It's morning here in the coastal Carolinas.  I woke up and had a waffle.  Eggo.  With margarine.

I said to my wife, "You know, the waffle was crispy on one side and still cold on the other."

She replied, "Just because it happened to you doesn't mean it's interesting."

A wise woman, indeed. 

I'm not trying to control the conversation.  I'm simply speaking my mind, rather than recycling YouTube videos. 

I find it impossible to ignore graffiti. 

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You actually believe this stuff draws traffic?  The site was built on political content, not on music posts. 

Government at all levels now confiscates 44.4% of GDP.  We've come to the point where the top 20 percent of earners now support or subsidize the bottom 50 percent, while the 30 percent in between struggle just to keep their heads above water with their meager after-tax incomes. 

We don't need half-hearted reforms.  We need to dismantle the welfare state, root and branch. 

The problem is that our venal political leadership flourishes from perpetuation of the status quo.  So long as they can live in a cocoon of status and privilege, they're never gonna alienate the parasite class, who'll always vote for those who promise to sustain their undeserved "benefits".

So now I'm redacted simply for pointing out an inconvenient truth? 

And BThompson, you miss the point.  There was a time when the overwhelming majority of Member posts were substantive and thought-provoking.   But the fact is that we tend not to wander further than Page 1, so when the quality stuff gets shoved off that page, it for all intents and purposes vanishes before its time. 

Right you are, Franco.  What's the point of working up a decent post when it's overwhelmed by graffiti? 

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Yeah, there are hardly any of those scary Asians and Hispanics in Charlottesville.

On the other hand, Charlottesville has a crime rate of 487.9 crimes per 100,000 population, compared to the national average of 320.9.

Sounds like paradise to me. 

Meanwhile, Marin County has a crime rate of 259.5 per 100,000. 

Oh, for Pete's sake.  Stop bashing California. 

The Bay Area is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. 

And our climate is idyllic.

How was the weather in Charlottesville today?  Oh: in the 90's with high humidity?  And it's gonna be that way for the next ten days?  Ouch.

Gee, it topped out here in the low 80's, zero humidity, with brilliant, sunny skies and a light breeze.

Yeah, things are tough in some parts of the state, but not here in Marin County - did you fail to notice that every second car on the road is a late model BMW, Mercedes or Porsche? 

We have safe, clean streets, dozens of bucolic parks in which to disport ourselves and one of the most pristine, gorgeous coastlines in all the world.

Hey, if the difference between our state income tax of 10% and yours of 5.75% was enough to get you to tuck tail and skedaddle, that's your choice. Good riddance.

But don't expect us to whine and moan.  We're doing just fine, thank you. 

Well, here's a problem: the latest Gallup poll has 19% of independents and 18% of Republicans saying they would not vote for a Mormon. 

Good point, bereket.  The idea that there is some sort of anti-science jihad afoot in the schools is a canard. 

We discussed this last year and the Cato Institute has examined the possibility of disposing of Federal assets at considerable length.

It makes perfect sense: those assets really belong to the citizens of the United States.  Now that the feds have driven us into penury, the assets should be liquidated in order to pay down our debt.

Yes, contempt.  You might want to review your comments on the recent thread about Darwin vs. Intelligent Design.

I didn't say you were a tedious atheist ranter.  I said your atheist rants were tedious. 

And, frankly, you haven't been the least bit shy about displaying your contempt for Members who don't share your rigid Darwinist views.  You're well aware that the overwhelming majority of Members here are people of faith, so expect some push-back when you express contempt for their beliefs.