StrangeSox

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Feb 14, 2012 -> 06:22 AM) Good. Birther heads will explode.

One company running charter schools in Chicago has enacted the brilliant policy of fining students for rules infractions: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...&id=8542631 If parents can't afford to pay the fines, their child will be held back. For-profit education is the best!

Apparently, Apple doesn't own the trademark for "iPad" in China: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400165,00.asp

I'd definitely drop it to liability only because full coverage for teens can be incredibly expensive.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 13, 2012 -> 01:34 PM) Honestly, I'll be really surprised if that's the case. People don't like recall elections and they shouldn't. That alone will poison the well against whoever is running against him. I believe he's polling ahead of any of the possible alternatives. If it was a straight-up "recall Walker" vote, he'd probably go down, but it essentially forces an early election.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 08:26 AM) The above part is 100% nonsensical. It looks like it was written by a 19 year old philosophy major who recently started reading his first finance book. PIMCO is saying this will hurt pensions a lot more than the banks: http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/pimco-...02/10/id/429048

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities runs the numbers on Romney's budget proposals:

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 12, 2012 -> 05:59 PM) She might be able to speak well enough to be understood. lol

QUOTE (mumbles3k @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 11:53 PM) EMPIRE also had the Gary Kurtz influence, which I think is what's sorely lacking from the prequels. Kurtz was Lucas' conscience. He was the guy who had the balls to tell Lucas when he was making bad choices. Take that away, and even the most creative person in the world will lose his edge. That's the difference between the first three and the prequels. Nobody had the power to oppose George's terrible ideas on the Phantom Menace.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Feb 11, 2012 -> 06:43 AM) So, has anybody played Curt Schilling's new game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? I saw a guy playing it for a bit and the combat system looked pretty fun. I had no idea Schilling was a big rpg guy... That's pretty funny, I had no idea about that. The game is getting some pretty good reviews: http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/ki...malur-reckoning

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 05:03 PM) How would people rank the prequels? I honestly can't definitively make a list, as they were all sub-par at the very best, but I'd say: Revenge Of The Sith The Phantom Menace Attack Of The Clones I haven't seen any of them all the way through in years, though, so I might need to update that if I see them again. It's like some kind of reverse sophie's choice. The whole premise behind Phantom Menace's plot (trade tariffs!!!) puts it out in front as the worst, I think.

Scott Walker is going to use almost all of the bank fraud settlement money not for helping homeowners in need but to fill short-term budget holes. http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/1...tlement-budget/ What a piece of garbage.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 04:12 PM) When has anyone rose up to defend any of them and said that they were treated unfairly as you have done consistently with Joe Paterno? We should be talking a lot more about the people nobody knows instead of the guy everyone knows and who a bunch of people insist on defending because he was a good football coach.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 04:06 PM) He doesn't deserve a pass and I never said that. But that isn't how you like to discuss stuff. You like to twist s*** and make up stuff. I have consistently said that others DESERVE MORE OF THE BLAME. And those individuals that were eyewitnesses and ear witnesses to the abuse have received far less of the public scorn and attacks than Paterno. That seems lopsided. Where have I ever said he deserves a pass? But you will make up statements like that. So why do you think his wife should be given a pass even though she was home when the abuse happened and heard it? Why do you think the eye witnesses deserve a pass? For the nth time, celebrity status matters. That someone who is really famous will get most of the attention is trivially obvious. That this starts a cycle of denouncement-apologistics-denouncement is also expected.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 09:43 AM) Speaking of movies that were mis-advertised. They made that one look like some kind of comedy/girl-buddy show. It was anything but. "Hey buddy!" *slits wrists for comic effect*

It's really not fair that the media arbitrarily picked one person and catapulted them into the spotlight like they did with this Joseph Pattern guy.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 07:32 AM) If you read the article, basically they are saying that the decrease in pace of foreclosures was a waiting game, which will now be released. Pent up actions is what they believe will cause the bump. That said, I am not entirely sure that's true. I think part of the slow-down in foreclosure proceedings has been the result of more procedural caution, combined with an unwillingness to hire loads more staff for jobs that will be shed in a couple-few years. Those things aren't suddenly changing with this settlement being passed. I think any pickup in foreclosure pace will be small, which is both good and bad. aka "not committing willful and widespread fraud"

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 07:49 AM) Sort of. There are differences that seem small procedurally, but are huge politically, particularly about who handles aspects of the insurance markets. The author of both RomneyCare and ObamaCare described them as "the same f***ing bill"

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 07:02 PM) Gitmo, torture, indefinite detention.... I've been consistent in my "f*** Obama" stance on all of those issues.

He also directed Girl Interrupted, which was good.

Knight and Day was terrible, Walk the Line was awesome and 3:10 was ok.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 05:25 PM) I'd say the latter is pretty accurate. More Frum love: http://nymag.com/news/politics/conservativ...-11/index1.html

No, she's 100% aware that this money will be paid by the banks. Her contention is that it's going to be structured in a way that amounts to them unloading some bad debt and impacting people who have invested in those mortgages primarily instead of actually effecting BoA etc.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 10:25 AM) Even though I consider myself more of a dog than cat person, I realize I will help a cat before a dog. A stray dog, especially a larger breed, makes me nervous, while a cat seems less of a potential harm. And perhaps that is also why I am probably kinder to stray cats than the homeless. Cats carry all sorts of terrible diseases.

It does not grant criminal immunity, that was more of a frustrated flail on my part.But the Obama admin has been even worse than the Bush admin at prosecuting any of these many cases of fraud. A lot of the stuff that the SEC would be able to investigate has already exceeded the statute of limitations, unfortunately. This whole mess will be a giant whitewash, with a slap on the wrist for banks literally lying in court to get people wrongly thrown out of their own homes. edit: some of the early formations of the agreement did have broad civil immunity and criminal immunity. as for the other thing, I can't find an email contact, only the ability to post a comment. I was curious what the response would be since I can't evaluate your counter-points myself.