JoeWeber

Jerry, As you know for 15 years we have proudly flown a spread of huge feather flags in a Rainbow above our spectator area that is visible from all roads and neighboring houses and businesses. The only thing we would change is if larger flags were available. I am super proud that all of my staff and jumpers are in full support. Joe

Thank you kindly for the insight into you. People like you, in particular, confuse me. You are both learned and smart naturally but seem to have, I don't know, blind spots? You know, the same sorts of ones we shitlibs have when we are trying to understand our conservative brothers, sisters straight and gay alike. You are worth listening to, for sure, but I am often of the opinion that you think all of us who lean differently are simpletons.

You might not have me pegged. Just because the US, or any nation, can assemble special forces to go in support of any insurgents anywhere or to topple an offensive government anywhere in no way means we should. I think some time back you argued about protecting female rights in Afghanistan or Iraq as a justifiably noble cause worthy of US efforts and sacrifice. It is not. Nor have been any of our miserable failures at nation building. Yes, we should send our special forces in to whack bad guys and stop horrors from continuing but only when the exit strategy is clear and not long in the future. That you would offer up Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 as the legal and constitutional basis for such actions seems more of an imposition of personal values than legal ones.

Oh, so hegemony and nation building to protect the interests of citizens in other nations was a vision of the framers? Good to know. Now I can be further at peace knowing that all of the tax dollars I've paid and my employees have paid over the 40 years I was building my little business's to pay for our military to be out saving their rights went not for naught.

Where is that in the constitution?

Here's the entire sentence: "However, it is just words written down that don't mean a damn thing more important than those in any Dr. Zeuss book if it's adherents, and in particular our elected officials, don't willingly and selflessly conform to the ideas in it." If anything, instead of cherry picking to make an aggrandizing point, you might just think about my point: the people you have been voting for don't give a rats ass about your allegiance to a document and they are proving that out loud every absurd day now with their words and actions. So what were you actually serving to protect, the documents or what they stand for? You know, equality, unalienable rights, all religions not just Christianity and on and on.

So that's it, if you haven't spent 20 years in the Rangers your voice is functionally quieter? There is more to unpack in your statement then I think you understand. No matter, thank you for your service but please understand it gives not an iota of additional weight to your political views in the civilian world. Also, do please rerun the tapes here to notice that my objections to today's so called "conservatism", and protest voting, has nothing to do with increasing my advantages and everything to do with wishing less harm on others.

Hope in one hand and don't vote in the other. The problem is that too many are too slow on the uptake to see down the street much less around the corner.

He proved his sense of humor long ago with a comb.

Undoubtedly I am guilty of some other personal incursion so no worries. But I did mean it as a general proposition that might include you, to be accurate. I'll guess that you take your oaths quite seriously and when you swore to defend the constitution, even at your life's peril, you meant it and would have done it and you won't have that intention defiled by some skinny ninny on an internet forum. Fair enough. However, it is just words written down that don't mean a damn thing more important than those in any Dr. Zeuss book if it's adherents, and in particular our elected officials, don't willingly and selflessly conform to the ideas in it. Of course those qualities are the exact antithesis of Donald J. Trump and why I think you were dead nuts wrong to toss away your vote in protest when it really mattered. The truly shitty thing is that this time around we can not glibly chime this too shall pass and the constitution you revere may actually not be worth anything after our current batch of clowns use it for bathroom paper.

You don't think Trump is laughing at it? How about Mike Johnson who today said the courts shouldn't interfere with Trump. As I said, just stand by until Trump simply refuses to comply with not only court orders but court sanctions and see how well it works. They laugh at the idea of other than an all powerful executive and are now laughing at our constitutional separation of powers. I hope it's ringing loud and clear now because it was never the constitution our leaders were loyal to as much as them being loyal to the idea of a functioning democracy where power transfers peacefully and no person is above the law, even a President.

Neato! And did anyones favorite dog catcher get a few extra votes while a narcissistic madman was being escorted into the Whitehouse in exchange? Bullshit, indeed.

Bingo.

Quite apparently the entire US political system starting with our now known to be laughable constitution is a crap system. No matter, what makes every reasonably democratic system work, two parties or more, is the integrity of the candidates. Trumps failings, damage potential, and his astonishingly brazen lack of integrity has been on full flood light display for all of the last 8 years. Regardless of any other considerations now was not a time to play silly wish it weren't so games and not vote knowing that was in his favor. That said, as I said, even a vote for Trump was better than none at all.

Piffle. I think you are happy Trump won and probably consider the breaking of eggs for an omelette trope an appropriate way of seeing things now. Well stand by for a lot of omelette. So you have given us civics lessons on letter writing etc., tell me, when Trump defies any court order sanctions not the hot air part of the decision just who is going to do the enforcement? The US Marshalls under the control of his personal DOJ? You know, the DOJ who just now and in broad daylight dropped the case against Adams on Trumps orders? No? Then who? Airborne Rangers?

Good luck on getting a pass with that. This will go down as the most consequential, and likely the most harmful to our nation, election in our lifetimes and possibly beyond. Reality: if you didn't vote for Harris or Trump you didn't vote. Bottom line: democracy isn't for voyeurs. I mean seriously, as a thinking person how can you justify abrogating such an important duty when the impact of the past election was so clear? Are you truly at peace with your example? Can you imagine standing in front of a 10th grade class and explaining to them why sitting out important elections is the right and responsible thing to do on occasion?

Sure, but know that as a non-voter for President this time around, because it all didn't fit nicely into whatever pre-conceived happy place plan that suited you on game day, your views on the current situation with our Nation and our President are substantially less valid to me than someone, anyone in fact, who voted for Trump. At least they weren't being conscientious objectors.

Lame in spades. You had your shot at being a conservative voice of reason before you pretty pretend voted in your mind. I did vote for my nations next leader and now have the earned voice to talk about it good or bad. You are just another one of the 90+ million who should be as silent as your non vote deserves while the rest of us who actually gave a shit work the problem.

And close to 90 million American Patriots like you didn't vote for any presidential candidate in the last election and who, like it or not, now own their fair share of what you calmly refer to as political noise. Expect a crap load of that sentiment here, and likely anywhere else you are outside of your safe zone, for a long time to come. FYI, by dismissing our weak sister worries you sounded just like Brent in that post.

Look, Ken, don't be blaming Keith: he's only got one vote not to give.

But are you mad enough to bang your cow bells?

It's called misdirection, the oldest trick in the book.

And the Chiefs won, too! In the immortal words of Russell Casse " Hello boys, I'm back!"

This is what happens when you join the party late: you know nothing about the other attendees and would have been wise to keep your counsel. You didn't. So you had a quadruple bypass, that's a big deal. Are you lean and mean or just another fat old retired cop?

You will never understand because folks like you are the problem. Try this, as an example give up your unneeded arsenal and tell people your did. Not here, but when you have a few jumps and are invited to hang at the real DZ bonfire (as I suggested previously) where you can then use your street cred to have the bully pulpit you sought here. But you won't because you believe more guns will solve the more gun problem. And that is the problem.