5 hours ago, dotcalm said:

Fetterman ain't all there, he's got issues between his ears. At any rate, Jim Jordan will mop the floor with Fetterman.

 

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1621655870365908992?s=20&t=r998xFAl-gEqKkX6IN_WFQ

He shouldn't be allowed to do anything more than mop the floor.  One thing is for sure, he will never get to the truth about anything.  He's been a waste of skin since he was elected.  He has yet to have a bill he sponsored pass.  The words lazy and worthless come to mind.

 I am a little over 1/2 through the book.  It's a good read, for those that are interested.  A lot of the salacious stuff is pretty minor and fits well into the context in which it is written.  Some of it is just calling out the Media and how wrong they got things.   

So, far, much of the underlying theme is the paparazzi and how invasive they were.   How much they lied.  He sets the story straight, and his version makes a lot more sense than the tabloids.  At least to this point in the book, he has been pretty kindly and understanding of his father and William.  

He has a few beefs with the palace not doing more to protect him at times, but he is also aware that it was sort of 'everyone for themselves' when it came to the press, and he was the one who often ended up under the bus.  He admits to making a lot of mistakes.  He talks a lot about the disappointment to the family that he wasn't more intellectual, smart, a better school, etc.  

His time in the military is particularly exciting to read.  He really loved the military, he loved the action, and it seems it was some of his best times.  

Turkey earthquake: Before and after images show extent of destruction

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64544998

I just got a notification the death toll has risen to 2,249.

2 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

Where's your follow up to your post... it has been corrected that it was a lie that there were any balloons flown over the USA by the chinese during Trump.

 

Oh well... as usual no follow up when the lies are found out to be Trump syndrome and not fact... 555

The US Department of Defense said three other of these crafts 'briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.' “

I found this which gives some idea of where it has traveled:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/chinese-surveillance-balloon-spotted/story?id=96883610

It was the coldest wind chill factor ever recorded in the US, including Alaska.  It hit -108 F that's -77.7 C.

National windchill record set in New Hampshire as cold weather begins to ease up across the Northeast

The record was set at Mount Washington Friday night when it felt like minus 108° F thanks to a temperature of minus 46° F and wind gusts of 127 mph.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/04/weather/winter-storm-northeast-new-england-saturday/index.html

42 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

might it have been better to destroy it over the Pacific before the spy mission even started? lots of water there and no people...

It entered the US in Alaska.  I haven't seen a map of the path, but with such close proximity to Russia, it's a little tricky to shoot something down that may have strayed.   Russian and US airspace have little separation in parts of Alaska.   I don't think we'd want any incident that involved Russian airspace.    It then appears that it moved down across part of Canada and next entered the US in Montana.   Biden gave the OK to shoot it down last Wednesday I believe, but it was decided to wait for it to be over open water and that would be the Atlantic, where it was shot down.  

Waiting was the prudent thing to do.   

Once a Special Counsel is involved, things start going quiet.  

...but hey, you guys will always have Hunter.

It's called Climate Change.  

5 hours ago, RayC said:

Thank you for supporting my hypothesis that fans of American football are certifiably insane????????

I've not run into many that are certifiably insane, but I have run into a lot that were absolutely hammered by the time the game is over.  Unlike soccer, they are too drunk to riot!

10 hours ago, heybruce said:

I agree the availability of junk food is contributing to obesity, but I think for young people the biggest problem is the obsession with electronics.  Playing used to mean going outside and doing something physically active; now children think you are committing child abuse if you tell them to put down the phone and do something physical.

There is no doubt that electronics are exacerbating the problem, but before that it was television.   It's all a part of living in a digital age.   There are precious limited places available for children to get exercise.  It's simply not safe for kids to get on their bike and ride around exploring the neighborhood.  There aren't places for those impromptu basketball/football game that happened some years back.  

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Obesity tends to kill people earlier than expected and causes heart, joint and diabetic problems. The US is apparently quite obese- need I say more on that?

 

I'm sure that the US has the most advanced health care on the planet, but only for those that can afford it, or have excellent insurance.

The US health care is excellent, but it is not easy to access, even with insurance.  The insurance company decides what doctor you can see and if he refers you to a specialist, they have to approve.  The upshot is that many people just forego preventative or early treatment.  Preventative care is really far down the list. 

Michelle Obama put a lot of effort in to seeing that students were provided with healthy choices.  They were also able to start school with a simple, but nutritious breakfast -- a large sort of parfait with a small container of healthy cereal that could be mixed with yoghurt.   

It was an uphill battle since under Trump the guidelines on sugar, sodium and other items were dropped and schools were allowed to work with big industry to provide things like French Fries, pizza and a multitude of sugary items.    Schools also allowed soda dispensers in schools so students could have things like Coke etc.   

Many years ago, we had the school lunch program.  Each meal included a small amount of meat, one or two vegetables, maybe mashed potatoes and gravy.  The meals were designed by the Home Economics teacher to be balanced.  There was also a small desert.  Oh, and we always had milk -- a big dispenser with all the milk you could drink.   On Friday, we had fish (in deference to the Catholics).   We went through a serving line, and we could refuse anything we didn't want, BUT if you took it, the cafeteria monitor was responsible to see you ate it.  When you brought your tray up, it was empty, or you sat down and finished your meal.  Wasting food was not on the menu.   

Every once in a while we'd get a 'fun' meal -- something like macaroni and cheese or hot dogs, but that was a treat.  

In my class, out of over 40 students, we had exactly one who was 'fat' and he was nowhere near obese.  As a matter of fact, I don't recall any other kids in the entire high school who were fat.  I remember the coach trying to 'bulk up' the football players.   

30 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

Five officers kicking and beating this young man, one would think that some knew what they where doing was wrong?

And one might think that the 3 medical people who arrived might have wanted to help the guy out instead of standing around not rendering aid.   

32 minutes ago, new2here said:

As someone who grew up in the US, I was born and raised on the American version and played it at the college level in a Division I institution as well..  but i’ve also spent probably 80% of my post-university life working/living overseas where the European version of football is played and is wildly popular. 

 

My take is that while both the US and Euro versions are both good games, I think as far as continuous action goes, the Euro version is better — that is unlike the US version where each “down” is rather short followed by a period of time to line up for the next down, the Euro game tends to be much more active for a sustained period of time.. that to me, makes the Euro version a bit better from the spectators viewpoint,

 

I do prefer the US version as far as the players go, because comparatively, the US version has bit more specialty (ie punter, KO, etc) and strategy to it (ie “do you punt or go-for-it on 4th down” etc)

 

So, to me, they’re so different that i can’t really say one is better, each one, to me, has its own unique strengths from a spectator viewpoint.

Wow!  That's a good analysis of the two games.  At the end of the day, it's a matter of what you enjoy and what entertains you.  I find American football a little too complicated and a little too slow for my watching enjoyment.  I like more motion and action.  I am not a big fan of sports, but I can watch soccer, hockey and basketball.  

5 hours ago, dingdongrb said:

Who enjoys watching paint dry?

People who like watching American Football!

14 hours ago, Hanaguma said:

Lovely idea, except for the cost to the environment of producing thousands of solar panels and batteries. Plus, where do they actually come from? Something tells me....China?  Not a good idea to have parts of your energy infrastructure dependent on China for spare parts.

 

I would say a better plan is using nuclear power, with home made facilities and uranium from the US or Canada. 

Oh, boy.  I always find it interesting when right-wingers take such an interest in the environment while ignoring the vast amounts of destruction and pollution caused by the oil and gas industry.  Then there are the large coal-fired generating plants in the Western US that operate on strip mines, that effectively destroy vast swaths of fertile land, erode the fertility, pollute waters or drain underground water reserves; scar or alter the landscape; damage roads, homes, and other structures; and destroy wildlife.  And all that doesn't even begin to address the air pollution, acid rain from the sulfur.

But yes, let's stop solar and other forms of green energy because they cause so much pollution?  Really?  That's your argument?