The first pic of Little BSmack

[velocet]

Congrats BSmack!




velocet

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

I don't think his wife is having a baby.

I think this is all a ruse to deflect the beatings he's been taking lately. Next month he'll tell us the tragic news that
she's had a miscarriage, and he'll be riding the sympathy wave for a few months more.

I call "bullshit".

[socal]

Prospective names? BFrancoHarris, of course, for the Immaculate Conception.

:P

Congrats, B.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Y2K's estimate about college costs tripling in 20 years is way too conservative, btw.

Will illegals still be getting free or in-state tuition rates, or will they have closed the door behind them at that point?

Illegals are getting free college education? That's news to me.

[XXXL]

Congrats on the news.......

[Risa]

Y2K's estimate about college costs tripling in 20 years is way too conservative, btw.

Will illegals still be getting free or in-state tuition rates, or will they have closed the door behind them at that point?

Illegals are getting free college education? That's news to me.

Yeah, dude. Or maybe it's only here in New Mexico. People outside the state think Bill Richardson is some kind of savior, just because he's a latin with an Indian face and an anglo name. He's an asshole. I smirked when anchor baby Villagaroisa dissed his ass in Los Angeles by supporting Hillary Clinton instead of Bill 'I'm one of you' Richardson. And people talk about Obama (and previously, Kerry) trying to steal from the Jack Kennedy playbook.

Anyway, in New Mexico, EVERY high school student in the state is eligible for what's called the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship. If you meet certain criteria, you will get your college education paid for by the lottery fund. And yet this city (in particular) still has high drop out issues. Go figure. Well, a lot of students here are of the illegal persuasion.

Illegals weren't supposed to be legally eligible for the Lottery Scholarship, but they got them anyway. Who's gonna say anything? I even understand, in a way, because how can you tell? and who's gonna put up the money to do so? Del Norte High School got in trouble a couple years ago for letting Immigration in to find illegals. They were able to round up a sizeable number. The school and the city got in trouble, something about it was illegal (???) how it was done and it was also embarassing to the students and racist on top. Anyway, on the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship tip, Bill Richardson wanted to throw the illegals and illegal supporters a bone and just made the unofficial official. So a couple years ago, King Bill decreed that illegals were also officially eligible for the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship -- and all hell broke lose. The Senate still went along with it.

I haven't heard anything since, so I've assumed all this time that King Bill and the illegal supporters got their way. If you graduate from a New Mexico high school, meeting certain criteria not related to your citizenship status, you will get that free tuition money to attend a New Mexico college, no other questions asked.

For a while, during the debates last year when illegal alienhood/immigration was all up in the news, you'd have school teachers breaking silence to tear their hair out in the op/ed pages about what was going on in the schools, because teachers were being asked too much. I remember one letter in particular where a teacher on the southside was talking about even the bilingual here couldn't understand the new illegals coming up, because the new illegals were illiterate in Spanish both written (that was ok) and verbally (that wasn't ok). Apparently, it's not really Spanish, but some crazy ass Indian/creole dialects coming up. These children were never taught their country's official language, but they're coming up to the States, and American teachers are being burdened with taking time out from their legitimate students to try to take care of the new illegals needs.... and everybody is suffering. That was outside of the parents who were bitching because their kid was the only English speaking kid in the class. The teacher would teach in Spanish. Those weren't supposed to be spanish/bilingual classes. People were pulling their kids out of the system. (As an aside, at the same time you'd also have neo-hippies pulling the 'America is rich, illegals deserve what citizens have because it isn't fair that citizens have access to resources just because they were born here' card. I know, dude, that continues to blow my mind when somebody pulls that argument. It's almost as bad as the fake feminist 'we need illegal aliens to do our housework and childcare because (white/citizen) women aren't paid enough by (white/citizen) men to afford to pay more' you'll also see around here. I never thought the feminist movement could dip lower than the 'a fetus is not a baby' bullshit......... but those stupid grassroots bitches just advocated slavery. Anyway, I'm rambling. Sorry.)

So anyway, Terry, that's my understanding and why I say 'free and in-state tuition' and not just 'in-state tuition'. New Mexico was offering free tuition. Maybe it makes a difference that it's lottery revenue money. Maybe it doesn't. I'm gonna look up current information about this. Or maybe it's moot, in the end, because the last word I heard was that the Lottery Scholarship Fund was running out of money. They'll figure out a way to keep it going. I guess.

And Mike the Lab Rat and mvscal can come up in here and do their own research and say 'LIAR!' on this, too, if my understanding of what's been going on in the state and the city has been off.





Oh, and Bsmack, looking at your baby's photo the other day, reminded me of the baby photo that was laying out on the sidewalk of my bank like 3, 4 years ago. How could anyone lose a baby in the womb photo? it's one thing if other stuff is lost with it, but I would have thought that a baby in the womb photo would be one of those things you'd bronze if you could. Are you gonna laminate it, or would lamination destroy it?

[Terry in Crapchester]

If you graduate from a New Mexico high school, meeting certain criteria not related to your citizenship status, you will get that free tuition money to attend a New Mexico college, no other questions asked.

It appears that you're right about that.

The Legislative Lottery Scholarship helps provide tuition for New Mexico high school graduates (or GED recipients) who want to attend a New Mexico public college or university. Here are the requirements:
- Must be a New Mexico resident;
- Must have graduated from a New Mexico public high school, an accredited private high school recognized by the Public Education Department, or have obtained a New Mexico GED;
- Must be enrolled full-time (12 credit hours) at an eligible New Mexico public college or university, in the first regular semester immediately following high school graduation; and
- Must obtain and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA.

http://www.nmlottery.com/scholarships.htm

It does look like you have to come up with the first semester of tuition yourself, but relatively speaking, that's a drop in the hat.

I'm pretty sure New York doesn't have anything like this. I don't think anybody gets a full tuition scholarship in any state school in New York, possible exception for varsity athletes at UB (only 1-A program in state). Of course, New York got a pretty late start in establishing a state university system, and imho the state suffers for it.

[XXXL]

Congrad's Bri and best wishes.

On a side note I just paid the bill for my daughter's regististration for her first semester at Fresno State and it was only $1600.00, in another 20 years it will only be 3 times that amount.

Bulldogs Rule!

[KC Scott]

Grats Bri!

[BSmack]

Oh, and Bsmack, looking at your baby's photo the other day, reminded me of the baby photo that was laying out on the sidewalk of my bank like 3, 4 years ago. How could anyone lose a baby in the womb photo? it's one thing if other stuff is lost with it, but I would have thought that a baby in the womb photo would be one of those things you'd bronze if you could. Are you gonna laminate it, or would lamination destroy it?

With the proliferation of home printing options out there, it is entirely possible that picture was one of many duplicates. Ours has already been scanned and saved in two locations. We also printed out some copies so that we could take the out with us Friday night and show them to friends without having to worry about losing them.

What I want is the .avi file of the whole ultrasound experience. I want to take the baby's heartbeat and set it to some original music.

[Goober McTuber]

Congratulations, Brian. In another 7 or 8 months you’ll finally be qualified to comment on subjects that relate to having children.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

If B Jr. asks for an allowance, I'd suggest he sign a contract with his dad...with interest included. An unpaid fifteen bucks a week could turn into some serious small claims court kinda cash.

[HooverTroll™]

Saw and heard the heartbeat. Simply amazing that medical science has allowed us to have a look at something so tiny. Right now the little guy is a mere.5 cm long.

That picture is making me hungry.

[Risa]

(picture deleted)

That picture is making me hungry.

What, was SIDS Fairy already taken?
or has its jersey been retired?

[MissCarriage]

Next month he'll tell us the tragic news that she's had a miscarriage,

I'll probably wait 2 or 3 months, it really adds to the drama.

[Cuda]

^^^ RACK!

[Risa]

Next month he'll tell us the tragic news that she's had a miscarriage,

I'll probably wait 2 or 3 months, it really adds to the drama.

Go for the Triple Crown: add in an Ectopic Pregnancy troll. Fucking assholes.

[BSmack]

Next month he'll tell us the tragic news that she's had a miscarriage,

I'll probably wait 2 or 3 months, it really adds to the drama.

Go for the Triple Crown: add in an Ectopic Pregnancy troll. Fucking assholes.

Why would they? The ultrasound clearly shows that an Ectopic Pregnancy has been ruled out.

[MissCarriage]

Next month he'll tell us the tragic news that she's had a miscarriage,

I'll probably wait 2 or 3 months, it really adds to the drama.

Go for the Triple Crown: add in an Ectopic Pregnancy troll. Fucking assholes.

Skipping your mother was a misscarriage of justice, sorry world.

[HooverTroll™]

You may know her as Risa but I'll always refer to her as The One That Got Away.

[Headhunter]

You may know her as Risa but I'll always refer to her as The One That Got Away.

You fucking slacker.

[Goober McTuber]

Right now the little guy is a mere.5 cm long.

Unfortunately, he's 1.5 cm wide. Another FLF.

[Risa]

http://www.nmlottery.com/scholarships.htm

It does look like you have to come up with the first semester of tuition yourself, but relatively speaking, that's a drop in the hat.

Must be nice, right? and these kids below aren't even New Mexico illegal residents. I'd never heard of an institutional scholarship for illegal aliens, must be something new. I think it's bullshit that Colorado has just foisted it's illegal alien shit on us. That's nice that the students have high grades.

It would be nicer if the money spent on their illegal asses was spent on the citizen and resident alien students who are already here and need the assistance. You don't take food out of your own baby's mouth so that the freeloader squatting in your crawlspace can feed their brats. That money should have went to the poor Indians in-state getting screwed because of internal politics and the BIA, out on the rez.

Your tax dollars at work. And it's a Cuban behind this. Outstanding.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-new ... omment?q=1

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 67,00.html

N.M. college doors open for undocumented
By Associated Press
July 16, 2007

FORT COLLINS - At least 10 undocumented students from Colorado will get to attend classes at the University of New Mexico this fall, with many not having to pay for tuition or books.

A new Colorado law prohibits state colleges from providing in- state tuition to undocumented immigrants.

In New Mexico, the state is barred from denying education benefits based on immigration status, said Terry Babbitt, director of admissions for the University of New Mexico.

While New Mexico's state financial aid is intended for residents, Poudre High School counselor Isabel Thacker in Colorado found a way for her students to receive in-state tuition, plus scholarships to cover it.

A full year of tuition at UNM, or 12 credit hours per semester, costs $4,570.80, said Alex Gonzalez, associate director of the scholarship office at UNM. An institutional scholarship available to undocumented students covers $5,000 of their tuition and book expenses.

"The neat thing about the program at Poudre is that we have been able to open the door of opportunity for these students," said Thacker, a Cuban-born citizen who came to the United States when she was 9.

The four students who attended UNM through the program last year all earned a grade point average of at least 3.0, she said.

Students entering the program have an average GPA of 3.5, have taken advanced placement classes and been involved in extracurricular activities, Thacker said.

Nine undocumented students from Poudre High and one from Fort Collins High School will attend UNM in the fall through the program.

Former Colorado Senate President John Andrews, who backed the campaign to deny certain services to illegal immigrants in Colorado, said he was concerned about the program.

"Now that a high school graduate is of age, they are recognized as young adults and they become responsible for their own action," he said.

"The only law-abiding choice that a young person like this can make is to return to their country of origin after graduating high school. I don't think that we are doing a high school graduate any favors by sending him or her the message that breaking the law benefits themselves," Andrews said.

I'm pretty sure New York doesn't have anything like this. I don't think anybody gets a full tuition scholarship in any state school in New York, possible exception for varsity athletes at UB (only 1-A program in state). Of course, New York got a pretty late start in establishing a state university system, and imho the state suffers for it.

It would only get abused, I reckon. It was a good idea to set up the fund, it could have been like the clusterfuck in Indiana. But illegals need to be in their country of origin. New Mexico has too many problems at home to go trying to play Benevolent Father to those who aren't supposed to be here.

[Terry in Crapchester]

I'm pretty sure New York doesn't have anything like this. I don't think anybody gets a full tuition scholarship in any state school in New York, possible exception for varsity athletes at UB (only 1-A program in state). Of course, New York got a pretty late start in establishing a state university system, and imho the state suffers for it.

It would only get abused, I reckon. It was a good idea to set up the fund, it could have been like the clusterfuck in Indiana. But illegals need to be in their country of origin. New Mexico has too many problems at home to go trying to play Benevolent Father to those who aren't supposed to be here.

I honestly don't see the problem you mentioned with a lottery scholarship fund here. Illegal immigration isn't much of a problem here. I don't want to say that it's completely nonexistant here, given the fact that I live in a county whose #1 industry is agriculture, but you certainly don't see much of it. As I've said, around here "Hispanic" or "Latino" usually means Puerto Rican, not Mexican.

And for that matter, SUNY has among the highest in-state tuition rates in the country, so students and their families definitely could use some help. New York does have Regents Scholarships, but the dollar award is pretty useless. I won one when I was in high school, but it was only worth $250 per year, which wasn't even enough to pay for books. And that was back in 1982.

Of course, the populations of New York and New Mexico aren't comparable, so I don't think the lottery fund in New York would ever generate enough money to provide full-tuition scholarships to every high school graduate in the state at a SUNY school for the asking. Other than that, the biggest problem I could see with a proposal like this in New York is that you'd have the usual suspects lined up with their complaints that New York spends way too much money on social programs. Nevermind that taxes wouldn't be paying for it.

[Mike the Lab Rat]

Free or almost free tuition is a bad frigging idea. Just look at France and Cali to see how abysmal the college graduation rate is when you lower the bar and let anyone attend college without regard to aptitude and cost. College should not just be a fucking playground for kids to explore protracted adolescence - that wastes the times of those of us who actually HAD the aptitude and whose families sacrificed a lot to have us go, as well as the time and talent of the professors. Yeah, I partied my ass off, but I did so WHILE attending classes, doing undergraduate and graduate research, and not forgetting why my parents sacrificed so much.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Free or almost free tuition is a bad frigging idea. Just look at France and Cali to see how abysmal the college graduation rate is . . .

California is not a good example in this argument. California had free tuition until the 1960's. When they first started charging tuition, their state university system was arguably the best in the nation. Their probems came later.

. . . when you lower the bar and let anyone attend college without regard to aptitude and cost.

Far be it from me to suggest that aptitude should not be a factor in determining who attends college and who doesn't.

Cost, however, is a different matter. Education level is one of the most significant correlating factors to lifetime income -- certainly not the only one, but one of the most significant beyond a reasonable doubt. And college educational costs are rising at a rate higher than the rate of inflation. Even the cost of attending a state university is rapidly getting out of the reach of middle-income families. Against this backdrop, to take an "every man for himself" approach to funding of higher education is virtually tantamount to creation of a permanent underclass within our society. Otherwise deserving students should not be precluded from higher education merely because their parents are unable to afford it.

College should not just be a fucking playground for kids to explore protracted adolescence - that wastes the times of those of us who actually HAD the aptitude and whose families sacrificed a lot to have us go, as well as the time and talent of the professors.

Agreed.

Yeah, I partied my ass off, but I did so WHILE attending classes, doing undergraduate and graduate research, and not forgetting why my parents sacrificed so much.

I'm with you on that. I attended college on a NROTC scholarship, btw, so most of the cost of college education was on me. But I won't go so far as to say that my parents didn't sacrifice to send me.

[BSmack]

Free or almost free tuition is a bad frigging idea. Just look at France and Cali to see how abysmal the college graduation rate is when you lower the bar and let anyone attend college without regard to aptitude and cost. College should not just be a fucking playground for kids to explore protracted adolescence - that wastes the times of those of us who actually HAD the aptitude and whose families sacrificed a lot to have us go, as well as the time and talent of the professors. Yeah, I partied my ass off, but I did so WHILE attending classes, doing undergraduate and graduate research, and not forgetting why my parents sacrificed so much.

It's a big leap to assume that free tuition means everybody goes to college. What's wrong with free tuition for those who maintain a measurable level of achievement?

Yea, I know, then the grading standards will be skewed because everybody will be socialy promoted so they can keep their free tuition and pretty soon campus wide free love movements will break out. Right?

[Mike the Lab Rat]

It's a big leap to assume that free tuition means everybody goes to college. What's wrong with free tuition for those who maintain a measurable level of achievement?

I have no gripes against making aid available for students who have academically proven themselves in high school and then tying continued aid to their academic achievement in college. Kids barely pulling B- or C averages (regardless of how much "potential" mumsy and dadsy swear that the kids have) should either not go to college at all or have to pay their own way.

I love the fact that more and more scholarships and award are being tied to continued academic achievement. In our district we've had a huge problem of kids (across the socioeconomic spectrum) getting scholarships/awards that don't depend on college grades...only to bomb out within a year or so. When I talk to the kids and their parents later, there was this personally-frustrating "ah well, at least it didn't cost us anything" attitude. THAT is what caused many of the scholarship-awarding groups (including our local union) to switch to the kids having to submit transcripts each semester (and show that they're keeping a reasonable GPA) to keep the money coming. So far, it seems to be working. After a couple of the "golden kids" lost all their scholarship/awards due to screwing around, forcing mom and dad to hit the bank and/or transfer the kids to a school they could afford, the word got around. Fewer kids are failing out, and some kids who know damned well that they basically plan on going to college for the wrong reason are trying out other paths (community college while working, business/technical institutes, the military, getting jobs/apprenticeships in industries).