John Adams

I know jagall about this topic. So wait: Maybe gatorman is winning this debate. You tell him gatorman.

Getting crowded under the troll's bridge.

The new Tottenham coach has something to say about it.

Last time around buying a car for me, I went 3 months with no car (I was train-commuting at the time) and test drove everything. My wife got annoyed with me one day and said, "Go test drive a BMW and get a manual transmission if you want one." Not sure why I hadn't tried the BMWs but I guess the 3 series didn't speak to me from the road and the 5 Series was bigger than I wanted. I test drove the 3 and 5. Different cars but on another level than the Acuras, Lexuses, Fords, Lincolns, Toyotas--no comparison when it came to the driving. In the end I got a manual 3 Series with the big engine AWD and you know what? People can say whatever they want about me. My car is %^&*ing awesome to drive. I didn't get a BMW for prestige. I didn't get it so I can say I have one. I got it because when I drove it, it kicked ass. 5 years on, it still kicks ass and now I'm an every day 40 mile each way commuter. I hope to be driving this car for a loooooooooong time, despite the bad MPGs. When I get my next car, it may make sense for me to get a gas-sipping Toyota and I may make that sensible decision, but in my heart, I will want another BMW. And as much as it pains me to say it, I agree with Chef Jim: People drive way too slow. I need a 110 mph speed limit lane. (The day I call my car "my BMW" is the day someone can shoot me.)

Going to B-Man you all. Me.

I will join the debatical: Black on black racism and crime has always been perceived as less of an issue. Tipster, you have coined the perfect word to define PPP. Debate plus debacle could not capture this place better. Take a bow and make no apology.

He had 76% completion percentage and 5 incompletions, 2 of which were intentional throwaways. 2 of the bad passes took place in the first two drives, you know, his first drives on an NFL field. Nothing even close to intercepted. He did well. Preseason game plans are always simple. When was the last time any Bills QB executed a game plan, simple or not?

OCinBuffalo complimented for being succinct? There's the first horseman.

Yours is the argument that gets people talking about the Spaghetti Monster.

Reread my post. I, in fact, think that tapping into the child's guilt/shame is the way to go. Putting an 8 year old child in the stockade and hoping the public throws rotten fruit at him is not. Public humilation for an 8 year old while the mom sits out on the lawn and supervises the shaming is just hurtful and vindictive, with little good outcome besides leaving a painful scar. As LA said below (and if I agree with LA, it's time to consider that we might be right), the mom needs to talk to the kid, explain how it hurts the mom and disappoints her. The punishment can be loss of freedoms, or something more proacticve like working it off in community service Bottom line: The mom should be a parent and deal with her child. "Parental bullying" is some serious BS phrase but this punishment for a little kid sounds a lot more like whatever BS that phrase is meant for than actual parenting. "I have an idea for how I'm going to humiliate my 8 year old" is a lot different than "How can I best help my 8 year old?" She can do whatever stupid crap she wants and this punishment was no crime. It's just piss-poor parenting. No surprise that the mom is some sort of nightmare herself.

I see everyone is enjoying the new troll. Way to add to the place gatorman.

Chelsea can run in after Jeb serves two terms.

You were saying?

In preseason you expect to see the Bills do anything other than vanilla offense? Way early to do any judging on Manuel. He is doing fine.

And cold rooster the parent. That's not parenting. That's publicly shaming your 8 year old. Should she tattoo an A on her slutty 16 year old too? Parental discipline is between a kid and his parent. No need to make me be the source of your kid's shame. That's psychotic and lazy, with no positive outcome. How about making him work off his stealing? Have him do charity. Tell him how betrayed she felt? But wearing a sign on the street? Yeah, that's not going to leave a psychological scar. What a nut job.

With Florida so critical, Jeb Bush is a good guess. He's not his brother. Rubio should be a contender too. Rand Paul has baggage. Paul Ryan is too money focused for America to latch onto. Not sure Hillary can do it. Se would have been 10x the president Obama is but can she overcome the divisiveness he brought? If someone can truly not be a divisive party shill, they may blow away the field.

Do you think that Christians are in some way different in their conviction than people who believed in Zeus or Ra? I'm not asking you to compare the tenets, but the conviction. And I agree with you: Few devote Christians would make a statement acknowledging other religions' validity. I grew up in a Catholic house, Catholic schools, altar boy, etc. The Catholic church has a lot of beliefs besides their moral code that I question. Their stance on homosexuality is just one thing I disagree with and hardly dispositive of my opinion about the church. I don't hate Catholics or the church. I enjoy going to Mass with friends for a wedding or special event because the rhythms are familiar (except WTF--they changed some of the Mass words recently...totally F-ed me up last time..."And also with you" now "And also with your spirit" or something). But I would never be Catholic or Christian clearly. I don't believe in the divinity of Jesus or the Holy Spirit or any of the magic in the Old Testament stories. I appreciate their teachings but don't think they happened. If there's a god behind all this, that will be incredible and amazing. I will be happy to find out if I ever do. But I don't think that god came along after some 200,000 or 50,000 years into humanity's existence and said, "Hey, by the way, Christianity is the answer and anything else you believed before or will believe since is bunk." That sort of "we have the answer" thing sounds more like human narcissism than the act of a loving god. It's like when there's a little rise about the end of the world. That's just human ego at play, thinking that our lives are so incredible that despite the earth's incredible age, our tiny speck of time on it will be when the end of times comes. Yet people keep falling for it. We are an egoistic species for sure!

"I denouce the holy spirit." WTF does that even mean? And I agree: Why say it? Just to be a dick? If someone asked me, "Do you believe in the holy spirit?" and I felt like answering, I'd say no. If someone asked me to "blaspheme the holy spirit," I'd think they were a douche and tell them so. I wouldn't refuse because I'm afraid. I'd refuse because it's retarded and only serves to be hurtful.

I celebrate Christmas and Easter and no, nothing to do with religion for me even though the days would not be on the calendar without religion. Christmas and Christmas-time is a day/season of goodwill rooted in my family's and many other's Christian backgrounds. Easter is less of a celebration but we do the eggs and basket in the same way we have turkey on Thanksgiving and grill out on the 4th of July.

Not sure you asked a question of anyone in this thread. A few thoughts. I had to look up how one blasphemes the holy spirit. Not even sure I still understand it but is it just denying god's existence? Is that what got you upset? You are quick to deny the Easter Bunny but is the Easter Bunny so different from Zues? Ra? A million other religions that we now call myths and fairy tales? Ask yourself: Did the priests and followers of those religions believe less fervently in their systems than a Christian or Muslim believes in theirs? Somewhere in that answer lies the nugget of most people's skepticism about absolutism of people's belief in their system. It's naive and an ultimate egocentrism that would allow one person to say "I got it right and the rest of you are wrong." The more reasonable religions say, "This is one path and we hope we have the answer, but we understand there are other paths." Anyone who says their religion is the true religion is wrong. Am I an atheist? Close. I struggle with the Aristotelean/Aquinus prime-mover type proofs like everyone. I certainly don't believe in a Christian/Muslim/Jewish/Hindu/Buddhist god. But I meditate daily and find peace in silence. I am kind and charitable. I have been to many religious services and don't insult my religious friends or argue with them about their beliefs that make no sense unless they open themselves to argument or push their stuff on me. I would guess most of this paragraph describes most of the growing atheist population. We just don't care for organized religion. It' doesn't add anything. But we're otherwise pretty normal people with the same lives religious people lead except on their day of worship.

Chase will probably doublecharge you and do nothing. No big deal. It's just your money going to them.

Mmm, trolly.

No? "An astonishing 23% reported that they had observed or had first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace..." sounds pretty widespread.The source and methodology could be bunk but the headline follows the numbers.

Oh I see: You're nuts too. Well, OK then.

Yeah, really. His conclusion based on my story is not my conclusion based on my story.