winsor

Not speaking for her, but I do know that a balance sheet requires income to equal expenses. If a company needs to balance its budget, it can cut back on certain things but not others. I once worked for a company that thought had some people checking wastebaskets to see if people where throwing away paperclips rather than reusing them. I'm sorry, but that kind of effort costs more to enforce than any real benefit received from it. MUCH smarter is to deal with the larger issues and the things that take up 80% of the balance sheet than the piddly stuff that takes up 0.0000001%. Of course, the other way to fix the balance sheet is also pretty obvious; take in some more money. You missed my point by a long shot. The Gov't is unlike the proverbial drunken sailor to the extent that the sailor quits spending when he runs out of money. The Gov't is much more like a gambler at a high-stakes game with unlimited markers. Having already thrown away lifetimes' earnings, and hell-bent upon continuing to bet higher and higher stakes, it is absurd to think that the losses can be covered by overtime at McDonalds. The principle was made clear by none other than Charlie Sheen in "Hot Shots," who offered to pay off a wrecked fighter plane by $10 a week out of his pay. Balancing the budget is such an absurd concept in light of our present circumstances that there really is no apparent causal relationship between income and outgo. In any event, raising taxes past a point is a self-limiting process. When the response to earining past a point is punitive, people's response is to quit earning at that point. It has been tried, and that is generally how it works. Frugality is spending less than you make. Stupidity is spending whatever you feel like spending and expecting it to be paid for somehow. Welcome to Congress. BSBD, Winsor

Perhaps you and your ilk should have supported rescinding the GOAT FUCK STUPID Bush Tax cuts for all those you HOPE will trickle on you. Okay, poison noted (as usual). Just out of curiosity, do you suggest that it is possible to pay enough taxes that the Gov't can't spend orders of magnitude more?

I love it - a Postbot posting about Postbots.

What's your point? Is your goal to suggest a solution, or merely to bitch?

One of the most moving ceremonies I have witnessed is the Last Post at the Menin Gate. The gratitude shown by the residents of battlefields of the Great War is truly humbling. Would that it had been the War to End All Wars. BSBD, Winsor

Sorry if my post was confusing or if this was a quote/reply mix-up, but I was asking Mark what he thought the rationale of those of us who support gay marriage was. If he is under the impression that it could be applied to all of those other "activities", then he's obviously got the wrong idea. How do you figure? What I get out of that is that "marriage" is an artificial construct whose function is to provide a nuclear family for procreation. Traditionally and biologically this works out to include a male and a female. Since the Miracles of Modern Medicine have expanded upon quite who and what can produce offspring, some of these lines of demarcation have become blurred. In any event, since the idea of "marriage" is somewhat arbitrary, the goal is to put some limit on the number, gender, species and ages of participants in said institution. Muhammad (may he rot in hell) listed amongst his wives one who was 9 years old. I will not get into the high esteem in which I hold that union. "Paint Your Wagon" had Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood married to the same woman. It was a musical or a comedy or something. Some guy in Tennessee, IIRC, keeps getting arrested for having sex with a horse. Probably the creepiest form of "marriage" of which I am familiar is the vows nuns take, "marrying" Jesus. The ceremony takes place with a gown, a ring and the whole nine yards. I am not making this up. In any event, the gays I have known to marry have usually done so with someone of the opposite sex. The explanation one gave was that it was a matter of denial; "nobody wants to be a paraiah." Upon reflection, I think I am somewhat indifferent. If someone wants to marry their Camaro, or an entire platoon of spouses of various genders and species, all I ask is that they spare me the details. If you can keep me blissfully ignorant, and do not hurt anyone, knock yourself out. BSBD, Winsor

no it's not... Your logic should be programmed using some other source than Monty Python. I realize that they were massively overeducated on the subject, but their "Argument" sketch was for comedic, rather than instructional, purposes. Bots are annoying.

I think you're putting the blame on the wrong people. I think it speaks more to the American public's ability to separate fact from fiction than anything else. Tell me, do they also think Los Angeles is currently being attacked by space aliens? Do John Travolta, Tom Cruise and Kirstey Alley count?

Does that mean you think fusion will always be just beyond our grasp? What do you think solar is?

Please note: "Considering that Illinois has a large population whose greatest benefit to society will be made upon their departure, it is a shame that those tasked to perform such social surgery have demonstrated such gross incompetence at doing so." I do not think the mediocre grammar masks the meaning.

I assume the common theme is that these countries put to sleep the most pathalogically maladjusted in their midst. Considering that Illinois has a large population whose greatest benefit to society will be made upon their departure, it is a shame that those tasked to perform such social surgery have demonstrated such gross incompetence at doing so. When you have a dog foaming at the mouth and snapping at everything that moves, the proper treatment involves removing said animal from the living. The same is true for the more feral "mad dog" two-legged types. BSBD, Winsor

I agree that a policy of "give them a fair trial and hang them" is fitting and just for domestic criminals. Piracy and walking the plank just kind of go together, like peanut butter and jelly. BSBD, Winsor

It would cost that much using union labor.

The last time I saw Jimmy Cazer was about 10 years ago. He is still listed in Talladega, AL; give him a call to ask about any particulars, and say hi from me. Blue skies, Winsor

That's not what happened this time. '"The captain followed the appropriate protocol and authorized an embarked security team to fire warning shots in order for the pirates to turn away," the statement said.' If you have them in your sights, it is immoral to do anything short of "fire for effect." Anyhow, three hots and a cot, with better medical and dental than is available for many people who never harmed anyone, is inappropriate treatment for anyone engaged in piracy. The effectiveness of pirates is by dint of their policy of "no quarter." Anyone engaged in piracy should be held to that standard. BSBD, Winsor

Piracy on the High Seas is pretty much exempt from Due Process as it would apply to civil matters, as well as the rules of engagement for warfare. There are circumstances recognized under International Law (Geneva Accords, et. al.) whereby individuals may be dispatched on the spot. Piracy is one of them. If contact with the Mother Ship is lost at the time of the attack, those on the Mother Ship should be left guessing what became of the attackers - of whom nothing should remain. If the Mother Ship is successfully identified, it should be blown out of the water as well. Leave us alone and we won't vaporize you, no problem. BSBD, Winsor

I am appalled by the "Catch & Release" policy regarding pirates. Why any vessel that seeks to capture another is not immediately sent to the bottom is beyond me. What the hell is the thought process here? That, after being given a stern warning, the poor, misguided souls will see the error of their ways and become pillars of the community? I say that people engaged in such activity should be treated as having a spiritual problem, and they should have a meeting with their maker arranged at the earliest possible opportunity. BSBD, Winsor

Therefore, the fact that Obama is considering military options, makes him fuckin' nuts. Right? Naive and/or unqualified to make such a decision.

If you had read Kipling and Michael Herr's "Dispatches," there would be no surprises. "Charlie Wilson's War" also gave a pretty good indicator of how things would shape up. The comment that we had it won, then fucked up the end game, applies as well now as it did then. We Americans cling to the principle that "two weeks in the lab can save you an afternoon in the library." Doing your homework is for wimps, I guess. BSBD, Winsor

Sorry, most christians don't believe in numerology. I find it amazing that people can view themselves as such connoisseurs of fairy tales, where some gibberish is approved ("it's all a big mystery!") and other equally nonsensical dreck is not ("why, that's ridiculous!"). Monty Pythons version was reasonably funny - but at least they knew they were being absurd. People who adhere to patent absurdity in all seriousness are kind of scary; where do they draw the line between the rational and irrational, since they are grounded in the irrational? Since we hold dear all manner of superstition and stupidity, we are as screwed as the whackos claim - but for entirely different reasons. BSBD, Winsor

so I should plan a vacation day for then? I'm sure the company will provide a paid day off for the end of the world. You should not waste vacation time.

And I feel fine.

Well at least Republicans are more consistent. Palin loving, greedy, bible thumping, racist homophobes. Thanks for the reply but it did not answer my original question. Oh, there are Republicans who A) Think Palin is a moron B) Prefer a policy of "spend no more than you make" C) Are religious skeptics - to say the least D) Do not give credence to anyone's claims to racial preference/superiority and E) Could not care less who you do or do not sleep with, so long as they are alive, human and have achieved majority. By no means are all Republicans religious right/right-to-lifer types. Those do, however, make an easy target for the Left. Similarly, there are those on the Left that are every bit as much of a national embarrassment as any of the buffoons on the Right. It is as though there is a never-ending contest to see who can be more stupid, and it seems to be a draw as often as not. BSBD, Winsor Dont you guys here that stylize yourselves as "conservatives" always refer to those as RINO's and most have been tossed under the bus multiple times? I have seen very damn few moderate Republicans for a while now ... the litmus tests of the far right make sure of that. Somehow I simply can not imagine you placing any value whatever in political moderation of any stripe. I should think you would consider the extreme Right to have much in common from the standpoint of venom. Quibbling about the nature of the toxin is mere details - poison is poison. BSBD, Winsor RIGHT......... so basically you are blinded by your own hatred towards anything that does not lockstep with you..... to actually READ... we get it. As usual, I have no idea what the hell you are talking about; all I get out of it is poison. So far as I can tell, there is NOBODY in lockstep with me, and I really have no idea where the "blinded" and "hatred" stuff comes in. I would ask for clarification, but I suspect you would have made yourself clear in the first place if you were capable of doing so. BSBD, Winsor

Well at least Republicans are more consistent. Palin loving, greedy, bible thumping, racist homophobes. Thanks for the reply but it did not answer my original question. Oh, there are Republicans who A) Think Palin is a moron B) Prefer a policy of "spend no more than you make" C) Are religious skeptics - to say the least D) Do not give credence to anyone's claims to racial preference/superiority and E) Could not care less who you do or do not sleep with, so long as they are alive, human and have achieved majority. By no means are all Republicans religious right/right-to-lifer types. Those do, however, make an easy target for the Left. Similarly, there are those on the Left that are every bit as much of a national embarrassment as any of the buffoons on the Right. It is as though there is a never-ending contest to see who can be more stupid, and it seems to be a draw as often as not. BSBD, Winsor Dont you guys here that stylize yourselves as "conservatives" always refer to those as RINO's and most have been tossed under the bus multiple times? I have seen very damn few moderate Republicans for a while now ... the litmus tests of the far right make sure of that. Somehow I simply can not imagine you placing any value whatever in political moderation of any stripe. I should think you would consider the extreme Right to have much in common from the standpoint of venom. Quibbling about the nature of the toxin is mere details - poison is poison. BSBD, Winsor

Well at least Republicans are more consistent. Palin loving, greedy, bible thumping, racist homophobes. Thanks for the reply but it did not answer my original question. Oh, there are Republicans who A) Think Palin is a moron B) Prefer a policy of "spend no more than you make" C) Are religious skeptics - to say the least D) Do not give credence to anyone's claims to racial preference/superiority and E) Could not care less who you do or do not sleep with, so long as they are alive, human and have achieved majority. By no means are all Republicans religious right/right-to-lifer types. Those do, however, make an easy target for the Left. Similarly, there are those on the Left that are every bit as much of a national embarrassment as any of the buffoons on the Right. It is as though there is a never-ending contest to see who can be more stupid, and it seems to be a draw as often as not. BSBD, Winsor