EvilMonkey

Kinda funny the level of outrage GLADD and other groups are having over this, when they give their pal Baldwin a complete pass for worse. I guess since he donates money he gets a few 'get out of gay-outrage free' cards each year.

Mine went up, and the benefits went down. And my wife WORKS for an insurance company.

Here that ChiSox Sonix? You and I are myths!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 09:11 AM) Because that person has the ability to kill in a split second. He's a great example of what I think of when I think of a "responsible gun owner". He will call himself that. He will not call himself irresponsible, and the law as it stands right now agrees. You want to prove to me that there is such a thing? You should be cracking down on people like that. You want to know why I don't believe you when you say you're responsible? Because you're not cracking down on him. Cracking down on him for what? You want thought police now? What has he done, besides get under your skin and decide that he doesn't 'care' the same way you do?

QUOTE (Tex @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 10:07 AM) Useless to resist. Very pessimistic of you to say that.

Microaggressions. just another way to say you are racist/sexist/ageist/etc. whether you are or not. You all must hang out with some pretty rude people. If I saw a white couple with a black or asian kid, I wouldn't think twice about it, much less ask them if they are a spouse or kidnapping victim. Unless they were struggling to get away or something, of course. Not saying people aren't out there and can do it, just that is seemed embellished to me. Perhaps not, as the timeframe for those events to have happened could have been a large span. Either way, there should be no stigma for adoption. And apparently some people need to learn to be quiet.

I have no problem with the catcher getting run over if they are blocking the plate. It is when the catcher is in front of the plate or barely covering it and the runner aims for the catcher instead of trying to score that I don't like. But if they are going to ban collisions, they had better start enforcing no blocking of the plate without the ball or runners are going to start coming in spikes up.

This thread didn't make sense until I started reading thru all the posts,

My parents were foster parents for a few kids during my childhood years, and we eventually adopted my sister who had been with us since she was 1. However I think that this person is making half that stuff up in there for the sake of the story. It just doesn't sound right.

I'm all for seeing more pitches, but I like the idea of 'hey, it's a strike, swing at it!'. So tired of Sox batters watching strike one right down the middle, then swinging at ball one in the dirt for strike 2. Hope it works.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 23, 2013 -> 02:22 PM) Stop smoking, stop buying cadillacs. Its simple. Back in college Id smoke randomly, now I cant even imagine buying a pack of cigarettes. $10 for that junk? If Im going to kill myself its going to be with fun drugs. And that is really where sin tax needs to go if you want it to be successful. Allow rich people to pay to break the law. Id pay for that. Id actually want to make more money if my money could be spent doing what I want to do. Estate tax really shouldnt be that important if we have a high enough income tax. You paid when you made it, you get to keep it. And to be fair, if you are really rich you have a trust or some other instrument to avoid this anyways. Its really not hard. Sometimes I dont know what world you are living in. Its not theft to charge 90% tax rate on any amount of money made over $1bil. It may not be "fair" but guess what, life isnt fair. People like Mark Cuban dont need you protecting them, they already pay people a lot of money to convince people like you that raising their taxes is really bad. It isnt. It absolutely is theft, born of of greed, envy or whatever you want to call it. So if you go out to eat with a group of friends, and you make the most of all of them, do you pay the most of all of them? And I don't mean picking up the tab once in a while, every time you go out, do you pay more in a group setting, or do you force whoever has the largest paycheck to pay more?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 23, 2013 -> 01:51 PM) And, for the record, I don't agree with the concept that cabinet posts require Senate confirmation at all. I believe the chief executive should be able to choose whatever lieutenants he or she wants. With the power that some of these positions have, like head of the EPA which essentially makes up laws on its own, they do need some oversight.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 23, 2013 -> 02:00 PM) Mark Cuban could make all of that money in large part because of the US's legal patent system and enforcement of it, no? it doesn't matter how he makes it, as long as it is legal. He made it, not you or the Feds. he pays taxes as part of an implied social contract that we all pay our share of running the government. But when his share dwarfs everyone elses, it because punishment of his success.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 23, 2013 -> 07:20 AM) First of all I reject it is a punishment to live in this country and pay taxes. There are very few places on the planet that do not collect taxes, so I reject your implication that we should not tax at all. So if you agree with me that it is necessary to tax people, then the debate becomes how much to tax and in what manner. If you think we shouldn't "punish" the wealthy by collecting any taxes, then you can stop reading here, but I really doubt that is the case. A few reasons why I believe we should revert back to the tax rates of twenty and thirty years ago. A graduated income tax is the fairest. Money that is used for food, clothing, and shelter should not be taxed as heavy as money used for a third or fourth home, European vacations, and manicures. So higher income gets taxed more than lower income. If we looked at the country that could be built and maintained based on a tax rate that just the poor and middle class could afford, we would not have the infrastructure, the military, and all those roads, forest preserves, etc. If we want a first world country, we need to collect more income than a third world country. The wealth, in most cases, came from the purchases that the middle class and poor made. If you are telling someone that because they made X amount of money you are going to take more than half of it, for the same services that everyone else is paying less for, you are punishing them for being successful. While I might want all of Mark Cuban's money, he made something, had an idea or sold something to get the money, it is his money. Not yours. Should he pay double every time he orders a cheeseburger because he is rich? Should you pay more because you make over the poverty line? It is punishment and theft if you want to take more than half.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-24...eath-lists.html NOw on one level I have no problem with this. End of life care is the most expensive out there. But the NHS already had one scandal where doctors were putting people on the 'Death Pathway' without even telling them or their families. I can see where people are sceptical of motives. Just remember, when you get 80+ and want that new treatment that will extend your life a few more months, there will be someone, somewhere, besides you, deciding if you can get it or not. Also, two for one! Seems that 'free' healthcare may not be sustainable, at least in England. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/he...rn-8876505.html

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 01:13 PM) Which is a roundabout way back to my point. For job creation, I believe we ought to be reducing taxes on the middle class and begin increasing on the wealthiest. The best bang for the buck is having a middle class spending more money. Why do you want to punish the wealthy? They earned the money, why do you want to take it from them? Do they use the police more than everyone else? Use the roads? Forest preserves or County hospitals? Why do you want to use the tax code to punish people, because that is what you are saying there.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 01:19 PM) BTW, how will birthers react to Ted Cruz for President? Why are you assuming birthers are Republicans? I seem to remember that coming very loudly from the Hillary camp back in the day. And it's not the birthers you have to worry about, its all the lame-ass Dems that wanna have a 'gotcha' moment who will be complaining the loudest, but not realizing that most people just don't care.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 11:16 AM) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/o...er-last-decade/ they will make that back when they get control of healthcare by denying benefits to old people and end of life care.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 03:31 PM) Just so I am clear, Jenks, Alpha, and SS2k5 all believe McJobs and working at Walmart are the examples of job creation we should slash taxes to get. Would Walmart or McDonalds try to get by with less staff if the owner's taxes were higher? What if it meant that the middle class would be paying less taxes and spending that money at McD and WalMart? Tex, no where have I ever said that, and you know it. I have said repeatedly that nobody should be paying more than half their income in taxes. It's not the governments money, it belongs to whoever makes it. For myself, I have said I don't care if my taxes are lowered, just stop raising them. Kinda like the tea Party acronym, Taxed Enough Already. Make do with what you have. I have to. And you do a disservice to the McJobs you disparage. Not everyone can start out making $15 an hour in some office. there are skills to be learned before you can become a productive member of society. How to show up on time, follow directions, handle customer interactions and so on. There is a reason they are supposed to be starter jobs. You go on or you go up. You don't stay in the same spot for 20 years. You can get promoted at McDonalds, or almost any fast food for that matter, if you want to. Express an interest in moving up and they will train you. Express no interest and you stay flipping burgers for the rest of your life. 30 hourly workers at one McD's also has 4-6 shift managers, at least 1 assistant manager and one general manager. Get a franchisee who owns more than one and he also employs office people to coordinate things, could be 2 or 3, could be 50 or more, depending on the amount of stores.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 02:45 PM) And he provided his laborers enough wages to make a "living?" Again, this gets back to my statement about what a living wage is - is it enough to survive, or is it enough to live a middle class, 2 story home with a picket fence, multiple cars, vacations, etc. Go to McDonalds and see how many workers have smartphones.

So you eliminate loopholes that allow people to pay much lower than they should. Many people on both sides of the aisle wold go for that. But there is no reason anyone should ever have to pay more than half what they make to the government, no matter how much they make.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 12:19 PM) ...and speaking on this thread, this is actually a very interesting subject. I know quite a few people that view me as rich, and I'm really not, but it would be impossible to convince them of that. In comparison, it may appear that way, but a lot of the reality behind it is overlooked. First, my wife is a stay at home mom, we have two kids, etc. Outside of my mortgage, I have no debt. Now, an interesting thing about Facebook, Twitter, and other such social media is it allows us to do is silently observe people. It doesn't take long for me to realize why I'm viewed as rich because I always seem to have money, while they view themselves as poor. All one needs to do is look at their timeline to see where they spend all their money ... which is eating out seemingly EVERY DAY. The last place I ate out at was Buffalo Wild Wings...29$. Meanwhile, I see picture after picture of these "poor" people at Blackhawks games, Bears games, restaurants, etc... Yes, I'm rich then. Because I don't spend more than I make. The worst part ... when your success is attributed to luck. Yes, my company pays me what they pay me because I'm lucky. That's what it is. yeah, I have a $35 a month 'stupid' phone instead of spending hundreds for the latest so-called smart one. Saves a lot.

Didn't he do well in that baseball classic thing or whatever it was, where there WAS some major league pitching present?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2013 -> 05:34 PM) That can also only happen so much though. While it may well be possible to replace some mcDonalds employees with automation, you cannot outsource the entire operation. Furthermore, eventually the people in the "low cost of labor" country start wanting things like clean air and a living wage as well, problems China is starting to deal with today. You can get pretty close it seems. http://www.gizmag.com/hamburger-machine/25159/

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 18, 2013 -> 09:11 AM) You do realize how awful the history of the concept "cleaning the gene pool" is, right? Yeah, just read up on the founder of Planned Parenthood.