Tale

The whole purpose of capitalism is to give consumers power in the market.

I'm tempted to side with Sand. He has what I think is a Doctor Who reference in his signature. It shows he has culture.

yeah, right. hehe... taks I guess I'll accept that. I've been messing with you since "conglomoneofascidictatorialism." I wanted to see how far I'd have to go before you just stopped arguing. You didn't even blink at the mention of Roswell. edit: not taks

It's easy to figure out. In any system there should be variation. If there isn't, then there's only one logical conclusion. Control. The government is preventing either preventing people with opossing views from getting these positions (most likely) or is preventing people in these positions from having opposing views (not impossible).

money that's already been taken from me. it's not a matter if the government has enough money already, since it came from the people paying the most taxes in the first place (of which i am included). an no, btw, the US does not already have enough tax income to pay for everyone's health care. medicare/medicaid is already measured in the hundreds of $B, full health care for everyone would be measured in the $Ts. taks The US government has far more money than it lets on. If they cut into their blag bag proft (drug traffiking) or started releasing some of the advanced technologies they gained from Roswell, it would be easy to make the difference between $B and $T.

15? How big is your estate? edit: not taks

Might just be browser differences. not taks

i've said nothing contrary to freedom. in fact, my personal policies are all about freedom: live and let live (or die, such as it may be). requiring me to pay for your insurance (you simply as a rhetorical object of the statement) infringes upon my freedom. taks A lot of people like to say that and it sounds good, it really does. But then when you think about it more, you realise that the government already gets enough money to do this already. The only reason it doesn't is because it wants to enact out the passive genocide disenfranchised and poor.

The underline doesn't show up in yours.

It's not a joke. It's a subtle parody of US congolomoneofascidictatorialism. I want you to think about that. not taks

Raining off and on since yesterday in Wylie, Texas. I'm trying to teach my cat that when it sounds like raining, it's raining. It was pouring heavily last night and he was begging to go outside. I open the door, he sees rain, he flips out and runs away from the door. 5 minutes later, still raining heavily, he's back at the door begging to go outside.

Why does taks hate freedom? not taks

You got trolled, BURN! I wouldn't mind the check though.

it is very easy to contest that. linux and mac are both genuine, and MS is really, really, really afraid of linux. taks When it comes to home computing, Linux practically does not exist. When it comes to gaming, both Linux and Mac do not exist. Not in the literal sense, but it might as well be.

World Health Organization? I believe Cuba is 39. Don't quote me, though. not taks

Modern: Microsoft Historically: Carnegie Steel and they did what that was bad for consumers? MS got slapped down for actually breaking the law, btw, and like it or not, they offer the best product in the world (and they never had a monopoly anyway), and carnegie actually offered low prices on steel. that was why they got so big in the first place... the world was buying. kudos to the mention of AT&T. that would have been easy to pounce on. taks All of this is beside my point. My point is whether or not competition exists. Whether or not what Microsoft does is offer "the best product in the world" and are doing what is best for the consumer is beyond either you or I to accurately analyze. However, it is difficult to contest that the OS market lacks genuine competition.

I only have one question. Why does Guard Dog hate America? :'(

The way was awesome. Sure, it's a definite cliffhanger, but after what happens it begs Galvatron to be in the sequal. I don't know how they'll work that, though.

Oh sure, be nice and say "sorry." How am I supposed to stay angsty and unreasonable against that?! I knew that's probably what was going on. You probably have this kind of debate a lot and come to expect it. But at the same time I like being an ass and working against people's expected patterns.

Modern: Microsoft Historically: Carnegie Steel Tale and Sand, you both have an unreasonable fear of coporations and an unreasonable trust in the fidelity and abilities of the government. First of all, no one is calling for the repeal of the Sherman Act (the US anti-trust law) and both the companies you name have been called down under that statute. Big companies seem to draw a lot of ire as being a "big greedy evil profit mongering" monsters. I've never understood this irrational fear or loathing of corporations many of you exhibit. A comapny cannot take anything away from you that you do not give up freely. They cannot confiscate your house and property, they cannot seize your assets, and they cannot throw in in prison. The government can though. If you sue a company and your complaint is justified you will have a good expectation of success. If you need to go to court against the government the deck is so stacked against you that justice and fact are often not enough to prevail. And you have an unreasonable fear of actually paying attention to what people are saying. You say "unfettered capitalism is an anathema to most of you. But it really does work well, and the only time it does not is when government gets involved. " You then go on to praise competition. All I did was tell you that "unfettered capitalism" does not always mean competition. You go on to say that "no one is calling for the repeal of the Sherman Act." Here's a tidbit for you. The presence of the Sherman Act alone prevents unfettered capitalism. The sole thing I'm speaking against. I'm not speaking against big corporations. Not claiming extensive corporate greed. I'm speaking exclusively against the type of capitalism that you now say you're not asking for. Yet you praise in your other posts. I'm kind of curious as to how I can make two short posts that both speak against monopolies and you suddenly think I've gone wholely socialist. People in power who have the same mindset you do. "If anyone disagrees with me even a little, they must be on the complete opposite side of the spectrum from me."

It totally is not. Do you see Darth vader go "Abra-kadabra simsalabimsaladusalim!" when he forcechokes someone? Do you see Luke Skywalker collecting batwings to brew a force-potion? Does Obi-Wan kenobi need a wand to forcepush people? No, they dont, the force is quasi-philosophy mixed with extra-sensory perception and telekinesis... and the occasional force lighting Let's face it, magic is totally and utterly gay. I mean, Ms. Marvel threw a damn cat at The Traveller in order to defat him, what does that say about the coolness of magic? The Punisher is a thousand times more wickid than Dr. Strange and all he has is guns. Are you saying that the definition of magic requires it to have a verbal or material component? There are ways to eliminate even that in D&D. Does it become superpowers then? Or just psychic powers? I guess they're using superpowers in the majority of final fantasy games when they cast Thundara. Heck, Final Fantasy VII meets that quasi-philosophy component as well. It's not "magic" it's the spirits of the dead! It's all the same thing. In D&D, much of the "magic" is gifts granted by the gods. In fact, that's a very much traditional origin of magic. In Star Wars, the gods have become "the force" and the powers the Jedi wield are the gifts of that. Same thing, different setting.

but... Zatanna! Its still gay. Magic is for elves and other sissies. Not a Star Wars fan? The force is tiny bacteria in your blood, not magic. Phh.... I don't think the point of midichlorians was meant so that they were themselves the force. Instead, they were probably meant to establish the link between people and manipulating the force. Either way, it's still magic.

Modern: Microsoft Historically: Carnegie Steel

Unfettered capitalism doesn't always mean competition, though. There are several historical and modern examples of that.

Saw Live Free or Die Hard today. I really enjoyed it. It was probably the most over the top of the series, but it was good fun.