Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
One problem with higher education in the US is that most people go about it all wrong, or do it for the wrong reasons. First they decide what college or university they want to go to (or make up a list of ranked choices.) Then, once they get in, they fart around for a year or two before deciding on a major. Or else they go just for the sake of having a prestigious school listed on their resume, even if they didn't learn anything useful there.
I used to hang out in the bars of a college town, and I noticed that most of the college girls I talked to wanted to become marine biologists. Why? Because they think whales are pretty and dolphins are cute, and they have this mistaken notion that marine biologists get to hang out on the beach all day long. Never once did it enter their mind that they might end up studying something gross like sea slugs, or tracking salmon migration patterns in the Bering Sea in January.
But then they found out how much work is involved in actually getting a degree in Marine Biology — to understand biology, you need to know chemistry; to understand chemistry, you need to know math. And, like the talking Barbie doll says: "Math is hard!"
So they decide they didn't really want to be some stupid old Marine Biologist anyway, and switch to a major that has the fewest prerequisites: Psychology or Law. The net result is that we end up with a lot of people with fairly useless college degrees, and not enough actual work for them to do out in the real world with it, while being overqualified for menial jobs that they consider beneath them.
TL/DR: going to college purely for the sake of having gone to college is not always a good thing.
edited 6th Jul '16 4:30:56 PM by pwiegle
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.@Majoraoftime: I've already said why that particular point is fucking stupid though:
1) It's not actually at all helpful. It's a complete non-argument when it comes to the problem of just how expensive college is and how the people who go get saddled with debt.
2) As far as I'm concerned trade and vocational schools basically are college. The narrowness of their focus doesn't change the fact that they're facilities for secondary education designed to prepare young people for the wider world and for future employment. They should qualify for all the same aid programs (And I kind of think that they do, but I don't know if most trade schools are privatized or public.) and should also be considered in plans to make college more affordable for prospective students.
The problem being discussed here isn't whether or not college is the best path to someone's future, it's the fact that the monetary barrier is getting ridiculously fucking high and what can be done to lessen the burden on the people who choose to go, particularly those of lesser means than the rich. Tactical's inclusion of the idea that college isn't the best path for some people just distract from the point of the article, which was to make education more affordable.
edited 6th Jul '16 4:25:58 PM by AceofSpades
Not entirely political, but Gretchen Carlson is suing Roger Ailes (Fox News' head honcho) over "a pervasive practice of sexual harassment" that ended with her being fired
.
As the Facebook friend that I first heard this story pointed out, the irony here is particularly thick as Carlson has a history of marginalizing exactly what she's now pursuing a lawsuit over - and Fox as a whole is using the "This is just a revenge for firing her" excuse that others have had to face.
"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"![]()
Ironic, yes, but we should still respect her.
Also, apparently Trump is having a goddamn meltdown, calling people who criticized the "sheriff's star" the real anti-Semites; doubling down on his praise of Hussein; and going after the media again.
Again, it's only twelve days away, but can he even make it to the convention?
Nah, he's in this for real. Trump's ego is the size of Jupiter, and being president would inflate it even more. He wants this for real, but he's practically breaking down because of the stress of campaigning, dealing with criticism now that the other Republicans are out, and the fact that he's not prepared for this at all. I've seen tons of Hillary ads, and none for Trump. He's got his rallies and word of mouth, and that's about it.
He takes up a career as a rightwing media wingnut Just as Planned like Palin did?
Sorry, but given Trump's ego, he is in it to win it. The issue is that Trump never expected to get this far. The primaries were a moratorium on the Establishment on both parties. The outsider Trump decimated the Republican field which consisted of their rising stars. Meanwhile, the outsider Sanders was narrowly beaten by Clinton. Clinton will win, but not because people actually want her as President, but because a majority of the voting population will see her as a better choice than Trump and a majority of registered Democrats see her as better than Sanders.
Wizard Needs Food BadlyThe problem for him there, is that if his campaign fails due to lack of money, that will flat out prove that he is not worth the amount he says he is.
At the very least, it'll destroy quite a bit of confidence because, remember how he started this whole thing? He said he would self-fund the campaign. People still remember that, even though Trump is trying to sweep it under the rug.

I saw a notification, but no article yet, that Loretta Lynch is closing the email investigation without criminal charges. Not unexpected but now it's official. Asking the way I can't across this:
Feds open civil rights investigation in Louisiana shooting: http://bigstory.ap.org/7c05717141d74ef58d9bd9b1775a8494&utm_source=android_app&utm_medium=copy_to_clipboard&utm_campaign=share
Don't know if that particular detail was linked earlier but it seems things are moving fast
edited 6th Jul '16 3:07:58 PM by sgamer82