@#11 ... Or is he trying to kill National Parks attendance numbers in a plot to hand them over to billionaire pieces of wonder? ...

An excellent point.

thx.

@#3,4

For the techies among us, Wireguard is a cool program.

But you may already know that.

And, now I'm back to my usual IP address.

OK, here I am someplace place.

All it took was a click or two on the browser toolbar.

@#1 ... Would love for that feature to be active here. ...

Yes, and no.

Reason for "yes" --- it will likely just expose what many already have suspected.

Reason for "no" --- VPN's.

OK, posting this comment, I am in CT.

Wih a simple click on the FoxyProxy icon on my browser's toolbar, I could appear to post comment from a different state.

If it is that easy for me, why couldn't a foreign alias use a similar pattern?

My guess would be a troll farm with people using something like FoxyProxy to appear to be where they are not.

@#17 ... Rifle and pistol shooting are also Olympic sports... don't have to spend a lot of time in the gym for that. ...

Agreed.

Yeah, why?

Is it the money?

There's this ...

@#104 ... A 29 year old afghani that worked with the CIA and was given amnesty in April by the trump administration...

Drives from Washington State to D.C. and uses a 357 magnum to murder two random National Guard? Trumps response is to send 500 more targets. ...

That looks like a good summary.

But I would also want to add, only one of the National Guard has died. The other still seems to be fighting to remain alive.

But, also ... the National Guard troops have pledged an allegiance to the Constitution, and are willing to leave their jobs and families when they are called upon to serve the Constitution. As these members of the West Virginia National Guard have done. I have the utmost respect of them for that.

The problem I do have, though, is the policy that causes them to leave their jobs and families in order to serve that possibly specious policy. Are they being used correctly by Pres Trump?

Stated differently, do not denigrate the National Guard members, but do denigrate the person who put into place the policy they have sworn to follow.

@#15 ... I would assume it meets whatever requirements they have? ...

So, some manner of money donation to the IOC?

@#35 ... "A_Friend, you are right and I was wrong! I've changed my position!" ...

I have posted ~you are right and I was wrong! I've changed my position~ here on this site.

It was a year or two ago.

OK, that aside...

... In more than four decades of posting on BBSs, AOL, the Retort and other venues, ...

I was on message boards in the late 1970's, as I have noted here a few times in the past.

But I guess my main concern is not about those who post opinions like, ~you are right and I was wrong!~

When I ran a message board back in the day, one thing (among many) I noticed that there were many members who just appeared to read the message board, but never posted comments.

@#32 ... If you kids don't knock it off, i'm going to stop the car. ...

Excellent.

But do you have to admit the discussion was quite civil.

And maybe that could be something to be taken from that exchange?

:)

@#33 ... lmao! They are too much alike, I think. ...

Yeah.

A different approach to a same end goal?

@#15

Yeah.

People stuck in the upper floors of an apartment tower that the videos seem to show fire hose not being able to reach those upper floors.

And those who are still alive on those upper floors, it's been two days since this disaster began.

Have they had fresh water or electricity in their apartments for those two days?

This is not going to be a good outcome.

This is not even going to be a bad outcome.

It is going to be a century-busting catastrophe, imo.

@#13 ... Golf is a recognized Olympic sport. ...

Why?

What about golf raises it to the standard of being an Olympic sport?

@#1 ... The victim no longer thought they were playing around. ...

The point where ~good-nature~ hazing may become charges for kidnapping, robbery and battery?

In a Fire Dept team?

@#11 ... One reason is that chess does not involve physical exertion or athleticism in the same way as traditional Olympic sports. ...

So, imo, chess is not a [lower-case "s"] sport.

@#10 ... Chess is a sport. ...

@#5

Messed it up yet again.

Oh well ...

Holy friggin' anal excretions ...

Has Pres Trump not a clue about empathy?

@#4

oops, messed up the formatting ...

Should be ...

Shortly after the time that song appeared, there usually was a State Police radar trap on the NY Thruway. Almost like clockwork.

Back then, in my wild youth days, that song may have saved me from receiving a speeding ticket.

The things you remember songs for ...

:)

Apologies.

The line starting with "Back then" should be between the lines "Shortly after" and "
:(

True story ...

Back in the day, I used to routinely ride along a part of the NY Thruway. When i left my rental abode, and started on the trek, I would put a cassette into the car's player.

One cassette had a curious timing to it.

As it played, a song would eventually appear.

@#2

Ya know, you really need to try to be more expressive of your opinions.

:)

@$5 ... Neither of which is as easy as they look. ...

There are many things that do not seem to be as easy as they look.

Magic acts, for one.

But are they sports?

Asked differently, what is a sport?

My first answer would be along the lines of ~an endeavor that requires athletic ability.~

... Yet, Miles recalled one agent calling it "fake." "Anyone can make that," she recalled another agent saying. ...

Yeah, and anyone can also make "four men wearing masks and vests with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement label stepped out of two black SUVs with no front plates."

Why are ICE agents so afraid of properly identifying themselves?

More from the article ...

... Only in Trump's second-term makeover could a 90,000-square-foot ballroom"already larger than the 55,000-square-foot mansion it's attached to-be considered too small, and architect James McCrery II has urged restraint, the insiders said. ...

More from the article ...

... The alleged hazing began with "grease being smeared on the victim" and escalated from there to the firefighter allegedly being beaten with a belt with his underwear pulled down and waterboarded, according to Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods.

"In my 30 years as a firefighter, this is the most egregious thing that I've seen been reported to me," Marion County Fire Chief James Banta said during a press briefing on Wednesday, adding that he was "in shock and disgusted." ...

Three Marion County Fire Rescue employees -- Edward Kenny III, 22, an EMT; Seth Day, 22, a firefighter/EMT; and Tate Trauthwein, 19 a firefighter/EMT -- have been arrested for kidnapping, robbery and battery, authorities said. A fourth -- Kaylee Bradley, 25, a paramedic -- has been arrested for robbery and principal/accessory to robbery, authorities said. It is unclear if they have attorneys at this time.

The incident occurred while the alleged victim was working a 24-hour shift at Fire Station 21 in Ocala on Nov. 16, according to the arrest affidavit.

The alleged victim told authorities that several firefighters -- including Day and Trauthwein -- initially smeared grease on him, according to the affidavit.

"The victim stated he tried not to let it bother him and did not retaliate," the arrest affidavit stated.
A Marion County Fire Rescue fire truck.
Marion County Fire Rescue

The alleged hazing escalated after the suspects tried to get the firefighter's cellphone password after they learned he had a viral TikTok video, according to the arrest affidavit. The alleged victim told authorities that Trauthwein asked him about his large Instagram following, which he attributed to a TikTok video on a dancing trend that he said was "embarrassing" and he had since deleted and no longer had, according to the affidavit.

Trauthwein is accused of then throwing the firefighter's work boots into the woods nearby, and when the firefighter went to retrieve them, he was allegedly grabbed from behind and held down by Kenny and Day, according to the affidavit.

"The victim advised initially he thought they were just playing around," the affidavit stated. "Co-defendant Trauthwein then removed the victim's belt and the victim's pants were pulled down.

The victim no longer thought they were playing around." ...