Monies: the secret word for colleges and universities

"If you are a student of means or ability, or both, there has never been a better year [to apply]" Robert A. Sevier, enrollment consultant to colleges, NY Times.

Great news! If you can afford to go to college or university, go! If you can't afford to go without assistance, well, lets see how many spots are open after we fill them with everyone richer than you.

What the hell? The only reason I was able to go to my alma mater is because my hard work in high school got me a scholarship, and because there was no way my mom was going to be able to help me much.

According to this article, if I were to try to go to school now, I'd be over looked in favor of the person who can whip out his check book and cover tuition in full.

Education, no matter if it is high school or higher ed, should not be a business. The purpose of education is to prepare you to work in the real world, where businesses rule, money is king, and the bottom line is God.

I second many of the comments made in response to this article: There has to be some kind of education reform. This society already marginalizes the poor and underclass. Higher education is damn near the only way to over come these limitations, and it is already cost prohibitive to go, and just getting more so as time goes on.

Clinton: US Addicted to Mexico Addicted to US

How refreshing plain and direct speech is!

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians" (Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton).

She has a very strong point. It is very hypocritical for the US to bitch about "all those damn Mexican drug cartels" when in fact we're the ones buying and giving them every opportunity to increase their profit margin.

The day we take real responsibility for our growing addiction—to the big name drugs (cocaine) AND the small name ones (marijuana)—and the day we take real steps to solve these issues, is the day there will be real progress.

Until then, they'll keep selling, we'll keep buying, and everyone will continue to blame everyone else but themselves.

13 year old student strip search in the name of War on Drugs

At what point do adults, serving their community as school principals, nurses, and administrators, think that strip searching a 13 year old is remotely close to being a good idea?!

This seriously has me thinking of making a new blog label called: WTF?! Or something like that...

Anyway, it's true. A 13 year old girl (A) was strip searched after another student (B) was found to be in possession of prescription strength Ibuprofen and said she obtained the pills from someone else (A).

Basing their invasive and thoroughly unnecessary and unwarnetted search on this flimsy "evidence," school officials required the student to submit to a search, which, as you can guess, resulted in no pills.

The child's mother wasn't call. The police weren't called. And the school seems to think they did the right thing.

Seriously! WTF?!?

Jonathan Krohn: 14 year old Republican Party pundit

"Conservatism is an ideology of protecting the people and the people's rights." (2:45)

Really? Then why are conservatives always trying to turn over votes MADE BY THE PEOPLE or CHOSEN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE on abortion, gay marriage or civil unions, national health care, equal pay for women, equal protection under the law from hate violence and speech, etc. etc. etc.?

This kid scares me. He is proof of how ignorance, hatred, and close mindedness spread and continue to damage the US and the world.

The world in numbers

You wanna see something creepy? Guy came to my job to help out with some repairs (damn broken heater), and we got to talking about the number of people who use the internet in a given day.

It's hard to say what I'm more freaked out by, the global population, the growing debt, the carbon dioxide output, or the number of people who spend their time in front of some sort of electronic device (TV, computer, cell phone, etc.) vs. the number of new books published.

What did you find most interesting/creepy?

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses... SIKE!

I'm having a problem. No existential crisis or anything like that, but a problem nonetheless.

The economic crisis that is the USA right now, is causing a disruption to upper middle class White folks lives. I take it back: for them, this might be an existential crisis.

As with any economic upheaval, the poor and disenfranchised are the first and often hardest hit. These also happen to be, in most cases, people of color.

Every winter, public libraries see an increase in homeless patrons. This year however, the "problem" is exacerbated by our devastated economy. Homeless men, women, teens, and young adults (20's), and families. The mentally and physically handicapped, not to mention the sick, the smelly, and dirty.

All sharing a public space with Entitled Americans.

Some of my coworkers feel we must "control" the problem, that these individuals should be removed from inside the library. Patrons complain that their tax dollars were not meant to run "another shelter" (never mind we have ONE shelter in SLC).

Never mind the ONE shelter in SLC kicks residents out during the day time. Never mind it is cold and snowy outside. Never mind that the library has chairs, internet access, bathrooms, and a fireplace to relax by. These people, these homeless are a threat to Privileged America, and God forbid we should be reminded of that privilege.

Perhaps it is because I was once in the same shoes as the disenfranchised patrons of public libraries that I feel empathy and understanding for their tough position. Or perhaps it is my complete and total fear of hearing those final words, "When I was hungry you did not feed me; when I was naked you did not cloth me. When I was imprisoned you did not come to see me; when I was ill you did not come to minister to me," and not having a answer.

Unless they are breaking the rules, for God's sake, leave those people, and yes, they are people before they are anything else, alone.

"Fitzgerald: The Ill-Founded Assumptions of Obama's Address To Muslims"

So I'm not the only one, along with a conservative I still can't believe I agree with, who sees and has a problem with President Obama's address to Muslims.

What's that make it? 3 to...millions of "kum-bi-ya why can't we all just get along" left-wing nut jobs.

Fuck.