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Advice for Moms
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I am a lesbian and have been with my partner since we were both 15. We have been together for ten years and have 6 kids. My son is 6 and in the first grade. His homework assignment was to bring in a poster with pictures of his family members and to label who they were for family night. He worked so hard on his poster and was excited to take it to school.
When we got to school the teacher asked all the kids to hang their posters up so everyone could see. Another parent commented that my son shouldn't receive full credit for his poster because it has 2 mothers on it instead of a mom and dad. She then told her son not to sit by or play with my son because he carries the gay disease on his clothes. But then she didn't understand why this was rude to say in front of my son or in front of me. Do you find this rude? How would you react if someone said this to you or your child?
Let me just say that I am used to being judged for being who I am and being gay. But I never expected my 6 year old would have to deal with it at school.
This post has been locked, replies are no longer allowed.
by Judesmom333February 1, 2013 at 1:12 PMhow do you have a 6 yr old if you and your partner have been together 10 yrs.?
February 1, 2013 at 1:23 PMDid you actually ask that? O_o
Quoting Judesmom333:
how do you have a 6 yr old if you and your partner have been together 10 yrs.?
by atlmom2February 1, 2013 at 1:23 PM6 kids and 25. Wow.
by woodswalkerFebruary 1, 2013 at 1:26 PM
That is horrible! Of course its rude. I live in the five college area of Western Mass and there are so many families around here led by gay parents
Did the teacher speak up if she heard this mom? IF not, she should have. What the woman said was not only ignorant towards you but to any other kids who are being raised in non-traditional families--single parents, guardians, fosters....
I have a feeling your kids will be running into this type of ignorance a lot. The best thing to do would be to prepare them for it by being honest with them about the kind of family yours is and why some people feel it's not right.
February 1, 2013 at 1:27 PM
Quoting Judesmom333:
how do you have a 6 yr old if you and your partner have been together 10 yrs.?
by melissaaytesFebruary 1, 2013 at 1:27 PM
Idiots!!! Slap that bitch loL!! Yes it is very rude and inappropriate!!
February 1, 2013 at 1:28 PMIDK that's a hard one. How rude of her. Unfortunately all you can do is probably talk to your son about it, he's going to have to deal with rude comments from stupid people.
Maybe talk to the teacher and she can have a talk with the class about the different kinds of families. Or have her talk to the mother.
I'm not saying to do this but the first thing that crossed my mind is to go up to her and touch her.
Ask her to please respect your adult decision and not bring your sons into it. Then touch her and laugh telling her Ohh I'm sorry I touched you - whispering "I hope I didn't give you the gay." LOL.
February 1, 2013 at 1:30 PMI would of told that bitch mom off that was very rude


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The rep system is what it is, and as a feature on this board, it could stand the improvement of not being anonymous anymore.
If the rep system wasn't anonymous, either pos or neg, than people would perhaps think more about a comment they make before calling someone names for no reason. For some reason, It seems far easier to cut someone down than to give them a thumbs-up.


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Tried the conda's...30 series Dirt Hawgs...2.2 foams....now the 30 series Road Rage. These better be good, not many options left.
REVO LRP .30x
Trying to help a friend out on these gears, very little time left. My tranny is holding up fine, but some of you BB guys may need them. BTW, stay away from the aluminum gears, these are bronze.
REVO LRP .30x
What did you do to make the rims black?
No more money for rc trucks I got 1:1 truck
Remove as much chrome from the face of the wheels as possible, leaving them white. I use nail polish remover (contains acetone). You can get plain acetone for about $3 bucks, but I just borrow a little remover from the wife.Originally Posted by n3.3d_for_sp33d
I then dye the wheels using Rit Dye. I like the liquid instead of the powder. This covers that white, for when you scuff the black paint, you see no white peeking through.
After they were completly dry, spray painted with black gloss Fusion paint. It is very good spray paint, made for plastic.
Then I usually finish with a urethane finish or clear coat, but for these I just applied (3) good coats of the black fusion. They looked so good, I left them alone.
REVO LRP .30x
great job i like the blacked out lookOriginally Posted by revonitro
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
Thanks bro. Just trying to build a fast Jato while keeping it looking nice as well. No hack job here. LOLOriginally Posted by MRB1GG
Tested the 30 series RR's today, outside temps only about 75%. Have to rate them a couple notches above the conda's, but maybe a notch below the Dirt Hawgs. The RR's may get you a little more on the top, but the knobs on the Dirt Hawgs seem to hook up better off the line.
Ran tests with 29/54=1.86, close to the 19/36=1.89. Will test 25/38=1.52 and 25/40=1.60 and posts results while waiting to get the Bushnell.
REVO LRP .30x
i aggree 100% if you going to build a fast car it has to be good looking too hehehehehe great job
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
Anybody know which Bushnell radar gun to get, both are the same price?
REVO LRP .30x
Hey revo i seen where you posted in the other forum bout the 20/38 not best for high speed. Well crap thats what i was running! what have you had the best luck with? should i just pop it up to 20/40 or will that be a noticable diff.
And did you ever find you a carb that was bigger that would fit in the .21?
Little off topic but what wing is that? Do you notice it helping with grip and/or flight on jumps?
Forget the gear ratio theory, not a perfect science, more a guide IMO. The lower the ratio doesn't necessarily mean a faster top speed. It all depends on how your engine responds to it. Every engine is different, some 3.3 won't even wheelie, some wheelie with 20/40. Some have BUKU pipes/bigger carbs, less weight different tires, etc. All impact gearing. Your unmodded 21TM may need to be geared different than mine modded. I would try all 19cb and 20cb combos and test from there to see what you like. 20/36 is fast for me, but it takes a lot longer to top speed.Originally Posted by redseal8
Found a carb, but it is $60 bucks. Think I will stick with the stock carby, it is much larger than the 3.3 carb, so you need at least 8mm or 9mm to make it worth it. After I upgrade my pipe, that's it. The Jato just doesn't handle the extreme power well.
REVO LRP .30x
My Jato is just on road for now, but it does protect your engine head and body. It looks good mostly, but does create some downforce, can never tell how much it helps on grip. Forgot which one it is, but go back to page 1 or 2., the info is there.Originally Posted by t0adman
REVO LRP .30x
Yeah I have had a original turbo 89 colt and an original turbo 89 Mirage both with the 4g63 swaps down in them. The Colt was on a stock engine and a Forced Performance Green Model turbo and made right around 480 WHP.. The Mirage had the engine that I now have in my fully built 91 AWD talon that has well over 600WHP without the spray . But it was pointless in that car as all it would do is spin . Thats why its in my 91 AWD Talon nowOriginally Posted by 60TrimCivic
I see your from Chicago. My best friend Eric Jones works and drives AMS's drag EVO. Which is the worlds fastest EVO 8 and the highest HP EVO in the world. You prolly have heard of AMS.. if your into the 4g63 engines or EVOs and u live in Chicago its a safe bet SO needless to say my EVO is AMSed out to the max lol. Put a AMS GT35R turbo kit, AMS FMIC, full 3 inch AMS exhaust, shep trans, Exedy twin disc clutch, JUN 272 cams with dual valve springs and retainers, Presicion 880cc injectors... etc etc list is way too long. Here is a dyno sheet of my EVO VIII that I daily drive that was done up at AMS just a couple weeks ago. Engine is still on stock ECU BTW. Its the highest stock ECU EVO to be dynoed at AMS as well at 560.7HP at all 4 tires on there chassis dyno. We stopped there as I want to keep the stock internals together haha. Look for AB Mods and the EVO and my GSXR 1000 along with myself and my X-Dyno in an up coming XRC mag article.
Heres the dyno sheet of the EVO for you to check out.
Adam Blevins
World Record holding Engine Modifier
sow you consider the Dirt Hawgs tires better than the road rages for street
Absolutely!!! With my power, they just spin the entire time, never hooking up completely, had to adjust shift point...hitting second in 2ft. Ran two tanks w/them on Thursday evening and was so dissapointed. I ordered another set of Torque wheels and a pair of Dirthawgs to replace the one I ripped(see thread), had them overnighted..glued/mounted last night and ran tomight. The performance is not even close, even after treating RR's with compound. Unless the RR's get better w/time...I will never own another pair.Originally Posted by Marioec
BTW, I see you from Miami. A few guys had Ninja .21 and 35 plus in Jato down there. They have the fastest Jato 67-72mph....you know them?
REVO LRP .30x
i dont have the modded 21 but i have traction problems also i tried a few tire combos and believe it or not the anaccondas have been the best so far i gotta tape them though they balloon big timeOriginally Posted by revonitro
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
I just install this morning some Dirt Hawgs on some torque wheels and they rock....some much better than the anaccondas they grip like crazy. I have a new set of road rage tires and 30 series wabash wheels that I'm going to put for sale..... my next engine after I kill my 3.3 is going to be the O.S. 21TM
About the guys from Miami I don't know anybody I'm new to the hobby.
1/8 foams, thats what I am going to get next.Originally Posted by revonitro
Race Revo, Street Jato
i have the 1/8th foams but havent run them yet burned up a set of anacondas .....revonitri what rear tiebar are you running ? the stock 4 degree ?
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
Wise move. I thought about it after the failure of the RR's. That setup was just so much more expensive with the tires and hexes. May be well worth it in the long run though.Originally Posted by Jato25n33
REVO LRP .30x
before you go with the 1/8th foams jaco has some foams specifically for the jato,rustler,stampedes ......give them a lookOriginally Posted by revonitro
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
yea stock. no problems hooking up anymore since I put on the DirtHawgs.Originally Posted by MRB1GG
I told you I would let you know about the gears. Started my test runs with the 29/54. After 2 or 3 passes, engine began to bogue down badly and speeds dropped from like 56 to 51 and temps climbed. It shifts into second, but with little acceleration. Now I hate I modded the chassis to fit that dang thing. At least I can tell you facts. Tallar gearing isn't everything, just part of going fast. The crazy thing wheelied at 56 on the first test run with weights on the front.
Will try the 27/54 this week and let you know, I think about 58-60 max, it still may be slightly over geard. 26/54 may be the sweet spot.
BTW, I will show you how I made the gears as promised, so you can try as well.
You decided on a pipe yet? I think you can add maybe 1 to 3 MPH to those test runs with a good pipe, or am I way off?
REVO LRP .30x
Great find MRB1GG. You da man. A little less the buying the Ofna setup and the 17mm hexes. I will check Tower now to see if the have them. With those tires, I may be able to pull the taller gearing.Originally Posted by MRB1GG
REVO LRP .30x
how do you make that wheelie bar? I want to put one of them on my e-jato when I get it done.Originally Posted by revonitro
No more money for rc trucks I got 1:1 truck
Click the picture and then blow it up to get a good look. He tells the materials he used to do it.Originally Posted by n3.3d_for_sp33d
REVO LRP .30x
hey this might have been answer earlier in the tread but i don't feel like going back to find it! But what % of nitro u using? I was using 20% it wasn't bad but i was thinking bout getting some 33%
what car did he take the turnbuckles from?Originally Posted by revonitro
No more money for rc trucks I got 1:1 truck
I don't think it states what specific car I think from the looks of it you can use jato turnbuckles ....the long onesOriginally Posted by n3.3d_for_sp33d
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
Those look nice. I'll probably pick up a set this week. Nice find!Originally Posted by MRB1GG
Race Revo, Street Jato
I think I'm going to get me some tooOriginally Posted by Jato25n33
drive it like you stole it !!!!!
Yea man, back through 8 pages...LOL. I broke the engine in with 20%, then sent it to be modded and changed to 30%. Engine runs cooler by about 10 or 15%. Also since modded I don't have to run it nearly as hard to get great performance and still good on fuel.Originally Posted by redseal8
REVO LRP .30x
Here is a link for the Lunsford rods. They are expensive, so I would just use the traxxas one's like MRB1GG said.Originally Posted by n3.3d_for_sp33d
REVO LRP .30x
From where? I checked Tower and a couple other sites...all on backorder. Maybe the first shipments not in yet. Guess I can get rid of the 2.2 foams and the 30 series RR's.Originally Posted by MRB1GG
REVO LRP .30x
yea, I was thinking of useing the traxxas ones. So just use the lower turnbuckles for the jato?Originally Posted by revonitro
No more money for rc trucks I got 1:1 truck
OS Max 21TM Engine w/11K Carb Traxxas T-Maxx
Is this the same one you guys have?
Yep, that's it. Here is a pic. of both. Note the T-maxx version has the ball on the end of the carb arm that fits the Jato. The arm is only $5 bucks if you get a better deal on the Revo version.Originally Posted by bjt42069
REVO LRP .30x
185 a good price for the motor?
That is a real good price for the motor!!
Jato O.S. 21tm. w/ buku pipe


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Williams College of Business names Jamal Rashed director for the Center for International Business
Rashed brings a wealth of international business, teaching and leadership experience to the position | December 12, 2008
On Jan. 3, Jamal Rashed, PhD, becomes the director for the Center for International Business in the Williams College of Business at Xavier University. Rashed brings a keen understanding of the need for enhancing international programs within the college. He has led many study abroad programs both in the Executive MBA and traditional MBA programs. In addition, he has taught International Business and International Economics for many years and has won numerous teaching awards at the undergraduate, MBA and Executive MBA levels.
Rashed has been at Xavier since 1989, serving as chair of the Department of Economics and Human Resources from 2001-2006. He received his PhD in Economics from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. His areas of expertise include international trade and finance, monetary theory and labor economics. His research focuses on economic development, international currency issues, the interplay between trade policy and unemployment, and labor economics. His work has appeared in numerous journals, and he is a consultant to local businesses and major law firms.
Rashed has received many teaching awards. In 2006 and 2007, he was named the General Electric MBA Professor of the Year. In 1998 and from 2002 to 2007, he was the Executive MBA Professor of the Year. He was named the 2000 Delta Sigma Pi Teacher of the Year. And in 1999, he received the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence.
"Only by understanding the variations among the world's peoples—their traditions, values and aspirations—can students of the Williams College of Business perceive the common humanity which unites all societies," says Rashed. "Indeed, the U.S. itself is increasingly populated with people from other countries. Such individuals are enriching our culture and changing the very fabric of our society in ways Xavier students need to better understand."
The Phil and Beth Gasiewicz Study Abroad Scholarship for Business Students was established to help students gain international business experience through study abroad and international internships. This year, the department is awarding Gasiewicz scholarships to three MBA and eight undergraduate students, resulting in more Xavier students traveling abroad.
"The Williams College of Business is confident that under Dr. Rashed's leadership, a number of initiatives will be undertaken," says Ali Malekzadeh, dean of the College.
"More partnerships will be created with foreign universities, leading to additional short-term study abroad programs. The coordination of current study abroad programs will be enhanced and student achievement in all experiences assessed. Foreign internships for our students will be established, and our faculty will have opportunities to research international topics. All of these initiatives will move the WCB and Xavier University forward."


text: But my main point being, let's not get hung up on choo or using BP as a salary dump to free up money to sign choo. That'd leave us in quite the bind if we freed up the money then choo signs elsewhere. My whole theory in the offseason is to assume choo will not be back and keep the payroll around the same level in case you can sign him. Use Phillips to acquire player(s) that'd pick up the loss in production by choo. If choo returns, we could make a spot for him. Don't focus your offseasons efforts around one player, you may get burned.


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Legacy Concert set tonight
Nash Street will join the Starkville Foundation for Public Education and the Starkville School District tonight for the first ever Music Legacy Concert celebrating music education. Above, Starkville High School students Andrew Rogers on fiddle, far right, and Matthew Reynolds on guitar, seated on left, rehearse for their performance with Nash Street. Rogers and Reynolds, two of eight music students who will be highlighted during the evening, will play "Milk Cow Blues" with Nash Street. General admission tickets for tonight's concert will be available at the door. Adult tickets are $15 and student tickets are $10. The concert begins at 7 pm at the Greensboro Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for general seating. Proceeds from the concert will be used to establish the SFPE Music Legacy Fund founded by Nash Street to provide student scholarships and teacher grants in the area of music.


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"According to The Daily News"
From what we have heard this is old news.
"According to The Daily News"
Atlanta makes no sense to me, they have about 15 mill and need to sign William Moore, and 4/5th of their oline. And they play split safety zone. I think this is just that their top 3 corners are FA, so there is a need is a obvious need but without looking at it in detail.
I would so much rather send Cro to atlanta for the 60th pick and resign revis
At this time the pats WRs are in a state of Limbo, 2 of them are FA and the other one is being questioned in the media a a bad fit. In two months this thread will have more relevance.
"They both realize they need each other." Sort of crap.
I thought Lloyd would have been better than he was. Looked like a steal initially, but didn't play out that way.
Wouldn't be surprised if Pats went after Wallace - but he wants big $ (he wants more than he's worth, way more).
Amendola would be a waste of $ if they re-sign Welker. They need the stretch the field guy.
It has everything to do with it.
The 49ers dynasty did not have to worry about losing Free Agents and they also did not have to worry about a salary cap.
Pretty easy to keep a good team together without worrying about losing good players and paying them anything the owner wants to.
Let's re-set this thread since it's merged with all the awesome Revis garbage going on.
The man, the myth, the legend.
If he is traded, what will the New York Jets fans remember him as? A great cornerback or a greedy bastard?
1: You worry about every team in your division. Even if they are the worst team. Look at the NFC South. For a period of time the team that finished in last place the year prior won the division next year.
2. You know my position on the Patriots achievements. Remember I'm a Yankee fan. A team that in their history won 5 straight World Series at one point.
Cool merge.
I hate the merges.. Completely ruins the continuity.... Let a thread die on it's own..
To me Amendola is Endleman, talented but can't stay on the field.
I still think Lloyd is and was a steal, what other FA got that kind of production for 3.5mill dollars. Are some teammates and coaches a little off put by his "lone wolf" attitude, I am sure but that is no reason to let a guy go that gets 900 yards and gets paid less than 4 mill a year. The media up hear throws out all sort of crap hoping to get a response out of the pats every year, it is the same thing and every year the team says nothing. You would think after 12 years they would stop trying.
Wallace to me fits a need but not personality wise. I don't see him carrying any water for anyone but himself. "Holmes Like" not as bad but similar.
Not trolling, but I think he makes a play for Edwards.
Last edited by patman; 03-06-2013 at 03:07 PM.
Remember that?
and 1. Since then, how many regular season losses? Oh Moss was a douche? Guess what, so is Brady. So are all the great ones. Your coach's value is overestimated and you are not winning a Super Bowl until he's fired and you have no shot in hell once Brady retires, regardless.
$15/million a year gives the Patriots the best QB/WR combination in the NFL.
Bowe is freaking awesome. He's AVERAGED nearly 1200 yards a season despite having no QB.
You want to dispute that, then go for it. But mistaking Welker or either TE for an elite WR is your own loss.
I'm not going to argue with you. I draw alot of pleasure watching Belichick and Brady make that face over and over.
That is why I said he will only release his records after he is confident that the team is willing to meet his $$ demands.
Honestly, I was expecting a fantasy breakout year for Lloyd. He was decent, but nothing exceptional. Welker still steals the show.
Pats have so many weapons out there (with Gronk and Hernandez), and the emergence of a running game gave them a new dimension that was minimal in recent years.
Wallace is just not worth what he's looking for. I agree on that one too, especially the personality comment. Pittsburgh is basically turning him away for the same reasons. Miami's making a push for him when FA starts (allegedly).


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Joaquin Phoenix for Interview magazine
Phoenix, 37, has made a triumphal return to the movies with his starring role in Paul Thomas Anderson's intimate epic, The Master, in which he plays the lost and yearning Freddie Quell, a World War II veteran trying to clear his head when he meets the charismatic Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an author and academic whose oratorical gifts are so silken that he seems to even be hypnotizing himself. The Master trails Freddie in his search for meaning in postwar America. But while Phoenix himself can be an evasive talker, his intent does not appear to be slipperiness or obfuscation. He simply seems uninterested in pimping himself, and is more prone to dropping his awe of Hoffman or his nervousness about working with Anderson; if Phoenix ever writes a Master making-of diary, each entry will likely start with, "Today I'll probably be fired . . ."
Anderson made Phoenix's eager restlessness central to Freddie—and The Master as well. I can't think of another filmmaker whose work focuses almost entirely on anxiety. It may be something that he has in common with Phoenix, who took testing one's limits to a new level-high or low, depending on your feeling about it—with I'm Still Here (2010), his collaboration with director, best friend, and brother-in-law Casey Affleck. Despite the haze that he created around that film—in which he announced plans to give up acting for a career in hip-hop—Phoenix wants to be understood; and in its aftermath, he wants audiences to be surprised by his performances while they're still current. So even as Phoenix claimed that he had nothing to say (which was hardly the case), he was generous with his time and did something interview subjects rarely do: easily 20 percent of the conversation was his questioning me. He stayed long enough to be late—quite late—for another appointment, and even took a moment to chat up another lunch guest at the Sunset Tower Hotel when he excused himself from the table and bellowed, "You never call, you never write, you skipped my Bar Mitzvah," as he strode over to give a warm hello to Richard Lewis. After Phoenix exited, Lewis leaned in and said of his old friend, "He's a great actor—and a good man. He's been away too long." I had to agree.
ELVIS MITCHELL: What do you see in movies when you watch them that makes you think, This is a director who I want to work with? Or does that ever occur to you?
JOAQUIN PHOENIX: I actually like it when I'm not really familiar with the director's work.
MITCHELL: Really?
PHOENIX: Yeah. I remember doing a movie and the director gave me a DVD of one of his films to watch. We had this meeting, and I was like, "I like him. I want to work with him, so I don't want to watch the movie." I don't know . . . I was probably foolish.
MITCHELL: Do you want to be surprised when you work with someone? Is that what it is?
PHOENIX: [pauses] I don't know . . . I don't know why. Obviously, there are some people, like Ridley [Scott]—I'd seen Blade Runner [1982] and Alien [1979] growing up, so I knew those films before we did Gladiator [2000]. But I guess I just want to base my decision off my interaction with the person, kind of . . . [sighs]
MITCHELL: So it's not just a matter of working with somebody's résumé. You want to work with the person.
PHOENIX: Yeah. I mean, I guess the smart thing would be to do both, but maybe it's just laziness on my part. I don't know. I just don't want to have to sit through a movie. [Mitchell laughs] What the fuck? I don't know . . .
MITCHELL: Do you find it tough to connect with movies? Would you rather be making them than watching them? Is that what it is?
PHOENIX: Definitely . . . Well, imagine being, like, a magician, and then going to watch other magicians. Sometimes you watch crap magicians. Every once in a while you see a great one and you're like, "Oh, fuck. That's cool." But as a magician, you know everything that happens, and it just takes you out of the whole thing. So when you get a movie where you don't see any of those things, that's when it's awesome. You're just caught up in the moment. But with so many movies, it's not really enjoyable.
MITCHELL: Do you think it's because you started in the business so young and you got to see so much of this stuff happening and were aware of it at a really early age?
PHOENIX: Maybe. But it's weird because for as long as I've been making movies, I really don't know a lot of the technical side. I mean, I've actively and consciously tried to avoid learning that stuff. I just want to be open and receptive to what's happening in the moment, and I don't want to force anything. Dishonesty is so ugly on film. You just act, and it's so ugly, and I don't want to do that. I mean, everything that they teach you when you're a kid about acting is completely fucking wrong. They tell you to memorize your lines, follow your light, and hit your marks. Those are the three things that you shouldn't do. You should not learn your lines, you should not hit your mark, and you should never follow your light. Find your light—that's my opinion. Everyone else will tell me I'm wrong, but that's my opinion.
MITCHELL: When did you come to that conclusion? When did that happen for you?
PHOENIX: Really, before I'm Still Here. Obviously, I'm Still Here just made me really solidify what I felt about the kind of acting that I wanted to experience. I'd done a run of movies around Walk the Line [2005], and I just didn't want to do that kind of acting anymore.
MITCHELL: Are you looking for honesty?
PHOENIX: In terms of acting?
MITCHELL: Yeah.
PHOENIX: Because sexually, no, I'm not. [Mitchell laughs] But in terms of acting? Please lie to me . . . No, yeah, of course.
MITCHELL: Well, what you're saying seems to be that you reject all of these things that are telling you to go out and basically find a way to repeat the same thing over and over. So are you trying to find a way to make it different for yourself each time then?
PHOENIX: I don't know what would make it different each time. Each time is different, and you can't overthink things. That's another danger, to go, "Well, I've got to do something different . . ." Because I want to be true to what the thing is, and if that means that it's similar to something else that you might have seen me do, then that's fine, too. I don't give a fuck. I don't need to look different or do an accent. That's not what I'm after. I'm after . . . I don't know exactly what I'm after—it's just a feeling that I'm chasing and I don't know what it is. But I think the only way I really get it is by feeling that there's no real control and that there's a certain amount of danger. Otherwise, when I go through a scene over and over, I start going through dialogue, and then I start putting inflections on things and going, like, "Oh, what if I did this?" And it becomes fucking smarty pants thinking he's being clever by doing some shit. But I don't like that actor; I don't like that in myself. I can see that from years ago, like, "You're just making a face and trying to say that you're angry right now and you're shoving that across the fucking screen." It's embarrassing. So I just want to capture things that I haven't figured out, that I don't understand. That's what the process is. I told Paul in the beginning, "I'm not going to modulate at all. I'm not going to be adjusting things. I just have to find what I feel and you've got to tell me to pull way back or go forward or if it's too much. But I'm going to go in and do what I feel in the moment." Sometimes it's wrong. Sometimes you come into something with too much energy. I mean, look, I'm very fortunate because I've worked with these amazing directors that I'm able to do that with and really find the truth with, because that's what they're after as well. But if the director's not after it, then forget it. There aren't fucking good actors. It's all the director. It's so funny when people say it's good actors—and actors really believe it and shit. You're completely hostage to the director. So the director is the most important person to me. I work for them. My job is to help them fulfill their vision. But I like being an employee. I like making somebody happy—and if they're not, then I'm crushed.
MITCHELL: How much of it is making them happy and making yourself happy?
PHOENIX: I'm probably never going to be happy . . . Well, I'll tell you what, that's not true. Here's a guarantee: If I'm happy about something that I've done, then it's going to be very bad. That's a guarantee. Without fail, if I ever go onto a scene and say, "I've fucking got it," then it's the worst thing in the world. I think you're just looking for life. Obviously, there's a lot of money put into these movies, so everyone wants to figure out how much time they're going to spend on these things and everything is very controlled. The idea is like, "We want to know that this is the third act and this guy is making a speech in front of the jury and it's supposed to hit like this and that's nailing it, right?" But that's one of the things that I hate more than anything: nailing it. He nailed it. Well, that guy came in, he said, "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," and . . . boom! He fucking nailed it. And part of me is impressed with that—one of my favorite actors can fucking nail it—but it's just something that I don't want to do. I can appreciate that ability in other people, but I don't want to be that actor. I don't want to nail it. I want to go into the courtroom and feel like I might lose the case. I want it to be scary—and it still is. I'm almost 38. I've been acting for 30 years. But I still get nauseous the day before and have weeks of incredible anxiety. They have to put fucking pads in my armpits because I sweat so much that it just drips down my wardrobe. For the first three weeks of shooting, I'm just sweating. It's pure anxiety, and I love it. [laughs]
MITCHELL: How important is it for you to really know the character and immerse yourself in the script before you start shooting, versus finding it as you're going?
PHOENIX: Oh, I think it's always finding it as you're going.
MITCHELL: Is that what it was like for The Master, too? You found it as you were going?
PHOENIX: Yeah. I mean, I would say that it probably takes me two to three weeks before I get anywhere near anything. If I'm going through the script and I feel like I'm starting to really discover that there's something, I move off of it. I want to move off of it before it gets locked in my brain because I have this horrible thing. You know, James Gray really pointed it out to me when we did The Yards [2000]: I will get into a rut in a certain way that I'll say a line to the point where you just have to shake the bitch up and find something else because there's no energy, no life to it. I'm now trying to say what, at one point, I had said with some feeling, but now I'm just trying to copy it. It doesn't have anything behind it. So I told Paul this—and I've told it to every director I've worked with recently: "I'm actively, consciously, going to do very bad things in an attempt to take any pressure off it and to say, 'I don't know what it's going to be.' "
MITCHELL: As you were reading the script for The Master, did you find yourself surprised by it scene after scene after scene?
PHOENIX: I was just confused. [laughs] No, I was surprised. I mean, it was weird because it's really perfect that I ended up working on this movie at that particular time. You know, you start a movie out and you read the script and you're so nervous and you just want to please your director so badly. But the first time I sat down with Paul and Phil [Seymour Hoffman] and we went through a scene, I was convinced that they weren't going to hire me. I was convinced it was over. I was like, "I can't believe it." I got up at five o'clock in the morning and fucking studied through the processing scene on the boat because I knew we were going to rehearse that. I had to try and get it down. It literally felt like an audition. So we went in for the next rehearsal and I was like, "I'm basically auditioning today," because the day before I was pretty sure Phil was like, "This is not working," and Paul was going, "I know. I don't know what to do." No joke because, dude, for real, here's the thing: Phil is such a goddamn genius. So you're sitting there with this fucking genius, and he starts talking, and I'm like, "I can't follow this guy. I'm not saying anything after him!" He can read a fucking grocery list and you're just like, "Oh, so captivating . . ." It was incredible to be around him. So I was like, "Fuck, man. They ask me to do this movie, and we do rehearsal, and it's so bad and Paul is probably doubting it . . ." But, yeah, then we just went back and rehearsed again, and that day I think we talked a bit more and maybe he was like, "Okay, I'll give him a shot."
MITCHELL: Do you feel that part of your character in The Master, Freddie Quell, is that he's never really sure what's going on?
PHOENIX: Completely. When we were first started, I talked to Paul about Freddie's motivations for doing certain things, and Paul never had an answer for the character. So it was really frustrating in the beginning of the movie. There was nothing solid or consistent about Freddie. But I'm also a slow learner-real slow. So it takes me maybe halfway through the movie before I suddenly figure out one of the major plot points of the entire film. But it's like in the scene where homie starts talking about wrestling a dragon. As soon as I realized that I was the dragon, it was much easier. I mean, it's kind of like my dog. She loves me, right? We've got a great connection and I love her. She loves being at my house, and I guarantee that she'd be happier at my house than anywhere else. But if I open the fucking gate, she's gonna roll, and it's not because she has something against me. I don't think she even fully understands what it is, but there's just something inside of her that's wild. She might not even want to leave, but it just happens. So as soon as I kind of gave in to that thing, that that's where Freddie was . . . It's just impulse. It's not knowing what's going to happen next. It's not knowing why you did the last thing that you did. It seemed like every time we came to some conclusion about Freddie, it felt wrong. It was rather that there were all of these things going on, and he didn't understand what was pushing or pulling him or why. So as soon as I gave into that . . . I mean, that's why I was saying it was perfect for me at the time, because that was kind of the approach that I wanted to be taking in acting as well-to not know what it is and to give in to the moment. It's so rare to get a chance to do that because everything about movies is that we all know that we're heading to this point-that's where we have to get. Somebody has to cry at this thing on this line because somebody just died. But it just takes all the fucking joy and the beauty out of it. You're missing everything.
MITCHELL: It seems like the last few movies you've done—Two Lovers [2008], I'm Still Here, and now, The Master—are all about these guys who kind of don't know where they're going. Is that something that attracts you? Or is it just this period?
PHOENIX: I guess it might just be this period, but I don't know. I do like that just because, obviously, it's more exciting for me as an actor. I think that part of it is that you make so many movies and you start seeing how things are laid out and you just start to get bored, so you start looking for things that feel unknown and exciting. But I don't know if there's any end game. It's just something that I'm doing if I'm going to do it.
MITCHELL: Was working with Casey [Affleck] on I'm Still Here enjoyable and the whole experience making that movie?
PHOENIX: It was and it wasn't. I mean, we fought a lot. It was really hard working with someone who is that good of a friend. He's my best friend. I respect him. I think he's an amazing and talented actor and filmmaker. It was my dream since we were young to work with Casey. But it was very difficult because Casey was really intent on keeping it secret and I, of course, was a bit of a pussy at times, where I was like, "Well, I would like to tell my friend who has been calling me for a fucking month, 'Don't worry. Everything is cool.' " So we had arguments about that. Initially, it was just basically supposed to be a bad, glorified Saturday Night Live skit. But Casey was really intent on me getting out there publicly and humiliating myself as much as possible. Casey loves uncomfortable humor, awkward humor. We wanted to capture that random moment of like, "Oh, god. Please. I'm not watching this." So he was really pushing. There were a couple things where I was like, "Nope. I'm not going to Vegas and getting on a stage. I'm not fucking doing it." [Mitchell laughs] And, you know, we did it and I was like, "Dude, I have to do these interviews and I'm keeping this shit going."
MITCHELL: Like the Letterman thing?
PHOENIX: Yeah, but I mean, I also did a bunch of fucking print stuff . . . I said the most horrible things about people. I was like, "I'm going to be dealing with this forever." Someone's gonna go, "You once said this," and I'll have to be like, "Well, what period was that from?" You know? But it was awesome because I never could have done it without Casey pushing me. I've been very fortunate in that I haven't gotten a lot of attention in that way before. A lot of other people probably experience more . . . But for me, it was an excessive amount of attention, and it was intense. I'd never gone online or looked at reviews or at what people have said about me ever doing any of that. But we started looking because we were then reacting to what was happening in the press. So to suddenly become aware of people talking about you . . . It just did my fucking head in, man. [laughs] It was like, "I do not want this fucking experience."
MITCHELL: Well, it also sounds like you like the idea of being this car that's going in reverse at 70 miles an hour—that you get some thrill out of that.
PHOENIX: It's amazing. I mean, we did shit where there are no other takes. There's a scene where it's me and then there's, like, 500 people in a club who don't know that it's a scene. We got a guy, Casey's friend, that we were planting in the audience, and I was just saying, "Be stage right because there's no way I'm able to see you"—because of the crowd and it's all dark and I'm up on stage, and I've got to have a fight with this guy. So the terror of getting up on the stage knowing that I've got to get to the song and then start having a fight and then jumping into the crowd and nobody knows . . . That was one of the most intense things I've ever done in my life. I was shaking. But it was an incredible feeling. The dude almost didn't get in, which I didn't know about. He had to fight his way up to the front. I think that I even started just yelling down to where he was supposed to be before he was in position. Diddy was also fucking genius.
MITCHELL: Did you let him know that it wasn't real?
PHOENIX: Yeah, he's the one we told from the beginning. What happened was that we went to Miami, actually, and we talked to him and told him the whole story—"You know, this isn't real, but we're doing this thing . . ." He was really bright because he was like, "Well, you should do songs and stuff for real and take it seriously." But he wasn't saying that I should really try and do it. He was like, "Just don't do stupid, mock things—really try to write a song." So we went to his house and it was just like, "Will you do this?" and he said, "Yeah, I've got to go to this party, then I'll go and meet you and we'll do a scene in the hotel." So I said, "Look, can we also just get you when you're leaving right now? We're just going to pretend that we're pulling up to your house and that you're leaving and that I missed the appointment, I missed the meeting." So we ran outside, got in our car and pulled up to his gate and called and said, "Hey, this is Joaquin Phoenix." And the voice goes, "Oh, he just left, actually." And then he pulled out and left. So he knew everything, but played it totally straight, and I thought he was fucking genius. There were a bunch of people—I thought that Sue [Patricola], my publicist, was awesome. Her face at Letterman . . .
MITCHELL: It's got to be tough to go back to doing a regular movie after doing something like that where you're basically inventing stuff on the fly.
PHOENIX: Yeah, but that's the idea—I think you can still do that on a regular movie. Even though things are mapped out more in a traditional film, you still can be searching every moment to try to find something, and keep some of the excitement and uncertainty.
MITCHELL: Had Paul seen I'm Still Here?
PHOENIX: Yeah. I think that's why I got the job.
MITCHELL: Is it really? Did you guys talk about it when you first met?
PHOENIX: Yeah.
MITCHELL: What was that conversation like? Do you remember?
PHOENIX: I don't really remember . . . Maybe it was just like, "Oh, well, this guy's obviously a moron. I'll cast him." Sort of just, "This fucking monkey will do anything. I'll just let that monkey sling shit at himself. That will be great." And that was essentially what I was. Near the end of the movie, he was just calling me Bubbles. [Mitchell laughs] It's just like, "Let's see what else I can get my pet monkey to do. Will the pet monkey set himself on fire?" [makes monkey noises]
MITCHELL: I can tell you one of the more tense moments of TV that I've ever seen was watching your follow-up Letterman appearance. Just watching you come out for that second appearance where you had to explain to him what was going on with the first . . .
PHOENIX: It was actually fine. It's funny because I can't ever really say all the different things that were involved, so I can't give you an accurate description of what I felt and why. There was a lot going on . . . I can't really talk about it, but I was just was so relieved that we were finally able to go and not lie. I don't like lying-I really don't. So I just felt so relieved to be able to talk about it.
MITCHELL: It always sounded weird to me when you said, "I don't like acting anymore." It seems from just watching you and listening to you talk about acting now, you love it, don't you?
PHOENIX: Yeah.
MITCHELL: What was that like for you to say to people, "I'm done with acting. I don't like it anymore"?
PHOENIX: Well, listen, there was some truth to that. There are certain aspects of acting that I don't like. I'm not a person who loves being on set. I mean, I know people that have their espresso machines in their trailers and they like being in there and they put pictures on walls. But I don't like it. I don't like sitting around. I don't like small talk and being around 60 people all day long. So there are many different pieces that are required as an actor that I find difficult. Press and things like that. So part of why we did the movie is because Casey and I would constantly say after every movie, "I'm quitting." And then of course, it became this running joke of like, "So what do you think you're going to do?" "Well, what skills do you have besides picking your fucking nose?" So that was always the joke. It was hilarious because it really was quiet when it was starting out. Casey was like, "We're going up to San Francisco and I'm doing this play. This might be a good time to announce your retirement because there will be press at this thing." And I was like, "I'm not going." We literally were not going to do it. But then there we are on the plane, and then we're at the thing, and there's the press line. So we walk toward the press line, and I'm like, "Should I do it?" and he's like, "You should do it right now." I was like, "Are you sure we should do it right now?" But then Casey walked right up to a camera and was like, "Hey!" and that was it. It was like, "Well, now we have to keep going." We really just painted ourselves into a corner. That was a really uncomfortable feeling for me though. I thought Casey and I had actually achieved ultimate success with I'm Still Here, if your definition of success is completely destroying your career-which was somewhat the intent. But doing that movie was one of the best things that I've done and that I'll ever do.
MITCHELL: Sounds like it was liberating for you.
PHOENIX: Unbelievably liberating. It's the best thing I've ever done in terms of helping me grow as an actor and having a deeper appreciation for acting. But for a while, it was bad. I was so worried. Casey and I were getting into big fights about it-really intense-and I was like, "Fuck, I've worked for years and this movie cost me money and I'm going to lose my house."
MITCHELL: The funniest thing in the world to me is the idea of a white guy in his thirties going, "Wait—I'm going to go into hip-hop."
PHOENIX: But it was also a guy who came from a time when hip-hop was rebel music, and it was intense and rock hard and its own thing. It's been so corrupted at this point, but he's talking about it like it's real compared to acting. He just thinks, I don't want to support that machine anymore so I'm gonna go do this other thing that is pure and raw. Because when I was a kid, hip-hop was pure and raw.
MITCHELL: Like, almost 30 years ago.
PHOENIX: I know, but that's still what I remember. I loved hip-hop—that's why I did it, because it's something I actually knew about. From, like, '88 to '94 was my time. Black Moon was a great band. Enta da Stage [1993], Nas's Illmatic [1994], and Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang [1993] all came out within a year, and it was mind-blowing because I was so deep into it. I love hip-hop.
MITCHELL: When you were writing songs, was there a point of view you were trying to get across?
PHOENIX: It was just foolish. You know when people get so desperate to try to make a change in their life that everything is forced and they become really self-righteous? That's what it was. It was, "I got something to say!" But really, you've got nothing to say, and you think if you just keep saying stuff then it's gonna be profound at some point. Then it's the feeling of, "Wait, I'm wrong. It wasn't this other thing that I'm supposed to do. It wasn't the press, and it wasn't anyone making me do anything. I've just got nothing to offer." And then it's like, "Well, I guess if people are desperate enough to accept me in this one thing, I might as well stick with that." So that's what it was.
MITCHELL: That's why when I heard you say, "I don't like acting," I was like, "That can't be."
PHOENIX: It's funny because some people that I've worked with were more convinced because they were with me in the trailer when I was like, "I don't want to work anymore."
MITCHELL: I just thought it was more that you didn't want to be in the business anymore, not that you didn't want to act anymore.
PHOENIX: Well, the truth was that I didn't want to be in the business anymore, but I wanted to act, so I had to find a way to do that. It was like, "We want danger. We want destruction."
MITCHELL: But that's what hip-hop used to be. It was dangerous.
PHOENIX: Let me ask you a question. I was just with my mother and my stepfather to do this work with peaceful, nonconflict resolution. They work with a lot of kids, and I was just visiting with them, which fascinated me because this place they were working is this last-of-the-line school, like the one you go to right before you're in jail. These kids have already been kicked out of every school. So here I am in this class with these kids, and they say, "Talk about what your gifts are this year." And this one girl is like, "Two hands." She has two hands—she's a fighter. And this is a gift, right? But it's tough because on the way rolling over there I was bumping fucking Weezy—and I love hardcore rap—but I felt supremely guilty. I'm hanging out with this 13-year-old kid, and I'm thinking about me at 13. Is there enough rage and dissatisfaction in your life where it feels like you're never fucking heard and no one ever gives a fuck about you? I was angry when that was going on, and I was raised where I wasn't worried about whether I was going to be able to eat tomorrow. I wasn't worried about my safety—
MITCHELL: You're not worried if you're going to be arrested or stopped in the street for no reason.
PHOENIX: Yeah. So I don't experience any of that. I mean, dude, how can you work in film and still see the overt racism that exists in film and not just be furious all the time?
MITCHELL: You know what? As a black person, you see so much racism. Films are no different than the government, politics—it's everywhere. It's not exclusively film. It's infuriating to see it in film. But my being in film changes things.
PHOENIX: Yeah, but there's all of this horrible racism that white people don't even recognize. Did you see Jumping the Broom?
MITCHELL: I'm a black person. Of course I saw it.
PHOENIX: I feel like all white people have to see the film just because I've never seen a movie in which most of the white characters in the movie were just working. It was fucking great. It was almost comical. There was a scene during the wedding reception, and there are, like, eight white people just carrying stuff. The main white character with some dialogue was the ditzy, stupid assistant. I enjoyed it so much because you never see that. But that's something that I think white people don't notice. They don't notice that the fourth character is black and that's what it always is. It's always happening. It's just the assumption that, "Well, that's just a representation of life."
MITCHELL: But you know what's also underneath that? A lot of the time you see all this ambition from these black actors and it's just pouring off the screen. Because they don't often get a chance to work, and when they do, they don't usually get a chance to work with other black people. You can just see the pleasure of those actors. I went to see that movie with my sisters and you could see the crowd levitating. People wonder why black kids don't go to the movies. It's because, what's the point? If you don't see yourself, then why would you go?
PHOENIX: You know, I got this script a while ago for this thing. It was kind of like an action movie, and it definitely dealt with race in a big way. But then it didn't. Without getting into specifics . . .
MITCHELL: Did the film get made?
PHOENIX: Oh, it got made. But you could not believe that this thing actually got made, because it seemed like it was from the 1940s or something. It's got this black character in it who was literally always being saved by the white dude because he was, like, cowering in the corner. So I went in and met the director and producer and I said, "You guys realize that your only black character is this guy, and it's like the most clichéd thing we've seen in movies forever." And they were like, "What do you mean?" And I was like, "You mean you're not even aware of it?" They didn't even realize what they were doing. So I said, "Look, I'll give them a read if the black character doesn't get killed and is going to make it into the sequel. They have to put him in their sequel, the black character." So I spoke to the writer and was like, "Dude, be a hero. When this movie comes out in the summertime, give black kids a character they can see themselves in." But it just didn't occur to them, and I realized what a battle it is when people aren't even aware of what they're doing. I know what that battle is. I've done battles like that before, and you lose. So I didn't do the movie . . . They did keep the black character alive, though. He's in the sequel-at least, that's what I've heard.
MITCHELL: Was it a successful movie?
PHOENIX: I don't think it's come out yet. It's one of those big action movies.
MITCHELL: So what are you going to do when they put you on the awards circuit for The Master?
PHOENIX: You're out of your mind, dude. You're out of touch with what has happened.
MITCHELL: I think we've established that you're the one who's out of his mind. [Phoenix laughs] You don't think that's going to happen?
PHOENIX: I'm just saying that I think it's bullshit. I think it's total, utter bullshit, and I don't want to be a part of it. I don't believe in it. It's a carrot, but it's the worst-tasting carrot I've ever tasted in my whole life. I don't want this carrot. It's totally subjective. Pitting people against each other . . . It's the stupidest thing in the whole world. It was one of the most uncomfortable periods of my life when Walk the Line was going through all the awards stuff and all that. I never want to have that experience again. I don't know how to explain it—and it's not like I'm in this place where I think I'm just above it—but I just don't ever want to get comfortable with that part of things.
MITCHELL: You've got to have some cool stuff coming your way now, though.
PHOENIX: Yeah. I finished something this summer.
MITCHELL: Is that the thing you did in China?
PHOENIX: Yeah. Spike Jonze directed it. I've been incredibly fortunate—I just get to work with brilliant people. But it's funny because I was having this conversation with a friend . . . There was this period after I'm Still Here when I was getting a lot of big-money offers because they were crap things. I think a lot of people were like, "He's fucked. He's desperate." These offers were, like, a lot of money—maybe not for other actors, but definitely for me. But I don't want that power. I don't want $20-million power.
MITCHELL: But isn't that a way to get in there and change things—when you get that kind of money?
PHOENIX: Yeah, but you could also end up just being another motherfucker who gave up on their ideals. To get to that place where you're making those movies? I just don't know many people who have made it and kept their identity. I've never made $20 million. I'm scared. I don't know if you gave me The Ring if I could carry it and bring it to Ozamorph, or whatever you call it. I think I'd put it on and test it out—especially if somebody was like, "It'll be a crazy, wild time." I'll be like, "Yeah, I'll try this bitch on." I don't know if I could take it back off. I don't know that I'm strong enough. I'd like to think that I was strong enough . . . But I'm getting there.
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What Was the CIA Up To?
This is a delicate business involving some unpleasantness; it must be entrusted to the hands and tongues and pens of men who are completely above suspicion and without self-interest, for the weal or woe of the country depends on them." So wrote Nizam al-Mulk, the great 11th-century Persian vizier about the importance of good intelligence and good intelligence officers. Unfortunately for this cultured, Machiavellian minister, the intelligence wasn't good enough: In 1092 a Shiite holy warrior--a member of the dreaded Assassins--got through his security and knifed the old man to death.
The controversy surrounding the Central Intelligence Agency's use of aggressive interrogation and black sites is probably in its early stages, unfortunately. Unless the American left decides to calm down, we are all in for a tortuous, emotionally wrenching national discussion of the "unpleasantness" involved in counterterrorism. We never really did have a post-9/11 debate about the morality of counterterrorist operations, since both Republicans and Democrats wanted to be unpleasant and preferred not to talk about it. President Bush really should have forced a public discussion--or at least a closed hearing of the congressional intelligence committees--about what the CIA could and could not do in its efforts to gather information about possible catastrophic attacks against the United States and its allies.
If President Bush had done so, we likely would have had a bipartisan consensus in favor of black sites and aggressive interrogation. This consensus still might have changed--and it should change if America's elected representatives determine the threat does not merit harsh counterterrorist methods, or that the interrogation methods used are ineffective. But at least we would likely now be less partisan and more careful about casting stones. Liberal pundits and publications, who have made surreal slippery-slope parallels juxtaposing 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) with Jacobo Timerman and Soviet dissidents, and the Bush administration with the Argentine junta and the KGB, might have drawn more complicated pictures of the collision of good and evil after 9/11. Now on both the Democratic and Republican sides, we have, as with the Iraq war, more often forgetfulness and hypocrisy. President Bush's and Vice President Cheney's mania for secrecy and executive prerogative did neither them nor the country any favors.
Although President Obama may parade his virtuousness too prominently, he is undoubtedly right that part of the superpower strength of the United States is in our national character. Statecraft that damages the country's soul weakens the heart and will of its citizenry--especially when it comes to the unavoidably ugly task of waging war against America's enemies. It really isn't that important whether the Germans or Egyptians think well of us--the former will not fight in Afghanistan regardless of Barack Obama's efforts to restore our "honor," and the latter's police-state security service, with whom the administration has a fairly close intelligence-liaison relationship, could not care less who we waterboarded however many times. But it does matter a lot whether America's liberal foreign-policy establishment is willing to combat Islamic radicalism aggressively. A guilt-ridden America isn't a particularly daunting foe.
There is something fundamentally impressive--even at this late date--in Americans' having a big, brawling debate about how we should combat Islamic terrorism. Although the Supreme Court is on the verge of giving the protection of the Geneva Conventions to KSM and his kind, it's still not too late for the war-making branches of government and the citizenry to debate whether the Geneva Conventions are appropriate for combating mass-casualty terrorism. But like President Bush, President Obama isn't interested in debates about this issue. The president and senior congressional Democrats simply assert that we are safer because we no longer put senior members of al Qaeda through the wringer. A "false choice between our security and our ideals" isn't necessary. Okay. But wouldn't it be better if before making such a flat statement that the president and his team, let alone a more objective blue-ribbon, bipartisan commission, had assessed the 6,000 intelligence reports produced from the interrogation of CIA detainees? Isn't it just possible that these individuals were more truthful and more talkative because they received Langley's special attention?
Shouldn't the White House at least digest the 3,000 intelligence reports produced between September 11, 2001, and April 2003, from the CIA's "high value detainees"--that is, the folks who most likely passed through the agency's black sites? How in the world can the president be so certain so quickly that aggressive interrogation doesn't work? One may conclude that sleep deprivation, walling, or waterboarding is morally repugnant, even when committed against holy warriors who incinerate skyscrapers, but that does not necessarily mean that these procedures are ineffective (or criminal). Critics of these programs may counter that we will never know whether KSM would have cracked if the CIA had just followed the Marquess of Queensberry debriefing rules and emphasized empathy and fraternity over pain. Maybe. But the evidence--so far--suggests that the CIA tried that path first.
Vice President Cheney, in his call for declassifying the intelligence gained from the interrogations, is right: The public--or a blue-ribbon commission--should look at all the evidence that it possibly can before concluding that physical pain is ineffective, or even counterproductive, in al Qaeda interrogations. Liberals are usually biased in favor of declassification; they should be so even when they find themselves uncomfortably aligned with Dick Cheney. President Obama should err on the side of the public and declassify aggressively all the memoranda surrounding the black sites and the CIA's special methods. Declassify, as much as possible, the thousands of intelligence reports produced by CIA detainees. It is likely much--if not most--of this information is no longer sensitive. Let the court of public opinion decide whether the morals-lost/intelligence-gained ratio favors President Obama or President Bush. As it stands now, it's hard not to conclude that those who are so certain that aggressive interrogation is useless do so because they fear being in the more precarious position of expressing outrage against dark tactics that may have saved thousands of American lives.
It's difficult to have a firm idea of whether Vice President Cheney's assertions about the utility of waterboarding are true. The CIA is a mediocre institution capable of considerable exaggeration and deceit to cover up its own weaknesses and poor performance. When I was in the clandestine service, I regularly saw case officers stretch the truth about the value of counterterrorist operations and human-source intelligence reporting. A few times, I saw senior executive-branch officials accept at face value the views of senior operations officers that were, to put it politely, at odds with the truth. There may have been considerable "stretching" about the value of aggressive-interrogation intelligence. Vice President Cheney may have taken some intelligence memos at face value, where he should have been skeptical.
On the other hand, it may be that CIA interrogators performed their work well, and the vice president knows exactly what he's talking about. We need to find out. It's quite likely that during Barack Obama's presidency, American military or intelligence units will get their hands on another "high-value" jihadist. The man may well have information about an imminent attack against U.S. civilians. Before that happens, it would be good to have a better idea of the risks President Obama is assuming by forsaking aggressive interrogation.
For now, it looks like the president may have created a moral train wreck for himself, and for the country, with the publication of these memos. Barack Obama appears to be emotionally in the camp with those who believe that the black sites and enhanced interrogations were sinful ("a dark and painful chapter in our history")--that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the Justice Department lawyers, and the CIA officers who approved and conducted the interrogations were unquestionably guilty of torture. With the exception of high treason, it's difficult to imagine a more heinous charge against an American official. Yet Obama doesn't want to follow through on the logic of his convictions. He says he wants "reflection, not retribution"--at least for CIA officers involved with "torture." The case is not so clear for former Justice lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee, who appear to be at the top of the Obama administration's most-immoral list.
Morally and legally, President Obama's position makes little sense. If U.S. officials are guilty of serious crimes, they should be prosecuted. The notion that CIA officers should escape criminal prosecution because they thought they were following legal orders flies in the face of the historic understanding that soldiers must not obey illegal commands. It will be outrageous cowardice if a Democratic Congress, or the administration, decides to seek the heads of Yoo and Bybee and not seek the prosecution of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and others higher up.
And President Obama's actions are likely to cause collateral damage abroad. If the European left continues in the direction it's going, we could soon see a slew of cases filed in third countries against U.S. officials, charging them with war crimes and other human rights offenses. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose husband began the extraordinary rendition of Islamic terrorist suspects, may have an acute appreciation of the hideously time-consuming diplomatic mess she could soon find herself in if this happens. Try talking seriously about NATO and Afghanistan if in the background feisty and politically independent Spanish, Belgian, or Italian magistrates are issuing arrest warrants for former U.S. officials. Yet the White House and the leadership of the Democratic Congress are--so far--heedlessly feeding anti-American forces in Europe that could easily derail this administration's efforts to improve transatlantic relations.
For those who suspect that aggressive interrogation was a highly valuable, morally justifiable counterterrorist tool, there is really no choice but to energetically counter the president's efforts to declare the case closed, guilty as charged. The preeminent issue now is to try to learn whether aggressive interrogation produced real intelligence value. If it did not, then no one should defend it or the decision of the Bush administration to continue and seek legal justification for the practice once it became clear that substantial, lifesaving information was not being produced. If the evidence is not at all clear on the question, then all pushes ought to go to Obama. Aggressive interrogation is ugly--though far, far from barbaric, as the released memoranda clearly reveal (Justice and CIA officials were aggressively solicitous of the detainees' well-being throughout). Americans should not deploy rough tactics except in extremis.
And the American right has been much too quick in its high dudgeon about the possible operational compromises wrought by the publication of these memos. It's hard to see how this information in al Qaeda's hands would aid the organization in countering future American interrogations. My junior-officer class in the clandestine service had an excellent idea of what was awaiting it in a three-day "jail" training exercise--a program that was the model for the Bush administration's enhanced interrogation techniques. Even the former Delta Force and Navy Seals in our group, who had already experienced truly harsh survival training, found it a shock when they hit the freezing cold, the mind-scrambling electronic noise, the small boxes into which we were stuffed, and the sleep deprivation. Even the best mental and physical preparation for such an experience tends to fade quickly as the all-engulfing loneliness, fatigue, and pain of the here-and-now sets in.
And the CIA's most critical counterterrorist operations overseas will likely be unscathed by this controversy at home. The same methodology that case officers have been using since 9/11 to penetrate al Qaeda will continue. They will become neither more timid nor more bold. The odds of a "unilateral" (CIA-only) recruitment inside the inner circles of al Qaeda will remain as before: unlikely. Although it is possible that this controversy, if it mushrooms, could make some European liaison services again nervous about the disclosure of joint post-9/11 European-American rendition efforts, it's not likely that any new revelations would be crippling. France and Great Britain--our two key European intelligence allies against Islamic terrorism--are wedded to us for many reasons. Chief among them that they, unlike us, confront at home the constant plotting of domestically nourished radical Islamists. European security and foreign intelligence services are not especially perturbed by President Bush's publicly deplored counterterrorist efforts.
The overriding issue is to learn whether this whole affair is about something operationally real. If so, then President Obama, by shutting down aggressive interrogations and driving CIA officers away from acquiring the requisite special skills for its use, may well be putting the country at risk. But if we find out that the president is right, then there should, quite rightly, be hell to pay. We should not have gone through all this "unpleasantness" for nothing.
Reuel Marc Gerecht, a contributing editor to THE WEEKLY STANDARD, is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former case officer in the CIA's Directorate of Operations.


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Product Information
24-410 Natural PP Plastic Fine Mist Sprayers
Dispensing 160 mcl per stroke, these misters are perfect for spritzing hair spray, sunblock, air freshener and more! This fine mist sprayer includes a dip tube and clear overcap.
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Current Stock: 2925
Active on Web Active Case Qty 1300 Header 2
 5.13in Dip Tube Include in Search Yes Price Display Each Quantity Per UOM 1 Why Choose Dispenses 35 mcl per pump in a fine mist. Sprayer can be paired with a variety of containers. Overcap and dip tube included. Material Type PP Name 24-410 Natural PP Plastic Fine Mist Sprayers Color Natural Activate Date 0001-01-01-00.00.00.000000 PageTitle 24-410 Natural PP Plastic Fine Mist Sprayers (5.13in Dip Tube) | Freund Cap Size 24-410 Alt Image Name 24-410 Natural PP Plastic Fine Mist Sprayers Cap Style Fine Mist Sprayer Dip Tube Length 5.13 in Dispense Per Stroke 160 mcl Qty Available 0 Has Accessories Y Canonical Tag /fine-mist-sprayers-with-overcap/ Color Family Natural Drop Ship N Grid_Case Qty 1300 Grid_Material Type PP Grid_Color Natural Grid_Cap Size 24-410 Grid_Cap Style Fine Mist Sprayer Grid_Dip Tube Length 5.13 in Grid_Dispense Per Stroke 160 mcl Selection_Color Natural Selection_Cap Size 24-410 Selection_Dip Tube Length 5.13 in Pricing Break 1 Min Quantity 1 Pricing Break 1 Max Quantity 1299 Pricing Break 1 Regular Price .40 Pricing Break 2 Min Quantity 1300 Pricing Break 2 Max Quantity 2599 Pricing Break 2 Regular Price .35 Pricing Break 3 Min Quantity 2600 Pricing Break 3 Max Quantity 9999999 Pricing Break 3 Regular Price .28
Width: 1.10
Height: 6.30
Depth: 1.10
Item #: X354N


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DETROIT — Restructuring consultants have recommended that Detroit increase its parking fines for the first time since 2001 and crack down harder on people who don't pay to boost revenue for the bankrupt city.
The recommendations would change the current parking fines of $20, $30 and $100 per ticket to a two-tiered structure of $45 and $150, The Detroit News reported.
The revenue-generating proposal comes as state-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr awaits an analysis of the city's parking assets and contemplates spinning off the parking department. Detroit Chief Operating Officer Gary Brown is advocating for the changes, which he says would bring in an additional $6 million per year.
"That's real money," Brown said. "If the asset is truly an asset and making money, no one is going to want to do anything with it."
According to Brown, 70 percent of the fines are to non-Detroit residents. He said the city also expects to offer a one-time amnesty program in conjunction with any increase.
The city currently pays $32 to issue and process a $30 parking violation, the newspaper reported. As part of the issue, Orr spokesman Bill Nowling says about half of Detroit's roughly 3,400 parking meters don't operate properly at any given time.
"It's another example of the old, antiquated system and processes the city has that creates impediments for anyone trying to do their job," Nowling said.


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Two teenagers are dead and a man from Westminster has been charged with two counts of first degree murder after an SUV fleeing from State Troopers crashed into a car on Interstate 70 near Clifton Thursday night.
The Colorado State Patrol says they received a report of a Toyota 4Runner driving erratically along Interstate 70.
Two troopers attempted to pull the SUV over, but the driver flipped them off and sped away. Troopers say at one point speeds reached 120 mph. The SUV continued to weave along the highway and authorities say it then rear ended a Saturn occupied by two teens, both 19 years old. The Saturn rolled several time ejecting both teens. Rescue crews say it was difficult to find them right away because there was so much dust and wreckage.
The Mesa County Coroner's office has indentified the two victims as Jennifer Kois, 19, of Brighton, and Jacob Brock, 19, of Eagle.
Kois and Brock were transported to St. Mary's Hospital, where both were pronounced dead a short time later.
Both were students at Mesa State College. Officials say they will be providing information on where sudents can get grief counseling.
The driver of the SUV was trapped in his vehicle. It took thirty minutes for fire crews from Clifton and Palisade to free him. He was also taken to St. Mary's with what officials say appear to be moderate injuries.
The State Patrol has identified the driver as 42-year-old Patrick Strawmatt. He has been charged with two counts of first degree murder, four counts of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, and several other charges. Officials say they're charging Strawmatt with first degree murder because he showed "extreme indifference" to life.
Tune in tonight to 11 News Colorado at 5:30 and 10:00 for the latest details.


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Some people wanted more pics of this guy.
So here you go.
(And no I don't know who he is)
Some people wanted more pics of this guy.
So here you go.
(And no I don't know who he is)
Just the type of daddy I need on a Monday!
His Xtube profile is hunkasaurus1969.
Here is another one for Monday. Enjoy!
His Cam4.com profile is panda7777.
i wanna sit on some thick daddy cock!
For Feb 14/12
Okay, this one I've been holding on to for a while, he is so fuckin' sexy, I want everything he has to offer. DROP DEAD SEXY!! Perfect for VALENTINE'S DAY!
His Xtube profile is DCVABear.
Wednesday Daddy!
A Little back story, this is the Maine coach that was fired for accidently posting a naked pic of himself on facebook. I've been looking for that naked pic since the story broke, but no luck...YET!
For Feb 15/12
Hello! Hello!
Been turning random thoughts into something insightful and meaningful since 1987.
I can't resist.
Hi I couldn't decide between these guys...
Funnily enough Vincent Reagan stared alongside Gerard Butler in 300. Just wondering if that is him.
"Flipping Dykes I though they were a myth like Weapons of Mass Destruction" Grace Adler.
Love the Thursday man by WestcostWest... post 45... would gladly have a good afternoon with him.
I like ordinary bears.
Saturday Daddy
Here's Dr Jacob Rosenstein, who appears on TV hawking that "Ageless Male" stuff. He's 56 and hot.
Monday Daddy(President's Day!)
^That man is perfect.
Um....Tuesday Daddy
Here is another one to add to the collection. Enjoy!
Wednesday Daddy


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#4: Our Special Guests are Really Special!
Every morning in the 30 days leading up to WonderCon Anaheim 2014 (from March 19 to April 17), we're going to offer our "Toucan Tip of the Day," a tiny tidbit of terrific information that we hope will add to your enjoyment of the show. To view all of our WCA 2014 Toucan Tips, please click on the "Tip of the Day" link under Categories at the top of our sidebar on the right; all published tips will appear, with the latest at the top.
We have 25 special guests this year at WonderCon Anaheim, and each and every one of them are extra special! From some of the top talents in comics today, including superstar comics writers Kelly Sue DeConnick, James Robinson, Gail Simone, Robert Venditti, and Mark Waid; amazing artists Rick Burchett, Cliff Chiang, Tony Daniel, Tommy Lee Edwards, Paul Gulacy, Cully Hamner, Georges Jeanty, Jim Lee (appearing Friday and Saturday only), Steve Lieber, Francis Manapul, Mike Mayhew, and Yanick Paquette; fan favorites such as Sergio Aragonés, Katie Cook, and Mark Evanier; and authors Kiera Cass, Marjorie Liu, Jim Pascoe, Sara Ryan, and Peter Straub. All of these guests will be featured in programs over the 3-day WonderCon weekend. Click here for bios and photos of all of our invited special guests, and get ready to see your favorites at WonderCon Anaheim … and start gathering the stuff you'd like to have signed!


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Asked by Alisim at 7:33 AM on Dec. 6, 2012 in Crazy for CreditsLevel 69 (2,375,393 Credits)
Next question in Crazy for Credits
Share your funny jokes h...what do you call a nun in a wheel chair?
Next question overall
(Religion & Beliefs)
What's your "reason for the season" this time of year?
Recently Bumped in Fun & Games
Don't think I'll make it to level 27!


text:
Just shoot already. It's the drugs any way.
Far Cry 3's first drug-induced experience takes place on a hunt for some medicinal ingredients to save one of Jason's friends. He stumbled into a handful of mushrooms and they explode in his face. Soon after, the world starts wavering dangerously. Jason goes from climbing to just sort of floating over the cave rocks. A house appears, but when Jason tries to go inside, it keeps moving further and further away. It's probably not a shocking revelation that much of this is the product, in the words of Hay, of the Far Cry 3 team's own "deeply personal experiences" involving "certain psychological experiences." According to Hay: "The reality is that we had some crazy stories that I don't even know we could put into Far Cry. We had some really interesting characters. And we had a need. The need was that we needed to show what Jason's life was before. We needed to show what's coming. We needed to show that not everything is physical and maybe not everything can be solved with a gun." He continues: "What's really cool about the [mission with the hallucination] is that it's almost a memory. You're actually experiencing it. And when you go through it, you're not using your weapon. You're using your mind. We want to have moments when you're fighting people with a gun or hunting animals or harvesting the jungle, but we also want to have cerebral moments where you're having a memory or a hallucination. It gives us a chance to show you the big picture." It's certainly a departure from Far Cry 2 -- a game that styled itself as a modern update of Heart of Darkness. Where Far Cry 3 tries to be a spiritual journey of sorts, Far Cry 2 mostly strove to be uncompromising in its depiction of a mercenary hunting a weapons dealer in the heart of Africa. There were times when it was a little too uncompromising -- as when a malarial fever flash abruptly sent you careening off a bridge -- but it has developed an exceptionally loyal fan base in the intervening years. Looking at Far Cry 3, one wonders how they'll feel about an adventure that openly quotes "Alice in Wonderland" in baroque font and sends the hero on drug-induced flights of fancy. BOOM video 13975 Hay, for his part, feels that Far Cry 3 isn't quite as different as it might appear: "If you liked Far Cry 1, and you liked falling out of the boat and enjoyed the technical tour de force, we give you that. If you liked the idea of being a warrior in Far Cry 2, and I really like Far Cry 2, we build on that. You'll recognize some of the weapons, you'll recognize some of the procedural fire, you'll recognize elements of the open world. But as we build on it, as we give you a suite of different experiences, as we give you outposts that you can take over and they're yours, I think those are the things that people will really respond to." Of course, while Far Cry 3 is indeed relatively pragmatic in its depiction of an ongoing war between local fighters and a vicious pirate group, it also features magic tribal tattoos that become more and more pronounced as Jason unlocks skill and becomes one with the island. Try and describe a premise like that to someone sight unseen, and they will almost always raise an eyebrow. That's the challenge Far Cry 3 faces. It's interesting to hear Hay talk about the pillars of the series though. To wit: "[Far Cry] is not regular society. It is off in the middle of nowhere. It's pretty modern, but there's no sheriff, no law, no sense of right and wrong. It allows you to deconstruct people. It allows you to send them on moment-in-time stories. I personally really like that because it gives us opportunities. If we wanna put him on an island, have them be insane, we can because there are no rules." In that, it's possible to see the connection between Far Cry 2 and Far Cry 3. One is unrelenting in its pursuit of telling a realistic story; the other takes players down the rabbit hole into a world of tribal tattoos and drug-induced hallucinations. Both take players to places they haven't really gone before in videogames. And like Far Cry 2 before it, Far Cry 3 may well prove to be a fascinating addition to the usual crop of military shooters.


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EUTHANASIA is not a black and white subject.
The question ''do you support euthanasia?'' cannot be answered by a simple ''yes'' or ''no''.
There are huge grey areas regarding the subject and, in order to provide this country with an appropriate system to stop unnecessary suffering, there has to be more discussion.
I have had two close experiences of how current laws can affect individuals and, of course, family and friends.
The first was a relative I was very close to – a best friend, even – who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I was eight years old.
MS is not a terminal illness, but it is a debilitating illness that can leave one from simply requiring a walking stick, to moving into a wheelchair, to being unable to control movements and losing the ability to communicate and take nourishment naturally.
No one can fully comprehend how it feels to see a loved one's health slowly disintegrate to a point where they are no longer enjoying life.
It is even harder to accept when that person decides enough is enough, and they want to leave you.
Yet what is almost unbearable to witness is a loved one unable to legally choose to die with dignity and being forced into an almost inhumane path to relief.
This relative, and another in England who had cancer, was forced to reject medication after contracting an infection, so they could die slowly in hospital care.
The infection would have left both considerably weaker and further decreased their quality of life.
While morphine no doubt aided in reducing the pain, it was nevertheless an unnecessarily drawn out, and undignified, end to life.
Suicide wasn't an option because it would have affected life insurance claims and disadvantaged family members left behind.
Rejecting medication should not be the only option people with terminal or debilitating illnesses have in their decision to die.
Yet there are, of course, valid objections to euthanasia.
There has to be a line drawn somewhere.
But the question of where it should be drawn remains shockingly out of public, media and political discussion.
An Australian Institute online survey revealed in November last year that more than 70per cent of 1400 respondents supported the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia.
About 17per cent said they didn't know and 12per cent said they opposed it.
An increase in the ''don't knows'' from the previous year highlights the lack of debate on the topic in both the media and Australian politics.
While media outlets comment on Beyonce lip-syncing and politicians squabble over name-calling, it defies belief that euthanasia is not more openly talked about.
Death is an uncomfortable subject for most people and can be very confronting.
But it is important to bring issues that truly matter into the public domain – issues that affect human emotion, interaction and quality of living.
A double euthanasia in Belgium, where the act was legalised in 2002, saw two deaf brothers decide to take lethal injection after discovering they would both turn blind due to a genetic form of glaucoma.
The pair argued that they couldn't bear the thought of being unable to see each other again as sign language was their only way of communicating.
Whether that fits in with the country's requirement of patients needing to be ''suffering unbearable pain'' is debatable.
But what it highlights is the need for discussion, especially in Australia, where euthanasia is not legal in any current form.
People need to talk about what they would want if a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal or debilitating illness.
''Do you support euthanasia?'' is not a yes or no question.
But it is a question that needs to be more widely acknowledged, so solutions can be found for those suffering poor quality of life.