Politics As Usual - Page 7

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-19-2004, 06:12 PM

The Republican party is now committed to chronic fiscal irresponsibility, the micro-managing of people's private lives, the subjugation of political to religious discourse, and the politicization of the Constitution. In so many ways, it is an insult to the word "conservative."

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Did you just call me Coltrane? · 05-19-2004, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Sorry. birmingham went for bush (I think). Grosse Pointe is Wayne County.

I give up. My final answer is:

Chocolate babies?

sgtclub · 05-19-2004, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop

The Republican party is now committed to chronic fiscal irresponsibility, the micro-managing of people's private lives, the subjugation of political to religious discourse, and the politicization of the Constitution. In so many ways, it is an insult to the word "conservative."

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Agreed, and I still won't vote Democratic. What does that say . . .

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-19-2004, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sgtclub
Agreed, and I still won't vote Democratic. What does that say . . .

I think we already covered the IQ subject for the day.

Not Me · 05-19-2004, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
The idea that there is something called intelligence that can be measured in this way is a fallacy of reification.

I agree with you if what you are saying is that IQ tests aren't a great way to measure the full spectrum of human intelligence. They don't measure creative intelligence at all, which IMO is the highest form of intelligence.

But the tests do measure some forms of intelligence and there are racial disparaties in the test scores. I doubt that culture bias can account for all of the disparities. There is plenty of reasearch to back up the claim that environmental conditions in utero and early in life when a person's brain is developing have a profound effect on the person's ability to think. And there is plenty of epidemological and social research to back up the claim that on average, blacks in the US are subject to less optimal conditions during the years when their brains are developing. Everything from nutritional status of their mothers during pregnancy to prenatal care to breast feeding to malnutrition in early childhood to delivering the proper stimuli to an infant to help their brain to develop can affect the person's maximum achievable intelligence level. On average, in the US, the conditions udner which black children develop are less optimal than the conditions under which white children develop.

This is not a function of race, but rather a function of economics. Regardless, the result is a very real effect on the brain that reduces the maximum achievable intelligence.

sgtclub · 05-19-2004, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Not really. I can't believe that releasing oil would have any effect on prices, and he would simply be attacked on some other equally silly ground. But I did get a chuckle out of your attempt to paint Bush's leadership on this issue as a profile in courage.

Clinton opened the reserves in 2000 and it had a short term effect of lower prices from $37 to $31 or so per, so it's likely to have a similar effect in 2004.

sgtclub · 05-19-2004, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I think we already covered the IQ subject for the day.

good one

baltassoc · 05-19-2004, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Not Me
I agree with it. The purpose of the reserve is not to artifically lower oil prices.
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It is admirable of Bush to be constrained on this. He could help himself in the election if he released them.

Some things are more important than an election to a boy from West Texas.

It's also not a forgone conclusion that it would be to his advantage. The release of reserves would at provide partial but not complete relief, and it is almost universally true that no matter what people pay for gas, they think it is too much.

On the other hand, by keeping crude prices up, more dollars are going directly into hands that are much more likely to donate to Bush than Kerry, from oil executives to roughnecks.

Not Me · 05-19-2004, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I think we already covered the IQ subject for the day.

Yes, we did. The Reps have higher IQs on average than the Dems. This is a function of economics, but still, a truth.

On another topic, membership in organized religion is negatively correlated with IQ, too. The higher your IQ, the less likely you are to identify yourself as belonging to a religion.

Not Me · 05-19-2004, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by baltassoc
It's also not a forgone conclusion that it would be to his advantage. The release of reserves would at provide partial but not complete relief, and it is almost universally true that no matter what people pay for gas, they think it is too much.

I am happy the prices are high. We need to discourage people from using so much gasoline in this country.

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-19-2004, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sgtclub
Clinton opened the reserves in 2000 and it had a short term effect of lower prices from $37 to $31 or so per, so it's likely to have a similar effect in 2004.

Given the volume of oil in the world market and the volume in the strategic reserve, I find those numbers utterly implausible. Which is to say, cite please.

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-19-2004, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Not Me
Yes, we did. The Reps have higher IQs on average than the Dems. This is a function of economics, but still, a truth.

On another topic, membership in organized religion is negatively correlated with IQ, too. The higher your IQ, the less likely you are to identify yourself as belonging to a religion.

Since we're making up IQ facts, let me point out that literal people have notoriously low IQs.

Not Me · 05-19-2004, 06:37 PM

So ever since JFK became the Dem nominee, I have stopped buying Heinz products. I now buy Hunt's ketchup, but I find that I don't like it as much as the Heinz. Hunt's tastes sweeter to me and Heinz has more of an acidic bite to it.

If anyone knows of a non-Heinz ketchup that is not as sweet as Hunt's please post the info.

TIA!!

Not Me · 05-19-2004, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Given the volume of oil in the world market and the volume in the strategic reserve, I find those numbers utterly implausible. Which is to say, cite please.

IF you watched Fox news, you wouldn't need him to provide you with a cite.

baltassoc · 05-19-2004, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Not Me
Yes, we did. The Reps have higher IQs on average than the Dems. This is a function of economics, but still, a truth.

On another topic, membership in organized religion is negatively correlated with IQ, too. The higher your IQ, the less likely you are to identify yourself as belonging to a religion.

I get the economic correlation, and could see that maybe among those people who are drawn to one party or another, Republicans might do better on the IQ thing.

But doesn't your second statement, with which I completely agree and which I suspect is well documented, contradict your first? I mean, not everybody is a Republican because they are rich. Some are just wingnuts.