Political Matrix

[DavidRoss]

I'm 1/2 Scottish, 3/8 English, 1/16th German and 1/16th Cherokee. 

Ah...a typical American (though many of us also claim forebears of Spanish, Bantu, Hindu, Arab, Athabaskan, Nilotic, Chinese, Polynesian, Scandinavian, Slavic, even Basque descent!).  Personally, I think the cultural and ethnic diversity of Americans is among our greatest strengths, treasures, and delights...though as long as we keep electing demagogues who aim to divide and rule us by focusing on our differences instead of our similarities, the more likely we are to disintegrate rather than meld into one nation, and the more likely we are to lose the blessings that all too many of us take for granted.

[Todd]

As I understand the situation, inflation hasn't hit because most of the money isn't actually in circulation; the various banks are keeping it on deposit with the Fed instead of actually making loans with it, etc.  But I do know that plenty of the things I buy weekly at the grocery, etc. have gone up in price at least a little bit over the last year.

Also, you may not be aware of easy it is for the gov't to manipulate the CPI by changing the items in the basket of goods they use to calculate it.   I work for a major department store.  During the 90s , a woman would come in once a month and check some items to see what the prices were, and if any prices had changed;  this was part of the research involved in determining the CPI.   

Still going on about the money supply?  Can you please answer my question from earlier, and if I missed it, reanswer it?  Which measure of the money supply has doubled? 

Now I notice that you said that the price of plenty of things you buy has gone up over the last year.  Is that a new situation, or have you noticed that before?

As to CPI, of course the components are changed over time.  How else would prices be tracked over decades?  People do not use the same household items they did fifty years ago, for instance, so substitutes must be found.  I dare say that the common items have even changed perceptibly over the past decade.

And the CPI can be tricky.  Take the case of a computer.  Take computer A, which ten years ago was near top of the line and cost $1500 and take computer B, which is near top of the line top today and costs $2000.  That's a 33% price increase, right?  Well, if the computer has 25 times the processing power, 30 times the storage, dozens of free software titles that did not exist, and comes with ancillaries that are far superior to what existed ten years ago, is that really inflation? 

Your post very clearly implies that the government manipulates CPI to make numbers look good, which is a serious implication, so something more substantive should be offered.

[Saul]

Why this whole race thing is flawed and false.

Those racists believe that Jews are not 'white'... even though I don't hold of the concept of 'races', still their assertion is based on complete hate bereft of facts and reality.

If these following Jews are not 'White' just like any other European, then all these racists must be immediately institutionalized in mental hospitals for the mentally deranged, and delusional.

I personally was never treated by anyone ever other then a regular white person. My entire family came from Europe and we can trace our European background for 2600 years. That's HOW LONG Jews have lived in the Republic of Georgia. Also many of my family members and relatives have blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, and can't be distinguished by any means from other Europeans.

This further demonstrates the delusional aspect of the entire Race thing, forgetting completely, that physical features has to do with the climate  different people were exposed to for such a long time, and has nothing to do with superiority. Don't forget that some of the greatest and powerful civilizations were in Africa, they were more advanced then most people, and they had great empires that ruled all over the world, hardly an inferior, motif.

Some Jews:


Jennifer Connelly



Natalie Portman



Scarlett Johansson




Bar Refaeli



Esti Ginzburg



Nina Brosh

[DavidRoss]

Some Jews:

Saul offers some powerful arguments that should convince even the most ardent racists of the virtues of miscegenation!

[Josquin des Prez]

How well does a Caucasian tobacco farmer who only listens to popular C&W and doesn't read anything more challenging than USA today represent the values and arts of Western Civilization, as opposed to an Asian-American, Indian American, Hispanic American, or  African American who performs in a widely respected symphony orchestra, or is writing a PhD thesis on Aristotle?  Are these also quantifiable?   Who is the most white, and who is doing the best job to preserve western culture?

It depends on how you define "civilization". If you accept the Spenglerian model, there are going to be obvious differences between civilization as a breathing, living entity, and civilization as defined by an inert materialistic world outlook. In the latter sense, race is obviously not going to make much of a difference. In the first instance, race means almost everything.

[Josquin des Prez]

Why this whole race thing is flawed and false.

Those racists believe that Jews are not 'white'... even though I don't hold of the concept of 'races', still their assertion is based on complete hate bereft of facts and reality.

If these following Jews are not 'White' just like any other European, then all these racists must be immediately be institutionalized in mental hospitals for the mentally deranged, and delusional.

I personally was never treated by anyone ever other then a regular white person. My entire family came from Europe and we can trace our European background for 2600 years. That's HOW LONG Jews have lived in the Republic of Georgia. Also many of my family members and relatives have blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, and can't be distinguished by any means from other Europeans.

This further demonstrates the delusional aspect of the entire Race thing, forgetting completely, that physical features has to do with the climate  different people were exposed to for such a long time, and has nothing to do with superiority. Don't forget that some of the greatest and powerful civilizations were in Africa, they were more advanced then most people, and they had great empires that ruled all over the world, hardly an inferior, motif.

Well....



Jokes aside, you are making the fallacy of confusing race with aesthetics. Phenotypes can of course be used to indicate racial grouping but racial differentiation in a metaphysical sense is truly a question of soul more then bodily characteristics. Are Jews metaphysically European? Yes and no, but i don't feel like getting into that argument at the moment.

[Saul]

Well....



Jokes aside, you are making the fallacy of confusing race with aesthetics. Phenotypes can of course be used to indicate racial grouping but racial differentiation in a metaphysical sense is truly a question of soul more then bodily characteristics. Are Jews metaphysically European? Yes and no, but i don't feel like getting into that argument at the moment.

Lol, your taking Johansson the tenager, and comparing it to a recent photo.
So what's your point? she still looks way more stunning then the regular white person in the street, even whiter then most whites.

If Scarlett Johansson the Jewish Beauty is not White, then there are no white people in the world:

[jowcol]

It depends on how you define "civilization". If you accept the Spenglerian model, there are going to be obvious differences between civilization as a breathing, living entity, and civilization as defined by an inert materialistic world outlook. In the latter sense, race is obviously not going to make much of a difference. In the first instance, race means almost everything.

But if the former is an abstraction, (since it cannot be objectively and deterministically defined ) why drag the material science of genetics into it?   That would be a materialistic outlook- ergo, in your own words, "race is obviously not going to make much of a difference".

[Josquin des Prez]

Lol, your taking Johansson the tenager, and comparing it to a recent photo.

Mmmh, no. That's pre-surgery and after surgery.

[Saul]

Mmmh, no. That's pre-surgery and after surgery.

She has never done a surgery. You're dreaming.
If Scarlett Johansson the Jewish Beauty is not White, then there are no white people in the world:
And if you want me to give you a huge list Jews like her, be my guest...

[drogulus]

It depends on how you define "civilization". If you accept the Spenglerian model, there are going to be obvious differences between civilization as a breathing, living entity, and civilization as defined by an inert materialistic world outlook. In the latter sense, race is obviously not going to make much of a difference. In the first instance, race means almost everything.

     But a civilization isn't literally a living, breathing entity. Even someone as devoted to lifeless abstractions as you appear to be should see that civilization is at best figuratively a living, breathing entity. That is, it isn't alive, it doesn't breathe, and it's an abstract entity. It's typical of 19th century philosophers to mistake ideas like this for the concrete, so you would read about the Absolute, and what kind of a thing it is. What kind is it  really? The nothing kind.

     Incidentally, you might notice that it's remarkably easy to kill people for the Aryan race, or the Tutsis, or this god vs that one (usually and falsely portrayed as one version of the "one true" vs another, false because no distinction exists there). Do you know why? I do. It's because when you escalate a dispute to the metaphysical level (gods, races, etc.), no fact of the matter can help to adjudicate. Nothing, that is, except force. Only violence can render a verdict between absolutists.

    You are correct that we have a choice about how to view civilization, so let's invent one that does less harm than yours. We invented civilization, so we are free to say what it is, within reason. We can say that the concept of civilization we want ought to include people of different races and beliefs, not only because that's a good way for people to live (people think so), but because they are less motivated to kill each other if the reasons for doing so are disabled. I'm talking about the reasons that can't be compromised away.

[Josquin des Prez]

But if the former is an abstraction, (since it cannot be objectively and deterministically defined ) why drag the material science of genetics into it?   That would be a materialistic outlook- ergo, in your own words, "race is obviously not going to make much of a difference".

Because people who object to the idea of race usually start by denying the physical reality of race. You can argue that the nation of America is an abstraction as well, but if you were to replace every single American with a population composed entirely of Japanese people, there is no question the national character of America would change drastically almost overnight. But then, if you were to deny the existence of any real differences between the American people and the Japanese, there would be no leg to stand on if you wanted to object to such a cultural change.

[Saul]

Hey Prez,

Did this Jew considered in Europe as"The most beautiful woman in Europe" also went through a surgery?
LOL where do you get off?

Hedy Lamarr

Wikipedia:

"Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, to Jewish parents Gertrud (née Lichtwitz), a pianist and Budapest native who came from the "Jewish haute bourgeoisie", and Lemberg-born Emil Kiesler, a successful bank director.[2][3] She studied ballet and piano at age 10. When she worked with Max Reinhardt in Berlin, he called her the "most beautiful woman in Europe". Soon the teenage girl played major roles in German movies, alongside stars like Heinz Rühmann and Hans Moser".

[jowcol]

Jokes aside, you are making the fallacy of confusing race with aesthetics. Phenotypes can of course be used to indicate racial grouping but racial differentiation in a metaphysical sense is truly a question of soul more then bodily characteristics.

If you are concerned about race from a metaphysical sense, as you stated above,  that it is "more truly a " question of soul more then bodily characteristics. ",  and not focusing on materialistic aspects, then physical differentiation is moot, is it not?   

It's nice to hear you echo the spirit of Dr. King's "I have a Dream" speech, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." 

[Teresa]

And whose "progressive" state best exemplified the Teresan ideal:  Stalin, Tito, Mao, Castro, or Pol Pot?

Actually none of these as they are all Dictatorships (Yuck)!

The IDEAL is completely Democracy (one person, one vote) with no Corporate involvement and a complete Bill of Rights including the Economic Bill of Rights.  This can ONLY be done and maintained under a democracy.  Your equating econicomic democracy with twisted dictatorships who abuse their people is an insult beyond measure.   

[Scarpia]

Actually none of these as they are all Dictatorships (Yuck)!

The IDEAL is completely Democracy (one person, one vote) with no Corporate involvement and a complete Bill of Rights including the Economic Bill of Rights.  This can ONLY be done and maintained under a democracy.  Your equating econicomic democracy with twisted dictatorships who abuse their people is an insult beyond measure.   

It has never occurred to you that the requirement that every person must be given a job can only be enforced in a total dictatorship?  Who is going to enforce this rule in a "democracy?"

[Todd]

Actually none of these as they are all Dictatorships (Yuck)!

Ah, Tito it is.  (The yuck gave it away.)

[Scarpia]

Ah, Tito it is.  (The yuck gave it away.)

Now that Michael's gone, it's Jermaine.

[Teresa]

It has never occurred to you that the requirement that every person must be given a job can only be enforced in a total dictatorship?  Who is going to enforce this rule in a "democracy?"

WRONG FULL DEMOCRACY IS REQUIRED (one person, one vote, uncorrupted by corporate involvement) WITH A FULL ECONOMIC BILL OF RIGHTS!

The government just as it enforces all other rules and laws, since this is the most important one of all!

Here is how to get 100% employment NOW!

At 10% Unemployment all one would need to do is adjust the workweek from 40 hours to 36 hours. 

At 20% Unemployment all one would need to do is adjust the workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours.

from: An Economic Bill of Rights

"30-Hour Work Week: A 6-hour day with no cut in pay for the bottom 80% of the pay scale."

Of course with a 30 hour work week we would have a labor shortage but that might be good for workers.  With a labor shortage we can gain back the losses given over to past three decades.  In the 1960's a family of four could be supported by one income, now it requires two.

[DavidRoss]

I'm reminded of the poor gal who, when arrested for writing checks with insufficient funds to cover her drafts, protested indignantly "How can I be possibly be out of money?  I still have plenty of checks!"