War Room Lounge V43: STEM is Overrated

[Lead]

Gas isn't really a necessity, though, and society already subsidize car use way too much (that is, a lot of the costs to it are paid by society as a whole rather than drivers). Buildings are required to provide parking in some cases, traffic imposes costs on everyone, pollution, wear and tear on roads, cities are designed for drivers rather than walkers, etc. Or current system reflects neither what a market would produce nor what anyone would plan. Obviously, we can't reverse that overnight, but the costs of driving should rise a lot, and that should be offset by people having more money. This all applies much more to cities than rural areas.

Also, sin taxes are among the very best taxes, and the revenue is only part of the benefit. If you tax something, you usually get at least somewhat less of it. Again, I wouldn't expect a total overnight change, but I think the ideal is a gov't entirely funded by sin taxes, land-value taxes, and estate taxes, with maybe income taxes that start at the top rate. And a large SWF to provide a UBD.

It’s a blurry line. I think to most, a car is essential to daily life but less so than other things that like food/ shelter/ etc. I suppose I could see it as public transportation or ride share is equivalent to rent and vehicle ownership is equivalent to home ownership which no longer is a necessity.

When you apply sin taxes funding programs not related to the “sin”, the decrease in revenue could cause an effect where government finds their next alternative sin to tax/ penalize. I don’t find that healthy but I suppose in your scenario, you could just raise the other taxes you mentioned.

 

[Gregolian]

Lol, I lost it when they decided on that name. I thought it was a joke. I have nothing against the bird, but it's just phonetically a very cartoonish and effeminate word.

It's such a bad name. GENERALLY when you use an animal as your team mascot/name they're powerful animals.

Pelicans are fucking scavengers essentially/garbage eaters. Could only be worse if they called themselves the Seagulls.

It cracked me up when the Bobcats had those jerseys that just said "CATS" on them.

It never felt right calling a team from Charlotte anything other than the Hornets to me.

 

[Trotsky]

It's such a bad name. GENERALLY when you use an animal as your team mascot/name they're powerful animals.

Pelicans are fucking scavengers essentially/garbage eaters. Could only be worse if they called themselves the Seagulls.

It never felt right calling a team from Charlotte anything other than the Hornets to me.

If you aren't freaked out by pelicans, look up the video of one eating a fellow bird. Disturbing as hell.

I'm fine with weak mascots though: Cardinals, Colts, Ravens, Cubs. It's all about the phonetics to me. The Nuggets are another one that's always been strange to me. Lil nuggs.

 

[Jack V Savage]

It’s a blurry line. I think to most, a car is essential to daily life but less so than other things that like food/ shelter/ etc. I suppose I could see it as public transportation or ride share is equivalent to rent and vehicle ownership is equivalent to home ownership which no longer is a necessity.

When you apply sin taxes funding programs not related to the “sin”, the decrease in revenue could cause an effect where government finds their next alternative sin to tax/ penalize. I don’t find that healthy but I suppose in your scenario, you could just raise the other taxes you mentioned.

Like with the other stuff, I don't think it's attainable fully but we should have an ideal in mind and try to get closer to it. And the ideal is to discourage the activity and to compensate the public that is hurt by it. If people do it less, there is less harm and less need for compensation for the harm. If people had higher incomes and driving/owning cars was much more expensive, to the extent that those two things exactly balanced out, most of us would realize that car ownership is not a necessity and be richer as a result, especially since that would put a lot of pressure on society to develop better options.

 

[Gregolian]

If you aren't freaked out by pelicans, look up the video of one eating a fellow bird. Disturbing as hell.

I'm fine with weak mascots though: Cardinals, Colts, Ravens, Cubs. It's all about the phonetics to me. The Nuggets are another one that's always been strange to me. Lil nuggs.

Ravens to me aren't week and though Cubs ARE weak they're usually being tracked/trailed by momma bear which makes them some of the scariest animals to encounter.

 

[Higus]

Embarrassing ain't it? May as well call your team the Kitty Cats.

pelican's are metal af, bro

 

[Jack V Savage]

If you aren't freaked out by pelicans, look up the video of one eating a fellow bird. Disturbing as hell.

I'm fine with weak mascots though: Cardinals, Colts, Ravens, Cubs. It's all about the phonetics to me. The Nuggets are another one that's always been strange to me. Lil nuggs.

My favorite sports team has a pretty much meaningless mascot--WTF is an Athletic (as a noun)? I mean, I know the origin (the Philadelphia Athletic Club), but it's meaningless today. They should have changed when they changed cities. Don't know what would be good for Oakland, though. Hipsters (they could have the mustache on their logo)? Longshoremen? The symbol is an elephant, adopted defiantly after John McGraw told the owner that the team was a white elephant (something expensive but worthless, basically). The PCL team was the Oaks.

 

[Gregolian]

My favorite sports team has a pretty much meaningless mascot--WTF is an Athletic (as a noun)? I mean, I know the origin (the Philadelphia Athletic Club), but it's meaningless today. They should have changed when they changed cities. Don't know what would be good for Oakland, though. Hipsters (they could have the mustache on their logo)? Longshoremen? The symbol is an elephant, adopted defiantly after John McGraw told the owner that the team was a white elephant (something expensive but worthless, basically). The PCL team was the Oaks.

Raiders.... just as a last fuck you as the real Raiders leave town.

 

[Higus]

My favorite sports team has a pretty much meaningless mascot--WTF is an Athletic (as a noun)? I mean, I know the origin (the Philadelphia Athletic Club), but it's meaningless today. They should have changed when they changed cities. Don't know what would be good for Oakland, though. Hipsters (they could have the mustache on their logo)? Longshoremen? The symbol is an elephant, adopted defiantly after John McGraw told the owner that the team was a white elephant (something expensive but worthless, basically). The PCL team was the Oaks.

Red Sox crew checking in

 

[Jack V Savage]

Raiders.... just as a last fuck you as the real Raiders leave town.

Or the Warriors. Slap in the face to the blue-collar city here that the Warriors who play right next to the A's don't have Oakland in their name, and now they're moving to SF and are making that a big part of the branding.

 

[Gregolian]

Or the Warriors. Slap in the face to the blue-collar city here that the Warriors who play right next to the A's don't have Oakland in their name, and now they're moving to SF and are making that a big part of the branding.

The only time they seemed to were those tree jerseys they had for awhile.

 

[Trotsky]

My favorite sports team has a pretty much meaningless mascot--WTF is an Athletic (as a noun)? I mean, I know the origin (the Philadelphia Athletic Club), but it's meaningless today. They should have changed when they changed cities. Don't know what would be good for Oakland, though. Hipsters (they could have the mustache on their logo)? Longshoremen? The symbol is an elephant, adopted defiantly after John McGraw told the owner that the team was a white elephant (something expensive but worthless, basically). The PCL team was the Oaks.

I've always really liked The Athletics as a team name. They were my favorite team when I was very young (mostly that just means they were the team I liked to play as on Ken Griffey baseball for 1994 PC). But, like I said, it's about phonetics. "Oakland A's" just has a ring to it, like the New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers. All about that branding, boss.

 

[Jack V Savage]

I've always really liked The Athletics as a team name. They were my favorite team when I was very young (mostly that just means they were the team I liked to play as on Ken Griffey baseball for 1994 PC). But, like I said, it's about phonetics. "Oakland A's" just has a ring to it, like the New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers. All about that branding, boss.

The Lakers are another team that should have changed their name when they moved, though it's way too late now.

 

[Gregolian]

I've always really liked The Athletics as a team name. They were my favorite team when I was very young (mostly that just means they were the team I liked to play as on Ken Griffey baseball for 1994 PC). But, like I said, it's about phonetics. "Oakland A's" just has a ring to it, like the New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers. All about that branding, boss.

Lakers are only named the Lakers cause they were originally in Minnesota. The Dallas Stars of the NHL used to be the North Stars up in MInnesota before THEIR move as well.

 

[Trotsky]

The Lakers are another team that should have changed their name when they moved, though it's way too late now.

Lakers are only named the Lakers cause they were originally in Minnesota. The Dallas Stars of the NHL used to be the North Stars up in MInnesota before THEIR move as well.

Yeah, that's my point about the Lakers: it's nonsensical, but it sounds beautiful. "Minneapolis Lakers" sounds awful.

 

[Gregolian]

Yeah, that's my point about the Lakers: it's nonsensical, but it sounds beautiful. "Minneapolis Lakers" sounds awful.

To be fair the Packers team name is way WAY too open in modern time for gay jokes and shit and I don't even know if the Acme Packing Company has a stake in the team anymore but that name is still around. At this stage like you said, certain teams CAN'T change their names.

 

[ultramanhyata]

No it wasn't. I don't know why you think it's acceptable to just lie all the time. Dems need to put in someone who is highly competent and ethical. They don't need to put in someone really old. And you're still ignoring my position. It's fine if *you* don't think that education or private-sector experience matter. I do. I'm not being hypocritical because I don't agree with your unreasonable position.

Compare my actual comment with your version:



And in that same thread, I said this:

"My view is that if someone doesn't have an impressive work history, a good academic background works as a substitute. You're looking for signs of an impressive, capable, decent person. Gabbard doesn't provide any of that."



So now *this* is hypocritical considering your comments on Gabbard. Her pitch is basically:

"Hello fellow American. This you should vote me. I was in Army. Good. Thank you. Thank you. If you vote me I'm hot. What? I support peace through killing lots of Muslims. The democratic vote for me is right thing to do America. So do."

Anyway, we know that no matter who Democrats nominate, you're going to think that they are the Devil so I don't even get why you try to address them individually. You said in 2016 that Trump winning would be better for the left. That's still true in 2020, right? And then electing Ivanka in 2024 will *really* get the left fired up and ready to start voting in 2028 or maybe 2032.

Again made the mistake of thinking you might step out of troll mode and have a real dialogue in the Lounge. Don't tag me again. Engage in your pathology with someone who has personal time to waste.

 

[BarryDillon]

 

[Jack V Savage]

Again made the mistake of thinking you might step out of troll mode and have a real dialogue in the Lounge. Don't tag me again. Engage in your pathology with someone who has personal time to waste.

I truly have no idea what you think is trolling there. Correcting your misrepresentation of my position? More clearly presenting it? Joking about the weakness of Gabbard as a candidate? Pointing out the hypocrisy in your position? Noting your consistent tendency to oppose the left politically?

But yeah, I understand that you are unable to have a mature discussion with someone who disagrees with you on any issue.

 

[Trotsky]

To be fair the Packers team name is way WAY too open in modern time for gay jokes and shit and I don't even know if the Acme Packing Company has a stake in the team anymore but that name is still around. At this stage like you said, certain teams CAN'T change their names.

Oh, yeah, the Packers have to have the most gay joke-friendly name in sports, but I still love that it's unique. Naming your team the Bears, Kings, Tigers, etc. is so lame.