I highly doubt any savings would get passed down to the consumer from the likes of an Insurance company.

or when your personal beliefs mean you think you can clearly and simply label someone as a "bigot" because their opinion or beliefs simply don't align with your own, and punish them for it.
Slapping a label on someone and reducing them to a one dimensional object is convenient, but doesn't make it accurate or fair Is someone still a "bigot" if they just feel that homosexuality is unnatural or weird, but have no problem or discriminatory feelings towards other minority groups, be it blacks, women, latinos, asians, etc.. (or even whites for that matter)? I think there's a difference between being "bigoted" towards one small faction, and just being a bigot, along the lines of Archie Bunker.
People are entitled to their personal beliefs no matter what you think and that's their private business, it shouldn't affect their hiring or firing unless they're behavior openly affects their work or coworkers; they have a right to feel or think as they do, just not a right to act on them (besides, people don't really control gut feelings, just as you don't decide whether you prefer men or women, or redheads or blonds, somehow you just like what you like, and don't what you don't).
Before the wild slashdot accusations fly, no, I am not religious. No, I don't believe it's a "sin". But I don't like seeing discrimination used as a tool against something that is subjective.

Dude, seriously, why so keen to throw insults around at anyone who doesn't fit your strict world image of the universe according to geekoid? No, he doesn't have a small mind for pointing out the classical cultural staple that tough machismo guys can drink, Hollywood's been depicting that image for decades.
In any case, 5.5% IS, on the whole, on the light side, even by human standards. The English ales I like are are least 7, 8 %, or higher. Wine is nearly double that. I would expect an alien race that enjoys fights to the death for glory and eats raw blood worms (Gagh) to also drink a mean brew, not banana flavored piss water.

Wasn't the joke how Worf would drink Prune juice and declare it a "Warrior's drink"? That pointed to an obvious dichotomy there, everyone found that funny exactly because they expected a Klingon warrior to drink a "tough" drink.

Why would any moron have modded this as a troll? I simply pointed out the parallel that there's a market for the AV service sector and they fill it, and that you can either just accept that, or be paranoid about it, just the same as the credit monitoring business. I made no judgement of my own. Looks like I made an enemy somewhere recently.

I'd agree with that. Homeopathy & Holistic /= Alternative Medicine, necessarily.
But I think the most idiotic thing is the dilution principle of homeopathy which follows that a solution becomes stronger or as stong as the original by diluting the piss out of it, as though water molecules somehow "absorb" the healing properties of whatever was originally mixed in merely by vigorous agitation (which is what most loons suggest). I have a somewhat open mind towards things like acupuncture, (never tried it though), but nothing says "schuckster" like someone who waters something down to .001% and then tries to pass it off as effective as the original. If that were the case, a light beer should be every bit as inebriating as the non light version..! Hell, I'd buy a liter of gin, add 10 gallons of water, shake it up really good and profit.

..that Anti Virus corporations such as Symantec and McAfee benefit from virus and worm outbreaks. Make of that what you will, you either believe there's a conspiracy or that they're just filling a needed niche. *shrug*

+1 for accuracy if I had mod points today

I get your point, but really, this is the first time they've bumped it in what, 7 years? That's not bad, like hike after hike after hike. If they bump it again next year, then we have a problem.
I just joined in late December, so I guess I get to ride out nearly a full year on the old price. (assuming we're grandfathered in). Still seems like a pretty good deal. If you've got a Kindle you can read a lot of books for free too, though sadly that doesn't apply to anyone merely using a Kindle app.

No, no it's not about that. We aren't the kind of parents that demand he get straight As or anything remotely like that. It was a bonus that he was on the honor roll, and I mentioned it only because I wanted to point out he wasn't a kid with a dull intellect. I have no problem if he gets Cs once in a while, it happens.
I'm talking about the stress and workload they're putting on kids. The material and homework I'm seeing is not appropriate for someone who is 12 or 13, it's just too high level. Example: try teaching a 12 year old about genetic counseling, meosis, DNA, and biology they used to teach at a high school level. That's what they're giving him to work on, and often homework questions aren't even covered in their book (that could be the teacher) . They even have to type blogs and whatnot. They're forced to do creative writing. You can't force or teach someone to be creative; you can encourage it, but it shouldn't be part of your language grade.
As far as dumbing down to the lowest common denominator, I totally agree with you there. Not everyone can be a winner. That's life. Teaching them otherwise is not teaching at all. The times table example is not about that though, that was about unnecessary busy work. Of all things to pound in a kid's head, I don't find the concept of multiplication all that difficult. But for everything else, CC is swinging the pendulum too far in the other direction. At least, at his school, anyway.

You jump to conclusions in your accusal of my jumping to conclusions (conclusception ..?); I only named two kids here as examples, by no means did I exhaust my experiences with the system with just two anecdotal revelations. I know of other children, and talk to other parent and teachers.
You are partly correct, in that it does vary somewhat from teacher to teacher, some are certainly better or worse than others. But they don't choose the textbooks, and I still find common core the engine behind it all.

As much as we won't ever agree on this, sorry to hear about your stalker. I know the feeling.

Right off the bat, your stats are 10 years old and thus irrelevant, and what of India?
FYI, both my wife - who used to teach - and I help our son with his homework a great deal, in fact, every single night, and there is no way in hell he could complete it on his own if we didn't. Yes its called being a parent, which is a lot better than being a presumptuous douchbag citing "excuses".
He's not the only child in this situation either: Jillian is a friend's daughter in his same class, also very bright and studious, and on the verge of tears several times a week. She too is no longer doing well.

They are stressing these kids out to the max and beyond. My kid is not even sleeping at night. They treat them like they're adults and they're not adults yet. Overly high, unrealistic expectations do not result in better performance, it does exactly the opposite, it destroys confidence, enthusiasm, and appreciation of education. And while I don't believe rote memorization is the key to learning, something simple like the times table is not the place to be getting tough. All the child needs to understand is that 5 x 3 means 5 + 5 + 5, or 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3. There is no call to make them write all that out for every single homework problem assigned, night after night, for half the school year.

It's a disaster. It's pushing the majority of young children far too hard for their age, and making them work inefficiently, where even memorizing the times table isn't good enough now, it all has to be written out ad nauseum. The detailed material they get in their books for 7th grade biology looks like High School material. All this is going to accomplish is to produce confused, bitter adults.. or the worker drones they really want. It's a beautifully evil dichotomy, talking about raising kid's self esteem while doing everything to make them feel stupid and in over their heads. Say one thing, do another. Forcing kids to do "creative writing" is another faux pau, it should be an elective. Not everyone is cut out to write creatively.
Sure, let's whine about how supposedly far behind the US is to China, India, or Japan.. and then let's look at their teenage suicide rates. Education can certainly be improved, but Common Core is not the answer. What it really boils down to is the cash cow it is to the NEA.
My kid is bright and used to love science; he used to frequently be on the honor roll is usually student of the month a few times a year. Lately, he's begun to hate school with a passion. Common core is the core of the issue. How is that inspiring him to learn or embrace knowledge? It's the scholastic equivalent of a shotgun wedding, expecting to engender true love at the end of a barrel.. / rant

This bit:

doesn't apply if the reason we're spending more on individuals is because unemployment and welfare are at record highs. No new bills are needed for that, it just makes use of existing ones. And the House has only been R since Pelosi left in 2011.

Well at least it's too late for them to muck up my Skyrim with in-app purchases. Imagine: Want that grand soul gem? $1. How about that Dwemer battle axe with a 60% stamina poison enchantment? $2. Hey, 25 cents everytime you want to fast travel... etc..

That crap nickel and dimes you to death and you wind up spending vastly more amounts than you would have if the game was just paid for up front.

Really? You think Washington of the '70s or '80s would have even dreamed of talking of supporting gay marriage, amnesty for illegal aliens, or expansion or creation of half the entitlement programs we have today that the conservatives are generally against? Would anyone have dare complained about using "God" or prayer in government, as people do today? Have you ever watched a television program from 20 years ago, compared to the things they can say and do in television currently? Good luck finding the level of sexual innuendo, or people generously saying, "bitch" (just an example) on any '80s show.. you won't.
No sir, the country has move farther left as a whole. In general, society grows more liberal over time. You just hear more about the Right because it finally resulted in a backlash, which is stirring things up.