by bringing massive amounts of money to bear on local elections. Sarah Palin is a great example of that. She had massive resources for a pretty unimportant political position.

As for the popular vote, he's referring to the fact that as a raw percentage Democrats won more vote. In a parliamentary system they would have a majority in the gov't and popularist legislation would be making it's way through the gov't process. That's pretty much why we have a Republic. It protects the interests of wealthy land owners...

See, the trouble with your BS assertion is that it's so easy to google "7450 Affordable Care Act" and find all the articles disproving it...

Oh, and the PDF you're linking to says nothing about the cost for a family of 4. It's just talking about lower overall health spending. Are you an Astro turfer or do you just not research your sources?

Drunk driving is one guys fault. He pays a fine, maybe goes to jail. Software errors are the fault of the corporation selling the self driving car. They're good 'an sue-able. Each automation failure costs a company a tonne of money (instead of just ruining a few, usually low income, lives).

There's even a name for it: "White Flight". Wealthy people don't live near sex offenders and violent criminals. That's for the poor and middle class.

I agree — what with mutation's fundamental role in evolution, I regard fustakrakich as a highly evolved individual, as evidenced by his expressed views on social dynamics, exploitative and divisive power structures, and his valuation of society's most empowering liberties.

I had to leave my previous home due to excessive violence, cruelty, noise-making, police intrusions and similar nonsense — I'm settled in a saner environment. I missed you guys.

Here's a proper link to the image I think JC tried to share:

http://31.media.tumblr.com/c8ba0d5b3dc211929880c7900181c6dd/tumblr_mtst2a4wYU1r7dgeuo1_500.jpg

Tumblr's *.cloudshare.com cert on Tumblr works, if an exception's accepted:

https://31.media.tumblr.com/c8ba0d5b3dc211929880c7900181c6dd/tumblr_mtst2a4wYU1r7dgeuo1_500.jpg

California is seeing a bit of an exodus because too many people moved their driving up real estate prices to unreasonable levels. Their policies are working fairly well except for some lame brain tax rules put in place by Republicans that make it easy to cut taxes and hard to raise them. Also, most, if not nearly all, of the last 10 years worth of consumer protection laws exists because of California. Like knowing when your Credit Card #s get leaked? That was California. How about when there's carcinogens in your food? Also California.

Texas is running a race to the bottom funded by a modest oil boom that's wreaking their environment. Even if you don't believe fracking destroys ground water the fact is it's using it up so fast that towns are going dry.

Also, you can attract businesses all day long with slave labor wages. China does it. But is that the sort of world you want to live in? If the answer is 'yes' you're either a psychopath or just plain naive. Here's a hint: you're not free is someone controls your access to basic needs like food and shelter. You'll do exactly what they say. The phrase 'wage slave' isn't hyperbole.

When they're shutting down non-essential services. Moreover, like I said, I don't know if Obama planned this effect or not. Keep in mind, it's Post 911 and post Boston-Bombing. Somebody on fark who lives in DC was talking about how these days the monuments are crawling with guards watching for terrorists. Blocking off the monuments does more than keep the terrorists out. It keeps their real targets (ordinary Americans) away from the hot spot...

Human beings aren't really that efficient. You're drive for gov't efficiency gets used to excuse cutting services for the lower classes while the rich continue to use gov't to their benefit. You're not going to win that battle. The rich will make use of gov't, so I say why don't we? But nice troll anyway...

but either way shutting the gov't sites is a great way to remind people that gov't does things they want done. For the last 20 or 30 years we've been hammered with a 'Gov't is Evil' message. Never mind that it was the Federal Gov't that did away with Child Labor, Slavery and Segregation, created Superfund sites for cleanup of the messes made by private business and made them stop poisoning ground water.

With all the small gov't Tea Party blather out there it's nice for Americans to be reminded that gov't is a tool, and one they depend on. I for one don't want to see EPA regulation, anti-slavery and usury laws, OSHA Safety and FDA regulations go away.

Gov't is a tool, and a powerful one. The wealthy and well connected will use that tool for themselves. You're not going to be able to stop them. 2000 years of human history pretty much proves that. The only question is are you going to pick up the tool and use it yourself?

for what it's worth, a large part of what our defense industry does is pry money out of the hands of the super wealthy and spread it around the economy. Eisenhower basically created the Military Industrial Complex for purpose of keeping the US economy out of recession post WWII, and he talked about regretting it in his Memoirs. Wealth concentrates, and left to their own devices the rich will take it all for themselves. The economy becomes a zero sum game when power comes into play and the joy of using your wealth to control and manipulate others. Fear of the communists kept the rich in check (somewhat) and allowed for protectionism and pork projects that took money from the wealthy and redistributed it without anyone's feathers being ruffled. Now that that's gone we haven't got anything to replace it with. That's why wealth inequality is the worst since the 1920s...