aphid

Thank you for the information. I'll be circumspect.

This might seem frivolous, but trust me it's not. I'm curious, if I encounter a federal or state employee, from USPS to USCBP or any point between, and if I become intolerant and I neglect to filter my words... And should I use profanity to indicate my vehement displeasure or question their intelligence, parentage, or just their right to waste precious oxygen, is that a criminal offense? Perhaps a misdemeanor? I read the news and I am continually surprised at citizens being charged with offenses for things I consider inconsequential, and I recognize that my verbal contempt might be problematic. John

Camilla's? Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I get as angry as, if not more than, most when my country is misrepresented, misinterpreted, or misunderstood by foreign politicians or media. But it is completely unfair, in my opinion, to use that indignation to manipulate the message as a general condemnation for issues not directly related. I'm sorry, I do not draw a connection between Mr. Obama's comment regarding our oil/tar/bitumen sands refining and the current foreign military conflicts the United States is involved in. John

I'm a Canuck old enough to remember when they first proposed distilling the petro products from that area. Even our government(s) of the day called it the "tar sands".

Some of our aircraft are currently involved in hostile foreign action using live ordinance. Both situations are in response to UN directives.

And different jokes were made of Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter........ Absolutely. But finding room for political jokes about behaviour, education, intelligence, policies etc, is a far cry from skin colour. That's the one type of commentary I personally find offensive. Again. It's just my opinion.

Wendy, At the risk of turning this amusing repartee serious, I’d like to add my thoughts. And remember, this is just my opinion and no offense is intended. I wish the poll had a break at 2002. So many things about the USA have changed since then, I’m at a loss to enumerate them. Disclaimer: I do not live in the USA. Nor do I work in the USA. I have been married to and financially supported an American spouse for the past 34 years. She (we) live in Canada. And with the exception of our child, all her relatives still live in the States. As such, I have traveled extensively throughout your fine nation for familial obligations, from FL to WA, CA to VT and many points between. I have also skydived in at least 18 of your states recreationally. For 16 years in a row, I spent many consecutive winter months annually team-training at Skydive AZ, Elsinore and Perris. When I checked last, I have traveled throughout your fair country 37 times in the last 12 years. On average, the last 10 years, I was in your country at least 5 months of the 12 annually. Until 18 months ago. But that’s an entirely different story that is currently sitting in front of a Federal District Court justice as he ponders my ability to sue your Customs and Immigration Department. Since 2001, what I’ve noticed from the outside-looking-in is an ever-increasing schism in your country. I see such vitriol expressed in this forum and others towards those who just simply have opposing political or religious affiliations. I have been the recipient of email “jokes” from American friends denigrating your duly elected President simply because of the colour of his skin. I have watched as some politicians have used their position to foment discord among the national constituency. I have watched various liberties cast aside by the Patriot Act in the interest of homeland “security” and a good sound-bite. I have sat aside (as polite foreigners do) and watched as your media and some politicians publicly vilify some of your remaining international allies and democratic friends to further their own agenda(s). There are so many more, I often fear for your country. So I can’t answer the poll regarding the time-line when it was best to live in the USA due to my foreign disqualification. But if the question was, when was it best to visit/vacation the USA… I think I’d choose the 90’s. John (Edited to add: Lord knows my country is far from perfect. Sadly, as the quiet sister though, we do tend to follow the path of our American neighbours politically and socially, about 8 years behind) (Edited a second time to add: In the late 90's our dollar sucked chunks compared to yours. Financially, NOW would be a very good time 'cause our dollar is kicking yours)

Dryden?

No. Auto-spell is set to "American English" and I didn't catch it.

Oh, we have anal-retentive dickheads here for sure, but I am one Canuck that has zero issues with nudity. Male or Female. But I'm sure you meant to make your point in a more generalized way.

Regardless of political affiliation, you simply must know by now that in North America, aviation safety has NOTHING to do with airmanship. It's all about eAPIS document filings, the TSA and Homeland Security.

Always treated me & mine like gold. Blue Skies, Ian. John

Hey. That's informative. Hope I don't have to use it, but it may come in handy someday when playing in the bush up here in the Great White North.

Phil... you're obviously on her friends list too! :) And here I thought it was obtuse enough nobody would recognize her. J

Logged into FB this morning and was met with this series of "updates" from a skydiving girl I know, who just happens to be expecting her second child. Call me old-fashioned, but you CAN be too connected in this day and age...

My son just received his law degree and passed his Bar Exam. He was, throughout school, considered by many teachers to be too boisterous, too independent, too free-thinking, too focused on sports, and too much trouble. It was the square peg into the round hole syndrome. Fortunately through his entire education, he was lucky to have specific teachers at critical times who recognized he was bright and bored. And they took the time and effort to challenge him. And he rose to every challenge. And exceeded those rare expectations. It's not about wiping their tears or their little bums. It's not about dumbing down the curriculum to ensure the bell-curve is met. It's not about "no child left behind". It's not about making Mom and Dad happy that little Johnny feels good about themselves or are accepted. It's about TEACHING. And after all these years, my son, his mother, and myself honour those unique teachers who were absolutely fabulous. And to this day we can name each of those special educators. At 54 years of age, I can also still name the teachers who did the same for me. I just wish there were more. To those educators here on DZ.com who share the commitment of helping build minds, lives and leaders for the next generation; I sincerely thank you. John

When I ride, I wear skydive tanks. When I skydive, I wear Harley tanks. Just my little way of being non-conformist I guess. Oh, and I do own 2 HD's and thinking about the new Rocker C. John

Please sir, may I be permitted to plagiarize that sentence for use elsewhere?

Ah. Thanks for the clarification.

From the article: "... were saved when the pilot, who’d gone on a bathroom break, used an emergency code to get into the locked cockpit..." So, we have been told that there is "no way in to the secured cockpit" post-911. Well, apparently there is a way to get in. And now the bad-guys know that too... Great.

"Diggers" is a colloquial (honourific) term from Oz referring to their soldiers.

I replied to a simple but direct inquiry with specific details of a personal experience. Just the facts with no opinion expressed either way on my part. I'll admit I was surprised at the difficulty the officers seemed to have to conclude a 2"x3" piece of plastic in all likelihood didn't constitute a threat. To your question of being able to produce my pilot license on demand to the agent for corroboration, remember, I was just a passenger on a commercial flight. Similarly, I don't carry my passport when I'm driving my car. As you asked me a question requiring my opinion, what would I like to see is CATSA (our version of your TSA) hire only people who can clearly demonstrate an aptitude for critical-thinking. I think some do have that skill, but certainly not all from my experience.

It's happened to me. I carry an electronic airport gate-pass (looks like an unmarked thick credit-card) for the my small hometown airport. Forgot the wallet in my back pocket. The thing set off the metal detector. Showed the wallet to the TSA agent, put it in a tray and sent it through the scanner. Stepped back through the metal-detector a second time and came through clean. The person looking at my wallet on his screen couldn't figure out the card in the wallet, so took it in hand and quite literally emptied the entire contents. Every card, license, and the cash. Visually studied the card for about 30 seconds, then called a supervisor. The supervisor couldn't figure it out either. Explained what it was (to now the third person). He said if it was for airport(s), (somewhat indignantly) where was my pilot-license?. (It's in the glove-box of my Cessna) Anyway, they finally let me go on to board my commercial flight. Total extra time wasted on this little encounter - about 4 minutes. Not just for me, but for everybody in the line behind me. But I'm pretty sure everybody felt a lot safer and greatly relieved. That was about 3 years ago at Sky Harbor - KPHX.

Truer words have never been spoken.