UConn James

The FCC rules follow that old standard of "I know it when I see it." Some cases, it's ruled to be accidental (e.g. when an anchor (Lester Holt, iirc) let one fly when a monkey unexpectedly jumped on him during a segment), other times not. Combine this with the "major league a--hole" and the "Go F--- yourself" that caught open mics and the old axiom 'Do as we say, not as we do' is alive and well. One could argue for the expectation of privacy b/w Bush and Blair (I personally think this open mic incident was done on purpose to send that message to Syria). Then again, there's this story where the weather guy had an expectation that the tape wouldn't air and he was fired for it. No FCC fine expected, but that's not b/c one couldn't be issued, but rather that no one called in other than to laugh. So the solution is we need to add a Ned Flanders-ese to high school core curriculms....

Yes you did. It's right there in between the part where you make a point to single out "liberal states" as the ones who do this. Don't try to tell me you're heading east into the setting sun. Yep, in recent years there's been some in Calif. and Washington. But do you mean such liberal states as Kentucky? Maine (Family owns property there; they may be blue, but don't even try to tell me that's a 'liberal' state)? And I'm sure Darin will be here to scoff at that last paragraph. The only time conservative pols are conservative is in the election speeches. In a few minutes time, you can find out that it's tough all over:

This is how it generally is when the Bills sign their rookies. Who knows the level of talks beforehand, but they usually sign pretty fast when they get into town for camp. Whitner, who was picked at 8 seems to have a level head and knows the importance of being there. Plus, looking at Reed and Price's contracts, Overdorf seems to be plenty generous. I don't remember the last holdout.... Was it Wiley?

At the G8. The feed for that press conference-type thing was broadcast. Probably on something akin to C-SPAN. Then again, that gets into a whole argument of, "If no one is watching, is it really a 'broadcast'?" In my perview, soldiers talking about a war should be allowed to say whatever they want on a documentary about it, FCC, Michael Powell, and the Religious Right be damned. What do they think the TV-14 L,D stands for? The "Safe Harbor" zone of 6am-10pm goes a little too far into the pm. If your 12-year old is still up at 10pm, kids hearing swears isn't the biggest parenting problem in your house.

- That ain't a phenomenon exclusive to "liberal states," junior. But you go ahead and pretend there's a difference. Remember the guy who led the girl away on videotape in Florida? What was only his most recent crime before that was committed with a handgun. Mandatory 5-year sentence for that charge alone, yet he was out in 3. Congress this week passed legislation that creates a national database and harsher fed punishments for child sexual assault including the death penalty when the victim is murdered. This, b/c some states fail to do more than catch and release. - As for "human dignity"... I wouldn't really cite this as a reason for the death penalty, but the rest of the statement I can agree with. For those who think it's somehow more civilized to keep someone in an 8x8 for the duration of their life, I call BS. The only difference is how fast it happens, and that when someone dies of a heart attack 30 years later, we don't have to read about it in the newspaper and have our weak sensibilities shocked --- shocked I say! As Darin said upthread about locking people up with nothing left to lose... Case in point is Esteban Carpio in Providence. Killed a cop in the interrogation room and there've been many incidents in holding, one that sent two guards to the hospital. These people do not become choir boys in prison and spend their free time feeling remorse just because society wants them to. I believe this methodology is also called, "Swatting at flies."

Well, you have the royal blue, scarlet red, and the silver. But you forgot the white, the navy blue, the slightly metallicized red on the helmet, and black (for the shoes). Is that all the colors in the Bills scheme or am I missing one... or twenty? Looks good. I'm a reductionist by nature so I'm waiting for the pro-shop site to have a throwback red standing buffalo on one of those small white oval bumper stickers. Might be waiting for a while....

I'd imagine they're pretty loose in determining that. Remember that this is the Gavin Newsom admin. Maybe through homeless shelters or the social services. The Massachussetts statewide health care plan looks like it'll work, but there's a long list of reasons why it's feasible, when trying the same thing in SF or Nebraska or anywhere else would not be. I think Romney & the Dem sponsors really got sick of how the insurance companies operate -- they've had to switch govt-employee providers a few times -- to the point where a Tylenol pill in the hospital costs $10. I could go on about how the insurance companies utterly $%^& the health care situation in this country, but I'm not FFS/Pyrite Gal. I am of the opinion that health care needs to be more accessible than it is. One person or a small group not seeking treatment b/c they can't afford it can result in epidemics where everyone in the community gets sick. You can see this on a small scale with one inconsiderate person who comes to work with the flu, all the way up to how AIDS spread through, how avian flu could potentially become airborne.... etc. But there also can't be an incentive to be a free rider.

Maybe she wanted him to build her some shelves.

Olivier, In quite a dichotomy; it's home to the largest number of millionaires in the US per capita. But SF also has a sizable homeless population. My brother was walking with his fiance there and they were approached by a really raggy-looking woman, who asked said fiance, "Where did you find such a handsome man? .... Can I borrow him for 30 minutes?"

Yet, one could understand the the tie-in of a fisherman to a team called the Islanders. That wasn't a bad logo in and of itself. Fans wanted tradition, tho. The prudent question is, has anyone ever seen a bright yellow horizontally vivified buffalo? Then again, maybe that's how the sabre was used, and Quinn et al. had to take it off the jersey to go wipe the blade.

In other news, UConn James predicts that the burr up Bruce "Just Happy To Be Here" Arena's ass will stay there until Jan. 16, 2024. See? I can pull dates out of thin air, too!

I remember in my local press that the Patriots OL 'sucked' until Brady stepped in and showed that the problem wasn't the OL, it was the combination of that OL + Bledsoe. Changes have been made to the 3 weakest spots. DL hasn't gotten any better? You mean, the DL featuring one veteran DT who refused to execute his assignment? The DL that added Tripplett and McCargo? Let's see how it works out, Joe. The fact that you're so very pessimistic leads me to unvarnished optimism. I don't want Brady Quinn unless Charlie Weiss comes with him.

Romney ain't a RINO. He's had to do battle with a lot of Dems at times (e.g. the gay marriage stuff; he's trying to get it in a constitutional ballot rather than legislated thru the court), worked with them to get things done at others when a program was sensible (e.g. the state-wide health coverage that wouldn't cost very much and helps streamline; over time I think it might save them money). Takes charge when things go wrong. Last week he took control of the DOT after a woman was killed by a falling concrete slab in the Big Dig; since learned that all similar construction is at risk. Closed the tunnels. I like him as a leader b/c at least he's practical when a problem comes up where 95 percent of politicans would hide under their desks. Don't like his stance on the wind power turbines, but nobody's perfect. I wouldn't say he pandered to liberals. Western MA gave him solid turnout. As I explained there, the NE is a weird place where people elect a liberal legislature and a conservative governor and hope b/w the struggle that it balances out. There's a lot they'd do but their hands are tied.

When you think you know something in the ME, just goes to show that you don't know anything. Assad has the impression of Ethelred the Unready, but when he gets cornered it might force his hand. What has to be considered, tho, is a greenish Assad is far preferable to the Muslim Brotherhood or whoever else would take over. Now that you mention it, he does look like an Arab John Cleese....

No sh--. When's the last time a Republican used a conjunction in a sentence? It's like reading Hemingway. Only not.

IIRC, Marv doesn't touch the dollars and cents part.

Uhm... survival? About 40 seconds after Iran launches a nuke, we'll be speculating about the half-life of Tehran.

Ed, I'm glad there are saner people than the likes of you in charge of our government and military. I don't know how much saner, but.... Attacking Iran would all but guarantee a major strike on the homeland and 9/11 will look like a carnival ride. The administration is taking the proper course.

Wouldn't be surprised if this was an 'intentional accident.'

For those people who argue that we must either have to give Dr. Evil the $100 Billion or let him blow up Washington D.C. with giant FRICKIN' laser beams.... who don't have the time or the inclination to think about the situation.... and say the only solution to our problems is to blow Iran, NK, Syria, Lebanon, France and DPW off the map.... b/c this whole rational forethought thing is a real drag.... I would say 'STFU.'

You know, they used to shoot horse thieves....

I would amend it to: "Most wars, bloodshed, and misery occured over the course of human history due to politics, economics and good-old resource-grabbing in the name of religion so the leaders could simultaneously a) collectively rally their people in a medium where the craziness grows exponentially the further it gets down the line and... 2) claim the supremacy of their own ideas as being divinely intended."

He outdid BF in the Retatta thread? Due diligence, tho, BF was the creator of both the topic and the culinary disaster. He at least gave the impression he'd know something about it.

I'm not trying to be a Richard here, but.... You know that saying that sarcasm doesn't come across well on the Internet? (Especially sarcasm that is this poorly organized and argued.) Yeah. This thread is an example of that.