WalterBright

That still leaves open the question of what is the reference point, when the land also rises and falls. Plate tectonics wasn't even a theory in 1900.

The Seattle Times ran an article maybe last year that measurements of sea level at Seattle had increased 8 inches over the last century.

The flaw in that is what is the reference frame? The tectonic plate Seattle is sitting on is going down under the cascade mountains.

And beaches have been eroding for millions of years.

I don't believe that 14th century Indian population counts have any reliability. Estimates of pre-Columbian populations in the US area vary from 10 million to 100 million.

Saying you have no free will absolves you of any responsibility for your actions. Call it the "Lindsay Clancy" defense. Human society cannot function with such notions.

I am not making any claim about the law. You have confused that with what honor is.

> Someone who stole to feed their family when they were in a dire situation

It's still wrong. Having a need does not entitle one to steal. Honor is not something you apply only when it doesn't cost you.

> Market can be out of equilibrium for a long time; maybe indefinitely.

Arbitrage forces say otherwise.

Except that would trigger a massive reduction in investment, which would be very damaging to the economy.

Eventually, the loan gets paid back, one way or another. There's no escape from it.

Don't overlook the fact that the borrower pays interest on the loan.

> Especially with how the market has been lately, the gains erase any burden of the loan.

And when the market goes down, you get a margin call and get wiped out.

Maybe we should tax your mortgage, too!

> Rent is a function of supply and demand, not a landlord's costs

Of course it does. The landlord's costs factor into the supply made available by landlords.

> When landlords' costs drop, do they drop the rent in response?

Competition says they do.

I remember when Prop 13 was on the ballot. The newspaper reported that if it passed, it would eviscerate the police and fire budgets. It passed, and nothing happened to the budgets.

> at this point we should all know that legality != morality

Recall that I wrote this to you:

"I did not say there was no injustice happening. Nor did I say that all laws are just."

That case is irrelevant to the point. I never said law and justice were perfect. Nothing human is perfect.

I was pretty clear.

> “they knew the law and chose to break it, therefore they get what’s coming to them”

Please don't make up quotes and attribute them to me. That's called the strawman fallacy.

Everything you write is your free choice. And you know it.

I have many shortcomings. All of them are my fault.

You chose to write that post.

I did not say there was no injustice happening.

Nor did I say that all laws are just.

I'm not your honey, either.

My dad told me that the difference between men and animals is honor. And being honorable is something each of us can choose to be, or not to be.

Blaming society for one's own actions is dishonorable. You get to choose, and you are responsible for your choice.

From first cite: "Last fall it was down to 14%."

> The existence of a policy to help grocery stores in high crime areas doesn't support your thesis since it's going to be used on a vast minority of stores, not indicative of "rampant" (most stores in Seattle seem fine in my experience), and not indicative of a broader trend in trust.

Grocery stores in Seattle are shutting down, and looting is a major contributing factor to it.

Ah yes, the short term profit thing again.

Take a look at the long term results in the stock market. It's pretty hard to argue that all those successful companies, growing year after year, are actually choosing short term profit over long term success.

> Don't simplify this by a snarky and ignorant comment.

It is simple. People have free will. Bad people know what right and wrong is, and they chose wrong.

That's right. A/C changed everything.

> due to circumstances like upbringing, environment etc. and a society which failed you.

It's always someone else's fault.

Arizona was thinly populated before A/C.

Oh, what a great cartoon that is!

In my college daze, Chuck Jones dropped by to give a talk to a packed auditorium. Of course, what he showed was What's Opera Doc. We all loved it, and Chuck enjoyed our enthusiasm.

I've been known to mumble "Leopold!" at inappropriate times.

I had a conversation with an engineering manager a few years ago. He told me his daily job was to visit each engineer report, and ask them what they were working on. Then he'd gently guide them back to what they were supposed to be working on.

A business has limited resources, and somebody has to decide which hill they're going to conquer.

The reason managers make more is because their decisions can make more / lose more money than the workers.

BTW, in every company I've worked for, all of the workers thought they were smarter than the manager (including yours truly). The funny part would be when one would be promoted into management, and instantly became incompetent in the estimation of the other workers.