Not to distract from how terrifying this guy was, but 1000 rounds of ammo sounds like WAY more than it is. I go shooting maybe once or twice a year and I probably have over 1000 rounds in my safe. It’s not because I’m a crazy hoarder, it just stacks up if you buy a box or two whenever yfind a good price.

Not so much a fear as a sense of cosmic dread: When I was a kid of around 7 or 8 I had several weeks where I was reluctant to look at the night sky. For some reason looking out into space made me realize how vast and expansive the universe was and how tiny I was in my little corner of it. That realization haunted me…

My wife is a special care nursery nurse at a local hospital. Last time she got pregnant she told everyone who might want time with the baby “If you don’t have your Tdap vaccination you are not touching our baby. Period.” Luckily our families are well-educated enough not to have any anti-vaxxers in our ranks, but she…

In my experience people are terrible for one of two reasons: ignorance and stupidity. Ignorance can be overcome by information, outreach, patience, and persistence. But, to quote the famous philosopher Ron White, “You can’t fix stupid.”

My wife’s family is all rather tall. Her uncle (6'6") married his wife (6'3") and their children are all giants. One of their sons is almost 7' tall. All the uncles on that side are 6'2" or taller.

We had an intern at work who asked me for my name three times in the same day. I’m the head of IT at a rather small business and had helped her set up her workstation, made an announcement at the Friday meeting that day, and been in and out of the room where she worked several times in just a couple of hours. When she…

Me: “No, I’m QUITE certain we have not. Good DAY, sir!”

That’s one of those things that isn’t actually as bad as you’re remembering it. If you’d met him several times before it’d be one thing, but “Nice to meet you” is one of those phrases that is said so often it doesn’t even register as words to most people. I think you can put that one behind you.

I’ve found a happy medium with “I don’t know if I’ve met you yet.” It’s friendly and gives you an out in the case that you have met them before. It also gives them a tactful way to point out that you have met before. “Actually we met a couple of weeks ago. Name’s Dan.” After a quick apology the whole thing is behind…

I appreciate your respectful tone in response. That’s rare, especially when discussing something as touchy as this.

“this time?”

I’m glad you’re willing to stand up for your principles. I respect that greatly. I am also willing to stand up for my principles. As I’ve stated, there are situations where I believe abortions should be legal and widely available. I will never, however, acquiesce to the idea that an abortion as a form of elective birth…

I’m responding directly to what you said. A fetus can’t write or speak to defend its rights. Neither can tons of people with mental or physical disabilities. I was showing you how weak your argument is because it applies to so many other lives that you, presumably, wouldn’t be ok with terminating out of mere convenienc…

You think FEMA will send that message? We aren’t talking about an app on Trump’s phone. This is basically an updated version of the Emergency Broadcast System from back in the day. The drama is all invented because people hate Trump more than they like thinking.

So, how’d it go?

So by your definition of a person, anyone with a mental or physical handicap that precludes them from objecting to abuse is not a person. If they can’t stand up for their own life, they have no right to it.

Wow. Reviving a two-year-old post. We’ll have to agree to disagree because no matter how many times you swear at me you won’t convince me that a life is less valuable than the right to an elective abortion.

At most this is probably one test message per year. If it’s more than that it would be because of some catastrophe that has been deemed as critical knowledge to literally the entire country. Pretend it’s not Trump living in the White House; is it still a big deal then? Yes, an opt-out would be great, but let’s not…

Good info. Thank you.

You mean you’re surprised that women are capable of wanting to exert power over those they feel they can coerce or control?