The Next President is...

[slackline]

BTW, are you liberal, and if so, what do you stand for?  That was my original question that was never answered.

So, I'm curious what the point of your question is? Are you somehow implying that those with liberal views on this board somehow don't stand for the same thing? Based off what you just said, I take it you're not military. Maybe my reading comprehension sucks... If not, you feel like you can come on here and question what these people, these active duty military members, or vets have as a purpose? You think when they signed the blank check for "up to, and including their lives" that they had ulterior motives?

Why should anyone answer your questions? Because you can field dress a deer? Just curious. And if you had genuine curiosity about how they felt like patriots, not just whether they measured up to some standard you have that no one on here cares about, I sincerely apologise for my tone.

Otherwise, I'd defend every single one of these people, ultra Trump fan or die-hard Biden supporter, against some wannabe prepper who thinks he's got a lock on patriotism.

To the rest of the board, sorry. I've hit my limit. I voluntarily put myself in timeout. I'll just be over here in the pissed off old guy corner screaming at kids to get off my grass...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alpharatz]

Ok ..I will take over for a minute....If you have watched The Donald lo these four years or longer..and have yet to realize that the boy is goofy as a pet coon...well..give me the keys to your airplane...   " I too shall go airborne"  or is it timeout?     Funniest  thing I ever heard CINCSAC jabber..

[Guardian]

Slackline’s lost control HEY! slacklines lost control HEY!

[filthy_liar]

2 hours ago, slackline said:

I voluntarily put myself in timeout

Sounds good.  Can we make that for a couple of years?

[jazzdude]

Wow.  Great reply.  I mean that.  It's the internet, so let me try to clarify my post:
- I interact with people in the city every day.  I work there.  My daughter goes to school there.  My hot ass girlfriend lives there.  I just personally choose to live out, and I find it challenging and personally fulfilling to be as self sufficient as I can - if I ever had to.  What I do is mostly practice.  But, if Kroger closes down, the city water is shut off, the cops have been defunded, etc; I can get pretty far down the road.  My girlfriend could not.  People in urban areas could not.  And they are praised for that.  To me, that is a lack of skills, lack of forward thinking, and a lack of appreciation for what this country was founded upon.  Not a personal attack - my girlfriend is in the same boat.
- Fair enough on calling out others for lacking skills.  Again, its the internet.  I don't know anyone on here, not trying to convince anyone of anything, just making statements.  This forum is excellent for providing info on what a pilot and/or aircrew/Air Force in general is like.  It's also a great source of info on how to get into the airlines.  This internet forum does not provide useful info on ethics, morals, religion, or politics.  No internet forum could do that.  If someone is swayed in any of those categories because of the internet....well.  And along those lines, I don't mind personal insults, because I sling them as well.  It's the internet, and it's the WOKE thread.  Insults are authorized as long as we don't piss off the moderators.
- I don't get the BLM/LGBT/#metoo/etc.  I agree there is violence associated with those topics.
Again, great reply.  BTW, are you liberal, and if so, what do you stand for?  That was my original question that was never answered.

Younger me typically voted straight R ticket. Now I'm probably closer to center, but still probably would be considered on the right (though I've been increasingly frustrated with the Rs, especially in the last 4-6 years). Still a registered R based on how my state does primaries and the effect that has on the later voting for offices.

I do see your desire to be self reliant as a good thing, it's something I strive for as well. Never been hunting, but I did field dress a rabbit once upon a time. But can cobble together a shelter, build a fire to stay warm, procure water, fish (sorta), make basic repairs, improvise solutions, sew, etc. SERE was "great," but a lot of my survival skills were built/learned in scouts when I was younger.

Labels are weird though. Politics has devolved into a highly polarized debate, with no room to meet in the middle out find common ground. It's appears to be more of a power struggle between the R and D parties, using taking points to get in and stay in office, with politicians changing their beliefs to appease their voting base, and dividing everyone into either for them or against them.

Then you've got the whole realist vs liberal vs constructivist philosophies, which frame your world view. (Hey, I learned something in ACSC)(crap, I drank the kool aid, don't burn the witch). The liberal (not US liberal) in me wants to believe in the best intentions on people and that we can collectively work together to improve things for everyone. Rising tide raises all boats and what not. The realist in me bought guns for home defense, locks the doors at night, maintains emergency supplies, and believes in a strong military to defend our values and interests when disagreements between nations inevitably occur.

But I guess to answer your question-

TL;DR-I've got a mix of opinions that doesn't put me squarely as conservative or liberal, but probably skew towards "conservative"

//RANT ON//
-First off, we need to fund what we believe in. Doesn't matter how good an idea sounds, if we're not willing to pay for it (ie raise a tax or bond, or cut another program), then it's not a good idea. This includes overseas contingency operations/war- if it's vital to national interests, raise a tax or sell bonds to pay for it.

-Guns are fine, need to limit access to criminals. Limited access to people with mental health issues as well, but that's really murky because it's hard to define and can be subject, so currently a 'no' for me right now for limiting access. Own a few firearms, and my wife shoots to almost as well as me.

-Don't own an AR, but see why people would want to, just not in my budget or a priority right now. Magazine limits are dumb

-Shootings are a form of violence, and even if you remove all guns, people intent on violence will cause harm to others. So we need to attack the real causes of shootings-whether it's poverty, selfishness, mental health, a perceived need for revenge for an injustices, etc.

-Came from a "normal/typical" Christian, nuclear family. Married a wonderful lady. Don't really think LGBT is right personally, but I won't treat them as less than a person. Doesn't mean I won't be friends with them, or get along with them. My wife has several gay friends, and we've gotten along fine. What they do in the bedroom doesn't really have any bearing on my life, so they can do what makes them happy. Just don't shove it in my face and tell me I'm a bad person for not embracing/celebrating their choices in life. But I've got the same opinion on dudes oversharing about their latest tinder hookup. Don't care, please don't over share, glad it makes you happy.

-Gay marriage is a weird problem. On one hand, as a Christian I believe in the 1 man 1 woman definition. Civil union is probably the better term across the board, and helps remove religious or traditional connotations of the word to help facilitate debate. Not like paying a law defining marriage in the traditional sense is going to stop a gay couple from being together. So why does it matter? Because our society, as someone else pointed out earlier, is such in a 1950 ideal of a family. Healthcare is generally tied to our jobs, with dependents under the plan being defined in 1950s terms. The legal system doesn't recognize rights of a "special friend" in matters. But it doesn't really infringe on my ability to pursue of life/liberty/happiness, so they should have the same opportunities I do as a married heterosexual dude.

-Healthcare is tough, and I'm still trying to figure out what right looks like in my mind. I'm not convinced that gov single payer is the right answer, and a touch weary of what that means regarding other liberties (can't do X because of risk). But our system as is leaves people without access to preventative medical care, driving up emergency costs and lowering quality of life. Business have gone cheap on healthcare, and for lower level jobs, they may not offer healthcare at all. And having floated my wife's insurance on the open market when she was in between jobs before we were married, open market insurance is stupid expensive. About $450/mo for my wife for a middle of the road plan, with a lot of out of pocket expenses should emergency or specialty care be needed. And healthcare institutions have no incentive to lower costs, and have a high bar to entry that is funded by (and therefore limited by) the government (residencies), so competition isn't a strong driver in reducing costs.

-Social security is another interesting issue. We are an individualistic society. The norm is to break out on your own as an adult and make your own path. Great for the individual, but bears risk compared to other societies that are more family oriented and love in multigenerational homes, as costs go up for things such as child care, elderly/end of life care, housing, etc. If someone plans poorly, or falls on bad circumstances, they could be left old, destitute, and with no one to turn to.

Probably the hardest question we have right now as a country is answering what it means to be an American. I like to think it's a place where we can pursue what fulfills us in life if we're willing to work for it. That system needs defending, and there are tradeoffs internally that need to happen to ensure people are not being left behind due to systemic issues/biases.

No one's going to make it this far so I can throw out some heresy- one good thing about ACSC-DL was the unit discussing realism/liberalism/constructivism. Got me really thinking about why I believe what I do, what I find important, and what I don't. Philosophy, ethics, morals-interesting topics that I wish I had more time to read about and think on. Maybe I'm just getting old.

[filthy_liar]

5 minutes ago, jazzdude said:

Younger me typically voted straight R ticket. Now I'm probably closer to center, but still probably would be considered on the right (though I've been increasingly frustrated with the Rs, especially in the last 4-6 years). Still a registered R based on how my state does primaries and the effect that has on the later voting for offices.

I do see your desire to be self reliant as a good thing, it's something I strive for as well. Never been hunting, but I did field dress a rabbit once upon a time. But can cobble together a shelter, build a fire to stay warm, procure water, fish (sorta), make basic repairs, improvise solutions, sew, etc. SERE was "great," but a lot of my survival skills were built/learned in scouts when I was younger.

Labels are weird though. Politics has devolved into a highly polarized debate, with no room to meet in the middle out find common ground. It's appears to be more of a power struggle between the R and D parties, using taking points to get in and stay in office, with politicians changing their beliefs to appease their voting base, and dividing everyone into either for them or against them.

Then you've got the whole realist vs liberal vs constructivist philosophies, which frame your world view. (Hey, I learned something in ACSC)(crap, I drank the kool aid, don't burn the witch). The liberal (not US liberal) in me wants to believe in the best intentions on people and that we can collectively work together to improve things for everyone. Rising tide raises all boats and what not. The realist in me bought guns for home defense, locks the doors at night, maintains emergency supplies, and believes in a strong military to defend our values and interests when disagreements between nations inevitably occur.

But I guess to answer your question-

TL;DR-I've got a mix of opinions that doesn't put me squarely as conservative or liberal, but probably skew towards "conservative"

//RANT ON//
-First off, we need to fund what we believe in. Doesn't matter how good an idea sounds, if we're not willing to pay for it (ie raise a tax or bond, or cut another program), then it's not a good idea. This includes overseas contingency operations/war- if it's vital to national interests, raise a tax or sell bonds to pay for it.

-Guns are fine, need to limit access to criminals. Limited access to people with mental health issues as well, but that's really murky because it's hard to define and can be subject, so currently a 'no' for me right now for limiting access. Own a few firearms, and my wife shoots to almost as well as me.

-Don't own an AR, but see why people would want to, just not in my budget or a priority right now. Magazine limits are dumb

-Shootings are a form of violence, and even if you remove all guns, people intent on violence will cause harm to others. So we need to attack the real causes of shootings-whether it's poverty, selfishness, mental health, a perceived need for revenge for an injustices, etc.

-Came from a "normal/typical" Christian, nuclear family. Married a wonderful lady. Don't really think LGBT is right personally, but I won't treat them as less than a person. Doesn't mean I won't be friends with them, or get along with them. My wife has several gay friends, and we've gotten along fine. What they do in the bedroom doesn't really have any bearing on my life, so they can do what makes them happy. Just don't shove it in my face and tell me I'm a bad person for not embracing/celebrating their choices in life. But I've got the same opinion on dudes oversharing about their latest tinder hookup. Don't care, please don't over share, glad it makes you happy.

-Gay marriage is a weird problem. On one hand, as a Christian I believe in the 1 man 1 woman definition. Civil union is probably the better term across the board, and helps remove religious or traditional connotations of the word to help facilitate debate. Not like paying a law defining marriage in the traditional sense is going to stop a gay couple from being together. So why does it matter? Because our society, as someone else pointed out earlier, is such in a 1950 ideal of a family. Healthcare is generally tied to our jobs, with dependents under the plan being defined in 1950s terms. The legal system doesn't recognize rights of a "special friend" in matters. But it doesn't really infringe on my ability to pursue of life/liberty/happiness, so they should have the same opportunities I do as a married heterosexual dude.

-Healthcare is tough, and I'm still trying to figure out what right looks like in my mind. I'm not convinced that gov single payer is the right answer, and a touch weary of what that means regarding other liberties (can't do X because of risk). But our system as is leaves people without access to preventative medical care, driving up emergency costs and lowering quality of life. Business have gone cheap on healthcare, and for lower level jobs, they may not offer healthcare at all. And having floated my wife's insurance on the open market when she was in between jobs before we were married, open market insurance is stupid expensive. About $450/mo for my wife for a middle of the road plan, with a lot of out of pocket expenses should emergency or specialty care be needed. And healthcare institutions have no incentive to lower costs, and have a high bar to entry that is funded by (and therefore limited by) the government (residencies), so competition isn't a strong driver in reducing costs.

-Social security is another interesting issue. We are an individualistic society. The norm is to break out on your own as an adult and make your own path. Great for the individual, but bears risk compared to other societies that are more family oriented and love in multigenerational homes, as costs go up for things such as child care, elderly/end of life care, housing, etc. If someone plans poorly, or falls on bad circumstances, they could be left old, destitute, and with no one to turn to.

Probably the hardest question we have right now as a country is answering what it means to be an American. I like to think it's a place where we can pursue what fulfills us in life if we're willing to work for it. That system needs defending, and there are tradeoffs internally that need to happen to ensure people are not being left behind due to systemic issues/biases.

No one's going to make it this far so I can throw out some heresy- one good thing about ACSC-DL was the unit discussing realism/liberalism/constructivism. Got me really thinking about why I believe what I do, what I find important, and what I don't. Philosophy, ethics, morals-interesting topics that I wish I had more time to read about and think on. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Why don't we have more like jazz.  He thinks.  As far as your ACSC comment - try to get into SAMS.  School of Advanced Military Studies.  Kind of competitive, all of that horseshit.  But if you have at least one comment about ACSC, try out for SAMS.  Its a good program. PM me if you want details.

[filthy_liar]

Can folks on here read what jazz just typed?  What is wrong with that?  He's serving his country, providing for his family, and stated pretty dog gone clearly his political views.  What is wrong with that? He's a little bit conservative.  Don't take him out behind the woodshed and shoot him because he's not shouting people down and rioting.  Read what he wrote in that post.  He's not coming across as a bad, evil dude.  He's not coming across as a white privilege person. He's coming across as a human being.

I didn't see one.  Not one excuse why he couldn't succeed in jazz's post. He'll probably realize much success.

[DosXX]

14 minutes ago, filthy_liar said:

Can folks on here read what jazz just typed?  What is wrong with that?  He's serving his country, providing for his family, and stated pretty dog gone clearly his political views.  What is wrong with that?

Nothing is wrong with it? Did you honestly think someone on here would have a problem with that? You should read it too and learn how to express your views respectfully and with maturity.

14 minutes ago, filthy_liar said:

He's not coming across as a bad, evil dude.  He's not coming across as a white privilege person. He's coming across as a human being.

What are you implying here? Honestly.

[filthy_liar]

55 minutes ago, DosXX said:

Nothing is wrong with it? Did you honestly think someone on here would have a problem with that? You should read it too and learn how to express your views respectfully and with maturity.

What is wrong with it?  Its an internet forum.  You were logging into an internet forum.  On politics.  And you thought I needed to learn something.  You are an idiot.  What I'm implying, idiot, is that you tards are constantly accusing white men of being bad, evil dudes with white privilege.  We're not.  We don't suck as at our jobs.  You made that up, because you needed a leverage mechanism to lean on.  That's what I'm implying.  You probably suck ass at your job.  That's also what I'm implying. I'm not actually implying much at all here

[filthy_liar]

Go do your job the best you can.  If you're having to constantly complain/profess to me that you are doing a good job, you aren't.  I'm not your mom.  Go do at good job.  Or don't.  From reading your post, I think you would be a horrible liability = you suck at your job.  Good luck

 

Edited October 29, 2020 by filthy_liar
That was for that DosXX douchebag

[filthy_liar]

Just to be clear.  DosXX.  You are an idiot.  Thanks for coming out

 

[DosXX]

33 minutes ago, filthy_liar said:

What is wrong with it?  Its an internet forum.  You were logging into an internet forum.  On politics.  And you thought I needed to learn something.  You are an idiot. 

35 minutes ago, filthy_liar said:

 

 

This is cringe 15 year old edgelord take on anonymous forums. We're just a bunch of bros trying to learn from each other's perspectives and spar a bit on our views, insulting people like you're doing hiding behind a screen is cowardly and embarrassing. 

36 minutes ago, filthy_liar said:

What I'm implying, idiot, is that you tards are constantly accusing white men of being bad, evil dudes with white privilege.  We're not.  We don't suck as at our jobs.  You made that up, because you needed a leverage mechanism to lean on.  That's what I'm implying. 

Find one instance of this on this forum, I'll wait. Projecting is a common defense mechanism for an offended fragile ego though so not surprised.

[brabus]

[Sim]

Can we go back to discussing "the next president"? 

https://thenationalpulse.com/exclusive/biden-recording-spy-chief-and-sdny/

Quote

 I get calls from my father to tell me that The New York Times is calling but my old partner Eric, who literally has done me harm for I don’t know how long, is the one taking the calls because my father will not stop sending the calls to Eric. I have another New York Times reporter calling about my representation of Patrick Ho – the fucking spy chief of China who started the company that my partner, who is worth $323 billion, founded and is now missing. The richest man in the world is missing who was my partner. He was missing since I last saw him in his $58 million apartment and signed a $4 billion deal to build the fucking largest fucking LNG port in the world. And I am receiving calls from the Southern District of New York from the U.S. Attorney himself. My best friend in business Devon has named me as a witness without telling me in a criminal case and my father without telling me.

 

[Guardian]

Doesn’t matter. Joe Biden could come out and admit everything and the never trumper’s and liberals would somehow blame trump for it all. Russia Russia russia.

[Sim]

In economic news. 

https://www.bea.gov/news/2020/gross-domestic-product-third-quarter-2020-advance-estimate

Quote

Current‑dollar GDP increased 38.0 percent, or $1.64 trillion, in the third quarter to a level of $21.16 trillion. In the second quarter, GDP decreased 32.8 percent, or $2.04 trillion (tables 1 and 3).

The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 3.4 percent in the third quarter, in contrast to a decrease of 1.4 percent in the second quarter (table 4). The PCE price index increased 3.7 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 1.6 percent. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 3.5 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.8 percent.

Personal Income

Current-dollar personal income decreased $540.6 billion in the third quarter, in contrast to an increase of $1.45 trillion in the second quarter. The decrease in personal income was more than accounted for by a decrease in personal current transfer receipts (notably, government social benefits related to pandemic relief programs) that was partly offset by increases in compensation and proprietors' income (table 8). Additional information on several factors impacting personal income can be found in "Effects of Selected Federal Pandemic Response Programs on Personal Income."

Disposable personal income decreased $636.7 billion, or 13.2 percent, in the third quarter, in contrast to an increase of $1.60 trillion, or 44.3 percent, in the second quarter. Real disposable personal income decreased 16.3 percent, in contrast to an increase of 46.6 percent.

Personal saving was $2.78 trillion in the third quarter, compared with $4.71 trillion in the second quarter. The personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 15.8 percent in the third quarter, compared with 25.7 percent in the second quarter.

 

[TreeA10]

On 10/28/2020 at 10:02 AM, Negatory said:

 recognize that multiple CIA directors, national intelligence directors, defense intelligence specialists, and leaders in that community have all stated that this is overwhelmingly likely to be Russian disinformation.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/10/28/trump-conspiracy-theoryhunter-biden-433131

 

 

You do realize that the Director of the DNI said no intel agencies have reviewed this information and therefore have no opinion.  So, what multiple CIA directors, National Intel Directors, or Defense Intel Specialists or Leaders of the Community are you referring to?

[Guardian]

Sounds good.  Can we make that for a couple of years?

That’s funny. His original post is gone. Does that mean he voluntarily un-volunteered?

[FourFans]

How can the Bobulinski story be a hoax with so many verifiable hard facts?  Just finished watching the interview.  Seems legit.

Edited October 29, 2020 by FourFans130

[filthy_liar]

I dunno.  I don't really care about the Bobulinski story or any other negative story about Biden or Harris.  The reason I don't care, is that I've already made a decision to vote against the ideology that is the Democrat party.  I don't need anymore convincing, and I don't want to try to win hearts and minds over to my side - especially on the internet.

If someone is voting for Biden, I don't think you're going to convince them in an internet forum to vote for Pres Trump because of the Bobulinski story.  And to be honest, if you could do that, that's not someone that we want voting.  If you flip that situation and say Russian collusion = no vote for Pres Trump, I don't think you're going to convince people who are conservative to vote for Biden.  

Its noise.  I don't think swing voters make a difference, just like I don't think any fence sitter makes a difference. I'm not a political science major (because I'm not mildly retarded), so I could be wrong.  But that's what I see.  Bobulinski and Russian collusion are fence sitter arguments that grab headlines.  Those arguments don't matter.  Which is fascinating, because they are in fact the headlines.

Sorry about the jab on poly sci majors.

Edited October 30, 2020 by filthy_liar
Misspelled democrat. I'm not very good

[filthy_liar]

On 10/27/2020 at 11:57 PM, FLEA said:

Not a liberal but literally NONE of that matters. Although I'm sure some grandpa's back during WW2 bemoaned that the worlds greatest generation didn't know how to change wagon wheels or work a plow.

You would be surprised about how much the fact that a man can figure out things, engineer things, and fix things around the house matters to women.  And before you say "toothless trailer park women in Mississippi," not just them.  All of them.  Actually you wouldn't be surprised, you'd be shocked.  I continue to be shocked about it.  Apparently women aren't quite on board with the 'we can do everything a man can do' movement as I thought. Its uncomfortable to get into a conversation about building a barn and el tardo's wife starts complaining that her #1 has to call a plumber to fix the sink drain.  With el tardo standing right there.  You'd be surprised.

From reading your posts, you seem like you would struggle in that category.  The category being, doing anything more physically complicated than sharpening a pencil.

[Prozac]

57 minutes ago, filthy_liar said:

You would be surprised about how much the fact that a man can figure out things, engineer things, and fix things around the house matters to women.  And before you say "toothless trailer park women in Mississippi," not just them.  All of them.  Actually you wouldn't be surprised, you'd be shocked.  I continue to be shocked about it.  Apparently women aren't quite on board with the 'we can do everything a man can do' movement as I thought. Its uncomfortable to get into a conversation about building a barn and el tardo's wife starts complaining that her #1 has to call a plumber to fix the sink drain.  With el tardo standing right there.  You'd be surprised.

From reading your posts, you seem like you would struggle in that category.  The category being, doing anything more physically complicated than sharpening a pencil.

Do you speak like that to people in the real world or are you a keyboard cowboy? Wondering what your credentials are as I have a hard time believing your douchieness levels would be tolerated by professional aviators. So far you’ve brought fuck all to the conversation other than to tell us what a badass Bear Grylls you are. Cool bro. Shouldn’t you be back on the farm or some shit? I hear that’s a lot of work and you sure seem to have a lot of time to sling shite insults on the inter webs. 

[N730]

Do you speak like that to people in the real world or are you a keyboard cowboy? Wondering what your credentials are as I have a hard time believing your douchieness levels would be tolerated by professional aviators. So far you’ve brought all to the conversation other than to tell us what a badass Bear Grylls you are. Cool bro. Shouldn’t you be back on the farm or some shit? I hear that’s a lot of work and you sure seem to have a lot of time to sling shite insults on the inter webs. 

You forgot his "hotass girlfriend".

You wouldn't know her though, she goes to another school...

Sent from my SM-N975U using Baseops Network mobile app

[Sua Sponte]

9 hours ago, N730 said:

You forgot his "hotass girlfriend".

You wouldn't know her though, she goes to another school...

Sent from my SM-N975U using Baseops Network mobile app
 

And cheated on him by a “Poly Sci,” not a Poli Sci, major...

Edited October 30, 2020 by Sua Sponte

[Sim]

12 hours ago, filthy_liar said:

If someone is voting for Biden, I don't think you're going to convince them in an internet forum to vote for Pres Trump because of the Bobulinski story. 

But we can try. Especially since legacy media is ignoring the story (maybe liberal friends would ask ...)  So choice is "orange man bad" vs highly corrupt family. 

 

https://wset.com/news/nation-world/tony-bobulinksi-i-have-now-put-myself-in-huge-risk-for-the-sake-of-the-american-people

 

Quote

 A justice department official has confirmed to Sinclair Broadcast Group that the FBI opened up a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden and his associates back in 2019, focused on allegations of money-laundering and that the probe remains active.

Quote

Bobulinksi discussed why he feels if elected, Biden would be compromised by the Chinese government and much more in an exclusive interview with Rosen.

The compromise they have is that in documents that have been well provided to the Senate, to Congress, to the Department of Justice via the FBI that CEFC was effectively loaning money directly to the Biden family.

https://streamable.com/bo14ez

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Sim