What is being kept under wraps is that Luna's family is stockholders in the company the state is using for this upheaval.

The sad part is during the reelection campaign to put Luna into this position he ran commercials saying Idaho has the best schools in the US. After the election...the Otter administration bent over those who supported his reelection by showing how behind the schools were after the election. Because they were so bad...this has to be changed to put Idaho on top of the education system in the US by forcing taxpayers to provide computers and distance learning whether or not this needed to be done.

What will actually happen is rampant viruses and lost laptops...along with students who aren't smart enough to handle this distance education. Since the private sector is handling this...it will be okay. When the truth actually comes out...Luna and his family will be laughing all the way to the bank with students not able to complete their high school education.

Thought Oklahoma/Texas schools were bad...but having worked in schools in Idaho...the crappy public education I got 30+ years is better than anything students in Idaho will be getting.

Even have this beat:
My leather office chair - $150
22" HD Monitor - $100
Pair of Altec Lansing Speakers - $10 used at thrift store
5 2TB RAID5 Hard Drives on Server - $500
Movies/TV Shows from TV Tuner recorded over the past 5-8 years - price of DVD's to archive
Old Pentium 4 with XMBC Live - Cost of electricity to run this 7-9 year old PC
Not having to deal with the brats "parents" leave at the cinema/What I want to watch when I want to watch it - PRICELESS

It's the same people who visit that "Creation" museum in Kentucky and believe that dinosaurs were around at the same time as humans. Too bad we can't allow each of them to prove their theory by forcing them to live at the same time as their "pets" were roaming around on that sixth day. Wouldn't allow them firearms or the technology to make them (science is non-existant to them anyway). They just have to remember one universal rule...they don't have to run the fastest...just faster than the other person quoting their Bible to their "pet".

I looked into becoming a teacher years ago with a local school who was willing to hire me as a mentored teacher and working toward a Master's in Education. When I looked at the debt I would take on and seeing that many of the parents are in worse shape mentally than most of the students...there was no way in hell I was going to waste two+ years of my life. Seeing how teachers are appreciated in this country now...I am so happy I did the correct thing.

As for the statement they want more teachers with technology under their belt...WTF! With 30 years of computer experience...20 years in commercial broadcasting and five years in amateur radio...what schools/parents actually want is for you to pass their "Einsteinian" little angel to be able to get into Stanford or Harvard with as little work as possible on their little angel's part. Anything less...you're no better than an overpriced babysitter who have to deal with their ill-mannered bastards/bitches who can barely understand much more than 1+1...much less on how the universe works. When a teacher actually points out the truth...they're crucified by the schools/parents.

The truth of the matter is...many of the students going through US public schools are as dumb as rocks. By not letting the parents/society at large know and understand this...society is all ready doomed beyond hope.

Love credit unions...but beware of any financial institution. The reason is that I had my account at a small county credit union in NW Arizona which had worse fees and customer service than any of the big banks. Found out after I relocated to another state and another credit union that their balance sheets looked like something out of a slasher movie with so much red ink with about 40%+ default rate on their loans/mortgages. With my current statewide credit union...they had around a three per-cent default rate on their loans/mortgages with more than triple the amount of branches all over the state.. Seeing this...I understand why they charged arbitrary fees and were more than willing to make sure they would do a B of A any chance they could get.

Understand that any financial institution can screw you royally...but at least most credit unions will treat you better than most banks. Just do your research beforehand. If you can't get the answers you want...there are plenty of other credit unions who will be more than happy to help you.

The only hard and fast rule you can trust almost all the time for anyone who lies for a living...if their lips are moving...they have to be lying.

Another trend we never used to see are the online tests for minimum wage/low paying jobs. Had a buddy of mine who can pass these with no problem tell me you have to lie and don't list your education/training anywhere on the application/resume. Never thought in my life I would see a test battery being used to be able to clean bathrooms or flip burgers. WTF has this country become when slavery to a corporate master is becoming the way of life in the US.

We want a job to be able to have a place to stay and have some semblance of a life without sponging off friends and families. Because we won't blindly follow directions to clean the bathroom with our tongues or a toothbrush...die at the counter or my desk in 35 years or can make suggestions on doing something better from previous experience doesn't mean we will not make a bad employee. With the economy the way it is...it's not like there's another job waiting out there which will give better benefits/pay.

Another different theory says that the "wise" men from the East were actually astrologers. The star or cosmic event was actually something on their astrology charts which told them about some significant event happening in Palestine. When you have Herod's court mentioning they didn't notice anything in the sky...it was nothing more than astrology being used.

Not giving it any more credence than any other theory...but whichever is true...Jesus was born about this time.

Something you didn't mention was this idea from the Puritans that the more work you do...the more you would be blessed. The flaws in this is you have those with the means who employ you believing you're stealing from them if you do less work...leave early...ask for time off or aren't sitting on your phone to jump at your master's voice at all times.

There was an on-call job I was at where if you finished the job for the day...you were required to put in face time until the end of the day or else you were docked for that hour. Other jobs...you finish up your day...you head out unless there is something which needed done. When I high-tailed it out there an hour earlier at the other job...I got static and docked for that hour. Never went back there.

Learned my lesson about loyalty too many years ago when I saw my father get injured on the job and the company bending him over and screwing him up the a$$ to keep from paying him what was a fault of a company owned machine. Am out of work right now and doing on-call whenever I can...but I learned the most important lesson I ever learned. The company will f**k you over at a drop of a hat...so why allow them to not allow you a reach-around...a goodnite kiss or a free dinner?

When you look at the cluster-f**k of contractors in just Iraq...just goes to show if anything businesses will bend you over every time they get the chance. For instance...the Pentagon has no idea where billions disappeared to in these war zones...except knowing it was paid out to government contractors. When you have Halliburton built buildings electrocuting soldiers while taking showers and professional/over-priced thugs killing civilians this nation "claims" to be helping in the name of who can steal more faster...something is wrong.

What's coming up next...government paid for/private run mandated proctorial chambers on every street corner? It's worked in these "war" zones...so why not do it worse to our own citizens? I'm sure we have plenty of white collar "warlords" in this country who would do everything they can do to sell/implement the idea. The only option then will be how many fingers or forcing you to take the whole fist? From what we've seen from the whole privatization crowd...it will be both fists and feet along with the rest of the staff. Instead of a "gang-bang"...they will call it "gang-encouragement".

If I remember right...most usury laws (except for Arkansas) were phased out in the 80's because of the credit card companies. It all started in South Dakota. Even in Arkansas...the banks have tried for many years to get them repealed because they can't seem to be satisfied for a 10% interest rate being the highest they can charge there. Voters there have seen the smoke blown up their arses and refuse to vote it out...even when the banks threaten to pull out of that state.

The ONLY reason you have "schools" like the University of Phoenix is because of the profits they generate and generally the low quality of "education" they claim to provide their students. When you had "reform" of the student loan program years ago...Congress was well aware of what was happening...but they didn't give a damn because these "schools" were handing out decent bribes to make sure nothing changed for them or the banks. Didn't exactly work the way the schools/banks expected...but the students were the ones who got and are still getting the shaft sideways.

You want to reform this system...you start black-balled ANY school where the default rate is over a certain percent and make sure they can never get another penny under any other name they may use. Maybe then...these shysters will go back to selling vacuum cleaners or horse sh!t door-to-door.

What happens when it seems like suicide is the ONLY way out of the debt/joblessness situation? Wonder if the families where Jr. commits suicide because of his/her debt/joblessness would get the word out if this was the reason they took their own life? Will shame keep this buried? I would hope that with more and more suicides the government/corporations would be shamed to do something to prevent this for future generations.

The problem is that this country was started because you had the moneyed interests getting pissed off on paying off the war debts the British ran up protecting the colonists from the "dreaded" Native Americans. When they cried as a colony with no representation in Parliament...you had your colonial "Grover Norquist's" who threw off British rule. After the war and the Constitution being ratified...you had Washington using troops to shut down "illegal" local moonshiners who believed the Federal government had no power to tax their whiskey.

Personally...I believe it's going to take boarding up some business exec's in their homes with their family and burn the house down with them inside of it. The troops will be called of course...but if you send a message that your business practices and morals are not for the common good...some will change their behavior because they know the same could happen to them.

Whether or not people believe it...the French/Russian Revolutions did put fear into the moneyed elite. Many were shot/hung/decapitated because they did not believe it could happen to them. When the elite believe their money/power will protect them when you have those who are starving and little hope...they will change once martyrs are made. You have martyrs...you have something to fight behind. Ideas are powerful and non-stoppable.

Still with Facebook...but it's not the "Place" to be that others think it is.

I agree with you 100% about the users there. That's why I misspelled my name...never put up a photo of myself...changed my sex/age/location to keep only those I WANT to communicate with to be able to find me. Screw former co-workers I couldn't stand when I was forced to deal with them. Screw the relatives and ex's. If I wanted to deal with any of them...I have a cell phone or can send them an email message. I actually have a life which is more than posting that I'm beating off at this moment and came the next. They are not and will not be in it by my choice. Unlike these morons...my life isn't earth shattering and people don't care what I'm doing.

Very easy way around this is to know someone in a state with no sales tax (like Oregon). You have your online retailer send it there...then you have your friend or family member send it to you. On something which costs very little like an e-book or a cheap part...wouldn't be worth it...but for a big ticket item like a TV or a computer...it would.

I've said it before and I'll say it here...quit making it Xmas by bribing every business with tax breaks. The governments wouldn't have the problems with deficits.