The Guru Kid

WOW. I knew i should have put "/sarcasm" at the end but i figured having written a hundered other posts that are not (completely) idiotic, i wouldn't need to. This is amusing. p.s. the "WAKE UP PEOPLE" comes from any internet comment system like Digg or YouTube.

If you only understand your own goals and aspirations, how will you ever understand anyone else? No man/woman is an island and we all have realize that every person has different perspectives depending on where he/she came from. Americans have no idea about the struggles of families. WAKE UP PEOPLE! we have to work together in this and we cannot do so if you're going to use "reasoning" to strke down every one else's views.

I agree. My friends and I joke around about this kind of stuff but when it comes to relationships or sexual enconters, i don't know of anyone who has behaved immorally.

[quote name='DarkWaters' date='Jun 20 2007, 05:59 PM' post='150199 Leaving all discussions of protecting a trading partner aside (which I still think is legitimate spending in the present context of today), do you believe that forming a strategic alliance with another nation can ever be justified for the purposes of defense? I agree, just look at what Saddam did with all of the military assistance that the United States provided during the Iran-Iraq War. Of course not. But these are not necessary conditions for one nation to assist another in a war of self-defense. A strategic alliance is only valid if the two parties share ideas and agree on a course of action. And since you don't think that Israel is stupid, shouldn't it be discussed first (with Israel that is). I don't think Israel needs help right now and at least not in the form of financial help to a fighting faction.

I think it is too early in the season to give up on a candidate because he has little chance (not zero since he definitely has more chance than you and me). When it comes time to vote, i would understand if you voted for the lesser of the evils so that your vote counts.

When i said US i meant the federal government. The spending is not justified because it is in the financial interest of some Americans. And if it is war against Islamic fundamentalism that you want, that is the worst way of doing it. If it poses a threat, destroy it. Don't go around helping factions which are the lesser of the two evils only to have it backfire. Also, are you suggesting that Israel is too stupid to think or too weak to fend for itself?

Good point. Although we already had an anti-choice president choose a judge this presidential term. The senate will also have to approve any nomination.

Forgive the bullets, but i wanted to make a few quick points: 1. There isn't a single candidate who on principle believes in open immigration. Illegal immigrants did break the law and therefore i would not criticize Paul for blocking any bill that would grant them amnesty. As to whether he likes legal immigration, he voted YES on increasing the visa quota for skilled workers in 1998. 2. He is wrong in that he wants immigrants to speak English and "assimilate culturally". 3. The welfare state is an incentive for many people to come over illegally. Despite what clawg said, I don't think the system would "break down" but there would be more money poured into it to hold it. 4. The only time Paul's anti-choice position would hurt is if a series of events take place in the next 4 years: Roe v. Wade is overturned. There is enough majority in the House AND the Senate to pass an amendment BUT not enough to override a veto from Paul. The only legitimate reason I would consider Guliani over him is because Guliani would be willing to attack Iran. But because of the mismanagement of the war in Iraq, it is unlikely that Congress will grant anyone the permission to do so.

Just saw the new cox and forkum cartoon http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/001134.html Whether or not the two parties are different, should the US really be supporting any palestenian faction? Neither of them pose any danger to the US and if they do attack Israel, the aid should be directed towards Israel (if need be).

Right now, i don't think hamas has the time or resources to threaten Israel seriously. So Israel is probably just waiting for the two sides to destroy each other.

Can we at least know what song is being discussed so that we can violate the copyrights individually?

Paul is no longer associated with the Libertarian party and i think that is a lesser evil than destroying business as Rudy did. I don't see any reason in hating his libertarian views since most of them (if not all) are consistent with an Objectivist notion of a legitimate government. If the argument is that America is "not ready" for such a candidate, it is wrong because he has said that he understands there will be a transition period. And it is too early to guarantee that he won't be nominated from his party.

Nice one clawg. sometimes it is so tempting to use non-Objectivist frames of reference to show that they are self inconsistent. But i have found that generally backfires since the other person assumes that you have now accepted their frame.

The analogy he used on NHPR was a good one. When one tries to discover the motive of a crime (say murder), they are not trying to blame the crime on the victim. He thinks that bad US foreign policy can be used to explain the terrorists motives. It is the reason why terrorists hate America. I am not fully in favor of his isolationist policy because sometimes, like with Iran currently, it is necessary to "nip it in the bud". I will admit that I did/do not favor the war in Iraq.

1. US self defense: He said on the show that he thinks the American defense is weaker than ever and should be boosted. He is not like the leftists who respects the Islamic culture but rather argues the effects of "blowback". I don't see how his foreign policy is any worse than the current administrations non-war in Iraq. 2. He is anti illegal immigration. In this regard his positions are the same as any other republican candidates. 3. He does not think Roe v. Wade is a good idea but would likely leave the decision up to individual states.

Even before i started attending high school, i knew i wanted to pursue science as my career. But after being a physics major for 2 years in Worcester Polytechninc Institute i am beginning to question why anyone would study pure science. I have focused on this question because similar ones were posed to me by fellow engineering students. "What practical purpose does that serve?". I suppose the answer to that could be that many pursuits of science today will be used in future technology. But that is not guranteed and most likely whatever physicists are working on today, they will not live to see its applications. And i know that that is only an excuse used to achieve grants or donations from patrons and that the real reason is simply intellectual curiousity. I am having an especially hard time with this because i cannot seem to reconcile pursuing pure physics with the Objectivist notion of productive work which can be traded for other values on the market. For now I am considering doing applied physics or engineering for my graduate studies but the question remains as to why anyone would ever pursue pure science. Guru p.s. I exclude biology and other such sciences when I say pure science not due to their inherent nature but because they are obviously directly practical.

At least in the United States, many people (including those who actively practice religion) believe in the separation of church and state. Moreover, there are many different religions with different factions so i doubt that one set of religious moralists can take over the government. It is also easier to argue against religion than socialism since most people agree with reason at least in principle. To argue against socialism, one has to start from the beginning about how man is a rational being whose highest purpose is to further his own life etc. Socialism despite disagreements, follows a singular path and is appealing to many "intellectuals" who beam and say that it CAN work and that the failed examples in history were due to failed cooperation or leadership.

She actually said the word communal? So I guess she's not a socialist but a communist. whew. Guru p.s. how can you have communal responsibility AND prosperity?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...l=la-home-world Does this remind anyone else of little Nicci from Faith of the Fallen? Even if we, for a moment, forget that that money is forcefully taken from the citizens of the country, aid to Africa does not WORK! http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiege...,363663,00.html While i'm at it, i also want to comment on a tv commercial i saw. It went something like, "This little girl [somewhere in Latin America] has to walk miles barefoot because she cannot afford shoes". um, so what? I have been in plenty Indian villages where people walk fine without shoes. Not that i'm advocating to stop stomping on mother nature with man's evil creation of shoes, but to point out that many in the west feel that just because people do not live in the same conditions as they do, that it must be hell on earth.

Moebius Has the American government "ripped off" the Iranian government? Or have the Americans ripped off Iranians? How?

Thanks for creating this thread. I have for a while wanted to talk about choosing my career path in science. Currently, i am studying physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Mass. I chose this for the simple reason that i like physics. But after meeting a lot of engineering students at my school who criticize physics as not being so directly practical. Being a free market fan, i understood their point. Studying physics is "cool" and satisfies some intellectual curiosities but has no practical value. I understand that the progress of science (at least historically) has not been possible because of scientists wanting to make a practical tool for sale but rather to just understand nature. But this is why we constantly find scientists begging for grants from either the government or from the universities. Of course there is such a thing as applied physics which is what i plan on studying at grad school.

I have a similar situation with my summer internship. I think they may have hired me, a physics major with only one year of college, because my father works there. But he does not have any authority to hire me. Unless you are certainly unqualified for the work, I would leave it up to them to decide. To assume that nepotism has occured and reject a job that you think you are qualified for the job is just ridiculous.

Good find! I like it that Dennis Miller is exposed to and a fan of Ayn Rand. But, his theory about going through Iraq so that we can eventually go to Iran makes NO sense.

I agree that it shouldn't be called music. But i also think it is somewhat amusing in a casual sort of way. Plus, no one is going to buy worm cd...they will just download it.

The head of the household will have to go back to the home country before they can apply for permanent residency. What the hell is the point of that? I also wonder how many people will actually want to obtain the "z visas" and pay the fine of $5000. I would rather just stay an illegal immigrant, save the money from the fine and by not having to pay taxes.