EvilMonkey

Here's our new Democratic overlords in action. Despite their call for more openness in government, the first congressional meeting will be a private, closed door affair. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...av=rss_politics

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 08:38 PM) Just for fairness, here are the rules: --First part with be the establishment of platforms (which will also show us who is running). THESE WILL CLOSE ON 11/22. --After that thread is filled with everyone's platforms, the next thread will be a shortened up version of the debates we tried here a while back - this will be much more brief and simple in this case. THESE WILL BE MODERATED AND DESIGNED BY SOXY AND SS2K5, AND WILL OCCUR THE WEEK OF 11/26 TO 12/1. --DURING THAT WEEK, AN ENDORSEMENTS-ONLY THREAD WILL BE OPENED UP. --STARTING ON 12/1, A THREAD WILL BE OPENED FOR EACH CANDIDATE TO MAKE ONE FINAL POST?ADVERTISEMENT. --Then we vote - I'll set it up as a poll. PRIMARY ELECTION IS ON THE FIRST TUESDAY OF DECEMBER, WHICH IS 12/5. IT RUNS THROUGH 12/7. --Everyone can vote, but, since its such a small crowd, you may NOT vote for yourself --AFTER THE PRIMARY ELECTION, THE TOP HALF (rounded up) OF VOTE-GETTERS WILL MOVE ON TO THE FINAL ELECTION. --IF 10 OR MORE CANDIDATES ENTER THE ELECTION, WE MAY ADD ANOTHER PRIMARY ROUND. --THE FINAL ELECTION IS ONE WEEK AFTER THE PRIMARY - 12/12 THRU 12/14. --The person with the most votes wins the Presidency, second most wins Vice President --THE NEW PREZ AND VP SHOULD CHOOSE THEIR CABINETS AT THIS POINT. Not fair, quotin' rules and such like that!

QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 03:42 PM) Yep, but I was the #1 loser, all the other losers lined up behind me Can I help it if all my support was old geezers that fell asleep while GP's were up at midnight stuffing the boxes Hey, I may be old, but not yet a 'geezer'! Although i do yell at my son to turn his music down. And to cut his hair. Now that you mention it, maybe I am a geezer! Geeze, thanks for making my day.

Since cash is always tight in my business during December/January, I give out extra vacation days for a holiday bonus. They are REALLY nice for my part time people, who have none. Depending on how long they have been here, and how good a job I think they have done, 1 to 3 days off is not bad, especially since they all make well above minimum.

QUOTE(Allsox @ Dec 5, 2006 -> 02:44 PM) I agree 100%. Vernon Wells can be the Sox CF for the next 5 yrs (He's only 27!) and that would be all good in my book. Plays Gold Glove Defense (Which only helps your pitching), hits for avg, can steal bases and will hit for 30 HRs, 100 RBI easily with Comiskey Park as his home. I have no problem offering him an extension of 5 yrs, 75 mil, especially since Thome isn't getting any younger and Dye won't be here in '08. Trading Garcia and Anderson's a good start. Why would it take both guys to get him? With Wells on one year left, and Freddy too, and with pitching at a premium,that seems like a wash. At MOST it should take Anderson to seal the deal. Toronto isn't gonna sign Wells next year, so they would get draft picks if he left, thats it. If Garcia goes, then they get the same, plus have Anderson. But I like this only if Wells does sign an extension.

I don't care if businesses add the word 'gourmet' in the product name, it doesn't mean you get to charge double for it, nor automatically make it a better product.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 5, 2006 -> 05:30 AM) Interestingly, if you count the VA, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Tax deduction for employer-provided health insurance, it turns out the government is already paying in some way, shape, or form, for 61% of the health care costs in this country. And another 5% is covered through government mandated hospital care for the uninsured. And do you (or Damen) think that those programs are 'efficient'?

http://cakerdeath.blogspot.com/2006/12/magic-cone.html There is even a link for animation! Oh boy!

QUOTE(Soxy @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 09:25 PM) My comment was not at all about that. My comment was saying that Republicans aren't discriminated against like muslims are. I'm not even sure how republicans being racist came into this. I said, 'substitute Mexican, black, republican, etc instead of Muslim, and start the same type of show, you would get the same type of responses" You then took it as me saying Republicans are discriminated against like Muslims. If one were to start a radio show on a liberal station with the same type of rant that the host here did, yes, you would get similar responses. There is an element of society that will say/do anything to get on tv or radio, so you would get similar responses almost with any group put in there.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 08:15 PM) About 2 weeks ago, a group of Carribbean nations wanted the U.N. to say something to recognize the 200th anniversary of the ending of the Slave Trade. Simple commemorative resolution, the sort of thing that every Parliamentary body does all the time. Guess who created the hangup. John Bolton. Why? As far as I can tell from the copy of the letter he sent, he insisted that the word emphasizing needed to be changed to the emphasis. And for some reason, he decided this was so worthy of a fight that he stopped the whole thing until a bunch of people from the Congress noticed what he was doing and basically told him to stop being a moron. If the wording change was so minor, why didn't they just change it and go on?

QUOTE(Soxy @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 07:39 PM) I don't have any of those stations. And I'm sorry, but I don't believe for ONE second that even on Air America people would phone in support for the branding of republicans (ALL republicans) or support their banishment. Comparing the current attitude towards republicans to the rampant anti-muslim sentiment in this country is just ignorant. There is absolutely NO WAY that is a relevant comparison. None whatsoever. You are right, they didn't say they wanted to brand all republicans. That is also not what i said, if you would just tone down your venom for a sec and read. I said that if an AA host started a similar rant, you would get the same type of responses. And then i said that I DID hear some AA callers express a desire to kill Rumsfeld and Bush over whatevere the slight of the day was. I have heard them wish for Chaney's heart to go so the country could be rid of him, and many other things like that. If AA callers would advocate killing our goverment leaders because they disagree with their politics, how far of a leap is it for branding or banishment? And if you don't believe it, find a way to tune in for an hour or so. They may still be streaming online somewhere, if that hasn't gone under as well. I haven't listened for over a month, so after the election, maybe they have mellowed without a cause. Randi Rhodes was the worst of the ones I heard.

Man....with all that spraying, i'd hate to be the ozone layer over Tommy Lee's house

QUOTE(Soxy @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 02:59 PM) Or Democrat, right? I mean, the prejudice against Republicans and democrats is easily on par with what Muslims, Jews, Latinos and other minorities encounter everyday. Please. Soxy, call up an Air America show, if you can still get one, and have a host start a similar discussion, and you will get worse. I am referring to the sheep mentality that some people have in regards to radio shows, people who will call in a parrot whatever a host says, and then some, just 'because'. And it isn't limited to 'ditto'. But I will say, I haven't heard callers on Medved call for anyone to be assassinated or killed just for their politics, like I have on Randi Rhode's Air America show.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 01:29 PM) Mega mega dittos* Southsider, you are a true American for saying that. *come on, I'm joking, I realize this covers all areas of ideology. The sad thing is he is probably right. Substitute Mexican, Jew, black or Republican for Muslim, and you would probably get the same response.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Dec 3, 2006 -> 05:12 AM) I know you don't know Flaxx personally, but if I had to guess, he's probably not living the luxorious life you're trying to create an example of here, so I'm not sure I buy your argument, EM. There are some people who get screwed. I agree with that much, but where I do disagree is that the government should handle it. But is it a social responsibility for companies to foot the bill? I wasn't trying to make any assumptions about Flaxx,just asking questions. Since he let us in on his situation, he falls into the catagory of people that could use some help.

Kenny was aggressive in a buyers market byacting early. Itis now a sellers market, and probably a wise thing to hold back and take his shot when the time is right. WOuld any of you have cheered had the Sox made any of the signings that the cubs did?

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Dec 3, 2006 -> 02:59 AM) . The kicker, however, is that due to federal funding cuts, the once-salaried position is now a contract position with no benefits. That is where the choice comes in. How important is health insurance to you at that point. Can you afford it? If the answer is no, is there something (or somethings) that you are buying that you don't need to? I don't mean food and clothes for you and the missus, but are you driving a new car? Buy a new sofa and a plasma tv? Season tickets to the Sox? If you have cut out luxuries, and still can't afford it, that sucks, and that is where there should be some help. I hear stories all the time from my mom who works at a grade school like what Jenks told. Moms coming in to apply for free lunch or waiver of book fees while driving a newer Lexus, $100 nail jobs and bling galore. I am fortunate to have insurance (not great, but it will do). However, I wanted to move out of a s***hole town, so i don't have season tickets anymore, drive a used car, andstopped spending money on a hobby I enjoyed to afford to move. I wish you well in yourdream job. It helps when you enjoy what you do. Congrats, I think.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 2, 2006 -> 04:47 AM) Spent most of the last 4 years doing nothing but driving a bike, no car. Never eat out. Rent, don't own a house. Still can't afford insurance for the Fiancee.

QUOTE(bmags @ Dec 2, 2006 -> 12:10 AM) I agree with this very much. I think dialogue is extremely important. So basically, true intentions mean nothing, and bulls*** is what rules here? Just say the right thing, even if it is total crap, and you get the 'high ground'. Doesn't make sense.

QUOTE(Soxy @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 11:52 PM) What about the kids of those don't have healthcare? For the record, I have a masters and am currently employed, but I don't have dental or vision insurance. Nor are any x-rays or other imaging techniques available to me if I don't have pre-approval from my company. And should I ever need to be hospitalized, well, I don't even want to think about that. So, I think you can get off your high horse a bit, not everyone with advanced degrees and a history of hard work gets good healthcare coverage. On a somewhat related note, we didn't have decent health insurance until my dad (who has a college degree and has worked 50-60 hours a week my whole life) joined a union--which I imagine you're also against. Soxy, what kind of car(s) do youdrive? How big is your house? Do you eat out often? Drive a less expensive car, downgrade your house and eat out less, maybe you can afford better insurance. For alot of people, the type of coverage is a 'lifestyle' choice. Why spend the extra $200 a week on insurance when we can get the new sportscar, or take the vacation to Europe. Unfortunatly, those people who can 'afford' insurance but choose not to get it also fall under the uninsured catagory. I bet the amount spent on season tickets would get a nice upgrade in coverage. And before you join him on the high horse, I know that there are always exception.

Courtesy of Cox & Forkum:

QUOTE(Texsox @ Nov 30, 2006 -> 03:47 AM) I guessed you missed the posts about human behavior being hardwired towards hatred and violence. That it would be impossible for someone, once they make a statement as bold as the destruction of Israel, to ever change. We hated Japan enough to drop two atomic bombs. If we accept that Iran could not change their ways, then we must accept that we can not change our ways. Unless we are a different kind of human. I believe that humans can change, it is the only way to have optimism that there can be peace. If the people involved can change, like we did towards Japan, and Germany for that matter, then it is possible for those countries to change as well. Idon't hink 'hate' factored into dropping the bombs on Japan. Yes, we were at war with them, but one of the deciding factors was the belief that Japan would not surrender unless we either invaded the island or use the bomb. As invading would have cost us ALOT of deaths on our side, we chose option B, more to save American lives than to kill Japanese lives out of hatred. Can Iran, the country, change its ways? Sure,but not overnight and to as big an extent as the window dressing on this propaganda piece will lead a few fools to believe.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Nov 29, 2006 -> 06:57 PM) No offense, Yas, but that kinda comes off like a backhanded insult to the military. The military ought to be a great way to better yourself. And if it isn't, then we ought to reconsider how we treat and pay our men in service. So Yas's comment comes off to you as an insult to the military, but Kerrry saying only stupid people join is not?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 29, 2006 -> 01:10 AM) Until I see someone willing to actually go on the record, or see the results of the airline's investigation, I don't see myself having a reason to either believe disbelieve them. I will say this...they're the only people out of that whole matter I've seen who appear to be willing to speak on record. Maybe noone on the plane wants to be beheaded?

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Nov 28, 2006 -> 02:44 PM) You don't think any government should be rebuilding NO? Not even NO's and LA's?! I'm of the opinion that the feds should butt out -- and I wrote that -- but, no one should be rebuilding NO but private contractors or something? I think the place is a death trap and accident waiting to happen and have no desire to spend billions building houses and/or businesses that are below the damn sealevel. They should make the place a park, or a monument or something. but putting poor people back below the level of the ocean is just plain wrong, foolish, pigheaded and shortsighted. If the state wants to spend its own tax dollars to rebuild, oh well. I would have a different opinion if the place wasn't a ready-made flood zone, but it is, and has been sinking as well, even before the hurricane. But lets argue/discuss that elsewhere.