Recent Comments

1. 1 day ago on Pearls Before Swine

   “In a pure democracy, if a larger group of people want something, they have it” — that’s absolutely NOT what a democracy is. A nation where a mob just takes what they want, is an anarchist state.

   A constitutional republic is one type of democracy. The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy. It’s still a nation of rules and laws, it’s still a democracy, but it’s not a republic — it’s a monarchy. France on the other hand, is a democratic republic.

   There are also plenty of examples of non-democratic republics: China, for example. Xi Jinping is president of the people’s republic of China, but China is NOT a democracy because they neither conduct democratic elections nor justly protect the rights of particular minorities.

   The USA is a democracy, more specifically a constitutional republic. The people of the USA can elect their representatives, this is a democratic process.

   Am I making myself clear now?

2. 1 day ago on Arlo and Janis

   Here you go:For Belgium the average gross wage is 36900 euro per annum. https://www.jobat.be/nl/art/hoeveel-verdien-je-in-de-horeca

   It’s actually quite easy to search this information.

3. 1 day ago on Arlo and Janis

   In the USA I pay (for example) 100$ for a meal, and add 20$ in tips. The waiter lives off the tips.In Germany I pay 120$ (or euro) for a meal, and add 2$ or 5$ or 0$ in tips, and that’s okay because the waiter doesn’t have to rely on the tips.

4. 3 days ago on Pearls Before Swine

   “Too many people now looking for jobs because they bought into the myth of a college degree means you will have a great job. Many would have been far better off learning HVAC or plumbing.” True. The American educational system is broken. Going to college, and ending up with a massive student debt, has a serious negative impact on the economy. The German system is way better.

5. 3 days ago on Pearls Before Swine

   see my remark above to jfikse.

6. 3 days ago on Pearls Before Swine

   “We do not live in a democracy, and never have. Our system is called a republic.” — srsly? I knew that education in the USA is subpar, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.

   Do I need to explain the meaning of the word “republic” and the meaning of the word “democracy” to you?

   republic (n.)“state in which supreme or executive power rests in the people via representatives chosen by citizens entitled to vote,” c. 1600, from French république (15c.), from Latin respublica (ablative republica) “the common weal, a commonwealth, state, republic,” literally res publica “public interest, the state,” from res “affair, matter, thing” (see re) + publica, fem. of publicus “public” (see public (adj.)).

   democracy (n.)“government by the people, system of government in which the sovereign power is vested in the people as a whole exercising power directly or by elected officials; a state so governed,” 1570s, from French démocratie (14c.), from Medieval Latin democratia (13c.), from Greek dēmokratia “popular government,” from dēmos “common people,” originally “district” (see demotic), + kratos “rule, strength” (see -cracy).

   You cannot have a republic without a democracy, it would be a contradiction. You can have a democracy without being a democracy though, it simply means that the head of state is not elected. For example, the Queen of England is the head of state of the UK, but she is not elected. The UK is not a Republic, but it’s still a democracy.

7. 4 days ago on Pearls Before Swine

   “Free college, Free healthcare, Free everything. Just like drug dealers give out free samples.” - perhaps you should get some more free college, so you’d understand that subsidized education and healthcare are in fact GOOD things :-D

8. 4 days ago on Pearls Before Swine

   “basically this is why this democracy will fail!” - how cute! You still think you live in a democracy ;)

9. 5 days ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   “ow man, I hate the constant buzzing of these TL lights…. oh.. we don’t have TL lights…. and the lights are in fact off” :-(

   Tinnitus sucks

10. 7 days ago on Over the Hedge

    It’s turtles all the way down