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LMGTFY: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-told-supporters-stormed-capitol-hill/story?id=75110558 Feel free to read the entire transcript but you can also Ctrl+F "Capitol" to speed things up. Some quotes: Fun fact: he was very much *not* there with them. Safe & sound in the WH after "leading" his supporters into a lawless and dangerous insurrection. Very direct and explicit instructions for the assembled people to march down to the Capitol. Now there's not like some movie-plot quote where he says, "...and when you get there I want you to break in, kill a cop and injure several more, halt the workings of the legislative branch of government and also maybe attempt to murder most of the direct line of succession!" But ya know...some of these folks are not our best and brightest and that's exactly what they did. I mean technically the match is what lights the gasoline on fire, but you don't get a free pass if you're the person holding the match & opening your hand to let it fall. You don't get to blame gravity here.

I would also add there is an intelligence reason to not taking those down so fast sometimes. I cannot go into further detail. But they do take down a lot of stuff, just because you don't see it doesn't mean its happening. I've posted on here some about the "hunters" that go after bot/ISIS/disinformation accounts. Watching their work is pretty amazing.

If this is the case, then where should we go as a nation? For policy: overturn Citizen’s United and remove corporate and special interest money from politics; enact laws to stop the revolving door between government agencies/positions that shift policy, lobbying groups, and corporations; revise the tax code to close loopholes that allow wealthy and corporations to stuff billions in offshore tax havens (and simplify the code for the average folks, while you’re at it). Saying what we could do personally is a minefield, but that’s the crux itself. We need to stop allowing ourselves to be polarized and thinking of opposing viewpoints as the enemy/dumb/not patriotic/whatever. Realize that, while someone may not trust the mainstream media (bring back Fairness Doctrine), FB/Twitter/whatever.com lead to information feedback loops that stop presenting opposition viewpoints and turn into echo chambers that take all of us away from reality, while dehumanizing the opposing viewpoint. Lastly, we could all use to have some more in empathy. Just because we can’t understand or relate to how BLM or Trumpers/anti-vaxxers or COVID scared/trans people or religious people/flying spaghetti monster supporters or any other “different” viewpoint is, doesn’t mean it is meritless or not worth considering. What’s stupid to me is dear to someone else and vice versa, so understanding that we have these differences and trying to see where someone else is coming from could help humanize the other side and bridge the gaps. Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes and Golden Rule would go a long way.

This sounds defeatist to me. Sure we have problems. We always have. But we are not an oligarchy like Russia. We are not corrupt like Brazil. We still have a system of government that stands head and shoulders above most of the rest of the world. Don’t like where things are going in Washington? Disillusioned with D AND R candidates? You have more power than just your vote. You’d be surprised the amount of change that can be accomplished on a local, grassroots level. In fact, local government has been something of a shining light in recent years. You’re not alone in becoming disillusioned with the process in Washington. But in this country, the government still derives its legitimacy from the people. We absolutely should strive to continually improve the system, but it starts with us at a grassroots level.

The 160th would just crank it up and pull collective until something happened.

When discussing liberal media bias, most people are getting at this: The following data is sourced from OpenSecrets which gathers data based on political donations made by employees of said industries. Anytime a political donation of more than $100 is made the person must include their employer along with other information on the donation. OpenSecrets is a non-partisan group that gathers and evaluates data based on where people come from who donate. The most concerning thing about the above chart is that the quad on the far left, deals business in information. It includes Hollywood, social media, search engines, educational institutions, etc... You are never going to convince conservatives that these people present unbiased information because they are the same people that are donating billions of dollars each year to the democratic caucuses.

It’s one thing to use something like Twitter to spout your agenda, bullshit ridden as it may be. It’s quite another to use it to incite riots, violence, and insurrection. From a business/market standpoint, I can absolutely understand why Twitter wants nothing to do with it. From a free speech standpoint, what the president did was literally analogous to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. Sorry. He doesn’t get a pass on either count.

He has been one of the more vocal republicans the last few days. I thought about him on our board. Glad he is speaking up.

Twitter can censor anyone using their platform for pretty much any reason they want (outside protected classes defined by law). They are a private business, not a government service, and as such, they have zero duty to uphold free speech. They also have the right to moderate content if they choose (though no duty to do so either), and to set the rules for people, including politicians, who want to use their service. That being said, as a US company, they have tried to hold up American ideals for free speech to a "reasonable" degree, because it generally is good business to do so in the US, to provide them access to a wider market ($$$), and because moderating every tweet is not really practical. For the latter point, it's why their enforcement of their rules is retroactive and based on others flashing/reporting tweets. Calls for them to suspend President Trump's twitter account have been going on for years, and until this week, twitter tolerated Trump on their platform despite believing he was breaking their rules/standards, purely because he was the President.

If that isn’t the epitome of British humour, I don’t know what is.

I agree with you on 100% here (so please don't take my reply as chucking spears in disagreement, more meant in the spirit of debate). Even if it's not perfect or fully realizable, it's still worth striving towards. But it's a very challenging problem, especially since humans aren't always rational, even if they want to be. There's one big assumption though to make it work: all of this is built on mutual respect for each other, and that's something that we unfortunately seem to have lost in our society in favor of defending whatever tribe we have decided to affiliate with. And unfortunately, it's hard to make laws that define mutual respect without some jerk finding a loophole and requiring more laws.

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God I would love to see the Thunderbirds have to change their mascot because of shit like this...GD that would be funny.

everyone in DC is bought and paid for. doesn't matter the "R" or the "D" (sts). if you think the most powerful government in world history isn't corrupt....we are probably way worse. WE NEED TERM LIMITS

Or, if you’ve had too many toxic commanders, you do this knowing you'll be Q3'd (for failure to chock a parked aircraft) faster than you can process what happened on that hasty LZ analysis you just executed...

That clip was refreshing. Bravo

Yes, there was a significant backlog, however that logjam is getting much better. That said, I've seen a number of solid applications floating around, so I think you better get yours in the moment the Chief of Recruiting says to do it. It used to be you submitted the app no earlier than 12-14 months from a potential PCS, but you'll need to call and see what the latest is. DSN 368.4447 and speak to Maj Lang. I recommend emailing him also if your call goes to voicemail. He has been in that seat a while and is moving on very shortly. Not sure who will replace him, but the phone number is good. Moose is right: the "advice" and "perceptions" I've heard from outsiders on the U-2 Program has often been inaccurate... to say the least. The U-2 is definitely not for everyone.

We’re staying either way. What are you talking about?

Twitter just permanently suspended trumps account. Good move in my opinion. He's been using the platform irresponsibly for years and now has strayed into blatant violations of the terms of service.

'A free press is an essential ingredient in a democracy and provides a vital role in informing citizens about public affairs and monitoring the actions of government at all levels.' (that's a combined plagiarism of the Brookings Institution and Koch institute - how's that for balance?) I agree with the comments by several here that the press is a profit-driven enterprise. However, that's the only way to be free of government interference and avoid devolving to propaganda. So its a conundrum. Hopefully there's enough integrity so that at least some news outlets try not to let their partisanship go non-linear. Interestingly the BBC might be one of the best sources of US news. My cynical side believes that the political parties and press have a vested interest in fitting us into a "R" or "D" box. Once they do, we are owned, either by Fox/talk radio/Blaze or MSNBC/current CNN/NPR. Then they have a nice stable support base and captive audiences for advertising. They do not want independents.

Yet another reason being a part-timer is such a great gig. On another note...if you're looking for a way to burn some of that GI BILL, check out this place.  They have a VA approved, 141 program for your Seaplane rating.

Your memory is so biased and one sided it’s kind of hilarious. But, as has been said on here time and again, that’s politics. The fact that you (royal You, not individual you) are already done with your “disgust” from Wednesday’s events and have so readily moved on to comparisons about what happened this summer is predictable, and it’s already happening everywhere on the right. Everything that happened this summer was due to decades of unfair treatment, but so many on the right (often because life is pretty dang comfortable for them) never believed that POC weren’t being offered the same kind of leeway in the realm of crime and punishment that others were anyway. Anything that amounted to a riot/looting was wholly wrong! Period, dot! But yeah, I’ll say it, I understand where they’re coming from, where their frustration comes from, and why they may feel they are at a boiling point. Nothing appears like it will ever change, and those on the right, even moderates, are deaf to their cries. Doesn’t justify/excuse riots/looting, but it does make it somewhat understandable. Now, Wednesday. Come on, I dare you to say that those people felt the same way, and have been dealing with decades of the same treatment. Do it with a straight face. They’ve been fed a steady stream of lies from Trump and his enablers (we’ve heard it a TON from members of this forum) about election fraud and stealing the election since the 2020 election started to become a headline. Trump even tried to blame election fraud on his loss of the popular vote in 2016. So I’ll even say you could get away with saying they’ve been hearing this garbage for 4 years. Not decades of horrible, unfair mistreatment at the hands of policing institutions. We’re not going to start that debate here, none of you believe it even with the mountains of facts and data that have been provided. My point is comparing this week with the summer’s events outside of saying any type of riot/looting/violence is unacceptable is gross and a farce. Stop looking for ways (in general to the Right, not you KA) rationalize/compare what happened this week to what happened over the summer. They’re not the same. We have not been on this track for a while. Trump and his enablers actively fomented these loonies on the right. Trump wanted this to happen. He wanted to burn it all down. He’s never cared about anything other than Trump. The fact that some of you couldn’t see that earlier is laughable.

I'm glad Trump is leaving. I'm not sure a short notice impeachment or 25th Amendment action is of benefit. The democrats are probably better off doing the traditional transition work since it's running way behind due to Trump. That said, Biden is no savior. We'll basically be back to the same ol', same ol' politicking. I guess it will be a reset after the leadership chaos of the past four years. I'm thinking many of us want a fresh outsider to shake things up. That backfired with Trump. What I realize is that an outsider with the chutzpah to run is likely going to be a megalomaniac like Trump who will cause more damage than good. I'm old enough to have voted for Ross Perot. We missed a great opportunity there. I don't think we realized how rare someone like that can be.

I came here to write that Rep Adam Kinzinger is the first GOP House Member to call for invoking the 25th to remove Trump from office. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/533112-first-gop-lawmaker-calls-for-invoking-25th-amendment-to-remove-trump If you don’t remember that name, you should. I think he has an account here or you might know him as Lt Col Adam Kinzinger, KC-135 pilot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you're misunderstanding the point I was trying to make. I don't claim to be a great writer so maybe some of that is on me. However, I am not trying to yell and scream "BUT BUT the libs did this and that!" I'm simply pointing out the fact that neither side has done anything for the last 4 years (and probably longer) to actually try and unite the country or cool down the tensions that are spilling over. Instead of taking the higher road and trying to be the party of leadership and unity, the democrats have often stooped to Trump's ridiculous levels and embraced divisive policies that do nothing more than continue to split the divide of this country right down the middle and feed the beast that is Trump and his cult. On the flip side tons of republicans spent years stonewalling everything Obama did simply because he was Dem, which basically created the wave of feelings that led to Trump. They then sold out their credibility to embrace Trumpism and now are left with that albatross hanging around their neck with no clear path on how to move the party forward and and actually become a party that can lead and unite Americans. I continually point out that I voted for Trump not to make a claim that I am a Trumper, or that I believe every single thing he did was good. I simply point that out to show that there are those of us out there who voted for him because the alternative options we were presented did not seem like better choices. That's a problem with our political system that we are so polarizingly (is that a word?) limited in our choices for elected officials. I'm not going to go point by point and argue each thing you listed out above because I think that takes away from the real point I was trying to make (again I'll take a hit for that due to my lack of written skill). What's really the issue is that everyone in our political system has played a big part in creating where we are now. I think arguing over the minutia of who is more at fault is just unconsciously retreating back into our own biases, of which I will admit I am occasionally guilty myself. I already stated above that yesterdays disgusting display falls on the shoulders of Trump and I also stated my disgust for his behavior since the election ended (not to mention the many things during his term I disagreed with). It's absolutely time for him to fade into the distance and have his legacy forever tarnished by the events of yesterday. But I cannot in good conscious sit here and look at what has transpired in our country recently and think that one person or one party is solely responsible for the mess we are in. TLDR; our political system and the soul of our country is broken and the blame for that can be laid heavily on everyone in Washington. This country needs a unifying center force that can mend many of these wounds. To Biden's credit he has said he plans to try and be that force. Can he do that and will other members of his party and the republican party play along? I'm not so sure. I am willing to give him the chance though. Edited for typos

Don’t act like you don’t know the name of that mag 😂

I wasn't a fan of peanut oil, though it works well enough that I'd use it if I ran out of my usual popping oil (especially over canola oil). I suppose avocado oil would work based on smoke point, but not sure how it'd affect the flavor, and is more expensive anyways. But you are 100% correct on the seasonings (Lawry's seasoning salt is my go-to seasoning, but I also have Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning available with my popcorn supplies for when I'm in the mood for something different) I guess I'll fly my nerd flag: did a project during an experimental design class to determine the "best" jalapeno corn, as defined by popped volume, crispiness, and heat. Conducted a screening experiment looking at several variables: compared peanut oil vs the orville redenbacher popcorn oil, small amount of oil vs more oil, small amount of jalapenos (1-3) vs a more generous amount (6-9), and cheap popcorn (generic cheap kernels from the commissary) vs expensive (orville redenbacher) popcorn. Long story short, after a ridiculous number of batches of popcorn (70ish), the expensive kernels, more oil (3-4 tbsp oil to 1/2 cup kernels), and 6-9 jalapeno slices (literally, and cooked off for about a min before adding the corn, mt olive brand for reference) had the best success. The orville oil was a slightly more consistent with producing the results and flavor I wanted, though wasn't statistically different from peanut oil in producing the volume, crispiness, and heat I was looking for. Wish I could find the paper, but it's lost to blackboard online and I can't find my copy on my laptop. Outside the experiment, too many jalapenos adds too much moisture and makes for soggy popcorn, and is brand dependent, so I'd recommend sticking with one brand of jalapenos for consistency. I like mt olive jalapenos since they are sliced thin and crisp up consistently without being too hot (which means more crispy jalapenos per batch of corn). The Whole Foods bulk mixed popcorn kernels also works very well, and holds onto the jalapeno heat and flavor very well, maybe too well, and is great when I want a very spicy corn. Coconut oil makes for very crispy popcorn, but you've got to add melted butter after the fact, or use flavacol, otherwise it's a bit bland. If I want spicy corn but I'm out of jalapenos, about a tablespoon of sriracha sauce right after adding the corn works, though you lose out on the delicious crispy bites of jalapeno. And the infidel corn earlier in the thread is great, though the extra cleanup due to bacon grease makes it a once in a blue moon treat because I'm lazy. ETA: this is based on my experience in my home popcorn machine

Damn, learn something new everyday thanks. BTW, your mom called it "our little secret".

well, airline pencil tabs got MAGNUM'd out here today. Not an airline guy, but considering the bent of the SECAF letter was the presumed liability of whatever ethno/race-identifying historical patches were still in presumed circulation, homing-on-jam on the airline/"outside agencies" thing was the weirdest flex to say the least. 🤷‍♂️