lap dancing teacher more qualified than ben to teach children

[Kidlicious]

*Sigh*.

Kidicious, that's actually the worst argument you could make. The recent employment numbers are actually better for boomers than everyone else. The folks that are getting cut and dropped are the younger folks. They've actually seen their share of the workforce increase.

Young people don't drop out of the workforce, unless they inherited a bunch of money or something. Even welfare mothers have to work sooner or later.

[Ben Kenobi]

Young people don't drop out of the workforce, unless they inherited a bunch of money or something. Even welfare mothers have to work sooner or later.

If they are jobless for a year, the system no longer counts them. This is why it's gone up so high lately - long term unemployed no longer receiving benefits aren't considered 'in the workforce'.

[Kidlicious]

That's wrong. The numbers are estimated by survey. They ask if you are looking for work.

[Pax]

From previous linked wikipedia article FOR BEN
Ben if there is anyone close to you who can actually understand history or has some link with reality, please have them explain this too you.
I would be worried if I could pass any test that you made or have involvement with.
Republic[edit]

As the Texas Revolution began in 1835, some slaves sided with Mexico, which provided for freedom. In the fall of 1835, a group of almost 100 slaves staged an uprising along the Brazos River after they heard rumors of approaching Mexican troops. Whites in the area defeated and severely punished them. Several slaves ran away to serve with Mexican forces. Texan forces executed one runaway slave taken prisoner and resold another into slavery.[27] Other slaves joined the Texan forces, with some killed while fighting Mexican soldiers. Three slaves were known to be at the Battle of the Alamo; a boy named John was killed, while William B. Travis's slave Joe and James Bowie's slave Sam survived to be freed by the Mexican Army.[28]

After the Republic of Texas was created in 1836, Anglo-American views on slavery and race began to predominate. They passed laws reducing the rights of free blacks as citizens.[29] The 1836 Constitution of the Republic of Texas required free blacks to petition the Texas Congress for permission to continue living in the country. The following year all those who had been living in Texas at the time of independence were allowed to remain. On the other hand, the legislature created political segregation; it classified free residents with at least 1/8 African heritage (the equivalent to one great-grandparent) as a separate category, and abrogated their citizens' rights, prohibiting them from voting, owning property, testifying against whites in court, or intermarrying with whites.[30] As planters increased cotton production, they rapidly increased the purchase and transport of slaves. By 1840 there were 11,323 slaves in Texas.[24]

Statehood[edit]
Slave population in Texas
Year Population

1825 443
1836 5,000
1840 11,323
1850 58,161
1860 182,566
1865 250,000

In 1845 the United States annexed Texas as a state. The state legislature passed legislation further restricting the rights of free blacks. For example, it subjected them to punishments, such as working on road gangs if convicted of crimes, similar to those of slaves rather than free men.[31]

By 1850, the slave population in Texas had increased to 58,161; in 1860 there were 182,566 slaves, 30 percent of the total population. In 1860 almost 25 percent of all white families in Texas owned at least one slave. Texas ranked 10th in total slave population and 9th in percentage of slave population (30 percent of all residents).[24]

Forty percent of Texas slaves lived on plantations along the Gulf Coast and in the East Texas river valleys, where they cultivated cotton, corn, and some sugar.[24] Fifty percent of the slaves worked either alone or in groups of fewer than 20 on small farms ranging from the Nueces River to the Red River, and from the Louisiana border to the edge of the western settlements of San Antonio, Austin, Waco, and Fort Worth.[32] Some slaves lived among the cattlemen along the southern Gulf Coast and helped herd sheep and cattle. Rarely, a slave also broke horses, but generally only white men were used for that dangerous task. If they died, the boss did not suffer a monetary loss.[33] Slaves were not held between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. A large supply of cheap Mexican labor in the area made the purchase and care of a slave too expensive.[33]

Although most slaves lived in rural areas, more than 1000 resided in both Galveston and Houston by 1860, with several hundred in other large towns.[34] Unlike in most southern cities, the number of urban slaves in Texas grew throughout the 1850s. Most worked as house servants or on farms on the edges of towns, but others served as cooks and waiters in hotels, as teamsters or boatmen, or as coachmen and skilled artisans, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, and barbers.[34]

Plantation slaves generally lived in one or two-room log cabins. Most field hands received two sets of clothing twice each year, with a hat and coat for winter. Meals often consisted of bread, molasses, sweet potatoes, hominy, and beef, chicken, and pork.[35] Slaves often lived similarly to the whites in Texas, especially those new to the territory and just getting started. The whites, however, could hope to improve their lives with their own hard work, while the slaves had no such guarantee.[33]

Many churches in Texas accepted slaves as members. Both the Baptist and Methodist churches appointed missionaries to the slaves and allowed active participation by them. In 1860, the Methodists claimed 7,541 slaves among their members in Texas. Some slaves became ministers, but their masters often tried to instruct them in what they were supposed to preach. As in other southern states, however, the slaves made Christianity their own and they developed strong religious faith.[36]

Many local communities adopted laws forbidding slaves from having liquor or weapons, from selling agricultural products, hiring their own time, or being hired by free blacks. In rural areas, counties often set up patrols to enforce restrictions on slaves' traveling without passes from planter owners.[37] Urban slaves often had greater freedoms and opportunity.[38] Unlike most southern states, Texas did not explicitly ban education of slaves, but most slave owners did not allow the practice. In 1865, 95% of the slaves were illiterate.[39]

Many slaves ran away. Some hid in the bayous for a time, while others lived among the Indians, and a few managed to board ships bound for northern or foreign ports. Most runaway slaves attempted to go to Mexico.[21] By 1850, an estimated 3,000 slaves had successfully escaped to Mexico, and an additional 1,000 crossed into Mexico between 1851 and 1855. Ninety percent of the runaways were men, most between ages 20 and 40, because they were best equipped to deal with the long, difficult journey. All ages were represented, however, from 5 months to 60 years.[40] As early as 1836, Texas slaveholders sent representatives to Matamoros to try to reclaim their runaway slaves, but Mexico refused.[41]

A group of slaves killed the sheriff of Gonzales when he attempted to stop their going to Matamoros. Over 30 of the fugitives made it safely to freedom in Mexico.[22] From 1849 until 1860, Texas tried to convince the United States government to negotiate a treaty with Mexico to permit extradition of runaway slaves, but it did not succeed. Some slave hunters illegally traveled to Mexico and captured runaways. After José MarÃa Jesús Carvajal promised to return all escaped slaves, more than 400 Texans joined his revolt of 1851. He tried to create a Republic of Sierra Madre in Northern Mexico but was defeated by the Mexican Army.[41]

White Texans were fearful about slave revolts, and as in other southern states, rumors of uprisings took hold rapidly, often in times of economic and social tension. In 1854, citizens in Austin and other towns drove many poor Mexicans from the area in fear that they might assist in slave revolts.[42] Two years later, Colorado County hanged several slaves and drove one white man and several Mexicans from the area after uncovering a plot to equip 200 slaves with pistols and knives to escape into Mexico.

In 1860, mass hysteria ensued after a series of fires erupted throughout the state. Planters had hundreds of slaves arrested and questioned forcefully. Several confessed to a plot by white abolitionists to avenge John Brown's execution by burning food supplies and poisoning slaveowners. Up to 80 slaves and 37 whites may have been executed as a result of the supposed plot.[43] Later newspaper accounts revealed that most of what was confessed under torture appeared to be false. The fires had coincided with a summer drought, and new matches were susceptible to spontaneous combustion. The supposed "poison" found in slave quarters was baby powder.[44] There was a slave auction block next to the Menger Hotel and near the Alamo.[45][verification needed]

[Sava]

Pax

[molly bloom]

Ben should use South Korean mass transit more often.

Or play Dodge Train more often.

[Sava]

Frogger

[molly bloom]

You linked Wikipedia which confirmed what I stated that Mexico banned slavery in 1829,

You said Texas banned it, not Mexico. They were not and are not the same.

[Sava]

They were not and are not the same.

Give it a few more years

[Ben Kenobi]

That's wrong. The numbers are estimated by survey. They ask if you are looking for work.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-02/one-million-people-dropped-out-labor-force-april-participation-rate-plummets-lowest-

Educate yourself, Oerdin. You're wrong.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben if there is anyone close to you who can actually understand history or has some link with reality, please have them explain this too you.

Pax gets a giant F-. A zero for his assignment.

I would be worried if I could pass any test that you made or have involvement with.

Yeah, it would mean that you actually have some understanding of history.

I'm going to wait until you actually cite a reliable source.

Do you even have a clue as to what a reliable source is?

Didn't you have to apologize last time you accused me of racism for stating the fact black students on average do poorer than white students in Texas and were proven wrong?

Now you're challenging me on the statement that in 1829, Blacks were freer in Texas than they were in the 'Land of the Free', as slavery was banned in Mexico?

Please provide me evidence that my statement is in actuality, false.

[Pax]

1. I freely admit that I can be wrong, I have no problem acknowledging when I am wrong and by your words I have admitted when I was wrong. SO PROVE ME WRONG NOW.
2. Being wrong about one thing does not mean that you are wrong about everything.
3. I don't keep track of when I am wrong, right or who I apologized too. If it means that much too you that I acknowledged you were right about something in the past then I must be very important. Thank you.
4. If there were an impartial judge keeping score, I am sure I would have more points for being right than you. And if there were fouls, you would have been thrown out of the game for flagrant fouls on facts. I think that you cheat in arguments and you think no one notices but in fact everyone here notices.
5. I cite Wikipedia as a convenient source. Everyone knows that it is not always accurate. Hell, someone like you could make an entry that distorts the truth and we would all be ****ed.
6. In this argument and in others, you constantly shift your words too attempt to maintain that you are right. The initial point was that the phrase "Land of the Free" is in reference to the U.S.A. not Texas by itself.
7. You stated that Texas was the 'Land of the Free" based on the fact that Texas abolished slavery before the U.S. Now you shift your point to say blacks were FREER in Texas that the U.S. during the same time period. That is actually a new argument but please cite a source that proves that if you can. But back to the point, I have cited numbers in Wikipedia, that show that Texas was a slave owning, part of mexico, country and eventually state. So by your definition, Texas would not qualify as the land of the free at all.
8. The United States of America is imperfect, flawed from the beginning. What makes it beautiful too me is that we strive for Unity and lofty ideals we may never achieve. So even though, my ancestors were slaves at the time the star spangled banner, declaration of independence and constitution were written, I still believe in them. I still stand by them. Even when we have a republican president whose ideals I am mostly against, I still believe in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The story told in the star spangled banner is one of being in the darkest hour and holding it together. I love that song and I love my country.

[Ben Kenobi]

I'm not quite sure how events from 35 years further on down the line have **** from shinola to do with my argument concerning 1829 and the situation in Texas then.

I suggest you find and cite a reliable source.

I cite Wikipedia as a convenient source. Everyone knows that it is not always accurate

Then it's not useful to assist you in this argument. There are reliable sources.

In this argument and in others, you constantly shift your words too attempt to maintain that you are right. The initial point was that the phrase "Land of the Free" is in reference to the U.S.A.

You've consistently understood my argument as contrasting Texas from the United States at the time. So please dispense with this sophistry.

The United States of America is imperfect, flawed from the beginning. What makes it beautiful too me is that we strive for Unity and lofty ideals we may never achieve. So even though, my ancestors were slaves at the time the star spangled banner, declaration of independence and constitution were written, I still believe in them. I still stand by them. Even when we have a republican president whose ideals I am mostly against, I still believe in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The story told in the star spangled banner is one of being in the darkest hour and holding it together. I love that song and I love my country.

Does it hurt when people point out to you that it was the Southern Democrats who enforced, passed and maintained Jim Crow, long after the civilized world had moved on?

Last I checked, my textbook states that the Free Soil folks formed their own party and split the Whigs along the lines of slavery and that the republicans are the abolitionist party.

Why do you think they called themselves 'Free Soil', Pax?

[rah]

Didn't most of the immigrants ignore the prohibition against slavery?

[Pax]

It's also a commonly known fact that it took the American Civil War to abolish slavery in Texas and the rest of the south.