btq96r

  Of course he took it to a political argument...he's the most power politician in the country.    If the President came out and lambasted the states for not allowing permit carry on campuses, or Constitutional Carry, that would be political as well...except our side would explode with praise instead of rage.

  They're just using the "fighting terrorists" mantra like anyone else who has used it in history to pretend like they have justification.   Russia wants to keep Assad in power, not control things if we somehow manage to set up his downfall.  They've been doing business with Assad and his father before him for a long time, and keeping that relationship intact is to their benefit for the long term.  The opposition wouldn't want to do business with them after all their support for Assad, and ISIS won't do business with them just because.  By keeping Assad propped up, they make things easier for themselves.       The only thing more useless than our current efforts to oust Assad would be an awareness campaign on social media with a hashtag.  Sending every military age male refugee currently squatting in Europe back home with an AK and a chest rig to raise general mayhem would be more effective than what we're doing in our training programs.   But I'm sure some field grade officers at CENTCOM got MSM's and glowing OER's for building up the program that's trained a fire team's worth of opposition.       Well, some Americans are in that mindset.  Cheney and crew over at the AEI can raise the table by 6" when they talk about their version of an American foreign policy.  But yeah, the Russians all about it themselves.       It's more about who in Syria they are bombing and why.  Right now in Syria alone, there is the Assad government with their various allies (most notable Hezbollah), ISIS, the Free Syrian Army, the local Al-Qaeda branch, and Syrian Kurds, who aren't as friendly or good to go as the Iraqi Kurds.  Like TMF said, there aren't any good guys.   This isn't a bad list to start with if you want to learn more about Syria's competing forces.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_armed_groups_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War#Syrian_government_and_allies   This site will help you go past the basics, and covers the middle east at large.  It's been on my reading list since the intel officer I worked for showed it to me as open source information in 2007. http://www.longwarjournal.org/

I'm sort of surprised it took this long for the Russians to get involved, they have way too much to lose in strategic interests if the Assad regime falls.   Granted the optics of Russia doing what they want while our government releases grammatically proper non-threatening statements are depressing, but I'm actually fine with the Russians plans..for now.  For better or worse, Assad represents a form of stability we can live with at a minimum of cost.  Syria will have to fight ISIS sooner or later, probably in partnership with Iran for common defense, so the current operations are just setting up the inevitable.   I'll laugh if Putin tries to spin this as him helping solve the refugee problem to make the case against sanctions with the EU.

  Colt's product is good, they just didn't/couldn't adapt well enough to the changes in the market with everybody and their mother being able to sell AR's now.    Their biggest crime is not being the only big name game for quality AR's with BCM, DD, Noveske all coming to the game in the 21st century.  Throw in the lower price, but perfectly acceptable brands from vendors like PSA which also took a big bite out of their sales, and you arrive where they are today. 

  On the surface, I know this is true, and I agree that DA's have more reason (as assessed by risk anyway) to want to be armed.  I know I'd want a sidearm on me or in my bag if I was doing the job.  But if in reality their being armed is an exemption or special privilege/permission that comes with the job and is otherwise denied to the citizens they serve, my sympathy isn't there.   Now, trying to bar them from owning a firearm outright, even if they're in compliance with every law on the books is just asinine and won't stand up under any challenge I'd imagine.

  It could be political, but I think it's also about keeping consistency with small arms for the military.  Colt, despite all their business failings make a good carbine that has held up under the last 14 years of combat.  If the price is fair, staying with a vendor that can deliver a quality product works for me.

I was out there with Pete today at the range...his SKS is in mint condition aesthetics wise.   Hopefully some of you guys can square him away so I can get a chance to shoot it. :D

The number of casualties is higher than average, but the stampede itself isn't.   Also, the shear amount of people in comparison to the timeline of the Hajj... "Mina has more than 160,000 tents divided over several camps, and with the 1.9 million people taking part in this year's Hajj, you will understand the logistical nightmare that the Saudi authorities are facing." http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/pilgrims-killed-hajj-stampede-mina-mecca-150924082302232.html   The entire process is fascinating from a sociological/theological perspective.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj

Congrats.  Best wishes for your ever growing family.

  I did, but I grew up there.  The word profession came out in my mind as pra-fesh-en.  Hell, a guy who goes by Jacky is as Boston as it gets. 

  The built in Electoral College advantage is much more important to Democrats than any individual voting benefits.  They'll go to the mattresses to protect that.   Could it ever happen?  I won't say never with the states finances being such a mess.  But it would have to be a three way split, with the conservative north getting one state, and the liberal south being broken into two, or else it won't be palatable in the least.

Great range toy.    As an old SF Weapons Sergeant told me at a live fire range in a former life...you need to treat the 249 like a bipolar girlfriend- finger f**k it to keep it running, and slap it when it's not working right.

NorCal is on my "someday I'll get there list."  I'd like to hit the parks in the picture perfect weather with a backpack and nothing to do but walk around and enjoy the sights.

  They may have already updated it according to this...http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/tools/undroppables   Having Russel Wilson, you'll be able to deal with the lost of Romo easily enough.  Hope for your sake Eddy Lacy isn't in this conversation as well, he'd be a bigger loss.

  Give ESPN until Tuesday to work it out.  They wait for a more defined status than post game before updating the list.  The rule is meant to prevent collusion, which I don't see as a problem in this league.  If it doesn't fix itself, and you have a case, I can turn off that feature off from the commish controls. 

We can just add an R to LBGT and recognize this new class which shall henceforth be refereed to as "Romosexual."    Don't worry though, you won't hear much out of them in January...apparently they are only active for 17 weeks a year and off for the rest.  :D

    Saw emails for your payments, thanks.

Just posted it on the league manager note, but I'll also share it here for those who monitor this more closely.     For the league dues, I can work with you however you want to get it to me.  PayPal, bank transfer, snail mailing a check or money order, or just sending me an early x-mas card with the cash…whatever works for you guys.  If you want to send it PayPal, the account to send it to is btq96r@gmail.com.  If you want an alternate payment method, email me directly at that Gmail address, let me know how you want to do it, and I’ll get back to you with where to send it.  If you need to send it in installments, that’s fine too, just equal $50 by the end of our season, please.

If any of you guys are into satire sites, Duffel Blog is probably the best I know about. http://www.duffelblog.com/

On the sites main page, this is the article next to the one the OP linked to...so yeah. Clint TX Residents Report Forced Micro-chipping By Jade Helm Operatives August 14, 2015 // 59 Comments People in the town of Clint, Texas are reporting that American soldiers have rounded up hundreds of civilians and forced them to submit to RFID implantation. Currently Jade [continue]

Congrats, Gramps.

  I think that the Politics and General Chat sections are good for what they do, and that is foster a sense of community among our more "dedicated" members.  There is also a lot of value in the diversity of opinion and train of thought from the members on very relevant topics, that I enjoy very much, even if I don't always agree with what's said.   For me at least, there is only so much gun related to talk about, and there isn't as much new topic material as current events can bring in.  It also let's me get to know members (as best you can from an online interaction) far better than talking about a single topic.       For my money, it's quite clear that you guys are more than willing to let people have warnings, and give them the time to adjust their behavior as needed.

  I would have paid to watch your reaction as you check in on this thread.

A lot of what Dolo and the other keepers of the house are addressing is covered in the sites rules of conduct. We all agree to abide by them when we join and post. Big boy rules and all that. Bottom line, if dissenting opinions offend you, or will cause you to be less than neighborly, Political and General chat may not be your ball of wax.

  I'll add Outpost Armory to my "if I win the Powerball" list then.