UConn James

This is the first time I've caught an OSU game this year, but watching this kicker Mike(?) Nugent is everything Rian Lindell is not. Consistent, good stepping technique, strong leg, accurate. Had a 55-yarder before the half that he curved and sailed through the uprights, probably would have been good from mid-60s. Announcers said he hit a 68-yarder in a training camp. OSU is VERY lucky to have this kid. Anyone think he'll still be around in the 2nd round (and from the looks of things, early second round)? Not that TD would use a draft pick on a kicker. But Ker-ist, imagine not having to pray to the football gods when attempting a FG from over 38.

Actually, I admit it rather freely that I'd rather have had Wes Clark. But should Kerry win, he'll be pegged for Sec. of Defense, which I think would be a great place for him, as a foil to Rumsfeld & Wolfowitz, the bean-counters. What does it matter that Kerry & wife have four properties? My parents have three.... And I'm sure AD could fill you in that the SS budget won't change regardless of who's in office.

Kerry was simply pointing out that most of the "small business owners" that would be affected by rolling back the tax cuts, for earners >$200,000, are ones where the "business" is $1 here, $84 there that can count as a "small business" according to Bush. Paco, methinks 2001 was the last year where access to the taxes is available. And what does it matter that Bush may not be claiming it in his returns now? He did, and 900,000 others do. His point that rolling the tax cuts back would hurt many "small businesses" was shot down. TracyLee, I got that sense too, but more like an "I could give a stevestojan what my tax guy does to scrounge every penny he can" reaction. Too bad for those other schmucks who pay their taxes honestly rather than through loopholes.

This final sentence is the thing that scares the bejeezus out of me too. Whyever are they letting these types walk? I have relatives who work in the courts and they say it's un-bleeping-believable at what happens in the system. Unlawful possession of a firearm has a FIVE-YEAR MANDATORY sentence. That's federal, isn't it? What is this %^&* doing out in three!??! So, another choirboy who won't be in church on Sunday. Let's all say an Our Father for him.... Maybe that's how he got out, he "found God," yeah? There's one parole-granting excuse that oughtta be nixed pronto.

Yup. I think he pushed out Grammatica before they signed Christie. As I remember, he was pretty good on power. He was working on his accuracy from beyond the 40 and getting better at it. Not much different than our current situation, tho RL did hit the 49-yarder last week.... Surprised the stevestojan outta me.

Oh I'm sorry, there's a little dirt on the floor over there. Let me SWEEP it up. No Aaron F%$king Boone this year!

Cowboy Up, Part Two!

So what he really means is that we're doing all of this for nothing.

Am I supposed to be impressed with a red-herring one liner? Snopes.com Urban Legends: Heinz Sight Wow. Facts suck.

How can you sit there and tell those people their jobs didn't matter? I've spent my summers doing hard labor in construction and now stone walls and firewood b/c I can't find one of these great new jobs of which you speak. This economy was allowed to stagnate under this president by letting companies that get corporate welfare ship jobs overseas. Manufacturing jobs are what made this country what it is. Call it low-skill if you want, but bear in mind that not everyone in this country is an Einstein-in-waiting. Do you think the oh-so-great service jobs are any more important (I rather think they're much more demoralizing). We need a diverse employment field. And when other countries decide not to allow their companies to sell us things we need, you might whistle a different tune. Because that day is coming. And the most telling statistic is that on average, what jobs have been created pay about $9,000 less per year than the jobs that left. I would think most people's definition of high skills and job training isn't "Would you like fries with that?" Just sayin'.

My brother was under stop-loss in the Air Force Ravens. This factored into him saying :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: the first chance he got. First lesson for executives should be, When you f^&k over your people, they f%^k you right back. We can't afford to be doing this with our military, b/c one day very soon they won't be there when we really need them.

And let me add: "Recognize that the world can be a shade of ugly so sallow that ugliness seems the only rational response, but dare to be beautiful anyway." -- Kevin Bisch I try to apply this in both the macro- and microcosm of life. What was done is horrible beyond words, I watched it of the belief that someone in my chosen career needs to be able to look at anything, but it doesn't mean we should stoop to that level. Zaqwari will one day get what he gives, whoever the President is.

How about in changing that very ethos of materialism and the ME-generation. Believe it or not, this is a relatively new phenomenon at the macro scale. It's only in about the past 50-60 years when everyone has had to keep up with the Joneses. Remember Victory Gardens (I had one this year. Bumper crop of tomatoes...)? Sacrificing and rationing for the war effort? The average American is being told by the Administration to BUY, BUY, BUY, MORE, MORE, MORE from the very countries that we will someday probably be fighting against. It should be required reading, or rather, someone really needs to make a movie of Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie," written at the turn of the century and even more relevant now than then. The day is short The night so long Why will you work so hard To get things you don't even want? And yeah, I agree with DC Tom, but we probably slightly disagree on who'll get us there. The best defense is a good offense, BUT, you've still gotta play some kind of defense to win! The admin's preparedness for w/in this country is a color-coded chart. This is shameful.

Be it duly noted that tho necessary, taxes suck and govt spending is out of control which is an indictment for every party. But it has to be done based on what can conceivably be paid and what is fair in who gains most from the services rendered by govt. I support a progressive tax. The rich and big corporations should expect to pay a slightly larger percentage of their income. Who has the higher interest in maintaining roads, educating our children, keeping the country (and our possessions) safe, etc.? I use the road to get places. I've had 12 years of education and 4 in college (of which I've paid a large %). I've called the police once when someone tried to 'jack the family car. I'm not advocating communism or anything here; normal citizens should expect to pay for these services. Corporations and the people who make over $200,000/ yr. benefit from the same personal protections. They also have a larger stake in the condition of the roads that transport their products. They have a larger stake in educating the people who one day will be using their computers, software, drill presses, what have you. They have a larger stake in police protection for their warehouses and McMansions that are targets for criminals, c'est la vie.... This goes on and on. Corps get tax breaks from local, state, fed govt to set up shop in a particular area so that area can have jobs so those people can pay taxes. (In Manchester, Conn., this type of thinking has led to the most commercially developed area in the U.S. and it's like a commercialism drug addiction where you need more tax money to pay for services that people come there for, spiraling into oblivion). Do I realize what I'm saying? Yeah. If I were some day to be in that group of wage-earners or own a company, I would be fully prepared to put my money where my mouth is. It's called being responsible and paying your true share rather than shirking that responsibility. So are Kerry and his wife; their taxes will increase when he proposes to roll back the tax cuts for the wealthy, which places a higher burden on those people who ultimately benefit much more from the services that taxes provide.

A black pen from Kerry, a red herring from Bush.

As the CBS longitudinal camera showed, Big Mike, along with two other OL, was standing there, arms at his side and watching his man pummel Bledsoe into the rubber pellets.

Said the three, count 'em THREE, personal foul of the 15 yard variety penalties weren't a problem b/c it could have been worse. That's a poor excuse for a coach looking to instill discipline. Penalties flat-out killed us yesterday. Saying it's not that bad only invites players to be more laissez-faire about them. Talk about consistency all you want, Mike. To win, you need a better game plan rather than bumping into the glass every time. (From his language I'd say he's a GW-voter, but you needn't comment on this).

Mhmm. Just like when the offense fumbles it OB, they retain possession. Don't someone reply that if it's out of the endzone it's a safety, because that doesn't apply to the scoring EZ, which Fletcher was at. But where would the refs spot the ball if it were an offensive play? Spot of the fumble?

1. If you know and understand these four words you too can create a winning game plan versus the Bills. They are? (This s/b easy) Team Meeting On-top-a Bledslow. 2. The success or failure in the baseball playoffs of which individual player (name him) will mean the most to his team's chances this year? (medium difficulty, but if you think....) Johan Santana. 3. In which of her videos does Martina McBride look the hottest? (Should be easy, probably won't be) MM is old, dude. Google for Jane Monheit. 4. Which song should replace "Eye in the Sky" as an intro song for sports teams/events (you'll master this test if you get this). Welcome To The Jungle. 5. Which player from the 2004 draft would have made the biggest difference to the Bils this year if they had drafted him? (Medium difficulty - it does not matter what round he was picked or which player they would have not ended up with. Imagine they just had a free pick now and only wanted to have an impact based on performaces thus far). Sean Taylor.

I'd agree with the "No magic number" part. Only b/c with the electoral college system, the percentage is irrelevant. It depends on the states, which is a bunch of crap for a national office. That's something that chaps my ass about all of these polls that come out that essentially tell us nothing. One could legitimately argue that Bush did that his ownself....

Vote early, vote often, as they say. It does bother me that so many people vote legitimately while others work to corrupt the system. And what happens to them when they're caught? Probation? You get more time and penalties for dubbing movies. Unlike others, I wouldn't want to hazard a guess until there's hard evidence rather than surmising it. Criminals come in all colors, shapes, sizes and political affiliations, don't you know.

I don't take insult with a logical argument. I started the thread to discuss the issue. Thanks for your input. I realize that the "current threat" only means that it's the old threat of country-country war plus the new threat of individuals w/in countries attacking other countries. However, I think the new threat trumps the old slightly. MAD would dictate that NK knows if it sends off a nuke to Alaska (who really cares about AK tho? ) they will be blasted into the Crustaceous Era, no matter who the president is. And if NK is such a big threat, why did we start a war of choice in Iraq so we'd potentially have wars on multiple fronts? If you look through history, that has done in many great civilizations and some not-great ones too The "Axis of Evil" comment was sheer stupidity b/c whatever chance we had for diplomacy was thrown out in one sentence. . "Star Wars" deployment put the cart before the horse. Would you say this is similar to NASA sending up Hubble knowing it wasn't up to snuff, then did some fairly risky spacewalks to do the replacement work? Hubble didn't cost $1 trillion, tho, and provided immediate benefits. Chalk that up to gov't spending rules. I understand the concept of testing new technology. And like you write, a test that looks like a failure can actually provide useful information or confirm that an aspect of the system worked. But it's going on 20 years with this stuff, and there is a track record of projects continued long after their worth has been shown to be nil simply b/c some senator has clout and it's built in their state (See: Osprey, Rosen Hawks (my brother was in two tailspins at Drum before the pilots somehow got control) as only the most recent). Not saying that the theory isn't desirable but the costs... the costs. Both monetary and human. And something that gives me the red ass is there was a test scheduled for this month that is now being postponed until after the election. For someone who's so interested in our nation's security as the No. 1 priority that sure smacks of a political move. If you're going to push for something, you'd better be prepared to take the bad with the good rather than defer to a more convenient time.

Bump. Seeing the warm-ups on CBS pregame, they're going with the mo' and it IS blue on blue today!

You think Franks would admit to one and all that he caved to political pressure? There are generals, now (made) retired, who aren't in bed with the neo-cons who say it was a bad move. Yep, the Army found Saddam by drastically reducing the forces in Iraq and outsourcing the job to Saudi Arabian soldiers.... Well put.

Well, I was hoping for discussion of the talking points rather than people saying: 'North Korea --- Be Afraid!!' Yeah, in theory, it'd be nice to have this defense feature. But the reality is that at best, it's doubtful the technology will be developed anywhere in the near future (read: N. Korean gov't will probably self-implode before this happens), if it can be done at all. Diverting resources from where they're needed to piddle with something that will provide no benefit is something this admin. has gotten very good at. Pulling out of the ABMT is one of the most irresponsible things we could do. Simply sets the stage for a spiraling nuclear chaos. "Jump the shark." Heh heh.