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FleaStiff
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February 10th, 2011 at 9:32:33 AM permalink
They should be passing PRO nuclear power and PRO nuclear war laws, the way some towns passed mandatory gun ownership laws when some group clamored to ban firearms.

All this makes as much sense as the law that makes it a misdemeanor to kick, carry, punt, throw or any manner convey or cause to be conveyed an inflated pigskin across the goal line of the Tuscon Badgers and is prominently posted in the visiting teams locker room.

Smuggling hugely pregnant women across the border so they deliver in the USA and the brat has citizenship does take place. The law SHOULD be that the Coyote, the woman and the little brat get shot on sight and their corpses left to rot right where they are found.

I'm tired of tax money going to pass laws trying to restrict violence in video games or laws that require teaching certain subjects in a school such as evolution, creationism or holocaust biases. I'm tired of new laws. Legislatures been passing laws for darn near two hundred years and they still ain't got it right yet. The best states are the ones who run occasional sessions of the legislature on a part-time non-salaried basis. Its a free country is simply a slogan that is inapplicable in any nation that passes more than five laws a year.

Texas wanted an English Only law... yet entire areas of Texas spoke Russian and German, not English or Spanish when Texas was being settled. Legislators are opposed to laborers riding the rails from farm to farm mainly because such laborers are viewed as ethnically undesirable but until 1910 the highest migrant laboring groups in this country were the Germans and Irish.

Schools are major circulators of pathogens and are a net loss to societal productivity and SHOULD be illegal but any politician who tries to force parents to school their children would be hanged from the nearest lamp post by marauding mobs of enraged mothers.

Stop looking for common sense, truth or a sense of values in politics! It ain't never been there and it ain't never gonna be there. We fought a revolution partly to be free of citizens having to support all those Crown officials yet we as a nation now support more federal, state and local officials than was ever contemplated by the Founding Fathers.
pacomartin
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February 10th, 2011 at 10:49:34 AM permalink
Quote: FleaStiff

Smuggling hugely pregnant women across the border so they deliver in the USA and the brat has citizenship does take place. The law SHOULD be that the Coyote, the woman and the little brat get shot on sight and their corpses left to rot right where they are found.



You really stepped over the line here. You can't call for violence against women and children even if they broke a law.
Wizard
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February 10th, 2011 at 6:39:13 PM permalink
I had to split off FleaStiff's post below because I found it so offensive and repugnant. Especially this part.

Quote: FleaStiff

Smuggling hugely pregnant women across the border so they deliver in the USA and the brat has citizenship does take place. The law SHOULD be that the Coyote, the woman and the little brat get shot on sight and their corpses left to rot right where they are found.



I'm deeply embarrassed that it is on my site. However, I have to admit that I find no rule that it breaks. At least, this kind of bile belongs in the Free Speech Zone, which is why I put it here. The thread it was split off from is Is the cost of defending constitutionally questionable laws worth it.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
FinsRule
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February 10th, 2011 at 8:59:09 PM permalink
If you're embarrassed that it's on your site, you should remove it. It's yours, not ours.

You make your living off of this, and that should trump free speech.

If talk about shooting babies is allowed, what is not allowed? Raping children?

I'm disturbed, and I don't care if it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
Wavy70
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February 10th, 2011 at 9:14:30 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I had to split off FleaStiff's post below because I found it so offensive and repugnant. Especially this part.



I'm deeply embarrassed that it is on my site. However, I have to admit that I find no rule that it breaks. At least, this kind of bile belongs in the Free Speech Zone, which is why I put it here. The thread it was split off from is Is the cost of defending constitutionally questionable laws worth it.



I question why this would even be on a gambling forum. I can only imagine that no one in the real world will listen to this trash so these "people" need to soap box.
But I agree with the other poster. If you find it offensive get rid of it. Aside from the sheer offensiveness it reflects poorly on your site.
I have a bewitched egg that I use to play VP with and I have net over 900k with it.
Wizard
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February 10th, 2011 at 10:06:59 PM permalink
Quote: FinsRule

If you're embarrassed that it's on your site, you should remove it. It's yours, not ours.

You make your living off of this, and that should trump free speech.



Valid point. However, I'm very left brained, and live in my own world organized by rules and order. If I don't abide by my own rules, then what do I stand for?

What I think may be called for is a nuclear option rule that for the greater good of the forum, I can delete posts, suspend/expel members, and do anything else I damn well please. Something for me to think about.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
FleaStiff
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February 11th, 2011 at 4:08:51 AM permalink
Okay.. Delete it then.
The thread related to costs of enforcing dubious laws.
The laws that allow a child born in the USA to be a citizen even if his mother was brought across the border while in labor are an example of how we allow absurd notions to be a costly expense to the American taxpayer because we are lacking in the courage to take swift and immediately effective action.
Hijacking of vessels off Somalia.... go in and leave five thousand rotting corpses lying there. End of problem!
Pregnant women in labor being smuggled across the border... shoot them and let the photos be on TV: for the Coyotes who smuggle them to see and for the women who would try to enter this country illegally.

Consider the tribute the USA was paying to the Barbary Pirates because we had a small navy and the war was distant. Holland had their ships attacked and a Dutch admiral seized pirate ship after pirate ship that sailed out of Tripoli and after having amassed hundreds of captives he anchored just out of gun range and sent his demands ashore. When there was the slightest delay, he spent the entire day hanging the pirates from the yardarm and letting the hundreds of corpses float into the harbor. After that not a single Dutch ship was again molested by the Barbary Pirates. Problem solved, no further expense to the Dutch taxpayers.

We've created a breed of officials who are so oriented to compromise and negotiation and lack of conflict that as a nation we seem unable to defend our borders or deal effectively with problems. We send prisoners to serve life sentences of free gym memberships, free shrinks, free doctors, free food .. all because politicians are afraid to take swift and immediately effective action because it might offend some minority.

Gambling site? I sure wish it had remained one. Instead it seems to have become more of a gay lifestyle gambling site.

You had a thread on the COSTS of enforcing absurd laws. Well, I focused on the costs involved and the proper method for ending those expenses. Sorry if solving a problem rather than perpetuating it offended you.
boymimbo
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February 11th, 2011 at 5:39:27 AM permalink
I don't think shooting the family is a viable option. It would be better I think to not let them in.
----- You want the truth! You can't handle the truth!
benbakdoff
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February 11th, 2011 at 8:51:20 AM permalink
Quote: FleaStiff

Okay.. Delete it then.
The thread related to costs of enforcing dubious laws.
The laws that allow a child born in the USA to be a citizen even if his mother was brought across the border while in labor are an example of how we allow absurd notions to be a costly expense to the American taxpayer because we are lacking in the courage to take swift and immediately effective action.
Hijacking of vessels off Somalia.... go in and leave five thousand rotting corpses lying there. End of problem!
Pregnant women in labor being smuggled across the border... shoot them and let the photos be on TV: for the Coyotes who smuggle them to see and for the women who would try to enter this country illegally.

Consider the tribute the USA was paying to the Barbary Pirates because we had a small navy and the war was distant. Holland had their ships attacked and a Dutch admiral seized pirate ship after pirate ship that sailed out of Tripoli and after having amassed hundreds of captives he anchored just out of gun range and sent his demands ashore. When there was the slightest delay, he spent the entire day hanging the pirates from the yardarm and letting the hundreds of corpses float into the harbor. After that not a single Dutch ship was again molested by the Barbary Pirates. Problem solved, no further expense to the Dutch taxpayers.

We've created a breed of officials who are so oriented to compromise and negotiation and lack of conflict that as a nation we seem unable to defend our borders or deal effectively with problems. We send prisoners to serve life sentences of free gym memberships, free shrinks, free doctors, free food .. all because politicians are afraid to take swift and immediately effective action because it might offend some minority.

Gambling site? I sure wish it had remained one. Instead it seems to have become more of a gay lifestyle gambling site.

You had a thread on the COSTS of enforcing absurd laws. Well, I focused on the costs involved and the proper method for ending those expenses. Sorry if solving a problem rather than perpetuating it offended you.



I share your frustration over illegal immigration and commend you for speaking your mind, although I could never agree to the shooting of anyone.

I joined this site last July because of the Triple Down Promotion at Mohegan Sun. I've stayed around because of my interest in gambling, gambling stories , and related travel.

I certainly do agree with your wish that this site remain a gambling site.
OneAngryDwarf
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February 11th, 2011 at 9:03:03 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard


What I think may be called for is a nuclear option rule that for the greater good of the forum, I can delete posts, suspend/expel members, and do anything else I damn well please. Something for me to think about.



Wizard, have you ever considered appointing other trusted forum members to be moderators, or at least co-moderate along with you? I've seen this sort of thing happen to just about every message board, where trolls and other undesirable elements gradually creep in and the poor guy who started it, with the noble goal of creating a place where people with a common interest can come together, gets in over his head. (Though thankfully, this board is still nowhere near as bad as others.)

Far be it from me to tell you how to run your site, but moderating an Internet message board is a very different job than analyzing casino games, and since the former task seems to be causing you some stress, obviously your paying job is what you should focus on. But as someone who enjoys this site and doesn't want to see it go away, I think appointing extra moderators is something to seriously consider.

(And before anyone says it, no, I have zero interest and hereby disqualify myself from the job. I just wanted to make the suggestion...)
"I believe I've passed the age/of consciousness and righteous rage/I've found that just surviving was a noble fight... I once believed in causes too/I had my pointless point of view/And life went on no matter who was wrong or right..." --Billy Joel
Wavy70
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February 11th, 2011 at 9:18:08 AM permalink
Quote: FleaStiff


Gambling site? I sure wish it had remained one. Instead it seems to have become more of a gay lifestyle gambling site.



So your solution is to make it a hate site?
Not sure where your spew is heading but I doubt we should start using 18th century Dutch rulers for guidance.

Think about the cost a person is paying for this website and the fact that it is ad free and it is this persons face to the world. Some day I hope you own a store and have someone spout garbage and offensive "ideas" and I am sure you will afford them the courtesy to allow them to continue.
I have a bewitched egg that I use to play VP with and I have net over 900k with it.
Wavy70
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February 11th, 2011 at 9:19:41 AM permalink
Quote: OneAngryDwarf

Wizard, have you ever considered appointing other trusted forum members to be moderators, or at least co-moderate along with you? I've seen this sort of thing happen to just about every message board, where trolls and other undesirable elements gradually creep in and the poor guy who started it, with the noble goal of creating a place where people with a common interest can come together, gets in over his head. (Though thankfully, this board is still nowhere near as bad as others.)

Far be it from me to tell you how to run your site, but moderating an Internet message board is a very different job than analyzing casino games, and since the former task seems to be causing you some stress, obviously your paying job is what you should focus on. But as someone who enjoys this site and doesn't want to see it go away, I think appointing extra moderators is something to seriously consider.

(And before anyone says it, no, I have zero interest and hereby disqualify myself from the job. I just wanted to make the suggestion...)



Sad that it is needed with "Adults".
I have a bewitched egg that I use to play VP with and I have net over 900k with it.
DJTeddyBear
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February 11th, 2011 at 9:42:09 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Valid point. However, I'm very left brained, and live in my own world organized by rules and order. If I don't abide by my own rules, then what do I stand for?

What I think may be called for is a nuclear option rule that for the greater good of the forum, I can delete posts, suspend/expel members, and do anything else I damn well please. Something for me to think about.

Please do. Or, select moderators to do your bidding.

Nobody here disputes that this is your playground. But a lot of us are surpised that you haven't used your King-Of-The-Hill status more.



Quote: FleaStiff

Gambling site? I sure wish it had remained one. Instead it seems to have become more of a gay lifestyle gambling site.

That was started AFTER getting the Wizard's blessing.

The "problem" with it, and with the Free Speech Zone, is that any member who comes to this site via a bookmark to the Recent Threats page, can't tell the difference between recent posts in those sub-forums or other sub-forums. This is a problem that is on JB's to-do list.
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
OneAngryDwarf
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February 11th, 2011 at 9:53:50 AM permalink
Quote: Wavy70

Sad that it is needed with "Adults".



It's the anonymity factor. Since people don't have to put their real name behind anything they write, they feel free to act in a way they wouldn't dare act to someone's face.
"I believe I've passed the age/of consciousness and righteous rage/I've found that just surviving was a noble fight... I once believed in causes too/I had my pointless point of view/And life went on no matter who was wrong or right..." --Billy Joel
Wizard
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February 11th, 2011 at 10:15:40 AM permalink
I am strongly thinking about a set of new rules and policies to take effect at the end of the month. Here are the changes I'm thinking of:

1. Higher expectations will be set for gentlemanly conduct. There will be fewer warnings and stronger punishments for violations.
2. I will appoint more administrators specifically tasked with busting offensive posts.
3. I will do away with the Free Speech Zone.
4. Extreme political rants will not be allowed. Granted, one person's extremist is another person's centrist. I pretty much draw the line at wishing harm upon somebody who has done no intentional harm to others.
5. There will be a nuclear option where I can invoke my right as a dictator whenever I feel like.

Discussion of topics not relating to gambling and Vegas will still be allowed. This is supposed to be a community, and none of us are defined by gambling and Vegas alone.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
Croupier
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February 11th, 2011 at 10:23:44 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I am strongly thinking about a set of new rules and policies to take effect at the end of the month. Here are the changes I'm thinking of:

1. Higher expectations will be set for gentlemanly conduct. There will be fewer warnings and stronger punishments for violations.
2. I will appoint more administrators specifically tasked with busting offensive posts.
3. I will do away with the Free Speech Zone.
4. Extreme political rants will not be allowed. Granted, one person's extremist is another person's centrist. I pretty much draw the line at wishing harm upon somebody who has done no intentional harm to others.
5. There will be a nuclear option where I can invoke my right as a dictator whenever I feel like.

Discussion of topics not relating to gambling and Vegas will still be allowed. This is supposed to be a community, and none of us are defined by gambling and Vegas alone.



I concur completely. I must admit, I have some pretty strict opinions regarding crime and punisment, but I must admit FleaStiffs advocation of murder as a cost cutting exercise left me shocked. In the case of non resident pregnancy (the world over) I would just say that babies inherit the nationality of the parents automatically.

And Wiz, you should always remember: Its your party, you can cry if you want to. (so ends my bad analogy old with song lyrics)
[This space is intentionally left blank]
mkl654321
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February 11th, 2011 at 10:52:02 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I am strongly thinking about a set of new rules and policies to take effect at the end of the month. Here are the changes I'm thinking of:

1. Higher expectations will be set for gentlemanly conduct. There will be fewer warnings and stronger punishments for violations.
2. I will appoint more administrators specifically tasked with busting offensive posts.
3. I will do away with the Free Speech Zone.
4. Extreme political rants will not be allowed. Granted, one person's extremist is another person's centrist. I pretty much draw the line at wishing harm upon somebody who has done no intentional harm to others.
5. There will be a nuclear option where I can invoke my right as a dictator whenever I feel like.

Discussion of topics not relating to gambling and Vegas will still be allowed. This is supposed to be a community, and none of us are defined by gambling and Vegas alone.



I'm not particularly inclined to come to the defense of FleaStiff, but I think that he was using hyperbole rather than articulating an honestly held opinion. It is also worth noting that his proposed solution probably would work; China and Russia, as examples, don't have illegal immigration problems because they either shoot outright or put in labor camps anyone who tries to get in illegally. We're not willing to go that route, but many people are very frustrated that we don't enforce our own laws, and there's a lot of anger produced as a result.

I totally agree that neither Fleastiff's tone nor the content of his message were acceptable, but I think that any reaction to it should be modulated by the realization that it was hyperbole, and should not be taken at face value. There's a "piling on" phenomenon here, hardly unique to this board, that when one person criticizes another's post, everyone else feels compelled, and feels SAFE, to chime in. I don't object to the mass disapproval flung at FleaStiff so much as the collective decision to completely ignore that it was rhetorical exaggeration--everyone is acting as though he wants to murder women and children, as though he were an SS officer in a concentration camp or something.

I think we should save our outrage, given that we presumably have a finite amount of it (though I'm beginning to wonder about that). I do totally agree that the final decision belongs in the Wiz's hands, and he can do whatever he wants to re this site, INCLUDING breaking his own rules if he deems it necessary. Who pays the piper calls the tune.
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.---George Bernard Shaw
Wavy70
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February 11th, 2011 at 4:14:02 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I am strongly thinking about a set of new rules and policies to take effect at the end of the month. Here are the changes I'm thinking of:

1. Higher expectations will be set for gentlemanly conduct. There will be fewer warnings and stronger punishments for violations.
2. I will appoint more administrators specifically tasked with busting offensive posts.
3. I will do away with the Free Speech Zone.
4. Extreme political rants will not be allowed. Granted, one person's extremist is another person's centrist. I pretty much draw the line at wishing harm upon somebody who has done no intentional harm to others.
5. There will be a nuclear option where I can invoke my right as a dictator whenever I feel like.

Discussion of topics not relating to gambling and Vegas will still be allowed. This is supposed to be a community, and none of us are defined by gambling and Vegas alone.



Here here!
I have a bewitched egg that I use to play VP with and I have net over 900k with it.
thecesspit
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February 11th, 2011 at 5:56:50 PM permalink
Quote: FleaStiff



Gambling site? I sure wish it had remained one. Instead it seems to have become more of a gay lifestyle gambling site.



That's patently not true, given the number of posts about Gay Vegas and the number of posts about gambling and Vegas in the last few weeks.

Quote:


You had a thread on the COSTS of enforcing absurd laws. Well, I focused on the costs involved and the proper method for ending those expenses. Sorry if solving a problem rather than perpetuating it offended you.



I think you are an arsehole. My solution to this problem is therefore to shoot you and leave you dying in the desert. Sorry if solving a problem instead of perpetuating it offends you, or even inconveniences you in some way. A couple of rotting corpses on the Wizard of Vegas's (virtual) front porch will no doubt scare off others.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
weaselman
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February 12th, 2011 at 3:25:53 AM permalink
Quote: mkl654321

China and Russia, as examples, don't have illegal immigration problems because they either shoot outright or put in labor camps anyone who tries to get in illegally.


I don't know about China, but Russia does have a huge illegal immigration problem. The reason you don't hear about it as often is because it has so many other problems, this one just doesn't seem as important yet.

There is no need to shoot anyone. We don't even really need to decline the babies their citizenship. Just deport the mothers. Problem solved. And stop the government financing of their well being.
Despite what many people think, there are no technical or financial problems with enforcing the law. The only reason it's not enforced is political. Today's illegal immigrants are tomorrow's electorate (and their families are today's), that some politicians just do not want to alienate. If we started deporting illegals now, no Democrat would have much chance of winning elections in the observable future. Of course, they don't want that to happen, and will come up with any lame excuse they can to avoid it, like the common "you can't deport everyone" line.
"When two people always agree one of them is unnecessary"
Face
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February 12th, 2011 at 6:04:01 AM permalink
Strange, but I see a lot of value in Flea's post. To be clear, the harming of an innocent mother and slaughter of born or un-born babies is repulsive; being a relatively new father, I had a very adverse reaction to that part. However, I think the fury which he convey's speaks to the level of the problem that illegal immigration has become. If this had been the first time I had heard something of this nature uttered, yeah, maybe we could write him off as a morbid psychopath. But, it seems as though more and more people are spouting the same hyper-violent ideas. I think any subject that garners this much of this type of reaction deserves immediate attention, as I feel we're nearing ever closer to that line where saying becomes doing. I don't mean to imply that Flea's going to be on the News anytime soon, but damn, someone almost surely will be. I wonder why it seems the government is dragging it's feet on the matter. If it is indeed such a tremendous drain on resources, could it really be that hard / expensive to say "OK, that whole born here = citizenship thing? Yeah, that's gone now". Seems a lot cheeper than building a country long fence, and a whole lot cleaner than shooting people out of hand.
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AZDuffman
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February 12th, 2011 at 7:17:42 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I am strongly thinking about a set of new rules and policies to take effect at the end of the month. Here are the changes I'm thinking of:

1. Higher expectations will be set for gentlemanly conduct. There will be fewer warnings and stronger punishments for violations.
2. I will appoint more administrators specifically tasked with busting offensive posts.
3. I will do away with the Free Speech Zone.
4. Extreme political rants will not be allowed. Granted, one person's extremist is another person's centrist. I pretty much draw the line at wishing harm upon somebody who has done no intentional harm to others.
5. There will be a nuclear option where I can invoke my right as a dictator whenever I feel like.

Discussion of topics not relating to gambling and Vegas will still be allowed. This is supposed to be a community, and none of us are defined by gambling and Vegas alone.




I have a few thoughts on it all. First, I wish this post had been somehow elevated to an "announcement" as I only saw the whole thing as an issue via another post. But anyways....

1. Yes, higher standard might help. The "gentlemanly conduct" statement is the key. Maybe use an ivy-league "gentlemen's club" as a sort of model. (no offense intneded to any ladies on this board.) Maybe a motto of "anyone is free to enter but a privlege to stay," or along that line of thinking.

2. Yes, there are too many threads here for anyone to follow. How much "power" you give them will be important. We would not want the site to be run by people with an "HOA Menatality" busting for the sake of busting.

3. No, keep the FSZ. Like every town needs a red-light district because vice will pop up every site needs this kind of section. But I would tighten up the rules in it a little.

4. This hard territory, what is "extreme?" Wanting harm inflicted would fit the bill, but I'd say all politics, exception of gaming related, must go in FSZ.

5. You already have this option.


Being a Vegas Board I would say some western-style law enforcement is needed. 80/20 rule in that 80% of problems are caused by 20% of population. Identify that 20%, let them know what behavior is a problem, then enforce to correct that behavior.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
DJTeddyBear
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February 12th, 2011 at 8:21:41 AM permalink
I've said it before, even in this thread.

The problem with the Free Speech Zone is the lack of identification in the Recent Threads page - a page many of us use as our entry point / bookmark.


I just thought of a solution that doesn't require JB to make programming changes.


All threads in the Free Speech Zone should have FSZ in the beginning of the thread title. Any thread that doesn't can be easily fixed by a moderator.

Possibly do the same for the GLBT Forum.


Just my 2¢. Keep the change...
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
SOOPOO
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February 12th, 2011 at 8:56:50 AM permalink
I would surmise that Fleastiff has a basic understanding of the laws of our nation and must know that deadly force would not be deemed acceptable for a non citizen woman in labor on our side of the border. Given that, I took his original post as just being an inflammatory way to express his frustrations with the practice of illegal border crossing for the purpose of gaining citizenship for the soon to be born. Thus I would say, given that there is a 'free speech zone' here, I would not want any action taken against fleastiff, and would want his post to remain. I think the back and forth it has generated has been interesting.
weaselman
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February 12th, 2011 at 5:46:09 PM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear




All threads in the Free Speech Zone should have FSZ in the beginning of the thread title. Any thread that doesn't can be easily fixed by a moderator.

Possibly do the same for the GLBT Forum.


If the title is clear and descriptive enough, and you find it interesting, why do you care which subforum it is in. If you don't find it interesting, then still why do you care.
If it is not clear or descriptive, then ... well, I guess, then "it can easily be fixed by moderator" :)
"When two people always agree one of them is unnecessary"
pacomartin
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February 12th, 2011 at 7:10:14 PM permalink
Quote: Face

Strange, but I see a lot of value in Flea's post. To be clear, the harming of an innocent mother and slaughter of born or un-born babies is repulsive; being a relatively new father, I had a very adverse reaction to that part. However, I think the fury which he convey's speaks to the level of the problem that illegal immigration has become.



I put non-gaming threads on this site, because generally I get much more intelligent responses then I do on sites that specifically have categories on this subject. I expect a controversial subject to inspire some ranting. Just not the advocacy of shooting mothers and letting their bodies rot in the desert.

I think if you did a poll, you would find that the majority of people believe that birth on the soil of America in and of itself should not be a guarantee of right of citizenship. But they know that the idea of a constitutional amendment is very unlikely, or alternatively that the supreme court is going to change their interpretation of the amendment without some prompting. I have some sympathy with Arizonians who say they are bearing the brunt of this policy. Some just want to pass the law, and have it shot down in federal court simply because they do not know any other way to draw attention to the issue.

But the idea that you can say "OK, that whole born here = citizenship thing? Yeah, that's gone now" is not going to work. We don't change the constitution lightly.

===============
Deviating from the legal issue for a minute, I would like to urge people to think about where they are focusing their anger. This immigration in search of economic opportunity is a global phenomena. Granted it is probably the biggest in the USA. There are 4th generation Japanese living in Brazil whose ancestors were farmers and were looking for opportunity.

Think about whole generations of families growing up in small Mexican village where all the men of working age are gone. Off to other countries seeking work. How hard is that on families? The southern border of Mexico is a horrible mess of murder, gang violence,lawlessness and mass prostitution as hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans who are younger and poorer than Mexicans sneak across the border in search of more opportunity. They cannot bring in the corn crop in Mexico because so many men are in the USA working the fields.

Water does not choose where it should run. People are governed by economic necessity. When the capital of the USA makes jobs in Mexico you will have illegal immigration. If you are an ambitious young man in Veracruz, there has to be some opportunity in your home state so that you don't have to go to California to make a living.

From 1955 to 1965 the population growth rate was 6.7% in Britain,17.2% in the USA, and 37.1% in Mexico. When they changed the laws governing immigration into the USA in 1966 the government did it deliberately to assure that the USA would have a growing workforce. The writing was clearly etched on the wall as far back as 1966. Illegal immigration was going on from the 1950's. The US government clearly knew that what they were doing would radically change the demography of the USA. It was also obvious that you couldn't change the demographics that much and not have illegal immigration follow legal immigration.

People are trying for opportunity. If they break immigration law then you have to deport them. It is a crime, but it doesn't deserve violence.
Face
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Face
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February 13th, 2011 at 5:35:10 AM permalink
Quote: pacomartin

But the idea that you can say "OK, that whole born here = citizenship thing? Yeah, that's gone now" is not going to work. We don't change the constitution lightly.



Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it would be so simple. I'm just trying to keep my posts shorter ;)

Of course amending the Constitution would take effort, but it's not unprecidented. Wasn't prohibition enacted due to the fear of alcohol harming our people and our societies? Only with immigration, we have a hurt being inflicted upon us, rather than inflicted as a result of our own behavior. It seems that since we are being 'attacked', for lack of a better word, it would be that much more likely that an amendment would be considered. Of course, no amendment has ever occurred in my relatively short life time so I can not speak accurately on the effort it would take, but I would have to think it would be cheaper, easier, and faster than any of the proposed plans, of which I can only remember some uber fence and the 'minute men'.

I also don't think it'd be a panacea, but I do think it'd be a good start. Probably the biggest issue is not them taking the bottom of the barrel labor jobs, but bleeding us of the resources (health care) we're already quite low on. Sure there are other problems caused by illegals, but to make an analogy - If you are 'attacked', you don't worry about infection, or stitches, or scars...hell you don't even try to stop the bleeding. The first thing you do is stop the guy next to you from stabbing you.
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PaulEWog
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February 13th, 2011 at 11:50:41 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I am strongly thinking about a set of new rules and policies to take effect at the end of the month. Here are the changes I'm thinking of:

1. Higher expectations will be set for gentlemanly conduct. There will be fewer warnings and stronger punishments for violations.



I think this is a fine idea. I frequent forums to learn a little, contribute as I can, and hopefully have a little fun in the process but seeing the same garbage over and over again in multiple posts and threads can get old pretty fast.

Quote:


2. I will appoint more administrators specifically tasked with busting offensive posts.


Everybody has a different definition of what is offensive which may make it difficult for others to figure out just what should get the boot. Some forums have what essentially amounts to a "quarantine" area that isn't visible to the public. Moderators can move a post to that area to quickly remove it from sight but if you believe that was overly aggressive you can reinstate it at will. If this forum doesn't have such a feature and it isn't too difficult to implement it might be something you find useful.
Wizard
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February 13th, 2011 at 11:55:39 AM permalink
After giving this more thought, the FSZ will remain. What I think would be a good idea would be to have separate areas for gambling and non-gambling topics. Almost like two separate sites. So the "recent threads" would have only those of that category. However, this would take a lot of recoding, and JB has his hands full with behind the scenes stuff on the Odds site.

That is a good idea of at least putting FSZ in the title of FSZ threads. However, I don't have the ability to change thread titles. For now, making that a request is the best I can do.

The rule about "extreme political expression" I agree is vague. There was another gambling forum with a liberal policy on free speech, and it turned into a gathering place for Neo Nazis. That is not something I will allow, but I think I'll postpone dealing with that until and if it happens. For now, say what whatever you wish in the FSZ, subject to existing rules.

A bit off topic, but I've read several complaints in other threads about the GLT topic area, and why there isn't one for other groups, like one for Christianity. If I felt there were a large base of any religion on this forum I would not oppose making a place of their own for them. Would anybody care to formally request something like a Christianity Corner, and make an effort to make topic-related posts there?
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
mkl654321
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February 13th, 2011 at 12:14:11 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Would anybody care to formally request something like a Christianity Corner, and make an effort to make topic-related posts there?



Only if there's also an Atheists'/Skeptics' Corner.
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.---George Bernard Shaw
pacomartin
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February 13th, 2011 at 1:14:20 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

A bit off topic, but I've read several complaints in other threads about the GLT topic area, and why there isn't one for other groups, like one for Christianity. If I felt there were a large base of any religion on this forum I would not oppose making a place of their own for them. Would anybody care to formally request something like a Christianity Corner, and make an effort to make topic-related posts there?



Personally, I think you will go crazy trying to turn the site into a general purpose blog. GLBT is a standard section of most travel sites for the past several decades since it has become apparent that they are a significant portion of the travel industry.

There are two subsections of Gaming business that are not connected properly. There are no threads in them at all. If you could fix that error, I would appreciate it.
DJTeddyBear
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February 13th, 2011 at 3:01:55 PM permalink
Quote: pacomartin

Personally, I think you will go crazy trying to turn the site into a general purpose blog. GLBT is a standard section of most travel sites for the past several decades since it has become apparent that they are a significant portion of the travel industry.

Ditto.

While Nareed has made the GLBT area something of a personal diary, I find no fault in that. On the contrary, I enjoy reading about his unique journey thru life, and am sorry I won't be at WovCon to meet him (or will that be her?)


Quote: pacomartin

There are two subsections of Gaming business that are not connected properly. There are no threads in them at all. If you could fix that error, I would appreciate it.


That's partially your own fault. For example, your latest thread, Yearly Gaming Abstract for Vegas strip is in the MGM-Mirage section of the Business forum. Why? There's nothing in your thread specific to ANY casino. It should have been in the currently empty Other sub-forum. That's just one example - the first I checked. There are probably more.

Ordinarily I don't throw people under the bus, but...
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
pacomartin
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February 13th, 2011 at 8:54:57 PM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear


That's partially your own fault. For example, your latest thread, Yearly Gaming Abstract for Vegas strip is in the MGM-Mirage section of the Business forum. Why? There's nothing in your thread specific to ANY casino. It should have been in the currently empty Other sub-forum. That's just one example - the first I checked. There are probably more.

Ordinarily I don't throw people under the bus, but...



I would like to put it in the "business/other" category, but it connects to "entertainment/other" section. If you don't believe me try it. I put it under MGM-Mirage only because I don't know where else to put it.
DJTeddyBear
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February 14th, 2011 at 4:58:12 AM permalink
Quote: pacomartin

Quote: DJTeddyBear

That's partially your own fault. For example, your latest thread, Yearly Gaming Abstract for Vegas strip is in the MGM-Mirage section of the Business forum. Why? There's nothing in your thread specific to ANY casino. It should have been in the currently empty Other sub-forum. That's just one example - the first I checked. There are probably more.

Ordinarily I don't throw people under the bus, but...


I would like to put it in the "business/other" category, but it connects to "entertainment/other" section. If you don't believe me try it. I put it under MGM-Mirage only because I don't know where else to put it.


Oh. That's different.

It could be that JB didn't even know about this bug....
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
boymimbo
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February 14th, 2011 at 6:55:56 AM permalink
While Flea's post went overboard, it belongs where it belongs. I don't think that an overhaul of the forums or the site is of order.
----- You want the truth! You can't handle the truth!
ItsCalledSoccer
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February 14th, 2011 at 7:14:29 AM permalink
I think your new rules were okay, specifically #5 about there being a nuclear option that you get to run your site how you want. Three reasons, mostly:

1. It's your site, and you don't owe us any explanations. While some level of consistency is appreciated by your membership, I don't see any inconsistency in a rule that pretty much says, "Don't piss off the owner" or "Don't post anything on MY site that makes me embarrassed to be running it."

2. Sometimes rules have to be defended rather than followed. Your site is only rule-worthy if it remains tenable to the folks you're trying to attract. If it becomes untenable and nobody comes here any more because of Flea or MKL or JerryLogan or whoever, then your rules, no matter how great, are worthless. I would guess the need to defend supersedes any need for consistency.

3. If an alien kid (legal or illegal) gets shot by someone who's a member of this site, you may have a problem.

Quote: Wizard

A bit off topic, but I've read several complaints in other threads about the GLT topic area, and why there isn't one for other groups, like one for Christianity. If I felt there were a large base of any religion on this forum I would not oppose making a place of their own for them. Would anybody care to formally request something like a Christianity Corner, and make an effort to make topic-related posts there?



It's been my experience that special corners for things like Christianity or Republicans or even military have been more of a place for trolls to bash rather than one where Christians or Republicans or military can go to share a sense of community. For some reason, this doesn't happen in GLBT or Democrat sections (not that they don't get some trolls, but they're generally left alone, see also GLBT Corner on this site).
Nareed
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February 14th, 2011 at 8:06:07 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

The rule about "extreme political expression" I agree is vague. There was another gambling forum with a liberal policy on free speech, and it turned into a gathering place for Neo Nazis. That is not something I will allow, but I think I'll postpone dealing with that until and if it happens. For now, say what whatever you wish in the FSZ, subject to existing rules.



How about a rule against posting anything advocating propposing or suggesting, murder, violence, use of force or discrimination against any person or group anywhere on the site? This would seem to be unnnecessary in a civilized society, but the post atop this thread argues differently.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
ItsCalledSoccer
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February 14th, 2011 at 8:12:41 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

How about a rule against posting anything advocating propposing or suggesting, murder, violence, use of force or discrimination against any person or group anywhere on the site? This would seem to be unnnecessary in a civilized society, but the post atop this thread argues differently.



This makes some sense to me, so long as "discrimination" is not defined as "someone disagreeing with something someone wrote, taking offense (real or pretend), and trying to silence legitimate opinion differences using the vehicle called 'discrimination'." That's just a different kind of tyranny.
Nareed
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February 14th, 2011 at 10:09:07 AM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear

While Nareed has made the GLBT area something of a personal diary, I find no fault in that.



No one else has really started any threads there, and I don't want to leave the section empty or abandoned. So I post about my doings there, and sometimes there are a few replies. I expect to post a great deal more about my trip there, but that won't be until June. By then I'll have actual Vegas-related experiences to post (I fervently hope).

I wonder if there's any interest about the process in both the medical and legal aspects. I should look it up because my info may be a bit out of date, but it would require substantial postings. More so if I include my speculations on the future.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
mkl654321
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February 14th, 2011 at 10:49:47 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

No one else has really started any threads there, and I don't want to leave the section empty or abandoned. So I post about my doings there, and sometimes there are a few replies. I expect to post a great deal more about my trip there, but that won't be until June. By then I'll have actual Vegas-related experiences to post (I fervently hope).

I wonder if there's any interest about the process in both the medical and legal aspects. I should look it up because my info may be a bit out of date, but it would require substantial postings. More so if I include my speculations on the future.



My niece has undergone the "process" (in the reverse direction that you have) and it's cost her all her money, destroyed her health, brought back some severe conditions that were previously in abatement, and changed her voice, which was wonderful, to a hoarse croaking. I am perfectly in accord with her legal right to inflict this process on herself, but then, I also favor legalized suicide.

(And the end result is not that she's a man, but rather, a mutilated woman.)
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.---George Bernard Shaw
Nareed
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February 14th, 2011 at 11:12:52 AM permalink
Quote: mkl654321

(And the end result is not that she's a man, but rather, a mutilated woman.)



And you wonder I have nothing to say to you.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
teddys
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February 14th, 2011 at 6:28:16 PM permalink
FleaStiff's statement was the archetypal kind of protected free speech -- something you may disagree with, even find horribly distasteful, but must be allowed in a free society. As long as he is not inciting violence or advocating violent overthrow, it should be allowed.

Then again, it is your site, so you can do whatever you want. If you want to follow "free speech" principles, however, as the title of the forum indicates, you should allow it.
"Dice, verily, are armed with goads and driving-hooks, deceiving and tormenting, causing grievous woe." -Rig Veda 10.34.4
Nareed
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February 14th, 2011 at 6:41:00 PM permalink
Quote: teddys

FleaStiff's statement was the archetypal kind of protected free speech -- something you may disagree with, even find horribly distasteful, but must be allowed in a free society. As long as he is not inciting violence or advocating violent overthrow, it should be allowed.



Hmm. Suggesting anyone shoot, assuming to kill, people not engaged in either violent acts or posing an imminent threat to anyone is inciting violence.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
mkl654321
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February 14th, 2011 at 7:28:37 PM permalink
Quote: Nareed

And you wonder I have nothing to say to you.



I don't wonder at all.

It seems you persist in the fiction that there is such a thing possible as a "sex change operation". You can hack off or install some extremities, but you can't change the internal structure, organs, etc. without highly invasive and almost certainly fatal surgery. This isn't being mean or discriminatory or nasty or prejudiced or bigoted or oppressive or whatever other label. It's acknowledging a simple reality--that current medical science does not, in point of fact, include the ability to change a man into a woman, or a woman into a man.

Simple truth; we don't yet have the technology. Why get upset about it? It is what it is. The fact of the matter is that you will always be a man, because you were born that way: that's your anatomy. It might be nice if that didn't hold true, but wishing won't make it so. I certainly understand and even sympathize with the urge to change sex--this is where you are utterly wrong in your assumptions about me. I have seen how believing that it is possible to change sex has ruined my niece's body, and to some extent, her mind. I truly wish that what she wants--and what you want--WAS possible.
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.---George Bernard Shaw
Nareed
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February 14th, 2011 at 7:33:24 PM permalink
Quote: mkl654321

I don't wonder at all.




When will I ever learn: Do not feed the trolls.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
kracker21
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February 14th, 2011 at 8:38:58 PM permalink
Quote: Nareed

When will I ever learn: Do not feed the trolls.



Hes not a troll because he says something you dont want to hear. You can take a chev impala and do some body work on it change some parts but your not going to go around telling people its corvette
Nareed
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February 14th, 2011 at 8:42:14 PM permalink
Quote: kracker21

Hes not a troll because he says something you dont want to hear.



When he gets into the JL mode, his sole aim is to see how hurtful he can be. He fails miserably only because most everyone here knows better than to take him seriously. But if he wants to parade his ignorance all over the place, that's his choice. And if you want to join him go right ahead.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
kracker21
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February 14th, 2011 at 10:42:16 PM permalink
What did he say that is wrong? If you dont agree with someone you just call them a troll and ignorant.
mkl654321
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February 14th, 2011 at 10:45:21 PM permalink
Quote: Nareed

When he gets into the JL mode, his sole aim is to see how hurtful he can be. He fails miserably only because most everyone here knows better than to take him seriously. But if he wants to parade his ignorance all over the place, that's his choice. And if you want to join him go right ahead.



Nareed is being hypersensitive, and grossly unreasonable. I have no interest in hurting him, her, it, whichever pronoun he, she, it wants to use. Nor should he/she/it be offended by my simple statement: There is no such thing as a sex change operation, as in, an operation that results in an actual sex change. That isn't "ignorance"--"ignorance" is to fail to acknowledge that simple truth.

If anyone's in "the JL mode" here, it's Nareed.
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.---George Bernard Shaw
mkl654321
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February 14th, 2011 at 10:47:30 PM permalink
Quote: Nareed

When will I ever learn: Do not feed the trolls.



When will I ever learn: don't expect anyone who is in the habit of inappropriately and excessively reacting to perceived slights to ever change (or to EVER, ever acknowledge that they were wrong in doing so).
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.---George Bernard Shaw
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