If a certain choice is so good that people are willing to choose it over other alternatives, they should have the right to be able to choose it. It seems like you're suggesting people shouldn't have that choice because it "hurts the opposition." Whose fault is that?
No, it only seems that way. Choice is always good, but when a side promotes choice solely to disadvantage the other, then it becomes a farce. Case in point: conservatives who are putting Nader on the ballot even though they have no intention of voting for him. That is a manipulation of choice, and it only makes a mockery out of two-party-system reform.
As for funding smear books and movies, name one.
Very well. How about Treason? Or Unfit For Command? The fat blowhard Moore is more than matched by the fat blowhard Limbaugh, I would have to say.
Ever read the L.A. Times?
Ever read the Wall Street Journal?
You may consider it "vapid" (probably because you hold liberal views), but I base my opinions on facts and not reversal posts.
You see, I missed all of those important facts in your post. All I saw was slanderous generalizations masquarading as outrage. I then threw it back at you.
Now that election has come around the left decided that they needed to divide the country with as much propaganda and lies as possible.
Good thing its only the other guys who do Bad Stuff, and not the guys that you like. That would be, like, totally inconvenient.
I'm sorry I have many friends serving in Iraq and it is really sad how much the media portrays as what we are doing there as evil. One of my friends was given a doll by a small Iraqi girl as a thank you for what he was doing.
I have a friend who served in the Marines in Iraq. He will be protesting at the RNC out of pure disgust for the way his Brotherhood was whored. Someone else I know, from Afghanistan, boasts of the tribal he shot as a demonstration to the rest of the village. War has touching moments and terrible moments. What was the point of your cute story?
You, my poorly-spoken friend, do not know the meaning of the word "free." You should not be an American.
I constantly hear about this "Republican attack machine," but honestly all I ever see is a liberal attack machine.
I know it's not all conservatives/Republicans, but some of them are completely insane. If they're not actively pushing Ralph Nader onto the ballot (after all, choice that hurts the opposition is good), they're funding smear books and movies. I constantly hear about this "liberal media bias," but honestly all I ever see is a Republican attack machine.
you're supporting all the wacko Greenpeace, tree-huggin, anti-capitalist, anti-trade communists, whether or not you agree with them.
One group of wackos doesn't mind sacrificing me to advance their cause. The other group might make me poorer, and my ecnomy less efficient, but at least I will be alive and able to enjoy my life of poverty...
Fortunately, it looks as if they are way too incompetent to realize that loftly vision. I will be pleasantly surprised if Iraq avoids becoming a militant theocracy, and merely splits into unstable pieces instead. America is not the country it was -- if the architects of our successes in the 40s, then maybe we could pull it off; then again, those men would have scarely approved of "preemptive" war to begin with.
These people are cultural bigots who don't grasp anything outside their own limited experience.
To be fair, he is railing against the scourge of Neoconservatism, and not Republicans in general. But otherwise, it usually takes one cultural bigot to spot another cultural bigot...
A government building gets torched by malcontents, and this is justification to shoot unarmed people that may or may not have had anything to do with the crime? I sincerely hope a monster like you never, ever serves on a jury. You would only make a mockery out of innocent until proven guilty, and other important American concepts like Justice.
Actually, from what I've seen in Isreal, blowing up Hamas and Islamic Jihad leadership seems to be pretty effective at shrinking (though, no eliminating) the violence.
Remember what happened in 1968...when a small group of anarchists turned what was supposed to be peaceful protest into violent confrontations with the police
So the police have no responsibility for their brutal assaults -- it was all the small group of anarchists' fault? I don't know what scares me more, your justifications for that sad day in history, or your defense of the Swift Boat Propagandists.
I'd love to call myself a liberal; in the classic sense I am one. I find it ironic that the people calling themselves "liberals" aren't; they're just people who view the world through seriously rose-colored glasses and somehow their moral purity magically convinces Saddam to stop being a tyrant
No, sorry, you aren't a liberal. The telling sign of a conservative is the penchant for recrafting language to suit his or her purposes (e.g. 'Freedom,' 'Sovereign State'). That, my friend, is exactly what you have done, and that is doubleplusungood.
Hopefully governments won't start fucking with things to protect their client corporations and realise that everyone needs to adapt. Otherwise they might as well be full-blown communists.
Actually, they would be full-blown fascists. High-level cooperation between government and business leaders is the foundation of a fascist state.
We desire cold drinks because it is part of our culture.
Knowing the classic American love of conspicious consumption, I think it had to do with the fact that, before refrigeration, the wealthy elites of American society could afford an icehouse or deliveries of ice. They put ice in their drinks; this was emulated by whomever in the middle class could afford it. Once refridgeration spread, everyone could 'look rich' for a penny's worth of water. Ice used to be valuable, and so it remains as a cultural preference to this day.
Besides it's one thing to say that new forms of economics should be created, but it's quite another to go out and create that system. And even then, who is to say it won't be too idealistic, or just plain ineffective (communism, etc.)?
Capitalism didn't start up like some machine built by Adam Smith. There was no initial theory. Medieval scholars did not think about it. It was just a collection of individual merchants working independently towards the same profitable goal. If those sheep-merchants could have invisioned the industrial-age injustices and modern global imbalances that their system (arguably) caused, should they have ceased their work? Go back to animal husbandry, perhaps? By your logic, we should still to this day be perfecting a "fair fuedal monarchy..."
This won't be a problem as long as we can trust those in office....Abortion, prayer, school vouchers, privacy, health care; these are all side issues to keep us distracted from the fact that our representatives take millions of dollars in bribes. Once we have good politicians, we can work on the smaller things.
You know what? Murder, rape, and theft will disappear when human nature evolves out of its present state. You are indirectly advocating the status-quo by fixating upon conditions that will not be fufilled in your lifetime. Like Don Quixote, your Good Fight is a struggle against the realities of an imperfect world.
Please prove me wrong and point out any point in history wherein the majority of politicians were Virtuous and Decent men, and not aristocrats trading favors with one other. Please, just one example.
Federal courts have already stated we do not have the right to not identify ourselves to law enforcement. Obviously, we are still physically able to refuse to identify ourselves, but doing so will result in arrest.
That is only true when and if a motor vehicle enters the equation. It is not true in general public situations (i.e. you are walking on the sidewalk); the police can pull up and ask for ID, but you do not have to provide it to them.
My source is the ACLU. I highly recommend everyone read (and memorize) their What to do if you're stopped by The Police page, accessible here.
Guns shouldn't have to be banned OR registered. With gun registration, whose doors do you think the martial law stormtroopers are going to knock in first?
So you are rooting for the insurgents in Iraq, right? They are exercising their right to bear, and use, heavy weaponry against 'imperial' oppression. Or do you expect everyone to cooperate (and preferrably see things your way) when they are so armed?
replacing me would cost between $15k and $30k in training costs as well as anothe $10k-20k in lost revenues while my replacement comes up to speed.
So you are basically tenured. You have a close rapport with your management, you are functioning well in the niche you have created. As the French author advocated, that is surely the best way to get ahead in a broken system.
Unionizing would hurt myself and others like me who are well above average in skill, productivity, and value-added to the company.
Unions are like insurance. Nothing but a drag when things are going well, but nothing is more dear when things are not. Your view, while totally understandable, is rather parochial and self-limited. You don't need to care about the fate of your less-talented and less-fortunate fellows. But if your status or capacities ever change, you may regret it.
What a world to live in when people judge you by the clothes you wear.
It is much worse in America. This is a country that is obsessed with appearances, uniforms.....group identity.
A few years back, a wealthy Hispanic friend was given a used Porsche for his birthday. Whenever he used the car, he dressed in slacks, oxford shirt, and tie. His normal look was skater-geek, and wearing that typically resulted in him being pulled over and grilled on suspicion of car theft. Dressing well lessened, but did not halt, such police attention. He received more than the usual share of tickets on top of it.
If the senate holds a contrary majority to the President nothing will get done, etc.). Remember he can't do much unless the congress and senate approve it
That is exactly what makes the GOP so dangerous. A successful political party that focuses on idealogical correctness and loyalty is extremely dangerous to the autonomous system you describe.
Cannibalism, on some level, makes sense (read Stranger in a Strange Land).
Or just go to any Christian service (but especially a Mass), during which you consume the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Theology holds that the bread and wine disappear (technically, they are sublimated); you are actually consuming flesh and blood.
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No, it only seems that way. Choice is always good, but when a side promotes choice solely to disadvantage the other, then it becomes a farce. Case in point: conservatives who are putting Nader on the ballot even though they have no intention of voting for him. That is a manipulation of choice, and it only makes a mockery out of two-party-system reform.
As for funding smear books and movies, name one.
Very well. How about Treason? Or Unfit For Command? The fat blowhard Moore is more than matched by the fat blowhard Limbaugh, I would have to say.
Ever read the L.A. Times?
Ever read the Wall Street Journal?
You may consider it "vapid" (probably because you hold liberal views), but I base my opinions on facts and not reversal posts.
You see, I missed all of those important facts in your post. All I saw was slanderous generalizations masquarading as outrage. I then threw it back at you.
Good thing its only the other guys who do Bad Stuff, and not the guys that you like. That would be, like, totally inconvenient.
I'm sorry I have many friends serving in Iraq and it is really sad how much the media portrays as what we are doing there as evil. One of my friends was given a doll by a small Iraqi girl as a thank you for what he was doing.
I have a friend who served in the Marines in Iraq. He will be protesting at the RNC out of pure disgust for the way his Brotherhood was whored. Someone else I know, from Afghanistan, boasts of the tribal he shot as a demonstration to the rest of the village. War has touching moments and terrible moments. What was the point of your cute story?
You, my poorly-spoken friend, do not know the meaning of the word "free." You should not be an American.
I know it's not all conservatives/Republicans, but some of them are completely insane. If they're not actively pushing Ralph Nader onto the ballot (after all, choice that hurts the opposition is good), they're funding smear books and movies. I constantly hear about this "liberal media bias," but honestly all I ever see is a Republican attack machine.
See how vapid that was?
That's some nice binary thinking you've done there. "With us or against us" is definately the conservative way.
One group of wackos doesn't mind sacrificing me to advance their cause. The other group might make me poorer, and my ecnomy less efficient, but at least I will be alive and able to enjoy my life of poverty...
Fortunately, it looks as if they are way too incompetent to realize that loftly vision. I will be pleasantly surprised if Iraq avoids becoming a militant theocracy, and merely splits into unstable pieces instead. America is not the country it was -- if the architects of our successes in the 40s, then maybe we could pull it off; then again, those men would have scarely approved of "preemptive" war to begin with.
To be fair, he is railing against the scourge of Neoconservatism, and not Republicans in general. But otherwise, it usually takes one cultural bigot to spot another cultural bigot...
A government building gets torched by malcontents, and this is justification to shoot unarmed people that may or may not have had anything to do with the crime? I sincerely hope a monster like you never, ever serves on a jury. You would only make a mockery out of innocent until proven guilty, and other important American concepts like Justice.
You, my friend, are a fucking idiot.
So the police have no responsibility for their brutal assaults -- it was all the small group of anarchists' fault? I don't know what scares me more, your justifications for that sad day in history, or your defense of the Swift Boat Propagandists.
So what was Bush's War service, again?
No, sorry, you aren't a liberal. The telling sign of a conservative is the penchant for recrafting language to suit his or her purposes (e.g. 'Freedom,' 'Sovereign State'). That, my friend, is exactly what you have done, and that is doubleplusungood.
Actually, they would be full-blown fascists. High-level cooperation between government and business leaders is the foundation of a fascist state.
Knowing the classic American love of conspicious consumption, I think it had to do with the fact that, before refrigeration, the wealthy elites of American society could afford an icehouse or deliveries of ice. They put ice in their drinks; this was emulated by whomever in the middle class could afford it. Once refridgeration spread, everyone could 'look rich' for a penny's worth of water. Ice used to be valuable, and so it remains as a cultural preference to this day.
Capitalism didn't start up like some machine built by Adam Smith. There was no initial theory. Medieval scholars did not think about it. It was just a collection of individual merchants working independently towards the same profitable goal. If those sheep-merchants could have invisioned the industrial-age injustices and modern global imbalances that their system (arguably) caused, should they have ceased their work? Go back to animal husbandry, perhaps? By your logic, we should still to this day be perfecting a "fair fuedal monarchy..."
Once we have good politicians, we can work on the smaller things.
You know what? Murder, rape, and theft will disappear when human nature evolves out of its present state. You are indirectly advocating the status-quo by fixating upon conditions that will not be fufilled in your lifetime. Like Don Quixote, your Good Fight is a struggle against the realities of an imperfect world.
Please prove me wrong and point out any point in history wherein the majority of politicians were Virtuous and Decent men, and not aristocrats trading favors with one other. Please, just one example.
That is only true when and if a motor vehicle enters the equation. It is not true in general public situations (i.e. you are walking on the sidewalk); the police can pull up and ask for ID, but you do not have to provide it to them. My source is the ACLU. I highly recommend everyone read (and memorize) their What to do if you're stopped by The Police page, accessible here.
Guns shouldn't have to be banned OR registered. With gun registration, whose doors do you think the martial law stormtroopers are going to knock in first? So you are rooting for the insurgents in Iraq, right? They are exercising their right to bear, and use, heavy weaponry against 'imperial' oppression. Or do you expect everyone to cooperate (and preferrably see things your way) when they are so armed?
So you are basically tenured. You have a close rapport with your management, you are functioning well in the niche you have created. As the French author advocated, that is surely the best way to get ahead in a broken system.
Unionizing would hurt myself and others like me who are well above average in skill, productivity, and value-added to the company.
Unions are like insurance. Nothing but a drag when things are going well, but nothing is more dear when things are not. Your view, while totally understandable, is rather parochial and self-limited. You don't need to care about the fate of your less-talented and less-fortunate fellows. But if your status or capacities ever change, you may regret it.
Yes, announcing it in major public forums will certain help with the signal-to-noise ratio. Thanks.
Besides, when Apple closes the hole, the other side finds a new hole. Remember AOL and Trillian?
What limitations? Mine was modded to 640k, but I don't really remember anything else about it.
It is much worse in America. This is a country that is obsessed with appearances, uniforms.....group identity.
A few years back, a wealthy Hispanic friend was given a used Porsche for his birthday. Whenever he used the car, he dressed in slacks, oxford shirt, and tie. His normal look was skater-geek, and wearing that typically resulted in him being pulled over and grilled on suspicion of car theft. Dressing well lessened, but did not halt, such police attention. He received more than the usual share of tickets on top of it.
That is exactly what makes the GOP so dangerous. A successful political party that focuses on idealogical correctness and loyalty is extremely dangerous to the autonomous system you describe.
Or just go to any Christian service (but especially a Mass), during which you consume the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Theology holds that the bread and wine disappear (technically, they are sublimated); you are actually consuming flesh and blood.