winsor

Since he makes no distinction between fact, guesses and passing thoughts, and he apparently says things that correlate with reality upon occasion, it's hard to tell whether there is a factual basis for anything he says. I try to avoid listening to him, but I've been surprised when, as I'm going to change the channel, he appears to say something coherent.

Again, it's hard to claim someone is lying if they have no concept of "truth." When he blurts something out, it's veracity is but an abstraction.

I'm not prejudiced, I'm postjudiced

Hanging out drinking beer with an old friend (haven't touched the stuff for almost four decades, so it was a while ago), he said "Winsor, you'll never be rich, you don't care about money." I responded that I had nothing against money and that I was by no means a Socialist. He agreed, but said that if I couldn't spend it I had no use for it. Though I've done better than average, I really don't care about the particulars beyond being comfortable and having options, so he was right. Another friend of mine, who was very wealthy, expressed envy at my lifestyle, since he was focused on being wealthy and I flew wherever I pleased and generally gallivanted around the globe. He said he intended to retire early and make up for lost time, spending time with his kids instead of working continuously. A couple of weeks after he pulled the plug at the age of 42 he returned from buying a ranch in Costa Rica and a condo in St John - cash, of course - and pulled a muscle in the gym. 18 hours later he was dead from necrotizing fasciitis. He now has wealthy kids who would give it all up to have their father back. Having lived most of my life around people with Money, I have a pretty good idea of how to amass Serious Wealth. I also realize that I just don't care that much. While it's generally better to be a Have than a Have Not, I'm basically a Boy Scout and prefer to be comfortable with integrity than a seriously wealthy scumbag. If I had to, say, have the "ethics" of Trump to have his assets, my response is to keep your goddamned money. If I came across an opportunity to be fabulously rich, I'd go for it (Dave Barry said someone in Nigeria sent him $42,000,000 in 54 boxes via UPS), but I've yet to buy a lottery ticket. Beyond wanting my family to thrive, whether I'm rich or broke when I die is pretty much academic.

DEI puts identity above ability, which may or not be unconstitutional but it sure as hell is counterproductive. The idea that the only alternative to "good" racism/sexism is "bad" racism/sexism is a straw man. The alternative put forth is to select on the basis of ability/aptitude only, which is as fair as it gets. I'll take Equality over Equity any day.

I'm reminded of an observation from a regular at the Convention, where he said he likely came to be there when it ended. rec.skydiving ran its course, and the noise: signal ratio got out of hand. DZ.com has had a good run as well. SC has become less tolerant/more toxic over time, and too many posters are a waste of bandwidth. Quite who has merit depends on one's position - there are liberal posters that are offensive to the left, conservative posters that are offensive to the right, and some that have nothing but venom for those they perceive to be in opposition to their position. The humorless tone of SC makes it remarkably shallow. Anyone criticizing one sacred cow or another is deemed a troll, whether their point is made up or well referenced. Talk about boring... If SC was rife with scintillating wit that would be one thing but, unfortunately, it is anything but. If DZ.com survives, fine. If it goes by the wayside, so be it.

I thought that was rather the norm.

Your reading comprehension needs work.

WTF?

I ask too much.

DEI carries no weight in combat. Unity, Excellence and Honor are the stock in trade of the military. Integrity is not a function of sex or sexual preference. NSA had a long-standing policy of excluding known homosexuals, mainly because the odds of a traitor being gay were well better than even. Also, living a lie as matter of survival made polygraphs worthless - most gay applicants could lie without a flicker. From the standpoint of combat, gay or bisexual soldiers are historically on a par with any (Alexander the great comes to mind). If you were a little less strident, you might make your point better. Your call.

Agreed.

He's Mr. Ed, a real stable genius. Actually, the horse is smarter.

Muhammad married Aisha when she was six. Are you suggesting there's anything wrong with that? Only an Islamophobe would dare criticize the Prophet (mhrih).

That's a gold PLATED toilet, not SOLID gold.