[ / off-topic rant] I've been seeing this attitude more and more in the Ask Slashdot submission. "Why are you asking questions? Why aren't you researching everything there is to know about $SUBMISSIONTOPIC on your own?" I don't understand why it's such a big deal for someone to ask a question. Asking other people for advice is not a weakness. It's a recognition that no one person can obtain all the world's knowledg on their own. By asking like-minded people for advice, the submitter gets starting points for jumping off into his own research. For a community of people who bemoan people not taking the time to ask questions, we sure do bitch about it when they do.

I can't tell if you're serious or just an exquisite troll.

I would imagine that some boats down in the Gulf of Mexico or in the Pacifici near San Diego would have some kind of submarine spotters, given that the drug runners use midget subs to sneak past surface ships.

But then you'd be robin us all of the joy of these puns.

The problem with that is that Roe v Wade rejected the rationale of a "fetus as a person" ideology behind anti-abortion laws. The court opinion mostly hinged on privacy concerns.

"I suppose the counter to your argument is that citizens who work for the government are also receiving health benefits subsidized by you and I. So when health insurance premiums go up for all government employees because the costs of obese employees are higher, then all citizens pay the price. Of course, you could also argue that one might expect those same obese to not live quite as long, leading to smaller overall pension payouts. Maybe it turns out to be a wash, maybe not."

You could also replace smoker with any number of unhealthy life-styles including "alcoholic" or "has high chloesterol". Heck, if we go a little farther we can extend that to any people who engage dangerous activites such as skydiving or rock climbing or people who have a habit of driving too fast. I don't think smoking is a wise decision, but you have to respect people's rights to make their own decisions on completely legal matters.

As a professing Christian myself, I'm gonna say you're running close to a no-true-scotsman fallacy on this one. Sadly it is possible for people to be Christian and to still use the Bible to push some bizarre agenda over issues God really isn't concerned with. If Islam has to claim the fanatics who detonate themselves because of false teachings from corrupt imams, then Christianity has to take responsibility for the Paul Hills and Jerry Jones of the world. Bottom line: we aren't perfect. Anyone who claims to be is lying. We're just sick people telling other sick people where we found a doctor.

Agreed. I'm better off because I graduated college and was lucky enough to get a job with a modest starting salary. I stay out of the stock market, with the exception of a long-term IRA, but I've managed to scrounge enough scratch to buy my own house. Now my monthly living payments are actually useful to me rather than the guy I rent from.

Where were you at? More than likely the DoD station was cleared for something other than SIPRNET access, possibly CENTRIX usage or FOUO/CONFIDENTIAL.

Heck, anything military personnel are issued, in terms of clothing, has to be manufactured in the USA. That's why military personnel buy their own running shoes instead of having them issued. As only New Balance makes their running shoes in the USA anymore, issuing sneakers would effectively give a no-bid contract to New Balance.*

*Source: http://thephoenix.com/boston/news/127204-maine-sneaker-maker-could-provide-military-footwea/

While that is ideal, given the economic conditions out there most folks don't have the option to just buy a new house, pack up, and move.

Does your economical philosophy have any relevant bearing on the conversation? No? Then hush unless you can be helpful.

Because changing the system takes too much fucking effort. It's much easier to pay lip service to fixing the problem than actually fixing the fucking problem. That way we don't have to inconvience ourselves.

I'm in a highly mobile occupation so I find myself having to move new cities every few years and finding new gaming groups can be a challenge. Aside from meetup, I believe Wizards of the Coast has a game-finder on their website, as does the White Wolf website (the company behind WoD, Exalted, and others). Another possibility is OktakuBooty. It was originally a dating site for geeks (seriously), but it's branch out into a social hub of sorts. It's a paid website and I haven't used it since my gift subscription ran out a few years ago. I've found a few on Craigslist believe it or not, though your search terminology sometimes has to be very specific. Happy hunting!

Damn, and I was looking forward to the first interstellar Moon Pies, Star Crunches, and Cosmic Brownies!