Y2HH

QUOTE (Tex @ May 11, 2010 -> 12:47 PM) Few thoughts. Not everyone here is planning on staying forever. There are students, people on a temporary work assigment, etc. Actually way more than you think. I don't expect them to suddenly embrace all things American. People have different ways to show their love of country. I never agreed with the America, love it or leave it point of view. We have the right to criticize the government. I guess some of y'all would be unhappy to hear my students signing the Star Spangeld Banner in French, Spanish, and English? I have no problem with criticizing government. Love it or leave it is stupid, and not what I'm saying. I'm merely saying if it was so great where you're from, why'd you come here at all if it was on a permanent basis. Those coming here on a temporary basis, legally, can continue to do what they want...also not the people I'm talking about. To drop any political correctness here, I'm talking about the illegals who come here for a better life, but still fly that flag they ran from. :usa :usa

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 11, 2010 -> 10:24 AM) You lost me on this one. Why is it a problem for people to fly a flag that isn't a US flag? Walk into my home, and on the wall you will find a family crest and a family history scroll from Ireland. Does that make me less American? I think not. There is a difference in acknowledging your heritage, and remembering it, and embracing it...and then there is completely ignoring that you're American now, which isn't what you're talking about at all. I have no problem with that variation of what you are explaining versus what I'm explaining. I do, however, have a problem with people who come here, become citizens, and then refuse to stand during our national anthem because it's "not their anthem", or those who choose to fly their native countries flags, but never fly the US flag nor care, yet they're the first to hide behind the laws of our land. If that's you, f*** you too.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:59 AM) GMAFB about the flag b.s. Who gives a s***. I do. Come here and become one of us. That was once enough for people...now it's not. They want to come here with all of our rights, and privileges, but they refuse to accept who they are now, embracing a past that wasn't good enough for them in the first place. I know it's a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things...but it still annoys me.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:40 AM) I don't think we're talking white collar people at these border towns. Your thought pattern changes a bit when you're at poverty levels. And did you frown upon those that crossed the Berlin wall to enter West Germany back in the cold war era? They were breaking the law after all. Breaking the law is one thing -- accepting the consequences in such a situation is another. I'll be the first to admit that in a similar situation, I'd do the same...I'd accept the fact that I have to break laws to live, however, in doing that, I also have to accept the possible outcome of breaking said laws. In this case, to me, the risk would be worth the possible reward...but if I was caught, I'd also have to accept THAT outcome, too. My father fled Germany in the early 50's, depression ridden, and came to the US legally, painstakingly, and with no money. He made a life for himself and his family, and he did it 100%. He's an American citizen now, considers me and my brother Americans, and said he has no interest in returning to the country he fled. He embraced the American way in every aspect. I remember as a child, we were called down the principals office because my father had filled out the school application and crossed out what ancestry (when they still asked this), and wrote American for us. They literally told him you can't do that...and he said, well, I did...because that's what they are, Americans. They're not Germans. They've never been Germans. So they'll be treated as Americans. I think the problem today is a lot of people come here for the easier life, but refuse to become American, despite gaining citizenship...they still love to float their countries flags. Go back there if it was so great. I'm all for people having opportunity, but recognize who gave you that opportunity, and MELT, as they love to say. Leave your flags where they belong, and understand you now stand beneath the star spangled banner. They want to be Americans, yet they don't. This annoys me to no end today.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:29 AM) The fact that you can't understand that there are people who benefit from this regulatory environment and that they're the ones you're defending with your argument is equally unbelievable to me. I think he understands that there are exploiters out there benefiting from it, but that's besides the point. If it was done right, they wouldn't be.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:29 AM) Dude, I vote Democrat. My phone/email was monitored for the last 8 years. I know, I have photos of the 35 illegals living in your home. I'm just waiting for enough back taxes and other such fines to pile up before we move in for the arrest. People on Soxtalk will be like -- what ever happened to Balta?! And they'll say, that Kappie douchebag Y2HH ended up being a federal agent and arrested him for housing illegals. And then they'll be all like

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:28 AM) Why, so you guys can arrest me? Yes. Reported.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:22 AM) It's real easy to shout platitudes when you don't have a reasonable solution to the problem to offer. Just as it's easy to ignore the problem and let it carry on because you don't have a reasonable solution, either. Two way street with this one, friendo.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:14 AM) So what would you have us do with the person who tries to escape it with his or her family? Would you have us lock them up permanently? If you've got a cartel hunting you, do you really think that's a bad option? If you drive them to the border and drop them off, aren't they just going to come right back across? I'm not pretending to have the answers or know what to do with them. But I do know that we cannot ignore it, and continue to let illegals swarm in here. We simply CANNOT support that. You can pretend we can, but we can't, wake up and realize that. And if we let it go on, you'll soon be suffering, too. Then what, we should all run up to Canada? No. f*** that. This MY home. My father immigrated here -- LEGALLY -- from a situation FAR WORSE, so let's not pretend it can't be done. We make excuses, we set bars lower, we tolerate the intolerable, and all in the name of good...but in the end, it's going to crush us...we simply cannot support this. Stop pretending we can.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:13 AM) It's kind of our problem. We are the ones doing all the drugs. Not quite. I'm sure the American people aren't helping when they support that market, nor any black market...but that's NOT my problem. Don't over simplify such an issue with something like this. It's far more complicated.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:03 AM) ^^And what would you do if that was your family? (Y2HH) "Sorry honey. We'll have to stay here and get killed my the drug cartel. I wouldn't want to impose on anyone by moving 100 miles north." I'm not pretending to say it's fair, or even good. But I'm trying to be realistic. We don't have the means to take all the suffering in this world and save them. I really wish we did. But we don't. And you need to start being realistic about that, which I know is against what your heart is telling you. Believe me, it's against what mine tells me. But in the end, it's just not there...it's impossible. You can bring them all here, and for a few months their suffering would end...and then everyone living here would be suffering just as much. It's bulls*** that the cartels have such a stranglehold on that country, it's bulls*** that murders and rapists exist...and it's bulls*** that the unjust in this world seem to be getting a free pass while the innocent suffer. But again, it's not the problem of the American people, no matter how much you want it to be. It's unfair. But it is.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ May 10, 2010 -> 10:27 PM) I was talking to my wife's Mom on Mother's Day, and she told me what had just happened to her cousin in Mexico. Her cousin lives in a border town in Mexico. Someone from one of the cartels showed up at her house one day and gave the cousin and her husband a choice. Work for the cartel packaging drugs, or their whole family would be killed. They had 24 hours to agree or they could leave without incident, but the cartel was seizing their house in 24 hours. The same offer was made to all their neighbors. So they came to the US illegally. This isn't a unique situation. This type of intimidation has been happening for 20+ years in Mexico - and not just in the border towns. The people have nowhere to turn because the government is corrupted by the cartels. The law enforcement is corrupted by the cartels. And believe it or not, our Border Patrol has been corrupted by the cartels. The cartels give you a choice. Work with us or you and your family die. Some choice. Another example of the corruption of the Mexican police: A friend of mine took a job in Mexico city. He's white, so he stood out. One day he was walking through the center of town, and a cop took him by the arm and started to question him about some nonsense and tried to get him into his police car. My friend said it just didn't seem right, so he broke free from the cop and started running toward another cop he saw directing traffic. The cop who had grabbed my friend didn't pursue. He was just looking to kidnap and empty my friend's bank accounts. My friend quit his job and left immediately. Successful Mexicans don't have that chance. So the American people should bow down to the cartels and just pay for all the illegals that come here because of the cartels is the answer? Not for nothing, but it's not our problem. And I don't mean to sound insensitive...but you know, it's a big world out there and a LOT of nations have problems. People are starving in China, Africa, and a number of other places, with little to no choice -- maybe we should bring them all here and save them, too. I realize they don't have the simple means of jumping a boarder, but the point is, we can't solve the entire worlds problems...any attempt to do so would destroy our own country, too. I really wish it were like Star Trek, money didn't exist, and everyone lived in the perfect world. But again, a lot of people in this world don't have a choice, we are blessed to have been born here, and there are plenty of other nations where you could feel blessed to be born. And then there are the many that you're born into a nightmare. The US isn't going to solve the worlds problems...maybe someday, but not in our lifetimes. The money is spread thinner and thinner. The world is overpopulated and there will always be problems. But heaving those problems onto the backs of the American people while the rest of the world turns the other way and pretends to help is bulls***. The USA does MORE to help via charity and aid than ANY other nation -- probably MORE than all other nations combined. But in the end, somethings gotta give. And it's starting to break the bank.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 11, 2010 -> 08:42 AM) Easy. Walker doesn't mess with the veterans. They're doing it on their own. Walker could go AWOL as of today and spend the rest of the year camping in Montana and it wouldn't make any difference to our hitting. He might be the most irrelevant person on the Sox payroll. He basically gets paid to fly around with the team. They got to the majors on their own -- they don't need Walker now. Nor do the veterans. And IIRC, Walker had Rios drop his hands to a lower starting position -- and suddenly he can hit again. Walker is meaningless, all hitting coaches are meaningless. Even the rookies got to the Majors.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 08:32 AM) He's 2/10 career against Jenks, 10/39 against Buehrle, 7/26 against Floyd, 0/5 against Putz, 0/3 against Linebrink and 0/3 against Peavy. He's actually only a .278 hitter against the guys currently in our pitching staff. I was only kidding Mr. Statistic!

Fire X threads are always useless. Blaming Oz or Walker for everything that goes wrong while giving them no credit for anything that goes right is convenient for such arguments, but in the end, useless. If Walker sucks so much, explain Konerko, Rios and Jones. Examples like this go on and on for every coach mentioned.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 08:08 AM) Mauer is a career .350 hitter against Thornton. Morneau is at .143 against him. In fairness, Mauer is like a career .350 hitter against everyone.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ May 8, 2010 -> 08:48 PM) You've been predicting 100% losses for three years now. Hahahaha, 100% losses. I have some terrible news for such a prediction. If the US market went down to 0 -- which would be a 100% loss -- the entire world would enter a depression that would make the original depression look like good financial times.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 23, 2010 -> 06:41 PM) This is what I bought for my place today to replace my old regular deadbolt. Apparently this thing is bullet and break in proof. It's no more secure than a regular deadbolt and/or other type of lock. The weak point of an entryway is the door itself, not the lock, but what the lock connects too. Do you have any glass on your door that can be easily broken and then opened via reach around? How strong the frame surrounding your door? This is actually the weakest point of any front or rear door, as these doors are usually void of glass and are made of solid wood, however, door frames are smaller pieces of wood with wood framing covering them in order to make them look pretty. If you ever took off the framing and shimmed a door, you'd know what I mean. The easiest way to break that lock is to kick the door off the frame. If done properly, one solid kick in the proper area will suffice. Usually, this creates noise, but depending on where you live, noise sometimes doesn't matter anymore, most people are too afraid to get involved. Houses are usually broken into when people know you have things. Don't throw out large TV or computer boxes so anyone that drives or walks through your alley can see what you just bought. These are signs they look for. And quite often, Cable/Sat TV installers are the people that case places and tip their friends off to which houses to rob. Don't post when you're going on vacation on face book or other forums where the public can use a variety of means to figure out when you won't be home for an extended period, etc. More often than not, common sense are the best locks to keeping your houses safe, not spending money on unbreakable locks, when nobody plans on breaking the locks anyway when a side window or a door frame are easier to break than a lock.

Fringe was awesome. Can't wait for the final 2 part episodes coming up. The showdown begins.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 5, 2010 -> 03:59 PM) We could also win the war on drugs if every employer drug tested every employee weekly. No, this still wouldn't do it.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 5, 2010 -> 02:18 PM) Y2HH is a poster much like people we've all met - the ones who argue by trying to find your soft spots, and then poke at them until you get yourself in a tizzy. Note that he didn't criticize your view on mass transit at all, by the way. Just asserted his own methods. Heh. My friends call me the groups devil's advocate. I do utilize the thank you for smoking method of argument...I did it long before that movie was made, but that movie hit the nail on the head of my style of argument. I don't argue to prove another person wrong, I argue to prove myself right, one way or another, and if I'm right, bystanders will just automatically assume the other guy is wrong...even if he isn't. And yes, often this equates to trying to get the other guy to emotionally attach himself to an ideal he's arguing for, that way you can make them appear biased, thus untrustworthy. I often don't even realize I'm doing it or really mean to do it. I just do. :/

QUOTE (bmags @ May 5, 2010 -> 02:10 PM) And I like being able to walk to restaurants and grocery stores and not having to deal with parking, gas prices, auto insurance or car maintenance LOLOLOLOLOZOOLZOLZOLZOLZOZL Actually, for everything other than work travel, I walk or ride my bike, especially for neighborhood type distances. Of course this doesn't apply to my camping trips, which often involve state to state driving. But in relation to that, I also tent camp or backpack, no trailer homes or crazy amenities to make life easier on the road. My commute to work is 35 minutes by car, it's well over an hour by bus/train, it's just not worth it for me, especially considering I get a huge parking discount.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 5, 2010 -> 02:12 PM) Dude, he's just trying to get your goat, and you keep falling for it. =]

Because only republicans make money on wall street.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 5, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) That's hilarious. It wasn't meant to be funny. What it is, is wonderful. Freedom is great, isn't it? I'm free to choose to drive to work, because I can, because I dislike public transportation. Oh, wait, you only like freedom when people agree with what you agree with, right?