Mike Mills of REM comes out....as straight!

[WyldRanger]

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/06/rems_mike_mills_on_accelerate.html


I just thought this was hilarious so I just had to share it :)

[Trieste]

But ... but Xenu hates the straight people. I don't want R.E.M. to burn on Pluto. :(

[WyldRanger]

Ahhh...not to worry tho' Micheal Stipe is certainly not straight  ;)

[WyldRanger]

[Mathim]

That cat is kinda funny but sometimes he's a little too over the top. I stopped reading the comics pages about two years ago, though, but it looks like he hasn't changed a bit.

[WyldRanger]

I'm just letting this one speak for itself.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_re_us/odd_national_debt_clock

NEW YORK - In a sign of the times, the National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the growing figure.
ADVERTISEMENT

As a short-term fix, the digital dollar sign on the billboard-style clock near Times Square has been switched to a figure — the "1" in $10 trillion. It's marking the federal government's current debt at about $10.2 trillion.

The Durst Organization says it plans to update the sign next year by adding two digits. That will make it capable of tracking debt up to a quadrillion dollars.

The late Manhattan real estate developer Seymour Durst put the sign up in 1989 to call attention to what was then a $2.7 trillion debt.

[RubySlippers]

I don't know what you folks expect except for the minor parties such as the Libertarians no one i seriously talking about this and what must be done. Cut Federal spending sharply and deeply, raise taxes and restructure entitlement programs. We have to simply balance the budget THEN apply a quarter of the money we bring in each year to pay the interest and pay down the national debt for many decades. Its going to hurt and states will have to pick up much of the slack when we see Federal programs seriously reduced. Such as hand all educational planning and costs to the States which they are not likely to enjoy.

[WyldRanger]

Well all I have to say in response to that is that the Clinton administration (which had plenty of faults in it's own right) at least did balance the budget the last couple of years of his administration as well as was starting to, albeit barely scratching the surface, of paying the debt back...

[RubySlippers]

Face it both major parties failed and now you expect these idiots to put their interests aside and stop sugar-coating the painful choices that must be made. Worst unlike the Great Depression we have no financial wiggle room due to our massive National Debt we might have had otherwise to access for major programs now.

Another thing the Congress must dictate to businesses at all levels standard practices for everything and crack down hard on anything outside that box from acceptable accounting methods to acceptable investment options, banning with felony level charges anything outside those. Like the "swaps" that leverage all this you have to ban those and make examples out the issuers after a short period of time. Its going to hurt but we have to properly stop fraud the one major role giovernment has in business.

[Mathim]

Do you guys seriously think they didn't do this on purpose? They wanted this to happen, for what reason, I have no idea, but they have no intention of fixing it.

[RubySlippers]

Whats sad is China is coming through this almost unscathed they openly avoided any risky or "trendy" investments and stuck to standards that kept them fairly secure. They are going to come out of this well.

I can think of one reason to form a world central banking mechanism to bring all the economies under a central management system, a move I'm afraid will be brought up pissing on US soveriengty.

[Mathim]

Whats sad is China is coming through this almost unscathed they openly avoided any risky or "trendy" investments and stuck to standards that kept them fairly secure. They are going to come out of this well.

Aren't they mostly the country we're in debt too, as well?

[WyldRanger]

Aren't they mostly the country we're in debt too, as well?

Yes, yes they are...

[RubySlippers]

One of them about $1.5 trillion I think and likely more now.

The great founding father and Secretary of the Treasury ,Hamilton, stated when he decided to pay off all the debts of the new nation the Federal and States that it will prevent us from being the slaves to those we are indebted to and give us pride at showing the world the nation is prudent in its dealings. I think he would be rolling around in his grave right now with all those patriots that led our nation to independence.

And you can thank both major parties for this mess China has the right idea you TELL the businesses and banks how to operate and restrict them to sensible practices and they can still make ample money doing so.

[Mathim]

Just out of curiosity, did we ever ask Europe to pay us back for the Marshall Plan?

[RubySlippers]

Pasted from Wikiopedia:

The Organization for European Economic Cooperation took the leading role in allocating funds, and the ECA arranged for the transfer of the goods. The American supplier was paid in dollars, which were credited against the appropriate European Recovery Program funds. The European recipient, however, was not given the goods as a gift, but had to pay for them (though not necessarily at once, on credit etc.) in local currency, which was then deposited by the government in a counterpart fund. This money, in turn, could be used by the ERP countries for further investment projects.

Most of the participating ERP governments were aware from the beginning that they would never have to return the counterpart fund money to the U.S.; it was eventually absorbed into their national budgets and "disappeared." Originally the total American aid to Germany (in contrast to grants given to other countries in Europe) had to be repaid. But under the London debts agreement of 1953, the repayable amount was reduced to about $1 billion. Aid granted after July 1, 1951 amounted to around $270 million, of which Germany had to repay $16.9 million to the Washington Export-Import Bank. In reality, Germany did not know until 1953 exactly how much money it would have to pay back to the U.S., and insisted that money was given out only in the form of interest-bearing loans — a revolving system ensuring the funds would grow rather than shrink. A lending bank was charged with overseeing the program. European Recovery Program loans were mostly used to support small- and medium-sized businesses. Germany paid the U.S. back in installments (the last check was handed over in June 1971). However, the money was not paid from the ERP fund, but from the central government budget.

In the main no they never paid us back although I think a few nations did like the Netherlands but I'm not sure. So I think we should ask them for the money back with the interested calculated in for say fifty years.

[Mathim]

Maybe they're banking on that bailing us out. I mean, we paid the British back for all the tea we fucked up at the Boston Tea Party, MINUS the interest...LOL.

[WyldRanger]

Well, now that the season has begun what are everyone's thoughts?

Being a life long resident of Michigan and a die-hard Red Wings fan, I have to say that they are looking even better than last year. I don't know how they do it, but management keeps finding these amazingly talented players from across the pond. :)

[Apple of Eris]

I hate detroit! Go Flyers!

(sorry Xana, you swept us in the finals a few years back, your team has my earned my eternal enmity!)

[WyldRanger]

Meh, I understand. Outside of the region, the Red Wings are pretty much hated equally by all. Kinda like the Yankees in a way  :)

[Methos]

I hate all the American teams even if they are mostly made up of Canadian players. ;) Go Oilers!

[Revolverman]

100 years of montreal!!

[Rhapsody]

I'm Canadian and I disdain hockey. 

They keep threatening to take away my union cards because of it, but I've held out so far. *fingers crossed*

[Dawg]

100 years of montreal!!

[youtube=455,325]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TncdhLGjFTE&feature=related[/youtube]

[Dawg]

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