NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 01:01 PM) It was the local police that were doing some seriously terrible things in the wake of Katrina, not soldiers or security contractors. That's my recollection as well. Certainly no one was brought in from outside the US and acted as military forces in any case.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 12:14 PM) Yes, I would agree with that clause. However, I also would say that many countries have hired foreign mercenaries to supplement their own armed forces, particularly in the case of an open rebellion. As a general point...I want no part of an intervention in Libya. The idea that there are mercenaries there doesn't impact that opinion one bit. I don't think you have the same definition of "mercenaries" as I do. No one was brought to US soil to act as soldiers in any military sense.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 08:52 AM) Ugh. The people of Chicago are such sheep I disagree. Well I mean, some people are. But honestly, I am convinced that Emmanuel was really the only candidate that had a reasonable chance to be effective in the job. Chico maybe, but not as much. The others, forget about it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 07:40 AM) Blackwater was heavily involved in the Katrina response, for example. They also appear to have contracts to assist in the "war on drugs", although that's definitely more murky. They also provide private security details for lord knows how many people LOL, so Blackwater having people to aid in Katrina means they hired foreign mercenaries? Come on. I dislike Xe as much as anyone else, but let's not get ridiculous here.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 07:35 AM) The U.S. government currently hires foreign mercenaries for all sorts of projects, including domestically. I'd like to hear some details on the bolded.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 04:01 PM) How on Earth can people not have predicted a large case-schiller drop to close to the 2009 pre-tax-credit low? General expectations where for it to bottom again after (which it did), somewhere at or a little above that line. That's about where its at now.

Voting underway. Found these tidbits on the Trib election blog, thought they were funny enough to share...

Wasn't sure where to put this, its a stretch, but we are talking about North Africa so... The Pirate issue has been escalated for the US. Four US citizens on a yacht were killed by Somali pirates south of Oman. And more worrisome was this quote: Tactics are changing.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 02:00 PM) Try to find some Galant forums. They might have some guidance or advice on how to swap stereos, help if you have a question, or know how to fix the E COMM thing. I kind of doubt that's fixable. The small display is expecting data from the stereo, and after market stereos aren't like to be programmed to send data to the Galant's computer.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 02:15 PM) What sparked today's nosedive of the DJIA? Supposedly Libya and oil prices primarily. Also, Case-Schiller home index showed a bigger than expected drip, and they forecast significant further downside price risk. On the flip side, consumer confidence hit a three year high.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 10:16 AM) It appears I'm the only one who has no idea who this person is, and what it has to do with the number 6.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 01:14 PM) If you run into a snag while installing the stereo, you can give Crutchfield a call (24/7 I think). I did that a few years ago with a '04 Grand Am and they were able to quickly help me identify the wiring problem and correct it. That may be worth $20. I shopped around and found that Crutchfield was the best price for what I was looking for anyway, though. If you have an iPod, consider looking at the Pioneer headunits. They have built-in iPod control so you don't have to pay $50-100 for an iPod module like most other stereos. To me, the $20 more is probably worth the insurance of being able to call for help. But that's just personal preference. Sounds like it doesn't matter and that they are out of stock anyway.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 01:33 PM) Indiana Democratic Senators are fleeing the state over similar bills there. http://www.indystar.com/article/20110222/N...ehouse-showdown In this case, the bill is much more specific, per the article: I actually would agree with that law. Non-union people should not have to pay into a union's membership. This Indiana law doesn't seem to be the outright attack on unions that the Wisconsin law is, its more like protecting those not in a union. And for the record, although I applaud the protestors and their zeal, I find the behavior of the legislators irresponsible. Its really no different than the procedural filibusters that US Congressional Republicans were so fond of recently.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Feb 20, 2011 -> 03:00 AM) Just got a 2004 Galant, and want to buy a stereo for it that has an AUX port for my MP3 player. Have considered paying Best Buy to install it, but I've read reviews about it, and people say there are almost always additional charges on top of the $50, and usually for extra parts they needed, a harness, any additional labor time, etc. I even read that one guy got charged $130 over the $50 they told him. Anyway, I am just wondering if anyone has this car, or a different Galant and can tell me how likely it is my dad and I will be able to figure this out on our own. We installed my stereo in my '95 Civic, but there were less that went into those cars, which means less things to screw up internally. I am buying my stereo from Crutchfield, so tools and harnesses are included, so hopefully I won't need to buy additional parts. If you order from a place that specializes in this sort of thing - like Crutchfield - they will send you a complete kit for your specific car, and complete instructions. I've done it twice, and it was pretty easy both times. Plus ordering that sort of thing online is cheaper, and, they will filter your options to what works only on your car.

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 12:21 PM) My two cents...a lot of air traffic controllers would tell you that Midway is not safe. That being said, its still an airport that is used. Personally, I stick with O'hare, even though I live closer to Midway. Actual fatal airline incidents are so incredibly rare, that I can't imagine why people would pick one airport in the US over another for that reason. I mean, its like comparing a 0.0005% chance to a 0.0004% chance. Besides, I can think of at least a couple airline crashes at O'Hare that killed passengers, but I can't think of any at Midway off-hand (the SW flight that skidded off the runway killed two people in a car, but no one on board).

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 10:28 AM) All I've ever seen is the incident where he high-fived fans after hitting a big homer. The other thing with the fight is clearly started by the other team. I swear, people think Lastings Milledge = Delmon Young. I have definitely read that he's been seen as immature professionally, and not willing to make a full effort. But I agree with you that people seem to be extending that further than there is any real indication of.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 09:57 AM) "Hmm, what's in it for me to stop a country from bombing its own citizens?" That's a pretty awful way to look at it. And it's also why the US supports plenty of terrible governments. And I don't think NSS would agree with that position. To clarify... what I am saying is that you have a finite ability, in both real and political capital, to act militarily in an effective way. That capital is not enough to address all the atrocities of the world. So you make a list of them, prioritized by the best use of that capital. That doesn't necessarily mean its just what's best for the US, although that HAS to be part of the equation... its also about the most significant effect you can have. Libya's current ruling government is headed closer and closer to falling apart, and that's probably good. But it may not get there, it may be able to hold off the protests through violence. In this case, a relatively small set of responses by US and other militaries could be enough to tip it over. That has more value than using 100's of times more resources to invade Iraq, which was clearly a quagmire before we even put boots on the ground. So its really both. You find places where you can do the most good for your resources, but also where you can do the most good for the US. The sweet spot is where those two things merge.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 09:57 AM) Should they pay for their own retirements? Healthcare? You can't look at it that narrowly. Its a total compensation issue. If you want them to pay into their retirement like private workers do and get a match, and pay more typical rates for health care, I'm all for that... but you have to understand the consequences of that. If you do that, and don't bump up their base pay, you will start to send those jobs further down in the level of quality you fetch. And the further down you go on that route, if you keep the base requirements the same, you start to have more and more problems even filling the jobs. I'm in favor of the 401k model over pensions, without a doubt, because its just much less risky for government (and also less risky for the investors who have a few brain cells). But I'd suggest that some of the savings be put into better pay for those careers, because I'd rather not have cops and teachers be the bottom of the barrel for basic skills.

Part of the equation for Flowers' future will also be how Phegley and Gonzalez do this season in the minors.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 09:35 AM) In cases of genocide or mass murder. Unfortunately, we can't even get that far, because that list of countries is already 20+. Needs to be more narrow and specific than that. Hate to say it, but part of the equation needs to be when and where it buys the US the most capital in return.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 09:27 AM) A no fly-zone and a direct military operation (or many operations) are a little different. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just wondering what the line is for intervention. If it's helping innocent people, there's a ton we could do around the world. Like I said, we can't do it all... but I am saying that this type of situation, where a small action could work well, is now much more difficult because of the idiotic decision to invade Iraq.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 09:24 AM) What's the biggest budget problem out there right now (and specifically growing into the future)? Entitlements right? Who receives those? Public employees. I'm not saying that's good or bad, that's just a fact, and it's been a building problem for decades now. Government and the evil billionaires had zero control over it because the public employees ALWAYS won the PR battle. Who remembers the HUGE uproar when Daley would ask city workers to take some vacation days to help? While I agree that it's a bit much to still refuse to negotiate with the unions because they're conceding everything he wants, I can still see why he wants to do this. It's a power play for the future when the economy is rolling again and voters will be less apt to agree to reign in spending. Reigning in spending is good. Making it impossible for relatively low wage individuals to come to the table with some leverage against much stronger interests is not.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 09:05 AM) So, when a guy like Saddam Hussein does these types of things it's bad to intervene, but here it's ok? I don't get it. Actually, we WERE doing that with Hussein, with the no-fly zone. And by all accounts, it was having its intended effect. It wasn't solving Iraq's problems, but it was preventing what it aimed to prevent. We can't address every dictatorial problem in the world, but we can be selective and smart to get the biggest bang for our buck. And right now, it sure would be nice if we had the military and political capital left to do a relatively small thing to help innocent people. It would probably pay some nice dividends. Doesn't matter though, because we DID go into Iraw, and we ARE still in Afghanistan, and we ALREADY will be seen as trying to take over yet another country, even if we are not. So its no longer a smart option.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 09:03 AM) Oh come on, the issue isn't so one-sided. These unions are the cause of a lot of the budget issues around the country precisely because they had way too much power and kept raping states for more money. Governors/state legislatures couldn't very well campaign against funding for teachers/cops/fireman, etc. until we hit these huge budget deficits. He's just taking advantage of the timing of it all. There is being prudent, and then there is going way over the line. Look, we've seen here a real live example of someone effected by this. Soxy is a died-in-the-wool liberal, and a teacher in Wisconsin. And despite all that, even she has said she finds it a resonable discussion item to expect them to pay more into health care and pension. That's pretty damn reasonable, considering it hits her directly in the checkbook, at a job that probably doesn't pay a whole lot. If Walker just wanted to do that, I think he'd get that easily right now. But no... he has to, while he's at it, cut pay by 10%, but much worse than that, he's adding on this attempt to ban unions for all real purposes. And despite the obviously huge uproar over it, he's still unwilling to compromise whatsoever. He's being an ass, plain and simple. The union busting part of this law does zero to the budget - zero. Its all about making a political point, and destroying the unions. And by the way, if Walker does feel the unions in WI for public employees wield too much power, then have the balls to do this the right way - let them organize and do whatever they want to as a group. But if their demands in future negotiations are too high, then defend the government - don't give in. Don't be a coward and try to ban the unions from even organizing. Show some respect for the people who work for you, and show the voters you aren't just a bully.