Yup, good point, glad to see you making this distinction

You're welcome!

Hi! I've been fine, thanks. Hope the same for you. Glad to see you're writing! If you're working on a novel. (a) finish it and then (b) go to workshops where agents will be in attendance and participants can sign up to pitch to them. If you're working on short stories, (a) finish a bunch and then (b) google duotrope's digest. I haven't been there for a while, but last time I checked, it was a RIDICULOUSLY comprehensive guide to journals of all genres which are looking for short fiction. Be persistent and do not give up. Good luck!

Thank you. It's a little baffling to see that sort of sentiment (as opposed to opinion, even) on a forum where valuing the specialness of intuition is such a strong theme.

Fair enough. Thanks much.

Yes, true. I'm talking more about the ridiculous justifications for it--all the crap about having "more opportunity" to fulfill yourself creatively or economically, live without constraints of any kind because you can allegedly just bribe everybody, etc. If people are really believing those rationalizations, I'm officially worried for them

Also, to be clear as well, I don't believe in any "trasnformative" power of a video. I just can't put my beliefs any more succinctly.

Well then I can deduce one of two things:

Either you don't believe in right, or you believe that right is something else. I don't see any option other than what is presented that doesn't in some way give power of either a minority or the majority to control or leech from others.

Rule of law is good, until the laws are either corrupt or ignored.

You need to watch this video as it explains what is wrong with that statement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z1buym2xUM

The only area for any debate is establishing a framework for use of raw material resources (land, and the resources on it such as metals/wood/water, etc., which is not the same thing as the idea of "property".)

What you are basically saying is that no one has anything unless "society" allows it anyway, therefore society can take back what is essentially it's own property at anytime. This is ridiculous. Something does not belong to me merely because no one else has attempted to take it from me.

This may not be how you perceive your position but this is my understanding of your interpretation.

I personally don't see how those imperatives justify theft through a proxy, unless you see it as merely relative to what is already deemed "acceptable"?

Yes. Time to put a stop to the looting.

I don't recall calling you any of those. I may (I'd have to go back and look because I don't remember exactly) have said something along the lines that arguing this stuff is like arguing with Born Agains in the sense that the other side never seems to fully consider your position.

Your snarkiness baffles me. There's no need for it at all.

So you have decided that the end justifies the means. You couldn't directly come to me and rip the money out of my wallet to use it as you see fit, and would vehemently oppose such an action. But it's perfectly fine to achieve the same result through a proxy.

I don't really care if you "used to be one of me". Deciding that theft is ok (big picture), and that dictating to others how they should educate/what they should educate (government oversight/running of education) is ok, is ethical regression on your part. If anything, it makes it worse, since you did know better.

I posted a very simple video in yogini's thread that lays it out as simply as possible. If we don't agree then we don't agree, but what we don't agree on is your access to my life,family, and resources to use as you see fit by force, through use of proxy (government).

If you want to donate money to help educate "underprivileged children", I would have no problem with that. It's your support for a system that forces involuntary contributions for services neither used nor supported/desired.

This is a big picture thing, not merely limited to government education. There is no savings when the government acts as a middle man. Bureaucracy is a black hole for resources, and taxation is merely theft by another name.

I see the thread you made, unfortunately it appears it was doomed from the beginning from the ridiculous posts between yoginimama and Introject.

Not really. I merely missed a number, and I could have removed the "visitor's page part" but I'm sure the reverse happens. I am also unsuprised that you zeroed on my failing to correct the % when you failed to = 100. We can, of course, merely nitpick errors in grammer and arithmetic on message boards all day long.

Or you can explain what is morally/ethically right about you, or a majority taking from or dictating to an individual. Feel free to keep it in the thread though. This rep board feature or whatever it is makes keeping sense of the thread very time consuming when there are side conversations going on, and is frankly a redundant and useless feature.

Yes, it's truly something to witness, isn't it?

Yes, I indeed am from Lithuania. I am happy to see someone who actually knows what "Lithuania" means.

You're welcome, and I agree.

"Alanis"

Actually, it's "Alanas". Thank you.