341–350 of 420 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is your point that the only rational model includes the government having fill control over healthcare and the medical industry?
Yes. I am. Government is democratically elected by the people, therefore, they are the ones that can make decisions for the people.
Am I the only one who thinks the risks are worth the reward? People are celebrating, kids are having fun. Yes a few people blow their hands off, but are we going to remove everything, one by one, in the name of safety?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I absolutely agree that things in the US seem to be going in a bad direction, but we haven't yet lost our constitution or system of checks and balances. There's a big difference between the Constitution, law, and doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine, for example, was little more than policy and had nothing to do with law or constitutional rights. Our checks and balances are still there, the problem we have today is the lack…
> but we haven't yet lost our constitution or system of checks and balances. > the problem we have today is the lack of willingness for those with the power to actually use them. What they do is illegal, sure, but, unless they face consequences for that, they'll continue doing it. There are trillions of dollars to be made, and nothing to stand between them and the money. > The issue of lying politicians is as old as…
The problem would be how you define that in law and enforce it in the real world.
Its already hard enough to legally distinguish between a lie, misrepresentation, and someone telling what is wrong but they honestly believe to be true given what they know at the time. How do you define that?
And for politicians who are regularly working with state secrets, politically sensitive information, confidential/classified documents, etc how could you ever actually catch them in a lie?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Back around 1982, fireworks were a big no in my neighborhood. My friend across the street had some bottle rockets and he decided to shoot one off in the middle of the street. We didn't have a bottle to put it in to light it, so we wedged it between two bricks. He lit it and a split second before it went off, it tilted to point directly down the street. It fired off blazing down the middle of the road. At the same tim…
We were setting off fireworks in the street in the middle of the afternoon (cause you'd buy a bunch and gradually deploy in the days leading up to the event). We shot off a rocket, which was one of mine. There were fire trucks shortly after putting out a blaze in an open lot. 1980s, I was I have no way to know if we started that fire, but regulations exist for a reason and people who live in at-risk areas understand…
We were having a blast driving down the road shooting candles out of the car window when we topped the crest of a small hill and looked back to see smoke. We drove back and the field was on fire. Fortunately we were able to put it out before it spread any further and the area was so isolated no one saw us.
I recently moved to the St. Louis area for a software job at Boeing. I'm actually in a nice quiet neighborhood in St. Charles right under the flight path for planes landing at Lambert Field. The fireworks last night were insane. All around me folks were setting off commercial grade fireworks bursting hundreds of feet in the air. The house was shaking, my dogs were freaking out, one of them had a seizure. The air was…
A few years ago, on July 4th one of my mom's dogs freaked out, somehow managed to escape, and got hit by a car before my mom found her. She loved that dog, regularly attending nose work competitions with it. One of your pets getting a seizure must be harrowing for both you and the dog. I don't light fireworks.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given American policing culture, I really don't buy that the police can't show up and start arresting you for public endangerment. They may not want to, but that is different
I was talking to someone that hosts commercial-grade fireworks, every year, in his backyard. He said the trick is to invite a couple of cops.
I recently moved to the St. Louis area for a software job at Boeing. I'm actually in a nice quiet neighborhood in St. Charles right under the flight path for planes landing at Lambert Field. The fireworks last night were insane. All around me folks were setting off commercial grade fireworks bursting hundreds of feet in the air. The house was shaking, my dogs were freaking out, one of them had a seizure. The air was…
40-50 years ago, fireworks were largely unregulated across the US and were a major part of the 4th of July cultural experience. Dangerous, slightly reckless, and incredibly fun. I have fond memories of this as a child. It is a big part of American culture, like turkey on Thanksgiving. Every country has rules that exist but which are culturally unenforceable. Today, fireworks are outlawed in much of the US because saf…
My uncle's house is under the landing path for Midway Airport. His whole house shakes when a plane comes by. From his front yard you can easily read the numbers on the plane's body. Parts of the fence surrounding the airport is across the street from a neighborhood. You can sit and watch planes landing not too far above your head. I'm not surprised a consumer grade firework was able to hit one of those planes.
I am a bit surprised someone with a house placed like your uncle would feel it’s ok to light up fireworks under an airport approach path.
But the area surrounding the airport is very densely populated. Given all those people, I'm not surprised some dumb kid (or adult) lit fireworks near the airport.
Also, most fireworks are illegal in Illinois. But it's only a 30 minute drive from Chicago to Indiana.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
40-50 years ago, fireworks were largely unregulated across the US and were a major part of the 4th of July cultural experience. Dangerous, slightly reckless, and incredibly fun. I have fond memories of this as a child. It is a big part of American culture, like turkey on Thanksgiving. Every country has rules that exist but which are culturally unenforceable. Today, fireworks are outlawed in much of the US because saf…
I realize as a Californian we may not count as "American" in this particular zeitgeist stereotype. But FWIW we have a firework ban in Nevada County that is widely respected. There are very few violations and the law is actively enforced. The difference is we are in a no-joke dangerous fire situation and everyone recognizes it. Most people know better than to set off incendiary explosives in a forest. Anyone who shot…