Disqus - Latest Comments for riseuprochester

Re: Esoteric Agenda film by Ben Stewart

riseuprochester — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:18:51 -0000

Hey Sean, this is a great film for opening people's minds. I'm not sure how I feel about all of his claims. I've watched the film twice now, the first time was over the summer and the second time was a month or so ago. I can't remember a lot of the specifics, but I do remember that I felt differently about the film each time. I've done a lot of my own research and my conclusions about a lot of this material have been changing and developing, evidently, since I felt differently the second time. It's really important to evaluate these things for yourself.

My advice for anyone watching this film, or other alternative documentaries, is to doubt every claim made and try to prove it wrong. Look up every claim for yourself and try and see if you can prove or disprove them individually. Verify and contrast the information against mainstream sources and official sources as well.

Thanks for posting Sean, I'd like to see who else has seen this film.

Re: Restoring the Republic?

riseuprochester — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:27:05 -0000

Hey I was there last Thursday, the day after the measure was defeated. The good news is that this radical legislation got about 40% support, which means it could likely pass next year.

Also, the state house is really cool because there is little security, no metal detectors and you can bring your gun in, open or concealed carry. I really loved Concord, I wish that I could have stayed for more than a few hours.

Re: Hyperinflation, Great Depression II

riseuprochester — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:52:52 -0000

On the Natural News website you'll see a link to sign up for the email newsletter. http://www.naturalnews.com/

I'd also recommend other sites like World Net Daily, Infowars.com, Mises.org, among others.

Re: Regardless of Party, Foreign Policy is the Same

riseuprochester — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:26:58 -0000

Great article Gabe. When you have ones like this that are so well written and balanced you should consider submitting them to Infowars.com as well. Perhaps if you updated this article for all of the new developments you could still submit it.

Re: Government and the Arts

riseuprochester — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:37:46 -0000

Here is the comment I left on Chris' blog:

Here's a perspective from the Austrian School of Economics that claims government hinders the arts. Government aid usually jumps on board already highly supported programs to gain political favor. Also, the money tends to flow to those who are the best at filling out forms, not necessarily the best artists. Would we have more art? Possibly. Would it be better? Doubtful.

Check out the podcast here: http://mises.org/resources/5574fca2-0ab0-4caf-8......

Also, another point of the lecture was these programs are essentially subsidies for the middle and upper class entertainment needs. People that could typically afford to pay $15 dollars to get into some event can get in for free thanks to the government, but rarely are the programs helpful to the poor.

It's certainly an interesting debate. I just get concerned because whenever I think of state-sponsored art I think of statues of politicians and government propaganda films. Scary!

Some quotes from the great economist Ludwig von Mises:

The most primitive work of art also can express the strongest experience, and it speaks to us, if only we let it.

[Epistemological Problems of Economics p. 46]

A work of art is an attempt to experience the universe as a whole. One cannot analyze or dissect it into parts and comment on it without destroying its intrinsic character.

[Epistemological Problems of Economics p. 136]

There can be no freedom in art and literature where the government determines who shall create them.

[Omnipotent Government p. 52]

It is a hopeless task to interpret a symphony, a painting, or a novel. The interpreter at best tries to tell us something about his reaction to the work…. There are no words to describe the ineffable.

[Theory and History p. 276]

Re: Hate in the Tunnel at the University of Rochester

riseuprochester — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 12:48:23 -0000

I'm not sure how this article could be interpreted as anti-Semetic. Does anyone understand the difference between an ethnic group and the actions of a government? Surely all Americans aren't to blame for the war-crimes perpetrated under Bush (and now under Obama) so why would all Jews be to blame for the shameful actions of the government of Israel? The anti-Semitsm card is pulled when no other defense is available, used to divert attention into some irrelevant side-argument that ignores the facts at hand.

Also, I'm sorry that I did not take pictures of EVERY single defacement so everyone could see the crossed out peace symbol. Even without this picture I have a hard time understanding how anyone could believe that this was an attempt to "equalize the tone" of the message. I'm sure the people of Gaza would not consider "No Gaza" to be fair and peaceful.

Re: Hate in the Tunnel at the University of Rochester

riseuprochester — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:24:26 -0000

Wow! That was a really powerful display they had there. I'm sorry to see that similar actions were taken against those signs as well. This is how I look at it: if you really want to be prideful of Israel (we're talking a country with a government and politicians here) wouldn't you want to hold the country accountable? That way there would be something to be proud of, not just some cesspool of crimes internally and externally.

Re: Hate in the Tunnel at the University of Rochester

riseuprochester — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:59:17 -0000

Sure, no problem Ted. I'm glad you enjoyed this story and i think it adds an important dimension to this series of events. Let me know if you need my help with anything.

Re: Hate in the Tunnel at the University of Rochester

riseuprochester — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:12:23 -0000

First of all, I never said I agreed with my fellow student's demands, their methods for achieving them, OR the practice of giving preferential scholarships based on race, nationality, etc. I thought it was a non-issue for this article.

Also, I'm not sure why not living in Israel would preclude me from having an opinion on the matter.

Thirdly, most of the Katyusha rockets don't even kill anyone. Do a Google search for "Katyusha rocket" and one of the top hits is about 30 chickens that were killed in 2006. It definitely sucks to get hit by one, but you're more likely to die driving to work. I don't care which side you're rooting for, or better yet if you just want peace, it's best to put this in perspective. Hundreds have died in single days of the recent assault by Israel. These rockets are a leftover from WWII and they have little to no payload.

Lastly, I'm not sure how you could judge me as "hopelessly ignorant" without even knowing my exact views on the topic. Oh well.

Re: Health Czar in Economic Stimulus Bill

riseuprochester — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:07:16 -0000

Also:

Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039...

Here's an interesting piece from a Jesuit university:
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v3n3...

Re: Health Czar in Economic Stimulus Bill

riseuprochester — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:03:46 -0000

It's worse than I thought Ethan. It looks like the "stimulus" bill has passed, and it includes healthcare rationing, especially for those over 55: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/blog/diagnosis/th...

This is not what a free country looks like. There is no reason the Federal Government needs to know about my health records. Part of quality care is PRIVACY, which ultimately trumps other factors like cost.

Re: Regardless of Party, Foreign Policy is the Same

riseuprochester — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:02:24 -0000

That's an excellent quote. I'm feeling more and more in that camp every day. (Oh wait, it can't be a camp!) Oh darn...

Re: Restoring the Republic?

riseuprochester — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:58:26 -0000

Haha, yeah sorry. It is kindof cool. If I was confident it meant anything I'd be encouraging people to move to those states right now. I'm just trying not to be overly optimistic

Re: Restoring the Republic?

riseuprochester — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:58:09 -0000

It's an interesting story, but when push comes to shove I wonder if it will actually mean something. If governors tried to individually resist the federal government it probably wouldn't turn out for the better. Then again, if a few stood up to Washington at the same time they might fare a little better. We'll see what happens I guess.

Re: Gulf of Tonkin - False Flag

riseuprochester — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:22:40 -0000

??? - OK whatever. Say what you wish but trolling is not permitted here. If you're going to worship some movie like you can do that on your own site. All films, books, etc. have their strengths and flaws. Nothing's perfect, but suit yourself.

Re: Take My Credit, Please!

riseuprochester — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:34:09 -0000

Zeitgeist Addendum is Socialist/Statist bullsh*t propaganda. The maker is a bumbling idiot and hides behind big words as not to show everyone that he doesn't know what he's talking about. His only solutions are new age "get released from religion and accept one world government" bull. I don't really understand the film at all.

Re: DEA Makes First Federal Medical Marijuana Raids Under Obama Administration

riseuprochester — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:51:04 -0000

Legalize it.

Simple as that. You get to put in your body what you want and I get to put in my body what I want. As long as we don't hurt each other there's really no problem.

Alcohol and cigarettes kill 100s of times more people each year, so there goes that argument as well.

Re: The Right to Arm Bears: The Second Amendment Under Fire

riseuprochester — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:46:51 -0000

Well put, Ethan. The difference between an enslaved people and a free people is weapons. If only the police and military have weapons, then aren't we just living in a giant prison? Some would see it as a plantation, as we still have to work and pay taxes to pay for the police state.

Re: A Eulogy for America’s Constitutional Republic

riseuprochester — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:43:41 -0000

Excellent article Gabe, I like the figures you've drawn upon. If you browse through the archives here you'll quickly see that I am a huge fan of Jefferson as well. I'm glad you've included Madison's words about democracy. I'm always trying to explain to people why democracy is bad, but most people seem so heavily indoctrinated that sometimes it seems hopeless. Any right that is exposed to the vote of the majority is not protected at all, which is partially the reason we should be weary of politicians who claim they can solve issues like racism and discrimination.

I'm also glad you pointed out the importance of free market money for a free society. As good as gold...

Re: Surveillance State: The Antithesis of Liberty

riseuprochester — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:22:40 -0000

Well said. You put that even more succinctly than I did.

Re: Surveillance State: The Antithesis of Liberty

riseuprochester — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:29:37 -0000

As unfortunate as that shooting was, we must remember that any right can be used or abused. Due process sometimes means the guilty walk free, the right to bear arms means sometimes innocents will be shot, and the right to assembly means that sometimes there will be riots.

The real question is, can riots be prevented simply by making them illegal?
Can abuses of free speech me prevented simply by restricting speech?
Can violence against innocents be reduced by making gun ownership illegal?

The answer, of course, is that criminals are criminals because they have no regard for the law. If a criminal would use a gun to hurt someone, they are already planning on doing something illegal. They don't really care about having a gun illegally. Gun control laws should be seen as victim-disarmament laws, because only law-abiding citizens will gladly give up their weapons.

The only way to truly be protected is to protect yourself. Unfortunately, for the police officer, we do not yet know the motive for the person who shot him. What I do know is that for a lot of people the police are the face of a tyrannical government. I'm sure most of them are great people, but they represent something else beyond just the uniform.

Re: Renaissance Square is (Almost) Dead

riseuprochester — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:34:01 -0000

It might be good for someone directly employed in one of those fields, but for everyone else they will be worse off. Every other project like this has ended up costing taxpayers more money at the end of the day.

Re: Renaissance Square is (Almost) Dead

riseuprochester — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:32:04 -0000

haha, yeah I can agree with you there.

Re: Black Sunshine - The Kennedy Assasination

riseuprochester — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:56:27 -0000

I think it has been put on hold so they can work on the new Obama film that's coming out in March.

Re: Human link spammers

riseuprochester — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:49:11 -0000

It's just increasing for me.