The Sir

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Aug 6, 2011 -> 06:21 PM) Of course you are, it keeps you employed. Also, why do you guys continue to rehash this point? I supported the military long before I joined and I'll support it long after I go. I support it because the military is what keeps our way of life safe. I'm sure some of you guys think freedom of speech is protected by idiots who go and stand on street corners with signs that support a whole mishmash of causes. Or that freedom of press is defended by journalists like Woodward and Bernstein. But that's just crap. All the freedoms that Americans enjoy and take entirely for granted are defended by men with guns who take abysmal pay and horrid conditions while deployed all because they think America is something worth dying for. Leftist brats stay home in comfort and think they do jack s*** to defend those things, and that's just silly. They do nothing compared to the men and women of our Armed Forces.

Just to expand on my point, CW's statement applies for any company. If a cop doesn't show up for work, that police department will continue to function and the city will still be kept safe. If a fire fighter is dismissed, fires will still be successfully fought in that district. If CW doesn't show up to McDonalds this week, burgers will still be flipped and served. Yeah, none of these people being dismissed will cause their respective organizations to collapse. But that doesn't make their service any less important or noble. I can't believe someone made such a moronic point. Just another goofy leftist attempt to minimize the fact that I went out and did something for my country. I'll chalk it up to jealousy. Hilarious.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Aug 6, 2011 -> 06:21 PM) Of course you are, it keeps you employed. The military could dismiss you and our country would be 0.00% less safe. Uhh, yeah, sure...if I don't show up for work on Monday, it will be my ass and the military will continue to function without me. It was here long before I showed up and it will be here long after I'm gone from this world. And it's like that for any Soldier. No Soldier means anything as an individual. But we do mean a lot as part of a team. The Army's all about teamwork. But what would you know about that? You never served.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Aug 6, 2011 -> 12:10 PM) I can't stop laughing at this sentence. Awesomely phrased. Even better is the idea that America's heroes came home from Vietnam and the same miserable leftist scum who supported Roe v. Wade came out to greet them with spit and cries of "baby killer". If that isn't ironic, I don't know what is. There is a special place in Hell for those asswipes.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 5, 2011 -> 08:30 AM) I think it goes something like this: SS...........................................liberal.............Moderate.............Conservative.. ..............Tea Party...............The Sir I'm flattered. Truly.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 5, 2011 -> 08:10 AM) I'm as conservative as the next guy about most issues, but this whole "businesses have free reign in the name of the market" viewpoint is completely narrow-minded. I have absolutely no problem telling US companies that if they take jobs overseas they lose any and all domestic tax incentives. It's absolutely insane that companies are shifting jobs overseas or laying off workers while the CEO and other high level executives walk away with millions per year in salaries. Sure. I've said that this whole time. Tax breaks disappear if you export jobs. I've got no problem with that at all. But the restrictions should not go farther than that. If a company wants to ship jobs overseas and lose their tax incentives, that's their perogative. As for you, SS, from every your encounter I've ever had with you, you're a leftist to the core. I've seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 5, 2011 -> 08:12 AM) that, like all of those "reports" that show Islamic terrorism by the liberal think-tanks known as the FBI and Europol is really a minor occurrence in the West, are simply lies. We know the enemy, and the enemy is Allah. All social safety net spending should be diverted from the maggots in the US to a $10T military budget to smash all those who would stand before us. Unchecked wealth redistribution that doesn't even require people be tested for drugs = social safety net. You're a sad little "man".

I didn't say we should put them in internment camps or something. But I will look at them suspiciously. And you don't seem to have any idea what's going on in the sand boxes. Do you really think we are just indiscriminately killing and bombing Muslims? That's how your post comes off. Your ignorant disapproval for what our military is doing over there sounds like...blind ideological cheerleading.

Are you any different? And trying to write my views off as ideological cheerleading is as idiotic as it is irrelevant. Fitting, coming from a person of your caliber.

I know Afghanistan isn't Arabic. But it's Islamic. And these people aren't committing terrorism because they're "occupied". Bin Laden's stated goal was the establishment of a worldwide Islamic caliphate. That's why Israel must fall, that's why Sharia zones are being implemented in the UK, and so on and so forth. And that's why the attempts at appeasement are so funny. The left thinks that by kissing up to Islam, they'll be spared. As the pro-Palestine Italian journo learned in Gaza recently when he literally lost his head, it doesn't matter. Infidels must die. I will absolutely look upon Muslim "Americans" with suspicion. And they should expect that. After all, Islamic terror has been the West's enemy since we brought communism to its knees.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 5, 2011 -> 05:53 AM) You're all for the part of the government cutting your check. No. I believe the military's mission is essential. I believed that long before I became a part of it. National defense is a vital part of defending our way of life. Wealth redistribution is not and never will be. And even if I was just a dude who wanted to protect his paycheck, which I'm not, how would that be any different from a welfare maggot voting Democrat solely to keep his money supply going? Well, the difference would be that I'm actually contributing to society, of course. I'm cheering for good business. Again, employers should do what is allowed within the law to maximize profits. I hope tax breaks are implemented in order to encourage employers to keep jobs here. That's proactive and acceptable. But I will not see a big government nanny state step in and tell employers what they have to do. Big government is a far greater evil than job outsourcing and private citizens' greed.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 4, 2011 -> 10:26 PM) It's not that your opinions on corporations are invalid because you work for the government, I'm pointing out the irony that someone who rants about how stupid and dumb and awful the government is and how we should be rooting for companies that outsource jobs to places with terrible wages, terrible working conditions, terrible environmental standards and zero workers' rights because hey, if Americans don't want to go back to the Gilded Age, f*** 'em! is someone who works for the government. I've always maintained that defense is one of the few legitimate areas of government. I'm all for our huge defense budget. What I'm against is the ridiculous amount of money being spent on out-of-control entitlement programs (AKA stealing from the people who work for their money and giving it to the leeches who liberals refuse to even have tested for drugs). Or government healthcare packages that people are forced to buy. Or government funding for clinics that practice abortion (for or against it, it's ridiculous that public money would be spent on child murder). I'm against all of that, and always have been. I'd hate the government a lot less if they stuck to the few things I see as legitimate functions. So you don't have a solution? I do (well, it's a partial one, at least). Offer tax breaks to corporations that keep jobs in this country. But I will never support the government interfering with the free market and punishing or regulating corporations that find new ways to maximize profits. That's another area that government has no place in. I don't like seeing jobs outsourced to India or China or Taiwan. But I dislike government interference in the economy and in the affairs of private organizations even more.

Frankly, I don't give a f*** if the Arabs/Muslims (who often practice Holocaust denial) want come up with crazy conspiracy theories and tell themselves that their asshole leader still lives. He doesn't; US Navy SEALs infiltrated his hideout and shot him in the face. Nicholas Schmiddle writing an unverified, dishonest story for a magazine does not change that fact and it never will. And so what if he said "For God and Country"? I hope he did! He sure didn't shoot him for Allah and Communism. Whether people want to acknowledge it or not, we are at war with Islamic terror. Me and my Soldiers are not training to fight against right wing militias in Montana, as much as Biden and Pelosi would like to think we are. We are training for the mountains of Afghanistan. Radical Islam is the enemy right now, and these politically correct attempts to avoid that fact are cowardly and dangerous.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 4, 2011 -> 08:02 PM) Says the government employee. Oh. Well, if my opinions on private corporations are invalid because I work for the government, then I guess your opinions on DADT and use of military force are invalid because you never served your country. Think that's fair? And seriously, what's your solution to rampant outsourcing? I'll support tax breaks for companies that keep jobs here. But I'm not in support of policies that put restrictions on employers. Rewards, not punishments and restrictions.

I'd like to go from FlySox87 to The Sir. It's a military thing.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 2, 2011 -> 06:27 PM) This is... not... good. It might sound like it is at first glance, but it translates into all bad for me and you. Intentional cheap labor policy is bad for everyone except the actual corporations themselves (who, without laws specifically stating otherwise, have ZERO obligation to anyone but shareholders, and even employees are only a means to an end). And even profits don't equal jobs, corporations recovered pretty well from the recession and have record profits but why hire anybody if they don't have to? They're free to make profits in any way they please. The government has no right to infringe on that as long as they are not inflicting harm on their workers. And if a worker feels abused, or underpaid, or mistreated, he can go find employment somewhere else. If he chooses not to, then the job must not be that bad. If corporations can find cheap labor overseas, I actually encourage them to do it. Maximize profits as much as possible within the law. If American workers don't like seeing their jobs shipped abroad, they should work for less. And the government should allow them to work for less. But don't be upset when you want $75 a day and some dude in Thailand only wants $3 and thus he gets the job. That's just good business. Capitalism rules!

Good work. I'd throw in a headbang, but this is just too sad.

Our poor record and lousy play has nothing to do with it. Am I disappointed that such a highly touted team is five games under and sinking fast? Of course. Do I think our "manager" makes silly lineups and poor bullpen decisions consistently? Definitely. But that's not it. I stuck around in 2007 (where at this point, we were only 2 games worse and just starting our utter collapse) and for some reason, it seemed so much worse. But I didn't quit. I watched faithfully to the very end. It's not about the team on the field. It's about the whole atmosphere and general vibe that our leadership gives off. I think that plays a big part in effecting the quality of the product on the field, but it does other things too. Like driving fans away. I'm not gonna act like I've been some USCF regular in my life, as I left Chicago in 1998 and have been to a total of four games since (the last of those being in 2005). Yet because of this idiotic drama with Ozzie and his moronic children, I will not attend another one until they are gone. And honestly, while it doesn't provide money to the club, I'm even finding it difficult to support this idiocy by watching on MLBTV. Who wants to play under that sort of crap? I'm not going to dive into conspiracy theories or defend some of the crappy players we've hosted, but it's only logical to think that some of these players are struggling so bad because they just don't care. They don't want to be here, they do the absolute minimum and they go home as quick as they can. That's what miserable leadership will do to any team, unit, company etc. I don't really mind Kenny Williams or Reinsdorf. But Ozzie and his s***head kids are unacceptable and unprofessional. The man and his children are scum. He is an awful manager who is constantly bragging about how he is MLB manager and his critics are not. He is a racist and so is Oney, and maybe his other kids as well. They are horrible people who I wish nothing but the worst. Hire Tony LaRussa. Hire a better hitting coach (I might be dreaming and I don't know if he's even interested, but dare I say, Frank Thomas?). Higher quality players will come to the South Side and the few that already do will, I believe, be better able to reach their potential. Either way, the drama must end. I will not support this dishonorable leadership cadre as they continue to smear the reputation of the team that has been such a huge part of my life.

Check out my new ride! The M1128 Mobile Gun System. Just became the new platoon leader for one of those things. I don't care if you like guns or not...that thing is badass. It's a f***ing tank on wheels. Hooah!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 07:15 PM) Would y'all endorse policies in favor of making it harder to outsource jobs? I thought that was supposed to be a great thing for the economy. Anyway, yeah, putting te head of ge in charge of "jobs" was idiotic. I would endorse policies that make it easier to not outsource jobs. Lower the minimum wage (or better yet, abolish it), give tax breaks to companies that keep jobs stateside, decrease taxes wherever possible etc. Do things that encourage companies to turn towards American labor. I fully support the right of the corporate world to find the most cost efficient labor available, whether it's here or somewhere else. And if it's somewhere else, then jobs are going to be outsourced and that's all there is to it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 30, 2011 -> 06:30 PM) What about David Koresh and that guy who killed all the students in Norway? Can you really hate Cornell graduates? Cornell's not a real Ivy League. And man, if we're gonna get serious about all the things that grind my gears, we'll be here all night.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 30, 2011 -> 06:21 PM) It's too bad we suck now. Hopefully we won't suck anymore if we score some runs tonight. I wonder if a Mariners-esque losing streak would cost Ozzie his job. That'd be so worth it. I hate Ozzie more than Dunn, Rios, Kenny Williams, Nick Punto, Ichiro, Bud Selig, Mark McGwire, steroids, people who hog weights at the gym, slow drivers, communists, porn music, the French, Ivy League graduates, draft dodgers, the ATF and Bostonians. That's a lot of hate.

4-0. I hate this team.

1st and 3rd now. Humber has lost my seal of approval to continue starting baseball games. Like Peavy, this is unacceptable.

Oh look at Alexei, Mr. Amazing Shortstop according to some other thread I read earlier. STOP FALLING DOWN ON THROWS TO SECOND BASE. Wimp.