There are a lot of things I would do for a million dollars. But pulling the wings off a butterfly isn't one of them... Or is it? There are at least two kinds of people in the world: One kind of person has a million dollars and takes a sick pleasure in manipulating others into pulling the wings off of butterflies. Another kind of perso
I can think of two rules: First, it's better to get experience first, to maximize your chance of winning a "set for life" bankroll later. Chances are, the only way you could really pull something like that off right now would be to get really lucky. And as we both know, good poker players are not about the luck. The only rule I can think of that trumps this rule is, "don't argue with the wife".
So I had another crazy dream last night. I won't go into all the details. Suffice to say there were dirtbikes, biker gangs, pirates, boats (not at the same time as the pirates), a complicated and life-threatening mission, Lindsay Lohan, and my mom getting on my nerves. It was a very stupid and aggravating dream-montage, and not just because my mom h
Dr. Guy, if I could afford a VCR and Color TV last year, but cannot afford one this year, doesn't that mean the economy is worse this year than last year? Assuming, of course, that I've kept the same job from last year to this. And if the consumer price index has gone up, while the average income has gone down, doesn't that mean that I'm paying more not only for luxuries like VCRs and Color TVs, but also for necessities like baby
Alrighty, JU, here's the deal. I'm stumped. A certain outspoken and intensely focused member of our community has recently made the following comment: "For the average American to be unable to buy as much this year as they did last year with their income is not economic growth. As far as jobs are concerned it depends of how much they pay and wha
Refresh my memory, BenUser . Which Clinton staffers were staunch Republicans and conservatives, who constantly spoke out against his policies and opposed his programs? In fact, name a single presidency in history that has put opposition members in the cabinet. Is that really the best argument you could come up with? "True, George Bush has elevated an intelligent, educated, cultured, articulate, experienced, and a
Nah, just the liberal bias in the BenUser. Liberal bias in the media would be the lack of coverage of Democrats involved with Jack Abramoff. Of course, liberal sheep on JoeUser will try to play my comment off as an attempt to exonerate Tom DeLay, rather than addressing its subject directly.
I've been predicting for years that globalization means average wages worldwide will go down. I'm not at all surprised that average wages in America are declining slightly. I'm also not sure what can be done about it, without being even more unfair to poverty-struggling workers in other, less fortunate countries. This is why I'm more interested in American unemployment rates. As long as everybody is working, and they're getting paid more on
Like how the Vatican locks the College of Cardinals in a room until they decide on a new Pope? Once, in the middle ages, the people got so annoyed with the delay that they allowed only bread and water to be brought into the conclave, and removed the roof from the building. Told the Cardinals it would be like that until they quit bickering and chose a new damn pope.
So let me get this straight: he wants a truce, so that we can finish rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan in peace, and he can finish his preparations for his next big set-piece terrorist massacre in peace. Fuck that. I say we keep up the fighting until it's over.
Also, your Economic plan of "Though unemployment is consistently low, ordinary wages are decreasing in real dollars and will eventuate less consumer spending, on which our system depends." doesn't seem to contain much plan. (For the record, I think the plan here is for the next two generations of Americans to realize that in a global economy, their wages are going to have to get a lot more competitive. Our children and grandchildren are gonna
What's wrong with the current Iraq deployment plan of "train up Iraqi forces and draw down coalition forces in the same measure as Iraqi forces step up"?
I totally agree, Ben! Unless, of course, the "cronies" have some qualifications and do good work. Then, you know, maybe it's not so bad... Anyway, tell us more about your plan! What are these cronies doing wrong? What should they do instead? What would distinguish the people you know and trust, that you would appoint to such positions? What would be better about the plan that they implemented, by your command, than the plan curre
Let's agree to disagree about the strategic value of the Iraq war, shall we? Suffice to say that I believe the long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term drawbacks, and that while I admit that it is a huge gamble, it is a risk worth taking, for the long-term benefits it will bring if successful (and also because I'm convinced that the consequences of not taking
So... Was there an answer to my questions in there anywhere, Gene? Let's agree to disagree about the strategic value of the Iraq war, shall we? Suffice to say that I believe the long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term drawbacks, and that while I admit that it is a huge gamble, it is a risk worth taking, for the long-term benefits it will bring if successful. I know you disagree with me on these points. We've both presented t
COL, I'm a conservative. I detest the Bush fiscal policy. But I'm pretty much a single-issue voter these days, with the War On Terror being the issue. So, like a good conservative, I'm willing to set aside the secondary issues for the moment, in order to get some traction, focus, and commitment on the primary issue. This is called "compromise" and "pragmatism", and it's something good conservatives are known for. Bush may not be "conservati
In the eight years of his presidency, George W. Bush will never detonate nuclear weapons, not as a test, nor as a demonstration, nor as an attack on America's enemies. If Iran develops nuclear weapons, the Iranian government will detonate them as a test, as a demonstration, and as an attack against Iran's enemies--probably fulfilling all three purposes with a
Sadly, as awsome as this show is, there is nothing in it that can make up for that idiot child of a daughter. Plus, I have a hard time taking a Counter-Terrorism Unit seriously that puts someone like Jack Bauer's daughter on the staff. I mean, don't you have to have a college degree? Work experience? Maybe even be hand-picked from some lesser agency after you've proved your superior counter-terrorism skills? Given her rock-stupid behavior
It seems to me that if you were playing against the statistics, you made the right move. Sure, you got burned, but that's bound to happen from time to time, statistically. Also statistically, it's bound to happen in your favor more often than not. This was one of those "not" times, but it was still a good play in aggregate. Me? I know next to nothing about the game, but I probably (meaning, assuming I could maintain my notoriously weak se
Would adventures set in Sub-Saharan Africa (or even North Africa, or the Middle East) count? Maybe Lawrence of Arabia is a "western". What about all those Allan Quartermain adventures, such as King Solomon's Mines? What I'd like to see is a western-style story set in Asia: that whole vast tract of land from the Urals to the Middle Kingdom, from Siberia to the Himalayas. Open plains, legendary horse-tribes (the Khazaks and the Mongol
In reality, I believe that God's tests are personal tests, not group tests. I think that natural disasters just happen. Maybe God tests individuals in the context of these disasters, but I doubt he's testing "everybody", in that sense. I figure, in a perfect world, Adam would be so in touch with nature, and with God, that things like Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Earthquakes wouldn't catch him by surprise.
The only reason we're so painfully aware of the Left's altruistic motives is because they're accompanied by a totalitarian attitude towards the rest of us. Conservatives can be just as altruistic as liberals, but conservatives tend to be personally altruistic. Liberals, on the other hand, insist that their particular brand of altruism is the only correct one, and that their particular application of it is the only correct one, and that people
"Yes, have you ever seen something in this country ... that just didn't make sense?" All the time, gdy, all the time.
What if I mock and ridicule the left because I have given due consideration to what they have to say, and found that they do not have good ideas about the "nature" of problems in our country? I'm all about compromise, but what am I supposed to do when as a conservative I hold that some problems will always be with us because of human nature, and liberals hold that some problems will be with us only because of the nature of white male cultura
Protestant theologian C. S. Lewis subscribes to the idea of a cosmic battle between Good and Evil. According to this idea, the Forces of Good have for some reason chosen us--humanity--as the front and final line of defense in this battle. Developing the military metaphor, Lewis proposes that the faithful are not tested by misfortune as a punishment for the
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