anyone who would argue for the legalization of cocaine is either ignorant or stupid.
Let me stop you right there, and point out your own ignorance and stupidity. Cocaine was an over-the-counter drug once, and we didn't have anyone getting shot over it. An addict needs treatment, not prosecution.
Try googling for "portugal drug decriminalization", read and learn.
inflation, which is irrelevant to the topic at hand
Inflation is government-sponsored fraud, and it's not merely relevant, it's crucial to the topic at hand. The single biggest deviation from freedom in our modern economy is fiat money.
You know, I constantly hear this about all of the victimless crimes we have on the books today, and it really pisses me off. Why in the hell is the government entitled to tribute for refraining from interfering in something that's none of their business in the first place?
I want the drug war to end. I don't want the end of the drug war to mean that governments get billions in new tax revenues, in fact I want the taxpayers to get back the money we waste on the drug war now.
The fact of the matter is that unbridled capitalism does not work.
The fact is that capitalism requires the rule of law; contracts must be enforced, money must be sound, and fraud must be prosecuted and punished. This is a very different thing from penalizing the successful and rewarding the unsuccessful. The market is the best way to allocate resources and effort, with every person making their own choices of what they want to buy or sell.
Where it goes off the rails, is when government gains enough power to plunder; once this happens, unscrupulous businesses will use the government to exclude their competition, or even to commit flat-out theft as in the case of subsidies, protective tariffs, and other corporate welfare programs. The biggest and most destructive example of this plunder is inflation of a fiat currency.
I see where you're coming from but frankly, after decisions like Kelo v. New London, the Charlie Lynch case, and the fact that the thugs actually appealed the Savannah Redding case instead of ending up behind bars for child molestation doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the litigation route. The first line of defense of our liberty must be what we will or will not put up with on the scene.
That's a bit unrealistic. Not many businesses would try to fight for their rights under the first amendment when they're facing an opponent with a limitless tax-funded litigation budget.
The practical effect of this will be nil; anyone who wants to advertise prostitution will just find another web site, probably one located outside the USA.
I'm tired of people telling me, because I support a small constitutionally-limited government, that I should leave the United States.
That reminds me of something I saw on TV at the time that the communists were collapsing in East Germany. I saw footage of a protest in Leipzig, and I could hear that the crowd was chanting "Wir bleiben heir" ("We're staying here.") Up to that point, if an East German wanted to be free, they were looking to escape over the wall. It's when they decided to stop complying with the tyrants, that they freed themselves en masse.
If you imagine that we had "unbridled capitalism" in the 20th century, I suggest you take remedial history course. Pay particular attention to the disasters of 1913, which made it possible for the United States to get involved in world war one. Our freedom declined sharply from that point.
Your morality (entering freely into agreements, etc.) may work well on the scale of 10 to 20 people. However, it does not work well with hundreds of millions of people.
You have that exactly backwards. Freedom scales perfectly well, while command economies don't, as the collapse of the soviets and all empires before them so plainly demonstrates.
So you think that if you buy a car from Ford, then you should only be able to use CDs from Ford?
That's one of the more absurd analogies I've seen in the last year or so. It's more like, Ford gets to decide what they want to offer, and you don't get to compel them to offer what you want. You only get to choose to to business with them or not.
I understand you are a libertarian, but that doesn't mean you have to agree with "might makes right."
Your straw man needs a bit more stuffing, sport. I didn't say anything at all along the lines of "might makes right".
It really doesn't seem like it would make sense for Apple to buy out EA.
That's because it wouldn't.
The way these rumors go, is that from time to time someone who wants to make a quick buck on stock futures will toss something like this out there. They're hoping that EA shares will take a quick jump, and they'll make money on the higher volatility.
I'm just pining for the salad days of comp.sys.next.*
We've got a lot more message volume on cocoa-dev than we ever had in the NeXT newsgroups. Sure, a lot of them are from newbs who need to RTFM, but we also have quite a lot of explanations directly from the AppKit and Xcode developers.
So do I. I worked on a karyotyping system that could have sold for about $25K, but with the cost of satisfying the FDA requirements, the product wasn't economically feasible. This product wasn't involved in life support in any way. Nevertheless, the FDA wanted us to spend millions jumping through their hoops.
. Switchgrass can theoretically yield over 1000 gallons per acre and algae 5000, although those numbers are likely to get way smacked down by reality (especially the algae numbers).
Algae should be able to do a whole lot better than that if it was grown in vats that allowed light in from the sides and had a modicum of active circulation. Or, if you really wanted to get elaborate about it, a system like this one might make a real difference.
Slashdot Mirror
anyone who would argue for the legalization of cocaine is either ignorant or stupid.
Let me stop you right there, and point out your own ignorance and stupidity. Cocaine was an over-the-counter drug once, and we didn't have anyone getting shot over it. An addict needs treatment, not prosecution.
Try googling for "portugal drug decriminalization", read and learn.
-jcr
They'll just use some other website instead.
Or else they'll just spam the personals and all the other ad categories on Craigslist like they used to before CL had the "adult services" category.
-jcr
inflation, which is irrelevant to the topic at hand
Inflation is government-sponsored fraud, and it's not merely relevant, it's crucial to the topic at hand. The single biggest deviation from freedom in our modern economy is fiat money.
-jcr
So because they exist, we should have ads for Chinese brothels in glossy magazines? On TV?
I'd leave that up to the owners of the media in question to decide. As it happens, the first amendment of the constitution concurs.
-jcr
Regulate and tax I say.
You know, I constantly hear this about all of the victimless crimes we have on the books today, and it really pisses me off. Why in the hell is the government entitled to tribute for refraining from interfering in something that's none of their business in the first place?
I want the drug war to end. I don't want the end of the drug war to mean that governments get billions in new tax revenues, in fact I want the taxpayers to get back the money we waste on the drug war now.
-jcr
The fact of the matter is that unbridled capitalism does not work.
The fact is that capitalism requires the rule of law; contracts must be enforced, money must be sound, and fraud must be prosecuted and punished. This is a very different thing from penalizing the successful and rewarding the unsuccessful. The market is the best way to allocate resources and effort, with every person making their own choices of what they want to buy or sell.
Where it goes off the rails, is when government gains enough power to plunder; once this happens, unscrupulous businesses will use the government to exclude their competition, or even to commit flat-out theft as in the case of subsidies, protective tariffs, and other corporate welfare programs. The biggest and most destructive example of this plunder is inflation of a fiat currency.
-jcr
I see where you're coming from but frankly, after decisions like Kelo v. New London, the Charlie Lynch case, and the fact that the thugs actually appealed the Savannah Redding case instead of ending up behind bars for child molestation doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the litigation route. The first line of defense of our liberty must be what we will or will not put up with on the scene.
-jcr
I was really hoping they'd fight this one.
That's a bit unrealistic. Not many businesses would try to fight for their rights under the first amendment when they're facing an opponent with a limitless tax-funded litigation budget.
The practical effect of this will be nil; anyone who wants to advertise prostitution will just find another web site, probably one located outside the USA.
-jcr
I'm tired of people telling me, because I support a small constitutionally-limited government, that I should leave the United States.
That reminds me of something I saw on TV at the time that the communists were collapsing in East Germany. I saw footage of a protest in Leipzig, and I could hear that the crowd was chanting "Wir bleiben heir" ("We're staying here.") Up to that point, if an East German wanted to be free, they were looking to escape over the wall. It's when they decided to stop complying with the tyrants, that they freed themselves en masse.
-jcr
If they are abusing power, then the best way to deal with it is to LET THEM, and report it.
Sure, cause bullies always learn not to abuse their power by being allowed to do so, right?
-jcr
Care to have a civilized discussion about just how unbridled capitalism was in the Carnegie era?
So, are you conceding that you were wrong about the 20th century? I hadn't even touched on the New Deal or Nixon's wage and price controls yet.
-jcr
What gives Microsoft the right to say what I may or may not install on their operating system?
Has Microsoft tried to prevent you from installing something on a windows machine?
-jcr
If you imagine that we had "unbridled capitalism" in the 20th century, I suggest you take remedial history course. Pay particular attention to the disasters of 1913, which made it possible for the United States to get involved in world war one. Our freedom declined sharply from that point.
-jcr
Your morality (entering freely into agreements, etc.) may work well on the scale of 10 to 20 people. However, it does not work well with hundreds of millions of people.
You have that exactly backwards. Freedom scales perfectly well, while command economies don't, as the collapse of the soviets and all empires before them so plainly demonstrates.
-jcr
Barking up the wrong tree there, you hideous freak.
Somehow I find it rather a relief to know that you find me unattractive.
-jcr
It terrifies me that you Ayn Rand people don't even understand your own philosophy.
I understand my philosophy, as well as Ayn Rand's quite well, anonymous pinkbot. Your confusion is your own problem.
-jcr
So you think that if you buy a car from Ford, then you should only be able to use CDs from Ford?
That's one of the more absurd analogies I've seen in the last year or so. It's more like, Ford gets to decide what they want to offer, and you don't get to compel them to offer what you want. You only get to choose to to business with them or not.
I understand you are a libertarian, but that doesn't mean you have to agree with "might makes right."
Your straw man needs a bit more stuffing, sport. I didn't say anything at all along the lines of "might makes right".
-jcr
That's not what he said and you know it.
It's exactly what he asked for, and you know it.
Don't be an ass.
That's advice you would do well to follow.
-jcr
I should be able to use the Windows Kernel with X, the Windows API on Linux, and Office on Free BSD.
What entitles you to other people's work on terms of your choosing?
-jcr
Steve Jobs said he wanted Apple to be the new Sony, that is, to be the leader in consumer electronics.
He sure wasn't expecting Sony to self-destruct in just a few years.
-jcr
It really doesn't seem like it would make sense for Apple to buy out EA.
That's because it wouldn't.
The way these rumors go, is that from time to time someone who wants to make a quick buck on stock futures will toss something like this out there. They're hoping that EA shares will take a quick jump, and they'll make money on the higher volatility.
-jcr
I'm just pining for the salad days of comp.sys.next.*
We've got a lot more message volume on cocoa-dev than we ever had in the NeXT newsgroups. Sure, a lot of them are from newbs who need to RTFM, but we also have quite a lot of explanations directly from the AppKit and Xcode developers.
-jcr
I have a bit of professional experience
So do I. I worked on a karyotyping system that could have sold for about $25K, but with the cost of satisfying the FDA requirements, the product wasn't economically feasible. This product wasn't involved in life support in any way. Nevertheless, the FDA wanted us to spend millions jumping through their hoops.
-jcr
Obama's EPA just gave several food-based biofuels failing emissions standards and disqualified them from funding.
If those findings are allowed to stand once the political heat gets turned up a notch, I'll be very surprised.
-jcr
. Switchgrass can theoretically yield over 1000 gallons per acre and algae 5000, although those numbers are likely to get way smacked down by reality (especially the algae numbers).
Algae should be able to do a whole lot better than that if it was grown in vats that allowed light in from the sides and had a modicum of active circulation. Or, if you really wanted to get elaborate about it, a system like this one might make a real difference.
-jcr