Sorry, but this is too good to miss:
This is not dictatorship, not socialism, not democracy, not kleptocracy, but sociopathocracy.
-- John Larkin Highland Technology Inc www.highlandtechnology.com jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com Precision electronic instrumentation
The New York Post - now, once again part of Murdoch's News Corp - would be a prime example of that sociopathy. The Post doesn't like Democrats, and routinely publishes mendacious anti-Democrat stories.
John Larkin is remarkably gullible, particularly when it comes to stories from the Murdoch press which match his peculiarly ill-informed prejudices.
-- Bill Sloman, Sydney
Yes, the book is very interesting - Klein the author is top-notch. He ran Newsweek and has quite a few titles I am told.
It's quite a story. I'm thinking of buying the book. I don't usually go for soap operas, but this one is something, a bit like the series "I, Claudius." (corrupt Roman emperors.)
The political significance of this bomb-shell book, as well as "My dog ate the emails" nonsense from IRS and EPA, is that the average voter, the "low information voter," can totally get it.
The whole she-bang seems to be crumbling. This is major collapse of the liberal power structure. No wonder some liberals around here are scared. :)
It seems only 12% don't "get it", on this one. Amazingly, the under-35 set gets it better than the older groups, though they're the ones who voted for King Obama.
They sure aren't trying to help themselves.
The economy matters to electronics, too.
Are you always forced to read things that you don't want to read or is it just a compulsion? BTW, the subject was clear.
The economy matters to everything but that's a lame excuse for posting political crap. I'm so sick of all politicians from both sides. They say what gets votes, period.
OMG! This is a piece of fiction quoted in a web version of a tabloid upholding the finest traditions of yellow journalism.
WTF?!!!
-- Rick
An electronics discussion group is still a discussion group. It's not an academic journal. I sometimes post OT stuff that I think is interesting. Everyone has the option to ignore my OT posts, or all of my posts. Or to read them and get upset.
That's what lefties want to do, though. Whine.
Sometimes I find the non-technical threads interesting - this is, as you say, a discussion group populated by people with a common interest (electronics), and sometimes we discuss other things. As long as the topic is clearly marked, it's easy enough to "kill" a thread in most newsreaders. (I do that for many technical threads too - many of them are outside my area of interest.)
But if you look at the posts and threads here, you'd be forgiven for thinking this is a club for grumpy old right-wing Americans, and electronics is just a minor hobby for a few of them. It would be nice if you guys didn't feel the need to post about /everything/ political (and very nice if certain oldies didn't treat the group as a sort of facebook page, letting us know about every new great grandchild and other world-shattering news). It would also be nice if you grumpy old right-wing Americans get over yourselves and your absurd egos - you are a minority in your own country, and your country is just one of hundreds. So you are not always right, the world is not out to get you, your country's government is not part of a conspiracy plot to control you, your way of life is not the best in the world, and you are not the centre of the universe. You should also practice smiling in the mirror every morning, and saying to yourself "bad things have happened before - yet life still goes on".
Enough ranting - I'm off to find more s.e.d. threads to kill...
To a large extent, yes. But engineers tend to be pragmatic, so tend to be conservative. We want to build things that work. That attitude spills over from electronics to, well, everything else.
It would be nice
Right. Anechdotes should be of general interest.
It would also be nice if you grumpy old
The US is unique in being multi-ethnic and having (I think) the first principles-based binding constitution, founded on the less formal British model. The combination has been extraordinarily productive and arguably a pretty good model for the rest of the world. As someone recently noted, the Arab world doesn't get many Nobel prizes in the physical sciences.
So you are not always right, the world is not out to get you,
Whather it's a conspiracy, or just a general attitude, the attempt at control is real. My company couldn't possibly be aware of, and certainly couldn't comply with, a small fraction of the laws and regulations floating around. So selective enforcement is a powerful weapon in the hands of state/city/federal government agencies. We need a massive cleanup of the laws of the land, and we probably won't get it. France is worse, practically paralyzed by regulations that *are* well enforced.
your way of life is not the best in the world, and you are not the
Life is very good, for those of us who can design electronics, or perform other high-level functions. Not so good for worker-guys these days. Downright miserable for about a third of the population of the planet. And applied political theory really matters to those unfortunates.
racy, but sociopathocracy.
us in saying that we admire, respect and learn from your design skills and knowledge but couldn't give a flying f*ck about your political opinions and certainly hate to see a respected member reduce the S/N of this even more.
hy don't you give that a try and give it a rest here?
s it just a compulsion? BTW, the subject was clear.
an academic journal. I sometimes post OT stuff that I think is interesting. Everyone has the option to ignore my OT posts, or all of my posts. Or to r ead them and get upset.
say, a discussion group populated by people with a common interest (electro nics), and sometimes we discuss other things. As long as the topic is clea rly marked, it's easy enough to "kill" a thread in most newsreaders. (I do that for many technical threads too - many of them are outside my area of interest.)
thinking this is a club for grumpy old right-wing Americans, and electronic s is just a minor hobby for a few of them.
conservative.
There's nothing pragmatic about conservatism.
ics to, well, everything else.
Sadly, we know a lot more about whats works in electronics than what works in - say - climate science.
ing/ political (and very nice if certain oldies didn't treat the group as a sort of facebook page, letting us know about every new great grandchild and other w orld-shattering news).
Jim-out-of-touch-with-reality-Thompson does have a problem there, but it's one of many others.
urselves and your absurd egos - you are a minority in your own country, and your country is just one of hundreds.
It's scarcely unique in that.
nded on the less formal British model.
Sadly, it still has that first principles-based constitution - the MS/DOS of political operating systems. Everybody else has adopted later - much bet ter - systems, whcih were explicitly designed to avoid the defects of the U S prototype (which owed quite a bit to the Dutch model - the Dutch united p rovinces looked a lot more like the uniting states of America than the Unit ed Kingdom's with it's conquered provinces in Scotland, Wales and Ireland).
good model for the rest of the world.
In the sense that every country that has adopted a written constitution has steered clear of the defects in yours. In the past the advantage of having a written constitution over no constitution at all were considerable.
Today the fact that the US constitution allows the people that own the coun try to run the country to their advantage has made you one of the most ineg alitarian advanced industrial countries around (only Portugal is worse, and it isn't all that advanced or industrialised) which creates it's own probl ems.
Your glory days are behind you.
the physical sciences.
Poverty does have it's side effects. CERN is (mostly) in Switzerland.
your country's government is not part of a conspiracy plot to control you,
control is real. My company couldn't possibly be aware of, and certainly co uldn't comply with, a small fraction of the laws and regulations floating a round. So selective enforcement is a powerful weapon in the hands of state/ city/federal government agencies. We need a massive cleanup of the laws of the land, and we probably won't get it. France is worse, practically paraly zed by regulations that *are* well enforced.
Where the people that own the country run the country, regulations can beco me a non-tariff barrier to trade. Some regulations are clearly necessary, b ut the people who complain loudest about red tape have a distressing enthus iasm for cutting the red tap that protects their customers and their neighb ours, and no enthusiasm at all for cutting the red tape that protects them from competition.
e of the universe. You should also practice smiling in the mirror every mo rning, and saying to yourself "bad things have happened before - yet life s till goes on".
other high-level functions. Not so good for worker-guys these days. Downri ght miserable for about a third of the population of the planet. And applie d political theory really matters to those unfortunates.
It's a pity that the political theory that you want to apply dates back to
1788. Political theory has come on a lot since then - probably quite as much as t echnology - and the US constitution is a bizarre antique.-- Bill Sloman, Sydney
Yes. Also, far more Americans identify themselves as "conservative" than "liberal." Self-styled "liberals" (which really means "illiberal" for the most part today--P.C., close-minded, intolerant) are a small, vocal minority.
After a few years of study, the real secret to America's success has been... freedom. Just about anyone could start a company, and just about everyone wanted to.
Laws are increasingly applied at the discretion of the pseudo-elite, often politically, and increasingly arbitrarily.
Witness, for example, the indictment of Gov. Rick Perry as payback by the District Attorney--who was convicted of driving with 3x the legal blood alcohol--for lawfully defunding her office.
Or AZ, getting sued for trying to enforce federal immigration law, while differently-voting CA (i.e., political ally) flagrantly violates same and gets nada.
"The greatest threat to liberty is an efficient bureaucracy." --(seen on a poster)
I find it's progressives that are churlish, dour, and forever pessimistic. Theirs is a pessimistic philosophy--that everything is horrible, everyone is dishonest, racist, and unfair.
Applied political theory matters to all of us. The secret to America has been economic, personal, and political freedom. We're losing all of those at a breath-taking pace. We're becoming ordinary, sclerotic, and stratified.
And, we of this group are providing a lot of the means, e.g. I.T.
So, it all matters quite a lot. I'd rather it didn't, but it does. America is increasingly a nation run by an all-powerful centralized pseudo-elite, rather than a nation with distributed authority mostly invested in the people.
Cheers, James Arthur
-- "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." --Plato
ou say, a discussion group populated by people with a common interest (electro nics), and sometimes we discuss other things. As long as thetopic is clear ly marked, it's easy enough to "kill" a thread in most newsreaders. (I do that for many technical threads too - many of themare outside my area of in terest.)
hinking this is a club for grumpy old right-wing Americans, and electronics is just a minor hobby for a few of them.
be conservative.
Wrong. Pragmatists go for solutions that are likely to work. Conservatives stick to solutions that used to work, even after they've stopped working. T he US constitution is a case in point.
nics to, well, everything else.
"liberal." Self-styled "liberals" (which really means "illiberal" for the
ity.
That's because the media have been pushing your definition of "liberal". Wh ere I came from it basically means "in favour of free trade and not too fus sed about what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms". Americans have a similar tendency to confused communism and socialism, which doesn't reflect well on your education system.
thing/ political (and very nice if certain oldies didn't treat the group as a sort of facebook page, letting us know about every new great grandchild and other world-shattering news).
yourselves and your absurd egos - you are a minority in your own country, and your country is just one of hundreds.
rinciples-based binding constitution, founded on the less formal British mo del. The combination has been extraordinarily productive and arguably a pre tty good model for the rest of the world. As someone recently noted, the Ar ab world doesn't get many Nobel prizes in the physical sciences.
... freedom. Just about anyone could start a company, and just about every one wanted to.
So most of them went bust.
your country's government is not part of a conspiracy plot to control you,
ontrol is real. My company couldn't possibly be aware of, and certainly cou ldn't comply with, a small fraction of the laws and regulations floating ar ound. So selective enforcement is a powerful weapon in the hands of state/c ity/federal government agencies.
n politically, and increasingly arbitrarily.
"Increasingly"? The USA has always been a country where the people who own the country run the country, and the prosecutors office prosecuted the peop le that the politicians - and the people that owned the politicians - wante d prosecuted.
the District Attorney--who was convicted of driving with 3x the legal blood alcohol--for lawfully defunding her office.
Only a right-wing nitwit would see Rick Perry as a victim, or the episode a s anything other than farce.
differently-voting CA (i.e., political ally) flagrantly violates same and g ets nada.
In James Arthur's expert - but ever-so-slightly partisan - mopinion.
t get it. France is worse, practically paralyzed by regulations that *are* well enforced.
For a country that's "practically paralysed" it seems to work rather well. I't's health system works at least as well as the US system, and - despite being universal, which the US system is not - is costs about 2/3 as much pe r head.
Ask any right-wing nitwit.
centre of the universe. You should also practice smiling in the mirror every morning, and saying to yourself "bad things have happened before - ye t life still goes on".
.They don't agree with James Arthur's carefully - but inexpertly - thought-o ut ideas.
is dishonest, racist, and unfair.
There are enough dishonest, racist and unfair people around to make it nece ssary to have rules to restrain them. If you find these rules constraining, you may be being racist, dishonest and unfair in ways that you didn't appr eciate were racist, dishonest or unfair. Campaigning for "less regulation" is one way of avoidng that kind of insight, but not a particularly responsi ble one.
rm other high-level functions. Not so good for worker-guys these days. Down right miserable for about a third of the population of the planet. And appl ied political theory really matters to those unfortunates.
been economic, personal, and political freedom. We're losing all of those at a breath-taking pace. We're becoming ordinary, sclerotic, and stratified .
You always were ordinary, sclerotic and stratified. Back in 1788 you were l ess ordinary, sclerotic and stratified than the rest of the world, but sinc e then other countries have copied the good parts of your constitution, avo ided the bad bits - which you've made very obvious - raised their game to t he point where they handily out-perform you.
The US used to be famous for it's social mobility. It's now the worst perfo rming advanced industrial country.
lagging even the class-ridden UK. Australia, Canada, Sweden Norway and Germ an all do much better. Finland does better still - probably because it now has a remarkably good education system, and Denmark better still.
ica is increasingly a nation run by an all-powerful centralized pseudo-elite, r ather than a nation with distributed authority mostly invested in the peopl e.
It always was - the people that own America have alway run America, ever si nce they they got out from under British control, and the British desire to keep the Red Indians quiet by treating them more or less fairly.
by evil men." --Plato
Which is why I have to keep reminding James Arthur that he's been brainwash ed into a set of remarkably evil delusions.
-- Bill Sloman, Sydney
And you think that is by fate, or luck.
No othrer explanatipon for your position. They enver talked, they never pla nn ed and anyone who even thinks car amnufacturers even sat down in a room and toalked wuith gasoline manufacturers is a tinfoil hat weaing anti-gubmi ny nut, bent on destroyi g a schoolfull of children. Most likely Black or J ewish.
And the next Krystalnacht will hit just randomly, like last time.
Keep it up. Sooner or later you WILL get it.
T
There is something pragmatic about conservatism.
Not unique, but more multi-ethnic than most countries.
Explain how Everyone else's constitution is much better and what do you preceive as the defects of the U.S. constitution?
Maybe. No one can be sure of what the future will bring.
o be conservative.
Pragmatism is about what works. Conservatism is about what used to work.
Unlikely to be true.
DOS of political operating systems. Everybody else has adopted later - much better - systems, which were explicitly designed to avoid the defects of t he US prototype
erceive as the defects of the U.S. constitution?
It was explained to me in high school where the Australian constitution dif fered from the US constitution, and why it was better.
The major difference - and one shared with most of the other advanced indus trial countries - is covered by
"The Australian Prime Minister is chosen by the elected members of the part y/parties that have won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives , whereas the US President is directly elected by the people and must appoi nt non-members of the congress to fill ministerial posts."
The Australian administration can only stay in power as long as it has the confidence of the House of Representatives, and this can be lost at any mom ent.
But yours doesn't look promising.
-- Bill Sloman, Sydney
Not sure who that was, but it is the stupidest thing I heard all day.
And another ting, we do not have ANY conservatives in government. I am pretty sure the last one was Barry Goldwater.
Fuck all.
T^T
Clearly you don't know what pragmatism means.
The do seems to have been replaced by reactionaries.
-- Bill Sloman, Sydney
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