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BardlyG's comments:
on Technology and Child Pornography Laws
When you are done prosecuting pederast priests, think about snooping in computer caches, at which point you are very likely to control and possess the images.
It is not a crime to view, even purchase adult porn. Regardless of how we feel about it, it is a right we should maintain.
Unfortunately, the porn industry includes some illegal actors, and some who DO indeed push images ... look at a page intending to see legal images, and find a potentially large collection of linked images in your cache.
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
Maggie is a terrible role model.
There are still cultures which would have stoned her to death: happily (and through no credit to her religion) we don't do that anymore, nor even make a big deal of bastardy cases. Yet she casts figurative stones at Todd.
Of the two guests, I would much sooner let my kids go play at Todd's house.
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on Toxic Water?
It takes chemical filtration, as hexavalent Chromium forms soluble compounds.
Google: chromium 6 solubility
and choose your references
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on Toxic Water?
Oh, boy, a quiz!
Water has molecular weight of 18 so a mole is 18 grams.
A gram of water is 1cm^3.
Thus 6*10^23 molecules / 18 cm^3 or 3.3e22 molecules/cm^3
So a billion (10^9 or 1e9) molecules would be
1e9 / 3.3e22 = 3e-13 cm^3...
let's see: 1cm^3 is milli-liter
working down the named units, that would be about 1/3 attoliter, less than a micrometer cube.
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on Religious Literacy
The results should not surprise.
Much of "education" sponsored by religions is exclusive to the sponsoring religion.
Several of the currently popular religions forbid study of others.
posted 2 years, 8 months ago
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on Immigration Law
Actually, immigration laws are primarily federal laws. That AZ passed a novel supplementary law enforcing the federal law is why we are having this discussion.
posted 2 years, 12 months ago
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on Immigration Law
I quite agree with jacob that we should be selective on who we admit, based on projected benefit to USA.
If we decide we need more manuel laborers, we can easily find enough among people who are willing to enter legally.
posted 2 years, 12 months ago
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on Immigration Law
jacob says "95% of the land is unsettled or underpopulated or undeveloped or all three".
A misperception at best.
If there were so much wide open space, we might as well release the bison.
Development including people inevitably takes water, among other resources. Do you think it's going to just fall from the sky? 8-)
posted 2 years, 12 months ago
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on Religious Clothing in the Classroom
There are occupations where a uniform is expected. Consider neat, neutral clothing to be the uniform of a teacher.
There are plenty of opportunities for proselytism outside of school. Most communities allow churches to be built right next to schools, for example.
posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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on Animal Assistance
The mom is being polite and is not in a good position to state the obvious: the school is being a bunch of jerks.
At no noticable cost to them, they could collaborate with the family in the education of an apparently intelligent kid.
Instead they come brandishing lawyers and excluding the family from proper communication. That's the apparent behavior of people who know they are doing wrong and want to CYA to stay one notch away from being sued.
Meanwhile, they install an IEP which sets as a goal to teach reading to a kid who already taught himself to do so. Pay attention to the student, and help him learn something new. Keeping kids engaged with learning interesting new stuff avoids mischeif from most kids.
And those people get paid as educational professionals? They should be ashamed of themselves.
posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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on The "P" Word and Climate Change
Nature and mathematics don't care about us.
If we don't live within our means, we don't live.
Nature bats last.
posted 3 years, 6 months ago
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on The "P" Word and Climate Change
We agree that forced abortions is not a desired situation: let us not get into situations where it's that or starve.
I think available abortion is very desirable.
I think it would be wise to have a categorical expectation that people decide not to have children unless they have a reasonable plan for being able to take care of them. I think we agree that the best time to make that decision is long before birth.
Exceedingly undesirable is starvation or near-permanent besmirching of the global environment.
posted 3 years, 6 months ago
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on The "P" Word and Climate Change
The population this year is almost 80,000,000 (80 million) more than it was a year ago. This is not sustainable.
We should at least do the VERY easy things first:
make family planning info and technology available to anyone who wants to delay or prevent a kid.
posted 3 years, 6 months ago
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on Sex Ed
syd6luc5: Disfiguration? Is it hairy palms and blindness? I don't believe you unless you cite some sources from qualified research.
Can you compare the relative risk of blindness from masturbation to the risk of pregnancy from sex?
Sex can be pretty dramatically disfiguring: stretch marks, saggy boobs, children, even death.
posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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on Sex Ed
The woman on right now (Lisa Maloney) should please stay far away from any decisions affecting schools.
Imagine a couple of kids who are about to have sex. Don't even TRY to deny that it happens. Do they know about condom use? Do you think that any of them would stop to read the instructions in the package? What fraction of parents would bother to tell such details to their kids? Teach that knowledge along with CPR, fire drills, and any number of other techniques which we can hope they won't need.
How many gratuitious babies do we need? A baby deserves at least a couple of adults who want that baby. Unintended pregnancies are not good for children.
posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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on Class Size
Also consider how focused the classes are.
If students are grouped without regard for interests and ability, two students/class can be too many. But if students are all close to the "same page", even a large lecture hall works, as demonstrated in many universities.
The issue is allowing enough flexibility for the students to re-group as needed to be in classes with intellectual peers.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on School Equity
Equality is a fine goal, but do not let striving for it trump all other goals.
A school system should provide pathways for budding physicians, scientists, musicians, carpenters, ... even lawyers.
Kids with a passion, those willing to soak up the resources, give much better return on investment than those who must be forced to attend.
A kid who wants to be a physician will probably take all the biology they can get, and use it in the future. The potential return to the community is huge.
You don't make things better for Jeff by cutting advanced classes at Lincoln or Grant. Open the path for ambitious kids to get to classes with their peers: other ambitious students. The whole group, however it is gathered, can "catch fire".
For any given kid, it is not a matter of color or wealth: you are who you are. Great teams (in sports, in music, in science) form when a critical mass of kids gets together.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on School Equity
I think the comment entry function on this page is broken.
At least it behaves in a confusing way: after poking "Accept", I saw the page with 0 comments again. A few minutes later, the original post and this one showed up. Surprising.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on School Equity
What a phenomenally bad idea.
If you eliminate all advanced classes, you eliminate opportunities for all.
Let there be focused programs which facilitate eager kids to learn a great deal, and make transfers as easy as can be to encourage kids to try to be their best.
It's not the case that all kids would bother, but don't cut off the opportunities for those who would.
Most or all of the schools should have some AP classes, but one/some should offer truly excellent opportunities in science, for example. Another might focus on health care, and another on music.
It is not the case that each school, or even any one school, would have the energy, in either students or staff, to be excellent across the board.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on Rx: Personal Values
Cite sources, please.
posted 3 years, 10 months ago
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