dr: Do you like football? Yes? What team do you root for?
sp: Go Blue!
dr: Did you root for the Wolverines before you came to school here?
sp: Not really.
dr: Why do you root for them now?
sp: Well, everybody does. I mean, they're the school team. You're always hearing about them on the radio and tv.
dr: Did anyone force you to root for them?
sp: No...
dr: So, since you said earlier that all unforced choices are free choices, then you'd agree that you made a free choice to root for Michigan.
sp: Yes.
dr: And yet it would have been very difficult to make a different choice. You are constrained by the social and media environment around you. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.
sp: I don't see why you say it would be hard to make a different choice. I could root for any team I want.
Showing posts with label Reminding myself why I should avoid arguments with stupid people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reminding myself why I should avoid arguments with stupid people. Show all posts
9/16/08
8/11/08
Obama and O.J.: Here we go
In today's edition of Great Moments in Wingnut America, D.R. Tucker says that--win or lose--having a black man on the ticket will be kinda like when O.J. was declared not guilty.
7/10/07
Fact checking
The federal excise tax on gasoline generates annual revenues which equal approximately 2/3 of the amount the federal government spends yearly on highways.
Please note: (1) Federal monies for road building and maintenance are not limited to highways, so the total federal spending on road building and maintenance exceeds excise tax revenues by more than the 50% that these figures taken alone would indicate; and, (2) The federal gasoline excise tax is not used exclusively for highways, so contributions from the general fund amount to more than 1/3 of the federal highway budget.
Sources: 1, 2, 3
Addendum:
dr: I think public transportation should be free. Actually, no. There's research showing that people undervalue free services, so there should be a nominal charge.
sp: But then how would you pay for public transit? Taxes on people who don't use it? That wouldn't be fair.
dr: But we already pay taxes for lots of services that we don't use. For example, lots of federal dollars go to building and maintaining roads. So we're already subsidizing transit.
sp: All of the money used for roads comes from gasoline taxes.
dr: That's ridiculous. Do you have any idea how much money the federal government spends on roads?
sp: The gas tax is really high. That's why gas is so expensive.
dr: The gas tax isn't high, and it isn't why gas is expensive.
sp: nyah! nyah!
Please note: (1) Federal monies for road building and maintenance are not limited to highways, so the total federal spending on road building and maintenance exceeds excise tax revenues by more than the 50% that these figures taken alone would indicate; and, (2) The federal gasoline excise tax is not used exclusively for highways, so contributions from the general fund amount to more than 1/3 of the federal highway budget.
Sources: 1, 2, 3
Addendum:
dr: I think public transportation should be free. Actually, no. There's research showing that people undervalue free services, so there should be a nominal charge.
sp: But then how would you pay for public transit? Taxes on people who don't use it? That wouldn't be fair.
dr: But we already pay taxes for lots of services that we don't use. For example, lots of federal dollars go to building and maintaining roads. So we're already subsidizing transit.
sp: All of the money used for roads comes from gasoline taxes.
dr: That's ridiculous. Do you have any idea how much money the federal government spends on roads?
sp: The gas tax is really high. That's why gas is so expensive.
dr: The gas tax isn't high, and it isn't why gas is expensive.
sp: nyah! nyah!
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