checkmate

What school did you study political theory at?

How is that flip flopping? He has a better chance at building a global coalition should another conflict arise than Cheney or Bush. That is Kerry's point of you think beyond his words.

I think a democratic government in Iraq will be difficult and take decades to take hold. Initially, Iraqis may choose civilian leaders, but ultimately through elections, religious leaders will be elected. I think whenever a leader is seen as having a direct line to God (or god), it is bordering on a monarchy or dictatorship. I never have been to Iraq, but I worry about imposing democracy rather than the democracy evolving out of the will of the people. I know democracy worked by imposition in West Germany, and as Cheney pointed out, El Salvador, but I think their cultures were more amenable to democracy. I am going on a trip to India in December and am quite interested in the impressions of the people in that country about Iraq and its government. Their revolution was a peaceful one, and to a great extent their government challenges their religious culture. So, I may change my opinion on Iraq. Nonetheless, Cheney is wrong--it is not our place to impose governments on other countries. Self-determination means that the country should choose its own form of government. If Iraq chooses a monarchy, that should be fine. If Iraq chooses an oligarchy, that should be fine. Has anyone ever considered what would happen if Saddam Hussein is elected president of a free Iraq? Will they intentionally keep him off the ballot? If so, is that being democratic, particularly considering he has not been convicted of any crime.

As most know, I am a Liberal Democrat. So my bias is out there. I did not have a chance to watch either debate, but I listened to both of them in their entirety. Listening to the debates only, I thought Bush-Kerry was a draw as was Cheney-Edwards. However, even my Republican friends said that Kerry won the debate if you watched in via split screen. In fact, I was surprised about how well Cheney presented himself. I believe Cheney is dead wrong about Iraq and his theory that the US should spread democracy by force to countries perceived as threats. However, he presented his opinion in a very articulate way. Edwards should have addressed the difference between preemptive strike and preventative strike more clearly.

Yes, the lawyer does. In fact, taxes might be paid two and three times. The law firm pays taxes on firm income that was not paid out in wages and the lawyer also pays taxes on his or her income. There are ways to set up the law firm to avoid the double tax though.

Your family members should be ok on taxes. It should not be taxable. But discuss it with the lawyer to be sure. By the way, when it is taxable, you have to pay taxes on your lawyer's share too. Just one of the many reasons why it is not really good to do business litigation on contingency fees.

Compensatory damages can be taxable if they are for lost wages, breack of contract, or almost any other damage other than pure personal injury. As for punitive damages, some state statutes require a percentage of punitives to actually go to the state treasury. Georgia immediately comes to mind.

As a lawyer and I can tell you if the settlement is "pure personal injury", that is reimbursement for medical expenses incurred and pain and suffering it is not taxable. Any aspect of the settlement or verdict that is for lost wages would be taxable. Some of the distinctions are complicated. However, if you had a lawyer representing you, he or she should have the settlement crafted in a way that all payments are pure personal injury. As an aside, the insurance company has to follow the rules too. They can only send you a 1099 if the settlement is taxable. You can PM me if you need more info.

Coy Wire cost the Bills the game more than any other single player. And he was not even on the field for every defensive play. On third and long in the second half, he would come off the filed for Pierson and Rashad. If you were looking for someone to cut to make a statement, he would be my choice.

I was really disappointed in Edwards, I probably knew his entire speech. Basically a combination of his stump speech from the primaries and his speech at the convention. I expect the campaign to be reinvigorated when the Republicans give the Democrats new material during and after the debates.

I will be going to the game. Hope he gets a catch.

How many civil trials have you been a part of?

You can't be serious. Do you know anything about law? If you are going to make a joke, at least understand the principles behind them.

On the polling issue, I think both the Democrats and the Republicans do agree this is a close race and both parties internal polling show Bush with a slight lead. Slight leads seven weeks before elections have turned into both landslide wins and landslide defeats, particulary after debates.

Bush has taken some distinct positions on Iraq too. September 2002--they have weapons of mass destruction Septemeber 2002--we should have UN help regarding WMD March 2003--Saddam has ties to al-Qaida and will share weapons of mass destruction with them March 2003--we don't need help from UN April/May 2003--Mission Accomplished Fall 2003--Saddam had two mobile trailers to make biological weapons Winter 2004--no weapons of mass destruction, but Saddam was a brutal dictator and needed to be eliminated as a world threat Spring/Summer 2004--we needed to go into Iraq to bring it democracy Fall 2004--we need UN help to stablize Iraq I think that is 9 distinct positions on Iraq for Bush too.

You know its impossible to talk about a voting record of any legislator. Every bill before Congress is so loaded with pork that there are any number of reasons why someone votes against it even when that legislator actually agrees with the graveman of the proposed legislation. You can pick any Republican legislator and do the same thing. Oddly, Kerry's vision is much in tune with Reagan's "City Upon a Hill" making our country a great example for other nations rather than force other nations to be like us. It fits into his economic plan where we ensure that everyone has minimum standards, including opportunity to work and healthcare. Where I think Kerry is lacking is in regards to healthcare. His plan really does not help those who work for small firms that cannot afford to have a self-insured plan. Nonetheless, Bush's idea that small firms should band together to buy group insurance misses the same point, small firms cannot absorb the risk of catastrophic medical costs.

Does the census bureau indicate how much of those products are financed with a security agreement? If not, then you might have to revise those figures.

How about weekly televised debates?

I would. Danger pay is not worth the danger.

Five wide, shot gun, 3-4 yard passes max. Kinda like the NE offense.

I think it was Joe Burns who called it.

The founding father's vision of a Republican form of government was that the citizens would elect experts in government to make the best decisions for the nation as a whole. A Republican form of government was to be established because of the distrust of citizens making the decisions. That's why a democracy was not established. A democracy, as any political theorist will tell you is a negative form of government where the leaders do what their supporters want them to.

Gone is Reagan's "City upon a hill" vision for our country. I guess because countries did not want to emulate us as Reagan had hoped, we need to force our way of life on others.

Just registered. Take it easy on me.

I agree, abortion and gay marriage are not critical issues in light of the issues you point out.