Jake

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 15, 2012 -> 09:28 AM) I don't think this is true. As the constitution was written, and for decades after, the role of the federal government was still in dispute. The goal of the constitution was to create the general rules for the emerging nation of collective states. There's a reason it was called the United States of America and not just America. Individual states wanted to retain the majority of the control over its land/citizens. But over 250+ years later that distinction has eroded more and more. I think his main point was that there is a general movement towards the strengthening of federal government. This isn't authoritarianism or communism (which, by the way, is meant to be zero government) but rather reflective of our changing world. There are fewer and fewer things that only concern the local. This is why the Constitution had to settle the issue of every state having their own currency -- states' rights, woo!! No -- some things can't be left to the states to decide not because Illinois can't make decisions, but because 51 different decisions are not compatible in a world where even national boundaries are easily crossed. State and local governments play an integral role in implementing national policy and can still make decisions that it actually makes sense to make. Does my hometown, Pontiac, need to boost funding to fill in some potholes? Sure, we won't run that one by the President. In 1850, interstate travel was near crazy talk unless there was a very particular and important reason. Now, the federal government necessarily manages the interstate highway system because we cross state borders all the time and honestly, nobody outside of Texas really gives a s*** about what state they live in. The most irksome part of this is that states' rights arguments are almost always made in context of social regulations. We continually leave civil and human rights arguments to the states, like the rights of racial minorities, women, gays, etc. should really vary locally. Bulls***! Likewise, we have a complete clusterf*** with the marijuana issue now. Not only are we now allowing states to make decisions on this, we are letting them make decisions that directly contradict the federal law. In this case, we need to first remove the federal restriction and yield to the states. Further down the line, the federal government needs to make a decision on it once people are more comfortable with the idea. Unfortunately, given the current setup, the only legal thing the federal government can do is crack down on all these violators of federal law in the states. The system is s***. This also applies to all this BS like alcohol regulations -- in one state, kids can drink under parent supervision, in another you can have an open container in your car, in another you can't buy it on Sunday, somewhere else you can only sell certain types of alcohol in certain locations. That's stupid, there is no good reason for that to be different every place you go. Etc.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 15, 2012 -> 10:31 AM) I'd say that Pat Buchanan does adequately sum up why Republicans aren't getting the minority vote, just not in the way he intended. I agree. He makes the perfect argument as to why the Republicans are wrong on these issues -- and not just why they aren't getting votes. The premise of "equal opportunity" is that systematically disadvantaged groups, particularly immigrants and the group of people that we enslaved then segregated for 200 years, will get assistance from the system that oppressed them to rise out of being oppressed. They're not "takers," they just want a chance. When you have such huge portions of a race that are poor by the fault of your government, it is the responsibility of that government to help them and particularly to help them out of poverty. The vast majority of these people are willing to work to change their situation so getting preached at by the Republicans about how they are either "takers" or simply need to work hard and everything will be better doesn't resonate -- they DO try. I would even contest that we contribute to the culture of non-effort as well by providing so little to get these people out of poverty. If the school sucks, the neighborhood sucks, there is no money, no medical care, no positive influence at all...where is the impetus to hope? If you've never seen a successful person, you may be skeptical that it is possible to be one. This is why there has been measurable success in public housing initiatives that don't simply stuff a building/neighborhood with poor people and instead integrate poor into middle and higher income areas. Unfortunately, neither party will really address the war on drugs but the R party has become synonymous with it. When your dad or your brother or whomever you know is a fine human being is locked up or otherwise impeded due to what should be minor drug charges, you're probably going to vote for whoever will change that. More importantly, the fact that we're doing it is just yet another factor that puts roadblocks in the way of a successful generation of people and of course is another factor that leads to systematic racial disadvantage. Poor people tend to go to prison for drugs. We have made minority groups disproportionately poor. Now you have prison populations that hold more black men than we ever enslaved and an overall prison population that exceeds the height of Stalin's prison era. Not to mention all this s*** is a waste of money.

Take the Skyfall talk to the Films Thread

I don't think this applies to sports where most of our admiration applies to the athletes' merit, but FWIW in the field of media studies it is a pretty well regarded theory that years of movies and TV with the absence of non-whites was an alienating phenomenon for minorities. The idea isn't so much that minorities need their own "heroes" or genres (BET), but when people that look and act like you aren't given the treatment of the normal person, it is harder to drink the kool-aid of pop culture. I forget the name of the film, but because the black maid in the movie was given a somewhat developed character, the film really took off as far as black viewership -- most people look back and see that as confirmation of that theory. But...I don't think this applies to the Minnesota Timberwolves. I like Kirk Hinrich. Is it because he's white? Maybe. I love Derrick Rose. Is it in spite of his blackness? No...he's a great player and I actually think there's something really cool about him and part of it is the cultural blackness he has: the way he talks, etc.

I checked Kayak again just to see if other cheap flights have come up...but actually the opposite has happened. The very flight I purchased for 144 is now 282. Some kind of luck I have!

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 02:55 PM) I hope when hyperinflation hits, it only affects you. How do you like that? lol!

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 03:56 PM) I had no idea Frank Thomas was black, otherwise I would have never cheered for him.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 12:51 PM) you must break her of this as I have broken my wife! I read this as: QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 12:51 PM) you must break her off as I have broken my wife!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 11:39 AM) how long is she going to be in town for? I've fit a week and a half's worth of outdoor cold weather work clothes, boots, hardhat, laptop and tools into a carry-on and backpack before. Until the 8th IIRC. She's a dainty one, she'll probably have a bag dedicated to just makeup, hair straightener, face wash, lotion, yadda yadda

When you choose to block someone, the things they post are not "behind your back." They are under your nose. Not to say you should be replying to them, but it isn't by any means sneaky or anything like that. Now carry on

Yeah, this is just a fun hypothetical exercise. There's no way they'll get enough support to even begin a legislative move on this stuff.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 12:11 PM) Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick Torii Hunter had a .389 batting average on balls in play in 2012. His career BABIP is .307 in 1,947 games. #tigers In other words, you better hope that giant jump is due to Mike Trout being on base and a HOFer being behind him. If it was just luck, you're going to see those numbers drop. Let's be real though -- Jackson Hunter (I guess they'll put him here?) Cabrera Fielder VMart That's a pretty good start to a lineup if they all play as they expect.

While I doubt it would be good if it happened (and let's be real, there's zero chance of that. The POTUS would have to go around and personally rape every wife in the land to stir up that much hate at this point), there couldn't be better states to lose, right? Texas would hurt the most, they actually contribute value to the country, even if none of it is cultural

Just bit on a deal. American Airlines from MEM to ORD to BMI (Bloomington-Normal which is closer to me than Chicago). $144 + 5% cash back on my Chase Freedom Card. I don't know why it hadn't shown me this flight before, but it was unbelievably cheap and I bought it right away. She'll probably end up paying $25 to check a bag, but who cares. So happy I don't have to spend my entire XMas gift fund on this damn flight, lol. Thanks for the help guys.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 05:55 AM) If you're not a fan of federalism, you're a communist? In America, yes...conservatives have been saying this about anything liberal since the 30s

Couldn't find my phone and decided I might not have left it in my room as per usual. Pulled up Find My iPhone and saw that it was in a common space (I work as an area supervisor in a dormitory) and then I locked it as some kids were trying to post stuff from my facebook. Boom, cool stuff

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 09:00 PM) Anger isnt very becoming. Luke 12:48 and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. From a practical standpoint, if the US was to go completely bankrupt and money was worth nothing, who loses more, the guy on the street with nothing but debt, or the billionaire? Its actually in their best interest to help fix the US economy, they have more to lose. No no no, using the Bible as backing to support policy or moral beliefs only counts when it serves the God-loving Republicans

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 08:03 PM) That right there is what's f***ed up about the Union of Socialist Republics, er, I mean the United States of Socalism, er, I mean the United States of America today. If you want to dismiss the very core of what the Constitution is about, I'll just start calling you comrade. Times have changed. As time goes on, things become too interconnected to have everyone doing things 51 different ways. I certainly believe that the Constitution, as currently interpreted by the Supreme Court and amended by the USA, is the law of the land. However, as an amendable document, I believe it needs to be changed to suit a changing world or it will just help drag down the country it rules over. States are good at running debt, f***ing up national elections, withholding civil rights, etc. People hate bureaucracy but the federal-state-local system is like the worst kind of bureaucracy in which no levels care about the directives sent out by the other. In terms of a topic by topic evaluation, how can you look at this (or others) Presidential election and not see that things need to be made uniform across the states? Obviously the states will have to carry it out, but they need to all be doing things the exact same way with the exact same rules and in a manner that provides an easily countable, trustworthy result. Right now it is a giant clusterf*** that is at least partly influenced by state-local partisanship and the other part caused by mere incompetence.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 09:42 PM) 12/27? Close to the holidays like that, there won't be a ton of deals coming. I'm trying to decide if AirTran doesn't have a flight for that day (or within 3 days either direction) or if they are actually sold out already.

Every time you let states run anything, they f*** it up. These national elections need to have national oversight and legislation to enforce it.

People are getting really worked up about the debt and they won't wait much longer for progress before just electing other people that are willing to fix it immediately instead of waiting for economic recovery to boost revenues/cut entitlements

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 04:24 PM) I wish they sold the chocolate bock by itself. 2 in a twelve pack isn't enough. I think they have it available in some alternate way. Check out their website for more details, including every place you can buy it

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 02:31 PM) That depends. When is the date of the first flight? Typically - and this can vary a lot - flight prices bottom out about 3-4 weeks prior. Then inside 3 weeks they go up, then again at 2 weeks, and 1 week. But, there is a small percentage of them that go into wholesale mode during the week before. I wouldn't depend on that, though. Our target date is 12/27 for departure (we're driving back, so it's one way) I checked my credit statements from last year and I bought a ticket on 11/30 for an 12/27 flight for $185 a year ago. Not sure if that will hold up or not. It was AirTrain to Bloomington-Normal (BMI) -- so far the cheapest I see are to MDW and not BMI via AirTran

I just can't believe that Nate Robinson can average 15 points a game for a team that will probably finish over .500

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 01:20 PM) Except those people could go on the state insurance exchanges. I talked to my dad, apparently he is pretty sure those people are just going to pay the tax. lol