Heh!

“Basically this election (most of them in the last 25 years) come down to capitalism vs socialism/communism regardless of the actual candidates.”

You have got to be kidding me.. Is that a serious comment? I’m sick of the idiotic “free-market-at-all-cost” ideologues who for some reason don’t believe a modern democratic country should provide services for the people. You think universal health insurance (with capitalist hospitals, insurance companies, physicians, surgeons, clinic, etc) is ‘socialism’? Do you realize that every single capitalist country in the WORLD either has or is in the process of building a universal health care system. Want to know why? Because private health insurance without regulation just ensures that everyone who is not in the elite 1% of society can’t afford decent coverage and allows insurance companies to screw everyone. That is the mcCain plan. It’s worse than the status quo!

America is not Europe. Americans don’t want a completely overbearing government that intrudes in all their affairs. I think we can all agree on that. No one is suggesting that average folks should get completely free medical coverage, nor should people who smoke, drink, and overeat not have to pay more for care. We don’t give citizens a large monthly stipend in cash for having kids. On the other hand, although there is certainly a lot of money spent on certain social programs like medicare/medicaid/social security much of it is wasted and many, MANY people truly in need do NOT get the help that they need. I’m not saying the current system is perfect or that it shouldn’t be overhauled and reformed to eliminate fraud and abuse, but we have got to start taking care of people who need assistance. Average hard-working folks deserve assistance when they are injured on the job and can’t work. They shouldn’t lose their homes and be forced in bankruptcy because of enormous medical bills. Homelessness shouldn’t exist in our society — there is not enough resources going to state mental health care. In this modern world, healthcare should be seen as a RIGHT, not a privelege only for the aristrocracy.

The “free market” also fails in other areas. a countries transporation infrastructure is certainly one. Do any of these “free market” types refute the incredible economical gains seen after the building of the interstate highway system? Was that “socialism”? I think broadband network infrastructure needs to be seen in the same light. The citizens need to own the “last mile” to their homes. I think the vast majority of people would agree that a relatively small federal subsidy into building out a nationwide fiber optic network has unrivaled potential in creating future wealth and economic growth. Another issue would be renewable energy technology. Is it “socialist” for the government to invest in new high-tech energy infrastructure to lead our country to energy independence?? Is it socialist to have a concern for and wish to preserve our natural environment.

I’m a somewhat young person still… I’ve only seen three presidents in office. And none of them have had the right mentality that the future of America is going to require. We need a 21st century FDR or Kennedy who has faith in the American dream and actually cares about making our country a better place for all of our citizens. Someone who values a healthy society, values the constitution, values compassion, values tolerance, and actually wakes up each morning with the desire for a better world.

You have got to be kidding me.. Is that a serious comment? I’m of the idiotic “free-market-at-all-cost” ideologues who for some reason don’t believe a modern democratic

country should provide services for the people. You think universal health insurance (with capitalist hospitals, insurance companies, physicians, surgeons, clinic, etc) is

‘socialism’? Do you realize that every single capitalist country in the WORLD either has or is in the process of building a universal health care system. Want to know why? Because

private health insurance without regulation just ensures that everyone who is not in the elite 1% of society can’t afford decent coverage and allows insurance companies to screw

everyone. That is the mcCain plan. It’s worse than the status quo!

America is not Europe. Americans don’t want a completely overbearing government that intrudes in all their affairs. I think we can all agree on that. No one is suggesting that

average folks should get completely free medical coverage, nor should people who smoke, drink, and overeat not have to pay more for care. We don’t give citizens a large

monthly stipend in cash for having kids. On the other hand, although there is certainly a lot of money spent on certain social programs like medicare/medicaid/social security

much of it is wasted and many, MANY people truly in need do NOT get the help that they need. I’m not saying the current system is perfect or that it shouldn’t be overhauled and

reformed to eliminate fraud and abuse, but we have got to start taking care of people who need assistance. Average hard-working folks deserve assistance when they are

injured on the job and can’t work. They shouldn’t lose their homes and be forced in bankruptcy because of enormous medical bills. Homelessness shouldn’t exist in our society

— there is not enough resources going to state mental health care. In this modern world, healthcare should be seen as a RIGHT, not a privelege only for the aristrocracy.

The “free market” also fails in other areas. a countries transporation infrastructure is certainly one. Do any of these “free market” types refute the incredible economical gains

seen after the building of the interstate highway system? Was that “socialism”? I think broadband network infrastructure needs to be seen in the same light. The citizens need to

own the “last mile” to their homes. I think the vast majority of people would agree that a relatively small federal subsidy into building out a nationwide fiber optic network has

unrivaled potential in creating future wealth and economic growth. Another issue would be renewable energy technology. Is it “socialist” for the government to invest in new

high-tech energy infrastructure to lead our country to energy independence?? Is it socialist to have a concern for and wish to preserve our natural environment.

I’m a somewhat young person still… I’ve only seen three presidents in office. And none of them have had the right mentality that the future of America is going to require. We need a 21st century FDR or Kennedy who has faith in the American dream and actually cares about making our country a better place for all of our citizens. Someone who values a healthy society, values the constitution, values compassion, values tolerance, and actually wakes up each morning with the desire for a better world.

8|

Basically this election (most of them in the last 25 years) come down to capitalism vs socialism/communism regardless of the actual candidates.

Only someone from the USA could say this. What you have in the USA is an extreme right-wing party (the Republicans), and a less-extreme right-wing party (the Democrats). On top of that, you have a populace that has been drenched with anti-socialist and anti-government propaganda for generations. So it’s a rapacious capitalism vs a less rapacious capitalism, rather than capitalism vs socialism.

Yes, you manipulated me. I am so weak-willed, gullible, and thoughtless that your superior skills have cut me to the quick.

[I wish I had a roll-eye smiley handy]

Sigh.

Both McCain and Obama voted to add $150 billion of pork barrel spending to the original $700 billion bailout (i.e., ripoff) package. McCain needs to shut his big mouth about earmarks since he just voted for billions of dollars worth of them.

I’m just surprised that he is even so stupid to repeat the same false claim about the $3 million earmark for Adler after it has been soundly refuted by the Adler Planetarium itself. Hello! McCain campaign – there is such a thing as RESEARCH!!! Hello!, anyone home? I could probably train a parrot to debate better than McCain. Polly wanna cracker … three million dollars … overhead projector … foolish … Polly wanna cracker.

And he would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for us meddling kids, and that dog!

I don’t question what he meant. I just wanted to say that I was imagining a man twiddling the end of a long thin moustache as I read it. And then that man was foiled by Scooby Doo.

I made a mug (see http://www.cafepress.com/spacewritershop) and am working on a t-shirt…

http://www.cafepress.com/PlanetObama

What did you mean when you said,

“I manipulated you into responding in terms associated with “mind reading” & I hardly tried. It was almost effortless on my part.”

@Aodhhan,

“Seeing as the American worker is among the best in efficiency and productivity, taxing them through business is just stupid.”

I laughed out loud at this comment. While I agree that taxing businesses too much is a bad thing, Americans are NOT the best workers in efficiency and productivity. I’m sorry, but I’ve known too many fat, lazy, mostly worthless people. I personally have had a job where my own productivity was near zero for 6 months, and no one cared.

There is a reason that sweatshops exist: They are efficient and highly productive. We used to have them here in the US, but as labor laws and wages grew, it became easier and more economical to farm that kind of labor out to other countries. First it was Japan and Taiwan, now its China and Mexico. Soon, we’ll farm out the work to some other developing country where labor is cheap, and the cycle will continue.

You really have to watch out for these traps if you’re going to comment with the sharks in the real world. Master manipulator Ken’s ego cannot afford less.

Ah, semantics. The phrase “overhead projector”, in the English language, has a rather definite meaning in common usage. When someone says “overhead projector” in common conversation, they and their interlocutors generally have an understanding that they are referring to a rather simple device that consists of a lamp housing with a single lamp, a clear, flat surface on which to place transparencies, a neck with an adjustable mirror/lens housing, and the purpose of which is to project the image on the transparency onto a verticle surface, such as a screen or wall.

When the term “overhead projector” is used, the interlocutors generally do not take as the meaning just anything that happens to fit the definition of the individual terms making up the phrase. A flashlight can project light overhead. A catapult can project a mass overhead. A movie projector projects moving images over the audience’s heads. Are these also “overhead projectors”? No. You want to argue semantics, then you need to understand what all that includes, i.e., the socially understood definition given to words and phrases. When someone sees a planetarium star projector (I’ve also heard “star machine” used in reference to one), I would venture that very few would call it an “overhead projector”, despite the fact that technically, yes, it projects stuff overhead, just like a flashlight or a catapult.

So, when Sen. McCain uses the term “overhead projector”, we can’t say for certain, without asking him, whether or not he knows the difference between the commonly accepted definition of “overhead projector” and a planetarium projector. If he doesn’t get the difference, then he shows a lack of basic understanding that is, quite simply, an unsettling characteristic to find in a presidential candidate. If he does understand the difference, then he is purposefully using deceptive language to influence his listeners. By doing so, even if his listeners understand that a planetarium projector is different than an overhead projector, they may still be influenced into associating the cost discrepancy between a simple classroom device and the amount of the earmark, and consequently undervaluing the cost of the planetarium projector.

In the end, Sen. McCain is using many of the same spin techniques as the Bush administration. It’s not a civil war, it’s sectarian violence. It’s not a recession, it’s an economic slowdown. It’s not torture, it’s aggressive questioning. It’s not a complex, scientific and educational device, it’s an overhead projector.

And yes, words ARE important. They create a perception. In this case, the perception of a $600 hammer. If they aren’t important, than why didn’t he use a more accurate term? He (should) be intelligent enough to know the correct term.

Totally off topic: Guess what the UPS man just dropped off?
My copy of your book!

I don’t think that characterizing one’s reaction to McCain’s gaffe about sending unqualified soldiers to teach in the classroom is “getting worked up.” I’m well aware of the program you linked to, and others, that take returning vets and retired executives and others and give them the training to go into the classroom and teach. But, the point is that they certify those people… they don’t, as McCain seemed to imply in his toss-away comment, bring them in from the battlefield and teach. That would be unfair to both the soldier and the students. The reaction I have is an honest one to an ill-th0ught-out zinger on McCain’s part. I’m not the only one who said “Huh?” when he said that. He, as usual, just puts these things out there and then expects the rest of us to figure out what he’s talking about. If he said baldly, “Bring soldiers in to be doctors because our health care system is screwed, and forget all about that stupid certification and training doctors have to have” would you think THAT was okay, too? Or maybe bring them in to be bankers or real estate agents without having to bother with that pesky training? I don’t think so. But, teachers make a convenient scapegoat for the failed educational policies of the past 8 years, and somehow threatening to bring in soldiers to the classroom isn’t the mental image you want of how to “fix” those policies. I understand that McCain was probably referring to that program and others, but the way he said it during a rambling and largely unfocused rant about education just didn’t sound right.

This is not to say that ex-soldiers can’t do these things. They do, but they also understand the need for training and certification and I’ve had friends take exactly that route to better themselves once they leave the military. It’s a good program and I hope that if any of my family members who are in the military are interested, they’ll take advantage of it to bring their experience back into the communities they lived in before they chose military service.

Absolutly businesses will leave this country and go elsewhere, and already have. Many electrical/mechanical assembly has gone to Mexico; metal press has moved to Canada; textile, technology and fabric to the East. Don’t believe me? …ask anybody who is ‘big’ with unions. Unions are forced to accept lower salaries and conditions to compete with workers in other countries.

The US is number two in the world when it comes to taxing businesses. Considering where our GDP and GNP is this is far too much. When you tax a business, you are indirectly taxing the worker (dont confuse this with taxing the individual citizen). Seeing as the American worker is among the best in efficiency and productivity, taxing them through business is just stupid.

Businesses try to stay in the US where the wages and material cost are fair due to their efficiency, but its getting to the point where it is cheaper to move offshore/overseas, even when those workers arent as good; which is a fantastic indicator we are taxing businesses too much.

Seth… as a big clue, businesses don’t have to remain in this country to sell to people in this country. So I don’t get how you think they will not leave. If you are speaking of Joe the Plumber… he is small business (my remark was to medium and large… re-read). Small businesses won’t be able to compete; they will just fail.