K-Mac

I've always wondered how much of a Christian Rush Limbaugh really is. I know he's an Ayn Rand fan because her books are in his library of recommended reading, but I don't know his take on religion. I listen to him nearly every day while at work and I hear him make references here and there, but nothing to the extent of other conservative talk show hosts who state outright their religion, beliefs, etc. I've been wondering if he doesn't portray himself as a Christian so as not to offend the majority of his listeners while still getting across his message of less government, less taxes and personal responsibility? (The way I behave at Grandma's house at Christmas when she's saying grace...bow my head out of respect for my Grandma without uttering a word or believing any of it.) Just a thought. Perhaps some of you have some insight into this or know more about his personal, religious beliefs?

It's illegal for me to keep my keys in my car? I do it all the time because I have a keypad on the outside of my driver's side door. When I go to the dog park or a baseball game, for example, I put the keys in the glove box, lock the doors and close the door behind me. This way, I don't lose my keys and I don't have to carry a purse into a situation where it's not appropriate. Why shouldn't I have the right to do that? For that matter, why shouldn't I have the right to leave the keys in the ignition and the windows rolled down? It may not be the smartest thing to do in certain areas of certain cities, but don't I have the right to be foolish as long as I'm not harming anyone? Why didn't the plaintiff sue the driver/thief? (Probably because the thief had no money or insurance?) I suppose that if it is illegal to keep ones keys in the car, then the judge should have punished him for that, but not for damage he did not cause. I'm glad I'm not the only one who watches court on TV. For some reason, I am endlessly entertained by Judge Mathis. I work during the week, but when I'm home sick, I always make time for Judge Mathis.

Hmmm, now you're trying to get me to think really hard, huh? I think that Danny is a great person...very smart, full of integrity, fun to be around, etc. I want people, particularly those meeting him for the first time, to see all the good stuff and judge him based on that, not his "rough exterior." Be it right or wrong, our society places a lot of value on first impressions and outward appearances and I just want Danny to be prepared for that. He seems to appreciate the help I've given him and he tells me it gives him better confidence in job interviews, etc. To specifically answer your questions...(1) "where you do think that desire to have him be respected by others comes from?" and (2) "what does he want of others?" (1) It's probably selfish reasons more than anything. (I'm not sure if that's good or bad in this situation, but it's the truth.) I think my husband, the spouse I chose, is a reflection of myself and my values, and I want my choices to be respected. I also enjoy seeing the fruits of OUR labor. I give him a few tips or some advice, he implements it and by doing so, I feel a sense of accomplishment while he enjoys a boost in his confidence. (Is this making me sound like a psycho with a pet project?) (2) Good question. Maybe I should ask him that specifically sometime? I assume that he wants to be respected, accepted and liked by others, but I've never really asked him that in general. He's very proud of himself when he handles a social situation successfully...like a conflict with a friend or coworker or a job interview he was really nervous about, so I assume he wants what most of us want, acceptance and respect. Maybe acceptance isn't the right word. I don't like that the word acceptance makes it sound as though I will sacrifice individuality and values just to be accepted, because I won't. At the same time, I do believe humans are pack animals and it doesn't feel natural for us to live in isolation from our "pack." I guess in using the word acceptance, I mean accepted by your peers. Accepted by those you want acceptance from because you feel you have something in common, or something to that effect. Am I making sense here? I think I'm thinking too much. Is that possible?

If you're looking for someone to sign the letter as a show of support, I'd be willing to include my signature, but I don't think I'd be any good writing it. There are some pretty articulate folks around here, so hopefully, someone else will chime in.

I smoked cigarettes for awhile in late high school and early college, but I truly believe I wasn't addicted to them. I smoked varying amounts depending on different situations. While drinking alcohol, I smoked one after the other, but on a Saturday afternoon just watching TV, I might smoke one every few hours. I guess I was either a "social smoker" if there is such a thing, or I just don't have that addictive gene or personality??? My husband on the other hand is completely addicted to nicotine and when/if he ever decides to try to quit, I think he will have a very hard time. He smokes about a pack for every 24 hours he's awake and has for most of the 14 years I've known him. With regards to prescription drugs, I took antidepressants for several years while recovering from depression due to a violent crime. Several times during those years, my dosage had to be increased to remain effective. Then when I was ready to stop taking them, I had to wean myself off over a period of a few weeks in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The same was true for the narcotics I was taking for my recent broken leg. I'm not sure if my response has specifically answered your question, but I guess in my personal experience, the Wikipedia entry seems to be pretty accurate, except for cigarette smoking.

C'mon now, I'm a native Texan and even I had to read that a few times to figure it out!

I've got stuff to do and people to see so I walk fast and with purpose. (Plus I need the exercise.)

Usually it's the former that you find "really tiring." We don't intentionally try to embarrass each other in public, but my husband and I are definitely a case of opposites attract. I come from a very loving, stable home where I was taught manners, etc., while my husband came from a very broken home where it was each man for himself. (His father was on his third marriage when he died, mom is on number four and sister, who is only a year younger than my hubby, is on number three. Just looking at that data, I'm amazed Danny has been able to stick it out with me for fourteen years!) Anyway, my point is that I literally sometimes have to teach or remind him (in private, of course) how to react in social situations. Not that I'm a big, formal, snob or anything, but I want other people to like him and be as proud of him as I am, so I want him to act in an appropriate manner. And I must give a shout out to our country's dear old Army. Had it not been for Danny's military experience, I shudder to think what may have become of his life. The structure and training they provided went a long way to helping him with many aspects of his life...aspects his parents certainly didn't prepare him for during his rough childhood. In his parents defense, they were very young when they got into trouble and were just kids when they had Danny. I think they are good people at heart who just chose a very difficult path in life that led to on-going, life-long problems which they never sought to resolve. (I'm convinced that his mom and sister believe that their lives are insignificant unless they're married to a controlling man. Yikes!) I occasionally have a caveman in public, but oh well, I love him and deal with it.

Well I can't really speak for all women because I'm a little tom-boyish (have been since childhood), but personally, I like a good sense of humor, well-groomed, well-mannered, decent-looking fellow. I don't think a man necessarily has to be good looking, as long as he's fixing himself up well. (And I think that goes for women too. I've seen average or unattractive women put on the right outfit and a bit of make up and turn into something beautiful.) For example, my husband shaves his head rather than doing a comb-over to cover his baldness. No woman likes the Trump look. (Sorry if I'm offending anyone, but please take it as constructive criticism.) Basically, look clean and neat and have some fun. I think the longer you know someone and like thier personality, the better looking they become. I think Dagny Taggart is a great example of this (and why I cannot see Angelina Jolie playing her in the film.) In the beginning of AS, Dagny seemed thin with sharp features and not particularly attractive to me, but by the end of the book, she was a goddess. (Or is it just me?) Not that this could happen for obvious reasons, but I thought a young Katharine Hepburn would have played her well. Katharine was not a traditional beauty, thin with sharp features and firey red hair, but the longer you watched her, the more beautiful and elegant she became. I've noticed this with friends too...the longer I know someone, especially if they share my values, the more attractive they become to me. The opposite is also true. I've known some drop-dead gorgeous people, yet after I've known them for awhile and realize I don't particularly like them, they seem less and less physically attractive. Weird. I think you're on to something with women wanting their men to be socially acceptable though. When/if my husband embarasses me in public, I find it personally humiliating. I wonder why that is? Perhaps I hold him to a higher standard than other people in general? Perhaps I look at him as a reflection of me? We chose each other, after all, so is it not a reflection on each of us the way the other acts in public?

You're probably right. I was thinking, probably erroneously, more along the lines of a spoiled child...they act like they hate their parents and everyone else because everything has always been handed to them and they do not understand the value of what they receive, or anything else for that matter. So when the parents have finally had enough, they take everything away, then the child throws a tantrum and yells, "I hate you!" anyway.

If you don't mind clipping coupons and organizing them, this site has saved me a ton of money and we eat like kings... http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ Basically, she tells you what coupons to use in conjunction with grocery store sales. (You enter your zip code and she customizes the grocery list to stores in your area.) You basically shop at the grocery store for their sale items, then buy everything else at Sam's or Walmart. We usually spend about $150 every few weeks and get about $300 worth of groceries, including otherwise pricey meat items. We BBQ almost every weekend and our friends are amazed at the pricey cuts of meat we pull out of our freezer. We even get stuff free sometimes. I don't think I've paid for a tube of toothpaste in over a year. It's so fun to look at our receipt and see that we spent $50 and saved $48.

I'll have to agree with you there. What do we do about it, though? Should we just be isolationists, retreat within our own borders, hunker down and mind our own business? I cannot remember where I saw it (maybe a Ron Paul thread) but if we "tend to our own rat killing" maybe we could lead by example instead of by force? Frankly, I'm sick and tired of trying to solve (and pay for) the world's problems, but if we drop out, won't they hate us for that too? Is it not a no-win situation?

I saw them in Houston about 10 years ago and they were awesome! Neil Peart's drum solo is one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. And watching Geddy Lee play bass and keyboard at the same time is quite amazing as well.

I wouldn't care if each pay period money wasn't being stolen from my paycheck to fund past or present programs in the very countries that hate us. I wouldn't care if my husband, father-in-law, cousin, uncle and grandfathers hadn't fought for them to have the right to exist and prosper as they do now. I understand what you're saying, but how can I help but feel the way I do when when so much is taken from the American people to "help" these ingrates? I know you're right, though. I've got to let it go if I want to be happy. I can't fight the IRS and the rest of the world. PS - I like your avatar, badkarma556.

Not that I agree with everything Bob Marley said or did, but I really like this particular line from "Get Up, Stand Up"... "Most people think great god will come from the sky, take away everything and make everybody feel high/But if you know what life is worth you will look for yours on earth/And now when you see the light, stand up for your right/Get up stand up, stand up for your right/Get up stand up, don't give up the fight/Life is your right, so don't give up the fight".

I just read through this study... http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=256 ...and found two items most interesting. First, European countries and Canada have more confidence in Putin than Bush. (Not that I'm a huge fan of Bush or anything, but I certainly feel that he's the lesser of those two evils.) Second, struggling democracies and/or poor countries appear to have a more favorable view of the US than Europeans do. (I suppose that once the struggling democracies/poor countries have risen up and no longer require our assistance, they will hate us too?) It's almost as though all of the countries we have helped in the past, be it financially, militarily or humanitarian, are the ones that hate us the most. Gee, I'm so glad that the taxes I'm burdened with paying are funding other countries hatred for us. I find it all very depressing. Someone give me some insight and make me feel better, please!

Awesome image in my head!

That must be it!

I just added another one to my nightstand...Faces of Evil: Murderers, Kidnappers, Rapists and the Forensic Artist Who Puts Them Behind Bars by Lois Gibson and Deanie Francis Mills. Lois Gibson drew a picture of the guy that robbed my husband and I in our home back in Houston in 1994. We took her drawing all over our neighborhood and got a positive ID from a waitress at a nearby bar. We picked him out of a police line up the next day and he was convicted several months later. Lois and I still keep in touch and she is an amazing person. She barely survived a brutal rape years ago and her story really helped my husband and I move past our traumatic ordeal. If you enjoy crime stories at all, this will be a good one!

I really liked the first Die Hard, can't remember the second one, but the third one was so riddled with gratuitous cursing that I could barely follow a conversation, much less the plot. My husband, who spent 5 years in the Army, doesn't even curse that much, and he curses quite a bit. I do my fair share of cursing, being a native Texan, but jeez...it was ridiculous. I haven't considered seeing this fourth installment. Is it better than the third? I tend to like Bruce Willis flicks, although I'm not sure why.

I understand what you're saying about the emotional aspect of the video, but I see it from both sides. It is an emotionally-charged issue and although we should think rationally about the facts and a resolution, I really don't think many people would watch the video or have any interest in it had they shown just the facts through a boring presentation. I was a bit shocked to see the Columbine shooter quote, but I think it was used, not to glorify or justify the killings or the killer, but rather to illustrate the frustration that many students are feeling about the current situation of our dead-end, public school system. I was one of those kids who wore black to school everyday and sought to rebel against everything the mainstream crowd accepted as normal. Although I never once had any feelings or thoughts of killing anyone, I had quite a bit of animosity about the politics of the school system and the deep divisions among the student population. (Not to mention the high-as-hell property taxes my parents were struggling to pay...Texas has among the highest in the nation.) Looking back, I realize I was just immature and that was my way of dealing with my frustration, but as an adult, I realize that there were many things about public school to legitimately rebel against. (I am still not sure how I thought wearing black everyday was going to solve anything.) The question I have is this...my brother wanted to send his kids to a private school to get a classical education, but the costs were just too high. I suppose if the public school system were done away with and he had his property taxes refunded to him, he may have been able to afford it, but from an Objectivist's point of view, what is the ideal version of an education?

Thank you for the clarification on the ruling. I had missed the part about it being a school-sponsored event. Although myspace.com was not specifically ruled on, school districts are taking the ruling to mean that schools who are punishing students for comments they make on myspace.com are in the clear. (There have been issues with students being suspended for drug-related, sexually explicit/oriented or threatening comments on myspace.com.) I am conflicted on the whole myspace issue anyway. Surely if a child is making threats to kill another, for example, there must be some repercussions, but should it come from the school or law enforcement, or from the parents? And with so many obviously irresponsible parents, are we obligated to give our rights away to the State? I guess it all goes back to David's comment about this being yet another problem with public education.

I would like to say that I'm excited too, but I cannot help but be skeptical that Hollywood could possibly produce a film that goes against everything they preach.

My husband and I drive good ol' American gas guzzlers...Ford Explorer, Ford F150 and Harley Sportster (1200 Custom). Actually, my Explorer's message center informed me this week that I am getting 20.5 miles per gallon. Not bad for a 2 year old SUV.

Great video! Speaking of education... http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=07...;show_article=1 Please let me know your point of view on this ruling. It just doesn't sit well with me. If he had been on school property or something to that effect, maybe, but he was standing on the side of the road watching the Olympic torch pass by. Should our youth be punished for speaking freely outside of the classroom? (It's my understanding that this ruling extends to students' myspace pages and expressions of that nature as well.) The Youtube video, rulings like this and the state of youth and education in this country, in general, make me glad I don't have kids.