The American Constitution

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

And yet when people try to pass laws that educate the consumer on the content of the food they eat, the right cries about onerous burdens and regulation.  I'm cool with personal responsibility and the value of the judgment of the free market and all that, but for these things to work right, you have to have an *informed* market, and the right actively works to prevent this.  Why?

James, you never heard me complaining about that one (in general, unless you are talking about a specific law that I am unaware of).

[D Fuller]

And yet when people try to pass laws that educate the consumer on the content of the food they eat, the right cries about onerous burdens and regulation.  I'm cool with personal responsibility and the value of the judgment of the free market and all that, but for these things to work right, you have to have an *informed* market, and the right actively works to prevent this.  Why?

The right isn’t  really opposed to educating the consumer about the food they eat, they were opposed to anything the Obamas were for, so when Michelle made nutrition education one of her causes, they had to be against it.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

This is a grownup discussion. Come back when you outgrow kindergarten logic.

This was unnecessarily abusive. I am banning myself for a day.

[rabanito]

I am banning myself for a day.

I approve of that method.
I used to punish my children with a TV ban when they had been naughty.

[LesPalenik]

Fast food, fast death. But sugar can make the process more enjoyable.

[Rob C]

I approve of that method.
I used to punish my children with a TV ban when they had been naughty.

Today, I would not notice a tv ban; truth to tell, we didn't watch much other than news and documentaries. And those were always in black/white, and I resisted the purchase of a colour set until pressure from kids seemed to make me feel I was being unkind. Nothing looked as dramatic ever again. Come to think of if, where some very notable, current politicos are concerned, the change to colour would amount to something as devastating as the introduction of talkies to some old movie stars.

:-)

[rabanito]

Today, I would not notice a tv ban; truth to tell, we didn't watch much other than news and documentaries. And those were always in black/white, and I resisted the purchase of a colour set until pressure from kids seemed to make me feel I was being unkind. Nothing looked as dramatic ever again. Come to think of if, where some very notable, current politicos are concerned, the change to colour would amount to something as devastating as the introduction of talkies to some old movie stars.

:-)

Hehe. I was trying to be "sarcastic" 

BTW, you reminded me of "The Artist", a movie on the subject of that change from silent to sound movies AOT.
Great movie IMVHO

[Rob C]

Fast food, fast death. But sugar can make the process more enjoyable.

And a train both quicker and more exciting - if more messy, not that one would have time to notice, all going well.

;-)

[James Clark]

This was unnecessarily abusive. I am banning myself for a day.

I've done the same before.  See ya tomorrow.  er, today?   

[RSL]

I approve of that method.
I used to punish my children with a TV ban when they had been naughty.

Good idea, Rab. I've "punished" myself with a 20 year TV ban. I kept thinking it couldn't possibly get any worse. Finally I realized I was wrong and probably always would be wrong about that.

[rabanito]

Good idea, Rab. I've "punished" myself with a 20 year TV ban. I kept thinking it couldn't possibly get any worse.

Hehe.
Your faith was weak. Human "creativity" has no limits.
Is your ban already over?

[RSL]

No way. It'll continue forever.

[Martin Kristiansen]

One of the myriad contributing factors.

The United States has for the most part created an incredibly comfortable lifestyle with abundant food and huge conveniences in almost every aspect of life. Of course people get a bit heavy and sedentary with that. It’s a normal physiological response to that environment. It’s hard to resist it. Another slice of sour dough bread with Philadelphia cream cheese? Hell yes, I don’t mind if I do.

I lived in the States for 6 months in the early 90’s. It was great but wasn’t really for me I decided. That’s not a judgement on the place. I saw lots to admire.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... his dangerous influence as well as his interference...

In another post, Rob, you stated that Trump is universally despised in Europe. So, how do I reconcile the two statements logically? How can he wield any influence and interference if he is so despised? If anything, any attempt on his part would work in the opposite direction. Any support for a particular candidate would backfire, wouldn't it?

[Alan Klein]

He's despised by by people who don't like him.   

[Rob C]

In another post, Rob, you stated that Trump is universally despised in Europe. So, how do I reconcile the two statements logically? How can he wield any influence and interference if he is so despised? If anything, any attempt on his part would work in the opposite direction. Any support for a particular candidate would backfire, wouldn't it?

I though I'd explained: he adds a touch of international cachet to guys like Farage and Boris that some in the UK find attractive in that it raises their profile above being little local politicians. That many also hate him is not a conflict of views: there is little that follows logic in Brexit fans. He blew it big time in Scotland when he tried to muscle out a guy who had a property inconveniently where Trump wanted to build one of his golf courses. If there is one thing the Scots universally hate, it's the bully. A state visit there might prove interesting... but hey, the Nats may see him as an influence towards voting for Independence next time round, simply because of Brexit.

In Europe, as distinct from the UK, he is generally seen as a dangerous, unreliable person holding a lot of power. I have yet to pick up a paper here and find a journo (or owner) who cheers for him. He is seen as disruptive, and as indigenous Americans were portrayed as saying: he speaks with forked tongue. Nobody trusts or believes a word he says. You can bet his attitude to NATO does not go down well, and countries, mostly, do pay their agreed percentage of those costs. If that's allowed to crumble or become sterile, God help Europe and America: the balance of world power will shift very dangerously in the view of anyone not particularly enamoured of Putin and the Russian appetite for land. Being an island has long ceased being a viable option, even for America.

Trade is a long-term strategy that takes a lot of work to establish, and here comes this friggin' cowboy with the vision of a street hustler, who tears things up because he didn't write those deals, then as with the one with Canada and Mexico, he settles for another exactly the same, but for minor tweaks, and says it's the best deal ever because he now believes it was his deal! As they say, you couldn't make it up.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I though I'd explained: he adds a touch of international cachet to guys like Farage and Boris that some in the UK find attractive in that it raises their profile above being little local politicians...

Boris seems destined to become the next U.K. Prime Minister. So much for “little local politician.”

Possible explanations:

- the U.K. public is so stupid that it falls for what the “cretin” Trump is saying

- Trump has a good sense for what people want

[jeremyrh]

Boris seems destined to become the next U.K. Prime Minister. So much for “little local politician.”

Possible explanations:

- the U.K. public is so stupid that it falls for what the “cretin” Trump is saying

- Trump has a good sense for what people want

Boris could never be more than a little local politician, even if he was POTUS and the Emperor of China combined.

Both your explanations are true, to some extent.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... God help Europe ...Russian appetite for land.

Seriously? When was Europe threatened by Russia? In both WW wars they tried to abstain, seeing it mostly as a fight between capitalists. If anything, it was Europe invading Russia, by Napoleon and Hitler, not the other way around. Russia already has the largest territory on Earth, why would they need more?

[kers]

Boris seems destined to become the next U.K. Prime Minister. So much for “little local politician.”

Possible explanations:

- the U.K. public is so stupid that it falls for what the “cretin” Trump is saying

- Trump has a good sense for what people want

Probably Boris and Trump know what the people want to hear and to believe, and a lot of promises are made beyond reason and even lies are told.
a hard Brexit will be very bad for Brittain and might even split it up. We will see.
Boris also wants to make a deal first and solve the problem of the irish border later. Why? Because he and nobody else knows how to arrange it without being a true border between the EU and Brittain.
Instead of dealing with many problems in the country the government was kept busy with Brexit and foremost itself the last three years.
In the mean time companies in Brittain have no certainty, that already has cost a lot of jobs and money. The end of this period is still not on the horizon, or it must be the hard brexit.