be life different in Alabama?

[Ernie S.]

Yes, Alabama ranks close to the bottom in education and near the top in % of population on welfare and in prison. Why do you suppose that is?

I don't know. It's a red state, run by mostly Republicans, that could have something to do with it.

Guess again. Louisiana and Mississippi are at or near the bottom of the list too. What do the 3 states have in common?

THINK!

 

[Mertex]

Yes, Alabama ranks close to the bottom in education and near the top in % of population on welfare and in prison. Why do you suppose that is?

I don't know. It's a red state, run by mostly Republicans, that could have something to do with it.

Guess again. Louisiana and Mississippi are at or near the bottom of the list too. What do the 3 states have in common?

THINK!

They are all "red" states with Republican governors. Mass, Vermont, NH, are at the top, are blue states with Democratic governors.

Governors are responsible for the success of their states.

 

[Sunshine]

Yes, Alabama ranks close to the bottom in education and near the top in % of population on welfare and in prison. Why do you suppose that is?

ahoy Ernie S.,

thar be a very low population 'o Asian Americans in Alabama?

*cheers*

- MeadHallPirate

Way to low. It's nearly impossible to get decent egg fu yung. The Chinese restaurants don't serve green tea, only sweet tea and the Chinese buffet has fried chicken, hush puppies and boiled crawdads on the steam table.
The Chinese place closest to my place has been there for 20 years. The owner is more Rebel than I am. I stopped by to get a bite one Sunday afternoon and as I walked in, the owner told me in an accent that was a cross between Chinese and Old Dixie, "We fixin' ta close in a minute, darlin'."

We do have decent eggs fu on our Chinese buffet, but we have all the other stuff except the crawdads on it as well. My favorite thing at the Chinese buffet, though, is those fried canned biscuits. I lived too far in the country as a girl to be able to run buy doughnuts, so I would fry up a can of biscuits and sugar them. Except I would punch a hole in the center. I can eat the hell out of those things and my kids just shake their heads at me when I do!

 

[Ernie S.]

I don't know. It's a red state, run by mostly Republicans, that could have something to do with it.

Guess again. Louisiana and Mississippi are at or near the bottom of the list too. What do the 3 states have in common?

THINK!

They are all "red" states with Republican governors. Mass, Vermont, NH, are at the top, are blue states with Democratic governors.


Governors are responsible for the success of their states.

To a certain point. More important are the people.
Keep guessing. Look at demographics beyond Democrat/Republican.

 

[Ernie S.]

ahoy Ernie S.,

thar be a very low population 'o Asian Americans in Alabama?

*cheers*

- MeadHallPirate

Way to low. It's nearly impossible to get decent egg fu yung. The Chinese restaurants don't serve green tea, only sweet tea and the Chinese buffet has fried chicken, hush puppies and boiled crawdads on the steam table.
The Chinese place closest to my place has been there for 20 years. The owner is more Rebel than I am. I stopped by to get a bite one Sunday afternoon and as I walked in, the owner told me in an accent that was a cross between Chinese and Old Dixie, "We fixin' ta close in a minute, darlin'."

We do have decent eggs fu on our Chinese buffet, but we have all the other stuff except the crawdads on it as well. My favorite thing at the Chinese buffet, though, is those fried canned biscuits. I lived too far in the country as a girl to be able to run buy doughnuts, so I would fry up a can of biscuits and sugar them. Except I would punch a hole in the center. I can eat the hell out of those things and my kids just shake their heads at me when I do!

You have okra at your buffet? Or are you too far north?

Can someone please tell me why people even consider putting that slimy shit in their mouths?

 

[Sunshine]

Way to low. It's nearly impossible to get decent egg fu yung. The Chinese restaurants don't serve green tea, only sweet tea and the Chinese buffet has fried chicken, hush puppies and boiled crawdads on the steam table.
The Chinese place closest to my place has been there for 20 years. The owner is more Rebel than I am. I stopped by to get a bite one Sunday afternoon and as I walked in, the owner told me in an accent that was a cross between Chinese and Old Dixie, "We fixin' ta close in a minute, darlin'."

We do have decent eggs fu on our Chinese buffet, but we have all the other stuff except the crawdads on it as well. My favorite thing at the Chinese buffet, though, is those fried canned biscuits. I lived too far in the country as a girl to be able to run buy doughnuts, so I would fry up a can of biscuits and sugar them. Except I would punch a hole in the center. I can eat the hell out of those things and my kids just shake their heads at me when I do!

You have okra at your buffet? Or are you too far north?
Can someone please tell me why people even consider putting that slimy shit in their mouths?

Only at the Cracker Barrel. As to slimy shit..........you don't wanna go there! As to that 'we fixin' ta close' - EVERYONE is a closet wannabe Scarlett. They just don't want to admit it. Dahlin'

 

[Sunshine]

Could the type of work and amount of pay have anything to do with it? There may be plenty of jobs, but low-paying jobs that only benefit non-professionals.

Alabama's economy creating wrong kind of jobs, labor experts say | al.com


That's great, but unless they improve on public education, only the wealthier will be able to get the type of education necessary to apply for some of these jobs. Alabama is a red state and Republicans seem to want to get rid of public education, that won't help Alabama raise its standard of living.

That just isn't true. A child who wants an education can find it in any of our public schools in this country. In fact, anyone who has a 5th grade education in this country can read and write well enough to go to college, and I know people who actually have sent their children to college at a young age, and those children have graduated college by the time they were teens. You can't force learning on someone who doesn't want it. And many don't want it because it isn't cool to be an egghead.

Alabama just happens to be close to the bottom when it comes to ranking among the 50 states. It doesn't matter how much a child wants an education, if he only has access to substandard schools, he will not fare as well, as say, students in Mass, Vermont or other states. Alabama ranks #46 in student performance.


Alabama’s Rank in the National Report Card on School Funding
By Trisha Powell Crain . In School Finance . On June 20, 2012 No comments
“Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card” was released yesterday. It is the second edition of the report, the first one was issued in 2010. Not surprisingly, Alabama didn’t rank highly. The Education Law Center published the report.
Alabama?s Rank in the National Report Card on School Funding


They do have college degrees, but having a college degree does not mean that you will be a good teacher. Good teachers will seek work in a higher paying environment, wouldn't you? In teacher's pay, Alabama ranks #33.

Before we moved to TN, my children went to school in one of the worst school districts in the entire country. My children were motivated and enjoyed school, and when we moved to Nashville, they weren't behind at all. In fact my son qualified for and graducated from one of their academic magnet schools.

Tenn ranks #39. Many children do well in spite of the low ranking schools they attend, but imagine how much more they would have learned if they had gone to a school that ranks higher.

It is just tiresome when people do not hold those who fail accountable for their own failures. Your excuses for the personal failures of the world are disgusting.

If it was up to each individual, what they learn and how well they learn it, we wouldn't need schools. Making excuses for your state's lack of interest in education is more disgusting, and if you want to settle for lackluster education for your children, that is your choice. But, unless Alabama improves on their education system, the majority of its students will have to settle for low paying jobs after graduating or dropping out, or if they go to college, they will have to work harder. There is always exceptions, and some will do great in spite of it, but they are few. And our children are America's future, we should want them to have the best education possible.

Alabama's graduation rate is 69.9%, compared to Mass, 83.3%, NH 84.3%, and NJ 85.3%.

First, I don't live in Alabama and never did. But I did have children born when we lived in one of the worst school districts in the country. They went straight from there to an academic magnet school in Tennessee and that school had stringent selection criteria. You might check where their academic magnet schools stand because you have missed the point on that one thinking they are anything like the rest of the schools in TN. No surprise. The education is there in any of our schools. Education is a two way street. And every school in America supplies books, classrooms, and teachers who are college educated. The schools are only half the problem. Children who are unmotivated, lazy, low IQ, drug addicted, pregnant, in gangs, and don't want to learn constitute the other half. A child who wants to learn can learn in any of America's schools.

The school I went to burned to the ground 2 years before I started school. I spent my first 3 years going to school in an old cannery behind the construction site of the new school. It was cold, drafty, and dirty. But I managed to learn in that environment as did my classmates. By the time we were in 6th grade, so many people had moved to the area because of the new building that we were over crowded and back out in the old cannery, and I spent another 3 years there, learning.

LOL. ' Imagine how much more they would have learned.' Elementary and high school are all about teaching kids to go by the rules. Not about education. That is why someone with less than a high school diploma can't get hired. They haven't demonstrated that they can go by the rules. All one needs to know to function in life knowledge wise has been acquired by the 5th grade. It's that going by the rules thing that causes most people to fail. Where did I learn THAT? In college; one of our required classes, Group Processs, was taught in the College of Education. The EdD who taught the class enlightened us about the purpose of public education even though we were going to school to be nurses. Where did YOU learn to make excuses for lazy unmotivated children?

Maybe you should check out the demographics of Alabama and Massachusetts. Ernie has been saying that for pages now. It just keeps going over your head.

 

[MeadHallPirate]

To a certain point. More important are the people.
Keep guessing. Look at demographics beyond Democrat/Republican.

ahoy Ernie S.,

*peers around warily*

i haven't spent much time on this vessel, matey, so i don't have meself a good feel fer how bluntly folks phrase delicate issues.

in the USPO harbor, ye know thar woulda been some folk who woulda thrown down thar gauntlet and said what yer hintin' at.

do ye think it be that simple? i checked the ship's manifest in states like Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama...

...and i don't have meself a good rebuttal at the moment, though i'd note that Oregon and Maine hath very, very high rates 'o thar citizens on disability. both states be in the top six in that lamentable catagory - ahead 'o Alabama.

*bows*

- MeadHallPirate

 

[Ernie S.]

Information I find puts Oregon fairly low on the list. Maine IS high and is certainly an outlier as far as the demographics I alluded to. The type of work people in different states do likely has an impact. West Virginia Tennessee, Kentucky all have a history of coal mining and Maine' biggest industry is logging and sawmills.

As far as the wariness... I've gotten past worrying about people labeling me. I report facts. Facts have no agenda.

 

[MeadHallPirate]

Information I find puts Oregon fairly low on the list. Maine IS high and is certainly an outlier as far as the demographics I alluded to. The type of work people in different states do likely has an impact. West Virginia Tennessee, Kentucky all have a history of coal mining and Maine' biggest industry is logging and sawmills.

As far as the wariness... I've gotten past worrying about people labeling me. I report facts. Facts have no agenda.

ahoy Ernie S.,

'round 15 years ago, Oregon was 8th on the list fer states with the highest folks languishin' on disability per capita - i've not found a more recent breakdown. Oklahoma was also quite high on the list.

i also gotta note that southern states hath a good reason to try'n get thar folks on disability and off welfare - fer unemployment monies comes largely outta state funds (and vary from state to state), disability be paid fer by the Federal Government.

i can't disagree with yer point, though - if ye have lots and lots and lots 'o black americans in yer state, chances be that yer state has high disability rates.

- MeadHallPirate

 

[Ernie S.]

this from December of 2011 should help some.

 

[editec]

To a certain point. More important are the people.
Keep guessing. Look at demographics beyond Democrat/Republican.

ahoy Ernie S.,

*peers around warily*

i haven't spent much time on this vessel, matey, so i don't have meself a good feel fer how bluntly folks phrase delicate issues.

in the USPO harbor, ye know thar woulda been some folk who woulda thrown down thar gauntlet and said what yer hintin' at.

do ye think it be that simple? i checked the ship's manifest in states like Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama...

...and i don't have meself a good rebuttal at the moment, though i'd note that Oregon and Maine hath very, very high rates 'o thar citizens on disability. both states be in the top six in that lamentable catagory - ahead 'o Alabama.

*bows*

- MeadHallPirate

I suspect I can explain the high rate of disability in Maine's case.

Maine's median age in 2010 was 42.7, the Census reported Thursday. That's two years older than the median in Florida, and more than five years above the national median age of 37.2.

"This has been going on for years," said Jim Breece, an economist at the University of Maine. "The biggest factors are the low birth rate here and the out-migration of young families looking for opportunities."

Breece added that the state tends to retain its older residents and has attracted quite a few new retirees from out of state. Some towns are catering to this demographic, building new retirement communities and offering events like concerts and lectures to enrich retirements. ('25 best places to retire')

I believe the median age in my Maine town is about 49 years old!

 

[tipofthespear]

MeadHallPirate said:

ahoy Depotoo,

someone else posted the election results, matey.

i just don't see the relevance 'o them numbers, though.

the entire state be a black hole whar taxpayer monies from New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, etc, etc, etc (it only be "etc" if ye name blue states, mostly) vanish, endlessly.

the entire state be a template 'o how to exist by the goodwill 'o the Federal coffers.

heck, Alabama even had to recently rewrite its state constitution so it could raid its Oil and Gas trust fund to plug the holes in its budget (they were hopin' fer another stimulus, fer the skipper's edicts had helped float that state fer the last few years, though they hate'm fer it). 'tis sorta like eatin' yer seed corn so ye don't go hungry, which i suppose be understandable, but it doesn't bode well fer the state's future.


Just wondering how Bama deserves your disdain with regards to Federal Funding when these other States "sail on by?" Please note that CT and MA both receive more Government Funding than Bama.......does that qualify them as a "black hole?"

STATES THAT RECEIVE THE MOST FEDERAL FUNDS: from NY Times.com

Dollars per Capita:

$12,000.00 ------plus equals AK, HI, ND, KS, NM, VA, MD, CT, MA

$10,500.00 TO $11,999.00 equals: MT, WY,SD, MO, WI, KY, TN, LA, MS, AL, WV.PA, VT, MI……….

economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/states-that... - Cached


Not sure why this need to 'dis Alabama is necessary............suppose you could be a Notre Dame fan............dunno.......

 

[tipofthespear]

All you could ever want to know about Hale County Alabama can be found by googling Hale County Alabama and finding the Site that reads in part: city-data.com/county/Hale_County-AL.

Don't have enough posts yet to provide the link for you..........

 

[Ernie S.]

MeadHallPirate said:

ahoy Depotoo,

someone else posted the election results, matey.

i just don't see the relevance 'o them numbers, though.

the entire state be a black hole whar taxpayer monies from New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, etc, etc, etc (it only be "etc" if ye name blue states, mostly) vanish, endlessly.

the entire state be a template 'o how to exist by the goodwill 'o the Federal coffers.

heck, Alabama even had to recently rewrite its state constitution so it could raid its Oil and Gas trust fund to plug the holes in its budget (they were hopin' fer another stimulus, fer the skipper's edicts had helped float that state fer the last few years, though they hate'm fer it). 'tis sorta like eatin' yer seed corn so ye don't go hungry, which i suppose be understandable, but it doesn't bode well fer the state's future.


Just wondering how Bama deserves your disdain with regards to Federal Funding when these other States "sail on by?" Please note that CT and MA both receive more Government Funding than Bama.......does that qualify them as a "black hole?"

STATES THAT RECEIVE THE MOST FEDERAL FUNDS: from NY Times.com

Dollars per Capita:

$12,000.00 ------plus equals AK, HI, ND, KS, NM, VA, MD, CT, MA

$10,500.00 TO $11,999.00 equals: MT, WY,SD, MO, WI, KY, TN, LA, MS, AL, WV.PA, VT, MI……….

economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/states-that... - Cached


Not sure why this need to 'dis Alabama is necessary............suppose you could be a Notre Dame fan............dunno.......

Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina all are maligned by the Liberal media. The funny thing is that Louisiana was somewhat immune to the same criticism until a Republican was elected Governor. Libs love to point out our history of racism here in the South as if it is still prevalent today. They point out that the South has more people on average below the poverty line, but they fail to point out that these states have the highest percentage of minority citizens, that their large cities are majority "minority" and in many cases, rotting because of mismanagement. (One could compare Montgomery and Birmingham in my adopted home state of Alabama)

All you could ever want to know about Hale County Alabama can be found by googling Hale County Alabama and finding the Site that reads in part: city-data.com/county/Hale_County-AL.

Don't have enough posts yet to provide the link for you..........

Hale County, Alabama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[oldfart]

Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina all are maligned by the Liberal media. The funny thing is that Louisiana was somewhat immune to the same criticism until a Republican was elected Governor. Libs love to point out our history of racism here in the South as if it is still prevalent today. They point out that the South has more people on average below the poverty line, but they fail to point out that these states have the highest percentage of minority citizens, that their large cities are majority "minority" and in many cases, rotting because of mismanagement. (One could compare Montgomery and Birmingham in my adopted home state of Alabama)

Take a deep breath and you will feel better. My aunt moved to rural Alabama (Marion) about 1958 when she married Dr. Joe Davis and lived there until her death. My cousin, her daughter, was raised in Marion, graduated from Judson/MMI with her master's from the Univ of Ala and now lives in Niceville FL where she teaches school. I used to visit her frequently the two years she was in Tuscaloosa because I owned an office in Northport (and in Mobile, and in Jackson, Pearl, Florence, Brookhaven, Gulfport, and Pascagoula MS). My brother moved to East Texas in 1970 and my three nephews grew up there and all three still live there. My great-niece gets her master's from TCU this spring and my great-nephew is on the U of Texas baseball team. My sons were born and raised in Mississippi, attended public schools and the University of Southern Mississippi. I moved to North Carolina in 1968, Mississippi in 1971, and to the Redneck Riviera in 2007. So my family is now southern. But our identification is American instead of Southern nationalist. That's the difference.

The South is poor, both black and white, because of historical factors and intentional economic policies that state governments have pursued. Most southern states fought industrialization up until the 60's to keep a labor supply on the farm. For the same reason they drastically underfunded education, then saw the best of their labor market entrants leave the state. These long term economic factors do not turn on a dime, and starting in the 70's, it's not been enough time to turn it around.

Racism still is an issue, and will continue to be a crippling one until white Southerners decide they are Americans first. I still hear a lot of "Texas has the right to succeed" and "state's rights" bullshit. As long as the majority of white southerners choose to believe as you seem to do the South will always be and will be treated as, a third-world country. And please don't tell me of all the black friends you have. If they were your friends they would have straightened you out by now.

 

[Ernie S.]

Your perspective needs a bit of work. It is based in a different era.
I'm Connecticut born and raised and have lived in Lower Alabama for 3 years.
I see rural Connecticut far more racist than rural Alabama. The town I grew up in didn't have its first black residents until the early 80's and they were very unwelcomed in local businesses.
Here in Southern Alabama, people just accept our differences. It may be because Alabama has double the national percentage of black residents or familiarity, but it may surprise others to know that there are not KKK cross burnings every Friday night and it's been quite a while since the old lynchin' tree's been used.

Actually, I don't have a lot of black friends, but I have several close ones. Skin color is not a consideration. Character is. My daughter dated a Jamaican fellow for several years and we became quite close. Then there's my second wife, a black/Portuguese woman who grew up in Recife, Brazil.
No sir. I choose to be close to people based on character, not complexion.

Go ahead. Call me a racist if you like. I know better.

 

[tipofthespear]

Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina all are maligned by the Liberal media. The funny thing is that Louisiana was somewhat immune to the same criticism until a Republican was elected Governor. Libs love to point out our history of racism here in the South as if it is still prevalent today. They point out that the South has more people on average below the poverty line, but they fail to point out that these states have the highest percentage of minority citizens, that their large cities are majority "minority" and in many cases, rotting because of mismanagement. (One could compare Montgomery and Birmingham in my adopted home state of Alabama)

Take a deep breath and you will feel better. My aunt moved to rural Alabama (Marion) about 1958 when she married Dr. Joe Davis and lived there until her death. My cousin, her daughter, was raised in Marion, graduated from Judson/MMI with her master's from the Univ of Ala and now lives in Niceville FL where she teaches school. I used to visit her frequently the two years she was in Tuscaloosa because I owned an office in Northport (and in Mobile, and in Jackson, Pearl, Florence, Brookhaven, Gulfport, and Pascagoula MS). My brother moved to East Texas in 1970 and my three nephews grew up there and all three still live there. My great-niece gets her master's from TCU this spring and my great-nephew is on the U of Texas baseball team. My sons were born and raised in Mississippi, attended public schools and the University of Southern Mississippi. I moved to North Carolina in 1968, Mississippi in 1971, and to the Redneck Riviera in 2007. So my family is now southern. But our identification is American instead of Southern nationalist. That's the difference.

The South is poor, both black and white, because of historical factors and intentional economic policies that state governments have pursued. Most southern states fought industrialization up until the 60's to keep a labor supply on the farm. For the same reason they drastically underfunded education, then saw the best of their labor market entrants leave the state. These long term economic factors do not turn on a dime, and starting in the 70's, it's not been enough time to turn it around.

Racism still is an issue, and will continue to be a crippling one until white Southerners decide they are Americans first. I still hear a lot of "Texas has the right to succeed" and "state's rights" bullshit. As long as the majority of white southerners choose to believe as you seem to do the South will always be and will be treated as, a third-world country. And please don't tell me of all the black friends you have. If they were your friends they would have straightened you out by now.

with regards to your family being "now southern," there are those who would quickly point out the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee..........the latter being those who come for a visit and stay...........just saying... while I do not subscribe to that belief, there are many that do...and they also believe that being "southern" is a birthright not a relocation benefit. As well, racism is not specifically located in the South, there are racists in every State of this Nation, and they come in all colors, shapes and sizes.

with regards to Texas...........uh, don't all Americans have the right to "succeed?" I surely hope so........elsewise we would be a Nation of underachievers.......uh, no, wait,

 

[oldfart]

with regards to your family being "now southern," there are those who would quickly point out the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee..........the latter being those who come for a visit and stay...........just saying... while I do not subscribe to that belief, there are many that do...and they also believe that being "southern" is a birthright not a relocation benefit. As well, racism is not specifically located in the South, there are racists in every State of this Nation, and they come in all colors, shapes and sizes.

You make my point. If being "southern" (and by that being southern white) is a birthright, then it is racism pure and simple. Racism is present in every state, its the intensity and the targets that vary. But the south will never recover until white southerners decide they are Americans first and stop trying to justify slavery and racism in their past and continually refighting the Civil War.

with regards to Texas...........uh, don't all Americans have the right to "succeed?" I surely hope so........elsewise we would be a Nation of underachievers.......uh, no, wait,

I am spelling challenged (it comes with being "brain-damaged"). Peace.

 

[Ernie S.]

with regards to your family being "now southern," there are those who would quickly point out the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee..........the latter being those who come for a visit and stay...........just saying... while I do not subscribe to that belief, there are many that do...and they also believe that being "southern" is a birthright not a relocation benefit. As well, racism is not specifically located in the South, there are racists in every State of this Nation, and they come in all colors, shapes and sizes.

You make my point. If being "southern" (and by that being southern white) is a birthright, then it is racism pure and simple. Racism is present in every state, its the intensity and the targets that vary. But the south will never recover until white southerners decide they are Americans first and stop trying to justify slavery and racism in their past and continually refighting the Civil War.

with regards to Texas...........uh, don't all Americans have the right to "succeed?" I surely hope so........elsewise we would be a Nation of underachievers.......uh, no, wait,

I am spelling challenged (it comes with being "brain-damaged"). Peace.

Proof of my point that Liberalism is an affliction.