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The claim is too vague. The result of reducing taxes will depend on many other factors (for whom, by how much, for how long, their current rate, their current financial condition, etc.). Given the current state of affairs though, it's a band-aid on the aorta at best, smoke and mirrors at worst. They can play these shell games all they want; until spending and revenue are brought into line - this is just delaying the inevitable and making the longer term corrections even more painful. Fiddling with things in this way is like rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship, but worse, because most of the crew will not acknowledge the ship is going to be lost anyway. The real fixes are pretty obvious, but we will not see them for a while (hopefully before it is too late) because very few people will even admit that the economy has changed to the point that the traditional approaches will not work. Those commercials in which the drug addict compares his problems to the governments addiction to spending are spot on. Until our leadership acknowledges the significant changes globalization has imparted to our economy, there will be no improvement. It is very much like an addict who thinks they can beat their addiction without putting the crack pipe down. Very silly. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Are you located north or south of the Mason-Dixon line? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Yes, I saw the irony of suggesting something to read after posting. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

My knowledge of this is strictly anecdotal; but it is appalling how common it seems. I would say easily that the majority of women have been sexually assaulted, if not outright raped. A disgusting badge pinned on our society (if my perception is true). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Really enlightening when I was younger listening to my Grandma talk of her life. She was one of 5 kids, and 1 of the 2 that made it past childhood (she was born in 1896). And the stories of living thru, and raising 9 kids, during 2 World Wars and the depression. Amazing. On the useless information topic (I say we are really overcrowded with useless information), there is a great read by McKibben - The Age Of Missing Information. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I did not realize you had already made the point in much fewer words. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Good point. I think anonymity is fundamentally hurtful to society. Might seem like a contradiction because as we crowd in more and more and have more contact a person might guess we'd become more social. But I think it has the opposite effect. Too many neighbors and people risk losing their identity, their importance to the whole. A person is nobody special when they feel just a nameless faceless gear in the machine. The grocer/butcher in a small community is somebody special; the same role in the middle of a 3 million person mass is just another bit player. For better or worse (worse IMO) the bulk of humans appear emotive and needy as opposed to rational and independent. A society where so many needy people are relegated to homogonized and ubiquitous bit roles results in a lot of people feeling marginalized and unimportant. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I'd probably do that. Only know for sure if the offer was actually made, but with 2 good kidneys, it would seem to be a beneficial transaction for all involved. Heck, I've been pretty good to mine; I could probably command a premium - say $1.25 million. Do I hear $1.3? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

http://vigilantcitizen.com/sinistersites/sinister-sites-the-denver-international-airport/ If there is a gateway to hell, it's Denver airport. Un-believable!!! I saw a story about this on The History Channel! Incredible. Chuck I knew the bottom line would be Aliens. Is there a law (similar to Godwin's law for Nazi's and Hitler) about how long it takes for any discussion to include, or make reference, to aliens? Do we have a favorite alien conspiracist (?) on the site that would be willing to lend their name to such a law? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Absolutely more so. Access to clean water and ability to raise/gather/process food safely would be #1. Medical knowledge and supplies probably #2 if you intend to support a breeding population. Guns would be more valuable for hunting than defense only because, unless you can go really big, the value is limited. Yeah, good for warding off greedy neighboring tribes (though the best bet would be to ally with anyone local), but if under attack from an invading army - the first time some bombers or a serious piece of artillery shows up you are toast - unless you can match their firepower. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I put most of it on crowding. Humans simply don't do very well packed in as tight as urban centers are these days. And by crowding I mean that very broadly. Population density, too much noise, too much filth, no privacy, too much useless information, too much access to each other, and on and on. We have not had time to evolve to a hive mentality, but that is how at least 80% of the population lives. We still have individuality as a strong defining characteristic, but we live too densely for it to be acted out without causing big problems. It appears to me we are going thru the same shit as those experiments where they intentionally overcrowd animals to see how they behave. Basically, there is a breakdown of social order. The only thing we do not have too much of is peace and quiet. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Ever see The Onion article describing Georgia's decision to go the other direction - by adding the swatika and middle finger to their state flag? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

You've got my curiosity now. Exactly why did they origianlly name it The Confederate Air Force? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I think you meant nu-cu-lar. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Again with the glittering vagueness. Figuring out how things work and why is great. Falling back on Neolithic age, faith-based reasoning and explanations is not. Thankfully, enough people operate enough of the time in a manner that keeps us from slipping back into another Dark Ages. Unfortunately, there are also enough people operating in that Neolithic mode that we still have to continue to fight things like anti-evolution stickers in science texts. I guess it is all relative. Seems there will always be some contingent trying to drag us back to some version of the good old days. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Him? I know, failing of the English language, God is neither male or female. Go ahead and use They. It really pisses off the grammarians. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

QuoteIf there wasn't meaning to life we would never have developed the mental capacity to search for it. Just as if there wasn't any light, we would never have developed eyes to see it. Or if there wasn't sound we would not have developed ears to hear it.Quote You are confusing internally created meanings in response to questions of faith with physical response to natural stimulus. Do you think our mental capacity developed in response to a need to understand something as arcane as the meaning of life? Any chance it was a far more corporeal need? Such as the need to hunt, gather, communicate, defend the tribe, trade, etc. You're probably right; we developed big brains so we could search for meaning. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

The concept of meaning? Not sure what that means. The concept of meaning (the idea that things have meaning?) does not suggest anything. It is the specific meanings people discover or invent that suggest things. Some are valid (lots of birds flying south might mean it's time to bring in the crops and prepare for snow) while some are silly (a bright comet on the horizon means it's time to commit mass suicide). Yeah, there are some meanings none of us should want rattling around. The problem with internally generated meanings without evidence is that a person can declare something means whatever they want it to mean. I doubt there is a theology department at CERN; but then, they are not looking to answer questions of faith. Religious fundies could take a cue from this and stop trying to explain the natural world via texts written back when the elements were thought to be earth, wind & fire. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I see almost no similarity between an atom and a solar system. How are s, p, d and f orbitals similar to planets? I'm referring to the typical image of how each is drawn out on paper. Little bits orbiting around a bigger bit. As I inferred, beyond that, you are correct, they are very different. You are aware of how many people unfamiliar with physics look at the 2 drawings and marvel at how similar they are, aren't you? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Lots of good stuff here I won't repeat, but thought I'd add my 2 cents by mentioning something I did not see yet - distractions. I've got a very thorough routine that includes checking everything 3 times before the door opens. It has caught a couple things that could have caused major problems (a snagged release that was hanging out a couple inches and a shoulder ball that was under the harness). I touch everything so many times it probably appears as OCD. Back to distractions; it really irks me when people stick their hand in me or my passengers face looking for a slap and knuckle bump while I'm getting ready. I've never said it out loud yet (concern over passenger perception/reaction) but in my head I'm screaming "DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M FUCKING DOING HERE?!" " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Now I've really got the Jones for a night jump. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I like mine with mint jelly. I've never understood the attraction of sweet mixed with meat. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Glorious Leader should be capitalized. Even by his worst enemies, you never saw him referred to as mr. big, did you, . . . huh? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

We get the same thing here about other places. It's the media feeding the masses what they want to hear. The media here appears to lean heavily on 2 types of stories: 1 - Ghastly events that falsely represent what the majority is actually doing or thinking. 2 - Meaningless fluff (such as the annual highway-traffic-stopped-so-the-family-of-geese/ducks/raccoons/whatever-can-croos-the-freeway. Result is that most of the world is very informed on everybody else's mass murders and baby animal crossing. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Depends on what is being imagined, or more correctly stated, how the imagination is leading to action. If the imagined stuff is a bunch of neolithic oogie-boogie BS being fabricated into some sort of meaning of life or reason for existince - then yes - it ought be stifled. Yes, many people find math borish, but many also find it enlightening. Very subjective for someone to label as insipid bastards those seek objective info on how the world works. Do you think all scientists engaged in such work are insipid bastards because they may find different answers to questions your religion already feels it has answered? BTW - the structure of the atom and the apparent similarities to a solar system - a nice example of intutition (emotive thinking) leading to wholly unfounded conclusions. The 2 are the result of very different forces at work. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley