that explains a lot.

I think this speaks well of California.

The wild parts of CA are nice. Some good camping near me.

Also, I just haven't updated my location in a long time. I'm in the central valley now.

They're saying biggest fire season ever. I like my states a little wetter. Be safe Bro.

It's good to know you're OK, Bullitt.

I visited San Diego and it's beautiful. The Pacific Ocean blows the Atlantic out of the water (pun intended.)

Radar, I completely agree with you about decriminalization and the failed drug war. That money should go to something that might actually work. War on drugs. Drugs. War. I say no more money to stop drugs and no more money to start war. In fact, lets give G-dub a big old hooter and maybe he'll find a deeper consciousness. ;)

There's always money for war.
I say we go back to a War on Want.

I agree with Shawnee. Chill out, relax, keep our armed forces for defense not attack (OMG - do I agree with radar?!) and spend the money on education and healthcare (phew, no I don't).

Let people have access to drugs. Just teach them about it more effectively and look after those with addictive personalities better.

And have a big party with what's left over!
Why would anyone want to bomb us then?

Hurry up and invent soma I say.

Ahhh, education and healthcare, music to my ears. After all, what makes a society grow? Education. This could be our Intellectual Revolution, an era when we figure out what things we're doing wrong and in some cases doing a 180 because, hey, maybe the opposite will work.

Looking back, all the other revolutions seemed to go so smoothly. The industrial revolution didn't start with criminalizing everything related to gears and automation. ;)

We spend a ton on education and it just fails harder. We massively increased spending on education in the 80s and left the same teachers and administrators in the same dumb system. Griff can explain better.

Exactly. Trying to fix a system that is inherently flawed. Does not work. Let's spend money fixing the inherent flaw.

We don't get anywhere by not doing some stuff wrong in the first place. I'm saying let's try something different. Let's go out on a limb and actually change something. Let's realize that hitting your head on the same wall time after time only produces the same old headache. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Etc, and so on...

Before anyone says "Well, what do YOU propose, Miss Smarty Pants?" I must say I don't know. Let the people who get paid to know figure that out, and if they cant', let's pay someone else.

Saying "I don't know if this is going to work" is a far cry from "This shit ain't workin', perhaps we should try something else (see: War on Drugs, Just Say No faction.)

Well, Bush has attempted something new and different with his "No Child Left Behind" experiment.

It may be working for the students who had been left behind in the past, I don't really know. But it annoyed me that my daughter spent the last few weeks of the school year doing test preparation studying at school when she could have been actually learning new material.

No Child Left Behind is another failed attempt. It was at least an attempt but the results are laughable. Next...

How about No President Left Behind?

Homeschooling is working well for us at the moment. I'd like to see financial incentives and community based facilities and equipment that would make home schooling possible for more people.

We're seeing many more home-schooled students. I applaud parents who take that on, whatever their individual reasons may be, and would also like to see more resources and support for this educational alternative.

I don't think everyone is cut out to do home-schooling, but we need to recognize it is a viable option for many. Some of our home-schooled students are some of our best students.

Do home-schooled kids take those standardized tests as well, jinx?

In PA they are required to take a standardized test in 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades. Doesn't have to be the same test the school district uses. They can go to school and take the test with their grade every year if they want to.

Oh, btw, California tried to outlaw homeschooling. Not very kick ass....

I agree. I love healthcare, education, music, etc. far too much to allow government to be involved in them. We need to end all government funding or involvement in education, retirement, healthcare, arts, farming, businesses, etc.