Terry Tate

jzmack went over to Ralph Wilson's house this summer. Ralph was in his tight little shorts, no shirt, with his little red hat, and he was doing some farming or something because he was covered in dirt. It was awesome. jzmack gave him a hug like he does every year, and shook his hand before he left. That's when Ralph threw up his hands and said "What the !@#$?". jzmack then went on a drinking binge and passed out, sleepwalking all the way to Green Bay to give aussiew the shirt off his back.

Driving directions into DC should always be accompanied by a prescription for a sedative of some sort.

Which is stapled to a printout of a Bengals logo, both of which are held onto a filing cabinet by a large magnet.

Asked my wife if I can go. Getting the evil eye att...

When you've served in the military, you tend to have a shorter fuse for things like "shooting unarmed, injured enemy combatants", people saying "I want you to know our government is against this war" to a grieving relative of a fallen serviceman, comparing Islamofacists to our minutemen, comparing our servicemen at Gitmo to Nazis, running military recruiters off school campuses, etc. It's a cumulative thing, but there's no shortage of examples.

If the drum-beat of "if it bleeds, it leads" by the media is wearing on you, if repetitive servings of Terrorist Helper® by the media are getting you down, you can always turn to sites like Arthur Chrenkoff's blog, which details undercovered good news from Iraq. Good news from Iraq, part 24.

You work on PA Lt Gov Knoll's staff by any chance?

I'm not interested in what the other teams' cheerbabes look like; I assume most other major cities are ahead of Buffalo on the plastic surgery curve. There's been a few scary looking girls on the Jills in years past. A few. But last year's page you linked is the best looking squad I think I've ever seen for them. Any single one of those girls walks into your office, all work would immediately stop.

That would explain Lemur King's indian name: "Dances with boxers".

Well, the majority seems to be on board with the federal government funding everything deemed important, which is exactly what the founding fathers had in mind - a massive, centralized government that is everything to everyone. All that is left to argue about is priority and how much. The good news is we can all live forever, free from disease, never wanting for food and shelter if we just raise enough tax money and get the right people in Washington to prioritize spending properly. I recommend everyone take their tax owed on their next return - double it, and send it in to Washington. Think of all the good we could do!

If you're both holding up "Hello Two Bills Drive" signs, it'll be easier to spot each other!

Hate to see a young QB get happy feet, but on the other side of it, when I think of what can be when you have a QB who can run, I don't think of Michael Vick - I'm reminded of Steve Young. Because sooner or later, a QB's gonna have to use his feet.

Mayor Quimby: Can't we have one meeting that doesn't end with us digging up a corpse? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mayor Quimby: And now, I'd like to turn things over to our Grand Marshall, Mr. Leonard Nimoy. Leonard Nimoy: [referring to the monorail] I'd say this vessel could do at least Warp Five. [crowd laughs] Mayor Quimby: And let me say, "May the Force be with you." Leonard Nimoy: [annoyed] Do you even know who I am? Mayor Quimby: I think I do. Weren't you one of the Little Rascals? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Homer is driving Mayor Quimby's limo] Mayor Quimby: Just remember... you represent the office of the mayor. So always comport yourself in a manner befitting - quick. Honk at that broad.

Gonna watch/Tivo that scrimmage. Hold up a Hello Two Bills Drive sign and wave!

Nobody mentions "the Block" or the all-night Korean bars? Oh, family - never mind.

Wait a minute, you guys got helmets? All I got was some tinfoil.

I stated the funeral attendance, though inappropriate, was probably a forgivable offense, if done in a honorable and respectful manner. It was not. It would be just as distasteful, though perhaps not quite as horrific as Knoll's statement, if a Republican politician showed up uninvited with media in tow, showing off his "patriotism". I don't recall the posts you reference, but they sound like they would bore me, and I would choose to simply ignore them. I criticized a Republican here; enjoy yourself. Sorry not everyone on "the right" fits your generalizations. I do try to hold everyone to the same standard about things that matter to me.

There oughta be a law that says if congressmen don't show up for work, they don't get paid. Oh wait, there is - Title 2, Chapter 3, Section 39 of US Code(The Congress, compensation and allowances of members, Deductions for absence) According to Congressional Quarterly (subscription required), the draft Legislative Branch conference report, approved Tuesday by conferees, would exempt senators from that requirement — which hasn’t been enforced for as long as anyone can remember, according to Wayne Allard, R-Colo., Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee chairman. "If you’re going to ignore a law, let’s get it off the books,” Allard said. “That’s just good government." Actually, Wayne, good government would be obeying the law. Good government would be holding yourself accountable for the same standards normal people abide by, which is you don't show up for work, you don't get paid. Sorry I can't provide a free link on the story, nobody seems to be reporting it except the blogs, on which the above is cut and pasted repeatedly.

PA Lt Gov Catherine Baker Knoll has been in the habit of attending fallen servicemens' funerals. Which is fine, if you're invited (I believe wakes are for the public; funerals are private). She was not. Ok, so a faux pas on her part, but in a genuine show of honor and respect by a representative of the state government for one of it's citizens, I think it may be a forgivable offense. Last week she attended a funeral mass for Marine Staff Sgt Joseph Goodrich. She sat down next to a Goodrich family member and, during the distribution of communion, asked who they were. Then she proceeded to give the grieving relative her business card and told them "I want you to know our government is against this war." It would've taken an awfully large bodyguard to pry my fingers from her throat. How can someone be so oblivious to time and place as to think that statement was appropriate? I mean, I'm sure she probably thought those words would actually be of some comfort! Ed Rendell is a smart politician. He quickly apologized, saying it was inappropriate to attend a private funeral uninvited, and that the state government has no business taking a position on national defense. Knoll has been AWOL since the story broke. I bet she's not on the ticket next election. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05204/542520.stm

Three cheers for the camp reporters! Can't say enough about how this out-of-towner appreciates all your contributions. I've read all of them, and will continue to do so. This board is the best!

[Hitchhiker convulses] Hitchhiker: No! No, no, not 6! I said 7. Nobody's comin' up with 6. Who works out in 6 minutes? You won't even get your heart goin, not even a mouse on a wheel. Ted: That - good point. Hitchhiker: 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office. Ted: Why? Hitchhiker: 'Cause you're <expletive deleted> fired!

I think Iraq is (was) on a short list with Iran and North Korea. Out of the three, I think Iran and Iraq were #1 and #2 as far as the Islamofacist-driven GWOT goes, with NK being it's own unique brand - which takes them off the GWOT list. Iran would be a much more difficult foe to fight than Iraq, and should you defeat Iran, you're still left with Hussein as a constant threat to destabilize the entire region. Not only in regards to invading his neighbors, but his ties to terrorists (which I am not skeptical of). Militarily, and for the overall effect on the region if you're successful, I know which one I would have rather picked a fight with, and it's definitely Iraq. This is where we at complete odds. I think the few steps were a decade of working through the UN. That seems more like a State Department point of view, and I'm sorry, but I don't have any faith in the State Department to defend us against terrorism. Diplomacy has had some success over the years, but it comes with the caveat that it would still allow terrorists to strike at us (and I say this not knowing if this war will end it, either). I still remember the results of our diplomatic efforts with Afghanistan's Taliban. The commitment of resources is weighed against that; you seem to be sure it weighed in favor of continued diplomacy; I remain unconvinced. I don't know if going to war with Iraq right when we did it was the right thing to do or at the right time. I do know it was a incredibly ballsy move to take a chance on changing the dynamic throughout the entire middle east. Remains to be seen whether or not it is successful.

I'd be happy to flame you, but not without further clarification. Do you see a difference between reporting the facts on both sides of a conflict, and conducting a personal interview, thereby providing a forum for someone who deliberately targets and murders innocents?

I think I understand your point of view; It doesn't appear unreasonable on the surface, and I've heard it voiced by people across the political spectrum. But I'm curious - doesn't the "with us or against us" statement also describe the methods described in the first statement? There was an awful lot of pressure on Iraq throughout the 90's, and it didn't stop them from harboring terrorists. Was the "with us or against us" attitude an arrogant first step with no thought to diplomatic resolution, or was it born out of frustration and necessity, when years of political and economic pressure failed to achieve results? It doesn't appear you are far from the current administrations' actual position on these matters, but are unhappy with the timing and manner of execution - specifically, entering into war with Iraq while still engaged in Afghanistan. But given the circumstances, it seems unlikely to me that a war with Iraq was avoidable. Hussein would've continued to harbor and support terrorism, and I don't think countries like France and Russia were going to be moved from their positions. So I guess what I want to know is if you think a war with Iraq could've been avoided entirely, or could have and should have been put off until a later date. I don't believe it could have been avoided indefinitely, in which case timing - not that it's insignificant issue - would be the only point of disagreement. I don't believe further political and economic pressure would've achieved anything.

Just despicable. I was initially stunned they could find enough people, from camera crew to editors and production personnel to do this. Then I read some of the comments at the end of the story, and I was saddened to see there are plenty of people who think it is ok to do something like this. Maybe if Eric Rudolph had been more successful at killing people with bombs, he could've gotten on Nightline while he was still hiding out.