If user fees go into effect I'm done

writes:

Globalization is sucking this country dry, as are the leeches in our
government. Its going to get a lot worse before it gets better...
and it may very well come to a civil war if our economy collapses.

A civil war is extremely unlikely. The usual pattern is a succession of
increasingly troublesome crises, terminating with the end of democratic
government and a new dictatorship. Democracies are their own worst enemies,
and they tend to regularly self-destruct. The problem with giving everyone a
voice is that many people are stupid.

--
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Mxsmanic,

Freedom of speech presumes that no one will pass
judgement on the intelligence, coherence, wisdom, etc., of any speech.


Not at all. The way freedom of speech works (apart from the fact that
the concept doesn't apply to discussions between people anyway) is this:
You may say whatever you want and you will not be prohibited from saying
anything - but you can fully expect to be judged on it and to be held
accountable for it. Freedom of speech comes with freedom of judgement -
like it or not.

That's exactly what happens here with each and every of your posts. I
can understand you don't like the results...

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Mxsmanic,

it
only requires that they not attempt to prevent others from writing or
speaking.


Ah, you're getting back on track. And you have been prevented here
exactly how? Or even could be? Again, you have no clue what you are
talking about.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Thomas Borchert writes:

Not at all. The way freedom of speech works (apart from the fact that
the concept doesn't apply to discussions between people anyway) is this:
You may say whatever you want and you will not be prohibited from saying
anything - but you can fully expect to be judged on it and to be held
accountable for it.

Not quite. Some types of "being held accountable" amount to little more than
censorship, and the only reason they do not act through prior restraint is
that the technical means of physically preventing people from uttering the
forbidden words in advance are lacking. If everyone who utters the word
"tree" is sent to prison, that's censorship; the fact that people are not
prevented from uttering it doesn't make it any less so.

Thus, banning books or burning them is censorship, even though the books have
been printed.

Of course, if you live in a place with a long and sorry distinction of
infringements upon freedom of speech continuing up to the present day, you may
not have learned of this distinction.

--
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Judah wrote:

In general, I don't think it would be a terrible idea to more clearly define
GA as two classes - light single engines / twin aircraft and corporate /
charter Jets.

Most of the complaints of the public and airlines regarding security threats
and tax advantages hold a different set of arguments with respect to the
larger aircraft.

One way to save yourself from the camel is to collect all your crap, move out
and find a new tent before you wake up outside with nothing.

That attitude remonds me of this:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:

This type of fatalism is also typically European.


What I say above true for the US as well. It's not true for
Switzerland, which is in Europe.



Unfortunatetly I find myself agreeing with this statement.

I personally believe it is a result of a combination of the
dumbing-down an overall femininization of the US public in general.
This breeds people who are more concerned with "security" (hehe..
more of a false sense of one!) than real freedom and more concerned
about being "politically correct" or not offending someone than
standing firm for what you believe in.

Mxsmanic wrote:

There is no confusion. Freedom of speech presumes that no one will pass
judgement on the intelligence, coherence, wisdom, etc., of any speech.


WRONG. Freedom of speech presumes no such thing... on the other hand,
tru socialism does.

C J Campbell wrote:

User fees will stop some people from flying, but most pilots will probably be
able to cope. The thing that gets me is the unending harassment. It is enough
to make you want to become a hermit. (Actually, I tried that :-) )

User fees, and the associated higher fuel taxes with do more then just
"stop some people from flying". It will slowly and inexorable smother
the aviation business for all except the big airline shops. All of the
small businesses that depend on an active general aviation segment will
founder.

This is nothing more than a very large tax increase. Tax increases slow
down an economy (or a segment thereof) and anyone who has gotten an
education beyond a public school system should know that.

I can no longer fight political battles. I am completely exhausted. You guys
will have to fight the next civil war without me -- and I am convinced that
civil war is inevitable.

I just hope it happens soon... before I am too old to care and participate.


For myself, things have gotten so fouled up that I can no longer get medical
insurance in the state of Washington. Thanks to Mike Lowrie's insurance
'reforms,' there are NO medical insurers willing to cover anyone who does not
work for a big corporation. Group Health and one or two others might do it
for big deductibles and premiums approaching $1000 a month. I am sick of
fighting taxing authorities, insurance companies, and everyone else who has a
hand out. When I die, what the feds don't take, the state will seize the
rest. So it is all for nothing. With problems like that, user fees are just
another gnat sting. Foo.


Sorry to hear you say that, but giving up is exactly what politicians
wnat you to do.... then they have total control of you while you wait
in line (behind a drug addict) for your "universal" health care.

On 2/11/2007 9:21:53 PM, C J Campbell wrote:

For myself, things have gotten so fouled up that I can no longer get medical
insurance in the state of Washington. Thanks to Mike Lowrie's insurance
'reforms,' there are NO medical insurers willing to cover anyone who does not
work for a big corporation. Group Health and one or two others might do it
for big deductibles and premiums approaching $1000 a month. I am sick of
fighting taxing authorities, insurance companies, and everyone else who has a
hand out. When I die, what the feds don't take, the state will seize the
rest. So it is all for nothing. With problems like that, user fees are just
another gnat sting. Foo.

As a self-employed individual who lives in another fouled up state (New
York), I totally share your pain. Family health insurance in these parts is
about 1,300/month, unless one wants to flirt with very large deductibles -
something I am currently doing.

I am convinced that many full time W2 employees (salaried or hourly
employees) don't realize what a real benefit health insurance really is. It
literally adds about US $15,000 / year or more to one's total compensation
package.

--
Peter

Peter R. writes:

I am convinced that many full time W2 employees (salaried or hourly
employees) don't realize what a real benefit health insurance really is. It
literally adds about US $15,000 / year or more to one's total compensation
package.

Does it occur to anyone that $15,000 is way too much to spend on normal health
care?

--
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