Prohibition: not while I breathe you won't!

I was right. :)

GG

Yes and no, Stuka.  It would only make vetoing a budget a thing of the past, in other words, it would streamline the budget process.  But ONLY if the Congress decides to spend MORE then they get in taxes.  Bear in mind, if Congress decides to actually, don’t faint now, spend ONLY what it has without a deficit, then it only needs a simple majority and a signature instead of a super majority AND a signature.  Likewise, if the budget has no deficit, then a veto can still be over-ridden by a super majority.

The whole idea is to make it SOO hard to go into debt that most times the country will operate above board.

In fact, I’d like to see legislation that states that 10% of all taxes MUST be invested in local government or domestic corporate bonds. (Relatively secure, helps the country or countrymen.)  Eventually, the feds should have enough invested throughout the land that they will never need to tax the people again.

Furthermore, that’s not so outlandish an idea.  Many governments domestically and abroad are buying mutual funds to supplement their income so they can ease the tax burden.  Why can’t the feds?

I was hoping someone would open a thread about this.  Here’s a piece I wrote while exchanging e-mails with a friend on Lost in Translation.  Hope it doesn’t give anything away.
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Hmm…I am wondering if my comments right now are influenced by seeing Munich over the weekend.  I felt Spielberg was reaching for a particular audience, specifically the hard conservative Israelis.  While the movie isn’t sympathetic to the Palestinians, it’s not unsympathetic to them either.  But really, it creates very thin Palestinian characters without really exploring what it is they are doing.  I believe Spielberg chose this route because he wanted to appeal to those conservatives, who really don’t give a damn what the Palestinians feel or want or need.  Rather, the movie showed everything a right-wing Israeli would see:  murders, terror, etc.  It also expressed the rage, anger, and frustration of the conservatives as well.  But then it showed what the logical extension of all those feelings, what those ideas would lead to, and not on a social level, but a deeply personal one, especially how loving Israel can make you less Jewish.

As such, I don’t think this is an Israel-Palestine movie.  It’s something that has been done rarely:  an Israel-Israel movie.  It’s an attempt in my mind to bridge the gap between the deep divisions in Israeli society.  Or maybe not bridge, but convince the other side.  Hence, its appeal and its focus are tightly played on the self-destructive nature of revenge, typical in some ways of many revenge movies recently (with the notable exception of Quentin Tarrantino), but also elevating that sensibility and relating it to a concrete social dilemma.

Just finished the sequel to God’s Debris, entitled “The Religion War”. And all i can say is !!! i loved it. outstanding. Adams has really posed some interesting questions, in a fascinating and entertaining way. even more interesting, he makes clear that the ideas are not his own (not entirely, at least, they may be partially). what can i say about religion war?
Religion War:God’s Debris::Kill Bill Vol. 2:Kill Bill Vol. 1. you can read it alone, but i suggest you read both. both are outstanding. and both are pertinent to having an interesting discussion. so i suggest after you read God’s Debris, if you are interested in a discussion about any of the topics, read The Religion War. unfortunately, it is not a free ebook. it will cost you, but not much, and its worth it. i highly reccomend it.

Today is one of those days that makes me glad I have an office Job.

It will be passing 100 Degrees here in a few minutes and is suposed to get to 108 today. :o

But thank god it’s 75 at my desk. :D

While it is true that the basic idea for the chasis was concieved by an american the T-34 was far from being designed by one. Many fine russian designers spent their talents on this fine tank.

regarding Risk 2110, I have played it and it is a lot of fun. Not nearly so involved as the AA games, but it is fast paced and wildly unpredictable. The main problem of the original Risk - players amassing enormous armies til it was foolhardy for anyone to attack anyone else - has been eliminated with the introduction of the command cards and “energy chips” (money). We got a four player game together, and there was just no way to tell who was “winning” because those damn cards can swing the balance of power in an instant. There’s also only 5 rounds to a game, so a player has to think ahead and yet not bide his time TOO long. Only played twice, but I’d say it’s worth the purchase price.