Politics (formerly Election 2012)

[bldavis]

i was being sarcastic as well
i know it would be impossible to remove them even if a ban was passed so there is no point in worrying about it atm

[Shoju]

that was more pointed at Paxen than you BL.

[Paxen]

that was more pointed at Paxen than you BL.

What makes you think that I consider it a practical solution!

Like you said, any gun control has to be phased in gradually in a gun-mad country like the US. If you want to make it effective, banning semiautomatic handguns has to happen. I really, really doubt the US will be able to do that in the foreseeable (or unforeseeable) future. But it has to be the logical endpoint of any measure you take.

(Revolvers, while technically not semiautomatic pistols, would also have to be encompassed by a similar ban. You can get pretty hefty rates of fire with a speed loader and practice.)

[Koatanga]

that was more pointed at Paxen than you BL.

What makes you think that I consider it a practical solution!

Like you said, any gun control has to be phased in gradually in a gun-mad country like the US. If you want to make it effective, banning semiautomatic handguns has to happen. I really, really doubt the US will be able to do that in the foreseeable (or unforeseeable) future. But it has to be the logical endpoint of any measure you take.

(Revolvers, while technically not semiautomatic pistols, would also have to be encompassed by a similar ban. You can get pretty hefty rates of fire with a speed loader and practice.)

It's not the sportsmen (aka those who would practice to improve rates of fire and accuracy) who are shooting people.

[Fridmarr]

I don't know about that. In many of these cases where rate of fire has mattered, the shooters have had practice and preparation.

That aside, there is no training required to increase your rate of fire with a revolver. Prior to going empty the first time, it's semi automatic in the way that matters: one trigger pull, one shot. A speed loader is just the revolver equivalent of a clip, and is just as easy to use.

[Fridmarr]

Slight change of topic...I find this sort of thing very disconcerting...
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-school-forc ... 26100.html

TLDR; School is requiring kids to where RFIDish cards so their location can be accounted for. They claim to be doing this because kids are loitering outside their classrooms when the morning bell rings, affecting their ability to take proper attendance, and therefore their ability to get federal dollars.

[Klaudandus]

And with practice, you can be a really fast shooter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTHc4H_i8DY

Not saying they're gonna be as fast or as accurate as this guy, but in a closed room, with 20+ people in, odds are, you're gonna hit more than one target.

Of course, there's this guy that even at close range seems to have spidersenses or something
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tkMYoOLAhk

[Klaudandus]

Slight change of topic...I find this sort of thing very disconcerting...
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-school-forc ... 26100.html

TLDR; School is requiring kids to where RFIDish cards so their location can be accounted for. They claim to be doing this because kids are loitering outside their classrooms when the morning bell rings, affecting their ability to take proper attendance, and therefore their ability to get federal dollars.

*clicks article* Ah! Northside!

Their claims are correct. Funding is based on attendance. Texas is always crying about reducing their budget, of course, they prefer to cut education funding (remember I bitched about how an Osprey is worth more than the operating costs of my district for 2-3 years) than to not extend the tax cuts to the oil companies *cough*joe barton et al*cough*

[Fridmarr]

I'm not doubting their reasoning. I know how the funding works, part of our backwards system of having a federal department of education, a gigantic waste of resources that unsurprisingly has created bad results and ridiculous inefficiencies. I'm just amazed that a school can't figure out how to take proper attendance without resorting to RFID tagging their students. As a government school, the logic doesn't pass a basic sniff test for something so invasive.

[Klaudandus]

I'm not doubting their reasoning. I know how the funding works, part of our backwards system of having a federal department of education, a gigantic waste of resources that unsurprisingly has created bad results and ridiculous inefficiencies. I'm just amazed that a school can't figure out how to take proper attendance without resorting to RFID tagging their students. As a government school, the logic doesn't pass a basic sniff test for something so invasive.

It can't be helped.

The state does not give the district the same money for a kid that came in tardy than for one that was in the classroom when attendance was taken.

[Fridmarr]

Can't be helped? These are kids that are literally in the freaking building, but won't go to where they are supposed to...

I'm sorry, but if a school can't solve that problem that's absurd.

[Klaudandus]

The kid might be in the building, but if the kid is not present in the classroom by the time the teacher is taking attendance, then for all intents and purposes, that kid is just not present as per the TEA regulation.

Can't be helped because those are the regulations imposed by TEA to all the districts when it comes to attendance.

Every kid has to be accounted for, ever day, and the state gives a certain amount of money based on that day's attendance. The state gives the most money that are present since the first class, and obviously less money for the kids that were there but werent there for the whole day...

That's why they want RFID on the students, to force them to go into the classrooms on time, so they can be accounted on time, so TEA can give them the most money for the kids.

[Fridmarr]

Klaud I understand the accounting...

Again, if the students are in the school, but you can't get them to go to their class on time, you are failing miserably at solving a very fundamental problem that requires nothing close to RFID tagging kids.

How on earth would RFID even help with that? I mean the kids are in the hallways and stairwells, it's not like they don't know where they are. I'm guessing they'll just use RFID as a way to say that the kids are present.

[bldavis]

how are RFID tags going to do anything different than currently?
you still need personnel to herd the kids into the room

all a tag will do is show you where they are, which will just cut down time looking for them, and add a new level for skippers to have fun getting around

its not like the tags will mind control the kids and when passing is over make them walk into the rooms
and if it is not in a school with passing time between classes...why are they allowed out in the hall without supervision anyway?

note: before this was written before frid had posted thier comment
if they use the tags as Frid suggested, just use them on doors and forget about taking attendence, and shut the doors at the end of passing times. you arent in class, you dont get the lecture or turn in homework, so you dont get credit for them, and you are SoL and have to figure out how to get to class on time, or retake it

i mean it worked like that for me in school, and yes i had to retake some classes
but i guess that kind of real world harshness would be too tough for kids these days right?

[bldavis]

how are RFID tags going to do anything different than currently?
you still need personnel to herd the kids into the room

all a tag will do is show you where they are, which will just cut down time looking for them, and add a new level for skippers to have fun getting around

its not like the tags will mind control the kids and when passing is over make them walk into the rooms
and if it is not in a school with passing time between classes...why are they allowed out in the hall without supervision anyway?

note: above this was written before frid had posted thier comment
if they use the tags as Frid suggested, just use them on doors and forget about taking attendence, and shut the doors at the end of passing times. you arent in class, you dont get the lecture or turn in homework, so you dont get credit for them, and you are SoL and have to figure out how to get to class on time, or retake it

i mean it worked like that for me in school, and yes i had to retake some classes
but i guess that kind of real world harshness would be too tough for kids these days right?