Balta1701

QUOTE(Steff @ Dec 12, 2005 -> 08:57 AM) No need. Right now I don't give a s*** about this bs. Just stating a fact that the g'ment has effed up in the past. I will fully agree with you on that point. But here's the question...does the fact that the government has screwed up in places before (Illinois and Texas obviously come to mind) mean that it is enevitable that the government will screw up no matter what safeguards are in place, or is it possible for the government to actually design a system that actually does "Get it right"?

Just in case anyone other than me cares...there is an episode of "ER" being filmed 1 floor above my head today. Update: Just walked past a chair labeled "James Woods." Now singing "I'm with James Woods" in my head.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Dec 12, 2005 -> 08:53 AM) exactly punishment designed to persuade and prevent people from committing crimes. Is it just me, or does that statement open up the whole additional can of worms of "well, the Death Penalty really hasn't been shown at all to prevent crimes" ?

QUOTE(Steff @ Dec 12, 2005 -> 08:17 AM) Or, by some miracle, retests the evidence and finds that the wrong person has been in jail for years and years.. The system is not free from errors. I don't know enough on this case to have an opinion from that view. If there's any state in the union right now where you can have confidence that they've got the right person when they put someone to death, it's California. Why? Because basically every safeguard you can imagine (unlike Illinois a few years ago) is in place in this state. Let me cite for you a powerful statistic to support this fact: There are currently 648 people on death row in California, according to the California dept. of Corrections homepage (could be slightly wrong if they haven't updated lately). Since California re-instated the Death Penalty, 31 inmates have died on Death Row from natural causes. There have been a grand total of 11 executions. 11. In several decades. California is damn careful about these things. These guys get appeals that people in other states could only dream of. They take forever. If there's a test they could do to prove their innocence, they do it. Courts overturn these things when necessary. This is not Texas, where people wind up on Death Row when their lawyers sleep through the trial. This is not Illinois, where people ended up on death row after confessions were beaten out of them. This is California, the "Left coast" if you will. The people of this state have decided they want the death penalty legal, but they want it done correctly, and if there's any state in the union doing it right, its this one.

QUOTE(SnB @ Dec 11, 2005 -> 11:13 PM) ps: calculus is made up. Dude, last friday I turned in a final filled to the brim with "Imaginary" numbers for my complex analysis class? What does that say?

Happy Birthday Sir!

I'm sorry, but I don't believe a word of Van Gundy's "I love my family" defense. I just don't. If you had predicted the exact second that you first heard Pat Riley might want to coach again that he would wind up with that job within a year, you'd have been 100% right. He may not have been forced out, but he has to be out because of Riley. That's the only part that makes sense to me.

QUOTE(timotime @ Dec 11, 2005 -> 08:02 AM) not a bad move for the dodgers. alomar is a good mentor. he's been around the block. it cant hurt. the dodgers sure are making a lot of moves. they are trying to make LA a dodger town again The Dodgers have a pair of young catchers on the way up too...Navarro's already up and there's another guy, probably better, working his way up too. I like TJ Simers's LAT quote this morning..."This just proves my theory that a warm body could easily have replaced Jason Phillips"

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Dec 11, 2005 -> 11:58 AM) When we talked about torture being acceptable or not - this is one of the stories that I had in mind. It's a far cry from bonbons and I really hope that the story is inaccurate. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/internation...1664612,00.html If even half of this story is true, what does this say about us as a society? What does it say about how we're handling the war on terror? Please don't slip into discrediting the story or anyone that might be involved. What I want to see here is what your reaction would be IF this story is true. After hearing so many of these stories...my reaction "if" it is true is basically nothing...I'm just not surprised to hear about them any more. I could probably point at something on the order of a dozen solid cases saying the exact same thing, and those are only the folks who were released.

QUOTE(GreatScott82 @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 04:58 PM) In a perfect world that would happen. But in order to get something- you have to get something. We saw it with Garcia (losing Reed). But i'll take my chances with Anderson. Brian Anderson has a very good chance to put up better offensive numbers for us this year than ARow did last year.

QUOTE(hi8is @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 04:33 PM) ramirez for tejada.... hummm... as a redsox fan id like that trade. Which is why Baltimore wants to get some pitching and some cash to go along with it.

QUOTE(Pierzynski 12 @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 05:56 PM) Reggie Bush wins the Heisman Upset of the century!

I really hope either this story is wrong or it is very uncommon. Link.

Jesus Christ, wow. That's horrific.

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 03:22 PM) It is an attempt to show that somehow using tanks and flak jackets et al. that murdering people is somehow more moral than other forms of murder. Especially with all the ramblings about the War on Christmas, shouldn't all the self-proclaimed Christians be worried about the un-Christian behavior of our nation before worrying about semantics of what a tree is called in some town? Would you agree that there is a difference between specifically launching attacks on civilian targets and launching attacks on military targets which wind up hurting civilians because the military target is hiding in a civilian building?

Responses. 1. Yes, El Duque will spend time on the DL next year. However, including him...we have a grand total of 6 starters. If Mark Buehrle or Jon Garland or Jose Contreras go down with an injury, we will suffer, but that will be because the guys going down are so damn good. You can't exactly expect to keep Johan Santana out in the bullpen in case someone gets hurt. By having a backup starter like El Duque, who will get some use but hopefully not a lot, we're in better shape than most teams. Plus, our starting rotation, with the exception of the Cubans, is extremely young, which unlike that of a team like NY, tends to help our guys stay healthy. 2. Yes, we have only 1 lefty in the bullpen. But Lefties hit .100 of Bobby Jenks last year. Lefties hit less than .200 against Clifford last year. And if Viz ever finds his slider, he'll be able to get lefites out again (that was his strength in Milwaukee). Plus, there is no guarantee this won't change - KW has hinted he has someone in mind. 3. Last year, our bullpen started with Shingo Takatsu as the closer. This year, we're starting with Bobby Jenks as the closer. We have vastly upgraded at that position. Last year, Politte was coming off a bad year. This year he's coming off a great year. Other than Bobby, in the bullpen we have: Clifford Viz Probably El Duque Hermanson All of whom come from the right hand side. And, we have Baj as a potential backup in the minors. If Hermanson isn't healthy, yes it hurts us. But it's not necessarily murder. Especially if Clifford and Cotts both repeat their performances from last year. 4. Jenks has 4 pitches. He used to be a starter. Fastball, curve, slider, change. When he's coming in at the end of a game for 1-2 innings though, he really doens't need those extra pitches that often, because people aren't seeing him long enough to adapt to the speed change between the fastball and the hammer. Plus, given that Bobby's had arm problems in the past, it may not be a bad idea for him to avoid the slider and try to keep himself in good enough shape to throw the gas.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 02:47 PM) Prior or Zambrano need to go in order to Tejada. If they hadn't gotten Pierre, the three pitchers plus Hill may have gotten him. Imagine if they could have gotten Tejada for this and then signed Damon. They'd still suffer from a pitching staff that can't stay healthy, they'd still have guys who are getting up in years, and they'd still be missing a lot of leadership.

So let's see...this month...on his schedule, Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver in NFL history, has: 1. Court hearing over missed child support payments 2. Filming "Dancing with the stars." I just find that odd.

From Think Progress

Before the injuries started to slow him after 2000, Frank was simply the best hitter in the game and we all know that. IF he was truly "Healthy", that would mean the Frank of 2000 and before would be back. No one can pitch to that Frank.

If I could have a healthy Frank Thomas...it'd be Frank and Arow without a doubt in my mind. Personally though, I was hoping before we got Thome that Frank could maybe give us 250 at bats and BA could pick up the rest. Just based entirely on the fact that I don't know if Frank will ever give a team 300 at bats again, or survive another season without that foot giving out (2 fractures within an inch of each other, can't operate on the 2nd because it's so close to the first? Yipes) I would have had to go with Thome. But since this question asks about 100% healthy...that means Jesus has returned and waved his hand over Frank's foot, so I guess having the Son of God on your side can't hurt either.

I don't know how many people might have seen this one yet (I saw it at one of our local stores that sells everything available for every holiday)...but if you're one of those people who like to put houses under your trees...This would make one hell of an addition.

QUOTE(sayitaintso @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 07:34 AM) I guess he didn't sign with them yet. Bill Mueller - 3B - Red Sox The Pirates have offered a three-year deal to free agent Bill Mueller, who turns 35 in March. The Dodgers are still at two years. It was reported Thursday by CBS4 in Boston, that Mueller had a deal in place with Los Angeles, but that hardly seems to be the case. If Mueller chooses Pittsburgh, the Dodgers may trade for David Bell. Joe Randa seems to be an afterthought right now. Dec. 10 - 4:16 am et Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The LA Times is reporting the same thing.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Dec 9, 2005 -> 07:27 PM) Well, their only down by 1 point now... That tells you something about the Lakers as well.

I don't know what the rest of y'all are doing tonight...but I just feel the urge to jump up and down on my 2 bad knees right now pumping my fists. Why? I just turned in my last final project and final exam. So, God willing if I pass those 2 courses...I am completely done with course work. Completely done. As in...I never have to take another class in my life. Ever. After over 20 years, counting every level. Yippee. Now I get to actually have dinner.