The writer makes an undeniable point: conservatism today is dominated by people whose message is shared by the relatively few: an affluent position is the most affluent society in the history of the world is open to rampant criticism if represented in terms of how much of a victim of the 'system' they really are.

I personally believe that the salaries paid for coaching college sports are so ridiculously over the top, that no human being should do anything but thank their good fortune for however long they got to do it...don't care if it was bad luck, unforeseeable circumstances, close calls, nobody really deserves such a job anyway. Not that I am finding fault with how Coach Perno is taking it all, just that the situation is about half crazy, or more.

[quote][b]Bellehowell[/b] - Chris is a real swell guy. Those kids will certainly remember this event for a long long time.
[/quote]

Those pictures of the kids watching the launch were worth more than a thousand words. Lest we forget, education is not the same as training: the latter prepares us to do what someone already knows needs to be done, but isn't that inherently a dependency on that someone else? Education is freedom and those kids were visibly launched!

[quote][b]snarkydude[/b] - I guess the administration figured they'd bury everybody under a mountain of paperwork. It's time to hold this "transparent" administration accountable for their failures. Watergate, anyone?
[/quote]

It's because, like the birth certificate BS, the whole thing is a flimsy attempt by the right to paint a medium-talent opposition administration as though they were on the level of all those consecutive Republican White Houses that couldn't go four years without having a high-level member get sent to prison for serious crimes.

[quote][b]Curls[/b] - The ear of university presses is gone. Various publish on demand options offered by traditional publishers (and even Amazon) make the university press redundant. Time to pack up and save the money.
[/quote]

I do not agree: while there is an alternative self-publish (and self-promote) option like never before, producers like the UGA Press are meeting the needs of an audience that specifically values the decision-making process (vetting to borrow from another milieu) that help people be confident in the quality and applicability of a title before they buy. And it seems legitimate to me that a major university engage in this free market process exactly because the content is right at that edge between scholarly and popular.

[quote][b]BorisBadEnuff[/b] - Democ-rats sure like blaming the "low-level" workers, don't they?[/quote]

Just like at Abu Ghraib, eh?

"It's strictly an act of street violence in New Orleans," she said.

This is really just one more example of a really BIG problem that we all share: I am not talking about guns, about race/culture, about government...I am talking about the MEDIA!!! Technology enables clucks with no credentials whatsoever to stand in front of millions of us and say something couched in a package that makes it seem like they MUST KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. But in actual fact, all that really has to happen is an editor under serious pressure from (ultimately) stock-holders has to produce ratings. Screw them: look around you! Corporate America is a lying machine! If you sat in the same room with a human being that spouted as many lies as you hear in the media, all saying how GREAT THEY ARE [DISREGARD WHAT YOU SMELL WITH YOUR OWN NOSE]. Republican, Democrat, Liberal, Conservative: doesn't matter! You are screwed equally simply by listening (without validating in your own experience!).

[quote][b]Logical[/b] - Where does the money go?[/quote]

How much do you shell out for the privilege of being able to call 911 if your house is on fire or a ax-wielding maniac comes to the door? What about if everyone within 8 miles of your house were standing around telling YOU that they are starving, whatcha gonna do? Have you caught typhoid lately? Does the teller at your bank know how to READ? (hint: they probably didn't learn that at Athens Academy) How many times have you gotten ptomaine poising from a local restaurant in the last 12 months? The last 20 years? Yeah, business folks are really just taking extra measures to assure that next year, just like last year (and 40 others), that all your food is served without germ-propagating measures just because, as their commercials say: they care about YOU!

Government: 3245...cable TV 1240...which gives you a better deal?

No ifs ifs, ands, or buts: the agents hassling the tea party organizatins were misusing their authority and should be treated exactly as has been for similar violators in the past, no more nor less.

[quote][b]gman129[/b] - They belong in Florida, we won't even allow them across the Georgia line during football season.[/quote]

Unfortunately, it is another example of laws vs the enforcement thereof: I recall them crossing over our line, especially inside the tackles, several time just last year...

[quote][b]ProudSoutherner[/b] - What a terrible tragedy that could have been prevented with an ounce of common sense. Obama needs to take terrorism seriously. It does matter!!![/quote]

President Bush should have taken PDB 8/6 pretty seriously....but in the ensuing 36 days, he didn't take ANY actions. Obama got a call at 2AM, and, as the testimony clearly showed, the military officials still say that the resources they had couldn't have arrived until the evacuation was complete anyway.

It seems fairly obvious that our prison system is extremely ineffective, enough that as a society, we need to reach into our better selves and commit to some new strategies. As a starting point, I'll throw out some that have been rattling around in my head for a while:

1. corporal punishment. The idea of 'cruel and unusual' has taken on a sort of Frankensteinian life of its own. I one time participated in one of those $25 dollar research subject things over at UGA, and they used ice-water immersion as a stressor. I can tell you, putting your feet in a tub of ice water for more than a minute is definitely stressful. So, methinks, can we use modern science to come up with safe and effective ways to insure that when people go to prison, they definitely can leave with a motivation NOT to come back.
2. Death penalty: I believe that the death penalty should exist, but that the criteria for applying it are completely bogus. To me the philosophy should be:
if you can't get along in society, you have to live incarcerated
if you can't get along incarcerated, you get eliminated
3. And of course, the essential rift between the different segments of our political body:
no strategy that is all carrot or all stick is likely to work as well as one that has significant effectiveness at both ends: ie, that people doing what is agreed upon as bad really are reinforced to wish they hadn't, and people who want make choice towards what is beneficial can detect an actual reward for so doing.

[quote][b]Realist[/b] - I just wonder why they were unable to escape, the seating capacity is secondary.
[/quote]

I cannot say I agree about the secondary nature of the seating capacity: imagine you are in a 5 x 12 x 4 steel compartment, with a few doors, on fire, and no working instructions on where the possible exits are. Now imagine that you are in there with 21 other people...which way do you prefer?

You heard about the tractor-trailer load of Viagra that was hijacked? Cops don't know who's behind it, but their spokesman said they were looking out for 'hardened criminals'

[quote][b]fishin4u[/b] - Looks like a cat trying to cover up poop on a marble floor. Lookin' forward to Wednesdays reaction from the Liberals..........
>>>FISH>>>>> [/quote]

I wish the liberal side would release some of its entrenched positions, and apply more creativity to the many substantial issues facing our nation...but the conservatives have lost all credibility, grasping at every opportunity to damn their opposition, change the rules to favor their immediate circumstances, and propose nothing but the skimpiest veneer on their policies to serve the wealthy and grandstand for the religious right. But, at the same time, it is also clear that these draconian tactics are exactly why they have alienated the center, costing themselves a penalty in political electability.

@Ross: so what do YOU think we should do about Syria?

[quote][b]mpd0.59[/b] - The West (24 percent) and the Northeast (21 percent) had the highest proportion of adults meeting the aerobic and muscle activity guidelines.
Corellates with blue states versus red states.
[/quote]

So does educational commitment and achievement

@Zeb: Feeling a little defensive because someone is making a choice to take personal responsibility, and commit substantial time and effort to their family? As a former home-school parent, I can tell you that it's an oddly mixed bag: the people I encountered in that context tended to either be either what we call liberals or highly religious conservatives. And the government provides reasonably consistent guidelines about what constitutes the official curriculum and what is required to be received in good standing for a student (re)entering the accredited school environment after a period of home schooling.

Overall, I have more concern about the effects of outside-the-home schooling on families that use it to replace real responsibility for, and involvement in, their children's education, both official and personal.

[quote][b]fishin4u[/b] - The professor will get a pass, however, if a Harvard Conservative professor (oxymoron) did the same, the left would demand his head.........even after he were to apologize............
DOUBLE STANDARD AS USUAL >>>FISH>>>>> [/quote]

You make up something that would happen as evidence to prove a point? That only works on people who really want to believe it, although there are many of those.

[quote][b]Man_Of_The_Mountain[/b] - Awesome! You go Beegee!
Can't help but ask: Were your parents Bee Gees fans?
Let me guess what's on your running iPod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3b9gOtQoq4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[/quote]

FWIW, I knew a girl named beegee once (actually like kinda like this picture), but I think it was short for something like Beatrice Gertrude; can't imagine why she had that preference.

[quote][b]TeeWee[/b] - But many women can greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer by taking one simple step.[/quote]

Not trying to start a lurid conversation or anything, but is size a factor here? Do women with bigger breasts wear bras longer and do they also run higher risks of CA?

@mpd0.59: But I am serious about having been to Sunday School at the First Pres with Jack, and also hanging out with John at the foosball table on graduation night....though I kind don't remember for sure seeing Jack there that night. I think he graduated early...

[quote][b]mpd0.59[/b] -
You sound just like Sean Hannity, and I don't mean that as a compliment.
[/quote]
I MEANT to sound like Hannity and I meant it as a joke (which I believe Hannity is, if you get my drift)...

[quote][b]Man_Of_The_Mountain[/b] - @webbty80:

Proof positive that anything sells in the rap industry.
Hey webbyty80 - You need to come up with one of your famously hilarious pics to mock this most newsworthy "event".
Perhaps a Mexican "JUMPing" Bean???? Ha!
Cheers!
[/quote]

I have to say: it wouldn't be too hard to come up with some pretty stupid stuff from boy-bands, country gimmick funny songs, and most of the bubble-gum music machine of the early 60's (not to mention the entire collection of the 80's). So while I don't believe this particular group competes well against Mozart, Clapton, or Willie Nelson, that doesn't really make them too unique.

[quote][b]Yellow Dog[/b] - For those looking for the caffeine, coffee is much better for you, and there's no thuggary connected to coffee drinking that I know of. But y'all already knew that.
[/quote]

Coffee is from the Arabian peninsula, hence the name coffea arabica.