Whaaat? Dude, like seriously,how dumb do you have to be that burning all of that gas just CANNOT be good for environment. And no, I'm not leftist, I don't support greenpeace(they can all go to hell), but this is just a massive waste of resources, that damages our planet for no reason other than corporate greed.
Let's face it: American governmental bodies are dysfunctional at almost every level. Most people live in California, Texas, Florida, and New York. All are poorly managed. And then there's the federal government sitting on top.
The key to thriving in the US is to have a high net worth so you can feel independent of this dysfunctional government. And then ignore all the stressful noise in the crisis-obsessed news cycle.
You should educate yourself to avoid further embarrassment.
From wikipedia:
"Fascism was founded during World War I by Italian national syndicalists who combined left-wing and right-wing political views.[11][12] Fascists have commonly opposed having a firm association with any section of the left-right spectrum, considering it inadequate to describe their beliefs,[13][14] though fascism's goal to promote the rule of people deemed innately superior while seeking to purge society of people deemed innately inferior is identified as a prominent far-right theme.[15] Fascism opposes multiple ideologies, such as communism, conservatism, liberalism, and social democracy.[16]"
More or less, fascism is the supremacy of the nation/state & creation of a civil religion around it. It merges the idea of the nation, the government, and links proper behavior to operating accord with the principles set forth by the leaders. At least that's what I got out of Mussolini's writings on the matter.
It's the people in service of the State, as opposed as the State being the People(communism).
f it really does lead to obesity and the connected illnesses, treatment will indirectly take money away from all of the other people with the same insurance company.
Socialists like rb2k claim that every individual action has some reprehensible act on "society".
The new (or maybe old) tactic of the fascist left.
So, someone uses his civil liberty to state his opinion and you want to "held him to account" for "infringing on civil liberties" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
The "poor fat people are just weak-willed" argument is SO despicable. Americans did not suddenly get poor habits in 1976 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States The obesity problem was caused by a change in the environment (and, yes, the increasing power of the food industry is one of those causes) and only a change in the environment will fix it.
As a fat person I, to an extent, disagree with you.
Yes you're right about environmental changes, and that new changes could solve, or help solve, the problem. That doesn't mean that my fatness isn't related to me being weak-willed. I absolutely have the ability to lose weight and get fit, but I'm too lazy to do this. I know people who love food just as much as me, but they chose either not to eat everything that they want to, or to do extra exercise to make up for it, or both.
Maybe there are people out there for whom it isn't about weak will. I know genetics play at least some part, and obviously environment as well (if you grow up with parents who only feed you fast food for example). But I'm confident that for a lot of people, weight issues are about being weak-willed.
I'm not saying that we have become more weak willed - i.e. that this is the reason people are fatter than 100 years ago - just that weak will does play a very big part.
Maybe if I was born a century ago I would be skinny and fit, but that doesn't change the fact that my current weight is caused by my own lack of will as well. Will power is the reason on an individual level, but not the reason behind the cultural trend.
Meh, you were maybe a little strong but didn't cause any offense.
On a side note, is it not also possible for different cultures to have different levels of self-control? Within the areas of society that I know there definitely seems to be correlation between how kids are brought up and how much self-control they have, so surely on a greater scale it would indeed be possible for entire countries to have more or less than other countries? (Not talking weight related now, just thinking out-loud.)
I always like to think of self control the same way as free will. A useful abstraction, but not something that really exists. It is obviously beneficial for a person to believe that he is in control of his choices, of his behavior, because that increases the chance that he will take action to improve his lot. But that it is useful does not mean that it exists.
Has a child of christian parents who have never heard anything but religious music, books, stories, people had the opportunity to make a free choice? I don't think so. Has an American child who has seen thousands and thousands of ads for garbage food taken an independent choice to eat that? I don't think so.
We humans have precious limited mental resources and can’t afford to spend the time considering every decision rationally; therefore, we automatically subconsciously make decisions based on salient features of the current stimulus. In normal words, we make shortcuts based on limited information.
Since people are so very irrational (See Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman) the idea that we are rational can be used as an excuse by those (advertisers, politicians) who want to manipulate us. So, it is in fact a dangerous idea.
I sometimes entertain the notion that it would be better to live in a totalitarian dictatorship where some benevolent dictator manages the information people are exposed to and thus makes people make better choices of their own free will. (I'm aware that such a society has some dystopian aspects as well, of course)
It's a difficult concept to really define or understand. I'm just about to pop down to the shop to buy a pack of cigarettes, but equally I could make a decision right not to never smoke again. Environment no-doubt played a role in my becoming a smoker in the first place, but am I not exercising free will by choosing to buy them today? And if not, how can you hold any person responsible for any action?
If free will does not exist, then it is ultimately not anybody's fault if they do something. That includes murder and buying cigarettes. But at the same time it is easy to see that as a society it is advantageous for us to punish criminals because that punishment is part of the environment that influences behavior for criminals and non-criminals in a positive direction.
So - nobody is responsible for any action, but it is useful to pretend they are.
Another reason why the concept of free will is so ingrained in western culture is the role it plays in religion - being saved/forever damned makes no sense without it. But like much of religion it is just an untruth that has (at least historically) proved useful for people. Since religion is so important to many people, they will also hold on to the idea of free will because understanding reality in a more accurate way wil undermine their religion.
Let's be honest, from extremists to moderates on both sides, not just the left, everyone wants human activities regulated, we just disagree on which ones. Unless you're implying that non-leftists would remove minimum age of alcohol, sex, etc...?
Anyway, let's steer clear of politics. No need for a left vs. right argument, just wanted to point out that your issue with lefties is what they want to regulate, not that they want to regulate stuff.
Any particular reason you felt it necessary to make three vacuous top-level replies? Bundling everything you had to say into one post would have been some improvement, at least.
He got replies to each response which is vaguely disappointing.
I'm not sure how the HN "anti down vote rampage" works - if I downvote all three posts do all my downvotes count? Or is there something that detects I'm downvoting 'too many' posts by a single user and silently drops some of my downvotes?
I grew up on a no soda no candy diet enforced by my parents. Carob Easter Bunnies were a bit harsh, but otherwise I am better of for it. I was once forced to return some HoHos I had bought myself. While carding seems a bit extreme it is not far off and does not infringe on the civil liberties of a child. There are lots of rights children don't have because of the responsibility they require. I think sugar falls within the realm of a child being unable to make the right decision of it's proper consumption amount.
A big FUCK YOU to you leftists who stop progress at every opportunity.