This blog is known for several unique feature. The most popular evn with our critics is the interview segment in the Hot Seat. We have interviewed some memorable people and had great fun. Most like Possum, Kidst lived up to the hype and prouced excellent interviews. The interviews often have interesting and comedic points that create excellent starting points.
Israel and the Middle East
1 Is the Israeli - Hezbollah conflict a classic war on terror conflict?
2 The left likes to ramble on about proportionality in response to terror. What is your response this argument. Has the left gone onto a neoversion of eye for an eye.
3 One of the points made by many here is that terorists cause civilian casualties on purpose. The military value of pizzerias, office complexes and public transportation
is nearly zero. Does the civilian population bear some responsability for allowing terrorists to opperate freely?
Immigration
4 A guest worker program exists in the form of the H1B. Should the H1B program be extended to unskilled workers.Workers can stay for three years up to six in 99% of cases and must return to their home contry for three months before being allowed to return.
5 Many illegal aliens work in the construction trade. Should permits for home improvement only be granted to regulated contractors?
6 Should the era of family based immigration be over? Should all future immigration be vocational based
Future of America
7 Is China a friend or foe?
8 Should our governmental policies favor India over Pakistan?
9 What countries do see as vital to the economic future of the USA?
10 What should the USA do about Hugo Chavez?
Personal
11 Do you watch professional sports? Do you have a favourite team or player?
12 A few of our readers are comic book fans. A Freudian slip in one of these interviews turned into lengthy conversation. Did you read comic books as a teen?
Is there some reason Spiderman seems to resonate well with younger audiences?
13 What are your views on hunting and roadkill? Would you eat venison if you knew it was roadkill?
Taxes
14 Are tobacco and beer taxes a slap in the face of working people?
15 What are your thoughts on changing the income tax to a national sales or flat tax?
Energy
16 Are you in favor of building new nuclear power plants?
17 Should we drill in ANWAR? Should building new power plants, refineries and domestic drilling be a governmental priority?
18 Has the environmental movement gone to far in halting economic development.
Military
19 Should Universities that ban military recruiters be eligible for student loans and research grants?
20 Should non citizens serving in the armed forces get accelerated immigration benefits?
21 Are the self styled "elites" disconnected from the military? I remember the last fleet week the sailors were treated well in working class areas but snubbed in the wealthier areas. Is part of the anti military hostility a new version of class arrogance by those who lecture us about working people.
Educational Mess
22 Should our education system be more competative?
23 Is this old liberal arts base outdated? Should there be more emphasis on business classes?
Random fun
24 Should ESPN televise rascal racing? I did see tractor racing but it wasn't exciting.
25 Who is the funniest member of the Seinfeld cast?
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16 comments:
Beak, I think our education is still competitive. Clearly we have problems and chief among these is the political football education has become. Politicians love the emphasis on testing. The Chinese love emphasis on testing too. They are generally brilliant at stuff like math. But ask them to invent something. Ask them to improvise, to innovate. They can't. They don't.
I hope public education is here to stay. There is no reason we can't or shouldn't support it. It is indeed as you say an investment in the future. I would like to see federal involvement immensely reduced.
I hope liberal arts education is here to stay. The whole idea that we need to "job train" college students...job training can happen on the job. College students should get a well-rounded view of the culture and learn critical thinking and analytical skills. That's the basis of a free society. Things like MBA degrees are hoops to jump through, something for the resume, and may even provide a few tools, but they're no substitute for real-life management experience.
You talk about English skills in business; many colleges are addressing this directly by creating English classes for the business schools, and more power to them. But the problem is that these kids somehow pass through elementary and high school without skills some of us had in fifth grade. Should universities do the job the 8th grade was supposed to have done?
Nobody wants to say the fault is squarely with parents more than anything else. There is only so much a school can do when parents don't read to their kids, teach them to love books, or value culture. When the tv and video games replace time that could be used constructively, you'll wind up with a nation of cyphers who won't know or care when tyranny is upon them.
Yes, the elite are snubbing the military. But before you go and stereotype, remember Dick Cheney and most of the actual neoconservative architects of this war also had "other priorities" when their own time to serve came.
The fact is, it ain't WWII anymore, and Eisenhower's final warning as president about a military-industrial complex that creates policy as much as help carry it out is now a firmly ensconced reality. So we have conflicts now where the enemy and the policy goal is conceptual, not exactly clear (War on 'Terror'), especially to those who have some education. It'd be one thing if Al Qaeda were a nation you could attack; you'd see record enlistment. Everyone but a few cranks was for going into Afghanistan (well, and Wolfowitz, who thought Iraq was the sensible course and Afghanistan the unwinnable conflict).
#25: the show should have been called "kramer" and had a cast of one.
I'm looking forward to this one!
This ought to be good!
tmw
george costanza was the funniest- so many classic lines [ex: 'i was in the pool]. each one of them was great in their one way and they had great chemistry.
I like the midget who always gets mixed up with Kramer.
When you get a chance see if you can set up a link for the Purple Avenger and Florian.
I think florian's url is insensitiveflorian.blogspot.com
No soup for you.
NormChompski opined:
"The whole idea that we need to "job train" college students...job training can happen on the job. College students should get a well-rounded view of the culture and learn critical thinking and analytical skills. That's the basis of a free society."
You are misunderstanding or purposely twisting the argument. No one is claiming COLLEGES and UNIVERSITIES should become Job Training Sites, although it would be more useful to the country than what we have now. What is FACT is that the Hard Sciences, and even the softer ones, are being soo infested with LEFTY ideas and propaganda that they are no longer producing students with competitive abilities. We do not produce the number and excellence in the engineering and science fields we once did. We no longer produce the numbers of students CAPABLE of critical thinking and research, much less creativity. Unless you count Politics and Advertising (misdirection, lying and other LEFTY strong points).
Of course, trying to push all minorities through upper education is as useless as trying to push ALL WHITES through upper education. We don't all have the same interests and capabilities. Get over it and work with people to THEIR capabilities and not what LEFTIES and Bureaucrats need for the trough. For many Job Training IS as good as it gets.
"You talk about English skills in business; many colleges are addressing this directly by creating English classes for the business schools, and more power to them. But the problem is that these kids somehow pass through elementary and high school without skills some of us had in fifth grade. Should universities do the job the 8th grade was supposed to have done?"
This is absolutely correct except you left out a few things like, the Gubmint LEFTIES are causing the issues with literacy in the lower grades by their STUPID initiatives and new forms of teaching that DO NOT TEACH SUBSTANTIVE KNOWLEDGE. They ALSO don't teach critical or analytical thinking or any kind of creativity. You simply CAN'T teach original thinking when there is sooo much propaganda that must be imparted. The Universities need to be creating literacy classes for the lower grades AND THEIR OWN INSTITUTIONS!!!!
"Nobody wants to say the fault is squarely with parents more than anything else. There is only so much a school can do when parents don't read to their kids, teach them to love books, or value culture."
But the parent was created by the same broken system and passes on the faults taught in Public School and reinforced through the MSM!!!
The real issue in the schools themselves, outside of the LEFTY teaching methods and courses, is the problem with schools not BANNING disruptive students. In the famed lower income schools you typically end up with an administration who doesn't care about anything except continuing the Gubmint handouts. Kicking out disruptive students doesn't just look bad, it reduces the number of students they get PAID for. Our schools can not be expected to be baby sitters for Juvenile Delinquents and WORSE!!!
Normchompski continues by trying to denigrate the backgrounds of Cheney and associated "neoconservatives".
Would you please give me YOUR definition of a neoconservative??
Historically the ELITE have snubbed the military. Then, as now, the reasons varied for each person. Some were LEFTY and were trying to promote their own HATE AMERICA agenda. Some were cowards, Some were simply DIVORCED from these realities and couldn't be bothered. Some had a different vision of how they could contribute to the war effort. Without extensive knowledge of the individuals thoughts I think trying to assign their reasons is a little ELITIST.
By the way, doesn't the term elite INCLUDE Dick and Rummey and Bush and Kerry and Edwards and Clintoon.....????
Of course, many people spray their views into the open in a manner which leaves no doubt as to their motivations. At least their VOCAL motivations.
As for whining about the Prez declaring a war on terror, I would say that it fits perfectly into how the LEFTIES run things. We won't blame the pathological merderers who are committing terrorism, we will blame their tool. We all know terror is bad. We all know the enemy uses terror. Therefore we will have a War on Terror.
You know, like banning guns so people won't be killed by them instead of going after the people who use the gun??
So, really, what is your point???
11 Is the Israeli - Hezbollah conflict a classic war on terror conflict?
Absolutely.
2 ...proportionality in response to terror...
This proportionality is completely retarded notion..unless your aim is to allow terrorists to keep festering of course. There is no substitute for total victory. I subscribe to the Georgie Patton school on the use of force -- grease the treads of your tanks with their guts and keep rolling until its over.
3 ...Does the civilian population bear some responsability for allowing terrorists to opperate freely?
A phone call costs a quarter. If you know and don't drop the dime, then you're with the other side and bad things might happen to you.
4Should the H1B program be extended to unskilled workers
I think we have plenty of domestic incompetents without having to import more.
5...Should permits for home improvement only be granted to regulated contractors?
No. That would eliminate the owner/builder notion. Someone should be free to mess up their house (if they're incompetent) all they want. A permit (currently) is just a mechanism to ensure inspected work...which is a good thing even for owner/builders.
Licenced contractors should have their licences pulled if found to be knowingly hiring illegals though. Based on personal experience, illegals are rife in the sheetrock and concrete business, less so electrical and plumbing.
6Should the era of family based immigration be over?...
Absolutely - we're not looking to populate a continent with warm bodies anymore like 150 years ago.
7 Is China a friend or foe?
Neither. If it suits them, they'll back something we'd like. If it doesn't suit them (ex. Darfur), they'll be obstructionist. Sort of like a commie version of the French. anyone who think the French are a staunch US ally is on drugs ;->
8Should our governmental policies favor India over Pakistan?
No. Our policies should be designed to get them to drop their silly spates and start cooperating economically. Condi needs to get them both in a locked room, whip out a .45 and say nobody leaves the room until all this childish crapolla is resolved and ended.
9What countries do see as vital to the economic future of the USA?
This one is easy -- Russia, more than any other. Everything a modern industrial economy needs, the Russians got up in Siberia. Oil, Chromium, Gold/Silver/Platinum, timber, etc. The Russians are sitting on the natural resources motherlode for industrial economies. Siberia has been largely unexploited, so the Russians should be good for quite a while.
10What should the USA do about Hugo Chavez?
Send the Columbians more military aid...one AC-130 should do the job. Chavez's support and harboring of FARC communist rebels trying to destabilize the Columbian governmant is unacceptable.
Beefing up the Columbians should be message enough to him that we will not take his expansionism and threatening of neighbors quietly.
He's certainly got something planned based on his recent military hardware buys. What VE had previously was just fine for self defense purposes.
11Do you watch professional sports? Do you have a favourite team or player?
Baseball - its one of the few sports where you CAN'T be beaten by a clock and there is always hope until the final out. Marlins, Padres, and Diamondbacks (in that order). Obviously I'm a National League fan more than AL. I do follow the Devil Rays somewhat though.
12Did you read comic books as a teen?
Not really. I was aware of them, but I was completely consumed with model airplanes and collecting a library of WWI/WWII history books that would put most public libraries to shame.
13What are your views on hunting and roadkill? Would you eat venison if you knew it was roadkill?
I'm not a hunter at all. I shot a pidgeon once that had a proclivity for pooping on my car and felt bad about it afterwards. I am however heavily armed and love to put holes in paper targets or do pin shooting. I've been told by friends who are hunters that road kill deer are not really suitable for consumption due to internal trauma the can rupture their intestines and taint the meat.
14Are tobacco and beer taxes a slap in the face of working people?
They're just another commie attempt at behavior modification using the rubric of "public good". All this sort of punitive tax accomplishes is to bolster smuggling and act as a "backdoor subsidy" for the mafia.
15What are your thoughts on changing the income tax to a national sales or flat tax?
There are many countries that don't have any income tax and fund their whole government on tarrifs (which encourages smuggling, but doesn't monetarily hurt the citizens per se). Anything that gives government less money is a good thing in my mind. Governmant is like a bunch of smack addicts when it comes to money.
16Are you in favor of building new nuclear power plants?
Absolutely. I'd also look into MHD more than has been done in the past. MHD plants can scale downward better than nukes and don't have the waste disposal liabilities. The Russians are BIG into MHD.
17Should we drill in ANWAR? Should building new power plants, refineries and domestic drilling be a governmental priority?
Refineries are a top priority at the moment. People need to get smacked upside the head and get over their NIMBY problems. We need'em to stabilize the price of gas/fuel oil.
We also need to get jiggy with the Canadians on this oil shale/tar sands thing. Between both countries there's enough there to hold us for several hundred years. I've read that the cost of newer in situ steam extraction techniques can drive the manufacturing cost per barrel down into the under $20 range. Lets do it. Then we can tell the arabs and Chavez to drink their oil for all we care ;->
18Has the environmental movement gone to far in halting economic development
Yes.
19Should Universities that ban military recruiters be eligible for student loans and research grants?
No. And if they don't like it, they can pound salt.
20Should non citizens serving in the armed forces get accelerated immigration benefits?
Absolutely. The French do this with the foreign legion. Complete your contract and you'll be given French citizenship if you want it. (not that I like to hold the French up as an example of how to do anything right, but they've got this one nailed)
21Are the self styled "elites" disconnected from the military?
Without a doubt. This isn't just on the left. Ann Coulter is also clueless about the military.
22Should our education system be more competetive?
Given its compelete disfunctionality at the moment, yes. We spend about 3-4X what France/Germany do per student and get far less in return for it.
23Is this old liberal arts base outdated? Should there be more emphasis on business classes?
Its not outdated per se. It has however been hijacked by the left in many places and it being used as an indoctrination tool. I find it disturbing that Jay Leno can find college grads who don't even know where Canada is and think this country is only 50 years old.
[I have a A.S., B.A., and M.S. degrees, and I do know where Canada is]
24Should ESPN televise rascal racing?
Never heard of it. Dirt track sprint cars are pretty wild.
25Who is the funniest member of the Seinfeld cast?
Hands down winner: Kramer.
This was a great interview. When you get a chance you should meet Mr Beamish.
purple avenger said:
"A phone call costs a quarter. If you know and don't drop the dime, then you're with the other side and bad things might happen to you."
Uhhh, wouldn't it be better to drop the quarter??
Sorry, I am a born smart a$$ and couldn't pass it up.
purple avenger,
especially love your answer to 15, although most of them are great in my world!!
you don't have to post this comment up. i put purple avenger's link up and it will show up when you republish your next post.
This proportionality is completely retarded notion..unless your aim is to allow terrorists to keep festering of course.
Excellent answer!
Of course, the left truly doesn't want the terrorist organizations destroyed.
Purple Avenger is a baseball fan? Great! Baseball is the only sport I follow.
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