You may be correct, at least for the most part. For some teachers it is about teaching but my concern is the subject matter. I reviewed a social studies book recently and believe it should no longer be taught in schools. Global warming is here and fossil fuels are bad is the last thing my step-daughter came home to share. Considering the books are published by National Geographic I should not have been surprised.

Just this morning...It's 32 degrees out. I pulled my pickup into its parking spot and noticed a small mound under a blanket next to the fence, right in front of my truck. I got out and thought, "My god...is that a person?" I observed to notice...yep, they're curled under the blanket, laying on some leaves, and I can see them breathing. Brutal conditions for just sleeping out in the open. I honestly didn't know what to do. They appeared to be asleep. It's f*&ing everywhere around here now. Not good.

"Are more people becoming addicts? Sure. Percentage of a growing population that is dumbed down chemically." There is a horrible epidemic of this.

Many of these childhood drugs are just poorly disguised amphetamines.

My impression (with two kids in school) is that schools are there to hire people and provide pensions.

Someone once said to me, " In this economy we are merely one major illness away from homelessness." It was said very monotonously like speaking of the weather. I don't know what bothered me more the harsh reality of the statement or its resolute delivery.

Maybe these people have just "gulched" and have given up trying to make it in our society now. I dont really blame them. Most of them beg at the streetcorners in Vegas and stupid people give them money. They just come back day after day and get free money from people who feel guilty for their successes. Its dumb.

Not exactly the climate for homeless around me at the oceans side here in New England, However, I am sure the cities are ripe...places I stay shy of.
If we account for the liberal progressive financial climate here then it's more than possible our homeless have move on to your area for the warmth.
Thankful I haven't ended up in that situation myself.

Our son suffered from childhood epilepsy (I have two siblings with the affliction) and it was a very tense time, until he grew out of it.

I wish you and your family the best.

Thanks, Jan.

The toughest part is watching his mother's distress as we work through the hard parts. She's come around to working with me on it, but it's like quitting smoking...it only takes a momentary weakness to throw it all away.

We have a long time friend who is seriously enabling her son, to the point of nearly destroying her great marriage, and have been using it as an example of what can go wrong, if you're not strong.

More like a lack of "right" choices, on his part.

If I were a TV producer, I could base a sitcom on his previous life and title it either "The Park", or "Me, My Wife and Irene".

Hopefully, this new "independence" will be what he needs to get his life straight, again.

I was a teacher for 5 years, and all I have to say is, don't blame the teacher. First of all, exactly what are schools there for? What is the product? I've yet to hear a coherent definition. One thing I do know. The schools, as currently configured, aren't there to TEACH. It's all about the little knuckleheads' egos, not about learning. So, leave the teachers out of it. If they attempt to really teach, they end up in trouble, both from the administration and from the knuckleheads.

I imagine that no one here went through the changes that took place during the industrial revolution 150+ years ago, where economies of scale were upending the entire working world. Dickens wrote about some of it. Today, we're going through another shift, with declining economies of scale brought on by technology. You can see that with McDonalds introducing robots to offset the $15/hour crowd. You can also see that with the modern "giant" companies generating the same revenue, but employing 10% of the workers, and the workers are much more skilled than in the past. In grad school, I remember reading about an unemployed Youngstown, Ohio steel worker. His father had been a welder for 30+ years, and he figured that he'd follow in his father's footsteps, so he also became a welder. The only problem was that the company had introduced robots that could weld better than him or his father, and do it faster as well. The lesson I took from that case was that you can't look to the past to predict your future (except in a general sense). You must keep your eyes and ears open, especially to changes in technology. If that welder had learned how to program the welding robot, his outcome would have been much brighter. In fact, with the job market in decline, because of shrinking economies of scale, entrepreneurship will be the coin of the realm going forward. Many can't or won't make the change, so expect more hobos, rather than less.

Got it. We're on the same page.

Funny? Outrageous!! I'll bet the signs
they hold are in English! GOD help America,
please!

Unfortunately, I have been thrust into the area of neurology, biosciences, etc. What I've learned has chilled me. There are a lot of people out there who really struggle with day-to-day social interactions. No joke - many actually are engineers (the ones who do well). I can spot an adult with autism in a heartbeat. Sad stuff. I even have some involvement with the issue of football head injuries (another thread on its own). See the movie trailer for "Concussion". I have been in touch with the doctor in that story. Very interesting story - and, just yesterday, there was a full-page article on the back of the Wall Street Journal on it. It was a great read, even for people who are just football fans.

The one thing, Micheal, I have learned more than anything else - as an Objectivist, engineer, father of a child with autism...The most valuable, precious thing to a man, by far, is what's between his ears. It's also more fragile than many know.

Happy Turkey Day. I'm between basting as I type this.. Do like me. Drink good wine. Eat too much!

I live in Sacramento and I haven't noticed any increase.

There are some homeless people living in trailers or huts in the hills above me. They are generally drug users of some sort or other, but do not seem to make trouble; the exception is the Vietnam vet, who is kinda looked after by the neighborhood in general.

Jan

Interesting. Thanks for the story. Since you had the compassion to let him come home once and the resolve to not let him come home a second time, I have hope that one day he may wake up and smell his life burning - and chose to do something about it.

Jan

I wish it were. The illegal immigrant problem here is just that serious. Some areas of Phoenix have only Spanish sign-age on their stores. One pizza place (Patron) accepts peso's as payment.

Abaco, our "culture" seems to be spawning more and more
dependents rather than producers. . I see this as a sure sign
of the decline of the nation. . for many, charity is heartfelt
and warm;;; for others, it is a political ploy. . between them,
we are destroying the u.s. ... IMHO. -- j
.