True Blue Door
True Blue Door's JournalI think the Mafia should apply for tax-exempt status under the NFL's rationale.
Cosa Nostra doesn't directly generate profits, it's merely a "trade association" to facilitate business among the "extralegal entrepreneur" community. So clearly it fits the definition of a nonprofit used by organizations like the NFL and the US Chamber of Commerce. Why subject themselves to trials for tax evasion like Al Capone did when they could just evade taxes legally?
In fact, I think all organized crime syndicates, drug cartels, the NFL, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Republican Party, the Tea Party, et al should form an umbrella nonprofit organization: Parasites United for Tax Bastardy.
They can hold annual gatherings where they light piles of excess money on fire in front of starving homeless people. You know, for the kids. And for freedom. Like Jesus would do.
Hiya. Glad to be here.
I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far here, but I have a question that can best be answered by long-time participants.
While DU is a well-known and famous forum, is it generally a safe place for people to explore ideas and facts honestly and intelligently?
I'm coming from another well-known, famous liberal site that had gradually become an intolerant, dishonest, and anti-intellectual place with some painfully Kafka-esque internal politics, and it was really awful to see it turn so ugly and illiberal. The vast majority of people who contribute there are still great, but they're not in control anymore, and liberals are often bullied into silence whenever there's any sort of controversy. I can't even bear to lurk there anymore.
So would you say that DU is a place where people can talk about things, and not have to constantly second- and third-guess every single expressed thought out of fear? Where common sense is at least one accepted viewpoint, and people have the courage of their convictions? It's tempting to become cynical when you see a community you once knew become something hideous and corrupt, so I'm a little more cautious about where I invest my time and effort.
Also, would you say this is a good place for talking about a wide variety of topics? I really love discussing science, technology, history, and pop culture in addition to / in relation to politics, and I dislike the idea of having to maintain half a dozen different communities to talk about them all. Everything is connected in reality, and we can learn a lot by seeing each thing in the context of other things. Since science, technology, history, and pop culture sites usually don't want to talk politics, by default I've found the best places to combine everything are political sites, since it's actually true that politics (as a phenomenon, not in the exasperated "just politics" sense) encompasses everything.
Let me know what you think. Thanks.
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Name: BrianGender: Male
Hometown: Southern California
Member since: Mon Oct 28, 2013, 05:48 PM
Number of posts: 2,969
