there is nothing under the sun we can do, individually, or collectively, to be redeemed.
Of course there is: "Repent, and sin no more". (And since you're fallen... repeat as necessary).

. You know who gets screwed? 200 other local companies that each have 50 employees or whatever. Because they're forced to pay the normal tax rates, while your giant corporation is exempt.

These sorts of businesses are the foundation of strength of the Republican party. Hopefully they go out of business sooner rather than later.

You don't stick them out in front of you so they hit the seat in front of you. You extend your legs so they're as long as possible and tuck them under the seat. Works like a charm, I do it all the time - because I don't want to piss other people off.

I love how you put this into a "win/loss" context instead of finding a solution that everyone can live with. I especially like the part where you take great delight in causing pain to another human being. You're the problem here.

I was on a transoceanic flight, and the lady behind me kept knocking her knees into my chair. I looked behind me, and she's not only like 6'2", but she has her knees directly in front of her so as to present the greatest obstacle possible. No, can't put your knees in any other position, that would be too easy. We have to recline our seat while preventing the person in front of us from doing the same with his. I repeat: this lady had her knees out in front of her in the most obstructive possible position when she could have chosen to put them any other way. She knew damn well she was hitting the back of my chair.

It's people problem. Inconsiderate assholes who can't put themselves in other peoples' shoes - and get really self-righteous about it.

Again, where the hell did the reference to the Middle East come from? You thinking about that all the time, right? Middle Earth is different, despite having the same first name. Read the goddamn Silmarillion, it quite clearly lays out the cosmology of Arda and says who good and bad are. Hint: the side that bombs schools to keep girls from being educated isn't the "good" side. Oh, and I'd be careful quoting Animal Farm - the whole novel is a direct parody of what happens to a country when communists take over.

Uh, no, it's a work of fiction. The whole thing only exists in Tolkien's head. Orcs are elves corrupted by dark magic, they only exist to destroy life. Elves preserve life by...yaknow what? Fuck it. You can go read and get an education. It's frightening to realize that people like you think you can apply real-life like this to fairy tales. And, of course, the totally out-of-left-field reference to Fox News, which shows you're engaging in psychological projection.

What the fuck? You do know that Middle-Earth was a fictional world, right? You can't apply real-world thinking to it. If Sauron or Saruman had won the war, the Free Peoples would have been exterminated or enslaved. Hell, the book shows clearly what was in store when Saruman conquers the Shire at the end. WTF? Orcs fighting for unity and equality?

Your suggestion assumes all American kids have either 1.) A library within walking distance, 2.) Access to transportation.

The schools they attend have libraries, don't they? If they're not within walking distance, there's a bus that will take them there. For ~9 months of the year, your "problem" is sorted.

You should have been around during the Bush administration. People took everything the man ever said, twisted it, and started frothing at the mouth condemning it. It was ugly - this is mild in comparison.

You can't use a tablet on the SAT

Back when I took the SAT, they didn't allow calculators. No scientific calculators, not even basic 4-function jobs. Graphing calculators weren't even on the market when I took it the first time in junior high, and they had only been around a couple years or so when I took it again in high school. Now get off my lawn!

Reading e-books two or three lines at a time on a 3.2-inche screen would turn anyone off of reading.

I did just fine reading ebooks from an iPhone 3G back in the day. If you can only fit two or three lines at a time on-screen, you're doing it wrong. It'll be less than you can get with a tablet screen, but it's certainly usable. The iPhone 4 was a nice step up (smoother text), and the tablets I've since picked up are better still (7" is plenty...I do most of my reading on a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0), but I still keep ebook apps on both tablet and phone, with bookmarks synced between them so I can get a little reading in if I have some time to kill.

We trapped cars on the road by tossing Molatov cocktails on the road..one ahead of them blocking them with fire wall....and then one behind them.

Never dawned on a bunch of idiot kids how dangerous this was at the time....but oh well, no harm done.

Fortunately back in the day...that would not get your branded as a 'terrorist', just a bunch of stupid pre-teens.

Also, back in the day where if the cop pulled you over somewhat tipsy, and you were close to home, they'd let you go home with the warning of "If I see you out AGAIN tonight, you're going to jail."

Some things were better in the simpler times of yore. I remember when there was no security going to / from the gate of your airplane at all.

Hmm...as a citizen, I wonder if I wear a number of HIGH powered IR LED's on my hat/person, if that would blind out these officer cameras?

I've been dying to find out if surrounding my license plate on my car, would fsck up the video from the speeding/stoplight cameras too....easily viewable to naked human eye, but blind out the cameras.

Hmm...sound like a fun weekend project.