Posted on April 9th, 2007 by Stephanie
Where do politicians come up with these idiotic ideas? I read over on Moderate Voice that Democrats in Michigan want to give every child an iPod. They call it an investment in education.
How many people reading here think those iPods would have so much as a chance of being used in any way relevant to education? Some kids, sure, but any sort of reasonable number? What if they lose the iPod? What about when they get damaged?
Makes me think about bread and circuses.
I’ve heard that iPods can have educational benefits, but when a state is having the kinds of financial troubles that Michigan is, I would expect there to be far better ways to spend that limited funding.
Technorati Tags: ipods, political insanity, bread and circuses, michigan
No Comments »
Filed under: Politics
Posted on April 7th, 2007 by Stephanie
I became aware of the Blog Against Theocracy blogswarm earlier today and just had to participate. It has long seemed to me that evangelicals have been trying to move the United States in that direction, and more recently have been making headway with willing politicians.
Obviously, I don’t approve. Read more…
1 Comment »
Filed under: Controversial, Politics
Posted on March 22nd, 2007 by Stephanie
There’s been quite a fuss about the firing of eight US Attorneys. People are screaming that they were politically motivated, unjustified and so forth.
I must admit the firings came at an unusual time. It’s common practice for an incoming President to fire existing US Attorneys. Nothing wrong with that at all, even though it’s obviously politically motivated. Read more…
No Comments »
Filed under: Controversial, Politics
Posted on March 20th, 2007 by Stephanie
I have absolutely no problem with the idea that abortions are too common in this country. I think of it as a problem. But I am pro-choice and firmly oppose making abortion illegal.
So this makes me pause and think when I read that Georgia is considering requiring women to have the chance to view an ultrasound image, if one is taken, of their baby before having an abortion. The measure has passed the House there.
Overall, I think I like the idea. I would have to see the implementation to be sure, but so long as this is optional it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea at all. Read more…
No Comments »
Filed under: Controversial, Politics
Posted on March 10th, 2007 by Stephanie
Somehow, I was just not surprised at all to hear that the FBI has admitted to abusing its powers under the Patriot Act. You can read all kinds of stories about this. I find the slants on each site interesting. Fox News, for example, just lightly mentions it, then goes on to discuss President Bush’s visit to South America. That’s fine, but not exactly relevant to what the FBI did. After a search I did find a better story, but the first one I mentioned was the only one in the Politics Headlines section.
The Washington Post was more detailed, especially about these actions being an abuse of the Patriot Act and something that many people have feared. The Boston Herald took a similar view, but with a much shorter article. The Chicago Tribune did a longer report than the Boston Herald, with fairly good detail. Read more…
1 Comment »
Filed under: Controversial, Politics
Posted on March 8th, 2007 by Stephanie
Hillary Clinton hopes to make it so. She is bringing back her Paycheck Fairness Act which is an attempt to require that men and women be paid equally for equal work.
I read about this over on Bring It On!, and the debate there is quite interesting. Once other factors are accounted for, it can be shown that women earn 80% of what men do, on average.
To me, the habit of many employers to require that employees not discuss their pay has always been an irritant. Frankly I consider it none of an employer’s business if employees choose to discuss what they’re earning with one another. It’s also every employee’s right to not discuss what they earn if they don’t want to. Money is a very personal topic, and not everyone wants to discuss it. But if employees do, it should be their decision and not something an employer can discipline for. Read more…
No Comments »
Filed under: Business, Controversial, Musings, Politics
