TrueBeaver

If you acknowledge that they aren't the same why would you connect them? Additionally, I haven't made one comment about whether or not gay marriage should be legal. My objection was your analogy. In fact, I acknowledged there's an argument for gay rights in the post you quoted. However, if you want to play these straw man games: gays have the same rights as anyone else. Gay males have just as much a right to marry a female as straight males do and straight males and gay males alike can not marry other males. I feel indecent just typing that out, but it's the same fallacy you're making.

Wait... what? This thread sounds pretty interesting... [/hide] It was. Unfortunately it's definitely deleted. I looked for a pdf of the thread but haven't been able to find anything. Here's an example of one of the videos, however it's a trolling video so isn't really germane to this topic.

Congrats, impressive victory. Glad to see recent events haven't kept you down, Gladz.

I was going to link you to Malodrax's famous (infamous?) thread on his social anxiety, but it seems to have been deleted. Cliffs: He was tired of being a loner and being afraid to talk to other people (specifically girls) so he resolved to talk to strangers. He bought a button-cam and recorded his encounters with strangers then posted them so other Miscers could give him advice. He did both serious conversations as if he was trying to get the girls' numbers and trolling conversations where he was really just providing lulz. Now, Malodrax is/was bat[cabbage] insane and by no means do I encourage you to start peeing in bottles or make a homemade sex doll but I'd encourage you to do something similar if you're serious about this. You don't have to record and upload them but just talk to strangers, analyze what went wrong afterwards, and ask for advice. The only way to get good at conversating is to practice it and the best way to practice it is with strangers. Who cares if they think you're weird or some creep, you're probably never going to see them again.

I seem to have a significantly different taste than most people in this thread, in that I prefer nonfiction and don't really care for fantasy, science fiction, or classics. There's no way I can choose just one, but some of my favorite books are: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - prefer it to 1984 and I feel it's more relevant. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - made the mistake of reading this during the school year; I slept through several classes because I was up all night reading it. Riveting book. For those of you who don't know, Krakauer was a hiker-turned-writer who was summiting Everest for an article in an outdoors magazine and [cabbage] hit the fan. Great read. [wagon] Finish First by Tucker Max - absolutely hilarious. I read all 400+ pages in under 24 hours, which is unusual for me. It's about drunken debauchery. Decision Points by George W. Bush - although I don't agree with everything he did as president it was really interesting to read how he defends his positions. Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski - interesting book for anyone who likes soccer. It's written by two economists, one British and one French, who analyze the sport from an economic point of view to try to explain why certain teams win, why certain teams lose, why countries want to host World Cups, which nation has the biggest soccer fans, etc. The Big Scrum by John J. Miller - It's about how Teddy Roosevelt saved football from being banned in its early days, but so much more. It gives a brief biography of the major players: chiefly Roosevelt and Walter Camp, but there are others, and a history of the game; why became so violent that dozens of young men were dying on the fields every year and thousands more were willing to take that risk. Good book but I put it a bit below the books above.

2008 USA election results by county I don't think there is any doubt that Obama had a sweeping victory, despite that map. The fallacy is, of course, that urban voters often vote differently from rural voters and that is not represented in a strictly land area map. Judging from strictly the posts on this thread and discussions with some Brits I know in IRC, I think the Yes on AV vote has the more persuasive case. Just one man's opinion who has no horse in this race.

Well, that's kind of my point. There is no correlating extreme on the gay side. When gay people have a march to voice their opinion the worst that happens is some bigots heckle them. They don't get hosed down in the street or beaten by authorities. If that's oppression then by the same standard we're oppressing the military since bigots heckle them at funerals and speeches. You can make a case for gay rights without connecting it to a straw man. When you do that I see it as insulting to the people who went through all that real oppression and especially to those who died fighting it. Like when Pelosi mimicked Civil Rights leaders on her way to the health care vote. There's no reason to connect the two things except for the cheap tactic of demonizing your opponents as anti-Civil Rights Act even though it's completely unrelated.

Ah, alright I think I understand what you mean now. I don't see any reason our current system should be altered. The only scenario to come up since the Constitution was ratified that I view as seriously constitutionally questionable was the concept of judicial review. On second thought, maybe I don't understand what you're saying. Could you give an example? I just don't see why the Constitution should be altered due to the internet, computers, phones, cell phones, e-mail, cars, radio, nukes, machine guns, planes, helicopters, movies, tv, video games, space flight, DNA, High-speed rail, etc. Our system of government has worked fairly well for two hundred-some odd years and has proven flexible enough to change with the times while remaining rigid enough to not be exposed to the prevailing political wind at any given time. The only modern issue I'd like to see added via an amendment would be a Balanced Budget Amendment.

My best friend has a bad stutter. We give him [cabbage] for it sometimes but it's not a big deal. If people say they don't notice yours I wouldn't even worry about it.

Love when people compare gay marriage to slavery. Gives me a good laugh every time. I'm comparing the opression of blacks to the opression of gays. Slavery too much? Fine, then how bout I compare it to telling the black people to ride in the back of the bus? Is that civil opression close enough for you? Love when people say "Love when..." sarcastically because they can't address the actual issue. Oppression of gays - not allowing this: Oppression of blacks: If you equate those two things you're either a troll or incapable of a reasonable discussion. Either way I see no reason to waste my time addressing any issue.

Love when people compare gay marriage to slavery. Gives me a good laugh every time. He may not have to if public opinion stays similar through next November. 21 Democrats, 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats, and only 10 Republicans are up for election in the Senate. A lot of them may already be fired.

Awhile back Palin said she would only run if there were no other 'good' candidates (candidates she agrees with, I suppose) or something along those lines. Plus, many candidates haven't filed to run yet. Trump is waiting until at least June because he has a television show and as soon as he becomes a candidate NBC can't run it. Gingrich, Huckabee, and Bolton (among others) are all Fox News contributors and by not announcing their official candidacy can travel around and de facto campaign on Fox News's dime. However, Gingrich and Romney are supposed to officially announce their candidacies soon. So there's still time for Palin to run. Ron Paul is in many ways a radical. He's called for a 50% cut in the federal budget, including the deletion of the Department of Homeland Security and the Fed. He routinely votes against things like raising the deficit ceiling, war spending bills, etc. On social issues he wants to leave them mainly to the states. He would have no federal laws on gay marriage, drugs, or prostitution and let the individual states decide what to do with them. He's a non-interventionist, meaning he doesn't think we should send our troops off to foreign countries to fight. He wants to eliminate all or nearly all foreign aid. He's really the origin of the Tea Party movement. If you're interested you can find his stances on issues on this fan site. I agree with Ron Paul on a lot of things, abolishing the Fed, decentralization of power, etc, but to be honest I'm kind of scared he's serious in what he says and will follow through as president. Also, I disagree with his foreign policy to some degree. Also, I disagree with the notion that only a moderate has a chance at beating Obama. Obama crushed a moderate in the 2008 election and after two years of governing from the left he's done pretty well to 'triangulate' a la Clinton. Obviously a far-right candidate would alienate centrists but a solid conservative with a good economic plan has the best shot in my mind to take out Obama. If unemployment doesn't drop in the next year, voters are going to peel away from Obama and toward a Republican alternative. Further, a sizable amount of the young and black votes will probably stay home after the novelty of Obama wears off, especially if they feel he's disingenuous after all the broken campaign promises we are sure to hear a lot about in the coming months. 2012 is a long way off, but I think Obama is certainly beatable - by a Tea Party candidate or not.

Strong agreement with most of your post. Trump wants to put a 25% tariff on Chinese imports if they keep playing funny with their currency; can't support that. I want him to run simply for the fact that he's hilarious. Romney is way too moderate for my tastes. If he wins the nomination (seems likely to me) we'll have a repeat of 2008 and Obama will win a second term. Gingrich has way too much baggage as you said. I think he's pretty solid on the issues but he's been inside the beltway for too long and seems like an insider, at least to me. I'd rather have a Cain who has never held elected office, or even Santorum who's been out of politics for 4 years. I'd also like our nominee to be a former governor or similar executive experience. I'd love to see Mitch Daniels run. He messed up when he called for a truce on social issues, but his intentions were good. I like Pawlenty but he seems like he's trying too hard. Huckabee seems too 'soft' to make an effective president to me. I can't see him staring down President Asif Ali Zardari accross the negotiation table and holding his own. Allen West would be a great addition to any ticket. His principles are sound and his military experience would make him valuable on foreign policy. A few others I'd like to see are: Bobby Jindal (governor of Louisiana) - I'm really surprised he hasn't announced his candidacy. He seemed to be positioning for a run earlier this year. He has been an effective governor with strong principles. John Bolton (former UN Ambassador, Fox News contributor, among other things) - I wouldn't like to see him take the nomination, but he's probably my favorite VP nominee. His foreign policy views are solid and no-nonsense. I don't think he could beat Obama in a presidential race because domestic issues will dominate the election but he would tear apart Biden in the VP debates and if we nominate someone who's solid on the economy we'd be golden. Jeb Bush (former governor of Florida) - My man. If he ran he would immediately have my vote. He influence in Florida politics is similar to Reagan's in national Republican politics. He completely turned around our education system, cut taxes, and got support from the Latino vote (he's lived in Mexico, married a Mexican, and speaks fluent Spanish). Obama would likely carry California and New York, but Bush would carry Texas and Florida without a challenge, giving Obama a run for his money. The obvious detriment is that he's the brother of George W. Bush, but after a successful book tour and some rose-tinted glasses Dubya is making a rebound in the polls. Jeb's also very different from his brother and was considered the more likely future president when they were both governors. He doesn't seem to be looking at running, but I can hold out hope. A Bush/Bolton ticket would make me cream my pants. In fact, be right back. Complete the dynasty - Jeb Bush 2012.

The first debate of the 2012 presidential election cycle was tonight, although without many of the big names leading most of the polls. Participants were Ron Paul, congressman from Texas, Herman Cain, former Kansas City Fed chair and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, Rick Santorum, former Congressman and Senator from Pennsylvania, and Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico. The debate was held in South Carolina and as such included a lot of social questions, despite fiscal issues being at the forefront of the campaign. Personally, I thought Herman Cain "won" the debate from a nationwide perspective. Entering the debate with the lowest profile of any of the participants he answered very confidently and concisely, a refreshing change from most politicians who dance around issues. Rick Santorum probably did the best for himself in South Carolina. He's been at the forefront of conservative social issues for much of the past two decades and wasn't shy about saying that. With social issues a big deal in the Bible Belt, his strong record and answers tonight will probably give him a big boost in the South Carolina polls. Considering no Republican has ever won the nomination without winning the South Carolina primary that could be huge for Rick Santorum, who also reminded everyone that he's beaten three high-profile Democratic incumbents during his political career. The two libertarians, Ron Paul and Gary Johnson, turned some heads for their answers regarding gay marriage, drug legalization, and abortion which probably won't help them in South Carolina, but is consistent with their records. Tim Pawlenty came in as a rising star, someone who governed a primarily Democratic state fairly successfully for two terms, and made it out without helping himself out too much but also not hurting himself. He still seems kind of robotic, as if he's trying to remember all the coaching he's receiving for the campaign. I think he'd do better to look more at ease and be himself like Herman Cain did. Overall, nothing too big happened. I wish some of the higher profile candidates had been there, especially Donald Trump. That would have been some television. Who would you like to see win the Republican primary? Who do you think will win? Who has the best/worst chance to defeat Obama in a general election? Will Ron Paul finally emerge from the fringes after all these years?

America Defense Budget by title Components - Funding - Change, 2009 to 2010 Operations and maintenance - $283.3 billion - +4.2% Military Personnel - $154.2 billion - +5.0% Procurement - $140.1 billion - −1.8% Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation - $79.1 billion - +1.3% Military Construction - $23.9 billion - +19.0% Family Housing - $3.1 billion - −20.2% Operations and Maintenance is virtually untouchable in wartime, you could close down bases and sell them but that is a process that takes much longer than you would think. Military Personnel is virtually untouchable any time. That leaves $246.2 billion of a $683.7 billion budget. Good luck slashing procurement during wartime, maybe a 15% cut if you had a sympathetic Congress and president. Military Construction and Family Housing is bad enough, no point in cutting that any more, except in specific circumstances ($100 million embassy in Iraq) that would add up to a negligible amount. Which leaves R&D, the easiest place to cut. However, some people have estimated that for every $1 we spend in R&D our GDP grows by $7 due to innovation (couldn't find source, it's been awhile). Even if you cut R&D by 50% (a devastating cut that would never pass) and procurement by 15% along with a 5% across the board cut for the rest, that's only a $83.8 billion cut - just over 12%. And there is no way a cut that large would happen. So it's easy to say "Cut 90% of the budget" but a lot harder when you have to pick out where those cuts come from and consider how feasible (or in this case, infeasible) they are politically. I've spent my entire life in a military family and believe me there are places to cut (they're consolidating bases in Germany as we speak) but in the end the cuts would be so negligible they wouldn't make much of a difference. When we're as far in debt as we are right now every dollar counts, though, and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a 10% across the board budget cut for every department. (Not to mention the removal of some departments, but I digress)

Stop. Long ago I realized feeling sorry for myself didn't help anything and was pointless. If it's something I can control (ie grades I guess? don't really know a good example) I'd fix it. If it's something I can't (ie girlfriend breaking up with me, parents divorce) I have a few drinks and get over it. (srs)

Well to start with, they were incredibly well-read people. They had studied ancient civilizations and took the good aspects while fixing the bad. They were well-versed in Bacon, Hobbes, Newton, Locke, and many other political thinkers. They also had the benefit of seeing first-hand a tyrannical government and then a overly decentralized government (under the Articles of Confederation) and were able to incorporate aspects accordingly. None of those things you listed pertain to governmental systems. They pertain to governmental policy. If we were to rewrite the constitution now do you think we'd include clauses like "The rights of the citizens to keep and own televisions shall not be infringed."? The Constitution is not like the USC, it outlines the boundaries of the federal government, specifies what it can and cannot do. It's a document of mainly negative liberties, whereas the USC is mainly positive liberties and pertains to the things you mentioned. Edit: And no, I don't think the USC is always right, and that it applies to all situations.

Hey Pad00dles, RBH has a couple 90s in our clan but not too many. However, we were all there at one point or another (some of us multiple times) so we can help you train up or achieve your goals in scape. We have lots of events, 4+ a week, although they aren't all mandatory so don't worry if you can't make them. If you're interested PM me on here, /query TrueBeaver on SwiftIRC, or find me in #rbh. Thanks! To see our full recruitment topic please go to http://forum.tip.it/topic/287165-red-blade-hunters-90-great-wars-active-awesome-community/ We look forward to meeting you! Please feel free to drop by our IRC channel (#rbh) and chat. You can also check out our boards at http://www.rs-rbh.com.

Rather than typing up the exact same things every other clan on here has already posted, I invite you to join us in our IRC channel #rbh on SwiftIRC. Hang out with us a for a day or two before making your decision, I'm confident that you'll make the right choice if you do. To see our full recruitment topic please go to http://forum.tip.it/topic/287165-red-blade-hunters-90-great-wars-active-awesome-community/ We look forward to meeting you! Please feel free to drop by our IRC channel (#rbh) and chat. You can also check out our boards at http://www.rs-rbh.com.

Hey Josh, RBH is mainly CWA-based although we go PKing frequently. I have a feeling you'll fit great in our community as well. PM me on here, /query TrueBeaver on SwiftIRC, or find me in #rbh if you have any questions. To see our full recruitment topic please go to http://forum.tip.it/topic/287165-red-blade-hunters-90-great-wars-active-awesome-community/ We look forward to meeting you! Please feel free to drop by our IRC channel (#rbh) and chat. You can also check out our boards at http://www.rs-rbh.com.

Our capes have squirrels. /thread If you're interested, PM me on here, /query TrueBeaver on SwiftIRC, or find me in #rbh. To see our full recruitment topic please go to http://forum.tip.it/topic/287165-red-blade-hunters-90-great-wars-active-awesome-community/ We look forward to meeting you! Please feel free to drop by our IRC channel (#rbh) and chat. You can also check out our boards at http://www.rs-rbh.com.

Wow, scrolling down the topic all I saw was tl;dr. Hey Amy, I've been playing just about as long as you with the same sporadicness. In fact I know a lot of people like that, which is why RBH is for you. The vast majority of our clan has been playing for 6+ years on and off but normally not at the same time and as such we have a massive knowledge of the game, plus you'll fit right in. You meet our requirements, although I'd encourage you to train combat. RBH is primarily warring and community based with usually 3 or more pvp events a week. We also do quite a bit of boss hunting where a higher combat will help. Regardless, you're welcome to join and if you have any questions PM me on here, /query TrueBeaver on SwiftIRC, or find me in #rbh. Good luck! To see our full recruitment topic please go to http://forum.tip.it/topic/287165-red-blade-hunters-90-great-wars-active-awesome-community/ We look forward to meeting you! Please feel free to drop by our IRC channel (#rbh) and chat. You can also check out our boards at http://www.rs-rbh.com.

I won't bore you with some giant .jpg with way too many words, but RBH is 90+ F2P, primarily Eastern/GMT based, focused on warring and community, and has a very active core group of members. I know almost all clans claim these things but join #rbh on SwiftIRC and talk with us awhile and I'm sure you'll see how RBH's community stands head and shoulders above every other Runescape clan; there's a reason why our ex-members still hang around in our IRC long after they've joined other clans. If you have any questions PM me on here, /query TrueBeaver on SwiftIRC, or preferably join us in #rbh. Good luck! To see our full recruitment topic please go to http://forum.tip.it/topic/287165-red-blade-hunters-90-great-wars-active-awesome-community/ We look forward to meeting you! Please feel free to drop by our IRC channel (#rbh) and chat. You can also check out our boards at http://www.rs-rbh.com.

Good read, had me loling several times throughout. Would recommend.