Shotgun

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

Sometimes they wear sheep's clothing.

I like it! Hmm... I wonder if Rich will be embarrassed if I start going around in public dressed like a wolf.

Maybe he got Al Gore confused with Thomas Jefferson. There are some similarities, ya know.... "All men are created equal" (except for these slaves that I own). Just kidding... I have great respect for Jefferson (and some for Mr. Gore too), but no one is perfect.

I think most of us would agree that sexual _behavior_ requires decisions. But there is a difference between behavior and orientation. There is also a difference between children and consenting adults.

Well, it was based on a true story. And apparently the family it was based on is a devout Christian family. So even if they did mention religion in the film (I can't recall if they did), it wasn't necessarily to promote Christianity; it may have just been part of the story.

Whatever is the cheapest. I like the kettle corn, and so far I haven't noticed any difference in any of the brands.

Yeah, some of my more religious family members boycotted Disney during that time. I went and read some more about The Blind Side. Apparently Sandra Bullock turned the script down several times because she was uncomfortable playing a Christian woman. I don't recall their religion even being mentioned in the film, but perhaps it was. If it wasn't mentioned over and over (making a strong point about it), I probably wouldn't have noticed since that is fairly "normal" to me. This was an interesting Christian review of the movie: http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2009/blindside2009.html I guess I saw all the same things in the movie that the author did - a theme of "thanksgiving" and "doing the right thing." I just don't equate those things with religion, so I wouldn't have taken them as religious overtones, even if they were meant to be.

I didn't notice any religious overtones in the movie. I guess that went right over my head. Or maybe it was so subtle that it just didn't stand out enough for me to focus on it. Anyhow, I enjoyed it.

We had a designated smoking area at my high school, which I thought was funny since none of us were old enough to be smoking. (Maybe some of the teachers used it too, but it mostly seemed to be students.) But that was back in the 80's. I'd be surprised if that school still allows students to smoke. And the drug testing? No, it doesn't seem like a good idea. It seems like it would discourage students from participating in extra-curricular activities, when the extra-curricular activities might serve to help keep kids off of drugs.

I recently read an article (http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_ice12.452d76f.html) about Riverside County (where I live), saying that "Everyone booked into Riverside County jail will now face an immigration check as part of a new federal program that started in the county Tuesday." Which seems to imply that it wasn't being followed before. (Or maybe it's just changing how they do it?)

Los Angeles has Special Order 40, which seems to prevent the police from enforcing any immigration laws. (And is perhaps in contradiction to the California Penal Code?)

Risky Business. I remember seeing that in the theater with my parents. "Attention pussy shoppers! Take advantage of our penny pussy sale! If you buy one piece of pussy at the regular price, you get another piece of pussy of equal or lesser value for only a penny! Try and beat pussy for a penny! If you can find cheaper pussy anywhere else....... fuck it!"

Network "I've seen things...you people wouldn't believe; Attack ships, on fire off the shoulder of Orion..." Blade Runner And I knew that you would get Network. I finally got around to seeing it. Great movie.

The Warriors? "This is not a psychotic episode. This is a cleansing moment of clarity."

Yeah, that one was funny. Why don't they ever ask that question in the debates? I voted "agree," which I do. (Consenting adults? Go for it.)

Some interesting questions in there. My results were: True that I lean more toward Democrat than Republican, but I don't think I'm a _Strong_ Democrat. There were some questions on there that I feel neutral about, but it only lets you agree or disagree, so that might make the results a little less accurate.

. . . it's going to give a skewed view of what it would really be like if we were non-citizens who wanted to immigrate. Partially because none of us will fit into those categories that could only apply to non-citizens (which you omitted from the poll for that reason). And partially because we may have made different education/career choices in life if immigrating to the U.S. was a goal. This site has more extensive info on qualifications: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis (a link from your original link). And I don't get the impression that simply having a science or engineering degree is enough to qualify. (???) At this very minute, I probably do not qualify (beyond family reasons). But, as already mentioned, I might have made different education or career choices if my intention was to relocate to a different country. Or I could probably do the student thing, but since I'm currently paying in-state tuition, I can't vote for that in your poll. That being said, it is probably more difficult for Mexicans to immigrate here than it is for any other nationality (though they do represent the largest group of people who immigrate legally). For one thing, there are a lot more of them who want to (or so it seems), and I doubt that they qualify for the diversity program. And the types of jobs they tend to take are often with companies who won't sponsor their visas. Edit: I know you said this wasn't about Mexicans, but at the moment, it's hard to consider U.S. immigration without thinking of what is going on in the southern border states.

OK. And if you do visit Texas, be sure to go to the part that is not dusty and dry; that's where the best bbq restaurants are. (But don't ask them for hot tea in a porcelain cup.)

The funny thing is that their McDonald's (according to the website anyway) has basically the same selection that ours does. You can get burgers and fries, or you can get grilled chicken, salads, fruit, etc. So I'm not really sure what he's going on about. I can see that he's trying to use McDonald's as a representation of the type of food that customers demand (and therefore representative of how people in the area tend to eat). But since the U.S. and New Zealand McDonald's have basically the same menus, it's not making his case that New Zealanders eat healthier. (Maybe they do, but this isn't showing it.) (And now I can't believe I'm sitting here on a lovely Sunday afternoon, arguing about McDonald's over the Internet. I think I'll go find something better to do. )

Yeah, it sounds like I will need one of those when "applying for Social Security benefits and when applying for a U.S. passport" or 'when applying for “enhanced” drivers licenses.' If "Proof of U.S. citizenship must be established when dealing with all levels of U.S. government," applies to traffic stops, then it sounds like it's already the law, and I should already be carrying one of those documents around with me.(?)

I love the one with the tire and her shoes!

It's not about a comparison. You're making statements about things in the U.S. that are incorrect, and, as someone who has a lot more experience with the U.S., I am disagreeing with you. We have access to websites, books, magazines, newspapers, etc., from all over the world. And most of us are even allowed to leave the country to see the rest of the world if we want to. What do you have in New Zealand that makes you so much more informed? To answer your earlier question, I haven't traveled as much as I'd like to. I've made several trips to Europe and a few trips to Mexico, and I've been all over the U.S. And I'm married to an Aussie, so I hear a lot about Australia, but I haven't been there yet. Anyhow, traveling to and/or hearing about those places is not likely to give me the same kind of knowledge about those places that the folks who live there would have. A quick search shows that there are McCafes in the U.S., but I have no idea if they use porcelain dishes. And coffee and cakes are not really my idea of healthy food. I'm not trying to argue that we're a nation of health nuts; we're certainly not. It's just that when you think that _all_ Americans live on hot dogs and McDonald's cheeseburgers, you're wrong. It's sort of a big and diverse country to be making sweeping generalizations about anything.

Ah, OK. So you have little actual experience with the U.S., but you think you know everything about it. I get it now. (And yes, a lot of Americans do eat crap as you suggest, but with 300+ million people here, I can assure you that we're not all alike.) Total BS. The McDonald's here has somewhat reinvented itself. Looks more like a Starbucks inside, serves fancy iced coffees, salads, etc. But I still don't go there much, because there are too many better alternatives around here.

This site explains the identification requirements: http://www.arizonaguide.com/arizona-travel-info/identification-requirements Not sure if that answers your question(?). For me, I get the impression that my valid California driver's license will be sufficient. And, just curious, but how do they currently enforce the 6-month time limit?