Gene Frenkle

Friggin hippies!

Hooray for religion! So sad.

That's more like it. The world makes sense again.

Anything I post is, by definition, frenkleian.

I'm mostly interested in entertaining myself.

Your opinion doesn't matter because you are Canadian.

Yeah, that self-righteous micro rant was brought to you by Glenfiddich. Feeling the aftershocks a bit today... I just realized that "aftershocks" might not be the best choice words in this thread.

Privatization of almost everything, including the education system.

Barely, but in Canada that's pretty much the fat part of the bell curve.

Are you feeling ok?

Opposition to an excellent form of clean and efficient energy does not make any sense. I like to think of myself as a logical and rational person with a huge respect for science. Many of my views will counter conservative views because I think that modern day conservatives are generally anti-science to some degree or another - highly religious, anti-evolution, etc... I don't like people who try to force their arbitrary morals on others or who ignore truths that are staring them in the face just to keep in line with their ideology. It's very hypocritical from a personal liberties point of view and simply pathetic from a thirst-for-knowledge point of view. "Have responsibility for yourself until you want to do things that don't align with our code." That's disgustingly hypocritical. "The Earth is 6,000 years old because the Bible says so." That's pathetically and willfully ignorant. I also happen to have a heart when it comes to people who I see as downtrodden or who come from bad situations, especially because I think I was given a lot and was born into a situation where I was able to thrive. You see that as liberal and maybe it is, but I'm always going to be rational first. Anything less is just a self-deceiving load of crap. Back on topic: nuclear power is a wonderful thing and it's a shame that new reactors are not being built in the United States. It's probably not any more or less well spoken than many things I post here. You just happen to agree with me this time. That's because there haven't been any new reactors built in the United States since the late 70's.

Yes, the most catastrophic earthquake in Japan's recorded history, not to mention the resulting tsunami, should be the be the benchmark for determining the relative safety of nuclear power plants. Wind power is great, but not enough. Nuclear is one of the most efficient and least polluting sources of energy we currently have and has a great record as far as safety goes. I guess I was wrong when I said the far left isn't as anti-nuclear power as it used to be. Sounds like you've been waiting for this ever since the Chernobyl meltdown.

I believe the term is "functionally retarded".

That's what Chef was implying. There are plenty of folks here who would advocate just about everything being privatized. Not when it's put that way - which is the point of putting it that way. There are plenty here who advocate policies which would move us away from this concept. I'm not sure why you're trying to pick a fight with me. You haven't said anything yet that I disagree with. Try reading the thread again from the beginning...

Hmmm...I'm starting to think those rolling heads have jumped the stairs.

Cigarettes and liquor represent a health risk. What's your stance on recreational drug use?

Sorry, as a Canadian, I'm a bit slow.

Most of us Canadians aren't very bright.

They're legislating morals, which is bull ****.

Take off, eh? Is that a question? Hoser. Am I a good Canadian now or do I need to buy a tuque? (My American spell-checker didn't even recognize that - did I spell it right?)

Cute. Irrelevant and not very witty, but cute.

That's exactly what I'm arguing against. Not every teaching situation has the same opportunity for success. Better teachers will not produce higher profits for the schools. Capitalism cannot be applied to all situations. Every student should be given a reasonably equal opportunity to succeed. They do not choose the situation they are born into.

Yes, if anything, the fall of communism proved that McCarthy's crusade against freedom of ideology correct and justified. The fall of witchcraft certainly justified all of those burnings in Salem as well.

You guys act like it's still the 70s and there's some big leftie assault on nuclar power.

I'd say a below-average teacher is more likely to "succeed" in a good school district, one that is in a better community with more parental involvement, than good teacher is in a bad school district. We've had this discussion before. Privatizing education puts certain children at even more of a disadvantage through no fault of their own. I think it comes down to what you value, which in the conservative view is reward for an individual's ability to succeed in a capitalist system - the ability to play "the game", if you will. I value capitalism too, but realize that educating future generations is more important to the success of our nation than adhering to individual rewards for individual achievements. If you really value better teachers, then make the job attractive enough so that more capable people will choose a career in education over one in private industry, where they can obviously make more money if they have the "tools" to do so. Of course, you don't value better teachers - you just don't like unions.