lookin

Lucky, I also think we share a lot of the same views. Moreover, I don't find anything in your post that I disagree with. I think it's just the different perspectives we're coming from. When I look at these compassionless freaks, I can't find any justification for them to keep living. I think you and I would agree there. It's just that when I look inside to see if I personally want to be responsible for taking another person's life, or encouraging my government to do it for me, the answer comes back 'no'. In order for it to come back 'yes', I'd have to consider myself entitled to have the power of life and death over another person. And I just don't think I am.

This is a really heartwarming story, Steven. Thanks for posting it.

Let's hope the engine light never comes on.

Illinois today became the sixteenth state to outlaw the death penalty. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat who has long supported capital punishment, looked drained moments after signing the historic legislation. Lawmakers sent him the measure back in January, but Quinn went through two months of intense personal deliberation before acting. He called it the most difficult decision he has made as governor. "If the system can't be guaranteed, 100-percent error-free, then we shouldn't have the system," Quinn said. "It cannot stand." . . . Quinn also commuted the sentences of all 15 men remaining on death row. They will now serve life in prison with no hope of parole. In his comments, the governor returned often to the fact that 20 people sent to death row had seen their cases overturned after evidence surfaced that they were innocent or had been convicted improperly. . . . Republican Rep. Jim Durkin of Westchester predicted Quinn will pay a political price if he seeks re-election in four years. Some terrible murder that cries out for the death penalty is bound to occur and grab voters' attention, he said. One can only hope. [/sarcasm]

Can't argue with anything he says. A million Iraqi's dead and no one bats an eye. It numbs the soul. War for profit and political gain is an arrangement that needs undoing.

Just saw a program on the Farnsworth House, also built by a famous architect in a unique setting as a weekend retreat for a wealthy client. Mies van der Rohe told her that weekenders didn't need a closet, and only grudgingly let her have a custom-built wardrobe. The glass house was perfectly placed in the surrounding woods, but put her on display to frequent trespassers who wanted to see the house.

Where is everyone? .. . . . Good question! I should probably chime in . . .

It appears to be, but it could just be the way the light hits it . . .

Sure, I know Tomcal.

Congratulations, Lucky! Not only does this thread have legs of its own, but it's launched its very own spin-off. You are the Norman Lear of posters!

Linking to an upload! Who knew? Alrighty then, here's the whole series. And what kind of member are you? Curious Member Dangling Member Aroused Member Tumescent Member Esteemed Member Prodigious Member Olympian Member

Sorry to disappoint, mon ami, but my personal olfactory preferences lean more toward the floral than the fecal. As I didn't get up close and personal with the Donovan derriére, I can't say for sure what would have happened had it been anything less than pristine. But I can tell you that other close encounters of the turd kind have previously dampened my ardor considerably.

Then, too, results might be skewed depending on when the research was done. Could be biannual blips around Thanksgiving and Cinco de Mayo.

Lucky, the same researcher, Charles Gerba, says there's only a tenth of a gram of poo in the average pair of skivvies. Do you think it's possible you may be hanging out with the wrong people?

I think it's a mistake to get sucked into the discussion of how a fixed amount of health care dollars gets shifted around from one group of people to another. I believe a much better discussion would be how we can make sure we all get the healthcare we need. In my opinion, we should come at this issue from other more humane perspectives. A few leap to mind: controlling costs (single-payer system, tort reform), increasing Medicare contributions (or at the very least, not cutting them as we did a couple of months ago), shifting dollars from the military to health care, moderating corporate bailouts . . . I could go on. Next time you hear an argument about offing grandma so that junior can live, take a close look at who's asking you to make that decision, and why. Chances are, you'll find a rich guy who wants to get richer. I'd recommend suggesting he pull his own plug instead of coming after yours.

OK, I'll man-up here and put my ignorance on display. Not the full breadth and range of it, of course, but just the part about trying to follow the money trail. I can see where the money comes in. If I weren't currently enjoying OZ and TY's hospitality, I'd be paying some kind of annual or monthly fee to watch this premium Gold Member content. And I can see where the money goes out. I'm sure 'Uncle Don' was paying those skateboarders he lured into his studio to deliver a money-shot for the camera. But where does it meander along the way? Are there content packagers who sign up a bunch of Uncle Don's and deliver the feeds to websites like MER for a fee? And are there primary packagers who package the private packagers? And are they flat fees collected periodically, or variable fees collected by the click? And what kind of dollars are we talking here? I'd expect that a feed from Bel Ami would cost more than a feed from Uncle Don. I've never understood how money flows around the internet, and how one goes about dipping one's fingers into the stream, and how big a fish one can pull out of it. Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking to become any kind of internet mogul. But if I could pick up a small monthly stipend by sweet-talking a couple of skateboarders into sharing their secrets, why, where's the harm in that? PS: MsGuy, thanks for your kind offer. I've got a list of dumb questions as long as your arm. (Longer, if you're anywhere under 6'6".) The first batch should be arriving within the hour.

Flguy, I'm sorry to hear of your mother's passing. Congratulations to you and OneFinger for taking off so many pounds. Nice work!

Thanks, guys! I was too shy to ask. Lucky, see you in a few weeks . . .

MsGuy, this is not one of my strong suits but, as usual, that won't keep me from weighing in just as if I know what the hell I'm talking about. I think there are at least four things that determine your login experience: (1) the cookies that the MER site places on your computer, (2) what your browser does with those cookies, (3) what other programs running on your computer (e. g., antivirus programs) do with those cookies, and (4) any automated functions you have set up in your browser. There are probably other things that only Bill Gates knows about but those will have to remain a mystery until either he opens up or Julian Assange tidies up his personal business and gets back to doing what he does best. My guess is your new antivirus program took an aggressive stance and wiped out most or all of your old cookies, but it didn't go so far as preventing them from ever coming back again. Once you logged on to MER and told it to remember you, new cookies were placed on your computer that allow you to be treated as an old friend. Until those cookies are wiped out again, you should continue to be welcomed with open arms. As far as typing just the first letter of your 'nic', whatever the hell that is, I expect that's something you told your browser to do once upon a time. I use Mac Safari as my browser and I check an 'autofill' box so that, whenever I reach the login page for MER, the browser types 'lookin' and my password, and all I have to do is hit the 'login' button. Again, your antivirus software may have disabled any autofill preferences you had set up, but you should be able to go into your browser preferences and set them up again. To figure out how to do it, you could try googling 'Firefox-or-whatever-browser-you-use' and 'autofill', and see what others have to say. Hope this helps. I'm sure I speak for all here in wanting your login experience to be as quick and easy as possible. The thought of you getting stuck on the wrong side of the fence for any length of time is just too hard to bear.

You could check out the one with date and time, then offer to take the House Budget Committee on a tour over the Grand Canyon.

Now thas' mah kinda calculatin' !

Can't wait till Ben & Jerry jump on this. Udder Bliss Boob Job With Jimmies Triple Titty Trifecta Butter Bosom Brickle Sweet Melon Swirl Brownie Breast Berry Nutty Knockers Neopolitan Racky Road Birthday Bust Nipple Ripple Dulce De Decolletage Dark Chocolate Bazoom . . .

TY, I don't say often enough how much I appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into your positions, as well as the issues you choose to explore. I'll try to say so more often. I've thought a lot about the death penalty issue too and every time one like this comes along I think about it again. I don't recall ever ending up on the 'pro' side. The decision not to take another person's life is one I made early on, along with a desire to see it off the table for my country. It's not that this woman hasn't committed an abhorrent act and shouldn't be singled out for the worst punishment the state has to offer. She's a monster. They could stick her in the Phoenix Zoo for the rest of her life and charge admission for all I care. A bigger issue for me is the message my government sends when, through legalizing the death penalty, it sets up a class of murder which it says is OK. In my opinion, it brings the act of taking someone's life closer to each of us. It's heartbreaking to see young men and woman talk about killing someone as if it's an everyday event. If we're to remain a civilized society, I think that message needs to be countered emphatically and soon. Ideally, parents would pass on that value to their children, with the government backing them up. As long there's a death penalty, I think kids are getting a mixed message at best.

In fairness, he snapped that shot before I'd had a chance to clip my back and curry my beard. No harm done, though, and Lucky's still #1 in my book.

I used to have a tattoo of a four-leaf clover that brought me luck for many years. With age came liver spots and spider veins which morphed it into a righteous bud of sativa and got me into Bob Marley concerts at half price. Good times.