People of that ideological framework conveniently ignore periods of time when the Federal Government had very little power. And ignore examples around the world right now where government is ineffective. So yes, they really do expect the free market forces to magically preserve 'the commons'.

5-4 Supreme court justices are OK with that. But polls show that the majority are not OK with that.
http://crooksandliars.com/2015/06/ny-timescbs-poll-concurs-americans-hate
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021701151.html

Over the years I've become a one issue voter: getting the influence of money out of politics.

And are those toxic chemicals burned or vented directly into the air in huge smoke stacks like coal/oil?

Lobbying has led to almost all wealthy industries being able to capitalize profit while socializing the external cost. See oil/coal/gas, Wall Street, etc..

If 'big money' wasn't such an influence on Congress, I suspect we would have made companies pay for damage they do a long time ago.

It usually requires slightly nicer slacks / khakis, and slightly nicer shoes than hiking/running/tennis shoes. Most people, if given a choice, would rather just wear some worn in sneakers, jeans, and a t-shirt or polo.

Business casual dress codes result in most people having two entirely different wardrobes.

I am looking at this:

http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Policy_and_Advocacy/files/SchoolBudgetBriefFINAL.pdf

Percent distribution of revenues for public elementary and secondary education 2006-07.
Federal was 8.5%, local and state made up the rest.

Graph 7 shows another chart by state. The highest that comes from the Fed is 18% and the lowest is 4.5%.

Am I missing something?

Well of course it can't change everything, but it can weed out some of the blatant over the top discrimination, as well as provide a legal recourse for people that were discriminated against.

Of course. That is why instilling a sense of the value of diversity is an important ongoing effort in education and most progressive workplaces. There are biological and historical forces that shape our mental tendencies. But since humans are generally better than animals, we actively work to suppress our detrimental tendencies, like racism, sexism, ageism, etc..

Throwing your hands up and saying "hey, this is just how people naturally feel about stuff, you can't change it" is a big cop out.

Fox db, is that short for FoxPro? That brings back memories. I think that may have been my first programming language hehe.

http://files.seds.org/pub/spacecraft/APOLLO/Apollo.benefits

Unless you have any evidence suggesting otherwise, you should re-evaluate your assumptions.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2525898/app-development/nasa-s-apollo-technology-has-changed-history.html
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2009/07/forty-years-after-apollo-11-moon-landing-consumers-reap-benefits-of-giant-technological-leaps/index.htm
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/apollo.htm
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/80660main_ApolloFS.pdf

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

800,000 lifetimes. 1.6 trillion dollars and counting.

Well, we shouldn't have to be pitting teacher pay/social programs/etc.. against space exploration anyway (first off, teacher pay isn't in the same money bucket as NASA, they do not compete). Not when the sum total of all social programs, minus the core programs that no one will ever seriously think about getting rid of (social security, medicare), are peanuts compared to the Defense budget.

http://particlefever.com/

I think that documentary shows aspects of your statement perfectly. Seeing aEuropean led group of international scientists cheering when the LHC is turned on for the first time after a decade of work, just sent chills (good ones) up my spine. It is how I imagine the Apollo control room in the 60's.

That could have been the US, and imo, should have been. US politicians are always talking about the US needing to be a shining example, lead the world, innovate, stay on top, etc.. yet they scrapped the supercollider in Texas (was it just conservatives?). We could have had that cheering room of international scientists led by the US, inspiring not only the world's kids, but ours as well.

As it is, I bet very few school children have seen 'Particle Fever', or were inspired or even followed the events around the LHC. If it had been in Texas instead, the news would have made a much bigger deal out of it.

Forgot to add, Portland in general is pretty much hosed, because we are "bridge town". It will quite literally cut the city in half. Every bridge is expected to fall during a moderate earthquake.

Pretty sure most of North Portland (Oregon) is in the same boat. Soft sandy soil that is going to not support anything once water bubbles up through it.

Or spot the astroturfing. 99% of the "news" stories about the deal that I've seen are basically ideological talking points and have nothing to do with the merit of the deal, and certainly nothing to do with the primary goal of the deal: to prevent Iran from building a nuke.