Slavery was bad, but the deep South was never anywhere close to Nazi Germany...
So Nazi Germany is the yardstick to be used? If it doesn't measure up to that, it's merely "bad"? Slavery was an appalling crime. The fact that people (white and black, as you state) thought it was alright to claim other human beings and their labor as property is an abomination. Just because millions were not thrown in to ovens, gas chambers, or shot does not mean slavery can be easily dismissed.
The so-called "history book" you learned from as a kid was a bastardized, sanitized, rewritten version of "history" that had about as much relation to the truth as a made-for-TV "based on a true story" movie.
So compared to their conventional military and powerful allies, their nukes are not particularly useful.
A nuclear arsenal can be viewed as a deterrent to enemy ground invasion. North Korea's nukes are useful for this purpose, just like their massive artillery. With the capability to annihilate a few nearby cities like Tokyo and Seoul, North Korea can effectively prevent a conventional attack.
Nuclear arms also earn a country respect. India and Pakistan both endured negative response from other countries before they got theirs. Once they had them, the bluster and threats of sanctions from other countries disappeared. Or am I remembering this wrong?
There is a lower death toll on the Autobahns, but fatal accidents are a higher percentage of total accidents.
The reason for the lower number of accidents, I would guess, is due to the quality of driver education there and the difficulty in receiving a license.
If all you look at is the budget, this appears to be true.
If you consider that "much of the costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been funded through regular appropriations bills, but through emergency supplemental appropriations bills," a different picture emerges. This alone puts defense spending around 30%.
Here's a simple debt chart to back up your argument.
Debt increased drastically starting in about 1980. It fell in the mid-90s, only to take off again right after 2000.
Republicans lost their claim on fiscal responsibility with Reagan. They lost their claim on civil liberties with GWB. Now, they can't muster a majority with what they have left.
This was an interesting read. The writer belongs to the Ludwig von Mises Institute, which "advance[s] the scholarship of liberty in the tradition of the Austrian School". The writer is primarily concerned with liberty.
As a professional musician, I found one aspect of this humorous. The writer refers to "a tiny and ever-arrogant cartel of masters," who "...you know that they wanted to limit their numbers," and "the elite musicians resisted his attempt to democratize the knowledge and conserve time." This shady group of people are what we call "monks". I don't think a single monk would have considered himself an "elite musician" who wanted to "limit the numbers" of other monks, and the writer provides no original sources to back this claim.
The monks chanted not to become elite musicians, but to make their prayers more accessible and easier to memorize. I can just imagine one thousand years ago a monk strolling up to some local troubadour saying, "I'm an elite musician." The troubadour would laugh in his face, tune up his lute, then improvise a song in rondo form about what kind of goofs live in a monastery. A crowd would gather, and some people would throw him coins for his excellent entertainment.
The writers larger point about how musical notation made music more egalitarian is partly right. However, people would still need to learn to read notation, and at the time, that meant hiring a music teacher (unless you were a monk). So what you have here is the same problem you have today. You can learn music two ways: by ear, or by notation. Now which way do you think is the "elite" way, and which is the egalitarian way? It's the opposite of what the writer argues! Professional symphony orchestra musicians almost exclusively read notation. Modern musicians, like rock and hip-hop, almost exclusively play by ear.
I'm not saying that China and Russia aren't ecological disasters. They are. I'm pointing out that China can't be called a communist state since private interests control over 70% of the market. Russia has been about the same for almost 20 years.
And please, I've never thought global warming made the dinosaurs extinct, and I never said that. I'm aware of the meteor strike near Mexico. They went extinct because of sudden drastic climate change. Are you debating that?
It's obvious that the global warming crowd gets you angry. I'm not sure what I can say to convince you that I'm simply not a part of the fanatics. Way more important things to deal with right now.
I won't, however, throw the little layman's knowledge about climate change that I have in the trash just because a physicist says it's all baloney.
Merely that climate change has the potential to be damaging. That is all. You seem to ignore this possibility.
The first entry for ":define budgie" on google is:
budgerigar: small Australian parakeet usually light green with black and yellow markings in the wild but bred in many colors
My budgie (thats dinosaur to you) tells me that way back when his cousins ruled the earth...
Oh, I just realized I was writing to someone who listens to his pet parakeet.
...a minor problem compared to others that confront us.
We agree on this. I also believe this problem is minor compared to others we have.
Zealots are those who use faith instead of reasoning to determine their acts.
So this, this, and this are all based on faith? Zealots are fanatics. I'm telling you, I don't qualify. The 10 minutes it took me to come up with some links hardly qualifies me as a fanatic.
The "market" has nothing to do with global warming. Communist countries are no better than the west and are generally far worse in regard to their non-respect of the environment.
What communist countries? Please tell me you're not thinking of China as a communist country.
What "flaw" do you think you pointed out? The only flaws so far in your posts have been in your reasoning. Global warming killed the dinosaurs? Nope, dinosaurs lived in a time of globally warmer temperatures than those prevalent today and were in fact warmer than those forecast in other than the most extreme "the sky is falling"/"we are all doomed" global warming forecasts.
The first entry for ":define budgie" on google is:
budgerigar: small Australian parakeet usually light green with black and yellow markings in the wild but bred in many colors
I, like Freeman Dyson am upset that people like you who are incapable of looking up a words are pushing politicians who know even less into spending our limited resources on what will ultimately turn out to be a minor problem compared to others that confront us.
Slashdot Mirror
Both good posts.
Progressive's [sic] simply don't understand economics...
The fact is a free-market economy is the ONLY type of economy on the planet that actually works.
Your ignorance is showing. Hereis a nice starting point for you. Start with
then move on to current examples such as
These are still free markets. The difference is who controls the means of production - the people who actually make shit, or others.
Exactly. The sooner that the rotting carcass that is ESPN is buried, the sooner a new sports-info network that doesn't suck can take its place.
Surely this post was meant to be funny. Please... someone tell me this was a funny post. Or just mod it funny and preserve my sanity.
Slavery was bad, but the deep South was never anywhere close to Nazi Germany...
So Nazi Germany is the yardstick to be used? If it doesn't measure up to that, it's merely "bad"? Slavery was an appalling crime. The fact that people (white and black, as you state) thought it was alright to claim other human beings and their labor as property is an abomination. Just because millions were not thrown in to ovens, gas chambers, or shot does not mean slavery can be easily dismissed.
The so-called "history book" you learned from as a kid was a bastardized, sanitized, rewritten version of "history" that had about as much relation to the truth as a made-for-TV "based on a true story" movie.
How do you know what history books I learned from? Try A People's History of the United States out; you may like it.
The violas and second violins that sit in front of me want to know when a portable model is coming out. Thanks.
I thought he meant the Arab guy would have a quest for him.
I'm not saying different isn't bad, but it's hard to get the overwhelming masses to go see weirder and weirder premised movies.
The box office recepits for Wall-E ($535M lifetime) and Up! ($142M in two weeks) lead me to a different conclusion.
You completely missed his point. You two agree.
How did I not know about these?
Thank you a thousand times over.
Excellent comment.
Mod +1 interesting. This is not offtopic.
So compared to their conventional military and powerful allies, their nukes are not particularly useful.
A nuclear arsenal can be viewed as a deterrent to enemy ground invasion. North Korea's nukes are useful for this purpose, just like their massive artillery. With the capability to annihilate a few nearby cities like Tokyo and Seoul, North Korea can effectively prevent a conventional attack.
Nuclear arms also earn a country respect. India and Pakistan both endured negative response from other countries before they got theirs. Once they had them, the bluster and threats of sanctions from other countries disappeared. Or am I remembering this wrong?
The only thing ridiculous about the speeds on the Beltway is how slow they are.
There is a lower death toll on the Autobahns, but fatal accidents are a higher percentage of total accidents.
The reason for the lower number of accidents, I would guess, is due to the quality of driver education there and the difficulty in receiving a license.
If all you look at is the budget, this appears to be true.
If you consider that "much of the costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been funded through regular appropriations bills, but through emergency supplemental appropriations bills," a different picture emerges. This alone puts defense spending around 30%.
Here's a simple debt chart to back up your argument.
Debt increased drastically starting in about 1980. It fell in the mid-90s, only to take off again right after 2000.
Republicans lost their claim on fiscal responsibility with Reagan. They lost their claim on civil liberties with GWB. Now, they can't muster a majority with what they have left.
You're thinking of John F. Kennedy, who said, "Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm."
Hey, that was a compliment!
Your inability to properly spell "bra" should be exhibit #1 when you try to renew your geek card.
... pissed off the existing music-teaching cartel
This was an interesting read. The writer belongs to the Ludwig von Mises Institute, which "advance[s] the scholarship of liberty in the tradition of the Austrian School". The writer is primarily concerned with liberty.
As a professional musician, I found one aspect of this humorous. The writer refers to "a tiny and ever-arrogant cartel of masters," who "...you know that they wanted to limit their numbers," and "the elite musicians resisted his attempt to democratize the knowledge and conserve time." This shady group of people are what we call "monks". I don't think a single monk would have considered himself an "elite musician" who wanted to "limit the numbers" of other monks, and the writer provides no original sources to back this claim.
The monks chanted not to become elite musicians, but to make their prayers more accessible and easier to memorize. I can just imagine one thousand years ago a monk strolling up to some local troubadour saying, "I'm an elite musician." The troubadour would laugh in his face, tune up his lute, then improvise a song in rondo form about what kind of goofs live in a monastery. A crowd would gather, and some people would throw him coins for his excellent entertainment.
The writers larger point about how musical notation made music more egalitarian is partly right. However, people would still need to learn to read notation, and at the time, that meant hiring a music teacher (unless you were a monk). So what you have here is the same problem you have today. You can learn music two ways: by ear, or by notation. Now which way do you think is the "elite" way, and which is the egalitarian way? It's the opposite of what the writer argues! Professional symphony orchestra musicians almost exclusively read notation. Modern musicians, like rock and hip-hop, almost exclusively play by ear.
I'm not saying that China and Russia aren't ecological disasters. They are. I'm pointing out that China can't be called a communist state since private interests control over 70% of the market. Russia has been about the same for almost 20 years.
And please, I've never thought global warming made the dinosaurs extinct, and I never said that. I'm aware of the meteor strike near Mexico. They went extinct because of sudden drastic climate change. Are you debating that?
It's obvious that the global warming crowd gets you angry. I'm not sure what I can say to convince you that I'm simply not a part of the fanatics. Way more important things to deal with right now.
I won't, however, throw the little layman's knowledge about climate change that I have in the trash just because a physicist says it's all baloney.
Your claim that global warming killed off the dinosaurs is patently false. That claim that you made...
Where did I say that?
Enjoy the rest of your life listening to your parakeet and arming your sheep!
What "flaw" do you think you pointed out?
Merely that climate change has the potential to be damaging. That is all. You seem to ignore this possibility.
The first entry for ":define budgie" on google is: budgerigar: small Australian parakeet usually light green with black and yellow markings in the wild but bred in many colors
My budgie (thats dinosaur to you) tells me that way back when his cousins ruled the earth...
Oh, I just realized I was writing to someone who listens to his pet parakeet.
...a minor problem compared to others that confront us.
We agree on this. I also believe this problem is minor compared to others we have.
Zealots are those who use faith instead of reasoning to determine their acts.
So this, this, and this are all based on faith? Zealots are fanatics. I'm telling you, I don't qualify. The 10 minutes it took me to come up with some links hardly qualifies me as a fanatic.
The "market" has nothing to do with global warming. Communist countries are no better than the west and are generally far worse in regard to their non-respect of the environment.
What communist countries? Please tell me you're not thinking of China as a communist country.
What "flaw" do you think you pointed out? The only flaws so far in your posts have been in your reasoning. Global warming killed the dinosaurs? Nope, dinosaurs lived in a time of globally warmer temperatures than those prevalent today and were in fact warmer than those forecast in other than the most extreme "the sky is falling"/"we are all doomed" global warming forecasts. The first entry for ":define budgie" on google is: budgerigar: small Australian parakeet usually light green with black and yellow markings in the wild but bred in many colors I, like Freeman Dyson am upset that people like you who are incapable of looking up a words are pushing politicians who know even less into spending our limited resources on what will ultimately turn out to be a minor problem compared to others that confront us.