If I don't like a private sector company, I just take my business elsewhere. If I try to do that with government, the government sends guys with guns to my house.
The only reason we still have corn ethanol is because there's so much money involved. It's a great way to get paid a lot of money without actually going to the trouble to earn any of it.
- It's never really been about "the environment", but now they're not even pretending any more. - "Energy independence" was always a cheap slogan to fool the rubes into paying more for an inferior product, but that's not working either now that the US is set to become the world's largest oil producer in 2015.
Like many government programs, graft is all that's left. The ethanol producers and the farmers feel entitled, and the politicians were bought off a long time ago.
Any time one of these guys say they're "trying to send a message", what they're really saying is "I'm punishing you for crimes other people committed". If courts are about justice, "trying to send a message" should result in an immediate, successful victory in appeals court.
The Ayatollahs and the House of Saud should increase their funding of the various North American Green groups. Without green group obstruction, we'd have another huge new source of oil in ANWR, we'd be almost done with the Keystone Pipeline, and we would have vast new production offshore.
Also useful to Ayatollahs and the Saudi royals:
- Boko Harem terrorist attacks threatening to destabilize oil production in Nigeria - Socialist nationalization of oil production facilities in Venezuela under Chavez and Maduro
Some people can't do anything more valuable than driving a truck. They will be rendered unemployable either when the tech for self-driving trucks gets cheap or when the government makes them artificially uncompetitive through minimum wage laws and other laws that raise the cost of employing humans instead of robots.
Facts? About a single payer health care system implementation in the US? How can there be "facts" about something that doesn't exist here yet?
By "facts", you seem to mean "tell a happy story about a happy future, not a sad story about a sad future". You should look up what the word "facts" means.
You can sue a faceless corporation. Can you sue the federal government? Your doctor can say "no" to a faceless corporation. Can he say "no" to the Federal government? If you defy the faceless corporation, do they have a police force to coerce you? Do they have an IRS? Can the faceless corporation coerce every doctor and health-care provider in the country so you have no choices?
The private insurer may not cover it. But you can pay for it yourself and then argue about the bill after you're not dead. You can sue them if you have to. Can you sue the Federal government?
How many lawyers did Slashdot hire to implement comment regulations? How much was the fine they were threatening people with for failing to use Slashdot?
If someone else is paying for it, then they decide what health care you get, and when you get it. Not you.
Single payer means the government has 100% control of all health care, regardless of what anyone says differently. You have 0% control. Your doctor can do what he is told or quit being a doctor. If you need life-saving health care and the government says "no", you die. Period. If you have cancer and need pain medication to avoid horrible suffering for weeks or months, the government can just say "no, sorry... budget cuts".
Not to mention the problems with giving the government access to everyone's confidential medical records.
"But businesses like the cost advantages" isn't really an interesting argument.
There are the conservative sources, like Fox News, WSJ, Drudge Report, and a few city papers (NY Post, Washington Times, Baltimore Sun).
a.k.a. Racists.
Then there is "MSM", which means all other media sources, which are one great big club of liberals who get together and discuss how to promote the Big Government agenda and cover for Obama's mistakes.
a.k.a. The good guys. They want to feed apples and carrots to the President's unicorn. He's so smart and capable! None of the bad things that happen are ever his fault, so it would be wrong to mislead the public by reporting on them.
Why not get your news from Facebook? Almost every source of news in the US spins and/or censors coverage for someone's political gain. If you're going to hear lies about current events, you might as well hear them from your friends.
- Japan has schools that primarily educate. The US has schools that primarily write payroll checks to union members. - Japan has a free and independent press. The US press licks government boots. If you don't lick government boots, it's because you're a racist. - In Japan, they have a thing that, in English, might be called shame. In the US "everybody does it". - Japan has a culture. Anyone in the US who talks about culture is mocked. We have Lady Gaga and the Paris Hilton. - Japanese media personalities and civic leaders like Japan. US media personalities and civic leaders hate America. - Japan has a constitution. The US has a "living, breathing document" -- it only means something as long as it's convenient to "the right people". - Japan is a civilized society. The US is a post-civilized society.
The Libertarian Party is an organized political party. The Tea Party is not.
The Tea Party's top issues are taxes, government debt, and the size and scope of government. The Tea Party doesn't tend to talk about drug legalization and the Tea Party doesn't have an open borders immigration policy. The Libertarian Party cares less about taxes and government debt and more about drug legalization and open borders.
Both groups would like the government to go back to obeying the US Constitution -- without the "anything goes" interpretations of the commerce clause.
No one in Congress does that for anything. Short filibusters happen for some issues sometimes.
It's not their number one issue. It does not follow that they don't care about it at all. Have you tried contacting a Tea Party congressman or some other Tea Party people to advance the issue? Try.
Slashdot Mirror
If I don't like a private sector company, I just take my business elsewhere. If I try to do that with government, the government sends guys with guns to my house.
We should put these guys in charge of our health care!
The only reason we still have corn ethanol is because there's so much money involved. It's a great way to get paid a lot of money without actually going to the trouble to earn any of it.
- It's never really been about "the environment", but now they're not even pretending any more.
- "Energy independence" was always a cheap slogan to fool the rubes into paying more for an inferior product, but that's not working either now that the US is set to become the world's largest oil producer in 2015.
Like many government programs, graft is all that's left. The ethanol producers and the farmers feel entitled, and the politicians were bought off a long time ago.
Any time one of these guys say they're "trying to send a message", what they're really saying is "I'm punishing you for crimes other people committed". If courts are about justice, "trying to send a message" should result in an immediate, successful victory in appeals court.
If the US automakers hadn't **killed the electric car** there would have been at least an **equal drop in demand**
Someone should tell all the Tesla and Leaf drivers their cars are dead.
The rotten economy has also kept demand from growing.
The Ayatollahs and the House of Saud should increase their funding of the various North American Green groups. Without green group obstruction, we'd have another huge new source of oil in ANWR, we'd be almost done with the Keystone Pipeline, and we would have vast new production offshore.
Also useful to Ayatollahs and the Saudi royals:
- Boko Harem terrorist attacks threatening to destabilize oil production in Nigeria
- Socialist nationalization of oil production facilities in Venezuela under Chavez and Maduro
Some people can't do anything more valuable than driving a truck. They will be rendered unemployable either when the tech for self-driving trucks gets cheap or when the government makes them artificially uncompetitive through minimum wage laws and other laws that raise the cost of employing humans instead of robots.
It is worse in the US than in Korea. But Canada also has bad Internet. South Africa has some slow speeds and usage caps. Also Australia and other countries.
We're neither the slowest nor the most expensive.
Then the lawyers shouldn't get to hit the jackpot. It's supposed to be a "justice system", not a giant lottery system for lawyers.
Did Steve Jobs' death make you feel good about fairness and equality? Do you wish he'd died sooner?
Typical class actions: Lawyers will settle for $20 million dollars for the lawyers and $3 for each person who didn't get a job.
What if I can afford it? Should the government be empowered to condemn me to die for the sake of fairness and equality?
Facts? About a single payer health care system implementation in the US? How can there be "facts" about something that doesn't exist here yet?
By "facts", you seem to mean "tell a happy story about a happy future, not a sad story about a sad future". You should look up what the word "facts" means.
You can sue a faceless corporation. Can you sue the federal government?
Your doctor can say "no" to a faceless corporation. Can he say "no" to the Federal government?
If you defy the faceless corporation, do they have a police force to coerce you? Do they have an IRS? Can the faceless corporation coerce every doctor and health-care provider in the country so you have no choices?
The private insurer may not cover it. But you can pay for it yourself and then argue about the bill after you're not dead. You can sue them if you have to. Can you sue the Federal government?
How many lawyers did Slashdot hire to implement comment regulations? How much was the fine they were threatening people with for failing to use Slashdot?
They're fundamentally not the same things.
If someone else is paying for it, then they decide what health care you get, and when you get it. Not you.
Single payer means the government has 100% control of all health care, regardless of what anyone says differently. You have 0% control. Your doctor can do what he is told or quit being a doctor. If you need life-saving health care and the government says "no", you die. Period. If you have cancer and need pain medication to avoid horrible suffering for weeks or months, the government can just say "no, sorry ... budget cuts".
Not to mention the problems with giving the government access to everyone's confidential medical records.
"But businesses like the cost advantages" isn't really an interesting argument.
They are worse now than any time in the last 30 years.
There are the conservative sources, like Fox News, WSJ, Drudge Report, and a few city papers (NY Post, Washington Times, Baltimore Sun).
a.k.a. Racists.
Then there is "MSM", which means all other media sources, which are one great big club of liberals who get together and discuss how to promote the Big Government agenda and cover for Obama's mistakes.
a.k.a. The good guys. They want to feed apples and carrots to the President's unicorn. He's so smart and capable! None of the bad things that happen are ever his fault, so it would be wrong to mislead the public by reporting on them.
Misinformation? In a news post? No way!
Why not get your news from Facebook? Almost every source of news in the US spins and/or censors coverage for someone's political gain. If you're going to hear lies about current events, you might as well hear them from your friends.
- Japan has schools that primarily educate. The US has schools that primarily write payroll checks to union members.
- Japan has a free and independent press. The US press licks government boots. If you don't lick government boots, it's because you're a racist.
- In Japan, they have a thing that, in English, might be called shame. In the US "everybody does it".
- Japan has a culture. Anyone in the US who talks about culture is mocked. We have Lady Gaga and the Paris Hilton.
- Japanese media personalities and civic leaders like Japan. US media personalities and civic leaders hate America.
- Japan has a constitution. The US has a "living, breathing document" -- it only means something as long as it's convenient to "the right people".
- Japan is a civilized society. The US is a post-civilized society.
The Libertarian Party is an organized political party. The Tea Party is not.
The Tea Party's top issues are taxes, government debt, and the size and scope of government. The Tea Party doesn't tend to talk about drug legalization and the Tea Party doesn't have an open borders immigration policy. The Libertarian Party cares less about taxes and government debt and more about drug legalization and open borders.
Both groups would like the government to go back to obeying the US Constitution -- without the "anything goes" interpretations of the commerce clause.
No one in Congress does that for anything. Short filibusters happen for some issues sometimes.
It's not their number one issue. It does not follow that they don't care about it at all. Have you tried contacting a Tea Party congressman or some other Tea Party people to advance the issue? Try.