TheAnvil

If you aren't into the fighting part I'd try cardio-kickboxing or something of the sort. Boxing IS fun and will definitely get you in shape, however. The training is extremely multifaceted. I used to LOVE bag-work, especially the heavy bag. What sorts of exercise have you done before?

Does this make you want to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the top of your lungs and go to Nevada? Those who partake, wrap that rascal! Perhaps even two or three times! Disgusting, but funny as hell. Beers to all!

Congrats! It's not going to be Governor of Texas, is it? Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Preach on Brother Andy! Preach on!

Add one more dude - Vinny the Anvil is in! Don't know the exact day yet, but I'll be there. Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Screw material possessions! Do an around the world adventure tour. Go climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, take a safari, white water raft the Zambezi at Vic Falls, then head down to South Africa for some more safari-ing and kickass skydiving! From there head out to Mauritius then to Thailand to drink beer, scuba, and skydive. Stop off in Japan for some sushi, then jump Hawaii. Then head to California and hit Monterey, Hollister, Perris, Elsinore, Lodi, and other fine DZs. Climb Shasta enroute to Seattle where you can climb Ranier and jump KAPOWSIN (best view on the West Coast!). After that, you'll probably be tuckered out, so grab a long flight back to the British Isles and sleep the entire flight. Beers to all, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

I highly recommend travelling to the Middle East sometime. Very interesting area of the world. UAE is an incredible country to visit - scuba diving, camel racing, sand surfing, souqs, etc. Don't think I'd spend an extended amount of time there - probably try and hit it as part of an around the world flight or something. I'd LOVE to visit Iran, though I haven't done so. Anyway, IRT your post, I didn't notice the same sort of racism you did in Africa, but then again I wasn't in Nigeria. I found everyone there really friendly and open. I DID experience racism overseas (when I was living in Japan and Hawaii in particular) but the worst racism I've ever encountered was right here in the United States in Memphis, TN. Racism is always disgusting, regardless of the source or place. Beers to all, Vinny the Anvil

Seen as unnecessary by whom, exactly? Not I. 2000 people killed in any one single event deliberately IS a huge #. I hold your equating such with a misguided bomb dropped in the execution of a war is far more inflamatory than my previous assertion. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

I don't think you'll ever find any proof the 9/11 terrorists came from Iraq. Trained there, perhaps. Salmon Pak would be a nice place to do just that. The # of collateral deaths and injuries attributed to misguided bombs from Afghanistan and Iraq '03 combined is a pretty low percentage of the worldwide Arab population. More Arabs receive emails from Americans everyday than that. I'd wager you could add shake hands, have dinner, and workout to that # as well, but wouldn't put money on it.

No way dude! I'll bet there's some bullshit in there! If not, how will they keep powering things after this generation of cows dies off/is eaten? LMFAO. This is ingenious. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

...from conservative columnists, to be true, but interesting nonetheless. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/richlowry/rl20030603.shtml http://www.townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/mc20030603.shtml Beers and moon-pies, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

I feel sorry for that kid. In a way. But then again, if he's got a kickass job like he's going to have by the time he's 18 and can afford some cool shit AND isn't a total dorkazoid....hmmm.....nahhh. I don't feel sorry for him. He needs smacking. I couldn't do ODE's until I was 18 and this little bastard has his bachelor's in math already. He's probably so screwed up psychologically its not even funny. Hopefully he'll invent some cool stuff and improve life for everyone. Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

My experience in Australia around the same time period mirrors yours. The Aussie's I was drinking with didn't really care about that sex scandal. They were amazed I despised El Jefe Clintonista so much, actually, but they didn't know a lot about American internal politics. He was quite popular over there. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

I'll drink to that sinker! I sent Wendy a PM saying pretty much that same thing. I sort of regret using the abortion example in my prose because all sorts of emotions inevitably come up, and sometimes bad vibes are spread. Good thing we're all grown-ups (body-wise anyway) who like to jump! Beers to all! Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

As do many republicans, I support the morning after pill and early term abortions. Adoption is a tenable option - someone I care for very deeply just gave a child up for adoption to a very caring couple who couldn't conceive. Unlike my partial birth abortion example, this is a one-scenario option you've presented. My example about partial birth abortion is not so, though you can vary the month a bit. What service has been cut? What welfare program has been reduced and by how much? What homeless shelters are being closed? Instead of rhetoric, give me examples of what your saying. If not via tax cuts, how would you stimulate the economy? While I disagree with the structure of the second tax cut, I do think something needed to be done. Personally, I would have simply accelerated the tax cuts from the original plan - which I support almost 100% - and then ended the ridiculous practice of the US being the only industrialized nation to tax corporations on foreign profits, ended the marriage penalty, and raised the inheritance tax-floor to US$10mil or so. I do not like this blurring of the lines betwn LLC and Corporation that the recently enacted tax cut induces. What would you do? Also, it's our money. We earned it. Look at the choices many in the lower income tax brackets have made. Those choices are the main reasons they are there. Beers, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

This calls for a moment of silence....followed by an all out lobbying effort on USPAs part. I demand that USPA be notified of any future booze wastages, so that we skydivers may serve our country and planet by taking care of any left over beverages in the proper fashion. Dammit! What were these idiots thinking? Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Take a look at the witholding rates and then the US$7700 single tax deduction for the 1040EZ filers and you'll find they aren't paying income taxes - according to my office-mate. He could be wrong - he DOES answer to 'Dumb Ass'. I read that stat somewhere else as well - perhaps Boortz - and DA claims to have seen this also. I like the Office of Faith Based Initiatives, but share your concern in the abstract. What many religious organizations already have in place is an EXCELLENT infrastructure and proven track record, which makes me support that. As long as religions aren't excluded from funding because of denominations, I don't see how said funding could be construed as the establishment of a State religion. I do see your point in the abstract, but disagree.

Wendy I don't think I've ever seen you lie here in any forum, nor have I found your posts bereft of intellect, though I often disagree with them. Here is the thing - Anvil perspective. It's your right to support whatever you want. When you induce others to support your point of view and do NOT let them know what you support because you know their knowledge of such would make them less likely to vote for you, THAT makes you a coward. The following phrases wouldn't win you any elections, but are nice descriptions of some of the favorite issues of the left: - I support the right of a woman to induce labor at 8.5 months and have the doctor suck the fetus' brains out from the base of its neck as soon as the head exits the mother. - I want to raise your taxes. - I support the right of state funded universities to reject your daughters/sons in favor of less qualified applicants because of thier/his/her race. Instead of the above, we hear the following: - Woman's right to choose! - Tax cuts for the rich! Republicans want tax cuts for the rich! - I support affirmative action! Republicans are racists! I have a horrid confession to make - I used to be a leftie. It was a black friend of mine who turned me into a republican. He was infuriated that I was an affirmative action supporter and when I argued with him he kicked my ass thoroughly on every point. As I was just starting as a tutor for the Office of Minority Education and Development (physics, calc, etc) when this occurred it didn't take me long to see how right he was about double standards for admission and their ill effects. He told me I should look into other things - like gun control, abortion, taxes, etc. I did my research and haven't looked back - he was right. I even used to support abortion until I saw this video: www.silentscream.org The left, of course, put out a response, but I was not impressed: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ABORTION/silentscream.htm I found their counterpoint nicely worded, sometimes factual, but overall uninspiring. The counterpoint nit-picks at minutia and avoids the major issue at hand. Form your own opinion, as you've already seem to have done. I've maintained my own views - they do oscillate from time to time - but there are certain things I will never support and late term abortions are one of them. If you choose to do so, fine. The difference between us is I can tell people straight up what I feel about an issue. I can show a video of what I'm against and then explain why I'm against it. You can't. This thread is long. And it seems to be going towards the abortion/non-abortion route. Dammit. Shouldn't have brought it up. Oh well. Beers, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Yes, there are many of us who like Bush, even though his second tax cut pissed me off - good intention, but HORRRRRRRIIIBLE structure. As far as what he's done of value, look at the first tax cut, ending preferential hiring of union workers over lower bidding non-unionized small business for government contracts (saving $$), 9/11 response was great, got rid of Saddam Hussein (we hope), invoked Taft-Hartley to force the 6 figure making whiners from ILWU back to work on the West Coast (horrid thing for the economy, that strike), .....I could go on..... Beers, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

This thread is getting really large. I hope nobody has replied to anything I wrote before here. I'm going to take another twenty minutes and veg here before going to buy a sledge hammer for my computer/satellite simulator. Powell is one of my favorite people on the national stage right now. Truly a great man. WRT the WMD, I am going to be perturbed if it turns out that the WMD scenario was cooked. I don't think it was and it would greatly shake my faith in all levels of American leadership if that turns out to be the case. We shall see, but I'm on the doubting Thomas side there. The NK situation is an interesting foreign policy paradigm. They have nukes and an extremely large & well equipped army. Everytime they negotiate with us - almost - we learn they've done so in bad faith to extort more $$/food/etc. Additionally, the sell drugs for $$ for their cash-strapped economy. The history is as interesting as the paradigm. Our intervention there was based on Kennan's Containment doctrine, which is now moot point in many respects. Nobody knows what the NKs want - even them I'd wager. That whole peninsula is a dangerous place - and not just due to the stench of kimchee. (As a humorous side note, I had to can-ex every ounce of clothing I wore to the kimchee market in Seoul despite several times through the laundry - even the shoes! Tastes damn good, though.) I think the way to proceed there is VERY cautious engagement. The Southern economy and infrastructure are a testament to the strength of capitalism and the South Korean work ethic. NK can't let its citizens visit SK en masse because they'd never return. Hell - they even go over the border into China where they sure as hell aren't welcome. The North has no tourist industry and no commercially produced products, so how the hell CAN they be engaged economically? On this front, dude, I am a stumped little short man. Rush, Ann Coulter, Walt Williams, Rush's brother David, and all sorts of conservative commentators will be in the mix of the '04 election. Looking forward to reading their stuff. I DO think the internet and free access to non-liberal biased media has been one of the dominating factors in electing republicans nationwide. My two cents. Now to read further into this monstrous thread. Beers, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Perhaps I should explain why these phrases tick me off a bit better. I disagree with your statement. And my brain needs a break. Here we go. 'republicans are racist' is a lie the leftists use to motivate minorities to vote for them. I find it disgusting. Some republicans are racists. Some democrats are racists. In vain attempts to 'prove' this lie correct, leftists typically tell other lies which piss me off even more and then infuriate me by smearing folks who hold virtually identical views to my own as being racists - all because they don't support affirmative action or some other race-based program. That's why I think 'lying liberal coward' anytime this 'Republicans are racist' mantra comes up - and most often find no need to rethink my opinion. Add to that the incessant and subtle initiative by the left to encourage folks to IDENTIFY themselves by their race (Oreo cookie incident in MD, for example) and I get nauseous. Disgusting. 'tax cuts for the rich' pervades leftist attacks on conservatives. Unfortunately for them, anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the tax system today knows that the rich pay most of the taxes. Most republicans also know that you CANNOT GIVE A TAX CUT TO PEOPLE WHO PAY NO FEDERAL INCOME TAX. When leftists scream, whine, and moan about not giving tax cuts to the lower income brackets, we know they are full of shyte. Sending these folks a larger check is taking money from somebody else who EARNED it. It's their money - not the government's. Though sometimes not a lie - and sometimes a blatant one - this phrase ticks me off and turns me against those who use it 99.9% of the time. 'woman's right to choose' is another phrase from the Gospel of the Left. My views on abortion make me both a bad Catholic and a man hated by the left almost as much as Ronald Reagan. I don't think life begins at conception or do I think that morning after pill (RU-238) immoral or that early term abortions are overly immoral (only partially; I know I'm opening myself up to attack, but that's what I think. So be it.). I also don't think religious hospitals should be forced to provide abortion services or the morning after pill. I think there's a very subjective moment where the fetus becomes a person with brain waves, heartbeat, soul,etc that really can't be quantified. As John Adams said - a comprehended God is no God at all. I don't think man capable of determining where life begins non-subjectively. Abortion after that point is murder - no question in my mind. Anytime I challenge a lefty to show a video of an abortion - Silent Screams for instance - or of a partial birth abortion they run like cowards. The 'woman's right to choose' phrase ticks me off, and anyone who can't show videos of a procedure whose legality they so staunchly support and then defend their views to the audience is a yellow belly. Only by hiding the reality of the procedure can lefties hope to use it as a political motivator. Cowards. I guess that makes me a hypocritical libertarian in a way, but I'm comfy with my viewpoint. 'religious right' ticks me off as well. Aren't there a few lefties who are religious? This phrase is inevitably accompanied by accusations of theocratic proclivities, intolerance, and etc and just pisses me off. There are right wing zealots who shoot abortionists and they're despicable. Like the crusade of the left against the Catholic Church in the wake of the Cardinal Law scandal, the 'right wing zealot' stereotype has litte basis in fact. Most religious people are extremely tolerant. This phrase, too,....you guessed it....pisses me off. All of the aforementioned tick me off, and tick a lot of libertarians/conservatives off. If you've been watching the trends in the TV news - I watch both CNN and FOX, though I prefer FOX - and other outlets, these mantras are losing their political potency as a means to motivate voters. They are still potent, but going downhill. Ergo my conclusion that the advent of a non-left-leaning news source and internet are going to make those who rely on these mantras to motivate their base politically irrelevant. The ease of which opposing viewpoints and factual data can be obtained by virtually anyone makes this mode of political argument a thing of the past - or will soon do so, hopefully. DAMMIT! I've typed a lot! Good thing I type like a bat out of hell. Needed a break anyway. Beers to all, Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Holy shit. Work for a bit and look what happens to the thread - it's on FIRE!!!! The Desertion Issue: THE ANVIL Perspective I think that had El Jefe Clintonista/Gore been in office for eight years prior to someone who supposedly deserted the Air National Guard during the Vietnam era would have turned the stomachs of anyone in the military or who had ever been in the military. However, since a draft dodger had been president for eight years and Gore's Vietnam service was a joke, many people had been desensitized to the issue. Add to that the fact that most military officers (over 85%) and I'd say about 70% (on the low side) of the enlisted personnel are Republicans and that Bush's father was a WWII Vet, and you kind of get a feel for why his supposed AWOL/desertion held so little sway over that voting block. By extolling Clinton's draft dodging on principle in the previous two elections, democrats hurt themselves unintentionally when trying to play that card against Bush - at least Bush made a semblance of joining the Air Guard. Neither act could be considered truly courageous/honorable, but between the two I'd have to give Bush the edge on that front. Did Bush go awol? Perhaps. Definitely plausible and some strong evidence has been presented. Unfortunately, those presenting it were strongly defending Clinton's draft dodging and Al Gore's 'stint' in 'Nam which caused the hypocrisy factor to render their attacks ineffective. Since taking office, Bush has acted like a Commander in Chief. He says something, then does it foreign policy wise, like it or not. That too sits well with the military mindset. Anyway, that's why I think the military likes Bush so much despite his possible awol/desertion. Beers to all Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Amen, ThighMan! I'll take that beer sometime. Surely y'all didn't think there would be a political thread of this magnitude and not see The Anvil? As some of you know, work is kicking my butt right now, so I won't comment on everything and try not to tell anyone to 'use their noggin' to avoid harming anyone's tender feelings with my humorous colloquialisms. A few comments between bouts of screaming at my satellite simulator and testing the limits of the darker sides of my vocabulary: - Gasoline is about the only commodity whose price has not been indexed with inflation since the '60's. Blaming that on Bush is like blaming the dot-com bomb on Clinton - baseless. We should be going towards biodiesel-electric hybrids for autos, agricultural based lubricants, and start building an infrastructure to support an electric-auto driving nation. Big order. Biodiesel is doable NOW. I'm passionate about that, so I won't get started. - All of the recent corporate scandals were discovered during Bush's tenure. Under whose were they committed? - I encourage everyone who reads this to think of the # 14 everytime the lefties bring up Enron. That's the # of times Ken Lay spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom as a guest of El Jefe Clintonista. - The military likes Bush for many reasons. The military is predominantly Republican, HATES liars, doesn't care for non-merit-based promotions/policies, high on moral standards (I know about the USAF academy rape scandals and all the other ones; overall, their standards are high as hell; every organization has exceptions), and the military doesn't care for the 'blame America first' crowd at all. There are other reasons - these are but a few. It's not so much like Bush as DESPISE who the leftists are running and what they represent. Dammit. I could continue, but time precludes it. I'll close with this last diatribe: Over the next year, we are going to see more and more attacks on Bush by the left. They are desparate for several reasons. For the past twenty or thirty years, the left has relied on the 'Republicans are racist', 'tax cuts for the rich', 'woman's right to choose', and 'religious right' mantras/lies in order to motivate their base. With the advent of both the internet and a non-left-leaning major newsnetwork, these lies/mantras have lost much of their potency. The left's reliance on such has been so absolute they've forgotten to produce many (or any) new and useful ideas. The Republicans in contrast, have done so and have been coming up with intellectual responses to this garbage for the past couple of decades. The attacks that the lefties are about to launch will be ferocious, but devoid of intellect (no great surprise) for the most part. FOX news and the internet will mitigate the potency of these attacks and force the candidates to run on the issues more than anything else. Since the issues embraced by the left in many cases split their own base - their adamant opposition to school vouchers for instance - and their mantras have less potency, they will be forced to increase the volume and ferocity of their attacks to gain support, which will actually push more people away. If this happens, and I believe it will, look for a Republican land-slide and supermajority in both houses in '04. The lefties will modify their tactics and grow or cease to be a viable force in politics, which is truly sad because I think a viable second party is necessary for the health of the country. Too bad there aren't more libertarians like me. Back to work. Dammit! I need to be a political commentator or something instead of an engineer.....perhaps.....but then again I enjoy geeking it too much. I'd be bored without doing math. Beers to all! Vinny the Anvil Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Some lefties who were pissed that he cut taxes! That's one question (of many) I'm going to ask St. Peter at the pearly gates before he lets me in or sends me straight to hell or purgatory. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

Strange....Texans normally don't take too well to KGB types....he's lucky he's dead if that's the case. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!!