kallend 1,623 #126 January 6, 2022 Oh, people were so nice to each other in the old days. 16th St. Church bombing. Emmett Till “Segregation Now, Segregation Forever” Rosa Parks Central High School, Little Rock (I could go on and on. . . ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,382 #127 January 6, 2022 31 minutes ago, kallend said: Oh, people were so nice to each other in the old days. 16th St. Church bombing. Emmett Till “Segregation Now, Segregation Forever” Rosa Parks Central High School, Little Rock (I could go on and on. . . ) March 7, 1965 on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, (which to this day still carries the name of a KKK Grand Dragon). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,623 #128 January 6, 2022 5 hours ago, ryoder said: March 7, 1965 on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, (which to this day still carries the name of a KKK Grand Dragon). Southern trees bear a strange fruit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumpy 256 #129 January 6, 2022 8 hours ago, Coreece said: Since we're on the subject, I was also under the impression that we would need 5-10 years notice to have a chance at deflecting a 'planet killer' slightly off course enough to miss. Depends if bruce willis is involved or not. I've seen the documentary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,053 #130 January 6, 2022 11 hours ago, SkyDekker said: To me the only way to change that path is if we find a way to care for those around us, care for the earth we live on and try and understand that a rising tide does lift all boats. Thanks for the detailed response. 11 hours ago, SkyDekker said: It requires caring for those who are not like us. It requires that we give a shit about everyone. 11 hours ago, SkyDekker said: Maybe that is what you meant with decency, but I disagree that it is something that existed in the past. What I mean is - be an educator, not an agitator. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,623 #131 January 6, 2022 2 hours ago, BIGUN said: Thanks for the detailed response. It requires that we give a shit about everyone. What I mean is - be an educator, not an agitator. I'm not sure what to expect in a society where it's easier to get a gun than to get an education. Maybe what we see is an inevitable consequence. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coreece 190 #132 January 6, 2022 23 minutes ago, kallend said: I'm not sure what to expect in a society where it's easier to get a gun than to get an education. Solution: Increasing the price of guns to $100,000 dollars a piece with a 16 year waiting period. Or Diplomas sold out of the trunk in a dark alley. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,382 #133 January 6, 2022 2 minutes ago, Coreece said: Solution: Increasing the price of guns to $100,000 dollars a piece with a 16 year waiting period. Or Diplomas sold out of the trunk in a dark alley. No, no; Increase the price of bullets, not the guns: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,053 #134 January 6, 2022 1 hour ago, kallend said: I'm not sure what to expect in a society where it's easier to get a gun than to get an education. That's no longer valid. Chicago Public Schools - Free University of Chicago - Free to Low Income (<$125,000) All across the county - Colleges are offering "Free" education. Arizona Promise, California Promise, etc. Here in Tulsa, a High School student can start attending college for free under the Tulsa Achieves Program and finish their Associates the same time they finish High School. They can attend Tulsa Tech (for free) at 16 while remaining in HS - which has a matriculation agreement for most of the trades to get hours in college towards a degree in that field. Google has certificate programs that one can take on-line - for free Solar Power Installer Programs - For Free The list goes on and on. Maybe you could go to an under-privileged neighborhood, open a store-front and teach them all the ways to get an education - for free. Cause guns cost money. I spend about 10-20 hours a week helping Veterans get in colleges or trade school - even down to a foundation that helps Veterans with PTSD become a Blacksmith. Help your community out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 910 #135 January 6, 2022 15 hours ago, SkyDekker said: ...Personally I am of the opinion that a lack of willingness to sacrifice for society's greater good is what ails the west. We seem to only want to make ourselves, or those very identical to us, better and richer. I do believe that this will result in the end of democracy. I do believe the US will very likely have an autocratic ruler within the next 2 decades. To me the only way to change that path is if we find a way to care for those around us, care for the earth we live on and try and understand that a rising tide does lift all boats. But, it requires people to "give things up", maybe even more than somebody else might gain. It requires caring for those who are not like us. Maybe that is what you meant with decency, but I disagree that it is something that existed in the past. Agree. Western countries have different orientations towards social benefits. The US economy has a dynamic and vibrant business economy. Its shown in the formations of dynamic companies that dominate sectors of the worlds economies. Look at Facebook..er Meta or whatever. Its a cash generating machine because it operates without competitors. Without government oversite. In China the CP would have absolute control and party insiders would have their grubby fingers deep in the profits. The widening disparity of incomes in the US drives people towards the extreme. The recent booing of trumps admissions that he has received Covid vaccinations. IMO an indication that the right has become even more extreme. The failure of the BBB plan to advance an indication that there is overreach on the left. Unity governments in Israel, Sweden, Germany and other countries. Advances policy for business and social policies. Unfortunately unity in the US seems far off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 910 #136 January 6, 2022 3 minutes ago, BIGUN said: .... I spend about 10-20 hours a week helping Veterans get in colleges or trade school - even down to a foundation that helps Veterans with PTSD become a Blacksmith. Help your community out. For you Sir. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,053 #137 January 6, 2022 2 minutes ago, Phil1111 said: For you Sir. Thanks, Phil. I don't do it for Baubles and Bling. Extremely satisfying when a Vet finishes a program, gets a job, keeps his/her marriage and says, "Thank you." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #138 January 6, 2022 Hi folks, While I consider Carter a terrible POTUS, I do consider him an honorable person. Jimmy Carter says the U.S. ‘teeters on the brink of a widening abyss’ Former President Jimmy Carter warns that America is at "genuine risk" of losing its democracy one year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rather than face a reckoning after the insurrection, Carter says, the U.S. political system continues to suffer from a scourge of disinformation and a departure from norms of fairness and respect. “Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss,” Carter wrote in an opinion piece for The New York Times. “Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy.” The former president, whose Carter Center has for decades worked to ensure fair elections around the world, said that the violent mob who tried to stop the U.S. Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s defeat of President Donald Trump was “guided by unscrupulous politicians” who are more interested in gaining power than preserving U.S. democratic institutions. Rather than triggering a rejection of what Carter calls “toxic polarization,” Carter said, “promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems.” Carter laid out five steps he says the U.S. must take to protect its electoral process: 1. Regardless of their political affiliation, people must agree to respect the rule of law and reject violence, handling election disputes through the courts; 2. Any reforms should “ensure the security and accessibility of our elections and ensure public confidence in the accuracy of results;” 3. Americans must embrace civility over polarization, focusing on their shared goals to live in a thriving country; 4. Election officials must be protected and armed militias should be barred from events, in a process that also addresses the U.S. legacy of racial injustice; 5. Disinformation must be stamped out. Carter urged businesses and religious communities to “encourage respect for democratic norms, participation in elections and efforts to counter disinformation.” The link that I hoped to post takes one to numerous commentaries; so I decided to do a simple cut-n-paste. Jerry Baumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 910 #139 January 6, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said: Hi folks, While I consider Carter a terrible POTUS, I do consider him an honorable person. A perfect example of what a Christian should mean. This is the Wipikida List of honors and awards received by Jimmy Carter only about 150 items long. AFAIK no other person has received 1/4 as many awards The Iranian revolution and the oil crisis were obviously not his fault. When the hostage rescue mission failed he never threw the armed forces under the bus. Imagine what trump would have done in a similar situation. Edited January 6, 2022 by Phil1111 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,396 #140 January 6, 2022 36 minutes ago, Phil1111 said: Imagine what trump would have done in a similar situation. "I've been told that the pilot didn't use the thing. You know, the thing that helps with the engine. Very powerful, that thing. I would have used the thing. I'm just saying. If I had been there the mission would have succeeded. I know more than the generals about these kind of missions. But he didn't know, and, you see what happened. I heard he's a democrat." 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 1,340 #141 January 7, 2022 8 hours ago, ryoder said: No, no; Increase the price of bullets, not the guns: Have you tried to buy ammunition lately? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 910 #142 January 7, 2022 3 hours ago, billvon said: "I've been told that the pilot didn't use the thing. You know, the thing that helps with the engine. Very powerful, that thing. I would have used the thing. I'm just saying. If I had been there the mission would have succeeded. I know more than the generals about these kind of missions. But he didn't know, and, you see what happened. I heard he's a democrat." trump " The embassy staff were heroes because they were captured. I like embassy staff that weren't captured". Re Iranian hostage crisis and a trump interview on it: "Barrett: Obviously you’re advocating that we should have gone in there with troops, et cetera, and brought our boys out like Vietnam. Trump: I absolutely feel that, yes. I don’t think there’s any question, and there is no question in my mind. I think right now we’d be an oil-rich nation, and I believe that we should have done it, and I’m very disappointed that we didn’t do it, and I don’t think anybody would have held us in abeyance. I don’t think anybody would have been angry with us, and we had every right to do it at the time. I think we’ve lost the opportunity." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,121 #143 January 7, 2022 17 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said: Have you tried to buy ammunition lately? CAD$0.34 per 9mm round with steel casing, before tax and shipping is the best deal around here...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coreece 190 #144 January 7, 2022 1 hour ago, SkyDekker said: 19 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said: Have you tried to buy ammunition lately? CAD$0.34 per 9mm round with steel casing, before tax and shipping is the best deal around here...... Stock up while you can and work out a deal with Gowlerk for international shipping to Michigan. Not sure if it's legal, but there's probably a loophole somewhere. . . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites