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[Truean]

Honestly, I think we just need a megaproject or 17 to employ all these people and coastal whatever would do the trick. Shit you could make them into tidal power generators and that'd be essentially another TVA work project. Sure the total price tag on those nationwide megaprojects would be about... I'd estimate $3 Trillion, but we spent that on 2 wars we got nothing out of. At least this way we'd have something to show for it, and if we actually had financial advisers for people, then we could move towards that "free market" no one understands but everyone is raving about. It sorta requires "perfect information," but we're a country where people spend $40/week on pizza and wonder why they're fat and broke....

Deficit? At this point, doing nothing won't reduce it. Trying something to stimulate things might actually. Let's conserve our energy in this hole rather than dig....

[Bauglir]

I'm getting an absolutely hilarious mental image of the future, where NC has followed that law and all the surrounding states have built a two or so meter wall along the border. Folks sitting on top of the wall fishing where there used to be a state, now an oversized bay.

Actually, even if all the ice on Earth melted, more than half of NC would still be above water. And my city would be beachfront property. 

Does this hold true if other locations on Earth actually build proper coastal barriers, concentrating the amount of water that winds up in NC?

[Sheb]

Well, the total area of land that'll go under is negligible compared to the area of ocean, so yes.

[Truean]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/scott-walker-fights-retain-governorship-wisconsin-recall-010044710.html

So the following just happened here:

a.) "Citizens United" lead to massive money influencing elections.
b.) People have proven themselves so stupid as to cut all public unions including police, fire and notoriously low teacher's salaries....
c.) Democrazy fails yet again.

People want X.... And? A 3 year old wants candy, you don't just give it to them.... Cutting police funding in a recession where people are desperate is insane....

[Frumple]

Should be interesting to see what the fallout is. Wonder what sort of stat tracking is going on, hum.

Wisconsin's apparently to go on the list, though. Kinda' wondering how large my "states-to-avoid" list is going to get

[sluissa]

I think it should be quite obvious by now, but it doesn't seem to be sinking in, that a 50-something percent majority of the vote does NOT mean everyone loves you and you were saying the right things/making the right decisions. It just means slightly more than half the people prefer the perceived you over the perceived opponent. Plenty of those people voting for walker could have been against the public employee crap Walker pulled, yet for one reason or another just didn't want to vote for the other side.

I know it's a broken record at this point, but how did things get so god damned polarized. Where is the middle ground? Why aren't people able to do something moderate. I can ALMOST understand it in some situations where it's a definite one side or the other case. (The few that there are.) But Walker could have easily backed down on the Union thing, he could have easily reconsidered his budget cuts into something less drastic and I bet a lot of people would have been "Okay, that'll work for us." Rather, he chooses the path that says. "Hey, you people complaining?  Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Yeah... you're all idiots. I got voted back in, so it proves it."

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Cutting police funding in a recession where people are desperate is insane....

I disagree. The police have too much funding as is in this nation. SWAT teams for every small town in America is a horrible idea that wouldn't be possible if the police were forced to make due with less.

Cutting fire services and teachers is bad, though.

[penguinofhonor]

Definitely a disappointing result. Oh well, I guess I don't have to go through the effort of shortening my list of reasons to never go to Wisconsin.

[sluissa]

Police do often get too much funding, but I wouldn't generally say it's the SWAT teams that are the biggest drain. Around here each  officer got a radiation detector and a hazmat suit. Also got absolutely no training to go along with them. SWAT teams are a relatively small, precision tool to be used for some very important and not uncommon situations. It's also a situation where officers are actually getting extra training. Money could be saved on expensive toys, but I'd just as soon put all that same money back into training and internal oversight programs to keep departments accountable.

Firefighter and Teacher funding, I'll also say it's generally bad to cut those as well, but I'm certainly biased there.

[Heron TSG]

Hey, sorry to derail the current discussion, but I think this is kinda huge.

The 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA) was just unanimously declared unconstitutional by the 1st circuit court of appeals.

(Sources and relevant scattered throughout.)

[Scelly9]

Hey, sorry to derail the current discussion, but I think this is kinda huge.

The 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA) was just unanimously declared unconstitutional by the 1st circuit court of appeals.

(Sources and relevant scattered throughout.)

Two words:
HELL. YES.

[Sirus]

Hey, sorry to derail the current discussion, but I think this is kinda huge.

The 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA) was just unanimously declared unconstitutional by the 1st circuit court of appeals.

(Sources and relevant scattered throughout.)

I just have one word:

HUZZAH!

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Hey, sorry to derail the current discussion, but I think this is kinda huge.

The 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA) was just unanimously declared unconstitutional by the 1st circuit court of appeals.

(Sources and relevant scattered throughout.)

*record scratch*

I....I did not see that coming.

[Pnx]

That is big news, of course it could be rendered completely moot by the SCOTUS pretty soon. I honestly have no clue how they're going to rule on this.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It violates the Equal Protection Clause. That's not even arguable. It's kind of a shock that DOMA lasted this long. I predict either an 8-1 or 9-0 ruling from SCOTUS, depending upon how arch-conservative Thomas is feeling that day.