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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#53527: Apr 25th 2013 at 10:39:43 AM

I think at this point Bush would have rather have done anything other than be president. It's kind of surreal, really.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#53528: Apr 25th 2013 at 11:08:24 AM

[up][up] Don't forget Carter, even though some people wish they could.


Makes sense really, at heart W is just a simple rich man wanting a simple rich life, and being president complicates things.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53530: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:33:11 PM

People like to project their favourite narratives unto the world. Let them. Who is John Galt anyway?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#53531: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:37:02 PM

A character in Atlas Shrugged, one of Ayn Rand's novels.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53532: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:37:21 PM

... It was a rhetorical question...

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Enkufka Wandering Student ಠ_ಠ from Bay of White fish Since: Dec, 2009
Wandering Student ಠ_ಠ
#53533: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:37:29 PM

A douchebag, that's who. Guy invents free energy, decides to keep it to himself. Only an Objectivist could be such a douche.

@Radical: The rest of the twitter is just as bought into the Libertarian mantra as that tweet. I've not personally seen anything THAT wrapped up in misinformation and unfounded assumptions since I got yelled at for calling Scott Walker a douchebag.

edited 25th Apr '13 12:39:19 PM by Enkufka

Very big Daydream Believer. "That's not knowledge, that's a crapshoot!" -Al Murray "Welcome to QI" -Stephen Fry
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53534: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:38:48 PM

Actually most live Objectivists I know are decent people. Then again, there are honest-to-goodness Fascists of whom I could say the same.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53535: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:40:03 PM

Kind of funny when you consider that their political philosophy is, more or less, to be the biggest douche possible.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53536: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:44:59 PM

It's not really much of a philosophy. More importantly, they face the same kind of concerns as any True Believer with a Holy Book when faced with Real Life; they find out that their book is outdated in the issues it tackles, and that it contains many easily-defeated strawmen in black-and-white moral situations, when things really are much more complicated. After all, who are the moochers, the creative and energetic Wall Street Occupiers, or the corporate fat cats who pay themselves huge bonuses with government bailouts? Who are the makers, mega-corps cushily banking on old patents, or bright-minded free internet programmers and artists? Aaaah, such difficult dilemmas they face.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#53537: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:45:20 PM

It's easier to be a douche to people you don't personally know. In the sense that it's easier to justify because their problems are not in your face the way your friends and acqauintance's are.

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53538: Apr 25th 2013 at 12:47:50 PM

That too. We all do that, in fact. And it's very hard to bring oneself to be a douche to all people equally.

My rule is that, like in The Good Samaritan, my neighbor, whom I love as I love myself, is the one who had mercy on me. The rest... I won't go out of my way to hurt.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#53539: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:29:36 PM

The more relevant question is "how long will it take John Galt to shut up?"

Also lol Bitcoins.

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53540: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:30:36 PM

I tried to buy some. It was an exercise in utter frustration.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#53541: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:33:48 PM

What even are bitcoins? We've got pretty effective ways now of transferring electronic money without a universal currency.

I predict that a universal currency isn't anywhere in our near future because of that, frankly.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53542: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:37:01 PM

Bitcoins are an attempt to create a gold standard via digital currency. Because some people have an irrational fetish for money whose value theoretically can't be manipulated by governments.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53543: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:41:07 PM

Seems like a legitimate attraction point from where I stand. Will you argue otherwise?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#53544: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:42:51 PM

I predict that a universal currency isn't anywhere in our near future because of that, frankly.

That, and people are going to be leery of the idea after Greece has been fucking with the entire EU. Market crashes happen. All a global currency does is let them happen everywhere at once.

[up] Because modern economics pretty much depends on the value of money being flexible to incentivize spending and investment instead of hoarding.

edited 25th Apr '13 1:44:37 PM by Pykrete

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53545: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:43:23 PM

[up][up]I won't argue about it in this thread, because it's off topic. We were hammering on it in the Paul Krugman thread, because he posted a scathing dismissal of the phenomenon in his NY Times column. We also have a bitcoin thread.

[up] A global currency could work, in theory, if there was a central bank with unlimited authority to print money to fight recessions — in short, to conduct fiscal policy. A global currency that is constrained to a fixed volume, however, like gold, would be disastrous.

edited 25th Apr '13 1:46:49 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#53546: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:48:23 PM

Most schema could work in theory. Some can even work well most of the time in practice. I'd rather have one that doesn't screw with everyone on the planet all at once when you fall into an unfortunate exception to that "most of the time".

edited 25th Apr '13 1:49:31 PM by Pykrete

imadinosaur Since: Oct, 2011
#53547: Apr 25th 2013 at 1:49:59 PM

When all the banks and Paypal refused to allow transfers to Wikileaks, bitcoin was one of the few ways to send them funds. So it serves at least one useful purpose.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53548: Apr 25th 2013 at 2:00:17 PM

You can also buy illegal drugs with it, I understand. Anyway, Off Topic.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#53549: Apr 25th 2013 at 4:54:41 PM

I find it more telling of libertarian mindsets that the very first post in reply to that twitter is insistence Gold and Silver are more stable than bitcoin and are on the rise again.


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