Education vs non-education

For quite some time, I've been thinking and looking into the education of the children that will someday be running this country.
Today's education system is almost unrecognizable from the education that I was subjected to.
I went to public school before the age of computers, the age of political correctness, the age of coddling, the age of irresponsibility, etc.
When I went to school, you were responsible to your parents for your grades.   It wasn't blamed on the school, the teachers, the child's limitations, language barriers, cultural differences, etc.
Sure some came from one parent homes, some came to school without breakfast, some didn't speak English that well..........so what ?   They just tried a little harder and succeeded anyway.   We also helped each other to do well in school because we knew the penalty for not doing well.
In order to move on to the next grade, one had to show some degree of efficiency for the subjects taught in their present grade...not promoted regardless.
Upon reaching high school, everyone could read, write, do math, knew some history and science as well as observing the school's rules.   Those that were unable to meet the criteria of being scholars were moved to trade schools where they learned a trade.   Most children in those days never thought about college and still went on to be successful in their lives to one degree or another.
Today, the schools have taken on the role of the parents.   The teachers become responsible for meals, conduct problems, lowering the passing grades for those that aren't even trying and are not allowed to use any form of discipline to correct antisocial behavior.
Most subjects are being taught in such a complicated way that even the student's parents don't understand what their children are supposed to learn.
I see schools where cursive writing is no longer taught because "you don't need it, you have a computer".   Math, an extremely important subject, is taught in a fashion that is counterproductive to the ease of learning math, English and grammar are no longer considered relevant, history is taught from a political point of view and not the reality of what really happened, science has been simplified so that the typical student will pass the class easily.  
All in all, I am observing the dumbing down of America.
More and more parents are using the schools as a place to stash their kids and "babysit" them.
I asked school age children all of the time; "When was the last time your parents asked to see your homework."   The predominant answer is "NEVER".
In order to solve any problems with the education of our children, the government either throws money at the problem or subsidizes charter schools or for-profit schools.   None of these "solutions" have worked.
The real problems are:
Parents are not taking responsibility for their children.
Teachers (the good ones) are poorly compensated and limited by their superiors.
Rather than keeping the students challenged, passing scores are lowered so everyone can "pass".
Political correctness has not only restricted what and how our children are taught, but has stifled any creativity in the teachers and the children.
Students are no longer taught a subject, they are taught how to pass the test for that subject.
Ah...you ask what can be done about this ?   That's so easy that no one has either thought of it or is gutsy enough to say it.   The solution is to step back 50 years and see why every student could read, write, do math, understood basic science, knew the history of the world and the United States, and
felt great about their achievements.
There are hardly any dedicated teachers left in our public school system.   Most teachers last 5 years or less before they quite and find another career.  Why does everyone have to go to college ?   Why can't many students learn a skill or trade and learn how to run a business ?   Why is one of the largest debts in America that of student loans (most of which are from students that never completed their college education or received a degree).    Because the system has gotten out of control.
Just look at your property taxes; the largest item on there is the amount that goes to your school district.   And yet, the quality of education keeps dropping.
College too, has deteriorated with sports being the big money maker rather than advancement in other areas.   Other than doctors, lawyers, accountants and educators; who do you know that is
For the most part, school is a place you go to socialize or learn about things that you can't make a living with until you finally decide on getting a real job.   How many people do you know (other than doctors, lawyers, accountants and educators) that are working at what they received a diploma for ?
Let's get back to teaching our kids and let all of their other problems be the responsibility of their parents and the community.

New angle on ObamaCare

I overheard some accountants discussing their client's deductions over coffee at a local restaurant today.   It seems that since the Supreme Court has deemed ObamaCare (ACA) a tax, then the premiums are deductible.
I thought,what a joke...that will be that much more of taxpayer money goes into ObamaCare and that much less tax the government will collect.   The obvious conclusion is that eventually the government will be paying out much more (includes all of their budget) than they take and therefore will become bankrupt.   The dollar will then be worthless.
When I got home, I called my local IRS office to verify what I had heard.   I finally got through to a human and asked her if I could deduct my ACA premium from my taxes on myincome.
She said, " You may deduct the amount of premium that you paid.   You may only deduct the portion that you paid and not any subsidy.   You may also deduct any deductible and co-pay that you have paid out."

So, knowing this; it seems that everyone should buy the very best plan available and deduct the cost of that plan from their taxes...thus getting a platinum plan for less than the cost of the cheapest plan.
So let me see if I have this right:
I can deduct the cost of my plan
"     "       "       "     "    "  satisfying the deductible
"     "       "       "     "    "  out of pocket expenses
"     "       "       "     "    "  any co-pay
"     "       "       "     "    " any penalty for not getting ObamaCare
and obviously, since I'll have to give up my local doctor, the cost of travel to my newly assigned doctor.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me...........assuming that I'm very ill.
The big question is, when the administration wakes up to see that this is costing them way more than they ever anticipated, where will they get the additional money from ?
They could raise the debt ceiling to borrow more
They could raise all of the tax rates
They could cut back on services offered to the elderly and chronic

They could just give everyone a "surcharge" when they got any medical attention
All in all...........this whole thing is a joke on the government as well as us................

Crimea..........

It seems that everyone is upset with Vladimir Putin for invading and finally taking possession of Crimea.   This land grab appears unconscionable.
Ask yourself, haven't most other countries in the world done this at one time or another ?   Wasn't the United States formed by taking land that they had no claim on ?
Of course I'm always against a country invading another country (unless we're doing it).    However, when we invade another country it's supposed to be in our "best interests".  
Well, it was in the best interest of Russia to include Crimea as part of their country as part of its navy is stationed there and the pipelines from Russian oil fields to the rest of Europe cross through there.
As much as I don't agree with what Putin did, I totally understand.
On the other hand, I give him KUDOS for not only invading and taking land without a single shot fired, but making his first attempt to put the Soviet Union back together, while the rest of the world did nothing about it but bitch.   This first test proved successful.   In addition, and as an added bonus, Putin gave Obama the "finger" showing how helpless Obama is when it comes to foreign policy.
Sure, Obama threatened "sanctions" and Putin laughed at him.
By the way, what is it our business about what goes on in another sovereign country ?   Who declared the United States as police for the world ?   Ask any taxpayer if they want their money wasted on protecting our enemies, ungrateful countries, and making other world leaders extremely wealthy.
If we really are worried about being attacked by anyone, we have the military power to destroy any country where they are (without ever putting a soldier in that country.   All this "political correctness" and "diplomacy" is nonsense.   If someone threatens me, I do whatever it takes to eliminate that threat.   If someone threatens you, it's none of my business unless you ask for my help.

The height of hypocrisy...
I was wondering how some politicians keep getting re-elected and end up making a lifetime career of mis-representing us.   Then it finally "dawned" on me...........no one remembers (or cares) how bad they were as little as last week.
Take Dianne Feinstein for example.   Of course, I'm going to use a California Democratic to get my point across.   This evil woman has been in office since 1992 (that's over 20 years) and continues to be a U.S. Senator despite her lousy voting record.
Just look at her total support of the NSA spying on citizens.   She was extremely happy to see the government invade our privacy and violate our Constitution.   However, once she found out that the CIA was spying on her and other Senators and Representatives, she went berserk.   Her point of view is that it's alright to spy on everybody except for her.
By the time that elections come around again, all will be forgotten and the California lemmings will vote for her again.   When they ask, "What's happened to our freedoms?"   I just say, "You gave them away because you didn't care..."
And this is just one example of how our members of Congress do not have the best interests of the United States in mind.   Most go to Washington to "cut deals" and become wealthy at your expense.

Lies, lies and more lies...

By now, you've probably seen the ads on TV where young people are bragging about the under a hundred dollars a month that they're paying for Health Insurance.
The truth is that those cheap (and they really are CHEAP) plans carry extreme deductibles as high as $12,000 per year before the plan kicks in.   Also, not many people even qualify to buy these cheap plans.
When King Obama and his cohort, Nancy Pelosi knowingly LIED to us about some things I'll mention below, they conned the unconscious Harry Reid into convincing the rest of the Democratsinto believing that the Affordable Care Act was the greatest thing that ever happened.   Nancy even told them (and us) that no one had to read it, they just had to vote for it.   And, like the lemmings they are, the Democrats all voted it into law.
Now, as we get to read it and see it implemented, we see that it isn't as represented.  

LIE #1:
"If you like your present plan, you can keep it".  
Well, it turns out that if your plan didn't cover the things in the ACA law, you got cancelled.   How did King Obama deal with this ?   Breaking the law and bypassing Congress, he waived his hand and let you keep your present plan until after the 2016 elections.   Then you get cancelled.   In order for your present insurance company to "reinstate" you in your plan, they have to break the law.

LIE #2:
"ACA will lower the annual cost for a family by over $2500 a year".
Now, that's a real joke on us.   Other than a few cheap plans that cover very little, most plans cost about $2500 (or more) per year.   As an example, my present plan costs me $217 a month ($2604/ year) with a $1500 deductible.   That same plan, under ACA now costs $346/ month ($4152/ year) with a $6500 deductible.   So, most Americans will be paying more and getting less.

LIE #3:
"If you like your doctor, you can keep him".
That too is an outright lie.   If your doctor doesn't totally comply with the new law, you are being "reassigned" to another doctor.   Your freedom of choice is again being thwarted by this law.

I could go on with the remaining 23 other lies that the Democrats have told you about ACA, but these three should suffice for now.   This is primarily for you low information voters, that know little to nothing about ACA.
King Obama is so bad for our country, violating the Constitution, abusing his powers, lieing to the people, and moving us towards socialism.   He should be impeached and then deported back to where he came from.   America is a Republic, not a Monarchy.   Why isn't anyone doing something about this ?   You fools that voted him in the first time and the idiots that let him steal a second term, will probably vote for Hillary Clinton (Obama 2.0) in 2016.   You haven't a clue of how your lack of knowledge is killing America.

Another "GOTCHA"...

That's wonderful; you signed up for ObamaCare.   Now you have insurance that will not cover day-to-day small emergencies, a huge deductible, and an ever increasing annual premium.
However, the big "GOTCHA" is that there is no security for the Healthcare.org site, where you shop for and buy health insurance per the law.
Every bit of information (including your social security number) that you've listed, is available to even the least competent hacker.
So far, to the best information from those that track hackers activities, several hundreds of hackers around the world now have enough of your personal information to do everything from getting credit in your name, buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods in your name, stealing your identity, and causing you grief in many, many other ways.   And this number will climb into the thousands as the months go by.
The more sophisticated hackers have even attached programs that log every keystroke you do on any computer where you bring up your name, password(s) or any other identifying reference to you.
In most cases, your name will appear on huge lists that will be sold to commercial retailers, marketing organizations, and unscrupulous criminals.   And to add insult to injury, you can't even sue the government once you become a victim because of their failure to protect this information.
Regardless of what happens to ObamaCare in the future; your information has already been copied by hackers all over the world.
Of course, the government never told you about their lack of security............GOTCHA !
This same thing has been happening to those that file their taxes electronically.   Over 8% of the refund checks from 2012 filings have never been received by the person that filed, but went to hackers.   This year, the number is expected to climb to over 20%.
See how easy this administration makes it for you to get ripped off.   Good luck, SUCKER.

R E S P E C T ................

While the rest of the world is in total chaos (example: Ukraine, Venezuela, etc.)
our illustrious King was having one of his lavish parties last night.
Of course, in spite of my ire at him, he did provide me with a humorous moment.
In his speech, he misspelled the word RESPECT; spelling it as "r s p e c t".   Now I must assume that a college educated man like Obama certainly knows how to spell the word.   I later find out that it was a typo on his teleprompter.  
Again we see how incompetent he is, as he's almost useless without a teleprompter.
I've watched him bastardize our language on dozens of occasions when he had no teleprompter (which is rare), but to become so incapable of freely speaking without an aid, for a President is intolerable.
Therefore, he's lost any iota of RESPECT that some of us might have had left for him.