He should look at the bright side: If he was in Iran he's be executed.

This model may very well be the first man that Elena Kagan has ever found herself attracted to.

I'm assuming the executions will be televised somewhere, which means that in Iran, porn is punishable by death but government sanctioned snuff movies are A-OK. Nice.

I thought this story would get some media attention, but no...

I agree with you that we need to pry big business away from influencing/running the government, but I still blame government and not big business for the problem. Business is going to use any angle available to them to increase profits; it's in their nature and best interest to do so. It is government, however, that allows business to be involved in government affairs in the first place. We should have more luck going after government instead of business anyway, because supposedly the government is accountable to us, while big business is accountable to its shareholders.

I was a tea party guy. I went to DC on 9/12/09 and it was fun, but I've learned what the 60's radicals have already learned, which is that holding signs and yelling doesn't accomplish anything. If the tea party people want smaller government/lower taxes they have to infiltrate the system, as the 60's radicals have. Until they do, it's nothing more than making yourself feel better because you "did something".

Basically, we have the same question: "How do we stop this?", we just have different modes of attack. I believe that for the most part this country is run by banksters/big business and they have WAY too much influence on government. On that I think we agree. I think the answer is to try to force government away from the banker's and businessman's control, by abolishing the Federal Reserve, among other things. I would like to see campaign contributions that come only from voters. I would like to see an end to no-bid government contracts. But, when you have foreign powers that own entire industries within their borders, like Citgo gas in Venezuela and Emirates Airlines in the UAE for example, aren't we giving in to the demands of big business simply by propping up the UN as well? I think so.

I think big business can do just fine around the world without any help from our government. We may in fact find that returning to a more isolationist pose may cause many governments to be more willing to deal with our businesses.

In a somewhat related vein, I'm a conservative guy, but I'm against the war on terror. George Bush once said the terrorists were jealous of our freedom, which ranks among the more asinine things he's ever said, and that's sayin' something. After all, the terrorists do seem to like their dictatorial theocracies... I think the terrorists hate us because we try to tell them what to do while subsidizing Israel.

Switzerland is a pretty free country, but I don't hear too much about a Swiss terrorism problem, and I think it's because Switzerland does not have a history of interventionism. Why aren't the terrorists jealous of their freedom? Switzerland also has a higher average wage than the United States, so if the terrorists were going after us because we're a rich country, then they've missed the mark on that one too. Switzerland has managed to stay out of war in an area of the world historically torn by constant warring factions, and they did it by being isolationist. The United States is the most interventionist country in the world, and we are reaping what we sow.

Here is a paragraph from an article I just found online. I haven't checked it for accuracy, but feel free:

"Switzerland has not been in a war of any kind since 1815. It has not been in an official foreign war since 1515. This would be astounding, even miraculous, for any nation. But Switzerland borders Germany . And France . And Italy . And Austria . And Liechtenstein . Now the Prince of Liechtenstein has rarely lashed out in Blitzkrieg in a desperate bid to reign uber alles, but ALL of Switzerland 's other neighbors have devoted a lot of effort to invading other countries."

You may see the article here - http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blo...

I think it's a great example of a successful economic power that minds its own business, and we could learn much from the Swiss. As a side note, the Swiss banking industry was doing just fine until they allowed foreign governments access to their banking records. My guess is they're wishing they could get out of the UN too.

You said:
"The problem is that, based on our voting record, it's abundantly clear that our interests are diametrically opposed to the overwhelming majority of the world."

Considering that the overwhelming majority of countries in the world are Marxist and/or dictatorial by nature, I'll take that as a compliment on behalf of the United States.

We would do well to listen to George Washington.
From his farewell address:

"Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government."

"The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop."

You can find a bunch more here - http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.a...
Basically I, like George Washington, am an isolationist, and you are not. Call me crazy, but I prefer the political philosophy of George Washington over that of Karl Marx. Just sayin'.

All countries push for whatever is in their own best interests, and why wouldn't they? Are you really saying that all the other countries vote for what is best for the world except for the evil, selfish United States? (The same "disgusting" United States who funds a larger part of the UN budget than anyone else) Personally, I think we should leave the UN and kick them out of New York, but I'm not a collectivist, or an apologist for the US. My guess is that you are both.

This email is old now, but since I haven't been able to find the text of the treaty I can't verify if it only applies to arms trade between nations, or if it is an international agreement to limit small arms by the means stated in the email. Please send me the location of the text if you've seen it. Regardless, I personally am not terribly concerned about it. There aren't enough cops to enforce it, there aren't enough US soldiers to enforce it, neither group wants to, and a bunch of sissified French, German and Italian soldiers with pretty blue helmets would make for some good target practice. In other words I agree with you, but perhaps for different reasons...

Yeah, they wouldn't have a chance. I encourage them to keep talking and making videos and they just might get run out before they have a chance to try a revolution. If not, their "revolution" would last about a week.

This is a great clip for demonstrating the evils of a democracy, why America wasn't formed as one, and why we should never (have?) let it become one.