Phi for All

This part makes it all moot. Knowing wouldn't make me treat people any differently. I'm part Humanist; I already acknowledge how important interaction between us is. And since my memories will be erased after death, only what I accomplish in life matters. My consciousness has nothing special about it without memory, so even if I knew which baby it was going into next, it wouldn't matter to the child, or to me, or to anybody else. My reaction? "You recycle. You reuse. But, God, you only reduce through catastrophe. Where do you get the new consciousnesses for all these extra people we're making? Have they been waiting long? How many more are there?"

I remember you. Did you get a new computer, with a new IP address? That's probably how you were able to create a sockpuppet after you were banned the last time.

My whole point was to show that your argument, that both we and Big Oil share complicity in our current situation, ignores the fact that we were given bad info. In using the products they made, we share responsibility, but we didn't lie to them. We acted in good faith as far as that goes, but they lied, they paid for bogus data, they secretly squashed competitors in an often criminal manner that circumvented fair market practices, they used their profits in part to unnaturally keep them on top. We didn't do ANYTHING like that to Big Oil, did we? So your argument that we share responsibility equally seems very weak. Sorry that wasn't clear the other times I said it, or made an equation out of it. Go ahead and ignore it again and I'll look for some pictures.

Vote, because hoping isn't good enough.

Doctors in the US don't measure height horizontally. You stand, usually on a scale for weight, and your height is measured at the same time. If you're using height in your indexes for body mass, you should be in bare or stocking feet, not shoes. Trump is obviously not as tall as the doctor claims, may not be as tall as Google claims (which is an inch shorter than the doctor, and puts Trump into obesity range). We know Trump lies, but the doctor has quite obviously "fudged" the report in Trump's favor, to avoid unhealthy classifications. What other measurements got "fudged"?

And the professional who could tell us that lied about T's height to make him appear healthier to the public. Interesting how right-leaners see this as a matter of how tall the president really is. Left-leaners are questioning the validity of the checkup.

I wondered about that myself. I also wondered if they used the new blood pressure guidelines that place the danger zone a little lower?

But vacuums don't need cleaning. Vacuum cleaners are like hot water heaters.

I think someone should ask Oprah, if we fired them all, how would you do it differently? Who would you replace them with?

There is also a need to reduce the risk of creating debris which I don't think this alternative addresses adequately. More metal on metal, "grabbers", etc, mean more risk of small bits breaking off to create problems for this craft and every other piece of equipment we have in orbit. And you can't use a vacuum cleaner on space debris.

No, you didn't. You started right off saying "All I have to say is... [I can't believe you're so concerned with] the height of the president". You didn't mention the doctor, not even once. You went off into a defense of Trump's overt racism, claiming he works for all Americans despite all the mountains of evidence to the contrary. Apparently, WH aides have to use props and graphs and other visual aids to present information to Trump in a way he'll understand. He won't read written reports, and listens to nobody but cable newscasters. This is very clearly documented.

Not really near me, but the bridge out to Coronado Island from San Diego is my favorite bridge to cross. 11,179 feet long, with an 80 degree curve.

FFS, Ten oz said OVER AND OVER AND OVER that the height (didn't mention weight AT ALL) was NOT the concern. The concern is why would the navy doctor lie about it, and what else was incorrectly reported? Don't make me bring out the stuffed animals.

Again, I think white Americans take the emotional stance about immigrants, and in their minds they paint a picture of a family moving here, the husband goes to work at a factory while the wife sets up the house and kids, the husband works his way up by the sweat of his brow until he's the foreman, a man of respect and (limited) prestige. Gold watch, thanks much, job well done. Or you start your own business, work like a dog at it, ignore your family except to buy expensive things, and then sell the business and retire to some place warmer. Then these white Americans see brown people come over and do things differently. The immigrant family is probably extended, might live in a neighborhood far under their budget, but pools their wealth and, let's say, buys a convenience store, then two, then five. They work in shifts around the clock but always spend a lot of time together. They all become successful, they do exactly what any country wants its immigrants to do, yet they're resented because they come from elsewhere and don't do things the same as white Americans. Another problem for our immigrants is the general working class distrust of higher education. Often immigrants (even from poorer countries) have more extensive educations and special skill sets than the average working class American, creating more resentment. Working class Americans are feeling left out right now, that everyone else gets the breaks but them, even the immigrants. They feel they've done things right, but they don't qualify for assistance, and resent anyone who does get aid (because they must have done things WRONG). I can imagine it would be galling to compete for a job you're qualified for, against someone who is overqualified (by a LOT) but needs the job just as badly. I think blue-collar workers have been manipulated to mistrust heavily educated people. It keeps them from demanding better access to higher education. It keeps them paying their medical insurance and also keeps them from going to the doctor regularly. It keeps them ignorant and fearful, ready to trust the first person who seems to speak their language.

The whole US is "a nation of immigrants" stance was always an emotional argument, and worked well until a stronger emotional argument rose up to unseat it. We need to see the reasonable approach, that immigration helps a nation stay healthy. Many immigrants create jobs rather than merely fill them. They often have just the skills we need (too many engineers in their origin country, f'rinstance). A healthy immigration policy actually raises the average wage for all workers. Republicans have been focusing the fear on "unworthy" immigrants and hinting to their base that we're in danger of letting a lot of terrorists through a system they've largely been in charge of for quite some time. They lie about immigrants stealing jobs from native workers. They prey on marginal behavior and events, and use the media to make their concerns seem rampant and overpowering. Many studies have shown the truth about immigration, that it's a necessary part of modern global existence. https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2010/august/effect-immigrants-us-employment-productivity/

Oprah also had a lot to do with promoting Jenny McCarthy's career, which was heavily involved in the anti-vaccination movement.

I think you're using a different definition for "logical", "alive", and "consciousness" than the rest of us are. This is a science discussion forum, so we're using the accepted definitions. What are you using? How are you defining these words?

! Moderator Note Thomasmariel, you need to better define what you want to discuss in your opening posts so members can decide if they want to participate. Of course buildings can be demolished, that seems like a given. What do you really want to talk about?

! Moderator Note Do better at describing what you want to discuss in your opening posts. This isn't sufficient.

Feeling left out? Try listening instead of lashing out. Ignorance doesn't have to be a lasting condition.

Oscar's diplomatic skills are much better than the current POTUS. And if you do touch him, you can just wash your hands, whereas with Trump you might prefer dipping them in honey and letting fire ants eat them off completely. That's an interesting way to look at it. I'd like to think my reasoning skills help with most of the bias, but it's a good place to look for the way you lean. None of us are beyond the bias.

You claim your stance is open to modification, but you're dancing around modifying it based on the deceptions practised by Big Oil. I dealt with your stance. They made the gasoline, we bought the gasoline. That's where your argument ends, and it doesn't address the manipulation, lies, and outright predatory practices the oil industry has used to stay dominant. Your point was made but was inadequate. Can you see that? I even made a counter argument into an equation to show the parts you're ignoring. I really don't understand your willing complicity in the exchange. You were acting in good faith, Big Oil lied to make you think they were doing the same, and you think that's OK?!

I think one distinction with PBS is that their shows are underwritten as opposed to sponsored. An entity can pay the costs to produce an episode, and they get a discreet mention at the beginning and end. No commercials or profit-driven advertising. I agree with iNow though, a few years ago suggesting PBS is a far-right organization would be a LOL moment. I picture Big Bird spouting racist Archie Bunkerisms and it seems pretty silly. Oscar the Grouch, maybe (/Sesame Street references).

You're asking questions about phenomena that "most of the people here" have studied and are familiar with. They ARE right, because they studied mainstream science and learned to apply the definitions, terms, and processes according to a proven methodology. Science is all about what's been observed, so it's not like they're making it up and requiring you to know it. You can choose to study in a consistent way, or you can try to put together the puzzle of the universe without any directions. And it's a jigsaw puzzle cut from the layers of an onion. They all fit together but we're always finding new layers and better pieces. You did the right thing this time, asking questions instead of making things up and claiming they're true. Now you need to learn that when your knowledge is incomplete, some answers don't seem intuitive. That's when you ask more questions about them. People here will answer honest questions all day long.

Vowels are like breaths of air, so you struggle with suffocation when there are too few. I'd be gasping in a Polish spelling bee. Essentially.