Alaska Darin

My buddy and his wife wanted to give back so they became foster parents. They took in a bunch of different kids. Some for a day or two, some for a few months. About 2 years ago, they took in 3 girls. Parents are "short bussers" who have already had a kid permanently taken from them. Mom doesn't work steady and dad has never had a job paying above minimum wage. The goal of the "program", of course, is to eventually get the kids back in the biological's home. So the State pays a buncha money sending these window lickers to counseling, etc but it's finally determined that they'll never be fit parents so they convince them to sign away their parental rights forever. During this time, it's disclosed that mommy is pregnant with baby number 5, who'll be snatched and put into the system upon leaving the womb. So last summer my buddy and his wife permanently adopt these kids. They give them a great home with attention and things they'd never have had if they'd stayed where they were. Each has developmental challenges. So what does Social Security have to do with it? Yesterday, the SSA sends them a letter telling them they owe $3800 PER CHILD for overpayment of some sort based on their income in 2004/5. THEY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THESE KIDS DURING THAT TIME. So they go to SSA yesterday and they tell them they have to fill out a waiver. So much for innocent until proven guilty. No good deed goes unpunished.

Jesus Christ, Eric. Do you strive to be a parody or is it just come naturally?

"It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another." - George Washington's view on the impending 2-party system, from his farewell address. That man was smarter than you with 200 fewer years of history to learn from. My sense of history isn't distorted at all, it's quite keen. It's unfortunate that men crafty enough to create perhaps the greatest document in world history just couldn't leave all of Jolly ol' behind. We'd have been much better for it. Love how this particular subject is totally black and white for you, but virtually everything else is subject to ridiculous interpretation. You mean because it isn't now? That's actually funny. The "strong" federal government has virtually ignored its Constitutional responsibilities like infrastructure and intrastate commerce in favor of wasteful populist spending. If it weren't for WWII and the resulting infrastructure and manufacturing capability, we'd likely be closer to third world than at any time in our history - and it'd be mostly due to FDR's "New Deal". More "pie in the sky crap". Every level of government is corrupt. Good luck fighting any level or getting help from same without a crapload of cash in your pocket. But you hold up the FG as some kind of superhero. Thanks for your very pedestrian interpretation. You don't need to explain to me how it's been interpreted. I've spent countless hours of my adult life researching decisions. One only has to look at the Supreme Court voting 5-4 along political lines on Heller to know how incredibly !@#$ed up we really are. And thanks for letting me know you wouldn't like any interpretation that I, or those like me would have put in the text. I'll let you know the very minute you have an ounce of credibility with me. In 1800 you'd have been a boot licker for the Crown. You're too big a pansy to face reality now when it's easy to do so. It's not tough to imagine which side you'd join between the greatest fighting force in the world and a buncha rag-tag farmers.

They all suck now. It's amazing how many layers of management they have and how each one seems more incompetent than the last. Dell used to be an awesome company. They the hit the peak of what their business model could handle. Instead of being happy with that and keeping up with their "best technology, fairest price, customer service first" mantra, they tried to be something they aren't. My AE was literally one of the top 3 guys at what he did in the company. They let him and most of his team go because their compensation level was so high (even though it was commission based). How sensible is that? Their equipment is still pretty good but unless you're a huge corporate customer, you can forget about service. The margins are simply too thin in the industry to give a flying crap about you in the short term.

Who moved the team to Arizona when everyone KNEW the stadium was going to be an issue?

What alternative solutions are available now that the 2 "parties" have completely skewed the playing fields so no other party or individual can even get a seat at the table? The real "alternative" is to return the federal government to ONLY its Constitutional responsibilities but with the current level of stupidity coursing through the electorate, there's absolutely zero chance of that every happening. The rest of that paragraph is typical hypocrisy. Oh look, more typical partisan tactics. Anyone who isn't a liberal is immediately "far right". In my case, nothing could be further from the truth. You will rarely see me joining in with the liberals on this board because it's equally rare to see them bring a single issue to the table that has any merit. Let's see. I was against the Iraq war. I was against the "Patriot" Act. I was against the formation of the Department of Homeland Security. I think homosexuals should be allowed to marry. I think abortion and drugs should be legal (and in most cases retroactive). I'm totally against religion in government. Let me know which of those is a staple of the "far right", will you? I was for tax cuts but said they didn't go anywhere near far enough and I was against virtually all spending increases that the current administration levied. The fact is, you and the rest of the partisans read exactly what you want to. There's no secret that my politics rarely lineup with liberal "ideology" because I understand the appetites of the powerful when they get unlimited access to other people's money and refuse to turn a blind eye for the sake of "pie in the sky". Because it's reality. About the only thing the last administration did was raise the levels on retirement savings but even they couldn't bring themselves to take the government's hands off it by simply indexing it for inflation. The administration before that did even less for the average American. I know it's hard to fathom that the system is entirely broken - but it is. That's so stupid it's just funny. Now pretending that Republicans and Democrats are somehow different is "flexible" thinking. Really? I haven't come to terms with the fact (sic) that politics is a messy, impure process? Yet I'm the one that thinks the federal government should be severely limited in their power and you are an avowed liberal. Yep, you're facing reality.

I'm sure an 8 year old "chose" to go.

This is probably why Ralph believes continuity with Jauron is the answer. Aack.

Ah, the old "I was a douche bag so no one else should ever have the chance" debate. Pretty much the reason America was founded, right? Now use some catch phrase about "Freedom". And drugs and alcohol are WAY more available now than they've ever been. You're deluded if you think otherwise.

I'm not too concerned about losing the attention of anyone who considers themselves a Democrat. It's a virtual guarantee that they're either a complete idiot or an ideologue who simply can't face reality. Lost causes, each. Tough to disagree with that, though I'm sure that Washington and those who feed them cash will figure out a way to completely screw it up.

Ah, so pointing out the hypocrisy of your masters is the equivalent of "complaining about everything". I'm glad you know a lot of old men and want to somehow loop me in with them. It's quite likely they're wise and you're not. I'm also glad that you're some how able to judge that the world is "passing me by". If I could only be plugged in enough to give a crap about Steely Dan or whichever chic you currently have a crush on. What "kind" would that be? Those who are able to look at an issue truthfully, instead of blindly following some non-existent primrose path? Even some of the elected Dummycrats are now calling Obama's plan a return to "trickle down" economics. I guess they're only going to be relevant after the Apocalypse as well...

Jim Kelly...

Most teams play it safe in that situation. Since the Giants haven't been able to move the ball, putting them in a longer field ain't necessarily a bad play.

The Giants have pretty much sucked for a month and a half. Outside of the 2nd half against Carolina, they've been dominated.

Coughlin has been channeling DJ most of the day. Weird.

Bidwell is extra smart for having his team in easily the weakest division in the NFC. You'll forgive me for not trumpeting a guy who has a total of ONE home playoff win in his LIFE.

It's the same as bankrupt the "BILLS lack talent" argument. The only place the BILLS really lack talent is the guys wearing headsets on Sundays. I have little doubt if you swapped coaching staffs between Buffalo and New England, Belichick has the BILLS in playoffs on a bye week and New England is sitting at home with their fans running half the roster out of town.

Man, he really is. Their WR corp is sick.

Arm strength is one of the most meaningless attributes in a QB. Edwards' arm is just fine. He can make all the throws.

It's a hell of a lot easier to be a quarterback when you know your defense has the ability to cover up any mistakes you make. The three most important throws Flacco completed today were all into double coverage. Not great decisions, simply great results because he knows he has the best defense in the NFL covering his ass.

If that's not the pot calling the kettle...

There is a long list of people who've failed massively at running restaurants. I wouldn't use that as a gauge of any sort. Not that I don't agree with you on your point.

Ugly game. Sabres looked totally out of sync. They thing that's baffled me most about this team is how terrible it is 4-on-4. A couple of seasons ago we were probably the best team in the NHL creating in that situation, now they look petrified.

Why limit it to the NY Senate? There's plenty of evidence that most Democrats throughout this nation are idiots. Shoot, why limit it to Democrats? Add the Republicans in there as well.

I probably agree with what you say but your inability to use punctuation properly makes it pretty tough to be sure.