Leaderboard

They lost about half their trees but are basically OK.

Trump on disaster funding for hurricane Helene victims: "The Harris-Biden administration says they don’t have any money [for hurricane relief]. … They spent it all on illegal migrants. … They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them." Reality: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: “We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season. . . .We are meeting the moment. We have the immediate needs right now, on a continuing resolution." So why did he make that claim? Because there's _another_ FEMA program called the Shelter and Services program that give funds to nonprofits to house immigrants. DHS again: "FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters. The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.” Did any president actually do this? Why yes - Trump did. In 2019, Trump informed Congress that he was taking $155 million from the disaster fund to pay for temporary US hearing locations for asylum seekers who have been forced to wait in Mexico. “The U.S. is facing a security and humanitarian crisis on the Southern border,” a Trump spokesperson said in its notice that it was redirecting the funds. This left them shorthanded, as there were 18 storms that affected the US that year, killing 121 people. As always, with republicans, accusation is confession.

Yeah, well, you try dancing wearing a diaper.

Well because they are patriots and America is the greatest fucking country ever in the history of anything and has the greatest constitution with the greatest founding fathers and the greatest at everything, so sedition and an overthrow of the government is simply fake news. Could never happen. Plus the democrats are really lizard people who eat children. Why are you against children?

Today a filing by prosecutors was unsealed to allow the next indictment against Trump to begin. It had to be re-filed since the Supreme Court sought to shield Trump from culpability by claiming that the attempt to overthow the government was part of his official duties, and thus he was protected against prosecution. The filing states: "Although the defendant was the incumbent President during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one. Working with a team of private co-conspirators, the defendant acted as a candidate when he pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt, through fraud and deceit, the government function by which votes are collected and counted — a function in which the defendant, as President, had no official role. When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office."

I really REALLY hope the voting shows that.

Oh I do indeed, You enjoy fatties and often post while enjoying them. You are firmly in the grip of right wing misinformation sources, and regularly repeat what they tell you to repeat. And when pressed you post music videos rather than explaining what you are talking about. Which, I suspect, is because you can't.

Next Vance interview: Interviewer: "You've claimed that August has 61 days. Do you still maintain that?" Vance: "Well first let's see if you can admit that 100,000 murderers are coming in every day from Mexico!" Interviewer: "But what is your position on the number of days in August?" Vance: "I think the American people have the right to push back against the mainstream media when they tell lies about the calendar." Interviewer: "So you believe that August has 61 days, and . . ." Vance: "They're eating the dogs, Becky! They're eating the cats! Why don't you ask KaMEEla about THAT, instead of fixating on calendars?" Interviewer: "Just a quick note for our audience - August actually has 31 days." Vance: "You said there'd be no fact checking Becky! You promised!"

I hope people enjoy troll-feeding because there's a lot of that going on in this thread.

The wheels of justice do grind slowly sometimes... Wendy P.

Ended too soon as far as I'm concerned. The story of residential schools is one that I am intimately familiar with. More deeply than just my collection of orange shirts. Attempted cultural genocide by the theft of children was bound to fail. The anger against the evil religious organizations who abused and used innocents will not end as long as living people are still dealing with the scars. It is a multi-generational horror story that is still fresh and only beginning to heal.

New episode out now! DB Cooper and the controversial conclusion with my good friend Mike Halkovich. https://thecoopervortex.podbean.com/e/db-cooper-and-the-controversial-conclusion-mike-halkovich/ Enjoy!

I respectfully disagree. His own talking is nothing but self indulgent faux rhetorical gibberish without any true meaning other than that the modern world pisses him off.

"The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exist.” - Hannah Arendt Republicans are working to turn their true believers into such ideal subjects. Illegal Haitian immigrants in Springfield are eating the dogs! They're eating the cats! OK they're not illegal immigrants. OK they're not in Springfield. OK they're not eating the dogs. OK so we created that story and it's not real. But the important part is that you BELIEVE the underlying message, even if it's based on a lie. Sure, it's fiction, but it's really fact! Sort of. The underlying message is real. Trump really isn't a rapist, even though two separate juries found that he lied when he said he didn't rape E Jean Carroll. Again, you just have to blur the distinction between fact and fiction a bit, and he's in the clear. As Kellyanne Conway explained, republicans use alternative facts, not real facts. Because they are just as good, and they say exactly what republican leaders want them to say. Again, what's important is what you believe, not what is true. A staffer in the GWB administration came right out and admitted this. The staffer said that journalists were "in what we call the reality-based community . . people who believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality. That's not the way the world really works anymore. We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do." Republicans are no longer in "the reality based community" and they mock people who are. They create their own alternative-fact reality, and expect supporters to believe it. And when you get people used to believing untruths, the distinction between fact and fiction goes away, and there is only loyalty to the one person who promises to save them from the fake horrors of the world around them.

You'd probably be a lot more interesting if you did your own talking. Me, I can't be bothered to listen to those videos. It takes a few seconds to a minute or two for a post; compared with 5+ minutes for a carefully-guided story/opinion piece. Wendy P.

All of that sounds like what you would say.

Never underestimate the power of idiocy.

Ultimately, freedom, privacy and bodily autonomy will win out in all these debates, however, the religious assholes will do irreparable harm to the country trying to stop it. Fuck them.

Georgia people: 1, Georgia Taliban: 0 Georgia judge strikes down state’s six-week abortion ban

How dare you call into question the pure motives of the greatest hero in American history?

Or nuked it

Also on Sunday, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a declaration of emergency for 35 counties.......: The order specified that landfills in areas damaged by Hurricane Helene remain open to accept debris from that storm before Milton arrives. It also says state emergency officials “shall not have the authority to suspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation of firearms.” There you have it sport fans, when a second hurricane is barreling down on your state the second order of business after keeping the dumps open is suspending any controls on firearms sales or distribution. Florida is not a well state.

You know, I have to admire your audacity. I don't think it is. But anyway, so what? You won't, because you're incapable of writing a coherent English language sentence from start to finish. No one knows what the fuck you're saying, pretty much ever. We get the vague sense of Trump good, liberals bad but that's about as far as it goes. That you think of yourself as some kind of prophet who could open everyone's eye to the truth around them if only they'd listen is one of the saddest things I've ever heard.

Is the fact that the Florida surgeon general is an anti-vax moron one of those 'many reasons'? No shit. Read this (actual Florida government site): https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2024/09/20210912-UpdatedGuidanceCOVID-19.html Also: https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/112069 Fun fact: During Covid, a group calling themselves "America's Frontline Doctor's" released a video of them standing on the steps of the Supreme Court. The leader of the group was Stella Immanuel, aka "Dr Demon Sperm" because she thinks that most ailments are caused by sex with aliens or demons (yes, really). The video was banned from FB, Twitter and various other platforms because it was full of shit. Of course, the idiots claimed that it was just the "Deep State" hiding real cures from the masses. Guess who was standing on those steps during the video. Go ahead, take a wiiiild guess. https://www.salon.com/2021/09/22/floridas-new-surgeon-general-dr-joseph-ladapo-has-ties-to-fringe-group-pushing-bogus-cures/

I’m stunned at the insanity of Trump supporters. In the states earlier this year I met a few new people and after Fitz became FB friends. At the boogie we didn’t talk politics so I had no idea. The disinformation and nonsense flying around is unbelievable. Today’s news is that the cocaine in the White House was Harriss’s. The post full of outrage at it - the irony is… I know full well the poster isn’t anti drugs.

Well, there was a time I would have loved to have a Tesla. Now there is no way in hell I will ever be a customer of any company Musk controls.

What happened to the portion of the money that went to Royal Globe/Indemnity insurance post money find? It’s been a Vortex sub mystery for years but we may finally have an answer! I just spoke to the son of a Royal Globe/Indemnity employee who inherited this Cooper bill that was gifted to his now deceased father by the company. It appears in true vortex fashion that they gave them away to employees as gifts and there should be more examples out there.

I think it's part of his pathology, that he has no concept of a sense of humor, so he often seems to substitute cruelty.

My cousin ~30 miles east of Asheville just got electricity back on this afternoon. She says she is "sad beyond belief." I think her place is okay, but a neighbor lost their house. Two cousins ~20 miles north of Asheville are still out. Interstate 40 west of Asheville is closed, and is saying 2028 to re-open. Interstate north of Asheville estimating March 2025 to re-open. A fourth cousin tells us that there are something like 460 roads and 234 bridges gone.

Do not use airtags. If the main lands outside of Bluetooth range of any other iPhones (i.e. In the middle of the woods), it won't work. Look for something with its own independent cellular connection. I personally use JioBit, but most anything marketed as a pet tracker will do the job.

Yes, sounds like it’s been a rough time but they are ok. From what I saw last they should have water and electricity soon.

AI = Artificial Idiot

In Melania Trump's new book she comes out as a lifelong believer in choice. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/politics/melania-trump-support-abortion-rights-memoir/index.html

In the north of Israel few civilians get killed or injured because 60-80k have been evacuated. Its not chest thumping as these were the best ballistic missiles that Iran has. The missile and missile debris land in non populated areas because the accurately targeted ones are intercepted at a standoff from the targets. The 180 missiles were not enough to overwhelm Israel defences. Especially so with UK, US and Jordanian help in shooting down the missiles. Israel may decide to just continue dealing with Hezbollah for now rather than get deflected in starting another front. The US is likely to just keep additional naval assets off the Israeli coast. So they can continue to provide missile interceptions without endangering personnel. IMO

Math could use some improvement as well...

A prostitute went to the hospital for an appendectomy. The doctor made a mistake and sewed up the wrong hole. Now she does a little business on the side.

That's not how proof works. The burden of proof is on YOU.

it always bothered me that these settlements are done in private, despite the fact that they use a taxpayer based public court system. If you want to examine the damage to our democracy, the settlement actually matters. SmartMatic still has an outstanding case with Fox and I’m sure Fox will do exactly the same thing… Wait until the very last second when they’re selecting the jury and then Settel. I hope they lose another $700 million, lying seditious fucking Cunts.

He would have blocked its path with a wall of Sharpie.

Hi Robert, The GOP 11th Commandment: Eat your own. Jerry Baumchen

Hi Joe, IMO there is a simple end to it: The belligerent Arab states only have to recognize Israel's right to be a legal state in the region; and, then come to a peace agreement with them. Egypt & Jordan did and the world did not come to an end. How many missiles, that land at random, do you think Israel should accept per month without doing anything in retaliation? Jerry Baumchen PS) All of the allies in WW II would only accept unconditional surrender of Germany & Japan. How's that for a line?

IMO, some wars do not have lines to draw, and certainly, unless you are one of the players in that war, then the concept of 'lines' in pretty meaningless. These groups have been fighting for so long, there is NO solution to it until the parties involved decide they have had enough. That could actually happen, like it did in Ireland, but at least for now, there is NO solution to the Israel/Arab conflict, and I try not to spend too much time trying to solve problems that have no solution. Nor do I concern myself with any lines, ethics, or otherwise in the debate.

Not sure that logic would pay off or that it would matter all that much. A two-out in either configuration would have a very light wing loading, so even a side-by-side would have a slow (or zero) forward speed into a headwind In a two-out scenario (if I chose to keep it), I would be much more concerned with monitoring the stability of the configuration (and having my plan B ready) than I would be about penetration into the wind. For me, if I can confirmed that the main can be released without conflict, I would likely chop. I have seen (several times) side-by-side configurations turn into downplanes AFTER flying stable. There have been incidents caused by this. Just because the canopies fly well together one moment does not mean they will fly well together the next. 2 cents

I've experienced this (15 years ago) with a 120 canopy loaded 2.1. The field level was 4500'. Openings were fast and the mini risers were getting shiny then eventually crunchy on the upper surfaces. Lines were HMA

That has been Schreuder's and other agents position all along. I wonder how Geof Gray missed this - he apparently never talked to the agents who were there ? DS told Bruce there were 'thousands' of fragments. Bruce minimized it saying how many ever frags there were they were all confined to the area around the Ingram find and on the surface. TK has always been reluctant to confirm there were any actual fragments of any important nature? Ulis says the few frags there were were brought on the soles of people's shoes to holes 3ft deep! ...................... the irony of all of this for me is: dredging has always been the most elegant solution and Dorwin has always favored the theory based on what he and others found and saw with their own two eyes. ("we left thousands of chopped up fragments of money in the sand there ... etc etc etc.) ! Its simple. Direct 1:1 causation. I have said for decades, the real problem is: how in blazes did the money bag get in the bottom spoils to begin with to be dredged up accidentally later. All of that said, I dont expect anyone will change their positions on this. I expect the debate to plod along forever. And, there are a few people who still are convinced there is more to be found at Tina Bar - a few still search there from time to time. What I miss is that Palmer didnt acknowledge and deal with the issue of fragments better. Had he done that the issue could have been settled clear back in 1980 and we might not be having these discussions at all. I firmly believe that and so do the agents I speak with. It is what it is, in any event. How many agents worked at the dig? 12-16 or more? Dorwin was just the one we cite today. There were others who had opinions based on what they saw firsthand. Nobody ever polled these men and women, to get a consensus after the fact.

Ditto that. I can not imagine skydiving and not wanting the wind in my face.

I spoke with a security officer Friday 22nd March at Charlotte airport in North Carolina. He was swabbing my rig after X-ray since none of the security officers knew what a parachute was and he did. He mentioned that he had been skydiving way long ago. I asked him some questions and he then told me about his only jump and my chin dropped! His only jump was in the military he told. He was transferred to a EOD unit and was sent to report in. Upon his arrival he was informed that he was already scheduled for a jump. He pointed out that he didn't have any training at all. His fellow soldiers just told him that they would train him exactly on what he should do. So they did and he then did his jump, got a pat on the back, the wings and "good job". His jump was a night jump into a POW camp during the Vietnam war... "Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci www.lilchief.no

This is posted in the PaPa Victor on facebook... Ilona Helwig "i was in shock when I called his Co. Didn't ask for details... heard that he was testing a quad system..three got off...Ted didn't." eta - A full-on tragic loss. I got to meet him twice - once, he came to our little DZ in Seagoville, TX - later that same weekend, I ran into him again at, of all places, a cat show in Dallas. Blue ones to you, Ted...thank you for everything you did for the sport, and for my first container, the Strong Eagle. .

As far as videos go, this one is without a doubt, one of the best, not to mention free! It was put together by PD, and not only does it tell you what steps to follow, but why you're doing it. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=6886&string=packing

I really do think you have over reacted to this thread. Yes some people should have toned it down etc etc. And guys like Hooper should not have bothered with with his opinions, (I meet him in 79 in Florida and I respect him) which I felt were at best baiting people who were here and truly intrested in that particular thread. I know I enjoyed reading it every day. I think a strong warning to people like Hooper and some other, and possibly a couple short term bans would have been a more appropriate response then Killing the whole thread. This is not a personal attack on you or any one else, but I feel you done us wrong Quade. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI