pirana

I had the same torn feelings when I had my neck repaired. Very grateful for the work done, but $44K for being in the system for about 20 hours - about 2 hours of which was the actual surgery. That is fucking ridiculous. Of course I had people say "Would you rather not be repaired?" Of course not, but where and how is the line drawn? If they had charged $100K, or a quarter of a million - should i still be grateful and not question the price? Not questioning the price (an emotional issue for consumers) and the intentional restriction on the supply side (a business practice of the AMA) are the foundations of the outrageous cost of care in the US. BTW, the bill for the actual surgery was exactly half the total cost of my repair. ($22K for the 20 hour hospital and support, and $22K for the surgeon). So he made $10K per hour for his work. Unfuckingbelievable. " . . . 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

They only have to work those kinds of hours because the AMA keeps a stranglehold on the supply of physicians. Some of what medical students are put thru includes what can only be categorized as hazing (the ridiculous hours). The only purpose of which is preparation for more ridiculous hours, caused by the intentional restriction in supply, which is used to justify the salary, . . . It's a viscious and nasty cyle intentionally propogated by the AMA. Unless of course people think working 80 hour weeks is an inherently good thing. " . . . 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 you would be wrong, . . . again. I have not patronized professional sports for one cent for at least 25 years. At least for the major spectator sports - they have integrated fleecing taxpayers as part of their business plans. Repugnant is what pro sports has become. All facilitated by the juvenille hero worship tendencies of a large segment of the public. (A large enough segment to preserve the status quo and pressure lawmakers into using public money to subsidize billuionaire owners). Some people's lack of any ability to link amazes me. It's laughable to hear people complain about ticket prices, then bow to the millionaires that own the teams and play the games. But I digress. So what if median income for surgeons was $500K? Would they still be worth every penny? Would a million be reasonable? Is there any line you would draw - or is your opinion that saving a life, or improving it, is worth whatever amount of money it takes? " . . . 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

Nanothermite. " . . . 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 did not request they be paupers, or work for an outrageously low salary; just that they are paid an outrageously high salary. (But very typical for some here to put words in other people's mouths). I understand there are many factors that go into their salary; and the salary is what I am criticizing - not the integrity of the people or the quality of their work. When the median is nearly 200% of the next highest, there is something very wrong. " . . . 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

Bottom line is that I am very cool with religion in general, until it turns into the Propogation Of Ignorance. " . . . 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

Can I get a "What about the children?" Actually, no...the usual suspects devolve it to bloodthirsty rednecks and/or rivers of blood in the streets. " . . . 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

Thank you, interesting list. Philospher median is $60K. Time for me to retrain. $60K to just sit around and think about things. Physicians and surgeons are the top 2 median salaries, with surgeons #1 by a huge margin. And people wonder why cost of care here is outrageous. " . . . 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 don't put ice in the gas - that would be silly. You build a cool can by coiling a few feet of gas line inside of a can, sealing the tubing openings, and filling the can with ice. There is probably a more professional setup in big buck racing that uses freon or something; but the ice can was how us budget folks used to do it. It's been a long time since I did it, but I recall reading that cooling the gas before it is injected into the combustion chamber results in more power. Can't remember the exact reason though; something to do with better atomization, or denser mixture? So yes, my guess is that it's not that equal volumes of gas have different potential energy at different temps, but that you get more gas to burn, or get gas to burn more efficiently, if it is cooled prior to injection. Probably one or the other of those two. Any chemist/combustion experts here that can explain better? " . . . 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 can go one better than that. I like to press my face against the glass door and watch the food cook. OH! What's this growth on the end of my nose? " . . . 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

Prove it...even snoopes said mixed...it may simply en a reprint of the news artical back in august! Your "opinion", doesn;t mean shit! Your calling Bullshit, prove it! Are you also convinced that all cell phone numbers are being made to telemarketers? Unless of course you call a certain toll-free number and register not to be included. " . . . 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 that their is a general desire to be treated fairly, or maybe better said that there is a general desire for fair treatment for all. But that is in contradiction to the greedy behavior our economic system appears to sanction (IMO an unfortunate remnant of survival behavior when life in general was so much more tenuous). Quite the dichotomy; and one I don't see going away anytime soon, primarily because what is seen as fair is so subjective. " . . . 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

Naturalist. " . . . 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

Exactly. The leadership of both parties are so far out of touch with reality it is genuinely pathetic. You think people are warming up to the idea of voting against all incumbents; or will it take a couple more rounds of assholes running our country for that to happen? How bad does it have to get before the loyally blind discard their party vanities and wake up to the fact that our system only presents to us a choice between 2 different flavors of elitist self-centered assholes? We allow corporations to fund their campaigns, then expect the elected to represent the man on the street. Right. The public at large doesn't get off the hook either. Just keep shopping at Walmart until absolutely nothing sold in this country is actually made here anymore - then of course keep bitching about the loss of jobs. Are the majority of humans really that stupid? Can't even play a simple game of connect-the-dots. Oh, I forgot - "It's complicated." " . . . 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

Agreed. It is highly subjective, very dependent on the local cost of living, and largely relative to what a person feels (so mostly a measure of emotion). If a person wants to slot people, then do it on data such as income or assets. Slotting people based on emotional labels such as rich, poor, comfortable, well off, happy, etc is silly. All you're really doing is tallying how they feel about themselves. As an aside, best advice I ever got on displaying your assets is to not drive a car more expensive than can be afforded by the average highway patrol officer. " . . . 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

My guess would be that it is pretty easy to go cherry picking videos and post the exact opposite. In fact, pretty easy to go cherry picking videos and make anybody you want look good, or bad, on just about any topic. Bush fucked up some things very badly. Obama is in the process of fucking up some things very badly. Pick your poison; but pretty silly to pick apart the current screw-up not of your liking and ignore the past screw-up who was of your liking. " . . . 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 are correct. We should all be joining huge goose-stepping parades and choking down our 1936 vintage pablum. Some countries have a history of the populace blindly following deranged leaders. Maybe the world would be better if we just put that North Korean nutcase on the world throne. Here, I believe the majority feel that disidence when called for is just as important as loyalty when called for. My opinion is that blind loyalty is far more destructive than unrestricted disedence, and I believe history bears that out. BTW, just in case you need the distinction drawn out for you; some of us strongly dislike, maybe even hate, some of our leaders and their policies, and maybe parts of our system. It does not necessarily mean we hate ourselves or our country. " . . . 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 really can't tell what he thinks by what he says, and not much more by what he does. He is the slipperiest politician I've ever listened to. I've watched him take 5 minutes to answer very simple straightforward yes/no questions. He is so evasive I really have a hard time listening to him without getting really disgusted and frustrated. Every question, no matter how simple, gets a lengthy discussion on why it is so complicated - and he rarely actually answers the question. I do like that he is finally getting a little fiesty at times. Beats his usual totally empty ideological rhetoric, and tells me there might be something with cahunas under that artificial layer of teflon and bullshit. " . . . 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

It occurs to me this means nothing to politicians because it isn't really money to them; or better put, the money does not mean anything to them. They are focused solely on the spending; and must have the money they want to spend - no matter what. So while most of us are wowed by these staggering analogies of just how humongous our debt is, it just isn't on their radar. Here is a nifty little site: http://www.usdebtclock.org/ If this info is true, all we need is for every taxpayer to cough up $125K and we'll be debt free. I wonder how bad it can get before our economy just outright collapses? Something I'm pretty certain is also not even on their radar. " . . . 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

Exactly. International diplomacy is a mean nasty dirty game. Anyone surprised by what has been uncovered is extremely naive. Does anybody really think everything is on the table at press releases and news conferences? What's amazing is how easily those engaged in ongoing deceitful and manipulative behaviors have made him out to be the devil incarnate. The huddled masses buy into the breast-beating cries of national security like a dog salivating for food. " . . . 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've already answered the question. " . . . 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

Why does God hate figs? Blood sugar issues? " . . . 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 this opinion. Terrorists have declared war in a way that may fuzz the lines for some people, but not me. Just because they have taken their battle to public places and directly attack non-combatants doesn't mean we have to go to trial by jury every time we get one of them in the crosshairs. Bottom line, they have decided to wage battle, and we should not have to give each person about to be killed in battle a trial by jury. That would simply be stupid. " . . . 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

It's species; humans are a species. Apologies for the pickiness, one of my peeves that the 2 are often used interchangably and/or incorrectly. That, and your slip might be showing. " . . . 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've always felt that the #2 factor in propogating racism are the well intended efforts to eradicate it. (#1 of course being those who engage in outright discriminatory behaviors). My experience is that it is a non-issue for most people (could be the crowds I run in), who just deal in a humane fashion with those they meet based on their individual words & actions. But as soon as we have to deal with groups of people, and generalities start getting bandied about, someone throws out the race card and all hell breaks loose - even for a lot of good people who get drawn in out of their need to belong. " . . . 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