Soxbadger

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 02:04 PM) That deadspin article was great. I know it was a joke but it makes you think. Right now America is like Gordon Beckham of last season. Or DeAza of this season. Really very very very little about it makes you think anything positive is going on. Horrific leadership in government. Horrific economy. Terrible crime rate of American nutjobs killing innocent Americans, making us look very bad internationally and nationally, and pretty much nobody caring about doing anything about it. A Godless loud minority effectively silencing those who believe, pretty much making believers shut up when they would like to talk about morals and values and pleasing the higher power. Horrific business leaders who have set the trend of laying off hordes of people just so they can staff unpaid interns and/or parttimers who get no benefits. Horrible healthcare system that even s***s on the U.S. veterans. Right now the USA is trending down down down. Can the USA pick it up as Beckham has and start inching upward? Good luck to us all. Hillary's not going to lead the change parade to greatness as she fulfills her destiny of being awarded the presidency which people feel is owed her for some reason. Obama has jumped the shark in that regard in that he's thrown up his hands against the assholes in congress. God bless us all as we try to prove the odds wrong and pull a Beckham like recovery out of nowhere. Simple put, you are wrong. Today is "World Day Against Child Labor", completely irrelevant, but there is a great quote by a photographer Lewis Hine, "“Perhaps you are weary of child labor pictures. Well, so are the rest of us, but we propose to make you and the whole country so sick and tired of the whole business that when the time for action comes, child labor pictures will be records of the past.” So you need perspective. The reality is, never has it been better in society than it is right now in the US. Sometimes I stay up at night and I worry that I will have lived in the golden age of civilization. That the this time period will be like the Renassaince, sandwiched by cruelty and horror on each side. The United States is in no way perfect, nothing ever will be, but it is the best that we have right now. And so every day the hope is we get a little better. But ultimately that begs the question "What is better?" And that is what is great about America, we can argue about it. We dont have to stand lock, stock and barrel in agreement. You can believe the most absurd idiotic thing because its your right. And sometimes that will bite us in the ass, and sometimes people will use their talent, ability, to wrong other people. But you know what, other people will use their talent and ability to do good. So its up to us. But its not going to be easy. There are going to be tragedies, there is going to be suffering, heartache, misery. Thats the only certainty in life, that it always ends sad. So you push forward, not because any of this matters (it doesnt), not because you have to, not because you want to, but because the simple truth is that when you run the numbers, every single human life is so exceptionally rare, that we should do everything in our power to give everyone the chance to enjoy it.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 11:47 AM) I think you're missing some points somewhere. Don't forget it's 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie. Woops yeah, I was doing 2 for a win 1 for a tie. ill edit

So basically the goal differential of the Ghana game is important. If I was to predict, I would say that the US has a slight advantage with their schedule as its possible Germany wins their first 2 games and then only needs a draw to advance as the top seed. In that scenario the US would only have to beat Ghana and tie Portugal the end result would be: 1. Germany 7 pts 2. US 5 pts 3. Portugal 4 4. Ghana 0 (The above scenario has Portugal beating Ghana.)

I have a strange optimism about this team. They are not the most technical team, but they are extremely fit. As long as they can keep games close, they should have opportunities. I think the most counter-attack strategy they used against Nigeria is going to be the key.

So here is my rant. Do people not realize that in a free society bad things are going to happen? That the whole entire point of freedom is giving people the choice to make good or bad decisions. That is what being part of a free country is. So even if I think I am right, that I have the best answers, everyone else in America is free to disagree. I hate f***ing defeatists and their mindless followers.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 08:03 AM) USA: You realize we're a lost cause, right? Not just our soccer team. They're gonna lie down like Obi Wan this month. I'm talking about the whole country. I'm talking about the IDEA of America. It's hopeless. That whole thing about being a shining beacon of freedom to the rest of the world? GONE. Never coming back. You don't live in a free country. You live in a paranoid surveillance state oligarchy where people gun each other down in broad daylight completely at random. And you know something? It's never going to get better. Ever. The violence will escalate. Income inequality will widen. Twenty years from now, there will be one trillionaire (Donald Sterling) and 350 million people working as his personal wage slaves. Local infrastructure will deteriorate. People will forsake work and the duties of citizenship in favor of fighting unwinnable flame wars—digital arguments that increasingly have NOTHING TO DO with how people actually deal with one another in real life. Good ideas will be discarded because they're too expensive or because some dips*** company already has a vague patent on it and will do nothing with it but sue forever. Your house will be swept away in a Category 12 Nor'Eastercane. It's OK to admit that it's over. Go ahead. Say it to yourself: America is no longer worth the effort. Feels good, doesn't it? Feels freeing. Finally, we can stop HOPING. We can be adults about this and accept the fact that AMERICA WILL DIE. And the worst part is that your cable bill will, like, double when it happens. http://screamer.deadspin.com/the-hater-s-g...-cup-1588867715 Mr. Madison, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul. Seriously we are all dumber now.

No one has the answer. Even the most adamant gun control advocate has to concede that banning/limiting guns will at best only limit the damage that can be inflicted by any single individual. There is no set of rules that can stop bad things from happening. There is no way to predict who will do a bad thing. So ultimately there must be some acceptance that bad things are going to happen no matter what we try and do. In my heart of hearts I believe that if we banned guns, there would be less deaths from violence. I could be right, I could be wrong, but its just all talking points because most people dont really want to accept the random nature of existence.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 09:22 AM) The exact same thing can be used to describe many Christians. Im not sure that they are actually Christians then. In order to be a Christian you have to believe in things like Jesus, etc. The closest comparison to atheist is a deist, and a deist would not be a Christian.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 04:45 PM) Come on, you guys keep using these terrible analogies to topics that have nothing to do with the origin of man. That's a huge component of what is/is not "religious." Believing or not believing in evolution does not make you a Christian or an atheist. Perhaps you meant the beginning of the universe? And in that respect, I have no answer. It is possible that human intelligence is so limited that we will never be able to truly understand the universe or its beginning.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 04:12 PM) You're ignoring that people like Dawkins want to change people's minds. It's not just what he personally believes, he's trying to start a movement (and has for a while). That's my point. In that sense, it's just as much of a religion as Christianity. It's going beyond a mere belief into something of a practice based on those beliefs. Im not ignoring him at all. You said "just as much as", when I think you meant to say "to some atheism is the equivalent of a religion like Christianity". Which is true.

Rock, 1 person can create a religion. But almost all definitions of "religion" accept that there is some sort of structure/rules for people to follow, even if it is just 1 person.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 03:45 PM) They all believe different things about them though. I dont see what the relevance is. Some people may follow atheism in a religious structure, not sure how that is relevant to anything. The comment was atheism is as much as a religion as Christianity, which is simply not true. By definition I am an atheist, but there is no "religion" that I subscribe to. The reason is that my belief is not immutable. It is my best attempt at an answer today, but it does not define me at all. Its entirely irrelevant to who I am. Its no more important than any of my other ideas.

The point of what exactly? Just because someone agrees on an idea does not make them part of the same religion. Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael.

Religion is more than a belief in something. I believe in nothing, thats not a religion. I dont follow any system, there arent any rules, there is no structure. There is no way to follow it, its just a conclusion after going over all of the possible ideas that my human brain can comprehend. Could my belief become a religion? Sure if people start to follow it, if there is some sort of structure given to it etc, but just "believing in something" isnt enough.

Civil marriage makes sense from a paperwork standpoint. Probably saves some legal fees (or creates haha). As for polygamy, I dont really care. Only issue is you just have to create fractional spousal share for things, but that shouldnt be difficult. Also have both wifes/husbands sign in agreement, so that there is no future argument that they didnt understand. As for brother-sister, I think that there is some science behind their children being more likely to suffer defects. But I guess when pressed about the issue I just dont care.

This thread makes me laugh. I was out last night so I didnt see the game. I misread the first post and thought Ventura pulled Sale and people were complaining the Sox took their best pitcher out at 108 pitch count.

Reus out for Germany.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/06/g...kusaolp00000592 This has always been one of my favorite counter-arguments.

We already know that Jesus > guns.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-sea...0,4893281.story Pepper Spray and courage beats gun.

In strange coincidences : http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/b...0,6753631.story Its possible that one of the people involved with Slenderman lived within blocks of the stabbing.

I assume Rock is referring to Rondo and not talking about it before the draft

No AC in the building. That is just messed up.

Not about money. About the fact that historically speaking the Sox stay away from Boras prospects in the draft. Im trying to think of anyone after Bobby Seay who the Sox drafted and was Boras. I know Crede was but Im not sure if he was Boras when drafted.

Part of me feels that with the Cubs picking behind the Sox, the Sox were a little more willing to go big and not have to answer questions about being cheap or avoiding Boras.