Walken for President
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Not a criticism of your post, Michael, but I'm going to have a few words to say about his opening statement: "Our great country is in a terrible downward spiral. That comment turned me off, right there. A lot of hot air, no substance. And don't start off negative with me. X| We're losing jobs, losing benefits, and losing lives. Another negative statement. And lumping the three together, especially losing lives, is emotional rubbish. As to losing jobs, well, that's because American consumers like to buy cheap products, so American businesses go overseas/Mexico for manufacturing. We need to focus on what's important-- paying attention to our children, our environment, our future. Gee, that's vague. Like government should have anything to do with paying attention to our children. That's the LAST thing I want. And as to environment, again, it's the consumer's decision as to what products to buy and what manufacturers to buy from. If we want to protect our environment, we need to change the way consumers behave, not the way government taxes. We need to think about improving our underbudget educational system... Sorry, but education starts in the home, and is promoted and supported in the home. I frankly don't see a lot wrong with our educational system, per se. What I do see wrong is parent's lack of involvement. I even see it in the Waldorf school where I've been putting my son in for 10 years. There's the attitude "that's what school is for". BS! And the last thing I want is to pay more taxes into a public school system when I send my kid to private school, and my girlfriend doesn't even have kids! ...making better use of our resources... What resources? What does that have to do with education? Energy resources? Renewable resources? What? Nice and vague. ...and helping to build a stable, safe, and tolerant global society. HAHAHAHA! This guy lives in a eutopia. It's time to be smart about our politics. "Smart" and "politics" should not appear in the same sentence. "Politics", by its very nature, is the skill of behaving deviously. Sure, you can be smart about it, but what we usually mean by smart also incorporates a degree of ethics. It's time to get America back on track." It's time for Americans to stop relying on government and politicians and the broken political process. It's time for Americans, when they see something wrong, to go out and fix it themselves. It's time for Americans to
Marc Clifton wrote: No one would ever vote for me. Run. I'll vote for you.:-D Marc Clifton wrote: It's time for Americans, when they see something wrong, to go out and fix it themselves. Absolutely true. No government program has ever fixed any problem it was meant to repair. In fact, every one that I know of has made the original problem worse or created an entirely new set of problems. Individuals who have a grasp of personal responsibility and choose to act solve problems - governments never do. "...putting all your eggs in one basket along with your bowling ball and gym clothes only gets you scrambled eggs and an extra laundry day... " - Jeffry J. Brickley
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Christopher Walken running for President[^]! Don't know if this is a repost but I find it very interesting. Are we going to see an Arnie vs Walken campaign. That'd be like something out of the movies, apart from Walken usually plays the bad guy. :-D Michael CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]
Walken is "The Man"! He's got my vote (if Dean doesn't run again). Of course anyone insanely egotistical and power hungry enough to want it, shouldn't be allowed to have it. Anyone seen that web animation site where he's in a diner and goes outside to have sex with a reindeer? Will
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Not a criticism of your post, Michael, but I'm going to have a few words to say about his opening statement: "Our great country is in a terrible downward spiral. That comment turned me off, right there. A lot of hot air, no substance. And don't start off negative with me. X| We're losing jobs, losing benefits, and losing lives. Another negative statement. And lumping the three together, especially losing lives, is emotional rubbish. As to losing jobs, well, that's because American consumers like to buy cheap products, so American businesses go overseas/Mexico for manufacturing. We need to focus on what's important-- paying attention to our children, our environment, our future. Gee, that's vague. Like government should have anything to do with paying attention to our children. That's the LAST thing I want. And as to environment, again, it's the consumer's decision as to what products to buy and what manufacturers to buy from. If we want to protect our environment, we need to change the way consumers behave, not the way government taxes. We need to think about improving our underbudget educational system... Sorry, but education starts in the home, and is promoted and supported in the home. I frankly don't see a lot wrong with our educational system, per se. What I do see wrong is parent's lack of involvement. I even see it in the Waldorf school where I've been putting my son in for 10 years. There's the attitude "that's what school is for". BS! And the last thing I want is to pay more taxes into a public school system when I send my kid to private school, and my girlfriend doesn't even have kids! ...making better use of our resources... What resources? What does that have to do with education? Energy resources? Renewable resources? What? Nice and vague. ...and helping to build a stable, safe, and tolerant global society. HAHAHAHA! This guy lives in a eutopia. It's time to be smart about our politics. "Smart" and "politics" should not appear in the same sentence. "Politics", by its very nature, is the skill of behaving deviously. Sure, you can be smart about it, but what we usually mean by smart also incorporates a degree of ethics. It's time to get America back on track." It's time for Americans to stop relying on government and politicians and the broken political process. It's time for Americans, when they see something wrong, to go out and fix it themselves. It's time for Americans to
You know I actually can't be bothered to answer each and every point you make but suffice to say that I 110% disagree with what you say and what you seem to stand for. This country (and this planet) are heading into a complete black hole of political manipulation to serve the needs of the profit grabbing corporations who care nothing for the environment or the people living in it. Something has to be done to put some sanity back in the loop. People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. X|
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You know I actually can't be bothered to answer each and every point you make but suffice to say that I 110% disagree with what you say and what you seem to stand for. This country (and this planet) are heading into a complete black hole of political manipulation to serve the needs of the profit grabbing corporations who care nothing for the environment or the people living in it. Something has to be done to put some sanity back in the loop. People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. X|
fakefur wrote: People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. Did he say that?? :confused: Never forget: "Stay kul and happy" (I.A.)
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You know I actually can't be bothered to answer each and every point you make but suffice to say that I 110% disagree with what you say and what you seem to stand for. This country (and this planet) are heading into a complete black hole of political manipulation to serve the needs of the profit grabbing corporations who care nothing for the environment or the people living in it. Something has to be done to put some sanity back in the loop. People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. X|
fakefur wrote: I 110% disagree Everyone note--there is a God!!! fakefur wrote: People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. Really, I never said that. What I did say is that I don't expect, require, nor desire my government to fix the problems. The problems get fixed when people get off their arse, stop shopping at Walmart, and start, among other things, buying "made in America". Which one is very hard pressed to do nowadays. However, given that there is a locally run hardware store directly across the street from Walmart where I now live, I do my hardware shopping there. Not Walmart. Not Home Depot. And rather than buying my produce from farms that pollute the environment with pestitides, I support the local organic farmers here in NY (yes, I now live in NY) by structuring my life so that I do all my shopping here.[^] And if more people made it clear that buying cheap products manufactured in China (et al), under heinous labor conditions and with no compliance to any pollution control standards, was something they would not do, well then, don't you think businesses would start promoting products based on conditions other than low cost? Don't you think that would have an effect on small American businesses, the backbone of this country? Don't you think that would have an effect on the trade deficit. And I haven't even mentioned cars and oil consumption (oops, I just did!) I'll say it again. We have only ourselves to blame for the situation we're in. And since you disgree with everything I said, you're part of the problem, not the solution. Marc My website
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You know I actually can't be bothered to answer each and every point you make but suffice to say that I 110% disagree with what you say and what you seem to stand for. This country (and this planet) are heading into a complete black hole of political manipulation to serve the needs of the profit grabbing corporations who care nothing for the environment or the people living in it. Something has to be done to put some sanity back in the loop. People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. X|
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fakefur wrote: I 110% disagree Everyone note--there is a God!!! fakefur wrote: People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. Really, I never said that. What I did say is that I don't expect, require, nor desire my government to fix the problems. The problems get fixed when people get off their arse, stop shopping at Walmart, and start, among other things, buying "made in America". Which one is very hard pressed to do nowadays. However, given that there is a locally run hardware store directly across the street from Walmart where I now live, I do my hardware shopping there. Not Walmart. Not Home Depot. And rather than buying my produce from farms that pollute the environment with pestitides, I support the local organic farmers here in NY (yes, I now live in NY) by structuring my life so that I do all my shopping here.[^] And if more people made it clear that buying cheap products manufactured in China (et al), under heinous labor conditions and with no compliance to any pollution control standards, was something they would not do, well then, don't you think businesses would start promoting products based on conditions other than low cost? Don't you think that would have an effect on small American businesses, the backbone of this country? Don't you think that would have an effect on the trade deficit. And I haven't even mentioned cars and oil consumption (oops, I just did!) I'll say it again. We have only ourselves to blame for the situation we're in. And since you disgree with everything I said, you're part of the problem, not the solution. Marc My website
Latest Articles: Object Comparer String HelpersMarc Clifton wrote: And if more people made it clear that buying cheap products manufactured in China (et al), under heinous labor conditions and with no compliance to any pollution control standards, was something they would not do, well then, don't you think businesses would start promoting products based on conditions other than low cost? No. Marc Clifton wrote: Don't you think that would have an effect on small American businesses, the backbone of this country? Don't you think that would have an effect on the trade deficit. And I haven't even mentioned cars and oil consumption (oops, I just did!) No. People have already been made aware of these problems. I worked as an engineer in the textile chemical industry for over 15 years. We had the most extensive "Made In America" program ever launched, and everyone was aware of the problems. But the American public made their choice, and now I no longer work in the textile chemical industry because I don't live in China. Just as people are now making the same choice about oil consumption. Most people are not willing to even take small steps, like car-pooling, because they want their convenience more than they want to reduce the money we funnel into the Middle East that finances terrorism, despotic dangerous regimes, and all the other problems. So no, I don't think any of the above. I already know. But I do agree that we have only ourselves to blame. But that is not changing anything - sorry.
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fakefur wrote: I 110% disagree Everyone note--there is a God!!! fakefur wrote: People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. Really, I never said that. What I did say is that I don't expect, require, nor desire my government to fix the problems. The problems get fixed when people get off their arse, stop shopping at Walmart, and start, among other things, buying "made in America". Which one is very hard pressed to do nowadays. However, given that there is a locally run hardware store directly across the street from Walmart where I now live, I do my hardware shopping there. Not Walmart. Not Home Depot. And rather than buying my produce from farms that pollute the environment with pestitides, I support the local organic farmers here in NY (yes, I now live in NY) by structuring my life so that I do all my shopping here.[^] And if more people made it clear that buying cheap products manufactured in China (et al), under heinous labor conditions and with no compliance to any pollution control standards, was something they would not do, well then, don't you think businesses would start promoting products based on conditions other than low cost? Don't you think that would have an effect on small American businesses, the backbone of this country? Don't you think that would have an effect on the trade deficit. And I haven't even mentioned cars and oil consumption (oops, I just did!) I'll say it again. We have only ourselves to blame for the situation we're in. And since you disgree with everything I said, you're part of the problem, not the solution. Marc My website
Latest Articles: Object Comparer String HelpersI have to take exception to some of that, Marc. I always try to buy American also. However, after evalutating quality and price, if I feel the foreign made product is clearly superior I buy it. As I see things, we have no choice but to build the world's economy. We are either going to lift the world's economy up to our level, or we will inevitably be dragged down to its level. The most important way of building those foreign economies is to interact with them by buying their products when it makes sense to do so. American workers are like all workers, they will demand as much for their labor as the market will bear. I simply cannot afford to pay anyone, American or otherwise, more per hour than I myself make, to make me a screwdriver. (BTW, if you have Manards hardwre stores in your area, I have found that they carry a lot of items made in the US.) As someone who has lived in the bread basket of the US, the midwest and the great plains, I have little fear of the damage agriculture might be causing. My house is surrounded by corn and soy fields and cattle pastuers, and the ecology couldn't be healthier. I have no problem with organic farming, but I really don't think the cheaper food produced by the average farmer is much of a threat to the environment or to individuals. "Capitalism is the source of all true freedom."
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I have to take exception to some of that, Marc. I always try to buy American also. However, after evalutating quality and price, if I feel the foreign made product is clearly superior I buy it. As I see things, we have no choice but to build the world's economy. We are either going to lift the world's economy up to our level, or we will inevitably be dragged down to its level. The most important way of building those foreign economies is to interact with them by buying their products when it makes sense to do so. American workers are like all workers, they will demand as much for their labor as the market will bear. I simply cannot afford to pay anyone, American or otherwise, more per hour than I myself make, to make me a screwdriver. (BTW, if you have Manards hardwre stores in your area, I have found that they carry a lot of items made in the US.) As someone who has lived in the bread basket of the US, the midwest and the great plains, I have little fear of the damage agriculture might be causing. My house is surrounded by corn and soy fields and cattle pastuers, and the ecology couldn't be healthier. I have no problem with organic farming, but I really don't think the cheaper food produced by the average farmer is much of a threat to the environment or to individuals. "Capitalism is the source of all true freedom."
There is also a BIG difference between "truth" and "truth in advertising". "No pesticides" is a prime example. It is a basic principle of crop science that some crops are very hardy in terms of pesticide use, while others are much more sensitive. Farmers use this principle in crop rotation. You spray a field heavily in year 1 because you plant a pesticide tolerant crop the same year. In Year 2 and 3 you have enough residual pesticide left to be effective but you can grow crops that have less tolerance of pesticides. In year 4 you start the rotation overand spray again. So in terms of "truth in advertising" you can say that crops grown in Years 2 and 3 were "grown without pesticide use" because you did not spray those crops. That does not mean there are no pesticides in the crop. When I was in college I worked for an EPA lab, and we were doing a project on tomatoes. We needed a control group, but all the tomatoes we bought in the grocery store tested psoitive for pesticides. So we decided to go to a co-op and buy some "organic tomatoes grown without pesticides". They had as much or more pesticides as the regular store bought ones, LOL. Don't believe everything you read, especially when it comes to labels.
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There is also a BIG difference between "truth" and "truth in advertising". "No pesticides" is a prime example. It is a basic principle of crop science that some crops are very hardy in terms of pesticide use, while others are much more sensitive. Farmers use this principle in crop rotation. You spray a field heavily in year 1 because you plant a pesticide tolerant crop the same year. In Year 2 and 3 you have enough residual pesticide left to be effective but you can grow crops that have less tolerance of pesticides. In year 4 you start the rotation overand spray again. So in terms of "truth in advertising" you can say that crops grown in Years 2 and 3 were "grown without pesticide use" because you did not spray those crops. That does not mean there are no pesticides in the crop. When I was in college I worked for an EPA lab, and we were doing a project on tomatoes. We needed a control group, but all the tomatoes we bought in the grocery store tested psoitive for pesticides. So we decided to go to a co-op and buy some "organic tomatoes grown without pesticides". They had as much or more pesticides as the regular store bought ones, LOL. Don't believe everything you read, especially when it comes to labels.
rwestgraham wrote: When I was in college I worked for an EPA lab, and we were doing a project on tomatoes. We needed a control group, but all the tomatoes we bought in the grocery store tested psoitive for pesticides. So we decided to go to a co-op and buy some "organic tomatoes grown without pesticides". They had as much or more pesticides as the regular store bought ones, LOL. Which EPA lab? I worked at the EPA's Robert S. Kerr Ground water research lab in Ada, OK for about 4 years as an information/research assistant (I managed their library, did interlibrary loan, etc) I'm sure that it is possible to find trully organic produce, but I honestly don't worry too much about pesticides. Obviously, you want to limit your exposure. However, I have never believed that the cancer rates among rodents specifially bred to have known cancer rates and given massive doses of the pesticides tells you much about human reactions to those same compounds. I think nature has given us a fairly good ability to deal with the natural pesticides that plants themselves produce. I feel that for most people that translates into a good defense against artificial pesticides also at least in the minute amounts we ingest them. "Capitalism is the source of all true freedom."
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rwestgraham wrote: When I was in college I worked for an EPA lab, and we were doing a project on tomatoes. We needed a control group, but all the tomatoes we bought in the grocery store tested psoitive for pesticides. So we decided to go to a co-op and buy some "organic tomatoes grown without pesticides". They had as much or more pesticides as the regular store bought ones, LOL. Which EPA lab? I worked at the EPA's Robert S. Kerr Ground water research lab in Ada, OK for about 4 years as an information/research assistant (I managed their library, did interlibrary loan, etc) I'm sure that it is possible to find trully organic produce, but I honestly don't worry too much about pesticides. Obviously, you want to limit your exposure. However, I have never believed that the cancer rates among rodents specifially bred to have known cancer rates and given massive doses of the pesticides tells you much about human reactions to those same compounds. I think nature has given us a fairly good ability to deal with the natural pesticides that plants themselves produce. I feel that for most people that translates into a good defense against artificial pesticides also at least in the minute amounts we ingest them. "Capitalism is the source of all true freedom."
Research Triangle in NC. I don't worry about pesticides because most of the average person's exposure to cancer causing agents comes from automobile use.
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Research Triangle in NC. I don't worry about pesticides because most of the average person's exposure to cancer causing agents comes from automobile use.
rwestgraham wrote: I don't worry about pesticides because most of the average person's exposure to cancer causing agents comes from automobile use. Absolutely. You probably expose yourself to more carcinogens just filling your tank up once than you do with 6 months worth of food, not to mention what you're breathing while driving on a busy highway. "Capitalism is the source of all true freedom."
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rwestgraham wrote: I don't worry about pesticides because most of the average person's exposure to cancer causing agents comes from automobile use. Absolutely. You probably expose yourself to more carcinogens just filling your tank up once than you do with 6 months worth of food, not to mention what you're breathing while driving on a busy highway. "Capitalism is the source of all true freedom."
Stan Shannon wrote: just filling your tank up Indeed. I read an article some years ago, claiming that the unleaded gas is really carcinogenic compared to old leaded gas. If my memory serves me right, it was because of the higher levels of benzene in unleaded gas. I wouldn't be too surprised if it turns out that aromatic compounds such as benzene and cigarette smoke are the biggest sources of cancer in the western world. Good music: In my rosary[^]
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Christopher Walken running for President[^]! Don't know if this is a repost but I find it very interesting. Are we going to see an Arnie vs Walken campaign. That'd be like something out of the movies, apart from Walken usually plays the bad guy. :-D Michael CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]
Hmmm. Everything he says makes sense, but he's not saying much. I'd prefer someone with a bit more experience, myself.
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Stan Shannon wrote: just filling your tank up Indeed. I read an article some years ago, claiming that the unleaded gas is really carcinogenic compared to old leaded gas. If my memory serves me right, it was because of the higher levels of benzene in unleaded gas. I wouldn't be too surprised if it turns out that aromatic compounds such as benzene and cigarette smoke are the biggest sources of cancer in the western world. Good music: In my rosary[^]
Lead compounds were added to gas to reduce knock. They also rapidly poison the catalysts in a catalytic converter rendering it useless, which was why leaded gas was banned after catalytic converters became mandatory equipment. The higher the octane rating, the less knock, so unleaded fuels require higher octane ratings than leaded fuels. Octane rating does not actually measure the compound octane, and benzene is one of the most effective ways to boost octane rating. So it is true that the benzene level is higher in unleaded fuel. Gas with ethanol is much worse, because the ethanol increases the vapor pressure - in layman's terms that means you inhale a lot more vapors from gas that has ethanol added. But it is the exhaust that is really bad. Incomplete combustion produces polyaromatic hydrocarbons that are far more carcinogenic than benzene. Passenger automobile use is the source for more than 50% of the total air pollution in the US. And the run-off pollution from highway residue during rain is such a massive problem that the EPA does not even attempt to monitor it because ther scope of the problem precludes the possibility of any remedial action.
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fakefur wrote: People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. But on the flip side, people who moan and wine everything is bad has never lived under a dictator or never lived in Darfur. Kinda makes me nauseaus.
kgaddy wrote: everything is bad "some things are bad" != "everything is bad" kgaddy wrote: people who moan and wine everything is bad has never lived under a dictator or never lived in Darfur. Kinda makes me nauseaus. Had people lived on Venus it would have been worse than living in a desert on earth, but a desert on earth is still a desert.
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fakefur wrote: People like you who say "everything is OK" make me feel genuinely nauseaus. But on the flip side, people who moan and wine everything is bad has never lived under a dictator or never lived in Darfur. Kinda makes me nauseaus.
Why do you think "having lived under a dictator" makes someone special?
Pandoras Gift #44: Hope. The one that keeps you on suffering.
aber.. "Wie gesagt, der Scheiss is' Therapie"
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kgaddy wrote: everything is bad "some things are bad" != "everything is bad" kgaddy wrote: people who moan and wine everything is bad has never lived under a dictator or never lived in Darfur. Kinda makes me nauseaus. Had people lived on Venus it would have been worse than living in a desert on earth, but a desert on earth is still a desert.
Not trying to sound mean but this makes no sense. Anonymous wrote: kgaddy wrote: everything is bad "some things are bad" != "everything is bad" kgaddy wrote: people who moan and wine everything is bad has never lived under a dictator or never lived in Darfur. Kinda makes me nauseaus. Had people lived on Venus it would have been worse than living in a desert on earth, but a desert on earth is still a desert. Maybe you should try agin.
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Why do you think "having lived under a dictator" makes someone special?
Pandoras Gift #44: Hope. The one that keeps you on suffering.
aber.. "Wie gesagt, der Scheiss is' Therapie"
boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist | doxygenpeterchen wrote: Why do you think "having lived under a dictator" makes someone special? Where is I say that? All I said was we have it pretty good. Ever meet people who were never thankful for whta they have? I not saying we should not try to imptove, but come on..Like my dad used to say when I was a kid and we didnt have any mony for toys, ect. "Be thankful, you could be starving Africa." You have to keep things in perspective.
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Stan Shannon wrote: just filling your tank up Indeed. I read an article some years ago, claiming that the unleaded gas is really carcinogenic compared to old leaded gas. If my memory serves me right, it was because of the higher levels of benzene in unleaded gas. I wouldn't be too surprised if it turns out that aromatic compounds such as benzene and cigarette smoke are the biggest sources of cancer in the western world. Good music: In my rosary[^]
Back in the mid '70's when I was taking organic chemistry, I discovered that benzene was very good as a hand cleaner - until the lab assistant saw me doing it and explained it was one of the most potent carcinogens known. I've been waiting since then for some kind of cancer to strike based on that. So far, so good... :~ No one that I'm related to has ever had cancer (well, anyone under 80 or so) so I'm not too paranoid about it. Still, that kind of exposure doesn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy. "Capitalism is the source of all true freedom."