wolfriverjoe

Shhh … You'll interfere with our Great American Fantasy. The American fantasy is the greatest most magnificent national fantasy in the history of the world. What do you have to gain by seeking to destroy it? Well, because reality is a bit different. And the real world is the one I live in. Living in a fantasy world, ignoring reality when it doesn't suit is rather foolish. And fairly dangerous. I don't know for sure about you, but you seem to ignore reality on a pretty regular basis. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

No argument on that. I didn't mean to imply that there weren't some very good reasons for the US entering those wars. And Korea was defending a country that turned into a staunch ally and one of a very few legit democracies in SE Asia. Viet Nam could have been about defending a country against a communist aggressor, but went to shit after Kennedy died. It turned instead into supporting a corrupt regime and Johnson not wanting to "lose face" along with Army leadership that refused to fight the war the way it needed to be fought. But none of them were against any real threat to "American Freedom". "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

And. those who have homes in areas near forest fires shouldn't be thanking the firefighters who were injured or died stopping the fire before it reached their homes. No, there was no threat to our freedoms in the 20th century. What does firefighting have to do with war? I understand the analogy you are trying to make, but it falls well short. WW 1 was almost entirely European. There would have been difficulties if Germany had won, but none of that would have affected the US. We weren't even in the conflict until the last couple years. Same with WW 2, although it was a wider war and Japan attacked the Navy at Pearl Harbor. But they never wanted to conquer the US, they just wanted to kick us out of the western Pacific so that they could have a nice empire. Korea? Viet Nam? Those were both about other people's freedom. One could argue that they were preventing communism from taking over, but Korea was a stalemate and we lost Viet Nam. Communism ran fairly rampant in SE Asia, and in Africa too, but still fell in the end. Iraq (both of them)? Oil. Pure and simple. Maybe the 'freedom' to drive our cars on the cheap, but that's about it. Afghanistan? Maybe. We needed to retaliate against Al Queda and OBL, but GWB got so distracted with Iraq and Saddam Hussein that it really fell apart after the first year. Re #2 - It was originally 'Decoration Day', when the graves of fallen military were decorated and the dead remembered. Veteran's day was originally "Armistice Day", the day WW 1 ('the war to end all wars', even though it has a "1" at the end of it) ended. Re #3 - Given who the OP supports and what he supports and the things those imply, celebrating the founding of a country his hero wants to destroy is kind of ironic. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Just out of idle curiosity - what has 'the military' done exactly to enable you to go fishing? Who have they defended you against? Being forced to learn to speak German, in my lifetime. Oh, please. Hitler never planned on invading or conquering the US. Neither did Japan. Germany wanted to rule Europe, most of Africa and western Asia. Japan wanted eastern Asia, Australia and the western Pacific. The US would have been left alone, with Mexico, Canada, Central America & South America. No US soldiers have died defending "our" freedom (the freedom of US citizens and soil) since the 19th century. Since WW 1, all of our wars have been defending (or attacking) other places and peoples. Yes, you can argue that the Japanese invaded and occupied part of Alaska. But the Aleutian Islands are hardly "homeland" for the US. Before "The Deadliest Catch" came on TV, I highly doubt more than a tiny fraction could have found them on a map. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Did the shooter buy the gun without a required background check? Would a background check have denied him that gun? Apparently he had passed a background check to get a marijuana license. I have no clue what that would do as far as legally obtaining a gun. People are currently calling for 'background checks'. In the past it was "assault weapons" and "high capacity magazines". Or 'cop killer bullets'. Or 'Saturday Night Specials". Or some other sort of 'boogeyman' that having a ban or law in place would seem to solve all the problems. I don't know how to solve the problems. As someone (DanG?) put it a number of pages back, knowing a lot about guns and gun laws doesn't give me any expertise in solving this problem. But I do know that I can't see anything in any of the current proposals that will have any real effect on gun violence. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

It popped up a few days ago, with the last post missing. I'm guessing some sort of spam, where the post was deleted but the thread stayed at the top of the page. The same thing happened with the 'board game' thread in Bonfire. And a couple people replied to it, not seeming to realize that it was really old. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

If they do come up with a system for getting them out one at a time I wonder if they'll even bother bringing out the coach. He'll have a short life in there, but maybe a longer one than if the parents get their hands on him. Where are you getting the idea that the coach is being blamed by anyone (parents, authorities, ect). I haven't seen that anywhere. That's one of the strangest questions I've ever been asked. And I can't imagine anything I could add that would make it any more obvious than it already is. Well, you seem to be jumping to the conclusion that the coach is being blamed by the parents and authorities. I have yet to see that anywhere in the stories I have read. He may be to blame. He may face consequences (if he survives). But my question stands: Where are you getting the idea that the coach is being blamed for this? From any particular reports, or just your own head? "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

You have to remember that these are Trump supporters. To them, any angry person with brown skin is violent. Latinos are rapists, drug dealers and gang members (all of them are in MS-13, the most violent gang in history). Muslims are all terrorists. When they get angry, they blow stuff up. So threatening to 'mobilize angry Latino voters' is code for violence. C'mon. It's not that complicated. It can't be. If it was, the Trumpettes wouldn't understand it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Do you really believe a background check would not leave a digital/paper trail? Ok, how about: How would law enforcement know and then prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law that the gun was purchased without a background check after the point in time when they were required?" "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

If they do come up with a system for getting them out one at a time I wonder if they'll even bother bringing out the coach. He'll have a short life in there, but maybe a longer one than if the parents get their hands on him. Where are you getting the idea that the coach is being blamed by anyone (parents, authorities, ect). I haven't seen that anywhere. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Yep, all of that has to be kept by the dealer for 7 years, I think. Derek V By the dealer only? Interesting. You'd think the Fed's would slurp that up before giving me the nod. That would then be a record showing that I got it playing by the rules not from my cuz. Well, there is a law that the info in NICS background checks can't be kept. The government is supposed to destroy them after the check is conducted. This part of the law was included to make sure that 'background checks' didn't become 'backdoor registration'. There was a bit of a kerfuffle a few years ago when someone found that the government was not destroying the info as required. OTOH, when a gun dealer surrenders his FFL, he is required to turn all his records over to the BATF. In the later 90s, when FFL fees went up by a huge amount, a lot of part time dealers gave up their license. So a lot of sales record info is now held by the government. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Didn't we have this discussion 20 pages back (or something like that)? Absent proof (pictures, receipts, something like that), it will be basically impossible to prove that a gun was sold after the law was put in place. Without such proof, the law is unenforceable. Not just "not enforced." Without a registry, there will be no proof in the vast majority of cases. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Most of the world thinks he's a fool. Not so much of a threat towards them, in particular. Most (as in almost all) of the world has very limited access to guns. Unless he goes to Syria or something, he's likely to be in the 'near presence' (as in within a mile or so) of far, far, far more guns here in the US than anywhere else in the world. Most of the 'gun nuts' are Trumpettes. He's not in any real danger from them. I doubt he's all that brave. I don't think he understands the concept of physical danger. He's been protected his entire life. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

He is mocked worldwide as a total wit. Why has the UK not got the message. British habit of understatement? "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Very true. But most mass shooters plan on dying in the process. Even the kid in Texas planned on committing suicide, but chickened out. Not a whole lot will deter someone who doesn't plan to be around to see any consequences. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Let's not put words in his mouth. Rush, why is NASA a farce? He won't answer. He never answers actual questions. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Well, Putin's orange lap dog may well have positive news. He now seems to be trying to damage relations with the rest of NATO. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Very true. But that saying has nothing to do with "give your enemies a huge boost in prestige and standing while ignoring your long time allies". Trump is a fool, and has no understanding of international relations or diplomacy. Trump also had decimated the long time knowledge in the State Department. Most of the people who are good at this are gone. KJU knows it and played him quite adeptly. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

"Admit error?" Heck, he's congratulating himself on saving the US from nuclear war! Today - "If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!" And the really sad part about it is that his supporters will believe him. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Anyone who has paid any attention to KJU & the DPRK and to Trump knew perfectly well that Trump was going to get played. It has become very obvious over the past year and a half that Trump has nothing 'up his sleeve'. There have been suggestions that Trump started the current trade war in order to depress the stock market, so that his billionaire buddies can make a killing. I highly doubt he thought it through that far. He simply doesn't operate that way. He has no long range plans. No fallback positions. No ulterior motives. He overestimates his own power and abilities, does whatever occurs to him at any given time and blames others when (not if, when) it goes to shit. He seemed to think that giving KJU the prestige of a sit down with the President of the US was a good idea. There is a reason that no previous administration has done this. He seemed to think that KJU would keep his end of any bargain that they made. KJU (and his father and grandfather before) has never done that. So Trump gave some concessions, said some really nice things about a really nasty guy, and got screwed. I highly doubt he will admit any error. I highly doubt he has any fallback position. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Nope. They filed charges before the SoL ran out. Once charges are filed, the 'clock' stops ticking. Even though they didn't have his real name, they filed the charges against 'the person who boarded the plane as Dan Cooper" or something similar. I'm not 100% sure that would stand up, but I'm not a lawyer. I'm pretty sure this guy was ruled out. He was brought up in the epic (and now locked) thread. Maybe 377 will chime in. He's very knowledgeable on the case. Edit to add: A quick search found a post or two. Rackstraw would have been 28 in 1971. None of the witnesses put Cooper that young. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

It's interesting that so few Trump supporters have posted. It's almost as if they are ashamed that they support him. I came across an old issue of Rolling Stone recently (Sept 17). It talks largely about Trumps mental state, but in the middle is an interesting commentary on the "Jekyll & Hyde" nature of America. Trump represents the side of America that held black people in slavery for the first 90 years of it's existence (and long before independence) and held them in an underclass for the next 100 years. The side of America that claimed "Manifest Destiny" as an excuse for the systematic extermination of the native population. The side of America that claims to support "democracy and freedom' yet have supported and installed some truly horrific dictators. I know people who support Trump, claiming that he is a 'successful businessman', yet ignore his multiple, repeated failures. They completely ignore his blatant fraud and bribing of prosecutors in the "Trump University" crap. Or the fraud and bribing of prosecutors in NYC over the condo development that his kids were part of. Both should have been prosecuted as felony fraud, but were ignored. They also ignore the pretty obvious behavior as a sexual predator, downplaying or completely disregarding it ('locker room talk'). What it boils down to is they want to hear what he says. To the point that they ignore reality. When Obama made the "bitterly clinging to their guns and religion" comment, he was severely criticized. But he was very close to the truth. Many people in the "Rust Belt" have seen their way of life pretty much disappear. Manufacturing jobs have largely gone overseas. The ones that are left pay a lot lower than the 'days of old', when one 'mill job' income could easily support a family. When Trump said he'd bring back those jobs, those people wanted to hear it and bought into it, despite the simple fact that there's no way it was going to happen. Those same people saw Obama elected, and the systemic and endemic racism came to the front. The 'birther' garbage came from it. And Trump jumped on the "Birther" bandwagon, claiming several times that he would produce evidence of it 'soon'. Yet never did (and none of his supporters seem to have cared). Then he blamed Muslims & Mexicans for all the problems. Those same people bought into it, despite the blatant bigotry and complete lack of truth. Same with the "Lock Her Up" garbage. I don't like, don't support and didn't vote for HRC, but if the Rs investigated her for as long as they did and couldn't find anything to indict her for, then she likely didn't do anything. Yet the Trump supporters continue to bring her up. She hasn't put herself into the public eye for a while, yet they keep using her as a point of contention. I don't think it's any coincidence that many Trump supporters are also climate change deniers. In both cases, they ignore objective facts, clear evidence and blatant reality because they don't want to believe it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Interesting story. Bernie Sanders is of the opinion that Sarah Sanders should have been served. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/394449-bernie-sanders-sarah-sanders-has-the-right-to-go-into-a-restaurant-and-have He's a far nicer guy than I am. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

That is an oxymoron. Besides, what the Rs do to thwart the 'liberals' is fine and dandy. What the 'liberals' do to thwart the Rs is traitorous, unfair and wrong. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Which ever you are most comfortable with. I will agree with Bob on the reasonably comprehensive logging of jumps. I like to note who was there, what the plan was (exit, my position, formations planned and my positions), what really happened (which can be quite funny sometimes), pattern quality, landing location and quality and anything unusual or notable (had a bald eagle come check me out under canopy one time - that was really cool). I know a few people who stopped logging jumps once they reached the point where they didn't really have to and every one of them regretted it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo