Our Platform for Outlining Colorado’s Future

Reasons to agree :  TV glamorizes dysfunction too much Reasons to agree : +5 Homer Simpson chokes Bart.  Many kids grow up only seeing  dysfunctional  families on TV, and think they want nothing to do with family life.  When I wrote a book report in Jr. High Rosanne was on. I wrote, " In contrast, I recently watched Roseanne. The show started out with three criticisms in a row, between Roseanne and her daughter. Rosseane would say something mean about her daughter's grades. Then the daughter would say something mean about Roseanne's weight. This continued for the whole show. The next day I watched Roseanne again. Roseanne thought that Tom wanted a divorce. She said, "I want the house, he can have the kids, but I want the house." Many kids grow up thinking this is the way marriage will be, and it is not a laughing matter. It seems there is no value placed on children. The number one thing is money. Many Educators believe attitude's about family rela...

Reasons to agree : +7 Young kids will never catch geese. Geese can bight back. They have sharp teeth.  Geese are overpopulated. For instance here in Chicago they put chemicals on eggs to prevent them from hatching, because their are too many, and they poop everywhere and create environmental problems. The lack of predators have allowed geese to overpopulate.  If you eat meat you are guilty of more violence against animals than chasing geese.  Geese may get chased by wild animals. They are violent against each other. They rape ducks (google it, it is a fact). You can't apply people ethics to animals. Animals chase each other. Cats chase mice and play with them. If you don't want animals tormented you will have to kill all cats.  Its cool to watch birds fly. Letting kids chase birds until they fly gives kids an awe, and an experience, and an appreciation for animals. It is possible to love animals, and hunt them, as native Americans taught us. Chasing...

Where much is given much is expected. I was given a lot. If I turn out to be an OK person, I owe it to my family and the good start they gave to my life. We all stand on the shoulders of giants. Reasons to agree I don't remember my parents ever yelling at each other. I argued with my Dad when I was in high school, and he just put up with me. I was never spanked. I know people who spank are often also great parents. I'm not saying their are not. I'm just saying, for me that is one area that my parents were really great about. My parents lets us have water fights. My older brothers didn't beat me up for squiring them (see image below, for verification). My parents let me where weird aqua-man masks (see image below, for verification). My parents took us camping, even when I was young, which is not easy (see image below, for verification). Images that agree: My squirting my brother Steve. My shorts are almost staying up. My dad walked me up the narrows i...

Background, definitions, and assumptions For a place to be considered good, it must be better than average.  Chicago land is, of course, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Reasons to agree : +10 Chicago has lots of stuff to do, that don't cost too much money .  Trips to the zoo are good for kids  (+1). Chicago has good zoos.  Chicago has good mass transportation  (+2).  Chicago has good architecture  (+0). Its cool to live near good architecture.  You can leave near Chicago, and still have a back yard.  Despite criticism of suburban sprawl kids have fun in their back yards  (+0). Bolingbrook, a typical suburb of Chicago, has pretty good parks . Kids like fireworks , and there are often good fire works shows around Chicago. For instance Navy Pier has free fireworks during the summer, their are good firework shows across the suburbs on the 4rth of July, and the Chicago Air Water show has good fireworks. Numbers are what ma...

Assumptions: Good means low cost, and high quality. Transportation includes parking. Not all transportation facilities are "public". For instance privately owned parking garages are part of the equation. Reasons to agree : If you are lucky you can find parallel parking for free around Lincoln Park Zoo. Parking is $1.00 an hour, if you can find any, near Northerly Island. I drove there with 2 bikes in  my car, and my 7 year old son, and we rode to Millennium Park and back.  Kids ride the Metra free on the weekends.  The Water Tower Place Mall does parking validation.  It costs $7 per adult to ride to Chicago Union Station (week-end passes, kids ride free). From there you can walk to a number of places: Millennium Park.  In the summer, kids can play in the fountain. Bring towels, and a change of clothes. It is sort of white trash, but they can change in the bathrooms.  Each time you go down the kids will probably want to look at ...

Images that agree : (stolen from Megan's Website ) People will take and publish unflattering photos of you You will get sick Nothing Last forever Phil went on vacation, and the mosquitoes like him. We lost power on vacation and came home to this.

Images that agree : (stolen from  Megan's Website )

Reasons to agree : People need holidays Images that agree :(some stolen from  Megan's Website ) 2011, Easter 1978 or 1979. Bobbie, Earl, Me, Dad, Bro

Reasons to agree : If you have a sump pump, it will fail. When it fails, is probably during a rain storm, when you need it to work. Crawl spaces in Illinois fill with water, if you don't have a sump pump, for some reason.  Images that agree : (stolen from  Megan's Website ) Our sump pump runs quote often, when it rains, leaving a pond which we tell the kids not to play in.

Reasons to agree : 4 The Chicago Field Museum has Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus skeleton currently known. A visit to a museum is not as educational as reading a book, but it is educational enough.  Not as educational as reading a book In order for something to be very educational something has to go into depth. Reading plaques in front of stuffed animals is not very in depth.  ... it is educational enough At a museum you get to brows a bunch of topic. I guess the goal is that you find something that is interesting, and then you can go somewhere else and learn more later. With no guided tour you can do whatever you want. You get out of it, like most life, what you put in. Perhaps instead of rushing from thing to thing, find a few things you are interested in and then really experience that thing. Perhaps bring a sketch pad and draw stuff. The Chicago Field Museum is a short walk from Northerly Island, which offers park...

Reasons to agree : He likes to carry things in his mouth (see images below for verification).  He likes to dig in the dirt.  Images that agree : Ali Loves the Trampoline, James Loves His Bike, and Phil Loves Pots of Dirt.

Reasons to agree : + 3 Animals are cool . The shed aquarium has lots of animals. They have dolphins, a beluga whale. They let kids dress up as penguins.  They have a spot with strong animals, that they let the kids play with. If you want to have the Chicago Experience, the Shedd is in Chicago, and has a nice view.  Reasons to disagree : -1 The Shed Aquarium is cool and stuff, but they have dolphins at the Brookfield Zoo, and they have other types of animals too, but the parking is included with the cost of the Brookfield Zoo. And the Shedd Aquarium cost about $175, while the Brookfield Zoo is $92. The Brookfield Zoo has Manta ray Bay that lets you touch animals similar to the thing at the Shedd. You have to pay to do it, but still it is less money than the Shed.  Score: # of reasons to agree: +4 # of reasons to disagree: -1 # of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0 # of reasons to agree with reasons to di...

Reasons to agree : +4 The last fling has petting zoos, pony rides, presentations.  A parade (never watched). Parking is good. Naperville has good free public parking, which is good.  Reasons to agree :  -2 The rides are overpriced.  The food is unhealthy. Score: # of reasons to agree: +4 # of reasons to disagree: -2 # of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0 # of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0 Total Idea Score: +2 Websites that agree : +3 Laub Life: Last Fling-Ding http://www.lastfling.org/ Images  that agree:

Reasons to agree : +6 If you are lucky you can find parallel parking for free around Lincoln Park Zoo. Parking is $1.00 an hour, if you can find any, near Northerly Island. I drove there with 2 bikes in  my car, and my 7 year old son, and we rode to Millennium Park and back.  Kids ride the Metra free on the weekends.  The Water Tower Place Mall does parking validation.  It costs $7 per adult to ride to Chicago Union Station (week-end passes, kids ride free). From there you can walk to a number of places: Millennium Park.  In the summer, kids can play in the fountain. Bring towels, and a change of clothes. It is sort of white trash, but they can change in the bathrooms.  Each time you go down the kids will probably want to look at the bean, and get their photo taken. I should probably walk the whole park once. Their are some statues on the south end I have never seen.  Winter Kris Kringle Market Chicago  We walked, with...

Reasons to agree : +8 The Illinois Train Museum in Union IL is a good place to take your kids . Denver doesn't have anything like that+3 The Chicago Art Institute is a better Art Museum than the Denver Art Museum . +3 The Chicago Shed Aquarium is better than any sort of ocean life exhibit in the Denver area. +3 The Chicago Field Museum is better than the Denver Field Museum. +0 Chicago has a good Science and Industry museum. Denver doesn't have anything like this. They have a natural science museum that compares to Chicago's Field Museum.  Chicago has a pretty cool planetarium. Denver doesn't have anything like that.  Chicago has way more square footage of museums than Denver. Depth and variety are good ways of measuring museums qualities. This is much easier to achieve with more square footage.  Chicago has a rich history with jazz music, with places that you can still go to. Denver doesn't have anything like that.  More important history and im...

Images that agree : Ali @ the Mortin Arboratum, Aug 11, 2012 James @ the Mortin Arboratum, Aug 11, 2012 James and Ali at the Brookfield Zoo. The lion is fighting a snake. Locate at: N 41° 50.100 W 087° 50.075

Supporting Evidence Logical Arguments: Strength deters aggression: Strong entities, be it individuals, organizations, or nations, often deter potential aggressors by showcasing their capacity to retaliate or protect themselves. On a global scale, this is evident in the concept of deterrence theory in international relations. Weakness invites exploitation: Entities perceived as weak can become targets for more aggressive entities that seek to exploit their vulnerabilities. This can manifest in various ways, from cyberattacks on vulnerable systems to geopolitical moves against weaker states. Supporting Evidence (Data, Studies): Studies in geopolitics and international relations support the idea that strong nations tend to face fewer overt threats than weaker ones. For instance, research by Jervis (1978) on the "Deterrence Theory of War" underlines this. Supporting Books: "The Logic of Violence in International Relations" by Robert Jervis Supporting Videos: A range of ...