John Adams

Spare us Jefferson. This field is not the worst ever. 2004 was far worse. I'd take any of the current 3 over Kerry/Bush.

Bunch of my old fart friends recently joined so I did too. It's interesting--but for me, it allows me to keep in touch with people I am already friends with, not find new friends. Also found a bunch of relatives on there. Nice to browse their family pictures and see what they are up to. I was a skeptic but as the Monkees say, "I'm a believer."

So I'm watching this season for the first time ever. Daughter is enjoying it and I have to admit, I am too. My reviews. David Archuletta: Besides sharing my wife's birthday, I did not feel it. He's got a good voice and the Titanic crowd will take him far. He better not win. David Cook: 8 finger forehead man, for me, is the best of them all. He plays guitar. He rocks. Incredible performance, of Billie friggin' Jean of all songs. He should have a career after this whether he wins or not. Reminiscent of that other Idol guy Daughtry, but not pretty at all. Carly Irish: Great voice and I have a soft spot for that Total Eclipse of the Heart (memories). Slipping a bit in the last few weeks. Still border top 3. Jason Airhead: Should never talk, only sing. Even then, nothing special. Big revelation this week from the childhood pictures: he's white. Michael cute-Aussie Johns: Best performance of his by a ton. Can see him as a lead for a pop band I'll forget 2 years after they have their 1 hit. Ramiel: Sucky suck suck. How is she not consistently in the bottom 3? Brook White: Brooke + guitar or piano = success. Brooke + band or as front woman = crap. This week, success, despite hiccup at the beginning. And she has my birthday. Top 3. Seyisha: Whatever. She's got a great voice. She's pretty. She's a bore. She's like the Barbie you get from K-Mart that's $3.99. Still a Barbie but nothing like Prom Barbie. Chekezie: Like David Cook, he's original. Didn't feel it this week but he doesn't deserve to go home. Yet. Country Kristy: Ohmy!@#$inghead "God Bless the USA"? !@#$ing red state hick sh--heads will probably keep her alive for another week. Who can criticize a song about dead soldiers? I hate her. Simon is spot on: "Clever song choice" because it keeps her in. Eff. Eff. Eff.. Next week is "Tears in Heaven." Followed by Born in the USA. I am apoplectic over her talentless dumbass. Top 3: David Cook by a mile. Brook White big drop to Michael Johns and Carly Irish Bottom 3: Country Kristy Ramiel Jason Stupid

You know me form the board. I blocked Maurice Cheeks on a jump shot once. That doesn't mean you could block Maurice Cheeks's jump shot. That's like the tie between Obama and the passport. His advisor runs a tech consuting company. One of his consultants peeked at some passports. Hardly a conspiracy.

Why do youink Hillary won't be the nominee? No Dem is getting enough votes to secure nomination before the convention. She makes a good argument that she can win the swing states, while Obama won states that the Repubs will win anyway. She'll kill in PA--don't count her out just because she trails in delegates. The convention could be exciting (for a change).

Here's the thing about this thread: I don't think many are advocating boycotting Wal-Mart's right to !@#$ its employees--every company can do that within the bounds of the law. But several people are pointing out that there are other--better--ways to do business. And those people encourage others to shop elsewhere. rtconner provides a good example. He acknowledges Wal-Mart sucks, but he's worried that his neighbors are getting better prices than him so he still shops there. That's a guy with little moral spine, and it's those people that the Wal-Mart bashers are trashing.

Bill Hicks was a genius, no doubt. I can still sing every word to "Chicks dig jerks"--a Brother Wease favorite from the 80s.

What kind of jerkoff wears a hat to practice? Nice team leader.

Car Talk is good. The calls are pre-scripted days in advance which is why the guys have a few ready one-liners but that's OK. Lots of comedy is pre-scripted. Car Talk proves the point of NPR's humor problem too. IT's 1 hour a week. Best NPR shows are Morning Edition and Fresh Air. The talk shows are pretty horrid. You don't hear the commercials? Wow, you must be deaf. Just because the companies are "sponsors" and don't get to run their own ads doesn't mean they're not commercials. I would love a minute-count on cross-sponsorship and commercials on NPR. Probably less than the "free" radio talk show but more than a "free" music station.

Good to see we'll be picking up 2008 where we left 2007!

Except for all the commercials, NPR is pretty good. No decent music or humor (Car Talk is the height). PBS has some decent shows but also a lot of dreck. NPR has two stations on Sirius.

Agreed with Wacka. I can't tell the difference. You'd have to have one helluva a car stero and one helluva a quiet car to tell the difference. Best news for XM: Stern, NFL, and a lesser known but my second favorite talk show after Howard: Whatever with Alexis Stewart (Martha's daughter) and Jennifer Hutt. It's what Howard Stern might have been 20 years ago if he was a woman. Pretty dirty but not as dirty. Brutally honest and open hosts. And of course, without the 5 star guests with the exception of an occasional call from Martha, who generally avoids the seedier discussions.

Bill only exaggerated the "not" in "I did not have sex with that woman."

If the Bills got Shockey for a 2nd and an average starter, I'd do it in a second. Shockey is a bit of a nut but I've never thought of him as a cancer.

You can bash Wal-Mart without bashing capitalism. I try to shop with a conscience and therefore don't shop at Wal-Mart. If you and rtconner want to shop there, feel free to do so.

He's quiet in this thread but when Hillary crushes Obama in PA, he'll be back.

I'm reporting the issue, not condoning it Ahab. Unlike your shots at Kerry BTW.

The new swiftboating is "Why is McCain a war hero?" He clearly wasn't very good at war. Got caught in his first few months of service. Comparing McCain and Kerry, maybe Kerry was more of a hero.

Funny. Not a huge issue, but funny.

These companies are small-fries. If they start making money, there are plenty of people who can launch a satellite and start a competitor, most notably, the current media outlets. XM/Sirius aren't pimples on the butt of a Disney or Time-Warner. Have no fear: this monopoly lasts as long as it's not making money. If it starts to turn a corner on $$, competition will come. I don't look at this as a monopoly as much as it's the first two companies to do this are getting together because their books are so lousy.

A monopoly in a small field where the only two companies in it are bleeding money? If a major network decides to compete in the field of satellite radio, the new XM/Sirius surely won't be able to keep them out. Care to list the competition to satellite? "Free" radio, MP3 players, CD players...all of which dwarf the sat radio industry. This was a no brainer that took embarrassingly long to decide.

A monopoly in a small field where the only two companies in it are bleeding money? If a major network decides to compete in the field of satellite radio, the new XM/Sirius surely won't be able to keep them out. Care to list the competition to satellite? "Free" radio, MP3 players, CD players...all of which dwarf the sat radio industry. This was a no brainer that took embarrassingly long to decide.

Way to stick to your principles.

Obama was in the audience for Wright's comments.

Who cares?