Has not every raindrop, at one time, been part of the oceans? What exists between moments in time? What exists between particles of matter? What IS 'space'? Are we each truly separate or are we as blades of grass? Billions and billions of people have pondered this, many far more well-equipped than I to understand. Nonetheless, I have my own experience and growing understanding. I expect that when I understand I'll laugh. :shrug: After all, just what is "IS"?? What is the very essence...

I tend to view the ECONOMY as an extensive array of interconnected Black Boxes, with each Black Box characterized by the degree to which capital creation is proportionally distributed to workers vs owners. (In owner-operated Black Boxes, the owner is both owner and worker.) With all of the argument and conflict over the decades regarding the evils of Capitalism and posturing regarding an array (from the ridiculous to the sublime) of 'solutions,' I have yet (probably because I have no formal tra...

For me, principle far outweighs narrow self-interest ... and that's WHY I'm a liberal. IMHO, one cannot be called a 'liberal' if one's politics are the politics of self-interest, i.e. "identity politics." The notion that one is most likely to be GBLT to fight for equal rights and entitlements for GBLT folks, or is most likely to be female to fight for equal rights and entitlements for women, or even ASKING/ASSUMING that one is 'X' if one stands up for the equal rights and entitlements of 'X' .....

(Image) May the child who lives within us Gently teach us how to find Joy and trust in one another -- Lasting faith in all mankind.

That's over $15 billion in federal spending in excess of federal taxes paid by the citizens of Alabama. That gives me an idea. I know where we can get the $15 billion. Just take Alabama off federal welfare! :evilgrin: In 25 years (1981-2005), Alabama has ALWAYS received more in federal dollars than they pay, and in those same years Michigan has NEVER received as much as paid. (Link) New Mexico $2.03 1 Mississippi $2.02 2 Alaska $1.84 3 Louisiana $1.78 4 West Virginia $1.76 5 North ...

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... the number of people who claimed to have been Viet Nam veterans was anywhere from four to six times as many as those who actually served in-country. There were about 2.6 million of us "boots on the ground" who're authorized to wear the Vietnam Service Ribbon. (Image) In the 1980s, it became "acceptable" to have been a "baby killer" who didn't run to Canada or somehow escape the draft. At that point, guys who were in the service but weren't in Viet Nam or (particularly) guys who were someho...

... hours worked. Zip. Nada. The labor costs for CURRENT workers is about $42/hour. The benefits that FORMER workers are now receiving were EARNED BY THEM when they were working. Just because the companies failed to create formal retiree benefit RESERVES and account for those costs PROPERLY does NOT mean that it's legitimate to add retiree costs to current labor costs and divide by hours worked. It's flim-flam. It's a LIE. The COSTS of FORMER workers now receiving retirement benefits A...

... does that make me "half blond"?? :eyes: Each and every one of us 'sees' a different world. We live on different planets. Every individual 'sees' a world looking back at him or her and reacting, often subliminally, in a different way. When we walk down a city sidewalk, walk into a bank, walk up to a department store counter, approach a stranger, eat in a restaurant, ride on a bus or subway, go to school, apply for a job, and engage in the millions and millions of activities we all do on ...

:shrug:

:shrug: I find it preferable to blaming the victim. When it's pretty clear that the health and longevity of people who are obese or people who smoke is severely limited, I really have to wonder at those who're so eager and willing to pile on and heap opprobrium upon them. It seems we're not very evolved from people who'd stone the lepers. We're a culture that still blames the victim. The girl wouldn't have been raped if she'd dressed more modestly. The woman wouldn't have AIDS if she'd not b...

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 3rd district -- January 3, 1983 to February 13, 1997 21st United States Ambassador to the United Nations -- January 21, 1997 to August 18, 1998 9th United States Secretary of Energy -- August 18, 1998 to January 20, 2001 30th Governor of New Mexico -- January 1, 2003 to Present Legislator, Ambassador, Energy Secretary, and Governor ... nobody has better credentials! Let Hillary be Ambassador to the U.N. :shrug:

It is NOT enough to protest. It is NOT enough to produce films and generate nodding and tearful agreement among the "in crowd" - the "knowing" folks - the self-proclaimed progressives and liberals. It is NOT enough to satisfy one's self and impress one's allies that it's an "illegal war" and all those sent to fight are victims whether they know it or not. If that's all we do, it's mere mental and emotional masturbation. It's NOT enough. This nation did that once already. All it did was pave ...

I'm not shy. :dunce:

"Marriage" per se is a right ... a covenant between two persons and protected from infringement by the First Amendment. Congregants of various religious traditions have adopted rituals and dogmas related to that convenant as a means to perpetuate that organized faith tradition. It is, however, the most long-lived and pervasive of intrusions on the State by religious doctrinaires ... most obvious to most in the history of the English monarchy and Henry VIII in particular ... in the establishm...

... the only people for whom "identity politics" is a deep, dark EVIL. :shrug: After all, every damned one of 'them' is evil and it's always open season on 'them.' Dick Cheney is 'their' leader - the poster boy for straight white males. I'd be interested to understand better WHO can be legitimately called (or call themselves) a 'liberal' under the current Manual of Political Correctness. When the zealous adherents of 'identity politics' select targets, what's fair game??? (I keep having f...

While the GOP has almost perfected the art of blame-shifting, I've seen a lot of savants on the left able to do so with a panache and zeal (see 'Nader') that matches or exceeds the GOP. It might be mildly amusing to witness the repudiation of proclaimed core beliefs (see 'democracy' and 'voting rights') inherent in that blame-shifting, if the novelty hadn't worn off long ago. Indeed, it has been a source of bemusement to me (an independent liberal) to see the childlike eagerness to see a 60-se...

As a liberal, I subscribe to governance that serves ALL equitably instead of merely the wealthy or powerful. As a liberal, I subscribe to the politics of abundance instead of the politics of scarcity. As a liberal, I will steadfastly defend the human rights and civil liberties of even those who'd deprive me of mine!

I find it interesting that 'we' are far more tolerant of bigotry (broad-brush gender-based, race-based, or religion-based slurs) when the target is not an 'approved' minority. The rationale seems to be political rather than moral/ethical. Thus, we see hateful slurs of GLBT as well as white males and Christians. (Some will claim that demeaningly sexist slurs against women are even more prevalent.) The slurs of GLBT seem to be tolerated due to the failure (so far) of the political 'leadership' t...

Since the early 1980s, there has been a continuous rise in . I can personally attest to the increase in antibiotic-resistant Fascistococcus moroniae, a particularly pernicious bacterium that attacks areas of the brain responsible for reason, veracity, and empathy. The recent discovery and availability of Obamacillin gives us some hope that this pandemic that threatens the people of the world can be halted here in the U.S. where it's particularly virulent and deadly. Feeling better? - It is NOT...

... for complicity in the war crimes of the Cheney/Bush administration and gives testimony against them as a part of a plea bargain. "Good" people do "bad" things for "good" reasons ... reasons that often turn out to be grounded in the acceptance and belief of a falsehood. Powell is no exception ... nor am I (or any of us), for that matter. For me, there are "points of no return" where the totality of the corruption in an individual becomes clear. Cheney is one example ... and I have no resp...

Virtually every infant is born with an innate "love of learning" ... EVERYTHING is new and survival depends on learning. They're like sponges that become selective. The very first learning process involves attention focus and segregating the visual and audible stimuli ... focusing on that "parent thing" instead of other random visual stimuli, focusing on faces, segregating voice noises from street noises, segregating music noises from conversation noises, etc. Thus, the fundamental of learnin...

All that's necessary for the mortgage to go upside down is for the market value to drop below the amount of the mortgage. A 25% drop in market values is more than enough to make that happen. And, as you enjoy the self-esteem of having behaved responsibly and sneer at neighbors who didn't, THEIR houses will get foreclosed and all the vacant properties will put a blight on your neighborhood, lower property tax collections, invite meth labs, and destroy the home values around you. As you pridefu...

:puke:

Whether or not I comprehend the consenting acts and personal commitments of other adults has absolutely nothing to do with their right to pursue happiness in whatever ways that do not harm others. Whatever floats our boats. :shrug: I still cannot find this on even the longest imaginable list of the world's problems.

The metaphor implicit in "bail out" is uncannily accurate. The navigators don't know where we're going because they're bailing. The rowers stopped rowing - we're dead in the water - because they're bailing. We SAID "the boat has HOLES in it!!" and we were ignored. Get ready to swim. There's something very ironic about a 'problem' that has to do with debt and collateral -- and folks who think it can be solved by putting our children and grandchildren into dept where their future is the collater...

So, people with enormous long-term capital gains who LIVE on their investments and have no "ordinary income" (i.e. they don't WORK) get off scot-free this year AND next year ... living off the labor of others! Take someone like Michael Bloomberg ... is it any wonder he only takes a $1/year 'salary' as Mayor of New York??? The Zero Percent Capital Gains Tax Rate Saturday July 12, 2008 Starting this year, there's a new zero percent tax rate for long-term capital gains. To qualify for this zero ...

I do so, not out of some self-centered, myopic "identity politics" but out of a comprehension that human relations is NOT a zero-sum game. Thus, there is no such thing as "win-lose" ... and only "win-win" and "lose-lose." I eschew the objectification of human beings (and the commoditization of human labor) in ALL its forms, whether based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. It is, imho, a fundamental evil, whether we do it to others or even to ourselves. I eschew traf...

Facing a welfare tab in the HUNDREDS of BILLIONS - some say up to TWO TRILLION - you won't hear the 'leadership' promulgatea national sales tax of 1-2% on the sale or exchange of corporate stock EXCEPT for IPOs,a short-term (under 1 year) capital gains tax surcharge of 10-20%,an export tax/tariff on capital,a change to GAAP/FASB and tax law that requires executive compensation to be an AFTER-TAX expense, any prohibition on corporations owning corporations. Gee... I wonder why? :eyes:

... and then speak down to others like they're delivering the Sermon From The Mount. :rofl: :rofl: