Hurlshort

We should be pushing to have more languages learned, not less. I remember hearing that most students in Europe know 2-3 languages by the time they reach High School (or whatever it's called in Europe.) Most of my students handle multiple languages easily. Also, everybody needs to understand that schools still teach English. As much as everyone loves to bash public education in America, I've never seen a child come up through the system without learning basic English, no matter what they hear at home. This whole "Spanish threat" is just another attempt at raising fears over immigration. Do people think this is a new issue? The US has been a beacon of immigration for centuries. There is this fear that American Culture will be wiped out by Mexicans, but we've had huge influxes of people before. Should we wipe out Little Italy? America's culture is many cultures COMBINED. It's also not stagnant, it's ever-changing. People seriously need to look at our past before judging what's best for the future.

I've been a teacher in California for a good number of years, and this is terribly inaccurate. First off, what was this granddaughter looking to teach? Where was she looking to do so? If she is teaching early grades in a predominantly latino district, she will need to know Spanish in order to teach the students English. That's not a requirement, it's just a fact of life. Secondly, all new teachers are required to take ESL courses, which stands for English as a Second Language. If older teachers do not take part in the necessary coursework to clear their credential, then they can lose it. It's not a great system, but the course is a 7-day one that can be done over the summer, and most school districts cover the cost. ESL courses do not require knowledge of Spanish, it actually covers any language. Many of my students speak Chinese and Korean. The classes teach you how to deal with ELL, or English Language Learners. Some of the teachers I work with refuse to do this, but they are very close to retirement as is. They recieved a waiver for this year and plan on retiring at the end of the year. Qualified teachers don't need to speak Spanish to get a job in California. 60% of the workforce will be leaving teaching in the next 5 years, through either retirement or choice, so jobs are plentiful. This whole email smells very much like an anti-immigration push. The fact is the US is built on immigrants. English is not our "official" language because we are defined as Americans by so much more. California has always been a melting pot of many languages and cultures, and it belongs to Mexican Americans as much as anyone else.

I had my first Regular season game in Superstar mode of Madden. I'm the rookie starting QB for the Chargers. I'm playing it pure, which means I sit and watch the defense and only throw the ball. I was impressive, with 395 yards in the air and 3 TD throws, but we lost by a field goal to the Raiders (34-31). My defense stinks, I think they made one stop the entire game. I also pulled ahead with 54 seconds left, and my defense still couldn't hold them. With 12 seconds left I went for a hail mary and actually completed it. We went for a 50 yard field goal to tie it, but fell short.

Excellent game, particularly the homage to Monty Python. It's really what I consider the conclusion of the series, as 5 took itself too seriously and was confusing as well.

It works on the original. I don't own Gold either, and it worked fine.

We had a pretty decent conversation going about the 1.13 mod in another thread. I started a new game and was blown away by the improvements. I was having a total blast, but I eventually ran across a few game crashing bugs. I wasn't frustrated though, the fact is it's a blast to play. I've never been bored playing JA2. Even though my game ended abruptly, I still got another 30 hours of entertainment from this gem.

Pistols are great at close range for head shots. They take few enough AP's, so you can dispatch with the enemy quickly.

You know, I was playing Civ4 and the UN passed that non nuke measure. I kept looking for a way to do it secretly. Dang game...it's nothing like reality.

Going to court over GTA and Janet's boobie are a long way from religious fundamentalism. While the US is conservative, it's still much more open-minded and tolerant than many other places in the world. There is also always an ebb and flow when it comes to social progress (although opponents would call is regression.)

The camera angle for QB is super hard. You really can't see downfield well at all. But again, I think it's just a matter of getting used to it.

The US isn't going to just give up its position as a superpower, and having a buttload of nukes is the literal definition of superpower. You see, people hate the US. Sure, the major reason that people hate the US is because they are a superpower. The problem is, if the US decides to stop acting like a superpower and start being superfriendly, they still might leave themselves open for an attack. It's just unrealistic. Oh, and Iran is a religious state. History has shown how violent it can be to have powerful religious states. Most modern countries got that way because they separated church and state. Iran is dangerous, and much more prone to zealotry than the US or even China.

I've seen a lot of footage on Gears of War. It looks pretty, but I'm not sure how effective it will really be. It reminds me of a dressed up Winback (which was a good game!)

I got it for my 360, and it is pretty sweet. I've been trying the Superstar mode, and I love the whole concept, but I'm struggling a bit. When playing Superstar, you only control the one player. So if you are a RB, you only take part in the offense, which means you watch a chunk of the game. I don't mind that, as they speed it up well, but the camera angle is a bit tough. You play it in a 3rd person perspective, instead of the traditional camera pulled back. It is difficult, but I think I just need to keep practicing so I can get a handle on it.

The mission maps are pretty big, with quite a few buildings to climb around and explode. The random ones are small.

I don't see faith as a cop out at all. I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. My faith derives from what I see around me and the emotions I feel. I am appreciative of this beautiful planet. I'm thankful for my loving family and friends. This is what gives me faith in a higher power. I show my respect for that higher power by trying to live a positive life and by helping others. It isn't always easy, being selfish and irresponsible is easier, but at the end of the day I'm glad when I make the positive choices, and I imagine at the end of my life, I will still feel that way.

Well, being that God is omniscient and omnipresent, time is irrelevant. The Bible was written by many men. There is not even a claim that it is the direct word of God, as the Qu'ran claims. It is a book of faith, it is a book on living well. Reading the Bible and following the rules explicitely will not get you into heaven. The only thing that remains consistent in all forms of Christianity, and many other religions, is the need for faith. If you have it, you don't have to answer to anyone else.

I agree with Hades on the sexual orientation part. I also just wanted to say that History as a classroom subject is actually called Social Science until High School (at least in CA.) This is because the real classroom goal is to present historical information and have students think critically, and then apply that critical thinking to today's world. But I'll be honest, it's the teachers responsibility to get outside of the textbook, and many don't have the necessary skills to do so. All I can do is incorporate it in my own classroom and harp on this in professional development gatherings.

I couldn't bring myself to buy that one, if only because I buy it every year and I'm already spending an extra $10 on the 360 version. I actually convinced my wife to go with me at midnight and buy it, so I'm staying up.

Although I don't word it that way, I tell my students something similiar. Textbooks are a great way to get a little bit of information on many subjects, but they are horrible at telling the whole story. You should never rely one a single source, particularly a secondary one, when forming notions about historical events. Also, bias is less common in recent textbooks, but the politically correct solution is to eliminate all viewpoints, which is terribly boring. I prefer to use the textbooks as a canvas and supply supplemental materials to paint the picture.

Ah, Hannibal would weep with joy!

That's some bad history there. Christianity was a key factor in bring Europe out of the Dark Ages. It was the fall of the Roman Empire and the spread of barbarian tribes that led to the DA. Those tribes were typically pagan. Christian monks are responsible for preserving what little history we have from that time, and the church was also the backbone of the fledgling communities that arose out of the ashes.

First off, I just watched a rather long NHL2k7 video, and it looked pretty awesome. I'm definitely going to be a bit torn between NHL07 and 2k7. It will probably come down to the reviews. Secondly, Columbus is building their team around Nash. They consider him a franchise player. Even so, I agree his contract is too big. They are assuming he will grow into that money, and showing that they don't have the same faith in Zherdev. I haven't seen him enough to really judge, but Nash is an ox on the ice.

Iraq death count = 2,109 (in combat) Vietnam death count = 58,209 Just a bit of information, I'm not taking a side here.

I'm thinking about heading to EB Games at midnight to pick up Madden. I'm torn, because I have a pretty full day of work tomorrow, and I need to get up at 6 AM. Perhaps if I just take a long nap...

I can see this with Iraq, but what about Afghanistan? The Taliban was a terrible government that desecrated the native people and their culture. The world is a better place without the type of government that persecutes women and teaches children to hate. The Taliban is the same group that went around destroying historical artifacts, of which there are (were) a wealth of in Afghanistan, because they don't fit in with their religion. Afghanistan is still struggling right now, but seriously, the native population has a lot more control of their own destiny than they did under a tyrannical government.