Prozac

Flea, one thing to think about when considering Kalitta or other ACMIs is upgrade time. Not sure what your situation is or how much PIC you’ve accumulated in the military, but if you think you need more, upgrade at the regionals will likely happen more quickly than at the ACMIs. A place like Kalitta can be a great intro to the part 121 world for a mil guy. Just be careful not to paint yourself into a corner.

The crux is that you need to define “person”. Spoiler alert: Not everyone in this country (to include scientists, doctors, theologians, philosophers, judges, etc) is going to agree with your assessment. Not saying you or anyone else shouldn’t continue to be passionate in your beliefs, but reaching any kind of consensus on this issue in our lifetimes is unlikely at best.

I don’t necessarily disagree that “mainstream” media is shit in this day and age (and I would include most right wing media in that description). However, I find it comical and ironic that many on the right claim to fervently support the free market, only to make a full 180 as soon as the market doesn’t align with their goals. Seems to me that those who espouse personal responsibility would extend that very American idea to include being more media savvy. That doesn’t mean going all in for InfoWars btw. It means there are sources out there that, while certainly biased, still do real, detailed journalism. Find them, read a wide variety, and you can be a reasonably well informed human being.

Another thing policing and the military have in common is service. When you get paid with tax dollars, the public has every right to “yap about quality”. Seems to be a common theme that the bad apples forget that they work for the people they are policing, not the other way around.

Wait, wait. I thought one of the hallmarks of a Democratic and open society was freedom of speech, which the Supreme Court recently ruled most definitely applies to corporations. Do you think big tech/MSM/etc are doing any of this with regards to anything other than their bottom lines? Fascism? Hardly. This is un encumbered, free range capitalism doing what it does. I happen to agree that it’s not necessarily the best situation for our country. Repealing Citizens United would be a great first step towards improving things.

You make some great points. People rightfully expect perfection out of officers who hold the lives of civilians in their hands yet will not support taxes and levies that would improve training, pay and/or expand response options to help deal appropriately with situations where force may not be the most appropriate option. I wholeheartedly agree that “defund the police” has got to be one of the dumbest slogans in recent memory. “Reform the police” is far more appropriate if you’re a thinking human being.

To be fair, the oil industry in this country was (and still is) helped by big subsidies and favorable government policies. It’s the reason public transportation in this country is garbage. I like my ICE vehicles. I just did a road trip with the family that would’ve been difficult or impossible in an electric vehicle. I believe there will continue to be a market for internal combustion for a long time to come. However, I’m not necessarily against leveling the playing field. Perhaps the better way is to remove infrastructure and other subsidies from both types. I think that’s unlikely to happen though. Too many lobbyists and too much money already circulating in government. Next best option is to subsidize and support electric infrastructure & bring it up to the level of gasoline. What I do not support are sweeping decrees like California stating it will ban all new ICE vehicle sales at some arbitrary date. Like I said, I think there are viable and reasonable ICE applications for a LONG time to come.

This. Everybody feels like they have to pick a side. There is no “right” side here. This is different from the Chauvin situation in that this was a split second fuckup, not nine minutes or whatever of kneeling on somebody’s neck. Should she have known the difference between a Glock and a taser? Absolutely. But she obviously intended to use non lethal force to subdue the subject. Not an excuse, but I do believe intent matters here. As far as the subject goes, in what world does running from the police ever work out? Best case is you get away, but the police know who you are and you wind up with additional warrants. Worse case? Well that’s exactly what happened here. Even if the police interaction is obviously unfair and racist, running is not an option that will help you. Bottom line is both parties were in the wrong here. I’m a big proponent of police reform and consistently argue that racial bias does, in fact, exist in policing in the United States today. Let’s not dilute that cause by calling incidents like this one anything other than what they are: A tragic accident that was entirely preventable by both parties.

You’re being a bit disingenuous here. Lincoln spent 30 years in politics. Jefferson over 30, and Reagan over 20. By any account they were all career politicians, regardless of how they got their start. As a matter of fact, off the top of my head, I can’t think of any prominent politicians who were elected prior to doing some sort of other work (I’m sure there are a few). I don’t think “knowing so much that isn’t so” is an affliction that is limited to liberals.

Look, Biden certainly isn’t perfect. Far from it. There are any number of Democrats I would’ve rather seen run against Trump. But the “Biden’s character is just as bad/worse than Trumps” argument blows my mind. So he’s a career politician. So was Lincoln. So was Jefferson. So was Reagan. So what? It’s easy to hate politics as usual. It’s messy and inefficient. It’s also largely worked out for us for ~240 years. I’m inclined to go with the establishment option vs the “burn it all down” one. Burn it down usually sounds good until you follow through with it and only after the fact realize you are left with nothing but ashes.

I see nothing wrong with being so disgusted by another human being that you want nothing to do with them regardless of whether you may agree with them on a few issues here and there. I find it far more problematic to be disgusted by someone, but to throw one’s support behind them if it may further one’s own agenda in some small way.

I do think there is a certain “regular guy” charm to Biden. That said, I’ll concede that it was probably more about Trumps lack of electability just as it was Hillary’s major deficiency in 2016.

There were a bunch of policy things I really didn’t like. There were also some things I did. But I do believe that character matters and his was utterly disgusting to me (YMMV and that’s ok). I wouldn’t have voted for him even if I agreed with all of his policy goals. I am curious though as to how candidates who would have defined the party 15 or even 5 years ago have somehow become RINOs? If anyone’s a RINO, in my mind it’s Trump. He spent most of his life taking positions on many issues that would’ve made (and did make) many traditional Republicans very uncomfortable. He is the epitome of a flip flopper. He very obviously changed many of his previous views for blatant political gain (reference his newfound reverence for Christianity). And yet somehow the guy who literally shits on gold toilets becomes the symbol of the middle class American working man? Sorry, but Trump’s Republican Party is nowhere near the much vaunted “party of Reagan”. I wonder what Ronald Reagan would have to say about Donald Trump the politician if he were alive today?

Yeah, yeah, yuck it up. The majority of the country doesn’t agree. Even most of the Trump voters I know admit that at the very least he is a deeply flawed human being. “Electability” (aka likeability/having the appearance of decent human) has been a huge consideration in presidential politics for a long, long time. FWIW, I think a candidate Romney, a candidate Jeb Bush, or even a candidate Rubio beats candidate Biden in 2020. A moderate Republican would likely fare well against what’s left of Biden (pun intended) in 2024. Republicans aren’t playing the long game when they let the Trump/populist wing continue to co-opt the party.

Perhaps one candidate was simply demonstrably better than the other and that’s why coverage across the board tended to favor him? Not suggesting that there isn’t bias but Trump was a pretty easy guy to dislike. He didn’t help himself in the press either by declaring war against everyone but Fox and OAN.

This is a good and interesting argument as it exposes hypocrisy on both sides. I’ll use myself as an example. It won’t surprise anyone here that I am an advocate for stricter gun control. I would support mandatory background checks, licensing and training requirements for all gun owners (with a pass on the training requirements given to military and law enforcement personnel). This seems entirely reasonable to me as just handing an AR15 to a completely untrained civilian seems like a recipe for disaster to me. However the argument from gun rights activists is that gun ownership is a right guaranteed by the Constitution and that these restrictions would place an undue check on that right. On the flip side, many conservatives are incredulous that requiring ID should be such an impediment to voting rights. I mean, it’s a small inconvenience of modern life to spend a few hours at the DMV to get a license right? Well, for most of us that’s true, but for a slice of our population it’s not. For example, my grandfather didn’t have a current drivers license for the last ten years of his life. My grandmother never had a driver’s license. She didn’t need it. Could they have gotten an alternate form of ID if needed? Probably, as they had a support network of friends and family that could have helped. But what about people who don’t. The number of people in this country without a current ID and who lack the ability to easily get one is not insignificant and tends to be more black and brown than white. Where in the constitution does it state that you need a valid ID to vote? Of course, it doesn’t and Democrats use the exact same argument as Republicans here: Voter ID laws are an undue check on individuals’ constitutional rights. So what’s the answer? I don’t have a good one. These are thorny issues. But just as conservatives are (constitutionally justifiably) concerned about restrictions on gun rights, so are liberals concerned about people’s most solemn right to vote. Perhaps we’re overdue for a real conversation about adjusting our Constitution to better represent life in the modern world.

Brother, I don’t disagree with any of your points above. I’m in my mid 40s now and fitness and health are a higher priority for me now than ever. I’m going to do everything in my control to be around for my kids, grandkids, and hopefully great grandkids for a long, long time. I’ve seen a parent, in-laws, and many family members and friends suffer later in life for poor health decisions made as they transitioned into middle age. That said, even people who made poor decisions shouldn’t be condemned or abandoned during a global pandemic. What gets me about this whole thing is that people only seem to want to consider themselves when it comes to the decision to wear a mask or get vaccinated. I’m low risk, why should I have to wear a mask? I’m young and healthy, why should I get vaccinated? The reality is that these are really pretty easy things to do that will help prevent negative outcomes for hundreds of thousands of people. I get that this country is about personal freedoms and I like it that way as much as anyone. But just because we all have the right to be selfish pricks doesn’t mean we should. With regards to encouraging people to take charge of their own personal health, I’m curious as to what kinds of policies people would support to this end? Conservatives like to discourage any and all regulation these days but most of us readily accept government restrictions on substances that can harm us. Hard drugs, tobacco, even alcohol are al, restricted or regulated by the government on some level. Why should it be any different with the massive amounts of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup that have found their way into much of the food we eat? At the very least I’d argue that it’s time to end or greatly reduce subsidies to corn farming in our country. E85 and high fructose corn syrup aren’t helping anyone here.

I read that article as well. IMO, Ukraine may be a lost cause for the West. The precedent of Russian troops fighting in the country is long established & no treaty exists that would compel Western nations to act, even in the event of a full scale invasion. The Baltics present a much more concerning issue. They joined NATO precisely because they realized the threat Russia continued to present to their independent existence. They uphold their commitments to the alliance and are fully entitled to all the benefits of being NATO members, including the invocation of Article 5 if necessary. They are good people who are fiercely proud of shaking off the shackles of Russian (and German) rule. (Highly recommend a visit to the museum of occupation in Riga if you’re ever there.) The United States and NATO should be very clear in their messaging to Putin that any aggression in the Baltics will, in fact be treated as an attack on the alliance writ large and that he should tread very carefully on his western frontier.

I used to be based in ONT. Can’t tell you how many times there were conflicts where some yahoo would fly right across the approach corridor for the 26s, trying to get across the mountains, not talking to anybody. Flight following should be mandatory in the LA basin.

Agree with the great race sentiment. Really wanted Verstappen to pass Hamilton those last few laps. Have to hand it to Lewis though. As “boring” as it is to have the same guy win all the time, the man is a machine. That was a masterful piece of defensive driving.

Fair enough. I’m not insisting on stifling the debate. I’m just pretty sure we can go around and around on the abortion issue without uncovering any meaningful new information WRT the COVID vaccine. I don’t think that’s appropriate here. If you’d like to debate that issue separately, feel free to start another thread or PM me.

While that case has certainly been used to uphold things like mandatory vaccination to enroll in public schools, my understanding is that there are no states which currently require compulsory vaccination of any citizen (obviously not the case in Massachusetts in 1905). While vaccines are compulsory for public schools, parents are currently free to refuse and homeschool their children. You’re right that the case could be used to enforce mandatory vaccination in the future, but I think it would be politically untenable to do so. Nor do I think that would be necessary or right. I think restrictions levied by private enterprises will be more than enough motivation for most people to eventually get a COVID-19 vaccine.

You’re reaching. I suppose your implied argument is that I only believe in the sanctity of life under certain conditions. You couldn’t be more wrong. Not interested in turning this thread into an abortion debate, a political debate, or anything other than the question of how to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on our society. Vaccines have been around for a long time and are generally proven to be safe and effective. Ever had a flu vaccine? Guess what, that’s a “new” and “untested” vaccine every year. We don’t know the long term side effects of the flu vaccines we put out, the shingles vaccine, or the chickenpox vaccine because they’re all relatively new. Yet we know enough about how vaccines work to generally accept that they will be safe in the long term. What about MRNA you say? Well the concept has been around for over a decade and has been shown to be safe as well. If it concerns you that much, seek out and get the J&J shot which works like any traditional vaccine. Or don’t. But be aware, once this vaccine exits the emergency use phase, the courts absolutely support the ability of employers, including the military to make it a requirement for employment. Same with schools and businesses. You can absolutely refuse it if you want, but don’t be surprised when you can’t get your kid enrolled in school, or go on a cruise, or buy an airline ticket, or go to a concert, etc. etc.

Also, in developing nations, people with weak immune systems and/or comorbidities are likely to have been previously “culled from the heard” by any number of other diseases that still run rampant in the third world. Some may argue: Well that’s survival of the fittest. We need more of that here. To which I counter: One of the hallmarks of a developed, civilized society is a universal reverence for life. Animals cast off their old and sick for the survival of the herd. One of the things that makes us human is that we’ve evolved past that necessity. Oh, and BTW mass obesity, while an unfortunate fact of life in the United States (perpetuated to a degree by our government’s massive subsidies to corn farmers), there are many other conditions that would make one more susceptible to severe coronavirus outcomes. I am not prepared to tell my friend, who’s son has MS that this whole thing is overblown and we just need more vitamin D. Getting vaccinated is a good sign that you give half a fuck about vulnerable people in our society.

Yep. Southwest seems to have a training crisis when it comes to identifying the transmit vs. intercom switches. They must hire a lot of KC-135 guys like me who are used to the switch on the yoke being wired the exact opposite of modern Boeing airliners. I still have to have an internal “up and out” monologue prior to every transmission.