10/16   Super Rich Step Into Political Vacuum
        http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38722-2004Oct16.html

10/16   Gang of Illegal Aliens Abducted by Aliens
        http://www.us.com.org/breaking/news/aliens/aliens
        \_ why do you hate immigrants? are you a republican?

10/16   NC Woman Gang Raped by Seven Illegal Aliens
        http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=30
        \_ Americans for Legal Immigration?  What next, Americans for the
           Safe and Legal Relocation of the Jewish People to Community
           Camps?  Americans for Repatriation of African-Americans to Africa?
           I can't wait for these yahoos to finally get all of the illegal
           labor in California deported; the farmers are going to belly-up
           faster than a goldfish in your hot tub.
           \_ Your contention is that 11-12 million illegals all work
              in agriculture?  Why has the real cost of these products
              fallen?  The use of illegal labor distors market
              incentives and discourages technological innovation.
              Furthermore, the use of illegal labor suppreses wages
              of the poor, including the sacrosanct mascot minority
              groups, and pushes any costs of employment onto the
              tax payers.  Lastly, your argument seems to be you
              want a slave so you can have cheap strawberries
              and lawn service - is that it?
              \_ No, you silly fruit loop, my contention is that the same
                 people who complain, loudly, about illegal immigrants here
                 in the states tend to be the same hypocrites who benefit from
                 having the illegals here.  If you reformed agriculture in
                 CA such that you made people pay all of their employees
                 a decent minimum wage, two things would happen: 1) your
                 food prices would go up, and 2) there would no longer be an
                 incentive to hire the legions of illegal immigrants who are
                 currently earning $2 a day because they can't cry foul to
                 the cops without getting deported.
                 \_ No, I am sorry, I don't buy that argument.  Just because
                    I happen to want strawberries some day doesn't mean I
                    have to buy the entire system that brings strawberries to
                    my table.  I am not morally required to be an activist
                    with my wallet, though I certainly understand such
                    activists.  I find it interesting that the issue of
                    illegal immigration would lose a lot of its current
                    urgency with a smaller, more libertarian government
                    (Since the illegals wouldn't be competing for a piece
                    of taxation pie to which they don't add themselves,
                    like right now.  They would just come to work and
                    contribute to the economy).  -- ilyas

10/16   Fleeing SUV Suspected of Carrying Illegal Immigrants Causes
        11-Car Crash, Killing Six in Ariz.
        http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB46V8JE0E.html

10/14   http://electoral-vote.com shows that there are only a few Strong
        Kerry states while there are many many Strong Bush states.
        Kerry is doomed! 4 more years of Bush, 4 more years of doom!
                                 Wrong. 4 more years of freedom! _/
                                 \_ 4 more years of freedom fries!  -John
        \_ Uhm, yeah.  If Kerry takes florida (which is a tie), he wins
           the election.  You're either an idiot, a troll, or a right wingnut.
           \_ Uhm, yeah.  If you've been watching the polls you would know
              that Florida has been polling more to the Bush side than the
              Kerry side as a rule.  If Kerry takes Texas he wins the
              election!  Don't bet your money on a single poll from an
              oddball source.  Desire does not create reality.
              \_ You should do your homework, bub.  It doesn't sound like you
                 have.  Don't get me wrong, I think Bush is going to win,
                 but I doubt any prediction can reasonably be made at this
                 point with any assurity.
                 \_ I've been reading several poll sites on a daily basis for
                    months, not just the hand chosen stuff at electoral-vote.
                    If you'd like to educate me and demonstrate where I'm
                    wrong and inaccurate, go right ahead.  Until then your
                    reply isn't useful.
                    \_ Almost all of the polls have Ohio tied, for the last
                       four weeks. If Kerry wins Ohio, he probably wins.
               http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Presidential_04/oh_polls.html
              \_ Four more hurricanes!

10/17   Any recommendations for small (<12") free-standing cheap VGA
        displays?  I need a tiny, unobtrusive monitor for a server. -John
        \_ how cheap?
           \_ Under $100 preferably.  Something like a 7" car DVD display
              would be perfect.
              \_Very difficult unless you find it used. Small sized
                LCDs are very expensive if they need to be of VGA
                resolution. Get a 14/15" one if you want
                new. Otherwise use ebay and look for one. -williamc

10/16   Freeper Link Storm Detected on Soda
        http://www.biteme.com/you/irritating/troll.html

10/14   So I watched Outfoxed and thought it was really cool, until
        the last bit of the film when it creditted http://moveon.org. Now
        I know it's just another damned left wingnut propaganda film.
        \_ I heard O'Reilly likes phone sex is this true?
        \_ you are teh gay:w
        \_ So, truth is entirely dependent on where it comes from?
          \_ truth is closer when you have a non-biased party observing
             and reporting. While Foxed is not Fair and Balanced, neither
             is Outfoxed, which is supported by a biased party
             \_ You are an idiot.
                \_ well? are you going to explain why he's an idiot?
                   \_ he disagrees with the correct political thought.  he
                      is an idiot.
                      \_ oh, come on.  anyone who can actually watch
                         that entire documentary, and then just think
                         it's partisan because of something they saw
                         in the credits is living in a fucking cave.
                         the whole thread is probably just a troll
                         by someone who's bored and doesn't care
                         one way or the other, but you are still a moron.
        \_ excellent documentary. It got me thinking about the shows
           they broadcast and how they fit into the executives' agenda.
           Take the show Cops for example. It repeatedly shows you that
           blacks and hispanics are bad drug dealers. Look at their
           kids show. Buffy. The OC. Whitie good. Minorities bad.
           If you have more examples please respond to this thread. ok thx.
           \_ Um.  There is a reason there are a lot of blacks and hispanics
              on Cops.  Media bias, however, ain't it. -- ilyas
              \_ There are more total numbers of white criminals than black
                 and hispanic criminals.
                 \_ In major urban areas - no.
           \_ Yes and if you want to do the same analysis of other stations
              you'll find similar results in regards to both racial profiling
              in TV shows going back decades before Fox existed to today and
              news reporting that fits into the executives agenda.
           \_ Not that I'm defending Fox, but Buffy was on the WB. And what
              about shows like Friends and Will and Grace? Those are supposed
              to take place in NYC, yet there were no non-white major
              characters. As a person-of-color, I find that far more offensive
              than the OC (which is supposed to take place in the white part
              of Orange County) or even Cops.
        \_ there are no unbaised and neutral sources.  all sources,
           all reporting, all documentaries are biased.  the
           intelligent person understands this.
           \_ You are correct insofar as no human being can be completely
              without bias or opinion.  However, it is the purpose of
              journalism to report facts (also known as news).  When all of
              the relevant facts are provided, the general public can make
              informed opinions about the matter.  Calm and objective editing
              is the key.  Fox completely lacks this.  Other news orgs simply
              slip every once in a while.  Cf. the documentary "Control Room,"
              a rather objective look at Al Jazeera's coverage of the sack
              of Baghdad.
        \_ big evil corporation from Rupert Murdock and Sinclair support
           Bush and broadcast anti-Kerry materials. Don't the Democrats
           have friends in mass media?
           \_ Sinclair owns roughly 1/4 of the stations.  The other 3/4 are
              anti-Bush & pro-Kerry.  Watch the nightly news to see.
              \_ You're full of shit. Give some examples of this bias.

10/17   Suppose I want to read technical/scientific writing in a foreign
        language (e.g.  French) but I don't have the time or the need to
        learn how to speak or listen in that language nor do I plan to read
        anything non-technical.  Is there any short-cut learning method or
        resource for this?
        \_ It's really pretty easy.  Get a French-English dictionary (or
           http://wordreference.com/fr find something technical to read,
           and start reading.  When you find conjugated words that aren't in
           the dictionary, run them through Babelfish to find the dictionary
           forms; after a few you'll start being able to guess them.  You'll
           pick up the technical terms quickly since you already know what
           they mean, and soon you'll be able to read pretty fast using the
           dictionary.  It works for math papers, at least.
        \_ You know, it's not such a bad thing to learn a foreign language.
           But if you need to read something in a hurry, you can always
           google translate it.
        \_ Do scientists still use latin as the universal language?
           or maybe try: http://www.worldlingo.com/wl/translate
        \_ Just have Trinity download the language directly into your
           brain.

10/17   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6268250
        Mainstream metropolitan newspapers endorse Kerry,
        back-country redneck middle American newspapers endorse Bush.
        \_ *LAUGH*  Bait harder!

10/17    I seem to be breeding drosophila like crazy in my apartment.  is it
        possible to make a few bucks by selling them to biologists?

10/17   what does it mean to register as a Rep/Demo? Is it used for
        statistics or something? How about registering as one party
        and then voting as another party, is that allowed?
        \_ In most states you can't vote in the primary of a party
           unless you're registered.  Since leaving Ca, I've registered
           for a party just so I can vote in the primary.  Where I live,
           whoever wins the Demo primary wins the general election by such
           a large margin that the whole election *is* the  primary, and
           you don't really get a vote unless you're registered Democrat.
           Does this suck? yes, it does.
        \_ Ever heard of the secret ballot?  We've got that in this
           country.  So how exactly would they "not allow" you to
           vote for whomever you wish?  I mean, please!
          \_ thanks for your response. I'm not a citizen so I
             don't know these things but I hope to vote once I get
             my citizenship. So here is my second question. Say there
             is a party A and a party B. I hate party B, so can I
             register as party B and pick the most incompetent person
             for the primary, and come the general election, vote for
             party A? Is that illegal?                          -op
             \_ it's not illegal, but it makes you a jackass.  I believe
                that the most responsible thing to do as a citizen is to
                vote in whatever primary matters (e.g. republican in 2000, dem
                in 2004) and vote for whoever you actually think would make
                the best candidate.   If democrats had followed your strategy
                in 2000, they would have probably picked Bush as the weaker
                candidate...but gues what?  he won, and most dems would probably
                agree we'd be a hell of a lot better off with president McCain
                right now.  Whether you're a democratic-leaning voter or not
                is  beside the point.  Republicans would probably have voted
                for Dean in this election, but you have to ask yourself...are
                you *sure* your guy can beat the guy you think is weak?
                what if you're wrong?
                \_ I actually practice cross-party voting in the primary all
                   the time.  In 2000, I voted for McCain in the Primary, even
                   though I wanted Gore to win; in 2002, I voted for Simon in
                   in the Primary even though I wanted Davis to win (and yes,
                   that was a worrying gamble).  I look forward to an open
                   primary system at some point so I can stop filing all of
                   this paperwork.
                   \_ Here's the part where someone posts an anti-Davis rant.
                      Come on folks, NOBODY liked that guy.
                   \_ Maybe you did not realize it, but you did vote for
                      Davis if you voted against the recall. That was
                      a special case where you could vote twice.
                      \_ Yes, we SO need a Davis/Ah-nold flamewar right now!
                         I know you can do it!  Motd's greatest hits comin'
                         back atcha!
                         \_ There's nothing to flame about.  No one is going
                            to defend Davis.  No one is that stupid.
                            \_ You obviously weren't reading the motd during
                               the recall shitrain [borrowing this term
                               from Hunter S. Thompson because it is so
                               appropriate.]
             \_ Sure.
             \_ No, it is not illegal.
             \_ sounds complicated. what is the objective for doing so?

10/17   What's the deal with @berkeley.edu addresses? Are they
        available for alumni types? Where can I get mine?
        \_ <DEAD>calmail.berkeley.edu<DEAD>, only available for students and staff
           \_ okay, thanks.
        \_ <DEAD>cal.berkeley.edu<DEAD>, available for all alumni.

10/17   The manual for my car says that I should get the air bag system
        checked 10 years after manufacture of the car.  And it's been 10
        years.  So, how important is this?  How expensive is this?  And
        where would I get this done?
        \_ uh... maybe you should call the dealership
        \_ important if you expect to have airbags protect you.  there
           are electrical contacts to corrode, highly combustible
           chemicals to degrade, fabric to age, sensors to fail, and
           no chance for a practice run.

10/17   Let's all take a moment to thank the Motd Hygiene Nazi for saving
        us from having to read the fruit fly troll.  Thanks, MHN!

10/17   A Bush debate bounce?  WTF?  http://www.pollingreport.com
        \_ I call it the Team America: World Police bounce.
         \_ so is it a pro-Bush movie? Trey Parker/Matt Stone pro-Bush?
            \_ I think I read that it's less anti-republican than
               anti-democrat.  But niether Bush nor Kerry appear in the
               film.
            \_ I think both sides got bashed very fairly and accurately.
               The important difference is who can laugh at themselves or not.
            \_ Trey and Matt hate conservatives, but they REALLY hate liberals.
               The movie is pro-Bush.
               \_ Trey and Matt, like Vice magazine, are WAY past their sell-by
                  date.  Nihilism is so 2000.
               \_ Who do they like then?
                  \_ Who cares?  They don't.  They just want to trivialize
                     anyone who genuinely cares about anything (c.f. South Park
                     episode about Mormons).  They are aggressive nihilists.
                     And yes, I guess I just don't "get it."
                  \_ Trey and Matt are libertarian.
                     \_ Trey and Matt are system-buckers.  They like to get
                        a rise, and modern liberals are easy to get a rise
                        out of with a minimum of effort.  It's easy to lampoon
                        the Right, but it's hard to tell if the Right gets it
                        sometimes.
        \_ All your election are belong to Rove.
           \_ All your electronic ballot are delivered to Rove by Diebold.