Not to point out the blindingly obvious, but the reason Romney didn't accomplish much in Taxachusetts was because he had to deal with the Democrat-dominated legislature.
That was part of it, sure. The other part was a stunning lack of initiative on his own part.
Oops, that didn't come out right. The purpose of the commerce clause is to prevent the states from erecting trade barriers against each other, not to give the feds a blank ticket to regulate anything and everything on the premise that everything is involved in trade.
For a man who says he follows the teachings of Jesus
The funny thing about that is, I know several genuine Christians, and they don't make a habit of proclaiming their beliefs. Something about Jesus having told them to go into a closed room to pray...
When it comes to federal law, all the feds will do is make it a federal issue via a commerce clause argument...which happens to be a bullshit argument, since the purpose of the commerce clause is to prohibit trade barriers between the states, not to empower the federal government to regulate interstate trade.
Ron Paul give the only answer a decent human being can give, Obama weasels a bit but half-heartedly agrees to do the right thing (although he's clearly worried about his answer being used against him somehow), and Romney fails the basic humanity test. The man is a fucking sociopath.
and he handled it in a very polite way.
If that seems polite to you, then I hope I never have the misfortune of meeting you.
Will he continue the witch hunt against violent games?
If he thinks promising to do so will get him more votes in the primaries, I'm sure he'd happily toss the first amendment into the fire with the rest of the constitution.
Bullshit. He's a venture capitalist. VCs risk other people's money, and make out big if they get a hit. I've seen no indication that Romney can actually run a business, or that he had a higher proportion of hits than an average VC.
As for being a "leader", give me a break. He was the governor of Taxachusetts, and his "accomplishments" there include standing by and doing squat while the Big Dig pissed away an incredible quantity of tax dollars.
middle America will never get around his being a Mormon
I don't think most people would have a problem with that if he were a decent human being, but he's not. So, when he loses, whether it's in the primaries or in the general election, he's got a ready-made excuse for failure.
Their choice is 1) offer copyright material to Mac and iPod users, which they can only do by coming to terms with the owners of said copyrights, or 2) avoid pissing off a handful of slashdot weenies.
Well, as a shareholder I know which one I'd choose.
It seems like it must have been just a sort of due-diligence
Bingo. Apple has a number of contractual obligations when copyright material is playing (you can't do screen grabs while playing a DVD, for example), and unless they make you jump through this particular hoop, they stand to pay out some hefty penalties under said contracts.
When it comes to screen grabs, for example, it's about a half-hour's work to write your own screen grab utility, assuming you're not already familiar with Apple's window server architecture.
I accept what you're saying, the altruistic approach is a good one
You misunderstand me if you think that I'm advocating altruism. Supporting quality education is a fundamentally selfish endeavor, because it improves my community. Altruism is a fiction promulgated by those who seek the power to tell other people what to do.
I mean, if the government isn't funding schools, who is?
Well, to be precise, the people fund the schools, not the government. The only means at the government's disposal are those taken by force from you and me.
So, we already pay for the schools, and we should do so far more directly than we do now. There's no constitutional authority for the federal government to have any role in education at all.
Don't their kids deserve to be (at least potentially) useful, educated and productive members of society?
Sure they do, and that's why it's crucial to get schooling out of the hands of the government. What poor kids get now is (at best) incompetent baby-sitting.
You don't get it, do you? When funding for education comes from the feds, the schools are vassals to the feds. The feudal system is already here, only now it's called socialism.
Want better schools? Then keep your money away from the feds, and spend it on schools that meet your standards, not the Ruling Party's standards.
This is a constant problem with life on the government teat. It makes you subject to the control of the government, whether or not the subject at hand is within their constitutional powers to regulate.
Slashdot Mirror
So, it would seem that Romney isn't just an asshole, he's incompetent at pretending not to be an asshole.
-jcr
Not to point out the blindingly obvious, but the reason Romney didn't accomplish much in Taxachusetts was because he had to deal with the Democrat-dominated legislature.
That was part of it, sure. The other part was a stunning lack of initiative on his own part.
-jcr
Generally it takes freedom to create wealth.
Certainly to create it, although not always to obtain it.
-jcr
He could also have acknowledged that the DEA's existence is unconstitutional in the first place.
-jcr
Oops, that didn't come out right. The purpose of the commerce clause is to prevent the states from erecting trade barriers against each other, not to give the feds a blank ticket to regulate anything and everything on the premise that everything is involved in trade.
-jcr
For a man who says he follows the teachings of Jesus
The funny thing about that is, I know several genuine Christians, and they don't make a habit of proclaiming their beliefs. Something about Jesus having told them to go into a closed room to pray...
-jcr
Yey popular opinion, down with educated decisions!
Not to mention principles, or the constitution...
-jcr
When it comes to federal law, all the feds will do is make it a federal issue via a commerce clause argument ...which happens to be a bullshit argument, since the purpose of the commerce clause is to prohibit trade barriers between the states, not to empower the federal government to regulate interstate trade.
-jcr
Your video shows him being setup
A guy asking a candidate what is for him a life-and-death question is a "setup"?
Take a look at how Ron Paul answered him, and how Barack Obama answered him.
Ron Paul give the only answer a decent human being can give, Obama weasels a bit but half-heartedly agrees to do the right thing (although he's clearly worried about his answer being used against him somehow), and Romney fails the basic humanity test. The man is a fucking sociopath.
and he handled it in a very polite way.
If that seems polite to you, then I hope I never have the misfortune of meeting you.
-jcr
Will he continue the witch hunt against violent games?
If he thinks promising to do so will get him more votes in the primaries, I'm sure he'd happily toss the first amendment into the fire with the rest of the constitution.
-jcr
he's a economic genius and an experienced leader.
Bullshit. He's a venture capitalist. VCs risk other people's money, and make out big if they get a hit. I've seen no indication that Romney can actually run a business, or that he had a higher proportion of hits than an average VC.
As for being a "leader", give me a break. He was the governor of Taxachusetts, and his "accomplishments" there include standing by and doing squat while the Big Dig pissed away an incredible quantity of tax dollars.
-jcr
middle America will never get around his being a Mormon
I don't think most people would have a problem with that if he were a decent human being, but he's not. So, when he loses, whether it's in the primaries or in the general election, he's got a ready-made excuse for failure.
-jcr
The man's opinions on any matter are irrelevant, because he will consult opinion polls and follow them.
-jcr
Let's buy as many of them as we can, and plant them in Washington DC.
-jcr
It's the same gosh maybe it's true triumph of hope over rationality
I would hardly describe Marxism as "hope". It's hatred under a veneer of sophistry.
-jcr
Karl Marx was one of the few geniuses
Genius, my ass. The man was nothing more than a long-winded misanthrope.
-jcr
. Dislike their choice, sure.
Their choice is 1) offer copyright material to Mac and iPod users, which they can only do by coming to terms with the owners of said copyrights, or 2) avoid pissing off a handful of slashdot weenies.
Well, as a shareholder I know which one I'd choose.
-jcr
It seems like it must have been just a sort of due-diligence
Bingo. Apple has a number of contractual obligations when copyright material is playing (you can't do screen grabs while playing a DVD, for example), and unless they make you jump through this particular hoop, they stand to pay out some hefty penalties under said contracts.
When it comes to screen grabs, for example, it's about a half-hour's work to write your own screen grab utility, assuming you're not already familiar with Apple's window server architecture.
-jcr
I accept what you're saying, the altruistic approach is a good one
You misunderstand me if you think that I'm advocating altruism. Supporting quality education is a fundamentally selfish endeavor, because it improves my community. Altruism is a fiction promulgated by those who seek the power to tell other people what to do.
jcr
I mean, if the government isn't funding schools, who is?
Well, to be precise, the people fund the schools, not the government. The only means at the government's disposal are those taken by force from you and me.
So, we already pay for the schools, and we should do so far more directly than we do now. There's no constitutional authority for the federal government to have any role in education at all.
-jcr
Don't their kids deserve to be (at least potentially) useful, educated and productive members of society?
Sure they do, and that's why it's crucial to get schooling out of the hands of the government. What poor kids get now is (at best) incompetent baby-sitting.
-jcr
In this country, it's still possible to throw the bums out with an election.
-jcr
So, let's imagine the bloggers form a union, and go on strike.
Somehow, I think I could manage.
-jcr
when the feudal system returns
You don't get it, do you? When funding for education comes from the feds, the schools are vassals to the feds. The feudal system is already here, only now it's called socialism.
Want better schools? Then keep your money away from the feds, and spend it on schools that meet your standards, not the Ruling Party's standards.
-jcr
This is a constant problem with life on the government teat. It makes you subject to the control of the government, whether or not the subject at hand is within their constitutional powers to regulate.
-jcr