Texsox

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 12:26 PM) If he suspends ARod, he must suspend every player who tested postive during that confidential test. Just because his name was leaked doesn't mean he should be subject to more penalties. Just because events caused him to be made public, he should not be punished? Some people get caught, others do not. Happens all the time, for stuff more important and much less important than this. I see no problem in punishing some, we know we will never catch them all.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 14, 2009 -> 02:44 PM) I have to say, I have a different opinion on Bud Selig than the majority. First of all, Selig seems to be getting the blame for the steroid era. Well just step back in time bit, say to 1994 ... and remember the season without a World Series. Then look at the backlash from the fans after that season and the one when they avoided a strike/lockout because the fans were so vocal. The union wouldn't let baseball implement the PED tests. Yes, it was known in the late 90's around the game that PED's were part of the equation and Selig let it continue. But his hands were tied. He could not force the issue and cause another work stoppage over it. At that point in time, his best recourse was to sweep it under the rug and that's what he did. In the mean time, baseball is as healthy and vibrant as it has been in a long time. More butts in seats now than there ever has been. I credit Bud Selig's leadership for a big part of that fact. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 10:01 AM) I disagree totally with your statement YAS. Bud Selig alone had the power to do something about the drug problem in baseball. He has the ability to take a unilateral action if he deems it "for the good of baseball". It was a power that Landis insisted on when he took over after the Black Sox scandal. This power still exists to this day. He could have instituted any level of testing and penalties that he saw fit. Instead he negotiated it with the union, and besides how long it took to institute, it became so watered down, even to this day, that it is almost counterproductive. If Bud Selig wanted Olympic style testing, it could be done tomorrow, and there isn't a damned thing the union could do about it. They couldn't even sue because of the baseball anti-trust exemption. I have to agree with you both. I also think somewhere in the middle was the right course of action.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 07:37 AM) Good for Mark. Its too bad that we don't really focus on the guys like this in baseball instead of the low lifes like Bonds and Arod. A guy who can make his money, stay normal, and still be a good family man should be the guy we celebrate. Chicago is lucky to have a Mark Buehrle on the Sox for all of that time. Agreed. It is also a shame that when it is time for the HoF voting, stuff like this isn't figured into the voting. (I am not suggesting Buerhle is HoF material, I have someone else in mind)

I hope Burris gets a nice pension out of this. Has it been reported how much Blago has in his campaign accounts? And was the law ever changed about using those funds to pay legal bills?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 08:15 AM) Anything I said in support of Burris was based on the benefit-of-the-doubt assumption that he wasn't completely full of s*** for the record. me too. What a shame, it keeps getting worse.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 14, 2009 -> 11:06 AM) Congrats! It's a great school. What's she going for? She is in Communications / Advertising

After some trial and tribulation brought on by my daughter's High School, she was finally accepted at U of Illinois. It was such a relief. She was in the top ten in her class at the International Baccalaureate School here, but when she moved back to Illinois, her new high school screwed over her transcript. Oh boy, both kids in college . . . /anything in the stimulus package for me? or am I the stimulus package.

QUOTE (longshot7 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 12:40 PM) That's just not true. Who do you think did those jobs before the illegals got here? slaves, recent immigrants, high school students, braceros. But more importantly, who is going to work them now? Do you remember President Reagan? His answer was amnesty in 1986. Twenty years later, the same issue faces us. It's supply and demand. After going to US schools for 12 years, are we going to tell our children they can be migrant farms workers? Bus boys? The lowest rung of the economic ladder has been a start for immigrants throughout our history. It is only recently that we have embraced immigrants as Doctors and other professionals and demanded that our children be allowed to work for them at minimum wage.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 10:51 AM) His diet should be exclusively peanut butter sandwiches on peanut bread all from his factory. This is the kind of behavior we expect to see coming from Chinese food factories, not from the US... but it happens more than we realize. You'd be surprised how much cow poop is in that burger you had for lunch for example. Oh my. How about some cow urine in your soft drink. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_...icle5707554.ece

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 10:51 AM) His diet should be exclusively peanut butter sandwiches on peanut bread all from his factory. This is the kind of behavior we expect to see coming from Chinese food factories, not from the US... but it happens more than we realize. You'd be surprised how much cow poop is in that burger you had for lunch for example. The gist of your comment is correct, we do allow a fair amount of contaminants in our food. Specifically to ground beef, quietly, thanks to the fast food industry, regulations were changed to allow ground meat to enter this country. Prior to that, the smallest you could bring in were subprimals. And of course prior to that it was primals. So the slippery slope concept was alive and well in those regulations. US beef, has a much smaller chance of the poop in your burger. There are very few slaughter operations that also process at that level.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 10:47 AM) I love the fact that its all substance, no style. Kind of like your avatar

What's everyone reading? I've got my nose in Amerco Peredes' George Washington Gomez, Burroughs Junky (excerpts about my neighborhood) , and Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde. George Washington Gomez was written in the 1930s but not published until about 1990. It is set in my neck of the woods, and I find it very interesting.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 10, 2009 -> 03:02 PM) HAHAHAHA!!! Everyone forgot about ME!!!!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 09:16 AM) He has the Constitutional right not to incriminate himself. Yes he does. And Congress has the right to call him before the cameras for all the world to see what a scum bag he is. A little public humiliation before the real flogging is nice. I can't wait for the perp walk with him covering his face.

February 11, 2009 The Sheriff is going too far. Sorry, this is way out of scale. Search warrants on 8 kids homes. Twenty deputies. Nope, he just passed the ridiculous level for a pot violation.

a couple chuckles

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 09:03 AM) That's the opposite of what I want to happen, and it is more likely with separate agencies. Put together as some sort of a consumer protections agency it makes sense to me, I am sure there are some other agencies that could fit in there that I can't think of at the moment. I think your idea would be better than shuffling from one to another. Interestingly, NOAA does a lot for farmers as well. When people think of consumer protection they also think about UL (which is not a government agency). None of this would have stopped the peanut issue, unless we provide every factory an inspector on a daily basis. It seems like the FDA focuses on what is in the market and the USDA focuses on how it got there. Perhaps that would be a better alignment.

Did I read 18,000 man made objects!? Wow. I'd have taken the under at 6,000

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 07:48 AM) In my world, it would be all under the same roof. It does seem that way, and it probably should have been that way from the start. But now it feels like an increase in size overall. Either adding the boots and hat set to the FDA or adding white coated scientists to the USDA. Sounds expensive.

From what I am reading, anything less than jail time is a terrible miscarriage of justice. Those emails are pretty convincing to me. I'm not certain how much time, but something beyond what Enron and the like got would feel about right. 25 Years or so and perhaps it should be federal prison.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 07:19 AM) I think the idea is that they'll be more likely to get away with safety violations because illegals will be afraid to report it. They may think they'll get deported if they draw attention to themselves. That is true but not to the extent you probably are thinking. Remember some of the biggest raids have come at meat processing plants like Swift. They are heavily inspected for safety by OSHA. Very dangerous working conditions even with all the safety improvements. Basically slicing up large carcasses into primals and subprimals is a dangerous occupation. Which is generally why there are not a bunch of people lined up for those jobs. Field work for migrants is again monitored for health issues. The old days of crapping in the fields and no hand washing stations are gone. Partly thanks to the United Farm Workers. As much as I generally dislike unions today, I do have to tip my hat to there efforts in those areas. Farm work is dangerous for everyone, they account for a lot of workplace related injuries. And OSHA comes into play again with the construction industry. Overall, the abuses are general wage issues. No sick days, no vacation, shorted hours, etc.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 07:56 AM) I'm guessing people who are hiring illegals for the most part aren't too worried about other laws. You would be surprised.

http://texascivilrightsreview.org/phpnuke/...le&sid=1329 http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/city...nce_public.html http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6251029.html Basically put up a wall down the Chicago River and you have the situation in Brownsville, Texas. The city is built on the river. No fields or forest to build through. The new deal offered by Homeland Security is basically, you don't like us destroying your city? Fine, you build the wall your way, but at no cost to us. We'll put up a temporary until you get it finished. Brownsville has been enjoying a bit of a revival this century. Their historic district was enjoying some nice expansion of business. The wall would basically cut it in half and basically cripple part of the city. And as you pass over the bridges on the river today, look up and down and imagine a 18' high wall running the length of the river. Now remember Reagan telling the Soviets to tear down this wall!

Sign in an INDIANA store front window 'WE WOULD RATHER DO BUSINESS WITH 1000 AL QAEDA TERRORISTS THAN WITH ONE SINGLE AMERICAN SOLDIER!' This sign was prominently displayed in the window of a business in Whiting, Indiana. You are probably outraged at the thought of such an inflammatory statement.However, we are a society which holds freedom of Speech as perhaps our greatest liberty. And after all, it is just a sign.You may ask what kind of business would dare post such a sign. Answer: You gotta love it! May the God of your choice Bless America !!!!

In the spirit of co-winning the Drinking Buddy award, Heads and I will have a party this summer, he's buying. Thanks Heads, you're the best.