Yes, i know what ex post facto is. I think this falls along the same lines. That a really stupid court ruled otherwise doesn't make it any less stupid, or any less against our ideals... nor will I give up on our ideals.
The businesses(and in effect, the country) is also getting a benefit by using their services.
You mean they get the benefit of hiring a cheaper foreign student over a US one? The fact is if the foreign student weren't available, there are plenty of US ones to pick from.
Um, so fucking what? I said I'd like to see the government CUT spending, then gave an example of MORE spending. There are dozens more, but right now the healthcare push is going to add the largest chunk, yet no one seems to really care about cutting spending. Instead of creating new programs, we should be eliminating old ones... but that doens't seem to be where we're going, does it?
I'm glad you brought up SSI, because that's another example of a program due to be cut out. Its nothing more but a Ponzi scheme, one which I personally will likely never see a SINGLE DIME of the money I'm putting in.
Um, I'm sure that this has nothing to do with the fact that the people were chosen because they would whine, know they're only going to be there a week and thus, why bother and the fact that people LIKE watching with whiney big boobed blonde whine.
I'd love to simply the tax code.. right after we have major spending cuts by our government. I doubt that will happen, given the push to socialize healthcare.
Due process of law does not mean passing laws further punishing people that have already paid their debt to society. They took the time to codify that you can't be arrested for doing what was legal yesterday but made illegal today, I fail to see how this is really a different concept.
Would you argue in favor of a law that executes anyone convicted of shoplifting, ever in their life? Do you honestly consider that due process?
And every time we try to make the US a livable place like Europe has become, inbred morons (aka Libertarians) start shouting "commie!" Just look at the hassle we're having trying to set up a relatively simple health insurance reform to be something akin to what Japan has (I live in Japan--it works!).
Well, what would I get out of paying for the health care of others? Longer wait times? Lower quality of care? Higher taxes than I already have? Canadians have such a system too, and living about two hours from the border, I can tell you many come HERE so they don't have to deal with the stupidity (their words) of their system and get better care.
So are you not able to get a visa check card? I think most people don't even realize you're using one instead of an actual credit card, and I've not had it refused for a "real" credit card.
I really doubt your claim. First, no one is taking unpaid bill X and adding a portion directly to the bill for patient Y. Its abstracted... much like the cost of an item you buy at the store has the cost of security and the cost of stolen merchandise built in. The same goes for pretty much everything you pay for. I assume you have auto insurance? If you live in an area with higher than normal accident rate, you pay more... even though YOU haven't ever been in an accident. I'd be exteremly suprised if your hospitals weren't doing the same thing... it only takes a few patients not paying to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that would cripple the hospital if nothing were done about it.
If you get picked up in an ambulance and taken to the emergency ward, they can't expect you to pay for that, surely?
Can I ask why you think someone SHOULDN'T pay for thier own car? We do have a broken system, but I don't think the solution is for me to be forced to pay for someone else's healthcare. Just as your right to swing your fist ends at my face, your right to to healthcare ends at my wallet. There's no free ride. Now, you can't be refused treatment because of your ability to pay (which is fine, I'm not saying let people die in the street), but you should pay for it, and take care of your self.
The taxpayer only foots the bill if you can't pay. Or, even worse, they'll slap the cost of your bill on the bill of the next patient./i.
No, the taxpayer only foots the bill if the person is on Medicare / Medicaid. Otherwise, the hospital is billing you because you do have to pay, and if you don't pay the hospital eats the cost.
You'd be amazed how much money the hospital actually has to eat; some of it is their own fault, because they don't have people that will properly submit the claim to insurance. But some of it is just what you said; someone without any kind of insurance, but the hospital eats the cost, not the taxpayer.
And that's not even calculating the cost in 5-7 years to replace the battery pack(s), which will likely be single-source, no OEM or aftermarket, and be obscenely priced and likely a mandatory replacement at X miles/months down the road due to EPA safety regulations or some other nonsense.
If you looking into things, the battery seems to last around 10 years, not five to seven. Also, I don't know why you believe no one could possibly make a replacement battery if most cars had batteries. I also fail to see what ETA "safety" regulations would mandate you throw away an otherwise good battery. They don't mandate you replace your engine because its old and thus less efficent... why would they do so far a battery?
Perhaps you can cite some source that lends any credence to your paranoia.
WTF are you talking about? You're comparing an engine required to physically MOVE a car which can have a variable speed vs. one that makes some tiny thing spin at a constant speed. I suspect a much smaller engine can run a generator than would be needed to move a 3000 lbs car.
They are in a position to force constant upgrades.
No, they aren't. Or did you forget Vista?
As soon as hardware surpasses average user requirements or end users get sick and tired of the upgrade treadmill, the gravy train is in trouble.
Hmm... doubtful. As people get used to what they have, they will demand more and better. Most cars have ABS now, power windows, etc. iPod just has to play MP3s, and it did that well. Now they expect better battery life, more storage, video, phone capablities, etc. Lets face it, you're not going to be editing your home HD movies on your cell phone anytime soon. As hardware does more, people also write more software to tax it further... thus pushing the envelop.
IOW, Microsoft's entire business model is bogus and is bound to unravel sooner or later. Take away forced upgrades of Windows and Office and Microsoft is nothing.
Well, I think they have a better business model than google. What is theirs by the way? Sell ad space, when most people don't even want to see ads? Make an OS that's useless once your internet connection goes out? I think google will have a hard time should we see a major criminal investigation and the feds got their info because some dumbass stored everything in "the cloud."
Um, guards being a kid and having him die may not be murder, but it certainly sounds like manslaughter. That beatings were routine doesn't make it ok, it makes it a human rights violation. yes, its supposed to be hard to convict... but to say the guards and nurse did nothing wrong is simply not true either.
You are a surprisingly stupid man. You did not pay for all of the road, it took an organised collection of money to build it.
You are suprisingly stupid because you missed the fact that I also have a right to USE a road I helped pay for. Or did you forget the "work for others without benefit to myself" part of my original post?
You benefit from not having gangs of teenagers running free on the streets; thanks to compulsory, paid by tax education. You benefit from again from compulsory education when children from families with little money get education and therefore (very slightly, you will say. Cos gubmint can't do no good) increased chances of social mobility.(And lower chance of becoming criminals- poverty and criminal behaviour being correlated/
Ya, ok. Let's go to the Bronx and test your theory.
Your economy depends to fairly large degree on the military industrial complex. Paid for by tax dollars.
No, it depends on consumer spending, which accounts for 85% of the spending in my economy.
Your food is cheaper because your farmers are very, very heavily subsidised.
This is debatable.
You benefit from having some semblance of health care for even those at the bottom of the economic pile (herd immunity etc.)
I thought the whole problem with health care is that those at the bottom DON'T have care? Isn't that the whole point... to get everyone insured? I don't need befefits from herd immunity because I can get myself vaccinated directly.
Your vile views are what is wrong with most Western countries. Hope you enjoy life through the Conservapedia lens.
I enjoy my life quite well, thanks. I'd enjoy it more if I wasn't working until March to benefit other people. While you may not like my views, you can't escape that yours amount to slavery... where each person has to work, not for himself, but for others. Note that my view here doesn't preclude cooperating with others. You believe that to be a utopia, but I'd rather direct my own future instead of having you do so. I'd rather stand or fall on my own, rather than be held down by others.
Oh, and BTW, I don't believe in that drivel. There's no god, he didn't create the universe, nor am I particlarly conservative in most regards (a woman should have the right to an abortion, gays should be allowed to marry, etc). So please, pull your head out of your ass.
Uh, that's not the point. The point is, they weren't in the workforce. They represented a percentage of people who were not directly contributing to the engine of capitalism. They weren't working to create wealth for others, or to amass wealth for themselves. And that's an important and relevant piece of data when considering the health and functioning of the economy.
So your claim is that people choosing not to be part of the workforce somehow translates to an unhealthy economy? Sorry I don't buy it, and I don't think you understand economics.
And you have a citation which backs up this absolutist statement?
Note, I never said women were the cause of the recovery. But to believe that 50% of the population suddenly entering the workforce had no effect, whatsoever, on economic recovery is absolutely absurd.
You act is if that just because we suddenly have more resources means that there's enough demand to fully utilize those resources. The economy recovered because Europe was in bad shape, thus creating demand. Whether it would have grown as much if we couldn't keep pace is a debatable matter, but our economy would have recovered regardless of whether or not women entered the workforce. If anything, its possible men would have been better off if they hadn't... there'd be a large demand on the labor market due to the large demand for goods from Europe, thus forcing up wages. But the demand is the only reason our economy recovered... it doesn't magically recover without people demanding something... and dumping more workers into the workforce doesn't make a recovery.
Of course, there's a HUGE row of free and outright open source software run on The Homebrew Channel. I run ScummVM and some games like BaSS and Flight of the Amazon Queen; also I could pirate the Monkey Island series and run that on ScummVM I guess (or buy the CD and copy it off there to run it). There's a guitar hero clone, there's tetris clones, there's a Linux install, there's a variety of games, Quake's there... things that just aren't possible without this sort of illegal crack.
Oh well, its irrelevent that you COULD use it for legit purposes. As I said, the majority don't and thus ruins it for you, and make your actions illegal. For every one of you there are 50 that just use it to pirate.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, i know what ex post facto is. I think this falls along the same lines. That a really stupid court ruled otherwise doesn't make it any less stupid, or any less against our ideals... nor will I give up on our ideals.
The businesses(and in effect, the country) is also getting a benefit by using their services.
You mean they get the benefit of hiring a cheaper foreign student over a US one? The fact is if the foreign student weren't available, there are plenty of US ones to pick from.
Um, so fucking what? I said I'd like to see the government CUT spending, then gave an example of MORE spending. There are dozens more, but right now the healthcare push is going to add the largest chunk, yet no one seems to really care about cutting spending. Instead of creating new programs, we should be eliminating old ones... but that doens't seem to be where we're going, does it?
I'm glad you brought up SSI, because that's another example of a program due to be cut out. Its nothing more but a Ponzi scheme, one which I personally will likely never see a SINGLE DIME of the money I'm putting in.
Um, I'm sure that this has nothing to do with the fact that the people were chosen because they would whine, know they're only going to be there a week and thus, why bother and the fact that people LIKE watching with whiney big boobed blonde whine.
Na... you're right, that's EXACTLY reality.
Huh... I learned about it when I discovered my dad's old Penthouse and Playboys in the basement.
I think the problem there is the particular degree... PoliSci is worthless.
Yes. They are getting a benefit working here over than at home, so I have no problem with them being taxed for that benefit.
I'd love to simply the tax code.. right after we have major spending cuts by our government. I doubt that will happen, given the push to socialize healthcare.
Huh? Since when is "life in prison" not indefintely? And we already have that for murder.
Due process of law does not mean passing laws further punishing people that have already paid their debt to society. They took the time to codify that you can't be arrested for doing what was legal yesterday but made illegal today, I fail to see how this is really a different concept.
Would you argue in favor of a law that executes anyone convicted of shoplifting, ever in their life? Do you honestly consider that due process?
And every time we try to make the US a livable place like Europe has become, inbred morons (aka Libertarians) start shouting "commie!" Just look at the hassle we're having trying to set up a relatively simple health insurance reform to be something akin to what Japan has (I live in Japan--it works!).
Well, what would I get out of paying for the health care of others? Longer wait times? Lower quality of care? Higher taxes than I already have? Canadians have such a system too, and living about two hours from the border, I can tell you many come HERE so they don't have to deal with the stupidity (their words) of their system and get better care.
So are you not able to get a visa check card? I think most people don't even realize you're using one instead of an actual credit card, and I've not had it refused for a "real" credit card.
I really doubt your claim. First, no one is taking unpaid bill X and adding a portion directly to the bill for patient Y. Its abstracted... much like the cost of an item you buy at the store has the cost of security and the cost of stolen merchandise built in. The same goes for pretty much everything you pay for. I assume you have auto insurance? If you live in an area with higher than normal accident rate, you pay more... even though YOU haven't ever been in an accident. I'd be exteremly suprised if your hospitals weren't doing the same thing... it only takes a few patients not paying to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that would cripple the hospital if nothing were done about it.
If you get picked up in an ambulance and taken to the emergency ward, they can't expect you to pay for that, surely?
Can I ask why you think someone SHOULDN'T pay for thier own car? We do have a broken system, but I don't think the solution is for me to be forced to pay for someone else's healthcare. Just as your right to swing your fist ends at my face, your right to to healthcare ends at my wallet. There's no free ride. Now, you can't be refused treatment because of your ability to pay (which is fine, I'm not saying let people die in the street), but you should pay for it, and take care of your self.
The taxpayer only foots the bill if you can't pay. Or, even worse, they'll slap the cost of your bill on the bill of the next patient./i.
No, the taxpayer only foots the bill if the person is on Medicare / Medicaid. Otherwise, the hospital is billing you because you do have to pay, and if you don't pay the hospital eats the cost.
You'd be amazed how much money the hospital actually has to eat; some of it is their own fault, because they don't have people that will properly submit the claim to insurance. But some of it is just what you said; someone without any kind of insurance, but the hospital eats the cost, not the taxpayer.
Oh, I dunno. Maybe... not spend money you haven't got in the first place?
Then you'll have no credit score, and that's bad too.
And that's not even calculating the cost in 5-7 years to replace the battery pack(s), which will likely be single-source, no OEM or aftermarket, and be obscenely priced and likely a mandatory replacement at X miles/months down the road due to EPA safety regulations or some other nonsense.
If you looking into things, the battery seems to last around 10 years, not five to seven. Also, I don't know why you believe no one could possibly make a replacement battery if most cars had batteries. I also fail to see what ETA "safety" regulations would mandate you throw away an otherwise good battery. They don't mandate you replace your engine because its old and thus less efficent... why would they do so far a battery?
Perhaps you can cite some source that lends any credence to your paranoia.
WTF are you talking about? You're comparing an engine required to physically MOVE a car which can have a variable speed vs. one that makes some tiny thing spin at a constant speed. I suspect a much smaller engine can run a generator than would be needed to move a 3000 lbs car.
No, but they carry a machine into which they insert my card and then carbon paper, and run an impression.
You know credit cards came out long before card readers, right?
They are in a position to force constant upgrades.
No, they aren't. Or did you forget Vista?
As soon as hardware surpasses average user requirements or end users get sick and
tired of the upgrade treadmill, the gravy train is in trouble.
Hmm... doubtful. As people get used to what they have, they will demand more and better. Most cars have ABS now, power windows, etc. iPod just has to play MP3s, and it did that well. Now they expect better battery life, more storage, video, phone capablities, etc. Lets face it, you're not going to be editing your home HD movies on your cell phone anytime soon. As hardware does more, people also write more software to tax it further... thus pushing the envelop.
IOW, Microsoft's entire business model is bogus and is bound to unravel sooner or later. Take away forced upgrades of Windows and Office and Microsoft is nothing.
Well, I think they have a better business model than google. What is theirs by the way? Sell ad space, when most people don't even want to see ads? Make an OS that's useless once your internet connection goes out? I think google will have a hard time should we see a major criminal investigation and the feds got their info because some dumbass stored everything in "the cloud."
Um, guards being a kid and having him die may not be murder, but it certainly sounds like manslaughter. That beatings were routine doesn't make it ok, it makes it a human rights violation. yes, its supposed to be hard to convict... but to say the guards and nurse did nothing wrong is simply not true either.
You are a surprisingly stupid man. You did not pay for all of the road, it took an organised collection of money to build it.
You are suprisingly stupid because you missed the fact that I also have a right to USE a road I helped pay for. Or did you forget the "work for others without benefit to myself" part of my original post?
You benefit from not having gangs of teenagers running free on the streets; thanks to compulsory, paid by tax education. You benefit from again from compulsory education when children from families with little money get education and therefore (very slightly, you will say. Cos gubmint can't do no good) increased chances of social mobility.(And lower chance of becoming criminals- poverty and criminal behaviour being correlated/
Ya, ok. Let's go to the Bronx and test your theory.
Your economy depends to fairly large degree on the military industrial complex. Paid for by tax dollars.
No, it depends on consumer spending, which accounts for 85% of the spending in my economy.
Your food is cheaper because your farmers are very, very heavily subsidised.
This is debatable.
You benefit from having some semblance of health care for even those at the bottom of the economic pile (herd immunity etc.)
I thought the whole problem with health care is that those at the bottom DON'T have care? Isn't that the whole point... to get everyone insured? I don't need befefits from herd immunity because I can get myself vaccinated directly.
Your vile views are what is wrong with most Western countries. Hope you enjoy life through the Conservapedia lens.
I enjoy my life quite well, thanks. I'd enjoy it more if I wasn't working until March to benefit other people. While you may not like my views, you can't escape that yours amount to slavery... where each person has to work, not for himself, but for others. Note that my view here doesn't preclude cooperating with others. You believe that to be a utopia, but I'd rather direct my own future instead of having you do so. I'd rather stand or fall on my own, rather than be held down by others.
Oh, and BTW, I don't believe in that drivel. There's no god, he didn't create the universe, nor am I particlarly conservative in most regards (a woman should have the right to an abortion, gays should be allowed to marry, etc). So please, pull your head out of your ass.
My crappy cell phone can take video.
Uh, that's not the point. The point is, they weren't in the workforce. They represented a percentage of people who were not directly contributing to the engine of capitalism. They weren't working to create wealth for others, or to amass wealth for themselves. And that's an important and relevant piece of data when considering the health and functioning of the economy.
So your claim is that people choosing not to be part of the workforce somehow translates to an unhealthy economy? Sorry I don't buy it, and I don't think you understand economics.
And you have a citation which backs up this absolutist statement?
Note, I never said women were the cause of the recovery. But to believe that 50% of the population suddenly entering the workforce had no effect, whatsoever, on economic recovery is absolutely absurd.
You act is if that just because we suddenly have more resources means that there's enough demand to fully utilize those resources. The economy recovered because Europe was in bad shape, thus creating demand. Whether it would have grown as much if we couldn't keep pace is a debatable matter, but our economy would have recovered regardless of whether or not women entered the workforce. If anything, its possible men would have been better off if they hadn't... there'd be a large demand on the labor market due to the large demand for goods from Europe, thus forcing up wages. But the demand is the only reason our economy recovered... it doesn't magically recover without people demanding something... and dumping more workers into the workforce doesn't make a recovery.
Of course, there's a HUGE row of free and outright open source software run on The Homebrew Channel. I run ScummVM and some games like BaSS and Flight of the Amazon Queen; also I could pirate the Monkey Island series and run that on ScummVM I guess (or buy the CD and copy it off there to run it). There's a guitar hero clone, there's tetris clones, there's a Linux install, there's a variety of games, Quake's there... things that just aren't possible without this sort of illegal crack.
Oh well, its irrelevent that you COULD use it for legit purposes. As I said, the majority don't and thus ruins it for you, and make your actions illegal. For every one of you there are 50 that just use it to pirate.