All categories - 13 July 2007

What are you seeing if you look out there?

2007-07-13 12:58:56 · 16 answers · asked by Tigger 7 in Other - Home & Garden

in my opinion, when we christians doubt evolution because it's not of the bible, and because the question is, why would god have spent Billions of years evolving us when he could of just blinked us into exsistence, to me suggests that God's work nwas not important, and even more that WE humans are the only thing on Gods plate. Sure God is capable of blinking us into exsistnce but who could know God's true intentions were. We suggest that because God may have taken any time in evloving this earth and this universe that he should of been in rush in creation. Am I non Christian like for even suggesting that maybe it took a little longer than 6 days. I beleive in God with all my heart, and Jesus is my savior, but I don't understand how we can deny scientific evidence. The evidence dies not suggest God doesn't exsist. it suggest someone wrote down the wrong darn thing!

2007-07-13 12:58:48 · 28 answers · asked by Kizzie S 2 in Religion & Spirituality

A young priest ,finds he has been seated next to the pope ,on a return flight ,back to Rome.
Obviously he is excited.
When seated ,sure enough the pope, sits next to him. He notices the Pope is working on a crossword .
"This is great " thinks the young priest.
"I am good at crosswords ,so if he is stuck,he may ask for my help".
Sure enough the Pope asks "whats a four letter word to do with a woman? Something ending in -unt.
Only one word came to the young priests mind, and he thought "I can't say that to the Pope,"
Just in time a word came to mind, " AUNT" Said the young priest.

"Hmm of course " saiys the Pope.
"Do you have any Tippex on you?"

2007-07-13 12:58:45 · 12 answers · asked by raybbies 5 in Jokes & Riddles

There's this guy that is always at parties for my dad's work and he's really sweet and funny and he's really cute but it seems like he tries to avoid me his friend told me that he likes me but when his friend said anything about it in front of his face he got all defensive and stuff but i see him staring at me sometimes and stuff so i don't really know.... let me know guys?

2007-07-13 12:58:32 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Singles & Dating

Hedging Your Votes
Taxing questions.


Democrats have so far gotten the lion’s share of hedge-fund managers’ campaign contributions in the 2008 presidential money race — 75 percent, according to a Center for Responsive Politics/Absolute Return magazine analysis of the candidates’ first-quarter financials. Next week, when financials are due, we’ll know if the trend kept up in the second quarter. For now the more interesting question is: Will it continue after the Democrats raise taxes on private-equity and hedge-fund managers, as they appear determined to do?

Last Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on “carried interest” — the percentage of a fund’s returns that its managers keep as compensation. This comes after 14 House Democrats proposed a bill that would more than double the taxes that fund managers pay on these fees. Your typical fund manager takes around two percent of the fund’s value as a fee for managing the money, and on this he pays regular income tax of up to 35 percent. In addition, he keeps around 20 percent of the returns on the fund’s investments — on this he pays the capital-gains tax rate, which President Bush cut to 15 percent in 2003. These funds are quite large, in the billions, and generate outsized returns, so these guys have been in the news lately for their astronomical take-home pay.

Now the Democrats want their cut. They say it’s not fair that these managers pay such a low rate on so much income. They want them to pay the regular income-tax rate — 35 percent.

Here’s where things get weird. Typically political parties crack down on the other party’s donors, not their own. But unlike their financial brethren in the greater securities/investments community, hedge-fund managers are consistent Democratic donors. While the industry overall only shifted its giving to the Democrats in 2006 when a power-shift looked all-but-certain, CRP/Absolute Return data show that hedge funds have favored Democrats for longer and by wider margins. In 2006 hedge funds gave 69 percent of their campaign cash to Democrats (the industry overall was more closely divided at 53-45). They gave 67 percent to Democrats in 2004. In 2002, it was 84 percent.

As mentioned above, first-quarter filings from the 2008 presidential candidates show that the funds continue to favor Democrats. Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd received the most — close to $350,000 — which reflects the large number of hedge funds in his state as well as his position as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. John Edwards came in second with over $190,000. Almost all of that money came from the Fortress Investment Group, which also paid him close to $500,000 in consulting fees last year. (Edwards told the Associated Press that he took the job “primarily to learn” about financial markets and their relationship to poverty.) Hillary Clinton came in third, followed by Rudy Giuliani and then Barack Obama.

A top Republican fundraiser I talked to simply didn’t believe these numbers could be accurate. He pointed to a number of high-profile hedge-fund managers who have given to Republicans, such as Paul E. Singer, a founding partner at Elliott Associates and major Giuliani backer. When I asked him to assume that the numbers were correct for argument’s sake, he said, “Then it would be the stupidest thing I could imagine.”

Evidence that hedge-fund giving runs counter to the sector’s best interest also comes from the fact that the Managed Funds Association, which represents hedge funds in Washington, directs most of its giving to Republicans. In 2004 the split was 68-32. Even in 2006, with the rest of the industry trending Democratic, the MFA favored the GOP 57-41.

CRP executive director Sheila Krumholz says, “The Managed Funds Association is a good example of a business association giving for more pragmatic reasons, based on its legislative agenda and more in the general interest of these firms. Yet many companies,” she says, “even members of the association, give 100 percent to Democrats.” Avenue Capital Group, D.E. Shaw, Farallon, Fortress, and yes, Soros Fund Management are among the major Democratic donors who populate the association’s membership list.

One can think of several reasons why hedge-fund giving is so at odds to what one would perceive to be the best interest of the industry. First, most hedge funds are located in blue states and therefore represented by Democrats. It probably makes sense for these managers to give to a Chris Dodd, a Hillary Clinton, a Nancy Pelosi, even if they don’t share their ideologies. That could skew the data. But a closer look at the giving patterns of some of the top donors finds political contributions spread out over a large number of Democratic candidates and PACs. Thomas F. Steyer, senior partner at Farallon Capital Management in San Francisco, gave $1,000 to Nancy Pelosi (and $5,000 to her PAC), sure. But he’s given tens of thousands more to other Democrats, running the gamut from the hawkish Joe Lieberman to the very liberal Russell Feingold. Not all hedge funds are located in blue states, either. David Bonderman, a big Democratic donor, runs the Texas Pacific Group from Fort Worth, Texas.

Second, one could argue that influential lawmakers from both parties support higher taxes and more regulation on hedge funds, so it doesn’t matter whether they give to Republicans or Democrats. Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, has long favored forcing hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, something they argue they shouldn’t have to do. And in a statement at Wednesday’s hearing, Grassley defended the idea of raising taxes on publicly traded partnerships like Fortress and Blackstone.
But this explanation is also lacking. It is the Democratic party, not the GOP, that seeks to roll back Bush’s investment-friendly tax cuts on dividends and capital gains. Carried interest and hedge-fund managers are merely the softest targets in what promises to be a broader Democratic attack on the Bush tax cuts. The fundamental logic — that the investor class is overcompensated and ought to pay more — is the same.
Listening to the Democratic vs. the Republican candidates for president provides an even clearer demonstration of the difference between the parties. John Edwards, ardent student of the industry though he may be, has come out in favor of higher taxation and increased regulation of private-equity and hedge funds. And Thursday the New York Sun reported that Barack Obama has also come out in support of doubling taxes on publicly traded partnerships. Hillary Clinton, who along with Chuck Schumer represents Wall Street in the Senate, is the only holdout so far (a spokesman told the Sun she is still “evaluating” the issue). This bit of politically-motivated reticence aside, the Democrats’ track record on taxes speaks for itself. By any measure of common sense, a smart man would bet on the GOP to keep taxes low and capital deregulated.

Finally, there’s the Soros factor. But while this can partially explain large discrepancies in past cycles, particularly 2004, Soros’s pocketbook was silent during the first quarter of 2007, and the Democrats dominated anyway.

What’s left is the explanation offered by CRP’s Krumholz: “I sense that, for these individuals, a lot of them are ideologically allied with the Democrats possibly in spite of economic interests that would seem to favor a Republican alliance.” In other words, it’s Thomas Frank’s What’s the Matter With Kansas, only in reverse. Hedge-fund managers tend to live near the top of cosmopolitan, culturally liberal societies. They tend to find Republican positions on embryo-destroying stem-cell research and gay marriage to be nothing short of primitive. They tend to be extremely bright and thus prone to the fallacious idea that if more people like them ran the government, they could solve just about any problem with a new government program. They can afford higher taxes.

Unfortunately, the rest of America can’t. Investment capital is the lifeblood of business expansion and job creation, and the idea that Congress can’t find offsets in the bloated federal budget and must raid Wall Street for more money is preposterous. I know — no one deserves to have their taxes raised quite like these extremely well-compensated benefactors of the party that seeks to destroy them. However, as usual, it’s up to conservatives to know better.

2007-07-13 12:58:16 · 4 answers · asked by mission_viejo_california 2 in Politics

Q #1
Which of the following sentences is correct ?

a.) He pulled out a gun,and shot the prowler.
b.) He pulled out a gun ,and shot the prowler.
c.) He pulled out a gun ;and shot the prowler.
d.) He pulled out a gun :and shot the prowler


Q # 2
A comma is usually not needed when a sentence includes an extra phrase begenning with the word___ ?

which that but however


Which of the following is correct ?

a.) She sings bad.
b.) He runs a well race.
c.) They won with a lucky shot.
d.) All the above

Q # 4

a.) Juan, and Mason play well together.
b.) Jimmy closed his eyes ,and counted to twenty.
c.) Jose, Juan,mason and Jimmy all went swimming.
d. The reason,that he is late,is that he got caught in heavy traffic.

2007-07-13 12:58:09 · 6 answers · asked by treasure 2 in Homework Help

A lot of my white clothes have turned pinkish due to a red sweater being washed together with the white clothes...I tried to bleach them so it turn white again but it doesn't really work...Any ideas?

2007-07-13 12:57:39 · 5 answers · asked by imstilhere1212 1 in Cleaning & Laundry

My friend & I are set to start working soon and she didn't hear what kind we needed so I'd like to find out. Can I please get a serious answer? because I really need to know.

2007-07-13 12:57:34 · 5 answers · asked by Chudinka N 1 in Etiquette

Do you think that children of illegal immigrants that are born in America should be considered Iegal? What if only 1 of their parents are illegal?

2007-07-13 12:57:26 · 17 answers · asked by Chicago 4 in Immigration

Catsup and Ketchup? I've been wondering for days, and I still haven't found any info!

2007-07-13 12:57:22 · 8 answers · asked by farscapelurv 1 in Other - Food & Drink

How many of you are
1. Active in your chosen political party... (more than just tossing dollars at them)

2. Have ever volunteered to support your political system.. (poll workers, etc.)

3. Have ever ran for a political office.

Its easy to talk the talk... but its pointless unless you step away from the computer and do something about it.

2007-07-13 12:57:08 · 25 answers · asked by Kacy H 5 in Politics

Hello hello :)

Since I was in high school, I made my own clothings (from a t-shirts, jeans, bags, to dresses) using a really simple handheld sewing machine with no special options. It's really hard especially because it takes forever! :-(

I'm planning on getting a sewing machine - which I have NO KNOWLEDGE of.

I heard SINGER or BROTHER are good... but there were so many options from quickstitch to 100-stitch, manual to automatic, electronic to computerized..etc. not to mention these patterns of zigzag, straight, shaped..etc.

My head hurts so much. :(

The cheapest one I found though, however, was the SewPro QuikStitch Sewing Machine (SP-402). Is this good enough?

I'd like a simple and affordable sewing machine that I could quickly learn (to do almost all the basic-moderate sewing... making clothes and accessories!)

Please help meee!! Thank you :-)

2007-07-13 12:57:01 · 8 answers · asked by gkskgkskgksk 2 in Hobbies & Crafts

Im 23 and facing the reality of life.I have no parents or guardians just friends. My life is pathetic and I want to turn it around. I make $1200 per mo. doing part time of work, part time that is because I would like to go back to school. I have a car loan and 2 credit cards(33k owe); And yes, gas bills, cellphone, dogfood, my food, and rent. In a nutshell, all those bills stated above came up to $1400/mo. ( now, you might say that's not too much debt, I should get another part-time job and that will solve this.) Well, my plan is long-term, I want to get rid all of my bills by filing chapter 7 ( now all i have to pay is my rent and small bills) by doing so, after i filed, I will go to school full-time(4-6 yrs) and pursue a career that pays very well. While in school, I can save up a couple of thousand and after i graduate, I can use that money for downpayment to purchase a home with a cosigner (i know my record is not clear by that time). Is this a better idea in a long run?

2007-07-13 12:56:49 · 8 answers · asked by Dennis L 1 in Personal Finance

he was a big lad and he dragged 3 cops for 40 yards before they got him down!!

Does anyone know what he did?

2007-07-13 12:56:44 · 22 answers · asked by ~Mustaffa~Laff~ 4 in Law Enforcement & Police

Does anyone care about the Spice Girls reunion tour? I don't. She seems snobby and fake and I don't care about the tour either! Opinions?

2007-07-13 12:56:40 · 11 answers · asked by cats 7 in Polls & Surveys

How can having a semi private hospital room not be in violation of HIPPA?
When your doctor makes rounds, they speak to you regarding your care with another patient and perhaps their family present, when the nurse gives your meds,etc.In a semi private room, you don't have alot of prvacy, hence the name "semi private". I have worked as a nurse in some small hospitals and have even had other patients ask me about "so and so's " status which I cannot legally divulge, but if you are in a room with another patient, how can you not hear everything? Do any other healthcare workers wonder about this ? Does anyone have any legal knowledge about this?

2007-07-13 12:56:36 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Law & Ethics

http://www.usvetdsp.com/murtha_tls.htm
Calling our troops cold blooded murderers, when does the troop bashing stop with the democrats?
Apologize or resign?

2007-07-13 12:56:29 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

what do you sleep in? i sleep in the nude...i am so uncomfortables sleeping in clothes

2007-07-13 12:56:26 · 19 answers · asked by ♥Sexy Mama of 2 cuties♥ 7 in Polls & Surveys

Hey everyone. I have a Bachelors degree in Business. Major is Finance, Minor is computers. I have 10 years experience in the retail industry. I would like to pursue a career in computers now but don't know how to do it. There are degree programs in my area for Bachelors and Associate degrees. However, I already have a Bachelors. Should I go back anyway and get another degree? This can be expensive. Or, is there some place else I can start and further my experience in computers that is less timely and more cost effective? Career counselling is expensive and sometimes doesn't work. I am depending on Yahoo Answers for some thoughts. Any?

2007-07-13 12:56:18 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Careers & Employment

2007-07-13 12:56:15 · 12 answers · asked by Smitty 2 in Baseball

I got caught barrowing my sisters ipod with out asking and i got in so much trouble.For my punishment I have to write a paper for stealing in any other country.can you help cause i cant find any where where it would tell me.

2007-07-13 12:56:06 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

It seems like whenever any one asks a question against chrisitians none of them really answer. Theres alot of "God will save you" or "God has filled me" but no answers. If some one brings up thats theres no proof of a global flood, the contradictions in the bible, or the bigotry in the bible even when examples are used no real answers are given. At best you can expect a pick and choose answer.
I asked a question earlier that was just a fun question about stupid answers on R&S but all the chrisitans did was say how misled people who give those answers are. I was hoping for some funny answers from both sides but only the non-christians gave real answers. What gives?

2007-07-13 12:55:45 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

Well i was at the hospital a while ago. (i have diabetes) and was at a regular check up when i recieved a text message of an unknown number saying "I hope you die you fat f**k" then preceded to get more texts when i started to question this person. I have since found out who it was and i feel a strong need to get them back...big style. I dont want to resort to violence as thats not in my nature but im tempted lol. As you can tell it upset me slightly its not everyday that i get messages like that and i have never had a problem with this person before. Some of my friends approcahed him and his excuse was that "it was funny, a laugh" anyone got any ideas.

2007-07-13 12:55:35 · 15 answers · asked by spud 2 in Law & Ethics

i have a weird connection with wolves. Basically i find them always around . and i got a new doctor and his last name is wolf. and well,when i was in my backyard i saw a flash of a wolf and then later that night i dreamed of a wolf. also at times i have a vision of a wolf and so on. and i know this part sounds very retarded but i can howl like a wolf. not that i practice that or anything. and @ one time i had a sibearian husky and everyone tells me that dogs dont eat cats. but my sibearian husky ate my neighbors cat my husky looks like a wolf too. whats with this beacause i find them always around and sometimes staring @ me for a while. whats this connection,because i know its not a coincidence.

2007-07-13 12:55:31 · 4 answers · asked by xxDolce-Girlxx 1 in Cats

Ok, im 12 and i want to get something for my mom for her birthday..and i was thinking jewerly but i don't want it to be fake..what's the cheapest but REAL jewerly.

2007-07-13 12:55:25 · 8 answers · asked by calan b 2 in Other - Holidays

2007-07-13 12:55:17 · 20 answers · asked by brooklyn 1 in Words & Wordplay

I have been having problems with my little brother latley, such as fights and arguments. I just wanted to know if there is anyway i could get closer to him, and learn to be friends with him.

2007-07-13 12:55:13 · 14 answers · asked by kira 2 in Family

I am holding a summer horse camp at my house for my Senior Project and I need one more fun activity to do for a day. The girls are learning about safety that day and it will be the first day of camp. I need one unmounted game/craft to do with the girls. They are about 9-13. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

2007-07-13 12:55:01 · 6 answers · asked by freakyfluter 3 in Hobbies & Crafts

I was just wondering.

2007-07-13 12:54:39 · 18 answers · asked by Mrs. Arrow 2 in Polls & Surveys

i've spent $8,000 on a Dance Dance Revolution machine (DDR)

2007-07-13 12:54:34 · 11 answers · asked by Prada Marfa 6 in Polls & Surveys