Guard Dog

I'm baffled that Ivanka have a position important enough to need using secured gov. email. But if that's the case. Lock her up! Lock her up! I doubt if he would do that, but Trump should enforce the full scale of the law on Ivanka. This would shut up his opponents and scare the living crap out of Hillary. Win Win. That's nepotism for ya. That has never worked out well for anyone!

Apparently Ivanka Trump is using her personal e-mail for government business. Prediction: the people howling for Hillary Clinton to be locked up for essentially the same thing will be cool with it. The people who thought Clinton did no wrong will be chanting "lock her up" or something.

Why can't people just mind their own f-----g business? Why does every single perceived "problem" have to be the business of the goddamned f-----g government? First of all you all know what I think of taxation on general principle. But if it must exist as means of funding big brother could we at the very least not have to suffer it as a nanny state behavior control mechanism? Of course smoking is bad. Of course drinking (particularly to excess) is unhealthy. So f-----g what? We are all adults here. If an grown and consenting adult wishes to engage in self destructive behavior against warnings and better sense then just let them. Besides, we've already tried banning booze once. We already know we didn't learn anything from that (see War on Drugs). https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2018/11/19/alcohol-taxes-restrictions-public-health-policy-problem-drinking-blue-laws/1729501002/

My local newspaper is discontinuing home delivery where I live. Ain't that a bummer? Time to enter the 21st century I guess.

The other way around IIRC. They were first but Chucky out-cheesed them. I think it goes like this: Norm Bushnell creates Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater as a way to expand Atari and looking at crossing his experience with amusement parks and Disney attractions Bushnell buys the concept back from Warners who wanted Atari the game maker, not Atari the pizza maker Bushnell tries to expand the line with franchises; he signs a deal with Robert Brock. Brock, afraid that Bushnell wasn't protecting his investment by not keeping his animatronics up to date cancelled his deal with Bushnell and opened restaurants usin!g the same concept but with animatronics from a company called CEI after Brock was convinced that the technology that Aaron "Whack-a-mole" Fechter was working on was better than Bushnell's. This was branded ShowBiz Pizza Bushnell sued Brock over breach of contract; the end result was that ShowBiz Pizza paid part of their profits to Pizza Time Bushnell took Pizza Time public in 1981, but the video game crash of 1983 sent Pizza Time into bankruptcy ShowBiz Pizza bought Pizza Time in bankruptcy, merging to become ShowBiz Pizza Time Chuck E. Cheese proved a better mascot and eventually all of the restaurants became Chuck E. Cheeses and the company rebranded itself CEC Entertainment CEC entertainment was bought out by Apollo Management Group who is altering some restaurants to have a dance floor rather than an animatronic show to appeal to adults. Way to spoil my childhood memory with all these facts! I remember pizza time too.

You gotta be kidding me! As a collectors item is definitely all kinds of cool. As a sipping whiskey, well... only aged four years and the distiller is not identified. For $80 that's going to be a no from me. IMO 4 year old bourbon is like taking bread from the oven before it even rises.

Tbh, maybe I should stay away from the Way Off Topic and Computer and Console sections. I've learned that no matter what I say, feels like most people will disagree with me on them, while people agree with me on the Pillars/Deadfire dedicated sections which I used to be more active so can't help think that the cult of people here are just different minded or expect differently. Maybe I should stick to those sections and let people have their peace, it's only the same 20-25 members anyway so... I wouldn't want you to leave anymore than Hurlshot. I haven't figured you out yet TBH. There have been times I'll come here and post something just to provoke a discussion. Stir the pot a little. But for the most part what I say here is pretty much what you'd get from me over drinks in a bar somewhere. You have posted some pretty far out statements then argued about them. So I'm curious. Do you really believe everything you are selling or are you stirring the pot? You've posted links and videos that make some indefensible statements and refer to them as some kind of authority on the matter. If you want to be taken seriously that is where you are going wrong. If you are just stirring things up I'd suggest dialing it down a bit. A little bit is fine, too much is too much. Just my $.02

Just blow it off if it bugs you. Hell there was a poster here I actually hated because he was so insulting. I didn't block him or leave the forum. I just stopped engaging him. There is still plenty of interesting discussion to be had. Besides, the WoT board accounts for what? 10 minutes of your day? I look at it about 3-5 times a day unless I'm really talking to someone. We lost Wals because he was tired of Oby, other trolls have run off other posters. Don't let it bug you.

Farewell Kepler Space Telescope. Thanks for a job well done: https://www.space.com/42461-kepler-exoplanet-hunting-telescope-shuts-down.html

OK, which one of you is this guy??? https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nothing-on-this-page-is-real-how-lies-become-truth-in-online-america/2018/11/17/edd44cc8-e85a-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.29a155beac36

Just for chuckles: https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/michael-w-chapman/number-witches-us-rise-may-outnumber-presbyterians How is that working out?

The other way around IIRC. They were first but Chucky out-cheesed them.

The point being Trump's every political uttering on Twitter from the day he announced in 2014 to this very day is front page news. And good lord has he given them s--t to talk about. But this guy says something as stupid as any of that and you only read about it on f-----g Breibart, Daily Caller, and Fox News? Bias is found more in what CNN, MSNBC, etc decline to report than in what they do report. It's popular to cry "fake news" which is pretty weak in that what is reported as news is all true. But it's not all the truth. What they decline to cover is telling.

Something to look forward to: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/08/eric-swalwell-president-2020-975846 So, how much does it cost to build a Vault and which one should a model it after? Oh wait, that last question is easy. Vault 34 of course! Edit: Curious how none of the "left" leaning MSM has reported Swalwell's comment. Even in jest is is at the very least in poor taste for a political leader with presidential ambitions to carelessly joke about ordering the incineration millions of Americans for refusing to follow a law that violates their Constitutional rights. No bias in the media though.

Full understanding? Doubt it. But we understand well enough and then reject the conclusions that understanding leads to. "We" (humans) need to get to the point where LGBT does not need to be a movement that feels the need to justify or defend itself. Rather LGBT should be nothing more than people living their lives in such a way that brings them the most comfort and happiness. But as long as it is conflated with truly deviant behavior like pedophilia then they DO need to defend themselves. Pedophilia is rape plain and simple since a child does not have the wherewithal to consent or resist manipulation by an adult. Rape is rape no matter the target or perpetrator. However is IS more egregious in children because they cannot fight back and will have a harder time understanding that they have been wronged. Classifying that as being part of the lives of consenting adults living their lives is a cynical means of denigrating people you personally dislike and hopefully turn other like minded people against them. But why? The thing is, being gay or trans is not the real issue. That might be what certain people object to from the standpoint of their moral code but that is not the "root cause" of the problem. The thing that really offends is being happy. Whether that is marrying a consenting same sex partner that loves you, wearing whatever clothes you feel best in, or reading a bible or saying a quiet prayer in a classroom. What offends people the most is happiness in their fellow humans especially when achieved by means that does not make them happy. I don't smoke, it's bad for you. Therefore no one should be allowed to smoke. I believe homosexuality is a sin therefore no one is allowed to be openly homosexual. That kind of thing. What people fail to understand is that morality and beliefs are a individual thing. Imposing them on others is collectivism and is often championed by the very people who say they oppose collectivism. Living your life in the way that suits you best, and harming no one in the process is the ultimate act of rebellion. Because nowhere where humans hold dominion does that not piss someone off. No matter what you are doing. Once we get over being pissed off by things that are none of our business (or at least not acting on that feeling) then we'll be taking a leap forward. I'm hopeful but not holding my breath.

Amen! Actually it's designed to be a nation more than a federation but the state governments were supposed to have a lot more influence than they do now. That has been lost and it's led to states like TN & CA having people in elected office who have no business being in charge of anything. People tend not to pay attention to their state governments these days because so much of their power has been lost to the Leviathan-on-the-Potomac. There is a lot of rank stupidity coming from State Capitals that bleeds into national politics because state politicians sooner or later run for national office. Once the camel gets his nose under the tent, he's coming in. If State governments were still what they needed to be this might not have happened. Or maybe it would. Who knows. Everything becomes a parody if itself sooner or later.

There is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Senate elections. The fact that small states receive equal representation with large ones. The problem is (IMO) rooted in the misunderstanding of what the Senate is supposed to be. Prior to 1918 & the 17th Amendment Senators were elected by the State Legislatures. The 17th AMDT changed that to a popular election of the state voters. This has damaged the power of the House of Representatives and destroyed the roles of the State governments. Federalism is not quite dead yet (a few more "unified" governments may make it so) but when it does die you can point to the role the 17th amendment played as pivotal. The House is designed to be the representative of "the people". The Senate the representatives of "the states" because we are a union of states. Once that changed the House became the minor league and the Senate became... well... a mess. It's a circus now with more than a few clowns in it. It is supposed to be a moderating force to counter the passions of the House. It's just another political s--t show. The 17th Amendment was a mistake.

No links to share but the value of this nugget of wisdom should be self evident. Don't scratch your junk after cutting up jalapenos. Consider that good advice from a friend.

On this date in history the monument to Old Drum was placed in at the Johnson County Courthouse in Warrensburg VA. It commemorates the case of Old Drum, a black and tan coon hound whose killing led to a lawsuit. The closing argument as presented by Senator George Vest is transcribed on the statue base: "The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. Gentlemen of the jury: A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death." Well spoken Sir!

It's curious that none of you draw any distinctions between a group of volunteers home cooking soup & chili & sandwiches that they give away for free & a unlicensed business selling food to the public. But, OK. The thing the state is looking at is the license? Why? Because it must be PAID for. Yes kiddies it's true all they really care about is the money they get for their blessing. Sure health inspectors go around, but not everywhere and not even all the time. A quick web search reveals that fewer that .04% of public restaurants in the US receive an unannounced inspection.... ever. And according to Web MD as of 2014 there were over 24K reported cases of food poisoning from meals served in licensed public restaurants in the USA the previous 10 years. The key word being reported. Other than food you grew/raised, harvested/slaughtered, & cooked yourself you are relying on the care and quality control of other people and their self interest in maintaining their business every time you take a bite of anything. To quote Adam Smith "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest" If they make you sick you even sell you a shoddy meal not only will you not be back but everyone you tell. AND there is the prospect of criminal charges or lawsuits. All fine & good IMO. And anyway, caveat emptor buddy. If you don't think they care about your food you've never run a business before. Now it comes as NO surprise to me that Alumin seems to think that the food MUST be tainted. After all if it has not been blessed by the high priest of the church of the State (PBUH) it has to be poisoned. I find no end of amusement that those of you how harbor a healthy dislike of religion so freely place unconditional faith in something far less reliable, far more ephemeral, and far less deserving: a collection of hacks and bureaucrats who know dangerously little about the things they think they should control. I ought to know. I'm one of them!

Seems like they just hate homeless in KC. No they hate what all governments hate: independent action. No good shall come but through them, by action or permission. Machiavelli said it best: “Thus a wise prince will think of ways to keep his citizens of every sort and under every circumstance dependent on the state and on him; and then they will always be trustworthy” The purpose of government is not the benefit of the citizens. Rather it is the preservation of it's own existence.

An all volunteer group in Kansas City that was cooking hot meals for the homeless during the first real cold weather of they ear has been shut down by the government. Not only did they shut down the effort they confiscated all the food and destroyed it by soaking it in bleach. Why? The group did not humbly beg permission on bended knee from the government, and offer them payment of tribute in the form of a license to go out and feed hungry people. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article221122480.html Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. -Thomas Paine