Nightingale

I don't go to membership stores, just regular ones where you don't actually have to stop and let them check if you don't want to. I usually refuse to let them check my receipt. They ask to see it, I keep walking. They can't actually stop you unless they have reason to suspect you're trying to steal. The only place I'll let them check most of the time is Guitar Center, because they don't allow returns if they haven't stamped the receipt. If I'm buying something I think I might want to take back, I'll let them stamp it. Otherwise, no.

ok... If it was GWB against Edwards (dem) and Badnarik (lib)

I just had a very interesting conversation with a good friend. He just found out he's getting sent to Iraq for a second time. He's been home about nine months now, and he's just been told he has to go back. He voted for GWB in the last election, but he just spent half an hour ranting about "that moron in the white house" who "needs to stop wasting soldiers' lives on a hopeless war." I was just curious how many other people have done such a 180 on the way they feel about GWB.

Somehow, I think that if Mardy Murie were still alive, this thread wouldn't exist. Mardy grew up in Alaska and was the first woman to graduate from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. This is some of what she has said on the subject: "Wilderness itself is the basis of all our civilization. I wonder if we have enough reverence for life to concede to wilderness the right to live on?" "Beauty is a resource in and of itself. Alaska must be allowed to be Alaska. That is her greatest economy. I hope the United States of America is not so rich that she can afford to let these wildernesses pass by. Or so poor, she cannot afford to keep them." - to Congress regarding ANWR. "Alaska seemed too vast and wild ever to be changed, but now we are coming to realize how vulnerable this land is. I hope we have the sensitivity to protect Alaska's wilderness...""Do I dare to believe that one of my great-grandchildren may someday journey to the Sheenjek and still find the gray wolf trotting across the ice of Lobo Lake? Yes, I do still dare to believe!" I really wish Mardy was here today to remind Congress to “allow Alaska to be different, to be herself, to nourish our souls.”

I've had really good luck with IBM TopPage. Do not use MS Frontpage.

I think that in the US, lifestyle is probably the main cause of obesity. Most of us have desk jobs and not a lot of time to exercise. We've invented a lot of machinery to do physical labor for us. However, it's been proven that there are other causes. Genetics, metabolism, thyroid, etc... If that study came out of Hopkins, there's probably something to it. I'm lucky. Diet and exercise work for me. I lost about 20 pounds last year. My aunt asked me how I did it. I told her "eat less, exercise more." She looked disappointed and said "I was hoping there was some kind of trick! Like slimfast or something." She didn't want to devote the time to exercise, so she was looking for an easier way. Many people want instant gratification, instant results, and successful weight loss programs take time, so people have trouble sticking to them.

I didn't have a problem with it, but I looked just at the bottom corner of the first letter of each word. When I let myself actually read the word, it was harder.

Well, at the time, I was living in the dorm at college, so cooking wasn't an option. I was stuck with whatever the cafeteria was serving.

I've seen some people around school wearing WWFSMD? t-shirts. I want one. FSM has inspired some pretty amazing artwork:

I tried being a vegetarian for about two weeks. I ran into one major problem. I don't like vegetables. After living on mac and cheese for two weeks, I gave up and went out and ordered filet mignon.

I know. however, I thought FSM deserved His own thread.

A concerned citizen's response to Kansas' attempt to include "intelligent design" in science classes. I thought it was quite clever. ____________________________________________________ An open letter to the Kansas School Board: I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design. Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him. It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith. Some find that hard to believe, so it may be helpful to tell you a little more about our beliefs. We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. None of us, of course, were around to see it, but we have written accounts of it. We have several lengthy volumes explaining all details of His power. Also, you may be surprised to hear that there are over 10 million of us, and growing. We tend to be very secretive, as many people claim our beliefs are not substantiated by observable evidence. What these people don’t understand is that He built the world to make us think the earth is older than it really is. For example, a scientist may perform a carbon-dating process on an artifact. He finds that approximately 75% of the Carbon-14 has decayed by electron emission to Nitrogen-14, and infers that this artifact is approximately 10,000 years old, as the half-life of Carbon-14 appears to be 5,730 years. But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage. We have numerous texts that describe in detail how this can be possible and the reasons why He does this. He is of course invisible and can pass through normal matter with ease. I’m sure you now realize how important it is that your students are taught this alternate theory. It is absolutely imperative that they realize that observable evidence is at the discretion of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full pirate regalia. I cannot stress the importance of this enough, and unfortunately cannot describe in detail why this must be done as I fear this letter is already becoming too long. The concise explanation is that He becomes angry if we don’t. You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature. In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to hear our views and beliefs. I hope I was able to convey the importance of teaching this theory to your students. We will of course be able to train the teachers in this alternate theory. I am eagerly awaiting your response, and hope dearly that no legal action will need to be taken. I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence. Sincerely Yours, Bobby Henderson, concerned citizen. __________________________________________________________ For more info and responses from the Kansas School Board, click here: http://www.venganza.org/

Because trying to elevate everyone above poverty doesn't work. It just causes inflation, and while the people in the lowest paying job may make more dollars, those dollars don't go as far, because if you increase wages, you increase cost, and prices go up. They've tried raising the minimum wage, and there are still people who don't make enough money to live on. Unless we go to a completely communistic society where everyone is totally equal, there will always be poor people. Example: the california minimum wage has gone up about $2 in the last ten years. I used to work at Carl's junior ten years ago, so I'm going to use that as an example. Cashiers and cooks make minimum wage to start. The restaurant employs about eight cooks and cashiers every hour it is open. So, if the minimum wage goes up $2, it now costs the restaurant at least $16 more in labor each hour. Doesn't sound like a lot... but, if the restaurant is open from 6 am til midnight, that costs each store about $105,120 per year, plus employment taxes, which I'm not going to begin to try to calculate. So, each store has additional operating costs of at least $105,120. If they've got 1200 restaurants, that costs the company a little over 126 million dollars per year. And, that 126 million dollars gets passed on to the customers. So, increasing the minimum wage doesn't raise quality of life, it just raises prices.

It's not our job to take care of other people. It's their job to take care of themselves. To quote a sign that was on my biology teacher's desk "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine." Employers should have to pay what a job is worth. No more. Keep raising minimum wage, and all you end up doing is raising prices, because if McDonalds is paying everyone $10 an hour, they will have to raise prices to stay in business and turn a profit for their investors. If a guy who owns a small business and has two teenage employees who stock shelves and run the cash register now has to provide both of them with health care and pay them $10 an hour, the guy is probably going to go out of business or fire the employees, because he can only raise prices so much, and his cost of operation has just skyrocketed. Either way, jobs are lost and the person who was making $5 an hour is now making nothing.

I just use iTunes, and click on "music store." The songs are only a buck each, and it's convenient.

I'm always ready for halloween. I worked at the renaissance faire for three years, so I've got tons of faire costumes, so many that I managed to outfit half the chorus in a local production of Oliver. I've also got a bunch of random halloween type costumes in a trunk. I guess my halloween problem isn't whether I have a costume, but which one I'm going to pick. LOL.

Chronic pain management is not the forte of western medicine. We're good at stuff like cancer and trauma, but when it comes to pain, we could do a lot better. I have a couple of friends who swear by chinese medicine for pain relief. There are a lot of different things to try, chinese herbs, accupuncture, etc... Best of luck, and feel better!

well, I'd already commented on their message earlier in the thread.

And, IMO, they can't sing. They've got samples on their website. They sound like they've got about as much talent as your average karaoke bar customer. There's no real sense of rhythm or timing, no harmony, just both girls singing the melody, and, at least in the two samples I heard. They sound like kids, and kids don't usually get on record labels unless they've got some amazing talent. These two don't have it.

um... I didn't focus on welfare. The thread drifted that way, and I commented on the topic at hand. I don't think tax dollars should be used for: military actions other than defending our own soil, UN supported peacekeeping operations, or action mandated by treaties. prosecuting victimless crimes or crimes where the only harm is to the perpetrator capital punishment religious causes funding for "the arts" enforcement of most drug and alcohol laws and a lot more stuff I can't think of right now. I believe that the main purpose of government is to make sure that everyone can exercise their rights freely and without interference from others. The government is not there to be our parent and take care of us. It's our job to take care of ourselves, and the job of the government to maintain an environment where that is possible.

Exactly. However, the government has already proved that it doesn't do a very good job at working towards your list of goals. It appears that now, the government should step aside and allow private organizations to step in, because what the government has done in the past and is doing now is not working and is very inefficient. I'd rather donate money that was going to government programs to local programs that provide low or no cost child care for working low income parents. I'd rather money goes to organizations that actually help people to succeed by providing assistance for education, job searches, and child care than to a government organization that simply sends a check every month. Giving someone cash can reduce the motivation to go out and earn it themselves. However, if we stop providing cash (I don't have as much of an issue with food stamps, although I think they should come with names on them and have ID required to use them) and start providing real assistance, then maybe we can begin to solve the problem. The government seems to prefer to throw money at a problem rather than really try to solve it.

If people had more money available to them, and knew that the government was not going to provide assistance to the poor, they may be more likely to donate, especially if they get a tax break for doing so. Many people justify their lack of charitable donations by telling themselves that their tax dollars already go to support the poor. Also, as much as helping the poor is a good thing, I don't think it's the government's right to force people to provide aid to others. It's a decision that each individual should make for themselves.

I'd add "too, to, and two" to your list. It's annoying when I read a sentence like "I told him I wanted to go, two." or "there were to cows" or "he went too Arizona." AARGH. That said, I think it's more the fault of the parents, if we have to blame anyone. Teachers only have a student in class for one year. They have no control over what happens outside their classroom, or before or after a child enters or leaves that grade. I taught junior high creative writing and composition. I had each class twice a week for an hour each day. It is impossible for an eighth grade teacher to get a child up to speed if they're writing at a second grade level. You can't teach them six years of school in one year. It's up to parents to monitor a child's education over the years and to get outside help if necessary. The only powers a teacher can exercise is occasional detentions and phone calls home. A teacher can talk to administration about holding a child back, but if the administration doesn't back the teacher, there's nothing the teacher can do, and if the parent doesn't agree that the child should be held back, the school won't hold them back no matter what the principal says. It all comes down to the parents in the end. The majority of teachers and principals do what they can in the limited time they have with the children. Outside of that classroom time, the responsibility for a child's education falls to the parents. A teacher can't force a parent to get a tutor for their child if there's a problem understanding lessons, or to use rewards and punishment if motivation is the problem. A teacher can't get a child tested and sent to a special ed class without the parents' consent, even if the child is profoundly disabled. The parents have the final say.

I think they have a right to their opinions and the right to teach their children their opinions. However, I have a right to say that they're ignorant $^%&*^%s. Hopefully, those kids will grow up and start thinking for themselves. The money they're making may get them some measure of independence from their parents, and hopefully get them to a place where they're out from under their influence. There is far less tolerance for racist ideas by today's public. The girls will find that life will be difficult for them if they continue to think that way. People won't take them seriously. Hopefully that will teach them something.

Many of us who want to get rid of government assistance programs don't want to get rid of assistance alltogether. For example, I think that charities and churches can give aid to the poor far more efficiently than the government does it. I'd rather give my money to the local soup kitchen or habitat for humanity than to the government, because I don't think the government is very responsible with it, and that they have too much of a management overhead. It's not that I don't want to help the poor, it's that I don't think the government is doing a very good job, and that there are people who can do better. I think we should be voluntarily supporting the organizations who can do better, rather than throwing money at an over-large bureaucracy that is inefficient and largely ineffective.