KRC

Granted, BiB's toy are more fun, but I was going for the subtle approach.

Automatic weapons?

So, is that a proactive or reactive response on your part?

Dogs are nice. Not those little yappy ones, but a real dog.

How do you fold it up into a little pouch?

China was staunchly in the corner of the DPRK. They are now on our side as long as it does not involve sanctions. We have kept Russia on our side. Japan has stayed on our side. This pressures the DPRK into backing off of their current stance and it has worked. You cannot proceed until minsets are changed. Mindsets have been changed. People who were against us are now with us and helping to achieve common goals. I see that as major progress. The U.S. was seen as the stumbling block to everything. That is no longer the case. It is now extremely apparent that the DPRK is the one holding things up. China has even admitted as much and have been pressuring the DPRK to live up to the agreement from September. All partners (including the ROK) see that agreement as progress and are blasting the DPRK for failing to live up to the agreement. This isolates the DPRK even more and applies more pressure on them to comply. Again, long-term solutions require time. This is why I am extremely interested in the 2008 elections as they will determine future courses of action on this issue. This issue will last beyond 2008. Even though Bush would like to see a resolution before he leaves, he knows that it probably will not happen.

Good point. You cannot truly appreciate the culture of a country by visiting tourist traps. You need to get away from the "touristy" things and get out into the countryside. If you are not adventurous enough to do it yourself, get a personal guide and tell them, "show me the things you do not see on the tours." You will be suprised how much better the experience will be and the guide loves it. You see the passion they have for their country and it makes for a wonderful experience.

Not suprising. Students can't memorize the multiplication tables, but can recite an entire week's TV schedule.

I am not looking at things from the school district POV. I am looking at it from the student perspective. I do not see a lot of positives coming from her fellow students if she went to the media. I see more negative reactions. I see the bullying increasing against his daughter. It may not be the physical type, but there is no question in my mind that the teasing will increase as a result of going to the media. Also, it will make it more difficult for her to be accepted by other students. Unless there is school personnel following her from the time she leaves her house until the time she goes back into her house, kids will find a way of getting to her to make her life hell.

Not knowing how many years Ralph has left as the owner of the team, wouldn't it make sense to start talking about a stadium now? Any new owner is going to want a new stadium. Without that, what are the chances of a new owner keeping the team in Buffalo, knowing the team will be playing in a stadium built in 1973. Knowing the city is committed to building a new stadium could do a lot for any future owner.

Depends. Do you have your ammonia-filled squirt gun to provoke the dog?

After reading over some of the responses in this thread, I have a few comments: 1) Going to the school board or Superintendent is a good idea. Keep working your way up the ladder until you get satisfaction and results. Lawyer up. You would be suprised what a $25 letter from a lawyer can accomplish. 2) Do not go to the local media. All this is going to do is make things worse for your daughter. The public embarassment that it would cause her would be too great. People who may have been sympathetic to her, may turn on her. Don't do it. 3) Do not go to the parents of the bully(s). This is a waste of time and will only make things worse for your daughter. The parents will tell the child and the child will become worse towards your daughter. 4) I like the mace idea. Also, try to teach her things that can give her more confidence. You said that she took karate. Good, but it sounds like she no longer has the confidence. Talk to her about karate. Have her tell you about things she learned in class. Have her show you things she learned in class. Ask her, "what would you do if a person attacked you like this..." Have her show you. This may trigger the confidence that she used to have while taking karate. As others mentioned, confidence is one of the best ways to defend yourself against bullies. I will relay a personal experience via PM. As mentioned previously, whatever solution you pick, she needs to be on board with the decision. She needs to be a part of the decision process. Conflict resolution is very important to a child's development. Just my opinion, but parents who insulate their child from conflict (or anything negative) are doing a disservice to their kids. They are not preparing them for the outside world. When they get on their own, how are they going to handle adversity? The world is not always a friendly place. Kids needs the skills to be able to properly deal with adversity. Use this opportunity as a teaching tool. Remember, your actions can and/or will translate into how she deals with adversity in the future.

Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize. But seriously, I have never read her columns. I make it standard practice to avoid all opinion columns, regardless of political persuasion.

Wheel of Fortune is much more difficult. You need to know your letters and be able to spell.

I pictured you as more of a Coulter fan.

I watched it for about 5 minutes. That was more than enough.

Is that the new Grisham novel?

Like the Gong Show?

Serious question, no flame: do the satellite receivers have parental controls like the internet (through software) and cable tv? Can you prevent kids from listening to certain stations?

Yeah. I forgot.

I have put several years into trying to clean this place up...to no avail. You try to have reasonable discussion, but people like Mickey ruin it. My attitude is this: if you make no attempt at reasonable discussion, I make no attempt to protect your delicate feelings. I will show no respect to people who show no respect to the board. The ball is in the other people's court. You want to have a reasonable discussion, I am more than willing to engage (as evidenced by yesterday's posts and threads in the past). If all a poster wants to do is manipulate people for their own personal agendas or if they so no signs of any intelligent thought, then I show them no respect. It is very simple. I have no problem with disagreement. There are several posters here to which I disagree (most, if not the entire, time). The difference between them and people like Mickey is that they have proven that they want reasonable discussion. People like Coli and KTFABD are examples. 99.999999% of the time I disagree with what they say, but I highly respect them and I try to show them the respect they deserve. I don't always agree with X. Benedict, but I highly respect his opinions. While I generally agree with CTM and BiB, there are times when I disagree. Again, I respect them and try to show them the respect they deserve. I am on the fence with others and generally hold back. Again, show me and the board respect and serious attempts at reasonable discussions, and I will return in kind and push away people who try to ruin it. If you don't, then I have no trouble blasting you.

Sounds like a bad commercial for a GI Joe action figure.

Nudity works well on radio.

It's been 5 minutes RI. Why haven't you responded yet?