Agreed. Good comment. Tell him to hire me, because the answer is clear. They need to operate in the open and be fully transparent, but they do need to exist.

What if the dog decides you should be the one wearing the leash?

I'd love the invite!! bjk002(gmail)

Thanks! And may excellent Karma abound for you!

As opposed to a socially regulated, feudal system advocated by the republicans who believe in being ruled by corporate overloads and strict biblical interpretation of how we should live our lives??

You completely misinterpret my intent. I am neither pro-democrat, nor am I pro-republican. Both parties are moving this country toward facism.

I'm worried about both parties, as they are both idealogical, which is useless to me as I do not share either of their ideologies. However, IMO, we are too far right of center at the moment, and moving ever more so in that direction as of late.

I support a "regulated, multi-class, integrated national economic system." - it is the only sensible way to govern a populace, and the only economic system that ever existed in the U.S.

Well I'm not "anti-capitalist", but I'm not purely pro capitalist either. Pure capitalism can justify your harvesting my organs for resale without consent. Pure capitalism has no qualms with you dumping your toxic waste in my back yard.

"Believe in the rule by the Elites" - This goes with both parties. Its a matter of which group do you want to be "ruled" by. God and CEO's or politicians and lawyers.

"Industrial Management by labor Unions" - I still cannot comprehend how anyone has been able to be convinced that unions of workers are a bad thing for workers. I prefer not having to work 20 hour days for not enough money to feed myself.

"Social Darwinism" - Again, This goes with both parties.

Call for a "progressive biomedical model" aka eugenics - Not sure what you are going on about here, but I do support medical advancements and treatments, does that count?

"Seek the mass mobilization of a nation through indoctrination, physical education, and family policy" - pure hyperbole, nothing more to say.

I prefer a nice, central

^Mod this guy up^, then wake the hell up.

Yes... and that they are (excuse the tinfoil) in it together to move this country further and further right should concern every citizen of this land, including those on the right. Facism is but the end result of a continual spiral away from center.

...on a tech rag no less. I wonder why? Is it really so difficult to understand that specialists can manage a network system better than a couple Bob's from the local community college?

If you have a web-based app stack and offer that to your employees, what is the difference between your company having a bunch of techies trying to run a shop like Google would, or actually letting Google run it for you?

I can see some reluctance from non-US companies, but for any U.S. based company, what is the difference?

There are also intrinsic, undeniable benefits for the user, should they CHOOSE to capitalize on them. Tarketed marketing allows a much more direct, personalized experience between a corporation and an individual. Individuals can leverage that relationship for personal benefit. Discount pricing, deal of the week, competitive pricing, all come into play here.

The shills yelling about "ma priviiccyy izz beein loootted, an ma data is beein stollen" fail to recognize the reciprocal relationship between a marketer and a consumer.

And BTW... the decision to buy rests ALWAYS with the consumer. Influence, recommendation, suggestion, etc... on the part of a marketer... yes that is real, but NOT predeterminate of buyer behavior.

Buy a book on marketing and try to understand what you are talking about. I would suggest this one.

I'm waiting for the AAA to sue TurboTax and their ilk. The tipping point is nearly here... Prepare yourself!!

OP said "real friends". Real friends don't operate the way you describe. They look forward to any opportune moments to interact with their "real friends".

How is CS, true CS, any less of a science than Biology, Chemistry, Anthropology, or any other "ogy" you want to throw out there? Yes, there are many who end up working in the private sector, working for financial services firms developing apps, but how is that any different from the chemist working on drug manufacturing?

Much ground-breaking research has come out of the CS community. What IS science by your definition? Do not be so dismissive of the "science" in CS.

... can be achieved by predictive analytics software already available. Someone just needs to pipe the tax data into the system. Its really quite trivial to accomplish from a technological perspective. Its the political perspective that stops any such endeavors from happening.

--
Opinion:=TMyOpinion.Create(Me);

wrong thread... ignore.

... can be achieved by predictive analytics software already available. Someone just needs to pipe the tax data into the system. Its really quite trivial to accomplish from a technological perspective. Its the political perspective that stops any such endeavors from happening.

The primary problem with the logic of your position is it is in essense a "horse has left the barn" approach to holding business accountable. What good is suing a business if you're dead? Or if you're homestead is no longer habitable? The business can declare bankruptcy, and any chance of recovering damages is gone. How does your philosophy deal with that? The truth is it does not.

You may not like regulation, and it is certainly not perfect, but in reality it is the ONLY means by which a population can protect itself from the abuses of the snake oil salesman. The REAL problem we have today is exemptions in statute, and the involvement of industry (without oversight!) in crafting legislation alongside either corruptable or incompetent politicians.

I have yet to read any serious idea as to how to realistically combat this problem.