Neal...laws are made to create an ethical framework upon which a society can function. The issue lies between the lawbreaker and the overall cultural breakdown you're referring to, and the manner in which guns are trafficked. Let's face it...we have an immensely corrupt system with regard to the laws that give large corps license to literally do as they will with minimal accountability which permits abuses too numerous to mention. So it's not true that the only person that can protect you is you; it's all of us working together as a country but right now we're very far away from that reality; money is way too big an incentive to do the 'right thing'...sad place we are in

Great!! Blame the teachers for exactly what's not happening; gun control is about safety and protecting the public. The 'brainwash' is what the NRA is spewing these days. Most of you misinterpret the second amendment's intention re a militia; it's in that context that you can argue self-protection but not so much the push for putting a weapon in every person's hands. The majority of legal gun owners believe there needs to be some controls because deterrents must be established.

OK everybody!! Stop the 'stupidity' about having teachers 'pack' a weapon. Going through training period is fine for basic use but for continuous use of wearing a weapon on the job creates a hyper sensitive environment that most people simply aren't suited for...in other words, you're inviting a major catastrophe. Any real professional police office would tell you that's not a very bright idea and I've spoken to many; they think it's a train-wreck waiting to happen...

OK, though this current Core programs may be a problem, why do you think teens can't answer these questions? Partly because our education system has been dumbed down the other is a huge increase in family dysfunction and insane increase of digital technology in which young minds don't handle well...without direction the 'new technology' promotes a lazy dependency. We art and interactive education back in our schools which are, in actuality, grossly underfunded because of a gross lack of understanding of what is required

Actually, many of them are more just and simply believe that many or most religious orgs are overly controlling and judgmental...simply not good in dispensing justice. History backs this point quite vigorously...atheism is just a point of view and doesn't imply a lack of morals or ethics...I've known countless 'religious persons' who are and have been less than ethical...

law'; they act typically like they're above it and look at the small fines imposed as the cost of doing business...I need only point to the 'out-of-control' situation we have with Wall St and mega-corps who buy their way through regulation and enforcement. This is NOT what our Forefathers had intentioned as to the influence that corporations are wielding. Have you ever addressed this problem?

great effort to suppress the info. This always occurs when a sizable energy company is putting forth a major effort to save costs while taking large risks (note the BP Gulf disaster which is far from ever being clean; and not BP's effort to sequester info from being public; and take note of the spill in Arkansas...) You make good points about an overzealous effort from the 'extreme' faction of the 'environmentalists', and its impact on the current market, however, we must continue to pursue a healthy environmental policy approach to our resources or we'll bankrupt ourselves and bring ruin to future generations. The sad fact is that corporations continue to demonstrate their collective resistance to adhering to the principles of 'rule and

Ms Noon, the XL Pipeline is fraught with issues & employment projections have been shown to be overly exaggerated; minimal long term. There are issues with coal but we need to deal with the current reality as you point out. Fracking is a train-wreck that's already in the 'crashing' phase. Geographically, the problems showing up are innumerable and threaten local communities. The immediate issues are mostly due to the 'pollution' from the 'process' itself, i.e. the chemicals applied have already caused a great deal of illness (several have been hospitalized) and resulted in pollution of nearby rivers causing death of cattle as well as other wildlife. The resistance against this process are well founded in the facts though there has been a

spoon-fed by FoxNews and other talk radio mouthpieces. Most of the comments here are just reflecting this knee-jerk mentality as if it's an all or nothing kind of decision process...

Govt comprises all citizens and the solution that environmentalism brings to the table is for all to be educated on the value of the resources we have. Your 'big govt' is a very tired and lame 'kool-aid talking point' that is an empty criticism. The real problem is the corruption in both the private and public sectors, how Congress has been bought (both sides of the party line are guilty) and how the banks have gotten away with theft and fraud on the largest scale in history. Bush pushed TARP and the Obama folks just continued the dance. Any criticism like you used re 'Marxism' is completely absurd; if you understood it, you'd be amazed by how much you agree with some of its principles. But most folk won't self-educate and would rather be

I feel you represent the vast majority of teachers in our country and you are appreciated!!