brickhistory

dec "decertation" or dissertation? I think I begin to understand your post...

Indeed.

I am genuinely shocked and dismayed at the government reactions from governments I considered democratic and more liberal than us. Namely, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and somewhat the UK. I simply could not imagine the measures they've implemented at government whim, not population voting. I have always been supportive of the Second Amendment as one area where I can enjoy basic God-given rights, but I begin to understand the Founder's intent in specifically enumerating this right, perhaps.

Oblige him... https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12544300/michael-masi-replaced-as-f1-race-director-after-fia-review-of-2021-abu-dhabi-gp-finale Verstappen' championship forever has an *.

US power has always flowed from our economic power, including our military power/leadership, especially post-WWII. We are broke-ity-broke. Russia has a genetic fear of being invaded from Europe due to the successive devastating invasions from Europe. It has always wanted/needed buffer room from that and had it post-WWII. The break-up of the USSR took that warm fuzzy away. NATO expansion eastward to Russia-bordering nations was steps too far for Russia (not just Putin). Putin wants his blankie back and has the means, and more importantly, the will to get it. Both economically via gas withholding and by brute force. Old Europe does not. If they don't give a sh1t, why should we? Not our fight, not worth our blood and treasure. Did I mention we are broke and literally can't afford to be global cop anymore? Let someone else be the bad guy and we return to repairing our economy and institutions of liberty in order to become that beacon of hope as we were before. Now, we are largely loathed and/or taken for granted. I say again, not our problem.

Agreed. But Dod's near blanket denial of any religious exceptions was yet another own goal to this bad, possibly illegal IMO, order. DoD took/is taking nearly 10,000 casualty equivalents over a policy, not hard science. In a time when the percentage of eligibles to join is ever decreasing. How many of those 10,000 would recommend joining? How many people that know those 10,000 would recommend or consider joining themselves? Many of us here are 2, 3, or more generations of serving. I wouldn't recommend anyone to enlist or commission. Would you?

Court: Pilot, attendant will suffer under vaccine mandate (msn.com) Air Force can’t compel Christian officer to get Covid shot, judge rules (msn.com)

When people tell or show you who they are, believe them. The appearance was positively giddy about 10,000 self-inflicted subtractions from our military forces

Of which we are STILL kicking out around 10,000 of those troops. Because science... Which is something that the "didn't say it, wasn't me" brigade strongly support.

Selling leave also negates The Man from recalling you from terminal leave and sending you TDY. Ask me how I know...

Uh, wait...I thought this was the trust the experts Administration...

A) Same Washington Post that covered the Russia collusion stories? And how many other anti-Trump stories? But ok... B) I agree that mishandling classified material should be prosecuted. C) I think any Trump investigation regarding having illicitclassified should be investigated and prosecuted with the same level of diligence that former Sen/SecState Clinton received with having dozens of classified e-mails up to and including SAP/STO on her personal home server system. The deliberate destruction of public records, as demanded by the same NARA-related laws, can be discussed later. D) Anyone remember Sandy Berger?

The worst movies I have ever seen have been "Tarzan, the Ape Man," and "The Phantom Thread." Today I add another to the pantheon of film turds: Moonfall. Absolutely horrible. Unrelated, but during the opening credits I notice that some of the executive producers are Chinese as are the studios "in association with." Which explains the inclusion of the Chinese space agency and an out of place Chinese exchange student featured in small, but heroic roles. What a piece of garbage movie. Not worth watching in theater or at home on any service or even having the electrons in your home. I need some whisky...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/03/rnc-cheney-trump/ The Republican National Committee voted overwhelmingly to censure Reps Kinzinger and Cheney. Despite his vociferous words that he speaks "truth to power," he doesn't get to run roughshod over his political party and the institutions of the House. Speaker Pelosi set up the Jan 6 committee. She asked the Republicans to name the members who would be joining said committee. The Minority Leader, McCarthy, named the members he wanted on the committee. Pelosi rejected them. That is not her call on who the opposition puts on bipartisan committees. The Republicans then said no Republicans would be on the committee in that case. So she specifically invited Kinzinger and Cheney to be on the committee, despite the Republican leadership and party A) naming the desired members to said committee and B) boycotting the committee when named members were refused a seat. Hate Trump all you want, but don't expect kudos from your party (and funding) when you give them a middle finger. Kinzinger got gerrymandered out his seat. I still expect a talking skull gig for him - any time you need a "Republican" to say how bad they are, he's on the speed dial. Cheney is likely to lose her primary and this censure clears the way for the RNC to put funds towards her primary challengers. She'll resume being a Beltway Bandit as she's been her entire adult life.

So trust without questioning what our government is saying and doing on this matter? That's a yes or no question. Putting caveats or qualifiers does not change the premise of my question.

If I am reading your post correctly, you are saying "Sure, the government has lied before, and I know it, but this time, it's on the level, so we should implicitly trust it." Fool me once, shame on you. Try to fool me repeatedly, including blatantly political shenangians? GFY, gub'mint. I am old school and believe there should be a vital national interest before we, as a nation, expend blood and treasure on something. There is nothing about Ukraine that meets that bar for me. And if Old Europe can't be unassed to care, why should I? As Biden's former boss once claimed, "We'll lead from behind..."

Pretty sure that's what the approximately 10,000 uniformed personnel who have been/are facing discharge would say to you and your gloating over their fate for their refusing to take the non-vaccine vaccine.

Wisconsin judge rules against voting drop boxes Pennsylvania voting drop boxes unconstitutional But sure, Biden got 81 million votes - a record. Good and hard...

This elder abuse is just sad... Also Biden: If this election bill is not passed the 2022 elections won't be "legitimate."

Sub-surface... This clip is from his own party in Parliament. I dig how the Brits do it sometimes. "In the name of God, go!"

In a speech last week that almost literally no one watched and certainly very few reported on the speech that Biden gave on this topic. To wit, anyone who opposes this bill is a racist, George Wallace loving, wrong side of history kind of person who should be shunned. It wasn't covered because A) it's Biden and no one cares and B) it wasn't in a mean tweet, so life is good...

Wll, that's convenient since this Administration has admitted it can't "stop the virus." Just stop reporting on it. Sure is nice to have allies... https://apnews.com/article/omicron-changing-news-outlets-covid-data-da9272f7c4c8a109c3bfb56bed9e9c76 NEW YORK (AP) — For two years, coronavirus case counts and hospitalizations have been widely used barometers of the pandemic’s march across the world. But the omicron wave is making a mess of the usual statistics, forcing news organizations to rethink the way they report such figures. For that reason, The Associated Press has recently told its editors and reporters to avoid emphasizing case counts in stories about the disease. That means, for example, no more stories focused solely on a particular country or state setting a one-day record for number of cases, because that claim has become unreliable.

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/11/1072123333/justice-department-domestic-terrorism-unit https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/justice-department-s-domestic-terrorism-unit-should-come-new-terrorism-n1287388

I'm putting this here since this is the main political thread, but it could easily go in the WTF thread or numerous others: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4995564/senator-cruz-questions-fbi-official-ray-epps-role-january-6 Cruz to senior FBI official: "Did the FBI have any agents or confidential informants in the crowd on January 6th? Answer: "Sir, I can't answer that." Why not?