southsider2k5

So would this characterizatin of a black wide receiver be considered a racist statement?

I don't think in a Democrats world, you could have a much harsher slam than the bolded comment. http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_...-hillary-i.html

Michelle Obama was quoted yesterday as saying Barack had to win Iowa, or it was "over".

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 12:15 PM) I would love to be the third party that everyone had to come to to get anything passed. Oh how the pork would fly. Far better to fix the existing parties than have a three way split of power where everything would take coalition building. You're right, why would we want to encourage compromise and moderation, when we can have extremism and gridlock! More pork? LMAO.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 12:10 PM) But you know the remarkable thing about those systems, the parliamentary ones which allow lots of parties? They rapidly wind up breaking down into quasi 2 party systems as well. Because a lot of times, the new parties that appear are not these magical, centrist, "Everyone will agree with us" parties that for some reason people envision should pop up and make everyone happy. They wind up being vastly farther out on the fringe, and they wind up just making coalitions and governments harder to build, because you have to cater to that fringe party in order to build a government. Give you an example...right now, you could probably get 30% of the vote for a party who's sole goal was to get the U.S. out of Iraq, and which would refuse to join a government without that. If you then wound up with 3 parties in a parliamentary type system, it might be nearly impossible for a government to form without the aid of that party. In other words, you would have to cater to the farthest wing in order to be able to form a government, and you'd have to placate that minority party to keep the government from falling. We have those samethings going on right now. Think of the religious right and the union left. We are already catering to the fringes in this country. Any party that appears now is going to be centrist by nature, because unless they are in favor of mass executions or something like that, they are going to be more moderate than what we have now.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 11:08 AM) The big issue with a third party is the "big two" shut them down faster then a blink of an eye. You ever notice how the voter laws change so quickly after a "scare" from a third party candidate? The problem with that is you can only be "Us vs Them" for so long before people get sick of it. The whole rest of the world manages to have a system that includes way more parties and ideals than we do. I really hope eventually one or more of these group can break through.

If NBC would somehow get rid of the incredibly unfunny 30Rock, Thursday nites could be the best night of TV ever. I can't wait for the new episodes of everything else, including the final season : of Scrubs.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 09:46 AM) My impression from what little I know of the Libbies is that they are a split party at this point. I think some see small government as being like the GOP model, but others are of the mind of a MUCH smaller government - like military and courts and that's about it. And those folks are not electable. Eh, I wouldn't read too much into party differences. Remember the Democrats have Lydon Larouche, Joe Lieberman, and Harry Reid all under the same umbrellas, and the Republicians have Dick Cheney and Ron Paul. The Libertarians just haven't been relevant in so long, they are forgotten about. A "new" party with the same ideas has a much better chance of success.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 03:46 PM) You mean a guy like Kemp? his career .303/.337/.487 seems pretty Torii-like. And the guy hit 340/400/535 above A ball. Did I mention he turned 23 only a couple of days ago? Hunter's defense is vastly overstated anymore. Ever since his injury in '05, he's struggled. Last year he rated as a below average CFer to anyone who was watching objectively. (Remember the '06 playoffs?) And while he's regained some of his form, he's not the defender he once was. Above average, maybe, but a guy who going forward is going to become a corner outfielder rather quickly. You can keep predicting doom for the Twins, but I'd swap teams/farm systems with them in a heartbeat even with the financial constraints. They're upwardly mobile, while the White Sox have locked in contracts to guys like Contreras, Dye, Konerko, and Vazquez all on the wrong side of 30. One team is a few shrewd moves, and maybe a year of waiting for guys to develop, away from competing for division titles. The other is a dumb signing or two away from becoming the Orioles. What does the state of the White Sox farm system have to do with how the Twins will play without two key players next year? That doesn't make much sense to me as an argument. I got it when you are arguing how players would preform, but you lost me in this post. Are you just taking another chance to rag on the Sox?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 09:23 AM) I think there are a lot of people out there who generally fit that mold - small government and fiscal discipline, social issues equate to staying out of people's lives. I think if the Libbies could field a name candidate for Prez or a Congressional seat or two, someone people know and like, they could really shake things up at many levels. I think the Libertarians are done as a party. Actually I think the best third party chance we have now is the Unity Party, and that is if they can find a good Presidential candidate or two to bring them some attention. They have taken up many of the same mantles, and are a lot more moderate than either major party is right now. I have been following their stuff out of curiousity, and it is interesting, but I don't think they really have much of a chance at anything. If they could rope a Michael Bloomberg or a Joe Lieberman, they might get the ball rolling.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 09:03 AM) Maybe it's locally then. It could be. I have had good luck dealing with them on an institutional basis through my YMCA work. Anytime you add a layer to anything, you are going to add cost, but they run pretty lean here at least. I don't know how they look in other places or nationally though, as I have only dealt with our county organization.

Well at least we know a couple of vets haven't mailed it in for 2007 yet... Nice to see Jon pitch well. I really wonder if that was the last time we will see him in a Sox uni?

Speaking as the voice of experience, if you donate to the United Way with no real purpose in mind, but to help out... you are fine. If you donate to the United Way with a specific organization in mind (YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Red Cross etc) you are much better off calling your local branch of that specific organization up and arranging for a direct donation to them. There are red-tape issues, but all in all, they serve a very valuable purpose.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 08:23 PM) Uh huh... and it is all starting to come back around full circle: the Democrats know, if we leave, that THEY have blood on their hands. That's why the meaningless amendments and empty threats. It's all about showing the kook fringes that they are "serious" with this, and they are not. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...H.DTL&tsp=1 My DemocratIC (feel better, Chet), you've been duped. Instead of playing this political power game, if everyone would decide to get on board, the troops would be home TWICE as fast because the dirtbag inusrgents over there would have nothing left to fight for if they know our resolve is not shaken. But apparently, that's too much to ask. The bottom line is, we're there, even if it is for the "wrong" reasons. So why do we have to play this political pandering bulls***? Let's come together, get something done, and get our people back home where they belong. I know part of it is the Democrats know they have to be "anti-war" to have a prayer at the White House, but I think you would find that if they were just straight with the American people and got something done over there, they would have just as good a chance... BUT WAIT, then Bush and the Republicans would get credit, and we CAN'T have THAT! What a f***ed up situation. One more thought: how much do you all want to bet that the "bring the troops home" s*** TOTALLY stops if a Democrat (Mrs. Bill Clinton) gets elected? Think about it. She is already backing down...

QUOTE(mreye @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 07:03 AM) One thing that's not acceptable is ending a sentence with a preposition. I know not what you accuse me of...

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 23, 2007 -> 06:57 PM) And honestly, I think the Libertarian platform is in many ways very similar to a big chunk of what was the GOP platform at one time. Just in a more limited scope. Unfortunately, the GOP seems to have abandoned that particular part of their platform in recent years. In the fiscal sense, yes, in the social sense, no. When it comes to monetary policy, the Libertarians have picked up the old Conservative platform of balanced budgets, smaller governments, free trade, and lower taxes. There are things in there I like, but not as absolutes. The budget should be close to balanced, at least most of the time. In times of recession that doesn't work. Socially the Libertarians programs are very hands off as well. They really don't want to be involved in people's lives, so lots of their platform agrees with the Democratic side, which is much less restrictive of certian people and activities. I think the best way to describe them would be Jeffersonian. Heck in reality I probably am a RINO too, because of my social stances. I am probably more of a Libertarian ideologically than I am a Republician.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 10:05 PM) The counties around me, for comparison Starr 3rd poorest $7,069 12th Willacy $9,421 22nd Hidalgo $9,899 Problem is the skill set necessary to effectively run an automobile plant is not here. You told me that a ton of automotive companies were located on the other side of the border. What is the difference between people on one side of the river and the other?

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 12:48 PM) From all the GM, Ford, Chysler plants getting ready to close down, duh. The county I live in actually falls in a list of the 200 poorest counties in the USA. The average wage is $27k. A job starting at $12 an hour would be a raise for lots of people here. I am guessing that they target the deep south for the exact same reasons. If you tried to pay someone in Michigan that wage they would laugh at you. In Mississippi, that is a hell of a lot of money, especially for people with no real skills.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 02:48 PM) I think you underestimate the readiness of their pitching prospects. Plus that theoretical lineup, (2-6 L/R/L/R/L) is gonna be good for a while. 2. Mauer 3. Kemp 4. Morneau 5. Cuddyer 6. Kubel .286/.351/.502 over his last 300 AB -- don't forget he was a guy who put up .320/390/500 over the course of his minor league career. Knee injuries killed his transition to the big leagues. But he's just 25, and has under 700 career at-bats in the majors. They'd be dangerous, even without Santana, if they were able to pick up a scrap heap guy like Joe Crede (were we to drop him) at 3B, a non-disasterous DH(nevermind, Kubel would DH), and a Geoff Jenkins type in LF. There hole would be 2B with Casilla spending another season in AAA and Punto, no doubt, making outs in the 9 hole. The Twins have been HORRIBLE in picking scrapheap players. They haven't even been able to hit adequate. The guys that they have been picking up have been murdering them. Now granted after Torii walks away, they will have a little money, but still not that much. The line up looks great on paper, but also remember that Mauer is a walking knee injury waiting to happen, and both Cuddyer and Morneau had big time regressions this year. Who knows why these guys took a big step back, but they did. Now take Torii Hunter out of the line up, things become a lot more unsure. Even with Hunter they Twins at the bottom of the AL in a lot of categories they were 12th in run scored, 13th in HRs, 12th in OPS, tied for last in SLG, and 10th in batting average. Now even if you want to go out on a limb and say they find a guy to replace Hunter's bat, who the heck is going to replace his glove? How many extra runs a game will Twins pitchers give up just because Torii isn't out there robbing guys blind? Then you still have to move all of those young kids up one spot in the rotation. Where as Santana used to give them innings, Ks, and outs, you aren't going to replace him. There will be more reliance on the starters, and more innings put onto a relatively young bullpen.

The Blackhawks have to be one of the potentially greatest deals left in professional sports. They have to be undervalued from a franchise standpoint, because they have been so incredibly underutilized as a business, its not even funny. An owner could probably double the franchise value in 5 years with a combination of smart moves, guts, and a little bit of luck.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 01:46 PM) What a joke. The reverend(s) Al and Jesse can pull racist s*** all day long, and it goes right on by. Too bad Bill wasn't acting White enough. Then he would have been OK. So who exactly are the decency police and where is the manual of what is acceptable and what is not for sale at?

After the fade that Danks had in the second half, I wouldn't be surprised to see him moved for another starting pitcher.

Imagine this... The 2008 Twins could be looking at going into a year with no Torii, no Johan, and no Nathan. They would be depending on a rebuilt Liriano to anchor their pitching staff, plus whoever they get in the trades. The Twins could be looking at falling past the Royals if they screw this up. Personally I have no doubt that Santana gets dealt this off season. The Twins aren't going to be able to afford him, they can't risk losing him for just draft picks, and with the absolute absence of decent pitchers in FA, his value will never be higher. You put him up to the highest bidder and get you what you can for him.

Also interesting in the article was Toyota paying workers as little as $12 an hour in their new plants.... Now we are even getting down into Wal-Mart wage territory...

The details of the settlement are starting to come out now. I think the union realized they were bent over a barrell with their pants down, because this settlement is very lopsided. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...2600155_pf.html