wolfriverjoe

Pfft. It's not 'join us or die'. It's 'join us or spend an eternity of pain and suffering after you die.' You will note that nobody (well, one dude) ever came back from either place to say that it's really like that.

Well, there's no mention of Trump specifically, but considering the guy is demonizing Democrats, I'd bet pretty heavily he's a Trumpette. County supervisor (board member) in Sevier County TN took the podium and said some stuff that was a bit 'deplorable'. Fortunately, other supervisors, the county mayor, city of Pigeon Forge, city of Sevier, Dollywood (Dolly Parton's theme park) and some individuals and groups objected to the comments and said that those comments don't represent them. Link: https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Fireworks-fly-at-Sevier-County-Commission-meeting--563596251.html?fbclid=IwAR13gyQo38tBgrmy-mkBnnUvmbTE1FbY91DKUe72x4FyvQ9rCUg4b3I7OOY

How so? I can easily see the Russian propaganda machine getting behind a D as a 3rd party candidate. It would split the vote, as Perot did in 92 and as many felt Nader was doing in 00. This isn't accusing the candidate of actually working with the Russians. (you know, that 'collusion' thing). This is more the idea that the Russians will do what they can to screw us over. And 4 more years of Trump would certainly do that.

I think it's more along the line of: If you've experienced an intense emotional reaction to something religious, you've been 'born again'. If you later decide that it was only an emotional reaction, not the influx of the 'holy spirit' (or his son or whatever), then you are swearing allegiance to the 'enemy' and slaughtering children. Funny thing: I recently had a friend tell me that some "missionaries" warned him about Satanists sacrificing kids, that there are more missing children around Halloween because of it and that the Satanists prefer to torture their victims because the 'fear hormones and adrenaline' make the meat better (shades of "It!" no less). I didn't feel like arguing with him - he believes in Reiki healing, that microwaves make water toxic and some of that type of crap too.

Well, most other countries take drunk driving a lot more seriously than we do. Allowable limits, enforcement, punishment are all more strict in much of the world. Even in Canada (which is both pretty lenient on a lot of things and has a pretty strong alcohol culture) treats first time OWI (OUI, DUI, DWI, all the same basic thing) as a felony. Here in Wisconsin, first offense isn't even a misdemeanor. It's a 'civil forfeiture' (you pay a fine). We also have as many traffic deaths as gun deaths (total on both) and roughly half of the traffic deaths are alcohol related. I'm in the same position as Derek. So many people say "Do something, do anything" about guns, yet ignore drunk driving deaths. And while there are some issues that need to be addressed, it's a fairly simple solution. Not cheap, somewhat of a pain in the ass, but the basic idea is sound. Make it so the driver has to blow in a tube to start the car. The mouthpiece is simple enough that rental car companies could offer disposable ones. Keeping the moisture from freezing and blocking the tube in very cold temps is an issue (I know a couple people who have had these installed in their cars to keep their license or get it back sooner). Cost is an issue. But "they" said the same thing about other safety equipment that is now considered normal. Hardcore drunks will find a way around it. Older cars likely won't be required to have them retrofitted, have a sober person blow so the car starts (there are stories that a drunk adult had their kid blow in the tube to start the car - really), rig up an air source at the right pressure & flow. Nothing is fool proof. But for the casual drinker who may not realize how drunk he/she is, this might be a good idea. Keep in mind the first thing alcohol affects is judgement. Most people have no idea how intoxicated they are. Many will drastically underestimate it.

Keep in mind that he looks like that to a majority of the US too.

Title: Post numbers Section: Forums Description: The old system had numbers for each post. So someone could refer to 'post #25' when discussing a subject. The multi-quote function does make this a bit less necessary, but it would be nice to have back.

Also fun how they completely ignore or dismiss any of the atrocities committed by the church and it's followers. For a long, long, loooong time. Crusades, Inquisition, witch trials & burnings. Slavery, subjugation of women and minorities, discrimination against the same. Along with those of 'lesser' religions. And against gays. They pretend that those things either didn't happen or didn't matter. That atheists saying 'there is no God' is worse. And then throw out some actions by the Communists in the Soviet Union and pretend that that's how ALL atheists act. (helpful hint: those in power in the USSR did everything they could to stop anyone and anything that threatened their power)

Oh, that's not true. He does lots of things for lots of people. He provides justification for all sorts of behaviors. Mostly good, but also some really horrific stuff too. He provides strength and comfort in times of distress. Or at least some people believe he does, and so it helps. The list goes on and on. When I embarked on a search for God a few years back, I slowly realized that there are a lot of really good reasons to believe in God. NONE of them require God to actually exist. Just the belief. One other thing that God really did well is to tell each and every separate civilization a different origin story. Lots of civilizations (and their belief structure) are deriviative. So the Roman Gods bear a strong resemblence to the Greek ones. Judeism begat Christianity, which further begat Islam, so there's a lot of overlap there. But look at Pagan beliefs, or Eastern (Asian) ones. Or Native beliefs from the Americas. Apparently God has enough of a sense of humor to tell each group a different story, so that when the groups came together, there would be endless strife. Either that or each group simply made up a good story to explain stuff they couldn't otherwise figure out (God of the Gaps).

Wait a minute... You are saying that simply rejecting the idea of being 'born again' automatically means that someone is swearing allegiance to Satan? And that it involves human sacrifice? Slaughtering CHILDREN?!?!?! That's a hell of a leap. And also, a load of shit. I don't doubt you believe the 'human sacrifice involving kids' crap. Doesn't make it any more truthful than a lot of crap you believe.

If your IC contract doesn't have a clause that gives you final say in whether or not to jump, to be able to say 'this isn't safe and I'm not doing it' without punishment... Find a different DZ.

Well, as President, he has a lot more power than a kid on a playground. A lot more followers too.

Ahh yes, it's all the fault of the 'energy efficient' light bulbs. So why don't the rest of the people standing next to him appear orange too?

No. He threw the letter away because he knew that it was an empty threat. Trump is too much of a coward to do anything. He's shown that already with Iran, North Korea, Russia (well, more than just cowardice there), and Saudi Arabia (again, more there). He was even too chickenshit to call out the KKK and the Nazi party. The only people he's really gotten 'tough' on are poor immigrants. He isn't afraid of those.

Well, it's abundantly clear that the only person Trump cares about is Trump. He doesn't care who gets hurt as long as he gets (stays) rich. It may not be 'active malice' but it's close enough to 'evil' for me.

You assume wrong. The SF troops that were working with the Kurds are the ones that got pulled. Leaving the Kurds to be massacred. Which has already begun. I don't think this would result in the 'standard' SHTF. This won't turn into mass civil unrest, chaos and anarchy. This won't be a 'prepper' fantasy scenario. This will be war in the Middle East, resulting in huge amounts of death and destruction. If Trump follows his usual playbook, he'll just let Putin take over the entire area. He's too much of a coward to actually stand up and fight (even if he sends others to die instead of himself). I have an AAD, I have disaster plans that include food & water to last a reasonable amount of time. But the widespread "SHTF" apocalyptic fantasy that you wish for is pretty unlikely.

To a degree, yes. But as JoeWeber pointed out, and the Professor reinforced, Trump's behavior is so horrible that what little good he does (and I honestly can't think of much) is overshadowed completely by the 'bad'. If someone wants to point to his funding of Autism support, but ignores the felonies he's committed, the damage he's doing to th economy, the damage he's doing to our reputation internationally (which is going to have some serious long term consequences), the way he's lining his own pockets at the government's (taxpayers - you & me) expense, all of that... Then they are a fool.

Sure it is. It was just hidden for a while. The sort of behavior we are seeing was typical back in the 50s and earlier. The rise of the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements made it far less socially acceptable. But it didn't go away. It became readily apparent that these people were still out there after Obama took office. The 'birther' & "secret Muslim" garbage, the actions that were passive-aggressively racist, all of it. The number of people who were appalled that 'one of them' was in the White House absolutely amazed me. I knew that there were some of that type out there, between the stories about certain college fraternities, the vandalism of memorials to lynching victims, and the fact that the KKK still holds rallies, it was clear that it wasn't gone. I thought that it was 'more gone' than it is. I had thought we had come further than that. I was wrong. Trump didn't cause it. He just recognized it and took advantage of it. He was advocating the birther crap for a while. He's a hell of a con man. He saw the opportunity to get 'those people' wound up and chanting ('Build the Wall!!' 'Lock her up!!' 'Send them Back!!') and used it. Just like he's used everything else (campaign funds, Trump Foundation, power of the Presidency) for his own, short sighted personal gains. So much of his behavior is appalling, disgusting and criminal, that to ignore that part and pretend to 'support' part of it is moronic. I said it above, and I stand by it. His supporters are either blind, fools, or racist, misogynist pigs. To say that they 'support his economic polices' is to show an utter ignorance of economic principles (or that they are very, very rich).

Fools? Marks (victims of a con man)? Blind? Completely, totally & utterly ignorant and insular? I am no longer able to understand the otherwise decent people who actually back that idiot. The evidence of his criminal behavior is overwhelming, yet they continue the "Fake News" garbage. It's absolutely disgusting.

Don't forget about the trade war, you know, the one that is 'easy to win'. A direct result of that is that manufacturing job growth has virtually ended. Certain sectors are seeing overall job losses. Other indicators are not good. 3 consecutive months of contraction is considered a recession. And yes, economists will say 'recession' for specific sectors of the economy, even if the entire economy isn't in one. It's kind of funny that the economy itself is actually a really poor indicator of the economy. There are 'leading economic indicators' that are specific data points that are good at predicting where the economy is headed. To a large degree, any action taken to affect the economy takes quite a while to have any real effect. That's why Obama had a couple years before the economy recovered, and why Trump has had a couple good years. The economy itself actually shows what the economy was doing in the past. It's a 'lagging economic indicator.' Edit to add source of quote (duh): https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/its-official-manufacturing-is-getting-crushed.html

I've seen unleaded auto gas used in 172s & 182s for a long time. I've never seen lead additives added to it. A quick search didn't find any requirement for leaded gas, except in a few specific and rather unusual places (Franklin brand & radial type engines). The 'much less lubrication' is a myth leftover from the time when unleaded was starting to be required.

Once could be a mistake. But twice? Admittedly, this is the most incompetent administration I can think of (and not just high level government). But I'm starting to wonder if someone in the White House is adding an 'extra' name to the distribution list (I doubt anyone on the Trump team would catch it). Or perhaps someone on the authorized list is sick & tired of Trump's crap and has decided to share this stuff.

There have been some polls that show more than half of the respondents want Trump impeached & removed. A Fox News poll showed 51%. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-record-support-for-trump-impeachment

Comfortable clothing, appropriate to the weather. I usually wear jeans under my jumpsuit. Shorts also work. Lots of ladies wear yoga pants. T-shirt or sweatshirt on top. Avoid collars, hoods or strings. Sneakers (trainers) are typical. Students should wear closed toe shoes, even though there are experienced jumpers who wear sandals or even go barefoot. Make sure you don't wear shoes with hooks (hiking boots usually have them). They are considered a snag hazard. Try to get a good night's sleep the night before (good luck with that). Stay fed & hydrated. Don't eat a huge, heavy meal, but make sure you eat. Pay attention to the instructors and make sure you understand. If you don't understand something, ask. Do NOT, under any circumstances say "but they said on Dropzone Dot Com..." Don't pay a whole lot of attention to what you read on here. You don't have the understanding to know what is good advice and what is crap (and there's a lot of crap on here). As Skybytch noted, there are a lot of training differences between Tandem, AFF & static line jumping. But the above applies to all of them.

So you think we will START to have a problem when CO2 hits 2%? I would think that's when all of humanities problems would stop. As would all of humanity. And most mammals.