:D

Michale
306

As long as I got you past 300...

http://www.startrekcontinues.com/episodes.html

Michale
301

One doesn't need the media to get on blogs and such and shout down the hystericals...

All it takes is the will to buck Party ideology and do what's right for the country..

Michale
300

Ahhh Season 2 Episode 23 is the one you want to make note of... But you will have to have the SHATNER-VERSE books under yer belt as well... Especially AVENGER

As far as the series itself.. As much as I love Scott Bakula, he just doesn't do a Starship Captain very well...

Of course, he doesn't do a New Orleans NCIS agent very well either.. :)

Bakula will always be Sam Beckett to me.. :D

Michale
299

Or perhaps the news outlets don't choose to cover the liberals who do disagree with Ms. Bovys. Doesn't feed the narrative of Red vs. Blue. Don't know, just might be a reason you don't hear much about it.

Only made it through the first two seasons so far. Actually not quite done with season 2. I'm told it improves after season 2. That theme song is terrible for a Star Trek show, but I don't think the episodes are all that bad.

They ARE hard to find because they never speak up when the Phoebes Maltzes Bovys on the Left spew their hysteria...

I have been here in Weigantia for going on a decade now..

And it's ONLY been in the last month or so that ANYONE has spoken up in favor of responsible gun ownership....

I can't speak to other venues because, as I mentioned.. I don't get out much.. :D

Michale
298

Now, ask me about my theory that STAR TREK:ENTERPRISE takes place completely in the MIRROR UNIVERSE... :D

Michale
297

But, in THAT regard, you both are VERY atypical of the Left...

Or maybe these people: https://www.facebook.com/LiberalGunClub

I admit gun-friendly liberals aren't the majority of liberals, but we're not that hard to find.

But, in THAT regard, you both are VERY atypical of the Left...

So like Bernie Sanders?

Or this guy: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/confessions-of-a-liberal-gun-lover-20140714.

Doesn't mean we can't have regulations about their use, possession, and ownership.

We *DO* have regulations on their use, possession and ownership..

Right??

So this brings us back to the age old question..

Give me a law that is in keeping with the 2nd Amendment and will prevent or help prevent mass shootings or terrorist attacks and has an even SLIGHT possibility of being put into play..

Bashi had some good ideas.. A "militia" of sorts..

That would never get off the ground because the Left would never allow it..

Neil's idea of insurance and registration does NOTHING to PREVENT gun violence.. Just discourages gun ownership and makes it easy to track guns AFTER gun violence has been committed...

I forgot to ask Neil how he felt about FAST AND FURIOUS, but that's another discussion..

Guns and gun ownership is already regulated.. Probably a lot more than our founding fathers would have liked..

And yet, it STILL does no good..

So, maybe... JUST MAYBE... It's time to look at something else...

Michale
294

I can't speak to training and classes because, obviously, I had years...

But here in FL, I believe 2 8-hour courses are required (might be 1 now) plus a 4 hour range-time course.. That's what my daughter went thru when she got her CCW..

I don't mind training courses.. Hell, the NRA is BIG on training courses and gun safety courses....

Do they get any credit for that from the Hysterical Left?? Of course not..

The problem is that the vast majority of the Left Wing is NOT about training courses to make better and safer gun owners..

The vast majority of the Left Wing want to make gun ownership as onerous as possible so LESS people will own guns..

You get it about guns..

Bashi gets it about guns..

But, in THAT regard, you both are VERY atypical of the Left...

The vast majority of the Left are like Paula and Mopshell...

Ban guns and demonize gun owners...

Michale
293

Now, anytime someone talks about gun control and mentions the UK or Australia, your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to calmly and rationally explain to them that, here in this country, we have a 2nd Amendment that says it is a constitutional right to own guns.. That means handguns and long guns...

Okay, no problem. I can do that. Have done it.

Doesn't mean we can't have regulations about their use, possession, and ownership. We have a first amendment too, but I can't yell "Fire" in a crowded movie theater.

Who says I am laid up?? I still gots to work. I have a high maintenance family.. :D

But, unless Jessica Jones is downloadable, I doubt I can watch her...

:D

Michale
291

Now what?

Thank you...

Now, anytime someone talks about gun control and mentions the UK or Australia, your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to calmly and rationally explain to them that, here in this country, we have a 2nd Amendment that says it is a constitutional right to own guns.. That means handguns and long guns...

Then sit back and watch how your calm and rational argument turns them beet red with apoplectic hysteria... :D

It's fun.. :D

Michale
290

Good.. So it's not just me...

In and of themselves, the STAR TREK 90210 movies aren't bad. Great effects, action packed, really good...

And I can even understand them wanting to re-invent Trek for a new generation..

My only beef has always been, why did they have to kill 6 billion Vulcans to do it??

Why did they have to totally decimate established Trek lore??

I didn't mind that Khan was British instead of Latin (or Spanish?),

Middle Eastern... Kahn's domain stretched across Asia
to the Middle East..

Which explains why Kahn HAD to be a pale Brit...

Can't be demonizing the Middle Eastern man, now can we!? :^(

Michale
289

Okay, I disagree with Ms. Bovys.

Now what?

Speaking of, you and I had a conversation awhile back re gun control and I actually thought we were close to being in the same county on the subject. The idea was what if there were no restriction on gun ownership except that gun owners had to be trained and licensed (and I'm not talking the ridiculous 4-hour little dog and pony show, but a real training like one might get in handling a firearm over multiple weeks and hundreds of rounds with emergency response training. Nothing too onerous, but better than just learning how to load it on a Saturday morning before brunch.

I'm up for that. Especially if such licensing involves regular renewal requiring X hours or Y rounds per year. Kinda like a pilot's license or what have you.

I don't know how much it might prevent mass shootings, but I got to believe that it's more likely that licensed citizens with such training is more likely to constitute a real citizens' militia that could meaningfully respond in such a situation. And it would make gun ownership less casual.

Where'd you end up on that idea?

Well, then speak out against the Phoebes Maltzes Bovys of the Left..

Silence Gives Assent :D

Michale
288

Remind me again how the Left Wingery is NOT about banning all guns???

Wait, I'm confused. Am I part of the "Left Wingery"? I identify as Democrat, voted for Obama and would do so again (given other current options). I own a couple of weapons and would not support a ban on all firearms. All I saw was that someone named Phoebe Maltz Bovy wants to ban all guns. Never met her. To make an argument against gun bans, Michale, I promise that you do not need that big ol' "Left Wingery" brush. I'm tired of you getting paint all over me... :D

Why was Kahn Noonein Singh so different in STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS??

When I watched the movie: Exact. Same. Thought! I didn't see Abram's point in changing that character so much. Forget ST movie #2 WoK, even the TOS episode w/ Montelban didn't warrant some of those changes. I didn't mind that Khan was British instead of Latin (or Spanish?), just that the circumstances of TOS didn't seem to hold. Still, I like the new ST movies in general and just kind of shrugged it off as its another universe and they're gonna do what they're gonna do. Kinda of like reading DC (or even Marvel) comics...

***

Finally, Michale, did you watch Jessica Jones yet?If you're laid up with the flu (get well soon!), then you have a perfect opportunity. Who would she vote for in the primary? (I ask only to pretend to keep it on topic...)

Speaking of Gun Control..

It’s Time to Ban Guns. Yes, All of Them.
https://newrepublic.com/article/125498/its-time-ban-guns-yes-them

Remind me again how the Left Wingery is NOT about banning all guns???

:D

Michale
286

"I always wanted to be called 'Randy'. But no one calls me Randy except my wife and my basketball coach.. 'Hay Randy!! Go backdoor!!' "
"..... I'm guessing that was your basketball coach.."
-SPIN CITY

:D

Michale
279

"HE CAN BE TAUGHT!!!"
-Genie, ALADDIN

:D

Trek is always a good subject as well...

Speaking of which... I just recently had WHOAA!!! WAIT A MINUTE moment, completely out of the blue....

Why was Kahn Noonein Singh so different in STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS??

The event that caused the alternate time-line was LONG after Kahn and the Eugenics Wars...

So Kahn should have been completely the same as he was in the "real" time-line...

I mean, they casted some pale Brit in the role... They should have got a young Ricardo Montelban look-alike... Right???

Michale
277

No apologies necessary...

The fact that I am also sporting a nasty flu (I *NEVER* get sick) is also lending to me being a little more snotty... (get it?? Flu?? Snotty?? :D) than usual... :D

On January 1, though, I'm happy to discuss New Year's resolutions if you like...

I'm up with that.. Or is it down with that??:D

Michale
276

Heh.

<...realization slowly dawns...?

So what I heard then was that if I make a bunch of claims, challenges, and arguments you feel compelled to respond to, it'll cost you money?! And help CW?!

I know what I'm doing later today. We can discuss Politifact, gun control, how awesome our current President is....

Ah, thank you for correcting me! And, yes, it's Richard. Only my wife gets to call me randy... ;) But Randy did write some good stuff, so not unappreciated.

@Michale

I owe you an apology then re number of comments! So, I'm sorry, Michale. On January 1, though, I'm happy to discuss New Year's resolutions if you like...

What she said... :D

Michale
275

For some reason, I keep wanting to call you Randy! And, then, all I can think of is that song he wrote about New Orleans ... and then I start to cry ... well, almost. :)

Anyway, it's Richard, right?

Thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate them. I'm going to keep commenting here as long as there are people like you and David and Bashi and even Paula and Mopshell and others who balance things out against our resident leader of the comments section.

Speaking of Michale, his number of comments is rising fast as they do every year at this time, specifically between American thanksgiving and New Year's Day. This is because his pledge to the CW.com Holiday Fund Drive is based on the number of comments he makes. This is the only time of the year when I hope he keeps breaking his previous years record! I only ask that he try to tone it down a bit but, Michale is Michale and, when it comes right down to it, I guess I wouldn't really want him to change ... too much. :)

If there was then I wouldn't be here... Or, at least I wouldn't be here as much..

Is it 265 posts in less than 3 or 4 weeks? That 'bout right? Ever imagine what you'd say if you limited your posting to, say, twice daily? The practice brings a kind of editing mentality to it: "no, that's not worth this post; no, not that either...". I know, I've tried it and it helps.

With 265 posts in, say, 26 days, I think you've probably crossed the line from merely critiquing as part of a broader conversation that intends to engage with your fellow conversants into simply haranguing them. I'm not convinced that's helping you get your point across.

There is value in playing devil's advocate and there is value in calling out hypocrisy. Occasionally, you've caused me to have to think over a point more. I'm just not sure 10-20 posts a day of frequent judgement of other commenters and your broad brush "ya'all"s and "Left Wingery" is really helping us see your point.

If nothing else, it's insulting to refer to us -- to me, to @Elizabeth Miller, to @akadjian, to each and every of us individuals -- as just party drones, all while simultaneously proclaiming your somehow unique high-minded independent objectivity. Michale: 10 to 20 posts a day of "if you all were just as independent and free thinking as I am, America would be great again" is not gettin' 'er done, my friend.

Or is it not your objective to change hearts and minds? If not, then what?

My advice -- and it's heartfelt, because challenging groupthink is valuable and its what I thought you intended to do -- is, for a week, try writing but a single post per day on CW. What would you choose to say if you had to say it in one post? How would you say it so that it really counted?

@Elizabeth Miller

For what its worth, your comments in particular are a reason I contributed to CW's site this year. It'd be a true shame if your voice was not longer heard here.

If there was then I wouldn't be here... Or, at least I wouldn't be here as much..

But we both know that there isn't.. On either score..

Things are now diametrically opposite as they were in the beginning of Weigantia..

Back then it was ya'all who were castigating and attacking the Administration on a daily, sometimes hourly basis and it was me who was saying "Oh com'on, things aren't THAT bad..."

Basically, ya'all are playing defense right now... And judging from your comments, you don't like playing defense..

And I am truly sorry about that...

Michale
265

I don't toe the Party line, so that can't be the reason.

What's changed is that I have finally tired of your MO in commenting, generally speaking. I have no energy left for reading it much less responding to most of it.

It's ironic because you would find quite a lot of criticism of the current administration and even some praise for the last one - from me alone if from no one else - if every single one of your comments weren't so steeped in cynicism and disdain for the American body politic.

I don't know how else to explain my frustration with commenting here, these days. And, since this is really the only place left for me, it is also very saddening. :(

Why??

Just because I don't toe the Party line??

What's changed between now and the last 10 years???

I mean, besides the fact that Obama is the biggest frak-up we have seen since Jimmy Carter and there is really nothing left that ya'all can point to that is GOOD about Obama?

Besides all that, I mean...

Well, I am sorry that Obama didn't live up to your expectations..

But that's no reason to kill the messenger... :D

Michale
262

I am counting on you, David!! :D

Michale
218

Trump has pissed a lot of people off, period..

And yet, his numbers continue to rise..

:D

Michale
217

http://www.vox -dot- com/2015/9/2/9248963/donald-trump-index-fund

fortune -dot- com/2015/08/20/donald-trump-index-funds/

And the Independents HATE Hillary with a passion...

Advantage: TRUMP

Michale
216

"What about being a jerk? If you can make yourself the center of attention — and no candidate in modern memory has been more skilled at that than Trump — you can potentially turn the polls into a referendum on your candidacy. It’s possible that many GOP voters are thinking about the race in just that way now. First, they ask themselves whether they would vote for Trump; if not, they then choose among the 16 other candidates. The neat thing about this is that you can overwhelmingly lose the majority in the referendum — 75 percent of Republicans are not voting for Trump — and yet still hold the plurality so long as the “no” vote is divided among a sufficient number of alternatives."

fivethirtyeight -dot- com/datalab/donald-trump-is-winning-the-polls-and-losing-the-nomination/

Under the terms of the bill, which still needs Senate approval, visitors who normally wouldn’t need a visa but who have recently visited controversial countries such as Syria and Iraq would be forced to face new levels of scrutiny before being admitted into the U.S.

19 Democrats voted against this legislation....

For shame, Democrats... For shame...

Michale
215

If that were true, he would be broke and destitute right now...

You can make all the partisan-based insults you want, but the FACTS and REALITY proves that Trump IS, indeed, a business genius...

Ya'all have been saying things like that against Trump since he announced his campaign..

And yet, here he is...

So, what am I to believe??

The political partisan bias or my own eyes?? :D

Michale
214

I'm just sayin'"

And I'm just sayin' that Michael Jordan had a freakishly great talent for basketball, plus a winning personality, while Trump has a freakish talent for promotion, including an ability to take both sides of virtually any issue at some point in his career. Trump is no business genius, but he talks a great game.

That's an opinion and I respect that..

But it's the opinion of someone who is a Hillary Clinton supporter so ... really..... :^D

Michale
213

And yet still classified as "low sodium" compared to the amount of salt required anytime Trump opens his mouth...

But hey, he might be Darth Trump after all...

Ergo, the claims (since they are based on hate) SHOULD be taken with a huge grain of salt...

OK.. Got it...

Michale
212

Just about every financial rag has done a version of it. I think they do it to bring in readers and counter people like you who prop him up as some sort of business genus. Most of these rags are in New York where Trump hate has a long and storied history.

Who calculated and for what purpose??

Michale
209

Is that the same thing as admitting that Trump is no clown??

Trump has had a least one corporate bankruptcy, probably more, when times weren't so good.

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
-Michael Jordan

I'm just sayin'

Michale
208

It's been calculated that if Trump had liquidated all his inherited assets, invested in an unmanaged index fund and spent his life on the golf course, he would be considerably more wealthy than he is today...

Trump is no dolt. He is pretty canny with regards to marketing. That said, it would have been hard not to increase your capital when you inherit a real estate empire during the up cycle of a real estate boom. Trump has had a least one corporate bankruptcy, probably more, when times weren't so good. It didn't kill him - he was too big to fail.

But a reasonable and logical person can hate someone and STILL acknowledge and respect their capabilities...

Am I wrong??

Michale
207

Yea, he inherited a LOT...

But he didn't inherent his entire wealth..

And if he was the clown ya'all CLAIMED he was, he would have lost it all in short order..

I know giving credit where credit is due is anathema to the Political Ideologue's psyche....

But a reasonable and logical person can hate someone and STILL acknowledge and respect their capabilities...

Michale
206

He got rich by inheriting a LOT of property and a thriving business in NYC. He is not a self-made man.

That go anywhere??

Hard to believe a man with Rubio's wife would stray..

On the other hand....

http://media.philippines-addicts.com/images/forum/uploads/monthly_12_2013/post-15082-0-18951200-1386370947.jpg

:D

Michale
205

This, for me, is the most worrying possibility. Cruz makes Trump look sane.

Rubio, Trump, Cruz. Carson faded to an extreme long shot weeks ago, and never exceeded much over a 6% chance of winning the nomination.

Some of the shine is off the Rubio brand at the markets where there has been a steady decline for several weeks, down to about 35% (from a fleeting high over 45%). Over the same interval, Cruz has been climbing to an all time high of 17% chance of nomination.

Trump odds have been highly volatile over the last two weeks, his graph looks like an un-mowed lawn, his percentages have fluctuated over as much as 5% in a matter of days. He burbles around 22-23%. I think this reflects Trump's big hurdle, his high negatives. Cruz and Rubio loyalties are more interchangeable.

Bush is still number 4 at the marketplace, and he's actually had a very modest recovery over the past few weeks - to just over a 10% long shot. Oh for early days, when he was peaking just under 45%.

"If I were a jihadi in India and I wanted to sneak into the USA to do some terroristy stuff"....

Cue harp music and a ripple effect and you have the classic segue into an ISIS music/dance internet video.

Note to CW: ball has been been placed on the T, lets see what the li'l' guy's got!

Why wait for a Trump presidency??

Just tell Obama you are a gay muslim fanatic and you'll be invited in, given a cushy government job where no rules or laws apply to you...

:^/

Michale
199

Remember way back when Trump started his campaign and he was resoundingly ridiculed...

Remember what I said??

"Ya'all ridicule Trump at yer own risk.. Trump didn't get to be richer than god by being a clown.."

And lo and behold, here we are... :D

Michale
197

Whoops, ya got me! Mea culpa. It's now been fixed, and the editor responsible is getting coal in his stocking this year.

:-)

-CW

-CW

I have now added together all the donations I missed in the past week (discussed in today's Program Notes, in case you missed it), and updated the Pledge Drive graphic.

Woo hoo! We're over a third of the way there!

The response so far has been great, with more new donors than in the past few years. I thank everyone for donating (and will send out thank-you emails later tonight), and encourage everyone else to give if you can. We really want to keep the site ad-free next year....

In any case, sorry for the delay, it won't happen again.

-CW