Edwin Pell, nice attempt at a slight reductio ad absurdum argument. Please, step out of freshman philosophy and present a valid argument when you try and refute one of my contentions.

Apagogical arguments are logical fallacies (much like John’s, stated above) used in an attempt to ridicule an argument you cannot refute with sound logic. I have called you on it, you have failed.

Would either of you care to try again? Please, if your responses are as poorly thought-out the second time as they were the first time, I won’t bother responding again.

You are viewing your “reality” through YOUR eyes. Not objective: you are mistaking your subjective experience for an objective world that is experienced unchanged by all. This is a logical fallacy on your part.

Also, I personally never said 2 + 2 = 5. If the mass of people say it does, and you go on raving that the answer is 4 . . . they will lock you up.

Problem solved.

Reality does not matter. Perception is reality.

Well, that is the crux of the problem. imho and from my experience this country is not even a shadow of itself from, say, 30 years ago. and it’s evident in all walks of life, everywhere. the economy has become one big fraud; just look at the quality of what you get, just look at customer service, just look at various scams to separate you from your money and from your life savings. just look at the lack of any laws, regulations, etc. the widespread fraud and mismanagement in everything. the elections, likewise. the lockhold israel has on us wasn’t there to such an extent several decades ago.

remember how during the cold war we used to laugh at the soviet union and their security, their police on the streets stopping people and asking them where they are going, the total militarization of their society? (and, having grown up in a socialist country which was much better than USSR in that regard, but still much worse than it was here, I could relate to that). But now, we say we’ve won the cold war. But we have become the soviet union. we are emulating them in each and every way. so, come again, who has won the cold war? the soviet system has won, we have it right here in america, something which was unthinkable.

you can’t complain about anything and get it resolved. a long time ago, in good old days, when i first got here, i got a huge refund on my state taxes, simply because i included a letter in my return pointing out some unfairness. today, i went with my wife to a doctor’s office to ask for a mere printout of test results for her, which tests have been paid for OUT OF MY OWN pocket, and they tell me it’s against office policy to give me that!!!!yes i made myself a pain in the neck and eventually a half-ass compromise was reached, i’ll get them after the dr. “reviews” them, or so they say, but i had to jump thru hoops for something that’s mine and they didn’t have the basic decency after I paid them for their “services”.

it’s the vicious circle of diminishing expectations. people don’t complain vigorously when something’s wrong, because they get too much on their plate. and then those in power say, OK, nothing happened, so let’s reduce the quality of life here one more notch, it will make life easier for us. let’s raise prices, reduce quality, provide less for the taxes while raising the taxes and giving it to our friends in the military-industrial complex. and the people again say, it’s not a big deal, it’s only a small degradation and i don’t have time to fight the city hall. and on it goes, the downward spiral of everything to where we are now. and without brakes on it, it will continue to degrade and get much worse over time, to the point where the present will be “the good old days”.

My truth is someone’s lie, and my lie their truth.”

That’s exactly how the americans act. the problem is, reality doesn’t give a shit what you think. if you think you can jump off the empire state bldg and float on your own reality, go ahead. if you think you can conduct your life in the 2+2=5 paradigm, go ahead, i’ll applaud you. the reality will smash you to pieces. and it’s a good way to get rid of the stupid and stupidly arrogant, and the ones who get in the way of the rest of us, the natural selection process (i.e., the reality) is good at weeding out the reality challenged.

yes, it’s true, airplanes will fly without wings. for a while. and then they’ll crash and burn even worse than otherwise.

Truth is a philsophical construct that in all likely does not exist. For example, if one out of a hundred says 2+2 is 4, and the other ninety-nine declare that it is 5 – guess what? For all practical purposes it is 5.

My truth is someone’s lie, and my lie their truth.

I turn my back on the ballot until the day voting actually makes a difference.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/ineq-m20.shtml

Having spent about three years reading articles from sites like DV, I have found myself becoming as sickened by the pseudoleft as by the corporate right. Both are perfectly willing to ram their agenda down my throat in their real quest, which is POWER. Both are despicable beyond belief.

I would say the governments 13 year indoctrination program is working 100%. That is the public schools. The message is sit down and shut-up. After 13 years of that there is not much fight left.