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User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-18 |
Subject	untitled
Message	My joints hurt just sitting still.

User	mae | 2007-11-18 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Well, THAT took the fun out of it! mae (And no, I don’t think cortortionists are fun. My joints hurt watching them!)

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-17 |
Subject	word of the day...
Message	conflicyed - A Celtic Wiccan term referring to the specific abilities of a contortionist. http://www.contortionhomepage.com/

User	mae | 2007-11-17 |
Subject	untitled
Message	French kissing is preferred..I’m conflicyed that way.... Oh yeah! Though I don’t know what ’conflicyed’ is - is it another word for heretic? Is it something you do WHILE French kissing? If so, I think that discussion belongs on another thread! mae

User	Chell | 2007-11-17 |
Subject	untitled
Message	You guys suck- ya know that?!?! I don’t think I’ve laughed- or coughed- so much in my life! I have to admit, you’ve both made this time worth living.. to clarify: French kissing is preferred..I’m conflicyed that way.... Thanks, you guys!

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-16 |
Subject	untitled
Message	By definition, one cannot be both a cult leader and a heretic. Such leaders actually get to pick who is a heretic relative to those specific beliefs the leader espouses. Proof: Noun heretic Someone who disobeys or disbelieves fundamental tenets of a religion they claim to belong to. How can the leader of a religion in any way disobey or disbelieve him(or her)self? Ah, the benefits of infallibility. "Want to buy an Indulgence Mister?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgences

User	mae | 2007-11-16 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Does French toast count? I love French toast. Don’t forget that Chell is a cult leader, further adding to her miscreant/heretic role. mae

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-16 |
Subject	untitled
Message	P.S. This "French" thing is not meant to tie in to Bill Clinton, even if it might by some other strange coincidence.

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-16 |
Subject	Thinking French
Message	Perhaps a new twist on an old story? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables The new story is "Les Miscreants", starring Chell in her search for ultimate redemption. Parallel stories, no? Etymology: Fr parall¨¨le (French again) More French, (This is now proclaimed ES let’s get French day!) mis¡¤cre¡¤ant (mis¡äkr¨¥ ənt) adjective 1. villainous; evil 2. Archaic unbelieving or heretical Etymology: OFr, unbelieving < mes- (see mis-) + creant, prp. of croire, to believe < L credere: see creed noun 1. an evil person; criminal; villain 2. Archaic an unbeliever or heretic Note: We do not believe Chell to be in the least bit "evil", although it’s possible that some locals may consider her a heretic, but some also say the same of the Pope. Go with definition #2. Celebrate by having some French onion soup, or whatever. French fries do not count.

User	Chell | 2007-11-16 |
Subject	untitled
Message	I’m a miscreant!!! Woohooo! I’m a miscreant!

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-16 |
Subject	untitled
Message	The powers that be still grade and brand their property, especially those deemed to be "miscreants" for one reason or another. The new brand is called having a "record". It doesn’t matter whether such a record is criminal or medical because a tag is a tag. Even if God forgives and forgets, the elephant never does.

User	Chell | 2007-11-16 |
Subject	untitled
Message	“The politicians don’t just want your money. They want your soul. They want you to be worn down by taxes until you are dependent and helpless. When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.” -James Dale Davidson, National Taxpayers Union “Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.” -Unknown “I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.” -Charles De Gaulle (1890 - 1970) “A recent survey was said to prove that the people we Americans most admire are our politicians and doctors. I don’t believe it. They are simply the people we are most afraid of. And with the most reason.” -Author Unknown “..Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission… How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror… I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense… People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” -V

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-15 |
Subject	untitled
Message	To begin with, any "flat tax" would have to start well after any calculation of some defined "subsistance level" of income because as it currently, the poor pay no tax on income other than the social security tax, which at an actual 15% of gross (figuring in the not so well hidden employer contribution) is gross indeed. If you can’t even buy food or pay the rent, much less medical expenses, how can you concern yourself with contributing to this "retirement" fund except that big brother ("BB") grabs it away to start with and then "borrows" it on the cheap? Why not exempt low wage earners from having to pay this at all? It’s not like their contributions amount to anything even in the long run. Meanwhile, this lost income ends up being (hopefully) fed back by way of various social services programs. BB takes outta one pocket and slips some back into another. It’s crazy but manages to employ a great many people in the process - working for BB. The IRS is probably even worse in that respect, costing who knows how much of the GNP just in accounting and records keeping while keeping the bean counters well fed. If even half of our accountants, administrators and lawyers were engineers, doctors and scientists, the USA could quickly solve most any of the problems we currently angst over. But then, it’s not in the best interest of politicians to actually solve any problems.

User	Chell | 2007-11-15 |
Subject	untitled
Message	A flat tax isn’t fair to the poorer of our country. I think the 16th Amendment needs to be repealed. It has two major flaws; it was not intended to tax the individual and it doesn’t make provision for those monies to be spread among the States or the people. The 16th amendment says, "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." When the 16th was ratified "Income" was described as "the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time". Revenue is a business term for the amount of money that a company receives from its activities in a given period, mostly from sales of products and/or services to customers. Individuals do not make an income at work- they make a wage or a salary - as shown on any W-2 form. Salaries and wages are a straight across trade- you, as an employee, trade your services for money from an employer. Employees convert labor into cash and then the employer converts your service or production into profit. Employees don’t ’profit’ or make an ’income’ from working- they just convert your actions into paper money. What we need to do is either follow the spirit of the 16th amendment and tax only the ‘income’ of businesses, or repeal it altogether and put an amendment into effect that allows the government to tax businesses (entities that can afford to pay taxes on their excess revenues because they don’t have rent costs, or education costs, or medical costs, or food bills to pay) and use those monies to run our government (which ran FINE without ANY individual income tax from 1776 until 1862!) and support social services for the individuals. We tax the rich (and Big Business IS ‘the rich’) and share it with the community. It’s a simple idea- one that big business doesn’t want us to vote for. And we’re not voting so they continue to get richer at the expense of the Average Joe, and it sucks. I’m not for socialism- it wouldn’t work with the greedy lifestyles Americans have come to love, but I am all for a capitalist society that uses the 16th Amendment to tap into the inherent power of capitalism (profits/incomes) and provide for those less fortunate. Of course, that means getting people involved, voting the right way, and standing up to big business (Oil, HMO’s, H1B visa programs, etc.). And that means getting people to care about each other- which is impossible- so we’ll just keep letting the wealthy get wealthier and the poor get poorer. And we can all stop pretending the American Dream is something ANYONE can obtain. A question about socialized education: If we voted in a law that stated that every child received a specific amount of money to attend any school (elementary though college) the parents wanted their kids to attend and that the governance of the concepts taught was left to the society in which the school was located- what argument would you have against a system like that? The schools with good teachers would attract more students, increasing the monies for those schools- which would, in turn, create more incentive for other schools to work harder and improve their teaching styles to make more money or they would be forced to close their doors because they were failing at competing in this capitalist society. It would be a win-win, wouldn’t it?

User	mae | 2007-11-15 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Chell, it seems as though you are simply arguing with me just to be arguing with me. You’re ignoring the real points in my posts to make pointed statements about things that MISS the point. I’ve said a couple of times now that capitalism isn’t perfect, but it has been the most successful form of economy for the individual. I’ve given my reasons for saying that but you don’t even mention them, nor do you provide any arguments that would show I’m wrong in my statements. Instead, you ignore those basic points and bring up things that mean nothing in this argument. I’ve also said I have no objection to socialism other than education and I see a problem with medicine (which does not mean I have an objection to it - just that I see a problem with it). Yet, you continue to hammer away at me on socialized this or that as if I were condemning socialism. My biggest concern is with our tax system. It has failed miserably and needs to be scrapped. What would it best be replaced with? I don’t think a flat tax is fair to the poorer of our citizens. If you disagree with that, why? Can we not discuss the actual points rather than just having the discussion avoid any substance and dissolve into meaningless chatter? I wasn’t comparing JFK to anyone. I simply made a statement about his presidency and used it as an example of how easy it is to "pull the wool over" the voting public’s eyes. If it looks good, it must be good. mae

User	cabbalistic | 2007-11-15 |
Subject	untitled
Message	’It’s going to be hilarious when those kindergartners are the ones being asked to change those seniors’ catheters without the benefit of proper education’ haha!

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-15 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Astonishing isn’t it, that people from all around the world are still trying to get INTO the USA? I wonder what they know?

User	Chell | 2007-11-15 |
Subject	untitled
Message	“..but try convincing senior citizens (who overwhelmingly vote against taxes and bond issues for schools) that educating an immigrant kindergartner that they’ve never met and never will is for their good.” Yeah- I agree that way too many old people are selfish. It’s going to be hilarious when those kindergartners are the ones being asked to change those seniors’ catheters without the benefit of proper education… I wonder if those kids will know how to spell Karma? “Housing is almost impossible. You can’t live where you want or move when you want. Housing must be approved by the government. Contractors can’t just go buy property and build an apartment building.”- mae Ok- so government involvement with private houses and property is bad. I get it. But, what happens when Capitalist Banking Institutions create ARM’s to open up housing for those American’s who are losing their middle-income jobs but still want (the American Dream) a home to call their own? I wonder… Dr. Christopher Cagan, director of research and analytics for First American CoreLogic, estimates that about 1.1 million Americans will lose their homes in the next few years as interest rates are reset on loans, raising monthly payments to levels American’s can’t pay. I’m sure these those 1.1 million people are going to be tickled knowing that they’ll have the freedom to choose which landlord/Property Management group they want to make richer… “Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.” -John Maynard Keynes (1883 - 1946) "Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned." We’re seeing an increase in reverse mortgages from old people hoping to increase their retirement monies- meaning they’re selling their properties to the banks institutions. The banks- through the ARM’s- are kicking people out and obtaining their properties. The outsourcing of skilled labor (Middle Income) jobs has lowered people’s ability to buy property. And our educational system is failing to educate the children who would grow up to be home-owners in 20 years. My question- Is bank-owned property considered privately owned property? And if so, then it should be called the American Banker’s Dream, not the American Dream. “Regarding JFK, it’s too bad you chose to focus on his womanizing. I was not.” -mae Ahh, sorry. I thought you were comparing him to Clinton with the whole “But he was a phenomenal orator and incredibly charismatic, even spellbinding..” part. Perhaps a better comparison would be President Bush? With his Iraq invasion; his lack of any action on civil rights (gay marriage, Patriot Act, etc.), medicare, and other reforms (Social Security, immigration, failing school systems, crumbling infrastructure, etc.), and his hopes to send troops into Iran thus beginning a new sad episode in our history; I will agree they were both unremarkable presidents at best and bumblers at worst. But hey, at least he wasn’t one who loved the ladies… “They don’t run because they can make more money”-mae Good people refusing to help because they can make more money? There’s more of that selfishness again…ripping our country apart as each person/ institution/ organization/ political group/ activist group shoves the others out of the way to grab for their piece of the American Dream. It is so heartwarming to see Capitalism bringing all those good people into public service…

User	Blue Monk | 2007-11-14 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Being a Louisiana guy, I know who Blaze is, but when in doubt Google it! Besides, I have always had a weakness for redheads. Then of course there’s the major motion picture about her and Gov. Earl Long (played by Paul Newman). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096943/ I just didn’t know about any JFK connection, but who’s counting.

User	mae | 2007-11-14 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Can you build a private highway or a private bridge across the Columbia River? Can you have a private fire department, used just for your block? Can you have your own private police department? You CAN and do have private schools. You can extend the benefit of those schools from individual children to the commonwealth if you wish, but try convincing senior citizens (who overwhelmingly vote against taxes and bond issues for schools) that educating an immigrant kindergartner that they’ve never met and never will is for their good. And once again, we have the problem of parents being denied the ultimate say in their child’s education. If education is socialized, they won’t have that say, pure and simple. You can make all the comments you want about how great life would be if you paid 70% or more of your income and got all those services, but, Chell, be realistic. People aren’t like that. My daughter-in-law hates it. Housing is almost impossible. You can’t live where you want or move when you want. Housing must be approved by the government. Contractors can’t just go buy property and build an apartment building. The government doesn’t allow it. When everything is under the goverment’s control, where is there room for the individual liberties that we hold so dear? Goods are tremendously expensive and when you have less than 30% of your gross income left to spend, you can’t buy much. If you think you have complaints about our tax structure, you should hear them! Regarding JFK, it’s too bad you chose to focus on his womanizing. I was not. I was thinking of the Bay of Pigs invasion; his lack of any action on civil rights, medicare, and other reforms, which were finally accomplished under Lyndon Johnson; and his sending troops to Viet Nam and thus beginning that sad episode in our history. As I said, he was an unremarkable president at best and a bumbler at worst. I didn’t even mention his basically flawed character. As for getting good people to run, if we’d been able to get good people to run in the first place, we wouldn’t have gone so downhill. They don’t refuse to run for election because they’re afraid of being tainted by those already here. They don’t run because they can make more money and in some cases have a greater influence in the private sector, plus they don’t want to be raked through the coals by the opposing party, whichever one that is. Our election process and especially our confirmation process have become so rancorous and unreasonable that good qualified people turn away from public service to avoid them. Who in the world is Blaze Starr? mae