2018 Midterm Election Thread

[NEO]

My stepdad who raised me is a Naval Academy Grad in Mathematics and took enough engineering classes after that to become a PE. My mother earned an engineering degree in her spare time while raising three kids over 20 years. They never talked to me about anything but getting a degree growing up. I went to UTC for two years majoring in Environmental Engineering. Things happened and I had to drop out. I started doing mechanic work and went to a tech school for industrial maintenance and within 3 years I was making what an engineer would make coming out of college. Then I was selected for an apprenticeship and now 18 years later I make well into 6 figures a year working with my hands. The demand for high end welders and industrial mechanics is growing everyday.

My father retired from a major insurance company as an executive with H level pay last January. The company goes C band (starting out) to I band and each level has levels within it.

In the 90s, he was a director and already a G band with 20 plus years time in the company when they went into their everyone has to have a degree mode.

He along with many others from the Vietnam era were just high school grads so he was forced to go get a degree which he did at night from Liberty.

He was already in charge of two states and accounted for about 65 million in revenue within his department but somehow the degree was mandatory and he was forced to go back to school in his 50s.

He and I always got a chuckle about it as I was going to OSU at the time. I would tell him as we studied at night together that if he got good grades one day he might be lucky and get a good job. He would normally tell me to shut up then.

To me, this just sums up everything wrong with the college push.

 

[nuclearjunky]

I would have been the first (since my grandmother) in my family to go to college so I got the same thing from my mom and dad. Had to take the AP classes, a C was terrible and on and on. Got to college and after 2 years I hated it, I had the added pleasure of paying for it so I snuck off to the Army, figured it was the only safe place where my mom couldn't kill me for dropping out.

I took honors and AP classes as well. I kept A’s in some and B-C’s in others. It depended in my interest in the class. I pay dues to the Machinist local now but I have said many times that I wish my parents would have told me about the craft trades. I would have joined the Pipefitters out of high school and travelled the world as a X-ray welder and be retired right now.

 

[volinbham]

How much time do you have? lol. I may have to go back and take a class or two to see for myself. I still don't see any "indoctrination" examples from your posts.

I was downplaying the indoctrination charge - saying it is isolated to some fields while many are not subject to it in any systematic way.

What I am saying is that university policies and actions writ large continue the "it's not your fault" and "you should never have to be uncomfortable" and "we'll shelter you from offense" culture that is 1) antithetical to higher ed and 2) is a disservice to students.

 

[volinbham]

I get frustrated when the solution to any issue is either 1) create a new administrative unit and a new six figure position to manage the new people we had to hire to staff this unit, or 2) let create a new committee to deal with it and obligate faculty to be on it as if we don't have enough to f@#$ing do.

I'll admit that I'm pretty liberal, but I'll be damned if universities aren't the best case for libertarianism I've ever seen.

When our new Student Center was built I took a tour - 3 floors of "The office of...." with full staffs and not a one is directly related to academics. They all put out "initiatives"; they all come to our faculty meetings to tell us what they do - which means what they want us to do.

 

[Mick]

Here's an article that helps understand the abuses of Title IX

Laura Kipnis’s Endless Trial by Title IX

I found that hard to read because of my ignorance about Title IX and the whole process. The summation at the end helped with that. "it will be important to be more explicit about how it may better protect the core educational activity of a campus: the production of knowledge and the expression of ideas. At this moment, Title IX is too often conscripted to serve purposes antithetical to the education of citizens in a democracy, in which disagreement, dissent, or disapproval should lead to argument, not to an infinite loop of institutional investigation. "

Title IX as a protective measure appears to have been bastardized and abused to the point where reform is necessary, not expansion. Is that about right?

 

[volinbham]

I found that hard to read because of my ignorance about Title IX and the whole process. The summation at the end helped with that. "it will be important to be more explicit about how it may better protect the core educational activity of a campus: the production of knowledge and the expression of ideas. At this moment, Title IX is too often conscripted to serve purposes antithetical to the education of citizens in a democracy, in which disagreement, dissent, or disapproval should lead to argument, not to an infinite loop of institutional investigation. "

Title IX as a protective measure appears to have been bastardized and abused to the point where reform is necessary, not expansion. Is that about right?

Yes - it is being used far beyond the intended purpose. Part of that is via expansion and actions such as the "Dear Colleague" letter from the last administration; part is it's being coopted as an all purpose grievance tool. In her case, because she criticized the use of Title IX she became the target of Title IX - at least twice.

Bottomline, thought that doesn't "comply" with many SJW views is being attacked using Title IX (as well as with other tools). Hell, undergrads at Harvard filed Title IX complaints against Kavanaugh because he guest taught there and his mere presence on campus would be (according to the complaints) be a Title IX violation.

 

[golfballs]

 

[volinbham]

RCP has moved this to toss up. Now 204 D/199 R and 32 toss up. Still looking like a Blue takeover but number smaller

On Sept 18 - the "Blue Wave" for the house peaked (according to RCP) with the range of Dem pickups ranging from +11 - +51 and average gain predicted of 31. As of today the range has dropped and tightened to +9 - +41 and the average gain predicted has dropped to 25.

If my math is correct and all seats are filled the gain needed (or losses required) is 19.

 

[golfballs]

 

[golfballs]

RCP has moved this to toss up. Now 204 D/199 R and 32 toss up. Still looking like a Blue takeover but number smaller

On Sept 18 - the "Blue Wave" for the house peaked (according to RCP) with the range of Dem pickups ranging from +11 - +51 and average gain predicted of 31. As of today the range has dropped and tightened to +9 - +41 and the average gain predicted has dropped to 25.

If my math is correct and all seats are filled the gain needed (or losses required) is 19.

I think it’s going to be close. But this was a seat Dems thought they would comfortably win

 

[AllVolinGA]

RCP has moved this to toss up. Now 204 D/199 R and 32 toss up. Still looking like a Blue takeover but number smaller

On Sept 18 - the "Blue Wave" for the house peaked (according to RCP) with the range of Dem pickups ranging from +11 - +51 and average gain predicted of 31. As of today the range has dropped and tightened to +9 - +41 and the average gain predicted has dropped to 25.

If my math is correct and all seats are filled the gain needed (or losses required) is 19.

I ask because I do not know, how accurate was the RCP prediction model in 2016.

 

[GAVol]

College President... Cabinet official.... Congressman? Isn't she doing this whole career thing in reverse? Seems like the first two should follow the 3rd.

 

[Orangeburst]

Is it me or are the leftists almost always so effin ugly not only physically, but in their aura and dressed in of all things "Mao" pantsuits.

Ever look at DNC Chair Tom Perez. No wonder he hates God!

 

[AirVol]

Is it me or are the leftists almost always so effin ugly not only physically, but in their aura and dressed in of all things "Mao" pantsuits.

Ever look at DNC Chair Tom Perez. No wonder he hates God!

Lol, can’t imagine what EL LG Loother and #Mucktoo look like.

 

[nuclearjunky]

Is it me or are the leftists almost always so effin ugly not only physically, but in their aura and dressed in of all things "Mao" pantsuits.

Ever look at DNC Chair Tom Perez. No wonder he hates God!

There’s no comparison between beautiful conservative women and the hags on the left. For example I give you UT grad Fox contributer Lisa Boothe.

 

[Orangeburst]

When our new Student Center was built I took a tour - 3 floors of "The office of...." with full staffs and not a one is directly related to academics. They all put out "initiatives"; they all come to our faculty meetings to tell us what they do - which means what they want us to do.

Here is one that baffled my mind a few years ago. I went to check out the new UTC Library as I had not set foot on campus in decades. I see this nice building and I go in looking for periodicals. a couple of dozen on the first floor. Walk up and down and start looking for books. There are no freekin books unless you go into the lowest floor, which the way they are presented in the "rail" system or whatever you call it with sliding cases you hand crank, are nowhere representative of a complete library imo.

Everything is digital now, so why spend tens or hundreds of millions on a "building'? Just give every student a laptop, which they are probably already getting. Gotta stoke the administrators brick and mortar mentality of an image.

You guys otta see the ish in the capital construction of the Houston secondary schools. It is unbelievable at about $50 -$100 million each and I was involved in a dozen of them.

 

[Orangeburst]

Lol, can’t imagine what EL LG Loother and #Mucktoo look like.

Sorry..I refrained from my possibly ban worthy remarks. It was fun to type though!

 

[NEO]

Here is one that baffled my mind a few years ago. I went to check out the new UTC Library as I had not set foot on campus in decades. I see this nice building and I go in looking for periodicals. a couple of dozen on the first floor. Walk up and down and start looking for books. There are no freekin books unless you go into the lowest floor, which the way they are presented in the "rail" system or whatever you call it with sliding cases you hand crank, are nowhere representative of a complete library imo.

Everything is digital now, so why spend tens or hundreds of millions on a "building'? Just give every student a laptop, which they are probably already getting. Gotta stoke the administrators brick and mortar mentality of an image.

You guys otta see the ish in the capital construction of the Houston secondary schools. It is unbelievable at about $50 -$100 million each and I was involved in a dozen of them.

Tax write off on buildings depreciation.

That’s my only guess.

 

[volinbham]

I ask because I do not know, how accurate was the RCP prediction model in 2016.

Not sure on the House/Senate. It's just an average of polls. The trend is positive for the GOP but I think conventional wisdom still has the House switching.

 

[Orangeburst]

Lol, can’t imagine what EL LG Loother and #Mucktoo look like.

Here is a mindtwister AirVol...maybe they are ugly because they hate God. The further away the uglier you get.

 

[volinbham]

Here is one that baffled my mind a few years ago. I went to check out the new UTC Library as I had not set foot on campus in decades. I see this nice building and I go in looking for periodicals. a couple of dozen on the first floor. Walk up and down and start looking for books. There are no freekin books unless you go into the lowest floor, which the way they are presented in the "rail" system or whatever you call it with sliding cases you hand crank, are nowhere representative of a complete library imo.

Everything is digital now, so why spend tens or hundreds of millions on a "building'? Just give every student a laptop, which they are probably already getting. Gotta stoke the administrators brick and mortar mentality of an image.

You guys otta see the ish in the capital construction of the Houston secondary schools. It is unbelievable at about $50 -$100 million each and I was involved in a dozen of them.

Libraries are definitely going through transitions. I will say though that ours is full of students - they're just not there to get books. Study space, computer access, group meetings, hang out.

 

[tumscalcium]

Libraries are definitely going through transitions. I will say though that ours is full of students - they're just not there to get books. Study space, computer access, group meetings, hang out.

Is that where you’re fishing for honeys?

 

[Orangeburst]

Tax write off on buildings depreciation.

That’s my only guess.

My point..Who needs brick and mortar anymore for daily sessions? Aint the future of retail and including ed. You could have as much learning in a few hours as much as takes a typical school day including transit to and from the school, time between classes, etc.

I do not know the answers but we teach kids with a 20th century mindset. Basically the local govs and teacher unions love the control and working parents do not have to pay for childcare.

 

[golfballs]

There’s no comparison between beautiful conservative women and the hags on the left. For example I give you UT grad Fox contributer Lisa Boothe. View attachment 171781

She hung out w us in college. I will say that I would have never in a million years thought she would be political let alone be on Fox News. However I think she might have been a little libertarian if you know what I mean

 

[tumscalcium]

She hung out w us in college. I will say that I would have never in a million years thought she would be political let alone be on Fox News. However I think she might have been a little libertarian if you know what I mean

Pics or gtfo