In my day we walked to school in 120deg weather and we liked it. Pansy ass kids these days and their buses, harrumph!

Here's a tip: DON'T LIVE IN A DEAD VALLEY!

Edward Abbey, MOVE THAT BUS!

/Nothing is obscure, truly

Move your tepee closer to the school.

Death Valley is cool as F'ing hell. I spent a week there photographing it. Was an epic week. Closest thing I've ever come to a religious experience, and i'm not even religious. Absolutely in love with the place. I want to go back so bad.

Darkest sky i've ever seen, and quietest nights i've ever heard. Was the most awe inspring place i've ever visited. I could spend a week photographing the sand dunes alone.

Absolutely freaking epic. I highly recommend it. Just don't go in the summer, and bring lots of cold weather clothes in the winter. I went in March and damnd near froze my ass off at night. Saw single digits while doing star trails one night.

/CSB

What they need is a private transportation contractor to step up so that the free market can be allowed to work.

Wow. That's stupid.

There are schools in Nevada which are much closer than Shoshone.

Buy them a damn 11 passenger van. Problem solved.

Nunez??? NNUUUNNNEZZZ!!!!

I wasn't even aware that people actually live and raise families in Death Valley.

Welcome to Death Valley Days. Either the driver's missing or he's dead.

MadMonk: I wasn't even aware that people actually live and raise families in Death Valley.

Its actually a big tourist destination. They even have a golf course in Furnice Creek - but didn't get to play it. Food is descent at the diner there. Ate there almost every day as there isn't much else to eat out there.

When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

Old-sour-pickle-chips: When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

Because driving 4 hours roundtrip to pick up one kid probably isn't profitable at anything less than $200 a day, and she doesn't have $200.

Contrabulous Flabtraption: JMel: Death Valley is cool as F'ing hell. I spent a week there photographing it. Was an epic week. Closest thing I've ever come to a religious experience, and i'm not even religious. Absolutely in love with the place. I want to go back so bad.

Darkest sky i've ever seen, and quietest nights i've ever heard. Was the most awe inspring place i've ever visited. I could spend a week photographing the sand dunes alone.

Absolutely freaking epic. I highly recommend it. Just don't go in the summer, and bring lots of cold weather clothes in the winter. I went in March and damnd near froze my ass off at night. Saw single digits while doing star trails one night.

/CSB

This. One of the great drives in the country is between Victorville and Bridgeport, which takes you right between the grand Eastern Sierra and Death Valley

This and this. It's awesome country.
Also, an SR-71 spy plane broke up while refueling on a training mission and the pieces landed around this road intersection (new window) (the crew ejected) just north of Shoshone.

I love the comments on the story, the general consensus is: "tough shiat/stop spending tax dollars on the poor/don't breed em if you can't feed em." We are talking about children and their education here. Education that can possibly lift them out of poverty and break the cycle. What the bootstrap brigade fails to realize is that children are trapped by the decisions the people around them make. So you are advocating denying them their legal right to an education because their parents made poor decisions? America, fark yeah!

/cracks me up when a rabid rightwinger says, "no family planning funding cuz sex is dirty, no abortion cuz it's murder, but fark you once you have them, you dirty slut."

I can't believe no one has yet commented on the typo in the headline...


modmin's will probably fix it lickety split...

Rapmaster2000: Old-sour-pickle-chips: When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

Because driving 4 hours roundtrip to pick up one kid probably isn't profitable at anything less than $200 a day, and she doesn't have $200.

Yes. There's certainly no profit in making sure kids get educations. In the long run, their ignorance and poverty will create plenty of good jobs for prison guards and social workers and the food stamp money they spend will stimulate the local economy, especially liquor sales.

formerfloozy: Education that can possibly lift them out of poverty and break the cycle.

What is most likely to break the cycle is a family culture valuing education (or a village culture because ... "it takes a village to raise a child").

HotIgneous Intruder: social workers and the food stamp money they spend will stimulate the local economy, especially liquor sales.

I was in Front Royal, VA going into a grocery store when I got approached by someone to do a food-stamp to cash conversion thing.

The entire set up seemed terrible; I gotta walk around the store with this white-trash dirtbag so he can pay for my groceries? Dude was better off just pan-handling for change, saying his "car broke down/needed gas." Sure, sure, bigger payoff if it *did* pay off but meth-heads are nothing if not capricious... and potentially violent.

Time for those kids to strap some onions on their belts and getting used to walking to school uphill both ways in a blizzard barefoot over broken glass.

formerfloozy: I love the comments on the story, the general consensus is: "tough shiat/stop spending tax dollars on the poor/don't breed em if you can't feed em." We are talking about children and their education here. Education that can possibly lift them out of poverty and break the cycle. What the bootstrap brigade fails to realize is that children are trapped by the decisions the people around them make. So you are advocating denying them their legal right to an education because their parents made poor decisions? America, fark yeah!

/cracks me up when a rabid rightwinger says, "no family planning funding cuz sex is dirty, no abortion cuz it's murder, but fark you once you have them, you dirty slut."

We just need to get poor people some abstinence only education. That should take care of it once and for all. No need for sinful family planning or birth control, which makes baby Jesus cry, but no more babies that they can't support. It's win-win!

mekkab: formerfloozy: Education that can possibly lift them out of poverty and break the cycle.

What is most likely to break the cycle is a family culture valuing education (or a village culture because ... "it takes a village to raise a child").

I have to agree with you. Education is essential, especially now. The parents and community have a responsibility to make children understand that the teens years aren't forever and minimum wage is a horrible way to go through life.

I found the comment about there being much closer schools in Nevada than the ones these kids are bused to fascinating. Couldn't the state strike some deal with Nevada to absorb students? I'm sure this is an issue for lots of rural communities - kids having to commute an hour or more when there are much closer schools just over the state line. Maybe a federal grant of some sort? In terms of government spending, the cost is pennies.

JMel
Darkest sky i've ever seen, and quietest nights i've ever heard. Was the most awe inspring place i've ever visited. I could spend a week photographing the sand dunes alone.

Might I recommend for a future trip continuing over the mountains past Rhyolite and into Nevada to head north up to see the Tonopah Star Trails. (new window) If you thought that the night sky in Death Valley was dark, wait until you go to Tonopah on a New Moon at the right time of year. You can see entire galaxies with the naked eye. Central Nevada looks like North Korea at night.

Rapmaster2000: Old-sour-pickle-chips: When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

Because driving 4 hours roundtrip to pick up one kid probably isn't profitable at anything less than $200 a day, and she doesn't have $200.

I see that you got my point.

Thanks a lot Les Miles

Old-sour-pickle-chips: When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

You might as well say why can't the free market get this kid a school? Free education is to save society from having completely uneducated people dragging it down. The bus gets the kid to school.

Do we now say, One Percenters, that we do not care to have civilization extend beyond the cities and the peasants can either choose to move within the walls of your control or live a barbarian existence in the hinterlands, and we'll just send the military to crush them if they ever get uppity?

mod3072: formerfloozy: I love the comments on the story, the general consensus is: "tough shiat/stop spending tax dollars on the poor/don't breed em if you can't feed em." We are talking about children and their education here. Education that can possibly lift them out of poverty and break the cycle. What the bootstrap brigade fails to realize is that children are trapped by the decisions the people around them make. So you are advocating denying them their legal right to an education because their parents made poor decisions? America, fark yeah!

/cracks me up when a rabid rightwinger says, "no family planning funding cuz sex is dirty, no abortion cuz it's murder, but fark you once you have them, you dirty slut."

We just need to get poor people some abstinence only education. That should take care of it once and for all. No need for sinful family planning or birth control, which makes baby Jesus cry, but no more babies that they can't support. It's win-win!

Abstinence only teaching makes me froth at the mouth. Teenagers have been farking since the dawn of time and you are too busy shaming them to teach them the real deal? The school district got an irate call from me after an abstinence teacher marked down my son's grade because he refused to sign a purity pledge. They were also briefed that telling kids that condoms don't work and birth control is murder will result in a law suit.

FTFA: Without relief, the district will have to run a skeleton program

Death Valley: sounds about right.

So why does it have to be a BUS? Why don 't they use a MINIVAN for that small number of students? Don't they teach people to THINK in schools any more?

JMel: Death Valley is cool as F'ing hell. I spent a week there photographing it. Was an epic week. Closest thing I've ever come to a religious experience, and i'm not even religious. Absolutely in love with the place. I want to go back so bad.

Darkest sky i've ever seen, and quietest nights i've ever heard. Was the most awe inspring place i've ever visited. I could spend a week photographing the sand dunes alone.

Absolutely freaking epic. I highly recommend it. Just don't go in the summer, and bring lots of cold weather clothes in the winter. I went in March and damnd near froze my ass off at night. Saw single digits while doing star trails one night.

/CSB

Yep. I went there a few Aprils ago, found it totally gorgeous. It was super windy, almost to the point of it being difficult to stay standing, which was odd. Some of the most unique and stunning landscapes I've ever seen.

Queensowntalia: JMel: Death Valley is cool as F'ing hell. I spent a week there photographing it. Was an epic week. Closest thing I've ever come to a religious experience, and i'm not even religious. Absolutely in love with the place. I want to go back so bad.

Darkest sky i've ever seen, and quietest nights i've ever heard. Was the most awe inspring place i've ever visited. I could spend a week photographing the sand dunes alone.

Absolutely freaking epic. I highly recommend it. Just don't go in the summer, and bring lots of cold weather clothes in the winter. I went in March and damnd near froze my ass off at night. Saw single digits while doing star trails one night.

/CSB

Yep. I went there a few Aprils ago, found it totally gorgeous. It was super windy, almost to the point of it being difficult to stay standing, which was odd. Some of the most unique and stunning landscapes I've ever seen.

[img.photobucket.com image 495x378]

That's disgusting!

Nem Wan: Old-sour-pickle-chips: When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

You might as well say why can't the free market get this kid a school? Free education is to save society from having completely uneducated people dragging it down. The bus gets the kid to school.

Do we now say, One Percenters, that we do not care to have civilization extend beyond the cities and the peasants can either choose to move within the walls of your control or live a barbarian existence in the hinterlands, and we'll just send the military to crush them if they ever get uppity?

Fortunately no matter how bad things get we can still cling to our hyperbole.

Old-sour-pickle-chips: Queensowntalia: JMel: Death Valley is cool as F'ing hell. I spent a week there photographing it. Was an epic week. Closest thing I've ever come to a religious experience, and i'm not even religious. Absolutely in love with the place. I want to go back so bad.

Darkest sky i've ever seen, and quietest nights i've ever heard. Was the most awe inspring place i've ever visited. I could spend a week photographing the sand dunes alone.

Absolutely freaking epic. I highly recommend it. Just don't go in the summer, and bring lots of cold weather clothes in the winter. I went in March and damnd near froze my ass off at night. Saw single digits while doing star trails one night.

/CSB

Yep. I went there a few Aprils ago, found it totally gorgeous. It was super windy, almost to the point of it being difficult to stay standing, which was odd. Some of the most unique and stunning landscapes I've ever seen.

[img.photobucket.com image 495x378]

That's disgusting!

Agreed. Way too much nature for my tastes, give me concrete jungles and piles of trash any day.

Kevin72: Why don 't they use a MINIVAN for that small number of students? Don't they teach people to THINK in schools any more?

You'd probably need something like a Ford E-Series van The E-150 can hold 8, the E-350 can hold 11. A minivan wouldn't hold enough.


Nogale: Couldn't the state strike some deal with Nevada to absorb students?

They could, but it isn't always as easy as it sounds. One side ends up trying to screw the other because, well, that's how politicians think. They're the "what's in it for me" folks.


formerfloozy: So you are advocating denying them their legal right to an education because their parents made poor decisions?

The governor is simply trying to move several funding items back down to the local level so that the state doesn't end up funding inefficient programs.

On the one hand, it sucks that the parents decided to live in such an isolated area. It isn't fair to the kids that they're getting caught up in it. Maybe the parents didn't have a choice, maybe they did. It is probably a complex situation. But OTOH, it isn't fair to other taxpayers that they have a subsidize a lifestyle choice made by others, regardless of why it was made. This may be a motivation for these people to find a cheaper alternative. It may even be enough to motivate families with children to relocate.

HotIgneous Intruder: What they need is a private transportation contractor to step up so that the free market can be allowed to work.

Don't worry, the free market has this covered. All the parents have to do is move to a place closer to schools so their kids can get a good education. We can all agree that of all places, Death Valley is not the optimal place to live while you are raising kids.

Kevin72: So why does it have to be a BUS? Why don 't they use a MINIVAN for that small number of students? Don't they teach people to THINK in schools any more?

There's probably some stupid law against it. Our school looked into doing that because they were tired of sending a giant school bus 30 miles into the country to pick up 5 kids. Some days the buses would run with even fewer than that. They found out that a suburban is okay, but it's not legal to haul them in a minivan. An 8 (or 11) passenger van was also not legal. They ended up buying 2 suburbans to do a couple of the routes (even though a minivan would have held just as many students and gotten better mileage). Don't ask me why, because I don't know. Governments rarely do anything that makes actual sense. I'm sure the laws vary from state to state as well.

watson.t.hamster: Nem Wan: Old-sour-pickle-chips: When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

You might as well say why can't the free market get this kid a school? Free education is to save society from having completely uneducated people dragging it down. The bus gets the kid to school.

Do we now say, One Percenters, that we do not care to have civilization extend beyond the cities and the peasants can either choose to move within the walls of your control or live a barbarian existence in the hinterlands, and we'll just send the military to crush them if they ever get uppity?

Fortunately no matter how bad things get we can still cling to our hyperbole.

Yeah, poor Nem Wan. If only there was a series of computers attached together by a network, over which education could be provided without having to move students long distances. If only.

beta_plus: watson.t.hamster: Nem Wan: Old-sour-pickle-chips: When I was brought to the US as a 10 year-old I was flabbergasted that school buses existed. Where I had previously gone to school the buses were public and I would pay a reduced fare. The buses did organize to be at the school at emptying time. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong. Why can't the free market get this kid a bus?

You might as well say why can't the free market get this kid a school? Free education is to save society from having completely uneducated people dragging it down. The bus gets the kid to school.

Do we now say, One Percenters, that we do not care to have civilization extend beyond the cities and the peasants can either choose to move within the walls of your control or live a barbarian existence in the hinterlands, and we'll just send the military to crush them if they ever get uppity?

Fortunately no matter how bad things get we can still cling to our hyperbole.

Yeah, poor Nem Wan. If only there was a series of computers attached together by a network, over which education could be provided without having to move students long distances. If only.

Umm. In the article it is specified that the family has no computer nor internet access.

just sayin'

There are costs in living far from civilization. This is one of them.

do they need a Death Valley Driver?

Well, they could always acquire some equines lacking identifiers. Just beware, you may not be able to recall your own since there's nobody within sight to inflict discomfort upon you.

/la laaaaaaa laaaaaa laaa-la-la la, la-la laaaaaa laaaaaaa la

Jack Black 62: I'm willing to bet that you think it is fair for parents that home-school or send their children to private school to subsidize government school spawn. Am I right?

Suggesting or implying that I think of children as "spawn" and then expecting a civil answer? Piss off.

More DV pics

Recommend getting away from Furnace Creek and Zibrieske Point. Drive out to The Race Track and check out the rocks sliding across the playa.

http://buckholtz.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Death-Valley-2010/14246664_V 3 TdJ3