St. Paul and I Agree...
Taxation is not theft: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." -- Romans 13 The key idea implicit here, and the one that turned me on the subject of whether or not taxation is theft, is that "every soul" owes obedience to the "governing authorities." Now, if that is a debt I truly owe , then, when those authorities levy the taxes they need to do the job of governing, I owe them those taxes, and attempts to collect them certainly do not constitute acts of theft. And obviously it doesn't matter at all, from this point of view, whether or not I "signed" any sort of "social contract." (In fact, the history of political thought since the Reformation can be read as an attempt to find a secular rep...
Yeah, but if that's real wood and not particle board, you should snap it up.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but if that's real wood and not particle board, you should snap it up.
ReplyDeleteWe had one of those in my house when I was growing up, along with an old Hi-Fi system with 8-track; and a console stereo with 8-track, turntable, radio band-tuner, full EQ and old-school VU meters for each channel.
ReplyDeleteWhen my parents finally upgraded, I asked if they could keep the console stereo, and they did. It sat for years in the unfinished room in the basement until one day I came home and noticed that it was gone.
I swear, that thing had the thickest, smoothest, and richest tone that I've ever heard. When you'd blast it, you'd get the warmest analogue distortion ever, which is actually very pleasing to the ear (so long as you didn't push the amp too far). It was somewhat chambered and open inside (like a giant speaker box), so the speakers tended to really reflect the bass just right (even on songs where the bass is hidden in the mix).
I remember distinctly that that thing caused my first instance of noticing the mix of a song--not just hearing the individual instruments themselves, but also the stuff on the production and technical side of things--and I think that it was what ultimately made me want to play the bass guitar (or any instrument).
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Gene, that's just what I needed today.