wolfriverjoe

Don't bet on it. Given the current makeup of the SC, I can really see them finding some sort of loophole to allow this. As noted above, they considered a teacher and coach, on the public payroll, holding a group prayer in the middle of the football field, while the majority of the crowd was present to be 'private speech'. They seem utterly hell bent (pun intended) on destroying the separation of church and state.

You're right that I missed the additional posts. However, that doesn't change much. Just because the bump stock allows the shooter to make the gun fire fast, it's not a machine gun. The mechanism of the gun hasn't changed one bit. Back when they were being designed, the guys who came up with the bump stock sent a prototype to the BATF, asking if it was legal. The BATF said it was. Their rationale (and I don't always agree with the BATF's rationale) was that the gun was still a semi auto, that each time the gun fired, the sear had to reset and the trigger pulled again. If bump stocks were made illegal, would shoelaces and rubber bands be too? Would attaching a rubber band and a shoelace to an AR type rifle become 'manufacturing a machine gun'? (yes, I'm getting a bit absurd) Keep in mind that simple possession of the trigger, sear, auto safety sear and bolt carrier for a full auto M16, along with an AR 15 rifle constitutes 'possession of a machine gun', because they can be assembled to make one. Similarly, drilling the holes for the M16 parts into an AR receiver is the same. I see banning bump stocks as a knee jerk reaction to a single event. With the exception of firing into a packed crowd from a high vantage point, full auto fire isn't really much use. Lots of noise, lots of bullets flying through the air, but usually not a lot of hits. Unless the crowd is packed so tight that misses are going to hit someone else, it's a waste of ammunition. In situations where targets need to be selected and aimed at to be hit, it's really useless. Again, according to the letter of the law, bump stocks aren't machine guns. If we want to stop these kinds of shootings, banning a particular part, or a particular gun won't do a whole lot. And, since just about all of the notable shootings were done by people who had gone through the background check process and gotten the guns legally, expanding the checks won't do much either. Maybe putting some 'teeth' into the checks, and enforcing the laws about falsifying the applications would help. It's been pointed out that Hunter Biden's prosecution was a very rare event. The law is rarely enforced. Maybe it should be more often. There have been a couple events where the shooter got their gun legally, but shouldn't have. They 'slipped through the cracks'. Maybe those 'cracks' should be filled in, and people who are prohibited from owning guns shouldn't be able to pass the background check (and when they are found out, they should have the guns taken away and face serious consequences). After the buying frenzy when Obama got elected, and the even bigger one after the Sandy Hook shooting, there's absolutely no way to get all of those guns out of circulation. I don't really have any solutions. I don't think there are any. But banning bump stocks isn't really going to do anything.

Because it doesn't meet the definition of 'machine gun'. A bump stock is simulated full auto. The gun only fires once each time the trigger is pulled. It's just that the bump stock facilitates pulling the trigger multiple times rather quickly. There have been a variety of devices that attempted this feat. One was called the "Hell Fire". It was an adjustable spring unit that fit behind the trigger. The spring pushed the trigger back and reset it as the recoil pushed the whole gun back. The shooter had to hold onto the fore end and pull just the trigger back with one finger. It was not easy to work, and required either a fairly heavy 223 (light caliber) or a pistol caliber carbine. There was a home grown version that used a heavy rubber band, with a string (often a shoe lace) that was used to hold and adjust tension. When there was a strong push to regulate 'simulated full auto devices' back in the mid-90s, one of the 'rallying cries' was 'they want to outlaw shoelaces' (really). There's also the simple technique of holding the fore end, bracing the side of the butt against the hip and using just the finger on the trigger. Again, low powered weapons only. I knew a guy who was pretty good at that using a WW2 M1 Carbine. In any case, all of these simulated full auto devices and techniques are still very much semi auto. The trigger has to be pulled each and every time the hammer is released. Alito (who I really despise) is correct. The bump stock does not fit the NFA definition of 'machine gun'. And if Congress wanted to, they could simply add the bump stock (or any other 'full auto simulating' device) to the NFA. However, I don't expect to see this Congress actually accomplish much of anything.

Ok, it's only a partial representation of the canopy. Misleading, but ok. However, the wind vector in your drawing is coming from the front. It's pretty clear from the pilot chute that the wind is coming from 'below' the canopy in the picture. Along with the way the slider is blown upwards.

Ok, please explain to me how the slider can be almost all the way up, yet the canopy is nearly fully inflated. With the slider that far up, there's no way the canopy can have any form other than a big ball. It will be directly downwind (relative wind) from the container. It doesn't matter if the jumper is falling straight down, moving both down and forward, or moving entirely (or almost entirely) forward. So the airflow would be going directly against the bottom of the slider and the canopy. Not from the front. There are literally thousands of videos that will show this.

Well, it's not a hurricane, or even a tropical disturbance, but southern Florida is getting inundated. Record rainfalls and some pretty significant flooding. Link: https://apnews.com/article/rain-florida-flooding-hurricane-season-bb31b2d8ac01ee1300642ce674c6e61c From the story:

Oh there you go again. Using facts. Actual DATA. Brent don't need no steenking facts!!!

True to a large degree, but here in the US, the 'social safety net' is rather porus. Lot's of people 'fall through the cracks'. Care for a person in that condition is really expensive. Unless they have good long term disability insurance, they're going to suffer.

FIFY.

I was thinking more of Homer Simpson apologizing to the mob guys: https://www.google.com/search?q=Homer+simpson+I'm+sorry+you'r+such+jerks&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS910US910&oq=Homer+simpson+I'm+sorry+you'r+such+jerks&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTExNzUzajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ad68afe2,vid:gywzp83h-50,st:0

Schrodinger's President.

It's also a very useful device aside from it's use as backup power. Just about everyone has a car. Not a whole lot of people have backup generators. People who have cars typically use them on a regular basis. People who have backup generators either have to fire them up on a regular basis (larger installs usually run them for an hour or so every month) or just 'let them sit and hope they work when needed'.

And that perception works in three ways: 1 - Does the person giving the gift have some expectation of reciprocity? 2 - Does the person receiving the gift feel some obligation to 'pay it back'? 3 - Do any outside observers see either 1 or 2 happening?

The technology is improving. One detrimental factor is charging. Rapid charging, charging to full capacity, failing to maintain proper temperature while charging are among the bigger factors. Remember when Chicago experienced the cold snap last winter and the Tesla chargers were overwhelmed? That was because the battery heaters couldn't warm the packs enough to allow full speed rapid charging. Properly managed, the packs can maintain full capacity for a decent amount of time. And that's getting better and better.

From your own link:

In the article, it points out that the folks trying to kick him out are also unhappy that he's using party money to finance his own campaign. You know, like Trumpty Dumpty.

Hadn't seen this here yet: In yet another set of Felony Charges tied to the fake elector scheme, Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul filed charges against Jim Troupis, Trump's attorney in Wisconsin, Ken Chesebro, who's already pled guilty in Georgia, and Mike Roman, director of Election Day operations for Trump. The person who actually delivered the fraudulent paperwork texted Roman that she 'felt like a drug dealer'. Roman also faces charges in Georgia and Arizona. Governor Evers had a one word statement: "Good" However, Senator Ron Johnson called the charges “outrageous.” “Now Democrats are weaponizing Wisconsin’s judiciary,” Johnson posted on X. “Apparently conservative lawyers advising clients is illegal under Democrat tyranny. Democrats are turning America into a banana republic.” Care to guess what party affiliation each one is? Story link (lots more out there if anyone cares to search): https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-fake-electors-trump-2020-charges-77d00919fc8d8e07438076610090a9b1

They're just bylaws. They can be changed. Or Donnie Von Schitzenpants will demand (and get) and exception.

While I haven't watched the actual 'interview', there are lots of reports that Fox edited the living shit out of what he said. The 2 basic assumptions are that he's going completely off the rails and saying all sorts of things that he shouldn't or that he's become so incoherent that nobody at all (in their right mind or not) would support him. https://www.yahoo.com/news/seems-fox-news-edited-trump-132723547.html

Not news. When they defend against multiple defamation suits with the claim that 'no reasonable person would believe that statement', then they're just... Lies. Propaganda. Garbage. And some people actually believe the bullshit.

Oops. Double posted it somehow, instead of adding an edit. See post below.

Right. Any proof of that senility? Other than speech patterns COMPLETELY CONSISTENT with a stutter? Wrecked the economy? Seriously? Inflation is under control. Job creation is at levels NEVER seen before. Unemployment is at levels for lengths of time not seen in SEVENTY YEARS. And what 'open border'? Please provide evidence. You know, like numbers of deportations. Which are higher than when Trump was in office. The numbers of people attempting to cross is up some, but the ones detained keep saying that they are being told that the border is open and they can come right in. Who keeps repeating that? And Biden got a "Border Bill" put together. Which was a hell of an accomplishment. It had just about everything the Rs wanted. But Trumpty Dumpty decided he wanted the crisis to continue so that he had something to cry and lie about. So he had his little bitch Johnson kill it. Those that like Trump are STUPID ENOUGH TO BELIEVE HIS BULLSHIT. Period.

You're just figuring this out? This has been his MO for a VERY long time. That and thread derailing.

Nope. There were a fair amount of people who saw it for what it was. We saw what was happening in China, in Italy, in lots of places... And then heard Trumpty Dumpty pretend it was 'just like the flu' so that the economy wouldn't suffer. Once I saw reports of the Chinese welding doors to apartment buildings shut to enforce the quarantine, I knew it was going to be a big deal. Except 'we' didn't. Lots of people died. Lots more suffered severe, long term consequences.

Actually no. You piqued my curiosity, so I did a bit of searching. Limbaugh died Feb 2021. Rushmc last posted Sept 2020, with the last significant string of posts May 2020. That's about the time that the Delta variant of Covid was running rampant. Kinda wonder if that's what happened. He was the type who would pretend "Covid's not dangerous."