Steve Westbrook wrote:

How many thousand soldiers are dead because of their poor leadership?

You do the math: The War The Prez Party WW1 Thomas Woodrow Wilson Democrat WW2 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democrat Korean War Harry Truman Democrat Vietnam JFK Democrat Gulf War George Bush Republican Iraq George Bush (2) Republican I just used all the Major conflicts of the 20th century. Did not look up the casualty numbers but it really isn't necessary. Not that it has any premise but the party affiliation of the President does not free the voter from electing the best man/woman for the job regardless of what party he/she is from. And this year I really don't have a great deal of hope for any of the bums. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

digital man wrote:

So, why do you need a gun?

A gun is much like a parachute. You will probably never need one but if you do there is nothing - absolutely nothing - that will take its place. Some pundit once said that God made all men equal and Smith and Wesson keeps them that way. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

fat_boy wrote:

In many respects it looks pretty backwards to us. Design, fashion, dress sense for one.

Maybe I am just an old hippy. I am at the office today wearing a old faded pair of safari shorts, a LLBean tee shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes with no socks ( It is warm today in Dallas ). I am perfectly comfortable - not worried about dress sense or fashion. Going to the dogs I guess. Decadent Just read where the Navy is testing a rail gun that can/will shoot a 5" projectile 200 miles. Read some great articles over the weekend about advances in battery design using nanotubes and hydrogen production and storage. That is the fuel for the second half of this century and most of the primary research is being done in the US. The US has problems - transient in nature but still problems. However keeping up with Europe is not one of them. Just as a quick example our stock market has a hiccup and Europe damn near chokes. In all the emerging tech fields I do believe the the US has an advantage. Could be wrong but that is to be decided probably after I am dead and gone - it won't be decided by debate. However I am reminded of the saying "We have met the enemy and he is us". We may just throw it all away in a storm of PC and revert to living in caves wearing synthetic fur. But I bet that our caves will be superior to the European caves :) Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Merry Christmas to you and yours also. We are having prime rib. The meat merchant we use is the same one used by the local 5 star hotel and the cost of said meat is ridiculous but it is simply fabulous. Potatoes , home made creamed corn with honey, and steamed carrots with a maple syrup glaze will finish the menu. We have this or a variation on the theme every Christmas. We always purchase an Italian Creme cake for dessert and have it with coffee and Irish Creme. Can't wait !!!!. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

K(arl) wrote:

Rewriting history again, hum?

I guess that is what you are doing. My premis is that Russia would have fallen early in the war without the aid of the US. Debatable - yes - but all the facts lean that way. Patton WAS right. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1385548/posts[^] http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=308651137186297[^] http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/wwii/persian/[^] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease [^] Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Shog9 wrote:

'Cause really, chili and shortcake at 4AM is where it's at.

There was a nice little place in Dallas ( long gone due to the real estate boom ) that opened at midnight and got into high gear around 2 AM ( when the bars closed ). Their version of huevos ranchero was basically eggs over easy served on top of a plate of hot chili, covered with either sauce verde or sauce roja. Instant cure for hangovers, constipation, and head colds. I used to get that and a bowl of corn soup when I went there and it was nice diner dive food. Would cure what ails you. All the cops used to hang out there. They even had rooms upstairs that the cops used to catch a few ZZZZ's. Anyone from Dallas remember Brownies ? Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Matthew Faithfull wrote:

Time is merely the unidirectionality of change.

Really !!! I guess someone needs to wake Uncle Albert up and tell him his pissant theories have been displaced.

Matthew Faithfull wrote:

Time is therefore more closely tied to entropy than it is even to space.

I guess I better go and tell my old physics prof that he lied about entropy. I thought it concerned energy. Hmmmm.... I won't even get into the fact that you are treating an abstract "eternity" as if it were an object. Can one have a eternity of eternities or an infinity of eternities ?

Matthew Faithfull wrote:

which may indeed explain the results of relativity experiments wihtout requiring the acceptance of 4D space-time or relativity theory.

How can one do a relativity experiment without relativity theory. And as to my meager knowledge all experiments have so far validated Uncle Albert. I am also curious as to exactly what 4D space-time is. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Joergen Sigvardsson wrote:

I have yet to eat a turnip. I have yet to meet a person who have eaten a turnip!

I like turnips. I also like parsnips and squash and almost all veggies except okra. Turnips are very versatile - they can be eaten as a side, mixed with potatoes to make a really good mashed potato dish, they can be sliced and fried , they really enhance a soup etc... I guess that in the frozen regions nice veggies are hard to find.

Joergen Sigvardsson wrote:

I have yet to be mistaken for a warlock just because I sometimes like to shave my head and keep a goatee.

Naaa. I have fairly long hair and have a full beard and moustache. I mean a FULL beard. But when I put on my western hat and boots no one mistakes me for a cowboy. To fat and old I guess :) In Texas we expect our European brothers to have no hair and a goatee. Its that lack of fresh veggies that make them look like that. :) Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Mike Mullikin wrote:

My point: If your life depends on something that you can't afford and you don't have a back-up plan... you're likely gonna die.

While I don't know how other countries or cities handle this type of situation the city of Dallas and I do believe many other Texas cities ( and we live in Tornado alley where many real big storms occur and power outages are more common than one would believe ) have a fairly simple solution. Persons with any type of disability register with the fire department. In case of an outage a fire truck or an ambulance is dispatched to the residence of the registerd person on a priorty basis to either provide assistance or move the person to a facility where they can be cared for. Seems to work. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Christian Graus wrote:

And that is the problem. You don't *need* guns.

Really ? Guns are kinda like parachutes or life preservers- you will probably never ever need one but if you do there is nothing that can substitute for it. Think about 2 twenty year old punks robbing some elderly couples home . If the homeowner has a nuce little .357 he can protect his property and his life - if not he gets beat or stabbed to death and the punks go on their merry way. Nope - I "need" my gun. Mess with me or mine at your own peril. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Mike Gaskey wrote:

try bamboo - I had 1,500 sq. ft. installed this time last year, absolutely love it. a renewable resoure, bamboo matures in 4-6 years.

Bamboo is very pretty but not a real good choice for many people. Its pretty soft and wears quickly. It shows depressions if you have any heavy furniture and it will stain quite easily. If you are looking cheap get a laminate floor and if you are looking for long life and ever increasing good looks go for a solid wood floor - the choice of wood is pretty much determined by your pocketbook and taste. Since it has been determined that FatBoy has no taste ( joking ) it is a matter of how much. When we bought our current home in 2002 it had a laminate floor which we replaced with a wide pine solid wood flooring before we moved in . It has been a good choice for us. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Red Stateler wrote:

I would like to buy the most powerful rifle you have and a box of bullets because I want to go to my now-charred home and shoot myself in the head."

Sure. Wrong tool for the job. I would advise him that in using a rifle it would be almost impossible to shoot ones self in the head and sell him a handgun. I would also tell him that he really did not need any so called "high powered" caliber for the deed- a nice little 22 handgun would be fine. I mean why waste the bucks. I might even mention that if he caught his wife in the act he probably would not have to pay any alimony and that his insurance would cover the home and he might want to stop in at his local hospital and visit a few cancer patients and see what hard times really were before killing himself over a few little minor setbacks - but hey - thats just me. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Christian Graus wrote:

I'd love a million dollars. It's sure as hell not enough money for me to stop working and live on the beach, tho.

Sure it is. Properly invested you should realize about 75000 - 130000 per year pre tax income off a basis of 1.000,000. If you pick a cheap beach you could just fish - drink - and be merry for the rest of your life and never touch the principal. If you are fearful of investing you could earn 50000 per year on just CD's. Richard - waiting to win the lottery so I can live like I want to :)

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Red Stateler wrote:

And you know where else hydrogen can be found?

Can be found in water also. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

fat_boy wrote:

Since you like shotguns, I would go for a Remington semi automatic 12 gague with an open choke. At 30 yards you are going to scare the sh*t out of any intruder. Plus, you arent likely to kill him out right.

That would be according to the load you have in it. I have a 20 gauge pump that I use ( well used as I don't hunt much any more ) for bird hunting. Loaded with #8 or #6 shot it would not kill or even wound seriously at 30 yds. The same gun with #2 or buck would kill at 40+yds. With a sabot slug it would kill at 100 yds. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Josh Gray wrote:

I think its a shame that you feel the need to do this.

Guns are a lot like parachutes. You probably will never ever need one but if you do - nothing else will take its place. Remember the old saying - "Its better to be judged by twelve than carried by six". A gun is just an insurance policy. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Joergen Sigvardsson wrote:

Semi-automatic is the way to go...

Yea - right. Count the failure modes on any semi. Then on the wheel gun. Pointing your nice 40 Cal Glock at the bad guy and finding that the safety is on or theres no round in the chamber will get the old heart beating. Meanwhile I am gonna put 5 in the midsection with my 357. If that does not stop him I am toast anyway. If I need more than 5 shots then I want a M16. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

I have a Browning 9mm

I have an old Browning 9MM. They are nice but for self defense I much prefer a revolver. No safety to worry about, no slipping and sliding on spent cases, no failure mode if the ammo is good.

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

For longer range stuff, I have a Model 700 Remington with a fluted barrel and chambered for .308 with what I call "reach-out-and-touch-someone" optics - and I'm good out to about 300 yards - nobody gets away

I have a custom made rifle that has the Remington breech and trigger assembly mounted on a fitted walnut monte carlo stock and a Douglass stainless steel barrel fitted with a 4-12x scope in 7MM Magnum. Good out to 1000 Yds in the right hands. My wifes uncle ( now deceased ) built it for me 20 years ago. Its heavy but Lord can it "reach out and touch someone". Very high velocity rifle. Makes a unique sound when fired. Flat shooting monster. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Jeremy Falcon wrote:

ust don't get a 357 unless you want to knock your arm off while shooting it.

In a word - bullshit. I own 2 357 Mags and they are both a joy to shoot. The Ruger is a bit lighter than the S&W and the recoil is a bit more but nothing to talk about. Both are, of course , wheel guns but I would sure like a semi in that caliber ( about 1500-2000 bucks ). I also own a 44 mag (Ruger) but even that bad boy does not have a enormous recoil. You know its there but you cn get back on target very quickly. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

Andy Brummer wrote:

My wife made this great salad with bacon bits and good bread cut up and covered with the bacon drippings,

Get some good baby spinach- place in a salad bowl. Take about two-three slices of good bacon and cut it into small pieces. Fry up the bacon in a pan till it is very crisp. If there are a lot of drippings pour some out but its really a matter of judgment. Pour the drippings and bacon pieces over the spinach in a bowl and toss. Add in some crumbled fresh blue cheese and there you have it. Texas wilted salad with blue cheese. Fit for Gods, Kings, and Texans. Richard

Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain