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K-Mac

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Everything posted by K-Mac

  1. "These plants have been genetically improved," he told a handful of journalists... I guess I need to apologize. I certainly did not mean to upset you. I thought, perhaps erroneously, that "genetically improved" meant they were genetically modified. I do not disagree with you that cross pollination, selective breeding, etc., has occurred. I also came across this which I found interesting... http://www.plantpharma.org/ials/index.php?id=318 "Even marijuana is genetically modified through the use of colchicine, a chemical which induces multiple copies of the marijuana genome with the nucleus of each cell resulting in higher levels of THC, marijuana’s primary active ingredient." Capitalism seems to be fully functioning in the drug trade. If there is money to be made producing something, then the producers are going to pull out all the stops and technology necessary to bring a technologically better and more profitable product to market, right?
  2. I hope you're right. I do not have children and I am not part of "young America" so my views of generations younger than mine come mostly from the trash on TV and the internet that they seem to enjoy. I was quite surprised and happy to see so many young people on this forum when I joined up not long ago. Perhaps things aren't as bleak as they seem?
  3. So are you going to post the cartoon so we can see it? And your mom's message on your cake is cracking me up. Sounds like something I would do. And JMeganSnow is right. The days that are supposed to be so significant are always the biggest let downs. Just like prom. (Such a stupid affair, not sure why I even went.)
  4. Commuter relationship, low sex drive? Maybe she's seeing someone else too?
  5. You're right, I don't feel guilt. It makes me angry.
  6. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,237800,00.html
  7. I agree with you. I certainly didn't mean to imply that I was letting the men off the hook. I just know what my mother taught me when I started dating, so I can speak for the woman's problems. I'm no dude, so I'll let one of them speak for the male behavior.
  8. I think you answered it. Basically, we should not feel guilty for taking the unemployment funds because part of our income has been taken from us, albeit against our will, for that purpose?
  9. Ah, I love sports. Great job, Cogito! What a great feeling of accomplishment after you worked so hard and waiting so long.
  10. Speaking of, they're all too happy to put genetically modified pot into their bongs and smoke it! From http://www.nida.nih.gov/PDF/RRMarijuana.pdf, "Furthermore, the marijuana that is available today can be 5 times more potent than the marijuana of the 1970s." Hmmm, wonder why that is?
  11. I agree. Speaking of the rich who support theft, I read where Warren Buffet is going around lately talking about how he pays fewer taxes than his receptionist. That statement bothers me on so many levels. One level being that I just can't believe he's supporting further taxation on the rich rather than a reduction, or better yet, elimination, of taxes for all, but I digress. You could not be any worse that what we've got going on now!
  12. Last January, my husband was laid off from his job. He filed for unemployment and started receiving payments while looking for work. Reasons the payments upset me: 1.) I feel like I'm depending on someone else 2.) I feel like I am giving someone else permission to make decisions for me and/or living by someone else's terms 3.) I feel like I am accepting stolen money Reasons the payments do not upset me: 1.) My husband's employer was an idiot, irresponsible business owner (who will soon be out of business and rightfully so) and we should not be punished for his mistakes 2.) The payments allowed us to "get by" and sustain our current lifestyle while my husband was finding a new job 3.) We pay taxes and my husband's former employer paid unemployment insurance premiums (albeit forced to do so by the state/feds) so that the benefit could be paid out/back to us in the event of unemployment Being new to all of this, I would like some feedback on the Objectivists point of view when it comes to receiving welfare (of this nature and others.) Am I correct to feel conflicted about accepting the payments?
  13. Great story, Tenure! I got a chuckle thinking about you jumping around. These are nice and inspiring stories. Does no one else have one?
  14. I think I am with you though on allowing only self-sufficient, informed persons to vote; however, how would any voting registrar be able to police this? Are we going to go back to the days of taking a test before you're allowed to vote? That seemed to be fraught with fraud, and seeing as people are already able to register their dead spouses and dogs to vote, do we really want to go there? And not all wealthy men are necessarily smart or well-informed, so putting an income limit in place would not necessarily solve any problems.
  15. Unfortunately, in the South, they do. The Dems like to register them and bus them to polling places so they are assured of their votes. (Not sure if they're actual whores and/or addicted to crack, but definitely welfare recipients, many of whom, are not law-abiding.) Back to the topic at hand, I am torn on this subject. DO, are you suggesting that if I make less than $40K per year (for example), I shouldn't have the right to vote? As a poor college student and even later, as a struggling 20-something year-old, I managed to stay informed and felt that I had the right to vote. In anticipation of my higher, future income, should I not be allowed to vote on laws that may effect me in the future? On the other hand, I see where you're going with lower-income and welfare recipients. Why should they be allowed to vote on issues that will effect the people who are paying for them to get by?
  16. Happy 18th, Tenure! Hope you celebrate in whatever way makes you happy!
  17. Great post! Turning up the heat, indeed! Environmentalism even defeats the UN... http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7345310a-32fb-11dc...00779fd2ac.html
  18. It looked so "out there" when the previews were showing, so I'm glad to hear some positive feedback. I'll have to check it out. I really liked Billy Bob in Slingblade, and although he seems a little on the bizarre side in real life, I usually like his acting gigs.
  19. I went through the whole safety course, passed, then never went and got my license. My husband usually drives the Harley anyway, but it's frustrating because now they probably won't take my 6 year old certificate.
  20. Here I am in the car driving home last Christmas. (I'm the one on the right.)
  21. K-Mac

    Pino Daeni

    As with most impressionistic paintings, the emphasis on light is so pleasing.
  22. K-Mac

    Pino Daeni

    Sohpia, you post some of the most beautiful and original artwork I've ever seen. Are you in the art biz?
  23. “Members of collectivist cultures tend to be interdependent and to have self-concepts defined in terms of relationships and social obligations,” they said. “In contrast, members of individualist cultures tend to strive for independence and have self-concepts defined in terms of their own aspirations and achievements.” And the problem with this is what? Blood is shooting out of my eyes.
  24. Ah, yet another thing for the homeowner's association to drive us crazy about! Kind of along these lines...what do you think of this guy... Back in the 80s, Houston's economy was horrible due to the oil bust. Many oil and gas company employees and executives, many of whom lived in the suburbs where I was raised, were desperate to get rid of their large homes they could no longer afford, but couldn't sell because there were no buyers. They would drive out to the suburbs on their lunch break, set fire to their homes, then leave and go back to work. Well Houston was under a horrible drought that summer with soaring temperatures, so when these guys would set fire to their homes, it frequently caused surrounding homes to catch fire. In addition, volunteer firefighters were stretched thin in the suburbs during the week when many of them worked downtown or elsewhere, so the fires were just horrible all the way around. Shortly after putting out three house fires (the result of one arson) that took a handful of volunteers all afternoon to fight, one of the homeowners, whose home had not burned, arrived home from work. He sought out my dad, the chief, and proceeded to chew him out and threaten the department with lawsuits because of the muddy mess and trampled landscaping around the fire hydrant in his yard. Not to mention the muddy mess and fire hoses drug all over his entire lawn. My dad said it was all he could do to not assault the guy. My dad explained to him very sternly that his men had been out in 100+ degree heat all day in fire gear trying to keep his home from bursting into flames and if he wanted to sue someone over his landscaping, go right ahead! So based on what you guys are saying, you think this idiot homeowner has the right to sue? And if he has the right to sue, does that mean he should? Let's say this guy was another struggling oil executive, and although he did not set fire to his home, perhaps he would have been happy to see his house burn to the ground and collect the insurance money. Are you saying that he could then sue the department for putting out the fire because they came onto his property when he was not home and could not give permission, and he wanted the home to burn?
  25. Right! I mistakenly thought I was getting a good education because I was going to a highly coveted school district in an up-scale Houston suburb. (Although my family was not in the upscale neighborhood.) :-( The sad thing is, I think I really did get a much better education than a lot of public school districts were/are giving students. How sad is that?! Sometimes, I really wonder how much better my education could be if I had been challenged at all. But I digress...this is off topic.
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