Obscanity: You'll know it when you see it

Students can’t be part of main graduation because of Mexico trip – CNN.com.

WTF, man?

Pro-Gay Sites Filtered From Tennessee Students | Threat Level from Wired.com.

Public schools in Tennessee are filtering access to online websites discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, but are not blocking sites advocating “reparative” therapy to change their lifestyle.

School officials are blaming the filtering company. The filtering company is blaming the schools. (and Amazon.com is blaming a glitch… yeah.)

Meanwhile, what scandalous information was being sought when the filter came to light?

“When I found out about this web-filtering software, I wasn’t looking for anything sexual or inappropriate, I was looking for information about scholarships for LGBT students, and I couldn’t get to it because of this software,” said Andrew Emitt, a 17-year-old Central High senior in Knoxville.

Plan to Change Student Lending Sets Up a Fight – NYTimes.com.

Well, hey, that’s great – now what is to be done about the millions of Americans who are paying almost all of their monthly income straight to the banks for loan repayment? The interest rates have gotten way out of hand. I have student loans at higher interest rates than some of my credit cards. Obscene. Nay – obscane.

Anderson Cooper 360: Blog Archive – Student Loan Nightmare: Help Wanted « – Blogs from CNN.com.

Okay, to all the heartless souls who are saying that writer deserves to suffer because she went to a private school? Try taking a look at the cost of public school these days – it’s not much better. I attend a public graduate school. Tuition? More than $30,000 per year – and that’s the reduced rate for state residents. The undergraduate in-state tuition is nearly $10K annually. On what planet is this considered cheap public education? And why do I need to be punished for pursuing an education when I DID take the cheaper route? What, because my parents made enough money to disqualify me for grants, but not enough to actually help me with school?

Also, I hate to break it to people, but community colleges don’t grant college degrees that are actually accepted in the workplace. At some companies in this fine city you need a bachelor’s degree or a degree in progress just to answer phones for little more than minimum wage. Welcome to the 21st century.

Senators debate stimulus after reported deal – CNN.com.

Why do Republicans hate education?

I mean, duh, I know why, but WHY???

Playmobil Security Check Point

No joke!

The reviews are hilarious.

Ex-Sen. Claiborne Pell, proponent of student grants, dies – CNN.com.

Cash-strapped teacher sells ads on tests – CNN.com.

It’s sad that it had to come to this… but hey, the guy is smart! Here’s hoping this doesn’t become a permanent fix.

A great article from the LA Times:

Still, just because gay marriage is nothing new for the general public doesn’t mean kids necessarily understand the complete concept. But that doesn’t have as much to do with homosexuality as it does with the fact that some young people can’t tell the difference between getting married and going on a really long date. So maybe marriage class should be mandatory — with an emphasis not on gay or straight but, rather, “wait!” (As in, “until you’re older.”) (Read more)

For all of you out there, including Barack Obama, who allege that Sarah Palin’s family life is private and off limits: Can I just remind you that it was SARAH PALIN who fed this piece of information to the public in the first place? Nobody spied on her; nobody got hold of secret medical records or hacked into her computer. Sarah Palin CHOSE to release this information to the American people, and now it is our inalienable right to talk about it, react to it, and decide how we feel about a woman who supports abstinence-only education when it’s clear from her own family situation that abstinence-only education DOES NOT WORK.

Can we call her a hypocrite? Absolutely. She doesn’t support same-sex marriage (or domestic partnership rights, even) because marriage is soooo sacred, but she’s willing to let a CHILD enter into this sacred union as punishment for having premarital sex. So is marriage a sacrament, or a punishment? Make up your mind!

She comes from a party that cracks down on access to birth control and yet doesn’t want abortions to be legal – but STILL doesn’t support education about how not to get pregnant in the first place. This is the woman we want thisclose to inheriting the presidency from ancient, ailing John McCain?

So is her daughter’s pregnancy private? It was, until she made it public. And is it relevant? HELL. YES.

I know that many people will claim that the Palins were forced to make this announcement in order to quell rumors going around that Palin’s youngest “son” Trig is actually her grandson. There are a few points to address here. I think the people who made these speculations in the first place were just having a hard time reconciling Palin’s uber-family-values stances with the fact that she endangered her child’s life multiple times the evening she gave birth by flying even after her water broke, the fact that she simply did not look pregnant and her staff was shocked to find out she was seven months along, the fact that no picture exists that demonstrates the woman was ever pregnant in 2008, and the fact that she returned to work three days after giving birth to a baby with Down’s Syndrome. It just doesn’t add up to the Family Woman that Palin claims to be.

Much more likely (and logical, for that matter) is that she found out her daughter was in labor and THAT is why she rushed back to Alaska. Much more likely is that she thought her daughter’s pregnancy might undermine her image as uber-family-lady, while her own pregnancy might garner her some sympathy. Much more likely is that if she didn’t look pregnant, she WASN’T pregnant, especially given the photos circulating of her when she actually WAS pregnant – because let me tell you, when Sarah Palin is pregnant, she LOOKS it.

So now we’re left with this situation where the Palin family has announced their daughter’s pregnancy in order to cover their own asses as far as Trig’s parentage. This announcement proves nothing. Palin could have protected her daughter AND her image by simply providing a dated photograph of herself visibly pregnant at the time she was supposed to be pregnant (although I suppose once you’ve decided you’re going to lie to millions of people, you might as well go all the way and stuff something under your shirt). She could have provided hospital records showing that she was admitted and in labor – after all, John McCain had to provide the media with his own medical records, so why shouldn’t Palin? She could have done a lot of things that didn’t involve exposing her family and her children to further controversy and ridicule.

Instead, Palin “outed” her own daughter, thrusting her into the limelight of her OWN accord. But again, the news itself proves nothing except that the rumor-mongers weren’t so far off – the teenage daughter of this abstinence-only-education proponent IS having sex, and she IS being irresponsible about it. It actually makes the case stronger, not weaker, that Trig is her son.

But of course the real brilliance of Palin’s feeding Bristol to the lions instead of stepping up to the plate herself is that by the time the truth comes out, it will be too late. It’s entirely possible that Bristol Palin is more like three months pregnant, which means she could easily be Trig’s mother as well; we all know that teen mothers frequently make the same mistake twice (or three times, or four times…). But by the time we know for sure, either Obama will have won and nobody will care, or Palin will already be VP and it will just be another “White House Scandal”: Vice President Palin’s daughter is miraculously eleven months pregnant. Gee. Who saw that coming?

There IS a way to settle all of this without throwing your pregnant teenage daughter under the train. But I guess Palin’s choice pretty much shows us what kind of parent she is, and what kind of candidate she is, and what kind of VP she will be – a person willing to sell out those who depend on her in order to cover up her own dishonesty.

Great article on CNN.com right now about “gifted” children vs. gifted children: Is your kid really gifted? Probably not. As one who was “diagnosed” as intellectually highly gifted when I was about six, I can tell you that if you’re hoping for a kid who will excel in school, follow directions, and never challenge you or cause any problems, you do NOT want a gifted kid. Trust me. I think the people over at tagfam.org put it best when they posted this chart comparing “bright” children to “gifted” children:

Comparison of Bright vs. Gifted
Bright Child	Gifted Child
Knows the answers.	Asks the questions.
Interested.	Extremely curious.
Pays attention.	Gets involved physically and mentally.
Works hard.	Plays around, still gets good test scores.
Answers questions.	Questions the answers.
Enjoys same-age peers.	Prefers adults or older children.
Good at memorization.	Good at guessing.
Learns easily.	Bored. Already knew the answers.
Listens well.	Shows strong feelings and opinions.
Self-satisfied.	Highly critical of self (perfectionistic).

Yep. Sounds about right.

Cross-posted from my Hubpages article, though I’ve posted the text below for preservation’s sake:

If you’re graduating with a mountain of student loans some time in the near future (or recent past), you should be aware of a new federal student loan forgiveness program (a part of the new “College Cost Reduction and Access Act“) designed to ease the burden of education debt and encourage new graduates to pursue work in the public sector.

What Kind of Debt Is Eligible For Forgiveness?

The loan forgiveness program applies to Stafford, PLUS and federal consolidation loans made through the U.S. Education Department’s Direct Loan program. In case your federal loans were borrowed through another lender, you should be happy to learn that as of Tuesday, July 1, 2008, any federally guaranteed student loan can be converted into a Direct Loan consolidation loan so the borrower can qualify for the debt forgiveness program [PDF].

Federal loans have the added benefit of allowing graduated payments so that your monthly payment amount is commensurate with your income. Since public sector jobs tend not to pay as much as those in the private sector, you’ll pay less over those ten years than you would have if you made more money, and a greater portion of the principal balance will be forgiven at the end of the ten-year period.

Who Can Qualify For This Program?

According to a recent article in the LA Times, the new loan forgiveness program is open to “anyone who works full-time for a state, federal or local government — including police officers, firefighters, the military and public school teachers. It also applies to some people outside of government, including employees of tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations and those working in emergency services, public interest law or public child care, healthcare or social work.”

The Bottom Line

If you’re graduating with minimal student loan debt, this program may not be the optimal solution for you, although the public can always use more talented professionals.

However, college education costs are growing by the minute, especially if you are working toward an advanced degree (since you’ve still got your undergraduate loans to deal with, too!). If you will be graduating with a seemingly insurmountable amount of federal student loan debt, this program might be the answer for you, as long as you are willing to devote the first ten years of your career to working for the public good.

Found these articles online and thought you might find them useful:

• New graduates have plenty to learn about work etiquette – “Many young adults erroneously think that what’s cool for school will fly at work. If you’re about to start your first job, research what your employer expects of you — before setting foot in the door.” Read more!
• Graduates should put off living large after college – “A frugal lifestyle can help graduates pay their debts and get on track for financial security.” Read more!
• Public service work can wipe out student loans – “A new law will make it possible for student debt to be forgiven for people who choose public service jobs.” Read more! [More on this one soon!]

Will post more if I can find any!

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Luckily, I figured out early that there are ways to get your books at low prices without having to buy a torn-apart used copy – not that used books in good shape aren’t great! Sometimes, though, you just can’t find one in decent shape, and you have to buy new. Do what I did – get a Barnes & Noble membership!

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