pirana

Did you go to Rome to buy it, or is that a promo pic? But seriously, you're not going to ride that on the freeways are you? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Income is only one small factor in determining class. There are lots of rich people with no class at all. Class is something you are born into, and rarely move out of - not by making more money anyway. Class ascendancy is possible, but requires attention to a lot more than money. Class is about where you live, what you eat, when you eat, how you speak, where your kids go to school, what you do for your livelihood, where you vacation, when you vacation, how you vacation, what you drive, if you drive, what you read, if you read, how you furnish your home, and so on and so forth. It is about the multitude of things you do to provide for and express yourself. The standard model of classes includes 9 categories: Upper out of sight Upper Upper middle Middle Lower middle Upper prole Prole Low prole Bottom out of sight Funny aside; the two at the extremes (the 2 out of sights) share many behaviors: They are very blunt, honest and straightforward. Niether is out to impress anybody; at least not to the degree that is evidenced by the middles, who are incrediubly concerned with what people think of them. Neither drives. The Uppers because somebody does that for them most of the time, and the Bottoms because they do not have a prayer of owning a car. Neither usually carry money. Again, the Uppers have people that do that; the Bottoms have none. Neither watch TV. The Uppers consider it vulgar and a waste of time; the Bottoms don't have one. Neither work. They both eat whenever they feel like it; their lives not ruled by any kind of schedule. A rube is a rube, regardless of their financial status. Even if they come into a big hunk of cash, they usually piss it away (spend it in a very proletarian fashion on shit like big screen TV's, a Hummer, some sort of fancy mutt, etc.). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

But that is with men and women on the road together. I'm betting roads are safer when used by men only then when used by men and women together. Too bad we don't also have a country where only women are allowed to drive. Then we could really get to the bottom of it. Safest to most dangerous: 1 - Men only 2 - Men and women 3 - Women only (because then NOBODY will be paying attention to the road) " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I agree with some of what he has to say. Especially the parts about Islam having major internal conflicts to resolve. To the peaceful Muslims worldwide, violent Muslims are their worst enemy - not western culture or it's people. The terrorists have succeeded in distracting people with their West-Is-Evil diatribe when what really needs to get resolved is their own humongous rift. And where did they learn to write? Appears they learned from a bunch of old J Peterman catalogs. The excesive flowery language and beating around the bush drive me nuts. Instead of "We think you are the root of all evil and will destroy you" we get "The rabid imperialist dogs of the evil American empire that eats it's own children and usually consumes the entire bag of chips in one setting will never stop our glorious crusade to the promised land and it's multitudes of virgins . . . . " Yada yada yada. Can any one of these asswipes just get to the fucking point, just once? I wonder if they make their victims listen to that shit for hours on end before they kill them? That in itself should warrant the death penalty. What was this thread about? Oh yes, political labels. Liberalism will just morph, like all the political -isms. The labels all remain, and the ideas all remain, but the assignments change. Kind of like musical chairs. The chairs represent the labels and the people represent the ideas. Either from boredom or because they no longer like what the label has come to mean, they keep moving around. In the last 200 years the labels have almost completely reversed. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Thrill junkies last about a half year if that. I'd put them in a different category than skydivers that do it for the sport rather than the stunt. Just a brief aside. I think I was in my 3rd or 4th year. Was just trying to be friendly and was chatting with a group of students. One openly admitted he took it up because he figured it would make a great opening line for meeting women. Yowza! What a bonehead. He only made a couple jumps and then I never saw him again. Must not work. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Maybe their archaic sexist laws have some merit. I mean, you could argue that their fears that society will break down as the result of women being allowed to drive (we could only hope) are unfounded, but at least we would have a nice controlled experiment on whether or not having women behind the wheel increases or decreases oveall highway safety. We simply look at their highway safety stats before they change the law, then compare them to after the law changes and the age old arguement about women drivers should be finally put to rest, right? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/28/wo...html?th&emc=th It is fun to see the bit of info on the sitcom where a woman disguises herself as a man to take a job as a hack. (Kind of a Saudi version of Tootsie). Nice to know it isn't just our culture that is obsessed with junk entertainment. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

This is fun to read. Please share some more uneducated cliches with us. I'll have you know our cliches are very educated. They've attended the finest institutions that money could have bought. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

All right then. Here is my dataset: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 The result I want is that a faulty and highly politicized system of inspections resulted in the I35W bridge collapse. Make the data support my result. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I heard about it on the radio this morning. That is a large amount of money, even by today's standards. I suppose there is some logic that says it is worth it as a price for stability - but where is the stability? I remember the famous quote by Everett Dirksen about a million here and a million there and pretty soon you're talking about real money. Well, this is serious real money. To put it in perspective, that kind of money could probably build about 4,000 brand spanking new, fully furnished, state-of-the-art schools. And who knows how many more times they will go to the well like this before the situation is resolved - one way or another. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

ROTFLMAO I'd love to heard more on this. From a public persona, they are night and day. If you look at Nixon's presidency with the exception of Watergate, it was an incredibly good one. He got us out of Vietnam, ended the draft, opened relations with China, took us off the gold standard, began the OEO, the EPA and the NOAA. Please tell us why you think Bush and Nixon are so similar. Both of them had/have a horrible sense of ethics. Nixon was downright nuerotic towards the end. He became a paranoid mess. He was also very superficial. Apparently he learned his lesson in the Kennedy battle and overreacted to the point of becoming a habitual liar in order to look good. The biographies are full of quotes that betray his meaner side. I was reading one excerpt where he is quoted as saying something along the lines of 'That oughta take care of the niggers for a while' about a piece of social legislation. I'll admit he accomplished some good things, but if we go down the road of only looking at results, of accepting any means to an end, then we open the door to some despicable behaviors. Towards the end, he really acted more like a paraniod monarch than as the elected leader of the most powerful nation on the planet. p.s. - I have not read the biographies myself, but it is hard to imagine some of the quotes I've read as being seen in a good light in any context. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Are you disagreeing with yourself? And did you just call me religious? And how do I make my voice do this? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Ya THINK??? Look at this thread.... Probably a bit guilty myself. But it is only because I suffered repression of my potential at the hands of the unions as a youngster. I probably need a shrink, and really ought to sue somebody, . . . anybody. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Absolutely. We put up with that all the time, and especially being in health insurance, for some reason a lot of people think the CEO should work for less. They know very little about the supply and demand for the talent, or even lees about what it takes to do the job; but they are certain about being overpaid. Our CEO manages an organization of just over 4000 employees, with a cash flow in the 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 billion $ range, and he makes just about a million per year. (Anfd that is the top end if he realizes deferred incentives, retirement benefits, etc.). Nowadays, that is a very good bargain for hiring a CEO for an operation of that magnitude. They do get a bit of an eye-opener when our regulators publish the annual report for insurance executives (required by law in MN). At Mother Blue, a non-profit, our CEO gets a total package of about a million, the for-profits are between double and many many times that amount. May I get on my soapbox here and advocate that all aspects of health care delivery (clinics, hospitals, insurance companies, and the like) should be required to operate as non-profits. IMO, shareholder profits and patient health too often represent a direct conflict of interest. Unfortunately, the trend is going the other way. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Boilermakers - as a Burner/Welder/Fitter for 3 years at a plant in the Chicago area that manufactured and repaired railroad cars. Teamsters - as a Materials Handler (read department flunky) for 1 year at a plant in Chicago area that manufactured restaurant equipment. (We had the contract for all the McD's griddles). Amalgamated Hotel/Motel, Bartender, Waitress, and Hospitality Industry Workers of America United (or something like that) - 2 times, for a total of about 3 years, both as a bartender. All 3 were little more than a payroll deduction from my perspective. They were all vestiges left over from a time when workers REALLY needed unions to protect them. IMO, we now have laws and regulations that do that without having to pay ridiculous initiation fees and monthly dues. They all did more harm than good by: Protecting slugs that should have been axed. Giving slugs the same status as those that worked hard in an effort to get ahead. Getting ahead by working hard is frowned upon in hard-core union environments. I actually got warned by my manager once, and got nasty notes from operators on the other shifts about blowing away the production numbers on my machine. Creating an unecessarily adversarial relationship between mismanagement and the wage slaves. (I use those as endearing terms. I think everybody plays the role they choose. There is no reason we couldn't have gotten on much better, but many people could not get past the us v. them environment fostered by and nurtured by small thinkers on both sides). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Resistance is futile. Your ass will be simulated. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Lets be specific here, you have a “feeling” that prayer works, you don’t know for sure you cant. However the power of prayer can be tested, and has been a number of times, all with the same result. The world's largest study into the effects of prayer on patients undergoing heart surgery has found it appears to make no difference. The MANTRA study, run from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, involved 750 patients. link Similar study here with the same results I’ve lost track of the number of times I heard people pray for world peace, and it almost seems that we are moving opposite direction… Now a much simpler test that we can all do is, and hopefully this will put an end to this undignified topic of praying, is this.... lets begin, or should I say Lets Pray.. [I]"Dear Jesus, please appear to us, as you did to Paul and the 500 brethren, so that we can see the evidence of your resurrection. In your name we pray, amen."[/I] Ok so JC might be busy so lets give him a week, now after that week if he hasn’t appeared then there are only 3 logical reasons (1) God does not exist, (2) God does not want to or (3) God can't. Alternative (2) and (3) are not worth your worship and thus they equal alternative (1). So if noone has seen JC appear before then after a week then prayer does not work, and most likely there is NO GOD/s Logic is futile in this debate, because, for True Believers: Feeling = knowing Faith = fact Evidence is that silly bullshit critical thinkers rely on to "know" something Logic = academic trickery And therefore, SHE'S A WITCH!! BUUURRRNNN HERRRR! " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

All that's left is to show even a shred of evidence that such a thing exists. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I'm with you there. I am so disgusted with his personal agenda and his apparent disregard for the public at large, that I'm even ready to accept Hillary as an alternative. Hurts a bit to even say that. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

i couldnt agree more. i wish i could form my thoughts on the subject into sentences as graceful as yours. Awwww, you're just saying that to be nice. But seriously, thanks; and an afterthought: I wonder if he even cares what the public thinks any more? Wonder if he ever did? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Bingo .................. Incompetent Megalomanics dig that kind of power. Yes, thank you. That is what I meant. There is no longer incentive for me to be President. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Huzzah! The people (mostly the leaders) in that part of the world need to get their fucking shit together. We have not exactly been fair in meddling in affairs; but the bottom line is that the Great Warring Factions (GWFs) of the Three Abrahamic Faiths (TAFs) need to settle their shit and stop dragging down the rest of the world's Happiness Quotient (HQ). Sunni, Shia, Wahabi, Whatever. Notice that the various Christian sects stopped burning each other quite a while back, and at least have moved dramatically forward in recognizing Basic Human Rights (BHRs) of all people, including Their Woman Folk (TWF). They need to get their head out of the 15th century, get with the program, grow up, acknowledge BHRs, and settle their differences in some manner other than lopping each other's heads off. Imagine the tourism dollars available from all the people who would love to visit the Cradle Of Civilization (COC) if said tourists didn't have to worry about losing their heads. p.s. - They do not like to hear it, but they are ALL Arabs, with common ancestry that dates back to the Semitic tribes of the Fertile Crescent about 2000BC or so. Again, we've been no angels, but our sticking our nose in was just the latest irritant in a 4000 year old civil disagreement that has gotten way out of hand. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Ah, see, . . . now we know you are speaking dung. SNL hasn't been comedic since the Clinton administration. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

And what weighs the same as a duck? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Cool avatar. Got me one of those a couple years ago too. BTW, you probably don't remember me, but I owe you a jump. Yeah, sometimes I sound like on of those credit card commercials. What's in your wallet? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

You know, I look at the slate and think, "Is this the best of the best? Is this the best our country has to offer? Three hundred million people, and we get this?" I think we have made it unattractive to hold high public office. I do like a couple of the candidates, but am pretty certain they will not make it out of the primaries. I dream of something like the fake president in Dave (the movie). Guy walks in, sits down very matter of factly with a pad and paper and just has honest conversations about what is important, what to do about it, and how to prioritize the resources. Kinda like running a business responsibly. Problem is the Republicans (mostly) have given that concept (running govt. like a business) a bad name. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley