Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 24 Jul 2013 @ 12:09pm
Re: Re: Re: Boy, am I sorry
Bush Jr. was not elected twice in the popular vote.Hey, arguably he wasn't elected twice in any vote, but still a guy that's a bigger buffoon than Boris Johnson (no mean feat) and less than 1/2 as smart became president of the United States... twice
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 24 Jul 2013 @ 10:21am
Re: Boy, am I sorry
because he got elected twice in the popular vote.
Yeah, him and Bush Jr.... I've been trying to decide ever since if americans are really that dumb or if the US election system is even more corrupt than it appears to be.
As part of nation dumb enough to elect the used car salesman Tony Blair 3 times... yeah it's not like we don't have the same problems if not the same scale...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 24 Jul 2013 @ 9:58am
Re: Re: Re: Re: Hmmm...
given the root causes(greed and corruption) aren't exactly US specific
True enough, along with general two-facedness but the seeming total inability to learn from their own mistakes is something the US seems to have taken to extremes as well as a fairly unique ability to cock-up any other country they touch...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 24 Jul 2013 @ 6:49am
Re: Re: Hmmm...
If we had rolled over because it was hard, then we'd all be citizens of the United Kingdom.
Given the total balls-up the US has made of the world since, there has to be at least a moment to wonder if that would have been better or worse by now...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 24 Jul 2013 @ 4:37am
Re: Hmmm...
You don't ever want a doctor as head of the FDA?
I think the major part of the problem is the other way round - not a professional becoming a head of a governmental body, but a senior employee of a government body suddenly getting a 400%+ pay raise walking straight in to a cushy job with an organisation he was in charge of regulating the previous month (and who, coincidentally, have just had a really advantageous piece of legislation they wanted passed).
Me, I think the government ought to be made up only of professionals who take a sabbatical from their profession to serve the public good - a one-time, limited term thing. There should be no such thing as a career politician.
On the other hand I'd also like the jetpack I was promised, so I'm not going to hold my breath...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 24 Jul 2013 @ 1:29am
Just me?
Obama Opposes Amash Amendment Because It's A 'Blunt Approach' And Not A Product Of 'Open' Process
Is it just me that read that as;
"Obama opposes Amash Amendment because it's simple and will do what it's supposed to instead of complex and easy to weasel out of"
... sounds more like a reason for than against to me...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 23 Jul 2013 @ 8:31am
Re: Of Course
Of course lives are only more important that other human rights in the West.
Only recently and only since people have become complacent about their real freedoms...
I seem to remember only a couple of centuries ago, some minor western colony of the British Empire yawking on about how the tiddly little rights like speech and privacy were more important than living - some bloke named Henry even had a nifty catchphrase for it...
Oh and around the middle of this century I seem to remember a bunch of western countries getting rather miffed for several years because it was decided that being able to choose not to do funny salutes at a painter with a daft moustache was rather more important than quite a lot of lives...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 19 Jul 2013 @ 4:52am
Re: Re:
I agree - I'm not completely convinced of the "it encourages people to invest" argument but I can see the point. Something like granting patents or exclusive licensing rights or whatever for, say, 2 or 3 years after approval for clinical use would serve both purposes as well as encourage research into things truly new as such things would be the ones more likely to make heaps of money in that window over the current crop of "me too" drugs.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 19 Jul 2013 @ 4:46am
Re:
This takes international cooperation and outsourcing to whole new levels!
Except that it's been going on forever. The point in the article is well made:
But all of this would have remained unchallenged without Snowden's leaks.
He put something that's been going on for decades firmly into the light. Which would explain why he seems to be rather more wanted than the average terrorist leader...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 18 Jul 2013 @ 3:43pm
Re:
WTF is wrong with the media.
Nothing is wrong with the media... from their point of view. Why on earth would they want to piss off the government? Who would pass the laws they want if they did?
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 17 Jul 2013 @ 6:05am
Re: Wait
What is it about "mandatory expulsions for bringing weapons to school" that forces schools to apply it to kids with pop tarts?
Well I've never read the legislation in question and have no desire to not being American, but if I had to guess I'd say the legislation probably has some really woolly language about the definition of "weapon".
It'll have been put there to cover whatever the latest weapon craze is rather than list everything from a sharpened stick to a sock with a 1/2 brick in it but it would then mean that a school could be denied funding for not expelling a kid for using some improvised "weapon" you wouldn't normally think of - such as "causing an eye injury with a pistol-shaped pop-tart" (that jam really stings if you get it in your eye...)
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 15 Jul 2013 @ 4:24am
Well they do say children become their parents...
... and the US seems to be making a good go of topping the British Empire at its height for running rough-shod over everyone that gets in the way of amassing as much power and wealth as possible - be they foreign or domestic.
I think the founders would say that the current state of the US looks eerily familiar...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 10 Jul 2013 @ 6:02am
Re: Re: Re: Re: One Law to Rule Them All (as long as they are serfs)
Do I think it's acceptable? No. Do Americans think it's acceptable? Harder to say, since clearly the fact of it is accepted no matter what language is used to describe it.
On the post: Irony Alert: Obama Opposes Amash Amendment Because It's A 'Blunt Approach' And Not A Product Of 'Open' Process
Re: Re: Re: Boy, am I sorry
On the post: Irony Alert: Obama Opposes Amash Amendment Because It's A 'Blunt Approach' And Not A Product Of 'Open' Process
Re: Boy, am I sorry
As part of nation dumb enough to elect the used car salesman Tony Blair 3 times... yeah it's not like we don't have the same problems if not the same scale...
On the post: Irony Alert: Obama Opposes Amash Amendment Because It's A 'Blunt Approach' And Not A Product Of 'Open' Process
Re: Re: Re: Re: Hmmm...
On the post: Irony Alert: Obama Opposes Amash Amendment Because It's A 'Blunt Approach' And Not A Product Of 'Open' Process
Re: Re: Hmmm...
On the post: Irony Alert: Obama Opposes Amash Amendment Because It's A 'Blunt Approach' And Not A Product Of 'Open' Process
Re: Hmmm...
Me, I think the government ought to be made up only of professionals who take a sabbatical from their profession to serve the public good - a one-time, limited term thing. There should be no such thing as a career politician.
On the other hand I'd also like the jetpack I was promised, so I'm not going to hold my breath...
On the post: Irony Alert: Obama Opposes Amash Amendment Because It's A 'Blunt Approach' And Not A Product Of 'Open' Process
Just me?
"Obama opposes Amash Amendment because it's simple and will do what it's supposed to instead of complex and easy to weasel out of"
... sounds more like a reason for than against to me...
On the post: Maybe The Answer To The $200 Million Movie Question Is To Not Focus On $200 Million Movies?
Re: Re: What?
On the post: German Minister Calls Security A 'Super Fundamental Right' That Outranks Privacy; German Press Call Him 'Idiot In Charge'
Re: Re:
On the post: German Minister Calls Security A 'Super Fundamental Right' That Outranks Privacy; German Press Call Him 'Idiot In Charge'
Re: Of Course
I seem to remember only a couple of centuries ago, some minor western colony of the British Empire yawking on about how the tiddly little rights like speech and privacy were more important than living - some bloke named Henry even had a nifty catchphrase for it...
Oh and around the middle of this century I seem to remember a bunch of western countries getting rather miffed for several years because it was decided that being able to choose not to do funny salutes at a painter with a daft moustache was rather more important than quite a lot of lives...
On the post: Benefits Of Synthetic Blood Could Be Squandered Thanks To Patents
Re: Re:
On the post: Investigation Finds The UK's Spy Agency Did Not Break Any Laws When It Tapped Into PRISM Data
Re:
On the post: Investigation Finds The UK's Spy Agency Did Not Break Any Laws When It Tapped Into PRISM Data
Re:
On the post: Jimmy Carter Says NSA Scandal Shows America Has No Functioning Democracy
Re:
On the post: Author Of The Patriot Act: Congress Will Not Renew If Intelligence Agencies Don't Change Their Ways
Re: Just a few bad apples...
On the post: Just As US Finally Realizes Copyright Terms May Be Too Long, Japan Looks To Make Them Longer
Obvious?
The obvious 2-word answer that springs to mind is:
Because, Sony.
On the post: Pippa Middleton Sends Legal Threats Over Parody Twitter Account
Re: Cultural Reference
Yours, however, is less true than most... nice reference though.
On the post: Texas Lawmaker Proposes Bill To Strip Funding From Schools That Abuse Zero Tolerance Weapons Policies
Real politician-think!
Only a politician (or a lawyer) could think like that. Perhaps it's a fine example of preserving your own job by creating work for yourself?
On the post: Texas Lawmaker Proposes Bill To Strip Funding From Schools That Abuse Zero Tolerance Weapons Policies
Re: Wait
It'll have been put there to cover whatever the latest weapon craze is rather than list everything from a sharpened stick to a sock with a 1/2 brick in it but it would then mean that a school could be denied funding for not expelling a kid for using some improvised "weapon" you wouldn't normally think of - such as "causing an eye injury with a pistol-shaped pop-tart" (that jam really stings if you get it in your eye...)
On the post: 71% Of Americans Believe The Founding Fathers Would Be Disappointed At The Way The Nation Has Turned Out
Well they do say children become their parents...
I think the founders would say that the current state of the US looks eerily familiar...
On the post: James Clapper Admits He Lied To Congress; His Punishment Will Likely Be A High Paying Private Sector Job
Re: Re: Re: Re: One Law to Rule Them All (as long as they are serfs)
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