Quote from: K-Dog on Today at 12:41 PM

QuoteSo how much can someone earn for themselves before they desire your ire?

Ten million seems a good number.

Would you like to bet that this number is relative to the net worth/richness/whatever of the person handing out the number?

I'm sure there are McDonalds' workers who think my 7 figure net worth number for rich folk would make them thrilled. It is relative I'm betting.

Quote from: K-DogProvided they do not screw anybody over to get it, and Musk certainly did.

Well, you would need to be more clear on the Diner definition of "screw over" and what it consists of...besides him having come up with a good idea and managed to make it work.

Quote from: K-DogBut since he has so much of the green stuff you claim not to care about very much, you give him a pass.  And I don't. 

I don't care about the green stuff much. Once you get past having the basics for your family, much beyond that is showing off. And I DON'T give Elon a pass, the results he has generated IRL is just one criteria. Results aren't just about how big a pile of cash you have.

As far as no pass, of course I don't give him a pass. I don't like dopers by definition, it is a character thing, and Elon lacks it severely. Even without throwing in him being a philandering scumbag.

Money is never the measure of a man. That you would think that yourself to use as a slur against me is offensive.

Quote from: k-dogI really do not give two fucks if you think I get bent out of shape if people have too much money or not. 

Well that is good to hear, because we are well past needing to mention your near pathological revulsion for folks with money....the irony of which I have previously noted.

Quote from: k-dogIn general people preventing the paradigm shift for selfish reasons because they are personally comfortable, and financially well off deserve my ire.

So what might be the selfish reason? Not wanting to lose what they've got? You do seem a bit sensitive to that topic of being included with those in the personally comfortable column.

Quote from: K-DogThe amount of actual money they have has nothing to do with it.  It is about their attitude.  Steve Wozniak is one of the nicest men I have ever met. He can afford to be.  As far as Musk goes, he has done things that would put other people in prison.  So why is he not there.

I've done things that have put other people in prison. So what. Lacking a conviction you've got an opinion and nothing else. That and "innocent until proven guilty". You have a disagreement with the judicial system in this country, that is different than being peeved at rich folk.

Quote from: K-DogIf you think just having money provokes my ire, you are a little man with childish thoughts.  It is 1000 times more complicated than that for me.  Having more money than brains is the problem.

You judge quite often, and quickly it would appear. "A little man"...amusing...you don't know anything about me, other than I'm generally disagreeable and on some topics am beyond just professionally well informed in my area of expertise.

The Illusions of Capitalism: Exposing Virtues as Hidden Vices 

Wealth Accumulation: A Proxy for Superiority? 

What if the key to dismantling capitalism lies in exposing its so-called virtues for what they truly are—sick vices that maintain a choke-hold on life?  Wealth accumulation is perhaps the most flaunted "virtue" under capitalism.

We are told that such-and-such individual is "worth" such-and-such amount of money, as if wealth were a state of being rather than having.

Erich Fromm wrote in To Have or to Be:

QuoteIf I am what I have, and if what I have is lost, who then am I? Nobody but a defeated, deflated, pathetic testimony to a wrong way of living.

Wealth is treated as a proxy for industriousness, intelligence, even moral superiority. But wealth accumulation never questions:

• Are these qualities real?
• How are they acquired?
• Why should we reward them?
• What are the consequences of limitless accumulation? 

In truth, wealth accumulation is a game of hoarding to prove one is "better" than others—generating inequality, oppression, and destruction. It is not a virtue but a cancerous vice. 

The Myth of Hard Work 

Hard work is heralded as the backbone of success, yet only owners of capital reap its rewards, not doctors, nurses, or gig workers. Bertrand Russell wrote in In Praise of Idleness: "A great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by belief in the virtuousness of work." 

Why must we work endlessly? To produce and consume useless stuff before we die? True well-being comes from relationships, health, and a thriving environment—not mindless toil. 

The Tyranny of Meritocracy 

Meritocracy claims success comes from talent and effort, not privilege. But Michael Sandel warns in The Tyranny of Merit that a "perfect meritocracy" erodes solidarity by ignoring luck and circumstance.  Every trait—intelligence, effort, opportunity—stems from uncontrollable prior causes. Meritocracy is a delusion that justifies inequality. 

Philanthropy: Virtue or Vanity? 

Anand Giridharadas writes in Winners Take All that elite philanthropy is often patronage, not true aid. Real change requires dismantling the systems that create inequality—not Band-Aid donations. 

Efficiency: A Self-Defeating Vice 

Efficiency gains under capitalism lead to more consumption, not sustainability. Jason Hickel notes in Less Is More that "efficiency improvements" often accelerate ecological destruction. 

The Hidden Virtues Capitalism Rejects 

• What if capitalism's "vices" are actually virtues? 
• Idleness as reflection and resistance. 
• Unproductive creativity for self-fulfillment. 
• Slowness as mindfulness. 
• Collaboration over competition. 
• Dependency as solidarity (Ubuntu: "I am because we are"). 
• Nonconformity as moral resistance. 

Conclusion: An Economy for Life 

Capitalism's virtues are vices in disguise. We must build an Economy for Life—prioritizing well-being, equity, and sustainability over endless growth. 

QuoteSo how much can someone earn for themselves before they desire your ire?

Ten million seems a good number.  Provided they do not screw anybody over to get it, and Musk certainly did.  But since he has so much of the green stuff you claim not to care about very much, you give him a pass.  And I don't. 

I really do not give two fucks if you think I get bent out of shape if people have too much money or not.  That is your issue.  You confuse having a lot of money with being a good person, and while you point a finger at me, three point back at you.  You have far more of the green-eyed monster than I do to even bring it up.

In general people preventing the paradigm shift for selfish reasons because they are personally comfortable, and financially well off deserve my ire.  The amount of actual money they have has nothing to do with it.  It is about their attitude.  Steve Wozniak is one of the nicest men I have ever met. He can afford to be.  As far as Musk goes, he has done things that would put other people in prison.  So why is he not there.

And concerning Musk specifically, Musk is anti-progress.  Musk insisted that the electric car be a drop in replacement for a sports car, and nothing else.  Musk insists that rich white people make all the decisions.  And that has not worked out well.  Musk, having more money than brains, prevents the paradigm shift that could could have fucking saved civilization.

If you think just having money provokes my ire, you are a little man with childish thoughts.  It is 1000 times more complicated than that for me.  Having more money than brains is the problem.

Quote from: RE on Today at 05:45 AMI resent the few who have too much while there are so many with not enough.

RE

resent:feel bitterness or indignation at (a circumstance, action, or person)

So is it bitterness, which implies it isn't fair that someone has more than you, or indignation that someone has managed, by hook or by crook or hard work, new ideas, exceptional intellect, to have gained/acquired or earned it?

Around here TPTB don't like the idea of someone like Elon starting with little, and working his way up the food chain. The very logical defense of how it happened is verboten and erased.

So how much can someone earn for themselves before they desire your ire?

I resent the few who have too much while there are so many with not enough.

RE

Quote from: K-Dog on Mar 05, 2024, 07:00 PMmake police harassment safe for the police

Have you ever been "harassed" by the police? Say, interrogated, pulled into copland with bright lights and whatnot, had your stuff rifled through, arrested? Or is "harassment" in your world more being told to move along when passing out leaflets on the wonders of the ACP and things like that? Demanding climate change be a priority and getting told to disperse? Citizen protest stuff? Risk of a 2 figure fine or something?

Quote from: K-Dog on May 23, 2025, 02:11 PMI'd rather work on this stuff for my own reasons.  Praise of money is all the American mind seems to think about.  We put all our vital juices into the quest for money, yet we call ourselves free.

Define "free". I consider myself free. You seem to be. RE is in a jam for freedom but that is a physical thing.

"We" put all our vital juices into a quest for money? Out of us 3 geriatrics, I don't get the impression that applies to "we".

I just put vital juices into finding a means to not eat venison and be trapped in a social structure of the holler. That was freedom, the goal was never to become some money grubbing asshole....or worse yet one of those people who resent that others have more.

This will be interesting.  How could You possibly pay all the copyright fees accessed by a generative AI search?  It could be accessing 1000s (or more) of documents on any given topic to create a report or story.  Would merely including a bibliography be sufficient?  The authors of what was searched would want to be paid something.

Copyright is how Microsoft and Apple killed Napster and the software biz.  This could come round to bite them in the ass.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ai-napster-moment-1236232248/

AI's Napster Moment May Be Next

RE

Quote from: RE on Jun 27, 2024, 01:56 AM

Quote from: K-Dog on Jun 26, 2024, 11:10 PMEV's have trunks.  But if you find a charge station that is already occupied a Trunk Monkey could be an option.

How long would it take a 2000W generator with a 15 amp AC output to put 50 miles worth of juice into the batt pack of your Tesla?  But yea, a portable generator is a wise prep.  I don't think the rental EVs come with one though, which is part of the reason Hertz is selling off its fleet of EVs.  They also are a customer who decided to go back to ICE.  Actually, 20,000 customers.

RE

I never answered this, I should have, I have enough knowledge to make an educated guess without a detailed calculation.  Eight hours for a Tesla. 


Seven for a BYD.

My You-Tube algorithm is trying to influencing me.  It has decided to push gruesome forms of executions my way.  As disgusting as that toilet flush which I wish I could unsee.

The Persians would have made Trump into an leather backed chair.

In 1849, near a place known as Rawhide Buttes, approximately fifteen miles south of what is now Lusk, Wyoming, a wagon train was traveling west toward California. Among the travelers was a man named Clyde Pickett, who was a sociopathic racist motherfucker.  Clyde openly expressed hostility toward Native American people.  Clyde considered "the only good Injun's is a dead Injun."

Pickett, the sociopathic racist motherfucker was also horny, and Pickett wanted to get his Dawg on in a bad way!  Clyde sought to impress a woman named Kate Farley , by shooting the first Indian he encountered.  The wagon train went by an Indian camp, and Pickett shot a native woman dead.  Sioux men were out hunting.

The Sioux men returned to camp, and went after the wagon train.  They demanded the murderer.

Pickett was turned over. Pickett was tied to a tree or wagon wheel, accounts vary, and the Sioux sharpened their knives.  Picket was flayed alive.  After hours of screaming Pickett's skinless body passed out, and the Sioux men waited another hour until hypothermia and blood loss caused death.  Then they left with Clyde's skin.  They found use for it.





I must be a Manchurian candidate of some kind, and the You Tube algorithm is trying to trigger me.  Good thing I figured it out.  The puppet masters are not kind people.  I won't do their dirty work.