Darrell

I've had nothing but good, positive experiences with the VA. One thing I find is that their doctors are generally younger, fresh out of school and getting clinical experience before moving on to a more lucrative career. There may be some negatives in that, but the big benefit is that they've been more recently exposed to the newest information. I never hesitate to use VA medical services.

This kind of thing just makes me nuts. (See AuEagle's post above.) We have PHD's on both sides of the issue giving us opposing information, and all of it seems reasonable to me. One group of smart people telling me that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan. Another group of smart people telling me that it's unlikely. One group of smart people telling me a paper mask is going to help alleviate spread of the virus (which I find implausible), another group telling me paper masks are going to save us all. We have Dr. Fauci telling us that masks aren't going to do anything, and few months later suggesting we wear two. We have candidates Joe Biden and Kamela Harris telling us they don't trust the "Trump" vaccine, but President Biden and Vice President Harris tell us that taking the vaccine is mandatory. Our "scientific experts" and the political class really should get their act together and stop confusing the issue with contradictory proclamations every fourth day!

Every society sets some age or rite of passage to become an adult. In a family or a small tribe it's pretty easy to determine such things on an individual basis, assuming the people making the determination are up to the task. In a society of 300 million we have to have some "blanket" polices to make those calls.

I graduated at 17 and surely wasn't ready for the world. But I WAS ready for the Marine Corps and the four years I spent there did a pretty good job of knocking some sense into me and giving me a skill set that served me very well for the rest of my life. I know the military isn't for everyone, but for me it was a perfect transition from boy to man.

I was a young Jarhead going to "A" school in Millington in 75 and was happily surprised I could legally spend all my money at the titty bars in Memphis. I think the 18 yo drinking law was good for the bar owners, but probably not for anyone else. At least I got that out of my system early.

I saw a reader board this morning at a local gun / pawn shop saying "Small Rifle Primers In Stock", so of course I had to stop and check it out. $125 / thousand. They still had as many when I left as when I walked in. I was thinking a retailer would probably be a little closer to what I consider "reasonable". Think again.

I don't pay for it, but I did get an account. I thought the NYT allowed a small number of views without an account, though.

Having taken the jabs, I sure hope you're wrong on this one! Maybe the anticoagulant I have to take will offset the anti-Chinese-Flu shot?

I'm with you, Bob, with the caveat that voting and draft age should both probably be 21 as well. I know there are plenty of folks who are thoughtful and mature at 18, and plenty who are not at 21, but when I think back to my own behavior at 18-20 it gives me pause. And I was one of those carrying an M16 in the Corps (at least at the rifle range). I was too irresponsible to be driving at 16, too, though through some miracle neither I nor anyone else paid a price for it. I think Mr. Frog is right, so long as 18 is legally an adult, then 18 y/o's should have all adult rights. But I'm not convinced many 18 y/o's really are "adult". And in a lot of jurisdictions there has been debate about whether to give 16 y/o's the vote.....

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/opinion/gun-control-safety-laws.html The opinion piece itself is pretty predictable from Gail Collins, and at least she acknowledges that "gun safety" is a euphemism for "gun control". But take a look at the comments! I could only get through a couple dozen before I had to stop or burst a vessel. We're up against it in places like New York City, folks.

Wow! Great opportunity! I love my R1200RT.

I still enjoy the sport. Professional xball players are incredible athletes, and I'm always impressed at the skill and dedication required to play professional sports. But what turned me off to watching are the commercials. Change of possession? Commercials. Time out? Commercials. End of the period? Commercials. Of course that all goes back to how much the athletes are paid; that money has to be generated somehow. But the continuity of the game has been destroyed.

None of that approaches the train wreck of my beloved Washington Huskies. They were 40 point favorites in their opener and lost to MONTANA!!!!! ARGH!

“When people are able to make choices without government interference for themselves in terms of their well being and the well-being of their family in consultation with whomever they may choose, we are a stronger society,” Vice President Kamala Harris Of course she was speaking about abortion, not vaccination.

Unfortunately, I have a bit of that in me too. Nothing causes me to dig in my heels harder than being told I must or cannot do a thing. I don't much care for AR-style rifles, but as soon as the government started talking about banning them.... This nation was founded on INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. Those have been eroded for over a century now and I'm frightened for future generations when I see how readily people accept federal government powers that are nowhere to be found in the Constitution.

I've only shipped one handgun, so I'm far from expert, but I found it much less expensive to take it to a local FFL holder and have him ship it. If you have an FFL (this was several years ago) you can ship a handgun via USPS. My other option was FedEx, but they required it to go next-day-air, which was stupid expensive. I think the local dealer charged $20 on top of the actual postage.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/david-chipman-nomination-withdrawn/index.html

I think you've gone way too far in this overstatement. I have no idea how many people have taken Ivermectin, but I suspect it's a tiny subset of those who don't trust the vaccine. I was vaccinated as soon as possible, but I think it's unconscionable to compel or harangue anyone to take a drug they don't want. The unfortunate genie that's now out of the bottle is the tremendous amount of misinformation out there. The official government line changes frequently and it seems clear to me that NO ONE truly has all the facts.

The only time I ever "open carry" is when I am walking in the woods behind my house, when I really expect to see no other people. I never carry openly in public, and consider to be a generally bad idea. I once saw a fellow motorcyclist riding down the highway on a Harley in a semi-reclined posture with an unconcealed pistol on his belt. The first thing that came to my mind was the pistol falling out of the holster and bouncing down the highway. I don't pretend to know what's on anyone else's mind, but open carry seems to me like it's an attention-getting ploy most of the time. I can think of three occasions when people (two tradesmen and one person coming to buy an item I'd advertised) came on to my property with unconcealed handguns. I was unimpressed, and told them so. I'm a "gun guy", but I think if one is going onto private residential property the gun should be concealed or left in the vehicle unless prior consent is given.

Somewhat graphic, but I don't pity the fool! A Darwin Award winner.mp4

I try to read CNN's website daily because I want rounded information. Just as CNN has an obvious leftist slant, so Fox has an obvious slant to the right. I figure the more information I get from as many sources as possible the better I can make informed decisions, not that it seems to do much good to vote. The one I just can't read is MSNBC.

I received my bullets this morning, 9/2. That's pretty darned quick service! Thanks Berry's!

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/01/us/texas-open-carry-laws/index.html The link above is to a CNN article on their website about the new Texas law allowing Constitutional Carry. I often go to CNN for the "opposing" view, and this article is a shining example of skewed journalism. It doesn't take to long to read, so draw your own conclusions, but it makes me nuts when journalists say "research shows" or "experts say". The "experts" they quote and gun-control organizations and they call them "gun-violence prevention organizations." The article also states that in Texas protesters had long guns aimed at them, but nothing could be done. Baloney! We all know that it's illegal to threaten people with a weapon.

It's GOOD to live on high-ground!