wolfriverjoe

Ahh yes. The US "Justice" system. Whether or not a crime was committed? Whether or not there's probable cause to believe so? Irrelevant. Whether or not they can get a conviction? How they will look if they take it to trial and lose? That is what matters. "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, she has a point. He's a kid's show host. And just like when he debated Ken Hamm on evolution, he's probably a very good person to do this. He does a great job of taking fairly complex subjects and explaining them on a level that his target audience can understand. That Palin still doesn't get it means that she is either in serious denial, or that she can't understand stuff explained on an elementary school level. "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

Apparently, NASA is getting a bit annoyed at being misrepresented. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/04/14/nasa-smacks-down-climate-change-doubters-in-facebook-discussion/ "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 tend to be skeptical of this sort of thing. Actual flight is pretty hard. Generating lift is only one part of it. Controlling it is the other. Short of a very strong gyroscope built into it (where would it be?), how does it stay stable? The static instability of this thing would be a nightmare. Think the ball type balance board with virtually no friction. Some might suggest a computer control on the throttles, but if it's a turbine engined craft, the throttle lag would eliminate that. It looks, on the face of it, to be a scaled down version of the "Flying Bedstead" that they used to train for landing the Lunar Module during the Apollo missions. That thing was extremely difficult to fly and had a whole bunch of crashes. How is this guy controlling it? Body movement? Balance? I'm not seeing any real inputs. He looks like he's just standing there (more accurately, hanging there). I'm also not really seeing any good indications of the thrust required. Just a bit of "heat shimmer" below it. Even scale model helicopters produce a good amount of rotor downwash. I could certainly be wrong, but it looks far more to me like he's hanging from a crane (that's been digitally removed). Not really flying. "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

Elevated CO2 levels will help those (and other) forests regrow, problem solved. Well, in theory, yes. But humans are destroying forests all over the planet at a rate far, far above what could possibly regrow. Naturally, "enhanced" with extra CO2 or even by being planted by people. Haiti, for example is practically defoliated. As a result, hurricanes and the rainfall that accompany them are causing serious landslides because the vegetation that would hold the ground in place is gone. "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 upholding the constitution and the inherent right to justice and equality is trumped by the opinion of a small group religious ultraconservatives. No, it's more a question of whose job it is to make that determination. He represents and is employed by the state, not the USA. If the law is to be challenged shouldn't it be a Fed attorney that challenges it and a Fed court that decides? As I see it this guy can tell the state his opinion, but if they disagree, take another course of action and get sued then it's his job to defend them. Otherwise is there a difference between him and the batshit gay marriage clerk lady? Oh wait, I see from Bill's post that he's on he campaign trail. 'Splains it That's an interesting question. Does a state AG have a duty to defend a law he (or she) thinks is unconstitutional? Seeing that the AG is the top attorney for the state, it would seem so. But as an elected official, they took an oath to "support and defend the constitution", so defending an law that is pretty obviously unconstitutional would go against that. A quick search found THIS. It addresses the refusal by Holder to defend DOMA, and by state's attorneys to refuse to defend state laws banning same sex marriage (Prop 8 in CA). So there is some precedent for such a refusal, although I fully agree that campaign politics and publicity probably play a part in the NC situation. Edit to add: I see a pretty significant difference between the NC AG and Kim Davis (the batshit crazy county clerk). The AG is a lawyer, and is refusing to defend a law he thinks is unconstitutional. Being a lawyer, he probably has a pretty good handle on what is constitutional and what is not (and this one probably isn't, 14th amendment applies). Worst case, he is failing to fully represent his client as an attorney. Davis was refusing to issue marriage licenses, despite being told to by several levels of court, including (indirectly) the US Supreme Court. And she was doing so because of her "deeply held religious beliefs" that were so deeply held that she felt ok being in violation of a bunch of the commandments. "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

Yup. You are in trouble. "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 find it rather interesting (not surprising) that "Adopt the teachings of Christ as your guide to everyday living" isn't included in your path to salvation. I thought that part of "surrendering your life to Him" included actually doing the stuff he says to do. You know, the old "Walk the walk" idea. A few posts up, you said: You might want to look in a mirror and say that out loud. "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 affects a lot more than 0.1% of the population. It bans any anti-discrimination laws at the local level. What problem existed before? Have there been any legitimate complaints about TG behavior in public bathrooms? Again, more US Congresscritters have been arrested for inappropriate behavior in public bathrooms than TG people. Nice rational, reasonable, grown up comment. Where is the line between public and private drawn? (Honest question). Is a "public bathroom" in a private business affected (say a bathroom open to the public in a restaurant or gas station or similar)? To a certain degree, having state-wide laws and not a "patchwork" of local ordinances is a good thing. But this law says (more or less) "Unless the state legislature decides to provide protection to the LBGT community, and it won't, they don't get any protection." "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

True, but if the OP goes into the course with his 20 required pack jobs, he won't have to hustle through the week to get them done and can spend more time on other stuff. I took the course a few years ago, and I had zero pack jobs going in. I wouldn't recommend doing that. I spent much of my time getting the 20 done. He will still need to do a few, especially on different stuff (rounds & tandems for example), but not needing to reach the minimum would be helpful. Edit to add: The pack jobs done beforehand would, of course, need to be signed off by a rigger. "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 haven't seen anything about this on here. North Carolina recently passed a law that, among other things, bars local laws against discrimination against the LBGT people. It also requires all people to use the bathroom designated for the gender they were born with. How in the world is that supposed to be enforced? As a side note, it's been bouncing around on FB that there have been more Republican congressmen arrested for inappropriate behavior in public bathrooms than TGs. Not surprisingly, there has been some outcry. And a lawsuit. And some pushback. PayPal cancelled plans to locate a facility (and it's 400 jobs) in Charlotte. Hulu moved the filming of a show out of the state. Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert. The NBA has discussed moving the All Star Game. I loathe discrimination in any form. It's kind of nice to see people and companies willing to take a financial hit to make the point that they do too. "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 kinda like water. Without it, you die. With the right amount of it, you do great. Too much of it and you are in trouble. The amount of CO2 that we (as a whole) are putting into the atmosphere is unsustainable. The fact that we are destroying huge amounts of forests (particularly South American and South East Asian rain forests) compounds the problem. "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

Damn. Right you are. Premise still holds regardless. When does a tadpole become a frog? Absolutely premise still holds. Again, I was not trying to be argumentative. You are just usually better with your facts and definitions than that And heartbeat is around 18 days (at least that's what all the billboards say). 'Quickening' is about halfway (20 weeks). As I noted above, I would say the "tadpole becomes a frog" when it's viable outside the womb. Current record is about 21 weeks gestation. Interesting that it's roughly equivalent to the traditional quickening. "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 trying to be argumentative, but the "quickening" is traditionally defined as when the mother can detect movement. Which is a lot further along than heartbeat. But, IMHO, all of this "convenience" or lack of, sin, responsible fucking, whatever discussion is pointless. It's none of my business. Period. Any reproductive decision made before the fetus is viable outside the womb is solely the woman's. I find it absolutely despicable that all these men are trying to dictate what a woman does, yet seem to completely absolve the man in the equation of any responsibility. Here's a smiley thought: How many of the men who consider abortion "murder", and would advocate punishing the woman would advocate punishing the man? How about any man who impregnates a certain amount of women that ends up in abortion (say 3 for example) gets his dick cut off. Not a vasectomy, removal. Obviously, he isn't capable of making good decisions about having sex. So remove his ability to do so. If his testes are still intact, he can father children in the future, but he's going to have to really want to and be able to afford the procedure to extract the sperm. Yes,, the above is "tongue planted firmly in cheek", and sarcasm too. But the overall tendency to punish the woman while the man is not held responsible in any way is ridiculous. Ron for example. He feels guilty about signing off on the abortion, but makes no mention that he was responsible (at least 50%) for the unwanted pregnancy in the first place. Last - with 6 billion people on the earth, and the number is growing rapidly, any decision not to bring another person into the world is probably a good one. "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 simply isn't true. This pops up every so often, and someone once used the "micro mort" idea. Statistically, the only way driving was anywhere near as dangerous was if you made a commute of 1000 miles to and from the DZ. Jumping is approximately the same risk as riding a motorcycle to and from the DZ (around a 30 mile each way commute IIRC). It's a risk. But then again so is going outside. The OP can make safe choices (bigger canopy & not swooping it, RSL & AAD, small groups, that sort of stuff) and will significantly lower his risk (from a statistical point). But it's an emotional decision. And facts and logic won't win that one. Good luck. I made the decision a while back that any woman that made me choose between jumping and her would get a very simple answer. "Bye." "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, psychopaths tend to be good at that. Sorry you are hurt, but really glad you got out of it. And if you PM your address, I'll get a t-shirt nice & sweaty and send it to you.

So post a pic of him in the "Glory" thread. I'm almost certain you have one. Crop out his face if you feel the need. Go ahead, do it. You'll feel better. "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 been pretty clear from the beginning that the GOP leadership doesn't want Trump. Trump seems to truly enjoy his "maverick" status. He says all the things the party has clearly implied, but hasn't had the balls to say out loud. Anti-immigrant, anti-muslim, anti-women's rights, ect. The fact that Trump made very public statements in the past that were completely opposite to what he's saying now (he used to be anti-gun & pro-choice) doesn't seem to matter to his support base. If the GOP actively opposes him, they run the risk of alienating the conservative working class that they need to win in the general election. But if he wins the nomination, there's little chance the "middle of the road" and independent types will vote for him (no poll that I'm aware of shows Trump winning over HRC or Sanders). So they are pulling these sorts of sneak attacks, and having the "independent" PACs & SuperPACs go after him. Trump has more or less "yanked the curtain" away from the GOP & their tactics. It's not showing that the "Emperor has no clothes" as much as showing the true character of their platform that has, up until recently, been hidden. I honestly don't see the GOP winning this year no matter what they do or who the candidate is. I honestly wonder if they will survive (long term) the turmoil that will come out of the convention. If Trump is nominated, they are screwed (and they know it). If Trump isn't nominated, they are screwed (and I'm not sure they realize it yet). Part of me wonders if this disruption of the GOP isn't Trump's overall strategy. "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 wonder what the gambling 'over/under' is for how many shows actually take place before Axl throws a tantrum and either walks offstage during a performance or refuses to come out at all. Given the number of shows that were supposed to take place with him that never happened, there's no way I'd pay for tickets. "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, it had nothing to do with an actual safety issue? The cutoff of 60 had nothing to do with safety. It was an arbitrary rule impose in the late 50s. "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

Please provide some reference for that -- I don't remember it. Thank you. Don't hold your breath. I'm still waiting for him to tell me what Obama really said about knives & guns. Not to post some videos that he didn't watch. What was really said. "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

Of course there is a double standard. One idiot isn't running the campaign for Trump. The other idiot is the campaign manager for 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

Really? If some woman with "something" in her hand is trying to accost your wife, do you pull her away? You mean the thing that looks like a phone? That a reporter might have in this age to, oh I don't know, record sound? Or that nearly anyone might have in their hand these days? You are digging. Let me know if you find a jar of coins. I buried them when I was 5 and never found them again. Well, despite all the Secret Service presence, it Could Have Been A Bomb. But of course, the first response of "he never even touched her" kind of disproves the idea. But it's a pretty good excuse. "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

Sort of. By setting an emissions standard you're not letting the market decide, depending on how that standard was enforced. Unfortunately, the market has a poor record of deciding what's good for the health of humanity. And pollution has costs. Making the "high pollution" energy sources pay those costs is only fair. Letting low pollution sources not have to pay those costs is also fair. Edit to add: Allowing the high pollution sources to skate on their messes and making the taxpayers clean them up is a subsidy. Not a direct one, but a subsidy nonetheless. "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

Have you checked out your local thrift stores? Goodwill, St Vinnie's, perhaps some of your local churches run some? Around me, there are usually a couple nice domestic machines at any given time. Often the older ones. Metal gears, not the newer plastic stuff. Usually with a table. Usually around $25. You have to run any potential purchase through it's paces before you buy it, but most of the places are willing as long as you ask nicely and bring your own thread & fabric. Some are broken beyond reasonable repair, but most that I've seen are simply unwanted. "Mom" or "Grandma" died or went into a home, the kids and/or grandkids didn't want it. So it went to Goodwill. Again, these will be household, domestic machines. Not commercial/industrial. Not ideal, but certainly usable for many tasks. "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