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Doesn't it bother you that a legal US resident can be arrested and possibly deported just for expressing opinions that Trump doesn't like? To the best of my knowledge he hasn't been convicted of, or even charged with, a crime. Once you start restricting the scope of the 1st Amendment, where do you stop?

Bigun is significantly to the right of me (but, I suspect, getting less so). However, he is not a knee-jerk MAGA warrior like some who post here, and his positions are always well thought out even if I disagree with them.

@13.44 minutes into the video, he specifically says, the authors did not lay out a plan, it was more like a cookbook with recipes. Tariff chaos is not a negotiating tool. And, let's not forget that it was American businessmen who shipped the jobs overseas for lower wages to increase their profits. I doubt they'll bring jobs back for $3,000/month when they can maintain a $100/month workforce and no HR headaches. The only thing we'll see (are seeing) here is a recession and a "We're winning HUGELY."

You will always be a skydiver. No one can take that from you. Please check in on occasion. You'll always be a part of this community.

Hi folks, Now that we know Trump is going to try to run for a 3rd term, my daughter thinks we should just run Obama against him. Sounds good to me, Jerry Baumchen

I'm sort of assuming you're graduating this spring... Good time for reflection. You've made a life for yourself. It doesn't have room for skydiving -- that's not a problem. And your malfunction really wasn't a beginner malfunction. The correct answer is the one that has to surviving, and that you did. I wish you well, really. Maybe your involvement in skydiving helped you to decide to really buckle down in school -- if so, that's not an entirely negative consequence. But yeah, things can have life-changing consequences. And don't generate a long bucket list -- as you can, do the things that interest you, don't save them up, because they'll keep your life interesting, and the best way to meet interesting people is to have your own interesting life. Enough lecture from the senior auntie Wendy P.

Yep. Now tell us again why Trump is a better choice than Harris. "Well, yeah, Hitler is pretty bad - but that Hindenberg guy! He's a socialist. And have you heard his laugh?"

Montgolfier was a scientist. He observed that smoke, unlike water, rises. Reagan just combined that smoke with mirrors,

Rich, the reason you don’t get moderated is because you don’t do personal attacks or make jokes about pedophilia. But do understand, no one watches the videos suggested by someone who can’t seem to have two sentences in a row make sense. By and large, I don’t watch videos anyway; they’re almost always narratives designed to convince, they’re not information Wendy P.

No worries then. Jan 22 2020: "We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine." Jan 24: "China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” Feb 2: "We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.” Feb 10: "I think the virus is going to be—it’s going to be fine.” Feb 10: "Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.” Feb 24: "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… the Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” Feb 25: "I think that's a problem that’s going to go away… They have studied it.” Feb. 26: “The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.” Feb 27: "It's going to disappear. One day — it's like a miracle — it will disappear." Mar 5: "The United States… has, as of now, only 129 cases… and 11 deaths. We are working very hard to keep these numbers as low as possible!” Mar 6: “I think we’re doing a really good job in this country at keeping it down… a tremendous job at keeping it down.” Mar 7: “You have to be calm. It’ll go away.” Mar 7: "It goes away….It’s going away. We want it to go away with very, very few deaths. Mar 11: "for the vast majority of Americans, the risk is very, very low" And that turned out fine.

For example, the color line that is terminating every female or non-white person from senior levels of command in the US military, and replacing them with white males. MAGA begs the question: when you say "make America great again", when exactly do you want to return to? When was America "great"? What year do you have in mind? 1950? 1925? 1850? It certainly seems that for a large number of MAGA devotees that was a time when women and minorities knew their place, which was far from any position of leadership. When even being able to vote was a bridge too far. When medicine consisted of leeching and cod liver oil, not vaccines or any science-based elitist crap. Maybe back when real leaders like Andrew Jackson (who Trump so admires) were willing to force the Cherokee off their land, to die on the Trail of Tears on their way to some God-forsaken patch of semi-desert in Oklahoma. Except of course when that land turned out to have a lot of oil, that had to get taken from them too. When, exactly, was America "great" in the eyes of MAGA? What is the destination? Because as you go back, and you don't have to go back far, it might look better for white males but it sucked for everyone else. That's what all this anti-DEI bullshit is about, a desire to return to the past when all those "other people" knew their proper place.

Can we not do the R's are Nazis and Dems are communist crap. Let's stick to discussing policies. Please.

Hi Keith, Quite a few years ago, I had occasion to call Skratch Harris on a legal issue in California. He is an attorney in San Diego & a 'former' skydiver. I introduced myself & said that I was a former skydiver. He immediately replied that no one is a 'former' skydiver, you will always be a skydiver. Jerry Baumchen

Sorry for the late reply! Thanks for all the incredibly kind and warm messages. Absolutely. If anything, the whole experience, although short, has been deeply influential and has only made me cherish my life more. I got a second chance and actually recovered reasonably well (not 100%, but that's the price of surviving, which I accept). I know a lot of people didn't get the same chance. I'm truly incredibly lucky and I'm thankful for that daily. Although I may not physically be in the sky anymore, I'm determined to make the most out of this life. I will always remember. You guys nudged and pushed me to the right direction and gave me a lot of life advice. Some hard opinions too, but I probably needed to hear them at that time. I couldn't understand everything that was said back then, but now I've gained more perspective and understood more. I have made the best decisions for myself. Time is really powerful. It allowed me to heal and process things at my own pace. Skydiving has shaped me and is always a part of me now. I'm at peace with not jumping again and am ready to move forward. I have. She is happy. I understand her more now. She really loves and cares about me, and she desperately wanted to protect me back then.

I have NEVER, nor will I EVER tolerate racism. Bending the knee and accepting it is what got us here. Fuck racism and fuck those who insist on it.

Our constitution should remain intact. Just as I advocate no changes to the first ten amendments, so too, the 22nd amendment. There are plenty of dictatorial regimes under the guise of free elections. Feel free to choose one and head out.

https://youtu.be/G4zrA8Knnk8?si=quXgu8EvBbdfHHcg Brian talks about how Musk is talking rubbish as nobody can access GPS data at scale. Not only is Brian wrong, I remember a university showed that they could identify the home address of a senior pentagon official by correlating public device location data. They took the data and pattern matched finding that one device from a home went to the pentagon and the other to a university where the wife worked. I can’t find that article but there are a number of others. https://www.wired.com/story/phone-data-us-soldiers-spies-nuclear-germany/ The biggest concern is that it is likely that everyone who is going to these rallies are being monitored and on a “watch list”. It’s scary to think that based on freely available information that doesn’t require warrants and other legal due process, you could be identified. The possibilities of abuse are sobering. A couple that come to mind. Being individually targeted for IRS or other increased scrutiny, being doxxed, if in a high density of “protestors” possibly having your neighbourhood funding and services targeted, targeted political ads. Maybe the price of Facebook and our smart phones is higher than we realised.

There are two primary factors in measles: 1. Based on population density. 2. Based on population density. Don't be number two.

Damn the shit available these days crosses the line. It used to be we'd need to fetch mushrooms out of cow patties to get to your side of reality. Anyway it's oars, rudders, and sextants. Please note: illiteracy and ignorance are not virtues, they are embarrassments to all except the illiterate and ignorant. It's just too bad that what you offer here isn't seen as equal to trolling.

Hi John, I could not have said it better. Keith, you keep right on with what you are doing. You are truly an asset to this place. Jerry Baumchen

It'll probably miss the first attempt. Damn DEI hires. Wendy P.

No argument from me there. But to be clear if it's one of those confused biological situations where parents and medical doctors are trying their best to make an early on decision for a child that avoids a psychological disaster later, and there are never guarantees, you are good with the efforts?

Ahhh - one of those that thinks Trump is playing long range 4d chess, rather than simply trying to have vengeance on anyone who has slighted him. Enough said.

I agree with the sentiment expressed by everyone that snarky comments and labelling people is unhelpful. Biguns point about black and white thinking (psychology term, not race) is bad. The problem with your posts is that Trump/Musk can do anything and you shrug it off as “just …” and go onto to rationalise it is for the greater good, while making sure to mention that it’s better than Biden etc. I’m not sure how any American can support people who do nazi salutes, car sales from the Whitehouse, deliberate lies and deception, celebrate the pain of immigrants and the disadvantaged. the thread about white power in the US has many examples of where this administration has stepped well past the line of racist behaviour. If you honestly believe sexism and racism is bad, how come you’re not as vocal about this administration covering/removing the names of non white and female people who lost their lives fighting for your country? I forget the agency (NSA or CIA). A vast number of American citizens speak Spanish, yet it’s not racially driven that this administration has declared English the official language and removed Spanish language versions of important government websites? I’m sorry but your posts show no evidence that you’re against racism and sexism.

I'll be damned if I kneel before your color line.

The argument being made is that given our history DEI is a pathway to Equality, Merit and Integrity. Sure it's messy but outside of white suburbia there are a few otherwise nice but pointy hat wearing folks who need a solid framework jammed down their throats to quit being assholes.

Once upon a time that would have been an Onion post

Hi folks, Looks like the Jack Daniels people are crying crocodile tears: Jack Daniel's maker says Canada taking bottles off shelves 'worse than tariffs' Too fucking bad, I say. Jerry Baumchen

Who gets to judge those things, though? Currently it is a crew of inexperienced 19-23 year old coders who might be able to write script but clearly have not a clue about anything else. Cuts are being made on the basis of what Elon Musk thinks is useful to himself. He is of course well known for his lack of ability to care about anyone except himself and his 10,000 offspring (or so I infer from his statements and behavior), so condemning a few million people to die of malaria, HIV, or starvation is a small price to pay if he gets his tax cuts and trip to be the king of Mars. When Congress creates programs and allocates money, the Executive Branch has no constitutional authority to kill or defund those programs. The Executive can lobby Congress to get rid of such programs, but to do so they would have to convince Congress to take responsibility. Unfortunately the current cult formerly known as the Republican Party is all too happy to let Musk, who doesn't have to worry about re-election, take the heat for killing programs and ruining many lives, at least until he goes after Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid (which will begin any day now) and 2/3 of the people who vote R suddenly find themselves in line at the soup kitchen. I fear, though, that virtually every Republican congresscritter will discover that they have no idea where to look for their cojones after Trump and Musk cut them off and fed them to a drove of pigs.

Business is about making a profit for the owners or shareholders. Government is (or should be) about providing services that are not inherently profitable, such as protecting peoples rights and safety, regulating business to limit their tendency to maximize profit by screwing over people, supporting basic research that isn't profitable in the near term but eventually may lead to advances that can be picked up on by industry to develop products such as new drugs, and so on. It's infuriating (to say the least) to see the US government being taken over by grifters who clearly seek to personally profit, either by direct means or indirectly by eliminating the ability of government to prevent them from running roughshod over everybody else. "it's just the way it is" is just a slightly different way of saying "fuck anybody who I don't like".

The Prime Minister of Heard Island tells a CNN reporter of her concern that Trump's tariffs will seriously impact the fishing economy of the island.

Hi Keith, I could not agree more. Every step helps. Let's continue to be The Glass is Half Full people. Jerry Baumchen

It's been 5 years already? Skydiving is something that takes a lot of desire in order to progress. In this world only a tiny fraction of people find it to be worth the time, money, and risk. Have you told your mother of your decision? I'm pretty sure she is or will be quite happy.

He's a carbon copy of Winsor - repeated assertions that Harris is worse, is an idiot, but never saying why or offering any proof. Maybe he IS winsor, just with a different username.

What made Hillary so evil? Obviously you're not concerned about her emails, since, well, Signal and all that... Or is it just a matter of assuming the best for your guys, and assuming the worst for everyone else? Wendy P.

Hi Nigel, Elon needs to get with the modern world; he can work from home in South Africa. Jerry Baumchen

However it may seem to you, they're literally not so you legally can't. But I can see why just ignoring the details and simply pretending black is white instead is appealing to you, you've never been good with complex concepts.

The mother of the child who died of measles appeared in a video on Monday with Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization. “We would absolutely not take the MMR. The measles wasn’t that bad" she said. So having your child die "wasn't that bad"? What kind of moron is this?

AKA the peacetime equivalent of that post Vietnam-era t-shirt: shoot them all and let God sort them out Wendy P.

I think those ideas sound reasonable. Of course, you’d be excoriated for failing to militarize the border. Wendy P.

I agree with this. I get three days worth of texts before a doctor's appointment. Surely, we could input a text system to notify three days before visa expiration.

Hi Keith, I agree that every person, when in another country, should keep track of the rules. However, how would you feel if anyone in your family, or you, were treated as the Canadian woman was treated by this country, for a simple infringement. Jerry Baumchen

What surprises me is the living presidents and vice presidents. get them all in a room and on message.

You be nice to Keith, ain't his fault he's all fucked up!

This is what I find surprising about the American right, that they are surprised by something that was spelled out in glowing neon letters during the campaign. Trump during the campaign: Says repeatedly he will do something outrageous when in power. Republicans: You libs should stop being so hyperbolic, you’re not supposed to take him literally! Trump in office: Does exact outrageous thing he said he would do. Republicans: If only someone could have warned us this was going to happen!

Hi folks, Brought to you by the MAGA World: the [ school ] district told the Statesman [ newspaper ] that it was not the message that was at issue, but rather the hands of different skin tones on the poster. NW teacher refuses to remove these particular signs from classroom, as ordered - oregonlive.com Bullshit like this is why I refuse to be silent. Jerry Baumchen

Fine. You don't discriminate. Except against any Democrats, women with funny laughs, anyone who tries to be aware of discrimination, or any victimhood besides your own in having to work with and interact with substandard humans. But those are all real issues, as opposed to the silly ones like people thinking that anything but their essential inadequacy affects their careers. Bullshit. Wendy P.

I'm actually at PIA in Florida now, are you there? What's hilarious here is that at the registration area, they have signs "sorry the shirts and goody bags aren't here yet, they're stuck at customs. We hope they will arrive soon". There's going to be so much winning...

Coming from a guy who cannot find current major news, that's fucking hilarious.

Effective != efficient. Effective government is never going to be as efficient as a private enterprise as they have different objectives. Unfortunately the foxes are guarding the chicken run. The first place to start would be term limits for all politicians, aligning their benefit packages with those of other public servants, getting rid of big business in political donations and limiting their ability for insider trading. One of the problems with the 4 year election cycle is that large scale changes can take years. This incentivises politicians to implement quick fixes, and also muddies the waters. The administration often gets the blame or credit for actions from a prior administration.