billeisele

Walker & Warnock have spent $241 million so far. We'll see how much they can burn thru in the next 20 days. Wonder how much has been spent nationally? These folks say it's just short of $17 billion. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/11/total-cost-of-2022-state-and-federal-elections-projected-to-exceed-16-7-billion/ I wonder what would happen if there was a cap on spending based on the type of race? Going one step further, what if the amount spent on an election had to be matched with charitable giving or public works projects. It just seems like a huge waste of money.

Just wondering, do you feel the same about Nancy? I'm not a Trump, Biden, Kamala, Pence, Nancy, Kevin, or Chuck fan. IMO If Trump runs that's a big problem. If Biden and Trump run it forces people to choose between two bad options. There are good people in both parties that could run if Trump & Biden got out of the way. Politics has gotten so nasty. It seems that bipartisanship rarely occurs. Without that everything gets polarized. Maybe I'm dreaming but it seems that there are plenty of people like me that are more middle off the road. People that want compromise and for things to get done for the good of the country.

Alcohol and guns are never a good combination. Regardless of the presence of alcohol, kids or anything else bringing a gun into someone else's home without asking is, IMO, not acceptable.

You mean a "newer quote" like the one provided when Biden said on October 25, 2022, "Nearly every COVID death is preventable?" My point was apparently not clear enough, at least for you. The 2021 statement was false and known to be false when it was stated. Just like the 2022 statement is known to be false.

Wow - loaded question with plenty of issues on both sides of the political spectrum. Based on the fact that Trump never shut up, and that was probably his downfall, he wins that question. I'm focused on the current world. Trump is gone, hopefully not to return, and now we have Pres Biden, Kamala, Nancy and Chuck. When Kamala says, "The border is secure", and everyone clearly knows that it's not, that's a problem. It seems that they expect the citizenry to believe anything they say regardless of facts. In a short time the electorate will send a signal about the current administration. We'll see.

Yep, it was not the point of the study but it seems that the data would have been there. Why not report it? Did that specific data indicate that guns were used for self-defense and thus a good thing, or not? All I'm saying is more information provides a full picture of what's occurring. The country keeps talking about legislation. It would be good if there was unbiased comprehensive data upon which to base decisions. I clearly acknowledged that the death rate is higher in a gun home vs. a non-gun home by saying, "No doubt that the presence of a gun in a house increases the risk of being shot. It appears that it's a 50-100% increase in risk, or possibly higher." That's the reason why only focusing on "mass murder" is fallacy. Violence within the home among people that know it each other is a much bigger problem. I knew Billy and we occasionally talked. Not enough for me to have any sense of how or why that could have occurred. Certainly many knew him more than I. A tragedy for sure. Jerry posted that OR has proposed a Gun Control Measure. Billy's tragedy is a concern. Would Billy have obtained the required permit under that law? If the current OR permit rules are used then most likely he would have. If so, the new law may have little impact. Hopefully the proposal will pass, and the permit requirements will be firm.

Jerry - It appears that it will take citizen activism to get things done. Good stuff. Hopefully it will pass and there will be a great test environment to see how it works. Will the current CHL or CCW requirements change? The reason I ask is that they are, IMO, way too easy/simple. I've mentioned this in prior posts. This is an item that will need to be addressed in all States. The requirements to get and keep a permit are to easy.

Hmmm....then please share your expertise. I'm aware that holes can be put in the data. One big one is that there's no other background info on age, other medical conditions, age, pre-existing medical issues, variants. etc, etc. Regardless of that, the deaths are categorized as COVID not old age, heart attack, cancer or anything else. I could only quote what their data provided. And the July 2021 statement was before we knew what we know now. But the truth is there was enough info 14 months ago for us to know it was not an accurate statement. The point was simple. The Pres has lied and continues to lie, and that undermines confidence in what's being stated.

Yep, guilty. I read the publicly available data yesterday and didn't record the state web sites where it was located.

Guardian. "...for every 100,000 people in that situation, 12 will be shot to death by someone else over five years. In comparison, eight out of 100,000 who live in gun-free homes will be killed that way over the same time span." So a 50% increase, 4 out of 100,000 increase, in risk. The article further states, "....it did not provide any protection against being killed at home by a stranger." That claim is absolutely false and there's plenty of evidence. PubMed. 626 shootings, 54 unintentional, 118 suicide, 438 assault/homicides. 13 legal or self-defense (there's the proof that the Guardian statement is false). For every legal shooting there were 4 unintentional shootings, 7 assaults/homicides (these are violence between known parties). Yes, the data supports the position that a gun in the house increases the risk of being shot. Stanford study shows the same results. A gun in the home increases the risk of being shot by your friend, spouse or roommate. Time. 18 million adults in CA. It showed that a gun in the home doubled the risk of death. What was not stated was how many times a gun was used for self-defense. Pew Research. In 2020 45,222 gun deaths. Suicide 54% - 24,292, 43% murder - 19,384. Mass murder 38 deaths, with 513 people shot. 59% were handguns, 3% assault weapon, 1% shotgun, the remaining 36% were not stated. FBI stats are voluntary reports and don't include all shootings. Reporting should be required. It seems that comprehensive data is needed to make good policy decisions. No doubt that the presence of a gun in a house increases the risk of being shot. It appears that it's a 50-100% increase in risk, or possibly higher. What is not known is how often the presence of a gun prevents violence or provides an individual a viable means of self-defense. Suicide is a difficult topic. The studies say that some % would just use another method to die and some would not commit suicide. One could logically conclude that not having that instant solution would allow time to reconsider and not do it or seek help. That seems reasonable to me. What is not known is how many suicides would not have been completed if a gun weren't present. IMO, to make sense out of this data suicide should be excluded. But only to get a clear pic of what is occurring with accidental shootings, self-defense and homicides. Clearly there is a mental health issue that must be addressed. I've made prior statements and these studies continue to support them. The headlines make a big show about "mass" killings and child deaths, yet those incidences are a tiny fraction of the problem, less than 1% (38/19384). One point I continue to make is that only focusing on mass murder will have almost no impact. Yes, additional measures need to be taken to reduce gun violence. Handguns are the predominant type of weapon used to commit violence. That includes all types of violence. So the basic question remains. What actionable/effective steps can be taken to reduce gun violence and allow people the right of self-protection? We know that criminals don't obey the law and that some people want to retain the right of self-defense. I've offered a list of ideas that might work and Joe has provided others. IMO, until the politics gets out of the way nothing effective will be done. There are some steps that can be effective but it will take a bipartisan effort to get anything passed. And the courts need to come to the table and back up law enforcement efforts. And it sure would help if the talking heads and politicians understood firearms and used the correct terminology otherwise that sound like ignorant gun haters.

COVID confusion. While Pres Biden is getting his third booster he says, "Nearly every COVID death is preventable." July 21 , 2021 he said, "You won't get COVID if you're vaccinated." The data says otherwise. In New Mexico last month 55% of COVID deaths were people that were vaccinated and fully boosted. 34% were people vaccinated but not fully boosted. 11% were unvaccinated people. Yep, small population, only 2 million people and only 1 month of data. Minnesota, population 5.7 million, does a great job with data collection. Their vaccination and fatality data is: 43% of the population is fully boosted, 29% vaccinated and/or partially boosted, and 28% are unvaxed. Fully boosted are 68% of deaths, partial are 14% of deaths and unvaxed 18% of deaths. All this says is it's impossible to state that vaccination and boosting stops COVID or that COVID deaths are preventable. Yep, it may prevent some deaths but there is no data that provides that info because it's not collected. The fact is that, currently, the majority of COVID deaths are with people that took the shot and/or are fully boosted. The Pres needs to stop lying. Those type statements undermine the confidence in the public health infrastructure. Honest and accurate info is needed. The number of people injured or dead from the shot is a whole other story that continues to unfold.

Unbiased citation is needed to back that up otherwise it's a baseless opinion.

Jerry - It would be interesting to know the facts on this. Your opinion is noted. IMO, many if not most 2nd Amendment supporters would not agree. Class 3 items are highly regulated and the folks that I know that are firearms enthusiasts like it that way. None of us have any problem obtaining the required license for a Class 3 item, if so desired. Unfortunately, it's fairly easy to convert a gun to auto fire. The required technical skills are minimal and the information is available. The fact that it can be done is all the more reason that responsible gun owners want to have the choice to be armed. Criminals will not turn in their weapons and they will continue to do criminal acts regardless of the law.

Sorry to hear you got screwed over. I've reviewed many solar proposals and none of them used accurate data and projections to calculate the savings. or provided full disclosure on critical issues. The proposals had other significant issues that put all the risk on the homeowner with no mechanism to recover when the system underperformed. I'm aware of the company that recently filed bankruptcy. I suspect that it's the beginning of many. At the lower end of energy prices which is where the SE is, the economics just don't work. In a case where ist does work (on paper), IMO, the equipment and performance risks are too high. It's a sad situation when the consumer can be lied to and they have no recourse. Yes, the consumer signed the contract so it's their fault but the "fraud" that occurs to get to the signing is crazy. And yes, solar does work in some situations. I'm not anti-solar but am anti-fraud. There are plenty of folks that are hating they signed those contracts.

Wonder how much is actually required in the SPR to ensure national security? I'm also wondering how many voters will actually be swayed by the potential decrease in gas prices by this move. If more than 400 is need for security then it will need to be refilled. Unless the US production is ramped up the cost to refill will be significant and put upward pressure on prices. The 2021 data shows that the US uses approximately 19.7 million barrels a day and produces 1 million less. There was a significant usage decrease, to 17.2, during the peak of COVID.

YES. It's the dang paw prints on the windshield and hood of a freshly washed car that tip the scales of justice.

It was great to meet you and make some fun jumps. The last second change from 4-way to 5-way with a new dive flow was much more successful than expected. Then to do the 4-way on the next jump, icing on the cake. I just got back from the mountains to see your driving adventure. Hopefully it's taken care of by now and you're off to more fun.

Luckily there's the ability to pass laws to cover issues not in the Constitution. U may decide to risk yourself by removing a pillow tag but don't remove a mattress tag if you plan to sell it. Just sayin'.

x

Hey hey. Don't be pickin' on the South. We have guns, gators, swamps to hide bodies in, dynamite, BBQ, fried chicken, $3 gas and stuff. Yes, there are still areas of the South that are great places to live We don't want any more northerners immigrating and saying, "well, that's how we did it back home" at our town meetings. Especially fishermen from Ohio. For those that haven't seen it the fun starts at 14:20.

Plenty of bad actors on all sides Forner US Rep Myers, a Pennsylvania Democrat, pled guilty to conspiracy to deprive voters of civil rights, bribery, obstruction of justice, falsifying voting records, conspiracy to illegally vote in federal elections, and creating and managing a scheme to stuff ballot boxes for Democratic candidates. Sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined. He bribed a Democrat Judge of Elections in Philadelphia over several years to add votes. Some candidates had hired Myers to do it. It included judicial seats, and federal, state and local offices.

Jerome Powell and President Biden aren't on the same page. After the feds policy meeting, where rates were hiked another 0.75%, Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that inflation was "running too high." That contradicts Pres Joe's statement that prices have risen, "just an inch, hardly at all." Jerome thinks that cooling "red hot" inflation won't be painless. He quoted stats looking at 3, 6 and 12 month numbers and inflation is at 4.8, 4.5 and 4.8%. Joe has stated that inflation hasn't spiked and that the monthly rate was negligible. That was in response to a question from a CBS reporter that said that the most recent CPI was 8.3% annual, close to a multi-decade high. The reporter said that grocery store inflation was 13.5% in August, fastest pace in 43 years. Joe's answer was that one needs to look at the month-over-month rate rather than the annual %. I'm just wondering if Joe really believes his statements or just doesn't know the facts. Is this simply posturing for the mid-terms? Is this the stuff his handlers are feeding him? Scary times.

Agree. No doubt that some will pull a gun because they can. Especially around the house. One challenge is that if the bad person is intent on harm those few seconds to access the gun may not be available. The other problem is once the gun is pulled one can't reverse that action. Things are escalated. The self-defense classes that I'm aware of teach a few basic actions. There are many actions before and during but the specific actions are minimal. The point being that one shouldn't pull a gun unless they intend to use it.

My suggestions were and are predicated on the premises that they be acceptable/legal under current law and be passable in the political climate. Yes, I realize that is extremely limiting. I just don't think that the 2nd would be modified. The political climate may prevent anything from being done but I'm hopeful that at least some change based on facts and not emotion or politics could be agreed upon. My input is in italics below yours above.

Agree. It would be interesting to know if there is some method by which they determine a potential range of accuracy. I give them credit for asking the questions. All it may do is open the door for more discussion or argument. IMO - Until politics gets out of the way it won't be resolved.