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Region: The Confederacy of Free Nations

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Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:I will since you gave up and I won the argument

Nobody won this argument

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:Religion is stupid. Believing in some invisible guy up in the skies is insane

From one atheist to another, don't start a debate on religion on the Internet, please

Nuremgard, Jaslandia

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:Just continue to ridicule me, that's what losers do. Also, what the fvck is a Boggart?

You'd know that if you were a Harry Potter fan, sweetie.

Vista Major, Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth

Pirate Kingdoms wrote:Nobody won this argument

From one atheist to another, don't start a debate on religion on the Internet, please

I won this argument.

Jaslandia, Pirate Kingdoms

Tserra wrote:I won this argument.

You win everything, Tse. I wish I had even just a smidgen of your patience.

Jaslandia, Tserra

Tserra wrote:I won this argument.

So "childish", much amaze

Tserra

Nuremgard wrote:He probably checks under his bed at night for the tax man.

I don't, but only because I know he's there. Right next to the Red. I feel them peanut butter toast and fall asleep to their gentle recitation of Karl Marx.

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Friedensreich

What's all the talk about ?

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:What's all the talk about ?

Taxes!

Penguania And Antarctica

Continental Commonwealths wrote:I don't, but only because I know he's there. Right next to the Red. I feel them peanut butter toast and fall asleep to their gentle recitation of Karl Marx.

I hear the Tory under my bed masturbating with a copy of Atlas Shrugged.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Nuremgard wrote:You win everything, Tse. I wish I had even just a smidgen of your patience.

Friedensreich wrote:So "childish", much amaze

Lol I love you fellas too! :D

Nuremgard, Jaslandia

Friedensreich wrote:Taxes!

REPEAT AFTER ME

TAXATION IS THEFT

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth

Nuremgard wrote:You'd know that if you were a Harry Potter fan, sweetie.

How am I supposed to know, I read them in Icelandic. Sweetie.

Friedensreich wrote:Taxes!

Eww.

Good that I don't have to pay taxes. :)

Nuremgard wrote:I hear the Tory under my bed masturbating with a copy of Atlas Shrugged.

Given the length of Atlas Shrugged, I admire his stamina

Nuremgard, Jaslandia

Tserra wrote:Lol I love you fellas too! :D

Pirate Kingdoms wrote:Nobody won this argument

From one atheist to another, don't start a debate on religion on the Internet, please

You as well.

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:How am I supposed to know, I read them in Icelandic. Sweetie.

Yes. Even you.

Clemodecralia wrote:REPEAT AFTER ME

TAXATION IS THEFT

TAXATION IS THEFT

Clemodecralia

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:How am I supposed to know, I read them in Icelandic. Sweetie.

Not my fault Icelandic doesn't have a word for Boggart, sweetie.

Tserra wrote:You as well.

Yes. Even you.

What about me?

Nuremgard wrote:Not my fault Icelandic doesn't have a word for Boggart, sweetie.

Goddamnit just tell me what it is!

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Given the length of Atlas Shrugged, I admire his stamina

Given his length, I just admire him.

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:Goddamnit just tell me what it is!

It's a creature which takes the form of whatever you fear most in the world.

And a please would be appreciated next time.

Clemodecralia wrote:REPEAT AFTER ME

TAXATION IS THEFT

That's like, your opinion man.

Clemodecralia

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:What about me?

Read the primary quote I quoted before I quoted you homeslice.

Nuremgard wrote:Given his length, I just admire him.

Yes, but besides him being a Tory you'd also have to deal with him yelling out "Who is John Galt?!" during the deed.

Nuremgard

Nuremgard wrote:It's a creature which takes the form of whatever you fear most in the world.

And a please would be appreciated next time.

Ahh right, from book number 3

Tserra wrote:You as well.

Yes. Even you.

You'd make Lucifer himself blush with your proclamations of love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn1wRbjOPcQ

Здесь есть русские?

Nuremgard wrote:You'd make Lucifer himself blush with your proclamations of love.

lol

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Yes, but besides him being a Tory you'd also have to deal with him yelling out "Who is John Galt?!" during the deed.

I often imagine Tories keep themselves going during the act while envisioning Margaret Thatcher and saying over and over, "there is no such thing as society."

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:Ahh right, from book number 3

One of the best.

Tserra wrote:lol

Or make him swoon.

https://katemacdonalddotnet.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/milton-1.jpg

Clemodecralia wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn1wRbjOPcQ

Здесь есть русские?

Schau! Wir haben noch Russländer!

Now I must recite the German purification ritual.

Penguania And Antarctica

Nuremgard wrote:I often imagine Tories keep themselves going during the act while envisioning Margaret Thatcher and saying over and over, "there is no such thing as society."

Make it two Thatchers saying it in creepy unison like something out of a Stephen King novel, and you have me.

Jaslandia wrote:I'd hardly call it 'utopian', consider basically all developed nations besides the U.S. have single-payer, universal healthcare, or something similar. And I think the federal government is far more effective than you give it credit it for, but seeing as you're a libertarian, I don't think I can convince you of government's effectiveness.

Well the closest approximation to the US federal model is Canada, which has about 30 million people. Canada's healthcare system is not sexy, at least not for the numerous people who die on waiting lists. I'm living in the UK until September and doctors appointments have to be booked several months in advance. Under single payer, care has to be rationed.

No, I don't think you could. Empirical evidence and theories aside, I've seen and experienced the incompetence of government. I'm not an anarchist, but even the things government is supposed to do (police, military) are done badly. Look, I get that your intentions are probably good, and I'm guessing you want to take care of people who can't afford healthcare and whatnot. But friend, good ideas don't require force. As easy as it sounds to have the coercive hands of the state to monopolise the system, voluntary charities and mutual societies are a fantastic way to address this issue.

Jaslandia wrote:And I fail to see how single-payer is illegal/unconstitutional. The Constitution has already been stretched and expanded through things like the general welfare clause,

Which is wrong. Whether or not you think the Constitution is a "living document", whatever that means, the purpose of any Constitution is to limit the state's power. James Madison and the Founding Fathers definitely debated how far the federal government should go in terms of providing services, but the general consensus was that they wanted a small federal government restricted to just a few responsibilities set out in the Enumerated Powers. They didn't write the 10th Amendment for fun: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

The perverse expansion of the federal government's power since the second Roosevelt presidency was done explicitly for political purposes. The Supreme Court's role should be to check the government's power and block unconstitutional infringements upon it; since the 1930s, in terms of economic policy its role has been to rubberstamp the agenda of anyone seeking to expand the size of government. Not good!

And to that last point, the general welfare clause is supposed to be tied to one of the enumerated powers, like anything else in the preamble.

Jaslandia wrote:and stuff like NASA and telecommunications regulations hardly have any basis in the Constitution (for understandable reasons). I fail to see how single-payer is more unconstitutional than those things,

That line of thinking is correct. Eisenhower justified both NASA and the interstate highway system as being necessary to national defense, so I suppose NASA could be considered constitutional. But no, single payer is just as unconstitutional as food stamps or Medicare or subsidies for corporations.

[quote=jaslandia;26512908]and if the Supreme Court does rule it constitutional, than I'd be just fine with a constitutional amendment to enact it.

Well then I completely agree with you. That's the type of thinking we need in the Democratic Party - if you disagree with the Constitution, then change it, don't try to redefine it. Don't like guns in America? Ok, repeal the Second Amendment - but don't try to concoct some phony reasoning as to why the Founders would've allowed an assault weapons ban. The same applies to the healthcare debate.

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:If nobody would pay them then why should they be forced to? I thought you believed in democracy?

What does democracy have to do with this? You realize that choice doesn't automatically mean democratic?

Friedensreich wrote:Schau! Wir haben noch Russländer!

Now I must recite the German purification ritual.

?????????

Russen sind die größte Bevölkerung Europas

lmaooo

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Make it two Thatchers saying it in creepy unison like something out of a Stephen King novel, and you have me.

As a dirty left, this is my preferred choice of mood music in the bedroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U06jlgpMtQs

Nuremgard wrote:Did you pick your confirmation name? Think mine is Benjamin. Bloody horrible.

No, I'm deciding between John Paul II, Francis, Thomas Aquinas and Valentine. I'm gonna try to pick all of them though so my name will be:

"Tadhg Séamus John Paul Francis Thomas Aquinas Valentine O'G********

Friedensreich wrote:Schau! Wir haben noch Russländer!

Now I must recite the German purification ritual.

It's not 'Russländer. It's 'Russen' (pl), 'Russe' (sg)

Clemodecralia, Yukona

Auxorii wrote:No, I'm deciding between John Paul II, Francis, Thomas Aquinas and Valentine. I'm gonna try to pick all of them though so my name will be:

"Tadhg Séamus John Paul Francis Thomas Aquinas Valentine O'G********

That's a bit of a mouthful. Just the way I like it. ;)

Jaslandia, Auxorii, Yukona, Solla Ultima

Auxorii wrote:No, I'm deciding between John Paul II, Francis, Thomas Aquinas and Valentine. I'm gonna try to pick all of them though so my name will be:

"Tadhg Séamus John Paul Francis Thomas Aquinas Valentine O'G********

I....I approve...

Jaslandia, Auxorii

Can anyone please explain what the Tories are I know they have something to do with English politics and if you would be so kind to give the political ideology equivalent in American politics such as

Tories=????

and so on and so fourth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix0z2eWWEVY

Solla Ultima wrote:Can anyone please explain what the Tories are I know they have something to do with English politics and if you would be so kind to give the political ideology equivalent in American politics such as

Tories=????

and so on and so fourth

British Conservative Party. Much further left than the Republican Party but I suppose they're technically the equivalent.

Solla Ultima wrote:Can anyone please explain what the Tories are I know they have something to do with English politics and if you would be so kind to give the political ideology equivalent in American politics such as

Tories=????

and so on and so fourth

The Tories are what people call the British Conservative Party though I believe the name also applies in Canada.

Tories = Republicans.

Dearest regionmates,

As someone who pretty much exclusively uses mobile and who just doesn't have the thumb dexterity he once did, perhaps you could consider using spoilers if you insist on writing RMB posts the length of the book of Isaiah?

Thanks babes,

CC

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Friedensreich

Solla Ultima wrote:Can anyone please explain what the Tories are I know they have something to do with English politics and if you would be so kind to give the political ideology equivalent in American politics such as

Tories=????

and so on and so fourth

the only Political parties that i know of from England are the Labor and the SNP

Nuremgard wrote:As a dirty left, this is my preferred choice of mood music in the bedroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U06jlgpMtQs

I knew it before I even opened it :P

Nuremgard

Auxorii wrote:What does democracy have to do with this? You realize that choice doesn't automatically mean democratic?

Yes but if the vast majority of people doesn't want to do something why do they have to do it?

Alright. I'm finally done. I'm no longer going to read the RMB anymore. I had to slowly cycle through 30+ pages consisting of around 1600 messages JUST to see if ANYTHING important popped up. One question... Is it REALLY THAT HARD to set up a debate OFFSITE? Every day I log on...it's 1500+ messages....I can't be bothered to read that much for 1 or 2 things.

So...

If there's ANYTHING ACTUALLY IMPORTANT...

Then...

TELEGRAM ME PERSONALLY

Otherwise... I'll never see it.

Now... Back to work.

Onocarcass

Solla Ultima wrote:the only Political parties that i know of from England are the Labor and the SNP

Woah, woah, take a step back there, son. It's not England. It's Britain. The SNP is a Scottish party that only stands in Scotland, a constituent nation of the United Kingdom.

We are not England.

Jaslandia, Yukona

Clemodecralia wrote:?????????

Russen sind die größte Bevölkerung Europas

lmaooo

It's all in pure sarcasm :P

And I guess it depends on what you consider Russian. A friend of mine from Siberia (mixed Mongolian and Russian) claims that Ukrainians, Belarussians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, and even some Poles were Russian because they were Slavic.

Depending on whichever definition you follow, it'll change greatly as to which group is largest in Europe.

Russkov Soviet wrote:Alright. I'm finally done. I'm no longer going to read the RMB anymore. I had to slowly cycle through 30+ pages consisting of around 1600 messages JUST to see if ANYTHING important popped up. One question... Is it REALLY THAT HARD to set up a debate OFFSITE? Every day I log on...it's 1500+ messages....I can't be bothered to read that much for 1 or 2 things.

So...

If there's ANYTHING ACTUALLY IMPORTANT...

Then...

TELEGRAM ME PERSONALLY

Otherwise... I'll never see it.

Now... Back to work.

Well...that is kinda the point of the RMB though. I mean I hear what you are saying, but why should we choose not to utilize the RMB simply because you it creates a lot of messages. Generally speaking anything actually important will wind up in a regional telegram, or the WFE.

Russkov Soviet, Jaslandia

Nuremgard wrote:Woah, woah, take a step back there, son. It's not England. It's Britain. The SNP is a Scottish party that only stands in Scotland, a constituent nation of the United Kingdom.

We are not England.

Forgive me I am just a simple american trying to understand your nations seminally complicated political structure. :)

Jaslandia

Continental Commonwealths wrote:Dearest regionmates,

As someone who pretty much exclusively uses mobile and who just doesn't have the thumb dexterity he once did, perhaps you could consider using spoilers if you insist on writing RMB posts the length of the book of Isaiah?

Thanks babes,

CC

I pride myself on doing just this :P

Jaslandia

Tserra wrote:Well...that is kinda the point of the RMB though. I mean I hear what you are saying, but why should we choose not to utilize the RMB simply because you it creates a lot of messages. Generally speaking anything actually important will wind up in a regional telegram, or the WFE.

I dunno. I guess I'm just losing my grip on sanity this week.

Jaslandia

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:It's not 'Russländer. It's 'Russen' (pl), 'Russe' (sg)

Well shít, good thing I'm brushing up on my German next semester. It's been about a year and a half since I've had to use it for much.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Solla Ultima wrote:Forgive me I am just a simple american trying to understand your nations seminally complicated political structure. :)

You are forgiven. Britain has one of the most ridiculous political structures ever conceived. Just don't ever call Scotland England if you visit north of the border. You'll find yourself on the receiving end of a Glesga Kiss (unless you're in an Orange Lodge.)

Jaslandia, Solla Ultima

Friedensreich wrote:I pride myself on doing just this :P

Which is why you're my favourite lengthy poster.

Jaslandia

Nuremgard wrote:You are forgiven. Britain has one of the most ridiculous political structures ever conceived. Just don't ever call Scotland England if you visit north of the border. You'll find yourself on the receiving end of a Glesga Kiss (unless you're in an Orange Lodge.)

Nice to know thank you. :)

Nuremgard

Nuremgard wrote:You are forgiven. Britain has one of the most ridiculous political structures ever conceived. Just don't ever call Scotland England if you visit north of the border. You'll find yourself on the receiving end of a Glesga Kiss (unless you're in an Orange Lodge.)

your political structure is probably no where near as complicated as that of the former Holy Roman Empire now thats confusing.

Nuremgard

Solla Ultima wrote:your political structure is probably no where near as complicated as that of the former Holy Roman Empire now thats confusing.

I don't even think they knew how it worked and just made sh!t up as they went along.

Mind you the British Government does that too.

Solla Ultima

Nuremgard wrote:You are forgiven. Britain has one of the most ridiculous political structures ever conceived. Just don't ever call Scotland England if you visit north of the border. You'll find yourself on the receiving end of a Glesga Kiss (unless you're in an Orange Lodge.)

Make the Constitution an actual document, not multiple documents that have to be referenced

Jaslandia

Pirate Kingdoms wrote:Make the Constitution an actual document, not multiple documents that have to be referenced

I would do that but I'm not in charge.

Jaslandia

Nuremgard wrote:I don't even think they knew how it worked and just made sh!t up as they went along.

Mind you the British Government does that too.

this might be random but I have a question to ask do you consider yourself pro EU or anti I've always wanted to know form someone affected by the decision to leave not some american news agency

Nuremgard

Solla Ultima wrote:Nice to know thank you. :)

When I get up tomorrow I'll give you a full and brief explanation of all the major parties and what they're doing right now

Nuremgard, Solla Ultima

Solla Ultima wrote:this might be random but I have a question to ask do you consider yourself pro EU or anti I've always wanted to know form someone affected by the decision to leave not some american news agency

Before the referendum, I didn't feel strongly either way but then I became a Leave voter. I voted to Leave but now deeply regret it. I am now a strong advocate of the EU.

Yukona wrote:When I get up tomorrow I'll give you a full and brief explanation of all the major parties and what they're doing right now

Thank you kindly will you send it via telegram?

Yukona

Nuremgard wrote:Before the referendum, I didn't feel strongly either way but then I became a Leave voter. I voted to Leave but now deeply regret it. I am now a strong advocate of the EU.

Do you believe most people that voted to leave now feel the same as you do now?

Friedensreich wrote:It's all in pure sarcasm :P

And I guess it depends on what you consider Russian. A friend of mine from Siberia (mixed Mongolian and Russian) claims that Ukrainians, Belarussians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, and even some Poles were Russian because they were Slavic.

Depending on whichever definition you follow, it'll change greatly as to which group is largest in Europe.

Well, ethnic Russians are the largest ethnic group in Europe.

Ethnic Russian: anyone who is of Russian ethnicity and language and have blood to prove it. (1/64th Russian blood 7th generation American is not a Russian by true ethnicity)

Solla Ultima wrote:Do you believe most people that voted to leave now feel the same as you do now?

I couldn't possibly know. I think there might be many who, like me, have buyer's remorse. I think the majority (in England and Wales anyway) still want the UK to leave the EU.

Recent polls show people would vote to stay if the referendum was held now but I don't put stock into any polls.

Solla Ultima

Nuremgard wrote:I couldn't possibly know. I think there might be many who, like me, have buyer's remorse. I think the majority (in England and Wales anyway) still want the UK to leave the EU.

Recent polls show people would vote to stay if the referendum was held now but I don't put stock into any polls.

I think after the roller coaster ride that 2016 was not many people put an ounce of trust into polls anymore

Nuremgard, Clemodecralia

Friedensreich wrote:It's all in pure sarcasm :P

And I guess it depends on what you consider Russian. A friend of mine from Siberia (mixed Mongolian and Russian) claims that Ukrainians, Belarussians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, and even some Poles were Russian because they were Slavic.

Depending on whichever definition you follow, it'll change greatly as to which group is largest in Europe.

Estonians were and are not a Slavic people. They are a Finnic people and speak a Finnic language and are closer to Finland like Irish is to Scots Gaelic. It's very important to note that their history is also different, considering they're ethnically made up of not just actual Estonians but also Ingrians, Karelians, Finns, Veps, Voros, Baltic Germans and Setos - all Finnic and/or Germanic people groups native to that area, some before Slavs.

Solla Ultima wrote:I think after the roller coaster ride that 2016 was not many people put an ounce of trust into polls anymore

Absolutely. The UK and US went mad together last year. Both nations need to be confined in padded rooms for their own good.

Solla Ultima

Nuremgard wrote:I couldn't possibly know. I think there might be many who, like me, have buyer's remorse. I think the majority (in England and Wales anyway) still want the UK to leave the EU.

Recent polls show people would vote to stay if the referendum was held now but I don't put stock into any polls.

i have one final question do you believe that the outcome of Brexit will make more Scottish people want to leave the union with Britain, or do you believe that the SNP is beating a dead horse?

Nuremgard

Solla Ultima wrote:i have one final question do you believe that the outcome of Brexit will make more Scottish people want to leave the union with Britain, or do you believe that the SNP is beating a dead horse?

I live in hope that Brexit will convince most Scots to leave the union. But I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we will lose another referendum. This is for 2 reasons.

1) After 300 years of London rule, there is an inferiority complex ingrained in many Scots. They see themselves unable to govern their own country without Mother England to do it for them.

2) Scotland has a large demographic of English residents, the majority of whom are anti-independence. With these raw numbers, I fear Scotland will never see its independence.

But with Trump and Brexit, anything can happen. So we'll see.

Solla Ultima

Nuremgard wrote:I live in hope that Brexit will convince most Scots to leave the union. But I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we will lose another referendum. This is for 2 reasons.

1) After 300 years of London rule, there is an inferiority complex ingrained in many Scots. They see themselves unable to govern their own country without Mother England to do it for them.

2) Scotland has a large demographic of English residents, the majority of whom are anti-independence. With these raw numbers, I fear Scotland will never see its independence.

But with Trump and Brexit, anything can happen. So we'll see.

Positive thoughts Nurem! We'll get the Yes campaign back into swing and we'll smash it! We can do it!

Nuremgard, Solla Ultima

Nuremgard wrote:I live in hope that Brexit will convince most Scots to leave the union. But I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we will lose another referendum. This is for 2 reasons.

1) After 300 years of London rule, there is an inferiority complex ingrained in many Scots. They see themselves unable to govern their own country without Mother England to do it for them.

2) Scotland has a large demographic of English residents, the majority of whom are anti-independence. With these raw numbers, I fear Scotland will never see its independence.

But with Trump and Brexit, anything can happen. So we'll see.

this might mean nothing coming form an American who has no say in British Politics but I as well hope one day to see an strong independent Scotland I have some Scottish linage in me so for what its worth I agree with you. :)

Nuremgard

Lex Caledonia wrote:Positive thoughts Nurem! We'll get the Yes campaign back into swing and we'll smash it! We can do it!

I wish I could share your optimism! You're like my sister. She thinks we can win it next time too. But I'm a pessimist and cynic at heart. I will of course go out there and cast my vote for Yes if and when the time comes. I am but one man. The obstacle to Scottish independence is the Scots themselves. (Some of them anyway!)

Solla Ultima

Solla Ultima wrote:this might mean nothing coming form an American who has no say in British Politics but I as well hope one day to see an strong independent Scotland I have some Scottish linage in me so for what its worth I agree with you. :)

Thanks, bud! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Solla Ultima

Nuremgard wrote:Thanks, bud! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

will do! :)

Nuremgard

I wanted to ask you all if anyone of you play any of the Sid Meier's Civilization games?

Jaslandia, Peoples Liberation Republic

Solla Ultima wrote:I wanted to ask you all if anyone of you play any of the Sid Meier's Civilization games?

I played one of them ages ago (I forget which.) I played as a pharaoh from ancient Egypt.

Jaslandia, Solla Ultima

About the regional poll do any of you guys live in former member nations of the Warsaw Pact?

Nuremgard, Clemodecralia, Vista Major

Solla Ultima wrote:About the regional poll do any of you guys live in former member nations of the Warsaw Pact?
Does America count?

Solla Ultima

As someone who is a bit ignorant of communist history, can somebody explain something to me?

Were the Warsaw Pact countries independent or were they in some kind of political union with Russia? How much autonomy did they have if this is the case? And did the USSR refer to just Russia or did it include these other countries too?

Solla Ultima

Vista Major wrote:Does America count?

No, not really considering we were the ones that stood against the Warsaw Pact. NATO after all was an American/Western European counter to the Warsaw pact.

Nuremgard wrote:As someone who is a bit ignorant of communist history, can somebody explain something to me?

Were the Warsaw Pact countries independent or were they in some kind of political union with Russia? How much autonomy did they have if this is the case? And did the USSR refer to just Russia or did it include these other countries too?

They were de jure independent I think

Nuevo Pevvania wrote:1. Well the closest approximation to the US federal model is Canada, which has about 30 million people. Canada's healthcare system is not sexy, at least not for the numerous people who die on waiting lists. I'm living in the UK until September and doctors appointments have to be booked several months in advance. Under single payer, care has to be rationed.

No, I don't think you could. Empirical evidence and theories aside, I've seen and experienced the incompetence of government. I'm not an anarchist, but even the things government is supposed to do (police, military) are done badly. Look, I get that your intentions are probably good, and I'm guessing you want to take care of people who can't afford healthcare and whatnot.

2. But friend, good ideas don't require force. As easy as it sounds to have the coercive hands of the state to monopolise the system, voluntary charities and mutual societies are a fantastic way to address this issue.

3. Which is wrong. Whether or not you think the Constitution is a "living document", whatever that means, the purpose of any Constitution is to limit the state's power. James Madison and the Founding Fathers definitely debated how far the federal government should go in terms of providing services, but the general consensus was that they wanted a small federal government restricted to just a few responsibilities set out in the Enumerated Powers. They didn't write the 10th Amendment for fun: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

The perverse expansion of the federal government's power since the second Roosevelt presidency was done explicitly for political purposes. The Supreme Court's role should be to check the government's power and block unconstitutional infringements upon it; since the 1930s, in terms of economic policy its role has been to rubberstamp the agenda of anyone seeking to expand the size of government. Not good!

And to that last point, the general welfare clause is supposed to be tied to one of the enumerated powers, like anything else in the preamble.

Well then I completely agree with you. That's the type of thinking we need in the Democratic Party - if you disagree with the Constitution, then change it, don't try to redefine it. Don't like guns in America? Ok, repeal the Second Amendment - but don't try to concoct some phony reasoning as to why the Founders would've allowed an assault weapons ban. The same applies to the healthcare debate.

1. I posted a few links before in the RMB that show that universal healthcare is actually a pretty good system with a lot of benefits, and even the much-derided Canadian system isn't as bad as people think.

Jaslandia wrote:That's one perspective, and I see where it's coming from, but here's another:

http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-03-2012/myths-canada-health-care.html

And besides, Canada is just one example: France is considered to have the best healthcare system of the world, and unlike Canada, you can't claim the U.S. is merely propping up France's healthcare system.

Jaslandia wrote:People have different personal stories of course, but the facts and statistics indicate that universal healthcare works and is comparable to the U.S.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/canada.asp

https://youtu.be/_yF69KVbUaQ

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2014/06/16/u-s-healthcare-ranked-dead-last-compared-to-10-other-countries/#7bf5cdcf576f

2. Considering charities right now aren't doing that well, I don't really trust charities to provide the same level of care and benefits as government.

3. I don't agree with your limited view of the Constitution (you seem to be more of a Jeffersonian, I'm more of a Hamiltonian, to be use a 18th century example), but I'm not a constitutional scholar, so with a few exceptions (*cough* Citizens United *cough*), I'm willing to trust the Supreme Court on this stuff. If nothing else, I admire your consistency in interpreting the Constitution.

Solla Ultima wrote:I wanted to ask you all if anyone of you play any of the Sid Meier's Civilization games?

I do. I started with Civ 4, and I'm now up to Civ 6.

Solla Ultima

Jaslandia wrote:1. I posted a few links before in the RMB that show that universal healthcare is actually a pretty good system with a lot of benefits, and even the much-derided Canadian system isn't as bad as people think.

2. Considering charities right now aren't doing that well, I don't really trust charities to provide the same level of care and benefits as government.

3. I don't agree with your limited view of the Constitution (you seem to be more of a Jeffersonian, I'm more of a Hamiltonian, to be use a 18th century example), but I'm not a constitutional scholar, so with a few exceptions (*cough* Citizens United *cough*), I'm willing to trust the Supreme Court on this stuff. If nothing else, I admire your consistency in interpreting the Constitution.

I do. I started with Civ 4, and I'm now up to Civ 6.

I am funnily enough playing Civ 6 right now. What Version of the game did you buy

Jaslandia

Neo-Icelandic Commonwealth wrote:They were de jure independent I think

Thanks.

Solla Ultima wrote:About the regional poll do any of you guys live in former member nations of the Warsaw Pact?

Russian SSR here friend

Solla Ultima

Nuremgard wrote:As someone who is a bit ignorant of communist history, can somebody explain something to me?

Were the Warsaw Pact countries independent or were they in some kind of political union with Russia? How much autonomy did they have if this is the case? And did the USSR refer to just Russia or did it include these other countries too?

They were under Russian "occupation" after the end of WW2 and continued to be like that until the Soviet Union fell but at the same time they some what operated as American states do with semi-antonomy but owed their loyalty to the soviet government in Moscow.

Nuremgard

Clemodecralia wrote:Russian SSR here friend

Sorry I half to ask do you like Putin, and is Russia Really as backwards as American media makes them look?

Solla Ultima wrote:They were under Russian "occupation" after the end of WW2 and continued to be like that until the Soviet Union fell but at the same time they some what operated as American states do with semi-antonomy but owed their loyalty to the soviet government in Moscow.

Ah, right. Thank you. Was the Warsaw Pact brought in to establish what countries would be ruled by the Allies and which would be ruled by the Soviets after the fall of the Third Reich?

Nuremgard wrote:For the record, that was me ending the argument. Simmer down. No need to get all Gestapo on us.

And yet, dear Nurem, it seems it is still going even after I stated that fact and has only stopped another 124 RMB posts later. I'm not going to simmer down if it takes 400 RMB messages and numerous Constabulary warnings to get you two too cool yer jets.

Jaslandia, Magnatronia

Solla Ultima wrote:I am funnily enough playing Civ 6 right now. What Version of the game did you buy

I'm not sure what it's called, but I bought it about a week or two after it came out, and it already had the Aztecs on it (which was supposed to be a pre-order exclusive for the first month or so). I've seen some stuff recently about a 'Deluxe edition', and I'm pretty sure I don't have that.

Solla Ultima

Andromitus wrote:And yet, dear Nurem, it seems it is still going even after I stated that fact and has only stopped another 124 RMB posts later. I'm not going to simmer down if it takes 400 RMB messages and numerous Constabulary warnings to get you two too cool yer jets.

Touché.

Jaslandia, Andromitus

Andromitus wrote:And yet, dear Nurem, it seems it is still going even after I stated that fact and has only stopped another 124 RMB posts later. I'm not going to simmer down if it takes 400 RMB messages and numerous Constabulary warnings to get you two too cool yer jets.

Well, it looks like it stopped now while you were looking through all the messages, so I think now you can 'simmer down'.

Nuremgard

Jaslandia wrote:I'm not sure what it's called, but I bought it about a week or two after it came out, and it already had the Aztecs on it (which was supposed to be a pre-order exclusive for the first month or so). I've seen some stuff recently about a 'Deluxe edition', and I'm pretty sure I don't have that.

I bought the deluxe edition as well and I'm so far happy with my purchase How about you?

Jaslandia

Nuremgard wrote:As someone who is a bit ignorant of communist history, can somebody explain something to me?

Were the Warsaw Pact countries independent or were they in some kind of political union with Russia? How much autonomy did they have if this is the case? And did the USSR refer to just Russia or did it include these other countries too?

There were officially independent, however they definitely had Soviet "advise" and "help". Surprisingly enough, not so commonly known, is the extent of the individual Warsaw Pact countries' political independence, as the USSR certainly had influence, they also did have issues with WP countries going their own directions and doing their own things, which not always necessarily followed the USSR's desires.

I find it comparable to the current EU, where countries are officially independent, the leading ones would financially assist all others, and if the leading countries really want, they could easily force thing onto the smaller countries with economic threats or incentives, or in the USSR's case only (so far), military intervention. Though obviously the EU perhaps isn't quite at the level of the USSR yet.

Jaslandia

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