EO: Funny you brought up the extra duties for those not going to church on Sunday.. When I was in Basic Training, it seemed that it was the non-smokers that got singled out for extra duty. Several times a day, the smokers were allowed to go out and have a cigarette, but the non-smokers were stuck in the barracks, doing extra stuff. Wasn't long before I figured out that joining them & just holding an unlit smoke was a pass from an hour of busy work each day.

By the way, I'm with Anthony in calling BS on your late night sex party story. That crap just doesn't happen in real life.

I'd say that if anything cost this guy his military career and put his life at risk, it was more likely his big mouth than his "sudden lack of faith." The fact that he's bringing legal action against the Army tells me that he's the type that won't stop arguing even when nobody's arguing with him.

Scooby: Just because you say it happened to you doesn’t mean that you were the innocent victim, nor does it mean it's systemic. Anthony's examples show that if you don't push your belief system, you're less likely to get harassed and screwed with. I guess it does come down to ego and status. Here's what likely happened in your situation; you didn't like being in the minority, so you pointed out the Christian guys' obvious mental inferiority (you were only trying to help.) They responded as most any group of testosterone-charged young males would be expected, and made you their target. And you pushed back, and they pushed harder. Am I close?

In my experience with military types, most guys have a live and let live attitude, so being in the minority doesn't automatically make you the victim. You have to really want to be, and try really hard.

Wassamatter Adam? Truth hurt?

An easy hack to a much better portrayal of the man can be done by cutting the head and hands off. An empty suit is all that's left. And all that he is.

Love the sponsorship credits about halfway through: "This program brought to you by Asahi Beer and Mazda."

Quite a team!

After reading the linked article and from what I've read elsewhere, I question how much of an exodus there is, and how much it has to do with the economy. The US economy isn't as bad as has been reported. Sure, there are pockets where things are tough, but in general the economy is chugging along just fine. The media will start reporting that once there isn't a Republican in the White House.

@ Neatoramawontsendmeapassword: The “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” line still applies; always has and hopefully always will, but historically people had some respect for the laws of the country they were coming to and the culture they were entering. My ancestors — and the ancestors of the vast majority of US citizens — did, and made their entry into this country the proper way, assimilated into the population, learned the language if they didn't know it already, and became Americans (yes, that term in this context ought to piss a few people off).

The vast majority of the illegals that are here today couldn't give a rip about the rule of law, have no desire to stay here and have no intention to go out of their way to learn the language or anything else. Many of them work, but many also leech off the entitlement system when they're not entitled to a dime. I understand that things may be desperate where they come from, but that doesn't make their well being my responsibility, or yours, unless you willingly accept it. And if you do accept it, that doesn't make it the responsibility of the local, state or federal government.

Is it the economy or the Joe Horn case? ;o)

Wow; cannot believe the level of discourse here, or lack thereof. All I can say is that we are not the judge and jury, and did not see all of the evidence in the case. Those who did see it exonerated him. Case closed. All the rest is, as someone said earlier, Special Olympics time.

The one thing I'm glad for is that the people spouting off "Joe Horn is a murderer!" on forums like this feel they are contributing to society as much as someone who votes, and are much less likely to vote.

Not so neat, and hardly even news. Offended? Nah. Just a little more disgusted with the way bizarre and unnatural behavior gets celebretized in this country.

Too bad it's a holiday weekend; probably take a while for this post to get the burial it so terribly deserves.

Am I the only one who is missing the connection here? Cola & Lenin? Lollipops & Lenin? Or is it just totally random?

Never mind.

I visited a hospital in rural Cameroon a few years back that had a fairly large cattle operation (yes, on the hospital campus), and they used a biogas collector there as well. The cattle grazed on the hillsides during the day and their nights in a corral with a concrete pad underneath. In the morning all their dung was washed down into the collector bag, which was quite large, and black so as to absorb more solar heat. The biogas that was collected was used to heat water and sterilize instruments in the hospital. Very ingenious.

So how does he propose to propel that bike? By kicking with his feet? On none of the photos I've seen is there a crank, pedals or a chain; all of which are fairly important parts in making a bike do what it's supposed to do. Even if he's posing with a proof of concept, how can he say it works?

And Peeves is absolutely right about the frame materials; you can make a bike out of just about anything. I've seen them built from bamboo, dimension lumber, plywood... you name it. Check out http://www.worldbike.org/

Kinda neat, but not very.

-- I cannot go into a call assuming that the person either wants or do not want to “transact business” while at home.

But a reasonable person would see that making an unsolicited call to someone is an unmitigated nuisance. Telling yourself (and us) that it's ok because you're calling your own customers, trying to keep them happy, doesn't make it any better. In fact, if any company that does business with me calls me out of the blue, they'd better have a good reason for it or I will no longer be their customer.

-- “It’s not a worthy mission, and it’s making you seem dense.”
---- Respectfully, that’s not for you to decide.

But she's absolutely right, on both counts.

And now, MrP is apparently gone (we'll see for how long; most telemarketers never are for very long), and we have Gunner Sykes to fill in for him.

Gee, I wonder if this guy worked as a telemarketer.

(yeah, I know; no connection. But I just finished reading the telemarketer post comments.