Why don't we raise the gas tax?

[Al B. Sure!]

I was a history major, snookums.

At what university? You didn't see the obvious bias?

[BlackCat]

I dare you to sit in an African-American philosophy class (studies in race classes are mandatory at Temple University) and not see a liberal bias imparted on the students.

Why would that be a problem ?

[Al B. Sure!]

Why would that be a problem ?

I'm not saying it's a problem. I'm saying to deny the obvious liberal bias imparted by professors and courses unto students is lying to yourself.

[BlackCat]

I'm not saying it's a problem. I'm saying to deny the obvious liberal bias imparted by professors and courses unto students is lying to yourself.

Well, let me ask in a different way - why is is wrong to have a liberal bias ? That is after all the best way for the future.

[Guynemer]

At what university? You didn't see the obvious bias?

Michigan. And no, I did not see any obvious bias in the classes I took. Granted, there was only one "modern" American history course I took, on the Vietnam War, but it was not obviously biased. There was more obvious bias in the bioethics courses I took for med school than there was in any of my history courses.

[C0ckney]

Back to topic - why don't you americans start to tax buying a car ? Here the tax is between 105-180 % depending on the price. That could probably solve some of the problems the state have

we have this in brasil, it means that new cars are around 2-3 times as expensive as in the US. used cars are even more expensive. it puts cars out of a lot of people's reach (which is not altogether a bad thing, as rio's infrastructure couldn't cope with many more cars).

[PLATO]

Well, let me ask in a different way - why is is wrong to have a liberal bias ? That is after all the best way for the future.

A couple of reasons...educating a bias is against the purpose of developing independent thought. While few would argue against the goals of liberalism, many believe that the reality of these goals cannot be achieved in real society...to limit a thought process being taught to only liberalism is to take possibly productive options off the table for the future generation.

[BlackCat]

Honestly, I way more concerned about the crazy religious bias that there are in american policy - that really scares me.

[BlackCat]

A couple of reasons...educating a bias is against the purpose of developing independent thought. While few would argue against the goals of liberalism, many believe that the reality of these goals cannot be achieved in real society...to limit a thought process being taught to only liberalism is to take possibly productive options off the table for the future generation.

Quite agree, not knowing about fascim and communism is stupid, but do you want those to be something teached as reliable alternatives ?

[PLATO]

Honestly, I way more concerned about the crazy religious bias that there are in american policy - that really scares me.

I guess any type of crazy bias would be bad.

carzy religious
crazy liberal
crazy conservative
crazy economic
etc...

[PLATO]

Quite agree, not knowing about fascim and communism is stupid, but do you want those to be something teached as reliable alternatives ?

If we are truly teaching, then I submit that a rational person of collegiate level intelligence should be able to deduce this...given all the facts. The problem with bias is that it precludes all the facts being given or so skews them in one direction that a fully informed opinion cannot be reached.

If students, with full knowlege, choose liberalism...then so be it. It is when they are being guided to that choice that intellectual freedom begins to suffer...and that is to the detriment of us all

[BlackCat]

I guess any type of crazy bias would be bad.

carzy religious
crazy liberal
crazy conservative
crazy economic
etc...

True, but a great number of your president candidates sounds like they would fit pretty well in a cave in Afghanistan. I find i quite insane that a modern president of america can "trust in god".

[DaShi]

College is liberal brainwashing. You haven't been to a major university if you don't think so.

Um...all education is liberal brainwashing. Unless you're at a school that is deliberately feeding you misinformation.

[Al B. Sure!]

Michigan. And no, I did not see any obvious bias in the classes I took. Granted, there was only one "modern" American history course I took, on the Vietnam War, but it was not obviously biased. There was more obvious bias in the bioethics courses I took for med school than there was in any of my history courses.

Temple U requires courses formerly called "Intellectual Heritage" re-termed "Mosaic". Look at some of the bios of the faculty that teach it:

Susan Balée holds a Ph.D. in literature from Columbia University. Her interests include the Victorian novel, contemporary fiction, and American autobiography. She published the first biography of Southern writer Flannery O’Connor (Flannery O’Connor: Literary Prophet of the South, Chelsea House, 1994) and wrote the introduction to the Barnes and Noble Classics edition of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret. Her articles on literature appear in The Oxford Encylopedia of American Literature, The Women’s Review of Books, The Weekly Standard, The TLS, The Michigan Quarterly Review, Victorian Literature and Culture, and many other publications. She appears on three audio programs for the NEA’s Big Read program (played on NPR) devoted to writers Leo Tolstoy, Jack London, and Marilynne Robinson. Balée has received a Lindback Award for outstanding teaching and is a regular contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Hudson Review.

Ariane Fischer has been teaching in Intellectual Heritage since 2008. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Sciences from the George Washington University and M.A. degrees in American Studies and Comparative Studies. Fischer has published articles in various journals, including the Marx-Engels-Jahrbuch and the South Atlantic Quarterly. Currently, she is preparing a book manuscript on Marx's The German Ideology in the context of nineteenth-century radical German philosophy. Her research interests include continental philosophy, critical theory, Marxism, and feminism.

Jill K. Sigman earned her Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Brown University and her Master's degree in Jewish Education from Gratz College. She has also completed a fellowship in Special Needs education. Her research interests include the short story and novella, and the literature of the former Soviet Union. Sigman has been teaching at Temple since 2008.

[PLATO]

True, but a great number of your president candidates sounds like they would fit pretty well in a cave in Afghanistan. I find i quite insane that a modern president of america can "trust in god".

I agree with the first part. It is sad to say that many conservative candidates feel they have to be ultra right wing Christian to get the support of the Republican Party. I come from a conservative Southern State and I can tell you for a fact that most of us could not care less. Yes we want a candidate with values, but I don't know anyone who wants religious extremism in any form including Christian.

The second part of your statement I totally disagree with. A persons "trust in God" or lack thereof does not, to me, have any bearing on his/her political ability to lead the country. In truth though, I personally believe that believing that you are answerable to a higher authority is a good thing for a leader.