Gyroscopic Investing

MachineGhost wrote: I think it was since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we've been told  it's only a minority of American families with at least one male member in the service.  Before the 1960s and 70s, it was probably every family.  Serving in the military, including the possibility for combat, used to be a rite of passage for young men in America.  What's stopping men from joining the Army to do combat?

My votes go, in no real order, to:

1. Compared to WWII, less clear moral heroism in modern U.S. wars (Vietnam, Iraq I & II, Afghanistan)
2. Less/no familiarity with weapons growing up
3. Increasing urbanization; more white-collar job prospects
4. Increasing importance (or perceptions thereof) of higher education during peak military enrollment years

I avoided looking at the replies to this typically drunken thread I started due to worries about political incorrectness.  Looks like I shouldn't have been worried as I am once again impressed by the level-headed maturity of PPer's in discussing even the most sensitive of topics. But here are my once-again-almost-drunk-before-the-super-bowl observations....

I see the 49er player who started this has done the expected apology ritual and is even slated for mandatory "sensitivity training". I wonder if this will require showering naked with homosexual males with followup discussions where each person, whether gay or straight, can talk openly about their feelings (both physical and emotional). Maybe the NFL will mandate this in the future.

A headline after this incident said that "homophobia" had roared its ugly head in the NFL. Really? Does anyone doubt that 99.9% of all the other players that ever played in the NFL have felt exactly the same way?

Can homophobia be cured? Any suggestions about how?

There has been one experiment already with women in combat by the Israelis and the observation was that men tended to be overly protective of their fellow women soldiers in a way that they weren't with men. Obviously, this is a problem with the male soldiers. Some kind of program will have to be developed to make them less caring about their female counterparts. Perhaps more women villains and enemy combatants in video games would be a good starting place.

We could call this the "war against men" but men, generally speaking, don't make for a good victim group. Seems kind of like against nature or something. Best to leave this struggle for equality to women and gays.

I, for one, am glad that I didn't boycott the game.

It was a good game.  Got better after the power outage.

smurff wrote: It was a good game.  Got better after the power outage.

The narrative was basically "The Crybaby vs. The Stoic."

It was nice to see an ass like Jim Harbaugh get served some humble pie.

MediumTex wrote:

smurff wrote: It was a good game.  Got better after the power outage.

The narrative was basically "The Crybaby vs. The Stoic."

It was nice to see an ass like Jim Harbaugh get served some humble pie.

Just don't tell his mama.

About halfway through the game I resolved that I was never going to watch football EVER again.

This is because I have some deeply ingrained thing that leads me to latch onto one team to win and I get emotionally involved for reasons I can't begin to explain.

So I went out to get an ice cream cone just before the lights went out and when I got back I thought I would just check in to see what the score was. Needless to say I was hooked but I ended up very disappointed because I was rooting for S.F.

There's always Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet cable network.

And don't forget that memorable Godaddy.com ad with the sexy blond and the nerd. I'm glad that I wasn't eating at the time.

They like showing it on CNN and entertainment news shows.  Makes me want to hurl every time I see it.

Reub wrote: And don't forget that memorable Godaddy.com ad with the sexy blond and the nerd. I'm glad that I wasn't eating at the time.

I'm just happy for the kid. Bar Rafaeli is quite lovely.

I just looked it up and I'm hurling now!

Bar Rafaeli just kissed Jay Leno on the tonight show.  Hurling again.

MangoMan wrote:

MediumTex wrote:

smurff wrote: It was a good game.  Got better after the power outage.

The narrative was basically "The Crybaby vs. The Stoic."

It was nice to see an ass like Jim Harbaugh get served some humble pie.

I didn't really care who won, but if forced to choose, I would have gone with the Ravens simply because I live in the Chicago area, and Jim H really stunk the place up when he was QB.

I was rooting for the Ravens.  I like good defense, though I admit I would prefer a unit whose leader wasn't a murderer, but you can't have everything.

MediumTex wrote: I was rooting for the Ravens.  I like good defense, though I admit I would prefer a unit whose leader wasn't a murderer, but you can't have everything.

The 49er's had the 3rd best defense in the NFL last year behind Pittsburgh and Denver. Baltimore was ranked number 17 (there are 32 teams in the NFL so this puts them at the top of the bottom half).

But it's an interesting contrast between an alleged murderer on one team and a player who insults homosexuals on the other.

"Super Bowl blackout caused by device installed to prevent power outage"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-575 ... er-outage/

I think that Harry Browne would have appreciated the irony in that!