winsor

This group, of course.

This is better.

Having recently lost a number of family who died of old age after beating the odds in combat, there's not a lot I can say that would do them justice. At least I got to tell my father what an honor it was to be his son. BSBD, Winsor

I spend a lot of time in Baltimore, and am not at all worried about the violence perpetrated between the parties that are at each other's throats. It is not a racial thing per se, in that the areas I frequent are quite diverse, as well as quite safe. I think the point is that criminals killing each other is not all that much of a problem in the grand scheme of things. So long as they leave civilians of any persuasion alone, it's hard to get worked up about it. BSBD, Winsor

Meh. Job Is so OT. CHRISTIANS keep telling us the OT is superceded (except when convenient to their position, when it is still relevant). Hey, for some of us the Hebrew Scriptures are all we have. Unfortunately, as the history of a big, dysfunctional family, most or it documents things that didn't work out as planned. "Hmm, let's see, this was a real goat-rope, and we really screwed the pooch here, and this patriarch was a complete loser, and we sure didn't see that coming, and..." The fact that such a compendium of malfeasance and disaster should be chosen as the 'basis' for a variety of Universal Religions boggles the mind. I think the Greek/Roman system of mythology is a lot more fun. BSBD, Winsor

Eh, now I'm not so sure. He could have just stayed ambiguously silent about the gay marriage vote in Ireland. Instead, the Vatican went and did this: Same-sex marriage: Irish vote 'defeat for humanity' says Vatican official ... which I find hard to believe was done without Francis's acquiescence (if not his actual instruction). Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss? Does a bear shit in the woods? Is the Pope... wait a minute...

They asked that of my 86 year old nearly blind mother in a wheel chair when she flew home from Seattle a couple weeks ago. I just looked at the ticket agent and asked really????? Common sense has left our airports The correct response is "Ungawa, Bwana!" 'Ungawa,' of course, translates precisely the same as does Lassie's 'arf!' - it means whatever the writer wishes it to mean at the moment. It goes over with security a lot better than "I could tell you - but then I'd have to kill you..." TSA has no sense of humor. BSBD, Winsor

It seems odd that when one postulates an anthropomorphic entity that just kind of is, but has the capacity to generate a universe for no particular reason, this entity should be massively insecure and spiteful, caring greatly about the opinions of his creations. Vonnegut's idea of a deity involved consummate indifference. Though the very concept of a deity is absurd, at least Kurt had a sense of humor.

Bullshit. The rules are 'convert or die.' Islam Religion is evil. Better, more accurate. I stand corrected. However, like any group of pathogens, some are more virulent than others. Rabies is effectively 100% fatal, Ebola is on the high side of 50%, and Herpes is basically an annoyance. Scientology is no less made-up than Islam, but the focus of that ism is to drain one's bank account. Scientology is to Islam what Influenza is to Polio. BSBD, Winsor

Bullshit. The rules are 'convert or die.' Islam is evil.

Since both sides seem to find candidates by turning over rocks and seeing what crawls out, figuring out which one will be less bad is often tough. Demonstrating conclusively that one is competent and capable, with a clear understanding of the responsibilities and limitations of the job appears to be grounds for instant disqualification. Pat Paulsen, where are you now that we really need you? BSBD, Winsor

You figure?

Baltimore was awash with Muslims of every stripe this weekend, and it was a little icky. It was reminiscent of Klan conventions of the '20s. The Klan, of course, defines themselves as a 'Civil Rights Organization' (no shit), and they feel every bit as 'misunderstood' as do Muslims. Maybe Muslims will eventually drift out of the Dark Ages, but I'm not holding my breath. BSBD, Winsor

Islam has a lot in with Mormon. Illiterate 'prophet' with garbled remix of judeo/christian mythology, as transcribed by others? Check. Said 'prophet' with conduit to the Almighty by means of an 'angel?' Check. 'Prophet' using position to have all the 'wives' he can handle? Check. It goes on from there. There's a solid commonality with Scientology as well, but at least Elron was literate in his generation of fantasy/nonsense. BSBD, Winsor

Q: Where is Hell or Satan (NOT 'the serpent') mentioned in Torah?

A good place to start is here. The record of that era is kind of spotty, but what is available might show up there. Good luck. BSBD, Winsor

Okay, the whole thing started when we turned our back on our allies against the Japanese in WWII. The Viet Minh had fought tenaciously, courageously and with honor, with assurances from the Roosevelt administration that they would have free elections and self-determination after cessation of hostilities. Truman, who was a rabid anti-communist, tumbled to the fact that Ho, an ardent nationalist, had used an association with Moscow to his benefit prior to the outbreak of war. Truman then left the Japanese in place as 'administrators' until the French could return. The Vietnamese Government that was in place when the French returned were thus those who collaborated with the Japanese during the war. The French used the Foreign Legion to enforce their rule in Indochina, this group being made up of people who were very good at fighting and eager to shed their identities to avoid problems that arose while they were honing their combat skills. So 'Give 'em hell Harry' was the one who screwed the Viet Minh coming and going, putting them under the thumbs of three groups who had been shooting at us in the very recent past - the Japanese, the French and the SS. After Dien Bien Phu, the country was split along the DMZ, and the South became a CIA playground. Middle aged operatives got to play Walter Mitty, hanging out in Saigon with hot and cold running maid service, drinking at the Hotel Caravelle and generally having a great time while the wives and kiddies were back in Langley. Graham Greene never had it so good. Jack Kennedy tried to use Special Forces to organize the corrupt South (these guys gave Quislings a bad name) to stave off takeover from the North, but Generals S. L. A. Marshall and James Gavin reported back that the only option was to cut our losses and pull out. Kennedy was okay with losing troops until he won reelection, at which point his plan was to withdraw. Oswald kind of threw a wrench in the works, and LBJ was not in on the planning. Johnson's primary concern was that he was not going to be the first president to lose a war, and he was swept up in the flow of events. Marine Force Recon units were given to annoying the North, and would do such things as roaring into Haiphong Harbor at breakfast time, shooting up the place with M-2 fire before disappearing into the morning mist. At one point, Vietnamese forces decided to give chase to the Force Recon guys; the craft they encountered when they came blasting out of the mist were not USMC go-fast boats but the Maddox (oh, fuck....), the crew of which was not in on the Marines' joke. The fact that we wound up embroiled in the Southeast Asian War Games thereafter was a classic case of Hanlon's Razor. It's debatable as to whether LBJ or W were more dunderheaded, but both qualified as world-class idiots. In any event, ISIS can be defeated, but it won't be by brute force and ignorance (our primary skill set), and it certainly won't be by us. BSBD, Winsor

My favorite saying is "smoke joint a day and..." uh, I forget the rest.

People with self control...???? Us casual users have no problem with self control... There's always going to be those few idiots though I'm reminded of a political cartoon from some eons back. It show two beefy policemen walking side by side, and one of them says "I tried marijuana once - it made me want to rape and kill."

Nothing exceeds like excess.

Almost nothing? Death. Death is worse for you than alcohol or tobacco. That's why attempting suicide is illegal. Bet you don't know what the penalty for that is. 72 virgins? I am thinking with so many men who could not handle just one woman....... that 72 virgin thing might actually be not heaven for them but the complete opposite. Since the addition of the martyr makes it 73 virgins, these are people who deal with sex as an abstraction.

IIRC, the ghastly side effects of the stuff are associated with the chemical impurities typical of its manufacture, not so much the narcotic itself. Again, one of the effects of narcotics is to be okay with things (such as limbs rotting off) that would be otherwise horrific. If these people were allowed to sit around and smoke opium, I'm sure they'd give the krokodil a pass. Even though they are committing suicide by the installment plan, being able to change their mind at the last moment without permanent damage is a good thing (think parachuting). BSBD, Winsor

Almost nothing? As far as recreational substances go, yeah. I suppose huffing paint thinner is pretty bad for you, that sort of thing. Despite all the hysteria, most of the popular illegal drugs are less likely to either cause permanent damage to you or kill you than are booze or tobacco. LSD? Significantly less dangerous than, say, Scientology. Marijuana? You have to be kidding. Cocaine? The biggest downside is the price (okay, so going wild on the stuff is a bad idea, but most people don't). Narcotics? The primary indication is by virtue of antishock properties. In addition to their analgesic nature, those under their influence REALLY don't care about things that would greatly affect them otherwise. Withdrawal involves becoming reacclimated to background pain and the nasty realities of life (to include the destruction they may have caused while in 'I don't care' mode). In any event, I highly recommend leaving the stuff alone, but think that the laws proscribing all this dreck are, in the long run, a lot worse than the drugs themselves. BSBD, Winsor

A) If it isn't worse than tobacco or alcohol, legalize it. B) Almost nothing is worse than alcohol or tobacco.

Hand of the Almighty by John Butler is an all time favorite.