rehmwa

So...we need to institutionalize them? That's the only option I see other than continuing to enable their problem at taxpayer expense. see, I'd take his "understand their situation" paragraph and sympathize. But my conclusion would be the opposite of the lead sentence and read it "For many people that is why they can't be given public assistance" when somebody "needs" something to their very personal and serious detriment, the solution is to help kick the addiction, not finance it directly or indirectly ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Just think of all the free cell phones we could give away ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Take away his guns and anything that might be fashioned into a weapon. Seize him and place him in jail for a while. Once he's charged, sent to prison and released, immediate take him and put him in a mental health long-term custodial facility so that we can be sure he doesn't kill a bunch of schoolkids. there's some funny posting/mocking - thanks, I needed the chuckle ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

no, I'll wait for to see those flip comments and bumper sticker tripe we've already heard and ignore those then I'll wait until someone puts out a genuine and well-meaning brainstorm and then shit all over it with flip comments, emotional appeal, and bumper sticker fodder thanks, I'm very excited to see what's offered (()) ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Nice nearly 20 straight posts of : "some people" "Dems" "Reps" "Obama" "Party of NO" "dems" "reps" ad nauseum Looks like the party PR machines has everybody here right exactly where they want them - they don't have to fix the problem - or even try anymore, they just have to create the divide so that no matter what happens, the public will be able to rationalize blame to whichever half of the leadership they've been indoctrinized to hate. you are all smart people - how can you be so easily brainwashed? However, if we all voted in such a giant pile of petty little children, we get what we deserved - representation of the public. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

it's a longshot, but.......I had one issue with mine, the camera would go on and off even if my enclosure was squeezed too hard or bumped. I thought the hypeye was defective......it was only the CX - There is a preference for auto-on when the viewscreen is opened. That needs to be disabled in the preferences, it can be a bit sensitive. See if that relates to the 1st camera. no idea on the 2nd, the viewscreen sounds like it's crapped out ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Agreed. And no special treatment for one source of income over another (like hedge fund managers only pay 15%). agreed - flat rate, starting at dollar number 1. all income is income. You'll never get widespread agreement to that. Paying 20% on $1 million/yr still leaves you with.. uh... ... $800k left over to buy that summer home and 4th car with. In the real world, the family of 4 collectively earning $40k/yr is hammered a whole lot than Biff and Muffy are more by 20% coming off their income. So the lower-middle class is going to insist on keeping the graduated tax rate; and the GOP won't have enough votes to kill that. So, the GOP will insist on keeping the bargain-basement rate on capital gains, and the Dems won't have enough votes to kill that. It's none of my business how much money is leftover after taxes, if we had a system that treated income equally for all. (yeah - I actually don't have an issue with a personal exemption. Except for the fact that the cutoff point of the exemption can be pushed up and up until 51% of people don't pay taxes and 49% of the people pay for everything. IMHO - If every dollar was taxed, the wage and salary markets would adjust eventually so the standard of living of lower income earners would recover - the trick would be how to migrate to that situation....especially since the trend is always in the other direction) agree, that the current tax system has a lot of "wrongs" created to try to balance out all the other wrongs put in place. I don't think you stereotypes of the Dems standing one thing and the Reps for the other is really true either - both teams have a vested interest in keeping the code as nuanced and complex as possible in the attempt to give everybody the illusion that they get preferred treatment. Again, it's a zero sum game. That's why it's just an illusion. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Agreed. And no special treatment for one source of income over another (like hedge fund managers only pay 15%). agreed - flat rate, starting at dollar number 1. all income is income. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I held out for days on it since the thread was diverging in strange and interesting ways that were entertaining and confusing to follow...... ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

acknowledgment that someone has to pay for it - zero sum game - this is great but it's so much easier to understand (us) when the benefits go to other countries (vs them) than just, another state, or to your neighbor via social programs, etc etc etc. (example - every deduction allowed means those that don't take the deduction are paying more to take up the slack. mortgage deductions, tax incentives, exemptions, etc etc etc - get rid of them all) ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I suspect that this is the same in the US. It's my experience anyway (not counting discussion forums). Our real problem is the nutbags on the extremes get a lot of press. AND, unfortunately they also get elected. Or at least the elected seem more interested in placating the nutbags instead of just laughing them off and sticking to the constitution and a policy of leave each other alone. You hear about the impotent protesters wanting to 'just do something, anything' just to show some vague action. You hear about the survivalists threatening to shoot the impotent protesters. But it's a pretty quiet news day if we ever hear about the two neighbors, one owns guns and the other doesn't, and they are both fine with that. Or at least both don't consider it their business what the other guy does. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

but can they spell "barrel"? ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I fail to see the difference between that and confiscation. Confiscation they just steal the gun. Mandatory buy back, they tax you first to pay for the program, once they all take their cut, they then take your gun at a huge discount. Mandatory is better, the government gets more money from you that way. I'm sure they'll then add a processing tax, and maybe a fine also after the fact. I'm pretty sure on the way out of the confiscation camp, they make you lie naked on the mudd and let a vegetarian stand on your face too. It's good for votes. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

please cut medicare, defense contracts, and nuclear missiles - along with the rest as well and tax me the same too, while we're at it. hell, I'd pay a little more if we can streamline the code and delete all the deductions, exemptions, and penalties - as long as we make real ad tangible changes in spending ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

you note "the Dems" to be fair - I can name at least two parties in Congress and one executive branch that I'd put the blame on ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Cops are good in this thread. In other threads they are bad depending on the base subject. I understand, it's the every changing position on cops - this time it supports the position of keeping the drones dis-empowered. If the topic was tasers, then the position is they are 'racist abusive nuts with napolean complexes' if the topic is a dangerous wacko get shot on the street then the position is they are 'the cops shouldn't be allowed to shoot the criminal if the criminal only has a knife' this topic is some politician with a D next to his name says something stupid and we need to protect him ASAP from bad words - so cops need special weapons. I'm not sure how that links, but apparently that's how the thread evolved. I'm getting the hang of this.

well, that's one question. don't be shy about the other one ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

isn't the president supposed to propose a budget? are you satisfied that he's proposed budgets that have actually decreased true spending? ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

ABSOLUTELY!! The scrub needs to be smart. But it has to happen and congress and the president don't have the balls to do it right. I'm not saying you are appealing to sympathy. I know it seems harsh from the replies here. But I do think that the politicians and department heads are trying to do just that - appeal emotionally on a topic that should be done logically. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

How it come across if someone said that they think you ought to not have your job, that half of the people at your company should just be fired because you don't agree with the way it does business, consequences be damned? Not very nice, I'd say. actually, I think a few posters here have done exactly that to him..... if Fed employee says "we just need more taxes so I can keep my job" - can it also be read as "two people need to be laid off so I can keep my job"? not nice either - the mission of the government needs to be cleaned up and streamlined too ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

the sequester is a generic solution to try to get the budget under control - mostly military, but across the board of something like 1.5% cuts (who has the real numbers???). I'd like the real number to see if it's a number that could be cut, typically, without huge layoffs, etc......If not, then we are admitting that (for discussion sake) 98.5% of the work is overhead - that's certainly not efficient. It's only in place because the exec and legis branches are failing to budget in a responsible way. They can't control their spending. If we keep going the way we are - continuous tax increases to support a growing administration - then fathers and workers and helpers and all sorts of others in the private industry will be in the exact same place. It's not that there is no sympathy, it's about who gets the sympathy. Perferential sympathy toward whatever group(s) are currently in front of us at the time won't fix the problem - it's just using a credit card to pay for the other credit card until the next card comes due...... The sequestor is supposed to be a threat to get congress and the president to budget smarter. It's sickening that, instead, it's just another political lever to them. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Are you telling they dont aim before they pull the trigger? I'm still confused - are cops "good" and therefore they need special weapons? or are cops 'crooked and evil' and therefore we should despise and hate them? or are cops old west cowboys and should always approach a criminal man to man by stripping down weapons until it's a fair fight? I can't figure out which angry stereotype I should be using for context in this discussion..... ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

well, the guys in blue helmets would have their feelings hurt when people point and laugh (I think so anyway, they might be used to it by now) ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Congress's inability to prioritize and rationally cut spending to levels that can be supported by tax payers will directly result in laying off those public sector employees that work for a living. this results in threats such as: schools will close, mail will stop, police and fire will reduce, we'll be overrun, your public sector friends will be jobless. all so each congress critter can continue to claim they are fighting for their pet wasteful programs. also, of course, caused by not being offered a reasonable budget also, of course, caused by the fuzzy math of government budgeting where getting more money can still be emotionally cried as a 'cut' so that department heads can send horrible stressful memorandums to scare their employees all under the guise of thanking them for their sacrifices - in the hope that it'll motivate people to spend more and increase their budgets slightly more than the increase they will get. etc etc etc BigMike's post decries that his department will die if they don't get their money, but no where does it offer up who else should be cut or closed or cancelled to cover for them. the only thing is it's personalized to lean on sympathies and guilt. It sucks - but who's gonna pay for it? Funny thing - private sectors cut and furlough, etc, all the time. and just taking more from the public to pay for these jobs -> I'd like to see all the e-mails from those employers that note how many people would be laid off to just continue the current outrageous growth in government. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

and loaded with salt - hillbilly or not, that's a pretty good message - don't kill 'em, but they will hurt and sting a lot Edit: of course, if you did that today you'd be sued for 'intent to sting', and the enviros would sue you for not filling out an impact statement for using salt ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants