wolfriverjoe

I'm not forgetting that the 'adults' are back in charge. Also not forgetting that the Rs made gains in the House last November, and still hold a lot of power in the individual states. They are trying to use that power to stack the deck in their favor (more than they already have). While there have been improvements in a lot of areas, and there are areas where the US truly is the 'best in the world', there are a lot a flaws. We're the biggest 'immigrant magnet' because of the potential we have. But we fall well short of that potential in many areas. In the video Ryoder posted above, the girl in the audience holds up two signs. One says 'No we're not' and the other says 'But we could be' (paraphrasing, may have the exact words a bit off). That was very true. That whole speech pretty much echoes my feelings. The idea that 'kids digging through the trash for their next meal' is something American values and morals find repugnant isn't quite true. How many Rs voted for the bill that would cut child poverty in half? How many proposals to help the poor were introduced in the previous administration? Or were they too busy cutting taxes on the rich?

We ARE a 'deeply dysfunctional, broken nation'. We're finally seeing cops being tried for murdering people in custody (or being murdered while being taken into custody). We just saw how deeply broken the military is and how women are treated within it. We just saw 74 million people vote for a criminal, who wanted to be a despot. We are still seeing the Republican party try to disenfranchise millions of voters, mostly minorities and the poor. We're seeing the results of disregarding science, dismissing education and pretending that ignorance is 'just fine'. One of those results is the highest death toll from Covid in the world. During the pandemic, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. The amount of wealth gained by the richest people in the past year is appalling. Many of these things have long existed, and the true extent of them is just now being revealed. The idea of "American Exceptionalism" is one of the most arrogant pieces of nonsense I've ever seen, and yet it seems to be growing.

Hi Jerry, As Ken pointed out, those QCumbers made enough folks realize how dangerous Trump and the Rs were that enough voters came out to vote against them. However, as Ron pointed out, this election saw some of the greatest turnout ever. Both for the President and those GA Senators.

There's also the apparent self destruction of the Republican party itself. Apart from Trump. I really liked the Lincoln Project when it first appeared. I was hoping that they could wrest the party back from Trump and the morons. But it seems that they were made up of the same cloth as the Rs who are doing everything that's driven me away from them. Self dealing, hiding where the money goes, generally corrupt. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/02/lincoln-projects-derailed-plan-for-media-empire

So, of course, now the Republicans are doing everything they can to limit voting.

Elephant

Because those veterans can apply for citizenship as soon as they get a green card. They don't become citizens at that point. So overzealous "America First" types can still hunt them down and find an excuse to kick them out of the country.

Pffft. A bunch of 'keyboard warriors' typing their 'secret code' on a screen. I thnk anyone who looked closely at them realized full well it was far more 'you go, I'll just wait here & watch.'

The ding-a-ling known as the "Q Shaman" wants out of jail. Among other claims, he said that a cop 'waved him into the Capitol', that he 'entered calmly with the 3rd wave', that he carried a 'flagpole', not a spear and it shouldn't be considered a weapon because there were a lot of other flagpoles in the building. He also claimed he needed to be released because he isn't able to have confidential conversations with his attorney, yet was able to have a 'private' interview with CBS 60 Minutes. Really. The judge didn't buy it. And before anyone rails against 'liberal judges', this was a Reagan appointee. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/09/qanon-shaman-jacob-chansley-jail/?fbclid=IwAR3wSeOyetFW6_EbbbNE0ZBm6yopmaMyXZBC_u9CciHH152EvoHocDlbrbA

Hi Jerry, While it's true that not all of us are like that, the last 12 years sure showed that a LOT of 'us' are. And the anti-immigrant attitude is something that "Americans" have had for a long, long time.

I don't see it on the FAA list of aircraft approved for flight with the door removed (AC-105). So the answer would likely be 'not in the US'.

Yup. I know of a 'born-again' (Christ the Rock church) preacher (pastor? Not sure of the correct title) who suffered long and hard with depression. He prayed, his family prayed, the whole congregation prayed. Not sure if he sought professional help, or tried medication. In any case, the prayer didn't work. He ended up killing himself.

Oh yeah. I'm not an 'official' organizer, but I've put together a lot of jumps for a variety of people. The S&TA knows me, my skills and my willingness to jump with folks. On more than one occasion, he's been briefing a 'new to the DZ' jumper, and brought them over to me, introduced us and asked me if I could fit them in with what I was doing. Or the new licensees are sent in my direction as 'someone who's good to jump with'. And getting new folks to find out that they can pull off stuff like spinning pieces, or fly arounds, or other fairly basic but really fun stuff that they hadn't done before. As you noted, seeing the joy on their faces when we get back down is what it's all about.

There are several good answers, but something I haven't seen yet: There are three basic types that still do RW (FS). Hardcore competitors. Generally they're doing team training, but sometimes they will organize others. Doing organized stuff with highly skilled folks is fun, educational and humbling all at the same time. New folks. The smart ones understand the 'get good on your belly before trying to fly on your butt' concept. I'm usually able to find a couple to jump with. They are really grateful to have someone experienced to jump with, and I have a lot of fun and its 'more than a little bit' of a challenge to be good enough to make the jump work despite their shortcomings. "Crusty old guys". I put myself in that category. I don't jump enough to get good at freeflying, so I don't really try. Not interested in competition, I just love to get up in the sky and play with my friends. I'm good enough that I can be "where I need to be when I need to be there." I'm not alone. Many of the bigger DZs offer load organizers. People who are there to put together groups and plan a jump that fits the skills of the group (both collectively and individually - see below). Some places do this regularly, some places only on 'special occasions'. I've worked with a variety of organizers (including some seriously world class competitors). I've also sat in on an 'organizer briefing', where the DZO sat with a new organizer and detailed the specifics of how to evaluate participants, decide what the jump will look like (depends on collective skill of the group) and decide who gets what slot (depends on skill of the individual jumper). Also contingency plans and making sure everyone knows what to do when (not if) something goes wrong. There's actually a lot more to it than 'meets the eye'. The goal is to make the jump challenging for everyone on it, but still attainable. Organizers usually get discounted jumps. Once you are back in the groove, you may wish to offer your skills to the DZO. NO clue if that place has or wants RW organizers, but it's an attraction to both 'crusty old guys' and newer folks who want to do more than zoo dives with other new people. Although, two fairly experienced jumpers combined with 2 newer ones and a challenging dive plan can turn into a zoo dive pretty easily. That's where the above mentioned contingency plans come in.

Well, a long time ago, on a Drop Zone far, far away... There was this guy. Some folks thought he was an asshole, but mostly he just told it like he saw it. He would set up temporary DZs here and there, and of course, being the DZO, he had to be something of an asshole. He learned the hard way what happens when you let the reckless fools endanger others. He was sort of a post whore on here too, back in the 'good old days'. By all accounts, he was actually a decent guy. Who put on some pretty awesome boogies. Then, like so many others on here, he just sort of faded away. Until...

Hey VB, been a while. As Wendy noted, "Ms Moo" has left the building. Very sad. There's a thread in the "Blue Skies" forum. I woulda replied to ya if I'd seen it sooner. But it only took Wendy about 15 minutes to spot and respond. Edit to add: The new format isn't all that bad. You get used to it. The worst part about it is that ALL the old pictures are gone. The "Name That Rack" thread is barren. Damned shame.

Those are numbers reported from the trials, before they were approved. The chart is in the Twitter link I posted. I can't verify the actual numbers, but I had read elsewhere that the trials had experienced zero deaths and zero hospitalizations.

Hi Jerry, I don't disagree that he wants the money. But what he wants more is power and control.

Not sure about all the people who have been vaccinated, but of the approximately 74,400 who received it as part of the trial process, none died or were hospitalized. Not hospitalized and vented, but hospitalized at all. Zero.

Yes, and at the time of the insurrection attempt, he was still a 'State Department employee', holding a "Top" security clearance.

Do we have to admit it? You left out 'maybe, but I'm not going to admit it publicly' in your poll.

Yes. I came across an article a month or so ago, and while the primary focus of it was that they had basically figured out what the vaccine would 'look like' within a couple weeks of getting the genetic makeup of the virus cataloged, there was a secondary aspect that acknowledged we would likely be seeing variants and mutations for some time to come. But since the original vaccine had been approved, the minor variations, 'tweaks' if you will, that would be needed to protect against the new strains would have a much easier & faster approval process.

You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. It's not very nice to expose someone's ignorance so clearly.

Don't bet on any answer. Ever. I've done a bit of searching. There is more information about the Lizard Aliens than there is about any Venus capture. I'd put the Lizard Aliens higher on the 'likely to be correct' list too. Gotta love how there are repeated claims that "NASA is suppressing the truth", yet no support for that 'truth'. None at all. At least Rhys would try to show how the plane couldn't have hit the Pentagon, or that it was 'nanothermite' that brought down the WTC towers.

Still could apply to multiple toadies (at least two). But I can probably guess.