UConn James

And let me add: "Recognize that the world can be a shade of ugly so sallow that ugliness seems the only rational response, but dare to be beautiful anyway." -- Kevin Bisch I try to apply this in both the macro- and microcosm of life. What was done is horrible beyond words, I watched it of the belief that someone in my chosen career needs to be able to look at anything, but it doesn't mean we should stoop to that level. Zaqwari will one day get what he gives, whoever the President is.

How about in changing that very ethos of materialism and the ME-generation. Believe it or not, this is a relatively new phenomenon at the macro scale. It's only in about the past 50-60 years when everyone has had to keep up with the Joneses. Remember Victory Gardens (I had one this year. Bumper crop of tomatoes...)? Sacrificing and rationing for the war effort? The average American is being told by the Administration to BUY, BUY, BUY, MORE, MORE, MORE from the very countries that we will someday probably be fighting against. It should be required reading, or rather, someone really needs to make a movie of Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie," written at the turn of the century and even more relevant now than then. The day is short The night so long Why will you work so hard To get things you don't even want? And yeah, I agree with DC Tom, but we probably slightly disagree on who'll get us there. The best defense is a good offense, BUT, you've still gotta play some kind of defense to win! The admin's preparedness for w/in this country is a color-coded chart. This is shameful.

Be it duly noted that tho necessary, taxes suck and govt spending is out of control which is an indictment for every party. But it has to be done based on what can conceivably be paid and what is fair in who gains most from the services rendered by govt. I support a progressive tax. The rich and big corporations should expect to pay a slightly larger percentage of their income. Who has the higher interest in maintaining roads, educating our children, keeping the country (and our possessions) safe, etc.? I use the road to get places. I've had 12 years of education and 4 in college (of which I've paid a large %). I've called the police once when someone tried to 'jack the family car. I'm not advocating communism or anything here; normal citizens should expect to pay for these services. Corporations and the people who make over $200,000/ yr. benefit from the same personal protections. They also have a larger stake in the condition of the roads that transport their products. They have a larger stake in educating the people who one day will be using their computers, software, drill presses, what have you. They have a larger stake in police protection for their warehouses and McMansions that are targets for criminals, c'est la vie.... This goes on and on. Corps get tax breaks from local, state, fed govt to set up shop in a particular area so that area can have jobs so those people can pay taxes. (In Manchester, Conn., this type of thinking has led to the most commercially developed area in the U.S. and it's like a commercialism drug addiction where you need more tax money to pay for services that people come there for, spiraling into oblivion). Do I realize what I'm saying? Yeah. If I were some day to be in that group of wage-earners or own a company, I would be fully prepared to put my money where my mouth is. It's called being responsible and paying your true share rather than shirking that responsibility. So are Kerry and his wife; their taxes will increase when he proposes to roll back the tax cuts for the wealthy, which places a higher burden on those people who ultimately benefit much more from the services that taxes provide.

A black pen from Kerry, a red herring from Bush.

As the CBS longitudinal camera showed, Big Mike, along with two other OL, was standing there, arms at his side and watching his man pummel Bledsoe into the rubber pellets.

Said the three, count 'em THREE, personal foul of the 15 yard variety penalties weren't a problem b/c it could have been worse. That's a poor excuse for a coach looking to instill discipline. Penalties flat-out killed us yesterday. Saying it's not that bad only invites players to be more laissez-faire about them. Talk about consistency all you want, Mike. To win, you need a better game plan rather than bumping into the glass every time. (From his language I'd say he's a GW-voter, but you needn't comment on this).

Mhmm. Just like when the offense fumbles it OB, they retain possession. Don't someone reply that if it's out of the endzone it's a safety, because that doesn't apply to the scoring EZ, which Fletcher was at. But where would the refs spot the ball if it were an offensive play? Spot of the fumble?

1. If you know and understand these four words you too can create a winning game plan versus the Bills. They are? (This s/b easy) Team Meeting On-top-a Bledslow. 2. The success or failure in the baseball playoffs of which individual player (name him) will mean the most to his team's chances this year? (medium difficulty, but if you think....) Johan Santana. 3. In which of her videos does Martina McBride look the hottest? (Should be easy, probably won't be) MM is old, dude. Google for Jane Monheit. 4. Which song should replace "Eye in the Sky" as an intro song for sports teams/events (you'll master this test if you get this). Welcome To The Jungle. 5. Which player from the 2004 draft would have made the biggest difference to the Bils this year if they had drafted him? (Medium difficulty - it does not matter what round he was picked or which player they would have not ended up with. Imagine they just had a free pick now and only wanted to have an impact based on performaces thus far). Sean Taylor.

I'd agree with the "No magic number" part. Only b/c with the electoral college system, the percentage is irrelevant. It depends on the states, which is a bunch of crap for a national office. That's something that chaps my ass about all of these polls that come out that essentially tell us nothing. One could legitimately argue that Bush did that his ownself....

Vote early, vote often, as they say. It does bother me that so many people vote legitimately while others work to corrupt the system. And what happens to them when they're caught? Probation? You get more time and penalties for dubbing movies. Unlike others, I wouldn't want to hazard a guess until there's hard evidence rather than surmising it. Criminals come in all colors, shapes, sizes and political affiliations, don't you know.

I don't take insult with a logical argument. I started the thread to discuss the issue. Thanks for your input. I realize that the "current threat" only means that it's the old threat of country-country war plus the new threat of individuals w/in countries attacking other countries. However, I think the new threat trumps the old slightly. MAD would dictate that NK knows if it sends off a nuke to Alaska (who really cares about AK tho? ) they will be blasted into the Crustaceous Era, no matter who the president is. And if NK is such a big threat, why did we start a war of choice in Iraq so we'd potentially have wars on multiple fronts? If you look through history, that has done in many great civilizations and some not-great ones too The "Axis of Evil" comment was sheer stupidity b/c whatever chance we had for diplomacy was thrown out in one sentence. . "Star Wars" deployment put the cart before the horse. Would you say this is similar to NASA sending up Hubble knowing it wasn't up to snuff, then did some fairly risky spacewalks to do the replacement work? Hubble didn't cost $1 trillion, tho, and provided immediate benefits. Chalk that up to gov't spending rules. I understand the concept of testing new technology. And like you write, a test that looks like a failure can actually provide useful information or confirm that an aspect of the system worked. But it's going on 20 years with this stuff, and there is a track record of projects continued long after their worth has been shown to be nil simply b/c some senator has clout and it's built in their state (See: Osprey, Rosen Hawks (my brother was in two tailspins at Drum before the pilots somehow got control) as only the most recent). Not saying that the theory isn't desirable but the costs... the costs. Both monetary and human. And something that gives me the red ass is there was a test scheduled for this month that is now being postponed until after the election. For someone who's so interested in our nation's security as the No. 1 priority that sure smacks of a political move. If you're going to push for something, you'd better be prepared to take the bad with the good rather than defer to a more convenient time.

Bump. Seeing the warm-ups on CBS pregame, they're going with the mo' and it IS blue on blue today!

You think Franks would admit to one and all that he caved to political pressure? There are generals, now (made) retired, who aren't in bed with the neo-cons who say it was a bad move. Yep, the Army found Saddam by drastically reducing the forces in Iraq and outsourcing the job to Saudi Arabian soldiers.... Well put.

Well, I was hoping for discussion of the talking points rather than people saying: 'North Korea --- Be Afraid!!' Yeah, in theory, it'd be nice to have this defense feature. But the reality is that at best, it's doubtful the technology will be developed anywhere in the near future (read: N. Korean gov't will probably self-implode before this happens), if it can be done at all. Diverting resources from where they're needed to piddle with something that will provide no benefit is something this admin. has gotten very good at. Pulling out of the ABMT is one of the most irresponsible things we could do. Simply sets the stage for a spiraling nuclear chaos. "Jump the shark." Heh heh.

All we got was: Bush supports it, Kerry doesn't (at least not with the current setup or cost). Everything I've read about this, from POLS classes to articles to statements, says this system has cost ~$100B so far and will continue to cost about $10B a year if it's continued. Says a PBS article: "The total cost of developing, building and operating a U.S. antimissile shield could climb to well over a trillion dollars." It's been described as trying to shoot a bullet with another bullet. And the only reason there have been successful tests were that the "warhead" was implanted with a GPS system that the "interceptor" used. Other countries' warheads might not be equipped with this, or be willing to share such information..... [/sarcasm] Never mind that this whole thing does not fit into the new threat. You really think that if the terrorists obtain nuclear material, they're going to send it over in a missile rather than a suicide bomber that sneaks across the border or in a shipping container? And this seems outdated even for conventional country-to-country nuclear war. Why go through the same routine where it can be traced back to you when you can send it in exactly as the terrorists might, and then be able to throw your hands up and say "Not us!" The money and the human effort would be better spent elsewhere in the WoT.

Excuse me, but it's a way of explaining a vote, not a war. Since Kerry's explanation seems to go over everyone's heads, I wanted to help explain. Out of it I picked a shoe analogy. Both of my brothers have fought in this war, one of whom narrowly escaped death by missile and C-5 c r a s h. Don't you dare tell me I'm making a joke of it.

WOO HOO!!! Actually, we've officially been D-IA for 5 years, tho the first three were in anonymity still playing a lot of D-IAA teams. Last year as an Independent, went 9-3 (should've had a bowl game) and beat some respectable teams. Nice to be in the Big East this year, even tho it's going to be a shill conference when they renew the BCS....

Yep, all the money we put into each American soldier for training, equipment, etc., and a lot of them are coming home in bodybags too. Point being that when you're a sitting duck target, no amount of training is going to be overwhelmingly effective. It's a matter of skill, luck and wrong time-wrong place. Why is the training 24 weeks, when Judicial Marshal training here in CT is 2 weeks? State Police Training takes about 6 months here, but that's for an elite group. Iraq doesn't need an elite group right now. When you're bleeding heavily, that first bandage isn't going to look too good, so you use absorbant pads, not the high-tech non-stick pads. Granted that the Iraqis being trained aren't nearly as educated (then again, high schools here graduate kids with a 60 average.... And I've seen that done). Think about all the Rent-a-Cops we've got as security in this country, because at this popint, that's what you've gotta use. You may not like how it sounds, but OTJE is the only way you really learn anything, and yeah, guys are going to die. That's a fact of this war and something that should have been FULLY realized before we went in rather than Rumsfeld counting his beans. Now that it's on, the mess has to be cleaned up, and that can't happen w/ this administration continually trying to put square pegs into round holes. When all you've got is Ross Tucker, you've gotta use Ross Tucker. (And to his credit, he looked pretty good out there last season, and got better as it went along).

Just sayin'. Maybe a little change-up in the mojo would work where all else has failed. Actually, just for stevestojans and giggles, what is the win-loss breakdown in wearing the monochrome unis vs. the blue-white?

Touche. I did the college thing b/c my knees wouldn't last 10 minutes in Basic Training. My brothers have, tho. And they both say that while the Iraqis and other -istan country's denizens aren't the brightest bulbs in the bunch, it's a combo of training and OTJE. You need to put asses on the street, just like on the football field.

Funny, b/c that's prol'ly what Gore was thinking with the "sighs" that were blown way out of proportion. Like "nation-building" that was the worst of evils and after 9/11, magically became our one way to solve the world's ills. Who was right about that one?

Actually, the DoD itself says there's only been 50,000 and I'm not sure if that deducts those men who've been blown up by car bombs. The training is not going anywhere near as fast as it can or needs to.

Where did you get the draft talk from? Rangel, who himself said it was a ploy on his part to generate a look at the racial makeup of the military? Kerry has never said he would institute a draft and is opposed to it. But Kerry wants more troops to volunteer. That's about more recruitment by offering better incentives and advancement into those special forces. You're putting words in his mouth, like a lot of people have done. Bush would like to keep the military all-voluntary, which is tactical in being able to avoid putting guys in a war who didn't want to be there. If we continue to overstretch, the draft may be a matter of necessity, tho.

You mean like the 1,000 Polish sharpshooters who put six bullets in Malcolm X? I joke. I joke! Omitting Poland as a partner in Iraq isn't a major gaffe. How often do you hear about Poland in the news? It's U.S., England, Australia. And you try to give a speech watched by 50 million people in 60 seconds. I've done it in front of 20 people and it's damn hard. Both of them made some minor mistakes; I'd say it's a wash. The real story in the debate is on the big issues, not SO much on the minusule detail.

Bush slammed those water glasses under the podium pretty hard, too. Frustrabation..... And the (without a smile) didn't exactly define patience at listening to what other people's ideas are. It's much easier living with Yes-men, isn't it?