This video is a bit tongue-in-cheek but it isn't far-off of reality these days. Between the introduction of wolves (where I hunt elk & deer) and a new slate of gun laws (seemingly weekly) I'm pretty discouraged (& I don't fish much here anymore). It would be easy to dismiss my complaints as those of an angry old man except for the fact I've lived here for 40-years now and it was quite different even 10-years ago. The effort to remake my home state has been relentless and I see it as the model for changes occurring all over this country. See what you think...

It didn't take 3 seconds for me not wanting to live there. One picture says 1000 words. SNOW. Not where I want to be. Sorry.

You don’t have that in Indiana? We had it in North Carolina when I was a kid. Not much, but, we had it. Clearly, your grouse hunting differs from mine.

Lloyd, it would seem your home has moved on. Have you given any thought to where you are going to go? The idiots that infest the metro area, here, are convinced they can legislate natural gas use into obsolescence by 2030, pretty sure that won’t end well.

Good luck. We will need it.

Best,
Ted

Interesting about that ten year time frame that you notice the most changes. As a pretty regular visitor, legalized pot really got a subculture of all manner of losers thriving. Lately, I can't believe what sort of sanctuary garbage is being pedaled there. That leftwing slippery slope is in full avalanche.

Denver runs the state and Denver is too California-ish for me. This is what happens when people leave one state for another when they do not like the directions things are going. All is fine in their new home state except they want just a little of what they left there as well. Not the crazy stuff, not the out of control stuff, but just the little things like legal pot, or some other harmless thing. But it never is just one thing. It is just one minor thing after another until you notice everything has changed and now people look at moving to another state like Texas and starting over again and again.

My birth state of Maryland has transformed into a liberal haven which I can not stand. For years we said the Baltimore area ran the state but now it is more the Baltimore-DC area with them spilling over into Virginia and West Virginia to start their becoming more progressive while turning their backs on their history and their entire way of life. But I also admit I am getting older and less tolerant of stupid people, who know they are superior to all others. Maybe we just need to pass a law if you take student loan forgiveness you can not vote for any elections above county level for 20 years. You do not pay your loans or your share you do not get to vote to change things until you pay your bills or get time out.

When I was a much-younger man, the John Birch Society folks (in the world I was growing-up in,1960s western Pennsylvania) pretty-much saw everything as a communist plot to destroy this country. "Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll" were their primary complaints about popular culture and, as a young man of-course, I thought (then) that they were nothing but total-weirdos who were determined to stop any and all of my adolescent "fun". From where I sit now, however, I'm beginning to think that they might have been onto something. Legalising pot here has had devastating effects on several aspects of life in Colorado (downtown Denver is almost unrecognisable to me now, and I worked downtown for almost all of my professional life). Crime, homelessness, urban-decay and businesses fleeing the city, illegal immigration, etc. are all problems that can arguably be laid at the feet of that one questionable decision. Large demographic shifts are a big part of that problem as well, and like all complex issues, it's very hard to identify a starting point. But, I'm now thinking that the pot legalization really got things rolling here.

It isn't just Colorado. I grew up in Minn, land 10,000 lakes and plenty of hunters and fisherman and most of my family still living there are thinking of getting out. I live in Mich now and considered a haven for sportsman, with lakes and stream and National forest land for hunting but ruled by Libs that think they can be carbon neutral by 2030, passing another gun law will stop criminals, paying for the first 2 years of college will somehow offset the fact most HS graduates can't read beyond the 8th grade level.

When I graduated from college, I had an interest in the Palynology (fossilized spores and pollen grains) courses I had taken. One of my Palynology Professors had been head Palynologist for Shell Oil. He was also President of both the American and International Associations of Stratigraphic Palynonogists. He had told us about the great opportunities in that field. So with few good job opportunities in my area, I thought it would be a good idea to head out west to try to find work in gas and oil exploration. My Dad had been stationed in both Wyoming and Colorado where he taught Electronics in the Air Force, and he frequently talked about how much he liked Denver and Colorado Springs. After driving my old 1969 Chevelle across the desolate and sparsely populated midwest and the eastern part of Colorado, I finally hit Denver. I was shell-shocked when I saw it was nothing like my Dad had described it. I never cared for larger cities, and this was just too much for me. Then after talking to some local residents, including a friend who worked for Coors Brewing Co., I quickly learned that the hunting and fishing opportunities were also nothing like the nostalgic images my Dad recalled. Even at the time I was there, it was already becoming either a costly paid proposition, or going to extremely crowded public hunting lands.

I stayed in Denver a couple days and headed north. Never had any desire to go back either. Not even a little bit. I can only imagine what it must be like now.

Widespread pot usage is nothing new, and I seriously doubt if that alone is the cause of the urban decay, homelessness, crime, businesses fleeing, and illegal immigration. I think by now that you know the root cause of all of the above.... along with relentless attacks on our 2nd Amendment rights too.

Hint: It starts with a "D"

For context

Fishing report: 2/17/24

(2) 12"* rainbows, apparently stockers. Let them go.
(1) 16" rainbow, apparently a hold over. In the fridge. Nice dark pink meat.
(2-3?) bites flopped off and got away.

I made a mental health decision go fishing once a week.

Lloyd is correct about everything. Go fishing before it sucks harder.

We've had about two inches here (last night) twice this winter and for the first time in my life, the driveway was not deep enough to shovel. Thanks to global warming. I get my fish in a sandwich at Frisch's. Best in the world. I hate cold weather. I'm a hot weather guy.

Global warming, global cooling, blah, blah, blah:

https://realclimatescience.com/#gsc.tab=0

Best,
Ted

My birth state of Maryland has transformed into a liberal haven which I can not stand. For years we said the Baltimore area ran the state but now it is more the Baltimore-DC area with them spilling over into Virginia and West Virginia to start their becoming more progressive while turning their backs on their history and their entire way of life. But I also admit I am getting older and less tolerant of stupid people, who know they are superior to all others. Maybe we just need to pass a law if you take student loan forgiveness you can not vote for any elections above county level for 20 years. You do not pay your loans or your share you do not get to vote to change things until you pay your bills or get time out.[/quote]

Re Maryland (and Virginia, and even WV and the impact of DC) Back in the late 60's-early 70's I was living and working in northern Virginia, there were a lot of people making very long daily commutes to work in metro DC but to live somewhere else. I played on a CIA softball team (we had our own diamonds on the grounds, although they were sometimes occupied by the Bobby Kennedy clan from across the road) with a couple guys who commuted daily from Harpers Ferry WV. Whenever I could manage it, my weekend get away was to drive down to Fredericksburg, and fish the Rappahannock for smallmouths and panfish further upstream. Seemed like an entirely different world. I expect that by now, there are a lot of people making the daily commute from down there. And I'm sure there are a lot more houses upstream from Fredericksburg, which was very rural back then. But coming from Iowa, I needed a shot of something "normal" on occasion.

More global warming, globe blather, blah, blah, blah

https://www.axios.com/2024/02/09/climate-scientist-michael-mann-defamation-lawsuit-win

Lloyd,

Yes CO is not what it use to be. I could never live in Denver or the surrounding areas because it is a big city. CO Springs is getting too big and crowded. However, where are you going to move? SD, MT, or another state?

Ken

A $1 in compensatory damages, and the rest will certainly be appealed. Great to see you agree with comics being stifled.

Mann was the one who flailed his arms about the poles being ice free by 2015, right?

Stick this in your agenda:

https://co2coalition.org/media/clim...ives-involving-global-warming-geologist/

Best,
Ted

I’ve been hearing the same crap from the same kind of fanatics for 50 years. Our computer models say this our computer models say that. It hasn’t happened and we’re still here, but some people still buy it religiously.

Global cooling , global warming. Blah blah blah. I read an article once explaining that the planet has always gone through climate change. I thought don’t let the climate fanatics read this. They’ll change it to climate change so anything and everything that happens will be covered. Well, I’ll be @&$:ed. Here we are

On a local note. A few years back Lake Michigan was at all time lows and would continue to go down. The fanatics said that Great Lakes shipping was done and Milwaukee would run out of water because their intake would be high and dry. Several years later the lake was at all time highs. Any acknowledgment of how wrong they were , nope. If the sea levels were going to rise like there computer models predict , there isn’t a lender around that would give mortgages for water front property but lo and behold they still do and the same people pushing climate change are buying water front property. That’s all you need to know

I have considered both but will likely just try to spend as much of the fall on the high plains each year in the fall as I can. It is all up to me really. I have been scaling back at work in an effort to spend more time afield, last year I had way too much going on and my time in the Dakotas was brief(I did make it Africa for the first time last year though). A new puppy in the planning stages and hitting the road more often will be my game plan.

And yes CO has changed, more people, more congestion, etc. I still have plenty of hidden gem spots close to my house where I rarely encounter anyone though. We still have lots of public land and tags are pretty reasonable for Residents. It could certainly be worse that is for sure.

[/quote]
Don't utter the obvious, to our academic types, that they are not turning US citizens. Sort of a reverse robinhood syndrome, take from the poor, and the ivory tower is motivated that they stay thay way.

There was a time when only land owning gentry had the right to vote. They were the ones who had skin in the game.

From where we stand today, I get it.


Best,
Ted

Loyd, Ted, Jon : Big news: no part of the West is like it used to be. There are too many people for that to be possible, and they all have to live somewhere. All the best rural landscape is becoming the playground for the very rich, and they aren't into sharing access for hunting and fishing. None of this change was brought about by legal pot. I would argue though that some of it is caused by legal gambling. PS : Since when is owning land the only skin in the game?

Of course there is no global warming. I guess everybody missed the news last week that January was the hottest month ever on our planet making it 12 months in a row of the hottest months ever since the 1850s when the industrial revolution began. And as CO2 levels have kept going up -the temperature just keeps rising. Of course that's just normal. It happens every 350 million years or so. 😄

Lloyd, I'm starting to wonder if you have Biden like symptoms with memory loss. This is at least the second time in a few weeks that you've brought up basically the same subject with the same video in an OT discussion.

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=640084#Post640084


Yes-Colorado has & is changing big time, it disgusts me seeing & living with these changes to no end. I would consider moving but the question always comes back to (Where?) the way things are headed in this country it's not looking good anywhere due to the changes going on in America in general. About all we can do at our stage of life is to ride it out the best we can. My suggestion is if the changes in this state are getting to you to the point that you feel the need to make OT posts about it on a regular basis, it's probably time you actively start looking for your nirvana & make the move to get away from Colorado. I can assure you if you don't like it now--You're sure as heck not going to like it with the future changes coming down the pipe. We're overrun with Illegal's & many of them are here to stay, there's ten new gun laws moving through the Democrat super majority lead state house & that's on top of all the gun laws passed since Columbine. Our mountains are overrun with people to the point that you have to ask yourself if you ever left the city and this is only going to get worse over time.

Get after it my friend-- Spring is a coming and the prime time to sell-out and move is coming up fast. Always keep in mind what my friend said years ago "I came to Colorado from what it was--I'm now leaving for what it has become"

Priceless Jimmy, make fun of those around you, who actually care about the world around them, and commit your future to victim whiners, and violent felon substance abusers. You know what gets funded first, right Jimmy, "medical" treaments for criminals and keeping wife and chid abusers, laying in front of the tv. Don't delete your gems, they could be used as a detailed lesson plan to get three fourths of our high schoolers graduated. We need 'em hitting those "higher" education student loans, huh Jimmy, to become baristas with attitude and such.

No, Jimmy, I missed that. Just for reference, the history books claim 1936 was the hottest year on record, but, don’t tell anybody, I don’t want Micheal Mann to sue me.


This is so cool:

https://realclimatescience.com/ice-free-arctic-forecasts/#gsc.tab=0

Read the comments for a great laugh, they were arguing about whether Al Gore Jr. claiming the polar ice was going to completely melt in 2013 or 2014, after he received his Nobel Peace prize, but, by God, it was going to melt for sure!

Turn off the box in your living room, Jimmy. Get some fresh air.

Best,
Ted

You are laughable ted. Screw the comma

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/climate/2023-warmest-year-record.html

You missed that? And it was on every news network in the media? Missing that pretty much disqualifies anyone's opinion who doesn't know that--after it has been on the news for the past year. And Al Gore never said that the polar ice would be melted by 2013 or 2014. If he made his movie in 2005, it would never have melted in only 8 years. Wow!! Where have you been? Are you really out of touch. SMH. History books in 1936 are saying that it was hotter back then than it is today? What have you been watching? Back to the future? Ha-ha!!

The state of education, is deplorable in this country. On that, we can agree.

Aren’t you an educator, Prof?

Just for fun:

https://realclimatescience.com/2016/02/1936-the-hottest-and-coldest-year-in-us-history/#gsc.tab=0

Best,
Ted

_________________________________________
Names are always capitalized, Prof. Make note of it

Turn off your TV, Jimmy. Get some fresh air.

Best,
Ted

----

Uh oh, compelling evidence. It must be true, from the invento..., um creator, of the internet. I like the five to seven year time tables, been through quite a few resets myself. Hey, you're just like algore, only parrot what you want to. Want to share any artwork of your private jet?

---

I have a non-combative curiosity about the topic. Question is really for Craigd. But anyone else can answer obviously.

If I buy a shotgun and outsource every aspect of its reconfiguration to my specifications, people would typically say they built it, as in, “I built this gun for shooting clays. Or pigeons, etc.”. And everyone who looked at it would know that the owner probably never touched a file.
And I doubt anyone at their club would say boo about it.

if a person has a new home built, people routinely say they built the house. Very possibly never touching anything heavier than a pencil or pen.
No one goes after them if they say the built their new home. Usually just the opposite, commenting on their good taste, or unique design elements.

If a large national, or even worldwide project has a champion at the highest level within our government, and they participate in the birthing of , a great big thing. Could have been NASA, the Internet, the highway system, nuclear bombs, whatever, is it OK for the person who pushed for that to say they built it? Even if they never touched a shovel?
Does pushing the funding required (essential for it to happen at all, whether we agree on the merits or not) allow the sponsor to say they built anything?

I could easily see John Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Rickover, all sitting around a table in the afterlife somewhere talking about what it was they did on this planet during their mortal years, and what constitutes “built” might be a discussion good for 1 million years or so.

I’m just trying to see where the lines are as far as what constitutes built. I’m sure many of you live in a house that you “built”out .

What say ye?

Greg,
Who built the Afghanistan withdrawal?

I’ll wait for it….


Best,
Ted

____________________________________________
Any prick will be happy to take credit for something good.

I would say that if you are having a house built, they are probably building it to your specifications. And since the house was you idea and you are having blueprints made the way you want, isn't that part of the building process? So, you could probably say, "I am building a home." Or, "I am having a home built." Either would probably be acceptable, I think.

If you put wood on a gun, you would more than likely say, I changed the stock and forearm. Someone like Wenig isn't going to say, they built his Parker shotgun, I hope.

Same deal. If all of a sudden you are shooting at a Master level with the Parker, the wood was totally your doing.

Can’t hit squat with it?

“Those idiots at Wenig are worthless”.

Best,
Ted

_________________________________________________
Probably climate change had something to do with it….

---

Yes, people would do that. I know I would. Ha-ha!!

It seems whenever the discussion drifts to climate change, the temperature goes up. As a skeptic, I'm willing to give the believers a chance to change my mind.

Here is a graph of the holocene from "historyoftheuniverse.com". It's easy to understand, and I'm assuming it was compiled by scientists, so it should be accurate.



Now, you say our climate is changing, I won't disagree, just answer two questions.

1) Please show me where on the graph our climate is supposed to be.
2) How long can we expect our correct climate to remain correct?

I missed this. What has this got to do with my statement about global warming? Who did you think I was making fun of? LOL.

Ted, I would have to say the Biden administration built the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The people in our military and intelligence forces that misread/misinterpreted how badly we were being played, bear some responsibility for the after math,
But on the whole, the current president delivered what the people wanted.

You have mentioned that you may be a key developer, project manager of significant automotive projects? What if an engineer under you, came to a meeting and started beating around the bush, and made all manner of justifications for something that stretches the truth a bit. Wouldn't you just say, that person was wasting meeting time, come back to the next meeting, get to the point, and there better be a point?

We, I hope, can agree that algore may not have been the brains and purse strings behind the shovel, but he was certainly a politician? From my point of view, it's interesting how loyal some are, and it really seems to be nibbling at hypocrisies, rather than civil discussion that pushes some to double down? Biggov has built many things, maybe they did build the climate narrative? Does Jimmy know what politicians do, or is there some blind faith?

My question remains the same as it's always been, where is the "we" part in building anything, or more particularly, the custom clays gun, that's a micro niche part of bigger anti2a agendas, which I choose to recognize goes hand in hand with all other social agendas? If someone shares, of their own free will that they vote, don't we know that their algores, will gladly fund and take credit for taking fine wood and rust blued guns away?

Do we have a foreign policy?

Lol Jimmy, lol.

Where ya been craig?

See, that is where we are going to diverge a bit. I ‘sorta feel that if the people had known the Chinese were going to inherit Bagram air base, put $82 billion in current weapon systems in the hands of terrorists, along with several pallets of cash, and documentation and instructions for anything and everything to do with US forward control, a bunch of us would have preferred the potato-in-chief see to it the withdrawal was more orderly, and that family of 12, I think it was, who were only guilty of being blood to a former translator, weren’t splattered all over their neighborhood for the world to see. Oh yea, a two day carpet bombing of the facility might have kept some of those weapons systems out of the western hemisphere, seems the cartels made some good offers on some of the stuff and it is turning up surprisingly close to home.

On whole, Biden has denied anything went wrong, and was in a hurry to get out of watching the 13 dead Americans coming home to their country.

Yea, not so much what I wanted Greg.

Best,
Ted

Not to put too fine a point on it, but my training and experience always makes me acknowledge the excellent craftsmen and women that helped me to achieve an important outcome. People don’t thank others enough.
So while I might say I am responsible for this or that, I am not so self possessed to not acknowledge that I am nothing without the help and support of others.
Anyone that might ask me about that knows just by the scale of the endeavors that I couldn’t possibly be solely responsible for the projects.
They would understand if I said, “I built this or that”, I was just an active participant in whatever it was.

But it’s no fun extending that easy to comprehend reality to others I guess.

Buuuut, Tim, that isn’t THEIR graph!

Their’s has a hockey stick in it. No mistaking the global warming, never mind your conflicting data.

Best,
Ted

If this is CZ 101, why'd you ask me the other question?

Myself, I appreciate those who did a great job for me, that they seek me out for "chatting" and recommendations, and I seeks them out, when some new opportunity comes up. I'm certain we are conversing about far different scales, but I always consciously use, we, even to those who aren't the greatest helpers or supporters, as long as I didn't encourage them find their calling, somewhere else.

Current events prof. I never would have thought the King of Jordan would have gotten such a bewildered expression, watching jo meander around behind him, in a show of solidarity, containing palistinianterrorism. No prof, I like the way jo would use the big pile of classified documents, to gauge if his old 'Vette cleared the garage door, huh?

don'
??

If you are going to discuss global warming, you need to discuss what is causing it. 97% of the scientists in the world today will tell you it is CO2 levels. Since the CO2 levels are off the chart today, we have just had the hottest year on record. And as Roger Revelle, one of the pioneers in global warming studies told us, they act together. That is how Al Gore got involved in global warming studies. Roger Rovelle was his college professor.

Look on the chart where studies have proven that CO2 levels are today.

The point of the chart wasn't to show anything, and I wasn't talking about the history of the universe, I was just hoping to get some coherent answers. Instead I get some childish deflection. If that's a representative example of your ability to collect your thoughts, why would any rational person give any weight to anything you say?

This chart shows the same readings as Roger Rovelle's studies. This is the rise in CO2 levels and temperture levels is just during this generation as the population has grown from 2.5 billion to over 8 billion. So who knows?

Your CO2 charts are nice, but could you try answering my original two questions?

I do not believe you would or could get those answers from a single one of the kool aid slurps…

Best of luck to you.

Best,
Ted

???

I'm sorry. But it says, historyoftheuniverse.com. And the chart only goes to 12,000 years. What else am I supposed to think? 😊 One guy on here- not too long ago, tried to use the Petrified Forest as an example that there was no global warming. So, when I went to the Petrified Forest website to read about it, like he told me to do, it said on their website that they were changing all their vehicles to battery powered vehicles and low emission vehicles because green house gases cause global warming. When I pointed this out to him, he threatened to report me to Dave. Ha-ha! So, that's all I'm going to say on the subject. That's the way I believe and I have shown why. Good luck.[/quote]

You're supposed to think I was asking you two questions about the earth's temperature since the end of the last ice age, that's all. No where was I talking about the "history of the universe", if you notice, it was in quotation marks and followed by ".com", that was simply a reference so you know where the graph came from. It's not that difficult.

You're right Ted. I was talking to a co-worker and talk got around to climate change. So, I started asking him questions, you could see the gears in his head jamming and stripping, finally, he said "can we not talk about this anymore? this is very important to me and I find this very upsetting".

I suppose when all you have is a golden calf, any questioning is an existential threat.

I was a non-practicing Catholic for a long time. After the children were born I returned to church. While looking something up, I discovered a spirituality and religion forum, populated by a lot of aggressive athiests. I never posted or engaged with them, I just took their viewpoints and questions and began searching for answers. That was the best thing that could have happened for my faith. I don't like what the world has become but I'm at a certain peace with it, because I know God exists and we are working towards a resolution. I still have questions, but they're about guardrails and signs, not the direction of the road.

When someone demands you follow their science, and tries to quash questions or dissent, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Best to you also, Tim

Jimmy, look at your own graph, which goes back 600,000 years. I can clearly see several times where temperatures were falling, but atmospheric CO2 levels were still elevated.

If CO2 drives global temperatures, then the temperatures should have still remained high, or been rising during those times.

We also see several periods in the past where global temperatures were higher than they are now. Yet you and the Nutty Professor keep saying that 2023 was the hottest year in history. We had a day last week when our temperature got up to almost 63 degrees. I wondered if that was a record, so I looked at the Historical Data on the National Weather Service website. The record for that date was 70 degrees... in 1937.

Then look at the extreme right side of your precious Al Gore graph, to more recent times up to the present. Al's graph clearly shows present day CO2 levels higher than at any time in the last 600,000 years, yet we see several periods where the temperatures were significantly higher than the present. How can this be?

It looks like you went out of your way to post a graph that proves you and Al Gore are wrong about the direct correlation between elevated CO2 levels and high temperatures. Why did you wish to prove that you are wrong?

They're lying to you Jimmy. And they have you even lying to yourself. You know that, right?

Of course, it helps to remember that climatologists were using data from about 7000 weather stations around the globe in the 1960's, and they are using data from only about 3000 today. Many of the stations they eliminated were in colder regions like Siberia and Mongolia. Gee, I wonder why average global temperatures are rising??? And it's a hoot to see NOAA posting CO2 levels from their station on top of Mauna Loa.



Jimmy, you do know that Mauna Loa is an active volcano in Hawaii? It frequently vents large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. There are presently six active volcanoes in Hawaii. They all vent large amounts of CO2 into the air. NOAA using CO2 data from on top of Mauna Loa is like monitoring water quality in the Great Lakes by taking samples from the intake of a sewage treatment plant. Time to wake up Jimmy.

Why does anyone need to know that you play fast and loose with the victim card? Is it a mindset that affects what you believe and what you choose to show are the reasons.

Dogon: you're right, I did post that video twice. This is the video I should have posted...

"The use of fossil fuels in vehicles releases greenhouse gasses THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. The park (Petrified Forest National Park- California) is working to reduce the use of fossil fuels in our fleet of vehicles and heavy duty equipment through the addition of hybrids and EVs." Unquote........... Fast and loose? Ha-ha! That sounds pretty slow and straight to me. Nuff said.

It's a neat video Lloyd. I have a good friend that ranches up in the mountains near Yellowstone, and he has many similar accounts. From bold park, thirty miles away, wolves, sitting at the edge of fields like dogs while he ran tractors, to luckily MT allowing pest control, to the elk being heavily killed off and chased out of their area, to ending up being able to get over the counter tags to hunt them.

They are around, but I haven't seen any for maybe the last four or five, years when I visit. Put some hunting pressure on them, and they act like part of the wild, part of the food chain, otherwise they had a stretch where they were aggressive, indiscriminate killers of lamb, calves and young game, without fully consuming them for the food. And, they were much harder on nesting upland birds.

My friends live a bit over thirty miles from paved road, and almost forty miles from a grocery store. We've visited a time or two in mid winter, very doable, but not exactly easy. A little rant disclaimer swtching on, a petrified brain just can't comprehend what it's like to assume there's a charging station, but there are none to be found, and no reception to call tiple a.

Craigd: I have hunted elk and deer in that area for well-over 30-years now. I suspect that my normally high-success rate will now begin to fall-off rather precipitously (if you can believe the reports from Montana and Wyoming on the subject). I'm of two minds about that, the first being that I've probably shot my share after all this time and that I should feel fortunate to have been so-blessed. My second thought is however, for the local economy up there (in lovely Craig, Colorado) and the now-elderly couple who own and run the neat little local motel that we've used, pretty-much every year, for all that time. My hunting partners & I (and now our children) have become something like old friends to those folks, to the point where we exchange Christmas cards every year. The local economy clearly depends on the regular traffic and business that big game hunting provides to that little corner of the world every Fall (the big orange signs they put up everywhere welcoming the hunters to town seems to confirm that). We eat in all the restaurants, shop in all the stores and buy lots of fuel for the multiple weeks that we might be up there chasing mule deer, elk and antelope. I'm happy that the 1st Gentleman here in Colorado has finally found his "calling" and is determined to alter the landscape by importing wolves from various other states to "re-balance" the food chains here in his husband's (the Governor's) state. We've also become quite familiar with some of the local rancher's we've hunted on over the years, and their operations are now increasingly complicated by this development. They may control baronial amounts of land, but their existence seems to be almost hand-to-mouth in many cases. The loss of some calves or sheep or even a treasured dog will not enhance their existence in any fashion, and will likely move them closer to the "brink". One wonders if that is indeed the goal here.

Great video Lloyd!!

One thing that didn't get covered in detail was how the reintroduction issue got on the ballot in the first place. This wasn't done through the legislative process or pushed by CPW. This was done through the referendum process where an activist group jumped through the hoops of gathering enough signatures to get it on the ballot. Similar groups are now trying to get other issues on the ballot like eliminating mountain lion hunting in the same manner. The same type of thing is playing out in many states across the country. These activists have learned that its easier & more cost effective to get their agenda passed into law this way than to go through all of the studies & legal drama associated with the normal procedures.

We've now learned after the fact that the wolfs introduced here from Oregon were problem wolfs already which where preying on livestock in their home range. CPW was mandated by the wording in the ballot to complete the first introductions by a certain date & because state after state refused to let Colorado have any wolfs, CPW was desperate to find some to fill their obligations, so when these problem children became available CPW jumped right on them.

The video was correct in that this passed by the slimmest of margins by only a few hundred votes and the blue island voters of the front range are the ones who screwed over all of these ranchers, hunters & wildlife management professionals. Some day in the future many of these same people will be asking (Where has all the Elk-Deer & other wildlife gone)

Wildlife management by referendum is a terrible idea and it should be made illegal to get issues like this on the ballot in the first place! This is just another item that has guys like myself & Lloyd bemoaning the fact of what our beloved state has become.

Thanks Dogon. While it's been the "imperfect storm" here for almost too-long now (& to answer Ted's earlier question about relocating) just picking up and moving isn't exactly easy either. Every other place I/we might consider will likely have it's challenges as well going forward. While my wife & I aren't natives here, we've lived here for almost 40-years now and we have the roots to prove it (children, friends, family, church, professional associations, etc.). The best solution to all that (that I can think of right now) is to just maintain a home here and travel to play elsewhere. If we happen to find a better option someplace else, then hooray (!), but until that time we'll likely just solder on here, vote our conscious and do what we can otherwise. Remember, living well is the best revenge.

One thing the Left (I'm using that term in the broadest possible sense) is very good at is activism. Something the Right could learn from. Literally everything we typically decry here has it's origins not in a broad popular groundswell but is the result of decades of concerted effort by a very small number of activists. Suggesting MORE government legislation is probably not the answer. Long term the answer is clear......learn from the Left, get organized, get active and make the case for the things we believe in. Not because it's an election year. But because it's part of your lifestyle. These are generational battles that require decades of comiited activism. Until we start to do that, the Left will keep winning the battles.

The Right is very often too busy earning a living. That isn't really compatible with extremist activism. There were trucks feeding the BLM activists that burned down the precinct in Minneapolis.

Best,
Ted

Another laughable Tedism. Guess you feel 6 January Insurection was all a false flag or a hoax, eh.

It is very laughable to see the Nutty Professor regurgitating Fake News about the Jan.
6, 2021 protest. But what would you expect from a Liberal Left College Professor who can't even spell Insurrection?

Notably, there was no one charged or convicted of engaging in Insurrection on Jan.6th.

The F.B.I. Director Christopher Wray refuses to divulge to Congress the number of embedded F.B.I. Agents or Operatives who were in the crowd. He would not deny, under Oath, that there were agents in the crowd. They waited nearly 3 years to charge Ray Epps with a mere misdemeanor after he is seen on video inciting people to go into the building. They sentenced him to probation and 100 hours of Community Service, while others who were not nearly as involved are sitting in jail without bail. Nothing to see here.

The House Unselect Committee refused to release videotape evidence showing D.C. Capitol Police ushering protesters into the Capitol Building, acting like Tour Guides instead of Police refusing some unlawful entry. The Lying Democrats cried like babies when the new Republican House Speaker released it.

Insurrections tend to be armed conflicts. Yet none of these gun owning Conservatives bothered to bring their guns.

Even the crooked Attorney General Merrick Garland has lied about police officers being killed on Jan. 6th. None were killed, but regrettably, some were injured. Far fewer were injured than in the 2020 Antifa and BLM riots, where nobody was charged, and damages and injuries were far greater. The only person killed on Jan. 6th was an unarmed protester named Ashley Babbit. She was shot in the neck by a rogue D.C. Capitol Police Officer when she was in a completely non-threatening position. If they did that to a black female, Washington D.C. would have been looted and burned... and Libtards like the Nutty Professor would have excused it.

It wasn't an insurrection,it wasn't even a good riot minneapolis ,was a good riot Portland, was an insurrection burned down police station and court house and displaced city government.also held the mayor hostage in his condo.

Ted, I'm just saying how to combat it effectively. Not easily.

What I described is WHY the Left has made such progress during our lifetimes. We can make excuses about why they can do it and why we can't (jobs etc) but that's what is going on.

Brent, do you really think that if it was a real insurrection, all those gun toting Right wing guys wouldn't bring their guns? As an outsider looking it, it's clear that nothing went on Jan 6 that was materially different than the BLM riots. And the BLM riots were wildly more violent and destructive.

You are making my point for me. I guess the Left was well organized for those BLM riots.

I feel the deplorable state of education in the US is primarily due to educators like you.

Another Tedism for ‘ya. Laugh at your own risk, Prof.

Best,
Ted

I think it's a bit different. There are a very small few, who can fund the activism of their choosing. Ask any prof, students of the left are lazy, unless there's a stipend involved.

Careful, prof might pull a pronoun on you.

According to Wikipedia, the Minneapolis and St. Paul riots were the second most destructive in US history, behind the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Police stations in Minneapolis and Apple Valley were burned to the ground, and about 1500 buildings were damaged.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_the_George_Floyd_protests_in_Minneapolis%E2%80%93Saint_Paul#


Best,
Ted

Except that it’s been happening everywhere across the Western world for over 50 years. Not just the US of the last 15.

Soros wasn’t financing anyone 50 years ago. Besides, there are a lot of right of centre billionaires who could do the same thing. But they don’t because we don’t ask them to. The difference is the right funds politicians. The left funds activism. You wanna win? You need activism. It only takes 8 % of a population to ignite a revolution.

Wrong.

The BLM and ANTIFA riots were tolerated by a complicit Liberal Media and by activist Liberal Left Democrat Mayors, Governors, and District Attorneys. Police were ordered to stand down as violent riots went on for weeks.Their violent criminal looting and arson was excused by the Leftist Democrats and described as "mostly peaceful".. Many of these same Leftist Democrats refused offers from Donald Trump in 2020 to send in troops to quell the riots. Nor did they want to use their own State National Guard units. These cities were allowed to be looted and burned to create the false narrative that having Trump as President was the root cause of racial discord. They didn't care one bit that innocent citizens and business owners suffered, or that scores of police officers were injured. These cities were sacrificed as part of the Democrat plan to depose Trump. That was also the greatest incentive to shut down the economy during the Covid lockdowns. Covid also provided a convenient excuse for absentee ballots that made election fraud easier. The same Leftists who want extreme and excessive punishment for Jan. 6th protesters go out of their way to prevent equal justice for BLM and ANTIFA rioters.

Why was Kyle Rittenhouse identified immediately, and we still don't know the names of the post-Super Bowl Kansas City shooters???

To emulate that type of "activism" means Conservatives and Republicans would have to become just as evil and pathologically dishonest. We would have to become just as mentally ill to think we should imitate or copy their fascist behavior. Unfortunately, the Left has also learned they can intimidate many on the Right into silence. And when that doesn't work, they try censorship.

I dunno cback, there are plenty of right of center(re) donors who put their money where their wallet is. The left wingers are happy to skew elections to destabilize, the right does it to get monstrous, no bid pork contracts? No doubt, there's a steady component to left wing "activism", but recent years has shown your exponential growth.

I think, the only, true as can be, "activism", or organic movement that arose from nowhere, was the President Trump election. jo didn't have activists pounding the ground. He had big money, how else would he have compliantly signed the order, killing the Keystone on day one, when he slept through the campaign, tucked away in care home conditions. No, watch any left wing activism? There are always well paid choreographers, dressing the actors in matching t-shirts, "organically" having professionally printed signage and luxo buses, spontaneously contracted to wisk in pros?

Having a relative younger child, you should be well aware that their schooling and stimulus, make it far more likely for them to nod in agreement with tru-jo and their ilk, than you would have gotten out of your early schooling. One big money has useful dupes, the other is a rino hedge fund, good ole boy's club.

Craig, you are talking about politics. I’m not.

I’m talking about social attitudes, which politics follows. Politics does not lead.

You mention schools. The Left infiltrated the institutions of education. School boards, teaching colleges, the government bureaucracy that oversee the whole system.

The Toronto School Board recently issued a curriculum guidebook for all of its teachers. It’s the largest school board in the country. The guide explicitly notes that “education IS white privilege”. That is not the doing of politicians. That is activism. But it sure affects how those students will vote in 5 to 15 years.

If one is fighting the battle with politicians and political parties only, you will lose. Those people Lloyd complains about, who moved into Colorado from Cali or NY and changed the place? They are activists. The politicians follow them.

Okay, another example. In the US, Pesident T seated three Supreme Court Justices, and an R Senate blocked the obam nominee garland, who has become an activist at the highest level. Another activist at the highest level would be maiyorkiss, with his southern and northern porous border policy, both devised by an administration. I argue intentionally that the two, activism and politics, cannot be separated.

The US would look quite different, if the billary, of Canada based off shore political foreign campaign fundraising foundation, had shaped the high court of the US. The activists were still around, and so was the hypocrisy of so called, social attitudes? No big deal, you win, but votes matter and affect policy.

Craig, I'm not saying those things aren't important. And I'm not saying that activism and politics aren't intertwined. But they happen because the groundwork has been laid. Over a long period of time. Politics alone won't win the game. For confirmation of that statement, look around.

From a 'shaping of society" standpoint, which is what this thread started out about, it starts with activism, that tills and prepares the soil, so politicians and judges can create the laws and legal precedents.

You can't get a Mayorkas out of the blue. His activism sits of the shoulders of thousands of lower level people who made it possible for him to reach those heights of power.

The way you get the votes is to have softened up the electorate to the ideas of the activists.

A good example of activism and politics, is the tea party and ultimately the Obama administration using the IRS to shut them down.the tea party would affect the election of Obama and the Obama couldn't have that ,we think the democrats are wrong they think Republicans are evil.

No, not wrong and the evidence is everywhere. Being activist doesn't mean being a fascist. Doesn't mean being evil or pathologically dishonest. You are so simple minded Keith. You guys want to stick your head in the sand. You have watched this stuff your whole lives and you still don't understand what has really happened. How do you think the media got complicit? How do you think those Liberal Left Democrat Mayors, Governors and DAs got in power? You guys take such a short term view of things.....so you are always playing catch up.

I'm glad someone here gets it. The Tea Party were activists. Different from politicians. We need more Tea Parties. We need more people who rise up again in a different form to continue the fight after they are politically stymied by a corrupt IRS doing Obama's dirty work. We need that shit going on for the next 40 year.......not 4 years.

Sounds like you've come full circle to where I've been at for a while now. When I do the cost-benefit look at things for making a move, I always come back to its probably just better to stay rooted here and travel to the places I want to spend some time in. Family, Friends & familiarity with my surroundings are a major factor in deciding to stay here & put-up with the craziness.

I found the rancher in the video interesting. I can't tell you how many Ranchers & farmers I've known like him including some family connections who homesteaded here with one of them in the north park area outside of Walden. Listening to the rancher in the video say his dad started his place in 1905 got me thinking about how my great grandfathers arrived here a little over two decades before that. Some of my reluctance for moving is due to my deep roots here & I'm just bullheaded enough to say screw these bastards--I'll be damned if I'm going to let them push me out.

Yes their names, but no pictures or descriptions. Not hard to figure out why. It wouldn’t further their agenda

"Beneath Sheeps Clothing" by Julie Behling is a book I hoped I'd never have to read. Deeply selfishly, I'd prayed that this culture war we're finding ourselves rather immersed-in now wouldn't happen until after I was long gone. Things aren't hopeless yet, but it's getting fairly dicey in lots of places anymore (the big cities & both coasts). The wars our father's and forefathers fought to secure this last period of peace and prosperity, at least for this country (~80-years) appears to be coming to an end. What comes after is anybody's guess, but I suspect that it won't all be pretty. This coming election year is going to be a serous catfight and I have absolutely no-idea how it will all turn out. I'd love to continue to ignore all the unpleasantness and just focus on the fun things in life but... I suspect that we'll all get dragged into it somehow and fairly shortly now. God help us.

My favorite Donald Trump video.

In Montana, much like Colorado, things have been heading downhill. Our Republican super majority legislature is cutting the poor from Medicaid and turning away federal money to feed hungry children. ( It's just too much trouble to administer.) Elk numbers are strong,but deer are scarce everywhere. And, Craig, it doesn't seem to be the result of legalized pot. It's not wolves either. Housing is very expensive. We don't have enough teachers and doctors. Still, the rich flock here to buy the landscape and lock it up. They do hate our stream access law and run afoul of it from time to time. We have a great state constitution and would be in far better shape if our Republican government would abide by it. We have a lot of poor people, many of them homeless, but they didn't cause our current problems. They are its consequence.

My favorite Biden Obama ,video

Medley of Donald Trump speechs-

Wow jimmy,trump lives rent free in your head

James,
What you don’t seem to understand is that the Patriot Act created a surveillance system to spy on ordinary Americans. It was in place when Obama took office and he and Holder took it to the next level, spying on, and targeting their political opposition.

You don’t hear the words “Tea Party”, anymore. They were hounded out of existence by the IRS, FBI and the Justice Department, which, were fully weaponized under the same administration. That is the new, leftist model of life here, simply lawfare the opposition out of existence. See “Donald Trump”.

The media is completely in the tank for that half of the political spectrum, and the truly stupid among us don’t seem to or don’t want to grasp it-did you not notice a certain Professor quoting the New York Times with bogus climate change information, full well knowing they were instrumental in the false dissemination of the”Russia Hoax” and the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop being “Russian Disinformation”?

To date, they have not corrected either of those stories. What kind of idiot uses the New York Times as a source?

Our idiots.

I can’t help but notice your own idiots are just as bad.

God help us.

Best,
Ted

Brilliant!! And many others, obviously. 😊 Hopefully, I'll get rid of him soon, too.

Ted, I’m well aware of the Patriot Act and its effects. Just as I’m well aware of the idiots running the show up here. But none of that negates my point. Which is that to combat that shit you need long term activism. Not simply a different political or leader for the next 4 year cycle.

You can complain or make excuses as to why one can’t or it’s too hard or they are too well entrenched. But what I am saying is the way you start to take back society. You think you have it tough now? Imagine being a gay trans guy in the 1960s in the Deep South. You don’t think the entire forces of government and culture were arrayed against him? Now look where we are today?

You need activists who won’t shut up publicizing the evils of the Patriot Act. And 30 other issues. The Tea Party got shut down. It needs to start up again. And 50 more organizations like it. Either that or quit complaining and accept defeat.

It starts with intellectuals who write books and essays that call out the ills. And explains why they are dangerous. And that convince people that it’s worth their time, their money and their energy to fit against it. You know, like Greenpeace protesting against nuclear proliferation. Or the nut bars who spike trees to stop old growth deforestation. Or a thousand other examples.

I probably shouldn't bother, but I wish to respond to two very recent posts made in this Thread by JimmyW, that have since been deleted.

JimmyW twice stated that I couldn't read his "fifth grade graph" that he and Al Gore have used to show a direct correlation between CO2 levels and global average temperatures. I specifically pointed out to Jimmy that his precious "fifth grade graph" showed several times where CO2 levels were elevated or still rising, yet average global temperatures dropped or did not increase.


We see this happening about 520,00 years ago, 210,000 years ago, and about 100,000 years ago where temperature dropped before CO2 levels. But you have to actually study the graph closely. However, we really see this easily at the present time. The "fifth grade graph" clearly shows CO2 levels much higher than any point in history, yet there are four periods where global average temperatures were higher than they are at the present time. We should be experiencing the highest average global temperatures at any point in the last 600,000 years... but we're not. Also, there was no appreciable man made CO2 in those earlier times. Much of it came from volcanoes. So the recent story that CO2 from volcanoes is dwarfed by man-caused CO2 is another apparent misstatement of fact. A small child could see this. Whether Al Gore's "fifth grade graph" is at all accurate is another story.

Then Jimmy stated twice that I had claimed NASA lied. I never once mentioned NASA anywhere in this Thread. I did mention the disturbing fact that NOAA (not NASA) was using atmospheric CO2 monitoring data from on top of an active volcano. That is not a place where anyone except agenda driven scientists would go to get accurate and truthful data on average global CO2 levels.

So it appears that the reason JimmyW feels I can't comprehend his and Al Gore's "fifth grade graph" is because Jimmy is obviously reading the "fifth grade graph" (and my posts) at a kindergarten level.

Then, in the now deleted post Jimmy made this morning, he was gloating that I was wrong about the fact that Kyle Rittenhouse's name was released almost immediately after he was involved in a self-defense shooting during the Minneapolis BLM Riots, but the names of the Kansas City post- Super Bowl shooters were not released. Jimmy mocked me for posting incorrect information that he said had been released five days ago. However, when I checked, the names of the Kansas City shooters had not been released until sometime on Feb. 20th. Sources like Newsweek and The New York post were still reporting that their names had not been released early in the day on Feb. 20th.

I could find no source that stated the names of the K.C. shooters were released five days ago. So why would JimmyW make that apparently untruthful statement?

The fact remains that Kyle Rittenhouse's name (and photo) had been released almost immediately by the Liberal Press and the Liberal D.A., even though he was under 18, but they did not release the same information about the K.C. shooters until almost a week after the shooting, when they were charged as adults. Three days ago, on Feb. 20th, the Kansas City Star was complaining about how few details had been released compared to other juvenile criminals. And we still have not seen their photos, for obvious reasons.

It is disturbing that JimmyW made at least two posts where he was extremely critical of me, and then deleted that false information without so much as an apology. I'm sure he isn't sorry, and still thinks everything he said was right. His Trump bashing videos tell us all we need to know about who he supports. I thought I knew all I needed to know about him and his religious fervor for believing climate propaganda from the Liberal Left, but now I know much more. We also will never see any complaints from Liberals here that JimmyW is posting under a fake screen name. "Jimmy" is another Liberal who needs to stop sending me PM's. There is no need for me to privately engage with Liberals who can't even read a "fifth grade graph".

The Republicans dropped the ball with the tea party,they didn't stand up for them until it was to late.

Keep a low profile, stay off the beaten track, never put anything in writing you don't want used against you, be careful what you say on the cell phone, talk in public like an NFL coach with a playbook in front of your mouth, lay out your defensive perimeter, heed Sun Tzu, and make sure you have the appropriate tools to get the job done. These are prudent life rules to follow anytime, not just now. Wolverines.

Throw sand in the machine every chance you get.

Best,
Ted

Yes.

Your point is too idealistic, and is not grounded in today's reality. But, and this is hugely important, does any of your long term activism theory negate other's points?

I think it's time for you to show, when has law enforcement, administrative branch of government in the form of prosecutors, or judicial branch activism, ever gone after, harmed, left wing social agenda activism? I think it's wrong for you to frame right wing activism in terms of laziness to resist, time, money and energy inconveniences. Wisconsin comes to mind when state republican party members, activists if you will, faced leo forcible home searches and seizures of property. The half billion ruling against Trump with no victim, or the Georgia election shenanigans against Trump. Well, you know there are many examples.

That’s easy Craig. Think law enforcement in the Deep South in the 1960s. Those guys were not on board with what the liberals from Washington and the judiciary were trying to force on them.

Or how about the union busting that went on for the first half of the last century.

I wonder if this wolf thing is even going to work (I'm not for it). Some people think (thought?) it was almost inevitable, with them being in Wyoming. Maybee. But...Wildlife anciencies are historically awful at reintroductions.

The Isle Royale wolf things is a laughable wreck. Those wolves swim back to Canada. For the love of poutine.

I'd hoped to see a wolf there, way back, but it wasn't to be. A friend and I did a short walk from the canoe, and came up on a large, shallow bay. It was covered with three to four foot Northerns, just sunning themselves, they looked dead. I tossed a small stone at one, and it shot away like it was out of a rifle. All we had was light fishing gear with us, but it might have been fun to go back for the boat and slip into the mouth of that bay.

You mean NOT like Donald Trump when he got recorded saying he loved to grab women by the P--------. Or he couldn't quote a single verse from the Bible. Ok. Gottcha!!

James,
The Deep South was blue. Jim Crow laws, the enforcement of same, and the KKK were all facets of the democrat party. I hope James Flynn sees this, I had a nice conversation with him just recently about this. He literally had trouble registering as a republican. He has always lived in the south.

Best,
Ted

Do you think it was heard in all 57 states?

Asking for a friend.

Best,
Ted

Ted, I'm also well aware of that. Craig asked for examples where activists had been actively suppressed by the state. And at that time there was a clear delineation between Washington Liberals and Southern Democrats.

Once more, you guys mix up party politics with social and cultural activism. Exactly what I am trying to bring to your attention.

The party politics of the Deep South evolved when the Dems figured out how to use the black populace and the evolving social climate to their advantage. I'll never believe George Wallace had a change of heart. He simply figured out a more effective approach in a new world. That's what good politicians do. The culture changed......then the politicians change to take advantage.

Poor Jimmy has trump derangement syndrome. jimmy tell us about "sniffer ,groper ,fondling JOE"

If we don't get more involved use social media get a cohesive message we will all suffer the failure.

Hopefully the Supreme Court will rule correctly on Monday.

And one thing you guys may want to take a second look at is the USSC ruling that unleashed the SuperPACS. Calling limits on election spending "free speech" is insane and has contributed mightily to the chaotic, billionaire dominated, two out of four years spent raising money, election system.

I'll let you in on a little secret. Conservatives contribute to the parties and candidates of their choice. Liberals don't. Liberals depend on deep pocketed donors. The more election spending limits in place, the more the Right has an inherent advantage over the Left.

We cut out corporate donations, union donations, personal donations over $2000. The parties up here are funded by average taxpayers. And the Right typically raises 3x to 4x the money the Left does. It was one of the last things the previous centre right government did before it left office and our current Blackface wearing Turd took over. It was a brilliant tactical move by the right.

The shit you make up is astounding.

Let's try it this way? Just because it's repeated, doesn't make it truth?

I can see and understand your examples, but I was hoping for examples that reflect the realities of today. I hope you can also see that the examples you came up with do not support what you are trying to bring to attention. I don't mind, it came across to me as a tit for tat response, and didn't really move the needle towards you theory. I saw politics and activism are necessarily intertwined, you say they are distinct and one requires the other in sequence. But, the examples and discussions you have are highly political?

Today, there are extremely high delineations between traditional democrats and progressives, but they always vote en masse. Emphasis on today. President Trump was an activist on social media, which won him an election, but also got him banned from the platform with retaliatory prosecutions and intimidation of most of his advisors, as well as himself.

What, you don't like blackface hypocrisy stories?

been following this (with guarded interest)....and trying to keep my mouth shut. but, james' observations regarding money are enough bait to draw me in....i will suggest a new metric - $$$.

follow the money...the money never lies...the money always tells the truth, because it has nothing to hide. but, the people who love the money ALWAYS have something to hide....the bible verse most likely to be misunderstood is the one that says....money is the root of all evil. when what it actually says, is that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

i will suggest that most of what you guys are circling around, hiding behind and sniping at each other, are actually the social distortions that result from the economic changes we are witnessing in these times. globalization, "free" trade, the abandonment of traditional industries and agricultural policies, the mass movements of huge numbers of human beings fleeing from political and economic turmoil. none of these things are happening in a vacuum....in some respects we are moving back to the era of the "robber barons" - another time when too few people controlled too much power.

"politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other."
oscar ameringer

both of the political parties represent special interests - the democrats represent the have nots....and the republicans represent the haves (or as bush 43 said - we have both groups - the haves and the have mores). read up on your history....every time the economic equations get too far out of balance, there is one sure and certain result - revolution. pay attention to the big picture, it's awfully easy to get distracted by the details....a whole bunch of what you guys are talking about, are the rumblings of a coming earthquake.

best regards,

tom

Someone explain why with the change of an administration we have inflation and illegal immigration. That is more people than live in some states coming across the border. The middle east is blowing up again and Russia invades a neighbor (the eighties want their geopolitical threat back). China is Saber rattling and north Korea is being north Korea again.

The politics of a tactical move, how many right of centre activists had the vision, or the stomach to play this game?

But, the important part is, how's that working out for you? Not in terms of fighting the good fight, or resisting turds, but where's Canadian culture headed? Are urban centres being taken over by gun violent activist gangs of middle eastern pursuation. Has your southern border become a porous, two-way fentanyl super highway. Gotta love those fit and trim backpackers, humping the goods and loot, back and forth across the fruited plains border? I think you folks have lost quite a bit, over a short period due to turdboy, can you afford the time for that eight percent to maybe scratch back a feel good sliver of a percent?

It's all politics isn't? Where were the activists calling for this. It wasn't me who mentioned those of thesoros ilk, or lobbied for thebiden family to sell out the US to chineseandrussian bad actors.

Tell me exactly what I have made up there Brent.

Craig I’ll respond to both your posts. Of course these things are intertwined. But I’m saying that it’s extremely difficult for the political side to make progress if the activists haven’t softened up the populace. And what I see in both countries is right of centre voters bemoaning the situation with very little (comparatively) activism from the right that gets the populace on board with the ideas of the right. We get boxed in and labeled by the Left. They traditionally have been the aggressor in defining the battles and defining the opposition. “Pro Choice” and “Anti Abortion”.

You say it’s a political fight now, as though it’s somehow different than 60 years ago. I’m saying it’s not. It’s the same fight now that it’s always been. We just haven’t fought it as well. As Ted suggested, we are busy with jobs and families etc. And I’ll go back to my original statement which is to take a look at who has been winning for the last 2-3 generations. Sure hasn’t been the Right.

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. Despite the progress made by Trump, look at how quickly the next administration made up ground. And BTW, Trump is an anomaly. He’s not a normal political animal although his instincts are very good. He’s the very unusual cross between an activist and a politician. At this point in time the Right would have be F’d without him. He reminded about 80 million voters that the things they believe in are good ideas and worth standing up for. Unlike most of the Rhinos, busy trying not to offend the Left.

I'm up for a bit of conversation. I never said it's a political fight now, I thought I said I wasn't fully buying into the actvism theory? I keep mentioning today, because yes, today is different in many ways, than sixty years ago? On the other hand, now you mention, it's only two to three generations of winning for the left?

Today, aren't generations 12 to 14 years? Sixty years ago, that concept was stigmatized, a small example of the many changes that make it a stretch to say, things are the same? I won't make any assumptions of Ted's meaning, but I know what it means to me, the left does not value jobs or family. Correction, the left is invested misery and victimhood. Exaggeration, not if we look at the victimless crime industry or public health industry, for starters?

Maybe, one narrow definition of insanity is to invoke dated models as infallible, yet have countless examples of recent relevant changes? No big arguement today, I am questioning that pro right of center issues are achievable through activism, for the various reasons, we've both come up with. So, what do we do to make your concept work, only disclaimer, please don't say the way of Canada?

Craig
There are those who you shall NOT argue with.
That... um....Those are on my "I" list.

The dogs bark but the caravan moves on.

Glad to see I’m living rent free in your head though. Who are you again?

LOL. No, we are in total agreement. Don’t follow Canada’s lead. I consider it a failed state. It just doesn’t know it yet.

And aren’t “generations” typically considered 20 to 25 years?

I don’t disagree with any of your assessments of the disaster that is the Left today. If we have any disagreement, it’s on tactics. I think history is valuable. I think human nature is relatively constant. I don’t see the exceptionalism of today versus other points in history. I think a good portion of what is going on (not all) is somewhat explained by the Strauss - Howe Generational theory.

What to do? I don’t have any magic formula. Except to support right of centre ideas outside of political parties. Not exclusively but in addition. However one can. I kinda like the people who are saying absolutely no to woke ideas, to modern cancel culture. Who don’t just go along to get along. You got any ideas how to change things Craig?

I'd tend to agree, support through donation or membership in activist organizations. Just kidding, they are generally called lobbying groups, meaning big voices are better than little voices? And, we, I, don't worry about the perception that the left has control of messaging, it does not lessen the value, unless we're thinking apathy is an option. Generally, those we vote for find it difficult to legislate, but we try not to encourage those who play and loose with appointing unelected policy makers? Hey, the education system as one example. We stay ever mindful of those who can nominate candidates to fill our judiciary branch.

Why do I "argue", just to remind the profs of this world, that their agendas don't start from a valid position that has merit just because they are emotional invested in like minded friend groups, or that the jimmy's of the world will realize that they won't tread on me easily, because they have wifi. Other small things, I don't mind giving the thumbs down to activists picketing or ranting roadside. In sanfran or chitown, nope I'm not that dumb, but then again I don't patronize areas that I have fundamental disagreement with. Magic wand, nope.

Strauss & Howe's Fourth Turning is an interesting read. It has missed a little ( as far as timing goes) but it's theories still seem valid.

Still waiting to hear what I made up Brent. Waiting to hear what wasn't true. You been back to the site since i asked the first time. Someone may be making up shit but it isn't me.

So nice that you think of me constantly and track my visits to the forum. Very nice to be living in your head all the time. And way too funny. Like a lot of your make-believe posts.

I love your sweeping generalizations of where the two combatant sides get their money. No, the heavy hitters like the Koch boys and Griffin and others are really funding liberals. And all these little guys that got Obama elected the first time were really riding the coattails of Soros and so many others (but we only hear about Soros). Sarcasm off. In the 2022 congressional elections, 2.5 times more billionaires donated to the GOP than the Dem. Not only where there more of them but the also gifted about 50% more per billionaire. And we don't really know about right and left corporate gifting but almost certainly the far right receive much more from industry than the left.

Keep hammering. Your diatribe is great entertainment. The way you blindly believe is fun to watch. The right is a party of the rich, for the rich, and only the rich. They have roped a bunch of fools for votes. Fools that want only to see anything and everything American torn down. They have even become patsies for the NORKS the Ruskies and any other any-democratic .gov.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdu...ouse-of-representatives/?sh=3dd0cb3f24c9

Doesn't this guy just make you swell with pride to call him one of yours? A featured speaker at CPAC, no less. What an American! He makes me puke. But I digress.



Now you carry on, and I do appreciate your tracking me so closely. It makes me feel loved...

It's hard to deal with entire industries donating to the crazy left.film,the green energy cabal,tech.wall Street gives to who ever serves them.i guess posting Adam shift lying would give the left someone to look up to.

Yep same thing. But he doesn't brag about it and tells the world. So, tells us- you think you want Donald Trump to lead our country? Just a simple yes or no will do.

You already failed. When your righty distroyed our capital. And besides, I'm one of those who Nikki Haley talks about. I don't want either Trump or Biden back. So, just because I think Trump is a scumbag, don't think I want Biden either. I helped stop Trump from coming back. So, we'll see what happens next time. Your assuming continues to make you look foolish.

In a democracy, laws are made directly by the voting majority leaving the rights of the minority largely unprotected.

In a republic, laws are made by representatives chosen by the people and must comply with a constitution that specifically protects the rights of the minority from the will of the majority.

The U.S. is a republic

Democracy is bad for minorities

Republic is good for the minorities and the majority.

'

We are a representative democracy. Most definitely a well recognized form of democracy. It too can be bad for minorities, as we see today.

Wrong representative republic!

Jimmy you mean when the British burned Washington DC during the war of 1812?and it's always much better for sniffer groper Joe to actually touch a woman or little girl then talk about .jimmy your arguments are so profound.

Unequivocably YES!

Place me in whatever category you'd like. Like I could give a rat's ass.

Thanks for the professorial proclamation. I suppose we already knew, anything that strikes your fancy, is well recognized. We know what you teach our future generations with tax payer money, please share how you work the minority angle into your lesson plan.

I wonder if you can even realize how childishly trite and foolish you are?

You see. Worthless blather again. So, I'll ask you again. Do you chose Donald Trump as the best person to lead this country starting in November 2024? I don't. What say ye?

So, don't beat around the bush. I'll ask you the same simple question. Do you think Donald Trump is the best person to be our president starting in November 2024. I say absolutely NOT. Let's all put our cards on the table. And you're next. Let's get this over with once and for all. What do you say?

It can be especially bad for minorities when they have been brainwashed into voting for the democratic party. A party that views them simply as a reliable voting bloc and a weapon to be used against their adversaries. They claim to be fighting for them, all the while enacting policy that destroys them and their future, this going back to LBJ.

Brainwashed? Wow!! We can't have that anymore. Let's vote Republican!! So, here's the same question for you, big Tim. Do you think Donald Trump is the best person to be the president of the United States starting in November 2024? I don't. What do you say? A simple yes or no, please.

Come November, if Trump is on the ballot, yes. There is no one, absolutely no one who runs as a democrat that any clear minded person would vote for.

Good man!! At least you stand up and have the guts to say what you believe instead of beating around the bush with all this other squabbling. 👍

Jan.2025 is when Trump goes into office

It’s like you are responding to someone else’s post.

I offered an opinion about campaign financing, specifically recommending substantial limits on donations to get away from the craziness of the campaign spending that is going on down there. Then gave reasons for why I hold that opinion. Our experiences here in Canada. Then backed it up by giving the example of what had happened in Canada when we did institute significant campaign financing reform.

Your Forbes article indirectly backs up my assertion. It defines an amount of money raised by just two PACS and then details that the Right donated far more than the Left.

And what the hell does that clip about the end of democracy have to do with Anything I have ever said?

Talk about making shit up! Seems like you are making the case for those who think the quality of teaching at colleges has reached new lows.

That's a big part of your hypocrisy, pick a quote from a college prof, who wants to wreck the US of A's carefully crafted representation system for the average person, based on their emotional opinion. Why didn't you snip that part out, or does it serve your vision of our future?

I say absolutely yes, he's the only politician in your lifetime that doesn't beat around the bush. What's broken in your head, so what if I've given you examples that don't have fabricated, multicolored graphs? Check off a win for Jimmy, good on you.

Hall monitor jimmy

Well the hall monitor is still waiting. Do you think Donald Trump is the best person to lead this country come November 2024? Someone said the Democrats don't have a candidate as good as Trump. Someone else, ( I can't remember who) said he doesn't beat around the bush and it was just on the news a few days ago that Trump is going to talk Putin into attacking the NATO countries like he is doing to Ukraine by butchering and killing innocent children and slaughtering elderly people and everyone else. . I heard that myself and so did everyone else in the world. What what do you think, mc? The hall monitor is asking you what your answer is. 😊

I know- you're going to say we never heard any such thing. So just go to Google and type in "Trump's statement that he would encourage Putin to attack NATO countries". And go down to the CNN website- you can read the whole story. That way you won't miss it- like you did the global warming that has been going on for decades. And please, don't say, "Dat's fake noos" like Donald Trump always says.

Of course Jimmy, you have missed a crucial part of Trump’s comments. Just as CNN and others miss it.

He said that specifically in reference to countries that refuse to spend on their militaries the agreed on budget levels. In other words, countries that historically and habitually break their NATO agreements and obligations and expect the US to look after them anyway. I live in one of those countries. Canada. Who has lived off the security largess of the US of A since WWII. Our military is an ineffectual shamble of porkbarreling. I’m glad Trump is calling Canada’s bluff.

Don’t you agree that when you make a deal you should abide by the terms?

And it’s a bald faced lie to say you heard Trump say he was going to encourage Putin to attack NATO countries and butcher and slaughter innocent children and the elderly. He said no such thing. The quote in your CNN report was:
Quite different than what you just said. Facts matter. And so does reading comprehension. Note I looked at specifically the CNN article you referenced. I googled exactly what you said to google and looked at the CNN article you said to check out.

Among other things one can deduce from that quote is Trump is referring to a conversation he had with the leader of a large NATO country, while he was president. So prior to the beginning of Putins push into Ukraine starting 2 years ago. Seeing as all NATO countries, excluding Canada, now have a plan in place for starting to meet their NATO obligations, I’d say that was a remarkably effective bit of tough talk diplomacy from Trump. You and CNN should be thanking him.

Oh, and for the record, if I lived in the US and was eligible to vote, my vote would be cast for Trump. He has been the best president the US has had since Reagan. It’s not about personality Jimmy…..it’s about what they accomplish in office.

Jimmy:

I would second what James has said about President Trump. There are things about him that I'm not entirely comfortable with (& because of all the distortions by the media, it's hard to know what is and isn't true about him) but as far as his policies and his accomplishments, he's made me far-more comfortable about voting for him a second time. What we have now is an abomination.