"It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it." Joseph Joubert
"Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision." Ayn Rand
"Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision." Ayn Rand
Sunday, Sep 6, 2009
...Will be the same adventure. With all of the things he has said and threatened in the aftermath of insults made by journalists, I see an actually sensitive guy turning violent. The next album will likely be a response to these statements, and will do little to help his image. As Scott Putesky said of the Manson in Antichrist Superstar, he will raise a middle finger to the world and the world will raise one back.
Manson's next journey *should* be to realise how inconsequential these petty people are, and to realise that he is fueling the fire. They shouldn't mean anything to him. The fact that they do means that he does not have a self-sufficient ego, meaning that he still places others above himself.
Someone should give him a copy of The Fountainhead...
Manson's next journey *should* be to realise how inconsequential these petty people are, and to realise that he is fueling the fire. They shouldn't mean anything to him. The fact that they do means that he does not have a self-sufficient ego, meaning that he still places others above himself.
Someone should give him a copy of The Fountainhead...
Saturday, Sep 5, 2009
Health Care:
Single-payer system, with the industry meeting standards of paperwork (this saves BILLIONS); popular vote elects representatives for health care committee. Without the profit motive, we curb the costs dramatically. Every other nation that has a state health care plan has a single-payer system, yet our government is more concerned with special interests. Check it out on Rolling Stone.
Illegal Immigration:
Employers must check to see whether the person has legally immigrated. If not, they must become documented by the state and must pay the same taxes we do, etcetera.
Secondary Education Loan Crisis:
The current industry intentionally tries to put its clients into debt for decades to come. Scholarships and grants are the way to go; there are plenty of specialized options out there. The problem is that people do not read the fine print, a la adjustable rate mortgages and car loans. Government's regulation should prevent banks, funds, etc from lending and selling to 'high risk' clients -- people who are unlikely to afford them.
Primary Education Success Crisis:
We need more funding, especially in Florida. We will use this funding to promote life success and wellness programs in middle school. In high school, we will promote AICE, IB, and AP programs; we will require Auto Tech 1 as much as possible; we will require Applied Philosophy (more on that to come); we will eliminate the zero-tolerance policies, WITHIN REASON, because they ruin lives over accidents and misunderstandings and teach kids that the government is punitive and the world is hostile; we will require leadership and law and government study programs such as JROTC. That's a start. The next step is teacher and curriculum quality. Education is FIRST about teaching people how to think and how to apply knowledge.
Prison problems:
Keep everyone in the same, visible area; if they fight or something, everyone gets another year added to their sentences. The sexual predator nonsense, which ruins lives and the economy, must be kept to people who have been convicted of serious offenses such as rape and molestation. For violent crimes, we will encourage alternatives of joining the military to squash it out of them while also giving (1) an outlet and (2) a future. The biggest problem is, again, education -- its failure, and its lack.
Voting:
The problem with our government is that about half of half of the population votes for us, making our decisions for us. Democracy only works as long as people believe in and participate in its ideals. Government must answer to us, but how can government do this when nobody is demanding it? The key, once more, is education.
Foreign problems:
Keep out of there. The reason our efforts are failing to help various 'revolutions' around the globe is because we are the ones starting these revolutions. It has to be done by those who need it. You can't give somebody the unearned and expect them to earn it. At the same time, we are wasting our resources by helping people who don't want our help. The answer, again, is education. Intelligence and effort are evenly distributed; in time, 'third world' countries will develop and innovate their societies. Their traditions have to change first, and it is not our place to change them. The UN's only function in times of peace should be education. Just like other countries, the UN ( / USA) should be bound to keep its military at home unless it is attacked.
Teen pregnancy:
(1) Show them the costs of children (middle school wellness / success programs). (2) Make them pay for their own abortions. Don't treat sex as evil. Treat irresponsibily as evil.
Another note about education reforms:
The most powerful tool for education is to have speakers, live or televised, about their PERSONAL EXPERIENCE!
Gun control:
The right to bear arms must not be taken away. It is necessary for our survival as a democracy. However, a stricter regulation must be in place, even if this means getting rid of gun shows or having police present for them (everything costs more there anyway...).
Teen violence:
Columbine was not the product of inherent evil. It was the product of nobody caring. We must put an end to the whole bullying tradition of primary schools, and we must increase faculty involvement in making sure kids are not being put into situations like the perpetrators of Columbine were. We're all in this country together. Fortunately, this problem is on the road to success, as it is now law for (1) faculty to report any suspicion of violence, or get sued, and (2) faculty to somehow ' make sure' internet abuse is taken care of.
Entertainment Piracy:
Shut down sites that provide them, make more 3-D movies, keep mp3s copy-protected, etc. Or, better yet, the music, filming, and pornography industries can go on strike.
Energy and the Environment:
Increase recycling. Make the oil companies switch to nuclear, wind, solar, and ocean wave power. Look into static electricity. If the government fails to make sure that we solve the crisis in ways we knew would work long ago, the rising costs and rising temperatures will hit people's wallets, and that will end them. The oil industry is screwed either way, so why not switch to different sources and keep your profits? Energy companies don't have to die out. This proves that they are, in fact, not selfish because selfishness requires rationality and self-preservation.
Gay Marriage:
If the government fails to do the right thing, just change the second word. It's not complicated.
The Auto Industry:
Another example of the lack of selfishness in today's industries. If they cared about their survival, they would stop mass-producing cars people don't want and start producing cars people are demanding from foreign countries.
Cash for Clunkers:
STOP IT, or add to our debt for the next thirty years. Take your pick. You haven't solved the real problem, under 'The Auto Industry'.
Language:
Taking a foreign language is a must; however, taking English is a must as well. We waste money printing things for the United States in multiple languages. And we waste money by taking forever to switch to the International Standard of Measurement. The 'other' system doesn't make sense, anyway.
Government Debt:
Instead of investing in the government (bonds, t-bills, etc), the government will have much more money if it invests in us instead. Like any other business, it would gain interest from stock. Then we all become richer because (1) we determine what to invest in -- I recommend energy -- and (2) the interest is returned to us when we 'cash in' our investments for use elsewhere. We must also eliminate failed and unnecessary programs. Government has three functions: protecting the rights of the people, providing services which individuals cannot afford or likely will not invest in, and regulating commerce (printing money, setting the standards of weight and measures, etc).
Minimum Wage:
Don't raise it again. Everything in the economy adjusts with the minimum wage; we are increasing inflation by raising it. I'm tempted to say that we should lower it, but I'm not certain about the consequences of that yet.
Alcohol and Tobacco:
Ban them. They don't cause any good.
Single-payer system, with the industry meeting standards of paperwork (this saves BILLIONS); popular vote elects representatives for health care committee. Without the profit motive, we curb the costs dramatically. Every other nation that has a state health care plan has a single-payer system, yet our government is more concerned with special interests. Check it out on Rolling Stone.
Illegal Immigration:
Employers must check to see whether the person has legally immigrated. If not, they must become documented by the state and must pay the same taxes we do, etcetera.
Secondary Education Loan Crisis:
The current industry intentionally tries to put its clients into debt for decades to come. Scholarships and grants are the way to go; there are plenty of specialized options out there. The problem is that people do not read the fine print, a la adjustable rate mortgages and car loans. Government's regulation should prevent banks, funds, etc from lending and selling to 'high risk' clients -- people who are unlikely to afford them.
Primary Education Success Crisis:
We need more funding, especially in Florida. We will use this funding to promote life success and wellness programs in middle school. In high school, we will promote AICE, IB, and AP programs; we will require Auto Tech 1 as much as possible; we will require Applied Philosophy (more on that to come); we will eliminate the zero-tolerance policies, WITHIN REASON, because they ruin lives over accidents and misunderstandings and teach kids that the government is punitive and the world is hostile; we will require leadership and law and government study programs such as JROTC. That's a start. The next step is teacher and curriculum quality. Education is FIRST about teaching people how to think and how to apply knowledge.
Prison problems:
Keep everyone in the same, visible area; if they fight or something, everyone gets another year added to their sentences. The sexual predator nonsense, which ruins lives and the economy, must be kept to people who have been convicted of serious offenses such as rape and molestation. For violent crimes, we will encourage alternatives of joining the military to squash it out of them while also giving (1) an outlet and (2) a future. The biggest problem is, again, education -- its failure, and its lack.
Voting:
The problem with our government is that about half of half of the population votes for us, making our decisions for us. Democracy only works as long as people believe in and participate in its ideals. Government must answer to us, but how can government do this when nobody is demanding it? The key, once more, is education.
Foreign problems:
Keep out of there. The reason our efforts are failing to help various 'revolutions' around the globe is because we are the ones starting these revolutions. It has to be done by those who need it. You can't give somebody the unearned and expect them to earn it. At the same time, we are wasting our resources by helping people who don't want our help. The answer, again, is education. Intelligence and effort are evenly distributed; in time, 'third world' countries will develop and innovate their societies. Their traditions have to change first, and it is not our place to change them. The UN's only function in times of peace should be education. Just like other countries, the UN ( / USA) should be bound to keep its military at home unless it is attacked.
Teen pregnancy:
(1) Show them the costs of children (middle school wellness / success programs). (2) Make them pay for their own abortions. Don't treat sex as evil. Treat irresponsibily as evil.
Another note about education reforms:
The most powerful tool for education is to have speakers, live or televised, about their PERSONAL EXPERIENCE!
Gun control:
The right to bear arms must not be taken away. It is necessary for our survival as a democracy. However, a stricter regulation must be in place, even if this means getting rid of gun shows or having police present for them (everything costs more there anyway...).
Teen violence:
Columbine was not the product of inherent evil. It was the product of nobody caring. We must put an end to the whole bullying tradition of primary schools, and we must increase faculty involvement in making sure kids are not being put into situations like the perpetrators of Columbine were. We're all in this country together. Fortunately, this problem is on the road to success, as it is now law for (1) faculty to report any suspicion of violence, or get sued, and (2) faculty to somehow ' make sure' internet abuse is taken care of.
Entertainment Piracy:
Shut down sites that provide them, make more 3-D movies, keep mp3s copy-protected, etc. Or, better yet, the music, filming, and pornography industries can go on strike.
Energy and the Environment:
Increase recycling. Make the oil companies switch to nuclear, wind, solar, and ocean wave power. Look into static electricity. If the government fails to make sure that we solve the crisis in ways we knew would work long ago, the rising costs and rising temperatures will hit people's wallets, and that will end them. The oil industry is screwed either way, so why not switch to different sources and keep your profits? Energy companies don't have to die out. This proves that they are, in fact, not selfish because selfishness requires rationality and self-preservation.
Gay Marriage:
If the government fails to do the right thing, just change the second word. It's not complicated.
The Auto Industry:
Another example of the lack of selfishness in today's industries. If they cared about their survival, they would stop mass-producing cars people don't want and start producing cars people are demanding from foreign countries.
Cash for Clunkers:
STOP IT, or add to our debt for the next thirty years. Take your pick. You haven't solved the real problem, under 'The Auto Industry'.
Language:
Taking a foreign language is a must; however, taking English is a must as well. We waste money printing things for the United States in multiple languages. And we waste money by taking forever to switch to the International Standard of Measurement. The 'other' system doesn't make sense, anyway.
Government Debt:
Instead of investing in the government (bonds, t-bills, etc), the government will have much more money if it invests in us instead. Like any other business, it would gain interest from stock. Then we all become richer because (1) we determine what to invest in -- I recommend energy -- and (2) the interest is returned to us when we 'cash in' our investments for use elsewhere. We must also eliminate failed and unnecessary programs. Government has three functions: protecting the rights of the people, providing services which individuals cannot afford or likely will not invest in, and regulating commerce (printing money, setting the standards of weight and measures, etc).
Minimum Wage:
Don't raise it again. Everything in the economy adjusts with the minimum wage; we are increasing inflation by raising it. I'm tempted to say that we should lower it, but I'm not certain about the consequences of that yet.
Alcohol and Tobacco:
Ban them. They don't cause any good.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2009
My website is gone, but you can still find the archive on the Atheism Union board.
Recent Entries
Some people just don't have opinions. Like CptJSparrow.
CptJSparrow must really love MovieTome and agree with every review we've ever written! What other reason could CptJSparrow possibly have for not rating a single film?
Friends
My Friends
