StreetScooby 5 #1 February 12, 2014 This is an article from Slate(!!!). It's not a short read, but there's a lot of information in here that I personally was never aware of. Thought I'd pass it on. In brief, Richard Nixon started quotas (never knew that). It describes his motivation for doing so, and discusses the consequences of today's implementation. Worth while read, IMO. The one thing it does not discuss is the importance of the nuclear family. I think that's critical, not only for the children, but also for civil society in general. The Massive Liberal Failure on RaceWe are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdvr 200 #2 February 12, 2014 Add that to the list of things liberal governments have tried with unintended consequences. ACA will be on that list someday as well.Please don't dent the planet. Destinations by Roxanne Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonD1120 58 #3 February 12, 2014 StreetScoobyThis is an article from Slate(!!!). It's not a short read, but there's a lot of information in here that I personally was never aware of. Thought I'd pass it on. In brief, Richard Nixon started quotas (never knew that). It describes his motivation for doing so, and discusses the consequences of today's implementation. Worth while read, IMO. The one thing it does not discuss is the importance of the nuclear family. I think that's critical, not only for the children, but also for civil society in general. The Massive Liberal Failure on Race It is anathema to the Progressive Liberals. I am adjusting to the understanding that they are winning. Prepare for SHTF.Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #4 February 12, 2014 Quote Prepare for SHTF. Don't know what SHTF means...We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,148 #5 February 12, 2014 Shit Hits the Fan -- when zombies, liberals, and dark people all rise up and try to take the legally-earned stuff from the gun-owning conservatives because of worldwide crisis. That's why all the preparation of the preppers... I learned this weekend that as long as I have sotol (the duct tape of the desert), I'm OK. You can eat, build, weave, and tie stuff up with it. Obama's in there somewhere as a harbinger put in by the Devil, too. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mirage62 0 #6 February 12, 2014 You know Wendy, most your post - even if I don't agree with them - make sense. I read this one three times and for the most part.....doesn't. I must be losing it. Kevin Keenan is my hero, a double FUP, he does so much with so little Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #7 February 12, 2014 Makes perfect sense to me. 'Course she forgot to mention queers, but whateva. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiverMike 5 #8 February 12, 2014 Also forgot to say something about 'retards'. For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 177 #9 February 12, 2014 wmw999Shit Hits the Fan -- when zombies, liberals, and dark people all rise up and try to take the legally-earned stuff from the gun-owning conservatives because of worldwide crisis. That's why all the preparation of the preppers... I learned this weekend that as long as I have sotol (the duct tape of the desert), I'm OK. You can eat, build, weave, and tie stuff up with it. Obama's in there somewhere as a harbinger put in by the Devil, too. Wendy P. Can I award you the SC post of the month. Give me a minute to get the coffee off of my keyboard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mirage62 0 #10 February 12, 2014 I GET IT NOW.... it's secret code for left leaning people...... NOW all I have to do is lean left and it will be funny. ThanksKevin Keenan is my hero, a double FUP, he does so much with so little Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,148 #11 February 12, 2014 Aw come on -- just as sometimes the more right-leaning will take sound bites and run with them, the same can happen here too. Consider who talks about SHTF a lot, and who and what else they seem to be against (again, consider your average reader of NY Times, or any other non-Fox outlet), and kind of mash it all together. And I did go on a cave painting hike this weekend where the guide said that in a SHTF situation, he'd want sotol on his side -- I didn't make that up . You can even ferment and then distill it for liquor -- how cool is that? Wendy P. There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #12 February 13, 2014 wmw999 Aw come on -- just as sometimes the more right-leaning will take sound bites and run with them, the same can happen here too. Consider who talks about SHTF a lot, and who and what else they seem to be against (again, consider your average reader of NY Times, or any other non-Fox outlet), and kind of mash it all together. And I did go on a cave painting hike this weekend where the guide said that in a SHTF situation, he'd want sotol on his side -- I didn't make that up . You can even ferment and then distill it for liquor -- how cool is that? Wendy P. I would have thought that all those "good" people up there in the mountains of Georgia would be "Miracled" outta there before SHTF. I guess they know they don't really qualify for Rapture or stand a prayer of that happening... and are in for all the Tribulation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
headoverheels 291 #13 February 13, 2014 The Rapture already happened. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davjohns 1 #14 February 13, 2014 Like most things, painting preppers in one light might blind you. I have stuff ready to go (bugout bag or BOB). There are plenty of reasons. Just like the fire extenguisher, first aid kit, food, and water in my Jeep. Just like the knife and flashlight in my pocket. Just like the pistol by my bed. Just like the pantry full of food. Riots happen. It's not a left or right thing that I can tell. Blackouts and lootings happen. I'm pretty sure the electrons have no political agenda when they stop flowing. Getting snowed in? Well, Mother Nature may have a preferred party, but I don't know which it is. Budget deficit leading to financial meltdown? If you think one party bears all the blame, you really aren't paying attention. Here in BENELUX, people are advised to carry food, water, blankets, and such in their cars in case their car gets stuck in snow. Fire extenguishers, flares, first aid kits with instructions are all required by law. I don't think that is politically motivated. I like to look ahead at the things that might happen and try to be prepared. I don't expect FEMA or anyone else to save me. I try to make sure I can take care of my family and some others as well. If that makes me a nutter, so be it. So far, it has served me well. And, I've been able to take care of others who did not prepare.I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet.. But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toddnkaya1 0 #15 February 13, 2014 Is your gun locked up? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
regulator 0 #16 February 13, 2014 Well I learned something new today. That mexican restraunt in Lake Jackson..El Jimador. A jimador is a type of Mexican farmer who harvests agave plants, which are harvested primarily for the production of mezcal, sotol and tequila. Maybe that's why their margarita's are awesome and their food sucks ass. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
regulator 0 #17 February 13, 2014 And yes, there's multiple reasons to have a BOB. I have 2 on the ready that just need to be loaded in a vehicle. If you live in a hurricaine zone like I do, then you can remember evacuating a few years back and being in complete gridlock even on the furthest back roads. Nothing wrong with being prepared...but of course there's a difference between being prepared and spending all your money on an underground bunker. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davjohns 1 #18 February 13, 2014 Toddnkaya1Is your gun locked up? Most of my guns stay locked up. Others are available should they be needed. All: Sorry. Sometimes my fingers do their own thing. When I looked at my previous post, the word 'extinguisher' jumped out at me. I misspelled it twice. No idea why.I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet.. But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeorgiaDon 340 #19 February 13, 2014 Amazing how fast this thread lurched off into left field. Ron's SHTF so often I suspect he has a wind tunnel installed in his toilet. The SLATE article is interesting, though much of what is presented as fact could just reflect the author's political opinion. Nevertheless, I can't disagree with the suggestion that investment in education would be a more productive route to accomplishing the goal of improving access to good jobs. Unfortunately, it seems conservatives these days, and to some extent libertarians, view quality public education the same way they view access to health care, a commodity that should be reserved for the most economically advantaged. I'm not optimistic at all that the political will exists to replace affirmative action with affirmative education for everyone. I think the single most destructive force on the "nuclear family" in the US has been the "war on drugs" and other manifestations of the lock-'em-all-up mentality so prevalent in conservative circles. The result has been a whole American subculture that has abandoned the notion of fathers as active participants in the family, as so many of them are locked up. Conservatives seem to have no issue with paying through the nose to maintain the prisonocracy, but complain bitterly about any expenditure of tax dollars for programs to divert people from criminal activity. Anyway, I'd say I agree with the major points of the article. Thanks for posting it. Don_____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,148 #20 February 13, 2014 QuoteLike most things, painting preppers in one light might blind you.Absolutely. We have stuff ready for hurricane/power-out situations as well. We also have a hiking bag, with all the necessities for a hike except for the food, so that we don't have to go looking if we want to go somewhere. And I don't discuss personal gun access choices. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #21 February 13, 2014 Quote Unfortunately, it seems conservatives these days, and to some extent libertarians, view quality public education... GeorgiaDon, I'm not sure this is a fair statement on your part. Look as what DeBlassio is doing in NYC. He's trying to shut down charter schools, most of which have been started by conservatives that deeply care about education. They are affordable, and NYC inner city parents are clamoring to get into these. Quote I think the single most destructive force on the "nuclear family" in the US has been the "war on drugs" and other manifestations of the lock-'em-all-up mentality The more I think about this, the more I agree with you. I'll never forget being on Westchester Grand Jury duty. There were several young black men charged with possession/intent-to-distribute crack cocaine. It only takes 0.5 grams of crack cocaine in New York State,...and your are a felon. Some of these young black men came forward and made their case to us. These were guys who made a mistake. They could absolutely make something of their lives, but were now going to be denied that opportunity. I was, and still am, appalled. On that note, here's a very interesting article from today's WSJ by a Federal Judge regarding sentencing guidelines. Let's hope they remedy this situation. ============================================ The Prisoners I Lose Sleep Over Sentencing guidelines forced me to send them away for a long time. Now there's a chance to make things right. By Michael A. Ponsor Feb. 12, 2014 6:47 p.m. ET The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the "Smarter Sentencing Act" by a bipartisan vote of 13-5 on Jan. 30, sending it to the Senate floor. The legislation is excellent and its passage would mean a long overdue correction of a misguided sentencing regime that Americans—including federal judges like me—have struggled with for more than two decades. I've been on the federal bench for 30 years, having served 10 years as a magistrate judge and 20 as a U.S. district judge. My pride in our constitutional system runs bone deep: No system of law has ever existed that tries so hard to be truly fair. I can take scant pride, however, in the dark epoch our criminal sentencing laws have passed through during my decades handling felony cases. In 1984, at the start of my career, 188 people were imprisoned for every 100,000 inhabitants of the United States. Other Western industrialized countries had roughly equal numbers. By 2010 that figure had skyrocketed to 497 people imprisoned in the U.S. for every 100,000 inhabitants. Today, we imprison more of our people than any other country in the world. How did "the land of the free and the home of the brave" become the world's biggest prison ward? The U.S. now houses 5% of the world's population and 25% of its prisoners. Either our fellow Americans are far more dangerous than the citizens of any other country, or something is seriously out of whack in the criminal-justice system. The capricious evolution of federal sentencing law makes the moral implications of this mass incarceration especially appalling. In 1987, all federal sentencing became subject to sentencing guidelines designed to smooth out disparities among sentences of different judges. This move was not in itself a bad thing; sentences for similarly situated offenders obviously ought to be roughly the same. The problem was that the appellate courts interpreted these guidelines so rigidly that judges like me were often forced to ignore individual circumstances and hit defendants with excessive—sometimes grossly excessive—sentences. Then, in 2005, in a series of cases starting with United States v. Booker, the Supreme Court ruled that this lock-step interpretation of the sentencing guidelines was unconstitutional. The "application of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines," the court held in Booker, "violated the Sixth Amendment." To comply with the right to a jury trial in the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court went on to say, the guidelines had to be deemed no more than advisory. After more than 15 years in a sentencing-guidelines straitjacket, judges were now empowered to do what was appropriate in light of the particular defendant's conduct and circumstances. Consider the implications. Right now, scores of men and women remain in prison at huge cost serving excessive sentences that I was compelled to impose, often against my better judgment, under an interpretation of the sentencing guidelines now recognized as unconstitutional. But Booker and its subsequent sister cases were not deemed to have retroactive effect. So there my defendants sit, and there they will continue to sit, serving out prison terms that were imposed in a manner that violated the law. A similar pattern followed with the Fair Sentencing Act, adopted in 2010 to reduce minimum-mandatory terms for dealers of crack cocaine. For years, I could recite the mandatory terms for crack in my sleep: five years for five grams, 10 years for 50 grams, 20 years for 50 grams with one prior conviction, life without parole for 50 grams with two priors—no discretion, no consideration of specific circumstances. These mandatory terms (unless the defendant cooperated by implicating others) were the same for low-level couriers, called mules, as for high-echelon drug lords. By passing the Fair Sentencing Act, Congress recognized that this system of mandatory sentences, in addition to being unjust, was to some extent racially skewed since black drug users tend to favor crack, while whites prefer much less harshly penalized powder cocaine. Yet defendants sentenced before the act was passed still languish today, serving out sentences that virtually all members of Congress now recognize as excessive. And there is not a darn thing anyone can do about it. If you're the one doing the sentencing, this reality will keep you awake at night, believe me. The Smarter Sentencing Act would reduce 20-year mandatory sentences to 10, 10-year sentences to five, and five-year sentences to two years. Increased numbers of offenders with very modest criminal records would not face mandatory sentences at all. If adopted, the law would also permit thousands of prisoners to seek reduction of their prison terms to bring them in line with the Fair Sentencing Act. None of these changes would reduce the power of judges to slam the really bad actors. But they would permit judges to do what they are paid to do: use their judgment. Our vast prison apparatus is too costly, but more important, it is unworthy of us as a free people. This new statute is well named—now is the time for smarter sentencing. Mr. Ponsor is a senior U.S. district judge in Springfield, Mass. He is the author of the novel "The Hanging Judge" (Open Road Media, 2013).We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davjohns 1 #22 February 14, 2014 wmw999 Quote Like most things, painting preppers in one light might blind you. Absolutely. We have stuff ready for hurricane/power-out situations as well. We also have a hiking bag, with all the necessities for a hike except for the food, so that we don't have to go looking if we want to go somewhere. And I don't discuss personal gun access choices. Wendy P. Ahhh....hiding them from the man....smart. I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet.. But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #23 February 14, 2014 davjohnsJust like the fire extenguisher, first aid kit, food, and water in my Jeep The whole purpose of that Jeep is to troll Europeans. Just admit it. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #24 February 14, 2014 davjohns *** Quote Like most things, painting preppers in one light might blind you. Absolutely. We have stuff ready for hurricane/power-out situations as well. We also have a hiking bag, with all the necessities for a hike except for the food, so that we don't have to go looking if we want to go somewhere. And I don't discuss personal gun access choices. Wendy P. Ahhh....hiding them from the man....smart. I view it more as competition for resources, and securing one's own. Personally, I think anyone who gives out too much info to his friends or neighbors about not just personal weapons, but personal stores of food, water, batteries, etc. is being pretty foolish. I don't believe in Zombie Apocalypse or Red Dawn coming at us, but S does HTF. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tink1717 2 #25 February 14, 2014 I didn't read the article, but I'll take your bait anyway. So, for the sake of this argument, I'll take the postition that we liberals have failed to make any progress agaist racial discrimiation and that affirmative action is the failure you think it is. What then? How would you solve the problem? Go back to Jim Crow? Segragation? Separate but Equal? Apartied? Let's hear it.Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
