lostfan

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 02:13 PM) I really dont have an opinion on this. But I will throw this out there: It's much easier to grow pot than it is to make Beer. Therefore, wouldn't pot have a tenancy to maybe get overused? Also one joint is far more "effective" than one beer or one glass of win. I'll throw that out there for debate. I think if you look at stats from Amsterdam that would debunk that argument. Also, the fact that it's illegal doesn't stop people from using it. Hell before I left my parents' house, if I wanted to get it I know I didn't even have to leave my block. Cops know that too and they don't even bother. In any case, people get drunk and get violent and stupid... I've never known anybody to get stoned and then beat his wife or start a fight at the club. They're more likely to just offer to go half on a pizza and pass out.

I talk to a few cops I know here and there and the laws for marijuana are really half-assed. Like... you can arrest someone for possession but you have to have so much of it in order to be charged with anything that it's really a waste of time. I'm 100% in favor of at least decriminalizing use/possession.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 11:58 AM) Coaching the Bucks? I don't care what Scott Skiles says - Ben Gordon is a horses*** defender. He can say what he wants, but I see the same games he does. Gordon is an elite shooter and the only current Bull that's good to drop 35 on any given night but that's literally all he's good for. You have to get him the ball on every other possession with an open shot because he can't create for himself, and you can't rely on him to get the ball to anybody else either. It's like all he does is wait for the ball.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) Sorry but Scott Skiles, seems to disagree with you. And it's against PG's as well. What's Scott Skiles doing these days?

Did you seriously say Ben Gordon's defense was above average? He is easily the worst defender on the team. Unless being caught 8 feet out of position and leaving your guy wide open behind the 3 point line counts as "good defense" because you had the presence of mind to hurry back and fail to block it.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 11:19 AM) Nobody commenting on the fact that Konerko hit the ball pretty hard last night in a couple of at-bats, eh? We've been saying that all year. "Oh, well his outs are hard-hit, maybe he's coming around." After a while it doesn't carry weight anymore.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 11:45 AM) No, well, yes, but more in general. There's some serious questions I have about why this guy just deserves a rubber stamp to be our president. I don't understand the question. As far as Obama and Europe, if you look at all of the rifts we've had with them under the Bush administration e.g. Kyoto protocol, invasion of Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, backing out of the ABM treaty (I really don't know why we did that), and then see where Obama is on those issues compared to Bush - then add in Obama's general tone towards them compared to the contempt Bush's people treated them with in his first term that they haven't forgotten. Add all that up and your answer is in there somewhere. I read a fair amount of their news, btw.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 10:44 AM) I'd remove the "Almost". He literally has to make a trade. There's just not enough minutes for the guys he has right now. Even if all he does is dump guys off for expiring contracts, he has to do something. He has 2 PF's who could be 35 minutes a game guys, 2 SF's who could be 35 minutes a game guys, 1 C, 2 PG's (One of whom is a #1 draft pick and 1 of whom has a $11 mil a year contract) both of whom should be 40 minutes a game guys, and 3 SG's who could be 30 minutes a game + guys. And out of that, he has 5 or 6 guys who are young enough that they need to play minutes to develop, but only 1 contract that expires this year and 1 contract that expires in 2010. That's where I was going with that, I just didn't have time to elaborate (what the hell was I doing up at that time anyway?). There's no way the Bulls open the season with this roster.

Translation: "I am benching Paulie." I really hope the guy does find it this year but man you can only stick with a struggling player for so long.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 10:42 AM) Yet the question has to be asked and denied. I do have some thoughts about him losing his positions while enjoying the presumption of innocence guaranteed by our Constitution. Have we finally all but abandoned that legal ideal in favor of media reports and rush to judgments? It's the same general principle of a cop being placed on administrative leave/position while he's under investigation for some kind of misconduct.

Reading over this thread I'm wondering why some of you even bother watching TV, lol. (I don't watch TV with any regularity btw, I used to but reality TV has killed any interest I had)

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 10:38 AM) I really would like to debate some things with Obama's appearance with someone who had an open mind about some of this, so I could understand the Obamamania that's out there, but I doubt anyone could really do it on a civil discourse, and a lot of these types of posts tells me that even more. What about exactly? You mean why Obama's so popular in Europe? There's some pretty simple reasons for that actually.

They had this thing where they were showing Tim Russert asking all these politicians if they had any plans to run for president. All of them said no when he backed them into a corner, lol. The moral of that story is to never take a denial of intentions like that at face value.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 12:45 AM) Good news. Only a matter of time before Ben is traded now that this is done. Pax almost HAS to make a trade.

If that's true then that's a pretty damn slick tactic.

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 03:53 PM) American Idol. f*** you beat me to it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 02:01 PM) Having been involved as a candidate for school board in a heavily poor and minority district I have some opinions on the matter. First of all IF the federal government is going to be involved in education funding, then the property tax system we have now is socio-economic distrimination. I don't know if vouchers are the answer or not, but why is it that education is the one thing we have no choice in? Think about it, if you get a bad haircut, you go to another barber. If you have a bad experience on the car lot, you go to a different dealer. If your bank charges high fees and gives you bad service you close your account and go somewhere else. But if you kid goes to a crappy school system, the only thing you can do is move. We worry about taking money from bad schools, but in reality, it usually isn't money that is going to solve the problems. Usually there is a poverty cycle that has inbred expectations of failure into students from day one. They enter the school system with no expectations or hope of doing anything better than their parent/s did. School is looked at by the kids as a place to hang out and get a meal, the parents look at it as a babysitter and a free meal for the kid. The parents got nothing out of school, so why should they expect their kids to? These parents usually also fall into one of two groups, either they are working a ton of hours at a horrible job and don't have time to help the kids prepare for school, or they are into drugs or something, and don't care about their kids. It starts way before the kids get into schools. For kids that really want to do well, they are stuck in rooms with all of these kids, and it makes learning next to impossible. Those are the kids that need a choice. The kids that don't care, won't care no matter what their school options are. Now throw in social promotion and keep pushing those same kids who don't read into middle school and guess how hard it is to teach a math or science class? There is more than meets the untrained eye here. $$$$$ It's very hard to explain the cycle of poverty thing to people and that's probably the main reason.

If Swisher could hit .260 on the year I would be fine with his production with the walks he draws. No, I've never been cool with batting averages that would get most guys DFA'd. I don't think anybody besides the most devout sabermetric geeks actually is, either. So I'm not sure where people are getting the impression that a majority of Sox fans are in love with Swisher. People who think this season is an anomaly maybe and that he'll start hitting more maybe, but that's all I can think of. Also I guess I'll go on record as saying that I'm not one of the people who thinks BA is a meaningless stat.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 01:15 PM) This wasn't meant to be a Konerko VS. Swisher thread, I just can't understand how this guy' s*** doesn't stink. At least Paulie has an injury excuse and the excuse some think he's old. It only seems that way to you because you insist on bringing Swisher up to bash him when someone is bashing Konerko or Uribe for their extended periods of sub .200 batting averages and refuse to ever give it a rest.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 08:48 AM) Google facebook. Look what comes up for the second entry. Interesting.. Yeah, he's been all over that for a while now.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 28, 2008 -> 09:47 PM) BTW, great job by Ozzie pulling Buehrle. I'm proud of you Ozzie. Every now and again, when he pulls the 8 ball out of his ass, it gives him the correct course of action.

When they tear down the trash dump aka the Metrodome, I will volunteer to be the guy that presses the button to blow that f***ing place up.

So I ask my co-worker today (Red Sox fan) "what's up with Boston and their love-hate thing with Manny?" He says "oh, we're in hate right now? I haven't been keeping up."

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 28, 2008 -> 02:16 PM) Meeting these people isn't audacious. Political stump speeches, back drops, etc. included after this NOT being a "political trip" is perhaps audacious in some people's minds. If he wasn't going to do any of the above then what would have been the point of going? If he wasn't going as a campaign trip (he was, it was no secret), he would've been going as a Senator. Senators are politicians, no? It would've been "political" no matter what and I highly doubt he would've done it as a vacation. I think you're focused entirely too much on that one word.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 28, 2008 -> 02:14 PM) Well, if he did this, it was all a political stunt, and that is worse then ANYTHING else he could do. That is basically making a mockery of millions (billions, depending on how you look at it) of people. A political stunt? Sure. A mockery? Come on now.