Jim

....and what, specifically, pray tell, are you doing to insure that this ambitious agenda is passed in D.C.? And - what specifically would be your recommendation to an incoming freshman, low on tuition cash and waiting for the inevitable windfall from said agenda, to do in the meantime?

...with this one: If you're asking me - I'd say they don't agree. Clearly the middle class -whatever that is - is in a squeeze. While cost have been going down, in real terms, for many durable items - cars, toasters, fridges, and such - costs for important life elements - housing, education, and especially basic medical care are going up in inverse proportion to real wages. No doubt about it. And I generally agree with your assessment of this. What I object to is the notion that somehow this ranks up there with the the dark ages. We should be working for changing the dominant paradigm (sorry - couldn't help it)while marshalling what ever resources needed to get to where you want to go. What is the immediate alternative - arm waving and giving up according to some I suppose.

Then they are weaklings.

I thought I'd step in and keep you from a quaruple post. But please carry on with your insightful comments.

It's not a matter of messing my mellow - it's just dealing with reality. It is what it is and while working for what you beleive is, IMO, a requirement (as opposed to inssesant arm waving on the internet)present conditions aren't a reason to lay down and die. Postponing college to work a bit and save some cash to keep down the debt load is not a bad strategy. Would I prefer that the cash we're throwing down the toilet overseas be funneled into education - who wouldn't. Maybe, just maybe, you could once offer some practical solution to the one of these many crises..The chicken little act gets old.

And I should add that I have some biasis based on my own experiences, as do most folks. I come from a large family where my folks simply could not afford college - so patching together some scholarships, grants, and working part-time during the school year and two jobs every summer loading trucks kept me solvent. While grad school meant more academic-type work during the school year I also cleaned carpets for cash when time allowed. The biggest disappointment for me regarding education funding is the squeezing of very useful grant programs such as the Pell Grants, which can provide a boost to able students with financial challenges. My daughter is finishing up college and we had the early talk about what were my expected contributions to her education and what were her responsibilities. Nothing like some clarity to help your kid along.

Is there ever a thread where the interjectin of "..the world is on fire" doesn't apply for you? Jeesh. Yea, times are tough, they have been before, and somehow we'll muddle through. Yea, it is a real drag that college costs are going up at the current rate and yes that does mean more costs for kids. My point was that if you want to go to college and don't have the cash you can figure out ways and taking out monster loans isn't the only solution. Maybe that means postponing education for a year to work to pull in some cash - maybe it means taking a more critical review of the cost/benefit ratio of an English degree.

OK. Now we're talking. Benefit to education - better health. Except - they were talking about a high school education - not the benefit of college, which seems to be the primary point of the above discussion.

That's a standard regressive talking point: denying that higher leads to better outcomes allows them to say that decreased access to higher edu isn't a crisis. If you could actually provide some data, not a narrative, opinon, or Op-Ed article to back any of this up I might tend to agree. I'm not denying it - but again - the above just your opinion with out any backup. Where did you learn to debate - the internets?

While I agree that certain stoopid government decisions - too many friggin wars to start - are contributing to lower education funding and some lack of access - jesus man, there is personal choice involved here. No one is putting a gun to people's heads to take out loans. The constant harping on "woe is me the government isn't helping..." turns people into constant victims. Yea, it ain't perfect, yea we need some change, but friggin' get on with it already.

I think it's pretty clear that while Germany may be making some minor course corrections regarding spending - it has been their long range investment in education, training, and social well-being that has put them way ahead of us. The US - seriously - are we investing in anything execpt cruise missle technology and ethanol?

Friggin' A. If they can't get rid of such a useless and energy sucking, minor item such as this..... Hard to believe there will be movement on the more pressing and complicated issues. Shoot, 'bama - the corn states ain't voting for you anyway!

Oh boy. That is nothing short of grim. I'm not sure what way is out for them right now. It ain't going to be pretty.

Good luck with the shoulder. Generally, aluminum fatigues after less stress cycles than steel, which is why a aluminum tube needs to be of greater diameter than a comparable steel tube. It's all in the quality of frame making, however. I've just found aluminum frames much stiffer with a higher transfer of road vibration for my liking. I've had more than one axle break with little consequence

Ouch! Sorry about that mate. With a well used, 20 yr old bike metal fagigue is not out of the question - it happens. I had a Level II seperation after having a wheel suck in a RR track at 20 mph - that wasn't pretty. After a year of PT and I still couldn't lift my arm above my shoulder w/o significant pain my doctor recommended a Distal Clavicle Resection. Me: What's that Doc: We saw off the last 3 inches of your clavicle. Me: What about that joint function? Doc: Oh, that's a useless non-weight bearing joint. I went for a second opinion - and it was the same. Had the operation and never looked back. Sometimes I forget which shoulder it was - except for the cool lighting bolt scar. The docs said that Level II's can be the worse as they are difficult to heal. If your bump from the Level III isn't too bad they may just suggest PT and I've heard there is a good success rate. Gone to an orthopedic yet?

Touche

I read this article at lunch - what a bunch of wackos! The lead local wacko is from Bainbridge and somehow he came to the unfounded conclusion that his daughter died from a vaccine. While not impossible - there's nothing to back up his assertion. Definately a weird bunch.

Dude. WTF?

JayB regularly posts thoughtful detailed, posts, chock full of plots, data, and citations. You, j_bot and other assclowns have nothing to post in response other than "you are wrong" coupled with lame insults and inanities. JayB may have the patience and feel it is worth replying to you as he does, but I don't. Lick sack is about all you really warrant for a response and your dancing gigolo video is just proof positive of that, not that further proof was required. Actually, j_b has done a stand-up job of refuting most of Jay_B's cherry-picked distortions, statistical shell games, and ideological parlor games masquerading as "reason". While I tend to agree with some of the basic concepts you and j_b are trying to explain - you both do he does a horrible job of making an argument -

Wait. I thought we were the best at what we do in WA.

Oh. Now I understand. Maybe it was because your explanation was fragmented among 20 some odd posts. I've stitched them together here and now the narrative regains its wholistic clarity. Thanks.

HELLO FELLOW BRO I HAVE ALREADY INITIATED THE TRANSLATION OF JB TO ENGLISH AND ANSWERED THIS 4 POSTS BACK I can only assume at this point that the handwaving thing is contagious and spreading? I apologize for my irrelevant rambling.

I don't have a comprehensive plan.......... Well, you proposed taxing the richest 200 Greeks as a solution - just asking for the details behind this brillant plan. Nothing more. Waiting. Or have you abandoned that concept already?

I'm just waiting for ONE succinct and coherent reply.

structural change is parlance for enforcing the neolib agenda of slashing social services while making the peons pay for the crisis engineered by elites and their puppets. I think the more thoughtful response would have been -"Can you provide details on what you mean?" Well sure - cut the Pentagon budget by 25%, provide meaningful finanical sector oversight, do away with ALL the Bush tax cuts. That's a start. Now, without the use of the following adjectives: peon, elite, thug, goon, noecon, liar, and, oh jeesh, whatever.....you can provide some rational on how you would restructure Greece's debt by taxing the 200 richest as you suggested.