OT: Big Brother is on his way, Whats next? Options

[StratPlayer]

Had more freedom when I was a kid than I do now. What the hell is going on in this country.

http://www.stoppoliceware.org/

[fiid]

IMHO - the patriot act is unnecessary. If the US had even BASIC flight security for internal flights (i.e. were treated like international flights) there is a good chance that 911 wouldn't have happened. Before 9-11 I actually felt nervous flying internally since it was treated with no more respect or security concious than getting in a Taxi or a muni bus. Now of course it's ridiculous - they keep finding the underwires in bras. Very helpful.

You need to access what the actual risk of these things is. Dirty bombs are really hard to execute. So is anthrax. Think about the cost of life. I would bet that the most effective way you could save American life today would be something like passing a law to ban cow bars on trucks. (They raise the chance of death or paralysis in a low speed run-over accident to near certainty). It costs nothing, it doesn't impact anybody's day (maybe a couple of ranchers in texas - you could probably exempt farmers anyway). Traffic accidents take WAY more life than terrorists. They just don't look as devastating on CNN.

The Tax cut is nice, but we can't afford it, especially since we have engaged in this long-ass war and support effort in Iraq AND Afganistan.

IMHO the problem is that Bush/Republican camp (and even public companies) think that organisations can be shrunk by cutting off the money. It does work, but what you end up with is probably not what you wanted going in. This approach is what causes schools and education to get shafted where the military continues to enjoy loads of cash. Why? The military is better at fighting for cash than teachers are. We also short change our police force, and other public services, and we continue to pay for beurocrats to sit in offices maintaining hideously complex tax codes and the like. Beurocrats are good at the beurocracy necessary to keep beurocrats in business. So who loses? Your kids will get a sucky education, but they'll be safe in case Equador decides to build a huge military machine and launch a military conquest to take over the US. Let's just try and ignore North Korea for now.

IMHO - a smarter workforce is a good way to combat outsourcing.

IMHO - Kerry ain't exactly the pick either, but it's the lesser of two evils at this point, and while we continue to have a two party system, that's all you get to think about!

Whatever you do - make sure you have a say in it. Get out and vote. I'll take the dumb guy if that's what everybody wants, but not because he's got better lawyers and a brother in the right place.

OKAY - can't think of anything else to write about.