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There is a very interesting book regarding the Chinese arriving here first. The Chinese also gave us maps and other sailing advice that is invaluable even today.
It has been known for many years that, not only was he not the first to visit America, but Columbus was an evil man. Yes, there are many heroes in the country, but none has been treated so horrifically as the Native Americans. And they continue to be largely ignored even now. Every state should do away with columbus day and institute Indiginous Peoples Day.
http://www.yeefow.com/past/499.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449265/Who-Discovered-America--Controversial-historian-Gavin-Menzies-claims-Chinese-reached-New-World-first.html
Columbus Day is a travesty in every way. Explorer Amerigo Vespucci was much better, but I agree that having an Indigenous Peoples Day would be best.
By the way, my wife said that Chinese also visited the Americas, around 1,000 years ago.
I think we should rename Columbus day to be after a true American Hero like Neil Armstrong and the people at NASA. This to me, being in education and loving space and science, is a true Hero that as Americans and the Human Race we should be proud of and for us to plant our feet on somewhere other then this planet is a huge deal and should be celebrated.
There are actually 3 federal holidays for individuals:
--George Washington's birthday, popularly called Presidents' Day, but by law still only for Washington,
--Martin Luther King Day
--Columbus Day
An interesting and informative cartoon comparing interracial marriage and gay marriage: http://xkcd.com/1431/.
Public support for interracial marriage trailed legality by decades, whereas support for gay marriage has been leading legality. I think this shows the bias of conservative judges.
Absolutely. The contents of anything being transported by a commerical carrier should not only be labeled, but when pratical (such as by rail, truck, boat, or air), any major communties should be notified, or at the very least, the State Department of Transportation should be alerted. Now, this may already be done in some places, I don't know. I know it wasn't the case a few years ago in Kentucky when there was a train derailment and some of cars were carrying some highly toxic meterial.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." seems to simply be the modern form of an old saying.
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/12/04/good-men-do/
Thom has put his finger on the the hottest button in this country.
The richest ("idle rich", who live off their investments) pay a mere 15% maximum capital gains tax, while the working stiff has a max income tax of 39%.
Everybody out there, except Thom is too scared to talk about it.
Even Krugman, of all people, didn't mention it in his assesment of Obama yesterday.
i agree with you 100% (I liked Carlin's rant too) except that wealth and greed IS power and control.
If punishment (e.g. for fraud) and reward were more fairly distributed, the world would be a better place.
Why is it like this who and what would create a system like the one we have ?
why is the gap between the rich and poor growing wider every year ,what kind of thoughts would produce a system where around 200 people have the same wealth as half the worlds population.
Hey folks we have to think here ? What is causing this abuse of life and resources that rightly belong to all people's of the Earth.
Is it not every man for himself we each paddle our own canoe .Hey life is tough at least three billion people live in poverty with at least 1.3 in absolute poverty ! We are talking about day to day survival folks .All because we have an economic system that its purpose is to generate profit .Our economic model comes from the idea that there is not enough to go around and that humans are separate from each other illusions of Insufficiency and Disunity .
Dominion over the Earth has been interpreted as Domination .And so we have imagined that ownership of,or power over ,people ,places and things is an asset or what we have called wealth.So the more things we own the more power is given or had and the wealthier you became .
Time to shift from a possessions and power economy to one of USE and ACCESS (Cooperation ) Change from an every man for himself economy to a highest good of all economy .
Simple really as there is more than enough in the world for everyone to live quite happily .
We are all one is the Spiritual understanding of making this happen .It says there's enough .If we take these messages to heart ,we will begin at once to devise ways of treating everyone as you would want to be treated ,giving everyone what you would want to be given ,and providing everyone with what you would want to be provided.So growing the economy is not the answer or trying to create a never ending upward spiral attempting to make everyone own and afford to buy the same stuff. Reducing the economy would work providing everyone with Access to and Use of the same things .So fewer consumer items per person on the planet ,how good is that for the ecology bad for Walmart good for the people and planet .Thats a win- win.
Humans are a very primitive species ,we have to mature fast now ,time is running out .
Another thing the fastest way to move economic power from the SELECT FEW is through decentralisation.We need to create lots of small economies not one massive global system.
Most of this information comes from the Book Tomorrow's God chapter 20 Throwing the money changers out -again .
Stephen mills
Whether it is conservative or preservative, both of them are dangerous for everything. We must stop these cuz the world is getting warmer and we are dying early.
Mark, your #14 post is a slam-dunk. Bingo! You too, Mr. Ford. Well said! - AIW
"Giving help to the wealthy to help the wealthy become more wealthy" should be the motto of the republican party because that's that's what republicans do. The elected republicans would probobly prefer "Working for all Americans" but that is extremly far from the truth. They only work for the wealthy who put money in their pockets. So how do they keep getting re-elected? They use their wealthy friends money to advertise. They advertise that they are "pro-life", apealing to the many people in this country with high moral principals while screwing them financially. Weather they believe in this or not I don't know but I doubt it. We all know that If they say it they can get votes. There are many other ways to get the votes of the people you are going to screw financially such as saying "I support the second amendment" or "I'm a god fearing Christian who does not believe in taking god out of the classroom" and "I fully support the constitution of The United States of America". Oh yea, what about that first amendment? Sometimes it seems like the only way for the middle class and the impoverished to get ahead is for democrats to become Bible thumping, gun loving, anti-abortionist too but that would be hypocritical and that would just be wrong. So, the best way for the 99% to get ahead is to exspose the republicans for the illusionist that they are but that is easier said than done.
I suppose the police must think that no one would dare do such a thing and are careless. I've seen cop cars stopped at a residence in cities where they left their doors wide open with the motor running and the rifle still between the seats. My thought then was someone could easily jump in and steal the car or anything in the car. I guess, at least, in Indianapolis, that has happened...27 times. But, most late model cars now have a way to easily and immediately track down a stolen vehicle through gps. It costs for the service but I'm sure the police would have no problem tracking down their stolen vehicles.
Kend:
80,000 Canadian Dollars = 71,425 US dollars but that's still a lot of money even in US dollars especially given that it is earned in a 6 month period. I imagine paving is hard work. I thought your son worked in the oil fields? That's right, you said "one of you sons" worked in paving.
Mark to prove my point. One of my sons works on a paving crew. Here we can only pave in the summer. They just shut down for the winter and he made over 80 thousand in 6 months. Do you think they would have to pay him that much if we could hire non tax paying illegals for 8 dollars a hour.
I have been to Europe many times. They can have it. It is not true that there is no land. The problem is most European countries have very strict agricultural land district controls. So they force them into cities. There is lots of land they could subdivide into larger parcels for homes.
Sorry Mark Canada doesn't have the same tax structure you have. I wish. Here we tax the hell out of the upper and middle class and have very low taxes for business I have to admit it works. Many US businesses are moving up here for the low taxes. Our wealthy pay huge personal taxes I think after $300,000 it is half.
Well said!! About scapegoqating immigrants and poor people I mean
The fact that there are more poor voters than rich voters verifies that the Republican polls predicting their winning is fabricated Lies. Lying is the same as stealing.
They're not just wrong about trickle down, they're lying! They know damn well it doesn't work - for us. Works great for them though.
Right Kend? Works great for you, no?
Divisive strategies of scapegoating immigrants, getting us to turn on our fellow workers from south of the border, after the big business rats ruined their economy with NAFTA, would, if we took that bait, cause us to cut our own throats when it's the corporate rats who are responsible for the kleptocracy that imiserates us all and who brought the immigrants here so they can play them off against U.S. born workers.
Kend, you silly boy, comparing us to third world nations is more fallacious than apples to oranges. We are no longer the "consumer of last resort". The dollar is no longer the premium currency of the world. Our greatness that comes from pre Reagan policy is all but faded away. It was before Reagan, when taxes were high and manufacture was robust, that all the things you say and allude to about America were true.
Europeans live in 600 sq. ft. apartments because their continent is so crowded and densely populated. Limited supply makes elbow room expensive. Where do you get this business that, "they never go anywhere"? European cities are vibrant cafe societies. Thus the old adage, "A Parisian needs a bedroom, bath and perhaps a kitchen but his living room is the cafes of Paris."
You see? They make for lack of space by sharing and communing and are, by all research, much happier than we are and live longer than we do.