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Steve

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Everything posted by Steve

  1. It always makes me snicker when I hear about businesspersons who turn to politics as knowing how to create jobs. A business, a really good business finds way to do as much as possible with the least amount of people. A business hires ONLY because it has to not out of any largesse. Nor should it. A near-perfect business model is a business in which you need no employees to run your business. Now, as a business grows it will find it has no choice but to hire more people but its not what it wants to do. Employees are a potential minefield in costs. Not just wages, health benefit costs, payroll tax costs, lost time of their services due to vacation and sick days. Its hard to fire employees nowadays as well. Companies think long and hard before hiring.
  2. LOL...in the article they said the interracial couple wants the church to reconsider. Why would you want to remain a member of such a church? Glutton for punishment? I banned NY Yankees, 'Bama, Man Utd and Tottenham fans from my church. That's at least reasonable. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/kentucky-church-bans-interracial-marriage-150009470.html Kentucky church bans interracial marriage
  3. Ok similar and mainly mental. The fundamentalists. David Karesh types who are the fringe. These scientologist are the fringe. I would find it hard to believe the leaders knew or heard of it. They wouldn't want the press.
  4. Sad thing is this could happen in any number of religions...and has. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/woman-imprisoned-scientology-cruise-ship-12-years-145114448.html Valeska Paris says she was held against her will aboard the Scientology cruise ship "Freewinds" for more than a decade. During her stay on the vessel, she alleges, she was forced into hard labor and never allowed to leave the ship without an escort. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC News) Lateline program, Paris claims that Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige sent her to the ship when she was 18 in order to prevent her family from pulling her out of the organization.
  5. HAHAHAHAHA http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/former-sheriff-arrested-sent-jail-named-him-153854700.html Arapahoe Sheriff Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. has. Sullivan, a nationally renowned law enforcement leader, was arrested on drug charges and is now being detained in the Denver area jail that bears his name. Sullivan, who in 2001 was named the National Sheriff Association's "Sheriff of the Year," was arrested on suspicion of trafficking methamphetamines. Local news station CBS4 began an investigation of Sullivan last month on a tip that he had agreed to meet a male informant, providing drugs in exchange for sex.
  6. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/republicans-offer-100-reward-photo-sen-bob-casey-173127437.html "I've got $100 dollars... for any person that can get us a picture here," Priebus told reporters on a conference call. Priebus said that in an effort to distance himself from the president and his low approval ratings, Casey may suddenly come down with a "24 hour flu." Rob Gleason, the chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, said on the call that he would be "shocked" if Casey fails to make an appearance. "That would be a slap in the face to the president," Gleason said, because it would suggest a "lack of confidence in the president's ability to get elected."
  7. I would like to see some quality candidates being seriously considered. Its upside down. Paul, Huntsman and Johnson are the best of the lot. I see that its the ones with a bit of integrity that aren't liikely to be bought off that can't get a look. Speaks volumes of the party. Dems at least will vote their heart. Obama winning over Hillary proves that. I wouldn't have put money on him in Vegas. He was a long shot. Dems have a habit of picking long shots on occasion. Carter in '76. Clinton in '92. Obama in '08. Can't tell you when a party outsider won for the Republicans. The Republican machine picks the winner and the people go along.
  8. Regardless of the sex scandals, I'm not even counting them. Cain was woefully unprepared to be President. It seemed embarrassingly obvious to me that he had no idea about some basic questions, especially foreign affairs. I cringed when he couldn't answer basic stuff that most of you on this thread knew. Palestine. Egypt. Immigration, as well as other things he has no clue about. I am not starting to believe he never wanted to be President but wanted to sell books. As I said, Commerce Secretary is about as high a level as he should be. He doesn't have a clue about some basic stuff. Sorry. Great personal story no matter what you think of his politics. But Presdential? Not in the least. Some in the media and few of you touting him despite being so unprepared. Its not as bad as Palin but its in the same ballpark. Come to the party prepared. If a candidate can't do at least that, they shouldn't be in the race.
  9. I think we can call it a day for Cain. Seems like the nail in the coffin for him. Personally, I could give a damn who he is banging. Republicans seem to make more of an issue out of affairs than Dems do but that stands to reason with the moral standards they impose on candidates as well as so much social conservatism. http://news.yahoo.com/woman-alleges-long-affair-cain-222218960.html In an explosive allegation, a woman said Monday she and Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain had a 13-year extramarital affair that lasted nearly until the former businessman announced his candidacy for the White House several months ago. "Here we go again. I didn't do anything wrong," Cain said in a pre-emptive denial that lumped a detailed claim of a consensual affair in with earlier allegations of sexual harassment. But the Georgia woman, Ginger White, said in an interview with the Fox 5 Atlanta television station that over the years, Cain bought her airplane tickets so she could join him in cities as far-flung as Palm Springs, California, and Atlanta. "It was fun," the 46-year-old White said. "It was something that took me away from my humdrum life at the time. And it was exciting."
  10. The secret Fed bailout shows just how arrogant and how much hubris they have. Fact is both Obama and Romney have the balls to do anything about. Paul and possibly Johnson are the only two in the race who would. I'm more upset at the American people than anyone. In this victim society, we all blame the media. F*ck the media, people are lazy. We have more access to the truth these days than we ever did in our history. The pizza thingy shows how much they are bought off. Also, biologically tomatoes are fruits. They get clasified as veggies but they are fruits. Its all bullshine. What gets me is that some of us think that one party will fix things. Its always a lesser of two evils proposition.
  11. Kamui I thought the article was petty. It gets that way at times, from both parties. Dems talked about Bush's vacations as well. The fact is the President never really has a vacation. He has to be available 24/7 for all things. He delegates some of it but he has to be kept abreast of all manner of things. I like to stick to things that are pertinent when discussing the presidency. I had a discussion with a coworker who commented on one of the candidate's voice. WTF?! Who gives a damn?! That should be way down on the list, way down. If Teddy Roosevelt, one of our greatest Presidents (his face is on Mt. Rushmore along with Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington) would not have been elected today because he had a high pitched whiny voice. He said how the president looks and speaks is important. I agre Is a guy capable and honest? Everything else should be far down the list. Very far.
  12. This is interesting. Hmmm....I wonder what is going on amongst those countries. History has shown us that when they are left alone, the arabs fight amongst themselves. Give them a common enemy and they unite. http://news.yahoo.com/unprecedented-step-arab-league-sanctions-syria-190857108.html In an unprecedented move against an Arab nation, the Arab League on Sunday approved economic sanctions on Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.
  13. Interesting that the article doesn't name his party affiliation. Usually its noted but not sure if its how Yahoo news normally does things. Anyway, pussy move by the Governor. Way too sensitive and dropping dime as well. Maybe he didn't know his people were going to call the school but after he found out he should have had a sense of humor about it all and squashed it. http://news.yahoo.com/teen-tweeter-wont-apologize-kan-governor-230737888.html Emma Sullivan, 18, of the Kansas City suburb of Fairway, said she isn't sorry and doesn't think such a letter would be sincere. The Shawnee Mission East senior was taking part in a Youth in Government program last week in Topeka, Kan., when she sent out a tweet from the back of a crowd of students listening to Brownback's greeting. From her cellphone, she thumbed: "Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person (hash)heblowsalot." She actually made no such comment and said she was "just joking with friends." But Brownback's office, which monitors social media for postings containing the governor's name, saw Sullivan's post and contacted the Youth in Government program. Sullivan received a scolding at school and was ordered to send Brownback an apology letter. She said Prinicipal Karl R. Krawitz even suggested talking points for the letter she was supposed to turn in Monday.
  14. This is a very positive sign. So, you all who are in America, do things seem on the up? I know the government wants us to spend to start the economy going. However, Americans don't save enough. I'd rather see us spend ONLY if we have proper savings rates amongst Americans. I wouldn't like to see people who are in too much debt be the main ones going to the stores to shop. That said, it is a positive sign because people don't shop unless they are a bit optimistic about things. http://news.yahoo.com/retailers-robust-start-holiday-season-225348430.html A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day, up from 212 million last year, according to early estimates by The National Retail Federation released on Sunday. Americans spent more, too: The average holiday shopper spent $398.62 over the weekend, up from $365.34 a year ago.
  15. HH, Flash and a few others, I'll throw you all a bone..lol. One of my brothers is very right wing. He sent me this: Whaaaaaaaaaaaat a coincidence! Hey, this is great! Imagine the odds of this happening. Do you know the park in NYC that the Wall Street protesters are occupying? It's Zuccotti Park. Did you know this park is not owned by the city of New York? It is owned by Brookfield Properties. Who was just hired by Brookfield Properties as an attorney? Vice President Joe Biden's son. Who sits on the board of Brookfield Properties? Mayor Bloomberg's live-in girlfriend. Now, guess what company just received some of the last of the Obama Stimulus $$$$$$$. Thaaaaaaaaaaaat's right, Brookfield Properties. Isn't life great in America! Now, guess what, on a completely unrelated note, Wisconsin is shaping up to be the swing state in the 2012 presidential elections. Not Florida. Not Ohio. But Wisconsin. Now, guess who owns the company that will be tabulating the electronic votes in Wisconsin. Thaaaaaaaaaaaat's right, the biggest contributor to Obama, the puppeteer George Soros. Whaaaaaaaaaaaat a coincidence! Now remember what Stalin said. "He who votes does not have the power. He who counts the votes has the power".
  16. Three things. 1. I question the accuracy of this statement. 3 years in office and he spent more than 8 years of Bush and Clinton? The only way if is if the cost of AF1 in totality has gone up (oil prices, pay of secret service, etc.). I can't believe that it costs more now especially when both his predecessors used it for re-election and thats a ton of traveiing. 2. Does any President have a choice? They can't use private commercial airline can they? furthermore, ex Presidents have secret service for life and with all the talking circuit money they do both nationally and internationally, there has to be a ton of money spent there. 3. So what? I hate tax money being spent wastefully as the next guy but okay he'll be replaced by a Romney or whomever who will use the services of secret service and AF1 as well.
  17. Why doesn't the party heirarchy want Paul and Johnson to be herad? I know why? The party has lost its soul. It picks its candidates to face the Dems not on hearing all views and letting the people decide but who polls better. They are also scared of candidates that can't be bought. The marriage of the corporate power structure and religious zealots have ruined the party. Just to show you the hypocracy, the fundamentalists support a mormon, a religion they consider a cult over a president who is a public saved Chritisn. They are convenient Chritians. They always say America should be led by a Chrisitan but it seems there is an exception if he's a Democrat. Frankly, a person's religion shouldn't even be on the table for things to consider in a president. So, I have no problem with Romney's mormonism as long as it plays no part in his office and he is capable. http://news.yahoo.com/longshot-republican-candidate-mulls-third-party-run-183023075.html Disgruntled former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson says he is considering leaving the Republican slate and running as a third-party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. "I feel abandoned by the Republican Party," Johnson, who has been left out of most of the Republican debates, told the Sante Fe New Mexican newspaper this week, saying he might seek the Libertarian Party's support. "The Republican Party has left me by the wayside," said Johnson, whose polling numbers have recently been so low that they are often not even being picked up by pollsters. "If I'd have been included in 16 of the last debates we wouldn't even be having this conversation," he said. While the Libertarians are on the ballot in every state, Johnson acknowledged that the party, which espouse freedom of expression and action, had never received more than one percent of the nationwide vote. Johnson, 58, holds dear libertarian values such as low taxes and limited government and wants to legalize marijuana. He is also a fitness fanatic, having competed in a number of "Ironman" triathlons and climbed Mount Everest. Ex-Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich are currently topping the polls of Republican candidates trying to unseat President Barack Obama in November 2012. The months-long state-by-state voting process that will decide the nominee begins on January 3 in Iowa.
  18. You know. I know it may be a weak arguemnt that she doesn't deserve it since they were married for so long but c'mon! If I was rich I'd never get married. I'd be living the Tony Stark, Ironman, billionaire playboy life. I'd CS jr snipped and have at it. http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/yahoo-tv/hulk-hogan-divorce-details-public-210908388.html So much for 50/50. Linda Bollea received more than 70% of the couple's liquid assets. But the pain doesn't stop there for the Hulkster. His ex also received a 40% ownership stake in Hulk's companies. Plus, she received a $3 million property settlement. So, what are the gritty details? According to the documents, Linda Bollea got a lump sum of $7.44 million from the couple's investment accounts. The remaining $2.97 million went to the Hulk. The properties were either sold or are still on the market. The couple's home used in "Hogan Knows Best" was originally listed for nearly $14 million. It is now available for around $8.87 million. Once that sells, Hogan will owe his ex-wife $1.45 million. The two will split the remaining proceeds. Additionally, Linda Bollea received several cars in the split, including a Mercedes-Benz, a Corvette, a Cadillac Escalade, and a Rolls-Royce. Hulk received many of the remaining automobiles. It may sound like Hulk got body slammed, but it's not all bad news for the iconic wrestler. Deadspin explains that the Hulkster will get to keep any money he earns from personal appearances and will not have to pay alimony.
  19. The banks can do what they want to a large extent. I don't like what BofA are doing and I think the government should be doing a better job of protecting the people when they offer contracts such as these. What is worse is the big banks having the influence to kill of the alternatives like credit unions who they have been trying to legislate out of existence even though they are a tiny part of the banking market. http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/14/367467/bank-of-america-unemployment-benefit-fees/ ...Millions of jobless Americans [like Busby] have little choice but to rely on the bank’s prepaid debit cards to collect their monthly benefits. Forty-one states have contracted with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and other banks to provide access to public benefits, allowing them to collect unlimited fees, both from the unemployed and state governments. South Carolina, for instance, pays Bank of America a fee for each transfer it facilitates on a debit card, and for handling direct deposit of unemployment benefits. Families who are living hand-to-mouth are outraged to discover that banks worth trillions of dollars are taking such a big cut of their benefits, when they depend on every penny. The New York Times reports today that banks have been quietly raising fees on everything from replacing lost cards to monthly maintenance. BofA customers can be charged $1.50 for speaking to a customer service operator more than once a month, $1.50 for using an “out-of-network†ATM, and $0.50 for entering the wrong PIN number too many times...
  20. Immortals. Not bad, but not great. My subjective opinion. Others may love it. Maybe old age creeping in but I got lost a wee bit regarding the Titans and the Gods. Still, had good special effects. To be honest it was the only thing at the threatre that seemed interesting that I didn't have to wait too long to see. Rather than start another thread I'll 'edit' this one and add this stuff. Started watching The Walking Dead tv show and I thought it was gonna just another zombie movie but its damn good! It has great subplots. One show that I don't think is that great but for some reason I keep tuning in every week is Terrnova. I must say one of the actors who was the bad guy in Avatar, the commander and he basically plays a military commander in this one too but is a good guy, is in incredible shape for a guy his age. Read his bio and he's up there in age. Another show that I didn't expect to be good that was mentioned a few pages back is 'Game of Thrones'. I downloaded the first season and loved it! Can't wait for season 2. I love the midget. Totally pissed off at Stark's daughter who in my view sells out her family to live out some fantasy dream about being a princess. Sorry, spoiler. Some sympathize with her. I didn't. I want to read teh book to get deeper into it. One last show that I can't wait for is the new Sherlock Holmes that only had a few episodes. Why only a few?! This show was made in England and the new Holmes is a socially awkward maladjusted a hole. Some one told me he was modeled after the main character in 'House' and I can totally see it!
  21. I knew a guy who was a congressional page in his idealistic years just out of college. He left completely convinced the country was chronically broken and would never be fixed...and this guy was a page in '70s! He said, idealistic people often go and after they see the enormity and the endemic corruption that permeates all levels of government even the judicial to some extent they just give up and either return home or join the money/power train. I spoke to him on skype a few weeks ago and he laughed it took me this long to realize something he had told me years ago. The sad fact is that even if a Ron Paul gets elected it won't matter. The real problem is that members of congress are usually there longer than the President as well as the CEOs of the corportations that own them. Even if the CEOs leave or retire the corporation's main goals of favorable laws and regulations remain. They can wait out any president that opposes them. Even 8 years. Congress has to change, thats the place that needs a lot of Ron Pauls or Gary Johnsons. Take away the special interst and I think opposing ideologies can compromise. They don't now because they have toe the line. Remove this and I honestly think, two honest and decent guys with different ideologies like BT and HH on here could find middle ground. No doubt both want the best for the country and wouldn't be bought off. Both would have some deal breakers but that's okay. I honestly think there is enough left for things to get done. We just have to remove the power brokers behind the scenes. Maybe I'm still a bit too idealistic.
  22. Newt is that type of guy that throws you a curve when you expect a fastball every once in a while. I know its a touchy issue but I agree with him. Did they break the law? Yes, however, the party picks and chooses which lawbreakers it wants to bring to task and which ones it doesn't. There are politicians who deserve jail time technically for stuff but they find a way to protect each other. These candidates are pandering. I don't like illegal immigration any more than the next guy. Live in LA or for that matter any of the southwestern states long enough and you'll come across very decent people who are just trying to make a better life for themselves. Many of whom served and risked their lives for this country in its wars. I absolutely guarantee you had the european immigrants to America been in Canada and Mexico instead of an ocean away they'd be streaming across in the same manner as the latinos have. All this my great grandfather came here from [insert any european country here] stuff is basically he had no choice but to come here legally. Even plenty of them came here illegally. I've often heard that many Italians (amongst others) had doctored and fraudulent papers. The REAL issue is enforcing the border. Is it enforceable? Some say no. I guarantee you if an Al Qaida terrorist did something tragic and came through the southern borders, it would be sealed faster than a New York minute. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/newt-gingrich-prepared-heat-immigration-043951171.html "I don't see how the party that says it's the party of the family, is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century," the former House Speaker said. "And I'm prepared to take the heat for saying 'let's be humane and enforce the law without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality so they are not separate from their families.'" Gingrich—who advocates the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation's immigration proposal to create "red card" work permits-- said he does support deporting recent illegal immigrants. But he did disown a hardline policy of seeking out and punishing children of illegal immigrants, including those who wish to serve in the U.S. military. As rival candidate Michele Bachmann was quick to point out, Gingrich's position shares many affinities with the DREAM Act proposal defeated in Congress last year. And Bachmann, together with other conservative candidates on the dais, called out Gingrich for backing a version of amnesty for the families of people who entered the United States illegally.
  23. I guarantee you this is a department that has nothing to do and trying to find anything to justify its existence. Give me a friggin' break. Just talk to the guy and let him keep his haul. Taking money out of the guy's hands that he could use to employ folks and god forbid make a little money. If I was the secretary of whatever department that oversees that I would call them up and say 'Really? Are you that bored? Use some friggin' common sense.' http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-catches-881-pound-tuna-seized-feds-194650751.html A Massachusetts fisherman pulled in an 881-pound tuna this week only to have the federal authorities take it away. It sounds like a libertarian twist on the classic novella by Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, but for Carlos Rafael, the saga is completely true. Rafael and his crew were using nets to catch bottom-dwellers when they inadvertently snagged the giant tuna. However, federal fishery enforcement agents took control of the behemoth when the boat returned to port. The reason for the seizure was procedural: While Rafael had the appropriate permits, fishermen are only allowed to catch tuna with a rod and reel. It would seem that unlike the fictional New England shark hunters in Jaws, Rafael didn't need a bigger boat, just a better permit. In an interview with the Standard-Times of New Bedford, Rafael disputes the claims from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) enforcement division that the humungous tuna was trawled from the bottom of the Atlantic. "They didn't catch that fish on the bottom," he said. "They probably got it in the mid-water when they were setting out and it just got corralled in the net. That only happens once in a blue moon." And while Rafael is denied the mother of all fish stories, the federal impoundment of his catch also means he's probably losing out on a giant payday. A 754-pound tuna recently sold for nearly $396,000. NOAA regulators do not share any of the proceeds from the fish's eventual sale with a fisherman found in violation of federal rules. "They said it had to be caught with rod and reel," a frustrated Rafael said. "We didn't try to hide anything. We did everything by the book. Nobody ever told me we couldn't catch it with a net."..
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