Politics

[Tanks]

The gift that keeps giving.

US arms sales suffer setback after Ukraine weapons pause — Newsweek

Portugal and other European countries are beginning to question the U.S.' reliability as a defense ally despite its dominant role in global arms sales. Published March 14, 2025 U.S. arms sales have suffered a fresh setback as Portugal ruled out purchasing fighter jets from Washington, while...

apple.news

 

[USN]

According to Breitbart US has kicked the South African ambassador out. I would expect SA to do the same. Hunter’s could lose US embassy assistance.

 

[WAB]

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According to Breitbart US has licked the South African ambassador out. I would expect SA to do the same. Hunter’s could lose US embassy assistance.

I assume this is a typo and we didn’t really lick him?

 

[Jeff505]

As a non-American, im still confused. Do you guys want the states too look after education themselves, or for all schools become privatized?

You can ignore that after @SaintPanzer ’s post

There is one other aspect that is becoming more common, I have several family members and friends that home school their children. Had I not been able to send my kids to a private school I would have opted for this choice. It is not just academics but the unteaching of moral values that may cause parents to choose this direction.

 

[USN]

I assume this is a typo and we didn’t really lick him?

Old, can’t see and typing on phone, kicked not licked. Thanks edit completed

 

[wesheltonj]

I am 100% for defunding the DOE, Randi and the democrats cabal. Poor performing teachers should be sent down the road.

But we should start to pay quality teachers far more money. It’s should be a highly desirable profession. Attracting the best.

The rest of our society pivots on quality education. Reading early being most important.
Poor education is a pipeline to poverty and crime. The money we save on welfare and prison could be used to pay the best people to spend hours a day with our kids.

Now we actually allow people I wouldn’t let in my house to watch and teach our Kids.

You could pay them a million a year and if when they get home their parents are not helping them with homework and letting them run wild it will not matter.

And stop paying them on tenure, pay them on performance (merit).

 

[Tanks]

You could pay them a million a year and if when they get home their parents are not helping them with homework and letting them run wild it will not matter.
...

Well, letting them run wild and helping them with homework are two different things. I think the only time I ever helped my daughter with her homework was when she was taking Calculus her senior year in high school. And that was because her friends were not available. Rest of the time she chatted with her friends on AOL Instant Messenger to ask and answer questions. She'd have multiple windows open with different friends when they were doing projects.

Being the "trust but verify" kind of guy I had installed software on her computer that would mimic her desktop on my computer in my office. Verified occasionally that it was really homework, and it was.

 

[sgt_zim]

If the local school system is under performing, some believe that parents should have the option to choose a private school, and be reimbursed for the tuition via public funding. Because some (but not all) private schools are run by religious organizations and have religious teachings as part of their curriculum, others believe that this represents a conflict with a state sponsor of religion.

Which is as good an example as any of how poor our education system is.

Our founders wanted to ensure that what had happened in earlier colonial America to Quakers, Baptists, Catholics, and Jews (among others) would not happen in the new republic.

Jefferson's famous letter to the Danbury Baptist Church was to assure that the wall which existed between church and state actually protected the churches from government involvement, not the other way round.

 

[WAB]

Which is as good an example as any of how poor our education system is.

Our founders wanted to ensure that what had happened in earlier colonial America to Quakers, Baptists, Catholics, and Jews (among others) would not happen in the new republic.

Jefferson's famous letter to the Danbury Baptist Church was to assure that the wall which existed between church and state actually protected the churches from government involvement, not the other way round.

Exactly! The separation of church and state is quite possibly the most misunderstood and misapplied principle of the founding fathers.

 

[OxfordTheCat]

Old, can’t see and typing on phone, kicked not licked. Thanks edit completed

There was a time, not too long ago, where such a correction wouldn't be necessary.

... in this day and age, and in the current political climate, you really never know. Probably not a coin toss, but maybe one in ten chance he might have actually gotten licked through some farcical development.

 

[OxfordTheCat]

The gift that keeps giving.

US arms sales suffer setback after Ukraine weapons pause — Newsweek

Portugal and other European countries are beginning to question the U.S.' reliability as a defense ally despite its dominant role in global arms sales. Published March 14, 2025 U.S. arms sales have suffered a fresh setback as Portugal ruled out purchasing fighter jets from Washington, while...

apple.news

Germany and Switzerland both reconsidering, and I anticipate that Canada will as well.

I'm particularly interested to see how Carney's Europe visit goes. The F35 was barely politically viable even before the recent nonsense; and I wouldn't be surprised if we go back to the Gripen, manufactured in Canada under license, as a stopgap and join the Tempest program for the longer term.

 

[Hank2211]

Germany and Switzerland both reconsidering, and I anticipate that Canada will as well.

I'm particularly interested to see how Carney's Europe visit goes. The F35 was barely politically viable even before the recent nonsense; and I wouldn't be surprised if we go back to the Gripen, manufactured in Canada under license, as a stopgap and join the Tempest program for the longer term.

I think prudence would dictate that countries should avoid US weapons systems for the foreseeable future, if at all possible.

 

[OxfordTheCat]

In lighter news, in a rare miss from Amazon, I did not receive The Science Of Success today.

I did however, receive a three disc Blu-ray set of the Jaws trilogy sequels instead. Slight mix up.

Rather bafflingly, the original Jaws movie is not included
Just the follow ons.
But apparently Charles Koch's books keep interesting company at the warehouse.