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Politics / Hot Mic Catches Trump’s 7-Word Message to Brother of Fallen Cop

« on: Yesterday at 05:29:04 PM »

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This Thanksgiving, it’s important to remember all the things President Donald Trump has done for our country since he was elected in 2016.

The president has brought a sense of independence back to working families and has made patriotism cool again while promoting embattled police officers and unifying people around issues such as trade, intervention in foreign wars and criminal justice reform.

But often overlooked is the way Trump has succeeded at times in showing his softer side.

But a moment last year between Trump and the brother of a police officer killed in the line of duty, which occurred away from the mic, showed us who he is.

The president told Reggie Singh something that displayed his genuine care for people affected by the country’s disastrous immigration policies.

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General Discussion Forum / Bringing back the draft

« on: Yesterday at 05:04:21 PM »

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Restarting the military draft after more than four decades of an ­all-volunteer force would be complicated.

But it could be done.

One plan calls for young conscripts to have a choice: two years on active duty or six years in the reserves.

Either way, they’d first have to ­undergo basic training and job training.

If draftees want to go to college first, they must participate in a Reserve Officer Training Corps program and then serve.

If they fail or quit ROTC, they must then enlist.

Whichever option they choose, their obligation is fulfilled with a single combat deployment.

Those are some of the details ­proposed by retired Army Maj. Gen. Dennis Laich, one of the nation’s most aggressive advocates of abandoning the all-volunteer force in favor of a return to the draft.

He and others believe that current wars have stretched the military to its breaking point. More than a decade’s worth of bonuses and expanding benefits has brought personnel funding to its limits. Civilians are more disconnected from the military than at any time in history.

The retired two-star and his group, the All Volunteer Force Forum is asking: Is it time to end the more than four-decade experiment of the all-volunteer armed forces and reinstate conscription?

But key critics in military ranks and academia say today’s volunteer force is better educated, more diverse, more professional and capable than the military has ever been.

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General Discussion Forum / Crews clear tons of stuff from Portland homeless man's 'home'

« on: Yesterday at 01:19:28 PM »

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It won’t make the pages of “Architectural Digest” or the website “Houzz,” but the homeless “home” that city-contracted crews recently demolished and hauled away is nothing short of amazing.

Those crews say it is the largest single homeless structure they’ve cleared in Portland.

Portland's Homeless and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program says it took a Rapid Response team six days and eight 30-yard dumpsters and more to haul away more than 31 tons of material.

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Politics / Chris Hayes haunted by 2016 'fun fact' when MSNBC host suggested electors abando

« on: Yesterday at 12:05:14 PM »

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MSNBC host Chris Hayes has been one of the most vocal critics of President Trump, accusing him in recent weeks of undermining democracy by not conceding the 2020 presidential election, but resurfaced comments he made back in 2016 suggested he also did not respect the country's electoral process.

Back in December 2016, following Trump's Electoral College victory against Hillary Clinton, Hayes offered a "fun fact" that suggests that the 306 electors that handed the president-elect the White House didn't actually have to abide by their own state's ballot outcome.

"Fun fact: states decide how to apportion their electors. They could give them all to, say, whichever candidate won majority of counties!" Hayes tweeted.

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General Discussion Forum / The Air Force Is Putting Death Rays on Fighter Jets. Yes, Death Rays.

« on: November 27, 2020, 08:30:05 AM »

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The U.S. Air Force envisions placing laser weapon systems on fighter jets by the mid-2020s. The service is working on a own laser weapon, SHiELD, a pod-mounted laser that will protect fighters from incoming missiles.

The system will likely be used—at first, anyway—to protect older fighters that can’t take advantage of stealth to hide from the enemy.

The system is called SHiELD, or Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator. National Defense reports SHiELD is envisioned as a pod-mounted laser developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, with support from Lockheed Martin. Mounted on the fuselage or wing of a fighter jet, TALWS could shoot down incoming air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. Lockheed Martin is working on a separate weapon, Tactical Airborne Laser Weapon System (TALWS) will use program data from SHiELD.

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General Discussion Forum / Supermarket customer smashes hundreds of bottles in liquor section

« on: November 27, 2020, 06:47:40 AM »

he woman entered an Aldi supermarket in Stevenage, England, and began breaking 500 bottles of alcohol that caused around $130,000 in damages, according to local reports.

Video on social media shows the woman — wearing a grey hoodie, khaki pants and a backpack — grabbing the bottles from the shelves and smashing them on the floor.

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Politics / CUOMO'S PRAYERS UNANSWERED

« on: November 26, 2020, 07:33:19 AM »

 

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday night blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from reimposing strict attendance caps at worship services in areas hit hard by the novel coronavirus.

The court ruled 5-4 to bar Cuomo from enforcing his Oct. 6 “Cluster Initiative” against houses of worship that sued to challenge the restrictions.

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General Discussion Forum / Bruce Boynton, who inspired 1961 Freedom Rides, dies at 83

« on: November 25, 2020, 11:19:24 AM »

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Bruce Carver Boynton, a civil rights pioneer who inspired the “Freedom Rides," has died at the age of 83.

Former Alabama state Sen. Hank Sanders confirmed Boynton's passing Tuesday.

Boynton was arrested 60 years ago for entering the white part of a racially segregated bus station in Virginia.

That action began a chain reaction of events that ultimately helped to bring about the abolition of Jim Crow laws in the South.

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General Discussion Forum / Happy Thanksgiving

« on: November 25, 2020, 11:06:02 AM »

Enjoy your meal.

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General Discussion Forum / Former Tuskegee Airman Frank Macon dies at 97

« on: November 25, 2020, 08:08:01 AM »

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One of only two original, remaining Tuskegee Airmen in Colorado has died.

Frank Macon died Sunday night at his home in Colorado Springs. He was 97.

Air Force Col. Mark Dickerson, president of the Hubert L. “Hooks” Jones Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., made the announcement on Monday.

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Politics / Gunslinging new Colorado congresswoman wants a permit to carry her Glock in the

« on: November 25, 2020, 03:17:03 AM »

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Lauren Boebert, a Republican member of the incoming freshman congressional class hailing from a conservative western Colorado who is enraptured by the Second Amendment, is determined to carry her trusty Glock gun in the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol building, the New York Post reports.

So fond of firearms is Lauren Boebert that the congresswoman-elect owns a gun-themed restaurant called Shooters Grill in the small town of Rifle, Colorado, in her district.

As she prepares to represent her Colorado district in the nation’s capital, the 33-year-old Lauren Boebert has inquired to Capitol Police about their conceal-and-carry policies. Lawmakers are indeed allowed to carry guns while on the job, with some limitations. 

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Politics / HATERS GONNA HATE

« on: November 24, 2020, 06:55:17 PM »

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White House reporters befuddled by brief Trump statement on stock market: 'Weird as s--t'

rump spoke in the White House briefing room for a little over a minute to tout the Dow Jones Industrial Average passing 30,000 for the first time, calling it a "sacred number" and congratulating the American people for the milestone. He then departed to shouted questions from assembled reporters.

A hot mic on CSPAN caught reporters sharing their surprised reactions after Trump left, with one saying, "that was weird as s**t." Another appeared to say it was "one of the stranger" briefings he had attended.

The strange scene was emblematic of the historically strained relationship between Trump and the reporters covering him the last four years. Trump has repeatedly called the press "fake news" and "the enemy of the people," and reporters have frequently blurred the lines between journalism and commentary in their coverage of him.

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General Discussion Forum / CNN silent as nurse's viral tale about COVID deathbeds quickly falls apart

« on: November 24, 2020, 03:11:48 PM »

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CNN is silent after South Dakota emergency room nurse Jodi Doering claimed on the liberal network that patients dying from coronavirus often don’t believe it despite her story appearing to have been a “massive exaggeration” if not worse.

CNN’s interview went viral, with one clip piling up over 5.8 million views on Twitter. NewsBusters conducted a study, indicating that CNN spent 23 minutes and 38 seconds on Doering’s tale over a two-day period.

"It wasn’t one particular patient. It’s just a culmination of so many people, and their last, dying words are, ‘This can’t be happening, it’s not real.’ And when they should be spending time FaceTiming their families, they’re filled with anger and hatred, and it just made me really sad,” the nurse told CNN on “New Day” last week.

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Politics / INTOLERANT LEFT

« on: November 23, 2020, 10:02:21 PM »

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Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reportedly won't seek to maintain her role as the top Democrat on the committee.

Feinstein announced the news on Monday amid backlash surrounding her handling of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation. 

“After serving as the lead Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for four years, I will not seek the chairmanship or ranking member position in the next Congress," she said. “I look forward to continuing to serve as a senior Democrat on the Judiciary, Intelligence, Appropriations and Rules committees as we work with the Biden administration on priorities like gun safety, immigration reform and addressing inequities in criminal justice. I will continue to do my utmost to bring about positive change in the coming years.”

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General Discussion Forum / Largest COVID-19 contact tracing study to date finds

« on: November 23, 2020, 02:47:37 PM »

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A study of more than a half-million people in India who were exposed to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 suggests that the virus’ continued spread is driven by only a small percentage of those who become infected.

Furthermore, children and young adults were found to be potentially much more important to transmitting the virus — especially within households — than previous studies have identified, according to a paper by researchers from the United States and India published Sept. 30 in the journal Science.

Researchers from the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI), Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Berkeley, worked with public health officials in the southeast Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to track the infection pathways and mortality rate of 575,071 individuals who were exposed to 84,965 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. It is the largest contact tracing study — which is the process of identifying people who came into contact with an infected person — conducted in the world for any disease.

Lead researcher Ramanan Laxminarayan, a senior research scholar in PEI, said that the paper is the first large study to capture the extraordinary extent to which SARS-CoV-2 hinges on “superspreading,” in which a small percentage of the infected population passes the virus on to more people. The researchers found that 71% of infected individuals did not infect any of their contacts, while a mere 8% of infected individuals accounted for 60% of new infections.