The difference between Liberals, Conservatives, and Southerners...

[Woodog]

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On 1/9/2004 9:11:42 PM Marvel wrote:

Have you seen "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki? It really isn't a childrens film. I just wish Disney weren't taking so much credit for it.

Marvel

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This film was so poorly promoted here in Kentucky, it was lucky that I saw it at all. Amazingly deep and complex on many levels. The color scheme at times just took my breath away. The musical compositions behind it are amazing as well.

I recently purchased a copy of 'Inochi no Namae' by Joe Hisaishi and am going to learn it for a prelude at my church.

You are correct! Great anime. Recommended for everyone!

woo

[AndyKubicki]

Andy---Why do you persist in your error of saying the woman in the MacDonalds coffee case got $11,000,000? I already told you you had the facts wrong but you continue to trumpet lies.

The fact is the woman was awarded $160,000 compensation and $2.7 million punitive damages. The trial judge reduced the punitive award to $480,000, a far cry from the 11 million you keep crying about. You could have easily found this out yourself were you really interested.

OK Tom, I stand corrected. So for that amount I offer half of my lap for scorching...

I got that from Mark..it's his fault!

Well, you say the $11M Hot Coffee award is a "lottery" hit for the winners and the lawyers. I say, the $11M is PUNISHMENT for negligence, gross or otherwise.

[AndyKubicki]

Well enough wrangling. I'm gonna celebrate my birthday tonight with my pals up at the Harlem Ave. Lounge at Harlem and Ogden. It's Blues jam night and maybe I'll sit in and play a little drums or bass.

Come on and I'll buy you a drink, just look for the big guys that are laughin' and rollickin'.

Sorry I missed this Tom, happy belated B-Day! Correct my fading memory of Chi Town, I thought you lived on the North side. Isn't Ogden South?

Drums 'n' bass! That's how I hear almost all music. My wife, being a vocally oriented person will hear and hum or sing the melody or harmony line. Me...drums 'n' bass! (though not too much in 4/4 )

[TBrennan]

Thanks Andy. Nah, I never lived on the North Side. Yeah, Ogden is kinda the south part of the West Side, runs SW, at Harlem it's about 3500 south or so, Berwyn.

[AndyKubicki]

BTW, an example happening presently which can have an unpredictable outcome is the current strike of our local Von's and Albertson's employees (this is the equivalent of Dominicks or Jewel food stores). They are striking (I think in their 4th week now) over a hike in their medical plan. Now the company I work for has done this to us also, that is, they have given us a couple pay cuts in disguise. One is in the form of a limitation on how many uniform shirts and pants we can order yearly. The second is an increase in our health coverage cost for family members, while at the same time the ins co has raised some co pay amounts. Hmmmm.

As to the striking retail clerks, their union has made some mistakes. For one thing, employees were not given the chance to vote whether to strike or not. Another question is what will the strike get them? Someone will have to pay the higher costs of their pay increases, and that usually means the price of goods will go up. In the mean time, Walmart is lurking, opening stores all over the place, paying their employees $hit wages, but attracting a lot of customers with their lower prices. Today I heard that since no agreement was reached, the employees will now start loosing health care coverage. Now you say meanwhile, the management is living it up because they have tons of money to get by while the poor employees have no income, but lets look at the union's top people...it's no sweat off their backs either, is it?

Now perhaps there was some justification for the strike, I don't like the disguised pay cuts I got, and I smell a rat as far as that goes.

Society? Well, they may benefit from the lower prices Walmart has to offer for a while, but what do you suppose will happen, assuming Walmart takes over the market? I'm sure if there is no competition, Walmart, like any other business, will raise their prices. Then again, maybe enough people will realize they are getting better quality where they have been shopping all along and keep the more expensive stores in business. But they may still face lay offs and less hours. OTOH, if the union called the strike because management really could afford to pay more, then the union is justified. We'll see how this plays out.

[AndyKubicki]

Tom, where did you live when you went to St Thomas Aquinas? The West Side?

[3dzapper]

Andy,

Both employers and employees are caught in the squeeze by health care premiums. If your employer didn't raise your share by 50% in the last couple of years, you did actually "get a raise". These increased costs are despite the increased co-pays and prefered drug lists. IUp til I closed my business last year I provided health insurance for my employees and it was a constant struggle keeping up.After I closed I paid the premiums out of my own pocket for three months to give them time to find new jobs and insurance. Not all employers/conservatives are heartless.

Rick

http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml

[TBrennan]

Andy---I lived in Ressurection, then St. Catherine of Siena. When I was born we lived down at Jackson and Kedzie, I was baptized at Lady of Sorrows. Later we lived at Qunicy and Cicero and then at Austin and Adams. When the neighborhood turned I bought a house in the 'burbs.

Now I live in Lombard, nice 2 bedroom highrise apartment. I was gonna move back into the City but Daley is such a pig, rat bastard I don't think anybody with any self-respect can live in that city anymore.

[Marvel]

Some of the background art in Spirited Away look like Maxfield Parrish paintings. I didn't get to see it in the theater, only on dvd. There is one theater in Chattanooga that will run some lesser known films on a regular basis. A nice theater to, downtown in the "tourist" area.

My youngest son wants to move to Japan and study more of the trad cel art and work. He still has a lot of plans to work out before that will happen though.

C&S,

My wife and I still have a 16mm short that she did for a class in the early '70s. I found a place in Atlanta to transfer it to DV for me, but I think the cost was around $175. It is the closest place that won't use a regular telecine system. I would hate to see it get chewed up in a projector. I can't remember off the top of my head what they have, but the film handling is far gentler than projection type systems. It is only about 10 minutes long, so the price is pretty steep.

Film still is so cool. So is analog audio, but that gets expensive as well. You would almost think I'm a Luddite, but I love technology when it works.

Marvel

[TBrennan]

Very good Mark, you're Jesuitical.

That reminds me of when A Jesuit and a Dominican were arguing about which order God loved the best. After all their finely honed talents of logic and persausion failed they decided to put the issue to God Himself and prayed for a divine answer.

Suddenly a white dove descended from the clouds and dropped a scroll at their feet. Upon unrolling it they read this message---

"Stop all this silly squabbleing, I love all My orders equally.

God S.J."

[Marvel]

Mark,

People have given up many rights since 9/11. They do it when they are afraid. "Yes, these are special times. I will give up this right to be safe." But we aren't really safer.

Mandatory schooling: It won't cost you if you put your children into public school. Of course, we choose what to teach them. And we get them more than parents do, for 15 years or so.

Federal Income Tax. Never was ratified and put in place by Congress. Employers are forced to send a portion of your money off to the government, before you ever see it. They are forced to be the collection agency for the government or they are in trouble.

I think most people want the good life without the responsibilty. When we begin to take on that for ourselves we usually make better decisions. Not always for sure, but at least it's OUR fault.

We must have due process, but the process sometimes needs fixin'. Publicized bad outcomes are often a diversion.

I for one don't listen to the radio talk show hosts. Or tv talk show hosts.

I always thought that NPR was very liberal, left leaning in news coverage. But a recent study indicated that those the least in the know for what really is going on in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East are those who watch Fox News. The NPR listeners were getting more Truth than the other markets put out. The fact is, you certainly have to have more than one source to find out what is really going on in the worls.

Marvel

[coda]

At 150+dB per round, can anyone still hear quiet, polite whispers? Here's to good listening, and a free hearing test..

[Marvel]

Okay Tom,

How about this one:

Someone decides to ask about whether or not they should pray a novena to acquire a Mercedes. When they ask a Franciscan, the Franciscan says, "What's a Mercedes?" When the guy asks the Jesuit, the Jesuit says, "What's a Novena?"

Cheers,

Marvel

[boomac]

Medeneen said:

So, here's the grand paradox. Just about everyone here is universal in their desire to have their guns pried out of their cold dead hands. A "right" so precious they will die for it. The very same people, are quite willing, and in fact quite supportive of, freely giving up their right to due process

Paul Newman movie quotes everywhere and yes, there seems to be a failure to communicate here.

I think were suggesting that it might be time to study, review and perhaps implement strategies designed to help slow the cost of litigation, discourage frivolous law suits and protect against outrageous jury awards. Again, I cite what Governor Rendell has done in Pennsylvania. Its a start, and I cant understand any reasonable person not supporting it. (ya try the case where the alleged injury occurred so lawyers cant go treasure hunting) There is much more to talk about. If reasonable and intelligent people cant come up with equitable solutions that do not interfere with due process then we are in serious trouble.

Now yes, we love our right to bare arms but I dont personally know any gun lover, hunter or NRA member that believes we need the right to own bazookas, grenade launchers or 50 caliber machine guns. There are limits and reasonable human beings can figure that out. This applies to tort litigation.

You can say pretty much what you want in this country but ya cant yell fire in a crowded theater. There are and should be limits and its time to take a look at tort litigation. Study, recommend, discuss and improve. Thats it.

Now, one more thing. All this reference to Rush Limbaugh and talk radio about how it influences the right is a cheep shot. The talk radio guys provide information but to an extent, they are just talking about things people believe in. In the right corner we have Ole Rush and the talk radio boys. In the left corner we have most every college and university in the country, the Teachers Unions, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN the New York Times along with most other newspapers. (my college student daughter was offered extra credit in two classes if she marched in a protest against the war in Iraq). Our Ref for the event will be Brit Hume and the we report you decide Fox News Network.

Bet ya love that!

[TBrennan]

Marvel---Very good, LOL.

[boomac]

BTW, my daughter passed on the marching. She didn't need the extra credit.

How about this one:

Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful Doctors and lawyers and prospered.

Some years later, they chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the gifts that they were able to give to their elderly mother who lived far away in another city.

The first said, "I had a big house built for Mama."

The second said, "I had a hundred thousand dollar theater built in the house."

The third said, "I had my Mercedes dealer deliver her an SL600."

The fourth said, "Listen to this. You know how Mama loved reading the Bible and you know she can't read it anymore because she can't see very well. I met this priest who told me about a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty priests 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years to the church, but it was worth it. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it."

The other brothers were impressed.

After the holidays Mom sent out her Thank You notes.

She wrote:

"Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live in only

One room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway."

"Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home, I have my groceries

delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks."

"Michael, you give me an expensive theater with Dolby digital "Klipsch Driven" surround sound, it could

hold 50 people, but all my friends are dead, I've lost my hearing and I'm nearly blind. I'll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same."

"Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift.

The chicken was delicious. Thank you."

[Marvel]

Allan,

I just mentioned to my daughter that someone on the Klipsch Forums suggested a remake of a D.W. Griffith film with Drw Barrymore and Jackie Chan. She didn't even blink an eye but said "Oh, probably Broken Blossoms". Good pick.

Marvel

[MrMcGoo]

One poster claims that the income tax was never validly passed. Take a look at the 16th Amendment; it was ratified by the states in February, 1913 and Congress passed the first income tax March 1, 1913.

An income tax was passed during the Civil War and held constitutional. An income tax passes well after the Civil War and was held unconstitutional. Hence it was necesary to pass the 16th Amendment.

Without an income tax and a lot of other taxes, it would have been impossible to fight two world wars and a civil war. During WW II, the highest marginal tax rate was 91%. Enough history.

When someone says the income tax is not legal, it makes me chuckle at their ignorance. Folks that believe such misinformation frequently get themselves in very serious trouble.

Bill

[Marvel]

Dear MrMcGoo,

Thank you for the history lesson. I actually had to study U.S. history while in school. My father also taught U.S. history. There is no doublt that the the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution supports the income tax. However, there is much evidence that that amendment was never validly ratified.

I still pay those taxes, whether legal or not. The IRS wields far to much unrestrained authority for me to go against them.

Marvel

[boomac]

mdeneen:

And, that I, like you all, simply need to place more trust in the CEOs of Humana, GE, CitiBank, FoxNews, et al, to "do the right thing by me." I'm sure it will work out just fine. I'm done. I'm joining you all.

boomac:

And, that I, like you all, simply need to place more trust in the Association of trial lawyers, the Teamsters, the Teachers Unions, the New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, NPR et al, to "do & say the right thing by me." I'm sure it will work out just fine. I'm done. I'm joining you all.

You had me thinking till that last sentence. I believe you are one of those "my way or the highway guys" and that you always need to call a name or toss in a cheep jab. If we plan on pitting worse against worse we will surely be worse off. If we take the best each side has to offer, we have a chance.

For now, I think I'll stay independently leaning to the right; but even for an old lard a##, I'm still pretty light on my feet.