Wanna bet?

Logan and Mike, Logan wrote: "De facto law states that the government can do whatever it wants, regardless of universal absolutes and protections." How and where does de facto law state this?

Religion? Which religion?

You disrespect, obviously, openly, and joyfully.

The process of life culminates where it must in every case, which in no way justifies the the criminally abusive manipulation exercised by power groups through the use of lies. Need I say more?

You get denser by the minute, Archer: The point is that we already have atheists incdoctrinating our children through the faith-based philosophy taught in public schools. Get your facts straight.

Nicely put.

Archer: You have no idea about my religion. You will live, however you live, and you will die, despite whether you had been free or not. What is in the works is the coming of God's kingdom to free the world of corruption and abomination, like the kind in which ignorant people pretend to know about what they have no idea, but joyfully slander others for pleasure.

Reston, and to whomever it it concerns: The definition of jihad may not be war for some, but it is clearly exactly that for many, and that you cannot see this is remarkable. I guess you believe that the Bush administration orchestrated 9/11. And the war against terrorism is not a war against an idea, but a war against those who believe in and carry out jihad as a war, as well as against their non-Moslem allies. Several weeks before 9/11, Fidel Castro spoke in Iran and told the audience of political figures that between Iran and Cuba they could bring the United States to its knees. The war began long before 9/11, though you cannot see it. You cannot make a war cease to exist by staying in denial. But you go ahead and disband the armed forces if you like. I won't do anything but praise God and laugh at your ingenuousness.

For domestic purposes, habeus corpus should not be suspended, but when we are at war, which we certainly are and have been, despite the lack of a formal declaration by Congress, enemy combatants should not enjoy habeus corpus rights, whether the enemy is captured abroad or at home. The declaration of war has been made by enemy leaders against us, even though Congress has not reciprocated. Jihad is war.

Do away with the standing army? Is that what you want to do?

It is one thing to have the option of purchasing by card (as in ATM or credit card), but this type of arrangement makes using the card mandatory in order to purchase. Today a cigarette card, tomorrow another type of card required for purchase of food, clothing, or anything else. NOT a good idea at all. So expect it to happen soon.

Socialism serves to destroy the world through incompetence. Capitalism does the same through competence. We are and should be equal in some ways, and not at all in other ways.

Both Houses of the Congress of the United States receive large, automatic pay raises, every year, legislated by themselves. Republicans and Demogogues alike receive this raise of several thousand dollars (each) per year. It is practically the only thing they agree on. If your auto mechanic cannot repair your car, you don't pay him. If Congress cannot fix the issues plaguing the nation, you give them a raise.

Reston needs to look at the examples of what states have produced in order to be convinced of the folly of the idea of state intervention in childrearing.

The quote is an excellent revelation on a repulsive situation.

The state might possibly condemn a criminally inadequate parent, after the fact, but the state is incapable of determining who would make a good parent, before the fact. Orientation classes and support groups should be available for those seeking to improve their parenting skills, but the state is no more capable of controling the outcomes of childrearing than it is in determining which technology will be harmful to the environment.

I have thought it over, and decided that the basic idea is a fallacy. There are people who should not have children, whose children should be protected from them, but licensing would never work.

The concept of licensing, properly applied, comprehends the state's/society's attempt to compel correct action, where the person tends to fail to act correctly. People do often fail to act correctly, and should be self-compelled to act correctly. The state/society attempts to control incorrect acts, which it can do only in a pathetically inadequate way, when it can do so at all; the state/society attempts to do what it cannot do, does not know how to do, and what it inevitably fails to do. But too many people act wrongly. Licensing of parents would be a failed attempt to correct the pathetically failed institution of parenting, resulting from, or correlating with, the degradation of society at large.

Jack, you can arrive at whatever conclusions please you, but that does not increase their validity. If you imitate someone elses actions or style, you are free to change the next moment or the next day, and then you could even take the initiative, to create your own style. You are free at every moment.

Well, we can just invent a time machine and go back to the day when the president signed the Federal Reserve System into existence, show him the long-term consequences, and allow him to change his mind. Or what do you suggest? We pay more taxes by far than what brought the colonists to wage war for years to abolish. We put up with more corruption than a prudent people would. And Congress receives huge automatic yearly pay raises as its reward for nothing desirable. What do you suggest?

You should write stories, Ken, or screenplays. Social Security is not designed the way pyramid schemes are designed. The Social Security system was made unsustainable when the Democratic Congress removed the protected status of the Social Security fund and joined it with the General Fund. The same party that introduced it is responsible for its demise, until somebody finds a reasonable way to revamp it. If the fund were never joined with the General Fund, and if a slightly higher initial tax rate had been set 70 years ago, the fund could now still be in surplus.

There, editor, can you understand that?

Oh, and I thought he was just talking about Rap music.

Although the statement is largely valid, all of its elements have been abused, and are still being abused, by those who care not at all for the rights of anyone but themselves, which is becoming a norm. Men can appreciate what is right, but they cannot put it into practice. They do not know how.