[TriLUG] [offtopic] Considering a move to RDU area

[Cristóbal Palmer]

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 10:19 AM, Tim Jowers <timjowers at gmail.com> wrote:
>  - But they do have magnet schools. Really bad busing. A large % of the
>  little kids from the good neighborhoods are being bused into the bad
>  neighborhoods.

For example? What school district are you talking about? Please
justify your assertion.

> From what I remember it was something like 20% which means
>  you might be paying for a good neighborhood but receiving a bad neighborhood
>  for your kids.

Unless you live in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, in which case your kids can
go to some of the best public schools in the nation, regardless of
neighborhood. Rents and housing costs are accordingly higher.

> Of course the welfare state is a huge problem everywhere.
>  Entitlements are the largest Federal expenditure

Really? You call education an "entitlement" expenditure? What all
qualifies as an "entitlement" expenditure? How does that compare to
what we've spent in Iraq so far?

> and the government in NC is
>  also heavily brain-washed into rewarding non-workers, illegals

You've never talked to an immigrant, have you? I have. My mother is
one. Do you have any idea how retarded our immigration process is? Do
you realize how easy it is to have your immigration status
mysteriously drift into a paperwork purgatory? There are plenty of
immigrants who have done everything right and by the book but have had
their legal status lapse into a netherworld through no fault of their
own. What's more, I've honestly never met more motivated or
harder-working people than the many immigrants I've worked with, with
the possible exception of some of my teammates doing men's crew at
UNC. This country was built largely on the backs of slaves and
immigrants, and every major leap forward (save the post-war baby boom)
has been accompanied by a wave of immigrants. Immigration and economic
growth go hand in hand. You should try talking to actual immigrants.
You should try calling a man "illegal" to his face.

Yes we have an immigration problem, but the problem is driven by
poorly-structured incentives that benefit agribusiness and large tech
companies (among others). Don't blame the immigrants. They're
powerless to fix the system. YOU can vote. Rather than scapegoat the
immigrants, why don't you suggest some real improvements to your
congressman? I bet you Microsoft and Syngenta are already talking to
him.

> and
>  otherwise redistributing wealth from those who create it to those who waste it.

Waste is two SUVs for a household. Waste is eating pork and beef.
Waste is watching television. Waste is buying bottles of water to
drink. Waste is a hallmark of "success" in this country. Waste is not
something unique to people getting a welfare check. You want to see
waste on a massive scale?
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid452319854/bctid1527642616

> Some of these bad schools have as many as 60% of the kids on feed
>  programs

EXCUSE ME? I grew up on a reduced-cost lunch. My parents were both
working in education (teaching, administration) and barely making
enough money to make ends meet. I'm seriously offended that you call
the NSLP a "feed program." You think I'm an animal?

>  grown up and done business with the entitlement people I know more about it
>  than most.

Entitlement people? That's a new one by me. Why don't you tell us a
bit more about us Entitlement people?

> As my grandfather would say: "lackadaisical".

I worked a callcenter job and did other work to make up what my
scholarship wouldn't cover for undergrad. My parents did mission work
in addition to their jobs. We're real "lackadaisical" all right. Why
don't you make other broad generalizations with vaguely racist
undertones about my family?

> we do have very good magnet schools and the
>  NC HS of math and science is up in Durham so you can play that game too in
>  order to get your HS age kid a decent and safe education.

It's called NCSSM, The North Carolina School of Science and
Mathematics. I went there.

I'm sure you're well-meaning and would like to improve our education
system for all Americans. I agree with you that freeloading, where it
happens, is a problem. I think the freeloading is happening on a much
grander scale and with far more negative consequences at large
corporations who can afford to buy off votes. My concern is that
you're either not expressing your concerns well or have a very skewed
perception of where the roots of the education (and other) problems
are.

For example, the claim that busing "ruins neighborhoods" is a canard
used since the '70s to justify highly racist reactions to Brown II.
Charlotte's busing was at the center of this:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1853532

Re-segregating the schools is not going to "fix" the public schools.
If you have suggestions for how to improve public schools in this
state, I suggest you start by taking them to the teachers of your
children. I suggest you contact the principal at their school. If you
really want to make a difference, offer to help. Poo-poohing
immigration, busing and the NSLP doesn't help.

Cheers,
-- 
Cristóbal M. Palmer
http://tinyurl.com/3apraw "They also abandoned other volumes, later,
while fleeing from the librarians."