More Usenet Posts

On Thu, 10 May 2007 15:41:47 +1000, "seon ferguson" wrote:

(snips)

>I don't know what this "Constipation" is but if its anything like the
>constitution then at least it gives us more freedom and more rights then any
>religious texts to.

No, it doesn't "give" us any freedom nor any rights. It protects those freedoms and rights that we already naturally have, to the extent that any piece of paper can -- i.e., not at all. So long as there are politicians willing to ignore the Constitution they swear to support (they ALL so swear, and just about as many then ignore their oaths), the Constitution itself does nothing. It is, in fact, the politicians and their officers, who, having sworn to support the Constitution, and who then actually do so, who protect our freedoms and rights -- if they decide to. Otherwise, we have to protect them ourselves, in opposition to those very same politicians and officers, which tends to be a dangerous business.

> Of course it was written by men, brave and noble men
>yeah but men nevertheless.

Who then proceeded to ignore their very own document.

The determining factor in the protection of freedoms and rights is not the existence of a written constitution, nor any formal listing of those freedoms and rights, but a willingness of the powers that be to protect those freedoms and rights, and the citizens' insistence that they do so. The necessary first step is to make such a list, so that we at least agree as to what is on it, but the sad fact is that such a list alone isn't enough to actually secure those freedoms and rights.

****************************************

On Thu, 10 May 2007 15:48:04 GMT, "no spam" wrote:
>
>>>> On Tue, 08 May 2007 22:59:06 +0000, habshi wrote:
>>>> > At current growth rates there will be standing room only on
>>>> > this planet within 500 years , and all the space in the universe
>>>> > including that in between the stars will be jam packed with people
>>>> > within 9,000 years.
>>>> > So we must control population.
>>>>
>>>> It is, of course, absurd to think that the earth will be "standing room
>>>> only" in 500 years,
>>>
>>>I'll be trading my carbon credits for a LayZBoy.
>>
>> I'm looking into printing up some of those Carbon Credits.
>> What do you figure I can get for, say, ten tons' worth?
>> What kind of paper, fonts, etc., should I use?
>>
>> I'll be needing the mailing addresses of some of those rich
>> liberals who need to buy Carbon Credits so they can keep
>> their huge houses, SUVs, yachts, and private jets while also
>> claiming to be "carbon neutral."
>>
>> These new indulgences, justified by the new religion of
>> Global Warming, might turn out to be quite profitable. But
>> I'll bet the church leaders intend to reap the rewards
>> themselves, and not let any of them accrue to crass
>> outsiders.
>
>HEY, don't go stepping on my business plan.

Given the apparent number of damned fool rich "liberals," I figure there'll be plenty of business to go around.

> I've got several hundred square
>feet (about 200,000 sq ft) of land (also know as my lawn) that I'm going let
>people buy grass for it to offset their carbon emissions. I figure one
>square foot of grass should be worth 1 mile driven and cost $10 and a tree
>(I need some shade for the house) should be worth at least a years worth AC
>uses and cost $1000. For an extra price I'll even print them a certificate
>to frame and if they upgrade to the premium plan I'll send them a picture of
>their plot of grass and/or tree. And if they want to go whole hog they'll
>get that (and for a yearly 'donation' they can get a guarantee that their
>grass will only be fertilized with organic fertilizer (I have to do
>something with the pig and horse manure around here).

Don't get all worked up about the actual facts. It's the piece of paper, properly printed and advertised, that'll sell. Nobody will care HOW you saved the imaginary carbon -- only that you claimed to have saved it. It'll be good enough that you DIDN'T buy that new Hummer and drive it 75,000 miles per year, at 10 miles per gallon. That's... let's see... mmm... damn, I'll have to get a better calculator...

Anyway, MY carbon credits will be denominated in tons of carbon not emitted. I'll start small; maybe only printing up a few thousand tons' worth per year. No use flooding the market. How much do you figure a tons' worth ought to be, well, worth? I was thinking maybe ten bucks.

Feel free to blast away by sending to rsturge@inreach.com.

Back to Musings.

Back to my home place.