Comments:

1. Desiato on February 21st, 2013 at 20:41:

   You’ll never got participation stats out of the CoS so it’ll be hard to know unless a defector from a central office spills the beans.

Comments:

1. Rob on February 21st, 2013 at 21:32:

   Pretty amazing what can be done in small countries with largely homogenous populations. Or large countries with largely homogenous populations. China pays their teachers and doctors about the same, didn’t require bailouts for the banks or the people, and have no drug problem. Just ask them. Despite her problems, America’s immigration/emigration ratio is still ridiculously high in favor of immigration. Go figure.

2. Rob on February 21st, 2013 at 21:43:

   Also … couldn’t help but notice that prostitution wasn’t mentioned.

3. Sue W on February 21st, 2013 at 22:51:

   Countries with homogeneous populations? Not Portugal…I mean they mostly speak Portuguese but there is considerable ethnic diversity. Ex-colonial power and all. Not to mention all the E.U. people who have moved in.

   These examples are all ideas implemented by politicians who struggled with the issues (at considerable political cost) for the best interests of their societies at large, less for narrow sectional interests. It takes guts to do that.

4. Sue W on February 21st, 2013 at 22:58:

   @Rob: I think you’ll find, prostitution was covered under the inability to punish banksters, and we’re not talking about Eliot Spitzer. Although perhaps we are.

5. Rob on February 21st, 2013 at 23:08:

   @Sue – I was actually referring to an article I glossed over a few days ago that made the argument that the legalization of prostitution in Amsterdam has been a disaster. Also the opposite of what’s done in the US, Las Vegas notwithstanding.

6. chas on February 22nd, 2013 at 4:29:

   So the US has better whores? Makes me proud to be an American.

7. John Sinteur on February 22nd, 2013 at 9:17:

   Here is the article Rob saw. Note the tone of the article, compared to reality

8. Rob on February 22nd, 2013 at 13:50:

   Actually, no. This is what I saw: http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/8835071/flesh-for-sale/

   Like I said, I only glossed over it. I’m not a subscriber.

9. Rob on February 22nd, 2013 at 17:04:

   FWIW, I only got to see the first two paragraphs originally. The rest was behind a paywall. Apparently, the Spectator’s website needs work to keep us freeloaders out more effectively.

   None of the ideas in those graphics are new. They’ve all been discussed here. The late William F Buckley, about as conservative an American as you can get, favored legalizing drugs. The consensus in America, so far, prefers not to. Very few people I know of, left or right, were happy about the bank bailouts or the bailouts of GM and Chrysler. Iceland’s economy was able to withstand it but that doesn’t mean the economy of the US or Europe would have. Kind of wish we had tried now, though. Education has been a thorny issue here for a long time and there are no shortage of ideas about how to fix it.

10. Sue W on February 23rd, 2013 at 19:57:

    Good points. I’d say: “X has been a thorny issue here for a long time and there are no shortage of ideas about how to fix it” probably sums up the human condition pretty well!

    I would have put Mr. Buckley down as a Victorian-style gentleman, if not an aristocrat (I know he thought he was a conservative, but that was easy for him to say). Did you read how much alcohol he carried on his 1980′s trip across the Pacific in a sailboat? He was serious about not staying sober.

Comments:

1. Desiato on February 21st, 2013 at 15:23:

   Well, they’re not crazy enough to ruin their resale value by writing directly on the body of the car… :-p

2. Sue W on February 21st, 2013 at 15:37:

   @Desiato: Have you ever tried getting that “duct tape” off a 1995 Ford Taurus after a few weeks in the sun? Will totally ruin the paintwork.

3. Sue W on February 21st, 2013 at 15:44:

   Actually on second thoughts, it’s the duct tape that is holding the rear of the car together. That’s definitely going over a spiritual clift, if you ask me.

4. Desiato on February 21st, 2013 at 17:04:

   Ya know, no, I haven’t tried that, so I’ll defer to your experience.

Comments:

1. Sue W on February 21st, 2013 at 15:01:

   A 20-percent increase in oil production in 7 years is not going to cover the projected happy-path world growth in energy demand, is it?

Comments:

1. Sue W on February 21st, 2013 at 15:07:

   Plus the fast’n'furious driving in snow. Who needs a wing suit? (Canadians drive like old ladies.)

Comments:

1. Mudak on February 21st, 2013 at 13:09:

   I’m assuming you’ve seen this…

   http://www.theonion.com/articles/embarrassed-sony-ceo-announces-new-video-game-syst,31380/

Comments:

1. Desiato on February 21st, 2013 at 11:08:

   If only the OS was open source and let you fix bugs yourself.. Hmm..