God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.
-Soren Kierkegaard
Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.
-Plato
Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.
-Aristotle
It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such a one as is unworthy of him; for the one is only belief - the other contempt.
-Plutarch
Your not going crazy Aurthur, your going sane in a crazy world!
-The Tick
You know, Arthur, when evil is afoot and you don't have any arms, you gotta use your head. When evil is ahead and you're behind, you've gotta do the legwork. But, when you can't get a leg up, you gotta be hip! You gotta keep your chin up, and kick some..
-The Tick
Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God.
-Blaise Pascal
Blushing is the color of virtue.
-Diogenes
Say not, 'When I have free time I shall study'; for you may perhaps never have any free time.
-Hillel the Elder
Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes
-Alexander the Great (envying a homeless, smelly, rude Diogenes)
So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.
-James Madison
Much of the self-righteous nonsense that abounds on so many subjects cannot stand up to three questions: (1) Compared to what? (2) At what cost? and (3) What are the hard facts?
- Thomas Sowell
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.
Albert Einstein
-Soren Kierkegaard
Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.
-Plato
Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.
-Aristotle
It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such a one as is unworthy of him; for the one is only belief - the other contempt.
-Plutarch
Your not going crazy Aurthur, your going sane in a crazy world!
-The Tick
You know, Arthur, when evil is afoot and you don't have any arms, you gotta use your head. When evil is ahead and you're behind, you've gotta do the legwork. But, when you can't get a leg up, you gotta be hip! You gotta keep your chin up, and kick some..
-The Tick
Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God.
-Blaise Pascal
Blushing is the color of virtue.
-Diogenes
Say not, 'When I have free time I shall study'; for you may perhaps never have any free time.
-Hillel the Elder
Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes
-Alexander the Great (envying a homeless, smelly, rude Diogenes)
So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.
-James Madison
Much of the self-righteous nonsense that abounds on so many subjects cannot stand up to three questions: (1) Compared to what? (2) At what cost? and (3) What are the hard facts?
- Thomas Sowell
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.
Albert Einstein
Worldaffairs Videos Submitted by GeeSussFreeK
You must admit that as arguments go, this is pretty weak sauce, not to mention a fairly dull-witted position for a professional doctor to take. The problem is that he does not approach medical issues with the mind of a doctor, but rather with the mind of a partisan politician, conforming to a strict set of anti-government principals that are indifferent to the general well being of the public.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
That he doesn't oppose them, but being as they can cause harm potentially, they are best left to be negotiated by a doctor and the patient. The third party of the government isn't really needed as the side affects of certain medicines can endanger life and limb. And more over, just like pot and drugs, I should have a right over my body which includes what I don't want in it.
Personally, I'm all vaccinated, but a government crack down on putting stuff in me would be a pretty extreme thing. Though, maybe I missed your point entirely.
In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
How so?
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
This is also relivant
In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
>> ^Crosswords:
>> ^BoneyD:
Who was the Republican? Ron Paul?
Ron Paul would never vote for government run/backed anything.
Not exactly true, but he would never of voted for this. Let us not forget he is Dr. Paul and not Esq. Paul, as a tried and true doctor, his words should carry a bit more weight than his lawyer and lobbyist counterparts.
If Ron Paul's opposition to vaccines is not enough to convince you that he is a quack, then nothing will.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
This is also relivant
In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
>> ^Crosswords:
>> ^BoneyD:
Who was the Republican? Ron Paul?
Ron Paul would never vote for government run/backed anything.
Not exactly true, but he would never of voted for this. Let us not forget he is Dr. Paul and not Esq. Paul, as a tried and true doctor, his words should carry a bit more weight than his lawyer and lobbyist counterparts.
If Ron Paul's opposition to vaccines is not enough to convince you that he is a quack, then nothing will.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
I don't have power to sift this. If you do, please do, it is pretty great.
http://fora.tv/2009/09/23/Free-Conomics_with_Chris_Anderson
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
Hey net, I don't have enough power to post this. Seemed pretty sift worthy, but I leave that to you.
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,45950304001_1931954,00.html
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
everything about that bat video was awesome. I haven't laughed like that in awhile, thanks
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Dont-Talk-to-Cops-Part-2
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
Hey, I liked that burn-e clip, I found an HD embed on youtube that you might want to update it with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Y46NxP6b0
I thought that was relevant to your interests.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
Short but interesting. Wish it was a bit more in depth.
http://fora.tv/2009/06/19/Looking_for_Work_A_History_of_Unemployment#The_Historical_Origins_of_Unemployment_in_the_US
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
Hey dude, I know you like brain stuff like me and I didn't see your vote on this. Thought I would pass it along if you missed it
http://www.videosift.com/video/TED-Optical-illusions-show-how-we-see
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
I plan to respond to your well thought out reply on AI, but it shall have to wait till my health improves, I managed to catch the pork flu.
If you see any other good AI talks, please forward them to me - I love that stuff.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
Dude, I love the AI post. This is my field, so of course I left a waaaay to long comment on there. Thanks though, It was a great video
http://www.videosift.com/video/Creativity-The-Mind-Machines-and-Mathematics
I would promote 100 times if I could
'twas a dupe, I'm afraid.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
I like it when people are truly happy about something and they are asked how they felt, you usually get the same kind of response, they start shaking their head like a "no" or some other negative thing. I think this is a cool reaction, it is like your rational mind saying no, you can't possibly think rationally about how happy this made you, it is bigger than that. It isn't some casual memory that is suitable for habitual recall, it is cherished.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
Hehehe I saw your joke thread, so I thought I would post here. I don't want or need an promote or anything, I just like jokes. So here we go.
How do you tell the difference between an oral and rectal thermometer? Taste.
Yep! You got it in one.
If you have enough income that all your basic needs covered, plus enough to buy a new car, plus enough to have a First Class 4 month vacation to Europe, plus plus plus.... $1000 to that person just isn't the same $1000 to someone who struggles to pay the rent.
A flat tax doesn't take the relative VALUE of that $1000 into account. A progressive tax does.
Wouldn't making taxes flat and based on all income and define income as income from any arena solve the money from dividend problem?
Whether you have a flat tax or not, you still have to define what income is. I started to write a long thing on the different types of income that are taxed and not taxed and the benefits and drawbacks to each one, but I deleted it all. It gets back to my general point of taxes being used to socially engineer -- I don't think that is a bad thing. Carrots to reward behavior you want -- works better than laws forcing you to do things, sticks, you see.
I guarantee you, very wealthy people want a flat tax, and they will gladly pay tax on the dividend income, if they have any kind of investment portfolio at all. Their tax would plummet, unless you set the flat tax at 25%. And if you set it at 25%, that would be increasing the tax burden on 95% of Americans. So that the wealthy would pay less.
That makes no sense.
Thanks for taking the time to read my long post. I am so pissed about the dividend income tax boondoggle, I am grateful to anyone that takes the time to read this.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
Thanks for your comment dude, always nice to have insider opinions on stuff like that! I would like to see a flat tax because it seems the most consistent and the least subject to arbitrary standards. I don't understand how you call flat tax regressive, being that it is a total percent and not a sliding percent? Are you referring to the fact that as you make more you have more discretionary income therefore the tax is less in real intrinsic value? Or is there something else that I am missing or misunderstanding. Also, wouldn't making taxes flat and based on all income and define income as income from any arena solve the money from dividend problem?
In reply to this comment by bareboards2:
I do taxes for a living, have done 35 years (I started young.) It is, indeed, horrible how complex the system has become during my lifetime.
Being on the "inside" so to speak, I also see WHY it has gotten so complex. A tax law is written, the smart folks figure out how to use it to avoid tax. So that "loophole" is plugged, the smart folks figure out how to work around that, and new laws are generated.
In reply to this comment by GeeSussFreeK:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6210255/EU-funding-Orwellian-artificial-intelligence-plan-to-monitor-public-for-abnormal-behaviour.html
EAK!