wolfriverjoe

Well, who are the ones being divisive? Who are the ones creating the unnecessary worries? (often based on lies and things like, oh I don't know...Maybe fraudulent videos?) Which group is feeding the bigotry, hatred and xenophobia? (often by using names that sound scary but have little or no basis in truth, or are highly reminiscent of 7th or 8th grade?) "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 in Oregon we have was what is known as a 'closed primary.' You can only vote in the party nomination process if you are a member of that party, i.e., R's vote for R's and cannot vote for D's. No party crossover voting. However, in our primaries there are often people up for non-partisan positions and there are usually numerous measures ( tax issues and so forth ); any registered voter can vote for/against those. There have been some attempts to change that but so far, unsuccessful. It is what is. Jerry Baumchen Hi Jerry, Wisconsin has something sort of similar. No requirement for declared party affiliation, but no crossing over parties. IOW, if you vote for one Democrat in the primary (for any position) you can't vote for any Republicans in primaries for different positions. I.e. - I couldn't vote for Sanders in the presidential primary, and then a Republican in a primary race for Congress. "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 the "million dollar" question, isn't it? The scary part is that it seems to be very possible. One of the bigger criticisms of the primary system is that, often, "middle of the road" voters won't bother to vote in the "lesser" elections. So the only ones voting in the primary elections are the extremists. Also, some states require a declared party affiliation to vote in a primary. Which means that the independents and undeclareds (I've never declared a party affiliation, although I tend to vote conservative - mostly "R"). Which again, leads towards weighting the vote towards the extremists. Kind of like how Obama seems to have brought all the racists out of hiding, Trump seems to be doing the same. Albeit in the opposite way (opposition to Obama vs support for Trump). "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 you do all your Christmas shopping at a truck stop, you may be a redneck. ~ Jeff Foxworthy Yeah, or maybe a driver who only gets home every other weekend. Not the easiest schedule in the world to work, especially with a family. "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

Advocates bigotry and hatred. Suggests "roughing up" a heckler in the crowd. Not too refreshing to me. "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 is it? A "majority rules" country or one where the constitution protects the minority from the "tyranny of the majority"? Civil rights (back in the 60s), gay rights (this past year), even gun rights and women's reproductive rights (abortion rights). All of those are good examples where the majority cannot strip the minority of their rights. Even though the majority tries pretty hard. And often the oppressed minority has to go to court to get those rights established after the tyranny of the majority has taken them away. Of course, the majority then complains about "legislation from the bench" and that "democracy has been subverted" (or thwarted or lots of other things). Gay marriage this year is a pretty good example of this. And many (most?) of those opposed to it did so on religious grounds. I honestly don't care if someone believes or not. Or what that may be. But when they try to force those beliefs on others, I have an issue. That can be as simple as prohibiting alcohol sales on Sunday (or even automobile sales, as Wisconsin does) Or it can be as encompassing as prohibiting two consenting adults from exercising the same rights granted to others, as in the gay marriage issue. "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

Kangaroo is a mid-sized chain. Eastish & Southish. Many of the Kangaroos are also truck stops (partnered with Pilot IIRC). This time of year, a lot of the truck stops have a decent selection of toys so drivers can spend more money. "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

Bailing at a grand for an engine out wouldn't be considered a best practice by anyone I know. And if the engine fails at a grand, then by the time the situation is recognized, people decide what to do, get ready to jump, open the door, ect, ect, ect, then the altitude will be a lot less. "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 know... all those damn canuks coming down here, being polite and apologizing. Annoying as hell. A less humorous note, the only things keeping the Canadian border from being as porous as the mexican border is the weather and terrain. Do you think that maybe the similarities of economies, prosperity and standards of living have a lot to do with it? The border is actually pretty porous, especially west of the Great Lakes (all that water is pretty effective). We just don't have 12 million illegal Canadians because they don't need to come here to make more than one dollar per hour. "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, we are under attack. We have been under attack since before 9/11 but that is the foremost date at this time. Wow. Over fifteen years of "being under attack", yet only a handful of actual attacks. "They" aren't very good at attacking, are they? "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 guess I'm a bit different than a lot of the "usual suspects" on here. A response can be thoughtful, reasonable, intelligent and yet diametrically opposed to my opinion on a subject. That's called "discussion" and can be done by reasonable people in a reasonable manner. "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. CMP was ordered by a California court to disclose the names of it's supporters. They appealed to the Supreme Court and were denied. Apparently, they are afraid of retaliation for what they did. Big surprise. "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 you've never heard of Winston Churchill. He should have said post 1950 Europe. What wars do you think should have started in Europe in the last 70 years??? Are the Balkans not in Europe? "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

We each grieve in our own way. Nothing weird about it. I still have Skyler's collar (harness actually) and favorite toy (stuffed squeaky cow). I don't plan on getting rid of them. Lots of cultures buried their important people with a lot of belongings. Supposedly to "accompany them to the afterlife", but those people had to know that the stuff stayed right there. "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

1. Australia had a similar gun culture. They did manage to make changes that reduced the level of gun violence. All it takes is political will (sorely lacking here). 2. Treat ammunition purchases like buying Sudafed. Then we'd know who is stockpiling thousands of rounds (like the Aurora gunman and the San Bernardino killers). 3. All transfers to require a background check. No exceptions. Mandatory jail time for all parties involved in violations. If weapon is used in a crime, the straw purchaser is treated as an accessory. How about we start by enforcing the laws that are already on the books? Making a false statement on a 4473 is a Federal Felony. Yet very, very few are prosecuted (something like less than 100 out of 60,000). When the Obama administration was proposing background checks for all transfers in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, the NRA asked about that. Biden was quoted as saying: Link:http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/18/biden-to-nra-we-dont-have-the-time-to-prosecute-people-who-lie-on-background-checks/ And there's also the very simple fact that expanding background checks to all transfers would do very little to stop these kinds of tragedies. I don't recall any recent ones where the shooter either didn't or couldn't have passed the background checks. I'm in favor of proposals that would stop this sort of thing. But I haven't heard any yet. Everything I've heard proposed is far more of a "Do something, do anything!! Make it look like the public will be safer!!" Similar to the idiotic "security theater" that the TSA and airport screening has become. "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 particular level of "due process" is involved in the "No Fly" list? Seriously, do you know how easy it is for some unnamed, faceless bureaucrat to put a name on it? And nobody knows they are on it until they are barred from boarding a plane. Linkon the ridiculousness of it. My "bottom line" is that I'm not surrendering rights without good reason. Without due process. "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

The "death threats" are very true. But only a small part of a larger story. The store in question was in Maryland. A rather strongly anti-gun state. They had passed legislation a few years back something to the effect of "2 years after 'smart gun' technology becomes publicly available, all new guns will be required to have it." It doesn't address how reliable it is, or how widespread, or how expensive. Just that after it becomes at all available, it will be mandatory in a defined period of time. And, of course, the cops were exempt.(I am working off memory, and may have a couple details wrong) So the first store to make it publicly available received threats. I don't condone it, but I can certainly 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

My heart goes out to you. It's one ofTHE hardest decision to make as a pet caretaker. But it's also the most important. It comes with the territory however. I don't understand why, but the 2 animals we are closest to (cats & dogs) both only live about 1/7 of our lifetimes. Sometimes they go naturally, but often we need to make the decision that "it's time." Good on you for taking someone along. The first trip without them is the hardest. "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, the Fraternal Order of the Police in Chicago has spoken. Apparently, protesters are "spoiled children." And there is going to be a hearing in Federal Court next week. The family of another young black male shot to death by the cops wants the video released. Somehow, they think that the story told by the cops won't match up to what the video shows. One very interesting part is the IRPA investigator who saw the video and felt that the shooting wasn't justified was fired. And is suing the department over 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

Bolding mine. I don't agree with that at all. What other constitutional rights should be suspended because you are on some "government list" that nobody knows the criteria for? How about 4th amendmend Search and Seizure? Should we let the cops go in and search the houses of people on the "No Fly List"? How about Habeus Corpus? We should just throw all those people on the list into jail. THAT would keep us safe. Oh, right. The people in San Bernadino weren't on that list. "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

One jump and you think tandems are "Gay" and that S/L is "inferior." Basing those opinions on what? You might take a look at the history of the sport. Tandems were originally developed to be a "Dual Instruction" method, similar to what airplane pilots get. There is a huge wealth of instruction that can be done in the tandem environment. The thing it teaches best is canopy control. How to fly the canopy, traffic patterns, and the sight picture on final leading to the flare and landing. There are a number of DZs that do tandems for the first few jumps (2 or 3, IIRC). Then the student goes on to single instructor AFF. The reality has become that many "students" have no intention of actually learning to become a "real" skydiver and are simply taking a ride. But that doesn't take away from the learning potential if the student wants to learn and the instructor wants to teach. If Kanga86 wants to do another tandem, fine. I'd suggest asking at the very beginning (when checking in at manifest) for an instructor who will teach. Make sure manifest understands that the intention is to go on to AFF, and the opportunity to learn a lot is there. And S/L has some very strong advantages over AFF. One of the bigger ones is canopy control. Because the first 5 jumps are all "on the rope", there's no freefall. The focus is on body position during the exit and pulling the ripcord (or BOC, depends on the student rig). The rest of it is canopy control. Patterns, windlines, what the canopy does under different conditions, and yeah, landing without falling on your ass in the mud. PLFs are emphasized, and taught, and practiced. But that's different. I don't "hate" you, but I'm a bit put off by your ignorance and prejudice. That sort of stuff belongs in SC. "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 absolutely. Media got to her first and told her what to say! Ya mean the media like Fox News? The Daily Show had a rather interesting view of 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

Not sure I agree with that. Would be a negative impact on the environment. Lead is pretty poisonous. It depends on the form. Solid lead is pretty much inert. Lead bullets that go into the ground just stay there. I'm part of a shooting range that's been in place for 70 years or so. We had "someone" call the DNR and complain that all the lead in the ground was leaching into the river (the Fox River is a few hundred yards away). So the DNR came out & tested the runoff and found... Nothing. Lots of shooting ranges have had this sort of testing done. It's been negative. The lead doesn't move once it's in the ground. VA Tech did a STUDY at a range and found that the lead stays put. Lead shot in water is a problem because the waterfowl need gravel in their digestive system to grind up their food. They get that gravel from the bottom of the body of water. When lead shot is present, they ingest that and get poisoned. Lead paint is dangerous because of the dust it creates. Lead-laden dust. It's kind of funny. There was a story on NPR a couple years ago. An environmentalist was railing against hunters. She claimed that bald eagles were eating the gut piles that deer hunters left behind, and in doing so were ingesting the shot from the pile. And getting lead poisoning. They "conveniently" left out the fact that shotguns using shot are NOT legal for deer hunting in Wisconsin. Slugs are required. And I have my doubts that an eagle would consume a slug that weighs about an ounce and is the size of a quarter (more or less). "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 price listed, but I'm sure quality craftsmanship like that does not come cheap. Says "Free" right in the text. It actually looks like a pretty nice land luge. But it would be really stupid to take that out on public streets. "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 doesn't own them. An outfit called "Covenant Trust" holds the deeds. I'm not exactly sure what that all means from a tax/tax exempt point of view. "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