Y2HH

LOL. I despise public transportation. I drive to work every day.

Then I guess the solution actually is to start killing them on sight since you don't think any other solution is viable. Guess we should just give up! It can be done, despite the excuses I'm hearing here.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 5, 2010 -> 09:04 AM) The problem as I see it is effort and intent. If we made it a crime to accept a forged $20 imagine how much effort people may go through to verify if their change is authentic. How much effort did you last employer do to check if you were legal? They took and item from column A and an item from column B, photocopied them and placed them in your file. I think they can do more, but how much more? There are no standards for birth certificates. Maybe a national right to work card is a good idea, but how much would that cost versus implementing a guest worker program that actually benefits American business? Actually, my last 5 employers did deep background checks on me, drug tests, etc. And we aren't just talking huge corporations here, but a few very small companies that did these same things (1 of which had less than 20 employees). So um...I don't know what you're talking about. The means to check people exist, but because some companies are lazy we should just ignore it?! I think not. MOST modern employers do background checks...they don't just photocopy ID's and stick them in folders. If they don't have VALID US I.D./papers FROM the US on their entry, then they shouldn't be hired. Who cares about foreign papers or birth certificates, that's not for US employers to examine or accept. They can go to the US Government with those and start the process as they're supposed too. If these government papers are forged/fake, a background check will reveal them to not really exist and to be fakes. If they're cases of ID theft, again, the company in question cannot be held liable, however, the crime of ID theft needs to be of major consequence.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ May 4, 2010 -> 08:20 PM) No it certainly doesn't. My assumption in non-Bizzaro World situations is that the employer would have to be shown to have knowingly hired an undocumented worker -- not merely that they have been duped into doing so. Is this not the case in some instances? Exactly. While papers may be "forged", it's EASY to check if they're legit. Aside from a pure identity theft case, in which the persons name and SSN are actually valid, forged/falsified documents will not check out, if they're checked out as they should be, simply because the information a) won't match, or B) won't exist in government computers. In the case it was via an identity theft, the company wouldn't be liable as they can show they were duped with legit information, albeit stolen, they did their due diligence. However, the identity thief should be tossed in prison for life. Identity theft is a crime that cannot be overlooked anymore, as it is and will become even BIGGER than it is now in the future. Send the damn message that it's not tolerated one way or another, not here and not anywhere else, either. Ignoring the issue doesn't help. And it does nothing but harm those who actually go through the legit process of coming here.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2010 -> 05:38 PM) I've gotten the impression that a lot of the jobs that immigrants take are in the construction and food processing industries, and whether we want to admit it or not, the days of the family farm are long since gone. Then up the fine to $50,000,000 for companies of certain size. Fixed. Whatever the case may be, cut off the reason they come here illegally at the source, then open the gate for those who do it legally to prosper, rather than suffer as they do now. Doing nothing isn't the answer.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2010 -> 04:59 PM) Having to pay a few tens of billions of dollars to clean up an oil spill has prevented oil spills. Potentially winding up on the hook for billions in a gender discrimination suit definitely prevented that from being a problem. The flaw with this logic is you are applying the resources of big oil (billions upon billions) to that of regular everyday companies who hire these people, which deal in millions (if they're lucky). While your point may hold water for billion dollar corporations with money to burn (like WalMart), these aren't the types of companies that [usually] tend to hire illegals in the first place. If/when they do, they get caught, they know they get caught, so they're usually smart enough to avoid it altogether. The target here is the companies that DO cut corners and look for such illegals to vastly underpay, and these types of companies and/or individuals cannot typically afford to pay 50,000$ fines.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2010 -> 08:28 AM) Which is an odd example, because the British immigration laws say that if you're there for 5 years as a worker, you're eligible for citizenship. No one's making "mandatory" citizenship something we're talking about here, but leaving the option open is important. If you've been there for the right number of years and you lose the job that's keeping you there legally, and you want to stay, you can then apply for citizenship. There's also one other noteworthy distinction to make...if you're going from the U.S. to Britain, as opposed to Mexico to the U.S., there's usually a much larger downgrade in quality of life in returning to Mexico rather than returning to the U.S., which makes deportation a much more useful threat/punishment. Being eligible for citizenship and being a citizen are two very different things. If you illegally enter Europe, leech off their government, get caught...they'll kick you out faster than the US would.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 3, 2010 -> 02:34 PM) Sometimes people tend to get heated in political discussions, they should always be accounted for. People often say over the top things, such as that, in such discussions. Take them with a grain of salt.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 3, 2010 -> 02:13 PM) Just wanted to interject a little story. Went to a baptism and luncheon yesterday in the burbs for a childhood friend's daughter. The wife and I were assigned to sit at a table with a bunch of people we didn't know. Somehow the topic of conversation switched to Arizona and the immigration issue. The 2 of us proceeded to listen to everyone else comment on their opinions on the matter which included everything from the least alarming ("round 'em all up and ship 'em out!") to the disconcerting ("they should have M-16s set up along the border with heat sensors to kill on sight"). And this was a very serious discussion, not lighthearted barbs. It was hard to bite my tongue sitting at a table of ultra right wingers but it made me sad that there are so many people out there with absolutely zero compassion. That doesn't mean they have zero compassion. I think it'd take more than a singular conversation to make such a judgment on a person. I personally have rather harsh opinions on the immigration issue, however, I'm not without compassion, and I'm sure they aren't, either.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 3, 2010 -> 11:37 AM) We will go 20-6 in May starting with tonight's no hitter from Peavy. You are very optimistic. I hope you are right, too.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ May 2, 2010 -> 07:56 PM) The Spanish settlers breaking away form Spain like the U.S. revolutionaries breaking away from England. Very admirable. Anyways, if you guys think that stuff is going back to Spain it's probably time to put down the crack pipe lol. or is it? shouldn't we give it back to it's rightful owners? No, we shouldn't. It's ours now.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 04:08 PM) My dividends are re-invested since I never touch them. I actually shouldn't even really care about any of this because I'm not really touching those until I'm like 50, 60 years old. You own oil company stocks? This is actually a sector I own none of. I do own energy stocks, but no oil stocks. I never auto-reinvest dividends, I usually take them when the pool up enough and buy a bargain stock rather than sinking more money into a company I already own. It helps with further diversification.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 12:55 PM) For those keeping score at home, this incident absolutely infuriates me. For once we can stand on the same side of the line. There is no way things like this happen unless corners are cut somewhere in the process of building/maintaining such a rig. This was out of carelessness and cost cutting. I hope BP burns for this.

Oh, and for those of you looking to invest in energy -- look at FE.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 08:20 AM) All part of our insidious plan to remove as many Republican voters as possible... I don't vote republican very often, FYI.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 08:17 AM) That I'll grant you. But it's not like Prince William Sound wasn't big. I was what, 8, and I remember hearing about that on the news. That's like 1 of 2 news stories from that decade I can clearly remember. Maybe 3, counting Noriega. Besides...whether or not "Obama" may want BP to pay through the nose...there's very little he can do directly to make it happen aside from EPA fines...but if they didn't break any rules, then it will be up to a court to get them. For all we know they may have followed every rule/requirement to the letter. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they did, given that we've just spent 8 years dismantling as many rules as we could. There is a LOT he can do. BP requested help from the US military, and Obama has already said BP will pay for that help. It's nice when you can charge WHATEVER YOU WANT PER HOUR and call it "labor costs", when in reality it'll be fines.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 12:44 PM) LOL, that's a good one. Reminds me of surveys where most people think LG is American and Motorola is Japanese. Actual Arizona firms facing a boycott: Cold Stone Creamery, U-Haul and Best Western. Are we sure this was meant to be legitimate and not hipster irony? Package some crappy beer with that slogan and it'd sell like hotcakes in certain Chicago markets. f*** that. Cold Stone Creamery is awesome and I will now eat 1500x more than I did before to make up for any lost business they incur.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 08:14 AM) Really, this thread wouldn't have existed 10 years ago? You and I have different memories of 10 years ago. Hell, Kyoto was 1998. Ok, this thread may have existed, and there would have been three people in it. Again, I repeat, the world is MUCH more environmentally aware than it was 10 years ago. For you to even try to pretend otherwise is ridiculous.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 07:43 AM) Bah, if I were really worried I'd have sold it by now. What's much, much, much more likely is that any fines or settlements get hung up in court for 20 years, and eventually get stripped down to virtually nothing by some combination of a pro-business supreme court and the next "Drill baby drill" congress, while most of the costs for destroying one of the most important fisheries, tourist destinations, and shipping lines in the U.S. gets eaten up by the government. Considering that's exactly what happened after Prince William Sound, I think it's a safe prediction. I would have agreed with this a few years ago or during previous administrations...but Obama is going to make an example out of BP. Also, the world is MUCH more environmentally aware these days (this thread wouldn't have existed 10 years ago) even with an oil spill. BP is going to pay through the nose for this one and it'll be reflected on their income statements for the next few quarters. I think this stock will go down much further than it is now, despite it's 9 multiple. Unlike Prince William Sound, this ones washing up on warm beaches in the Gulf. Also, note that this may eclipse William Sound in terms of disaster. Oil tankers have a limited amount of oil in them, this is a well, and unless fixed, will probably dump a few tankers worth of oil into the Gulf. No. BP is going to pay for this one. heh As attractive that dividend it -- there are better alternative buys out there right now paying the same dividend with way bigger upside.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 07:37 AM) Maybe I should have sold that BP stock. BP pays a huge dividend (>6%), despite the recent fall in share price, they are currently trading at around a 9 multiple. However, this can be VERY bad for them, as they will be on the hook for all the cleanup costs, and any/all fines incurred. This may decimate their stock as well as force them to cut that hefty dividend. Only time will tell. But as it stands right now, even if the stock goes down, if they don't slash that dividend, that's a 6% annual return, try finding that in any money market, savings account or CD.

IIRC, Pierre has always been a slow starter. His first few month in particular is always bad. I recall that when he was with the Cubs, he started exactly like this and was called a bust by all the Cubs fans. were exactly like this, but look at his season stats. He ended up hitting .292 with 58 SB that year.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 05:57 AM) That's like blaming the Chicago Police for gang violence -- just because they're ineffective at stopping it doesn't make them ultimately responsible for it. Not quite. Fannie and Freddie weren't very private and didn't help matters much.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 27, 2010 -> 02:00 PM) How can high profile cases like this consistently get thrown out or go the cops' way? Anthony Abbate anyone? I'm not sure they always do. These are by far a small sample of a much bigger picture. There are plenty of Police that lost their jobs from questionable rulings/politics, too, but that's less of a story to print in a paper.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 27, 2010 -> 01:52 PM) Judge throws out arrest of cop accused in fatal DUI crash The same judge from this case. Unreal. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/04...ce-verdict.html They're disliked because people are largely ignorant. Not all cops are bad. Not all are bad, either. Don't allow the actions of a few to speak for the actions of the majority.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 27, 2010 -> 01:27 PM) Am I denying there's waste in governance? No, that'd be silly. But what always happens is people get elected promising to balance the budget by demolishing waste (I believe that governor a**-grabber got elected by smashing an old automobile), then they get into office, go after that evil waste, and they find it's a factor of 100x or 1000x less than what they originally thought. And the waste that is there winds up being in things that they can't cut...like where it saves you large sums of money to provide people with family planning services and end of life services, but then you wind up being accused of setting up "Death panels". Things like Medicare, Social Security, etc., wind up operating with vastly lower operating costs than similar setups outside of the government, because they're helped by economies of scale. The one place where there's probably legitimately large amounts of "Waste" that you could cut...the DOD. But defense cuts = you want all the troops to die. So, the only way to actually eliminate waste is to spend even more money on defense to make it look better, like Obama had to do in order to get rid of the F-22. Here is an massive example of waste in government, and this is recent. I have family that work for streets and san. The City was renting trucks for years for various duties, hauling, etc. I'd venture to guess they were being rented from friends of the Daley family, but that's just speculation and not the point I'm trying to make. All the while they were doing this -- now get this -- they owned and maintained their own fleet of the SAME exact trucks. So on top of already owning them outright, they were RENTING them, and as an added bonus, while the ones they owned sat unused, they were forced to rent a storage facility in order to store these unused trucks. * Rental cost of storage facility -- wasted. * Rental cost of rented vehicles -- wasted. Waste like that is EVERYWHERE in government. You wanted an example, there is a big one. We aren't talking about a few thousand in waste here...but MILLIONS of dollars a year.