Guard Dog

Nothing like a graceless rant after getting fired (for good cause) https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/celebrities/article212989804.html

Banks tend to support business that generate a profit and repay their loans. Every time there is some kind of attack on gun rights people go out and buy guns. So, ins the spirit of business and cynicism If I were heavily invested in gun manufacturers I'd be one of the biggest gun control supporters around. Not saying anything like that is happening but would it surprise anyone?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gun-industry-sees-banks-threat-2nd-amendment-130134288.html Bank of America is 100% free to do business with any company it chooses to. Or not.

Congrats. May I recommend you vote for candidates from the PDV (Partei der Vernunft) when you can?

Interesting article. The more the Dems & Media criticize Trump the more his supporters support him. They are literally galvanizing their opposition. Another example of the political tribalism that has taken hold in these parts. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/23/us/politics/republican-voters-trump.html

He definitely made the last 90 seconds interesting

If you were so inclined there is a lot of work for someone of your education and skills in Russia.

Mexico just went up 1-0. They are in full control of the match.

I was in Dyersburg today so of course I stopped at Lucky's package store because they seem to find all the unusual brands. This piqued my interest: I've had two 3 finger low balls on ice and I have formed an opinion. It's pretty good. The blackberry sweetness is subtle. Kind of in the background. It's not as dark or as oaky and smoky as i prefer corn whiskey to be. It was only aged 4 years which is at best half as long as it should have been. Overall it doesn't suck and wouldn't throw it away if someone gave it to me. Don't think i'll buy it again though.

Forget it, the link doesn't work

This is a huge win: http://reason.com/blog/2018/06/21/scotus-rules-8-1-for-undocumented-immigr Not just for Mr. Pereira but for all of us. In the '80s the court essentially decided ambiguity in the law means that law can be stretched into whatever the Federal Government wants it to be. Not any more. This is a win for us all. What's more Ginsburg has sided AGAINST the government on something other than Free Speech twice in one day. Someone write that one down. Gotta be a record.

Definitely watching SK & Mexico tomorrow.

I read an article last night from Slate with a lot of linked references. Her mastery of sign language and what it revealed about the inner workings of her mind is not all the Gorilla Research team has represented it to be. She has some ability to use ASL, that is beyond question. But from what I have been reading her communications have all been centered on immediate needs or things the the sees or wants. She seemed either incapable or disinterested in commentary. And her ability to grasp abstractions has been seriously overstated. The summary is she is a gorilla, not a human. The ability to communicate on some level did not change how her brain worked. There was a story she "mourned" when told of Robin Williams death. She had not seen him on almost 20 years. Robin Williams did not even exist to her. Her sadness was a reflection of what she observed in the people around her who she does observe and care about. There is a danger in observing animals, and I do this with my own critters. Ascribing human thoughts and motivations to non-humans. There was a story in the article of a bonobo that could "talk" using pictographs. There is not doubt he could ask for certain food items because he did it spontaneously. But he was unable to carry on a more advanced "conversation" with a trainer he didn't know which means he was likely taking ques from observing trainers he knew.

She hit the life expectancy for a gorilla. I'm curious if any other gorillas masterd ASL. She is the only one I've ever read about.

LOL I just did! Funny thing, I see in my steam library I have all three Witcher titles too. I bought them on sale a while back and I've never played them. Like I said, never enough time.

I've enjoyed FO3 for the atmosphere and environment more than the RPG/Story side of it. Obs did a much better job with with the total package in NV. Same could be said of Oblivion & Skyrim . Just being in the world made it worth the price of the game for me. The RPG parts of those were OK. Skyrim was much better. I've heard folks here say FO4 is disappointing in terms of RP & story but if the setting is well fleshed out I can look past that. FO76 will definitely be a big "no" for me. My time is fleeting and precious and I am not wasting it on an MMO.

Charles Krauthammer passed away. He was just 68. I heard he'd been fighting cancer. Sad news.

Steam is having a sale. I haven't played Tyranny yet. Still playing Deadfire and liking it a lot. I also haven't played FO4 and the GoTY edition is on sale. If you were me which would you pick? Leaning towards Tyranny.

The end of an era. https://www.yahoo.com/news/4-000-episodes-halt-jerry-springers-show-203235591.html Not saying it's a good era but still... I always figured the Jerry Springer show was like pro wrestling. I'm sure some of it was real but for the most part it was "what will kids from Kentucky do for a free trip to Connecticut?"

We are not talking about ungoverned anarchy here. There is always going to be Federal, State, and local governments with jobs to do. The might be doing less, with less and the lines between them might be hardened but there will always be governments, social services, etc. But, let's put that aside for a moment. In our 242 years I can count on one hand all the times one political party controlled everything to the point there could be no resistance. And even then they did not get "everything" they wanted. There is no scenario in the near or even intermediate future where the LP gets a veto/filibuster proof majority in Washington of any state capital. So even is the aim was a complete objectivist deconstruction of society (it is NOT I will repeat) electing a handful of LP politicians to congress, state houses, or executive offices will not make that a reality. What we DO have is a government that I think most can agree is getting out of control. Take Trump and his tariff BS. The power of taxation is enumerated to Congress. Congress granted the Executive the power to use tariffs in wartime and national emergencies back during WWI. Are we at war? They can take it back at any time but they won't because most of them hope to be President someday and want that power for themselves. Barack Obama used Executive Orders to modify laws passed by Congress and even adjudicated on by the Court. Can he do that? He cannot, but Congress did not stop it for much the same reason as before. Both the Democrats AND the Republicans are growing a bigger, meaner, more intrusive and abusive government on almost every level. If you oppose that then voting for either makes not sense. The hope of putting LP member into power is to slow that down and AT BEST maybe reverse course a little bit. The Libertarians are not a third party. They are a second one. The D & R are the fist one.

Jesus Christ this again? This is not the first time you championed the intellectually vacant notion that just because someone at some time may have written something you agree with at you are buying into every little thing they ever said. I don't know why this is so difficult to grasp but it IS possible to think Atlas Shrugged MIGHT have raised a few interesting points without thinking Ayn Rand was f-----g Moses carrying the stone tablets. And why do some people seem unable to get past the idea that a dead russian ex-pat who wrote a few long winded books over sixty years ago is somehow the messiah of Libertarian thought today? If that is really your criteria you'd make a better argument if you said it was Murray Rothbard or Thomas Sowell. Hell at least he is still alive. As for the "real problem" of this country being libertarianisim I can see why you'd think that. Imagine a country where we left each other alone. Where you would not have to go to prison for rolling up a dried plant in paper and lighting it on fire. Or could marry whoever you liked without the government saying no. Imagine a country where you did not have to fall to your knees and humbly beg the government permission to build a fence on the property you supposedly own. Or have to worry that government will take your home because someone with more money wants it. Imagine a country where books don't get banned from libraries, the government does not tell TV networks what they can and can not show. Or tells citizens what they can and can't buy or who from. Imagine a country where $0.45 of every dollar you work for isn't taken from you and wasted on things the government is not even supposed to have the power to waste it on. I can see why you would not want to live in a hell like that.

Isn't it more that you're not supposed to expouse your politics like that while in uniform because you're representing the US military at that moment? Don't know the military guidelines for doing that stuff while out of uniform and on a personal account while not giving any references to the US military. Also what GD said. @GD: Don't you mean USMC, not USMA? Also, IMO, wearing a che guevara shirt under the uniform without boasting about it like he did would be fine with me. Military guidelines probably say otherwise. USMA is US Military Academy. West Point. That's where he was. As for political stuff, you can pretty much do what you want on your own time to a point. But participating in political demonstrations in uniform is a no-no. They go a long way trying to keep the military apolitical. For good reasons. When I was in there was no such thing as the internet or social media so I don't really know what the rules are now.

He got a General Discharge, not dishonorable. You really have to f--k up to get one of those. They usually come at the end of a vacation in exotic Ft. Leavenworth.