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Messages - passivekinetic

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41
Thanks for the important heads up. I will plan accordingly.

There's really not that many breaks.  Lunch is about the longest break where you could get anything done.  Even if you get a break and can male a call, you have to be careful to stand or sit away from any courtroom entrances since they are intolerant of any noise outside of those rooms.  I believe there was a designated area to sit/stand in to make calls.

Sometimes the judge is tied up in other business, and you are waiting for the trial to start again in the morning or after lunch.  When it's time to resume, you have to be in line according to your jurist number ready to go in.  If you're in the middle of something work-related, you'll have to save, power down, and be ready to march quickly.

Any distractions such as tablets, phones or laptops are not allowed powered-on in the courtroom.  As a juror, you don't want to even look like you're doing anything but paying attention to the proceedings.

Maybe if the trial is more complicated or bigger than what I heard, you might see more breaks where the judge wants the jury out of the room so you don't hear what's being discussed.  That didn't happen at all in our trial.  We did get bathroom breaks if we'd been sitting for 2 hours or more, but that was only for 10-15 minutes.  Usually the judge asks the jury if they need a break or want to keep going.  For most, getting the trial over so they can leave for good is more important than short breaks.

I was an alternate, and I had to sit through the whole trial.  Once the jury was given the case to deliberate, I was able to leave.  I still had to be available for a few days in case they needed me to replace someone.  Once the verdict was handed in, I got a call saying the trial ended and what the verdict was.
42
Political Discussion / Re: Elon Musk
« on: July 28, 2022, 01:49:55 PM »
Watch the video. It gives examples of what is going on.

For example, just by putting out his XPRIZE events, he has got a ton of people working on "problems" that he describes.

Lots of people are also buying into his "vision" for sustainability, including world governments.

Here is a "win" for him but the creator of the above mentioned video might have other things to say about it. In fact he might already have done so in his other videos critically analyzing Elon Musk's claims and projects.

Including his Mars mission proposals.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a34598095/elon-musk-battery-farm-sequel-australia-tesla-powerpack/

I predict that our lives will sooner or later, if not already, be directly impacted by what Elon Musk says and plans.

And I say that without exaggeration.

So it behooves us to take note and figure out exactly what is going on and whether we are being fed bullshit.
43
Anyone done Jury Duty? Can bring laptop to do work between breaks?

Need to check emails, etc. and be on top of things.
44
Political Discussion / Elon Musk
« on: July 28, 2022, 09:28:35 AM »
Elon Musk is a huge influencer and even driver (no pun intended) of today's key political topics.

But is he on target or totally off track and leading (misleading) humanity into further disarray?

This guy makes a strong case and seems to be quite effective at deprogramming fanboy syndrome.

Only watch if you are the type of person who is able to sit down for more than 5 minutes and focus on complex topics, including some arithmetic and basic science.

(So unfortunately and probably many of today's younger generation won't be able to watch and absorb the shockingly logical and scientifically grounded arguments presented.)

45
Off Topic / Re: monkeypox hell
« on: July 25, 2022, 12:59:36 PM »
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/23/i-literally-screamed-out-loud-in-pain-my-two-weeks-of-monkeypox-hell

Quote
I’m a 39-year-old man from Sweden, living in Brooklyn and working in philanthropy. For the past decade, my work has primarily focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights, so I followed the outbreak from the very beginning. I had even tried to get vaccinated when New York City launched an initial vaccination drive on 23 June. But like the vast majority of other New Yorkers who tried to get an appointment, I had no luck.

Also, just in case anyone wonders, don't worry, Reuters has helped you to do the thinking for your brain, and has FACT CHECKED the claim that maybe these pox things are shingles (like, from some other agent that has recently caused a sudden immune system outage):

https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-shingles-monkeypox/fact-check-recent-monkeypox-cases-are-not-mistaken-shingles-and-not-caused-by-shingles-virus-idUSL2N2XI2H1

Quote
Shingles is not the same disease as monkeypox, the two diseases are caused by viruses from different families, and they are unlikely to be mistaken for each other based on laboratory tests or physical symptoms, despite online claims that suspected monkeypox cases reported around the world in recent weeks are really shingles episodes.

46
General Discussion / A real American hero
« on: July 20, 2022, 06:13:04 PM »
[Unlike some uniformed, well-armed DUDES of late... you know the shameful bunch.]

Indiana man saves 5 from house fire; jumps out window to save girl

By Associated Press Today

LAFAYETTE, Ind. >> An Indiana man who ran into a burning home and saved five people, including a 6-year-old girl he jumped out of a second-floor window with, says he’s no hero and that the serious injuries he suffered were “all worth it.”

Nick Bostic, 25, of Lafayette, was driving early on July 11 in the northwestern Indiana city when he saw a house in flames. He stopped and ran inside to alert its residents.

“I slammed on the brakes, I turned the steering wheel, I did a 180. I ran into the back of the house and I was yelling for anybody. Four faces, three or four faces, came out the top,” he told WLFI-TV.

An 18-year-old woman was in the home babysitting her three siblings, ages 1, 6 and 13, along with a 13-year-old friend of the 13-year-old sibling, while the four siblings’ parents were out playing darts, The Washington Post reported.

Bostic said the 18-year-old was able to get three of the children out, but she told him one child was still missing, prompting him to search the smoke-filled home for that child.

“I heard a faint whine, a faint crying noise and I went down there till I found that baby,” he said.

Because of the dense smoke, he said his only option was to exit through a second-floor window. Bostic punched out the glass and jumped to safety with the 6-year-old girl in his arms. He suffered multiple injuries but the girl only suffered a minor cut to her foot.

Police body camera video captured the aftermath of the jump, with Bostic backlit by the burning home and walking toward first responders, the girl in his arms.

In the video, a police officer takes the crying child while Bostic — who is winded and wheezing, with a wounded right arm and blood on his clothes — sits down on the curb, saying, “I need oxygen.”

After an officer helps Bostic to a safer spot across the street, a tourniquet is applied to his arm after he lies down in the grass. Bostic then asks, “Is the baby OK? Please tell me the baby’s OK” before someone off camera assures him the child is fine.

“You did good dude, OK?” an officer tells Bostic.

Bostic, who suffered smoke inhalation in addition to his arm injury and other wounds, was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital and discharged two days later.

He said he’s not a hero, and just did what he would have wanted someone to do for him and his family if their home was on fire.

“It was all worth it. I kept reminding myself what a small sacrifice. This temporary pain … it’s so worth it,” he told WLFI-TV.

A GoFundMe page set up for Bostic to help pay his hospital and medical bills had raised more than $470,000 by this afternoon, far surpassing its $100,000 goal.

David Barrett, the four siblings’ father, told The Washington Post, that his family feels “very blessed for what Nick did.”

“He’s a real hero, and my daughter’s a real hero for waking the kids up. I don’t like to think about what might have happened if Nick hadn’t shown up. I’m grateful beyond words,” he said.

Lafayette Fire Investigation Chief Brian Alkire told the (Lafayete) Journal & Courier that the fire started on the front porch of the home in the city about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. Police said the fire remains under investigation.
47
[Anyone know how she fought back? CCW? Took his knife? Had a knife of her own?]

Pickup driver hits family in Montana, kills 2 with shotgun

By Associated Press Today Updated 5:31 pm

RION SANDERS/THE GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

BILLINGS, Mont. >> A man drove his pickup truck into a family as they walked in a tourist village bordering Glacier National Park and opened fire with a shotgun, killing one man and mortally wounding a toddler who was in her mother’s arms before the mother’s sister-in-law managed to kill the assailant after he ran out of ammunition, authorities said.

Killed in the weekend attack on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana were David Siau, 39, of Syracuse, New York, and Siau’s 18-month-old daughter, McKenzie.

The assailant, Derick Amos Madden, 37, had been in a prior relationship with the woman who killed him and had mental health issues, the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office said. Authorities on Wednesday would not say how he was killed.

Madden plowed a Toyota Tacoma onto a sidewalk and into the Siau family just before 9 p.m. Sunday as they walked in the small town of East Glacier Park, hitting some of them before crashing into a tree, the sheriff’s office said.

Madden got out and shot and killed David Siau and mortally wounded McKenzie. The young girl was being held by her mother, Christy Siau, 40, who was shot and wounded as she tried to run away.

Madden then ran out of ammunition and used a knife to attack the sister-in-law, Christina Siau, 30. But the woman fought back and fatally wounded Madden, who authorities said died at the scene, said Capt. Tom Seifert with the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office.

Seifert declined to release details on how Siau killed Madden or if any other weapons were recovered from the scene.

“She fought back and she won,” he said.

Two other children of David and Christy Siau were present but managed to run away and were not injured.

McKenzie Siau was pronounced dead at the Indian Health Service hospital in Browning. Christy and Christina Siau suffered critical injuries and were flown to another hospital with a higher level of care.

Due to Christy Siau’s injuries, investigators have been unable to interview her about what happened, Seifert said.

Bystanders in the area witnessed the attack and reported it to authorities, Seifert said. He added that police responded to the scene within minutes, but the attack already was over.

The Montana Highway Patrol was trying to determine the exact speed Madden was driving when he hit the family. Seifert described it as faster than the posted speed limit, which he said was at least 25 miles (40 kph) per hour.

Authorities have not said if Madden, originally of Goldsby, Oklahoma, had the shotgun legally. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also involved in the case.

The sheriff’s office described it as an “isolated…incident with a clear nexus between the victims and Madden” and said the investigation was ongoing. It was not clear what provoked Sunday’s attack beyond the prior relationship between Madden and Christina Siau.

There were no records of any restraining orders against Madden on file in the Glacier County Courthouse, court officials said.

Local authorities did not know of any previous interactions that Madden had with law enforcement. He had been working in East Glacier Park, a town of about 300 year-round residents bordering Glacier National Park that gets throngs of summer tourists.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has so graciously surrounded us, reached out and helped us through this difficult time,” said John Siau, David Siau’s father and McKenzie Siau’s grandfather.

He said he told his children to “grieve, be sad, but don’t harbor anger about what has happened, because what we have seen is actually the result of somebody who has harbored anger in his own life and allowed it to fester and allowed it to grow and develop into something very terrible and unspeakable.”

Christina Siau was originally from New York and had been living in East Glacier Park. Her brother and his family had been visiting her on vacation, Seifert said.

A co-worker of David Saiu described him as a “a great person, a great friend …. (and) a great dad, definitely loving with his three kids.”

“They just loved to do activities with them outdoors, even just fun simple things, like weekend and day trips,” said Peter Depuy, a bookkeeper for a Syracuse audio products company, Benchmark. David Saiu was the production manager at the 13-employee company and first started work there more than two decades ago when he was a teenager, Depuy said.

Christy Siau was a former bookkeeper for the American Baptist Churches of New York State, according to a social media postings by the organization. She was described as “a long time and beloved member” of the organization’s staff in a statement from Executive Minister Rev. James Kelsey.

Christy and David Siau were also active in the First Baptist Church of Hoosick Falls, New York, Kelsey said.
48
Off Topic / Re: Lets keep Hifico professional
« on: July 15, 2022, 04:04:48 PM »
what about Tanagra?

Not sure if this is WAY WAY WAY off target but do you mean like "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"?
49
General Discussion / Re: What if??
« on: July 15, 2022, 04:02:14 PM »
FIRST OF ALL you guys don't even know what you are talking about.

TIN FOIL?

The stuff you buy at the supermarkets is NOT tin foil.

It's made of... (drum roll)... another metal. You know it.

Secondly, pretty sure the CCP already has tons of info about US citizens without needing access to the customer records of a couple of firearm accessory companies.

So basically, my message is, RELAX. What you fear has already happened and we can't do shit about it.

Unless you decide to change your name, move to some rural area in maybe Alaska, and never use the Internet or electronic devices again.

THEN maybe the commies won't know shit about you.
51
Political Discussion / Re: The insanity of Fascism
« on: July 14, 2022, 09:28:09 PM »
Not really back on topic but related.

And thanks to the OP for the opportunity to clear up this common misconception once and for all here.  :shaka: :shaka: :shaka:

https://assets.ctfassets.net/qnesrjodfi80/15IS7l6mUeGYoIqi6awMkS/af6a902f97b4f0a5c3e8c4112d8bd8d0/dsouza-is_fascism_right_or_left-transcript.pdf

IS FASCISM RIGHT OR LEFT?

DINESH D’SOUZA

“He’s a fascist!”

For decades, this has been a favorite smear of the left, aimed at those on the right. Every Republican president—for that matter, virtually every Republican—since the 1970s has been called a fascist; now, more than ever.
This label is based on the idea that fascism is a phenomenon of the political right. The left says it is, and some self-styled white supremacists and neo-Nazis embrace the label.
But are they correct?
To answer this question, we have to ask what fascism really means: What is its underlying ideology? Where does it even come from?
These are not easy questions to answer. We know the name of the philosopher of capitalism: Adam Smith. We know the name of the philosopher of Marxism: Karl Marx. But who’s the philosopher of fascism?
Yes—exactly. You don’t know. Don’t feel bad. Almost no one knows. This is not because he doesn’t exist, but because historians, most of whom are on the political left, had to erase him from history in order to avoid confronting fascism’s actual beliefs. So, let me introduce him to you. His name is Giovanni Gentile.
Born in 1875, he was one of the world’s most influential philosophers in the first half of the twentieth century. Gentile believed that there were two “diametrically opposed” types of democracy. One is liberal democracy, such as that of the United States, which Gentile dismisses as individualistic—too centered on liberty and personal rights—and therefore selfish. The other, the one Gentile recommends, is “true democracy,” in which individuals willingly subordinate themselves to the state.
Like his philosophical mentor, Karl Marx, Gentile wanted to create a community that resembles the family, a community where we are “all in this together.” It’s easy to see the attraction of this idea. Indeed, it remains a common rhetorical theme of the left.
For example, at the 1984 convention of the Democratic Party, the governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, likened America to an extended family where, through the government, people all take care of each other.

Nothing’s changed. Thirty years later, a slogan of the 2012 Democratic Party convention was, “The government is the only thing we all belong to.” They might as well have been quoting Gentile.
Now, remember, Gentile was a man of the left. He was a committed socialist. For Gentile, fascism is a form of socialism—indeed, its most workable form. While the socialism of Marx mobilizes people on the basis of class, fascism mobilizes people by appealing to their national identity as well as their class. Fascists are socialists with a national identity. German Fascists in the 1930s were called Nazis—basically a contraction of the term “national socialist.”
For Gentile, all private action should be oriented to serve society; there is no distinction between the private interest and the public interest. Correctly understood, the two are identical. And who is the administrative arm of the society? It’s none other than the state. Consequently, to submit to society is to submit to the state—not just in economic matters, but in all matters. Since everything is political, the state gets to tell everyone how to think and what to do.
It was another Italian, Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943, who turned Gentile’s words into action. In his Dottrina del Fascismo, one of the doctrinal statements of early fascism, Mussolini wrote, “All is in the state and nothing human exists or has value outside the state.” He was merely paraphrasing Gentile.
The Italian philosopher is now lost in obscurity, but his philosophy could not be more relevant because it closely parallels that of the modern left. Gentile’s work speaks directly to progressives who champion the centralized state. Here in America, the left has vastly expanded state control over the private sector, from healthcare to banking; from education to energy. This state-directed capitalism is precisely what German and Italian fascists implemented in the 1930s.
Leftists can’t acknowledge their man, Gentile, because that would undermine their attempt to bind conservatism to fascism.

Conservatism wants small government so that individual liberty can flourish. The left, like Gentile, wants the opposite: to place the resources of the individual and industry in the service of a centralized state. To acknowledge Gentile is to acknowledge that fascism bears a deep kinship to the ideology of today’s left. So, they will keep Gentile where they’ve got him: dead, buried, and forgotten.
But we should remember, or the ghost of fascism will continue to haunt us. I’m Dinesh D’Souza for Prager University.
52
General Discussion / Re: Another mass shooting
« on: July 14, 2022, 09:17:19 PM »
I still don't get it.

How does a cop have to ask permission of his supervisor over the radio to fire on a person carrying a rifle into a SCHOOL (illegal in most states), when the cop is ON THE SCENE, and the supervisor is NOT ON THE SCENE?  What is the supervisor going to do?  Play 20 questions before deciding?

Ridiculous.

Not sure if the video has been posted here yet

53
Political Discussion / Re: The Insanity of Liberalism
« on: July 12, 2022, 07:20:48 PM »
This is why much of these types of hearings are a joke. The people they bring in to answer questions.

If she truly believes what shes saying, she might be retarded.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
And she is a professor… teaching kids… the next generation of crazies.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
54
Political Discussion / Re: Jordan Peterson
« on: July 12, 2022, 07:19:27 PM »



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
55
Political Discussion / Re: Jordan Peterson
« on: July 12, 2022, 08:59:11 AM »
He is a clinical psychiatrist by trade and is very interested in many areas of psychology (evolutionary, moral, etc). He also is very into philosophy and religions. He is very smart, very articulate, and very knowledgable about the areas he is interested in. He would probably be described as a liberal in many ways but he is a staunch defender of the freedom of speech and rose to fame when he said he would not be forced to play pronoun game.

His speaking style can be a little off putting to some and he goes off on tangents often but I find him fascinating to listen to. I think he really deserves recognition as one of the great thinkers of this century. (Can you tell I am a fan?)

No I can't tell you are a fan because you don't seem to understand him at all, and even want to describe him as a liberal.

I think he would puke if he heard that.

Watch this:

56
Political Discussion / The Insanity of Liberalism
« on: July 12, 2022, 08:53:35 AM »
Video quiz challenge: Which of these people is the crazy one?

57
Progressive means progressing toward communism.

Don't let their tricky use of language slide. Call em on it and seize upon the language as well.
58
I am reading a book by Johnathan Haidt where he points out something interesting. Democrats have a strong value of "fairness" and for a while he thought republicans didn't have this value but then he realized they did, it just manifested itself differently. Democrats thought of fairness in terms of equality, sharing, etc whereas to republicans fairness was seen through a different angle, something more akin to proportionality. For republicans fairness was things like getting to keep money they worked hard for. Both sides valued fairness but they interpreted it differently.

The same is true about rationality, they possess it the same as us but look at it a different way. Sure, I do think they are generally too emotional but I notice this among conservatives too, just in different ways. For example when a conservative gets angry (emotion) at seeing a liberal step on a flag. We are very good at finding faults in others but quite poor at recognizing them in ourselves.

Conservatives (conserving fundamental human rights and principles) feel that fairness applies to everyone, so freedom of speech applies to even people they don't agree with. Thus, the diversity of opinions on this 2A discussion forum.

Liberals (who are liberal with definitions, morality, ethics. science and changing the goal posts) do not offer the same respect or fairness to everyone and freedom of speech only applies to those they do not disagree with. Conservatives who post differing opinions on liberal-controlled software, websites, video channels, etc. are censored, and their opinions and ideas deleted.

Conservatives feel that everyone has the right to equal opportunity, regardless of race, gender, etc. but if you fail the test, then you failed the test. You can try again and again, however, if you want to work hard to pass it.

Liberals use equality of outcome (e.g., someone who works hard and someone who is lazy, should earn the same amount of money at the end of the month) instead of equality of opportunity. Everyone should pass the test (except for people they don't like).

Conservatives rely on logic, rationality, human compassion, and science to make decisions.

Liberals rely and feed on emotions to influence and reinforce each other's often irrational decisions and actions, and liberally redefine logic and science and ethics to fit the narrative they want.
59
Off Topic / Re: let's keep dentistry professional
« on: July 11, 2022, 04:26:01 PM »
I do wonder how many people posting replies understand the origins of this post LOL
60
Political Discussion / Re: Jordan Peterson
« on: July 11, 2022, 04:24:19 PM »
I watched about all I could.
I know this is what Democrats are like, but what I fail to understand is why a seeming
intelligent man would waste his time talking to them?
I assume he is well paid or hyping a book.
either way he is a prostitute.
 :wacko:

He has to go into the trenches to help fight against the wave of insanity consuming America and the world
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