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#3971 Re: The Garden » The Rant Thread » 907 weeks ago
HOLY SHIT! I leave for a day and this drama ensues. I'm kind of flattered actually, my alias is living up to his reputation. Now, let me disect the common criticisms to better explain my point
1.) It's obvious there are great teachers out there who truly dedicate their lives to making the world a better place. I had a few, I know at least one personally and my departed Aunt fit that description (though never being a student of hers or even in her school puts me at an objective disadvantage). I have hung out with teachers outside of school. I've had many a drinks with my High School AP Government teacher at a bar I patronize when I'm back in Ohio. One of my friend's wife is a teacher at the same school my aunt taught at. So I know teachers. I know that in my experience, from both being a student in high school and knowing many education majors while in college that most are self-important douches. Axlin08 was spot on. The vast majority of the teachers at my highschool were former alumnus of that same school. And the football coach and basketball coach (the baseball coach too) were all star athletes for my high school when they were students there. So please don't tell me there isn't any validity to my claim.
2.) Please don't attack my education. I'm not a braggard, but based on national averages, my education level and IQ probably far exceed most people here. Doesn't make me better or superior, just stating that attacking my education and intelligence isn't going to win you any points, less you possess a PhD.
3.) I don't worry about personal insults. After many years of battling with my nemesis at HTGTH, I've learned to cope with internet attacks. I've been guilty of it myself, specifically when someone attacks America or tries to spin Soldiers in a negative light. It happens. However, I live my life by a certain set of social standards, one being I always apologize if I accidentally offend someone (and I believe their offense is justifiable). As I had no idea nor intent to offend anyone with my post, to those who took offense, I apologize.
4.) Spelling and grammar. I don't have the time nor inclination to proof-read every post I submit. If my apparent gapping abilities in grammar offend you, I recommend you not read my posts as you're probably only going to become more enraged as you read the content of said post.
In conclusion, don't take life too serious, no one gets out alive. If a complete fucking stranger's opinion on the internet is enough to elevate your blood pressure (something I too am guilty of from time to time) you probably need to step back and ground your feet in reality.
Keep on walkin'
-- The Ageless Stranger
#3972 Re: The Garden » The Rant Thread » 907 weeks ago
Even with a police report, the other driver can fuck you. When I was in high school, school had just let out and I was on my way home. As I was driving down the street, my geometry teacher opens her drivers door as I'm driving by, catching her door on my rear bumper. Since I was driving my dad's truck, I took her door clean off. So we called the cops and they wrote in the report that she was at fault cause she opened her door into traffic, but to be nice, they didn't cite her a ticket.
I remember it was funny cause she called me over to the corner the next day to assure me that she wasn't going to hold the accident against me and I just laughed and said that thought had never crossed my mind. She seemed insulted that I didn't worry that she could affect me in some way.
Anyway, my insurance said it was cut and dry since the diagram the cops drew on the report said and stated she was at fault. But a month or two later, her insurance company is charging me for the damage saying that I drove a few inches from her door that was only cracked open an inch and that I was that close that I ripped off her door. Of course the bitch english teacher that tried to get me expelled my senior year had to get involved and badmouth me in class (if there was ever someone I would take pleasure in snuffing, let me tell you....). Long story short, I had to do a shitload of paperwork months later all because the original police report didn't actually fault my teacher cause they thought they were being nice.
To this day I still think teacher's are the most pompous, overrated, sanctomonius sons of bitches on the earth. All this talk about being underpaid, shit, those piece of shit work 9 months a fucking year and work 7 hour days. It's not like they have a real fucking job anyway. They get their lesson plans fucking handed to them. All they do is say read chapter 5 and then sit on their ass for the next 45 minutes. FUcking waste of time and space. The most audacious aspect of the american education system is guidance counselors. GUIDANCE COUNSELORS?! are you fucking kidding me? These are fucks who left high school for 4 years to go party and fuck away from mom and dad at state U and return to their alma mater large and in charge. What fucking world experience and advice do these dipshits have to give the youth of ameirca. Not one fucking thing. God damn that aggitates me.
#3973 Re: The Garden » Conservative donate more than liberals » 907 weeks ago
This article strengthens my argument that liberals advocate big government because they're lazy. It's much easier to do nothing and delude yourself into thinking your tax dollars are making the world a better place than actually going out and doing something. It's even easier to point the finger at those who are financially sucessful and say their taxes should be spent to make the world a better place instead of you getting off your ass and doing something.
It all stems back to the traditional conservative/libertarian argument that we should be self-supportive and sustaining, but it is the morally right thing to help your neighbor and improve your community. Liberals think punching a chad in a ballot is equal to hundreds of hours of community service and spending time with the less fortunate. I've never said this before because I never felt a need to, but I particiapte as a big brother to a kid in the seattle area. I also donate a significant amount of money each year to charities. I believe that in order to make the world a better place, you need to sacrifice some things and make it happen. This article proves that there is a strong contingent of people who feel they can make the world better by simply saying yes to spending other people's money and putting out no individual effort. This mentality is a cancer throughout our entire society.
#3974 Re: Guns N' Roses » Chinese Democracy Elimination Round 3 » 907 weeks ago
If The World.
#3975 The Garden » Conservative donate more than liberals » 907 weeks ago
- Randall Flagg
- Replies: 6
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opini … nted=print
December 21, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Bleeding Heart Tightwads
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
This holiday season is a time to examine who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, but I’m unhappy with my findings. The problem is this: We liberals are personally stingy.
Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet when it comes to individual contributions to charitable causes, liberals are cheapskates.
Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals.
Other research has reached similar conclusions. The “generosity index” from the Catalogue for Philanthropy typically finds that red states are the most likely to give to nonprofits, while Northeastern states are least likely to do so.
The upshot is that Democrats, who speak passionately about the hungry and homeless, personally fork over less money to charity than Republicans — the ones who try to cut health insurance for children.
“When I started doing research on charity,” Mr. Brooks wrote, “I expected to find that political liberals — who, I believed, genuinely cared more about others than conservatives did — would turn out to be the most privately charitable people. So when my early findings led me to the opposite conclusion, I assumed I had made some sort of technical error. I re-ran analyses. I got new data. Nothing worked. In the end, I had no option but to change my views.”
Something similar is true internationally. European countries seem to show more compassion than America in providing safety nets for the poor, and they give far more humanitarian foreign aid per capita than the United States does. But as individuals, Europeans are far less charitable than Americans.
Americans give sums to charity equivalent to 1.67 percent of G.N.P., according to a terrific new book, “Philanthrocapitalism,” by Matthew Bishop and Michael Green. The British are second, with 0.73 percent, while the stingiest people on the list are the French, at 0.14 percent.
(Looking away from politics, there’s evidence that one of the most generous groups in America is gays. Researchers believe that is because they are less likely to have rapacious heirs pushing to keep wealth in the family.)
When liberals see the data on giving, they tend to protest that conservatives look good only because they shower dollars on churches — that a fair amount of that money isn’t helping the poor, but simply constructing lavish spires.
It’s true that religion is the essential reason conservatives give more, and religious liberals are as generous as religious conservatives. Among the stingiest of the stingy are secular conservatives.
According to Google’s figures, if donations to all religious organizations are excluded, liberals give slightly more to charity than conservatives do. But Mr. Brooks says that if measuring by the percentage of income given, conservatives are more generous than liberals even to secular causes.
In any case, if conservative donations often end up building extravagant churches, liberal donations frequently sustain art museums, symphonies, schools and universities that cater to the well-off. (It’s great to support the arts and education, but they’re not the same as charity for the needy. And some research suggests that donations to education actually increase inequality because they go mostly to elite institutions attended by the wealthy.)
Conservatives also appear to be more generous than liberals in nonfinancial ways. People in red states are considerably more likely to volunteer for good causes, and conservatives give blood more often. If liberals and moderates gave blood as often as conservatives, Mr. Brooks said, the American blood supply would increase by 45 percent.
So, you’ve guessed it! This column is a transparent attempt this holiday season to shame liberals into being more charitable. Since I often scold Republicans for being callous in their policies toward the needy, it seems only fair to reproach Democrats for being cheap in their private donations. What I want for Christmas is a healthy competition between left and right to see who actually does more for the neediest.
Of course, given the economic pinch these days, charity isn’t on the top of anyone’s agenda. Yet the financial ability to contribute to charity, and the willingness to do so, are strikingly unrelated. Amazingly, the working poor, who have the least resources, somehow manage to be more generous as a percentage of income than the middle class.
So, even in tough times, there are ways to help. Come on liberals, redeem yourselves, and put your wallets where your hearts are.
#3976 Re: The Garden » Hit my girlfriend...might go to jail. » 907 weeks ago
If this is real, delete your fucking comments and have a mod get rid of the thread. You said she assualted you, she slapped you and pushed you. You also caught her cheating on you which put you in a fragile state of mind temporarily, if you know she's going to call the cops, I'd file a police report right now claiming assault. You're 18 years old, you don't need a domestic violence charge on your record the rest of your life.
Personally though, if it's an option, I'd beg and apologize. Suck it up and get on her good side until the bruise goes away, then you can call her a dumb cunt and dump her. If you have no other recourse, settle it out of court. 
#3977 Re: The Sunset Strip » Is Michael Jackson Dying? » 908 weeks ago
The man is a child molestor and freak show. Yea, he had some good tunes in the 80s, but has been a walking joke for the better part of 18 years. Proof positive it's sometimes better for the greats to die young. Like my favorite comedian Stanhope said, "people always call it a tragedy when someone famous dies young. But what would be people be saying if Jimmi Hendrix was on stage at last year's superbowl doing Rocketman with Elton John? 'Oh my God, what a tragedy. Remember when this guy used to mean something. He should have died 30 years ago.'" Michael Jackson is proof of this concept.
#3978 Re: The Garden » The Rant Thread » 908 weeks ago
Self-worth and self confidence don't exclude your notion of a bad guy. I don't know you from Adam, so I have no idea what you're like. A guy who beats on a woman is a cowardice piece of shit, there's no arguing that. But a "man" who tried to be Prince Charming is falling into a fantasy trap. Prince Charming isn't real and has never existed. I'd could go on to a side rant of how the concept appeals to those who use emotion over logic, but won't.
People make poor decisions every day. It's part of being a free person. But the notion that we can somehow rationalize and determine a way to happiness is utter bullshit. For all the abilities our minds open for us, happiness is not one of them. We are still creatures of our primal urges. You can basically link any enjoyable activity to survial whether it be fucking or indulging in tasty foods. Woman aspire for a protector/provider and men aspire for success and stability. There are of course obvious exceptions to the objective viewer, but how many people stay with a mate (and enjoy it) whom they know is a leach and a drain on society and their family. That is why most girls desire the start athlete in high school - he represents the alpha male who is able to protect and in turn provide due to his physical security. Later in life, as many studies have shown, it is the man who has a good income and stable job that most women seek in a mate as they now realize braun alone isn't enough to protect and provide in our world.
But you're on to something Axlin. Be yourself - but what might I ask does that entail. You can always improve yourself and the attitude of "fuck em if they don't accept me for who I am" is an attitude of losers (not saying you have this at all) who want to rationalize their failure and unhappiness by attempting to link it to a higher virtue that they think may provide happiness. But riddle me this, the fat slop who won't change for anyone dies alone and has taken himself out of the gene pool - the sign of a total failure. This is why I subscribe to and advocate all males study and understand social dynamics, specifically the mystery method if they wish to meet success with women. Some guys have the skill and forseight naturally, others not so much. Women are socialized and designed to behave and think a certain way. If you can understand this reality instead of dreaming of what could be or what they show you on Disney, you at least have a much greater success of spreading your genes which from the human perspective, is the ultimate sign of success.
#3979 Re: The Garden » The Rant Thread » 908 weeks ago
It's simple, no matter what feminists and Tv tells you, women want real men. Alpha males if you will who aren't sensitive and cry like school girls. All mammals are conditioned to behave in this manner, and no amount of psycho babble or socialization is going to change inate, subconscious desires instilled over millenia of evolution. It's only in the past 100-150 years that the man didn't have to go out and bring dinner home slung over his back.
#3980 Re: The Garden » Shoes Thrown At Bush » 908 weeks ago
True, but you got to admit the media shows you the hate.
They show that one guy that threw shoes.
Not the hundreds, if not thousands that supported him there and outside that day.
I know that's a small number, but still...
From everything i've seen through countless sources, just like America... the reaction of Bush & the U.S. is decidedly mixed over there. Not much different than what we deal with today. Some like him. Some don't. And the media sensationalizes it as much as possible.
Entirely fucking true. Don't believe the bullshit you see on TV as it always comes from a safe zone and 3rd or 4th hand information where it was either "cleaned" or modified to have mass appeal. You never see a reporter in the actual firefight with the soldiers. General rule of thumb, never totally buy into someone or something when they have an agenda. To quote Nietzsche, the idea of attaining objectivity from selecting a few facts from an infinite number of facts destroys any notion of truth.
Some Iraqis hates us, some love us and some couldn't care less. Some attack us on religious or politcal grounds and others are just sadistic fucks who get off to harming people. The news and politicians never explain it to you like that because the masses like to have everything digested, organized and wrapped in a pretty box with a bow on top.
