The idea that there is any legitimate reason why the US has to spend more money on its military than all other countries in the world **COMBINED** is absurd. Effective tools my ass.

The money spent by the DoD buys a lot more than you suggest. The US - for example - put a lot of effort into defending Japan in the Cold War so the Japanese did not have to. Japan spent more on 'stuff', we got Hello Kitty and the Prius in return.

I agree with your conclusion: time to let the rest of the world fend for itself. Now, if this gets the Japanese back into an acquisitive mood, or the Germans get feisty and look to Russia ... well hard cheese for their neighbors, I guess.

Um, where does right enter into this?

Good point. I don't know.

the only people who fight back would simply rather die than be dictated to.

Not true: look up the theory of 3g and 4g conflict. Briefly: no army in the world can stand up to a US Armored Brigade. So they don't even try: the conflict shifts from tanks and airplanes to economic warfare, unconventional warfare .... anything but where the US Army is current good at.

Am I alone in feeling disturbed at the trend to separate the combatants by ever increasing distances?

Giving soldiers effective tools makes war less likely, not more likely.

The idea is that if you're armed forces can mow the opposition down like wheat before a threshing machine, the opposition won't even try it.

Look: war is going to happen. Would you be more afraid of a mob of guys with sticks, or an army than can take you out before you know they're there?

I propose that the best time to use Something Else is before it gets there

Well, duh. My other computers run Linux, BSD, etc.

But I guess if you want to fund Apple's push towards the walled garden, that's your business.

It's a fair trade: in return for some cash, I get a computer that mostly gets out of my way and lets me work. What they do with it ain't none of mine.

You forget that there are people that respond to anyone coming to their front door with gunfire.

Say! Now that you mention it I have noticed a large number of pizza delivery guys, salesmen, girl scout cookie pushers, and letter carriers being gunned down, right and left.

OSX is headed straight to walled garden land

When it gets there it just means it's time to use Something Else.

Political power always and without exception flows from the barrel of a gun

That's what I said.

because locals don't have the ability to build or buy equipment.

These people don't need open source hooraw: they need good government so can own their land, keep the fruits of their labor, and not kill be slaughtered when the generals are feeling impetuous.

As far as I can tell, this is tying the bonuses of everyone at Google to the efforts of the few people at Google involved in social media crap

Isn't this the way it works for most people?

I work in IT in manufacturing. Our bonus monies are tied to how well the company does, which in turn depends on a whole lot of things, all of them out of my control: marketing, the economy, the bond market and, ultimately, how well the guys in manufacturing are slapping together widgets today.

honestly can't think of anything they've done lately, all on their own, that's so blatantly anti-American as this.

Pro-union democrats were ripping up recall petitions two weeks ago in Wisconsin: does that count?

What kind of super-men do you expect to design, build, run, secure, and maintain these plants?

Hyman Rickover has a few answers for you.

I am big fan of COAL, because we have lots of it!

You are invited to live downwind from a coal plant. As a bonus, your house is on a railroad carrying coal to the plant - enjoy those long strings of cars grinding by on a daily basis.

Check your dosimeter daily for extra fun and grins.

'Umberto Eco once wrote a memorable essay arguing that the Apple Mac was a Catholic device, while the IBM PC was a Protestant one.

He didn't write 'Apple Mac' or 'IBM PC' he wrote Macintosh and 'DOS': he was comparing operating systems, not hardware.

Railways can manage only very gentle gradients,

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rack_railway

Up the gas tax five dollars for passenger vehicles

Horrible idea.

You can't enforce it a tax on 'passenger vehicles'.
Many of us have habits and jobs that don't go match with driving an electric vehicle.
Make many other things more expensive for people who can't afford it.

It's really a nifty way to make the bourgeoisie feel like they are doing something good at the expense of the poor.