Taro T

See, that's what I don't understand about PETA. They think (know) that humanity is the largest destructive force on/towards the planet, but yet very few of them kill themselves. I think their rhetoric would be much more acceptable if they practiced what they preached.

I think I remember that episode, and you are correct.

Didn't the Myth Busters debunk this one yet? I could have sworn I saw them deploy a small hydrogen bomb near the Golden Gate Bridge and all it did was cause the guy from "Dirty Jobs" to deficate himself. While the balistic jell Grant did not fair well, Torry could NOT destroy an entire city, much less a state, nor 5% of the globe with his tests. Although Carrie did look hot with the "No nukes, better dead than red" tattoo on her butt.

Are you really so daft as to believe that bird flu virus is man made? Obviously many, but not all, forest fires are man-made. How would you have us prevent the sun going nova? Does a 50% reduction in emissions eliminate that issue? IF the sun is the source of global climate change, and it very well could be from what I've read to date, how does destroying the U.S. economy effect global climate change? UNDERSTANDING the CAUSE of global climate change SIGNIFICANTLY effects the responses to it. If it isn't caused by the activities of humans, it is VERY possible that humans can't reduce/avert it. If that is the case, then rather than tilt at windmills, we'd be better off adjusting to it's effects. And you explicitly stated that you don't care whether global warming is man-made or not. Thank you for playing, I'm glad you are not in charge of my tax dollars.

Actually, YOU compared the drug company to MickeyD's. You said (paraphrasing here) that as long as a company provided a service, there was no problem with receiving a govt. subsidy. Well, most people consider restaurants to be part of the "service" sector. So, by your posts, it appears that restaurants, such as the one with the clown and golden arches, should be subsidized. Robble, robble, robble. And just purely out of curiosity, how much money do you think the researcher (and his team) that develop the cancer cure should be paid? And, should the individual whose tissues were used to develop/test the cure be paid anything, and if so, how much?

In biochem that's been happening for at least the last 15 years. A good friend of mine was continually harping on how any journal article methodology she tried to reproduce from Japan would inevitably need her to add a step or modify a reagent concentration to actually duplicate the results. Which makes me ask, doesn't any peer reviewer EVER try to replicate the experiments that are described in a technical article? (The answer may well be, they never do, J Coli or yourself would know much better than I about this issue. I just always found it amazing that, anecodotally at least, this practice went on (and appears to continue to this day).

So basically, PETA is correct and we should euthanize all humans. Unless, of course, they roll a 3.5. (It COULD happen.)

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?