Private courier services still exist and have existed since at least the Roman Empire. Try delivering a letter using some other company (or a private individual) and compare the price to buying a stamp. As for the other examples that didn't exist until created by government, in most cases they didn't exist precisely because the cost was too prohibitive.

I remember computer games that used WASD for movement in the 1980's.

Where I live (southern state not far from Texas), most courts will let you work off your fines doing community service at a pretty decent hourly rate: I think it was about $15/hour when a friend of mine took this option. Net benefit to everyone as it keeps our roadways clean and well-maintained.

We are the Borg, and we know that the DMCA applies to copyright (that would be the C).

Tough to copyright a toner cartridge, but I'm sure they're working on that...

Many start up restaurants do exactly this.

No one wants to eat at an empty looking restaurant.

"Sola Scriptura" does not exclude recognizing similes, metaphors, allegories, parables, taunts (one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted 'literary devices' as we don't really have an equivalent in English, or other literary devices. It means believing that Scripture is inspired by God, not that every word was dictated and must be literally true no matter what the context.

When Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches", it doesn't mean that His followers are green and leafy.

I can say that toning them down may not be a bad idea.

I was managing a Radio Shack at the time. I was helping customers near the counter, another associate was helping someone over with the 'gadgets', and the next thing I remember I'm picking myself up off the floor. Thankfully, I don't think my eyes suffered permanent damage, but my eyesight is so bad already I don't know if I could tell anyway :(

I'm sure it was nothing malicious or intentional, just one of those freak things that happen, but I sure wouldn't wish it happening to someone else. So long as they can still do their job as pointers, which is to make a dot on a presentation board or wall in a relatively bright room, toning them down a bit doesn't bother me.

For those who don't know, this is otherwise known as "Georgia Overdrive" - (Kentucky Overdrive in older models).

Truckers do this all the time.

Will Ahsoka Tano be alive?

Here's a question I've never seen an answer to in regards to the 'Bush' plan for social security:

Who would vote all the proxies for the stocks bought for the 'private sector' option?

It can't be the actual people - unless you wanted to have a national election for each of the Wilshire 5000 every year - so somebody in the Federal government would have that power. And with the amount of money you're talking about with Social Security, that means the Federal government would soon have the power to appoint boards of directors and make fiscal decisions for many small cap and even mid cap companies.

There's also the little matter of how to replace all the money that would be diverted into private investment - as currently pretty much all the money goes to pay current retirees/disabled persons. Your retirement will be paid for by people much younger than you - but that's actually a minor point to me compared to the above.

Chess is a game of perfect knowledge - as such it has been mathematically proven to

a) Have a solution - a line of 'best play' for both sides

and

b) That solution is 'solvable'.

I fully expect the game of chess to be solved within my lifetime.

Yeah, for all the press the Kasparov vs. Deep Blue game got, most didn't tell the whole story.

In one game Kasparov made a 'finger fumble' - he moved the wrong piece in an opening - Deep Blue just followed his preprogrammed lines well into the middlegame at which point Garry didn't stand a chance.

In another game, Kasparov resigned from a known drawn position.

To 'clarify' your post further:

FICA funds the current beneficiaries Social Security benefits.
Your Social Security benefits (for those not already retired or collecting disability) will be funded by future people's FICA payments.

That is a fact. Not political spin or economic bullshit.

If you tried to set up a 'payment program' like that in the public sector, it would be labelled a 'Ponzi scheme' and you'd go to jail, but with Social Security it does work because of mandatory enrollment. The baby boomers are throwing a wrench into the works currently, but if all else fails raising the retirement age (to the point where the money coming in equals the money going out) would work. I'm not saying that's the best solution - but it WOULD work.

Personally, I'm disabled - for real, I've tried going back to work, my body/mind just can't handle it.If it wasn't for one really good year and a half I had working right off Wall Street my family would be well and truly fucked. What's really screwed up, is I'm in the position where if I made any more household income, I'd also be screwed.

Last I checked an extra $100/month income for me would take away close to $1000/month of benefits (mostly, but not entirely, for my prescription medications and doctor's visits - so while you can debate what those actually should cost, that's what they would cost ME if I had to pay full price for them - which I would during the 'donut hole' which I'd hit pretty quickly). So I have a teenage daughter, that I can't allow to go out and have an 'over the table' part time job...

Depends entirely on the contracts Penny Arcade signed with the ad providers.

This may be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing...

From the summary, it's the influx of extra money that throws a wrench into the works.

Stick to the plan, deliver what was promised - and only what was promised, and pocket any change left over.

You don't even need a step 3 to Profit!