TriGirl

Don't forget the tax brackets were consolidated, resulting in fewer brackets. I actually ended up in a higher tax bracket once the consolidation was done, so I adjusted my withholding to ensure I don't end up owing money this year (or my best estimation).

So, he doesn't believe in God?

I think the more appropriate angle on this is the timing. Everyone has opposition researchers. Why is it that information about the top three democrats in the Virginia commonwealth government is all coming out right now? Together? Why did nothing come out during the elections, or nomination process? Surely someone had this information before now.

Hey, Bryn, Okay, I still can't figure out how to change the font in my post. That would be nice (might be because of the system I usually surf from -- there are a lot of buttons I don't see that are mentioned on this thread). The other thing is that I would like to request something else for your to put on your list of tweaks. You said you're working on the flags -- sweet. I would vote for that, too. The other thing missing from that space is what number each post is out of the total number of posts. That helped a lot when trying to remember what post I wanted to go back and answer or quote, or knowing how many posts I are still left to read from the one I'm on. It also identifies when posts have been deleted. Oh, and do you have a way to put the available emojis off to the side like before, so we can just click away, instead of having to open the option and place each one individually? I'm getting used to the new version. I can only blame myself for not being ready, since you sent me the test site to check out. At least I was prepared to expect a change! Thanks for the good communication a the roll-out process was proceeding. That was helpful. T

Yeah.... I saw that guy on CNN this morning. Just that bit proved him totally out of touch with 99.8% of the country. The enrichment off of his position should get him charged. I need to write to my senators....

DJL -- Thanks for taking the heat on this. Yes, that is exactly what my comment addressed. The article mentioned the victim weighed 112 lbs at her last physical before becoming pregnant. Others have noted in response to my comments that overweight people could have pregnancies that go unnoticed -- again, I just found it odd that no one noticed, especially the family (and now we know, on such a small woman). I appreciate other people with more expertise in caring for such patients providing insight -- this is, after all, a discussion. I agree with DJ then, probably small infant, probably premature. Incidentally, folks -- this thread was opened to criticize the (what we understood at the time) blanket DNA requirement of all male workers at the facility who would have had access to the victim, essentially throwing all blame in that direction and casting an awfully wide net, with no other mentions of possibilities. I've been agreeing that this would have been an overreach. Now this CNN article gives a little more clarity to the terms of the warrant, so "overreach" may not actually be the case. To that development (and on topic), I say "good." Anything else I can clarify for anyone? (ETA -- I'm not a fan of this new layout/format. You can't tell when someone is replying to a particular poster, so if a new post falls into the thread in an awkward place, the whole meaning can be misconstrued.)

Agreed. IF this is actually what happened (that the family chose to inseminate -- not necessarily the rest of the conditions you listed), then does it fall in the category of rape, or is it some other violation? My point was that I was questioning the family's version of events (as well as the facility's). I don't see how no one knew she was pregnant until she went into labor. If that can be explained, then perhaps ... but if no complaints were filed and no investigation until afterward, and the family seems ready to just move on and raise a healthy child they supposedly weren't expecting, then I question either the way in which the child was created or the frame of mind of the family. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Oh, I don't even mean that them inseminating her has anything to do with how we define rape, just that there's the way-the-fuck-out-there possibility that it wasn't someone physically climbing on top of her for sexual gratification. Wow, even typing these words is abhorrent. I hope this child has a happy life and that the person who did this to her is apprehended. Yeah, what DJL said. This is what I meant. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Excuse me, how could that not be rape? And what family would not want to keep the child? It would not be rape if her family inseminated her. Children conceived from rape often continue to remind the victims and other family members of the crime, and therefore are placed for adoption so they can have a loving home. If this family really thought their daughter was raped, would they be okay just walking away with the child? Good on them if they are, but as I said, I'm skeptical. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Perfect post for me to use. You mentioned "soapbox." I've worked much of my career in jobs were I dealt with media. It was my JOB to start every morning at my desk with my coffee and read news for a couple of hours. I understand that most people do not have this kind of time, and therefore get a smattering of what they know from the headlines, sound bites and pulled quotes. That's okay, until someone gets a on a soapbox. If you're going to stand on a soapbox and rail for or against a particular issue, you had better be informed by more than your a headline, sound bite or pulled quote (or these days, someone's tweet or FB post!) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

The article said the family is cool with keeping the child -- he's even "wanted." That just adds to my suspicion that they may have wanted him enough to do something to lead to his creation. So at the end of the story, he may not be the offspring of a rapist. The violators could be his own extended family. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

I agree with that. However, she's been in a vegetative state for 10 years. And if she stopped menstruating, I would think someone would have tried to figure out why (since nothing else would have changed in her lifestyle). See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

I was stationed at Yuma for a few years. The guys working security of the base fence line to the south said they sometimes would get border crossers come up to the ammo depot at night and ask if it was the gate to America (lights were bright in the dark desert). So, a reason to put something at Yuma (maybe 15 miles worth) and Tucson (another 20-ish miles?) is that it is pretty obvious there is civilization there. Even the very tiny towns between the two along the border are not obvious enough to attract someone from several miles away. And once you've been stumbling through unforgiving desert for a week or more, you tend to gravitate toward the first sign of life you notice. Between those towns at the extreme west and the easternmost areas of Arizona, you also have preserve land. My first few weeks on the job at Yuma I had to deal with the discovery of 26 corpses in the Cabeza Prieta national wildlife refuge. They were people trying to cross unnoticed through the desert. Not many at all make it through there alive,* and those who do, as you cited, are pretty easily apprehended. This protected area and others like it in the southwest are another reason not to destroy the land with a redundant wall. *Story tangent: We (military) have aerial training rights in the airspace above the preserve, so when news got out about the deaths, I got a call from a news producer in NY who wanted to know "what kind of military range is it? Is it a bombing range?" When I told her it was a wildlife refuge, home to dozens of endangered species of critters and plants, that we not only could not violate but were committed to protecting, she sounded almost disappointed, and said if they had any more questions, I'd get a call from the LA office. She was hoping she had the next Vieques story. *second tangent: the desert is so very unforgiving that even experienced sportsmen who know the area and the land fall victim. A colleague just lost his son to the Arizona desert. Former SF, spent years camping and hiking in this area. He made one (at the time) minor mistake, and it cost him the ability to get back to his vehicle and water in time. His body was found about a quarter mile from his truck as he tried to get back. Bottom line: it is not as easy as it might sound to get across the south Arizona desert to sneak into the U.S. We do have physical barriers in places it has been shown to help, but a wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico is wasteful, expensive, destructive and more than overkill for any it may possibly stop from coming. We spend much less on the salaries and equipment of those who apprehend anyone who does make it through. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Here's my question on this: Why did it take the family until after the child was delivered to start to complain about the patient being pregnant? Why wasn't this investigation started immediately upon learning of her condition? Something doesn't feel right here. (I will say, she was absolutely violated -- I'm just not convinced it's as clear cut as these stories make it out to be) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Thanks for the lesson on the Turks in Germany. It was along the lines I thought, except for the opportunity for the natural-born to be German citizens. Appreciate the enlightenment! True, except for recent immigrants, the black identity in the U.S. is not an African identity. But a separate Black Culture that has evolved here. It does not apply to everyone of African heritage (again, huge generalization), but its development and continued existence has been used to help perpetuate the "us versus them" mentality that a lot of ignorant groups love to use -- and therefore has contributed to the perpetuation of separate cultures/identities in this country. Good talk!

I haven't lived in Germany, but I have lived in Turkey. As I understand it (and please, do correct me if I'm wrong), Turks in Germany were not allowed full German citizenship, even if they were born there. Again, as I understand the evolution of the situation, this lead to the perpetuation of the Turkish identities and remaining ties back to Turkey. I do know many German Turks go back to Turkey to find Turks for their kids to marry as well as the arranged marriage you described of your classmate. At this point, yeah, it becomes almost futile to try to convince both ethnic Germans and ethnic Turks in Germany that those born in Germany, especially after several generations of a family have lived there, are entitled to German citizenship. At this point, the situation has gone on for so long that perspectives could not be changed until several more generations experienced a strong effort by the German government and populace. If you never have the opportunity to be considered one of the citizens of the nation, why would you bother trying? This is a very ignorant statement -- as my comment above is also ignorant, though I admit my limited exposure to the situation and ask to be corrected. Slavery in the U.S. has only been rendered illegal for about 160 years, and interracial marriage has only been legal within my lifetime. Prejudices have been perpetuated to the point like the situation described above: it's easier to stay within a societal group that accepts you. Without the mingling, isolated cultures evolve in different directions. The case of black vs white in the U.S. is remarkably on par with the case of Turk vs German, IMHO. **of course, I also do realize that I'm speaking in generalities -- YMMV** And bringing this thread back to its title, it is these situations that lead (sometimes) to gang recruitment. When young people feel marginalized, they are susceptible to the smooth talking gang "recruiter" who offers them a sense of belonging. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

I wonder, then: what were his reasons for refusing both Ann Patterson and Michele Flournoy as DepSecDef, and putting his own guy in the position (someone with ZERO government or military experience)? See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Also ironically, she was a bartender when she decided to run. A friend of mine who worked on and with the hill for 20 years said she just couldn't take Speaker Ryan seriously, as he used to be her bartender. (ETA: Has anyone ever seen him in person? I ran into him late last summer. He is not incredibly tall, and therefore is quite slender. More ways he resembles Ms. Ocasio Cortez!) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Occasionally in Edmonton it will get so cold that even treated fuel will gell. You can't start a truck unless you put it inside. And you can't even buy fuel because those pumps don't work either. I've never seen it get quite that cold in Winnipeg, but close. In my childhood -40 F was not that uncommon, but it has only made it down to about -35 F 0r -37 C in the last couple decades. The record is -47.8. But it was in 1879. I grew up in Southern Idaho. -40 was pretty common in the winter, with one particular noteworthy week seeing the daytime high NOT make it above -20F (noteworthy as it was an anomaly). Had to plug in the truck every night so it would start in the morning (engine heater). See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Umm, we were running out, from the traditional sources. Hence the implementation of fracking. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

So, roughly 5.5%. Meanwhile, the military gets around 2% (depending on your paygrade) -- which I'm not personally complaining about, since it's at least something, compared to federal civilians who received NOTHING. *well, less than nothing for some, since those in certain agencies are on furlough. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

That was the intent of that president's proposal. The final version was greatly altered. That is not a lie -- it is a failed intent. I haven't seen proof that at the time, he did. Then again, that isn't a big issue. OTOH, for example, this president told the troops he visited in Iraq that they were getting a 10% raise this year. The defense budget was already passed. The raise is in the same ballpark as we've received the past several years, and it is nowhere near 10%. Therefore, this was a lie. This is just an example. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Yeah, what Rick said! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Apples and oranges. In Syria, we're supporting/training the Kurds to do the fighting themselves. When we tried to train them elsewhere and send them back in, they were slaughtered on their own without support. We have a couple thousand people there in support, not (generally) fighting on the "front lines." Turkey considers Kurds all to be after only one thing: taking over Turkey. All Kurds. They seriously do not think Kurds in neighboring countries of having any interest in the governments there -- they treat all Kurdish enclaves as staging areas for Kurds to regroup and launch attacks back into Turkey. U.S. forces being in Kurdish areas of Syria just means Turkish forces can't attack the Syrian Kurds there without possibly hitting Americans. As soon as our folks are gone, Turkey will take advantage of the weak Syrian government and decimate the Syrian Kurds. They'll accuse them of supporting PKK (militant/terrorist Turkish Kurds), and wipe them out. They'd love to do the same thing in Iraq. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Bright Blessings! (today is Yule -- aka Winter Solstice) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!