Wouldn't secession be illegal?

Nope, not at all. The right of a state to secede was never tested in court, only suppressed on the battlefield.

-jcr

Smaller governments are easier to maintain.

More importantly, smaller governments are easier to resist.

-jcr

If you've never written software using mod, then you've never implemented a lockless data structure, or likely written any low-level code. In fact, I'd find it pretty hard to think of what category of software you are writing where you never need to do it. It's not something I use every day, but I'd expect to see it at least once every thousand lines of code. I've no idea what you do, but if you think you've managed to become a competent programmer without ever having to use mod then you're such a statistical outlier that it's not likely to be a problem to accidentally not hire you. If you don't know the basic arithmetic and logical operators in your favourite language, then you are probably not worth hiring.

Well, there are medical researchers printing skin, so leather should be possible.

-jcr

Someone I was talking to a few months ago claimed that around half of the applicants they get fail to be able to write fizzbuzz in their interview. This is just a function that has to take an input number, print fizz if it's divisible by 3, buzz if it's divisible by 5 (fizzbuzz if it's divisible by both), or the number otherwise. It's a trivial use of simple flow control and if you can't remember the name of a print function in your language of choice (no marks deducted for using printf instead of puts) then there's really no hope for you.

If you can print a gun, you can print many other kinds of machinery. The day may not be very far off when you can start with half a ton of aluminum and stainless steel powder, and print yourself a Ferrari with a V-12 engine.

-jcr

The government does acknowledge the existence of bitcoins. They're just not sure quite how to classify them. They don't have most of the properties of a currency, but they do have some. They have most of the properties of a security, but not all. They have a lot of the properties of a scam, but not all.

This organization has proven that they have no regard at all for the law. One of the fuckers actually told a reporter a few days ago that he thinks the first amendment should be "revised" to make the NSA's job easier.

NSA apparatchiki have committed billions of felonies, and continue to do so as we speak. The only remedy that will make them stop is to disband them altogether.

-jcr

Has that agency you work for quit pulling this kind of shit?

-jcr

because of epa your air and water is cleaner,

Bullshit. Our air and water are cleaner because the public started to care about it. Giving Nixon's second biggest mistake credit for that is like giving a flea credit for the dog.

-jcr

Only in the US would someone compare government funding of higher education to the Soviet Union.

Both empires made academia serve their rulers. Are you seriously claiming otherwise?

-jcr

It's alright for you to dismiss a whole group with some stupid 'lefties' tag

Reading comprehension isn't your long suit. What I said is that American academia is lousy with lefties, not that it is composed entirely of lefties.

whatever the fuck that means today

It means people who advocate expanding governmental power over the economy.

-jcr

No, this is way too big for a dead cat bounce. Over 600 now.

-jcr

Looks like BITC is recovering fast. 585 USD as I write this.

-jcr

If you imagine that I'm a supporter of the cronyism that banks and other corporations consider business as usual, then you know absolutely nothing about me. Academia is the subject at hand, not banking.

-jcr