Azalin

The fact that once we engaged Al Qaeda, they had to focus on fighting us over there, instead of here on US soil.

ISIS/ISIL controls a major part of Iraq, are heavily involved in the continued attempts to topple Syria, and by all appearances seem to be preparing for a foray into Jordan, and you consider them to be a 'fringe' group? No wonder you don't seem to understand why we ridicule the president for referring to them as 'JV'. Nobody wants to get involved in another protracted military engagement over there, but these people have a stated goal to raise the black ISIS flag over the White House. Granted, the chances of that are nil, but what is obvious is the effect that our absence in the region has had - as soon as we left, ISIS began to fill the void. How far would you let them go? Would you allow them to attack Saudi Arabia? Would you wait until they managed to blow up a high profile target on American soil? What about the Iraqi people suffering under their extreme laws only because we were in such a hurry to get out of there? What does it take, in your opinion, to give an American president a clear conscience to engage ISIS militarily? Or would you write it all off as nothing new? After all, gruesome things like this have been happening over there for millennia, right?

I had assumed that the bullet had ricocheted off the can of Skoal in the father's back pocket.

What the hell is it with all the added garlic? That's not even close to being authentic. You beat me to it. That's enough garlic to ward off an entire abbey of Vampires.

What?! First - how many 'very wealthy' people are concerned with their ability to be employed? If you had said something along the lines of how many of the very wealthy can't afford high-powered attorneys who can cut them a deal I might agree. Second - according to anything I can find, as of 2010, a little less than 10% of inmates are held in private prison facilities. Public prisons so not generate profit: http://www.propublica.org/article/by-the-numbers-the-u.s.s-growing-for-profit-detention-industry

Apparently some people can't taste it. I don't understand how they can't.

It's good to see someone else feels the same as I do about that travesty.

Difference of opinion - the way I see it, things were ruined incrementally over time, and will need to be fixed the same way. Too much of a disruption will alienate too many people.

Fair enough, but I'd prefer a move to bring libertarianism to the fore without bringing down the system in doing so.

And the low-income people will get free postage as well, I presume?

Voting for a 3rd party or Libertarian candidate makes sense to me, because Republicans will continue to see a growing support among the people for those ideals, and will start to adopt those ideals as part of their own platform, as evidenced by the various TEA party movements and their effect on the right. On the other hand, a protest vote for a Democrat only shores up the leftist/statist movement, causing the more 'moderate/mainstream' Republicans to continue their move to the center-left in an effort to try to become more popular. I could really get behind supporting a 3rd party, libertarian-oriented candidate, but I have yet to see one emerge on the national level.

Is there anyone in public office right now at the national level that is sufficiently libertarian? Someone like that would be my ideal candidate, but until there's one for me to vote for, I will continue to vote against the most socialist/statist candidate.

In all fairness to Kerry, he did spend many years as a Senator, so he's used to walking on his constituents, not through snow.

In my opinion, job applicants with prior criminal convictions should be considered on a case-by-case basis. I know several people who have done hard time in the past that I would hire if I was ever in a position to do so. I also know a few people who have only had minor charges brought against them that I wouldn't trust to wash my truck.

I don't drink much soda anymore. Instead I'll mix a little pure grape of cherry juice with seltzer water. Usually, I'll just drink water. Or margaritas. Or tequila. Or beer. Or Mike's Hard Lemonade. I never, ever drink diet soda. The artificial sweetener tastes terrible to me.

The majority of Americans are unaware of the most prevalent greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, but could easily be frightened into banning its use: http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

Not if you're trying to napalm some boobies.

You're right. Remember that also had his apartment booby-trapped with home-made napalm and other explosives.

No, I would tip around 20-25% for decent service, but I would tip more heavily if I wanted superior service the next time I was there.

Compared with most people here, I'm apparently an extravagant tipper. I usually only frequent the same places, and have a favorite item that I get almost all the time. I enjoy receiving priority. Most of the time, a large portion of my bill is 'comped'. As a result, I wind up paying very close to what I would had I tipped the appropriate minimum, and sometimes even less.

Dear Bob, It's always difficult when it seems that the world is against you, and you know you are innocent. Sincerely, OJ

Rod Serling's narration from the end of the Twilight Zone episode Deaths Head Revisited

I've read too many books multiple times, but if I had to recommend just one, it would be 'Mort' by Terry Pratchett. Death takes on a young apprentice, and once the boy is trained, goes on a vacation. It's very funny.

I like cats even more. I'm not an 'animal rights' guy, but I'm appalled at the way so many people treat/mistreat animals.

Just the title is enough, I don't need to read the article.