Taro T

Yup, hopefully they kick some U Mass ass.

But should we allow a smarter immigrant (if there can be such a thing ) people into the country? And if we do, should they be allowed to stay home and have kids, or should they be required to work for the companies that are being subsidized by the government? Or is breeding now subsidized work? Or should that decision be based upon whether they came into the country legally? (Illegals must work, legals can work as breeders. But if breeding is work how do we distinguish between the two, by their driving habits perhaps?) So many questions. And so little time before the Clarkson game.

This lahjikal thinkin' is pretty hard sometimes.

So as long as a company isn't a manufacturer, the government should fund them?

I find it ironic that the individual that says "I don't care if it is man-made or not", which is a tremendously critical question as to whether ANY resources (not just how many) should be spent to reverse/mitigate global climate change, sees all discussion of global climate change as being about the poster bearer of "let's do something now to trash our economy because if we don't, well I've seen the results of models that say we'll be in worse shape if we don't".

Casino gambling? (That might keep the natives off the Natives' reservations.)

Aaah, I SEE said the blind man. Well, it is those rich corporations that are giving jobs to the poor, so I can see where it's a good thing to give money to rich corporations, at least those that have never been run by Dick Cheney. Am I getting the hang of it now?

But if we simply raise taxes, won't government cure the "decay class of people"? (Whatever the heck that is.) Or maybe the solution is to follow HA's apparent advice and prevent all non-European immigration to this country? (Or is it just Latinos that keep the country from looking like it did when he was a child? I couldn't quite figure out where he was going with that one.) (Sorry for digressing.) That way, low skilled high paying jobs could go to native Americans, and we'd eliminate the "decay class of people".

If you're allocating the profits from the research to "the most efficient at distributing", why not just let Walmart do it and do away with the pharmaceutical industry all together? I'm still not sure from where / to whom you are allocating the costs and more importantly the managerial decisions (i.e., which potential drugs get funded and to what stage).

But, but, but, in one of the Planet of the Apes movies, it only took ONE Armaggedon bomb to destroy the whole planet. If one does it in the movies, shouldn't 20 be more than enough in real life?

By definition, when government throws money at something, they have picked the winners (those that get money +/or rules to keep their competition at bay) and losers (those competing with the "winners"). In your utopia, I'd expect there'd still be a thriving buggy whip industry.

Tom, That'd be an interesting calc. One thing I don't quite understand though is, when exactly did HA make this into an immigrant issue instead of an illegal immigrant issue? (He has been discussing immigrants, not illegal immigrants, I just don't understand how that occurred.) The reason I ask is, I thought most people were discussing illegal immigration, and I didn't see any stats on the Census bureau's site that covers illegals (not surprisingly). I still think it would be interesting, although I expect, as you seem to, that there will be little to no correlation between immigrant populations and overall accident rates.

So, is Boston not even listed because it's off the chart bad driving, and must accordingly have a ton of illegals?

Puhonix is gonna get you for that one!

Is there anyone or anything that isn't >> Dick Marx. (Don't mean nothin' at all. )

Interesting. I'd prefer to see the Bills keep the picks and either sign one of the available FA's and grab a RB in the 2nd or 3rd or just grab a RB in the 2nd.

Given how poor Matthews is at making predictions, I was very happy to read his column this morning.

Does anyone else feel like this thread is an extended version of a WKRP episode? Johnny: Dr. Monroe, you are an authority on juveneille delinquency. Dr. Hymen Monroe: That is correct Dr. Fever. JF: Well, what's wrong with kids these days Dr.? HM: Ohh, ho, ho; there are myriad answers to that complex question Dr.. JF: I see. HM: However, I shall endeavor to explain in layman's terms all of the pertinent factors involved. JF: Fine, I'll just get real comfortable then. HM: 1st of all, I have documented proof that the supramolecular structure of a child is MARKEDLY dissimilar to that of an adult. JF: Really? HM: Furthermore, it has been suggested, and not without credibility I might add, that the temporal lobe of every child is under constant bombardment by synaptic nerve impulses. (Pause) You see what I'm getting at, Dr.? JF: Certainly I do, but, uh, perhaps you could explain it to our audience. HM: Oh sure, well, uh, this is, can everybody see this? JF: This is radio Dr.. HM: Uh, well, what this chart shows is that the chromosomal infringement occurs in the early stages of myosis, not later. I repeat - NOT LATER. JF: That's wonderful, uh, Dr. how do you tie this in with, say, stealing hubcaps? HM: Well, my, uh, studies establish without a shadow of a doubt that children are, by adult standards, IN-SANE and more than a little immature. JF: And, and that's bad? HM: Well, sure. JF: Well, so what should we do about it? HM: Round the little gutter snipes up. JF: So tell me Dr., where did you receive your degree? HM: In Long Beach, California. JF: Long Beach State College... HM: Ohh, no, no, no. From a man at the Casa De Suma apartments. His name was Buddy, or, uh, Junior, or something like that. NO! It was Bubba! Bubba Weinberger! And Bubba knew that I knew all there was to know. ... HM: ... their habits are disgusting and their faces are always dirty. And what about shortness, how do you explain that?

I'm not sure how that would be when "Pokemon", "Yugioh", "Transformers", and ??? other cartoons were/are nothing more than glorified commercials for the cards and toys. Maybe it's different for shows with actual "actors"?

I remember, when you were down And you needed a helping hand I came to feed you But now that I need you You wont give me a second glance Now I'm calling all citizens from all over the world This is Captain America calling I bailed you out when you were down on your knees So will you catch me now I'm falling Help me now I'm calling you Catch me now I'm falling I'm in your hands it's up to you Catch me now I'm falling I remember when you were down You would always come running to me I never denied you and I would guide you Through all of your difficulties Now I'm calling all citizens from all over the world This is Captain America calling I bailed you out when you were down on your knees So will you catch me now I'm falling Help me now I'm calling you Catch me now I'm falling I'm in your hands it's up to you Catch me now I'm falling When you were broke you would come to me And I would always pull you round Now I call your office on the telephone And your secretary tells me that shes sorry But, you've gone out of town. This is Captain America calling This is Captain America calling Help me now I'm calling you Catch me now I'm falling I'm in your hands it's up to you Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling I stood by you through all of your depressions And I lifted you when you were down Now it's your chance to do the same for me I call your office and your secretary tells me That you've gone out of town This is Captain America calling This is Captain America calling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling I was the one who always bailed you out Of your depressions and your difficulties I never thought that you would let me down But the next time you're in trouble Better not come running to me Now I'm calling all citizens from all over the world This is Captain America calling I bailed you out when you were down on your knees So will you catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling Catch me now I'm falling - R. Davies (1979 Devray Music Ltd.)

Sorry 'bout that. I was reading more into your original post than was actually there. (Note to self, stop posting well past midnight after consuming a few pops.)

Capital projects, especially those with long expected service lives, are one of the few things government SHOULD borrow money to pay for. If a new treatment plant, or an upgrade to an existing plant, has an expected service life of, say, 20 years, that is the correct time period over which to pay for it. I'm not certain where you were trying to go with this post. It appears that you are implying that the principal that is borrowed doesn't require repayment but the interest does. I am certain that isn't what you meant, but that is how it reads. I don't quite agree with CTM about capital projects not requiring "funding" as most government infrastructure projects will not generate sufficient revenues to offset the full cost of the project, so they will require "funding" to some extent to pay off the bonds, and it does appear that the shortfall discussed in the article does include capital projects in the total. But to state that interest is what needs to be funded, especially on municipal projects such as these where the interest rate will equal the discount rate, is silly. And, getting back to the original point of this portion of the discussion, the Yahoo article and the ASCE paper both very clearly state that they are not factoring in any costs for system expansions. Apparently the EPA paper (which I did not read) also clearly states that. Picking out one sentence in the middle of a news article, where the initial sentence states that the legislation addresses "deteriorating sewer systems" and further down in the article it mentions that 850 gigagallons of overflow are due to combined sewer systems (read stormwater runoff) and 3-10 gigagallons of overflow are due to sanitary systems (i.e. at most 1% of the problem is due to insufficient treatment capacity for toilet flushing), to claim that immigrants are responsible for "a lot" of that spending is not intellectually rigorous, to say the least.

Mr. Candidate, what is your energy program? Whew. Right now I am devoting a great deal of time and study to that problem and I expect to issue a position paper on that; a position that is at once simple yet complex, flexible, and above all else, fair to every American.

My wife's watching the Foxworthy show in the other room, and in some strange way it seems that I am as well.