A new rule asks colleges to prove a degree beats no degree; the Sinaloa cartel's last founder faces sentencing as Trump completes the decapitation; and Newsom's "competitive" diaper deal wasn't.
If I had it to do again I would not send my kids to college until
They worked 2 years at any legal and moral job. And they were great students who are fully self sustaining. College is set up to be a continuation of high school. Group think and convincing all of us a degree is necessary for gainful employment. It is NOT.
It would help IF high school actually prepared students for gainful employment. Years ago I met a Swiss kid on vacation. He said everyone there trains for some job (plumber, electrician, mechanic…something) in high school, then upon graduation they must give 2 years to the military, and after that they get a vacation and upon returning they can choose to go to college if they can qualify but at least no one is without job skills. Makes much better sense to me than what we do. The only job skill I got out of high school was typing. Hey, let me add something to this. I live near an Amish community. All the students go to school until they are 13. Then they go to work on the family farm. By 18 they can raise sellable crops, butcher, build just about anything, train horses and mules, run the local market, absolutely anything they need to know to support adult life and a future family. If they can do it for nearly nothing, why can’t we with the bloated overpaid worthless education supported by our excessive property taxes??
Yes. We have a significant shortage of certified nursing assistants. In my part of the midwest they are paying $20.00/hour plus benefits. The training can and should be offered to 11th and 12th graders and takes about 8-12 weeks. It is helpful if you are a kind and decent human:)
Lots of 16-18 year old girls and boys are mature enough and idealistic enough to want a service job. What better than nursing assistant where they can go ON and train all the way up thru doctor. Nursing assistant is a great stepping stone to a world of medical practice!
The Medical Cartel, injected any an all muscles with
the totally fraudulent Quaxcine (mRNA) that killed and disabled countless millions. That is what "medical practice" entails. Where have you been? Printing get out of jail passes?
I would think that becoming an MD requires something else. Emphasis on high school science courses (with good marks) for starters. Then a BSc undergraduate degree prior to Med School. It is usually heavily academic. Takes many years of university training as opposed to 8-12 weeks for Nurse Practitioner. Different kettle of fish entirely.
Yes you are probably right, however, many RNs now earn the equivalent of a PhD and become nurse practitioners. In my doctor’s office, she does everything the doctor does just under his supervision.
I think there are a lot of myths out there about that. Nurse Practitioner is one thing, and MD is another. There have always been nurses. Often, they dealt with the more practical end of things, while an MD made the diagnosis and the decisions. Two different levels.
Emphasis on HS science and working as a CNA part time are not mutually exclusive but you aren't going to be a CNA for long if you head for med school. This year I met a young woman well into medical school who figured out she did not like touching people? I told to her to go for pathology, though AI is going to hit that subspecialty. I did teach several nursing students at a research University who followed with medical school. However nursing and medicine have significantly different focuses, person verses pathology.
Many people misunderstand the different aspects of medicine, and the very different levels of academics involved. One cannot be easily plugged into another, necessarily.
I think they misunderstand the differences between practical application, and grasping medical theory/analysis. Both are necessary skills in various situations, but the medical theory/analysis is meant to set the pace.
I was just thinking that. I (a male) had to do that program with my sisters (e.g., females), because our Mom was a Nurse (capital "N"). I only had to wear a white shirt while my sisters had to wear the candy striped gown. Anyway, it was a very tough, but very rewarding time spent. I can't describe how difficult the Nurses have it with some patients. Other patients are great, but every patient is in some degree of pain - emotional or physical - and definitely have various degrees of appreciation. I dunno, maybe that summer as a high school "candy striper" really helped me be more empathetic and contributed to my work ethic. I tend to hope so.
Wow! That’s young. My husband’s twin sister did it in 1969 and 1970 as a Jr and Sr. I met my husband while volunteering in the local ambulance corp….amazing how much more we “uneducated” and “indoctrinated “ were allowed to do without a license or college degree 😉
So... Many years back, I bought a Fire tablet and a wrapper for it. The wrapper came with a BT keyboard that made typing worlds easier. The tablet has since been retired, but the keyboard works great with my iPhone. Whenever I have to respond by text and anticipate a long response, the keyboard makes the whole process endurable.
Funny, even on my phone I never use my thumbs to type, I use predictive text and my index finger. I never used a Blackberry or phone to text so didn’t learn that particular skill 😆
My mom never finished high school. Back before computers my mom typed 120wpm! She raised us 4 kids with no help with that skill. She was even able to move us to Malibu down by Trancas in the early 70s right across the highway from Zuma beach! She typed out of our home; screenplays, books, resumes, college papers. We took care of all chores; cooking, cleaning, shopping, yard work plus we had our own jobs doing the same things for neighbors, while my mom typed 18 hours a day all so we could live where there were no gangs or drugs in school.
I still remember Trancus market. We did not live on the beach by any means, we were more inland. But I remember that market. The average person reading this probably has no idea how shishi an area that was to live in.
You could be me! My mom raised three of us in the sixties and because she had such strong secretarial skill she got better and better jobs. Feminism ruined it for women I too became a secretary and was proud that I had a well paying job with Bennie’s. “Career” my S
Pure communist indoctrination colleges. Pretentious to the max. Never forget the Duke lacrosse team scandal, and that Ralph Baric AKA Mr. covid worked at the University of No Class.
"Right thinking" reminded me of the University of Pittsburgh's response to the Summer of George Floyd: that fall they offered a required 1 credit course for all entering freshmen on their version of a history of black America. It was Woke and featured a list of primary sources. One of them was NOT Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Another of them was NOT anything written by Thomas Sowell or any other conservative black thinker.
My dad took typing class and this is what helped land his first job in education - as a Business Ed teacher. He ended up in the county education administration. All due to his typing skilz.
Oh, how I wish I HAD taken typing. I refused because I made the firm decision, I would never be a secretary. That was in 1966. My older, wiser sister went to secretarial school after graduating with honors from Vanderbilt in 1967. When I went for my first job interview with an international bank; they asked me what position I was seeking. My Phi Beta Kappa key and my request for "the best possible job you think I can perform," got me the teller line.
I was one of five boys in a group of 25 girls back in my typing class 72 years ago. The guys mocked me for being in there. Like others here, it was the one class that paved the way for my career the most. Unlike geometry, I still use typing today.
I took typing class at my high school in 1984. My father had been a clerk/typist in the USAF during the Korean War. He was his units clerk by day, and when he wasn’t doing that, he was cleaning the blood and guts out of B-29 bombers that had been over N. Korea. After the war, he was a cotton gin manager all of the rest of his life, where he didn’t type as much, but he still did. My mother was his office manager and she typed continuously. I knew I’d need it. I did.
Agree. We had a 19 year old Swiss student on a brief exchange program. He told us the same thing. When he returned home he was to begin his 2 years of military service.
Unless we wrest control of our education system from the left wing, WOKE, zealots we are doomed. It is a travesty that we have arrived at a point in this great nation where we are literally stealing the future from current and future generations.
Those Swiss citizens are also allowed to take home their services rifles to keep forever, after mandatory military time is up. It used to be mandatory to take rifle home, now it’s optional. This is to make their country not worth the time to invade, by others. Some 15 years ago i took a Swiss train from Zurich to interior on business and several soldiers on that train, openly carrying service weapons, which were semi automatic assault rifles. That country also has weapons, aircraft and other munitions of war hidden in various mountain caves.
David, Yes, Walt Kelley's lasting insight was that we/us are all implicated, to one degree or another, in most everything. Wisely, that puts much less emphasis on knee-jerk blame, and much more emphasis on applying energy to be helpful in positive ways.
Sounds to me like "public" colleges are being given the same treatment that private colleges have been scrutinized for. There's a term for them, called "Predatory For-Profit Colleges."
Internet search query: "predatory for-profit college" sanctions closure
And there's a term for the loans students take out to attend predatory for-profit colleges, "Borrower Defense to Repayment." It's a specific federal mechanism used to prove fraud. Schools with large groups of borrowers approved for this are effectively flagged as fraudulent by the government.
Internet search query: "for-profit college" borrower defense discharge
By opening up the "public" colleges to the same scrutiny that private colleges are subjected to it's leveling they playing field. The howls from the "public" colleges are from fraudsters who think the "public" shield protects them from the same exact predatory fraud statutes that they cheer on when their private college competition in the fraud arena get sanctioned, closed. And applying the borrower defense loan enforcement mechanism dries up their gravy train.
They are howling big mad about it. Like all fraudsters do (See: Gavin Newsome, his wife). But the predicate exists in private industry. It's about time it is applied to the "public" sphere. It's OUR money, not theirs!
It appears that the Dem party and all its shenanigans are funded by US taxpayers (and progressive oligarchs). Immigration, welfare fraud, voting and now student loans.
They're using our OWN money against us while they tear down the country.
Freedom Fox, Good points. So while we're at it, I'm wondering if this same criteria could be applied to War - the military industrial banking complex. Our tax money, their profit - and boy-oh-boy do they profit!
Me too, plus shorthand which did get me some jobs. Older boomer couple here who didn’t need any government help and helped our daughter avoid the college loans. She’s been Gainfully employed since and raising a son with 2 jobs at his university.
Exactly, Barbara. But the US educational system is no longer set up to educate/train students for the workplace. It’s set up to provide lucrative positions for administrators who, outside the system, would not be able to do anything productive. I’d love to take a college professor, put him/her on a mid-western farm/ranch as a hired hand and watch how it works out. Our so called education system is nothing more than a very expensive child care operation. And desperate, untrained, unemployable children turn to violence and crime. Or life-long welfare recipients. Just as Jesus did with the money changers, the education tables in this country need to be overturned. Education systems should be funded on outcomes/results beginning now. Do no harm is the right path, but needs to begin at the grade school level.
And yes, it occurred to me that we make kids go to school for 13 years. After 13 years of being focused on anything, those kids should be sharp and know things backwards and forwards in all subjects. But then you see these man on the street interviews on late night shows and you think, “these shallow dummies went to school for 13 years and sound like that??”
Which is proof we are going about it ALL wrong. I’ve been watching my Amish community for 40 years. As a school teacher I couldn’t not wonder what the magic was. Kids here are extremely well behaved, clever and competent. What’s the magic sauce. #1. They are always with a parent and always together (by choice). Parents work. Little kids watch. Older kids get to help. Teenagers take over. I have literally never seen a parent “teach” like a teacher teaches. They show, make a few comments and walk off.
#2. School is short. Short day 8:30 to 2 pm. School year is short October to April. There are no school tests and no grades. Work is marked right or wrong. They have to fix the wrong. There are limited toys. They do have ponies, dogs, chickens, barns, tools, etc and they are free to use whatever they want of what the family has on their own time.
#3 Kids are genuinely loved. Not indulged but loved. Siblings genuinely love each other. The older often care as much for the younger as the parents. Discipline is never done publicly. I have seen parents interrupt some misbehavior by calling a child over and whispering in Dutch but never openly criticize. That’s a hard one for me because we are so used to being rude to children. I’ve witnessed hands slapped in very young children but have never seen a child get a whipping in all 40 years.
That’s the culture that shapes good adults. Somebody ought to take it from there and revise how we shepherd modern children through their youth.
I remember going to a local event over a decade ago and paying to park on the grass. After being directed where to go, the man told me to count my change, because the HS kid taking the money was not good at arithmetic. HS kid.
Barbara, A great big plus for the Amish's education system is that they also support the Inner Spiritual needs of each individual. It is not about money, it is about living a high quality life, respecting the wholeness, inner and outer, of each person.
In TX, there are quite a few programs that high school students can take and be accredited by the time they graduate. Cosmetology, welding, EMT are ones I remember but there are a lot more.
I saw that Jeff mentioned cosmetology as having a high failure rate. I was going to disagree as it would seem “hair” which falls under that label would be a good avenue, but perhaps it’s the over saturation of the market that makes it’s failure rate high. It’s not high paying when you install start out as you usually have to work in a salon where you rent your spot and pay for product out of your pay. Plus, you can pick it up again after time off so the earning curve can be longer but the pay is never much more.
For someone with a clear entrepreneurial or trade-oriented path, four years and six figures of debt is time and capital better spent building experience or a business directly imo
College is basically a joke at this point unless you're in a very specific field, i.e., engineering.
It was only a hundred years ago that you had to be functionally literate in both Latin and Greek to graduate high-school.
Now top-tier colleges have semester long remedial math classes.
In most cases it no longer pans out. I can honestly say this as someone who has 2 degrees and is actively discussing whether or not it makes sense for my 15 year old twins to go to college.
I'm so grateful my 19 yo daughter decided after one semester at a state college working towards a social work degree, that she'd rather work in manufacturing. so she pivoted to CNC Machinist which was a free 6 month technical certification, and prior to graduation had secured a job offer for 3X12 hour shifts at $25/hr plus paid vacation, PTO and benefits like 401k and Health insurance at a large company. (Not GE aerospace but similar)
She can still take some college classes in engineering etc as she goes, but she will be able to support herself independently at the age of 19.
I myself have only a 2 year applied science degree and my own business, and have made a good life for myself, earning more money than my highly degreed younger family members.
@inquizitiveOne what state are you in? my 18 year old is trying to figure out a trade and she loved her Building construction classes in high school. Did your daughter have a sponsoring employer when she did the certification? looks like they want that here in Florida
Tell your daughter to check-out The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC, where she can earn an Associate's Degree + learn the building arts. Their web-site is: acba.edu. Here is a video about the college..https://youtu.be/ju3BrIiRC6M?si=11mNOi6-NVZltJ3Y
My daughter and I are both native Floridians, but my daughter decided at age 16 to stay with a family friend who lives in a small town in Massachusetts for junior and senior year of high school. She really shined there! Earned dual enrollment at the community college, then earned a scholarship to Salem State.
She then went to one semester at Salem State university, and then to the machinist program through MassHire in a small town near Boston (Danvers)
I love Florida and will never leave permanently but I have to admit I do love Boston/New England the best as far as big cities go.
So now I'm working on getting my 27yo step son to move up there as well and get into tech school too so he can get into manufacturing.
Jobs like GE Aerospace and other tech companies are plentiful in New England.
my extended family is from new england. My nephew started as a machinist for Smith and Wesson in Mass, your post just made me think it about for my daughter (of course when i asked her she said she was not interested) but i keep trying to find some trade that she may take to. thanks for the reply.
Look at your community college in your area… My son did a co-op to become a CNC machinist… He worked three days a week in his sponsoring company and went to school two days a week… After two years, he had his associates and a guaranteed job.
Ryan, In college I learned how to Think - logically and multidimensionally, how to research an issue in depth, establish criteria, evaluate evidence and make informed decisions. I've been grateful for that education my entire life.
Funny, I'm Gen X and I got a 3rd place ribbon when I was 10 years old at a swim meet. There were 3 of us in the race. So kind of a participation trophy I guess, though I didn't feel good about it at the time. I never really knew that I didn't have to go to college. My parents certainly didn't insist on it, but it's just that everyone kind of assumed I would. All my friends were going, both my parents had degrees, so it just seemed inevitable. Also, I figured 4 more years before I had to face reality seemed like a good plan. Luckily, my basically useless degree; Religious Studies, and I was basically an atheist at the time, I just found it very interesting; was pretty cheap by today's standards. My mom worked at the university so got a 75% discount on my tuition and my parents paid the tuition (it was basically like a 3rd car payment for them, plus they had saved some money for my brother and I's college educations). Years later I went back and got a computer programming degree (I learned to code, basically) and realized that I probably would have had a much more productive and successful life if I had just not gone to college and started working. At the very least I might have started college a year or two later with the knowledge of how life really worked, and might have focused on something that would have made it worth while. Still, I did love partying for 4 years with basically no responsibility, lol.
Yeah I wouldn't trade my college experience for anything. The partying was fabulous. I had to get it out of the way before maturing enough to know when the party is over.
Molding the minds of the young starts very early. Seventy years ago I was a five year old at home watching my mama use measuring cups and spoons; cooking, cleaning and gardening. At nap time she read me the comic strip from the daily newspaper and answered my questions about the meaning of things.
Today’s five year olds are in kindergarten, having already progressed through free ‘taxpayer funded’ preschool classes at your local public schools or through VPK programs in private settings. This has been the case for half a century now. Has this benefited the nation? It was glowingly sold as head starting all our young in the competitive global race for learning. I was heartbroken to see this happening 50 years ago. Are we better off for it?
But your mother and mine stayed home with their kids. Today’s parents both work, though I think we would all benefit if moms of two parent families could stay home more. I’m now a big fan of home schooling.
My 3 forty something kids all attended our church school. I never worked an outside job until my kids were out of college and on their own. All are successful by today’s standards, and maybe it was because of values placed on them early on from the rural setting they grew up in. They all worked summers and holidays in their dad’s family run business, so they had an idea of what showing up and work was all about. I know no magic formula because my grandchildren now have everything handed to them, and are growing up without an attitude of service, and I see more and more of that.
Franklin, your last sentence is the sad, bald faced truth! Everything we see on even msm shows the "students" acting like propagandized zombies, and it seems that they aren't just a few, but significant part of student bodies. I'm reminded of seeing the Kent state protests/riot. One media shot showed the protesters all over the green, Engineering building in background. The engineering students going to/from class like nothing going on. Tougher to indoctrinate when real hard knowledge on the menu! Eliminating all the useless courses from catalog, maybe they get back to reading, riting, rithmatic!
Even engineering (at least of the computer variety) is questionable now with the rise of AI. My almost 25 year old son got his CS degree in 2023 and only just landed a software engineering internship this summer after a year of an online master’s in computer engineering. He didn’t know what else interested him so the master’s program at least got him another shot at internships. Aside from that, he’s worked at Target. 🤷🏼♀️
I think Jeff lets some ideas run away with him, and goes into fantasy-land on occasion. He sometimes fudges. Maybe that is what happens when putting out a daily post on Substack - not enough time to fully investigate the many ideas and events.
To move up in IT, you had to have a 4 year degree of any type. That has been removed as of a few years ago. Technology is moving so fast now that many colleges cannot keep up and the industry is now recognizing certification over college degrees (certifications are tests given by companies such as Microsoft)
A cute story from my store that is a little off topic but is funny so is worth telling here.
A contractor customer called me last night. I remembered the time his two daughters were nearing high school graduation so he and his wife moved to a house very close to the local university. Then his daughters said "that is great dad but we don't want to live at home when we go to university". Being a contractor he bought a lot not far away and built a 3 unit apartment house. When his daughters found out they said "no dad, you don't understand, we want to move FAR AWAY from home".
By the way one of them became a government epidemiologist and was key in promoting the vaccine during the covid era. I still cannot convince him of the vaccine horrors. I think he believed her spiel.
@Fred- I have a high school friend whose son, a MD, works for the CDC. During Covid, and shortly afterward, she told me they only take their advice from him so they've been shotted and boosted. I have been dying ALL THESE YEARS to tell her "Your kid was lied to, too."
Sounds like you've read John Gatto's book "The Underground History of American Education." It all fell apart in the Progressive Era with Dewey's stupid theories and later on, the mindless books of Dr. Seuss added to the heap of know nothingness our schools have become.
I’m a homeschool Mom who has no formal degree but has enough credit hours for two different bachelors and a masters degree. I took courses as they made sense to me that helped further both mine and my children’s education. The distinction is I paid cash for my classes after barely squeaking through three years of “ mandatory” college after high school graduation. My oldest has always wanted to be a nurse and we made her take advantage of the running start program in WA state. It pays for two years of college credits at any state school or community college which is a much better use of the final two years of high school in my opinion. Both of my sons are going into the trades and they were able to use running start to build skills. My youngest is in his final year of high school and is going to the local community college full time to learn welding. We acknowledge that he does not need a welding degree but it’s still a better use of his time than other available options . It’s also the only time that we’ve ever benefited from all of the tax dollars spent on public schools… If the child does not need a degree for their chosen career, unless they have a fully funded college fund, why?? Also the environment on college campuses is horrible !! I’ve been able to have each of my kids start college with a fully online quarter followed by a hybrid approach that has allowed me to keep my finger on the pulse of influence exerted on the child by the institution. I would NEVER send my child to live on campus as an under 21yo with no life experience! My daughter is 22yo and now in her second quarter of nursing school and the gap years she experienced were invaluable in terms of maturity. My kids aren’t weird in an overly sheltered religious homeschool way but by keeping them close we’ve been able to navigate the cultural landmines and come out unscathed.
I recently learned about The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC, where you can earn a college degree + learn the building arts...https://youtu.be/ju3BrIiRC6M?si=LfqFG7OfXGMIavQQ
Having grown up in up in a cattle family I worked years before college. In HS I had a job running the feed mill at a 15,000 head feed yard on weekends so full time person could have 2 days off instead of a raise. Pretty good deal for owner since my $1.50/ hr was way less than the raise the full time person wanted. Then the summer between HS and College my dad took job at another FY and I rode pens looking for and treating sick calves. Both were a lot of fun and great education. Eventually I got a Doctorate in Animal Science specializing in Ruminant Nutrition.
That’s pretty cool. I always wondered what it would have been like to be a pen rider. More than any one thing to succeed, a person needs a strong work ethic and a desire to accomplish something that produces value for someone.
My youngest graduated this spring and got early acceptance to VA Tech. The price tag was astounding, with very little help from grants and scholarships, even with a 4.03 GPA. I think I caused a lot of heartache for him because I told him I would not take out student loans to pay for his education and I would not co-sign for his loans, either. He understands that if he wants to go to Tech, he'll have to pay for it himself. So he's attending the local community college and will graduate this fall, while working two jobs in order to save up for college. His advisor there told him to take as many math classes as he can at the CC level.
Sometimes, I question my decision and wonder if I've handicapped him unnecessarily, but other times, I know I made the right decision. The thought of him graduating with a mountain of debt seems like a terrible way to begin adulthood; it's not something I would wish on my worst enemy. Hopefully, when he has completed his journey, he will be fully self-sustaining, too.
@Green- How could you possibly think you've handicapped him?? You've given him the tools to think things through, go the logical route (CC will knock THOUSANDS off total tuition), and he may find a course he didn't know existed that will change his career trajectory. No You didn't handicap him. You've opened up the world to him.
I worry I may have handicapped him by making him put off his education until he can afford it. It's so easy to get distracted and it's going to take him a couple years before he can afford to go.
Due to a sudden life changing event, I was forced to end my career at age 37. I possessed no skills, and was facing the prospect of waiting tables or working as a clerk somewhere.
Something motivated me to take an adult education class in basic computer skills. It was 1986, the mainframe years. I decided to go for a 4 year bachelor's degree with a computer tech major at a local state college. Tuition was cheap and I was awarded a few scholarships.
I was the oldest student in my class and graduated with honors. I then went on to a successful career in the IT sector, working for major corporations.
Sometimes the worst thing that can happen is ultimately the best thing.
Thanks. Last encounter I had with higher education was an MBA program in the early 1980s. Straight "A" grades earned a 4.0 QPA. There was no higher score.
I think it has something to do with the way AP classes are weighted, but I'm not sure. He was middle of the pack with his class; many of the students had higher GPAs than he did.
Graduating undergrad with no debt provided a lot of flexibility and financial freedom later in my life.
I took loans for grad school. As few as possible, unlike most of my classmates. Lived as low-budget as I could. Lots of oatmeal and hamburgers. (Now I would swap eggs for the high carb oatmeal.). Paid off the loans early. Incredible financial freedom later post-marriage when we wanted to live on a single income once kids came.
As a VT grad (as is my wife and two of my kids), you made the right decision! Luckily my kids have no debt and good jobs, but it would’ve been way smarter to go the CC route, or the Trade school route, or better yet, have a look at The Preparation (book by Doug Casey and Matt Smith). Good luck!
I no longer tell prospective college students to attend college. [34 years teaching at the college level] The administration where I taught once described a new major as so able to attract students, "it was like shooting fish in a barrel." Our admissions director actually referred to students as "customers."
My husband and I have long been proponents of techinical colleges that often offer two year degrees or certificates in hands on useful skills, like electicial, plumbing, instrumentation, welding, HVAC, mechanics: you know, the kind of skills that keep the world turning, and there will always be a need for many of these skills. Always!
Both my husband and i are college graduates. He has a Welding Engineering degree from Letourneau University (in 1987, he went back to college after many Navy years, and with a me and four children to also support) This training provided for us a wonderful livelihood.
I went to UCLA right out of high school ( it was 1968, the Vietnam war was raging and the country was in upheaval). I started out to be a doctor, majoring in chemistry, but somewhere in the fog of progressive liberalism (yes, it was alive!), I lost my way and ended up with a degree in Anthropology, which proved to be totally useless and one of the most vacuous degrees available at that time. I had the dubious distinction of attending a big name school (which to this day still impresses empty air heads), that boasted of a professor named Angela Davis (before she fled to Angola), basketball star Kareem Abdul Jabar (aka Lew Alcindor at the time, before he converted to Islam), and the greatest college basketball coach of all time, John Wooden! (The best part!!).
So what did I do with my "amazing" college degree? Well, I did not go on any archeological digs or ethnological investigations into some lost tribe in the Amazonian Rainforest. I raised 6 wonderful children that I homeschooled for 22 years, and enjoyed the best career ever, a stay at home mom! A Domestic Engineer!
I have three daughters and two son in laws that graduated from Hillsdale College: still a college that delivers quality and relevance to fashioning the good moral citizen that our country so desperately needs. My three sons took a somewhat different path: One is in law enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff, one is an Instrumentation Specialist/Analyst in the oil industry (thanks to the techincal college), and the youngest joined the Navy (like father like son) after high school graduation, worked his way up in the enlisted ranks and was selected for officer program in civil engineering!
Our children are "Rush " babies (except for one daughter who is steeped in the liberal lies), and are raising their little ones to understand the good life we call America.
My husband and I continue to caution all within our sphere to not send their children to college, but to consider technical college training or the military.
I knew a number of people who did undergrad Anthropology degrees in the 80s to 90s. Trouble was, they never seemed to understand that their first degree at the undergraduate level was not enough to get them anywhere in that field. Their "major" means very little. To be an actual Anthropologist, you would require an additional Master's degree, then a PhD, then post-doctoral work and a lot of luck getting an academic position in university. It is a university academic post. It is not an entry-level position. Being an undergrad major in Anthropology means only that you learned a few of the very basics. Very long way still to go to become an Anthropologist.
A first undergraduate degree is really just enough to tell employers that you can use literacy and critical thinking skills somewhat past the high school level.
I had a friend who did an undergraduate degree at Oxford in England, majoring in History. And the Oxbridge undergrad degrees are only three years. His mother never understood why he was not scooped up as an Historian upon graduation. She just could not grasp that an undergrad degree is just the first relatively minor step to becoming a full academic at the university level.
Leo, there are times I do wonder whether it was all worth it.....
I never did work out how some students partied for four years. Or so they said. How did they ever get the masses of work done?
Maybe I should have bought a fast-food franchise instead. Better investment. And people would care whether you were there or not. Knowledge? Ah-h, not so much. Unless you can charge very high billable hours and are in a high-demand field.
It's not even a continuation of high school, since a majority of students need REMEDIAL courses before doing any college-level coursework. When Johnny can't read or cipher, the basket-weaving in the article is all that's left to him.
It is worse than high school. The kids are pampered and have safe places to hide from uncomfortable situations. They get great food. Can party on weekends. Graduate and expect the same life style. The harsh Jaws of reality eventually bite.
Personally, I went through very many years of university. I am middle-aged now. Those years were grueling, if you wanted decent marks to get into the next program. And I worked 20+ hours a week at service industry jobs to pay my own way. No Bank of Mum and Dad. Great food? I lived in a rented room off campus and cooked on a hotplate, when I had the time. Averaged 4 hrs. of sleep a night, to get the studying done and papers written. Used public transport or walked.
Do you actually know university students who live the lifestyle you describe? Maybe at Ivy Leagues, with wealthy parents and with students who manage to cheat their way through. But not the lifestyle of anyone I knew.
If you're going to bitch about America's educational system you need to place the blame on who actually controls America's educational system, Rockfeller. The Bloodlines. The 13 bloodlines of the Order Of The lluminati.
The Rockfeller family controls the educational system in America.
A study in the late 1800s showed that children who were deprived of right-brain activating subjects in their school curriculum, like music, art, philosophy, vocabulary, poetry, etc, were less capable of Critical Thinking (critical thinking- 'when you question an answer until you are satisfied').
By quietly removing right-brain activating subjects from our children's education, Rockfeller has produced a nation of non critical-thinking, non questioning labor.
"I don't want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers." - John D. Rockfeller
American children rank 29th in the World for intelligence. That was done deliberately.
PS. If you have school age children, teach them to speak in rhyme. Rhyming activates a smorgasbord of right-brain activity. And that's what our children need.
Proberta, Important points! Right brain capability is often viewed as dangerous. And today, many people view critical-thinking as highly undesirable. Best not to question...anything. "Don't rock the boat!"
Funny story - I actually wanted to go into the trades. As a Junior in HS, when it was time to start researching potential careers, I found a Farrier/blacksmith school and BEGGED my dad to let me go. He said "No Way ... you're going to college." So I did.
I don't regret my life ... but I'll bet if he were alive today he'd see things differently. :-)
"They" make a degree necessary because "they" also control job search sites like Indeed and Monster where EVERY job they advertise requires a degree. Or a requirement to speak Chinese.
—“Notice that phrase: federal taxpayers. Not “free college.” Because there is no such thing as “free college.” There is only “college paid for by other people who didn’t get to go to college, because they were busy working to pay for your college.” Every time a politician promises “free college,” what they actually mean is, “We are going to take money from the guy who fixes your plumbing and give it to the university so they can build a new diversity center with its own rock-climbing wall.”
This is SUCH an important point!! It’s all just subsidized by the people who don’t go to college, and then get sneered at by the people whose education they financially supported as being “uneducated” 🙄😡
I dont know if there is some petiton organization that would accept a citizen petition that would force politicians to say "federal taxpayer funded" instead of "free" anytime they would use the word "free" and "state taxpayer funded" at the state level. All the way down to the local level.
I know I have signed petitions online before, I just assume this would be a bridge too far for them to accept.
Anytime a politician says they want to bring in free something, say busing, make sure to ask them if the drivers, mechanics, schedules, etc have agreed to work for "free", because if they havent, it ain't "free"
Yepper, that's for the non-thinkers and unfortunately, there are so many of them and they get to have a say in things by voting. We might need to rethink that aspect of the system. Maybe by testing them; like with some of that paper you dip in the pool to test the chlorine..... ah, never mind. You get it.
I have always said there is no such thing as Free. I once turned down a Free vacation that I “won” from a drawing (I probably didn’t enter) at a fair. 😂 They couldn’t believe I turned it down. (After several minutes I did find out the cost was only a 90 minute conference attendance”
I have the fix for nearly all this publicly funded grift. Indulge me. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest the “fix” is actually simpler than you might think . How? separate spending from funding. Elected politicians can and should propose spending BUT ONLY citizen taxpayers should APPROVE FUNDING . I.E. distribute decision making across the entire taxpayer population . This will tend to put a hard stop to fraud and waste if given the help of DOGE. Every taxpayer must assign their tax dollars for or NOT for each spending bill proposed. Make a bill obtuse and unintelligible? No problem. Just say “no you can’t use my tax dollars for that.” Bills that taxpayers agree to fund get annual audits and review ie can the government continue to use my tax dollars for this? The result: Budgets then shrink or swell based on performance and the will of THOSE who actually fund the government. If everyone with skin in the game (ie taxpayers) did this, graft and political manipulation would approach zero. Nothing focuses the mind, sharpening the senses more than having one’s own hard work stolen and misused. And nothing would do more to unite Democrats and Republicans than everyone getting the governance they want TO THE EXTENT THEY WERE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT. Note: non-contributing citizens and non-citizens ARE NOT allowed in this assignment. Why? Because they get their say when they vote for or lobby their representatives who propose the spending. But if they aren’t actually paying taxes for government services, then they shouldn’t get to fund the government! This is the step change needed in our constitution! And would do a great deal more to secure our God given rights than all the pontificating party politics or all the social media complaining or all the useless dumb ass protesting.
I’ve been saying for years that even the lowest income levels should pay a flat tax of 10%. We have a huge percentage of people who pay no tax or get a full refund of what they pay in, who have no skin in the game, so of course they vote yes on everything! And any ballot measure that is a bond measure that adds to property taxes should only be voted on by those who pay the property taxes!
Great idea, only problem is that it requires a law to execute, and the folks who write the laws will want nothing to do with the idea. It would take away power and grift opportunities!
I have a fix for that too (however unlikely to execute). Nationwide citizen taxpayer STRIKE. No taxes delivered until governance over funding delivered into the hands of the citizen taxpayers!
I actually LOVE this idea Barbara. When are you running for office? That is another thing we need to work on - having more thinking conservatives involved and willing to run for office. In my local races, there are several offices with only dems running. Any ideas on how to fix that?
I’m 78. I’m not running anywhere… literally. Also not for political office. At my age, opinions (honed by age) are all I have. I hope someone will take them and “run” with it! ❤️
Years ago, I was at a very high end party in Sun Valley, Idaho. My wife was the executive secretary for the CEO of Horizon Air who also owned the Elkhorn development and golf course. Anway the room was populated with 30 or so multi=millionaires and a few billionaires. It was a very snobbish, Ivy League, trust funder sort of crowd. So I am standing around when I hear two well attired men strike up a conversation. One of them asks how the other's children are doing. He lists them off and finishes with his son- who is preparing for a career in the military as a pilot. The other man is aghast. He says, "there are so many other things he could do, why would he choose public service?" I stood listening maybe 5 feet away. I had been a lifelong public servant and was in the business of hiring retired public servants. I wanted to get squarely in the middle of this guy, but alas, I was there to support my wife and her boss. Not cause ugly scenes with the local aristocracy. But I discovered the unvarnished truth that day about how we (cops, Captain then) were perceived. It is a lesson I have never forgotten.
I came upon that ATTITUDE when I relocated to Chicago in 2003. I was temporarily working at Curves (all the North Shore ladeedah ladies). When they learned that my son (31 on ACT) had enlisted in Marine Reserves and was IN Iraq, they were aghast. Most did not KNOW anyone serving in the military and considered it only for people who needed it for lack of finances. (He was IN college - tuition was benefit of Dad teaching there). His college was interrupted by 3 deployments. HE proceeded to completion and is now successful in a business career and family.
Yes! Gavin is one in CA and Wretched Whitmer is another in Michigan who thinks they could be President…. She puts out commercials saying the “Govt shouldn’t tell you what to do with your body” after her unconstitutional Covid lock down and “everybody get vaxed” policies… now her big feather in her cap is her “FREE” school programs” — this should come up again and again to bury her:
“free college.” Because there is no such thing as “free college.” There is only “college paid for by other people who didn’t get to go to college, because they were busy working to pay for your college.” Every time a politician promises “free college,” what they actually mean is, “We are going to take money from the guy who fixes your plumbing and give it to the university so they can build a new diversity center with its own rock-climbing wall.”
Everyone should start looking into Mark Kelly, senator from AZ. Gabby Giffords' husband. He is building a big a$$ war chest. He needs some investigaring.
Technically, the federal government doesn't back up the students. It backs up the banks.
I have talked to many young people who have student debts they have been paying off for years, and still owe more than they borrowed. The government most certainly does not step in and help.
Student loans are a scam between the banks and the colleges to sell teenagers into lifelong debt servitude, with the government helping the banks by backing them up if the student somehow can't manage to pay.
But remember that student debt can't be written off in bankruptcy, the only debt that can't. (Thanks, Joe Biden, who helped put that in the Dodd-Frank Bill, written after the 2008 crash to make previously illegal banking practices legal.)
So the government doesn't usually have to pay the banks, but if they need it, the taxpayers are there for them.
It's like Obamacare, a transfer of money to the insurance companies, while convincing the public that it is somehow a gift to them.
Or TARP in 2008, which started the practice of putting Wall Street gambling debts onto the public debt, which has caused the US public debt to skyrocket.
We all know that all wars are bankers wars, we should realize that we should extend that knowledge to understanding the war on the public.
"..... federal government doesn't back up the students. It backs up the banks" Absolutely! Thanks for pointing that out. There are many that will never get their loans paid back by the time they meet their maker.
Absolutely. This is so much more insidious because the borrowers are victims too, they get turned into a perpetual annuity for lenders who at the same time offload 100% of the risk to the taxpayers for a fraudulent degree that they have no hope of ever paying off. These are the best customers, those that only pay the vig, never the principal.
Where in our Constitution does it grant any power to the federal government over education? The new rule falls far too short of what really needs to happen; specifically the end of all federal funds directed towards education. Education is not within the purview of the federal government. Without federal funding, whether in the form of grants or guaranteed student loans, educational institutions would be forced to cut costs. The cost of a “higher” education has greatly outpaced the rate of inflation. Colleges and universities have used federally guaranteed student loans as a blank checkbook at the expense of students and their families. People need to wake up to the overreach of the federal government. Last year two education related cases came before the Supreme Court. One had to do with the issue of forgiveness of student loans. The second centered around the admission policies of colleges and universities. If the justices understood the limits of power granted to the federal government by the Constitution, they could have quickly ruled on both cases as there should be no student loans and without federal rules, the strings attached to federal funds, colleges and universities are free to accept or reject applicants.
Yep, no college debt because I was busy serving the Navy from at age 17-20 then working in the oil fields in the summer saving more money to go to college. Got a BS in Industrial Engineering, hated my 1st 2 jobs. Quit and started working residential construction, eventually starting my own small contracting business. GFC came along and I turned the greatest hobby I ever enjoyed (horseback field trials) in to a business. Somewhere in there got married and we eventually bought land and built a boarding kennel and bought some cows to go with the bird dog training. Here we are 2 adults both with quality degrees, working at something we love 7 days a week 12 hours or more per day. I don’t regret going to college because I made my parents proud being the only person in our family to ever get a bachelor’s degree. To this day, I laugh at the importance much of society places on college yet the things that make our everyday lives so comfortable come from all the trades and service jobs in the economy. I wonder if I would have been smart enough to save that 40k I spent how much it would be worth today if it was just in a simple S&P 500 index fund 💸🤑
so once again the BANKSTERS make all the gangster profits (speaking of CARTELS~!) while the TAXPAYERS are on the hook!! what's wrong with this picture and how about making this a REAL reform pkg that would impact hundreds of thousands if not MILLIONS of lives by including MAKING THE BANKS EAT THE LOANS. they would be out in the streets CHEERING for President Trump and the Midterms a SLAMDUNK> just a thought.
When I was a university professor of political science I would advise undergraduates majoring in that subject to get elective credits in computer and internet security as our university had such a program ranked among the top six programs nations wide by the National Security Agency: having a certificate of completion of its program might give such graduates a foot in the door of hiring firms. I did not urge them to apply for law school or to pursue further graduate studies in more social science mumbo jumbo as my colleagues did. I knew that was just kicking the can down the road since our country has no shortage of starving lawyers or Ph.Divinities doing gig work. My colleagues were in effect striving to turn their advisees into career clones of themselves. It never seemed to occur to them that getting hands on employment snd being able to buy a home and start a family had any value.
We’re having an epidemic of infertility because also “it never seems to occur to them” - that female fertility will plummet by age 30. The PhD’s seem to have no knowledge of their own biology.
I fully believe there is an anti-natalist agenda at work among these academics. However if it helps reduce the numbers of leftists and progressives cluttering our nation so much the better.
"...the angry administrators argued that earnings aren’t everything." Well, then I would say, let the Universities loan to students out of their own massive funds, and then argue "that earnings aren't everything." A taste of reality is just what these elites require.
The woman who has been cutting my hair for years now, someone I will drive 40 minutes to visit, has only a high school diploma. She is simply excellent at her craft, so a college degree for this kind of work is totally unnecessary.
Ditto -- I found my hairdresser at least 20 years ago when she was just starting out. She has changed salons -- where the salon owner provides the facilities and the hairdressers and cosmetologists pay rent for a chair and the use of the facility -- multiple times during this time and I have just moved with her because she's stayed in the same area.
Your comment reminded me of a time I went with my stepdad to his haircut and beard trim appointment. Shiny dome and full beard. He paid more for the haircut than the beard trim!
Jeff, However, a more extensive education might contribute to a more satisfying life for your hair dresser. Depends on how one defines "necessary" for one's life.
I was thinking the same thing but cosmetology used to be a trade. You went to trade school to learn it, and got licensed for it. I didn’t realize one could get a degree in hair dressing.
As a licensed Cosmologist I can weigh in on the subject. Even a basic program is 10k, fancier schools like Paul Mitchell charge 15-25k. It’s an 80/20 thing. Lots of people go to Cosmetology School, but not everyone actually works at it, or even goes to State Board to get their license. It takes about 5 years to really build a successful business. Twenty percent are the top earners making six + figures. It takes coming in every day and sitting waiting for people to call or walk in. Nowadays social media is huge in building a portfolio.
My hairdresser in Atlanta, Siggers, runs a program for apprentices, who get paid while they learn. I have seen how the apprentices progress from sweeping the floor to shampooing to blowdrying, cutting and coloring hair.
My daughter got her license two years ago. The school cost $20,000, but it was way cheaper than a 4-year college. I think the problem is a lot of people go to school for this but then don't want to put the work in that it takes to become successful. She has seen people work for 6 months and then quit. This has to skew the statistics. Two years in she now has a good client base, while her friends are just graduating from 4-year colleges and getting jobs at the YMCA or restaurants. And she has learned a lot about running a business while doing this since she is self-employed.
I’ve been licensed for decades. I took Cosmetology in high school. The school even drove us to State Board for our exam in school buses. This was in 1966. Why can’t more of these useful professions be taught in high school anymore instead of expensive trade schools? Do they teach things like shop in high school anymore?
You know, this makes sense. I’m a massage therapist and I found a good school that didn’t do loans so it was less expensive, but the schools that do offer loans are 2-2.5x more expensive.
And SO many people who go to massage school either never work as massage therapists or they quit after a couple of years. Of my class of 12 (2017) only 2 of us are still therapists and it’s been that way for at least 5 years already.
Also, massage therapy is a 500-hour program in TX, which is sometimes offered as an associates degree, but not a bachelors. Still can cost up to $20k, though.
A parallel development are states requiring credentials for every last thing! Barbering? Manicure? What it is is a way for states to gather more money in licensing fees for these credentials.
It is usually some sort of certificate I think, not a degree like a bachelors degree. Or possibly an associates degree at most. Probably depends on state licensing requirements and such to some extent too.
Talking to my hairdresser the other day. She said the hours for cosmetology were cut from 1600 hours of practical to 1000 hours and no practical exam required just a written test. This is in CA. These people make plenty of money and it is AI proof. Women will always flock to their doors. Moral of the story, don’t pick someone just out of school. Our daughter is a “stylist “ and she put her son through college as an engineer with not debt and he got a job right out of school. I’d say cosmetology served them well. Mike Rowe has a great program for people looking to be trained for jobs. Real work that pays money. More kids should look into it. We have another nephew that got a very expensive degree in “hospitality “ Currently living back home no job. I’m pretty sure he had a great college experience on his parent’s dime.
Absolutely! He recently had JD Vance on his show and they talked a lot about this. Thre Trump administration has just got on board with a program that Rowe pitched 15 years ago to facilitate things.
My niece is a hairdresser/cosmetologist. She earned her certificate and license in High School. She had to pay a state license fee but the training was a high school program. It is not a college degree.
There is no 4 year degree for cosmetology. Idk about your friend but you have to pass a licensing test in my state which basically mandates you get the 2 year cosmetology degree at a community college. I think once licensed you don’t have to take the test again unless you lose the license for some reason. The daughter of my stylist just got her degree. my stylist told me about the degree and it is no joke. You have to know how to do everything and even some anatomy/physiology/other health stuff. I was shocked honestly. I’m not sure if the license requires a 2 year degree or if it just makes passing the licensing test more likely?
Gavin Newsome should go to prison for this. He gives $6.2 million of our paid Tax money to his wife’s nonprofit charity to give away free diapers. “Free“ - not free. The ones who get the “free ““ free diapers had to donate to Newsom‘s campaign to get in line to receive the free diapers.
The average American citizen WOULD be railroaded into prison via plea-bargaining. (Trial by your peers? What's that?).... unless you are an illegal alien, in which case you have a get out of jail free card as a "protected species".
We have a two tier "justice" system: rules for thee but none for me.
Also, one thing Jeff didn’t mention is that the “ non-profit” paid more for the diapers than if they had purchased them at Target, for example. Another facet of the grift…
No one gets any free diapers. His wife gets $6.2 million for her charity and then she/it passes out the diapers to other charities who already paid into his political campaign fund. Newsom has done this many times before.
Apparently there were actual diapers distributed but as I wrote above, the non-profit bought the diapers at a price higher than if they had gone to Target and purchased them. This is another dimension to the money laundering scheme.
😂🤣😂…yeah, I’ve got a ‘free’ dog. Someone had abandoned his big puppy eyed self at a nearby park. Considering all that he’s chewed up and destroyed and the digging up of my backyard, he’s been pretty expensive.
On bad days I tell him I know why he got dumped. He probably ate someone’s new Apple Watch.
Before I agreed to get a dog for my kids i had my wife and both my kids sign a contract listing all the duties they would be responsible for if we got the dog.
For the most part they have honored the spirit of the contract.
Also, student loans are basically predatory schemes designed to legally prey on children who aren’t even fully neurologically mature yet.
The brain isn’t even fully mature until around 25 or 26. It’s why your car insurance rates change around that age.
So we design degrees attractive to people who are still developmentally children, dangle loans the consequences of which they cannot possibly be aware, and then have them (or the taxpayers) on the hook for 30 years.
Maybe no more student loans at all is a better solution
The nonchalantly ubiquitous corruption is absolutely mind blowing 😡 I am not surprised that there is corruption but the sheer extent of it is really astounding. On the other hand, this helps to neatly explain why we pay so much in taxes and fees and yet get very little out of all that money. Because it’s going into the grifters’ pockets instead of to the uses the money is ostensibly meant for.
Re: Student loans. The original name of this loan for college education (JFK’s idea) was National Student Defense Loans. The idea being that the government would guarantee loans for students going into programs that were important for the national defense - not 14th century trans studies. By the way any major ending in studies is a total zero but I digress. That was to counter the Russkies space programs and defense stuff and then we ended up with this catastrophe as the Great Society which wasn’t so great expanded. So this rule is good for the economy and good for the students. If you want to study art or philosophy then you should pay for it yourself.
Jeff, this has been bugging me for some time, but why don't you put captions under your pictures? It is often a guessing game to figure out who is in the picture and today, the picture of presumably Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, certainly doesn't look like a guy who is 76!
I am not sure if you aware, but Substack added a feature a few months ago (at my request!) that allows you to center text. To make a caption, just select italic text (Which is smaller than the normal text) and hit center. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Yeah, when you insert an image (on the web at least) there's a photo menu on the upper right hand corner of the image. Adding a caption is one of the options. It's very essy!
Thanks! I never knew that option was there, however, it makes the captions a lot smaller than what I would prefer, so I think I’m gonna stick with my way, which is also very easy!
We live 10 miles from one of the top engineering schools. My son always wanted to go there. When he was younger, he agreed to live at home and commute 2-3 years then we’d help get him an apartment ( wanted to make sure he could cook and such). Well, he decided after freshman year and living at home that he wanted the college experience, that college wasn’t just about the degree. I told him “well, since it’s my wallet and I think college is about a degree that will more likely get you a job in 4 years, you can pay for the “experience “ part yourself because I’m not going to pay for glorified summer camp.” He’s paying for his own experience. Btw, it’s a state school, the housing is literally more than the tuition.
Jeff, I’ve been reading Coffee & COVID for about a year, your work is very important to me. While I agree that a degree in Mariachi studies shouldn't be at taxpayers expense, I have a beef with you on this one.
Dismissing an entire centuries-old musical art form as "four songs" and a "flour tortilla" isn't witty—it just exposes a complete lack of musical literacy.
If you want an answer to this nonsense, go listen to Linda Ronstadt’s Canciones de Mi Padre. Arranged by Rubén Fuentes and backed by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán—the absolute pinnacle of the craft—it features complex meter shifts, intricate brass/string arrangements, and vocal demands that easily rival classical opera and Beethoven. It’s a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning masterpiece that stands in the exact same ballpark of compositional brilliance.
Saying mariachi isn't "the chords of the gods" only proves you haven't been listening. You're dead wrong on this one.
I agree that mariachi is much more than what Jeff described, it is definitely a unique art form (and I do believe he was exaggerating for effect). But I also think the point still stands that paying so much for a degree and implying taxpayers should subsidize that degree is ridiculous.
Come on folk, Jeff's characterization is just another excellent example of his trademark satire! One doesn't have to be a musical expert to know that Mariachi has a very distinctive sound that opens it up for these humorous comments. Same goes for Polkas, Irish "lord of the dance" stuff, etc. Mariachi genre has a rich history, and is fun to listen to , but I wouldn't want a steady diet!
Agree...I don't want to reiterate everything I said as I already commented to this substack, but music is incredibly important and complex and a part of many aspects of our lives from church to movies to physically healing the body and mind.
If the the 'degree' doesn't show a greater monetary benefit than those who do not obtain a degree in the same profession - NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS. It makes zero difference if it's mariachi, taal, or jiangnan sizhu.
In addition to wiping the Mullahs and the IRGC off the face of the Earth and making the Middle East a safer place for all, President Trump has also given a gift to the South American region by shutting down and imprisoning many of the Drug Cartel leaders.
Gifts to the world from President Trump and the United States of America 🇺🇸.
Proud of attacking a country who never attacked us? Based on the same fear-mongering they always use? Like WMDs in Iraq, Russia wants to invade Europe, and the grandaddy of fear campaigns, COVID? Iran was never a threat to us. They may be now, after what we've done. What would we do if Iran killed our president and 40 members of congress, along with their families? Not to mention 160 schoolgirls and 4000 other Iranians, so far. How's that kool-aid tasting? The past 20 years these are the 3 biggest policy disasters: Open borders, COVID response, and now the Iran war. Democrats gave us one, Trump gave us the other 2. I'll never vote for a democrat. But after Republican primary voters kept returning Lindsay Graham and tossed Massie, I can't call myself a Republican any longer.
All the kool-aid drinkers among the commenters here say essentially the same thing. Which is - they don't want to hear opposing views. You are among the ~30% of people (on both left and right) who are locked into pre-conceived ideas and unreachable no matter the evidence presented that you may be wrong. So, just block anyone who disagrees with you. That's not a way to grow and learn. I'm a conservative/libertarian. I will never vote for a democrat. But I can no longer call myself a Republican. I WILL continue to vote for any Republican who doesn't take money from the Israeli lobby and is America first, not MIGA.
It is funny that people who sneer at the snowflakes on college campuses who require safe spaces to protect them from opposing views, also brag about how they block anyone with opposing views, in order to keep themselves safe.
Excellent point. I'm genuinely surprised that most commenters here, who I presume were able to see through the COVID lies, are so easily manipulated on other topics.
You're falling for the same fear card they always use. The Muslims all want to kill us. Iran will wipe out NYC and LA if we don't destroy them first. It's as transparently BS as COVID and the Iraq war. Do Muslims sometimes do bad stuff, like kill or try to kill others for exercising free speech? Sure. The rape gangs seem to be real, best I can tell. Christians and Jews have their evil zealots too. You can learn from those with other viewpoints. I used to be all-in pro-Israel, anti-Muslim. A clear-eyed assessment says I was wrong.
"Muslims all want to kill us." No, not only kill us, convert us. Some of them will also accept those not Muslim paying a tax to them to be allowed to live as second class citizens -Jizya, as long as we keep quiet. If you have not bothered to read their Quran, and listen to some videos of their more radical Imams, or even better, those who have left Islam, you should.
Per that same Quran, they are also allowed to lie about their Quran, goals and plans; steal, rape (adults & children) kill & do other haram acts (drink, eat pork) to achieve their as-stated-in-Quran goals. If you are Muslim, being so big on 'community', why would you want to go to a majority Christian country instead of being with others who believe, eat and worship as you do? It IS an invasion, just a 'soft' invasion - that is also in the Quran as the beginning of takeover and why so many quickly run for political offices. Everyone should realize the Quran is a political playbook for how to win wars.
I am by no means pro Israel either. Just as Muslims, I do believe Israel has the right to exist, but I am not in support in them being integrated into or part of our military or M. Intelligence, such as is being advanced in Section 219 (formerly Section 224) of the proposed House Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which outlines the "United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative". They can remain allies. We are not Israel's weapon to aim at others.
Yes, you can find zealots in every group, but when the very articles of their faith say to convert or kill others just for existing, that is wrong and evil. That is also not a group I want anywhere around my family or even in my country.
I do not like wars, not regime change or any wars that are not justified as to the lives lost or damaged. Too many of our young men have paid the price for oil/bankers wars, as well as those they fought against. For too many years, the see-eye-aye has been allowed to run rampantb and stir the pot. We need to get out of the job of being the world's police.
But, the IRGC has made clear they are so militant (Hamas, Hezbollah) that they look forward to killing anyone who doesn't believe as they do; even other stable Arab countries do not want them as citizens. That ought to tell you a great deal.
If I had it to do again I would not send my kids to college until
They worked 2 years at any legal and moral job. And they were great students who are fully self sustaining. College is set up to be a continuation of high school. Group think and convincing all of us a degree is necessary for gainful employment. It is NOT.
It would help IF high school actually prepared students for gainful employment. Years ago I met a Swiss kid on vacation. He said everyone there trains for some job (plumber, electrician, mechanic…something) in high school, then upon graduation they must give 2 years to the military, and after that they get a vacation and upon returning they can choose to go to college if they can qualify but at least no one is without job skills. Makes much better sense to me than what we do. The only job skill I got out of high school was typing. Hey, let me add something to this. I live near an Amish community. All the students go to school until they are 13. Then they go to work on the family farm. By 18 they can raise sellable crops, butcher, build just about anything, train horses and mules, run the local market, absolutely anything they need to know to support adult life and a future family. If they can do it for nearly nothing, why can’t we with the bloated overpaid worthless education supported by our excessive property taxes??
Yes. We have a significant shortage of certified nursing assistants. In my part of the midwest they are paying $20.00/hour plus benefits. The training can and should be offered to 11th and 12th graders and takes about 8-12 weeks. It is helpful if you are a kind and decent human:)
Lots of 16-18 year old girls and boys are mature enough and idealistic enough to want a service job. What better than nursing assistant where they can go ON and train all the way up thru doctor. Nursing assistant is a great stepping stone to a world of medical practice!
Good question. There are much better options.
The Medical Cartel, injected any an all muscles with
the totally fraudulent Quaxcine (mRNA) that killed and disabled countless millions. That is what "medical practice" entails. Where have you been? Printing get out of jail passes?
I would think that becoming an MD requires something else. Emphasis on high school science courses (with good marks) for starters. Then a BSc undergraduate degree prior to Med School. It is usually heavily academic. Takes many years of university training as opposed to 8-12 weeks for Nurse Practitioner. Different kettle of fish entirely.
Yes you are probably right, however, many RNs now earn the equivalent of a PhD and become nurse practitioners. In my doctor’s office, she does everything the doctor does just under his supervision.
I think there are a lot of myths out there about that. Nurse Practitioner is one thing, and MD is another. There have always been nurses. Often, they dealt with the more practical end of things, while an MD made the diagnosis and the decisions. Two different levels.
Emphasis on HS science and working as a CNA part time are not mutually exclusive but you aren't going to be a CNA for long if you head for med school. This year I met a young woman well into medical school who figured out she did not like touching people? I told to her to go for pathology, though AI is going to hit that subspecialty. I did teach several nursing students at a research University who followed with medical school. However nursing and medicine have significantly different focuses, person verses pathology.
Many people misunderstand the different aspects of medicine, and the very different levels of academics involved. One cannot be easily plugged into another, necessarily.
I think they misunderstand the differences between practical application, and grasping medical theory/analysis. Both are necessary skills in various situations, but the medical theory/analysis is meant to set the pace.
... or MALpractice, depending on the kids' quality of ethical grounding.
Whatever happened to the Candy Striper program where high school juniors and seniors volunteered in hospitals?
I was just thinking that. I (a male) had to do that program with my sisters (e.g., females), because our Mom was a Nurse (capital "N"). I only had to wear a white shirt while my sisters had to wear the candy striped gown. Anyway, it was a very tough, but very rewarding time spent. I can't describe how difficult the Nurses have it with some patients. Other patients are great, but every patient is in some degree of pain - emotional or physical - and definitely have various degrees of appreciation. I dunno, maybe that summer as a high school "candy striper" really helped me be more empathetic and contributed to my work ethic. I tend to hope so.
I actually did that program, in the 1970’s, as a 7th grader!
Wow! That’s young. My husband’s twin sister did it in 1969 and 1970 as a Jr and Sr. I met my husband while volunteering in the local ambulance corp….amazing how much more we “uneducated” and “indoctrinated “ were allowed to do without a license or college degree 😉
We have a shortage of welders, electricians, plumbers, framers, roofers, etc. Lots of ways to earn a good living, and maybe even start a business.
$20/ hour plus benefits… And be subject to mandatory vx?
!!!!!!
Exactly. My thumb can't take anymore exclamation points
I beg your pardon, but if you're typing exclamation points with your thumb, I have to ask...
What keyboard layout are you using?
Im on my cell. Im never at s computer.
Hence the reason I have to edit 4 times...lol
@Ryan- and I hate typing in forums like this on my phone. I don't have the patience.
It's the autocorrect that angers me; so often it chooses a word I wasn't even planning to use.
So... Many years back, I bought a Fire tablet and a wrapper for it. The wrapper came with a BT keyboard that made typing worlds easier. The tablet has since been retired, but the keyboard works great with my iPhone. Whenever I have to respond by text and anticipate a long response, the keyboard makes the whole process endurable.
I have given up on the texting mostly and just use voice to text - way more accurate.
that is what computers are for last I checked
I call it "Fat Thumb Syndrome".
My eyes don't help either
Ryan, been there. There. Done that. Repeatedly.
@Frank- phone
Funny, even on my phone I never use my thumbs to type, I use predictive text and my index finger. I never used a Blackberry or phone to text so didn’t learn that particular skill 😆
Typing was the backbone of my entire “career” - I really just had a series of better and more interesting jobs. 85 wpm back in the day.
My mom never finished high school. Back before computers my mom typed 120wpm! She raised us 4 kids with no help with that skill. She was even able to move us to Malibu down by Trancas in the early 70s right across the highway from Zuma beach! She typed out of our home; screenplays, books, resumes, college papers. We took care of all chores; cooking, cleaning, shopping, yard work plus we had our own jobs doing the same things for neighbors, while my mom typed 18 hours a day all so we could live where there were no gangs or drugs in school.
What a wonderful Mom!
What a great mom and role model ❤️
I still remember Trancus market. We did not live on the beach by any means, we were more inland. But I remember that market. The average person reading this probably has no idea how shishi an area that was to live in.
You could be me! My mom raised three of us in the sixties and because she had such strong secretarial skill she got better and better jobs. Feminism ruined it for women I too became a secretary and was proud that I had a well paying job with Bennie’s. “Career” my S
More people have a series of jobs, rather than a "career". But it's fashionable to talk in terms of a career.
150 wpm for me! And how did I use this skill?
Working for a typesetting company preparing manuscripts for a COLLEGE UNIVERSITY PRESS! (I did this job for 5.5 years!)
Long enough to warn me that I needed to keep a close eye on my kiddos during their higher education "internment" years!
You don't know how many times I typed a manuscript on the 1990s that plainly stated their goal:
To "deprogram" incoming high school students and "reprogram" their thinking the "right" way!
BTW: (much of what I typed was printed and used as textbooks in two prestigious N Carolina colleges:
University of Chapel Hill and Duke University!!!)
Pure communist indoctrination colleges. Pretentious to the max. Never forget the Duke lacrosse team scandal, and that Ralph Baric AKA Mr. covid worked at the University of No Class.
💯 Percent, Roland!
"Right thinking" reminded me of the University of Pittsburgh's response to the Summer of George Floyd: that fall they offered a required 1 credit course for all entering freshmen on their version of a history of black America. It was Woke and featured a list of primary sources. One of them was NOT Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Another of them was NOT anything written by Thomas Sowell or any other conservative black thinker.
Wow! The "right" way, already in the 90s!
My dad took typing class and this is what helped land his first job in education - as a Business Ed teacher. He ended up in the county education administration. All due to his typing skilz.
Saying (or writing) the quiet part “out loud” 😡
Both bastions of Wokeness.
85 wpm is legit
👍🤣
I took typing in HS as an elective in my Sr year 1977
I was the only guy in the class (brilliant)
Little did I know 25 years later with computers I was rapidly faster then my two finger peers on the keyboard
Oh, how I wish I HAD taken typing. I refused because I made the firm decision, I would never be a secretary. That was in 1966. My older, wiser sister went to secretarial school after graduating with honors from Vanderbilt in 1967. When I went for my first job interview with an international bank; they asked me what position I was seeking. My Phi Beta Kappa key and my request for "the best possible job you think I can perform," got me the teller line.
I was one of five boys in a group of 25 girls back in my typing class 72 years ago. The guys mocked me for being in there. Like others here, it was the one class that paved the way for my career the most. Unlike geometry, I still use typing today.
I took typing class at my high school in 1984. My father had been a clerk/typist in the USAF during the Korean War. He was his units clerk by day, and when he wasn’t doing that, he was cleaning the blood and guts out of B-29 bombers that had been over N. Korea. After the war, he was a cotton gin manager all of the rest of his life, where he didn’t type as much, but he still did. My mother was his office manager and she typed continuously. I knew I’d need it. I did.
Agree. We had a 19 year old Swiss student on a brief exchange program. He told us the same thing. When he returned home he was to begin his 2 years of military service.
Unless we wrest control of our education system from the left wing, WOKE, zealots we are doomed. It is a travesty that we have arrived at a point in this great nation where we are literally stealing the future from current and future generations.
“We have met the enemy and he is us”
Walt Kelley.
Those Swiss citizens are also allowed to take home their services rifles to keep forever, after mandatory military time is up. It used to be mandatory to take rifle home, now it’s optional. This is to make their country not worth the time to invade, by others. Some 15 years ago i took a Swiss train from Zurich to interior on business and several soldiers on that train, openly carrying service weapons, which were semi automatic assault rifles. That country also has weapons, aircraft and other munitions of war hidden in various mountain caves.
Matt, It sounds like those Swiss citizens make Switzerland pretty much a Swiss Army Knife itself.
David, Yes, Walt Kelley's lasting insight was that we/us are all implicated, to one degree or another, in most everything. Wisely, that puts much less emphasis on knee-jerk blame, and much more emphasis on applying energy to be helpful in positive ways.
Have you read William R. Miller's book, "Quantum Change: When Epiphanies and Sudden Insights Transform Ordinary Lives"?
Sounds to me like "public" colleges are being given the same treatment that private colleges have been scrutinized for. There's a term for them, called "Predatory For-Profit Colleges."
Internet search query: "predatory for-profit college" sanctions closure
And there's a term for the loans students take out to attend predatory for-profit colleges, "Borrower Defense to Repayment." It's a specific federal mechanism used to prove fraud. Schools with large groups of borrowers approved for this are effectively flagged as fraudulent by the government.
Internet search query: "for-profit college" borrower defense discharge
By opening up the "public" colleges to the same scrutiny that private colleges are subjected to it's leveling they playing field. The howls from the "public" colleges are from fraudsters who think the "public" shield protects them from the same exact predatory fraud statutes that they cheer on when their private college competition in the fraud arena get sanctioned, closed. And applying the borrower defense loan enforcement mechanism dries up their gravy train.
They are howling big mad about it. Like all fraudsters do (See: Gavin Newsome, his wife). But the predicate exists in private industry. It's about time it is applied to the "public" sphere. It's OUR money, not theirs!
100%
It appears that the Dem party and all its shenanigans are funded by US taxpayers (and progressive oligarchs). Immigration, welfare fraud, voting and now student loans.
They're using our OWN money against us while they tear down the country.
I concur. What a grift, eh? And so much cheaper for them to use our money than theirs.
Freedom Fox, Good points. So while we're at it, I'm wondering if this same criteria could be applied to War - the military industrial banking complex. Our tax money, their profit - and boy-oh-boy do they profit!
Me too, plus shorthand which did get me some jobs. Older boomer couple here who didn’t need any government help and helped our daughter avoid the college loans. She’s been Gainfully employed since and raising a son with 2 jobs at his university.
I once had a stenography class---maybe wheelwrighting would've been more useful than archaic, pre-texting, officially-formatted word-gibberish lol.
I tried to learn shorthand. Couldn’t get it! 🤪
Shorthand is seriously one of the top 5 important things I've learned in life.
Jan, Yes, my mother, too. And, she always made her Christmas presents list in Shorthand which we couldn't read.
Exactly, Barbara. But the US educational system is no longer set up to educate/train students for the workplace. It’s set up to provide lucrative positions for administrators who, outside the system, would not be able to do anything productive. I’d love to take a college professor, put him/her on a mid-western farm/ranch as a hired hand and watch how it works out. Our so called education system is nothing more than a very expensive child care operation. And desperate, untrained, unemployable children turn to violence and crime. Or life-long welfare recipients. Just as Jesus did with the money changers, the education tables in this country need to be overturned. Education systems should be funded on outcomes/results beginning now. Do no harm is the right path, but needs to begin at the grade school level.
And yes, it occurred to me that we make kids go to school for 13 years. After 13 years of being focused on anything, those kids should be sharp and know things backwards and forwards in all subjects. But then you see these man on the street interviews on late night shows and you think, “these shallow dummies went to school for 13 years and sound like that??”
Which is proof we are going about it ALL wrong. I’ve been watching my Amish community for 40 years. As a school teacher I couldn’t not wonder what the magic was. Kids here are extremely well behaved, clever and competent. What’s the magic sauce. #1. They are always with a parent and always together (by choice). Parents work. Little kids watch. Older kids get to help. Teenagers take over. I have literally never seen a parent “teach” like a teacher teaches. They show, make a few comments and walk off.
#2. School is short. Short day 8:30 to 2 pm. School year is short October to April. There are no school tests and no grades. Work is marked right or wrong. They have to fix the wrong. There are limited toys. They do have ponies, dogs, chickens, barns, tools, etc and they are free to use whatever they want of what the family has on their own time.
#3 Kids are genuinely loved. Not indulged but loved. Siblings genuinely love each other. The older often care as much for the younger as the parents. Discipline is never done publicly. I have seen parents interrupt some misbehavior by calling a child over and whispering in Dutch but never openly criticize. That’s a hard one for me because we are so used to being rude to children. I’ve witnessed hands slapped in very young children but have never seen a child get a whipping in all 40 years.
That’s the culture that shapes good adults. Somebody ought to take it from there and revise how we shepherd modern children through their youth.
Barbara, And in addition to all those practices, the Amish do not permit the high tech/social iphone/TV etc. influences into their lives.
I remember going to a local event over a decade ago and paying to park on the grass. After being directed where to go, the man told me to count my change, because the HS kid taking the money was not good at arithmetic. HS kid.
Barbara, A great big plus for the Amish's education system is that they also support the Inner Spiritual needs of each individual. It is not about money, it is about living a high quality life, respecting the wholeness, inner and outer, of each person.
I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone of this outstanding interview:
https://mikerowe.com/2026/03/how-a-small-town-lawyer-sparked-a-national-conversation-ep-474-jeff-childers/
In TX, there are quite a few programs that high school students can take and be accredited by the time they graduate. Cosmetology, welding, EMT are ones I remember but there are a lot more.
I saw that Jeff mentioned cosmetology as having a high failure rate. I was going to disagree as it would seem “hair” which falls under that label would be a good avenue, but perhaps it’s the over saturation of the market that makes it’s failure rate high. It’s not high paying when you install start out as you usually have to work in a salon where you rent your spot and pay for product out of your pay. Plus, you can pick it up again after time off so the earning curve can be longer but the pay is never much more.
You nailed it. One of best comments I've ever read.
Wise plan.
For someone with a clear entrepreneurial or trade-oriented path, four years and six figures of debt is time and capital better spent building experience or a business directly imo
College is basically a joke at this point unless you're in a very specific field, i.e., engineering.
It was only a hundred years ago that you had to be functionally literate in both Latin and Greek to graduate high-school.
Now top-tier colleges have semester long remedial math classes.
In most cases it no longer pans out. I can honestly say this as someone who has 2 degrees and is actively discussing whether or not it makes sense for my 15 year old twins to go to college.
I'm so grateful my 19 yo daughter decided after one semester at a state college working towards a social work degree, that she'd rather work in manufacturing. so she pivoted to CNC Machinist which was a free 6 month technical certification, and prior to graduation had secured a job offer for 3X12 hour shifts at $25/hr plus paid vacation, PTO and benefits like 401k and Health insurance at a large company. (Not GE aerospace but similar)
She can still take some college classes in engineering etc as she goes, but she will be able to support herself independently at the age of 19.
I myself have only a 2 year applied science degree and my own business, and have made a good life for myself, earning more money than my highly degreed younger family members.
Can't beat it!
@inquizitiveOne what state are you in? my 18 year old is trying to figure out a trade and she loved her Building construction classes in high school. Did your daughter have a sponsoring employer when she did the certification? looks like they want that here in Florida
Tell your daughter to check-out The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC, where she can earn an Associate's Degree + learn the building arts. Their web-site is: acba.edu. Here is a video about the college..https://youtu.be/ju3BrIiRC6M?si=11mNOi6-NVZltJ3Y
My daughter and I are both native Floridians, but my daughter decided at age 16 to stay with a family friend who lives in a small town in Massachusetts for junior and senior year of high school. She really shined there! Earned dual enrollment at the community college, then earned a scholarship to Salem State.
She then went to one semester at Salem State university, and then to the machinist program through MassHire in a small town near Boston (Danvers)
I love Florida and will never leave permanently but I have to admit I do love Boston/New England the best as far as big cities go.
So now I'm working on getting my 27yo step son to move up there as well and get into tech school too so he can get into manufacturing.
Jobs like GE Aerospace and other tech companies are plentiful in New England.
my extended family is from new england. My nephew started as a machinist for Smith and Wesson in Mass, your post just made me think it about for my daughter (of course when i asked her she said she was not interested) but i keep trying to find some trade that she may take to. thanks for the reply.
Look at your community college in your area… My son did a co-op to become a CNC machinist… He worked three days a week in his sponsoring company and went to school two days a week… After two years, he had his associates and a guaranteed job.
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Agree with the comments here. As a millennial college was a scam sold to us and myself and many others see little use for college.
This is harsh truth for some to accept, but it’s the fact. You’re better off learning real world experiences than college degrees.
PS: college was just another way to mold the minds of the young, not to lead them to success: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/origins-of-modern-education
Yes. All valid points.
Broke but thriving.... truly the millennial dream we promised you guys.
It makes me sick.
A diploma's really just a participation trophy with more debt attached.
Ive said it before:
The day before the day the participation trophies were devised was the zenith of America.
Ya'll got sold a bill of goods. By our government and boomers who think the government has all the answers.
Boomer here. Somewhere between libertarian and anti-government these days.
GenX here. Same.
Somewhere along the way, the System started to designate how you are to live your life.
Going to university, being a wage slave and buying ever more material things, bigger houses, fancier cars and paying taxes until you die.
It's the foundation for all of modern capitalism. Any wonder why the capitalists push nonstop population growth.
That's a reliable measure marking societal decay, Ryan - participation trophies. It replaced MERIT.
Ryan, In college I learned how to Think - logically and multidimensionally, how to research an issue in depth, establish criteria, evaluate evidence and make informed decisions. I've been grateful for that education my entire life.
Funny, I'm Gen X and I got a 3rd place ribbon when I was 10 years old at a swim meet. There were 3 of us in the race. So kind of a participation trophy I guess, though I didn't feel good about it at the time. I never really knew that I didn't have to go to college. My parents certainly didn't insist on it, but it's just that everyone kind of assumed I would. All my friends were going, both my parents had degrees, so it just seemed inevitable. Also, I figured 4 more years before I had to face reality seemed like a good plan. Luckily, my basically useless degree; Religious Studies, and I was basically an atheist at the time, I just found it very interesting; was pretty cheap by today's standards. My mom worked at the university so got a 75% discount on my tuition and my parents paid the tuition (it was basically like a 3rd car payment for them, plus they had saved some money for my brother and I's college educations). Years later I went back and got a computer programming degree (I learned to code, basically) and realized that I probably would have had a much more productive and successful life if I had just not gone to college and started working. At the very least I might have started college a year or two later with the knowledge of how life really worked, and might have focused on something that would have made it worth while. Still, I did love partying for 4 years with basically no responsibility, lol.
Yeah I wouldn't trade my college experience for anything. The partying was fabulous. I had to get it out of the way before maturing enough to know when the party is over.
Cheers, Mike!
Molding the minds of the young starts very early. Seventy years ago I was a five year old at home watching my mama use measuring cups and spoons; cooking, cleaning and gardening. At nap time she read me the comic strip from the daily newspaper and answered my questions about the meaning of things.
Today’s five year olds are in kindergarten, having already progressed through free ‘taxpayer funded’ preschool classes at your local public schools or through VPK programs in private settings. This has been the case for half a century now. Has this benefited the nation? It was glowingly sold as head starting all our young in the competitive global race for learning. I was heartbroken to see this happening 50 years ago. Are we better off for it?
No, we are not.
But your mother and mine stayed home with their kids. Today’s parents both work, though I think we would all benefit if moms of two parent families could stay home more. I’m now a big fan of home schooling.
My 3 forty something kids all attended our church school. I never worked an outside job until my kids were out of college and on their own. All are successful by today’s standards, and maybe it was because of values placed on them early on from the rural setting they grew up in. They all worked summers and holidays in their dad’s family run business, so they had an idea of what showing up and work was all about. I know no magic formula because my grandchildren now have everything handed to them, and are growing up without an attitude of service, and I see more and more of that.
Franklin, your last sentence is the sad, bald faced truth! Everything we see on even msm shows the "students" acting like propagandized zombies, and it seems that they aren't just a few, but significant part of student bodies. I'm reminded of seeing the Kent state protests/riot. One media shot showed the protesters all over the green, Engineering building in background. The engineering students going to/from class like nothing going on. Tougher to indoctrinate when real hard knowledge on the menu! Eliminating all the useless courses from catalog, maybe they get back to reading, riting, rithmatic!
mspring, Good grief, I hope you don't depend on msm as an accurate depiction of anything!
Even engineering (at least of the computer variety) is questionable now with the rise of AI. My almost 25 year old son got his CS degree in 2023 and only just landed a software engineering internship this summer after a year of an online master’s in computer engineering. He didn’t know what else interested him so the master’s program at least got him another shot at internships. Aside from that, he’s worked at Target. 🤷🏼♀️
I would agree. Also anyone who bills by unit or hour is screwed imo...unless you're "senior".
Sorry, Mr. Childers, but the truth
I think Jeff lets some ideas run away with him, and goes into fantasy-land on occasion. He sometimes fudges. Maybe that is what happens when putting out a daily post on Substack - not enough time to fully investigate the many ideas and events.
A. Humor and snark get equal time., so fudging happens...
Agreed. His humour is worth it 😁.
To move up in IT, you had to have a 4 year degree of any type. That has been removed as of a few years ago. Technology is moving so fast now that many colleges cannot keep up and the industry is now recognizing certification over college degrees (certifications are tests given by companies such as Microsoft)
A cute story from my store that is a little off topic but is funny so is worth telling here.
A contractor customer called me last night. I remembered the time his two daughters were nearing high school graduation so he and his wife moved to a house very close to the local university. Then his daughters said "that is great dad but we don't want to live at home when we go to university". Being a contractor he bought a lot not far away and built a 3 unit apartment house. When his daughters found out they said "no dad, you don't understand, we want to move FAR AWAY from home".
By the way one of them became a government epidemiologist and was key in promoting the vaccine during the covid era. I still cannot convince him of the vaccine horrors. I think he believed her spiel.
He could have replied to his daughters, "great, you find the money to pay for tuition, room and board then..."
I have a friend that told her teenage daughter:
"There's clearly not enough room in this house for both of us. Mommy and her wallet are leaving."
@Fred- I have a high school friend whose son, a MD, works for the CDC. During Covid, and shortly afterward, she told me they only take their advice from him so they've been shotted and boosted. I have been dying ALL THESE YEARS to tell her "Your kid was lied to, too."
Sounds like you've read John Gatto's book "The Underground History of American Education." It all fell apart in the Progressive Era with Dewey's stupid theories and later on, the mindless books of Dr. Seuss added to the heap of know nothingness our schools have become.
I’m a homeschool Mom who has no formal degree but has enough credit hours for two different bachelors and a masters degree. I took courses as they made sense to me that helped further both mine and my children’s education. The distinction is I paid cash for my classes after barely squeaking through three years of “ mandatory” college after high school graduation. My oldest has always wanted to be a nurse and we made her take advantage of the running start program in WA state. It pays for two years of college credits at any state school or community college which is a much better use of the final two years of high school in my opinion. Both of my sons are going into the trades and they were able to use running start to build skills. My youngest is in his final year of high school and is going to the local community college full time to learn welding. We acknowledge that he does not need a welding degree but it’s still a better use of his time than other available options . It’s also the only time that we’ve ever benefited from all of the tax dollars spent on public schools… If the child does not need a degree for their chosen career, unless they have a fully funded college fund, why?? Also the environment on college campuses is horrible !! I’ve been able to have each of my kids start college with a fully online quarter followed by a hybrid approach that has allowed me to keep my finger on the pulse of influence exerted on the child by the institution. I would NEVER send my child to live on campus as an under 21yo with no life experience! My daughter is 22yo and now in her second quarter of nursing school and the gap years she experienced were invaluable in terms of maturity. My kids aren’t weird in an overly sheltered religious homeschool way but by keeping them close we’ve been able to navigate the cultural landmines and come out unscathed.
God bless you! What a wonderful mom.
I agree with everything you're saying. If we had to do it over again we would homeschool for sure.
Jobs skills first (in some chosen field) college later once maturity has caught up with ability.
And yet homeschoolers still get ignorant comments like those by asinine condescending podcasters Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan 🙄😡
I recently learned about The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC, where you can earn a college degree + learn the building arts...https://youtu.be/ju3BrIiRC6M?si=LfqFG7OfXGMIavQQ
Debra, thank you so much. I did not know about this. Discussing with my wife now regarding my son
You're so welcome. It seems very impressive to me, though I only know what I have read & seen on the video. This is their web-site: acba.edu
Check out Doug Casey's college alternative. It's terrific!
"This Way Out: A Guide to Alternatives to Traditional College Education in the United States, Europe and the Third World" by Coyne and Hebert (1972)
I found a copy of this book much later. It was still useful.
Thx, Pat. Checking it out now
Having grown up in up in a cattle family I worked years before college. In HS I had a job running the feed mill at a 15,000 head feed yard on weekends so full time person could have 2 days off instead of a raise. Pretty good deal for owner since my $1.50/ hr was way less than the raise the full time person wanted. Then the summer between HS and College my dad took job at another FY and I rode pens looking for and treating sick calves. Both were a lot of fun and great education. Eventually I got a Doctorate in Animal Science specializing in Ruminant Nutrition.
Love this!
That’s pretty cool. I always wondered what it would have been like to be a pen rider. More than any one thing to succeed, a person needs a strong work ethic and a desire to accomplish something that produces value for someone.
However after college and between jobs I was a cattle buyer for FY with my dad. That was the most fun job I ever had.
My youngest graduated this spring and got early acceptance to VA Tech. The price tag was astounding, with very little help from grants and scholarships, even with a 4.03 GPA. I think I caused a lot of heartache for him because I told him I would not take out student loans to pay for his education and I would not co-sign for his loans, either. He understands that if he wants to go to Tech, he'll have to pay for it himself. So he's attending the local community college and will graduate this fall, while working two jobs in order to save up for college. His advisor there told him to take as many math classes as he can at the CC level.
Sometimes, I question my decision and wonder if I've handicapped him unnecessarily, but other times, I know I made the right decision. The thought of him graduating with a mountain of debt seems like a terrible way to begin adulthood; it's not something I would wish on my worst enemy. Hopefully, when he has completed his journey, he will be fully self-sustaining, too.
@Green- How could you possibly think you've handicapped him?? You've given him the tools to think things through, go the logical route (CC will knock THOUSANDS off total tuition), and he may find a course he didn't know existed that will change his career trajectory. No You didn't handicap him. You've opened up the world to him.
I worry I may have handicapped him by making him put off his education until he can afford it. It's so easy to get distracted and it's going to take him a couple years before he can afford to go.
Due to a sudden life changing event, I was forced to end my career at age 37. I possessed no skills, and was facing the prospect of waiting tables or working as a clerk somewhere.
Something motivated me to take an adult education class in basic computer skills. It was 1986, the mainframe years. I decided to go for a 4 year bachelor's degree with a computer tech major at a local state college. Tuition was cheap and I was awarded a few scholarships.
I was the oldest student in my class and graduated with honors. I then went on to a successful career in the IT sector, working for major corporations.
Sometimes the worst thing that can happen is ultimately the best thing.
@Green- it will work out nicely
How does one earn a GPA > 4.0??
And AP classes earn an extra point.
Roger, By achieving all A's in all classes. Excellence.
May depend on the school but my son graduated several years ago with some above 4.0 GPA, and it was due to AP classes.
@Roger- grades are weighted. My step-grandson finished his freshman year with a 4.17 and he's 4th in his class.
Thanks. Last encounter I had with higher education was an MBA program in the early 1980s. Straight "A" grades earned a 4.0 QPA. There was no higher score.
That's what I always thought, too, until my son's 4.03.
I think it has something to do with the way AP classes are weighted, but I'm not sure. He was middle of the pack with his class; many of the students had higher GPAs than he did.
Graduating undergrad with no debt provided a lot of flexibility and financial freedom later in my life.
I took loans for grad school. As few as possible, unlike most of my classmates. Lived as low-budget as I could. Lots of oatmeal and hamburgers. (Now I would swap eggs for the high carb oatmeal.). Paid off the loans early. Incredible financial freedom later post-marriage when we wanted to live on a single income once kids came.
As a VT grad (as is my wife and two of my kids), you made the right decision! Luckily my kids have no debt and good jobs, but it would’ve been way smarter to go the CC route, or the Trade school route, or better yet, have a look at The Preparation (book by Doug Casey and Matt Smith). Good luck!
If I had to do
It again, I would say “Hillsdale or I’m not paying”
The Veterinarian’s daughter I used to work with for accepted to Hillsdale. She was home schooled and can read and speak Latin.
I no longer tell prospective college students to attend college. [34 years teaching at the college level] The administration where I taught once described a new major as so able to attract students, "it was like shooting fish in a barrel." Our admissions director actually referred to students as "customers."
My husband and I have long been proponents of techinical colleges that often offer two year degrees or certificates in hands on useful skills, like electicial, plumbing, instrumentation, welding, HVAC, mechanics: you know, the kind of skills that keep the world turning, and there will always be a need for many of these skills. Always!
Both my husband and i are college graduates. He has a Welding Engineering degree from Letourneau University (in 1987, he went back to college after many Navy years, and with a me and four children to also support) This training provided for us a wonderful livelihood.
I went to UCLA right out of high school ( it was 1968, the Vietnam war was raging and the country was in upheaval). I started out to be a doctor, majoring in chemistry, but somewhere in the fog of progressive liberalism (yes, it was alive!), I lost my way and ended up with a degree in Anthropology, which proved to be totally useless and one of the most vacuous degrees available at that time. I had the dubious distinction of attending a big name school (which to this day still impresses empty air heads), that boasted of a professor named Angela Davis (before she fled to Angola), basketball star Kareem Abdul Jabar (aka Lew Alcindor at the time, before he converted to Islam), and the greatest college basketball coach of all time, John Wooden! (The best part!!).
So what did I do with my "amazing" college degree? Well, I did not go on any archeological digs or ethnological investigations into some lost tribe in the Amazonian Rainforest. I raised 6 wonderful children that I homeschooled for 22 years, and enjoyed the best career ever, a stay at home mom! A Domestic Engineer!
I have three daughters and two son in laws that graduated from Hillsdale College: still a college that delivers quality and relevance to fashioning the good moral citizen that our country so desperately needs. My three sons took a somewhat different path: One is in law enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff, one is an Instrumentation Specialist/Analyst in the oil industry (thanks to the techincal college), and the youngest joined the Navy (like father like son) after high school graduation, worked his way up in the enlisted ranks and was selected for officer program in civil engineering!
Our children are "Rush " babies (except for one daughter who is steeped in the liberal lies), and are raising their little ones to understand the good life we call America.
My husband and I continue to caution all within our sphere to not send their children to college, but to consider technical college training or the military.
I knew a number of people who did undergrad Anthropology degrees in the 80s to 90s. Trouble was, they never seemed to understand that their first degree at the undergraduate level was not enough to get them anywhere in that field. Their "major" means very little. To be an actual Anthropologist, you would require an additional Master's degree, then a PhD, then post-doctoral work and a lot of luck getting an academic position in university. It is a university academic post. It is not an entry-level position. Being an undergrad major in Anthropology means only that you learned a few of the very basics. Very long way still to go to become an Anthropologist.
A first undergraduate degree is really just enough to tell employers that you can use literacy and critical thinking skills somewhat past the high school level.
I had a friend who did an undergraduate degree at Oxford in England, majoring in History. And the Oxbridge undergrad degrees are only three years. His mother never understood why he was not scooped up as an Historian upon graduation. She just could not grasp that an undergrad degree is just the first relatively minor step to becoming a full academic at the university level.
A., It is difficult for a Materialist culture to value Depth, and the extensive time and attention required to develop it.
Leo, there are times I do wonder whether it was all worth it.....
I never did work out how some students partied for four years. Or so they said. How did they ever get the masses of work done?
Maybe I should have bought a fast-food franchise instead. Better investment. And people would care whether you were there or not. Knowledge? Ah-h, not so much. Unless you can charge very high billable hours and are in a high-demand field.
It's not even a continuation of high school, since a majority of students need REMEDIAL courses before doing any college-level coursework. When Johnny can't read or cipher, the basket-weaving in the article is all that's left to him.
It is worse than high school. The kids are pampered and have safe places to hide from uncomfortable situations. They get great food. Can party on weekends. Graduate and expect the same life style. The harsh Jaws of reality eventually bite.
Well, for some, maybe. Or in 2026.
Personally, I went through very many years of university. I am middle-aged now. Those years were grueling, if you wanted decent marks to get into the next program. And I worked 20+ hours a week at service industry jobs to pay my own way. No Bank of Mum and Dad. Great food? I lived in a rented room off campus and cooked on a hotplate, when I had the time. Averaged 4 hrs. of sleep a night, to get the studying done and papers written. Used public transport or walked.
Do you actually know university students who live the lifestyle you describe? Maybe at Ivy Leagues, with wealthy parents and with students who manage to cheat their way through. But not the lifestyle of anyone I knew.
If you're going to bitch about America's educational system you need to place the blame on who actually controls America's educational system, Rockfeller. The Bloodlines. The 13 bloodlines of the Order Of The lluminati.
The Rockfeller family controls the educational system in America.
A study in the late 1800s showed that children who were deprived of right-brain activating subjects in their school curriculum, like music, art, philosophy, vocabulary, poetry, etc, were less capable of Critical Thinking (critical thinking- 'when you question an answer until you are satisfied').
By quietly removing right-brain activating subjects from our children's education, Rockfeller has produced a nation of non critical-thinking, non questioning labor.
"I don't want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers." - John D. Rockfeller
American children rank 29th in the World for intelligence. That was done deliberately.
PS. If you have school age children, teach them to speak in rhyme. Rhyming activates a smorgasbord of right-brain activity. And that's what our children need.
Teach them to rhyme.
Not all the time.
Just when its fine. ;)
Proberta, Important points! Right brain capability is often viewed as dangerous. And today, many people view critical-thinking as highly undesirable. Best not to question...anything. "Don't rock the boat!"
"Right brain capability is often viewed as dangerous...critical thinking as highly undesirable"
Sadly Leo I'm sure that there will be some URBs* that may believe that.
*URBs = Under-activated Right Brain.
Funny story - I actually wanted to go into the trades. As a Junior in HS, when it was time to start researching potential careers, I found a Farrier/blacksmith school and BEGGED my dad to let me go. He said "No Way ... you're going to college." So I did.
I don't regret my life ... but I'll bet if he were alive today he'd see things differently. :-)
"They" make a degree necessary because "they" also control job search sites like Indeed and Monster where EVERY job they advertise requires a degree. Or a requirement to speak Chinese.
Bingo!
Help them buy a house; it will be worth way more to them.
—“Notice that phrase: federal taxpayers. Not “free college.” Because there is no such thing as “free college.” There is only “college paid for by other people who didn’t get to go to college, because they were busy working to pay for your college.” Every time a politician promises “free college,” what they actually mean is, “We are going to take money from the guy who fixes your plumbing and give it to the university so they can build a new diversity center with its own rock-climbing wall.”
This is SUCH an important point!! It’s all just subsidized by the people who don’t go to college, and then get sneered at by the people whose education they financially supported as being “uneducated” 🙄😡
I dont know if there is some petiton organization that would accept a citizen petition that would force politicians to say "federal taxpayer funded" instead of "free" anytime they would use the word "free" and "state taxpayer funded" at the state level. All the way down to the local level.
I know I have signed petitions online before, I just assume this would be a bridge too far for them to accept.
Anytime a politician says they want to bring in free something, say busing, make sure to ask them if the drivers, mechanics, schedules, etc have agreed to work for "free", because if they havent, it ain't "free"
Right?? I always hate it when they use “free” that way, it’s so misleading 😡
Not misleading. It’s wrong.
Yes it’s wrong but purposely used to mislead people into thinking that there is no actual cost.
Hi RL!
Yepper, that's for the non-thinkers and unfortunately, there are so many of them and they get to have a say in things by voting. We might need to rethink that aspect of the system. Maybe by testing them; like with some of that paper you dip in the pool to test the chlorine..... ah, never mind. You get it.
Later Jay
TANSTAAFL....
I have always said there is no such thing as Free. I once turned down a Free vacation that I “won” from a drawing (I probably didn’t enter) at a fair. 😂 They couldn’t believe I turned it down. (After several minutes I did find out the cost was only a 90 minute conference attendance”
Which I ALWAYS set a timer for the allotted time! If you haven't sold your product to me by then I'll take my "freebie" win and "See ya!"
Love it! I will remember that if I ever get to one. LOL
Works every time!
it’s also cruel to the students who take that debt to the grave.
I have the fix for nearly all this publicly funded grift. Indulge me. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest the “fix” is actually simpler than you might think . How? separate spending from funding. Elected politicians can and should propose spending BUT ONLY citizen taxpayers should APPROVE FUNDING . I.E. distribute decision making across the entire taxpayer population . This will tend to put a hard stop to fraud and waste if given the help of DOGE. Every taxpayer must assign their tax dollars for or NOT for each spending bill proposed. Make a bill obtuse and unintelligible? No problem. Just say “no you can’t use my tax dollars for that.” Bills that taxpayers agree to fund get annual audits and review ie can the government continue to use my tax dollars for this? The result: Budgets then shrink or swell based on performance and the will of THOSE who actually fund the government. If everyone with skin in the game (ie taxpayers) did this, graft and political manipulation would approach zero. Nothing focuses the mind, sharpening the senses more than having one’s own hard work stolen and misused. And nothing would do more to unite Democrats and Republicans than everyone getting the governance they want TO THE EXTENT THEY WERE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT. Note: non-contributing citizens and non-citizens ARE NOT allowed in this assignment. Why? Because they get their say when they vote for or lobby their representatives who propose the spending. But if they aren’t actually paying taxes for government services, then they shouldn’t get to fund the government! This is the step change needed in our constitution! And would do a great deal more to secure our God given rights than all the pontificating party politics or all the social media complaining or all the useless dumb ass protesting.
I’ve been saying for years that even the lowest income levels should pay a flat tax of 10%. We have a huge percentage of people who pay no tax or get a full refund of what they pay in, who have no skin in the game, so of course they vote yes on everything! And any ballot measure that is a bond measure that adds to property taxes should only be voted on by those who pay the property taxes!
I like your idea. You may still have difficulty selling to progressives because you just don’t have your heart in the right place :(
Great idea, only problem is that it requires a law to execute, and the folks who write the laws will want nothing to do with the idea. It would take away power and grift opportunities!
I have a fix for that too (however unlikely to execute). Nationwide citizen taxpayer STRIKE. No taxes delivered until governance over funding delivered into the hands of the citizen taxpayers!
BOOM! there it is! Right on, Barbra.
Later Jay
I actually LOVE this idea Barbara. When are you running for office? That is another thing we need to work on - having more thinking conservatives involved and willing to run for office. In my local races, there are several offices with only dems running. Any ideas on how to fix that?
I’m 78. I’m not running anywhere… literally. Also not for political office. At my age, opinions (honed by age) are all I have. I hope someone will take them and “run” with it! ❤️
Keep putting great ideas out there then! We all need to be mentors as well.
Years ago, I was at a very high end party in Sun Valley, Idaho. My wife was the executive secretary for the CEO of Horizon Air who also owned the Elkhorn development and golf course. Anway the room was populated with 30 or so multi=millionaires and a few billionaires. It was a very snobbish, Ivy League, trust funder sort of crowd. So I am standing around when I hear two well attired men strike up a conversation. One of them asks how the other's children are doing. He lists them off and finishes with his son- who is preparing for a career in the military as a pilot. The other man is aghast. He says, "there are so many other things he could do, why would he choose public service?" I stood listening maybe 5 feet away. I had been a lifelong public servant and was in the business of hiring retired public servants. I wanted to get squarely in the middle of this guy, but alas, I was there to support my wife and her boss. Not cause ugly scenes with the local aristocracy. But I discovered the unvarnished truth that day about how we (cops, Captain then) were perceived. It is a lesson I have never forgotten.
I came upon that ATTITUDE when I relocated to Chicago in 2003. I was temporarily working at Curves (all the North Shore ladeedah ladies). When they learned that my son (31 on ACT) had enlisted in Marine Reserves and was IN Iraq, they were aghast. Most did not KNOW anyone serving in the military and considered it only for people who needed it for lack of finances. (He was IN college - tuition was benefit of Dad teaching there). His college was interrupted by 3 deployments. HE proceeded to completion and is now successful in a business career and family.
Yes, that’s the truth behind all lying communist promises.
Yes! Gavin is one in CA and Wretched Whitmer is another in Michigan who thinks they could be President…. She puts out commercials saying the “Govt shouldn’t tell you what to do with your body” after her unconstitutional Covid lock down and “everybody get vaxed” policies… now her big feather in her cap is her “FREE” school programs” — this should come up again and again to bury her:
“free college.” Because there is no such thing as “free college.” There is only “college paid for by other people who didn’t get to go to college, because they were busy working to pay for your college.” Every time a politician promises “free college,” what they actually mean is, “We are going to take money from the guy who fixes your plumbing and give it to the university so they can build a new diversity center with its own rock-climbing wall.”
Everyone should start looking into Mark Kelly, senator from AZ. Gabby Giffords' husband. He is building a big a$$ war chest. He needs some investigaring.
Technically, the federal government doesn't back up the students. It backs up the banks.
I have talked to many young people who have student debts they have been paying off for years, and still owe more than they borrowed. The government most certainly does not step in and help.
Student loans are a scam between the banks and the colleges to sell teenagers into lifelong debt servitude, with the government helping the banks by backing them up if the student somehow can't manage to pay.
But remember that student debt can't be written off in bankruptcy, the only debt that can't. (Thanks, Joe Biden, who helped put that in the Dodd-Frank Bill, written after the 2008 crash to make previously illegal banking practices legal.)
So the government doesn't usually have to pay the banks, but if they need it, the taxpayers are there for them.
It's like Obamacare, a transfer of money to the insurance companies, while convincing the public that it is somehow a gift to them.
Or TARP in 2008, which started the practice of putting Wall Street gambling debts onto the public debt, which has caused the US public debt to skyrocket.
We all know that all wars are bankers wars, we should realize that we should extend that knowledge to understanding the war on the public.
Mrs. RW
Mrs. RW
"..... federal government doesn't back up the students. It backs up the banks" Absolutely! Thanks for pointing that out. There are many that will never get their loans paid back by the time they meet their maker.
Later Jay
Absolutely. This is so much more insidious because the borrowers are victims too, they get turned into a perpetual annuity for lenders who at the same time offload 100% of the risk to the taxpayers for a fraudulent degree that they have no hope of ever paying off. These are the best customers, those that only pay the vig, never the principal.
Where in our Constitution does it grant any power to the federal government over education? The new rule falls far too short of what really needs to happen; specifically the end of all federal funds directed towards education. Education is not within the purview of the federal government. Without federal funding, whether in the form of grants or guaranteed student loans, educational institutions would be forced to cut costs. The cost of a “higher” education has greatly outpaced the rate of inflation. Colleges and universities have used federally guaranteed student loans as a blank checkbook at the expense of students and their families. People need to wake up to the overreach of the federal government. Last year two education related cases came before the Supreme Court. One had to do with the issue of forgiveness of student loans. The second centered around the admission policies of colleges and universities. If the justices understood the limits of power granted to the federal government by the Constitution, they could have quickly ruled on both cases as there should be no student loans and without federal rules, the strings attached to federal funds, colleges and universities are free to accept or reject applicants.
Yep, no college debt because I was busy serving the Navy from at age 17-20 then working in the oil fields in the summer saving more money to go to college. Got a BS in Industrial Engineering, hated my 1st 2 jobs. Quit and started working residential construction, eventually starting my own small contracting business. GFC came along and I turned the greatest hobby I ever enjoyed (horseback field trials) in to a business. Somewhere in there got married and we eventually bought land and built a boarding kennel and bought some cows to go with the bird dog training. Here we are 2 adults both with quality degrees, working at something we love 7 days a week 12 hours or more per day. I don’t regret going to college because I made my parents proud being the only person in our family to ever get a bachelor’s degree. To this day, I laugh at the importance much of society places on college yet the things that make our everyday lives so comfortable come from all the trades and service jobs in the economy. I wonder if I would have been smart enough to save that 40k I spent how much it would be worth today if it was just in a simple S&P 500 index fund 💸🤑
so once again the BANKSTERS make all the gangster profits (speaking of CARTELS~!) while the TAXPAYERS are on the hook!! what's wrong with this picture and how about making this a REAL reform pkg that would impact hundreds of thousands if not MILLIONS of lives by including MAKING THE BANKS EAT THE LOANS. they would be out in the streets CHEERING for President Trump and the Midterms a SLAMDUNK> just a thought.
The banks and the universities.
✝️✝️✝️
“Yet your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right.”
— Ezekiel 33:17
“As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the LORD is tested;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”
— 2 Samuel 22:31
NAS95
✝️✝️✝️
When I was a university professor of political science I would advise undergraduates majoring in that subject to get elective credits in computer and internet security as our university had such a program ranked among the top six programs nations wide by the National Security Agency: having a certificate of completion of its program might give such graduates a foot in the door of hiring firms. I did not urge them to apply for law school or to pursue further graduate studies in more social science mumbo jumbo as my colleagues did. I knew that was just kicking the can down the road since our country has no shortage of starving lawyers or Ph.Divinities doing gig work. My colleagues were in effect striving to turn their advisees into career clones of themselves. It never seemed to occur to them that getting hands on employment snd being able to buy a home and start a family had any value.
We’re having an epidemic of infertility because also “it never seems to occur to them” - that female fertility will plummet by age 30. The PhD’s seem to have no knowledge of their own biology.
If they’ve had any clot shots, aka, stroke pokes, they’re sadly even more likely to be infertile.
I fully believe there is an anti-natalist agenda at work among these academics. However if it helps reduce the numbers of leftists and progressives cluttering our nation so much the better.
The argument that they’re “not ready” is used until they’re “ready” but their body no longer is…
"...the angry administrators argued that earnings aren’t everything." Well, then I would say, let the Universities loan to students out of their own massive funds, and then argue "that earnings aren't everything." A taste of reality is just what these elites require.
Exactly. Just what are those universities with the massive endowments planning to do with those funds?
They pay managers exorbitant salaries. And build stadiums, with kickbacks to those who manage the deal.
Mrs. RW
And administrators 😑
Yes, that is the right word. Thank you.
Mrs. RW
💯
I can run with this idea!
Cosmetology is a degree that doesn’t earn its keep? That surprises me. Those services are in demand and they charge a fortune. Interesting.
The woman who has been cutting my hair for years now, someone I will drive 40 minutes to visit, has only a high school diploma. She is simply excellent at her craft, so a college degree for this kind of work is totally unnecessary.
Ditto -- I found my hairdresser at least 20 years ago when she was just starting out. She has changed salons -- where the salon owner provides the facilities and the hairdressers and cosmetologists pay rent for a chair and the use of the facility -- multiple times during this time and I have just moved with her because she's stayed in the same area.
Yes, same here. When you find someone who is good at what you are asking them to do, it's well worth it to me.
Agree.
Agreed….and my wife pays $130 for this. My hair lady gets $30 for my 5-minute visit - us old guys don’t have that much hair :)
Your comment reminded me of a time I went with my stepdad to his haircut and beard trim appointment. Shiny dome and full beard. He paid more for the haircut than the beard trim!
😮😮
Jeff, However, a more extensive education might contribute to a more satisfying life for your hair dresser. Depends on how one defines "necessary" for one's life.
I was thinking the same thing but cosmetology used to be a trade. You went to trade school to learn it, and got licensed for it. I didn’t realize one could get a degree in hair dressing.
As a licensed Cosmologist I can weigh in on the subject. Even a basic program is 10k, fancier schools like Paul Mitchell charge 15-25k. It’s an 80/20 thing. Lots of people go to Cosmetology School, but not everyone actually works at it, or even goes to State Board to get their license. It takes about 5 years to really build a successful business. Twenty percent are the top earners making six + figures. It takes coming in every day and sitting waiting for people to call or walk in. Nowadays social media is huge in building a portfolio.
My hairdresser in Atlanta, Siggers, runs a program for apprentices, who get paid while they learn. I have seen how the apprentices progress from sweeping the floor to shampooing to blowdrying, cutting and coloring hair.
My daughter got her license two years ago. The school cost $20,000, but it was way cheaper than a 4-year college. I think the problem is a lot of people go to school for this but then don't want to put the work in that it takes to become successful. She has seen people work for 6 months and then quit. This has to skew the statistics. Two years in she now has a good client base, while her friends are just graduating from 4-year colleges and getting jobs at the YMCA or restaurants. And she has learned a lot about running a business while doing this since she is self-employed.
I’ve been licensed for decades. I took Cosmetology in high school. The school even drove us to State Board for our exam in school buses. This was in 1966. Why can’t more of these useful professions be taught in high school anymore instead of expensive trade schools? Do they teach things like shop in high school anymore?
You know, this makes sense. I’m a massage therapist and I found a good school that didn’t do loans so it was less expensive, but the schools that do offer loans are 2-2.5x more expensive.
And SO many people who go to massage school either never work as massage therapists or they quit after a couple of years. Of my class of 12 (2017) only 2 of us are still therapists and it’s been that way for at least 5 years already.
Also, massage therapy is a 500-hour program in TX, which is sometimes offered as an associates degree, but not a bachelors. Still can cost up to $20k, though.
A parallel development are states requiring credentials for every last thing! Barbering? Manicure? What it is is a way for states to gather more money in licensing fees for these credentials.
It is usually some sort of certificate I think, not a degree like a bachelors degree. Or possibly an associates degree at most. Probably depends on state licensing requirements and such to some extent too.
Me neither!
Talking to my hairdresser the other day. She said the hours for cosmetology were cut from 1600 hours of practical to 1000 hours and no practical exam required just a written test. This is in CA. These people make plenty of money and it is AI proof. Women will always flock to their doors. Moral of the story, don’t pick someone just out of school. Our daughter is a “stylist “ and she put her son through college as an engineer with not debt and he got a job right out of school. I’d say cosmetology served them well. Mike Rowe has a great program for people looking to be trained for jobs. Real work that pays money. More kids should look into it. We have another nephew that got a very expensive degree in “hospitality “ Currently living back home no job. I’m pretty sure he had a great college experience on his parent’s dime.
Mike Rowe is an American hero for all he does, knows and helps others learn how to do.
Absolutely! He recently had JD Vance on his show and they talked a lot about this. Thre Trump administration has just got on board with a program that Rowe pitched 15 years ago to facilitate things.
I was also surprised to read that.
My niece is a hairdresser/cosmetologist. She earned her certificate and license in High School. She had to pay a state license fee but the training was a high school program. It is not a college degree.
Seems pretty prevalent around here. By the way, what is "somatic body work"?
DavidL, Do you know how to use Google search?
I agree Valerie, that suprised me too
There is no 4 year degree for cosmetology. Idk about your friend but you have to pass a licensing test in my state which basically mandates you get the 2 year cosmetology degree at a community college. I think once licensed you don’t have to take the test again unless you lose the license for some reason. The daughter of my stylist just got her degree. my stylist told me about the degree and it is no joke. You have to know how to do everything and even some anatomy/physiology/other health stuff. I was shocked honestly. I’m not sure if the license requires a 2 year degree or if it just makes passing the licensing test more likely?
Gavin Newsome should go to prison for this. He gives $6.2 million of our paid Tax money to his wife’s nonprofit charity to give away free diapers. “Free“ - not free. The ones who get the “free ““ free diapers had to donate to Newsom‘s campaign to get in line to receive the free diapers.
Most likely diapers went to “undocumented “ Welcome to Baja Norte where everything is free not free if you came here illegally.
You would think that would be against the law. Ahem.
The average American citizen WOULD be railroaded into prison via plea-bargaining. (Trial by your peers? What's that?).... unless you are an illegal alien, in which case you have a get out of jail free card as a "protected species".
We have a two tier "justice" system: rules for thee but none for me.
Also, one thing Jeff didn’t mention is that the “ non-profit” paid more for the diapers than if they had purchased them at Target, for example. Another facet of the grift…
Free diapers? Does this include seniors who are incontinent? Thankfully, not needed here.
FIFA = Fixed It For Argentina.
No one gets any free diapers. His wife gets $6.2 million for her charity and then she/it passes out the diapers to other charities who already paid into his political campaign fund. Newsom has done this many times before.
So it's really just money laundering.
Yes, laundered right into Newsom’s pocket.
French laundered 😉🤣
😆
Bingo.
If there even are any diapers. Probably made in China or ? for $1/doz. The rest of the $6 mil is “overhead” for the ngo.
Apparently there were actual diapers distributed but as I wrote above, the non-profit bought the diapers at a price higher than if they had gone to Target and purchased them. This is another dimension to the money laundering scheme.
If they think diapers are expensive now, just wait until they're "free".
Reminds me of when our daughter brought home a "free" dog...
😂🤣😂…yeah, I’ve got a ‘free’ dog. Someone had abandoned his big puppy eyed self at a nearby park. Considering all that he’s chewed up and destroyed and the digging up of my backyard, he’s been pretty expensive.
On bad days I tell him I know why he got dumped. He probably ate someone’s new Apple Watch.
Lolol. That's hilarious
True story.
Before I agreed to get a dog for my kids i had my wife and both my kids sign a contract listing all the duties they would be responsible for if we got the dog.
For the most part they have honored the spirit of the contract.
I think the oily governor's plan was full of crap before the first diaper was deployed
Also, student loans are basically predatory schemes designed to legally prey on children who aren’t even fully neurologically mature yet.
The brain isn’t even fully mature until around 25 or 26. It’s why your car insurance rates change around that age.
So we design degrees attractive to people who are still developmentally children, dangle loans the consequences of which they cannot possibly be aware, and then have them (or the taxpayers) on the hook for 30 years.
Maybe no more student loans at all is a better solution
I wonder about that fully mature brain at 25 claim. It wasn’t that long ago that teenagers sometimes had to take on very adult roles.
You can take on adult roles and responsibilities without having a fully developed brain. Both things can be true.
🎯
The nonchalantly ubiquitous corruption is absolutely mind blowing 😡 I am not surprised that there is corruption but the sheer extent of it is really astounding. On the other hand, this helps to neatly explain why we pay so much in taxes and fees and yet get very little out of all that money. Because it’s going into the grifters’ pockets instead of to the uses the money is ostensibly meant for.
Or regulations. People don’t take into account how much regulations cost for the consumer.
Re: Student loans. The original name of this loan for college education (JFK’s idea) was National Student Defense Loans. The idea being that the government would guarantee loans for students going into programs that were important for the national defense - not 14th century trans studies. By the way any major ending in studies is a total zero but I digress. That was to counter the Russkies space programs and defense stuff and then we ended up with this catastrophe as the Great Society which wasn’t so great expanded. So this rule is good for the economy and good for the students. If you want to study art or philosophy then you should pay for it yourself.
Jeff, this has been bugging me for some time, but why don't you put captions under your pictures? It is often a guessing game to figure out who is in the picture and today, the picture of presumably Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, certainly doesn't look like a guy who is 76!
I am not sure if you aware, but Substack added a feature a few months ago (at my request!) that allows you to center text. To make a caption, just select italic text (Which is smaller than the normal text) and hit center. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Or use the caption button?
I didn’t know there was a caption button and I don’t see it. Can you tell me where it is?
Yeah, when you insert an image (on the web at least) there's a photo menu on the upper right hand corner of the image. Adding a caption is one of the options. It's very essy!
Thanks! I never knew that option was there, however, it makes the captions a lot smaller than what I would prefer, so I think I’m gonna stick with my way, which is also very easy!
It's great to have options!
"We know our graduates are broke, but they feel really good about themselves while they are broke."
Lol. Exactly!
College has become a self-help cult that hands out transcripts instead of merch...
We live 10 miles from one of the top engineering schools. My son always wanted to go there. When he was younger, he agreed to live at home and commute 2-3 years then we’d help get him an apartment ( wanted to make sure he could cook and such). Well, he decided after freshman year and living at home that he wanted the college experience, that college wasn’t just about the degree. I told him “well, since it’s my wallet and I think college is about a degree that will more likely get you a job in 4 years, you can pay for the “experience “ part yourself because I’m not going to pay for glorified summer camp.” He’s paying for his own experience. Btw, it’s a state school, the housing is literally more than the tuition.
Jeff, I’ve been reading Coffee & COVID for about a year, your work is very important to me. While I agree that a degree in Mariachi studies shouldn't be at taxpayers expense, I have a beef with you on this one.
Dismissing an entire centuries-old musical art form as "four songs" and a "flour tortilla" isn't witty—it just exposes a complete lack of musical literacy.
If you want an answer to this nonsense, go listen to Linda Ronstadt’s Canciones de Mi Padre. Arranged by Rubén Fuentes and backed by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán—the absolute pinnacle of the craft—it features complex meter shifts, intricate brass/string arrangements, and vocal demands that easily rival classical opera and Beethoven. It’s a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning masterpiece that stands in the exact same ballpark of compositional brilliance.
Saying mariachi isn't "the chords of the gods" only proves you haven't been listening. You're dead wrong on this one.
I agree that mariachi is much more than what Jeff described, it is definitely a unique art form (and I do believe he was exaggerating for effect). But I also think the point still stands that paying so much for a degree and implying taxpayers should subsidize that degree is ridiculous.
Bullseye!
Come on folk, Jeff's characterization is just another excellent example of his trademark satire! One doesn't have to be a musical expert to know that Mariachi has a very distinctive sound that opens it up for these humorous comments. Same goes for Polkas, Irish "lord of the dance" stuff, etc. Mariachi genre has a rich history, and is fun to listen to , but I wouldn't want a steady diet!
Agree...I don't want to reiterate everything I said as I already commented to this substack, but music is incredibly important and complex and a part of many aspects of our lives from church to movies to physically healing the body and mind.
C&C: “Surely no one would defend a $55,000 student loan to study mariachi.”
Antidisinfotarian: “Hold my cerveza!”
If the the 'degree' doesn't show a greater monetary benefit than those who do not obtain a degree in the same profession - NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS. It makes zero difference if it's mariachi, taal, or jiangnan sizhu.
—“while the arts establishment clutches its pearls at the vulgar idea of measuring success in money;”
That would all be very well and good if the degree happened to be free or only cost a minimal amount of money but that’s not the case. So.
If the arts are so important, why don’t Harvard et. al. Use those HUGE endowment funds to support it?
In addition to wiping the Mullahs and the IRGC off the face of the Earth and making the Middle East a safer place for all, President Trump has also given a gift to the South American region by shutting down and imprisoning many of the Drug Cartel leaders.
Gifts to the world from President Trump and the United States of America 🇺🇸.
Be very proud.
Proud of attacking a country who never attacked us? Based on the same fear-mongering they always use? Like WMDs in Iraq, Russia wants to invade Europe, and the grandaddy of fear campaigns, COVID? Iran was never a threat to us. They may be now, after what we've done. What would we do if Iran killed our president and 40 members of congress, along with their families? Not to mention 160 schoolgirls and 4000 other Iranians, so far. How's that kool-aid tasting? The past 20 years these are the 3 biggest policy disasters: Open borders, COVID response, and now the Iran war. Democrats gave us one, Trump gave us the other 2. I'll never vote for a democrat. But after Republican primary voters kept returning Lindsay Graham and tossed Massie, I can't call myself a Republican any longer.
Don't let the door hit you on your way out.
Take Johnny Zero with you.
And turn off the liberal media.
All the kool-aid drinkers among the commenters here say essentially the same thing. Which is - they don't want to hear opposing views. You are among the ~30% of people (on both left and right) who are locked into pre-conceived ideas and unreachable no matter the evidence presented that you may be wrong. So, just block anyone who disagrees with you. That's not a way to grow and learn. I'm a conservative/libertarian. I will never vote for a democrat. But I can no longer call myself a Republican. I WILL continue to vote for any Republican who doesn't take money from the Israeli lobby and is America first, not MIGA.
It is funny that people who sneer at the snowflakes on college campuses who require safe spaces to protect them from opposing views, also brag about how they block anyone with opposing views, in order to keep themselves safe.
Funny ironic, not funny ha-ha.
Mrs. RW
Excellent point. I'm genuinely surprised that most commenters here, who I presume were able to see through the COVID lies, are so easily manipulated on other topics.
I'm not sure if this was directed at me, however I used to be a snowflake on campus in the late 1960's.
Then I grew up, saw life through a different lens, and became a little more conservative each year.
I was riffing on SteelJ's observation. It wasn't necessarily directed at you. I've never seen you brag about how blocking people makes you feel safer.
Mrs. RW
I will listen to ANYONE who in their comments is making common sense.
Without that, you're dead to me.
You're falling for the same fear card they always use. The Muslims all want to kill us. Iran will wipe out NYC and LA if we don't destroy them first. It's as transparently BS as COVID and the Iraq war. Do Muslims sometimes do bad stuff, like kill or try to kill others for exercising free speech? Sure. The rape gangs seem to be real, best I can tell. Christians and Jews have their evil zealots too. You can learn from those with other viewpoints. I used to be all-in pro-Israel, anti-Muslim. A clear-eyed assessment says I was wrong.
Again, I am open to viewpoints that embrace common sense.
Any lack of that and I am out.
"Muslims all want to kill us." No, not only kill us, convert us. Some of them will also accept those not Muslim paying a tax to them to be allowed to live as second class citizens -Jizya, as long as we keep quiet. If you have not bothered to read their Quran, and listen to some videos of their more radical Imams, or even better, those who have left Islam, you should.
Per that same Quran, they are also allowed to lie about their Quran, goals and plans; steal, rape (adults & children) kill & do other haram acts (drink, eat pork) to achieve their as-stated-in-Quran goals. If you are Muslim, being so big on 'community', why would you want to go to a majority Christian country instead of being with others who believe, eat and worship as you do? It IS an invasion, just a 'soft' invasion - that is also in the Quran as the beginning of takeover and why so many quickly run for political offices. Everyone should realize the Quran is a political playbook for how to win wars.
I am by no means pro Israel either. Just as Muslims, I do believe Israel has the right to exist, but I am not in support in them being integrated into or part of our military or M. Intelligence, such as is being advanced in Section 219 (formerly Section 224) of the proposed House Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which outlines the "United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative". They can remain allies. We are not Israel's weapon to aim at others.
Yes, you can find zealots in every group, but when the very articles of their faith say to convert or kill others just for existing, that is wrong and evil. That is also not a group I want anywhere around my family or even in my country.
I do not like wars, not regime change or any wars that are not justified as to the lives lost or damaged. Too many of our young men have paid the price for oil/bankers wars, as well as those they fought against. For too many years, the see-eye-aye has been allowed to run rampantb and stir the pot. We need to get out of the job of being the world's police.
But, the IRGC has made clear they are so militant (Hamas, Hezbollah) that they look forward to killing anyone who doesn't believe as they do; even other stable Arab countries do not want them as citizens. That ought to tell you a great deal.
The US has wiped out the Mullahs and hundreds of thousands of troops? When did this happen?