"Freedom" on the other side offers no visible gain financially-wise.
I think that you've got that completely wrong.
Can you even come up with an example (large scale) were lack of freedom has resulted in the production of greater wealth than the equivilant free system?
Ever heard of "free" enterprise or "free" markets?
Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels. Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round.
I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesised that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theatre of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.
Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.
When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to:
M&M Mars, A Division of Mars Inc.
Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503
U.S.A.
along with a 3x5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes."
This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money." I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion.
...attempt to slow down Europe from becoming the dominant superpower on earth...
You got to be kidding.
The next dominant superpower will be either China or India. My money is on China, since, like it or not, that's were most of the money I spend goes. My job will evenutally go to India but hopefully that won't be to soon.
I only hope that in the 2008 elections, we have a return to moderates and realistic people like John McCain or Joe Biden or perhaps, gasp, some votes for Independent around the country in different positions.
I'll be happy if my vote even gets counted and added to the tally of the candidate I intended.
... wire taps happen when there's a known terrorist on the end of the line.
Who says so?
Oh the guys doing the tapping.
Well I'm sure they would never lie. If there is one group of people you can count on to tell the truth, it's spies. I'm sure they just didn't want to bother with FISA. They don't need no stinking oversight. Right?
The actors could be foreign college students or home-grown California boys who decide to support the cause for reasons of their own, as we've seen recently.
So you support spying on all Americans?
Is that because you fear the current measures being implimented will spawn a wave of terror whose source is home grown?
Iraq is the best example of this in the western world at present. We need their oil so we can use motor vehicles. Yet nobody wants the guilt of invading another country just to steal their natural resources. So the politicians make up some excuse and we all go along with it, not because we believe it, but because we dont want to face the truth. The alternative was that we kept paying Saudi Arabia for oil
Now that not quite right. You see the problem was Iraq was dumping oil on the world market for $17 a barrel under the UN oil for food program. This was a big problem for the other big oil producers as it was driving oil prices down. So good'ol GW tried to get the UN to cancel the oil for food program, but that didn't work. Remember GW is a big friend of big oil and the Saudi royal family.
So the Iraq war was not about getting the oil from Iraq, but about keeping them from selling it so prices would go up. The fact that a war in the Middle East always makes the price of oil go up was just an added bonus. Worked out well for GW's oil buddies didn't it.
This doesn't even begin to address those who think this is some concocted problem designed to get people to by from different forces in the enrgy markets.
Now that's a whacky theory I've not heard before.
Are there really such people and what have they been smoking?
Perhaps a lot of people hate the NCLB because it makes bad schools worse by taking away funding.
Almost all the schools that are having problems meeting the minimums, in my state, are inner city schools, where the environment outside the classroom has a large impact on the perfomance of the students. I saw a report the other day on one of these schools and 78% of the students arrive at that school without having eaten breakfast, and why do you think this made the news? Because the school was canceling it's hot breakfast program since the funding for it had been cut (not because of NCLB though).
How is reducing funding for these schools helpful again?
How are they going to hire good teachers with less funding? They have a hard enough time recruiting already since they are an inner city school.
OK, what's to stop the administration from doing this anyway without oversight?
Well, what is suppose to stop them is the fact that it is illegal. That doesn't seem to bother them though.
I guess we'll have to hope the next guy in office will followup on these crimes and see that those responsible are punished.
Slashdot Mirror
"Freedom" on the other side offers no visible gain financially-wise.
I think that you've got that completely wrong.
Can you even come up with an example (large scale) were lack of freedom has resulted in the production of greater wealth than the equivilant free system?
Ever heard of "free" enterprise or "free" markets?
He's an ay-rab, for God's sake, he would suffer even worse in his home country!
That's true, he's Canadian.
Well, at least those poor bastards can look forward to global warming.
Have you heard the true story of their treatment?
Nope. Doesn't look like you have either.
Anyone know who the author is?
Sorry to reply to my own post, but I found a really old copy of this and it has an attribution of
Jeffrey Sullivan
USACE Topographic Engineering Center
Care for some organic spinach?
I would, do you know where I can get some?
I ate up the spinach I had on had during the big scare, with out concern. Now, one still can not find spinach in the stores near where I live.
Oh, buy the way, it turned out it wasn't organic spinach that had the problem, it was a major labels non-organic variety.
Now we seem to have a lettuce scare going. Dang, can a demigod get some greens.
For those that haven't seen this before;
Anyone know who the author is?I can't think of anything more likely to P.O. a judge than to ask to get into his courtroom, then call him a buffoon.
Are you saying a P.O.'d judge might rule differently?
If that's the case then he would recuse himself.
Oh wait, nevermind, I was just thinking our justice system worked. Don't know what came over me.
Alas, where is Kiki Stockhammer when you need her.
According to this she is back at NewTek and in a sci-fi punk rock band, called Warp 11.
You got to be kidding.
The next dominant superpower will be either China or India. My money is on China, since, like it or not, that's were most of the money I spend goes. My job will evenutally go to India but hopefully that won't be to soon.
I only hope that in the 2008 elections, we have a return to moderates and realistic people like John McCain or Joe Biden or perhaps, gasp, some votes for Independent around the country in different positions.
I'll be happy if my vote even gets counted and added to the tally of the candidate I intended.
At this point I consider that unlikely.
And who kills the innocent Americans, exactly? I'd really like to know.
You ask.
My guess it primarly one of two groups.
Who says so?
Oh the guys doing the tapping.
Well I'm sure they would never lie. If there is one group of people you can count on to tell the truth, it's spies. I'm sure they just didn't want to bother with FISA. They don't need no stinking oversight. Right?
The actors could be foreign college students or home-grown California boys who decide to support the cause for reasons of their own, as we've seen recently.
So you support spying on all Americans?
Is that because you fear the current measures being implimented will spawn a wave of terror whose source is home grown?
Iraq is the best example of this in the western world at present. We need their oil so we can use motor vehicles. Yet nobody wants the guilt of invading another country just to steal their natural resources. So the politicians make up some excuse and we all go along with it, not because we believe it, but because we dont want to face the truth. The alternative was that we kept paying Saudi Arabia for oil
Now that not quite right. You see the problem was Iraq was dumping oil on the world market for $17 a barrel under the UN oil for food program. This was a big problem for the other big oil producers as it was driving oil prices down. So good'ol GW tried to get the UN to cancel the oil for food program, but that didn't work. Remember GW is a big friend of big oil and the Saudi royal family.
So the Iraq war was not about getting the oil from Iraq, but about keeping them from selling it so prices would go up. The fact that a war in the Middle East always makes the price of oil go up was just an added bonus. Worked out well for GW's oil buddies didn't it.
This doesn't even begin to address those who think this is some concocted problem designed to get people to by from different forces in the enrgy markets.
Now that's a whacky theory I've not heard before.
Are there really such people and what have they been smoking?
Most windmills get pretty noisy.
The specs on these claim 0 dB Measured sound emission.
A windmill is too big and too much of an eyesore to be installed in backyards.
They don't have to be eyesores.
Interesting, I just checked Dexter Alan Ux's link and he appears to have a grand total of 1 post.
Did you miss the "Conservative Political Activist" right under "(email not shown publicly)".
Almost all the schools that are having problems meeting the minimums, in my state, are inner city schools, where the environment outside the classroom has a large impact on the perfomance of the students. I saw a report the other day on one of these schools and 78% of the students arrive at that school without having eaten breakfast, and why do you think this made the news? Because the school was canceling it's hot breakfast program since the funding for it had been cut (not because of NCLB though).
How is reducing funding for these schools helpful again?
How are they going to hire good teachers with less funding? They have a hard enough time recruiting already since they are an inner city school.
OK, what's to stop the administration from doing this anyway without oversight?
Well, what is suppose to stop them is the fact that it is illegal. That doesn't seem to bother them though. I guess we'll have to hope the next guy in office will followup on these crimes and see that those responsible are punished.
Need they say more?
Just one word more
See doesn't that look better
Somehow the URL got munged. Sorry.
You know I've been around for a while now, and I've never heard anyone admit they were "in love with big government and are against liberty"
How did you come up with that? Have you been listening to Rush?
That's what the administration says and we know there record on telling the truth.
There is no oversite and the full details of the program have never been made known, even to the legislature.
What the hell has happend to all my countrymen?
Most seem to have become total cowards. It must be all the reality TV rotting their brains.
Seems to me we have lots of tall building, airplains, etc. but only one constitituion.
Why are we destroying something we only have one of, in order to protect something of which we have no short supply?