The great divide
The great divide in our nation is between those who continually seek to receive more from the federal government and those who realize that we don't have the money to pay for what is being sought from the government.
A nation, like a business or a family, can be brought down by excessive debt when those who hold the debt decide that they want to receive more interest on such debt, and those who owe the debt are unable to pay the greater amount. The result could mean extreme hardship on those who owe the debt, and such hardship would result in even less means with which to pay the debt service.
For those who seek more from the government, it seems that those who seek to reduce spending are obstructionist, when in reality they are realists trying to prevent disaster.
These two objectives are at cross purposes. Sadly, the issues will never be resolved by either of the parties, until the holder of the debt takes control and imposes harsh measures on our people.
Think it can't happen? The present trend is unsustainable, and if the problem is not resolved, it will happen. Only the time element is unknown.
JACK SHEARIN
Winston-Salem
Good-looking guns
I admit, I’m partial to good-looking sporting guns with nice wood and metal work. I like the way they look, their accuracy, their history, and their power.
I hate ugly guns, so it doesn’t bother me that assault weapons might be banned. They were not designed for looks. Soldiers need assault rifles.
Civilians don’t – the rifles are too ugly for civilians, not just in looks, but in attitude. They were designed to act ugly, to fire rapidly and repeatedly, to fill the air with lead, in hopes that at least a few bullets kill or injured the enemy – a valuable quality in battle, but not in civilian life.
There are other ugly weapons, both in looks and demeanor, which we don’t allow in civilian life, such as machine guns, bazookas, mortars, hand grenades, and any firearm equipped with a silencer. It doesn’t bother me one bit that assault rifles might be added to that list.
If someone seriously thinks he needs an assault rifle in civilian life, the simple fact that he has that thought is reason enough to disqualify him from obtaining one because it demonstrates he’s a nut, and the last thing we need is more nuts with assault rifles.
Since we can’t ban nuts, we can at least add assault rifles to the list of ugly weapons designed for military use only.
JOHN WOODING
Winston-Salem
Fewer, not more
I am confused by the distorted logic that allows folks to claim that arming more people will result in fewer incidents of gun violence. This is a statistical impossibility.
Sen. Rand Paul, from my home state of Kentucky, suggests we arm teachers and principals in every school. Sadly, he is not alone in this line of thinking. After making this proclamation, Paul said that schools would need to be comfortable with allowing staff to have quick access to guns…safety restrictions would be essential, including having the weapons be locked up in schools.
This is completely nonsensical. If the guns are safely locked away from students’ access (a huge concern), then how are teachers able to access them quickly enough to thwart an attack? Furthermore, as the proud daughter of an educator, I surmise that not every teacher is comfortable with the idea of packing heat to school every day.
Additionally, I take no solace in thinking that my daughter will attend school where every adult is armed to the teeth. What message does this send to children? That the only way to be safe is to carry a firearm? How about teaching children non-lethal ways of coping with life’s up and downs?
It's clear to me that Sen. Paul and others who support arming every adult in public schools have not fully fleshed out the consequences and repercussions of their position. I, for one, would prefer fewer guns in schools, not more .
LESLYE POINDEXTER
Winston Salem
Rejecting religion
Conservatives can bemoan the loss of mandatory, government-enforced prayer in schools and the nation’s move away from religion all it wants, but those who have moved away from it know why they have, and it has nothing to do with a lack of morality. It’s because conservative religion is authoritarian, hateful, ignorant and backward. Its highest priorities are trying to keep people who love each other from getting married, and worshiping fetuses at the expense of women’s health and even life. And there are the adjunct priorities of being as mean as possible to poor people and putting at least one firearm in every American hand. This is morality?
And we reject it because we don’t want to live our lives in paranoid fear of political conspiracies, fear of people who are different from us, fear of making progress as a nation by working together for mutual goals.
Conservative morality is an oxymoron – and bankrupt. And that’s why young people will continue to move away from it.
BETHANY PARE
Winston-Salem
From Yesterday, O.T? The Republican party was formed in early 1854 in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act along with many other patchwork parties that opposed the Administration of Franklin Pierce. The early meetings that formed the Republican Party took place in the Blair House in DC, so the Republican Party is truly an insider party when it comes to Washington. Montgomery Blair became Lincoln's Postmaster General. In the midterm elections of 1854 they won 13 congressional seats in the 34th Congress. By 1856 they had grown and absorbed many of the other anti-administration parties, had won 3 governorships and at their convention in Philadelphia nominated John C. Freemont of California as their first candidate for president, using the political slogan: "Free soil, free silver, free men, Frémont."
ReplyDeletePerhaps the most famous line from the 1856 Republican Platform is: it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism — Polygamy, and Slavery.
DeleteLincoln's name was entered as VP at the convention and received 110 votes on the informal ballot, while the favorite, former Senator William Dayton of NJ received 259 votes.
DeleteA meeting in Ripon, WI in early 1854 is credited as the birthplace of the New Republican Party.
I've always liked Fremont's slogan. One assumes that had he won, he would have worked for free.
DeleteThe original Republican Party was all about Free Stuff. :) They were also about federal spending on infrastructure:
DeleteResolved, That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean by the most central and practicable route is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole country, and that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction, and as an auxiliary thereto, to the immediate construction of an emigrant road on the line of the railroad.
Resolved, That appropriations by Congress for the improvement of rivers and harbors, of a national character, required for the accommodation and security of our existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution, and justified by the obligation of the Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
As Stab has mentioned several times, we could use a bit of that right now...infrastructure nationwide is decaying and/or outmoded...a good part of our local sewage network was built in the 19th century...there are still above ground power lines in many parts of downtown...
DeleteBelieve it or not, NC was known for decades as "The Good Roads State"...
Infrastructure rebuilding should be at the top, or very nearly at the top, of the list. Tackling that problem would have a ripple effect on employment, along with efficiency in our economy, as transportation and utilities are improved/replaced.
DeleteThat our infrastructure is not at the top of the list, at least at the federal level, reflects the dysfunction in DC, including both White House and Congress. That appears to apply to our state legislature, but perhaps it is too early to tell. I am not encouraged.
Good morning all. It will take me a while to catch up on all the activity from last week. After I briefly caught up on Saturday's forum activity, around 2 a.m. we got a call from our son that one of our dogs did not seem well at all. I told him to take the dog to the emergency vet. To further complicate an extremely hectic moving/icy weekend we end up with a dog in the hospital with pneumonia.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, pneumonia is something that usually can be fixed. We went for visiting hours last night and he does appear to be progressing well. On the social commentary, it makes one stop and reflect about health care system and those creatures(animal and human) fortunate enough to be able to access it vs. those that are not so lucky.
Wordly, you must have a great deal of stamina with all the traveling you do?
DeleteThose folks at Carolina Veterinary Specialists are great, but expensive. They dragged Susan's and my cat Roscoe back, did their best with two other kitties who were beyond saving.
DeleteBut, as Wordly notes, access is limited because of cost.
Whitewall, this move pushed the absolute limits of our household. My husband told our daughter that this was the last time he was moving her. I myself on the other hand try not to speak in such absolutes. After all, never is very long long time.
DeleteShe was offered and accepted job on Friday 18 and started today. During the intervening days and in the mist of a presidential inauguration we had to find and secure a place to live and move her stuff and more stuff which was purchased to DC. I made two trips there and back within four days and 2 ice events and to top it off a dog with pneumonia.
Stab, my son took the dog to our other 24 hour veterinary hospital. The one on North Point Blvd. It was the easiest for him to get to because we could tell him it was on the way to the Grand movie theater. It is amazing that Winston Salem has been able to support two 24 hour veterinary clinics during this great recession.
DeleteThe dog's treatment for pneumonia did cost a small fortune. I remarked today that I think this is most expensive month of my life. I feel very fortunate that I can afford it really not incurring any financial difficulty at all. The choice was straight forward and we would have probably spent a lot more to have Coco around for a several more years It does appear he will recover fully, and it's not like we are going to have an invalid dog after this event.
I do however question my good fortune. For the money spent on Coco's intensive care, a person without insurance with pneumonia could have probably gone to a private physician and received good treatment for a pneumonia event which did not require hospitalization.
Hey Wordly...good news on Coco as well as money well spent.
DeleteHaving moved to AZ and back, I well understand what your family went through in moving your daughter. Didn't her new company offer any relocation services? I have a couple of friends who went to work for Microsoft in Seattle. About the only thing they had to do was get on the plane, because Microsoft took care of almost everything else. JDA also took care of most of our relocation duties when my group was relocated to AZ. It was a much easier move than my move back when I was on my own.
No, new job did not offer any of these perks which are reserved for highly sought after employees with very specific and highly desirable skills--not for entry level positions. I did tell her that I hoped the next job she took would come with moving incentives, and this job does seem to have the potential to lead to more than an entry level job.
DeleteShe's so excited to get a job in DC which is what she hoped would happen after she took the campaign position in Iowa right after she graduated. The competition for position's life her's is fierce as there are many twenty somethings who long to live and work in the city. In fact many will work for free at unpaid internships especially if they are fortunate enough to have parents to support them.
I couldn't and wouldn't support that unpaid life style in DC, but I could help which I did substantially to get her into the house she rented.
I really wanted her to have a nice place because she will probably entertain low level congressional staffers. In fact, one of Lindsey Graham's staff helped her, a democrat, move in and one of Senator Joe Donnelly's staff researchers signed onto to the lease sight unseen to move into the house. That's how tight the rental market is there.
What I spent on my cats at the pet emergency room would have funded a couple years of private health insurance for me. But, I accord member of family status to the cats, thus I have one who is getting BP medicine, thyroid medicine, and insulin shots.
DeleteAs I said, Roscoe was a close call, but CVS saved him. He and I spent a lot of time there. On some level he seems to understand that I was mothering him. He has been very clingy and affectionate ever since he recovered, follows me around the house like a dog.
LTE 1...you are pretty much on target. I believe a large number of people are aware of this and many more have an eerie suspicion of this. Then there are those who have no clue or care. “There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation.
ReplyDeleteOne is by the sword. The other is by debt.” John Adams
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThousands and thousands 'more' people will be killed from the encouragement of homosexual behavior, and marijuana drug usage by liberals than by assault weapons.
ReplyDeleteHomosexuals make up almost half of the HIV cases, but they only represent some 6% of the population. Furthermore, a disproprotionate number of 'new' HIV cases are in the homosexual community. Thousands more will die from HIV as society moves toward legal approval of gay marriages.
Marijuana usage and approval: We have no true idea how many traffic accidents occur while people are using marijuana, because we have no accurate way to test for marijuana and its intoxicating effect. In addition, when people are arrested for drinking, they are seldom tested for marijuana usage because of the cost, and the time involved.
Assault weapons only make up about 2-3% of all gun deaths in America. A good number of those are suicides.
AR-15s, known as AWs by liberls, are the most popular rifles in the world. They are used by hunters, target and competition shooters, and by ordinary people for self protection. However, that hasn't stopped liberals from trying to take these guns away from law abiding citizens.
Does it make any sense? No, that's why liberals are involved in this irrational fiasco and denial of second amendment rights. Liberals are experts on such behavior. They do it all of the time.
Homosexuals make up almost half of the HIV cases, but they only represent some 6% of the population. (True) Furthermore, a disproprotionate [sic] number of 'new'[sic]HIV cases are in the homosexual community. (True) Thousands more will die from HIV as society moves toward legal approval of gay marriages. (True, but the same deaths would occur with or without societal moves toward marriage equality) So what's your point?
DeleteI know of no one that is calling for the repeal of the 2nd Amendment, although it could be someday as proscribed in the Constitution. Focusing on assault weapons is a mistake although the ban of assault weapons should be part of the equation of overall gun safety. Universal background checks should be a top priority be cause 40% of gun sales go on without them. One hears the old cliche that if you ban guns, the only people with guns would be criminals. Ok, then how do the criminals get the guns? Somewhere along the line, surely the gun was purchased legally or maybe not. But no one is calling for a ban of guns, that would take a constitutional amendment.
DeleteAs I have stated earlier, I favor licensing of gun possessors, not the guns themselves. A background check would be essential for such.
DeleteI know it is difficult to imagine, but Tiny gets ever dumber day by day. How can that be? There must be some ingredient in Chick-faux-A that is eating away at the tattered remnants of his “brain”.
DeleteOnly a fool would think that gay marriage laws would increase the frequency of gay sex. Anyone who has been married more than briefly is certainly aware that heterosexual marriage tends to decrease sexual activity, at least within the marriage. “Not tonight, honey.” During the brief time that Tiny had a wife, she was probably banging every longshoreman and Marine that she could get her hands on.
And he is blissfully ignorant of the fact that ARV therapy, introduced in the 1990s, has dramatically reduced the death rate for HIV/AIDS patients, which continues to fall. Guns kill twice as many Americans as HIV/AIDS does each year.
Everybody who wants to smoke marijuana is already doing it, so no law changes will affect marijuana use. I’m sure that Tiny, who is one of the most naïve people I’ve ever encountered, imagines pot smokers sneaking around in dark alleys, perhaps gathering in dimly lit “pot dens”, to have a toke, but that’s not the way it happens. I walk past people on the street every day who are having a hit right there on the sidewalk.
I know ministers, teachers, bankers, judges, doctors and used car salesmen who take a puff or two when they feel like it. Oh, and at least one semi-retired hit man. He’s probably standing in Tiny’s back yard right now, puffing away.
Please advise when the gent is fully retired.
DeleteHe is trying to retire, but keeps getting made offers that he can't refuse.
DeleteHe no longer does actual hits, just debt collection, but you really wouldn't want to meet him on a professional basis.
Socially a great guy.
I knew a couple of those payday loan fellers in times past. They didn't appear to have much sense of humor about past due accounts, so rumor had it.
DeleteI also had a local drug kingpin as a customer, very polite guy, never questioned a bill, paid in cash, a model customer. Sad to say, the authorities disapproved of him and came for him. He hid in his attic, but wasn't careful, stepped on sheetrock and fell thru the ceiling.
Right into their waiting arms, no doubt.
DeleteMy friend the semi-retired police detective likes to say "It's a good thing that most criminals are stupid, otherwise we would never catch them."
The detective is right.
DeleteI had two other customers, drug dealer partners, who left their Mercedes for attention, along with $8K in cash. I guess they had consumed some of their product. A worried employee presented the cash to me, which I put in a locked file drawer, and called them and told them to come get their property ASAP. One of 'em said it was fine left with me, and left it there until they retrieved their car.
Another absentminded customer left a loaded (round in chamber) 9mm H&K handgun in his car, about $1300 worth of gun in late 80s dollars. That, too, went under lock and key until he returned.
Bob, since you are one of the few liberals in here that actually uses logic in your reasoning, I'll respond to your question. My point is: There is a huge hypocrisy in liberal's efforts to take away guns, when on the one hand, they are encouraging equally, if not more, dangerous behavior and social conditions on the other.
DeleteThere is no liberal effort to take away guns. There is your fallacy. Guns refer to a wide range of weapons, and there is no effort to take away pistols, shot guns, or rifles. I know of no one who encourages dangerous social behavior, marriage certainly doesn't, of course I have never been married. To those of you who are married, does your marriage encourage dangerous social behavior?
DeleteI don't know, I always thought marriage discouraged promiscuity and anti-social behavior. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Growing up I have often heard that the happiest day of one's life is the day one gets married. In a constitutional society where "all men are created equal," there is a segment that is denied the liberty to pursue the happiest day in their lives, marrying the person they love.
DeleteBucky, at Stab's wedding reception I felt very sad for Bob when we were all talking about our own weddings. I don't know for sure but I feel there was someone that at one time that Bob wanted to marry. Just a we "out" forum members were happy to share in Mike and Susan's wedding we would love to rejoice in Bob's too if he found someone he wanted to marry. We are real people with real feelings and connections to each other not just some troll on this blog.
DeleteI hope to attend Bob's wedding whenever the pols finally figure out that he is an American citizen, also, entitled to equal protection under the law.
DeleteWordly re the last line of your post: well said, I heartily concur. A blog such as this, after nearly 2 years, is as mentioned by others, a community, not just a message board. And a community in which I'm proud to reside.
You don't need a 'word assigned to your relationship to be happy with one another.
DeleteI've already said I'm for civil unions for legal reasons. Perverted and aberrant relationships should not be encouraged by equating them with religious and natural unions between a man and a woman.
Who decides what a "natural union" is? As for religious observances, churches are free to ordain or not. I note that the local Unitarian church supports gay marriage.
DeleteIf you assign 2 words ("civil unions") to a contractual relationship between 2 people, why do you quarrel with 2 other words ("gay marriage")? And if you are for civil unions, why does gay marriage lead to all sorts of ills, in your opinion, that civil unions do not?
As previously…dumber by the day.
DeleteIn NC and most other states, a marriage is nothing more than a civil union. The state issues a license to marry. The couple then can be legally bound by a duly authorized minister or a magistrate; either way their legal status is the same and it is called a marriage. Thousands of NC couples each year, a growing number, I might add, choose the civil rather than the religious ceremony.
Only a fool believes that there is anything religious about that. And about 1 in 12 heterosexual couples choose to live together without getting married at all, also a rising trend.
The national marriage rate has been declining for decades. Between 1991 and 2011 it fell from about 9.5 per thousand to about 6.5 per thousand, a drop of almost 32%. Since the divorce rate is just under 4 per thousand, about 60% of marriages end in divorce. NC is right in line with the national numbers.
The highest divorce rates, with the exception of Nevada, are found in the red states, home of "family values". The lowest divorce rates are found in blue states, home of "liberal Democrats".
Lowest Divorce Rates:
1. DC 1.7 per thousand
2. Massachusetts 2.2 per thousand
3. Pennsylvania 2.5 per thousand
Only 63% of children in America grow up with both biological parents, the lowest figure in the western world.
Of course, religious nuts who know nothing about history love to say that the US was founded upon Christian principals, citing the Massachusetts Puritans, while ignoring that the first permanent English settlement, Jamestown, was purely a commercial venture. The folks in Jamestown had already introduced slavery into their colony before the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts.
And get this. In 1646, just 26 years after their arrival, the Massachusetts Puritans passed a law forbidding any clergymen to conduct a marriage ceremony. For decades, only civil marriages were recognized.
As always, stupid is as...
What our forum NW doesn't tell you is that most marriages in N.C. include both a civil and religious marriage.
DeleteThen he goes on to sling more fecal material that most readers could care less about.
If Rush really does have a law degree, he's got to be one of the dumbest people in the state with one. Or at least I hope he is.
LTE #1 – Yet another selfish, tax whining Chicken Little.
ReplyDeleteLTE #2 – What mister Wooding doesn’t understand is that “assault rifles” are meant to appeal to men whose development was arrested at about sixth grade level. They think that if they get one, it will make their pxnis bigger.
LTE #3 -
Drinkin' beer in a cabaret And I was havin' fun!
Until one night she caught me right, And now I'm on the run
Lay that pistol down Babe, Lay that pistol down,
Pistol Packin' Mama, Lay that pistol down.
She kicked out my windshield, She hit me over the head,
She cussed and cried, and said I lied, And I wished that I was dead
Lay that pistol down Babe, Lay that pistol down,
Pistol Packin' Mama, Lay that pistol down.
Drinkin' beer in a cabaret, And dancing with a blonde,
Until one night she shot out the light, Bang! That blonde was gone.
Lay that pistol down Babe, Lay that pistol down,
Pistol Packin' Mama, Lay that pistol down.
I'll see you every night Babe, I'll woo you every day,
I'll be your regular Daddy, If you'll put that gun away.
Lay that pistol down Babe, Lay that pistol down,
Pistol Packin' Mama, Lay that pistol down.
Lay that pistol down Babe, Lay that pistol down,
Pistol Packin' Mama, Lay that pistol down.
Now down there was old Al Dexter, He always had his fun,
But with some lead. she shot him dead, His Honkin' days are done.
___Al Dexter, 1943 (1st #1 "country" hit)
LTE #4 – Bingo, Bethany!
My favorite Republican line of bxllshxt is “Family Values”.
It occurs to me that if we fortify our schools and malls and hand out guns with movie tickets, shooters will have to find other venues…pistol packin’ preachers? They could show you some hell fire and damnation. And no more sneaking out to the golf course in the middle of the sermon.
Conservative columnist PJ O'Rourke commented on "family values," citing his own (presumably extended) family (secret daytime drinking and beating the kids).
DeleteIndeed, children are at far more risk in the home than in the schools.
DeleteAnd the presence of a Christian flag in the yard or a Bible on the nightstand or an American flag on the lapel is no guarantee of safety or anything else.
Esse quam videri (To be, rather than to seem), the NC state motto, is an admirable status to aspire to, but far too many seek just the opposite.
DeleteThe complete sentence, from Cicero:
"Virtute enim ipsa non tam multi praediti esse quam videri volunt ."
Translations (from North Carolina State Library):
"Fewer possess virtue, than those who wish us to believe that they possess it."
"The fact is that fewer people are endowed with virtue than wish to be thought to be so."
"Not nearly so many people want actually to be possessed of virtue as want to appear to be possessed of it."
"The Numbers of the really virtuous are not so great, as they appear to be."
Exactly.
I'd rather my child go to a church than to a men's sauna.
DeleteRejecting religion... Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
ReplyDelete“For what shall it prophet a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
DeleteFortunately, Aretha and Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles have enough soul left over to supply the whole world.
Just reread the book of Job this weekend...what an extraordinary character. For some reason reminds me of President Truman.
Reread Job? Did it try your patience?
DeleteIndeed. Job is a great inspiration.
DeleteWhen I was coaching youth soccer, a parent once asked what "system" I used, as in Brazilian or Italian or Spanish. I said "We try to use the Job system, patience, more patience and then some more patience.
My team was the lowest scoring in the league, but won every match, so I guess it worked.
Good afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: Actually, the "great divide" is between those who have an education (and therefore most likely gainfully employed) and those without (and therefore most likely unemployed or working at a WalMart/McDonald's type job). The jobs that have been typically done by the uneducated and provided a somewhat decent income are rapidly being sent overseas or being automated. The unsustainable trend is the loss of available jobs for the uneducated that can provide a living wage without need for govt assistance. What will these people do for a living when the only jobs for which they are qualified have been automated? As for the "holder of the debt tak(ing) control and impos(ing) harsh measures on our people"- that holder would be us. Not sure how harsh a measure we'll impose on ourselves.
LTE 2: More guns. I would add to Mr. Wooding's definition of a "nut" anyone who feels a need to arm to protect against the fed govt as well as anyone outside of a virtual war zone who's too afraid to take a step outside without carrying.
LTE 3: Even more guns. "It's clear to me that Sen. Paul and others who support arming every adult in public schools have not fully fleshed out the consequences and repercussions of their position." - that requires nuanced thinking which is beyond the capabilities of ideologues.
LTE 4: I started attending Methodist services after a lifetime of being a Southern Baptist when the Baptists' objective changed from winning souls to Christ to winning voters for the Republican party. I was tired of the politics and the emphasis of the Law (i.e. literal interpretation of the Bible) being greater than the needs of the people in direct contradiction of the teachings of Christ. I do hope the pastors in the area read this LTE and take to heart what Ms. Pare is saying.
A post I made earlier got swallowed. I had posted a link to an article about Republican governors pushing to eliminate both personal and corporate state income taxes ala a certain state senator from NC (can anyone say ALEC?). I was a bit surprised to see both Pope and McCrory express some skepticism about the proposal. Could there actually be some sanity in the state GOP ranks that we were not aware of?
ReplyDeleteDon't count on it.
DeleteAfter Bev. (D) screwed everything up, McCrory has a lot of work to do to get the state back on track.
DeleteI'm just thankful the good people of N.C. had the good sense to clean a lot of those sleazy Democrats out of government.
"AR-15s, known as AWs [sic] by liberls [sic], are the most popular rifles in the world."
ReplyDeleteMore parrot poop...not even close to being the most popular rifle in the world.
As always...
The most popular rifle in the world, by a long shot so to speak, is the AK-47 and subsequent variants. Not quite as accurate as a well kept M-16 variant, but very reliable weapon, tolerant of dirt and neglect. Recoil, even on full automatic, is minimal, and its bullets are probably a bit more effective than the M-16's 5.56mm.
DeleteOur military would do well to junk the current M4 carbine variant of the M16 and use the bad guys' rifle. Many of our soldiers have picked up AK's on the battlefield and used them, which is quite a compliment to the enemy's weapon.
Popular | Define Popular at Dictionary.com
Deleteadjective 1. regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general: a popular preacher.
As usual, you two parrot heads start squawking before you start thinking. And I use the word 'thinking' loosely.
"Most popular" in the English that I use means more popular than any other. The AK-47 is the most widely distributed rifle in the world, period. Thus, the AR-15, which is a variant of the M16, is less popular than the AK-47.
DeleteThe AK series is also more popular with me.
Laughing too hard to dictate...Tiny says "most popular", then defines "popular", two different things, which, of course, is slightly subtle, thus well beyond his comprehension.
DeleteAs Stab points out, the AK is light years ahead of all others. Some estimates, probably a bit high, put the number at 150 million worldwide.
The M16 and its derivation, the M4, are a distant second to the AK, with somewhere around 1/5 the numbers. Most experts would say that the next moist popular is the generic .22...some would place it at second on the list.
The AR15 is nowhere near the top...and I'll bet Tiny could not tell us what the "AR" stands for without looking it up on Wikipedia.
In Viet Nam, the guys who actually had to go out and face the enemy would literally kill to get a Kalashnikov. Our armory had a huge pile of discarded M16s, put there by guys who had killed them a Cong and taken his weapon. On the rare occasion that our guys found a cache of VC AKs, the guys would line up, none too politely, to get one.
The M16/M4 is undeniably more accurate than the AK47, but modern combat is not about shooting targets on a range. The action is fluid and fast and the guy whose weapon works best wins.
Boy Scouts reconsidering policy against gay membership
ReplyDeleteThat ain't happening I'll bet ya on that one.
DeleteIf it does, you'll see a lot troops shut down. The Scouts are generally sponsored by churches. And, according to the article you cited Wordly, both Catholics and Mormons are the primary sponsor of most of the scout troops. Given that, they definitely know about the Bible scripture, Leviticus 18-22 which says: 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Besides that, there are a huge number of pedophilic gays out there waiting to make young boys victims by being able to openly enter into that sacred institution. It would be a huge mistake to allow them in.
The decision, if erroneously made, would be quickly changed because of the number of lawsuits that would ensue.
I sure wouldn't allow my son to be a Boy Scout where there were both scouts and scout leaders that were butt lovers.
DeleteI'd take him over to Chick-fil-A and let him meet some of those cute Christian girls instead.
Pedophiles are found in Scouting, schools, churches, youth athletics, now. Some organizations might withhold sponsorships, perhaps, but others may well offer sponsorships.
DeleteEquating all gay people with pedophilia makes no more sense than does equating hetero people with pedophilia. And there a lot of instances of heterosexual pedophilia, judging from news reports. Perversion seems to be an equal opportunity form of degeneracy.
Nobody wants to release the numbers Stab, but gays become pedophiles at a higher rate than heterosexuals.
DeleteOnce you cross that bridge to backenddom, it's a short step to go over the edge.
Gay kids are easy marks for predators, thanks to people like you.
DeleteBut you should know organizations that shelter pedophiles.
"Nobody wants to release the numbers Stab, but gays become pedophiles at a higher rate than heterosexuals."
DeleteAnd Tiny has proof…it's right here…uh, well it was just a minute ago…where did it go? Right up his pitiful xss.
Dozens of studies have shown the same result…pedophilia is about adults doing kids. It has nothing to do with adult sexual orientation because pedophiles have no adult sexual orientation…they are only interested in kids. Their "preference" is dictated by access…if they have access to girls, then they do girls. If they have access to boys, they do boys.
And no organization has a corner on pedophilia, unless you include the family, which is by far the greatest source of pedophilia. The perps? Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Will, Aunt Sally, our favorite next door neighbor and so on.
Sometimes I actually feel sorry for Tiny, because:
1. He lives in fear of almost everything
2. He is simply stupid
And no organization has a corner on pedophilia, unless you include the family, which is by far the greatest source of pedophilia.
DeleteVery true.
Oh snap, good point Arthur.
DeleteMy aunt and uncle have worked in foster care for as long as I've been alive. Too many of those children came from the most vile and abusive situations, it's mind-blowing to think that cracker stuff goes on in this day and age in our own community. Deep, perverted sickness.
Really good point.
George Carlin liked to say "Consider how stupid the average American is. Then consider that half of them are even stupider."
DeleteThat was funny, but George was limiting himself by ignoring the past.
Consider that child abuse and pedophilia began just a few years after humans invented themselves, 140,000 or so years ago. And consider that the early "priests" and "shamen" could have stopped it if they had really wanted to.
But also consider that that might have been to their detriment.
Then consider that priests and shamen could have at almost any point since stopped it.
Then consider that they have not.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand. We know from the Sandusky files that a lot of these gay pedophiles are lurking around our bathrooms.
DeleteDemocrat Hypocrisy Continues: Mayor Bloomberg of NYC, a leader on gun control
ReplyDelete________
In the video, Bloomberg is seen surrounded by security. Mattera approaches Bloomberg and asks, “In the spirit of gun control, will you disarm your entire security team?”
Bloomberg’s reply: “Uh, you, we’ll get right back to you.”
“Why can you defend yourself but not the majority of Americans?” Mattera asks as the mayor walks away. “Look at the team of security you’ve got. And you’re an advocate for gun control?”
_________
You gotta love liberals. You know they are full it, but they just keep doing the same stupid stuff over and over and over.
I wonder how many death threats Bloomberg's gotten from gun nuts like you? I bet it's a substantial number.
DeleteMike Bloomberg has accomplished more in his life than you could ever dream of.
Nobody gets threats besides famous politicians, is that what you're saying Hatchman?
DeleteI think it's safe to say he's a bigger target than you.
DeleteHe is a little fatter. I agree. It's pretty obvious he doesn't run 5 a day like I do.
DeleteTiny is no target at all. In fact, he is totally insignificant in the world, in the nation, in the community, in his neighborhood, whatever. Even his local Chick-faux-A would not miss him if he departed this mortal coil tomorrow.
DeleteAnd he has no idea what actually goes on outside his pitiful basement.
Despite a few earlier assassinations, Harry Truman used to take brisk walks in the White House area accompanied by a single Secret Service agent. In November, 1963, as the presidential limousine was being prepared for a cavalcade in Dallas, Secret Service agents begged JFK to allow them to attach the "bulletproof" bubble top to the car, but Kennedy wanted the people of Dallas to be able to see him and Jackie.
Today, the President, and other top politicians do not have that option. President Obama's exit from his bulletproof, bombproof limo a few days ago on inauguration day was carefully orchestrated and severely limited in duration. There were hundreds of police officers and Secret Service agents inside and on top of every building that he and Michelle walked past.
It is not about protecting an individual. It is about protecting symbols, our leaders, whether they be the President, a Senator, a Congresswoman, a governor, a mayor, whatever.
Mattera and Tiny are both ignorant fools who have no idea about anything except there own pathetic paranoia. Get help!
I like my Chick-fil-A sandwich with the pickle. How about the rest of you?
DeleteBucky, I've seen pictures of you. The only "5 a day" that you do is steps to the fridge or your computer. Give it up.
DeleteIn all the years we've been dealing with Bucky (aka was it Lindsay Graham) this is the first time I ever recall him mentioning a child.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Wordly, but some time back, I think in his guise as Lindsay Graham, Tiny did mention an occasion when he took his "ten year old son" into a public restroom, only to encounter "banging bucks" shattering a restroom cubicle.
DeleteConsidering the fact, based on tens of thousands of words from his own keyboard, that he is a congenital liar, we are perfectly entitled to ignore that remark.
But those of us who have spent our lives assembling and interpreting evidence can be forgiven if we enjoy doing that with Tiny's "life". Based on his own testimony, here is what that is like:
At some point, Tiny encounters a drunken female, who actually allows him to put his tiny pxnis in her, thus leading to "marriage" and a child. It doesn't take the female long to discover that Tiny is a major loser, so she loses him, which leads to "alimony", an evil imposed by females on hapless males. Even though no one in their right mind would ever allow Tiny to be anywhere near the child, somehow Tiny contrives to lure his "son" into a public restroom…only god knows for what purpose…only to encounter the banging bucks.
You may believe all, or none, or your own selection, of any of that at your leisure. At best, it adds up to a banal moment in an imaginary life.
But again, based on his own testimony, Tiny seems to spend an inordinate amount of time in public restrooms, for what purpose only he and, hopefully, some future shrink, might know.
I'm trying to remember the last time that I was in a public restroom. One of my friends says it was about fifteen years ago, at the ranger station in Big Bend National park after a long day hike. I don't remember that. Since there is almost never anyone anywhere nearby at Big Bend, I prefer to whizz outdoors.
When I type in a-hole in my computer with auto correct on, Rush pops up. When I type sleazy SOB, Rush also pops up. Auto correct has come a long way in its accuracy over the years.
DeleteHi All,
ReplyDeleteWordly I'm glad you're home safely, and equally glad your dog is on the mend.
Overall, I'm happy to see more and more dialogue with a centrist approach. Even Fox News is trying to clean up it's tone a little bit. Thankfully. Hopefully people like Bucky will be obvious marginalized outliers, relegated to the "bissel mischuginah" as my father-in-law would say.
My final point, one that follows on your wedding discussion, is that the guy who gets to marry Bob will be the luckiest guy in the world. <3
GG
CNN is continuing its liberal reporting. It looks like they've gotten rid of a few BDs (or at least I don't see as much hair on women's legs anymore), and Major has taken over White House duties.
DeleteThat's a start in a right direction. Of course, CNN has little credibility after it was virtually destroyed in the campaign.
gg - Tiny was long ago relegated to the "fraudulent crazies" as your father-in-law puts it.
DeleteIf you need proof, see his post just above.
"CNN has little credibility after it was virtually destroyed in the campaign."
Hmm, CNN merely followed the polls to the correct conclusion, that Mitty would be buried by an electoral landslide.
It did suffer a brief dip in ratings, but is now rising sharply even as FoxLies® sinks.
And indeed, any man would be lucky to connect with Bob.
Delete