dgskydive

If he really wanted to serve his country, he could have at least joined the Regular service. Not knocking the national guard really, but playing weekend warrior doesnt cut it for some of us. That being said. I do respect the National Guard, but seems like the cheap way to go for a future president. Dom

I guess this part of your post should be in forum, but.... A brake release is not a malfunction. Pump your brakes. Everyone is taught that in the FJC. She also talked about hearing a "snap" I have had many brake releases and have never heard a snap when it happened. Has anyone else? Dom

I guess the thing that bugged me the most and I think other jumpers as well, is that she was so shameless about asking for money. Also, if you believe one version of the story. She and her boyfriend did everything that they should not have done. One version (that I happen to believe) is that her BF was on some sort of probation at his home DZ for not following the rules and then took her somewhere else and this happened. I have seen many jumpers get hurt and none of them have begged money for there injuries. Most of them (if they are worthy) get help from there fellow jumpers and family. If they got hurt and werent offered help it was for a reason. Mostly because the caused there own problem and had most likely been told they shouldnt be doing what they where doing. Old news I guess, but read through the other threads and make up your own mind. Dom

Am i miss-reading your post? Kennedy won the popular vote. Dom

I agree. I hope this election is a step in that direction. I do not thing that Obama is going to fix every problem that this country has though, but at least it shows that the people are finally getting past some of our ugly history and are ready for something different. Dom

Did you actually read what I posted? You show me one other example, in recent history at least, where the state police set up check points in specific areas where black democrats go to vote and keep them from the polls using the excuse of checking vehicle registration and such. I do agree that there is fraud in the registration process. That has been made very obvious this past election with the Acorn incident this year, but there is a lot in just the little bit that I posted that is NOT normal. yep. Harris and jeb ran around the state forcing people to not vote, vote for someone they didn't want to, make ballots disappear, etcQuote While they didnt make people vote for someone that they didnt want to........they did my friend make votes disappear. Dom

It isnt about being a sore loser. It is about admitting that this president has been a disaster for not only the US, but the entire world. How you or anyone intelligent person can sit there and defend him is beyond me. There is a reason the 75% of Americans are GLAD that he is finally out of office. There is a reason that he has the lowest approval ratings of any president ever. Wake up, smell the coffee. Dom

They got smart and voted him out a few years back. Dom

This is normal???? Obstruction of Voters In Tallahassee, hundreds of registered black voters were turned away because, despite carrying valid voter registration cards, they did not appear on the voter registration rolls at the precincts. Hundreds more were harassed and stopped by Highway Patrol officers who set up inspection road blocks near polling places in black voting precincts. The Highway Patrol acknowledges this occurred, but say that it was a random placement of routine vehicle inspections which just happened to be near black polling places on election day ... just a coincidence in Jeb Bush's state? The number of formal complaints filed is in the hundreds ... and this is likely just a fractional tip of the iceberg compared to the thousands who were harassed and intimidated but didn't want to go through the hassle of filing formal claims. We've all heard of "Driving While Black" and racial profiling, but Jeb Bush and his jack-booted Florida thugs bring us the new crime of "Voting While Black." And they wonder why 92% of the blacks didn't want to vote for someone named "Bush." Since the election, the extent of this voter obstruction has become even more clear. The Los Angeles Times (5-21-01), including previous reports in The Nation and their own investigation, reports that many voters had their names removed from the voter rolls before the election in an effort to remove "convicted felons" and deceased voters from the rolls, even though thousands of those deleted had never been convicted of anything, were very much alive, and had registered properly. While it cannot be known who any individual voter would have voted for, a large, disproportionate number of those removed from the rolls were African Americans, from a population known to be voting in large numbers for Democrats in a state where the chief election officers, Governor Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Katherine Harris, had pledged to deliver the election for "Dubya." One such voter, Sandylynn Williams, age 34, a Black Tampa resident and Gore supporter, had voted in every election since she was 18. She had recently passed a government background check for her job with a military contractor. She was not a felon, but was not allowed to vote in the November presidential election because her name appeared on an erroneous list of "felons." Election officials restored her right to vote just ten days after the election, with an apology. The timing of this maneuver, the targeting of Black voters, and its effect in preventing thousands of Gore votes in a close election offer conclusive evidence of an election stolen by election authorities committed to delivering their state to Dubya, by hook ... or by CROOK. Illegal Ballots and Voting Procedures An ILLEGAL ballot in Palm Beach County resulted in an extraordinarily high number of mis-votes. Yes, it was designed by a Democrat. But whether Theresa LePore was a well-meaning bumbler or a traitorous turncoat, it doesn't matter: the ballot was ILLEGAL and she had no right to disenfranchise 33,000 Gore voters (19,000 with double-punches, 11,000 "blanks" that the machine could not read and 3,000+ that were erroneously voted for Buchanan, as Buchanan himself -- no ally of Gore -- admitted. Statistical analysis absolutely confirms this level of misdirection in voting: for example, the number of "under votes" (ballots the machine couldn't read) were EIGHT TIMES higher than in counties that did not use punch cards. Further, the ballot machines had not been cleaned in EIGHT YEARS, causing chad build up that made it difficult or impossible to punch all the way through -- even for young, strong, healthy voters, much less the many Senior Citizens and Holocaust survivors who have been cruelly ridiculed by insensitive "compassionate" Republicans for something they had absolutely no control over. And yes, once again it can be noted (as the Republicans keep reminding us) that the illegal Palm Beach ballot was designed by a Democrat. However, up until 1996 Theresa LePore had always been registered as a Republican. After the 2000 election she quit the Democrats and re-registered as an independent. She was only a "Democrat" through the one election cycle in which she designed the illegal ballot that made the difference. Pretty convenient, huh? (Orlando Sun-Sentinel, 5-9-01.) Absentee Ballot Irregularities Republicans have tried to disseminate a very dishonest myth: that Gore and the Democrats tried to block overseas military absentee ballots that were expected to go strongly Republican. Despite this expectation (which proved to be correct), Gore and the Democrats did NOT try to block those votes from being counted and, in fact, actively campaigned for full inclusion. Gore and Liebermann both spoke out in favor of including all such ballots, even if it required flexibility with official Florida voting regulations (after all Gore is the one who is actually a Vietnam veteran). Furthermore, the Florida state Attorney General, Bob Butterworth, a Gore elector and co-chair of the Gore campaign, issued an OFFICIAL Attorney General opinion stating that all such ballots should and could be officially included. However, the final decision was left with individual county canvassing boards and many of them who were Republicans did not include such ballots because they did not want to establish a precedent of including additional vote counts or allowing any flexibility in determining voter intent. Still, it is Gore and the Democrats who get tagged unfairly with the charge of blocking military votes that were actually obstructed by Republicans. In Seminole and Martin Counties, Republican partisans were granted preferential access that was NOT equally offered to Democratic officials, to complete missing information from absentee ballot applications. The same Republicans who whine that senior citizens should get no consideration whatsoever in having their intended votes count if they can't follow every single little rule (even if it is an illegal ballot and chad buildup they have no control over), now holler about "technicalities" when it is pointed out that Florida law is explicit that only the voter or an immediate family member can complete certain pieces of information. In Seminole County, AFTER the improper applications had been rejected, unauthorized outsiders from a specific political party were invited to come and complete the applications, and were provided illegal unsupervised access. In Martin County, Republican partisans were actually allowed to take the applications off premises! These are hardly "technicalities." More importantly, the fact that the Democratic party was given no equivalent invitation, and hundreds of incomplete Democrat applications were simply tossed in the trash, means that this is a clear violation of equal protection of the laws. The only recourse, under Florida law (and which was done in the 1997 Miami mayor's race) is to void all absentee ballots (since after the votes have been processed it is no longer possible to separate the tampered applications from the valid ones. Yes, it is a drastic remedy (but, again, one that has been used before). But if the Republicans aren't smart enough to fill out their applications correctly, then do we really want them voting for President? Dom

I will agree that obviously the other states had something to due with it....... but, since the final out come was 271- 266. I think it is fair to look at that state of florida results as very questionable. Funny how their system became all screwed up in 2000 with the Bush boys on the loose. Dom

Search her name and check these forums for the real story on her. It has been awhile, but if I remember correctly she never should have been in the air in the 1st place. She and her husband took her to a different DZ after every person with any brains told her that skydiving was not for her. That is the short version. I have seen many idiots get hurt but none so shameless as to actually ask the entire skydiving community to send her money to pay her medical bills. I used to work for Aerodyne and she at one point sent letters to all the manufactures asking for donations. I took that letter and threw it in the trash. She had black death written all over her from the start and people told her and her hubby about it. They chose not to listen and she proved them all correct by simply not following her emergency procedures and then quickly set out to make a name for herself over it. Seems to have worked though. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1947876#1947876 Dom

Even though you have gotten very good info in the other thread in particular, I will say this...... Go to the DZ, talk to your instructor. Skydiving is not really best learned online. Dom

I do understand how the system works. but it is interesting how one can win the Presidency without winning the popular vote, especially when that deciding state was run by his brother. I do believe that to be completely WRONG. Even though it has only happened 3 times on our countries history. That does show in my opinion a VERY big flaw in our system and seems to go against the principles of democracy. What that says is that not every vote is equal. As far as getting over it years ago and him winning a 2nd time. I already said that I voted for him the 1st time. My vote was more for the people that he had around him. Mainly Colin Powell and Dick Cheney. Boy was I wrong about Cheney!!!! I sure didnt vote for him the 2nd time though. Dom

Yes I read all the posts and the article. I am the one that posted it in the first place. The fact that he claims he wasnt aware of the donations just proves my point. In the best case he is irresponsible. As far as retracting the pardon. Read carefully. He has retracted nothing and in fact it is up to others to reverse the pardon. He wont even do that. I used hate in quotes. That was sarcasm. I am pissed at him and the way he has handled his stolen time as our president. I am pissed that the way our government has become so corrupt and the fact that they no longer serve the American people, but instead only worry about making themselves and corporations richer. What ever happened to "For the People"? Instead we have "For the corporations". If you think this last statement is incorrect then I really want some of the drugs you are on. Dom

So what other possibility is there? How can this pardon be put in a better light? Please take away some of my "hate". He has pardoned one of the people that lead to one of, it not the worst times in American history. Well I guess Bush should feel bad about it though, since because of his stance on regulation of these people lead to the problem in the first place. You really think that Bush is not an awful president? What drugs are you on and can you please share them with the rest of the American Public. We really need a release from the past 8 years. He stole his first election with the help of his brother and helped to create the fear that was needed to win the second election. As far as the donations not being large amounts of money....... well you need to look at what amounts people usually donate to political parties and the limits that we have on such donations. That is a VERY large donation to a political party. The truth is that he either didnt do his homework or he is stupid enough to think that no one would find out or care about this pardon. I dont know which reason is worse. Dom

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=2994324;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; There are some good pics of Beezy in this thread. He is missed very much!! Dom

WHat a bummer. I wonder where she was from. While in the Army we climbed Mt. Ranier. Two of our new privates where from Louisiana and they had to be rescued before they even got to Camp Muir. The pitfalls of living there entire lives below sea level. Dom

Hope you feel well enough to make it all the way to Machu Picchu. My father is from Peru. Everyone in my family has been there, but me. I am jealous. Dom

Yes. All those about cover it. Seriously. With patients, proper training and staying within your limits, landings can be very soft and easy. I think it is safe to say that almost every jumper has had a bad landing or two. Must of us are still walking around just fine though. I have seen some jumpers with bad knees that slid in on there butts every single time they land. Must jumpers and I am sure with good instruction you will do just fine. Dom

Never Poo-poo at that thought of landing off. Rich said it really well. But even at places like Perris and Eloy where they have big "outs", it canbe a challenge to not twist or break something when landing out. There is a reason they didnt use that area for the main landing area. Dom

Pick a spot on the ground in the area you are looking to land in...... If it moves up on the horizon, you are going to be short of that spot. If it moves down then you can make it to that spot. That is the short answer. Dom

You joke, but I was a few days away from doing just that. Dom

Santa must be real!!!! I got a call from a potential employer at 10:15 pm on Christmas day!!!! First interview today and have already been asked to come back to meet with the VP of sales on Monday.

I would rather he had done his homework and never have issued the pardon to this person in the 1st place. Just another example of his stupidity. This type of person is one of the reasons that the US is in such a bad state at the moment. Like another poster said. The public found out and that is probably the only reason he is thinking of reversing this pardon. Just one more example of how completely corrupt our govt. has become. Dom

oh wait. here is why he did it. Dom