Southern_Man

Shah, just make arrangement to be out of town over the weekend. That is the best thing you can do for the weekend. Just make sure you have one picked out in time to celebrate your holiday "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Religiosity is higher among females overall. Even when both men and women subscribe to a particular religion the women seem to have higher levels of formal participation and regard their religiosity as more important to their identity. This is well studied although the underlying mechanism is not clear to me. Higher levels of religiosity seems to happen in many, many different cultural and religious contexts. I would hesistate to say that it is universal, but it is extremely widespread. Here is one scholarly abstract that offers a hypothesis on why this is: http://www.jstor.org/pss/1386523. This study looks (from the abstract, I can't access the whole study here at work) to focus on western religiosity but there are many, many articles on other contexts available as well. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Right, I don't disagree with you at all on this point. The government did not do a very good job keeping these things secret. Bradley Manning and others seem to have broken the law and their duties. Not sure what that has to do with Assange. he is a publisher. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

I have yet to understand what law Assange broke. Bradley Manning and others may have broken the law. Assange is a publisher. He is entitled to publish those documents under the freedom of the First Amendment. You think he was irresponsible to do so, other people have other beliefs about that. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Nataly, your housemate has disordered eating. Food is fuel. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Wonder how those fundamentalists feel about their timeline being established by an Anglican Bishop and that Young Earth Creationism was a theory first propounded by 7th Day Adventists? "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Whoops, sorry, I spoke beyond my experience. Apologies. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

For a few jumps there are two instructors. At my Otter dropzone the reserve side instructor is on the camera step while the main side instructor is in the airplane beside the student. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Ooohhh, look, it's the pink elephant in the California living room! Why would anyone boycott a dz that offers the cheapest lift tickets anywhere? . On the other hand, we don't see crusades against it. I think most people simple decide that if they don't want to jump there, they won't. Skyride is seen as illegitimately harming innocents (customers who don't know any better) and in the process harming legitimate drop zones and instructors. I don't think people think the same thing about Lodi. If somebody knowingly wants to risk their own life on poorly maintained aircraft then most are more than happy to let them. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

People already answered the part you asked about concealed. Just wanted to add that in my state (Virginia) you can open carry without any permit. You can't open carry a semi-automatic with more than 20 rounds or a shotgun with more than seven rounds unless you have a concealed carry permit. much different gun laws over here. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

You are right, far from the dumbest words or ideas. Mostly an empty rhetorical slogan. I think it is sort of a no win situation. People are going to dislike the U.S. because the U.S. is the biggest country on the block and out of self-interest (like every other country) try to influence events in other places in ways that are favorable to itself. In many cases I don't think the particular policies supported even matter much. It is the fact of outside interference from the biggest kid on the block that is resented. In that sense it is like a lot of the criticism directed at, e.g. Wal-Mart. Yup, there is a lot that can be criticized (at both Wal-Mart and U.S. foreign policy) but if it was a smaller regional chain doing the same thing then it would go largely unnoticed. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

I agree 100%. Successful relationships do not have to be forever. Successful relationships do not have to include marriage, even if they are forever. Marriages are not necessarily successful relationships. I agree w/ Nataly on this. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

That's ridiculous! It's funny how most the people that bash marriage (not just in this thread, but these forums in general) are ones that have failed marriages themselves. They then give the advice that "nothing lasts anyway". Plenty of people are living very happy committed lives. Please note, I've never been married myself, nor do I think that it's in the cards for me, but I certainly believe "forever" is possible. I don't think it is ridiculous and it is quite apart from whether things will last or not. I am all for relationships and think it is more than possible that I will be in a lasting, long term one at some point. I still don't see any reason for marriage. Marriage is a property contract that involves the state. Nothing I want out of a relationship involves anything to do with property. Property won't have anything to do with whether it lasts or doesn't last. I don't see any reason to involve the state in my personal relationship. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Eh, I've never understood what sporting events had to do with the country, the military, or the flag. Not sure why we sign the national anthem. Were I being cynical, I'd say it is the league cynically trying to cash in by exploiting people's sense of patriotism. Maybe that's just me. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Yes, I am sure I would be charged with contempt. That's why I haven't done it. I've already skated perilously close to the contempt line. Pretty much as pure a violation of free speech rights as you can get. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

I'll think twice but only because their food tastes like crap. The price, quality, and convenience is going to vastly overwhelm concerns about gay politics in whether people choose to eat or not eat at Chik-Fil-A "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

How come you don't have the consitutional right to call a judge a douchbag? I know a couple I'd like to. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Just doing the statistics. I have no idea what the percentage of Supreme Court cases are decided by 9-0 margins. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Assault on a police officer is usually a separate crime or a separate class of the same crime of assault. In my state it is a simple assault on a police officer is a felony when the same action against another civilian is a misdemeanor. It is indeed a privileged position. Perhaps assault by a police officer should also be a higher order crime since there is so much more potential for harm and assault by a police officer is such a harmful crime to the public perception of the entire endeavor. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Are you a cop? or a doctor? or a security guard? or a really hot woman? then no - you shouldn't be arrested as long as it's a clear part of your job and you have my consent directly (doc, guard, hottie), or my implied consent (as a citizen when as a cop you are conducting a lawful search). in any other case, yeah, you should be arrested for assault - even if you are a cop, it the search is unlawful, then assault could apply without need of a 'special' definition just for cops. Consent does indeed mean that somebody can touch you without it being considered assault. Cops, because of their privileged position as instruments of the state, are able to touch, threaten and use force by virtue of them being "instruments of the state." While it would be nice in an ideal world to treat them the same way we do everybody else I think it would require that police not be able to legally assault somebody. As long as they have that privilege, I don't think it can ever be considered to be anywhere close to the same situation. This is not to even consider the privileged position cops receive in any courtroom filled with he said-he said testimony. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

I understand you. I disagree. The beating was NOT at the hands of the "state". It was at the hands of those individuals that just happened to be wearing uniforms at the time. This is a distinction without a difference. He was beaten by "instruments of the state." "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

Yup, and if the coin came up tails 71% of the time, then a string of 5 tails in a row would be nothing at all unusual. I don't have my tables in front of me, though, or I could tell you an exact number. Actually a quick online binomial probability calculator shows that it would happen on 29% of trials of five consecutive cases. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

I made that comment. I am a relative noob too so take my advice with however many grains of salt you wish. Packing does put some wear and tear on your parachute. As far as I can tell the biggest reason for the wear and tear is the sweat from where you lay down on the center cell. That is a good reason not to pack shirtless in the summer. A few pack jobs is not going to put lots of wear and tear on your canopy. If you are indoors at a comfortable temperature then perhaps none at all. The practic you get packing is likely more than worth the very small amount of wear and tear it would involve. I jump all year round (less in winter) and am just packing when I jump. Also, I don't personally have a good open hallway in my house, I would have to go down and use the basement if I wanted to pack. Maybe if it was more convenient I would practice there too. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

CrossKeys is having Freezefest this weekend. Youc ould go down there and jump. I believe both there and the Ranch jump on weekends all year long when the weather is amenable. Nothing like jumping to learn. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

You assume everything he leaked was the truth. That's a lot of assumption. Standing up for the Constitution and standing up for someone who leaks confidential information WITHOUT REGARD TO CONTENT, INTENT, OR CONSEQUENCE are not the same thing. That idiot son of a bitch can kiss my ass and any citizen of the United States of America who supports him is a FUCKING TRAITOR. He did not leak any confidential information. He is a publisher. His informants may have leaked confidential information, he merely published it. You may want to brush up on your Pentagon Papers. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"