The Simple Truths Silver Mine

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

In the long run it seems likely - the global system of capitalist enslavement will need fresh raw human meat for its bloody exploitation.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

There is no quicker way to label yourself an political ignoramus than by thinking that government budgets and household budgets work the same way.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Well the guy has basically governed as a Republican, so I don't see why not. I mean, what with all the extra-judicial murders going on abroad, the ever growing surveillance state, tearing up UAW contracts, pushing for charter schools and going after teachers, and with the rich now owning even more of the country's wealth, I'd say that Obama will be remembered very fondly as the Democrat who did most of the Republicans' dirty work.

All Democratic presidents are like that TNF.  You and I can see that it is a center-right party, but the Republicans can't see that because they have mental problems.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Our healthcare system has always been the envy of the world

What healthcare system?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

This thread is an example of the perils of abstract thought and thinking about things in isolation.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Kennedy was not a good president. Truman was. Not that difficult.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

No, in fact it's the single most significant thing. In the Cold War you had one side, which, although supported by some very flawed elements (such as Pinochet), had leadership whose ultimate goal was one that envisioned democracy for rich people, free speech for rich people, and free markets for rich people

Translated from libertarian to English

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I wish the forum could find a balance between being teenage internet social justice warriors and bro-tastic fratboys but I'm not optimistic.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Here's the PM I sent you about your sig just four weeks ago:

I presume that the image in your sig has something to do with Thai politics.  Possibly, just possibly if you translated that caption it would mitigate the utter vulgarity of the image.  However, I cannot help but think there has to be something unflattering to the Thaksins you can include that isn't so sexually oriented.

Yes TF, I do remember that exchange - a very reasonable one!  As you pointed out it was a political cartoon, and if you remember I did remove it not long after receiving your message.  How that polite and respectful exchange mushroomed a month or two later into 'We're going to ban you' I can't imagine. 

1. It was less than a month.
2. We never said, "We're going to ban you", unconditionally, as you imply here.  The ball is now entirely in your court.  If you are banned, it will be solely because of the poor choices you would make.  I sincerely hope that we never ban you, but that is up to you now.

"it hurts me more than it hurts you" -the wifebeater to his wife

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I'm not "pro-opebo the person" but I am "pro-opebo the poster". He is an integral part of this forum. Love him or hate him, he contributes a lot. This is jmfcst all over again (only on a bigger scale).

Not to mention what a dangerous precedent this ban would set. Are we seriously going to ban someone for posts he made 8 or 9 years ago? And the moderator leading the charge is someone who has posted hardcore porn on the forum in the past? Seriously? How does any of this make any sense?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Is there any other issue where there's such a dramatic disconnect between politicians and regular people? A majority of the country supports legalizing marijuana; I doubt more than ten or twenty Congresspeople do.

Hopefully, the next generation of politicians will put things right.

Waiting on politicians to do the right thing is a recipe for disaster.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

opebo - Banned because we didn't like him

ftfy

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Not nearly to the degree that people think it is.  People tend to analogize the national debt to a household budget which is an insane comparison.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Each one that supports a political view that I disagree with, obviously.

Since that's what the thread basically was.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

It's a pretty damning indictment of this forum that someone being "nice and uncontroversial" is considered a reason not to ignore them.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

No one is kept out of any University because of what school district they lived in. Colleges don't care what high school you went to as long as you graduated and got good grades.

I can assure you that is not true. Being an honors student at Mediocre Inner City School X is a very different animal from being an honors student at a private or high-end public school. You see that in their test scores.

My mother used to teach in one of the worse school districts in Houston and you had kids who got all or nearly all A's in their classes but their SAT or ACT scores were way below the medians you needed for any of the prominent universities in Texas, and their admissions essays bordered on incoherent and something a sixth grader might have written.

You're proving my point. The reason they didn't get into a good college is because they were dumb (bad SAT scores, no writing skills), not because of what school district they were from.

You may have been looking for the Deluge.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Ban oldiesfreak and reinstate Opebo. 'Nuff said.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

You should listen to better music.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

This is another case where Americans are hurt by not knowing themselves. Because people hold onto the mythology of Infinite Opportunity, they don't see themselves as Poors, Working Classers, or even Richers. Everybody is Middle Class, floating around like an Oklahoman in the Update, convinced that one of these days things are going to work out if we just believe. Americans need a serious dose of realism. We're all busting our butts for peanuts, and things are not going to change until we make low prestige jobs worthwhile. It is not possible for everybody to be a doctor, a CEO, or a lottery winner.

So you're acknowledging the need for class consciousness?