NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 03:08 PM) We'll be fine with Armstrong, Flowers, Stewart and Miller as back-up options for AJ. Flowers might very easily be the best hitter on the White Sox (after Quentin) in 2-3 years. Buh? Flowers is at least a year or two away, Miller is a disaster, and Armstrong is a lefty who doesn't hit lefties well (just like AJ). The only viable options for AJ's backup, IMO, are Lucy (if, miraculously, he's healthy), or Stewart (and even he is no gem). I'd also guess that Armstrong will be traded before Opening Day.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 02:34 PM) To my knowledge, we have always been tight with the Aussies in about any measurable way, and it almost made me laugh out loud that the article suggested that Bush strengthened ties with them somehow. Bush has, however, managed to sour our relationship with the Kiwis, for whatever that is worth.

That article is a disaster. I read it, trying to find ones that were actually... you know... accomplishments. The only ones I saw were two that were only partial in nature: 1. The Surge, which is a misnomer anyway, was in part a change in strategy suggested by some very smart military men, and endorsed by Bush. That change in strategy was, in fact, a part of the drop in violence in Iraq. Only a part, though. 2. India. Bush strengthened relations with India in a positive fashion, though I think it was smallish in scale as for what impact it will have. This reminds me of the thread I started a year or two ago, asking people to only mention positive accomplishments of the Bush Presidency. No snark, just his real good stuff. And of course there is some, as there is for any President.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 10:39 AM) what's funny was that was the prediction for last years team. Who finished first. That, plus I also think its funny that these predictions are being made now, and by a blog whose perspective is skewed.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 10:32 AM) Sorry, I wasn't clear. Clearly there is a point where it crosses the line. Perhaps they both crossed the line. Separate thought. Where should the line be drawn? I would be considered a pro immigration candidate. Wouldn't my campaign attract individuals and businesses that are also pro-immigration? If I then work to pass, or by executive decree, support pro-immigration policies, is it fair to look at my donor list and make a pay to play accusation? Its definitely not black-and-white, usually. I mean, with something as outright illegal as Blago's dealings, its simple. But as you say, some of these linkages are natural and legal, and others are in a grey area where they may potentially affect policy, but that may be linked to natural policy already in place.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 09:18 AM) Schrenker tried to kill himself too. What an honorable way to handle the mess he created I don't think he really tried to kill himself. The news article on CNN stated that he "did not suffer life-threatening injuries". Plus, interesting he did that just as the FBI was closing in on his tent. I think this was a fake attempt, which is no surprise from an apparently very fake man.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 08:01 AM) Sec Commerce-Pay for Play Sec State-Pay for Play Sec Treas- Tax evader, possible immigration violator. lol. So much for surrounding himself with better people. This is the ethics and change we have all been waiting for, right? Not to mention everyone who made fun of the Palin vetting process, probably needs to grab a second plate for the crow they are eating now. I'd suggest those are three different issues, only one of which is a vetting one - Commerce (Richardson). They failed to recognize the problem there. It may turn out to be nothing, but he's under investigation. With Treas, I'm frankly very disappointed with the fact that the FOUND those tax irregularities in the vetting process, but decided to proceed with him anyway. Really poor judgement. As for State, I am not sure there is really any fire there, to be honest. And this coming from someone who really dislikes Hillary Clinton.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 14, 2009 -> 08:27 AM) If we are just giving money away, here is a way to give each taxpayer or business up to a 7.65% return to each employee depending on how it was done. They also get personal kudos from me for actually referencing actual history, instead of just policital BS, by referencing Japans banking collapse. http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all.../pub_detail.asp *applause* I am all for anything that can be done to help the economy, but its doubly true if it can achieve one or more of: --NOT add to deficit and debt --Get us further off fossil fuels --Create jobs (or at least slow the loss of jobs) This idea fits two of the three criteria. Plus it has a nicely progressive slant. I like it.

1. Making predictions about team standings before late March is absolutely pointless. You'd have better luck picking names out of a hat. 2. Conveniently, NYY is the one team who really seems to have bulked up their roster first, so naturally this blog would like to do standings NOW. 3. Evidence: QUOTE (scenario @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 11:13 PM) Here are last years' projections (2008 preseason) from the same site... ALCntrl W L RF RA DIV WC Cle07 91.0 71.1 852 739 54.5 3.5 Det07 90.4 71.6 901 792 42.5 13.8 KC07 75.0 87.0 779 862 2.0 0.0 Min07 73.7 88.3 727 816 1.0 1.0 ChA07 67.6 94.4 753 894 0.0 0.0 Conculsion: LOLOLOLOLOLOL

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 09:00 PM) So, on both issues, it turns out it's actually quite a bit more complicated than presented here. On the immigrant housekeeper, when she started working for him, she was a legal immigrant. She had the appropriate immigration documents. Those documents expired for a period of 3 months, probably due to her simply not handling the documentation application request properly. She left after those 3 months to have a baby. In other words, the only way for him to know that she had an immigration issue would be to repeatedly conduct immigration sweeps of everyone he meets or to take down all of the details from her identification documents upon hiring her so that he knows whether or not her papers are expiring and constantly keep tabs on that (something that no business in the country wants to be doing - does your business know whether or not your drivers's license is expired after you've been officially hired?) Secondly, the mistake he made - failing to pay the Social Security and Medicare taxes, is a common mistake made by employees of some organizations like the IMF, because the IMF pays your federal taxes through standard withholding but does not withhold social security and medicare taxes, and as such, the employee is expected to calculate and pay them on his or her own. The "Immigrant" problem is bunk and shouldn't be a knock on him. He did his due diligence. The tax problem I could see being an issue...in the sense that I don't like my SecTreas making careless mistakes...but it's at least a complicated one. OK, forget the immigration issue, that makes sense. But the tax issue is still 100% intact. People who make that kind of money are well aware of what taxes are withheld and not, and/or they have people to manage those things. And even so, ignorance is not a defense for breaking the law - this is a maxim that has always held fast. Plus, we aren't talking about someone who is applying to be some civil servant in a low level job - this is the Secretary of the TREASURY. Treasury, as in, kind of has to do with money. So basically, my opinion on the tax matter hasn't changed. Its a huge red flag, and it would fully disqualify him in my view.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 07:56 PM) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090113/D95MGFTO1.html May belong in the cabinet thread instead, but just imagine if this were to be you or me? On one hand we're assured he's brilliant and possesses a steel-trap mind for finance. On the other hand, he "forgot" that he had to pay taxes in America. Yeah, I have to say, to me that should be a game changer. You want to be SecTreas, but you managed to "forget" to pay $34k in back taxes over 5 years? And hire an illegal alien? End of interview.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 03:01 PM) Uh oh http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/ph...1645453159.jpg/ Iran better be careful or they'll lose the support of liberal democrats in the United States. I mean burning an American flag or picture of GW Bush is fine.. but a picture of Obama?! First, the idea that Democrats are somehow big fans of Iran is ridiculous. In fact, the GOP and Democrats have taken pretty much the same tack on the issue of relations with Iran. Second, I think its pretty clear that Obama's Iran policy will be very similar (though perhaps not identical) to Bush's. More communication and bigger carrots maybe, but overall, not much different.

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 02:33 PM) Biggest chunk is out of state. WOW. Kind of makes sense. People out of town want Sox news and Sox talk, they have to get it from the interwebs. Lack of other fans to talk with, newspaper and TV coverage, etc. Plus, the age range is heavy in the college years, so people are spread out all over for school.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 11:42 AM) i heard one writer defend not putting rickey in that somewhat makes sense...but in the end his logic falls apart he said he believed rickey would be a HOFer, and he thought he is a HOFer and normally would have voted for him. However, they only get so many votes (5 maybe?). And he used his 5 votes on guys who he really thought should be in, but either might be borderline, or would be in danger of falling off the ballot. So he felt his vote would be better utilized voting for someone else, when he knew Rickey would get 98ish % anyways. That said, I can understand where he comes from, but what if everyone did that, and Rickey didn't get in? I still clearly think everyone should vote for guys like Henderson, I can at least somewhat understand that reasoning. I don't buy the "Ty Cobb only got 80 %, so theres no way someone should be unanimous" arguement. Thats basically saying people before us made mistakes, so we are going to continue to make the same ones...so dumb That is interesting, I didn't realize they had a limited number of votes. That explains a lot about how candidates gain or lose votes each time, etc. I find that to be bogus. You should vote for whomever on the ballot you feel is worthy - none, 1, 5, 8 or however many.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 03:14 AM) Actually, he took home a gold glove in 4 out of the 7 seasons he played CF. 1980-1983. One thing Dawson had, even in his later playing years, was an absolute cannon of an arm.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 07:43 AM) lol, now I'm a terrorist. Cool. Time to go bomb people because I don't agree with their ideology! No, you aren't a terrorist. You just choose to fight terrorism by having the same strategy as terrorists.

Well, I had been relatively supportive of Israel's moves on Hamas. But this is disturbing, and Israel will probably, rightly, lose a bit of their international support over it.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 07:40 PM) I think my avatar with Blago's head and the cowboy hat from your avatar(over Pete's head) would look hilarious That would be a NSS72 type of Avatar I'm not much of a photosop wizard, unfortunately.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 07:39 PM) Lol, this is silly. Hamas WANTS to kill civilians and pretty much everyone who disagrees with. To defeat Hamas, some citizens will die. This is part of war, and if you want to defeat peices of s*** like Hamas, you got to do some things that are unpleasent. And Hamas aren't people, they are the lowest forms of animals on the planet, along to murders and rapists. To kill these sorry excuses for people, there will be casualties, and some of them are necessary for the greater good. And again, very similar to what Hamas would say. They want to kill people they label as "infidels", and if innocents get in the way, then hey, its just war. By the way, I'm actually (mostly) in Israel's corner on this particular incursion. I just want to try to get the idea across that your cavalier attitude as to how its done is pretty similar to the attitudes held by your enemies.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 07:35 PM) See, now that I have elicited that response, i cannot Imagine if someone could combine your avatar with mr genius'. Blago wearing that Pete Rose-inspired bikini, holding giant wads of cash, would be funny in a fatal clown car accident kind of way.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 07:33 PM) lol Your is only slightly less vomitous.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 07:29 PM) seriesly Please, for the love of God, change your avatar.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 07:22 PM) lol, are you really comparing me, and pretty much others like me, to Hamas? You're nuts! I don't want to kill anyone, but because terrorists want to kill us, and every one who doesn't agree with them, there's only one choice, them or us. LOL, do you HONESTLY have any idea what you're saying? Yeah, you busted me... In fact, I secretly want to go kill everyone in England because I don't like their style of comedy. You don't like it, I'll kill you to. Perhaps he was pointing it out because you just finished saying that you wanted to bomb the s*** out of their territory, despite the fact that you know next to nothing (by your own admission) about what is going on. Its actually a pretty good parallel. You want an eye for an eye - you see terrorists kill people, so you want to kill people too. You specifically stated "If civilians die, oh well, get used to it." to civilians dying as a result. Sounds a lot like the justifications you might hear Hamas use.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 07:15 PM) You have the same "kill all" attitude that you despise in your enemy. Don't interrupt, he's on a roll.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jan 12, 2009 -> 04:34 PM) Tom Seaver - 98.84% Nolan Ryan - 98.79% Cal Ripken Jr - 98.53% Seriously, who doesn't think tht Seaver or Ryan should have been in the Hall? I think a few of the ex players must just not vote ANYONE in or something.