Azalin

he went full Gator with the thread title.

and how many trees were murdered in order for you to enjoy your fat-cat elitist cheese?

that's the first thing that I thought of as well. the trouble is that you have public servants that think they're doing the right thing, but have no clue about the process of making cheese. as a result, you get the typical bureaucratic ham-handedness in trying to solve a problem that doesn't actually exist.

kudos to your dad. time passes and memories fade, but he helps to keep the sacrifice of so many americans alive in peoples' hearts.

and a recent incident in Houston where a veteran with a CCL confronted 2 robbers: http://www.click2houston.com/news/3-schools-on-lockdown-as-police-search-for-robbery-suspects/26230464

I'm glad your dad survived such a serious wreck. did the thief who stole his ring do so in broad daylight and in front of witnesses?

if you would have said it was Rickles, I would have become belligerently envious. still, it sounds like it was a pretty sweet job. I remember Don Adams being interviewed years ago, and he told of how he tried to do some of the insult-style stand-up and nearly got himself killed for it. dude, the guy was Polish. he threatened to pee in his own corn flakes.

I wouldn't mind some new Trek movies, but my preference would be to have all-new characters, possibly set around 20 or 30 years after the finish of STNG. they have a whole galaxy of material to draw from without having to reboot stories or characters, and they wouldn't get stuck making films that seemed more like drawn-out television episodes than movies. under Roddenberry, Berman, etc the Star Trek universe grew into such an expansive, detailed milieu that someone could put a really good series of stories together that wouldn't have to rely on old or established characters to sell it. just my opinion, though.

Don Rickles?

that's some mighty respectable nerdiness, right there. I tried several times to figure out how in hell the star dates worked, but I eventually just gave up. I actually went to a Star Trek convention at the Niagara Falls convention center some time around 1976 that featured Gene Roddenberry speaking followed by a blooper reel from the original series & some screen shots from the 1st movie, which was still under production. I'm curious what other long-time fans think about the reboot movies. I've only seen the first one, and I really wasn't too impressed by it. to me, the crucial element that made the original series worthwhile was the character interaction between Kirk, McCoy, and Spock. despite a decent attempt on the part of the new cast to do the same, they fell short imo.

the crowd who trivialize gun murders? maybe if you didn't have such a skewed view of people you might not be so ridiculous in your spitefulness.

I agree for the most part, but I like seeing the so-called civil rights leadership called out for what I believe is their tendency to be silent regarding some of the destructive elements in the urban culture while exploiting the plight of those they purport to stand for. despite being a bit of a blowhard, O'Reilly has the viewership, and therefor the clout, to help bring some of these issues further into the national dialogue.

what.....are you Gator's stunt double or something?

he'll be here eventually for another drive-by to make sure we all know that this is a right-wing circle-jerk and that we're not pragmatic enough. other than that, I wouldn't expect to see him.

deport? where the hell did that come from?

I'd rather listen to Bill Cosby as well. it's just that the words aren't any truer because they're coming out of Cosby's mouth. it's the message I agree with. truth is truth no matter who's saying it.

c'mon, don't rain on his parade. he's riding high on a wave of delusions of relevance.

I believe that section of the show is called 'talking points', where he gives his opinion on a given issue du jour (followed by every other segment where he again gives his opinion on other issues). despite what people may think of O'Reilly, I think his assessment of the problems in the african-american culture are correct, especially with regard to those in the inner cities. he's right to call out the likes of Jackson & Sharpton like he does. people who dismiss the message simply because O'Reilly is the one saying it are misguided.

it appears that if little else, we share an appreciation of some of western civilization's best comedy.

here's an extensive article on the subject, from what looks to be a neutral point of view: http://www.internetsociety.org/publications/isp-column-april-2014-rip-net-neutrality?gclid=CjkKEQjwh7ucBRD9yY_fyZe398gBEiQAAoy4JJ2eU96FEO7HZ-Jd7VwEQty6zI4YmLb3wDKn9ZojOmzw_wcB technology and consumers are responsible for the internet growing into what it's become today. placing it under the regulatory control of the FCC would be a mistake, imo.

my predictions have almost always been wrong unless I wait until about a month out. the outcome of senate races seems to me to be more in line with how well a party is polling in general. house races seem to be moving that way too over the last few election cycles, being more of a reflection of how the party polls as a whole, and less about local issues. I do think that TEA party candidates are going to make further inroads, and will likely be the biggest reason for any major republican victories.

egos: I rest my case. now you're just adding fuel....

I'll vote if Carter is added to the list. I wasn't pleased with Bush43, and Obama has two years left in which he may actually pull his head out of his backside (but I'm not holding my breath).

you learn to ignore some of the more ridiculous posts, but yes, some posters here do indeed argue like this on a regular basis. on the other hand, there are a few people (some with obvious leanings to the left, the right, and some obviously non-partisan) who are pretty knowledgeable in relevant subjects like history, science, medicine, economics, political science, etc (I'm not going to name any names in order to avoid inflating egos further any than they already are) that you can learn a lot from....or at least learn enough to reconsider certain points of view you may have. a good rule of thumb is to be prepared to back up any statements you make, provide links when you're able, and avoid parroting party line talking points. if you can ignore the idiocy, there's some pretty interesting conversation going on. then again if someone's being a complete tool, feel free to unload on them.