BTP, money is the one quantifiable measure of success there is in the world.
Dee Nalle, money is nothing more than a consentual hallucination. And it could all literally disappear tomorrow. Which means as a quantifiable certainty, it is meaningless. Which is the foundation of your philosophy of fear and lies.
Here's a homework assignment for your sad sorry soul, read Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Trilogy" and prepare a paper on the changes Sir Isaac Newton made to the Royal Mint to establish the concept of "money" as distinct from a physical product.
BTP, money is the one quantifiable measure of success there is in the world.
I don't know, I could choose perhaps, mortality rate percentages from violence and disease as a quantifiable measure of success in the world. But I guess it might depend on if you think success is only possible by individuals or if we can actually succeed better through cooperation (also known as civilization) than by indivual striving alone.
I started reading the "Baroque Trilogy", I love Neal Stephenson and I finished the first one but got distracted, I will eventually read the rest. Hmmm, it seemed that all kinds of things happen in the first book, wars, science, religious strife, it wouldn't seem that money was even a top theme. You might read his book "The Diamond Age" (a really great book) where technology and knowledge appear to be stronger forces than money.
>>money is nothing more than a consentual hallucination. And it could all literally disappear tomorrow. <<
Money is symbolic of property. Without property there is no society. So you're saying that society could disappear tomorrow. If that happens, then no matter what you've put your faith in, you're screwed - so until it happens I'll stick with money.
>>Which means as a quantifiable certainty, it is meaningless. Which is the foundation of your philosophy of fear and lies.<<
MY philosophy of fear and lies? Where do you get that from? My philosophy is one of an interlaced and productive society where money is used as a medium of exchange for ideas, property, services and anything of value. It's the way the world works - learn to cope with it.
Money makes the world go round
The world go round, the world go round
Money makes the world go round
It makes the world go round!
Dave
79 -
Randy
Aug 04, 2005 at 6:36 pm
I joined the service out of a profound sense of patriotism and for the camaraderie. I expected to lead good men and women and be lead by good men and women. Soldiers, who would speak frankly and freely, follow orders once the decision was made and who would place the good of the organization above all else. Soldiers who would be willing to sacrifice for this great nation and these were men and women I could trust with anything, and they could trust me.
A Master Sergeant once told me that Priests do the Lord's work and don't plan to be the Pope. They were in touch with their soldiers and supportive of their seniors. I will keep their memory alive by passing on what I have learned to my soldiers. I can not understand why are so many people mad at us for doing our job? We defend the freedoms and the American way of life that we all enjoy. We do what we do so you can do what you do and want. If you get your kicks from hanging a uniform from a noose or burning Old Glory; well enjoy that freedom of expression that so many Americans paid for by giving their lives to protect and defend your right to do so.
How can a American be Anti-American. A man that does not love his country, can love nothing.
"I have given more to America than I ever took from HER...and I'm proud of that." God Bless America!
SGT Randy B.
US Army Europe and so many other country's.
80 -
billy
Aug 04, 2005 at 6:43 pm
congrats randy
but you say
"I can not understand why are so many people mad at us for doing our job?"
i have heard noone anywhere say such a thing. i have heard alot of criticism of that thug bush who dodged the draft then brazenly sent troops into harms way when it wasnt the last resort.
but noone is mad at the troops any more than they are mad at a doctor who has to save a criminal patient.
it is just part of the job. people are proud of you. they are not proud of the civilian decision makers.
81 -
Randy
Aug 04, 2005 at 7:01 pm
Thank you!
Being on the other side of the fence, civilian and military, I see and hear the good and bad things about the military. Most are good but I have been approached by people that didn't have good things to say about the uniform or the military. I have also seen the heart and soul of the people that support us 100%. I went home to SC, in uniform, to register my truck and I stopped to get some gas and the gentleman behind me insisted that he pay for my gas. I told him he didn't have to but he would not take no for an answer. He even bought me a coke. After thanking him, he hugged me and thanked me. I was the proudest soldier in the Army that day.
I don't agree with everything the President says or does. I did, however, swore an oath "to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic". And I promise you that I will.
Thank you for your response and your support. It is greatly appreciated.
SGT Randy B
82 -
billy
Aug 04, 2005 at 7:11 pm
thanks for doing your job. id buy you gas too, but it has gotten a little expensive here lately. arent there any oil-soaked dictators you can go topple so we can bring the oil home? (just kidding)
83 -
Randy
Aug 04, 2005 at 8:24 pm
Thanks for the offer Billy. I feel the pain every time I top off my 4x4 Dodge Ram Extended Cab. Military pay can go only so far.
Good comment about the "oil-soaked dictators". :)
I received this in a email some time ago. I thought I would share it with y'all.
IF YOU'RE NOT IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't know adventure. You don’t know smelly gray PT uniforms that require a daily washing. You can't understand green and brown camouflaged bags flooding your bedroom floor.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't understand the meaning of the phrase "going to the field" and the weeks you spend away from each other.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can never imagine the hole in your heart when that phone call comes? "Honey, I am leaving tomorrow to go overseas. I don't know how long I will be gone or exactly where I am going, but I want you to know that I love you - always!"
If you're not in love with a soldier, you don't know what it's like to say that final good-bye. You don't know what it really means to be glued to the television. You don't understand fear and you can't possibly understand the sleepless nights of endless crying wondering if you will ever see the love of your life alive again.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't know the immense joy, the uncontrollable smile, or the butterflies in your stomach when you see your soldier march into the family waiting area upon redeployment. You can't understand the self-control it takes to stand on the other side of the room as some higher-up gives a seemingly endless welcome home speech while all the soldiers stand in formation. You don't know what it's like to have that second first kiss or what it's like to experience puppy love all over.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't truly understand how to make every moment count because you never know when that phone call may come again.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can never really understand how very delicate life is!
==============
My heart goes out the the families in Ohio of the Marines that were killed this week and also to all of the families that have lost their service members too.
I have been to too many funerals in the past few years.
Article comments
76 - Jim Carruthers
BTP, money is the one quantifiable measure of success there is in the world.
Dee Nalle, money is nothing more than a consentual hallucination. And it could all literally disappear tomorrow. Which means as a quantifiable certainty, it is meaningless. Which is the foundation of your philosophy of fear and lies.
Here's a homework assignment for your sad sorry soul, read Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Trilogy" and prepare a paper on the changes Sir Isaac Newton made to the Royal Mint to establish the concept of "money" as distinct from a physical product.
77 - Big Time Patriot
BTP, money is the one quantifiable measure of success there is in the world.
I don't know, I could choose perhaps, mortality rate percentages from violence and disease as a quantifiable measure of success in the world. But I guess it might depend on if you think success is only possible by individuals or if we can actually succeed better through cooperation (also known as civilization) than by indivual striving alone.
I started reading the "Baroque Trilogy", I love Neal Stephenson and I finished the first one but got distracted, I will eventually read the rest. Hmmm, it seemed that all kinds of things happen in the first book, wars, science, religious strife, it wouldn't seem that money was even a top theme. You might read his book "The Diamond Age" (a really great book) where technology and knowledge appear to be stronger forces than money.
78 - Dave Nalle
Carruthers:
>>Dee Nalle, <<
Dee? Like Dr. John Dee? I'm honored.
>>money is nothing more than a consentual hallucination. And it could all literally disappear tomorrow. <<
Money is symbolic of property. Without property there is no society. So you're saying that society could disappear tomorrow. If that happens, then no matter what you've put your faith in, you're screwed - so until it happens I'll stick with money.
>>Which means as a quantifiable certainty, it is meaningless. Which is the foundation of your philosophy of fear and lies.<<
MY philosophy of fear and lies? Where do you get that from? My philosophy is one of an interlaced and productive society where money is used as a medium of exchange for ideas, property, services and anything of value. It's the way the world works - learn to cope with it.
Money makes the world go round
The world go round, the world go round
Money makes the world go round
It makes the world go round!
Dave
79 - Randy
I joined the service out of a profound sense of patriotism and for the camaraderie. I expected to lead good men and women and be lead by good men and women. Soldiers, who would speak frankly and freely, follow orders once the decision was made and who would place the good of the organization above all else. Soldiers who would be willing to sacrifice for this great nation and these were men and women I could trust with anything, and they could trust me.
A Master Sergeant once told me that Priests do the Lord's work and don't plan to be the Pope. They were in touch with their soldiers and supportive of their seniors. I will keep their memory alive by passing on what I have learned to my soldiers. I can not understand why are so many people mad at us for doing our job? We defend the freedoms and the American way of life that we all enjoy. We do what we do so you can do what you do and want. If you get your kicks from hanging a uniform from a noose or burning Old Glory; well enjoy that freedom of expression that so many Americans paid for by giving their lives to protect and defend your right to do so.
How can a American be Anti-American. A man that does not love his country, can love nothing.
"I have given more to America than I ever took from HER...and I'm proud of that." God Bless America!
SGT Randy B.
US Army Europe and so many other country's.
80 - billy
congrats randy
but you say
"I can not understand why are so many people mad at us for doing our job?"
i have heard noone anywhere say such a thing. i have heard alot of criticism of that thug bush who dodged the draft then brazenly sent troops into harms way when it wasnt the last resort.
but noone is mad at the troops any more than they are mad at a doctor who has to save a criminal patient.
it is just part of the job. people are proud of you. they are not proud of the civilian decision makers.
81 - Randy
Thank you!
Being on the other side of the fence, civilian and military, I see and hear the good and bad things about the military. Most are good but I have been approached by people that didn't have good things to say about the uniform or the military. I have also seen the heart and soul of the people that support us 100%. I went home to SC, in uniform, to register my truck and I stopped to get some gas and the gentleman behind me insisted that he pay for my gas. I told him he didn't have to but he would not take no for an answer. He even bought me a coke. After thanking him, he hugged me and thanked me. I was the proudest soldier in the Army that day.
I don't agree with everything the President says or does. I did, however, swore an oath "to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic". And I promise you that I will.
Thank you for your response and your support. It is greatly appreciated.
SGT Randy B
82 - billy
thanks for doing your job. id buy you gas too, but it has gotten a little expensive here lately. arent there any oil-soaked dictators you can go topple so we can bring the oil home? (just kidding)
83 - Randy
Thanks for the offer Billy. I feel the pain every time I top off my 4x4 Dodge Ram Extended Cab. Military pay can go only so far.
Good comment about the "oil-soaked dictators". :)
I received this in a email some time ago. I thought I would share it with y'all.
IF YOU'RE NOT IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't know adventure. You don’t know smelly gray PT uniforms that require a daily washing. You can't understand green and brown camouflaged bags flooding your bedroom floor.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't understand the meaning of the phrase "going to the field" and the weeks you spend away from each other.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can never imagine the hole in your heart when that phone call comes? "Honey, I am leaving tomorrow to go overseas. I don't know how long I will be gone or exactly where I am going, but I want you to know that I love you - always!"
If you're not in love with a soldier, you don't know what it's like to say that final good-bye. You don't know what it really means to be glued to the television. You don't understand fear and you can't possibly understand the sleepless nights of endless crying wondering if you will ever see the love of your life alive again.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't know the immense joy, the uncontrollable smile, or the butterflies in your stomach when you see your soldier march into the family waiting area upon redeployment. You can't understand the self-control it takes to stand on the other side of the room as some higher-up gives a seemingly endless welcome home speech while all the soldiers stand in formation. You don't know what it's like to have that second first kiss or what it's like to experience puppy love all over.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't truly understand how to make every moment count because you never know when that phone call may come again.
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can never really understand how very delicate life is!
==============
My heart goes out the the families in Ohio of the Marines that were killed this week and also to all of the families that have lost their service members too.
I have been to too many funerals in the past few years.