I know who is paying.

My point is if private businesses want to support high school or lower kids - and these are kids, not adults - they should be supporting all of them, not a select few.

I'd be for the state saying fine, you want to sponsor kids, the money goes into a pool that benefits all of them by law.

The star athletes can reap the benefits of selling themselves after they graduate all they want, but public schools should not exist to enrich a few kids while others can't even afford to participate.

Tax dollars are going to subsidize or outright pay for these activities and sports. They should therefore support all kids equally.

Let kids be kids. Let them learn, which is what school is for in the first place. If businesses want to help that, great. But for them to use the taxpayer funded activities of kids as a launching point to help only some kids is wrong.

That is not in any way what I said.

The reasons many people give for WHY they want those kids to benefit apply to other kids as well.

Yet the other kids don't see any of the benefit.

Meanwhile, the state could instead be looking at other, better things that might benefit more kids.

More education funding in general. Programs to help kids from lower income families afford the costs often associated with extra curricular activities. Initiatives to help reduce class sizes, which have a tremendous positive correlation to education outcomes.

Instead, they serve up this idea so that the star athletes who already get outsized attention can now monetize that while the other kids get nothing as usual.

As an aside:

And it's always the same kids, too. Small or large districts, the same kids tend to dominate every sport. The star QB is also a leader on the basketball team and then on the baseball team in the spring. The head cheerleader is also the basketball captain and runs track in the spring.

My question is this: Who will benefit?

A few star athlete kids in the major sports. That's it.

No one is paying the kid who rides the bench. No one is likley to sponsor the cross country runners. The soccer teams probably won't fare too well either.

And what about kids who do non-athletic activities?

No one is likley to sponsor that amazing trombone or trumpet player in the marching band, even though they probably have just as little time to work a job and practice as the star QB.

And you can probably forget about getting paid even if you are the best player on the chess team unless you are almost world class.

So all of this is designed just for the standout kids in the major sports. Nothing against them, but this isn't the big win that many people paint it as.

Maybe it was the ghost of Joseph Root.

Can confirm.

I have a neighbor who totally hates Trump, but I noticed he was selling all sorts of Trump/MAGA gear at a local market (for reference, I live in an area that 80 percent voted for Trump).

I ask what is the deal, and he says he's "made an absolute killing selling this shit to dumbasses".

Some of the stuff he sold is downright hilarious.

Flags that show Trumps head on Rambos body. Or Trump with a machine gun riding a velociraptor.

Lots of MAGA hats of course, but also Let's Go Brandon stuff, things saying Kamala slept with people, odd crap about Epstein, Hunter, Pelosi, AOC, etc.

My favorite was a shirt with the meme pic of Bernie and his mittens that said "this is what socialism gets you". Da fuq?

I asked how he could support that shit and he said "I know, but like they say, I'm laughing all the way to the bank."

I grew up in a church. Then in 20s began to think more for myself. Realized their political views were not lined up with Jesus teaching. Called people out for it. Got nothing but arguments and no one really listened despite pointing out obvious contradictions to what Jesus said. They pick and choose scripture and most of it isn't from Jesus because, let's face it, he was too liberal for them.

Absolutely they would.

They'd call him a socialist lib with crazy new ideas and advocate violence against him. So, same as those who hated him in the Bible, but all while saying they worship him somehow.

They also love to claim to be Christian while deliberately doing things Christ taught NOT to do.

I was going to say they found a sign with a giant dick on it.

Exactly.

Their real achievement is convincing poor and middle class people to adopt the same mindset, but without the resources. Not only that, but to advocate it for others.

Conservatives think everyone should do everything for themselves.

That's because their political views are designed to benefit rich people, who have the means to do this, but don't want to help or pay for others.

Everyone else who thinks that way was conned by rich people propaganda.

What's really fun is to discuss it in depth with a evangelical Christian conservative.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is always great to mention (Luke 10). Jesus teaches to help those in need in order to be a good neighbor.

So is the story of the sheep and the goats. (Matthew 25). Jesus teaches that whatever his followers do to others, they are essentially doing to him.

If they let you get that far, after presenting these scriptures and stories, it's great to ask them if they would tell Jesus to do whatever they insist the poor or needy should do.

Go tell Jesus to "get a job". Tell Jesus he "doesn't want to work because he's lazy". Tell Jesus "bootstrap yourself up". Tell Jesus he "doesn't deserve the help".

Most times you can't even get them that far because they will walk away in self righteous indignation as they do not want to hear the truth that their political ideas and their faith simply do not line up.

Oh yeah.

I was on one a couple years ago that was literally more potholes than road. As in, you could not possibly drive without hitting many of them.

Even the ok roads on Ohio often have deep cracks ready to become potholes the next winter.

In PA, I never see the roads like that.

The roads in PA are better than surrounding states, especially in winter.

Low quality? Looks good to me