Tom

That bridge is burned. It’s long past time to put up or shut up. 
 
The true believers on either side won’t believe any verdict that doesn’t vindicate their position, but there are still people who believe that laws and government are supposed to work  and haven’t finalized the verdict in their own minds (hard as that may be to believe) that want to see less innuendo and more action. 
 
If Trump is guilty, then prove it and convict him. 

That bridge is burned. It’s long past time to put up or shut up. 
 
The true believers on either side won’t believe any verdict that doesn’t vindicate their position, but there are still people who believe that laws and government are supposed to work  and haven’t finalized the verdict in their own minds (hard as that may be to believe) that want to see less innuendo and more action. 
 
If Trump is guilty, then prove it and convict him. 

That bridge is burned. It’s long past time to put up or shut up. 
 
The true believers on either side won’t believe any verdict that doesn’t vindicate their position, but there are still people who believe that laws and government are supposed to work  and haven’t finalized the verdict in their own minds (hard as that may be to believe) that want to see less innuendo and more action. 
 
If Trump is guilty, then prove it and convict him. 

8- isn’t particularly impossible. 
 
And I’ve seen at least two instances where only a “3” would do the trick - and did…
 
I wouldn’t mind seeing “an act of dice” come November. I’m just not going to hold my breath. 

Didn’t they try that in Texas last winter?

Didn’t they try that in Texas last winter?

Yeoman is a rating (or job specialty), not a rank, though in the Navy your rating is frequently part of how your rank is shown - at least while I was still in.
 
FWIW, my father in law was a yeoman (YN).  I was an electronics technician (ET).
 
When I got out as a 3rd class petty officer (E4), my rank was officially Electronics Technician 3rd Class or ET3 - though if I were being addressed by rank informally I would just be called petty officer.

So...my "other COVID project" has been restoring an old truck that my dad purchased back in 1984.  A 1925 International Harvester Model S Speed Truck, to be precise.  All original, but in need of a LOT of love and attention.

Replaced the carburetor with a non-original but same era Stromberg SF-1 -- vastly more reliable than the original, which was renowned for cracking and leaking (which it had on multiple occasions).

Relined and restored the brakes, retuning all of the mechanical linkages.  This was easily the biggest of the jobs we had to perform -- a crazy amount involved there.

Re-wired the entirety of the electric system, including the mains (with era-appropriate wiring)

Fixed and remounted the lights and connection assemblies.
 
Replaced the generator cut-out (and was thrilled to find that the original generator was still perfectly functional)
 
Replaced all oil and lubricant with era-appropriate formulae.
 
Degreased (or at least began the long process of degreasing) the undercarriage.

Restored the dials and gauges in the cabin (in the process of re-wiring)...and found the original ignition key.

And got plates put onto it for the first time today, so it's officially road-legal.  Not an easy process in that I had to apply for a title in order to get the plates....the title my dad had gotten back in the 80's had completely incorrect information (1918 model year rather than 1925...wrong serial number/VIN - they had for some reason used the model number from the engine...etc).  Took it out for a 10 mile drive with multiple hills -- handled it like a champ.
 
IMG_2238.mov  
 
So that's one project done....except for the cosmetics.  It's supposed to be a Red Baby -- found ample proof to support that as we worked through the restoration.  The re-paint to original will come in the next year or so...apart from the lettering (which I have the original schematics for), it'll be more or less like this:
 

So...that's been my past year of side project.  I now return you to your regularly scheduled gaming forum  

Not having read all the relevant documents, my understanding on the gun case was it struck down the New York law based on it being “may issue” as opposed to “shall issue”.
 
Assuming I haven’t been badly mislead, this would not invalidate the National Firearms Act of 1934 simply on the basis of what we would recognize as a “machine gun” was not specifically referenced by the framers (along with suppressors, short barreled rifles, sawed-off shotguns, and a few other things).
 
Which doesn’t mean there isn’t any “there” there.  The NFA requirement for transfers of the regulated items can be argued as being “may” authorize as opposed to “shall” authorize - which likely would run afoul of the SCOTUS ruling. 
 
 

Ok, I haven't bothered to read most of the stories coming out of Texas since it's still largely who can scoop who the fastest with the latest juicy bits, but I'm going to throw something out here for people to think about before they continue the rush to the pitchfork and rope concessions...
 
The PD in question is a "no-place-we've-ever-heard-of-and-still-haven't-googled", USA town police force. 
 
They're not the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team.
They're not SEAL Team 6.
They're not Hollywood or FPS action heroes.
They're not TTRPG PCs.
 
It's a pretty safe bet we're probably all role players here.  How many of you have ever had to run through a hostage scenario?  Especially with a GM willing to punish "stupid" or bad dice?
 
Imagine doing it without plot armor - and knowing if you screw up people are going to die for real.
 
It's also a safe bet that almost everyone screaming about the what the cops did (or didn't do) would be screaming just as loud if they'd gone all cowboy and gotten those kids just as dead by being reckless.
 
Yeah, protecting those kids was the cops job.  Getting kids, themselves, or anybody else caught in the crossfire killed through stupid wasn't - and isn't.
 
And I'll bet those cops are having a much harder time sleeping at night than you or I are right now...

Well, we do live in a society that uses firearm related analogies and metaphors as casually as sport related analogies and metaphors. 
 
And there are politicians who toss similar firearms related “political speech” onto the airwaves in speeches and their political advertisements and then claim its all harmless...
 

Hmmmm, a shoulder stock mightn't be a bad idea given the recoil...

This isn’t the first time Texas has threatened to secede, and likely won’t be the last. But trying to apply logic isn’t the best way to discount the threat. 
 
There are still people who think Brexit was a good idea….

Just a random appearance in my Facebook feed…

Just a random appearance in my Facebook feed…

Just a random appearance in my Facebook feed…

I believe I'll have to step away from this discussion for a while. It's making me testy, for which I apologize.
 
Fortunately I don't live in the United States, so the political crazy isn't so omnipresent that I can't escape from it occasionally.

Ok, I haven't bothered to read most of the stories coming out of Texas since it's still largely who can scoop who the fastest with the latest juicy bits, but I'm going to throw something out here for people to think about before they continue the rush to the pitchfork and rope concessions...
 
The PD in question is a "no-place-we've-ever-heard-of-and-still-haven't-googled", USA town police force. 
 
They're not the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team.
They're not SEAL Team 6.
They're not Hollywood or FPS action heroes.
They're not TTRPG PCs.
 
It's a pretty safe bet we're probably all role players here.  How many of you have ever had to run through a hostage scenario?  Especially with a GM willing to punish "stupid" or bad dice?
 
Imagine doing it without plot armor - and knowing if you screw up people are going to die for real.
 
It's also a safe bet that almost everyone screaming about the what the cops did (or didn't do) would be screaming just as loud if they'd gone all cowboy and gotten those kids just as dead by being reckless.
 
Yeah, protecting those kids was the cops job.  Getting kids, themselves, or anybody else caught in the crossfire killed through stupid wasn't - and isn't.
 
And I'll bet those cops are having a much harder time sleeping at night than you or I are right now...

Ok, I haven't bothered to read most of the stories coming out of Texas since it's still largely who can scoop who the fastest with the latest juicy bits, but I'm going to throw something out here for people to think about before they continue the rush to the pitchfork and rope concessions...
 
The PD in question is a "no-place-we've-ever-heard-of-and-still-haven't-googled", USA town police force. 
 
They're not the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team.
They're not SEAL Team 6.
They're not Hollywood or FPS action heroes.
They're not TTRPG PCs.
 
It's a pretty safe bet we're probably all role players here.  How many of you have ever had to run through a hostage scenario?  Especially with a GM willing to punish "stupid" or bad dice?
 
Imagine doing it without plot armor - and knowing if you screw up people are going to die for real.
 
It's also a safe bet that almost everyone screaming about the what the cops did (or didn't do) would be screaming just as loud if they'd gone all cowboy and gotten those kids just as dead by being reckless.
 
Yeah, protecting those kids was the cops job.  Getting kids, themselves, or anybody else caught in the crossfire killed through stupid wasn't - and isn't.
 
And I'll bet those cops are having a much harder time sleeping at night than you or I are right now...

If you want to just shock them without going to technical extremes, you can point out that there are already efforts to create a medical system that doesn’t bankrupt people and welcome them to the cause…

If you want to just shock them without going to technical extremes, you can point out that there are already efforts to create a medical system that doesn’t bankrupt people and welcome them to the cause…