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Greetings, and Welcome to another Weekend Singles' Thread. I've been planning all week to do one theme this weekend, and I realized just a few minutes ago that the theme that I planned is a week early. Furthermore, the discussion that I wanted to start was one that Dave wanted to join, and he won't be here this weekend. Because my timing would be wrong for the original theme and because I'd like to let Dave participate, I'm going to change topics at the last minute. (My apologies to the other hosts.) If things seem disjointed and unorganized, there's a...

Welcome to the Weekend Singles' Thread Welcome to the thread. We're glad to have you here. This weekend's topic is online dating sites. We've all seen the ads for e-Harmony on TV and for Match.com at various places around the internet. Yahoo has a personals section. AOL has a personals section. Craig's List has a personals section (if your immune system is strong enough). The local ISPs in most major cities often have personals ads somewhere on their websites. Many specialty websites have arisen for special interest personals. ConservativeMatch.com and RepublicanPeopleMeet come to mind. The question is "Are any of...

NOBLE, Okla. — A stray bullet fired by a police officer trying to shoot a snake hit and killed a 5-year-old boy fishing at a nearby pond, officials said. Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, Friday evening when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw a bullet hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing. Moments later, a second shot was fired that hit Austin in the head. A Noble police officer who had responded to a report of a snake in a tree apparently fired the...

Welcome to the Singles' Thread As always, we welcome people to talk about whatever is on their mind. This weekend's suggested topic is being single and how singles identify with conservatism, but if anyone has other thoughts, please feel free to post them. If you have ideas that are better than the "official" topic, we may follow your lead completely. If you just want to sound off about something else, we'd love to hear what you have to say. We may discuss it in detail, or we may swing back to other topics. The suggested topic for this weekend is...

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? In our ongoing series of "get acquainted" threads, this weekend's topic is whether folks are introverts or extroverts and how the difference might affect us. In any discussion of this topic, an important point is to define what each of these personality traits means. An inaccurate and abbreviated definition, likely spoken by an extrovert, would be, "Extroverts like other people and introverts do not." A more accurate and interesting definition that I've read in many recent articles is that extroverts are people who are "recharged" by their interactions with other people and drained...

Welcome to the Weekend Singles' Thread! We've been out of business for a few weeks, but we're going to try to make another attempt at having the weekend singles' thread. I'm going to suggest a couple of topics. One will be a fun topic for anyone who wants to discuss it. Another will be a more serious topic about the direction of the thread. If at all possible, I'd like to hear from as many of you as possible. First, the fun stuff. Mid-May is a time when many people are starting jobs, and in many cases, the job is...

The Associated Press asked the presidential candidates what pets they had at home. ... As for the rest of the candidates, here's what AP reported: ...

Conscience VotersThe Case Against Rudy - Part 1 We've spent the past few days hearing people denounce Ann Coulter for her use of a slur against homosexuals during her speech at the CPAC conference. Presidential candidates have condemned her remarks. Those who dislike her already have been quick to say, "I told you so." Some who liked her previously are now trying to distance themselves from her. Some of the reaction is just politically correct posturing, but some of the anger represents genuine offense at the public use of a crude epithet. I won't pretend to sort the posturing from...

A recent "Valentine's" discussion thread turned to flame wars and ended when someone complained to the management. That end is unfortunate because the thread might have provoked some worthwhile discussion. I can't quote the exact question, but the general thought was: For those who aren't in a meaningful relationship on this Valentine's Day, what are you doing to prepare for that relationship when it comes? I'm a lonely single, and I realize that the week around Valentine's Day can leave many of us with feelings a little more raw than usual. I realize that for many of us, the first...

It sounds like something straight out of a video game: A snake collects toxin by biting a poisonous toad and uses that venom as a defense against hawks and other predators. But that is exactly what researchers say the Asian snake Rhabdophis tigrinus does, based on studies of glandular fluid from hatchlings and adult snakes on two Japanese islands. Some R. tigrinus snakes carry toxins called bufadienolides in their nuchal glands, sacks located under a ridge of skin along their upper necks. When threatened, they arch their necks, exposing the poisonous ridge to an antagonist. The clawing and biting of...

TALMEY EL'AZAR, Israel, Jan 25 (Reuters Life!) - Hold the Dead Sea salts and tea-tree oil. An Israeli health and beauty spa has introduced a new treatment to its menu -- snake massage. For 300 shekels ($70), clients at Ada Barak's spa in northern Israel can add a wild twist to their treatment by having six non-venomous but very lively serpents slither and hiss a path across their aching muscles and stiff joints. "I'm actually afraid of snakes, but the therapeutic effects are really good," customer Liz Cohen told Reuters Television as Barak let the snakes loose on her body....

Life's Highlight Reel Anyone who's ever watched more than a few episodes of Married With Children is familiar with what character Al Bundy considers the only feature in a highlight reel of his life. He speaks with great pride of the night he scored four touchdowns for "Polk High" in a football game. Otherwise, he sees life as a long series of dull, anticlimactic events. While I don't remember him speaking of any kind of highlight reel of life, his references to "the night I scored four touchdowns" are part of what put the idea in my head. I'd like...

As the U.S. population crossed the 300 million mark sometime around 7:46 a.m. Tuesday (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), the typical family is doing a whole lot better than families were in 1967, the year the population surpassed 200 million. Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32% higher than their mid-1960s counterparts, when adjusted for inflation, and 13% more than those at the median in the economic boom year of 1985. And thanks to ballooning real-estate values, average household net worth has increased even faster. The typical American household has a net worth of $465,970, up...

National Weather Services Duties Act of 2005 (Introduced in Senate) S 786 IS1S (Star Print) 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 786To clarify the duties and responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 14, 2005 Mr. SANTORUM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILLTo clarify the duties and responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the...

I recently read an article on the Fox News website about higher percentages of children being overweight and how this trend is evidence that our education system is failing our children in physical education. The article had the standard statistics about percentages of students who take phys. ed. and the standard stories about most classes being games where athletic kids dominate and non-athletic kids stand quietly and inactively to the side. I don't remember specific recommendations, but the implication was that we should demand that schools offer better physical education and demand that kids be required to take these classes....

Osama bin Laden was killed early this morning in a firefight outside a village in the mountains of Pakistan. In a pre-dawn raid, special forces units from the Pakistani military, with support from U.S. Green Berets, raided a village where Al Qaeda members were suspected of hiding. Fighting was particularly intense at one end of the village where Al Qaeda members were staying in a few houses. The exact circumstances of bin Laden's death are not known. His body was found a few hours after the raid in some brush behind a house. Speculation is that he tried to escape...

CHRISTINA IS 31, slim, pretty, a younger and darker-haired Annette Bening. The daughter of a professor and an artist, she grew up in a family where books, politics, and international sabbaticals filled her early life. After attending an elite boarding school in New England, she went off to college where she got interested in women's political issues and began to work in campaigns. In the years following college, she moved into progressively more responsible jobs as a fundraiser for Democratic women candidates and causes. At the time we met, she is working as the director of an international relations consulting...

January 17th Dear Mr. President, Please accept my thanks and praise for your decision to direct the Solicitor General to file a brief opposing the blatant race preferences practised by the University of Michigan. You are right to say, in forceful terms, that it is wrong for government to favor or disfavor American citizens because of their race. You are also right to point out a corresponding wrong, the "soft bigotry of low expectations." And you are right to ask us all to have high and honest standards, in schools, in the workplace, and everywhere else. Finally, you are right...

They have started a petition for a boycott of the state over the dog-shooting incident. I don't think a boycott would work or be that worthwhile, but I hope it forces the state to discipline some very bad police officers.

Croure Scores "The Great Debate"Landrieu's Positives:She was very smooth as usual and in command of the issues. I felt that the debate allowed her to address a number of topics on which she had studied her statements and positions very thoroughly. Landrieu's Negatives:On several occasions, she came across as evasive, especially on the issue of the Bush tax cut. Russert had a hard time getting her to commit on the abortion question as well. By mentioning her 91% voting record with the NAACP, Landrieu showed how she is trying to be all things to all people, especially since she says...