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How to make the United States united again?

BobM, I'm not absolutely certain but I believe even with Texas, secession would be unconstitutional as SCOTUS has ruled (can't quote the case off hand). However there is some quirk somewhere, in the Texas state charter I think, that still allows for the state to break itself up into 4 smaller, individual and defined states.

Don't mean to be so vague, just can't recall the actual details. (y) (y)(y)
JJ, Am thinking you're right on SCOTUS. And, you're not really being too vague at all. There was originally some details agreeing to possible succession when Texas became a state and was split up to become one though. Think Texas is huge now? It was larger yet before it became a state, much, much more so. Much of The Republic of Texas was divided up to become other states. Republic of Texas originally stretched up to Canadian border if remember right? Possibly came close to rivaling Alaska in size? There's one heck of a lot of varying and interesting historical and legal detail on Texas.

 
When a fact is troubling, marginalize it with confusion. True that many COVID deaths have co-morbidity factors, still those people would likely still be alive had they not contracted the disease.

Or fear, which is exactly what some did regarding COVID, mostly Democrats.

The CDC’s own statistics show that children under age 18 are just not at risk from the virus. Out of roughly 75 million children in America, there have (thankfully) only been around 500 deaths from COVID, and the majority of the deaths had significant aggravating factors. That means children have been practically unaffected by COVID in any serious way, yet we shut down schools all over the nation, and made young children wear oxygen depriving masks while learning.

I don’t recall many schools being closed for influenza, which kills many more children than COVID. I don’t recall any face mask or vaccine mandates.

So much of the response to COVID has ignored science and focused on enforcing compliance to government. I personally believe it’s not coincidence that Democrats are the ones either paralyzed with fear or requiring conformity, while they hypocritically ignore their own policies when they think no one is looking.

Source on deaths under age 18 from COVID: https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Deaths-by-Sex-Ages-0-18-years/xa4b-4pzv
 
This forum thread is on making the united states more united. Step one of that process is allowing for good faith disagreement rather than assuming the worst in our neighbor.
And in my opinion we’ve probably gone beyond the point of no return. I hope we can figure out a rational and peaceful solution, but the status quo is intolerable, and it isn’t going to magically get better.

In about 20 years, we’ve gone from “you’re wrong” to “you’re wrong and a bad person” to “you’re wrong, a bad person, and a domestic terrorist who should be fired from their job, silenced on social media, and probably arrested.”

Daring to disagree with your local elected school board about COVID policies or Critical Race Theory is now being treated as a federal crime, involving the FBI. These are is Soviet style tactics that are being used by the Biden administration. It’s not hyperbole or conspiracy theory.

So how do you get to any common ground and “good faith” when the assumption is disagreement is inherently wrong, even criminal, and people who disagree with government or the supporters of one political party should be shut down, silenced, and even imprisoned.

It’s damn scary folks. It starts with education of our children, rather than indoctrination. That’s easier said than done.
 
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It’s damn scary folks. It starts with education of our children, rather than indoctrination. That’s easier said than done.

Absolutely agree with and loved this statement.

Children are so easy to indoctrinate.

It's too bad that some would indoctrinate them with hate, rather than love.

After watching a documentary about what some radical groups would do to indoctrinate their members' children, I decided to try a little experiment on my then 4-6 months-old daughter. 😅 😁 During our stormy MidWestern spring/summer, every time it thunderstormed, I would sit with her in front of our living room's floor-to-ceiling window, holding her so that she could watch the storm, playing with her and talking to her gently, and even putting her down for a nap if the timing was right. I wanted to see if I couldn't somehow brainwash her to enjoy the thunder (she hated -and still hates- loud noises otherwise) and the lightning and the driving rain against the window panes. Even as a toddler, she'd not only sleep through storms, but actually fall asleep with the storm. With my success, I then also brainwashed our dog the same way. :ROFLMAO: Now when it thunderstorms on a lazy weekend afternoon, the house is filled with snores. :LOL:

It's so important what we teach our children. For those parents/grandparents who have kids in school, it's important to engage with their teachers, coaches, and other school admin. so that you can advocate for their education.
 
Absolutely agree with and loved this statement.

Children are so easy to indoctrinate.

It's too bad that some would indoctrinate them with hate, rather than love.

After watching a documentary about what some radical groups would do to indoctrinate their members' children, I decided to try a little experiment on my then 4-6 months-old daughter. 😅 😁 During our stormy MidWestern spring/summer, every time it thunderstormed, I would sit with her in front of our living room's floor-to-ceiling window, holding her so that she could watch the storm, playing with her and talking to her gently, and even putting her down for a nap if the timing was right. I wanted to see if I couldn't somehow brainwash her to enjoy the thunder (she hated -and still hates- loud noises otherwise) and the lightning and the driving rain against the window panes. Even as a toddler, she'd not only sleep through storms, but actually fall asleep with the storm. With my success, I then also brainwashed our dog the same way. :ROFLMAO: Now when it thunderstorms on a lazy weekend afternoon, the house is filled with snores. :LOL:

It's so important what we teach our children. For those parents/grandparents who have kids in school, it's important to engage with their teachers, coaches, and other school admin. so that you can advocate for their education.
Home School. The Pubic schools are not so receptive to direction from parents. But they do love to dictate what they are going to do, and that involves a lot of cancellation, revised history, anti Christian values.....ect.ect.

If one must avail of the Pubic schools, you simply have to overcome the BS of the Pubic schools and unsocial media while they are home.
 
^ Every parent/guardian has to pick what they feel is the best fit for both their children as well as their family.

For some, it's public. For others, it's private. For yet others, it's home-school. There's pros/cons to each decision, and it's up to each family to decide what's best.
 
Absolutely agree with and loved this statement.

Children are so easy to indoctrinate.

It's too bad that some would indoctrinate them with hate, rather than love.

After watching a documentary about what some radical groups would do to indoctrinate their members' children, I decided to try a little experiment on my then 4-6 months-old daughter. 😅 😁 During our stormy MidWestern spring/summer, every time it thunderstormed, I would sit with her in front of our living room's floor-to-ceiling window, holding her so that she could watch the storm, playing with her and talking to her gently, and even putting her down for a nap if the timing was right. I wanted to see if I couldn't somehow brainwash her to enjoy the thunder (she hated -and still hates- loud noises otherwise) and the lightning and the driving rain against the window panes. Even as a toddler, she'd not only sleep through storms, but actually fall asleep with the storm. With my success, I then also brainwashed our dog the same way. :ROFLMAO: Now when it thunderstorms on a lazy weekend afternoon, the house is filled with snores. :LOL:

It's so important what we teach our children. For those parents/grandparents who have kids in school, it's important to engage with their teachers, coaches, and other school admin. so that you can advocate for their education.
TsiWRX, you have turned into a modern-day version of B.F. Skinner! Much of our behavior, is governed by operant conditioning which simply means that behavior that's followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated. So basically there are 2 types of consequences for behaving: reinforcement and punishment. When my wife was living and I brought a new gun into the house punishment would follow to the point I learned to sneak new guns into the house. Brainwashing is what the enemy does. When our gov't uses this approach it's called good indoctrination. Communities need to take back their schools and demand that instruction should be about real world skills that kids will need in order to be successful in their life pursuits.
 
And in my opinion we’ve probably gone beyond the point of no return. I hope we can figure out a rational and peaceful solution, but the status quo is intolerable, and it isn’t going to magically get better.

In about 20 years, we’ve gone from “you’re wrong” to “you’re wrong and a bad person” to “you’re wrong, a bad person, and a domestic terrorist who should be fired from their job, silenced on social media, and probably arrested.”

Daring to disagree with your local elected school board about COVID policies or Critical Race Theory is now being treated as a federal crime, involving the FBI. These are is Soviet style tactics that are being used by the Biden administration. It’s not hyperbole or conspiracy theory.

So how do you get to any common ground and “good faith” when the assumption is disagreement is inherently wrong, even criminal, and people who disagree with government or the supporters of one political party should be shut down, silenced, and even imprisoned.

It’s damn scary folks. It starts with education of our children, rather than indoctrination. That’s easier said than done.
After I became disabled in 2005 , I started babysitting my Granddaughter to save my stepdaughter some money. I wanted to work with the Granddaughter on her reading skill. Well I soon became aware that she didn't know anything about the vowels. They were not teaching vowels and their sounds to the students.

She was 9 years old at the time and didn't know how / couldn't sound out a big word and even some smaller words.
I worked with her until she learned and understood the vowels. Then she was able to read without problem.

The school system sucks and we as a country are suffering for it.
 
papa you hit a subject that is dear to my heart: reading. If a child can't decode unfamiliar words in a passage then chances are they won't fully comprehend the meaning what they have read. The more a kid struggles to understand unfamiliar words the more frustrated he or she gets, and they give up in despair. Low self-esteem soon follows. The theory of reading instruction flips back and forth. If you're old like me your teachers used "sight words" as a method of instruction, (See Spot run) and later phonics was the rage. It goes back and forth. The high school I worked in went through a bunch of reading programs that only stressed comprehension. Most of these were on-line programs that had mixed results because there was no emphasis on improving decoding skills. I used to love to quiz the new young English teachers knowledge of phonics by them only one question: if two vowels go walking which one does the talking. Most had no idea what I was talking about. Papa I bet your granddaughter never had an actual spelling book; they went by the wayside in the 80s. In most series the lessons focused on specific vowel-consonant patterns which helped to promote decoding skills. Kids spend their first few years in school learning to read and spend those year there after reading to learn. If your comprehension skills are low then your tests in science and social studies classes become more of a reading test and less on what you know on the subject matter. It's a vicious circle that's hard to break. I apologize for another long winded rant!
 
papa you hit a subject that is dear to my heart: reading. If a child can't decode unfamiliar words in a passage then chances are they won't fully comprehend the meaning what they have read. The more a kid struggles to understand unfamiliar words the more frustrated he or she gets, and they give up in despair. Low self-esteem soon follows. The theory of reading instruction flips back and forth. If you're old like me your teachers used "sight words" as a method of instruction, (See Spot run) and later phonics was the rage. It goes back and forth. The high school I worked in went through a bunch of reading programs that only stressed comprehension. Most of these were on-line programs that had mixed results because there was no emphasis on improving decoding skills. I used to love to quiz the new young English teachers knowledge of phonics by them only one question: if two vowels go walking which one does the talking. Most had no idea what I was talking about. Papa I bet your granddaughter never had an actual spelling book; they went by the wayside in the 80s. In most series the lessons focused on specific vowel-consonant patterns which helped to promote decoding skills. Kids spend their first few years in school learning to read and spend those year there after reading to learn. If your comprehension skills are low then your tests in science and social studies classes become more of a reading test and less on what you know on the subject matter. It's a vicious circle that's hard to break. I apologize for another long winded rant!
Yes I was taught about " see spot run " but my grade school also taught the vowels. You are correct about the struggles that go hand in hand without the vowels being taught.

I also think this goes along with the problems of How to make the states united because without reading comprehension , the young can't fully understand the core values of our country.
 
I don't think the majority of kids are dumb. I believe they just never received the amount of instruction necessary to succeed. Elementary years should just focus on the basics: reading, writing and math. I bet if any of you have a kid younger than 30 they can't read or write cursive. :(
 
I don't think the majority of kids are dumb. I believe they just never received the amount of instruction necessary to succeed. Elementary years should just focus on the basics: reading, writing and math. I bet if any of you have a kid younger than 30 they can't read or write cursive. :(
I agree that kids don’t start out dumb but the educational system fails them. When I said that a high percentage of our people are dumb I was referring to adults. With kids school fails them and so do a lot of their parents.
 
TsiWRX, you have turned into a modern-day version of B.F. Skinner! Much of our behavior, is governed by operant conditioning which simply means that behavior that's followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated. So basically there are 2 types of consequences for behaving: reinforcement and punishment. When my wife was living and I brought a new gun into the house punishment would follow to the point I learned to sneak new guns into the house. Brainwashing is what the enemy does. When our gov't uses this approach it's called good indoctrination. Communities need to take back their schools and demand that instruction should be about real world skills that kids will need in order to be successful in their life pursuits.

"Communities need to take back their schools and demand that instruction should be about real world skills that kids will need in order to be successful in their life pursuits."

Agreed - Have noticed the ill effects of or of the "takeover" of schools and other sad effects too. Poor education may lead to more of the same or worse?

So, why are we in this calamity and why is it so important? Is it a bit of the Ying and Yang effect? - Everything evolves and revolves around itself. - Basically, what goes around, comes around and we reap what's sown? We can't be in two places at once and there are only 24 hours in a day may come to mind too?

What lead to what? What lead to the effects of "Latchkey" kids and our poor educational systems? Some of it may be unseen, unintended effects of the women's rights movement of moms getting out into the workplace more often and someone not being at home tending to our kids and other needs, thereby letting some schools run almost rampant in their ideology? As far as I'm concerned people are people, good or not, we're people 1st. Anything else is secondary, including gender.

This is just personal theory and observation other than effects seen and felt.
Used to be, moms stayed home and tended to kids and other very important home family matters there such as PTA and other school concerns. In that scenario as well, dads were generally too worn out after a long work day to attend PTA and tend to other family needs usually until weekends, so that generally left the moms to fend for kids and other family needs at home five days a week. They both worked hard for the kids and family, each doing their parts to help the family grow. That was the very important norm in many places. Families together bind society together. It was a balance.

Have seen the above roles reversed too where dad's stayed home and mom worked. If whatever plan fits into the family plans to make it work out well, great, if it works. Do what needs to be done for the whole family is all. After moms started working more often, after the women's movement, the economy also steadily shifted to almost doubling prices of many things about then. Many prices went to what the market could or would bear.... or so it seemed?

Too much fell apart when women's movement came about from what have seen. Both parents typically worked outside of the home with both parents working full time hours with no one at home to tend the nest or the kids needs during normal working hours. Kids needs and other things dwindled and suffered, it shredded and tore many families apart because of stress. Business and society also suffered as well because of it ....and because of poorly educated kids in the workplace later on. Just compensation isn't just about money afterall or is it something else? Can we can see, feel and hear the effects in society now? I unfortunately do, most everyday. Does anyone or everyone else?

Families actually needing dual incomes to financially function in an economy where both moms and pops needed to work didn't help families, kids, school, guidance, business or society as a whole to get by either. Kids sadly balanced education, lack of family time, guidance and many other things suffered as a whole. Am thinking more income didn't actually help society and neither did the lack of parental attentiveness or social injustices. Anymore than increasing minimum wage does, because it in turn increases prices of everything else. Sadly, families and societies are reaping what's generally sown now by who, because of what? My only thoughts are of poor choices and decisions based on getting by or succeeding with what good or bad choices were available at the time.

Basically, after economy shifted to higher in many instances double pricing, many families usually needing dual family incomes to survive because of increased costs didn't actually help anyone in society at all. Families, business, communities, education and society all suffered when both parents worked and left many things at home needing attention and in disrepair. So, what actually helped and hurt who?

A side note: Back in those days when most mom's took care of the kids and family's home more often, many people could usually tell the difference between single parent families and dual parent families at a glance by children's behavior. Not always as good or bad behavior, but some kids could usually do better is usually all.

In many instances, the sometimes negative single parent family effects are now in too many dual parental families. Why is that or why should it be so important? - Many school behaviors are also generally reinforced at home. Sometimes, idealistically reinforced by both parents, kids then get twice the attention? And, sometimes by single parents, kids may receive not as much attention, but some actually may? If both parents are normally working outside of the home, how much attention and reinforcement do our kids or much else receive? - Those effects then may be felt later on as in our current times?

From what I have personally experienced, positive or negative whatever deeds from wherever else, it effect families, business and society. What's taught in our schools or elsewhere, good or not, and is also reinforced or not at home makes a huge difference in everything in our society and everything else surrounding all of us. Good balanced education matters.
 
papa you hit a subject that is dear to my heart: reading. If a child can't decode unfamiliar words in a passage then chances are they won't fully comprehend the meaning what they have read. The more a kid struggles to understand unfamiliar words the more frustrated he or she gets, and they give up in despair. Low self-esteem soon follows. The theory of reading instruction flips back and forth. If you're old like me your teachers used "sight words" as a method of instruction, (See Spot run) and later phonics was the rage. It goes back and forth. The high school I worked in went through a bunch of reading programs that only stressed comprehension. Most of these were on-line programs that had mixed results because there was no emphasis on improving decoding skills. I used to love to quiz the new young English teachers knowledge of phonics by them only one question: if two vowels go walking which one does the talking. Most had no idea what I was talking about. Papa I bet your granddaughter never had an actual spelling book; they went by the wayside in the 80s. In most series the lessons focused on specific vowel-consonant patterns which helped to promote decoding skills. Kids spend their first few years in school learning to read and spend those year there after reading to learn. If your comprehension skills are low then your tests in science and social studies classes become more of a reading test and less on what you know on the subject matter. It's a vicious circle that's hard to break. I apologize for another long winded rant!
(y)(y)
 
I don't think the majority of kids are dumb. I believe they just never received the amount of instruction necessary to succeed. Elementary years should just focus on the basics: reading, writing and math. I bet if any of you have a kid younger than 30 they can't read or write cursive. :(
Agree.

Have ten year old, reads constantly, (fast & excellent comprehension) fiction and non fiction at mature levels, does long hand algebra (two pages, no calculator), speaks two languages, excellent cursive, plays piano at the college level ( her instructor is college music professor ), is polite and non rebellious, good at drawing/art.

Yet, she may not be "gifted" so what do we think are contributing factors to her progress?

1. Never a babysitter, never left overnight anywhere but home, never in "day care(less)", no "kindergarten" no "pajama parties". Goes with Mom & Dad for exposure and socialization; if children are not allowed then Mom & Dad have no business there either.

2. NO TV! NO "playstation". No cell phone. No (Un)social media. No Shuck & Jive Rappa Krappa. Screen time is for learning such things as keyboarding/academics and is strictly limited. Loves Russian Ballet, Bolero, Andre Rieu and so on, but we do get a laugh from some things on YouTube and The Three Stooges. We do nature. She appreciates a sky full of stars, moon glow, an owl hoot and coyotes singing, buck snorts, croaks/chirps/criks, the gold of morning, and has no problem with silence. We peruse the Bible and the Constitution.

3. Home schooled. Well adjusted. Peer pressure/bullying not an issue (but she is being taught it will happen and how to deal with it). She knows "cigarettes & smoking" is a chemical addiction. That alcohol and late hours hold no good thing.
I have impressed on her she can never fully know what is going on behind another set of eyes. And that she must practice the word No! and assert herself to others that will want to control/deprive/persuade her in a wrong direction.
Hold on there.......when appropriate she makes her own choices, sees the results of them. We stress such minute things as never throw so much as a gum wrapper out the vehicle window.

4. Fashion, popularity, keeping up/keeping ahead, always new/always best, cellophane society, fake news, not important.
Have confidence in yourself no matter what others say/think. Compromising values for friends is a loser.

5. Mom and Dad Love you and are proud of you and will always stand with you, even if/when you make errors or wrong choices. When you are of age and on your own, we may disagree with a choice you make, and we will give our opinion, but, OUR LOVE AND HELP IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE.

Now. Somebody is going to call this child abuse, that our child is being "deprived", "controlled" and so on. We expect that in todays society. We stand firm.
 
The public schools should focus on the basics - reading writing, math, science, documented history vs. fiction, Phys Ed. sports.

No social enginering and/or religion. The churchs are for the latter. Post K-12 is where young folks can investigate social issues.
 
The public schools should focus on the basics - reading writing, math, science, documented history vs. fiction, Phys Ed. sports.

No social enginering and/or religion. The churchs are for the latter. Post K-12 is where young folks can investigate social issues.
Agreed; except the Father/family, in the home, is the proper place for Spiritual guidance, the Church's are for Worship.

And Religion is worth nothing; Salvation & Faith is the tap root of living in society and Eternal Life.

Parochial Schools are out then, correct?
 
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