with our society at present. First, we only have enough of an attention span to respond to "sound bites" and we can't continue an intelligent, reasoned, factually-supported debate without resorting to bickering and partisan ideology. Second, we have gotten so far away from the freedom and independence our fore-fathers had envisioned for us it's appalling. Initially, most of us have assumed that the writer of the column has been a drain on society because of his smoking. We have assumed that the writer receives entitlements that are a direct result of his smoking which may, or may not be so. If we look at some statistics...such an ugly word for most SJ bloggers...the $327 billion in annual Medicare expenditures for end-of-life medical care far exceeds the $96 billion per year the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services has identified that goes directly to the care of America's smoking population. Or how about the approximately $150 billion spent on America's obese population? Should we start including happy meals and other fast food in the "sin tax" category? Would that wake you up, fatandhappy?
Thank you...
The mark of a truly great and memorable teacher is when their former students come to their classrooms for a visit and a "how-do-you-do." Diane and Bud had no shortage of former students visiting their classroom throughout the years. They have touched the hearts and minds of a number of young adults over the years, and thankfully, I can count myself among that group. Diane in particular, grew to know me so well as a student, that when I began preparations for a research paper on JFK she actually gave me a small Kennedy/Johnson campaign button that she had stored away at her house. I fell in love with that button, and I still have it to this day. As she said in the article, she always finds a way to motivate her students. Diane, you were such an inspiration to me that I chose to become an educator myself and one of my goals everyday is to be just a little bit like you were in classrooms of my own. You will be missed, you will be very difficult to replace, but we all sincerely wish you the best in your much deserved retirement. I hope to run into you at Shaw's sometime soon :)
He's lucky...
Since I have been living in South Korea for the past four years...I think he's extraordinarily stupid...but also lucky.
Last year, a 50-some odd year old Korean woman was shot to death for an illegal crossing. After "repeated warnings" said the North Korean media, the woman was shot to death at a popular tourist area known as Mt. Keumgang. This inter-Korean spe
cial tourism zone, actually past the DMZ in the North (I've actually visited this place myself) is completely fenced in with tall bright green metalic fences, that it is so surprising how this woman wouldn't have known she was crossing into a restricted area.
As for Gomes, if he had any knowledge of recent events on the penninsula, which I'm sure he did, he knew that he was risking more than a slap on the wrist for his actions. I've visited the DMZ site of Panmunjom, as well as Mt. Keumgang, and there is no way that I would ever risk such an idiotic move. It had to have been a premeditated move on his part because these areas are so protected and inaccessible that he would have had to have planned every movement of such a risky undertaking.
Furthermore, his visa status in the South (E2) specifically prohibits political demonstrations by foreign residents. His activities in the South could have had him deported as it was. It sounds like the moment he stepped off the plane in Incheon, he had some kind of agenda. An educated man such as himself...should have known better...I'm just a UMF grad working here...and I know better.
Simply dumb. I wish him and his family well, he will have a very difficult next few years. Hopefully another "envoy" will be sent for his safe retrieval
Malicious intent or not...if
Malicious intent or not...if a student "accidentally" brought a weapon to school, that student would be severely punished. In this case, a "responsible" gun-owning adult brought hers. No weapons of any kind should ever cross the doors of a school building...period. If I "made the mistake" of reaching for money that I dropped in the car to pay my toll, and I "accidentally" rear ended a car and killed a family of four...should I be treated differently by the justice system? This isn't a question of being politically correct, this is an issue of personal responsibility. Very few in our society, or the world for that matter, take full responsibility for our actions. In defense of the woman in question, she did plead guilty and realized that she did commit a crime...however accidental it may have been.