EvilMonkey

No (real) pictures yet?

so no one knows what the heck was going on here? C'mon, inquiring minds wanna know!

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 07:53 AM) I don't think that happens any more in the muslim community than it does in, say, the jewish community. Just my perception. so, you think that the number of beheadings and riots due to perceived insults is about even between arabs and israeli's?

I was thinking more globally. You know, offend one Muslim, offend all muslims. Riots, protests, bounties on heads, that sort of thing.

YES, we should prosecute cops who break the law. A few bad apples spoil the rep for all. But the problem is the group dynamics involved. Cops circle the wagons when one of their own is accused of something, fearing that it will look bad on them if they don't. But they are not alone. Dems and Repubs both tend to rally around their fellow party members until they absolutely can't anymore. A sports team tries to defend one of their own caught cheating. Offend one Muslim in Thailand, Muslims the world over take it personally. I would think that cops would like to give their brothers every opportunity to be right, or not guilty, or whatever. But when they ARE bad, they should do everything they can to distance themselves from them. That goes for the unions, too.

No, wait, other way around. Visitor to the International Koran Exposition walk on Israeli (and US) flags while viewing an exhibit praising Palestinian suicide bombers. Just imagine if the headline above was true. http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070915/ids_pho...r2864042806.jpg

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 16, 2007 -> 09:42 AM) He's been suspended without pay. I'll bet there is a formal process that must be followed before removing the cop. And that is probably a good thing. I imagine cops are accused of behavior like this all the time, and I'll even bet that 90% of the time it's made up. But of course there are a few bad cops, just like there are some bad accountants and restaurant cooks. That is why the cops are supposed to have their cameras with sound going, to protect themselves from the false accusations. If that guy had his going at all, I can't see where that hearing would last very long. What a dick. I know cops have a hard job and put up with alot of crap, but that was just wrong.

I've pictured several people here with horns on their heads and barbed tails.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Sep 14, 2007 -> 12:45 PM) The problem is the reliability and conviction of the person. If they are constantly changing their positions based on what the political will is this month, but claim to strongly hold these beliefs, they're full of bullcrap. That's not the type of person you want or need leading a country. If, however, they change their opinion based on new facts instead of new opinion polls, or vote against their own beliefs in order to vote as their constituants want, its a different story. Glad someone saw thru my rambling to the meaning of what i wanted to say, and even said it better.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 14, 2007 -> 11:27 AM) What problems? YOU FLIP-FLOPPER! If politician A has a known position for gun control, but 80% of his people are against it, if he then changes 'his' stance to against it, claiming he was always against gun control, etc., then he is a hypocrit and/or flip-flopper. If he said something like I want more gun control, but my peeps don't, so I am voting their way because it is them that I represent, not myself only, I can deal with it.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 14, 2007 -> 08:23 AM) Do politicians have any responsibility to follow the will of their constituents? I always felt yes. That is 70% of their district believe one way, they should seriously look at that, and probably follow that lead. I generally agree with this. However, problems arise when the politicians take the stands and claim them as their own, that they have always held this position, etc. i would have more respect if one would come out and say "I am against this bill, but 80% of my people want me to vote for it. So following the lead of my constituents, I am voting for this bill"

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 12:05 PM) And the Congress has every right to strike him down, like it or not. Well, i guess blocking nominees is about the only thing this congress CAN do, since they ahve accoplished nothing much else.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 11:18 AM) So, which side is the one that should put away partisanship? The side nominating the middle finger to the congressional majority, or the side saying "no, we won't confirm your middle finger". A few months ago, Chuck Schumer already offered up a list of names he'd consider to be "meeting the Dems half way". It's not like they're demanding the job be given to Hillary or anything like that. You see, that is the whole problem right there. chgickie should have no say in who the president nominates, as long as they have the qualifications needed for the position. Political views are not qualifications. When Shumer gets to be President (yeah, right) THEN he can pick who gets nominated. is there a law that says the AG should be someone in the middle? Like it or not, it is a political appointment.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 08:51 AM) If you "train your customers" and I do business the way they prefer, who will have more business and better satisfied customers? So you are in favor of a less efficient post office, INS, etc.? They don't have a choice in government, unless they choose to go back to mexico. INS, I can understand multilingual people being hired. It should not be a requirement for the PO to have things printed in spanish, or polish, or japanese. it shoudl not be required to print ballots in 12 different languages. If Joe's Deli in Nogalas wants to employ spanish speaking people to help with his large mexican customer base, fine. if that large mexican customer base wants to go to the village hall and get a picnic permit, they should learn enough english to conduct business with the government. If someone there HAPPENS to know spanish and can help out, great.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 08:33 AM) The most efficient thing to do would not be to bilingualize the postal service and a bazillion other government agencies - which I cannot even fathom the cost of. The better solution is education and training for immigrants. If the expectation is set that you need English to function, then immigrants will learn English. That is the efficient methodology we should be targeting.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 12, 2007 -> 10:55 PM) Read about his involvement in the Arkansas Project. That's why he's sleazy. Not that you'd buy any of it. You made up your mind that Ted Olson deserves the spot long ago. I disagree with Lanny Davis and I hate the Huffington Post. But where do you get the idea that I like blogs? I mean, I get my news from the AP online and from other sources that people link to (articles, RealClearPolitics which links to op-eds, etc. etc.) but I don't "like blogs." I find them useful sometimes. Good for supplementary opinion and knowledge. Great jumpoff points for research. I write in my blog, but I would never cite myself or any other non-news blog as an authority unless, say, Justice Scalia or something had a blog and even then I'd just say "it's their opinion." But I couldn't care less what Lanny Davis says about Olson. Olson is sleazy and every Democrat in Washington knows it. Actually, I haven't made up my mind. I really don't know much about him, except that Reid seems in a real hurry to not confirm him. I bet georgie could put up Perry Mason, and Reid would say he is unconfirmable before they even had meetings. That is the real joke, the real partisanship. It is a political appointment. He is NOT going to be some neutered person in there who has never had apolitcal leaning any way whatsoever. WHo would be acceptable to Reid and his minions? Maybe Janet Reno? I dunno, just askin.

So is he 'crooked and sleazy' BECAUSE he won in the Bush/Gore case, or is there something else you would ike to add? As for hiring gap-bridging employees, yeah right. All the guy, or girl, ahs to do is be qualified for the job. His political leanings should have no bearing, unless they cloud judgement. And simply kicking the snot out of Gore's lawyers doesn't make bad judgement. Tex, I know you don't care much for blogs, but I know Pratt likes them. How about this one? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lanny-davis/...ge_b_62847.html It is chock-full of GOOD things to say about him, including this dandy,

Think he is just pissed because he represented Bush in the election fracas with Gore, or would he have a real reason? Like not liking the way he recycles? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/12/...in3255578.shtml

Why is stealing their signals against the rules? it seems to me it is just like anticipating a snap count, or when a pitcher is tipping his pitches and the whole opposing team knows. If it was because they used technology, well, them maybe I can see that, but it isn't like they use something not available to every team. And what if the middle linebacker realizes that every time the QB audibles 'red one', that the ball is a quick slant pass and then jumps on the next one? Is that aginst the rules too? I just am askign if there is a clarification on this as to why it is illegal, what the reasoning was behind it. but yeah, that was pretty stupid thing to do. And stupid to get caught.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 10:24 AM) I wouldn't stop anyone from using their language if they ran into someone who also spoke it. I just don't want to pay for the expectations that someone SHOULD speak it. If an employee and a customer at the DMV both speak Spanish, good for them. If it helps them get their transaction finished, its fine with me. I just don't think everyone should have to pay for it. This is essentially what I was trying to say, but done so more eloquently.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 09:11 AM) So tell me, how does a candidate speaking Spanish, or a tourist being able to get a Visa in their native tongue, harm you? I said GOVERNMENT BUSINESS should be conducted in English. I agree, a debate is not government business, so my quip was a little out of place. As for the business of government, how many f***ing languages will we have to be able to understand, or print ballots in for it to be too much? Do we need ballots in Cantoneese? Polish? Hebrew? Piglatin? i understand the value of mulit-language speakers in tourist cities, but c'mon, should Des Moines really need a ballot printed in 6 different languages? it should be english. And if you want to discuss this further, we can start a different thread, I am thru with this tangent, at least in here.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 08:19 AM) $20 per hour isn't decent? I'm more concerned about American's being able to feed ourselves and not doubling our produce bills. Talk about inflation. People were concerned when gas went to three dollars, at least we could conserve, drive less, etc. And perhaps this would be a good thing when we have to cut down on food. I know farmers, it is probably about the worse business to own. How much new ladn do you see being plowed into farm fields versus how many homes are being built on farmland? We are already importing way too much of our food. Alpha, Read some of the replies concerning millions of *new* people crossing the borders. Read some of the replies talking about putting Americans to work. Here is a perfect opportunity. Come on down and work a month or two and make some great money. Just pointing out that some people think this is way to simplistic. Food and shelter is pretty damn important to most Americans. Who do you know is willing to spend 10-12 hours a day, in the fields, picking fruits and vegetables? And this is after the farming industry was forced to offer such extravaganzas like bathrooms and hand washing in the fields. Tex, I weeded bean fields 2 summers while in high school. I know it is tough work. And itchy, at least with the damn beans. That doesn't make it ok that people are breaking the law while others just pretend it doesn't happen. And the replies concerning 'new' people are for ILLEGAL new people. Farm industry need workers? Fine. Fix the damn guest worker program. I have said that here, and so have many others. But stop coming here ILLEGALLY.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 08:01 AM) There is no official language federally in the United States of America. There never has been. Please note that I said it SHOULD be, not that it was. Move along.

Tex, once again you are jumping to extremes, assuming that those who don't want illegal immigration are also against migrant workers. I believe most, if not all, of the people on here that have spoken out against illegal immigration have spoken FOR some sort of a guest worker program, just not amnesty for those that are here illegally now. They have also spoken against the businesses that KNOWINGLY hire illegals. Your snarky replies about 'your children picking crops' are not relevant. Streamline the legalization process, impliment a guest worker program, and kick anyone out here illegally.

QUOTE(NUKE @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 03:35 AM) I love that avatar and Im going to blatantly copy it. Be my guest! I took it from a t-shirt site. Have to go back and buy on of those, just to piss off my brother-in-law!