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I want our kids to the best in Math and Science in the whole world! I want roads (free of traffic jams) to allow access from my property to my job and the community! I want police to protect our safety, security, which will allow commerce to thrive, which will give me a job and make it possible for me to buy cheap bananas. I want running water and sewer service on my property, and trash pickup would be cool too. I want freedom from property taxes forever.

Why would disenchanted repubs vote Hillary? Are you reading the same stuff I am?

Though not exactly what you're looking for, in the coffee shop of a nice hotel in Thailand I saw a Japanese-looking kid with this classic Nirvana T on: I bought one of these back in the day. Still have it, but am too scared to wear it

Well, they were in sort of a tough spot. I'm sure they were threatened, and there's no way they could fight it because they would be prosecuted for leaking classified information if they told anybody about the government's request. I say give 'em immunity in exchange for turning state's evidence. But this looks like it'd be reasonable too: "Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the panel, is pushing a plan that would substitute the federal government as the defendant in the lawsuits against the telecommunications companies. That would mean that the government, not the companies, would pay damages in successful lawsuits." (from the above-linked article)

You're the one who attempted to compare war protesters to abortion protesters. I don't see my comparison as being any more of a stretch. Rosa Parks took the law into her own hands. She used direct aggressive tactics and forced poor white people to have to sit near and behind a black person. Her protest was a non-violent action, as are I would bet the vast majority of the protesters in Olympia. I'll bet those kids in your picture were not throwing any rocks. Were Bull Connor and George Wallace practicing private non-violent protest? If there's a difference between non-violent abortion protesters and the non-violent Olympia protesters, it's that the abortion protesters are restricting the legal rights of private citizens while the Olympia protesters are attempting to restrict a governmental action. I think the state can protect itself, whereas your typical woman going to an abortion clinic is going to be more vulnerable to being irreparably harmed.

I guess you're not a big fan of Rosa Parks.

I've never climbed Go Cat Go. What I don't get is how some people are saying that it's a bolted crack, where others are claiming to have backed off (before the bolting in question) because of the lack of gear. If there really is a crack there, why didn't these people just plug in a cam?

That guy is great!!! I'm having technical difficulties with the third one though, darn it. It won't get past -3:40

Gawd! If I'm obsessed, at least the object of my obsession is someone who is destroying our country. Unlike you who is hung up on some guy because he has large breasts.

No worries. Bush doesn't believe perjury is a crime. Barry just has to make sure his trial is finished by Jan 19, 2009, so Bush can commute his sentence (if he's even convicted).

Isn't it cool how they can say, "the deficit is lower" merely by failing to include the "emergency" supplementals for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in the official budget? How many emergency supplementals have we had now? Pretty soon emergency supplementals will be paying for social security, then in another 10 years it'll be emergency supplementals to pay the interest on the debt. At that point the budget will be balanced! HAIL TO THE CHIEF!!!

Alaska's got a problem with lack of women I hear. So what I propose is that instead of using their excess oil revenue to grant rebates to every citizen, they should use it to set up political asylum, transportation, and start-up funds for women who want out of these countries with their fucked-up women-as-property laws. There would be unintended benefits and/or wonderful irony involved too. If the price of oil went up, then that would make it possible to rescue/steal that many more women from these Islamic states!

I just caught the last five minutes, that old guy railing against the judge repeating different variations of a theme on him going to "clown college"

He wasn't talking to you, you egomaniac

But did he ever get his 54 mil? He sure seems to have had a screw loose. I'm glad he tried a frivolous lawsuit though instead of a firebomb. Too bad he was a judge (that allowed the thing to get as far as it did probably). But he are not one no more! Ha Ha

That's so nice of you to arrange for G-spotter to have a good time down here in Americaland.

LOL 1: The food here is terrible! LOL 2: Agreed! And the portions are so small!

An oops of a different kind

Do you live in the real world, or even read the previous posts in the queu? Insurers gain by inefficiency in terms of paying claims. There is no free-market advantage in the current system for insurers to increase efficiency in their claims-paying dept. Customers (the ones who buy the insurance) do not see much of the struggles of the medical offices trying to collect. Also, as a rate-payer, if you do have a problem with your insurer it is not easy to switch to another plan and see if it works better for you, due to existing conditions clauses. Even if you work in a large employer with a multitude of different plans, you are only allowed to switch once per year. Face it JayB, the pressures that are usually at work the keep the free market efficient are not there in the current medical services compensation system we got here. Your standard boilerplate don't cut it in this scenario. If there were some ways we could apply more free-market pressures to our current system, I'd be all for hearing that. Perhaps some "donut" type thing like goes on with the new medicare prescription plan, where a single-payer plan covers basic preventive care (cheap) and catastrophic low-probability high-expense stuff, then let everyone fend for themselves in terms of the middle stuff, either by self-pay or private insurance? Also, it would be good to have some governmental regulations that require medical offices to make their prices easily available to the choosy consumer. The way it is now, you have no idea how much anything is going to cost until you're right there getting told you need a surgery and you've told them you don't have insurance.

Doubly smug! That might just be worth 1/3 minute every now and then. Anybody wanna discuss red light running? I am totally against it, and never run red lights. Even when it's just a little red. . . . except when I'm a pedestrian or riding a bike

Let's review. I drive up to a crosswalk and you're standing at the curb. I slow down and you're standing at the curb. I stop and you're standing at the curb. You have the legal right-of-way and you're standing at the curb. Would you f*cking cross the street already? Geez. But I was just standing there selling drugs. But seriously folks, yes I hop to it if the person slows down, but if they cruise on by and I have to wait 3 seconds or so, I don't begrudge them, or even inwardly curse said driver.

The hell it doesn't!!! It costs 15-20 seconds of my life I'll NEVER get back, along with a nickel or two for the extra gas and brake pads used.

many thanks. we need more peds like you (and me)

I understand it's against the law, just don't think it totally assholish in most situations. You're probably one of those peds who likes to walk real slow in front of a line of waiting cars, just to piss them off.