caeron

I commented to friends throughout the campaign that I wasn't a good Obama supporter. I'm a cynic. I wanted Hillary, but in the end pulled the lever for Obama because I believed that it was time to end an era and try something new. But I'm not a dreamer. I don't believe the we can find a new, friendlier tone in american politics. I don't believe the religious right bigots who make big money off of hating us are going to change. I hope to hell I'm wrong.

Zombie ads are the death of many of those kind of sites, though they never seem to figure that out. I don't want to see a ton of ads, but find most of them aren't current. Give me a site that makes sure the ads are current, and I'm there.

I can so relate. My first boyfriend gave me a tshirt with "everyready" on it. Those times are way too far in the past...

Blind Riders! Who would have thought? How many hours a day are you spending on the bike? Sounds like you've actually got some free time every day.

I agree. I was pretty disappointed that he'd pick a bigot for this. Does he really need to pander to these people?

Amazing story. I don't think my ass could handle sitting on a bike seat for that many hours a day, but I applaud you for it. please keep up the story, and we're cheering you on to the finish.

I like NYC, but it sure isn't my weekend away spot because prices are so nuts. I've never understood by its escort prices where always so much higher than the rest of the country.

I agree. It is cruel and I hope they get some relief. Part of the problem is that the way these things get funded involves a ton of guesswork. You can't know until the piper comes calling if you've under or over funded the obligation. It's one of the reasons why companies should have been so leery to make these kind of commitments.

I used to watch that show as a kid all the time. great memories.

kayak (www.kayak.com) is my favorite airfare search site. I find it gives me very good insight into what fares are doing and I can get to the lowest standard fare quickly.

I think the debate here does highlight the need to address healthcare nationally. Both from a coverage standpoint, and from a cost standpoint. I'm married because of healthcare. I married my best friend 15 years ago because I was appalled at the thought that she had no healthcare. It has ended up a magnificent, if non-traditional, marriage that has brought us both joy, but it's roots were in the fact that she had no coverage. It turned out well for us, but it hasn't turned out as well for others. A friend's father died because he didn't have healthcare coverage and the state set necessary, but brutal cutlines on what it would pay for with its limited resources for those without coverage. I don't want to give up the great healthcare we can get in the US to wait months to see a doctor, but we need to do something about this issue.

I agree. It is tragic. Perversely, I think one of the benefits I have is that no employer of mine has ever made such promises to me. I've had to plan on counting on myself, and have built a fair nest egg as a result.

I agree. It is tragic. Perversely, I think one of the benefits I have is that no employer of mine has ever made such promises to me. I've had to plan on counting on myself, and have built a fair nest egg as a result.

You did miss my point if you thought that was my point. My point had nothing to do with the active workers. It had to do with the total labor costs that Detroit bears versus folks like Toyota. The active workers make about the same as those at Toyota plants. The problem is paying for the promises made to workers past.

I think you're missing my point. It doesn't matter what workers are getting the labor costs. The differences are real, and crippling to the detroit companies. Detroit can't promise to take care of its workers forever if nobody else in the industry is doing it. That's the reality they're dealing with today and why bankruptcy is probably the right way to go. In effect, they have to break their contract with their retirees if they're to continue to exist as a company. Kudos to the UAW for getting a good deal for their workers when the companies could afford it. Now they can't, so the deal's gotta change.

That's hardly unique to the auto industry. The disparity of pay between workers and execs across industries in the US is really screwed up.

http://www.slate.com/id/2206527/?from=rss Another amusing article on Craig from Slate. Apparently Craig's legal defense fund has raised less than $5000. I guess when you make a career out of pandering to anti-gay right wing bigots, they aren't very generous when you turn out to be a cocksucker. What a shock.

Found a link confirming the wage differences on AP. They do make the point that GM has many more retirees they're carrying. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AUT...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

It may be only 10%, but it's significant. First my data source courtesy of a quick google :http://townhall.com/Columnists/CalThomas/2008/11/11/breakdown Detroit loaded hourly wage: 78.21 Toyota loaded hourly wage: 48 Difference per vehicle totaled: $1000 (from which we may infer there is about 33 hours in assembling a car) That's a pretty big difference.

You probably know better than I do, but it doesn't sound to me like you're on the shit list, it sounds like you're in vegas. Service has been crap there at any number of hotels I've stayed at compared to most other cities. It's not that they don't care about you. They don' t care about anybody.

True, though I have some sympathy. You know he wouldn't have gotten the votes if he'd been out.

I guess you'd have to define success. If some people came out at work and helped open some eyes, then it had some. As a concept, it's entirely too diffuse to have much impact overall. Now if it had been "go piss on a mormon temple day", that might have had some impact!

I'd heard detroit had gotten their quality up a lot in the last number of years. I actually was thinking about getting a GM instead of the Toyotas I usually buy next time around because I like the OnStar feature. In the abstract, I do think bankruptcy would probably be better, but I'm selfish enough that I'm not sure I want to take the damage on wall street when they start failing....

I too enjoyed The Day the Earth Stood Still, but say so with the proviso that I am entertained by schlocky sci-fi movies. If you like bad hollywood movies, you'll like it. If you want a coherent plot, you'll be disappointed. I liked Quantum of Solace too. It's still very much a hollywood james bond, but with some actual thought put into the character, and I like the fact that you walk out of the theatre with some questions. They've got more of the story to tell, and don't feel obliged to wrap the whole thing up with a bow at the end. For TV, we've been captivated by Dexter recently. The writers have done a good job of making a likeable, but sort of squicky serial killer.

Wow, this had me in stitches. We just went to see The Day the Earth Stood Still, and in addition to being stunningly bad (though dare I admit entertaining), it nailed nearly all of these.