Steve

I saw it too and was utterly depressing. I didn't read the book but a friend did. He said the ending was different. The kid took a leap of faith and went with some guy. Not the family guy that the movie had where you were reasonably sure he would be taken care of. The one thing that this and a few other movies of similar themes did was not tell you how the world went into this post apocolypse nightmare. The movie didn't allude to any specific type of thing. There was a french movie similar to this as well in some post apocolyptic world and they didn't tell you how it ended either. Doesn't matter if you think about it. The Denzel Washington film 'Book of Eli' I think is the name was in a similar vein. All I know is if I knew the end was coming like that, I'd buy all the guns, ammo, etc. I can and hole up somewhere fairly warm but isolated. I'll try and get a group of people, young guys who can handle themselves, ex Navy Seal, survivalists, etc. and some women in their 20s (you know why...hehehe). Dogs as well. They'll be able to hear danger a while away. Underground fortress, lamps that I could grow plants with. Rabbits and other animals that reproduce rapidly. Okay, I've given this some thought...lol.

Why gas prices are so high...

f*cking rediculous. http://news.yahoo.com/penn-judge-muslims-allowed-attack-people-insulting-mohammad-210000330.html

The same was done in '08. As I've always posted, I don't like the involvement of churches or religious groups in politics and the election process. However, its been that way for a while. Dems, of all colors and faiths have always gone to the large black churches and allowed to speak from the pulpit on Sunday morning by invite of the pastor. Clintons have done it big time back in the day and Bill has done the same exact thing Obama has done. Not saying its right. I'm vehemntally opposed to it. However, unfortunately its nothing new. The only difference is this time its a Black guy. Republicans do the same with the huge white fundamental churches. Many conservatives at all levels of government have spoken before the congregation of these churches and at times used the pulpit to also warn people about 'immigration', a buzz-word to scare them about latinos and 'welfare' a buzz word to scare them about minorities, mainly blacks.

This is scary http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-could-pressure-north-korea-tomorrow-quit-100-094000585.html

http://beta.local.yahoo.com/news-gas-prices-25-cents-one-week-stations-pass-mark.html Gas Prices Up 25 Cents In One Week, Some Stations Pass $5 Mark We are one of the world's biggest oil producers and that's what's so ironic about oil prices. Going back to the '73 oil embargo we have learned how oil prices can help cause recessions or at least make it worse but we continue to and willfully base our economy on it. We don't try and ween ourselves off it because the oil industry has so much power. The Republican answer is to drill more in places we said no to otherwise. The fact is no matter how much we have drilled domestically in new places oil prices keep going up and we keep being dependent on the prices that occur on it from faraway countries. New oil fields around the world are being discovered all the time. Russia has tons of oil and natural gas for example they keep finding. However, we keep seeing prices go up and up and up. Its a sick joke that we as a people keep falling for.

Even the best government programs have holes in it. I guess the question with regards to AA is this. Overall, did it work? I'm not qualified to answer that because I simply don't know about all the bad as well as good that has happened because of it.

Ironically, Colin Powell's rise was because of Affirmative Action and even more ironic it was Republicans in the department of defense that pushed for him. The reason its been said he was a Republican was out of loyalty to the Republicans that got him where he was. Clarence Thomas clearly benefited from AA but is one of its staunchest opponents. The largest group to enter the middle class were the Blacks in the '80s and '90s. No doubt AA was one of many reasons. I may have mentioned I wouldn't put my race on college apps. A bit too much willful pride in those days. Never wanted it argued that I was handed anything but truth is I'm sure I benefited from it (AA that is) along the way. I got into better grade schools from outreach programs amd such. When I was a manager and had to hire, I actually looked to find a cross section of people. Not because of any great need to diversify for diversity sake but I wanted a mix of opinions and backgrounds so that I can get good ideas from my staff. The pre-requisite was they had to be able to do the job well. In terms of education and AA, we need to get better k-12 schools and bring the level of quality up in the poorer schools. If schools were of a general, somewhat equal quality (damn near impossible given the size of the U.S.) there wouldn't be some peoples need to help some more than others. Black conservative author Thomas Sowell wrote a few books on ths subject and his findings were that either AA didn't work or had negative net effects. I think America has seen some mixed results depending on the situation. The problem is we take a well meaning thing sometimes and over do it in America at times. We stop applying logic and reason to things that require it out of fear we are labled.

LOL allistar, you like to pick the tough ones don't you? hah In a word,its flawed. Very flawed at schools that don't have the financial resources. LSU, UCLA, Florida can fund what we called 'non revenue' sports in my day well but the Western Kentucky's of the world struggle. Football funds everything, even the male sports with the exception of basketball which often pays for itself. I ran track in college and the football and basketball teams made money we didn't. I'm not even sure baseball makes money at most major unis. A championship women's team can make some claim to making money. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the U. Conn and Tennessee women's basketball program didn't more than pay for their programs with increased alumni contributions because of their nationally recoginized and famous teams. However, those would be the rare exceptions. My view its one of those well meaning 'liberal' programs that ended up doing more harm than good at many schools. Its a tough program to enact at schools that lack money and I'll like to see changes done to it. One thing was made to help is allowing schools to survey interest in a program and if its going to be under represented with very little interest then allow a pass on that program. This will sound a little like socialism and perhaps it is but have the big conferences and big schools contribute a wee bit more and use that money to fund programs at poorer schools if they can prove they lack the financial resources. Title IX is not going to be rescinded so any suggestions and changes I recommend will be basedo n that premise. I'll deal with the reality of it. So, I will have to the commie route and say that with the amount of money the NCAA pulls in each year and its a lot, help fund the schools that are struggling. Maybe they do that already and if they do its not enough. Lets face it, these schools and conferences make tons of money. Football teams have their own leased planes nowadays. Finally, I'd like to see the regulation changed for exemption on a case by case basis rather than the draconian standards set in the law. An independent panel set up so that some fringe, militant women's group or the ACLU can't just arbitrarily file a suit. High Schools have it tougher. I'd like to see each state's education board or athletic council be allowed to exempt on a case by case basis. It may become a bit politicized at the state level but its the only thing I can think of. Tweaking Title IX at the federal level needs to be done but I don't know the sentiment. I may be a 'holy grail' of sorts to women groups. Probably like trying to tweak the civil rights act for minorities. Dang, tough call.

Yes, it turns out that there is a shortage of males at some schools. Especially in grad courses and professional schools (law schools), etc. Also, an over- representation of Asians in proportion to their respective populations. Asians are obviously not happy about it and are using other means to get in by claiming any non Asian ancestry they have (such as a person is half Korean, half white) as being White on their application or choosing the 'other' box. In a perfect world its based purely on grades and scores but its not a perfect world. There is a vast, vast disparity in the quality if K-12 schools in the same metropolitan area that someone from an inferior school has a distinct disadvantage. So, I like what Jeb Bush proposed in Florida where if you're in the top 10 percentale in your school you can ge accepted in the University of Florida system. However, I would not agree to such a program unless there was an effor to be made to move the worse schools up to the standards of the better schools. I think its time to move away from race based preferential admission to one of socio-economic status which often my mean the same thing but I think a poor white kid from Barstow, California should get preferntial treatment than the son of a wealthy Black doctor in LA when applying to Cal. Lack of opportunity to be used more of a guide than race if we are going to use non grade/scores factors. What makes the Asian factor a bit murky is that Asians in bad schools still do extremely well oftentimes and so would be deserviing in the criteria I mentioned. Its a complex (not to some folks who say, best grade/scores wins..lol) issue and a sensitive one for all. If I had kids, I'd be pissed as hell if the time and money I spent getting them prepared for college and seeing their hard work be trivialized to some extent because of non school factors. I won't begin to claim I know the answers just offering some possibilities.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/21/10466877-rev-graham-obama-seen-as-son-of-islam Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham and a prominent evangelical leader in his own right, waded into contentious waters Tuesday when asked for his views on the religious beliefs of President Obama and the GOP hopefuls. Graham, the CEO and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, told a Morning Joe panel he couldn't say for certain that Obama is a Christian. ________________________________________ “You have to ask him. I cannot answer that question for anybody. All I know is I’m a sinner, and that God has forgiven me of my sins," Graham said. "You have to ask every person. He has said he’s a Christian, so I just have to assume that he is.†But Graham also said he couldn't "categorically" say Obama wasn't a Muslim, in part, because Islam has gotten a "free pass" under Obama. Graham also said the Muslim world sees Obama as a "son of Islam," because the president's father and grandfather were Muslim. According to Edina Lekovic, director of policy at the Muslim Public Affairs Council, being born in a Muslim family doesn't make one a Muslim. A person has to make an active choice to become a Muslim, Lekovic said. Obama has said again and again that he is a Christian, both as a presidential candidate and as president. Graham told the Morning Joe panel that he and Santorum share the same moral beliefs, and that he's confident Santorum is a fellow Christian. "His values are so clear on moral issues, no question about it," he told the Morning Joe panel. Graham spoke with a little less confidence about Gingrich's faith, and cast doubt on whether Romney's Mormonism is compatible with Christianity. "I think Newt is a Christian, at least he told me he is," Graham said. He added that Romney's Mormon faith is not recognized as part of the Christian faith by most Christians, but he wouldn't give his own view. Romney has stood by his faith, saying Mormonism's values are "as American as motherhood and apple pie." Wow. Graham playing politics and being hypocritical about the faith he professes to believe in. In Christianity if you publicly profess your faith you are considered a Christian. No ifs ands or buts. Graham knows this. Any 10 year old in Sunday School knows this. For him to doubt Obama's religion is NOT BIBLICAL. It shouldn't matter anyway, but for him to say that (not knowing if Obama is really a Christian) is wrong pure and simple in terms of Christian doctrine.

While I would agree its a wrong move and I would not like to see the taxes raised such as that I am skeptical of the net effect on those that have these investments. They may be 65 but that doesn't mean they are poor. Just my guess but anyone who is holding enough stocks and bonds to derive a pretty good income from the dividends and interest payments is very wealthy. That doesn't mean we should tax them to death. I don't agree with that. I would not sign on to Obama's taxing at that rate. However, as I said before, I don't see it as a tax on poor seniors on a very limited budget. Its a tax on the rich and wealthy. My guess is that they have ways around the tax. Other write offs and such to offset it. Move into tax free bonds perhaps, or whatever. Their tax advisor can find ways. The tax does seem too high though. A moderate tax increase maybe only after we make cuts in waste elsewhere and have no choice.

Most GOP candidates have done the Nixon doctrine. Go far to the right in the prmiary to solidify the base and get the nomination, move to the center in the general election. His last move is govern left of center. Some GOPs don't do the last one though. Nixon actually did (trip to China and a host of liberal things EPA, Disabilities Act, Endangerd Species Act, etc.)

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/21/10466979-affirmative-action-in-college-admissions-supreme-court-to-hear-case Very controversial Affirmative Action case reaches the high court. Touchy subject. I recall not wanting to be tagged with it and kept my race off college admissions. In fact, I think I got delayed in my acceptence from Dartmouth (couldn't afford to go anyway) because at that time Alums gave personal interviews and he noticed I didn't put a race and was a very liberal guy I think and didn't like my reasoning at the time. I think I got dinged. When I went to Auburn I didn't put my race down either. I just didn't want someone to say I got there because I was black. I was getting in anyway because I was an athlete. As time has gone by and I've gotten soft with age, I still have mixed feelings. Obvisouly a quota is out and illegal. Some of more prominent people in America got to where they were because of Affirmative Action. Colin Powell, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Obama himself. 2 of the 3 aforementioned support AA. My view is that either make it all down to academics or don't. Schools do have their own preferences that are accepted practice and never challenged. The rich and famous get preferential treatment. I've heard a couple of the Kennedy's including Teddy wouldn't not have been accepted to Harvard if it wasn't for their family name. Athletes are given preferential treatment. People justify saying they bring money into the school. So what? Rich people do as well. So, my view is its hard for me to argue against race being used as one of several criteria (and its done to add 'diversity') if we are allowing other groups or peoples preferential treatment. I have now heard there is an unoffical quote on Asians as well as women in a lot of top tier schools. Women are making up larger numbers of classes now, especially in Grad school. There is also the disadvantge the poor have, whether they are black, white, latino, etc. because they have had inferior k-12 schools and therefore are not as prepared as richer kids who had better k-12 schools. How do we balance that out? Do we just say that's how it is or do we give preferential treatment to those who through no fault of their own went to far inferior schools. It alsmost happened to me. I was fortunate to get into a program to go to a good suburban HS. No easy solution.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/21/10469492-lawmaker-radical-girl-scouts-out-to-destroy-american-family-values There's an agenda behind those cookies the Girl Scouts sell, one bent on promoting communism, lesbianism and subverting "traditional American family values," according to an Indiana lawmaker. That's the reason Rep. Bob Morris, a Republican representing Fort Wayne, insists he won't go along with a resolution meant to honor the Girls Scouts on the organization's 100th anniversary. Rebuttal: Michelle Tompkins, a spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts, responded to Morris' assertions by telling NBC station WISE of Fort Wayne, "Not only is Rep. Morris off the mark on his claims, it's also unfortunate in his limited research that he failed to discover that, since 1917, every first lady has served as the honorary leader of Girl Scouts, including Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush." "We believe that leadership is about hearing from all sides of an issue before making up one's mind," Tompkins said. "We only wish we had the chance to speak with the freshman representative before he distributed his letter." For its part, Planned Parenthood of Indiana called Morris' comments "inflammatory, misleading, woefully inaccurate and harmful," saying he'd insulted not only it but also the Girl Scouts and Obama. "Planned Parenthood currently has no formal partnership with the Girl Scouts, but supports their mission and recognizes their century of contributions to our society," the organization said in a statement to NBC station WTHR of Indianapolis. Dems have their fair share of fringe guys but c'mon. This guy is out there. Catering to some nut case constituents probably. For goodness sakes.

Would you find this guy guilty or innocent? http://gma.yahoo.com/tyler-clementi-cyberbullying-trial-begins-today-182111675--abc-news.html

http://news.yahoo.com/four-killed-us-spy-plane-crash-us-military-202407928.html Four killed in US spy plane crash: US military Four American special operations personnel were killed over the weekend in the crash of their aircraft in Djibouti as it returned from a mission, the US military said Monday. The U-28, a modified single engine turbo prop plane used by special operations units, crashed Saturday near Camp Lemonnier, a base used by the US military in the tiny Horn of Africa state. The Pentagon identified the victims as Captain Ryan Hall, 30, Captain Nicholas Whitlock, First Lieutenant Justin Wilkins, and senior airman Julian Scholten, 26. The four were based in Hulbert Field, Florida where they were assigned to special operations and intelligence squadrons. The US Africa Command said the U-28 was on a "routine flight" when it went down six miles (10 kilometers) from the Djibouti International Airport. The cause of the crash was under investigation. I doubt the standard 'traning mission' excuse that's always trotted out. RIP to them. I don't know how much special forces guys are paid (I read it once, can't recall) but whatever it is, it ain't enough. I would not like to know that ANY of them or their families are struggling financially and if they die, the amount their families get should be a good sum. I hope it is. I'd also like to see us cut a lot of the fat from the defense budget and use some of the savings on wages, benefits, medical care, etc. on the soldiers. The ones who are actually doing the hard work. The VA should be one of the most state of art hospitals. I don't know how they are but if it isn't, something is terribly wrong.

http://money.msn.com/family-money/latest.aspx?post=6860bf01-c375-4606-9973-0888767cd4bb Amongst the richest Washington, in today’s dollars, half a billion. “Washington made significantly more than subsequent presidents: his salary was two percent of the total U.S. budget in 1789.†Also Teddy Roosevelt (about 125 mil) Hoover was worth more than FDR! JFK, LBJ were worth a lot as well. http://247wallst.com/2010/05/25/americas-poorest-presidents-bankruptcy-insolvency-and-extreme-financial-hardship/2/ Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Grant and Truman amongst them. Truman “ It was Truman’s sad financial state that inspired the doubling of the presidential salary, which he received after the fact. Truman and his wife were the first two official recipients of Medicare when Lyndon Johnson signed the program into law.†HH's buddy the big O (not Oprah to the rest of you) is worth around 5 mil.

http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-teacher-used-racial-slur-deserves-praise-not-203500310.html Chicago Teacher Who Used Racial Slur Deserves Praise Not Suspension They need to fire the idiot principal for suspending this teacher.

Okay, I admit it. I'm bored and I have no life. Santorum is much, much scarier than I originally thought. Gingrich would be an improvement. On another matter, the Tea Party started out soley concerned about government spending and bailouts. Why does it give a damn about these socially conservative issues? The Tea Party has morphed into just a far right fringe group. The OWS has stayed true to its roots but the Tea Party isn't recognizable from the group it started out as. Its been thoroughly usurped by the religous right and fringe right. http://news.yahoo.com/santorum-says-obama-agenda-not-based-bible-011457960.html Santorum says Obama agenda not "based on Bible" Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum challenged President Barack Obama's Christian beliefs on Saturday, saying White House policies were motivated by a "different theology." A devout Roman Catholic who has risen to the top of Republican polls in recent days, Santorum said the Obama administration had failed to prevent gas prices rising and was using "political science" in the debate about climate change. Obama's agenda is "not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your jobs. It's about some phony ideal. Some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology," Santorum told supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement at a Columbus hotel. When asked about the statement at a news conference later, Santorum said, "If the president says he's a Christian, he's a Christian."

http://news.yahoo.com/nypd-monitored-muslim-students-over-northeast-201653480.html NYPD monitored Muslim students all over Northeast The New York Police Department monitored Muslim college students far more broadly than previously known, at schools far beyond the city limits, including the elite Ivy League colleges of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, The Associated Press has learned. "As a result, the NYPD deemed it prudent to get a better handle on what was occurring at MSAs," Browne said in an email. He said police monitored student websites and collected publicly available information, but did so only between 2006 and 2007. "I see a violation of civil rights here," said Tanweer Haq, chaplain of the Muslim Student Association at Syracuse. "Nobody wants to be on the list of the FBI or the NYPD or whatever. Muslim students want to have their own lives, their own privacy and enjoy the same freedoms and opportunities that everybody else has." The one issue I have is a jurisdictional one. Save that I think it was prudent to monitor these groups sites. The only other possible issue I have is if they read private emails, letters and listened in private phone calls without probable cause. It would have be a helluva cause. What specific civil liberties is the spokesperson said were violated. If the site is a public site, then I don't have an issue with it. Following them is a bit of a gray issue to me depending on the circumstances. For example, I don't agree with the illegal monitoring the FBI did against MLK. He was not a threat to the U.S. As far as Malcolm X and the nation of Islam I can understand monitoring since some of them and this would include the Black Panthers advocated the violent overthrow of the country. That's a legitimate reason to monitor and in some cases even view private information. MLK posed no such threat. His civil liberties violation were based on racism in my opinion.

HH, I have several brothers. The one I was closest to in age as well as roommates with since the day he was born till I left for college, is very far right. You'll get a chuckle when he's now said I'm a full fledged, card carrying "pinko red commie" socialist. haha...we love each other but his facial expressions when I talk politics now is the same as smelling a fart (when we skype). We are both huge fans of Star Wars and accuse each other of being fooled by a Sith Lord. When I say I now support gay marriage he asked if I 'switched teams' and if I did I better be 'pitching and not catching'. hahaha Any way on to poli-tricks. http://thinkprogress.org/green/2012/02/17/428148/house-passes-section-of-transportation-bill-consisting-only-of-earmarks-to-big-oil/?mobile=nc Last night the House of Representatives passed part of the behemoth transportation bill it is considering over the next month on a 237-187 vote. This section consisted solely of earmarks to Big Oil including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, opening Florida coasts to offshore drilling, a plan to develop oil shale (which isn’t even commercially viable), and building the Keystone XL pipeline. A Congressional Budget Office analysis shows that the drilling proposals together generate only approximately $2 billion, far less than the $50 billion funding gap needed for transportation projects over the coming years. Even if the drilling could pay for the costs, linking oil and gas development to long-term highway funding is just bad public policy, as Ryan Alexander of the nonpartisan group Taxpayers for Common Sense has explained: Paying for a couple of years of transportation funding with expected revenues from an increase in oil and gas drilling that will likely take many years to get rolling is not a responsible budget approach… It’s like buying the Ferrari tomorrow because you are sure a raise is coming sometime in the future.†We simiply need to change our economy from an oil based one for a few reasons that are political, economical and environmental. Another of my long list of faults I find with the Republican party is that they want to (via their Oil industry masters) want us to be even more dependent on oil. We've seen what over reliance on oil has done. Look at the '73 embargo, look at the repurcussions of seeing the price of oil shoot up and what it has done to the average American and its insane to want us to be even more entrenched.

HH, what is the Republican solution for SS and Medicare? Its to end it and replace it with something worse probably. SS and Medicare are part of our lives. Thats a reality that has to be dealt with. Too many people need it. I'm sure there have been and if not there should be some independent, non partisan group to analyze these two programs and make suggestions. Wonder what they said? I don't know enough about it to comment other than they obviously need fixing. What's even scarier is that the Fed has loaned out 16 trillion and no one from either party has batted an eye about that relevation from that limited audit. Repubicans are talking about the debt that Obama has accumulated but NO ONE addresses the Fed. The only reason I can think of is some collusion and fear that the real truth would make us all lose complete faith in the government.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/politics-15749652/the-politics-of-canines-and-conventions-28353573.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fpolitics-15749652%252Fthe-politics-of-canines-and-conventions-28353573.html Politics of Canines and Conventions This is rediculous. A video of Romney's dog being driven on a trip and he's tied to the roof in open air in the '80s. Sounds a little crazy but the Dems are possibly going to use it in the campaign. C'mon Dems. WTF. Stick to relative points. This is rediculous. Trying to get the PETA vote? There are much, much more substantive reasons NOT to vote for Romney and to focus on.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stamp-price-hike-part-postal-210500032.html A nickel boost in the first-class stamp price to 50 cents is part of the U.S. Postal Service's latest plan to stop bleeding red ink. The Postal Service released the 5-year business plan to Congress late Thursday in part to push Congress to pass legislation to help them get through ongoing financial woes. Due in large part to declining first-class mail volume, the service recorded a $3.3 billion loss in the final three months of last year, which is usually a profitable period. The Postal Service says that, if nothing is done, it faces $18 billion in losses by 2015. Lawmakers have been working on different plans for months, but all of them have controversial aspects and are stalled. What is the issue with the post office? Is it the size of the workforce and the amounts they have to pay in retirement benefits? Is it bad management? Both and other reasons? Its been losing money for years. I am not saying it has to be a profit center. It is mandated in the constitution to have one. Not sure what the issue is frankly.