REFLECTING ON THE SCOTUS OF 2023

Asked for my reaction to the recent decisions made by the SCOTUS, namely:

(1) affirmative actions based on race (2) web designer free speech issue re: LBGTQ & (3) student loans, this is what I think.

 

My current respect for the SCOTUS is low. Their recent decisions reek of partisan politics. Once upon a time I considered it a vaunted institution with gravitas until it entered the political arena, accepted and decided the Bush v Gore election which was strictly a state matter. 

 

IMO, it's now a failing institution, populated by liars, morphed into another grubby political entity, guarantied a lifetime of supreme rights and privilege without ethical standards and no checks and balances. From that position, it cannot rule with credibility. Moreover, fewer and fewer of its decisions appear more and more rooted in closely held personal views, thinly disguised as ponderous legal decisions.

So, you tell me, what opinions could I offer about decisions made under a political cloud? In principal, I think none of them have much merit based on the people passing the judgements. 

OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system: let's take them one at a time.

 

Free Speech: The aggrieved web designer who decided she didn't have to provide her creative services to a same sex couple. This case should have been rejected because it had no standing.

There was no gay couple, there was no request from anyone for a website that included LBGTQ information, the person named in the suit is a heterosexual man with a wife.

In other words, the decision was based on lies; it was a problem made up of whole cloth by a conservative political group using cutouts. That's why I would throw it out. 

But my own opinion is that a business open to the public should serve the public otherwise we will return to a country peppered with signage like "No blacks allowed" or "No Jews here". By its decision the SCOTUS simply created a new exception: “No gays will be served”.

Student Loan Forgiveness. If the executive branch didn't use the proper tool/law/regulation to order the forgiveness as an executive matter, then it should be rejected, as it was. But as an aside, I think it's a travesty for graduating students to begin their adult life behind a financial eight ball.

 

Affirmative Action: Quotas of any kind should go away. There are other means to separate the best cows from the herd without resorting to special treatment. But, as it is, this was a half-assed decision based on personal politics, ignoring legacy students, privileged high school athletes, children of wealth who are regularly admitted based on generous parental contributions to a stadium, building, auditorium or departmental chair.  

 

So these are my thoughts & reactions to the current spate of judgements passed down from a crumbling Mount Olympus. 

THANKSGIVING, THINKING ABOUT GOBBLE....DYGOOK

gob·ble·dy·gook

ˈɡäbəldēˌɡo͞ok/

noun

informal

1. language that is meaningless or is made unintelligible by excessive use of abstruse technical terms; nonsense.

   synonyms:

   gibberish, claptrap, nonsense, rubbish, balderdash, blather

Good morning & happy Thanksgiving.

While the  president of the teacher's union is upset by Betsy DeVos,  DJT's Secy of Ed -- a billionaire who has fought endlessly for school choice (charter schools & vouchers to compete with public ed), some are celebrating the selection. 

While I think our current public education system (K-12) is basically bankrupt, I want to see it improved not decimated. OTOH, our HS grads are REALLY under-educated by comparison to the rest of the world. I would rather pay a good teacher $150k+ than hire another edu-crat.

In my town, when the Superintendent of Schools discusses education policy, I don't understand what she's talking about. It's all gobbledygook edu-speak which sounds good but means little.

Ike warned us about the military-industrial complex. No one warned us about the edu-industrial complex which is undoubtedly MORE important.

Letter to the Editor - Selectmen Cave...... Again

Ridgefield Press, March 24, 2016

At their March 8th meeting, the Selectmen dodged their Charter responsibility by not making a recommendation on the requested 5.72% education budget increase. The Selectmen folded to political pressure from a special interest group representing 20% of our Ridgefield community. 

What ruffles my feathers is that we elect these people to make balanced decisions that affect the entire community. So did they?

Sort-of. By recommending that the mill rate not exceed 3.5%, they were saying that the BoE request was too high.

The question has now moved to the Board of Finance and they should have lots of pointed questions.

I re-read a letter-to-the-editor from 2004. The BoE and it's supporters made the same arguments then: state mandates, special ed, DRG, falling behind and real estate values. 

To begin: real estate values have fallen precipitously since 2004 despite steady increases to the BoE budget year after year -- mostly to support a larger school bureaucracy, more hires, a larger head count. Does this have a familiar ring to it?

About $800,000 of this year's school budget goes to training teachers. Are we hiring the right teachers? I don't understand why the teachers don't contribute to this training.

Nevertheless, over the years, nothing much has changed scholastically in special ed or standard ed. Yet this year the town has cut almost $1,000,000 in the highway department budget and will most likely be expected to cut planned fire fighters. These cuts will affect all of us in order to satisfy an insatiable 20% of the community. Is that a balanced approach?

The town's books are audited annually. Connecticut has an education auditing department. How about using it, Board of Ed? Let's make sure the kids are getting the benefits, not the bureaucracy.

From a strong proponent of great education.

Jan Rifkinson
New Road

Are you really thinking about a Bouvier des Flandres?

Q: My husband and I have only recently become aware of Bouviers des Flandres and have come to believe that this just might be the breed for our family. [...] I have a few concerns I would like you (any of you) to comment on, if you would: 1. We have read about the fragrant nature of these dogs [...] 2. I've also noticed a few people talking about their Bouvs being aggressive toward the cats [...] 3. And, just from reading this list I'm beginning to wonder about those who write about having "yappy" Bouvs. [...] A: I've been thinking about the questions you raised several days ago & I decided to respond to them. First of all, I think you've demonstrated great responsibility in researching different breeds of dogs before accepting one into your household. My hat's off to you. It can save heartache & worse for both your family & the dog.  However, I'd be interested to know why it is that you "have come to believe that this might just be the breed for [your] family"?  Most dogs I've ever lived with fart, bark & chase cats naturally. What were the attributes of the Bouvier that attracted you, that made you lean towards this breed? I find the three questions you asked pretty inconsequential in terms of the entire Bouvier experience. Perhaps you already know a great deal from your own life, from reading Pam Green's article DON'T BUY A BOUVIER !! & talking to some Bouvier owners via email, but let me just run down a couple of things about the Bouvier which will occupy much more of your attention than the 3 items you've mentioned: Bouviers *need* TRAINING -- you have to take them to obedience classes if you don't know how to do it yourself. And even then, you probably should go anyway. An untrained Bouvier is extraordinarily difficult to live with because they are strong willed, extremely intelligent, imaginative, will fill up a power vacuum in no time flat & run circles around you, your family, your furniture & cats before you know what hit you. Bouviers *need* GROOMING. I know there are groomers but it's more fun to do it yourself. This process takes about an hour or two a week once you get their coat into shape. And you have to *train* them to accept grooming or it is a giant pain in the butt -- theirs & yours. During the winter or rainy seasons, wiping feet, de-icing beards & bodies will become part of your daily existence because most Bouvs just love to play in & around water, mud & snow. Bouviers *need* to be with their families so having them around means that, like many an intelligent two or three year old child, they need attention, conversation, entertainment & *more* training.  They go through the terrible twos but with them, it's the terrible ones. They constantly test, probe, challenge your authority, decide what's right for them to do & what's not worth doing. They cannot be beaten or scared into submission; they must learn to respect you as a strong but *fair* leader. And they will try your patience, make no mistake. If you perform admirably then they will follow you anywhere, unlike children. Bouviers *need* EXERCISE. Now some breeders, like one kennel in the Philadelphia region states in their "brochure" that Bouviers don't need a lot of exercise & therefore make great apartment pets. Baloney. They *need* exercise just like you do. Bouviers can live in apartments; I lived with one in this way for many years but every day we went to the park to run, play & swim. His name was BOGART. Many Bouviers, as you've probably read on the mailing lists, *have* HEALTH ISSUES. Pretty serious ones at that -- heart, eyes, thyroid, hips. Only a good breeder can help ameliorate these problems through very responsible breeding, but even then problems can & do occur. Animal medical insurance is really non-existent for all practical purposes so you have to be prepared -- but hopefully never have to -- reach deep into your pockets to take care of your canine child. Finding the *right* breeder is crucial. I cannot stress that enough.  Bouviers are big, bulky, playful, aggressive, possessive, mischievous & sensitive animals. They are, in short, a handful. They need constant supervision, attention & care. They don't mature fully both emotionally & physically until the age of 4 or 5 so it will be a long haul. So whether they fart every once in a while, yap every so often, or chase the cat is not the question. The question is are you & your family *committed* to the responsibilities of owning a Bouvier? I don't know the answer; you do. If you are, the questions you raise will be taken care of  for the most part. I might suggest that you also go to shows, meet Bouviers & their owners, RESEARCH THE BREED thoroughly, take your time & read a very fine BOUVIER BUYERS GUIDE.  If *any* breeder tells you they are the best, most famous Bouvier breeder, turn around & *run* out. The BOUVIER BUYERS GUIDE contains extremely good information about buying or adopting a Bouvier. And if at the end of your research, you decide that you are going to commit to a Bouvier des Flandres, the people in the Bouvier community will be extremely supportive & helpful in answering more questions, making suggestions & guiding you over the rough spots that are sure to come. Whatever you decide, the best of luck. Having a canine companion as part of your household just can't be beat. If it turns out that the Bouvier is, after all, not for you, there are other wonderful breeds or mutts that may be easier & just as much fun to live with.

Save the Word > move your cursor over the center box

Student loan debt now exceeds all credit card debt. > What's wrong with this picture?

[...] The U.S. now ranks 12 out of 36 countries in terms of college-educated citizens between the ages of 25 and 34. America formerly held the top spot.

According to an article from The Huffington Post: "Throughout America, popular opinion on college is shifting: More people now see it as an unnecessary waste of money, a new survey reveals." 

The NYTimes wonders why we spend so much effort on attracting & preparing Freshmen & forget the Sophomores. The drop out rate is too high.

While access to college has been the major concern in recent decades, over the last year, college completion, too, has become a leading item on the national agenda. [...]

While almost 70 percent of high school graduates in the United States enroll in college within two years of graduating, only about 57 percent of students who enroll in a bachelor’s degree program graduate within six years, and fewer than 25 percent of students who begin at a community college graduate with an associate’s degree within three years.

The [...] first five recommendations all concern K-12 education, calling for more state-financed preschool programs, better high school and middle school college counseling, dropout prevention programs, an alignment with international curricular standards and improved teacher quality. College costs were also implicated, with recommendations for more need-based financial aid, and further efforts to keep college affordable.

The Wall Street Journal's headline for its article is: "Fewer Americans See College as Good Investment"

Most Americans — 42.8% — said this year that saving for their own retirement was more important than saving for their child’s college education, indicating an increase from last year’s 40.7%. Consequently, the proportion of those who prioritized saving for their child’s education decreased — to 40.7% this year from 47% last year. This year, 16.5% said they were not sure, marking the greatest uncertainty over the last four years.

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