WARNING - Do NOT enter this thread if you are easily "offended" by words.

[tucsonjayce]

OK I'll chime in

It is true that all contentious people are not brilliant and that all brilliant people are not contentious.

I have had moments of both brilliance and contentiousness. I'm not claiming to be brilliant my IQ is only 137. My contentiousness is usually aroused when principles are involved that I hold dear or in situations where there are certain principles that are supposed to guide our actions (act within the defined parameter, not without - if you want to do something outside the parameters then change the parameters to include what you are doing).

Contention is different than attacking anyone personally. While I find some things that Mitch has espoused extremely distasteful, he is entitled to speak his mind (as long as it isn't incitement to do harm). I have also found things he said to be illuminating. That being said, I feel no animus towards him. I will not participate in anything that gets personal and down and dirty. Let us debate in the spirit of intellectual enlightenment. We can strongly disagree, even raise our voices, but please never denigrate another.

So let the contentious and the non-contentious, the left winger and the right winger, the moderate, the religious, agnostic and atheist, the foreign and native, the white, black, red, brown and yellow (please don't take any offense at the colors, I mean none), the straight, bisexual and gay, young and old meet and discuss whatever may come our way.

Yours always

Jayce

 

[mitch768292]

It is true that all contentious people are not brilliant and that all brilliant people are not contentious.

I have had moments of both brilliance and contentiousness. I'm not claiming to be brilliant my IQ is only 137. My contentiousness is usually aroused when principles are involved that I hold dear or in situations where there are certain principles that are supposed to guide our actions (act within the defined parameter, not without - if you want to do something outside the parameters then change the parameters to include what you are doing).

Contention is different than attacking anyone personally. While I find some things that Mitch has espoused extremely distasteful, he is entitled to speak his mind (as long as it isn't incitement to do harm). I have also found things he said to be illuminating. That being said, I feel no animus towards him. I will not participate in anything that gets personal and down and dirty. Let us debate in the spirit of intellectual enlightenment. We can strongly disagree, even raise our voices, but please never denigrate another.

So let the contentious and the non-contentious, the left winger and the right winger, the moderate, the religious, agnostic and atheist, the foreign and native, the white, black, red, brown and yellow (please don't take any offense at the colors, I mean none), the straight, bisexual and gay, young and old meet and discuss whatever may come our way.

Yours always

Jayce

I would say you are brilliant. When I was tested, a long time ago, I scored 128 and the psychologist said that I was in the top 25% of college educated males in the U.S. So 137 is up there and something to be proud of.

 

[slimvintage]

I would say you are brilliant. When I was tested, a long time ago, I scored 128 and the psychologist said that I was in the top 25% of college educated males in the U.S. So 137 is up there and something to be proud of.

I thought the Stanford Benet Intelligence Quotient Test was actually fairly inaccurate when taken after about the age of 6 or 7. Does anyone know?

 

[slimvintage]

It is true that all contentious people are not brilliant and that all brilliant people are not contentious.

I have had moments of both brilliance and contentiousness. I'm not claiming to be brilliant my IQ is only 137. My contentiousness is usually aroused when principles are involved that I hold dear or in situations where there are certain principles that are supposed to guide our actions (act within the defined parameter, not without - if you want to do something outside the parameters then change the parameters to include what you are doing).

Contention is different than attacking anyone personally. While I find some things that Mitch has espoused extremely distasteful, he is entitled to speak his mind (as long as it isn't incitement to do harm). I have also found things he said to be illuminating. That being said, I feel no animus towards him. I will not participate in anything that gets personal and down and dirty. Let us debate in the spirit of intellectual enlightenment. We can strongly disagree, even raise our voices, but please never denigrate another.

So let the contentious and the non-contentious, the left winger and the right winger, the moderate, the religious, agnostic and atheist, the foreign and native, the white, black, red, brown and yellow (please don't take any offense at the colors, I mean none), the straight, bisexual and gay, young and old meet and discuss whatever may come our way.

Yours always

Jayce

LBJ once famously spoke to contentiousness:

I'd rather have a son of a bitch on the inside of the tent pissin' out than the outside pissin' in.

Or maybe it was more than once.

 

[mitch768292]

 

[mitch768292]

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

 

[GreatLakes2]

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

I cannot afford an army to protect me, but I pay taxes to the govt and in terms of defense and security, I am getting more than my money's worth back. Should we shut down the country's defenses?

Likewise, I can't afford a personal fire department. But if my house was on fire, once again I am getting back more than I put in. Are fire fighters part of a socialist regime?

I pay school taxes. A freaking lot of school taxes. I have no children in the school system and never will. Should we condemn the public school system for unfair distribution of wealth?

We all get some unearned benefit from the govt. I understand these were not the benefits you were referring to, but you opened the door by using the word 'Every.'

Are you advocating anarchy? Every man for himself? Rugged individualism? Can you hear me all the way back in 1770? Once a govt is formed for the common good, we have some degree of socialism. It is just a matter of degrees. Should we all chip in to put out the fire at the Smith house? Sure. Should we all chip in so the Smith kids have a decent education so they can be productive members of society? Sure. Should we all chip in so Mrs Smith can have elective surgery? Hmmm, maybe not. Should we all chip in to pay the Smith's car payment? No, that is not our responsibility.

It is all where we draw the line.

 

[Jayman01]

"BAIL EM OUT!" ????​

Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we're trusting the economy of our country and our banking system to the same nitwits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey!"
No comments necessary!!​

My cousin sent me that and I laughed my ass off...

 

[tucsonjayce]

Can we have our money back?

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

I seem to remember a post concerning Florida not having a state income tax. So I guess that floridians are not being extorted to their fullest potential. That being said Florida's 2009-2010 budget relies on $23B from the feds (primarily non floridians). Additionally Florida could receive another $12.2B from the stimulus package. Maybe Florida should give back all that extorted money. I wonder if there wouldn't be an income tax in Florida after that.

Taxes are the price we pay for civilization. We should all get used to it.

Always yours,

Jayce

 

[mitch768292]

I cannot afford an army to protect me, but I pay taxes to the govt and in terms of defense and security, I am getting more than my money's worth back. Should we shut down the country's defenses?

Likewise, I can't afford a personal fire department. But if my house was on fire, once again I am getting back more than I put in. Are fire fighters part of a socialist regime?

I pay school taxes. A freaking lot of school taxes. I have no children in the school system and never will. Should we condemn the public school system for unfair distribution of wealth?

We all get some unearned benefit from the govt. I understand these were not the benefits you were referring to, but you opened the door by using the word 'Every.'

Are you advocating anarchy? Every man for himself? Rugged individualism? Can you hear me all the way back in 1770? Once a govt is formed for the common good, we have some degree of socialism. It is just a matter of degrees. Should we all chip in to put out the fire at the Smith house? Sure. Should we all chip in so the Smith kids have a decent education so they can be productive members of society? Sure. Should we all chip in so Mrs Smith can have elective surgery? Hmmm, maybe not. Should we all chip in to pay the Smith's car payment? No, that is not our responsibility.

It is all where we draw the line.

DISCLAIMER for Broke Straight Boys NON-OFFENSIVE/NO-INSULT POLICY: This post is in no way intended to offend, insult, humiliate or degrade any person(s) imaginary or real, living or dead, in any way, manner, shape, or form: regardless of ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), race, creed, origin, age, gender, sexual preference, diet, weight, complexion, penis size, daily orange juice intake, consumption of red meat, addiction to Viagra, ability to skateboard, inability to spell, AA membership, inability to construct a logical sentence, inability to speak or write French, lack of good taste in fashion, being English challenged, native language, type of automobile owned, frequency of intercourse, previous condition of servitude, masturbatory preferences, intelligence (or lack thereof), or handicap. This posting represents only the personal opinions and/or sexual fetishes of the author and should be interpreted as nothing more than the deranged rantings of a pitiful aging fag.
(Did I leave anything or anybody out? Did I humble myself enough? Are we covered on everything? PC enough?)


Essential services, those envisioned by the founding fathers, are what you are talking about. Providing for the common defense being the most important one. I am all for that. By the way, the second quote came from Any Rand.

I think the public schools should be closed and vouchers given to families so they can have free choice and get their kids a decent education. I deal with young people, and older people for that matter, who went to private school and they are, as a group, always smarter, more literate, and more successful. The curriculum in public schools around her is a joke and so are the teaching methods. My niece and nephew are in private school and always will be. They are safe there and they are getting an incredible education. I can easily see my nephew going to Oxford or the Sorbonne for college, or anywhere else he wants to go.

 

[mitch768292]

I seem to remember a post concerning Florida not having a state income tax. So I guess that floridians are not being extorted to their fullest potential. That being said Florida's 2009-2010 budget relies on $23B from the feds (primarily non floridians). Additionally Florida could receive another $12.2B from the stimulus package. Maybe Florida should give back all that extorted money. I wonder if there wouldn't be an income tax in Florida after that.

Taxes are the price we pay for civilization. We should all get used to it.

Always yours,

Jayce

I don't follow that argument? The stimulus money is a sort of refund of federal taxes back to the states for the benefit of their citizens who paid those taxes. So not having a state income tax has little to do with anything. IF however, the feds were pumping in money to make up their deficit, if they had one (I don't know), I would oppose that absolutely. Of course I oppose that stimulus package all the way around, a bunch of pork. Like President Eisenhower said: "The government cannot give anything to the people which it has not first taken from them." Instead of the govenment giving federal tax money away, why not cut the taxes and let people spend their money the way they want? If they had all that tax money back in their pocket I am sure that the American people would spend it. Like I said on another post, that stimulus package was enough to give every human being in the U.S. a check for $36,000. Why not just do that? When we spend it we will create jobs and generate sales taxes for the states. And the people who get the new jobs will pay income taxes back to the feds and the states that have an income tax. I could stimulate the economy a bit if the government gave back half of what I had to pay the greedy bastards last year. I would by a new car, a GM car, a new Cadillac, so a union worker could maybe keep his job and feed his family.

 

[mitch768292]

"bail em out!" ????​

hell, back in 1990, the government seized the mustang ranch brothel in nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we're trusting the economy of our country and our banking system to the same nitwits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey!"
no comments necessary!!​

my cousin sent me that and i laughed my ass off...

amen, amen, amen, amen!!!!!!

 

[parisnoyd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL3C_eAtlS0

LOL! Jayman! I didn't know there were so many Go to Hell songs! LOL!! Rock on!

 

[mitch768292]

Paris, I am coming to see you.... he he he!

 

[mitch768292]

FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS......

 

[tucsonjayce]

Would you want to live in Florida if....

I don't follow that argument? The stimulus money is a sort of refund of federal taxes back to the states for the benefit of their citizens who paid those taxes. So not having a state income tax has little to do with anything. IF however, the feds were pumping in money to make up their deficit, if they had one (I don't know), I would oppose that absolutely. Of course I oppose that stimulus package all the way around, a bunch of pork. Like President Eisenhower said: "The government cannot give anything to the people which it has not first taken from them." Instead of the govenment giving federal tax money away, why not cut the taxes and let people spend their money the way they want? If they had all that tax money back in their pocket I am sure that the American people would spend it. Like I said on another post, that stimulus package was enough to give every human being in the U.S. a check for $36,000. Why not just do that? When we spend it we will create jobs and generate sales taxes for the states. And the people who get the new jobs will pay income taxes back to the feds and the states that have an income tax. I could stimulate the economy a bit if the government gave back half of what I had to pay the greedy bastards last year. I would by a new car, a GM car, a new Cadillac, so a union worker could maybe keep his job and feed his family.

Let's put aside the Stimulus money for a moment. What kind of services would be available in Florida if it didn't receive that $23B that Uncle Sam sends it? (Florida already had to cut over $2B because of decreased revenue.) And that $23B is a little over 1/4 of Florida's spending. I think at some point (even over your objections) Florida would institute some "revenue enhancements" (ie new taxes, maybe even an income tax) if that money wasn't there. Now to stimulus money, while there is money to create jobs in the 12.2B that Florida is going to receive, some of that money will go towards filling the gap between budgets and decreasing revenue. So if it weren't there, there would either be service cuts OR revenue enhancements. Less education, police on patrol, firefighters manning the stations, etc. So yes, we could reduce our federal tax burden but there would be a greater tax burden imposed on us by our individual states (simple math $23B over 300 million people vs $23B over 17 million people for Florida).
Any expectation that the government and people of Florida would give up 1/4 of it's revenue and thereby dramatically lower it's service delivery is questionable at best, tragically sad at worst.

always yours,

Jayce

 

[mitch768292]

Let's put aside the Stimulus money for a moment. What kind of services would be available in Florida if it didn't receive that $23B that Uncle Sam sends it? (Florida already had to cut over $2B because of decreased revenue.) And that $23B is a little over 1/4 of Florida's spending. I think at some point (even over your objections) Florida would institute some "revenue enhancements" (ie new taxes, maybe even an income tax) if that money wasn't there. Now to stimulus money, while there is money to create jobs in the 12.2B that Florida is going to receive, some of that money will go towards filling the gap between budgets and decreasing revenue. So if it weren't there, there would either be service cuts OR revenue enhancements. Less education, police on patrol, firefighters manning the stations, etc. So yes, we could reduce our federal tax burden but there would be a greater tax burden imposed on us by our individual states (simple math $23B over 300 million people vs $23B over 17 million people for Florida).
Any expectation that the government and people of Florida would give up 1/4 of it's revenue and thereby dramatically lower it's service delivery is questionable at best, tragically sad at worst.

always yours,

Jayce

DISCLAIMER for Broke Straight Boys NON-OFFENSIVE/NO-INSULT POLICY: This post is in no way intended to offend, insult, humiliate or degrade any person(s) imaginary or real, living or dead, in any way, manner, shape, or form: regardless of ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), race, creed, origin, age, gender, sexual preference, diet, weight, complexion, penis size, daily orange juice intake, consumption of red meat, addiction to Viagra, ability to skateboard, inability to spell, AA membership, inability to construct a logical sentence, inability to speak or write French, lack of good taste in fashion, being English challenged, native language, type of automobile owned, frequency of intercourse, previous condition of servitude, masturbatory preferences, intelligence (or lack thereof), or handicap. This posting represents only the personal opinions and/or sexual fetishes of the author and should be interpreted as nothing more than the deranged rantings of a pitiful aging fag.
(Did I leave anything or anybody out? Did I humble myself enough? Are we covered on everything? PC enough?)


My good friend Jayce,
Thank you for sharing. It is always a pleasure.


I will share my thoughts now on government and budgets.

I do not live in Florida but I will do my best to respond to the hypothetical, with occasional references to Georgia, where I live. Forgive me if I drift off topic occasionally.

I can sum up this whole deal in the next two sentences. The problem is not that government, at any level, does not have enough money. The problem is that government, at all levels, spends too much money, and not just on essential services such as fire and police and prisons.

There is so much fat, waste, and inefficiency in government spending that it is insane. Any honest and truthful government employee will tell you that, and most retired politicians, if they have an ounce of truth left in them.

I could take over the Atlanta city schools tomorrow and cut that budget in half with no harm to the education of the children. Of course 96% of them don't give a damn about education anyway. The Atlanta school system is bloated with political cronies sucking the taxpayer’s tit and doing almost nothing to earn it. The school system overpays for everything they buy because they use "minority" contractors and vendors, who always just by coincidence happen to be relatives of the members of the school board members, or members of the city council, etc....

There is a high school about 6 blocks from my house. They have 11 fulltime Atlanta City police officers patrolling the hallways of that school every day of the school year to prevent fights, murders, stabbing, shooting, vandalism, and robbery. We never had the need for cops at my high school when I was a student. We never had so much as a fist fight, not one. Nobody got shot or stabbed or slashed with a straight razor or beat up by a gang of thugs and left paralyzed and bleeding to death. I could eliminate that by booting the hoodlums out. Of course if we did that we could close the school because there would only be about 50 kids left and we could give them vouchers to go to a good school where they can learn something and get an education without fear of being assaulted or murdered or robbed. Then I could fire the entire school staff at that high school. I know what the school problem is, but it is the reason that dare not speak its name, that elephant in the living room......I would not want to be called a "racist" or a "bigot" or "prejudice." Oh no, forget about the truth and the facts, lets sweep that under the rug in the interest of political correctness. What a shame because 50 years ago that was the #1 high school in the entire state of Georgia. Of course 50 years of social engineering, dictated by the tyranny of the federal courts and the U.S. Justice Dept. have pretty much destroyed the public schools in most of the Southern states.

If I was in charge of city, county, or state spending there would be a surplus of revenue over expenses, I can guarantee that because my first day in office I would fire 50% of the employees. I would make contracts go out to the low bidder in an honest bidding process. I would sell off surplus properties like schools that have been closed for years and just sitting.

First thing to do is fire every government employee whose job title includes the word "diversity." Then eliminate any state program with the word "diversity" in the program name. That will save several million right off the bat.

The schools, which are not funded by the state, are bloated with unnecessary employees. When I was growing up our school had a principal, the classroom teachers, a librarian, and a janitor, and we got along just fine. That was it, and that is all they need today. The ratio of school employees to students at my old elementary school has doubled since I was there in the 60's. Why? I don't get it. The kids are coming out with less education that we came out with.

If Florida has a budget problem it is not because of a revenue shortage, it is because state government needs to cut spending. By the way, schools, police and fire departments are not funded by the state, which is a municipal function. But some states do kick in a supplemental appropriation for the county school budget.

Florida needs to make cuts to welfare and other non-essential giveaway programs?

I love those code words: "revenue enhancements"...translation: raise your taxes.

And "service cuts".....translation: members of a certain political party might not get to spend as much of your hard earned tax dollars to buy votes from their "constituents", who happen to these those same worthless, no account, good for nothing, bloodsucking, criminal leeches I referred to above in my story about the local public high school near my house with its useless bloated staff.

I hate to see money squandered. Especially when we work so hard to earn it, before the government confiscates a big fat chunk of it.

(Now I need a valium or a xanax)

My remarks are directed only at the government, politicians, and about half of all government employees, various other groups whose member's individual identities are unknown, along with corrupt government practices, policies, and programs. NOTHING in my remarks above can be construed as an affront to any person associated with Broke Straight Boys or any subscriber to Broke Straight Boys My remarks are directed at unnamed and unknown persons.

Warm fuzzy feelings always,

Mitch

 

[parisnoyd]

You big softy! I'm not scared. Much............

 

[mitch768292]

"...a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." -
-- Thomas Jefferson

 

[mitch768292]

You big softy! I'm not scared. Much............