Article

2003-04-11 Home Front

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-04-11 05:25 pm|| || Front Page|| [12 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I've always enjoyed his pieces in the newspapers. But I must say I've usually enjoyed Salim Mukawil too. A steady diet of one train of political thought leads to ossification of the brain. That does not mean I've always agreed or disagreed with either of the gentlemen.A well written op-ed piece is like a well deleivered sermon. Something that causes you to think and approach a problem with a reasoned attitude when your done reading the piece. As opposed to the usuall tripe that most op-ed writers turn out that seems to be more along the line of fear mongering IMHO.

Posted by Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire 2003-04-11 19:26:56|| 2003-04-11 19:26:56|| Front Page Top

#2 Dear Someone:
Have you ever heard Salim on WLS (Chcago) on Sundays? His only answer to any criticism of Saddam was, "He is evil, but..."
I remember one of his columns and a rant he made on the same radio show that Saddam had invested huge sums to provide free education and health-care to his people. Tried to get to talk to him, but too late, to ask him how much free speech cost. This former Black Panther also spouts the same comment about Castro. Fortunately, his stint as periodic columnist for Chicago Trib is over. He's a whiner.

Posted by michael 2003-04-11 20:23:54|| 2003-04-11 20:23:54|| Front Page Top

#3 Yes mike I've heard him and he usually was an excesively large bag of wind. But his comments about how some of these nations have placed greater emphesis on education Ithan we do I find troubling. The vast majority of our youth are educated in the public schools and the job they do is a disgrace. The answer is not money in my opinion but lack of political will. And as for Iraq, if the figures are to believed the population there has a higher literacy rate than the US. The reporters don't seem to have any trouble finding people who speak English. Yet try to find someone who speaks Arabic outside of the military,government foriegn service or a convienence store in Detriot. Or any other foriegn language for that matter amongst the native born citizens of this country.

Posted by Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire 2003-04-11 20:53:49|| 2003-04-11 20:53:49|| Front Page Top

#4 Someone - It's not quite as simple as that. The U.S. is a big country, and there are lots of people who're born here, grow up, and die of old age without ever setting foot outside our borders. At one time or another I've spoken 11 different languages, including English, but that was because I spent 20 years in the Army in intelligence fields and I had an academic interest in linguistics as a field of study. I've forgotten 9.5 of the 11 - if you don't use them, you lose them.

People in the southwest and in Florida have an incentive to learn to speak Spanish and many do, though not a majority. People in New England have a moderate incentive to speak French. But someone living in Montana or Alabama will study a language purely as an academic exercise, and will lose it shortly after finishing the course.

In areas where there are significant foreign language population pockets, there are often multiple pockets. Montgomery County, near where I live, has Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Hmong, and several other neighborhoods. The common language remains English.

My opinion of the education system is that there's too much self-esteem and not enough memorization; too much opinion and not enough fact. Teachers who set out to "teach children to think" make me gag. If you stuff their little heads with facts the process of connecting them all together is real thought - valid conclusions are the result of factual analysis. If you stuff their heads with predigested opinions and allow them to gather facts at random you end up with mush. I'm surprised that the products of our schools turn out as well as so many do - though I understand why so many don't.

Posted by Fred 2003-04-11 21:27:25|| 2003-04-11 21:27:25|| Front Page Top

#5 Fred - on the money - my kids 13 - 18 are not particularly liberal (surprise surprise!) but can think for themselves, because sometimes when they express an opinion, may be one I agree with..maybe not, I ask : why? why do you think that and not the opposite, or shades in between? Defending your beliefs can be a humbling experience if they're just kant you've been forcefed...kept me sane in college. But then again, I was living in a fraternity....so ...uh, nevermind

Posted by Frank G 2003-04-11 22:59:06|| 2003-04-11 22:59:06|| Front Page Top

#6 Evil is as evil does. Nicht whar?

Posted by Anonymous 2003-04-12 00:20:45|| 2003-04-12 00:20:45|| Front Page Top

#7 What nonsense I'm seeing here. Almost everyone in the Middle East has a few words of English, that doesn't make you an English speaker. Since American movies, videos and music is popular the world over, everyone learns a few words. Wheerever I've been even the poorest taxi driver could say Coke or Rambo. I lived in Baghdad and the Iraqi hospital and medical system was a joke. In Baghdad the best hospital was staffed with Irish doctors and nurses and was reserved for the Baath party. Ordinary folks just died. Education system, more like the learn to love Saddam center of indoctrination. I am tired of idiots who believe sending more money on a failed US educational system will result in better schools. Does anyone believe spending more on Congress will give us better politicians?

Posted by TJ Jackson 2003-04-12 00:55:55|| 2003-04-12 00:55:55|| Front Page Top

16:40 Old Grouch
08:17 raptor
07:44 raptor
05:22 Peter
03:45 R. McLeod
03:29 R. McLeod
03:27 Erik
03:20 R. McLeod
02:48 HULUGU
02:24 HULUGU
01:37 Tokyo Taro
01:09 TJ Jackson
01:01 TJ Jackson
00:55 TJ Jackson
00:48 TJ Jackson
00:47 Mike Kozlowski
00:43 TJ Jackson
00:34 Anonymous
00:24 TJ Jackson
00:21 TJ Jackson
00:20 Anonymous
00:17 TJ Jackson
00:06 TJ Jackson
00:03 Alaska Paul