MacGyver

Those rods Rob linked are nice. All in for less than $100 isn't bad, either. I can really think of a lot of uses for a setup like that.

I think one of the great disservices of our modern two party system is that it forces lumping everyone into one group or the other. There are no shades. Either you're in or you're out. Think about the single issue abortion voters. They don't give a damn about the economy, and would throw you under the bus on guns. But, so long as the candidate says the right thing - and they will to get the vote - people will vote for them. Why people continue to get on the bus as opposed to doing something different, I have no idea. Politicians are kind of like Walmart. If the people demand more of them, eventually they'll get it and respond.

I'm with you on that. Some of the questions you would answer as a conservative leave you feeling like you're choosing 'evil' or 'more evil'. I think what the survey does a good job of showing is how closely the candidates resemble each other both in their actions and policy statements.

It increases your hang up risk significantly, and I don't know that it gains you much with such a short overall sight base. I like the idea, but I'd skip it.

So, I'm sitting in the Cleveland airport with an hour or so to kill, so I'll jump into this fray with my thoughts. Someone reported the thread, and as I was reading through it with my moderator's glasses on, I had some additional thoughts from my perspective. Before anyone accuses me of being "impartial" as a moderator, I'm jumping in here as a member. Feel free to debate my thoughts and opinions. That said, we have a code of conduct for a reason. If you've resorted to name calling, you either need to get a better position or better rhetoric. From my perspective, there isn't a heck of a lot of difference between Romney and Obama. There are a few, and I think those few may prove to be important, but there aren't many, and even those may prove to be insignificant. I think most of the problem we find ourselves in has to do with the fact that both the GOP and the DNC don't really give a hoot about their bases. If you are a diehard democrat, or a diehard republican your party doesn't care about you. At all. They are both going for that 3-5% of the electorate that calls themselves "independents", and telling them whatever they want to hear. Think about it. If you're going to vote "Anybody but Obama" anyway, what need does the GOP have to reach out to you. They'll do just enough to keep you from staying home on election day and put someone as vanilla and "moderate" as possible out there to try to reach out to the independents. Same for the DNC. Most liberals are never going to jump ship and vote for a republican candidate. So, it doesn't matter that Obama abandoned them on environmenntal issues or gun control or taxes or whatever. They're going to try an tell the independents whatever they want to hear (with an interesting strategic play this time by Obama with young hispanics and gays.) Look at this chart from politicalcompass.org. You can go take the test for yourself and see for yourself how you rank with your candidate of choice. The survey could probably phrase a few questions better, but it's a fair swag. It's interesting to compare the main field, though: So, if you're a diehard republican or democrat, your party has already sold you out. To which I say, good. Let's move on. Next. The "race card". If you think race doesn't play an issue here, you've not spent much time with the issue. I think it's important and being used in at least three ways. FIrst, on your drive into work in the morning, spend some time listening to your local (or maybe not so local) urban talk radio station. Race is an issue with urban radio voices essentially saying, "vote for Obama because he's one of us." Listen to Tom Joyner or Bev Smith. Listen to Al Sharpton for that matter. Race is also certainly an issue, unfortunately amongst the population of non-blacks who really are racist or are simply predjudiced against a black candidate. Say whatever you want in public, but what really matters is what you do in the election booth when the curtain is closed. I hope this group is not that big and continues to shrink every day. But I've been to those places. Racism still exists. I'll pay $100 to anyone who finds me one person who has a rebel flag on their truck and also pulled the lever for Obama in 2008 and will go on this forum to admit it. As much as real racism continues to be an issue, I think they may roughly be canceled out by the white urban voters under the age of 45 who feel that they need to somehow make amends for historical wrongs by voting for the black guy now. This is the third way race plays in. I had these conversations in 2008, and I'm hearing them now. They're relevant. All three of these racially motivated perspectives suck in my opinion. I can't change any of them on any global level, but I can recognize them and talk about them on a personal level. Let's talk about the marxist/socialist/muslim/communist/America hater piece. I have no doubt that Obama has a different vision of America, but I think you're underselling your adversary to say he hates America. And, after 8 years with George Bush, the American public gave them a chance to take a swing at their vision. I expect come November, a lot of the public with have some buyers' remorse with "Hope and Change". He may in fact have some socialist tendencies. Being wrapped up in two wars in the midst of a recession/depression sure hasn't given him a big chance to implement much of his vision. And really, we got the basis for TARP under Bush. We got the first part of the automotive bailout under Bush. Both parties are working for different interests, and none of them are necessarily in your best interest. There was a comment above to the effect of "He may not be a muslim, but he prefers Sharia law to the constitution." I'm not going to comment more on this than just to say, seriously? Think about this. What possible sense does this make? Put what you think are his objectives on the table, and then ask how this furthers them. From my perspective, it doesn't unless you secretly think he's a muslim and just don't want to express it in this thread. Barack Obama doesn't look a whole lot different from Bush in a lot of his policies. Ask him about Guantanamo Bay, extrajudicial renditions, drone strikes or the use of executive orders for that matter, and you'll find that he looks a lot like George Bush. In fact in each of the above cases, he's expanded President Bush's policies. When Robert Byrd sent you a letter about your abuse of the constitution, you're not different. Explain that to the base. So put all this together and what does it matter? I am an "Anybody but Obama" voter because I do think there are some issues that matter. As has been discussed here previously, the next president may be in the position to appoint up to four Supreme Court justices. If Barack Obama is making those nominations, they'll be so far to the left that Elana Kagan won't be able to see them with a pair of binoculars. I don't hold out much hope for Romney's nominations other than they'll be more conservative than Obama's. We may well get a bunch of Stephen Breyers as opposed to Clarence Thomas's. Again, this is all to appeal to the "independents" and to his "legacy". Romney does have some business experience under his belt. I discount most of that on the personal level because he started somewhere between third base and home plate, but do give him some credit for being able to assemble good teams and to reach a consensus. That and a $1.50 will get you a small cup of coffee, so I don't know that it really matters much in the grand scheme of things. So, from my perspective, there's not a heck of a lot of difference here. If you're a diehard conservative, you're doing yourself an injustice by pretending that this guy really aligns with your principles. Likewise, if you're a diehard liberal, it probably galls you a little bit that this guy is really somewhere to the right of Nixon. Don't grab your ankles and pretend to like it. Make your voice heard. I think this is why the Tea Party and the Ron Paul folks are so disturbing to the establishment. They're not playing along. Gotta board a flight. Have fun discussing this.

Dang it! I need to spend money making my ESEEs jealous like I need a hole in my head. But, shoot. Who can pass that up.

Fortunately it still has a long way to go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxT7QjlvDqM

I see you've made your choice.

Sam would definitely be my first choice for bluing in Middle Tennessee. Maybe all of Tennessee.

I've got some .45ACP cufflinks I like pretty well. They're great for when you need to wear a suit in someplace like New York or Chicago.

I've actually shot a bunch of these over the years. Over 3.5gr of titegroup, they meter right at 1075fps for me. They're fun on steel, and they're a lot of fun out of a carbine.

I'll happily supply the ammo and my 10.5" 458 to anyone who can arrange a demo of this can.

I think the Expanding FMJs are made by Federal. I like them. I've shot thousands of his Ranier plated 147s. I shoot them mostly through a Glock 19 with a Lone Wolf barrel. I load over AA#7 to get the additional flash suppressant.

I carry 147gr Federal HSTs for defense and shoot suppressed a lot, so I don't want to train with 115gr or 124gr. Of all three, I like the recoil impulse on 147gr stuff a lot better. I've been workin through a bunch of 147gr EFMJs pulls I got from David. They expand pretty impressively.

I'm going with all three since I've also lumped 338 Spectre into the mix. 300 AAC blackout is the cheapest and probably the most versatile. I like the 338 Spectre simply because force still equals mass times acceleration, and at 1050fps, the Spectre is going to put more energy and a bigger hole in the target. The 458 SOCOM just hits hard. I love my SBR, but consider it a purpose built gun, not really a range gun. I watched a 500gr round go through a hog end to end. The hog dropped without another step. I like the fact that there are so many .30 caliber bullets. There's a fair selection of .338 caliber, but they're more expensive. I've been shooting some hornady 325gr flex tips that I got from David in the .458 SOCOM. They're pretty cheap coming from David. The nice thing with all three is that you can cast for them pretty cheap.

All I shoot in 9mm is the 147gr stuff I get fr David. I'd certainly go for a few thousand more JHPs. Count me in.

I've not found anything yet that David can't get if he doesn't already have it. We all benefit from the vendors on this board who make this board possible. I'll support them any time I can.

Good luck, Billy.

How awful. We'll keep Rick and his family in our prayers.

Me either. Back in college I worked rescue out of a little marina in Niceville, FL. When the mullet would come in, they'd come in by the millions. I use them for bait all the time. I'm even kind of particular to smoked mullet. Had no idea they existed in Tennessee, though.

The NCAA should have given these guys the death penalty. They knowingly, and thus willingly turned their backs on these kids. I get it that football seems really important. I get it that Paterno was more powerful than the governor. I get it that the football program brings in a heck of a lot more money than anything else a school of its caliber does. For all of those reasons, the NCAA should have offed the program. This is a wrist slap in the grand scheme of things.

Funny, I was fishing from my stand up paddle board this morning...

Nothing hits like a bonefish on fly tackle.

I've used one, but went back to a wrist-style release. I think it's all what you learned on. I could draw more weight, but my accuracy wasn't nearly as good.

I might suggest a couple of things as a small business owner: 1. Move to the area and get to know some people. Folks at the battlefield. People at the reenactments, etc... Talk to them about the perceived demand, and see what's been done historically. These folks will be key to driving folks into your shop. 2. As a hobby based business, make sure it'll still be fun if it's work. 3. The number one reason for small businesses failing is lack of capital - not lack of vision. You've got a budget set. That's good. Make sure you focus on revenue. It trumps everything else in a small business. 4. Web based is good, but it's definitely a different experience. It's a great idea, but if youre looking to interact with people, make sure you don't get so tangled up with a website that you don't have time to do what you really want to do. 5. Tours? Special events? 6. Set a timeline and some milestones. Give yourself a way to measure progress. Good luck. Have fun.