Balta1701

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Feb 25, 2011 -> 03:30 AM) What about trying to sign Rip Hamilton if/when he gets bought out by the Pistons? I'd be all for it. Hopefully the Bulls would be all over that if it happened...but he'd have to want to come to Chicago too.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 25, 2011 -> 02:25 AM) So breaking news on twitter tells me "Wisconsin Assembly passes bill stripping public workers of collective bargaining rights - AP". For those of you smarter than I: how can a state strip public workers of collective bargaining rights? It just doesn't sound like something a state can do to me. But I'm admittedly very ignorant on this subject. I'd love to know if other states have done this. Federal Law does not necessarily guarantee every industry/business the right to organize (and a large number of people would be happy if federal law banned Union organizing). In particular, Federal Law does not include any guarantee for public workers to be able to join Unions. Right now, there are This law would effectively do the same thing in Wisconsin. You could join a union, but paying dues are made very hard because you can't have them withheld from paychecks, and the Union has no right to collectively bargain; it's a union that pays for a beer hall or something like that.

I just test drove a Nissan Leaf

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 05:09 PM) Jeff Green isn't NEARLY as good as Pierce. He's a horribly inefficient scorer that's kind of a 'tweener. He's a lot closer to Luol Deng, and could be similarly overpaid soon considering he's a restricted FA at the end of the season. I really think Boston will regret trading Perkins, he really helps their defense and rebounding. Green just gives them another jump-shooter, and an inferior one to their current starters at that. Yeah, after watching the Celtics the last few years...that move is just bizarre.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 04:31 PM) I can't believe those that are dissing Pujols. He's the greatest player of the modern era. He should get paid the maximum amount. 10 years? Probably not. But I've got no problem with the salary. Jason Bay is making almost $20 million, people! Dude, seriously, if Pujols would have signed for 5/$150 or 6/$175, the Cardinals would have been all over it. The length is the whole problem.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 04:33 PM) You hold on to your guys even more in that case, unless you think you are getting a guy to win it all this year. What do we think it would take for this Bulls team to win it all this year? Are the Celtics and the Heat really that far ahead of them? At this point, I'm unconvinced of that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 04:29 PM) That's kind of my point. Why sacrifice the future for this year, if this year isn't our year anyway? Biggest reason I can give is that I don't think there will be much of a next year, so I'm really thinking "win this year or win in 2013".

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 04:28 PM) I'm extremely surprised he is cranking it up and spinning breaking balls this soon. I'm not at all. I had a feeling this would be happening when he was throwing in early December, like 3 weeks ahead of schedule.

Just to toss in my $.02...I'm annoyed that the Bulls did not land an upgrade at SG, and I'd probably have given up either Asik or Gibson to pull off Mayo this year. That said...I'm also more than a little surprised that, as far as I can tell, the Bulls's competition also failed to do anything, aside from perhaps the Knicks. The Heat didn't fill in their holes, the Celtics may well have gotten weaker. There werent' any big changes in the setup of the league today.

Playing the Astros and Pirates nearly 40 times ought to help.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 03:18 PM) Because i'm pointing out the inconsistency in reaction without setting forth my opinion. I tend to agree that both are bulls*** for what it's worth. I agree that both are BS. But as long as they work, they're going to get used.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 03:17 PM) According to Mozeliak they are still going to try to win this year. Of course you say that publicly. "I'm throwing in the towel this year, please stop buying season tickets".

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 02:58 PM) Defensive drop off there. The Bulls can stand to wait a year to pick up a 2 guard in the draft, there are plenty of them. For my dose of homerism to match Badger, I'd like Buford next to DRose. I gotta disagree here. The Bulls need to make their run this year. First, no one knows if there will even be a next year, let alone what the draft and FA situations will look like if it happens. Second...look at guys like Paul and Williams. Each of them had a year where they really broke onto the scene and led their team to 55-ish wins. Since then, the teams around them have aged, occasionally gotten hurt, and combined with the occasional injury to them, they both have taken steps back. If the Bulls go into this playoffs healthy but with Bogans at SG, it's really throwing away an opportunity.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 03:00 PM) The winner of that division won't touch 90 wins. I think 84 gets it done. Really, you think the Reds will win 7 fewer games?

This is a cool map of the vote by precinct.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 02:44 PM) I'm still confused. How does this relate to guns getting through security and/or adding TSA to the list of agencies that need to be cut and/or gutted? Because my brain is so wiped that I read NSA instead of TSA?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 02:42 PM) I'd argue that seeking political asylum in another state is completely different than using the rules to your advantage. But more importantly, my position has never been that Repubs doing this sucks but the Dems doing this is totally justified. That's you guys. You pick and choose when you complain about these things based not on the actions being taken, but purely on the underlying issue at hand. And I've seen liberals argue that fleeing the state is much different than the filibuster since the rules for quorum are explicitly spelled out in the WISC constitution while the rules for the filibuster are completely arbitrary Senate rules. I don't buy either explanation. Either way, you're using a procedural tactic as a delay. If you're not picking and choosing which things to complain about, then why are we having this discussion?

Free hat!

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 02:21 PM) I'm lost. Just think...if facebook and Google are worth billions of dollars because of the marketing data they can get from your acquaintances and your searches...think about how much money the government can get by selling information about what's in your emails and phone calls.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 02:25 PM) If obstruction is for a progressive issue, it's "zomg! go them! stick it to those old rich white guys in power! they're just evil and corrupt and are only trying to pass X bill because it'll benefit them!" But if it's anything different its "they're ruining our country! This isn't democracy! Man those old rich white guys suck! blah blah" Have some consistency. Let me put it another way. You guys proved that obstruction without regard to the consequences is a winning electoral strategy. It dominated the last election. I'm happy to give up the Wisc dems. It sucks that they're doing this. You shouldn't have to run away to avoid a bill being passed. The Indiana Dems are demanding something like a dozen bills be pulled, according to one report, I'm not sure on the accuracy of. This is not the way a democracy should run. But if obstruction without regards to the consequences produces electoral gains...f*** it, I'm game. It's clear which side the electoral rewards lie on right now.

If y'all would like to declare that all parliamentary obstruction tactics are null and void, I'm happy to have your support for Socialized Medicine, a carbon trading system, cutting back fossil fuel subsidies, a $1.5 trillion stimulus that wasn't overloaded with tax breaks, 100+ judges, several hundred executive branch employees, repealing the defense of marriage act, a bill that broke up the big banks, the DREAM act, the employee free choice act, and a campaign finance reform bill. Hell, you know what, I'll trade you the bargaining rights for every teacher and public worker in the country for all of those. Not just Wisconsin. You in?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 09:58 AM) Security theater at its finest. I'm going to add a cut in homeland security spending to that argument in the other thread - if you're serious about fiscal responsibility and fixing our economy, medicare/ss/defense/TSA spending all have to be on the table. If we don't know what you're talking about in your phone calls, we can't sell that information and make money off of it.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 10:35 AM) I would like to play Texas more. Mark Buehrle disagrees.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 01:13 PM) If they sell, sell, sell, wouldn't that push Pujols farther away? I still think they have a chance to sign him. Yes. And I think at this point, selling, selling, selling, is the way to convince him to not employ his 10/5 rights and veto a trade. He won't want to play for a team at the bottom of the division. Right now, the Cardinals are probably a team that is just over .500 if nothing else goes wrong. They have the best player in baseball, but they're running on scraps for a lot of positions. They could have ridden "2 of the best starters in the NL and Albert" to a shot at the division. What they have now is worse than what they had last year, and last year they weren't close.

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 11:52 AM) This is disappointing. Hate to see a guy so good go down to an injury. This changes the make-up of the NL central quite a bit. I was discussing this with a Cubs fan friend of mine before the news and I had expected to see Milwaukee, STL and the Reds battle it out, with much of my opinion based on clear strengths in starting pitching from all 3 teams. This takes STL out of the "pitching wins divisions" thought process. I don't think they'll do it, but I'm totally serious when I say that the right response to this for the Cards is to sell, sell, sell.