Mike, if ad populum fails, use ad hominem.

And sometimes, try as one may, it's not to be found.

Deception runs deep.

Pick your poison.

Or puka shells. Money is what you accept as money.

Absolutely true.

When Seneca refers to "future ones", is "future ones" a reference to future individuals or a reference to future pleasures?

It works either way.

I had an Econ professor in college who had the distinct perspective that unending growth was a good and necessary thing.

My problem with that view was that I'd had experiences with cultures in petri dishes (finite environments) and that model didn't bode well for the bacteria which always died in their own waste.

Amen.

Indeed.

One must, of course know some history to even learn that.

So, what ever happened to our stem-cell research?

"Due process, send them all home !" -

"you would treat these people for what they are, criminal trespassers!" -

Those are the exact sentiments of Native Americans.

Columbus did NOT 'discover' the 'new' world. He was a Johnny-cum-lately.

"it protects aliens as well as citizens." --

Well, at least it used to in sporadic fits of sanity.

Yeah, like the Earth orbiting the Sun and vaccines preventing smallpox.

Hobby Lobby.

Hemingway was often swept away with over the top assertions in his quest for heroism.

The conscience of most mass murderers seems to be nonexistent - as it is with most sociopaths.

Ayn Rand got at least one thing right and maybe a few more.

As far as the assertion that "Capitalists don't rely on the government passing laws to regulate markets." :

Thu Mar 27, 2014 - Tesla Motors Inc. struck a deal Wednesday with Ohio auto dealers that could allow the electric-car maker to ease a battle over its direct-to-consumer retailing model, at least for the near term.

Under the agreement, Tesla would be allowed to keep operating two company-owned retail stores in the state, and open just one more. The deal requires approval from the Ohio state legislature. The proposed bill would bar all other auto makers from bypassing franchised dealers to retail cars.

In other words, the capitalist dealers want to prevent the capitalist Tesla from marketing directly by dint of legislation.

"The First Amendment says nothing about a right not to be offended."

Yeah, I couldn't find it either - in the body of the Constitution or any amendment thereof.

It's a small crowd who thinks they have a right not to be offended.

We are weaned on delusions so why stop at just one.

First of all, has anyone even noticed that the UK (Great Britain) has NO constitution?

Blackstone must have been referring to the individual 'constitution' of its inhabitants.

Justice Joseph Story couldn't have conceived of today's runaway police and intelligence (what an oxymoron) agencies.

To his credit, he does only refer to the fourth amendment in terms of "Its plain object" and not our nation's adherence to that object.

"There is no right not to be offended by words, actions or symbols."

Most people act as if they have no concept of this axiom.

"Words can easily incite the violence he deplores."

Only in cretins. Humans know inclination precedes actions.

We are corrupted by corruption.

All that other conflation is garbage.