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we're the goddamn united states
that we are even being compared to these countries should reveal something to you
we shouldn't win by a technicality in this category, or be better than a handful of some of the governments with the worst human rights records on the planet
boo hiss
Also they have the death penalty still.
I am adding this to the pile.
It is 100%, absolutely the case that bad stuff is over-represented.
Srsly brah watch the video on this site
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/nov/19/better-angels-nature-steven-pinker-review
What the FUCK?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=556930
I prefer to assume agnostic from the onset is lazy, because I know people who use it as a way to avoid the whole religion versus atheism debate altogether and avoid conflict. I tend gauge how much a person has actually thought about said position and then decide later if I found it acceptably thought out.
Agnostic on it's own is still a valid stance; you can never truly prove whether there is a God, personal or something else, or there isn't one, and that kind of thing can lead people to the conclusion that they admit ignorance (as any good Socratic thinker should) and will simply let death tell them if there is one or not later.
you both need to state your irony levels, now
I don't think "the whole statistic hinges on using made up numbers" is a technicality.
But that's not the point. When you want to criticize the US, do so. But use actual figures, actual numbers. Use facts. Use logic. Claiming that the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world is smug "America is awful because America" bullshit. We can look at the US incarceration rate and see that it is in fact very high and ask ourselves why it's so high and what we can do to lower it. But throwing in "the US has a higher proportion of its population in prison than North Korea!" just taints the argument.
To be honest your filter seems far more attuned to accepting negativity than positivity. That's okay most people's are the same. That's why the news trafficks in depressing stories instead of 'oh hey look at how amazing this all is and holy shit we just discovered a new test for leoprosy that only costs a buck holy shit so many people won't have to suffer as now fucking awesome whoo!
huh?
Regular insurance can be pretty good. The two main problems with it are (1) the barriers to entry and (2) the arbitrariness of many plans.
ACA reduces both of those problems substantially in exchange for a (likely) cost increase. Which is a big win overall.
It's not a horror story if my premium goes up 7% in a year or my deductible goes up $250. Inconvenient, but I'll live to bitch about it.
It's a horror story if I lose coverage because I got sick, or can't qualify for ever coverage again because I had a lapse in it because I lost my job, or am denied treatment for something life-threatening because of obscure fine print. In my case I would not, in fact, have lived to bitch about it.
Healthcare reform round 2 is gonna be about reducing the cost of medical care overall, and the skids for that are well greased come 2014 when the ACA is mostly in effect. Everyone, even those who see no direct benefit from Obamacare, has a stake in getting this part done.
when the indigo children come
There is a reason I was expected by every American I met and got to know to be polite, because Canadians are really nice and polite eh?
There are countries that've advanced and civilized far more than the US. The US' biggest issue was not capitalizing on the wars we waged as much as we could have/historically had. Granted, it's gotten us an outsize say in global policy, but a lot of that was with our industry and infrastructure lead that we squandered. Our universities aren't even cutting edge and accredited to as high a degree (especially State ran) as many Countries that spend a fraction that we do.
I agree, there are some tweaks necessary for the US to really revitalize and be the high end global leader it can be, but a lot of that has to be battled for hand in hand with entitlement/tax/copyright reform. I'm actually in favor of the World Bank taking the place of the fed, and the IMF and Trade Courts having more teeth/power.
there are some great cities and places and traditions in the south, but the state governments seem to be making a concerted effort to make them awful
my home state in particular has been kicking around some pretty horrifying legislation
also, this is just a problem of understanding of the statistics of this.
Mostly hearing about bad things means that mostly bad things get reported and retold.
Which could be for two reasons: either, because mostly only the bad things are interesting enough and no-one reports "Man had beer in sun with friends; "It was a good day" he is quoted as saying", or it's because mostly bad things happen.
how serious are you both about support for israel
yeah that must be so fucking hard.
Super glad I've only got cramming for exams on my plate.
I hate you right now.
Guess I'd say about 7 out of 10 on the Seriousometer.
i think talking about my position on the israeli-palestinian conflict is meaningless in these terms
it is not really reducible in that way to me how it seems to be to the international community
hmmm...
This should be a thing.
Like in a heated discussion where you're not sure who's being serious or not you should be like
IRONY CHECK
And then everyone has to report their current irony levels like so:
[********---]
7/10 Ironies
I don't disagree with any of this... except the golf analogy is dumb.
fine. america has lower incarceration rates than dictatorships and oligarchies that brutally repress dissidents
but not many of them, because we're (almost!) the worst
land of the freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
supporting israel isn't just supporting their side in that conflict
for me this ties to what I was saying to Loren; i don't abide beliefs I consider meritless for me or without value in my life.
"proof" one way or the other on this issue, isn't important to me, as is so readily and astutely observed such proof is objectively lacking in either direction. there's only intuition and deductive reasoning, oft terrible bedfellows really
but does it matter? well, for me it does. my universe, my view of my life, my perspective on the world, is bettered for me by way of believing there is no god or gods. so, that is what i opt to believe. in lieu of conclusive evidence one way or the other, i go with the belief that meaningfully harms none and meaningfully aids me.
when others do the same, and yet come to a different belief or conclusion, but based on the same criteria?
i don't really fault them that, and i gain nothing from trying to "prove" to them I'm right, because the truth is, objectively
there's no way for my living mind to know
so i take it as an article of faith instead, and being thus don't care the begrudge people their own articles of faith that view differently, so long as the consequences of their beliefs don't run afoul of what i consider important in life
REVENGE, SWEET REVENGE!!! :twisted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=C5ddjzGft0k
based from the same criteria, ok, but what about not based on the same criteria at all?
Yes I am aware of what the balance probably is, but I still need more. I need some way of comparing the good and the bad so that the bad is less significant.
revenge for what!