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  That's for the Net Neutrality debate, which I agree is going to come down to best of the worst options..  This is about variety in the amount of ISP's, some of whom have what I like to call inkblot monopolies by region.  The development of local ISP's, like the one in Chattanooga, is a good thing to me.  This ruling will only make sure state laws can't shut them down for no reason other than the ISP lobby is willing to pay for it.

A win out of the FCC today.  They ruled that states can't limit local alternatives to the big ISP's. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/02/26/the-fcc-rules-against-state-limits-on-city-run-internet/

There was about an inch, inch and a half of snow in Murfreesboro last night.  It was actually pretty.  I walked home late from the school library and enjoyed the walk very much.   Now, aside from some snow on the grass, it's all melted away.  Even the buildup in my truck bed is gone. 

  I found it funny that he signed up on different gun forums to post the exact same content.  I guess he feels all corners of the internet need his wisdom?

  Not for nothing, but the VA Secretary is recognized as a Republican, and is reported to donate exclusively to them.  He and his wife certainly gave money to that party.  Once again, we see lying is bipartisan.      It's sad.  Mr. McDonald served for five years on active duty with the 82d Airborne.  That alone, should be enough for anybody to be proud of.  There is no reason for him to try and embellish things, yet here we are.

Delta, SEALs, Force Recon (or all of MARSOC) Air Force Pararescue, 75th Ranger Regiment, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment...are all Special Operations Forces (SOF), not Special Forces. Special Forces fall under SOF, however. Small grammatical term, but it means a good bit. This is the org chart for all of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the joint command for all of SOF.

The term 'Ranger' is generally reserved for someone who served in the 75th Ranger Regiment, or one of the units the Regiment claims their lineage from (ie: LRP's in Vietnam). Just going to the school only makes you 'Ranger qualified.' The difference between the school and the unit is pretty vast. Being in a Ranger unit makes someone a part of Special Operations Forces. The term 'Special Forces' are Army units commonly known as Green Beret's. Completely different capabilities and mission sets between the two.

  The US uses a thick plastic fuel can instead of metal ones now.  The need for a spout is still the same, however.  We used to call it a "donkey dick" and having one for your truck was like gold.  For some reason they would always disappear at inconvient times.

  Should get yourself a pair of Yaktrax and keep them in your vehicle if you have to work outdoors like that.

    She may be a bit out there, but I agree, Lady Gaga has some pipes that can impress.  I'll even confess to liking a few of her songs.   Google her singing Edge of Glory in studio on the Howard Stern Show.  That's when I realized the range she had.

This might be interesting for those of you who have seen these movies.  Agree, disagree? http://www.goldderby.com/odds/experts/200/

I haven't seen any of the movies, since I only go to the cinema about twice a year and spent my allotment for 2014 on Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Sex Tape.    I've heard from everybody who's seen it, that Birdman was awesome, so I guess I'll put that for my best picture prediction.

I really think the gun community is blowing this one out of proportion.  Just refuse to answer or leave it blank on the forms.  If they press the issue, continue to refuse, and if all else fails, take your business for routine care elsewhere.   It's a legitimate question for insurance providers to ask, because they ultimately have to assess overall risk, but for doctors the only time they need to worry about it is if they are treating a gunshot wound, or one of those lovely accidents that come with assembly/disassembly of guns crunching flesh or ripping it.

Everything seems to be gone in my AO.  Even the ice covering my back porch that rarely gets direct sunlight has melted away with the rain and warmer temps taking care of it.  I'm calling all clear for my section of Murfreesboro.

You can keep Florida, I've never been impressed.  Between the absurdly high humidity, and all those toll roads, I wouldn't want to live there.    So we had a few days of winter here in Tennessee...no big deal.  It will feel like summer here in about a month and a half anyway. 

  Then he should probably be in trouble for uploading a video of a trainee.  I wouldn't like to see myself or my son have the growing pains of basic training on the internet for all to see.

Trainees get to use their cell phones during Basic now at the Drill Sergeants discretion. I can see it happening to record this and upload it. Plus think of how the average 18 year old would handle this. They don't take everything seriously as they should, and since the recruits come from the population at large...well, you get the idea.

The Army was learning the benefit of letting soldiers zero without battle rattle on before I got out. Even in a unit as rigid as the 101st, we were running zero ranges where you were firing slick to get a better zero as early as 2007. It also might have been blank fire to get the Soldiers used to weapons handling, and range procedures. That's a data matrix code, so they can just scan it for inventory and to track who has possession of the weapon during all the transfers that happen when it has to go out for repairs. Plus all the records can be tied to that weapon and brought up when you scan it. It's DoD wide, and they do it for other property items as well, not just weapons.

I would be pissed if there was an active range 300 yards from my house.  I like a quiet neighborhood.  A half dozen long guns on the firing line can crank out some noise riki tik.  I would imagine that amount, and more wouldn't be hard to get out on a weekend, even with only 100yds of lane to shoot down.   Also, the pistol bays pointed in towards the rifle range would require a lot of berm height & width for people to feel it's safe.  Those who have been to OK Coral in Woodbury know they do something similar, but have the pistol bays at least 20' below the elevation of the rifle range.  The topography out there is what made that possible, though. 

Shower, sink, and toilet all seem just fine.  Sorry to hear about the troubles some of you are having.

Geez, you guys are a bit harsh on the kid.  I guess nobody here had anything similar happen when they first picked up a gun.    It's called Basic Combat Training for a reason.  For all we know, this kid never touch a weapon in his life before the Army gave him one.  He's there to learn, and as DMark said, his Drill Sergeant is on top of it.  If he goes to a unit after Basic and AIT, and still has the same behavior, then there may well be a problem.  But until then, the Drill Sergeants have the lead in getting him up to speed.   Oh, and as far as all the "back in the day" syndrome goes of how much harder it was...yeah, it's fun to see how "soft" the Army has gotten, I suppose.  But the last 15 years have shown our troops are getting it done with the current training methods.

  I also think the "cool factor" comes in when you have optics involved.  Red dots aren't a new thing anymore, and if you don't have one, it can seem like you aren't cool enough shooting next to the guy with an EoTech, or an Aimpoint micro.   Optics also let people think they are good to go right away, instead of focusing on the fundamentals.  I remember when my unit got enough Aimpoint's for everybody to have one, zeroing and qualifying became a chore, because people figured it would be easier with the cool toys and forgot the same fundamentals apply.  I would recommend all shooters learn the basics on iron sights, and when they are consistently hitting what they aim at, then they can add in an optic and go from there.

http://www.medalsofamerica.com/content--name-Military_Ribbons_Mounted_for_Wear

I'd rather shoot in the cold, at least I can layer up and keep warm by moving.  In the summer I just melt away and get burned.  Plus I bet there were a lot less people out there, and that always makes shooting more enjoyable.

  Check out this list for a list of fatality numbers from Islamic terrorism since 1972.  Grand tally is 3,102 Americans killed in the last 43 years.  That includes the 2,996 from 9/11 with a whopping 16 people dead since the time of Nixon from other attacks.  9/11 was an outlier and the changes in security it brought about with carry on baggage and locking of cockpit doors make hijacking another commercial airliner a lot harder for terrorists to make happen.    Do you really think the risk terrorism represents justifies the paranoia, willingness to suspend to constitutional protections, amount of money thrown at the problem (think Dept. of Homeland Security), ect...I don't.