Talked to Thornberg

[cyphire]

Hey jg…

I am going to make your day…. I had a couple of drinks with dinner… SO…. HERE COMES THE RANT!:

Stand behind the president… Republican’s want fair taxes. The poor suck. Pray in school. Darwin was a liar. USA is the best! We have the finest health care – the fairest society… USA number 1!!!

If you don’t let George Bush piss on the constitution the terrorists win! Oh- and if you don’t torture anyone you catch guilty or innocent the terrorists also win!

et cetera ad nauseum.

Lol….

Sometimes you have to jump off your parochial prejudices and try to look at the real world as it actually exists.

If I am incorrect about wages in the UK or quality of life issues then I stand corrected. I might have gotten it wrong – I am not wedded to it. I pulled statistics from the UK and US census and statistical sites – but was hard to try tie the data together. Ever try to pull general data from Google?!

I am not recalcitrant, just think that the US has rewarded the greedy financial people in our society at the expense of most of it’s citizens. And inheritance taxes wiping out old English estates is poetic justice. Most of that money was stolen from the peasants anyway. The sad thing is that the people in our society who want lower taxes are in essence stealing it from the other 80%.

I think that most American’s are so apathetic about politics that they vote from fear or don’t vote at all. A small percentage of people (Fearmongering Religious Republicans – FRR’s) have done a great job of feathering their nests – at the expense of the people in our society doing the mind-numbing work. Maybe when the gap between rich and poor increases to an even larger number there will be some blood in the streets. Until then – keep drinking the Kool-aid.

[cyphire]

Hey jg…

I am going to make your day…. I had a couple of drinks with dinner… SO…. HERE COMES THE RANT!:

Stand behind the president… Republican’s want fair taxes. The poor suck. Pray in school. Darwin was a liar. USA is the best! We have the finest health care – the fairest society… USA number 1!!!

If you don’t let George Bush piss on the constitution the terrorists win! Oh- and if you don’t torture anyone you catch guilty or innocent the terrorists also win!

et cetera ad nauseum.

Lol….

Sometimes you have to jump off your parochial prejudices and try to look at the real world as it actually exists.

If I am incorrect about wages in the UK or quality of life issues then I stand corrected. I might have gotten it wrong – I am not wedded to it. I pulled statistics from the UK and US census and statistical sites – but was hard to try tie the data together. Ever try to pull general data from Google?!

I am not recalcitrant, just think that the US has rewarded the greedy financial people in our society at the expense of most of it’s citizens. And inheritance taxes wiping out old English estates is poetic justice. Most of that money was stolen from the peasants anyway. The sad thing is that the people in our society who want lower taxes are in essence stealing it from the other 80%.

I think that most American’s are so apathetic about politics that they vote from fear or don’t vote at all. A small percentage of people (Fearmongering Religious Republicans – FRR’s) have done a great job of feathering their nests – at the expense of the people in our society doing the mind-numbing work. Maybe when the gap between rich and poor increases to an even larger number there will be some blood in the streets. Until then – keep drinking the Kool-aid.

[patientrenter]

cyphire, you threw raw meat to the pack!

I have sympathies for the point of view in your drunken rant (although I end up coming down on the opposite side on many of the issues you raise). Does that mean I’m drunk when I’m sober?

It’s amusing to see so many people compare averages in the UK or Albania with SD, and I often do it too. But the various members of my family live in many of the places that are being compared here and others (downtown London, Brussels, Stockholm, Nice, Dublin, Bermuda, Mumbai….) and they live lives remarkably similar to middle-class people here in OC, regardless of the incomes of the homeless or billionaires around them.

I’d be happy to live in any number of those places, and I prefer OC over Nice, for example, only because the weather here is slightly better and my professional qualifications cover the US only (and my French is terrible!)

A person who reflexively expresses the point of view that the country they grew up in is better than everywhere else is shedding more light on the shape of their own mind than on the merits of various places, and once you see that shape, there is no more useful information to be gained on that topic.

Patient renter in OC

[patientrenter]

cyphire, you threw raw meat to the pack!

I have sympathies for the point of view in your drunken rant (although I end up coming down on the opposite side on many of the issues you raise). Does that mean I’m drunk when I’m sober?

It’s amusing to see so many people compare averages in the UK or Albania with SD, and I often do it too. But the various members of my family live in many of the places that are being compared here and others (downtown London, Brussels, Stockholm, Nice, Dublin, Bermuda, Mumbai….) and they live lives remarkably similar to middle-class people here in OC, regardless of the incomes of the homeless or billionaires around them.

I’d be happy to live in any number of those places, and I prefer OC over Nice, for example, only because the weather here is slightly better and my professional qualifications cover the US only (and my French is terrible!)

A person who reflexively expresses the point of view that the country they grew up in is better than everywhere else is shedding more light on the shape of their own mind than on the merits of various places, and once you see that shape, there is no more useful information to be gained on that topic.

Patient renter in OC

[cyphire]

Awesome post PatientRenter…. Please forgive my rant. Also, please to my opposite number in La Jolla – please ignore that post. I don’t drink very often and one bottle of sake seems to have done the damage. I shouldn’t ‘drunken post’! The alcohol has left my system and I stand, ashamed and abased…

I will promise to be more on topic.

I will promise not to rant – it’s hard to be taken seriously when you are yelling at someone. I will try to use gentle persuasion to promote my views – perhaps with tolerance we can start promoting a less greedy, less unfair society.

Respectfully,

Cyphire.

p.s. to Rustico – I’m glad that your house isn’t built like crap…. Sign me up for that option!

[cyphire]

Awesome post PatientRenter…. Please forgive my rant. Also, please to my opposite number in La Jolla – please ignore that post. I don’t drink very often and one bottle of sake seems to have done the damage. I shouldn’t ‘drunken post’! The alcohol has left my system and I stand, ashamed and abased…

I will promise to be more on topic.

I will promise not to rant – it’s hard to be taken seriously when you are yelling at someone. I will try to use gentle persuasion to promote my views – perhaps with tolerance we can start promoting a less greedy, less unfair society.

Respectfully,

Cyphire.

p.s. to Rustico – I’m glad that your house isn’t built like crap…. Sign me up for that option!

[NotCranky]

Hey Cy,I”‘m glad that your house isn’t built like crap”
“Owner built is overbuilt” Can you swing a hammer as well as you do a bottle of sake? LOL

As long as we are making oaths:
Rustico will not try to reform jg anymore, Rustico must keep in mind that jg is a member of a nice country club and is not adverse to letting his friends bum off him to play tennis there. I do get a feeling he would be uncomfortable standing next to someone as tall as I am though.
Best wishes

[NotCranky]

Hey Cy,I”‘m glad that your house isn’t built like crap”
“Owner built is overbuilt” Can you swing a hammer as well as you do a bottle of sake? LOL

As long as we are making oaths:
Rustico will not try to reform jg anymore, Rustico must keep in mind that jg is a member of a nice country club and is not adverse to letting his friends bum off him to play tennis there. I do get a feeling he would be uncomfortable standing next to someone as tall as I am though.
Best wishes

[cyphire]

I will endeavor not to poke fun at JG’s beliefs as well. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion until it is in danger of becoming social policy or the law of the land.

And I am also glad you can’t put down the blogging… It is a less expensive vice than playing poker

[cyphire]

I will endeavor not to poke fun at JG’s beliefs as well. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion until it is in danger of becoming social policy or the law of the land.

And I am also glad you can’t put down the blogging… It is a less expensive vice than playing poker

[Anonymous]

R-, I was not clear: our friends belong to the LJ Beach and Tennis Club, and we are their mooching guests. Sure, we could afford to join, but I hate spending the money.

I have no qualms with tall people: my brother-in-law is 6′ 5″, and was a high jumper at UC Irvine. My wife’s family lives in San Diego and are the folks that we most frequently socialize with; I’m the shortest male (5′ 11″) in the bunch. I expect that my son will overtake me in height in two years or so. I’m very, very happy for him.

I learned long, long ago that some are smarter, some are taller, some are better looking, some are richer, etc. I’m perfectly happy with brown-haired, brown-eyed, tan-skinned, mid-heighth me.

[Anonymous]

R-, I was not clear: our friends belong to the LJ Beach and Tennis Club, and we are their mooching guests. Sure, we could afford to join, but I hate spending the money.

I have no qualms with tall people: my brother-in-law is 6′ 5″, and was a high jumper at UC Irvine. My wife’s family lives in San Diego and are the folks that we most frequently socialize with; I’m the shortest male (5′ 11″) in the bunch. I expect that my son will overtake me in height in two years or so. I’m very, very happy for him.

I learned long, long ago that some are smarter, some are taller, some are better looking, some are richer, etc. I’m perfectly happy with brown-haired, brown-eyed, tan-skinned, mid-heighth me.

[NotCranky]

My favorite thing about blogging with you jg …you are such a good sport.
Luckily I am just as happy playing tennis at a local school or park.

“I’m perfectly happy with brown-haired, brown-eyed, tan-skinned, mid-heighth me.”

That makes my over sensitive heart glad :).

[NotCranky]

My favorite thing about blogging with you jg …you are such a good sport.
Luckily I am just as happy playing tennis at a local school or park.

“I’m perfectly happy with brown-haired, brown-eyed, tan-skinned, mid-heighth me.”

That makes my over sensitive heart glad :).

[what_a_disasta]

Inheritance taxes are higher in the US in the upper band.

Inheritance tax is not unfair in my mind. I think a society where people earn their place and lifestyle is preferable to one where you can just inherit it. Let everyone stand on their own 2 feet.

There should however be a 100% exception if the estate is passing to your long term spouse.

[Author]

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