I proposed to my girlfriend on Halloween '94. To propose, I gave her a sweatshirt that said "My next husband will be normal." I did do this in my apartment after taking her to dinner at our favorite restaurant.

We have been married for 14.5 years.

Isn't the North Pole in Canadian territory? If so, that would make Santa Claus Canadian and these people in the wrong area if they want to find Santa.

So a socialist country (in this case, England) can't afford to help the poor? And how will the US fare once it becomes socialist?

It stretches belief to the breaking point to call this guy a Christian. Apparently he does not read the commandments ("Thou shall not steal") nor how people, even through the church, are to help each other.

Why not do what my church is doing? Typically, we have a free will offering that goes to those who are needy--we used to collect this monthly, now we are collecting it twice a month. Allows those who have money to help out those who need money/food/shelter.

"We would question the maleness of God in any literal sense"

Apparently, they don't read the Bible either? Or did they miss the countless references to God as Father, He, or Daddy (Abba)?

What morons--and I doubt they are actually Christian.

Yep, this sounds like a slippery path to eugenics. And eugenics was supported in the early part of the 20th century by some supposedly intelligent people. Heck, even Margaret Sanger (the person who started Planned Parenthood) believed in it; hence the reason that most PP abortion clinics were built in or near black communities.

And as alfalfa in #35 points out, if a country with socialism or communism (in other words a country that needs a lot of taxes to run) has a population decline, their social programs will have to be cut because there are not enough tax payers to pay for the programs.

When it "takes two to tango," this is an absurd law. Why just go after the lover? Your spouse voluntarily entered that adulterous relationship and is just as guilty.

It's kind of like in Muslim countries when the woman is killed when she sleeps with a man that is not her husband.

Cola: Re: taxing cigarettes: this is worse in that the S-CHIP expansion is paid in part by an increase on tobacco tax yet in the TARP legislation, millions of dollars are to be spent in getting people to stop using tobacco. Government intelligence indeed.

$5.8 billion in taxes from botox? At least half of the will come from Nancy Pelosi, won't it?

I say keep the Feds out of healthcare and make it easier and more competitive to buy health insurance, as well as tort reform.

iwashere - because electric cars are not the best choice for many people. For instance, with our cars now, I can make it to my parents in 6.5 hours or my in-laws in 4.5 hours (due to distance, not traffic). If I had to use an electric car, these day-long trips would take an extra day or two as I would have to stop for many hours to recharge the batteries at least once or twice.

Hybrids might work better, but most of them are too small.

zvatone - I agree, this cat is not a Scottish Fold--it looks more like a short hair (either British or American, I am not sure).

Isn't parkour what James Bond did when chasing that guy in Africa in "Casino Royale?" Or was it "Quantum of Solace?" In either case, it was a really cool scene.

Tracie and Moon (and C.A.) - I am glad you all remember the correct quote.

Fran -- you are right.

Or to paraphrase, "the nut fell far from the tree."

I have been to that museum, and it is a pretty cool museum. Some of the instruments are quite scary looking, but it was cool to see (and not experience!).

That is not minimalist because it has too many pieces. If it wanted to be minimalist, it should ditch the wise men since they were not there anyway. The wise men showed up when Jesus was about 2 years old (perhaps a bit younger but definitely some time after He was born--why do you think King Herod had all boys aged 2 and younger killed as opposed to just newborns? Also, when the wise men showed up, they were looking for a child, not a baby).

I remember the game, too. You are talking about the text-based game that was played on the Commodore 64, correct?

By the way, does anybody know where I can get that towel in the picture entitled "Towel Day 2006"? That would be great to get. Thank you.