oldguystudent

Just got off the phone with Tasty. First of all, he got ALL of the voice messages people sent him about phoning Ceribus and has made that call. On to tailgating. I may or may not be able to make it, but Tasty is planning on showing up. Everyone is welcome to stop by and participate. You can reach Tasty through takeaknee.net as he currently doesn't have access to PMs here on gmg. We talked a little about extending the tailgate post game since the game itself is apparently so short. More details to come over the next couple of days.

Shortly after the inauguration, I had my radio tuned to AM talk. The host was talking about how he had bought four guns and encouraged his listeners to do likewise because the new administration was going to take away the right to own a gun. He went on to say that he believed it was a fundamental right of every American to be able to protect their family and property. One of the weapons he chose for this purpose was a laser scope rifle capable of picking off a sparrow at 1000 yards (sorry, don't remember the exact type). I called him up and said that if I wanted to protect my house and family, I would imagine that a handgun with some good stopping power would probably do the trick. I couldn't imagine a scenario in which I would need to shoot somebody at 1000 yards, and if an intruder were in my house, I would want the easy of use of a hand gun. So why did he purchase such a weapon in the name of home protection. He hung up on me and had no answer on the air. Personally I stick with a baseball bat and a knife in my house. I do indeed know how to use both of them, and I believe they're safer to have in the house in case of prying kids and their neighbor friends. No more dangerous than having kitchen knives laying around. I've lived in a country with no guns, and it was remarkable how many people didn't get murdered there. You'd have the occasional one-offer, but never a mass Virginia Tech like rampage. A person can only get so far with a knife. As crazy drunk and emotional as people there would get, I always joked that it was probably a good thing they didn't allow guns. It would reduce their population significantly! I guess the bottom line for me is that I feel in the heat of the moment, too many people will use the most powerful weapon they have at their immediate disposal. I'd prefer that to be something in the realm of a tire iron than a gun. The former gives me a much more sporting chance.

Well dammit! There goes my chances at starting QB! Screw this! I'm going to play in the Go Aggies Bowl!

I'm somewhat familiar with all of that. My question is if there is reasoning behind the way it is in Texas. I'm trying to logic it out in my head, but I can't come up with anything.

Why must the handgun be concealed?

A simpler, more fun, if seriously unfashionable time. What the hell is a Cosmic a Go-Go?

Would you really blame anyone for going to Memphis from UNT?

I believe I meant to say annuity charts, but that was funny! Very nice!

I'm pausing midway through to ask how a point he makes is mathematically possible. He says every child born in Britain is born owing 20,000 pounds. OK. So far, so good. But then he says that servicing that debt will cost more than educating the child. I don't have my actuarial charts handy, but even if the total outlay on that debt were 60,000 pounds, I don't think it's accurate to say that servicing the debt costs more than the child's education. I hear things like this, and it's tough to give credence to the rest of the speech. We are now running a deficit that touches 10% of GDP!?!? This is what the ruckus is about? You cannot spend your way out of recession. Huh. The good British economist John Keynes might have wished to debate that. You know and we know and you know that we know. Uh...Let me help you help me help you? Wow. You don't hear inflammatory rhetoric like that thrown directly at the President in the house over on this side of the pond. That was something to see. So anyway, I can see where he's coming from but the theatrics, statement of fact on matters that are speculative at best, and overall fear mongering (worse off than Pakistan? C'mon) smack of American AM talk radio. A final question, not directly related to the video. With all these developed countries being debtor nations, who are the creditor nations? Has it become the world bank of China now? As it stands in the US, 40% of US debt is held by foreign entities while the other 60% is held domestically. Not a ratio I like to see, but it's still money that America owes to itself in most cases. I'd like to know where that ratio stands with the UK.

Cool. An officer who takes his job as seriously as Powell does could bring in millions for the university in parking fines. (tongue in cheek boys, settle down) Anyhoo, found this stat on Kunkle firings:

What's NLU? Is that Monroe?

So a question for Emmitt and Rudy. What are the chances Powell gets hired by another PD if Dallas lets him go?

I guess that could be fact, but I didn't instantly recognize GWB and I had to really think about what WJC stood for (on instant sight, I almost read it as WWJD). I know you hate the guy, and that's your prerogative, but many of your tit for tat responses when people call you out for criticisms are just plain reaching for straws man. If I wanted to showcase criticisms of past presidents to justify my criticisms of president Obama, I might cite such common terms as Bill Rodham Clinton, Willy the Weasel, Slick Willy, McPresident, Teflon Bill, Bubba, Commander-in-thief, President Chimp, Idiot in Chief, the Shrub, George aWol Bush, King George, Boy George, and Junior. Really, there are so many to choose from to exemplify your point. No need to go inventing stuff.

First of all, I read BHO and the phrase "What could go wrong?" as antagonistic at best and baiting at worst. In reading the article, all ten lines of it, it doesn't look to me like Obama went soliciting the list, but rather somebody else compiled it and sent it to him. Whoopdie do! As for my politicians and their staff members, I don't care if they worship the shaving scum in my bathroom sink and do ritual dances in tribute to my toilet bowl so long as they do their job and keep their religion the hell out of my life.

Why do I feel like I'm looking into a crystal ball when I watch that video?

I really, really enjoyed this one. aflzNDRs3Z8

So then it is reasonable for me to conclude that the truth lies somewhere on the spectrum between the two extreme points of Bartles and Heritage. Man I tire of both sides. Really I do.

Kind of a response in kind isn't it? Really. I want to see information on the political topics of the day that truly doesn't take sides or push forth an agenda. From the about us section of heritage.org:

Stanger things have happened.

Completely unrelated to anything in this thread, but why the hell would we want to join the EU? You think Obama's socialist? Have you looked at the way they do business in Europe?

Yep. This about sums it up! Geb6po7Z0PQ

For the sake of clarity, the Ice-T and NWA remarks were direct sarcastic responses to Emmitt's prediction of cop hating comments.

Completely agree. I lose respect for people when they begin to blindly follow a platform or candidate without asking any questions as if it were a religion, then begin with personal insults to those who don't agree. It ain't that hard to put a little thought into things no matter which side of aisle you sit on.

Hmmm...I don't know if "Suck it" is the best term to use here. We're talking about a group of students full of hot air, so I'd say... BLOW ME!!

I watched the video last night. I have a couple questions. Can an officer really take a person to jail for running a red light? Isn't that just a simple moving violation? If so, it does frighten me a bit that an infraction that warrants a civil fine of $75 from a camera in Frisco can get me a night in the pokey down in Plano/Dallas if either an officer or I happen to have a burr up our butts on any given day. As for the towing of the car, am I legally responsible to find a marked, legal parking space while immediately stopping the vehicle the second I see the lights come on? What was with the threats to tow the vehicle? I've actually thought about this one driving through Little Elm. I had a police car following me (I'm guessing that he saw the wind cause me to swerve and thought maybe I was drinking), and at certain points on the road, I wondered where I would pull over if he turned on his lights. Is it ok to somehow signal a police car that you're looking for a safe place for both you and him to pull over? I really see both sides of this issue. I think the office did act within the letter of of the law, but most certainly not the spirit. I think Moats and his family were a tad bit more excited than the news stories care to admit, thus making it more difficult for the officer to assess the situation. Bottom line, the officer is young and somewhat inexperienced. I think he let the job and its power get to him on this one. He did appear to me at time to be creating reasons to provoke Moat. Doesn't necessarily mean that he's a 100% bad cop or that he should never wear the badge again. It does worry me that maybe DPD is sending out under trained and therefore reactionary officers out on the streets both for their own safety and my peace of mind knowing that any interaction I may have with the law will be handled professionally without exception. Guys like that should be riding with an older officer for quite some time before being let out on their own.