UConn James

"Tightie whities are against the Geneva Convention!"

Well, Christ! That sounds like actual work and stuff.

Yep, for the second straight year, Miss USA landed on her heiney. Kind of metaphoric for what's happening in the world today, no?

Tho, if memory serves, he had communication with/worked out with the Ravens for a brief time after he announced his retirement at the field house. He was kind of handed his hat by Dan Henning (with tacit approval from Marv and Ralph) and I think it left a bad taste in his mouth, but it's probably something he and us fans shortly came to see as the right decision. It can be tough to hang 'em up. Granted, Kelly didn't try to hold the Bills hostage, as his contract was expired --- he was just moving on. That, and Favre's on-again/off-again retirement talk has to make everyone in Green Bay weary of his bs. Funny how someone who's so decisive on the field can be so indecisive off it. On Edit: Yep. NYT archive: Kelly Is Undecided On Return to N.F.L. NYT archive: Kelly Asks Ravens For 3-Year Contract

Right. When I heard the words, 'You're a Bills fan? I'm Kelly Holcomb's cousin!' I didn't jump bogart and lay in about talk of noodle arms and checkdowns. Instead, it was, "Oh, really. That's interesting" and then I started to carve the turkey. Even tho I was thinking to myself 'That's not something I would go bragging about.' Too bad some people's mothers didn't drive it in enough to show some class and when you can't say anything nice....

Either an early (before 10 a.m.) or a later mowing (~ 2 hours before sunset) is best for the grass --- doesn't subject it to mid-day heat stress which will require more water to keep it healthy. On weekends, as a courtesy, I don't mow before 9 a.m. Weekdays, 8 a.m.

I found out a couple of months ago that my brother's on-again/off-again girlfriend (baby-momma-to-be, actually) is a cousin of Kelly Holcomb.

Eddie might put the 'fat suit' down?!!? Say it ain't so! His best was Trading Places. Which is sad when you realize it's ~20 years old and he hasn't done anything worth a bucket of sh-- since. Then again, 90 percent of everything that's come out of Hollywood in the past 15 years is warmed-over dreck.

Welcome back the Prodigal Son. Give him a Bills hat, take him to a training camp session, sacrifice the fattened kielbasa and pour the Genny Cream Ale. Remember that the most fervent believers are often the sheep who were once lost. People, we aren't in a position to be turning away those who would support the team. I've brought a couple of soft-core Pats fans into the Bills fold and we're now Bills buddies. ... Just, watch him pretty closely for the next two seasons.

I don't think he was pointing out the Iraq and Afghanistan (BTW, GG, I don't think there's many congress-critters going back on the Afghanistan measure) war votes specifically. He was talking more generally about the deterioration of checks and balances that's been happening for some time now but just recently with this admin, it seems to have picked up pace: Signing statements that basically say whether or what parts of the bills this administration will go along with, the domestic spying ruckus... Patriot Act, FISA, giving telcoms immunity, etc. To say nothing about the use of torture. By and large, for most of this presidency, everyone was walking around in a daze after 9/11 and/or playing 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.' Talkin' both parties there b/c they'd all like to have more unconfronted power when they get the reigns. There's been a long line of Republican "I'm gonna do whatever I wanna do and nobody's gonna stop me." Dubya isn't the first. Crossing threads here, sorry, but where the Republicans (and, full disclosure, I'm on their lists; just haven't gotten hold of a change of registration card yet to go to Independent) went wrong has as much to do with lying about their intentions on the size/scope of govt they promise in election years (the fundamental part of being a fiscal conservative) as it is getting sidetracked with divisive, relatively petty social issues with the religious right. It's like they're 90 degrees off course, and no one in the boat who has access to the wheel can see they're going in the wrong direction... but it wouldn't matter anyway b/c the wheel is lashed. Now that they're committed, they have to go in that direction. Yeah, that's the biggest drawback. I give him some leeway in the 'I didn't know it'd be enforced/applied that way' mien, but anyone who wants to earn my vote (versus me holding my nose while I fill in the bubble) has to show forethought and great understanding of the short- and long-term consequences of his/her actions. That's probably asking for too much these days. All that being so, I'll take someone who only recently "got it" and 'flip-flopped' over people who I think are flat-out wrong.

Keep keepin' on keepin' on, Campy!

Right. It's not the witness on the stand who has to have no opinion and to refer to themselves in the third person.... Their testimony is what makes them an important part of determining the truth. It's the jury or the judge who has to sort out which combination of facts and personal testimony is right. I'd like to see witnesses sue in federal court all the way to the Supremes if need be and these judges punished for violating the First Amendment.

If the team cut him before camp, when they could have brought him in and still have been all right with the number of guys on the roster, that's a pretty good sign they don't intend to have him back. Maybe it was to give him a chance to see if he could catch on somewhere else, but with the FB position being what it is I wouldn't think that's likely. Just sayin'....

I think Eisenhower at least held the status quo, and managed to keep a lasting relative peace in tense times, not to mention the interstate highway system, which did more for commerce (and has done for 50 years now) than probably any other single Act of Congress. The age-old problem of getting sh-- from Point A to Point B efficiently and expeditiously had its seed in his military experience. Look at so many other countries even today that have no, inefficient, or crappy roads and their economies suck. On his social policy, that he 'didn't do enough' for civil rights well... it's probably best to view him as the first steps of the transition. It was as obvious as the sun that it wasn't his. The problem is the continual infringement of copyright law (which TBD could possibly be put in the crosshairs for if it happens in volume. I know Lori, bless her, often takes it on herself to police this on the main boards). Pasta Joe copies and pastes such that: 1) posters don't know what the source is to weigh its accuracy or have a chance to see if things were selectively edited (often the case with those who don't provide attribution). 2) The people/companies that originated the information don't get to profit from (or even get credit for) it by having people visit their sites. This is out-and-out theft of intellectual property. The cavalier attitude that this is 'just an internet message board, so it doesn't matter' sucks. This is such a waste that I'm actually spending time explaining this. Easier to just put him on Ignore.

Thinking about this a little more... JMac is from Arizona, which indicates he might lend some advice about real 'heat' BBQ. Obama is from Chi-town, so if you want basic brats and sausage know-how, he might be your man. All depends what kind of grilling you like. But if either of them wears a "Kiss the Cook" apron, this is a non-starter and Tony Purple Fingers shows them the door.

Yes, a typo is directly on par with plagiarism/nonattribution/copyright infringement. TBD Terms of Service. The last sentence of Paragraph the Fourth is the pertinent line: There. I just provided a link and quoted words that weren't mine. It can be done!

I personally know a guy who broke an ankle during Ranger training (who said that almost the whole group had injuries of varying degree b/c they were dropped from too low a height during a helicopter jump. He's trying to get another go at the Rangers now, about 3 years later. If you were rejected by both, your physicals must've been unacceptable. Military can't be rejecting everyone who's ever had a knee injury, especially now. If you can perform, they'll take you. I don't know what kind of consideration they'd make for Viti, too, b/c graduating from the academy, he is an officer. That's only if he was injured to some degree. From what I remember reading at the time, DJ said it wasn't serious.

There are vastly different qualifiers for injury affecting performance b/w the military and pro football. If you're functional in the military, you go, and this is a man who's made it this far with a supposedly bad knee from high school. I thought I read that Viti practiced after the injury and/or that DJ expected him not to miss much time. We also don't know whether the cut was due to injury, performance, his fit in the offense, or a combination. Weird, considering how Studesville was all glow-y about his guys just this week. Is there any chance that Viti asked to be released if his chances of making the team based on what coaches saw in OTAs weren't good, so he could rejoin his unit?

To be fair, JMac has arm problems (can't raise them very much due to his treatment in the HH) and would probably fumble all the burgers while I DJ on my outdoor sound system. The tapes of Obama playing basketball looks like he can handle tongs or a spatula with use... not to mention that tricky business of getting the chicken on the beer can.

Following all the to-do made about this after the draft about him cheating the system or some-such... he got a chance to compete at a professional level and not be penalized from a sports career for choosing the academy, which is what the Army's program is intended to do for the rare number of times it happens. Unless he signs with another team (seems pretty unlikely), this probably means he'll be going to Iraq in the near future. I wish him the best and to come home safely.

You're not hesitant to what? Not attribute words that you didn't write!!? I'm not attacking a messenger, and I'm saying this regardless of the subject (FYI - I've said this numerous times to people who post articles about the Bills w/o attribution). I'm attacking a plagiarizer. How !@#$ hard is it to provide a link above the article and put the pertinent info in quotes? And then you have the audacity to act like you're doing everyone a favor by omitting a link. Did SDS not make this simple enough to avoid copyright infringement (which is a crime)? Posters here always want a link. Doule U Tee Eff!! Are you new to TBD? Get a ing clue.

Did you type that all yourself or is this your regular schpiel of thinly veiled plagiarism / no attribution? This is against the TOS, you know, and you and Steely do it all the time. Not to say that it's untruth, but it begs the question, where'd you get this from and why are you hesitant to share sources? [bold] So... it wasn't caused by Vietnam, but it was caused by the conditions that his service/capture in Vietnam created? You can't divorce experience from a man. When my brother came back from Afghanistan with PTSD, wifey had a boyfriend and "wasn't happy." They separated. He moved in with us, got a girlfriend who was a dead ringer for his ex, plus a Tramp Stamp and a drinking habit. Got a puppy of the same breed he had with his ex, even tho he didn't have the resources to take care of it. He said he just "needed to replace what [he] lost." I said (to myself) that I thought he was making huge mistakes in his personal life... which is playing out right now. Point is, that sh-- happens, experiences change fundamental personality/outlook which leads to dumbf--k concepts like "wanting to make up for lost time" entering the mind and directing action, usually resulting in chaos. Divorce, besides the main causes of cheating or financial problems, is often caused by collective petty sh-- like one person always leaving the caps off of the toothpaste, not shutting cabinet doors the whole way, et cetera. I'm not trying to be JMac's best friend here, nor am I defending his actions; speaking for myself, I don't like him. But when you walk a mile in his shoes and the sh-- that happened to him, it changes you fundamentally. In truth, to people who understand what returning vets go thru, it would have been a bigger surprise if he had stayed married to the first wife, car accident or not.

To be fair, I know (and know of) quite a few veterans who got divorced after serving in Vietnam. Either divorced the wife they were with previous to the war or marriages not lasting very long afterwards. War changes people. Things happen while the soldier is away (a very broad range from cheating to financial woes to the discommunication that happens). The effects of war on the soldier can have the other partner mindf--king the 'I didn't sign up for this...' argument. Veterans having a difficult time forming and then maintaining relationships. We're seeing this among a lot of soldiers returning from the current wars --- 80% divorce rates in returning units, high percentage of drug use, suicide rate, etc. I have an uncle who was 1/2 mile from the DMZ during Tet who is all kinds of f--ked up, but considering what happened, it's amazing how adjusted he is. He's been divorced and remarried I think 5 times. I have another uncle who was in graves registration who cut off all communication with the family shortly after he came home (by the by, for those who don't know, this was an especially crazy-making job; one guy stationed with him whose family actually ran a mortician business went mad and killed himself like most others with that particular MOS in that particular war). This is in addition to the normal hardships of marriage, which are many. I'm not prepared to say that JMac didn't get divorced for selfish reasons, but I highly doubt that's the entire scope of what caused the divorce. I have heard many vets say that JMac's anger/very short temper issues downgrade him in their eyes as being a good CiC. Not exactly on par with "The Manchurian Candidate" but....

I've been an NRA lifer for 15 years now, have connections to several clubs with many members and I've never heard about anyone shooting someone, even in self-defense. The primary purpose of a gun is to be a tool of its operator, like anything else: knives, cars, pencils, gold clubs, et cetera.... Furthermore, its more specific purpose is to be either a sporting tool for target shooting (most of the use I've ever seen or heard of), or a portable method of self-defense (most of the time as a mere show of force/persuader). In the wrong hands, it can do harm, just as many other tools can do. The key is that when you catch people using a gun in a crime you need to put them the f--- behind bars and keep them there. But often, the 5-year mandatory sentencing for crimes with a gun gets tossed out... and I'll give you a guess which side of the aisle that such leniency tends to come from. It used to floor me how the bleeding hearts acted all surprised when people with rap sheets the length of your arm keep committing crimes when they're let out of prison. Now I know better b/c it's just part of their agenda to keep gun violence on the front pages so they can get the ban they've been pining for for so long. It's pretty sick to toy with public safety as a means to an end.

Wholeheartedly agree on Point the First. The campaign and support he's received has really shown how far we've come in a relatively short time period. Combine that with other statistics/scientific (mostly debunking) facts about race and I don't see a need for affirmative action. Much of the time when people cry racism, the actual cause of an incident is a judgment of the content of a person's character that MLK preached. When someone is going 80 in a 40 mph zone, blaring music with lyrics that exhort 'smacking your B word up' or raping women, I'm going to tend to knock off a few character points (and fwiw, I've seen way more white people than black in such situations). Obama is the pinnacle example of a meritocracy. Second point, Rolling Stone is conservative? But yeah, he's by and large run an excellent campaign in his idiom. I'm probably not going to be voting for him, but like you, the reason isn't b/c he's black, it's that at this point I don't agree with enough of his policies (judging from his sketches since he's been purposefully vague) for him to earn my vote.