Free Republic

$387.00 per invader X 64,800 invaders = $25,077,600.00

PER DAY!!!

Texas Secretary of State election results:

https://results.texas-election.com/races

There are also business owners like Edward Dickey who own services to capture the feral hogs.

“The way the traps work is that they’re larger,” said Dickey. “They're made up of 12, eight-foot wide metal panels. But at the bottom of them, the holes are smaller so that the piglets can slip through.”

Am I understanding this correctly? The traps used by this guy actually allow the piglets to escape? If so, that makes no sense at all, other than to guarantee future business. Unless I'm missing something???

Murdered 48 people and he is still breathing. 3 meals and a warm bed every day.

And just 1 demoncRAT governor's signature from being freed.

Here in Louisiana, our outgoing sh*tstain of a governor John (dumb)Bel Edwards has pardoned 40 convicted murderers since October, including one on death row and another who had fatally stabbed a woman 39 times.

I’ve done a lot of research on pitbulls on numerous occasions after reading about yet another unprovoked attack by a “loving gentle family pet”.

The exact percentage of pitbulls among all dogs owned in the US ranges from a low of 6 to a high of 25, depending on which source is cited. Some of the pro-pitbull crowd likes to distort things, but this range is very reasonable. Very well documented is the percentage of fatalities caused by pit bulls among all dog fatalities in the US. It has consistently been 66% to 70% at least since 2005, and I found one source which went back to 1982. The percentage hasn’t changed much from year to year, though it does seem to be trending upward a bit.

So, the BEST case is that 66% of all Americans killed by dogs were killed by a breed making up 1/4 of the dog population. The worst case is that 70% of those killed lost their lives due to a breed that’s only 6% of the dogs in the US.

Either way, for many decades the overwhelming majority of dog fatalities are caused each year by pit bulls. In addition, about 2/3 of those fatalities were a member of the family owning the dog.

Also, those defending the breed ALWAYS say it’s because of the owners, the way the dogs were brought up, blah blah blah.

However, I have NEVER, EVER, heard in the followup report after yet another mauled child etc someone sitting around saying “Yessir! That’s mah good ole boy Killer! I done been teaching him to eat people for 5 years, and it’s about dadgum time that he done it! Yee-Haw!”

On the contrary, it’s almost always “I just don’t understand... Tiny has been with us for years, and he’s the gentlest sweetest thing. Just yesterday he was snuggling the baby.” (The same baby that he tore apart 24 hours later.)

The pitbull apologists have a long list of excuses whenever something like this happens. Upbringing, failure to get the dog neutered, some innate “litter jealousy syndrome” (aka inherent violent aggression - point made!), failure to properly restrain the dogs, and even failure for someone physically able to fight them off being present at the scene of the attack, and on and on. (These are actual examples of some of the BS they have spewed after incidents.)

A perfect example of a horrific attack without provocation or “bad upbringing” occurred during the past year in Tennessee. A major, vocal pitbull activist had a wife and two small children. They owned two pit bulls, and had had them for 6-8 years, from when they were very young. They were household dogs. One day while the guy was at work, his wife heard chaos erupt in the next room. She ran in to find the two pits tearing apart her two children, who were around 8 months and 2 years old. She tried to intervene, and the pits turned on her, ripping her up savagely. When first responders arrived, the two children were dead and the mom in critical condition, with a, quote, “uncountable” number of stitches required to close the lacerations all over her face, head, arms, and elsewhere. She lived, but the damage was catastrophic.

I found a detailed follow-up report on this incident, which revealed that one or both of these pits were the XXL variety, and from bloodlines which included dogs that had also killed people. The breeder markets them as “lions on leashes”.

I love dogs, but have no compassion for pit bulls whatsoever. The same inbreeding that gives them their looks also continues the behavioral characteristics for which they were bred.

I don’t want a crystal vase full of nitroglycerin as a room decoration, nor a timber rattlesnake for a pet, nor a pitbull for a dog. All for the same reason.

What she was not, was a former prostitute. The Bible does not imply that. Some priest many years ago made up that story for some reason.

Exactly! In 591 AD, it was not a priest but none other than Pope Gregory I ("the great") who declared that she was the "immoral woman" who anointed Jesus with perfume, thus besmirching her name for almost 1,500 years.

In 1969, Pope Paul VI formally disconnected her from his predecessor's unwarranted slur.

Typical pisspoor writing, like that’s a surprise from MSN.

John Bel Edwards wasn’t in yesterday’s election; he’s our outgoing term-limited Rat slimeball governor.

The last precinct in Orleans finally reported, and Landry still has 51.49%. The only remaining precincts are in two parishes where he has received a massive majority of votes cast, so I think it’s a done deal!

I’ve done a lot of research on pitbulls on numerous occasions after reading about yet another unprovoked attack by a “loving gentle family pet”.

The exact percentage of pitbulls among all dogs owned in the US ranges from a low of 6 to a high of 25, depending on which source is cited. Some of the pro-pitbull crowd likes to distort things, but this range is very reasonable. Very well documented is the percentage of fatalities caused by pit bulls among all dog fatalities in the US. It has consistently been 66% to 70% at least since 2005, and I found one source which went back to 1982. The percentage hasn’t changed much from year to year, though it does seem to be trending upward a bit.

So, the best case is that 66% of all Americans killed by dogs were killed by a breed making up 1/4 of the dog population. The worst case is that 70% of those killed lost their lives due to a breed that’s only 6% of the dogs in the US.

Either way, for many decades the overwhelming majority of dog fatalities are caused each year by pit bulls. In addition, about 2/3 of those fatalities were a member of the family owning the dog.

Also, those defending the breed ALWAYS say it’s because of the owners, the way the dogs were brought up, blah blah blah.

However, I have NEVER, EVER, heard in the followup report after yet another mauled child etc someone sitting around saying “Yessir! That’s mah good ole boy Killer! I done been teaching him to eat people for 5 years, and it’s about dadgum time that he done it! Yee-Haw!”

On the contrary, it’s almost always “I just don’t understand... Tiny has been with us for years, and he’s the gentlest sweetest thing. Just yesterday he was snuggling the baby.” (The same baby that he tore apart 24 hours later.)

The pitbull apologists have a long list of excuses whenever something like this happens. Upbringing, failure to get the dog neutered, some innate “litter jealousy syndrome” (aka inherent violent aggression - point made!), failure to properly restrain the dogs, and even failure for someone physically able to fight them off being present at the scene of the attack, and on and on. (These are actual examples of some of the BS they have spewed after incidents.)

A perfect example of a horrific attack without provocation or “bad upbringing” occurred during the past year in Tennessee. A major, vocal pitbull activist had a wife and two small children. They owned two pit bulls, and had had them for 6-8 years, from when they were very young. They were household dogs. One day while the guy was at work, his wife heard chaos erupt in the next room. She ran in to find the two pits tearing apart her two children, who were around 8 months and 2 years old. She tried to intervene, and the pits turned on her, ripping her up savagely. When first responders arrived, the two children were dead and the mom in critical condition, with a, quote, “uncountable” number of stitches required to close the lacerations all over her face, head, arms, and elsewhere. She lived, but the damage was catastrophic.

I found a detailed follow-up report on this incident, which revealed that one or both of these pits were the XXL variety, and from bloodlines which included dogs that had also killed people. The breeder markets them as “lions on leashes”.

I love dogs, but have no compassion for pit bulls whatsoever. The same inbreeding that gives them their looks also continues the behavioral characteristics for which they were bred.

I don’t want a crystal vase full of nitroglycerin as a room decoration, nor a timber rattlesnake for a pet, nor a pitbull for a dog. All for the same reason.

I’ve done a lot of research on pitbulls from time to time after reading about yet another unprovoked attack by a “loving gentle family pet”.
The exact percentage of pitbulls among all dogs owned in the US ranges from a low of 6 to a high of 25, depending on which source is cited. Some of the pro-pitbull crowd likes to distort things, but this range is very reasonable.
Very well documented is the percentage of fatalities caused by pit bulls among all dog fatalities in the US. It has consistently been 66% to 70% at least since 2005, and I found one source which went back to 1982. The percentage hasn’t changed much from year to year, though it does seem to be trending upward a bit.
So, the best case is that 66% of all Americans killed by dogs were killed by a breed making up 1/4 of the dog population. The worst case is that 70% of those killed lost their lives due to a breed that’s only 6% of the dogs in the US.
Either way, for many decades the overwhelming majority of dog fatalities are caused each year by pit bulls.
In addition, about 2/3 of those fatalities were a member of the family owning the dog.
Also, those defending the breed ALWAYS say it’s because of the owners, the way the dogs were brought up, blah blah blah.
However, I have NEVER, EVER, heard in the followup report after yet another mauled child etc someone sitting around saying “Yessir! That’s mah good ole boy Killer! I done been teaching him to eat people for 5 years, and it’s about dadgum time that he done it! Yee-Haw!”
On the contrary, it’s almost always “I just don’t understand... Tiny has been with us for years, and he’s the gentlest sweetest thing. Just yesterday he was snuggling the baby.”
(The same baby that he tore apart 24 hours later.)
The pitbull apologists have a long list of excuses whenever something like this happens. Upbringing, failure to get the dog neutered, some innate “litter jealousy syndrome” (aka inherent violent aggression - point made!), failure to properly restrain the dogs, and even failure for someone physically able to fight them off being present at the scene of the attack, and on and on. (These are actual examples of some of the BS they have spewed after incidents.)
A perfect example of a horrific attack without provocation or “bad upbringing” occurred during the past year in Tennessee. A major, vocal pitbull activist had a wife and two small children. They owned two pit bulls, and had had them for 6-8 years, from when they were very young. They were household dogs. One day while the guy was at work, his wife heard chaos erupt in the next room. She ran in to find the two pits tearing apart her two children, who were around 8 months and 2 years old. She tried to intervene, and the pits turned on her, ripping her up savagely. When first responders arrived, the two children were dead and the mom in critical condition, with a, quote, “uncountable” number of stitches required to close the lacerations all over her face, head, arms, and elsewhere. She lived, but the damage was catastrophic.
I found a detailed follow-up report on this incident, which revealed that one or both of these pits were the XXL variety, and from bloodlines which included dogs that had also killed people. The breeder markets them as “lions on leashes”.
I love dogs, but have no compassion for pit bulls whatsoever. The same inbreeding that gives them their looks also continues the behavioral characteristics for which they were bred.
I don’t want a crystal vase full of nitroglycerin as a room decoration, nor a timber rattlesnake for a pet, nor a pitbull for a dog. All for the same reason.

Biden will easily coast to re-election.

This is going to happen no matter what, unless Trump is running against him and wins with a margin that even the most aggressive cheating cannot overcome.

But wouldn’t it make more sense to pick a nominee who can get elected and fix the broken justice system that would send Trump to jail?

Sadly, there is not such a nominee. They are all RINOs at best, Rat-lites at worst, and all of them are career Uniparty politicians, nothing more than spineless, utterly useless bureaucrats. Unlike Trump, who truly cares about the country and is not in it for the money. If there was a single leader among the Republicans who actually had a pair of balls, who supported Trump when he was in office and during the last election, he would have accomplished SO much, and still be President. Instead, these useless POSes sat back and let him fight all on his own, then after he got cheated every single one of them did an about-face and revealed themselves as the traitors they are. They only care about their income, pensions, and cozy benefits; as far as they are concerned, the country can burn. Which it is, very quickly.

When I saw what happened in the corrupt 2020 election, I said to my family that there will never be another conservative president, since the Rats have shown how to blatantly steal an election and not suffer any consequences. I also said we are doomed as a nation, sooner rather than later. Sadly, I still stand by those statements, unless Trump manages to come through.

Go see Angel Studios’ independently produced Sound of Freedom, which will help poke the stick deeper in Hollywood’s leftist eye, and help this important movie break the $180 million domestic mark!

Mynd you, räbïtt bites Kan be pretti nasti...

You, sir, win this thread!

(Spoken in my best llama song voice)

To me, finding a debris field means that the submersible almost certainly imploded, if the debris is in fact from that craft, which should be easy to determine.

If they were 1 hour 45 minutes into a 2.5 hour descent, their depth was somewhere around 8750 feet, thus the external pressure would have been approximately 3900 PSI. From what I read about the failure properties of carbon fiber, it occurs instantly and catastrophically. This vehicle had been on previous dives, thus the carbon fiber no doubt experienced some level of cyclic stress, meaning that minute weaknesses likely developed with the slight compression and expansion, however small, which happens due to such pressure extremes.

Understand that things which our minds think of as rigid actually flex quite a bit when exposed to large forces. Standard high pressure cylinders such as those used for scuba diving, commercial gases, etc must be hydrostatically tested every few years. The way they test them is to submerge them in a precision calibrated water-filled testing vessel. The tank is then pumped up to a certain pressure, and the amount of water which spills out due to the amount that the tank expanded under that pressure is carefully measured. If the amount of water exceeds the established safety limits, then the tank is considered to be unsafe, having “failed hydro”, and is removed from service.

Back in the 1980s one of the major scuba cylinder manufacturers used a different aluminum alloy for some of their 3000 PSI tanks. Eventually some of these tanks started failing under pressure, sometimes catastrophically (as in exploding) causing at least one fatality. Analysis revealed that over time, repeated filling and use of the tanks was causing tiny cracks to form around the neck of the tank, but inside the metal where they could not be seen by a normal visual inspection. The phenomenon was called Sustained Load Cracking (SLC). Tanks made from this alloy were pulled from service, and in fact the manufacturer offered a swap program for them. While it was technically possible to detect SLC through the use of a testing device which generated an electrical current through the tank, overal the recreational diving industry pretty much refused to fill these tanks any longer. I myself owned one, and when I learned about SLC, I immediately scrapped it. One does not take chances with high pressure, or with the ocean.

As another example of the effects of pressure on seemingly rigid objects: A charter captain with whom I used to dive had a son in the US Navy submarine service. He got to go on a short dive when they did a special cruise for immediate families. He said one of the most eye-opening things was when they had him tie a string taut from one side of a compartment to the other, prior to descent. At depth, they took him back to that same compartment, and the string was hanging down loosely, halfway to the deck. That’s how much the submarine had compressed due to the external pressure, and this is only a fraction of the depths we’re talking about here at the Titanic site.

Under these extreme pressures, close to 4000 PSI, and with carbon fiber failures occurring catastrophically and pretty much instantaneously, the implosion would probably happen in a few milliseconds. Human reaction time is 150 milliseconds at minimum, so this would almost certainly be a literal case of the event being over before they even knew it was happening.

This is a tragedy no matter what the mechanics were, but compared to spending days in the dark, freezing at 37° as the oxygen supply slowly ran out, implosion is a far better way to go.

If this did in fact happen at around 8750 ft, there would no doubt be some spreading and drift of the debris, due to the significant currents which are usually found at this site. And of course lighter materials such as carbon fiber fragments would drift farther. However, in my opinion the telltale objects, and those probably most likely to be found, are the titanium end caps. Those would survive an implosion mostly intact, and should provide a solid return on a side scan sonar, if the ROVs being used are so equipped, as they probably are. Plus, they are large, thus would be more easily spotted by visual means as well. The metal “skids” beneath the hull should also survive relatively intact, and would provide further positive identification.

It will be interesting to hear the details of what was found when the announcement is made.

Lex - Thanks for posting that Biblical reference. It definitely supports what I and many others on this thread believe.

Dmz - I am so sorry for your loss, but am also positive that you will see your beloved baby again, in perfect health.

Just yesterday, April 25, I had to put one of my dogs to sleep. Her name was KC. We don’t know how she got that name, but that’s what the rescue group said she was called, and she responded to it, so we kept it. We’d had her since 2010. Like all of our 3 dogs, she was a rescue, and a mixed breed. I got divorced about 2 years ago, and two of our three dogs (KC and Jack) were very bonded so it made perfect sense for my ex to take the pair, especially since Jack is her little pal. We live just minutes apart, and get along well, so I still saw them quite often. Molly is the dog I kept, and she’s my baby.

KC was 13 years old, and had successfully gotten through a lot of pretty substantial medical problems over the years. However about a month ago her kidneys began failing, and this past week she took a severe downturn, eventually refusing food and even water. My ex was up with her all night Saturday night, and was surprised she didn’t pass then. She called me yesterday morning to update me on the situation, and to make sure my 21 year old son and I got to visit KC both to say goodbye and to see her condition so we could be a part of deciding if we should end her suffering.

We spent the entire day together with her yesterday. We all got to pet her, hold her, and lie down next to her and tell her how much we loved her. She knew that we were there, which was the most important thing. At one point I thought she was about to pass away, so I put my hands on her and said a prayer for her. However she soon resumed more normal breathing.

A couple of times she got up, and we took her outside. Yesterday was a beautiful mild sunny day, the kind of day she loved. She walked around a bit, albeit unsteadily. At one point a bird landed in the yard, and Jack took off running after it. KC perked up and moved as if to run after Jack and the bird, as she would often do! One of us was holding her at the time though, and didn’t want her to hurt herself. She spent most of the day on her favorite fluffy bed, covered with the blanket, and being hugged and caressed.

At several times during the day we asked each other if we felt that putting her to sleep was the right choice. We all agreed that it was. Finally about 6:00 p.m. we called the vet so they could be ready for us. My ex had a very good idea, and that was to take Jack with us so he will see firsthand that KC is gone, thus he won’t be waiting for her. We packed her up and went to the office. The vet came and spoke with us, and agreed based on KC’s condition that we were doing the right thing. She explained how it works, and we all said our goodbyes and gave our beloved dog our love. All three of us had our hands on her, and my son held her face in his hands. She very peacefully relaxed, and her head settled down in my son’s hands. Her pain and suffering were over.

We all cried, though we know she is in heaven now. We put Jack in a position to sniff her so he would know what was going on, but he did so only briefly. However, eventually he curled up and lay down with his body touching that of KC through the blanket. This is what we were waiting for. I think it was Jack’s way of acknowledging everything. My ex said she was surprised that Jack wasn’t upset, but I said maybe he knows better than us that KC is perfectly fine now. As I pointed out, he is very smart; this is the dog who will amazingly come tell us when the OTHER dogs have to go outside to potty!

My son was very upset and sad at losing KC, but said that things today could not have gone better. She was at peace the entire day; she got to walk outside on a beautiful day of perfect weather; and she was surrounded by all of us to the very end. I told him that he could not have been more there for her. I emphasized how he literally held her head as she went to sleep, and it doesn’t get any better than that. I said I was proud of how he handled everything.

Yesterday was very emotional, even though it went as well as it possibly could given the circumstances. This morning I felt the sadness weigh heavily on me, and I allowed myself to break down and let it out. I hugged Molly and cried for my little dog KC. I know she had a good life and got lots of love and great care, and that she spent her last day in peace and comfort, surrounded by the family who loves her. Still, seeing an innocent little animal who has been part of the family for so long pass away hurts deeply. I miss her. I miss my dog.

However, I am reminded of something I wrote last year, which I had shared with my son a few days ago when we first learned of KC’s rapidly declining condition:
“I was with Molly, and thought about what happens to dogs after they pass away. I know that God gave us an immortal soul, and that we are set above the other creatures. At the same time, I have no doubt that dogs have a soul, as do many animals. They can convey many feelings, letting us know when they are hungry, or need to go out, or are afraid, or happy, but most of all that they love us. It wouldn’t make sense for God to put all this into the creation of an animal, if that soul is only to be lost when an animal passes away. Therefore I firmly believe that such beautiful creations will also have their own place in Heaven when they are gone from this Earth. I know there are lots of dogs I want to see when I get there.”

KC and Bentley will be among them, my FRiend.

I could not agree with you more. This film is absolutely perfect, and even though I watch it every single year as part of our Christmas traditions, it never fails to move me deeply. It’s truly a masterpiece.

NC up to 71% Trump now on NYT site.

Respectfully, I could not disagree more. The Expanse uses f-bombs far less than many shows. With regard to describing the series as “cheap porn”, I only recall 2 sex scenes in the entire 4 seasons, and neither one showed so much as an exposed breast.

Yes, Babylon 5 is the crown jewel of television sci-fi. Back when TNG was coddling hostile aliens and exploring feelings, I was enjoying great characters, plot lines which spanned millennia, and leaders who destroyed their enemies and stood up for what is right. SO many great moments in that series...

Can’t resist posting one of them:

“Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova. Commander. Daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, sweetheart! I am Death Incarnate, and the last living thing that you are ever going to see.
God sent me.”
(Opens fire, unleashing hell upon her enemy.)

For decades, my top tier of TV science fiction had only 2 members: B5 and the equally amazing Firefly. To my great surprise, and after reading EVERY novel, novella, and short story, and watching every minute, I recently elevated The Expanse into that select group. The TV series is faithful to the books thus far. Like B5, it must be watched completely and patiently, as far-reaching events and multifaceted characters develop and eventually come together. It is deep and complex, but not for complexity’s sake. It’s just that big of a story, as was B5.

And I’ll say this: Even after reading everything except the finale novel (which isn’t finished yet) I am STILL unsure how it will end. There is SO much to the universe of The Expanse, and exploring it is one helluva ride.

If you haven’t seen it, start watching it. Season 5 drops on December 16th. If you have watched it, but haven’t read the books, HANG ON! Believe it or not, you ain’t seen nothing yet...

Sorry, admin. This is probably the first hard news story I’ve posted in my 20 or so years on FR. Thought I was following the rules.
Feel free to edit as needed.