Guard Dog

One thing we can do right away to help bring college tuition down is to not require students to take useless classes. When I was in college I took creative writing, psychology, American literature, and a bunch other crap that I didn’t have to because I had to. All these classes take up time and cost money and are utterly useless in your chosen degree field unless they are in your chosen degree field. And since mine was electronics engineering they certainly were not. I realize the aim of institutions of higher learning is to provide a well-balanced education. And once upon a time that might have seemed important. Nowadays it’s just being very lavish with other peoples money.

OK let me put things to rest right now. No Darkpriest is not my alt and no I did not steal his password and post on this name!

The status of the dollar as the reserve currency for global trade is certainly not secure in the long term. The quickest way to undermine it would be to destabilize it by piss poor economic management at home. And spending us into oblivion isn’t necessarily government overreach. It’s just stupid. Nationalizing private business certainly would be. And no we are not being economically punished the way post World War I Germany was. We’re doing this bull**** all to ourselves.

Take your sanctimony and stuff it. The Weimar Republic collapsed largely because of hyperinflation due to the overleveraged Deutsche Mark. That event led to the deaths of 91 million people by 1945. High end estimate of World War II military and civilian casualties was 85 million throw in another 6 million for the holocaust and another million or two of disease and famine after. That’s roughly 3 1/2% of the worlds population in just six years. you cannot discuss the causes of that war intelligently without bringing up what caused the collapse of the Weimar Republic flawed though it was. The economic well-being and actual well-being of people are two inseparable concepts. How would you like to be a 64-year-old man who has been smart with money all of his life and suddenly find out all of the companies that you have invested in are now nationalized and you don’t have a penny. But don’t worry Social Security will still give you $1000 a month. Too bad it’s buying power is being diminished by inflation. It’s no coincidence that the mortality in the rate in the United States increased in the 1930s compared to the 1920s

if they have a mutual fund, pension or a 401(k) than they are stockholders. If their parents started a college fund for them or if they have life insurance (whole life not term) then they are stockholders.

We stand in the first week of a shortened season. But at least this time it will be a continuous season. And maybe the 2021 - 2022 will get back on track and things can start getting back to normal in the world of hockey. my two teams the predators and the Panthers will both be fielding a competitive club this season. The Panthers probably a bit less so. For some reason they are at odds with Yandle their best defenseman and have told him that despite his huge contract he will not be playing for the Panthers this season. Which kind of sucks. my favorite YouTube channel urinating tree has completed their preseason analysis. seriously if you guys have not subscribed to this channel you really should because he’s better than anything you’ll see on TV. and if you have a bit more time this is a really interesting video that shows how impactful the Wayne Gretzky trade in 1988 has been on the NHL. The goalies between the pipes the teams are lined up for a face-off, time to drop the puck.

Remember that picture of the baseball thread a few seasons ago? Where a guy wearing a Nolan Ryan jersey was sitting right next to the real Nolan Ryan and didn’t know it?

And utterly ruining all the people whose life savings depend on their investments in those corporations. What do you tell the stockholders then? Go hang? Do you want to see real sedition and insurrection? That’s one way to get it.

The USA is $27T in debt and closing in on $28T at a rate of $68k per second. When Biden’s relief package passes next week we will pass $30T. The train is going full speed and everyone who has ever read an economics book in their life knows that just down the trestle a ways the track ends and the bridge is out. But faster and faster she goes. This actually would be a fairly simple problem to fix if there was the political will to fix it. You don’t even need to cut spending. Five years of zero government spending growth meaning maintain the current level for five consecutive years in real dollars not adjusted for inflation will right this problem.

How far in debt is Australia? What’s Australia’s annual budget deficit? What percentage of Australia’s GDP goes to just the service of the debt?

Trump has an obligation to pardon rioters well, that’s one way to look at it. Good luck with that legal strategy

Plus he literally told him to go do what they did. He didn’t explicitly tell them go break in the capital terrorize the Congress and trash everything in sight. But he came just short of it with what he did say. You can’t light a stick of dynamite throw it away and then be blameless for what it blows up

He made some really good observations and I agree with his point. Calling this an insurrection or a sedition is giving it too much clout and too much credit. Far better to call it a motley disorganized mob. It’s always wise to deny the enemy something they want. If they want credibility it’s wise to deny than that.

Taste trumps all. Besides, I think I was like 14 years old. I had definite opinions on what sodas tasted good and which ones didn’t Without harboring any loyalty to any brand names

I can’t speak for everybody but I remember that trash and it wasn’t good. It tasted like Pepsi’s ugly kid sister.

One thing the battle of Bower Hill and last week have in common is it in both of them the mob was demanding that a federal official be hanged. Mike Pence last week and a US marshal in 1791 (not 100% sure of that date. Going off memory here)

Sedition. That wasn’t sedition. That was a mob. Firing on Fort Sumter was sedition. The battle of Bower Hill was sedition. Calling that despicable display last week sedition is giving it far too much credit. Besides ANTIFI and CHAZ said they seceded from the US this past summer. They didn’t even call that sedition. I believe the governor of Washington said it was a block party.

Either you’re thickheaded or I am and I’m really not sure which at this point. You can criticize and even rebel against the choices the majority makes without being willing to take away the votes of the majority. Living in a republican democracy beings having to endure a government that sticks to the people good and hard just like the people asked for it to be stuck to them. Generally the voters have only themselves to blame. Just because you can’t change it doesn’t mean you can’t bitch about it. I would not change the system I would try to change the minds of the voters. How that makes me anti-democracy I cannot fathom.

Spend more.... More.... MORE.... MORE!!!! Collapse the dollar, hyper inflation, $1k loaves of bread! Let it all BURN. BURN! I’m prepared for it! How are you guys set up?

Everything that is stupid only is because someone thinks it is. There’s always someone else who thought it was a good idea. someone once thought this was a good idea:

Hard to tell from that picture. It’s certainly a knock off of the AR 15. Definitely not a Colt from the looks of it. Springfield Arms maybe? The hand grips look after market. Like I said can’t tell from the picture. Based on the magazine size it’s probably chambered for .223 but again just and educated guess. It could be 5.56mm or it could be .22 but I doubt it.

Sounds like hyperbole coming from me. I do that sometimes. Keeps the conversation snappy and interesting. Never fails to provoke a response from you.

I seem to recall I railed against that for being stupid. But you could be right it was a while ago. Like the book thing on the other thread. That is not a failure of the democratic process or any kind of political philosophical argument. It was just a stupid policy done for a stupid reason. I am not blind to the disconnect. A lot of the worst actions of the government are things people voted for. .And I would not change the democratic process if I could even when it leads to outcomes I don’t like. All anyone can do is try and persuade people to do something other. And of course obey the law or don’t. I am all for civil disobedience. And in the last extreme uncivil disobedience. Only the individual can judge what hills are worth dying for and which ones aren’t.

Oh for god’s sweet sake I have not ever argued against democracy? The whole point of discussing governing philosophy like this is to try and persuade people to see things your way so they’ll vote for things that are different than they are. In fact I believe somebody using my screen name has been arguing against compulsion of any kind for many years now. I am against compelling people to serve in the military, I’m against compelling people to follow moral codes they don’t choose for themselves. I am against compelling people to do business with only insurance companies of the government’s choosing. I am against compelling people to give up private property or mitigate free speech. So you somehow believe I’m in favor of compelling them to follow a government that I like just because I like it? I think taxation is theft but I still pony up every goddamn year. I think abortion is murder but I would never dream of telling someone they couldn’t have one. If voters in their caprice votes for one thing or another to be taken away than the individual is confronted with two choices. Obey the law or don’t. But the one thing you can always do is try and talk to people and persuade them to vote a different way next time. That really is the point of Internet discussions isn’t it? Other than their entertainment value. Hell even if you offered me absolute power to order society as I see fit right this very moment I would turn you down. Like I told Achilles we have the society we have because this is what people wanted. Maybe I would’ve had it different but it’s not terrible as it is. of course I guess we could always put on a pair or horns grab a confederate flag and storm the capital. But that’s not really my style. Like I said I’m not into compulsion one way or another.