caeron

Heathers is an awesome movie.

Define 'complicit' in this context. Goldman sold people what they wanted to buy at the prices that they were willing to pay. That they didn't think the market was rational and bet against it to cover themselves doesn't mean they did anything wrong by selling people what they wanted. It means that they were smarter than the people they were selling to. They had no obligation to act in their customers best interest. They were selling to investors who should have been sophisticated enough to understand and analyze the instrument they were buying. If they weren't that sophisticated, they shouldn't have bought. The greedy sheep were all chasing the yields of these instruments and then complained when the slaughter began. You can't legislate away stupidity and greed which were the real drivers behind all this.

I too used to be fascinated by this house. The idea of the intimacy with the water enthralled me. But after touring it, I became less fascinated. I still love the concept of the house, but it really didn't feel very liveable to me.

Thank you for this. I donated $250, hope others do as well. We live the lives we do because of the work he and his did.

I'm a marketing guy, so here's my free .02. Lots of people think that having the clever name, and that it has 'catchiness' is really important. It isn't. It helps, but the key thing in marketing is repetition. An average to crappy name or message that is frequently and consistently repeated is much better than a great name that isn't. So my advice is to leave it alone with the current name, and just keep getting your name out. Name changes are popular since they seem like the quick and easy fix, but as you've seen, usually you just end up losing the momentum you've already built.

You are arguing strawmen. No doubt it makes you feel good to thin we're all christian haters upset about sandwiches. I dislike them because they donated significant resources to the anti-gay marriage folks. WHich is what I said if you'd actually read what I wrote. I couldn't give a rat's ass about their belief in the imaginary man in the sky. I care when they give money to anti-gay rights groups.

That's your take, it isn't mine. I think the whole thing springs from hearing about their anti-gay marriage activism, and I imagine that most of us object to that rather than their giving to christian foster homes. I share the same antipathy towards the mormon church for its efforts on prop 8.

You did read the article you linked, right? "Over the years, the company’s operators, its WinShape Foundation and the Cathy family have given millions of dollars to a variety of causes and programs, including scholarships that require a pledge to follow Christian values, a string of Christian-based foster homes and groups working to defeat same-sex marriage initiatives." It's a lot more than just sandwiches for haters.

I stopped paying attention to the Academy after Brokeback lost to Crash.

Interesting. This reminds me of a friend I once had. He had _no_ social skills. He was a computer hacker that went to college at 15 I think. Brilliantly smart, socially crippled in many ways. He couldn't understand the social 'white lie' or the fact that everyone wasn't brutally truthful with everyone all the time. I always thought it was sort of a kneejerk response of his. "I can't cope with figuring out what is reasonable to say, so I'm going to decide that people who don't say everything are bad."

The news points out that the couple in question were in fact in a civil union the legal equivalent of marriage, so the "only to married couples" excuse is just a dodge.

That is sort of my view on his motives, but I hadn't heard him say it. I had read that when asked if there was anything he wouldn't release, he said no. If he acted with journalistic intentions, I could respect it. I don't believe he does.

I don't view, "because people are curious" as justification for the behavior. If there is legitimate wrong-doing, sure, but not just because if released it would be "news". From my reading of the articles on the cables, 99% of them had no useful public value. What this type of behavior does is just discourage documentation. Don't send a cable, call somebody and talk to them. No paper trail. I don't view this as helping government transparency. I view it as an Assange ego trip. His agenda is to become the news, not a legitimate journalistic desire to uncover wrong-doing.

I'm not a WikiLeaks fan because they've basically said they'll publish anything. Most of the cables released did nothing other than damage to discretion that diplomacy needs. Other releases are the same, they hurt without enlightening.

Well, there are plenty of christian cults as well, but to the extent you're pointing out that cults are worse, I accept that argument.

So what? If I made up a religion that Dorothy Parker was God's Chosen Voice on Earth, the fact that she existed doesn't make it any less stupid. It annoys me a bit that people laugh at the new made up religions while giving the old ones a pass. 2000 year old stupid isn't less stupid than 50 year old stupid. I'm all for the laughing. Just laugh at them all.

Scientology is no more crazy than believing the creator of the universe knocked up a jewish woman so he could come into the world, kill himself, and therefore forgive man. Or that the creator was whispering in the ear of some guy running around the Arabian desert. Or that the creator cares deeply about whether you eat shrimp or pork. Or.... It's religion. Pretty much by definition, it's ridiculous.

My dad who was a career officer called me with the news. He was so excited that the people he served so long with were finally going to do the right thing. I was very touched. I was offered a ROTC scholarship back in the day, but turned it down because I wasn't going to lie to serve my country.

I'd just smile at him and say, "You're a handsome young man. I'm sure you'll figure something out." and see how he responds.

This is a thread about _feeling_ old, not actually _being_ old!

I'm 47. I was at the physical therapist today who said my back pain is probably arthritis. I can completely relate :-(

By the time it got to my state it was a foregone conclusion, but I think she would have been a much better president than obama has turned out to be.

Of course. Because otherwise the lawyers would have to argue that calling him gay was a bad thing.

I think a token is worth a penny to the performer, but costs like 2 cents to buy....

I wish my healthcare wasn't tied to my employer.