Dan,

"Your theory is thousands of people had their mail-in ballots purloined by housemates yet NO ONE came forward."

You either didn't comprehend, didn't actually read, or didn't bother to remember anything I've written.

I can understand if you disagreed with me but at least respond to what I wrote.

Dan,

"Even people who still don't have a single piece of evidence to back their theories."

What is my theory?

You don't even know.

Now you'll make up something and claim I said it that I likely didn't.

What was primary concern?

True,

"It seems odd that the topic of the Afghanistan withdrawal (from five years ago!) is being inserted in a thread about a recent death occurring while in ICE custody. The obvious obfuscation/deflection is pathetic."

You've been here long enough to see people are still talking about 2020.

Thats just how things work here.

And when the US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration left behind the majority of Afghans who were eligible for Special Immigrant Visas.

Many of them were interpreters, translators, and others who had worked for the US and put themselves and their families at risk.

Despite the Taliban's promise of amnesty, there were credible reports of reprisals, targeted killings, disappearances, detention, torture, and searches for people associated with the former Afghan government.

The thanks they got.

Dan,

I found,

"Dealers had access to pre-order options provided by the U.S. Mint, allowing them to place orders before the coins were available to the public."

There it is.

No more mystery.

The world's problems have been solved.

Dan,

Some people just have more energy than me.

Yea...he looks like a dealer.

Dan,

I checked and supposedly the seller can not change that number.

Dan,

I dont know how ebay works.

Can the seller set that number?

Dan,

I looked into it. I was curious too and couldn't find a good answer. Maybe you can.

Perhaps registered coin collectors who buy and sell may have had special conditions.

I don't know.

I got the mathematician backwards....

But you get the point. It's more likely you'll guess his SS# than win the lottery.

Doc,

Well....I buy zero lottery tickets....well, maybe 1 every 10 years, and that's maybe.

It was $1 the last time I bought Powerball. Aren't they $2 now?

For 2 bucks, I guess you can get a couple evenings worth of dreaming about what you'll do with the money if you won.

So I guess you do get something for your money....a little bit of hope for a day or two.

I don't think there's much point in buying more than 1. With 1 at least you're in the game. Buying more technically improves your odds, but the improvement is minuscule.

I once heard a mathematician say the odds of winning Powerball is greater than guessing his Social Security number.

So 2 bucks you're in the game....and you get to dream for a couple of days, get a buzz and sit around talking about how you'd spend it. That's something.

Mad,

An evening out at a restaurant and a few drinks costs how much and what do you get for it.

Well....you might-------- I suppose.

Mad,

It's not an investment.

A case of domestic beer is about $20.

3 cases and you've paid for a roll of coins and didn't pee it down the drain.

Mad,

"What is the rationale in charging $61 for $25 worth of currency?"

On ebay I see someone selling them for 7.59 each and site says he's sold 5311.

On US Mint you could have bought bags of 100 for $154...that's $1.54 each.

My roll of 25 was $61...that $2.44 each

The mint sold 8,750,000 total coins in bags and rolls . There was a product limit for rolls and bags. All sold out in about 4 hrs. They aren't saying when they will be selling more. It is already saying it will only be thru 12/31.

If I want one now I'll pay at a minimum 7.59 each.

I couldn't get 100 bag because they were sold out when I got online. Was only able to get a roll.

If you want a coin you'll have to pay more on ebay now.

What is the rationale of collecting anything? Remember when people were collecting POGs?

Redial,

He might mean how I can see different perspectives of some issues.

Rarely do I think 2 conflicting sides that one is all correct and other is all wrong.

Frequently they both have valid points and is why they are conflicting in the first place.

But ultimately we might have to choose a side and live with it.

One,

"Its wild that Bill can hold two or more opinions about a variety of topics"

You mean about trans women and trans men?

They aren't alike and only one is a threat to women?

What other topics do I hold 2 more more opinions?

They don't deserve to be making money off of this.

Donner,

"Careful not to touch yourself."

That's what strict religious households told their sons back 80 years ago.

I met a couple of guys in my youth who had that guilt put into them.

So I just did it for them.

Donner,

While we're at it, it might have been different if they had invented machine guns and rocket launchers, too.

Donner,

"Historians and (many writers) agree it is historically possible that Native Americans could have significantly altered the outcome or successfully resisted white settlement if they had formed a unified, long-lasting military and political alliance."

I don't think you need to be a historian to come up with that.

Dan,

"But you don't want it done to you"

Do YOU? You're being obtuse now.

Time for a shower.

Dan,

"Unless they're white Europeans, of course. That's when all natives should capitulate, right?"

Worse than capitulation. We killed many of them, displaced others, broke treaties and took their land.

That was a worst case scenario and I haven't defended it.

But that isn't what I'm advocating for Muslims today.

My concern is what happens when growing Muslim communities begin demanding the public make accommodations or enforce aspects of Sharia law.

Muslims have every right to follow their religion and apply its teachings to their own lives. What they do within their own homes and religious communities is their business.

But any suggestion that other people should be controlled by Sharia, or that it should override American law, is entirely out of the question.

Eff,

One harsh reality I can think of regarding the tragedy of what happened to Native Americans is that if we hadn't done it, someone else would have.

That doesn't excuse the mistreatment though.

It simply recognizes that with powerful nations competing for land, Native Americans were unlikely to be left undisturbed forever.

Donner,

"It's up to immigrants to blend with the local cultures.
I mean ain't that your current belief system?"

To a point.

Putting my comment back into context, at the time we were mostly talking about Sharia Law.

And "integrate" would probably be a better word than "blend."

I don't expect immigrants to abandon their culture or religion.

Integration doesn't mean society has to reshape itself around the demands of any particular group.