Middle Buffalo

I'm looking forward to sprinkling "supposably" back into my conversations. I made the change to "supposedly" a few years ago, but have never really been comfortable with it. I think I'll even start calling the third day of the work week "Wed-ens-day" again, just like Mom taught me. I was shamed into the "Wens-day" pronunciation by a co-worker some time ago. I'm taking back my lexicon!!!!!

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 19, 2010 -> 09:36 PM) Baseball is a funny game. I'm not saying it will happen, but it would be so funny if we were to sweep KC and Minnesota, flying high after beating us 7 of the last 10, loses the next 3. If the shoe were on the other foot, I could see that happening. Had the Sox won seven of 10 vs. Minnie and had a four-game lead, we promptly lose all 3 to KC and they sweep. Something freaky like that would be right up the Sox alley. So why not have it reversed? That would be sooo cool. You still have that land in Upper Mongolia available?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 09:26 PM) Uh, if you think we are gonna maybe win tomorrow, I've got some land in upper Mongolia I'd like to interest you in. This week was dubbed party week in Minnesota a while ago. They are putting us away this week. I doubt that you own land in Mongolia.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 08:31 PM) The thing is, we will get back in this thing somehow. There are still a lot of baseball games to be played, and the Twins will falter a bit against other teams, and we will put some bizarre winning streak together against some good teams somehow. If we win tomorrow, we're 4 games back. The Twins have won 9 of their last 10, while we've lost 8 of 10. They won't stay that hot, and we won't stay this cold. It's not over, people need to relax.

Great video. I cried.

New report clarifies reality vs. perception in immigration debate I copied the list portion of the article. Full article at link. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/arizona/a...1cc4c002e0.html PERCEPTION VS. REALITY The Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University released a paper on the perceptions and realities of immigration. The report notes 9 common assertions - and whether they are solid, not provable or false. 1) Virtually all Arizonans consider undocumented immigration a threat. • REALITY: 70 percent of Arizonans supported a law to authorize police to stop and verify the immigration status of anybody suspected of being an illegal immigrant, according to an April Rasmussen poll. At the same time, 57 percent favored a policy welcoming all immigrants except criminals, those who threaten national security or those here for welfare benefits. 2) Most violent crime is committed by undocumented immigrants. • REALITY: That sentiment doesn't separate types of crime, such as drug cartel violence in Mexico, crime by drug smugglers against their rivals and general crime. Arizona's crime levels have declined or been level for years. From 1999 to 2006, states with high numbers of immigrants like Arizona saw crime drop more than the national average. 3) Undocumented immigrants are entering Arizona in record numbers. • REALITY: The flow peaked about a decade ago. It has slowed or even stopped since the economic decline. The Department of Homeland Security estimated 460,000 undocumented immigrants in Arizona in 2009. 4) Undocumented immigrants are a drain on the economy. • REALITY: They contribute sales tax dollars and billions of dollars annually in federal payroll taxes by workers who are ineligible to collect the benefits. They provide cheap labor that reduces costs. However, they hold mostly low-wage jobs, rely heavily on public services and send money to their home nation. It's probably impossible to calculate the net economic effect in a way both sides would find conclusive. 5) Arizona's prisons are bursting with undocumented immigrants. • REALITY: The Department of Corrections reports 15 percent of inmates are "criminal aliens." About 19 percent of inmates are undocumented in the Maricopa County Jail system. 6) Stiffer laws and tougher border enforcement will rid Arizona of undocumented immigrants. • REALITY: This has begun, with illegal crossers falling from 600,000 in 2000 to 241,000 in 2009. It's doubtful most undocumented families would leave because they've been welcomed over the past decade for their labor and have established their lives here with children who were born as U.S. citizens. 7) Undocumented immigrants flood the public health system. • REALITY: Undocumented immigrants have been ineligible for the AHCCCS health care plan for the poor since 2004. But by law, hospitals must treat everybody in an emergency room, which is partially reimbursed by the federal government. Arizona hospitals report losing $24 million a year for treating undocumented patients. That sum is 6 percent of the $392 lost a year for treatment of all under insured or uninsured patients. Some studies show undocumented immigrants use emergency rooms less than native-born people. 8) Undocumented immigrants take jobs from native-born Americans and depress wages. • REALITY: Undocumented immigrants are overrepresented in the low-skilled workforce because the native population is aging. The upcoming wave of Baby Boomer retirements will likely make immigrants the only source of growth among workers 25 to 55 for decades to come. However, low-wage natives are hurt because immigrants push down wages and create competition for those jobs. Low-wage immigrants also pay low tax rates. 9) The influx of children of undocumented immigrants is overwhelming public schools. • REALITY: That number is not counted in Arizona. Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, pushed a bill to count them but the measure got stalled. Federal law prevents schools from denying education to illegal immigrants. Several foundations calculate 11.9 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., with 1.5 million undocumented children. About 3.5 million children of illegal immigrants are citizens or here legally. Of Arizona's 1 million school children, 150,000 are in English Language Learner programs.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ May 24, 2010 -> 06:38 AM) C'mon dude, I think you were being wayyyy too demanding of "Lost". It would not have been the same if they tried to answer everything, sometimes the best way to go is to leave some mysteries that would be up to the viewers' interpretation. Appreciate the story for what it is. If the writers had tried to explain every nuance of the series, the finale would have been awful. George Lucas did that with the three Star Wars prequels, and they were terrible. I thought the finale was excellent. I still don't quite get it all, but as a single episode meant to wrap up a series, it did well. Unanswered questions and all. The only problem I had with the show was that if you tuned in every week and watched each episode, it was still pretty hard to have an understanding of what you were watching. Eventually, at some point during the six seasons, the show became a companion piece to the websites and blogs devoted to it.

I'd try to hit the Kerry Picnic at Rubio Woods on the southside on the 4th. Footraces, horseshoes, and Irish people young and old enjoying a good drink. Take a walk through the woods to Bachelor's Grove http://graveyards.com/IL/Cook/bachelors/. Bring some bottle rockets and have a "fight" with your friends. Guaranteed good time. I think I went to the Taste on July 4 in the morning a few years ago and it was dead. We were able to go right up to all the booths and sample any food we wanted. I'm pretty sure it was the 4th. If not, I agree with the earlier post that it's not bad if you go early and leave early. Don't go July 3, it's a nightmare.

Methinks we are rapidly moving toward a time where my ink free body will cause people to think, "I bet he has a story to tell."

QUOTE (kev211 @ May 19, 2010 -> 11:33 AM) I don't think Ben is really with MIB. I hope he has one of his plans, because he always has one and somehow turns on MIB in the finale and kills him. The reason I think this is because at the end of the episode MIB said "I'm going to destroy the island" and there is no way Ben wants to destroy the island. I think that's the twist that will ultimately happen. It won't be Hurley or Sawyer stepping in for Jack. Ben wants to stay on the island, the others really do not. I think they will return to their sideways realities, and Ben will turn on Locke in the end - probably pushing Locke into the light. Just a guess.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 18, 2010 -> 07:42 PM) I wonder how big Ben was supposed to be when this show started? I can't imagine this program without him. On the Simmons podcast, Cuse says that it was originally for a few episodes. Cuse went on to say that if Ben wasn't so good, they would have just made him an Other that was captured by the survivors, but Ben was so good that they made him the leader of the Others. Also, Mr. Echo was supposed to have a bigger role, but the actor playing him didn't like Hawaii, so they let him go. His screen time was basically replaced with more Ben.

I haven't listened yet, but Carlton Cuse was on Bill Simmons' podcast released Friday. "Bill Simmons talks with "Lost" creator and writer Carlton Cuse about the creation and evolution of the show as it nears the series finale." Simmons is usually a pretty good interviewer when he's interested in a topic.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 12, 2010 -> 05:27 AM) That was maybe the worst episode in the entire series. What a complete waste of time. I think they might have been trying to establish a spin-off for Jacob and MIB. In the future, it will probably be seen as a throw-away episode, much like the "Kelly's Kids" episode in season 5 of "The Brady Bunch." http://www.bradyworld.com/episodes/fifth.htm#kelly

QUOTE (mr_genius @ May 12, 2010 -> 10:01 AM) I prefer a method of going after business that hire illegal workers. Eventually, I think this is the key. However, I believe we first have to figure out what to do with the illegals that are here now. It's unrealistic to think that any gov't policy will force all the illegals here to return peacefully to their homelands, and even more unrealistic to think that our law enforcement has the manpower/money to control the problem. I don't think we should offer amnesty, but should have some kind of visa solution. This will get illegals out of the shadows. Pay fines, get documented, run background checks, etc. Then, make the policy be that anyone who has not been approved by the government cannot be employed, and fine companies not in compliance. If you fine companies first, you are asking the individual citizen to do the job that we pay the government to do. If that's the case, why have government at all. Local economies are dependent upon the people who live in the area. If you take 500,000 illegals out of Arizona, what does that do to the local economy? If you take 12-15 million illegals out of the US, how will that affect the US economy? And the answer isn't to say that they won't be using gov't resources anymore. The gov't will just find another way to waste money. Like it or not, illegals are consumers. They might send billions of money earned here to their homelands, but they spend many more billions locally.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 11, 2010 -> 11:10 AM) 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 My Dad left Ireland because he was one of the youngest of 13 kids who grew up on a farm. The oldest traditionally took over the farm from the parents, and the rest had to go out and find work. There wasn't much work in Ireland in the 50s, so he came here. He's a proud American, but that doesn't make him any less proud of his native land. Ireland just wasn't "great" enough to provide him work. Should he tuck the Irish flag away? I guess you think so. Also, how is it that you distinguish someone who is here legally and proudly waves the flag of their homeland from someone here illegally? Is there a color chart (I know Republicans like color charts) available?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 8, 2010 -> 07:29 AM) I've said before if we are going to do a program like this, it is essentially based on need. If people didn't feel that they needed a better life, they wouldn't come here in the first place. Personally I don't feel that just because Mexico is the closest to the US, that they should be the most favored nation. I would rather see us taylor our program towards saving people in REAL need. I'm not talking about just poverty, I am talking about people in war torn areas, people living through famines, people suffering genocide, people who are political targets. With all of the really desperate situations in the world, we can do better than being Mexico's welfare program. 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.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 23, 2010 -> 03:15 PM) My bedroom set has a couple hidden compartments which would take a burgler more than a few seconds to locate. One I modified to where it will not open without something else happening. So I feel reasonable safe that a burgler would not use my own gun on me. It also is an extra step that I would have to be awake enough to get to the gun and possible not accidentally shoot someone. Now, some joker you met in the craigslist casual encounters is the beneficiary of all your hard work. Hope you remembered to remove the gun and other "toys" before you gave him the goods. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...p;#entry2146645

I blame the Cubs. I'm sure Milton will agree with me.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 5, 2010 -> 11:48 AM) That's where the fine for committing an already illegal act comes in. And don't worry, they will screw it up. Remember the last amnesty was supposed to fix things too. Who gets fined in the event that an illegal immigrant gets pulled over for a traffic violation? The immigrant? Will his fine cover the cost of the enforcement? I doubt it. I personally don't believe in amnesty, but I also don't think it's realistic to try to round up 12-15 million people suspected to be here illegally. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I don't see how the current law (SB1070) will manage to do anything other than hassle brown skinned people and add more work to already overworked law enforcement officers. I don't see this as much more than a way for local Republicans (Arpaio, Brewer, Pearce, et al) to get some free publicity in an election year. It's similar to abortion in that it's an issue that only comes up during the election cycle. We never hear anything about abortion on the federal level unless there's a presidential election, and this is similar in that way. In my humble opinion. I think we'd be better served to implement some kind of work visa situation for those that are here currently illegally. Get them to come forward and let them stay for a period. If we know who they are, then we can figure out when they'll need to leave or file for an extension. We have built a false economy that they are part of. People (American citizens) have started businesses, bought rental property, etc. with the idea that the pool of people who buy from them or rent from them have the right to be here. It's unfair to the Americans who have done nothing wrong but seek the American dream of owning their own businesses. Americans have already been burned by the collapse of Wall Street and the housing market, why pile on? It might also make sense for the U.S. to give incentives to American companies to relocate some of their foreign industrial jobs to south of the border. Want to keep Mexicans in Mexico? Give them a reason to stay. I'm sure they'd rather be near their families and friends in Mexico than living in the shadows in the U.S.

The cost of universal health care is the main argument against it, as I understand. Are these new immigration controls going to be cost free? How do we pay for it? Why would we trust the government to run this, when we don't think they can operate healthcare? Local law enforcement is broke throughout the country. The federal government is deeply in debt. Won't we have to raise taxes to fund this new immigration law?

I apologize if I've said this before, but Jin and Sun wouldn't speak English to each other. It bothers(ed) me every time they do it. It's really a pretty terrible oversight on the part of the writers. Not an important plot point or anything, but it's jarring to me. That is all. Oh, and somehow I forgot the show was new today. So, I have to wait until tomorrow to see the first half hour.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 3, 2010 -> 12:42 PM) Having machine guns set up to automatically kill anything that moves = murder in most sane people's standards. You're discounting the possibility of the immigrants ducking or outrunning the bullets. In that case, they're just warning shots.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 3, 2010 -> 11:47 AM) wa-la? I'm pretty sure SS2K5's real identity is Marshall Brodien. Every so often he forgets that this isn't Bozotalk.

Here's a link to a Pulitzer Prize winning series that ran in the East Valley Tribune a year or so ago. It's a five part series, but worth a look just to see the lengths that law enforcement in Maricopa County sometimes goes to in order to have "reasonable suspicion." It might help to explain some of the fears that people have regarding SB1070.http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/page/reasonable_doubt

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 10:31 AM) BTW...whoever's writing the Democrat's acronyms lately deserves a promotion. They had me years ago with SCMODS - State County Municipal Offender Data System.