Guard Dog

Reagan won by huge majorities in 1980 and 1984. Large numbers of democrats voted for him over Carter or Mondale.

Oh yes, it would make 1968 look like a kidde tea party. It may even fracture the democrat party forever. You know my politcal persuasion so I can say i have no love for democrats but it would be a bad thing if the party were permanently damaged. However, it may just exorcise the socialist left who are really the ones driving Obama at this point. That would be a good thing because it would bring the Reagan/JFK democrats back in control and the party would no longer be the punchline of a bad joke. Or it may not. I sort of want to see it happen just to see what the outcome would be. I agree with you on that much. A comitted democrat is not going to vote for Mccain just because the primary candidate they supported lost. However, if they have no strong feeling for the one in the general they may stay home too. we have seen that a few hundred votes can turn an election. 512 votes decided Florida in 2000. I was just pointing out the states where Obama was not the "first choice" of the majority of active democrats may become must win for him. That certainly does not mean he can't win them. A democrat will vote for a democrat every time so long as the candidate is not objectionable in some way. None of these three are objectionable to anyone for any reason other than politics and policy. But you must admit, if I end up being right there will be discussion fodder on this for years to come. Plus, i don't want to see Pop take Tarnas $100. Edit: Sorry Gorgon, I edited out that 9-11 bit. Sarcasm and tounge-in-cheek humor often don't work in a forum like this.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/america...e/18034744.html I've read a lot of analysis after yesterdays pimary and this is one of the better ones. They are all looking at the same thing though: So far Hillary has won the biggest margins in the november swing states (that is states that may go either way come the general election) The important swing states are Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado and Indiana. Hillary has won them all except Colorado and Iowa. Indiana hasn't voted yet. Obama has won biggest in states that the democrats simply will not win in november. That means he will be vunerable in the swing to McCain who is a liberal by republican standards. Remember, McCain is going to get 260 electoral votes just by winning the solid red states. He would only need to win any two of the swing states to defeat the democratic candidate. That means Obama would need to win 6 of 7 states he did not win the primary in if he is the candidate. Believe me, the superdelegates are aware of this. I still think they will snatch the brass ring away from him at the last minuite. I will not be fair but I think it's coming.

I'd like to echo Gfteds advice. Like anything else in life the more you put into the military the more you will get out of it. There are tremendous opportunities like 75% free college tution while on duty and GI Bill/NCF after you get out. Plus you will get full elective credit for all of your military training (at least I did). There will be a lot of BS to put up with but you just do it and laugh about it afterwards. Like anything else in life, being happy or miserable is a choice you make no matter where you are. As for the BS, there is a reason why the Navy (or any other branch) does what it does. It's not always a good reason but there is a reason. The big thing is, once you get out, having military service on your resume will get you a interview you might not otherwise have gotten. it's all good. So my advice is: A Chief Petty Officer actually ranks just below God. They can do whatever they want and no one really messes with them. So stay on their good side. There is about zero difference between a basic Seaman and a PO6. Don't let any of them pull rank on you. If you are on a ship with a Marine Det, don't laugh at them when they are doing PT, especially in bad weather. It makes us mad! If you go to Korea don't drink Soju that isn't clear. If you go the the phillpines don't drink Bullfrogs no matter what they tell you Powedered eggs taste better with tobasco sauce Never volunteer for anything, especially if the OOD smiles when he asks for volunteers. Never go drinking in dress whites.

Completely.

Actually Krezack most Americans have no clue how little power the executive (President) branch has. Especially if Congress were to become hostile (as is likley if the candidate who wins goes extreme left or right). It really is about personality not qualifications or ability. Personally I think the 2008 election is sounding more and more like an Alien vs Predator tag line. No matter who wins, we lose.

With 99% reporting Clinton - 55%, Obama - 45%. No surprise she won and it was by a big enough margin to keep her going. So with Hillary likely to win Indiana, Montana, and Guam and Obama likely to win Oregon, North Carolina, and PR there is an excellent chance they will go into the convention in a virtual tie. I am loving this! Plus the polling trends are going against Obama. The more he talks, the less people like him. http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/22/de...aws-to-a-close/

Congrats Calax! What MOS did you join up for?

You have got one heck of an eye for detail! I'd have never noticed that.

Dunno. I've been using RTR for a long time now. I've downloaded EB 1.1 the other night and I've been toying with a reinstall to give it a look. I LOVE the music they used though. All period instruments.

I know how everyone feels about modders having to fix the broken games developers throw over the fence. But I would point out in both Rome and MTW2 there are a number of mods that tweak the worst of the battle AI (like cavalry not charging in to phalanxes, which is really annoying when it is your AI reinforcements) and Campaign AI (like not building legions of ranged units). RTR, Europa Barborum, and MTW Retrofit come to mind as the most popular. You guys should check these out.

You gotta check out the screenshots. Awesome! I'm taking a week vaction when this one comes out! http://pc.ign.com/articles/866/866990p1.html

It just went off here in the US east coast. Tonights episode was "The Ties That Bind". All I can say is Holy Frak. Mark this one down as must see.

Electoral College Math Interesting read.

Thats it. Nick wins this thread!

When I got out of the military I got involved in politics, almost by accident. I ended up working as a paid consultant for Don Garlits in his congressional campaign (he lost). I then went to work for the Florida Republican Party for two years. I ran for the Florida State House in 1996 (and lost). I had tied so much of my own money in the campaign I was broke and I decided then and there politics was not for me. I used my GI Bill to go back to college and finish my BSEE degree. Anyway there were a number of issues in that campaign that people wanted the state to do that simply put were not the States responsibility (like buiding a high speed rail transit system or State sanctioning of homeowners associations as governing bodies). I made my position plain in my campaign and lost. I decided I was going to do what was right, not politcally expedient. I thought I could take the straight talk angle. it didn't work.

I wonder if that's true. Has anyone actually tried? Yes. I have. It did not go over so well.

Given that the recidivisim rate for sex offenders is around 70% would you want a convicted child rapist living next to you if you had kids? Rehabilitation of child predators is a fools errand. I don't believe they should be killed but they do need to spend the rest of their lives in a dark nasty place with high walls and a lot of razor wire guarded by men with guns. At least that way they won't hurt anyone else.

A pathological liar as the US President????? Nahhhh, that's never happened. But seriously, a Clinton lying is like a dog barking. They don't know why they do it, they don't even realize they are doing it, and they don't know how to stop.

Well, last night I ordered the first four books of Bernard Cornwells Saxon series. I also ordered Merle's Door by Ted Kerasote, and Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. I should be good for a while. Thanks Hurlshot and Musopticon for the ideas.

The truth is if you don't like China, don't buy their stuff. It can be done and if you get enough people doing it with you it will make a difference over time. If a majority American consumers decided not to buy anything made in China believe me, it will get attention. It may seem impossible but it has happened before.

The severity of the crime is increased is the victim is under 13. The age of consent is 18 in most states but in most it is waived if the age difference is two years or less. So in other words if a 19 year old is with a 17 year old and both parties consent it is not statutory rape.

Yep. Heck, Tam only found out who Rand really was at the end of "Knife". The biggest problem with this series is there are long streches of writing where the story does not advance. I remember taking creative writing in college and one of the rules is that every paragraph, every sentence, every word must advance the story. Well, I've read every book I own (some more than once) and I need to hit Amazon tonight. I'm in the mood for something similar to WoT or GRRM's Ice and Fre series. Anyone ever read Raymond Feists work? He has a few series that I gather are interconnected. Or Stephen Eriksons "Mazlan" series? I usually steer away from fantasy because so much of it is just crap. Any good ones out there?