Fair enough, what word do you use to describe those who DO affirmatively assert that there is no god?

Writing isn't sacred, it's just another occupation like woodchopping or running the cash register at the 7-11.

This is an interesting point of view given your signature:

"A lot" is two words. You wouldn't say "alittle", would you?

Apparently writing correctly is important. Then again, I so is getting the correct change at the 7-11, I suppose?

3. The Federal Government doesn't HAVE to have the power to 'fine people for not buying a product'; your State/Commonwealth has been doing it for years with Auto Insurance.

Your state government has the authority to do all sorts of things the Federal Government cannot.

I researched this subject thoroughly and found that it's almost completely undocumented.'

Is this the new way to say "I checked it out and it's legit!"

Also, I think it's about time that the US gets with the program and ditches standard like the rest of the world.

Sure, we'll make metric the official single system of measure right after we settle on a single official language.

American geeks tend to be more likely to use metric units than the general population.

Even if this is true, it does not follow that the majority of geeks in the US use metric.

The main reason to keep a landline, in this day of mobile telephones, is to get your name and address in the telephone book so people can find you.

Or am I missing something?

What authority would you accept?

No, really. What would it take to persuade YOU that one particular faith's omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, incomprehensible, infinitely complex, but basically good god actually existed?

Can anyone point out for me the mechanism that is going to require ALL citizens to buy health care coverage? I can't seem to find it. What happens under this plan of someone does not?

To prevent this problem, you might try contacting your regular health-care provider right away. Assuming they fall under HIPAA, you usually have the right to make requests to the provider regarding how they will handle your medical records, and who can access them. Make a request that your records not be stored in a shared electronic database.

The provider can refuse the request, but few do.

(Of course, 15 years from now, when your new doctor at General Hospital does not realize that you're the ONLY patient who still has paper records in that filing cabinet at the back of the server room, there could be a problem...)

Ah, of course. Three throws per result, so there's only one combination (1-1-1) to get a 3 but a lot of combinations that will get one of the center values. I didn't consider that :(.

This is the first time I have ever seen anyone in an Internet discussion actually concede a point. Either you are the first of a new, enlightened breed of human, or you're a subversive trying to destroy society as we know it.

You cannot recreate those things on message boards.

Look, whether you adopt old-earth evolution, young-earth evolution, or some flavor of creationism, one thing we can all agree on is this:

You cannot win an argument with someone in an on-line message board. You just keep going until either (a) someone gets tired and quits, or (b) someone mentions Nazis.

A brief response:

1. Upkeep costs for an easement include everything related to record keeping, courthouse and law enforcement needed to track, maintain and enforce that easement.

2 through 6: These taxes differ from state to state. In many, if not most states, they do not fully cover the cost to the state for providing the services indicated.

In short, the infrastructure you're using gets paid for from multiple sources. It appears you favor raising telecom, fuel, and property taxes rather than extending the reach of sales taxes. This is certainly a possible solution, but why should I pay higher telecom and property taxes just so that you can shop online?

So now I should be thankful the government let someone put copper/fiber down on the ground? And they want a piece of the pie because of that?

Consider that copper in the ground for a moment. Here is what the state government contributes to it:

1. The legal authority to run lines across private property even if the land-owners do not like it.
2. The regulatory framework to keep the company that owns those lines from abusing the customer.
3. The roads that are used to haul the copper in, as well to move the equipment and labor required to install and maintain it.
4. The regulatory framework to handle production and distribution of electricity that runs down that line.
5. Protection for those lines from vandals and angry landowners.
6. A workforce educated at public expense to provide the labor for installation and maintenance.

The whole system fails if these elements are not provided. If they're not going to be funded by a sales tax, how would you LIKE the state to get the money to pay for it?