bills_fan

NYS has not made the changes necessary to fix itself in this respect. Once NYS offers a defined contribution plan (401k) vs. a defined benefit plan (pension) then NYS will have fixed itself. As far as dealing with crap...well, you signed up for it and could quit at any time. We all deal with crap in our jobs. For the most part, we knew what we signed up for and are willing to deal with the BS because the expected benefit outweighed the cost. So, forgive me if I break out the violin...

Wow. Some of the number in this link are simply mind-blowing. This link estimates that the total pension liability for the top 100 school administrators in Illinois is $887 million. Yes, almost a billion dollars in pension costs for 100 people. Man, I am in the wrong field.

And that is the problem I have with the whole trip. Its not that she tried it (or that the parents let her) but that it is insane to do the southern ocean in winter. Notice he criticizes the timing as foolhardy, not the doing.

Theu did also have knives. That is evident in the photographs.

Here is the link that reported the paintball guns. It also reported that the people on the ships had gas masks. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/01/2915586.htm I do not disupte that the Israelis have taken more life than the Palestinians, but with respect to this incident, it seems the Israelis did not want to kill anyone.

And that is my biggest problem with it. The winter season in the southern ocean? Really? With 60' rollers? Her brother did it at 17 and the family is obviously experienced sailors. I actually have less of a problem with the parents permitting it than the time of the year. She sucessfully rounded Cape Horn, so she obviously has the technical skill to make the trip.

They certainly had knives, that was in the photos. And the Israelis initially boarded the ships with paintball guns. They did not expect to encounter such resistance. When the soldiers lives were put in danger, the Israelis responded in kind. I have no problem with the Israeli response and you should not either. Were the Israelis expected to just sit there and be beaten and stabbed to death?

I do not see the comparison. The people on the boats put themselves in harms way unnecessarily and for no reason other than to provoke an international incident. The supplies, if that is what was on the ships , could have been unloaded, inspected and delivered. Mocking people who have deliberatly put themselves in harms way to create an international incident is not apathy for the whole middle east, just the idiots on the boats. There were no innocents on those boats.

LMAOROFL!!!

No offense, Stl, but do you think the Big 10 would take Missouri and A&M over Oklahoma? Not sure that really makes sense.

Well said.

I did think the parody was funny. What did those people think would happen? Israel (and Egypt BTW) is inspecting all cargo. They were not going to just let the ships make a delivery that possibly contained weapons that would be used against Israel. Of course it was going to end poorly. That was the point...a set-up. As far as an American on board...so what? If he was dumb enough to put himself in that type of situation....well, one less idiot around.

Until you read about how Mexico defends its southern border. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/02/...hia-gorney-text We really need to do whatever is necessary to secure our border.

This article says its likely to happen. Man, that was the BEST 80s college football rivalry. I'd love to see it brought back. I had a T-shirt that said "God made Notre Dame #1, Miami made them #2."

I prefer to think of welfare guys as parasites or leeches, producing nothing, but consuming the lifeblood of the economy.

I didn't say silver platter, but I do want to make things easier for my children than I had it. I'm not sure what deductions are permitted under the estate tax, but $1 million can be reached fairly quickly, especially if the family home is not excluded. And my feelings on taxes are expressed in my signature, from Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address.

I believe that if I work hard, I should be able to give my children things rather than the government taking the fruits of my labor and giving it to others.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/commentary/show/187.html

Great parady video by Israel regarding the floatilla incident that happened last week. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_wl2491

You do realize the estate tax is revenue-neutral right?

Just poured myself a Laphroaig, 10 year cask strength. One of the finest single malts under $100 per bottle. Drank with just a small splash of Poland Spring to open it up (it is cask strength after all). Going to enjoy this one.

All they need to do is have one ump in the booth watching replays. If he sees something off, he buzzes down to the plate ump. Plate ump checks the last call, determines right or wrong, and we move on. Whole thing takes less than 2 minutes and the call is right. Not seeing the problem with this...

Thats what Lupica argues for. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball...o_jim_joyc.html And it has happened before...see the George Brett pine tar game.

Imagine that...sportsmanship in pro sports. How retro!

Interesting question. There have been 20 PGs in MLB history (21 after today's debacle). Have there been 20 players in baseball history better than Griffey? I don't think so, given he has not had any of the steroid rumors surrounding him.