Guard Dog

Since I didn't get this in before the last thread closed I'd just like to say Shady, that T-shirt gets an awesome rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Dunno about that one TN. To tell the truth with the possible exception of Rand Paul the whole lot of them make me want to buy more guns, gold, ammo, and non-perishable food!

Well she still is the primary choice of most Democrats so unless this changes and Sanders passes her she is ontrack to become the candidate ? She may become the nominee, but the Repubs would have to REALLY screw up to let her win it all. Nominating Jeb Bush and having Trump run as a third party candidate is one way it could happen. Maybe just nominating Bush would be enough. People who actually value freedom and liberty are not going to support Democrat-Lite. Romney was proof of that.

A Biden candidacy would be a non stop hit parade of gaffes, bad jokes, offensive off-the-cuff comments and all around laughs. I can't wait! Bruce you need to realize Hillary is done as a viable candidate. She is sour, unpleasant, arrogant, dishonest, and even if she is not indicted for mishandling classified material then covering it up (by no means a certainty) the stink of it will haunt her from here on out.

Those are totally different things

Rays & A's tied at 2 in the 6th. I've got the game on my XM radio now.

I am working my way through a bottle of this:

I watched the Bucs first pre-season game. Not much to get excited about. Winston looks like what he is: a rookie. One with a lot of promise to be sure but still a long way to go. But in truth I won't really follow the NFL until after the World Series is over.

Me too, exactly, ever since that time in '99 when the stars descended and I controlled the orbit of the moon, the sun, and the galaxy at large. Now I feel like Captain America without the super soldier serum and I can't explain the loss or how it happened or why. So I just play games and drink craft beer. Really, really good craft beer. On that note I found a really good one you should check out if you can find it: http://www.tnbrew.com/beer/country-roots Might be hard to come by in California but if you see it and you like stouts give it a taste.

The best defense for that is Federalism which the court dealt yet another serious blow.

It isn't about making good law, it's about exercising power he does not have. What is the difference between a President and a Dictator? As to your second point no, it is not something I ever concern myself with. I do not count myself as a citizen of the world. I am a citizen of the United States. My first and foremost concern is the freedom and prosperity of the United States not the rest of the world. If by advancing the former we accomplish the latter then that is great but if the two ever conflict then there is no conflict.

Bruce it is very tempting to think that a good outcome justifies a bad means. This simply is not so. While we may be ok with the end result, the way the result came about can and usually does give rise to horrors unforeseen down the road. A good example is the changes made to the ACA (obamacare) AFTER it became law. the administration changed deadlines and requirements of the law by executive fiat after it was signed and in effect for two years. Few on the left had a problem with it because they liked the outcome but the responsibility of writing law is invested in the congress, not the president. He usurped their power, violated the law and was praised for doing it. You have to remember that now the precedent is set and someday that power will be in the hands of someone they don't like doing something they don't approve of. The ends justify the means does not work in politics and statecraft. If the rule of law is not supreme then nothing and no one is safe.

Not to step in and intercept a pass to WoD but count me among those who thought the SCOTUS went too far with Obergefell. In one fell swoop five unelected people imposed their political will on 320 million people who have no recourse to contest it now. As you all know I am a supporter of gay rights and indeed freedom to live ones life as they see fit in any way that suits them and does not harm others. But what happened in this case and the consequences that we have seen and have yet to see is very upsetting. Because gay marriage has legal sanction the votes of every state who petitioned their legislatures to ban it and the legislatures that acted on the will of it's constituents have been nullified. The democratic process was been crushed by the will of a judicial oligarchy. That is never a good thing. Second the majority decision undermines the first amendment of the constitution. By making it legally unacceptable to abstain from performing gay marriages or bake cakes for their weddings and so on the 5 judges in the majority trampled on the 1st Amendment rights of the people who would refuse to participate on religious grounds. Anthony Kennedy addressed that in his majority opinion: So you get to talk about it but you cannot ACT on it. Therein lies the problem. The 1st Amendment guarantees the right of "Free Exercise". This sets a nasty precedent that can have consequences elsewhere including compulsory military service exemptions based on religious convictions, "conscientious objector" status, etc. I could go on but this is just two problems I have with it. I have never seen the problem with gay marriage. As I've said before if you object, don't marry a gay person. Don't attend their wedding, don't bake them a cake. That should all be ok. But don't try to stop them from doing their thing because what is it to you if two consenting adults wish to marry? Those who object because of religious reasons, particularly Christians should probably try reading the bible a little closer. Jesus did not instruct us to compel others to follow Him. He asked US to follow Him and lead others by example. Jesus did not believe in forcing anyone to do anything. Gay marriage was coming no matter what. More an more people were wondering what the big deal was. But by ramming it down our throats the SCOTUs may have done more harm than good by damaging the democratic process, undermining the constitution and creating animosity towards gays where they might have been none before.

My wife is a yard sale/ flea market junkie. It can be annoying because sometimes it seems like we are sorting through someone's garbage, but she likes it so I go along with a minimal amount of complaining. I've never bought anything at one of these before last week. In a bin of old books I found a sixty year old hard cover copy of Beautiful Joe by Marshall Saunders. ASFAIK it's long out of print. The book is ragged out so it's not worth anything but I had to have it. I read it as a kid and it is one of maybe five of the thousands of books I've read that had a definite impact on my life. I sat on my porch every night this week re-reading it. Still brings a tear to they eye. I'm curious, have any of you ever read a book that changes how your think about things. Have you ever read something that made you live your life differently afterwards?

Restarting PoE again. I never finished it the first time, too many real world concerns for gaming time. But with an expansion just a few days away time to "make the time".

GD " waves " Where you been? Everyone said you had been arrested by the Feds ...we missed you Not an unlikely explanation. I just disconnected from things for a while. GD I need to ask you something, what is your view on Trump? We have been discussing him. Obviously I support the Democrats and Clinton but I am keen for your view ..please be detailed His sole purpose in running for President is self aggrandizement. I am shocked he's doing as well as he is but I think the heart of it is people on the right are just nauseated at the candidates the Republicans have run over the years. Even since George Bush I every republican candidate has been "big government democrat lite". If Mitt Romney had gotten as many republican votes as McCain did he's be president today. But when the choice comes down to left wing vs slightly less left wing you are not going to inspire a lot of people who might have supported a different candidate to go vote for you. I find it puzzling that a lot of people who say they want smaller government and more freedom are supporting Trump. His political views over the years have been pretty much left of the half court line. I guessing as the field begins to narrow down his margin will shrink. It's not a certainty that the people supporting candidates other than Trump will not switch to him when their guy or girl drops out but I don't think they will. The short answer is he's in this for his own reasons, not for any desire to improve the country. And his support is far more of a protest vote than any real love for him. I wouldn't vote for him. Just my $0.02

What are you kicking? I'd say a-- but it would be too obvious and not entirely true. Can we just say that you're sufficiently out of bubble gum? That was a great line wasn't it? It's a shame that guy passed away a few weeks ago.

GD " waves " Where you been? Everyone said you had been arrested by the Feds ...we missed you Not an unlikely explanation. I just disconnected from things for a while.

What are you kicking? I'd say a-- but it would be too obvious and not entirely true.

Hello all. Just checking in... still alive and kicking!

Nope. Alive and well and not even with Stannis to be burned.

You & I are definitely reading different news sources Bruce. So I am referring to foreign policy decisions that influence global sentiment If you think Obama's foreign policy decisions have been wrong and have made people think less of the USA can you give 3 examples of things you would have done differently For example would you have ignored the UNSC and bombed Syria, attacked Iran despite the sanctions bringing Iran back to the negotiation process, not gone to Africa to help combat Ebola ? Just 3 examples I'm leaving for work in 10 min. Check back tonight. I can come up with 4 off the top of my head.

You & I are definitely reading different news sources Bruce.

Just watched GoT. WTF? I mean really, WTF? The Red Wedding, beheadings, rapes, incest, enough death to choke a maggot on a gut wagon, that's all fine and good. But what they did tonight? WTF? Even GRRM never stooped to that and based on where the characters are in the book it looks like he won't. Of course I'm not going to stop watching or anything like that. It is just a TV show after all. Not like anyone ACTUALLY got hurt. Plus it's not like there isn't some historical precedent for this kind of thing. Just read the Iliad. But seriously, WTF?

I just started that very thing. The FO4 trailer inspired me to play them all again. I just started a new FO1 game for the first time in 6-7 years last night!