UConn James

It goes into the "Seperation of church and state." They wanted a country based on the rule of law rather than a rule by the Bible. People are free to believe as they wish on their own time. I look at it much the same as I view the health care situation: if you want it, you can go pick a supplier of it, you don't show up at the Congress building to get a Band-Aid. I'm not stopping them from going to church or posting them in their own space. Hell, I'll give them directions. The things you listed are optional. There is no requirement to take oaths in court with the Bible -- most, if not all, courthouses don't do this. And all along, someone could refuse to, and also simply say, "so help me." Likewise, the President does not have to take the oath of office on a Bible, that is his choice, and it's his own Bible that he provides service of (it's not the George Washington Bible); it's not a gov't-owned Bible. "In God We Trust" and the one in the Pledge have been ruled to be generalized terms, altho the logic of that is beyond me. To make it a requirement that all people must pass under a 15-foot momument is to tacitly imply that everyone is Judeo-Christian, which is not the case.

Like GG said, for small-time artists, it's probably a good thing. Nothing prevents them from putting their songs on their websites, and I guess it would be fine for people to share those songs too. But we all know that isn't what's being done. SC's decision allows the industry to go after people who use it to break copyright law. In the long run, large-scale file-sharing would kill the industry. As much as people might think, that money doesn't go exclusively to the artist or the record label. A fair chunk of it might, rightly so since they take the most risk in the venture (those damn capitalists! ), but they also have to pay the people who design the CD cover, the promotional material, shipping costs, etc. When the money doesn't come in to pay the bills, the operation ceases to function -- the Invisible Hand at work, ladies and gents. Maybe an individual artist doesn't care, but they will care when the record company goes under or refuses to put their music out b/c it'll just be file-shared.

To be clear, I was not making a reference to the relative severity b/w those crimes. I was not equating file-sharing to paid murder. I think you're smart enough to know that. The point all along is the mentality that physical distance or not personally seeing the effects of a crime makes it seem all (or, more) right to the offender. This is probably a bad move to carry the analogy, but.... People/media generally view the dressed-in-black sniper assassin as merely being a professional doing his job, while the goon who knifes someone is, well, a goon. Similarly --- only as it pertains to physical proximity to the respective crime being commited --- there's been a mindset before that people who steal copyrighted works are better, or less worse, than someone who, say, steals a car or for a closer comparison, a CD. Stealing is stealing, no matter what tool or manner you use to steal. Good decision by the court to unquestionably clear this matter up, not that file-sharers didn't know they were breaking the law, just exploiting the absence (tho it wasn't the absence, rather than the interpretation and application of the law to the Internet) of law.

Pardon my English, but.... HUH?

Huh? I wasn't comparing the crimes, that was a smart*** remark along the lines that there's a similar attention/love/reverence of the implements and tools used to commit a crime.

"Your honor, it's not my fault I went off my meds and killed my wife and son, and the neigbor and his kids, Tom Cruise said they weren't helping me!"

It's kind of scary to think of how people came to try these things, and even scarier to think which of these are still in guinea pig stage. For the ones involving bacteria and urinary tract infections (Alka Seltzer to kill an active bacterial infection?!!? Some hick saying "...and I'm all right now!" qualifies in the category of Tom Cruise medical advice) and pouring Listerine on open cuts/blisters (the English carpenter guy on Extreme Makeover:Home Edition did this last week and then promptly had to go to the ER b/c it made the problem 20x worse), I wouldn't be taking grandma's advice. For the rest of them, similar to how they did bloodletting up until the 1800s, people get better in spite of the "cure."

There's a big consignment store, I think it's in Georgia, for lost luggage that can't be traced to anyone and/or isn't reported. Tho, who'd want to use other people's nailclippers?

Like the assassin loves his sniper rifle. Copyright infringement is a crime. Same as you walking into a chocolatier and popping coconut cremes without paying. Why does everyone think theft is okay if there isn't a face? If you think it's too expensive, don't buy it -- but don't steal it. Expect to be prosecuted if you continue.

Takeo? I'm not sure what you're referencing, Mr. Khan.

You're talking about sculprtures/busts of people compared to words? The examples have a much stronger tie with historic governmental process than any organized religion --- when you think of Justinian, you think Rome --> Constantinople, not "polytheism." The Magna Carta is a legal document outlining the powers of the king. A document that starts out with "Thou shalt have no other God before me" is religious in nature. And why such a display needs to be 15 feet high granite slabs in 140-point text...

What can you say? They make tangible products. We shuffle papers and have a circle-jerk services and 'Everyone Can Be An American Idol' economy. I think the big blow to the American psyche has been that most of us can't point to something and say "I made that." At the end of the workday, what we do amounts to nothing. Ross Perot and (as much as you hate them) the labor union Democrats were entirely right about NAFTA and other trade agreements that gutted our industries. Sure, it reduced prices a little but what is that when there are no productive jobs to replace the ones that were lost? This is a great country to live in if you make $100,000 a year, but.... The work ethic is there, and for people who have to work 60 hours a week just to keep the checkbook balanced, I wouldn't say Lazy. And I wouldn't say Spoiled either, just, we've been conditioned to expect too much.

They made a special exemption for themselves and displays like it. Pro'ly don't want those simple prole construction workers in their chambers. The last time the Ten Commandments were codified "law" was when Moses came down from the mountain after inscribing them. When were they ever the law in this country? I point directly at the quote from Thomas Jefferson I gave above. Maybe there's a basis or the few obvious big ones like "thou shalt not kill" -- hardly the intellectual property of the Bible -- that are in common with our laws, but they are entirely different in breadth and depth. Why don't they display the Code of Hammurabi then? How about displaying our own laws on the walls? Seems that the people who got behind bars weren't very familiar with them....

I remember Cheney saying recently on CNN that the insurgency "is in its last throes" and that their "back has been broken." I guess one of them was Off Message. Sorry Dick, but I think Sgt. Rummy is right. BiB, I'm just going to ask b/c you have a lot of good answers... What are we staying there for in such numbers? I think the Afghanistan model was one that worked pretty well. Personally, I don't think staying another month or another six years is going to have much effect on what is going to happen when we actually leave. What remains besides training Iraqi police and national guard?

Today's ruling is a little weird. Some displays, such as ones that have been up for 40+ years, are allowed. Brenner chalked this up that if no one had a problem with it before, it could stay -- never minding the silent headshaking of those of other faiths, atheists, etc., but whatever. Displays in and around public property like courthouses are not allowed. Watching the evening news tho, I get flashes of Al Sadr's rhetoric. A quote from Thomas Jefferson, which runs contrary to what some people claim of the Founding Fathers: "“Christianity neither is, nor ever was part of the common law.” If anyone was watching "The West Wing" this season, Alan Alda as the fiscal Republican candidate had a nice bit somewhat on this topic.

What was the germination of this, the Gaughan article? It's been weeks since I've seen a 'Trade Travis' thread, and everyone is pretty level-headed about it at this point. I don't see any mobs forming, dude. Yeah. I heard he hangs around with Satan, Mephistophales, Beelzebub, and Jon Lovitz.

How 'bout Natalie Gulbis? (And she's 22).

I've watched the live 'Pops Goes the Fourth' concert on Ch. 5 the past couple years and haven't been disappointed. Don McLean was great and EVERYONE sang along to "American Pie." Probably tough to get into that tho. Also saw a thing on Chronicle about the Duck Tours. Those look fun. Just watch out for the crazies walking outside Quincy Market selling books like "How Aliens Colonized Earth: And What Will Happen When They Come Back." Wish I could tag along for No. 5, only I'd drink a 2-liter Coke and pee on his foundation.

1. A lot of guys who impress in their first full year have that ol' sophmore slump. If there's anyone who can beat it tho, it's them. 2. If he stays healthy. (If he takes out JP again, the TBD mob will be after him. ) 3. Meh. Reluctant yes, in that you're really underestimating Pat's contribution. Anderson or Edwards steps up, or scheming by Gray, and it's still a dropoff. 4. Yup. 5. Yup. He had it last year but he's got it even more this year.

I've always been under the impression that there's a built-in allotment for signing draft picks (and even then, only a 1st or 2nd rounder would be high enough to count toward the cap), and that unused cap space cannot be transferred to use down the line. You use it that year or lose it. It'd be nice if this is creating some room to sign Clements (tho it's virtually guaranteed that he's going to test the waters) or lock up McGee. No. According to Billsdaily's front office info, MW signed a 6-year/$38M contract in 2002.

Kenneth Davis and Kent Hull. They never got the recognition for the roles they served and they never b----ed about anything, just showed up with their lunch pails. I respect that.

Jeff Buckley -- fabulous voice ranging seven octaves. "Hallelujah." I don't care what you say about Nirvana; "Grace" was *the* debut of the '90s. John Denver -- PBS tribute/concert special awhile back hooked me on a guy I previously thought was a little fruity, but he really loved the music. "Sunshine On My Shoulders" Buddy Holly -- I'd be interested to hear what he'd do with today's equipment, etc. He had a lot of great tunes in a short time. Jim Croce -- I pop the box set in frequently. He's the best songwriter- singer I can think of.

So much for that pesky 5th Amendment and those 'property rights' thingies. This is a fundamental shift in the power of govt to deny individual rights and do whatever they want for the almighty tax dollar. There was a piece about this on 60 Minutes awhile back; the city was categorizing houses in the area where the development was proposed that didn't have X-amount of square feet and a two or three car garage as unlivable/condemnable. Steve Croft asked the mayor if she had a two-car garage. The classic response: That's different. The deal with commercial/retail taxes is a vicious circle. More people move into the town, more kids in their schools, more roads, etc. Which leads to more stores going up, which leads to more people moving there.... Look at Manchester, CT. It's soon going to be the largest concentration of retail stores in America. Sadly, that's where the economy is going: selling other countries' goods and losing the capacity for production. Everyone here talks about a new Revolution. I'll have to check my Palm Pilot, but I think I'm free next Saturday....

I was there two weeks ago visiting family and I tell you buddy, it's a nice place to visit for about three days. I agree about the positives you list (the water sucks tho, even after treatment, and Blue Cheese? Ugh.). I saw a lot of nice homes for sale, but there's probably a reason why they're leaving. You pass by all of the "Wayne County Blah Blah Blah" signs and you realize that the tax situation (relative to wages) with four layers of govt to support isn't going to get better b/c it's like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. Jim Croce had it right when he sang "New York's Not My Home."

No, but I carry something else if the PETA/militant vegan people ever show up. I know people who work in the industry. You know that phrase of things you don't want to know how they're made? Add beef and milk. I'm not tin-hat paranoid about it, but I like to know where my food comes from. Plus, doing it like that is cheaper per pound, it's great tasting meat and it supports a local farmer.