James, Rob, Peter -

Just remember, you are only required to bring your past three (3) years of tax returns to your impending IRS audit as well as a working credit card number and/or blank cashiers check....

Oh, and all that clicking you keep hearing on your phone and Skype lines, don't pay any attention to that.....

And the guys in hard hats with the unmarked white van doing "street work" in your neighborhood....just let them do their jobs.....

My 4th Grade teacher was a thug!  I got very poor grades in the 4th grade, but ONLY in the 4th grade and it was because of the way he treated me.

I was a very passive, introverted and quiet child who kept to himself, did not have lots of friends but did what I was told to do.

My 4th grade teacher was "Mr Personality" who wanted to be everyone's friend and thought all kids had to be out-going and 100% engaged.  When I did not respond to this, he stopped trying and then figured ridicule and nagging would change me.  He would tell my mother that he thought there was something wrong with me mentally and that he might not allow me on to the 5th grade.  He forced my mother to pay for a 3rd party "evaluation" which, much to his chagrin, came back as totally normal.

He just couldn't accept my quietness and he made my 4th grade year miserable.  After that, I excelled every year in school.  Luckily for me, I came through it all right but it scares me to think how his lack of sensitivity could have hurt other kids.

The Constitution is largely silent on the inner workings of the House and Senate.  It basically says that each House makes its own rules of operation.  This is one reason why the Supreme Court usually doesn't wade into procedural issues (eg, filibusters, etc) within the legislative branch - it respects the Constitutions separation of powers.

The Constitution is also largely silent on what defines a "Recess".  Courts and past administrations have tried to define that term on the basis of what it meant at the time of the founding which is what gave rise to the somewhat arbitrary Clinton OSC/GAO ruling that 3-days of non-activity constituted a "recess".

The current and past NLRB/Recess cases that the DC Circuit is ruling on has the potential to totally blow the entire recess appointment power out of the water which is why it was so stupid for Obama to do what he did.  The Supreme Court could broadly rule that the idea of a recess appointment no longer really applies anymore except in the most extreme circumstances.

The history of this practice is a bit more complicated than that.  Harry Reid actually came up with the idea of using pro-Forma sessions to block GWB's nominees and GWB, being a better statesman than Obama, accepted the past precedent and findings of the Clinton OSC that basically said the Senate was not in "Recess" unless it was not doing work for 3 days straight.

Obama basically crossed the line by ignoring past precedent, and the Constitution entirely, and basically said that the President gets to decide when the Senate is or is not in Recess.  That is a total violation of the concept of Separation of Powers and co-equal branches of government and it is the reason why the DC Circuit is smacking the administration down.

Is this up on Stitcher yet?

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  -- REV 21:4 

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.  -- REV 21:8

For my part, the only verdict that matters!

This case has made clear that we must have and enforce laws that protect access to safe and legal abortion...

Utterly appalling!!!!!  Gosnell operated LEGALLY!!!! Someone should tell PP that little fact....

I am pro-life father of three beautiful children and have family in the OB/GYN business.   I have to admit that I was only following this case in generalities even though it was of greater interest to me because I simply could not look at any of the evidence or read any of the testimony.  Even seeing one image of those beautiful babies being mangled probably would have driven me to a point of blinding rage calling for retribution that would only cement the image of the conservative pro-lifer as a complete whack-job.

Today, earthly justice was serve for those innocents that lost their lives at the hands of that butcher and while I know Gosnell and his lawyers will use the appeals process to their utmost, he is guilty.

For me and perhaps many other Ricochetti, this is a lesson in patience - Gosnell will never receive the punishment he deserves on this side of eternity.  True justice and judgement will have to wait for him on his day of reckoning.... 

Actually, I think that can be part of the problem (although I do understand what you are trying to say!).

Many people look at marriage through rose-tinged glasses with lots of romantic notions supplied by our culture (Prince Charming and June Cleaver come to mind).   While certainly understandable, these notions can be very dangerous to a marriage.

Anyone considering marriage needs to understand one thing up-front - marriage is a serious commitment!!  I've been to lots of weddings and when people stand in front of their families (and sometimes, God) and take their vows, I often wonder if they truly believe the words they are speaking.

To any of my fellow married Ricochetti I ask this - have you ever thought about your wedding vows, the words you used, how you recited them in front of witnesses and what they mean?

Pre-marrieds would do themselves well to take stock of those vows and ponder their deeper meanings.

Rachel,

Thanks for the post.  My family has both - I married young (I was 24 my wife was 22) and my brother and his wife married late (I think he was 37 and his wife was 36).  

Here's my take - it all depends on who you (and your wife) are!

I was a very level headed kid, "mature beyond my years" (my mother likes to say that about me so I figure i'd quote it) and I had "a plan."  My wife was the same way.  My brother was a wild-child and it took him well into his late-20's / early-30's to settle down and figure himself out.  Same with his wife.  My wife and I have 3 boys and live in the ex-urbs of Arizona and my brother and his wife are childless (by decision) and live in the concrete jungles of NYC.

We both have very happy marriages and ones not without their share of conflict and pinch-points.  But neither of us regret our decisions nor think we would have been better off choosing a different path.....

I think being honest is more important than being correct (politically/culturally).  

I'm a new transplant to the West (Arizona) and I love it here.  I've also gotten to know a lot of the locals and a lot of the old-timers.  And one thing they tend to talk about with regard to this subject is the "glorification" of the "noble savage."  It's not taught in school much these days, but the Native Americans were pretty damn brutal in their battles with the Europeans and western settlers.  Our children's history books often gloss over those facts and we, feeling a little tingle of white-guilt, prefer to glorify anything "native"....

Anyone ever stop and think about scalping?  Why and how it was done (often on a still living and breathing person)? How natives would come upon a settlement and kill all of the men and children and take the women back as slaves??  Pretty damn brutal stuff....

Maybe we should change the names if for no other reason than to stop "glorifying" things that don't deserve it.

Yup...here in AZ we don't DO DST!!!  And I thank God everyday for it.

The downside - all the people I work with back East shift back by an hour which makes all of my meetings/phone-calls/teleconferences an hour earlier.....

Arizonans (my adoptive home state) did a great thing on Nov. 6th, 2012 when they elected Jeff Flake to the Senate.  He's a true conservative warrior. 

We can do an equally great thing in 2016 when we primary and get rid of Sen. McCain....

Yes, and the biggest "open space" of all is the internet and the wider world....why then would you want to limit yourselves to employees and entrepreneurs only in your geographic location because of an outdated belief that communication can only really occur in some face-to-face interaction??

So I guess Ricochet will be a failed enterprise in your analysis and doomed to irrelevancy because Rob, Peter, James and BlueYeti don't spend enough time rubbing elbows together?

Funny, I seem to remember that Steve Jobs' entire creative enterprise was to make "stuff" that allowed people to connect at a distance....

As for the stock price (das_motorhead #10), I'll take the long position and wager that you'll see the company hollow out very quickly....