1,352 Forum Posts by "Commander-K25"
The purpose of a government is to protect the rights and lives of its citizens while interfering with them as little as possible. The government is not supposed to ensure that evryone is happy or that everyone is successful, but simply that people are free and unhindered in their pursuits. The more government interferes, the more it tries to do, the more it screws things up. Government will never run your life better than you can.
Personally, I believe that greatest government is that which is outlined in the United States Constitution. If only we could restore our government to those principles....
A good starting point: National Platform of the Libertarian Party
Is downloading music right in a legal sense? No, probably not, but the music companies aren't exactly endearing themselves to the public with their lawsuits. They're trying to prop up an outdated business model and resist technological change. However, technological change is inexorable and if they go with it they will ultimately be better off.
The music industry once resisted the self-playing piano and recorded music for the same reasons: they were going to be 'put out of business'. At least that's what they thought, but when they embraced new technologies, they found that there was far more money in recorded music than sheet music, they simply had to rethink their businesses. That's what the music industry must do now, because you can't stop change, and suing over it just pisses everyone off.
Are Ted's goats a 'business expense'?
At 2/18/04 09:45 PM, fhqwgads wrote: It's kind of old, but can you believe those french? turning thier backs on us like that. we're in war, we can use thier help, and just like that those stankey asssed pansies shoe us away. (French Accent) "No no. you never helped uz. we helped ourzelvez in ze world war two." am i the only one pissed here?
"There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard."
-George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
At 2/18/04 10:00 PM, Dagodevas wrote:
Actually France didn't help out that much. To be honest, they showed-up rather late to help. We kind of ended up doing a lot of the work ourselves.
France helped immensely, though it was more in their own interest, (i.e. revenge at Britain), than for any ideals of liberty and self-determination. They helped tie up Britain in Europe and then used their fleet and troops to support the colonials.
At 2/18/04 10:40 PM, punk_hippy wrote:
That's not what I heard.
You miss my point. What I'm saying is that the world is no longer polarized between absolutely rich and miserably poor. The stark contrasts between rich and poor as in the Industrial Revolution era have disappeared; There is much more gray area now and thus few solidly defined 'classes' as such. To support socialism and/or communism requires one to see the world in almost black and white extremes, ruch vs. poor, but real life is rarely that simple.
At 2/18/04 10:46 PM, -redskunk- wrote: No, they don't speak to his intelligence or policies. But they're very important in contemporary politics.
Very true, but I'm talking about what matters, not 'electability'.
At 2/15/04 09:50 PM, MarijuanaClock wrote:
I'm advocating revolution. Workers fighting the bourgeoisie, not each other. Get it?
No War Between Nations - No Peace Between Classes
You do realize that the year is not 1900, right? The rise of the middle class and general economic advancement made the concept of 'class struggle' obsolete long ago.
Although not exactly a supporter, I don't think he's as bad as many believe. He is neither stupid nor tyrannical; The wisdom and effectiveness of his policies will, like all presidents, be judged by history and not Hollywood actors or leftist authors.
Many people deride him for his appearance or his public-speaking skills. Yet, these are not valid political issues nor do they speak to his intelligence or policies. People that expound these sorts of trivial details only prove that they are not really concerned with politics or rational thought. I would also remind these people that many presidents have had poor public speaking skills, (people such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln), and that few people in their 50s are particularly handsome.
DDR? Never played it really, but I see those people at the mall all the time.
At 2/16/04 04:08 PM, TheExcuse wrote: ....You fucking rednecks jus need to stop sucking down all those beers and open your eyes. Read a newspaper. Something other than watch 30 fucking cars go around a circular track for 6 hours. Fuck all you racists.
A brilliant response to a an equally brilliant post.
People love to whine about Christians "forcing their values on people" when they promote themselves. Yet, promotion is not force, its advertisement and anyone has a right to do that. Seeing a Burger King commercial does not man that the company is forcing its product on you.
Second, what's wrong with a group starting an afterschool club-type program? They're not forcing anybody to join nor are they interfereing with other students since its after school. I am assuming that this group was organized by students, so the school is not obligated to then go and create Islamic, Jewish or Hindu afterschool clubs if it did not create the Christian club. If there are students that want other religious clubs, they should create them.
As for the equal representation argument, I hope you enjoy the KKK club being given equal time to counter any sort of pro-diversity group.
The flags were extended into a "flying" position with metal wires built into them. Otherwise, they would just hang limply at the pole, (no wind on the moon), and that doesn't make for a good photo-op.
As for freedom and capitalism, what about the freedom to run my own business if I am industrious and capable of doing so? What about working a job of my choosing and taking home the money I earn? Those are freedoms too, yet marxism would have me work a specific job for the 'greater good'. And keeping my own earnings would be out of the question because I would have to give everything to the almighty state which would then tell me what I need and how it is going to be provided to me. That's not freedom, that's dictatorship over your life.
Marxist theory is great for what it is, a theory. Unfortunantly, it doesn't work in real life because people are not equal. No matter how hard we try to control things or to balance the social equation, you will never be able to eliminate the natural inequalities that people are born with.
People have different personalities, different strengths and weaknesses. Marxist theory however wants us to believe everyone is the same and can be treated as statistics on a sheet or variables in a social equation. People are not like that, though. They change, they adapt, they differ. Marxism cannot deal with the unavoidable inequalities so it tries to control and eliminate them, often with force. That's precisely the reason why all communist states have been authoritative and often brutal in nature.
We can give people freedom, indeed we should, but we cannot make them equal. Teddy Roosevelt explained it best in 1905 when talking about his 'Square Deal' reforms:
"When I say I believe in a square deal I do not mean... to give every man
the best hand. If the cards do not come to any man, or if they do come, and he has not got the power to play them, that is his affair. All I mean is that there shall be
no crookedness in the dealing."
At 2/11/04 11:32 PM, TheShrike wrote: Hehehehehe... Good to see you back in the game, Commander.
Maybe not back in the game per se, but I just had to post Dean's comments on the relative merits of urine consumption.
At 2/12/04 12:15 AM, Dagodevas wrote:At 2/12/04 12:10 AM, red_skunk wrote: Does ann coulter count?Just about everything Coulter says counts.
Only to those who read and believe her stuff, thankfully.
"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."
-Bill Clinton
At 2/11/04 09:26 PM, red_skunk wrote: It is a concentration camp.
Define 'concentrarion camp.' Is any prison a concentration camp? Or only unpopular ones?
Ahh, back on the forum again. So this is where all you other PC members have been hiding. Why so little action on snooble?
People love to badmouth the practice of detaining people at Guantanamo and call it a 'concentration camp' (in an attempt to associate it in people's minds with the detest held for Nazis). Yet, I seriously doubt that there's an Auschwitz-type situation going on....
He may be effectively out of the running for the Democratic nomination, but he still has things to teach us:
"I do not recommend drinking urine . . . but if you drink water straight from the river, you have a greater chance of getting an infection than you do if you drink urine."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30312-2004Feb10.html
Saddam's trial could be the first Iraqi reality TV show. "Follow the trial from week to week, phone in your verdict, vote on sentencing, the choice is yours!"
My top list:
1. reduce welfare
2. phase out social security
3. end the legislative judiciary (i.e. judges who try to make new law)
4. cut government spending across the board
5. end affirmative action
6. vastly reduce taxes (middle class should hardly pay any income tax)
7. withdraw troops from less vital areas and foucs on the Mid East
8. make it illegal for unions to force workers into membership (i.e. institute "right-to-work" in all states)
9. missile defense
10. tort reform (i.e. loser pays)
But didn't Bush "ruin the economy"? Wasn't this the "Bush Recession"?
That's what the news media told you and many believed it but as I said all along, this was just an economic cycle and sure enough we're coming out of it.
At 12/10/03 10:10 PM, Commander-K25 wrote: Why should you join the Politics Crew?
To attain [b]REAL ULTIMATE POWER!!!![/b]
Okay, I'm just kidding. It's really the cookies that are the reason.
No BBCode! *sob*
Why should you join the Politics Crew?
To attain [b]REAL ULTIMATE POWER!!!![/b]
Okay, I'm just kidding. It's really the cookies that are the reason.
At 12/9/03 10:02 PM, Matty233 wrote: What we are basically doing is brainwashing kids so they follow the Christian faith. Another example of the corrupt church...
How does "under God" refer explicitly to Christianity? Most mjor religions have some conception of a god or gods.
As for whether the words should be in there? Probably not.
Stormfront? Um, you should read their frontpage and consider their source. It's like getting information on Judaism by reading 'Mein Kampf.'
I will admit to not having read all of this topic so excuse me is this has already been said, but I know there is social mobility in America. My family were immigrants who came to America looking for a better life. Once here they in fact found it and even got the opportunity to farm their own land. That social mobility has continued into the 20th and 21st centuries because our economy is knowledge-based making us very much a meritocracy. My father, the son of farmers, bettered himself and his position through working hard and taking full advantage of the public education this country offers. Rather than be a farmer he pursued his goals and is now better off than his parents ever were. I know this may sound a bit sappy, but things like this are possible because in America you can pursue your own dreams and goals and better your life through your own effort. The greatest thing about about America, about freedom, is the ability to do that. It's what this country was founded on and what my family and millions of others came here for. They're still coming here for that.
