[quote][b]ProudSoutherner[/b] - Bush kept America safe and people seem to forget that. We were fortunate to have Bush in office so things like the Boston Marathon Bombing didn't happen like we are seeing now. It's only gonna get worse!!!
[/quote]

Things like the Boston Bombing didnt happen while Bush was president?

That's odd. I seem to remember some planes flying into building back then. I remember seeing the smoke from the Pentagon for days on my drive into work.

Then there was the whole Anthrax in the Mail scare. Made opening my bills a thrill.

I also distinctly remember being afraid for my life whenever I had to stop at a gas station while the DC Snipers were active.

And these are just the ones that touched me personally, because I was there at the time.

[quote][b]snarkydude[/b] - Hopefully they will catch those responsible quickly, and I hope they show them no mercy.
[/quote]

Agreed. Try it at the federal level, and if found guilty, seek the death penalty.
(don't think the state of Mass has the death penalty)

@melmarino:

Done! sorry about that, I wasn't thinking when I replied to him.

[quote][b]BorisBadEnuff[/b] - ..............edited out frothy nonsense.......
[/quote]

Why do you feel the need to bring all that baggage in here? Can't we just feel bad for the victims, and agree that the bad guys suck without getting all frothy?

It's been confirmed as being homemade bombs in a few trashcans. Thankfully, only two went off. Hopefully, if they are any left, they will be found and dealt with before anyone else gets hurt.

Also... People who terrorize innocents, suck.

@Bishop59: So these people are never allowed to re-bargain for their wage rate, ever? It has to stay the same, no mater what the inflation rate is, or how the local cost of living fluctuates? Or how many extra duties get added in after they start?

I tell you what... I really can't wait for the pendulum to swing the other way, and employers are stuck with another labor shortage. Hopefully, everyone who works for a exploitative employer remembers this, jumps ship, and leaves those companies screwed. (one can hope.... right?)

How about we let the employees collectively bargain, just like the employers do. It's not really fair that only one side of the employee-employer equation gets to have all of the power.

In fact... Of all the elements involved in the creation of the hamburger, only the employee is demonized for trying to get a fair shake for their time/effort. I'm pretty sure the cow farmer, butcher, transportation, energy providers, etc don't have to 'Take it, Leave it' when it comes to the services that they provide. There's a bit of bargaining involved, and it's considered good business to try to get a fair deal. Why does it become evil when the employees try to do the same?

Let me get this right... The peasants protest and demand enough money for bread, and you tell them that they should just eat... Twinkies?

or.. something

(i need coffee... anyone have some coffee?)

@Educated Redneck:
I doubt that the perps thought about social contracts, equal treatment, or anything else really. These things are usually done by some local punk kids with too much time on their hands, and too little supervision. They may not have even been aware of who built it. They just thought it'd be 'fun' to break some stuff.

Hopefully, they get caught and punished. I'm not holding my breath though.

@THE WATCHDAWG: pfft! Whatever dude. Not much gets me riled up anymore. Esp not some YouTube commenter on the ABH.

Try harder.

@THE WATCHDAWG:
You know... You might want to mix it up a bit, and not be so single mindedly anti-gay around here. Usually when someone is this publicly fired up about 'Teh Gahys', we later see them in the news playing tap-dance games in the mens room, cruising for a little action. Either that, or snorting meth off the buns of some hot male 'escort'.

Devil worship?! Where'd that come from? Never saw the Illuminati tied to that before. Anti-Catholic, and all about secretly acquiring political/corporate power.. Sure. But devil worship?!

Or is this a bible belt thing where everything you don't understand must be 'devil worship'?

I'm afraid your 'hard-core biker' friends are not typical recreational cyclist. So forgive my if I find it ludicrous to base tax law based on what they'd be willing to pay. (or is this the same as saying 'I'm not Anti-X... Some of my best friends are Xs')

Yes, I'm sure it's frustrating to see tax dollars spent on something you don't like. Such is life. Plenty of my tax dollars get spend here and there on crap that I wish it weren't. Welcome to America!

Also... I love how everyone assumes that cyclists and hikers aren't also motorist, who are paying gas/road/transportation taxes just like everyone else. They aren't getting a free ride. They're paying the same fees you are, PLUS probably donating time/money to support their trails. At the very least, they're paying access fee's to the popular trails/parks.

I swear... I've lived all up and down the east coast, and have never encountered such an anti-biker/hiker mentality as it is here. Weird.

[quote][b]TeeWee[/b] - Let's tax these expensive adult bikes a yearly $100 license fee (Children's bikes, one time $25.00 fee) to pay for bike trails and infrastructure. The bike riders should pay as they go.
[/quote]

Let's see... I'd say the average price of a recreational bike is between $400-$900. So, let take it high and say $700. So a yearly fee of $100 on a $700 bike would equate out to around 14%. Would you be willing to pay a 14% yearly fee to register your car/truck? No? Thought not.

And what about all those pesky joggers/walkers? Are you going to tax their shoes?

I'm all for trail users helping to foot the bill. And believe it or not, many of them do via direct donations or as donations to entities who build the trail (Rails to Trails Conservancy), or they offer their labor to build/maintain the trail.

I wouldn't be opposed to an upfront fee collected at the time of purchase on a bike. Your yearly registration fee however, is outrageous. And any reasonable yearly fee would probably take more in administrative overhead to operate than it would bring in in funds.

I'd love to see a Rails to Trails project closer to Athens. It's one of the things that I truly miss from the DC-Balt area. I had miles and miles of quality trail systems to choose from up there. Here? Not so much.

I'm with you on the rail link with Atlanta too. There's plenty to do there, but I hate driving in Atlanta. If there were a decent commuter rail system with a link to Athens, I'd spend more time/money there.
(atlanta council of tourism... are you reading this?)

Gun-Toting, Left-Leaning Independent here....

At least one of these laws is doomed.
- A 15-ammunition limit on magazines;
- A universal background check for prospective gun buyers; and
- A requirement for gun purchasers to pay for their own background checks

The last one, specifically. You can not make people pay a fee in order to exercise a right. I'd be the same as enacting a poll tax (which has already been shot down).

I'd say to expect a challenge from the ACLU soon, but I bet the NRA is already lining up a test case to challenge this.

I imagine that they were following procedures written after 9/11, this being a govt building and all. Had this been an actual threat, and someone just tossed the thing in the trash,causing people to be harmed... then what? Everyone here would be clamoring about "Why didn't they have safety procedures in place for something like this?!"

Damned if they Do... Damned if they Don't.

@Lady of the Lake: Or is it one of the barrier cables that run down the median? Maybe it flipped through it a few times.

I hope the driver/passengers got out okay.

[quote][b]RightWingExtremist[/b] -
Ahem. You make unfounded assumptions.
I read both of those links. I got to the third, and well.. I was disappointed. Not scare, not intimidated, just disappointed.

I posted plenty of my own, but you two did the same. So why keep this up? I know the APA quite well, while prominent, are not the predominant psychological association in the US. I skipped the UC Davis citation because I had been reading before Millon came on board.
You don't prove fact with opinion, you prove opinion with fact. That's how it is, and that's how it shall remain.
[/quote]
From the QuickieWiki page on the APA: "The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States and Canada.[1] It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 137,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students.".

So... How are they not the predominant psychological association in the US?

(anyway... gotta work tomorrow... off to bed. will pick this up in the morning if need be)

[quote][b]RightWingExtremist[/b] -
And what does that mean to me? Anything can be "peer reviewed" it doesn't make it any more reputable.
[/quote]
No 'anything' can not just be peer reviewed. In scientific journals, Peer Review means something.

[quote][b]RightWingExtremist[/b] -
I did. And dismissed them when my eyes landed upon "Daily KOS"
[/quote]
Yes. I'm sure your eyes landed on the "Daily KOS", because the first two links contained scary facts. You willfully ignored his links to credible authorities on the subject, and instead focused on the opinion piece that he labeled as such.

If you don't want to be informed, just say so. It would save people the trouble of linking you information.

@Millionexus: I feel outnumbered on this forum all the time. I don't get my knickers in a twist over it.

I normally try to take the high road in here. But I'm only human.. sometimes I just have to poke at things. Sorry if I derailed your discussion.

[quote][b]RightWingExtremist[/b] -
Yet you post none. How funny is that?
[/quote]
Considering that you never read Millionexus informative links back on page 3... Why should I? You're not going to read mine either.

[quote][b]RightWingExtremist[/b] -
Vitriol to me is when two people come at me armed with their own personal biases, and try to shame me and people into agreeing with them. I'm sorry, I have no more time to waste on this.
I don't care what you think, and most certainly don't care how you live. Such strong reactions indicate to me that I have set myself on the right track. And lastly, I have no quarrel with you, and harbor no animosity for you. I am merely stating my peace, same as you are.
Fare thee well.
[/quote]
Translation....
"I found your facts scary, and need to retreat back into my bubble where everyone always agrees with me."

@Millionexus:

[quote][b]Millionexus[/b] -
I uh, had two other links to sources. I even labelled them sources. I even explained that the Dailykos -wasn't- a source. Did you miss that?
[/quote]

Yeah. He missed it. Truths/Facts hurt their eyes, you see. They can't actually look directly at it, or they're stricken blind.