John Adams

On fences, I would hope (and guess) that Ken evaluates that on a case by case basis. We don't have a fenced in yard but we do have a park half a block from our house where our dog runs free in a big open field. Once we knew we could trust him off the leash, that's where we go. Before that, we took him to the same park and let him run free in the tennis courts (fenced in). He gets walked up to that park 5x a day, rain, snow, or shine though the play time tends to be longer on sunny days...just human nature!). Plus he swims at another park a few times a week. That--I trust--would overcome the fence issue. But I understand that a fenced in yard is an instant-plus when evaluating a home. You can instantly know that the dog can run free and play even if the owner claims they will take the dog to a local park. Plus you know the dog won't run away, get hit by a car, attack/get attacked by another dog, etc. Fences are good for dogs in most cases.

The opinion is pretty case-specific. The judges were quick to note that the search was out-of-line because the school had no suspicion of anything other than prescription-strength ibuprofen. In order to justify a strip search, the Court concluded that school officials must have some evidence that the drug or other item they suspect is being hidden by the student is dangerous in terms of its “power or quantity." Seems reasonable. If you think the kid hid cigarettes in her bra, no strip search. IF you think she hid scrack in her panties, strip. The egregious nature of this case amplifies Thomas's stupidity. She sat for hours and the school never called her parents or the cops. Then they did the search.

Part of your problem is your track record. The other part is you're wrong.

I have had 2 goldens--they are obviously great dogs. There are a few Shepards in my neighborhood and I've gotten to know them well. They are fantastic too. Like KRC and others have said, get to know both the dog and the breed. In terms of aggression, I see little difference between the goldens and shepards. The shepards are more intimidating looking (stand taller, more powerfully built) and maybe not as affectionate to strangers (my dog would go home with the first passer-by who held out his hand) but I've never seen them act aggressively to person or dog. I second KRC's suggestion to rescue (because you'll go to heaven), but I have to admit that I got both my goldens from breeders and raised them from pups. If you're buying a puppy (ie, a dog without a formed personality), meet both parent dogs to make sure they are the kind of dog you want AND spend the extra money for a reputable breeder.

That's why. He left for a week without telling anyone where he was. IF I tried that at work and it was anything short of my kid dying, I'd lose my job. HE has a bit more responsibility as governor--and he left for what? To get laid? Adios Sanford.

He should resign anyways.

Agree 100% with this and was just responding to where the conversation turned. John's son is his own situation--a good footballer but not one of the national recruit studs like Oher was. I was just responding to the assertion that a good player with bad grades wouldn't get into a school. That's a load of BS. Unfortunately, if you're good enough, you'll be on a team.

He's pretty close to right. If a kid is a straight F student with talent, he's in trouble. If he's got a ton of Cs and some Ds, the schools find a way with a stud player. Michael Oher couldn't spell cat and he went to a D-I school. (Read The Blind Side for more on Oher.) If a kid is good enough on the field, schools will bend over backwards to get him on the field. Sure, there are requirements to be met. But there are also easier ways to meet them than in the school he goes to every day. In Oher's case, he took a load of online courses in a Summer--with a tutor--so he could play at Ole Miss.

Did he? He denied that yesterday and the only place I've seen that accusation is here.

Under 25 is very high risk. With full collision and maxing out all insurance options on a new Lexus, I was recently paying only about 1200/year. My wife pays less than 1K/year on her brand new Prius. For a car we sold recently that didn't have collision, I think we were paying 600/year. All with the Lizard. That's the difference between 38 and 22. Oh, and with no other information, go with the 5 year old car over the 13 year old one.

Exactly. Think of what kind of mental illness you suffer from when you, as governor, just disappear for a week to visit your mistress...to Argentina, ie, 100% trackable...with no alibi. It would not have been hard to just say he was taking a week off and go visit her. He chose this self-destructive path that had no other possible outcome but him losing his job.

He said at the presser that he paid for the ticket.

18 pts and 8 rebs. Not too many centers can match that. The trick is keeping him healthy until the playoffs. The real question is whether Shaq is better than Wallace/Pov. The answer to that must be yes.

There's even more to the Scalia quote. As I recall now, it was an interview. (I think it was at lawprose.org but I'm not sure.) He admitted that one of his best clerks was someone who wasn't from an Ivy and freely knows that he's missing out on perhaps the best and brightest people out there. His point was one of efficiency: why search to dig out the bright guy who had a couple bad semesters when his mom was sick--or that is working 2 jobs while in school? Maybe those were the cause of the bad grades that made him slip out of the top 5% or not get into an Ivy but for every one of those people you meet, there are hundreds who are plain old B students. By starting with the straight-A Ivy students, he gaurantees a certain level of hard work and intelligence. From there, he can interview and weed for the true genius. You have to admit that your odds of bumping into an exceptionally bright person with straight As at Princeton are better than looking to the B+ students at Villanova. It's not a perfect formula but if you're looking to do it efficiently, his way makes sense. If the guy at Villanova is truly a genius, he'll do well anyway--just won't get the job with Scalia.

Forecasting Newt in 2012 is a good (rare for you) call. He will be primed with conservative ammunition to fight the guy I assume you've tagged as the antichrist, who will be at his peak power. Did I get that about right? I mean about the antichrist being at peak wattage in 2012?

What the...? Even for you, this is good stuff man.

I have no idea how to get this message across but it sure is the one you need to get through to him. In 4-5 years, he'll play his last pads/arena football game ever. But the education he gets during those years will carry him through the 50-60 years left in his life after that. I am not one to wax on that a college education is worth a ton in the real world (outside the sciences). But--and it's a big but--a college degree opens doors that a high school diploma never will. It's not necessarily always fair but it's a fact. I saw Justice Scalia interviewed about this once and I'll paraphrase his response and put quotes around it, even thought it's not precisely what he said. "I won't interview a person from a non-Ivy League school. I also won't interview anyone not in the top 5% of their class. Why bother? If a candidate is in the top 5% of the best schools in the country, the odds are that they are the best and brightest possible candidates to be a Supreme Court clerk. Is it always right? Of course not. But it's better to look for diamonds in a coal mine than a forest." I'm sure he was both more eloquent and abrasive but you get the idea. That college degree matters.

I understand that you want to personally pass a law because it hurts you but that's not right. I have a close family member who's an alcoholic and it's not a treat. But that doesn't stop me from drinking a glass of wine with dinner. And it doesn't--for one second--make me think that passing a law would make the least difference in his problem.

What the hell kind of standard is that? Are we going to prohibit anything that causes "too much damage to individuals and families" or is "degrading to the human experience?" Jesus H. brother--those subjective standards are the stuff of fairy tales, not laws.

Scapyards turning into used car salesmen in 3, 2...

Wife hate Land of the Lost but 7 year old and I went full sophomore and loved it's juvenile humor. I can't believe they spent 100M on it--they should have stuck with the original's special effects and it would have been equally good (bad). The first Transformers blew; surely the second one will too. A great special effects/no plot bonanza.

The period should be inside the quotation mark. Eryn adds less than wacka these days.

Good. I hope no one can use this free money. It's complete rape.

It's the combined number on that chart. Unless you're driving a boat or a truck, you're SOL.

From the cars.gov website FAQs, Most mid-size sedans made in the last 25 years would come in at 19+. I've never driven anything that averaged less than that. Even my old 8 cylinder Chevy Caprice shows up as a 19MPG car.