RagnaToad
Shake it like a polaroid picture

Exams are memory tests, and measure how much one can write in 3 hours. Essays test ability to research, read, think critically, and explain concisely.

I like having access to resources in order to form a cogent argument. It's a lot harder to do that in an exam.

Plus you always have multiple exams, so you have so much information crammed in at once, which just leaks out the second you leave the exam room anyway.

Don'tcha just hate exams? I mean when in life are you expected to know everything at once, without access to books and the internet. Ridiculous.

Good idea. I didn't plan on responding to your post at all, but I can go ahead and respond to a VM.

Yeah, Sasquatch can come across that way. Which makes me wonder if he would sit down with someone of African descent and have the exact same conversation with them that he's having in that thread. Perhaps he would.

However, I do agree with him that it should be one way or the other for all races when it comes to the word. I lean toward no one saying it at all. But I understand that some (not all) black people do. I get why they say it. And it doesn't bother me that they can say it, but I shouldn't. I have no desire to say it. I suppose what I don't understand is the desire.

Ahhhh. You philosophy peoples come in handy, you know?

"From my experiences, the US is a pretty tough country to live in if you're poor."
-What exactly are your experiences of being poor in the U.S.?

The problem with being poor in the United States is that nobody has to be poor. I've literally seen people go from homeless to college graduate. I've seen people go from the ghetto to owning their own business. Sure, sometimes it ain't easy, but the United States lives up to its "land of opportunity" label. Not only are there tax rebates and perks for poor people (as in, they take money from the successful and redistribute it), there are programs that people can't get into unless their income is under a certain amount. College tuition is somewhat high, but there are myriad ways to get money for college, from scholarships to grants to student loans -- and every college town will have plenty of employment opportunities.

I don't have any sympathy for the poor in America -- 99% of the time, the people that are poor in America deserve to be poor. The other one percent, there are plenty of (TOO many) government programs to help them.

I seeee. But I think this is how Nix sees it, and I understand how he is trying to use it.

"You think it's not one of the services the government should provide, I think it is/"
-I think that governments (and this is how the American government WAS set up) are there to protect the rights of their citizenry. Not their health, but their rights. Taking my money to provide healthcare to somebody who, most likely because of their own actions, cannot or simply does not pay for their own, violates my rights.

"I know we have one of the best health care systems in the world ..."
-You're not in Britain, are you? Because if you think Britain has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, damn, I've got some stuff to teach you. Belgium, right?

"And I wonder, are breasts shown on the news an issue? Like if they were to show a clip from a beach and there would be people in monokini."
-Bikinis and such are usually fine, but you could only see nudity on certain, specific cable channels. Just like cusswords -- they don't censor "ass" or "damn" or "bitch", stuff like that, but the more "severe" ones they do ... again, unless it's on specific channels (not just regular cable, but extra packages -- HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc.).

"Oh, and do you have like a national tv channel, funded by the state?"
-It's PBS (Public Broadcasting System) here. Usually it's full of children's educational shows, but sometimes they'll have news or science shows -- and they're pretty liberal.

"And what I meant about the marijuana, was that over here, we can smoke it, but we can't grow or sell it."
-That's kinda ... dumb, ain't it?

"So do you want the marijuana industry in the US to be in the hands of (mostly) criminals, or do you want the business to be recognised as a legitimate industry, with taxation and even unions if you will?"
-Well I'm no fan of unions, and I wouldn't want the government to see it as yet another thing to suck money from (like they do with tobacco), but ... I'd rather see it legalized to the point that growing it, selling it, AND using it are legal. So the people involved in each process wouldn't be criminals. But at that point, there would have to be standards governing every aspect of it, like making sure it's not laced with shit, stuff like that, so the government would have to step in anyway. It'd become a crop and industry just like tobacco or alcohol, I assume.

I think he means a baby only exists as a human being once it has the ability to think. That can be some kind of justification for first trimester abortion or something, couldn't it?

Though a definition of 'think' would be hard. Is it 'thinking' to get cells to divide, or to feel pain, or what?

And actually existing would grant someone rights, correct? So if Nix says that an unborn child does not have a mind, and cannot think, then it does not meet a standard for existing as a human?

Yes, it's iffy, but I see his logic here.

How does "I think, therefore I am" not have any relevance? Yes, it's way out of context, but... if you apply it like this: a newly-conceived 'baby' cannot think, then it must not be a 'person' with rights, such as the right to 'not be killed'.

Don't get me wrong, I think life begins at conception, but I'm interested in your take here.

Also, I like the Smiths, for Johnny Marr. Morrissey is a twat. As for other music...just now I'm really into Eels, Muse, Camera Obscura, Regina Spektor's new album, and Devotchka. General all time faves are David Bowie, The Clash, Led Zep, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and so on. What about you?

To anyone who cares to read it. I do it for fun when I have the time. It helps me to work out what I should be doing as an aspiring writer.

"Then why not stop paying taxes altogether?"
-Because it's the obligation of the government to provide certain services to its people. Healthcare is not one of them.

"Besides, if anything, the US has more censorship in all media than probably any Western European country."
-The only "censorship" is of things deemed "improper" -- you can't turn on the TV to watch porn, you won't hear cursing and such through TV or over the radio, stuff like that. The news -- as in, the stories they cover -- isn't censored at all.

"I mean, do you want it to become legal to smoke it, or do you want the growing industry to become legit too?"
-Well I'd rather the government not look at it as another way to take money, if that's what you're asking.

Freedom ... freedom to keep more of our own earnings, freedom to choose our own healthcare, freedom to own/carry/use firearms, etc. etc.

While I don't think marijuana should be illegal, I'm not one of the dopey bastards who considers it a cure-all or thinks that it will solve every problem anybody could think of. There are people like that, though. I just think it should be a personal choice, like alcohol. If and when it's made legal, I'll be happy to go out and light up, but until then, nobody can claim to be a responsible citizen while their day-to-day life consists of breaking laws.