Universities have decreased in tenure and didn't give it out easily to begin with; that is what I've been told, I don't have data to back that up but in my experience, only 1 person in the dept had tenure. It took the poor guy just 4 years from retirement to finally get it; the rest are probably not going to get it and they are not much younger.

Meanwhile teachers in k-12 only have to survive without making waves for 2 years and they are set. Now, people might hear that they can't be fired; but that is NOT the case. It depends on the system how bad that is.

The standardized testing system is a joke and you won't make it much better than the joke it is. Unlike most subjects, education is a FUZZY topic and trying to quantify it is is impossible to do. But we are making idiotic metrics so that we can "fix" the system along those metrics...

The reality is, from what I heard from a big player in the GOP is the plan is to RUIN public education and destroy the union as well. People like education too much so they must be made to hate it, then they will be receptive to formerly unpopular ideas like privatization of schooling and letting the poor fend for themselves -- a neocon dreamland. The expensive debt producing No Child Left Behind was designed to harm the system; it had no motives other than that. I got it from the horse's mouth.

Their plans have worked extremely well. we hate the unions, we hate teachers, we love accountability but hate that people wanting to keep their jobs are teaching to the tests we measure them on. Education is turning into wrote learning; which is great if your future is at Walmart or in a 1st world sweat shop. The elite can pay for better schools (because they are better humans; duh! they have more money ) so their kids can learn to rule. History repeats... One has to expect it to trend towards the norm of human history (which never was democracy or upward mobility.)

Supercharging sites they can afford to slowly build out. They do not lose money with these charging stations; the one I've seen was clearly a smart move. They bought the land around the charging station as well --- now something is being built upon it! The SMART move is to buy the space put in the chargers; make them free-- then RENT the commercial space around the charger! You make $$ either way.

Fast charging still can hold the customer long enough to buy some junk while waiting. Slower charging means the customer has to wait 10s of minutes... and buy more or eat a meal...

It is not pro-business to allow others to lure customers in with their charging stations when your proprietary ones make you money. Sure, long term being open helps; but that isn't modern business thinking.

Who is Krugman a propaganda mouthpiece for?? Aside from the fact the Nobel for economics is a sham to promote ideas those bankers like, just who is promoting him to shill for?

You would think there was no history at all... The economy in the past was different than it is today; just saying that ANY change will destroy it is ludicrous. This is the age old conservative argument by the successful who benefit from whatever is going on currently and FEAR that change could upset a good thing (for them.) It came from the emperors, the robber barons, the bankers, the dictators, the slave owners, etc. Time and time again they have been proven wrong as better systems have resulted from change (not every time, eventually in some places-- which then served as examples to others. The USA having been previously one itself.)

If the race to the bottom STOPS, the economy will obviously change; not necessarily for the better for some. The transition will not likely be smooth either, especially if things get too entrenched and fragile (like massive Ponzi schemes are.) As long as transportation costs continue to rise, the "benefits" of globalization will shrink and there will be increased pressure to compensate for those costs by removing other expenses. So we drop tariffs using trumped up arguments, cut taxes, subsidize (corporate welfare) so the true costs are externalized... but ultimately still are paid by the populations-- it's just robbing from more people, future generations, and the ecosystem to benefit the upper classes of today.

China's pollution is largely the USA externalizing pollution and labor costs. Previously, the USA did pretty well (#1 economy) by NOT doing that stuff (Yes, we still did some but nowhere near the level today.)

The USA is too corrupt to even debate Krugman's proposal. I can't see how his advocacy of accountability is helping the US profit from polluting the 3rd world; when it would effectively be punishing the USA's current practices of exploiting the world and moving it towards something more ethical (not ethical, just more ethical. There is no way a culture that doesn't give a rip about non-Americans is going to be ethical.)

The society is way more authoritarian than it was generations ago. Not that it ever was likely in the center.... except maybe at the beginning.

See http://politicalcompass.org/ for yourself. Now it could be the "ideal" is not in the middle or is a bit authoritarian but that is a side issue, the point is that the culture is authoritarian which is why the public is goosestepping along.

Our schools are raising kids to love the boot of authority... or at least to be used to it. Schools are more like prisons in many ways and the traditional amount of anarchy and chaos in school is being beaten down; even in the art,music,gym classrooms and for some schools the playground is even being put into "order" (if not completely eliminating recess all together which has been done where I am for elementary kids... then we wonder why so many are being called ADD and given drugs to keep them in their seats... while still giving them tons of sugar and caffeine...)

Look at peaceable assembly. That right is almost dead. We just think "order" is more important than our rights and even "peace" has alternate meanings now... You can't peacefully protest if you make noise or fill up public space (while still allowing others to transit that space) because that isn't "peaceful" enough! You have to be invisible and THEN it is ok... completely ineffective and even then 1st chance they have they will find an excuse to invoke "order" and do anything they wish to terrorize the population into never wanting to join in a protest again. Vote every few years (if you are white and not a college student) and shut up and lick boots in between. Only lobbyists should be getting attention between elections. etc.

Defining the press is a powerful way to control the press. Not that it matters we've totally forgotten the end half of that sentence. Maybe they should have made it shorter and made another Amendment for it. Look at peaceable assembly... that isn't allowed; they trample that right all the time even if they can't invent an excuse of a single crime in the vicinity to invoke the all mighty "maintain order" unwritten trump card.

I don't care if the F-35 works as planned. It's just another totally corrupt vile thing the Harper government of Canada is doing to lower the nation down to the likes of the USA. (I'm American and I realize we are not #1 at anything. except perhaps the number of literate creationists and global warming deniers.)

Canada could have spent all that $$$$ on robotics and then they could lead the world in the field... plus they could hire China to make a million dumb drones then put in their robotic brains... then maybe we'd have many good robots to battle against Skynet when the USA eventually builds it (which will be tiny because it'll cost 1000x what a robotic overlord should.)

I can see the history books... the Plastic Age, beginning in the the mid 20th century....

We really are in the plastic age. When everybody has a form of computer... guess that is the computer age--- although it's impact is not as deep as plastic yet... so does it count as an Age yet?? Iron Age changed everything... so I suppose computers were there around 2000? (remember world... but then the Iron Age began before it was world wide...)

Internet Age... are we at that yet? Seems these huge changes are happening quickly.

Sandstone... is that a kind of rock? it's a mix of sands.. and i bet this plastic rock is stronger.

It is more likely Apple bought that company for tax purposes.

The NSA knows probably everything the oversight does and we don't actually know if the oversight is aware of everything going on. They sure don't seem able to do actual oversight; a few of them seem to indicate that they can't do any oversight or share anything with others in government who should be able to hear about it. How does one pass laws to fix things if only a select minority of politicians know anything and the other just must trust them as to what the law needs to say?

Politicians wait until after high noon and then say "I would have been there to help but..."

For politicians, conspiracy is part of the job description! Most the FBI's job is investigating criminal conspiracy. fact.

Lying is needed to get the job and keep the job; but conspiracy is how the job works and how government functions.

Some politicians will fight the NSA and some won't but since all of them end up on the same page--- one has to wonder. You are claiming that ALL politicians are 100% for the NSA and just always lie about it. That is not the case; we can't know for sure because... you can rationalize it any way you wish; unless somebody leaks strong documented proof. Don't let your optimist bias genetics push you towards answers that always feel better.

The NSA and certain politicians along with government officials-- kept the NSA mess secret even with leaks until Snowden gave out PROOF. A lot of it started post 9/11 and has been secret all this time --- it wasn't proven until the fools payed contractors to work with deep access to the information.

We have history of blackmail in the past; done with no resources like exists today - you seriously think some Hoover like person can't ever get into a position of power again?? Oh, nah, it's just lying politicians 100% nobody actually for privacy would ever run and win a position of power; that's just impossible...

Every politician who is a threat to the system, when they get the power to do something they suddenly flip. Why is that??

Sure, in some cases when they hear the arguments they change their minds; but it seems that it is extremely easy to make any politician to flip sides and behave. It is naive to just assume that it is always a result of lying politicians and whatever other stereotypes you are more comfortable with than questioning whether the system is so corrupt that it has working control over politicians who threaten the soft spots.

Hoover used the FBI to blackmail; the CIA has done it as well; political parties use it on their members to some degree as well. I'm confident we have psychological profiles of our leaders and not just all the foreign ones; I bet that info gets abused as well.

Automation and technology isn't going to bring us new powers of "persuasion"; it's going to make old ones more effective and widespread. The NSA doesn't need to do this, they can just get facebook to give them access to their system and maybe throw a tax break their way to add some features... if they are not already doing this now.

Strawman. Obviously everything said can be applied to everybody around the world; however, the bill of rights does NOT give you rights. You have alienable rights as a human being... does that remind you of something?? oh, the mission statement of the founders...

They also state clearly that you have rights NOT listed in the document; their omission in no way concluding you do not have those rights. Nearly every amendment is phrased clearly as a limitation upon government infringing upon your rights; which you always have, and by imposing those enumerated government limits shall not be infringed upon. The courts and the people guide the direction and if the reps function, they eventually make the more permanent limitations; such as the civil rights movement's amendment.

The document does not define that government's limitations ONLY exist within it's borders. That is the false reasoning being used today when Obama kills Americans in another country; I'm stretching a little but it's still relevant. They use the wartime crap as an exception because obviously, you can't give Nazi their rights and follow the process with any chance to survive war with them. We are not at war with the planet so that excuse can't be used (but they are.) War almost by definition is the lack of laws, rules, civility so despite us having limits on it; those are not because we are civil or the game has rules; it's a practical matter for survival, actual and political. (Politics and war doesn't have much logic to it; it's a human thing.)

Digitally signed receipts do not exist yet-- somehow everybody is happy to move to the fluffy clouds while being reasonably fearful of the internet (they are not the same thing in the mind of the consumer.) If people resisted more we could get digital receipts!

If they revoke your account you would have proof of purchase for an item and with some laws in place you could get access to your content even if you were banned from the service. Sure, they'd fight like hell and some customers would screw them with requests for DVDs of all their stuff... plus they'd have to device DRM schemes to give out copies for customers demanding them. Naturally, we'd have troubles passing laws making it work just like real items so errors like that 1984 one still don't loophole trash your book... like anybody would mail back the physical book because amazon made a mistake. the digital one should be the same but without strong regulations and a government that isn't totally corrupt... forget it.

Better to compare that against the CO2 in the atmosphere because most of it is Nitrogen. It's the ratio of the gasses that matters most not the total weight, air head. Even then why should 1 contributing factor have to be over 1% to care about it? My personal contributions are nothing but combined with billions of other people we get the over population created problems we have today.

I find it odd these people vote, their vote doesn't count for anything significant; using their own reasoning they shouldn't ever vote (laying aside all the failed democracy issues.)

Just baiting people and throwing around labels; put in nerd or label some nutcase a nerd to get the nerds all worked up and maybe get the stupid people in on the thing... Maybe there are motives behind that like resentment of nerds or some feeling for more conformity... It's one thing to bait people and another to mislabel with a possible attempt to confuse slower people.

As far as the BS about conventions-- that is a problem anywhere those guys can get away with it; those situations are a magnet for those types. I would say nerd culture is better than most the others and those conventions may have 1% be "bad apples" but that the actual proportion of the non-attending members who are like them is probably within rounding error of 0.0%.

As far as some upset crazy shooting people in the USA... again... I don't even bother, it's not even really news. People have feelings, thoughts at moments of their lives which are every bit as dark and as bad as these crazy people; the difference is they have the mental health (or culturally conditioned self control) to NOT act on it or take it seriously. I find it sad that anything is made of people having similar feelings to whatever nutcase is in the news; what is the problem is the difference between the nut and the sane people who have the same ideas; namely, the mental illness.

Sadly, we are not allowed to know his medical history, a lot of these nuts are on legal drugs but not many families ever disclose such information afterward. Plus when they do, the media doesn't make an issue of it... can't upset the sponsors.)