"That may be good for the country, but it will be very bad for the government. The government's power comes from the money that taxpayers give to the government. Remove that, and politicians of all sorts suddenly switch from "Irreplaceable Guardians of Treasury" to "Generic Advisers on Public Policy." Which is, actually, what they were supposed to be."
While I'd actually be in favor of that outcome, I don't think it would necessarily happen. Corporations don't actually pay taxes...they just pass the cost onto the consumer.
If they cut the corporate taxes...they come in, create more business, and employ more people who then pay more taxes, and govt. gets more revenue. More growth means more revenue, even from less tax venues...
"So not only can i afford to pay more--I should pay more and at a greater rate. To me that is the clearly moral stance and the only one that makes sense."
What the HELL does paying taxes have to do with morality?!?!
Are you saying the US was immoral before we had an income tax? Before employment taxes were immoral?
I see nothing moral or immoral about funding the govt to do its duty...which if you went by constitutional manadate, is one HELL of a lot less than they are doing now.
"Well gee, maybe the hundreds of employees who work, eat, and live near these headquarters.
Assuming of course that at least some of them pay taxes..."
Well, if the goal is to get more businesses to come to the US, and build and create jobs, why don't we go the complete opposite. How about almost no, or VERY little corporate taxes, with breaks and incentives to employ US citizens.
That would bring in companies in droves to the US.
"At least half of the stories on the (web) front page are about women (preferably topless), sport, celebrities (especially the Royal Family), and sex. A story about a topless sporting celebrity having sex with a member of the Royal Family is guaranteed front-page material for a week."
Wow...if we could have newpapers like THAT over here in the US, I dare say, we'd not have a worry about them going out of business!! Subscriptions would skyrocket!!
"My problem is he's playing too much of a moderate."
Well, so far, he doesn't have to show his true colors. He has Pelosi out there able to push the very liberal agenda, even the stuff that is unpleasing to many, many Americans (many who voted them in even).
That way, he can get the stuff through, but, not take the heat for the legislation. Pretty smart actually. He gets to stay above the fray, while that 'nasty' congress goes a little too far partisan.....all the while he still quietly signs the bills into law.
I wonder if through ANY of this, Obama is going to keep one of his election stump promises, to publish every bill he's going to sign, in its entirety at least 5 days before he signs it?
Am I the only person left on earth that like and often prefers to read things printed on dead trees?
I mean, yes, for a living, I stare at a computer all day. I read on it all day, BUT, I often take things that are important, that I want to remember and quickly refer to and print them off. I wouldn't be interested in a kindle, I like to read real books, ones that I can dogear and whatever. I find that when I have things I"ve printed off, I often doodle on the pages and mark or highlight things. I find that like when I was taking notes in school, I can picture in my head the exact page with doodles and all on what I'm trying to look up or remember.
I can't seem to do the same thing with a computer screen.
That and for a newspaper, and granted these days I only get the Sunday paper, but, I like it for the coupons I can clip. I like to take out the store ads for BB and other places, take them with me when I go shopping.
And frankly, how the hell are you supposed to start the charcoal in the 'chimney' starter without newspaper? Not to mention, I'd not like to spread out a bunch of e-newspapers on a table during crawfish season to eat off of....
Berlin wall was bad because it was used to keep people IN a repressive regime. Trying to use a wall to protect your borders from illegal intrusions, not bad...actually a tool the feds should be using to do one of the few actual mandated things they are supposed to do....Protect our borders.
"
And after you spend billions and billions of dollars shutting down all the illegal entry into the US, does that stop the flu?
The answer is (of course) no. And that means that there is probably a much better way to spend those billions of dollars to prevent a pandemic.
"
Well, it would certainly help to stop one very well known vector for the spread of that disease (and others I suppose.)
Not only that, it would stop other problems we have in the US due to illegals, and it would of course, force the current laws in place to be enforced.
The border needs to be secured, that is one thing the Feds are mandated with, yet they ignore it. Securing the borders would solve many problems, I was putting forth that doing so would ALSO cut off a well known vector for the spread of a particular disease.
"Heck, It would be prudent for everyone to keep a copy around just in case..."
I agree.
Actually don't you find it a little ironic, that the US is apparently helping fund ways for other countries' citizens to circumvent their governments' censorship, all the while trying to clamp down and crack down on our own citizens usage of the internet?
"We've never managed to close the Mexican border to illegal entry - closing it to legal entry would be a pointless inconvenience to those who can currently legally cross it."
Shouldn't this be a final excuse to close it to ILLEGAL entry at the very least?!?! At least with legal entry, you can document who and when...to help track things and at the very least give someone a visual 'once over'.
Can't do that with the illegal ones....so why not NOW shut the borders off to them?
"Lots of people don't see the appeal of driving Porsches, but you don't hear them ostracizing YOU over it, right?"
Actually I'd say that most people DO see the appeal of driving a Porsche. I can only guess you are assuming I had one due to my name? Actually I had the moniker way before Porsche started making fscking SUV's....I was going for the chile pepper.
I did have one pre-Katrina....911 Turbo...it was sweet, but, R.I.P.
But it just caught me off guard that something like a virtual world where you just wonder around, could get to the point to where you'd spend and even earn real money in meatspace.
I guess while I could see it as something as a passing fancy, or to kill some free time, I have a hard time seeing stuff like that as being something that would take so much time and energy from the real world with real people and real things to do that it would come to costing lawyer fees.
And spending money on cybersex with cyber dildos? Heck, take that same money, and I'd dare say you could find willing people to do whatever you want in the REAL world, with human contact other than your own.
"As treatments emerge, we'll find out whether they're willing to sacrifice other human beings for their own health & longevity."
I for one am willing to do what it takes to live as long as possible.
:)
However, in the case of stem cells, or even human cloning to some degree....you'd not be going out and killing 'natural' people for their organs, but, merely growing more copies of your own organs for use later. I could deal with that.
Although I have voted times Republican, I don't consider myself of a party.
I've not liked much Obama has done so far, with the exception of him turning over the Bush ban on federal $$'s going to stem cell research that uses cells from enbryos that were gonna be destroyed anyway.
I'm fiscally conservative, but, I think that pretty much any avenue for research in science is fair and open game.
I guess I don't fit into any real party around tho.
Are there THAT many people that use this thing, and actually spend REAL money on it???
Whew...get a life in meatspace why don't ya?
Seriously, while I've not every been to or used Second Life, as I understand it, it isn't even a game like the WoW type things, right? So, what do people do, just mull around in a virtual world, and spend real money to do it?
"I don't think there's anything wrong with following the leader in that department. This probably isn't the best solution for relational databases so I would think another architecture would be in place for your MySQL and Postgres traditional database layouts. And that would be just huge centralized servers running virtualized instances of Linux with MySQL or Postgres."
This is the govt. You're not gonna see mysql (really not gonna see this one for such a large datastore) nor postgres. It'll either be Oracle (I'd put my money on that), or maybe even DB2...depends on which contractor wins.
If they go with DB2, likely they'll use AIX as the OS. However, they might be going with RHEL as an OS, linux has finally made it as a valid choice in the fed. gov. for and operating system. But aside from Linux and Apache...supported by a commercial company...you're not likely to see any other open source software used.
Actually, I would have voted Oracle and Sun/Solaris as my best guess....not sure where they'd go now with the ORacle buyout.
"You mean stop letting my coworkers and neighbors go down to Cancun so they can come back here and infect me and my children with swine flu? Excellent idea!
Oh. You were talking about the guys in front of the labor pickup area. Seen 'em. Don't talk to 'em. Don't drink with 'em. They're not a big health concern to me."
Well, yes to both!
They both contribute to the problem, and I'd put forth the latter probably would address the problem more than the former.
There are TONS of the illegal migrant workers streaming across the border (both ways sometimes, as that often they do go back home to visit. There are likely more potentially infected people coming across illegally than there are visitors going back and forth from the US.
Yes, we may have some cases already here in the US, but, I'd think that even more exposer can't be good. I mean, if we're willing to already close schools if a SINGLE kid shows up with symptoms, it would seem that cutting off flow of humans from a country that has a large problem would be a no-brainer.
Slashdot Mirror
Sure should put a damper on people wanting a national central medical record database.
Well, it would for reasonable people, but, that has nothing to do with politicians and agendas.
While I'd actually be in favor of that outcome, I don't think it would necessarily happen. Corporations don't actually pay taxes...they just pass the cost onto the consumer.
If they cut the corporate taxes...they come in, create more business, and employ more people who then pay more taxes, and govt. gets more revenue. More growth means more revenue, even from less tax venues...
What the HELL does paying taxes have to do with morality?!?!
Are you saying the US was immoral before we had an income tax? Before employment taxes were immoral?
I see nothing moral or immoral about funding the govt to do its duty...which if you went by constitutional manadate, is one HELL of a lot less than they are doing now.
But, it has nothing to do with morality.
Well, if the goal is to get more businesses to come to the US, and build and create jobs, why don't we go the complete opposite. How about almost no, or VERY little corporate taxes, with breaks and incentives to employ US citizens.
That would bring in companies in droves to the US.
Well, once Obama hired them, they did pay up.
Kinda of a strange policy to get tax cheats to pay up, but, it was effective.
Wow...if we could have newpapers like THAT over here in the US, I dare say, we'd not have a worry about them going out of business!! Subscriptions would skyrocket!!
Oh right!! I almost forgot....how would you paper train a puppy with an e-reader???
Well, so far, he doesn't have to show his true colors. He has Pelosi out there able to push the very liberal agenda, even the stuff that is unpleasing to many, many Americans (many who voted them in even).
That way, he can get the stuff through, but, not take the heat for the legislation. Pretty smart actually. He gets to stay above the fray, while that 'nasty' congress goes a little too far partisan.....all the while he still quietly signs the bills into law.
I wonder if through ANY of this, Obama is going to keep one of his election stump promises, to publish every bill he's going to sign, in its entirety at least 5 days before he signs it?
I mean, yes, for a living, I stare at a computer all day. I read on it all day, BUT, I often take things that are important, that I want to remember and quickly refer to and print them off. I wouldn't be interested in a kindle, I like to read real books, ones that I can dogear and whatever. I find that when I have things I"ve printed off, I often doodle on the pages and mark or highlight things. I find that like when I was taking notes in school, I can picture in my head the exact page with doodles and all on what I'm trying to look up or remember.
I can't seem to do the same thing with a computer screen.
That and for a newspaper, and granted these days I only get the Sunday paper, but, I like it for the coupons I can clip. I like to take out the store ads for BB and other places, take them with me when I go shopping.
And frankly, how the hell are you supposed to start the charcoal in the 'chimney' starter without newspaper? Not to mention, I'd not like to spread out a bunch of e-newspapers on a table during crawfish season to eat off of....
Really....I mean, we 'could' be giving all this money to ACORN. [rolls eyes]
With what, the Berlin Wall?
> YES
That's no longer available."
Why? They aren't using it anymore are they??
Berlin wall was bad because it was used to keep people IN a repressive regime. Trying to use a wall to protect your borders from illegal intrusions, not bad...actually a tool the feds should be using to do one of the few actual mandated things they are supposed to do....Protect our borders.
The answer is (of course) no. And that means that there is probably a much better way to spend those billions of dollars to prevent a pandemic. "
Well, it would certainly help to stop one very well known vector for the spread of that disease (and others I suppose.)
Not only that, it would stop other problems we have in the US due to illegals, and it would of course, force the current laws in place to be enforced.
The border needs to be secured, that is one thing the Feds are mandated with, yet they ignore it. Securing the borders would solve many problems, I was putting forth that doing so would ALSO cut off a well known vector for the spread of a particular disease.
I don't mind legal visits and immigration.
I agree.
Actually don't you find it a little ironic, that the US is apparently helping fund ways for other countries' citizens to circumvent their governments' censorship, all the while trying to clamp down and crack down on our own citizens usage of the internet?
Shouldn't this be a final excuse to close it to ILLEGAL entry at the very least?!?! At least with legal entry, you can document who and when...to help track things and at the very least give someone a visual 'once over'.
Can't do that with the illegal ones....so why not NOW shut the borders off to them?
Which can get you kicked off forums in California for being racist"
Why in the world would that even be thought of as even remotely racist?!?!?!
If it came out of Mexico, it would be Mexico/Mexican Flu
I mean, we do still get the Asian Flu occasionally don't we? Named for the region it comes from?
Why not call it Kung Flu...after all, it does kick your ass pretty well.
Actually I'd say that most people DO see the appeal of driving a Porsche. I can only guess you are assuming I had one due to my name? Actually I had the moniker way before Porsche started making fscking SUV's....I was going for the chile pepper.
I did have one pre-Katrina....911 Turbo...it was sweet, but, R.I.P.
But it just caught me off guard that something like a virtual world where you just wonder around, could get to the point to where you'd spend and even earn real money in meatspace.
I guess while I could see it as something as a passing fancy, or to kill some free time, I have a hard time seeing stuff like that as being something that would take so much time and energy from the real world with real people and real things to do that it would come to costing lawyer fees.
And spending money on cybersex with cyber dildos? Heck, take that same money, and I'd dare say you could find willing people to do whatever you want in the REAL world, with human contact other than your own.
I for one am willing to do what it takes to live as long as possible.
However, in the case of stem cells, or even human cloning to some degree....you'd not be going out and killing 'natural' people for their organs, but, merely growing more copies of your own organs for use later. I could deal with that.
I've not liked much Obama has done so far, with the exception of him turning over the Bush ban on federal $$'s going to stem cell research that uses cells from enbryos that were gonna be destroyed anyway.
I'm fiscally conservative, but, I think that pretty much any avenue for research in science is fair and open game.
I guess I don't fit into any real party around tho.
Whew...get a life in meatspace why don't ya?
Seriously, while I've not every been to or used Second Life, as I understand it, it isn't even a game like the WoW type things, right? So, what do people do, just mull around in a virtual world, and spend real money to do it?
I guess I don't see the appeal.
This is the govt. You're not gonna see mysql (really not gonna see this one for such a large datastore) nor postgres. It'll either be Oracle (I'd put my money on that), or maybe even DB2...depends on which contractor wins.
If they go with DB2, likely they'll use AIX as the OS. However, they might be going with RHEL as an OS, linux has finally made it as a valid choice in the fed. gov. for and operating system. But aside from Linux and Apache...supported by a commercial company...you're not likely to see any other open source software used.
Actually, I would have voted Oracle and Sun/Solaris as my best guess....not sure where they'd go now with the ORacle buyout.
Oh. You were talking about the guys in front of the labor pickup area. Seen 'em. Don't talk to 'em. Don't drink with 'em. They're not a big health concern to me."
Well, yes to both!
They both contribute to the problem, and I'd put forth the latter probably would address the problem more than the former.
There are TONS of the illegal migrant workers streaming across the border (both ways sometimes, as that often they do go back home to visit. There are likely more potentially infected people coming across illegally than there are visitors going back and forth from the US.
Yes, we may have some cases already here in the US, but, I'd think that even more exposer can't be good. I mean, if we're willing to already close schools if a SINGLE kid shows up with symptoms, it would seem that cutting off flow of humans from a country that has a large problem would be a no-brainer.
I wonder if by chance this will finally be the thing that will make them close our border down south?
Pigs on the run?