jcd11235

Try researching big bounce theories. There is a much higher probability that such a theory is accurate than some supernatural creator. What created the alleged creator? Did it exist "JUST BECAUSE! (in other words, 'It doesn't have to make any sense to me, but that's just how it is and THAT'S THAT!')"? How would that be more plausible than the universe existing "JUST BECAUSE!"? Unlike theological explanations, scientific hypotheses are based upon observations and mathematical logic. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I learned the same thing when I was a kid, in a class given by my state conservation department. My experience is that the info is less than useful with snakes in the wild, but useful when looking at snakes in cages. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Jesus was an extreme liberal. Do you think Jesus would approve fascism? … No. … Jesus is not an extreme liberal … I disagree. In today's political climate, someone whose beliefs and actions are aligned with the teachings of Christ would indeed be an extreme liberal, just as Christ was (according to the Gospels) in his time. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The classic argument against the fourth amendment. Only where (national security) wiretaps are concerned. If there is valid reason to believe that there is a legitimate to national security, then a warrant can be obtained without need to violate or weaken the fourth amendment. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The classic argument against the fourth amendment. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Jesus was an extreme liberal. Do you think Jesus would approve fascism? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Agreed. Fighting fire with fire is great if one wants to stop an arsonist, but does nothing to stop arson. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Nope. "[O]ur most significant successes on the battlefield -- in fact, I would say all of them, almost categorically, all of them" -- came from interrogators that stuck to the kinds of humane techniques framed in the new Army manual. "We don't need abusive practices in there," Lt. General John Kimmons, U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, said. "Nothing good will come from them." and At one 5p.m. meeting in April, Buzzy Krongard raised the issue of "what have we learned to this point, and what might we do differently?" What had they learned? "There was a grudging professional admiration for how hard these guys were," Krongard recalled later. "They were real soldiers. They went through hell, and gave up very, very little." This was especially true for the most valued captive, shy of KSM: Ramzi bin al-Shibh. In the six months since his capture, he'd received death threats, water-boarding, hot and cold treatments, sleeplessness, noise, and more death threats. Nothing worked. Source and Or listen to Army Col. Stuart Herrington, a military intelligence specialist who conducted interrogations in Vietnam, Panama and Iraq during Desert Storm, and who was sent by the Pentagon in 2003 -- long before Abu Ghraib -- to assess interrogations in Iraq. Aside from its immorality and its illegality, says Herrington, torture is simply "not a good way to get information." In his experience, nine out of 10 people can be persuaded to talk with no "stress methods" at all, let alone cruel and unusual ones. … An up-to-date illustration of the colonel's point appeared in recently released FBI documents from the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These show, among other things, that some military intelligence officers wanted to use harsher interrogation methods than the FBI did. As a result, complained one inspector, "every time the FBI established a rapport with a detainee, the military would step in and the detainee would stop being cooperative." So much for the utility of torture. Source Did we fail to learn our history lessons? “… [D]espite the complexities and difficulties of dealing with an enemy from such a hostile and alien culture, some American interrogators consistently managed to extract useful information from prisoners. The successful interrogators all had one thing in common in the way they approached their subject. They were nice to them.” --Maj Sherwood Moran, USMCR - Guadalcanal 1942 Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The experts overwhelmingly pontificate only against torture. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I think most people would be against torture to save a city from a dirty bomb if they were aware that torture doesn't yield reliable information, except in Hollywood. There was a thread on the topic not long ago with many links to the professional opinions of experienced interrogators regarding torture. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I think Taguba's advocacy is accurate and useful. I would like to see the next president and Congress join the World Court. If any of Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rove, et al. are charged with international crimes they should stand trial. The only way the USA can redeem credibility is to acknowledge our mistakes and take responsibility for them. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Not here. My laptop is Microsoft free.

What happened with your MacBook? If it's only six months old, it should still be under warranty. I've been using Apple's consumer line of laptops since I first got a G3 iBook, with no major issues. I believe them to be more durable than their pro line. I've lost a hard drive or two, but that's expected of any laptop that lives a highly mobile life. Any complex electronic device is subject to the occasional issues, be they hardware or software based. Neither Macs nor WinPC's are immune from that. In most cases, they can be repaired. If yours is only six months old, such repairs should be covered under warranty. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I think the problem with knowing what happened during that tiny fraction of a second has to do with lacking a theory that unifies the four fundamental forces (strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, electromagnetism, gravity). I don't think the information is fundamentally unknowable. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Retail gasoline stations don't have much room for markup on gas. The profit comes from the merchandise inside the convenience store, coffee, cigarettes, candy, etc. Since most of Exxon branded stations are already independently owned, it is doubtful to affect the consumer much at all, even if the industry follows suit. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Non-judicial punishment typically refers to loss of rank, loss of pay, restriction and extra duty, in some combination. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Sorry, as I said, my data is at home, where I'm not. Despite that, it is disingenuous to claim that employees pay 12.4% SS tax. There are strict rules regarding the funding and funding status of pension funds, as well as what qualifications are required of those that determine the funding status (actuaries with additional licensing requirements IIRC). Not necessarily. It all depends on the particular employee and their individual situation. Some people are better off with DB plans, and some people are better off with DC plans. They both have their benefits and detriments, which is one of the reasons "hybrid" DB plans were created. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

It would leave them more vulnerable to the very problems Social Security is intended to mitigate. That makes it an ill advised change to Social Security. One of many reasons. Switching from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans shifts the risk from the employer to the employee. With DC plans, the employee takes the market risks and longevity risks, among others. ERISA largely eliminated that risk before the shift from DB to DC plans became commonplace. Yes, DC plans are more portable. Employees don't pay all that. It is, at best, unlikely that employees would see their employers' contributions added to their salary if the tax were repealed. Additionally, not all of the tax goes towards Social Security "retirement" checks. The tax also covers Medicare & Medicaid, unemployment insurance, SCHIP, and other benefits. Furthermore, lower income workers can get up to $1000 tax credit for contributing to their own retirement plans (something Social Security is not intended to be) and higher income workers do not have to pay Social Security taxes on their entire income. Social Security does work. It has some problems, but they are primarily due to the Baby Boomers retiring, not because there are no private accounts. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

That tired dog was never valid. It's still valid. SS is a safety net, not a retirement plan. It has to work for everybody, especially those less likely to make sound investment decisions. When the tech market crashed, the privitization talks died with it, but not for valid reasons. This was used by those who opposed the concept of private accounts entirely, since it puts the power back in the hands of those paying the tax. If people foolishly put all their money in treasuries, they'd still do better with private accounts. If everybody made smart investment decisions, such a vehicle would be unnecessary. Reducing investment portfolio risk as retirement approaches is among the most basic investment strategies, yet I would be surprised if the majority of working Americans understood the hows and whys of the strategy. Incidentally, target date funds do not always follow that basic rule consistently. What is the point of letting people control their own accounts if they are mandated to invest in a particular manner? As I said, actuarial analysis has found no real benefit to private accounts in social security, but there are real accompanying risks that are undesirable for a safety net account. There are significant tax incentives for people to establish their own retirement accounts, IRA or 401k (or similar), Roth or traditional. There is not a shortage of opportunities for retirement plans controlled by the individual. Those play a different role than Social Security. It would be a mistake to treat Social Security like them. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Sorry, your metaphor needed some fine tuning. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I think the DoD definition posted by nerdgirl here does note exclude the possibility of uniformed soldiers or states acting as terrorists. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Leave it to the courts to interpret the law, as the framers of the Constitution intended. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

IIRC, the figure is around fifty percent. However, most of them rely on it as an income supplement, not their entire income, which is what it was intended to be. That's one of the problems. Another problem is that not everyone understands investing well enough to achieve a positive return. These are all too often the same people who most need the safety net due to poor decisions with their primary investment plans. Those who make good investment decisions could likely obtain better returns than current Social Security returns, but if the inevitable poor returns are also taken into account, it's not clear that the annual return for the average taxpayer would exceed current returns. As US retirement plans shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, the problem of poor investment decisions in retirement plans will be exacerbated. Unfortunately, it's not reasonable to expect the majority of people to be informed investors, informed voters, and competent in their profession/vocation. There are some excellent tax credits available via EGTRRA (and the repeal of its sunset clauses via the Pension Protection Act of 2006), in addition to other applicable tax deductions, up to 50% credit, to lower income taxpayers (i.e. < $25,001 per year for individuals) for 401k/IRA contributions up to $2000 annually. I personally believe that this provides a better option than privatizing social security. The retirement of the Boomers poses the greatest challenge to Social Security, far greater than the investment practices. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

You might be right. I have always assumed that most speeders drive at some speed relative to the speed limit such as 5 or 10 mph over the limit. But people may well stick with 75-80 mph speeds. I started driving the speed limit when gas hit about $2.50 per gallon. It actually made driving less stressful, since I could largely stay in the right lane without having to change lanes to pass people, which was an unexpected bonus. These days, I don't drive at all, for the most part. I walk almost everywhere, occasionally taking public transportation or catching a ride with someone already "headed that way." I did drive a friend's car yesterday (first time I've been behind the wheel in over six months) to run an errand for him, but he would have made the trip if I hadn't. Still, I found myself being careful to obey speed limits for fuel economy reasons. Good call. While I have no doubt some people wouldn't care much, I'm equally confident some people would care a great deal if they had real time data regarding fuel consumption. I also voted for changes in CAFE requirements and increased research in alternative fuel sources. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I did. Air resistance at 70 mph is 36% higher than air resistance at 60 mph. Or, put another way, air resistance at 60 mph is over 26% less than air resistance at 70 mph. It seems like a reduction in the speed limit could immediately result in improved fuel efficiency, albeit only for traveling on the highway. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!