Zenister

So do drug control laws... Come on, tell me you can see the difference here. The drugs laws exist because legislators think use of drugs is by itself a bad thing. Just like laws against murder exist because legislators think murder is a bad thing. Gun laws, on the other hand, exist only to prevent other crimes. Everything bad you can do with a gun is already illegal. So unless you think owning a gun is a bad thing by itself, there is a difference. actually there isnt alot of difference at all...many legislators do think the use of guns (by anyone not military or law enforcement) is by itself a bad thing. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

yes absolutely... ive been blessed enough to meet several..the last one went in a year ago this april. but her memory still reminds me to enjoy every day, every moment for the beautiful, unique thing that it is... blueskies holly ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

whoops...sorry...but it was simply too good an opportunity to miss... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

lol i completely disagree! those tights are simply lovely...in fact i seem to recall a particular jump run when the opportunity presented itself and it just had to be spanked prior to exit...in fact i think its even on the video from that jump... wasnt me, i was just following my coaches directions, and after all you should always listen to your coach... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

to bad. I do.

damn those are cool!! is there a commercial source??? ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

could use ALOT more freefly footage, but otherwise i totally agree... damn i wish i could have been there... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

ok as skydivers are at least minimally educated on the requirements of the job of a regional director and in many cases personally know the people they vote for...this is very nearly apples and oranges…democracy works very well on the small scale where everyone has common concerns, issues, and experiences however, the intent of my question was would you be happy about being on a commercial airline where 200+ strangers, who you have no idea about their training, education, mental state, or opinions voted for to decide who was now responsible for your life for the next 4 hours?? And you had no real choice about getting off the aircraft prior to take off?? exactly! our electorial system is a popularity contest, with leaders elected on largely superficial reasoning, it hasnt bitten us in the ass too badly but given the increasing ignorance of the average american, critical mass for empowered idiocy isnt too far off... just look at the 'choices' we have already.... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

Course correction? He made a bonehead decision to swoop the pond - prior to setting up for the swoop he could have changed his mind and landed elsewhere. lovely assumption, but thats all it is is an assumption. fact is he died because he turned to low. that is failure to react, you can speculate it was because he was impaired, but again its only a speculation, for all you know he'd made his last 100 hook turns under the same conditions.... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

damn that would be pretty cool...not that i'm likely to make to the Gulf Coast in the near future, but ..... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

i LOVE that word!! no one ever uses it... have i told you how cool you are lately??? ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

which is of course also the exact problem, as there is no mechanism to ensure that those who vote actually did any research, collected an information on the issues, or even bothered to look to see what policies the person they vote for really backs. would you get on a plane where the pilot was elected by a democratic process?? i sure wouldnt, i dont know why we expect the mass to be any better informed to make a decision about who runs the country? ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

Look, I have forgotten more than you will ever know about the drug industry. I have bought and sold tens of thousands of pounds of pot, hundreds of kilos of cocaine, and just about every other drug you can think of. Zen, it's none of my business and I don't really care, but I'm making the assumption that you get high. If so, you are being pimped out, and you don't even know it. Let's say that you get your weed from some groovy dude who goes to Phish and Widespread Panic concerts, is a vegetarian and would not hurt a fly. Well, unless he is the original source, you don't really know where your money is going, do you? Do you even care, or are you just part of the herd? While you are familiar with the guy in the tyedied t-shirt, I am familiar with his boss, who comes to meetings with an Uzi and a hand grenade (I'm not exaggerating). Contrary to popular opinion, it's not all good. nice to admit on a public forum, your not real bright are you? but you have no idea how wrong you are, about an amazing number of things..care to actually look at the numbers? # of people in prison on drug charges? # of those also charged with violent crimes?? please..go find a clue, i'm done with you and your grandstanding misconceptions....keep thinking you know it all, your buying the lie, the reality is far different, and your ignorance is part of the problem. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

if the majority of people do not engage in a practice those that do are a minority. if the majority is led to believe the minority (any minority) is 'evil' they will prejudice and persecute them relentlessly..it happens everyday everywhere in our nation, all fed and driven by the governments propaganda campaign. I give the citizens the credit they deserve, the majority do not think, do no research, and dont care to so long as it doesnt affect their lives at all, they want to be told how to think, what to eat, how to act and vote, by the system they rely on to support them. you might not know this but the majority of marijuana dealers are not big time criminal cartels, or local thug gangs. they are small time, local people who do it to help their friends and support their own use. But of course those who do it 'wholesale' have lots more money and a better ability to avoid law enforcement, so its easier for the LEOs to arrest the mom and pop growers down the street than it is to find the major sources who are well prepared, well armed and ready to kill to protect their market you are being influenced by the exact same propaganda as you mischaracterize the majority of 'dealers'. Sure the evil things you mention DO occur, but perpetrated by those with such inclinations anyway, and who are involved in far worse crimes, they dont have 'real jobs' they make money anyway they can, and our current policies enable them to do it off otherwise law abiding Americans. until the government ceases it continual propaganda machine (one ironic side effect of the war on terrorism actually is the diversion of LEO effort to real threats, and hopefully the funding follows the real threat to your security) the mass simply has no reason to change their minds or to object to the unjust persecution of activities they are not involved in. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

sheer artistry. to quote Dusty Smith, one of the judges of the freefly money meet when asked "who was the best flier today" " GG. hands down, and he isnt an 'every day' skydiver even" other than that i really couldnt answer it...have to ask his red hot forkness, its his house.. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

I've enjoyed every dropzone i've been to...Eloy is home and Perris is so similar i felt right at home, didnt get to jump at Elsinore yet but the people there were wonderful Kapwosin has a completely different feel from any of those, but it simply rocks!! come in, cook some breakfast (or mooch off the generosity of others when your unprepared like me) wait for the clouds to clear, make a few cessna loads till enough peeps show up for the ottter or caravan....and everyone is incredibly helpful. politics sucks..i try to stay out of it, i just want to jump and play and meet new friends... coming soon to a DZ near you...today sucked and i got distracted with work, but CrossKeys is next on my list!! ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

the government influences the popular opinion on issues far more than the people influence the government. Just look at some of the ludicrous opinions and beliefs on the subject because of the continual government propaganda campaign telling people how 'evil' drugs and drug users are....they are damn near the last group its 'ok' to prejudice and persecute. Perhaps you should pay a bit more attention to the language and attitudes our public officials use in regaurds to drug users? Ever think about what the reaction would be if you replaced ‘drug users’ with ‘blacks’, ‘jews’, ‘gays’ etc…?? governments do care. they care to the extent necessary to influence public opinion and keep those in power in power, and keep the majority of the populace, safely ignorant and placid. nothing more, nothing less. sorry, but i'm not going to modify my behavior because of the environment the government’s witch hunt policy has created. That kind of roll over complacency by the mass is exactly how we got where we are, but somehow you believe the herd will change?? please...when is the last time you saw a study funded by the government that showed the populace what the effects of legalization would be on organized crime and public revenue? Not a very hard study to do, plenty of precedent from prohibition and if we used the severely inflated monetary values they trot out as justifications for their ‘war on drugs’ we could pay off national debit and provide food and housing for nearly every American simply on tax revenue alone…but that makes to much sense and to that they would also have to admit to the campaign of disinformation and unjust prosecution they've been waging for against otherwise honest Americans for the last 80 years... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

i prefer to lay blame where it really lies, not to bow down to the environment created by ignorant draconian policies. Doing so does nothing to encourage the government to change and only allows them to continue to use propaganda to demonize and shift blame from the law and the lawbreakers they enable to the substance itself. if the government cares about its citizens it has the responsibility to ensure it's laws do not create environments where their natural inclinations place them in the hands of the criminals ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

and once again its the government who supports those fucks by creating the market they can live off of. People want something they are going to do what it takes to get it, this applies to anything in life, not just drugs. Of course soon we'll also have bodybuilders and athlete's stopping by these people for their ephedra if it werent illegal you'd have to deal with all the thugs and villains that run your local grocery store... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

been doing that all morning (rain here no fun at all)....that guy is great...i'd get the books but the hyper kinetic squirrel voice, animation and flippant gestures is really what makes it hilarious ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

uh Norton can be set to auto update whenever you want....even on a machine running win 98SE (i have one i use as a 'jukebox' and it checks itself and updates every morning) if you dont have a firewall you really should get one. there are several freeware varieties that work pretty well for basic defense, they wont stop a dedicated hacker (nothing automated really will) but most hackers are simply looking for easy targets (kinda like other criminal types eh??) and if your not one they will pass you by and pick on someone else... right now it sounds like your the 'someone else' ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

very very nice. and i fully agree with your assessments(not that my opinion matters) but so do the 'experts' who have studied who lives and who dies in disaster situations, i wish i had the book with me (partly so i could tell you the title and who wrote it my memory sucks for some things) but as i was reading your post i was thinking "i've heard this before" a little memory search and i realized i hadnt actually but had only read something shockingly similar... edit ok here it is...must be time to sleep... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

because Mesquite isnt in the NW ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

OMG i'm crying...that might be the best flash cartoon i've so so far... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

wait for it..there are few things that some level of anticipation does make that much better... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.