Way to go! Nothing like avoiding the meat of the question! You're not actually the person in your avatar, are you? Sorry if that's someone famous I should recognize. Looks kinda familiar, but can't place it. -Michael
That is the Great Dr Walter E Williams. A personal hero of mine. You should read some of his writings... Here is one of his latest: HELP FOR AMERICANS Click here to Print | John Stossel, ABC's "20/20" anchorman, has a recently released book about the various untruths we accept, many from the media and academic elite. The book is appropriately titled "Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity." Being a longtime media insider, Stossel is well positioned to talk about the media's gross lack of understanding that often becomes part of the conventional wisdom. Stossel gives many examples; let's look at a few. We're sometimes presented with television scenes of starving people, and it's often blamed on overpopulation. Ted Turner warned, "There are lots of problems in the world caused by too many people." News articles warn of "the population bomb" and the "tidal wave of humanity," and people call for subsidies for birth control. Stossel says that one writer, worrying about Niger, said that birthrates must be reduced drastically or the world will face permanent famine. Viewers and readers are left with the idea that the problem is the number of people, but that's nonsense. Niger's population density is nine people per square kilometer; however, population density in the United States is 28 per square kilometer, Japan 340, the Netherlands 484, and Hong Kong 6,621. One would have to be brain-dead to argue that high population density causes poverty and starvation. A better argument is oppressive and corrupt governments. Rest of story
You guys crack me up! lmao I think that reference to the " King" goes hand in hand with the previous reference to "Graceland" previous home of "The King" Elvis Presley whom is deceased. Hence "paying respect to the King"....LMAO Shoemoney was absolutely right about your devotion... Devotion to bend and manipulate truth and perception. Unfortunately if you were to pay some attention to those things that will mean nothing in the end you would have a better understanding of his words.
Thank you for the reprint, will read up on that guy. I had never heard of him before. And I apologize, I thought I was being clear but I guess it was too vague. I already assumed you believed it. The question was, why? You already agreed with me that the government acts in it's own best interest. Do you believe that in a crappy economy it would be a good idea to fudge the facts a little? Would you disagree with the statement that sometimes the government isn't 100% honest? The reason I'm asking is because maybe those aren't reasons to doubt reports of an economy in good shape, but they are definitely reasons not to take what they tell us on blind faith. There are plenty of other reasons not to believe it though. It's similar to when they want us to think that unemployment is down. They report the number of people actively receiving unemployment checks. What they do not include in their reports is a) the number of people unemployed who haven't applied for unemployment b) the number of people unemployed who aren't eligible for one reason or another c) the number of people who have been unemployed so long that the government stopped sending them checks. Are they lying to us? Well, yes and no. No, because they define "unemployment", for the purpose of the reports, as being the number of people receiving unemployment checks from the government. Yes, because even though it's our fault for trusting what they tell us to be the complete truth, a lie by omission is still a lie. I don't have any problem whatsoever with people holding their own truths and beliefs, it would be silly to do so. I do have a problem with people accepting something like the word of the US government on blind faith. It reeks of ignorance. So many of the Republicans I know argue their viewpoint because it sounds good. A majority of the Republicans are either upper class or people who want to emulate them. Saying what others of the upper class are saying, without truly giving it some original thought, is vogue in those circles. I personally think that many of the Republican arguments are so similar to creationists that should be classed into the same style of debate, one that often times "you're stupid for disagreeing with me" is thought to be valid logical proof of being right. -Michael ADDED NOTE - My intent was not to slam creationism, merely the arguments that are used to make their points. The ones that I see, anyways. Some points may have been made in private that were very well thought out that I never heard before, I just have no way of basing my opinions on them.
A. I didn't EVER say the government works in "its" best interest, please quote me on that. B. The unemplyment numbers have always been reported the same way. The fact is, the number is now lower than what many economists consider FULL employment. C. I don't believe everything on face value, I do however trust the economic numbers.
Done, but only cause you asked nicely. So... you do believe that what is best for the government is best for the USA? I know you didn't state that explicitly, I'm extrapolating here... Actually, slight reword... do you think that the members of the government who are in power as a rule put the interests of society and America in general before their own self interests? That the majority of them don't have a large profiteering and power mongering motive? Or are unswayable by lobbyists, due to the fact that lobbyists aren't unbiased? -Michael
Why does lorien have half the number of posts as you but at least five times the favorable reputation? You may try but not many would take it with much weight.
It is unfair to observe that, sorry. His rep was lowered in a conspiracy a while back. He can prove it by telling you so. -Michael
The Republican propagandists pad each others reputation non-stop! You don't know that Republicans are experts at election fraud man Ever hear of Watergate?
You are entirely entitled to your opinion. Are you open minded to changing beliefs in the face of actual facts? I'm not saying I'm going to crusade or anything like that, but just if you're interested I could point you to a few things that might make you think twice is all. Not all at once, but every now and then. -Michael
Wasn't that about the same time frame that John Kerry was committing treason by meeting with enemies of our country in France, during a time of war, to negotiate, while an officer of the US Armed Forces?
I have a well earned distrust for every level of our government (and every other gov't in the world for that matter.) I do, however, find that those with looney theories that start talking about nixon/ufo/alien/kennedy stuff and how GWB is brainless, then I find myself showing the good or correcting loonacy instead of having a healthy debate on what could be done better and why, etc...
No no no, he was busy stubbing his toe for another purple heart, or was he in cambodia? I dont remember, maybe he was on a secret mission to the moon to setup a star destroyer with new phasers we recovered from the oswell crash to coincide with the alignment of the mayan calendar...
What is the use in presenting facts to these blind Republican bigots, they are never going to change folks, we can all see that! The solution? All Americans that are true to the constitution, vote against all Republicans in the mid term elections in November if you want justice in the land against the lunatics in the White House and those that support their corruption!