"We Had To Haggle With The Taxi Industry On What The Signs Should Say."

"Back home, they would have put me in jail for what I'm doing. Here, they're giving me awards."

@Flybrian +10000 You're f****** warned – don't ever go over my f*****' head again.

@28-Cars-Later "You motherf***** you" Casino is hands down one of my favorite movies, ever. I really wish I had Joe Pesci backing me up at work sometimes...

Just offer t pay enough to make it worth vile for someone to only hire "licensed" drivers. I generally couldn't care less.

Uber's model has superior incentives (rates that flex due to high demand or inclement weather, immediate consistent feedback about drivers AND customers) to consistently get it right over time. I trust that model. Cab companies and their government regulators simply don't - their model is inferior. They are coddled monopolies that have grown fat on doing things their way. Government COULD track cab drivers (like Uber does its drivers) and fire (or ban from cab driving) jack-holes who long haul. But that's difficult and judgmental - it's much easier to ban competition and add layer of silliness to the regulatory state.

What do you know about the NSA that we don't? Please tells us, I'll sit back and listen

"Why is OK if Gov Co. knows all this info but regular Gov doesn't?" My relationship with any given company is voluntary. With "regular" government, not so much.

@Master Baiter +1 And the most some Company can do with the info is to try to induce me to voluntarily buy some service from them. They don't employ jackbooted thugs to make the inducement non voluntary. Things do get problematic when the COs get to go to the Gov for jack booted thug assistance, but the problem is still the jack booted thugs. Which are not employed by the COs.

The B&B: Wanking angrily since 19XX(TM).

@Lie2me Simply this, the practical reality of the NSA's search algorithms means that most internet traffic IS searchable but since they still rely on human eyes after flagging it means that about .0000001% of any traffic at any given time is being reviewed. Never mind that the NSA should be stopped from even doing this as it is a direct infringement onto our right for privacy I am merely pointing out that the boogeyman you're relying on is more of a paper tiger. But that hasn't stopped the B&B from frothing angrily while voting for the exact people who support the NSA in every respect.

@Master Baiter So you're simply more willing to give yourself over to a private company but get upset when the government levels the playing field. I get it....I get it. You like the theoretical relationship you have with a company against the reality of the relationship you have.

@Xeranar More like, I'm more comfortable talking smack about Zuckerberg while living in the US, despite risking my Facebook account being deleted; than I would be talking smack about Josef Stalin if I lived in the land of tightly regulated corporations he presided over. Take away their preferential access to government coercive services (aka take away the coercive services themselves, since they will always be made preferentially available to those more equal), and corporations can't really do me much harm, can they? If Uber got too evil, I'd just start Uber.Improved. Provided, of course, Uber couldn't come dragging with everybody's favorite thug army and shut me down for blah-blah so called IP violations.....

@Xeranar I don't know that you can say that we've been voting for people who support the NSA when those same people didn't know to what extent their and our privacy had been breached. Revelations over NSA over reach are continually being revealed

@Xeranar You don't get it at all. When I apply for a job or a loan I expect my personal life to be examined because I'm aware of it and I'm hoping for some gain in return. Unauthorized scrutiny of my personal life which can only be detrimental to me is unacceptable. I'm really surprised that you don't seem to grasp the difference

@Master Baiter Well, technically, you do have the option to move to Somalia or something, the government can't stop you from that.

@Maymar Running away from a problem is rarely the best option. Blindly accepting what's handed to you is even worse

@Lie2me Oh, he grasps the difference all right. If you remember that ultimately it's more about power than ideology his behavior makes sense. It may be cloaked in supposed moral and intellectual superiority and embroidered with ideological agendas, but at its essence it's Lord Of The Flies and Animal Farm.

@Lie2me Except your scrutiny under actual examination usually falls short of objective measurement. In other words: If the system worked like you wanted it to it wouldn't have created the original financial bubble. Corporations answer to no one except whatever farce we want to call 'stockholders' while the government answers to voters. The constant comparison to totalitarian regimes is beyond old. I understand in your cold war draped reality you're still fighting commies but welcome to the 21st century where capitalism has proven the greatest threat to any democratic process.

"Frankly the simple answer is taxi drivers aren’t regulated the same way and Uber’s ‘God Mode’ for finding them abusing the system is counterintuitive if you’re paying a flat fee never mind that it is the exact intrusion your argument so flatly states that they hate." I tried to diagram that sentence, and failed.

Children whose parents are a member of a "cult" are still children, you know. And those children were murdered. Don't let that bother you. We'll be posting new sales figures tomorrow and you can get *really* upset over that.

@Jack Baruth Pfft, no. We need to be upset about what bothers you, Jack! I mean we're all coming here to read your angry diatribes against the 'guvmint' and how they're so evil for having to deal with private corporations against one private corporation dictating to their employees. As an aside, the Branch Davidians were a sad and confused lot and those children didn't have to die but that's what happens when minors are held in disturbing situations and why Child Services is a necessary component of our government for the protection of all.

@Jack Baruth Human rights violations are boring compared to The Big Dumb Trucks playoffs

It could just have much been a reference to the mayor of Philadelphia bombing MOVE in 1985. Government has a monopoly on force and it seems that it doesn't matter what exact law will put you in its crosshairs, even selling loose cigarettes, but that once you are in government's grasp, your liberty and quite possibly your life can be in danger no matter who your grandparents were or what your religious beliefs are. To be sure, some of the people targeted by the government are indeed serious criminals or military enemies of the U.S., but the more laws and regulations that there are, the more intrusive government gets, there's a greater likelihood that more or less innocent people will find themselves dealing with some form of law enforcement and some of them will indeed be abused. Because the state has such a monopoly over taking away your freedom and your life it needs to be restrained, that's a foundational concept of American government. I'm Jewish and the worst episodes of murderous Jew-hatred have occurred when the haters had the power of the state with them.

@Lie2me Or to Baruth putting on some piety. I know *I* was shamed. He looks like Jesus.

@Jack Baruth I have some advice for Mr. Baruth. Please look up, read, and understand the actual elements of murder. It shouldn't take long. When you are done with that, please do a Google search for "David Koresh" + "child abuse." Whether the Feds had probable cause for a search is debatable, but Koresh wasn't exactly the John Lithgow character from Footloose. Think over the information carefully, then recant your assertions of murder out of respect for the ATF agents who lost their lives. Reread the TTAC reboot principles published when you became the EIC. In the alternative, you can just write another essay on how annoying you find "fat chicks."

@Ronnie Schreiber Talk about classic right-wing diatribing at it's best. The whole loose cigarettes is what got Eric Garner killed! It isn't the racist system that supports corruption in the police force to maintain a social order that is desired by a minority of people. The force used in that action had zero to do with loose cigarettes, it had everything to do with his race and the social antagonism wrought by it. But keep talking the libertarian talk. It plays well in Peoria, I am sure.

@fastwilly "Respect for the ATF agents..." LOL you lost me. Child abuse is terrible. Child murder is worse.

@Xeranar "the racist system that supports corruption in the police force" *sigh* You make me feel so 1972 again. Angela Davis was smokin' hot. And a pretty good shade tree back then, too.

@petezeiss Xeranar is pretty good at stringing a lot of impressive words and thoughts together, but doesn't really say much. Kind of like sitting through a really good movie with a dumb ending

@Lie2me I'm sorry, what was that? I understand you disregard my view but to constantly claim I'm talking with an intellectual tone without substance is getting tiresome. If you dislike my comments simply don't respond. You're not disproving the argument, you're simply trying to ad hominem the speaker in hopes of scoring points with an audience built to accept your worldview. You don't scare me. You don't shake my will to speak. At the end of the day, if you seriously dislike what I have to say build a better argument and I'll graciously listen and critique it rather than trying to knock you down as a person.

@petezeiss yeah, dat blue guy... he git kinda 'motional. An' ah maight too, If ah was blue! ah-huh-huh-huh Ah cracks mah own se'f UP!

@petezeiss LOL! The "blue guy" should be allowed to voice his opinion, like anyone else. We live in a "free" society and I believe the more points of view, the merrier. That doesn't mean that anyone's view will win out over another. Never fear, though. Americans will always find their own way. After all, we Americans always get exactly what we deserve, because we vote for it.

@petezeiss Yeah, I like the little bugger.. at least he's a fighter. He might work on syntax and vocab a might, and I presume he does for his scholarly efforts. But watching him get all hoppy-mad here is kind of a tickle.

@petezeiss Ha-HA!!! There are so many contributors of comments on this, and other sites, who want to effect some societal mass behavioral change by advancing their own agenda. Like I said, Americans are an obtuse lot. We find our own way in life and what works for us. And the last national election settled what the majority wanted. Majority rules. The next two years hold the promise of political stability, no alterations in life styles for most of us, a do-nothing Congress consisting of obstructionist-Democrats instead of obstructionist-Republicans, and a lame duck O'bama. No need to get emotional about anything, nothing of any consequence is gonna be achieved, just do watcha wanna do AND GIT'R DONE! Hell, even taxi drivers are breathing a sigh of relief. BTW, an excellent time to buy that new car or truck if someone is so inclined. And many are!

@Xeranar I don't know if I like or dislike your comments, you go from thought to ideal to indignation to condescension without taking a position or making a defensible point. You make a valiant effort with a decisively intellectual flair, but you never seem to get to wherever it is your going. If you get my drift

@petezeiss Yepper... I've got a compressor going out on our main fridge right now that concerns me a whole lot more than any legislative issue. SOB is only 7 years old but sounds like a stuck piston tripping the overload relay. Any advice, blue guy?

@petezeiss That compressor is a direct result of government interference because of the industrial level playing field caused by too many cigarettes by the police who for whatever reason do that to people who voted for it to be that way. In other words, you need a new refrigerator... ... Thanks, Obama

@Xeranar Garner's death is supposed to be about race? Are you suggesting that Kizzy Adoni wasn't black? She was the lieutenant in charge of the arrest and is plainly visible in the video. The officers were acting on her orders and directly under her supervision. She was as dismissive of Garner's protests as anyone else. Is she a racist? Is a career criminal with 31 priors who is resisting arrest credible if he is white? Does NYC have a 32 strikes rule that put him in jeopardy sufficient to explain why he was resisting arrest this time? Why didn't the murderous cops off him any of the other times he was caught flagrantly violating the law? He was out on bail for previous charges and back on the street doing the same thing. I don't agree with the nanny state taxation that created the black market(is that racist?) that Garner was a participant in. The stores that have to collect those taxes deserve to have their doorways free of members of organized crime pushing untaxed cigarettes. The left wing lunatics that are using this incident to push their agendas are pretty cheeky. From Kizzy Adoni, to the nanny-tax, to the fact that Garner wasn't in prison already, this is the fault of the people using it to stir up hatred and resentment. Vile.

@petezeiss Click-buzzzzzz-click. Click-buzzzzzz-click. Click-buzzzzzz-click. Edit: Gotdamm! I just heard the compressor catch! WooHoo.. maybe she'll last till we can get another one in here.

@petezeiss I, too, would recommend a new refrigerator. We woke up on the morning of the 4th of July with a huge puddle of water under our main fridge in the kitchen. What a mess! The Amana was only 6 years old. The wife and I went to Lowe's at 8am the same day, where she picked out a new fridge, this time made by Whirlpool, a guy helped me load it into the bed of the Tundra, and the rest is history. Called the PNM, our electric utility the next business day, they hauled the old fridge away and gave us $50 credit on our next electric bill.

@petezeiss Yep, this is an Amana botom-freezer. Model series ABB1924. No extended warranty because I've always thought those were poo. I may have changed my mind about that little piece of extortion if modern fridges are going to kakk-off inside of 8 years. Jeez... what happened to the 20-year fridge I've been accustomed to?

@petezeiss Yep, this is an Amana botom-freezer. Model series ABB1924. No extended warranty because I've always thought those were poo. I may have changed my mind about that little piece of extortion if modern fridges are going to kakk-off ins!de of 8 years. Jeez... what happened to the 20-year fridge I've been accustomed to?

@CJinSD I think the media are just patronizing the negro communities in America. The guy wasn't some innocent bystander, and he resisted arrest. Unauthorized selling of cigarettes in NY is a crime. Seriously! For the Ferguson incident, very few media outlets mentioned that the kid was a thief, had stolen cigars from a store, bullied the store owner, and attacked the cop. NBC did. So did PBS. People get shot and killed in New Mexico for a whole lot less than that. Don't believe it? Wise up with articles about Albuquerque and their police force. Feds are involved there too but can't find anything wrong with the shooting of the Latinos. Bottom line: don't resist arrest and don't attack a cop.

@petezeiss Buy a Sub Zero if you want one to last 20 years, if you're Ok with buying a $7000 refrigerator

@petezeiss If I had any reason to suspect that Sub-Zero doesn't just buy junk guts like everyone else and depend on razzle-dazzle in their electronics and appearance to sell, I'd be willing to. But without a tradesman's knowledge of components... how could I ever tell? I'll always spend for quality if I can be certain I'm buying some.

@petezeiss I have a Maytag, double door s!de-by-s!de, 29cu ft, that I bought in Jan 1980 at the BX upon my return from Germany. Ice maker and water dispenser died decades ago, but the compressor still works good. We use it as a beer and soda cooler, wine cooler, Starbucks coffee cooler, overflow fridge for food, storage of canned fruit and bottled sauces, etc. The freezer portion we use for diGiorno's Pizzas, Stouffer meals, breakfast food, whatever. Once in a great while I take the vacuum to the bottom and vac out all the dust bunnies. Other than that, nothing. If it ever goes, I'm not going to fix it. Just replace it. That should drop my electrical draw from 9-amps to about 4 amps on the new one, like it did on the new Whirlpool fridge.

@petezeiss Hmm.. only draws 4 amps...on start-up? I wonder if the flip side of that is wimpier motor windings and that's why they're not lasting like they used to.

@petezeiss I had a Sub Zero for 10 years without problems sold the house with it still humming along, they're really are good appliances. I don't think they're worth seven times what your refrigerator cost, but they're good

@petezeiss Hmm.. only draws 4 amps...on start-up? I wonder if the flip s!de of that is wimpier motor windings and that's why they're not lasting like they used to.

@petezeiss That's what it says in the literature, but when it kicks on, my lights don't dim like they used to with the Amana. It's pretty efficient. Has solid walls of foam. New-builts are actually better than the old stuff and the new brushless/capacitorless induction motors use higher efficiency magnets. We have no complains about the new Whirlpool fridge. Works better than advertised.

@petezeiss Thanks for the info. I guess it's off to CR I go. I really, really hate shopping for stuff under time pressure.

@Xeranar Then let me simplify it for you. The actions of the police in killing Eric Garner, Brown, or the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's killer are all linked directly to the reinforcement of social norms dictated by a racially charged society. It isn't the government mandating the death of black citizens, in fact if you read the laws put on the books these deaths are explicitly prohibited. The presumption of Ronnie's argument is that by virtue of the government making a tax on cigarettes it opened up an illegal trade which inevitably is what killed Garner. The point I made was that the argument is tantamount to lunacy because it has to presume so much. It faces Occam's razor in that the illegal cigarettes being sold are tacitly linked to the illegal use of force. This in turn requires that the police brutality being done is tacitly supported by 'government' (which is so ill-defined in his concept that it's hard to pin down where they're agreeing and who is doing so). His argument relies on us to believe that the government is what caused Eric Garner's death. It asks us to disregard some fundamental parts of the equation in doing so. So to explain my position better, Garner's death is attributable to a society-wide epidemic of police brutality on Blacks. This is of course not done at the government's behest but is a social norm reinforced by fascist views and accepted American culture. The government is actually trying to stop the crime but also when faced with using juries and facing a right-wing racially tinged society are fearful to actually execute justice as set forth. It's undeniable the Brown/Wilson marches were racially motivated with Wilson's marches 99% white and Brown's about 80% Black. The cultural stereotypes attributed to Brown were enormous. The same has been applied to Garner. Thus the issue isn't with a government's monopoly on violence which is a bit convoluted since we've already proven that if fascist positions are accepted violence against certain people is approved of regardless of law (i.e. Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, etc..). The fact that he had to write that to attempt to further his anti-government arguments just verifies his argument is on intellectual quicksand since he willfully ignored large tracts of well-established facts and theories. Now, with both positions explained I hope you feel capable of making an educated decision or refrain from further comment.

@Xeranar So, blue guy... would a reasonable distillation of your argument be that when faced with a big black guy acting suspiciously, our LEOs will uniformly spazz-out and immediately escalate to lethal force knowing that the rest of us whities will back them to the hilt? Further, that implicit in your making all this noise about it is your disapproval of such a paradigm?

@Xeranar Nope, not a reasonable one at all. An oversimplified and intentionally built argument made of the absurd fallacy to devalue it would be more accurate. I understand you're attempting humor but the crux isn't that all police will act uniformly more violent but that some police will because of established social stereotypes. The Black community has warts like all communities but the clear violence towards them by police is more than just puffery. However you slice it being Black is what killed Garner not those cigarettes, those were just the catalyst. Following that, I'm not sure what your arguing beyond that? That the police aren't acting with the 'government' (as however ill-defined) consent? The police and the juries/departments that protect them are reflecting social values not one's set forward by the 'government' as an institutional body. This is why rival government agencies and in this case the DoJ are looking into the affairs. When one element is corrupted another can still be true. This actually is a more complex schema than the rudimentary one put forward by Ronnie of 'Government = Violence = Control = Bad" because it accepts that the monopoly of violence isn't being used by some shady agency of hidden power but established social norms that can be changed and controlled by the people if a large enough group pressures them to change. In other words, my argument is still supported because I don't pretend it is all-encompassing and that the government is always perfect and good. I'm arguing the government is an apparatus of the people. When the people fail, it fails, when the people succeed, it succeeds.

@Xeranar "being Black is what killed Garner" So I got it right in one.