Tom Sarbeck

There is no way out of the fixing the national debt that doesn’t involve raising taxes. But PLEASE not on the overburdened folks at the bottom.

TheEncogitationer wrote:
So Argumentum Ad Bacculum (Appeal to Force) eh? Just like all the Antifa and Left Coast Secessionists? Why is this always proposed by the very people with the fewest guns to carry out their demented wishes?

I was stating a fact, not making a reasoned argument. But at least you got an opportunity to trot out some of your…[Read more]

Fellow Unbelievers,

A new interview with Richard Dawkins on his new book, along with his thoughts on Postmiodernism, Transgenderism and the sexual binary, and questions from the audience.

I thought it went too soft on G.K. Chesterton’s alleged false binary of Theism vs. believing in everything. And…[Read more]

Unseen,

If the people want something bad enough, they will get it by using the tools of the constitutional republic or by rising up against the government.

So Argumentum Ad Bacculum (Appeal to Force) eh? Just like all the Antifa and Left Coast Secessionists? Why is this always proposed by the very people with the fewest guns to carry out their…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Unseen,

And yet, in a democracy what the people want the people should get. Otherwise the demos (people) goes away leaving just the kratos (rule).

What if the People wanted to punish Atheism with death? Or, more to the point, what if the People demanded that no one earn more wealth than anyone else? Again, why the United…

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Robert,

At least those things help to equalize wealth imbalances. The government acts like a heat-sink absorbing each knee-jerk crisis as investors panic.

So you think government bailing out AIG and American auto manufacturers and Raytheon help the poor? Please tell that to the old Occupy crowd before they cannabalize you.

Why do you even…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Unseen,

I’m well aware of all of the arguments about disincentives and creating dependencies when it comes to taxation. I haven’t been living under a rock. I’m also aware of the “rising tide floats all boats” which can also be used in favor of taxing the rich, who would benefit from a society made more stable by reducing…

[Read more]

Unseen,

And yet, in a democracy what the people want the people should get. Otherwise the demos (people) goes away leaving just the kratos (rule).

What if the People wanted to punish Atheism with death?
Or, more to the point, what if the People demanded that no one earn more wealth than anyone else?

Again, why the United States is not a…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
And wanting does not mean good (or getting, as Mick observed) no matter how many people want. Start again.

And yet, in a democracy what the people want the people should get. Otherwise the demos (people) goes away leaving just the kratos (rule).

Somehow, this never includes stopping bail-outs to Detroit, Investment…

[Read more]

Unseen,

I’m well aware of all of the arguments about disincentives and creating dependencies when it comes to taxation. I haven’t been living under a rock. I’m also aware of the “rising tide floats all boats” which can also be used in favor of taxing the rich, who would benefit from a society made more stable by reducing poverty with all of th…

[Read more]

Unseen,

We embed this fallacy in our national, state, and local government’s various constitutions. I have taught logic. Verbal fallacies, unlike formal fallacies, do not imply false conclusions with necessity. They are inconclusive.

The very definition of any Fallacy, verbal or formal, is that the conclusion does not necessarily follow from t…[Read more]

“And what you know as a historian is that there is no such thing as a ship that can’t sink.” (read the comments too).

Republicans, currently embodied in the extralegal “department” called DOGE seem to have the idea that when it comes to government efficiency, less is more. Fire 15% of workers here and 33% there while closing government offices and suddenly telphone wait times become shorter and the freeloaders will self-eliminate (not the homebound or…[Read more]

Argumentum ad populum or baldfaced fact?

_Robert_ wrote:
When my brokerage portfolio first hit the $2M mark, it was like some sort of trigger. I had all these financial tax advisors calling/emailing me about having consultations to reduce my future taxes.

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Argument From Popularity Fallacy. The fact that people might want government largess doesn’t make it good them or for an economy.

We embed this fallacy in our national, state, and local government’s various constitutions. I have taught logic. Verbal fallacies, unlike formal fallacies, do not imply false conclusions with n…[Read more]

Descent into madness or Trump’s America?

It is surreal. I think Bannon described it as a strategy in which there is literally an enfilade of shit from Trump that is so constant that we the people are inured to it and so it is normalized. The bar is so low you can’t see a bar. Think back not too distant to Watergate. Politicians on both sides put…[Read more]

Trump only understands who is kissing his ass at the moment. The man knows nothing about geopolitics, economics, science or history. He will instantly turn on you. The fact that so many Americans fell for his vile bullshit heartbreaking.

When I look around, many boomers are on board the MAGA train, but surprisingly it is the mid-life crisis set.…[Read more]

Reg,

That was one of my first thoughts today when I heard the rambling speech he made. I also thought about what the family of the WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi must be thinking. Of course Trump would not mention that. He does not care about what happened him. Or maybe he really does like MBS too much to mention it.

The Saudis are brutal…[Read more]

When my brokerage portfolio first hit the $2M mark, it was like some sort of trigger. I had all these financial tax advisors calling/emailing me about having consultations to reduce my future taxes. I ignored all that. Then I got hit with an IRS audit, LOL. I think they are satisfied with paperwork, but who knows, DOGE was firing a bunch of them,…[Read more]