StrangeSox

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 26, 2010 -> 06:56 PM) It's inappropriate for me to comment in too much detail about this specific incident, but like I said earlier in the thread, just because someone claims they did something on behalf of al-Qaida doesn't mean they are actually al-Qaida, and just because they claim credit for something doesn't mean they directed it (hell, they believe they single-handedly caused the subprime mortgage crisis and that they're locked into an eternal struggle with our civilization, and they're on the right side of us and our civilization is in decline, so take their more grand claims with a grain of salt). There's different layers of al-Qaida and then there's a whole bunch of wannabes out there. Now, I'm not saying whether or not Great Balls of Fire was actually working for al-Qaida, but everything I said in the previous paragraph should be considered in all circumstances. Besides, we shouldn't really be getting too hung up on what basically amounts to petty details. I personally believe UBL himself doesn't even really matter, in terms of the global jihadist movement. He's not even close to what he was 10 years ago. Awesome. Thank you for the rest of the post, too. We've got two sources of information here: the US intelligence agency and (supposedly) Osama Bin Laden. I'm not going to give credibility to either of them.

QUOTE (T R U @ Jan 24, 2010 -> 09:41 PM) Haha ok, so what evidence is there that the Saints are better than the Vikings? Its not stat wise, because the Vikings crushed them in that department tonight.. It took 5 turnovers for the Saints to win in overtime, gimme a break.. On the other hand, the Vikings turned the ball over 5 times and lost the game, making them the inferior team.

Nothing will ever make TRU's arguments wrong. Ever.

I refuse to play a baseball game unless they give me local little league teams. Who wants to play AAA or MLB? It's all about little league.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jan 24, 2010 -> 08:54 AM) I have Two Requests: Full Mac OS support, not iPhoneOS on steroids Front Facing Camera (for video conferencing) On a side note: With the push to move to digital records, I REALLY hope tablets/slates take off as the mode with which medical records are kept. Instead of a room full of paper records, you have a small room with a two servers (redundancy) that upload all the data to an secure off-site location every night, and the doctors/nurses walk around with slates to record data. As I've seen it, the few hospitals I've been too, the records keepers walk around with computers on massive carts. An easy to use Apple iSlate would do wonders towards moving that direction. There are rumors of Apple reps metting with Cedars-Sinai to discus the potential of a tablet. My doctor's office is run that way. The nurses and doctors all have either laptops or tablets with all of the patient information accessible. I'm interested in the Eee PC tablet (or something like it) myself. Apple is always too $$$.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 22, 2010 -> 01:38 PM) The whole intent of the "public option" was to destroy private insurance and move everyone on to the government roles. Amazingly, that doesn't happen in every other country where it's been implemented.

I just don't get it. You have the crazy right-wingers like Pat Robertson saying dumb stuff about this whole situation, and then you have just-as-crazy left-wingers accusing the US of sending in Marines for military/ imperialistic gains. Why the hell would we want to destroy or invade Haiti? What resources are there to secure? Why do so many people lack functional brains?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 08:13 PM) No. This has been going on for years. It is a pretty recent thing where I have gotten bored with doing the work to back up statements to be ignored in favor of whatever blog is being quoted at the time. I am sick of wasting my time on evidence that is ignored. And to be quite honest, if you really wanted to know, it is a google click away. It isn't like the olden days where you have to go the library. Its just a way of e-strutting to show off. Do you not see the inherent bias and question-begging here?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 07:52 PM) I know Huffpo usually does all of the work for you guys, but I am kind of sick of it. Honestly anything I post that doesn't agree just gets ignored or randomly disqualified anyway. No, you or Kap get asked for specifics and support and you flail about without ever providing it. The response is always "OMG how can you not know?! It's so obvious!" edit: if you're going to put forth an argument, be prepared to support it. Assertions aren't evidence.

Can we all agree at least that Tim Tebow is a giant tool, regardless of this issue?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 08:06 AM) The rich guy from Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" who leads a revolution of rich people who decide they don't want to contribute to society to punish the government for being so intrusive. You know, I ought to write the sequel to that novel, where Galt gets bailed out by the Feds. Don't forget the over-unity magic machine and the perfect society where everyone gets along and no one infringes on someone else's property rights!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 08:42 AM) So if I actually tried and I seriously can't figure out what you're talking about, what does that count as? The only real mandates to states that i can find in the bill were mandates that the stimulus money actually be spent. The main "unfunded mandates" from the government are things like NCLB and Medicaid, which really weren't stimulus projects as far as I can tell. Do you ever get an actual response when you ask for data, corroboration, specific examples, etc?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 08:24 AM) I am literally arguing that WWII spending was the very definition of stimulus spending. So then can conservatives please stop saying "Government spending didn't end the Great Depression, WWII did!" Because its literally saying "X didn't end Y, X did!" And can't we have effective stimulus that leads to something productive instead of destructive, or should we ramp up F22 production whenever things dip down?

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 19, 2010 -> 10:01 PM) Then you are lying, or finding some BS numbers that support your position, because the "great depression" didn't really end until 1942-1943, and that would be because, um, some big war that happened. ETA: I don't want to debate the technical term of what a recession is and how it's defined. I'm talking logically speaking from a productivity/working standpoint, not a GDP number that shows "growth". I love that conservative talking point. WWII was MASSIVE GOVERNMENT SPENDING AND EMPLOYMENT. Tell me, why is it that massive government spending on tanks and soldiers, which are classic "broken window fallacy" examples, can cause a recovery but massive government spending on other things like infrastructure can't spur growth?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 18, 2010 -> 11:28 PM) Similar in quality to The Raconteurs? Not as poppy but there's definitely similarities. Bought two tickets for Spoon at the Aragon today.

I ask this question because fundamental macro economics confuses me, but where does that "waste" go? If it is funds skimmed off the top or bloated prices, isn't that cash still out there circulating? Why are companies going to create jobs if there is no one in the lower quinttiles to purchase their goods or services? What guarantees that the upper quinttiles will actually spend and invest instead of hoarding cash, gold or goods/ things, likely overseas?

LinkedIn has recommended to me some other SoxTalkers whom I have never communicated with outside of this forum. I don't think I've ever shared my name here and I don't think they have (publicly, at least) either. That creeped me out.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 19, 2010 -> 10:38 AM) That is another possibility, but that's also an investment. The money goes somewhere - even if its MM. Any tax cut will result in SOME amount of that money going back into the markets and/or spending - the key question is always, how much? And a tax increase to pay for more government projects sends money back to the markets. Diverting those funds from an AMT tax cut (fwiw I personally disagree with the AMT and how its applied) to, say, energy infrastructure still results in money going back into the markets via spending and hopefully on something more beneficial than being parked in a money market or buying some luxury items. edit: expanding on what SS2k5 is saying, using that money for some sort of project instead of a tax cut ensures the money is spent on something instead of being hoarded.

500 Days of Summer was a very enjoyable film

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 16, 2010 -> 05:17 PM) There is no middle ground between hatred and deification. QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 16, 2010 -> 05:47 PM) Hi, welcome to kapkomet. QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 16, 2010 -> 07:38 PM) They were evil motherf***ers. You said so. I always like when people talk about the founders, all the want to do is s*** all over them and make them the evil bastards that they were. I guess that's what started the class envy, even back then. That justifies today's takeover of everything - gotta get even. And I never put these people on a pedestal, you all mowed them down. There is a difference. you win this round, bmags.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 16, 2010 -> 04:00 PM) Um hmm. Evil f***ers didn't know that they needed to be marxist, or nothing. QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jan 16, 2010 -> 04:06 PM) i hate America too. lets burn it down. There is no middle ground between hatred and deification.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 09:16 PM) Who do you work for? You think your vote is better then a company you work for? Just using that as an example. Go to work for the government, private sector be damned. Rice fields for everyone! (yes, Kaperbole ™ ) You people honestly think that government is less corrupt and is more responsible then the private sector? NO ONE has said that corruption doesn't exist on both sides of the fence. But, it kills me to see that you all think there's some pious intent of government. No, I don't. "Both sides are going to screw you over. At least with government, you get a vote." But plenty of conservatives do like to assert that the magical, er, "invisible" hand of the market is the cure for all economic problems, as if the market is some magical land where things just sort themselves out. I work for a company that does both private and a bunch of government work. It's staffed by a lot of ex-military.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 15, 2010 -> 06:19 AM) I actually have no idea what you're talking about so I can't even respond. Failing to do what empowers whom? And why? I don't even know what you're calling for. FWIW this is how it played in the Arab press - the last week or so of December it got ignored, or got a very vague passing mention in most outlets with the exception of maybe one Saudi newspaper that's heavily anti-AQ. The narrative of Islamic terrorists just doesn't really get that much play there anymore unless it's something big, and all the news was about Gaza (it always is). Then after some of the talking heads started hyperventilating they started covering it except the tone is "what the hell is wrong with the Americans?" The fact that Obama waited a few days to make a statement and didn't interrupt his vacation didn't do any strategic damage at all, whereas if he had, that's the reaction they want us to have. I can't imagine they actually thought a failed terrorist attack where the dude ends up setting his balls on fire would actually end up being a successful terrorist attack but the cadre of p*****s on TV alley-ooped that for them. You made my morning.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 15, 2010 -> 07:14 AM) They did exactly that in the first place, so I don't know what your point is. They had a hell of a lot more wisdom then we do now, with our "me, me, me, I, I, I" (including our president) attitude. We don't think 30 seconds beyond our actions today, unless it's to "redistribute our wealth" and how we're going to do it. The founding of this country was aboslutely against that. They wanted a place where the individual could choose what it is they wanted. Today, we have to pay for everyone else's stupidity. That makes their wisdom a whole lot better then ours. Unless they were black, female or didn't own land.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 15, 2010 -> 06:23 AM) I think over the years we tend to think the Founding Fathers are infallible and have infinite, timeless wisdom. What would you think of the leader of a new country, with a relatively weak military, if they stupidly instigated a war with a superpower with the world's most powerful military, ended up getting a bunch of people killed, and made no real tactical or strategic gains from it? James Madison awaits your answer. People also tend to think that the Founding Fathers had one clear mind and one clear interpretation of the Constitution.