That's not a small problem, though.
I don't understand this.
I was actually agreeing with you there.
Angel: Yeah, I never told anyone about this, but I-I liked your poems. Spike: You like Barry Manilow.
'Hell Bound'
Natter 41: Why Do I Click on ita's Links?!
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
brenda m - Dec 20, 2005 6:47:59 am PST #3506 of 10002
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there
flea - Dec 20, 2005 6:51:01 am PST #3507 of 10002
information libertarian
I am getting several gift cards for Christmas, and I know where they are from because they came in the mail in those unmistakeable envelopes. So I am browsing the relevant web sites trying to pick things I want.
I find gift cards a little depressing, actually. I mean, if you get a present you may get bizarrely wrong things, but I don't like trying to pick out my own present. I always feel the need to buy things on sale, or practical things I actually need, and I always have to chip in some of my own cash to cover the ridiculous shipping.
Am I alone in this?
bon bon - Dec 20, 2005 6:51:46 am PST #3508 of 10002
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
I was actually agreeing with you there.
Oh, ok.
amych - Dec 20, 2005 6:54:43 am PST #3509 of 10002
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
You're not alone, flea. I'm actually fine with getting a check, and don't mind picking for myself if I have some real choice, but I get weirdly anxious and cranky about the feeling of "I have to get something from *this* store" (even if it's not a store I especially like).
Amy - Dec 20, 2005 6:55:19 am PST #3510 of 10002
Because books.
Am I alone in this?
Nope. Unless it's for books, which I love to shop for. And even then, I try to make the gift certificate go as far as possible, but it's kind of fun for me -- how many books can I get with X dollars?
Nora Deirdre - Dec 20, 2005 6:56:26 am PST #3511 of 10002
I’m responsible for my own happiness? I can’t even be responsible for my own breakfast! (Bojack Horseman)
I don't like gift cards so much. To me, it seems like, the thought is, "get your own damn gift!" If someone doesn't know what to get me and doesn't care enough about the process to find out, I'd rather they not get me anything (being gifted makes me uncomfortable anyway) or give cash.
I did get a gift card for my dad, once, for Borders, because he loooves hanging out in bookstores and doesn't really have the cash to spend on books. Also, if it's a gift card for something like Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts or someplace that someone knows I go to a lot, those are OK. So I am kind of a hypocrite.
Gudanov - Dec 20, 2005 6:58:14 am PST #3512 of 10002
Coding and Sleeping
QUESTION: Why did you skip the basic safeguards of asking courts for permission for the intercepts?
BUSH: First of all, right after September the 11th, I knew we were fighting a different kind of war. And so I asked people in my administration to analyze how best for me and our government to do the job people expect us to do, which is to detect and prevent a possible attack. That's what the American people want.
We looked at the possible scenarios. And the people responsible for helping us protect and defend came forth with the current program, because it enables us to move faster and quicker, and that's important. We've got to be fast on our feet, quick to detect and prevent.
We use FISA still. You're referring to the FISA accord in your question. Of course we use FISAs.
But FISAs is for long-term monitoring. What is needed in order to protect the American people is the ability to move quickly to detect.
And having suggested this idea, I then, obviously, went to the question, is it legal to do so? I swore to uphold the laws. Do I have the legal authority to do this? And the answer is, absolutely.
As I mentioned in my remarks, the legal authority is derived from the Constitution, as well as the authorization of force by the United States Congress.
The Constitution grants the president authority to wiretap citizens without court approval?
§ ita § - Dec 20, 2005 7:00:11 am PST #3513 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I like gift cards. And if they're from new/different/strange stores, it's like an adventure.
I'm currently carrying balances on Bed Bath & Beyond, TGIF, and Banana Republic. TGIF irritates because it's out of my way, but other than that, free restaurant food! And it keeps me out of Applebee's.
Nutty - Dec 20, 2005 7:00:30 am PST #3514 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
I mean, if you get a present you may get bizarrely wrong things, but I don't like trying to pick out my own present. I always feel the need to buy things on sale, or practical things I actually need
I love picking out my own present. It's so much easier than getting a wrong thing and having to handle returning it; and anyway, it is spending someone else's money.
Spending someone else's money on a thing that is on sale is just icing on the cake! Spending someone else's money on a thing that is practical is not spending your own money on practical things! More lattes for me!
...I will spend your gift cards, if you really can't bear to.
Ginger - Dec 20, 2005 7:00:59 am PST #3515 of 10002
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Am I alone in this?
No. I do not like the gift card. In my family, people end up giving each other gift cards for the same amount. Why not just keep the money and say "Merry Christmas"? Plus gift cards turn convenient money into inconvenient money and sometimes it's inconvenient money with an expiration date. My relatives keep giving me gift cards to chains that are miles away from me, and once I've driven out to the store to spend the gift card, I feel like I have to spend it there even if there isn't anything I particularly want.