>> ^Enzoblue:
Ok, I'll do it.
What you guys are failing to understand is that pure capitalism regulates itself. Every problem we have now is because of government intervention in the free market. Most of the very big companies we have today got there by enlisting the governments help. The "winds of history" tell a sordid tale of large companies using the government to help them meet their ends. Even to the point of using the military against civilians as in the Pullman strike and the Ludlow massacre.
Monopolies would only exist in the free market if that company consistently had a better quality products at better prices than any single smaller company, which is virtually impossible without stuff like government enforced patents etc. (Imagine a world without patents for a minute, it's fun.) What big companies do now is quash smaller companies by using the government to, for example, get laws past that favor their model or labor laws passed that favor their workers over their competitors - tons of ways. Also by enlisting the government to work internationally, sometimes with wars, sometimes assassinations, coups etc as with Exxon and United Fruit.


First paragraph I agree, I remember reading the vast majority of the wealthiest companies in the world had benefited massively at some point or another from government bailout. Government favouritism and special interests groups twisting policy towards their interests is certainly undesirable but it's not a mandate for abolishing government intervention altogether.

Without the the enforcement of anti-collusion legislation, industries, particularly those with only a few firms would all agree to mark up their products to extract additional revenue to the detriment of the consumer. Those firms would then also ensure that would be rivals keep up by setting up large barriers to entry, creating exclusive deals with their suppliers, and drastically underpricing anyone who dares to try to compete with them. Like Nithern pointed out, companies or carlets in crux industries with near monopoly power could then exercise economic extortion against both individual firms dependent upon them and the government. This kind of thing goes on all the time when a large multinational sets up in an impoverished developing country, which then becomes dependant on the employment and capital it provides.

Similarly without patents, industries with very high R&D and drug trial costs such as the pharmaceutical industry would have no incentive to innovate.

What about the more than obvious example of negative externalities specifically climate change and general environmental pollution. Would we not be up shit's creek right now (literally) without certain industries being regulated?

Ok, I'll do it.

What you guys are failing to understand is that pure capitalism regulates itself. Every problem we have now is because of government intervention in the free market. Most of the very big companies we have today got there by enlisting the governments help. The "winds of history" tell a sordid tale of large companies using the government to help them meet their ends. Even to the point of using the military against civilians as in the Pullman strike and the Ludlow massacre.

Monopolies would only exist in the free market if that company consistently had a better quality products at better prices than any single smaller company, which is virtually impossible without stuff like government enforced patents etc. (Imagine a world without patents for a minute, it's fun.) What big companies do now is quash smaller companies by using the government to, for example, get laws past that favor their model or labor laws passed that favor their workers over their competitors - tons of ways. Also by enlisting the government to work internationally, sometimes with wars, sometimes assassinations, coups etc as with Exxon and United Fruit.

It's a racket, pure and simple. Why make a better product at less profit if you can force people to buy what you have with an FDA ruling? Why pay top dollar for a quality forest when you can get it in a deal with a friendly government installed by your government? Stuff like that.

Edit:

Ask yourself why orange juice is so damned expensive. 3 to 4 dollars a gallon? The stuff grows on trees, the trees grow like weeds, you can get what.. 20-30 gallons a tree?? The answer is that orange juice owners want to be filthy rich. The asked for the governments help and they got it. Our government uses YOUR tax dollars to pay orange tree farmers to destroy parts of their crops in order to reduce supply and keep the prices up. If the government wasn't involved, orange juice would be 50 cents a gallon and the orange juice owners would only be moderately well off. Think about it.

>> ^deedub81:
The fact that Obama has campaigned longer doesn't mean he has more experience.


Obama 1985-1988: Served as the director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.

Palin 1984-1988:In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest (playing the flute), then finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant, at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award. Palin attended Hawaii Pacific College — now known as Hawaii Pacific University — in Honolulu for a semester in 1982, majoring in Business Administration. She transferred in 1983 to North Idaho College. In 1987, Palin received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho, where she also minored in political science.

Obama 1988-1996:Attended Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1991. During that time he was also the editor of the Harvard Law Review. In his sophomore year he was elected president of the Law Review, supervising a staff of 80 editors. Between 1992 and 1996, he taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.

Palin 1988-1996:1988, she worked briefly as a sports reporter for KTUU-TV in Anchorage, Alaska. She also helped out in her husband’s family commercial fishing business. Ran for Wasilla city council in 1992, won and served two terms from 1992 to 1996. Ran for mayor of Wasilla (pop. ~8000) in 1996 and won.

*****

Quick outline. Source: Wikipedia.

I might continue on another post, Deedub, but I just wanted to make something clear here:

Do you consider the two outlines above to be equal in measure and weight?

If yes, why?

If no, which would you consider more qualified for a career in government?

To add to your comments as atheists? i would like to ask a question- if we are typing comments on a blog that someone created, using computers that someone invented, sitting on furniture that someone built - and these all did not just happen into existence, why is it so hard for you to come to terms with the fact that everything as we know it was created by God- you inclusive?

Back to the subject matter that brought me to this blog, I find Pullmans work quite pointless- killing God in the minds of children- if he is an atheist, it follows that he does not believe God exists. If that be true, then why put so much effort into killing a person that does not exist? in addition, if we all are born without knowledge of God, then why bother killing God in children's minds, seeing as he is not there in the first place?


Another thing I find quite distasteful, is the fact that he is no different from the Islamic militants- he is trying to force his opinion on others. Let them choose of their own volition. You cannot eradicate one faith because of your own faith-or lack of it.

I can see his works fuelled by immeasurable degrees of hate....that is not what any child should be brought up on. We can see the high degree of violence among young people as more and more of them turn their backs on God and specifically the church. How much more damage do you need to see to know that without God, and the love He teaches, there is no life or living?

Every child should be taught to love...and that is exactly what Jesus says

May God who gave you all eyes to see, fingers to type and brains with which to reason have mercy on you and help you see that there is a way that seems right unto man, but the end therefore is destruction - you cannot do without God...simple

The key difference between Compass and Potter is that Rowling has, as far as we know, written an amusing book for its own sake.

Pullman, Compass author, is another kind of author altogether.

While the "anti-Church" thing as described in the quoted article I'm going to share with you doesn't really mean I'll skip a movie if it's amusing, I heard it got 1 star out of 5 in some reviews, so I'm going to instead avoid it because of 'teh suck.'

Aside from highlighting the anti-religious propaganda, the third paragraph is also useful because it explains what the heck is going on in this clip.


The movie has been described as "atheism for kids"
and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled "His Dark
Materials" that was written by Phillip Pullman. Pullman is a militant
atheist and secular humanist who despises C. S. Lewis and the
"Chronicles of Narnia". His motivation for writing this trilogy was
specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Christ that are
portrayed in the Narnia series.

Clearly, Pullman's main objective is to bash Christianity and promote
atheism. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said
in a 2003 interview that "my books are about killing God." He has
even stated that he wants to "kill God in the minds of children". It
has been said of Pullman that he is "the writer the atheists would be
praying for, if atheists prayed."
< BR>While "The Golden Compass" movie itself may seem mild and
innocent, the books are a much different story. In the trilogy, a
young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to
ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God. Another
character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as "a very powerful and
convincing mistake." In the final book, characters representing Adam
and Eve eventually kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH. Each book
in the trilogy gets progressively worse regarding Pullman's hatred of
Jesus Christ.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'nicole kidman, atheism, movie, golden compass, philip ullman' to 'nicole kidman, atheism, movie, golden compass, philip pullman' - edited by oohahh

Four hell kittens on the run
They're young...
They're beautiful...
They're killers !
No one can tames their desires !

A shocking spectacle of decadence
Tempted by trouble
Driven by depravity
Four girls trapped in a town...
With a terrifying past

An orgy of sex and brutality
All the heat
All the violence
All the way !

Caroline Macy as "Dynell Destructa"
Kara Scobey as "Dola Bartone"
Aria Pullman as "Bellatrix Hardy"
Ty Brennman as "Tawny Disaster"
and Todd Beeson as "The Colonel"
See how bad these good girls can get

3's and 7's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3%27s_%26_7%27s#Music_Video

Anybody read The Shadow In The North? (Phillip Pullman)
Fiction, but there was some company in the book with plans to build such a machine, mounted on the railways. Never thought someone would actually make it though... Scary!