U.S. Tax Rebate Schedule 2008

[Entropy]

TREE HUGGER!

Seriously, great post Dusty.

 

[The Josh]

That was a amazing post Dusty!! Very well put and lined out.

 

[Agent23]

I called and found I am getting a check sent on June 6.

I don't get it. I e-filed.



Oh well, at least I know what's going on now...

 

[DarkArtist81]

C'mon a-holes,that's all you got is to screw with me on my grammar!?


Well strap this on your soar *****!!

Fark you!!!!

Sorry bro... had to do it.

 

[teemu]

global warming is a fraud! its being used to tax us! There is a proposal for a carbon tax!! to tax the literal air we breathe!! yes, a carbon tax taken out of your paychecks...watch, its coming...research it and find out the truth! and Hitlary is all for a carbon tax...more taxes to pay, more hyper-inflation as the the dollar gets printed out of thin air! to be devalued to ZERO! worthless!

 

[devilof76]

And I wonder why no one takes me seriously.

You're right teemu. People are already trading in carbon offsets, as though carbon really was something to worry about unless you're a coal miner (or someone who has to suffer through Los Angeles' outdated highway system).

And Dusty, you sound like a very generous person, but 98% of us do not get cancer, and the future of the planet is not at risk. You don't have to call radical environmentalistm leftist, but any shows putting forward ecological apocalypse theories are radical environmentalist interpretations of the facts, and are outright lies. Environmentalism sees the Earth as a diseased organism, with Man being the sickness. In fact, the Earth is a ball of dirt and water under a hot light, and it has no 'ideal' state.

Every law you have used as an example--and I'll even give you the benefit of the doubt that those laws were well-intentioned--represent an attempt to force ideas onto people. Are you sincerely advocating that people have their freedom of thought leashed so that you can enjoy a pastoral countryside, and not be burdened with having to change a lightbulb?

Anyone who thinks that a government that can tell them what lightbulb to use, won't next be telling them what thoughts they are free to think needs a reality check. They are not our keepers. They are not an elite who knows better than the rest.

People need to keep their crusades to themselves. The rest of us are not grist for anyone's 'perfect' world.

 

[DarkArtist81]

global warming is a fraud! its being used to tax us! There is a proposal for a carbon tax!! to tax the literal air we breathe!! yes, a carbon tax taken out of your paychecks...watch, its coming...research it and find out the truth! and Hitlary is all for a carbon tax...more taxes to pay, more hyper-inflation as the the dollar gets printed out of thin air! to be devalued to ZERO! worthless!

 

[devilof76]

teemu drives me as bat^^^^ as the next guy, but if a carbon tax is implemented, I will consider it an act of pure extortion.

 

[The Chaver]

Sorry bro... had to do it.

"Oh look at me,I can spell yay.."

What is this ^^^^ a spelling bee?? Besides,it was my word structuring that was in question wasn't it?

 

[Dusty]

And I wonder why no one takes me seriously.

You're right teemu. People are already trading in carbon offsets, as though carbon really was something to worry about unless you're a coal miner (or someone who has to suffer through Los Angeles' outdated highway system).

And Dusty, you sound like a very generous person, but 98% of us do not get cancer, and the future of the planet is not at risk. You don't have to call radical environmentalistm leftist, but any shows putting forward ecological apocalypse theories are radical environmentalist interpretations of the facts, and are outright lies. Environmentalism sees the Earth as a diseased organism, with Man being the sickness. In fact, the Earth is a ball of dirt and water under a hot light, and it has no 'ideal' state.

Every law you have used as an example--and I'll even give you the benefit of the doubt that those laws were well-intentioned--represent an attempt to force ideas onto people. Are you sincerely advocating that people have their freedom of thought leashed so that you can enjoy a pastoral countryside, and not be burdened with having to change a lightbulb?

Anyone who thinks that a government that can tell them what lightbulb to use, won't next be telling them what thoughts they are free to think needs a reality check. They are not our keepers. They are not an elite who knows better than the rest.

People need to keep their crusades to themselves. The rest of us are not grist for anyone's 'perfect' world.

I'm not gonna get sucked into arguing about opinions. But here are a couple of facts: The two shows I sited are NOT apocalyptical in any way, shape or form. They each put forth a hyphothesis - in one: what would the world be like if humans were suddenly not around anymore? - in another: how much energy and resources do we actually use, per person, in a lifetime. They make no judgements or apocalyptic statements, unless you decide to read some into it. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and see what legacy we are really leaving for the generations who come after us. We are only here for what, an average of 70 years?

As for cancer, at one point there were stats out there that if a person lives to about 90 years of age, the likelihood that they will experience SOME form of cancer within their lifetime is about 98%. I tend to believe that. (Obviously, if a heart attack kills you at 65, you don't fall into the 98% stat group.) Of all the people over 65 that I have known in my life (perhaps about 40 people, from many different regions and races, and a few other countries too), at least 3/4 of them had gone through some type of cancer by the time they were 70, some more than once - of different as well as similar types - and at least 5 that I can think of have died of it. No, not all cancer kills you, if you catch it on time, but it still MAJORLY sucks to have to deal with defeating it, especially with insurance companies all of a sudden deciding that they won't cover you anymore since you are 'at a high risk for cancer'. What's even worse is the rate of children's cancers continuing to increase. There's nothing more heartbreaking than visiting a children's cancer ward. If it's not the 'human footprint' causing these increases, than what else could it be?

A government who cares about the environment and the health of their citizens is not going to place restrictions on freedom of speech or the right to own guns or the right to a free market. These are all separate matters entirely, and they should be dealt with and thought about separately. This is why I can't STAND our country's two-party system. Just because I care about the environment, that should not lump me in automatically with the Democrats... just as believing in a strong national defense shouldn't lump someone in automatically with the Republicans. It makes me completely crazy!

 

[Darth Caedus]

I eat cancer for breakfast, it tastes like chicken

 

[KitFisto]

I am never intentionally wasteful, but I'm not gonna go pay $5,000 ( or more ) over the cost of a regular car for a Hybrid either. I don't recycle because I am not going to keep 3 different trash cans in my kitchen. I don't take mass transit to work because there is none where I live and the closest to my house there is, is when I am already almost to work.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

I eat cancer for breakfast, it tastes like chicken

Just how old are these children?

 

[Darth Caedus]

Just how old are these children?

Twenty one year olds...and by that, I mean there are twenty of them. They're great with BBQ sauce and a nice Newcastle

 

[Dusty]

I am never intentionally wasteful, but I'm not gonna go pay $5,000 ( or more ) over the cost of a regular car for a Hybrid either. I don't recycle because I am not going to keep 3 different trash cans in my kitchen. I don't take mass transit to work because there is none where I live and the closest to my house there is, is when I am already almost to work.

1) If better energy resources were discovered and it was legislated, costs of alternative energy cars would go down. They'd have to because they'd be the only kind of cars available. (similar to how hi-def TV prices have gone down, and will continue to go down into 2009 due to the legislation)

2) So, maybe you don't have a lot of space, like many people. No worries, I won't judge you for that. I'm not sure where you live, but in California, we are provided with 3 types of trash cans to line up at the curb, not in our kitchens. How hard is it to put empty aluminum cans and bottles into a paper bag from the grocery store each week and dump them into the proper can when you take the trash out each week? I used to live in a 300 square foot apartment (smaller than an small garage... with 2 fat cats to boot), and still found a space for the paper bag. And also, IKEA is a wonderful place to find space-saving recycling bins that stack on top of each other!

3) Mass transit - don't even want to get into it. Makes me angry. LA's mass transit is a travesty. I'm not sure what's wrong with this city, but something definitely is. I mean, look at NYC, which has only a tiny fraction of the space we have here and about the same amount of people. Yes, they have their problems, but mass transit isn't one of them. I hate that LA is stereotyped as the 'liberal' city of the US. It's so not true.

More examples - some of the annually chosen nicest cities to live are Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; etc etc. These are very liberal cities (MUCH moreso than LA), whose governments take the time to make sure that their people are provided for and have the legislation (and excellent mass transit) to prove it. (Did you know in Oregon, it's illegal to pump your own gas? This provides a few extra jobs for their residents, while also protecting against gas leaks and forgetting to close your gas cap. Yet gas prices are actually LOWER than in, say, California. Oregon also has the highest average pay for teachers than any other state.)

In the same vein, some of the top-voted greatest countries to live in, as a citizen - Switzerland, New Zealand, Norway, Canada to name a few - are by some considered to be 'socialist' - healthcare for every tax-paying citizen, etc etc. These countries are starting to lead the world in scientific research, education, healthcare, etc - all while keeping unemployment rates VERY low and protecting the value of their currency. America has fallen woefully behind in all of those areas, which we formerly liked to brag about.

I love America, which is why I hate to see it being reduced so divisively - and hatefully - to 'blue vs. red' over issues such as taxes, healthcare, gay marriage, the 'war on terror'... and on and on and on. I have no answers, if I did, I'd be running for president! I just base my opinions on what I see happening in the world around me, which is all that we can really do.

Also, I don't get offended easily, and LOVE talking about politics, especially with people who I don't necessarily agree with on every instance. Helps me learn more, and I wish more people viewed it that way, instead of getting all crazy over it! Although I realize that's not what this board is for... but I'm still loving this thread! :chew

 

[Darth Caedus]

The one reason why I don't recycle is what my 9th grade chemistry teach told me:

"The world won't be around forever, pollute while you can"

 

[devilof76]

Dusty, I can disagree with you all day. But I'm not going to because I feel like an atheist preaching to angels, and it gets old.

I'll just say that regardless of the benefits that some government program may bring to some people, so long as it is the government taking the action, force is being used to take from those who do not voluntarily offer their services. Period. Evaluate for yourself what that's worth.

My life doesn't belong to someone who can't afford their medical bills. They have no right to force me to help them. My life doesn't belong to people who took on a mortgage they couldn't afford. They have no right to force me to bail them out. My life doesn't belong to people who would rather see ethanol than gasoline in service stations, and they have no right to force me to finance their industry if they can't get it off the ground on their own.

This isn't a question of doing what is right or not. It's a question of who has ultimate authority over each individual's decisions. In a free country, the individual has sole right. If this country is collapsing, I would not be inclined to believe that it was because we have too much freedom to solve our problems for ourselves.

 

[tomandshell]

I am glad that we haven't had to move this thread to the Sandbox. (Yet.)

 

[Dusty]

I am glad that we haven't had to move this thread to the Sandbox. (Yet.)

Yes, I think it's a good sign... what's more American than allowing opposing opinions without censure (as long as the opposing opinions don't turn into personal attacks of course! )

 

[Bannister]

Yes, I think it's a good sign... what's more American than allowing opposing opinions without censure (as long as the opposing opinions don't turn into personal attacks of course! )

Oh ^^^^ you Dusty.