Michael Hardner

Go back to what eyeball was comments on... "Normal everyday citizens" in danger because of someone's freedom. Aren't you in favour of restriction religion? Immigration? Spare me that moral high ground... You're not better than me, stop being arrogant.

Some people's gods are bad metaphors...

Indeed the Chuds of the 1960s thought that long hair on boys represented a desire to be a woman. But as Peter Fonda explained in Easy Rider... it's tough for people who buy and sell themselves on the market every day to imagine true freedom...

A few points: You underestimate the ability of good writing to frame such a character in the way that he could be considered as having a considerable, if not valid, point of view. The Colbert Report character, modelled after right wing bogeyman O'Reilly was just that. Secondly, the idea that the "left" has significant impact on the Zeitgeist today is as archaic as the practice of using the words "the left" to describe actual leftists. Dave Chappelle, Bill Maher, Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, The View... watch what you want. You might, if you dare, watch something that challenges your views though I doubt that many on here do...

Indeed Protestantism, and Henry VIII, were the first chips in the Rock of Christianity... And why do I own this Catholic Church?🙂

No. Europe was in constant war except for periods where treaties like Westphalia or NATO United them Those are cites and reasons, try that instead of staying your opinion on its own. It came from freedom of opinion, and philosophical examination of the world via reason.

Which Oates? French, Russian, American literature. African Art and Music. Asian Philosophy. It belongs to all of us.

Christian Identity kept Europe together? This Orban is evil or retarded. How did Christian Europe do before 1945? Secular Humanism, strong social infrastructure and open society created the strongest European Union. Populism isn't populist.

You're not supposed to say Merry Christmas, right? Let's just settle on "Best Solstice Time to all allies in participation ( with commensurate solidarity )" 😂 I just wouldn't want anyone to get in trouble...

Ok, your concluding thoughts are noted.

Why do you think most immigrants are on welfare? Or are you conflating immigrants with refugees?

You used to get a warning for regurgitation on here...

We import people because of prosperity. You're moving on to other subjects... Europe, the Russian invasion of Ukraine... Should we move this to another thread then? Feels like ping pong...

And yet studies show that people assimilate the same way. Cultures change, but people want prosperity and stability for their families. I addressed your points in my last post, we're back to just tit for tat points here. I think that we may be done.

I guess so. He says what we should not be obliged to consider a Muslim perspective when attacks happen? I don't think I've read many people advocating for that anyway.

1. Well refugees are taken care of for humanitarian reasons. So money spent is best considered gone. Do you give to charity? 2. The Yugoslavian refugees came in the '90s. And I don't think it's irrelevant because we can trace what happened with these people over time. The hungarians, the Vietnamese, the Bosnians... 3. No, that's metaphysics... And probability. If I had a thousand people flipping 10 coins for heads or tails. One of them is going to see all ten heads or all ten tails. They would think the coins are loaded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haijin Trade, between US states, provinces of Canada, or nations... brings prosperity

It seems odd to me to warn people with a BEWARE warning... of something that should make every human recoil... We shouldn't need a warning ⚠️

1. Policies of the last government. Not Harper's though. Seems like you could trust some governments then. 2. Yes, worse than using GDP, but back to my original numbers. 3. Yes. 4. Randomness will produce this phenomenon at regular, if infrequent, intervals. I don't think we're just agreeing on much anymore...

1. People who are a little more arm's length from those who pay them. Academics are probably the most objective, although they belong to groups that have serious cultural biases in some areas. Paid lobby groups... It's fine that you listen to them, but they must pay the piper with their output. 2. No, it's 2.39 Trillion. But I was taking the government budget which is less. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Canada 3. You might be thinking of Czechoslovakia. Look at my link. It's the middle late '50s 4. Yes.

I'm highly confused again. Time for another of my trademark naps...

Couche-Tard is.... a food ? 🤔 We're the original Americans... you started acting weird and kinda revolting ... 😆

I had to check back to see if you had joined the crowd of people who try to engage with me despite breaking my rule of being insulting You haven't, so let's keep going. 1. Ok, but when I post with someone I try to understand their fundamentals, which for me means their principles more than their character or behaviour. You stated yourself that you don't believe institutions, which to me means established organizations that have their own output into the world... on the state of affairs. I took that to mean you were entirely independent in forming opinions, but I was wrong. If you say it's as valid - I get that. But "more valid" ? They are trying to persuade people in order to shift things to their advantage.. which in this case is to help the oil industry. Government... the worst you can say is that they want to retain power but that would even be more valid in that ultimately they have to keep the people at least somewhat happy. In any case, it's a side-discussion... not what we are talking about. 2. Cost of lost jobs isn't a straightforward idea. You have to consider whether they are working, and if so where the job came from etc. Even if the economics are grossly wrong, by 100% you have a cost of .6% which is so small as to be rounding error. 3. No. Here's a little history for you. In 1957 Hungarians tried to rise up and fight communism and Soviets did what they do and crushed it. Canada accepted 37,500 refugees from Hungary. https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2019/05/press-backgrounder-the-refugees-of-the-hungarian-revolution-of-1956.html I referred to "Slavs" as a short form for Yugoslavians who also came here in the 1990s. A good friend of mine that I developed software came here as a baby because his mother was a software developer deemed as a good prospect for citizenship. 4. You gave an either/or with choice #2 being that the human race is self-destructive. I think eyeball would pick that choice over a wide conspiracy. Keep in mind how easily government and its agencies, including military and intelligence, drop the ball. To organize a massive conspiracy to take control of everything AND keep the lid on it would be beyond them... not even to mention that they already control everything and do quite well from the status quo. 5. Yes, fair enough. I'll say "open bribing" then...

🤣 and Couche-Tard... which continues its success in the US despite the NAME ! https://www.cspdailynews.com/company-news/couche-tards-getgo-acquisition-fuels-us-merchandise-growth-foodservice-margins

The "problem" being that you can't control how people behave... I'm a conservative, I am for "live and let live"... Other than that, the system abides...