abusing bankruptcy, leaving NCLB behind, and cracking down on pot...

well, it turns out all this time the bankruptcy and lending laws have actually been abused. except Big Business spent a lot of money trying to convince us that it was a hoard of irresponsible deadbeats exploiting the system for financial gain (almost as ludicrous as the "welfare queen" - the extreme rarity nicely exploited by conservative assholes to convince us that if you are working three jobs and starving to keep the heat on it is because you aren't trying hard enough) and this whole time it has actually been Big Business that has been abusing the system for purely financial gain...often illegal financial gain. as foreclosures are reaching record numbers, banks and other lenders are taking advantage of the situation to help that money trickle back up where it belongs. hidden illegal fees, false claims, inflated claims...all overwhelming the system and forcing many to lose homes that they should not. all this time we've been being told individuals have been lying to bankruptcy courts so they can pile up huge debts without threat of paying them back (which is not how bankruptcy works...but elite assholes thrive on a populace that is not properly informed thanks to schools dying under No Child Left Behind and a press that is little more than a cheerleader for war and Big Money) and the opposite has been, and continues to be true. long ago there were debtor's prisons...I'm thinking it is about time we develop creditor's prisons, complete with forfeiture of all assets. something tells me the industry would begin to abide by the law and regulate itself pretty damn quickly.

No Child Left Behind needs to go away...forever. ted kennedy, in an effort to show he can be a conservative schmuck with the best of them, helped force this down our throats years ago (while anyone with any experience or knowledge about the education system knew it would be a disaster) and now is wanting to hold back on introducing a bill to renew it until some kinks are worked out. here's the thing drunkie...you can't work out the problems with NCLB. the whole thing needs to be scrapped. not only is the premise (rote memorization will get us ahead) detrimental to our schools and our society, but the thing isn't even designed intelligently to accomplish that boneheaded goal (punish schools that need help). kids need to be given opportunities to thrink critically, to examine the world...not memorize dates and formulas. study upon study has shown that children that are exposed to the arts and critical thinking in the social sciences perform much better in math and science. all one has to do is look to texas - the model for NCLB - to see that this idea is a disaster. texan universities are not fond of graduates of texas high schools anymore, because they can't think...they aren't prepared for college level work (which is pathetically behind as it is). unless we scrap this law and get serious about education, we will only continue to develop a populace that cannot think for itself and cannot meaningfully participate in popular sovereignty...we are becoming a joke of what this nation was meant to be (well, we have become a joke...but this ain't helping things). teddy, you wanna fix education? pay teachers what they are worth. put money into schools in neighborhoods that need it. get away from poorly designed standardized tests. enhance the arts. put more simply...try educating. try learning.

denver is cracking down on pot smokers. leaders are concerned that the electorate's recent decision to remove small quantities of marijuana as punishable offenses will make people think smoking pot is "ok" - and we all know that refer madness will soon take over society. here we go again...the personal responsibility crowd telling you it is ok to booze and smoke (because those industries give lots of money to politicians), but god forbid you have a joint after work. seattle tried this...crime rates dropped. the manner in which we approach drugs in this nation is completely assinine. it promotes crime. but then crime is big business (just look at how much money private security companies and prisons are raking in) - and we all know that when push comes to shove, Big Business wins at City Hall every time.

I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain...it went the dull and wicked ordinary way...