Texsox

QUOTE(Steff @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 11:19 AM) Maybe her own brother should have thought about that before he started a fight IN the hospis with the cops. You will defend the guy until the end. How about Terri's sister, what did she do to get banned from the bedside besides wanting Terri to live? Michael showed no mercy until the end. And Nuke, these are the types of moments that change America. Why are we not at every bedside? Because by drawing attention here, millions of Americans have written living wills, they have opened dialogs with their families and spouses concerning their last requests. There have been these bedside vigils, but none have an ex-spouse inflicting his will against the Governor, US legislature, and even the President of the US. Ironic you quoted material that mentions not being able to afford medical care. Protesters are trying to save those people who die because they cannot afford surgery or even insurance. They are called Democrats who fight for single payer health insurance or universal coverage. I believe it is the GOP that blocks that one. But you probably do not see the problem, you already have a government supplied health care program. I hope in the circumstances surrounding your death, people can find the same laughter you've found in the circumstances surrounding Terri's death. It's a gift that should keep on giving.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Apr 2, 2005 -> 12:03 AM) As is typically the case with these guys little details like that which make a big difference get left out. They want it to sound like they are going door to door rousting mexicans at random. :rolly City folks. I go backpacking and take my Boy Scouts into those areas. People actually use the wilderness for recreation. We camp, explore, and enjoy God's creation. Great information on wilderness travel Big Bend National Park Big Bend sits directly on the Rio Grande. The Chisos Mountains are some of the most beautiful areas anywhere. The surrounding desert areas are alive with some really cool reptiles, flora, fauna, and relics. Amazing place. We've also be invited to explore many of the ranches, Fish and Wildlife areas, and Nature Conservancy sites in that area. Sorry, no electricity, no cell coverage, no TV signal, no Internet, no Starbucks so y'all probably don't think people can live there. So Nuke, who is overlooking some facts? I've walked those areas that to y'all are some abstract concept. And was not capitalizing the M in Mexicans a deliberate insult or a Freudian slip? As far as targeting, I am pointing out that LAW ENFORCEMENT is trained and knows all the nuances of our immigration laws, these guys do not.

Thank God Michael had his attorney with him, in the room, when Terri passed. I am certain she would have preferred to be surrounded by Michael and his attorney, instead of her brother and sister. It just is too sad that Michael couldn't be surrounded by his current spouse and their children in his time of sorrow.

QUOTE(AssHatSoxFan @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 07:32 AM) can i make the switch and change my name to asshatCUBSfan?! I'm not going that far

He never put down the cross. I hope when it is my time I can live my end days with the same quiet dignity, not whimpering and fearful like, well like I think I will be. All the coverage is so difficult. The message from Vatican City is somber and peaceful, the reporting is just so sad. The images from his 1979 trip to the Midwest and millions of people coming out to see him, always touch me. I'm getting out of here for a couple days. Peace.

A lot of people are talking about his mechanics. It seems like he's stuck for 2005 and should ignore all that garbage and just go out and pitch and look to make any adjustments during the next off season.

I'm down in Texas and get a large dose of Astros koolaide drinking commentators, and of course have an allegiance to Chicago, but I really see St. Louis winning the division. It is exciting to hear people picking the Cubs.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 06:53 AM) Actually we just upgraded the server, etc. with this kind of thing in mind. We wanted to broaden the site and reach out to Chicago baseball fans. What I think would work even better is to create a forum just for Cubs fans. Kind of like we broke off the minor league stuff (not calling the Cubs minor league)

QUOTE(TLAK @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 06:40 AM) I hope the cub lose 120 games and that pitcher (is it Wood or Pryer?) loses 20, assuming he makes 20 starts. Put that picture on cubprattle not SoxTalk. :fthecubs I guess the moderators are going to have good time keeping the flames in check. :banghead

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 06:25 AM) I can see that on this issue you are adamant with your point of view. So be it. However, you seem to think I am arguing with you an this. I'm not. You're level of reaction to this issue is almost to the point that you'd round up vigilantes to go after the vigilantes. YAS, if you could see most of these groups, you would understand my sentiments. These groups aren't new. They have been around for decades. Now they have 9/11 and anti-immigration sentiment on their side. You hear statements like Mexicans are ruining America for Americans and stuff like that. Some are better with the rhetoric. Actually the border patrol is doing a fine job keeping the vigilantes in check. Another problem that the vigilantes are causing for the Border Patrol is it forces the illegals to try more dangerous routes. This causes the Border Patrol to be in more dangerous situations. I am all for patrolling our borders, these guys are making it tough on law enforcement, Americans who live on the border, and the few illegals. There are millions of Mexican Americans living on the border and a few thousand illegals. Why harass the millions to try and slow down a few thousand?

I just read the announcement and saw the banner I've been asking for a long time why we cannot have Cub fans here. Now that Boston won a world series, I want one for Chicago. If it means the Cubs, I'll cheer just as loud. Go Chicago!!

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 06:03 AM) There are two ways to look at things, Texsox. You, my friend, are only seeing it from one side. There has to be a balance struck here. That's all I was trying to say. The best trained law enforcement group on the US is the Border Patrol. I am not against qualified law enforcement agressivly patrolling the border. They save countless lives every year. They speak fluent spanish, they know the laws, have the authority to detain people. They don't want these vigilantes out there. The balance is, we cannot target the largest ethinic group in our country for harassment because some people that look like them have committed a crime. Imagine if some groups decided that since so many blacks are caught with drugs, they will drive around in pickups, displaying the confederate stars and bars, prominently display handguns, and report any suspicious activity? Do you think Clarence Thomas would appreciate the gesture of being watched on his way home? Would you report guys guys driving slowly though your neighborhood peering into backyards as suspicious? They should be reporting themselves. 80% of the border is inhabited by Mexican-Americans. 80%! and the vigilantes are going to watch and report just the illegals? There is no way to tell Mexican-AMERICANS, non-resident aliens (legal), undocumented illegals, and Mexicans on 72-hour laser visas. These groups are featured all the time on the news. If y'all could see the hoopin and hollerin, the speech they use, you will understand why VIGILANTES are not a good idea. Properly trained law enforcement is.

Being a free speech sort of guy and believing all Americans should speak out and voice their opinions, I have to admit she went too far. There is a dividing line between constructive criticism, just whining, and improper activities. I think she stepped over the line. BTW, I wonder what Southeast Asia and the world would look like today if we didn't send so many Americans to their deaths and allowed Vietnam to form a communist government?

If this board is any indication the media coverage was way overblown. Most of our threads get 2 or 3 thousand replies and 10 thousands views, this one only had 550 replies. No one really interested in this subject. Wacko doesn't deserve much coverage. The few wacko threads we have have died a quick death. Basically what could come out that would shock us? Oops, Jacko, that was a rhetorical question, don't . . .

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 04:35 AM) To begin with, this group is unfairly being misrepresented by calling them vigilantes. These people have not done anything to earn that label. Now, since everyone seems to be so concerned about rights ... let's see what rights have not been considered here. The right of free speech.... The right to bear arms ..... The right of assembly. The Minutemen want to call attention to what they perceive as a problem, the say way someone may protest a nativity scene on a town square. The Minutemen have the right to legally carry firearms. They are exercising that right and that has the liberals all in a tizzy. They also are exercizing their right to assemble. The liberals don't like that either, but you don't see the damn ACLU standing up for the Minutemen. Ironic, but the men who were the original minutemen exercized all these rights against a power who would deny them. Those men are considered heroes of the American Revolution while these are labeled vigilantes. YASNY, walk down any town USA and tell me which people are Mexican-Americans, which are resident aliens, and which are here illegally. Who are you going to report? All of them? You didn't like the wisecrack about incest in the south, how would you feel being "watched" by guys in pickups and handguns because you are from Kentucky and must be an illegal? Actually down here it is the few conservatives who are trying to hardest to make the Mexican-Americans feel welcome. Their toursist dollars, their business investments, all are important, actually critical components to our local economies. When the American Nazi Party wanted to march in Skokie, reasonable people understood why they were doing it. Free Speech does not give you the right to harass people. The right to assembly is not absolute, anytime anyplace for any reason. No LOITERING. Most of these guys are not the local PTA, neighborhood watch group.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 1, 2005 -> 02:22 AM) We have question marks on staff, no doubt about it. I like our odds of having the majority of those questions answered positively as compared with previous years. I also like the odds as compared to other teams in the league. The bullpen's depth should make the starting rotation that much stronger, and having BMac waiting in wings could prove to be HUGE before this year is out. I am most concerned about the 3&4 holes. I will be shocked if Garland doesn't have the second or third highest win total on the team. Leaving spring training I am believing most of the predictions for this team. Th are competive with anyone in the central, but not clearly better than Minny or Cleveland. Depending on how JR's 2005 House of Cards stack, the division can be won. But this staff isn't as great as I believed a month ago. The pen is actually better than I thought. Welcome to another in a long series of holding the breath and praying seasons. I am planning on spending more time this season paying attention to the Cubbies pitching. After years of bucking it, there are so many games on my cable that I avoided, now I guess I'll be watching. It will be fun to compare. Better to watch the Cubs than a Diamondbacks - Dodgers game

QUOTE(Jeckle2000 @ Mar 31, 2005 -> 06:23 PM) As much as I hate to say it this is a perfect example of why when someone puts a gun to you that you need to just do whatever the hell they want. I know if someone held up a gun to me i'd give them my wallet, cars, keys, whatever just in order to get out of there alive. Nothing is more important then your life and it's sad this girl learned that the hard way. Yep, I'd be grateful that kiss is all he wanted. Too bad she wasn't armed. She could have pulled a weapon on him and all this wouldn't have happened. When will y'all learn from the GOP and start packing?

If anyone cares officially the "last rites" are made up of two parts, and I'm certain our resident expert FlaSoxJim will correct me if I'm wrong here. The Catholic Church tries to avoid the term last rites, because it can be confusing. The first part is the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick followed by the Sacrament of Penance. Both Sacraments can be given at any time, but special significance has been given to that these as the person is dying. Probably way more than anyone wanted to know.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Mar 31, 2005 -> 04:42 PM) I heard he's been given his last rites, true? Before undergoing almost any surgery, or medical treatment, or severe illness, it is reasonably common. I've received it a couple times. The first time I thought it was kind of cool, the second time I was a little more scared. Still, I think they are bracing the world . . .

He is a remarkable man and is leading an incredibly full and rich life. He developed so many of his talents in language, music, literature, and even a little painting. He would have risen to the top of any profession he chose. Thankfully he listened to God's calling.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 31, 2005 -> 03:48 PM) I hate girls that won't put out. /don't flame me. we are going to have one great Soxtalk reunion when we all punch our ticket to hell

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 31, 2005 -> 03:02 PM) Interesting thing you mention that last line. Why would the US allow such an exception to one race/country and no others? Just like I have been saying all along, because it is a different situation that mandates a different set of rules. Should be do away with that rule because no one else has that rule? Isn't that racist against the rest of the world? What about the poor Canadians who just want to go to Detroit or Buffalo, but can't as easily as a Mexican can go to Brownsville or San Diego? Is that fair to them, should we be choosing one race over another? Canadians are allowed that same privilege. I should have been clearer, it was in a middle paragraph. Most countries around the world have different tourist and immigration laws for their neighbors. Makes commerce different. I think we should treat both our neighbors the same. You don't. No big deal unless you are an American trying to make a living in the south. US Industry is busy shifting wage dollars to Mexico and damn it, we don't want those dollars back in the US. It is far easier for Canadians than Mexicans. Both because of American laws and laws from their respective countries. You were saying?? Here is a major problem that we see from the border. Most of the country has a view of Mexico based on pop culture, Charo, and Perot's giant sucking sound. In the end too many people, and I am in no way implying anyone here is adopting this view, that in the end, they pretty much say, who cares it's just Mexico.

I'll bet there is quite an adrenalin rush happening there. The human body is an amazing thing. Just look at the SI Swimsuit Issue

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 31, 2005 -> 02:26 PM) Adjust your fruit analogy from state residents to kids, and you have a whole different, much more apt view. Shopkeepers often will only let one or two kids into a store at a time (espcially in areas around schools), and they won't allow them to bring their backpacks into the stores at all. Do adults have the same restrictions? No. There are innocent kids who spend money there, who are either kept out of the stores, or so insulted by their policies that they go somewhere else. Why do shopkeepers do this? Because they know by and large it is kids who are stealing from them, and most likely by denying them entrance as a whole, they are doing better for themselves with that system. I never said that it was rich Mexicans who were seeking visas or to illegally immigrate using them. You did. Not me. You put those words in my mouth using your assumptions. According to you only the poor immigrate, and the rich just use the US as they see fit. I don't see why you think that if anyone had the chance to get into the US proper legally, and wanted to illegally immigrate, why wouldn't they. Are you saying the poor Mexicans aren't smart enough to figure out how to overstay a visa? If people can pool money to pay a coyote to smuggle them over the border, why can't they afford to apply for a visa? Or are you saying that Mexico/US only grants visas to the obscenely rich? And if only the rich in general can afford US visas, why would we limit anyones time here at all? Why do we limit any countries time to visit here? If we are so racist in our policies, why do we limit times that Anglo countries citizens can stay here? Again, using your analogy. The shopkeeper would tell the adults that since purple kids from the neighborhood steal, then purple adults can't buy as much fruit. The guilty are hurting the innocent. You are painting all Mexicans the same. I am dividing the groups, like you. I am separating the Mexicans that can afford the few hundred dollars for the permits, which do not allow you to work, from the poor ones that cannot afford the several hundred dollars. One last comment on the shopkeeper. If kids from Main Street without ID stole $5 per week, and other kids from Main Street with IDs spent $5000 per week. Is the shopkeeper smart to not take the honest kids money? I am not saying that poor Mexicans can not figure out how to overstay a visa, I am saying that poor Mexicans are too poor to buy the Visa. Coyotes are cheaper, and often times can hook them up with jobs, false identification, and transportation further inland. Think about this in reverse. If they could just buy a Visa and overstay their welcome, why risk death by traveling across a desert, or locked in a truck trailer? Why alert the US government that you even entered the country? It's like a burglar announcing he's entered your home. Why should policies be different for Canada and Mexico? We share a border for one. We share historical ties. Many areas of the US were part of Mexico, families are split. For example about 100 years ago, people in Laredo were given a choice in which country to live. Move to the north side of the city and be Americans, or move to the South side and be Mexicans. Imagine the practicality of needing special permits to cross the Chicago river. To have a thirty day restriction to visit Hyde Park, but people from Pill Hill have 90 days? Border cities, especially the older ones, are like that. They were built up before the Rio Grande became a stricter border. During rationing it was routine for Americans to travel to Mexico for shoes, sugar, and other rationed items. Travel was free and easy and lifestyles developed around that. That is why we allow travel within more or less 25 miles of the border, differently than into the interior. We don't allow other nations that same privilege.