New Proposed Code of Conduct Update
Here is the second revised version of the proposed CoC
Code of Conduct (CoC)
1. No Personal Attacks: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Address issues and arguments, not individual members. Comments or articles designed as personal attacks or those which in-and-of-themselves, are abusive, threatening, harassing or offensive,unlawful, harmful, defamatory, libelous, known to be false and presented as truth, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;are prohibited. Comments, posting of articles, etc. that violate this rule are to be reported to the Resident Adviser or moderator.Comments about fellow members designed to skirt the "Spirit of the CoC", will be deemed personal attacks and treated as such. When reporting a comment or article, please provide the comment link and the title of the article. Members should refrain from further inflaming an argument. Comments meant to inflame will be removed.
2.A user's participation on this site is judged as a whole, that is, based upon all comments, articles and actions as they relate to NewsTalkers. Recurring counterproductive behavior and/or negative/detrimental activity, be they violations of the letter or the spirit of the CoC, whether or not specifically addressed in the CoC, may still warrant suspension or removal of that person from the NewsTalkers Community.Members may contact administration and request to rejoin, in which case, should such request be considered, the individual will be asked to sign an agreement not to engage again in any such behavior.
3.The NewsTalkers is a member moderated site. This means that moderators are members of the NT community. Author/seeder (with assistance from administration) moderates his/her own article. Authors/seeders are expected to foster healthy, open discussions. They are responsible for the content they submit and must exercise impartiality if/when reporting abuse. If at any point in a discussion, an author cannot moderate, that author may close the article to comments. The author has the right to ask members to stay on topic and not disrupt the article. If amemberis violating the CoC with intent of disrupting or being arbitrarily argumentative, the author must warn the membercivilly, by identifying the specific CoC violation, to stop said behavior or leave thearticle. Theauthor can contact administration to remove all comments pertaining to an argument. Intentional disruption of an article is defined as " A continuous exchange of posts between two or more members, which goes off topic and/or are personal attacks resulting in the disruption of the article".Any/all off topic remarks or CoC violations can be removed by moderators.
4.Members on a rotating basis will also act as moderators on an appointed or volunteer basis. Moderators will be comprised of two permanent members, Perrie Halpern and A. Mac and three group members. All members with at least 3 months on NewsTalkers and no major infractions, can qualify to be a moderator. Moderator comments will be made in purple. Moderators mustreclusethemselves in articles where they have been actively commenting. When an moderator deletes an offensive comment, all comments that pertain to the offensive posting will also be deleted. If you disagree with the actions of a moderator, you may appeal such action to the ResidentAdviser Perrie Halpern or A. Mac in her absence, at which point alldecisionsare final.
5.Use profanity judiciously and sparingly. It is understood that certain profanity is commonly used, but be mindful that it may be deemed a personal attack or personally offensive to other posters/members. When entering an heated debate,don't use profanity to inflame an already intense thread or article. Common sense and common courtesy are recommended regarding both the use of, and, the taking offense to "objectionable" language; those asked to refrain from posting a given word or phrase by a fellow member are expected to do so, while those taking offense should consider avoiding comments/articles in which those words/phrases appear.
6.Please keep the names of articles and seeds accurate and non-inflammatory. Headlines must not be misleading and should fairly accurately reflect the content of the seeded or authored article. The chat "Main Room" and the "Activity" feed is to be used for social purposes only. Personal attacks, fighting and comments that are meant to skirt the "Spirit of the CoC are prohibited and will result with chatprivilegesbeing suspended for a given period or a comment being removed. The photo feature is fororiginalart work. Memes and other such visuals meant to convey a message will be removed. "The Blogs" are fororiginalpieces of writtenmaterial Art material may be included, but not for the sole purpose of the blog post. All blog posts are the sole possession of the writer and has sole discretionon posting and moderation.
7.Members agree not to upload or post any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, known to be false, or invasive of another's privacy,hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;are prohibited.. Pornography and content that would be harmful to minors in any manner is prohibited. Distribution of personal emails, or "spam," is prohibited. Posting content that potentially infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary right(s) of any person or entity is prohibited. Copyright infringement is illegal.
8.Use of accounts owned by another registered member without prior notice to and agreement from administration is prohibited and will result in the immediate deletion of that account. Use of an anonymizing service, for the purposes of cloaking your identity, or gaining admittance to the site is prohibited.
At 5pm on Wednesday the 31 of January, theproposednew CoC passed with 30 members voting yes, 2 members voting no and 5 members voting "Perrie, I don't give a damn", for a total of 37 votes. The proposed CoC passes and will be posted as such. Thank you all who took the time to comment and vote.
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Well, different people have different ways of expressing themselves. Fuck off to one person might be seen as a grave insult, while to another person might be as casual as Hello. I will stick with my original assertion: Be Nice. Be polite.
Then, I will go with the suggested procedure (there is now way of numbering these comments, should or could there be?) that I outlined in a previous post.
When I was representing individuals at hearings and arbitrations, on occasion, there would be a case involving allegations of "sexual harassment." Because much behavior that might be labeled such can be nuanced, oblique and by innuendo, some judgments were made based on what is called "The Reasonable Person Standard," in other words, "what would a reasonable person conclude given circumstances X, Y or Z."
While this is naturally subjective to a point, it nevertheless imposes some rationality and parameters to what otherwise could be the endless game of "how do I know," when in reality, there are many things regarding human nature, that we "know."
Neale,
The 2nd Amendment can not be applied in 2013 as it was in the days of the flintlock.
Alaska militia leader sentenced to nearly 26 years in prison
By Yereth Rosen | Reuters Tue, Jan 8, 2013
And
Yeah, your gang banging, murder a minute lifestyle is just so much more preferable! Seems to me that what should happen is that cesspools like Chicago should just be cordoned off, period. Let the animals feed on themselves.
Perrie:
A quick question,why did you even institute this program of alteration of the COC? Were you bored or something?
This is irrelevant- had he succeeded, he would have been the next founding father. Do I agree with his views? Nope. But he has the right to have them. However, he missed the most important part of the reasons for the 2nd Amendment- it's to chnge the government by force ATER excercising every possible method within the law.
The Dick Act was unConstitutional. "What part of Shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand? Liberals love to invent new and interesting rights and tie them to the Bill of Rights via wierd interpretations, then OPPOSE FOLLOWING THE BILL AS WRITTEN! Hypocritacal. Again, if the 2nd is limited as you attempt to prove, then get off the computer, because there can be no free speech here!
Works for me!! Let's not let them vote, except for their own city governments.
That is the point that so many of the lefties/dems miss.
The second amendment is not about the right to own guns, it's about the ability to protect and secure the other rights enumerated in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Like so many blind, ignorant folks, however, they just keep thinking "it can't happen here, it can't happen here."
Read Feinstein's newest bill- She is,at least, honest about her aims- she'll graciously allow us to keep our weapons..... for now. But when we die, our children will not get our personal, private property. It will become the property of the government. EVEN if they compensate them financially, the government will set the price, take our property, and give us no option about it. And never forget precedents- ninety percent of the arguments in favor of the latest round of victimn disarmament laws is "Well, we already do "X", why are you fighting over "Y"? After all, it's for the children!"
That's always the argument, the slippery slope. Communists (and we have several on this site) always use that argument to strip away all rights.
Bizarre.
Mike,
I hadn't noticed
And yet that whole time, that clause was in there.
I have a funny feeling it's true also at NV.
But it does cover a whole bunch of other stuff, that really matters.
Plus I have to have it to CMA.
Capish .
Robert,
Think of this one as kind of like the old one...
Neither of which you ever read.
Not a title I would prefer to go by.
In Hollywood they call them Rabbis. I could live with that.
Thanks for asking Buzz.
Simple answer, no. Half my costs were met this year.
I had a master plan that included doing a member payout, like you know where.. but I have to be cover my costs before that dream happens.
I could raise more revenue by putting "In Line" advertising, but the group a while back and they voted no, and I can understand why. But then again, the Fox site has it, and we have many Fox readers. Maybe we should revisit the idea.
You're missing an important fact; on a per capita basis, there are more gun deaths in the rural south.
For example
Gunfire death rate in Louisiana is highest in nation, researchers find
Matthew Hinton, The Times-Picayune archive These guns were turned in to New Orleans police during a Horns for Guns event in 2008.
Louisiana has the nation's highest rate of death by gunfire, with a rate that far exceeds the national average, according to a recent study by a Washington nonprofit that considers gun violence a public-health issue.
Louisiana, where an estimated 46 percent of households own a firearm, has a gun death rate of 19.87 per 100,000, the Violence Policy Center determined by reviewing newly released 2006 data, the most recent available from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control .
Rounding out the top five in overall gun deaths were Mississippi, Alaska, Alabama and Nevada. The lowest per-capita gun death rates were in Hawaii, with 3 per 100,000, and a household gun ownership rate of about 10 percent.
The national average of gun deaths is about 10 per 100,000, roughly half the rate of Louisiana.
Hey Perrie, let me know when you have a workable ignore feature.
You Can't mean be polite.....
Terry,
LMAO! Yeah. Just love the whole process! Kind of like going to the proctologist.
When the site started, it was over transparency, of which NV gave none. During the banning of Dana, we awoke one morning to a brand new 5a which said:
Which they started usingimmediately. No warning from NV. So when Mac Dana and I were talking about how a new site should run, one of the things was that the community had a say in the rules, thus giving transparency. Just staying true to ouroriginalobjective and promise.
I can see the issues.
Bob,
Now this I understand
Quite true on all accounts.
Yeah. It really sucks!
Certain aspects of the 2nd Amendment are superseded by other laws that's just the way it is.
This should be in a different article, but how is that a restriction on the 2nd amendment? Seems to me that it is more of a restriction of the first amendment.
I'm an agnostic/atheist. I don't listen to mullahs, rabbis, OR priests!
You do know that the other place no longer pays you- in fact, they were so far behind on payments that they stole over $100 from me!
I'd love one!
Hmmm, I thought you called Neale an "hysterical" liberal?
Yup.
Mac, you are my friend, and I like you, so I will go no further than this-
You accept infringements on our rights if you do not like the right. That is certainly your right, as long as you don't try to take MY righs away. I accept no infringements on any rights, and will never try to take any right aways from you, even if I don't happen to support that particular right. I suggest you read and remember Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous quote.
Readit here
And that is really all I can say to that. I'd still share a drink with you any time, my friend. I'll buy the drinks, AFTER I spring for the ammo fo a trip to the range. The best way to win this argument is to convert the anti-side. Nothing does that like a morning of pancakes eggs and bacon, then shooting at the range for a few hours. ANYTIME you are in the neighborhood, it's on me!
OMG.. I had no idea. I had heard that they went to paypal as a system. That sucks!
I would gladly pay a yearly membership fee to be here. If that is what you decide, that's fine by me!
Okay- first, I'd never ignore you, Bruce- We're on the same side of most issues. Nope, only one guy MIGHT get ignored here. I just think that some people here might be happier ignoring some people.
Second, I don't think Bruce evr called me a hysterical liberal, but if he did, my guffaws would be audible even in Missouri. hysterical, never. Liberal, only on gay righs, legalizing drugs, the so-called War on Terror, and legalizing prostitution. Otherwise, I tend to be to the right of Bruce. MY way of winning that war on terror is with a heavily armed civillian population and frangible ammo on planes.
Third, I like Bruce- he was polite and friendly my first day here, didn't take it as an insult when I made a mistake with him and had to remove him from a group I had no right to invite him to in the first place, and we are both in total agreement on th 2nd Amendment, even if he doesn't go as far as I do. He'd NEVER make MY ignore list.
Well, on a discussion, I just made a call for civility. When I get blasted into oblivion, may I send up a flare and ask for help?
Ditto to Dowser's comment- ANYTHING to keep this place running (other than following a CoC
) is good idea!
That is very thoughtful Bob, but I feel that is unfair. I do know that some sites do that, but I took it upon me to set up this site, and so I felt it was myresponsibilityto pay for it.
Like I said, there is always in line that I can add, and Ning is talking about starting their own ad company, which is supposed to pay more than my present one. I lost my google adsense because of the constant glitches on the site that cause people to endlessly reload their pages, which gave "false page views". They actually paid. I am think of appealing that again, but the word on the street is that google won't revisit a case, once they have made up their minds. No harm in trying though.
Ignore feature - agreement! LOL
They went to Google Ads, and you have to sign on, and then GA adds advertisements directly to your articles, breaking up the body AND the comment sections, brings pop ups to the scene. So I dothat placefor free now.
I was lucky enough to figure out what was going on and donated
over 100 bucks before the closed it down. Lot's of folks lost their earnings.
Perrie- you provide us a service. We all take advantage of it. IF paying a small fee for use keeps the service vailable, I would bet 99% of us would be not only fine with that but INSIST upon it. I guarantee that my entire group of ex-pats from NV would gladly do so!
MY earning fed my NOOK. None of the donation options were suitable to me. Now, I must feed my Nook out of pocket.
Oh.. now that makes sense.
I noticed that some threads were broken up and others were not. That is what inline ads are, and why the group voted against them.
IDK if you are a Fox reader, but they have them there. But that is the only site I know that does. The Huff doesn't. Neither do the big papers like the NYT or the WP. I guess a lot of people don't like them. Fox can get away with it, because it has a loyal readership.
Dowser and Neale,
That is so sweet of you! But really, once again being totally transparent, the site costs me $250 a year. If we grew to a larger active group, it would cost me $500 a year. So I just pay by the month. It's not to bad.
I would love an ignore feature ( for obvious reasons), but I have asked Ning and they said that while they once had it, they got rid of it because only a handful of sites used it. I am looking into trying to get some code that would work on the site for that function, but it's very complicated. I will keep working on it, Terry!
I don't do HuffPo, WP or NYT. Too frigging far up the Deocrat Party's ass for my tastes. I don't do FOX, too frigging far up the Republican Party's ass. I do The Libertarian Enterprise because, well, I am one AND Neil is one of my best friends. I do NV ONLY because it was the first place I found, and I got hooked on writing. I'm planning my nuclear option for leaving there. IF, of course, I don't get my ass banned.
Honey- a buck a year per member would be nothing to ANY of us. Five bucks a year might enable you to buy better services, or more options, or something we'd all like. And it ouldn't kill us. ell, we might be able to get you a better laptop- faster, so you can Mod quicker!! (Jumps away fromthe gut punch)
The point is, to keep this place free of corporate sponsors, we'd accept a general run of advertisements or a small fee for use. It would be worth it.
Yeah, I remember, I remember! Actually, Ning has been pretty good. And I also agree re: payments. I know we have gone back and forth on this issue for some time, I recommended a payment scheme some time ago and you nixed it then. But, sooner or later you may wish to revisit that issue.
I have no problem with paid advertising on the site. I just think that when the comments are used for advertising the advertisers should be banned and their comment ads deleted
You are becoming....... center-right. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Soon, you will be yelling "You can have my gun one bullet at a time!"
But Hell has Chocolate AND Booze. And it's a LOT warmer than my house is!!
Legion- we have GOT to get together over smoked ribs and Jack Daniels. I think you are my long-lost brother.... well, you and Bruce!
Neale,
I could quote Niemoller verbatim ... but "rights" are relative extending to those of the next individual, they cannot in a civilized society, be absolute. The children of Sandy Hook et al had the RIGHT to remain alive and while no law could have guaranteed they'd be alive today, here's how I see it
I am not for the confiscation of all guns; I am for the future restriction of assault weapons and will reluctantly accept the grandfathering of those who now legally possess them; I am for a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips, barrels and magazines -- how many lives might have been saved by a need to re-load; I am in favor of background checks. Prevent a thousand assault weapons and high capacity clips from being added to what's already here -- that's thousand fewer devices that some lunatic can get his hands on.
As for being friends, sharing drinks, shooting at a range (surprise -- I've done it and I'm pretty accurate for a guy who rarely shoots), breaking bread, fishing -- I offer you a similar invitation (without the shooting) -- I have a house in the Pocono Mountains, a small jon boat and access to a 190 acre lake (large and smallmouth bass, trout, calico bass). Maybe we'll hook up one time. In the spring and summer, I fish until the sunset, head back o the house and watch the Phillies (sometimes after having one fine Pizza at a bar called Valerio's).
Friends can disagree and still be friends ... it's a higher form of being.
Peace.
I've been offering to share the cost but Perrie has declined the offer
which still stands.
Yeah, I too offered,she declined that as well.
But, since you are being so generous, I'll take a Ketel One, straight up, shaken, not stirred, with a twist, please.
Hmmmm, that's a good idea.
This spring or summer, pending your arrival ... the order will be filled.
God, the "assault" weapon rubric.
Just what the hell is an "assault weapon" A.Mac?
You, who are the main guy for exactitude, using such a bullshit, media created term is quite disturbing, and disingenuous!
And I'm with Neale, here's the deal, drinks and a great dinner. Then, early fishing, I kick your ass, then to the range where, again, I will kick your ass. THEN to the bar to watch the Phillies lose, more drinks and another dinner.
Well, looks like California may be losing one hell of a lot of tax revenue through trying to regulate the porn industry!
One owner just made the argument that requiring the wearing of condoms is a violation of the first amendment. What do you think?
If California can do that, why won't they pass a law requiring that EVERYONE who is not seeking to have a child (which would, by necessity, include all gays) be REQUIRED to wear a condom when having any form of intercourse?
Bob, fascinating! I just read your post, went to an article by MIke and he used the EXACT feature you ask for!
Now, I am pretty sure all he did was print the first page of the article, then put the "continue reading" to the link for the second page, but that will work for multiple page articles, right!
ASSAULT WEAPON ...
And with me, clips of greater capacity than 10 rounds should be illegal unless registered and kept under lock and key at ranges to be used ONLY on the range property.
Drinks and dinner - I'm in.
Fishing ... but not "early" - the best fishing is an hour and a half before sunset.
I'll watch you guys at the range ... I used to shoot at a local range with some retired Philly cops, but I really don't enjoy it.
Bar and Phillies game ... same bar with the great pizza ... my treat.
As for kicking my ass fishing and Phillies losing ... a priori big talk often leads to getting your posteriori kicked.
How 'bout fly fishing at the lake for one hour ... highest total number of fish (any/all species) wins (catch and release).
Thanks, Bruce-- no one blasted me, and I made the comment it was none of my business who likes whom...
Thank you. Very much!
Ahhh... guys. Did you forget how to ask directions again?
You seem to have lost your way from a gun article to one about the CoC.
Find your GPS or your wife please.
Dowser,
I have said this many times. Fellow members can ask without fear of nastiness, to abide by the CoC. If someone gets snarky with you for that request, ask any mod on the site (they are listed on the left side of the front page, or any other trusted member.
And that was nice, Bruce.
Done, and I'm glad it's fly fishing, though I do like spinning as well.
Can't shoot the fish ... "Catch & Release" means that the fish have to be released alive. Sorry.
No sweat, we're changing it to fishing and drinking.
We'll do spinning the next day.
Thanks, Perrie-- and yes, it was VERY nice!
It is so wonderful to have friends here!
Bob:
Here is the article in which Mike does it.
I think what he did was essentially paste the first page of the article, then linked to the second page with the "story continues here" statement.
I know it's not quite what you were asking for, but it was weird that right after you posted that I went to this article and it is a bit of a compromise.
Only if the deer is in the boat and poses a clear and present antler.
That's true but the deer aren't aware of that.
Actually, there's a small island in the lake I fish and every now and then, there are deer on it; the only ways that can get there is to swim, or get there
By boat.
Mike, do you recall the video I sent you that day I was looking for a black bear that part of the woods is right by the lake.
Maybe that's why the deer get in the boat.
You're almost there. Now, repeat after me "Whre's the birth certificate?"
Now, you are one of us. Go to the gun shop, and I'll help you pick out your first "assault-style" rifle and a few 39 round mags!
Yer dragging me bck into this against my will, my friend.
Okay, let me start at the top.
You will accept the grandfathering of existing guns.. to do that, though, you will be required to make us register them. Don't forget Dianes tax to maintain ownership. Is my grandfathered AR transferrable, even to my family? Or does the government get my property rather than my kids? then their kids.... ad infinitum. There is no such thing as a high capacity barrel, so we can ignore that one. How do I prove the prior existance of my 30 round mags for the aforementioned rifle? Oh, I have to have a government-supplied serial number installed on each one? What's the fee per mag? BTW- the owner of te guns used in Sandy Hook bought her guns with the required background checks- her sn then murdered her and took her weapons. We will totally ignore the fact that a competent machinist can (and I will!!) build one from scratch in a few days. But you want to save kids.... a lofty goal. Jet's you and I get to work doing that. We need to start with a governor on all cars that holds them to 25 mph- kids hit at that speed by drunk drivers have a far better chance of surviving the impact AND the slower cars are easier to dodge. If we ban alchoholic beverages, or at least require a complete background check for family history of alchoholism, and of course a personal history of same,we can cut down on drunk driving. How about a two drink limt to alchohol purchases? I much prefer how it was handled in Ft Collins, Co, when I lived there. Sevral bars had breathalyzers at the door. Blow the limit, free cab ride home, But I digress. My point is simple- I am VERY willing to protect our children. Just not by stripping the rights of law abiding citizens. Allow our teachers to obtain free training and to carry concealed on campus. Hire armed guards. trained civillian voluneers willing tpo donate a couple days a week to keep their taxes down. But don't violate my Constitutional rights. Because to do that, we are preventingthose same children the right to ever even HAVE the right to defend themselves. I know you mean wel. I just oppose you methods.
Until my pond has another year on it, the fish I stocked in September are not available, so I'm willing to fish at your place? I just drove on 81 south to 380 south to 80 east. Beautiful area. Working on Sandy-repair for a week in Joisey- depressing to see, felt great to help!
Pizza and hyper-cold beer on a pond- can life get ny better than that?
Yup, a pipe full of Gawith flake!
Barrel Magazine ... Sorry, I meant "drum."
If it's not registered, in my book it's not legally possessed. If it's legally possessed then it can be willed to heirs but that must be so stipulated in the will with re-registration.
Automobiles are neither designed nor intended to destroy property and lives ...
Drunk drivers lose their licenses and/or go to prison ... homicide by vehicle; but drunk drivers don't typically get in their vehicles and go looking for a school where they can intentionally mow down 20 children and their teachers.
Many schools had to lay off security personnel when Republicans insisted on funding cuts as part of the first debt-ceiling blackmailing of the country.
Enough of this ... we'll never agree.
Take 81 south to I-80 ... head east until the Blakeslee Exit. I hope it materializes ... no politics just fishing, good friendship, cold beer, Wild Turkey or Jack Daniels or whoever wants what.
I was just discussing this with one of my Philly fishing buds; my Pocono house is small but there are two beds/bedrooms and a sofa bed, one and a half bathrooms.
Let's hope.
Here's the lake and me.
Ah, come on. YOu know why, so they can find you and confiscate it when they have the ability!
That's the ONLY reason for registration.
Only when you think about it.
.35 Rem, two inches behind left shoulder.
We eat like kings for a month!
Why do we register any real property, Bruce?
I understand the objections to invasion of privacy and I understand that gun violence occurs with unregistered weapons. But for whatever straw purchases registration may prevent, for the parents who might want to know which homes their children visit have firearms ... aren't they reasonable purposes?
Really, I'm asking. If I'm off base, I'll listen.
Sigh, because, A.Mac, real property is a limited commodity which is perpetual and, therefore, subject to constant encroachment, etc. Moreover, we don't "register" real property, we file deeds of ownership showing WHO owns the real property, not that it IS owned.
Huge difference, not even a good try.
You going to make people who ALREADY have weapons register? Tell me, what purpose would that serve? You also didn't answer the question, what purpose would registration, even at pos, serve?
Well, to be fair, real property is "titled" on the county records for the purpose of transfer and determination of "ownership." Land is, of course, unique.
But for whatever straw purchases registration may prevent, for the parents who might want to know which homes their children visit have firearms ... aren't they reasonable purposes?
Motor Vehicle Registration, Bank Accounts, Insured Assets.
Why register those?
Only on your property ... no problem with that.
I'm not an attorney ... I am (was -- now retired) a duly authorized bargaining agent's business representative. Labor law/labor practices is my area.
Continuing A.Mac's point, why register mortgages, liens, long term leases? Answer: Because you can lose your rights to them if you don't. Same goes for real property.
A question then for Bruce Tarleton - Is your 32 acres registered? And if so, why, since you don't believe in registration.
Another thing - I assume guns have serial numbers (that's right, I don't have one notwithstanding I was my high school's rifle champion marksman). If your gun is stolen, how do you prove it's yours?
The lake never freezes solid because it's both spring and stream fed. I've actually seen them swimming from the banks to the island ... but why would they be doing that the vegetation on the island is the same as the surrounding forest.
Indeed they renounced both and joined
The Elks.
The island is posted; accessible by boat, it nevertheless is posted by the community. I have no idea what would attract deer to a small piece of ground they'd have to swim to ... no less than 100 yards or so at the nearest shore point.
Strategic.
They can see/hear/smell intruders coming from a ways off maybe.
When I get my new website up, you'll know!
Yeah, I'm working on it every day- I'm just slow.
Are the doe dropping fawns on the island, I wonder.
OK. Can't wait for that!
An assault weapon is an ugly gun that holds a lot of rounds, as opposed to a pretty gun that holds a lot of rounds!
PLEASE NOTE that the primary determining factor is that they are !) semi-auto versions of military weapons and B) are posessed of certain cosmetic features.
As to a fishing contest, I'll judge- fishing for quantity rather than to eat a few is roo much like work!
Youch. Since I'm a moderator, I guess I should brush up on the changes, lol.
Labor of love ... the fish are too beautiful to eat.
Some of them are, aren't they?
Beautiful! so pretty! Wish I were there!
I promise not to start any political talk, nor to turn on talk radio. And if the bathrooms are busy, I can pee on a tree. I actually DO want to see it happen. If I want an island in MY pond, I have to float it out there on plastic 55gallon drums! It's only 3/4 of an acre!
You gave me your answer, and, as promised, I'm done arguing- My fingers are getting tired- typing sucks when one hand dosn't work too well! LOL
But y'all can expect me to register any guns I have other than the two I registered in order to carry them without fear of jail time right after the second coming of Christ. When, as an atheist/agnostic, I expect to be left behind on a vastly underpopulated earth.
You register it so that they know where to come to take it. And I won't. IF it looks like federal registration is coming, rest assured that whatever I own will not be findable. Or registered. When guns are required to be registered or outlawed, I will be an outlaw. By fiat. And then, you can bet the revolution will begin soon.
cars because the states have determined at they have the right to do sa because they aren't mentioned in the Constitution. Insured assets are registered with the insurance company, by my choice, toprotect them. Bank accounts because the govenment has (falsely) determined that they have the right to do so. Hence, my minimal use of banks.
I LIKE pretty food
Why bother- none of us are going tofollow it anyway!
How 'bout a pretty pizza, Philly Cheesesteak, fresh bagel & coffee ...
Weeelll, okay- as long as the Philly steak has mozz, not Whiz!!!
And I hate to admitit, but I don't drink coffee- love the smell, hate the taste. I drink loose tea, milk, or hot chocolate. Egg bagel? FRESH??? Hard to get here!
I quit all smoking after my stroke at the ripe old age of 43, 5 1/2 years ago. But can I sit next to you and breathe deeply every once in a while?
I'm really amused by those of you who have such an irrational fear of communism. It takes me back to the McCarthy days. I live in a communist country and I'm not at all worried about it. I'm an expat Canadian, and I guess some of you consider Canada to be a communist country too, because we have the benefit of universal free health care. God forbid, that is SUCH a scary thing. It seizes by force our right to go bankrupt when we get sick. lol
I'll have to think about that one.
Perhaps I should. Everybody else says what they want to. lol
25 million during the "great leap forward", any child born to a family with one child already, and anyone who dissents. Sorry, but no matter how much anyone is content there so far, the only way I'll live in China is if they have a new cultural revolution, and put the entire communist party up against the wall!
Ya think, LOL!
Hey Peter, it's actually shorter! And you get to beat stupid people with a the stupid stick! (The purple pen is for our members... and I just noticed what happens when you put pen+is... from a typo. Who had thunk?
I'm keeping my eye on you!
I'd prefer you keep something else on me!!
Why thank you Bruce. It's good to hear I'm not going to hell.
Bob I think Bruce meant me.
Bob,
What you are talking about is available with the blogs. Not only does it function the way you are asking, you can also syndicated it. Two draw backs, the blogs are not threaded and for some reason no one really uses them to their best benefit. Right now I have the blogs on the left side of the front page, but I can move the mod front and center if people want that.
An additional benefit of a blog is that you can archive them too on your homepage and on the blogs own page.
Well I don't have any money. I guess I'll have to wash the dishes.
China was not the first, nor the only, country to go through trauma to become what it is today. I guess Americans are somewhat forgetful of the fact that it was created through a revolution, and how many people died in the Civil War? Pot - Kettle.
By the way, China does NOT provide free health care. It cost me 3 months salary when I got a kidney stone attack last summer.
Well, there's a difference- our civil war was a huge mistake by a psychotic federalist and killed less than a million people, while China's war was an intentional attempt to kill off dissidents by a psychotic communist who killed well over 25 million. See what I mean?
The one-child policy prevented additional population of 200 million at a time when the country could not afford it. It had its exceptions as well, especially for farmers who needed a son to carry on the heavier work required. Now a change in that policy to allow for 2 children is under serious consideration, not only because of the financial burden of maintaining the growing elderly population, but because of the personality deficiencies in children without siblings.
As for dissent, as Bob Dylan wrote, "The Times They Are A-Changing", and people-power is becoming more prevalent. Being here, I see these things happening, and you learn through what you hear or read.
It's the formaldehyde head-shots on an (unauthorized) crowning baby that I find objectionable. The reasons behind the policy is irrelevant, to be blunt. it was the barbaric actions of a government that consider people to be their property. If you want to live under a communist dictator it is certainly your right. But it is certainly not comprehensible to me!
WOW!!! Where is McCarthy when there are people here who really need him?
I like China. I like the Chinese people I've met. China has a fascinating history, and a fascinating culture.
None of us can help the governments we are born into. Yes, they're communist, but China is a huge monolithic mass that is China. They've always been that way, and always will be, I think. Imperial or Communist, China just IS.
I'm still working on my Chinese Decorated bedroom. Someday, I'll get it done, and post pictures of it...
"But, the health care is, according to you:
universal free health care"
Perhaps you should read a little more carefully before jumping to conclusions. I never said the healthcare in China was free, I was speaking of Canada. By "free" I meant that you could walk into any hospital or doctor's office and get what you need to be done without paying for it - the cost is shared by all taxpayers which, as I said, means NOBODY goes bankrupt because they need health care.
As for my preference for method of government. I prefer a parliamentary democracy - i.e. the Canadian system. What I was trying to say was that living in China TODAY is not as bad as you think. Granted I can't open YouTube, but I just watched a couple of current Hollywood movies on Tudou, which is a Chinese type of YouTube. I've seen movies like "2012" and "Avatar" shortly after they were released.
I'm glad you are happy. But you are in chains of your own forging, whether they are comfortable for you or not. I fight hard enough against the chainsBush and Obama forged, I cannot comprehend deliberately choosing far heavier chains. You live in a country that steals property rights from other countries, denies you access to what most governments (even fairly repressive ones) consider fine, and you are just a cog in an impersonal machine. I cannot comprehend leaving Canada to love in China. Taiwan, maybe. But the PRC? Never!! I think what amazes me most is your defense of their barbarity. Is it because they monitro your communications or just because you actually like it? Of course, if it's the former, you'll still have to say it's the latter, so I'll never know the real answer.
I just hope the people who knowingly to these circumstances know what they are in for.
I know Neetu!
That really stinks.
True Story!
Dana and I had about $400 each in our accounts. Her's from running the second most commented article ever on the vine "Woman of the Vine" and me from doing a ton of writing. Calvin had just left and the guides where just introduced.. not the lovely rottlady though. Anywho, things seemed to me like they were getting a bit funky when I was talking to Dana on the phone and told her, that I was picking up a bad vibe and we better cash out. She laughed and I cautioned her that I am never wrong about a vibe (I am never wrong about a vibe), and so we cashed out. 2 weeks to the day, Dana got banned. I took the money and stated a website. The rest is history.
Remind me never to ignore your vibes
(quite nice looking vibes, I must say!
)
A few months ago, when they went from monthly payouts to quarterly, I knew I was gonna git robbed. I had one of my more busy months- ten 500+ comment articles, my Bill of Rights series just starting, and busy starting my group here. I just knew I would get screwed. I was. But I will get them back- Oh yes, I WILL get them back. When I leave, it will be in a fiery cloud of thermonuclear destruction, the rumbles of which will echo down the corridors of the internet.
FEAR the Kilted Madman!! MWAHAHAHAHA!
Well....
I hope you give us notice so that we can watch.
You give goodMWAHAHAHAHA!
Anything is warmer than my house... Matt is cheap!
Bruce god just called and said that he doesn't like you in the role. At your next performance you're going to get smitten like in the bible.
Sucks don't it?
Duly noted and kudos given.
What I meant was would you delete advertising comments, like can be done "elsewhere"?
hmmmmm....at my peak, I was earning between $75 and $150 a month. Then, although my popularity and ranking continued to rise into the top 20 leaderboard, my earning started dropping drastically. I ran a google analytics report and found that in one month, my readership increased by 16% and my income dropped by 68%. Soon after, they started removing my articles and created a new category based on my articles. I left soon thereafter and was member #26 on Newstalkers (as it was called back then before the S was capitalized).
I think last I checked, I had something like $16 in my NV account. I guess that's gone now, lol.
I'm joining you on that mission, Neale. I received no notice that I was not going to be able to draw out my earnings. They were my EARNINGS, in other words it was my money that they were holding in trust for me. Without an email to me to tell me I was going to lose my money by December 31, they breached that trust. That is theft, plain and simple. I have no desire to run ads with my comments. I lost over $100 and I am angry.
Well, two can make bigger boom than one can!! Welcome, my brother in rampage!
I used to feed my NOOK e-reader solely from NV earnings. And I read a LOT!!!
Everybody is angry, Buzz. First, there was this Beta fiasco, and now the earnings fiasco. I don't know what is driving it, either. But, now, the whole site just sucks.
It has been my opinion that the NV changes came about as the result of someone's idea of "positive change." The fact that the NV administration resisted member-feedback and only extended cursory opportunities for such, this, and the transformation from what came to be familiar and popular to something unintuitive and clunky kiss of death.
It is also my opinion that, as sometimes happens with a new idea, if met with rejection, the ego of its creator and advocate gets in the way of the idea being scrapped.
There is also the on-going mean-spirited member-posts and comments. People like myself will stand and fight, but that's just me and my background and nature not everyone wants to be bothered by an opinion dripping with outright acrimony or innuendo.
A word to the wise is (sometimes) sufficient; but the hard-headed are tone deaf.
Or, "One man's fish is another man's poisson."
Sharp Buzz!
A sharp Buzz is a Buzz Saw.
It's like a deer paradise Mac. The biggest deer I've ever seen was a 16 point buck who lived in a small patch of woods within fifty yards of a Wal Mart and less than a mile from the central city of Grand Rapids. He had food and access to does in a nearby farm field, water from a stream and, since there were a lot of people around, no one was allowed to shoot at him. Once he learned to deal with the local dogs and to stay out of the roads; he was completely safe, and was smart enough to know it.
Don't be silly! You only get the Purple Pen!
Don't let her fool you ...
SHE IS THE RULER!
"Treat others as you would like to be treated.".....this sentence in rule one doesn't really work the way it is said.
Maybe it should say "Treat others/members here on NT as you would like to be treated here on NT."
Yeah, the "Golden Rule" shouldn't apply in such general terms. Perhaps with your caveat it's okay, but I can think of some Newsviners I want to treat a lot more differently than I would want to be treated.
Well,basicallyBuzz, it's be nice or I will delete your comment with my purple pen. LOL!
It's 20 years as a teacher...it will do that to ya every time!
Soooo, she's the Head C.H.I.C.
Good One Neale!
Bows, acknowledging the accolades of a mouse and a C.H.I.C.
Why purple? It's the royal coul
Yup!
I can live with that, LOL!
Am I late to the party, or is this a new article?
I think it's great, dear Perrie!
Truly! Moderators can not be thin skinned and must be tolerant of clever and humerous personal attacks meant to interject levity into an over heated discussion.
When reading my comments, a moderators with opposing viewsmust be cleared by his cardiologist and those that arefavor my views should seek medical care for erections that last more than 4hrs.
Absolutely,no mod should be thin skinned, but personal attacks that are meant as humorous are often only humorous to the one doling it out and seldom to therecipient. Best to defuse a heated discussion with a straight up joke or a silly face
A bit late Dowser. Still always glad to get your input!
In other words will we always have to be a"Nicey
Nice, eat your cookies, drink your milk and play well with others" teacher's pet?" 
Or can we mix it up a little? 
For instance, a post, comment orreply or subject mattermay not be apersonal attackper se
, but is very insulting generally 
or offensive 
and/or gives due provication to a verbal ass kickin' 
. Should I load up on Prozac? 
I hope my comment has not offended you
. If I catch someone kissing up to you like a pandering whore 
, may I call them out for it 
?The self ingratiating comments to the mods 
were nauseating 
on the Vine 
and disruptive 
when the thread gets derailled by a mod 
.
Thanks
for the hint about the smileys 
.
Well first ours is the CoC.. which of course is a bit of a joke if you read it...Code of Conduct. I guess my best suggestion would be to be as nice as the discussion indicates. Mixing it up can be fun... and we do dis each other in a kidding way, once a rapport has been established; direct insults will get you hit with the purple pen...
Kissing up to the mods will get you no where, so no worries there. We have a very unique system of moderating. All members who are in good standing, can be a moderator. The only two that areconsistentare Mac and me and since we also are members with low need to have our egos stroked I wouldn't worry about it. Listening to the mods though, is necessary. BTW, no mod can moderate in an article that they are actively in. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.
I'm glad you like the smiles. that makes me
.
I propose a NO SMILEY ZONE. One is excessive.
AAMOF, AFAIC, please no acronyms! B/C AFCPS TSIAFU!
All of you to "Heated Discussions" so I can spank you! LOL! BTW>>>
Third...
Fourth - as stated by Perrie. It's one of the main reasons we are here and not there.
Will never cease to amaze me the amount of interest meta generates. It's uncanny.
RE:
If you can't express yourself without insulting someone who opposes your position, it's likely your position is weak, incorrect, or stupid, or, your ability to communicate your position is weak, you are inarticulate, semi-illiterate, or, you yourself are stupid.
If you are the type who tries to raise himself up by putting others down, you will give yourself away and come to be regarded as a condescending, zeal-without-knowledge pain-in-the-ass who potentially if not in actuality drives desirable members to other sites.
I respectfully hope this answers your question.
NOTE: I expressed my view without using words like "dickhead," "asshole," "mean-spirited-piece-of-shit" or other expletives which characterize the kinds of obnoxious posts that erode, if not destroy web sites where good folk merely want to come for friendship, lively-to-intense-discussion and to experience a sense of community (even family) in an otherwise world of shit!
You gotta problem wif dat?
Sincerely,
A. Macarthur
P.S. I hope this is not taken as the kiss up of a pandering whore for when I wrote the above, unlike a pandering whore ...
I just don't know what got into me.
Summary: Think twice before crapping where we eat MEET.
What happens when the other poster is just a fricking asshat, dickhead?
RE:
Whenever I have an erection that lasts more than 4 hours
I invite more people over.
Sometimes, when I can't contact a lot of other people, I just go SEE ALICE.
By-the-way, everyone in prison swears his innocence; folks who get traffic tickets for running red lights say the cop was having a bad day, is a mean prick and doesn't know what he's doing.
I never liked it when Johnny smacked me on the back of my head just to be annoying, and then when I kicked his ass, went squealing to his mom "Mommy, A. Mac kicked my ass for no reason."
Going to the gym boys and girls ... back later.
Be kind to one another.
Hey asshole, ALICE is my wife's name. Is there something I should know?
Allow one of the thin-skinned moderators to call him out, and, don't respond in kind to the dickhead which will only increase to the population of , you know asshats and/or dickheads.
Sometimes, when trying to fight-fire-with-fire
You end up with a bigger fire.
Sorry ...
From now on I will limit my visits to VI (in Niagara).
Hey dickhead, who you callin' asshole.
C-i-a-l-i-s. Sorry, spelling's not my best attribute.
NOTE TO MEMBERS: See how this shit escalates?
Hell, when talking to you it never "escalates", it always degenerates.
Note also, I called YOU dickhead. As usual, you have everything backwards.
NOTE to NOTE-LEAVER:
RE:
Directionality is a relativistic entity for example
If YOU start the discussion, it can ONLY ESCALATE whereas if I start a discussion it can only degenerate.
Stated summarily; from a position of LOW POINT, relatively speaking, one can only remain there or RISE whereas, from a starting point of PINNACLE or PEAK, one can only attempt to stay elevated, or, slip-slide away.
And, for the record
It was YOU who began this current exchange with
It thus is You who has it backasswards.
Other than that, did you get those old vehicle shots I e-mailed?
<Sigh> Once again you are incorrect. And, hey, aren't you supposed to be working out?
Thread began on P. 35.
Just because you are a dickhead AND an asshole is not my fault.
I did, amazing. I love those old shots, just wonderful. It's strange, even though they tend to be from a time well before mine, they still speak to me more than almost all modern photography. I wonder why.
You do know guys that some of our new members will not realize that you two are old friends... right?
Note to old members... not everyone here will know you are joking.. kind of ...maybe.
Always does, which is why I hate meta. But this has to be done this way. Otherwise, blah on meta!
Yeah, I know, especially with so many new members, but still will always surprise me the number of comments meta gets.
Oh, fer crying out loud, get a sense of humor.
But, for me, if he's a fricking asshat, he should be called an asshat!
Just me, of course.
A GOOD AND TIMELY POINT; Terry and I and Mike and I have developed friendships and exemplify (in a way) that friends can disagree without harming the friendship. As much as such a phenomenon is to be admired and emulated (IMHO), it's probably the exception and not the rule.
Further clarification RE: Terry's (wmolaw's) comment
RE:
1. I can workout and text at the same time ... stationary bike seats don't turn, only the wheels do that.
2. Didn't I read in the CoC that threads that begin on earlier pages cannot be presented as evidence? (Maybe I read that on the other site).
3. See "2."
4. The man is without fault sole for his tendency to project onto others, attributes that are you know.
And finally, here's one of the old photos I sent wmolaw (despite his tendency to treat me disrespectfully).
As usual, A.Mac is an empty chair when confronted! LOL
I thought the fact we were joshing (well, sort of) came through. No?
I posted a clarification to address Perrie's concern that new members might not know we are friends who can "break 'em" without malice.
FOR THE RECORD:
WMOLAW is a good guy with whom I disagree politically but whom I consider a friend, a most intelligent "friendly political adversary," one who is welcome always in my home, in my 12' jon boat and (wait a second Terry I can't type that fast)
All kidding aside; wmolaw (Terry) and Mike Lonkouski (or whoever he's calling himself this week) are good guys and good friends as well.
(Affidavit on file in the NT office; copies can be had for $2.75 each plus shipping and handling -- unless someone doesn't want me handling it but then how the f' am I suppose to ship the friggin' thing?).
Bob,
I assure you, we are in fact joking.
That part's easy. Just buy 300,000,000 first class stamps (thus performing a public service by making the post office solvent again) and sent it to "To Whom it May Concern".
Bob knows that, he's been around here often enough. I note that you didn't say you would be buy me drinks.
Cheap bastard!
Since you're big on going back to earlier comments, I suggest you find my original invitation which included Ketel 1 (about which I had to inform you was DUTCH, not RUSSIAN ... you'd think that any ignorant SOB would know WTF he was drinking!) ... pizza, fishing -- a fly fishing contest -- most fish in one hour) after which we'll watch Cliff Lee shut out your Upton-brother polluted Atlanta Braves.
Ingrate.
Don't unplug it, we'll still carry on the same way; and you can always pretend it's for real.
Yeah, yeah, sure. So YOU say.
Bullshit talks, money walks. If you were serious, you'd buy me a round trip, first class ticket and pay my hourly rate for 72 hours while we caroused!
And I kicked your ass fly fishing.
@Bob: Best way to make popcorn ain't in a machine, IMO of course.
When have we fly fished?
Possibly I'll buy you a session with the delusion-shrink.
By-the-wall, that "bullshit talks" thing originated in Philly during the Abscam thing.
BF why did you bring this up??? It is an old article and very confusing.
Folks ignore this article. It is an old updating. BF is a very bad fish. I might have to net him.
Good idea! Thanks!