Guard Dog

My best guesses are Charlie Crist, JC Watts, Lindsey Graham, or Mark Sanford and my long shot would be Joe Liberman, THAT choice would light a fire in the tinderbox. But he really can't afford another "moderate" on the ticket with him. I've also heard Phil Gramm, Mel Martinez and Jeb Bush mentioned. I doubt they will get a serious look though. My preference would be Sanford, Crist, or Watts. Any of the three would make a fine President.

He's a Rockefeller Republican. That is he is from the liberal wing of the Republican Party. Not exactly a smaller government type (which bothers me). He does not appeal to the social conservatives either and that is to the good. One this I really do like about him is he is a big proponent of modernizing the military and Homeland Security and reducing manpower in favor of automated and unmanned systems like the Predators. He is also a proponent of developing missile shield technology and has been a friend to NASA in the Senate. On the whole he is a capable, competent Washington bureaucrat who will move the direction of government to the left of where it has been on social and economic issues. In foreign policy he is solidly on the site of the stick as opposed to the carrot. In short, he is the vanilla choice. Not exciting or sexy but what you see it what you get. No surprises with him I think. I'm voting for him.

Oh I'm not drowning it in CC, just a little to give it a hint of sweetness. Grenadine (1 tsp in a 4 oz glass) works too but I don't have any. I usually do drink straight or on the rocks but not Jack. Wild Turkey, Makers Mark, or Knob Creek is best neat or on ice.

Our last thread on this subject is past it's expiration date and was a little derailed anyway. I was partly to blame for that I must admit. So, here is where we stand: Democrats: Hillary Clinton: 1016 Delegates Barack Obama: 1158 Delegates First one to 2025 secures the nomination There are some 800 Superdelegates that will make their choices at or before the convention. As it stands Clinton has 234, Obama has 161. The Supers are under no obligation to follow the results of the election Republicans John McCain: 918 Delegates Mike Huckabee: 214 Delegates First one to 1191 secures the nomination. The Republican Party does not use superdelegates and the nominee must be elected by voters.

That was so hard for me to watch. That is the second game in a row the pathers had a 2+ goal lead in the third and choked on it.

Glass + Ice + Jack Daniels + Splash of Cherry Coca Cola = Happy Guard Dog I think when future historians are recounting America's contributions to the human race, Bourbon should be in the top 10. It really is the ultimate whiskey. Think about it: Scotch: Too imposing, it's rough on the tongue and there are so many bad brands out there that do not really age their product. Vodka: Excellent whiskey, it's humble earthy and blends well with any acidic drink mix. But nobody wants to drink it right out of the bottle. Gin: Ugh, ever had a gin hangover? Canadian: Too sweet. Too much sugar in the distilling process and the yeast can not consume it all. Irish: No flavor. It's just grain alcohol with a little color. Cognac: It's liquor for those who can't handle liquor. So you see, Bourbon wins hands down. Hmmm while writing this I finished my drink. I think I'll make another.

Having learned TNOs whole story I could not have imagined it ending any other way.

In the immortal words of Pete Townshend "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"

I must admit, i have always enjoyed attending minor leauge games more than the majors (something about $5.00 beers offends my sense of right and wrong). But I do go to Marlins games whenever I can. Especially when the Braves are in town. Atlanta and Tampa are my favorites but with the Marlins so close I follow them as well. If you are not a baseball fan and wish to become one, I reccomend a trip to Cooperstown. If that does not make a fan of you, nothing will.

Just to hit on one thing again. Firearm ownership is a Constitutionally guaranteed right. So to make illegal to buy or own firearms in the US you will need a pluarality of Americans to agree to surrender that right. I can promise you, that will not happen. I know many of you, especially Europeans, have difficulty getting your mind around that but let me remind you that for all of our similarities, the US is a very different place than Europe. We have a different history, different cultural values, and different mindset. I say this without casting aspersions on one or the other (something many of YOU should try) and making no claim as to which is wiser or more right. It just is.

Gorgon did you read my last post? Guns have never been LESS available in the US than they are today. As I pointed out, 30 years ago any 18 year old could walk into a department store, buy a gun and ammo and load it there on the spot and shoot everyone in sight. But it just did not happn. By blaming it all on the guns you are pinning a fairly recent social phenomenon on an inanimte object that has been readily available to anyone who wanted it for hundreds of years. If I were to seriously pose the argument that video game violence put the impulses in the shooters head therefore video games are to blame you would laugh at me. You would no doubt argue that video games are inanimate objects that are enjoyed by countless thousands of people who would never hurt a fly. How does that exact same argument not work on guns? I own several and I would not hurt a fly.

Barry Bonds is now out of baseball. Apparently he will not be missed. http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/mlb A pretty good read to put the steroid business in perspective: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/79...i021808.article

Obviously it was a typo. The true intent was that "the right of the people to keep bear arms shall not be infringed." The arms of bears were popular commodities back in the day. Actually it should read "the right of the people to keep and arm bears should not be infringed". Who worries about crime when you have an armed bear following you around?

The United States Constitution, Amendment 2, second clause states "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.". That is it. Gun control is unconstitutional, illegal, and quite frankly, not wanted since every politician who brings is up is quickly voted out of office. If there are enough americans who decide they have had enough of it then they can get their representative to propose a Constitutional amendment banning private gun ownership. Then we ALL get an up or down vote on the issue. But asking congress to pass a law is like trying to sneak in the back door what they know we wont accept in the front. And asking the court to re-interpret the 2nd amendment and decide it does not allow protect private gun ownership is even more despicable. It's time to face the facts, the US does not want gun control and no matter how many of these tragedies happen, we are not going to change our minds. Two things to consider. Fact: In Washington DC is was illegal to own a handgun. Fact: Washington DC has the highest per capita murder rate in the county over the past 15 years. Fact: %97 of murders in Washington DC are comitted with handguns. The other thing is this. Since the federal government passed legislation outlawing automatic weapons some 30 years ago, restrictions on gun ownership have grown tighter and tighter on both the state local and federal level. But gun crime has increased. In the 1960's you could walk into K-Mart (a popular department store at the time) and buy a semi automatic handgun AND ammunition for it at the same counter at the same time. No background checks, no waiting periods, no age restrictions per se (you had to be 18 it has now been bumped up to 21). And gun crime was just not that common. Campus shootings? Unheard of! It's easy to point the finger at the gun but I think there is a larger issue here. Guns have never been harder to get, and gun crime has never been higher. Personally I think the problem is violent video games. I think violent video games should be outlawed and the people who produce and sell them should be jailed. Nobody ever killed anyone after playing Space Invaders! (HA! Just kidding Calax! )

Since you brought it up Sand, here is an interesting OT note. Did you know Chuck Norris has become involved in politics? He has been working in Huckabees campaign and has even been tossed around as a potntial running mate for Huckabee. Of course, that was before Huck was all but eliminated. It might have been worth it just for the talk and forum fodder.

This year the Tampa Bay (ahem) Rays have completed their transormation from a cool logo and mascot to a ridiculous one. How ironic is it that a team that now styles itself after a ray of sunshine plays indoors? BTW, Atlanta now has Glavine and Smoltz again. I know they are old not but it is still pretty cool. I'm going up to Orlando the Friday after next to check out their scrimmage.

I aboslutely HATE the F#&!%@ Hurricanes. They have been the biggest Panther killers over the years. Everything was fine, Horton scores on a penalty shot, cats are up 4-2 just keep the pressure up and they would be fine. But what happens? 3 unanswered goals. Florida has not won in Carolina since 2002.

Enoch is correct. In Florida for example a three year difference of age will not lead to statutory rape so long as a) the act was consensual b) One of the parties was at least 16. However the age of consent by law remains 18 so go figure. The reason that child porn is so heinous is that the child in the photo is being exploited because they can not consent. I did some looking and in Florida any one who knowingly receives or transmits child porn is looking at a class C felony and we have sentencing guidelines here and class Cs will get you 36 months in State Prison plus a truckload of fines and registration as a sexual predator. FL is harsher than most states. Of course it is on the state to prove the "knowingly transmitted or received" part. On the larger issue I'd agree that compelling him to reveal a password should certainly be DOA in any court as a 5th amend violation. Furthermore, I would challenge the validity of the search as unreasonable under the 4th amendment based on the following: What was the agent looking for? Terrorist info? State secrets? The law requires the searching authority to look for just what they are charged to look for. They do not get to fish around and act on whatever they find. Additionally, is the DHLS allowed to search the data on the computer of just the physical device itself? I really suspect it would be the latter. In either of those cases the whole thing should be dropped as an illegal search. If I am interpreting correctly. I am not a lawyer but I believe that is correct reasoning.

Yeah I think that is the most likely place. They need help at middle linebacker and he would make an excellent short term solution. BTW Kelverin, it's about time to fire up the NFL 2008 thread.

Panthers get a BIG 4-2 win against the Caps. Overchkin gets no points. I was pissed when Luongo was traded but Vokoun makes it the pain go away. Next up is tonight at Carolina. Where Panthers go to die. But 2 points tonight will put the cats in 1st place (Thank You Atlanta!). GO PANTHERS

= Message to the voters: *Haha* *nee-ner* *nee-ner* Here i actually agree on one thing that Mike Gravel said: "By negating the people a candidate that speaks for them, the government commits the worst political sin to its people, they create a generation a cynics." I've said all along Hillary will not go down gracefully. If the election results went against her she would beg, bribe, or threaten the supers to her side. If that fails she will probably sue the DNC to get the Michigan and Florida delegates seated because that would be enough. Her lodestone is the personal gratification in the power of the Presidency. If you listen to her on health care it should scare the bejesus out of any red blooded freedom loving American.

You really would not want JQA back. He was a pretty ineffective caretaker president. Besides being John Adams son he wan't known for much. His best accomplishments came after he left office.

Just a few corrections, With JFK they did not tell the whole story. The island he led his men to was held by the Japanese and he had to keep them hidden for 3 days before rescue. Badass! Andrew Jackson was call "Old Hickory" because he was inflexible in mind and opinion. Once he made up his mind what he was going to do you could just go to hell if you did'nt like it. Teddy Roosevelt was the greatest President this county has ever had and is in my opinion the quintessential American. I wish we had him today.

The Marlins are getting a new stadium:Marlins Stadium Agreement Reached They are putting it on the location of the old Orange Bowl. There is a reason why the Orange Bowl game, the Dolphins, and the U of M all left that place, the location sucked. It's six blocks west of I-95 and Downtown Miami. There is one exit off I-95 to reach it. It's about eight blocks (1 mile or so) south of the Dolphin Expressway and the entrance ramp from 7th Ave (that runs by the OB) is west bound only. The area is dirty, run down and so high in crime that it is often featured on the A&E series "The First 48". Traffic will be a nightmare beyond imagining and there is a fair chance you will be robbed and killed for your trouble anyway. Miami can have them. Besides I've had more fun and spent less money going to Jupiter Hammerheads Class A games anyway.

No, no no. Did you read anything I said?