oldguystudent

A friend sent this to me of his commute on the 101 in Los Angeles.

I wish I had a picture of your neighbor's wife.

The religion issue is the single issue that turns me off on the Republican party. I hold my right to worship or not in any way I see fit as more valuable than the misguided policies of the Democratic party. This country left a theocracy once and some would have it return to its roots. If Barry Goldwater were still around, I'd be a fan.

Yes we can.

Touche!

That's tough. I would lean initially towards the delegate model, but it's a pretty rare thing for one person or a group of constituents in a given geographic are to have the goals and values that are good for a nation as a whole. On a simplistic level, is there any one system that would mutually and equally benefit Texas, California and Iowa? Rick's got it right on the local level, although I've seen such derisiveness on local matters here in Frisco, I can't think of any model that really serves everybody. Unfortunately, I think most people, myself included, vote for their own personal interests, and that just isn't usually a very good plan.

Not judging God so much as the various human interpretations of him that get presented to me. Not impressed with very many of them so far. There are people in my life who I feel are the models of what a Christian should be. From the information that I can gather from the Bible and whatever historical sources I can find, the people I've known that I felt most lived like Christ were not standing on soap boxes trying to save a bunch of semi-anonymous pseudonyms on a message board. The people that I've felt to be most Christ-like go out among the wretched and blasphemous. They don't fear them, they embrace them. They don't use them as examples to justify moral legislation, they lead them by example. They nurture and are never threatening, fear mongering, or condescending. As far as my judging you, I pass no judgment on what you believe until it directly affects me. I don't care if you're throwing venomous snakes at each others' heads in a barn. But when the thinly veiled statements of my not knowing your truth and the dire ramifications of a conversation with God are threatened to be imminent, I'm not going to stand idly by and nod my head for the good of uniformity and camaraderie. Religion is a very personal thing, and I believe it's something to be carefully examined by each person. I don't believe it's something to be blindly accepted just because your neighbor said so. Edit -- I've just had an epiphany. I feel the same way about organized religion as you do about government. It should be small and unobtrusive. My experiences with organized religion probably mirror yours with big government and I am always naturally suspicious of any attempts to bring it into my...what's the word I'm looking for here...realm.

I predict the score to be 9 cans of beer to 7 bacon dogs. The Vegas line is currently at -2 in favor of the beers, so it's a tough call.

Yes. But more importantly, there is only one true brand of Christianity that are God's people. Even more importantly than that, look at me God! I'm defending your honor! See how faithful I am? Extra brownie points for me God! It's all about Your glory God, except when it's about Mine!

If that day comes, I'm sure it'll be quite an interesting conversation that will probably have a much different course and outcome than any of our human minds can possibly comprehend no matter how holy we hold ourselves to be. Point of passover that I'm trying to make is that whether or not Pharaoh could have avoided the carnage, the old testament God simply didn't hold life to be all that sacred. Many innocent lives were taken in the old testament by the direct hand of God. Just remember kids. Friends don't let friends judge lest they be judged. And let's see if I can predict the next response..."Why? You worried?" Umm. Nope. I'm actually all for there being a God. I just hope he's not the judgmental, exclusive, contradictory, wrathful, egotistical God that gets shoved down my throat so much in this wonderful place called Texas.

Where exactly is Xenu in all of this?

I dunno, we can't ask Pharoah and all the other Egyptians how God killed their children, including newborns, on passover. Life can't be that sacred.

Well he did play football for a DIII school whose mascot is the Poets. They went 1-8 last year against DIII competition, so they might actually be worse than UNT. OK, let's be honest, the Vegas line would be a pick 'em. Pretty weak, if you ask me.

In honor of impending finals: Bart: [praying] Well, old timer, I guess this is the end of the road. I know I haven't always been a good kid, but, if I have to go to school tomorrow, I'll fail the test and be held back. I just need one more day to study, Lord. I need Your help! Lisa: [watching] Prayer... the last refuge of a scoundrel. Bart: A teachers strike, a power failure, a blizzard... Anything that'll cancel school tomorrow. I know it's asking a lot, but if anyone can do it, You can! Thanking You in advance, Your pal, Bart Simpson.

Whoa there cowboy! You sure you want to use that analogy? I'd do anything to ensure that my family is safe, and I mean anything. I'd also do anything to make sure that my family is fed, clothed, housed, educated, given medical care, and provided with a decent moral compass. Should the U.S. government feel the same way about its citizens?

After exhaustive testing, the entire team has been certified 100% rash free!

Must be some pretty horrific health care up there. vs I would wager the difference is in convenience on the routine stuff and quality on the super rare experimental surgeries that keep Keith Richards alive. Honestly, I doubt there's much difference between some socialist immigrant in Canada giving me a flu shot and a member of the country club set doing it here. I'll reiterate that I think the government should have something available for everybody, but not mandate participation in it. Let the market decide on the private health care (most of which these days, I still believe will actively let a patient die over losing a couple bucks), but don't be killing off the poor with no insurance. We do, after all, need ditch diggers. Oh. One other thing. For those who say there's nothing wrong with the current system (not meant to imply endorsement for government control), in the last 8 years of respectable employment with a major company, my insurance coverage went from 100% no deductible to 70% $1500 per person deductible. My pay increased an average of 3.5% per year while my insurance premiums rose an average of 11% per year. Doesn't take a Nobel laureate to do the math and see that in the long run, I would actually be paying my company for the privilege of working for them. That IS a broken system. I don't care who you blame it on, and I don't care if you're against national health care. That's all well and good, but don't tell me the current system is 100% honky dory. Especially if you're a public employee with guaranteed lifetime health coverage. If the litmus test of national health care is to make the members of congress subscribe to it, then the litmus test of the free market insurance system that we have today is to make all supporters, especially those with lifelong free rides, have to go out and find acceptable coverage at acceptable prices. Believe me, I've never met an elderly person who was carrying a pair of pom poms so they could cheer for medicare. I get that medicare sucks and it is the example of national health care. I don't want that either. I do think something needs to change though. I do think that basic health care IS a right. Health is one of the basic standards by which a nation is measured. Plastic surgery might not be a right, but health care is. Something's got to be available for everybody. I really don't care if it IS Paco from the wrong side of the fence. Some things are just the right thing to do.

That's the day I buy a padlock for my grill!

When the wife was pregnant, we had prenatal care, prenatal tests, the birth, the hospital stay, and the NICU stay denied, denied, denied, even though all doctors, tests, procedures and hospitals were clearly in-network and clearly on the list of approved procedures. The prenatal birth defect test, in fact, is mandated by the state of California to be covered by insurance. Afterward? Birth control pills. Guess what? Denied again. I got it all covered in the end, but I've been pretty convinced ever since that insurance companies systematically deny every claim knowing that a certain percentage of people won't fight it. This was insurance through my company through a major national provider on their most expensive and comprehensive plan.

But it's been explicitly stated on this board that health care is not a right and implied that his parents simply should have worked harder. Screw him!

You're talking about the '93 health plan, right? Her 2008 campaign plan was the same health care afforded to Congress, and it was mandatory. That lit up two big red flags for me immediately. First of all, it's one thing to pay for the health care of 500 people in Washington with tax money. It's quite another to pay for it for 300 million people! Second, was the mandatory part. Maybe things have changed since, but as I understood Obama's plan during the campaign, he wanted to make the government one big group purchaser of existing private insurance plans, and the general populace would have the option to buy in on it. Doesn't look like things are gonna' go that way, though does it? I'm all for the government making things available to those that have no other options. I draw the line at forcing me to participate thoughl

I never get the flu shot because I remember the shortage a couple years ago, and as far as I understand it, I'm not in a risk group for dire consequences of catching it. I do throw the kid under the shot bus every year though. She just lurrrves me for that!

Why would a Muslim country be raising pigs in the first place?

It can, of course, be argued that the cerveza agencias are an essential business, right?

The way that read on the main page was, "Vick in talks with Eulesseagle." I wondered what you might be interested in with him.