Prozac

Sim, I want to tell you something. I was on this forum when you were still popping zits on your funny face and jerking off with the lingerie section of the sears catalog.

Happy for anyone who has found peace and happiness after serving. Truly.

Lol. THE Commander in Chief. I’m guessing YOUR CinC. But no longer in my Chain of Command brotha. The Wife’s the only one who holds that title for me now!

And the Biden campaign has admitted his mistake, explaining that he was erroneously citing Michigan’s numbers. A refreshing change from circling the wagons and insisting the dear leader is never wrong, don’t you think?

Well, you asked me why I thought he was a pathological liar, not whether he’d followed through on campaign promises. Thought we’d covered that one a while back. 😎 As far as Fox being used as a fact checking source, well that’s as laughable using MSNBC for the same purpose. Websites like politifact, while certainly not perfect, at least attempt to maintain some semblance of impartiality.

Wow. I know a lot’s happened since then but, wow. I seem to recall Sean Spicer very forcibly insisting that Trump’s inauguration was “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe”. Perhaps the image above is like a Rorschach test and you see something completely different than I do. Or perhaps it is simply a couple of photos that show Trump’s inaugural crowd to be significantly smaller than previous crowds. I look at it as a clear warning that he will lie about just about anything, no matter how petty. Admittedly, this was a long time ago. More recently, Trump claimed that the Yankees had asked him to throw out the first pitch and only settled on Anthony Faucci after he declined. This was promptly refuted by the Yankees. Factcheck.org, Politifact, and Snopes all have scores of examples from the three and a half years in between these two episodes.

It’s been all downhill from here.

There is no such thing as unbiased journalism. Never has been. The whole idea is a fallacy. That’s why it’s important to read a variety of sources. And when I say read, I mean read almost exclusively as cable news networks are universally garbage. Jeffrey Goldberg is certainly biased. But he is also an accomplished and well respected journalist and his stories have merit. It’s reasonable to believe the timing of his story is meant to have maximum impact on the election. So what? Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I’ll choose to believe his report, which has been verified by other, independent outlets over the pathological liar in the White House. Journalism may have its flaws, but the bigger flaw is the lack of critical thinking ability on the part of the average American. Like it or not, the free press is a critical part of a free and open society.

Sounds like they did a nice job bringing it back to the runway safely. Kudos to the controller for not being too intrusive or attempting to fly their jet for them.

Ancient Chinese technique for achieving Zen with the wind.

I think W and Laura had a pretty good reputation regarding interaction with and compassion for military members. I didn’t agree much with the foreign policy decisions that got us involved in forever wars but W and the First Lady did plenty of visits to wounded troops, their families, and troops in the field. From what I hear, they were very humble and generous with their time. I think he truly understood the gravity of the fact he was sending many Americans to their deaths. Biden had a military son and has a better understanding than most of the sacrifices we ask our service members to make on a daily basis. Trump thinks you are there to put on nice parades and buy him the patriotic vote. It’s fair enough to believe that he’ll preserve and increase the defense budget over a Democratic rival, but he’s also more likely to bumble his way into an avoidable conflict (re the near war with Iran not so long ago). Personally, I think prior service ought to be a requirement for the Presidency. It’s a shame so few of the current crop seem to have it, but I’m encouraged to see that many of our newest members of Congress on both sides of the aisle do.

Dear god. This guy really could shoot someone on the street in broad daylight and his supporters would claim fake news. The Atlantic article is completely in character with things he’s said publicly and has been confirmed by multiple sources. Anonymous sources make major contributions to stories all the time.

I have the David Clark ProX. Used in the airliner cockpit as well as in a 1950 Champ. It’s an “on ear” vs “over the ear” headset. Strengths are weight and comfort. It’s far less clamping force on your head than a traditional over ear style. On ear means no seal around the ear so noise can be an issue. This is mitigated by noise cancellation but they still aren’t as quiet as an A20 or equivalent. The biggest issue I have is that they aren’t the most secure and can come off your head if you’re maneuvering aggressively. So not suitable for aerobatics but will work for most other applications. I like them because I can have one headset for professional and recreational flying. Some love them, some hate them, but they’re worth a test drive if you know someone who can loan you one.

Yes I do. But I am far further left on the spectrum than you on most issues and we won’t see eye to eye on what I consider Biden’s strengths. And that’s ok. But Trump is no Republican. In fact, he’s taken a party that, believe it or not, I once considered myself a proud member of, and turned it into something unrecognizable. Up until Trump, there were tenets of the Republican platform, and Republican politicians that I deeply admired and even supported. The Republican Party was a party of statesmen that made it it’s mission to spread liberal democratic values (note: not the same as Liberal values) around the world, not a protectionist party that buried its head in the sand and pretended the outside world didn’t exist. The Republican Party I knew supported our military, not just with a budget, but with real compassion for those who serve and their families. No real Republican would EVER disparage captured, missing, or dead Americans. The Republican Party I knew was truly a fiscally conservative party capable of providing constructive and meaningful checks on their Democratic colleagues. The Republican Party I knew understood that it’s political opponents were just that: legitimate opponents who were elected by Americans, not enemies to be vanquished in a zero sum game with the intent of disenfranchising large swaths of the American public. I honestly do not expect Republicans to vote for Biden. I think he does a better job than Trump representing many of the ideals mentioned above but he is certainly no conservative. But if I were a Republican, I’d walk away from this election and this man before he could do any more damage to my party. I’d take the four years of a Biden administration (which is unlikely to implement radical liberal policies) to re shape the party into something closer to what was envisioned following the 2008 election: a party true to its conservative roots that is also capable of accepting moderate social reform and, most importantly, is more inclusive of the groups which will make up the majority of the American electorate going forward. And you know what? If the Republicans could put a somewhat moderate candidate out there in 2024. Someone who is fiscally conservative but socially, more liberal. Someone capable of reaching across the aisle. Someone who is willing to be a leader for red AND blue America. If Republicans could do that, there are an awful lot of people like me living in blue strongholds who would consider voting for that person.

Confident? Confident in what? That this guy will continue be incompetent if he’s re-elected? Let’s talk about that wall. As of the beginning of August, about 275 miles of wall had been built. Only 30 or so miles of new wall had been built where there were no existing barriers. Exact numbers may vary but I think you’ll agree that Trump has failed to come anywhere near achieving his vision of a big, beautiful wall spanning the length of the southern border. And no, Mexico has not paid for an inch of it. In fact, the military construction budget was pilfered to do it because, like with repealing the ACA, congress knows that a good talking point does not equal good government policy. If you want to call that a promise fulfilled, knock yourself out. The bigger, more tragic picture here is for all the talk about his stupid wall, there has been no meaningful discussion about real, effective, immigration reform. Want to curb illegal immigration? Maybe talk to the farmers and growers whose business model doesn’t work without cheap migrant labor. Back to repealing the ACA: N730 is exactly correct above. Republicans held both houses of Congress and the executive. They could have absolutely gotten that done, but in the decade since ACA was passed, conservatives have been wholely unable to come up with anything better. I would agree that the ACA has serious flaws. Republicans has their chance to fix it and abjectly failed. Trump could only offer the weak excuse: “who knew healthcare was so complicated?”. How about bringing law and order back to the apocalyptic cityscapes Trump so bleakly described in his inaugural speech? He’s been president for nearly four years. The streets that were actually bleak are bleaker and law and order is, in fact breaking down in places where it was previously peaceful. Trumps response has been to fan the flames and encourage his supporters to instigate further unrest. I do not believe for a second that The current or future Trump administration will make our streets remotely safer. The chaos he insists will be the result of a Biden administration is happening now, under his watch. What ever happened to infrastructure? Wasn’t that one of his “promises”? In four years his administration has been unable to get past initial talks with congress regarding an infrastructure bill, the one policy promise of this administration that had robust bipartisan support. The Democrats were willing to help him and he still couldn’t get it done. How about that Iran nuclear deal? Yeah, we pulled out of an imperfect agreement. Has that spurred any meaningful progress with the Iranian government. Is America safer because of it or has the region become even more unstable? Hint: it’s not the former. While we’re on the subject of foreign policy does anyone know what Trump got for spending the first year of his presidency fondling Kim Jong Un’s balls? Doesn’t seem like much has changed in Lil’ Kim’s people’s paradise. So let’s talk about something that’s one of Donnie’s strengths: The economy. It’s true that Wall Street seemed to love the man and his get out of the way policies. In fact, my own 401k swelled as a result of his economic policies. But, prosperity under Trump came in large part due to a tax cut that was extremely generous to big business, but is set to expire on average Joe’s like you and me. The real elephant in the room for those who would call themselves conservatives is that Trump is nothing of the sort when it comes to economic policy. So, at best he gets mixed reviews in this area. In fact, the only promise I can think of that the man unequivocally upheld was the promise to stack the Supreme Court with conservatives. I have to admit, the Republicans have played masterful politics here, basically stealing a nomination from the outgoing administration and putting a candidate in the White House with timing that got them another nomination and likely one more if they can hold the executive. If you’re a Republican, this is legitimate means to celebrate. But let’s face it: Any Republican candidate would have done just fine here. A Rubio, a Cruz, or a Bush would have absolutely put acceptable justices on the court. I fully expect a flurry of excuses from his supporters. Some may even have some validity buried in them somewhere. But one of his signature campaign phrases was “I alone can fix it”. He hasn’t. And all of this incompetence doesn’t even take into account the administration’s pathetic response to Covid-19, which I believe is a dead horse that I’ve already beaten in these forums. So if the ends justify the means for you; if another Supreme Court justice is worth the civil unrest, the decline of science and reason in our country, the abysmal global reputation we are fermenting, the further destabilization of troubled regions around the world, the jaded and cynical worldview one must accept to come to the conclusion that a man with no morals should be the leader of the free world.....if all of those things are worth it to you, then by all means vote to re-elect Donald Trump President of the United States for four more years.

I did. Apparently he says it was a sarcastic remark meant to highlight the problems with voting by mail. The article clearly states the administration’s position. However, this is from the same man who has encouraged Republicans to vote in Democratic primaries with the intent of creating havoc and insisted he was joking when he suggested injecting disinfectant into the human body when clearly he was serious. His suggestion that his supporters show up at polling places to ensure their mail in vote was counted completely negates the idea of voting by mail as a method of mitigating virus spread and further shows that the man is only motivated by the preservation of his own inflated ego.

Trump, the very stable genius who’s administration has been so concerned about potential voter fraud lately, now says you should go ahead and commit voter fraud. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/03/north-carolinians-should-vote-twice-says-trump-despite-illegality

So the next time an earthquake hits this country we should say “that’s life”? That the nation cannot afford the relief effort and that growing the economy is more important than helping the people affected? How is the natural disaster we’re currently experiencing any different?

The excess deaths number currently stands at around 200k. This supports the CDC’s roughly 180k current coronavirus fatality number. Are you suggesting some other, unseen and unknown factor has caused roughly two hundred thousand Americans to die prematurely? That’d sure be a hell of a story. Maybe Q Anon will pick it up.

This. When I got hired I happened to have interviews with two carriers at roughly the same time. One pax and one cargo. I chose to go to the cargo operator in part due to lower susceptibility to economic downturns. But if the pax carrier had called a month ahead of the other, I would’ve ended up there and never looked back. Seniority is EVERYTHING at the airlines and even one number can make the difference between a long and prosperous career and misery. The advice that was given to me was: Apply to all of the operators you think you might be happy working for and dance with the first girl that says yes. That’ll always be good advice. It’s a crazy, volatile industry. For some of us, it’s the only thing we could ever imagine doing and worth the potential pain. I wish the best for everyone involved in it and hope the recovery happens soon and puts us all in a stronger position than before. Hang in there guys. Things WILL get better.

Dude, I totally understand where you’re coming from and I agree with what you’re saying...to a point. We cannot move forward with a shuttered economy and our kids out of school indefinitely. But the argument that the fatalities were already walking dead is problematic. This country has seen somewhere around 200k excess deaths so far this year. Yes, the vast majority of them had underlying conditions, but it was COVID that pushed them over the edge. These people would not have died had it not been to the virus. So we introduce a serious ethical dilemma when we argue that this virus should be allowed to “cull the heard”. The vulnerable are still human beings and as a society we make a big deal about the value of all human life. We don’t throw our weak and sick to the wolves. We protect them. ~60k Americans died in Vietnam and it tore the country apart. A couple thousand died on September 11 and it had a major impact on our economy and drug us into two wars. But we are going to pretend that a threat that has the potential to kill more Americans than WWII doesn’t exist? No. We need to take all reasonable precautions to protect vulnerable Americans. That doesn’t mean we shut down completely but it probably means you don’t get to go to a football game this year. For the areas of the economy most affected, we should be spending whatever necessary to ensure they are still around when we get through this thing. For individuals unable to make ends meet through no fault of their own, again we should spend whatever required to help. The debt incurred will be far outweighed by long term economic damage if we do not. I believe national government (both parties) is currently failing on all accounts.

Here’s a photo. It’s disturbing and I debated posting it here but I think it’s relevant and appropriate in response to your post: The photo appears to show a couple of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims. In the foreground, clutching his chest, is Anthony Huber who was “armed” with a skateboard and apparently attempting to disarm Rittenhouse. He collapsed in that spot and died shortly after this photo was taken. Standing in front of Rittenhouse is Gaige Grosskreutz. It’s hard to see in this picture but he was apparently armed. Still, in the photo he is in a clearly unthreatening stance with his hands in the air, perhaps attempting to talk Rittenhouse down. He was shot in the arm. The events surrounding Rittenhouse’s first shooting event, which resulted in the death of Joseph Rosenbaum are less clear but reports are that someone other than Rosenbaum fired a gun into the air, after which Rosenbaum lunged at Rittenhouse and was shot in the head. I have not seen evidence indicating that Rosenbaum himself was armed. Kyle Rittenhouse took a firearm that he apparently wasn’t authorized to own across state lines to a city in which he didn’t reside ostensibly to defend local businesses. He was young, immature, untrained in crowd control or use of force, and probably scared. He had no business injecting himself into that situation and the results were predictably tragic. Brickhistory, I find your post to be in poor taste and antithetical to American values. I don’t know you. The fact that you’re active on this board means that in all likelihood you are in fact a veteran who loves his country. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re a decent human being who will take my comments as considered criticism and not a personal attack. That’s not what this is. But to equate American citizens protesting in the streets to “skinnies” is abhorrent. We are talking about Kenosha Wisconsin, USA, not Mogadishu. EVEN if some of these protesters were participating in illegal activities, they are US citizens entitled to due process, not foreign enemies to be shot down in the streets. Celebrating and lionizing the actions of a misguided, scared, seventeen year old vigilante is beyond the pale. I never thought I’d see the day when a fellow veteran would refer to fellow citizens in the streets as skinnies and celebrate their murders. Pleas reconsider your statements.

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/05/20/coronavirus-covid-medicare-payments-hospitals/ Not true. Here is an article from the Denver Post that explains why government reimbursement to hospitals is higher for treatment of Covid-19 patients, but that there is no extra money associated with reporting deaths. This higher reimbursement is limited to patients age 65 or older and dependent on Medicare, which typically does not cover the full cost of treatment. Makes sense to me that the federal government would step in with some aid here to make sure that a vulnerable population gets treated, but what do I know. The article also goes into some detail explaining how and why Covid-19 deaths are reported the way they are. The explanation does not require an elaborate conspiracy theory. Worth a read.