The most powerful thing a president can do is appoint a supreme court judge--a permanent position in which legislation is permanently (usually) defined. Those are the true stakes of a presidential election. Frankly it wouldn't matter if your dog were running for office; he'd get my vote if I knew it were going to appoint a supreme court judge I endorse.
The thousands of lives at stake in issues du jour, used for campaign talking points, simply cannot compare to the millions at stake in the future of the nation, wherein they will or will not have rights, courtesy of the supreme court. How we appeal to the rest of the planet doesn't matter if we've lost our identity, particularly the one with liberty.
Biggest this, largest that...big deal. You know what else's level of advancement could be determined by size? Dinosaurs. As they evolved, their bodies grew, not their brains.
Unless size is always proportional to internal R&D budgets, giant exhibitions of old technology mean nothing.
Even food stores will spoil eventually. Silver coins (or any other currency) will ensure we'll get the most out of what remains (courtesy John Locke):
"...unused property is waste and an offense against nature. However, with the introduction of 'durable' goods, men could exchange their excessive perishable goods for goods that would last longer and thus not offend the natural law. The introduction of money marks the culmination of this process. Money makes possible the unlimited accumulation of property without causing waste through spoilage. He also includes gold or silver as money because they may be 'hoarded up without injury to anyone,' since they do not spoil or decay in the hands of the possessor." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_locke#Theory_of_value_and_property
Frankly it wouldn't matter if your dog were running for office; he'd get my vote if I knew it were going to appoint a supreme court judge I endorse.
The thousands of lives at stake in issues du jour, used for campaign talking points, simply cannot compare to the millions at stake in the future of the nation, wherein they will or will not have rights, courtesy of the supreme court. How we appeal to the rest of the planet doesn't matter if we've lost our identity, particularly the one with liberty.
Great, all we need is a bunch of irradiated, mutant, invincible tardigrades from space.
Heh. "Ah got no kids! Ah do what ah want! Ah buy what ah want!" Self-interest can be good. Self-gratification is not quite the same.
You know what else's level of advancement could be determined by size? Dinosaurs. As they evolved, their bodies grew, not their brains.
Unless size is always proportional to internal R&D budgets, giant exhibitions of old technology mean nothing.
"...unused property is waste and an offense against nature. However, with the introduction of 'durable' goods, men could exchange their excessive perishable goods for goods that would last longer and thus not offend the natural law. The introduction of money marks the culmination of this process. Money makes possible the unlimited accumulation of property without causing waste through spoilage. He also includes gold or silver as money because they may be 'hoarded up without injury to anyone,' since they do not spoil or decay in the hands of the possessor."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_locke#Theory_of_value_and_property