TriGirl

Thanks, Amazon. It's been a busy couple of days here at MARFORRES. That was one of my planes.

Like, "thou shalt not steal," and "thou shalt not covet"? Seems to me the logic behind the acquisition of these items was that the company had "passion for the Bible" and therefore sought to own for itself those very artifacts related to that publication. However, in doing so, they coveted those items, and stole them (or paid others to steal them) from the rightful owners. So, passion for the items associated with the book, but not so much for the teachings within said book. Okay, I'm tracking. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

And this is why I recommend a maximum wage in this country. Figure out an equation that let's the highest earners keep no more than a certain multiplier of the a baseline (say, something based on basic necessities in the area such as housing and health care, with the poverty line taken into consideration). Everything you earn in that year above the maximum wage is then their tax burden. You can deduct certain things like business expenses (employee salaries and benefits), donations to eligible charities, etc. You also could be allowed to invest in a retirement plan up to a certain amount. Everything else goes to schools, utility infrastructure, mass transit infrastructure upgrades and roads. You can either pay your employees, prepare your own reasonable nest egg and contribute to the charities you particularly prefer (example: Bill & Melinda Gates), or your excess ensures a basic standard of living for the rest of society. Of course, everyone will still pay taxes, which go toward similar things. A maximum wage would balance out cost of living, luxury priced items (you still have to be super wealthy to own high-end items, but not obscenely so), and still allow for super wealthy people. The allowance of a certain percentage to be stashed away for your own retirement could also be applied to mean that once you reach a certain number of years at the max wage, you can no longer be eligible for social security benefits (you had plenty of time and plenty of money to make your own arrangements and spend it how YOU wanted). There has to be a limit to how much one person/family can amass on the backs of the rest of the population. I'm not suggesting the max wage be $500k, but even if the max wage is $10 mil/year, we'd have a lot more money either filtering down to the workers, or making its way to the community infrastructure. Yeah, I have no doubt there are flaws in my idea, but sometimes I think limiting the amount of money someone could earn and keep in a year is the only way to ensure they're paying their people a fair price and providing for the opportunities of the society and for the common good. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Yep. WH is claiming he's the victim, because he gets called all sorts of bad names, but can't hit back? Really? What I see MSM doing is pointing out his lack of experience, consistency, qualifications and competence in the job he isn't really doing. He responds by calling these reporters "losers" and bullying them over social media ("they wanted to join me, but they were ugly and I told them they couldn't sit at my cool kids table!") Publicly disagree with the reporting and then present your side. That's how a statesman behaves. That's how our representative to the world should behave. If he wants to go on a venting rant in private, he can go ahead and vent that steam in a variety of private, constructive ways. Work out. Hit a punching bag. Throw darts at a wall that has photos of those who have caused him the frustration. But public statements (even and especially on social media) are official statements, and are the position of the White House. This is no way for a president to behave. It shows (and therefore perpetuates) total lack of reverence or respect for the office, and of the responsibilities that come with it. Sad. [/rant]

This one escaped Darwin, though. She's already pregnant. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

That's a much better solution in theory - but how to implement that in reality? Affordable housing is one angle, but that's hard to do in a free market.... Better mass transit is an option as well.... Education is another angle, but that's not complete either.... All good issues. Other issues include city planning/engineering -- zoning new neighborhoods/construction to reduce the need for transit, and create business opportunities (jobs above and beyond service industry) in the outer areas of cities, so fewer people need to commute over those mass transit lines. Higher city/state tax rates for the highest wage earners, to pay for that. Larger companies that want to minimize benefits and maximize profit should be supplementing the infrastructure to keep those top-tier earnings sustainable (free market doesn't pay for roads/mass transit/utilities and other societal infrastructure). As someone else mentioned, good schools and affordable child care. Etc., etc. As I said, a lot of other variables to reduce the cost of living and ensure everyone can have the opportunity to earn a living wage. Yeah, it's tough. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Kinda funny how he picks and chooses which of the real "seven deadly sins" to include on his list. I would equate "covetousness" with envy. So he only has 6. Which one is he missing? Bill actually only listed six anyway (there are not seven listed here). Covetousness is also known as Greed. The one missing is Gluttony. Which I think was Bill's point considering the description of the protester! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

This the issue right here. These are two of the most expensive cities to live in the US, considering home prices and rents. Compared to the cost of living in New Orleans, Detroit or Boise, or somewhere else you could get 4x the square footage for a quarter of the cost*, a national minimum wage for workers to compete in these markets is unreasonable, and comparatively speaking that same wage would make all workers in the places with lower costs of living practically middle-class. For those two markets in particular, a better course of action would be to determine what is driving the cost of living so high, and address those issues, so that workers are earning a living wage. A higher minimum wage might be appropriate as a later course of action, AFTER those other factors are addressed. The high cost of living very likely also hurts the small business, cited in your article, that were burdened by being required to pay their employees a higher wage (adding to their already high cost of business). *rough estimate -- I saw a comparison recently (Economist, maybe?) of housing prices/sizes across the US. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

He originally said it was temporary (90 days). That's all he said he would need to "figure this thing out." Did he really need to stop tourists and refugees entirely before "moving forward"? It's been way more than 90 days. And oh, BTW, people can still travel here from those countries in the meantime. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Just rock me to sleep, why don't you? Can't believe (well, I really should believe) SecState asked why US taxpayers should worry about Ukraine. Seriously? Aside from this, did we learn NO lessons from Georgia or Crimea? Our friends already think we don't back up our assurances. Our word is useless, and this is getting even worse. And if the threat in this article is realized, we're going to be on our own entirely. Forget Article 5, since we obviously have already. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Wow, are you splitting hairs. 25 miles from "line of totality" is still a pretty spectacular eclipse. And it is an established DZ with a campground nearby. The map that was provided in the OP had Chattanooga right in the path. Just sayin', if you haven't made plans at any other place closer to the perfect line, I'd say Jasper, TN, is a great option. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

And as of right now, four GOP senators have stated they are against the bill in its current form. Will not get passed as it currently is, and I doubt they'll have the time before the Independence Day recess to get a vote. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

At first I was horrified that I fall into that category -- I have a rental occupied by a tenant who gets more than half her rent paid by a government program. But then realized that I would make that income regardless of who lived in the house. That particular tenant would just be SOL if she lost out on that program -- trying to find a home she could afford for herself and her three kids on whatever it is she makes. So, I'm not such a monster, because my property can be rented to anyone, and I bring in the same regardless of who pays.

I'll say it again (agreeing with you) -- go back and look at interviews of Trump supporters as they waited in line for rallies during the campaign. There were some vicious people there, saying if the election were "rigged" (meaning if Trump lost), we'd see armed uprisings in the U.S. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

OTOH, I saw one analyst last week say on a panel that when the process is totally transparent, too many special interests derail the process before anything even can be discussed, let alone settled. Blasts from all sides in the court of public opinion without the full picture of what's really being discussed, with the different groups shouting adamant ultimatums (ultimata?) condemning or pledging support under strict conditions. They say they'll release tomorrow, and give a week for senators to read and understand it before taking it to the floor. In light of the above playing field, I think the idea is reasonable, though the time frame for consideration is too short. If they give it a week, they should use at least three full days of timed discussions on the senate floor. Would prefer to see at least a CBO score followed by two weeks of consideration. One week for reading/understanding/consulting experts, and a week for floor discussions, with separate days allocated to different parts of the proposal. But I think the sky in that world is a bright neon green, with a navy blue paisley print. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

I recall a case by an intramural sports team against their university, which told them they could not call themselves "the Fighting Whities." They sued and won (IIRC). My own HS is in Idaho, with the mascot "Indians." However, decades ago the school met with the local tribe over the name. Because the intent of the mascot was meant to convey proud, fierce warriors, the tribe agreed the school could keep it. The caveat is that the school must always use respectful, proud imagery, not cartoonish or silly graphics to portray the mascot. We've had it for nearly 120 years, so changing it at this point certainly would cause some grumblings! However, I'm sure if the tribes requested it, the school would comply. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Not to mention, that attack was in 2016. The article quoted was written in 2015. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Try Chattanooga. Campground really close to the DZ. I haven't checked their availability, but it's a nice, small DZ with good atmosphere, and right along the "100%" path. www.chattanoogaskydivingcompany.com/ See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

This is exactly what has caused this. For the most part, the majority of liberals and conservatives work together on a daily basis and get along just fine. It's not until we go home and troll the internet that we find so much hate/discontent. It's just meaningless entertainment - a way to pass the time - yet we still take that displaced anger to the polls, or even worse, to the streets and kill someone over some political bullshit that doesn't even directly affect our lives. . . I think it speaks to the lack of awareness/education of the voting public. We live in a world where the VAST majority of voters get their news from pulled quotes, headlines, sound bites and tweets/FB posts. While that's fine for a general awareness of what's going on (exception: the fake news being spewed the past couple of years), it is NOT good enough for a decision-making process by which to vote intelligently on these issues. Sound bites and social media posts in particular get us into trouble because the amount of supplemental information can be so controlled that it's nearly impossible to get the whole picture of an issue. From there, it's an easy jump to a black/white opinion (totally right/everyone will die) on these issues. That sows fear, which leads to hate. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

It does. Another example is a friend of mine who is self-employed as an electrician. He could get paid for one big job at the end ($10,000, let's say), but have taken in no payments while working that job the previous two months, and may not have another paying commission for the next three months. So over six months he brought in $10k. Hardly a livable wage. And as someone self-employed, he has to otherwise purchase his own health insurance. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

agreed +1. However, it is a nice example the next time some knucklehead wants to try to generalize qualifications (or intimate lack thereof) of any group. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

OTOH, there were voters before the election saying that if XX won/didn't win, there would probably be an armed uprising. I said after the election, and at least once since, that members of Congress (both sides of the aisle plus independents, in both houses -- IOW, all of them) would do well to grow up and behave like adults to get things done. That if R's kept supporting the president no matter what (simply voting along party lines), the American pubic would lump them together with the president, and the whole party would suffer such a crisis of confidence it would not be able to recover. That the Republican party was already in disarray, and the only way to save it was for Congress to get back to professional and frankly adult behavior. If anything good can come from today's incident, it would be that that very behavior and those professional relationships are now being showcased. The slow momentum of individual officials simply serving as the example and having to wait until someone notices has now been overtaken by public statements of respect for each other, and statements of the need to temper public rhetoric over political disagreements. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Yep. Too bad these victims aren't getting recognition. These people died. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Police-swarm-UPS-building-in-SF-on-report-of-11219519.php?ipid=articlerecirc OTOH, I'm just as happy with this shooter not getting ANY attention. He should remain a total unknown. MSNBC finally got around to reporting the SF shooting. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Yep. Too bad these victims aren't getting recognition. These people died. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Police-swarm-UPS-building-in-SF-on-report-of-11219519.php?ipid=articlerecirc OTOH, I'm just as happy with this shooter not getting ANY attention. He should remain a total unknown. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

I think you've misunderstood what I meant -- for example, that China felt pressured to grant the trademarks to Ivanka's brand. Not that their preferential treatment of her brand (or Jared Kushner's company's development deal, or holding an event at a Trump property) would make POTUS feel beholden to that country or organization. Though being able to point to that "preference" when dealing with this president certainly is a way of dealing out that praise he so desperately seems to need. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!