Badmike wrote:I agree, just a matter of time. I don't live in a big place (Euless, TX), but we have FOUR Starbucks in the small town, and two of them are a block away from each other.  Sheesh.

Starbucks will be closing a lot of stores, affecting 12,000 employees.

Starbucks downfall began when people realized they could buy a latte or a gallon of gas.

That may be true.  I'm glad that cheap cigarettes are still cheaper than gas.     *cough cough cough*

JohnGaunt wrote:That may be true.  I'm glad that cheap cigarettes are still cheaper than gas.     *cough cough cough*

But just think JG, in that case the Lung Cancer is practically FREE!

Mike B.

killjoy32 wrote:so we got back home and sat and watched the quiet man, to cheer us up again

Al

Hate to admit it here, but this is a CLASSIC!

On seperate issues on this thread. Ref yer man who shot 2 people - kind of feel that his best bet would have been to stay indoors - legality and everything else aside, I can't help but feel it is a bad thing when 1 man intentionally takes the life of another.

Hooray for him - he got away with it (or whatever), but how could you live with yourself?

I know there are smart answers and justification, and I, of course, would not hesitate to do WHATEVER I felt necesary to protect my nearest and dearest - I might not be quite so forceful for 'stuff', and somebody elses 'stuff' at that.

Heck, we have the distiction of being the only creature on the planet who kills for sport!

I don't agree - witness the domestic cat. They kill because they enjoy killing, not because they have have a need for it. They take down birds, mice, insects... simply because it is fun. Sure, they might do it for other reasons, but they are vicious little murderers. That's the only reason I like them.

gyg wrote:
Hate to admit it here, but this is a CLASSIC!

On seperate issues on this thread. Ref yer man who shot 2 people - kind of feel that his best bet would have been to stay indoors - legality and everything else aside, I can't help but feel it is a bad thing when 1 man intentionally takes the life of another.

Hooray for him - he got away with it (or whatever), but how could you live with yourself?

I know there are smart answers and justification, and I, of course, would not hesitate to do WHATEVER I felt necesary to protect my nearest and dearest - I might not be quite so forceful for 'stuff', and somebody elses 'stuff' at that.

Gyg, interesting you say that. Ironically, the guy who was protecting his auto shop did indeed end up being hounded by the media (one media woman in particular) about why he had to kill those intruders. He did express remorse but came off as a rather sympathetic figure, particularly when the TV reporter ambushed him outside a gun store where he was going to buy a new gun (the police confiscate firearms after a shooting until the investigation is over; with two shootings so close together, they had both his guns, and he had to get another in case a third person broke in!).  He looked like he was about to cry during the interview...I really don't think we wanted to kill the intruders, but what can you do?  As an aside, the TV reporter was later suspended and then fired after viewer support for the man flooded the station with phone calls saying what a rotten B*itch the woman had been for hounding the guy like that....

Now, the other dude, I think he went a little too far by TELLING the operator that he was going to go kill the guys.  I honestly was a bit surprised the jury no-billed him, I thought maybe he might have a manslaughter charge at least.  But it's Texas, even the libs and Democrats here have to get behind gun laws or they'll lose elections. However, I bet that if he had done nothing, they would have simply driven away with the stuff, and continued their career of robbery until the day someone gets hurt or killed when they break into a house.   So instead of this guy's questionable shooting, in a few months we might have had a more serious crime against innocent people, instead of two career scumbags who are making the world a better place tonight as fertilizer....

And BTW, I think the guy who shot the two burglars is going to be on Dateline or 48 hours or one of those TV news talk shows this week....no doubt 5 hours of an interview will be edited down to 5 minutes designd to make the guy look bloodthirsty, stupid, hickish, and uneducated.  Hollywood loves to make us Texans look DUM...

I will admit Gyg to those not from the US (or from Texas in particular) we look a little bloodthirsty in how we approach crime. But remember, Europe has been "civilized" for 100's of years, while it wasn't but 130 years ago or so Texas was still fighting for independence at The Alamo.  The culture here is still very much a "frontier justice" model...since the death penalty was reinstated, Texas has put more to death than every other state in the US combined.  And we actually like it that way....


Mike B.

I do think the guy was a bit cavalier with the 911 operator, but I have to admit that I have absolutely no sympathy for the two dead criminals.  They basically got what was coming to them.

Just read the first line of my last post - wasn't intended to sound all 'holier-than-thou' - literally just laying the subject to bed (for my part at least)

Carl

Badmike wrote:
How long DOES that fight scene take? Pretty great flick.

Mike B.

Just long enough!

(7 acadamy award nominations and 2 wins - impressive stuff!)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045061/

gyg wrote:If you're happy that it's okay to take the life of another human being then there is not a lot more to say. I personally do not think it's a good thing - everyone else may, of course, feel differently.

1)  Americans take a dim view of lawlessness.

2)  At the moment, Americans are most intensely frustrated with lawlessness in the form of illegal aliens.

3)  Good or bad, the image of the lone American hero with a gun is not only a romantic Western icon...it is also deeply ingrained in the psyche of America.  

Guns...we pretty much all have them.  

Those who come to America to rob people had best remember that.