geekhack
geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: luoshuiyu on Tue, 30 November 2010, 03:48:01
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If I were the President of the United States, I would perform the following reforms.
First, fully withdraw our troops from Iraq,. I would command the soldiers to return home before Christmas. Their mothers and fathers are eagerly waiting for them to come back and to have the whole family share the Christmas dinner together again.
Second, I would concentrate on the financial crisis. The rich must help the poor. When the economic situation improves, wealthy enterprises and individuals would be compensated for their help under the supervision of the people and participation of the state. I hope that come next Christmas, everyone could enjoy a delicious turkey on their Christmas table.
Third, I would abolish irrational spending. Especially anything on Apple. Not only are the wage earners reluctant to buy products, but the students who don’t have so much money in the first place are going on Ebay and Lightinthebox to buy supercheap Chinese smart phones. If it was me, I would feel embarrassed. Since I cannot control the markets, I would just get rid of this and other dominating brands.
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Holy crap! I hope you are never president. (I guess you would be a dictator with that power)
If I could mold the government, I'd rectify the excesses of our federal government and reign it back in. Specifically, I'd do the following:
Repeal the 17th ammendment - US Senators are meant to represent the state governments and should be elected by and report to the state legislatures. These massive state-wide elections wasting millions of dollars need to stop. And senators need to do their job and represent their state government interests... not investigate baseball, school lunches, entertain celebrities, etc. Ridiculous.
Slash the size of the Federal Government - Because a need exist doesn't mean it is the federal government's job to fulfill it. Retirement, health care, unemployment subsidies, education, etc, etc should be handled at the state and local level. The federal government should be limited to national defense and inter-state commerce. I would eliminate the majority of the federal government as well as put a cap on how long Congress is in session. When state legislatures are in session, the US Senators should be THERE, not in DC. When they are in DC, they should stay in a barracks and NOT set up residence. Same with US Representatives. Spend the time in your home districts when not in DC (and stay in those same barracks when Congress is in session).
Get rid of the Federal Income Tax - Get rid of this tax and dismantle the huge infrastructure (IRS) that is needed to manage it. Go with either a MODEST national sales tax (my preference) or have each of the states pay a certain, representative sum to the federal government for it's operations. The states can fund their budgets however they like...state income tax, sales taxes, etc. If we don't like how one state does it, we have the choice to move to another state.
Term Limits - Two terms max for all offices. And no retirement plans, special health care plans, etc for members of Congress. Serve your country and then return to the workforce. The president is a special case and should be treated as such (inline with current policy...although I don't see why we need to fund their libraries or allow them to rent out space to secret service agents. They should provide lodging for the secret service...buy a house with a spare bedroom for crying out loud!)
It time to stop believing that it is the "rich people's" fault when we have massive federal debt and deficits. This blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the Federal Government and our willingness to allow them to continue to spend like idiots. The federal govt doesn't need to have its hands in all the various cookie jars (and shoiuldn't). The Federal govt should not play the role of our safety net. If we want/need that, set them up locally at the state/county/city level. The Federal govt should have a very specific and limited role (as the forefathers intended).
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If I could mold the government
too practical. where's the Pork, man! THE PORRRRRK!!!
;D
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If I ruled the world, I'd free all my sons. Black diamonds and pearls, if I ruled the world.
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wow imav. next i expect to read about you in the news, about how you disappeared into the woods and lived in a rundown cottage for a few years, then reappeared with a U-haul filled with fertilizer, circling around government buildings...
(http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1996/unabomber/unabomber-fbi.gif)
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The problem is, we ran lean at one time (The Articles of Confederation), and that was an absolute disaster. The country wouldn't have stayed together. The states had too much power, and there was little or no Federal tax, so there was nothing that could be funded at the national-level (armies and such). Things would be a helluva lot simpler if there were no states or no nation. Our country is kinda odd in that regard.
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The problem is, we ran lean at one time (The Articles of Confederation), and that was an absolute disaster. The country wouldn't have stayed together. The states had too much power, and there was little or no Federal tax, so there was nothing that could be funded at the national-level (armies and such). Things would be a helluva lot simpler if there were no states or no nation. Our country is kinda odd in that regard.
this.
dissolving power back to the states would only recreate that former anarchy, and lead to the dissolution of the US (to the delight of our fascist enemies everywhere).
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Actually, we ran lean under the current constitution for quite a while. It's about a BALANCE of power...not shifting to one or the other.
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Programs like unemployment insurance and social security fall under the powers of the Federal government as outlined in the constitution.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
The sort of weak federal government we had under the Articles of Confederation would be an even bigger and quicker disaster today with high-speed communication, travel and integrated global commerce.
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It's about a BALANCE of power...not shifting to one or the other.
i can agree with that in principle, tho prolly our understanding of what constitutes a good balance will probably be a bit different...
I definitely think the fed govt acts as a great balance and as protection for individuals who can appeal to it when they're exploited by any given state govt.
civil rights movement is a great example of that. Individual states would have continued having racist laws if it hadnt been for federal intervention based on the principle of uniform rights for all citizens gauranteed by a federal constitution which did (and ought to) override racist state constitutions in that regard.
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It time to stop believing that it is the "rich people's" fault when we have massive federal debt and deficits. This blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the Federal Government and our willingness to allow them to continue to spend like idiots. The federal govt doesn't need to have its hands in all the various cookie jars (and shoiuldn't). The Federal govt should not play the role of our safety net. If we want/need that, set them up locally at the state/county/city level. The Federal govt should have a very specific and limited role (as the forefathers intended).
This. I agree wholeheartedly with iMav.
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This. I agree wholeheartedly with iMav.
no surprise there. And I think imav just winced ;)
(http://mccormicky.com/tiresome/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/homer-doh.jpg)
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no surprise there. And I think imav just winced ;)
I doubt that. Unlike you, I actually contribute more to this board than pure trolling.
Nice try though.
(http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/10/08/alg_barack_obama_thumbs_up.jpg)
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The biggest problem with the US is that there are too many layers of government: city, state, and federal. We manage the city and state levels very well, for the most part (IL and CA excluded). What we don't manage well is the state to federal relationship. The question, then, becomes do want to be one country or fifty countries? If I live in the US, I want every right that I have in one place to be valid in another. If you shift too many public programs to the states, that won't be the case. At that point, you would have 50 countries, and I don't think very many states would have the ability to defend/sustain itself on its own. The US is unique in this regard. Pretty much all other countries are the "one country" model, thus easier to govern.
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No, it's actually Bud Light. Nobody drinks Lone Star. That's for the tourists; same with Pearl.
Secession is still a popular idea here. We would be one of the only states that would be able to stand alone.
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The biggest problem with the US is that there are too many layers of government: city, state, and federal. We manage the city and state levels very well, for the most part (IL and CA excluded). What we don't manage well is the state to federal relationship. The question, then, becomes do want to be one country or fifty countries? If I live in the US, I want every right that I have in one place to be valid in another. If you shift too many public programs to the states, that won't be the case. At that point, you would have 50 countries, and I don't think very many states would have the ability to defend/sustain itself on its own. The US is unique in this regard. Pretty much all other countries are the "one country" model, thus easier to govern.
Interesting comment.
Look at home gov't and services are layered in Canada. Similar organization, but the power layer holds is different (in decision making power).
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Canada is pretty similar to the US in some ways. You have Quebec, we have Texas. Both want to be their own countries.
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It time to stop believing that it is the "rich people's" fault when we have massive federal debt and deficits...
A big part of the current deficit is caused by the current economic downturn. The economic downturn itself was caused by speculation on exotic financial derivatives traded by financial services firms, and the collapse of the resulting bubble. When the bubble created by the "investment class" collapsed, they came asking for a handout. Privatize the profits, socialize the losses.
The "rich people" are the ones that created this economic disaster, and they're going to do it again.
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Unlike you, I actually contribute more to this board than pure trolling.
This is one of the reasons i love you KBL. You say these things which are so hilariously off the mark that there's nothing to do but smile.
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=13718&stc=1&d=1291143748)
took me a while to count up all those zeroes. And 5 whole wiki contributions! You must have worked really hard that day ;) Talk to me once you've hit 158. And gotten above zero in the other categories. And a firmer grasp on reality ;P
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This is one of the reasons i love you KBL. You say these things which are so hilariously off the mark that there's nothing to do but smile.
took me a while to count up all those zeroes.
The truth is you haven't posted **** about keyboards in months and you know it. The value and usefulness of your videos/mods etc. IMHO is questionable at best. I've seen a lot of FUD spreading by you on here.
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The truth is you haven't posted **** about keyboards in months and you know it. The value and usefulness of your videos/mods etc. IMHO is questionable at best. I've seen a lot of FUD spreading by you on here.
in other words - blah blah blah you're wrong and you cant admit it.
I know you have a man crush on me but come on. I'd respect you a lot more if you can just admit when you're dead wrong.
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in other words - blah blah blah you're wrong and you cant admit it.
In other words, no. The proof of your trolling is already evident and I'm not the only one on this board who has called you out on it. So quit crying and whining.
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And then there's that whole thing about food subsidization for forum trolls, but that might be out of scope for this discussion.
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If I were president.. I'd go.."Wow, how'd that happen?", and resign. Who wants that crap job?
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I'm no supporter of the invasion of Iraq, but given that US troops are around, they might as well stay around until the job of stabilizing the country is properly done. Likewise, the idea that the US and Co. will be able to happily run away from Afghanistan in 3-4 years is naive in the extreme - it took the Brits 30 years in Northern Ireland to pacify far less insane people in a far smaller country - that's what the US can look forward to in some way or another.
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In other words, no. The proof of your trolling is already evident and I'm not the only one on this board who has called you out on it. So quit crying and whining.
thats right kbl, you are the voice of reason here.
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if i were president i'd outlaw atm fees.
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We've already been in Afghanistan longer than Russia was, and look how well it worked out for them.
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We've already been in Afghanistan longer than Russia was, and look how well it worked out for them.
(http://files.sharenator.com/Your_argument_is_invalid_Your_Argument_is_Invalid-s460x617-66326-580.jpg)
I love arguments that make sense.
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Canada is pretty similar to the US in some ways. You have Quebec, we have Texas. Both want to be their own countries.
Except that Quebec can legally do it if they get the votes. States cannot legally secede from the union (hence, the Civil War).
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I'm no supporter of the invasion of Iraq, but given that US troops are around, they might as well stay around until the job of stabilizing the country is properly done. Likewise, the idea that the US and Co. will be able to happily run away from Afghanistan in 3-4 years is naive in the extreme - it took the Brits 30 years in Northern Ireland to pacify far less insane people in a far smaller country - that's what the US can look forward to in some way or another.
Yup you're right. I'm studying the Congo war right now for history class in college in order to write a research paper. It's the worst war since ww2 with the most people dead, yet almost no one knows about it or what happened.
You look at what happens when the world/America ignores these places, you get genocide. It's what happened in Bosnia, Somalia, and Africa. You have people without any education or goals they just end up killing each other. Largely it's a result of interference in the first place and the imperialistic colonies of the West. We can't just wash our hands of it.
The worst case is that after they get done killing each other they start sending terrorists to us which is what happened with Afghanistan. We have a responsibility to these regions to restore peace and nation build them to be stable or it just ends up hurting us in the end. That was what 911 proved.
The problem of course is it makes us the police of the world, pretty much hated by everyone as the police are in a gang/crime ridden neighborhood, and causes us financial hardship, and unable to compete economically with the world since so much our budget goes to defense and the war machine. They can rely on us to protect them, and convert all the money they should be spending on defense themselves into economical and social programs like health care. Really the good nations of the world need to pay us taxes to keep the world stable. We should start charging the world protection fees. lol
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At that point, you would have 50 countries, and I don't think very many states would have the ability to defend/sustain itself on its own. The US is unique in this regard. Pretty much all other countries are the "one country" model, thus easier to govern.
There are plenty of countries smaller than most states that manage to sustain themselves; similarly defence can be managed - often with the use of mutual defence treaties. In fact the CIA world fact book compares the geographic size[0] of a country with US states for comparison - for instance France is slightly smaller than Texas, and the Czech Republic is about the size of South Carolina.
As to the 'one country' model of governance, I can think of three countries off the top of my head which don't fit that model - UK, Spain, and Germany. All of which are comprised of countries that really were separate countries in the past - unlike the states of the US (except for Texas and California).
0: I personally think when comparing countries, it is better by far to compare population sizes - people are by far the most important resource a country has.
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itlnstln is a roll! haahaa
If I were president.. I'd go.."Wow, how'd that happen?", and resign. Who wants that crap job?
LoL!
I hurt my back yesterday and this ^^^ made me laugh so hard it hurts more!
Classic! =)
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japan can have hawaii! who needs that tourist trap
canada and russia can fight for alaska they can divide the palins up equally.
cali and texas can go off on their own!
in fact the US should just be the original 13 colonies and probably just annex florida so we have a place to put the old ppl.
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We can't just wash our hands of it ... We have a responsibility to these regions to restore peace and nation build them to be stable or it just ends up hurting us in the end.
QFT
"A people will forgive you for conquering them if along the way you give them better schools, better roads, and a higher standard of living than they had before. Look at Germany and Japan. A people will not forgive you for conquering them if you then go home to watch the Superbowl."
- writer Daniel Keys Moran, after the first George Bush war.
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If I were the president of the USA... actually, that's useless in more ways than one. I wouldn't settle for anything less than The Dictator of Humanity. I'd be a benevolent one. Mostly. I promise. Mostly.
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I doubt most people here could become President of the Harvard Law Review let alone the US.
I dunno...there's a lot of people here who can "talk" :D
And that seems to be pretty much the only requirement anymore :(
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If I were president.. I'd go.."Wow, how'd that happen?", and resign. Who wants that crap job?
thats the sarah palin school of governmental philosophy.
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If I was prez, there would be black jack and hookers
(http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/128892440977556572.jpg)
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Topic is a bit redundant. You don't get to be president until you've sold out, until you've suckled on the corporate teets, until you've learned to play the game and keep your humanity in a self-sustaining bubble for the little things like taking your kids to the park or boning your wife, while you're being a royal prick at the office.
It's easy to point your finger at things wrong with the political program while your heart's still a healthy shade of red. A worthy re-purposing of this thread would be to list politicians that should not be put to the wall and shot when capitalism turns our world into a frenzied wasteland.
I'm putting spikes on my leather jacket as we speak.
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i could watch clinton all day.
he looks a little emaciated here, that's just him loosing weight and saying oh sh## i'm eating too many burgers.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-16-2010/exclusive---bill-clinton-extended-interview-pt--1 (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-16-2010/exclusive---bill-clinton-extended-interview-pt--1)
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If I was president of the USA I'd apologise for being "that" guy at the party of the world. The obnoxious ****. That drinks to much. Get's belligerent. Breaks other peoples ****. Then tells them it's for their own good.
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Holy crap! I hope you are never president. (I guess you would be a dictator with that power)
If I could mold the government, I'd rectify the excesses of our federal government and reign it back in. Specifically, I'd do the following:
Repeal the 17th ammendment - US Senators are meant to represent the state governments and should be elected by and report to the state legislatures. These massive state-wide elections wasting millions of dollars need to stop. And senators need to do their job and represent their state government interests... not investigate baseball, school lunches, entertain celebrities, etc. Ridiculous.
Slash the size of the Federal Government - Because a need exist doesn't mean it is the federal government's job to fulfill it. Retirement, health care, unemployment subsidies, education, etc, etc should be handled at the state and local level. The federal government should be limited to national defense and inter-state commerce. I would eliminate the majority of the federal government as well as put a cap on how long Congress is in session. When state legislatures are in session, the US Senators should be THERE, not in DC. When they are in DC, they should stay in a barracks and NOT set up residence. Same with US Representatives. Spend the time in your home districts when not in DC (and stay in those same barracks when Congress is in session).
Get rid of the Federal Income Tax - Get rid of this tax and dismantle the huge infrastructure (IRS) that is needed to manage it. Go with either a MODEST national sales tax (my preference) or have each of the states pay a certain, representative sum to the federal government for it's operations. The states can fund their budgets however they like...state income tax, sales taxes, etc. If we don't like how one state does it, we have the choice to move to another state.
Term Limits - Two terms max for all offices. And no retirement plans, special health care plans, etc for members of Congress. Serve your country and then return to the workforce. The president is a special case and should be treated as such (inline with current policy...although I don't see why we need to fund their libraries or allow them to rent out space to secret service agents. They should provide lodging for the secret service...buy a house with a spare bedroom for crying out loud!)
It time to stop believing that it is the "rich people's" fault when we have massive federal debt and deficits. This blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the Federal Government and our willingness to allow them to continue to spend like idiots. The federal govt doesn't need to have its hands in all the various cookie jars (and shoiuldn't). The Federal govt should not play the role of our safety net. If we want/need that, set them up locally at the state/county/city level. The Federal govt should have a very specific and limited role (as the forefathers intended).
I agree with you here, but I'd go a little further. Here's what I would do:
First off, I'd bring back analog TV (I miss my Sony Watchman!). I'd have simply decreased the bandwidth instead of eliminating it altogether. You don't need all that much to fit six channels.
Create a Constitutional amendment restricting budget deficit.
Phase out any welfare at the federal level. Leave that up to the states.
Abolish Obamacare. Leave that up to the states too.
Abolish all public employee unions.
Phase out Social Security. It's getting to the point where you're going to be paying more into the system than you'll be getting out.
Reform the postal service and allow private shipping companies to use US Mail boxes.
NO subsidies/special interest spending till there is a budget surplus that is 120% the amount alotted for such purposes.
A good way to do this is to gradually phase out these welfare programs and give states the opportunity to take over them. In the end, the federal government would be much smaller and more efficient.
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I hope y'all are running for office with all of these wonderful ideas. Your confidence is inspiring.
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- I would pass legislation that would require voters to pass an extensive test about political theory, economic theory, policies and issues before being eligible to vote. I would also pass legislation that would let people vote during one week instead of one day and have one day during that week be a national holiday.
- Legalize gay marriage.
- Let gays serve in the military.
- After that I would use 90% of the defense budget on research and development, and education in order to compete with China.
- I would cut out the middle man and let citizens and corporations loan directly from the fed. Subsidizing the financial sector is ineffective and wasteful.
- In order to cut costs for the federal government and the public I would move to a single payer health care system. I would void all patents related to health care, again cutting costs. Patents should serve the public good.
- In order to boost the creative industry and compete with China I would reduce copyright term and patents to 2-5 years. I would also extend and modify the concept of fair use.
- Private prisons would be removed, the death penalty would be removed. The current prison system would be reformed and more thoroughly regulated. The current crime rate in prison is far too high.
- Reform telecom, broadband regulation in order to increase competition and investments in infrastructure. It's been done in other countries. Force corporations that want to get a license from the government to operate as a telecom to invest a percent of their profit on upgrading infrastructure.
- Regulate the financial industry more. There is still too much risk.
- Force the FBI to focus on corruption within corporations and government(especially police and prisons).
- I would start taxing corporations and millionaires more effectively by removing as many tax loopholes as possible. If you want to operate in the United States you pay taxes in order to fund the infrastructure that you benefit from. I would make the tax code more progressive(the rich pays more) and less regressive(the poor pays more). The rich will still be rich but the poor will be a little less poor.
- Enforce competition in markets where there isn't enough of it. Split up most large corporations into different entities in order to increase competition. Hunt down and destroy cartels more effectively either through legislation or better enforcement. The market isn't as effective when there's monopolies or oligopolies that do not compete.
- I would remove all military bases from the middle east and place them along the border of Mexico. Then build more nuclear power plants in the USA and legalize weed.
- Force Israel and Palestine to create a two state solution more forcefully.
- Cooperate with China in order to force South and North Korea to reunite.
- Stop supporting totalitarian regimes. Stop sending money to Hamid Karzais personal bank account.
- Create legislation that would promote a 6 hour work day. Play farmville at home instead.
- Give Julian Assange a medal.
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- After that I would use 90% of the defense budget on research and development, and education in order to compete with China.
Where would you get the loan from?
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I vote for maclover.
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he didn't say he'd legalise weed. Can't get my vote like that
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he didn't say he'd legalise weed. Can't get my vote like that
Yes she did. Although I agree with that one, Maclover is way too liberal for my tastes...some of her ideas are ridiculous. Spend 90% of the defense budget on R&D? That statement doesn't even make sense. iMav gets my vote =)
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Where would you get the loan from?
Rich people via the IRS :eyebrows:
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I'm printing 2016 stickers right now.
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If I were president I would set out to destroy liberal and conservative elitism at every level of government in this country as well as in the media. It is a cancer in our country.
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Although the question asks "if I were president", people are answering it as "if I were dictator for life". I'll separate mine into three parts: those that actually fall within the powers of the presidency, those that could be accomplished with acts of congress, and those that would require something more complicated, like a constitutional amendment. I'll focus on specific things I'd do, rather than criticizing the tactics or policies of a particular politician or party:
Changes as President:
- Issue an executive order immediately blocking enforcement of DADT and allow gays who have been kicked out under the policy to re-enter service
- Phase out our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the goal of having all US forces home within 1 year
- End security theater like the terrorism "threat" colors, etc.
- Initiate justice department investigations of financial firms and credit rating agencies and banks engaged in foreclosure fraud.
Changes with Congress's help:
- Legalize marijuana and subject it to taxes and regulation.
- End Nixon's "war on drugs" and treat drug addiction as a health-issue.
- Repeal DADT.
- Legalize gay marriage.
- Eliminate ag subsidies.
- Eliminate the gun-show loophole.
- Allow individuals to pay a premium to buy into Medicare early as an alternative to private insurance.
- Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.
- Freeze or cut defense spending. Reduce size of nuclear arsenal, reduce the size of the naval and air force fleets, reduce spending on new weapons programs. Increase emphasis and training for guerrilla-type warfare.
- Reduce number of military contractors; we shouldn't hire mercs to do the jobs of US soldiers.
- Reinstate the estate tax to Clinton era levels. Index the exemption to inflation.
- Make the AMT fix permanent and indexed to inflation. Kicking this can down the road every year is a budget gimmick.
- Treat capital gains and dividends the same as regular income for tax purposes.
- Allow Bush era tax cuts to expire as scheduled for the top tax bracket. Extend the tax cuts for lower brackets.
- Create a new tax bracket at the $1 million level.
- Eliminate the payroll tax and replace it with a carbon tax that raises roughly an equal amount of revenue.
- Eliminate *most* tax loopholes other than child credits, the EITC and education-related deductions. The stupid mortgage deduction goes bye-bye.
- Create a bank tax to reduce the vulnerability of the economy to ****-ups in the financial sector. It'd be like the FDIC, but for large financial firms.
- Create a transaction fee to reduce speculation and get rid of the computerized micro-trading scam.
- Spend half the above revenue gains on an across-the-board reduction in income tax rates, the other half on deficit reduction.
- Stiffer regulation of financial derivatives and credit rating agencies.
- Implement the Volker rule.
- Allow mortgage cram-down for primary residences.
- Put sensible limits on copyright terms.
- Strong net-neutrality regulation.
- Additional nationwide standards for voting integrity; in particular, eliminate paperless touch-screen machines and have a national standard for restoration of the voting rights of convicts who have paid their debt to society.
Requiring a constitutional amendment:
- Abolish the US Senate or give it partially proportional representation (e.g. the smallest states would have one senator, the largest would perhaps have five)
- DC Statehood.
- Pass the ERA.
If I were president I would set out to destroy liberal and conservative elitism at every level of government in this country as well as in the media. It is a cancer in our country.
What does this even mean? Seriously. What is your policy proposal?
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What does this even mean? Seriously. What is your policy proposal?
Don't have one yet...that's the "high level/airplane view" goal. =)
It would be driven through various reforms at various levels. No clue yet what they'd all entail yet.
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i'd put julian assange against the wall and shoot him for treason. Right after thanking him for making the US look pretty damn good with those leaks. Which i'm sure was not his intention. So he's an idiot AND a traitor-anarchist.
And yea i'd do this as a liberal.
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i'd put julian assange against the wall and shoot him for treason. Right after thanking him for making the US look pretty damn good with those leaks. Which i'm sure was not his intention. So he's an idiot AND a traitor-anarchist.
And yea i'd do this as a liberal.
Have you read all 200k+ leaks? If not, how do you know how they make us or anyone else look?
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i'd put julian assange against the wall and shoot him for treason. Right after thanking him for making the US look pretty damn good with those leaks. Which i'm sure was not his intention. So he's an idiot AND a traitor-anarchist.
And yea i'd do this as a liberal.
It's not clear that Assange has committed a crime, let alone treason. He's not even a US citizen, so you'd have to show he's made some attempt to overthrow the Australian government before treason could be considered a reasonable charge. It's probable that the person who originally leaked the information to the intermediaries that delivered it to Assange have committed a crime, but most of the information wasn't even classified...
That's not to excuse what he's done, but summary execution of someone who hasn't even been tried is the kind of thing you'd expect to happen in a tin-pot dictatorship, not in a modern, civilized country. It's certainly not compatible with anything that could be described as liberalism.
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That's not to excuse what he's done, but summary execution of someone who hasn't even been tried is the kind of thing you'd expect to happen in a tin-pot dictatorship, not in a modern, civilized country. It's certainly not compatible with anything that could be described as liberalism.
Agreed. I've long thought Welly's ideals aren't really liberal at all. They seem to lean more towards neo-fascism IMO.
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- Phase out our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the goal of having all US forces home within 1 year
I'm still interested in hearing how this works, or how it would be a good idea...
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why can't the use just take over and subjugate ppl? or give them tiny bits of useless land while we keep all the oil producing lands for ourselves. Afganistand/Iraq? those places don't have oil (well maybe afgan has those rock resources ppl talk about) but we should just take over these lands wrangle all the natives to some plot of worthless land, give them their own laws so they can build casino's.
I mean sound familiar?
then just call in all the texans and say, black gold in dem dar hills go put on your cowboy hat and do your thing, drill baby drill.
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Agreed. I've long thought Welly's ideals aren't really liberal at all. They seem to lean more towards neo-fascism IMO.
funny, thats exactly what i'd say about you. the neo-fascist part ;)
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funny, thats exactly what i'd say about you. the neo-fascist part ;)
And how would you back that claim up exactly?
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It's not clear that Assange has committed a crime, let alone treason. He's not even a US citizen, so you'd have to show he's made some attempt to overthrow the Australian government before treason could be considered a reasonable charge. It's probable that the person who originally leaked the information to the intermediaries that delivered it to Assange have committed a crime, but most of the information wasn't even classified...
That's not to excuse what he's done, but summary execution of someone who hasn't even been tried is the kind of thing you'd expect to happen in a tin-pot dictatorship, not in a modern, civilized country. It's certainly not compatible with anything that could be described as liberalism.
with all due respect, if you dont know how liberals have always used summary executions, then you simply dont know your liberal history my friend. Think, think, think. Summary executions arguably have been done by more people in the name of liberalism than conservatism.
and yea, i say this against fake liberals who do that type of thing and still consider themselves 'righteous'.
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And how would you back that claim up exactly?
I would print up all your posts at GH, place them on a large wooden oak table, and put a large sign in front of it.
The sign would read "Exhibit A" in large block letters.
I'd use a sharpie marker to make the sign.
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I would print up all your posts at GH, place them on a large wooden oak table, and put a large sign in front of it.
The sign would read "Exhibit A" in large block letters.
I'd use a sharpie marker to make the sign.
I'm fairly sure 0% of people with a clue in their brain would agree with you.
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1) Nationalize FED
2) Increse tax for rich
3) Get proper public health-care
etc.
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and yea, for all of assange's idiotic immature pretensions, what the leaks show more than anything is just how careful the west has been, how much dialogue it has pursued, how much restraint it has shown, and how duplicitous arab regimes have been.
Thats an overall win for our side no matter what. It may be assange's retardation wound up helping us rather than hurting, but he still needs to pay if he's broken any laws.
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WHat gets me about assange isnt even whatever laws he's broken. What bothers me far more is the pretension. He's not even a good anarchist since so far he's helped rather than hurt us, and thats surely not his intention.
you see? its the incompetence that bothers me far more than any illegality. He couldnt even finish what he set out to do, as an idiotic anarchist. He wasnt even a good idiotic anarchist. THATS what bothers me most about him. He's just incompetent. But wants to be seen as a historical hero.
He's like the sarah palin of journalism.
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Right so...you have read all of the 200k+ leaks? So you are qualified to talk about this?
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Although the question asks "if I were president", people are answering it as "if I were dictator for life". I'll separate mine into three parts: those that actually fall within the powers of the presidency, those that could be accomplished with acts of congress, and those that would require something more complicated, like a constitutional amendment. I'll focus on specific things I'd do, rather than criticizing the tactics or policies of a particular politician or party:
...
Fwiffo for president, but:
- Reinstate the estate tax ...
There exist 2 kinds of taxes. Tax relative to income/expense and tax relative to estate. The first one bites off a portion of your earned money, the 2nd eats up your estate. The estate tax is great for rich people/firms, becuase they can cheaply take over the ramains of the poorer ones that can't afford the estate tax anymore.
Think of a keyboard manufacturer which currently sells only some keyboards to enthusiasts once in a while and has to pay tax for their factory.
Taxes which eat up your substance are bad!
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All those leaks aren't even out yet? Still, this is what you get for letting 2,5 million persons to read stuff... What can you realy espect?
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All those leaks aren't even out yet? Still, this is what you get for letting 2,5 million persons to read stuff... What can you realy espect?
When I looked at wikileaks.org (http://wikileaks.org/) yesterday you could browse and download them. Not sure if they're still up because I heard they've been having some server issues...
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Like Amazon dumping the site.
That said, I don't think the leak is any way, shape, or form illegal (except for the person that gave the documents to WikiLeaks). WikiLeaks is doing what pretty much any news organization might with the same info. Just ask the NY Times. If WikiLeaks is doing anything illegal, they would have been arrested already. The only thing INTERPOL has on anyone is some sex crime allegations on Assange. Treason would certainly be out of the question since WikiLeaks is not a US firm.
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When I looked at wikileaks.org (http://wikileaks.org/) yesterday you could browse and download them. Not sure if they're still up because I heard they've been having some server issues...
I have understood that they haven't even released all of them, they are giving out a few hundred each day. So they can maximise the media output...
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i'd put julian assange against the wall and shoot him for treason. Right after thanking him for making the US look pretty damn good with those leaks. Which i'm sure was not his intention. So he's an idiot AND a traitor-anarchist.
And yea i'd do this as a liberal.
LOL, if wikileaks was able to get those documents, be sure some secret services from other countries had them before.
Assange and friends just made something public which had been public amongst secret services already.
The real traitors are those, who leaked out all that information to the US State Department.
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Looks like they're Edit:NOT still up (http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/).
EDIT: The below links were working yesterday but are now dead.
[strike]You can browse by:[/strike]
Origin and classification (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/Cablesbyorigin/CablesbyOrigin)
Subject (http://oos.tableausoftware.com/contentnotfound/views/tags/Subject)
Country (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Country)
Organization (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Organization)
Program (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Program)
Topic (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Alltags)
[strike]...better get reading Welly![/strike]
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1. Invent time machine.
2. Go back in time and assassinate myself.
3. Bask in the knowledge of being the only president to have assassinated himself, before the LOLPARADOX overcomes the universe.
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Looks like they're still up (http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/). You can browse by:
Origin and classification (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/Cablesbyorigin/CablesbyOrigin)
Subject (http://oos.tableausoftware.com/contentnotfound/views/tags/Subject)
Country (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Country)
Organization (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Organization)
Program (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Program)
Topic (http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Alltags)
...better get reading Welly!
Look at upper left corner
Curently Released So Far...
607/251,687
"A few" to go...
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@wellington1869: You've accused both myself and keyboardlover of being fascists. Can you actually cite an example of of something we've suggested that is consistent with fascism? Or do you just throw around ideological labels like liberalism, conservatism, fascism, anarchism, etc. arbitrarily in place of an actual argument? Do you know what any of these words mean?
The estate tax is great for rich people/firms, becuase they can cheaply take over the ramains of the poorer ones that can't afford the estate tax anymore.
The estate tax only affects the very wealthy. The first million dollars of the estate are excluded from the tax. If that turns out to affect too many "middle-class" families, the exemption could be increased.
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He's like the sarah palin of journalism.
that the only reason Bristol was on the show was because Sarah Palin forced her to do it.”
Why would this happen? Margaret says “Sarah supposedly blames Bristol harshly and openly (in the circles that I heard it from) for not winning the election, and so she told Bristol she ‘owed’ it to her to do DWTS so that ‘America would fall in love with her again’ and make it possible for Sarah Palin to run in 2012 with America behind her all the way. Instead of being supposedly ‘handicapped’ by the presence of her teen mom daughter, now Bristol is going to be an ‘asset’ — a celebrity beloved for her dancing.”
looks like the milf will be on the ballot! submit all your "if i was a president requests" to s.palain@icanseerussionfromhere.com
@wellington1869: You've accused both myself and keyboardlover of being fascists. Can you actually cite an example of of something we've suggested that is consistent with fascism? Or do you just throw around ideological labels like liberalism, conservatism, fascism, anarchism, etc. arbitrarily in place of an actual argument? Do you know what any of these words mean?
of course he doesn't, prolly just heard other college kids throwing these words around and decided to re-use them to sound cool. I mean only idiots label other ppl "one thing". Unless it's true? about the idiot part.
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Or do you just throw around ideological labels like liberalism, conservatism, fascism, anarchism, etc. arbitrarily in place of an actual argument?
He throws around a lot of things arbitrarily in place of actual arguments. When this starts to annoy me I usually reply with funny pics, which results in many lulz, Welly getting annoyed and threatening to do me harm via PM, and his thread getting a 5 star rating. It could be worse...
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i will 5 star too!
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He throws around a lot of things arbitrarily in place of actual arguments. When this starts to annoy me I usually reply with funny pics, which results in many lulz, Welly getting annoyed and threatening to do me harm via PM, and his thread getting a 5 star rating. It could be worse...
LOL, post the threats here. I bet they're pretty funny.
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LOL, post the threats here. I bet they're pretty funny.
Maybe...at least I laughed when I read it:
I'm glad you stopped with those pics, because i'm serious about giving my life meaning man. I dont respond well to being singled out by trolls like that. Not well at all. You never know who you'll meet online.
Edit: it's fairly ambiguous but the intent to intimidate me is quite lulz-worthy :D
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the really funny part is that for a little while it actually worked. He actually left me alone for a few wees.
but the best part was when I got him to friend me afterwards :)
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the really funny part is that for a little while it actually worked. He actually left me alone for a few wees.
but the best part was when I got him to friend me afterwards :)
Neither of those things actually happened. I continued replying to posts in your thread until it was closed, by you.
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Nothing specific to kbl and welly, but I would prefer if people do not make PMs public. They are "P" for a reason. That is, unless both people decide it's OK.
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The cables were considered private too. I'm just like Julian Assange!
Maclover should give me a medal...
...but according to Welly I should be hung for treason. Thank goodness he doesn't know my address.
Eep.
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No. You would be like the Army guy who leaked them to Assange. Now if you sent them to me and I posted them, that would be similar.
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No. You would be like the Army guy who leaked them to Assange. Now if you sent them to me and I posted them, that would be similar.
Dammit! You dream destroyer, you!
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never mind kbl's total lack of morals when it comes to messaging, here's the funny part: it worked. He actually left me alone for a few weeks after that! Seems like its time for me to send him another pm.
The really funny part tho is when I got him to 'friend' me afterwards ;)
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and fwiffo my friend, yea, you're no liberal. I dont know what you are, but you're not a liberal.
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He actually left me alone for a few weeks after that! Seems like its time for me to send him another pm.
The really funny part tho is when I got him to 'friend' me afterwards ;)
Right, but like I said, neither of those things actually happened. So on top of everything else, you're completely delusional too. Much like a typical dictator.
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and fwiffo my friend, yea, you're no liberal. I dont know what you are, but you're not a liberal.
how can ppl even be completely one way or another on certain issues? just makes no sense, in effect it basically is a caveman way of thinking.
some issues ppl have to have a conservative opinion while on other issues they should have a liberal opinion, to just be completely one sided cuz that's the idealogy you belong to or the party you belong to serves to purpose than just labeling yourself a sheep.
bahhhh.
for instance this wikileaks serves no purpose, they're just putting documents out there, it's like "oh look i found a box of secret documents here you go"
much different than a whistle blower who is intent on exposing specific information that is usually involving corporate misdeeds.
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Political Identities:
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMWcxoKiaWi6ZtcjI1X5Yq93k1BigQX_5_9lOi3_Kb7yCMg8OwuQ)
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and fwiffo my friend, yea, you're no liberal. I dont know what you are, but you're not a liberal.
On what specific issues discussed have I been significantly outside of mainstream American liberalism? I want to know what you think liberalism is so that we can actually converse using common terms. Can you cite some examples of well-known politicians you consider liberal so that I can compare my positions on the issues?
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This reminds me of the "Plethora" scene in Blazing Saddles.
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The house just passed component of my tax plan, but 168 Republicans just voted for higher taxes! What's up with that?
(http://oi53.tinypic.com/245wk6o.jpg)
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Assange is a hero.
Kennedy agrees.
Benjamin Franklin agrees.
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Roosevelt agrees.
“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people,”
“To destroy this invisible government, to befoul this unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of statesmanship.”
If you believe in a free market, capitalism or democracy you must agree that the market or people require information in order to make informed decisions.
Apple is of course the exception to the rule.
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I had to ignore thousands of geeks at the iPad launch and push the "buy" button.
:) you kept your cool surprisingly well, as i recall
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If I were the president...
...I'd make sure not to be like this guy.
(http://www.obamajoke.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/barack-obama-funny.jpg)
Oprah's really looking like she's got a crush on Obama...
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Obama is so weak at his position he brings a former president to speak for him.
what a wimp
And damn Clinton just takes charge, really wish i had this presence.
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Nothing specific to kbl and welly, but I would prefer if people do not make PMs public. They are "P" for a reason. That is, unless both people decide it's OK.
If anybody sends me a threatening message by E-mail or by a PM, it will be made public so fast the sender's head will spin.
Unless it's serious enough that I forward it to the police instead.
Otherwise, I do respect the privacy of PM's and personal E-mail messages - thus, when people have given me helpful suggestions by E-mail, I've asked their permission before giving them credit.
But privacy does not apply when people are making threats or otherwise misusing E-mail or messaging.
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Thanks Quadibloc - agreed, and that's exactly why I did it.
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Do ppl even use PM's? i can understand
pm me for special code
pm for sale
pm! omg we catch up
but really? i mean i used to admin a few websites, barely got a pm a month.
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Do ppl even use PM's? i can understand
pm me for special code
pm for sale
pm! omg we catch up
but really? i mean i used to admin a few websites, barely got a pm a month.
Heh. You would be amazed at my inbox. I jokingly refer to my daily PM reading as my part-time job. (not complaining at all...I'm glad that members feel comfortable asking questions, coming to me with requests, etc)
PM get used a LOT here at geekhack. it was apparent early on that members needed a lot more space for their PM's and I accommodated. (used to get requests all the time to increase the PM quotas due to members regularly maxing out their PM inbox)
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I get more PM's here than I get e-mails.
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Compromise: giving the other guys more than what they asked for.
(http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/GR2010120808056_thumb_454x432_30750.gif)