http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPeLSn6Y864

I don't think they have gotten the memo yet.

Wait a second...that's not a goat!

I think there are 2 basic paths for a "journalist" to follow. The first is going for the story and reporting the news. This seems to be a lost art these days. The second is becoming a news "personality". Unfortunately it seems most opt for this path.

When did all this start? That's a little harder to put a finger on. Was Walter Cronkite a journalist or a news personality? I think it's safe to say that he started as a journalist. I think where things got off track was with radio actually. The shock jocks of the 70's and 80's created a recipe for success by becoming the news. What were they going to say next? Rush and Imus come to mind immediately. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that this would spill over to TV. As such the only way to get the hype and attention is to keep raising the stakes or lowering the bar. Years from now someone will be calling Bashir a pioneer. But if they are speaking truthfully they will also call him a goon that was trying to appeal to the low information voter.

First, let me start by saying I am an amateur photographer on my best day. I do like your photo.

The waterfall and bridge are the focal points of the photo. It also appears that you captured some of the pond/lake through the arch of the bridge. I think I would have liked to see that head on versus the angle you photo takes, even better if there was a boat or waterfowl behind it. The spill gate on the right is distracting and takes away from the symmetry. I think you either need to back up a lot more to get more in the photo or pick the bridge/fall and get closer.

This is an old one but as an engineer is still one of of my favorites....


A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted,
"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The woman below replied,
"You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."
The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

I saw the other day that someone said we should give our elected Commander In Chief respect.

Perhaps that holds true for our armed forces but as far as our civilian citizenry I'm not so sure. How do you respect a President that knowingly and repeatedly lies to its citizenry? So much of Obama's time in office seems like a live version of "The Emperor's New Clothes" that I, for one, am left with the notion that he is either an idiot or he has done these things on purpose. Neither case warrants my respect.

Destroy America? Depends on who you listen to.

The bottom line is that Obamacare is predicated on the wealthier or those with more disposable income to subsidize those who are not wealthy and don't have disposable income (i.e. poor).

There is an old and basic economic principle called TANSTAAFL (There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch). At the root of this principle is the fundamental truth that someone somewhere is paying for that "free lunch". It also stands to reason that there is no such thing as government money. The Government taxes (err takes) everyone, some more than others and then applies benefits as they see fit. Democrats tend to apply these benefits to the poor and unemployed. Imagine how happy the folks bust busting their tail to make a living must feel about that.

I know you didn't ask me but I'll offer up my opinion here same as anyone else. My Father was born in the early 20's and I frequently sought out his advice and counsel. I do recall asking him about Welfare (just an example of a social program) at one point and what he told me was quite illuminating. It seems that up through WW2 it was called Public Relief and here's the interesting part....you collected the money at your town hall. This meant that it was your neighbors helping you out. It also meant that you knew them as you got it from a person. These days you can "sef-declare" via phone or website and rarely see a person on the other end. And we wonder how it has come to be that fraud is so rampant or that families stay on the dole for generations.

Personally I believe that if we are going to have some sort of Gov't healthcare that it should be left to the states to decide. I believe the Founding Fathers would see it this way too as their tasks for the Federal Gov't were supposed to be limited to protecting the Constitution, Liberties, and our National Defense.

Communism and Socialism have been around for a long time and are hardly progressive. In fact history repeatedly shows the opposite is true. If progress is what you are looking for then capitalism is the only way to go.

sorry Nut..I was responding to BANGEE

and yes...it was a joke.

So does this mean we start building shrines in your name? Or do you have to die...err ascend first? ;)

The funniest part of all of this thread is that people are so convinced that THEY are right about God. Well, like they say..God only knows and He isn't telling!

Anyone that tells you otherwise is delusional.

I'll step out on a limb and suggest it references the scarecrow of "Wizard of Oz" fame. What was he in search of?

OK...I get it. bad things can happen with guns and you want them outlawed. I mean it's just outrageous that we let this trend continue right?

Have you ever heard of a Pareto analysis? The short and sweet of it is you examine all the causes (for example...death) and you list them in order of most to least. Pareto states that 80% of the events are due to 20% of the causes. Smart people go after them first since they will eliminate 80%.

So guns kill about 10,000 people per year. Ok.

Tobacco kills an estimated 440,000 per year including 49,000 that don't smoke. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/
Maybe you should spend your energy and go after the big fish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Causes_of_death_by_age_group.png

Look at the above graph. Death by gunshot is at the bottom of this list. You are more likely to die of second-hand smoke than by a gun...about 5 times more likely.

back to the original topic....


Obama did not really apologize did he? I have read the text of his "apology" and it sounds a lot more like "I'm sorry you were in the path of my car" versus "I'm sorry I ran you over".

In the first case the way it is worded makes sound like the victims fault whereas in the second case the person delivering the apology clearly accepts the blame for his error.

The bottom line is that he (and the democratic Congress) went out of their way to deceive the American public on a key piece (1/6 of the US economy)domestic policy. He continued to do it for at least 3 years and it was the cornerstone of his re-election bid. He has been an abysmal failure on nearly everything else; Banking bailout, Auto Bailout, foreign policy, budget policy,and most importantly...protecting the Constitution. I believe that when all is said and done he will be the most reviled public figure since Benedict Arnold.

Hussein used WMD's on the Kurds and was purported to say upon his capture that if he had any left he would have used them on the American forces.