Guard Dog

No I'm not terribly worried about that. At least not for the next three years. It's the notion that "they had it coming" for supporting individual rights that sets me off. I'm hearing a lot of that today. I was hoping for better here. You would think a gun showed up and did this all by itself. The direction I saw this conversation going in my head is exactly what Hurlshot hit on.

Exactly correct Sir! All the shrieking, poop throwing monkey fights leads to this. People are being told that their fellow citizens with differing political opinions are their actual enemies. This is where that kind of b------t ends.

From what CNN is reporting the shooter was armed with a Colt M4 carbine which is illegal to own in the US. So if true kindly take your sneering arrogance and shove it.

Story developing: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/14/politics/alexandria-virginia-shooting/index.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4603404/Steve-Scalise-aides-SHOT-baseball-practice.html So far five people confirmed shot including the GOP House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. The shooter was shot and disarmed by the capital police. Apparently the shooter was targeting Republicans : http://theweek.com/speedreads/705653/rep-mark-walker-says-gunman-targeted-congressional-baseball-practice-kill-many-republican-members-possible

Well I guess that clears that up. http://www.pcgamer.com/the-elder-scrolls-6-isnt-in-development/ So, two new top shelf titles not revealed this year. That means no release until late next year. Figure 2-3 years DLC work if the games don't bomb. Then at least a 3 year development cycle so were looking at what? 2024 for ES6? Later? And it gets worse. If neither of those two new titles are FO related we won't be seeing anything new there until the 2030 range. Skyrim is six years old and they are still finding ways to re-package and re-sell it. I guess they will keep yanking on the teat until nothing comes out. Edit: I did get a chuckle on the people in the comment section talking about boycotting Bethesda. LOL how do you boycott a company that has nothing for sale?

I just did some sniffing on Baseball Almanac On this day in 1927 Base Ruth had 21 HR On this day in 1961 Roger Maris had 21 HR On this day in 2017 Aaron Judge has 22 HR. Not to jinx anything here but.... But before we get too excited on this day in 2001 Barry Bonds had 33. Better pick up the pace there Judge!

save during wartime, the Elected fed government tends to look like a cage filled with p00p throwing monkeys, and as a libertarian, gd is no doubt more suspicious o' the government when it is actual working efficient. ineffectual fed is the bestest protection o' individual state rights. You are correct about that part. The times I was most nervous under Obama was when he had a Dem majority in the House and a Dem super majority in the Senate. After 2010 and they lost the House I slept a lot better. He wasn't completely castrated, but close enough. Right now Trump has both the House and the Senate but fortunately we does not have the wherewithal to lead them anywhere. And they can't seem to get out of their own way no matter what he does. If the Senate flips in 2018 we can all relax. But in this post I was more commenting on this http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/12/politics/ruddy-robert-mueller-white-house/index.html The best thing to do is leave this alone and stop feeding it. It will die on it's own. Or maybe it all is a witch hunt: http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/robert-mueller-stocks-staff-democrat-donors/ Plus could you even imagine a play where a "Barack Obama like" Ceaser is assassinated receiving wide acclaim? http://variety.com/2017/legit/news/julius-caesar-opening-trump-like-play-1202463844/ I'm not so much worried about what the government is doing right now. Although you do make a good point when they are distracted at least they are not f-----g anyone over. I'm just weary of the antics of the monkeys.

I have to stop paying attention to this stuff. Democrats, Republicans, Trump, all of it is just appalling. It's like walking into a room full of screaming monkeys fighting and hurling feces at each other. You didn't want any of these monkeys. You didn't ask for them to be there. They aren't even your monkeys. But you know you will have to clean up the mess. Yeah... it is a lot like that.

This is a pretty interesting (if long) article about the A's and the moneyball draft 15 years sown the road. https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/an-experiment-that-changed-baseball-the-moneyball-draft-15-years-later

I was pretty please with the Rays and Marlins 1st & 2nd round picks last night. I don't understand why Bleacher Report is throwing shade.

Battlestar Galactica cast reunites: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/11/entertainment/battlestar-galactica-cast-reunion/index.html

That doesn't really ring the bell for me but you're right. It's not nothing. Still, it's like the big, expensive steakhouse talking about how great their baked potatoes are.

. and actually, the first amendment very much protects your right to be associated with the kkk. is some situations where the Court has decided strict scrutiny test is met when police keep records o' associations with various gangs AND fringe christian groups, but is same level of protection. christianity don't get a free pass. for the purposes o' the Constitution, christianity is no more special than the kkk. HA! Good Fun! The 1st Amend protects the freedom to associate. It does not shield from criticism for associations. No one can stop Mr. Smith from joining the Klan. But we can sure rake him over the coals for it. Or they could kiss his butt and fall all over themselves explaining it away like they did for a certain Senator I remember. similarly, we can rake mr. smith over the coals for arguably bigoted statements, regardless o' whether or not he uses christianity as his defense. bernie did not ask 'bout religion. again, review the video. mr. vought used religion as the only explanation for his comments w/o actual explanation or illumination. take the same exact situation but replace with mr. smith. have mr. smith make the exact same statement. mr smith notes the deficiency of muslim faith. mr. smith observes the problem w/the islamic faith is Not simple one o' deficient theology and that muslims is "condemned." mr. smith defends his actions and words, as do many kkk members, by invoking christianity. simple invoke religion should have senators falling over themselves in an effort to kiss mr. smith's butt? change situation. political appointee mr. asfour makes comments which suggest women is a deficient gender and as such require the protection of men. bernie questions mr. asfour 'bout statements. mr. asfour observes how women is 'posed to be treated with "dignity and respect." when bernie asks what mr. asfour meant 'bout the deficiency o' the feminine gender, all mr. asfour will respond with is a declaration o' his islamic faith. can keep this up all day. religion is not quite the sacred cow gd believes it to be. we frequent question Prospective public officials 'bout specific religious beliefs which might make them unfit to do their jobs. invoke catholicism, judaism, branch davidianism, or satanism as an explanation for any questionable behavior or action does not have those with questioners necessarily falling over themselves. sure, Congressmen do often fall over themselves when christianity is invoked, but reason is 'cause most voters is christian. the logical gymnastics is political rather than Constitutional. is some logic gymnastics being performed here as well. not wanna see folks fall over themselves for christianity when they clear would not do so for other belief systems. HA! Good Fun!

Yes and yes. Feuerbach had an interesting notion that man created God rather than than the reverse. That people see good in themselves and project it outwardly in our minds as coming from a benevolent supreme being. Not a theory I'd buy into myself.

I was expecting their new IP Starfield. I was surprised not a word was said. It's been in production on some level or another since 2011. From what I'm reading ES6 will be at least four year down the road. FO5 even longer. But I don't think they are done producing content for FO4 yet. I've been waiting for an "all in one" version before giving FO4 a look. I might have to wait a bit longer. I'm more curious what Creative Assembly is up to. I know they have had a new historical title in the works and may be getting close to revealing something.

the list is specific 'bout happiness of students. shouldn't surprise. 4 years o' extreme brutal physical and mental challenge and the annapolis "dorms" kinda suck. the service academies demand a great deal. am suspecting if the list went to 30, west point would show sooner rather than later. keep in mind there is a list for students who love their university and a separate list for happiest students. appreciation for the school is not same as student happiness. HA! Good Fun! Well, the first two years at West Point and Annapolis do suck. After that the lot of Mids & Cadets do improve considerably.

Just my own observation but Europe is like this really big family where most of the members really don't like each other. And the EU us like Christmas dinner at grandma's house. Everyone is just trying to fake a smile and get along for grandma's sake. Except the Brits. "Sod you all we're going to the pub for Christmas dinner!"

Sounds like Bethesda wasted everyone's time and pissed everyone off by re-introducing paid mods but just calling it something else. Not a word about Starfield. And I suspect no one on this board will live long enough to see ES VI or Fallout V the way they talk about it.

This is a surprise. Puerto Rico voted to become the 51st State: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_PUERTO_RICO_STATEHOOD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-06-11-17-26-34 Usually the mood there has been to maintain the status quo. It sounds like the election had a really low turnout with some factions asking their folks to boycott. I know a lot of Puerto Ricans have been moving to the US for work and because their economy is a mess. I expect this won't be well received in congress fir a couple of reasons both political and practical. But this starts a process that will take a long time no matter how it turns out.

. and actually, the first amendment very much protects your right to be associated with the kkk. is some situations where the Court has decided strict scrutiny test is met when police keep records o' associations with various gangs AND fringe christian groups, but is same level of protection. christianity don't get a free pass. for the purposes o' the Constitution, christianity is no more special than the kkk. HA! Good Fun! The 1st Amend protects the freedom to associate. It does not shield from criticism for associations. No one can stop Mr. Smith from joining the Klan. But we can sure rake him over the coals for it. Or they could kiss his butt and fall all over themselves explaining it away like they did for a certain Senator I remember.

Curious that Annapolis made the top 10. I've never heard a bad word about it from the few I knew who actually went through there.

My own opinion on this is a little complicated. As I posted earlier I am a Christian of no particular denomination. It's been a very long time since I was sighted near a church. I was raised Baptist but drifted away from it when I left home for the military. But there have been two incidents in my life separated by more than 10 years that convinced me beyond doubt that God, and Jesus, are real. I have read the Bible probably more than once piecemeal. To be honest besides the four gospels and six of the letters that make up the New Testament none of it was written by anyone who actually knew Jesus or spoke to God personally. So while there may be value in finding truth in allegory they only parts of the Bible I take at face value as literal truth are the four gospels. That is a rather unorthodox way to look at it I know. I do believe there is a heaven and a hell. I have no idea who get's into each and thank God it's not up to me. I don't think I'm up to that task. For one person to tell another they are going to hell is absurd. You don't know that. No one does. And it's not up to them either. Jesus told us to "love one another as I have loved you". Step 1: Don't tell people they are going to hell. Someday I will meet God I expect. Maybe I'll find out then my own interpretation is all wrong. Well, at least I stuck with it. I wasn't a hypocrite.

I didn't say it would be ok to ask the judges about their religion. I said it would be ok to ask them if their personal opinions, however they came by them, could be checked if their responsibilities required them to rule in a contrary way. For example, suppose you had chosen to be a prosecutor but were opposed to capital punishment. It would be fair for a DA to ask if you could set that aside and pursue the DP for defendants when appropriate because California has the DP. If you were opposed to the DP because of your religious back ground or for any other reason makes no difference. Being Catholic should be a non-issue even if that is the reason why you oppose the DP. It should not even come up in the context of a job interview. In Mr. Smith's case under the same circumstances if he posted his words in a KKK publication then yes I would still say "so what, it's a non-issue". The practice of Mr. Smith's religion is his own affair as long as he does no harm to anyone else. Of course his association with the Klan in the first place is wide open for question. No anti-discrimination law I've ever heard of protects people from the consequences of freely associating with groups like the Klan, or Aryan Nation, or whatever. I suspect I'm doing a poor job getting the ideas in my head onto the screen today. To me this just makes sense.

My position is untenable if his use of the word "condemned" is taken in a literal way. Maybe Sanders believes he will use the awesome political power of the White House Office of Management and Budget to round up all non believers and burn them at the stake. Or maybe he's never heard of the EEOC. I remember Enoch once or twice criticizing me for automatically assuming that a public figure's words should be construed in the worst conceivable way. Perhaps there is a bit of that going on here. You are correct, he did let the conversation end with ambiguity over the comment. But I look at it this way. This is a man applying for a job that has nothing to do with religion who was told during the interview process that his religious convictions disqualify him. Hurlshot pointed out how this will only feed the growing Christian persecution complex. And he's right. But it also bears keeping in mind that complex didn't just spring up from thin air. For the record, he's wrong. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam do all stem from the same beginning. Abraham.