I'm just so sick and tired of all the Richard Cory's......they can't help themselves, so it's up to we the people to do the intervention, one way or the other. Of course Ricahrd Cory put a bullet through his own head...so?

Yeah Marc, you picked a helluva example. Imagine gettin' it on, Black Widow style! Sugar Mama happens to be ten times your size. Once you've served your purpose, you're on the menu for lunch... - AIW

Quote 2950-10K:Why the hell do people think they need so much god damn wealth.....it only leads to chaos and misery for the vast majority...always has always will.

2950-10K ~ I hate to say this--because I know it won't go over well with some of our friends on this blog who will remain nameless--but, I believe the reason for this is a lack of a healthy spiritual fulfillment. Now, spiritual fulfillment doesn't have to come from religion, or belief in a deity per se. However, it does have to come from within. It has to come from self respect, and self esteem. In my opinion these are basic psychological needs. These things have to be earned by each one of us through our individual accomplishments and really have nothing to do with monetary wealth. If someone falls short of attaining these goals because of the inheritance of extreme wealth, such accomplishments seem unnecessary in life. There is no further incentive to strive to achieve them. That is when the extremely wealthy turn to material wealth for that same psychological need.

Let's face it, when a person reaches a stage of financial independence they really have no financial need to overly exceed that. All one really needs to do is to maintain it. There are many other ways to pursue happiness and inner fulfillment than making money. Making money is the most basic physical need only. Once you have all you need to survive it is natural to abandon that pursuit for more rewarding ones. However, when you are unable to obtain happiness in life any other way--or you've become accustomed to perceiving happiness as coming from material wealth--you become vastly empty inside, and need to fill that endless void with limitless wealth. Because such fulfillment is an illusion and not possible, you are endlessly trapped in a quest for greater wealth. The inner emptiness is never filled, and you are constantly in want.

In my humble opinion that is why people pursue excess wealth--because they have nothing else in life of value to them. It is a spiritual and psychological illness. A problem that can only be resolved by the victim.

I'm in total agreement, as long as it is unaltered factual history. I'm no longer confident that even Livy's history of early Rome is unmolested....but that's another story.

"10K", only a psychopath "needs" so much god damn wealth.

Perhaps one of the most important things we can do for future generations is document this freak show to the hilt, so they can see what happens when the 99% fall asleep at the wheel. - AIW

Palindromedary ~ Sure, but what if they were watching a couple of heterosexual Black Widows mating? That would have really messed up that little girl's mind.

Quote Ou812:Posted at 12:01 AM ET, 01/12/2012Maryland schools ranked number one — againBy Michael Alison Chandler

Ou812 ~ Interesting reference! A name and no link to back up anything. Well, I'm certainly convinced.

However, how about a real 2012 review of college testing by the American College Testing organization called ACT. According to their website Maryland did about as well as California in across the board academic testing. However, in composite scores was clearly beat out by Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Hardly the best in the nation by real testing numbers at the college level. ;-P

Only by reviewing academic standards at the college level can you tell just how the state school system is doing. Poor public schools produce poor college test scores and visa versa.

http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2012/states.html

Posted at 12:01 AM ET, 01/12/2012Maryland schools ranked number one — againBy Michael Alison Chandler

Maryland’s public school system achieved top-in-the-nation status for thefourth consecutive year, according to an analysis of state-by-state education policies and student achievement being released Thursday.

The state was given an overall grade of B-plus by Education Week, which publishes the annual report. The average grade for the nation was a C. Virginia came in fourth with a B. And the District came in 49th, just ahead of Nebraska and South Dakota, with an overall grade of C-minus.

The evaluation includes dozens of indicators of student achievement, academic standards and accountability, teacher quality and school finance.

“Maryland is an example of an all-around strong performer,” said Chris Swanson, a vice president at Editorial Projects in Education, which publishes Education Week. The state has improving test scores, state policies that support school improvement, and comparatively high graduation rates and participation on Advanced Placement tests.

Bernard J. Sadusky, Maryland’s interim state superintendent of schools, said the accolade is a compliment to the state’s teachers and local superintendents and says much about the governor’s and legislature’s commitment to education. Still, he said, Maryland has a lot of work to do to eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities in school performance.

A closer look at how Maryland fared in various parts of the evaluation showed strong performance overall. For example, Maryland was among the top 10 states in improving its overall scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, otherwise known as the Nation’s Report Card, between 2003 and 2011.

On the reading test, 40 percent of eighth-grade students scored proficient or advanced on the 2011 test, giving the state a seventh place ranking. (Maryland and the nation still have a lot of room to improve).

But the so-called “poverty gap,” or the difference in scores between those eligible for free lunches and those not eligible, was much less favorable.

The 27-point difference in scores was about the national average. Thirty-seven states had a narrower gap.

Forty percent of eighth-grade students in Maryland also scored proficient or advanced on the math test, putting the state in 13th place.

But the 32-point “poverty gap” in scores was significantly higher than the 26-point national average. Maryland came in second-to-last.

:))

DAnneMarc: Maybe it was Reganomics...Regan seemed to be controlling Reagan...maybe like how Cheney seemed to be controlling Bush...although, Regan wasn't a VP like Cheney. ;-}

Well, about OU812's sex...I don't really know what he/she is...I always assumed he/she was a male. I can't remember now why I thought male was the gender. If he/she said what he/she was then I guess I missed it. Doesn't matter much anyway, anyone can say they were anything on the internet.

Quote Palindromedary:Anyway, I believe OU812 had said he went to the University of Maryland. He must have had Mr. Valentine (remember him?) as a teacher.

Palindromedary ~ Sorry, another little piece that I missed. Been quite distracted this weekend. However, I sure do remember that "adjunct" piece of work, know-it-all who showed his face on this blog just long enough for you to pick him apart like a loosely wrapped Birthday present. I would have liked to have thought East coast schools had a little more integrity than that. Well, if that's the kind of teachers they hire it's no wonder that this is the kind of graduates they turn out. Scratch the tour of Maryland right off my bucket list. Considering the climate I don't think I will have any problem dissuading my nephews from California from venturing that far. There are far better institutions of higher learning right here where the sun shines.

PS Why do you think Ou812 is a guy? I thought he said he was a she? Or was that a he/she? I guess I blinked and missed even more stuff. Sorry about that OU. I could have sworn you said you were a woman at one point or another. My bad.

Well goodie-goodie for yew.