No, all valid dreams and goals. The thing is many people have such dreams and ambitions, and yet all that means is they're mediocre dreamers. Once you have it then you can proclaim you're above mediocrity, but only then.JohnG@lt wrote:
Here's where you reply about me being an arrogant asshole.
Last edited by jord (2010-09-23 11:11:02)
My ex and I were reading the first one through together so that kept me motivated.JohnG@lt wrote:
I don't know how you got through them...Macbeth wrote:
I have read two entire Friedrich Nietzsche books and have have over a thousand karma. I am special.jord wrote:
Well firstly I asked you in the least offensive possible way why you think you yourself aren't mediocre. Still unanswered... Secondly I'm not on government assistance so don't speculate when you don't know anything about me, especially as I didn't speculate about you but merely asked an open question. So to further this exchange please go ahead and state what makes you above mediocre.
hmmm so aussies, brits, and canadians arent in the free world?Dilbert_X wrote:
[#]Prosecute Bush and Cheney as war criminals or traitors, so the country can finally put that fiasco behind it and be re-admitted to the free world
I'm not sure how either of them can even be considered war criminals. Morally or legally.11 Bravo wrote:
hmmm so aussies, brits, and canadians arent in the free world?Dilbert_X wrote:
[#]Prosecute Bush and Cheney as war criminals or traitors, so the country can finally put that fiasco behind it and be re-admitted to the free world
lol I hear you but I'm no longer 100% on board anymore.Dilbert_X wrote:
Stop funding and protecting Israel no matter what trouble they create:)
Wow ! That is a new thought on an old problem. Very interesting too.Dilbert_X wrote:
Set up a temporary worker system eg for Mexicans so they're tracked, pay tax and go back home:)
I was in The Teamsters, I.B.E.W. and C.W.A. and I gotta say.... yea do it. Carefully !Dilbert_X wrote:
Reduce the strength of unions:)
Instinctively I like it, But I have not had a close inspection of possible long range results. It may prove a slippery slope thoughDilbert_X wrote:
Tax companies which outsource abroad or fire employees in favour of foreign labour
What war crimes for instance ?Dilbert_X wrote:
Prosecute Bush and Cheney as war criminals or traitors, .
In your opinion. What constitutes " the free world " that we are no longer a part of ?Dilbert_X wrote:
so the country can finally put that fiasco behind it and be re-admitted to the free world
YES. 100%Dilbert_X wrote:
Cut govt borrowing and spending, stimulus money has been extensively wasted.
Illegal use of forceHunter/Jumper wrote:
What war crimes for instance ?Dilbert_X wrote:
Prosecute Bush and Cheney as war criminals or traitors, .
This is already in place btw...but it only covers a % of the issue.Dilbert_X wrote:
Set up a temporary worker system eg for Mexicans so they're tracked, pay tax and go back home:)
I like him already!unnamednewbie13 wrote:
Michael Savage has a degree in food.
Invading a country for the purpose of changing the government is a war crime.Macbeth wrote:
I'm not sure how either of them can even be considered war criminals. Morally or legally.
Last edited by Dilbert_X (2010-09-23 17:48:28)
You know how war crimes work... You have to lose a war to be charged with one.Dilbert_X wrote:
Invading a country for the purpose of changing the government is a war crime.Macbeth wrote:
I'm not sure how either of them can even be considered war criminals. Morally or legally.
Attacking a country which has not attacked your country without specific authorisation of the UN is a war crime.
Breach of article 51 UN Charter- although a country has an inherent right of self-defense against an armed attack there was no real threat against America/UK apart from the invisible 'nuclear weapons'. Even so, that wouldn't constitute an 'armed attack' because there was no attack by the Iraqi government on American soil. Although some extraterritorial attacks would suffice, nothing of the sort happened. Customary international law also bars any such use of force and America/UK would have no case for arguing a defense of pre-emptive use of force according to various case law because again they were not attacked by the Iraqi government. The could have argued it on the grounds 'necessity' had they actually found WMDs but they didn't so tough.Dilbert_X wrote:
Invading a country for the purpose of changing the government is a war crime.Macbeth wrote:
I'm not sure how either of them can even be considered war criminals. Morally or legally.
Attacking a country which has not attacked your country without specific authorisation of the UN is a war crime.
Until the US addresses this somehow they will have zero credibility or support dealing with realistic threats, such as a nuclear armed Iran.
Until then I can't see Britain, Australia or Canadia lining up for a third war in the middle east, if ever.
Last edited by ..teddy..jimmy (2010-09-24 00:10:19)
Then you have a pretty skewed view of how life in Scandinavia is like, if you think taxation alone is the basis of mediocrity you fail hard ... like almost anywhere else very few are perfectly content to sit on government assistance ...JohnG@lt wrote:
Point is is that things like ultra-graduated tax systems are designed to pull people back down to the middle. The result is people stop trying to better themselves since there is no point. End result is mediocrity. May not matter to you since you'd be a prime beneficiary in a system like that. You've got no motivation, no skills, and you're perfectly content to sit on government assistance. I'm not like that. At all.jord wrote:
The majority in america are mediocre, what does socialism have to do with anything?JohnG@lt wrote:
The whole point of socialism is equalizing outcomes. Equal outcomes is precisely mediocrity.
On the flipside there are I'm sure many people in sweden that aren't mediocre.
Last edited by oChaos.Haze (2010-09-24 02:02:10)
Though I would like an answer on how having ambition and dreaming of being great puts you above the mediocre general populace. You've been online for some time since this post without an answer. I'm curious is all.jord wrote:
No, all valid dreams and goals. The thing is many people have such dreams and ambitions, and yet all that means is they're mediocre dreamers. Once you have it then you can proclaim you're above mediocrity, but only then.JohnG@lt wrote:
Here's where you reply about me being an arrogant asshole.
I can't see us debating your personal life going down well unless you can keep a cool head so maybe we shouldn't dive into this eh...
Libertarian scum!oChaos.Haze wrote:
I don't see a need to "save" America. That instantly jumps to me as sensational, fear-mongering drivel, for the mere reason of stirring up shit, getting listeners and fans, and making money.
But, what I think would really "help" us in our strange, somewhat faltering times? Wall of Text Warning. Probably not worth the read.
1) 2 Parties, gone.
I think it's pretty clear now, that they are both dangled in front of us to instantly draw lines. I mean, you have incredibly religious people, who get on the same side as people who want nothing more than more of their own money, which to me is an oxymoron. I don't see how a Capitalist and Social Conservative could ever lie in bed together, if it weren't for...
The incredibly naive and hope-filled people, lining up with people who think guns are Public Enemy #1. Once again, antithetical, IMO. A naive and hope filled person would say "The guns will fall into the right hands, the criminals will get caught, everything will work out on it's own, guns aren't the problem, people are".
Obviously 2 random examples of the idiosyncracies that don't align when they stand alone. When in the face of 2 opposite mindsets, the teams get picked so fast it makes my head spin. It's like a social magnetic repulsion that only happens when certain ingredients mix.
2) Acceptance that being the "Greatest Country on the Planet" is an unrealistic, ego-infested, subjective ideal that only leads to blind patriotism, which IMO, is a rude and sad state of mind. Patriotism is good, but for personal reasons, for things it's given you, or things you gave to it, and seeing the greater good of your gift. Patriotism in the form of "Fuck you, We're the Best", means jack shit to me. When I see an 80+ yr old man weeping like a child at memories of military service, think of the liberty of childhood, general stories of wonder and amazement only available in my particular country, I feel a true patriotic pulse.
I firmly believe (now injecting some of my naivety), that if we all saw ourselves as citizens of Earth first, home country second, and stayed true to that principal, unbelievable things could be achieved. I know, dreamland, but ideas are ideas.
3) Redefine Success: Our standard "K-12, College, Job" structure is proving to be somewhat if not completely overkill. There are PLENTY of people for whom college would be nothing but a pure waste of everyone's time and money. Luckily a lot of people understand that, go straight into trade, or service, or whatever. But still, such bland and hardly provable goals do us no good. Assess kids over and over in school, instead of repeatedly smacking them in the face with standardized arithmetic and arts. Some people make math their bitch but can't figure out how to talk to a female, while others may be a social genius who can't wrap their thoughts around the concept of gravity being a constant.
We are highly separate entities, using each person's strength and avoiding while improving on weakness would expand our collective psyche infinitely, IMHO. I say spend less time teaching, more time analyzing. Have school systems where with all the variants in place, you could be shuffling kids in and out of attempted proper paths, based upon their strengths and weakness.
4) Redefine our mindset and morals: "You are responsible for you." You use religion to define your morals? Great! Some people don't, and expecting them to adhere to your select rationale is just naive at best, and rude and divergent in social implementation. Your life, is your right, not mine, as it pertains to you. I just absolutely refuse to subscribe to any thought that basically says "another person's actions are my actions." Sodom and Gomorrah come to mind, as examples given of punishing the entirety for a segment's sins. You don't believe in abortion? Cool by me. No one can ever force you to have an abortion, that's your right. Rights, as I see it, are things granted to you, not for you. So when you think about saying NO to a right, realize that's TAKING. By saying yes, you now afford yourself the option to not participate and still maintain your moral ground, while showing dignity. Which, IMHO, could only lend more credibility to your resolve and beliefs.
Obviously you could hypothesize that this notion could lead to ridiculous things being a right, ie "Murder made legal, don't like it? Don't do it" But one thing I've found true among all the differences we have, we all hold similar principles. Obviously anyone with a brain knows murder is wrong, hell we even kill someone to prove it! But if it gets into gray area, where it's increasingly hard to prove people are being hurt by it, people are doing it already in unsafe and more expensive forms, ie prohibition and abortion, furthermore even realizing that it might not hurt us at all but be beneficial ie tax revenues on rights granted, more adjusted and friendly society, concede. Give the right, you can always take it back.
For a random example, I truly believe that sexual frustration in people with mental illness is a hurricane brewing, and that by legalizing prostitution, you create a steam valve for society. There's a benefit. So prostitution, who does it really hurt in a well implemented manner? Those who oppose it, never have to do it. And as we've said above, other people doing it, doesn't mean you did it. You are responsible for you.
Obviously I didn't enter the economic arena here, it's just not my strong suit, see above as to how I believe I understood that I didn't understand economics and was able to shove that field of interest from my life plans at an early age.
Idealistic? Yes. Realistic? Maybe
not realistic at all to be honest, people are too ego-driven for that.oChaos.Haze wrote:
I don't see a need to "save" America. That instantly jumps to me as sensational, fear-mongering drivel, for the mere reason of stirring up shit, getting listeners and fans, and making money.
But, what I think would really "help" us in our strange, somewhat faltering times? Wall of Text Warning. Probably not worth the read.
1) 2 Parties, gone.
I think it's pretty clear now, that they are both dangled in front of us to instantly draw lines. I mean, you have incredibly religious people, who get on the same side as people who want nothing more than more of their own money, which to me is an oxymoron. I don't see how a Capitalist and Social Conservative could ever lie in bed together, if it weren't for...
The incredibly naive and hope-filled people, lining up with people who think guns are Public Enemy #1. Once again, antithetical, IMO. A naive and hope filled person would say "The guns will fall into the right hands, the criminals will get caught, everything will work out on it's own, guns aren't the problem, people are".
Obviously 2 random examples of the idiosyncracies that don't align when they stand alone. When in the face of 2 opposite mindsets, the teams get picked so fast it makes my head spin. It's like a social magnetic repulsion that only happens when certain ingredients mix.
2) Acceptance that being the "Greatest Country on the Planet" is an unrealistic, ego-infested, subjective ideal that only leads to blind patriotism, which IMO, is a rude and sad state of mind. Patriotism is good, but for personal reasons, for things it's given you, or things you gave to it, and seeing the greater good of your gift. Patriotism in the form of "Fuck you, We're the Best", means jack shit to me. When I see an 80+ yr old man weeping like a child at memories of military service, think of the liberty of childhood, general stories of wonder and amazement only available in my particular country, I feel a true patriotic pulse.
I firmly believe (now injecting some of my naivety), that if we all saw ourselves as citizens of Earth first, home country second, and stayed true to that principal, unbelievable things could be achieved. I know, dreamland, but ideas are ideas.
3) Redefine Success: Our standard "K-12, College, Job" structure is proving to be somewhat if not completely overkill. There are PLENTY of people for whom college would be nothing but a pure waste of everyone's time and money. Luckily a lot of people understand that, go straight into trade, or service, or whatever. But still, such bland and hardly provable goals do us no good. Assess kids over and over in school, instead of repeatedly smacking them in the face with standardized arithmetic and arts. Some people make math their bitch but can't figure out how to talk to a female, while others may be a social genius who can't wrap their thoughts around the concept of gravity being a constant.
We are highly separate entities, using each person's strength and avoiding while improving on weakness would expand our collective psyche infinitely, IMHO. I say spend less time teaching, more time analyzing. Have school systems where with all the variants in place, you could be shuffling kids in and out of attempted proper paths, based upon their strengths and weakness.
4) Redefine our mindset and morals: "You are responsible for you." You use religion to define your morals? Great! Some people don't, and expecting them to adhere to your select rationale is just naive at best, and rude and divergent in social implementation. Your life, is your right, not mine, as it pertains to you. I just absolutely refuse to subscribe to any thought that basically says "another person's actions are my actions." Sodom and Gomorrah come to mind, as examples given of punishing the entirety for a segment's sins. You don't believe in abortion? Cool by me. No one can ever force you to have an abortion, that's your right. Rights, as I see it, are things granted to you, not for you. So when you think about saying NO to a right, realize that's TAKING. By saying yes, you now afford yourself the option to not participate and still maintain your moral ground, while showing dignity. Which, IMHO, could only lend more credibility to your resolve and beliefs.
Obviously you could hypothesize that this notion could lead to ridiculous things being a right, ie "Murder made legal, don't like it? Don't do it" But one thing I've found true among all the differences we have, we all hold similar principles. Obviously anyone with a brain knows murder is wrong, hell we even kill someone to prove it! But if it gets into gray area, where it's increasingly hard to prove people are being hurt by it, people are doing it already in unsafe and more expensive forms, ie prohibition and abortion, furthermore even realizing that it might not hurt us at all but be beneficial ie tax revenues on rights granted, more adjusted and friendly society, concede. Give the right, you can always take it back.
For a random example, I truly believe that sexual frustration in people with mental illness is a hurricane brewing, and that by legalizing prostitution, you create a steam valve for society. There's a benefit. So prostitution, who does it really hurt in a well implemented manner? Those who oppose it, never have to do it. And as we've said above, other people doing it, doesn't mean you did it. You are responsible for you.
Obviously I didn't enter the economic arena here, it's just not my strong suit, see above as to how I believe I understood that I didn't understand economics and was able to shove that field of interest from my life plans at an early age.
Idealistic? Yes. Realistic? Maybe
Was at a wedding rehearsal and class yesterday. Ambition means nothing. Achieving it is everything. I'm still in school but I graduate in December and I already have a standing offer and two business cards in my pocket. The guy that's getting married tomorrow happens to be from a family of engineersjord wrote:
Though I would like an answer on how having ambition and dreaming of being great puts you above the mediocre general populace. You've been online for some time since this post without an answer. I'm curious is all.jord wrote:
No, all valid dreams and goals. The thing is many people have such dreams and ambitions, and yet all that means is they're mediocre dreamers. Once you have it then you can proclaim you're above mediocrity, but only then.JohnG@lt wrote:
Here's where you reply about me being an arrogant asshole.
I can't see us debating your personal life going down well unless you can keep a cool head so maybe we shouldn't dive into this eh...
Well, damn... oh waitdayarath wrote:
The only thing you have to do to be succesful in life is to study something involving the world "engineering"
OK.....Trotskygrad wrote:
[troll]
My manifesto for saving america is that no other country is worth saving
[/troll]
