Is it just me/or does anyone else find it odd that suddenly every pundit & religious leader w/an axe to grind is speaking out against gambling -- but only since several Indian tribes have opened casinos in the last few years & are now raking in the tax-free bucks? (Becuz a rez is considered a sovereign nation & not subject to Uncle Sam picking their pockets. But I think some of the casinos do pay state taxes.) I didn't see any of these hypocrites protesting Donald Trump opening up his casino in Altantic City back in the 80's. Or bitching abt states banding together to get in on the Powebrall. For me/gambling's no different than booze. It shd be kept away from minors/but that's it. There are some folks w/addictive personalities who are gonna ruin their lives with it. But grown-ups have the right to fuck-up at will. I don't need the gov't. to protect me from myself. Not when they can't even provide a decent public school education for most of the kids in the country. Or fix a damn pothole in a timely fashion. Or am I just a laissez-faire liberal enamoured w/individualism? [And did I mention that I really dig those new Fruit of the Loom 'Underwear for the Boys' commercials? They just need more Brothers w/back.]

R.C. is right, as usual. The power people want freedom for the rich...but once the poor start getting in on the action, it's a menace to the moral fiber of our country. Another gambling issue is the fucking Lottery...which, imho, is just a tax on the poor...& why is it that states that have lotteries also don't teach prob/stat in the public schools? That's just fucked up. Jesus Christ, I should have slept.

But hey -- nobody forces you to buy those lottery tkts. I play when the pot gets over 10 mil. But I've never spent more than $5.00 on tkts. in a single week. And most wks./I don't play at all. If some poor schnook thinks he'll strike it rich by dumping $30 or $40/wk. into lottery tkts./why shd the state discourage him? My Da won $6,000 in the lottery last year. If the lottery $$ went directly into the state ed. budget/instead of the General Fund/wd you still think it was a ripoff? And I love reading abt some avg. person or 2 getting rich overnite. To me/it's no worse than people who inherit their millions. At least w/the lottery/everybody has a even shot.

There are great utilitarian arguments in favor of state lotteries, and I'm probably a dope for not just accepting those arguments. I can't disagree with the fact that folks are going to gamble whether or not the states reap the profits, nor can I disagree with the fact that government can't finance itself with bake sales. Those lottery bucks come in handy. Still,state lotteries really bug me. Government has legitimate objects. We all disagree over what they are, but they exist. I just don't think that fleecing its citizens is among them.

The lotttery has the worst odds of any gambling. By the time you've struck it rich, you have already spent way more money than you win. But you have to go to a school that teaches prob/stat to know that. Guess what the public schools in areas where they have lotteries don't teach. Besides, when I'm morally divided on an issue, I usually judge based on who it helps vs. who it hurts. The lottery takes money away from poor people, and gives it to the municipal gov't, where it is converted to kickbacks for gov't officials and profits for corrupt fat cats.

I don't like card games, slots and lotteries, but I just love going to the races and betting on horses to come in second ("he doesn't have to WIN, I just want him to PLACE. is that so much to ask?"). but anyway. my I-don't-have-a point is why ask if I want you to meet me at the airport? everyone always wants to be met at the airport. it's a warm fuzzy. yes, I know perfectly well how to get to ile st. louis from charles de gaulle, and what am I supposed to say when you ask me if I want you to meet me there. maybe he's just respecting my independence and ability to get along. maybe he's remembering my telling him (in falsely diplomatic words) that his last girlfriend was a clingy idiot if she couldn't get to the goddamn airport by herself. maybe he's fallen for my big I-don't-need-your-help act. maybe he just doesn't want to go to the airport because it's far away and the rer ticket costs like $8. so, like last time, I will tell him not to meet me at the airport, and like last time, on the plane I will hope that he'll be there waiting for me anyway. and, like last time, he'll won't be.

Lotteries are fools gold..... Dollar and a dream they say. Well take your dollars, save 'em up and learn about the value added by compound interest. You'll be better off in the end. Or you might get hit by lightning first.

lotteries, idiot tax, just in case your regular taxes weren't enough, just play the lottery and make up for it

gambling is a sin. all sins should be illegal.

Cyst: Did I miss something here? Who's not meeting you at the airport becuz you didn't ask him too? Don't be a dopey chick -- if you want him to meet you, ASK.

this is what I told my friend (a.k.a. my "acting boyfriend," my "temporary boyfriend of circumstance and convenience," or "friend" as in singular-form shorthand for "friends who fuck"): "you don't have to meet me at the airport. I won't have all that much stuff with me." it costs about $10 to get to the airport via public transport. $10 and $10 back. a 50-minute metro ride each way. last time I told him he didn't have to meet me because I was arriving the same day his clingy ex-girlfriend was leaving. he had to accompany her to the airport. two long trips to the airport in one day would have been a major drag. see, I don't want him to feel like he's obliged to meet me at the airport, as he would be if I asked. I want him to want to come meet me there. I guess. serves me right anyway, as last time a friend asked me to pick her up at the airport (during rush hour on a work day, I would have had to have asked to leave early and it would have been an hour-long drive), I told her to take the bus.

something about men that a lot of women don't seem to understand: when you say "you don't have to meet me at the airport" it sounds like "i can get home on my own" not "please come meet me at the airport." we're dumb creatures, you know.

say what you mean, and mean what you say, be direct, i hate tht shit, if I want loose and vague interpretations I will read Freud's Dream Analysis' or something of the sort

I know.

I still don't think I'm being that weird about this. asking your lover if they want you to meet them at the airport before your long romantic tryst is sort of like asking them if they want you to get them a present for their birthday. the answer to such a question: "you don't have to." that doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice.

Sorry, podling/but you are being VERY weird abt this. Birthday presents aren't in the same category as airport pick-ups. It's tacky to solicit a gift from someone. And you shdn't have to ask for a gift from anyone you're sleeping with. But everyone likes to be picked up at the airport. Most airports are a huge hassle to navigate/even w/minimal baggage. And who wants to bother w/mass transit after a long flight? The guys second the motion: If you wanna be met, ASK. And kick in $10 bucks for gas in appreciation.

try saying, "yes I would love to see you at the airport, I know it's a lot of trouble but it would make me happy" you would be surprised how men respond to the phrase "it would make me happy"

ok. I'm weird. I can live with that. he's off the airport hook, though. I hate dealing with airports so much that I cannot ask anyone to come to one for me without having a real reason for it. and I know my mommy and daddy are going to be there waiting for me at pdx when I get back to the states. that's good enough.

and I'll think of another use for the "it would make me happy" line.

hey cyst, did nate forward you some more of my pics? if not give me your email address again so I can forward some more that I got scanned this week

americanka@mailcity.com thanks a lot. it would make me happy.

Did i get the new pics?

i am pretty sure i sent them last night...yes??? you didn't get them yet??

Umm, if noone was meeting me at CDG, I wouldn't go. It was the most confusing airport I've ever wandered aimless and terrified through. Cyst, if you ever come into Denver, not only will I meet you at the airport, but I will describe the whole process to you and where I will find you beforehand like a good gynecologist for reassurance's sake "Ok, slight touch, ok, this may pinch a little, ok I'm going to turn it..."

I appreciate that, margret. seems like the denver airport should be easy to figure out. have heard that's a town where they have crosswalks that let pedestrians cross the street diagnonally. true? I've figured cdg out before (though it's easier if you're going air france than klm, whose flights they relegate to some secondary terminal). I'm just being a baby about this whole dumb thing.

cyst did you get my email, my server has been acting weird today, and I can't seem to get attachments onto emails, nate if you haven't rcvd them yet, I will try again from home tonight, likewise to you cyst

did not get your mail yet, but mailcity always takes a long time. thanks for the airport replies, guys, because now that I've thought about it, I realize that if he only knew that I cared at all, he would come to the airport. today I even got a postcard from him, which he said he wasn't sure if I would get before I left. aww. and just now I figured out what the last line says. gee, I hope this doesn't get all difficult. these things always do, though. christ. starting this weekend I won't have regular internet access until september. I'm going to miss you guys! ok, end of maudlin. thanks.

um, I know it's kinda late to speak up and you've jsut done an about face and changed your mind on the whole thing, Cyst, but...I don't think that's weird at all. I'd feel the same way you do/did. Then again, maybe I'm weird (too).

her feelings I don't think are weird, her methods of letting the guy know she wanted to be met at the airport were, thats all, i go thru this thing all the time b/c my wife travels alot with her work........from Hollywood to LAX, it's a 30-45 minute drive depending on the traffic, plus parking and all that crap...but when she expressed that after a 6 hour flight and being gone for a week, she "LOVES to see my face" when walking off the breezeway, after she stated what she wanted and how it would make her feel, i go without asking all the time... say what you mean, mean what you say, guys aren't into reading between the lines and i find a lot of girls want us to pick up on the subtle things in conversation, though we are not stupid, sometimes you need to just say it, because if we don't pick up on your words between the lines, you get offended and disapointed and mislead, thinking we don't care or we have no interest.

I walked into the MGM Grand, underaged, with $.50 in my pocket. I walked out with $56.00 in cash, all won from the $.25 slot machines. Have never gambled since.

Didn't mean to change the subject... aw, heck, yeah I did.

Last time I was in Vegas,after all my money was gone,and I was walking back to my hotel room,some jackass asked me if I was "free",that,s when I realized he thought I was a hooker,it scared me,and I thought I looked so normal.

You shoulda told him "No, I ain't free. But I am reasonable." Ba-da, BOMP!