jcd11235

The one that initially comes to mind is the oil/coal industry, and their use of pseudo-science to attempt to obfuscate the facts of global warming. Never mind that they skip the step involving peer reviewed studies in established scientific journals, or that the overwhelming majority of scientists disagree with the position that most energy companies hold on global warming. The Intelligent Design advocates also seem to have bit too much lobbying power, considering that there is zero, zip, nada in the way of evidence supporting their assertion of a supernatural creator, and they lack a scientific hypothesis for scientists to test. Big Tobacco had the Tobacco Institute in the seventies, in an attempt to cloud the publics perception about the dangers of smoking tobacco. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

On what? Your comment on rednecks and wrestling (which I don't recall reading) or bookies correctly picking the winner the majority of the time? Or did you want to take Henderson over Silva for even money? I'm not interested in the first one, but I find the other two appealing. I'm not interested in a large bet, since I don't gamble with money I don't have, but I'm not opposed to a small, friendly wager. With whom do you suggest we post our money? (PM your suggestion.) Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Isn't it the lender's responsibility to ensure the asset used as collateral is worth more than the principle of the loan? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

More often I think people are upset that special interests have them, but the opposing view is not represented equally, even when the majority of a Congressman's constituency hold that opposing view. Well funded minority positions can, and often do, receive disproportionate representation. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

a LOT != most But go ahead and consistently bet against the bookies knowing how to do their job if you want to. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

We set ourselves up for failure when we gave corporations the same rights (in some cases more rights) as people, but without the associated responsibilities. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

This statement makes me think you don't understand how bookmaking works. Sportsbooks don't claim that a certain outcome is going to occur, they offer probabilities of a certain outcome occurring. If your statement is true, the odds on favorites lost the majority of the time last year. I have a hard time believing that happened. Underdogs are expected to win sometimes, just not most of the time. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The current money line is: Silva -175 Henderson + 135 Evidently the bookmakers see Silva as the favorite by a considerable margin. IMO, one can make more money betting that the bookies know what they are talking about than they can betting against them. If offered an even bet, the smart money is on Silva. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Nor should lenders have lent money they knew their customers would be unable to pay back, or offered mortgages structured in such a way as to allow the principle to be larger than the collateral. Nor should the Fed have created an environment that encouraged such behavior on the part of the lenders and borrowers. There's plenty of blame to go around. No single group deserves all of it. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I don't. Buying insurance is like plying slot machines. You may come out out ahead in the short term (though probably not), but in the long term, the probability of losing money approaches 1. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

How can it be part of the problem if only a minority of qualified citizens participate in government? Until a large majority of qualified citizens actively participate in their government, it is literally impossible for such active participation to cause problems. I agree, which is why I also asked: Of the people that do vote, how many are informed about the issues and candidates they are voting on? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The page cites several different sources, including The National Council on Alcoholism, The Cato Institute, and US Surgeon General, to name but a few. Different studies attribute different slightly different numbers due to different years studied and different methodologies (different years have different abuse:use ratios). The fact of the matter is that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than commonly used, illegal recreational drugs. Erowid is the best general source of information for recreational drugs that I am aware of. Even my doctor recommended it recently. The information available on the site ranges from poorly written documentation of personal experiences (less than reliable anecdotal data) to academic research (typically credible and reliable data). If you're aware of a better source of reliable, accurate information, feel free to share it. If you read the page carefully, you will notice that the 100,000 deaths attributed to alcohol do not include deaths attributed to alcohol related traffic accidents. If you want to include those, you'll need to at least double the total number of deaths attributed to alcohol from the 100,000 that I posted. As far as the "denominators" are concerned, if you read the source I linked to and quoted (which was subsequently quoted by yourself), you'll see that deaths have been offered in both total number and per 100,000 users (as well as per 10,000 abusers), so it offers a fair comparison between different illegal drugs and alcohol, despite different numbers of users. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Or perhaps when people realize that they are their government, and begin to actively participate in that government. Democracy doesn't work if the citizens are generally apathetic about government. When was the last time we had more than 90% of qualified citizens register and turn out to vote? 80%? 70%? 60%? 50%? Of the people that do vote, how many are informed about the issues and candidates they are voting on? We live in a democracy representative republic. If the government is a problem, then the people are the underlying problem. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Sorry you got drug into it. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

How did he insult the slain officer? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Yes, they do. If anti-relining legislation is the cause of the problem, then the mortgages that people are unable to pay should be predominantly in minority neighborhoods. If that's not the case, and it doesn't appear to be, then the anti-redlining legislation is not a primary contributor. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Agreed. Alcohol may be legal, but it is significantly more dangerous. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

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I'm not claiming coke is safe. Virtually nothing in life is safe. But, in comparison to alcohol and tobacco, it is safer in most situations. Abusing any drug, legal or not, will increase the risk. Education works better than prohibition. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Yep, just as the US Constitution eroded the sovereignty of the states. Peanuts in the grand scheme of things. Estimates of losses in the US from the mortgage crisis range from $120 billion to $500 billion. The actual amount is somewhere in between. True, just as allowing/promoting socialism does not make one a de-facto dictator. Ahh, but in a truly free market, the market checks and balances itself, according to the theory. The stewardship is done by the Invisible Hand. Not that I buy into that nonsense, that's just what is often taught. That's probably a fair statement. However, pure Marxist communism has not ever been implemented anywhere, either, so we don't have any good examples of that to study. In many ways, China's markets are freer than the markets in the US. There are lots of good models to look at when it comes to having a successful economy and a benevolent government. Some are primarily capitalist, others have a strong socialist bend. Most are somewhere in between. Neither system is inherently good or bad, but both systems are inherently imperfect. They just have different imperfections. I'm not trying to promote socialism, and I'm not trying to promote capitalism. What I want is to see politicians give up the all or nothing attitude, and recognize that there is not a simple "one size fits all" answer. The approach that works well in one market or industry may not work well in another. Neither private industry nor the government has the market cornered on efficiency. Both have their place in a healthy economy. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

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I thought that was Michigan. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I don't understand how you can give one violent dictator a free pass, yet are willing to demonize another violent dictator. It's not logical. Killing them while they were incarcerated would have eliminated any plausible deniability. Maybe Castro, et. al were just paranoid, but it is certainly not unreasonable to consider that Batista did, in fact, plan to have them killed. No, I don't see the difference between two violent dictators. Who said anything about this being a fun debate? Is that a joke or word games? The false equating of socialism with dictatorship and capitalism with benevolence is something that matters to me. It's inaccurate, and it does no one any good. It causes suffering when political pressures are put on the wrong countries for the wrong reasons. It is also a contributing factor to problems in the US, such as a lack of affordable healthcare for many Americans. I have family that is currently suffering because of that. And the baseless propaganda and the resulting economic sanctions against Cuba certainly aren't helping the Cuban people. Governments and people need to let go of the silly "my way is the only right way" attitudes toward economic policy, and focus on fair, efficient distribution of scarce resources. Sometimes capitalist policies accomplish that goal best. Other times socialist policies accomplish that goal best. There is no denying that there are countries with mixed economies that allow their citizens to provide themselves with higher standards of living than in the US, where anti-socialism propaganda is very, if not most, prevalent. Do you believe you can talk to someone in Cuba who doesn't like Castro and still get an unbiased description of how his policies are affecting Cubans? That's like me asking a diehard Republican to describe the good thing Clinton did as president, or a diehard Democrat about the good things Reagan did and expecting unbiased responses. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it's not going to happen. Facts will be spun, and both blame and credit will be misplaced. I don't see what is senseless about it. Those who demonstrated against Batista had violence visited upon them at the hands of Batista'a police. Batista was a violent dictator; why would that seem surprising? I am suggesting that there is no equivalent to the Platt amendment for Chile or any Middle Eastern Countries. That none of the Middle Eastern countries or Chile were ever considered a U.S. territory as Cuba was between 1898 and 1902. Do you believe that the US had no say in Iraq's newest constitution? We've been an occupying force there for nearly as long as you say Cuba was considered a US territory. For that matter, the Baathists didn't rise to power in the first place without the help of the US. Cuba is not unique in the sense that the US has intervened in their politics. The US has been meddling in many other sovereigns affairs for many years. Unfortunately, we'll likely continue to do so for many more years. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

It's not really a subjective topic. Thus, public opinion won't affect reality. State of Knowledge Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Is that a bad thing? Lawrocket is barred. ExAFO is planning to be barred, AFIK. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!