Heath Long

I did not mean any offense to Alan. Love the articles you post. Ms. Ann just makes me cringe because she can be so spot on, and in the same sentence be bat shit crazy. It makes me think that she is a professional liar.

I cannot watch. I will not watch. I resigned from being involved in neocon bullshit several years ago. If I want to make myself intentionally angry, I will read the comments on any WSJ, NYT, or LA Time article...or perhaps poke my own eye with a needle.

It is a tax that we all pay in higher prices. And there is a labor police. They are called, IRS.

A little anecdote: I remember when I had a minimum wage job. Back then, it was something like $5.50 per hour. When asked, I would answer that I make minimum wage. It was an insult. When I would get a little raise, I would be happy to answer that I made $5.75, because at least my time was worth more than the minimum compensation. To only be paid the minimum that a business can get away with is not good for one's esteem. Imagine those that currently make $9.00 an hour being told that their once more esteemed position now only pays the minimum. This is an argument for nothing. I do not belive in a minimum wage for the same reasons that I do not believe in taxation, war, or compulsory public school. I do think that an unintended consequence of raising the minimum is to have those making more than the minimum today feel a less valuable tomorrow.

So fat people cannot have knowledge? This individual might very well be more healthy than you. While obesity does not indicate good health, carrying a few extra lbs can be quite healthy, as a recent study has illustrated. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=1555137 i think your argument is an example of an ad homenim fallacy. i agree that a doughnut is not equal to rice or fruit. if you take in more calories than you burn, you gain weight. It is pretty simple. A few years back, a college professor ate nothing but snack cakes for a lengthy period of time, and lost weight. Not because carbs are so good, but because he only ate 1400 or so calories per day in twinkles. You would say that calorie restrictions will result in short term loss. Fair enough. But a sedentary lifestyle with unlimited calories will result in weight gain. A calorie is a unit of measure. You expend and consume energy which we measure in calories. What happens to that energy if it is consumed and not expended? Conservation of energy says that it must be converted for storage, unless of course, you are saying we excrete it? Like Randy Marsh after a nice meal of PF Changs perhaps?

Doubting Thomas, I will regard you as a message board troll, as your posts provide plenty of evidence. You slap the clichés on anyone with an opinion outside of your comfort zone and it is getting tired. Take that tinfoil hat shit Facebook or CNN.com. We like to have discussions here. We try to engage others in a way that we would prefer to be engaged ourselves. If you have nothing to add, step away from the keyboard.

The determinism discussions are so much fun. Circle jerk? Sure. Minds changed? No. oN ? degnahc sdniM .eruS ?krej elcriC .nuf hcum os era snoissucsid msinmreted ehT bet no one saw that coming.

Nothing useful will be lost according to you. Others have proclaimed the utility of the post count information. Could you not ignore the post count data as an individual, and associate with those who choose to do the same? You would have many potential associates remaining who would be closer to your system of value, should you choose ignorance of prior posts as a basis. I understand your concern. I do not believe your methodology is sound, should freedom be a value you hold dear. Demanding removal of data based on the potential of future bias is a little troubling. It sounds a little like political correctness. No offense, because I have found your posts on this matter to be civil and engaging.

The post count does not create preconceptions. People do. Because some find it useful, it should stay, so long as it is the will of the site owner. If someone has ideas that are skewed due to a post count, it is a problem for that individual and not a function of the post count.

Back to the OP. I can only speak for myself with the post counts and badges. I was happy to get my philosopher king badge. I enjoyed the recognition and I think that those who donate to that level deserve recognition among the community. Plus, it is just good marketing. It is basic psychology. I would bet that without that little digital badge there would be a > 20% reduction in donations. Having said that: My badge does not make a post that I might make on a given issue more valid. My low post count does not make a post that I might make on a given issue less valid. I do not weigh donation levels or post counts into my deliberation on the validity of a statement made in this forum.

I think the OP is talking about the hierarchy that can be created on some message boards with the post count in the minds of some board members. It seems to happen often, although I have only seen it happen once on this forum myself.

I tried to shame this Muhlbauer douche in an email. I know, worse than a letter to Santa. His confiscation idea makes me angry. I know people who have invested much wealth in their collection, and the thought of confiscation almost has me in tears. Of course this sloppy vagina, Muhlbauer, will not be the one ringing door bells. He will have slaves armed with the very weapons that are being confiscated to do his work for him. My hope is that the slaves refuse to take orders. I have close friends in the military, and I do not think they will take orders such as this. Of course, they do take some other orders that I wish they would refuse, so it is probably irrational to put my hope in their morality. I think this issue, if pressed, can force the dissolution of the US. It is crazy that with all of the other equally important issues, this is the one that causes people to stand up, but it seems to be true.

Stuff is getting expensive. We need to print more money.

To answer your question, I would have to pretend that the constitution: 1. Is a contract to which I am a signator. 2. Has done a good job checking federal power. 3. Is not completely ignored by all branches and units of government at all levels. I have given up trying to interpret that document, because it is obviously meaningless.

I like the older Modest Mouse catalog more myself, but their last album is very strong. There are the songs like Dashboard that I could live without, but March Into the Sea, Steam Engenius, and Parting of the Sensory can stand up to anything else I have heard from them. Lonesome Crowded West is their best album, in my opinion. I have seen them live a few times and it has been a lot of fun. I have a problem with Fugazi. "Song Number One" is the worst ear bug I get. If I think of that song in the morning I will be hearing it in my sleep for a week. I love the song, but I cannot listen to it or even think about it. I mention it now because I woke up to it playing in my head again this morning, I suppose it is not the fault of Fugazi that I have this music player in my head, and that at times certain tracks get stuck for days at a time.

Fugazi completely holds up over time. They remind me of Jane's Addiction in that the music they made 20 years ago does not date itself. I think only modest mouse has more songs in my play lists.