I would be very interested in hearing the rest of this story.

27 minutes late i am.

*beg

I have no idea.

My friend sent this to me. It is SO bad.

I do like the magic rainbow that shoots out from the noodles.

Downvote!

Why?

He isn't a statist. He is just an idiot.

http://videosift.com/video/Understanding-the-National-Debt-and-Budget-Deficit

Quit complaining about debt ffs.

Debt is not bad. Debt you can't pay back/afford is.

Republican or democrat. I don't care.

Their job and privilege is to run the US Government and right now they are failing.

The Holodeck is coming...yesssss!

@enoch

There is little doubt that Child Labor, Labor Explotation, and Forced Labor continue to be of a major concern with Africa and Asia/India being particularly problematic. That said, concerted efforts are being made to reduce these numbers and they are improving, but slower than anyone would like. Unfortunately the problem is largely cyclical - even educated youth have trouble finding productive work, so they are forced into unskilled labor, and there is little economic growth.

Again, there is no magic wand that any one organization or person can waive to resolve these issues. The ILO has been trying for almost 100 years...

I would not characterize every person who is lucky or privileged enough that they do not live in those conditions to be terrible people.

Consumerism?
Nor would I characterize people's value as simply being good consumers. The people I know in my life all make contributions to the welfare of those around them and are rewarded for those contributions.

e.g. My best friend, a p.h.d. doing research regarding immunology I can't begin to understand. My fiance, finishing her ER residency at the county hospital. My brother, working as a kayaking guide.

Circling the Drain
Is America really circling the drain? I doubt it. Has it done terrible things? We all know it has.

When I look around I see a lot of problems here. We do have a huge wealth gap. We do have ghettos and crime. We have all sorts of selfcentered ego driven loons.

Yet we also have an enormous pool of talented and intelligent people working on all kinds of things. Some of which are mundane and some of which are really amazing - and many of which are sifted about on this website all the time.

Carlin
I saw Carlin live twice before he died. I own several of his books. I think he is a brilliant comedian and insightful thinker. My point is and was - he saw it as his job to remind us "HEY - look over here. See this shit? This is FUCKED." And he was right.

@enoch

This has nothing to do with how I feel about myself or how you feel about yourself. It isn't about whether we are good or bad. That is not topical.

Carlin loves to say that everything is in the toilet, everything and everyone is terrible, and we are all going down.

My point is while it is important to point out our failings, of which I admitted there are many, things ARE getting better incrementally over time.

This guy telling his kids they are terrible is an idiot. You don't need to tell your kids that their finger paintings are picasso. Just educate them and help them to aspire to be conscientious good people.

Yet poverty and literacy rates continue to improve globally.

Infant mortality, life expectancy, access to clean water and food. All improve. Perfect? No.

But those are just facts.

There are no magic wands to fix the problems around us. It takes time and concerted effort.

All those people lost their homes.

How much of "their" home did they own? Oh maybe 5 percent equity...if that.

I've been a renter for 9 years. I have a large savings account that I add to each month so when I buy a house I will actually OWN part of it.

Where do you draw the line though?

CMBS or RMBS made money for "bankers". Well some bankers anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bank_failures_in_the_United_States_(2008%E2%80%93present)

However it also drove home sales (and home building). Are the home builders responsible for people taking mortgages on houses they could not afford?

What about the realtor/broker who showed them the house?

Or the developer who developed it?

Or the appraiser who appraised the property for hundreds of thousands of dollars more in value than it is worth now?

Or the people at Freddie Mac who earnestly wanted to put lower income people in homes?

Now, you take all the money from the bankers that survived and you give it to who?

The people who bought a house, put very little money into it, and now have to give it back?

The real estate developers who lost everything? (Of which there are many)

It all sounds well and good to take from one group and give to someone else, but I think it is easy to point the finger at the bankers and not take a look in the mirror. We all did this and allowed it to happen.

That said bankers shouldn't be making big money when they are losing big money...

I love Carlin and I love his insight and comedy, but I don't take him that seriously.

By that I mean that I take his comments as a challenge. Not a challenge to debate him on facts - yes all sorts of people have made all kinds of bad decisions. Politicians, corporations, individuals, gangs, clubs, schools, you, me, your friends and my friends have all made all sorts of bad hypocritical immoral backwards ass actions that have maimed, destroyed, burned, polluted, hurt, deprived and desecrated.

Yet I am not willing to give into the cynicism and contempt some fellow sifters do about the world and people around me. I can't look at any of the above and say any are perfect or that any are evil.

I believe that Steve Pinker is right - while we are still violent we are statistically less violent.

I look at what Bill Gates is doing.

I look at the "toys" we have, and the art we are making.

I watch two young guys go give waitresses $200 tips.

Maybe what is circling the drain is all that SHIT we do. All that bad stuff making a slow, but eventual, exit.