Matthew

A lot of studies have shown the underpaid teacher belief is a myth. Yes, teachers salaries look small. But when one looks payment per hour, even when including grading homework and class planning done at home, teachers, on average, make more than bio chemists with much more advanced degrees. This doesn't even account for benefits, for which teachers are second to only one profession in the percentage of their pay they also receive in benefits - on average over 20%. The problem is not underfunded schools. Certain schools have been sued for being under funded and had, literally, millions of dollars poured into them and test scores continued to decline. Whereas St. Louis cut its budget in half and hired a private company to run the school district and scores skyrocketed. The problem is that public schools, and their teachers, generally have no incentive to do well. If a voucher system was implemented, where tax dollars follow the student to whichever school their parents see as best, be it public or private, schools would have to improve their programs to keep students and their funding. This would cause them to get rid of poor teachers and reward those who do well. John Stossel did an excellent report on this called "Stupid in America".

He's right, CJ. Just think, that's only 3 per hoof! You can do it!

This is awesome. It provides some very interesting data. You'll notice that CJ tops the top posters in the last week, month, and posts per day (by over 2 1/2). There's no denying it now CJ, hard data that you're a postaholic.

There's not much to do in Southern Arizona either.

Yes, thank you Myr. I know we don't always show it, but most of us really and trully appreciate what you've given us through this site. You've done an awesome service for us all.

Then I don't know why I'm being brought up at all. I barely have 1 post a day. I'm going to say this plainly: CJ has 8 times as many posts per day and is not, in any form, a lurker of any kind. He is a postaholic clearly in the first stage: denial. Any refutation by him will prove that he is, in fact, a postaholic in denial. We clearly need to get him help.

That's what's been keeping me busy. One yesterday, one today, an oral on Wednesday, and another one on Thursday and papers all around. Ugh. I can't wait to be back in the states where you're not expected to make an effort.

Happy Birthday Jules!

You mean the fun, partying side of the date line. That is until I get back to the States, then that'll be the cool side.

Luckily I'm in college, so a backpack is accepted, because I feel insecure going anywhere for any length of time without my laptop. I don't know why, or what help it'd really be in an emergency. I keep my swiss army knife in my pocket which has pretty much everything else I need (screwdriver, scissors, knife, flashlight, pen, and even a jumpdrive). I couldn't live without it. In my backpack I do keep things like hand sanatizer, liquid bandaid, water, assorted snacks, and sometimes even school supplies. You mean the candy? I love those.

Welcome Dusk! I'm glad to see you found your way back. The site has grown be leaps and bounds in recent times and it's great to see you as part of that. It's good to see a new author in the community. The fantasy stuff sounds interesting, and I'll have to check it out. Again, Welcome.

Another great chapter C James. Parts of it seemed a bit overdramatic, like rubbing their hands together after the sinister plot, but overall it was really good. Allowed? By whom? I hate "rules" like that. There are no hard and fast rules like this because some writing wouldn't need that many, and some would need much more. It depends on the style, POV, and subject matter. Certainly one should use more exclamation marks than "allowed" before making awkward long sentences.

I thought the Bond cliches were very tastefully added in the right moments and tastefully done, even mocking them at times. This movie is set when Bond first acheives his double 0 status. I don't know much about the original so I can't really comment.

I love Texas Hold 'Em, but I don't know that it's what primarily Europeans would play in Montenegro. I love playing in casinos, while it's illegal here in Thailand, I've gone to Cambodia a couple of times where you have to be 18. I'll be old enough to hop over to Las Vegas when I go back to Phoenix in the summer. in the trailer was the only reason I went, but the movie as a whole was good. The other scene you mentioned did make me cringe. I hate Connery as Bond, he just annoys me. Pierce was my favorite, but now Daniel Craig is clearly the best.

Hey everyone, I was just wondering if anyone else had seen Casino Royale and if so what they thought about it. Personally, I liked it, but that may have been because it had hold 'em poker and Daniel Craig. Both pluses in my book. It was less gadgety than the previous Pierce Brosnan films. He definitely had high-tech stuff, but not things like "here's a pen that can also shoot a laser and hack into a computer." It made it seem somewhat more realistic to me. I also may have enjoyed it because here in Thailand I go to the expensive ($6 US) theater and at those you get a leather recliner, a free drink, and a blanket. Anyways, has anyone else seen it? What did you think?

So, I'm obviously coming into this discussion late, but I really like the story and wanted to comment. I like the story so far, but I agree with those who think a reader might see it as a dark story climaxing too early. But I trust you CJ! I really liked the being in love with the car, even though my limited knowledge leaves me with no idea of what he's describing. A line in the prologue really bugged me: "I

Yes, because 8 posts per day is soooooooooooo much different from 7.6. I was watching your post count like a hawk ready to strike You're not, we know. Kevin paces himself. :wacko:

2,000 POSTS! (I stole the graqphic C James made for Kitty) Congratulations, C JAMES. And it's simply amazing that you did it in less than 9 months, making your average 8 posts per day. GA wouldn't be the same without the goat in the sunglasses. May your next 2,000 bring us as much joy, humor, wisdom, and information as the first did. I'm sure we'll know within the next couple of months.

Saying it's legal in some states in the US is putting it a little...strong. While certain states have passed laws making its possession and use medicinally not a crime under state laws, it is still illegal federally. The FBI can and has arrested people for using marijuana medicinally, even where these laws have been passed, and had doctor's licenses revoked for prescribing it.

Congratulations Kitty, GA is so much richer for your presence.

Well, the District Attorney released a statement saying a public admission isn't enough to take a case to court. It's my understanding that you can't just have a conviction that says "He bought crystal meth at some point in the past three years" but it has to be more like "On Sep. 22, 2005 he purchased and used .5 grams of crystal meth" and that would be hard to do.

Your reply is there under the title "Leaving Israel". It seems as though the cops are seeking to maintain a good public face while undermining it with comments saying that threats of violence could stop the parade.

Even so, we don't really know if he's gay yet. The article's layout and the title of this thread are misleading. He has not at all confessed to the affairs being true. The only admission is reported as follows: The accusations included things such as drugs, and the only proof so far lends itself more to drugs than anything else. He explicitly denies having had the affair. I'm not at all saying that means he hasn't, but he certainly hasn't confessed.

Well, he talked about how he struggles daily with "sinful thoughts". I personally think it would suck. It's like having sex with guys and then going back in the closet.

Well, one of them was this creepy "ex-gay" guy who talked about how after his "counseling" he married an ex-lesbian and they're really happy together now. And somehow he turned the conversation to the shirtless good looking guys playing rugby.