Coffee machines are illegal?

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The Mr. Coffee machine that every Texas legislator has near his desk has three violations of the law built into it: a filter funnel, a Pyrex beaker, and a heating element.

The article starts off with a tactical raid on Bob Lazar's house, because of his online chemical supply co., then delves into the real issues of how the science of chemestry, due to supplies needed, is being criminalized and stripped from our youth at home and in the classroom.

With the concerns of liability, drug production, and terrorism; the science of chemestry is under attack and our up and coming generations are slipping further and further behind as they grow older.

Is there anything that can be done, or are we destined to the further stripping, and dumbing down, of our "next generations" when it comes to the sciences?

Farewell chemestry sets, it was fun while it lasted. :shk:



So what do you think of our current educational standards when it comes to the sciences?

Do you feel the "new" restrictions are the correct move for the U.S. to make?

[edit on 7/22/06 by redmage]

Actually, I just graduated high school. I am, in no way, pleased with the way things are headed. In my biology class, we dissected nothing! The NEW biology pertains to the human form and only the human form. To learn about animals and plants, we had to take two different classes. Why waste precious time by dividing biology into three different full-year classes?? Most students would not be able to achieve that in their high school career. It is kind of sad, as students are potentially losing a lot of knowledge.

To put it into perspective, The US is currently ranked 22 and 28 in the world in Math and Science, respectively. China is ranked 1 and 3. Due to fear of terrorism we have definately made certain sciences alot less accessable.

We, as a nation, have definately dropped the preverbial ball. Our nation is falling behind , and fast. India and China and Pakistan are now the new havens for techonlogy.. China on the R&D;INdia for the Services aspect of technology; and Pakistan for services as well. The Chinese and ther Indians have ten fold the amount of graduates in Math and Science as we do. Why pay someone 50 bucks an hour here in the states foir something that AN Indian, Or Chinese person will do for a fraction of that. W e are ion some serious trouble in the next couple of decades.

Wow, that really is sad.
Honestly, this actually does suprise me

How long will it be before people say "No more!", perhaps never, but I honestly hope and believe it will happen.

I don't believe we should have restrictions on science.


It is sorta odd, while I hear about school's having worse and worse science curriculums, it has'nt happened at my school, when I took bioloigy (two years ago), we were taught about all the parts of biology, including genetics.
We actually had a seperate class for human biology to.

Originally posted by iori_komei
Wow, that really is sad.
Honestly, this actually does suprise me

How long will it be before people say "No more!", perhaps never, but I honestly hope and believe it will happen.

I don't believe we should have restrictions on science.


It is sorta odd, while I hear about school's having worse and worse science curriculums, it has'nt happened at my school, when I took bioloigy (two years ago), we were taught about all the parts of biology, including genetics.
We actually had a seperate class for human biology to.

I hate to bring polotics into this, but the Democrats are constantly trying to "dumb down" the system. They have been trying to make it harder to fail, by lowering the failing grade to something like 50% instead of the usual 65%. They are trying to do away with tests al together, because they literally don't like the idea of someone being better than the other. Children aren't being "pushed" in school to do better, because, again, that would make someone else feel they are being left out or that they are not as good as the other person. Conformity, not curiosity are encouraged. They want grades to be based on what you have been taught, not what you have learned. They want everything to be "P.C." not reality. Seriously, in 20 years, the children of America will be doing the "goose step" into school.

I recently tried to donate all my old lab equipment to the local high schools here in Las Vegas... and was bluntly told they couldn't take it. In my school they were glad to get donations as that stuff costs a fortune. I have yet to try the university, but they have funding so I was trying to help out the local chemistry teacher with the limited budget.

You can't sell the stuff because someone might buy it for a drug lab. I can imagine some over zealous cop peering in my garage and seeing my setup and busting down the door.

This is insanity. One day soon we will wake up and pay the price. Better start learning to speak Chinese.

But if kids cannot play with that chem set anymore, where will US companies get future technicians? Its at the child level that we develop our interests that lead to future carreers.


[edit on 30-7-2006 by zorgon]

Originally posted by menjo
I hate to bring polotics into this, but the Democrats are constantly trying to "dumb down" the system. They have been trying to make it harder to fail, by lowering the failing grade to something like 50% instead of the usual 65%. They are trying to do away with tests al together, because they literally don't like the idea of someone being better than the other. Children aren't being "pushed" in school to do better, because, again, that would make someone else feel they are being left out or that they are not as good as the other person. Conformity, not curiosity are encouraged. They want grades to be based on what you have been taught, not what you have learned. They want everything to be "P.C." not reality. Seriously, in 20 years, the children of America will be doing the "goose step" into school.

This sounds really strange, why would they do this... sounds like the worst approach they could take IMHO.

I hate to bring polotics into this, but the Democrats are constantly trying to "dumb down" the system. They have been trying to make it harder to fail, by lowering the failing grade to something like 50% instead of the usual 65%. They are trying to do away with tests al together, because they literally don't like the idea of someone being better than the other. Children aren't being "pushed" in school to do better, because, again, that would make someone else feel they are being left out or that they are not as good as the other person. Conformity, not curiosity are encouraged. They want grades to be based on what you have been taught, not what you have learned. They want everything to be "P.C." not reality. Seriously, in 20 years, the children of America will be doing the "goose step" into school.

It's things like that/this that make me sick, that the democratic party has been mutated to such a dispicable system.

IMO, both the Republican and Democratic party are'nt even related to what they use to be.

Originally posted by menjo
I hate to bring polotics into this....

Then please don't.

If you'd like to discuss politics, we have a wonderful board in Politics @ ATS devoted to just that.

Casting broad sweeping brush strokes, attempting to blame one specific party, is absurd.

This is clearly an American issue in which both Republican and Democratic politicians are to blame.

The three main causes of this current "stripping", addressed in the article, are liability, drug production, and terrorism.

Setting aside liability for a moment; it is absolutely absurd to blame only Democrats for the "war on drugs" or "the war on terror".

Blame clearly lies on both sides of the political fence.

The question is, "Do you feel the "new" restrictions are the correct move for the U.S. to make?", especially now that we are seeing the consequences in our children's schools and abilities when it comes to science/chemestry.

[edit on 7/30/06 by redmage]

When I took Chemistry in High School (1980) the first day of class everybody was talking and carrying on. The teacher came into the room and never said a word. He went to the back of the room and got a huge Gradulated Cylinder and a piece of filter paper. He put the filter paper over the end of the cylinder and took a small bottle from his pocket. He put a couple of drops from the bottle on to the filter paper. About 2 minutes later the filter paper burst into flames causing a loud whistle to come from the cylinder. Everybody about jumped out of their skin. From that moment on he had our complete attention for the rest of the semester. If he'd try that now, hey would probably be fired or imprisioned.

We obviously don't have the same manufacturing as we used to have, but then we prided ourselves on our superior technology... if we're not even close to the top, then how are we still going? Exporting movies, blue jeans, and copies of Microsoft Office?

Where do we even start in getting back on track without another Cold War to push technological development?