jgoose71

Of course you would think that Stossel appeals to idiots. He is for less government. If you don't want to watch the hole thing, that is fine, but he makes a good point in the last 2 minutes: We as Americans have lives. We don't have the time or the resources to keep an eye on everything the government does. 3.5trillion dollar budgets, 2,000 page bills, and some 10,000 programs. Each program with an army of lobbyist that know exactly when that program is do to come up on the house or senate floor. Do you know everything the government does? How can you keep an eye on them or hold them accountable? There is so much legal jargon in everything they do that if 2 people read the same passage, they would get 2 completely different ideas about what it's supposed to mean. Why do you think there is so much confusion about the health care bill? Seriously, how is the average guy who works and takes care of a family supposed to know what is going on? It's why the news has resorted to 30 second sound bites. It's all most working Americans have time for. The Government, ran by lobbyists, tries to give the appearance of a fair playing field without loosing their advantage. This really tends to fuck things up. The rules, like I said earlier create unintended consequences. And more to the point for you, all great countries though out history that have fell, came apart from the inside. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Some votes are worth more than others. Are you a lobbyist or super-delegate or inside power broker? "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

The more I see him and the more stuff he puts out, the more I think he makes sense. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsUZkxyYJUk If you don't have the 42 minutes to watch the video, here is the quick sum up: Government has created a lot of rules to favor people. When people complain about unfair treatment, the government instead of repealing the bad law that favors them, creates new laws to make things fair without loosing their advantage. All of these laws create unintended consequences. The more the government tries to fix things, the more fucked up things get. The list: 10: Cash for clunkers 9: Minimum Wage 8: Title IX 7: The Olympic games (Stadiums) 6: "Family Based Agriculture" (Al Paca's) 5: Credit Card protection 4: Health Care 3: Ethanol 2: The housing bubble And number 1 is: Goverment- The idea that 10,000 programs and a $3.5 trillion budget controlled by lobbyists can fix anything. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Do you realize how many Billions of men are there in China? Yeah.. and there millions of them who are also frustrated sexually because there are less women because girl babies by the millions were aborted so that the "conservative" traditional parents wanted sones and not daughters because the government instituted population control. Your point? Are you saying that the sexually repressed Chinese are coming to get you? Now that is a mental picture that will stay with me for months! Last months Popular Mechanics had a break down on thier weapons and capabilities, they have had these missle for quiet a while.. Well, they have been working on them for a while. Now they are operational. The only thing that is lacking is more satellites for their guidance system. Don't for a minute think that the Chinese are our friends. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Do you realize how many Billions of men are there in China? Yeah.. and there millions of them who are also frustrated sexually because there are less women because girl babies by the millions were aborted so that the "conservative" traditional parents wanted sones and not daughters because the government instituted population control. Your point? Are you saying that the sexually repressed Chinese are coming to get you? Nah I am not gonna obsess over Chinese Hordes like the right wing is doing. As far as the other thing though its a common theme... men doing stupid shit because they cant get laid. You actually think that the "Great and Benevolent Chinese leaders" go without? They get their fair share same as the rest of the country. Since they have so much responsibility on their shoulders, their fair share is adjusted accordingly. (This message was brought to you by the great and powerful chinese hypno-toad) "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

The Chinese have finished the Dong Feng 21D. They say it can take out a U.S. Carrier. It doesn't have all the necessary support yet to target as well as they want to, but it is still supposed to be effective and the rest of the required infrastructure is being built. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3e69c85a-1264-11e0-b4c8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz19oR8XlLE As I am sure everyone remembers, international law says that borders extend out from coasts 12 miles. China has been trying to claim the 200 mile commercial boundaries as sovereign territory. Trying to enforce this policy is what lead to the 1999 indecent where the P-3 was rammed by a Chinese F-5 fighter. They are hoping that with this missile they will be able to force U.S. Carriers out of the region. Once this happens, I don't think we will be able to promise Taiwan it's independence anymore. [Hypnosis spinning wheel]China is our friend. Keep borrowing money from them.[/Hypnosis spinning wheel] "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Just like I posted earlier, everyone here is still confusing "Death Panels" and "End of life Planning". There is a difference. Unless they are being specifically counseled to pull the plug if something happens, i don't know what the issue is. You all need to read up on living wills- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_health_care_directive Like I said earlier, nothing more right wing than being responsible for yourself. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

The end of life plan is not a death panel. I don't know who or why it was trying to be labeled as such. The death panels were a bunch of bean counters in bed with the insurance companies trying to decide if it was economically worth it to let you live. I agree with Lindsey, end of life plans should be mandatory. It saves your family the problems of "when should we pull the plug on this vegetable" and what ever guilt may come along with it. It takes the decision out of doctors, lawyers, and government officials and puts it where it belongs, in the hands of the person lying on the bed. Self responsibility, nothing more "right wing" than that. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

+1 It seems in the grand scheme of things, the right has Jesus, the left has Global warming, and we share the weekends with the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Really!? So Why did the OP feel the need to tell everyone about his non-belief? Why is it when I post I don't care about your non-belief all of the atheists here seem to get defensive about it? "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

This statement right here is where you loose all credibility. Anyone can have there there rights stepped on and anyone can be oppressed. Just because you are part of a minority you think you have the right to go shit on everyone else? I got news for you, you don't. Ooooh, tetchy, tetchy! You might want to simmer down and check on how much of your reply is actually a logical progression from my post. I got news for you - it ain't much. Recall - your statement wasn't about rights, it was about people 'trying to convert you'. Until you can understand the overwhelming scale of the conversion pressure that comes from the established religious side of things vs the non-religious, you just won't understand how petulant you sound complaining about atheists who wont leave you alone. Second, christians aren't getting their rights stamped on - they really aren't (cries from Christians to try and get other religions rights stamped on were certainly much more prevalent this year), yet the good old battle cry of christian paranoia sounds as loudly as ever. Seriously, you guys control everything. You're in the majority in every damned legislative and judicial branch in the country (unless you don't count the Mormons). If you were being discriminated against, it'd be by yourselves. So why are symbols of religion being torn down from all over the place then? When I tell someone "Merry Christmas" and they reply "Happy Hanukkah" to me it ain't nothin but a thing. It's what the season is all about. Atheists, it seems, want the words stripped out of the English language all together. They talk down to me because I believe in God. "How stupid are you for believing in an all seeing guy in the sky..." Your rights end where my rights begin. I believe in God, get over it. The separation of church and state happened over 200 years ago. theology isn't enforced as law, and if people turn to the bible as a guide to how to treat other people, why should you have a problem with it if it as long as conforms to the American Ideals? I had to bold that because there are certain religious ideas that don't conform to American ideals, like sharia law "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

This statement right here is where you loose all credibility. Anyone can have there there rights stepped on and anyone can be oppressed. Just because you are part of a minority you think you have the right to go shit on everyone else? I got news for you, you don't. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Ive read the article and I've read the respnses and I really do think that some of you may be full of crap. Issue 1: If you are are so live and let live, why do you feel the need to convert everyone over to your belief system. It's starting now with billboards and Atheist campaigns, how long until you go to war? I suspect soon now there will be an atheist "war to get rid of god and bring peace." Trying to convert people to your belief system makes you no better than anybody else. Issue 2: Just because a few crackpots use religion as an excuse to commit unspeakable acts doesn't mean it's religions fault. Religion is carried out by man and there for succumbs to mans short falls. There are atheists out there that believe that since there is nothing after this so they are going to do what they want right now. I'm not going to try to lump all of the atheists together with a small group of whack jobs though. I truly believe live and let live. I believe in god because I look around and I see all the beauty in the world and I don't believe it's and accidental mixture of chemical reactions. I like to sit and the sun and just feel it and know it's good. I also believe in sex, jello, and dinosaurs. I believe that suffering on earth is mans fault and we can do better. I have come to terms with these things and the possibility that there is a god. Don't lump me in with the crackpots, stop trying to convert me and let me have my beliefs already. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Keep checking politico and factcheck.org. I'm willing to bet they will mark it as a "Promise kept" because the name of the bill will be something like the "Net Neutrality bill." As the internet becomes a slave to big business, the Dems will cheer. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Did some reading on Oil from algae. Interesting stuff. Most notably was they expect oil from algae to eventually cost as much as gas does right now. The author of the original article in this post did stretch the truth a little though. The navy didn't save millions. They may not have bought millions of dollars worth of diesel, but they spent up to $425 a gallon for the algae based diesel fuel that still needed to be shipped to where ever it was needed. I guess the DOD is eating up the research cost for the rest of the U.S. Not a bad thing though if they can get the cost of algae fuel down between $2-$3 a gallon like they are predicting and create diesel farms on bases over seas. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Hi jg, 'Got ta' be careful who'z doin' the appropriatin' 'Remember that Air Tanker fiasco a while back?? Yea, I remember. At least Airbus would have built the aircraft in Louisiana there by employing 10's of thousands of Americans. China? Don't expect them to do anything for us any time soon. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

This is really good news as long as the green technology is coming from the U.S. and not china. We have already seen Harry Reid outsource a huge windmill contract to china, lets hope this stuff stays home. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Depends on the laws of the country. Judging by the fact that this case even exists, the CIA, and any Italian government agency that co-operated in the rendition, were breaking the law. Conversely, just because you don't want them to have any legal rights does not mean that Italian law does not give him any legal rights. Oh really? No. They broke the law, hence this case. From your own link: Since he was wanted for questioning by the U.S. military (I'm assuming from the article), I highly doubt he would have been turned over under the extradition treaty. I'm thinking this was an Intelligence to Intelligence deal. Still, notice how only the U.S. agents were prosecuted. Selective prosecution when both parties are involved suggests bias. If it was that serious, the Italian agents would have been prosecuted also. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

If it's not done according to the extradition process that's enshrined in law, yes. Government agencies can't just do whatever they want, off the cuff, without worrying about due process. Due process? How much due process does a criminal have in a country he is not supposed to be in? Italy can give him as much rights as they want, or don't want. Just because liberals in this country want to give the right to vote to illegals here doesn't mean other countries have to afford illegals all the same rights. On the other side, extradition is not a process all countries have. Extradition is an agreement between to counties on how to handle criminals to not allow hiding places. Don't confuse it with a legal right. If we don't have an agreement with a country, they can do what ever they want, either protect him, turn him over, or let us come get him. Since we have bases in Italy, I know there is a SOFA, but I don't think there is an extradition agreement, hence this case. Some officials wanted him gone, others didn't. Because there is an anti-U.S. sentiment among some of the government officials there, we have this case. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Unless, of course, the Italian government was in on the deal. Still no. Even if branches of the Italian government were in on it, it would still be illegal. So if we gave the OK to another county to carry away a criminal out of our country, that's illegal? Even if the person is in our country illegally? Do you know something about the law I don't? Andy, you care to weigh in on this? "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

It is a pleasant change from the "America can do no right" bullshit posts. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Unless, of course, the Italian government was in on the deal. But we will never know because the Italian agents involvement was not allowed to be brought to light. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

The story brings up two major questions in my mind. Was he actually an Italian citizen? If a group of Mexicans came across the border, kidnapped a bunch of other Mexicans and took them back, I don't know if I would have a lot of heart burn about that. Granted this case is different, but the question still remains, was he a naturalized Italian citizen? So they just released enough classified evidence to convict the Americans? And what was the Itaiian government's role in this? This case really reeks of political posturing against the evil U.S. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

I'm not sure how to explain it. He is the Charles Rangel of his district. No matter what he does, they will re-elect him. They believe everything that comes out of his mouth. It's what happens when you have a district full of sheeple. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything

Historically, estate/inheritance taxes in the US were imposed temporarily to fund wars, then repealed when peacetime resumed. That changed after WWI, when instead, specifically in 1924, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, an increase in estate tax rates and imposed a gift tax. When that was done, the majorities of both houses of Congress were Republican, and the President was Republican Calvin Coolidge. So who do you have to thank for modern estate and inheritance taxes in the US? It's the goddam pinko, socialist, wealth-re-distributing Republicans. You mean the same group of republicans that fought for woman's suffrage? Gawd damn them, gawd damn them all to hell. "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Life, the Universe, and Everything