Older sister, 11, saves newborn dumped in trash bin
John, I'm all for women having a right to choose, but your choice to terminate a life comes BEFORE delivery. After delivery, the choices include: adoption and/or drop-off at a safe haven. This little girl--bless her heart--absolutely did the right thing. It's sad that sometimes children have more sense than the adults who watch over them. My heart and prayers go out to this little girl and her siblings. (Tuesday | post #12)
Ex-Glenbard East student found guilty of cruelty to animals
It sounds like--given time and no intervention--this student will not be too far behind the Greyhound wacko, which is the "point" that you are intentionally overlooking. (Wednesday Aug 13 | post #126)
Ex-Glenbard East student found guilty of cruelty to animals
Surely you're being facetious and playing devil's advocate, but you see the difference? To set a trap for a rodent in your home and dispose of the corpse, versus: (1) purposely seeking out rodents, (2) capturing them with the intent to kill them, (3) mutilating them, (4) proudly displaying your handy work for all to see, and (5) using the blood from the kills to scrawl writing on surfaces near the kill? Come on ... try as you may, there's really no comparison! (Wednesday Aug 13 | post #100)
Ex-Glenbard East student found guilty of cruelty to animals
My Junior year in high school (in the North suburbs), a group of Senior clowns thought it would be a good prank to gather road kill and leave the corpses strewn about the halls. That was disgusting and they were punished accordingly. However, that, in my mind, could still be reasonably viewed as a "prank"- -they didn't kill anything. Given the psychology of mutilating and prominently displaying ANY once-living thing the way this kid did takes what he did out of the realm of "prank-dom " and raises serious questions about his mental health/stability. IMO, he was punished appropriately and I hope he benefits from the counseling! (Wednesday Aug 13 | post #92)
Mr. Byrne, "I dare say that in this cultural climate, if Chicago were able to spend as much as New Trier spends on each student, black males still would underperform. " You know as well as I that CPS could/would never be able to pour as much money (i.e., resources) into its students as New Trier. I always find it amusing when people set forth hypotheses that they know can never be either proven or disproven! "Would Chicago public school students do any better if this 'inequity' were narrowed by New Trier spending less?" Questions like this one evidence that you've missed the point completely. No one has asked that the playing field be leveled by decreasing resources to students at New Trier; but rather, by increasing resources to CPS students. More funding equals better teachers, facilities, supplies (e.g., ensuring that every student has a textbook ... and, preferably one that is not 3 decades old), etc. At bottom, your piece is nothing more than the same rhetoric that has been spouted for years to perpetuate the precise type of complacency that has our school system in shambles. I do not agree that urging parents to keep their children out of school is the answer--it only hurts the exact children who lawmakers and folks like you have already made clear that they don't give a darn about. But until you have some positive suggestions to go along with your rant, you do tend to come off as just another "racist or elitist" who was just waiting for another opportunity to share your opinions about the failures of the so-called "Black community." (Tuesday Aug 12 | post #32)
Sulfuric acid used in attack on woman, family says
I was wondering how long it would take before the senseless racial slurs began to be thrown about. Congratulations "Beware" , "Latino" and "Mr Pragmatic", you all get the first place "'Idioc-y' Award" for the day! Do us all a favor and just GO AWAY! The fact that this woman is a social worker may have played a role in her attack. I can only imagine what those who do that job have to face daily. My prayers go out to her and her family for her speedy recovery and the capture of the three heartless, spineless attackers. (Wednesday Jul 30 | post #86)
Stepmother jealous that husband kisses his daughter on the lips
LW1 has issues! Growing up, my family showed plenty of affection, but we never kissed on the lips, because the matriarchs of our family said it was "nasty." Now that I'm older, I think it's ridiculous! I kiss my 2-year-old son on the lips all the time. I tell him I love him, give him the biggest hugs, etc. So does my husband. Unless he finds it embarassing or uncomfortable and asks me to stop as he gets older, I will continue to do so. If the husband's daughter is not uncomfortable with the peck on the lips and pet names, LW1 needs to get over it and herself! LW2? Well, he has issues, too! He needs to have her refinance the home to have it put in her name, and if she is unwilling to do it voluntarily, he needs to get the courts involved. Like my mom used to say, "there's one born every minute!" (Thursday Jul 24 | post #57)
Cook County Jail violates inmates' rights, U.S. finds
Jean, I went back and re-read your original post (on p. 6) as you suggested, and it's still inaccurate. First, you did not make the distinctions that you clarify above (i.e., your original post read to many--myself included--as though you were saying that the vast majority, if not all, of the detainees at the CCJ are accused of non-violent crimes). I--as others later did in response-- was merely pointing out that the CCJ is in fact filled with "gun-toting " "trigger-happ y" thugs, murderers, rapists ... the worst of the worst. No, if convicted, these people will not serve out their sentences at the CCJ, but they are housed there until trial (which could be several years after their arrest). I know of detainees accused of the most heinous crimes who have been in the CCJ for 4 years and counting, awaiting trial. Admittedly, this is all kind of a tangent, but since you took the time to respond to my post, I thought I would do the same. Good day. (Jul 19, 2008 | post #329)
Cook County Jail violates inmates' rights, U.S. finds
Jean, your post is not quite accurate. While it is true that the Cook County Jail is a holding facility for those who are awaiting trial, the charges against them run the gamit from the most heinous of murders to some of the non-felonous offenses you mentioned above. To account for this fact, there are different Divisions--with varying levels of security--to house them all. (Jul 17, 2008 | post #124)
Cook County Jail violates inmates' rights, U.S. finds
First of all, it's a "jail", not a "prison" ! The people at the Cook County Jail are not "inmates, " but are "detainees ". These are distinctions with a difference. The Cook County Jail is a holding facility for those awaiting trial. You're ready to lock these detainees up, throw away the key, and strip them of all of their rights (including basic human rights) when they haven't even been tried, let alone convicted, for the crime(s) they have been accused of and are being detained for. Are there some detainees who have in fact committed the crime(s) they are accused of? Of course. But, how about making the State prove it before you leap to judgment?!@ (Jul 17, 2008 | post #109)
NU law school to offer 2-year program
Let's not get our over-priced britches in a bunch! First, have no fear other over-priced law schools!The tuition for the 3-year and 2-year program will be very similar (if not the same). Remember, in reality the 2-year program will be a condensed 3-year program (much like the NU's 4-year JD/MBA is an intense, condensed version of the 5-year programs offered elsewhere). In other words, the 2-year students will basically be going to school year-round (i.e., they'll be paying tuition while other students are on breaks). Second, no one is "reduc[ing] the fundamentals. " Those same dumb, mandatory fundamental classes we all had to take as first-year law students (and, depending on what school you went to, you had to take some more your second year), will still be mandatory in the 2-year program. Third, the problems that people are talking about (i.e., poor social skills, failure to grasp simple legal concepts, etc.) would not be fixed if the program was 2, 3 or 10 years! Why? Because these aren't things taught in MOST law schools (NU Law's no exception). Law school doesn't give you a personality; if anything, it may serve to stifle what personality you do have! And, anyone who's ever been to law school knows that the goal is not to train you to practice law, but to "think like a lawyer"--they are two distinctly different concepts. Concepts in law school are taught in the hypothetical and no clear "answer" is ever given (I didn't get a clear answer to a single question until BarBri). If any of you profess to have been ready to go on day-one of practice, I'm calling your bluff and yelling "Bull____! " (Jun 20, 2008 | post #64)
Teens made pact to get pregnant, report says
Your post is ignorant and intriguing at the same time. Let's examine ... 1. You say you're a teacher? Now, that's the scariest part of it all, but let's not stop there. 2. Notwithstanding #1, you showed your propensity for regurgitation rather than research. Had you taken a moment to do just a hint of research, you could have easily found the statistic you cited BEFORE you opened your mouth and inserted your foot. 3. I find it very interested that at the beginning of your post you lump all Hispanics together with your stereotyping, but when it comes to the 17 girls at issue, you conveniently segregate them from the whole of the White race by referring to them as mere "White Trash." Why not paint ALL Whites with the same broad brush you used for Hispanics based on a small minority?!@ 4. Have some originality about yourself. The "little mistakes" insult has already been done (circa Sarah Silverman, 2007 MTV Awards). It was disgusting when she said it, and the same is true here. With proper guidance--obviousl y, more guidance than they received BEFORE their little pact--these girls and their children could very well become positive, productive members of society. As an educator, you could have turned this moment into a priceless teaching tool. Instead, you chose to spew hatred and filth. Indeed, as you so eloquently put it, "No wonder the USA is going to hell!!" (Jun 20, 2008 | post #237)
Teens made pact to get pregnant, report says
Really? I'd love to see some kind of support for this ridiculous "statistic. " When your post begins like this, it's hard to read, let alone find any credibility in, anything else that you have to say. (Jun 19, 2008 | post #100)
Dan Ryan Expressway shooting shuts down traffic
A wholly inadequate transportation system, shootings on the e-way, etc. ... does Daley REALLY think we've got a shot at hosting the Olympics? I bet everytime he hears crap like this it gives him an ulcer! I agree with "Hot Box." It's not about race or socio-economic status (the majority of Black people are good, law-abiding citizens, as are the majority of poor people). It's about pure ignorance and trifling-ness (okay ... so I made up a word)! If I hear one more parent who knows her (and I say "her," b/c of the great number of absentee fathers) seed is a no-good-________ make excuses for him/her or talk about what a good person he/she was after he/she's been gunned down (not as an innocent victim, but quite intentionally) in the street, I'm going to scream! The truth is, a lot of these mothers are willing to overlook the fact that their teenage or adult son doesn't have (and has never had) a real job to speak of, because he's bringing home plenty of $$ to pay the bills. Then these same mothers have the nerve to join a neighborhood march when another innocent kid is gunned down and/or sit on her stoop complaining about the senseless violence that permeates her community. Wake the hell up! People keep talking about ending the violence. Many are searching for the root of the problem, but most need look no further than their own homes. The bogeyman that has our children afraid to walk to/from school, ride their bikes freely in their own neighborhoods and enjoy being kids is sleeping right down the hall! To all of these mothers and grandmothers harboring these thugs, I say: put up or shut up! (Jun 19, 2008 | post #30)
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