TomAiello

You want to avoid starting a P. corporation (either P.C. or P.L.L.C.). The P type is a device the government uses to prevent folks from shifting money around to lower tax brackets. It requires the corporation to pay taxes at the personal rate, which is higher. Pretty much the P corps are intended to make doctors, lawyers, CPA's etc, pay full personal income tax rates on professional income. Don't start a P corp if there is any way to start a non P. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Keep in mind that I have repeatedly said I am asking about the philosophy, not current events. I have made no attempt to compare any of this to today's situations. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You mean like Sudan? Actually, I was thinking in pretty generic terms. I'm more interested in the general philosophy. If I had to pick a real world example, I'd use Auschwitz. Those "kids" didn't really rise up or anything, but I still think the cops needed to show up to stop the abuse. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Love the sig line... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In such cases, the cops usually show because the kids asked someone for help. So, if the kids asked you for help, would you call the cops? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I was more thinking of the minorities within the country as "kids" with the government of that country as the "parents". I didn't say who the "police" were, in this extended metaphor. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm pretty sure it depends on the specific wing shape used. Canard (tail in front) ought to generate more total lift, because the "tail" pushes up to balance the inherent rotation of the main wing, rather than down (which it would if placed in front). But as far as CG relative to wing? I dunno, but I think it's going to depend on a lot more complex things than I can think of right now. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Sorry, I was trying to illustrate, not put word in your mouth. I guess what I'm saying is that if you view something--anything--as an authority, you're likely to refer to it in support of your positions. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I agree. Nobody wants the police at their house unless they've been called. Sure, but when they're abusing their kids, it's probably better if the cops show, even if the parents haven't called. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It's possible your hitting a cultural gap between the US and Europe. American culture is a lot more uptight about sexuality. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Damn, somebody's going hard... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Huh? So, you do or do not want intervention? I'm really trying to ask about your philosophy, not about specific world events of the day. Specifically, you said that taking of human life cannot be justified by politics. My question is at what point you draw the line and say that it is justified? Never? Even if taking the life of an aggressor is the only way to stop them taking the life of others? Can you elaborate on your views a little? Without reference to any specific conflict would be great for me. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What does that have to do with Iraq? Nothing at all. I was asking about a particular political philosophy (that nothing justifies lifetaking) expressed above. I had not meant the inquiry to reference the current conflict in Iraq, and was providing historical or potentially non-specific examples to ask questions. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I think Tom's reference is dead on. Becaussssse????? Have a look at Wikipedia on Classical Liberalism or Libertarianism. The most relevant part is here: You might also have a read through the web pages of the Institute for Humane Studies or the Von Mises Institute. I wasn't trying to start an argument. More explaining the common usage of some terms. I have a fairly solid academic grounding in the classical liberal tradition, as well as the modern Libertarian movement. If you want to start a separate thread discussing the areas in which they diverge, and their similarities, I'd be happy to go on for hours on the topic. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't seem to have the horizontal scroll bar on the poll questions. Is this something specific with Mozilla Firefox, or do other browsers have this limitation, as well? No idea. I'm using Safari, and I can scroll right until you exceed the line limitation of the poll itself, at which point your text is cut off (that's about three page widths down there). Perhaps just re-post the explanations into the thread? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What if it isn't you, personally, or your country that is under attack? The classic example is the one I stated above (is it morally justified to invade a foreign nation to prevent them perpetrating genocide upon their own people?), but there are others. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd take issue with that. Contrast: "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." with current pushes for affirmative action (i.e. judgment by color of skin). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You can't. In titles and polls, their are no line breaks, so they just scroll off the right side. You can always read them by rolling your browser window over there, though. If you want to put everything into the standard post box, you ought to edit your first post to include the definitions. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Classical Liberalism is often referred to as Libertarianism in the modern context. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Remember that I'm an atheist, personally. If you are a true believing christian, you're likely to view the Bible as the ultimate authority for all things. That means that you'll refer to it in many situations, because for you it is relevant in all of them. That's really no different from me referring to an article written by Lawrence Tribe (he's a constitutional scholar, and former president of Harvard, if you don't recognize the name) when discussing free speech. Sure it's not case law, but it is a supporting source that I believe has validity and weight. Same thing when you cite an op-ed piece from the NY Times, or WSJ. You're referring to a source that effects your views, to try to explain why you think what you do. In some cases, you are borrowing the words of speakers more eloquent than yourself, because they have stated your views with more precision, or prettier words, than you are personally capable of. I really think that the underlying issue has to do with what you accept as an authoritative source. If you remember that people quoting the bible are generally doing so in the belief that it is an authoritative source, the original poll question can be re-worded as: "Why respond to a question or contribute to a discussion with quotations from authoritative sources?" There are lots of good reasons to do that. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I used to have a bumper sticker that read: "I'm pro-choice on everything." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Dude, you have to label things like that with "Not Safe For Work" (NSFW) or something similar. I've edited the title of your original post. If someone is at work, and clicks on that thinking it's going to be a discussion of a pack job, they can potentially get in a whole bunch of trouble. People have actually been fired for things like that. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Clicky -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I haven't had any problems with the durability of the small mesh used on vents/valves. I've made hundreds of jumps on those canopies, and the mesh doesn't appear to be wearing at any faster rate than the rest of the canopy. I do think that you'd have issues if you used larger mesh (since things would stick in it more), but that's pure speculation. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

GDNewbies: I am not going to tolerate further stirring of this pot. The actual people, using their actual names, involved in this thread are trying pretty hard to find a way to live together. Your anonymous attempts to get them fighting are not going to be tolerated. I have banned you from this forum for 30 days. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com