Conesmasher

I would probablly read it, to get a better feel of where he is.....but don't get caught. Oh and screw the whole privacy thing.......if the opportunity falls in your lap that's one thing. If your key-logging all of his computer access, that's something else. Just don't get caught.

For once in my life, I'm glad I don't get TW.

http://www.thisnext.com/media/230x230/Charlie-Brown-pathetic_269817DF.jpg

Those are my fears exactly. I would rather play a game against USC and win, than go the NC game and lose. I would just like to win......don't care which game

Just left Kohls a little bit ago. It's not "packed", but the line is longer than the line at Best Buy at 6am....

http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/2355/ NOT WORK SAFE.......... ....explain???

The fumble play, should have been reviewed. OSU didn't play to their potential. Illinois did. The theme throughout the year has been "never satisfied"......now their pissed off.....lookout Michigan, we've got something to prove.

Well, I quit around 1 year and 5 months ago, and I smoke from the age of 14 to 24. I believe in the cold turkey method, because that's how I did it and it works well. There is one other mind of thought to it, that I discovered somewhere here: http://whyquit.com/ It's a no frill website that give you loads of information. It made a great comparison to drug addicts and smokers. Prefaced with the thought that smokes are as addicting if not more than a heroin habit. When someone is addicted to Heroin, they don't try to ge off of it by cutting down on their daily doses....they quit/go into rehab. Don't toture yourself by cutting down, because anything worth doing is worth doing all the way. Just as alcoholics can't have "just a couple", smokers cannot do the same. It's really in your head 100%. And YOU have to decide that you've had it, you are tired of smoking, and that you are 100% ready to quit. If your not sure........don't do it. Don't waste your time, because smoking is a choice. But the triggers are THE hardest thing to get over. Not smoking in the car SUCKS, not smoking on break SUCKS, no smoking after a meal SUCKS.........quitting overall SUCKS for about the first two days. The 30-60 second intense cravings felt like hours. But I remember the first day I woke up and forgot that I used to smoke.......I was amazed that after a couple of weeks, it wasn't a battle anymore. Sure I would have loved to have one, but I CHOSE to quit, bottom line. On top of this, my wife still smokes to this day. She even smoked inside at our previous address.......so I was still constantly around them on a daily basis. But I decided to quit, I didn't want it anymore.....she still smokes to this day and I have no desire to mess up all that I've worked for. I thought of three things that made me quit: my health, my finances, and my future children. Quitting smoking also made my life simpler....and I didn't expect that. I never have to worry about where my smokes are, or if I have a lighter around. It's just one less thing I have to forget. If your ready to do it, don't wait, just do it.....because if you want to quit.....you will.

The answer was right under my nose.....

I never said such a thing infering as to "what you do" and "what you do not do"....so please don't take it out of context. Now unless you work for the government, then chances are you haven't done anything for them. The government doesn't benefit from anything besides levying taxes. I'm just taking your statements literally. I'm just getting a vibe from you saying, "I already do enough for them!"

By far the MOST selfish statement I have heard this week. What about everything we've done......well here's your tissue back, seems like you may need it more. Besides pay taxes, what more can you do for "our" government? We've just got to raise our kids with respect and a good set of values. Beyond that, if you can give back...just fucking do it. If not, then pay extra taxes, the government will take care of them.

The anger in which many of you seem to carry is quite intimidating. While I understand that many of us may have had personally bad experiences with, the jewish, blacks, whites, mexicans, asians or any other racial gender...it doesn't mean that we have to turn it into this HUGE deal. It all comes back to ignorance.....and the bottom line is you can't fight ignorance with ignorance, you must combat it with kindness. I think that everyone should honestly volunteer some time into these poorer communities. These people need to know that they are not forgotten and that they too, have the opportunity to succeed. I sometimes think that enough of us.......just don't give enough back to the communities that we take from. We keep asking, why don't they just get it.......why don't they just get it.......why don't they do it our way....why aren't we out there trying to make a difference??? Sure many of us donate money.......but if each and everyone of us can touch one life, just one, it would be priceless.

Classic

I was trying to think of who blows hard Nextel or Sprint, when I remembered that they share the same "member". I have had Verizon and Nextel........and I wish I never left Verizon, coverage is far superior and any time I want to upgrade/change my phone, I don't have to pay out the wazoo.

I always mistake them for birds

I've been seeing TONS of them in this area, I mean tons and I'm in the "taint" area of Westerville/Gahanna/Columbus.

Maybe your area has a high propensity to a loss, or perhaps your credit characteristics aren't favorable? It's much more than merely, the price of your house. Filed any claims lately?

Ok, I'm pleading 100% ignorance and just plain stupidity. But what are XML and RSS feeds? I don't understand what they mean and I don't understand how I could use them? Can anyone help clarify?

The rankings only count one time and that's in December

I think that the US dollar and the Euro are the measure that gold and silver are judged by. If the dollar goes in the toilet, we won't be trading gold coins.

Tax burdens around the world http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Taxes/P148855.asp I found this AMAZING.

The strength of the dollar is backed by the faith of the American people and those who hold American currency. Gold-backed currency is senseless.....because all gold is, is another medium of exchange. There just isn't a more stable form of currency in the world, period. Gold doesn't have value, it just has percieved value.........similar to the dollar. Reinstating the gold standard would throw the world into a crisis, plain and simple. It would halt everything so fast, the world might stop spinning. Money could not be loan anymore.........so no more cars, student loans, mortgages, small biz loans, etc. And someone said earlier that the monopoly dollar is the same as the US dollar........well, that's the truth, it's just a piece of paper that is rare........and wether your playing a game or living life supply and demand must intersect at some point. We have percieved wealth, as do most of the developed nations in the world, but our wealth is also in demand, which makes it better. Currency is nothing but a game, a large game albeit, but it's all based on supply and demand. Now while there are LARGE issues around the world, the gold standard and the dollar probably don't even garner a top 5 vote. I'd have to say that the Chinese devaluation of the Yuan is a much larger concern, as they have a problem with their respective "trade surplus" and we sit here with the "trade deficit". Typical communistic way believe that you can control a currency simply by political policy.....when in truth, the consequences always exist, they're just delayed. China's devalued currency is what has made so many Americans lose their jobs, the average person doesn't understand. I truly believe in a free market system, but in a free market there can't be any "pretenders", such as the policy makers in China. You can't have a free system, while someone out there is still regulating their respective float. If there is ever a "bond rush" for all of our debt, I would almost guarantee that we won't pay them............we'd tell them to keep waiting and the line is closed, just like we did with the gold rush. What are they going to do?.........bomb us?.......good luck getting your money then!

I love this topic and thank you for bringing it to my attention. Here is a paper I wrote about 2 years ago, explaining what happened with Nixon and the gold standard. It's amazing how 30 years will allow people to forget the problems of yesterday, ie inflation and unemployment. On August 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon made an announcement to the world that would forever change the way that monetary policy would operate. The gold window of the United States was closed. Residents of foreign nations would no longer have the ability to convert a fixed amount of U.S. dollars into gold. President Nixon was attempting to fix the international monetary crisis that was occurring year after year. By eliminating the gold standard, Nixon hoped to put an end to the monetary speculation associated with the gold standard. The Vietnam War was ending and Nixon was very focused on growing America’s economy. Nixon was also very focused on attempting to minimize inflation on the U.S. dollar. The years following the repeal of the gold standard proved to be a stepping-stone into a more stable monetary policy. Inflation has been stabilized and the U.S. economy has gone through one of its greatest expansions. The revision of this monetary policy has increased the level by which the U.S. can increase its monetary supply, fueling growth for the future. President Nixon’s main concern with the gold standard was the monetary speculation that was occurring in the international monetary community. In the seven years prior to 1971, there had been around one monetary crisis per year. These crises were shaking the stability that the American dollar had established in prior years. The largest fear was a gold rush. This was not a typical gold rush, by which gold is discovered, it is a gold rush by which holders of American securities or American dollars would demand their payments in gold. The mere speculation of this rush had inspired money speculators that the United States would not be able to redeem their currency for gold based on the standards set at the Bretton Woods agreement. Growth of the economy was also on the president’s mind. United States armed forces were returning to the workforce after the Vietnam War and many of them were finding it troublesome to secure a place of employment. With the gold standard in place, the United States had a limited supply of dollars within the economy. The limited supply of money also limits the amount of jobs available to the American worker, thereby not allowing an economy to achieve full employment. The gold standard monetary policy has a history of high unemployment. With the repeal of the gold standard, Nixon hoped to achieve lower unemployment throughout the economy. In the years following the repeal of the gold standard, the unemployment rate has decreased dramatically. This decrease in unemployment has led to large economic expansions and the resumption of prosperity in America. The gold standard was a major hindrance to the domestic monetary policy. By limiting the amount of money that was able to flow through the economy, the creation of money was pegged to the founding of gold. Therefore, the only item that could truly inflate the price of the dollar would be the discovery of gold. When there was more gold available to the United States, there would be more currency allowed to flow into the system. President Nixon was strongly opposed to this system as it limited the amount of credit that could be given to the government, business, and the American public. With the repeal of the gold standard, the American government could appoint someone to take control of the domestic monetary issues. Credit creation is a large factor in the growth of the U.S. economy since the demise of the gold standard in 1971. While credit creation can be a problematic factor for few, overall the benefit has been extraordinary. Inflation of the U.S. dollar had long been on the minds of the U.S. citizens. President Nixon was hoping to minimize those fears based upon the new standards of the monetary system. While the inflation during the implementation of the “classic gold standard” was nearly non-existent, the inflation during the Bretton Woods gold standard had been more than what was intended. The intention of President Nixon was to allow the Federal Reserve attempt to control the rate of inflation. During the years following the implementation of this new monetary system, the rate of inflation rose to extraordinary heights. In the early 1980’s, the inflation of the U.S. dollar finally achieved a reasonable rate. The new monetary system began to operate efficiently and confidence resumed in the U.S. dollar. Under the gold standard, the short-term stability of the U.S. dollar was compromised. The value of the dollar was highly affected by gold and capital inflows and outflows. Under the gold standard monetary shocks and real-world economic shocks, greatly affected the monetary system in one country, which then resulted in a domino effect in other countries. The international monetary community rested upon the back of the U.S. dollar and the British pound. If one of these economies happened to suffer a severe economic blow, the rest of the world would have been highly affected. The transition from the gold standard to the float has brought nothing but reality to the U.S. dollar and other major worldwide currencies. Instead of having to devalue the dollar and maintain the balance of payments through gold, the float system allows the dollar to change value based upon its real value and not the value of the speculators. The dollar changes in real time in relation to the other currencies of the world. While this method of monetary policy resulted in strong inflation in the years that followed the repeal of the gold standard, this change has leveled off and monetary stability has remained largely. The instability of the dollar in the years that followed was a result of the dollar needing to be devalued to its realistic level. Since the early eighties, the dollar has remained the strong currency of the world and has not been subject to the great shocks that occurred while on the gold standard. The change from the gold standard has had a definite positive impact on the U.S. dollar as well as the world’s currencies. Credit creation has become a basis for growth and revitalizes a very popular business saying, “It takes money, to make money.” Monetary speculation may have not come to a complete halt, but it has decreased dramatically. The value of the U.S. dollar is always known based upon the value of its float in comparison with other countries. Inflation has finally come into check and has not seen any dramatic increases or decreases since the end of the 1970’s. The U.S. dollar has remained one of the most stable currencies in current time. The repeal of the Bretton Woods agreement has allowed the world’s currencies and economies to become more efficient and more effective, while allowing the dollar to remain the backbone of the world.

This first video is INSANE. I don't believe that the middle class is suffering, I don't believe it for one bit. All I hear is a bunch of whiney people saying they can't afford stuff. Our parent's (excuse me for paraphrasing) have raised(alot) of us with this feeling of entitlement.......as if we deserve more than they had......when really, we don't. I don't see the middle class suffering, I see the lower class pretenders wanting to know why they are slipping away.

Thorne, I saw your car at "the depot" on Sunday. It's too bad Ron Paul isn't mainstream. I think he's the right guy at the wrong time, I just don't know if he's too late or too early. I just think that he's too much. Did anyone else think that Thompson was just plain horrible tonight??? I kept wanting to like him, but I felt like I was listening to a stumbling drunk trying to make a point. Giuliani just doesn't light my fire. I really think I'm a Romney man.......but there is where we have something in common Thorne. No one is going to vote for "the Mormon"........just like no one is going to vote for Ron Paul. Damn it pisses me off that I'm going to have to go to the voting polls and make a selection between "bad" and "less worse". We're going to hell in the greatest damn nation in the world!!! God bless America