Re: No, I didn't look that up first... but...
 

I don't know where I ever said that.


No I don't. I'm not advocating equality.

I tried to explain *why* a stable society swings towards equality from time to time. But I don't think I'm doing a good job of it. And its a tough thing to do - because when it comes to religion and politics - people - including me - always seem to hear what they want to hear.

I tried to give the same amount of ink to equality as to fairness. But yet you thought I'm advocating equality.

If I'm advocating anything - I'm advocating balance.

Don't kick the rapist in the shins?...
 

Don't fight it? Just try to relax and go with it?

I'm more the 'stand in front of the tank' (plus yelling + screaming) type, when I see the injustice being done here.

-- TW

The use of the words Fair & Equal result in unfairness and inequality
 

Fairness, fair, equal, equality and any variation on those words and their USE, indicates someone is about to get screwed over in Favor of someone else.

A Construction Site Foreman is walking around with a Subby Supervisor pointing out things that need to be re-done. The Supervisor is bemoaning that "it's not fair."

Fair?

According to Whom?

Is it fair that the Foreman should pay to have work finished Correctly when the Supervisor's Crew didn't get it right the first time?

Is it fair the Supervisor's Crew should work for free fixing something that had been let go already?

I leave you to decide for yourself.

It's the USE of the words that is the give away.

The words Fair and Equal are used by those to Justify their infringement upon your property rights.

The Oz Govt Leader - who strangely is called Primeminister Rudd (Kevin Rudd) by the media while the former leader while in power was referred to as Mr Howard by the media and not Primeminister Howard - has said he will make a tax system that is Fair To All, and other things that are Fair to all as well. He's used terms like Fairer tool.

Politicians using such words and others words and terms like The Greater Good, the good of all, common good and so on, should send off ALARM BELLS. Because it means more govt restrictions, controls, and screwing over of people.

In Govt, Fair and Equal are one and the same. It is deemed Fair to screw over people to Force Equality (which is really inequality) onto people.

Equal Rights (gay rights, black rights, women's rights, etc.) should be renamed Special Rights For Some.

In truth, we Should start with Individual Rights. But the govt cannot do that otherwise it would be seen that all those Special Rights are to the detriment of other individuals.

There is Right. There is wrong. Fairness (the use of the word to describe something) is subjective depending on who is using it - as things stand - and it is currently used to screw over someone in favor of someone else.

Michael Ross

A suggestion that COULD save us!
 

1) Contact as many Congressmen (your Represenatatives)....yours and others, including the Prez....tell them to ELIMINATE the CAPITAL GAINS TAX FOR ONE YEAR!

That will give people "HOPE" that there might be a chance for our economy to be saved. The "Investors" in our country might see that the Obama Administration is NOT trying to Penalize the "Producers" of our country and, the Stock Market might start going back UP!

Just start contacting Congressmen BEGGING them to eliminate the Capital Gains Tax for 12 months....as a "Show of Faith" in our Capitalist System.

If the "Free-Falling" market were to start going up...confidence would begin to come back. NO Cap Gains Tax has been PROVEN to be an economic Stimulus.

Throwing money at big corps is just throwing money away. Our country has thrown trillions at our Education System and Poverty...and our schools continue to go down....and there are still jillions in poverty.

Throwing money has never succeeded.

2) While you're contacting these "Representatives" of us...tell them also to GET RID OF THE 9,000 "EARMARKS" IN THE SO-CALLED, "STIMULUS BILL"!

THESE ARE TOTAL "PORK" AND DO NOTHING FOR THE ECONOMY....however, they DO help the Politicians get re-elected....so....the chance of those getting knocked out is slim and none.

Don Alm

Re: With all this Obama talk -- I found this cool site...
 

We need to DEMAND that they eliminate additions of any type to any billl not DIRECTLY RELATED to the bill in question. This would eliminate the pork barrel thing, simplify the bills thus making passage or not faster, and ease the gobbledegook and thus storage needs of the government. SIMPLIFY to be maximally effective.

It's long past time we brought government, Congress, et al into the 21st century and got rid of out-moded methods that produced the mess we're in now. If a pork is important, it should be voted on SEPARATELY in it's own mini-bill...otherwise it doesn't belong before Congress. No combination bills to confuse the issue and force excessive, and often detrimental to our interests, compromises.

Instead of endless bantering about on a bill (including pork bills which, hopefully, will mostly disappear) there should be ONE presenter of the Pro side, one presenter for the con side, and then Congress should vote aye or nay and get the job done.

Sandi Bowman

They should also make THIS a law...
 

Before each vote, all members of congress should be made to swear under oath that they HAVE (indeed) actuallty READ the bill they are voting on.

-- TW

Re: Obama to Entrepreneurs... Just for your info whether you like it or not...
 

Right! Buy stock in whatever companies the government is about to invest in.. then sell as soon as the taxpayer money pushes the value up.

The Wall Street Journal published a scary article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123629969453946717.html

Mr. Obama's $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, by his own admission, redefines the role of government in our economy and society. The budget more than doubles the national debt held by the public, adding more to the debt than all previous presidents -- from George Washington to George W. Bush -- combined.

The cost of transitioning to Communism seems to be pretty steep. Sorry I don't have answers to all our countries problems, but I would say that maybe not making things worse would be a good start. Deficit spending that exceeds that of every President in our history combined?!? Just the though of that is mind boggling.

Perhaps letting the economy run it's course would be a better solution. Necessity is the mother of invention - entrepreneurs, business owners, anyone with ambition will find products and services to meet current needs, and will grow and provide jobs, income, and grease the wheels of our economy. It seems like a stupid idea to take away any incentive for people and businesses to make money (ie: much higher taxes), and instead try to make trillions of dollars trickle down from the White House to lower government institutions hoping that some of it will eventually make it to job creation at some level.

Sorry, now you've got me ranting. I just hope we survive the next 3 1/2 years.