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Comment Re:Close but not quite (Score 1) 197

Taxes intended to fund things that are not included in the Constitution, and for purposes of social engineering like income redistribution, not so much.

What (besides the NSA and Gitmo and the TSA) are unconstitutionally funded? Do you consider food stamps to be income distribution? I see food stamps as a gift to McDonalds and WalMart, whose employees should have government protection against those who are unfairly exploiting them.

Minimum wage laws simply limit entry-level employment opportunities and disenfranchise new workers.

That's been a Republican canard for a long time, but the numbers show it's bullshit.

Same with the stupid meme that libertarians don't want to pay for police or firemen and want something resembling Somalia. Bullshit propaganda from authoritarians.

I have seen libertarians saying exactly that, that we don't need cops or firemen. I could have been a victim of Poe's Law, though.

Libertarians want the government to be restricted to what the Constitution allows it to do, and that's all. If you want a change, simply amend the Constitution.

Rational, reasonable, and I agree. Why did they need an amendment to outlaw alcohol but not other drugs?

Better ask the administration, because the ACA is forcing employers to drop full-time employees who were working up to 40 hours a week to now work less than 30 hours or face steep cost increases.

They were on food stamps before the ACA. As to cutting hours, that's a flaw in the ACA that should be remedied (and they should pass the law the house passed saying you can keep insurance you have).

Besides, "Walmart stock clerk" is not a career position that can support a family or even an individual alone at anything like a comfortable lifestyle, it's an entry-level position for new workers.

An entry level position certainly shouldn't afford a "comfortable lifestyle" but it should afford you enough that you don't need the government to help feed you.

An employer can only afford to pay an employee what the employee generates for the employer.

There are a lot of jobs that will garner no revenue at all, like janitors and repair personnel. There are also other costs of overhead that generate negative revenue. If you can't afford to hire someone, you simply don't hire him. If you can't afford to be in business you shouldn't be in business.

Comment Re:Jack Ruby? (Score 1) 5

So did I. It's one of the few things I saw at age 11 that's still vivid in my memory from that young age (hell, it was half a century ago). I was watching cartoons when a "news special" about moving Oswald came on. And even at age 11 something about it didn't seem right but I couldn't put my finger on it.

I'll bet more children than adults saw it live. The grownups were all in the dining room drinking coffee and chatting. They didn't believe me until the evening news came on.

Comment Re:Mail? (Score 1) 292

I can't agree. I agree that Outlook is the worst mail client I've ever used, but Yahoo webmail sucks worse. I got it over a decade ago to have a stable email address. I read my mail on the phone because Yahoo's interface won't let me read a lot of mail without side scrolling with every line on the computer. FAR worse than anything MS's client does. But I will be glad when I don't have to use Outlook next February when I retire (but more glad I'll be through with Access).

I should just install Thunderbird (but I should install kubuntu on the notebook, too).

Comment Re:Microsoft Outlook is like capitalism (Score 1) 292

The first five words were accurate. I've used a lot of different email clients and we're stuck with Outlook at work now. I fucking hate it. Of all the email clients I've used, IMO Outlook is the worst, PERIOD.

I miss the Novell client.

But it's still better than Yahoo webmail. Any dedicated email client is better than webmail.

Comment Re:Close but not quite (Score 1) 197

A state has a stupid regulation against self-service gas so all regulations are stupid? Logic fail.

The pure libertarian philosophy is simply that citizens should have unlimited autonomy so long as it doesn't infringe upon the autonomy of others

That is true and a philosophy that I subscribe to. However, the libertarians think that somehow paying taxes is against liberty, making regulations against fouling my air and water is against liberty, laws mandating that you don't pay starvation wages are against liberty, that regulations against unsafe workplaces is against liberty. Libertarians want the liberty to fuck me over.

Near slavery via economic means doesn't pass that litmus test

Hyperbole much? The government's not doing that, libertarian business owners are. You think those people working at WalMart should have to have a food drive to be fed? They're walMart's wage slaves. I, personally, will be delivered from slavery next February when I retire.

Comment Re:Finally! (Score 1) 151

I hear this from a lot of slashdotters. No one bothers to give examples.

Here's one for you. In 2006 I needed eye surgery, an artificial lens for my left eye. My surgeon suggested a new design that had been out since 2003. Before the new design there were two types: monofocal and multifocal. Multifocal was like having bifocals in your eyeballs, with monofocals you needed reading glasses.

The new design is called an accomodating lens and sits on struts inside the lens capsule, so it will focus using the eye's natural focusing muscles.

It had been out for three years but no mention in wikipedia at all. So I edited (and if I don't write well I'm fooling a lot of people, some who have paid me for my book).

The next day it was gone. I added it back. Gone again. I gave up.

Two years later I mentioned it at slashdot when someone on Wikipedia's staff (not shilling, he was upfront about who he was) said something similar to what you just said so I told him what I just told you.

The next day the article had CrystaLens added.

Go on, try to edit something. It can't be done.

Comment Re:bad stats (Score 1) 111

What religions don't let practitioners celebrate Thanksgiving? It isn't a holy day like Hannukah or Easter. What do the JWs have against it?

And I was in Bhuddist Thailand for a year, I saw no indication that they would be against a holiday like Thanksgiving. After all, they have the "water festival" which gets really wild and crazy. It's a spring holiday marking the beginning of the rainy season and consists of throwing water at each other. Sometimes barrels full. Sometimes there are pretty bad injuries (like Thanksgiving, alcohol plays a part in much of the celebration).

Comment Re:Science isn't critical thinking... (Score 1) 710

The truth of the matter is that evolution is one of the most verified theories we've ever conceived and the only reason it's still disputed to this day is because it contradicts a book of parables written thousands of years ago.

That's the hilarious part, it DOESN'T contradict that book. Even the Pope accepts evolution, why can't the yahoos in Texas and Kansas?

Comment Re:Close but not quite (Score 1) 197

More government = less freedom.

Less freedom to steal, less freedom to pollute, less freedom to screw over your customers and business partners, less freedom to endanger others... you're right, more government = less freedom. That's a GOOD thing.

Government is there to protect me from you. I can affect government; I have a vote and a voice. I have no club whatever to bash over the head of AT&T, the MAFIAA, Monsanto, Wal Mart, Shell, BP, Microsoft, Sony... Except government.

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