btq96r

Donation, bump, well wishes.

So, are you buying online and it goes into an account (ie: you never hold a physical item), or are you buying coins that you lock up in your home?

I've never understood using coins as assets. You buy them, but then if you ever need to redeem them, where is the market to get the value you think you ought to have? Back to the coin shop where it's a negotiation, or is there a regulated exchange for them?

Anywhere metal rubs on metal, especially inside and outside the bolt and bolt carrier. Just not too much or it might spit back at you and it'll be pungent as it burns in excess. There are probably enough sources online with pictures to get you through. That's fine, but I'm not going to bother to look if I have to get a new webpage opened for any pics you're posting.

A quick read on how Soleimani let a perfect mix of complacency and ego push operational security to the wayside when it came to his travels. https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/01/qods-force-commander-soleimanis-carelessness-put-him-in-the-u-s-militarys-crosshairs.php The whole site is great to read if you care about the nuances of what we're doing in the Middle East. It's been bookmarked on my browser since my old boss discovered it in 2007 (we used it before and while in Iraq).

Given the targets they chose, the amped up rhetoric for domestic consumption...I think the Iranians are trying to save some pride for the moment while avoiding direct confrontation. Overt acts with conventional military resources aren't their strong suit, so my bet is they'll regroup and go back to the more familiar "terrorist" style efforts for any further retailitory moves that could also just be an extension of efforts already underway. So, for everyone hoping to see B-2 and cruise missle footage...sorry. I guess consult a doctor if your war boner doesn't go away after four hours.

Pretend every time you have a picture, or a post online where you talk about putting the "brace" up to your shoulder and firing, an ATF agent is logging that for referral to an overzealous federal prosecutor. How comfortable are you with your "I read a letter" defense?

While I'm not saying this is an exact way of checking that...the jump in defense spending is from way more than inflation. We've increased the size and scope of the military since 2003, and that ain't cheap. We've also gotten to a cycle of accounting for the wars in the Middle East in the defense budget (where they belong) instead of as an aside through supplemental funding. The question is are we putting that spending to good use.

And we never will by those terms. We won the Afghan War (though war is a bit of a misnomer for how intense it was) somewhere between July - December 2002 after we finished chasing the last vestiges of Al Qaeda and the Taliban out of their fallback areas. Everything after that has been the Afghan Counterinsurgency/Occupation/Peacekeeping conglomeration that got refreshed with every new commander who thought it would represent the "turning point" or something to that effect. Forget that in that country foreigners are treated like a body fights off a virus, no matter how long it takes. It's all these good intention missions that get us into long term problems. If we'd just stick to the reasons and execution of war as it's supposed to be done in a judicious manner, we'd be a lot better off.

Smoking a guy his last two predecessors thought too risky to take out says all he needed to and removed any doubt that he is willing to strike. No reaffirmation needed after that. The 52 targets isn't a sign of higher thought in my mind, it's pretty childish. I also wonder if it represents a real target deck or something he made up (his showman persona comes through often).

We had all of about a day and a half where President Trump walked and talked the "big stick" ideology that America has made so effective when we stick to it. And for that sliver of time, I was proud of our Commander-in Chief. Now we're back to threats on Twitter, him having to have the last word because of his thin skin, and who knows what else is coming. It's embarrassing. Oh well, it was nice for a day at least. And Soleimani is still dead, so that's always something to look fondly on.

I have a friend buried in Arlington who lost her life when an EFP hit the Buffalo vehicle she was riding in as the medic on a route clearing mission with engineers, so I had a bit of personal interest while reading we smoked "Haji Qassem". My first thought at this was "holy ####", and I'm willing to say it was a happy feeling. This guy was as important as can be to Iran's foreign policy aims, and the stories about him probably undersell how good at his job he was. Both the Bush and Obama administrations didn't think it was worth the predicted backlash to kill Soleimani, even though he was commanding a very effective effort against US interests all across the Middle East. It became a "cost of doing business" assessment that he would have a role in the battle-space. President Trump clearly overcame any hesitations about escalation, which is seemingly at odds with a guy who wants to avoid being sucked into more war without cause (a policy I wholeheartedly approve of). This guy flew into Baghdad airport on the regular, and probably had a diplomatic passport getting stamped to boot. He could have driven from Iran to the Israeli border in an SUV and nobody would have dared make a move on him...he was that gangsta. Until now. I give the President a lot of credit for that and my support, the storm it may bring be damned. A bit of paranoia is a good thing for bad guys to have when they cross the lines that Soleimani lived across. So, I'm quite glad he's dead, because as much as "next man up" will apply to the organization he led, it's very unlikely anyone else will do the job as well as he did, for lack of reputation in dealing with matters requiring personal persuasion if nothing else. While I'm happy that we exercised a model of "we own escalation" as I saw one article put it, the risk could get cashed in anytime. Soleimani was considered a "living martyr" before he became a dead martyr, so he was prepared to die for his cause, and that kind of reputation has a purpose in Iran. Anyone that says they know what's coming next, aside from Iran doing something to retaliate, is full of it; the calculation models are being re-written...in the dark. This is the biggest single move escalation since the embassy was taken in 1979, and we're in some uncharted territory vis a vis how we deal with Iran, and how they deal with us. One of the best things from this is the Shia government in Iraq is pissed. They were always an impediment to any serious efforts targeting Shia forces, and the Quds Force in Iraq. Basically they loved how the US would help them keep the Sunni's in check, and uncomfortable with anything us taking on Shia forces that weren't on "their side" (tribal spats and the like). If they revoke the authorization for us to be in their country, I'd take that any day of the week as a stand alone event. Getting to punch Soleimani's martyr card on top of that is just a bonus, like free pie day O'Charley's. All that exuberance aside...everything we killed Soleimani for was from a tit-for-tat with Iran ever since we orchestrated political changes in their country, and they responded with an Islamic revolution. From the Iraq-Iran war, to the Iraqi occupation, they had their reasons for hating us and letting Soleimani operate in a model of what they deem "resistance". So, when you think of this, be content someone very bad and dangerous is dead, be very grateful that our forces can project this kind of power on demand, but also remember that everything leading up to it came from our heavy handed ways in the region because we saw a need to be there and be dominant. I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's a good or bad way to conduct foreign policy on a gains/loss basis.

Ditto. Sexy it ain't, but the returns averaged out from solid mutual funds don't lie. I'm more in the growth and capital funds as a percentage compared to index funds, but that's just where my risk tolerance is at the moment. At 57 or even 47, it'll be much different than it is now for me at 37. While this year, and quite honestly, the last nine to ten have been a great run...we kind of actually need a big enough dip for general health. When Warren Buffett is sitting on over $120 billion in cash because he doesn't see any value buying opportunities, the market is a bit too bloated for its own good.

I shouldn't be sharing this; it's classified... https://www.mymilitia.com/forums/forum/54-tennessee-militias/