wolfriverjoe

Well, when someone is banned from SC, and then posts "SC grade" material in the BF, it's generally frowned upon. Kinda funny that an increase in renewables was part of the reason. Somebody thinks that renewables are just a scam. And I have to wonder exactly what this publication is. I've never heard of it (which doesn't mean a whole lot), and the Wiki page on it is a bit sparse. "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

Maybe, maybe not. There are a number of R senators who would vote to convict, if the evidence was solid. There are 9 R senators up for election this year. I would be surprised if all 9 kept their seats. "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

Yeah, well... It's silliness, but really cool silliness. "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 was part of the article. That there were supposed to be background checks of these individuals that never happened. Also that had those checks been properly performed, there would have been info found that may well have disqualified these guys from being hired. "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

Nah. If you could condense the process down to two bullet points he might have had a chance of thinking it up. A 5 step plan requires way too much linear thinking for Trump to follow to the end. Very true. But Putin is smart enough to think it up. And he would benefit greatly from it. And he may well have enough power over Trump to tell him what to do. "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

Ok, here's some speculation for you all (and yes, it's pure speculation, no evidence what so ever): 1 - Trump threatens to increase tariffs on Chinese imports. 2 - China retaliates by increasing tariffs on US exports to China. One of the biggest is US soybeans. 3 - Soybean market crashes, prices go through the floor. Here is where the speculation starts - 4 - Russia has large quantities of soybean processing capability, yet not enough actual production, and are a pretty large importer of soybeans. 5 - Cheap US soybeans going to Russia would greatly help the Russian economy, at the expense of US farmers. So, is Trump starting a trade war with China in order to benefit Russia? More importantly, is he doing so because his master told him to? Hmmm... "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 can do a 3 way tube. Otter, one person sitting on the edge of the door (legs hanging out) laying back. One person standing over their head, person on the floor reaches up and grabs leg straps. Third person in front of the second, right at the edge of the door. second person reaches forward and grabs third's leg straps, third reaches down and grabs legstraps of first (one on floor). Basically, you have a loop of three jumpers, each holding onto the leg straps of the next. Also: Magic carpet out of a Skyvan. Hanging from the bar under the back of a Skyvan. Hang facing upwards, let the rest of the load go out over top of you. Needs to be known on the rest of the load what you are planning on doing. Anything bigger than 6 linked that doesn't funnel or otherwise fall apart. "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

While having Palin as a running mate certainly didn't help his campaign, there was very little chance of McCain winning in 08. After 8 years of Bush, the country was very tired of the R agenda. I voted for McCain, but I knew from the beginning that he was unlikely to win. "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

I agree that he's embarrassing but I'd rather the country not turn into something resembling The Handmaid's Tale. I'll take an idiot/ass any day of the week. Besides, at the pace of government he'll be there until 2020 anyway. Don't bet on it. We had our spring elections here in WI this week. The D candidate for state Supreme Court clobbered the R by a double digit margin. That hasn't happened in a long time. Technically, the SC race is non-partisan, but in this case, it was a clear 'liberal vs conservative' race, with endorsements falling along party lines. As I noted a few posts up, Gov Walker had to be taken to court to schedule special elections to fill some state legislature positions. He was clearly afraid that the current sentiment would put his R party at a disadvantage for those. After the election on Tuesday, he stated those fears. He warned about a 'Blue Wave' and that the "Far Left is driven by anger and hatred" (yes, it's the left that's driven by anger and hatred). I think his fears are justified. Not the 'hatred and anger' part. After all, which party excused Nazis committing murder? But the behavior of the Rs has cost them a lot of middle of the road voters. And a lot of long time R voters too. I know there is virtually zero chance of me ever voting R again (and I've voted that way my entire life). I think there's a real chance of Ds taking a large majority in Congress this year. And if they do, it will get very interesting. "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

Paranoia and bigotry are "the right reason"? I thought Mexico was going to pay for the wall. Or was Trump lying? Or is it just that his supporters were stupid enough to fall for that line? "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

- Matter - Energy - Information - Conscience Ok, in what way are those 4 words "evidence"? If you are saying that you don't understand how matter or energy can come into being without God, then that's simply the "God Of the Gaps" argument. To claim that God must have created anything we don't understand at this time is a really old belief. The list of stuff that was credited to God, yet later shown to have a rational and scientific explanation is very long. Evolution is probably one of the currently controversial ones. "Creationists" still don't accept it. The planet Venus is one that is mostly over. It's not Lucifer trying and failing to reach Heaven. *** Interesting. Dr. Ravi Zacharias addressed this in his book “The End of Reason.” Secularization – The process by which religious ideas, institutions, and interpretations have lost their social significance. When this happens, a cultural inversion takes place. When secularization has had its full course, it will ultimately destroy a sense of shame within a culture. You take shame away from a highly educated person and you’ve got a monster in the making. “I want to raise a generation of young people devoid of a conscious, imperious, relentless, and cruel.” - Adolph Hitler The danger with this kind of world, “Not with intent but with logical outworking,” is that it will produce a generation of men and women without shame. The tragedy of that is a production of hell. I really have no clue what you are trying to say here. To imply that the only source for shame or guilt is religion is absurd. To imply that religion is the only 'moral compass' that society has is ridiculous. *** Jesus never needed anyone’s “acceptance.” You need his. You don’t go to hell for not accepting Jesus. You go to hell for unrepentant lying, steeling, committing adultery, blaspheming, murder, dishonoring your parents, coveting, etc. That's odd. Most of the "born again" crowd claim that it doesn't matter what kind of life you live, the only way to Heaven is to "accept Jesus". They even like to throw Bible quotes around to "prove" it. Do you accept my proof of faith? Some folks only have one overwhelming experience of God but that is enough to last a lifetime. Some have had several spiritual experiences. The key is to understand that a spiritual component of life exists and it can be studied. I believe most refuse to look at the spirit because it is intangible, yet it is real. We are a spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body. I focus my life more on my spirit and my relationship to God through the Christ than I do my body. My goal is to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that when my body dies I don't even notice. Is that possible? What "Proof" do you claim? Your claims of 'being infused with the spirit of Christ" or claims of being personally visited by Jesus, or of regularly being give directions by "The Holy Spirit" are not proof in any way. They are your experiences, but unless you can show some sort of evidence that it actually happened, it's just 'testimony'. The idea that there is a 'spiritual component' to life is not uncommon. It has been studied. Living in a spiritual manner has tangible benefits. Meditation and prayer, self-examination, understanding one's faults and trying to improve all are things that allow one to become a better person. But there's still no evidence of a 'spirit' or 'soul', anything that lives on after our bodies die. That is little more than wishful thinking, trying to avoid the idea that death is the end. No. There's plenty of evidence for God's existence. I tried to put it in legal terms as in a trial. Standard of proofs as in preponderance of the evidence vs. proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I put forth matter, energy, particularly information, and your conscience as general evidence of God. I might also add time. I believe all of those things had an origin and, specifically with information, an intelligent source. Again, I know you disagree. I'm ok with that. You just place your faith differently. One more time: What evidence? Since you now admit you put it in legal terms on purpose, what exactly could you enter into a court of law as evidence that God exists? Simply stating that you don't see how information could come into existence without an intelligent source is not proof. It's an assertion. While I won't pretend to think I know how it came to be, the act of admitting that I don't know does not presuppose that the only way it could happen is for God to do it. See the comment earlier in this post about the "God of the Gaps". It's one of the more common reasons people choose to believe in God. The need for a soul, the need to believe that death is not the end for themselves or their loved ones is another. Neither of these beliefs (or any of the others) actually require God to exist to believe them. "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

Oh, piffle. C'mon Professor, you know perfectly well he doesn't think any of those are 'legitimate' news sources. He doesn't like what they say, so they are therefore 'Fake News.' "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

I could be wrong, but isn't L&B in the EU? Wouldn't that make taxes/duties/ect cheaper? FWIW, I have a ProTrack and have had it for a long, long time. It works well, suits my needs and I have no plans on replacing it unless something happens to 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

Yes, just wait until Trump's base march into Walmart and find the shelves half empty, with the products remaining marked up 25%. I think you are underestimating both percentages. "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

Reality says that is not true. It was simply old, uneducated, white people who put Trump in office; along with the out-dated Electoral College. Jerry Baumchen Hi Jerry, It was a lot more complicated than that. The old white uneducated bigots were a big part of it. The EC was another. HRC's unlikeability was another. The behavior by HRC and the DNC was yet another. The smear campaign using Benghazi and the emails was yet another. Combine that with the Russian involvement. The list of factors is quite long. It was an almost "perfect storm" of events. Take away 2 or 3 of them and Trump loses. "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

I believe it was you whom I asked much earlier if you were intentionally just being an ass. I didn't call you one. I just asked the question. I received a "1st warning" from billvon. However, accusing me of telling "a bald faced lie" and not being "man enough to admit it" seems like a direct personal attack to me. Do the rules here apply to all? Learn the rules. Calling you a liar would be a PA. Stating that you told a bald faced lie is a reflection on your statement. There is a difference. It's somewhat subtle, but it's there. Billvon will correct me if I'm wrong. How do you know that your evidence will be rejected? Do you know that it's false, or totally unscientific? I don't have the slightest problem with you saying "This is what I believe". I do have an issue with you stating that there is a preponderance of evidence for God's existence. The fact that you have yet to produce one shred of said evidence is further indication of your inability to do so. What Ron said x 2! Except that it does bother me in that I know the tragic outcome. And it is, as you said in your last sentence, the Christian's personal responsibility/investment of sharing/explaining. But it is just that. None of us can reason someone into conviction. Especially when, from the standard of reason (e.g. God), they are unreasonable. But, you know, it's their choice. The only response I have to this is: Bullshit. The entire Christian faith is based on guilt and fear. Guilt that normal, instinctive human behaviors are "sins" and that we will go to hell for them. Guilt that Jesus died for these sins. Fear that we will go to hell unless we 'accept Jesus' as our personal savior. Both you and Ron throw down the "guilt and fear" card when you ask about our 'sins and salvation'. Well, again, much of this depends on your point of view. What 'society'? What 'truth'? In general, the scientific community is open to any valid hypothesis. It has to be proven, and if it goes against commonly held belief, it needs a lot of proof. But if the proof is there, the idea will (eventually) be accepted. Black holes are a good example of this. But if the 'truth' being presented is nothing more than a rehash of Bronze age myths, legends and folk tales, then there needs to be more proof than self proclaimed "Doctors" who won't even support their ideas And don't forget that there were more than a few scientists persecuted by the Church for proposing scientific ideas that went against Church teachings (Galileo is one of the more famous). And understand something: Proof and evidence are not that complicated. Demonstrable, repeatable, empirical, scientifically valid. If another, independent person can take the same data and achieve the same results, then it is likely to be true. If the person making the claims can't even reproduce the results themselves, especially when under independent observation, then... Not so much. "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

I would argue that the Democrats nominated the best candidate of either party in decades.I would argue that the Democrats nominated the most qualified candidate in decades. That's a fair distinction. The plans were there, for anyone to read. Clinton offered detailed plans for just about everything. She even had plans for an autism initiative. The economy (as a whole) was probably in the best shape it's been in a long time. Not the "dot com" bubble of the 90s, not the real estate bubble of the 00s. The Ds failed miserably in promoting that fact and (rightfully) claiming most of the credit for it. The Rs (along with a lot of help from the Right Wing Blogosphere and the Russians) did an amazing job of feeding the fear, hatred and bigotry of the ignorant and disaffected. "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's a bit personal, isn't it? Well, considering he was dangling it under canopy, and was being very careful not to snag it on powerlines or wind turbines, I'm gonna guess he's not terribly shy about showing it off. The info may well be in the linked PDF, but I'm having trouble opening 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

Ya know, there's this thing called a "telephone" that is somewhat useful for this sort of conversation. Seriously, this is pretty cool. There are a lot of 'tech geeks' that jump. How long was your antenna? "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

I keep seeing stories with things sort of like this, that is, in their home, or a girlfriend hitting her boyfriend and have to wonder "how did the police get involved?" Someone called them. Could have been a lot of people. Neighbor, friend, someone like that. They felt it was bad enough that the cops needed to be involved. I don't disagree. Tasers aren't toys. They've killed people before. Could be a teacher, or similar who has to call the cops if they suspect abuse. And I have to say I find it rather telling that the reason she wanted the kid to get up is to go to church. "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

Not at all. He predestined to save some. It doesn't apply to all. The cool thing is, even you have the opportunity to repent and believe. But the point is, with regard to predestination, that no one would have unless God acted on our behalf. Does God also need to repent to his God about all the atrocities he's inflicted on humans? No. He's God. Everything he does is righteous and perfectly good. We just don't understand 'his works to perform' when we think his actions are bad or unjust. We really need a sarcasm font. "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's funny Ron. While the process was tumultuous, the peace of mind that I've had since realizing that the whole "God" thing was a complete fabrication has been much more than it ever was before. Admittedly, losing the whole "I'll be ok because God is watching over me" took a bit of getting used to, but understanding that life is just random chance and consequences for our choices makes acceptance of everything easier. The freedom from bondage to an ancient and false set of behaviors was wonderful. That doesn't mean I have no morals or conscience (as many religious types like to pretend), but not having a punishing and vindictive God threatening my every action is nice. One of us travels across the country, seeing all sorts of things and meeting all sorts of different people. One of us became so afraid of the 'real world' that he chose to run away and hide in the mountains, fearful that anyone with dark skin is either a gang member or terrorist. Eagerly awaiting the day that the "Shit hits the fan" so that he can shoot and kill anyone who tries to enter his compound. Who is more 'free'? Yup. He demands answers from others, but it's been 170+ posts since he claimed a 'preponderance of evidence" and has yet to produce a shred of it. Just links trying to show that the Bible is 'true' (and often contradictory links at that). Well, if you don't want to go into the physical limitations of the actual Ark, how about the simple fact that there's no possible way he could have acquired all the animals? Orangutans, Kangaroos, Jaguars, Anacondas, Snow Leopards, Pandas, even the Tibetan Yak. NONE of those are anywhere near the Middle East. None were known to the people of that region at that time. So how did those animals survive the flood? Did God tell an equivalent "Noah" in every region of the world to "build a really, really big boat"? "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

Does he have a conscience? Or has he just been attacked over his comments and wants to walk them back? Isabelle Graham apologized to Hogg. But only after his successful attack on her, through her advertisers. I tend to question the sincerity of apologies under these sorts of circumstances. "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 have anything intelligent to contribute in your own words? So far in this thread at least half your sources have contradicted your own statements, so I really can't be bothered to wade through someone else's woo woo bullshit only to find out you don't even agree with what it says. At least he hasn't linked "Answers In Genesis" yet. I'm sorta surprised at that, to be honest. "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

Bolding mine. What kind of idiot would think that the Mango Mussolini would be any different in the Oval office than out on the campaign trail? What kind of idiot would think that all of the garbage he was spouting the entire time would not carry forward? Oh, yeah. This one. And probably a lot just like him. And, on a slightly different note: I find it amusing, disturbing and disgusting by turns that the folks who shout "FAKE NEWS" the loudest and most often are the same folks who fall for all the fake news being put out by the right wing wannabe demagogues. Real "fake news", like the Pizzagate crap, the Benghazi garbage, the George Soros fairy tale, the "Crisis Actor" bullshit, all that. They scream "Fake News"!! at anything they don't like, yet fall for the ridiculous lies that are put out. "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