Gideon MacLeish

Reply to "Now I'll be Famous" in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]A- Why has a man who spent quite some time in the juvenile prison have been able to buy a semi-automatic gun?[/quote] Agreed, assuming it was bought in his name. I'm not a fan of most gun control laws, but I do agree that it only makes sense to keep them out of the hands of people with a proven predisposition to violent behaviour. But again, that's assuming it was bought in his name. [quote]B- In canada, all mass-killing weapon (automatic and semi-automatic) that are all

Reply to "Now I'll be Famous" in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]Yet in this case, I cannot point fingers without seeing some of them pointing at us (the collective us). [/quote] I can. A murderer is a murderer and there is no blame for anyone other than themselves. OCCASIONALLY (VERY rarely), I will concede that culpability enters the picture where other parties are culpable (an example would be Andrea Yates). But there's a very significant difference between culpability and blame.

Reply to "Now I'll be Famous" in Current Events JoeUser Forums

But we HAVE to know about the shooter, Dr. Guy. Because society's to blame, not this individual. He was a poor, oppressed individual and we should be ashamed of ourselves for FORCING people to become murderers. Ahhh, geez...those liberal demons keep taking over!

Reply to The Golden Compass in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]lol what are you collecting a salary here? [/quote] I WISH!

Reply to Brian Deneke Memorial in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Clean cut means EVERYTHING in North Texas, where long hair means you're a bum, a thug, or worse. I don't get why people feel so free to rationalize the actions of bigots, and more importantly, why more people aren't absolutely outraged by the "blame the victim" mentality that still pervades cases like Deneke's.

Reply to Disgusted With Higher Education in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]Yep, that sounds just about what they do all the time! And guess who is always the last to know about the hold on your account?! Some things never change! [/quote] And this is why I have eschewed higher education for so long. But I've reached a point in life where I figure I'm better off with it than without it.

Reply to Disgusted With Higher Education in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]Ugh! What assholes! How does that happen anyway? I mean, did you attend class 3 hours and then have to go for 4 hours? I hope you at least earned 4 credits for it. ~Zoo[/quote] No, I get the 4 credits, but there's a matter of principle. If I pay ONE DAY late after the financial settlement date, it means I get kicked out of school. Meanwhile, they can just add random charges whenever they want? I don't think so. Because I NEED my transcript, this is a much bigger

Reply to More Media Stupidity in Misc JoeUser Forums

Excellent point. They do it, in my opinion, because the sensational lead will prompt angry calls from the Emily Litellas of the world who won't bother to check out "the rest of the story". If we can further clamp down on an already overregulated industry, then politicians get feathers in their caps for "making our streets safer"! Ticks me off, too.

Reply to The Golden Compass in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]The Golden Compass is a book. You don't have to see a screening of the movie to know the message. Why do you keep saying, "How can you judge this movie without a screening?" when it's based on a book that has been out? If I had read Harry Potter and thought it was anti-Christian, I wouldn't want to see the movie either. If I read DaVinci code and thought it was anti-Christian, I wouldn't go see the movie. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but you can judge a movie by it's book. [/quot

Reply to NIE Report Says Iran Stopped Nuclear Program in 2003! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Well, we know what ColGene will be doing when Bush leaves office now. Have you gotten a burqa for your wife for after you move to your new job as Ahmidinejab's press secretary?

Chuck and Huck in Politics JoeUser Forums

Mike Huckabee's been making waves in the GOP primary race. I had wondered why, but hadn't paid horribly close attention. I have, of course, long known who Mike Huckabee is and why he will always hang on at some level. But I admit I was somewhat taken aback by his recent poll numbers. Huckabee is and has always been a Republican's Republican. He's been doing the prolife lecture circuit for many years now, and has long been a favorite of conservative kingmakers. But it was his recent en

Reply to The Golden Compass in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]Dan Greene, your intolerance of my stance to not watch the movie without seeing it first is far more intolerant than I am of his ability to make the movie. He can make the movie, go ahead, I won't stop him, or do anything to keep you from watching it. But you don't even want to let me parent my own children based on my religious convictions. Yes, the Catholics and Christians are so much more intolerant than you are, Dan Greene. [/quote] Actually, I'm going to step in here, jythie

Reply to The Golden Compass in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]Exactly. If you shelter them forever and only indoctrinate your viewpoints into them, they become little robots. Also, in that case I think it leads to something like a cult. Learning how to think for yourself is important.[/quote] Do you REALLY think that the only way to teach children contradictory values is to INDOCTRINATE them in contradictory values, zoologist? Faith is called that for a reason. Because it is what we genuinely BELIEVE. You can believe anything you w

Reply to American Mullahs and the Politics of Outrage in Politics JoeUser Forums

Brilliant. Just. Brilliant. [quote]Damn, are these thoughts so intimidating that they frighten off any potential responders or are they just so right, so spot-on, that no one can deny their accuracy?[/quote] Didn't see it when first posted, got it via the bump. [quote]It seems to me that comparing any American (no matter how outraged or perpetually offended they may be) to a bloodthirsty Mullah used to be considered 'fightin' words'.... [/quote] No, because I'

Reply to Disgusted With Higher Education in Current Events JoeUser Forums

The official story at this point? Midway through the semester, they decided that one of my courses was a 4 credit rather than a 3 credit course and added the charges accordingly. So yeah, like Para said, extortion!

Disgusted With Higher Education in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Working towards my degree has reminded me of why I left higher education in the first place. While I'm older and hopefully a bit wiser and realize the tangible benefits of having a degree, I have no greater love for the bureaucracy and the "we have you by the cajones" mentality that seems to pervade the administrations of our institutions of higher learning. To begin with, there's the issue of financial aid. In preparing to transfer, I added the school code of the school to which

Reply to If the Democrats Oppose Higher Taxes on the Poor... in Politics JoeUser Forums

My point is that anyone who believes either party gives two squats about them is horribly, horribly misguided. And that the fools who vote Republican are slightly less misguided than the idiotic sheep who vote Democrat. If you plan on getting ahead, then really plan - dont mouth platitudes about class warfare and the "man" keeping you down. </

Reply to Installing Linux On A Dead Badger in Misc JoeUser Forums

LOL...that's the ULTIMATE case mod!

Reply to A Joke & A Thought in Humor JoeUser Forums

KFC, Totally unrelated to this article...did you know the kid you guys know from Liberty got his picture in the latest issue of SI? Thought you'd like to know that, if you didn't already. I'd be happy to send my copy to you if you don't have it.

Reply to Officially Old! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]sorry if that make me think i am better than you. it was not my intention [/quote] lol, no...I know what you're saying. It's just that gout is usually considered an old person's disease. I've had arthritis for many years now, but nothing has ever come close to being crippled up by gout. It's probably made a lifetime vegetarian out of me (meat is one of the biggest triggers for gout), because I'd really, really like my first attack of gout to be my last!

If the Democrats Oppose Higher Taxes on the Poor... in Politics JoeUser Forums

Ever since I first heard about the idea of a flat tax, I thought it sounded pretty cool. But I was hushed by the voices of my colleagues, who called a flat tax "regressive", and further indicated that I was a traitor to my class. The idea, they would tell me, is to tax the rich more so that the poor don't have to pay taxes. One little bitty problem with that. Nobody gets out of paying taxes. Noone. In fact, when the oil prices began their stratospheric climb, I distinctly remember a m

Reply to Monopolies Can Be Good -- For a Time in Misc JoeUser Forums

[quote]But the Business world revolves around MS Office, and MS makes sure that knock offs dont quite work right. [/quote] I've never had significant problems with OpenOffice. [quote]Illinois is actually the most landed on property in Monopoly, because it is 14 (two 7s) away from Jail. I actually tested this, and it's true. [/quote] I've never had significant problems with my Baltic/Mediterranean grabbing scheme!

Reply to The Golden Compass in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]promoting a boycott of said work without even having firsthand knowledge of whether that work says anything that might be deemed offensive or even simply contradictory to the Church's doctrinal teachings certainly looks like an attempt at censorship[/quote] OK, an attempt, maybe. I'll concede that possibility. However, I think it is important to notice this did not come from the Vatican, but rather the Catholic League. The former has real official authority; the latter i

Reply to Officially Old! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I'm seriously wondering if this wasn't my major problem for awhile and it just took this long to build to this point. Today's my first day up and on it, and it doesn't feel especially sore, I'm not limping anymore, and more to the point, it doesn't lock up or "pop". arty, I'll check those out. I've heard good things about glucosamine and chondroiton, but I may need to be careful with the willow bark, as willow bark contains the primary ingredient in aspirin, and for gout, aspirin is gen

Reply to A Grill & A Christmas Tree in Misc JoeUser Forums

Good 'Sconsinites NEVER put awa their grills, and they deal with subzero temps routinely. I can't imagine living in a state where they DO put away grills!