NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 03:16 PM) Do you even understand the scientific process? What was the hypothosis and how was it tested? Show me the data. It seems pretty obvious by now that this person has no interest in the scientific process. What's funniest to me is that he is exactly like what he would most seem to hate - the guy who believes that every word of the bible is an exact factual rendering of real events. In both cases, eyes remain firmly shut. I'll take the extreme, please, says he, because it's real easy to roll into the gutter on one side or the other. I am now done with this thread and with any reasonable discussion with the poster with some guy named "Dimebag" in his sig.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 12:11 PM) I worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster. At the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, to do they give out garlic bread at communion, instead of holy host? Marinara instead of wine? I'm totally going to the bad place.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 01:51 PM) If a voter signs either petition they are not allowed to vote in the primary for either party. If they do vote, it would void their petition. Huh. I didn't know that. Is that law specific to Texas? I could see how that would hinder things, but I also bet many people don't know that's the case.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 01:18 PM) Done. You rock. Thanks. Three cheers for those who prefer to look at the issues individually, and independently!!!

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 01:12 PM) To quote yet another great man.. There are 3 types of people who live in this world 1. Those who think for themselves 2. Those who use other ideas for their thought.. 3. Those who do not think at all.. They are tottally useless to society..They are easy to control willing to do whatever group 1 wants them to do. Can anyone name me the great man who has said this.. Other than Owens? Morpheus?

Hey Tex- Any chance we can get an Independents Only thread started and pinned, to go with these Dem/GOP threads? The antics of certain wingers are growing tiresome. Thanks.

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 12:03 PM) You think their is a god because you have been told by them that this is true, no other reason can you give.. You can say Faith.. if you have faith prove it.. Send me a check for $1000, and have faith that I will pay you back one day.. Like all that I have put this challenge to, you have more faith in nothing than your fellow man. With that being said.. How does God help us again? If you have such faith in your fellow man as you think others have not, then why do you keep treating them like s**t? People might actually respect your viewpoints if you'd just decide to discuss them instead of being such an a**hole about it.

QUOTE(Wong & Owens @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 11:47 AM) See, I agree with with most of what you're saying here, but it's the way that you phrase it that rubs people the wrong way. You can't take the actions of some people and say that it speaks for the belief system as a whole(although I'm on the same side as you on the issue), and then pose it as indisputable fact that the whole belief system is a crock. There will hopefully one day be found indisputable proof that the whole of the bible was simply made up, thus rendering most religions null and void, but until that day comes, you sound like an arrogant jerk. Even if the Bible is nothing more than mythology, that would NOT make most religions null and void. Religion is belief, not necessarily in some fact, but in a code of conduct (among other things). There is all sorts of great mythology and philosophy out there with no grounding in history which can teach some pretty great lessons on the human condition.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 11:37 AM) Takes adolecents to out of the way caves. Fears becoming predictable.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 11:41 AM) I added nothing. Straight cut and paste. Perhaps I should edit and add to previous paragraph? Something is wrong there. That last graf is loaded with grammatical errors and strident conjecture. I think it was part of Chomsky's quote, though it seems a little weird, even for him.

dookie ball?

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 10:17 AM) FWIW, he also got slightly better grades at Yale than Kerry even though Kerry was always portrayed as being more intelligent. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washingt...luster_student/ Two things... 1. Grades Intelligence (that's not equal to, for any non tech folks) 2. Every man to ever serve as President, including this one, is very intelligent. Genius, in most cases. Like them or not, it's true. You just can't rise to that level without that tool. Bush comes off as not very bright because he is a piss-poor public speaker. But he's no idiot. I wouldn't say he's the most intelligent Prez ever either, of course. But dumb he is not.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 10:49 PM) When we are willing to live like workers in Mexico, Hunduras, Sri Lanka, et al then the jobs will return. Actually, it's a two-way progression. Those countries will, as time goes on and they get good at what they do, expect more money for their services. In this country, as jobs leave and companies tighten belts, costs fall. The two cost levels approach each other until some degree of parity is reached. The wrench in the works though, of course, is that some countries' laws are SO out of whack that the increase in expected revenue has a very low translation to increased pay. But even then, local political forces will likely push up wages when lots of business comes in. It will happen - just more quickly in some countries than others.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 10:33 PM) And YOU say he broke the law and many other scholars say he hasn't. Take it all the way up and let's have a ruling. OK. Unfortunately, the only investigation that might occur would be some Congressional committee, which I hardly call "all the way up". And there are plenty of "experts" cited in numerous threads in Filibuster who think he DID break the law. Honestly, the supposed experts seem divided on the issue. I personally am not.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 09:37 PM) Add to that outdated and onerous pension programs which are chewing up profits. The company pension is going the way of the dinosaur and rightfully so. I say the 401K and IRA are more than sufficient to provide for ones retirement. I agree. And as for why they are going overseas, taxes are usually not the reason. If you look into it carefully, you'll see that even with some fancy shelters, most earnings of US companies gained overseas will get taxed the same anyway. It's the simple fact that costs are often lower in the underdeveloped world. By a LOT, in many cases. Much more differential there than in taxes. But even that will change. Globalization pushes jobs around the world to the cheap places, those places become less cheap, they move elsewhere. Eventually, such huge salary differentials will reduce significantly because economics says they have to (in direct relation to the rate of globalization of industry). If the US wants an edge, they need to produce what others can't as well - intellectual property. We rule the world in creating new stuff - not manufacturing it. Those industrial jobs will continue to go overseas, and trying to protect them with tariffs will get us nothing but more taxes and higher prices for consumer goods. One other thing - an idea. If the U.S. wants to stem the tide in a more "natural" way, do this: make the government act like a business. In this case, that means watching out for your own interests. How? Let companies go overseas all they want. But for every U.S. contract for ANY product, tell US companies that the government will always give preference to companies with the highest employee presence in the US of those competing for the bid. Watch what happens. So many companies rely on US government purchases, that many companies will keep more people here if there is a positive incentive to do so (as opposed to a system of penalties).

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 09:25 PM) Read the resolutions that were passed by Congress. "by all means necessary" is a pretty much blank check to do whatever he needs to do. "by all means necessary" does NOT give him leeway to break the law. Congress has no authority and no desire to give any President to do that.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 05:38 PM) And again, that's up for debate. I think that the Constitution, when taken literally, gives him this power under unique circumstances. Apparantly, flying planes into buildings and the like isn't unique enough. If you are saying that 9/11 gives the NSA the power to do warrantless surveillance without court review (which is to say, without limitations), five years later, then there is no longer such thing as "unique". The argument could then be used forever and ever. If Bush had snuck a few in the few chaotic days after, and then used the courts (which are specifically there for this purpose), then one could make that argument. But at this point, no, this is not unique enough. This is now the world we live in, and the rules still apply, because this is still the United States, and we are still bound by the laws of the land.

Honestly, I just want people to try to do the right thing. As often as possible. If their faith gets them there, great. If something else more internal gets them there, also fine. I see no reason to criticize a faith or set of beliefs, even if the church that more or less guides it has a horrific history. I also think it's incredibly arrogant to think that everyone not in your belief system is "going to hell". If someone is better for being part of a faith, then great. If someone is better for NOT going to Church, also great. Just be good... for goodness sake... whoooooaaaoooo....

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 03:14 PM) That (a piece of land in Isreal) was a part of the Al Qaeda's agenda. I'll give that point ... but only that point. It's more about getting "the infidels" off of "Muslim land" than it is about the Palestinians. Remember, prior the establishment of the state of Isreal, the Arab/Muslim world didn't really give a damn about the Palestinians. That is something worth noting. The Israelis and the Palestinians are both groups who were low-man on the totem pole for a long time, and now they were dropped into the bucket together. A fact which explains a lot. As for getting the infidels off Muslim "land", I think it has become that for a certain swath of the Middle East's population, unfortunately (precentages varying by country). But I think that happened, at least in part, because of things that both Israel and the West have done in the Middle East. Therefore I still believe that can be unwound with our involvement, if given the right attention and a lot of time.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 03:10 PM) Are you insinuating people are stubborn here? What? Never! I'm saying people tend to make a statement to drive home a point, then later deny making that point by being pedantic about the exact word choice. I call it the Bytes-Only defense... Person A: "Caribou are dumb" Person B: "You said Caribou are stupid" Person A: "No I didn't - read my posts"

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 02:59 PM) You are assuming that they were making the points which you found so disturbing. They didn't. Oh come on now - of course they did. Seriously. It was said that this was over a piece of land in Israel, which CLEARLY connects Palestinian national interests with Al Qaeda. Anyone claiming otherwise is being obtuse in the extreme.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 01:27 PM) I'm sure that this will do wonders in preventing the spread of HIV. Link Did that priest really just compare condoms to guns? :rolly

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 11:46 AM) So those 2 are having Hernia surgery, but Crede and Hermanson aren't? Crede and Hermanson don't have hernias. They have bulging or herniated discs, which while using a similar term, are not the same thing. Back surgeries are really iffy, and high risk. I doubt either of them wanted to mess with it.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 11:12 AM) People care. I care. But I also think if you're stupid enough to make phone calls with people associated with international terrorists, you lost your rights. Guilty until proven innocent, huh? Of course people should be monitored if they represent a threat. Point is, EVERYONE is supposed to be protected by the gateway that is the courts. US citizens have the right to have the NSA or anyone else have to show a valid court that the probitive need for the surveillance is supported by some kind of reasonable evidence. What you are saying if you support these warrantless actions is that it is OK for the NSA or the FBI to probe whomever it wants based on its own whims, outside the purview of the judicial system. I just can't see how that is OK. The NSA and FBI are law enforcement agencies, who by nature and necessity are meant to be bulldogs in investigating people, up to the limit of their judicial leash. Remove the leash, and suddenly we are all in danger, criminal or not.

I can tell you that the organization that has the single largest depository of geneological information is... the Mormon Church. Scary, huh?