Scott_Connery
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Posts posted by Scott_Connery
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As I understand it, Greece cannot be kicked out of the EU. They have no real reason to leave either. They can either get Germany to bail them out, or default on their debts.
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When in doubt, do the opposite of what the corrupt statist teacher's union does.
Don't participate in events organized by them. Your wife's absence can only be seen as solidarity with them. This sanction can only further empower the union.
As an alternative, you might consider having your wife publish op-eds and contact the media. A public school teacher in favor of accountability might be enough of a novelty to get attention. Once you have that attention, you could highlight some of the shortcomings of the bill.
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If you are interested, read The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics. It basically details how Branden was a con-man who cheated Rand out of a large amount of money, and an even larger amount of time under false pretenses.
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I think it is a step in the right direction. Just because marijuana has some potential for abuse (though I think far less than alcohol, or tobacco) does not in any way shape or form grant legitimacy to prohibition.
A better step would be to legalize it with no taxes or regulations, barring auto/industrial accidents with someone under the influence.
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Most people think of extreme right wing as being fascist nationals. Left wing means Communists.
This is non-sense of course, because those two positions are very similar.
This paradigm was introduced by communists who correctly thought that if people had to choose between Nazis and Communists, that they would pick communists.
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WWII started when Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. They also gobbled up many countries that were not at all eager to be gobbled up on their march to Berlin.
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I would not buy gold (or any form of gold paper) and let someone else hold it. It is too easy for them to sell the same gold more than once.
The small premium to get the real thing is easily worth it.
I like gold mining stocks, because I feel confident that the companies aren't selling more shares of their stock than they admit.
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It's gotten up to 101.8 so far. It isn't especially enjoyable.
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I have swine flu. Hurray!
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Reminds me of this quote by Heidegger:
"May world in its worlding be the nearest of all nearing that nears, as it brings the truth of Being near to man’s essence, and so gives man to belong to the disclosing bringing-to-pass that is a bringing into its own."
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Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time getting the facts out. For what it is worth, I'm glad you are doing the right thing by fighting it.
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Oh, I'm pretty sure a nuclear explosion would blow up a spaceship.
It was a serious project called "Orion" The government got as far as building a chemical explosion model. I think it has a real chance of working.
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That would be what it would take to convince someone to buy our current liabilities.
I think those entitlement programs are so firmly committed that we will see the country burn before we see them end.
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I recently read a blog:
Which among many other things mentioned the total government debt load per capita in the US. Including the present value of entitlement programs like medicare, and social security, we owe at least $53 trillion dollars according to the former Comptroller of the Currency of America, David Walker. So, per capita we owe at least $200,000. This figure includes every last citizen.
That 200,000 figure got me thinking. Exactly how much does America need to spend per capita to service that debt?
Well, if someone was so kind as to offer America a 30 year fixed loan at 5% to cover $200,000 we would each owe $12,883 annually on top of all other government expenditures.
That doesn't sound so bad at first, but then I realized my wife owed that much too. Every person owes that, not just income earners.
Nationally we would owe (using the census figure of 304,059,724) $3,917,408,184,904.32 just to service our debt.
If on the other hand, our hypothetical lenders decided we were not such a good credit risk and charged us 7% we would owe:
$15,957.20 each annually,
and
$4,854,982,425,052.80 annually as a nation.
So, let's look at the income and debt of an average American household.
The average household income for 2007 according to the census bureau (I suspect it's worse now due to un-employment) was $50,233.
The average household size was 3.19 according to the last census information. So, at 5% the average family owes $41,096.77 to service government debt.
At 7% the average family owes $50903.47 just to service government debt.
Now for you bankers out there, let's consider this for a moment. What interest rate would you charge a family that owed $638000 and had a combined income of $50,233?
Don't forget that this family has other debts, like a mortgage, student loans, car payments, and credit card bills.
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Yes, I completely understand that there really is no good reason for a civilian possess such extreme weapons as nukes. I just don't see how it necessarily follows that a person simply cannot be allowed to *have* a nuke, for whatever bizarre reason they want. I was only trying to point out that a person may have an irrational reason for wanting something. The person intends to use his bomb *only* for self-defense, even though you and I both know his scenario wouldn't occur.
I can think of at least two "legitimate" or non-force initiating reasons to own a nuke, aside from protecting himself from a tyrannical gorvernment.
A nuke could be used for mining, or for space-ship propulsion.
The principle that needs to be upheld is that the initiation of force is banned, not the ownership of inanimate objects which scare some people.
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I think you are just looking at Hollywood sci-fi. That is your problem. Hollywood ruins everything they touch.
Read everything by Heinlein, Niven. and Pournelle.
When you are done with them, in several years, you might look at Weber and Ringo.
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The only real thing to say is that anyone that thinks Rand's philosophy was an economic one simply hasn't read much.
Rand started with A=A, not Capitalism=good.
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Check out coinflation.com, they give the metal content values for most all coins in the past century.
It is also a neat measure of inflation.
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Don't hold your breath looking for silver. It was all sorted out decades ago. (Silver's last year was 1964.) The only hope you have of finding it is if someone unwittingly spent part of someone else's collection recently.
Nickels are worth almost 4 cents right now. I predict we will see them go over face value shortly.
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I loved it, it is one of my favorite pixar movies yet. That puts it high in the running for favorite movie period. It has a beautiful message, and is beautifully animated. It was also one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. It made me cry a lot.
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I struggle to understand how many things could be privatized simply because they are so huge. Examples: Fire Fighters, Police, and Road Construction. Isn't justice a right? And shouldn't police be provided because of this?
Fire fighters, and road construction are already done privately in a large number of areas. We don't have to wonder about how they work, we can simply observe.
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I've heard a lot of speculation that the reporters were actually dragged in across the border which changes the dynmaic greatly.
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I'm glad to hear you are interested.
I suggest Atlas Shrugged first. After that, move onto the nonfiction like Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.
Her collections of essays like Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, and The Virtue of Selfishness are quick and worthwhile reads.
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Many rural areas are served by private fire departments right now. It works out just fine.
The problem with this guy called Jesus of Nazareth
in Ethics
Posted
Also, as far as I have been able to find, there is no evidence that this person ever actually existed. No one who was born while he was alive wrote a single word about him or the miracles he supposedly performed.