About RichardFromShiner


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Previous Posts
The TAKS HELL Discussion
Apparently the Terminator is no longer Science Fiction
International Olympic Committee Ruined all the Fun :(
All I Really Need to Know (Satire)
Is this ALL that separates the "good" from the "greats"?
Salud Comandante Fidel Castro
Making up my mind about Ron Paul
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Your High School Student not going to get to wear a cap and gown even though they passed ALL their graduation requirements including the dreaded Senior English Paper?

Your Junior High Student losing out on ALL extra curricular activities so that they may attend special after/before school "cram sessions"?

Your Elementary Student coming home with stories of students crying in class because the teacher tells them they are not going to the next grade?

You say you don't give a rats a$$ because you don't have any school age children? Well you better start caring because thanks to YOUR tax dollars, even MORE of your tax money will be needed in the near future to support 60% of the next generation that does not have even the most basic requirement to hold a semi-decent job: A High School Diploma. Are YOU prepared to feed 2/3rds of Texas?

Welcome to TAKS Hell. Its the latest in an ever increasing testing sensation which started to get out of control with TAAS. Thanks to TAKS testing, Texas children now have less than a 40% chance of EVER attaining their high school diploma. This is a statistical fact coming from PH D's of UT and Rice in a recently released study. At the same time, it has not even resulted in even a 1% increase in scores of any objective of the SAT.

Please take a moment and share YOUR child's TAKS Hell. What are they going through? What has the emotional cost been, or the loss of other activities or meaningful learning? No story is too small.

Tags: TAKS, testing, Education, hell
posted by RichardFromShiner on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 05:08 PM
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You would think that after what, 3 Terminator movies that military experts would agree that giving a robot things like full auto weapons might be a bad idea.

Well I saw this story from Iraq. Ladies and gentlemen I bring you, The predecessor of the T-400...

http://gizmodo.com/378523/c...

 

Tags: terminator judgement day iraq robotics war iraq
posted by RichardFromShiner on Friday, April 11, 2008 at 02:47 PM
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Well when I saw on the news that someone in France tried to put the Olympic Torch out with a fire extinguisher, my morbid curiosity got the better of me. I was glued to the tv this afternoon like no other afternoon since that white SUV took a stroll down the freeway in California a few years back.



I'm not sure who the PR person is for those Tibetin monks, but it seems as though the whole world has rallied around their cause - which I'm not exactly sure what it is they want, but obviously it can be obtained by extinguishing the flame of a single torch.



Maybe its a global warming thing?



Anyway, I just knew that Americans could outwit those French and come up with a much more clever way to douse that flame (water balloons?) and so there I sat at my desk after school - eyes glued to CNN waiting for something to happen. Well first the route was shortened, then it was changed, and then the closing ceremony was completely canceled. I just knew that something hilarious was going to happen, but those guys in blue jumper suits spoiled everything.



Now I know why you hardly ever see pictures of people laughing in China :P

Tags: olympics, china, torch, humor, CNN
posted by RichardFromShiner on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 11:51 PM
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All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Kindergarten the U.S. Government?

1. Learn to Paraphrase - by Tim Goeglein (amazing what a difference those little " " can make?)
www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00045.htm

2. How to Balance a Checkbook - by Robert Mrazek ($24K in late fees ouch!)
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n7_v44/ai _12127933

3. Proper Airport Etiquette - by Bob Filner (So where IS my damn bag?)
www.wjla.com/news/stories/0807/448937.html

4. How to Text - by Kwame Kilpatrick (14,000 in 2 months? wow a cell phone Liberace)
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-24-detroit-m ayor_n.htm

5. Defensive Driving - by Carole Migden (not once, but twice in 1 day lol)
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879475/posts

6. To Vote - by the Texas Legislature (we push all the buttons in elevators too!)
www.metacafe.com/watch/854050/texas_voting_scanda l/

7. Playing Fair - by Newt Gingrich (pot kettle black)
www.newser.com/story/581.html

8. Taking Responsibility - by Paul Wolfowitz (SHE did it!)
www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/05/15/wolfowitz-blame s-girlfrie_n_48485.html

9. Tell the Truth - by Dennis Kucinich
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,307117,00.html

and #10. Shopping! - by Claude Allen
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11770707/

Tags: humor politics top10 list
posted by RichardFromShiner on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 09:08 PM
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Saw this at a teachers' in-service today. Its inspiring even though it does have its shortfalls for not taking heredity or environment into consideration. But maybe I'm being too picky?

www.212movie.com/

(link opens a movie/slideshow)
Tags: education inspiration teach school sports
posted by RichardFromShiner on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 06:08 PM
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Well as you may already know, Fidel Castro retired as el Presidente. Was he truly such a terrible person that the West makes him out to be? When one mentions Castro, one immediately connects him with the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs, and possibly even the JFK assassination. Well, what else was there to this individual? Here are some interesting things I found about Fidel's Cuba – so judge for yourself:

Outlawed foreign land ownership of Cuba

Free Eduction for all Citizens, including Universities

Free Health Care

Closed the Gambling Industry

98% of the Workforce is a member of Labor Unions

Humility – He refuses to take credit for events and programs that he rightly credits to the Cuban people and their government

In August of last year (2007), Fidel predicted Clinton/Obama as the winning ticket... hmm

 

And before he became President, Fidel was once given a tryout by a major league baseball team... well actually this might be one of those urban legends...

Thanks for the memories... SALUD!

Tags: fidel castro cuba humor
posted by RichardFromShiner on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 10:55 PM
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I’ve never been sure what to make of all the news I read from time to time about Ron Paul, so when I learned he would be holding a rally last weekend, I decided to make a road trip to Victoria to hear him speak and make up my own mind about him. Besides, I had a couple of bags of clothes to drop off at Good Will anyway, so the trip wouldn’t be a total loss.

Now, I don’t think too much of our government leaders nowadays, so I was going into this with extremely low expectations. I arrived just before 3pm  and  I’m not too good at estimating crowds, but that old HEB parking lot was full of cars and people.  His speech was really good. I was especially impressed that he didn’t read to us and talked “straight from the cuff”. His ideas on such things as the economy, income taxes and foreign policy are based on the Constitution and how the founding fathers intended things to be. His message identified the problems our country faces and what should be done to put our country back on track. If you want the details, I’m sure his position on things are explained on his website, but the main theme of his speech is personal freedom.

Afterward, I spotted someone I recognized from the Advocate Blogs and said hello. It was pretty weird running into someone I recognized from online. That’s not something that happens a lot. Or does it?

Tags: ron paul
posted by RichardFromShiner on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 07:26 PM
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