Charles Johnson Images • Fri Jan 22, 2010 at 9:51 pm PST • Views: 715
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My favorite lines -
"There's Luke laughin' at somebody different!"
"There's Joe wrestling a bear at night!"
"There's Luke not tippin' on account of poor service!"
Good news! My niece has agreed to take guitar lessons. I'll get her all the cool guitar stuff she wants if she shows me some progress. I'm very excited about this. :)
I like the story about how that gentleman sent some prized breeding stock of the giant bunnies to the Norcs to help them get started breeding them for food and the Norcs promptly ate the breeding pair. Pissed that old guy off bad. Funny story.
I like the story about how that gentleman sent some prized breeding stock of the giant bunnies to the Norcs to help them get started breeding them for food and the Norcs promptly ate the breeding pair. Pissed that old guy off bad. Funny story.
Yeah. Apparently he's from the "former East" Germany.
I like the story about how that gentleman sent some prized breeding stock of the giant bunnies to the Norcs to help them get started breeding them for food and the Norcs promptly ate the breeding pair. Pissed that old guy off bad. Funny story.
Right about now a faithful New York Times reader just happened by and is now thinking, "oh my, those people at Little Green Footballs are suggesting we send giant rabbits to North Korea to consume the people of North Korea!"
Right about now a faithful New York Times reader just happened by and is now thinking, "oh my, those people at Little Green Footballs are suggesting we send giant rabbits to North Korea to consume the people of North Korea!"
//
LOL! And good night, I've got an fairly early train to catch.
Right about now a faithful New York Times reader just happened by and is now thinking, "oh my, those people at Little Green Footballs are suggesting we send giant rabbits to North Korea to consume the people of North Korea!"
Mr. Johnson, have you seen Colbert's take on how Republican pundits "analyze" Obama's first year? It's not only hilarious, it also goes nicely with the general line some of us lizards have towards conservative punditry, IMHO.
I think it's link-worthy material.
[Link: www.colbertnation.com...] (It's one of the first videos around the site, couldn't find a direct link, sorry).
I'm watching Basketball this morning...I love it when they go to the sidelines/huddle during the timeout and the coach is yelling we got the play better defensively..
Dear NBA owners..Hire me for 5 million a year..I'll not only yell we got to play better but I'll actually tell my players HOW to play better...
/I missed my calling
Yeah and if you notice, all that stuff fits in one small keyboard now. I still love the old school goodies though. Did you know you can still buy a rotary-dial phone if you want one? Love that old stuff. :D
The left has complained that there is no reason to travel thousands of miles to help those in need — Gaza is an hour away.
and we even hear from the egregious Larry Derfner and Akiva Eldar.
But on the same page, another commentator, Larry Derfner, argued that while Israel’s field hospital in Haiti is a reflection of something deep in the nation’s character, “so is everything that’s summed up in the name of ‘Gaza.’ ” He wrote: “It’s the Haiti side of Israel that makes the Gaza side so inexpressibly tragic. And more and more, the Haiti part of the national character has been dwarfed by the Gaza part.”
Early in the week, Akiva Eldar, a leftist commentator and reporter with the newspaper Haaretz, made a similar point: “The remarkable identification with the victims of the terrible tragedy in distant Haiti only underscores the indifference to the ongoing suffering of the people of Gaza.”
This while volunteer Israeli rescue teams are risking their lives under horrific conditions to save lives. The New York Times keeps one focused on Israel's alleged sins. Disgusting.
I note on the thread about the trashy tabloid piece on Charles people were defending the New York Slimes as "the newspaper of record" and denying that it was vile and anti-Israel.
I recieved a sales call one night from the NYT trying to sell me the paper. I told the kid on the phone, young kid probably just trying to make a buck, that if that paper hit my driveway I would take said paper, fly to NYC, set the paper on fire and throw it through a window. He said, "so that's a no?" And for the record, he knew I was kidding.
I recieved a sales call one night from the NYT trying to sell me the paper. I told the kid on the phone, young kid probably just trying to make a buck, that if that paper hit my driveway I would take said paper, fly to NYC, set the paper on fire and throw it through a window. He said, "so that's a no?" And for the record, he knew I was kidding.
Indeed. Why would they use their superior technology for things like that? Must be a propaganda thing.
Why? I know a few things..just a few
The Center of a Jewish heart is love...I know where they are coming from...
I have always..And will for all time love the Jews...Good people with a heart of Gold...
Praise for Israeli mission in Haiti: 'Only ones operating'
Israeli field hospital earns accolades as only aid mission able to do complex surgery in devastated country. CNN reports other missions transfer patients to Israeli base. ABC reports on young woman giving birth there
The valiant work of Israel's rescue mission to Haiti has been widely covered in the Israeli press. Now it has earned praise from a surprising source: On Monday, US media broadcast items praising the assistance provided by Israel, and one reporter even sent a letter of thanks to Israeli representatives in New York.
You see, it is 'surprising' that these MSM outlets are praising Israel.
CNN reported that Israel is the only state so far to have sent a field hospital equipped with all that is required for surgical operations. Doctors from various missions send patients requiring surgery to Israel's makeshift hospital, particularly those whose condition is critical, the news network said.
According to the report, other field hospitals contain no more than stretcher beds and medical teams who administer first aid, and they are not prepared for complex surgery
So Israel is what, 10,500 kilometres away and Haiti is a short hop away from the worlds largest super power and Israel has the only surgical field hospital operating at the time?
More than 100 injured patients require surgery, but are unable to get it anywhere except at the Israeli field hospital in Port-au-Prince. The doctors are unable to meet the demand, and meanwhile the patients lie in tents, administered with painkillers, and cry for help. "They'll die within 24 hours if they don't get operated on," a reporter said.
Criticism against the US mission was voiced in the ABC item. The US, it said, had sent staff for a field hospital, but they had still not received the instruments required for surgery. The equipment was supposed to arrive by the weekend, but will get there only Monday night, it seems. Only then will the US be able to set up its field hospital.
Little Israel the size of New Jersey with a population less than Haiti had the first working surgical field hospital working. Amazing.
Belturbet churchyard, stand you still,
The night-dewed grass and mossy stone,
The sleeping beast and the silent bird,
The seen unseen, and the known unknown.
Night's soft closing in, and dawn
Exuberantly bursting day.
The living moss on the Cavan stone,
The sod beneath and the clouds above,
“Vale atque ave!” sing,
Cry farewell, and hail, Love.
Little Israel the size of New Jersey with a population less than Haiti had the first working surgical field hospital working. Amazing.
Light unto the nations indeed.
God Bless Israel...
A small nation. She stands tall in times of despair and need.
She who has lost so much blood..Runs first to those in need..
God Bless Israel
Good Morning! Hope you are well...
It's still cold here..bbbrrr
Good to see ya Hoops...it was really cold here for about a week, but apparently our week of winter is over...last week 12 degrees, this week, 65. Crazy!
Hope you are doing well!
"So Israel is what, 10,500 kilometres away and Haiti is a short hop away from the worlds largest super power..."
Did you just take a shot at the US?
The facts took that shot for me. America is making a sterling effort and deploying a lot of aid. But they were obviously slow off the mark compared to Israel which is about 14 hours airtime away.
Good to see ya Hoops...it was really cold here for about a week, but apparently our week of winter is over...last week 12 degrees, this week, 65. Crazy!
Hope you are doing well!
Always nice seeing you..
Normally during the summer at 5:55am every Saturday morning I'm getting ready to swim laps with little Winston in his boat floating around...Then I post here from the deck working on my Tan..Winter sucks in Indiana...
/
Yeah, I remember Nebraska winters, and while I miss the snow a bit (for the kids' sake mostly) I do not miss the sub-zero windchills and months of freezing weather.
Not much of an issue in Alabama though...
Yeah, I remember Nebraska winters, and while I miss the snow a bit (for the kids' sake mostly) I do not miss the sub-zero windchills and months of freezing weather.
Not much of an issue in Alabama though...
I've never really been down south...Never been to Florida or any where down south except Nashville.. That place rocks...
Sweet home Alabama!
There is nothing more fun on a cold Saturday morning than watching great movies..
Watching Al Pacino on the big screen saying..
Vanity..It's my favorite sin...
And that big crazy smile...It doesn't get any better
I am sometimes not very smart before coffee...supposed to leave for work in 15 minutes, but my longjohns are still in the dryer...missed them when I put the rest of my work clothes in this morning...damn!
I am sometimes not very smart before coffee...supposed to leave for work in 15 minutes, but my longjohns are still in the dryer...missed them when I put the rest of my work clothes in this morning...damn!
That's how it all startet a few years back. No one was sure that the boar wasn't photoshopped either. I can't remember what the final verdict was, but the rabbit was the best thing to come out of the story...
That's how it all startet a few years back. No one was sure that the boar wasn't photoshopped either. I can't remember what the final verdict was, but the rabbit was the best thing to come out of the story...
Somebody photoshop the Hoopster with the Gaza Rooster...
That's how it all startet a few years back. No one was sure that the boar wasn't photoshopped either. I can't remember what the final verdict was, but the rabbit was the best thing to come out of the story...
Boy and boar were not a photoshop...although some doubt on whether boy shot boar...Boar turned out to be former pet given to a farmer, who sold it to someone who put it on some "staged hunt" type farm...If I remember correctly...not sure I do
Boy and boar were not a photoshop...although some doubt on whether boy shot boar...Boar turned out to be former pet given to a farmer, who sold it to someone who put it on some "staged hunt" type farm...If I remember correctly...not sure I do
Yes, I remember the same story. The poor boar was in a kind of fish-in-a-barrel situation, I believe. A lot of people down there were upset by the conditions of the kill - or that it was killed in the first place.
Scientology reverend, super-human OT VII, and businessman kills mundane father of four over money for Scientology?
Scientology "reverend" Rex Fowler has been charged with first degree murder after killing a non-Scientologist employee who left his WISE company after a disagreement with the way the company was being run - specifically pressuring employees to become Scientologists, and giving so much of company funds to the cult that the company was weakened. Wife also trying to keep evidence from the police: "Even if you looked at it, and read it, you would not understand anything in it. Because it is way above a normal person and you would not know what it meant. I want it back right now."
Oh Lawdy..Watching Company man.. It has Woody Allen in it
Company man
2 stars (2000) A CIA agent (Douglas McGrath) Recounts his misadventures for 2 Senators. (Comedy)
For a comedy..It's not that funny
Scientology has been running some very powerful ads where I am. I'm not a fan at all but someone here pointed out that in this bad economic times, people arer looking for anything. And FWIW, their HQ is about a hour from me.:(
I am sometimes not very smart before coffee...supposed to leave for work in 15 minutes, but my longjohns are still in the dryer...missed them when I put the rest of my work clothes in this morning...damn!
I had a girlefriend, a native of Phoenix, who said she hated winter because sometimes when she hung her jeans out to dry overnight in January, they would not be completely dry by morning.
She used to sleep under five blankets and three sleeping bags with the waterbed heater turned up to 90 degrees.
But she was sonsistent: I once saw her bicycle to work in 118° heat wearing long sleeves and long corduroy trousers.
I had a girlefriend, a native of Phoenix, who said she hated winter because sometimes when she hung her jeans out to dry overnight in January, they would not be completely dry by morning.
She used to sleep under five blankets and three sleeping bags with the waterbed heater turned up to 90 degrees.
But she was sonsistent: I once saw her bicycle to work in 118° heat wearing long sleeves and long corduroy trousers.
LOL Where do you go from there? A girlfriend that bicycles to work Naked in a 120 degree Temps?
*wink*
The facts took that shot for me. America is making a sterling effort and deploying a lot of aid. But they were obviously slow off the mark compared to Israel which is about 14 hours airtime away.
Uh - the US Marines were on the runway in Haiti just a few hours after the earthquake, and were responsible for setting up ATC using their own equipment, making it possible for other aid to use the facility. Prior to that, the control tower had been disabled by the quake, rendering the runway itself next to useless.
They also set up field hospitals the day after the quake - and unlike those staffed by UN medical teams, the US provided security and didn't order their staff to retreat when gunfire was heard in the distance.
The hospital ship Comfort was unprovisioned, but the Navy activated it on their own initiative, again just hours after the quake, and ordered it deployed with all speed. It normally takes five days to bring it online; I believe they sailed in three, and continued activation en route.
I can go on and on and on. US military response was enormous and rapid, and saved untold thousands of lives.
Take your hostility toward the US and shove it, deep and hard. It's now gotten so bad that you can't even view reality objectively, if that was possible for you in the first place. Better yet, drag your sorry ass away from your keyboard and haul it down to Haiti, where you can show us how much better you can do this job than those you're whining and carping about.
But maybe next time there's a disaster of this sort, we ought to just withhold help, given that it upsets you so much and is obviously a waste of time, while simultaneously never, ever being enough to satisfy you.
A couple scientologist were brought up on murder charges down here. I think they were found not guilty.
I've been reading similar stories for more than 30 years. Cult headquarters has a lot of money that they deploy in defense of their own. They are also the most litigious cult on earth as well, bringing suit against any and all who publicly criticize them, simply as a means of intimidation.
Several threats and murders have been perpetrated against those few who have successfully left the group - if you can call being harassed and threatened "success." Often, these folks die rather suddenly just prior to testimony or publication that would prove embarrassing to the organization.
There's a RICO Act goldmine in there for anyone who's interested in pursuing the matter.
my attitude from the get-go has been simply to get in with as much aid as is possible, dig the people out of the rubble, provide first aid, re-establish basic services and restore the basic infrastructure.
Then we can sit down and discuss who could have done what better and why. Until then, this sort of background noise is really grating.
My writing teacher is a Scientologist. The last time I took his class he diverted from the subject at hand and went on about the CIA kidnapping homeless people and experimenting on them, blah, blah, blah.
my attitude from the get-go has been simply to get in with as much aid as is possible, dig the people out of the rubble, provide first aid, re-establish basic services and restore the basic infrastructure.
Then we can sit down and discuss who could have done what better and why. Until then, this sort of background noise is really grating.
My writing teacher is a Scientologist. The last time I took his class he diverted from the subject at hand and went on about the CIA kidnapping homeless people and experimenting on them, blah, blah, blah.
If it's taking up more than a few minutes of class time, once or twice, I'd complain about it. I don't mind the occasional personal anecdote, but if he's straying into Tinfoil Hat Land on a regular basis, he's not doing his job.
If it's taking up more than a few minutes of class time, once or twice, I'd complain about it. I don't mind the occasional personal anecdote, but if he's straying into Tinfoil Hat Land on a regular basis, he's not doing his job.
He did give a hand out that had the different steps of Scientology, but I found it very useful. But you're right. I didn't fly to NYC, get a hotel for 3 days, plus other expenses to be lectured into becoming a cult member. Others did complain.
However, the administration has decided that nearly 40 other detainees should be prosecuted for terrorism or related war crimes. And the remaining prisoners, about 110 men, should be repatriated or transferred to other countries for possible release, the official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the numbers.
I had a Christian math teacher at the junior college who was pretty cool. He made some pamphlets available on the first day but didn't push it. You would think all math experts would be atheists but they're not. Strange.
I had a Christian math teacher at the junior college who was pretty cool. He made some pamphlets available on the first day but didn't push it. You would think all math experts would be atheists but they're not. Strange.
See, I would think many medical doctors would be. And biologist.
So, Gitmo's not going to be closed, and the 50 or so who remain there will continue to be detained indefinitely without any sort of trial or habeus corpus.
That'll make for an interesting section in the upcoming SOTU address.
So, Gitmo's not going to be closed, and the 50 or so who remain there will continue to be detained indefinitely without any sort of trial or habeus corpus.
That'll make for an interesting section in the upcoming SOTU address.
So, Gitmo's not going to be closed, and the 50 or so who remain there will continue to be detained indefinitely without any sort of trial or habeus corpus.
That'll make for an interesting section in the upcoming SOTU address.
"...You would think lefties could discern a proletarian vanguard when they see one..."
[Link: www.sj-r.com...]
The antipathy to George W. Bush is so enduring and powerful that ... it just elected a Republican senator in Massachusetts? Why, the man is omnipotent.
I'm fixing to head out for work in five minutes. But...
This Tue. night... rerun of the LOST Season Five Finale... "The Incident" and then, Tue. Feb. 2nd 3 hours of the LOST, one hour recap and then the 2 hour Season Six opener "LA X."
By the way, I was looking at the "Onion-LOST video" and noticed Lizards were looking for me... yes I saw the video about 4 days ago... thanks for the concern.
Looks like he's laying the groundwork to blame The Banks for the nation's ongoing economic doldrums. He spent most of his time in Ohio and Pennsylvania trying to whip up populist anger over them, without bothering to offer any actual solutions to any of the problems he enumerated.
"I know times are tough. But it's the banker's fault, and we need to...punish the banks!"
It's the same thing he tried with Wall Street as villain last year. I'm not sure it will work a second time, but it appears to be the skid he's greasing.
Yeah and we're talking about very logical and rational trains of thought here. A belief in a deity seems a little out of place in the scientific community. Maybe it's a combination of upbringing and weekly sessions.
Looks like he's laying the groundwork to blame The Banks for the nation's ongoing economic doldrums. He spent most of his time in Ohio and Pennsylvania trying to whip up populist anger over them, without bothering to offer any actual solutions to any of the problems he enumerated.
"I know times are tough. But it's the banker's fault, and we need to...punish the banks!"
It's the same thing he tried with Wall Street as villain last year. I'm not sure it will work a second time, but it appears to be the skid he's greasing.
Yeah and we're talking about very logical and rational trains of thought here. A belief in a deity seems a little out of place in the scientific community. Maybe it's a combination of upbringing and weekly sessions.
Yeah and we're talking about very logical and rational trains of thought here. A belief in a deity seems a little out of place in the scientific community. Maybe it's a combination of upbringing and weekly sessions.
Not necessarily. It is possible to have faith in things unseen while studying the physical world. Faith and science are not mutually exclusive.
I'm fixing to head out for work in five minutes. But...
This Tue. night... rerun of the LOST Season Five Finale... "The Incident" and then, Tue. Feb. 2nd 3 hours of the LOST, one hour recap and then the 2 hour Season Six opener "LA X."
Looks like he's laying the groundwork to blame The Banks for the nation's ongoing economic doldrums. He spent most of his time in Ohio and Pennsylvania trying to whip up populist anger over them, without bothering to offer any actual solutions to any of the problems he enumerated.
"I know times are tough. But it's the banker's fault, and we need to...punish the banks!"
It's the same thing he tried with Wall Street as villain last year. I'm not sure it will work a second time, but it appears to be the skid he's greasing.
"...You would think lefties could discern a proletarian vanguard when they see one..."
[Link: www.sj-r.com...]
The reason both wings of American liberalism — congressional and mainstream media — were so surprised at the force of anti-Democratic sentiment is that they’d spent Obama’s first year either ignoring or disdaining the clear early signs of resistance: the Tea Party movement of the spring and the town-hall meetings of the summer. With characteristic condescension, they contemptuously dismissed the protests as the mere excrescences of a redneck, retrograde, probably racist rabble.
I had a Christian math teacher at the junior college who was pretty cool. He made some pamphlets available on the first day but didn't push it. You would think all math experts would be atheists but they're not. Strange.
Math is not logic, it is straightforward and does not lie or deceive.
I remember a discussion with a Christian mathematician who tells me that the most convincing argument for Jesus Christ as his savior was the way that the revelations in the New Testament fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testaments.
The odds of that happening by chance were astronomical, he said, and compared it to covering the State of Texas a foot deep in silver dollars and then wading in and finding a specific dollar hidden among them on the first try.
Of course, as he was already convinced that the New Testament was the Revelaled Word of God, he could not conceive that it could have been "tweaked" a bit to bring it in line with the prohecies, and I did not even try to broach that possibility.
He was using his belief to confirm his belief, and I was content to leave him with it, as people like that are hard to convince of anything they donÄt want to believe in.
Oh, yeah. Nothing like hearing that you're about to be hit with regulations based on blind rage rather than rational analysis.
Maybe he can try handing out pitchforks and torches next time.
I remember once at work we had a meeting and they said being late will be dealt with, probably by termination. I said,"So if I am gonna be late, don't even bother showing up?" That shut him the fuck up.
Science is incompatible with a literal interpretation of the Bible and belief in an interventionist God, but it is not incompatible with a symbolic, metaphorical interpretaion and beliefe in a Divine Spirit and Creator.
Our faith in the Ideology of the Unfettered Free market is so great that we continue to defend banks and Wass Street after they f*cked us in the a** and then blackmailed the government to bail us all out.
Obama is trying to prevent this from happening again and being made out a bogeyman who wants to incite a class war.
Well ultimately this popped bubble I think is the responsibility of the politicians who deregulated the banking "industry" at the behest of pushy constituents, in exchange for votes. Then human stupidity and greed, which government is supposed to hold in check, had their way with predictable results.
And in the bigger picture than even that, this mess can be laid at the feet of the stupid electorate.
The day after he was forced to kill his pet, the child told his teacher, Meriwether County Sheriff Steve Whitlock told the AJC Thursday evening.
The teacher reported the incident to DFCS authorities, who contacted police, Whitlock said. The pet's death allegedly took place at the family's Warm Springs home.
On Friday, 38-year-old Lynn Middlebrooks Geter was arrested, Whitlock said. Geter faces one charge each of animal cruelty, child cruelty and battery.
Our faith in the Ideology of the Unfettered Free market is so great that we continue to defend banks and Wass Street after they f*cked us in the a** and then blackmailed the government to bail us all out.
Obama is trying to prevent this from happening again and being made out a bogeyman who wants to incite a class war.
Well ultimately this popped bubble I think is the responsibility of the politicians who deregulated the banking "industry" at the behest of pushy constituents, in exchange for votes. Then human stupidity and greed, which government is supposed to hold in check, had their way with predictable results.
And in the bigger picture than even that, this mess can be laid at the feet of the stupid electorate.
So fie on all blame shifting.
•••
Good morning all
You have it well nailed, but this debacle is rooted in an almost blind faith in the Free Market as an ideology, and not just a mechanism for regulating the flow of goods and capital.
Once we let any ideology cloud our thinking, be it socialistic or capitalistic in nature, the worst aspects of human nature are going to make a mess out of it.
No, they are part of our society, a part whose interests must be balanced against those of the rest of us.
It is not about demonizing anyone, it is about the government doing its job, part of which is balancing interests and not allowing one part of society to assume such a dominant position that it can blackmail another.
The government forced Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, off the open airwaves in 2007 by refusing to renew its broadcast license, and the channel subsequently moved to cable under the name Radio Caracas Television International.
Venezuela's telecommunications agency said Thursday that two dozen local cable channels including RCTV must carry government programming when deemed mandatory, just like broadcast channels already do. Chavez often uses the measure — referred to as a "national network" — to have his speeches shown in full on all TV channels and radio stations.
RCTV lawyer Oswaldo Quintana said cable providers were told by the telecommunications agency the if RCTV doesn't carry the next mandatory programming segment, "they would have to take us off the air."
"They invented something additional that isn't in the law," Quintana said, referring to a new measure allowing only limited commercials between programs on local cable channels. He said that requirement is aimed at "destroying you as a channel."
Public Works Minister Diosdado Cabello, who also heads the telecommunications agency, on Thursday announced a list of cable channels that have more than 30 percent of locally produced programming and are to be bound by the rules approved by the agency last month.
A kid I went to elementary school with, the son of a minister, showed up one morning looking glum. Turned out his pet gerbil had had a litter, and his dad didn't approve, so he put the whole lot in a paper bag and beat them against the door jamb, in front of the kids.
Whenever there's a story about someone who's snapped and shot up a public place, I always wonder if I'm gonna see that guy's name in the paper.
A kid I went to elementary school with, the son of a minister, showed up one morning looking glum. Turned out his pet gerbil had had a litter, and his dad didn't approve, so he put the whole lot in a paper bag and beat them against the door jamb, in front of the kids.
Whenever there's a story about someone who's snapped and shot up a public place, I always wonder if I'm gonna see that guy's name in the paper.
A minister mistreating the least of God's creatures?!
Jack, a 10-year-old male, tangled with a large lizard Down Under and the terrier was torn up in the October scrap.
Jack's claim, submitted by his owners, Jacquelin and Lance Throneberry of Denver, was among 80,000 submitted to Veterinary Pet Insurance Company in December, said Grant Biniasz, a spokesman with the California-based firm.
The claim was selected by VPI "as the most unusual of the bunch."
Jack received cuts on his front and hind legs that "required multiple stitches, several staples and treatment with a series of antibiotics," Biniasz said.
Jacquelin Throneberry told the insurance firm that Jack ran ahead of her while out for a walk.
"Before I know it, I see Jack in the distance running down the hill violently shaking what looked like a big lizard," Throneberry told the insurance company. "I first thought, 'Oh no, he's probably killed that poor lizard,' but it soon sounded like he was fighting with it. As I got closer, I saw the lizard running up a tree alive and well.
"Jack was sitting further down the hill panting from exhaustion with his legs covered in blood. He was just a bunch of cuts, all-over bites and claw marks."
Throneberry believes Jack fought a goanna, a carnivorous, predatory reptile, some of which can grow up to seven feet long from snout to the tip of the tail.
New Yorkers passing through midtown Manhattan this week saw the smiling faces of "Charles and YaVaughnie" beaming down upon them from one of two billboards in the city with the caption reading, "You are my soulmate forever! - cep."
SNIP
Phillips, 50, the co-president of Oracle Corp., admitted the affair with Wilkins, 42, in a statement released by his spokeswoman Friday.
""I had an 8½-year serious relationship with YaVaughnie Wilkins," the statement said. "My divorce proceedings began in 2008. The relationship with Ms. Wilkins has since ended and we both wish each other well."
Phillips is reportedly still married to his wife, Karen, and the two have a son together.
... his pet gerbil had had a litter, and his dad didn't approve, so he put the whole lot in a paper bag and beat them against the door jamb, in front of the kids...
Yeah, eight years is a long time to hold on only to be dumped.
Yeah, 'cept I don't have a lot of sympathy for a person who will knowingly take up with someone who is married. That's just stupid; there's never any sort of future in it.
For those bitching about the current Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to donate money again, keep in mind that the ruling also allows unions to do the same in the same way.
Yeah, 'cept I don't have a lot of sympathy for a person who will knowingly take up with someone who is married. That's just stupid; there's never any sort of future in it.
Approximately 85% of the state's 235,000 employees (not including higher education employees) are unionized. As the governor noted during his $83 billion budget roll-out, over the past decade pension costs for public employees increased 2,000%. State revenues increased only 24% over the same period.
For those bitching about the current Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to donate money again, keep in mind that the ruling also allows unions to do the same in the same way.
Yup. Either way the small businessman and the non-unionized worker gets royally uckfayed...as usual.
Mr. Obama vowed to “never stop fighting for policies that will help restore home values.” He promised that he was “not going to stop fighting to give our kids the best education possible.” He pledged he would not “stop fighting to give every American a fair shake,” to continue fighting for a new Consumer Protection Agency and for openness in government. And of course, Mr. Obama pledged to fight for jobs.
“So long as I have some breath in me, so long as I have the privilege of serving as your president, I will not stop fighting for you,” Mr. Obama said. “I will take my lumps. But I won’t stop fighting to bring back jobs here.”
yep, he's a fighter alright as the NYTimes points out...a real tough guy
Yeah, 'cept I don't have a lot of sympathy for a person who will knowingly take up with someone who is married. That's just stupid; there's never any sort of future in it.
Mr. Obama vowed to “never stop fighting for policies that will help restore home values.” He promised that he was “not going to stop fighting to give our kids the best education possible.” He pledged he would not “stop fighting to give every American a fair shake,” to continue fighting for a new Consumer Protection Agency and for openness in government. And of course, Mr. Obama pledged to fight for jobs.
“So long as I have some breath in me, so long as I have the privilege of serving as your president, I will not stop fighting for you,” Mr. Obama said. “I will take my lumps. But I won’t stop fighting to bring back jobs here.”
yep, he's a fighter alright as the NYTimes points out...a real tough guy
I don't even know why I post this blather...Hillary and BO get played like a fiddle and still insist they are dealing with Iran...minus the Russians and Chinese who have dumped all over BO
Subconsciously men who are taken are better picks for women. We've already passed the "is he a worthy mate" question. Plus, people are genetically predisposed to cheat.
How? Granting First Amendment protections to more takes them away from others?
In theory, no.
But in practice the effect can be to drown out the voice of the little guy, because the pols are corrupt and too many people swallow the mass media ads like sheep.
General Petraeus was asked whether he sees the civil war between Yemen's government and rebel Houthi forces in the north as a proxy war, with Iran supporting the rebels and Saudi Arabia helping the government. The general said it is not a proxy war now, but has the potential to become one, and there may already have been some movement in that direction.
"Frankly, although there is a lot of rumor, there's a lot of allegations, and so forth, we have been hard pressed to find indications of substantial levels of that," he said. "Although there have been some indicators in the past month or so that some of that is indeed beginning to happen."
Subconsciously men who are taken are better picks for women. We've already passed the "is he a worthy mate" question. Plus, people are genetically predisposed to cheat.
What's so good about a man who comes and goes, who's never there for the holidays, who is a PROVEN liar?
In theory, no.
But in practice the effect can be to drown out the voice of the little guy, because the pols are corrupt and too many people swallow the mass media ads like sheep.
I don't believe in limiting the Constitution to certain groups.
Terry O'Neill...
"We strongly endorsed Coakley. She is a great leader, she is a good candidate. We need more women like Martha Coakley to run for office. More women run, more women will win."
Terry O'Neill...
"We strongly endorsed Coakley. She is a great leader, she is a good candidate. We need more women like Martha Coakley to run for office. More women run, more women will win."
Just sayin. There are certain traits women subconsciously look for in a mate and they can assume a man meets those qualifications if another woman has already given him a passing grade.
Just sayin. There are certain traits women subconsciously look for in a mate and they can assume a man meets those qualifications if another woman has already given him a passing grade.
Real recovery will not happen until the federal government reigns in spending and stops printing money. This past week on Wall Street was a good indication that investors want something real to back up the claims of recovery. The DOW climbing 70% in a year will not satiate those investors who know that the vast majority of better earnings was largely due to cutbacks in the workforce. Companies can only save so much money by laying people off. At some point in time, jobs must be created. 2010 is going to be a rough economic year and I wouldn't be surprised if we all saw the DOW back down in the 6000 point range.
At 9:45 this morning, George H.W. Bush will open up his West Houston home to the press to make what is, for the octogenarian former president, a rare overtly political announcement: In the intra-Republican party fight for Texas governor, 41 has chosen U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison over Gov. Rick Perry. He joins his close friend, longtime consigliere, and former White House chief-of-staff James Baker, who endorsed Hutchison earlier this week, and a long list of his son George W. Bush's closest associates in lining up behind the challenger to the incumbent. Hutchison has the public backing of former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, and former Counselor to the President and communications director Karen Hughes, and she's being advised by former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove.
Real recovery will not happen until the federal government reigns in spending and stops printing money. This past week on Wall Street was a good indication that investors want something real to back up the claims of recovery. The DOW climbing 70% in a year will not satiate those investors who know that the vast majority of better earnings was largely due to cutbacks in the workforce. Companies can only save so much money by laying people off. At some point in time, jobs must be created. 2010 is going to be a rough economic year and I wouldn't be surprised if we all saw the DOW back down in the 6000 point range.
And the government cannot do this by hiking corporate taxes.
I saw that story yesterday.
Honestly - I think it's a completely trashy thing for the woman to do.
But I couldn't help but giggle just a bit.
Looks like it wasn't the typical story of a woman choosing to be the "Other Woman" :
Wilkins had been under the impression that Phillips' divorce was finalized in 2003.
"Their relationship was always very public and open. He went to family events, she has traveled with him," Davila said.
But late last summer, Davila said, Wilkins received an anonymous e-mail tip about Phillips' marital status. Hiring a private investigator, she learned that Phillips was still married. She ended her relationship with him in October 2009.
Guy's lucky that all she did was set up a website and a few billboards, if that's true.
8 1/2 years is a long time for a married man to successfully convince someone he's single, but I once worked with a woman who was deceived that way for 2 years.
And the government cannot do this by hiking corporate taxes.
I couldn't agree with you more. I submit that if President Obama came out in his state of the union and proposed massive spending cuts to bring the deficit under control coupled with the elimination of the capital gains tax and the reduction of all corporate and small business taxes, the American people would get behind him and force Congress to act. The American people want a real plan drafted by the President, not some government mish mash of political speak fed to them by Reid and Pelosi. I'm not a fan of the president, but even I would get behind him 100% if he led from the oval office and proposed less government to reignite the entrepeneurial spirit of America. A good smackdown of Reid and Pelosi would give him a 70% approval raiting overnight.
I mentioned something yesterday about there being a bit of an overreaction to people taking pics in London.
Londoners: Mass photography event in Trafalgar Square today! I'm a photographer, not a terrorist
[Link: www.boingboing.net...]
A reminder for Londoners: there's a mass photo shoot-in at midday today in Trafalgar Square, to protest English cops' continuing harassment of photographers under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act. I'll be there with the family, shooting away merrily -- hope to see you, too.
I couldn't agree with you more. I submit that if President Obama came out in his state of the union and proposed massive spending cuts to bring the deficit under control coupled with the elimination of the capital gains tax and the reduction of all corporate and small business taxes, the American people would get behind him and force Congress to act. The American people want a real plan drafted by the President, not some government mish mash of political speak fed to them by Reid and Pelosi. I'm not a fan of the president, but even I would get behind him 100% if he led from the oval office and proposed less government to reignite the entrepeneurial spirit of America. A good smackdown of Reid and Pelosi would give him a 70% approval raiting overnight.
I couldn't agree with you more. I submit that if President Obama came out in his state of the union and proposed massive spending cuts to bring the deficit under control coupled with the elimination of the capital gains tax and the reduction of all corporate and small business taxes, the American people would get behind him and force Congress to act. The American people want a real plan drafted by the President, not some government mish mash of political speak fed to them by Reid and Pelosi. I'm not a fan of the president, but even I would get behind him 100% if he led from the oval office and proposed less government to reignite the entrepeneurial spirit of America. A good smackdown of Reid and Pelosi would give him a 70% approval raiting overnight.
There are limits as to time, place and manner, such as shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theatre.
By analogy, if you are trying to speak to someone and a mob keeps following you around and drowning you out with bullhorns, aren't you deserving of some protection?
In the days of national markets and restricted flow of goods and capital, cutting corporate taxes was a good way of giving them an incentive to invest in the US economy and stimulate the US job market.
Problem is now that we have grown so globalized that they often take their tax cuts and invest them in other places with lower production costs (i.e. lower wages and less strict environmental standards) and leave Americans with minimum wage, non-union jobs at the Wal-Mart selling the cheap crap they are having manufactured abroad.
How can we come up with an incentive for these corporations to reinvest their tax cuts in a manner that benefits those of us who still have to pay taxes?
I am well. She Who Must Be Obeyed is down in Kerrville all day doing the orchestra thing. I've got to go to the office later to get some work done.
C'est la vie...
I'm making lentil soup today and it requires about an hour of preparation--four cups of choped onions and leeks, three minced cloves of garlic and three cups of diced celery and carrots. The smell as it cooks will be delightful.
I mentioned something yesterday about there being a bit of an overreaction to people taking pics in London.
I do think the UK has for a long time over-reacted to people taking pics, but it's worth noting this, from yesterday:
UK terror threat raised to 'severe'
• Threat raised from 'substantial' to 'severe'
• Home secretary says no attack is imminent
Scotland Yard has warned businesses in London to expect a Mumbai-style attack on the capital.
In a briefing in the City of London 12 days ago, a senior detective from SO15, the Metropolitan police counter-terrorism command, said: “Mumbai is coming to London.”
The detective said companies should anticipate a shooting and hostage-taking raid “involving a small number of gunmen with handguns and improvised explosive devices”.
The warning — the bluntest issued by police — has underlined an assessment that a terrorist cell may be preparing an attack on London early next year.
I don't mind admitting I've got the jitters at the moment (well, have done since that late Dec warning) about London and people I know there.
By analogy, if you are trying to speak to someone and a mob keeps following you around and drowning you out with bullhorns, aren't you deserving of some protection?
By analogy, if you are trying to speak to someone and a mob keeps following you around and drowning you out with bullhorns, aren't you deserving of some protection?
We have a right to speak. We don't have a right to be heard.
However, the fast-food chain left out the pig and replaced it with the love god cupid as Valentine's Day also falls in February, arguing that the company did not want to offend Muslims.
We have a right to speak. We don't have a right to be heard.
Thursday's decision by the Supreme's seems to disagree with you. Not only are Unions and Corporations now "People" in the sense that they have the individual right to free speech, but they cannot have limits placed on them in the amount of money they can spend on making sure that candidate advocacy is heard loud and clear.
I saw that was raised yesterday. I wonder what it was specifically that caused enough concern to raise it. Here's hoping we don't find out.
It does strike me a bit ironic that the city with possibly the most state-operated cameras on the planet has such a problem with citizens having cameras of their own.
Thursday's decision by the Supreme's seems to disagree with you. Not only are Unions and Corporations now "People" in the sense that they have the individual right to free speech, but they cannot have limits placed on them in the amount of money they can spend on making sure that candidate advocacy is heard loud and clear.
Ruh roh...
Ummm...I agree with the decision. The point I was making applies only to the situation proposed by Spare O'Lake.
I saw that was raised yesterday. I wonder what it was specifically that caused enough concern to raise it. Here's hoping we don't find out.
It does strike me a bit ironic that the city with possibly the most state-operated cameras on the planet has such a problem with citizens having cameras of their own.
My guess is that it's highly likely to be related to the earlier warning about a Mumbai style attack. I hope not, but it's hard not to think they're related.
The alternative is that they have info about two forthcoming planned attacks, which isn't making me feel any better.
But yes, I agree with you on the photo issue; it's always seemed incongruous to me given how many security cameras are all over London. Last I heard it was the most of anywhere on the planet, proportionately.
Wow. NPR's show, Wait, Wait! Don't Tell Me! is having a field day ripping on Democrats.
"There's a grass roots effort among Democrats in the next Congressional elections to vote for actual lemmings."
"After her dad's announcement that she was single, Ayla Brown received over 1000 requests for dates on her FaceBook page. 200 of them were from John Edwards."
"Without a clear national Republican leader, the Democrats are having trouble determining who to surrender to."
"Now that their Senate supermajority has been reduced from 60 to 59, is it possible for the Democrats to be even less effective?"
And on and on and on.
It's kind of entertaining, watching the Left cannibalize itself.
I don't mind admitting I've got the jitters at the moment (well, have done since that late Dec warning) about London and people I know there.
My daughter is signed up to go to the UK for 3 weeks this summer with a school group.
I admit I've got the jitters about her trip. I've come this close to cancelling the trip; but she really wants to go and honestly, I want her to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. But I will admit I'm more than just a little bit nervous about it.
Photographers getting hassled isn't relegated to just London. It happens here all the time too. It could always be worse, there are places in saudi if you're caught with a camera you are in some deep shit.
In the days of national markets and restricted flow of goods and capital, cutting corporate taxes was a good way of giving them an incentive to invest in the US economy and stimulate the US job market.
Problem is now that we have grown so globalized that they often take their tax cuts and invest them in other places with lower production costs (i.e. lower wages and less strict environmental standards) and leave Americans with minimum wage, non-union jobs at the Wal-Mart selling the cheap crap they are having manufactured abroad.
How can we come up with an incentive for these corporations to reinvest their tax cuts in a manner that benefits those of us who still have to pay taxes?
I think non-union jobs get a bad reputation because they have been abused by a few people with marginal ethics. Right here in in lower Alabama I know of four large auto manufacturing plants. All of them are non-union and they seem to be doing just fine. They are producing cars in America that people want to buy and providing much needed jobs. Obviously, the companies made a decision to build their plants here instead of China or some other low cost labor market so it must still be economically attractive for them to do so. In about a year, TK is opening up two huge steel mills that will employ thousands of workers. Again, these will be non-union jobs. Now I understand that there is a time and a place for a union but it seems to me that the current ones we have (UAW for example) seem to have forgotten why they were formed in the first place. I submit that while corporate tax cuts are not the final solution to this nations job problem, they, along with some significant union reforms would not only bring back jobs to America from places like China and India, but would in fact increase the number of jobs. I don't think American businesses like the idea of shipping jobs overseas but unfortunately, our federal government has made the business climate in this country so bad at times that they have no choice.
We don't have a right to be listened to, but we should have a right not to be drowned out. It is a conflict between the individual's freedom of expression vs the group's freedom to associate.
My daughter is signed up to go to the UK for 3 weeks this summer with a school group.
I admit I've got the jitters about her trip. I've come this close to cancelling the trip; but she really wants to go and honestly, I want her to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. But I will admit I'm more than just a little bit nervous about it.
I can understand your fears, for sure, but I'm sure she'll have a great time. Also, especially if she'll get to be outside London at all-- there really isn't anything like the English countryside in summer. Something about the quality of the light; everything really does look like a Constable painting. Much as I love some other landscapes (american southwest, for example) it's stunning.
Plus the museums alone in London are incredible.
I hope she has a wonderful time; I'll keep her in my thoughts.
(Remember too that the UK has been dealing with terrorism for a very long time, much longer than the US has, because of the IRA in the seventies, so she's actually likely to be safer than even here, imo. Hope this helps.)
Intelligence officials say security forces killed the three suspects during a "search and clearance operation" near Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan. Officials say a fourth suspected militant was wounded and two were detained during that operation.
Pakistan launched military operations against militants in South Warizistan in October. The U.S. wants Pakistan to expand the offensive to include the North, along the Afghan border. Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants have used North Waziristan to launch attacks in Afghanistan.
However, a Pakistani army spokesman, General Athar Abbas, told visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates Thursday that Pakistan could not expand its offensive against militants in the north for at least six months.
SNIP
I'm sure the terrorists won't take advantage of this announced delay.
This may seem hard to believe but the military has always been at the leading edge of the pc curve. When your careers are determined by a civilian authority you have to take politics and p.r. into almost every consideration. The higher you go the bigger the role of politics plays. That's why it's much more fun being a colonel than a general.
This may seem hard to believe but the military has always been at the leading edge of the pc curve. When your careers are determined by a civilian authority you have to take politics and p.r. into almost every consideration. The higher you go the bigger the role of politics plays. That's why it's much more fun being a colonel than a general.
I tend to agree. OTOH, no one has done a better job integrating people from all over the racial/economic spectrum. Plus, they do a much better job taking care of the low ranking enlisted types than they did in the past so it has had some benefits.
I'm currently residing in sunny Mobile Alabama. I do love the region although my wife would like my next duty station to be back down in Ft. Lauderdale. I'm happy either way.
I can understand your fears, for sure, but I'm sure she'll have a great time. Also, especially if she'll get to be outside London at all-- there really isn't anything like the English countryside in summer. Something about the quality of the light; everything really does look like a Constable painting. Much as I love some other landscapes (american southwest, for example) it's stunning.
Plus the museums alone in London are incredible.
I hope she has a wonderful time; I'll keep her in my thoughts.
(Remember too that the UK has been dealing with terrorism for a very long time, much longer than the US has, because of the IRA in the seventies, so she's actually likely to be safer than even here, imo. Hope this helps.)
I sent my daughter to Rome for most of the summer before her senior year in college...she spent about three days in London on her way there and it was the highlight of the entire trip for her...never been over myself, but she's an established traveler
(snip) How can we come up with an incentive for these corporations to reinvest their tax cuts in a manner that benefits those of us who still have to pay taxes?
Corporate taxes are passed on in the form of higher prices for consumers. It's another business expense. Eventually, you're the one paying corporate taxes.
I can understand your fears, for sure, but I'm sure she'll have a great time. Also, especially if she'll get to be outside London at all-- there really isn't anything like the English countryside in summer. Something about the quality of the light; everything really does look like a Constable painting. Much as I love some other landscapes (american southwest, for example) it's stunning.
Plus the museums alone in London are incredible.
I hope she has a wonderful time; I'll keep her in my thoughts.
(Remember too that the UK has been dealing with terrorism for a very long time, much longer than the US has, because of the IRA in the seventies, so she's actually likely to be safer than even here, imo. Hope this helps.)
Trip includes:
- Shannon • County Kerry
Arrive in Shannon
Travel to County Kerry
Take an excursion to the Ring of Kerry
Visit the Bog Village Museum
- County Kerry • Dublin
Visit Blarney Castle
Continue on to Dublin
- Dublin
Take a guided tour of Dublin
See the Book of Kells at Trinity College
Visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral
- Dublin • North Wales
Take a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead
Visit a Welsh castle
Travel through Snowdonia
- Chester • Lake District
Travel through Chester to Rydal
Visit Rydal Mount
- Edinburgh
Take a walking tour of Edinburgh
Take a guided tour of Edinburgh
Visit Edinburgh Castle
Optional: Scottish Ceilidh
- Edinburgh
Take an excursion to the Trossachs and Loch Katrine
Visit Stirling Castle
Visit the William Wallace Monument
- Yorkshire
Take a guided tour of York
Visit York Minster
- Stratford • Bath region
Take a tour of Stratford
Visit Shakespeare’s birthplace
Take a tour of Bath
Visit Stonehenge
- London
Take a guided tour of London
Take a walking tour of London
Optional: London Eye and Thames River cruise (April-September)
Optional: Windsor Castle
American businesses go wherever they can maximize profits. That is how our global economy works. American consumers also seek to maximize their cost/benefit ratio, if an imported product is a better deal, most of them will buy it in preference to an American-made product,
The pressing question is how to make the incentives work so that they can both maximize profits and employ American at the same time.
Also-- in re: that info on the City of London, you probably already know this but that doesn't mean all of London. It means a section of it, the section which is basically their financial district. She isn't likely (I wouldn't think) to be staying in that area of spending a great deal of time there (if any). It's tiny.
I tend to agree. OTOH, no one has done a better job integrating people from all over the racial/economic spectrum. Plus, they do a much better job taking care of the low ranking enlisted types than they did in the past so it has had some benefits.
I don't know anything about the military other than the remarkable job they do chasing down terrorists and relieving quake victims...seems to me it should pay extremely well with primo bennies
I sent my daughter to Rome for most of the summer before her senior year in college...she spent about three days in London on her way there and it was the highlight of the entire trip for her...never been over myself, but she's an established traveler
Wow, lucky girl! Sounds great! I haven't been to Rome yet myself. Maybe later this year, depending.
Hope you're feeling better today, albusteve.
Morning everyone!
Reine, my cousin's son just got home from a semester in London. He had a great time and had no problems at all.
I would just make sure she has a return ticket she can change anytime if need be. Expensive, but worth the price of peace.
Oh, DAMMIT.
The cat has found a live lizard. Inside.
Last time this happened, I thought the lizard was dead and got out the vacuum cleaner - right before the lizard got sucked into the machine, it moved.
I don't want to do that to another live lizard. Neither do I particularly want to catch the lizard in my hands to put him outside.
Oh, DAMMIT.
The cat has found a live lizard. Inside.
Last time this happened, I thought the lizard was dead and got out the vacuum cleaner - right before the lizard got sucked into the machine, it moved.
I don't want to do that to another live lizard. Neither do I particularly want to catch the lizard in my hands to put him outside.
Hells bells.
LOL, Fran, he won't eat much. Just scoot him onto a piece of paper and let him out!
WOW! Looks terrific! The Ring of Kerry is gorgeous!
If it makes you feel better too, I can tell you firsthand that the security in Shannon and Dublin airports is top-notch. The London airports too.
Hello Liazrd nation. As usual I'm at the overnight thread in the am. That road looks icy!But not for too long we are going out on a photo run today, not even sure where to yet. Trying to take advantage of clear air, dramatic "partly cloudy" skies and some vistas. If we get just a bit lucky with the sky anyway.
Starting in LA, where to? Hmmm. Winter Picnic!
American businesses go wherever they can maximize profits. That is how our global economy works. American consumers also seek to maximize their cost/benefit ratio, if an imported product is a better deal, most of them will buy it in preference to an American-made product,
The pressing question is how to make the incentives work so that they can both maximize profits and employ American at the same time.
American consumers will also shell out more of their hard earned money for top quality merchandise. This is how the Japanese automakers were able to capitalize on the auto market. In the current economic climate, I think more and more people are turning away from the "throw away" mentality that has gripped this nation for decades. American based companies, by building high quality, "built to last" products can grab a portion of this market and genuinely compete with the cheaper, low cost, but also low quality alternatives. A decrease in corporate taxes would allow them to function more efficiently and pass the savings on to you. High quality products build brand loyalty. I'll admit, it's a long process but providing the tax incentives for businesses to remain here coupled with a phylosophy of quality would go a long way towards creating jobs and bringing prosperity back to America.
I don't know anything about the military other than the remarkable job they do chasing down terrorists and relieving quake victims...seems to me it should pay extremely well with primo bennies
Speaking from experience (a member of the officer corps), they pay us pretty well and the benefits are great. I think they need to pay the enlisted personnel a lot more for the job they do but thanks in large part to MOAA and other organizations, this is slowly getting rectified.
That's why I said that consumers would go for "the best deal" instead of just "the lowest price", the two are not synonymous.
Japan was just in an advantageous position in the early 70's (and again in the 90's): they were building small, fuel-efficient cars, the kind that American car manufacturers had decided not to bother producing.
Speaking from experience (a member of the officer corps), they pay us pretty well and the benefits are great. I think they need to pay the enlisted personnel a lot more for the job they do but thanks in large part to MOAA and other organizations, this is slowly getting rectified.
that is tax money well spent...btw, when I demonize the feds, I do not mean our military
The military is great for getting yourself out of a poor area. Even enlisted pay is nice and there are a lot of freebies/benefits that really increase how far your income really goes. We do quite well on enlisted pay, my husband has moved up fairly quickly and has his bachelor's degree that was paid for almost entirely with 100% tuition assistance.
My kids have spent most of their young lives living on military installations and I love how diverse their friends and our friends are. Much more diverse than if we lived in my small town or even where my husband grew up in Dallas (Highland Park.)
I was just reading this Politico article on Glenn Beck's documentary on "the true unseen history of Marxism, progressivism and communism" (featuring Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Che Guevara). Titled "The Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free...or Die," it premiered yesterday on Fox News Channel.
This bit from National Review's Jonah Goldberg, who participated in Beck's documentary, was particularly idiotic:
Goldberg, reached before the show aired, described what he'd seen of it as "very hard-hitting."
But that doesn't mean he believes the historical arguments are meant to infer that the current Democratic regime could commit atrocities on the level of Hitler or Stalin. "If they're trying to make the case that Obama's going to lead to anything like the 65 million killed or the concentration camps, I'd be the first to condemn it," Goldberg said.
The only way that makes any sense is if Jonah has never watched Glenn Beck's show. Beck constantly is suggesting/implying the above -- and it's obviously the entire reason the documentary was produced and aired.
American consumers will also shell out more of their hard earned money for top quality merchandise. This is how the Japanese automakers were able to capitalize on the auto market. In the current economic climate, I think more and more people are turning away from the "throw away" mentality that has gripped this nation for decades. American based companies, by building high quality, "built to last" products can grab a portion of this market and genuinely compete with the cheaper, low cost, but also low quality alternatives. A decrease in corporate taxes would allow them to function more efficiently and pass the savings on to you. High quality products build brand loyalty. I'll admit, it's a long process but providing the tax incentives for businesses to remain here coupled with a phylosophy of quality would go a long way towards creating jobs and bringing prosperity back to America.
I'm the original owner of a 1989 Honda Accord coupe (yes, I'm bragging). I've replaced batteries, bulbs, tires, filters, cv boots, the timing belt and water pump. That's it.
And I get 39 mpg highway 27 mpg city.
I don't think any American car of the same year (or any year) can compare.
This bit from National Review's Jonah Goldberg, who participated in Beck's documentary, was particularly idiotic:
The only way that makes any sense is if Jonah has never watched Glenn Beck's show. Beck constantly is suggesting/implying the above -- and it's obviously the entire reason the documentary was produced and aired.
Jonah Goldberg IS an idiot. And he knows Beck- he's been a guest on Beck. IIRC he was on the infamous show where Beck babbled about cash for clunkers being a way for the gubbmint to spy inside your computer-- and Goldberg agreed with him.
If Obama moved to impose government control over large swather os the financial and automotive industry, it was not out of any socialist convictions, it was simply out of need. the Free market(TM) was no longer functioning and the federal government was the only entity capable of lending assistance.
If Glenn Beck can make money selling his version of events, then, well, that's just how the mass media markets function. More power to him.
If Obama moved to impose government control over large swather os the financial and automotive industry, it was not out of any socialist convictions, it was simply out of need. the Free market(TM) was no longer functioning and the federal government was the only entity capable of lending assistance.
If Glenn Beck can make money selling his version of events, then, well, that's just how the mass media markets function. More power to him.
They should have been allowed to fold in 1978, instead we bailed them out because no politician had the political will to allow America's flagship industries to founder.
I'll have to wait to pass judgement until it's released but Gillespie really, really, hates commies and he has an odd sense of humor. There are a lot of people out there who think Beck is some form of libertarian, I don't happen to fall into that camp but I can honestly say I've never seen more than 5 min clips of his show online. All I really know is he's a conspiracy nut, loves graphs, and cries too much.
I'm the original owner of a 1989 Honda Accord coupe (yes, I'm bragging). I've replaced batteries, bulbs, tires, filters, cv boots, the timing belt and water pump. That's it.
And I get 39 mpg highway 27 mpg city.
I don't think any American car of the same year (or any year) can compare.
I own a 2000 Doge Ramm 1500 with 123,000 on it. Thanks to my mechanical savy, it has been relatively pain free from my perspective for the decade I've owned it (one weekend a month and maybe a couple hundred bucks a year on average in parts). With that being said, anyone with no desire to work on vehicles to keep them running would have dumped the thing a long time ago. I've used it as an oppurtunity to learn vehicle maintenance and avoid a car payment for the past 6 years.
They should have been allowed to fold in 1978, instead we bailed them out because no politician had the political will to allow America's flagship industries to founder.
That would have dealt an unacceptable blow to union power, though. Bankruptcy would have nullified all contracts - including those signed with the unions - and, well, that would have been bad. For the unions. Maybe not for their membership, who wound up taking the shaft as bad or worse as they would have under a traditional bankruptcy court.
Assuming bankruptcy would have been the ultimate destination if it weren't for the government waving huge wads of cash around. No other auto companies - Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mercedes and on and on- found bankruptcy an appealing option, and didn't require government assistance, either.
Boy, did I miss a lot yesterday, being away from work & having my computer in the shop! Re the NYT article, I'll repeat what I've said before: Tip for consuming the news: If you’ve ever had the press report on something you’re personally knowledgeable about, no doubt you’ve noticed omissions, distortions, errors. Just realize that they do the same thing to things you’re not knowledgeable about, & gird your brains accordingly.
They should have been allowed to fold in 1978, instead we bailed them out because no politician had the political will to allow America's flagship industries to founder.
Chrysler was the only auto company to take government bailouts in 1978. I was firmly opposed to them at the time, and although Chrysler wound up proving me wrong by not only paying the money back, but paying it back early, it still wasn't a happy solution.
If Obama moved to impose government control over large swather os the financial and automotive industry, it was not out of any socialist convictions, it was simply out of need. the Free market(TM) was no longer functioning and the federal government was the only entity capable of lending assistance.
If Glenn Beck can make money selling his version of events, then, well, that's just how the mass media markets function. More power to him.
The free market is working just fine. The problem is that the Federal government, through their extensive bail out plans over the years, has cultivated a business climate that does not hold anyone accountable. GM and Chrysler should have folded. AIG, GS, Bear Stearn, Lehman, CITI et. al. should have all folded, not just the few that did. All these companies know that they can get away with huge amounts of risk because uncle sam will be there to bail them out if they fail. I say let them fail and maybe they'll be more responsible in the future.
That would have dealt an unacceptable blow to union power, though. Bankruptcy would have nullified all contracts - including those signed with the unions - and, well, that would have been bad. For the unions. Maybe not for their membership, who wound up taking the shaft as bad or worse as they would have under a traditional bankruptcy court.
Assuming bankruptcy would have been the ultimate destination if it weren't for the government waving huge wads of cash around. No other auto companies - Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mercedes and on and on- found bankruptcy an appealing option, and didn't require government assistance, either.
I am one to favor breaking up GM and letting the divisions prevail or not. I think Chevrolet and Cadillac are viable. Could be wrong. But with other divisions not bleeding the overall corporation down, just maybe...
Chrysler was the only auto company to take government bailouts in 1978. I was firmly opposed to them at the time, and although Chrysler wound up proving me wrong by not only paying the money back, but paying it back early, it still wasn't a happy solution.
I own a 2000 Doge Ramm 1500 with 123,000 on it. Thanks to my mechanical savy, it has been relatively pain free from my perspective for the decade I've owned it (one weekend a month and maybe a couple hundred bucks a year on average in parts). With that being said, anyone with no desire to work on vehicles to keep them running would have dumped the thing a long time ago. I've used it as an oppurtunity to learn vehicle maintenance and avoid a car payment for the past 6 years.
Good for you. I've been debt-free for about five years now, and love it. But, I'm going to have to buy another car soon. I don't mind the style points my old Taurus is costing me, but it's three hundred dollaring me to death!
I am one to favor breaking up GM and letting the divisions prevail or not. I think Chevrolet and Cadillac are viable. Could be wrong. But with other divisions not bleeding the overall corporation down, just maybe...
pandering to the unions is flat out unAmerican...unforgivable imo
Good for you. I've been debt-free for about five years now, and love it. But, I'm going to have to buy another car soon. I don't mind the style points my old Taurus is costing me, but it's three hundred dollaring me to death!
Hi Ice ... Went back and clipped your posts from yesterday with local London knowledge for me:)
Thanks so much
Hey TonyC! No problem! A lot of people had a lot of good info on that thread (I knew they would!) -- any other way I can help you please do let me know.
I'll put Jimmah on the case too. Also wozzablog lives there and I think JohnNeverbend is from there, so, lots of sources.
I'd download one of those apps that tracks the exchange rate minute by minute, just to keep an eye on fluctuations. Hella useful if you're making big purchases.
pandering to the unions is flat out unAmerican...unforgivable imo
The unions control a lot of votes. And more importantly, the unions control a hell of a lot of money.
And, with the deal reached under the current Administration, that monetary control has grown substantially with the acquisition of union pension funds, placing billions of dollars of slush into union hands.
Good for you. I've been debt-free for about five years now, and love it. But, I'm going to have to buy another car soon. I don't mind the style points my old Taurus is costing me, but it's three hundred dollaring me to death!
Sounds like you have reached equilibrium; the point at which your old car costs you about the same as a new car payment would. Find a decent used Honda or Toyota, pay cash for it and let your Taurus die with dignity.
If I were Dave Ramsey, I'd first buy a lot of stock in credit card companies, check cashing joints, car title pawnshops, and tax refund lenders. These are the types of companies that he is always warning his listeners against.
Then I'd add the following to my Financial Peace speech:
"Now, do you have a lot of credit card debt? Do you cash checks at any place other than the bank where you have a checking account? Do you borrow against your car's value, or take out tax refund loans? Full disclosure here. I own stock in all those types of companies. I don't need to. I make plenty of money with my speaking and radio gigs, and with my more socially responsible portfolio. But I want you to know that I am invested in these businesses.
"You may well wonder why I would give my money to these parasites, these sharks, that are eating your futures alive. Simple. I want you to get out of debt, same as I've always wanted. And I want you to get mad at your debt, same as I've always wanted. And the best way to do that, I've discovered, is to get mad at yourself for a) getting into all this debt so foolishly, and b) having to pay a short bald guy on the speaking circuit to tell you how to get out. For just a short while, I want you to get mad at me.
"Because now, with my stock holdings in these predatory industries, I am getting even richer than I already am. If nothing about your present sad situation makes you mad, then I want this to make you mad: I am getting you coming and going. I've already got your money to come hear me speak, and maybe buy a book and audio cd, too. If you take the advice I'm giving you tonight, you will be on the road to get out of debt and be able to live like no one else.
"Or you can ignore my advice. You can heave a sigh and say that it's just too hard. You're just not disciplined enough. Your mate would never co-operate. You're in too deep. And on and on and on. You can go back to paying off one credit card with another, taking out second mortgages for grown-up toys and vacations, piddling away your cash flow on car loans and rent-to-own stereos. If you do that, well...I'm still getting rich off of you. Your bad habits are just going to make me richer and richer. I am getting you coming and going, and that makes you not only a bad steward of your finances. It makes you a sucker. A mark. A fish. Take my seminar to heart, and you'll only pay me once. Stay in your bad habits, and you'll keep me farting through silk forever.
"When I'm out on my next vacation, at a gorgeous, exclusive mountain lodge, looking out over the breathtaking view and enjoying the cool, refreshing mountain breezes, know what I'm going to do? I'm going to pull out my blackberry, check my portfolio, throw an extra thousand or two into my fund for my *next* vacation, in just a couple of months or so, and then I'm going to raise my umbrella drink in a toast to you--the undisciplined, spendthrift, whining slob, who's making my wonderful life possible. Here's to you--sucker. Now get mad, and listen up."
Hey TonyC! No problem! A lot of people had a lot of good info on that thread (I knew they would!) -- any other way I can help you please do let me know.
I'll put Jimmah on the case too. Also wozzablog lives there and I think JohnNeverbend is from there, so, lots of sources.
I'd download one of those apps that tracks the exchange rate minute by minute, just to keep an eye on fluctuations. Hella useful if you're making big purchases.
you're too kind ... I did bookmark an exchange rate conversion site on my other computer, so I will keep an eye on that. Over the next year or so as we plan the trip, I will ask some stupid questions ... so thanks for your help and patience!
Corporate taxes are passed on in the form of higher prices for consumers. It's another business expense. Eventually, you're the one paying corporate taxes.
Sounds like you have reached equilibrium; the point at which your old car costs you about the same as a new car payment would. Find a decent used Honda or Toyota, pay cash for it and let your Taurus die with dignity.
Happy Saturday morning everyone. I found out this morning that some friends of mine made it to the finals in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. My band has been there twice. We never made it to the finals, but we had a great time trying to.
you're too kind ... I did bookmark an exchange rate conversion site on my other computer, so I will keep an eye on that. Over the next year or so as we plan the trip, I will ask some stupid questions ... so thanks for your help and patience!
No problem at all, it's a pleasure. London is a fantastic city, I'm really excited for you both!
Brilliant! People need to wake up and get mad. A few years ago we bought copies of The Total Money Makeover for all our immediate family for Christmas. Sadly, no one in our family did it. But we have helped a couple of military families do the plan successfully :-)
In fact, Paris is probably one of the few places left in Europe where one can actually experience culture shock. It fairly floats in the air, waiting for that off-guard moment before sinking its nasty little fangs into the unwary traveler and utterly destroying his or her buzz. It's one of the things about the place that fascinated me years ago, and I've been studying it ever sense.
In fact, Paris is probably one of the few places left in Europe where one can actually experience culture shock. It fairly floats in the air, waiting for that off-guard moment before sinking its nasty little fangs into the unwary traveler and utterly destroying his or her buzz. It's one of the things about the place that fascinated me years ago, and I've been studying it ever sense.
I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more from you about that!
When I visit Paris, I just pretend I am a part of living exhibition in a great oigoing piece of Human Art. it is a feeling that exists in few places in the world, but there it is possible, just sitting at a cafe drinking pernod and watching the passers-by.
Brilliant! People need to wake up and get mad. A few years ago we bought copies of The Total Money Makeover for all our immediate family for Christmas. Sadly, no one in our family did it. But we have helped a couple of military families do the plan successfully :-)
I should have bought new glasses before I bought that book
Well sure he's selling something. I bought one of his books but so what? It's a market. And I'll need to see evidence that Dave Ramsey invests in paycheck advance companies (low-life scumbags).
I have a friend (fellow blues harp player) who's French. One night we were both at a local bar to hear some music. He had a hard time getting the bartender's attention to order a drink and looked kind of pissed off. I told him "This ain't Paris, service is different here!" He replied, "Oh no, it's much worse in Paris!"
The attackers, 10 and 11 at the time, were convicted of robbing, beating, and stabbing their victims with sticks and bricks. One child, 10, had a sink thrown onto his head, while his nephew, 9, was forced to eat nettles. The violence included sexual degradation, Justice Brian Keith said during the sentencing.
"What it amounted to was torture," Keith told the two boys at the end of their lengthy sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, in northern England.
The defendants were among the youngest people ever charged with such a serious crime in Britain, where the age of criminal responsibility is 10. Though initially charged with attempted murder, prosecutors accepted guilty pleas to a lesser charge, causing grievous bodily harm.
The attack sparked horrified headlines and a national debate about how children so young could inflict such violence. It stirred memories of the death of James Bulger, a 2-year-old abducted from a shopping center near Liverpool in 1993 by two 10-year-olds who punched him, beat him with bricks and hit him with an iron bar before leaving his body on a railroad track.
Neither the victims nor the children sentenced Friday may be named for legal reasons.
Detectives said the attackers showed no remorse when questioned by police. One allegedly told officers he did it because he was bored.
SNIP
The attackers suffered from a "toxic home life," according to Peter Kelson, who represents the eldest brother. Kelson said his client watched ultra-violent films like the "Saw" series, had access to pornographic DVDs, drank cider, had 10 cigarettes a day and smoked cannabis grown on his father's plot from the age of 9.
But why did Paris affect me so deeply? Why did this imperial,
ceremonious, ornamental mass of structures weaken my American refusal
to be impressed, my Jewish skepticism and reticence; why was I such a
sucker for its tones of gray, the patchy bark of its sycamores, and
its bitter-medicine river under the ancient bridges? The place was,
naturally, indifferent to me, a peculiar alien from Chicago. Why did
it take hold of my emotions? For the soul of a civilized, or even partly civilized,
man, Paris was one of the permanent settings, a theater, if you like,
where the greatest problems of existence might be represented. What
future, if any, was there for this theater? It could not tell you
what to represent. Could anyone in the twentieth century make use of
these unusual opportunities? Americans of my generation crossed the
Atlantic to size up the challenge, to look upon this human, warm,
noble, beautiful, and also proud, morbid, cynical, and treacherous
setting.
- Saul Bellow, _It All Adds Up_, 1983
The Legend of Paris. There is a monster in Paris called the
Literary Tradition. You come from young America stamped with a
respect of it which you have gathered from reading. Professors and
those who have traveled and wish to awe you with the importance of
what they have seen agree that there are impressive arts in Europe
which you must fear and admire. You come to Paris penetrated with
Reverence You read the literary magazines and newspapers. They are
celebrating the centenary of some French writer. They are weeping
over the loss of a never-known-before genius, essentially French in
his virtues, an example of French elegance in style, of French
philosophy, of French wit. You are impressed with the opinion of the
world (as represented by a French critic) towards another great French
writer--they are all great, and they are all French--one thing follows
another. You go to the Sorbonne. The voices there are deep and
solemn, scholarly and elegant. The sound of it alone and the
impeccable intelligence, the impeccable style, are guarantees of
intelligence and wisdom. You are again impressed with the awful
gravity and awful divinity of French literature.
You wander through French streets, where one cafe is followed
by a library, and a library by a cafe, and so on. You wander along
the quays, and you are again impressed by the perpetual presence of
Letters. The Monster swells at every step. It has become immense and
fearful. You have become a little mortal of diminutive importance, a
speechless worshipper. The whole Nation has agreed to deceive you.
The legend arrests the meager flowings of your own pen. It swallows
your individuality. At last you can write home to young America and
say that you are studying Art in the most artistic city, where the
atmosphere is so ideal for growth. Growth of what? Not yourself.
Perhaps the growth of Paris and its Legend.
-- Anais Nin, diary, April 11, 1926
I have a few friends who go on and on about what a great city Paris is and how much they love the French.
Me? I detest the French.
A sentiment that was brought home to me yet again this past week when the French were bitching about how the US is handling the airport in Haiti and calling our US military personnel occupiers.
Well sure he's selling something. I bought one of his books but so what? It's a market. And I'll need to see evidence that Dave Ramsey invests in paycheck advance companies (low-life scumbags).
No, no, no, it's a what-if spoof scenario! Of course he doesn't really do any of that.
One of my best friends hated Paris also.. said it was filthy and the people very very rude.
The public toilet facilities horrified her.
The city has improved greatly since the middle ages. Today, the sidewalks streets are immaculate to the point where one could eat off them, should one choose. The people (another unfortunate effect of globalization) dress pretty much like everyone else - which is to say boringly and without much individuality. Here and there, and no matter what their socio-economic status, you still find individuals with that old Parisian flair for style, but it's becoming so rare as to be the exception. When I got here (in the Late Middle Ages) it was the rule. I've seen, as it were, the whole thing go to hell. A melancholy experience, but totally in keeping with my borrowed heraldic device: "After Me, the Deluge."
As for the toilets, I've seen worse in my life, and depending on the establishment, range from the perfectly ordinary to 5-star deluxe.
In short, I'd say your friend had a bad case of Parisian culture shock which may have seriously clouded her judgement. Or perhaps she was simply unlucky.
I never understood the reason for a Caution Falling Rocks sign. Whats the point? If you can read the sign the rocks missed your car.
I completely agree something should be done about the sign. When I relocated to CA from Michigan a number of years ago a couple scary experiences taught me it was incorrectly worded and should say:
"Beware of Fallen Rocks"
The danger lies with those rocks sitting in my lane unseen just around that tight curve. I'm all for changing it.
No problem at all, it's a pleasure. London is a fantastic city, I'm really excited for you both!
Anyone going to London on a vacation that is not heavily structured (i.e. you've got some free time) should take as many of these walking tours as possible:
Heh. We must admit though that Nin had a lot of reasons to resent the French literary establishment. 26 might even be before she met Henry Miller, IIRC.
Heh. We must admit though that Nin had a lot of reasons to resent the French literary establishment. 26 might even be before she met Henry Miller, IIRC.
I have to admit that I only rented that movie about her because of certain scenes with Uma Thurman doing stuff I like to see her do.
Anyone going to London on a vacation that is not heavily structured (i.e. you've got some free time) should take as many of these walking tours as possible:
That low-key strategy is now sparking concern from some state Democrats, who fear Brown will suffer the same fate as Democrat Martha Coakley. She suffered a crushing upset defeat Tuesday in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race.
A new Field Poll released today does little to assuage such Democratic worries: It shows the attorney general's lead over Republican candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner shrinking dramatically in just three months.
In a matchup with Whitman, Brown wins the support of 46 percent of likely general election voters while 36 percent back the Republican. In October, Brown's lead over Whitman was more than double the current margin.
Brown's lead over Poizner, the state's insurance commissioner, also shrank, from 25 to 17 percentage points.
Brown's diminishing leads are yet more evidence that he and other Democrats will face strong head winds this election year as voters take out their frustrations about the economy and other issues, said UC San Diego political science professor Thad Kousser.
As much as I hate to say it, that sounds like two truly toxic serial killer children. Not sure they will ever be trustworthy in the mainstream. That might just be killers in waiting. I have no idea if there is any coming back from a mentality like that. No idea.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston laid out the prosecution’s case during opening statements of Scott Roeder’s murder trial, describing to jurors the events the morning Tiller was killed.
I fall into my usual category: I like all the French people I know, but there are many things about the French national character I dislike.
Back in my ex-pat days, I'd work two weeks on and have a week to travel, paid by my company. Mostly North Sea rigs. This was back in the '80s. Paris was lovely if you even attempted to speak the language. If you acted like a typical tourist they'd treat you like an idiot.
Berlin was nuts. Amsterdam was a hoot. But the place to go was Spain. Cheap at the time. Beautiful architecture. Drop dead gorgeous women.
As much as I hate to say it, that sounds like two truly toxic serial killer children. Not sure they will ever be trustworthy in the mainstream. That might just be killers in waiting. I have no idea if there is any coming back from a mentality like that. No idea.
It'd take intensive, in-patient therapy but I don't know if even that would be successful.
I have a few friends who go on and on about what a great city Paris is and how much they love the French.
Me? I detest the French.
A sentiment that was brought home to me yet again this past week when the French were bitching about how the US is handling the airport in Haiti and calling our US military personnel occupiers.
There was an amazing clip on Fox News the other day, from the Port-au-Prince airport. All those aircraft flying in and out are being managed by just a trio of U.S. combat air traffic controllers. And they aren't even in the tower, because it's unsfae. They're sitting beside the tarmace at a folding laminate table.
There was an amazing clip on Fox News the other day, from the Port-au-Prince airport. All those aircraft flying in and out are being managed by just a trio of U.S. combat air traffic controllers. And they aren't even in the tower, because it's unsfae. They're sitting beside the tarmace at a folding laminate table.
I remember the height of anti-French frenzy when they dared criticize the US invasion of Iraq. But I pointed out to other Americans back then that the French don't care a hoot what the world thinks of them, heck, they hardly care what other Frenchmen think of them.
I could write several books. But my lips are sealed. But when you've got the time or the inclination, take a look at Polanski's (no people, I don't want to get into a discussion about him) The Tenant. Few films have ever captured the dark side of The City of Light as brilliantly and as accurately as this one. I can vouch for it - and quite honestly wish I couldn't. I've stayed here because it's quite literally been one damned film after another, with now and then something so perfect that's it has made all the rest worthwhile. It's also a city, a country and a culture which has pretty much saved my soul - and probably my life. I can't hate it, I rarely love it, but I remain married to it. We've both changed greatly over the years but remain faithful to one another. I more than she, perhaps, but only a fool would attempt to impose the expectation of exclusivity upon the brilliance and capriciousness of such a quintessentially feminine place.
I have a few friends who go on and on about what a great city Paris is and how much they love the French.
Me? I detest the French.
A sentiment that was brought home to me yet again this past week when the French were bitching about how the US is handling the airport in Haiti and calling our US military personnel occupiers.
The diplomatic asshole who made those comments received a reprimand. President Sarkozy apologized, and praised American aid efforts in Haiti. Plus Sarkozy really dislikes Obama. Did I mention that was a plus?
re: #451 MandyManners
Ugh. I shudder.
Let's cheer up shall we?
Myself and my lady are off shortly to take in the winter sights up along the 14, and 395 California highways. We'll stop somewhere, have a hot rum, eat and relax a couple hours.
Ugh. I shudder.
Let's cheer up shall we?
Myself and my lady are off shortly to take in the winter sights up along the 14, and 395 California highways. We'll stop somewhere, have a hot rum, eat and relax a couple hours.
As of Friday afternoon, 92 companies in the S&P 500 Index /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:inx (SPX 1,092, -24.72, -2.21%) had reported fourth-quarter results, with 78% beating expectations for the bottom line, 4% matching and 17% falling under consensus forecasts, Thomson Reuters data showed.
The 78% figure is unusually high, compared with the 15-year average of 61% of S&P 500 companies topping expectations, according to John Butters, director of U.S. earnings research at Thomson Reuters.
...
"When you see stocks sell off on positive earnings surprises, it is a sign that much of the good news is already baked in," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Ugh. I shudder.
Let's cheer up shall we?
Myself and my lady are off shortly to take in the winter sights up along the 14, and 395 California highways. We'll stop somewhere, have a hot rum, eat and relax a couple hours.
I remember the height of anti-French frenzy when they dared criticize the US invasion of Iraq. But I pointed out to other Americans back then that the French don't care a hoot what the world thinks of them, heck, they hardly care what other Frenchmen think of them.
France is France. You can't take them personally.
I don't know--maybe I'm just too much a product of the English-language literary and political tradition--but France just doesn't interest me that much. I don't like the food. I don't like the language. The culture doesn't interest me.
Back in my ex-pat days, I'd work two weeks on and have a week to travel, paid by my company. Mostly North Sea rigs. This was back in the '80s. Paris was lovely if you even attempted to speak the language. If you acted like a typical tourist they'd treat you like an idiot.
Berlin was nuts. Amsterdam was a hoot. But the place to go was Spain. Cheap at the time. Beautiful architecture. Drop dead gorgeous women.
I'd love to go to Spain someday just to see the Antoni Gaudi buildings. He could only have flourished in a place like pre-Franco Spain. The English would have pegged him as an eccentric and consigned him to desinging country houses. The French would have gone into ecstasies of theorizing, but would have been mindful of how little his work promoted "La Gloire". And as for Germany, who could imagine Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm living in ice cream palaces?
I remember the height of anti-French frenzy when they dared criticize the US invasion of Iraq. But I pointed out to other Americans back then that the French don't care a hoot what the world thinks of them, heck, they hardly care what other Frenchmen think of them.
They are at each other's throats all the time. On most levels, it's still basically a tribal society composed of concentric and heavily guarded circles of family and friends. Little room for those outside these circles - you'll be tolerated as a visitor but never a member.
I own a 2000 Doge Ramm 1500 with 123,000 on it. Thanks to my mechanical savy, it has been relatively pain free from my perspective for the decade I've owned it (one weekend a month and maybe a couple hundred bucks a year on average in parts). With that being said, anyone with no desire to work on vehicles to keep them running would have dumped the thing a long time ago. I've used it as an oppurtunity to learn vehicle maintenance and avoid a car payment for the past 6 years.
Just a quicky to brag about my Volvo. It's a 1991 with 432,000 + miles. Four cylinder engine and I can always count on +/-23mpg depending the terrain. Couple years ago I was bragging to an acquaintance who remarked, "I don't doubt it. My neighbor has a Volvo with more than 700,000 miles. He's in sales and loves that car."
Done bragging.
I don't know--maybe I'm just too much a product of the English-language literary and political tradition--but France just doesn't interest me that much. I don't like the food. I don't like the language. The culture doesn't interest me.
I'd love to go to Spain someday just to see the Antoni Gaudi buildings. He could only have flourished in a place like pre-Franco Spain. The English would have pegged him as an eccentric and consigned him to desinging country houses. The French would have gone into ecstasies of theorizing, but would have been mindful of how little his work promoted "La Gloire". And as for Germany, who could imagine Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm living in ice cream palaces?
Companies have been lowering their earning expectations for the last couple of quarters based on higher unemployment, so to "beat" those lowered expectations os not unusual
My one exception to my total lack of interest in things French is that I am a perfume buff. I can live without those classic Guerlains. Hermes tends to smell like bug spray to me, with a few exceptions. But Chanel, and Balmain, Gres and Piguet...
I remember the height of anti-French frenzy when they dared criticize the US invasion of Iraq. But I pointed out to other Americans back then that the French don't care a hoot what the world thinks of them, heck, they hardly care what other Frenchmen think of them.
What rankled most about their attitude back then was that it was Day-Glo obvious that they were just trying to rescue their customer, Saddam. Principle had nothing to do with it.
My one exception to my total lack of interest in things French is that I am a perfume buff. I can live without those classic Guerlains. Hermes tends to smell like bug spray to me, with a few exceptions. But Chanel, and Balmain, Gres and Piguet...
DAMN.
They are the last to use real floral essences instead of (partially, anyway) chemicals.
Good for you. I've been debt-free for about five years now, and love it. But, I'm going to have to buy another car soon. I don't mind the style points my old Taurus is costing me, but it's three hundred dollaring me to death!
May I suggest taking a good look at Hundai. Just sayin'.
The rest of the earnings are out next week so things should clam down after that. It's been quite a remarkable 12 months. The Dow is up something like 30-35%. That's a pretty amazing year. some corrections are inevitable.
What rankled most about their attitude back then was that it was Day-Glo obvious that they were just trying to rescue their customer, Saddam. Principle had nothing to do with it.
Yes, it was as abvious as the WMD's and the Al-Qaeda links, but that's international politics. Germany's Gerd Schröder won his re-election campaign opposing the war as well, and that was obviously just him playing to his constituency.
Better the wealth belongs to everyone, embodied in a magnificent work of art open to all, than held in secret bank accounts or used to bail out failed institutions.
The rest of the earnings are out next week so things should clam down after that. It's been quite a remarkable 12 months. The Dow is up something like 30-35%. That's a pretty amazing year. some corrections are inevitable.
I'm not happy with the volitility. "Corrections" are one thing, but weeks of 500 up, 300 down are too skittish
ALSO ,, PREDICTION ,, the admin will be able to start crowing about the how the new claims for uneployemnt are dropping drastically
They will be correct, but the reason will NOT be the "stimulus" as they will claim, it will be because companies have no more jobs to shed!
I own a 2000 Doge Ramm 1500 with 123,000 on it. Thanks to my mechanical savy, it has been relatively pain free from my perspective for the decade I've owned it (one weekend a month and maybe a couple hundred bucks a year on average in parts). With that being said, anyone with no desire to work on vehicles to keep them running would have dumped the thing a long time ago. I've used it as an oppurtunity to learn vehicle maintenance and avoid a car payment for the past 6 years.
I do a lot of my own work also. A lot of people just don't want to get there hands dirty anymore. I haven't made a car payment since 1995. Tax and registration on my '89 Accord is $45.00 a year and comprehensive insurance cost me less than $500.00 a year.
I'm going to drive this little buggy into the dirt. At the rate I'm going that should occur sometime around 2035.
I do a lot of my own work also. A lot of people just don't want to get there hands dirty anymore. I haven't made a car payment since 1995. Tax and registration on my '89 Accord is $45.00 a year and comprehensive insurance cost me less than $500.00 a year.
I'm going to drive this little buggy into the dirt. At the rate I'm going that should occur sometime around 2035.
the feds will take it away from you long before that!
Hi Reine, how are you? I was hoping you could give us a page view count tomorrow like you did when the LAT article ran. If I remember right, it was an increase of about 200,000. Thanks!
Hi Reine, how are you? I was hoping you could give us a page view count tomorrow like you did when the LAT article ran. If I remember right, it was an increase of about 200,000. Thanks!
I finally got my shot. At the local drugstore. While the county was still stating they had none, but were scheduling another of their gigantic clusterfuck mass immunization at some indeterminate time in the future, where they planned to pack people into a small space together for several hours without promising they would have any vaccine available by the time you slogged through the line.
The drugstore also had ordinary flu shots available, and advised me that I qualified for a TB vaccine, something I had never heard of but happily took anyway.
In the end, I can probably wade through raw sewage now without ill effects, and have come to believe that government-administered health care utterly, totally and without question sucks.
I finally got my shot. At the local drugstore. While the county was still stating they had none, but were scheduling another of their gigantic clusterfuck mass immunization at some indeterminate time in the future, where they planned to pack people into a small space together for several hours without promising they would have any vaccine available by the time you slogged through the line.
The drugstore also had ordinary flu shots available, and advised me that I qualified for a TB vaccine, something I had never heard of but happily took anyway.
In the end, I can probably wade through raw sewage now without ill effects, and have come to believe that government-administered health care utterly, totally and without question sucks.
My experience was a bit different but no less a clusterfuck.
I did finally get my h1n1 shot.
I saw where someone in California proposed just that, a $50/oz. tax on legalized weed.
I doubt that it'd take an ounce to make a pack of twenty. I'm not sure that there is an ounce of tobacco in a pack of Camels.
just making it legal means our govt can use the revenue from a hefty tax to pay for things. and it puts many illegal drug dealers out of business. and crime is also reduced.
just making it legal means our govt can use the revenue from a hefty tax to pay for things. and it puts many illegal drug dealers out of business. and crime is also reduced.
As I recall, for years the only federal objection to pot was that you hadn't bought your federal tax stamp. The fly in the ointment was that when you bought the stamp they told the individual state, where it was illegal.
Now, of course, it's federally illegal, too.
Lots of things are now federal crimes that used not to be.
As I recall, for years the only federal objection to pot was that you hadn't bought your federal tax stamp. The fly in the ointment was that when you bought the stamp they told the individual state, where it was illegal.
Now, of course, it's federally illegal, too.
Lots of things are now federal crimes that used not to be.
true dat ... but to pay for things we want, sometimes "out of the box" thinking is needed.
It is my contention, based on personal experience, that you can easily drive a modern automobile at least 200,000 miles if you simply change oil every 4K miles, change differential grease at 100,000 miles, change transmission fluid every 60,000 miles, change the serpentine belt at 100,000, and change the spark plugs at 100,000 miles.
Cars have come a long way since I started messing around with them back in the '60s.
are you guys feeling any impact of Mexican drug activity?
I've been posting links about it for a couple of years. In a word, yes. I don't see it day-to-day, but I know what's going on there and here, and what's going on there has an impact here. Much more in El Paso, though.
I've been posting links about it for a couple of years. In a word, yes. I don't see it day-to-day, but I know what's going on there and here, and what's going on there has an impact here. Much more in El Paso, though.
Out in the west Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with some Mexican weed...
I've been posting links about it for a couple of years. In a word, yes. I don't see it day-to-day, but I know what's going on there and here, and what's going on there has an impact here. Much more in El Paso, though.
if weed were legalized, do you think that would take any of the wind out of the sails of the drug lords?
Quality weed is hard to raise, and who wants to go to the hassle if you can pop down to the liquor store and buy some nice, quality-assured, government stamped packaged product?
if weed were legalized, do you think that would take any of the wind out of the sails of the drug lords?
They'll just go legit, much like the mob went into the legit liquor biz post prohibiotion (not the making of liquor, but the distribution and end used sales,,, taverns, pubs, clubs, restaurants, etc)
if weed were legalized, do you think that would take any of the wind out of the sails of the drug lords?
I think it would be the smartest thing the US could do to break the cartels. (They've recently decriminalized small amounts in Mexico.) I don't think cocaine should be legalized, but that's another big money source. However, the cartels have shown that they will turn to extortion and kidnapping when drugs get more difficult. Mexico needs to clean up its justice system (which it is working on) and beat back the corruption (which is an eternal struggle) if it wants to have a future.
Quality weed is hard to raise, and who wants to go to the hassle if you can pop down to the liquor store and buy some nice, quality-assured, government stamped packaged product?
Bingo Bubba ... one hundred bucks for a pack of 20 with 50 bucks going to Uncle Sam. The marketing people will have a field day too.
Quality weed is hard to raise, and who wants to go to the hassle if you can pop down to the liquor store and buy some nice, quality-assured, government stamped packaged product?
Price is also a factor. If taxes are so high that the end result is weed nearly as expensive as the illegal stuff, there's little incentive for the black market to stop operations. If the price of legal weed is a small fraction of what illegal supplies command, the cost/benefit ratio of selling versus getting busted changes dramatically.
Bingo Bubba ... one hundred bucks for a pack of 20 with 50 bucks going to Uncle Sam. The marketing people will have a field day too.
You can't have that high (pun) of a tax on it. If someone can seel a pack of 20 for $50 black market (cost plus profit minus no tax), that market will flourish
I think it would be the smartest thing the US could do to break the cartels. (They've recently decriminalized small amounts in Mexico.) I don't think cocaine should be legalized, but that's another big money source. However, the cartels have shown that they will turn to extortion and kidnapping when drugs get more difficult. Mexico needs to clean up its justice system (which it is working on) and beat back the corruption (which is an eternal struggle) if it wants to have a future.
"out of the box" thinking may be needed here. if we can generate revenue and put those guys outta business, we should.
I'm a conservative that's long been an advocate of legalizing weed. We'll free up prison space. Allow the cops to focus on real bad guys. And keep folks from having to deal with the criminals whenever they buy a bag (hey man wanna' try some of this too?).
You can't have that high (pun) of a tax on it. If someone can seel a pack of 20 for $50 black market (cost plus profit minus no tax), that market will flourish
the concept is what matters. will the public embrace such a radical departure from the norm? Can we make weed like liquor and "tebackey?"
My daughter is signed up to go to the UK for 3 weeks this summer with a school group.
I admit I've got the jitters about her trip. I've come this close to cancelling the trip; but she really wants to go and honestly, I want her to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. But I will admit I'm more than just a little bit nervous about it.
For your reading after your nap...I'm sure your daughter will have a great time. My daughter went last summer to England and Scotland for 19 days with a People To People group. She was just 11, but we have noticed a big jump in her maturity and self assuredness. That has been a great asset to her this year when she started middle school.
I'm a conservative that's long been an advocate of legalizing weed. We'll free up prison space. Allow the cops to focus on real bad guys. And keep folks from having to deal with the criminals whenever they buy a bag (hey man wanna' try some of this too?).
I agree (and have fior a long time)
I would also put the same provisions on it that we have with booze, like driving while impaired, drinking/toking in public, minors not being able to purchase, etc
"out of the box" thinking may be needed here. if we can generate revenue and put those guys outta business, we should.
Back in the day, I made a living from pot.
I didn't quit because of the cops. Cops have to follow rules, and if you know the rules and are careful, you need have little fear.
I quit because there came to be so much money in pot that real criminals got into it. Folks that would kill you over it. I wasn't that serious about it.
"out of the box" thinking may be needed here. if we can generate revenue and put those guys outta business, we should.
Yes.
The murder rate in Juarez is unprecedented. They are losing a generation. And now they are recruiting in El Paso, including at Fort Bliss. A soldier is in jail for making a hit in El Paso for the cartels in Mexico.
The "war on drugs" has only served as market and price controls for the cartels. We have to quit helping them.
Like I said, I've been posting links on this for a while. It is not getting the attention it deserves. And it should impact immigration policy too, although I'm not sure how. Whatever we do should be with the aim of strengthening the Mexican government, as long as they are fighting the cartels.
I didn't quit because of the cops. Cops have to follow rules, and if you know the rules and are careful, you need have little fear.
I quit because there came to be so much money in pot that real criminals got into it. Folks that would kill you over it. I wasn't that serious about it.
that's what i'm saying ... that stuff can be drastically reduced.
The murder rate in Juarez is unprecedented. They are losing a generation. And now they are recruiting in El Paso, including at Fort Bliss. A soldier is in jail for making a hit in El Paso for the cartels in Mexico.
The "war on drugs" has only served as market and price controls for the cartels. We have to quit helping them.
Like I said, I've been posting links on this for a while. It is not getting the attention it deserves. And it should impact immigration policy too, although I'm not sure how. Whatever we do should be with the aim of strengthening the Mexican government, as long as they are fighting the cartels.
It's not getting the attention it deserves because it would have an impact on the debate about immigration.
The murder rate in Juarez is unprecedented. They are losing a generation. And now they are recruiting in El Paso, including at Fort Bliss. A soldier is in jail for making a hit in El Paso for the cartels in Mexico.
The "war on drugs" has only served as market and price controls for the cartels. We have to quit helping them.
Like I said, I've been posting links on this for a while. It is not getting the attention it deserves. And it should impact immigration policy too, although I'm not sure how. Whatever we do should be with the aim of strengthening the Mexican government, as long as they are fighting the cartels.
high profile advocates for the cause will be hard to come by. it has to be an organic movement ... not unlike the tea parties in some ways.
It's not getting the attention it deserves because it would have an impact on the debate about immigration.
I guess that's true. It does have an impact on the discussion. There's so much money to be made in both illegal immigrant labor and in drug and guns, that it's hard to keep up enough enthusiasm for enforcement of law.
I guess that's true. It does have an impact on the discussion. There's so much money to be made in both illegal immigrant labor and in drug and guns, that it's hard to keep up enough enthusiasm for enforcement of law.
i don't know your regional politics, so please explain why legalizing weed and immigration are so intertwined?
On a similar legalization thread someone mentioned that the extra tax revenue should be spent building slow lanes and adding second chance exits to the interstate highway system.
"oh shit! that was my exit... hey! second chance, cool... thanks federal government."
I guess that's true. It does have an impact on the discussion. There's so much money to be made in both illegal immigrant labor and in drug and guns, that it's hard to keep up enough enthusiasm for enforcement of law.
I do agree that legalization would take power out of the cartels hands, but I don't think it would mean a net increase in tax revenue (because of unforeseen resulting expenditures).
It takes pot about 21 to 30 days to get out of your system enough to pass the average pre-employement drug test.
Crack? Maybe a week. Meth? Three days. Some of the hard drugs don't really show up unless you're still under the influence.
So we've made it virtually impossible for the casual pot smoker to hold a good job, while hard drug users can, if they abstain for less than a week pass the drug test.
On a similar legalization thread someone mentioned that the extra tax revenue should be spent building slow lanes and adding second chance exits to the interstate highway system.
"oh shit! that was my exit... hey! second chance, cool... thanks federal government."
On a similar legalization thread someone mentioned that the extra tax revenue should be spent building slow lanes and adding second chance exits to the interstate highway system.
"oh shit! that was my exit... hey! second chance, cool... thanks federal government."
It'll be a cut-throat competition to get the HoHo franchise.
Seriously, I don't want stoners driving while stoned. The question then becomes how do you determine that someone is stoned at that moment? Follicle and urine tests show that pot has been smoked in the past but, not in the immediate past.
i don't know your regional politics, so please explain why legalizing weed and immigration are so intertwined?
Not legalizing weed--crushing the cartels. The cartels are not getting enough attention in the US, and the way we deal with immigration should be in line with an anti-cartel plan. That is, don't make Mexico more poor and/or more corrupt in the process.
It takes pot about 21 to 30 days to get out of your system enough to pass the average pre-employement drug test.
Crack? Maybe a week. Meth? Three days. Some of the hard drugs don't really show up unless you're still under the influence.
So we've made it virtually impossible for the casual pot smoker to hold a good job, while hard drug users can, if they abstain for less than a week pass the drug test.
That's the biggest problem. The cartels can afford to bribe EVERYBODY, and they do. Mexico's current president is the first one I would not automatically assume was in their pockets.
It'll be a cut-throat competition to get the HoHo franchise.
Seriously, I don't want stoners driving while stoned. The question then becomes how do you determine that someone is stoned at that moment? Follicle and urine tests show that pot has been smoked in the past but, not in the immediate past.
Frankly, I don't see any positive to legalizing pot. I understand de-criminalizing possession of small amounts --no reason to clog up the legal system with stoners who are not likely to be violent or even effective criminals.
Legalizing all together, I see only bad stuff. People and kids trying it that wouldnt' have ever thought of doing it. More money spent on rehab and health care costs in association with using. Lung cancer rates going-up. Less productive workforce. We don't need this shit.
It takes pot about 21 to 30 days to get out of your system enough to pass the average pre-employement drug test.
Crack? Maybe a week. Meth? Three days. Some of the hard drugs don't really show up unless you're still under the influence.
So we've made it virtually impossible for the casual pot smoker to hold a good job, while hard drug users can, if they abstain for less than a week pass the drug test.
Odd, that.
My GF has a colleague that was (maybe still is) on probation and had to periodically take drug tests - whatever you call them. She found out the hard way that they test for the OTC stuff you can get to mask drugs/narcotics. She's on double-secret probation now.
That's the biggest problem. The cartels can afford to bribe EVERYBODY, and they do. Mexico's current president is the first one I would not automatically assume was in their pockets.
Don't they also resort to extortion if the cop/official doesn't give in to bribery?
Not legalizing weed--crushing the cartels. The cartels are not getting enough attention in the US, and the way we deal with immigration should be in line with an anti-cartel plan. That is, don't make Mexico more poor and/or more corrupt in the process.
huge problem. is the beginning of the solution to legalize weed? any other drugs? i'm not in favor of legalizing toot and the chemical stuff. just weed. will that help at all? will it hamper them?
The murder rate in Juarez is unprecedented. They are losing a generation. And now they are recruiting in El Paso, including at Fort Bliss. A soldier is in jail for making a hit in El Paso for the cartels in Mexico.
The "war on drugs" has only served as market and price controls for the cartels. We have to quit helping them.
Like I said, I've been posting links on this for a while. It is not getting the attention it deserves. And it should impact immigration policy too, although I'm not sure how. Whatever we do should be with the aim of strengthening the Mexican government, as long as they are fighting the cartels.
I never cared a whole lot for Nancy Reagan's anti-drug stance, but one thing she said made a lot of sense, stuck with me, and actually convinced a couple people I know to stop using coke. It was when she pointed out that when you pay for that shit, you're handing your money over to some of the most despicable, evil people on earth, and depriving the cartels of their main source of income was reason enough not to use their product. Sound advice, in my opinion.
Frankly, I don't see any positive to legalizing pot. I understand de-criminalizing possession of small amounts --no reason to clog up the legal system with stoners who are not likely to be violent or even effective criminals.
Legalizing all together, I see only bad stuff. People and kids trying it that wouldnt' have ever thought of doing it. More money spent on rehab and health care costs in association with using. Lung cancer rates going-up. Less productive workforce. We don't need this shit.
You probably have no idea how common pot smoking already is.
Frankly, I don't see any positive to legalizing pot. I understand de-criminalizing possession of small amounts --no reason to clog up the legal system with stoners who are not likely to be violent or even effective criminals.
Legalizing all together, I see only bad stuff. People and kids trying it that wouldnt' have ever thought of doing it. More money spent on rehab and health care costs in association with using. Lung cancer rates going-up. Less productive workforce. We don't need this shit.
I do agree that legalization would take power out of the cartels hands, but I don't think it would mean a net increase in tax revenue (because of unforeseen resulting expenditures).
Agreed, but it's still a benefit when you consider how much time and space it'll free up in the legal system.
I know that there's not 100% overlap between liberals and people who want to legalize drugs. But still, it's weird, those that do overlap. On one hand they say that the government is bought & paid for by big business interests, that corporations are running the show. One the other, they offer smiley-face fantasies about "tightly regulating" drug cartels once drugs become legal. the cartels are exponentially richer and more ruthless than any hedge fund manager you'd care to name--pluse they have guns. Just who is going to bring them to heel, and how?
It'll be a cut-throat competition to get the HoHo franchise.
Seriously, I don't want stoners driving while stoned. The question then becomes how do you determine that someone is stoned at that moment? Follicle and urine tests show that pot has been smoked in the past but, not in the immediate past.
You go back to what was done before any sort of chemical monitoring was available - administering field sobriety checks. They are extremely effective at getting impaired drivers off the roads, which is the most important thing to accomplish. Although they're somewhat easier to challenge in court than properly conducted Breathalyzer or blood tests, the difference is small. And I'd be more concerned with getting the impaired off the roads than with their ultimate conviction.
If you can't focus, can't maintain your balance, can't speak without slurring your words, and demonstrate slowed reaction time, you shouldn't be driving. And those things can be tested for without resort to chemical analysis.
huge problem. is the beginning of the solution to legalize weed? any other drugs? i'm not in favor of legalizing toot and the chemical stuff. just weed. will that help at all? will it hamper them?
Legalizing weed would be a good step on our side of the border.
Frankly, I don't see any positive to legalizing pot. I understand de-criminalizing possession of small amounts --no reason to clog up the legal system with stoners who are not likely to be violent or even effective criminals.
Legalizing all together, I see only bad stuff. People and kids trying it that wouldnt' have ever thought of doing it. More money spent on rehab and health care costs in association with using. Lung cancer rates going-up. Less productive workforce. We don't need this shit.
totally understand and mostly agree. but the revenue from massive taxes and the legitimizing of the business help solve many problems. I also think legalizing it takes some of the "mystique" out of it. As a kid, the pull of everything "grown up" is cool. But then it would become more routine like alcohol.
It takes pot about 21 to 30 days to get out of your system enough to pass the average pre-employement drug test.
Crack? Maybe a week. Meth? Three days. Some of the hard drugs don't really show up unless you're still under the influence.
So we've made it virtually impossible for the casual pot smoker to hold a good job, while hard drug users can, if they abstain for less than a week pass the drug test.
Odd, that.
Also, there's no good field sobriety test for cops to use to keep high people off the highway (pun intended).
But, would it be admissable in court? That's not scientific.
You're not convicted on the basis of the field sobriety test, but the field sobriety test is the basis for the B.A.C. test that is evidence to convict you.
Frankly, I don't see any positive to legalizing pot. I understand de-criminalizing possession of small amounts --no reason to clog up the legal system with stoners who are not likely to be violent or even effective criminals.
Legalizing all together, I see only bad stuff. People and kids trying it that wouldnt' have ever thought of doing it. More money spent on rehab and health care costs in association with using. Lung cancer rates going-up. Less productive workforce. We don't need this shit.
I'm on the fence here for a couple reasons. I "made mistakes in my youth" but don't regret a second of that time because I had a blast. It would be hypocritical for me to be against something I don't currently do, but have done, then to say others shouldn't be able do it.
I don't have an easy answer that we could apply across the board, but if it were legalized, I'm against people being stoned at work - unless you're a musician I guess.
totally understand and mostly agree. but the revenue from massive taxes and the legitimizing of the business help solve many problems. I also think legalizing it takes some of the "mystique" out of it. As a kid, the pull of everything "grown up" is cool. But then it would become more routine like alcohol.
More kids/people drink than will ever try pot. I just don't see a tax revenue positive on this. It would be cheaper to buy illegal pot. How do you prove the Under the Influence person got that way by illegal or legal pot?
It'd be the reason for the test that confirms usage. Pot eyes and bedroom eyes are different.
That you don't know says something nice about you.
Trust me. I've smoked a lot of pot.
Just looking stoned does not prove you're stoned. You can argue that the presence of THC in follicles or urine is the result of smoking it sometime in the past.
I wonder if they could invent a test to see how old the THC is. Like carbon-dating.
Ha! Reminds me, a long time ago a friend and I were in a police station. He demanded his free phone call. He picked up the phone and shouted, "Anyone else want pizza!?"
I know that there's not 100% overlap between liberals and people who want to legalize drugs. But still, it's weird, those that do overlap. On one hand they say that the government is bought & paid for by big business interests, that corporations are running the show. One the other, they offer smiley-face fantasies about "tightly regulating" drug cartels once drugs become legal. the cartels are exponentially richer and more ruthless than any hedge fund manager you'd care to name--pluse they have guns. Just who is going to bring them to heel, and how?
I'm on the fence here for a couple reasons. I "made mistakes in my youth" but don't regret a second of that time because I had a blast. It would be hypocritical for me to be against something I don't currently do, but have done, then to say others shouldn't be able do it.
I don't have an easy answer that we could apply across the board, but if it were legalized, I'm against people being stoned at work - unless you're a musician I guess.
Stoned at work? No corporation would hire you or keep you employed. No insurance company would cover you. There would be more burn-outs on the dole, living in there mom's basement.
I never cared a whole lot for Nancy Reagan's anti-drug stance, but one thing she said made a lot of sense, stuck with me, and actually convinced a couple people I know to stop using coke. It was when she pointed out that when you pay for that shit, you're handing your money over to some of the most despicable, evil people on earth, and depriving the cartels of their main source of income was reason enough not to use their product. Sound advice, in my opinion.
I used to think that, but now I think that's only guilt tripping people without a basis in reality. Cartels move on to other crimes if they can't make thier money on pot, so it's not just the drugs. It's also the corruption and the batshit crazy legal system they have in Mexico (there was a good article about that in the WSJ last October or so.)
I know that there's not 100% overlap between liberals and people who want to legalize drugs. But still, it's weird, those that do overlap. On one hand they say that the government is bought & paid for by big business interests, that corporations are running the show. One the other, they offer smiley-face fantasies about "tightly regulating" drug cartels once drugs become legal. the cartels are exponentially richer and more ruthless than any hedge fund manager you'd care to name--pluse they have guns. Just who is going to bring them to heel, and how?
undersell them in legitimate business transactions. charge less money for a better product.
It'll be a cut-throat competition to get the HoHo franchise.
Seriously, I don't want stoners driving while stoned. The question then becomes how do you determine that someone is stoned at that moment? Follicle and urine tests show that pot has been smoked in the past but, not in the immediate past.
I think that's the biggest problem with legalization. No reliable field test.
The problem, IMHO, is that we are trying to be all nice and legal about how we handle the cartels. We could take care of them if we we took the gloves off.
It's the difference between law enforcement and military operations.
If the people of the world really want to take care of the problem, we can take care of it.
There will always be an underworld supplying what society wants. It's a matter of how much we are willing to tolerate.
Just looking stoned does not prove you're stoned. You can argue that the presence of THC in follicles or urine is the result of smoking it sometime in the past.
I wonder if they could invent a test to see how old the THC is. Like carbon-dating.
Ah, there you go.
If pot were legal, being stoned should not be grounds for legal intrusion. The activity that results, might, but not simply being stoned.
It's like Ron White says about the time he was thrown out of the bar and then arrested for being drunk in public. "I didn't want to be drunk in public, I wanted to be drunk in a bar, but they threw me out of the bar."
Frankly, I don't see any positive to legalizing pot. I understand de-criminalizing possession of small amounts --no reason to clog up the legal system with stoners who are not likely to be violent or even effective criminals.
Legalizing all together, I see only bad stuff. People and kids trying it that wouldnt' have ever thought of doing it. More money spent on rehab and health care costs in association with using. Lung cancer rates going-up. Less productive workforce. We don't need this shit.
I see your point but it's already happening. Every place I've worked (I'm blue collar) has a connection.
Hi Reine, how are you? I was hoping you could give us a page view count tomorrow like you did when the LAT article ran. If I remember right, it was an increase of about 200,000. Thanks!
I think that's the biggest problem with legalization. No reliable field test.
If you can't pass the standard field sobriety tests - counting backward, walking a straight line, answering simple questions and others - that's all an officer needs to pull you off the road and charge you with impaired driving.
They may not be able to pin you with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, but at least they can get you off the road. And although laws would have to be rewritten to allow it, they could also require you to submit to a blood test under penalty of losing your license.
More kids/people drink than will ever try pot. I just don't see a tax revenue positive on this. It would be cheaper to buy illegal pot. How do you prove the Under the Influence person got that way by illegal or legal pot?
there's illegal moonshine in certain regions and there will be illegal weed too. but even at that, there will be enough legit business to keep serious dollars flowing into the govt. guess we gotta agree to disagree ...
"Your Honor, while following the defendant's vehicle I observed him cross the yellow line. Upon making the traffic stop I noticed an odor of pot coming from the car and initiated a search."
Folks are in prison today because of that initial crime of 'crossing the yellow line.'
You're not convicted on the basis of the field sobriety test, but the field sobriety test is the basis for the B.A.C. test that is evidence to convict you.
Pot eyes would work the same.
Looking as if you're stoned is not the same as flunking the nystagmus test.
The problem, IMHO, is that we are trying to be all nice and legal about how we handle the cartels. We could take care of them if we we took the gloves off.
It's the difference between law enforcement and military operations.
If the people of the world really want to take care of the problem, we can take care of it.
There will always be an underworld supplying what society wants. It's a matter of how much we are willing to tolerate.
Cartels won't be an issue if marijuana is legalized.
If pot were legal, being stoned should not be grounds for legal intrusion. The activity that results, might, but not simply being stoned.
It's like Ron White says about the time he was thrown out of the bar and then arrested for being drunk in public. "I didn't want to be drunk in public, I wanted to be drunk in a bar, but they threw me out of the bar."
Cartels won't be an issue if marijuana is legalized.
Their lawyers will draw up papers and they'll become legitimate corporations. Or they will just muscle the corporations out of business. They aren't going away easily.
If you can't pass the standard field sobriety tests - counting backward, walking a straight line, answering simple questions and others - that's all an officer needs to pull you off the road and charge you with impaired driving.
They may not be able to pin you with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, but at least they can get you off the road. And although laws would have to be rewritten to allow it, they could also require you to submit to a blood test under penalty of losing your license.
"Your Honor, while following the defendant's vehicle I observed him cross the yellow line. Upon making the traffic stop I noticed an odor of pot coming from the car and initiated a search."
Folks are in prison today because of that initial crime of 'crossing the yellow line.'
And folks who want to open up a Rehab R Us clinic in every strip mall, think of how bitterly abstemious types like me would resent having to pay for them. "I didn't stuff all that daffy dust up your nose; why am I on the hook for getting you clean?"
"Your Honor, while following the defendant's vehicle I observed him cross the yellow line. Upon making the traffic stop I noticed an odor of pot coming from the car and initiated a search."
Folks are in prison today because of that initial crime of 'crossing the yellow line.'
"Your Honor, while following the vehicle I observed him drifting over the white line. When I pulled him over and asked him to get out of the car, he tried to SNORT the white line"
You're not convicted on the basis of the field sobriety test, but the field sobriety test is the basis for the B.A.C. test that is evidence to convict you.
Their lawyers will draw up papers and they'll become legitimate corporations. Or they will just muscle the corporations out of business. They aren't going away easily.
for sure they aren't. but if the US Govt wants to legalize something they're making money off of, it will cut into their business and give OUR govt more revenue to work with.
Their lawyers will draw up papers and they'll become legitimate corporations. Or they will just muscle the corporations out of business. They aren't going away easily.
Not necessarily. Legislation can be drafted that will prevent those people from incorporating in the U.S..
'Course, it could have just been a comedy gag. He also went into PoPo counting the money, and having to help count the cash so he could make the next show.
just making it legal means our govt can use the revenue from a hefty tax to pay for things. and it puts many illegal drug dealers out of business. and crime is also reduced.
The real problem with $100.00 weed is that there will always be someone offering it for half that price on the black market.
'Course, it could have just been a comedy gag. He also went into PoPo counting the money, and having to help count the cash so he could make the next show.
Stoned at work? No corporation would hire you or keep you employed. No insurance company would cover you. There would be more burn-outs on the dole, living in there mom's basement.
Ever been in the offshore oil biz, construction, an auto tech? I have, you're wrong.
The problem, IMHO, is that we are trying to be all nice and legal about how we handle the cartels. We could take care of them if we we took the gloves off.
It's the difference between law enforcement and military operations.
If the people of the world really want to take care of the problem, we can take care of it.
There will always be an underworld supplying what society wants. It's a matter of how much we are willing to tolerate.
I better get busy doing something semi-productive.
And remember kiddies, the wheat-straw papers will make you cough, and when you cough Mommy will want to know if you're catching cold, and when she comes in the room to check your temp she's going to smell the weed.
If pot were legal, being stoned should not be grounds for legal intrusion. The activity that results, might, but not simply being stoned.
It's like Ron White says about the time he was thrown out of the bar and then arrested for being drunk in public. "I didn't want to be drunk in public, I wanted to be drunk in a bar, but they threw me out of the bar."
Updinged for the Ron White quote. I love that guy (in a completely heterosexual way of course).
When I was about 16 (circa 1973) I had just gotten ripped (daytime) and was driving right afterward. I got to a stop sign and made a right. I immediately saw a cop sitting on the side of the road, so I made sure to be careful, go slow etc. As I passed him he was frowning and motioned me to pull over. Uh oh. He had me come sit in his car and showed that he had clocked me at 80-85 MPH. The problem was both he and I knew that I hadn't gotten over 30-35. Since I was wasted I knew, even as a kid, "Don't say anything." So I was shrugging my shoulders, making faces, motioning with my hands and and essentially being a mime. He ended up letting me go, but I always wondered why he didn't ask "What's wrong with you, boy?"
It'll be a cut-throat competition to get the HoHo franchise.
Seriously, I don't want stoners driving while stoned. The question then becomes how do you determine that someone is stoned at that moment? Follicle and urine tests show that pot has been smoked in the past but, not in the immediate past.
The French do on-the-spot alcohol and cannabis testing of drivers.
"Your Honor, while following the defendant's vehicle I observed him cross the yellow line. Upon making the traffic stop I noticed an odor of pot coming from the car and initiated a search."
Folks are in prison today because of that initial crime of 'crossing the yellow line.'
I was talking about red eye alone. I should've quoted.
And old friend lives out in the Arizona desert near the Mexican border. They regularly find abandoned vehicles on their property used by drug runners and coyotes.
They report them to the police, and the law states that if nobody claims them after sixty days, they can keep them. Needless to say, nobody ever does, and they have helped pay off the mortgage.
Either THC or a metabolic by-product can be detected using blood tests. I forget which. Probably a by-product. Alcohol is one of the few drugs that are detected directly.
When I was about 16 (circa 1973) I had just gotten ripped (daytime) and was driving right afterward. I got to a stop sign and made a right. I immediately saw a cop sitting on the side of the road, so I made sure to be careful, go slow etc. As I passed him he was frowning and motioned me to pull over. Uh oh. He had me come sit in his car and showed that he had clocked me at 80-85 MPH. The problem was both he and I knew that I hadn't gotten over 30-35. Since I was wasted I knew, even as a kid, "Don't say anything." So I was shrugging my shoulders, making faces, motioning with my hands and and essentially being a mime. He ended up letting me go, but I always wondered why he didn't ask "What's wrong with you, boy?"
He probably figured you were a mute and had pity...
Not sure what point you're trying to make there. If you're hinting around that LGF's ads were somehow "better" in the past, you should be aware that both of the advertisements in your graphic were served by Google Adsense.
National Catholic Register is butthurt over Richard Dawkins charity work; displays usual total ignorance of atheist moral arguments concerning morality and its evolutionary origins:
Not sure what point you're trying to make there. If you're hinting around that LGF's ads were somehow "better" in the past, you should be aware that both of the advertisements in your graphic were served by Google Adsense.
Maybe he means that you where once much better looking.
(the list, at the moment, is : Dust in significant quantities (closets), cats, possibly Snowflake--a bird--, and something that lbooms around here in fall.)
(the list, at the moment, is : Dust in significant quantities (closets), cats, possibly Snowflake--a bird--, and something that lbooms around here in fall.)
Could be the simple composition of the sawdust as compared to "dust" dust
In that it's a by product of wood, it could be because it has an amount of moisture in it limiting it's effects on you
I did watch it and it was mostly standard Jonah Goldberg historical revisionism. Nazis were left wing, etc, etc. He did make some tantalizing statements early on in the program about some of the evil plans of some of the founding fathers about the federal reserve and redistributing wealth that were temporarily thwarted by the Constitution. I think he's starting off with already accepted historical revisionism (Goldberg) and is going to start branching out into more Birch Society stuff latter on. Right now he's just establishing the premise to get people interested.
Have you ever had any problems with viruses downloading torrents? I started a few months ago but I'm still nervous because you never really know what you downloaded until you open it.
Have you ever had any problems with viruses downloading torrents? I started a few months ago but I'm still nervous because you never really know what you downloaded until you open it.
Be careful with archives, .rar files mostly. Most AVI and MP3s are okay. My best advice is don't be the first to download and read the comments left by others in the comments section.
I've never had a problem and I've been doing it for years. I don't even own a TV anymore.
Have you ever had any problems with viruses downloading torrents? I started a few months ago but I'm still nervous because you never really know what you downloaded until you open it.
Be careful with archives, .rar files mostly. Most AVI and MP3s are okay. My best advice is don't be the first to download and read the comments left by others in the comments section.
I've never had a problem and I've been doing it for years. I don't even own a TV anymore.
Have you ever had any problems with viruses downloading torrents? I started a few months ago but I'm still nervous because you never really know what you downloaded until you open it.
Buy a mac, no worry :)
//only a bit. Just run your scanner on everything otherwise.
I never really was impressed. The 2nd paragraph in his bio seems to confirm my suspicions:
"Kid Rocks music is often a rip off of other bands materials and work. Kid Rock is a waste of life. His music has poor taste and is the ramblings of a retarded hill billy."
I never really was impressed. The 2nd paragraph in his bio seems to confirm my suspicions:
"Kid Rocks music is often a rip off of other bands materials and work. Kid Rock is a waste of life. His music has poor taste and is the ramblings of a retarded hill billy."
Heh.
No, I didn't enter that update.
Sounds like an insult to retarded hillbillies to me!!
/
I never really was impressed. The 2nd paragraph in his bio seems to confirm my suspicions:
"Kid Rocks music is often a rip off of other bands materials and work. Kid Rock is a waste of life. His music has poor taste and is the ramblings of a retarded hill billy."
No, I didn't enter that update.
Sigh. If he would just call once in a while and send his child support payments on time, she wouldn't have to resort to this...
Hello everyone...
and Uggghhh.
Doing taxes sucks when the website that is supposed to talk to tubortax and load W2's has decided that it does not know who your spouse is this year. I can't figure out if it is turbotax's fault or the W2 site or some problem with his employer's site.
I never had this much trouble and we've done our taxes on-line for years.
so.frustrated.
Interesting new poll from Kaiser on HCR, 16 pages lots 'o charts.
"The poll, conducted before the Massachusetts Senate vote, finds opinion about the legislation is split, with 42 percent supporting the proposals, 41 percent opposing them and 16 percent withholding judgment. But majorities reported feeling more favorable toward the legislation after learning about key elements such as the availability of tax credits for small businesses, the creation of health insurance exchanges, the inability of insurers to deny people coverage because of pre-existing conditions and the move to close the Medicare drug benefit’s “doughnut hole.” The notable exceptions were the individual mandate and the overall price tag, both of which tended to make people less supportive of reform efforts."
I do want to repeat that I only download media files, mostly AVIs. I started doing it when I was hanging out with my brother and the 8th Army in S. Korea (spent about a year there, good times) and I wanted to watch english speaking TV. Armed Forces TV sucked, although we did get all the football games. They were very good about that.
S.K. has several good fishing channels. Fishing is fishing no matter what language.
re: #792 rwmofoI have a Kid Rock greatest hits CD loaded in the car player right now. I like the blend of rock and rap and the lyrics kind of crack me up.
Cause chaos, rock like Amadeus
Find West Coast p* for my Detroit players
Mack like mayors, ball like Lakers
They told us to leave, but bet they can't make us
Now that I think on it, my sense of humor can be a little dry sometimes. Perhaps I should let everyone in on the joke.
In the earlier days of LGF, there was an ad campaign that appeared often on the front page for "Seven Windows," ostensibly a purveyor of fine jewelry. The winsome lass modelling the jewelry was a frequent subject of reverential worship by the regulars. Regretfully, the ad campaign ended, and the Seven Windows girl appeared no more, but I know I'll never forget her!
I never really was impressed. The 2nd paragraph in his bio seems to confirm my suspicions:
"Kid Rocks music is often a rip off of other bands materials and work. Kid Rock is a waste of life. His music has poor taste and is the ramblings of a retarded hill billy."
Heh.
No, I didn't enter that update.
Right now both Warren Zevon and Ronnie Van Zandt are turning in their graves. Personally, I'm more disgusted with the Lynryd Skynyrd remains than Kid Rock.
People make a lot of fuss about my kids having such supposedly 'strange names', but the fact is that no matter what first names I might have given them, it is the last name that is going to get them in trouble. -- From the Real Frank Zappa Book - Mr. Dad chapter
Frank says:
