Here’s a weird Fox News article (video incl) about Mayor Pete I thought you might enjoy: https://www.rawstory.com/2019/04/tucker-carlson-ok-internet-creeped-fox-hosts-weird-remarks-pete-buttigieg/

I am not a Republican. Many of the people I love, work with and volunteer with happen to be Republican. I do not let our political opinions affect my relationship with them. They are by and large good people (as are Democrats).

I have seen some of my friends turn from caring people into hate mongers because of politics. It’s unfortunate and I try hard not to succumb to the temptation.

I think Trump’s most lasting legacy will be creating hatred on both sides of the political spectrum. Our constitution limits his legal effects but his effect on civil society is a bigger issue.

I am glad that my failure to post was just a technical glitch. Thank you for letting me (and others) disagree with you.

You missed the point of my original post. I was not debating your policy views, I was disagreeing with your impugning their motives.

Republicans, like almost every other group, are mostly decent people. They generally advocate for what they think is best for their country or community. Obviously, they have a bias towards themselves but so do you and I.

To effectively debate people, I think you need to understand with them. I am mostly libertarian and I vehemently disagree with progressives and conservatives but I still like, admire and love many of them. With the exception of small groups like Antifa and the White Supremacists, I think they mean well.

BTW, saw Fareed Zakaria interview Hillary Clinton on his GPS show yesterday. Although I voted for her in 2016, I am so glad she’s not running again. She is virtually tone deaf when it comes to politics at the presidential level. Still better than Trump of course.

Heather, I agree with you about money in public schools, but I think that certain charter schools might have a place in the public system.

Charter schools ARE public schools, in the sense that they are paid for with public money. Charter schools which have magnet type curricula, and which serve particular interest areas can be really beneficial to kids whose interests are strong in those areas. My friend who had the bad experience in the fundie school ended up in a science magnet charter. The school had two tracks, engineering and health sciences, which overlapped somewhat. The students were highly motivated. Schools like that, I think, have a place in the larger public system. The students in that school would have been bored to tears in a traditional high school. Why hold them back?

I still think that accountability is needed. Groups shouldn’t be able to siphon off money and hide what they’re doing. And, I agree with you that putting more money into teachers would go a long way toward making things better.

L

Yes, he seems to be one of the better ones, and one I’ll be watching closely.

Even if all charter schools were wonderful, it would still not make sense to invest in them at the expense of public schools. 90% of students go to public schools and there’s no way charter schools can take over from that. It’s not physically possible. There aren’t enough resources for that to happen. There are limited dollars to be spent on education, and they should be spent where they will do the most good. That’s clearly bringing those public schools that are failing up to scratch.

When I hear that poorly-paid teachers are having to pay for supplies for their students, but there’s enough money to arm those same teachers, my blood boils.

Kids are the future of the country, and there can be no better investment in the future. That includes improving the quality of teachers. The best people will not go into teaching unless they have a real vocation because they just can’t afford to. It appalls me that so many look down on teachers in the US, but that can be fixed by making it into a profession that attracts a better quality of person and getting rid of science teachers (and schools) that teach creationism.