Executive has no power to do anything about any of this, so why bother with the dialogue?
Two things come to mind.
Possibly some ideas for which the Executive does have power to control may be suggested.
A vehicle to remind people that the Executive actually has no power over many (most?) things.
I mean, seriously, why do people think the President can perform "magic". Look at all the promises made by the Republican presidential candidates (simply for example), most cannot be fulfilled by the President, but must be done so by Congress.
The corporate elite simply hop in their private jet and go wherever w/ o scans, pat downs, etc.
Which illustrates my theory that the goal is to protect planes, not people. Downing a private plane is just as damaging to life and property, though more easily "explained" as some sort of "error"... Remember, the rich are not cattle.
see how your representative and senators voted on that particular item, the item you cared about, and get some sense of whether or not you want to vote for them again.
You're assuming our representatives want to be accountable... All they care about is getting (re)elected and/or ensuring the other party isn't.
He gets no credit for winding down Iraq. He and his administration in fact lobbied hard to keep the troops there longer, but the Iraqi govt forced the US to honor the Bush deal/promise for an end of 2011 deadline.
So true. Remember to remind all the Republicans who are giving Obama crap about leaving Iraq about this...
I found a petition to stop software patents, but was unsuccessful in finding one that demanded a drastic reduction in copyright term in order to create a strong public domain for e.g. sound recordings.
I'm sure there's a search algorithm to help with this, but it's probably patented. Using it would most likely cause a paradox of some sort and that never ends well for anyone. Welcome to the future.
My staff yesterday told me that one of our leading Internet companies,...
First. Why is his penis talking to him?
... Amazon, is going to create their own server and their own system...
Um, like amazon.com?
...and they're going to force everybody that uses Amazon to go through their server...
Um, like amazon.com?
...and they're going to collect all this information on each person who does that...
Um, like amazon.com?
...without that person's knowledge.
Um, I'm sure there will be a lengthy and detailed privacy notice/disclaimer telling us all the things they're going to track and collect, like amazon.com.
Malls, including all parking areas are PRIVATE PROPERTY, and the owners of that property can set any rules they like.
Regardless, those rules are not laws, hence (in this case) the photography is not "illegal", simply against the owner's policy. All they can do is ask you to leave. If you throw a hissy fit and refuse to comply, then you could probably be arrested for that...
...you can keep emails? Seriously. I deal and delete. If it's *really* important or interesting, I might save as a file in a file-system folder. At work, I certainly don't trust keeping things in Outlook.
No. They mean sexy - like you'd see on the TV show "Operating Systems Gone Wild". Usually shot in an anonymous server room, the hardware gets a little over-clocked and the OS ends up showing everyone its interfaces and device drivers... Sure there's some sloppy coding and the occasional core dump - usually with systems that can't handle their inputs. Pretty crazy stuff.
You know... I think I've actually used one of those, or something very similar, way back in 1982 or so in a college FORTRAN class. I remember the type/punch sounds, drawing diagonal lines across the side of card stacks and... Jesus, I'm old - sigh.
I can't speak for the parent post, but I was trying to make a serious/humorous counter point, using the original language of the parent, to imply that India and China have functioning manned (or soon to be manned) space programs and we - the last remaining "superpower" - apparently do not. Get a grip and widen your perspective to see that sometimes even offensive language can be used to make a point or, especially, counter point.
Or, SCOTUS could finally declare the broadband suppliers / ISPs as Common Carriers, in which case the ISPs would be screwed. While they have generally been successful at skirting this definition to date,
Internet networks are, however, already treated like common carriers in many respects. ISPs are largely immune from liability for third party content. The Good Samaritan provision of the Communications Decency Act established immunity from liability for third party content on grounds of libel or slander. The DMCA established that ISPs which comply with DMCA would not be liable for the copyright violations of third parties on their network.
Too much dickish behavior could swing thinking against them
Of course, those private companies use public resources, like land use/right-of-way and public spectrum, etc... and are usually considered to be (or be like) a utility. Many (most?) receive some sort of tax consideration as well and have to get municipal charters (permission to operate) in various localities... I'd argue that the right to regulate these companies like this exists as, obviously, do the companies. The difference of opinion is to what extent and I'd argue that the only leg on which these companies are standing is protecting their profits - which is okay, that's why companies exist - but predatory, discriminatory and monopolistic practices are illegal - at least for the sole sake of those practices.
The Republicans just spent 30 years gutting the fuck out of NASA as well as every other government program not designed to throw bullets and guns at brown people.
Hmm... Perhaps after there are some brown people living on the Moon or Mars...
...using a rather unconventional definition of unlimited...
Like Netflix (and others) - unlimited DVDs per month, one at a time.
Hmm... Thirty days / (minimum) two day turn around per disc = 15 discs / month max. Hardly "unlimited".
It boggles my mind that people can attribute SOLE blame for the deficit to the Republicans for spending 2-3 trillion on a decade of war and give Obama a free pass on spending 2+ trillion (projected) in 2-3 years.
No, I agree with you, though the Republicans are quick to complain about the stimulus spending, but not the war spending, and the stimulus monies presumably stayed (more) here in the US. Personally, I think the monies spent on the wars were simply wasted. Sure, retaliate against those in Afghanistan for 9/11, but beyond that - and especially Iraq - complete cluster fuck waste of our tax dollars.
Ron Paul has a bit of the crazy in him, but that might not be all bad...:-) Certainly better than anything the GOP had, has, will ever have. Obama had potential, but unless he seriously nuts up, will have blown it all trying to cooperate with a GOP who only really cares about defeating him in 2012 - and, I believe, so much so they're willing to tank the economy to help engineer an Obama / Democratic defeat. After all, as widely reported:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the Republicans number one priority would be defeating President Obama in 2012.
Sometimes, one can only fight diskishness with dickishness.
I'm guessing if you built a plugin AC device that just sort of created random draws on your electrical supply, say ten times a minute, for random durations, I imagine that would pretty much kill any leak of such information.
Like a refrigerator or lights, a/c, heat, water heater, etc... Sure not one appliance ten times a minute, but certainly many appliances running randomly. I usually have more than just a TV drawing power at anyone time, assuming the TV is even on.
Agreed, the Republicans should stop focusing on keeping them, let them expire (which would also raise the tax rate Capital Gains to be taxed as regular income) and let us all move onto other things... As for raising taxes during a recession... on the poor and middle-class, I agree, on the rich, not so much - they're not hurting (and haven't used their saved taxes to help the economy either).
I don't know the reason SSI and Medicare are a separate payroll tax line item, but am guessing it's because they affect pre-income tax calculations, and lower the taxable portion of income. Many economists have said that eliminating the cutoff would restore long-term SSI solvency - Medicare is another story...
The stimulus bills (of which your phrase "trillions and trillions spent" is a bit hyperbolic, unless you're actually referring to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq), in all likelihood, prevented the recession from being much, much worse (granted that's difficult to prove), but I agree that this kind of thing doesn't encourage companies to hire when there's no demand for product/services - however, this can also be said for most/all of the Republican "solutions" as well, which all seem to disproportionately benefit the rich, who aren't helping anyone but themselves.
Your last analysis that the highest tax bracket is too low and that effort should be spent closing loopholes and targeting people paid mostly by capital-gains is spot-on. Talk to your Republican buddies about that as they are hell bent on keeping things the way they are...
My first guess would be because we have a huge sovereign debt problem and those programs you mentioned not only eat well over 50% of our current annual taxes, but are projected to eat exponentially more in the near future?
Sure, though perhaps those that can are not actually paying their fair share. Now, I don't blame them for taking advantage of the tax code, I blame Congress and the lobbyists they allow to help write the tax code. For example, the issue of SSI solvency could be solved by eliminating the SSI tax limit at $106,800 - meaning, that at present only the first $106,800 of *earned* income is subject to SSI withholding. Eliminating the Bush tax cuts would also go a long way to reducing the debt over time; and please don't try the argument that raising taxes on the rich will stifle jobs creation, the upper tax rates have been lowered for *years*, yet where are the new jobs? Hint, those monies saved have gone into savings and dividends for the company and share holders. Also don't mention the desired "tax holiday" that would allow corporations to in-shore profits earned over seas; the last time Congress allowed that, the monies also went back into the company coffers and to shareholders and not, as the companies promised, to create jobs here in the USA The "debt" crisis is only so because the Republicans chose to make it an issue. Notice that Wall Street simply yawned when the debt ceiling was raised - big business doesn't really care about that.
But you're correct that something should be done. I'm not sure that cutting funds for services that many, many people rely on is the best solution especially when others can afford to chip-in a little more - seriously, letting the Bush tax cuts expire would restore the highest tax bracket from 35% back to 39%, but Republicans and "the rich" would rather slash insurance programs (and other stuff they're too rich to need) than pay an extra 4% in income taxes.
Of course, we all could just wait for the tipping point and pray things don't turn into a US version of French Revolution. If memory serves, that didn't turn out so well for the rich - though I hear that cake is yummy.
Slashdot Mirror
Two things come to mind.
I mean, seriously, why do people think the President can perform "magic". Look at all the promises made by the Republican presidential candidates (simply for example), most cannot be fulfilled by the President, but must be done so by Congress.
Which illustrates my theory that the goal is to protect planes, not people. Downing a private plane is just as damaging to life and property, though more easily "explained" as some sort of "error"... Remember, the rich are not cattle.
You're assuming our representatives want to be accountable... All they care about is getting (re)elected and/or ensuring the other party isn't.
So true. Remember to remind all the Republicans who are giving Obama crap about leaving Iraq about this...
I'm sure there's a search algorithm to help with this, but it's probably patented. Using it would most likely cause a paradox of some sort and that never ends well for anyone. Welcome to the future.
Probably Ad supported - coordinate information enhanced for a better customer experience, of course.
First. Why is his penis talking to him?
Um, like amazon.com?
Um, like amazon.com?
Um, like amazon.com?
Um, I'm sure there will be a lengthy and detailed privacy notice/disclaimer telling us all the things they're going to track and collect, like amazon.com.
Regardless, those rules are not laws, hence (in this case) the photography is not "illegal", simply against the owner's policy. All they can do is ask you to leave. If you throw a hissy fit and refuse to comply, then you could probably be arrested for that...
...you can keep emails? Seriously. I deal and delete. If it's *really* important or interesting, I might save as a file in a file-system folder. At work, I certainly don't trust keeping things in Outlook.
Go forth and pollinate.
No. They mean sexy - like you'd see on the TV show "Operating Systems Gone Wild". Usually shot in an anonymous server room, the hardware gets a little over-clocked and the OS ends up showing everyone its interfaces and device drivers... Sure there's some sloppy coding and the occasional core dump - usually with systems that can't handle their inputs. Pretty crazy stuff.
You know... I think I've actually used one of those, or something very similar, way back in 1982 or so in a college FORTRAN class. I remember the type/punch sounds, drawing diagonal lines across the side of card stacks and... Jesus, I'm old - sigh.
Damn. And I was all ready to school you (both) some more and such - sigh. :-)
Perhaps they can mix in a little Capsicum Annuum to give it a little kick... :-)
I can't speak for the parent post, but I was trying to make a serious/humorous counter point, using the original language of the parent, to imply that India and China have functioning manned (or soon to be manned) space programs and we - the last remaining "superpower" - apparently do not. Get a grip and widen your perspective to see that sometimes even offensive language can be used to make a point or, especially, counter point.
Too much dickish behavior could swing thinking against them
Of course, those private companies use public resources, like land use/right-of-way and public spectrum, etc... and are usually considered to be (or be like) a utility. Many (most?) receive some sort of tax consideration as well and have to get municipal charters (permission to operate) in various localities... I'd argue that the right to regulate these companies like this exists as, obviously, do the companies. The difference of opinion is to what extent and I'd argue that the only leg on which these companies are standing is protecting their profits - which is okay, that's why companies exist - but predatory, discriminatory and monopolistic practices are illegal - at least for the sole sake of those practices.
Your children are in Roomba mode. Find the instruction manual and reset them.
Hmm... Perhaps after there are some brown people living on the Moon or Mars...
Like Netflix (and others) - unlimited DVDs per month, one at a time.
Hmm... Thirty days / (minimum) two day turn around per disc = 15 discs / month max. Hardly "unlimited".
People are suckers for advertising.
Moths are chatty bastards. :-)
No, I agree with you, though the Republicans are quick to complain about the stimulus spending, but not the war spending, and the stimulus monies presumably stayed (more) here in the US. Personally, I think the monies spent on the wars were simply wasted. Sure, retaliate against those in Afghanistan for 9/11, but beyond that - and especially Iraq - complete cluster fuck waste of our tax dollars.
Ron Paul has a bit of the crazy in him, but that might not be all bad... :-) Certainly better than anything the GOP had, has, will ever have. Obama had potential, but unless he seriously nuts up, will have blown it all trying to cooperate with a GOP who only really cares about defeating him in 2012 - and, I believe, so much so they're willing to tank the economy to help engineer an Obama / Democratic defeat. After all, as widely reported:
Sometimes, one can only fight diskishness with dickishness.
Like a refrigerator or lights, a/c, heat, water heater, etc... Sure not one appliance ten times a minute, but certainly many appliances running randomly. I usually have more than just a TV drawing power at anyone time, assuming the TV is even on.
Agreed, the Republicans should stop focusing on keeping them, let them expire (which would also raise the tax rate Capital Gains to be taxed as regular income) and let us all move onto other things... As for raising taxes during a recession... on the poor and middle-class, I agree, on the rich, not so much - they're not hurting (and haven't used their saved taxes to help the economy either).
I don't know the reason SSI and Medicare are a separate payroll tax line item, but am guessing it's because they affect pre-income tax calculations, and lower the taxable portion of income. Many economists have said that eliminating the cutoff would restore long-term SSI solvency - Medicare is another story...
The stimulus bills (of which your phrase "trillions and trillions spent" is a bit hyperbolic, unless you're actually referring to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq), in all likelihood, prevented the recession from being much, much worse (granted that's difficult to prove), but I agree that this kind of thing doesn't encourage companies to hire when there's no demand for product/services - however, this can also be said for most/all of the Republican "solutions" as well, which all seem to disproportionately benefit the rich, who aren't helping anyone but themselves.
Your last analysis that the highest tax bracket is too low and that effort should be spent closing loopholes and targeting people paid mostly by capital-gains is spot-on. Talk to your Republican buddies about that as they are hell bent on keeping things the way they are...
Sure, though perhaps those that can are not actually paying their fair share. Now, I don't blame them for taking advantage of the tax code, I blame Congress and the lobbyists they allow to help write the tax code. For example, the issue of SSI solvency could be solved by eliminating the SSI tax limit at $106,800 - meaning, that at present only the first $106,800 of *earned* income is subject to SSI withholding. Eliminating the Bush tax cuts would also go a long way to reducing the debt over time; and please don't try the argument that raising taxes on the rich will stifle jobs creation, the upper tax rates have been lowered for *years*, yet where are the new jobs? Hint, those monies saved have gone into savings and dividends for the company and share holders. Also don't mention the desired "tax holiday" that would allow corporations to in-shore profits earned over seas; the last time Congress allowed that, the monies also went back into the company coffers and to shareholders and not, as the companies promised, to create jobs here in the USA The "debt" crisis is only so because the Republicans chose to make it an issue. Notice that Wall Street simply yawned when the debt ceiling was raised - big business doesn't really care about that.
But you're correct that something should be done. I'm not sure that cutting funds for services that many, many people rely on is the best solution especially when others can afford to chip-in a little more - seriously, letting the Bush tax cuts expire would restore the highest tax bracket from 35% back to 39%, but Republicans and "the rich" would rather slash insurance programs (and other stuff they're too rich to need) than pay an extra 4% in income taxes.
Of course, we all could just wait for the tipping point and pray things don't turn into a US version of French Revolution. If memory serves, that didn't turn out so well for the rich - though I hear that cake is yummy.