MacGyver

Somebody is going to shoot one of these clowns. And everybody is going to think they had it coming.

At the very least it seems like some VA administrators, two senators, at least one congressman and the president himself ought to get a letter naming your son by name and expressing our disappointment in your sons treatment from each of the 26,579 members of TGO.

Randall, I am devestated along with you. This makes me sick to my stomach. I saw the title of the post and literally teared up. I am so sorry! Words cannot even describe the emotions that I feel - and I'm certain that they don't hold a candle to your's and your wife's. There are good providers in the VA who care deeply about our soldiers. But they're handicapped by a bureaucratic system that I'm afraid can't be fixed. We need to burn it down and start over. The politicians that profit on "fixing it" while asking us to be patient should be in prison. Our best and brightest give our country the best years of their lives. And in return they come home and are ignored by a system that would prefer they'd just go away. How many more of our kids have to lose their lives like this? This has to stop. Words seem hopeless in times like these, but I will keep your family in my prayers. If there is anything that any of us on TGO can do, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

Agreed. Unfortunately amassing the skills to make that transition may be as significant as the ones people in low skill jobs face today. I probably have the, "learn to code and you'll always be able to feed your family" conversation at least once a week. There is so little motivation to move when the pressure is low, though. And when times do get tough - then it's almost always too late. As the saying goes, "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."

Truthfully, I wonder what the "information workers" with their business degrees are going to do when they get replaced by an API? It's manufacturing today. It's fast food tomorrow. But it'll come into the management ranks before the Gen X'ers retire. There's some truth to the statement that if you can't find your job being done by a snake or cat in a Richard Scarry book, it's probably not a real job.

Hopefully between 2013 and now he's gotten this squared away...

The older I get, the more I appreciate the old Ian McLaren quote: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting such a hard battle." I'm certain, whether it's Kroger sushi or Monster drinks and beef jerky, few of these folks are proud of where they are. At some point in their day they face reality - and it sucks. Even for those few who are actively gaming the system - they know that their ceiling is limited - and that really sucks. Do some of them abuse the system? You bet. Are some of them being abused by the system? You bet. Does it move the needle for me when someone who Walmart pays $7.25 an hour for 29 hours per week blows a few bucks on stupid stuff? Not really. What does get me fired up however is when a company with one of the highest market caps in America depends on EBT and WIC as supplementary income for their employees so they can deliver more profit to their shareholders while delivering those "everyday low prices."

I'll be in.

I've got a TSAR I've been sporting since '08. That thing is truly bulletproof. Youre welcome to take it for a spin if you like. Mine's on a black silicone strap with a deployant buckle. Lately I've migrated to Maratac's large aviator. It's awesome: if you flip it over, you get to see all the workings:

That's pretty neat!

I hit one in Pittsburgh last year. I was thoroughly impressed. They had the best fly shop I've seen east of the Mississippi. I had no idea they were owned by Dick's

I was a little further down the river. My in laws are on the river in Clinton proper. That said, I'd love to fish with some TGO'rs. Next time I get over that way I'll give you a shout.

Mostly rainbows and a few brown. We had a bunch of kids with us, so the fly rods stayed home. I was on a St. Croix ultralight rod with a Shimano Stradic spinning reel. Most of them were caught on 1/8 oz holographic spinners from Walmart. I don't know what it is about those rigs, but they always produce in freshwater. They come in a pack of 5, and Walmart is the only place I've ever seen them.

We got into some decent trout action over on the Clinch this weekend.

There's not much that's funnier than watching people do something they think is hilarious.

Maybe the internet isn't right for you?

Would the NFL do the tributes without them? I have no idea, but it just seems a bit disingenuous when you find out that they're being paid for by the military. Agreed that it's likely super effective advertising from an advertising perspective. And, it's maybe a tenth of the DoD's total advertising budget. When Flake and McCain originally brought it into question last year, it just seemed to cheapen the whole affair.

If the NFL really wants to be "patriotic", they could always salute our veterans on their own instead of requiring the military pay them $5.4M to salute Hometown Heroes between 2011 and 2014: Team Contract # Amount Date Department Division ATLANTA FALCONS FOOTBALL CLUB, LLC W912JM11C0001 $70,000 2/2/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG ATLANTA FALCONS FOOTBALL CLUB, LLC W912JM11C0021 $250,000 7/29/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG ATLANTA FALCONS FOOTBALL CLUB, LLC W912JM13C0013 $315,000 7/12/2013 Department of Defense Army/ARNG ATLANTA FALCONS FOOTBALL CLUB, LLC W912JM14P0131 $114,500 8/5/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG ATLANTA FALCONS FOOTBALL CLUB, LLC W912JM12P0091 $300,000 7/20/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BALTIMORE RAVENS LP W912K611P0170 $85,000 1/4/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BALTIMORE RAVENS LP W912K613P0114 $195,000 7/30/2013 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BALTIMORE RAVENS LP W912K613P0114 $89,500 9/18/2013 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BALTIMORE RAVENS LP W912K612P0123 $250,000 8/3/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BALTIMORE RAVENS LP W912K611P0170 $265,000 9/9/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BUFFALO BILLS, INC. W912PQ13M0113 $250,000 5/15/2013 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BUFFALO BILLS, INC. W912PQ14M0233 $150,000 9/5/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BUFFALO BILLS, INC. W912PQ12M0147 $250,000 6/7/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG BUFFALO BILLS, INC. FA448411P0134 $29,000 9/21/2011 Department of Defense Air Force CINCINNATI BENGALS, INC. W9136412P0277 $67,000 8/16/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG CINCINNATI BENGALS, INC. FA448413P0049 $4,960 9/24/2013 Department of Defense Air Force CINCINNATI BENGALS, INC. W9136411P0386 $67,000 8/25/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG CLEVELAND BROWNS FOOTBALL COMPANY, LLC FA448412P0135 $10,000 9/12/2012 Department of Defense Air Force CLEVELAND BROWNS FOOTBALL COMPANY, LLC FA448411P0136 $12,500 9/27/2011 Department of Defense Air Force DALLAS COWBOYS FOOTBALL CLUB LTD W912L113P0015 $62,500 11/9/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG FORTY NINERS FOOTBALL COMPANY LLC W912LA14P0055 $125,000 8/22/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG GREEN BAY PACKERS, INC. W912J211P0058 $400,000 8/5/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG GREEN BAY PACKERS, INC. W912J212P0097 $150,000 8/29/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG GREEN BAY PACKERS, INC. W912J214P0091 $50,000 8/15/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, INC. W912L914P0144 $200,000 8/14/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, INC. W912L912P0122 $200,000 6/19/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, INC. FA448412P0145 $20,000 9/19/2012 Department of Defense Air Force INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, INC. W912L911P0070 $200,000 3/9/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FOOTBALL CLUB, INC. W912NS11P0157 $125,000 9/1/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FOOTBALL CLUB, INC. W912NS11P0157 $125,000 9/1/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG MIAMI DOLPHINS, LTD. FA304712P0139 $20,000 3/23/2012 Department of Defense Air Force MINNESOTA VIKINGS FOOTBALL, LLC W912LM11P0155 $230,000 9/15/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG MINNESOTA VIKINGS FOOTBALL, LLC W912LM12P0092 $225,000 9/24/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG MINNESOTA VIKINGS FOOTBALL, LLC W912LM12P0092 $150,000 9/17/2013 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA SAINTS, L.L.C. W912NR13C0001 $165,375 3/20/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA SAINTS, L.L.C. W912NR13C0001 $157,500 7/2/2013 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA SAINTS, L.L.C. W912NR13C0001 $150,000 12/6/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA SAINTS, L.L.C. W912NR11P0220 $100,000 9/15/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW YORK JETS LLC W912KN11P0105 $50,000 9/20/2011 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW YORK JETS LLC W912KN13P0070 $115,000 7/23/2013 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW YORK JETS LLC W912KN12P0129 $97,500 9/12/2012 Department of Defense Army/ARNG NEW YORK JETS LLC W912KN14P0123 $115,000 9/22/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG PITTSBURGH STEELERS SPORTS INC W9124D13P0338 $9,000 6/25/2013 Department of Defense Army/Ft. Knox PITTSBURGH STEELERS SPORTS INC FA448414P0037 $27,000 7/23/2014 Department of Defense Air Force ST. LOUIS RAMS, LLC THE W912NS14P0142 $60,000 9/17/2014 Department of Defense Army/ARNG

It's interesting how society changes over time - and how some things really stay the same. Kaepernick's actions weren't without legal precedent. In 1943 (a time when you'd think "patriotism" would be on high display), the Supreme Court ruled on West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette regarding this issue. Specifically, this case involved some Jehovah's Witnesses who didn't want to salute or pledge to symbols. One might think, what's the big deal? But, as it turns out, in addition to the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross and others also protested. That's because this was the salute in use in West Virginia in 1942: The court ruled in a 6-3 decision, and Justice Robert Jackson deliver the following in the majority opinion - and it's really worth reading in full: Turns out those words are still pretty relevant - maybe more so than ever - in 2016.

If you're going to participate in the discussion, you're going to have to bring more to the table than this.

The Apostle is a great movie. Not to mention Lonesome Dove. She's probably right.

I've got a lot of respect for Glen Coffee, too. But, the meme doesn't tell his story as well as he does: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/08/full_story_glen_coffee_explain.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/08/07/glen-coffee-was-an-nfl-running-back-now-hes-on-the-army-ranger-school-staff/ And, I expect like so many things in life, the rest of his path is far more complicated and interesting than any article or interview can do justice.

Well, this forum is intended to generally encourage conversations like these. So long as all of the participants bring something to the discussion, while there's no promise of free speech, I hope that we can all learn something from other peoples' experience.

The national anthem is a bit of a shibboleth - it's a who's in/who's out test. By refusing to stand, Kaepernick offended a lot of people - and that's okay. When it comes to the national anthem, which do we value more - the adherence to the tradition itself, or the values that the tradition supposedly represent? Because if it's the later, more of us should take issue. That anthem doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. By asking everyone to stand, we're essentially asking people to pay tribute to a vision of how we perceive things to be. But, for many blacks, American history is deeply troubled, and continues to be. I grew up in Decatur, Georgia. My grandfather worked as a superintendent of Atlanta schools during integration. I count myself as fortunate to have grown up in a multicultural community. While I saw racist statements and actions against friends from time to time, I would have argued that those were exceptions rather than normative actions. Historically I've argued that people of my generation - maybe with some naive hope - who were born 10 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act ought to think of the the effects of slavery and reconstruction and racism as historical artifacts as opposed to modern realities. But, that's simply not true. Look below the surface just a bit and you'll see that the byproducts of our racist past still account for communities being held back. And, that affects everyone in the community. I had coffee with some black friends yesterday. On the surface, they look like successful professionals. But, I know them. Every one of them has had to work harder and longer than I have, and without as much to show for it. I was disciplined as a chid, but never once did I hear, "I'm going to beat you so the police won't." Their experience is different. And, when you look at communities like Ferguson where the government is profiting off of the citizens it's supposed to be serving, it's not hard to see why people are protesting. I know that a lot of people are dismissive of groups like Black Lives Matter. But, while protest isn't a solution, maybe it creates room to talk about finding one. Reread Letter from Birmingham Jail and you'll find that people disagreeing with how groups go about protesting is nothing new. Everyone's experience is different. I'm certain my perspective is different than many of y'all's. But, if America is going to truly be great again - it has to be because everyone gets to come along for the ride.

We only sing the first verse of Key's anthem, but the third is pretty offensive. It celebrates the death of slaves and free blacks. There's some specific history from the War of 1812 that had Francis Scott Key in such a sour mood, but there would be a lot more folks not standing if they realized the lyrics. From Wikipedia's entry: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner And where is that band who so vauntingly sworeThat the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,A home and a country, should leave us no more?Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.No refuge could save the hireling and slaveFrom the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Standing for an anthem is an act of worship. When you refuse to stand, you're offending the faithful who rise to that deity. I believe America has more promise than any country on this earth. But civil religion is dangerous. You only need to look at some of the comments in this thread wishing for violence to see why.