G27

It's a fine line - many / most of the regulations in place are there to protect folks - were they not there, we'd have far greater impact on the people and environment. That drives up costs of domestically made products, but not nearly as much as the minimum wage does - labor is a major (often the greatest) expense in almost all manufacturing. We've artificially inflated the entire pay structure in this country via minimum wage - how on earth do you expect a manufacturer to compete when his labor costs are 4x (or more) the cost of a foreign manufacturer? Protectionism is also a part of the solution - we in essence tell China, for example, 'fine, you want to send over widgets that cost less than we can produce them because your workers only make 1/4 of what ours do and you have no regulations regarding their safety, so we're charging you a 50% (75%, 100%, whatever) tax on every widget you export to us.' Suddenly US made products are competitively priced again and you get to choose between something made in the US and something made in China. And since we're now now trying to compete with impossible pricing, suddenly the Chinese (or us) have to step their game up in order to make a better product to attract the buyer's dollars. It's not an easy answer, but demanding that we should be competitive in an impossible environment isn't the answer. Nor is blindly buying US products that are inferior just because they're made in the US. We have to be able to compete domestically and regain the reputation for building the BEST products, and then we'll be fine.

Yah, I know, was a joke...

Because she still reminds you every day? hehehe

Glad you're OK. Maybe I'm overly anal-retentive, but it sounds like you were putting the pistol in the door pocket without a holster - I never place a loaded pistol anywhere outside of a holster. Something to think about.

Yah, there's a downside to any approach - one that allows folks who don't agree with you to vote. hehe That said, I've thought long and hard about this for years and feel the idea I mentioned above (which I by no means came up with) is the best way to handle it.

Some people choose to rent, I have no problem with that and they shouldn't be excluded based on that decision. Since we pay federal income taxes now (unlike in the 1850's), what it should be is this - if you want to vote in federal elections, you must pay federal income taxes. No federal income taxes = no vote. IMO, the country would be in far better shape if the freeloaders had no say in the elections - nearly half this country pays ZERO federal income taxes yet they have the right to vote on how MY tax dollars are spent for their benefit...

Still not sure why anyone thinks stealing from me to give to someone else is somehow noble or right. I don't care about what they 'need', it's not the government's place to forcibly take what I earned in order to give it to someone who didn't.

Sandals are for women. There, I said it, flame away.

If it's not in the shade, I bet it feels like bathwater at this point...

108° now, heat index of 131°...

106° here, heat index of 124°...

Let's be more frank - they're marxists.

GREAT article - I've been arguing this for years now. Nothing more irritating that someone with an EBT card buying luxury items and/or driving a new car.

You don't have to be a booster to be disassociated - it simply means you're prohibited from athletic activities. Albetar was sent a C&D letter late 2010, when it was found he had not complied, he was disassociated.

It's not hope, I have ties to the AD. Auburn fans started this in hopes it would mushroom - Brooks and Travis have run with it, trying to get web hits, but no one else is touching it as it was properly handled by compliance. Believe what you want, but even the SEC office agreed there was nothing to it and therefore it wasn't reported. Remember - Alabama is on probation right now - they are unwilling to play around with any violations they find as if they go unreported, the NCAA will hammer them...

Yep, I let Marsha know yesterday that between this and voting for the extension of the Patriot Act she had lost my vote in 2012. She's been there too long, she's sold out. Of course, she ran unchallenged in 2010 and has gobs of cash, which is what wins elections.

Blessings, Bronker.

yep, which is one of the reasons min wage needs to go away - we complain that we can't compete globally with other manufacturers - in large part that's due to our artificially inflated wages.

Wow...

That was great!

Yah, I'm pretty plugged in to that situation, actually - nothing will come of it. The NCAA wasn't even notified as Alabama showed everything to the SEC office and zero violations were found.

Wow, this debt bill truly blows... Open Letter: Why I Oppose the Debt Ceiling Compromise | Rand Paul 2010 | U.S. Senate

Yah, once/week is a good amount of shooting for me, so I'd easily choose the day rate. $500/year with no clubhouse is a no-brainer, imo.

From what Fox is reporting, it's nothing like it needs to be, but it's a lot better than I expected from the repubs.... It likely won't happen, but I sure hope the repubs stick to their supposed guns here and bring it.

Hahahahaha @ this thread...