Terry Tate

I tend to agree with the overall post, but there were two places you're off base: 1) the examples you give here are misguided. BiB stated in the SF area - the one you listed that was in the area the teacher won a $1.15 million lawsuit, so I guess you could say he was vindicated, in a lightning strike, lottery jackpot sort of way. 2) persecution is not imagined when it's you. For example, there's a poster here who sometimes makes unkind statements, and repeatedly justifies it by complaining he is being called names by everyone who disagrees with him, and cites a rollcall of extreme pundits and radio talk show hosts - is he too, delusional? Mostly kidding about #2 - but not totally.

Nope. But that doesn't mean the reporter was correct in his actions leading up to that. He made news. Not the question about armor, a valid storyline to follow that he was already reporting, but the coaching, the planning, to create a "gotcha" moment that he could then report. Do you disagree - do you think his actions were appropriate? Or doesn't it matter? I mean, the Q&A with the SecDef part of the story is not that big a deal to me, but the question of the reporter's integrity in performing his duties is what I'm asking about.

This was discussed when the story originally broke. You appear to have a good grasp of the situation - there are definitely some pitchfork-wielding agenda pushers involved. From what I read, the teacher appears to be out of line (how much, I don't know), and the school/parents are probably overreacting a bit, but not that it should cause any harm to anyone. It's unfortunate the school and your kids have something to distract them from the task at hand, but it should blow over eventually, and you sound like you understand the situation well enough that you and your kids can stay focused during the circus. Best of luck.

They could, in a rhetorical, never going to happen sort of way. I guess I fail to see how large an issue this is. I just don't know that many gay married canadiens. Hey, another way to make money - sell married couples weekend romantic trips to Quebec where they won't be married! You naughty kids! Fall in love all over again! Are the travel agents out there getting all this? I gotta start writing this stuff down! Now what was that thing about feeding mayonaise to tuna?

Good school, can't go wrong there. Best of luck.

I doubt the scenarios you brought up are enough of a catalyst to cause the compromise for foreign gay marriages you outline, but it could happen. I just don't think people who work at hospitals, morgues, etc are going to be that hung up on it. I could be wrong. Maybe it would be a big issue. For those opposed to gay marriage, it does make the argument for legislatively defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. You're right, every couple in the US who wants to get married will head to Canada. (If anyone here is a travel agent, not a bad idea to pursue that.) The business community supports all politicians in impressive numbers, often two opposing parties at the same time. But voters are, at least so far, against gay marriage. I think a compromise will be made at some time, but I don't think businesses are going to lead the charge. Many corporations extend their health plans to include a gay, uh, companion? - that's their compromise.

Can't help you on Paradise, but since Buffalo is on the wrong end of national averages in almost every economic indicator (Income per capita, Household income, unemployment rate, recent job growth, projected job growth, sales taxes, income taxes) it is a valid concern. Buffalo is way, way below national averages in housing costs, but property taxes are higher than average and appreciation is lower - something that you would need to take into consideration. But at those prices, I wouldn't think it's a deal breaker. Crime rate actually appears high (above national average per 100,000 people for both violent and property crimes), but this is far less likely to be an issue if you're not living in an urban area of WNY. I'm sure that the burbs don't have anywhere near the crime rate. Buffalo schools spend more than the national average per student, and have a lower pupil-to-teacher ratio. Unfortunately, it is below the national averages in the number of people over the age of 25 with HS/GED, 4yr degrees, or PHD's - those people have apparently moved after graduating. Buffalo's climate - well, what can you say. I think this perceived as another deal breaker for a lot of people, but I'm not so sure that's true. Obviously a lot more cloudy days and precipitation than many places, and a lot more freezing days, but on the other hand, very comfortable temps through the summer when a lot of paradises are suffocatingly hot. But they don't have to deal with the below freezing temps through the winter, so choose your poison. Given better economic indicators, I don't think this would be as big an issue. All in all, I'd say it's the economy/taxes that does it for most people who decide to move out (or not move back). That's a pretty big issue, and can't be ignored.

Will the Campbell/Euhus losses effect special teams also? In addition to losing them on offense, I don't know if these guys were on ST's or not. Neufeld has performed well on ST's, and I wonder if he is now going to be taken off and replaced with someone else. Just curious.

Were Euhus and Campbell ST players? I'm guessing one or both were. I don't know how much of an effect that would have - might be a challenge for Bobby April to fill multiple positions on his ST's.

It's just a matter of time before we succeed. Pinky : " Gee, CaWingnut, what are we going to do tonight?" CaWingnut: "The same thing we do every night Pinky. Try to take over the world!"

To counter the negativity of not having won a SB today, here's some positive thinking brought to you by Ren & Stimpy. The Bills are better than most of the 31 other teams. The Bills have proven they can beat .500 or below teams, that means they're competitive (or better) against 20 out of the (other) 31 teams. They've also beat a team that currently has 9 wins. Being as there's a total of 8 teams with winning records at 9 wins or less, add that to the 20 .500 or below teams, and that would place the Bills at competitive (or better) against 28 of the (other) 31 teams in the league. No guarantees, no locks, the NFL will still make them play the scheduled games - but they've got a legitimate shot against 28 out of (the other) 31 teams. That's a good standing. There's a gap, a big difference between those teams and the 10+ win teams (the remaining 3). The odds are worse; it simply is not as likely that they would beat them. But again, I'm guessing the NFL mandates those games go on as scheduled, because you just never know. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Keeping it in perspective is good advice. I'm coming from the perspective that the Bills have been painful to watch the last few years, and I'm happy to see them improving. Look at it this way, they've proven they can beat .500 or below teams, that means they're competitive (or better) against 20 out of the (other) 31 teams. They've also beat a team that currently has 9 wins. Being as there's a total of 8 teams with winning records at 9 wins or less, add that to the 20 .500 or below teams, and that would place the Bills at competitive (or better) against 28 of the (other) 31 teams in the league. No guarantees, no locks, but they've got a shot against 28 out of (the other) 31 teams. That's new. There's a gap, a big difference between those teams and the 10+ win teams (the remaining 3), but there's hope in continued improvement - nothing wrong with that. In my book, that's a lot better than the last few years, and I'm damn happy about it. Rain away, I've got my gear on.

"stripperware" - LOL, great story. Reminded me of driving a country road to work one day, fairly heavily used by commuters as a short cut, when I came upon three cars pulled over and two more slowing down in front of me. Sure enough, there was a "10" who had car trouble, and men were lining up to be the hero. If I would've just left home 10 minutes early...

I'm sorry, it was a mean thing to say. The moron comment ticked me off, but I should've stopped myself. But since the cat's out of the bag, if you give yourself 10 months, the line just moved, and I'd still be tempted to take the under. Oh, I don't mean something really bad, just stupid. Maybe 210mph on the highway in your new Lamborghini. Grinning the whole time you're being booked, and as you bail yourself out. I have no idea where I'd end up in a year with that much money, but it could end a lot worse than that. This lady sounds like she'll do well with it. From what I've seen, it doesn't change you, it magnifies your strengths and weaknesses. Who knows, maybe we'd all just end up lifetime season ticket holders. I should shut up now before I dig a deeper hole than I already have. Sorry.

If you were ever to win the lottery, given 1 year as the over/under for going to prison, I'm taking the under.

Do they recommend a mullet?

If votes are influenced by First Ladies' assets, I'd recommend Democrats nominate Carl Dean next time around. He's married to Dolly Parton.

Maybe we should begin preparing defenses for the Borg.

Too late, I was crazy long ago. Every year I predict an undefeated, Super Bowl champion season, so asking me for a little moderation is like asking Rip Taylor to put away the wigs and confetti.

That's not fair. Signing a petition is a form of protest. I didn't see MM or the DCs on that list either. But saying leftist loonies should be protesting Darfur genocide and against Bush with equal fervor is not a fair call to make. If you look at the site, they do have a list of events also. Don't expect someone who thinks the Bush "regime" engineered 9/11 (or another favorite, Bush=Hitler) to have any rational thoughts at all, let alone find other causes to protest. Well, there's a possiblity they may have a rational thought at some point in their life - I'm just saying we can't EXPECT it.

It appears the contest for the most classless post of the day is going to be a tie.

http://www.buffalobills.com/fans/wallpaper.jsp

"Patrick, who has developed an e-mail friendship with Butterworth, scoffed at any comparison between what he does for a living and what Butterworth does as a soldier." James Patrick is just the best. The more you know about the guy, the more there is to like.

All the new format tiebreakers from espn. In either two- or three- club wildcard tiebreakers, division tiebreakers apply for any teams in the same division before proceeding to the next tiebreaking step.

Well, since you asked - how about a standard format for the calendar layout? I would prefer it over the more contemporary ones you use. Otherwise, I love the product! For a subject, given their improvement and importance this year, a picture of the special teams in action would be cool. I don't know what type of photos would be available, but maybe something like the kickoff team just as the ball leaves the tee would be a way of capturing a large number of them without a whole-stadium shot. Anyway, thanks for all the wallpapers you've made that I've used over the years.