I'm having issues with learning simplified Mandarin Chinese?

I come from a family where my dad's side is Caucasian and my mom's side is all Mandarin Chinese. Although I'm fairily good at speaking Chinese, I have trouble remembering how to read it without ping-ying and can never remember how to write things these days. Are there any good techniques for remembering complicated Chinese characters? I know this isn't the easiest of questions.>.<

-Flashcards are helpful
-You could break down the character to its radical--that always helps.
-Also, try to read and write characters as much as possible.
-Find the meaning behind the character--remember, the characters are derived from pictures--I found this really helped me to learn.

Election question - Does this over simplifies the Obama tax issue?

The red hot issue in the election is Obama "re-distribution of wealth" or taxing the rich to pay the poor - Does this simplification ring true?

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten
comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes,it would
go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the
arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are
all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.’ Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the
first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted
that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100%savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued
to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to
compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar,
too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I got’

‘That’s true!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat
down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the Bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works!

Why do conservatives use over simplified talking points for complex issues? Why do conservatives use over simplified talking points for complex issues?

They think they are smarter than everyone else so they have to dumb it down for all us bumpkins.

What results from tv tendancy to simplify coplex issues to the level of anecdotal evidence? What results from tv tendancy to simplify coplex issues to the level of anecdotal evidence?

In my case the result is that I go elsewhere to be informed.

I read quite a few newspapers and magazines representing different points of view. I also watch Jim Lehrer's News Hour on PBS - the only TV news show worthy of the name.

It's not hard to be informed - it's just that most folks aren't really interested in that.

Aren't many trying to over-simplify complicated issues? Aren't many trying to over-simplify complicated issues?

I think that the reverse is true, too many try to complicate very simple issues.

As a society we tend to simplify and polarse issues. Complex concepts are.?

.diminished to opposite ends of a sliding scale. Coherent intelligent thought is broken down in favour of a them or us attitude.

Agree/Disagree?

Must assuredly agree. Complex concepts are, well, inherently complex, and unless someone (or society in general) is paying attention to whatever pain that's been caused by ignoring the complex issue (i.e.: global warming, terrorism, the end of fossil fuels, etc.) we (they) tend to focus on what's causing the immediate pain (my job sucks, I'm having a bad day, baby needs-a-changin', what's on TV) We have a very short attention span. I work in advertising, I'm a student of human nature, I have a baby - All of which lead me to believe that we as a society, species, are not the best at thinking things through for the common good.
Not really an answer, but it wasn't really an answerable question.