This kind of thinking is precisely what is needed to solve these tax problems. Why does the government tax a percentage of profit? Instead, think of it as payments for a service. You have a factory full of computers? Well we the government are protecting that factory with our military, so you should pay a tax based on the value of that factory. You are hiring workers? Well we the government educated them at our schools, so you should pay a per worker tax. Utilizing our public road system means customers can come to your store and buy things? Maybe we'll have some sort of utility sales tax. Also, imagine if those taxes could only be spent on precisely those programs. How quick would we be to go to war if corporations new their military protection taxes were going up?

The only reason we are "spending more" this year is because mandatory entitlement programs (unaffected by the sequester) are included in the federal budget.

While the lawsuit is silly, there is zero evidence that this was their revenue plan.

I think there is hope here though. Like you said, Google is an advertising company. Every research project they do is based on getting more data on you so that they can better target advertisements. But surely there is a limit to this. When google starts getting hit with diminishing returns they'll stop collecting more detailed data.

Has the author never seen a cordless phone? You know, what practically everyone who still uses a land line has? You can't hang that up either. In fact, the only thing keeping the aggressive hang up going was the flip hone.

Considering the current rate I'm getting on my savings account, I'd just be giving a free loan to the banks instead!

These are not the actors you're looking for.

>>China would love the excuse to outright take NK.

What makes you think this? Does NK have some resources that China highly values? Better to have a buffer between you and American troops.

Didn't you read? They spent thousands!

Indeed. The media doesn't care about reporting people's beliefs, they care about reporting the horse race.

>>Computers long ago reached the point where they were fast enough.

I assure you, we software guys are working on this problem every day!

And why shouldn't they? It's a business, not a charity. The problem is it isn't just about base salary. It's about the other restrictions that keep H1B workers tied to the company. Give these foreign workers the same flexibility as Americans, and older domestic workers who are willing to take a pay cut will get back to being competitive.

Let's cut the crap about totalitarianism. Do you think Obama wants to be a despot? Do you think Bush did? The real issue here is that the America people have given their president a mission that he does not have the powers to complete. The world is changing. We can't declare war on our enemies anymore. We can't identify them by the colors they're wearing. Now we're directing our government to put down organizations that exist in many different countries and feature people of many nationalities (even American citizens!). Our institutions were not designed to fight this kind of war. We must design them. We should be passing a constitutional amendment that handles these sorts of situations. There should be a dialogue going on where we the people determine what values should be involved. We need new, big ideas for a new world. Unfortunately, we don't want to discuss big ideas anymore. Everything needs to be pushed away while we stick to talking points and bureaucracy. As a result, the president is making these decisions on his own behind closed doors. This is unacceptable. It's a shame too, because I'm sure we could reach a broad consensus. But until we're willing to have adult conversations about these things, our government will continue to change in the shadows.

No one makes 7 round magazines for most of these rifles. This is a back door ban on just about anything other than 1911s and revolvers.

The shooter never used body armor. The media just doesn't know anything about guns and thought his load bearing vest was body armor. Besides the point, body armor isn't magical, you still feel the hits. It also only covers your chest, there are plenty of other places someone fighting back could hit you and debilitate you.

There's also a pattern to these shootings. Typically as soon as armed resistance shows up, be that the police or a citizen with a carry permit, the shooters either give up or commit suicide.

Finally, I'd rather take my chances with "untrained civilians" than with NYPD.