hillary_step

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Posts by hillary_step

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  136

  The entire US must change to CFL bulbs by 2016! It's the law! Good or Bad?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. social
  2. current

  what the hell ever happened to 'free choice'?

  it is the law that we must change - no choice.

  yet look at the new disaster this creates!

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  hillary_step

  Amicus,

  If it can be shown that the banning of conventional bulbs in favor of CFL bulbs produces some good for the COMMUNITY, then NOT to mandate such a change would be the actions of an irresponsible government.

  That statement is true of course. What is just as true is that sometimes legislators pass laws that are more flawed than necessary.

  Government, like the law, works on the reality of approximation, not perfection, but with all respect, this has nothing to do with the point.

  The fact is that it is necessary for responsible Government to 'intrude' into peoples personal choices over numerous matters. That it might get some of its mandates wrong some of the time is a given, but this does not undermine the principle of the necessity of government intervention in any way. If CFL bulbs better serve the community, as they do, then it would be irresponsible for them not to mandate their use.

  It seems to me that the US is terrified of anything that might even remotely be interpreted as 'socialism' with the same rationality that they might view witches in Salem.

  HS
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  136

  The entire US must change to CFL bulbs by 2016! It's the law! Good or Bad?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. social
  2. current

  what the hell ever happened to 'free choice'?

  it is the law that we must change - no choice.

  yet look at the new disaster this creates!

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  hillary_step

  This is insane.

  Perhaps those who resent intrusion by government into this issue might answer a couple of questions:

  Does the government of the US have the right to mandate ANYTHING at all? If so, to what level?

  All government inspired mandates offer some sort of 'personal intrusion'. Some however, for example, the mandate to ensure all water supplied for human consumption is fit to drink does not seem to be viewed as an 'intrusion'. Of course you have the right to drink polluted water if you so care!

  If it can be shown that the banning of conventional bulbs in favor of CFL bulbs produces some good for the COMMUNITY, then NOT to mandate such a change would be the actions of an irresponsible government.

  HS
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  178

  Singer Songwriters who should be household names....

  by hillary_step in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  over the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.

  some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.

  this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .

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  hillary_step

  Thank you all for your interesting contributions.

  Here are a few quite exceptional songwriters who are seldom heard:

  Linton Kwesi Johnson. An eccentric Reggae poet.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VimNWtcAX4E&feature=related

  Mary Margaret O'Hara, unfortunately hounded out of the industry by musical Sunday painters for many years, but I understand that she is performing again. She has been in the industry since the 70's but has never found the attention she deserved, except among musicians. Play this clip once, and I guarantee you will play it again....if you have a heart that is. ;)

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z14wPTz6PdY&feature=related

  Jesse Colin Young. One of the most influential but underexposed songwriters in the business. Simple music, but he has written consistently well for forty years.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeIE-0aCX0k&feature=related

  HS
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  48

  I Feel Too Fluffy for this Board, Give 1 Funny Reason 4 Me Too Stay

  by SuperApostateGirl in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????.

  not sure if this is the board for me????????

  .

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  hillary_step

  Maybe thats why no one can take you seriously when they look at your picture John,your definetly NO ladykiller.

  That comment is out of order, especially considering that his avatar is actually the back of his head.

  John is a lot of fun SuperApostateGirl, stick around a little and you will tune into his humor.

  {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{JohnDoe}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{SuperApostateGirl}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Robert Mugabe}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

  HS
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  27

  Economy Sucks ! Any Self Employed JWDers Having Trouble Collecting Money ?

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thought i'd post this to see if i'm on an island here or not .

  i have been in business in commercial janitorial for almost 26 years.

  aside from one customer going bankrupt 15 years ago i have generally been able to get people to pay on time !

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  hillary_step

  Embarass them into paying.

  It is very seldom that people, or companies do not pay bills IF they have to cash to do so. More often than not in business, they are waiting themselves on other creditors to pay. The person who breaks the cycle is the one who can borrow the most easily. That is all.

  In all my many years in business, I have only known one person who deliberately held up payment of a large check only due to his being a bastard. I made sure he paid. Normally I am very happy to try to help my clients if they are in a cash flow situation in any way that I can.

  The reality is these dyas that the largest corporations, or the smallest businesses have one thing in common, and that is that they are all twelve weeks 'bad' business from bankruptcy.

  HS
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  47

  When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  all these supremacist notions take a long time to erode.. ideas & trends.

  when human rights extend to nonhumans david silverman/getty imagesalmost human a chimp at an israeli wildlife park in april.

  spanish lawmakers recently voted to grant apes some rights.

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  hillary_step

  Narkissos,

  Meanwhile we may certainly quit construing our specific use of language as "superiority" (which btw only makes sense within a language-supported "scale of values"). We may get more and more conscious of the analogies between human language and "communication" within and between other species. We can build more respect for non-human beings (and this doesn't need to depend on what percentage of DNA code or any quantifiable level of similarity with "us" -- such arithmetics sounds awfully speciocentric to me!). And the less we "disney-ise" them the better imho (even though some level of logo/anthropomorphism is probably incompressible... to us). Starting by acknowledging the alogos within the human species (the part of us which resists language, the "animal," the "wild" or the "feral" in us if you prefer) as such would be a better starting point I guess.

  The moment one shrugs off the Augustinian worldview that creation was given to mankind, for mankind, to be used by mankind, the more rapidly one recognizes that we are just a part of the world and have no more, or no less rights than should be awarded to a garter snake, or a sparrow.

  St Augustine was in my view one of the worst things that ever happened to Western Society, and we are still living with the fallout from many of his theological experimentations, including his egocentric and dangerous view of purpose of 'creation'.

  Maybe Augustine missed the NT portion about dead sparrows being counted in heaven, or maybe he was just lustfully feeding off the memories of his youthful afternoon romps with his concubine to be able to recall. :).

  HS
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  47

  When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  all these supremacist notions take a long time to erode.. ideas & trends.

  when human rights extend to nonhumans david silverman/getty imagesalmost human a chimp at an israeli wildlife park in april.

  spanish lawmakers recently voted to grant apes some rights.

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  hillary_step

  Burn,

  hillary_step. To me, Wikipedia is a valid research tool. I don't believe there's anything wrong with fluctuating ideas. My current view on animals rights for sure has drastically changed over the years thanks to internet research and informal discussions.

  This is HS' default position when his windbag is out of air.

  Alwyas nice to know that when I am 'out of air', there is always another windbag to put words in my mouth. ;)

  HS
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  42

  Late capitalism

  by slimboyfat in

  1. social
  2. current

  are we on the edge of the precipice?

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  and if the system dies who will there be to attend the funeral?.

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  hillary_step

  Slim,

  I just watch the news and read my history. Maybe it will just blow over, but it feels dangerous.

  As dangerous as the Black death which killed 30% of the population of Europe? Imagine the headlines if that happened today.

  Humans have been proved throughout history to have an enormous capacity to survive even the most catastrophic events, not that I think the things that lie are ahead are as bleak as you suggest. It is true that we are living through precarious political and social times in many parts of the earth, but these things have a way of working themselves out.

  When you get apprehensive like this Slim, turn the news off and have a good game of football. Whatever will happen will happen, and if humakind is wiped off the face of the planet, well so much the better. The animals will make much better use of the place than we have, and all signs of humanity will be extinguished by nature with a couple of hundred years anyway.

  HS

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  47

  When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  all these supremacist notions take a long time to erode.. ideas & trends.

  when human rights extend to nonhumans david silverman/getty imagesalmost human a chimp at an israeli wildlife park in april.

  spanish lawmakers recently voted to grant apes some rights.

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  hillary_step

  Funky,

  Because it's an inherently collectivist idea, one I thought would have been anathema to you.

  Just a tip here.

  Never take anything Burn has to say as his position on anything as he is never quite sure where he stands on issues. His views are in constant flux and he lands on them like a lead butterfly then flits off to another position.

  The common denominator is that he sounds as if he has held these views since childhood, but actually picked them up from Wikipedia yesterday.

  HS
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  42

  Late capitalism

  by slimboyfat in

  1. social
  2. current

  are we on the edge of the precipice?

  .

  and if the system dies who will there be to attend the funeral?.

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  hillary_step

  Slim,

  I think it is really mistaken to frame the debate in terms of old notions of left and right in politics. Our very civilization hangs in the balance. We may be heading for something unlike we can currently imagine. And it will surely involve war. At some point we (whoever there is left) may look back on the period 1945-c.2010 as a time of remarkable peace and (unsustainable) prosperity.

  On the contrary. Framing this debate framed on a speculative, apocalyptic future is the mistake. HS