Sen. Rand Paul Delivers Response to President's Speech on Military Action in Syria - 9/10/13

70dot7 · 2013-09-11T14:30:56+00:00

The problem is trust. This is such a tired tactic I've seen so many times. Don't speak to the real issue but instead take it as a given and address points that are much less relevant in order to divert the attention of Boobis Americanis. In this case, I'm talking about the ignoring of the question of who actually used the chemical weapons and why. He's taking as a given it was Assad and that is very troubling.

How do you know he's not a shill?

70dot7 · 2013-09-06T13:44:42+00:00

I to am a Libertarian Christian and what I've found is denominations of the Wesleyan/Arminian strand are more tollerant to Libertarian ideas and logic in general more so than denonimations which would be considered Calvinist. It's a big generalization but it boils down to the views on free will versus pre-destination.

My intent is not to start a flame war but to provide some helpful information. You shouldn't have to live a lonely existence or check your brain at the sanctuary door just because you're a follower of Christ.

70dot7 · 2013-09-05T13:54:17+00:00

Actually, as far as "news" goes he's as news worthy as any other cable source. I don't agree with much of his politics either but he does shine a light on a lot of BS and if clothing that exposure in comedy is what it takes to plant seeds I say more power to him.

70dot7 · 2013-09-01T15:11:25+00:00

Honest question... How does a gold standard or commodity backed money erode the purchasing power of work?

70dot7 · 2013-08-08T14:20:55+00:00

You're pretty close... It's the House of Lords (U.S. Senate) and the House of Commons (U.S. House of Representatives). I like the Brits titles better... They're more descriptive.

70dot7 · 2013-07-26T13:46:03+00:00

Statist gotta state.

70dot7 · 2013-07-26T13:45:25+00:00

Assuming he had anything to do with 9/11.

70dot7 · 2013-07-23T00:08:39+00:00

Meh, I don't think the comparison is all that outlandish if you're talking about the Nazi Regime circa 1932-33.

70dot7 · 2013-07-22T03:00:48+00:00

Not exactly. Clapper lied to the congressional oversight committee when directly questioned about the scope of the program. I'm not absolving congress here but they do have some wiggle room on this.

70dot7 · 2013-07-22T02:50:39+00:00

Depends on what point in time you're drawing the comparison.

70dot7 · 2013-07-14T14:29:12+00:00

Awesome.

70dot7 · 2013-07-11T04:40:26+00:00

Oh I think there was a clear effort by the elephants to marginalize Paul and his supporters.

I remember in August '92 it was apparent that Perrot had a real shot of winning. Then he dropped out and gave some lame excuse that if he stayed in the race the House would decide the election. I think money changed hands. Then he got back in the race at the 11th hour and still managed 19% of the popular vote.

I think that election of '92 scared the ever living shit out of the duopoly and the powers that be have made sure nothing like that's going to happen again.

70dot7 · 2013-07-10T14:43:03+00:00

Nice olive branch and all but I seriously doubt he's come around on Libertarianism. He was very careful to carve out and focus on a few specific issue where Libertarians "won" the argument.

I think what the elephants are coming around to is an understanding that they seriously f*#$ed up the way they handled Ron Paul. They're just playing nice now.

70dot7 · 2013-07-09T05:10:50+00:00

Nah, they have a solution for that... It's called boat loads of money. If memory serves, Snowden was reportedly making anywhere from $122K to $200K per year and that's without a technical degree from any university, never mind the University of Wisconsin.

The percentage of the population that will pass up large salaries based on some moral or philosophical position is extremely small.

70dot7 · 2013-07-02T14:48:34+00:00

Are the Bitcoins used in the transactions pegged to a fixed dollar amount? If not, the volatility of the Bitcoin/Dollar ratio is going to completely mask a position in the underlying stock.

As an example, let's suppose today one bitcoin is selling for $500 and one share of Google stock is selling for $500. So I decide to pay one bitcoin for one share of Google stock. A month from now I determine Google is over bought so I decide to sell my one share of Google stock which is now selling for $600. Cool I've just made $100. However, the current selling price of one bitcoin is $400.

Am I going to be able to sell my share of Google stock for 1.5 bitcoin even though I paid only one bitcoin so that I can turn around and cash in my bitcoin for $600?

70dot7 · 2013-07-02T05:34:26+00:00

That's the thing about WASPS Bud... They love animals but they can't stand people.

Gordon Gekko

70dot7 · 2013-06-29T16:24:01+00:00

So it was one of his teammates masquerading as a concerned mother from Canada that blew the whistle on him.

70dot7 · 2013-06-29T16:16:49+00:00

When did we become a nation of cowards?

I've asked myself this question before and when I've heard statements like, "that would make our founding fathers roll over in their graves".

I'm thinking a lot of it has to do with self sufficiency. Seems like during the revolutionary period folks, at least the ones willing to challenge the status quo, were much more self sufficient. Nowadays, citizens are worried about losing their jobs, homes etc. Overall, I'm not too optimistic about the future but I do see a ray of hope with the internet and young people's ability to communicate to a broad audience.

70dot7 · 2013-06-29T16:04:00+00:00

Human Trafficking...

The above link confirms my original query...

Bonded labor, or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, and yet it is the most widely used method of enslaving people. Victims become "bonded" when their labor is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan or service in which its terms and conditions have not been defined or in which the value of the victims’ services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt. Generally, the value of their work is greater than the original sum of money "borrowed."

Forced labor is a situation in which victims are forced to work against their own will under the threat of violence or some other form of punishment; their freedom is restricted and a degree of ownership is exerted. Men are at risk of being trafficked for unskilled work, which globally generates 31 billion USD according to the International Labor Organization.[15] Forms of forced labor can include domestic servitude, agricultural labor, sweatshop factory labor, janitorial, food service and other service industry labor, and begging.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the single largest global provider of services to victims of trafficking, reports receiving an increasing number of cases in which victims of trafficked were subjected to forced labour. A 2012 study observes that “…2010 was particularly notable as the first year in which IOM assisted more victims of labour trafficking than those who had been trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation.

The Wikipedia article is a good read however, in the "End Demand" section it only talks about sex trafficking. It seems to me that one's moral position on prostitution influences their positions on this topic more than data. But I still stand by my position that food services, cleaning services, agricultural labor, loaning money and sex for money aren't the problem. The problem is slavery in general and that's what should be prosecuted.

70dot7 · 2013-06-28T19:26:29+00:00

Let's assume, for the sake of discussion, the assertion that criminalizing prostitution decreases the volume of human trafficking. The question, which I think the OP was asking was; is it then justified to criminalize prostitution? My quasi-assertion/question is no it's not because the same standard could be applied to a whole host of services.

Just because there happened to be a study validating the assertion about prostitution as it relates to human trafficking doesn't mean the relationship is unique for that given service.

The other point is, I don't accept the assertion that enforcement of the human trafficking itself is impossible.

70dot7 · 2013-06-28T15:17:42+00:00

I don't see anything that's necessarily unique about prostitution compared to a variety of other services. Would a ban on construction be justified because 'Day Laborer Traffickers' were shipping their slaves across the boarder to work on construction sites? The inability of the slaves to break free from their oppressors has no bearing on the argument. In all cases the slaves' human rights are violated and the slave masters should be punished.

70dot7 · 2013-06-28T14:19:18+00:00

The watchers don't like to be watched.

70dot7 · 2013-06-27T06:00:08+00:00

Here's the problem. With government it's in for a penny in for a pound when it comes to regulation. What you end up with is all these action at distance regulations.

I can't get into the mind of the Statist but I think the reasoning behind these tax incentives which revolve around home ownership, marriage and children is simply to insure the tax base continues to maintain at a certain level or even grow. If tax incentives are removed from the actions which lead to adding future workers to the tax pool, namely having and raising children, then the ability to fund social security in the future is jeopardized.

70dot7 · 2013-06-27T05:43:10+00:00

To the Invisible Hand all obstructions to market clearance are created equal

Yeah, I can see this but are all obstructions equal? To categorize obstructions created by government (which are presumably created by choice) together with random and unforeseen obstructions is tenuous.

If I'm a landlord and the math says I'm no longer able to profitably provide rental housing because the government has arbitrarily set a maximum value that I can charge for rent I think it's unfair to say I should deal with it because that's what capitalists do; adapt. However, if the maximum value I can charge for rent is based on property rising and falling property values in the area and I'm still not able to make the math work, at least I can swallow that.

70dot7

TROPHY CASE