Forums >Off the Beaten Path>On Wisconsin!
No, but there is great sadness in the Lopez household that someone(s) consider(s) me in the very-conservative camp simply because I do not buy into the "progressive" aspect of unions in 2011. That label is more fun than 'troll' but less fun than 'evil genius'. And just as accurate as both. I twirl my mustache as I smoke my stogey.
No, but there is great sadness in the Lopez household that someone(s) consider(s) me in the very-conservative camp simply because I do not buy into the "progressive" aspect of unions in 2011. That label is more fun than 'troll' but less fun than 'evil genius'. And just as accurate as both.
I twirl my mustache as I smoke my stogey.
We can hang out at the next CPAC meeting. I'll buy you a glass of 75 year old Scotch or whatever the hell Republicans drink.
Runners run
Heh. That, my man, is no stogey. But it did make me laugh. I always get Gandalf mixed up with Dumbledore. Which is better than confusing him with James Gandolfini.
Heh. That, my man, is no stogey. But it did make me laugh.
I always get Gandalf mixed up with Dumbledore. Which is better than confusing him with James Gandolfini.
Figured it would.
I've not read a page of Harry Potter, nor seen anything of the movies (beyond commercials). But still, can't believe they got away with using the same guy for both roles. I mean talking about suspending disbelief!
"If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus
HA
whatever the hell Republicans drink.
Duh. The tears of orphans.
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
I always get Gandalf mixed up with Dumbledore.
I thought it was a plump Johnny Winter.
I thought this thread was started as a sympathy thread for a particular side of what's going on in WI. Per a more recent post, I guess it was not that at all. But, hey, 15 16 pages of discussion is good.
Wait, it wasn't? I mean, I wanted to spur a discussion. But wait, is mine the "more recent post"? Serious question: what does my intention look like?
Sr, I don't think you're ultraconservative. Nah. I don't want your household to mourn over that. And I've been making a sincere effort to avoid my winky tendencies.
And the Somali pirate thing suuuuucks. So sad. What I always wonder is if there's a nasty section of ocean and these folks should know better than to be hanging out there, or if the target area of the pirates is unpredictable. I'm really wondering. Does anyone know how that's working?
Call me Ray (not Ishmael)
Feeling the growl again
Totally off topic of the thread, if we had one, but....
They planned on a stop in Djibouti, which would require them to pass through the heart of known pirate territory. So yes, they knew they were going into pirate-infested waters and apparently one of them communicated some concern about it. So they did not go into this ignorantly, it was a known risk they were taking.
Not that this in any way excuses what was done to them. Personally, I think we should have lined the pirates up on the rail, videoed them being shot and rolled into the water, then shipped the video back to their buddies on shore. If you read the economics that these pirates are operating under, compared to the relative low risk to their persons, no wonder we are making no progress shutting this down.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
okiebyke,
Don't want to hijack your really good thread, but the pirate thing is out-of-control. Got this from a German friend who did some reading on them. They cover a very large area, and they are extremely organized. If fact, there is a whole financial system set-up for this "industry". In other parts of the world, you can invest in pirate ventures just like you invest in stocks and bonds here.
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20091201/FREE/912019990
http://publicintelligence.net/money-laundering-for-somali-pirates-is-good-business/
Wait, forget the hijack. Now that I'm thinking about it, this high-risk high-return investment may solve the Wisconsin pension shortfall
2014 - Get 5k back under 20:00. Stay healthy!
Master of the Side Eye
okiebyke, Don't want to hijack your really good thread, but the pirate thing is out-of-control. Got this from a German friend who did some reading on them. They cover a very large area, and they are extremely organized. If fact, there is a whole financial system set-up for this "industry". In other parts of the world, you can invest in pirate ventures just like you invest in stocks and bonds here. http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20091201/FREE/912019990 http://publicintelligence.net/money-laundering-for-somali-pirates-is-good-business/ Wait, forget the hijack. Now that I'm thinking about it, this high-risk high-return investment may solve the Wisconsin pension shortfall
Pirates on Lake Michigan? Now that would make things interesting!
TRUST THE PROCESS
One reason that we taxpayers should suffer is that we (in the person of our elected officials) entered into a legal, binding contract to fund pensions and health plans per the contract. We have legal and moral obligation to meet that commitment. That does not mean we should blindly carry forward the same contractual obligations to the future, but we need buck up and pay for what our elected officials obligated us to, even as they (the elected) choose to underfund their contractual obligations. Despite the fact that we seem to steadily elect weasels who will not face the facts of the system they've built, we must not avoid our debts and obligations from past contracts. We deserve to suffer for not being reasonable and wise stewards of the government budget. It is, after all, government of the people, by the people.
One reason that we taxpayers should suffer is that we (in the person of our elected officials) entered into a legal, binding contract to fund pensions and health plans per the contract. We have legal and moral obligation to meet that commitment.
That does not mean we should blindly carry forward the same contractual obligations to the future, but we need buck up and pay for what our elected officials obligated us to, even as they (the elected) choose to underfund their contractual obligations. Despite the fact that we seem to steadily elect weasels who will not face the facts of the system they've built, we must not avoid our debts and obligations from past contracts.
We deserve to suffer for not being reasonable and wise stewards of the government budget. It is, after all, government of the people, by the people.
Here in MO, the state has taken it out on future workers. Current state workers don't contribute to the pension, but all those hired after Jan 1 contribute 4%. At the University where I work, current workers current pay 1% (used to pay nothing) for a defined benefit plan. They are talking about having future employees pay for their own plans. Seems like the decent thing to do to me. Another benefit of paying for your own plan is that you can take it with you when you change jobs. Under the current plan, you have to stay and retire to get your benefit.
"Any idiot can run a marathon. It takes a special kind of idiot to run an ultramarathon." - Alan Cabelly
rectumdamnnearkilledem
This is worth a watch (not sure if it's already been posted...I've not slogged-through this entire thread. Shoot me). My mom is support staff in a WI public school. If the gov's plans come to fruition she will almost certainly lose her job. She is a pretty centrist voter, leaning a bit right (I believe she actually voted for Walker...I know my dad did). But in recent years has started to move closer to the left side of the aisle. She and most of my friends and family still in WI are all fed-up with Walker. Not even because they all are dems (they aren't), but because he will not budge. He doesn't want to lead a democracy with a degree of give-and-take, he wants a dictatorship. He won't even listen to anyone who hasn't already bought him off.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Kristin, I heart you. I hope your mom makes it out of this okay.
Now, Rachel Maddow is partisan as hell. But she and her staff do very very good research.
MTA: Speaking of those who have bought Walker off...
Those who have 'bought off' Walker (Top 10 PAC Contributors):
and let's not forget -
Those who TRIED to 'buy off' Tom Barrett (Walker's Democrat opponent in the Governor's race):
Unfortunately, Big Labor's candidate lost this election and it's probably gonna cost them.
from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign website (an interesting and very informative site) http://wisdc.org/index.php?module=cms&page=3
One day at a time
Wow, interesting data.
MoBramExam
Appears that in Wisconsin, only WI Dental PAC (WIDPAC) understands how the game is played?