The Second Amendment was not a huge mistake. It provides the fail-safe for making sure the rest of the Bill of Rights is respected. You are obviously willing to trust our government and elected officials to respect the Constitution. I don't share your faith. History provides too many examples of benevolent leaders who stopped being benevolent once they stopping fearing the people.
We have enough problems in this country getting the government to respect our rights as it is. It is a strikingly bad idea to unilateraly reduce the power and autonomy of the law-abiding citizens.
You say that you will never surrender your freedom of speech/religion/press. My question is: Once you have surrendered your ability to defend yourself, what choice do you have? How, exactly, will you protect your other freedoms?
I am more than a little insulted at your suggestion that I would "forget" to secure my weapon or shoot someone by mistake. You obviously don't know the first thing about responsible firearms handling or even good defensive tactics. What you DO seem to know is every piece of misinformation and half-truth passed off by ABC News and Time magazine. It amazes me that some people can be so good at spotting anti-Linux bias in a ZDNet article, but can't spot one-sided reporting on guns. Here is an article that explains things far better than I could:
You're damn right the founders of this country were paranoid. After what they went through, they had every reason to be. You are fortunate. You live in a small window in history when most of the freedoms you seem to care about aren't immediately threatened. It is incredibly self-centered and arrogant for you to assume that it has always been this way and will always be this way. You also don't seem to care about the rights other people cherish and that shows a degree of selfishness.
We are approaching a holiday in the United States. It is the anniversary of our independence. Please take the time to really think about what it took to secure your freedom of speech. Think about the price paid by those who came before you.
Faced with a similar situation, would you do what they did? Would you have risk everything to insure that your descendants could enjoy freedom?
Or would you march down to the nearest government office, turn in your weapons, and call for everyone else to do the same? Would you choose an illusion of safety over liberty?
And don't give me any bullshit about defending the country with your little 12-gauge, or even your ak-47. It's no match for the Army's M1A1 Abrams or its Apache chopper.
Actually, the history of warfare provides many examples of guerrillas successfully countering better-armed forces. Witness the Vietnam Conflict, Afghanistan, and, well, the American Revolution.
When you get down to the house-to-house person-to-person fighting, tanks and helicopters don't help much. It is extremely difficult to control a resistant armed population, even (especially) if their arms are lightweight. A tank or chopper simply kills them. How do you control a population if they are all dead?
Let's get over this romantic notion of everyone being noble patriots who will save us from the tyranny of the whitehouse.
Not necessarily the whitehouse, but tyranny must be fought. I am willing to give my life fighting to preserve my natural rights. Some people (obviously you) believe in life at any cost -- even if it means a life without freedom. I don't feel that way.
How many parts of the Bill of Rights are you willing to surrender? Once your right to self-defense is gone, will you give up your right to free speech?
Will you come on Slashdot saying, "Let's get over this romantic notion of speaking out against the tyranny of the whitehouse. Get real. Criticizing the government has really got to go?"
How far does it have to go before you stand up? When you decide to stand up, what will you use?
I am a law-abiding American citizen who happens to own firearms. I am NOT the problem, but it's easier to come after me BECAUSE I am a law-abiding citizen. I can be counted on to comply with every do-nothing feel-good restriction you devise. Of course, the people who ARE the problem carry on as they always have. They don't care about the law. That's the REAL problem. Show me a solution for that.
My lawyer was asleep when I was moderated down! I'm a clean-cut upstanding slash-citizen. I don't deserve this. Someone else posted that troll. I have witnesses who can prove it! Tell Amnesty International! Tell Danny Glover!
The blood of my karma is on your hands, Mr. Moderator. I hope you sleep well tonight.
Pretty much just posting pointless crap like this. Sorry, it's not much of a plan -- best I could come up with. It's more fun than getting my blood pressure up every time Metallica says, "Napster bad!"
So, uhhhh.... you got a URL for those Portman shots?
Of course not. It should be a flat tax. Same percentage for everybody.
And there should be a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing that a citizen's total tax burden (state + federal) should never exceed 30% of their income.
Of course, Americans would rather pop the top on a brew, watch "Survivor", and absorb their news from Dan Rather.
Slashdotters fail to understand the basics of government.
Sales taxes are STATE taxes. Every state has slightly different tax codes. Some obviously make the purchaser liable. Some make the seller liable. There may be exemptions if you are operating a business and purchasing products for that business (there are in my state). Think for letting me know how anti-business your state is, though. I'll be sure to never start a company there. That leaves me 49 other states to choose from. Well, 48. California will try to tax me if I even mention their state in my office.
My advice -- Quit wasting your time asking these questions on Slashdot (where most of the people skipped civics because they were working on a Perl script) and talk to an attorney licensed in your state. Uhhh.... Your company DOES have an attorney, doesn't it?
The GNU compiler is more compliant with standards than VC++ (yes it is, yes it is). I don't feel the constant pressure to use ATL, MFC, and a bunch of platform-specific stuff. I can get my Linux-written code to compile on Windows a lot easier than vice-versa.
Yes, if you're doing GUI stuff, you're S.O.L. You're S.O.L. if you're doing GUIs on any platform, though. Abstract it from your logic and processing or you'll regret it later.
Here's a suggestion: Go to Cygwin's site and get their Bash and compiler for Windows. Fire up your favorite text editor and go.
I do this when I have to write code in Windows. When it comes time to pull the whole thing together, I load the code into VC++ and add the Windows-specific stuff. Works like a charm and I know that my core logic will be portable later.
Signal 11 is saving up Karma for the Great Slashdot Retaliation. Someday, he will grow tired of reading the same drivel, the same points of view, and the same whining. On that day, he will engage the full force of his massive Karma and begin trolling the living daylights out of Slashdot.
Not all Slashdotters have become moronic, some of us are suffering Karma hits on a daily basis for pointing out stupidity. We look forward to the day Signal 11 joins us. With the combined Karma of Signal 11 and Bruce Perens, we will be unstoppable! We will return Slashdot to its former glory!
I am merely a scout in this revolution. My hard-earned Karma is a mere drop in the bucket compared to Sig's. My role is to distract and annoy the moderators while Signal 11 grows larger and more powerful. Someday, my Karma will be entirely burned out and I will no longer be able to post at +2. It is a sacrifice, but I know history will record the name of "DonkPunch" as a hero. I therefore make this sacrifice with pride.
So, keep the faith, AC. One day soon, Slashdot will be redeemed!
(Or you could just read kiro5hin instead. Make no difference to me.)
Wow, that was one of the most militantly stupid babblings I've seen on/. in a while.
How did you draw the conclusion that an appeals court would be "pissed" at Jackson? Odds are they wouldn't care one way or the other. The Supreme Court refuses to hear far more cases than it accepts.
As far as seperation (this is a government lesson, we'll talk about your spelling later) between the Executive and Judicial branches, Presidents have appointed federal justices since the Constitution was ratified. Why? Because that's how the Constitution says it should be done!
You're welcome to shudder at a "dubyah" term. However, if your ignorance is typical of his opponents, I shudder at that.
Slashdot Mirror
How is it we're able to track two penquins in the ocean on a webpage via satellite, but I still can't find where my cat hides all afternoon?
C'mon Moderator! Bring it on! Smack my Karma! I love it!
A thread full of trolls and you single out one silly little post. GET A LIFE!
Most trolls do not have a +1 posting bonus!
Absolutely true! Many of us have +2!
tags.
*sigh* Kids today.... No respect for their elders, huh?
No offense intended -- just wondering if you were another Slashdot burnout like me. :)
Philosopho-religo-mumbo-jumbo from geeks make DonkPunch head hurt....
Going to drink beer and read old "Bloom County" collections until I feel better.
Man, it took a long time for you to reply.
.loaded.html
The Second Amendment was not a huge mistake. It provides the fail-safe for making sure the rest of the Bill of Rights is respected. You are obviously willing to trust our government and elected officials to respect the Constitution. I don't share your faith. History provides too many examples of benevolent leaders who stopped being benevolent once they stopping fearing the people.
We have enough problems in this country getting the government to respect our rights as it is. It is a strikingly bad idea to unilateraly reduce the power and autonomy of the law-abiding citizens.
You say that you will never surrender your freedom of speech/religion/press. My question is: Once you have surrendered your ability to defend yourself, what choice do you have? How, exactly, will you protect your other freedoms?
I am more than a little insulted at your suggestion that I would "forget" to secure my weapon or shoot someone by mistake. You obviously don't know the first thing about responsible firearms handling or even good defensive tactics. What you DO seem to know is every piece of misinformation and half-truth passed off by ABC News and Time magazine. It amazes me that some people can be so good at spotting anti-Linux bias in a ZDNet article, but can't spot one-sided reporting on guns. Here is an article that explains things far better than I could:
http://www.reasonmag.com/0006/fe.ks
You're damn right the founders of this country were paranoid. After what they went through, they had every reason to be. You are fortunate. You live in a small window in history when most of the freedoms you seem to care about aren't immediately threatened. It is incredibly self-centered and arrogant for you to assume that it has always been this way and will always be this way. You also don't seem to care about the rights other people cherish and that shows a degree of selfishness.
We are approaching a holiday in the United States. It is the anniversary of our independence. Please take the time to really think about what it took to secure your freedom of speech. Think about the price paid by those who came before you.
Faced with a similar situation, would you do what they did? Would you have risk everything to insure that your descendants could enjoy freedom?
Or would you march down to the nearest government office, turn in your weapons, and call for everyone else to do the same? Would you choose an illusion of safety over liberty?
And don't give me any bullshit about defending the country with your little 12-gauge, or even your ak-47. It's no match for the Army's M1A1 Abrams or its Apache chopper.
Actually, the history of warfare provides many examples of guerrillas successfully countering better-armed forces. Witness the Vietnam Conflict, Afghanistan, and, well, the American Revolution.
When you get down to the house-to-house person-to-person fighting, tanks and helicopters don't help much. It is extremely difficult to control a resistant armed population, even (especially) if their arms are lightweight. A tank or chopper simply kills them. How do you control a population if they are all dead?
Let's get over this romantic notion of everyone being noble patriots who will save us from the tyranny of the whitehouse.
Not necessarily the whitehouse, but tyranny must be fought. I am willing to give my life fighting to preserve my natural rights. Some people (obviously you) believe in life at any cost -- even if it means a life without freedom. I don't feel that way.
How many parts of the Bill of Rights are you willing to surrender? Once your right to self-defense is gone, will you give up your right to free speech?
Will you come on Slashdot saying, "Let's get over this romantic notion of speaking out against the tyranny of the whitehouse. Get real. Criticizing the government has really got to go?"
How far does it have to go before you stand up? When you decide to stand up, what will you use?
I am a law-abiding American citizen who happens to own firearms. I am NOT the problem, but it's easier to come after me BECAUSE I am a law-abiding citizen. I can be counted on to comply with every do-nothing feel-good restriction you devise. Of course, the people who ARE the problem carry on as they always have. They don't care about the law. That's the REAL problem. Show me a solution for that.
My lawyer was asleep when I was moderated down! I'm a clean-cut upstanding slash-citizen. I don't deserve this. Someone else posted that troll. I have witnesses who can prove it! Tell Amnesty International! Tell Danny Glover!
The blood of my karma is on your hands, Mr. Moderator. I hope you sleep well tonight.
What do you have in mind oh dark^H^H^H^Hdonk one?
Pretty much just posting pointless crap like this. Sorry, it's not much of a plan -- best I could come up with. It's more fun than getting my blood pressure up every time Metallica says, "Napster bad!"
So, uhhhh.... you got a URL for those Portman shots?
Glad to hear all is going well. Just don't let your kids catch you reading Slashdot -- you want them to respect you, you know! :)
Where have you been, sir? We've missed you!
All right, Slashdot has too many trigger-happy posters. The same lame gag, at least three times in one thread....
A lawsuit from the makers of Db (D flat) is expected. The lawsuit charges that C# and Db are, in fact, the same language.
Of course not. It should be a flat tax. Same percentage for everybody.
And there should be a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing that a citizen's total tax burden (state + federal) should never exceed 30% of their income.
Of course, Americans would rather pop the top on a brew, watch "Survivor", and absorb their news from Dan Rather.
Slashdotters fail to understand the basics of government.
Sales taxes are STATE taxes. Every state has slightly different tax codes. Some obviously make the purchaser liable. Some make the seller liable. There may be exemptions if you are operating a business and purchasing products for that business (there are in my state). Think for letting me know how anti-business your state is, though. I'll be sure to never start a company there. That leaves me 49 other states to choose from. Well, 48. California will try to tax me if I even mention their state in my office.
My advice -- Quit wasting your time asking these questions on Slashdot (where most of the people skipped civics because they were working on a Perl script) and talk to an attorney licensed in your state. Uhhh.... Your company DOES have an attorney, doesn't it?
Reason 1 for me is portability.
The GNU compiler is more compliant with standards than VC++ (yes it is, yes it is). I don't feel the constant pressure to use ATL, MFC, and a bunch of platform-specific stuff. I can get my Linux-written code to compile on Windows a lot easier than vice-versa.
Yes, if you're doing GUI stuff, you're S.O.L. You're S.O.L. if you're doing GUIs on any platform, though. Abstract it from your logic and processing or you'll regret it later.
Here's a suggestion: Go to Cygwin's site and get their Bash and compiler for Windows. Fire up your favorite text editor and go.
I do this when I have to write code in Windows. When it comes time to pull the whole thing together, I load the code into VC++ and add the Windows-specific stuff. Works like a charm and I know that my core logic will be portable later.
Darn. You're right.
It's a plot.
Signal 11 is saving up Karma for the Great Slashdot Retaliation. Someday, he will grow tired of reading the same drivel, the same points of view, and the same whining. On that day, he will engage the full force of his massive Karma and begin trolling the living daylights out of Slashdot.
Not all Slashdotters have become moronic, some of us are suffering Karma hits on a daily basis for pointing out stupidity. We look forward to the day Signal 11 joins us. With the combined Karma of Signal 11 and Bruce Perens, we will be unstoppable! We will return Slashdot to its former glory!
I am merely a scout in this revolution. My hard-earned Karma is a mere drop in the bucket compared to Sig's. My role is to distract and annoy the moderators while Signal 11 grows larger and more powerful. Someday, my Karma will be entirely burned out and I will no longer be able to post at +2. It is a sacrifice, but I know history will record the name of "DonkPunch" as a hero. I therefore make this sacrifice with pride.
So, keep the faith, AC. One day soon, Slashdot will be redeemed!
(Or you could just read kiro5hin instead. Make no difference to me.)
Wow, that was one of the most militantly stupid babblings I've seen on /. in a while.
How did you draw the conclusion that an appeals court would be "pissed" at Jackson? Odds are they wouldn't care one way or the other. The Supreme Court refuses to hear far more cases than it accepts.
As far as seperation (this is a government lesson, we'll talk about your spelling later) between the Executive and Judicial branches, Presidents have appointed federal justices since the Constitution was ratified. Why? Because that's how the Constitution says it should be done!
You're welcome to shudder at a "dubyah" term. However, if your ignorance is typical of his opponents, I shudder at that.
If I ever meet you, I will kick your pasty butt.
And they're being paid much more than the cable tv installers or gas station attendants they may have been in a different economy.
Just curious -- Are you including yourself in that group or are you special?
The difference between +5 and "Redundant" around here is about 10 seconds. :)
Isn't he the "I kiss you!" guy?