OT: Jibjab, Politics, the Big Bang and more!

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Norfleet:
And now it doesn't do anything at all, and just stays completely white when opened. Baffling. I think it might be broken.

I apologize for thinking you were simply being oblivious and/or dense. But it works for me no matter how many times I close the browser, restart it, and go back to the link. What browser & OS are you using? (I'm running XP pro & Mozilla 1.7.1, btw.)

EDIT: and do you have the latest Flash plug-in?

EDIT2: and what are your pop-up blocker settings, if any, as well as the Javascript settings for opening new windows?

[ July 27, 2004, 10:29: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Huzurdaddi:
I guess I could google for such things if they exist. I mean who the heck would track such a thing.

If you can't find even the most basic of statistics, then you certainly can't claim that your argument is correct.

Perhaps it would be evident from the MRI scandal in Alberta about 10 years ago. Or it would be evident from what you see around you. I mean you do know people who go the the US for anything serious ... don't you?

No, I don't know _anyone_ who goes to the U.S. for any treatments whatsoever.

I guess you have not been involved with in a malpractice suit in Canada. The standards of proof are far greater on the defendant. The awards much lower. The end result is that malpractice suits are brought forward far fewer times in Canada.

Oh, I thought you were saying that the tort system in the U.S. was a good thing, not that you were saying that it's so utterly broken that doctors are retiring rather than pay their insurance premiums even when they've never been sued.

[djtool]

Compromise is only when you can't get the full support you need to push whatever adjenda you promised to fulfill. [/QB]

And how often do you suppose that happens? Imagine how expeditiary our system of government would be if that were the norm? How many proposals look the same going out as they do coming in? Comprimise, scratching each others backs, whatever....is the name of the game.

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Norfleet:
I never said you said anything. Where'd you get that idea?

Of course you did.

Graeme, however, would likely call me a horrible person for saying such a thing, as if I was some sort of serial killer or mass-murderer merely because I have logically discarded an internally inconsistent belief.

[vigabrand]

Cainehill, your remark about tax cuts for the rich is BS. I am not rich, and I got a check in the mail. If you didn't get yours, you didn't check your mail. Everyone who paid taxes got a return, unless you owed the gov't money. I find it funny that you think it's wrong for the "rich" to get a tax cut since they're the ones paying most of the taxes. Here you go, the IRS's report:

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/pub/irs-soi/01in01ts.xls

The top 50% of wage earners in the U.S. paid 96% of all taxes, and we all got money back. The top 5% of all wage earners pay something like 50% of all taxes. Incidentally, the gov't defines "rich" as making 90k/year. I'm pretty middle class and I was pretty damn happy to get some money back. Everyone got a tax cut, the "rich" just got a lot more back because they paid a lot more. I don't know why you don't like our economic system, it's not perfect and could definately be improved, but it's still the best in the world. You seem to think it's unfair somewhere but I'm telling you that 99% of peoples economic problems are their own doing. I still see people flocking to the U.S in droves, yet I don't see U.S. citizens flocking to other countries. Something good must be happening around this horrible country of ours.

[ July 27, 2004, 15:30: Message edited by: vigabrand ]

[Arryn]

Viga, your post about tax cuts to Cainehill is full of fecal matter. As someone who was making over $70k/yr., well up in that "top 50%" Category, my tax cut amounted to a whopping $300, which is less than 2% of my annual tax burden. For that, I can look forward to far more than $300 in *increased* taxes later, when it eventually comes time to pay the piper and compound interest gets factored in. Debt is bad. Period. I don't pay credit card interest, and I resent like hell being forced to pay interest on the massive debts the government foolishly incurs in order to please corporate entities and wacko economists. "Supply-side" economics was proven to be a bankrupt ideology (to steal a phrase from Reagan) during the rosy years of Reagan and Bush Sr., and it's just as silly today under Bush Jr.. It simply does not work in the real world. But, we all know that Bush Jr. & friends do not live in the real world ...

[vigabrand]

I think you missed my point Arryn. The refund was not big, but everyone got one, not just the rich. It was our money to begin with and for the middle class, every little bit helps. You may not think so, so give it back. You dismiss my claims by claiming that you'll have to pay it all back and more later, then make opinions on whether certain economic plans work. I dunno, seems to be working to me. Seems we have the fastest economic growth in the Last 20 years. Seems Allen Greenspan agrees that the Bush tax cuts are responsible for the growing economy. Greenspan doesn't like the debt, but tax cuts do not always mean high deficits. Let's try trimming some of the fat off of pork projects, and lets start balancing the budget. It is my opionion that there is plenty of money in the pot to pay for necessities. Simple fact, congress pays for too much crap.