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I'm glad DOMA is on the way out. Now if we can just get Tennessee to lift it's ban. We need to go back to being a country of life, liberty, and the pursuit. And if your happiness hinges on denying someone else the right to be happy maybe you should reevaluate your life.

I was not surprised.  When it comes to the federal government, showing favortism (actually "punnishing" same-sex couples which is what DOMA was really about) is simply not going to pass Constitutional muster.   I think Scalia (sp?) is a very strict Constitutionalist and I think that is precisely why he came down the way he did on this issue.   Now...if we can just get the federal governmetn completely out of the marriage business we will have accomplished something.

I am assuming you believe that "marriage" should be restricted to one man/one women and that you believe the government should enforce that limitation as a matter of law, correct?  The problem with government involvement in social issues is that it can cut both ways. Tomorrow, the government could decide that there can be no such thing as "marriage" or the every one, if htey marry at all, are required to have a minimum of two spouses simultaneously.   There is a difference, a significant difference I would suggest; between laws that seek to protect victims (i.e. laws against theft, murder, child pornography, adults engaging in sex with minor children, etc.) compared to laws that try to mold society into a currently defined "norm".  As I understand the Constitution, it is not the proper role of government; especially the federal government, to engage in social engineering whether it's "engineering" some people like or not...whether it’s dictating who can marry each other or showing favoritism to married couples (tax treatment, etc) or even doing things such as subsidizing people buying homes, certain “ecologically friendly vehicles” and all the other things that government dose to “make us into the society it wants”.   All I'm suggesting is that government shoudl do only what it's supposed to do and engaging in social engineering is not one of government's proper roles.

Even though I am a Christian I don't care if a gay couple gets married, I don't approve of it but it is not my marriage. What I would like to know however is are they going to provide protection to churches so they can not be sued when they refuse to marry same sex couples. Just because the government says it is o.k. it is still against are beliefs and should not be forced on us.   Karl

I was ecstatic, then devastated, then humored, then sad again.

I'm done with these jackasses. I think I'm gonna make a form letter for myself to send out daily that says: "Dear <insert senator>, I appreciate you taking the time to have an automated email system. I can't wait for your prompt, exhilirating, response. i believe it should be obvious by now that myself and the rest of Tennessee's stance on the issue is completely opposite of how you will vote concerning whatever legislation is coming up... and F you. God Bless America"

Need to get the state governments out of it as well....  there is no need for the government to be involved in marriage at all.    

  You've been wrong on this whole thing, but we still love ya. :). Zimmerman turned down the opportunity to join the Wannabe Cop program with the Sanford PD, after they INVITED him.

  You want to talk about traitors?  I say that any government official who would authorize such wide-ranging spying on the American people - in violation of the spirit of the Constitution they are supposed to be upholding - is a traitor.  Further, any member of the American intelligence community who would request or even knowingly participate in such spying is a traitor - from the heads of the CIA and NSA right down to field agents or tech agents who are doing the actual information gathering.  Yep, every, single one of them is a traitor.  The person who exposes the actions of such traitors is not, himself, a traitor and for the real traitors to try and portray him as such is hypocritical in the extreme.

the .gov acts on our behalf.  This is all well and good if honest people filled with integrity were the ones over seeing things.   The problem is those who make laws and decide what is best are dishonest and self serving.  All they care about is becoming wealthy and remaining in power.  Newly elected representatives go to Washington with the facade of changing things and looking out for us.  Soon enough the are sucked into the vacuum and become like the rest already there.   Very few deserve our trust.   Snowden is making a lot of people squirm and worry,  I doubt that those people are worrying about my well being and safety.  They worry how this will affect them and their ability to be self serving.   And sure there are some who have integrity, but not enough to change how the government operates.

My brother got slapped around pretty good on highway 153 in chattanooga several years ago.  Words, then pull over.  Moral of this story: ...Dont have words--dont pull over...   leroy

  I say she should only qualify for Obama care.

  That's another argument, and a non sequitur one at that in the matter of federal DOMA.   The federal government has been "involved" with marriage since the first widow of the Revolution was compensated and to think it would, or even could, duck out is just fantasy.   There are, according to the lawsuit, over 1,100 federal benefits to heterosexual spouses, and before this decision, none for state sanctioned homosexual spouses. This was what this suit was about. Remember, the lady who started this suit had to pay 363,000 clams in federal estate taxes when her spouse died. The state of NY recognized her marriage, but the feds did not.   As she said, if her spouse had been named Theo instead of Thea, she wouldn't have owed a dime.   The ruling was not issued on the base of anyone's "morals", but on the greater issue of "equality". And, the issue of the marriage itself is still left to the states so far, although I don't understand the ramifications of a resident couple from a state that doesn't recognize same sex marriages getting married in a different state that does.   - OS

I'm curious; why do you think the government at any level of government, should be involved at all?   Frankly, who I marry, don't marry, live with, don't live with, love, don't love is not a roll that governmetn should be or needs to be involved in. I'm certainly in favor of hetrosexual marraige and belive it's the best overall structure for a successful society...but I don't see it as the proper roll of government to be involved in it.

I think the danger to the church (all churcnes of any faith) is not DOMA being struck down but the federal government in general...I don't expect any help from them in protecting a religion's right to, for example, not marry homosexual couples etc...we've seen that with Obamacare and birth control.   The only hope for religions will be to fight such oppression in the courts citing the constitutionally protected right for people to be able to freely practice their religion...I don't hold out much hope for that, however.   That's part of my reason for saying that we need the government out of the whole "marriage" issue completely...no favortism...no special government benefitrs for being "married" not married be that taxes or health care insurance or anything else.

  Right now, they may just be better off presenting as much "evidence" as they can. Otherwise, it may appear that the charges and the trial are really bullshit.

I used to work with a guy who started Golden Gloves boxing when he was just a kid, was experienced in more than one martial art, was a third-degree blackbelt in Isshin Ryu and who, apparently, founded his own style, was a former Airborne Ranger and who had written more than one book about martial arts, both Eastern and Western.  I figured he would be a good person to ask about knife fighting techniques and so one day I did.   Michael's response was, basically, that getting into a knife fight is just about the stupidest thing a person could do.  He went on to say that, as a knife is not a ranged weapon, if you have time to pull your own knife then you probably have time to run - and he had no qualms in saying that, given the chance - even with all of his fighting experience and knowledge - running away is exactly what he would do.   When I pointed out that there might be times when running was not an option his response was, much like UncleJak said above, that in such a situation one should not think so much about not getting cut because even if you 'win' the fight, getting cut is pretty much inevitable.  Instead, he said, the best you could hope for would be to 'choose' where you were going to get cut and be ready for it to happen.   I am not trained to fight with a knife nor do I think I would pursue such training at this point.  If given no other choice, I would attempt to use a knife to defend myself but I see such use as being more along the lines of a 'get off me'/'belly' option.  I'm not going to be using techniques, feints and so on.  Instead, I am going to be stabbing/slicing the closest body part I can reach at pretty much point-blank range with all the ferocity that desperation, anger and fear can muster.   Honestly, if I were going to do some form of 'melee' training, I'd probably be more interested in using a walking stick/cane.  Along those lines, in the absence of a gun for SD, this is my idea of a 'knife' fight:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9IjXMitpiA

The senator's yes vote says everything I need to know. I don't give a crap what he says, it's what he does that matters. So, yeah, fuck that guy.

it is a good start.

Naw, the defense is prepared. The fact that a citizen is taking a proactive role in keeping the neighborhood safer is hardly the the most damaging information they prosecution could bring to the table. This is especially true now that the jury has heard about the rash of crime in the neighborhood.

Got to admire the ammount of time your taking to get out accurate information regarding this trial.    I think you've already racked up more man hours than the entire prosecution judging by their performance.

they should name High Schools after Snowden.  He is not a traitor.     6.8 I enjoy your posts on this topic.   The .gov is pissed because he has dirt on them.   Bunch of scumbags they are.  Not a one is a patriot. They crap on our constitution and try to sell it as protecting us.  

Actually it's probably a good thing she didn't have a firearm. It appears from the video that she is caucasion & as a result might have been put on trial for being a racist who "murdered" an unarmed black guy.

It's amazing how fast things can grow with a bit of warmth and a little rain. :pleased: [center][b]May[/b][/center] [center][URL=http://s783.photobucket.com/user/Prag03/media/Garden%202013/garden2013002_zps4e70b78c.jpg.html][/URL][/center] [center][b]June[/b][/center] [center][URL=http://s783.photobucket.com/user/Prag03/media/Garden%202013/garden2013014_zps8c83e2a7.jpg.html][/URL][/center] The below cukes are from just this week.... [center][URL=http://s783.photobucket.com/user/Prag03/media/Pressure%20Canning%20Adventures/814cb637-eb5b-4474-8290-d428152898e3_zpsd86b8a9e.jpg.html][/URL][/center] 3 of those baskets total this week, and this is what happens... [center][URL=http://s783.photobucket.com/user/Prag03/media/Pressure%20Canning%20Adventures/KosherDillPickles23June20132_zps591f6459.jpg.html][/URL][/center] [center][URL=http://s783.photobucket.com/user/Prag03/media/Pressure%20Canning%20Adventures/KosherDillPickles23June20131_zpsf4dfc63a.jpg.html][/URL][/center] 25 quarts of Kosher Dill pickles. Ummmm.... :clap: I guess I'll make Bread & Butter pickles next week. My bush beans are almost ready to pick...the pole beans are about a week behind them. It just goes to show you, even in the suburbs, gardens can be productive..But beware...gardening is a gateway activity that can lead to canning. :hat:

Weed, fights and guns: Trayvon Martin’s text messages released Posted on Thu, May. 23, 2013 By Marc Caputo mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com Trayvon Martin In the months and days before his shooting death, Trayvon Martin was getting into fights, getting high on marijuana, getting suspended from school and talking with friends about getting a gun, according to cellphone text messages that defense lawyers for shooter George Zimmerman released Thursday. Trayvon’s chronically misspelled, slang-filled messages — as well as pictures of a semi-automatic pistol, marijuana plants and Trayvon flipping his middle fingers — are all part of Zimmerman’s defense plan to put the Miami Gardens 17-year-old posthumously on trial. “So you just turning into a lil hoodlum,” one friend, whose name has been withheld, texted Trayvon. Trayvon replied: “No not at all.” At one point, Trayvon joked that the friend was “soft.” “Boy don’t get one planted in ya chest,” the friend joked back. The message, a likely reference to being shot, eerily foreshadowed Trayvon’s fate three months later. On the rainy evening of Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon at an apartment complex in Sanford, near Orlando, where the Miami Gardens teen was sent to live with his dad to get back on track. That night, Trayvon was returning from a convenience store where he had just bought a pack of Skittles and some iced tea. Zimmerman said he believed the young man in the hoodie sweatshirt was up to no good. No one witnessed who threw the first punch at whom or why. But soon Trayvon was dead from a Sig Sauer (sic) [Kel-Tec] gunshot wound, Zimmerman was in police custody and the nation began debating Florida’s deadly force law known as “Stand Your Ground.” The law offers protections for some shooters in public places, but Zimmerman was still charged with second-degree murder by a special prosecutor appointed by Gov. Rick Scott. Zimmerman is pleading self-defense, and said Trayvon attacked him. His trial is scheduled for June 10. Though Zimmerman might not take the stand, his statements given to police and his 911 calls on the night of the shooting are major pieces of evidence. His defense lawyers hope to counter with Trayvon’s text messages and his troubled record at school. A Central Florida judge must now decide whether the evidence is relevant to the case. The prosecution and Trayvon’s family say it isn’t. Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Trayvon’s family, said in a written statement that the defense was displaying “stereotypical and close-minded thinking” in signaling that it planned to use Trayvon’s messages and photos, including pictures of him blowing smoke and showing off gold teeth. “The only photos or videos that are relevant or admissible at trial are those of Trayvon taken the day he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman,” Crump said. “There is no evidence that Trayvon either had gold teeth nor gave anybody the finger the night he was shot and killed. Therefore those pictures are irrelevant and will not be admitted into evidence.” The text messages, some of which are redacted, do not make clear whom Trayvon was talking to at different times. Sometimes it appears he was joking with a friend, other times with a girlfriend and, in at least one instance, with his father. Some of the earliest text messages date back to early November 2011, in which Trayvon, a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School in North Miami-Dade, indicates he was suspended from school for being in a fistfight. Later in the month, on the 21st, he exchanged messages with at least one friend about an after-school fight. One of Trayvon’s cellphone pictures shows two teens about to square off against one another as a third stands in the middle like a referee. Trayvon said he fought a rival who “snitched on me.” Trayvon: “I lost da 1st round :) but won da 2nd nd 3rd.” Friend: “Ohhh So It Wass 3 Rounds? Damn well at least yu wonn lol but yuu needa stop fighting.” Trayvon: “Nay im not done with fool….. he gone hav 2 see me again.” Friend: “Nooo… Stop, yuu waint gonn bee satisified till yuh suspended again, huh?” Trayvon told another friend at the time that his mother wanted him to move in with his dad after he was suspended. “Da police caught me outta skool,” Trayvon wrote. Months later, Trayvon appeared to get into trouble again, but suggested on Jan. 6, 2012, that he was an innocent bystander: “‘I was watcn a fight nd a teacher say I hit em.” The following month he complained he got in trouble for something “I didn’t do.” In between these messages, he appears to flirt with a girl and talk extensively about smoking marijuana, or “kush.” One friend called him a “WEEDHEAD.” Trayvon’s troubles appeared to get worse and, on Feb. 13, he explained to a friend that he was serving “10 dayz” of suspension. Five days later, he repeatedly appears to inquire about a gun with a friend: “U got heat??” Hours later he was asked by text: “You want a 22 revolver?” The friend who sent the message said it was bought by “my mommy.” On Feb. 21, Trayvon appeared to be heading to Sanford to live with his father. But he hadn’t lost interest in guns. “U wanna share a .380?” he asked one friend. Hours after that, someone who appears to be his father sent him text messages about staying in Sanford. “Show much respect to [redacted] and adjust to my Lady & [redacted]. Show them that you a good kid and you want positive things around you,” his father, Tracy Martin, wrote to Trayvon. A minute later he followed up: “Be a big brother and not a DONKEY … …LOVE DAD.” Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/23/v-print/3413343/weed-fights-and-guns-trayvon-text.html#storylink=cpy

Lifted from Reddit. :up:

Just had to share this from FB!!

Was trying to avoid traffic northbound on I-65 today and use the Ellington (lately as I often do). After leaving downtown, came to the stop where you turn left to go towards Ellington. Had both my boys in the car and while stopped at the light, one says, Dad what is that guy doing?    One guy gets out of the car flips off another while cursing. Guy 2 get's out of the other car at the light and within a split second is beating the living crap out of the other guy. I'm not talking about a few punches. I'm talking he would have killed him or close at the rate he was going. It appeared to me the amount of rage the guy had he was whacked out on something or just nuts but I've seen a lot of fights and this was totally insane.   I was the 1st through the light and stopped my car in the middle of the intersection and opened my window, dialed 911 and screamed to the guy, get the ---- off him, I called 911 and the cops are on the way. He got up and into his car. I don't carry every day and in light of this, probably will start. Had I been, I'd certainly felt a whole lot better with kids in the car. However, would have handled it same way. Makes you think when/if someone like this attempts to get into the car.   Guy number 1's first mistake was getting out of his car with an unknown entity. Guy 2 was nuts. As I have always been told, a car is your best weapon. Saw that a few years ago at a buddy's when I was visiting.    Lot's of lessons for the kids seeing this as we discussed on the way home. They never seen anything remotely like this and were pretty freaked out. I tried to explain how quickly things escalate, especially when people are compromised w/ drugs etc.         

I can say that the difference in the accuracy between the MK series and Single Sixes is close enough in inherent accuracy that the real difference boils down to which you can shoot better.   For most folks that is the MK series.    Have a single six that can hang with my K-22 8 3/8" and target MK II. Some of them are real shooters.  FYI - that .223 vs .224 will not throw you off enough to tell at .22 pistol ranges....those soft .22lr bullets easily will obturate on both.    Great modification!  

True but the DOMA decision doesn't allow same-sex marriages or prevents them; it just says the federal government can not play favorites with federal benefits...that is at least movement toward a level playing field but not as far as taxes (FIT) are concerned; at least I don't think so.

  Nice turn of phrase.   As for me, I say everyone should have the right to have a government sanctioned marriage to the one they love.

Yuup is right. If anyone here thinks a middle-aged man (or anybody else for that matter) can't be kileld by a 17 year old male beating the other's head against a sidwalk or similar surface they are simply dillusional.

Hey DaveS, quick question for you man. During the witness testimony yesterday the officer coordinating the NHW program said that she asked Zimmerman to join a special doohicky dealy-dad where he'd get to use a civilian, but market vehicle to patrol the neighborhood in as well as & a semi-official uniform, designating him as a civilian patrol officer. According to her Zimmerman declined her offer of the vehicle & uniform, doesn't that seem odd if in fact Zimmerman was a "wanna-be cop" as you kept relentlessly asserting? Wouldn't Zimmerman voluntarily turning down all of those "cop-wanna-be" goodies suggest that maybe you had the guy pegged wrongly?

Now if you want a taste of heaven...deep fry a Twinkie. The Angels will be singing in your ears!!!   Dave S

If you want a real reply from an elected official, visit them in person.

Knock, knock....

  We don't actually know what he has divulged, or even what he actually has with him on puter and hard drives, or how whatever it is may be encrypted, etc. And yes, there are public encryption schemes the NSA nor anyone else has been able to break, at least in the high bit iterations.   He has stated that others have copies of info to be released if he is killed and it's possible that all the sensitive info actually resides there.   In short, we just don't really know what he's released, if anything, what he may be willing to release, or what he may be umm, induced to release.   As far as his dealing with our "enemies" so far, well, it's not like he has much choice as long as he wants to stay out of US hands. Of course, if (and probably when) he ceases to be an asset for propaganda or information, he'll just be another bargaining chip for a swap, like many in the past.   I'm still rather on the fence about him myself, but clearly admire his stated mission, and just pure chutzpah if nothing else. Pretty much in same way I do the much creepier Assange. :)   - OS

the dude is scared he will be killed.  A patriot might take a job knowing full well he can get dirt on politicians. Our gov't is full of people fucking us for profit's sake.   If he turns up dead nothing will convince me he was not murdered by those in power who are afraid of what he knows.

going from 100 to 89 is easy peasy.  Going from 89 to par is damn near impossible for most humans. Thats why PGA tour players make bank.

My kids are fluent in Lameass... if that helps. ;)

another option for you left-handers is the AR57 (or a 5.7mm upper conversion) they use P90 magazines that slap into the upper & eject the spent casings through the AR's lower magwell.

holy crap, The state better hope their other eye witnesses are better than the first. brief recap   gave different testimony today than at 4 other interviews may have discussed testimony with her sister to get the story strait liked the J4T facebook page signed the change.org petition  arrest the killer of our son 17 year old trayvon martin said she waited to go to the police to avoid the media attention, yet did a long interview with the media that was never aired prior to going to the police

Scumbag should suffer.

I'll take a Swiss Cake Roll over a Twinkie any day!

Current Rule Book IDPA   S.1.B  A 180 degree rule does NOT exist and will NOT be grounds for a DQ.   So was it a IDPA rule you broke or a local range rule? One is contestable (since you can't make up rules as you go along) and one isn't.         Edited to be more clear and add the language from the rule book.

I hate to make this political.......Ah why not...It was reported that Chris Christie broke down and wept tears of joy and just blubbered like a baby when the news was announced....LOL

Or just shoot the son of a *****. A dead thief is the only kind of thief I can tolerate. I know some here see more value in a human life than in material, but I bust my ass everyday for anything I have. Any man that makes the decision to take it has made his choice, and if you've made the choice to steal then you staying above ground and breathing doesn't matter to me. Maybe if more thieves were shoot or hung we wouldn't have these problems. Sorry about your things OP, I hate a damn thief. sent from the backwoods

  I'm not fond of the attacks either. The hyper-sensitivity to "racism" has been sticking in my craw more every day. Now the federal government is suing corporations for making criminal background checks part of the hiring process because it discriminates against blacks. I could have sworn that it discriminates against criminals.   This case is just one example where race had little or nothing to do with the actual event, and everything to do with how it was handled. I'm sick of it.

Not really. I carried the coldsteel finn bear before this one and it has a similar  handle design.  Knock on my wooden head, I hope I don't slip. Yep. It is perfect for picnics, weddings, , church, campouts, playing hopscotch, you name it! I originally wanted brass pins and glue.  Someone (me) forgot to drill holes and didn't want to go through all the troubles of annealing (again), hardening (again), and tempering (again).  Next time I will probably do pins too, but I actually really like that this one does not have pins and shows only the natural wood. It is def unique in that aspect. As far as the EDC length, I guess it is just a bit long.  It just wouldn't have been the same blade at 4 inches...