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Twitter is now Musk’s personal sandbox, and he’s letting the cats dig around in it and crap. Why on earth would someone want to play there? He can change the rules whenever he wants (“no girls with pigtails — that means Sally!”) pretty much. There are some governments that will push back, but as it goes full locker room, it’s going to lose its appeal Wendy P.

When you go I'm going to have you bronzed. You are simply too valuable to let go. I'll pay but if anyone here wants to commit to a percent, that's awesome.

"They're shoving it down our throats!" That came up in a recent Facebook 'discussion' about LGBT representation in popular media. The other guy's argument was that only like 2% of Americans were LGBT but like half of the characters on TV were gay, and that was the evil woke media shoving it down our throats. So I took the opportunity to do some research. First off, percentage of LGBT people. A Gallup poll taken recently showed that 7% of Americans considered themselves LGBT. That number seemed suspicious based on my experience, both because it seems a little low, and because a pollster asking someone "are you gay?" is less likely to be answered truthfully. (Consider a cold call where someone asks you "have you ever stolen from work?" That poll will likely lead to an artificially low number, since people will consider the chances that that information gets back to their employer.) So I did a little more research. A second study found that when "normal" polls are taken, they underestimate the percentage of LGBT people for that reason. They used a poll employing "item count technique" that hid their actual responses. Here's an (overly simple) example question: "If you are male, add 1 to your number. If you are Hispanic, add 1 to your number. If you are gay, add 1 to your number." That way each individual does not tell the pollster if they are gay or not. But since the percentage of males and the percentage of hispanics in America is well known, those biases can then be mathematically removed from the total, giving a more accurate percentage. Using this method, pollsters determined that about 15% of men and 20% of women in the US were LGBT. This also seems more in line with my own experiences. As an example, the Perris women's 8 way team Moxie was more than half LGBT, and that's a lot more likely if 20% of the women skydivers there are LGBT as opposed to 7%. Note that that study was done in 2013, so it's not that recent. But I don't think the percentage of LGBT people in society changes much over time. Then I went back the Gallup poll. They broke it down by age, and sure enough, over 20% of people 25 and under reported as being LGBT. This makes sense based on the fact that they grew up during a time where gay marriage was legal and there was far less stigma associated with being gay. When I look at my cohort (Gen X) the reported percentage was 4%. As a cohort that grew up during a time when being called gay was a big insult, and "smear the queer" was a popular game, this makes sense. The next question was whether LGBT people were over-represented in TV. For that I went to FOX News; I figured they were going to inflate the number as much as possible to push that particular right wing talking point. Sure enough I found a story that talked about how gay characters were at an "all time high." ABC had the most gay characters at 5%. (This was based on a study from 6 years ago, so if anyone has newer numbers, feel free to post them here.) So I discovered that yes indeed, a specific sexual orientation is being shoved down our throats, and networks are doing this by over-representing straight characters in their shows. https://www.nber.org/.../working_papers/w19508/w19508.pdf https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/study-number-of-gay-characters-on-tv-at-an-all-time-high https://news.gallup.com/poll/332522/percentage-americans-lgbt.aspx

Good. Killing people in the name of "justice" absolutely should NOT be easy. Particularly given the chances of getting it wrong.

These are all gut level emotional objections that have not been thought through completely. Emotions are hard to overcome, and death brings out a lot of intense feelings. Most likely he will come around slowly as he thinks about it more. Maybe not to complete acceptance. There are people who consider their religious views to be completely at odds with assisted dying. If that is the viewpoint I have nothing to say, there is no answer to satisfy those kind of objections. But that is not what I'm hearing from BIGUN.

Hi Ken, IMO, he has chosen to be in the spotlight. I have seen many, many photos of him attending events that he did not have to attend. It was his choice; now, it seems as though he does not like the repercussions. Jerry Baumchen

Hi Keith, I accept that every system we have created we have made mistakes. It is what it is. However, to just toss the idea of assisted suicide is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. I will accept 'some' mistakes, knowing that we will continue to work to make the system better as we progress. * To me, it is sort of like when Wendy posts about the seat belt analogy. They are not perfect but they save more lives than would be saved without them. Jerry Baumchen * Think about the hand-deploy system as introduced in 1974 vs the hand-deploy system we have today.

Chuck, I do apologize for the delay, I am located in Phoenix and I am currently working/jumping with one of the instructors at SDAZ. Will probably be doing about 10-12 coach jumps as well as 10-15 min of tunnel time there. After some discussion with my instructor, I am leaning more towards a Pilot or a Safire 3, but nothing has been ordered until I get more jumps. Thank you for your input!

'nuff said.

A permanent solution being imposed against one's will and having the ability to have a permanent solution available if one choses to pursue are nowhere near equivalent.

I know people who work with the local MAID team here. They are proud of what they do, almost like it is a mission to provide this care. The thing that you are missing is that those healthcare workers have all seen the other side and held the hands of people who died the hard way. People who work on execution teams have been shown to suffer from PTSD.

Why would anyone join the Elks or the Masons when you could join the Possum Lodge?

He indeed can do what he wants. No one is saying he can't, we are all just laughing at him as struggles and flip flops around over the big chunk of hubris he has bitten off and is gagging on.

What the fuck does that mean? Do you think there are "enabling parent" who are influencing or enabling their young children to be gay or transgendered, and when you add gay TV representation there is some sort of critical mass being reached? That makes as much sense as the piece of shit religious types that think they can program children back to being a heterosexual, and leave horribly broken people in their wake. I am way more concerned about people programming hate, repression, bigotry, than I am about gay TV characters swaying my two young boys as they grow up over the next two decades. The boogeyman goes to church on Sunday, it isn't the gay couple down the street.

I'm very familiar with the cat/dog rescue scenario. We have a rescue foundation. Same rules. A point being, the "Caring Killing Paradox" of one caring for critters throughout their lifetime and then having to put them down. 100's of them. It wears on the veterinary provider and is why they have the second highest suicide vocational rate. And, when a fellow veterinarian takes their own life; the entire vet community hears about it - causing an additional psychological/emotional affect. Especially, if that person was known as a strong individual. The main point being the psychological/emotional toll it will take on healthcare workers to perform assisted suicide on people and it's long-term effects. That should be a moral concern. PTSD doesn't just affect the military.

What do you mean? I figured out that I liked girls in 6th or 7th grade. It wasn't a 'choice' or a 'decision'. It was a realization. For a kid to realize they like the same sex (or the opposite one), or to come to the understanding that they don't 'fit' in the body they were born with isn't all that different. To take permanent, life altering measures in that direction is not appropriate, but it also isn't something that happens often. The key is accurate, professional diagnosis and treatment. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-medical-treatments-do-transgender-youth-get Note: I have a small amount of personal experience in this. My former nephew is now my niece. She is in no way, shape or form 'confused'. And her parents (my sister and her husband) are far from 'enabling'. The transition is entirely hormones & hormone blockers, which is not permanent. They have an amazing therapist and an excellent endocrinologist. My (now) niece is far better, far happier and far more stable as a female that ever before. This is NOT any sort of 'fantasy' or 'fashion statement'.

Isn’t that what happened to Trump? Wendy P.

I still cannot understand how 70 million people voted for this imbecile! Superhero

This discussion is timely as I am organizing my affairs to make it easier for my nephew to execute my estate after I am gone. I knew two elderly gentlemen who refused food and liquids after being diagnosed with cancer. I watched my own mother die in hospital. She signed a do not resusitate order a few months before her death. I last visited my father in a nursing home a month before he died of cancer, etc. It was sad the way he lost his mind in later years. An old friend has recently been diagnosed with early stage dimentia. It is sad to see a previously bright friend lose his short term memory. I do not want to linger, nor do I want to be a burden on my nephew. So I must collect and sign the appropriate papers for MAID. Hopefully, that day is another 20 years in the future.

I am aware of the high suicide rate amongst veterinary providers and the struggles they face. I am not aware of any study that has linked that suicide rate to the act of ending an animal's suffering. My, admittedly anecdotally based, opinion is that it relates much more to the stress of dealing with humans and how those humans treat animals. In other words, I am not sure how valid the comparison you are trying to me is.

The state should not be in the business of killing people.

We shouldn't have for profit prisons either. More financial reasons than legal reasons seems to lead their thinking. Even some State guidelines on incarceration are odd. Unless it's been changed, Ii Florida, if you're taken to jail, you will stay there for a minimum of 48 hours in order for the county to receive State funds for the cost of housing you. This simple rule has cost people their jobs, which can create a cascade of financial disaster for them.

To hell with the attacks, let's see some handcuffs.

We tend to treat our animals better than our elders. I am a strong proponent of Assisted Suicide.

Gerry, I doubt if CSPA purged their fatality files. More likely that the early accident report never reached CSPA headquarters. The last time I read through CSPA's fatality files was in 1987.

Hi Rob, A little off-topic: Did CSPA purge their files for fatalities prior to then? I seem to remember a guy named Dick Harder who went in at Abbotsford DZ about 1966. It's been a few years & the old memory is not perfect. ?????????? Jerry Baumchen

Dear Leigh, That packing error has been repeated many times. It is too easy to forget a small piece of cord in a main pack job especially since main pack jobs are often rushed and tools are rarely counted. The first fatality (1970s) in CSPA's files started with the same packing error involving a Para-Commander main canopy. OTOH Tools are routinely counted at the start and finish of reserve pack jobs. One way to reduce the number of tools is to tie the pilot-chute bridle around the lines. This helps keep the lines neat and make sit difficult to close the container until the bridle has been removed from the suspension lines. This technique is popular when packing reserves partly because it helps keep reserve suspension lines neat and riggers are realllllllly anal-retentive neat-freaks when packing reserves. It helps that reserve bridles are often much longer than the 2 or 3 meters of main bridles.

that was a week before i was born.

After 35 years since I jumped a para commander and 17 years since last round jump jumped my Jumbo PC. Steel in ankle and weight gain kept from jumping rounds. After talking to a few folks on FB Round group decided wise to jump into water first. About 305lbs exit weight. I was ready to jump it last October on land but got weathered out and dz's closed for winter. Water jump pick up boat and opportunity came up very short notice. As much fun as I remembered and expected EXCEPT instant canopy. Discussion for rigging. Calculated descent rate somewhere around 17 fps. I can take that onto land. received_631436048348779.mp4