HeyYou

With a 32 bit operating system, that 8 gig of ram does you zero good. The machine can only play with about 3.2 gig of it. The system board may 'see' it, but, the o/s simply can't deal with it. There is no trick to make it do so that I am aware of either. What operating system? What mods you running? I run skyrim on a 1 gig card, with no troubles. Of course, I don't run texture packs, or other 'prettification' mods either.... I run at 1680X900.

With the current power structure in place, Citizens United will never be overturned. The people in power won't let it happen. The corporations like it too much, have unlimited money to spend to see that it isn't overturned, and the various congressional representatives like it, because it puts unlimited money into their campaign coffers. The ONLY way it is going to get tossed, is if Annie, and everyone else, does indeed get their gun.

Its been going on for decades, Citizens United was simply the final coffin nail for the american public. It gave congress MUCH more motivation to ignore their constituents than they had previously.

Look further back than just two years. I am not the first to bring this up, there is plenty of information freely available on the web.

What we have here, is a microcosm of what we have in washington DC. With the exact same behaviors. Those on the left, supporting the ACA, those on the right, opposing it. Everyone has their own opinion, and vehemently defend it. We have everythign we see in congress, right here. It becomes very clear to me just why our country is going down hill so quickly. There is no room for compromise. There is no room for discussion. The whole "I am right, and you are obviously an idiot." mentality reigns supreme. The left seems perfectly willing to give their leaders the power to legislate how they live their lives. The right is bound and determined to demonize the left. Nowhere in this do we see 'discussion'. Just everyone trying to prove "I am right, you are wrong." With no middle ground at all. I don't like the ACA. I think it is a prime example of government overstepping its bounds. But then, I don't care for Ted Cruz either. Forcing a government shutdown over this isn't going to help anyone. Real possibility of some fairly severe consequences here, and if they do come about, it is the republicans that are going to be taking the blame for it. That isn't going to do their chances in '14 any good. I most certainly do NOT want to see the dems with complete control of the house, senate, and whitehouse. That would be extremely badly for this country. I don't want to see the republicans in the same position either though. They don't have any better idea of how to get the country back on track than the dems do. All they seem to care about is telling the dems "No". With all the infighting and politicking going on, the business of getting country back on its proverbial feet has fallen by the wayside. One would think the american people would be outraged enough, to stand up and and start shaking fists, and shouting about how 'them folks need to get back to doing the work they were elected to do". But, I don't see that happening either. We have become politically polarized, and all that seems to matter is 'winning' some particular battle or other in congress. In the meanwhile, the country is going to hell in a hand basket. Our foreign policy is making us more enemies than friends, and we apparently have no qualms about turning our backs on our supposed allies when someone shouts 'freedom and democracy' loud enough, even though what they have in mind is anything BUT what the average american would consider 'freedom', or 'democracy'. We seem to believe that "my enemies enemy is my friend", when that also is most certainly not the case. But, does our government see that? Will they admit that everything they promised us has turned out to be a lie? Washington is now filled with people that are more concerned about getting re-elected, and making sure their major campaign contributors CONTINUE to contribute to their campaign coffers, by passing legislation that makes sure they can make huge profits, even at the expense of their own countrymen. You know, the folks that they are nominally supposed to represent? The people no longer have any power here. We get the illusion of power with our vote. But, it doesn't matter how you vote, which party, which person, they are ALL doing the same exact thing. Looking out for number one, and making sure they get re-elected, so they can continue to feed at the trough of the american taxpayer. The system is broken. It was broken by the very people that swore to defend it. All in the name of money. Corporations now run america. The supreme court sealed our fate with their decision on Citizens United. (which I find an absolutely hilarious mis-nomer) No one in washington has any interest in fixing it, as that would cut off their gravy-train. Nothing is going to change within the system. Too much money to be made. The US is going to continue its downhill slide, until we finally reach a tipping point, and then it will be collapse. The house of cards will come tumbling down. Quite frankly, I don't think it can happen soon enough. We obviously aren't going to be able to avoid it. Our government won't let us.

Can't be disputed? Really? Only one fuzzy sonar image, taken with a cheap, inaccurate, improperly installed and calibrated instrument. No samples taken of the object, that I am aware of, (didn't watch the video) and a man that has a LOT to be gained from extraordinay claims. (taking a wealthy tourist down in a sub, for instance.) It's a rock. End of story.

Does anyone really care if I have or not besides you? I would think not... I can condemn the opposition as ignorant and uninformed if I want especially if through my experience I find it to be true. Note people who claim to be "strongly" against something (note I say "strongly") then finding after a questionnaire they endup knowing really nothing at all about their protest for it. How could you not claim these people to be ignorant, uninformed? I was never originally condemning the "opposition" as ignorant and uninformed "alone". I was talking about everyone I polled from conservatives to liberals. If anything you seem to be on some propaganda to make the readers of this thread seem like I am only condemning those who disagree with "my" personal views... The original example was never meant to be some political partisan statement. It was only an example which you chose to try to dissect for seemingly the only sole purpose to debate about something that has absolutely nothing specific to do with the threads topic. Your argument with my example is "totally" counter-productive and not just a "bit" counter-productive. If you don't agree with my views on how education is important to have a health democracy, then just disagree with me. It won't hurt my feelings, I promise. Well, it seems one of your cheif arguments against folks that don't like the ACA, is "have they actually read it." So, in this case, turnabout is indeed 'fair play'. How can you possibly be 'for' something you haven't read? This falls into the same category of "how can you be against something you haven't read." I don't need to read the whole thing to understand that certain aspects of it CONDEMN the WHOLE thing. Giving our government the power to legislate how we spend our money opens the door to a HOST of other possible abuses here. Their 'reasoning' for this is "Its for the good of the country, and economy." So, are we next going to be forced to buy a car? A house? Because its' "good for the economy"? Or what about oranges? Apples? Fruit is good for your health, so, lets have the government tell us to go buy some...... Nope, this is simply the 'foot in the door' to have even MORE government nanny-state interfernce in our daily lives. Instead of spending all that time, effort, money, etc, on passing a bill that doesn't address the root of the problem, how about doing something about the ACTUAL problem? But then, that isn't in our government purvue. They aren't in the business of solving problems. They treat symptoms, that create more problems, so they have job security.

Please take note: In the US, Mass Shootings, by and large, occurr in Gun-Free zones. Places where the law-abiding are not permitted to carry weapons. So, along comes someone that doesn't abide by the law, with a gun.... and there is no one on hand to stop him. From my perspective, and what I have learned from folks I talked to, the people that don't care for the ACA don't like it, not simply because they haven't read it, but because it is 2500 plus pages of legalese. If you aren't a lawyer, it makes it difficult to understand, and is dry reading (at best), and longer than even the most epic of novels. But that is only one aspect of their dislike, the other, more pertinent aspect is: It doesn't address the REAL problem. It is only treating a symptom of a much larger problem, one that our government likes to talk about, but, doesn't seem to want to actually DO anything about. Jobs. Get america back to work, and the ACA becomes unnecessary. And as a third area of dislike, (loathing) having our government REQUIRE us to purchase a product from a private company, simply because we breath on a fairly regular basis, and their reasoning for just what gives them the authority to do so, sets an EXTREMELY bad precedent. That aspect should have been tossed as unconstitutional, and I am greatly surprised that it was not.

What we have today, bears very little resemblence to what the founding fathers had in mind. Our representatives then were part time. They didn't maintain a residence in the captial. (wherever it happened to be.) It wasn't their only job either, most had business, or farms, or plantations. No, the government we have today, is nothing at all like what we had originally. Governing is one thing but Democracy itself is another. Was never claiming that the government hasn't changed over the years, but democracy in our country hasn't declined at all really. We still elect representatives like we always have. If anything Democracy has expanded since the birth of the nation since long before my time women and African Americans use to not be able to vote at all. Bearing very little resemblance to what the founding fathers had in mind is just simply not the point. there is no real decline of "Democracy" itself. So I don't really understand why one would think it to be at a decline in America just because one would think the founding fathers had something different in mind. We don't have democracy any more, I would call it "corporatacracy". The corporations make the important decisions, who gets to run, what legislation gets passed, etc. If you think differently, please take a look at where the campaign donations come from, and where they go to. If a candidate gets elected, he is beholden to his contributors, else, next election cycle, they will back someone else that will be more 'agreeable' to their postitions on various topics. The citizens still get the illusion of some kind of 'choice' with their vote, but, its a rather hollow victory, as WE don't get to choose who runs. Please notice that the republicans put Romney up against Obama, when they had FAR better candidates to field...... WE didn't pick him, someone else did. This argument keeps coming up in these types of debates so let me spill out for you: If you have a population that is literate, taught the basics of science, math, and history, and has access to all the information it could want about current events, then it is educated. It's meaningless to insist they really aren't, that until they join you in a vigorous discussion of Cicero that they're just half-witted slobs. People who think this way must not know very many ordinary people, must be status-insecure, or must still be young and dumb enough to believe that they're smarter than everyone else. The current American level of education is sufficient to prevent an autocracy from coming about. It's hair-splitting to say that westerners are apathetic or aren’t educated, compare them to the rest of the world, anything but democracy is a no-go. Americans, by and large, are (to use a colloquialism) too fat, dumb, and happy, to really educate themselves about issues on their own. They let the mouthpieces of their various political parties spoon-feed them what they are supposed to think. It actually works pretty well. At least, for the various parties.... doesn't work worth a damn for the citizens. Americans, individually, can be very 'educated', eloquent, and well-informed. Collectively though, we got nuthin' on a box o' rocks. To prove that point, notice that we keep electing the same people back into the same office, when we are well aware that they screwed us in the past...... and that has been going on for decades.

I agree with most of your points there austen1000. Our current government is bought and sold on a pretty much daily basis by those with the money. Now we have super-pacs, and anonymous donations to political advertising, so, the more money you have, the more people you can reach with your message, and currently, there is no requirement to state where the money is coming from. (FCC case pending on that little bit.) Citizens United was one of the worst decisions to come out of the supreme court in quite some time. They basically legalized buying influence. Our representatives aren't doing 'the will of the people' any more, they are doing the will of the corporate masters. The folks that decide, with their money, who gets elected. I will beleive 'corporations are people too' about the time Texas executes one.

We'll see if the rebels can stop shooting at each other....... A three way war. That should be interesting......

What we have today, bears very little resemblence to what the founding fathers had in mind. Our representatives then were part time. They didn't maintain a residence in the captial. (wherever it happened to be.) It wasn't their only job either, most had business, or farms, or plantations. No, the government we have today, is nothing at all like what we had originally.

Try convincing our government of that......

Where did you ever get the idea that the citizens in the US have any power at all? We get a vote. That's it. We don't get to choose who runs. We get the choices of the lesser of several evils. Not to mention, that universally, once in office, our representatives, that are supposed to represent the people that elected them..... vote how their campaign contributors tell them too. The average american's vote is pretty much worthless.

Don't know about democracy, but, the US is certainly in decline. Our democratically elected government doesn't seem to be overly concerned about its people, or their opinions, or what they think this country should be doing, or, not doing, as the case may be. No here wants an attack on Syria, except... our government.... It has gotten to the point that the average citzen has zero control over the government. Our vote is meaningless, as we only get the choice of which candidate some 'higher power' (corporations) present to us. The campaign slogans/promises that our 'leaders' run on are immediately forgotten right after the final vote count is in. The folks in DC care only about themselves, lining their own pockets, and those of their cronies. What is 'best' for america is never even considered. Whatever makes them the most money, right NOW, is the most important. We are indeed in decline, and we are headed for a fall.

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PM a mod, or admin. I thought passwords were the same across all the forums/download areas?

Given the sheer numbers and scale of just our universe, this is pretty much certain to be the case somewhere. As well as pretty much everything else conceived. To a limited degree, just about anything we can imagine being probably exists somewhere, has existed, or will eventually exist. The only real limitation of what is possible is based on the actually loose limitations of physics and technology. And most of those limitations go out the window once you start considering other universes. We would however never actually see even a tiny fraction of any of this though. The grand cosmic joke however would be if first contact were made by the literal James T. Kirk... True to life and with every bit of the described Federation actually being a thing. Boy would people have to sit and scratch their heads at that one. And yet... Within the scale of the universe, it's entirely possible... Just very unlikely. Heinlein used this particular theory as a premise for one of his Lazarus Long novels..... Can't recall which one just off hand though.

I pretty much agree with you. And now we see that more than 50% of reble forces are hard-line islamists, or al-queda..... gives me even LESS motivation to want to help overthrow assad. In my opinion, Assad is the LESSER of two evils..... We will be better off with him remaining in power, than we would be with yet another islamic state in the ME.

Annoying the russians won't serve any good purpose. Attacking Syria won't either. Does anyone think Assad is going to care that some of his blown up real estate gets blown up some more? All we would accomplish is pissing off some folks. Apparently though, it is only governments that want 'something done'. The people that those governments ostensibly represent are loudly telling their governments "NO". Rumor has it that congress is going to vote no on the measure here as well. That really won't hurt my feelings. I don't think the USA has any real crying need for yet another military involvement in the middle east. Our record so far flat out sucks. I don't see that changing any time soon either. Quite honestly, I really don't give a rat's behind if Obama ends up with egg on his face. Not like the US has that good of standing with the world anyway. Granted, he did do some good in his first term, but, of late, he has been a woefully ineffective leader. I am sure that the republicans have at least partial responsibility for that, as they won't let him pass much of anything. (which in some cases, I am perfectly fine with.) We shall see what actually happens though.

Mainly because, it seems, western governments are uniformly stupid. They keep repeating the same actions, getting the same results, and wondering why things didn't turn out how they wanted 'this time'. One would think, that if you beat someone over the head often enough, they will come to the conclusion that they don't care for it. Not so with goverment. They appear to actually TRY to make the same mistakes over and over again. No amount of head-beating seems to get the message thru. My theory is, there is a radiation field in Washington DC, undetectable, harmless to most residencts, but, severely compromises the IQ of anyone in elected office....... Or, maybe part of the swearing in process for our representatives, is a lobotomy....... I just can't quite get a grasp on how that many people, can be so stupid. It boggles the mind.

In my view, the US can't do any good in Syria. If we attack, we annoy Russia, Iran, and probably a few other folks. (Syrians, for example...) If we don't, then the world clamors for 'action' on someones part, to 'retaliate' for percieved war-crimes. This is a no-win situation. Doesn't matter what we do, someone is going to be mad at us. As I see it, we are backing the wrong side in any event. Assad held the legitimate government, distasteful as it may seem to western powers. (but, mainly because they are allied with Eastern powers....) We seem to be operating under the delusion that overthrowing the current regime will install a "US Friendly" regime in its aftermath, when we have three prime examples that that is just NOT the case. (Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt....) Why is it our government absolutely REFUSES to learn anything at all from past mistakes? What makes them think that "This time, it will be different."???? Are we really that stupid? Are we so deluded by our values that we think that everyone shares the same values? (which has also been proven multiple times simply NOT to be the case.) I would hope that congress takes its cue from the american population, the folks that they are supposed to actually represent.... and decline to participate in military action in Syria. The one-upmanship being played between the US, and Russia, at this point, isn't helping either. Just piling more stupidity on top of the huge pile we already have. The only LASTING solution for the middle east, is letting THEM decide what the solution is going to be, not simply imposing one on them. Democracy at gunpoint, simply does not work.

No. We need someone to boost our Industry. Ever since Britain (And France) occupied, all countries dropped in Industry. A lot. Egypt was the best when it came to Industry, after it was sold out to the British, it's the worst. Sorry for going off-topic. -Mohamed Where do you suppose that industry is going to come from? So long as there are inter-faction rivalries that break out in violence on a regular basis, NO foreign nation is going to be even remotely interested in investing. In order to attract investors, you first need to have stability. (as mentioned in the quote below.) Look at Iraq, there is literlly trillions to be made there, but, you don't see a lot of foreign investment, and the security situation is the biggest reason. (and it is even flatly stated as such by many corporations.) The British et. al. have been out of the picture for a while now. Nothing much has changed. Stability was maintained by dictatorships. Overthrow those dicatator ships (with american backing.... that was bright on our part.....) and what happens? By and large, the next government is islamist, and the other factions don't like how they rule, and express themselves with suicide bombers, car bombs, attacking mosques, etc. Egypt is a beautiful example. Lybia as well. So far, there isn't a country that has gone thru the 'arab spring', that came out the other side, better than they were before. I fully expect the exact same outcome in Syria, as do most of the american population, and THAT is the primary reason only our politiicans seem interested in intervening there. The american people, for the most part, see any variety of intervention as a "damned if we do, damned if we don't" kind of thing. Not to mention, that we (USA) TURNED ON OUR ALLIES in some cases. Mubarack was our allie. Right up until the rebels came on the scene, and suddenly, he wasn't our friend any more. That has just GOT to instill confidence in any other leader with their american 'allies'....... In all reality, american foreign relations have taken some major hits in the last decade or so. It doesn't appear to be improving either. What I find the MOST amusing (in a scary sort of way) about the whole thing is, we now have our Nobel Peace Prize winner president calling for military action. Is that ironic or what? No. We need someone to boost our Industry. Ever since Britain (And France) occupied, all countries dropped in Industry. A lot. Egypt was the best when it came to Industry, after it was sold out to the British, it's the worst. Sorry for going off-topic. -Mohamed Firstly you need long term stability, no one will invest without knowing what the future holds.

Seems to me, that our government thinks that everyone wants to be 'american'. Our biggest problem in Iraq/Afghanistan was, we didn't understand the people we were trying to 'liberate'. Our government assumed that they wanted democracy, and liberty, when that most certainly was NOT the case. In my opinion, the muslim nations NEED a strong leader (dictator....) to keep the various factions in line. Rule with an iron fist seems to be the only thing that keeps things in check. A idea abhorrent to american government. @Hardwaremaster: Yes indeed, there are a LOT of similarities between the US, and the Roman empire. And I expect exactly the same outcome.

Even if the UN DOES call for action in Syria, which I highly doubt will get past the Russian Veto..... I STILL don't think the US should be dropping bombs there. No one I have spoken with things we should be doing anything at all in Syria, which includes, sending any manner of aid to either side. The US has a rather piss poor record on interventions...... Bush senior had it right. "No Viable Exit Strategy"..... Truly unfortunate that our government has super-glued its blinders on, and outright refuses to learn a damn thing from the past. Should Obama decide to do something stupid, and stage a unilateral attack, I will be one of the first in line to sign the petition for his impeachment.