No. Wrong. I'm sorry to be rude, but you really must understand how our government works if you wish to fix it.
1) He didn't say abolish lobbyists. He said we should no longer "accept contributions from registered lobbyists or PACs". Lobbyists are good on some level, but allowing them to bribe is bad.
2) Congress spends the money. The president proposes a budget, but Congress does the actual money funneling. The normal process is for Congress to put money into one of 13 general purpose "bins". These bins are the 13 Congressional Appropriations Committees, which have documented processes for how their money is allocated. When Congress votes to fund a certain project (rather than a Appropriations subcommittee in general), that is called an Earmark.
3) At least you aren't wrong on this one.
4) So you feel that J. Q. Public has the appropriate amount of influence? You don't think that maybe the Waltons or Bill Gates has a wee bit more than 1/300,000,000th of a say? Think about what Lessig stands for... do you think he is trying to disenfranchise individuals?
Again, apologies for being snarky, but you are way off base on your points here.
At the end of the day, will... my senator... listen to the CEO of Boeing and American Airlines, or... [me], when it comes to how FAA policy will affect general aviation? Without the lobbyist hired by AOPA and EAA, I would have no voice.
You would have no voice because the lobbyists from Boeing would take over? ALL lobbyists would be banned from bribery (yours and their's). Without money to cloud her mind, your voice would be louder and clearer in the ear of your representative because your's would be the voice that can vote.
2. Vote to end earmarks
And next year you will have the same thing, with a different name. Congresspeople from Arizona will want to push billions into solar energy research.
I admit that I am not as knowledgeable here as I should be, but I think that you are technically wrong here. "Earmarking" is the process of delegating money without using one of the 13 appropriations subcommittees. If earmarking is banned, all money will be spent through a subcommittee, rather than by a single congressman with a lot of pull. Thus the Congresspeople wouldn't be able to put billions into solar energy research, they could only adjust how much goes into the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. A large body of supposedly impartial, but appropriate people would then divvy it up as they felt appropriate (with Solar energy being one of many beneficiaries, if appropriate). There is still the potential for sliminess, but at least it is one level lower.
3. Support publicly-financed campaigns
In which case we hand over large sums of money to random "candidate" that then use the money to try to convince us how much money they can bring back home vs the other "candidate"?
There are potential valid arguments against this initiative. This one is not high on that list. Especially when you assume that pork barrel spending can be controlled.
4. Support reform to increase Congressional transparency
Vague, but commendable. Force all meeting to be open, recorded, and made available in a YouTube like manner. Heh, I'm with you on this one, Lawrence.
I have slept in rest stops at various times of the night and day along the I-10 corridor (US interstate that runs from West to East coast). It is actually really common. Do you hear the occasional story about people getting killed there? I personally don't recall any recent ones, but maybe you have heard otherwise. There have been a bunch of campus killings lately, do you think that makes college campuses unsafe?
Just because you have heard a story on the news doesn't make something true in the general case.
How is getting your answers given/explained to you on the internet any different than paying a tutor to give you the answers? Should the school look into expelling the tutors?
Don't forget about the golf lobby. In honesty, I don't mind if the sports/business lobby is driving DST. There may actually be some benefit there. What I don't like is the ploy that DST is for the environment when in fact it is for the economy.
The difference between the iPhone and this is that most people get OEMed into Vista. As this price cut doesn't apply to OEM - there is no reason for most Vista customers to be outraged.
Well... no reason aside from the fact that they paid for Vista. Zing!!
Clarkson now says of the case: "Contrary to what I said at the time, we must go after the idiots who lost the discs and stick cocktail sticks in their eyes until they beg for mercy."
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No. Wrong. I'm sorry to be rude, but you really must understand how our government works if you wish to fix it.
1) He didn't say abolish lobbyists. He said we should no longer "accept contributions from registered lobbyists or PACs". Lobbyists are good on some level, but allowing them to bribe is bad.
2) Congress spends the money. The president proposes a budget, but Congress does the actual money funneling. The normal process is for Congress to put money into one of 13 general purpose "bins". These bins are the 13 Congressional Appropriations Committees, which have documented processes for how their money is allocated. When Congress votes to fund a certain project (rather than a Appropriations subcommittee in general), that is called an Earmark.
3) At least you aren't wrong on this one.
4) So you feel that J. Q. Public has the appropriate amount of influence? You don't think that maybe the Waltons or Bill Gates has a wee bit more than 1/300,000,000th of a say? Think about what Lessig stands for... do you think he is trying to disenfranchise individuals?
Again, apologies for being snarky, but you are way off base on your points here.
I have slept in rest stops at various times of the night and day along the I-10 corridor (US interstate that runs from West to East coast). It is actually really common. Do you hear the occasional story about people getting killed there? I personally don't recall any recent ones, but maybe you have heard otherwise. There have been a bunch of campus killings lately, do you think that makes college campuses unsafe? Just because you have heard a story on the news doesn't make something true in the general case.
How is getting your answers given/explained to you on the internet any different than paying a tutor to give you the answers? Should the school look into expelling the tutors?
Don't forget about the golf lobby. In honesty, I don't mind if the sports/business lobby is driving DST. There may actually be some benefit there. What I don't like is the ploy that DST is for the environment when in fact it is for the economy.
The difference between the iPhone and this is that most people get OEMed into Vista. As this price cut doesn't apply to OEM - there is no reason for most Vista customers to be outraged.
Well... no reason aside from the fact that they paid for Vista. Zing!!