Just asking.

Most doctors only have MD’s.

um, source please? I find this hard to believe.

Ridiculous .

I am trying to distinguish between “government” : the system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed

and “the” government : the executive and legislative and judicial branches of the federal government of the United States

I am done.

turned your answer into an “I love Repack Rider!” post.

Could have been worse. He could have turned his answer into a “come here and say it to Repack Rider’s face.” post.

First it was Government. Now its “regulations.” Which is it, Frank?

You asked for examples of how government contributes to business. Examples have been provided. The fact that those examples also benefit society as a whole doesn’t diminish their benefits to business in general. Now you’re just splitting hairs and moving goalposts, Frank.

Dude, NR is always active, you know that.

Doctor Republican doesn’t use factual data or statistics and doesn’t understand either factual data or statistics.

Well, that certainly fits with my observations of Republicans anti-scientific beliefs.

Hey, “usual suspect”, being a callous ass might not interfere with your ability to perform your function, but do your patients understand that you don’t use factual data or have a clue about what statistics mean?

Social and political agendas complicate rather than simplify the balanced viewpoint neccessary to successfully solve any problem. There ain’t no free lunch and nobody said life was fair is as good a summation as any.

Pithy sentiments aside, I certainly can understand Repacks retorts after having his livlihood modestly denigrated in a discussion of healthcare. But on the other hand Dude, you leave youself open to it.

Your genius is the niche not the skillset, as I’ve said before. Lots of guys can accomplish your job, few guys can market and exploit your niche.

California has an unique spot in our culture regarding things with wheels. Detroit invented the industry s but California invented the culture of the modern car. Things with wheels fascinate a large segment of California men from skateboards to speed record holders. But mountan bikes evolved from little boys beating the hell out of their scwinn stingrays emulating first Evil Knieval and then motocross racers. While Repack was saving lives in Nam we were breaking our bikes jumping them out in the woods. Kids had ready access to welders etc. back in those days and it wasn’t much of a reach from crude repair to crude modification.
Again it appears that Repack successfully exploited a niche for a short time before being swept up in a technological wave. A good idea doesn’t care who has it.

All of which has little to do with healthcare other than supplying a modest stream of injuries to be treated.

My point was that they are people who have taken science courses, like so many others, but they are not engaged in expanding human knowledge. They are not scientists and you have no reason to add them to a study about scientists except to try to muddy the water.

I don’t have to apologize for my profession, which is as necessary to society as yours and which a far lower percentage of the population is capable of. Maybe that’s why it pays so well, but I’m not about money beyond a modest lifestyle. Like one of my HS classmates who does just enough dentistry to pay for his big-wave surfing, I move enough pianos to pay for my bike riding.

This “itinerant” piano mover (inaccurate because I have a home) managed to change the world more than you ever will, and BMX is as alien to me as it is to you. I don’t know what you want out of life, but I am a bicyclist, and being one of the most influential cyclists of the 20th Century feels pretty good.

What’s your claim to fame?

Ummm…..what?

The ‘theory’ of evolution states that ALL life forms on Earth evolved from low level (meaning non complex or simple) organisms to higher, (meaning more advanced or complex) organisms.

How could that possibly EXCLUDE human beings?

This isn’t to say people who work hard or have good ideas shouldn’t be rich, it’s that the Randian fantasy of the sole capitalist making piles of money all by himself is ridiculous.

Or let’s be more blunt: Let’s say someone shoots you in the head and takes all your money and material possessions. There’s a reason we have cops and soldiers who are payed for by — wait for it — your tax dollars!

It’s really pretty simple. Adults realize that we don’t like to pay taxes, but they’re a necessary evil. The question is, how much should we pay, and what should we spend them on? Under the last Democratic president we had a budget surplus, job growth, and real wages were increasing. Under eight years of Bush, we got two unfinished wars and a huge deficit.

This is why people don’t take the GOP seriously any longer. They’re the party that hates government and lo and behold, it turns out they’re really bad at it!

But like I said Frank, I’d be willing to throw a few dollars your way for a ticket to Somalia. I’d love to see how much you could make there.

[I]t also allows the wealthy to retain their wealth.
It allows the wealthy to retain their wealth?

Government benefit #1 : It doesn’t steal all your money.

It’s moronic to think that long-term wealth creation can occur outside the context of a functioning government and civil society.
Once again, the argument is being made that we need government and civilization to conduct peaceful commerce. Have you ever seen these words before?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…

These are axiomatic, and go to the very core of our being as humans – this is not “infrastructure” or a “government benefit”.

So let’s try this again, shall we ?

I am not an anarchist, but I do believe that “That government is best, which governs least” [1837]

Until you can present some evidence to the contrary, I will continue to hold that view, just as I will continue to hold the view that Jaimie, News Reference, and MatanteDodo have the combined perspicacity of a bag of hammers.

Ever seen a cop before? How about the firefighters who try to put out the blaze before it destroys your living room?

It’s moronic to think that long-term wealth creation can occur outside the context of a functioning government and civil society. (Hint: you need other healthy, wealthy to buy your shit to ever make a penny in the first place, and they need roads to drive on to get to your store, and they need stoplights to make sure they don’t crash into each other, etc.).

I’ve been waiting for Frank or AO to move to Mogadishu and open up an ice-cream store and see how much they can make in a year, but I won’t hold my breath.

I do not consider those contributions to business, per se. I consider it simple – minded to treat them as such. We covered this ground already: the police do not “contribute” to the banking industry by catching bank robbers.

But I defy you ( and you, too, “News” “Reference” ) to illustrate to me how regulations “benefit” business.

I think I’ve provided enough free history lessons and supporting links for a while… You and “News” “Reference” have gotten a free ride all day.