AndyBoyd

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Posts posted by AndyBoyd

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    Terrorists use violence (or the threat of violence) to coerce people into doing what they want, generally to achieve political ends (i.e. power, concessions, fame.)

    A man who goes to his wife's place of business and kills a bunch of people, then kills her, then kills himself, is a criminal with a goal in mind - killing his wife. A man who goes to a random bank and blows himself up, leaving a note telling people he's "fighting back against the evil bankers" is a terrorist. In many cases the actions and results are the same (violence and death) - it is their goal that distinguishes them.

    But someone who doesn't have a political goal OR a specific target in mind? Harder to say. If they are trying to make a point they're terrorists. If they don't have a discernible point they may just be dumb terrorists, or plain old criminals committing random crimes.

    Ultimately it doesn't matter too much, of course; the results are the same. The one place it might matter is in trying to prevent the next attack, since the methods of murderers trying to kill specific people are different than the methods of terrorists trying to use violence to terrorize people.



    Lets make it easy. If someone terrifies you by violence, then that person is a terrorist.



    Then the special forces guys who killed Bin Laden were terrorists. You sure that's the definition you want to go with?

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    Terrorists use violence (or the threat of violence) to coerce people into doing what they want, generally to achieve political ends (i.e. power, concessions, fame.)



    On this definition, American soldiers fighting German soldiers in World War II were terrorists. I don't think that's quite right. When we use that word, I think we we usually mean (1) individuals or groups not associated with recognized national armies, (2) attacks directed at civilians, (3) for some sort of political or ideological gain. I know no defintion is perfect. It is possible these guys who bombed the marathon were just crazy, and really had no political motive. We don't know yet. But if that's true, we'd probably still call them terrorists. But if they bombed a military base, I wouldn't call them terrorists. The bombing of the USS Cole bombing was not, in my view, terrorism, because it was directed at a military target. A cheap shot, sure, but not terrorism. I think the marathon bombing was terrorism, though, even if these guys were just nuts.

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    Well, some actual facts about attorney compensation in VA:

    **The Supreme Court of Virginia has established separate hourly rate guidelines for capital cases not to exceed $200 per hour in court and $150 per hour out of court.



    Of course we all know lawyers pad the bill. Like gov't is keeping track of hours. Hell they can't even keep track of the money they have. Gov't is owned by the lawyers.



    Jeez, I didn't get my share of the government. Can you tell me what I'd need to do to get that? On second thought, don't bother. You are either the biggest troll on this site or a complete nitwit.

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    Lawyers don't work for the state for free. Count up 10yrs of legal fees at $400 per hour. Also, please consider the book the attorney said he was going to write as additional money earned. Not sure if the book was published. Facts are: it should not cost more to put someone to death than to feed and cloth, provide healthcare, health club equipment to a convicted murderer for the rest of his life.



    Public defenders make $400 per hour?! I need to have a chat with my boss...

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    I have concentrated your distillate and got to :
    Slow is smooth.
    Smooth is fast.



    calm is smooth
    smooth is fast

    slow is slow


    The first skydiving instructional book I ever bought, as a student jumper back in the 70s, was Sport Parachuting by Charles Ryan . I don't think I have it any more, but in the chapter on competition "turning style", I remember it offered the following advice (I'm working from memory, so it's not a precise quite, but it's close): The way to go fast is not to try to go fast, it's to have complete control over every component of what you're doing, and the speed will be the natural result.

    I think that same principle applies to competition RW.


    This is accurate. But slow is still slow. And fast is fast. :)

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    The question is whether it makes financial sense for this country to continue to fight a drug war that is extremely expensive and utterly futile. My argument is that it does not make sense.



    The only counter-valance to that would be that there is such a substantial chunk of the economy (employment of LEOs, prosecutors, court personnel, defense attys, industries servicing those sectors, etc.) that is directly and tangentially connected to it. Not that that wins the day, but it's there.



    No question this is accurate. I'd hate to think this is any part of the motivation for the continued war on drugs, but it may well be.

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    The way I see it, we have laws. Like them or not, break them and you pay the penalty. I will admit, someone going to prison for posession of one joint doesn't make sense but it is what it is.


    Chuck



    The question is whether it makes financial sense for this country to continue to fight a drug war that is extremely expensive and utterly futile. My argument is that it does not make sense. Shrugging your shoulders and saying "it is what it is" doesn't really respond to that argument. Read the article I cited and explain why you think the war on drugs is worth the cost. I'd be happy to hear your arguments.

  11. What makes you think drugs are "restricted"? Just about anyone can get just about any drug they want. An unfortunate few get busted, and the taxpayers pick up the tab for lengthy incarceration. And people continue to do drugs. The war on drugs has been a complete and insanely expensive failure. It is amazing to me that the taxpayers don't get this.

    From the article I cited:

    "Have U.S. drug laws reduced drug use? No. The U.S. is the No. 1 nation in the world in illegal drug use. As with Prohibition, banning alcohol didn't stop people drinking -- it just stopped people obeying the law.

    About 40,000 people were in U.S. jails and prisons for drug crimes in 1980, compared with more than 500,000 today. Excessively long prison sentences and locking up people for small drug offenses contribute greatly to this ballooning of the prison population."

  12. Yup. Real, as in real expensive.

    http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/06/opinion/branson-end-war-on-drugs

    "Here we are, four decades after Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs in 1971 and $1 trillion spent since then. What do we have to show for it?

    The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world, with about 2.3 million behind bars. More than half a million of those people are incarcerated for a drug law violation. What a waste of young lives."

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    You are never going to be able to make a real living as a migrant worker.



    Are you sure about that? I made a comfortable living at my last Dz full time and I most definitely make a good living now at my current dz, just throwing drogues and shooting video...



    Glad you are happy where you are. I want to emphasize again that I mean no disrespect to full-time skydivers. That is hard, physical work for, in most cases, not a lot of pay. There may be some DZ's that pay a living wage. I suspect, however, that for most folks, skydiving instruction is not a great long-term career path.

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    This one is going to be interesting....:D:D:D
    http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/01/21/missouri-sheriffs-pledge-to-not-enforce-obamas-gun-control-laws/

    The actual bill:
    http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills131/biltxt/intro/HB0170I.htm



    It certainly would be amusing to watch local law enforcement try to arrest federal agents. And it would be even more amusing to watch local prosecutors try to prosecute federal agents in state courts. Legislation of this type is ridiculous, and the people who take this stuff seriously are not too bright.

  16. You are never going to be able to make a real living as a migrant worker. I'm not trying to run you, or the others that do that work, down. I've chucked about 2000 drouges, and I have a lot of respect for the folks who are full-time skydivers. But there is no real future in that sort of work. You are always at the mercy of the weather, the rotation, the number of students, the number of other staff members, etc. There is no retirement plan, no medical plan, nothing more than your pay for jumps. (There may be DZ's that offer this stuff, I suppose, but my guess is that the vast majority do not.) If you get hurt, your income stops cold. There are better ways to make a living.

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    And I must say I'm rather pissed about the amount of hysteria our administration has caused. $100 for 500 .224 55gr bullets is insane. As is $75 for a damn magazine. Granted I've got quite a bit of ammo and mags for my black guns, but I try to keep a certain surplus and still be able to go to the range and punch some holes in paper to maintain my shooting skills.

    Also, .22lR is damn near impossible to get. Why? I get the run on 223 and 7.62x39, but .22?




    Anybody get shot?

    http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/19/us/north-carolina-gun-show-shooting/index.html

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    "Reporting an incident that may have legal repercussions for one or more parties is potentially causing someone to suffer unduly because of misinformation."

    Having to face consequences for being negligent? What a concept...



    Do you really want skydivers to start suing other skydivers? Or do you want to make it easier for anyone to sue DZ operators? Reporting incidents on a public forum like this is not smart. Especially because most of the stuff that gets reported here is inaccurate and ends up with blame being tossed around by lots of uninformed people.

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    It's not right, and we don't deserve it.



    Just a thought here, ...vote for people that understand math while you still can.

    The problem is that "joe sixpack" expects the government to maintain services while cutting taxes, and doesn't give a shit if that can only be done by robbing state workers and turning them into indentured servants. I'm always astonished at how many people are perfectly comfortable with the idea of taking pension payments from workers, absconding with the money, then mocking the workers and blaming them for "allowing" their pension to be stolen. What has happened here is thievery, plain and simple, and in any fair world the perpetrators would be in prison.

    Don



    This is right on. Thanks.

  22. Quote

    Oh I get it, this must be a thread about state budgets.

    Legislatures vote in huge unsustainable pensions and benefits packages. Leave huge loop holes that allow gaming of the system.

    State workers, and state workers unions, give votes to legislatures.

    Taxpayers down the road get bent over to pay for these packages that the state can't support.



    I work for the State of Illinois. I do not belong to a union. The State takes 7% of every single one of my payckecks, whether I like it or not, and invests it in the state pension fund. For years the State has raided the workers' pension fund and used that money to pay other bills, then failed to return the money to the pension fund. So now, the pension fund is no longer sustainable, and good people who have worked their whole careers for the state stand to lose a good chunk of the pension they earned. And you want to blame this on the workers? You must be out of your mind. No one I know is "gaming the system." The people I work with are good folks, and hard workers who are doing the best job they can, and they just want a fair deal. Personally, if I could opt out of the pension fund I would, but I can't. All I want is a fair return on my investment. Hell, I'd settle for my money back, without interest. This crap about how the state workers are somehow to blame for this has got to stop. Look to the folks in the legislature who took the money and didn't pay it back. Quit blaming the workers. It's not right, and we don't deserve it.

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    Nope, I've got the message loud and clear.

    You standing up for your rights - good thing.
    Andy standing up for his rights - whining baby.



    Jakee, I'm on your side here, and I appreciate the boost, but let it go. I'm just fucking with him because it's fun.