Well, how long did the Afghanistan militia hold out against the might of the Soviet military, followed by the might (not to mention "shock and awe") of the US military? Or do you think that we are pulling out because we "won"?

A slashdot friendly answer to silly magazine restrictions (annoying ad before article view):
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/01/14/gunsmiths-3d-print-high-capacity-ammo-clips-to-thwart-proposed-gun-laws/

Only when no one else has firearms.

It sounds like you're projecting your own insecurities about your inability to interact with whom you want to interact with. That's too bad.

The straw man argument about "giving up" roads, postal, internet etc is irrelevant to me. I'm not political. I believe in the feudalism that has existed since the dawn of agriculture. 80% of people are serfs, 20% are lords. I'll take advantage of the system that you serfs have created, be it political, corporate, even sexual markets.

I don't support the systems, and in a truly free market guys like me would be knocked down a notch.

But we aren't. I'm still making good enough money to vacation every week or two. I have great friends who either really like me, or like the things I have access to. I sleep with great women who also take care of my domestic needs. I don't work in a cubicle or in a "team environment" and I work with the customers I want to work with -- and ones who want to work with me.

And I work when I want to work. My employees have that same freedom: if they don't need the income, they don't have to come in and field new jobs. It's pretty basic, it's how humans seem designed to operate.

Or, you can be a serf in a 9-5 job paying off a mortgage for 42 years, college debt for 20+ years, and hope you'll die being able to leave your children something of value.

You can have your society, I don't want a part of it.

The entire world has attempted this one-size-fits-all mentality, and it's a failure. People are unhappy with it.

I want to be with happy people in my life. I don't need the money from any one unhappy person, so I'd rather not have them in my life.

The idea that all businesses should accept all customers is insane. Should all men accept all women as possible sex partners? Should you accept any platonic friend who comes into your life?

No. We form relationships based on compatibility, and my businesses do BETTER because my clients are generally compatible with my viewpoints.

"Being a self starter has nothing to do with whether or not you went to college."

Really? I don't meet too many college graduates who I would consider self-starters. Very rare, actually.

"Having a college degree isn't the only thing that matters but it can be a very useful indicator of what the person standing in front of me is capable of."

"I have several college degrees including masters in both engineering and business. I've started 5 businesses, am a certified accountant, run a manufacturing company and am on the board of a non-profit. My wife has a doctorate and does even better than I do. If you think our college degrees have held either of us back in any way you are delusional."

I'm sure they haven't held you back, but I also don't see the purpose of those degrees connecting with your 5 businesses. Sounds like you wasted a lot of time chasing degrees. I wouldn't hire you.

"So you want to hire people who have no respect for others? Nice. I'll be sure to avoid you and the people you hire."

Feminists have respect for others? Please. Progressives have respect for others? Yeah, sure, tell me another one.

"You know a lot of engineers or doctors who picked up their profession "on the streets"?"

I own an engineering company and I have no degree. Two of my consultants who work with me also don't have degrees.

And I did mention in my OP that STEM degrees can make sense -- but they aren't the end off for confirming someone's ability to engineer.

The greatest engineer I ever met, in Chicago, who has been retired just 5 years, did not have an engineer degree. And he was the #1 guy in a certain engineering field in the Midwest. My mentor, of sorts. Never went to college.

I refuse to subsidize bad ideology.

The idea of freedom is that we can congregate with people we like, and refuse to congregate with people we don't like.

For me, all relationships I have include an economic metric. Not a FINANCIAL metric, but economic -- both parties should gain, and both parties should invest in the relationship. It's that way with love, with sex, with family, with platonic friends, and with business.

I don't want to invest in people with shitty entitled attitudes. I tell feminists that I am anti-feminism, but they still shop from me. Some of them date me, which is insane because I am THE anti-feminist. Figure that one out.

A few years ago, I purposefully told state employees that I'd rather not do business with them. Some of them came to me and discussed it. Cops, public school teachers, even the local postal employee. I told them why I didn't want to do business with them, and they basically agreed with me. They agreed with my opinion, even though I was trying to fire them as customers.

I'm very open about my prejudices. If people want to do business with me, they either accept it, or they don't. Isn't it better to KNOW what another person believes, so you can make the decision to congregate with them, or not?

That's an imbecilic response.

All my companies have an open books policy. That means that even the lowliest employee can look at our accounting books, our bank statements, even my tax returns (personal identity information redacted).

I generally earn the LEAST of any business I own. If I am not at the bottom, I am pretty close to it.

If I was a capitalist overlord, I'd be earning the most.

Why do I have an open book policy? To teach my employees how to be entrepreneurs. To teach them that the $1500 job they're working on doesn't create $1500 in wealth for us, but for many suppliers, contract workers, waged workers, and sales persons.

People learn from me. I have many competitors in my field who worked for me a decade ago (or even 1 year ago). They move on to doing things themselves, or partnering up with someone else. I encourage this. Competition doesn't hurt me, it helps grow the markets I am in.

Showing my staff the books doesn't hurt me, it encourages them to work harder knowing that the wealth is shared.

I am. And?

wrong across the board.

Not a sociopath, no.

Just an entrepreneur who has gone above and beyond the call of duty for the people I like, and has the option to give a big middle finger to those I don't like.

Freedom is a beautiful thing. It lets like-minded people congregate with like-minded people.

And the surprise to many of the entitled-progressive bunch is how many people are like me but afraid to talk about it. When those people discover that I am unafraid to give witness to how I live my life, they flock to what I have to offer.

Turning away customers has always been good for me. I've been in the consulting, communications, retail and services industries since 1987. And we turn people away weekly.

They go and bitch to their friends and family, or yell to high heaven on Yelp, but it hasn't changed the fact that for every 5 people who get angry that we denied them, we get 5 more who are just ecstatic that we have that policy.

I booted someone out of one of my businesses today. Gave her some business cards of our competitors and told her "don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Because we do fine work, and we don't want to do that work with people who we disagree with.

If more business owners would adopt the attitude that we are customers buy cash from cash-sellers, we would slowly put a stop to this "customer first" entitlement mentality.

Both parties in any transaction are sellers, and both parties are buyers.

Pfft, I mentioned STEM fields as a place where college degrees make sense. Read it again.

STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

I'd probably say that most IT people can learn through mentorship programs versus college, though.

Yes, I routinely turn away customers.

I am proud of the product we provide, the price we aim for, and the overall quality of the people I've hired.

In the 25 years I've been running businesses (since back in the BBS days), I've had this attitude. It's my product. I am buying your money with my product. For my payment in services, I am expecting cash-sellers who have a good attitude and aren't part of the every-growing sissy-entitled mentality that has taken over the average Joe in this country.

I don't care if you don't like me. Some of my regular customers actually hate me (and have told me so), but they're willing to shut their traps about their political ideologies because I run damn fine businesses.

And what's wrong with that?

The entitlement mentality for those with college degrees in almost every field is astounding. Completely jaw-dropping in some cases.

Other than STEM fields, I can't imagine what a college degree will bring to a person's ability to make a happy customer and a profitable company.

All of my businesses are those where degrees have replaced internships and mentorship programs. Most of my top earning employees have moved on to other companies -- companies that didn't even consider their lack of a degree because they had actual job skills earned by working for me and learning from my people.

I look at all my friends who have graphic design degrees but can't design. I look at friends with business degrees but they can't run a business. Administrative assistants who went to college? For what, to answer the phone, manage customers and file paperwork? For real?

Even in accounting there is much more to be learned on-the-job than in any 4 year program.

Fuck if I care -- 90% of my client base is non-degreed. 90%. And the 10% who are degreed? They can barely afford our services across the board, usually due to their debt burden.