A question like this without context is just a troll.

There is a current framework in the US consisting of philosophy, policies, laws and regulations that answers each of these questions. In order to elicit reasonable responses, it's important to describe the status quo, describe where it's failings are, and ask for ideas for incremental or radical improvements.

And what's the marginal utility of all of this towards the goal of "taking care of one's own"? I don't see how there can be such a thing as "taking care" in the absence of a clear subject who's alive and capable of experiencing such a benefit.

Taxpayer money is a useful phrase that conveys the idea that taxpayers have (or can have) non-trivial influence over how much of it exists, and how it's spent. Of course, once it is in gov't coffers, it belongs to the gov't - but you are stating the obvious. Even if something does belong to the gov't, the entirety of gov't operations is subject to various kinds of oversight, including the kind that results in campaigns, and legislation that focuses expenditures towards productive ends.

I said nothing whatsoever about property etc. You are incorrectly extrapolating from my comment that I'm advocating elimination of government.

Why on earth would the US Navy spend taxpayer dollars for this expedition? Unless they have too much money and don't know what to do with it all - which is quite plausible considering the proportion of budget allocated to the military. Meh!

I'd totally understand this story making top headlines on ILoveAmeliaEarhart.com, but why Slashdot?

This is so simple.

1. Call up your phone provider, and shell out $500 or so for a static IP address
2. Hack your phone to run an FTP server.

There,it's done. Your files are not on your own file server, available from anywhere.

or just go use dropbox and stop looking for convoluted solutions.

Hmm.. I had a > in the subject, but it got stripped away :-/

Apple TV does a few things well:

1. Good living room version of iTunes-as-an-appliance. Streams music from iCloud, does iTunes Store stuff (renting, buying videos)
2. AirPlay
3. Netflix, and some other less interesting services.

There are other devices that do much much more. Roku is the Swiss Army Knife of such appliances - and integrates popular services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video as well as less popular stuff like MLB.TV, Crackle and several dozen others. It's silly that White thought of comparing himself with Apple TV, when the true competition he ought to have been comparing himself with is Roku. In the long run, it's inevitable that White will be proven wrong. In the short to medium run, I think he will continue being right. It will take some time before content owners become comfortable with streaming options. For now, we are stuck with nonsensical paywalls like the one set up by HBO GO, but eventually the types of Netflix and Hulu, and PPV systems like iTunes and Amazon Video will slowly take over. In another generation (or two), the new breed of users will see online as normative, and that will accelerate the demise of DirectTV and Cable companies. I expect Cable companies be hold out longer than DirectTV, because they will continue owning valuable copper that also supports internet services.

When something can be interpreted in two different ways, with each of those interpretations implying a diametrically opposite meaning, it's reasonably characterized as "wrong". Clarity and unambiguity are two ways to be "right" - there should be no dispute as to these. If there are many ways to attain clarity and precision, then they may all very well be "right", but they aren't all equal. Some would be clearer and more precise than others, and it would suit us well to choose those.

English does change over time, so judging old writing based on today's standards doesn't make sense. But it's ok to judge today's writings based on today's notions of clarity and precision.

This alternate is certainly better, IMO, than my own recommendation to use the Oxford Comma.

touche!

From Page 6, Bullet #7 (emphasis mine) "This lawsuit wrongly seeks to condemn Apple based on the Government’s apparent dissatisfaction with the impact of competitive entry, demand stimula- tion and innovation (ignoring significant indicia of consumer and market benefit), not based on any anticompetitive conduct by Apple. This is contrary to law and sound economic policy." "This is contrary to law and sound economic policy" means ( "This is contrary to law" ) AND ( "This is sound economic policy" ) When written correctly, with the Oxford Comma in place, it would have the intended meaning: This is contrary to law, and sound economic policy Yeah, parts of Oxford University don't use the serial comma any more, and some even actively recommend against it's use. Doesn't mean they are right though.