YASNY

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 11:38 AM) That would be an absolutely massive improvement over the "you're on your own" that we've given that area thus far, or the original floated ideas, such as putting either Karl Rove or FEMA in charge of the rebuilding efforts. The rules would have to be pretty darn stringent so as to make sure that the land wasn't being sold on the cheap or bought at incredibly high prices in order to enrich some politician's cronies, but it could work very well if done fairly. You are talking about New Orleans, which is in the state of Louisiana. The odds of being able to pull this off without the local politicians getting their grubby little hands in the pot are almost nonexistant.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 11:35 AM) But you see, for an insurance system to actually work and be affordable for everyone, those are precisely the people that need to be in the insurance pool, because without them, insurance really falls apart. You need the 20 year old healthy person in the insurance pool for it to work properly. Without that, you're left with an inexorable climb in insurance costs, as higher insurance costs push more of those who are at limited risk out of the insurance pool, which pushes the insurance cost higher because the pool is smaller, which pushes even more people out of the insurance pool, and eventually you wind up with the system we're starting to approach...where only the sick have insurance. Unions and health care through work have delayed the approach to that state, but now that those systems are breaking down rapidly, that's what we're really closing in on. You've got some valid points here, but government can't seem to to manage anything correctly. Putting our health care system in the hands of the government scares my even more than mess we currrently have.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 11:07 AM) I find myself agreeing with a lot of the previous post, and I have 1 thing to add to it... If Brandon McCarthy can be as dominating of a pitcher as I think he can be, and as good as he looked at the end of last season...think about this. Out of the Bullpen and working spot-start duty, he might be able to work in 60-90 innings depending on everyone's exact health. If he's in the starting rotatino, he'd probably pitch around 200 innings. By placing him in the bullpen, we're losing a lot of potentially very good innings from the kid. We would get some valuable innings out of him to be sure, but compared with what he could do as a starter, he'd be spending a lot of time on the bench. If BMac could do waht he did at the end of last year, the more innings he pitches the better off we are. Then again, because he's not quite as filled out as he's going to be, and therefore does not have the muscle structure he will eventually have, those extra innings could be detrimental to BMac in the long term.

QUOTE(Wong & Owens @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 11:25 AM) Here's a true story: A neighbor of mine from when I was growing up, Mom is the devoutest(is that a word?) catholic I have ever known, dad is also religious but not quite as fervent. They had 8 kids, one of which came out of the closet about 2 years ago. We grew up on the south side, and this guy now lives on the north side and won't ever show his face down south again, for obvious reasons. He tried dating girls for years, and it just didn't take, and he was never molested or raped in his life-- he had a pretty average south side catholic upbringing. Two points: 1) if you don't think homosexuality is genetically based/influenced/directly caused, you're ignorant and you only believe what you want to believe. 2) regardless of what "made" him gay, is the fact that he likes to suck dick(on his own time, in his own home, etc) worth treating him like s*** to the point that 1)His family has mainly disowned him, 2)he's afraid to appear in the neighborhood he grew up in for fear of ridicule or worse, 3)most of his childhood friends ditched him? If your answer is yes, then you suck and can go to hell. Did someone piss in your Cheerios this morning?

The miners left notes for their family members saying that they didn't suffer and they just were going to fall asleep and they'd see their loved ones on the other side.

QUOTE(mreye @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 10:39 AM) Maybe you're right, but apparently more than one person was offended personally. I'm not a "rapist apologist". I am deeply offended by the actions of the church in some of these cases, but I am also offended by someone saying: If you want to f*** kids join the preisthood. All priests are not pedophiles. It's a stereotypical statement that wouldn't fly in any other case and IMO shouldn't fly here - Fillibuster or not. The Church was an enabling these particular pedophile priests to continue their sick practices, at the expense of the children of the faithful, may I add. This is an undeniable fact and it had been occuring for decades, at least.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 10:13 AM) The 86 and 87 team are a lot like the 2005 team. Great defense, and no passing game. McMahon was hurt half of those seasons and Tomczak played a lot. Flutie alone was not going to give the Bears anymore championships. Flutie played well in Canada because the competition is a joke. It is like the World League. He couldn't find a job in the NFL, so he went North. He is a great guy and a scrappy QB, but if he was that much of a difference maker he would have been starting in the NFL a lot longer than he did. Agreed. I've always enjoyed watching Flutie play, but he wasn't going to take an NFL to the promised land. That "buffoon Jim McMahon" did accomplish that.

By rule, Kenny can't say "We need Tejada."

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 09:23 AM) This week will be the test for SI. If they put the NCAA National Championship game or Texas on the front cover, then you know they are full of s***. The Sox won the WS on Wednesday, and the title game actually ended on Thursday morning EST, so it actually ended later than the Sox win. Also, the Red Sox had back to back issues in 2004, one in the WS, and one after their win. Oh, they'll feature UT big time.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 10:19 AM) Hey, wow, YASNY understands that there's a difference. Thanks! You don't have to sound so totally shocked!

Wow. I hate to offend anybody, but this a subject that is a powder keg. The way I'm seeing this discussion is that LCR, Mr. Kickass and FlaSoxxJim are condemning some of the policies of the institution of the Catholic Church, and not the faith or the religion as a whole. The Church, throughout history, has done an uncalculable amount good and compassionate deeds. Conversely, the Church has history of spilling a lot of blood, corruption, using the name of Christ to serve it's own policies and politics.

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 12:31 AM) From Washington Post: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke Wednesday night and was rushed into surgery to relieve what doctors described as significant bleeding in his brain. Officials from Sharon's office said his condition was life-threatening, and religious leaders called on Israelis to pray for him. I heard that one of the doctors described Sharon's condition as "grave".

I only have two words to say about this stuff. BO GUS

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 4, 2006 -> 12:50 PM) Is it me or is that a really fair signing. Obviously the contract has incentives for the 3 option years that could push it up, but I'm sure they are the type of incentives that if he reaches it, it would be well worth paying him that money. 4 mill for 25 HR and 90 RBI, albeit a million strikeouts ain't too bad. Well considering Burnitz is supposedly considering a 2yr 12 mill deal from the Pirates. If both parties signed it, it's fair ... by definition.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 4, 2006 -> 12:47 PM) I can see it now "Sources at Soxtalk.com report Migueal Tejada was aquired for Joe Borchard, Arnie Munoz and Kris Honel. The deal is dependent on physicals." We got robbed!

QUOTE(Steff @ Jan 4, 2006 -> 10:55 AM) I agree that there is sloppy reporting.. I just don't agree that happened in this case. An interview was being conducted live when some idiot ran up and screamed "they are alive.. they are alive.. (sic)!!". And bells started ringing and people were jumping up and down... The police should have had the area roped off to anyone NOT of authority so NO news could have gotten out at all. Wouldn't have helped in the case of the moron Gov. though.. :headshake I totally agree with you. They reported what was happening at the scene. The media didn't tell the families their loved ones were alive, the families told the media. The Governor got caught up in the emotion of the moment ... stop and think ... it was result everybody was hoping for at the time. However, in his position, he should have made damn sure before he repeated the rumor.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 4, 2006 -> 11:00 AM) Well, he'd sure cost a lot less than Matsui, and even though his production would probably be worse, it wouldn't be THAT much worse. LOL. That's a damn good point.

QUOTE(GreatScott82 @ Jan 4, 2006 -> 11:09 AM) A good friend speculated an interesting trading scenario in regards to Prior. He claims that the Cubs will indeed trade Prior and prospects to the Orioles for Tejada out of vulnerbility from being the 'new' 2nd team in town And since the Orioles would be worried about Priors health they would ship him to the White Sox for Jose Contreras and a couple of mid-level prospects. So the Orioles would get about 5-6 solid prospects out of these moves plus Contreras in which they can trade during the midseason for even more prospects. Lets face it the Orioles are going to re-build. And the Orioles KNOW Contreras is healthy and are questioning Priors health. CAN you guys imagine Prior on the Sox?!?! It would ruin the Cubs forever! Prior, Buerhle, Garland, Garcia, Vazquez, McCarthy = WOAH!!!!!!!! Hey in Kenny you never know Remember folks ... the key word in this post is "speculated". It's interesting and worth discussion just for the sake of discussion. But this doesn't even qualify as a longshot.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2006 -> 12:15 PM) It's amazing to me, but very few people outside that region (and many people inside it) forget about New Madrid. That fault (runs SSW to NNE from NE Arkansas thru to southern IL) is highly likely to produce significant quakes sometime in the next fifty years. Last time it had a big break, it was such a huge quake that it re-directed the Mississippi River and shook bells in Boston (happened around 1811). It was probably the most powerful quake in U.S. history. I lived in Memphis for a few years, and I made sure to have an earthquake rider on my homeowner's policy. That city is completely unprepared for such a thing, and I'm glad I left before it happened (there is only one large building in Memphis built to withstand any sort of tremors: Autozone HQ). If a quake anything close to 1811 happened today, the disaster in Memphis and STL would make Katrina look like child's play. Those quakes (there were 3, I think) not only rang church bells in Boston, but it changed the course of the Mississippi River, made the river run backward and created Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. I read some eyewitness accounts and it was pretty amazing. The quakes basically rearranged the landscape in the area. Ponds became mud and fish covered hills. Hills disappeared. Etc.

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Jan 4, 2006 -> 02:42 AM) Sounds like it's just the opposite. Only 1 survived. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10682163/ Very sad news indeed. RIP to all. Those poor people have been through hell. My prayers go out to them.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 3, 2006 -> 11:32 PM) bring the search function back to see how many times "homo" got censored. Stop arguing. It's against the rules and it will stay that way.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Jan 3, 2006 -> 04:03 PM) Yeah but that one can go both ways depending on whose telling the story which makes it kind of dumb. Only if a Cubs fan is telling it.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 3, 2006 -> 08:11 AM) I haven't decided on the name yet. I was considering staying southsider2k5 or switching to Madison2k5... Maybe I need a highly unscientific poll to help me decide Go with your daughter. That's very cool.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 2, 2006 -> 04:16 PM) Sadly, if it was me that was collapsed on the floor, I know my cats would only rise to the occassion like this if they first checked their food bowls and decided they would run out of food before my wife came home. Otherwise i don't think they'd bother saving me. Non-liberal cats?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 3, 2006 -> 11:18 AM) Even if Anderson turns into a bust (which i still highly doubt), think about this: we're not counting on Brian Anderson to be an amazingly important cog in our offense, not yet anyway. Rowand wasn't a huge key to our offense last year, and even if Anderson has a terrible year, his production won't be a massive downgrade from Rowand last year. Meanwhile, we have massively upgraded our offense in the 3-4 slots by getting a left handed power bat with a very high OBP (so that Konerko can drive in a few extra runs when he kills a ball). We're also hoping Iguchi can produce more runs next year simply because he won't need to hit the ball to right field every time he's up with men on, and AJP had frankly his worst season with the bat since he reached the major leagues last year, so he may well rebound also. On top of that, Crede still may find a way to not be as streaky, ditto Uribe, and we've massively upgraded our bench by removing at bats wasted on Timo. Our offense will be significantly better next year even if Anderson struggles, unless someone is seriously hurt. We need Brian Anderson to catch the baseball nearly as well as Rowand, and we need him to use his arm to get more outs on fly balls. Brian Anderson's bat has plenty of time to develop...right now I want his defense. If you add Tejada on top of that, well, then Brian Anderson could hit .100 and we'd still have one of the best offenses in baseball. When you talk baseball, instead of politics, I tend to agree with you so much more often.