HeyYou

What you suggest certainly gives the tea party an "out", should things go wrong, and they start looking for someone to blame..... Really wouldn't surprise me at all. Saw Obama on the tube today..... and ignored him. More politicking going on there, suggesting that the dems actually asked the repubbies to the table several times, and were turned down, and several more times to discuss the budget, and were also turned down. Any truth to that? I sure don't know. I have given up (long ago) expecting to hear the truth from a politician.

I think you are stretching the point there colour. :) But, that isn't what the debate is about. Lets just stick to the point, eh?

How so? He is posting an image, and inviting debate. Would it have been better to simply link to the image? Or what? This isn't the first example of children announcing their sexual preferences..... how abut the six year old wanting to be a girl? Identifying as such, and wanting to use the girls restroom, etc.? I may not be paying enough attention, but, I have only really seen this happening here in the states...... have we become so liberal, and deluded... that we think kids even have a clue about this type of thing? At this childs age, he has zero interest in women/girls. I can see how that might lead him to believe that he is gay...... and like someone else previously mentioned, wonder if that is still going to hold true in 5 or 6 years. Will he suddenly discover that he is straight? Parents exploit children. Not all of them, but, enough of them to make it noticeable in american society. Politicians do it on a regular basis. (and they aren't even their kids....) Parents do it as well. (Jean Benet-Ramsey anyone?) Look at some of the crap on television, if that isn't child exploitation, I will eat my hat.

Is it possible? We don't know, that is why we experiment and test theories. Perhaps with our current technology, we cannot do it, but, who is to say that we achieve some breakthrough, and suddenly, things that were once 'impossible', now become 'possible'. The only way to know, is to try it. If it works, really cool, if it doesn't, well, at least we tried, and we can move on to something else. For my part, I applaud this research. I would love to see them come up with a workable FTL drive.

According to the latest polls, by various organizations, (including fox news.....) people are indeed laying the blame at the feet of the republican party. Every poll shows that to one extent or other. Wonder if the republicans have figured out yet that they are cutting their own throats here.

Yeah, and 'immigration reform' is going to do wonderful things for the dem demographics. I really don't understand why the repubicans are even considering that kind of legislation, since it should be obvious to even the casual observer, that it will erode their power base even faster. If they think that supporting it is going to magically make some of them vote republican, they are sadly mistaken. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time a political party consciously cut their own throat.... I doubt it will be the last either. I am not entirely sure what to expect at this point. Folks are pretty disgusted with our government, both sides..... but, I have seen this before, and nothing really changes. Folks still vote along their party lines, for the most part, and nothing really changes. I suppose it depends on just how far this goes. If the government actually defaults on the debt.... that has the potential to do very serious harm to not just the american economy, but the entire global economy. Falls Rome, falls the world? THAT would have absolutely disasterous effects on the republican party. The dems would point, and scream "THEY DID THIS TO YOU!" and the american public would beleive it. (it has the advantage of being true.....) In that event, I would expect the dems to pick up a slew of seats in both the house, and the senate. My worst nightmare come true. I suppose, there is also the chance that should the government bring about a global economic collapse, maybe, finally, the american people will wake up, and take steps to take back their country from their corporate masters. It's a forlorn hope, but, a hope nonetheless.

I have seen polls ranging from 30%, to over 60% coming down against the repubbies. Who is telling the truth? We won't know until november '14. See what the election results do to the balance of power in DC.

Because, as I mentioned before, the dems are well aware of what the repubbies mean by 'negotiate'. They know what the terms are, and what the republican requirements are, and they are well aware they won't agree to any of it. So, why bother? Not like either side is going to change their tune, it has turned into staring match, and the country is just sitting back, and waiting, to see who blinks first. Hopefully, before we default on our debt.

A fair percentage of those that are required to work, but don't get paid, are the military......

The dems are willing to negotiate, just not on the same details the republicans want. The only thing the repubbies are interested in, is defunding obamacare. Not repealing it at this point mind you, just defunding it. All those requirements would still be in place, and folks would still have to buy insurance if they didn't happen to have any, there just wouldn't be any government subsidies for it. Which will basically bankrupt a significant percentage of the currently uninsured folks. How does THAT help anyone? No, this one lies squarely at the feet of the republicans. (colourwheel's numbers may be a bit inflated, but, from what I have been reading, only a bit......) If the repubbies are only willing to tie passing a budget with defunding obamacare, no budget is going to pass. I don't blame the dems for not bothering to show up. Would have been an exercise in futility in any event. So, as it stands, in around two weeks, the US government is going to default on its debts, our credit rating will get dinged, we won't have as much borrowing power, will have to pay more just to pay the interest on the current debt, so the fed will have to cut spending elsewhere in any event..... it is going to be a wicked fast downhill spiral, which has the potential to tank the entire world economy.

So who are folks going to blame if the economy goes belly up because the US Government defaulted? The president? The Dems? The Repubbies?? George Will? From most indicators I have seen, it is the repubbies that are going to bear the brunt of the ire. That will basically end them politically. If there is a country left to govern. Should be interesting.

The Free Syrian army is reportedly around 50,000 fighters. Syrian Liberation Front is around 33,000, Syrian Islamic Front is around 17,000. Both of the latter two forces are Islamic based, al-queda aligned. They are also some of the most effective fighters in the opposition forces. Once Assad is overthrown, (provided that ever actually happens...) there is going to be yet another war for control of the country, between the Non-sectarian free syrian army, and the assorted islamists. Just getting rid of Assad isn't going to solve anything there, all it will do is open the next chapter of the civil war. In all reality, Assad is the lesser of the evils here.

Turn off the windows side bar.

Are those the Beth high res packs? If so, replace them, there are modder created packs that are better, without quite the performance hit. Does your frame rate slowly drop as you play, or does it tank immediately when you step outside?

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......