The Sir

Dude, it doesn't work like that. Nobody's going to steal anyone. If the Pads outbid us, Lozano will let us know before anything happens. That's just in the interest of getting the most money. So we'll get our shot. If we lose, either Manny really didn't want to play here, or we refused to beat the ultimate winning offer. There is no reason to bid against yourself, EVER.

If you didn't know that, I have to wonder how else you knew who Kristen Stewart is...

Anyone with sense has suspected that.

This is why it bugs me when people talk about Manny being the only reason for excitement in the upcoming season. I’d like to sign the guy too, but between the improvement of Moncada, Anderson, Lopez, Giolito, and the definite debut of this guy and possible debut of Cease, there’s plenty to look forward to in what we already have.

I’m not an NBA fan at all. Is his hair sharpied on there???

One, I think Dr. Phil is actually Dr. Phil personified. Two, this is a...compliment?

It wasn't the best analogy, but my point was to reinforce my rejection of the idea of leaving it to someone else. Sure, this girl could find someone else and the kid could end up with an awesome father figure, but it should be him. Just like your sister-in-law. I'm happy that she was well taken care of, but without knowing all the details, why did the sperm donor abdicate? It might have worked out in the end, but he, and he alone, should not have allowed that to happen. Additionally, given the idea that he comments on her social media, I'd guess he ultimately regrets his lack of a role in her life. Part of my advice to SoxAce is intended to avoid that result for him. If, 20 years from now, he finds himself thinking about his offspring like your SIL's dad and like my wife's birth dad, I hope he'll have done enough to avoid scorn and suspicion from him/her, and the pain that would come along with it. And proud of it! ? They're not intended that way. Didn't think about part one. Probably a fair question as to whether that would inadvertently set up anything legally binding. Part two makes me sad.

This is really the person he ought to talk to. If he’s worth his salt, he’ll have good advice.

I’m gonna sound like a dinosaur, but whatever. Men don’t just leave things up to fate. My wife is beautiful and my kids rock; if I simply walked out, they’d probably find someone else. Yet it’d be a total and unforgivable abdication of my duties as a man (as an aside, I’d rather be dead than be without my family). That kid isn’t some other man’s responsibility. He/she is his. We never heard why they hate each other. I won’t speculate. Maybe it’s an absolute and unchanging no from this woman, but I feel like he should try. He could send gifts or checks to show support. He could write letters to his child to let the kid know that he thinks about him/her. It’d be much better than just hiding from this and acting like it never happened.

Honestly, even though it’s inevitable, when I pop in here and see that Manny has signed ANYWHERE, I’ll be more shocked than I was when I found out my wife’s godfather gave $150,000 to a stripper and was divorcing her godmother.

I love the smell of signing Machado in the morning. Smells like...victory.

Ok, so can I resubmit my advice politely? You didn’t just take out the mean parts, you took out everything. @SoxAce, don’t abandon your child. Take responsibility for what happened. You might not want to be a dad, but you made a mistake and that’s the result, especially since she plans on keeping him/her. Work to rebuild that relationship however you can and be there for the kid in any way you can. Whether you realize it or not, that kid is going to think about you and wonder why you’re not there. It was a constant thought for my wife (somewhat different situation, but similar enough), and when I deal with troubled kids at my school, you’d be shocked at how often the lack of a father figure comes up. I’ve even heard kids explain their poor behavior themselves by pointing out that it might be different if they had dads. Don’t let that be your child. You’ll regret it a lot more down the road if you do. Sorry that I came off as harsh last night, but I’ve seen how this plays out further on. With everyone focusing on how you should protect yourself, I feel obliged to point out a different path. Please consider it.

Yeah, it's not for everybody. And while some take it that way, that's never the way I intend it. My point is solely that, for someone who's in the right physical and mental shape, and maybe not the best financial shape, the military is a great route. It's everybody's individual choice, though. I'll just recommend it.

Well...that's another thing you might want to reconsider...just sayin'.

I gotcha. At the risk of beating a dead horse and having Ray Ray freak out on me again, have you considered the military? You could probably come in at a non-entry level rank, do JAG stuff, and get some serious repayment. Try it with the IL National Guard and you could reap benefits for only two days a month (ok- not sure about that, NG might not pay out until you've given them some serious time, like a deployment).

Sorry, Jack. Seems like you counted your chickens before they hatched. You could take up a side hustle. I Uber, and I'm even getting a real estate license. Just a thought. That's fair. I just don't know how I benefit from your polisci/history degree. You don't really benefit from my criminal justice degree either.

Genuinely curious, did you know and understand how much you were going to owe (and maybe even pay each month) when you took that loan out?

Think you got me confused with someone else. Unless you're talking about my mini-rant about paying $1,900 in interest on a loan that I paid $2,200 or so total this year. The point of that wasn't that the government was wrong to charge me interest; I simply made it a goal to get rid of it sooner than I previously planned. No biggie. On part two, I'm sure we disagree. I mean, a lot of tax dollars do go to things that aren't worthwhile, but I'd put the personal educations of other people towards the top.

This is the problem with using tax dollars for something. We're paying for it, so shouldn't we get a say in whether it was worthwhile or not? Do you want to pay for me to learn Xhosa? Do you feel like you'd get a good ROI for that? I don't want more bureaucracy. So I'd suggest the simplest way is to not pay for it at all. For certain people who make those good decisions, and fill jobs that are hard to fill, they can be reimbursed. Major in gender studies and end up teaching at the worst school in CPS? Okey doke. Major in gender studies and end up as a barista? Sorry. Doesn't qualify.

Would you stop being so literal and maybe, just maybe, think about context? He wasn't saying Australia is undeveloped because it's poor and you risk getting abducted by warlords. It's a first world country and I'm sure a guy who's worked there would agree. He's saying it's undeveloped because transit across it is a nightmare. I live in a state that's well known for being huge and sometimes empty, and you'll at least find a town every fifty miles or so. But drive south out of Birdsville, Queensland? Hope you got a full tank of gas, because the twelve square blocks that is Marree, South Australia, is 310 miles away. That absolutely qualifies as undeveloped.

My point is that I did work hard. I didn’t scrub dishes to pay it back dollar by dollar, but I went to a shitty place and saw things I hope you never see, and the government thought that was enough that they footed the bill. So I did earn that, and I earned it by work, direct or not. The military can be hard. Getting in, however, isn’t. I maintain that most people, even those in paragraph three, do have that opportunity. Which brings me to paragraph three. I agree with a lot of what you bring up. I have a harsher view because I’ve seen some people succeed in that environment and it leaves me wondering why others cannot. I went over that already. But still, I understand that there are people less fortunate than I. Why does that simple assertion have to come with an attack on my work ethic? You say that’s not what it is, but everything else you say suggests that it is. Sorry, but I’m not going to degrade what I’ve achieved in life just because I lived in a big house when I was a kid and my parents had nice cars.

Less fortunate? Ha. I’ll remember that when I get sent to Syria. But hey, I’m sure you’re a great steward of tax dollars. I’m sure you’re opposed to every ridiculous boondoggle wherein we give tax dollars to people who did nothing to earn it, and not just one of the few situations where the recipients actually did. Have a nice life, Ray.

People with various disabilities can't. Sure. On a policy level, in the interest of making university more affordable, this is obviously not the answer. We can't force everyone to join the military. And as a service member myself, having a bunch of non-volunteers is the last thing I want. I'm not sure what the answer is, policy wise, but I'd tend to suggest less government involvement as a means of driving the price down. Whatever. Now, if you are an able-bodied, relatively young person, and you graduated college with an expensive degree which thus far has not been successful in finding you a job, or you just graduated from one of the crummy CPS schools and you don't have either the finances or grades to attend college right here right now... ...I'VE GOT GOOD NEWS! And I mean that, sincerely. If you meet the requirements, and have any amount of physical and mental resiliency, because of the benefits it offers, the military is a great path to a better life. People shouldn't be forced into it, but if you want a leg up, this is a hell of a place to start.

Fair enough. I have no experience with it and know almost nothing about it. Forgive the sarcastic language.

CPS to me is Child Protective Services. I have nothing to do (and never have, in any capacity) with Chicago Public Schools. Sorry it sucks.