plain

Well in both a religious sense (MY religion, at least....are there any other religions? I'll have to check on that) and secular sense the whole point of marriage is mutual support. There are circumstances where the roles may have to get a little flexable.....but the point is the effort. Beth, I'm not all inya affairs, but IMO there is something troubling there. Not that he can't find work to be the financial provider, but that he won't even try. Who is this mystery member (heehee...I said "member"), and where has she been hiding? Um....lil' bit. Not that the underwear is inappropriate, per se, but it's just such an odd item. Other things I think would be odd: Shoelaces, Denture cream, marbles, spackle. Probably you should just sneak over to her house and disassemble her Bevo altar. Sweet early retirement package!! Too bad you can't cut a deal like that, Slim. Aw, that sucks!

As far out as those examples are (and I agree that they are impractical), there still exists somewhat of an exit clause. If you don't want to get auto insurance, don't. If you don't want to get a passport, don't. I guess this whole "mandatory insurance" thing is more of a personal rant, since I haven't heard anybody else complain about it. I'm content in leading the charge.

PJTP again. Somebody please tell me that Patrick Swayze's death is a cruel hoax! Ah well, I'll have to watch Roadhouse and Red Dawn again in his honor.

PJTP: Tonight, in the middle of the night, I unhooked one of my patients (much older gentleman...in his mid-70's) so he could go to the bathroom. When he was getting out of bed, he cut loose with a huge fart. He looked very sharply @ me and asked "Did you just sh*t your pants?". I said no, and then he responded with "Oh well, I guess it was me, then".

The healthcare bill should NOT be the vehicle for immigration reform / debate. However, it does play a part when we're discussing healthcare (I think it goes to both the cost and how the added number will affect our limited medical resources). Personally, (this is just my ideal, not saying it would work in the real world), I'd say go ahead and include the illegals already here (but be upfront about the costs) but then secure the border so that we can have some semblence of resource control. This goes for the Canadian border as well.....if our system is to be overburdened, let's at least give our citizens first shot. My point was that the democrats are sidestepping the issue of illegals. President Obama made a big deal out of saying there are no provisions in the bill to cover illegals (not really the same as saying illegals won't be covered, but I digress...), but nobody mentions how they will recieve their care! I want the details, Prez! You're preaching to the choir here. I agree. Almost every new law is redundant and aimed at micromanaging out daily lives (granted, some laws dealing with changing technology need to be updated). And, while I'm a little up in the air over whether every illegal currently here should be deported (I think not....but certainly an illegal committing a crime should be a hasty one-way ticket back to Mexico), I agree that any businesses exploiting illegal labor should be fined....and perhaps criminal charges would be in order. Again, none of those things are truly mandatory, if one chooses not to do those things listed above. I'm not so stupid as to think that there shouldn't be mandatory things (think registering for selective service, etc), it seems like the number of choices that we can make in our daily lives are dwindling fast. Now, depending on your political orientation, that may not seem like such a bad thing, but to me the concept is horrible.....I can think of few things worse than living in a country with cradle-to-grave government entitlements. Maybe the "mandatory" thing is a political divide? Maybe it's just me. I don't hear a lot of outrage over it. Nope, I don't see it that way. America is all about the individual. I understand your point, but think that it is a very slippery slope. How 'bout when the government dictates everybody has to be a certain BMI because complications resulting from obesity start costing the country too much money? It just seems so.....wrong to me to be thinking in terms of the collective at the cost of the individual.

My point was the the number of left wing attacks could be under-reported. Also, They could contribute violent attacks to people who's political leanings are uncertain (like the dude that shot up the gym.....how was it decided he was "right wing"). Shhhh, don't let BJean hear you. She claims to be pro-gun. Is she right-wing? And if my "proof" were statistics from an ultra-conservative web site would you believe it? That's my point. Are you seriously putting forth that the cost of living is lower now? Maybe compared to Jimmy Carter's administration.... In any case, better enjoy your "cheap" living costs now. With cap and trade legislation looming, this tire / union brou-ha-ha with China threatening to turn into a trade war, and possibly being taxed out the yin-yang to cover a dubious healthcare bill on the horizon, it's likely our cost of living will be rising very quickly.

Still, I don't like "mandatory". Seems vaguely un-American. Also, the bureaucrats could use that very argument to micromanage our lives. No smoking, drinking, recreational drugs, have an acceptable BMI, no unsafe sex, no speeding tickets / seatbelt violations........all these behaviors contribute towards society's "health costs" in some way. Yet I still don't believe it's government's place to step in and make these personal choices for us "for the good of society"

Eh, they'd probably find her. Yeeeesh. Pleurisy can be very painful. If you have access to a stethoscope, listen to his lungs. Pleurisy sounds like old leather creaking!! Also, it can be difficult to get the anti-inflammatories to the pleural space. I feel for him. Man, they like to have a little notice, don't they? "Remember Tap, we're going to need your vacation request for 2012 by the end of this month" Lulu, since it's your ranch, just set a date. That way, tap can ask off, and everybody else can be working on their calanders. Those unhappy with the date....see ya next year (like how I've already made it an annual thing?). Or they can spend an extra 3 hours and come visit me in Texarkana. The locals don't bite.....usually.

Ah, but see....in those cases you DO have a choice. If you don't want to pay car insurance, don't drive. If you don't want to pay home owner's insurance, live in an apartment. But how do you get around mandatory life insurance requirements, besides don't live? Also, you may think that somebody else's smoking doesn't affect you, but it will. So will overeating. So will any "risky" behaviour, once the government steps into healthcare, in the form of increased taxes to pay for the medical conditions that all these things cause.

Or Mitt Romney could be elected and get 43 czars to advise him! Many without proper "vetting" from the FBI! Let's do it! Oh. My. God. Way to keep it intellectual. BJean doesn't understand what drives middle America, Patty. That's why she's scared. So, choice of smoking is ok, but choice of not having insurance is not? Hmmmmmm..... Look, either the President needs to admit that illegals will be covered with a "don't ask, don't tell" citizenship requirement, or admit that, without coverage, the millions of illegals will still recieve their care in the ER's, negating much of the "savings" of this plan. Katklaws is back! I wondered where you were hiding!

I think people are blurring the lines here. There is such a thing as a conservative, and there are nutjobs. There are also liberals, and there are nutjobs. Being a member of one group doesn't mandate being in the other. If you think "he's a conservative.....must be violent", or "she's a liberal....must be crazy"....then you're at best simple-minded, and at worst already in nutjob territory. Mmmmm, here is where we diverge, kartman. I could not disagree more. Ever occur to you that maybe the Southern Poverty Law Center is a decidedly liberal organization and skewers the numbers? I don't know if they do or not, but I'd consider the possibility before I started down the goofy road of "conservative = hater". I still disagree with you about the public option. I would be a little less skeptical if lawmakers tried a "test market" first. Look at Maine and Tennesee....their attempts at universal care increased costs dramatically.

Kartman, haven't you read BJean and Cleo's mom? The evil republicans are the ones standing in the way here. BTW, off topic, but I saw your progress pics while moderating the B&A forum. Fantastic progress! back on topic - I had my usual lengthy rebuttal typed out but the computer (or LBT) ate it, so I'm contenting myself with this post. *heavy sigh*

But is it a felony? But sometimes it's the only recourse one has left when trying to "debate" the obtuse.....debate = you present your side, then I present mine, preferably mentioning and systematically refuting the first side's arguement. Then repeat. If I give my side, and you throw in a bunch of totally unrelated stuff, not much of a debate.

Ok. You got me. I say it loud, and I say it often. It's all part of the "neocon's strategy guide to ensure America's doom". Page 14. I hope that, by repeating it often enough, I will eventually brainwash the entire nation. Hopefully, even though I'm not currently a member of the wealthy ruling class, I'll be rewarded for being a good lackey and spreading misinformation.

Reconcile as in combine. What I get from zen is how to live in the right now, and be aware of everything. It's a very introspective line of thought. Nothing in the precepts of Christ contradicts absorbing a philosophy, per se (IMO). Supposedly, the Buddha develpoed his philosophies observing the suffering of others.....but I've read up on the philosophy, not so much on the man. Maybe any other Buddhists on here could fill in some blanks for Patty?

Ok, so I took a day off work, and , coupled with the long weekend, resulted in roughly 8000 pages of PJTP.....so this will be a looooong response. It'll make HF's and tap's look really brief (kidding!). Quit talking about me. I don't know if that even is technically possible with this setup. But that's the good part! Yeah.....maybe Alex could make such a "room". I ain't a-moderating it, though!!! click "ignore". Person vanished!! (kinda) I make those kinds of wishes daily. Her account is de-activated, so now maybe everything can get back to normal. Glouc admitted to me (secretly, in a PM) that when she saw that vending machine, it had my "shimmering face....thus the "temptation. Of course, she'll probably deny saying this, since she's so shy & stuff :ohmy: My siren just went off. Oh.....false alarm AGAIN. Wait 'till I post the mid-80's "shorty shorts" pics of my youth. Then I will truly be sharing "all". I'm looking squarely at you here, tap. Sounds like they have a young team. Think "rebuilding year". Thanks. I'll use that if I need some....erm....."motivation". I think the term you're looking for is "devil's magic" LBT loads veeeeeery slowly for me @ home too (the internet is slower in the middle of nowhere? Really?) Hmmmmm....around my place it happens twice a day. Pre-empted again! Dammit!! "No Child Left Behind" is directly responsible for that kind of stuff. When you tie in federal money with standardized tests, bad things happen.....not the least of which is the schools teaching the "test", instead of how to think critically. My wife laughed & laughed when I told her this. So, so true (uh...she's a teacher, BTW). Yup! When my wife taught K, she said the #1 problem is kids learning how to act in school (ie, following directions, socialization protocols, etc). I'm not saying this is your son's prob, Shonda, because any number of things could potentially be the problem. That's why the conference sounds like a good idea. Remember, at this point it's not you vs. the teacher....it's you and the teacher trying to figure out how to imptove Buddy's education. But if I had a nickel every time my wife came home and said basically teachers can't also parent all the kids, I'd retire. Bumped because it needed to be said again. I agree. Don't spare them any ugly details. Make them terminate you. Don't let them off easy. Yup. Let them deal with the headache. Don't fight it. It makes assimilation easier.

Just for what it's worth, I don't see why Buddhism and Christianity can't be reconciled (IMO). I'm a evangelical Christian and often agree with many principles of zen buddhism. Remember, buddhism was a philosophy long before it was a religion. The Buddha didn't declare himself to be divine.....it was his followers that later somewhat deitized him.

Hahahahahaha!! I'm glad you saw the tongue firmly thrust into my cheek! I really thought that would set everybody off.

See? you said it too.

Oh man, I can only hope this is true. That would be my dream ticket.

Agreed w/ both....Rumsfeld and Jones both should have gone sooner than they did. And I also agree with the "czar concept". All people that have cabinet-level positions should be vetted by the FBI.

Birds pooping = high intellectual humor for me! I laugh every time.

Ok, now that I actually see it, I get what they're trying to say. The title is still a bit awkward, though. I would suggest: Everybody Keep Your Chins Up Keep Your (Collective) Chins Up I secretly wanna crash their blog and write way over the top comments, like "You two are HI-larious!" and "Never has my quest for answers to my obesity problem been so fraught with humor!!"

Yup, no politics here, please.

Maybe it should be named something to convey a sense of urgency, like Time's Running Out.