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This is what happens when the party, and to a large extent, the voters don't know what they believe anymore. The activists with very clear, but very niche goals take over. I'm amazed by how many democrat voters I talk to don't know what their party is pushing. This topic is literally one of the examples I'm thinking of. Americans are spending more time than ever attacking their political opponents and defending their allies, yet almost no time thinking and discussing what they actually believe. This is not by happenstance.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for taking the bait. Of course Biden had nothing to with that decision. However, for the last four years the left and the mainstream press blamed EVERY single thing that went wrong on Trump. Have the intellectual honestly to apply the same standard to Biden... Oh I can hear you know...But But But. Not my meme but it certainly holds true. I have yet to see the grand reach across the political aisle, instead it has been a slew of executive orders and a complete dodge on the question of impeaching Trump. He has the opportunity to push the Trump thing aside...appease and calm the GOP faithful and focus on COVID-19 relief, but he doesn't have the backbone to stand up to Pelosi and her requirement for revenge...he doesn't even have the stones to voice an opinion. #Sad

This is going to kill the primary campaign to vaccinate people if the public has reason to believe it's not as effective as advertised.

You're not considering what Weinstein is trying to accomplish. He doesn't feel any obligation towards the conservative party, because he's not a conservative. Much like flea, he's a moderate who sees his party departing reality. His goal is to save the Democratic party, or at least liberalism, from the progressive forces that are reshaping it. That's why almost all of his content covers the missteps of the left.

Both sides...

What OSS is that? OSS ADO is nothing but queep..

Real life will do that to you. It truly is remarkable that some liberals are able to live their entire lives as liberals. It take some real dedication. Of course, a lot of times it's a case of "liberalism for thee, but not for me." I mean, Bernie is keeping the millions from his book I assume and not giving it to the government to distribute.

Maybe the internet as we know it should be destroyed. As it stands there are a few tech conglomerates that control EVERYTHING and they have shown they are willing to silence free speech. Many are troubled by them banning Trump (complete overkill as they respond to the mob), but i am more concerned about the double standard because they are picking sides. The did nothing when Madonna said "I want to burn down the White House, the did nothing when Kathy Girffin stood there with the severed head of Trump, they did nothing when BLM rolled out their "Fry police like bacon" chat, they did nothing when BLM and other extreme groups burned cities and attacked Government property this summer....all of these acts inciting violence but it happened on the other side of the political aisle. MOST concerning is they silenced the NY Post when they published the story about Hunter Biden's laptop...calling it fake news when in fact it is true and there is an active federal investigation. If these few companies that control our access to information can choose sides and determine what we are allowed to see then our system is done. I am stunned that more people on here are not shocked...you took and oath to the Constitution, not a political party...you should be appalled that we have abdicated control of the free press to Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Tim Cook.

I so wish we could close that Pandora's box...

Love these two...classic

Since we're discussing memes... Bernie Sanders sitting at the Inauguration takes over internet Two of my favorites...

I mean in either case, if a dude is killing it all the way to phase 3 and then his grades just hike off a cliff, that was clearly a wasted oppurtunity to retain some great talent. This was a problem that could have been easily fixed.

This problem will solve itself. It's a bridge too far for many, and will illicit a response from more people than there are trans athletes. Politicians take the path of least resistance. This move will flip the resistance equation. It's also an obvious States-rights domain.

Interesting article on Affirmative Action in higher education. It can be a lazy way of dealing with a very real problem of inequality. Jordan Peterson talks about equality of opportunity vs equality of outcome. The former is more important than the latter. In fact, equality of outcome is irrelevant, since people make choices as individuals. However, creating true equality of opportunity is really hard work. Municipalities need to carefully examine the resources available to young students and try to level the playing field through careful investment and accountability. That's often too hard so they just throw money at the school system and call it good. By the end of secondary education, those from disadvantaged backgrounds are substantially behind academically. Trying to correct the situation through favorable admissions can backfire. It's often just too late to address the problem. However, favoritism in college admissions also includes athletes and legacies. Legacies = "My granddad went to BC, my dad went to BC and I'm going to BC" This often provides more of an advantage than affirmative action. The only places where legacy status doesn't help are hardcore schools like MIT. At D1 schools, the academic averages for athletes as a whole are often lower than the overall student body. You have to confront all favorability factors, not just one.

You'd have to listen to Shapiro's podcast to know that. He regularly and repeatedly calls out the right. He's the most honest and consistent voice on the right by far, and if you only listened to one conservative, it should be him. Tucker Carlson is second on the list, but a distant second. Not because he represents the intellectual justification for conservatism, but because he is the best voice for the populist/conservative hybrid that is growing within the right. Unfortunately most of his work is on cable news, which is a garbage format. But he does appear on podcasts where his views are far more digestible. Check out him and Shapiro talking about self driving trucks. It's an eye opening exchange to a self-driving-car-evangelist like myself.

So here’s my take on it. If there are people far and above more qualified that would clearly do the job way better than those he has nominated it is incredibly bad and simple pandering. If the people he’s nominated are close enough in quality/performance to those that are “better” than them, where’s the harm in giving those people that typically haven’t ever even been considered for those types of positions a shot? If there will be no discernible difference in how well the job is being done, I think it is beneficial to add some flavor to what is typically incredibly homogeneous. I’m not married to this idea, and could be talked out of it by sound arguments, but I can see more benefits by going with different over same old, same old when the end product is so close that it doesn’t matter. That other person is still going to be successful. Commence spear throwing.

Ditto this, and honestly I would be even more conservative. After I talked to my VA rep, when you start to feel pain, is when you stop...You can absolutely push through until it hurts a lot more, but what's uncomfortable today, will be way worse in 10-15 years.

You should take a job with the least amount of work/stress/queep to help you focus on your transition (i.e. writing a resume, job applications, interviewing techniques, moving logistics, VA claim, etc.). Helping the USAF in any type of way your last year in should be the last thing on your mind.

FedEx Update (December 2020) - We will be opening two new bases in 2021, a 767 Oakland (OAK) base and a 777 Anchorage (ANC) base. OAK is slated to open in the fourth quarter of FY21; ANC is forecast to open in the first quarter of FY22. We’re excited about these new locations and the operational flexibility they’ll provide in both the domestic and international markets. Both bases will provide opportunities for pilots as well. Speaking of opportunity, I’m pleased to report System Bid 20-02, which closed December 3, was successful in filling nearly 400 captain and over 500 first officer vacancies. As mentioned in previous communications, we plan to hire nearly 900 pilots in the next 18 months. It’s an aggressive plan reflecting significant business level increases we’re seeing across the system. At the same time, new pilots will be needed to cover normal attrition due to retirements and departures, as well as the need to staff new 767s and 777s joining our fleet. Got those apps in!

There are some key differences in your examples. GPS is peak government. Launch it and let anyone who wants to develop a use do so. But creating subsidies that heavily favor an existing company is easy to do and unfair. If the govt wanted to adopt a EV charging standard and install a network of charging stations across the country for any and all EVs to use, great. But increasingly the government is handing wads of cash to private companies while allowing them to continue the trend of making everything proprietary. Lets look at State and local governments that offer massive tax breaks to Amazon to open a new warehouse or data center. Sure... they might argue that anyone opening a 100,000 sq/ft+ data center could get the break, but when only one or two companies exist at the time of the tax break that can use it, that's targeted. It's also bullshit. Take a step back and think of the lunacy of providing tax breaks of any kind to a company as wildly successful as Amazon. It should be illegal for the government at any level to offer tax breaks to specific companies or industries. If you want to incentivize companies to show up, lower taxes for all business. It is absolute insanity that Amazon, one of the biggest corporations in the history of Earth, ran a beauty pageant where every major city in America handed over infrastructure and development plans while bidding for who could offer Bezos the lowest tax burden to open a new HQ. And after literally dozens of local governments prostrated themselves at the altar of Amazon for a chance to enhance their tech presence... who did Amazon pick? New York and DC. Fucking really? If you think it's just a coincidence that Amazon picked the business and government hubs as their surprise split decision, then I have a bridge to sell you. They knew from day one where they were going to build, but the data-driven company that's building a global distribution network got every city to give them their infrastructure roadmaps in the process. I'm a big free market advocate, but the theoretical perfect free market does not account for government. So we have to make changes that aren't purely free market. The modern capitalists, largely in tech but not exclusively, have mastered the art of using government to entrench their positions. Remember when Amazon suddenly supported collecting sales tax on all internet purchases because they could offer their payment services to small businesses that couldn't account for hundreds of different tax rates? Apple is pushing hard on right-to-repair laws. This is the modern version of telcoms making monopolistic agreements with city governments to lease telephone poles and prevent any other companies from competing. One electric provider, one gas, one phone, one internet and cable. Progressives (establishment, not voters) have always despised meritocracy, so their disregard for the miracles provided by the free market is no shock. But conservatives (establishment, not voters) have been blinded by the incredible wealth the new robber-barons have brought to their investment portfolios, and forgot that the free market can only function if it is perceived to be fair by the participants (voters, workers). Globalization brought us cheap clothes and TVs, but 30 years in and the cost turned out to be jobs and upward mobility for a huge swath of the country. The "democratic socialists" on the left were the first to lose faith, but they are few. Now the populists on the right, both of the Trump type, and the Tucker Carlson type are starting to lose faith too. It should scare you, because your kids, and certainly your grandkids will face a very different reality if the disenfranchisement continues to spread.

Absolutely not! In fact I think it shows a good quality, that you’re willing to relocate across the country to serve in that unit. Myself and I’m sure many others are applying to every single fighter unit in the country. The only advice I would give is to make it clear in your cover letter that you plan to relocate and move there. If you can also mention a family tie or something you like about that particular area even better. If not, no worries, a simple “I would love the opportunity to move to “insert state” and serve in your squadron would be fine.

Apple is the Devil. I really hope the Right to Repair cases humble them.

Just read an article this morning that Apple is contemplating making podcasts a subscription/pay based service as opposed to providing a platform for content. Gotta ring every last penny out... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I know. I was speaking to his term. All we can do is wait and see what follows. But that discussion is for a different thread. Also managed to snag a case of 7.62x39 for a relatively decent price considering the current climate. All set on that stuff for now. The Zastava ZPAP M70 is a nice firearm.

Say nothing to the fact that tech companies did nothing to censor the 3 years of lies politicians told about Russia-gate and the Trump dossier.

Again, who determines the truth....a Facebook fact checker...Snopes...gimmie a break. Again, i don't support Trump but I never saw him call for violence as opposed to Madonna, BLM, Antifa, the leader of Iran who have all called for violence yet their accounts remain active. Is 100% of the laptop story true, that remains to be seen, but there are frightening portions that appear to be valid and MUST be investigated. What is true and proven so far: 1. It was Hunter's laptop - he asked for it back. 2. The Biden's business partner Tony Bobulinski has gone on record and validated the shady dealings...yet the mainstream press turns a blind eye. 3. The counter email accounts have been validated...the sent emails are real. There should be great concern that there is mention of "10% for the big guy." Now is that just Hunter talking...no idea but certainly worth an real investigation. 4. The suggested business dealings are not just shady, they impact national security. Assisting the Chinese government is acquiring interest in companies that have a direct impact on U.S. National security...again MUST be investigated. if you investigate over what has been proven to be a fake dossier that was paid for by Hillary why don't you investigate this??? COMPLETE BIAS....what was your comment about innocent until proven guilty? Come on man. Interestingly the laptop repair shop owner is now suing Twitter and others...he has a strong case and will likely win big like Nick Sandmann who was similarly smeared by a host of new organizations like CNN that are now paying big bucks to settle. I have a small amount of faith that a small group of dedicated Justice Department and FBI folks are following the rats nest...sadly the result would be to install the most radical former member of the Senate in the Oval office.

Yes, there was a lot of coverage about those events and organizations, thanks for pointing that out...and they all still have active social media accounts...even the leader of Iran has an active Twitter account which he uses to call for the destruction of Israel and the United States...how is that possible using the logic employed against Trump? The "go start your own company" argument is trash, the monopolies given by 230 serve to block any real competition and when a company (Parler), does try to offer an alternative the tech monopolies immediately shut them down (Amazon and Apple), using the they don't police content argument...a double standard that says we get 230 protections but they don't. Interesting you bring up Fox and Newsmax...the cancel culture is so strong that other outlets like CNN are ACTIVELY calling for both of these networks to be shutdown.

Overblown...thanks for proving my point...there is no longer civil discussion. Free speech is free only when you agree with it. I don't care for Trump, but who decides what is truth or a lie? You have completely walked past the fact that Twitter locked the account of the NY Post because they deemed the story to be false information when in fact it has proven to be 100% true...the laptop is Hunter's. Facebook then attempted to purge the story as well. That should be frightening to everyone...this has nothing to do with Trump. Two of the major controllers of information to the American public stepped in to silence negative information that proved to be true about the Biden family and used the cloak of 230 as protection. Previous to this event these things only happen in places like Russia and North Korea.

When everyone you disagree with is a traitor, that's what tends to happen. I'm seeing a lot of it among my Trump-supporter friends as well. Now the VP, Mitch McConnell, and every congressman who voted to certify the election are traitors.

The only reason any of us know Bret Weinstein's name is because he had the temerity to call a spade a spade when he stood up to the extreme, racist, left wing mob that attempted to enact a "day without white people" on his campus. He (rightfully) took a stand against that effort and has been in the limelight ever since. Probably because he's not woke enough. So most of his exposure on the internet is derivative of that one-off event, hence why 95% of it is complaining about democrats...since it was a reaction to democrats. It's the same fundamental story behind Jordan Petersen. These are "normal" guys (professors, scientists, etc.) who wake up one morning and go "WTF is going on around here?" and they call it out. Call me crazy, but we need more of that. For goodness sakes, he's an evolutionary biologist at Evergreen State College...none of that suggests secret conservative mastermind. And the only reason we hear about him via Joe Rogan (left, right, centerish) and Sam Harris (leftish) is because no one on the true "left" wants to engage in an honest way with what he's saying. That says way more about the left than it does about Bret Weinstein and it certainly doesn't implicate him as a (gasp) conservative.

I think that's a mistake - it would destroy the internet as we know it. This message board, and others like it would likely be collateral damage, as now the owners, administrators would be liable for whatever gets posted up here - legal or illegal. A much cleaner kill, and IMO the right move, would be to regulate portions of Amazon's business (i.e. AWS, etc)...ala AT&T and their phone business.

I liked most of Biden’s speech. Only dislike was it seems like the democrats are already setting up the white supremacist/domestic terror line as their distraction crutch if some of their other policy moves don’t play out as successfully as they hope. Otherwise, I think he genuinely wishes to lower the temperature and try and make the country more united. That being said, I am highly skeptical that others in his party wish the same and I’m also skeptical of his ability to manage those same people. There are a few republicans that worry me as well who will likely not play ball simply because the other team is in power. The next two years are going to be really interesting. Probably the most challenging period we’ve had for a new President in a long while. I truly wish him the best and hope he succeeds, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about where the country may head.

Remember when news stations used sound off at the end of the night with a waving American flag and the National Anthem? We need more of that and less 24 hours entertainment "news."

There's a lot of moderates like myself that find the democratic party running away from them.

In my class, CBM 87-04, we had a guy essentially wash out because of a standup. He was a strong student up to this point. We were in the first weeks of T-38’s and the Stan EVAL section sent a representative to “sit-in” on our morning stand up, to observe. Since this stud was pretty solid, he was chosen for the stand up and he royalty fu#@ed it up! He was quickly sat down (it was an automatic bust and grounding for a failed stand up in my class) Our flight Commander asked the visiting Stan EVAL observer to step outside for a minute. As he left the room, our Flt CC chewed the stud out and ripped him a new a-hole, telling him he embarrassed himself, us, the IP’s and everyone in the civilized world! We never saw our CC so mad. The next flight he took, he busted, then he busted again, went to an 88 ride, busted that and failed his 89 ride and was gone within a week of his stand up performance. No lie! Sad thing is, he would have been a solid pilot, but he couldn’t handle the onslaught and wrath of the CC and IP’s. It was a different time.

Thanks but no thanks email just went out from DC. Best of luck to those who made the final board 🤟🏼

"Flagler-Mitchell has denied sexually harassing the girl...the Democratic legislator has since insisted that he believed he was sending the photo to his wife....he believes himself to be the victim of extortion." Deny, deny, deny. Counter accuse. Demand apology. Right out of the playbook...

Garuda was great. 14 hr flight between AMS and Jakarta, and hour flights between Jakarta and Pekanbaru/Surabaya. Funnily enough, *I* got spatial D'd on takeoff from Surabaya just looking out the window because it was pitch black and immediately feet wet. All cultural lighting was behind us. I had to close the shade, lol. Lion Air was fine, but the flight attendents were wearing flip flops basically. Not great in an emergency egress situ, I wouldn't think. We had to have our POC in country purchase our tix for this flight (Pekanbaru to Surabaya), because the corporate travel company wasn't allowed to. It was a daytime flight and wx was SCT.

Like stirring a big pot of Kraft Mac and Cheese

Until you sign paperwork accepting your AD rated slot (via OTS), you’re not obligated to shit. Maybe it’s even after that point, but not before (I do know you can turn down an OTS slot if you don’t like the AFSC offered). So do what you want, but I wouldn’t have an issue telling that recruiter you’ve seen the light and are all in for AD (while continuing to apply for guard units). Take the first rated offer that comes your way. Your recruiter sounds like he’s being lazy, like a lot of recruiters.

A couple weeks ago, someone asked about airlines carrying cargo. I wish I knew what the break even was. My last two flights: DFW -LHR, 777-300, 400lbs (derringer pistol parts) going and 28K coming back. DFW-ICN, 777-200, 0 (zip, nothing, nada) going and 48K coming back. It was a different experience in a good way with no flight attendants and no passengers.

For those of you who are having a hard time getting the interview, I strongly advise you consider BogiDope consulting. The guys on there are a wealth of information. I thought I had solid cover letter/resume before, but after working with them, its a night and day difference, and I would honestly cringe at the thought of having to submit my old documents. No one ever said this would be cheap. The BogiDope stuff is pricey (at least to me), but my documents are really strong now. Just sent everything into AZ ANG, so I guess I will find out if the price tag was worth it lol. I will also say that nice polished documents can only make up for low qualifications to a point. So make sure you keep flying, retake afoqt/tbas if you need to. On another note, for those of you still in the running for the 457th, what are those guys doing over there lol.

Hawaiis interviews are next weekend. Its safe to assume at this point that they’ve got their picks. And to echo what [mention=80522]CavGuy[/mention] said; I’ve only gotten a TBNT from only a handful of units. Kinda sucks not to hear back, but press on and keep improving those apps. Keep applying boys.