Texsox

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 08:52 AM) Buehrle and Pierzynski, but I'm not too sure how the Pierzynski thing is going to work now that he's in bahston. Easy choices.

I little perspective on the money. My daughter spent just over $100,000 in four years at U of I. That would be over six years of working full time at $8 per hour.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 27, 2014 -> 10:49 AM) Funny note on Arizona... it only exists as a state because of slavery. As part of various machinations before and during the civil war, the New Mexico territory was split in two (more or less). Arizona was aligned with the Confederates and allowed slavery, New Mexico was Union and did not. The sarcastic part of me looks at that today, with Arizona being so much more fiercely socially conservative than New Mexico, and you wonder if it is just in-born. Your point is interesting. I would like to add that it is only parts of Arizona, which is why people explored splitting the state.

I am following your argument but the weak point still is the comparison between a weapon which can be documented as causing harm to someone and a sexual orientation which would not seem to harm anyone or even have the potential to.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 27, 2014 -> 09:18 AM) Lol, thanks for proving my point about your irrational fear. Then I am missing your point. People with guns shoot and kill people. Being concerned about someone with a gun seems more rational than being concerned about who someone may be having sex with. Which would you fear more, having a pissed off gay guy in front of you or a pissed off guy with a gun?

Since the objectionable behavior (in Kansas) of being "gay" is sexuality and having sex probably will not happen in the store a better analogy would be if Balta would block a gun owner from the store if they were not carrying a gun. The potentially objectionable behavior (sex, shooting) happens back home. Balta would be a hypocrit imho if he refused service to one and not the other. That doesn't seem to be the case.

I agree with the political realities of the situation. Much like states were brought in based on slave versus free. However, we are also adding federal representation to US citizens who currently do not have any.

Texas was brought into the union with the possibility of splitting into four states, but that was more of a response to slavery issues than anything else. Didn't Arizona start a petition to split into two states last year? While all this is theoritical, what is fact is that this is the longest the US has gone without adding a state. While I consider any of the splitting possibilities far fetched, I do see a 51st state within the next ten year. Probably Washington DC but possibly Puerto Rico.

I was just thinking if Hobby Lobby doesn't refuse service to gay people, should they be allowed to keep their religious based exemption from offering birth control? Isn't that having it both ways? It's easy to take a stance that will cut costs and increase profits, giving you an edge against the competition. It's another thing to take a stance that will hurt sales, lowering profits.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 26, 2014 -> 07:01 AM) Hobby Lobby is a private, for-profit company. I don't support their right to refuse to serve certain customers or refuse to provide health care plans that cover contraception for religious reasons. On the other hand, if you are an actual religiously-affiliated non-profit organization, such as a church/university/charity, I 100% support your right to do either of those things. If they do not refuse should they lose their exemption from the health care provisions?

The point that needs to be discussed is we are creating highly valued companies with very small work forces. That is a huge shift from huge companies = huge employers. That will produce a shift in how our society works. An optimist may suggest a 30 hour work week could be at hand with people job sharing. The pessimist could argue that huge unemployment will mean a global depression on a scale never seen before. The gulf between have and have nots will be huge.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 06:49 AM) What do you think Pope Francis would advise a Catholic florist to do if (s)he was asked to provide flowers for a gay wedding? What should Hobby Lobby do?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 01:54 PM) And Surrogacy Makes 3 In New York, a Push for Compensated Surrogacy Tex, I think your claims that puppy mills are "more regulated" than human babies or surrogacy is pretty dubious. I'm also unsure as to what you'd like to see regulated that currently isn't, or how that relates to the pretty clear anti-LGBT intentions of the proposed Kansas bill. If I didn't state it earlier, I was not in favor or against the Kansas bill, I have not read it. My specific comment was the industry needs to be reviewed for possible regulations to avoid problems. The point I was raising is that the surrogate mother industry is growing and it would be a good idea now, rather than later, to look at the many implications it has. Last year there was a sperm donor who did not go through a medical doctor who was sued by the state for child support. After all it is his child. The current laws did not seem to cover this disagreement. So if you decide to hire a surrogate on the cheap and not go through a medical doctor, perhaps just have the client have sex with the surrogate, can they be arrested for prostitution? If a gay couple decides to use a surrogate, can the non sperm donor avoid child support later? There will be many more issues in the coming years and I believe we should try to be ahead of these issues not reacting as situations happen. If a surrogate mother involves herself in a legal activity that could potentially harm the baby, could the surrogate be sued and for what? Alpha, you make a great point, but as you know, we do request that male lawmakers vote on these issues. I believe my examples have concerns for both men and women.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 07:15 AM) surrogate mothers are just like puppy mills? No. Surrogate mothers of humans are far more important of a subject. Which is why it is odd that puppy mills would be more regulated than surrogate mothers.

There are more laws on the books regarding puppy mills than for human babies.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 06:35 AM) Play him at catcher instead He's been catching blame for years

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 12:37 PM) They put a huge amount of toppings on their slices. I wonder if the ballpark version will be a little skimpier. It's a tough call how they will handle it. If they are thinking this is a promotional thing to drive business at their stores, it should be the same. If they are looking at this isolated from their core business, maybe not. I wonder if this signals an expansion plan.

Today we will be 20 degrees above the normal temperature. Ugh

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 19, 2014 -> 10:40 PM) Now some kook in the legislature wants to pass a law forbidding the "use" of surrogate mothers in Kansas. WTF is going on here? The water must be full of drugs. If there ever was an area of law that needs a good looking at, it is the surrogate mother area. When we've reached the point where healthy women are contracting out for this service because they do not want to get fat, stretch marks, don't have the time, etc. We need to look at that.

Kiss Cam? Pizza Race? Cheesy Smile? Find the kid with the pepporoni face?

In music and entertainment lists and such current stuf always is artificially inflated. In sports lists. current players seem to be deflated for a while.

It was a better than good and possible great offseason. Sadly, it won't really payoff for two maybe probably three years.

He should have just DH'd

It warmed up to 28.9 degrees here today.

Coaching golf has been a blast. I have 8 players who had never swung a club before. It's fun when they actually hit it where they wanted to. Great big smiles on their faces.