winsor

Sure. Never is a long time and it's possible we'd both die before the end of time, so let's just make it during 2013 to keep it reasonable. What did you have in mind as far as a wager goes? Humiliation or monetary? You said never and I pointed out that it was hardly without precedent. If you get down to specifics (e.g., 2013), the real problem is a coin with inherent value. As fiat currency, the US Dollar is not worth the paper on which it is printed. Since currency originates electronically as a "loan" from the Fed, its inherent value is that of an IOU email.

Wanna bet? I have a few 500 million Mark postage stamps. The Deutsche Mark was every bit as well backed as is the US Dollar.

The last time I tasted it (or anything else containing alcohol), Reagan was in office, so my recollection is far from current. However, I do not think I was ever convinced that the appeal of alcoholic beverages was the taste. Admittedly, Courvoisier VSOP is preferable to Akvavit - but that is not saying much. Similarly, Pilsner Urquell has it all over Milwaukee's Best, and Château Neuf de Pape has the edge over MD 20/20, but none of it would have much to recommend it absent the ethanol. Any kind of EtOH beverage can result in a hangover, but wine does have the capacity for a full-blown death-warmed-over state with great hang time. Perhaps moderation would serve to avoid that state - I would not know.

Q:What do you call a good looking woman in Russia? A: A tourist.

Not at all - she is most definitively full of shit.

How about "right back at you" trade and immigration regulations? Let's see, if Bulganistan wishes to export framistats to the U.S., we should apply import costs on framistats identical to whatever charges and fees are visited upon exports of goods from the U.S. to Bulganistan. If an American Studebaker is marked up 137.6% by the time it hits the showroom in Przylgksk, we should apply an equal set of fees, tariffs, inspections, quarantines and whatever to Bulganistani products. Similarly, if it is illegal for foreigners to own more than 49% of a Bulganistani company - or any real estate at all - similar rules in the U.S. should work nicely. Bulganistan's policy of routinely nationalizing private corporations, compensating private owners generously per government-generated "fairness tables" is a practice we might adopt as well. Then we get to their wonderfully fair immigration and citizenship regulations. Their rules differ, of course, between Druids and Wiccans, and the rights granted ethnic Huns are naturally more generous than those deserved by the Visigoth minority. Needless to say, where you are born has no effect on any of this. I could go on. One minor problem we conveniently ignore is the fact that nothing close to a level playing field exists, and there is not much of anyone who would support one if it was possible. As an aside, I had some exposure to the dairy industry some time back from a "fly on the wall" perspective, and it was interesting. I was told never to even joke about anything illegal over the phone, since the lines were all tapped. "How come?" "Ah, they're investigating price-fixing." "Really? Why?" "The prices are all fixed." "Oh." FWIW, I find all the blamestorming quite amusing. Carry on.

I happened to make a near fatal mistake in an ambush one time where I stopped as I was running through the middle of the kill zone as we were being hit from our left side and moved to the side of the vehicles where all the fire was coming from. I saw a muzzle flash from a house and moved towards the house unloading through the window. When my senses finally kicked back in I realized I was standing in front of the armored vehicles that I should have been using for cover out in the open taking fire just so I could settle my beef with the people in the one house. You get overwhelmed very quickly and the only thing that gives you the ability to see the whole picture is repetition.. But, of course, a kindergarten teacher is perfectly equipped to deal with a crazed gunman. Some kindergarten teachers are better equipped than others.

And what, precisely, are the Math requirements for any of these credentials?

It amazes me that you should stick up for someone so entirely innumerate as the incumbent. This is not a vote of confidence in the Speaker, but an observation that the CIC has to take off his shoes to count over ten.

This article addresses many of these concerns.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/09/277127/3000-us-troops-secretly-return-to-iraq/ Some much for more open government however Gee, with Iran as the source of this info, I hope they are footing the bill.

So where's the option for a gnaB giB?

I think the entire universe will simply cease to exist, instantaneously, in its entirety. Of course, it will then be replaced immediately thereafter with an EXACT DUPLICATE in its place. This will all take place seamlessly, and will only be detectable by the most sensitive of scientific instruments. When these instruments cease to exist, their replacements will indicate an infinitesimal irregularity that will baffle the replacement scientists, who will little suspect that the Dirac Delta they witnessed was the discontinuity between the Before Universe and the After Universe. This simple and obvious outcome was, for some reason, left out of the list of available options. BSBD, Winsor

Where we have a failure to communicate seems to be that you are taking a different analysis of the nonlinear system that is our economy. It is always tempting to take a small-signal approach, where perturbation analysis allows you to linearize around a point. The analysis that seems indicated by my tally is one where things get irreversibly nonlinear. In the '30s the US had a bit more than a third the population that it does now, the easy-to-access petroleum was still apparently endless, the rail system was an order of magnitude more extensive than it is now (think "Roger Rabbit"), and we had the capacity to export excesses of raw materials and manufactured goods. Things are a tad different now. Our way of life is dependent upon the import of fuel that we have not been able to afford for decades, and for which we owe trillions already. To eat we need to power the tractors, combines, trailers and food processing facilities; to get to work we need automobiles and buses - the high-speed electric rail that used to interconnect our urban areas is long gone but for a very few systems. I sincerely wish we we were only as badly screwed as we have been in the past. We are, however, beyond a tipping point that has not been experienced here to date. Analogs to our current plight do, however, exist in history. In every case - and I do mean 100% - the society so burdened imploded. I do wish I could think of some reason to think otherwise, but I think we are in a plight on a par with the Titanic; the good news being that that particular "unsinkable" (too big to fail...) ship went under with a fair number of her passengers surviving, if a bit worse for wear. Admittedly, the band has not yet struck up "Closer My God to Thee," but the ultimate outcome is inevitable. Don't sweat rearranging the deck chairs. BSBD, Winsor

The times have changed. The people haven't. We have the same mix of lazy and industrious today as we always did. We even have the same people who know who to blame for all our problems. I wish you were right, and I envy your removal from the social realities I witness on a regular basis. The Irish did have to labor to keep their BAC up, and Roosevelt did some population shuffling - from which we have yet to recover - in order to plant genetic Democrats in particular municipalities. As far as blamestorming goes, there is plenty of blame to go around. It has taken decades to bugger things up as badly as they are now, and there are NO, read ZERO, quick fixes. Since you went to a school that, unlike Harvard Law School, has some rudimentary Math requirement, I am sure that you could apply the Magic of Arithmetic to evaluate our current plight. Do the numbers - we're scrod. There are some socioeconomic groups that, when faced with major injustices, write letters to the editor or their congressmen. There are others that, faced with the identical injustices, riot and burn, baby, burn. I most strongly advise that you determine which is which, and associate yourself with the former when the bill comes due for the tab we have run for the last 5 decades. BSBD, Winsor

Population/demographics. For a solid 80 years, at least one of our political parties (I forget which) has stood to benefit from the proliferation of fundamentally dependent voters. Policies have been put forth, ostensibly to oppose poverty, but function to institutionalize it. "Low income housing" turns out to be a multi-billion dollar investment in poverty; by building these "projects," we are betting that there will be generations of poor sufficient to keep them full (the term "generations" is inexact, since fecundity appears to be inversely proportional to income to the point that some - like tribbles - appear to be born pregnant). The Poverty Industry has become entrenched to the extent that one can expect to make a career of administering benefits, and Conflict of Interest holds sway. During the Great Depression, the bulk of the unemployed were tradesmen, craftsmen and laborers, who would work long, hard hours if given the chance. Now, too many of those who are out of work are unemployable, devoid of skills and/or work ethic (but they can, and do, vote). We have become so inured to untenable standards that it seems incomprehensible that our present "norm" is unsustainable. There is no quick fix to problems that have become entrenched and vitrified over the course of so many decades, and none of the possible outcomes is palatable. Intentional resolution is simply not an option. Economic Eugenics ("if you can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em) would never fly for all the obvious reasons. Thus, when things do sort themselves out it will be chaotic, very unfair, and way ugly. ] Buckle up kids, it's going to be rough. BSBD, Winsor

Infidel! The Profit Muhammad himself had to use stern discipline to keep all his wives in line. Otherwise they were given to playing with dolls, jumping rope, and engaging in all sorts of foolishness.

In a word, no. A mouning band can be worn by anyone in mourning for anyone. Its a sign to others that the person is in a period of official mourning. A years ago everyone in mourning wore them. Today you will often see football players wear them for teamates and former club players who have died. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sj3_0cmfT4 What makes you ask? Those precious badges they all wear. They are just too cute for words.

Well, obviously this white hispanic is just trying to use a broken nose and a smashed up face to justify killing a black child. Running around playing cop, he probably deserved it. Playing cop? I'd say more like playing Doctor - performing a delayed full-term abortion.

I doubt that I know everything about anything. However, one need not know everything about something to have sufficient knowledge to make an informed decision. As far as blamestorming the debacle in Libya goes, it seems there is enough incompetence involved that nobody need take full credit for that particular goat rope. Should Susan Rice's talking points re: Libya disqualify her as Sec'y of State? Probably not; I am sure she is no more or less unqualified than the vast majority of people likely to be tapped for the position - talking points or no. If she gets the nod and turns out to be at all competent, I will be pleasantly surprised. If she turns out to be typical of the kind of political hacks (of any political persuasion) that Washington tends to attract, I will not be surprised in the least. Regarding the death of our Ambassador et al., the bottom line is that we screwed the pooch. The gory details don't change much, and, as such, are unnecessary. BSBD, Winsor

I'm smart enough to know we know only a fraction of the truth at this point and I'll withhold judgement until we know more. How about you? Can you be at least that open minded? Up until now, I have never heard someone recommend that someone else be "open minded" unless they were entirely full of shit. "Scientology is truly wonderful, you just have to be open-minded!" "You are not open-minded enough to fully comprehend Phlogiston Theory." Etc. Of course, this instance must be a complete break with that general principle. BSBD, Winsor

We all need to kill ourselves. Great idea! You first.

You mean the War of Southern Treasonous Insurrection? The Confederacy seceded and was perfectly happy to let the remaining Federal states take care of their own affairs. There was no attempt to overthrow the U.S. Government, just to hand in the cards and leave the game. The "attack" on Ft. Sumter was an eviction. No Yankees were killed, and they were sent home under arms. The only issue that served to foster confusion was that of slavery. Had the Confederacy abolished slavery and given the former slaves the option of either either returning to the continent that sold them into bondage or to the Federal Union, there would have been no casus belli and we would all be in better shape. BSBD, Winsor

John Galt is a white wine and cheese kind of guy. He and O'bama aren't likely to come to any sort of agreement over barley pop.