BagBoy

Agreed about the Baptists running the gamut (from my limited perspective here in suburban NC). I met some Mormons when I was doing some training in Pasadena in 1998, and they were really cool. One guy used to love to get drunk, but he gave it up once he figured out his dad wouldn't let him back into the house on those drinking nights. He said he got tired of waking up on the front porch with frost on him. He wasn't living with his parents anymore, but he'd still given up on the drinking thing, even though he had no regrets about it (other than the frost). He was a gun freak and hadn't heard of Reservoir Dogs, until I told him about it. I have no doubt he loves that movie even today (like me). There was also a complete video game junkie. He was sober and didn't care who was drinking. The other guy split a pitcher or two of beer with me at dinner before we all went to a Kings game. He had no intention of getting drunk, but he was fine having a few beers with me, or anyone else for that matter. All very likable guys. At the game, the guy drinking beer with me said something like 'tell me everything you've heard about Mormons'. I said something like 'you're not allowed to have sex until you're married, so once you're married the kids show up immediately, and you like money and work very hard.' He liked my answer. After the game we all went to In-N-Out Burger for the only time in my life. Good times, positive associations.

I'd like to think that this embarrassment will motivate him even more on the ice. It better.

^^ Fair enough. Nobody likes waste, and that stimulus was not executed very well, and I'm 100% for transparency to reveal any corruption, incompetency, or just a better way to make it effective in the future. If you consider yourself a member that doesn't change my positive opinion of you in any way. It's just that (IMO) the more dogmatic and uncompromising members make up the vast majority of the "voice" of the tea party. One other thing about waste. We have 1/3 of a billion people in the US. We are big, and some waste and incompetence will always be part of the equation. This is not a reason to abandon big national investments/spending if it makes sense. Our military is #1 in the world, but we still have soldiers dying due to accidents and mistakes. We don't throw in the towel when that happens. We try to learn how to do better in the future.

Oh, beyond a shadow of doubt. That's exactly what it is. The NC House and Senate are roughly 2/3rds GOP. The NC University system has always been regarded as pretty liberal by the right, so there's not much motivation for the GOP to prop it up. Jesse Helms (arch-conservative NC Senator 1972-2002) used to publicly refer to UNC Chapel Hill as The North Carolina Zoo. After all, why use state money for a social program when you can give it to the rich and corporations, and the downtrodden can then reap all the marvelous benefits of trickle-down economics? It's so incredibly short-sighted. I went to school with a bunch of people who simply would not be able to go to college today. If this continues for another 30 years, we may not have any more public universities, because the only people who will be able to afford to go to college will be going to private schools. This country's ability to thrive and lead the rest of world will be very diluted, but the 1% will still be happy. That's what so frustrating about the tea party mentality. It's all black and white and childishly simplistic. All spending (except military) is bad. It's bad because it hurts now. There is no regard for tomorrow. We're not going to fix that rusty bridge, because that costs money, and only socialists like to spend money. There is no comprehension that this is an investment, and that it will cost less to fix it now, and it will create jobs. People will die and sue the state/nation if the bridge falls down. Trade and productivity will be impacted. The Tappan Zee is a good example. For years now, there have been holes in the bridge where you can see down to the river. Yes, they are finally building a new one, but the only reason that happened was because of the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minnesota. The new TZB will be ready in 2018 (which probably means 2022). What happens if the current one collapses or becomes too unsafe to use? Can you imagine the adverse economic impact of not having that crossing?

This might come off a bit clumsy, but bear with me. I’m 50 and here’s how it was for me when I was at UNC Chapel Hill. In 1985 my (in-state) tuition per semester was around $200. Most semesters, the books cost more than that. Factoring in inflation, the dorm and cafeteria plan I had back then are still in line with today’s costs. In-state tuition, on the other hand, is roughly $5000 per semester now. http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm Based on this inflation calculator, $200 in 1985 only gets us to $446 today. So my question is – ‘that extra $4554 per semester (in this example) that tuition has grown after inflation – how do we justify that? We can’t. That money is not being diverted to the needy or healthcare or even to the infrastructure. It’s going to the enfranchised under the guise of reducing “wasteful spending”. This is nothing unique to NC.

and money.

Canucks fans boo their GM for NOT trading Miller http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25238250/canucks-fans-boo-gm-jim-benning-for-not-trading-ryan-miller

I'm going with Larry Robinson.

Of all the cities that don't have an NHL team, Milwaukee is easily at the top of the list for most deserving. It's somewhat of a travesty that they don't already have one IMO. Wisconsin is a state with a fantastic hockey culture and Milwaukee is a big enough city to support a team there through thick and thin. And yet we still hear next to nothing about them ever being in the mix. I hope you are right that these days are ending (although I don't think Sabres fans should be in favor of a 2nd Toronto team). But when the NHL is proposing putting a team in another team's backyard, can't the existing team veto the idea singlehandedly?

My understanding about a team in Milwaukee is that the Hawks won't allow it, just like the Leafs won't allow Hamilton or Markham.

I have family in Canada and spend about a month a year up there. If you go to a pharmacy up there and ask for a pseudoephedrine product over the counter, you will literally see the expression on their face change as you ask, and you will know that they are 100% sure you make meth, and they can't let you have it without a prescription. On the other hand, if you ask for codeine over the counter, they will serve you with a smile and not a question asked. I bruised my ribs pretty badly up there once and thank god it happened up there, because that would have been BRUTAL with no codeine. Just for the record, over the counter they will sell you aspirin with codeine in it. I would imagine straight codeine pills (if there is such a thing) would require a prescription.

It's funny. Just a few years ago it was at Niagara U - capacity ~2000. I thought is was so great that it ended up being SRO.

I don't think we're being pessimistic. It's an unprecedented type of contract and we're just trying to wrap our brains around the ramifications of it.

Yikes! Why do they even bother?

The Bulgarian women would probably beat the Japanese men!

Nice One!

Well it should be no wonder that people defending the Confederate flag don't look so smart these days. It's a stupid flag. It's a lie. It has 13 stars. There were only 11 Confederate states. They counted Missouri and Kentucky, even though neither of those states ever seceded. In fact, when the Southern troops entered Kentucky, Kentucky immediately signed up to fight with the Union. Perhaps it's fitting that the flag of the traitorous should be so disingenuous.

I would certainly mind if I was a Nordique fan. That would be brutal. If the NHL actually does something sane for a change and puts a team back in Quebec City, then they absolutely, positively MUST be in our division with the Habs, Sens, Leafs, etc. This means you have to boot either Columbus or Detroit to the west. We all know Detroit has more pull than Columbus, so Detroit would stay in the east, but they would have to move to the other division.

relax and click on the link

I don't ever want to see Kessel as a Sabre. He's a fat, lazy prima donna moron with a bad attitude, no concept of team, and no real drive. I agree with Thorny that his demise will be sooner than later, because he doesn't care. I'm happier than a pig in poop that he's in Toronto and I hope he stays there forever.

I don't feel tortured. I'm not a Leafs fan.

I don't disagree that many Americans use this 'least homogenous democracy on earth' excuse for racism in the US. The truth is that we haven't been the least homogenous democracy on earth for decades. Canada is far more diverse than the US. If you're white and live in Toronto, you are a minority, just like everybody else. The only major city in the US that I know of where whites are a minority is Wash. DC, although there may be a few more with high Hispanic numbers. Sure Toronto is an urban area, but I visit family in St. Catharines every year. St. Catharines is a good sized town, but it can't be considered urban in any way. The tallest building is Brock University and it's only 10 stories or so and it's not even in downtown. Even the diversity in St. Catharines is off the charts compared to most places in the US. In the course of a simple dog walk it's not uncommon to hear English and Scottish accents, see 1st generation Canadians from all over Asia (and lots of them), and see black people and Native Americans. In spite of all this, racism in Canada is almost negligible compared to in the US. We are no doubt becoming more diverse here in the US, but we are doing it at a far slower rate than the civilized world is. And we all know that the reason for this is our dysfunctional immigration policies. As you so aptly pointed out, our alleged lack of homogeneity is a poor excuse for explaining the level of racism in the US. Our level of racism here is mostly due to the fact that for those 25 generations people here have gotten away with propagating racism.

Zemgus

I flipped to CNN while he was making this announcement, and even though I can't stand the guy, I couldn't turn the channel. He called the US is a country of losers, had scathingly uncivil criticism for Jeb Bush, Mexico is "beating" us, and he's worth 8.7 billion dollars and proud of it. The level of megalomania this guy exhibits is completely off the charts. And jeepers creepers, the hair! I didn't think it was possible for it to get any worse, but I was wrong. Oh yeah, CNN had someone on who said she saw the Trump's notes for today's speech. She said his actual speech didn't touch on any of the stuff in the notes. He essentially just threw out this prepared speech and winged the whole thing off the cuff. Well be sure to watch Jon Stewart tonight. He's gonna have a field day tonight with this! I was actually thinking to myself while watching Trump today that The Daily Show tonight is gonna be a ton of fun.

Just throwing this out there - what about Memphis? It's the 20th largest city in the US. They have a viable rink (on Beale Street no less). They would be natural rivals with St. Louis, and especially Nashville. Attendance for the NBA team there is 95.6%.