OK. It was improper to ask. I get it. But I am the instigator of this post and it was obviously valuable as many people have responded. If you do not agree with me, fine, but you don't have to insult me.

short answer: yes

longer answer: read your own post. You are SO in the wrong place to ask for something for nothing.
You have to "earn" the points, not just ask for them. Add value to the site, other people will see, and note, that value - and your points total will go up. Add no value? Points go down.

I'm concerned that what you want to do here is vote. The "point" of this site is not to vote. It's to discuss, learn, think, and grow. Do that, and you'll gain points.

But how will you use them?

Well, if he takes the no 3rd party pledge, he really DOESNT want to run. The Repubs will never run him on their ballot willingly. They will find some way to keep him from winning the primary

Hello all. I am new to the Gulch. I am waiting to reach my score of 100 so I am allowed to "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" comments. Would it be improper of me to ask you to "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" my comments on my post here so I can start earning some points?

My husband and I wholeheartedly agree.
Where there is a personal will there is a way... at least as long as personal freedom persists.

I should have added that also.

This is something that is up to the smart people to figure out themselves. Forget regular college. Its nearly useless and just being touted as necessary- at a huge cost and borrowing legacy. Programming can be learned many other ways, and practical knowledge is learned by being an apprentice

we will c I suppose. I doubt he would actually make it all the way to the ballot box anyway in one of the major parties. I think its going to be bush vs biden. Hillary has shot herself in the foot. If Trump doesnt get the repub nomination, he will prob go third party and biden will get the presidency. Its not my country really anymore anyway

Thanks, it seems like the perspective of a lot of people looking for the 'easy way' is that people in higher paid/higher experience positions just fell into them somehow... unfortunately, I don't know anyone that has happened to in real life, only in the movies.

Best thing these kids can do would be to start a lawn mowing business, set the goal of getting 100 customers, and invest in equipment, employees, etc., to meet the demand while learning a heck of a lot about selling something in the process.

Once they can do that - its just "sell something bigger".

I also get a kick out of people that say "I don't want to be in sales"... ok... so you are not interested in being part of what grows the company... so... you want to be in 'overhead'? How can you ever lead if you have no idea where the money that pays your salary comes from?

Even now, I get a lot of interest from coworkers that are saying "hey, can you keep me in mind for a better job in the organization?".... Ok... so you want me to go out and win new business, to give you a new job. Ok.. no problem, but let's consider the base of what you are asking...

scojohnson Yes but it's not fair. You were determined and motivated and chose to take control of your life for you and your family. What about the people who want others to carry their load? If you were helpful and concerned about all the incompetents you would have majored in "Minority Studies", More Fairness in America, and social improvements for the deserving.

Congratulations on your intelligence, determination and guts. We need many, many more with your motivation.

Agreed.
Now, let's get to work making certain that there are enough programmers who can also diagnose and fix mechanical devices.
Early education is vital to creating a well-rounded engineer.

wishful thinking. politicians will NEVER get out of the way. failure is their credo. if it fails then they can look for a new solution and all the time the solution is the same "leave us alone" which they never will agree too. so again I say wishful thinking.

The fact of the matter is that SOMEONE will get elected president. My single vote input to that is really of minimal consequence. A John Galt isnt running, and wouldnt be elected at this point in time anyway. I could choose simply not to vote at all, which I think is an OK thing to do if you dont want to be responsible for more statism. The think I like about Trump is that he is not politically correct and will just say it like he sees it. I think we need this in order for the populace to really see whats going on, and perhaps understand why our once great country is crashing. THAT is why I think he or someone else who will do the same thing is needed.

And there will be a congress and supreme court that gets elected/appointed.

That could be, but both R and D pots need stiring.

The first goal of robotics is to help business work easier and faster to achieve things with less manual labor. As the robots get smarter, they take over higher level things so people dont have to handle repetitive and dangerous work. Buying from china has slowed robotics implementation in the USA, because the chinese workers are cheaper than the robots. Remove the inexpensive chinese workers, and we will see an explosion in the use of robots here in this country.

The thing I noticed about the debates is the fact that the wrong questions and answers were presented. We are asking politicians to "fix" something that they broke with more "fixing." They gave the unions too much power; we can see that with the success of the $15 per hour campaign. Nothing was offered in exchange for that wage. Further, the government has bamboozled us into thinking that it can do something about the climate, ignoring the fact that climate has been changing drastically for thousands of years without our help. They're also ignoring the fact that we're paying the highest taxes in the world, and can expect to pay a lot more because of their deficit spending. Finally (possibly), they're regulating whole industries out of business, and meddling to such an extent that business is no longer a winning proposition in the US. I go with John Galt, when he said, "get the hell out of my way."

It has nothing to do with unions. Unless you were asleep, the Japanese and Germans came here and used the same workers that the American companies said were hopeless, and produced world class vehicles. It's TOTAL COST, not unions, that's the driver. When you have the highest taxes in the world, compounded by onerous regulations, your total cost structure becomes uncompetitive, and you move elsewhere. The only thing the politicians can do is get the hell out of the way, and the private sector will take it from there.

Government meddling began in the 1880s, starting with the Clayton act, followed by antitrust and other "solutions" to so-called robber baronism. As long as people continue to hold on to the idea that a politician can fix an economic problem, you'll continue to see this BS.

. . . of a pot that badly needs stirring.