winsor

Wasn't Ronald Reagan one of the first politicians to want to ban assault rifles. How dare you sully the name of the great Saint Ronald RayGun with these attacks on the "truthiness" of our arch conservative minions around here.

But just in case it doesn't, I'm stocking up on Slim Whitman albums. I thought it was Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald that had microbes beat hands down.

I went through a neighborhood that voted 100% Democrat a couple of days ago and noticed a number of people wearing outfits that would have made the KKK proud (with exception of the choice of fabric). I have always found the double-standard amusing whereby its okay to make clear distinctions between various groups if the opinion is glowing, but not okay if the opinion is not so good. This goes for gender, ethnic origin, place of birth and so forth. Any dog or horse breeder can expound at length on the merits and deficiencies of one breed or sex for a particular role, and if you dispute that I ask who you favor in a race between a trained Thoroughbred and a Clydesdale. The differences between peoples are every bit as great as those between variants of other species. Just as there are housebroken and feral cats, there are housebroken and feral people, and the distinction is no less significant. Social standards differ greatly among groups of people that are ethnically similar, and one may ignore these differences at their own peril. Shrill objections to perceived stereotyping overlook the great pains that all too many people take to fit one stereotype or another. Marketing makes clear the differences between various groups. Things you can't keep on the shelves in one venue you can't give away in another. Discrimination has been given a bad name. A discriminating palate can lead to epicurean delight, indiscriminate choices are often bad ones and so forth. Discrimination is the ability to tell the difference, and the difference is often quite significant. Similarly, 'Diversity' is vastly overrated in and of itself. "E Pluribus Unum" references diversity but the upshot is unity. When identifying with any group, it is important to understand the distinction between 'us' and 'them' in context, and the ramifications of how you choose to identify. In social situations there may be several lines of demarcation at play, each with its benefits and pitfalls. In a group of people one might have to decide whether they side with the city folk or the rural crowd, males or females, Marines or Army, Baseball or Hockey fans (and which team, of course), Shiite or Sunni, Baptist or Methodist, Believers or Non, tall or short, fat or thin, black or white, Ibo or Yoruba, Norwegian or Greek and so forth. Opting for the wrong focus of identification can have serious consequences, whether it be wearing Crips colors on Bloods turf or Red Sox duds in Yankee Stadium. Anyhow, in light of the thread title, Democrats are unabashed in their focus on race, which fits my definition of racism. I do not see racism as 'good' or 'bad' per se, and lump David Duke together with with Al Sharpton. There are racist Republicans and racist Democrats. Democrats, however, give lip service to 'good' racism vastly more than do Republicans ('Affirmative Action' was passed on Tricky Dick Nixon's watch). You want racism? Talk to Jesse Jackson - it's his livelihood. BSBD, Winsor

Yep. Even did it in the original alien invasion movie War Of The Worlds. Which was, of course, based on the BOOK by H.G. Wells. Any relation to Dawn?

Your God gives you more than you deserve yet, the starving around the world are less deserving????? Do you really believe that the earth is incapable of providing sustenance for everyone on this planet? I do believe that we are running low on habitable space as well as space for livestock and crops. Drinkable water supplies are low or quickly becoming polluted in many regions on this planet. Earth is only so big and the vast majority is covered with saltwater. Not a lot of space in between. The longer we live, the more children that are born takes the planet closer to the tipping point. If it's not there already it soon will be. Bullshit, the problem is piggish capitalism...not God. My reply had no mention of a god but, of over-population. Given that overpopulation is a third-rail issue, we are screwed. The problem comes down to one facet of the human condition, that there are only two types of people - us and them. If somebody has to take the hit, and us has anything to say about it, them are toast Various groups throughout history have done nasty things to ensure that us prevailed over them. Some groups in Europe in the '30s and '40s got a bad name for standards of behavior that were well established and documented in the Middle East some 3 to 4 millennia ago. Us getting all in a lather over Climate Change (tm) is akin to trying to address a rash that is a symptom of Stage 4 Cancer. Address the serious underlying issue and the minor symptom will either resolve itself or be amenable to treatment. Fail to address the underlying issue and the secondary symptom is not really a factor when all is said and done. Again, since there is nobody who can be trusted to effect the reduction of population to sustainable levels (including me), the resulting disaster of epic proportions is inevitable. Enjoy yourself - it's later than you think. BSBD, Winsor

Can you imagine any scenario where you would be happy with something Obama said or did? Seppuku.

Unlike, say, the Democratic Party. Right.

And I would like to see GWB tried for war crimes. I doubt either of us will get our wishes. If you want to wear the white hat, you have to follow the rules. I was floored by the complete absence of casus belli for Operation Kill Saddam Hussein. WMDs??? From the country with more WMDs than the rest of the world put together, and the ONLY country that has used C, B AND R types in anger? Give me a break. Even whoever it was that attacked Poland in the late '30s had the good taste to pretend that it was in response to an unprovoked attack, and GWB could not even rise to that standard of international etiquette. Sheesh. We are now getting what we deserve for having the great unwashed elect a complete incompetent. This guy is precisely what he seemed to be on the campaign trail the first time around - someone devoid of substance, given to meaningless hand-waving. His brilliance is tapping into the wellspring of stupidity (to which he is greatly in tune) that is our remaining natural resource. BSBD, Winsor

Meanwhile on US media they cannot even get the continent right let alone the country. While they have the audacity to judge the neighboring countries (Russia) on their abilities to protect their 'homeland security'. http://rt.com/news/158252-ukraine-pakistan-cnn-mistake/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome Seriously, US media is a joke. In Izvestia there is no Pravda, in Pravda there is no Izvestia. Joke, no?

Okay, I get it. "We're not picking you because you suck!" "You're homophobic and you're discriminating against me because I'm gay!" "No, we're all gay - or at least bi - and we're cool with that. Think Chicago Bears. We don't want you because you are not a very good football player." "Oh. Never mind."

I wholeheartedly agree - to a point. I worked for a group where lesbians were the employees of choice. The reasons given whereby the manager preferred lesbians had to to with the amount of field work that was involved. 1) Their personal life NEVER came up, one way or another. 2) You did not have to worry about guys hitting on them much of anywhere. 3) They were not given to unexpected pregnancy. 4) They were not given to changes in work status on the basis of marital status. etc. As far as he was concerned, the women he hired were the perfect employees. Having depended upon the quality of their work, I am not sure if I could disagree. Again, I agree. With certain exceptions (a track record of activities whose discussion is specifically proscribed on these forums, for example), I think ability, integrity and productivity should be the primary considerations for selection. The Juilliard audition, where the board cannot see the applicant, is the ideal. Those who would not do not have a voice. If you look at the magazines around the checkout at many a supermarket, you will be hard pressed to find a copy of U.S.News and World Report or Scientific American. Is this because of any attempt to dumb down the populus? Nope. It is because media adapted to a room-temperature IQ sells like hotcakes, and anything that presumes cognitive capability will gather dust. In a sense I wish this guy could have simply made the cut or not on the basis of ability alone. Muddying the waters by mention of his sexuality makes a rational decision suspect: "Heck, I'd love to hire the guy, but every time he leaves the bench the other team scores." "You're just homophobic!" "'Homophobic' actually means terrified of my kind, and I'm not. I just want to win the Superbowl. If having the Village People on the team would get me the ring, I'm all for it." "You're just homophobic!" Back to selling 'the News...' BSBD, Winsor

I saw this, and it took a minute to realize that anyone gave a rat's ass about this guy's sexual proclivities. Given the range of misbehavior to which NFL types are prone, I am flabbergasted by all the attention this gets in the sports fan world. Maybe if he promised to be a gay RAPIST he would be accepted as one of the boys. Admittedly, I do not follow football beyond when football players become newsworthy for their legendary transgressions, so it seems me that the sport is generally accepting of things that I consider unacceptable. I thus cannot fathom why they might make an issue about something that is, in and of itself, a non-event. If anything, this has vindicated my loathing of NCAA and NFL football. I still won't watch a game if this guy gets drafted, but I would hope a team would pick him up for the free publicity. You would think that some fans would buy tickets out of gay pride, and that others would watch to see the faggot get tackled. It's a win-win situation! I probably won't pay enough attention to know how this turns out, but what little I know so far I find distasteful. BSBD, Winsor

The physics of marksmanship are all about keeping it simple. Complexity is anathema to consistency. With the AR platform, recoil is straight line to the shooter's shoulder, which reduces recoil-induced variation of exit direction. The concentricity of the action internals is also well suited to accuracy. Keeping the sight plane dead vertical allows windage to be removed from the initial equations - at short to moderate ranges, at least. The trajectory of the bullet follows an arc, crossing the line of sight twice going downrange. Right out of the muzzle, the point of impact (POI) will be below the line of sight by the distance between the line of sight and the bore. If the firearm is zeroed for, say, 100m, the POI will be above the line of sight thereafter until gravity takes it back through the line of sight at some point downrange. "Point Blank" refers to the white mark on a gunner's quadrant, pointe blanc in French, indicating no elevation correction for range. The faster the projectile and the better the ballistic coefficient, the farther out is point blank, whereby the procedure is simply aim and shoot. At extended ranges things get more complex and, to some extent, counter intuitive. At any rate, the point of using sights is to improve accuracy. Placing sights directly above the bore directed at the point of impact has proved to be the most effective means of achieving that goal. BSBD, Winsor

You realize that's what the citizens of Krypton said; right? Again?

Newbie! Put your teeth in when you say that, mister. Oddly enough, my tendency to wear full-face helmets is an outgrowth of losing five front teeth (and a lot of bone) in a motorcycle accident. This was 10 days after I got my braces off, well over 40 years ago. I know, I know, locking the barn door after the horse is stolen and all that... BSBD, Winsor

Regardless of the merits of AGW (or whatever its nom du jour), even if it was removed from the equation in toto immediately, the fact that "a hell of a lot of the population of the planet is going to be pretty screwed over by it within the next century" still stands. AGW is a self-correcting issue in the grand scheme of things, and mankind has a hell of a lot more pressing issues to consider in the meantime. Real though Climate Change may (or may not) be, it is not on the short list of the most critical problems faced by our species, or the planet in general. Obama, possessed though he may be of political genius, is otherwise an imbecile. BSBD, Winsor

Not really, " For God has chosen the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and he has chosen the weak of the world to shame the mighty. " Gotta love the paradox. It appears to me that "higher IQ" for some is more of a stumbling block than an asset. I am glad to be counted with the foolish. ... Does self-deprecation count as a PA?

Which one was the most necessary? We'll chalk you up for: "lying is fine, as long as I like the outcome" I take exception to the claim that GWB lied. In order to lie, he would have had to have the faintest glimmering of a clue, and I know of nothing that would support such a claim. Thus I submit that GWB is an idiot, not a liar.

When I worked in a bike shop many decades ago we had a customer come in wanting a refund for his severely fucked up helmet. It seems that he had laid the bike down and tagged a curb with his head in the process - the full face helmet (I think it was a Shoei) was crushed to within scant millimeters of his skull, and he had a pretty good headache as a result. That, and a few bruises, were about it. It was explained to him that the helmet, a 'one accident' model, had worked perfectly as designed, and had thus paid for itself in spades. I have been a motorcycle owner for over 45 years and have learned the hard way to wear all the protection I can handle (having tried both, I'd rather drip sweat than blood). I have an assortment of leathers, reinforced denim, and helmets. I have spent enough time in emergency rooms and orthopedic wards to understand that in a 4 wheel vs. 2 wheel scenario, 4 wheels (or greater) wins every time. Riding without a helmet is like swooping. If that's what you're into, fine. If it does not work out for you, don't expect a lot of sympathy (yeah, I have been known to go up to someone who just femured and say "gee, that looks painful"). Gary Busey could afford to have his skull reassembled after getting it smashed, being a Rich Hollywood Star. If you are willing to foot the bill for the cranial rebuild, and don't mind being a gork if it doesn't work 100%, I applaud your decision to ride bare headed. Having had the front part of my head reassembled after one particular ride gone wrong, I do not personally recommend it. YMMV. BSBD, Winsor

I was out to dinner in Saigon one night, and a young woman on a Honda 50 had a spill at the intersection in front of the restaurant. Luckily she seemed to have only minor injuries. I asked Ngoc what was the story regarding helmet laws, and he seemed puzzled by the concept. I then elaborated my question to include quite what happened if you got your head smacked in, and he said it was basically no problem - you went to a hospital until your funds ran out, then you went home where your family looked after you until you died. Tough, but realistic. I am a huge fan of a YOYO clause regarding liability. If you choose to ride a bike without a helmet, or to drive without a seat belt, You're On Your Own. You are officially uninsured under those circumstances, and you cannot file a claim - regardless of who may or may not be at fault. If it is THAT important to ride helmetless, or to eschew a seat belt, knock yourself out. I applaud your decision to take full responsibility for whatever comes to pass while you are enroute. You want to be covered while on the road? Fine, buckle up and/or wear a skid lid. Your call. BSBD, Winsor

Is that akin to showing someone the gallows, or the electric chair, in an attempt to scare them? That is not the way I use the term. I see the cross as the bridge by which man can reach God's paradise. ” The cross is an instrument of torture and execution. Used by godless roman pagans to exact punishment on those willing to die for their beliefs... Nice spin, but the Romans used crucifixion as a motivational tool "Pour encourager les autres" and all that.

Hey, unfair to Exxon. Exxon now admits that AGW is real. They'd make blood sacrifice to Baal if there was a buck to be made. .............................................................................. So how do we make a buck off of global warming? Real estate developers are already talking about adding "decorative water features" to condo developments immediately east of Main Street. They quietly forget that neighborhood was tidal mud flats a century ago. If sea levels continue to rise, that neighborhood will return to fetid tidal swamp. I figure that I can make my first million dollars by selling Venice-inspired, Renaissance town-homes on the old mud flats. We can add romantic second-story foot bridges for a few million more. Then I can make a few million by leasing out a flotilla of gondolas to ply the "romantic water features." ... perhaps wholesaling cheap straw hats? ... bespoke straw hats? ... perhaps a school to teach opera singing to gondoleers? ... a shop building high-end, custom, racing gondolas? Then I can make a few million selling sump pumps to people who were silly enough to build houses at sea level in Richmond. Then I can make my next million dollars building dyke between Richmond and Surrey. Then I can make my next million dredging out the "historic drainage" between Chinatown and downtown Vancouver. Then I can make my next million offering ferry service across the Carroll Street Canal. Then I can make my next million by building a bridge across the Carroll Street Canal. Next thing you know, I will be selling ocean-front properties in Chilliwack! Hah! Hah! How to turn a buck from Global Warming? Ask Algore! He has a personal "carbon footprint" the size of a small city, and has amassed a 9-digit net worth by flying around in his personal jet pontificating about how evil it is to have a large carbon footprint and engage in such excesses as flying around on personal jets. He's my hero.

I am a member of the church. You must have misread and certainly misspoke. Unless I am very much mistaken, I think the Judean People's front is relevant here. I never heard of them. Here they are.

Jesus was an Observant Jew.

In THAT we agree heartily. Oh, come on. People go to church to feel happy. Ignorance is bliss. The Church has an endless supply of bliss. What's the problem?