Rocky

No problem, Krys... I know we all commit typos (I know I do), so all I'm doing in a situation like that is to verify that my understanding of the post is what the poster intended to mean. :)

Well, I don't go insane, BUT I DO get irritated. Enough so that I ask the cashier to wait... wait until the person prior to me (who is invariably the person with whom the cashier is conversing, in my experience) clears out before starting to scan my merchandise. Usually, the cashier knows better than to even do this (start scanning my stuff before ending the previous conversation). I was at a grocery store the other day and the cashier's name tag said she was a trainer. I believed it too, because she paused while the previous customer put her stuff in her wallet and then purse before taking her groceries and heading out. BUT a couple of weeks ago, I was in TARGET. When I was in the checkout line, the cashier was engaged in light hearted banter with the previous customer. When that customer was done paying/getting change/picking up her merchandise bag, the conversation continued. The cashier began to scan my stuff. I asked her to wait. The conversation stopped. As I explained that I could wait until they were done, they both gave me the evil eye. Meaning that they looked at me with scowls on their faces. Well, I generally don't give a hoot what strangers (except for Tom Strange ;) ) think about me, and therefore am not intimidated simply by a nasty expression. As I tried to explain, I got a few more people looking disapprovingly at me... those others, of course, didn't have the background understanding of how the whole thing started... this, of course, irritates me more. So, I go find a manager at the customer service counter... and one of the lookie lou's follows me and tells the manager that I "ruined that poor woman's day." That poor woman being the cashier. I think to myself, "gimme a break." and roll my eyes... because by then, I'm clearly the bad guy. But the manager, thankfully, didn't buy into the nonsense that I ruined his employee's day. I suppose there's some quirkiness in there somewhere! :P (my quirkiness, that is).

Green card??? Heck I'm a citizen of the US, I was born here!

Actually, many of those questions are already addressed in federal law. I'll not belabor that discussion, but will suggest that the scope and magnitude of THIS problem PALE in comparison to the scope and magnitude of fraud and waste, aka the fleecing of America, taking place with the rebuilding of Iraq. By that I mean that while there may be many more persons in the US who "scam the system", there are far fewer persons/corporations doing so for FAR more dollars (in each instance AND in the aggregate) with the Iraq reconstruction. If you want to be outraged and do something that really matters, look into how many millions (billions!) of American taxpayer dollars are unaccounted for in Iraq.

So, Hiway... you're predicting they lose a one game playoff?

No, it is NOT weird. It's fundamental civics in America. IF the federal government (Congress) passed (a) law(s) on rape, it would be standardized. However, it's NOT a federal law. However, there are efforts, likely in every state, by state legislatures, to conform to model legislation on various issues/topics. That includes criminal laws. Many state lawmakers are members of groups such as NCSL or ALEC. That would be the National Conference of State Legislatures http://www.ncsl.org which offers a variety of services to help lawmakers tailor policies that will work for their states/constituents; and the American Legislative Exchange Council http://www.alec.org which says it advances the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism and individual liberty among America's state legislators. Most definitely NOT. A "reader's digest" summary of the process goes something like this: A problem presents itself in society, which through perhaps a media outlet causes concern in at least a small group of individuals who either are lawmakers or who communicate with their lawmakers. Someone does research on related state laws and writes a piece of legislation for introduction to the formal lawmaking process. That someone could be an activist (concerned citizen), lobbyist, a lawmaker her/himself, or a staff person/group of the legislature. Or an idea might be subject to interest in other states, made known on a widespread basis to members of NCSL or ALEC. Once a bill is introduced in at least one chamber of the state's lawmaking body, it is (if it is to be seriously considered) assigned to one or more committee for a public hearing. Notice is given publicly (check your state's legislature for specifics), then is presented for discussion and public input in the committee. Discussion entails a Q&A by members of the committee and testimony by experts and concerned citizens to consider what current law exists, how/why it is not addressing the problem, explanation of how the bill WILL address the situation, related ramifications as far as foreseeable (such as the cost to the government and the public), changes (fine tuning perhaps) to the bill are considered, votes taken in the committee and in the COW (committee of the whole), and if passed in one chamber (in all states except Nebraska, which is UNIcameral... having only one chamber of the state legislature) it is sent to the other chamber for a repeat of the process. When a bill passes both chambers (with the exact same wording) it is sent to the governor to sign, veto or just let it become law without the governor's signature. IF the two chambers modify the bill differently, the versions must be conformed (submitted again for a final vote by one or the other or both chambers) before sending it on to the governor. If it becomes law (signed by governor, or no action taken by governor), citizens have, in most cases, a few months to consider whether to force a vote by registered voters on whether or not to accept the bill as passed and signed (referendum). Few bills (only the most controversial) are ever actually subject to a referendum vote. ------------ Bottom line is that lawmaking does NOT start with casual discussions that happen just for kicks. It entails FIRST recognition of a problem, then deliberation in a formal setting, on what the problem is and how to address it with changes to existing state statue and/or session law. And rather than simply asking everyone in the state to ponder some nebulous concept, people with an interest in the issue work to get the attention of lawmakers -- concerned citizens, lobbyists, other lawmakers -- trying to convince enough people about the problem and proposed solution.

I would imagine that most states have applicable laws. Such laws more than likely address many but not all possible scenarios. If I wanted to know what really constitutes rape, I'd start with: Which state? What are the ages of the individuals in the scenario(s). What are the sex(es) of the individuals (it's probably fair to say that this is no longer exclusively a male committing an act (of violence, or whatever else) against a female). What other factors are involved, for example: capacity to grant consent (age and physical and/or mental/emotional disability and other things could be involved) nature of the (if any) prior relationship of the individuals specific communications that may or may not have taken place between the individuals. -------- There's probably more factors, but each possible combination of factors should FIRST be analyzed to determine if any applicable law exists, and if none, what things could influence any potential ambiguities in the situation. As for me, as a male, I know I have to respect all applicable boundaries, including but not necessarily limited to: consent, age, etc. and it's better to keep out of potential trouble than to push the limits of acceptible conduct in hopes not to get in trouble (or caught). Other than that, it occurs to me that the reason for such an inquiry, in the mind/intent of the inquirer WILL significantly influence the structure of any discussion of the topic. And other than helping any person, potential victim or perpetrator, to avoid a dangerous situation, I don't understand the need for such a discussion. There may be a need, but I don't see it.

Is this just a casual discussion or did you have a particular purpose in mind when you started this thread? And what might that purpose be?

Hahahahahhahahahaha!!!!!!!! what a hoot! Of course, we could start a pool... see who guesses closest to when the Yanks get mathematicalllllly eliminated... just a thought.

Sorry... I didn't realize you were a Yankers fan... ;) I only posted ones that I could remember, off the top of my head last night, who had fans here at GS... and Hiway, I knew you were a Dodger fan. Just over 12 days, 22 hours (at the time of this post) till pitchers/catchers report to the NYY camp. and I'd post the NYY clock in this post, but I see that Mstar took care of it.

Official MLB team websites show a countdown to Spring Training 2007: (with a day/hour/minute/second countdown clock for each team to show when pitchers and catchers report) Some are 13days http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tex http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=ari http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=la http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=chc http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=stl

VERY! (Just kidding) As do I. But I have a reason (others might also). If I go barefoot around the house, the skin on my left foot will severely dry up and crack.

Awhhh, how CUTE!

At 7pm Mountain Standard Time (about an hour and a half from now), the Discovery HD Theater channel is having a one hour program called Day of the Groundhog. If you have the channel, it'll probably be pretty good. http://dhd.discovery.com/tvlistings/schedu...&date=today

THAT is Classic!

My favorite! :D

I tried chewing tobacco once and was sick... but not for that long. LAE, so, your father's related to Gene Autry.... but you're not? I'm !

I'm glad you have it in perspective then... :P AND I AM NOT a squirrel, flying or otherwise! Your graciousness, which knows no bounds (foul lines?) is appreciated!

This IS a family web site right? If it was just us old folks, we could all share the strangest, funniest, weirdest place(s) we had sex...

Of course we all know how easy it is to jinx a team in baseball these days....:P So, perhaps the stRange stRanger fan might want to temper his comments, lest they become bulletin board material -- especially for the other teams in the AL West! And ahem... Mr. Mstar, it wasn't more than a few days ago that YOURS TRULY also became a member of the 4000 club!! :D

I bet that is more fun. Over the last several months, I've watched several programs on the History Channel and National Geographic Channel on various aspects of Freemasonry. So, it's sorta been demystified for me. Definitely NOT as big a deal as Wierwille/twi and other churches/religions have made freemasonry out to be. BTW, my real last name is a trade name (in a European (romance) language) that translates to Mason in English... hence, I had just a smidgeon more interest than I otherwise might have had. But, I'd still be interested in reading about your experience(s) with Freemasonry and how that compared/contrasted with twi. Also, one time at a minor league baseball game here in Phoenix (before the Diamondbacks were born), an old guy with a walking stick that had the compass and square on a piece attached at the top of the stick, once asked me "Have you ever traveled East?" I figured right away that he was asking me if I was a mason... of course, I told him no... but even that was intriguing enough that I never forgot it.

I likeee!!!

Don't they have a web site that broadcasts streaming video of the event? I think I may have watched one year... or tried to anyway.

Doesn't surprise me a bit! Btw, my daughter, now 17, was in 7th or 8th grade (a few years ago) and was getting picked on by several boys at school. Now, I'm short, but Amy (who decided to be a vegetarian at a time when she needed protein from chicken and turkey to energize a growth spurt) was then even shorter. But taking after me in other ways, she's never had a problem asserting herself. I got a call one day from school that she was in trouble... had kicked a boy... and made it REALLY count, if you know what I mean. I think she got an in school suspension (the school didn't want to reduce state revenue, which was based on attendence) for maybe a couple of days. Needless to say, none of the boys picked on her after that.

AAACCKK! I had Cox Cable before either Dish or Direct. I absolutely hated them... they were by far the worst. AND... ANY company that points to how well they did in customer service ACCORDING TO J D POWER & Associates... IS LYING. JDPower and Associates is a company that other companies can PAY to get them to say how well they do. IMNSHO, a TOTAL fraud. There's background to my opinion, but I won't go into it here. It's my understanding that soon all broadcast channels with have to be broadcasting in DIGITAL format... which supports HD (1080i) and Enhanced Definition (780i) which are both digital formats. I don't know the date.