Cheech Tremendous

The error seems to be fixed now. It was probably just from all the traffic coming to see Kinetic's newest video extravaganza.

The problem is getting worse for me.

This is a contradiction to what you wrote earlier. You said that if you can't afford to buy a house without using credit you should be a renter. That probably eliminates like 95% of the US population. Maybe we just misunderstood you earlier. Down payments should be at least 20%, and that was the industry standard before this recent crisis. What has happened now is that people with good credit AND a down payment can't get loans. That's why the current credit crunch is being a called a crisis. Money has to be available to keep the economy turning. Lastly, we need to move on from the continued blame towards lenders and borrowers for bad mortgages. Yes, they made mistakes, but this isn't all at the feet of the lenders. This was a failure in government oversight and regulation. It doesn't matter that these current institutions made the loans; if they didn't they would have been put out of business by those who were. We are looking at the results of a free and unfettered market. This bailout must be combined with increased regulation and federal oversight.

Good job, Kinetic! Way to hit that one out of the park.

In what way is he the catalyst? Guy had a fine season, but it was the improvement of the pitching staff, including the acquisitions of Garza and Percival combined with the unbelievable turnaround of the infield defense that transformed them into contenders. On the offensive side of the equation, Carlos Pena rebounded from a slow start to be the team's offensive MVP. The Longoria love is sappy sportswriter stuff. He had an excellent rookie campaign and is a star in the making, but he was only one piece of the Rays puzzle this season.

Probably depends on your definition of great as well. I think if you're one of the best in the game (say multiple All-Star games and appearances on MVP ballots) you can be called great. By that definition, Jason Bay is a great player. Matt Stairs and Jason Kendall have also had very good careers (Kendall especially), but both are reaching the end of their playing days. It would be nice to see both of them get rings.

Donald Trump supposedly said that he thinks that if we dont do anything about the financial crisis that the price of oil will collapse. Donald Trump apparently passed his Econ 101 class.

Is anyone else going to vote? This is typically one of the year's most popular threads.

The Angels won the season series. But six of those eights wins came at the end of July when the Red Sox clubhouse was a mess and they were running out their little league lineup because of all the injuries. To me the, the head-to-head sample isn't large enough to make a definitive statement either way. If you look at RS/RA and BP's Third Order Wins, the Red Sox were probably the best team in baseball this year. The Angels were good too, but a lot of that was a result of playing in the AL West. Doesn't mean I think the Red Sox are runaway favorites. I think it will be a tight series. It's just the overwhelming Angels support that caught me off guard.

You may or may not be right, but that doesn't mean we should ignore what's going on and pretend that it will go away. A depression is the worst case scenario right now. I don't know if it has a 1% chance or a 50% chance, but the threat is real. I hate to post long articles that people skip over, but here's a simple answer as to how we end up in a depression. It's probably more concise than I could be.

I'm a bit perplexed as to why 75% of the board thinks the Angels will beat the Red Sox. I'll be the first to admit that a five-game series with two even teams can go either way, but the Sox have won nine consecutive postseason games against LAA and were the better regular season team this year. They have distinct advantages in starting pitching, relief pitching, offense, baserunning and defense. Are people that concerned over the homefield advantage or is it something else? The potential injury concerns of Lowell, Drew and Beckett?

This thread has not quite definitively proven that posters may or may not like mega-threads. I think I've done my job.

You think Lackey can beat Lester twice in one series? Not saying you're necessarily wrong, but that's a bold prediction.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I can't think of one reason why a capital gains tax cut would help anything at all. You're on your own with that one.

Senate to vote Wednesday on bailout package FDIC insurance may increase to $250,000

By choosing the A schedule, the Angels and Red Sox will have an extra off day. That means both teams can shorten to 3-man rotations and ride the back end of bullpens extra hard. You'd have to think that favors the Sox. Not exactly sure why the Angels would go that route when they held advantages on the 4th starter and in bullpen depth. Anyways, it's a tough series to call. I'm going to go slight edge to Boston, but there's not a lot of confidence there on my part.

There might be a few nice guys there, but Kenny Williams, Ozzie Guillen and AJ are also featured prominently. Therefore, I can't stand them. I don't care if it's petty. Also, sorry for your luck Joe Mauer, but that may have cost you the MVP.

Would it be too much to ask for the Rays to beat these fucks to a pulp?

Parker's a bright kid (I mean who drops references to the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act?), but he's still only 17 years old. I hate to use that as a negative against him, but this might be one of those cases where a college education and real world experiences might be necessary. If I didn't have a degree in Economics and a job in finance, I don't know I'd make sense out of any of this. I can't imagine how the general public feels.

AL MVP 1- Dustin Pedroia 2- Joe Mauer 3- Grady Sizemore 4- Josh Hamilton 5- Kevin Youkilis 6- Alex Rodriguez 7- Cliff Lee 8- Justin Morneau 9- Carlos Quentin 10- Carlos Pena AL Cy 1- Cliff Lee 2- Roy Halladay 3- Jon Lester AL ROY 1- Evan Longoria 2- Mike Aviles 3- Alexei Ramirez Manager of the Year 1- Joe Maddon 2- Mike Sciosca 3- Ron Gardenhire NL MVP 1- Albert Pujols 2- Lance Berkman 3- Hanley Ramirez 4- David Wright 5- Carlos Beltran 6- Chipper Jones 7- Chase Utley 8- Matt Holliday 9- Jose Reyes 10- Nate McClouth NL Cy 1- Tim Lincecum 2- Johan Santana 3- CC Sabathia NL ROY 1- Geovany Soto 2- Jair Jurrjens 3- Joey Votto NL Manager of the Year 1- Cecil Cooper 2- Fredi Gonzalez 3- Lou Piniella

No one will be able to get credit ever again, you will all lose your homes, jobs, families, and pets, the United States will be reduced to a third-world country, and we will enter into a second Dark Ages. Yes, Parker, that is exactly what we are saying. Fire and brimstone, cats and dogs living together, all that jazz. Jeez. Have a little perspective. The problem won't go away by pretending it doesn't exist. Perhaps there is a degree of hyperbole being employed here, but that is a reflection of some us trying to show that we are mired in a dire financial situation.

Cashman could have had a sweet thing with Seattle. Ownership that is willing to spend money, good scouting department, low expectations and committed fans. Maybe they'll grow some balls and hire Kim Ng. It's a good thing that he will stay and finish what he started in New York, though. As a Sox fan, I really wanted him to leave and for Hank to install a puppet GM. Oh well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?i...e=ESPNHeadlines

Cashman to return to Yankees.

But 909, someone has to own the apartments. Someone has to build the townhouses. Money has to come from somewhere; it doesn't appear out of thin air. The people who invest in the commercial sector require credit as well. That's the point I'm trying to push here.