tso-d_chris

You're right. It would also be false to say they are unbiased for the right. They may throw in the occasional critical article, but they are clearly conservative. In fairness, they do not claim to be otherwise. No. I judge the man by the merits of his actions. IMO he has done very poorly as President. McCain would have been far, far better. So yes, in a sense I am still upset about the 2000 primaries. I don't understand how tax cuts and increased spending can be considered fiscally responsible. To compound matters, the military spending will have a much smaller benefit for the nation than would social spending. Actually it was not a loaded question when I asked if you had ever been a minority. I was just curious. Having lived in places where being a white American is not so common, I have gained insight that I otherwise would not have. Primarily from news.google sources, although I have been known to actively seek articles from many of the same sources as you mentioned, including, incidentally, National Review. My personal favorite is NPR, however. When time limits me to a single source, I find them to be the most in depth, and often the most objective. There is no substitute for multiple sources, though.

That really sucks. So much for free interstate travel. If only Billvon were President.

No one said it did, exclusively. Mayor Nagin did a poor job in my opinion. He waited a couple days after the Governor declared a state of emergency to order a mandatory evacuation. That does not mitigate the federal governments responsibility. Frome The Office of the (White House) Press Secretary, Aug 27, 2005, two days prior to Katrina's landfall: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html http://factcheck.org/article348.html http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050913-5.html I think much of the onus lies with the federal government because they agreed to take on the responsibility, failed to act on that responsibility, acknowledged the failure, and then the President accepted personal responsibility for those federal failures.

True. But poverty does. Race is not a factor that causes their poverty - it's their poor choices and/or those of their parents.Quote Its's more about the lack of opportunities of their grandparents and parents. We often take for granted the effects of our parents (and in turn, their parents) education and success. If they were not successful, it will be more difficult for their children to be successful. Simply saying everybody has the same opportunities does not make it so. We have taken great strides in this country to end inequality among the different ethnic groups in this country, with respect to opportunity. We are not, however, through. We still have a long way to go; we are not there yet.

Oh I took the bait. I just left the hook! Okay. Here goes: I think mass abortions are a bad thing no matter what race. I do think, however, any significant decrease in reproduction (not necessarily race specific) is going to have short term effects (15-30 yrs) that will include benefits to the economic well being of the impoverished, which will, in turn, reduce crime, at least in the short term. In the long term, there would be more detrimental effects, and I would consider such an approach to be unwise for any country not in the midst of a population crisis, but that just my opinion, free and worth nothing more.

I agree.

It was soundly defended; see the graph. Race plays a role. Is it the exclusive role? No. Whites can be poor too. But that does not change the fact that certain races have much higher rates of poverty. When viewed from a perspective that includes the century of slavery in this country, it is easy to see that there is still a ways to go before the economic and academic playing field is level.

You may not be aware of this, but unlike editorializing columns, which often pick and choose from the facts to elicit a prescribed response from the target audience, Factcheck.org is one of the most unbiased websites available for news without spin. (They are not a traditional news source, more like a media watchdog.) They do not offer opinion. Did you read the two articles? If so you would have noticed how well documented everything is. Here's the thing. We knew what was going to happen if a Cat 3 (or higher) storm hit New Orleans. A state of emergency had already been declared by the state governor. The federal government was not prepared. They did not have equipment or supplies in place, as claimed. There was plenty of time after the ball was in the federal government's hands to stage supplies and eqipment nearby. The civilian infrastructure was still fully functional at that point. There was power everywhere, and communications were up. After the storm, when the world saw the trouble our citizens, responders and supplies, both foreign and domestic were kept out or delayed unnecessarily. This was a monumental storm, but the federal response was anything but. I certainly would not claim success. Our national resources appear to be severely misallocated.

What a great learning opportunity, whether you believe in evolution or not. I'm envious. Sun Tzu said if you understand yourself and your opposition, your chances of victory were virtually certain. If you understand yourself or youe opposition, your chances of success were one in two. If you understood neither yourself nor your opposition, your defeat was certain. He was talking about war, but his Taist wisdom can be applied to nearly any aspect of life. My point is, even if you don't believe in evolution, you are no worse off for learning about it. What questions do you have about chimpanzees? They are know doubt fascinating creatures, whether we are descended of them or not. And you very possible will have the opportunity to ask the world's leading authority. Some free advice that may well not even be worth that: Resist any temptation to be antagonistic, with your questions, or your flash. Do research prior to attending to avoid asking a question to which the answer is easily accessable online, especially her website or Wikipedia.

One of the more interesting things discovered was Louisianna Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a State of Emergency three days prior to Katrina making landfall on the Gulf coast. She requested President Bush do the same two days prior to landfall. She did seem oblivious to the fact that the flood waters would soon be toxic. Mayor Nagin apparently failed to accept Amtrak's offer to use unsold train seats to evacuate some residents, and later even denied the offer was made. Evacuation orders were issued by the city too late too be fully effective, although the numbers that remained behind were within the levels predicted by the hurricane Pam excercise. As Katrina passed through, Bush said, from Rancho Cucamonga, California, "It's a storm now that is moving through, and now it's the time for governments to help people get their feet on the ground. . . . For those of you who are concerned about whether or not we're prepared to help, don't be. We are. We're in place. We've got equipment in place, supplies in place." http://factcheck.org/article348.html http://factcheck.org/article344.html

Thank you for making my point. Of all the people below the poverty level in the US, what percentage is black? What percentage is Hispanic? What percentage is white? Now, of all the people in the US, what percentage are black? Hispanic? White? If the percentages don't match up with these two comparisons (and they do not, in fact), then your next statement: is not true, at least with respect to race not being a reason. (More accurately there is a very strong corellation.) See this graph to get a better idea of the point I am ineloquently trying to make.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/30/AR2005093001546.html You can also read about it here, here or here or find your preferred source here. Attempting to deceive the citizenry is wrong, no matter which "side" does it.

Because if they are not, the "AA is discrimination" argument loses is logical validity, as it argues that the different races are already on equal footing, which, as you point out, they are not.

I don't think it is obvious at all. I was not aware that different races were below the poverty line in the same proportion as their total population makeup. Could you please give us that link?

Umm, Dude, That has got to be the worst reason I have ever heard for not explaining something. I could not tell from your explanation whether the difference was due to age 14 vs age 15, or whether it was from age 19 vs. age 40. I apologize for not wanting to remain ignorant about the difference. You claimed to be an authority; I sought clarifying information. Is that really such a bad thing?

What makes the distinction? the larger age difference of the "partners" or the age of the minor? I was under the impression that it was pedophilia if the minor was pre-pubescent, while it was statutory rape if the minor was physically an adult.

You are comparing relative numbers, when you should compare relative percentages. You will find the rates are not equal. If they were, you would have a logical argument.

That is why I specifically did not reply to that portion of his post. Sorry for the misunderstanding. BTW You are absolutely right. The head on a swivel does little good if the person/object you are about to collide with is coming from a blind spot, and you do not have a clear line of sight to see them/it coming. For Great Deals on Gear

By choice? (I mean beside voluntarily signing up for airborne school or doing intentional cutaways) Wow.

To Fliteline's credit, their BOC setup was as good if not better than any BOC system I see built today.

Unfortunately, I would have to go through long since disposed of back issues of Skydiving Magazine. I was able to find this reference to the incident, however: I would have been more accurate if I had said the Catapault contributed to this incident, rather than saying that the incident was "due to the consequences of the Catapault." It was however, this particular incident that motivated me to finally listen to the experienced riggers around me, and have my secondary reserve pilot chute removed.

I would highly recommend ram air main and reserve canopies, with a piggy-back configuration for the harness and container system. Definitely avoid belly mounted reserve containers. For Great Deals on Gear

Didn't there used to be a distiction between pedophilia and statutory rape? I don't know which this guy alledgedly committed, and I am certainly not defending his actions. I just have heard the threads speak of the two interchangeably, and wondered why.

I have seen very few articles on NR Online that are critical of the right, especially in comparison to the ones that are supportive of the right. I agree, Bush bashing can get old, but most of the time it is justified. He really is doing that poorly as President. And Clinton wasn't all that hot either, before you go there. They make up a portion of this nation, as do gays, single parents, and those that have been divorced. If you deny yourself the ability to understand current events from the perspectives of others, you are not getting the whole story. I'm curious, have you ever lived anywhere where you a minority?

What about the large percentage of white folks that live below the poverty line? He didn't seem to be overly concerned about their effects on crime rates.