On Topic: it's illegal to wash my 914, you guys will get a kick out of this... Options

[nebreitling]

i just recieved a "warning" from the university (i live in uni-owned grad housing) because i was caught... get this.... WASHING MY CAR. well, SHIT....

Apparently, it is now ILLEGAL to wash your own car in Palo Alto, under the assumption that trace amounts of oil and heavy metals will be carried into drains and gutters, and on into the bay. Palo Alto Sewer Ordinance 16.09.106

i bet i'm the only stanford phd who came in a liberal, and will come out a conservative.

[krk]

democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on the menu; liberty is a well-armed sheep.

Now where have I seen that quote before? he he

That's one of the big problems in my mind. Liberals want a democracy. A democracy is mob-rule. Mobs are stupid. Get them riled up and they'll stomp off to do almost anything. We live in a (diluted) republic. A republic insures that the fickle and emotionally whipsawed 'will of the people' is tempered and moderated by elected representation. That's why we have an electoral college. In the past, citizens didn't vote for president. Citizens elected state legistlatures who elected senetors, who elected presidents.

-Ben

Hm. There's thing things like "the constitution" and the body of "law" that should prolly be mentioned. I ain't from around here -- so my comments prolly don't mean much. But it seems to me that at least one of the "brakes" on the mob rule issue is the fundamentals underlying the game. The constitution, the rule of law, etc. The voting part is to pick players that (in principle) play within the rules of the game.

kim.