The United States of America is not a democracy! It never has been a democracy! it is a Representative Republic.
Please stop spreading this disinformation. And I can swear I see at least one/. post with that exact same statement daily, and always posted by an American. It's as if some Americans have their own definitions for perfectly commonplace English worlds that are radically different from those used by rest of the world.
The United States of America is a representative democracy, implemented as a republic (other options include e.g. constitutional monarchy). Some definitions, courtesy of WP:
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to either autocracy or direct democracy.
A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch but in which the people (or at least a part of its people) have an impact on its government.
On the other hand, "representative republic" is just gibberish.
If you want to nitpick we are a Federal Constitutional Republic, but I was pointing out that the government was set up in a manner to protect the minority from always being trampled by the majority.
Very few people in this country advocate taking away the greater part of the fruits of any labor,
I think you missed the point of my comment. I was replying directly to the GP's statement about "white conservatives" getting a taste of (to paraphrase)"their own medicine".
Suggesting that taxation of any kind doesn't enable people to keep rewards for work or investment is an exaggeration tactic.
When the government is taking my money that I worked for, and spending it on on social programs that gives it to people that do not work as hard as me... Then yes they are taking the fruits of my labor. On top of that it is socialism.
Personally, I think the current income tax levels are by and large reasonable,
It is not just about the income tax, but all the taxes, take for example Chicago (using Chicago because I live near it) there is a 10% sales tax from the city, plus the Cook County sales tax, plus the state sales tax, and I hope you are not buying anything that has a "sin" tax on it like cigarettes then you add another round of city, state, and county taxes.
Tell me whit a straight face that is not ridiculous! (or as I typically say it we-dick-you-more)
While I can agree that many of our recent policy decisions on this front -- and in particular the curbing of civil liberties -- have been blights, I can't agree that our government was never meant to be involved in those things, given that among the missions of the founding document one finds imperatives to "provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare."
Yes the federal government was charged with promoting the general welfare, there are quite a few Americans that feel they have overstepped in to trying to have everybody at the same standard of living. A standard of living that some don't work for but the government will give it to you.
Americans should be living inside their means, not buying houses, cars, or having children they can not afford. Now I am not without a heart sex is fun, and accidents do happen so I understand the need for very limited assistance with ONE kid and only one. otherwise there are adoption options, and as a (in my opinion) last resort abortion.
This is often thrown around like it's a great insight when it's largely pedantry. Yes, I realize that formally there is a difference between a pure democracy and a representative republic.
I was pointing this out for the sake of his "minority get trampled" stance. Nothing more nothing less
Your representatives may not be representing you, but it's quite possible they're by and large representing the constituency that elected them. This is one of the things that I find a bit amusing about the tea parties -- almost to a person, it doesn't seem occurred to them that perhaps the representation process has actually been working as intended, even if the current prevailing representation disagrees with them.
Or it goes much more like what I said after that, people do not watch the government as much as they should. and the people in power have used that to their advantage. Look at how much extra crap gets slipped in to bills, unless you are going line by line on every bill reading it (something that most of our senators and representatives don't even do) you will never find all this "pork" they slip in.
It's pretty much inarguable that the status of anybody's wallet at the moment has little to do with with emerging policy under protest, unless you're going to argue that the effects of government spending travel backwards in time. So what's the protest actually about?
I said this, but I will say it again. People are starting to wake up and see what has been going on during the good times, when they were fat and happy. Not to mention it was a artistic way of stating that people are once again becoming frugal. You took the statement too literal.
It is another thing to suggest that the problem we currently have correctly parallels the situation that the colonists were in when taxed by the British parliament.
Again to literal, the "Tea Party" is symbolic, it is not a direct parallel.
most people except the most hardcore libertarians are against deciding you should starve to death because you ended up with insufficient cash when it came time to retire.
At what point did I say that retired people should starve to death?
Here is a hint....never!
What I did say was "You will be a burden on your children" do not put words in my mouth to push your point of view.
There is nothing that Social Security can do that can not be done better by saving your money, your family, or privet charity.
I do think Social Security should be abolished and the people given that money to save or invest as they see fit.
Oh yes blame the hard working successful people for wanting to keep the fruits of their labor. (And to defuse your race-bating, I know many people who are outraged at the tax and government spending who are, as you put it, black or other minorities. The difference between them and the people you speak of is; the people I know do not use race as an excuse!)
News flash for you: we are over taxed, this is not new we have been saying this for a long time.
The government needs to stop funding things it was never meant to do in the first place; the war on drugs, welfare programs, rebuilding other countries, and the list goes on.
Social security is a perfect example. It never should have been the government's responsibility to save money for you to retire on. You don't save money for retirement... oh well! You will be a burden on your children (or if they are smart an example of why you should save money)
BTW...
The United States of America is not a democracy! It never has been a democracy! it is a Representative Republic. We are Representative Republic because the founding fathers happened to plan for just what you complain about in your last statement;
What I really think we're about to see is conservative whites in America learning what it's like to be a minority in a democracy - what they derided as "whining" by blacks and other minorities for all these years.
The majority having the power to squash the minority, the system is set up to help prevent that.
The problem with that setup is what we are seeing now. Our representatives are not Representing us any more, it has been like this for some time now. People are starting to wake up and see this, as the haze clears they look at their wallets and get angry. That is what the Tea Parties are about.
The blame falls on the whole country's shoulders, we became complacent, we let them strip our rights and our money from us! As they did it we smiled because we were living in good times with a strong economy. This country needs another great depression it just might be the glass of cold water that wakes us up.
Had no respect for Saddam, but any lingering respect I has for the US Military just died. What a grotesque and reprehensible institution, if this is what they do behind closed doors - the fact that they do worse (torture legally defined in the US as 'anything less than organ failure') doesn't mean that something like this isn't just plain and simply slimy.
You are talking about making a man who gassed his own citizens being forced to watch a movie torture?!?! I hope you are trolling!
America, FUCK YEAH!
Coming again, to save the mother fucking day yeah,
America, FUCK YEAH!
Freedom is the only way yeah,
Terrorist your game is through cause now you have to answer too,
America, FUCK YEAH!
So lick my butt, and suck on my balls,
America, FUCK YEAH!
carpool lanes HA! what are these things you speak of?!
seriously, It is real easy to sit back and brainstorm ideas, but for the 6 months I was driving with out insurance I tried all of your ideas, the problem is that people are so afraid of the people living near them being serial killers out to rape and pillage more then the Vikings could ever hope to do, they they refuse to help anybody.
(thank you over hyped news stories)
That my fellow/. members is what is the true problem with America.
or you live in an area like the suburbs of Chicago where there is no public transportation (like buses) anywhere! if you don't have a car you don't get a job because there is no other way to get to work.
some people will say to ride a bike, or call a cab..
but there are no shoulders or sidewalks on most of the roads to safely ride your bike, and a cab is going to cost you more money then you make if you have a job but can not afford a car.
All of what you said still dose not change the fact that if a car is speeding towards you the best course of action is to get out of the way, not wait for somebody to come scoop you out of the path of danger.
The first point of fail in Katrina was the individual people not thinking "oh shit! I should get out of the way", then it falls on the Town, then the Parrish, and so on up the chain.
Re:Sobol is dead when the book begins
on
Daemon
·
· Score: 1
There are some people that aren't into all the words. There are some people who would have you not use certain words. Yeah, there are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television. What a ratio that is. 399,993 to seven. They must really be bad. They'd have to be outrageous, to be separated from a group that large. All of you over here, you seven. Bad words. That's what they told us they were, remember? 'That's a bad word.' 'Awwww.' There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad Intentions.
And words, you know the seven don't you? Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits, huh? Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that will infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war.
[humor]
[hat substance="tinfoil"]
Before this the T.V. was an isolated appliance only physically attached to anything else by the power outlet.
Meaning that they had to transmit the video and audio monitoring signal over the airwaves on the secret gov frequency.
Now with the ability to interlace CCD sensors between the pixels of the LCD T.V. and hook the T.V. up to the internet. Now they will transmit those images back to the gov with out fear of the frequency being jammed or discovered.
[/hat]
[/humor]
Thankfully, with Obama in charge things may or may not change for the better, but at least they won't get any worse. Shame on those of you who voted for the senile puppet McCain and his Brunette Barbie doll Sarah Palin.
you had a awesome post up until this point. you had to throw that in there didn't you.
look Obama is a elected official, from Chicago!
If you think for one second that he is going to do anything different form Illinois business as usual you are seriously mistaken.
want to know what Illinois business as usual is, look at the news for the past week.
Now I am not saying McCain is any better, he is just another elected official.
They are 2 sides of the same coin, and that coin is the raping of the United States.
Just one is going to rape her to her face and one is going to rape her from behind.
I guess the question is; How do you want to be raped?
Question 33: If taxes equal government spending, then government debt will not get worse. If there was pre-existing debt, then it will clearly not be zero. Could not have been A.
Question 6: The Bill of Rights is only the first 10 amendments. Some of those prohibitions against discrimination came later. Could not have been B.
Slashdot Mirror
The United States of America is not a democracy! It never has been a democracy! it is a Representative Republic.
Please stop spreading this disinformation. And I can swear I see at least one /. post with that exact same statement daily, and always posted by an American. It's as if some Americans have their own definitions for perfectly commonplace English worlds that are radically different from those used by rest of the world.
The United States of America is a representative democracy, implemented as a republic (other options include e.g. constitutional monarchy). Some definitions, courtesy of WP:
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to either autocracy or direct democracy.
A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch but in which the people (or at least a part of its people) have an impact on its government.
On the other hand, "representative republic" is just gibberish.
If you want to nitpick we are a Federal Constitutional Republic, but I was pointing out that the government was set up in a manner to protect the minority from always being trampled by the majority.
There is nothing that Social Security can do that can not be done better by saving your money, your family, or privet charity.
Yes, there is. It can be counted on to be available.
Is that so? so this is being available?
I think you missed the point of my comment. I was replying directly to the GP's statement about "white conservatives" getting a taste of (to paraphrase)"their own medicine".
Suggesting that taxation of any kind doesn't enable people to keep rewards for work or investment is an exaggeration tactic.
When the government is taking my money that I worked for, and spending it on on social programs that gives it to people that do not work as hard as me... Then yes they are taking the fruits of my labor. On top of that it is socialism.
Personally, I think the current income tax levels are by and large reasonable,
It is not just about the income tax, but all the taxes, take for example Chicago (using Chicago because I live near it) there is a 10% sales tax from the city, plus the Cook County sales tax, plus the state sales tax, and I hope you are not buying anything that has a "sin" tax on it like cigarettes then you add another round of city, state, and county taxes.
Tell me whit a straight face that is not ridiculous! (or as I typically say it we-dick-you-more)
While I can agree that many of our recent policy decisions on this front -- and in particular the curbing of civil liberties -- have been blights, I can't agree that our government was never meant to be involved in those things, given that among the missions of the founding document one finds imperatives to "provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare."
Yes the federal government was charged with promoting the general welfare, there are quite a few Americans that feel they have overstepped in to trying to have everybody at the same standard of living. A standard of living that some don't work for but the government will give it to you.
Americans should be living inside their means, not buying houses, cars, or having children they can not afford. Now I am not without a heart sex is fun, and accidents do happen so I understand the need for very limited assistance with ONE kid and only one. otherwise there are adoption options, and as a (in my opinion) last resort abortion.
This is often thrown around like it's a great insight when it's largely pedantry. Yes, I realize that formally there is a difference between a pure democracy and a representative republic.
I was pointing this out for the sake of his "minority get trampled" stance. Nothing more nothing less
Your representatives may not be representing you, but it's quite possible they're by and large representing the constituency that elected them. This is one of the things that I find a bit amusing about the tea parties -- almost to a person, it doesn't seem occurred to them that perhaps the representation process has actually been working as intended, even if the current prevailing representation disagrees with them.
Or it goes much more like what I said after that, people do not watch the government as much as they should. and the people in power have used that to their advantage. Look at how much extra crap gets slipped in to bills, unless you are going line by line on every bill reading it (something that most of our senators and representatives don't even do) you will never find all this "pork" they slip in.
It's pretty much inarguable that the status of anybody's wallet at the moment has little to do with with emerging policy under protest, unless you're going to argue that the effects of government spending travel backwards in time. So what's the protest actually about?
I said this, but I will say it again. People are starting to wake up and see what has been going on during the good times, when they were fat and happy. Not to mention it was a artistic way of stating that people are once again becoming frugal. You took the statement too literal.
It is another thing to suggest that the problem we currently have correctly parallels the situation that the colonists were in when taxed by the British parliament.
Again to literal, the "Tea Party" is symbolic, it is not a direct parallel.
most people except the most hardcore libertarians are against deciding you should starve to death because you ended up with insufficient cash when it came time to retire.
At what point did I say that retired people should starve to death?
Here is a hint....never!
What I did say was "You will be a burden on your children" do not put words in my mouth to push your point of view.
There is nothing that Social Security can do that can not be done better by saving your money, your family, or privet charity.
I do think Social Security should be abolished and the people given that money to save or invest as they see fit.
News flash for you: we are over taxed, this is not new we have been saying this for a long time.
The government needs to stop funding things it was never meant to do in the first place; the war on drugs, welfare programs, rebuilding other countries, and the list goes on.
Social security is a perfect example. It never should have been the government's responsibility to save money for you to retire on. You don't save money for retirement... oh well! You will be a burden on your children (or if they are smart an example of why you should save money)
BTW...
The United States of America is not a democracy! It never has been a democracy! it is a Representative Republic. We are Representative Republic because the founding fathers happened to plan for just what you complain about in your last statement
What I really think we're about to see is conservative whites in America learning what it's like to be a minority in a democracy - what they derided as "whining" by blacks and other minorities for all these years.
The majority having the power to squash the minority, the system is set up to help prevent that.
The problem with that setup is what we are seeing now. Our representatives are not Representing us any more, it has been like this for some time now. People are starting to wake up and see this, as the haze clears they look at their wallets and get angry. That is what the Tea Parties are about.
The blame falls on the whole country's shoulders, we became complacent, we let them strip our rights and our money from us! As they did it we smiled because we were living in good times with a strong economy. This country needs another great depression it just might be the glass of cold water that wakes us up.
Had no respect for Saddam, but any lingering respect I has for the US Military just died. What a grotesque and reprehensible institution, if this is what they do behind closed doors - the fact that they do worse (torture legally defined in the US as 'anything less than organ failure') doesn't mean that something like this isn't just plain and simply slimy.
You are talking about making a man who gassed his own citizens being forced to watch a movie torture?!?! I hope you are trolling!
If not you need to get your priorities straight.
To top it off you have been modded insightful?!?
Damn! grow up.
Slashdot's power level over 9000?!?!
This can NOT be good....
---start humor---
America, FUCK YEAH!
Coming again, to save the mother fucking day yeah,
America, FUCK YEAH!
Freedom is the only way yeah,
Terrorist your game is through cause now you have
to answer too,
America, FUCK YEAH!
So lick my butt, and suck on my balls,
America, FUCK YEAH!
---end humor---
After all, we must protect the children even if that kills them.
you mean like this
That is the attitude of this country now, sad very sad.
"Obama is a socialist islamist from the corrupt Chicago machine (and besides his birth certificate is phony)".
He comes from the corrupt Chicago machine... you can not debate that, its fact! So I expect the same style of politics that brought us such greats as;
Rod Blagojevich
George Ryan
Richard M. Daley
and now....
Pat Quinn
Why do you think that Obama would be any different then the machine that raised him?
Where I live in the USA (I don't know how it is in other parts of the USA) it is recommended that you ride on the street, but there is no law.
Because you don't know how to ride in the correct position?
you mean resting your head on the cushion, moving the peddles with your hands, and steering with your feet is the wrong way?!?!?!?!?
In other words..... what the hell are you talking about? Your comment has no context.
carpool lanes HA! what are these things you speak of?!
/. members is what is the true problem with America.
seriously, It is real easy to sit back and brainstorm ideas, but for the 6 months I was driving with out insurance I tried all of your ideas, the problem is that people are so afraid of the people living near them being serial killers out to rape and pillage more then the Vikings could ever hope to do, they they refuse to help anybody.
(thank you over hyped news stories)
That my fellow
or you live in an area like the suburbs of Chicago where there is no public transportation (like buses) anywhere! if you don't have a car you don't get a job because there is no other way to get to work.
some people will say to ride a bike, or call a cab..
but there are no shoulders or sidewalks on most of the roads to safely ride your bike, and a cab is going to cost you more money then you make if you have a job but can not afford a car.
"I got this Pluto thing and its fucking golden! you just don't give this Pluto thing away!"--- Rod Blagojevich
This will really put Shelbyville on the map!
You mean it put Ogdenville, North Haverbrook, and Brockway on the map...
All of what you said still dose not change the fact that if a car is speeding towards you the best course of action is to get out of the way, not wait for somebody to come scoop you out of the path of danger.
The first point of fail in Katrina was the individual people not thinking "oh shit! I should get out of the way", then it falls on the Town, then the Parrish, and so on up the chain.
I think I'll go for a walk
There are some people that aren't into all the words. There are some people who would have you not use certain words. Yeah, there are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television. What a ratio that is. 399,993 to seven. They must really be bad. They'd have to be outrageous, to be separated from a group that large. All of you over here, you seven. Bad words. That's what they told us they were, remember? 'That's a bad word.' 'Awwww.' There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad Intentions. And words, you know the seven don't you? Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits, huh? Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that will infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war.
[humor]
[hat substance="tinfoil"]
Before this the T.V. was an isolated appliance only physically attached to anything else by the power outlet.
Meaning that they had to transmit the video and audio monitoring signal over the airwaves on the secret gov frequency.
Now with the ability to interlace CCD sensors between the pixels of the LCD T.V. and hook the T.V. up to the internet. Now they will transmit those images back to the gov with out fear of the frequency being jammed or discovered.
[/hat]
[/humor]
Oh the rest of your post was excellent and well thought out!
I just didn't agree with your opinion at the end.
but unlike most people, I understand that is your opinion just as my post is mine.
Have a happy holidays
I live in Chicago as well.
and you believe anything that comes out a of a Chicago Politician's mouth?
You must be new here!
(just some good old Chicago humor)
Why do the mods forget that there is no "I don't agree" mod?
Thankfully, with Obama in charge things may or may not change for the better, but at least they won't get any worse. Shame on those of you who voted for the senile puppet McCain and his Brunette Barbie doll Sarah Palin.
you had a awesome post up until this point. you had to throw that in there didn't you.
look Obama is a elected official, from Chicago!
If you think for one second that he is going to do anything different form Illinois business as usual you are seriously mistaken.
want to know what Illinois business as usual is, look at the news for the past week.
Now I am not saying McCain is any better, he is just another elected official.
They are 2 sides of the same coin, and that coin is the raping of the United States.
Just one is going to rape her to her face and one is going to rape her from behind.
I guess the question is; How do you want to be raped?
Question 33: If taxes equal government spending, then government debt will not get worse. If there was pre-existing debt, then it will clearly not be zero. Could not have been A.
Question 6: The Bill of Rights is only the first 10 amendments. Some of those prohibitions against discrimination came later. Could not have been B.
I see your point on 33
6 was my bad.
I retract my previous statements.