Stephen Joseph

Brian, Edgar's been the MAN (aside from Jack) this season. So far, this mild-mannered computer programmer has 1) Stopped 494 nuclear plants from melting down 2) Fingered the CTU mole 3) Not taken shit from Driscoll Seriously, he's like Chloe, except useful and non-annoying. I'm expecting that he,not Jack, will be the one to take down Driscoll in the end for her torture tactics.

Hi, again, that's not a secret deal. Such contract language is included in any investigation launched into business activities by either the SEC, BLS, DOJ, DOL, and FTC. If *we, the government* notify them of a problem, there is a mitigation period where the party notified CAN propose a solution. If the government accepts the solution, the case is washed. If we do not accept the mitigation, we go to court. Really, learn how our government operates.

No. We wouldn't be. Because an employer has got to pay an employee what their worth, in the end, in the long run. Because if they're not...someone else will.

Do you know what their profit margins are per item? A retailer, on average, will price at cost + 12%. That's the cost they pay to get the good on their shelves, plus 12% to cover labor and operating expenses. So you want to artificially raise prices a nickel? Guess what...someone else will offer it for a nickel less across the street. In a free-market economy, competitive firms cannot charge higher prices than what the market dictates. Please note that I said competitive (not niche). I'm just going to say it and get flamed badly. Who cares. 1) If it wasn't for Walmart, ALOT of their employees would not have a job or be working in less suitable conditions. The same goes for other mega-plex chains. 2) By propping up wages, say by a quarter from 6.50 to 6.75, ANYONE who could provide to a potential employer benefits from 6.50 to 6.4999 would NOT be hired (altruism aside, businesses do not willingly lose money). If you think you can dictate an economy better than the market (with oversight, like oh wait, I DO), then move to China, or read about the Soviet Union, or the US in the early 70s with the wage and price controls.

Again, I'll reiterate You have $1000 to spend on labor. Employee's wages are 100 per employee. You can hire 10 employees. A union comes in, and raises wages to 200 per employee. Now you can afford 5 employees. But can you fire 5 employees? Depends. Is anyone helped by this? Yes, those currently employed. Is anyone hurt? If the company got more revenue and could afford 1200 for labor, yes. Because their shop still has 10 guys, but in the free market, 12 people would have been hired. And please, I'm not a conservative, so don't resort to petty stereotyping. Tackle my point, math preferable.

Edited for accuracy. thanks Tom

You people crack me up.

As the only paid economist here, I'm going to say point-blank what unions do. Unions help those workers who already HAVE jobs by raising the cost of employing new workers to the company (through their wage hike schemes). By pursuing above market wages, you'd think this would increase productivity. This gain to the employer is mitigated if the union shop is sufficiently strong to prevent firings. The effect is indeterminate. However, the effect upon those who could have worked for said employer at the previous market wage is clear. They cannot. It should be no suprise, that like a corporation, unions only look after their own. While benefitting its members, unions tend to push costs onto those not directly involved, and depress employment below what it would be otherwise. And that's just a brief analysis of unions through the lens of economic game theory. Just sayin, that's what they are. You decide if the reallocation, costs, and benefits is worth it.

Scott. Steve. It shall happen. not anymore...

Best Line of the night "Looks like Steve drew the short straw" "Dood. That was Scott"

Rudo, that just made me ever the more pumped... The last episode is named ... ? And another one is latin for ... ? Damn!

From: Erin Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles Domestic Unit, Counter-Terrorism Unit _____Free E-mail Newsletters_____ • Today's Headlines & Columnists See a Sample | Sign Up Now • Daily Politics News & Analysis See a Sample | Sign Up Now • Federal Insider See a Sample | Sign Up Now • Breaking News Alerts See a Sample | Sign Up Now To: All L.A. personnel Re: New civil-service rules I know you're all very busy at the moment, but I wanted to let you know about some important changes here at CTU. As you may know, our parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, will be the first in the federal government to implement a sweeping new personnel system. As announced in Washington by the Bush administration on Jan. 26, the new rules will overhaul the way 110,000 civil-service employees are paid, promoted, deployed and disciplined. How will these new rules affect CTU? Let me offer a preview: • Pay and pay raises. Under new guidelines, and because of the unpredictability of our jobs, the biweekly pay period has been scrapped. CTU employees will now be paid in increments of seconds. Wages will be direct-deposited to employee bank accounts every quarter-hour. Merit-pay opportunities will be reevaluated at the top of each hour, depending on your job performance in the preceding hour. • Hiring practices. As always, CTU is looking for individuals dedicated to our core mission: thwarting extremely complicated terrorist conspiracies masterminded by foreign nationals with heavy accents. Our hiring policies will not change. As always, our primary consideration for employment at CTU is a prior record of conflict/romantic involvement with senior CTU officers. We will continue to hire individuals to perform a variety of ill-defined jobs, with overlapping responsibilities designed to maximize interpersonal friction. We understand that many candidates have complicated personal lives that will frequently interfere with their work. This is acceptable if the candidate a) is willing to work a 24-hour shift without notice or complaint; b) harbors damaging information about other CTU employees that can be used as leverage in personnel disputes; and c) does not mind occasionally being taken hostage. • Discipline hearings/appeals: Disciplinary actions will continue mostly as they have in the past -- swift, secretive, and involving some kind of employee-on-employee torture -- in the auxiliary conference room next to the snack machines. Employee-directed executions of senior supervisory officers, as occurred last year, will continue to be permitted under certain circumstances. Please check with me for details. • Vehicle use: On the whole, we've done a lot better this year in terms of the upkeep and reliability of CTU's fleet of sedans, SUVs, motorcycles and aircraft. But it seems that every year we get a one- or two-day period in which many of our vehicles are wrecked, blown up or otherwise compromised. On days when our workload seems particularly intense (today, for example), I would ask employees to be especially vigilant about driver safety, not leaving cars unlocked, and avoiding, if possible, the transportation of injured or deceased (or otherwise bleeding) co-workers. Also, please avoid using your CTU vehicle as a shield during shootouts. Body work and windshield-repair costs have soared, with a negative long-term effect on our department-wide car insurance rates. • Internal security. As you all know, the work we do here at CTU is vital to national security and hence top-secret. However, various individuals, such as friends of CTU employees, children, former love interests and former CTU operatives who now work elsewhere (e.g., that glory hog Jack Bauer), will be permitted to wander unescorted throughout our facilities. Finally, some good news: The command structure at CTU will not be affected by the new regulations. As in the past, CTU employees in this office will be able to completely bypass and disregard our supervisors at Division with impunity. And all of us will continue to have the private cell number of the president of the United States, so we can get him on the phone whenever it suits us. I hope these guidelines are clear. If you have questions or complaints, please direct them to your representatives at the International Brotherhood of Counter-Terrorism Workers. Your shop steward is Chloe O'Brian. Sincerely, Erin P.S.: I'd like to remind everyone that next Friday is Hawaiian Shirt Day. It will be compulsory to wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans -- crisis permitting, of course. Credit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...eb7.html?sub=AR

Agrees with FM.

Probably a quivering puddle? More like, duh.

All I gots to say is that Driscoll is in serious water by torturing 2 people now unwarrantedly (well, so far, we don't know what the Secretary's son knows, but still...) And Edgar, Edgar is the man. He's the computer desk jockey version of Bauer. Why? 1) Overrides the Override with about 95% efficiency. 2) Busts the mole I mean, who hired this guy?

I like the pick of Hurley dying. Reasons: 1) He's gotten the fan base really whipped up for such a bit character 2) His episode his close to the last 3) He's Piggy. There's so much of Lord of the Flies already in Lost, why not have Hurley be killed by the 'Others' perhaps by saving Jack? I could see his death setting off the 'war' Locke and Co are preparing for...

Where 35 people tell you that you should do her mother, her sister, and then both at the same time?

and now, for tonight's monster based episode!!!

It's PRIVATE funding. NOT the government's money, so let people spend it how they damn well please. /excepting the dc security issue, of course.

The Falcons will hardly be beaten down. Watching them humilate the Rams was a sight indeed. Hell, even Price actually played like a #1 reciever (finally). I think many are blind to the actual goodness of the Falcon's defense, which went to rest mode in the last few games of the regular season (and hence, why their rating went down). These guys are nothing to be sneezed at. Secondly, this whole outdoor nonsense. Fellas, ask Brett Farve about the Falcons playing outdoors. There's alot of those guys left on this time from that fun time. With Terrell being out, that gives Atlanta's defense a chance to keep the score below 20. Which then means Vick and Co. have the chance. Vick is not the best quarterback in the league, but he is the most entertaining. The weather is the biggest factor, large winds will keep the ball down. This game will be close, but like Payton last weekend, the Eagles will see ghosts. And the under-rated Falcons keep going in a nailbiter. In the other game (oh, and by the way, calling any other game but the actual superbowl the real superbowl is insulting to any team that makes it there. The superbowl is the superbowl, so don't make yourself feel better by calling some other game more important. Rant aside, we saw a nervous Roth make a ton of mistakes last week, and only because the Jet's kicker choked TWICE did they survive. Somehow I just can't see that happening to such an Experienced New England team. The glass slipper breaks gentleman, and while Bettis and the gang have had quite a run, the story ends up north.

It's pretty shitty to have DC further burdened with these costs, but as per the 40 million I really don't see a problem since it is private money (and being private, we really shouldn't say dick about how its being spent)

That's a freaking awesome way to look at things

It's called sarcasm. ditto

Yes mole, they can

And why can't we have a Sec of Defense that badass?