Narrow Search

  • Show Only

  • Narrow by Date

    • All
    • Today
    • Last 7 Days
    • Last 30 Days
    • Select a Date Range

Re: “Letter to the Editor

Phillip

You must be playing with your G. I. Joe toys again.

Can you tell me were those mortar positions were? You see mortars don't leave a tell-tell flare behind.

Since you are so on top of this, tell me why the foremost expert on Libya, Ambassador Stevens, who knew better than anyone in Washington what conditions were in the country, chose to go to the consulate in Benghazi? It was my understanding that he was not ordered by the state department or President Obama. Since, via E-Mail, General pace offered to assign an eighteen man special forces unit to him for his personal protection. Well, he refused.

Now, to keep from seeming like an ignorant clown, please explain what Obama knew and what could he have explicitly done? We already know that the pentagon said that support was not available and that by the time it would take to muster up troops and transport them, it would have been too late. It is also understood that Libya set a limit on how many military personnel could be assigned to the embassy in their country. You do understand that security is supposed to be provided by the host country and that all countries limit the amount of foreign troops allowed in their embassies.

I know you understand all of this. You were just trying to be funny, right?

2 likes, 9 dislikes
Posted by oldtimeplayer on 05/19/2013 at 8:43 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

OTP

The links I used were .gov I think you know what that means. One was wiki which list the origins and why. All you do is put links down that do not work or from all things a BLOG. Are you serious? Really a blog? All of your statements are just points from your neighbor. Put down proof of your version otherwise I will consider the links I posted as FACT.
the link you posted that doesn't work is http://www.livingstoryfarm.org/farming. And if you didn't know .org means organization. It is just group and there points of view. NOT FACT.
http://www.changelabinfo.com/2012/10/18/wh…. Bad link
http://www.forbescom/sites/kellyphillipser…. Bad link
As for the poor poor black man that is always kept down by the man because of race let me say one thing. HERMAN CAIN. Read about him and you MIGHT learn something about working for a living and making a very big success of ones self.

Tom
You were right about the link. I don't know why it doesn't work because I just cut and pasted the link. Here is a more correct one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_8_(ho…)
About the food stamp project I posted it because I could not find any official site that substantiate any of OTP's racist statements. It just listed when it was started and why it was originally. The surplus food and all. Even JFK and West Virginia where the first couple that bought food stamps were from Welch, West Virginia and the man was a miner. But I have not found any credible evidence of food stamps were used to calm black people and the riots of the 60s.

4 likes, 1 dislike
Posted by diogenes323 on 05/19/2013 at 8:37 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

@OTP

I accept your non-surrender surrender.

But honestly, if you assert something to be true, the onus in on you to document when challenged, not on others to disprove.

That is is way it works in the rest of the world, anyway.

6 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by ArlingtonPop on 05/19/2013 at 8:26 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

It's a matter of costs. Those post tests cost millions. They have to pay someone to write them and then grade then and then analyze them (because having teachers look at them is bad, really bad). They were all supposed to be electronic this year. That didn't happen. Don't know if it was cost or equipment or failure on Pearson's part.

No two kids are created equal and because the prior year teacher is highly inconsistent, you really never know what you get when they walk in the door. This holds for both standard and honors, but not so much in the advanced classes. They are screened on admission.

5 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by homersimpson on 05/19/2013 at 8:20 PM

Re: “Letter to the Editor

White House Press Secretary under oath: "At no time was the Obama Administration aware of what the Obama Administration was doing."

9 likes, 2 dislikes
Posted by Phillip on 05/19/2013 at 7:41 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

Homersimpson

I can appreciate what you are doing. Why can't this be done district-wide?

Way back in the day of the two separate school districts in Memphis, The Ne**o Board of Education required all students to be pre-tested at the beginning of each school year. The teachers knew who they were getting and at what level they were at and could be evaluated at the end of the year. Hell, that was over 50 years ago. It worked then and it will work today.

With schools only lasting x number of grades for each category, elementary, middle and high school, a student can go a long way, not knowing anything before the administrators are aware of the weak link in the chain.

Without beginning and ending quantitative data, how can a teacher be given a true evaluation?

I asked my BOE member the same question and he looked at me like I was crazy. I explained to him that all children come to a teacher at the same skill level. How do one know if and how effective the teacher was that year without knowing where he/she started from?

Like I said, I am no education expert, far from it, I am just trying to use old fashioned commonsense. Help me understand this?

2 likes, 6 dislikes
Posted by oldtimeplayer on 05/19/2013 at 7:37 PM

Re: “Letter to the Editor

"Deliberately allowing Americans to be killed in Benghazi instead of bombing al-Qaida mortar positions during the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi."

Limbaugh: 'Benghazi Alone Is Reason to Fire (Impeach) Obama'

7 likes, 2 dislikes
Posted by Phillip on 05/19/2013 at 7:27 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

OTP:
Those making decisions are rarely educators. Pretesting pretty much makes the state tests invalid. You cannot measure growth (read TVAAS) without a baseline. This is the first rule I teach my students as they develop lab skills. State tests are not predictors like ACT or SAT, but knowledge based tests. How much can a student regurgitate. When you have no idea what they started with, you have no idea how they grow.

In some ways English works. While the specific objectives tested from one year to the next are different, the subject matter is relatively consistent. But without a baseline, you still have no idea what is retained from the prior year.

History, math and science all are complete crap shoots. TVAAS has so many variables in its calculation. The error percentages are cumulative. THis means that the actual error in the calculation can be up to 30%. So a student that scores average - right in the middle at 50% - could be as high as 80% and as low as 20%.

I have a national test that I give to every kid on the first day of school. It's a test based on well research misconceptions. I give it again and measure the changes in students growth. It's from work at Harvard. It's only first semester material. My growth is about .8 - that means my kids are 80% better than when we started. I cannot equate this to months or years. I just know they are better than we started. My data goes into a national study that also draws a relationship on how the material is taught. Each year we get a report that describes what techniques got the best results. THis is how we measure effectiveness.

4 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by homersimpson on 05/19/2013 at 6:56 PM

Re: “Game 1: Spurs 105, Grizzlies 83 — When 0-1 Looks Steeper Than it Did Before

Thanks for the summary. In looking for other positives, I am hoping that Hollins will recognize that Ed Davis can do good things on the floor, and hopefully that will mean more minutes down the road in this series.

In stark contrast, I think that this is the worst game I have seen from Darrell Arthur. It's not just his terrible fouls at inopportune times, nor his turnovers; he was the one who left Bonner open for 4 wide open 3's. To my recollection, he wasn't behind any screens or picks, it was just him not paying attention to one of the deadliest 3 pt shooters in the league. To me, that is unforgivable.

At least it can't get much worse...

1 like, 0 dislikes
Posted by grizzdoc on 05/19/2013 at 6:48 PM

Re: “Beale's Club 152: "We'll take care of it," says Kevin Kane

JuliusJones or whatever

For Beale Street to be the number one tourist attraction in the state, someone must like it.

As for drug sales, you could probably go to any club in Memphis, the suburbs, anywhere and have instances where drugs or other illegal activity happens.

If people visit an establishment and don't like the atmosphere, all they have to do is return and not come back. I don't and have never liked strip clubs, but they are not a nuisance to me, for I don't go to them.

Owners don't put 10 million a year at risk for a few sales of drugs.

Posted by oldtimeplayer on 05/19/2013 at 6:13 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

ArlingtonPop

I have respect for what you post, however, you are not the final arbiter on whether a case is made or not. You are just another reader and poster, so, what you think about whether someone makes a case for their posts is immaterial to me.

I post and you can either accept, refute, modify, or decline my thoughts and/or reasoning. I don't post for your or anyone's approval.

I give references, when I can, as a courtesy, however, if you refute what I say, the onus is on you to give references if you so desire. I would care less, either way. I don't need you to justify my feelings, thoughts or my reasoning for what I think.

You will begin to see that I have a little bit more going for me than you would try to have others believe. But, since I am of independent thought, It makes no difference to me what your replies are all about.

1 like, 8 dislikes
Posted by oldtimeplayer on 05/19/2013 at 6:01 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

Homersimpson

Do not equate the teachers with the BOE and/or the administration. I have talked to many teachers that want the same as you.

They especially want it now that these one-sided arbitrary teacher evaluations are here. This was communicated to the BOE and the administration but was ignored.

How can one tell how effective a teacher is if the kids are not pretested at the beginning of their tenure with a teacher? Maybe you can answer that one, but, even though I am ignorant, I can't figure it out.

3 likes, 3 dislikes
Posted by oldtimeplayer on 05/19/2013 at 5:52 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

Once again I am not at all surprised but very happy that Harvard leads the way in education research, especially in science. This is the very proof that MCS has no idea how to help teachers improve. Notice there is pre-tests, post-tests and a predictive element. This is how we improve our teachers and we improve the learning fin the classroom.


http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013…

3 likes, 1 dislike
Posted by homersimpson on 05/19/2013 at 5:32 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

@OTP

No, deep down I think the truth is that you have made no case, all this was just more of your racist bullshit.

Prove me wrong, friend.

Show me those links I asked for, will you?

The ones where all these programs were denied to blacks and only given to them because lawsuits were filed under Equal Opportunity provisions of the Constitution. That is what you wrote, lets see it.

4 likes, 2 dislikes
Posted by ArlingtonPop on 05/19/2013 at 5:22 PM

Re: “The Tim Rowland Impressionist Show

We happened upon this restaurant after arriving in Memphis located across the street from Graceland we wanted to grab a bite to eat. Nice atmosphere, but let me tell you this,I could not believe the restaurant offered free entertainment? Tim Rowland, Elvis impersonater, was totally awesome! MY wife and me were totally mesmerized by this stunning performance of Tim. A true professional, who no doubt should be billed in Las Vegas. His song choice was phenominal. His interaction with the audience was warm and superb. He even walked about handing out small presents like stuffed bears, and these lays which my wife was lucky enough to get one. His voice was excellent spot on. Wonderful and terrific! Don't miss this great show. By the way the food was fine , the staff was very obliging, and the desert was super.

Posted by john guitar on 05/19/2013 at 5:12 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

ArlingtonPop, Diogenes323 and GroveRev84

You are still trying to dodge the truth, however, deep down inside, you know the story. It is like Grove wrote, my grandfather lost everything in the great depression, but he worked hard and lifted himself up. Well, the opposite of that is the poor grandfather had nothing to lose in the first place, he worked hard though but was denied a decent job with decent pay because of his color so he really couldn't work himself up and into a better position. We all know that Grove's grandfather was given first choice for a decent job at decent pay than the black grandfather.

Some more relevant links on welfare:

http://www.ralphmag.org/fl/poverty-reading…

http://www.changelabinfo.com/2012/10/18/wh…

Enjoy!

0 likes, 8 dislikes
Posted by oldtimeplayer on 05/19/2013 at 4:10 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

@Tom

Well, this is what OTP said, word for word. What part of the linked information do you think supports his position?

"Food stamps were not given to target poor, black people that were systematically deprived of an equal opportunity to make a decent living. Food stamps were the result of a scheme to save the agricultural system and to keep prices of food low so as not to further impoverish the poor rural whites, particularly in LBJ's home state and former district in Texas. Yes, the target of those programs were directly tied to them and the rural whites that populated Appalachia. But, an unintended consequence of those actions had a calming effect on the riots of the early 60's by having a calming effect on the inner city poor blacks. Had it not been for the food stamp program, many farmers, especially white, family, small farms would have went out of business, thus creating a shortage of staples caused an increase in the price of food all over the U. S. with great damage been done to poor whites from impoverished areas, especially in the south. "


"All of those programs was put into place to help poor whites. Via the equal protection clause of the constitution, those programs, some challenged successfully in courts, had to be given to blacks also, but, not without a fight."

Now the story changes.

Food stamps were not a really ascheme to save the agricultural system. No,no. Neither was the true, racist purpose to keep food prices low for whites, particularly in LBJ's home district. No longer a conspiracy to keep white family farms in business. (Which is remarkable, since these are surplus foods. Does seem like it would have been better for those farmers to just cut back on production and raise prices, and profits, that way. Since staples are by nature, commodities and thus very sensitive to supply and demand. But of course that would not fit the ACORN narrative of racial injustice.)

Now, we are presented with the theory that food stamps were used by Kennedy to get votes in West Virginia, a state he needed to carry in the Presidential eletion of 1960. Which very well may have been true.

But it was nevertheless still racist, because:

1. West Virgina had a lot of poor people.

2. A lot of those poor people were coal miners.

3. Most of those coal miners were white. "a white bunch", he says.

QED, Kennedys' motivation was racist besides being self serving.

The Food Stamp program was not put into place to target all poor people, you understand. No, the program was put into place only for WHITE people. Further, the ACORN assertion is that the Food stamp program was only made available to blacks because they went into court and, under the Equal Protection clause, made the federal government extend it to blacks!

That's OTP's position isn't it?

He offers no proof for his statements, only racist spin, Like I said.

5 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by ArlingtonPop on 05/19/2013 at 3:36 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

GEt over yourself OTP.

Odds are once in a blue moon you will get it right. But your obsession with race is rather pitiful at this point.

Here's a math lesson that I hope will help.

There are approximately 315 million people in this country. Round number so you won't get confused.
220M are white
54M are black
41M are something else.

10% of the whites live in poverty. That's 22M
27% of the blacks live in poverty. That's 14M
27% of the other live in poverty. That's 11M

Almost 50M people live in poverty. So we are talking almost twice as many whites as blacks live in poverty. Yes, I get percentages, but by raw numbers, you and the blacks don't have a lock on poverty.

If you live two streets from the municipal limits of germantown, you have come a long way from poverty. Yet my students, both black and white, are in it everyday. I could care less about the color of their skin. I care about giving enough of what I can to help them on their journey to a place similar to yours. That's my job, to inspire, encourage, and direct them to a better life than what they have.

Stop looking behind you and invest in the future of the rest. Your time is almost over.

5 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by homersimpson on 05/19/2013 at 3:31 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

OTP,

I really don't care to continue the argument other than to say that the only certainty is that those who are waiting for someone else (the government or anyone else) to get them out of poverty isn't going to make it.

Regardless of the situation or the history, individuals still have to seek a way up the social ladder for themselves. That fact will never change.

4 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by GroveReb84 on 05/19/2013 at 3:04 PM

Re: “Two Cheers for the Unified School Board

Diogenes,

Your link to the article on housing subsidies does not work to lead one to any useful information. Instead, it goes to a wiki page which states, in part, that:

"Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Section 8 (housing in Wikipedia to check for alternative titles or spellings."

I'm sure you meant to post a different link and I'm most interested in reading what you intended to post. I have to agree with OTP, however, that the link you posted regarding the Food Stamp program seems to reinforce what OTP originally stated.

1 like, 1 dislike
Posted by Tom on 05/19/2013 at 2:04 PM

© 1996-2013

Contemporary Media
460 Tennessee Street, 2nd Floor | Memphis, TN 38103
Visit our other sites: Memphis Magazine | Memphis Parent | Memphis Business Quarterly
Powered by Foundation