I've had a lot of things buzzing around in my head lately. These are totally random.
Did you know:
- When a hotel clerk tells you the rate of a room, you can ask for a discount? They might tell you that that is the best they have that night, but they are often willing to give you a 10% (or more) discount when you ask.
- Instead of saying, "Will you give me a discount?" it's probably better to say, "Is that the best rate you can offer tonight?"
- You really shouldn't drink out of the glass glasses in hotels. Most of them don't have dishwashers in the building. I'll just leave it at that.
Did you know:
- People like Glenn Beck (including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and the liberal ones too, who I can't think of right now) are NOT news reporters? They do not have any professional obligation to fact-check. They are not journalists. They are not investigative reporters. They are not reporters at all. They are COMMENTATORS. That means that the bulk of what they tell you is their opinion on the news. They do not even have to pretend to give you both sides of the story. And they don't have to apologize or retract anything when they get it wrong.
- That's why I don't listen to any of them. I prefer to get my news from - gasp - NPR and BBC. Or even CNN (who generally makes a pretty decent effort at giving different views), although I much prefer the former.
Did you know:
- The hard "handle" bar on infant car seats needs to be put down when you're driving? In case of a crash, it could break off and injure the baby (the flexible part on the sun shade can be up). Also - at least in Utah - you can get a ticket for having it up while driving.
- That means that those cute baby car seat covers that strap onto the hard handle are pretty much useless in the car.
- Also, if you use one of those bundle things that you strap into the car seat and then zip up around the baby to keep him/her warm, you might be negating your seat's warranty. If your baby is injured while in the seat and you have anything in there that wasn't made by the seat manufacturer specifically for that seat, they will deny any responsibility.
Did you know:
- For all the talk of socialism and how evil it is, that's exactly what we have in our education system? Everyone pays for public education, whether you go to school or not. Generally, I think we'd all agree that any society benefits from having it's children go to school.
- In Haiti, all education is private. Only about half of the children go to school at all. Less than 10% of children graduate from high school, much less go on to college.
Did you know:
- I love (LOVE) to debate? Some of you think I'm argumentative. Maybe I am. But I get frustrated when I think someone refuses to look at other sides of an issue. Seeing an issue through someone else's eyes and understanding how they came to their conclusions doesn't mean you have to agree with them. So if I challenge your opinion, it's not a personal attack. I will NEVER attack you personally for having a different opinion than me (and if I do, shame on me). I just want to know how and why you arrived at your opinion. And yes, I still like you even if we disagree.
- I'm also really sarcastic. I think I offend people sometimes. I'm sorry if I've offended any of you (of course, if I have, you might not read this anyway).
Did you know:
- I have recently been attacked by the urge to minimalize and get rid of all kinds of stuff. I am seriously considering removing the curtains from my living room and leaving the windows bare (with blinds).
- Anyone else have four 43x64 windows and want sheers to cover them? I have 8 white and 4 peach up for grabs.
- I am really excited for our yard sale in June.
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9 comments:
Boy, do you know how to elicit comments!
-I didn't know about asking for a better rate in a hotel. Good tip!
-While it's true that commentators don't have any professional obligation to fact-check, I've found that the conservative talk show hosts are generally accurate (when I've done my own fact checking), even though I usually don't like their style. Try Dennis Prager. He's the best.
-The problem with many 'real' journalists, is that despite a professional obligation to fact-check, many don't. That's worse than a commentator getting things wrong. If you've ever been in the know about details of a news story (as I am sometimes at the base), the reporter inevitably screws some (or lots) of the information up. Then of course you have those that are biased and present things in that way, despite any fact-checking that may have been done.
-I can tell you listen to NPR, because my co-worker that I debate with (who listens exclusively to NPR) told me about that Haiti story. Unfortunately, it's not so much a good illustration of the public/private difference, as it is an illustration of a corrupt government and flat broke country. Students that go to private school in the USA generally have better test scoring and graduation rates than students in the public schools.
-You said you liked to debate, right? :) Me too!
I agree that private education is generally better, but I think the problem is that where there is no public option for education, families often cannot afford to put their children all the way through school. So in our nation, the childless and the elderly are forced to pay for schooling for other families so that no person has an excuse not to get a good education. I think there does need to be a guaranteed baseline for education, health care, and safety (police, fire, etc) - but the general population paying for the "extras" through taxes, whether it be private school vouchers or full benefit health insurance, is a bit over the top in my opinion.
Nate - yay! I love your comment! I'll have to listen to Dennis Prager. I never have. I'd consider myself pretty conservative, but I am turned off by the language and tactics that are often so hateful.
One thing also about commentators and journalists alike is that two people of different opinions can take the same information and present it in completely opposite lights - and neither of them will technically be lying. That's probably the first thing I learned in my statistics class - and it holds true for interpretation of all kinds of facts.
I agree with you that too many journalists don't fact-check. My only "real" journalism experience (other than high school and college newspaper) is at the Church News. I wasn't a reporter, but I was involved in the editing and fact-checking. I was very impressed there that even though they are obviously supposed to represent the Church, the editor was insistent that everything be verified by AT LEAST two sources. All journalists are professionally obligated to do that, but unfortunately there are far too many that don't.
Haiti. Hmmm. I agree that it is a great illustration of a corrupt and broke government. But I wasn't really using it as an example of public versus private education. I know that if we could afford it, our kids would likely go to private schools.
I guess the real discussion would come if for some reason the government decided to eliminate public education altogether, and still require all children to go to school. If private schools were the only option, it would be another health care debate, wouldn't it?
Anyway, my main point was that our education system is socialized, but people don't talk about that, because pretty much everyone agrees that everyone should go to school. Not because everyone has a "right" to go to school, but because we all pretty much agree that society is better off when kids go to school.
But I also believe that if everyone in Haiti (or any country where the people vote for their leaders) went to school, eventually the corrupt government would be replaced, the economy would improve, etc. But as long as the education rate remains so low, that really has no chance of happening.
And yes, Nate, I still like you. :)
amen about talk show radio hosts. The same goes for other propaganda. My dad used to subscribe to the John Birch Society and I would read those and think our country was pretty much in the toilet thanks to all the liberals. People should form their own opinions based on facts.
Health care needs to be reformed. People who don't want it to be so don't have issues with it. (as in, they probably have stellar insurance). My concern is the economic repercussions of having the government step in in certain areas. But I do agree that some legislation needs to happen. And it's happening. And as far as I can see...it's not all bad. But time will tell.
I like it when people put their opinions up! Way to go!
P.S. I really like NPR and BBC too.
I can't stand Rush or Sean Hannity...they drive me up the wall...I only listen to Glenn Beck every now and then because he is funny...the guy makes me laugh- he in NOT a reporter...more like a commedian. I would get bored way too fast if he wasn't funny.
Yes to health care reform, No to the bill they just passed. I don't see the insurance companies surviving for long...it will be interesting to see it play out over the years...and I will be watching.
I am thankful for public schools. Not too shabby for socialism...although I wish homeschooler parent's could get at least get a tax rebate- do they? I heard they do in some states?
Thank you for the asparagus and apples...I am going to eat the whole bundle for lunch tomorrow.
Yuck. I saw a news deal on tv where hotel housekeeping just dried the glasses with the used towels. GROSS!!!!!!!!!!! I love how you recieved so many comments on your statements. I love to read them. It's great how you get people thinking more.
Now look what's gone and happened. Last night I followed your link to Riley's new Conversation blog, and I thought to myself that I might like to do that sometime. So, last night I wake up at 3:30 (unusual for me) and my mind starts racing. I get up and start typing and... voila! My own political blog. It's all your fault (and Riley's). Thanks!
About Dennis Prager, he's not on locally at any reasonable hour, so we podcast his hours. He is far and away the only talk show host I go out of my way to recommend to people. One of the best things about him is that he's not just all politics all the time. Probably about half of the time he covers other subjects, has authors on, etc. Going on ten years of listening to him, and I still enjoy it. I get tired of the others who rant and hyperbolize too much. Malinda likes him a lot, and listens some of the time (mostly non-political hours since politics makes her too upset).
Since his podcast is paid subscription, I was planning on uploading some of the better hours to my website and doing a blog post about him sometime soon. I'll provide links for you to download them, in case you're interested.
Later
Rush: I can handle for an hour or two as long as he's not saying something racially charged or sexist.
Hannity: Geyser of hate and talking points. Rarely debates on principle or fact. Just retreats back to his talking points. I get the feeling you could stump him in your sleep, Cami.
Beck: Ratings chaser. Part of me suspects that he's conservative because it pays better.
Levin: Pretty strong speech, but tries to stick to the facts. I only get him in snatches when I'm in an area that carries his show, but I haven't been turned off, yet.
As far as NPR goes, how do you handle it? I nearly pass out when listening it's so boring. (Which is a bad thing considering that I'm driving)
On a different note, I think a voucher program would help those who want to try their chances with private school. It's harder to pay for private school when your funding the public school system as well.
I like the tips on room rates. Maybe I'll stop asking for the "corporate rate" and just ask if there's a better rate.
Love this string, Cami! May I jump in here on the education subject? While public education is socialism in practice, it is unfairly distributed and hence, amounts to publicly funded, private education. Because funding is distributed according to district lines and property taxes, students in poor districts get an unfairly limited education, while students in wealthy districts have an unfair advantage in every respect. I posted a question on Facebook not long ago that asked if people would be willing to see their property taxes apportioned equally throughout their state, as a means of leveling the educational playing field, if it meant less would be spent on their kids' education so that more could be spent on someone else's. It was pretty equally split, the yays verses nays, but the nays were very vitriolic in their dismissal of such a plan.
I am a homeschooler, so we get no direct benefit from our property taxes (and no, we don't get a tax break). Likewise, my neighbors who have never had children, do not get any direct benefit from their property taxes that way. This does not really bother me, except when I have to sit down and purchase school books for my kids. But because I home school, I'm not as emotionally attached to my tax dollars as a number of my friends appear to be. :-) Socialism is supposed to be a great equalizer, but obviously, when it comes to education, it is failing the poor miserably, and the wealthy are protected in their "selfishness." It irritates me, because people don't seem to understand that they could not afford the education their kids are receiving were it not for the contributions of their neighbors, yet they don't want to share the wealth equally with a poor district out of some misguided sense of entitlement to the property taxes in their district.
I've never liked Sean Hannity, but I loved Rush for years...until we actually spoke on the phone. I've never cared for him since! :-)
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