Texsox

You know what, I'm going to give you a two-fer Zebras running really, really fast must look gray

Sending money to the poor in disadvantaged countries = good. Boras sending money to the poor in a disadvantaged country and hoping for some back = evil. I'm feeling bad for expecting my Kiva.com loans to be repaid.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Nov 27, 2010 -> 09:05 AM) He's not going to suck but there's a 0 percent chance that he repeats last season. which would be back to back 0 percent seasons. It was 0 percent he was going to have the kind of season he had last year.

Sign him. 3/$35 You have to build on a cornerstone, he's the guy, on and off the field. How many times have we seen these types of posts? Every guy with a good season in a Sox uni will fall apart next season, every guy sucking it up in another uni will magically turn it around if the Sox sign him.

Damn, you guys are motivating me. I remember in college thinking I will never allow myself to get out of running shape. Seventy+ pounds later, I am. I keep thinking I need to get down to some reasonable weight before running. Diet and walking have me down to 205 from 226. I've been planning on starting to run when my weight loss levels off.

Fell asleep during the movie. I didn't snore so the missus did not notice. I will be going back to watch it again with my son.

QUOTE (shipps @ Nov 26, 2010 -> 02:47 PM) I dislike Chase. A couple banks down here are starting to add a min deposit on their checking accounts or they charge a fee. My gf was really pissed last month, she has $$,$$$ in a s***ty savings account they pay almost nothing on yet they still charged her a fee on her checking which she keeps almost nothing in. She also has a CD with them. It will all go bye bye as soon as she gets a chance.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Nov 26, 2010 -> 03:49 PM) At first I thought you had written that, Tex, and was about to be really impressed.... regardless, job well done by the guy who did write it. Pretty funny. It was a team effort, again without me. That listserv sometimes hit some homeruns with their stuff.

I was thinking *he* needs a reality TV show, Joe Biden's White House Admiral's House (which is just down the street and around the corner from the White House, he's almost there)

We can all thank Bush for that

useless to protest anything that is done to stop terrorism. Then the terrorist win.

Really want to know if he ever learned to speak Latin for his next trip to South America

Last weeks was a real back breaker as well http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete/2010-W47 seriously, wtf do we pay this guy?

The only day this week our VP had anything on his agenda was Monday. Whew, what a pace he keeps 8:00 AM The Vice President hosts a breakfast meeting with Representative Steny Hoyer 9:15 AM The Vice President meets with Senator John Kerry 1:00 PM Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs 5:00 PM The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden host a Thanksgiving dinner for Wounded Warriors and families of veterans and servicemembers being treated at area military hospitals And he gets the rest of the week off. I'd sure like to know the details of that meeting with John Kerry.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 26, 2010 -> 04:36 PM) Great, so why did everyone care so much about Dan Quayle? Because he'd say really stupid stuff. He was a side show.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Nov 26, 2010 -> 08:50 PM) Oh wait... Oh... wait... Republicans love this guy. Longest serving Governor. Texas economy is doing fine. He's got the best results to base a campaign on right now. He can even play his former Dem ties and talk about how the Dem party left him. Add a serious VP candidate and he's got it all. Laugh all you want, but he'd be my GOP pick.

Presidents don't have time to wait in line, but VPs do

Not a lot for him to do.

Nobody should be treated that poorly by a retail store

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 26, 2010 -> 02:36 PM) So the person who is sitting next to the President is worth less than some random reality show host who has no realistic shot at being President? That is just stupid. They would have said the same thing about the last couple Presidents. She is one of the most high profile GOPers. If the media didn't pay attention to her, the conservatives would be screaming media bias for not paying attention to the GOP front runners. She has been polling double digits, about the same as everyone else. And do you really want to know what the VP is doing?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 26, 2010 -> 02:22 PM) And one is the Vice President of the United States of America. How is that comparable again? Are you suggesting the VP should be the second most covered person in America? One is actively looking for attention, has a large staff getting her name in front of the media, is the face of the Tea Party movement, and the front runner for the next nomination. One is trying not to over shadow the President and is in a position that the media has never really paid any attention to unless there is a scandal. List the important items on the VP's job description, and you will now why the VP just isn't news worthy unless they shoot a lawyer or have serious health problems.

lol, stayed home.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Nov 26, 2010 -> 11:11 AM) Because I'm bored atm I'll just point out a couple of obvious things: 1) The military and national defense is run by the federal government. It specifically says so in that there Constertushin thingamajig I always hear people talking about but who apparently haven't actually read it. If North Korea decides to launch ballistic (especially nuclear) missiles at Alaska, that's got nothing to do with the governor of Alaska. Nobody's activating the Alaska National Guard to stop missiles from North Korea after they're launched. 2) Someone needs to teach them about ICBMs and how they work. If Russia (or the "former Soviet Union" if you insist) figures one day it wants to commit national suicide and initiate a nuclear attack of any size against us (they won't) everyone is f***ed anyway so this would be irrelevant. And we especially wouldn't be counting on the governor of Alaska's leadership. Come on now. "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." -Ronald Reagan 3) Someone should point out she quit that job because her feelings were being hurt. In her defense, and I can't believe I'm actually offering a little defense, relations with Russia (or w/Mexico for Perry) are a slightly more important topic than say if she were the Governor of North Carolina.

The Carnival cruise ship Splendor was recently stranded off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico, with nearly 4500 people on board after it lost power following an engine-room fire. With no electricity, the cruisers were forced to eat Spam and Pop Tarts air-dropped by the Navy. In other news, last week saw the 35th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a massive ore freighter that met its match against a sudden storm on Lake Superior, and was later immortalized by folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. And now, today's special presentation, to be sung to the tune of Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The original is here, in case you need memory-jogging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvKGz4s3kuU The Cruise of the Carnival Splendor The legend lives on from Tijuana on down, of the cruise ship, the Carnival Splendor. The passengers and crew, and a hooker or two, had big plans for a 7-day bender. The ship was a jewel, with tennis courts and pool, and appointments that couldn't be finer. Little did they know, in just a day or so, they'd be living like Chilean miners. An engine-room hand liked the Marlboro brand, and tossed one away with a snicker. The passengers' fate sailed into dire straits, when the oily floor started to flicker. The engine, indeed, caught on fire at sea, and nary a crewman could mend her. And thus did begin, the start of the end of the cruise of the Carnival Splendor. It was all doom and gloom, in the engine room as the fire raged on for an hour. And when it was done, the engineer was glum, Saying, "Cap'n, she cannae get power!" A charted course of fun, sailing 'round in the sun, but the sea likes to follow hew own plan. And now the crew feared, with no power to steer, they were adrift, just like Lindsay Lohan. The rich on a cruise count on hot tubs and booze, and service from stewards and porters. Superior they feel, until fate takes the wheel and the hired help stops taking orders. The wine in the glass surely tasted like ass, as some folks heaved their guts o'er the railing. And everyone knew, as the captain did, too, Don't eat seafood -- the coolers were failing! With power now dead, 'frigeration went bad, food spoiled -- now everything's fubar. When supper time came, the cook tried renaming his entrees, appending them "_________ Tartare." Cruise Director McCoy was the lone source of joy as she planned fun and games without power, But as Isaac poured drinks, he said, "This really stinks. My coladas have all turned to sours!" During the 9 p.m. show the generator did blow, The crew blamed it on pirates and smugglers. And all that remains are the tuxes and plates of a troupe of Bolivian jugglers. The captain wired in he had poo coming in, and the good ship's brave crew were a-thinkin'. For the toilets stopped working, and sewerage was lurking, and the Splendor would soon be a-stinkin'. "The plumbing's shut off," Captain said with a cough as the ship halted near Ensenada. The bathrooms below smelled like someone had croaked after eating a bad enchilada. With a load of raw dung, 26,000 foul tons, and not one toilet on board fit for flushin', Fear o'rtook the crew, and each last man knew, that before long, the Splendor'd be gushin'. Vacation plans wrecked, not quite what you expect when a fun cruise to Mexico beckons. The kids gone berserk and the crapper don't work -- Montezuma's Revenge, back for seconds. The beer was all gone, and the liquor was, too, and the wine had been drunk with abandon; The passengers said, "Hey, the Captain looks red, could it be there's more booze in his cabin?" The buffet, it seemed, no longer gleamed, with its usual glutinous glory. When the mimosas ran dry, Cap'n said with a sigh, "That's the end of the good Splendor's story." The rations were meager and the ship's crew was eager to dig up some extra nutrition. But a line had been crossed when a salad was tossed, and the purser said, "Here comes my Slim Jim!" The engines on board could not be restored by even the crew's top mechanic. But through battery power, they held movie hour: the last 60 minutes of "Titanic." With kiddies out playing, their parents were laying in the darkness that enveloped the cabins. So come next August near, their new babes I do fear, will all bear names like "Doc" or "Stubing." When morning rolled 'round, the chef came on down, saying, "Sorry, there's nothing for cooking." Then the Navy swooped in with a thunderous din, dropping Pop-Tarts and Spam. Are you kidding?!? A fat guy named Fred choked to death on some bread that was dropped to the ship by the Navy. While a couple of dorks wielding ladles and forks killed a guy for a bowlful of gravy. Without slots or bingo, the geezers, by Jingo, did barely arise from their slumber. The problem emerging was the crew's dead-weight purging had tossed them o'erboard like lumber. The casino was dead, so they all went to bed and the women began to get surly. They had nothing to do but stay inside and screw, but the males in their cabins came early. A gambler supposed the casino'd be closed, in a voice filled with tearful vibrato. The chef broke his hip in the dark when he slipped in a puddle of melted gelato. 24-hour news kept updates on the crew, and the one girl who cried for her mama. Then, shaking with fear, Glenn Beck shed a few tears, "This is your fault, President Obama!" They'd get through the week on Pop-Tarts and Spam treats, while awaiting reunions with families. Not one life was lost, but how great the cost to the CEO back in Miami. The excuse from Carnival, was loaded with bull, and the passengers proved to be skeptical, "There's a price to be had, and it's gonna be bad; Captain, please bid adieu to your testicles." With the sun shining bright, they could bask in God's light, as the tugboats towed Splendor to Cali. But don't go below deck, and if you do, watch your step, 'cause there's poo on the floor in the galley. Now all that remains are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters. The galley is crammed with cases of Spam, and the Pop Tarts that float in the water. Carnival would need luck as it tried with some pluck to assuage an irate on-board cruise mob, But the smudge on its name wasn't nearly the same as from those ads starring Kathie Lee Nut-Job. For the loss of their fun, they got full refunds and a promise of future free tickets. But they'd had enough and they said in a huff exactly where Carnival could stick it. In Mexico, they joke at the gringos who smoke, too much pot, then hit on senoritas. But in hushed tones they speak of the suffering that week, cold spam tacos and hot margaritas. The legend lives on from Tijuana on down, of the cruise ship, the Carnival Splendor. The Pacific, it's wrote, when it doesn't like a boat, sends it back, marked "Return to Sender." [ Copyright 2010 by Chris White/TopFive.com ] Join today! http://www.topfive.com/html/clubsubs.html

"The United States has the highest homicide rate of any affluent democracy - nearly four times that of France and the United Kingdom and six times that of Germany. Why? Historians haven't often asked this question. Even historians who like to try to solve cold cases usually cede to sociologists and other social scientists the study of what makes murder rates rise and fall or what might account for why one country is more murderous than another. Only in the nineteen-seventies did historians begin studying homicide in any systematic way. In the United States that effort was led by Eric Monkkonen, who died in 2005, his promising work unfinished. Monkkonen's research has been taken up by Randolph Roth, whose book 'American Homicide' offers a vast investigation of murder in the aggregate and over time. ... "In the archives murders are easier to count than other crimes. Rapes go unreported, thefts can be hidden, adultery isn't necessarily actionable, but murder will nearly always out. Murders enter the historical record through coroners' inquests, court transcripts, parish ledgers, and even tombstones. ... The number of uncounted murders, known as the 'dark figure,' is thought to be quite small. Given enough archival research, historians can conceivably count with fair accuracy the frequency with which people of earlier eras killed one another with this caveat: the farther back you go in time - and the documentary trail doesn't go back much farther than 1300 - the more fragmentary the record and the bigger the dark figure. ... "In Europe, homicide rates, conventionally represented as the number of murder victims per hundred thousand people in the population per year, have been falling for centuries. ... In feuding medieval Europe the murder rate hovered around thirty-five. Duels replaced feuds. Duels are more mannered; they also have a lower body count. By 1500 the murder rate in Western Europe had fallen to about twenty. Courts had replaced duels. By 1700 the murder rate had dropped to five. Today that rate is generally well below two where it has held steady with minor fluctuations for the past century. "In the United States, the picture could hardly be more different. The American homicide rate has been higher than Europe's from the start and higher at just about every stage since. It has also fluctuated, sometimes wildly. During the Colonial period the homicide rate fell, but in the nineteenth century while Europe's kept sinking, the U.S. rate went up and up. In the twentieth century the rate in the United States dropped to about five during the years following the Second World War, but then rose reaching about eleven in 1991. It has since fallen once again to just above five, a rate that is nevertheless twice that of any other affluent democracy. ... "2.3 million people are currently behind bars in the United States. That works out to nearly one in every hundred adults, the highest rate anywhere in the world and four times the world average. ... "[Roth theorizes] that four factors correlate with the homicide rate: faith that government is stable and capable of enforcing just laws; trust in the integrity of legitimately elected officials; solidarity among social groups based on race, religion, or political affiliation; and confidence that the social hierarchy allows for respect to be earned without recourse to violence. When and where people hold these sentiments the homicide rate is low when and where they don't it is high." Author: Jill Lepore Title: "Rap Sheet" Publisher: The New Yorker Date: November 9, 2009 Pages: 79-81 About Us Delanceyplace is a brief daily email with an excerpt or quote we view as interesting or noteworthy, offered with commentary to provide context. There is no theme, except that most excerpts will come from a non-fiction work, mainly works of history, are occasionally controversial, and we hope will have a more universal relevance than simply the subject of the book from which they came. To visit our homepage or sign up for our daily email click here To view previous daily emails click here. To sign up for our daily email click here.