Controlled Chaos

QUOTE(Texsox @ May 2, 2006 -> 08:26 AM) Southsider shared his personal observations from yesterdays rally, oh how I wish I were there. Of all the coverage I watched, the commentary I read, his was my favorite. It is nice to know reporters beliefs when reading their reports. He spoke of the mood and the feeling this was more a party than a demonstration. Not seeing the passions, he expected. I believe for many in the crowd, it was a support thing, and yes they would have less passion, but a party to feel good about being in America isn't a bad thing. In fact, I was sitting here earlier, thinking about how lucky we are to be born in America, and living here in 2006. That is the biggest lottery win of all. We have experienced peace on the domestic front for over a century. Economic stability and growth, advances in medicine here first, White Sox win a WS. Then I wonder how many here would . . . Give up their family and friends, their hometowns, their heritage and birthrights, to walk hundreds and thousands of miles across hills, valleys, mountains, and deserts. Trudging daily through rain, snow, freezing temperatures and blazing heat, always in the elements. Alternatively, investing their meager resources and being stuffed in a truck trailer or shipping container, hoping not to be caught, hoping to live to see sunshine. Moreover, let us not forget those that have a legal opportunity to cross the waters and land on our shores. Doctors giving up their practice to train to be nurses, business owners taking entry level programming jobs, tool and die makers trusting the American Dream. They arrive, most not speaking the language, unfamiliar with the customs, traditions, and laws. Trying to navigate, negotiate, and survive. Immigrants run into the dark side of America first. The hate, crime, poverty, over crowding, discrimination, and criminals out to make a buck at the immigrants expense. Learning to trust must be difficult. Most are grabbing the American Dream. Believing that if they work hard enough, sacrifice enough, that American is the most level playing field life can offer. Despite our shortcomings, the taxes, OSHA, laws and regulations, and anything else as Native Born Americans we want to use as an excuse, you can make it here. We hear stories of these immigrants wanting a better life, not for themselves, but for their kids. They speak of the education system, health care, and most of all opportunity, opportunity, and opportunity; if one works hard enough, and is dedicated enough, they can make it. They feel it in their bones, while we are taking it for granted as our birthright. No matter your position on immigration and immigrants, our country could do well by embracing once again, the spirit of the immigrant. The burning desire to improve our lot, which will make America better for all of us. I believe we advance further and faster by raising the bottom not moving the top higher. reading your post reminded me of this article... Immigration madness -- come one, come all, no ticket needed May 3, 2006 by Tony Blankley As I watch our country almost hopelessly divided and wandering off in all sorts of wrong directions, I think of the last verse of John Milton's "Paradise Lost," when Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden: "They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld of Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand, the gate With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arms: "Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon; The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide; "They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way." Of course, all is not lost. Some years later, Milton wrote "Paradise Regained." But what a terrible journey of rediscovery was before Man, once he had foolishly succumbed to temptations that forced him to leave Eden and live amongst Satan and his servants in the outer world. I know America has not been a Garden of Eden, but for a temporal land, how wonderful it has been. And how casually we are casting off its manifold blessings. And for what future. It is almost inconceivable that an argument is taken seriously that we don't have the right to secure our borders and determine who shall enter our country. Not only has such lunacy become respectable, but our mainstream media instantly, instinctively embraces such a position. Every radio headline newscast, almost every newspaper and television report willfully refuses to distinguish between illegal and legal immigrants. Each report stamps the mark of evil on the forehead of all who would guard our borders. Even the Republican president of the United States makes the nonest of non-sequiturs, when he justifies doing nothing to enforce the border laws by claiming that these are decent humans just looking for a chance in life. Well, with the exception of the 29 percent of federal prisoners and similar numbers in state prisons, with the exception of those who seek our welfare, rather than a job -- the rest of the wayfarers are indeed far from their native lands for the most decent and best of intentions. I would guess that of the world's 6 billion or so souls -- probably about 75 percent are good and decent folks who only want the best for their children and the world. It's the same all over -- England, Mexico, America, Africa, throughout the world -- about a quarter of the population are bums, the rest are pretty good. And most of them would like to live in America. But why stop with 85 million Mexicans? For the open border crowd -- which apparently includes virtually the entire American political, media, academic and business establishment -- there is no reason to try to keep out anyone who wants to come in. (The Senate and the president have made it quite clear that they have no plans to actually secure the border. Their border security proposals are charades and calculated pretenses.) There are still about 700 million Chinese peasants waiting impatiently for a decent job; probably about an equal number of Indians. And most of the African continent could surely live better in Phoenix than they do being butchered in genocidal wars or starving in man-induced famines. What is the moral basis for discriminating against that part of suffering humanity unlucky enough to find itself not sharing a border with the good old U.S. of A.? Perhaps the Dubai Ports World company could start chartering ships to bring the rest of suffering humanity to our shores. Perhaps we have a moral obligation to tax ourselves to pay to transport to America all 4 billion or so humans who would prefer to live here, rather than where cruel fate has placed them. Surely there must be a Clinton-appointed federal judge somewhere who can provide the constitutional argument for such a mandated tax. Frankly, that last lunatic idea doesn't sound any more far-fetched than the first lunatic idea -- that we have no right to keep anyone out of the country who goes to the bother of coming here. You can't do satire in a lunatic asylum or in present-day American politics. Apparently the American establishment has finally taken to heart the teaching of Karl Marx: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. America should house and feed and educate and provide health care and employ all the world according to our ability. And surely the people of the world will provide the need. And why not? After all, it is just dumb luck that each of us finds ourselves in God-blessed America. Well, if we keep going at this rate we will soon run out of luck. But apparently we will never run out of dumb.

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 5, 2006 -> 09:56 AM) Pods still has to find his comfort zone on the basepaths. If he never goes, he'll never find it. I don't like the way he's been running either, but I know how valuable his intimidation by speed can be. It's even more intimadating in the playoffs. Pitchers get awful jittery with someone like Pods on first base in the playoffs. They rush the delivery, they worry more about the runner and the pressure gets ratched up. They know if Pods gets to second he most likely scores on a basehit. Every run is huge in the playoffs. I like all these things going thru the pitchers head when they're trying to pitch. I don't want to take that threat away. I say go Pods go.

Just park at Schallers for free. 37th and Halsted. Grab a beer with Jack and head to the game.

QUOTE(GoRowand33 @ May 4, 2006 -> 10:29 PM) maybe the sox have enough fire power this year, but I feel like the fundamentals of the team have been drowned out a bit in favor of mammoth jim thome home runs it looks good now, but I don't know if its a long term solution for the offense I think podsednik and iguchi need to get back to their strategy from last year, and act as if thome doesn't exist feel free to blast me for this, but I think I have a point Things are good. All is well. You don't need to have something to complain about. We really are a good baseball team. I mean really...complaining about hitting too many homeruns is just silly. We're built to do either....enjoy it.

That's me in the middle getting rowdy in Tucson!!

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ May 2, 2006 -> 12:26 PM) A single here ties the game. Reading thru the thread, I thought this game was over 1/2 hour ago.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 04:16 PM) Protests are very American. The Bill of Rights, which is the single greatest American idea has protesting included in the First Amendment, the most sacred of all Amendments. Creating a spanish version of the National Anthem? So what, it would be like getting in a hissy fit that a Sox game was also being shown with SAP. OMG a Sox game being announced in spanish?! Its a song, and if Mexican's want to sing our song in Spanish, then let them. They are still singing the American National Anthem, they are still showing reverence to our country. Are they willing to die for our country? I dont know, I would expect that if they were let into our country as citizens, and felt that this was their country that they would fight for it just as any other American would. As for they are coming over for only "$" that was the case of many immigrants. Well also because they were starving, being persecuted, etc. They all came to America, for something better. I wish the American govt would just allow more immigration, which would solve the problem. Most immigrants would prefer to come over legally. You equate the National Anthem with a sox game boradcast in SAP?? Are you kidding me? Maybe we should change the flag? Should we add an eagle or perhaps some green to our flag? If Mexicans wanted to change the flag would that be ok? It's just a flag...I mean we'll still call it the American flag......or maybe not.

Man that looks like an uncomfortable place to cop a squat.....

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 01:03 PM) Let me boil this down here for everyone. From the "protests" on Monday, to the "spanish Star Spangled Banner", to the pure outright saying "screw off" to our laws... See, 25 years ago, coming to America meant something. They wanted to become AMERICANS. Today, these people want to come here to become WORKERS. See the difference? They flaunt the "illegal" part, they taunt us with it, and basically it's a slap in the face to every LEGAL person here. Yet, I'll see this stupid little post defending these people. What part of this can you possibly defend? So these people pick our vegetables and shovel our s*** (or insert whatever jobs Americans supposedly won't do). It used to mean something to be an American. Now, sadly, it doesn't. Would these people be willing to die for our country? No... they just want the $$$$$$$. That's my problem with this whole thing. My wifes grandma came over from Italy in 1962. She left her husband and three kids in Italy to come to America for a better life. They couldn't all come....there was a process they followed back then. I don't know all the details, but I know a friend of a friend had to sponsor her and she had to prove she had a job lined up here. She was a seamstress so her friend had set something up for her. Her husband was able to join her after a few months of her maintaining a steady income. Then a year later they were able to have their kids(my wifes mom) come over. One of the kids is slightly retarded and he was not able to come because of that....then I guess that rule changed about a year after that and he was able to come over. That was a lot of sacrificing they did to come here the right way. My wifes father is also from Italy...He just became a citizen about 10 years ago. In talking to him he is very proud to be an American. He said he doesn't consider himself an Italian American anymore...he is an American now. They are hardworkers that came here the right way to live the American dream. Her dad is a custom woodworker. Her grandpa worked with granite and marble. Her grandma, a seamstress, who still works for a cleaners at 78 years old. They are hardworking immmigrants too and they came over the right way and proud to be here. I'm not saying the illegal immigrants don't sacrifice..I know they sacrifice greatly, sometimes with their lives. However, there are rules to be followed. You don't come to this country and make demands. You can't go into a bank and demand money. You can't go up to a building and demand a job. You can't go to McDonalds and demand food. Why is it that these people believe they can demand citizneship. That is not the way. Don't rewrite the star spangled banner and sing it in spanish to help them understand what it is to be an American. Start by telling them we have a process here....as does every coutnry including their homeland. The process has to be followed or you get deported. I heard an alderman on the news here last night saying...there were rumors among the mexican community that the police were going to arrest illegals at the protests. He wanted to assure them that will not happen. You will NOT be arrested he said. So that is where we are now. You can violate our countrys laws, but we WILL NOT arrest you for it.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 11:03 PM) Better link They seem to have dropped their web site. Have seen them many times. They ROCK!! Another one is http://www.loungepuppets.com/

On Monday, May 1, another large scale immigration rights march will be held in downtown Chicago. City agencies expect the number of marchers to be triple that of the first march held earlier this month. BOMA/Chicago members are advised to make appropriate preparations and to pass this information along to your tenants. The march is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. at Union Park, located at 1501 West Randolph Street. Smaller groups from other Chicago neighborhoods are expected to join the main group at Union Park. Marchers will proceed east on Randolph to Des Plaines Street and then turn south on Des Plaines. Marchers will continue east on Monroe Street and Jackson Boulevard simultaneously to Columbus Drive. They will turn south on Columbus and proceed to Grant Park’s Hutchinson Field at Balbo Avenue, where they are scheduled to disband. The Chicago Police Department is anticipating a peaceful rally. Nevertheless, they will deploy a full complement of resources in addition to assistance from county, state, and federal law enforcement partners. Traffic delays should be anticipated on Monday throughout the day. Traffic will be impacted not only on the march route but also on surrounding streets. There will be rolling closures of cross streets to allow marchers to pass. The following streets are expected to be closed on Monday: Grant Park Area Closures: Columbus Drive from Randolph Street to Roosevelt Road No turns off Lake Shore Drive from Monroe Street to Balbo Avenue and Jackson Boulevard Michigan Avenue from Jackson to Balbo, Monroe, and Congress Loop Reroutes: Northbound Michigan Avenue traffic will be rerouted west at Congress Parkway Southbound traffic will be rerouted west at Adams or Monroe, depending on the march route The following streets will remain open: Randolph, Roosevelt, Lake Shore Drive, and Damen Downtown buildings and tenants are encouraged to go about their normal course of business, but to prepare for traffic delays and large numbers of marchers through the rush hour. The Chicago Police Department has the following recommendations for downtown buildings: Move building security staff to forward positions so that they are more visible. Post security officers at entrances and outside. Clean and empty outdoor trash receptacles before, during, and after the march. Be prepared for marchers entering your buildings seeking restrooms and develop your own protocol for responding to such requests. If you see something, say something. Call 911 to report any suspicious or criminal activity. For more detailed information, you can download the Chicago Police Department’s press release from the BOMA/Chicago web site under the heading “What’s New” at: http://www.boma-chicago.org/advocacy/issues.

Where were all the other playmates. I always pictured the mansion with like topless women walking around 24/7....swimming, playing volleyball and such. Are you telling me BA couldn't get a game of volleyball going or at least teach them some of the finer exercising techniques of the modern day ballplayer. Running....Feet over head stretch...or HELLO...JUMPING JACKS?? Now I know why the dude keeps striking out...he has a bad approach.

Boys will be boys, it's worth Mansioning April 28, 2006 BY JOE COWLEY Staff Reporter LOS ANGELES -- It was a look I had seen before but couldn't quite place. As the White Sox players and members of the organization boarded a bus destined for the Playboy Mansion on their day off Thursday, in walked the club's manager of media relations, Pat O'Connell. He had an extra jump in his step, while his face was a mix of excitement and joy. Then it hit me. It was that same look that little Ralphie Parker had on his face as he opened his Red Ryder BB gun in the movie "A Christmas Story.'' O'Connell had good reason. After all, it was he who masterminded the latest Sox "field trip'' since the team won the World Series last season. White House, nuclear submarine, and now the Playboy Mansion. "In an offseason full of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, I was glad that I was able to contribute, and I was glad that we were able to have an enjoyable off day together at the Playboy Mansion,'' O'Connell said in perfect PR speak. He had failed to leave out that his nice, Catholic family wasn't completely elated about the idea, namely his mother, Debbie. "Well, my mom ... my dad was very proud and may have even teared up when I told him,'' O'Connell said. "My mom was less than thrilled.'' A familiar feeling, as it turned out. Most of the players and personnel who attended had to at least run it by a wife or girlfriend and explain that it was like visiting a museum. Or even like winning a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. I had one of those tickets, and I didn't even have to share some run-down shack with Grandpa Joe to get it. Hello to 'honeys' and Hef The bus ride through Beverly Hills was to be expected: assessing million-dollar houses, and center fielder Brian Anderson assessing his chances of actually leaving the mansion with a Playmate. "Just checking out the competition,'' Anderson joked as he glanced at the rest of the bus. Young, single and proud of it. This was the ultimate safari for a player who admittedly "loves the honeys.'' So as the bus rolled through the 90210 and past a playground full of kids -- yes, it was A.J. Pierzynski who yelled, "There's Michael Jackson's house'' -- it was clear that winning a World Series has its privileges. Especially when the tour guides showed up. Hugh Hefner's very own girlfriends -- as well as the three women who star in the reality show on E!, "The Girls Next Door'' -- Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. Before checking out the grounds of the 5.7-acre estate, however, the first order of business was meeting Willy Wonka himself, "Hef.'' The 80-year-old came out of the mansion in full silk sleepwear, with a Sox hat tilted to the side. From a distance, he looked like Mr. Burns goes hip-hop. Most of the whispers in the group were along the lines of, "No way can that dude still keep up with three young girls.'' Then Hef moved closer, and while the body looked a bit rusty, his face carried a certain strength to it -- a look that had a lot of life and almost said, "I know something that you don't.'' He shook hands, was presented his No. 80 jersey by pitcher Mark Buehrle, took a group photo and was off. After all, there's a lot of work involved in running a billion-dollar empire. I guess. The first stop on the tour was the pool and the infamous Grotto. The saying is, "What happens in the Grotto stays in the Grotto.'' There wasn't much that was going to happen Thursday, however. That was very obvious. Hef's backyard is part rain forest, part zoo. Birds squawking, peacocks running around. Texas-born rookie Boone Logan didn't say it, but you could tell he was thinking, "If I had my gun and no one was around, I could get me some of these birds.'' One part of the tour caught Buehrle's attention. There's a huge sloping hill in the backyard that, on every Fourth of July, has two Slip 'N' Slides put on it for the big summer blowout party. Note to general manager Ken Williams: Buehrle did not attempt to slide down the hill but is requesting this July 4 off for some reason. Anderson cools off By the time lunch was served, Madison and Marquardt said their goodbyes and headed in, obviously worn down from the overdose of testosterone. That left poor little Wilkinson by herself -- and left Anderson an opening. He played catch with the very tan, very blonde 20-year-old, even blazing a ball over her head, resembling the same courting methods a fourth-grader uses when he pulls on a classmate's pigtails. She then signed pictures for people, and, yes, she did ask me, "Does Joe have an 'e' in it?'' OK, so she's not exactly ready to break the Da Vinci Code. And how did the rest of his teammates feel about Anderson's attempts at the ultimate "honey''? Minutes later, Anderson was thrown in the pool by Buehrle, with Wilkinson the one who set him up for the attack. "Brian, you make the major-league minimum, and Hef makes that in one day,'' one teammate said. "Do you think she'll leave this mansion to come and live with you and your folks in Tucson?'' Reality is cruel at times. That was also the end of the afternoon, though the dripping-wet Anderson did get a nice robe as a consolation prize. "I will say that it was something I will never, ever get to see again,'' catcher Chris Widger said of the experience. "It was fun. But you have 30 guys standing around on a patio for 45 minutes, watching Pat O'Connell get 75 pictures taken. There might have been some better things to do on an off day.'' On the bus ride back to the hotel, almost everyone slept. Not O'Connell. He simply sat there, glowing. Ralphie had gotten his BB gun.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 26, 2006 -> 04:31 PM) I second this claim. I third it. I'm an all or nothing guy.

Immigrant boycott aims to "close" US cities By Dan Whitcomb 1 hour, 17 minutes ago LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pro-immigration activists say a nationwide boycott and marches planned for May 1 will flood Americas's streets with millions of Latinos to demand amnesty for illegal immigrants and shake the ground under Congress as it tackles reform. But while such a massive turnout could make for the largest protests since the civil rights era of the 1960s, not all Latinos, nor their leaders, were comfortable with such militancy -- fearing a backlash in Middle America. "There will be 2 to 3 million people hitting the streets in Los Angeles alone. We're going to close down Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Tucson, Phoenix, Fresno," said Jorge Rodriguez, a union official who helped organize earlier rallies credited with rattling Congress as it debates the issue. Immigration has split Congress, the Republican Party and public opinion. Conservatives want the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to be classified as felons and a fence built along the Mexican border. Others, including President George W. Bush, want a guest worker program and a path to citizenship. Most agree some reform is needed to stem the flow of poor to the world's biggest economy. "We want full amnesty, full legalization for anybody who is here (illegally)," Rodriguez said. "That is the message that is going to be played out across the country on May 1." Organizers of the May Day marches, which have strong support from big labor and the Roman Catholic church, vow that America's major cities will grind to a halt and its economy will stagger as Latinos walk off their jobs and skip school. Teachers' unions in major cities have said children should not be punished for walking out of class. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Unified School District said school principals had been told that they should not try to keep students in class but instead should walk with the children to help keep order. In Chicago, Catholic priests have helped organize protests, sending information to all 375 parishes in the archdiocese. CRITICS CHARGE INTIMIDATION Chicago activists predict that the demonstrations will draw 300,000 people -- compared to the 100,000 who turned out on March 10 to clog downtown streets. Minneapolis-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said it will close seven meatpacking plants so workers can participate. In New York, leaders of the May 1 Coalition said a growing number of businesses had pledged to close and allow their workers to attend a rally in Manhattan's Union Square. But some Latinos have expressed ambivalence about the boycott and marches, saying they could stir up anti-immigrant sentiment amid an incendiary atmosphere surrounding the issue. Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles archdiocese, who has emerged as an outspoken champion of immigrant rights -- even calling on priests to defy laws aimed at those who would help illegals -- has lobbied against a walkout. "Personally I believe we can make May 1st a 'win-win' day here in Southern California," Mahony said in a statement. "Go to work, go to school, and then join thousands of us at a major rally afterward." Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the son of a Mexican immigrant who has long fought for immigrant rights, has taken a low profile on the issue. A Villaraigosa spokeswoman said the mayor expects protesters to be "lawful and respectful" and wants children to stay in school. Critics have accused pro-immigrant leaders of stirring up uninformed young Latinos by telling them that their parents were in imminent danger of being deported and accuse them of trying to bully Congress. "It's intimidation," Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman volunteer border patrol group, said of the May 1 events. "It's intimidation when a million people march down main streets in our major cities under the Mexican flag." "It angers the people you are trying to impress," he said. "This will backfire just like the Mexican flag parades backfired." (Additional reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman in Los Angeles, Dan Trotta in New York and Michael Conlon in Chicago)

QUOTE(valponick @ Apr 26, 2006 -> 10:20 AM) This is probably a stupid question but I have Comcast cable right now (absolutely hate it) and we'd like to switch to a dish. Can I still get the games on CSN with the dish? I'd like to switch to Direct TV so I can get the NFL ticket, so if anyone that has Direct TV can help me out and let me know what I need to order to be able to still watch the Sox I'd appreciate it. Yes you get comcast with DirectTV. Channel 640

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Apr 25, 2006 -> 10:06 PM) Anybody else notice Katharines wardrobe "oops"? She started walking, you could see the dress lose a button, and then we were treated to a quick glimpse of what was underneath. I said to my wife "well, we know what will be all over the internet tomorrow" to which she replied "her underwear", so I know I was not imagining it. For that alone Kat should go on to the top spot. My daughter, who is 8 remember, asked during Kellie's performance "shouldn't she atleast act like she is interested". My kid rocks. I knew I saw that!!! I also thought she did a hell of a job and I don't know what the hell the judges were talking about. For all of them to rip on it...seems to me it was premeditated.

....Don't take life too serious. You'll never escape it alive anyway. Go Sox!!

QUOTE(SouthSidePride05 @ Apr 25, 2006 -> 01:51 PM) My sister's family just moved to the Chicagoland area, and they had been living in North Dakota for the past 10 years. My brother in law was happy to move back to Chicago because he's a big sports fan, but what bothers me the most is he thinks it's ok to be both a Cubs and Sox fan. He thinks everyone in Chicago follows both teams and just jumps on the bandwagon of the team that's playing better. I went over to their house recently for my nephew's birthday and the kid was wearing a Cubs hat. Then later that week my bro in law took me to a Sox game, and he had nothing nice to say about the experience. It pissed me off because he was ripping on everything from "This is a shame, this place should be full on a half price night" to "So many people here are way too drunk, this is ridiculous". On the drive home, we passed a beat up car full of high school students who were mostly hammered and making a scene, and he said "I guarantee those losers were at the game". Overall, he had a bad experience and even commented something about there's nothing like historic Wrigley. He also thought it was "retarded" that the crowd booed Cub fans dressed in Cub gear. He just doesn't get it. He follows both teams and flips between the 2 when they're on tv at the same time. Should I give up? Or is there a way I can convince him to pick 1 team. He keeps forgetting that I hate the Cubs and thinks I follow them too; I'm just a Sox fan because they're the World Champs. The whole family's driving me crazy.. and to think I have to babysit again tonight! It just sounds to me like he is a Cubs fan. Let him wallow in his own misery.

You know it was just a matter of time before him and his boyz were gonna kick everyones asses for making fun of them. I think the mods saved us all a world of pain. I mean did you see those headbands ....those are some bad dudes.

Law or lynch law? Apr 25, 2006 by Thomas Sowell People who were not within 1,000 miles of Duke University have already taken sides in the case of a stripper who has accused Duke lacrosse players of rape. One TV talk show hostess went ballistic when a guest on her program raised questions about the stripper's version of what happened. Apparently we dare not question accusations of rape when it involves the new sacred trinity of race, class, and gender. Media irresponsibility is one thing. Irresponsibility by an agent of the law is something else -- and much more dangerous. Prosecutors are not just supposed to prosecute. They are supposed to prosecute the right people in the right way. In this case, prosecutor Michael Nifong has proceeded in the wrong way. Having an accuser or a witness pick out the accused from a lineup is standard procedure. That procedure not only serves to identify someone to be charged with a crime, it also tests the credibility of the accuser or witness -- or it should, if the lineup is not stacked. A lineup should include not only people suspected of a crime but also other people, so that it tests whether the accuser or witness can tell the difference, and is therefore credible. But the stripper who claimed to have been raped by members of the Duke lacrosse team was presented with a lineup consisting exclusively of photographs of members of the lacrosse team. In other words, whoever she picked out had to be a lacrosse player and would be targeted, with no test whatever of her credibility, because there was no chance for her to pick out somebody who had no connection with the team or the university. Apparently District Attorney Nifong was no more wiling to test the accuser's credibility than was the TV talk show hostess who went ballistic, though credibility is often crucial in rape cases. Mr. Nifong went public with his having DNA evidence collected. Then, after the DNA failed to match that of the accused, the students were arrested anyway and their bail was set at $400,000 -- in a community where a youth accused of murder had bail set at $50,000. When a prosecutor acts like he has made up his mind and doesn't want to be confused by the facts, that is when the spirit of the lynch mob has entered the legal system. When this happens on the eve of an election for the prosecutor, it looks even uglier. If the young men accused of rape are in fact guilty, they need to be proved guilty because they are guilty, not because an election is coming up or there is racial hype in the media or a legally stacked deck. More important, we need to know that the rule of law is there for all of us, regardless of who we are or who our accuser might be. Even beyond this case, we are increasingly becoming a society in which some people are allowed to impose high costs on other people at little or no cost to themselves. This sets the stage for extortion, not only of money but also of legal plea-bargains extorted by ambitious prosecutors. The stripper, for example, does not even pay the price of having her name known, while the names and pictures of the accused young men are all over the media. Even if they are acquitted, or the charges thrown out of court, this case will follow them and they will be under a cloud for the rest of their lives. Mr. Nifong has said that he has a third person whom he may indict. If so, he has already demonstrated to that third person what he can do by disgracing the other two and putting a heavy financial burden on their families for bail and lawyers. If that third person cannot stand the disgrace or his family cannot afford the expense, that is leverage for getting him to say whatever the prosecutor wants him to say. This case presents opportunities as well as pressures. Race hustlers are having a field day, including the inevitable Jesse Jackson. A fellow stripper who was at the same party sees in this an opportunity -- in her own words -- to "spin this to my advantage." The biggest opportunity that this case presents is for District Attorney Michael Nifong to win his election, even if the case falls apart later and the law is cheapened by all this.

QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Apr 24, 2006 -> 12:58 PM) I prefer to write my spoilers in invisible ink like this: (highlight to read) Finn's getting a visitor soon! WAITING for the analysis???

QUOTE(Whitewashed in '05 @ Apr 24, 2006 -> 10:53 PM) I disagree. IF you are going to buy from a major distributer you should probably go Dell. At one of my jobs they have been buying Dell's for the past 3 years. A couple hundred each year and every once in a while you get a bad one. The people who had trouble with their Dells is just one computer out of how many they build? While it does suck to have the bad one (I know from experience) they don't totally suck. Gateways to me are crap. At least the older ones. Before they started buying Dells there were all Gateways at my job and I'll tell you those are crap. I don't know about now, but the s*** I have to go through because of how poorly these machines are designed left me with no confidence in them at all. As far as tech support, how many companies don't have tech support overseas. That is weird though, anytime I call Dell it's always in the U.S. that might be because they have gold tech support though... My recommendation for whichever way you go is make sure you don't get a machine that's already maxed out on everything. In reality I would wait til the next O/S, but if you can't then make sure you get something for the future that the new O/S will be able to handle. I work with Dells. It is all we purchase here. I've had to deal with support many times. Gold support is definitely better than standard. You will be talking to someone in India with standard. Gold will get you an American that knows what they are doing. We purchase about 50 machines per year and have been using dell for the last 5 years. I have very few problems with their machines and their gold support is terrific. If you know how to build one and want to gear it towards gaming...then go for it. If you don't know what you're doing....it's not worth it.

Now that loaction will be cursed. If you own wrigley field it's pretty much set in stone you will not win the game.

What is considered Middle Class nowadays?? Anyone have any info?