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How we did it in the old Navy. ER December 4, 2025 4:17 pm (CurrentEvents)

How we did it in the old Navy II. ER December 4, 2025 5:09 pm (CurrentEvents)

Rocket man BuckGalaxy December 1, 2025 9:54 pm (CurrentEvents)

Collapse of the service access platform at Site 31 in Baikonur? BuckGalaxy November 27, 2025 12:54 pm (Space/Science)

SR72 RobVG November 20, 2025 1:00 pm (Off-Topic)

All I know is what I see on the Internet. ER November 30, 2025 7:21 am (CurrentEvents)

Yesterday was the 332nd day of the year 2025 ER November 30, 2025 1:41 pm (Space/Science)

Xi called Trump RobVG November 24, 2025 10:26 am (CurrentEvents)

"Pluribus" RobVG November 10, 2025 9:06 am (Science Fiction)

I'm a California Man BuckGalaxy November 27, 2025 2:35 pm (CurrentEvents)

This is not a drill. NOT a drill. General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands man your battle stations. ER November 24, 2025 4:58 pm (CurrentEvents)

Why the reflections? ER November 27, 2025 8:16 am (GeekSpeak)

Corporate Libertarianism and the betrayal of Adam Smith by ER April 8, 2012 8:25 am

"planned and managed by the world’s largest corporations to maximize financial returns to top managers" by RobVG 2012-04-08 12:18:17
- Tell us what a "straw man" argument might look like. by bowser 2012-04-08 14:16:46
- Not even kings of old had lackeys piling bags of gold at their feet. CEOs do it the same way the ... by ER 2012-04-08 13:06:20
I constantly link to people who encapsulate my opinions better than I sometimes can. by TB 2012-04-08 10:24:34
- Another chapter from the same book, I see. by ER 2012-04-08 10:37:33
  - You agree with the bulleted points? Tell me you're just pulling my chain. by TB 2012-04-08 14:04:59
    - Yep. Every single one, although in a few areas I really don't have the technical expertise to have thought ... by ER 2012-04-08 14:49:04
      - Okay, you are pulling my chain. by TB 2012-04-08 15:05:23
        
        I presume that banking gobbledygook has something to do with how our banks are organized and regulated, right? I ... by ER 2012-04-08 15:25:14
        
        Yep. A whole lot of gobbledygook. by TB 2012-04-08 15:54:22
        
        Silicon-based macroprocessors by Robert 2012-04-08 17:32:48
        
        By the way, what the hell is a "corporate libertarian?" by TB 2012-04-08 20:29:12
        
        "By the way, what the hell is a corporate libertarian?" by ER 2012-04-09 02:41:44
        
        Get back to me when you've compiled a version of your software on one of those devices. by TB 2012-04-08 20:20:52
        
        You're really out of your depth. by Robert 2012-04-09 10:17:22
        
        I guess that makes three. by TB 2012-04-09 10:30:15
        
        How about an SiO2 slide rule? Right out of the corporate libertarian box. by ER 2012-04-08 18:28:10
    - Love those bulleted points. Much better than working for the demise of the country. by bowser 2012-04-08 14:20:33

Just sayin' by Jody April 5, 2012 6:40 pm

This is America, then. Equality. Responsibility. Opportunity. Let's give everyone an equal chance and let them ... by bowser 2012-04-06 14:34:01
- OMG...BOWSER! ...and you say I don't have a pulse on reality. It is indeed a strange world. Why don't you adopt a ... by Jody 2012-04-06 15:12:44
So let's put it in simple terms then. Except for number four, the other points are essentially true (in ... by BuckGalaxy 2012-04-05 22:29:00
- "Moral vacuum?" What do you think, Jody? by TB 2012-04-06 09:17:22
  - A "moral vacuum" is having children without health insurance. Go ahead - justify that. Morally. by bowser 2012-04-08 02:51:08
    - No... a moral vacuum is having children KNOWING you have no health insurance....and doing it anyway..thinking somebody else will pick ... by Jody 2012-04-08 09:18:35
      - So watching a child born to irresponsible parents do without health care is just fine. That is not a moral vacuum. ... by bowser 2012-04-08 10:20:24
        
        Man....I had to look up *amoral* vs. *immoral*. Anyhoo....I don't consider being a Conservative to be immoral. You do. You are ... by Jody 2012-04-08 10:37:39
        
        You believe that watching an American child not get health care is moral. Typical Conservative, Silly Putty substituting for brains. ... by bowser 2012-04-08 12:21:00
        
        BOINGA BOINGA...that is my silly putty brain bouncing around the room...sorta like your logic. by Jody 2012-04-08 15:54:13
        
        State and Federal governments, right now, spend something like $450 billion a year on medical care for those who can't afford it. by TB 2012-04-08 13:37:19
        
        Every other industrialized nation as national health care. America, which touts it'self as the richest nation in the world ... by bowser 2012-04-08 14:03:30
        
        What's the point of telling you anything at all? by TB 2012-04-08 14:24:33
        
        Funny how easy it is by RobVG 2012-04-08 12:55:29
        
        What about the kid, Rob? by bowser 2012-04-08 14:04:50
        
        "The Kid" by RobVG 2012-04-09 08:38:32
        
        Agreed Rob....and I think the average Josephine is completely overwhelmed by just about everything right now. Nothing...absolutely nothing is working ... by Jody 2012-04-09 08:47:02
        
        "Nothing…absolutely nothing is working how we would like it to." by TB 2012-04-09 09:30:19
        
        Well, I have lemme see...1,2,3,nope 7 extended family members that are doing just fine existing on government hand out programs. ... by Jody 2012-04-08 14:47:22
        
        Rob...seriously...I think you have hit the nail on the head. Bowser perceives himself a hero. A Robin Hood of sorts. Wow...this has ... by Jody 2012-04-08 13:11:23
        
        Like I said in a different post, it's a lot easier to wear a colored ribbon and yell for someone else to pay more taxes than to actually do something. by TB 2012-04-08 13:59:21
  - Your arguments as always are extremist. As if paying higher taxes is stealing every last penny from a billionaire. ... by BuckGalaxy 2012-04-06 12:12:45
    - You're missing the point, Buck. The rich don't want to pay any taxes at all. In fact, they want protectionism, ... by ER 2012-04-07 11:23:29
    - When we had the tax rates of the 90s, spending was a trillion dollars less a year, in 2005 dollars. by TB 2012-04-06 12:58:10
  - Well, there's a "moral vacuum" when the resources of a country are used to the benefit of the wealthy to ... by bowser 2012-04-06 11:50:49
  - I understand what Buck means by moral vacuum because I have a Conservative brother in law who is a millionaire ... by Jody 2012-04-06 10:55:08
    - I see that as an investment decision vs a moral decision. No one knows better than him whether his money would ... by FrankC 2012-04-06 12:02:09
      - Yeah, but see, under the liberal "moral code" it's not his decision. by TB 2012-04-06 12:59:22
        
        What chaps my hide Tom...and this is a digression, but the liberals are every bit as guilty about passing *moral" ... by Jody 2012-04-06 13:34:54
        
        Exactly. He has a choice...and it is only himself he must answer to. It is all about personal accountability ... by Jody 2012-04-06 13:11:26
Well, that certainly reads well. Sounds great. Let's ask how hard hedge fund managers, who contribute absolutely nothing repeat nothing ... by bowser 2012-04-05 19:28:02
- None of the things Jody wrote made the slightest dent, did it? by TB 2012-04-05 21:27:55
  - I said they sound good. There's a simplistic ring to them, simplistic assumptions which appeal to people whose value ... by bowser 2012-04-05 23:21:41
    - Valuing community. by RobVG 2012-04-07 10:30:32
      - This is very simple. People who are willing to contribute to the well-being of those around them are interested ... by bowser 2012-04-08 02:49:56
      - Thank you Rob...I couldn't have said it better. by Jody 2012-04-07 12:21:40

An interesting discovery with interesting implications... by Vitruvius April 8, 2012 8:03 pm

It's the Law of Unforeseen Consequences. by ER 2012-04-09 02:33:35

"Romney turns to Obama after GOP primary sweep." by bowser April 3, 2012 11:50 pm

The Democrats in 2008 nominated someone who was the personification of an ideology that has wrecked everything it's touched. by TB 2012-04-04 09:04:03
- Bush inherited a trillion dollar surplus. Obama inherited a collapsing economy trillions in debt, plus two unwinnable wars. And a ... by bowser 2012-04-04 12:11:02
  - No, he's hoping WE forget. by ER 2012-04-08 17:19:34

Visual aid on the "Buffett Rule" by TB April 6, 2012 5:13 pm

I'm going to add one more post to this thread, because I find it entirely hilarious (Let me explain before ... by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-07 17:39:16
Shouldn't there be a similar graph for Selective Service? by ER 2012-04-07 10:24:54
- "People need to pay for this country to the extent which they have benefited from it. Those who feel ... by TB 2012-04-07 11:46:03
  - I noticed you didn't even begin to challenge my analogy with Selective Service. Instead, you changed the subject. Tom, the rich ... by ER 2012-04-07 12:14:16
    - That's because the analogy stunk. by TB 2012-04-07 17:11:27
      - So the wealthy pay "most of the taxes", but a modest increase in their tax rate would not help in ... by ER 2012-04-07 18:16:53
Baby steps, man. One bit at a time. Plus, I seriously doubt that there's a way you could make all the ... by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-06 18:14:14
- So, what's the next step? by TB 2012-04-06 18:34:11
  - Well, you know, you've won. The US is a plutocracy, a country ruled by the wealthy. Your fondest ... by bowser 2012-04-06 21:07:31
    - This is not a game someone wins Bowser. We are all in this economic quagmire together. Just not all on ... by Jody 2012-04-07 08:45:23
    - No, I haven't "won." by TB 2012-04-07 08:11:10
      - Extrapolate the policies you endorse, and tell me it's not what Marx predicted. By the way, an incredible amount of Obama's ... by bowser 2012-04-07 11:27:56
        
        Okay, let's do bailouts. by TB 2012-04-07 12:02:18
        
        What Tom's trying to tell you, Bowser, is that since there aren't enough rich people in the country, and since ... by ER 2012-04-07 12:01:04
        
        TB is ignoring the main point, again. Marx understood capitalism, greed, and foretold that the TBs would insure the ... by bowser 2012-04-07 23:21:21
        
        But never forget... by ER 2012-04-08 13:21:55
        
        No, Tom is not trying to tell him that the rich should pay no taxes. Try again. by TB 2012-04-07 12:04:26
        
        "Tax the rich, feed the poor, til there are no rich no more." -Alvin Lee. I'm sick and tired of the poor ... by ER 2012-04-07 12:21:19
        
        "Tax the rich, feed the poor, til there are no rich no more." by TB 2012-04-07 17:17:39
        
        There may be fewer rich than there used to be, but have you noticed that they are much, much richer? This ... by ER 2012-04-07 17:44:19
        
        Who's making out in this economy? by TB 2012-04-07 21:15:27
        
        Karl Marx. Friederich Engels. The ultra-wealthy. Mega-corporations. Ironic, isn't it? by bowser 2012-04-07 23:50:12

What will be the future outcome... by FrankC April 7, 2012 10:31 pm

I don't think there is much we can do. by ER 2012-04-08 07:06:22
I actually have an entire favorites folder devoted to this. It doesn't give exact answers, but I think it ... by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-08 00:20:29
A good answer from a knowledgeable person. Posted here on July 31, 2011. Spent several hours with a retired director ... by bowser 2012-04-07 23:03:41

Three questions: by Jody April 7, 2012 1:23 pm

Spend some time on this site. by TB 2012-04-07 17:24:22
- Are there any other sites like that one that you know of? I'd like to double-check it's info. by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-07 17:47:40
  - It's the Congressional Budget Office. A pretty good source. by TB 2012-04-07 18:47:29
  - Where I got those three questions Maybe this will help VRB by Jody 2012-04-07 17:58:43

From the "we're all doomed" file by RobVG April 4, 2012 7:59 pm

Unless, of course, we adopt the recommended "stabilized world" scenario referenced in Turner's paper. by TB 2012-04-05 09:32:25
Does anyone doubt this? Consider the pressures. Global warming, with disruption of fresh water resources, food production, population centers. ... by bowser 2012-04-05 02:24:50
I wonder what Renaissance Technologies predicts for then? If anything, they're the guys who'd know when this stuff would ... by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-05 00:23:56

GOP bans sticks and poles in Tampa Convention area, but not guns! LOL by BuckGalaxy April 3, 2012 5:44 pm

And they say the southeast states are full of gun-nuts.... by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-04 14:18:08
Be reasonable, Buck. It's in the interest of public safety. Getting a pistol placed where a boot usually ... by bowser 2012-04-03 18:16:58
- I imagine they will not allow guns in the actual convention center? Or does some crazy FL law bar ... by BuckGalaxy 2012-04-03 20:05:01
  - Read the article. by TB 2012-04-03 20:16:09
    - So, let me see if I follow you... You are blaming democrats for a stupid gun law? by BuckGalaxy 2012-04-04 09:50:42
      - Good point. The state law (actually, a recent modification) does have Republican fingerprints. by TB 2012-04-04 10:30:22

Banging the war drums by TB April 4, 2012 10:36 am

A ridiculous notion is a ridiculous notion no matter who has it. But Iraq wasn't about taking out a ... by bowser 2012-04-04 12:02:25

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent branch of government?" (continued) by TB April 3, 2012 9:48 am

Remember when Bush and Cheney did things anyway, and the hell with the Supreme Court? by bowser 2012-04-03 14:55:11
- Which case was that? by TB 2012-04-03 15:43:32
  - "Responses to the Government's Defense of National Security Agency Warrantless Wiretaps" "In fact, the Supreme Court has never upheld warrantless wiretapping ... by bowser 2012-04-03 18:08:06
    - In other words, no case was ever brought before the Supreme Court. by TB 2012-04-03 20:13:21
      - The Supreme Court had ruled it illegal before Bush and Cheney did it. There was no doubt. It ... by bowser 2012-04-03 21:22:27
        
        You're really a lot more comfortable back in 2006 than you are in the present day, aren't you? by TB 2012-04-03 21:51:49
        
        You've watched the Republican primaries, the Tea Party screw it right into the ground. And you say the liberals ... by bowser 2012-04-03 23:45:50
If the "Radical Republican" congress of the past has shown me anything, it's that any process for choosing an elected ... by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-03 11:57:37
- It's kind of interesting how "not socialist" is now "radical." by TB 2012-04-03 12:12:17
  - Kind of interesting how anything not Conservative is communist. by bowser 2012-04-03 14:54:00
Incidentally... by TB 2012-04-03 11:07:41

Who said this? by FrankC April 2, 2012 5:09 pm

The quote in context: by TB 2012-04-03 14:43:13
Wait... is it saying that just because other people are doing well, you can take the credit? by VelociraptorBlade 2012-04-03 11:59:15
- Well, to me it says that personal success (wealth) is great as long as you recognize that it must be ... by FrankC 2012-04-03 12:43:42
  - To me...and of course I am always right...it means: With wealth comes social responsibility to help our fellow humans realize ... by Jody 2012-04-03 13:34:39
    - Sounds right to me. by FrankC 2012-04-03 15:03:20
Yo Mama. by Jody 2012-04-03 07:09:09
- She said something similar but not that :) by FrankC 2012-04-03 12:45:39
Without looking it up, it's probably either Hayek, von Mises, or maybe de Tocqueville. One of the oldies. by TB 2012-04-02 17:51:42
- Very good, von Mises by FrankC 2012-04-02 18:12:48

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