wolfriverjoe

Not exactly. I know a 16 year old who got his A this year. DZO's son, waiver was granted. The RD conducts coach, AFF-I & TI classes at the DZ, so he knows the culture there (and it's a "safe" culture). I don't know how much hassle the waiver was, but it was granted. "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 know that's utter bullshit, right? No, he actually believes it. It fits his narrative for the coming "End Times" far too well. Wow. Deja vu. "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

Lots of stuff bouncing around FB on this. One of my favorites (paraphrased): Anyone who publicly mocks a disabled man has no business being offended by what someone else says. And there is an interesting editorial from CNN. It addresses Trump's responses to both the Hamilton incident and to SNL. Apparently Trump is only in favor of free speech when it doesn't criticize or ridicule 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

No, he actually believes it. That's one of the reasons he's hiding 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

What was flawed about it? A lot of people are very afraid that the Trump/Pence "vision for America" is one where the only people who have full rights are white, Christian men. Based on the statements and actions of both of them, that isn't an unreasonable fear. Based on the actions of some people out in the rest of the country, it seems to be coming true. "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 think, with Clinton taking a small majority of the popular vote, that saying the "vast majority" of the country wants nothing to do with the Democratic message is pretty far off the mark. And both the Dems and Repubs are very quickly going off of the rails. The Rs are doing a pretty good job of pretending they are going to "play nice", but as soon as Trump gets going, they will have to decide if they are really going to support him or not. That's going to get 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

Haven't seen this on here yet. Mike Pence went to the Broadway show "Hamilton" Friday night. At the end, during the curtain call, Brandon Dixon, the actor playing Aaron Burr addressed him. After pointing Pence out, the audience started to 'boo', but Dixon stopped them. Part of what he said: And, of course, Trump goes on Twitter and accuses them of being rude and harassing Pence, and demanded an apology. Go figure. Washington Post story "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

Rules, Schmules. Why should he start obeying them now? You know, things like the Constitution. Particularly the Emoluments Clause. "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. Although it could be argued that voting is more of a "duty" than a "right" And, yes, non-legal residents don't have the same gun rights as do citizens and permanent alien residents (green card holders). There are likely a few others. But the rights of "due process", 1st A rights to freedom of speech and religion, the somewhat nebulous right to "privacy", all the rights that would be rather blatantly violated by this proposal to "register" any Muslims (pretending to fight "terrorism") are applicable to anyone on US soil. "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 Australia used to have pretty liberal gun laws? Most (all?) semi-autos were banned after the tragedy in 96? But before that they had similar access to what the US has. Canada also used to have pretty similar laws (again, until the reaction after a shooting incident). And comparing the US to the western democracies (western Europe, Australia, ect) - how long have the western countries had those freedoms? To a large degree, Europe was a collection of feudal kingdoms until the 20th century. They largely became democracies in the rebuilding after WWII. And they now have similar freedoms, rights and opportunities as the US. And very similar standards of living and infrastructures. The comparison becomes truly obvious when the US is compared with Russia, China, or much of Africa or South America. "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

Opportunity, resources and rule of law. The old adage "anyone can grow up to be President" isn't really true, but look at recent history. Trump, Bush (both of them) and Kennedy come from wealthy families. Born into privilege. Obama, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson & Ike all did not. Jobs & Wosniak, Gates, Zuckerberg, Ford (Henry), and a zillion others all made huge fortunes starting from the proverbial "humble beginnings." Seeing an opportunity, going after it, getting lucky (which is important), and making it big. The stereotypical "American Dream." (or at least one version of it). This country has huge quantities of all sorts of natural resources. Precious metals (how many "gold rushes" have we had?) fossil fuels (coal deposits that are virtually limitless), land (food, lumber, and so on). All those have been essential to making this country the power it is. We've used those resources to create one of the best infrastructures in the world. Roads, railroads, communication, utilities (power, water, sewer) that are as good or better than just about anywhere else. Yes, much of the "first world" has similar stuff. But how much of the world has decent roads? Ever been to Mexico (off the toll roads)? How much of the world can't simply turn a valve and get clean water. Or push a lever and have the waste "go away"? How much of the world has dependable power. In most of the US, if the power is off for more than an hour, it's big news. Even after a major event (like a hurricane) power is largely restored in a matter of days. And last is the rule of law, fairness and equality. Anyone can start a business. There are rules to follow, licenses & permits to obtain and taxes to pay. But those things apply to everyone equally. There aren't "palms to grease" in order to get a business license (at least in most places). The cops apply the laws to most people the same (again, mostly). Corruption is minimal. In other places, that sort of thing is "business as usual." You need to know people to get anything done. You need to pay bribes to get permits. It's not perfect, far from it. But it's better than it used to be, and it's a lot better than a lot of places. "American Exceptionalism" is a joke. We (as a people) really aren't any better or different than anywhere (or anyone) else. "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

Legal immigrant isn't considered an American Citizen anymore? Many legal immigrants are not citizens. Same as in Canada. Immigration is a path to citizenship, it does not grant citizenship. Very true. Many immigrants have become citizens, but there are also many who are either not citizens yet or have no intention of becoming one. But, as I noted above, EVERYONE has rights. Citizen or immigrant, resident or tourist, even illegals - ALL OF THEM get the same rights guaranteed by the Constitution, BOR and subsequent amendments (and other stuff like Supreme Court rulings). "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

What is so surprising about it? Mexican are rapists. Muslims are terrorists. Women are property. This has been the foundation of Trump's campaign from the start. Right before Daylight Savings Time ended, there was a meme bouncing around FB. "Don't forget to set your clock back an hour on Saturday night, and don't forget to vote so we don't set the country back 50 years on Tuesday." The Japanese internment was actually about 70 years ago, but the idea is still correct. "Make America Great Again" Back to the times when women and minorities had basically no rights. Fortunately, we have that pesky thing called the "Constitution" and those interfering "Judges" who will make this a bit difficult to implement. It's been a long held principle that Constitutional rights apply to all people on US soil, not just citizens. Which is why the internment camps we currently have are on Cuban soil "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 don't think so. He just feels he doesn't need consent in order to do these things. His "they let you get away with it" comment seems to indicate that he knows perfectly well that the "little people" in the world couldn't do this and get away with 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

What are you currently jumping? How many jumps do you currently have? What is your wingloading on what you are jumping now, and what would it be on a 150XF2? Have you read Billvon's "Downsizing Checklist"? (in the safety articles) Have you read Brian Germain's W/L chart and accompanying article? (sticky in the canopy forum) Do you have good health care coverage? "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

So I have waste oil and antifreeze from my car. I don't want to pay the costs to have it disposed of. I can make the "individual choice" to dump it in the river, right? None of that nasty "power grab" regulation for me. Note: This is sarcasm, mostly. "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 don't know how it was for you, but around here (Green Bay WI TV market), the whole thing was really negative. From the local (state legislature) to House & Senate to Pres. The "Action Groups" were really negative from the start, but the candidates themselves got pretty ugly by the end ("I'm XXX and I approved this ad). For the last week or so, all of Clinton's ads were pretty much Trump soundbites (all the nasty ones) and the statement that he wasn't fit to hold the office. "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 the "big safe waayy back in the closet (basement, back room, whatever) often is too far away to access fast enough. The small safes are actually pretty nice. One option is to get more than one, and either move the gun around as needed or have more than one gun stashed. A friend with a kid recently got one of the Stack On ones. Four finger electronic push button lock, with a key backup. And before I get hammered by an "expert", they are not all that secure. There are ways to access them. But for preventing little kids from getting in, they are fine. Some of the hidden stuff is reasonably good too. No personal experience with any of those, though. "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, the standard questions for "what kind of lock/safe should I get?": What are you looking to secure? It seems like a pistol. Who are you looking to secure it against? It sounds like toddlers/little kids. What kind of presence are you going to have when it is secured? At home, but in a different room? Not at home but will be in a few hours (like at work or the DZ)? Out of town for a few days (or longer)? How fast do you expect to need to get at it? Keep in mind that, realistically, if you need it that fast, you are already so far behind the game that you've probably lost. In the home, an alarm or dog will give you advanced warning. Not a whole lot, but a minute or even 30 seconds is a very long time in those sorts of situations. Personally, I'm not a big fan of basic locks on a "loose" pistol. Or even advanced ones. The pistol can still be removed and the lock removed at the thief's leisure. The only exception to that would be if you are in the house, but not in the room and want to make sure the little ones don't get hold of it (no, putting it up out of reach or "teaching them" isn't a viable alternative). I'm more in favor of safes (lock boxes). There's a wide variety of them out there. The ones that are worth looking at can be bolted securely to a wall or floor. "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

FIFY Ooops! Sorry. My mistake. Thanks for the correction. "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 succeeded. What we get is a soft-reset, a controlled system crash without taking the entire system down in disordered and violent collapse that would have cost so many lives. Maybe, maybe not. While I agree with most of your post about the system, well thought out and well written, Trump may not have been the best man to "break" the system and the "reset" may or may not be all that 'soft'. He's a demagogue. He used the standard tactics & techniques that "wannabe dictators" have used throughout history (Hitler comes to mind first, but there are dozens of others that are just as apt). The outcome of a Trump administration may well be a . It remains to be seen. THIS article looks at what has happened in the past, what has happened recently and how they correlate. For me, the scariest line is the final one: "Perhaps I’m just writing this so I can be remembered by history as one of the people who saw it coming." I don't know if any of this will come to pass. I certainly hope not. But the analysis of the Russian behaviors is pretty close, as far as I can tell. There's a lot of indications that Trump is either in bed with or under the control of the Russians. I don't realistically see the Baltics, Georgia or the Ukraine being independent in five years (or less). But it's what we (as humans) do. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Fear leads to the... Orange Side. "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, some guys say that type of thing. But much of that is "Oooohh. Look at her. I want to..." Fantasy. What they'd do if the opportunity arose (with consent, presumably). Or it's "I was with my girlfriend last night and we..." Consensual. Trump was not making comments like either of those. He was bragging about committing sexual assault. Saying that he actually did these things. And that he could do it and get away with it. Actually "DOING some fucked up shit" (in your own words). "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

Look up "Jamis Winston". 2 credible reports of sexual assault that weren't pursued because he was starting quarterback for the Gators. "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'm pretty sure the whole saga was in the Aussie forums. Not sure which ones. I know he's been perma-banned from them, so the original posts have likely been deleted. AFAIK, he pretty much accused the DZO of being negligent and putting students in danger for using perfectly serviceable gear. Just gear that didn't have skyhooks. "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

Here's an idea- mobile polling trucks for early voting.Or just use taco trucks. There's already one on every corner! Don No, not yet. Next Wednesday. "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