Well, it looks like I won't be purchasing a kindle anytime soon.

[Brigid]

According to what I just saw on Fareed Zakarias' show, they were invented here but are made in Taiwan. Until that changes, I guess I'll just have to remain a Luddite on this.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Well they need to bring it back to the US

but that means building the capacity to do that... and I mean every component in it is NOT made in the US.

Don't worry, the chips used in some of our advanced defense systems are NOT made in the US either. (Yes I am making that point for a reason)

[boppers]

3. It's impossible to buy an all-american-made TV, too.

Same thing with cars, last I checked.

[LAGC]

2. Just use the "Kindle for PC" software on your tablet or net-book instead.

I believe it was developed here in the U.S. and is completely free, unlike the Kindle proper.

[FarCenter]

4. But your tablet or netbook was almost certainly made in the Far East

Possibly Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, etc., instead of China, but almost certainly not made in the United States.

[RB TexLa]

5. God forbid someone in Taiwan have a job

:banghead:

[HughBeaumont]

7. At the cost of someone in the USA having one?

All so some rich bastard whose suedes you grovel at can put that much more profit in his pocket?

At this point, I regard you as "Gallows Humor" since you cannot possibly be this economically right wing on purpose.

[RB TexLa]

11. Just saying a person in Taiwan and a person in the US are equal to each other

and both just as worthy of having a job.

[sudopod]

19. Somehow, I really doubt that you put much thought into the plight of the average Taiwanese, lol.

[Bozita]

34. The Taiwanese have a single-payer healthcare system. They're ahead of us.

It's modeled on the USA's Medicare program.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Taiwan

Health care reform

Taiwan started its health reform in the 1980s after experiencing two decades of economic growth.<5> In 1987, the government did away with the martial law which mobilized the governmental departments. The government set up a planning commission and looked abroad to study other countries’ health care systems. Taiwan looked at more than ten countries and combined their best qualities to form their own unique system. In 1995, Taiwan formed the National Health Insurance (NHI) model. In a 2009 interview, Dr. Michael Chen, Vice President and CFO of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Bureau explained that one of the models investigated was the United States and that fundamentally, NHI "is modeled after (U.S.) Medicare. And there are so many similarities - other than that our program covers all of the population, and Medicare covers only the elderly. It seems the way to go to have social insurance."<6><7> NHI delivers universal coverage offered by a government-run insurer. The working population pays premiums split with their employers, others pay a flat rate with government help and the poor or veterans are fully subsidized. Taiwan’s citizens no longer have to worry about going bankrupt due to medical bills.<8>

Under this model, citizens have free range to choose hospitals and physicians without using a gatekeeper and do not have to worry about waiting lists. NHI offers a comprehensive benefit package that covers preventive medical services, prescription drugs, dental services, Chinese medicine, home nurse visits and many more. Working people do not have to worry about losing their jobs or changing jobs because they will not lose their insurance. Since NHI, the previously uninsured have increased their usage of medical services. Most preventive services are free such as annual checkups and maternal and child care. Regular office visits have co-payments as low as US $5 per visit. Co-payments are fixed and unvaried by the person’s income.<9>

[sudopod]

39. But we're stealin their JERBS! :D nt

[scentopine]

56. God forbid democrats stop outsourcing to Asian sweatshops where workers have no rights and...

where corporations are training Chinese communists and non-communists by giving them intellectual property developed by US engineers who are then outsourced to Asia when the product goes to production in sweatshop factories in Asia.

:banghead:

[dkf]

6. What electronic goods can you buy?

What are you on right now?

[Brigid]

10. I'm on my blackberry.

I also have a Sony Vaio laptop. That is bad enough. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

[Davis_X_Machina]

8. Better switch to legal pads.

The best you can do for a computer is "Final assembly in the US". There, you've got choices.

[Brigid]

13. I'll bet my generation will be one of the last to know what a pen and paper are for.

I hear they don't even teach hand writing in school anymore.

[Arctic Dave]

9. As a person who flies a lot, I will never swtch to a kindle or ipad.

Why? Because I don't have to turn it on or off at the 10,000 foot ding. I can get on the plane, open it up and read until I reach my destination.

[hlthe2b]

14. I just read the newspaper or browse the Skymall catalog

until they allow the electronics to be turned back on... No biggie...

I love my electronic gizmos, but have stuck with my still adequate Sony mini laptop and my iphone... I'd love to buy an American made/assembled ipad, kindle or other device, though. :shrug:

[Arctic Dave]

18. I read enough airline mags to last a lifetime. Winter coming, Arizona/Hawaii ads.

Summer Coming, Alaska/PNW ads.

Edit:

And they are plastered with overpriced condo and eatery ads.

[hlthe2b]

22. Agree... I'm talking about the Skymall shopping catalog...

It changes every 4-6 weeks and usually good for a five minute or so flip through.. Occasionally they even harken back to the more halcyon days of the defunct Sharper Image... Never buy, of course..;)

Point is, that I find it very workable to mix electronics with a few readily consumed newspapers or the occasional magazine (or sleep on those rare occasions that is "doable.")

That said, I agree with respect to the airline mags.

[HughBeaumont]

12. Here's a few reasons WHY it can't be made here . . ..

Brought to you by your friendly foot-shooters at The Republicrat Supply-Sider Kool-Aid Factory: Poisoning and Destroying UHmerica Since 1981!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/08/17/why-amazon-cant-make-a-kindle-in-the-usa/

[DainBramaged]

27. No one other than those of us who have been affected will read the article

America doesn't give a shit anymore.

[patrice]

57. AWESOME article!! Tweeted to Occupy Wall Street & Shared with FB

I particularly like Denning's reference to HOW to begin to CREATE Real Value in U.S. manufacturing!

Following Denning now too.

Very exciting stuff!

I will be pushing this article into all of the pol mail-boxes I can get to.

[Lucian]

15. I have one and I love it.

[sudopod]

20. Bully for you!

lol, geezus

[Lucian]

23. I'm betting you typed that on a computer that was made in Taiwan, eh?

[sudopod]

24. Oh probably.

I feel no need to brag to everyone in an unsolicited manner how awesome I am because I own an $EXPENSIVE_CONSUMER_ELECTRONIC_ITEM, lol.

Don't feel too bad, though. You're not nearly as persecuted as those poor iPad owners.

[pipi_k]

30. Come on now...

Let's be fair about it.

Lots of people like to brag about the evil expensive electronic consumer items they DON'T own like it makes them way better than the people who do own them.

Really. What's up with that, anyway?

Why do people need to look down their noses at people who enjoy their electronic stuff?

[elocs]

33. How about the "I" don't watch tv crowd? They are a self righteous bunch

and quite obviously better than the rest of us.

[sudopod]

36. I would ask you and parent poster why it makes you so mad for people to think otherwise?

No one gets excited about their new electric shaver.

You don't see many people wearing Norelco and Gillette gear, no matter how smooth a shave it provides. You don't get excessive amounts of excessive back-and-forth nerd rage over what brand of TV is best, or who makes the best office chairs, or who makes the best glasses.

God help you, though, if you like the wrong vidya game platform in some circles, or if you have a Zune. Now you're questioning people's e-peens. LOL HERESY!

Seriously, who cares?

[elocs]

40. But my response was not to the original poster though, was it.

Hey, did I touch a nerve? I bet you don't watch tv, do you? But then again you seriously cared enough to respond to my post.

:rofl:

[sudopod]

43. I want to understand why you, and everyone else, cares so much.

I think it's fascinating. I'm kind of a gamer myself, though I only dabble these days, and I have no problem watching TV. But I look at blog postings about the new stuff coming out and there will be fierce drag-out knock-down fights about whose e-shit is the bestest, to the point of issuing physical threats. PS3 vs Xbox, PC vs everything, everything vs Macs. Just for the lulz, look at any article that mentions Macs on Slashdot.

Is humanity that much of a lot of easily trained animals? How do marketers get people so wound up about a piece of electronic junk that will be obsolete in two years? If you could bottle that madness and turn it against the powers that be, you could save the world.

Bloody amazing.

[pipi_k]

41. Whole list of them

People who don't:


watch TV

drive a car

shop at Walmart

own real estate

own an SUV

smoke (and anyone who does is a filthy pig according to them)

eat meat


etc., etc.


Which is weird. People can do or not do anything they want, but why look down on others...

[elocs]

42. Right. Shop at Walmart, that is another biggie here.

I guess that when people look down on others they somehow believe they are making themselves bigger.

[sudopod]

44. So defensive, lol.

Just curious, don't feel obligated to answer, but how do you feel about people who pour their used motor oil down the drain?

[pipi_k]

46. Question of my own...

Is pouring used motor oil down the drain illegal?

[sudopod]

48. Depends on where you are, but mostly yes.

But if it makes it easier for you if we control for legality, you can substitute that for any environmentally destructive behavior that is also legal for the purposes of discussion.

[pipi_k]

53. Environmentally destructive...

OK how about another (non-"environmentally destructive") list...

People who hold it against others for using corn syrup.

Or being Baby Boomers.

Or being overweight.

People who use pot. People who DON'T use pot.

Voting Third Party. Not voting. Voting for Candidate "A" instead of Candidate "B". Voting for Candidate "B" instead of Candidate "A".

People who spank their kids. People who don't spank their kids.

Those who think anybody who watches shows like American Idol are idiots.

People who think the length of time they've been members here at DU or the number of posts they've made is evidence that they're "better".


Doesn't matter what it is...there will always be some issue for people to feel superior about.

[sudopod]

54. Ok?

I guess you're trying to say that people shouldn't be judgmental? I can get behind that.

Does that mean no one can say corn syrup is bad for you, or reality tv is dumb, or that people ought not tie their self-image so closely to the brand of whatever-it-is-they-bought? People can make judgements without being judgemental. (perhaps not on the internet, though. :3 )

You don't think it's hilarious that people get in fights over whether we should be loyal to Enormous Corporation A or Enormous Corporation B?

It's amazing, IMHO. Post an article about how some nerd somewhere doesn't like the iPhone as much as a Windows phone and watch the tears of rage begin to flow as a mighty river.

As Hank Hill would say, "That ain't right."

[pipi_k]

59. It's not the being judgmental

that sucks.

We're human. Of course we're going to be judgmental at times. In most cases, people might want to keep their judgmental thoughts to themselves.


And it's not really about things like one nerd saying he likes this phone better than that phone, or this computer better than that one.


People can say they prefer one thing to another without sounding like self-righteous asswipes about it.

It's this whole undercurrent (or outright demonstration) of "You're not as good/compassionate/socially aware/intelligent/hip as I am" stuff that really sucks.

[sudopod]

51. No judgement.

I just want to understand why people care so much. Enough to do free advertising.

People used to do the same thing (and in some places still do) over car brands. They will beat you up if you like the wrong choice of Chevy or Ford. I'm kin to some of em.

[Lucian]

31. $119 isn't that expensive.

[sudopod]

38. And the prices of ebooks are totally reasonable! :3 nt

[Lucian]

50. All the classics are free.

[sudopod]

52. For now. ;) nt

[Zanzoobar]

16. That's a philosophy which could put a person a a pickle

Are you gonna brush your teeth with pig bristle?

[Brigid]

21. A toothbrush isn't a luxury item.

Unless you want to end up in the hospital with an abcessed tooth. A kindle, however, is quite another matter.

[pipi_k]

26. Well, a purist

could probably use a chewed up twig dipped in baking soda.

Might work just as well as a foreign-made plastic toothbrush and be totally guilt-free on top of it.

:+

[Zanzoobar]

28. And there it is.

You are exactly right.

[Raine]

29. That's what they do on Survivor, use twigs. nt

[Speck Tater]

17. Americans consume far more than their fair share of the world's resources.

To fuel that consumptive greed they have priced themselves out of the world labor market.

We complain about unfair distribution of wealth in America and gripe because the very rich are not being asked to sacrifice like we, the middle class are. But let's step back and take a broader view. The wealth gap between the American middle class and the vast majority of the world's population (2/5ths of the world's population doesn't have access to safe drinking water) is staggering.

What on earth makes us think we deserve the kind of wages that the vast majority of the world can't even dream about? Real fairness in the distribution of wealth and opportunity would mean giving up our grossly exaggerated sense of American exceptionalism and realizing that in the real world, in the world equal rights for all, not only will the super rich have to give up their privilege, but so will we, the American middle class. There just aren't enough resources to support our greedy way of life.

On a truly fair and level playing field we, the American workers, would have to compete for the same wages that the Taiwanese compete for. Do you want to do that? No, neither do I. I want to maintain my privileged status as long as possible, so instead of being a hypocrite about it I WILL exploit the cheap labor overseas and buy my plastic crap at Walmart.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

25. I have one, which I inherited. I like it.

Don't know whether I'd have bought one myself, though.

But if I refused to buy anything that was made somewhere else, I think I'd be sitting in the dark writing on birch bark with a chunk of charcoal. I don't think you can even get a ballpoint pen that isn't made in China.

[pipi_k]

35. I got one as a gift last year. I love mine too...can't even imagine

where I would put all the 220+ books on mine if they were real books.

As for not being able to buy stuff because it's not made in the US, yeah, I noticed that too.

Sometimes the stuff is assembled here with parts made elsewhere.

Sometimes the parts are made here and assembled elsewhere.


Life is complicated enough without going over everything with a fine tooth comb just to make sure it's whatever someone else thinks is "appropriate".

[Raine]

32. You can't even get safety pins that aren't made in China.

I had a hot glue gun made in China that never worked at all, ever. I wanted to replace it with another made anywhere else but China. I looked and looked and FINALLY found one made in Taiwan. I bought it, at least it works.

[elocs]

37. I got a Kindle for Christmas, but gave it back, but only because I don't read books anymore.

Reading online is about all my eyes can handle, besides, I tend to fall asleep within 15 minutes after I start reading a book. I do think I read one in 2010 though, but none this year.

Besides, as far as books go my public library has any I might want for free.

[Liberal_in_LA]

45. is ANY high tech gadget made in USA anymore?

[pipi_k]

49. Probably not...

I have a bunch of low-tech gadgets nearby...

three remote control devices...One made in Korea, the other two made in China

A cordless phone made in Malaysia

Cordless mouse made in China

A dog bark controller made in China

Laptop computer AC converter made in China

You have to look hard for stuff made here...

[Liberal_in_LA]

55. You have to look real hard, that show that tried to fill a home with only USA goods

hard to leave out the TV from what I recall. They could find furniture and 'stuff' but finding tech good was hard.

[pipi_k]

60. Did that show also have

bathroom fixtures?

Not so much the toilet and sink, but the cabinetry...

Twelve years ago, adding another room and bathroom to my house, it was impossible to find cabinetry made in the US. Well, affordable, anyway. It was all made in China.

I would actually have preferred using an old dresser or chest of drawers for a bathroom sink cabinet, but I'm not the only one who lives here... :shrug:

[jwirr]

47. That is a good point. That is why I LOL when I see the congress

loosening the patent laws. Sure they need to be loosened but for what so that we can invent more junk to manufacture overseas?

[provis99]

58. even our military's weapons are made outside of the country.

The Stryker vehicle is made in Canada; many of the small arms the army uses are made in Belgium and Germany; vital radars on American naval ships are made in Norway and the Netherlands; the F-35 strike fighter has parts from over 50 countries in it; we're buying uniforms and armored vehicles from Iraq (YES, FROM IRAQ!).

If we can't even maintain a manufacturing and research base for military hardware so essential to national security, forget about trying to lure other manufacturing and research jobs back to the US.

[sweetapogee]

61. personally

I like traditional HB books. Old school I guess.

[HappyMe]

62. I wasn't going to buy one anyway.

I prefer actual books. If I drop a book, it won't get wonky to the point where it can't be read anymore. Besides, it's kind of pricey.

My life is just fine without a bunch of electronic thingys.