TomAiello

As in, "unaffiliated with any party," or as in "member of the American Independent Party?" I'd actually be curious to hear what your score on the test is, now that you've categorized yourself for us. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm sure they wouldn't actually. But then, the courts (and the laws) condone all sorts of things I thing are totally immoral (income taxes, for example), and at the same time condemn all sorts of things I think are totally fine (recreational drug use, for example). So what's your point? We disregard the law? Man-made laws sure, but mother natures? What was it that Gandhi said about unjust laws? I don't believe that mother nature has laws we can break. Physical laws aside, what we perceive as "natural" law is pretty much just our perception. I'm pretty sure that nature will not be outraged if I go out and have sex with a horse or a monkey tonight. Nature certainly isn't going to be very concerned if I have sex with a man. Now my wife, she may have something to say about those things. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm sure they wouldn't actually. But then, the courts (and the laws) condone all sorts of things I thing are totally immoral (income taxes, for example), and at the same time condemn all sorts of things I think are totally fine (recreational drug use, for example). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yup. And, as in this case, creating all kinds of unnecessary complications as a result. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That's pretty ugly test. Just look on "Cut taxes and government spending by 50% or more" - c'mon, gimme a break. I wonder why there is no "Everyone be happy and healthy" statement. Actually, I was very surprised when I started giving it to a bunch of people and learned that it seemed fairly accurate. I had originally thought it was slanted to give a bunch of "false libertarian" results--meaning that it encouraged people to answer in a libertarian way. In practice, it didn't work out that way. Lots of people were landing in other places, where you'd expect them to based on their self-identification and policy positions. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Anything that consenting adults choose to do between themselves can't be wrong. It's their choice to live as they wish. Anything? What if they decide to throw a dice with the results being death? Evens, guy kills girl, Odds, girl kills guy? If they are all consenting? Sure, have at it. That's none of my business. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Who is he? At the rate we're going, I think he's going to be my roommate in a couple years. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I took the hypothetical situation presented (no one runs out) as meaning that there was no damage to persons or property. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Anything that consenting adults choose to do between themselves can't be wrong. It's their choice to live as they wish. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The reason the politicians set it up this way is obvious. If you can give free stuff to 51% of the people, and make them like you, you'll keep getting elected. If you can set it up so that you only take from a quarter of the voters, to give free stuff to three quarters, you're always going to have a bunch of people voting for you to keep giving them stuff. And who cares about that other quarter? Sure, they'll never vote for you, but as long as you keep your 51% happy, that doesn't matter much. It's interesting to me that the US has the most progressive taxation in the the industrialized world. We have a far more slanted tax burden than any of the supposedly more "socialist" nations in Europe. At least there they've figured out that if you want people to feel some sense of responsibility, then everyone has to pay something into the system. I'm going to be very curious to see if this continues. What will we do when 85% of Americans pay no federal income tax? At some point the system will collapse, because the tax rates on the actual taxpayers will become too onerous. What's up with that Galt dude, anyway? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Utter nonsense. You certainly don't care much about what it costs (someone else), though. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ditto. Hardly a surprise, in my case. I first took that quiz when I was in college. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm confused as to why we need the government's permission to marry in the first place. Wouldn't this be easier if the government just got out of the marriage business altogether? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It is? Do you have a reference to the law about that? Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

no, I stand by my position on kitten jugglers - they are dispicable You just don't understand. Kitten jugglers actually follow a higher moral code. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That's because they speak Mexican over there (insert Bush voice). I thought they spoke Latin? Isn't that the main language in Latin America? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The right to raise your children in the manner you see fit is a fundamental human right. I don't believe we have the moral authority to remove a child from their parents' care simply because we disagree with the manner in which the parent is raising them. Take fat kids away from their parents and what's next? Taking away kids whose parents let them watch too much TV? Taking away kids whose parents let them eat junk food? Taking away kids whose parents let them go to bed at night without saying their prayers? Where does it end? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Oooh, this will be fun. What caused the Great Depression? The Civil War? The Bubonic Plague? I bet it was those evil tax cuts that did those things, too. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What factors led to the low interest rates? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There is actually some debate about that. I've seen several bank CEO's on the news saying that they felt pressured (by the treasury department) into taking the bailout (and also pressured to absorb the banks that were failing). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If you don't let them speak, how can you argue against them? Better to have the debate openly than let it fester in the dark. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

like the $923,053,000,000.00 (923 Billion, 53 million) we have spent on Iraq and Afghanistan? I think that works out to $7,100 for every man, woman and child in America. For a family of 5, thats $35,502 in tax dollars, just to pay for "the war on terror". And what have we accomplished? Bin Laden is still trolling around... Oh yeah and another 110,000,000,000 requested for FY 2010. Great use of tax dollars there... Yes We Can! Keep those wars going strong, and even escalate them! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My local NPR outlet uses the tagline "fair and unbiased." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Right. Any time you create a massive new entitlement, you've created a bunch of beneficiaries who will fight to keep their "free" handouts. Statements like yours are exactly why some people would rather dig in their heels and just vote 'no,' rather than discussing alternatives. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Here is the GOP's web page on their various ideas. I can't find it right now, but the McCain campaign website had a pretty detailed plan on it last year. Obviously McCain didn't even read the thing, as he couldn't explain it in the debates, but it was a pretty good plan, and was mostly based on the Friedman article I've linked several times. As I recall, Obama refused to discuss specifics on it, and simply derided it as a "trillion dollar tax increase" without ever actually discussing it. It was pretty reminiscent of the "death panel" comments, actually--a lot of over the top mischaracterization and very little discussion of the underlying substance. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com