1/23/2009 10:19:32 AM

i liked the part about the social engineering the best

btw for fun, i'm gonna post reich's video when he came to nc state last year



[Edited on January 23, 2009 at 11:02 AM. Reason : +]

1/23/2009 10:57:53 AM

After watching that first video, there is no doubt in my mind that a stimulus plan is not going to work.

1/23/2009 12:43:34 PM

If it weren't Robert Reich, I would say I can't believe he said that about not giving jobs to "white male construction workers." Seriously, wtf.

1/23/2009 2:21:24 PM

what's being said in both of the videos is that the task at hand is to giving a man fish instead of teaching him how to fish, because he can barely stand up and hold a fishing net in his hand. ...and that this task is extrememly time sensitive if you listen to Reich, its clear that the long term strategy is to teach a man to fish.

that's just what i'm hearing. it is in a sense, anti-Darwinian, but we have to put it into perspective with regards to what layer of the life form we want natural selection to occur {individual --> pairbond/immediate offspring --> rest of family --> city state --> nation --> continental/multinational economic unions --> federation including Earthlings and Vulcans...j/k, but i think you get the point}.

the fact that we exist in a functioning nation, and that this type of conversation takes place at all, suggests that we're contending with natural selection at the national/multinational level.

we are our brothers' keepers.

it is times like this that lead to the existence of the humanistic derivatives of biological imperative we call "religion" and "government".

it is a heuristically tested fact that when nations let their plebeians 'eat cake', heads will roll. its also a time tested fact (IMHO), that la sez faire capitalism is as equally doomed to failure as communism. the reality of human progress lies somehwere in between. the school of thought that attempts to deal with this reality is at best called "progressive", and at worst, called "socialist" -- at the moment we have that school of thought in control of the government.

you can fight that school of thought with all your ideas, political clout, and god forbid - your bullets, but know that your competing/cooperating with nation-states that at the least 'intend' to take care of their plebeians.

there's a documentary on PBS by Niall Ferguson called "The Ascent of Money". i highly recommend setting your DVR for it. here's a few bits of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmLNV8WYAO0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obSg5R2XSTk&feature=related

1/23/2009 2:28:35 PM

Quote :

"A Dozen Fun Facts About the House Democrats' Massive Spending Bill 1. The House Democrats' bill will cost each and every household $6,700 additional debt, paid for by our children and grandchildren. 2. The total cost of this one piece of legislation is almost as much as the annual discretionary budget for the entire federal government. 3. President-elect Obama has said that his proposed stimulus legislation will create or save three million jobs. This means that this legislation will spend about $275,000 per job. The average household income in the U.S. is $50,000 a year. 4. The House Democrats' bill provides enough spending - $825 billion - to give every man, woman, and child in America $2,700. 5. $825 billion is enough to give every person living in poverty in the U.S. $22,000. 6. $825 billion is enough to give every person in Ohio $72,000. 7. Although the House Democrats' proposal has been billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, in actuality only $30 billion of the bill - or three percent - is for road and highway spending. A recent study from the Congressional Budget Office said that only 25 percent of infrastructure dollars can be spent in the first year, making the one year total less than $7 billion for infrastructure. 8. Much of the funding within the House Democrats' proposal will go to programs that already have large, unexpended balances. For example, the bill provides $1 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which already have $16 billion on hand. And, this year, Congress has plans to rescind $9 billion in highway funding that the states have not yet used. 9. In 1993, the unemployment rate was virtually the same as the rate today (around seven percent). Yet, then-President Clinton's proposed stimulus legislation ONLY contained $16 billion in spending. 10. Here are just a few of the programs and projects that have been included in the House Democrats' proposal: * $650 million for digital TV coupons. * $6 billion for colleges/universities - many which have billion dollar endowments. * $166 billion in direct aid to states - many of which have failed to budget wisely. * $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts. * $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters. * $200 million for the National Mall, including grass planting. * $400 million for "National Treasures." 11. Almost one-third of the so called tax relief in the House Democrats' bill is spending in disguise, meaning that true tax relief makes up only 24 percent of the total package - not the 40 percent that President-elect Obama had requested. 12. $825 billion is just the beginning - many Capitol Hill Democrats want to spend even more taxpayer dollars on their "stimulus" plan."

http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/index.html

1/23/2009 2:31:13 PM

i'm still waiting on one of those tv coupons

they ran out

1/23/2009 2:39:30 PM

boortz has some good ideas and makes good points, but I dont think that his world would be too good for a lot of people.

1/23/2009 3:38:09 PM

big boortz fan here.

small government, personal responsibility, practicality.

1/23/2009 4:13:06 PM

Quote :

"we are our brothers' keepers."

But at the point of a gun held by the gov't?

Quote :

"that la sez faire capitalism is as equally doomed to failure as communism. the reality of human progress lies somehwere in between."

Pure capitalism is merely trading between people free to choose. Trading between free people is doomed only if and when gov't interferes armed with its good intentions.

Socialism, on the other hand, is doomed, has always been doomed where-ever tried and will always be doomed. Anytime you force time/money/labor away from one person and give it to another who didn't earn it, you will fail.

Socialism creates laziness, a lack of innovation and intellectual stagnation. People are beaten down and learn to live with the little morsels of sustenance given to them by gov't. It is a truly evil system.

A political system should not lie between good and evil, protecting some rights and denying others.
Gov't should protect the unalienable rights of everyone at the expense of no one.

1/24/2009 12:12:30 AM

Quote :

"i'm still waiting on one of those tv coupons they ran out"

Which is in an of itself an interesting commentary on government inefficiency and stupidity.

1/24/2009 12:21:08 AM

or a comment on simply applying for a coupon because i wanted one for fun

you see

i didn't really need it

1/24/2009 12:52:35 PM

Only James West and Artemus Gordon can stop Dr. Miguelito Loveless' plan to destroy all white male construction workers!

Tune in next week! Sponsored by Ajax All-Purpose Cleaner with Ammonia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYCgq8q9Ofw

1/24/2009 6:38:50 PM

Well said EarthDogg

Quote :

"Pure capitalism is merely trading between people free to choose. Trading between free people is doomed only if and when gov't interferes armed with its good intentions. Socialism, on the other hand, is doomed, has always been doomed where-ever tried and will always be doomed. Anytime you force time/money/labor away from one person and give it to another who didn't earn it, you will fail. Socialism creates laziness, a lack of innovation and intellectual stagnation. People are beaten down and learn to live with the little morsels of sustenance given to them by gov't. It is a truly evil system. A political system should not lie between good and evil, protecting some rights and denying others. Gov't should protect the unalienable rights of everyone at the expense of no one."

1/24/2009 11:55:10 PM

^^ finally, something funny and original out of you.

(although ... the video was interesting that we can see what your formative influence were. Kind of explains a bit.)

1/25/2009 3:23:09 AM

Just saw this guy on the nightly show...dude is really, really, short.

10/1/2015 2:02:59 PM

classic bit with him and Conan:

https://youtu.be/kWliylnxSrA

10/1/2015 2:15:48 PM