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06.19.08, 18:12 PM NY Schools
63 replies
Did any of you read that rant on LL that someone posted on Inside Schools? Honestly, it was one of the most sanctimonious things I have ever read. [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
NY Schools 06.19.08, 06:12 PM Flag
 

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no give a readers digest version please. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:15 PM Flag
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Our son with a score of 98% (98/99) was offered our third choice school, Lower Lab. NEST+m was our first choice, followed by Anderson. We actually ranked all the schools and sent in the form before we realized that the deadline was extended and that some schools were offering tours. We were able to visit our top three choices, but our fourth choice didn't offer tours. After the tours, we determined that if we were not offered a seat at NEST+m, we would send our son to our local school, a wonderful school in D2 (the school that both my husband and I attended when we were kids). Frankly, we were appalled by the situation at Lower Lab: 1) given the populations of Lower Lab and the local school that hosts LL, the children are racially segregated; 2) on the tour, we learned that each school uses separate entrances (rings of jim crow laws to us); and 3) LL does a considerable amount of fund-raising, but seems to do little to support and help its host school, PS 198. As my husband said, we did not go to public school in the 1960s and early 1970s pledging allegiance to the flag and singing, "We Shall Overcome," to send our son to a school like Lower Lab. As lifetime New Yorkers and strong believers in the values of public education, we are so disheartened that the city's school system has come to this. We believe that diversity, respecting difference and inclusiveness are essential life lessons that are far more valuable than the education offered in "accelerated" or "gifted & talented" programs. We were so opposed to the whole notion of G&T, but we were urged by various early childhood educators to explore it. We thought NEST+m was truly a stand-out compared to the other schools. As much as we dream of a day when each and every public school will be given the resources it needs to give all its children the opportunity to reach their full potential, I'm afraid that we have fallen victim to a severely-flawed and cost-draining program that has us wishing that our telephone will ring in late August asking us if we would like our son to attend NEST+m in September. To those who are happy with their offers, I say congratulations. To those who are not, I urge you to keep believing that we can be nation that cares about the quality of its people, but it's going to require that we take a stand, not just for ourselves and our children, but more importantly for those who need a voice and helping-hand. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:17 PM Flag
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Wow [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:22 PM Flag
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Hmmm - i wonder if the wonderful D2 school she and her husband attended is integrated - what do you think the racial mix is? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:26 PM Flag
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sounds like another idiot! I mean what do people think should be done about this situation. perhaps we should keep all the G&T programs in one building, segregated from everyone else so that you don't see the racial disparity. not our faults if the non-white kids do not test into LL. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:11 PM Flag
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I don't necc agree with the rant but do you really htink it is as simple as AA kids don't test in? You are right that they may not have the test scores but ALOT factors into that. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 09:18 AM Flag
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SOUR GRAPES!! I am a LL parent and there are African American, bi-racial, Asian and Hispanic families. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 09:14 AM Flag
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ITD. There is 1 AA kid in DC's entire grade. I love LL but there's no doubt that it's very white and the racial divide in the building is jarring. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 12:06 PM Flag
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I don't understand why this is a problem. It's not that 198 is a bad school. The majority of 198 kids did not get tested or didn't test well. This is not LL's or the DOE's fault. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 05:23 AM Flag
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Yes, there are. There is one black kid in K. One hispanic in 1st. Not sure about 2nd. It is noticeable, though, that 3rd and up is a bit more diverse (not much but visible). Those are the grades pre OLSAT. The majority of kids are white, followed by Asian. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 05:23 AM Flag
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i think she's right on. i wouldn't send dc to lower lab for the same reasons. and yes, dc qualified. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 08:10 AM Flag
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This is the most asinine thing that I have every read. To the idiot who wrote this PS 77 (LL) and PS 198 ARE TWO TOTALLY SEPARATE SCHOOLS. THEY ONLY SHARE A BUILDING AND THAT IS IT. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 04:04 AM Flag
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I can't find that posting anymore. Did Insideschool erase it? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 05:24 AM Flag
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Never mind. It's on the blog. The blog is full of loonies. Nothing to worry about. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 05:25 AM Flag
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why can't i find it? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:21 PM Flag
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http://insideschools.blogspot.com/2008/06/gt-admissions-has-dust-settled.html [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:27 PM Flag
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where is the post? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:25 PM Flag
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If you double click on the OP, you can read the entire rant. It's posted near the end of the comments on the 2nd to most recent G&T blog thread [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:27 PM Flag
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OH, and best of all, it was in RESPONSE to some nice, excited sounded mom who said that her dd was accepted to LL and she didn't know much about it, and could anyone provide some more info [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:28 PM Flag
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http://insideschools.blogspot.com/2008/06/gt-admissions-has-dust-settled.html [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:28 PM Flag
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Wondering if parent was at the same LL open house as we were. A question was asked about diversity within the school and a PTA woman said that the numbers don't reflect the diversity. Her answer was basically REALLY bad (and in some ways insulting) trying to couch the fact that LL is basically a very white school. The PTA woman's answer did make DH and I think twice about LL, but have met other parents from there since then, and our opinion is although it is rather white and rather rich, it still is a really good school and we will be sending DC there this fall. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:35 PM Flag
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unfortunately it is somewhat rich and white but it is an amazing school [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:51 PM Flag
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BTW - 198 uses the front door and LL uses the back door [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:38 PM Flag
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Intersting that the racial profiles of LL and NEST are almost identical (give or take a % point or two) - I guess a G&T is only offensive if you actually see the disadvantaged people of color but if they are in a horrible school elsewhere then it is OK [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:40 PM Flag
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LOL, I was thinking exactly the same [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:41 PM Flag
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Kids get the message very quickly when it is in their face every day. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:13 PM Flag
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the message that there are inequities? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:17 PM Flag
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What inequities would the kids see? It's not like LL kids have golden classrooms or anything. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:22 PM Flag
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Are the kids on the playground at the same time? Do they share lunch time in the cafeteria? The fact that there's a separate entrance says a lot right there. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:25 PM Flag
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what do they do at other schools that share a program? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:30 PM Flag
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One school comes through the front door (198) and one school comes through the back door (Lower Lab). What's the inequity there? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:37 PM Flag
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It draws a distinction between two groups of kids, largely of different races. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 08:20 PM Flag
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no, 198 uses the back door, but that was their choice (they are much larger than 77 and it's logistics, but it is symbolically weird). [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.20.08, 05:13 AM Flag
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wrong - the third avenue entrance is the back door to the basement level - 198 uses the front door from the yard [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.20.08, 05:19 AM Flag
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um, I do drop off every day. 3rd ave is the front, right in front of the auditorium, the back door opens to the yard behind the school. Odd that you would argue this. Do you also argue that LL is diverse? Or that the kids don't notice the racial divide? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 11:56 AM Flag
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I don't get it. So the door that opens into the hallway of the first floor is the back door and the door that opens into the basement with extra stairs is the front door for you? What's the logic here? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 05:30 AM Flag
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If the school is so awful why did they rank it 3rd? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 06:42 PM Flag
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I agree with the Inside Schools poster. What message are we giving children when they see a school with fewer resources comprised mostly of kids of color inside the same building? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:11 PM Flag
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where does your dc go to school? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:13 PM Flag
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but what message are we giving children when they see schools with fewer resources comprised mostly of kids of color withing the same city - it is not a LL problem [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:15 PM Flag
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It is different if kids are sharing the same building. I saw a 5 year old child from the Earth school asked if kids in her school wear uniforms and her reply was "The white girls don't." (The Earth School is located inside a zoned public school--with uniforms--in the East Village.) [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:19 PM Flag
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^^^^ Kids don't have the big picture that adults do. They base their reality on what they see everyday. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:22 PM Flag
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And is there something wrong with that child' [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:24 PM Flag
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...with that child's observation [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:25 PM Flag
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The child's observation was correct, but it is a sensibility that I would not like my child to develop. My child (who attends a uniform school) reported the comment to me with surprise. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:28 PM Flag
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I don't get it really. What's the "sensibility" that you don't like? That there are different races in the world? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:40 PM Flag
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^^ditto - or that things aren't always neat and equal? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:44 PM Flag
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And it's not even that it's not "equal". It's just different. One school wears uniform, the other doesn't. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:45 PM Flag
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The sensibility I don't want my child to develop is that wearing a uniform (or being part of a group) is based on color lines: "White kids don't wear uniforms. Black kids do." the child my dc spoke to had gotten the message, at age 5, that her school was the white kids. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 08:26 PM Flag
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ITA - racial divisions among programs in the same building send the message to kids that racial differences exist and matter as a way of classifying people (more than e.g. hair color). Bad message. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.20.08, 04:32 AM Flag
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Oh...so out of sight it out of mind. It is okay for NEST and Anderson to have wonderful facilities b/c they do not share a building with a local school that draws from a low-income neighborhood. I guess the answer is that LL should have their own, band new building, a couple blocks away (just out of sight enough) and then it would fine. All these schools do is share a building! BTW, TAG has the SAME issue. They share a building with a local school and it is quite obvious that they have far better resources. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 06:07 AM Flag
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but, but, but, TAG's kids are mostly black and hispanic! This is all about skin color. Nothing more. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 11:31 AM Flag
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I think that insideschools poster should send her kid to PS 198 [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:21 PM Flag
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^^^But of course she never would. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:21 PM Flag
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She made sense to me until she started the bit about nest. If there ever was a white school, that was Nest. I think she should stop praying for nest if she learned anything from her experience during the 60s and 70s. I agree, that most district schools with G&t have all white classes while the rest of the schools are minorities. It is jaring! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.19.08, 07:55 PM Flag
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which tells you a lot about our society. I really don't think the DOE is able to solve all this on its own. I even wonder if this is "fixable" at all or even should be fixed. What do sociologists think? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.23.08, 11:50 AM Flag
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What makes you say NEST is a white school? In my DD's first grade class, there are 10 non-white kids out of 25. In our local gen ed, it is more like 1 out of 25. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.16.10, 08:20 PM Flag
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The real world is segregated. The segregation is not based on politics but by socio-economic and cultural differences. Why should education be any different? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.16.10, 02:15 PM Flag
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ugh. you sound like rand paul. let's just have restaurants that will only serve white customers, shall we? the real world is segregated after all. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 08:12 AM Flag
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Why is someone dredging up this post from 2008? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.16.10, 02:16 PM Flag
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OMG - you are right! This is from 2008! People, c'mon! Don't reply on something that was from 2008. It bumps it back to the forefront as if it is still a valid and new post. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 06:34 AM Flag
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totally! replying on a post from 2008, like you just did when you told people not to, keeps bumping it up!! It's so confusing!! Oops, I think I just bumped it up again. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 07:07 AM Flag
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somebody has to say it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.17.10, 08:11 AM Flag
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