Mighty AC

I do have kids and I support immediate action. I like to clean up my own messes and pay my fair share. Unfortunately, many with children and grand children would rather dine and dash, leaving the bill for their progeny. People who say things won't or can't change are as bad or worse than the ignorant masses who still deny the problem. This combination of apathy and ignorance is allowing governments to continue to cater to Big Oil. As long as enough people buy into any stage of denial we will continue to make things worse for our children. Embarrassingly, we Canadians are among the world's worst on this front.

Good trade indeed. They got him for Frattin, Scrivens and a second round pick and then signed him for less than $3M per season. It looks like he could end a string of mediocre goal tending moves by Leafs management. Raycroft, loosing Raask but keeping Pogge in the deal, Toskala, Gustavsson, JS Giguere. Even the brief Gerber stint in 09 wasn't very good. Mostly because he picked up 6 wins at the end of the season which, just hurt their position in a draft that included Tavares and Duchene.

I think this is a very common position. It's really the "what's in it for me" attitude that often becomes more acute as we age. Most know that AGW is real and must be dealt with, but I think some people internally downplay the seriousness and urgency of the problem because mitigating the effects really won't benefit them. If you only have 10-20 years left, future catastrophes probably seem far less important than tax breaks, cheap meds and home care. This is a hard problem to overcome, made more difficult by the misinformation campaigns being used.

I agree that western nations are richer than ever, but we trading the middle class for increased 1% wealth. I have a problem with the speed at which these standards are implemented. I have an acquaintance who is a federal trade negotiator in Ottawa. He often complains that his job is like the movie 'Groundhog Day', saying he's been in same trade conversation for 15 years.

While we're at it maybe dog could keep our land glorious and free.

Evidence has standards and we use critical thinking and reason to evaluate it. Should something qualify as evidence just because someone believes it to be? A belief based on bad or misused evidence is really a belief based on ignorance. For example. John believes that storks deliver babies, even though storks haven never been seen doing so. John notes that stork populations and human birthrates in Lower Saxony from 1971 - 2000 correlate. Of course, we know that correlation does not equal causation and that John is misusing the data. Claiming that the correlation is personal evidence to John hence his belief is evidence based is unsound. His belief is based in ignorance not evidence.

Hey lady, 50% of adult Americans have a preexisting condition, but some of them were smart enough to get insurance prior to getting sick. I say this was her own fault. Repubs, can I get a hell yeah!! Joe the plumber wouldn't have let himself get sick. If he did, he'd 'man up', suffer and die in silence like a true patriot. You're either with us or against us!

Free trade between unequal nations has decimated our secondary industry. Economists may say the nations dominating the manufacturing sector have a competitive advantage, but I believe the playing field has been slanted against developed nations. Though I am fine with local pressures setting wages and corporate taxes, I have a problem with unequal health, safety and environmental standards. Corporations in many nations are simply dumping toxic wastes and literally working people to death. I believe their should be agreed upon international health, safety and environmental standards and tariffs should be applied to items produced in nations that do not meet them. However, if we have to operate within the existing paradigm what can we do to bolster secondary industry and provide a decent living to lower and middle class earners? I suppose investing in projects that must remain local, like transportation and renewable energy generation would help. Construction, operation and maintenance of a smart grid, along with wind, solar and geothermal (mainly just heating and cooling) energy projects and transportation systems like light rail and hyperloops would create many local skilled and semi-skilled positions.

The idea of a belief being based on logic requires that some evidence exists to be logically evaluated. You've claimed that evidence exists that is just not being accepted. Do you have an example of evidence for the existence of a god? Since you are unwilling to provide examples of evidence that would logically lead one to believe in gods, I will proceed without it. It is possible to logically evaluate bad or incomplete information and end up with the wrong answer. That's why it is important to critically examine the evidence being evaluated. It is important to always work with the best and most complete information available. Christians who see evidence of a god do so because of an already held assumption that said god exists. This is backwards. For example some see our lack of a definitive answer for the origins of the first self replicating organisms, as evidence for a god. Obviously, this fails on many levels, but this doesn't stop believers from claiming it as evidence. For starters, much more plausible theories already exist and can be demonstrated. Plus inventing an entity much more complex and improbable than the process attempting to be explained doesn't answer any questions, it just leads to more. If a god was required to create life, then what created the god? The same people do not see this absence of knowledge as evidence for the Cosmic Gummy Bear, and this is because they haven't already been adopted into that belief system. Yet.. We'll get 'em one day. In short, using bad evidence or the absence of evidence to support a predetermined outcome is not logic.

Well said. Last week my dog was vomiting for two days. He could have just had a stomach bug, or he could have swallowed something problematic. He does happen to be an avid chewer. Anyway, the vet fee made me pause and wonder if it was worth getting checked out. I did take him in, pay the fee and it turned out he was fine. Unfortunately, that outcome will probably give me even more pause next time something comes up. Fortunately, for me paying a vet bill doesn't mean I'll have to eat Kraft Dinner for the rest of the week or won't be able to afford gas for the car...but for some it does. I can't imagine having to decide between paying for a child's healthcare and eating later this week. Yet, that is the case for too man Americans. Still, some people refer to health coverage as just "a nice perk", but contend that it shouldn't be available to all. Blows my mind.

Sometimes I only feel like a sandwich, why force me to pay for the whole buffet? Now I'm eating a sandwich smuggled out of the restaurant in a large purse, when I would willingly pay for it, if I could.

The people want it and it is already the law. The bill passed years ago.

Hulu and Netflix already handle the buffet option at prices ranging from free to cheap. News could easily be recorded 30 minutes prior to being available online. However, live events are streamed online all the time, why couldn't news and sports programming be served up this way?

I agree that a season pass would be a great idea. I even considered subscribing to HBO just during the GOT season. If given the opportunity to legally DL or stream GOT on the air date, at a reasonable price, I would pay. Unfortunately, I currently steal it.

Or Sea Bass with frickn' laser beams.

You're definitely on to something here. A whole series of stickers could be developed. "Crazy in the head? We'll make you dead" "Mentally ill? Go for the kill!"

Projects do indeed become over hyped, but promising ideas like this are worth pursuing; especially when engineers feel there are no technical challenges that can't be overcome. The NY to LA time mentioned in the OP was a typo. The article mentions the trip from LA to SF would take 30-45 min and that over a shorter distance like that subsonic speeds would be more comfortable for the passengers. It did mention that supersonic speeds would be possible for long distances like a NY to LA trip, but that the economics wouldn't be favourable.

Tech in the classroom is a necessity if we are to differentiate education to better meet the needs of more students. Greater 1:1 access to devices is a potential benefit, but iPads are still an irresponsible use of money. There are devices that offer much better value. Teaching kids to use current technology is unnecessary but using technology to better teach required skills is a requirement.

I don't expect the crowd will fund the whole project even initially. Though it could easily produce the capital needed to produce sound research requited to solicit larger funds. I also expect the team of expert engineers being assembled will be able to produce a more detailed cost analysis. Why do we need faster, cheaper, cleaner transport when we already have planes, trains and automobiles? Oy vey! At what point do we start to lose interest in progression and become societal anchors? Back in the VCR age the flashing 12 o'clock was an indicator that the resident had either experienced a recent power outage or that they've given up. I wonder what the most apparent new tells are. Flip phones, faxes, unsecured networks, paper maps, Blackberries??

The idea of a belief being based on logic requires that some evidence exists to be logically evaluated. You've claimed that evidence exists that is just not being accepted. Do you have an example of evidence for the existence of a god?

The difference has been explain several times and your response was simply that you understand the example but aren't interested in beliefs. Not accepting the claim that a random number will be even does not equate to a belief that a random number will be odd. Not accepting a claim like "gods exist" does not equal acceptance of the opposite claim "gods do not exist".

So what evidence separates the mysterious unknowable god you speak of from the Cosmic Gummy Bear? BTW, the kids are calling it the CGB these days. "You down with C G B? Yeah, you know me! Who's down with C G B? Every last homie!"

Of course a prototype will cost significantly less. If the prototype lives up to even a fraction of the hype raising $7.5 to $20 billion from the big boys will be easy.

Great question. I think, if honest, everyone knows there was a political agenda behind the reasonable requirement.