We’ve all known people who were nice to us when they wanted something, but were jerks after they got it.
Guest post by Robert Gore at Straight Line Logic
This article is addressed to those who are considering voting for Hillary Clinton, although those who have decided not to may want to read it as well.
Hillary Clinton wants your vote. What does she offer? Will she perform as promised? How well has performance lived up to promises in the past? The same questions can be asked of her party. How well will candidate and party serve those who vote for them?
Clinton frequently cites her concern for children, even writing a book about them. Concern for children implies concern about their education. The US leads the world in per student spending on elementary and secondary education. Unfortunately, US students, especially those in inner city school systems, rank low on international tests of knowledge and skills in standard subject areas. Most worrisome is their abysmal performance in math and science, the foundation for competitiveness and growth in the global economy.
Who benefits, then, from hefty educational spending? Teachers’ and educational administrators’ unions are one of the Democratic party’s largest monetary and in kind donors. They are lined up behind Hillary Clinton. Democrats consistently push for increases in educational spending. They get votes, their union supporters get paid, and the children get left behind. Their poor performance is invariably used as a justification for more funding. One guess where most of that funding goes.
COMING SOON!
Markets offer choice, competition, and accountability. The wealthy can take advantage of educational choices for their children. The Obamas send their children to private schools. Most people have only one choice—public education—take it or leave it. Many parents of children locked into decrepit school systems respond enthusiastically when offered charter schools and educational vouchers. Those alternatives still work within the existing system, and are modest compared to the choices that would be available if education was entirely market-based. However, they do introduce competition and accountability. Not surprisingly, the unions and public school establishment fight them.
Votes are more important than children. The Obama administration has blocked charter schools and vouchers in Washington, claiming its school system (the one to which the Obamas don’t send their kids) does just fine without them. Obama, Hillary and the Democratic party’s solicitude for children is a hypocritical scam. Their claims that they’ll improve education only mean they’ll distribute more money to their public education support base. If you’re a public school teacher or administrator, vote for Hillary. If you’re not, but vote for her because she’ll “improve” education, you’re being played.
A similar scam is unfolding in medical care. The Affordable Care Act was doomed to fail and fail it has, leading to calls for the government to provide medical care, as it provides education. That would create another Democratic voter bloc, but would patient care improve? Google “Veterans Administration scandals” for a preview of government-provided medical care. The elite will turn to private sector alternatives. The rest of us will be in the same position as inner city students stuck in rotten schools: take it or leave it. Funding will increase while care deteriorates. Medical care unions will put their muscle behind more-of-the-same Democrats every election. Many won’t realize how badly they’ve been played until they can’t get desperately needed medical care for themselves or their loved ones.
What’s more important politicians: their gender, race, ethnic group, sexual preferences, and other identity markers, or their policies? Many people voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 because he would be America’s first black president. His election was a symbolic milestone, but he has pursued the same domestic and foreign policies as his predecessor.
The one percent have done well: the government expanded its spending and debt; the Federal Reserve monetized it and suppressed interest rates; the privileged borrowed, speculated, and pushed up the price of financial assets; large, bailed-out banks consolidated their grip on finance, and Washington became even more of a crony capitalistic flea market. Millions subsist on government redistribution, but most of what it takes is “redistributed” to Washington, the nation’s wealthiest metropolitan area. Average government pay is higher than private sector pay, and government workers get better pensions. Government-sponsored dribble-down economics dribbles little, drains the life out of the economy, and burdens posterity with debt. If you believe that prosperity is just around the corner, even as your own economic situation has deteriorated, you’re being played. Hillary Clinton promises more of the same, just-around-the-corner prosperity.
Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, failed to end any of George Bush’s much criticized military forays, and initiated new ones in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine. Since the 1950s interventionists have argued that waging war in remote corners of the world makes the US and the world safer. Hillary, a fervent interventionist, wants to make the world safer still by upping the US ante in Syria and Ukraine. How does challenging Russia make anyone more secure? Did not the violent overthrow and mob execution of Muammar Gaddafi, which Hillary championed and exulted over (“We came, we saw, he died!” Cackle.), make Libya a chaotic hell hole? If you buy that Hillary’s vaunted “experience,” embrace of regime change, and hostility towards Russia and Vladimir Putin make her the candidate of security and peace, it bears repeating: you’re being played.
Hillary and her husband have netted over $100 million during their careers in public service (Who’s serving whom?), but they’re just like you and me. Hillary gets over $200 grand per Wall Street speech, but she’s going to take on those Wall Street fat cats. She bravely speaks out against those who would harass, assault, or molest women, insisting that victims’ stories be believed and acted upon, but has viciously retaliated against the women who disclosed her husband’s harassment, assaults, and molestation. Individuals, companies, and nations seeking favorable action from the US government have donated millions to the Clinton Foundation and paid millions in speakers’ fees, but perish the thought that has any influence on Hillary. She has lied about every aspect of her life (literally from birth, claiming she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary six years before he became famous by climbing Mt. Everest) and career, but trust her, she’s telling the truth now.
If you’re a member of Hillary’s socio-economic class—not the “just folks” she claims to represent but her real class, those whose fortunes, status, and power come from their alignment with governments—you’re well-advised to vote for her. She will do her best to augment your fortune, status, and power. On the other hand, you may see yourself as “just folks.” You’re considering voting for Hillary, but an inner voice whispers that her concern for you ends the second you cast your ballot. We’ve all known people who were nice to us when they wanted something, but were jerks after they got it. Listen to that inner voice.
We need to boycott the MSM.
Yes, boycott at the very least. However, unless we point out the perps we have no traction. So, all 5 news media owned by jews. The evil site Facebook owned by the jew sucktheberg. The not so supreme ct. has mostly jews on the bench. They have a 600% overrepesentation in the cesspool DC. The “fed” puppets are and have always been jews. That scam was started by rottinchild. Thank to kissasinger jew we had very oil prices after 1973. The rottinfeller jew is backing geoengineering and global depopulation plan using the sucky billy boy gates in laced vaccines. Oh, come on,this is just a coincidence. Yeah,sure.
Jack love , these evil bastards are behind much of the nation’s problems. Especially immigration of violent third world bottom feeders.They hate Europeans with a satanic passion.I think the real reason is they hate Christ and Europeans are the Christ bearing race on the earth.Kill Christ ,Kill Christians and kill Western Civilization which is based on biblical principles.If the Jews can do this they will indeed be masters of the universe.
If Hitlary is elected, Putin will nuke us before this cackling psycho attacks Russia to cover up her high crimes and misdemeanors
Take it or leave it, he says? Please, if only I had the choice. But I don’t, I must send my kids to school or else. And I must have health insurance.
Government is force. Private sector is choice. What else needs to be said?
We have all been played , at 62 I have seen it come but it never goes like any parasite it must be removed generally resulting in the death of the parasite if not the host dies ! Look around our nation is dying a slow miserable death and people like the Clinton war machine are all the richer for it like a plague who makes out ? Undertakers so follow Hillary and good like ! I will take my chances with Trump ya ya he acts like an asshole sometimes , who hasn’t ? But I got a hunch he is going to at least try to drain the swamp ! Asshole maybe but I think he is our asshole so let’s keep him !
Robert – you should be more careful with the hyperbole. For instance, the 1%ers stuff is bullshit.
1% is around 1.6 million workers/business people. That 1% includes some of the hardest working, most productive! most highly taxed people. It includes small business people, doctors, lawyers, accountants, middle and upper managers, pilots, etc. Many of these folks are unfairly maligned by the 1% bullshit. And many of them gained little by the policies in place – quite the contrary. The 1% are carrying a mighty burden, and to tar them with the same brush as the true elites is quite unfair.
You need to be more precise.
Your comment about Hillary/Bill netting $100 million in public service is also inaccurate. They made their money in private, arguably corrupt, endeavor. There is no point in exaggerating when there is ample true material with which to harangue them.
Additionally, perhaps you should note re education that it is the inner city systems that weigh down the overall stats. Eliminate Detroit, etc., and you will find the US does pretty well overall relative to other nations. It is, well, the blacks and to a lesser extent the Hispanics, pulling down the stats.
When 13% of your population has the average IQ of a turnip, it is pretty hard to rate well against nations with no such demographic.
In my opinion, you need to be more precise. That is all fine when you are posting as a general blogger. But writers for profit need be of a higher standard. Just my 2 cents worth.
I think that was a fair and well delivered critique, llpoh.
Profit shouldn’t be a dirty word. I am not part of 1% but work for a small business owned by one of those people. Taxes keep going up to pay for all this free shit welfare for rich and poor when it might be better to follow advice of Dr. Leary.
Turn on, Tune in and Drop out.
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Folks like me will never be friends with George Soros or Warren Buffet. I do however talk to my Boss everyday and have a job because he took chances. A fair trade if you ask me.
To expand on your remarks, the stats show that each demographic in the USA does just as well in education as they do back home; i.e. Danish Americans perform as well on tests as Danes etc. Call it nature or nurture/culture, or most likely a bit of both.
“Your comment about Hillary/Bill netting $100 million in public service is also inaccurate.” -Lloph
To be sure, Hillary/Bill did not get $100 million from their government salaries; however, Mr. Gore is correct in that the Clintons would have never made that money on their own without the benefit of their positions as former public servants with lots of political pull. Plus Hillary apparently did use her Sec. of State office for profit to the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation.
hello Robert,
I want to respond to your comments on our poor educational system.
First we had Bush’s ‘no child left behind’ and now there is “common core.”
I have credibility on this because I know many teachers, city and suburban
both. The rage they expressed when Scott Walker made unions a choice v mandate,
was (and is) monumental. Many teachers are among the most unhappy of all
workers. After early retirement they may be kept on as an arm of administration.
The job is to travel around the schools in the city and make surprise visits to
classrooms, then grade the teacher on adherence to the “schedule.” All teachers are
supposed to (literally) be on the same (exact) page as all the other teachers.
This begins in kindergarten, and the children are constantly tested on everything.
The schools use computers to “input” the tests/perform the tests, and it isn’t uncommon
for the computers to be glitchy or be “out” altogether. The unions protected lavish
pensions, near free medical, and etc. Naturally they took the dues out of the paycheck.
The union was the last vestige of control the teachers had. The city students are often
uncooperative in school and disruptive. Plus there are cliques and backbiting/teachers.
Autonomy and individual creativity are not allowed. Yet teachers overwhelmingly vote
Dem. It is a puzzle to me. I personally chose my community for the schools. People
would routinely pay over asking price for an overpriced home…for the schools.
Schools are hell now for everybody in there. PC city and all the BS you can think of.
my rant,
Suzanna
edit: not voting for HC.
As a teacher myself I can support that rant. Except for the unions — in many districts the unions don’t do anything but: throw a fit when a bad (as in doing possibly immoral and illegal things) teacher gets fired or calling for higher teacher salaries (and “remember your union dues!”) — the insurance is overpriced crap, the programs are ridiculous, the new schedules are shit too, and the unions do not care about that at all, nor classroom environment (like failing failing kids or disciplining misbehaving ones — all the things that can make the job truly unpleasant, and there is something to be said about a work environment that gives you some satisfaction; a person can take less money for that — but then…union dues).
The worst thing to befall a teacher is to have dealings with our utterly corrupt union, which is usually complicit to a large extent with our bean counter administrations (not all admins are this way, but the trend is growing). Overall, we don’t do too poorly (I’ve taught international students, they aren’t all they are cracked up to be) though we could do better (I tend to evaluate on what we used to produce — which was quite good)…but one has to realize that on the standardized tests for some time now they have made it so we test, and factor in the results, of everybody at that level — this includes the LD kids because of mainstreaming. This is something other countries don’t do. This is really not a kind thing to be laying on those kids, and not an accurate representation of the class average. And don’t get me started on this idolization of standardized tests (they have their place; they need to be better thought out, and none of that is happening, about which I could write a book if it didn’t frustrate me so much — really at this point what matter does it really make? ).
And it has only gotten worse thanks to NCLB and common core (which, as an English teacher I can get around…the math teachers are not so lucky; we are losing an entire group of children mathematically thanks to this bs). And then we could get into some of the ridiculous licensing restrictions — people who have graduate degrees and proven experience teaching at the college level can’t get a license because they didn’t take the mandatory, required classes — and which I can assure you were often no more than how to laminate posters and create ‘welcoming classroom environments’, or a required freshman level history class that was so horridly basic that one could die of boredom at having to take it…this is all to feed the university system with fresh dollars.
This means that education is losing most of its older, more experienced, and one might say ethically motivated teachers (or people who have the skill sets to become the same) and are encouraging…people who are interested in their union benefits, maintaining favored parking space status, and can laminate posters; aka. people who probably got no better than a C in their area of specialty (although with the Humanities you still do get some good ones…but the English and history departments are now no longer allowed to create their own syllabi or bring in their own materials, at risk of getting canned).
And guess what? I’ve been to the conferences (last one was just a year ago) — there’s worse coming down the pike!
Nonetheless, while the voucher system could work, as it stands there are whole other cans of worms involved with that (they usually get the real greenies working for them, with a high turnover rate — result? soup sandwich and you pay a mint for it; and take a good look at who exactly are opening up the charter schools…not so sure you’d want little Billy and Suzy going to them — doubt me? I can provide links). Private schools are often not much better as they can and do engage in a lot of confirmation bias, so some are not providing that much better of an education (see Harvard as a college level version of this). And homeschooling? Have to follow a curriculum the local school district approves of…and where do the homeschooling materials come from? That’s right, same place as public school texts (and that’s where it’s really at: do some research on the publishing of educational texts).
My advice: get some older maths and grammars (English and a foreign language or two — Greek and Latin are a nice touch); a nice older history book; a library card (and peruse some used book stores or sometimes you can find old school books even for free); build your own little library in fact…and teach your children to like to read and think about what they read…go do some experiments with them on the weekends; take them on camping trips and teach them genus species and the star systems while learning to fish and start a fire.
Oh, and teach your children how to go along with the system — aka. lie and keep a poker face.
Goodness knows they will be on their own (some of us teachers are quite sympathetic and will help, but only if we trust you — we have to go along to get along too).
That way you are a nice, undercover little cog in the system yet still managing some learning.
And I do apologize for the long winded and rambling discourse — but I could go on for days about the state of education.
And after that let me tell you about what I know about journalism — I worked as a copy proofreader/editor at a local rag for a time (English majors can land in some very interesting spots). You’d be amazed at the fun one can have at the senior new editor’s expense (I swear they never went over what I’d cleaned up for them). Let’s just leave it at, I found that the news is an excellent resource for teaching students not only how to pick up grammar and spelling errors, but also how to spot latent bias posing as facts, aka. how to spot a dishonest narrative. Oh, and always keep a good tab on what you’ve actually paid on your subscription (the accounting department is oftentimes as bad as the actual reporting staff, or as corrupt, either one).
That’s hardly a glowing praise for the state of journalism, but then, it never was too good…
I actually laughed aloud at your post Jenny R. I actually went to the Gaylord College of Journalism and ended up as a copy-editor/proofer finally tech writer for a big military industrial complex project. Same profession, different masters.
and the original rant you posted was a splendid find as well… Jenny R. Welcome to TBP.
I’m Martha, but like Maggie here. Some use Mags. I raise rabbits and chickens out here in the Ozarks and live off the fat of the land with my husband, two giant Polar Bear scatter-rug Pyrenese dogs whose “boy” is in his senior year at Engineering School at a place called Rolla. That impresses folks around here, almost as much as drinking a 12-pack of beer in a couple hours. Or tracking a 12-point buck through the countryside anticipating deer season.
Actually, I’m considered a rather odd duck out by teaching standards as I teach what is now lamentably considered a “liberal” subject — English — yet have a military family background, practice my faith (and was taught at parochial and military as well as public schools), and with my husband and children (of which we have a veritable litter) hunt/raise cute furry animals that we then kill and eat (oh, that means we also have and use scary weapons). And I’m not affiliated with any political party…which is a bit of a no-no in education world today (although you would be amazed at how many Republican teachers there really are out there; they just stay under cover).
And I’ve also worked at both farm and factory — something which I would highly recommend teachers doing, as being shut up in academia lends to a rather blinkered vision of the world…not helpful for imparting wisdom and knowledge to little Billy and Mary.
Jenny – welcome. As a teacher you should understand paragraphs, punctuation,etc..
I would happily read your post if you use paragraphs.
Sorry, it was a rant, and thus more of a freewriting, flow of consciousness exercise.
Besides, I just spent all day looking at and correcting papers, teaching and correcting grammar, and delving into the intricacies of listening for voice inflection as a clue to syntax/meaning within the English language (which can be quite subtle).
By the time I get home, and after consider my own children’s homework that blessedly does not often have to acquire assistance in anything linguistic, proper writing is simply not something I want to partake of. (by the way, it isn’t truly a mistake to end a sentence with a preposition, especially if it is being used in a phrasal mode, or if losing it ruins the cadence and meaning of the sentence; in fact, my own opinion is that is a cultural/linguistic artifact left over from the Celtic influences still to be found in the language; yes, they are there, especially in the grammar if not the vocabulary — there’s my grammar lesson for the day)
Sorry if that came across rudely, but I truly do not want to think about grammar, spelling, or composition by this point in the evening — especially in a blog combox where I doubt very many people are going to pay attention to it anyway.
It’s more of a cathartic experience — particularly if it comes to releasing pent up professional frustrations (I’ve got a few).
My Heavens, Gayle Witham* is that YOU? Joey and I were talking about the time I came to the school with my head shaved, staples in my scalp a week after having my shunt repaired to explain to that dyke bitch teacher he had in fifth grade that Joey’s mother had recently had BRAIN SURGERY so if Joey didn’t read the fifth installment of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House that was Hauled Across the Freaking Continent of North America series it was because he was taking care of his mother. The woman said that Joey could skip that assignment and choose a book of his own. She and I understood each other and she recognized that I’d called her homosexual card-playing fatass. I was a disabled American Veteran who’d had potentially disabling surgery. I WON.
*Gayle Witham is the ACTUAL name of Joey’s very “first” public school teacher after I removed him from private Christian Family owned and run elementary school for personal reasons. She shared those same sentiments with me on my front porch steps when Joey was in fourth and fifth grade. Over a few glasses of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, that is.
I completely agree with your comments about getting a library and teaching some of the information to your kids. We quiz our kids on things like Civics and make sure they understand how the government is supposed to work and correct them when they say things like “The president needs to make a law.”
Also, I cannot agree more that the most important thing we’ve taught our kids is to keep a low profile and poker face.
Oh, Suzanna… you gotta know I’m going to be revising your comment out of recognizable attributable form and calling it MINE.
Be my guest Maggie…I remember that cole slaw recipe,
so I owe you. Darn, I forgot some of it, but it sure sounded
fantastic.
Suzanna
Random thought. They can have my guns but they can’t have my bible. Oh wait, without my guns they can take
my bible. Never mind I guess Obama was right after all.
Hillary is for the teacher’s unions, not the kids.
What the Clintons did to Haiti will be million times worse in US.She and Bill,Chelsie wants to pick the corpses clean
with their teeth
I’m always surprised how active a political discussion can get when it ventures into the arena of public schools. It’s probably a good sign that people are passionate about their children and want the best for them. Right now I’m of the age where many of my friends are upgrading from their starter homes and moving singularly to “good” school districts. The cost of which is inflated real-estate prices and burdensome property taxes. I’m sure if the actuaries got a hold of all the data it would’ve been a wash to stay put and ship the kids off to private school but people don’t stray from their caste, we were all products of the public school system and damnit, our kids are going to get the best of that same system.
My mother was an “educator” so growing up I had an inside window to the awfulness of public education. Actually my folks sent me to Catholic school for a number of years to keep me out of a terrible public jr. high. As an adult I appreciate their sacrifice as it definitely had a positive impact on my overall education. That being said I did spend most of my time in public schools, sometimes the same one my mother was working in. She knew they weren’t always great, and the districts we were in were never winning the rankings wars. Regardless I got a decent education. While I had some good teachers and some bad the difference was my folks – the home I went to every night. Many of my classmates did not have the same home life and almost universally those kids didn’t do as well.
Have things slid in the public schools over the past 20+ years, oh I’m sure. Can we do better with public education, absolutely. But what’s failing more kids than a corrupt teacher’s union are parents that fail their kids. To me the schools problem is a bit of a chicken and egg thing. Some schools do well because they are in good neighborhoods with stable families that take and interest in their kids education. Others are in urban ghettos where there is no dad at home and crime is seen as a career option. The good parents in those bad areas want out with any voucher or charter school option – which they should have available to them – but it won’t fix the problem at it’s core.
The problem with the charter schools is this: 1) they operate on a for profit system and often operate on the margin — that’s not a good place for education to be in, it leaves it open to all manner of influence peddling, cutting corners, and corruption; 2) the education will very much depend upon WHO is operating said charter school, and this isn’t being watched very carefully because politicians have far too much to gain to put some restrictions on them…beware the company that just hangs out their shingle (largest group of charter schools in the country is operated by the Turkish Gulen movement; I guarantee you they have a certain strong ideological bent; in fact, they import proper Turkish teachers on H1B visas…hmmm…are we really sure we want this sort of organization teaching American children? perhaps not).
Now, it is my opinion that we would not need charter schools if the public schools were doing there job, and the problem with them is that there are many rotten roots on that particular tree, and all of them like to point their knobby little fingers at each other rather than claiming responsibility.
And I will be the first to admit that teachers are indeed one of those roots — most of them are ill prepared to teach their subjects well and are more concerned about their parking places than actual teaching. And they encourage the very behavior out of students that makes for a poor teaching environment, which said teachers then leave to find other, nicer districts — kind of like California when you think about it.
Jenny –
The average expenditure per student in the US is around $13k per. Give me $13k each for 25 students, and you will see a high achieving group of students indeed. That is $325k per classroom. I can employ two first rate teachers for that, and provide facilities. And make a profit. A large profit, at that.
The only answer is to blow up the current system. The govt system is irredeemable.
By the way, it is “doing their job”. That is my grammar lesson for the day.
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