Sure, you got to compensate with something! :)

Hey, if they left it's not my problem. If the same applied to kids I probably wouldn't hate them that much, as soon as they become a pest, simply kick them out.

Last time I checked you could get into trouble for that, too.

At one time, long ago, the US was actually a capitalist paradise. No, really. The "levels of society" were penetrable. You could actually get far if you decided to work hard. There are quite a few stories of people who started out as the dishwasher in a hotel and eventually owned their own chain of hotels. Those rags-to-riches stories did exist, and they were not few and far between, but actually very possible. An idea, a dash of daring to take a risk and hard work and you could go far. And even if not, even if you didn't land the big deal and got rich, there was still the promise that you could at least get somewhere if you put your mind to it, rolled up your sleeves and worked for your goals.

Not anymore. And people are catching up. They don't believe in it anymore. The new American dream is not getting rich from work. The new american dream is winning the lottery. And it sure ain't just 'cause people got lazy. People simply got disillusioned. Even if you're well educated, smart and would be willing to take the risk and work for it, it just won't fly. Not in this world. The business form of the lottery dream is basically founding a startup and hoping that Google or Facebook buys you before someone else shoots you out of the sky with patents and copyright or other red tape.

The American dream is over. And people are noticing that. People used to work for their goals and tried to reach their dreams. But people are just completely disillusioned today. If you start out your career with more debt than you could possibly hope to ever earn in your life, why bother working? Why bother staying honest? If you could only work 'til your back breaks and still won't ever see retirement because you simply can't earn more than you need to just get by, why bother trying?

Get a lottery ticket. Hope for the best.

The only difference is that they don't kick your door open yet on the "because we wanna" premise.

Not yet at least. Let's give it a few more years. One more "terrorist" attack and you can wave due process and the fourth good bye. Well, rather, you can wave good bye to what's left of it.

The only reason they don't go NKVD on everyone's ass that they deem a suitable target is that this could possibly still cause some people to actually raise their voice. The sooner that threat to liberty and democracy in the US is disbanded the better for the US and its people.

That's where capitalism is a bit more insidious than communism. We too see those party member kids, but we still buy the shit that they "earned" it.

The problem is, that terrorist can really mess with your life. They can arrest you, destroy your life, career and credit and in the foreseeable future they'll sure find a way to legally kill you.

Compare to that shit the crap that Bin Laden and his merry men could do and eventually did was peanuts.

Well, technically, it achieved independence by a lot of people breaking much more serious laws than those concerning fireworks...

So you're that neighbor with the baby that keeps screaming bloody murder all night and nobody in the area can sleep?

At least the drunk 4th of July guy only does it one day a year...

Yet it's illegal to try to avoid giving birth in most areas of the planet to some degree.

Laws are silly.

The prime directive... wouldn't that be kinda like a vector?

If you dare to not follow the herd, think for yourself, make up your mind by yourself without the aid of government "guided" media, of course you must be an extremist.

It's frightening how close the US already got to the USSR of old.

Whoever loses.

We win.

Really?

Ok, challenge accepted: Find me one of THESE governments that can do a balanced budget.

I wouldn't count on it. That guy had more luck than is due, something's really odd here.

I've followed the whole "Kimmie saga" for a while now. That guy is not lucky, he's DAMN lucky. It's really reaching Rincewind-luck-levels. Every "ordinary" person would either be in jail for the foreseeable future and beyond or would've gotten a pair of fitting cement boots along with a free swimming lesson.

I don't have an explanation (that I could write down in a public place, at least), but I would NOT count on having the same amount of luck if I were in his boots.

Hell, I'm still trying to figure out the three seashells.

Priorities, man!