Eternal Yamcha wrote:I was almost a radical liberal.
Liberal/conservative doesn't really work as a dichotomy any more though -- would you say that you are a socialist? a civil libertarian? Just curious.
I feel the need to respond to this. Are you just saying that because Clinton had sexual affairs with a woman other than his wife? Please tell me you're not saying that. This part isn't directed at you, rather, I need to vent some pent up rage towards this...
Go ahead and vent, but that isn't what I said at all. I was referring to the direction Clinton took the Democratic party towards being the "moderate" party. This meant basically abandoning all ideals in favor of playing off of opinion polls on everything.
I don't know you, but I have a strong feeling that our principles are different. So how is your party the party of principle? Just vote for whoever you want.
They call themselves the party of principle because they feel that their platform is more ideologically coherent than anyone else's and contains fewer contradictions (for instance: Republicans want to be known as the party of small government but support farm subsidies and morality legislation). I don't agree with everything they do, but I think it's a much stronger position to vote on than any other party out there, much as true liberals should probably take a long, hard look at the Green Party.
I found this interesting. I was in a discussion with a friend about alt. energy resources we have. If I remember correctly, he said that to use hydrogen as a alt. energy resource, we'd still need to consume oil to mine the necessary components to use hydrogen. No, it's not as simple as filling your car tank with water.
Right, you have to break down that water into its components somehow, and the easiest way is to use electricity. Of course, that electric power has to come from somewhere, whether coal, gas, oil, or, my favorite, nuclear fission.
I heard something about vegetable oil. I hear restaurants want to get rid of huge quantities of the stuff for free, or they will pay you. All you need to do is get a modification to your engine, which people can do, to make it run off of vegetable oil as well.
Yeah, biodiesel is basically a fancy name for vegetable oil. Of course, as demand goes up for it, restaurants will stop giving the stuff away -- there's only a tiny supply of it there.
And, finally...
Today's grammar lesson!
Vulkurt wrote:Effect is a noun. Affect is a verb.
Actually, both can be used as either a noun or verb. They have different meanings in each context.
effect as a noun generally describes the consequences of an action, for instance, "the effect of the coffee was to wake him up."
As a verb, it means "to bring about." For instance, "the President effected a compromise by adjusting clauses A and C of the treaty."
affect as a noun describes the appearance someone takes on externally to show their emotions and isn't used very often anymore, sadly.
As a verb, it means something like "to create an effect." For instance, "this new ruling affects your business."
I hope that's clearer. Look it up in a dictionary if it isn't. I'd like to respond to your misunderstandings of the American federal electoral system, but I don't have time right now. Suffice it to say that the electoral college only applies to the executive branch, and you seem to be confusing it with gerrymandering in the legislative branch. The United States certainly isn't a democracy so much as it is a democratic republic.