nandon

mine was when i was about 12-13 years old, it was about chapter 1 of the blue book, release from your prisons, it was in front of about 15 people.

I really enjoyed it, it's where my love of public speaking started.

no

I agree Rocky.

The entire concept of HOAs is UNAMERICAN.

These breeding grounds for annoying neighbors (the ones who want to lord it over the rest) are, by virtue of their inherent structure, both FASCIST and COMMUNIST.

I will not debate the merits of any given issue regarding HOAs... I simply believe they should be completely BANNED in America.

However, they will not be banned anytime soon. The reason they have quietly become the dominant form of quasi-municipal government is because they provide and insidiously quiet way to "raise taxes" for municipal services.

Of course, none of them want to be known or defined as such, but allowing homeowners to be taxed with little to no voice or oversight, practically speaking, is the secret they want kept hidden.

The false label of "free market" choices being made by informed homebuyers is complete BUNK.

In most cities in the US these days, there is almost NO new housing being built (for single family ownership) WITHOUT an HOA in place.

DALLAS - Frank Larison is a disabled veteran with more than 14 years of service, including more than a year of combat duty in Vietnam.

The 58-year-old former Marine now finds himself under attack by his Dallas homeowners association for displaying seven decals on his vehicle supporting the Marine Corps.

"To me, it's being patriotic, and it shows that I served," the veteran told FOX 4.

The board says the decals are advertisements that violate HOA rules, and must be covered or removed.

Otherwise, the homeowners association for The Woodlands II on The Creek --- where Larimore has lived for eight years --- says in a letter it will tow the car at Larimore's expense. The board also threatens to fine him $50 for any future incident.

(Article continues below, there is also a video of the story in the link)

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/natio...0090528_2518563

-------------

This is ridiculous to me. I'm NOT a huge military supporter, and I don't think his bumper stickers are "patriotic", but how can they bother this guy for having bumper stickers, on HIS car?

SAN DIEGO -- A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their home, 10News reported.

Attorney Dean Broyles of The Western Center For Law & Policy was shocked with what happened to the pastor and his wife.

Broyles said, "The county asked, 'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?' She said, 'Yes.' 'Do you say amen?' 'Yes.' 'Do you pray?' 'Yes.' 'Do you say praise the Lord?' 'Yes.'"

The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of County regulations, according to Broyles.

article continues:

http://www.10news.com/news/19562217/detail.html

In it's best years...

what 5-10,000 people?

free labor

all those burgers, fries, pizza, ice cream, it was like a giant farmers market, and those things make a ton of $$$

entrance fees

abundant sharing at meetings

tapes, vhs, dvd's, cd's, shirts...

cigarettes...

must have been 2 million on a slow year, and 5 million on a busy year...

Fourteen more days till the party!! Party favors include glass eyes for use as shooters in marble games. Drambuie shot glasses available for the small sum of $85.00 each...if you would like three of them to start your own offshoot shell game they are three for $220. Win the door prize of $1000.00 if you win the Uncle Scary look-alike contest. Children's fellowship is NOT available but animal pens are provided for safe keeping; wooden spoons provided free of charge for christian discipline by Mike's Lumber Company. Attendees will be required to arrive two weeks early for setup and burger sales. Trail mix and wheatberries will be handed out upon departure.

I'll take care of campers supply, anything you need from visqueen, tent stakes even cigarettes, I got it.

(damn, the rock used to make a lot of money didn't it... all that FREE labor...)

who benefits from this?

biggest problem for me is that now im going to want to say my brother is "intellectually challenged" when he starts acting like an idiot...

so the term intellectually challenged is now going to immediately make me think of the "r-word" and im going to think it's funny.

Just like with the n-word. When I was a kid, it was just a curse word, you didn't say it, it wasn't a big deal if someone did, but it wasn't right.

NOW though, if you say the n-word everyone freaks not because they are more sensitive but because they think they are supposed to freak.

But all this being said, i'll never call an intellectually challenged person the r-word, but i will use it jokingly with my inner circle of friends. same with the n-word, or any other racial slur, mexican, south american, puerto rican, cuban, african, european, canadian, pacific islander, asian or any other race... When you are my friend, it's kinda part of the package, we make fun of our differences in a light hearted way.

but only with my inner circle i'd like to make that clear...

Kimberly,

the n-word was a made up word used to describe black people. it would be like someone saying "blackie" or "darkie" it was created to demean black people. In english speaking countries blacks were assumed inferior and thus the n-word held all those inferior assumptions when used. It came from a real word, but it was a slang of the real word. Very different than retard or the r-word.

Retard was a real word used to generally describe a mental condition that someone had.

i just wanted to point out that the r-word is very different from the n-word.

the n-word was SPECIFICALLY created to demean black people. The r-word is a legit word that has been used to describe intellectually challenged people.

i like it.

just don't put anything up there you don't want people to see.

it's just another form of networking it has goods and bads, like going to a party, you're going to run into some people you like and some you don't, some are going to be liars, some are going to be saints.

I've reconnected with some great people and it's easy to keep up with whats going on in my extended families life!

I'm unsearchable on facebook, so if you look for me on google, it won't come up, i have my security settings on high, to keep myself as low-profile as possible.

No sarcasm intended, I find this subject very interesting. I'd never call someone the r-word if they were really mentally or intellectually challenged!

http://www.r-word.org/

intellectually challenged is the acceptable replacement for "retard" in reference to a person who is mentally challenged...

retard means:

as a verb:

1. to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.

2. to be delayed.

as a noun:

3. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.

4. Slang: Disparaging.

a. a mentally retarded person.

b. a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way: a hopeless social retard.

5. Automotive, Machinery. an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine so that the spark for ignition in each cylinder is generated later in the cycle.

So it seems to me that this word is not always in reference to a person with an intellectual challenge.

I'd never call a "special" person the r-word. I've had the chance to get to know a few and I love them. Just though it was an interesting website.

So since I never call a person who is intellectually challenged the r-word can I call someone who is not intellectually challenged but who is acting stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way a retard? Or is this word banned all together, like the n-word?

what do ya'll think?

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god i loved the ROA.

How I Made a 1,474-Megapixel Photo During President Obama’s Inaugural Address

Wow.

I covered my first inauguration and what an inauguration it was.

Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in a ceremony on the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

Before Tuesday, I had photographed five presidents and covered big events including the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and concerts like Live 8 and Live Earth.

But this one was the biggest.

It deserved a big photo.

article continues in the link. the link also contains the picture. It's amazing.

http://www.davidbergman.net/blog/2009/01/2...ugural-address/

weed is now legal with a prescription in michigan :)

just get that old life lines book, tons of vp quotes in it, not sure if they are EXACTLY what he said though....

You write down a question and quickly write the first thing that comes to mind, that first thing that comes to mind is god telling you the answer.

Isn't it the least bit ironic that some of the signature moves in this little show are from the '80's?

And... they come from Michael Jackson.??!!.. who's "love of little boys" and sexual dalliances have been questioned numerous times in the news.

I happen to like MJ's dancing during that period in time. I just find this choice of dance steps odd given the attitudes that have been spouted during the years.

(* NOTE ~ think about the prevalent attitudes at the Cornfield Cult location. *)

MJ was sick, 1 of the sickest dancers ever. 1 of the absolute best performers ever

honestly the twi guy isn't a bad dancer, he did well, it was just the whole context... the song sucked, he's got 50+year old trudy backing him up... his style.. the beat was too slow for that type of dancing... the lighting was odd, he just looked so out of place

but i'll admit, he's a better dancer than I am... i bet if he had a few drinks and was at a good club, he'd kill it..

props to him for trying, and at least it was funny as hell :)

If TWI were smart and not a religious cult, they would see the humor in this and capitalize on it.

they would contact the shows and have that guy show up and do a cameo and promote The Way by wearing a t-shirt with www.theway.org on it..

fools

really funny, love that show

Not necessarily. If the journalism is limited to "book review" they could easily handle it by just including a disclaimer such as "this is a controversial issue, opposing views may exist."

or fox asked a TWI representative to be there, and they declined? but they'd make sure to say that in the interview.

This is a joke, right? Am I suppose to believe that folks of formidable intelligence really "wonder" this stuff. Are you pondering, wondering or wandering? Surely there is greater and higher things to waste our thoughts on.

what?

LCM is in toledo, working a regular job. He still visits his kids and talks with them. I wish them all the best.

they won tonight 41-14 vs Jacksonville St.

he's in almost exactly the same position i was in.

college athlete :) , sold out on TWI :| , injuries killing his career :(

he'll figure it out.

i'll be watching for him this year for sure.