The New Number Are Out.
 

What I'm saying is that I have zero confidence that the increase in spending with bear any relation to the increase in revenues.

ETA: And I'm not in this for par. I spent years reading and believing that the GOP stood for REDUCING government spending and the size of the federal government. I think the 1994 congress did truly believe this. I think Newt truly believes this. But the bumbs in office now care only about maintaining power.

Win: Win
 

So disagreement shouldn't be voiced until 20 years after the fact?

I'll agree to this if penske will, also.

Win: Win
 

No, but judgement as to success or failure, or the wisdom of the war, should not be. Disagree all you want. Odds are you will feel like an idiot 5 to 10 years from now. But Hank tells me you look like an idiot now, so you have nothing to lose.

Cheney
 

I've been reading various asides about how Cheney has become disengaged from the Administration generally and/or how Cheney and Bush don't seem to like each other anymore.

Can't really find much more about it though, which isn't hard to guess since Cheney's has been most low-profile Administration official since the 2000 inauguration.

Spanky? Any truth to the stories? What's it looking like from the persona non grata wing of the party, as you've put it?

Win: Win
 

You really can't go calling people idiots when you spell judgment with an "e."

Mortal sin... even for me.

Better if Constitution goes down.......
 

My instincts tell me that it would be better if the Constitution fails. If the Constitution passes that will just reconfirm the suspicion many Sunnis have that in any future government they will not have a voice. However, if their no vote wins it will show that they do have a voice. When they didn't turn out to vote things did not go their way but when they did they got what they wanted. It will show that Democracy works.

In the next constitutional round the Sunnis will have fair representation and then the next round will be more legitimate.

If the constitution passes that will just give rise to the insurgents arguments that the Sunnis are going to get screwed in any future government.

In addition, every time there is an electio you have better turnout and democracy looks better and better. The more votes you have the more democracy is legitimized.

Win: Win
 

Lester Hayes should have been ejected for using the Stickum. How can we force Davis to cough up that trophy?

Maybe I'll sue.

Win: Win
 

Shape Shifter's mom should have gotten him braces.

Win: Win
 

She's an orthodontist? Photo? I had no idea Lester had terrible teeth.

Better if Constitution goes down.......
 

Good analysis, but this is like trying to guess whether a grease fire or an electrical fire will kill more occupants.

No parental notification....
 

Here is a letter that I received that I agree with.


REASONS TO VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 73 – Parental Notification and Waiting Period Before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy.


Proposition 73 on the California November 8th Ballot will require parental consent for young women to get an abortion. The requirement of parental consent for this very serious decision sounds right. But through the work that I have been doing for the last 15 years with Teen Success, a program for teenage mothers coordinated by Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, I’ve seen the devastating, dysfunctional, and abusive situations that too many pregnant teenage girls are facing.

Some of these girls do not have a parent to ask for help or permission. They may live with a sister or in foster care. The option of going to a judge in our overcrowded courts is scary enough for an adult; just think of what it would be like for a scared teenager who may not speak English or understand our judicial system. This process will take longer (if it happens at all) than the first trimester in many cases. And, there are teenagers who do not realize they are pregnant for several months. The girl may have been impregnated by an uncle, a step-father or friend of the family. In my experience, if theses young girls were to go to a parent they are risking further abuse. Ministers, doctors and clinicians can testify to this.

These young women and their parents, if they have one or two, are unlikely to vote at any election, much less on this important Proposition. I believe it is my job to tell their story and defend their privacy, medical access, and their safety.

Proposition 73 will also endanger physicians like our daughter, an OB-GYN, who will no longer have patient/physician privacy rights. She must report to a parent immediately upon determining that a teenage patient is pregnant. She must also report to the California State Department of Health Services if an abortion is performed, with or without parental permission. This exposure to potential investigation by anti-abortion fanatics is serious for all physicians, but especially for practicing Obstetrician/Gynecologists.

The people who do vote are those who, in most cases, have good relationships with their daughters. They simply do not understand the problems that exist for the young girls such as those that I see at Teen Success. I had hoped we were past coat hangers and back alleys. My concern is that Proposition 73 will leave many young girls from difficult family situations without good medical options. I fear for their safety.

PLEASE read the text of Proposition 73. It would put into our California Constitution definitions and requirements never before accepted by voters.

PLEASE pass this message on to your friends and VOTE NO on Proposition 73 – either on your Absentee Ballot or at your Polling Place on Tuesday, November 8th.

Sincerely,

Becky Morgan

No parental notification....
 

I dissent, but I don't have the energy to be more specific. Perhaps one day in another land we will dine, al fresco, and can discuss.....

No parental notification....
 

Or you could keep your clothes On while you eat . . .

S_A_M

Still not here...
 

Not even close. Pot (well, hash) was being smoked in Europe centuries before the discovery of the new world (and tobacco). Way longer than that in the rest of the world. For centuries ship captains complained that the hardest part of their job was to keep the sailors from smoking the rigging.

In fact, you have inspired me to turn on some 13th & 14th century tunes about smoking the doobie I just happened to have in my office.

I will let the following stand in as my versification of the day:

Puisque je suis fumeux, plains de fumee,
Fumer m'estuet, car, se je ne fumoye,
Ceulx qui dient que j'ay teste fumee
Par fumee, je les desmentiroye.
Et n pourquant ja mais ne fumeroye;
De fumee qui fust contre rayson.
Se je fume, c'est ma compleccion
quolerique qu'ainsi me fayt fumer.
Je fumeray sanz personne graver,
C'est bien fumme: if n'i a point d'outrayge
Quant on fume sans fayre autruy damage.

BR(last two lines: "It's well smoked: there's no outrage done when one smokes without harming another.")C

Win: Win
 

Even if you support the war? Cuz if that's true, we'll see about 30% fewer posts from Spanky, and 50% fewer from Penske. Can the board survive?

Odds are you have no basis for quoting any odds on this. You may believe this, but I'd really like to see an objective probability analysis to support it.

Nice. The Politics of Division and Baseless Gratuitous Personal Insults(TM) (aka PoDaBGPI). Penske and Turdblossom have taught you well.

Still not here...
 

Way, way way more sophisticated than "I Smoke Two Joints in de Morning". Bravo!

Win: Win
 

1 who is turdblossam?

2 stealing Penske's raps give them some legitimacy.

Just because it's Monday . . . .
 

http://www.barking-moonbat.com/image...at_carrier.jpg

Or, if it doesn't work:

http://www.barking-moonbat.com/image...at_carrier.jpg

(Work safe.)

Just because it's Monday . . . .
 

"This Web Site Is Currently Unavailable. Please Try Again Later."

I'm slow, and it's Monday, but I didn't really get this one the previous time it was posted, either.

No parental notification....
 

Why not? Might spice up the board. It seems the liberals have given up. I picked a topic I agree with the liberals on so I can put some life back into this thing.

The main reason I am against abortion is because I think women will get them no matter what. If abortion is illegal they will get them illegally. In countries where abortion is illegal, like the Phillipines and Mexico, the highest cause of death on amont teenage girls is botched abortions.

From my perspective one of the biggest causes of abortion is social stigma. Women who don't want their families to know that they got pregnant out of wedlock. There is a massive disconnect in this country. The overwhelming majority of teens are having sex yet every parent thinks their kid is the exception. Kids know this.

The women that is under the biggest threat of getting a back alley abortion is the girl that doesn't want anyone to know that she is having an abortion. Especially her family.

From a practical perspective teenage girls need to be able to get abortions without their parents being notified. I think many of these girls exaggerate in their minds how much their parents will freak out. However, that is not the issue. Their assumptions are what counts because that is what leads them to the decision to have an abortion.

For many teenage girls, from a practical perspective, requiring parental notification has pretty much the same effect as making it illegal.

This law takes the anonymity away from the girls that need it the most.

Just because it's Monday . . . .
 

2. Very annoying.

Still not here...
 

I always heard it was the lumber companies because they didn't like the competition from Hemp.l

Just because it's Monday . . . .
 

Working for me.

Are you guys on unix systems?

Just because it's Monday . . . .
 

No. Windows IE.

Still not here...
 

I think hemp's usefulness as a fiber is overstated. It apparently made pretty crappy ropes, and hemp paper is just shite. Ever worn a hemp shirt? Not pleasant. (Hemp seeds are delicious for cooking, on the other hand.)

And another observation: all good Christians should be appalled at a the war on drugs, because, after all, it's God what made the cannibis plant (and poppies, too, for that matter) and made it so deliciously smokeable. The G is therefore obviously thwarting God's will. Anyway, outlawing a plant is just laughably stupid.

BR("You, in the window box over there by the rhododendrons - you're under arrest!")C

No parental notification....
 

No time. I am travelling and trying to close a deal mobile.

Win: Win
 

Still not here...
 

The people who advocate legalizing pot on the grounds that hemp is a useful product which would be a huge benefit to society are the most comical of the crowd who seek to legalize it for reasons other than its very best, and utterly unproductive, use.

I think the legalization crowd would do 1000X better just saying "Its fun, and safer than booze."

Win: Win
 

QED.

Win: Win
 

Really original. What type of douchewad are you?

Win: Win
 

One that disagrees with you. I understand you don't handle that well. More PoDaBGPI.

Just because it's Monday . . . .
 

My place runs Wangs

Penske out of the mainstream
 

I'm still not here, but I saw this Business Week article over the weekend and thought I'd pass it on.

Penske out of the mainstream
 

RiNOs.

Penske out of the mainstream
 

"So why do polls find only 9% of the GOP faithful oppose her?"

I'm curious. They keep saying things like "9% of the GOP faithful", and "9% of conservative Republicans". What's their breakdown on how we supposedly rank? Do they mean "9% of the Religious Right"?

'Cuz, my impression is that way more than 9% are concerned.

Penske out of the mainstream
 

Here's the study: http://people-press.org/reports/disp...3?ReportID=258

What the hell has happened to this board? What does it take to get a rise out of people? Why don't we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya?

First I hit the liberals and then the conservatives and not even a wimper.

I am going to try the shotgun approach. Here are the principles of my organization. Anyone that disagrees with them is a MORON. That is right - totally and utterly ignorant. Here they are: either agree with them or consider yourself stupid.

1. An individual's reproductive system is none of the government's business. Those who oppose abortion should not use the government to deny others access to safe abortions. Reducing abortions in this country is best achieved by reducing unwanted pregnancies, not by making it illegal (which will simply change the location of abortions from the hospital to the back alley).
2. Government should not prevent contraceptive distribution, nor prevent teaching adolescents the causes of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. These efforts, along with encouraging abstinence among our teenagers, are the best ways to reduce unwanted pregnancies, and therefore, abortions.
3. In our society there should be a strict separation of church and state. Current efforts to prohibit abortion, and virtually end birth control, are thinly disguised efforts by certain religions groups to impose their religious beliefs on others.
4. It is imperative our government establish the framework to preserve our Earth for future generations. This goal is compatible with a growing capitalist economy and it is our duty to make it happen.
5. Education should be a top government priority. The government should pursue strict standards in education, including student testing and effective teacher evaluation. The educational curriculum should focus on the core academic disciplines of reading, writing and arithmetic. There should be no social promotion for students, incompetent teachers should be dismissed, and competent teachers should receive a decent and fair salary.
6. Discrimination is wrong. No person should be denied the American dream on the basis of race, gender, creed, national origin, income level, or sexual orientation. Further, quotas and preferences are fundamentally in conflict with this belief.
7. The government should keep taxes as low as possible.
8. The government should not interfere in the economic activity of its citizens unless absolutely necessary. There should be absolutely no subsidies or price controls of any kind as the government should be a catalyst for wealth creation not wealth re-distribution.
9. The government should exercise a strict fiscal policy of balanced budgets and a monetary policy focused on low inflation and a sound dollar.
10. The federal government should continually and persistently pursue international treaties that promote free markets and human rights throughout the world.
11. The government should focus on maintaining and expanding our county’s infrastructure, as this is one of the best ways the government can contribute to economic growth.
12. The federal government should spend a sufficient amount of money on defense so we can insure the security of our nation and keep all our commitments to all our allies. The federal government should focus its resources on the construction of a missile defense system because the first priority of any nation should be the protection of its citizens.
13. The government should also protect its citizens from internal threats, by stopping the vast proliferation of assault weapons and other firearms. This position does not conflict with the second amendment and it enables us to enjoy our personal freedom to pursue happiness without fear.
14. The medical sector of our economy should not be socialized and only medical doctors (not bureaucrats, insurance company representatives or non-medical HMO personnel) should determine which sort of treatment is best for their patients.
15. All law enforcement organizations should be well funded and supported by the community. The government's priority should be community policing and victims’ rights. Our laws should provide for a life sentence for those who commit three violent felonies or sex offenses.
16. Valid and probative evidence should not be excluded from a criminal trial based on technicalities. The exclusionary rule is not in the U.S. Constitution, and the courts should stop pretending it is.
17. Treatment as opposed to incarceration is the best way to deal with all drug possession offenders.
18. The proliferation of lawsuits in this country has damaged our economy and benefits trial lawyers at the expense of the rest of community. Steps should be taken to insure that frivolous and groundless lawsuits are dismissed from our courts and all cases should be diverted to mediation and/or arbitration rather than proceeding directly to trial.

Work-related, in my case and probably others too. Maybe later our bosses will let us come outside and play.

I forgot it was the end of Q3. I will just wait in the playground with my marbles.

Okay.

I guess.

That's one viewpoint.

Hey, who am I to argue with you?

You may be right.

There's a lot of sense to what you said.

I'll have to think this one over.

(And, my favorite: )

There's really no "right" or "wrong" for these issues, and your opinion is as valid and important as anyone's.