HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: radinsky@spot.Colorado.EDU (Wayne Radinsky)
Subject: Re: DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO JAPAN?
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 16:50:44 GMT

jmfuchs@unix.amherst.edu (JESSE MICHAEL FUCHS) says:
> Tom Leylan (tleylan@pegasus.com) said:
>> Teachers BTW, are paid exactly what they are worth, not a penny less,
>> not a penny more.  There is not "teacher pay" formula but the one we
>> all use, supply and demand.  If there was a demand for better teachers
>> they would be hired.  Don't confuse "desire" and demand.  A demand means
>> you're willing to trade something of value, a desire is something that
>> a genie might grant you but it doesn't require trading anything of value.
>
> 	The teachers we have are, probably worth exactly what they are paid -
> that is, very little. However, if salaries were raised, it would attract 
> smart people to a job that they would not otherwise consider. Of course, one
> cannot raise salaries for butt-stupid teachers, or else one is just throwing
> more money at the problem irrationally. The solution is, in my mind, to pay
> teachers more, but make qualifications much more stringent. Do you know how
> difficult it is to get rid of a teacher with tenure these days? Even if they
> absolutely suck? Make teachers have to pass some sort of standardized test,
> have them evaluated more stringently, but pay them more. The net effect:
> teaching becomes a difficult, prestigious, high-paying job. Sure, it'll cost
> money, but what better use is there for money than education?

One idea I read about was, instead of paying teachers bases on their test
scores, pay them according to =their students'= test scores.  Some teachers
are very smart, but don't know how to teach effectively; this would reward
teachers who =teach= well.  I personally think it's a good idea.
From: rowland@zorba7.larc.nasa.gov (Michael W. Rowland)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: The Leftist Media
Date: 3 Jan 1993 23:38:13 GMT
Organization: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681  USA
Distribution: world
Reply-To: rowland@zorba7.larc.nasa.gov (Michael W. Rowland)
NNTP-Posting-Host: zorba7.larc.nasa.gov

In article <BzsCsq.CBu@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, irvine@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Brent 
Irvine) writes:

..

> Also, to those misguided souls who do not see it,try picking up a right
> wing publication sometime, read about what they have to say, then watch
> the news [_American Spectator_, Rush Limbaugh's Book, or others] -- you
> will notice a HUGE difference, and things you weren't even aware of!
> 
> 

This is an excellent point!  There are three books that I just read in
the last month.  I consider all of them good books, and would recommend
them to all readers.

1)  "Illiberal Education, The politics of race and sex on campus," by
    Dinesh D'Souza

2)  "Why Johnny Can't Tell Right from Wrong, Moral literacy and the
    case for character education," by William Kilpatrick

and

3)  "The Way Things Ought to Be," by Rush Limbaugh

Those of you who may tend to automatically self-censor these books, you
should reconsider that action.  The D'Souza and the Kilpatrick books are
excellent, and full of references and footnotes.  I was impressed with
the thoughtfulness they conveyed to me.  The Limbaugh book was interesting
because it really "popularizes" the ideas in the first two books.
I wonder if Mr. Limbaugh has read them...I'll bet he has.  The problem
with the Limbaugh book is that it tends to oversimplify the points
made in the other books, and I think much gets lost in the translation.

Anyway, these are all great books, but, if you don't like Rush, just read
the first two.  They made me think deeply about the general problems in
this country.  

Let's face it, folks.  We are all aiming to make this country as
good as it can be.  Hey!  Even right-wingers have a right to contribute!
Check these books out...maybe you will agree with some of their points.

Mike

Mike Rowland (Contractor),  MS 475
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton VA 23681
internet: rowland@zorba7.larc.nasa.gov
From: werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Doonesbury is still 'right on!' (was Re: Doonesbury and Camel Cigarettes)
Date: 24 Dec 1992 00:08:10 -0600
Organization: CS Dept, University of Texas at Austin
NNTP-Posting-Host: dimebox.cs.utexas.edu


 frank2@odie.ee.wits.ac.za writes:
> A local (South African) weekly newspaper carries a few Doonesbury strips
> in  each edition....

	a FEW ?!?   you lucky so-and-so !!! (I get to clip the JUST ONE
	every day -- for nearly all of the last 20 years :-) he took time
	off in the eighties.. nearly 2 years, or so, without my daily dose!
	SNIFF)

> The topic of the latest ones published is the Joey Camel cigarette
> advertising campaign, and its success among children. Has this  been
> a significant issue in the USA, or is Trudeau trying to make it [one]?

	it's been an issue, as smoking tends to be, generally (the USofA has
	slowly but surely been developing into a 'non-smokers' rights' kind
	of place - just one of the few 'things' left in the US is leading the
	world, still....  I hate THAT aspect of traveling abroad, quite
	honestly.  Germany, France, Latin America is misery for me - one
	"can't get no respect" (consideration) there ...  it's an uphill
	battle most places (if there is one at all!)


> What sort of following does Doonesbury have in the USA, and how
> have the  more controversial strips been received?

	did I answer this already ?!?  :-)   I don't have the insight (nor
	the feeling) that would allow me to state that he is as important
	still as he was as a political commentator (during Watergate, for
	example) -- but, as far as I am concerned, he is still 'right on!'
	(with his pen and his wit)
-- 
  werner@cs.utexas.edu |  ..!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!werner | werner@UTXVM.bitnet

              "Free Advice and Opinions -- Refunds Available"
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: S083492@UMRVMA.umr.edu
Subject: Re: Origin of XMAS wreath and XMAS tree?
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 08:05:46 GMT
Organization: Univ of MO - Rolla

viviana@igor.tamri.com (Vivian Aldridge) asks:

>Hi,

>Does anyone where and how the Christmas wreath and the
>Christmas tree originated?

>Thanks!
>Vivian
>viviana@tamri.com


   I believe they were both symbols used by druids in their winter solistice
celebrations.  I know, for sure, that a decorated tree was part of it and as-
sume that wreaths were as well.  Mistletoe, btw, is also a druid tradition.
All the symbols were borrowed by early Christians in the British Isles, in my
opinion, to suppress the 'pagan' traditions of the native peoples.  There is
some evidence that Christ's birth was not in December but rather in June or
July due mainly to the fact that Roman census's and taxation were conducted in
the summer.   Anyone else got any 'facts' on this ?


-Geist









--
Vivian Aldridge

viviana@tamri.com
From: lumensa@lub001.lamar.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: E-Mail Access to Congress (Was Re: Clinton Office Requests Comments
Date: 1 Jan 93 23:24:05 +1700
Organization: Lamar University - Beaumont

In article <C06IpD.CuK@ais.org>, danr@ais.org (Daniel Romanchik) writes:
> While I would like to be able to e-mail messages to my congressperson,
> I don't think it really opens up access all that much.  What percentage
> of the population actually have e-mail access?  The only thing e-mail

A rapidly growing number do have access.  Congress has access.  But
neither the public nor the Congress know how to use Email as an
effective communications tool yet.  Experience has taught Congress how
to equate the number of phone calls, letters, telegrams and postcards
received on a specific issue into the views of their constituency.  It
will take a while before that is possible with Email, since it is much
easier to use than the Snail Mail, and much cheaper to the individual in
terms of time and sending costs. 


> number of representatives.  Why is the magic number 435?  Most Western
> democracies have many more representatives.

It's tied to the population of the states to balance out between the
Senate, in which every state has equal representation.  States with
larger population have more representation.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My opinions may be used by anybody.   | Dale Parish  - Orange, Texas
My time is for sale.                  | Lamar's Token Perpetual Student
                                      | 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.indian
From: prabhak@giga.cs.umn.edu (Satya Prabhakar)
Subject: Re: Why is Yoga considered an occult practise?
Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, CSci dept.
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 17:28:38 GMT

(Jim Haynes) writes:
>
>It seems to me that yoga developed in the culture of India with the religious
>environment that is part of that culture; karate developed in Japan likewise,
>and other things in other countries.  In the U.S. we kinda want these things
>pulled apart so you can do yoga and still be a good Presbyterian or do
>karate and still be a good Baptist (or Catholic or atheist or anthroposophist
>or anything else).
>
>I remember reading an advertisement for the opening of a karate school in a
>Bible Belt town, saying quite pointedly that they would teach it without
>the religious aspects.  Now when we talk about Christian fundamentalists
>and yoga, I imagine that they imagine yoga to be inseperable from all the
>things that they imagine "India" to be: reincarnation and strange gods and
>sacred cows and everything that in their minds is part of the concept "heathen."

I am not sure if Yoga can be stripped of its philosophical connotations
and still be used effectively and without causing harm. Others who are
more knowledgeable may add to our ken in this regard.

Satya
--
___________________________________________
Happiness, dear Phaedrus, is a passed pawn!
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.indian
From: jlacey@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (james.w.lacey)
Subject: Re: Why is Yoga considered an occult practise?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 17:11:41 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.202710.23606@news2.cis.umn.edu> prabhak@giga.cs.umn.edu (Satya Prabhakar) writes:
>(james.w.lacey) writes:
>> (Satya Prabhakar) writes:
>>>....
>>>My question is as follows: Is the branding of Yoga as a form of
>>>devil worship chiefly out of ignorance or is it me that is missing
>>>a part of this picture?
>>>...
>>(2) The "Christian" network that you saw actually represents
>>a small sub-set of Christianity, usually called fundamentalists.
>>IMHO, their beliefs are similar to, but also differ from, most
>>Christians.  Most Christians in the US are members of either
>>the Catholic Church or "mainstream" (non-fundy) Protestent
>>Churches.  Unfortunately, some fundies like to use the
>>term "Christian" to apply only to themselves.
>>
>
>I watch Christian shows sometimes, much the same way I listen to
>Rush Limbaugh not infrequently.
>
>It appears to me that there is a more fundamental reason why 
>strict Christians think Hinduism is basically flawed. The Hindu
>philosophy attributes "omnipresence" as one of God's characteristics.
>It says that there is God in every one of us and Yoga is a way to
>realize this inner self. Christianity sees divinity in Christ and
>no where else. Any suggestion of divinity among ordinary mortals
>is perhaps offensive to them and, therefore, so is the practise opf
>Yoga and its philosphical undercurrents.
>
>Is there any validity to the above reasoning or what?
>...

Yes, in the sense that Christianity is *monotheistic*, that is,
the central belief that there is *one* God.  The belief in
monotheism, which is shared by Jews and Moslems BTW, generally
precludes the idea of divinity in human beings.  (An important
exception, of course, is that Christians consider Jesus to be
both God and man.) 




-- 
     Jim Lacey  --  my own opinions    
     email:  att!cbnewsl!jlacey  or  jlacey@cbnewsl.cb.att.com
     D'ou venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Ou allons-nous?
From: UPS500@rhrz.uni-bonn.de
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Pilitical Science mailing-list, worldwide?
Date: 3 Jan 93 16:17:53 GMT
Organization: RHRZ Uni-Bonn


 
Hello everyone!
 
Being ralatively new to the Internet, I wonder whether a Mailing List
for students and teachers in Political Science exists, in fact, whether there
IS a certain number of fellow students in that disipline, having Internet-
access.
 
If there is,please contact me to tell me whether there are already Mailing-
Lists in which one can join to discuss politics amongst STUDENTS and TEACHERS
of that discipline and how to join.
 
If there isn't, I find it's high time such a list was created to be able
to exchange views on the ever accelerating "deroulement" of events in the
world today. From what I've seen so far, nothing like it exists up to this
point in time, yet the internationality and the mere speed with which
discussions could take place seem tempting.
 
If you are interested in newly creating such a list, please email me -
ups500@ibm.rhrz.uni-bonn.de - to tell me
 
-> what your preferences of content would be for such a group and
-> whether you'd be ready to help in maintaining such a list.
 
Best wishes for 1993, Markus Schlegel
at RFWU Bonn (Germany)
Seminar fuer Politische Wissenschaft
------------------------------------------------------------------
ups500@ibm.rhrz.uni-bonn.de
 
Views expressed in my article are strictly private and do not represent
views of any institution at RFWU Bonn (Germany).
From: lumensa@lub001.lamar.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: Speeding Ticket: Subtelty in answering the officer?
Date: 1 Jan 93 23:12:50 +1700
Organization: Lamar University - Beaumont

In article <1992Dec30.172212.24911@news2.cis.umn.edu>,
prabhak@giga.cs.umn.edu (Satya Prabhakar) writes:

> Today has not been the best of days. I was doing around 35-38 in 
> a 30 mile zone and got trapped by the cop. 
> He asked me if I knew at what speed I am going. I told him "35!'
> 
> When he came back with the citation, he said, "Well, you have 
> the right to appeal this in a court of law. But remember that
> you *admitted* to me that you violated the speed limit", with
> heavy emphasis on 'admitted'. 

Your admittance is called a "res gesti" statement in legal terms, and is
admissible as evidence against you.  Technically, you admitted to
committing an offense without having been accused of a specific act.


> My question is this: If I choose to appeal the citation, would
> I have been better off if I insisted that I was going within
> the speed limit or I did not admit that I was traveling at
> an illegal speed? 
> 
> What are my chances of a reversal in either case?
> 

I can only speak for Texas law as it was when I was an officer, but from
the prosecution side, your chances are not good.  You admitted that you
committed an offense.  You could perjure yourself and deny it, which
could be difficult to prove convincingly to a jury, and could result in
additional charges.  Ignorance of the law is "no excuse'", but is
usually the best posture to take when asked a general question if the
question is incriminating.  If you are asked a pointed, accusing
question which would incriminate you, you don't *have* to answer it. 
But your silence or refusal to answer incriminates you with the officer
who is the person who will decide whether or not to charge you. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My opinions may be used by anybody.   | Dale Parish  - Orange, Texas
My time is for sale.                  | Lamar's Token Perpetual Student
                                      | 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: vogelges@bohr.physics.purdue.edu (Ralf Vogelgesang)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: Census Bureau released National Ancestry figures
Date: 22 Dec 92 02:06:15 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Physics Department

In article <ljbfm5INNnkq@dimebox.cs.utexas.edu> werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig) writes:
>
>
>      CENSUS BUREAU WEDNESDAY RELEASED NATIONAL ANCESTRY FIGURES
>
>	 German ancestry indicated by largest group (1 in 4)

[stuff deleted]
>
>And, personally, I would be tempted to speculate on some of the numbers
>and what might motivate people to self-classify this way, so many "Germans"
     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>and "Irish", so few "Hispanics" and "English" (and split so-many-which-ways),
>but I'll refrain.


  Well-spoken Werner!  I remember some statistics about Indiana's
census results of the last couple of years (unfortunately I've
forgotten where I read them)

  *The* striking result was a steady increase in the number
of people claiming German ancestry over the last decade or so.

  The number of _new_ residents could not be made responsible for this
growth alone, as it has been too small.  Thus your conclusion seems to be
quite right -- the census results depend strongly on what the people want
to say about themselves.  These figures cannot be called objective, at
all.  For this they would have to be checked by a different method of
measurement.

  All we can conclude from them is that it is more popular to be of
German ancestry nowadays than it used be, say, 40 years ago.

-- Ralf
From: libwca@emory.edu (Bill Anderson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: The Leftist Media
Date: 28 Dec 92 20:10:39 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Atlanta, GA
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3

irvine@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Brent Irvine) writes:
: 
: BTW I voted for Clinton.
: Also, to those misguided souls who do not see it,try picking up a right
: wing publication sometime, read about what they have to say, then watch
: the news [_American Spectator_, Rush Limbaugh's Book, or others] -- you
: will notice a HUGE difference, and things you weren't even aware of!
: 

Yes, that is absolutely correct.  It is also true that if you pick
up a LEFT-wing publication, such as The Nation or The Progressive,
you will notice an equally huge difference from the mainstream
media, and other things you weren't even aware of.  The media
has it's biases (actually, different organs of the media have 
different biases) but to cast these in terms of a strict left/right
dichotomy is just plain silly.  Can you explain to me why General
Electric, one of the largest corporations in the world, would 
operate a network (NBC) which, according to you, has a left-wing
bias?  Wouldn't this be distinctly against their interests?

Bill
: 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: irvine@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Brent Irvine)
Subject: The Leftist Media
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 22:50:49 GMT

In article <1992Dec22.183628.2074@bmers145.bnr.ca> kennyy@bnr.ca (Kenny Yan) writes:
>> I weep for a generation that gets its "facts" from TV. Doesn't anyone READ,
>> anymore?
>> 
>So READing something automatically grants it 'facts' status as well?
>Propaganda is multi-media; lies can be propagated equally well on TV, in
>newspapers, in books, over the radio, through billboards, etc.
>
>The moral is:  get information from several independent sources, and draw
>your conclusions after considering them all.

My advise is to get a Shortwave Set and listen to as much out of US
news as in-US news [will be the best $150-300 you will spend!].

The TV news, newspapers and even radio [though AM news/talk is not so
bad] is SO far off in anticipating what its viewers consider important,
[and so universally across the WHOLE industry] news that it frustrates
the majority of viewers.

George Bush was right on the money when he said that his real enemyt in
the last election was the Media, not the condidates.  The newsmedia
did do a lot of free and constant campaigning for Clinton [because he
supported all the politically correct issues so that the bias in the
media was DEFINATELY in his favor].

BTW I voted for Clinton.
Also, to those misguided souls who do not see it,try picking up a right
wing publication sometime, read about what they have to say, then watch
the news [_American Spectator_, Rush Limbaugh's Book, or others] -- you
will notice a HUGE difference, and things you weren't even aware of!


-- 
+-------------------------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
| Brent L. Irvine         | For a mere $50 these personal  | I will be gone: |
| irvine@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu | opinions can also be yours!    | 20 Dec - 4 Jan  |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
Xref: sparky soc.culture.usa:9392 soc.culture.indian:42315
From: anibal@ee470.ee.mcgill.ca (Anibal Jodorcovsky)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,americast.usa-today.weather
Subject: Plattsburg information needed!
Date: 25 Dec 92 19:21:18 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: EE Lab, McGill University EE Lab, Montreal

Hi all!!

Sorry if this is not the right newsgroup but I was looking for 
somewhere to post this, if you have a better idea of where I
should post this drop me a line.

I am planning to go for a day or two to Plattsburg (sp?), near
the USA-Canada border (New York), and I would like to know if
someone can help me out on this:
Do you know when the commercial city is open?  ie, what about
the 26th. or even on January 1st.?
I don't want to do all the ride down there and find the whole 
city closed.

Thanks a lot for your time!

 PS: I would appreciate it a lot if you can email me.
-Anibal Jodorcovsky
 anibal@ee470.ee.mcgill.ca
 Montreal - Canada
Xref: sparky soc.culture.usa:9317 soc.culture.indian:41578
From: rrp@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (rakesh.r.patel)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Why is Yoga considered an occult practise?
Date: 21 Dec 92 18:45:21 GMT
Organization: AT&T

In article <1992Dec21.172629.20974@news2.cis.umn.edu> prabhak@giga.cs.umn.edu (Satya Prabhakar) writes:
>On a recent trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, I turned on the TV in the
>hotel at about midnight. What I saw on the Christian network struck
>me as interesting.
>
>The program was dedicated to exposing how anti-Christian forces
>have taken American schools hostage. The program backed this assertion 
>up by quoting several instances where occult and satanic material 
>is taught to children. And the program cited Yoga as an example of
>occult devil worship which left me a little amazed.
>
>Yoga, to the best of my knowledge and belief, is a combination of
>physical exercise (with heavy emphasis on deep breathing) and some
>amount of transcendental meditation (trying to keep the mind blank
>for an extended period of time.) This practise is not packaged with 
>any religious connotations.
>
>My question is as follows: Is the branding of Yoga as a form of
>devil worship chiefly out of ignorance or is it me that is missing
>a part of this picture?
>

After studying all the Western and Eastern literature masters, the
answer is obivious to me. The answer is: because you were in Tennessee.
Now I must get back to studying the Northern and Southern masters. :)

Rakesh Patel
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: cshi@cs.ulowell.edu (Chunde Shi)
Subject: Re: Census Bureau released National Ancestry figures
Organization: University of Massachusetts at Lowell Computer Science
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 02:32:05 GMT

In article <ljbfm5INNnkq@dimebox.cs.utexas.edu> werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig) writes:
>2907
>
>
>      CENSUS BUREAU WEDNESDAY RELEASED NATIONAL ANCESTRY FIGURES
>
>	 German ancestry indicated by largest group (1 in 4)
>
>
>		German (57.9 million)
>		Irish (38.7)
>		English (32.7)
>		Scotch-Irish (5.6)
>		Scottish (5.6)
>		Welsh (2.0)
>		British (1.1)
  If you added British together(assume those claimed to be English, Scotch,
welsh are Britis) it will be 45.2 million. Ranks second. They tend to be
old immigrates and more likely that those call themselves American, not any
other ethinicities are British origin.