winsor

"No case, abuse the plaintiff."

Mindless attack without merit. Keep up the good work! If you're paying attention, you will note that I don't indicate approval of all things Jewish. FWIW, there are practices amongst the Haredim that I'm not okay with and so forth. Also, saying that the Tanakh mandates stoning of non-hetero types does little to support ideologies that stone them or pitch them off high places right now. In any event, reflexive hostility noted. BSBD, Winsor

Where I find fault with your logic is in the oversimplification of the issues, that one either accepts orthodoxy of one sort or another or is in the "anti" camp. There is often a third 'C) Other' option, which takes into account a different perspective. "Climate Change" is a prime example, where one might take it to be a given, yet seem the presentation of Al Gore, 'The Day After Tomorrow' and so forth to be comic book pseudo science (Superman going faster than light to turn back time and what have you). In Systems Analysis a Single Input Single Output model is the Holy Grail, where the transform results in an Identity Matrix (ones along the diagonal and zeroes elsewhere, resulting in a SISO relationship). In medicine this amounts to a treatment with zero side effects or interactions. In practice one is delighted to get Jordan form, which includes the odd derivative. In medicine this is more like the disease being generally worse than the cure. The reality is that you often have more equations than you have unknowns, and some factors are thus treated as constants. If this approach works, great. When it doesn't, it's anyone's guess what's at play. This is where systems of belief come into play. Having the temerity to ask for the data becomes heretical; one does not have to claim you're wrong to note that the model and data are indeterminate. Correlation does not imply causation and all that. To suggest that someone who questions the popular analysis thereby disputes the raw data is disingenuous. BSBD, Winsor

I'm pretty sure it was Lenin who referred to knee jerk adherents of ideology as "useful idiots.". He may have been evil but he wasn't stupid.

Check out the track record of Palestinian Arabs in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan for starts. Have you noticed that not one Islamic country has offered refuge to the poor, misunderstood denizens of Gaza? The border between Gaza and Egypt is MUCH more secure than that between Gaza and Israel.

King David wasn't a politician. The patriarchs of the Torah were largely in the 'Mr. Bad Example' mold, from Adam forward. We don't use dicta from an ancient King as an excuse for evil, followers of the Illiterate Psychopath Pervert do so routinely. It is ironic that New Improved Universal Religions use the Bronze Age superstitious lore of a big dysfunctional family as their basis. Given how much of a mess they all are, I think they could have done much better. BSBD, Winsor

He was also a teetotaler, while FDR had his requisite couple of stiff martinis a day, Churchill lived on brandy, and Stalin didn't mind vodka. Having said that, throwing in references to der Further or the NSDAP put one equally afoul of Godwin's law.

The expiry is for certification purposes, and does not relate to functionality. If you have 10 year old N95s, odds are they will still pass relevant tests.

If you dispute the stance of the videos, fine. I am impressed that the data regarding Tavistock were laid out in a rather coherent fashion FWIW, a social liberal/fiscal conservative is viewed by 'progressives' as a right wing reactionary, and someone who is indifferent to race or sex from a employment or political standpoint is similarly excoriated. I call bullshit. In the '70s the bright eyed, bushy tailed Liberal Arts types in Boston/Cambridge were hell bent on stopping nuclear power by shrill demonstrations, breaking through fences, chaining themselves to things and whatnot. When I pointed out that they came across to voters as malevolent morons on screen, and thus largely invalidated what were otherwise legitimate concerns, it seemed to be a novel concept. I had to explain that the plants were built to turn a profit, and that ensuring that nuke plants were a money pit would guarantee that NOBODY would build the next one. Strangely enough, being buried in very expensive paperwork increased the cost of a nuke plant tenfold, and construction of new plants came to a screeching halt. The key to halting nuke plants wasn't people on screen behaving as equally frantic and feeble minded, it was people in three piece suits with briefcases ensuring that it was unprofitable. A real issue with today's 'liberals' is the assumption that there are only two positions on any issue. You are either in favor of bringing murder charges for a miscarriage or are fine with partial birth abortions. To point out that the German approach where it is abortion before 15 weeks gestation IIRC, and falls under another category thereafter, seems to work falls on deaf ears. Living and working with people of all persuasions without making a big deal about it is characterized as intolerant, where failing to celebrate ethnic and sexual diversity is unacceptable. To treat people by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin or who they sleep with is met with horror, so Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be seen as spouting right wing ideology. It's hard to take such nonsense seriously, and Poe's law comes into play. The videos are a useful for a reality check. It is fallacious to assume that if one side is wrong the other must be right (hint: in general, the extremes of both sides are equally repellent). You are young, but I can still recall when 'liberal' was generally moderate and did not imply hard core Marxism. Hearing out contrary positions and trying to understand them without actually agreeing with them was the goal. Now it is considered unacceptable to allowing someone from a differing stance to speak. Just because I am willing to hear someone out does not mean I support their position, quite the contrary. When I read the Koran or Mein Kampf or the Communist Manifesto I did not do so with the intent of adopting the particular ideology, but wanted some enlightenment regarding those who adhered to the principles therein. In each case I was left with the conviction that followers of any of these were pathologically mentally ill.. Getting back to your complaint, videos can be quite useful. If you have a point to make regarding their content, fine, If you are stuck on Argumentum ad Hominem, either Circumstantial or Abusive, your point is moot. BSBD, Winsor

Brilliant video. These guys cut to the chase.

Your video seems to have disappeared. These guys cut to the chase.

Yeah, I killfiled him long ago after I reached my limit of snark and abuse. Abysmal SNR. Given the tendency for breakthrough, I just skip any AFLAC input.

Godwin's law applies nicely here. I can only guess what was the basis of this thread, thanks to the magic of the kill file. The Doctrine of Fascism was penned by Benito Mussolini, with whom our last president has much more in common than with the Corporal from Austria. The appeal of totalitarian government in Europe between the wars was largely a function of the excesses of Marxists of various persuasions. The Catholic Church underwrote the regimes in both Rome and Berlin in support of the perceived lesser two evils. Since the Church is still extent, they made the historically accurate choice. In the US of A, the batshit craziness of the Progressives makes finding any survivable alternative worthy of consideration, if not if outright support. Trump's selling point is that, thought he may be a toxic lunatic, he's not quite as bad as the idiots on the left (a tough call to make). The brain dead protesters on campus rather support that stance. Thus the upcoming election is akin to chemotherapy - a toxin that kills you 50% and the cancer 90%, in the hope that what's left of you can defeat what's left of the cancer. Going by historical precedent, after running the numbers it appears we're pushing Stage 4, so it might not make much difference when all is said and done. BSBD, Winsor

My first thought was the petrodollar. One of many problems I have with fossil fuels is that they are, by their very nature, finite. I agree that the people who want to 'simply' replace fossil fuels with sunshine and unicorn farts tend to be weak on the thermodynamics of scale involved, but that does not mean we can continue indefinitely down the road of plentiful and cheap fossil fuels shoring up our way of life. The point that the video missed is that the ROI on natural gas is only good until you use it up. Quite when is that point can vary as a function of efficiency and sundry wild cards, but that point is coming sooner than later. You may as well get in another few skydives and tear around in exquisite Italian cars and whatnot, because it will only slightly affect when the inevitable comes to pass. No long term gain from missing out. BTW, Lamborghinis are best rented, so the owner is stuck with it when the fuel pump runs dry. BSBD, Winsor

L Ron Hoover anyone?

Muhammad would still have to register as a pervert.

My father absolutely loathed Tricky Dick Nixon, but was fine with Ford's decision to focus on the pressing issues of the day instead of wallowing in the muck of the previous administration. Ford actually followed longstanding tradition where, say, King Henry offered blanket pardons to enable the loyalty of nobles who had served Richard. As an aside, our previous president makes Nixon look like a model of competence, integrity and decency - which I would not have thought possible. A review of constitutional law suggests that Trump could be both convicted and elected. It seems Boston's Mayor Curley was both in office and prison during his last term, so there's precedent. I'm curious if outfitting accommodations at Leavenworth to serve as an executive office would do, or maybe an ankle bracelet for White House Arrest would be an option. Would his parole officer have to approve meetings with heads of state? Deciding whether Kamala Harris is an improvement is akin to trying to pick between polio and leprosy. Any way you cut it, we're fucked this time around. If a people truly get the government they deserve, it would appear that we suck out loud. It was fun while it lasted, Winsor

I think the Bull Moose candidate, Teddy Roosevelt, is a better choice than the Republican or Democrat offering.

If you want to consider statistics regarding demographics and violence, you'll be pleased to note that you have things backwards.

My targets are pretty much limited to various bullseye style and clay frisbees.

Given the purpose to kill people, that makes me a terrible shot. I've fired hundreds of thousands of rounds and haven't hit anyone. Heck, I've never seen fit to shoot at anyone.

Bill Clinton?

The old "we KNOW Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction - we have the RECEIPTS!" Having lived in Cook County, Philadelphia and a few other similar locales, there is a baseline level of voter fraud that is taken as the norm. It's only when it gets egregious that people object. In the upcoming election, writing in Theodore Roosevelt is looking attractive. He may be dead, but he's still preferable to the the "living" candidates.

Mine has 613 some odd.