Balta1701

I'm going to actually give some props here.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 05:22 PM) I notice balta did not deny that he's Nice smiley. And...no...postdocs are not that well paid. At least now though I get health benefits to cover my wife, as a grad student that didn't happen.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 05:03 PM) Balta's rolling in the dough, we all know it. Ed Schultz is terrible and should be fired for being the really, really bad "liberal" version of Limbaugh. Selectively editing videos and then having outraged comments about them is currently an accepted mode of discourse in the cable news and talk radio areas. You whip up your base and you get them tuning in the next day for the next outrage. The only downside currently is that occasionally you wind up having that video posted online or you wind up on the Daily Show. The next time I post something from Fox & Friends or Hannity doing the same thing, it won't generate more than a whimper from the other side, just like this one has generated a whimper from me. That's the rules currently.

Therefore, the problem isn't at the administration of OASDI, it's at the death certificate filing level, because OASDI will only react to a report of a person's death, not generate one itself. Seems like stricter regulation of death certificates, probably at hospitals, might be one answer.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 03:08 PM) why is Lucy starting? I like what TFlo brought Because he caught 14 innings yesterday and had to leg out some triples.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 02:41 PM) scottmerkin Scott Merkin Adam Dunn is 3-for-6 with 1 HR and 6 RBIs vs. Carmona in 2011. Quentin is 3-for-4 with 2 HR and 5 RBIs vs. Carmona in 2011. Was that his opening day, appendix-present HR?

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 02:37 PM) A vote for the Republicans is a vote for the Celtics! Except Dallas also beat the Heat in the playoffs, so everyone owes Texas a favor.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 02:27 PM) Then again, how willing is Kenny/JR willing to part with Ozzie? I think they'd have done it last year if Florida had been willing to take Morrison.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 02:24 PM) It is possible, by the way, that the Sox win the division, AND Ozzie is gone in the offseason. Not likely, but possible. That is my ideal scenario. I think that would take Florida opening up the talent pool.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 02:16 PM) Because of the bandwagon people. When it started, and I mean when tea party rallies were just starting, it was not just the fringe, extremist republicans that it had become. It was essentially a bunch of libertarians, which of course would be predominantly conservative-minded. As to NSS' point about the perception of the tea party, i'm guessing that has to do with how the media portrayed the group as a bunch of dumb racist rednecks. Most people don't like to associate with that kind of thing. And I think the point the whole time is...if it was a handful of libertarians, it never would have had any impact. The only reason it made an impact on the politics of the country is that it attracted the activist, nativist, Fox News sponsored Republican base, who now are overwhelmingly the people who adopt that title. And if you look at the people who support the Tea Part or call themselves Tea Partiers now, they were all conservatives in 2006. There's no group of newcomers, outsiders, or anything wholly new to the movement, it's just active now because there's a Democratic president. And it's right there in that data.

Good day to be an Earth scientist. I've got 2 of the 3 "Tier 1" candidates in this race saying I manipulate science for grant money.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 02:03 PM) Even if that means we continue to see the same old mediocrity consistently? Even if they don't rebuild right now, which is a good argument with the contracts, they need another manager and probably GM in there to compete with this current squad. We won't see that if we make the playoffs. If winning the Central in 2 of 4 years is mediocrity, then I'll take that, I don't care how weak the division is.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:58 PM) Current, yes. The people who jumped on the boat, yes. The origins - not at all supported by the numbers in this study. So, it's fair and now well supported statistically to say that the Tea Party is now overwhelmingly the activist, nativist Republican base, not some independent movement of outsiders, and no one will challenge me if I repeat that?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:53 PM) I put them in the same league as Notre Dame - a powerhouse that's a powerhouse even if they don't win. They bring in highly ranked recruiting classes nearly every year. 2012 they're currently at #5 according to Rivals. They're not at the peak they were in the early 00's, but they're right there. And I could give a s*** about how much this costs the NCAA. That joke of an organization makes bazillions every year. Notre Dame is a money powerhouse in a way that Miami currently is not though. The Death Sentence for Notre Dame costs a ton of people a ton of money. The Death Sentence for Miami doesn't feel like it changes much to me. If I were buying people for one of the top flight SEC schools, Miami getting the death sentence wouldn't scare me.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:46 PM) That sounds vaguely familiar for some reason... If he struggles like this next year then a Gordon Beckham comparison works very well.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:40 PM) As awesome at the Phillies are, even if they're healthy I wouldn't peg them as the NL champions just yet. I think they'd still be the favorite but assuming the Giants make the playoffs(yes I know they're 3.5 back but I still think they get in) then the NL is going to be really hard to navigate for anyone. Those should be some fun playoff series. If the Braves could have a 3 week period where everyone was healthy and Heyward acted like he's supposed to hit, that's one scary team too. They haven't had that stretch the whole year. Now Hanson's having some tendinitis issues too.

QUOTE (Cali @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:29 PM) Need 8 strong out of Mark and to beat the s*** out of Carmona like they've done all season up to now... Getting to Fausto early and building a lead is the best possible way to save this bullpen.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:28 PM) 2 NC championship games in 2002 and 2003 and a BCS bowl in 2004. I'd say that's still pretty relevant. Take a look though, that's 7 years since they appeared in a BCS bowl. If Miami go the "Death Sentence", how much money does that cost the NCAA? This isn't Alabama or Florida getting it right now, this is a team that hasn't been at the top for a while. This isn't USC getting it over the Bush thing when they still were a powerhouse. This isn't Ohio State blocking its guys from playing in bowl games last year. This is a team that has been down from its peak for a long time.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:29 PM) One part of this is indeed fascinating - a very accurate look at what people who currently call themselves Tea Partiers (or those sympathetic to their causes), and what makes them different. But the article also makes a completely bogus leap from the numbers to an obviously false conclusion. They can, and do, show what Tea Partiers ARE, but they make the laughable claim to say that means they know how the movement STARTED. They show zero evidence or research about the origins of the movement - only able to show what it has become, via the hop-on people. Any statistician worth their salt could see this as being an improper use of the numbers to support an argument not represented in fact. Now wait just a second though. On here, I've argued quite consistently that the current "Tea Party" is nothing more than the activist, Fox-News led Republican base. How it started, whether the first "Tea Party" was Ron Paul's 2008 campaign, Americans for Prosperity, whatever, if its supporters are overwhelmingly Republican, if the only people who consider themselves Tea Party supporters were activist Republicans in 2006, then that means that the "rise" of the Tea Party fits the narrative I've been writing...that the current "Tea Party" is nothing more than an activist Republican response to having a Democrat in the White House.

Lebron James being dunked on and then failing to put his hands up to defend against a 3 in a game in Taiwan.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:11 PM) Even if they are, those cycles are self-perpetuating. If you have the choice between Texas and Rice for football, you are going to Texas, even if no one is paying you. Depends. If Texas just signed a big shot QB last year, and youre a QB, why would you go there to sit on the bench for 3 years? Hell, somehow IU just scored a big shot QB. I still don't know how that happened.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:08 PM) Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to see 120 pitches out of Mark today, no matter what his stuff looks like No one else on this staff I'd want on the mound with those instructions.

Mark!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:01 PM) What would make things really interesting is if schools started suing these athletes and coaches for damages to their programs. If Miami gets kicked out of bowl games for years, for example, what is the financial impact to the school? Or someone like Tressel at OSU? I am surprised no one has ever tried going after someone with deep pockets like a Reggie Bush or Jim Tressel. I'm sure that's covered somewhere in those agreements they sign

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 01:02 PM) I would bet it would only strengthen the top programs, because it would give the top kids less reasons to go somewhere else. Assuming that the current situation is that those top programs aren't paying a fortune for the top kids.