You know, we can make all computer systems secure by forcing people to only get software that has been screened by the government. And we can eliminate all sources of terrorist communication by forcing all telephone calls, email, letters, etc, to go through government "approval" censors. And we can eliminate fraud in the banking system by only allowing transactions that are pre-approved by the government. And we can improve car safety by only allowing people to buy cars supplied by the government.

And I wouldn't want to live in that world.

Viruses manage to inject DNA originally from one species into another all the time. It's thought that about 8% of human DNA has been injected into our systems from foreign by historical viral outbreaks, and then passed on to children. It's one of the ways our immune system passes on immunity.

I like you say "the old and the poor" are not the largest share, then proceed to "prove" it by showing a chart that leaves nearly all of "the old and the poor" spending off and conclude that something else is the majority of spending. Look at the total budget, including entitlements (which are left off your chart), and you'll see that defense is like 18% of the budget, and "the old and the poor" are about 38% of the budget. Add in servicing the public debt to the latter figure (because servicing the public debt is largely servicing the "Social Security Trust Fund") and you're talking about over half the federal budget.

http://is.gd/xImQWK

Did you take into account the various credits and deductions? My daughter earned about $6k last year working part time. She had a total of about $100 taken out through the year for federal income tax (plus SS and FICA). She got a refund at the end of the year of nearly $700 - yes, she got refunded more than she paid in, due mostly to the EIC and other credits.

I thought it was fairly well known that approximately 47% of US families pay no - that's 0, zippo, nothing - in Federal income tax. Per the IRS.

Err, the Democrats took over *4* years ago, not 2. They had complete control of the legislature (and hence the budget process) in 2006, only adding the executive in 2008.

Walmart prices are not dependent on insurance - they charge $4 per 30 day supply whether or not you're insured. Most insurance coverage has a higher copay for prescriptions than $4 anyway, so insurance won't ever kick in.

For you maybe. People in my pay range ($70-95K) are looking at Federal tax increases of over $2,000. Might be chump change to you, but not to me.

Thyroid medicine at Walmart or Walgreens - $4 for a 30 day supply. This is also true of MANY common medications, including nearly all that are commonly prescribed for diabetes, hypo/hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure, etc.

Minnesota Supreme Court Strikes Down Red Light Cameras
The Minnesota Supreme Court delivers a unanimous decision striking down the legality of red light cameras.

Minnesota Supreme CourtThe Minnesota Supreme Court today delivered the highest-level court rebuke to photo enforcement to date with a unanimous decision against the Minneapolis red light camera program. The high court upheld last September's Court of Appeals decision that found the city's program had violated state law (read opinion).

The supreme court found that Minneapolis had disregarded a state law imposing uniformity of traffic laws across the state. The city's photo ticket program offered the accused fewer due process protections than available to motorists prosecuted for the same offense in the conventional way after having been pulled over by a policeman. The court argued that Minneapolis had, in effect, created a new type of crime: "owner liability for red-light violations where the owner neither required nor knowingly permitted the violation."

"We emphasized in Duffy that a driver must be able to travel throughout the state without the risk of violating an ordinance with which he is not familiar," the court wrote. "The same concerns apply to owners. But taking the state's argument to its logical conclusion, a city could extend liability to owners for any number of traffic offenses as to which the Act places liability only on drivers. Allowing each municipality to impose different liabilities would render the Act's uniformity requirement meaningless. Such a result demonstrates that [the Minneapolis ordinance] conflicts with state law."

The court also struck down the "rebutable presumption" doctrine that lies at the heart of every civil photo enforcement ordinance across the country.

"The problem with the presumption that the owner was the driver is that it eliminates the presumption of innocence and shifts the burden of proof from that required by the rules of criminal procedure," the court concluded. "Therefore the ordinance provides less procedural protection to a person charged with an ordinance violation than is provided to a person charged with a violation of the Act. Accordingly, the ordinance conflicts with the Act and is invalid."

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/16/1688.asp

Europe has similar problems - it's just that the laws vary by country.

Remember, most of our states are as large, if not larger, than European countries.

The laws are fairly consistent, however. Especially traffic laws - for instance, we all drive on the same side of the road - we don't need a special intersection at the end of the tunnel to move cars into the correct side of the road. Most of the differences are posted on signs as you cross the state borders.

The tickets do have multiple images. Usually at least two showing the vehicle was before the line after the light turned red, and another showing the vehicle in the intersection afterward. Sometimes there are three. Also, they will have a closeup of the license plate, and sometimes a closeup of the driver's face (depending on how the system was setup for that intersection).

Here is a sample from Texas: http://www.ci.irving.tx.us/public-works/images/red-light-five.jpg

Urban legend: Their plane did not fly until after the no-fly period was lifted.

Many more uses of firearms for self-defense never involve a discharge of the firearm. Merely brandishing the firearm is usually enough to defuse the situation. Does the study you mention include the use of firearms for self defense when the firearm was never discharged?

Not hard at all. Security clearances for many jobs. Any position of trust (teachers, security guards, etc) requires fingerprints. Any position within the US government requires fingerprints. Many states require them for firearms purchases.

Shall I go on?

I hope so. A 3TB dataset on Amazon S3 would run $450 / month for storage.