Quote from: midcan5 on July 12, 2020, 09:02:37 AM
Hi all,  I thought I mentioned this history book but don't see the post.  It is a deep and complex look into our history concerning expansion and war with Mexico, as well as America's treatment of native Americans. It will be a hard read for many. History isn't always rosy.

'The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America'  Greg Grandin

But that said this pandemic is causing my wife and I to be wanderers of sorts. Seeing grandkids at a distance etc starts to get old. Now we lose ourselves on back roads. So enough TV too, back to re-read a few favorite novels.  Any Cormac McCarthy fans out there?  We Irish - partly Irish - love words and he is amazing. So I thought time to reread Blood Meridian.  Be safe out there. 


"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am."  Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

"You think when you wake up in the mornin yesterday don't count. But yesterday is all that does count. What else is there? Your life is made out of the days it's made out of. Nothin else." Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

"People were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didn't believe in that. Tomorrow wasn't getting ready for them. It didn't even know they were there." Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Why are you ignoring replies directly attributed to your previous posts?

Quote from: Solar on July 12, 2020, 09:27:11 AM
Why are you ignoring replies directly attributed to your previous posts?

Because he can not back up what he believes. No one can. Too much of what the liberals want is too immoral to defend. Too much of what he says, might as well come from fairy tale books, it is like a theory that can not withstand the scrutiny of looking for truth in it. Sure he can provide fake charts and phony graphs which "proves" his point, but again when one digs into it, the truth always proves them wrong.

   The best example I can think of is the fact every liberal defends socialism, even though it has failed every time. Even though it has the history of millions of deaths. Even though everywhere it is implanted it cause undue hardships and pain. Liberal will always tell you, it has not been tried by the right people, as if they would be the chosen ones if only given the chance. There is no government that is more immoral than socialism, and yet liberals want it. How can you defend that?
 
   After reading his posts and others like his, the only answer I think he could have is "well, That's how I feel"


I didn't think he would answer so I helped him out.

Quote from: Possum on July 12, 2020, 01:10:15 PM
Because he can not back up what he believes. No one can. Too much of what the liberals want is too immoral to defend. Too much of what he says, might as well come from fairy tale books, it is like a theory that can not withstand the scrutiny of looking for truth in it. Sure he can provide fake charts and phony graphs which "proves" his point, but again when one digs into it, the truth always proves them wrong.

   The best example I can think of is the fact every liberal defends socialism, even though it has failed every time. Even though it has the history of millions of deaths. Even though everywhere it is implanted it cause undue hardships and pain. Liberal will always tell you, it has not been tried by the right people, as if they would be the chosen ones if only given the chance. There is no government that is more immoral than socialism, and yet liberals want it. How can you defend that?
 
   After reading his posts and others like his, the only answer I think he could have is "well, That's how I feel"


I didn't think he would answer so I helped him out.

I love how they point to Europe as an example of working socialism, yet when I look at Europe, all I see is failed socialism on the verge of communism, or worse yet, Sharia law.
Socialism never works, because it's the seed of Marxism, the end result is what we see in Chinese oppression, or N/K, Venezuela etc.

Quote from: Solar on July 12, 2020, 01:31:39 PM
I love how they point to Europe as an example of working socialism, yet when I look at Europe, all I see is failed socialism on the verge of communism, or worse yet, Sharia law.
Socialism never works, because it's the seed of Marxism, the end result is what we see in Chinese oppression, or N/K, Venezuela etc.

One of these days we will see a mass exodus from Europe. Many might even go to Russia as it will be better than the Sharia law that is coming.   

Quote from: Possum on July 12, 2020, 01:35:42 PM
One of these days we will see a mass exodus from Europe. Many might even go to Russia as it will be better than the Sharia law that is coming.

I could deal with Russians in the countryside. I've watched a lot of videos of people in the country farming communities.
For them little has changed in the last couple of hundred years, very down to earth people just eking out a living and enjoying the little things in life along with the hardships..

Solar,  everyone has their opinion on any number of subjects,  because someone disagrees with me or thinks I'm mistaken I can't change their mind, that is something they would have to do with continued reading and understanding.  It is education and the epiphanies that occasionally come to us as we grow. Am I wrong sometimes, of course but if you notice I do provide links and other information to support my views.

Take as an example Possum's assumption that all liberals defend socialism. Do they?  I'd have to know what he means by socialism. But then he answers or assumes, claims it fails every time.  Wouldn't Finland and Sweden be considered socialism and are they failures?  Is not socialism like most political isms a goal or method rather than a hard and fast plan?  Easy definitions and simple categories help us understand and communicate but the world is a complicated place and we need to be clear and work out what works and what we mean. People can disagree with me and if they think I really blundered they can message me I'll always reply.

From quick Google search: 

"Socialism is an economic and political system. It is an economic theory of social organization. It believes that the means of making, moving, and trading wealth should be owned or controlled by the workers. ... People who agree with this type of system are called socialists."

Someone started a quote thread, I have been collecting them since 'autoexec' batch file started you IBM PC.  So a few below for thought on topic.

"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite." John Kenneth Galbraith

"In 1929 Federal, state, and municipal governments accounted for about 8 percent of all economic activity in the United States.  By the 1960s that figure was between 20 and 25 percent, far exceeding that in India, a socialist country.  The National Science Foundation reckoned that federal funds were paying for 90 percent of research in aviation and space travel, 65 percent in electrical and electronic devices, 42 percent in Scientific Instruments, 31 percent in machinery, 28 percent in metal alloys, 24 percent in automobiles, and 20 percent in chemicals."  William Manchester "The Glory and the Dream"


"Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice; socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality." Mikhail Bakunin

"Moreover, if we give the matter a moment's thought, we can see that the 20th century morality tale of 'socialism vs. freedom' or 'communism vs. capitalism' is misleading. Capitalism is not a political system; it is a form of economic life, compatible in practice with right wing dictatorships (Chile under Pinochet), left-wing dictatorships (contemporary China), social-democratic monarchies (Sweden), and plutocratic republics (the United States), whether capitalist economies thrive best under conditions of freedom is perhaps more of an open question than we like to think." Tony Judt 'Ill fares the Land'

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." Winston Churchill


"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."  Ronald Wright

"There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party ... and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt — until recently ... and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties."  Gore Vidal

https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/the-problem-using-sweden-as-an-example-of-a-socialist-model-that-works-sweden-aint-socialist/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2018/07/08/sorry-bernie-bros-but-nordic-countries-are-not-socialist/

https://www.quora.com/How-Socialist-is-Finland

Interesting reading

Good quote "Finland is not socialist at all.

There is no way to be partly socialist, or somewhat socialist. A country either embraces capitalism, where private companies are allowed to exist, or then they don't. As Finland is a capitalist country, it can not be a socialist country."

Quote from: midcan5 on July 12, 2020, 01:50:31 PM
Solar,  everyone has their opinion on any number of subjects,  because someone disagrees with me or thinks I'm mistaken I can't change their mind, that is something they would have to do with continued reading and understanding.  It is education and the epiphanies that occasionally come to us as we grow. Am I wrong sometimes, of course but if you notice I do provide links and other information to support my views.

Take as an example Possum's assumption that all liberals defend socialism. Do they?  I'd have to know what he means by socialism. But then he answers or assumes, claims it fails every time.  Wouldn't Finland and Sweden be considered socialism and are they failures?  Is not socialism like most political isms a goal or method rather than a hard and fast plan?  Easy definitions and simple categories help us understand and communicate but the world is a complicated place and we need to be clear and work out what works and what we mean. People can disagree with me and if they think I really blundered they can message me I'll always reply.

You're entitled to your own opinions, but you're not entitled to your own lying "facts".

Now, back to an earlier post you ignored.

Quote from: Solar on July 06, 2020, 05:35:01 AM
Wow, nothing like opening with an ignorant lie! We are not an Oligarchy, we are a Republic, you idiot troll!
A Republic by design, sets constraints on govt, while a democracy enhances the power of the Federal govt as a weapon for the mob.

You need to read some actual history books and leave the opinion pieces to the trash heap of history!

it's debatable:

noun: oligarchy; plural noun: oligarchies

a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.
"the ruling oligarchy of military men around the president"

a country governed by an oligarchy.
"the English aristocratic oligarchy of the 19th century"

government by an oligarchy.

No Posting Till You Reply To Posts.

Quote from: midcan5 on July 14, 2020, 11:36:03 AM
No Posting Till You Reply To Posts.

You have replies yet to be addressed. Until you do, you are not allowed to post.

Walks, put him on watch....

Sonar,  reply to Post 97.   

Quote from: Solar on July 06, 2020, 05:35:01 AM
"Wow, nothing like opening with an ignorant lie! We are not an Oligarchy, we are a Republic, you idiot troll!
A Republic by design, sets constraints on govt, while a democracy enhances the power of the Federal govt as a weapon for the mob.

You need to read some actual history books and leave the opinion pieces to the trash heap of history!"

I agree we are a republic but also a democracy as the recent election demonstrated. The relationship is complicated but it works as both serve as brakes on the other. We can debate names but the reality is always a work in progress.


I want to recommend another book for those who want to take a deep dive into ideology. This is a detailed read and later I'll post some debate on topic. Amazon Prime is also running documentaries on subject.  Check them out.

'Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust'

Quote from: midcan5 on February 06, 2021, 06:20:09 AM
Sonar,  reply to Post 97.   

Quote from: Solar on July 06, 2020, 05:35:01 AM
"Wow, nothing like opening with an ignorant lie! We are not an Oligarchy, we are a Republic, you idiot troll!
A Republic by design, sets constraints on govt, while a democracy enhances the power of the Federal govt as a weapon for the mob.

You need to read some actual history books and leave the opinion pieces to the trash heap of history!"

I agree we are a republic but also a democracy as the recent election demonstrated. The relationship is complicated but it works as both serve as brakes on the other. We can debate names but the reality is always a work in progress.

Therein lies your problem, you are under the illusion that our Constitution is a living Document. It Is Not!!!
So no, we are not "a work in progress"!

Quote from: Solar on February 06, 2021, 06:56:55 PM
Therein lies your problem, you are under the illusion that our Constitution is a living Document. It Is Not!!!
So no, we are not "a work in progress"!

Again I agree but where I disagree is that times in our history are works in progress. And the Constitution has been amended many times. Consider the last change.

"Twenty-seventh Amendment, amendment (1992) to the Constitution of the United States that required any change to the rate of compensation for members of the U.S. Congress to take effect only after the subsequent election in the House of Representatives."

But I want to note a book I'm finishing as the internet has changed so much in how we live today. Readers will find it amazing. It starts slow but covers so many important issues of the day.


"What began as advertising is now a threat to freedom and democracy argues the author and scholar. Time to wake up - and fight for a different digital future"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/04/shoshana-zuboff-surveillance-capitalism-assault-human-automomy-digital-privacy


'High tech is watching you'
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/03/harvard-professor-says-surveillance-capitalism-is-undermining-democracy/

'You Are Now Remotely Controlled'
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/opinion/sunday/surveillance-capitalism.html

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26195941-the-age-of-surveillance-capitalism

Quote from: midcan5 on February 14, 2021, 06:57:38 AM
Again I agree but where I disagree is that times in our history are works in progress. And the Constitution has been amended many times. Consider the last change.

"Twenty-seventh Amendment, amendment (1992) to the Constitution of the United States that required any change to the rate of compensation for members of the U.S. Congress to take effect only after the subsequent election in the House of Representatives."

But I want to note a book I'm finishing as the internet has changed so much in how we live today. Readers will find it amazing. It starts slow but covers so many important issues of the day.


"What began as advertising is now a threat to freedom and democracy argues the author and scholar. Time to wake up - and fight for a different digital future"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/04/shoshana-zuboff-surveillance-capitalism-assault-human-automomy-digital-privacy


'

Here's the problem, you read waaaay too much, but you don't think beyond the opinions you seek!
I don't need to read someone else's opinion to know the left has been destroying our Constitution for centuries.

There is not one single Amendment that was needed, the Constitution stands alone if our so called Reps had stood their ground and asserted its meaning.
Think about that, look at all the Amendments and read the Constitution, not a single damn Amendment was needed, unless you're trying to score political points or destroy its original Intent!

Use some critical thought and think for yourself once and awhile.
Also, I released your account, but it's still showing moderated, so Walks will need to look at it.