you take the bitter pill, endure the painful injection, when you want to be rid of a physical illness, but how much 'pain' will you endure to be rid of the problem of 'everything' you buy is made in china? look around your home... how much of what YOU have purchased is stamped 'made in America'? Are you ready to bite the bullet, no matter how much it hurts, and quit buying anything that's not MIA? now, complain about how our govt kowtows and how 'sickening' it is. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
"we can do much, much better." That's what YOU say, but how about YOU saying exactly, or even APPROXIMATELY how we can do better? As it is, we get laws ramrodded down our throats every day, and the best we can do so far, is publicize the atrocity in places like HERE.... but then what? What gets changed, what gets reversed, even after the problem is properly identified? Take the current med bill, for example... do you know 10 people who are in favor of it? And what can we do about it? Congressman John Fleming recently proposed a bill requiring all legislators who support the med bill to have to also enroll in it themselves.... the bill was flatlined even before it had a chance to be discussed. THAT's what we're up against, my friend. Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
the police WON'T be paying for it... WE will! and, it's the isps that have (by law) to keep the data laying around for years. The govt folks will only need to access small parts of it for scrutiny, then discard what they don't need. Besides, I think it all relates back to the govt's idea that to have all knowledge is to become god, and that's obviously where they are headed. thanks fer lis'nin'! seekertom
In your hovel with umpteen family members, you sure had limited 'personal' privacy, but redefine 'privacy' to become 'family privacy', and you're back in the game. Note that uncle harry never would dream of surreptitiously collecting all your scraps of castoff notepaper and selling them outside the tribe to the highest bidder. Yet, some think it's ok for uncle bill to do just that...??? My quality of life has improved. My requirements for personal privacy have not. There is no such thing any more. Quit foolin' yourself. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
get yer head out of the sand! Some one might say your post is 'intended' to educate and enlighten us post-readers, and someone else might say your post 'intended' to incite a riot among us readers. Interpretation rules! Give the govt an open law and I'll bet you anything they will interpret it any way they want, to achieve their ends. Ya just gotta see this, in order for us to even begin thinking about trying to save the planet. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
You speak it well, but I have to ask... do you REALLY believe all this is just a political foible? A dumb move to garner votes? Moves to appease the masses of prospective voters? Maybe it is all part of a well-orchestrated plan to just smash all our toys and then go home laughing all the way! (I hope you get my meaning hastily hidden under the glibness of metaphor). thanks fer lis'nin'! seekertom
Sooooo, where the heck is Red Dwarf now, matey? Usta be one of my favorite shows, right up there with Dr Who! Now, to the important part... my question is this: You are losing it (so are we), but what the hell are you doing about it? Serious problem. Demands serious thought. Requested is a serious answer from you, actually, from ANYONE in/.-land! thanks fer lis'nin'! seekertom ps remember the episode where the bug was miniaturized and was speeding thru the a/c ducts, and ran up the butt-end of the rat? Close analogy to now, only we're the rat and our respective govts are really cramming it up our collective arses!
I think your ideas are ok, but consider this, in general... if the govt hadn't interfered with the way our country did business, a lot of the problems you think the govt ought to be fixin' just would never have come up in the first place. As for your say about science and education, if the govt's involvement hadn't lost American jobs to overseas agents, there'd be a lot more companies here needing PHDs to keep up with the rest of the world (competition?) As for your economic viewpoint, wasn't it the govt who gave all that money to the banks without any oversight? and how did the money given by govt to Detroit help the average guy any? As for global economy, exactly what do we have to offer to rest of the world? At one time we fed the world and EXPORTED so much to them that we had a great economy.... under govt control, where are the factories employing millions of Americans now? You say we cannot be a nation unto ourselves any more, and I agree, but becoming a nation of wally-world cashiers is not the way to do it, either! Grow stuff here, sell the best products the world can buy. Invent and build stuff here, and sell the best products money can buy. THAT'S how it ought to be done, not the way it has been done lately, with the govt controlling everything we do, and literally giving America away to the other team.. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The notion of Libertarian that you put forth is fine and dandy; I'd vote for a Libertarian-controlled govt anytime, except this.... just because a person running for office calls himself a 'Libertarian', doesn't necessarily mean he will act 'Libertarian' once elected. It seems that in order for a candidate to be successful, he MUST lie to the people, telling them whatever he thinks they want to hear, or he won't get elected, and then once elected, he MUST screw the hell out of us all because that's how the game is played in our govt now-a-days.... Senator Joe wants to get a bill passed that favors the corps in his district, so he swaps his vote on some other big deal by Senator Bob to get Bob's vote on his thingie. No, it's not so much the philosophy of any particular party that matters right now... what we really need are some things like the so-called 28th Amendment, and a bunch of others like it, to cut the govt's powers to the quick, and I mean like RIGHT NOW. We really don't have the time it will take to generate a house-full of Libertarians, and a bunch in the senate with the same party name. Besides, as you say, folks hear the crapola about something (propaganda?) and then never look into it again. No way can we get the immediate results we need this way. Sure, voting out all incumbents this year is a step in the right direction, but we need to put the brakes on NOW! and limit our govt's powers against us before even places like this forum are outlawed. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
"The law is what makes it possible for people to remain ethical. " I think what you said is pretty much truth, but I'll add that what you theorize as a possible future result of possible negative actions, has in fact, already happened to us. Corporations are well ''round the bend', lacking ethics simply because they have the resources to believe that the cost of breaking the law is just another cost of doing business. You and I remain ethical because we fear jail, but a corporation can't be jailed, only fined. We remain ethical because we fear a large fine, but corporations never pay a fine, they just extract a bit more from us. Therefore, they are above the law, and it is the law that protects human welfare. As for "life is still good for most of us", I wonder at your definition of good.... (remember the frog in a pot at room temp+3degrees. He's happy now, but the flames just went up a notch!) thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Joshua--- I'm glad you are fascinated by the way most of us have knee-jerk reactions to most anything our govt has to say anymore. Most of us probably have come to the conclusion that anything coming out of Washington is probably bad news for us, but you seem to believe otherwise. Give me YOUR list of all the great and wonderful things that have occurred during the past two or three decades that would dispute this.... as for corporations having the right to 'free speech': the first amendment does say the govt can't pass a law to limit it, but the constitution is all about individuals, citizens of the United States of America, not fictitious entities (who may or may not even be American!). Corporations can't own a gun, can't vote, can't do a lot of other things provided for by the Constitution, because corporations are not citizens, not people! Also, corporations are legally established, licensed etc to do a specific type of business. NONE that I know of, have included in their charter the activities of politics. Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The govt CAN speak, just as we can. But the govt MUST be open and honest about it. They can't just log on to a forum as 'janeknowsall' and start spewing info, hiding the fact that they are a govt employee performing a govt duty. Calling their actions 'infiltration' right off the bat smacks of subversiveness. Our govt ought not be subversive against its own people. The way to combat harmful 'conspiracy theories' is to have the originating information corrected. Do you really think for one moment the govt is about to tell us all it knows about area 51, the JFK assassination, or lights in the sky? If ya want ta stop gossip, just make sure everyone knows everything. If ya gotta hide some things, ya gotta accept the normal outfall. When it comes, look to places like Snopes for the truth! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Your point seems to be that people should never be allowed to speak anything but the 'truth', because the results of being believed are harmful to society in general? Did I paraphrase you accurately? So tell me this-- how come no one ever stops political candidates from telling their 'untruths', ie campaign lies? They 'promise' all that they are going to do, and then never do. THOSE lies and mis-conceptions are more commonly believed than your examples, and what's more, THOSE lies have 'way more dire consequences for us than all the conspiracy theories combined. To counter-balance your ideas, we might think it's ok to have some voter masquerade as a govt official and go on tv and expose each and every lie told by the candidates BEFORE we all foolishly believe them and give them our votes! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The problem is NOT that govt wants to correct an inaccurate statement that could potentially have negative consequences on the population by engaging the public... the problem is that they feel justified in PRETENDING to be someone other than a govt 'official' when they do it. Besides, consider this.... tv commercials.... why doesn't the govt go after commercials that say and recommend things that are inaccurate and may be harmful to us? Why should I go tell my Dr. I want him to prescribe a medicine that could cause me to go blind, have an erection for more than 4 hours, or kill me? These kinds of commercials that want us to believe what they say are far more harmful to us that what a bunch of folks feel about 911. So if the govt is really out for our 'best interests', they could find better ways of 'helping' us than by sneaking around the web, trying to destroy free speech. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Does it HAVE to be extra-ordinarily bad to be bad? I think it is wrong for the govt to be spending time and money in an attempt to squash ideas that would never have popped up in the first place if said govt had been open to the sunshine in the first place! Simple case in point... we had lots of conspiracy theories about little green men from outer space, information about which the govt REFUSED to discuss or even acknowledge. The theories grew because of the way govt behaved. Yet today, lots of respectable folks have come out to say 'yes, there ARE little green men out there!' So, in the end, the theories had merit! If the govt doesn't like people talkin' shite about stuff, they need to be open and honest with us about what's going on. Nothing wrong with their coming out and defending their position with FACTS, but if they had done so in the beginning, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now. Speaking of right now, consider how OB is handling this big med ins fiasco... how much of it is 'behind closed doors'? WHY behind closed doors? and don't you think this lack of openness will result in MORE conspiracy theories? thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The things you say have much merit. Our form of govt is probably the best there is, with one great exception... it has allowed those in power to exempt themselves from any connection with the citizenry. They have voted themselves to be above the law, exempt from the law. This is pure tyranny. Sure, the two party system has merits when studied out of a text book, but in practice, it has become one single group of individuals who are out for themselves more than for those who accidentally voted them in. If there is to be a fix for what's wrong in America today, let's start by getting the 28th amendment installed as quickly as possible. If you want proof that our govt has become tyrannical, just try to have Congress bring the 28th to the people for a vote... the proposed 28th simply limits the power of govt AGAINST the people. What could possibly be wrong with that?? If Congress won't do it, what-ever could be their reason? Don't be fooled into believing that the two parties are significantly different where it matters... NOTHING comes out of DC that isn't accepted by BOTH sides of the aisle. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
From the looks of most of these posts about folks surreptitiously observing and acting upon what you do on your computer, we all have the same idea about it, except maybe the tynt-guy. I don't like the idea of BB watching everything I do either, but maybe, to shine a different light on the subject, we need to do a 'declaration of independence' for the web. It ought to say in general terms, what we, the web-users of the world expect from our encounter with the world. This would include words like 'no spying on me by anyone, including the govt', or, 'what I do is my own damn business, not yours!'. But ya know this will never happen. Soooo, the bottom line is, we keep on fightin' 'em tooth and nail, exposing them as best we can (and 'thank-yous' to those who brought this to our attention) but ALWAYS remember, when you pick up a cell phone, open your browser, do email or read an article from whoever, or take an ad out in the local Gazette, even drive your car down the street or take a walk along the avenue, whatever you do is open for the rest of the world to see. Your govt has given itself the right to watch-and-report, and so has big business. Our only recourse, since this type of activity is not illegal, is to stay aware, and be careful with everything we do. Helluva way to live, but in case ya din't notice, there's a war going on. The game is different now, altho freedom and liberty are still the targets. The rules have changed, the attacks are different, and our responses ought to keep up with the times. TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW what is going on, even in bits and pieces, and maybe someday, we'll all get the big picture and do something about it! Thanks fer lis'nin! seekertom
As you say, a product endorsed by a questionable character itself becomes questionable. Yet, in this day and age, is there anyone out there who actually believes one word spoken or written in a commercial ad? As for guys like Rush and Glenn, if they at least lead us to question what we hear and see elsewhere, they have earned their pay. In a day when we EXPECT the prez, congress, the whole damn govt, to lie to us whenever they feel justified in doing so, truth from guys like Rush and Glenn , no matter how slanted, is far better than the lies of those whom we have been brought up to trust! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Just because a Canadian flight isn't 'supposed' to hit American soil, doesn't mean it won't. The flights of 911 that were hijacked and then used to destroy the Towers were not scheduled for a NY stopover either, but look what happened. I don't see anything wrong with us asking them for info on who's on board any flight crossing our country. If it's some person of interest, keep 'em out! Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I agree with your assessment of GB. The guy is paid to rattle our cages, and does say whatever will make the most noise. He also appeals to a lot of us who aren't satisfied with the way things are these days. But that isn't too bad, as long as he keeps himself accurate in his presentations. We do need someone to rattle us about pilosi's half-mil/mo jet ride to work. Sure he sensationalizes things, but we need to look at the message he's conveying, not his idiotic way of doing it. I don't exactly like him, but I value his format of exposing corruption in govt. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I disagree with your logic... it's like saying that only 12% of the world's people get cancer, so they ought not be unhappy about it! I believe that most of our decline in America has been due to govt control and mandates, so fixing our problems in that area would fix a lot of other things too, like education and job opportunities. Sure, Americans aren't the ONLY ones with smarts, but why in hell SHOULDN'T we be unhappy about the loss of our pride and prestige in the world's eye? You know we are a great nation, and I know it. So what exactly was the cause for our decline? I blame it on out govt's meddling with the natural way of things. Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I read the first several posts, and am partially gratified to see that some of us actually are beginning to see that the whole schmear of government actions AGAINST us ought to finally be considered en-toto... as one big operation, albeit delivered in such small doses as not to cook the frog all at once. We need to quit looking at all these wee slap-in-the-face policies, and recognize the TOTAL effect they have on us about-to-be-annihilated Americans. George Orwell had it right... our govt has ALREADY usurped the people's power to govern themselves. How many things have come to pass during the past few (several? many? always?) years that you and I and a heluvalot of others have seen as harmful to our American way of life, ie, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness (not to mention 'freedom'), and had to watch as these things became law, because there is n o t o n e d a m n t h i n g we could do about it? Today it comes out that OB's group has PASSED a new tax law requiring gun owners to register and pay taxes on all guns owned! (I doubt the senate even read the proposed law...) Sure we have an amendment that provides for the right to bear arms, ie OWN GUNS, but if the IRS can pass a (first) law to tax them, they can pass subsequent laws to tax the holy hell out of them, making them totally unaffordable! Sure, we have constitutional rights in this country, but just think how many of your rights have already been superceded by current law, 'protecting' us from such things as terrorists, and the most obvious group, OURSELVES! I said partially gratified... to really make me happy, I need to see someone come up with a plan that will brings things back under control of the people. Someone started the idea of the 28th amendment which forces congress to be a part of any law they enact, but ya know what chance THAT would have of even being introduced, let alone passed by congress! Yet the idea of the people LIMITING the powers of our govt is fundamental to America, so why would we NOT push this into law? And better yet, why would congress be opposed to such a thing? We're sinking fast, folks. Unless someone 'way smarter than I am gets up and starts running some viable ideas into the mainstream, we all need to lower our deductible and increase the cap on our med plans, 'cause a lot of us are going to have our arses cut off just below the belt before it's over! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I worked with tandy/radio shack computers for several years, right from the beginning (early 80's?). On one hand, they had the opportunity to blast past ibm and all the others, having everything in-house... design, mfg, distribution.... And, where were all the others when the Mod I came out, delivering true computing to the masses? It eventually had 5.25 in floppies, up to 4 of them, hard drives, and memory expansion boxes! and let's not forget the os called TRSDOS! that called it:C, rather than C:! The Mod II was a true business machine, with some of the best, and perhaps almost only, affordable accounting software available over the counter, WITH support! (ignore it began written in basic, then grew up into cobol) The beloved Coco brought gaming to anyone with a tv set; they had laptops, palm-tops, and even dedicated 'internet' boxes, although internet wasn't what they called it at that time. They had networking that actually worked, and it went into countless school classrooms, quite successfully!...and they even went out on a limb to jump above the 8086 pc-types... remember the 80-186??? as used in the tandy 2000 series, with 'high' graphics and color? It also ran the first version of turbo cad, now in it's 16th edition. It beat the pants off whatever else was out there at the time. So what happened?
It seems the penny pinchers decided to hire dumb engineers (most of the 'repair' jobs on tandy mod I, coco were more re-engineer jobs and quick-fix patchups, rather than simply replacing a broken part). And they seemed to be run by folks who didn't even know what a computer was, because at a time when the whole industry was poised to leap-frog into the 21st century, tandy said, noooo, let's limit what we do in this field, it won't go anywhere anyhow!
One of the last straws was to hire 'outsiders' to run the company, but actually were axe-men, who brought great upheaval into the company with stringent dress codes and policies that stiffled creativity and initiative, and eventually buried the division.
If you knew the product line, you knew they had the 'up' on just about everyone, and coulda, shoulda been the tops, but instead, they trashed it all with some of the dumbest decisions made by corporate execs! (do ya know ANYONE who reveres the tandy/radio shack name????)
thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
well, h4 (hope i've got the name ok) seems to me you see the light, concerning what the REAL problems are in both our countries. But there are also lots of folks that see the light as well. My question is this... what are we going to do about fixing things, and when the hell are we going to begin? (Not to mention the biggest question of all: CAN we do anything about it????) I say this because of at least one example that is close to my heart (ie wallet)... we have a group in Florida that is supposed to be the consumer's advocate between us and the power company. When asked about why no rebates for lowering consumption, they simply replied that if we lower our consumption, big power will just ask for-and get- a rate hike to keep their profits high, ie, we pay more to use less!. So what does this have to do with it? If we have NO SAY in regulating a single power company, what chance have we in controlling our government??? My tea-time brother, we are in very deep shite! Do YOU have any idea which way to go? thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Don't do this unless you want to solve the problem...
use an old pc system. I do. I have several, all different levels of modernization, back to the pc w/ 5 1/4 floppies, and the xt's, and the 186's, 286's, 386's. Each has its own particular strong points, and the games i happen to enjoy, the 2d's like commander keen, xargon, duke nukem etc, run just fine on those systems.
Ya, not everyone has the room or the expertise to keep these babies running. I'm lucky, I guess... I have both. But it's worth it to me not to have to waste time reinventing the wheel.
thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
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you take the bitter pill, endure the painful injection, when you want to be rid of a physical illness, but how much 'pain' will you endure to be rid of the problem of 'everything' you buy is made in china? look around your home... how much of what YOU have purchased is stamped 'made in America'? Are you ready to bite the bullet, no matter how much it hurts, and quit buying anything that's not MIA? now, complain about how our govt kowtows and how 'sickening' it is. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
"we can do much, much better." That's what YOU say, but how about YOU saying exactly, or even APPROXIMATELY how we can do better? As it is, we get laws ramrodded down our throats every day, and the best we can do so far, is publicize the atrocity in places like HERE.... but then what? What gets changed, what gets reversed, even after the problem is properly identified? Take the current med bill, for example... do you know 10 people who are in favor of it? And what can we do about it? Congressman John Fleming recently proposed a bill requiring all legislators who support the med bill to have to also enroll in it themselves.... the bill was flatlined even before it had a chance to be discussed. THAT's what we're up against, my friend. Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
the police WON'T be paying for it... WE will! and, it's the isps that have (by law) to keep the data laying around for years. The govt folks will only need to access small parts of it for scrutiny, then discard what they don't need. Besides, I think it all relates back to the govt's idea that to have all knowledge is to become god, and that's obviously where they are headed. thanks fer lis'nin'! seekertom
In your hovel with umpteen family members, you sure had limited 'personal' privacy, but redefine 'privacy' to become 'family privacy', and you're back in the game. Note that uncle harry never would dream of surreptitiously collecting all your scraps of castoff notepaper and selling them outside the tribe to the highest bidder. Yet, some think it's ok for uncle bill to do just that...??? My quality of life has improved. My requirements for personal privacy have not. There is no such thing any more. Quit foolin' yourself. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
get yer head out of the sand! Some one might say your post is 'intended' to educate and enlighten us post-readers, and someone else might say your post 'intended' to incite a riot among us readers. Interpretation rules! Give the govt an open law and I'll bet you anything they will interpret it any way they want, to achieve their ends. Ya just gotta see this, in order for us to even begin thinking about trying to save the planet. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
You speak it well, but I have to ask... do you REALLY believe all this is just a political foible? A dumb move to garner votes? Moves to appease the masses of prospective voters? Maybe it is all part of a well-orchestrated plan to just smash all our toys and then go home laughing all the way! (I hope you get my meaning hastily hidden under the glibness of metaphor). thanks fer lis'nin'! seekertom
Sooooo, where the heck is Red Dwarf now, matey? Usta be one of my favorite shows, right up there with Dr Who! Now, to the important part... my question is this: You are losing it (so are we), but what the hell are you doing about it? Serious problem. Demands serious thought. Requested is a serious answer from you, actually, from ANYONE in /.-land! thanks fer lis'nin'! seekertom ps remember the episode where the bug was miniaturized and was speeding thru the a/c ducts, and ran up the butt-end of the rat? Close analogy to now, only we're the rat and our respective govts are really cramming it up our collective arses!
I think your ideas are ok, but consider this, in general... if the govt hadn't interfered with the way our country did business, a lot of the problems you think the govt ought to be fixin' just would never have come up in the first place. As for your say about science and education, if the govt's involvement hadn't lost American jobs to overseas agents, there'd be a lot more companies here needing PHDs to keep up with the rest of the world (competition?) As for your economic viewpoint, wasn't it the govt who gave all that money to the banks without any oversight? and how did the money given by govt to Detroit help the average guy any? As for global economy, exactly what do we have to offer to rest of the world? At one time we fed the world and EXPORTED so much to them that we had a great economy.... under govt control, where are the factories employing millions of Americans now? You say we cannot be a nation unto ourselves any more, and I agree, but becoming a nation of wally-world cashiers is not the way to do it, either! Grow stuff here, sell the best products the world can buy. Invent and build stuff here, and sell the best products money can buy. THAT'S how it ought to be done, not the way it has been done lately, with the govt controlling everything we do, and literally giving America away to the other team.. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The notion of Libertarian that you put forth is fine and dandy; I'd vote for a Libertarian-controlled govt anytime, except this.... just because a person running for office calls himself a 'Libertarian', doesn't necessarily mean he will act 'Libertarian' once elected. It seems that in order for a candidate to be successful, he MUST lie to the people, telling them whatever he thinks they want to hear, or he won't get elected, and then once elected, he MUST screw the hell out of us all because that's how the game is played in our govt now-a-days.... Senator Joe wants to get a bill passed that favors the corps in his district, so he swaps his vote on some other big deal by Senator Bob to get Bob's vote on his thingie. No, it's not so much the philosophy of any particular party that matters right now... what we really need are some things like the so-called 28th Amendment, and a bunch of others like it, to cut the govt's powers to the quick, and I mean like RIGHT NOW. We really don't have the time it will take to generate a house-full of Libertarians, and a bunch in the senate with the same party name. Besides, as you say, folks hear the crapola about something (propaganda?) and then never look into it again. No way can we get the immediate results we need this way. Sure, voting out all incumbents this year is a step in the right direction, but we need to put the brakes on NOW! and limit our govt's powers against us before even places like this forum are outlawed. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
"The law is what makes it possible for people to remain ethical. " I think what you said is pretty much truth, but I'll add that what you theorize as a possible future result of possible negative actions, has in fact, already happened to us. Corporations are well ''round the bend', lacking ethics simply because they have the resources to believe that the cost of breaking the law is just another cost of doing business. You and I remain ethical because we fear jail, but a corporation can't be jailed, only fined. We remain ethical because we fear a large fine, but corporations never pay a fine, they just extract a bit more from us. Therefore, they are above the law, and it is the law that protects human welfare. As for "life is still good for most of us", I wonder at your definition of good.... (remember the frog in a pot at room temp+3degrees. He's happy now, but the flames just went up a notch!) thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Joshua--- I'm glad you are fascinated by the way most of us have knee-jerk reactions to most anything our govt has to say anymore. Most of us probably have come to the conclusion that anything coming out of Washington is probably bad news for us, but you seem to believe otherwise. Give me YOUR list of all the great and wonderful things that have occurred during the past two or three decades that would dispute this.... as for corporations having the right to 'free speech': the first amendment does say the govt can't pass a law to limit it, but the constitution is all about individuals, citizens of the United States of America, not fictitious entities (who may or may not even be American!). Corporations can't own a gun, can't vote, can't do a lot of other things provided for by the Constitution, because corporations are not citizens, not people! Also, corporations are legally established, licensed etc to do a specific type of business. NONE that I know of, have included in their charter the activities of politics. Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The govt CAN speak, just as we can. But the govt MUST be open and honest about it. They can't just log on to a forum as 'janeknowsall' and start spewing info, hiding the fact that they are a govt employee performing a govt duty. Calling their actions 'infiltration' right off the bat smacks of subversiveness. Our govt ought not be subversive against its own people. The way to combat harmful 'conspiracy theories' is to have the originating information corrected. Do you really think for one moment the govt is about to tell us all it knows about area 51, the JFK assassination, or lights in the sky? If ya want ta stop gossip, just make sure everyone knows everything. If ya gotta hide some things, ya gotta accept the normal outfall. When it comes, look to places like Snopes for the truth! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Your point seems to be that people should never be allowed to speak anything but the 'truth', because the results of being believed are harmful to society in general? Did I paraphrase you accurately? So tell me this-- how come no one ever stops political candidates from telling their 'untruths', ie campaign lies? They 'promise' all that they are going to do, and then never do. THOSE lies and mis-conceptions are more commonly believed than your examples, and what's more, THOSE lies have 'way more dire consequences for us than all the conspiracy theories combined. To counter-balance your ideas, we might think it's ok to have some voter masquerade as a govt official and go on tv and expose each and every lie told by the candidates BEFORE we all foolishly believe them and give them our votes! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The problem is NOT that govt wants to correct an inaccurate statement that could potentially have negative consequences on the population by engaging the public... the problem is that they feel justified in PRETENDING to be someone other than a govt 'official' when they do it. Besides, consider this.... tv commercials.... why doesn't the govt go after commercials that say and recommend things that are inaccurate and may be harmful to us? Why should I go tell my Dr. I want him to prescribe a medicine that could cause me to go blind, have an erection for more than 4 hours, or kill me? These kinds of commercials that want us to believe what they say are far more harmful to us that what a bunch of folks feel about 911. So if the govt is really out for our 'best interests', they could find better ways of 'helping' us than by sneaking around the web, trying to destroy free speech. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Does it HAVE to be extra-ordinarily bad to be bad? I think it is wrong for the govt to be spending time and money in an attempt to squash ideas that would never have popped up in the first place if said govt had been open to the sunshine in the first place! Simple case in point... we had lots of conspiracy theories about little green men from outer space, information about which the govt REFUSED to discuss or even acknowledge. The theories grew because of the way govt behaved. Yet today, lots of respectable folks have come out to say 'yes, there ARE little green men out there!' So, in the end, the theories had merit! If the govt doesn't like people talkin' shite about stuff, they need to be open and honest with us about what's going on. Nothing wrong with their coming out and defending their position with FACTS, but if they had done so in the beginning, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now. Speaking of right now, consider how OB is handling this big med ins fiasco... how much of it is 'behind closed doors'? WHY behind closed doors? and don't you think this lack of openness will result in MORE conspiracy theories? thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
The things you say have much merit. Our form of govt is probably the best there is, with one great exception... it has allowed those in power to exempt themselves from any connection with the citizenry. They have voted themselves to be above the law, exempt from the law. This is pure tyranny. Sure, the two party system has merits when studied out of a text book, but in practice, it has become one single group of individuals who are out for themselves more than for those who accidentally voted them in. If there is to be a fix for what's wrong in America today, let's start by getting the 28th amendment installed as quickly as possible. If you want proof that our govt has become tyrannical, just try to have Congress bring the 28th to the people for a vote... the proposed 28th simply limits the power of govt AGAINST the people. What could possibly be wrong with that?? If Congress won't do it, what-ever could be their reason? Don't be fooled into believing that the two parties are significantly different where it matters... NOTHING comes out of DC that isn't accepted by BOTH sides of the aisle. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
From the looks of most of these posts about folks surreptitiously observing and acting upon what you do on your computer, we all have the same idea about it, except maybe the tynt-guy. I don't like the idea of BB watching everything I do either, but maybe, to shine a different light on the subject, we need to do a 'declaration of independence' for the web. It ought to say in general terms, what we, the web-users of the world expect from our encounter with the world. This would include words like 'no spying on me by anyone, including the govt', or, 'what I do is my own damn business, not yours!'. But ya know this will never happen. Soooo, the bottom line is, we keep on fightin' 'em tooth and nail, exposing them as best we can (and 'thank-yous' to those who brought this to our attention) but ALWAYS remember, when you pick up a cell phone, open your browser, do email or read an article from whoever, or take an ad out in the local Gazette, even drive your car down the street or take a walk along the avenue, whatever you do is open for the rest of the world to see. Your govt has given itself the right to watch-and-report, and so has big business. Our only recourse, since this type of activity is not illegal, is to stay aware, and be careful with everything we do. Helluva way to live, but in case ya din't notice, there's a war going on. The game is different now, altho freedom and liberty are still the targets. The rules have changed, the attacks are different, and our responses ought to keep up with the times. TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW what is going on, even in bits and pieces, and maybe someday, we'll all get the big picture and do something about it! Thanks fer lis'nin! seekertom
As you say, a product endorsed by a questionable character itself becomes questionable. Yet, in this day and age, is there anyone out there who actually believes one word spoken or written in a commercial ad? As for guys like Rush and Glenn, if they at least lead us to question what we hear and see elsewhere, they have earned their pay. In a day when we EXPECT the prez, congress, the whole damn govt, to lie to us whenever they feel justified in doing so, truth from guys like Rush and Glenn , no matter how slanted, is far better than the lies of those whom we have been brought up to trust! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Just because a Canadian flight isn't 'supposed' to hit American soil, doesn't mean it won't. The flights of 911 that were hijacked and then used to destroy the Towers were not scheduled for a NY stopover either, but look what happened. I don't see anything wrong with us asking them for info on who's on board any flight crossing our country. If it's some person of interest, keep 'em out! Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I agree with your assessment of GB. The guy is paid to rattle our cages, and does say whatever will make the most noise. He also appeals to a lot of us who aren't satisfied with the way things are these days. But that isn't too bad, as long as he keeps himself accurate in his presentations. We do need someone to rattle us about pilosi's half-mil/mo jet ride to work. Sure he sensationalizes things, but we need to look at the message he's conveying, not his idiotic way of doing it. I don't exactly like him, but I value his format of exposing corruption in govt. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I disagree with your logic... it's like saying that only 12% of the world's people get cancer, so they ought not be unhappy about it! I believe that most of our decline in America has been due to govt control and mandates, so fixing our problems in that area would fix a lot of other things too, like education and job opportunities. Sure, Americans aren't the ONLY ones with smarts, but why in hell SHOULDN'T we be unhappy about the loss of our pride and prestige in the world's eye? You know we are a great nation, and I know it. So what exactly was the cause for our decline? I blame it on out govt's meddling with the natural way of things. Thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I read the first several posts, and am partially gratified to see that some of us actually are beginning to see that the whole schmear of government actions AGAINST us ought to finally be considered en-toto... as one big operation, albeit delivered in such small doses as not to cook the frog all at once. We need to quit looking at all these wee slap-in-the-face policies, and recognize the TOTAL effect they have on us about-to-be-annihilated Americans. George Orwell had it right... our govt has ALREADY usurped the people's power to govern themselves. How many things have come to pass during the past few (several? many? always?) years that you and I and a heluvalot of others have seen as harmful to our American way of life, ie, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness (not to mention 'freedom'), and had to watch as these things became law, because there is n o t o n e d a m n t h i n g we could do about it? Today it comes out that OB's group has PASSED a new tax law requiring gun owners to register and pay taxes on all guns owned! (I doubt the senate even read the proposed law...) Sure we have an amendment that provides for the right to bear arms, ie OWN GUNS, but if the IRS can pass a (first) law to tax them, they can pass subsequent laws to tax the holy hell out of them, making them totally unaffordable! Sure, we have constitutional rights in this country, but just think how many of your rights have already been superceded by current law, 'protecting' us from such things as terrorists, and the most obvious group, OURSELVES! I said partially gratified... to really make me happy, I need to see someone come up with a plan that will brings things back under control of the people. Someone started the idea of the 28th amendment which forces congress to be a part of any law they enact, but ya know what chance THAT would have of even being introduced, let alone passed by congress! Yet the idea of the people LIMITING the powers of our govt is fundamental to America, so why would we NOT push this into law? And better yet, why would congress be opposed to such a thing? We're sinking fast, folks. Unless someone 'way smarter than I am gets up and starts running some viable ideas into the mainstream, we all need to lower our deductible and increase the cap on our med plans, 'cause a lot of us are going to have our arses cut off just below the belt before it's over! thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
I worked with tandy/radio shack computers for several years, right from the beginning (early 80's?). On one hand, they had the opportunity to blast past ibm and all the others, having everything in-house... design, mfg, distribution.... And, where were all the others when the Mod I came out, delivering true computing to the masses? It eventually had 5.25 in floppies, up to 4 of them, hard drives, and memory expansion boxes! and let's not forget the os called TRSDOS! that called it :C, rather than C:! The Mod II was a true business machine, with some of the best, and perhaps almost only, affordable accounting software available over the counter, WITH support! (ignore it began written in basic, then grew up into cobol) The beloved Coco brought gaming to anyone with a tv set; they had laptops, palm-tops, and even dedicated 'internet' boxes, although internet wasn't what they called it at that time. They had networking that actually worked, and it went into countless school classrooms, quite successfully! ...and they even went out on a limb to jump above the 8086 pc-types... remember the 80-186??? as used in the tandy 2000 series, with 'high' graphics and color? It also ran the first version of turbo cad, now in it's 16th edition. It beat the pants off whatever else was out there at the time. So what happened?
It seems the penny pinchers decided to hire dumb engineers (most of the 'repair' jobs on tandy mod I, coco were more re-engineer jobs and quick-fix patchups, rather than simply replacing a broken part). And they seemed to be run by folks who didn't even know what a computer was, because at a time when the whole industry was poised to leap-frog into the 21st century, tandy said, noooo, let's limit what we do in this field, it won't go anywhere anyhow!
One of the last straws was to hire 'outsiders' to run the company, but actually were axe-men, who brought great upheaval into the company with stringent dress codes and policies that stiffled creativity and initiative, and eventually buried the division.
If you knew the product line, you knew they had the 'up' on just about everyone, and coulda, shoulda been the tops, but instead, they trashed it all with some of the dumbest decisions made by corporate execs! (do ya know ANYONE who reveres the tandy/radio shack name????)
thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
well, h4 (hope i've got the name ok) seems to me you see the light, concerning what the REAL problems are in both our countries. But there are also lots of folks that see the light as well. My question is this... what are we going to do about fixing things, and when the hell are we going to begin? (Not to mention the biggest question of all: CAN we do anything about it????) I say this because of at least one example that is close to my heart (ie wallet)... we have a group in Florida that is supposed to be the consumer's advocate between us and the power company. When asked about why no rebates for lowering consumption, they simply replied that if we lower our consumption, big power will just ask for-and get- a rate hike to keep their profits high, ie, we pay more to use less!. So what does this have to do with it? If we have NO SAY in regulating a single power company, what chance have we in controlling our government??? My tea-time brother, we are in very deep shite! Do YOU have any idea which way to go? thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom
Don't do this unless you want to solve the problem... use an old pc system. I do. I have several, all different levels of modernization, back to the pc w/ 5 1/4 floppies, and the xt's, and the 186's, 286's, 386's. Each has its own particular strong points, and the games i happen to enjoy, the 2d's like commander keen, xargon, duke nukem etc, run just fine on those systems. Ya, not everyone has the room or the expertise to keep these babies running. I'm lucky, I guess... I have both. But it's worth it to me not to have to waste time reinventing the wheel. thanks fer lis'nin' seekertom