A little slice of history...so to speak...

[Capn Jack]

Hang in there tac.
We'd hate to lose you.

 

[tac]

I guess that in this case the 'ignore' button is my friend.

 

[tac]

Actually they did exist and for a long time before that... they were populated by the Original Americans and they didn't call them Eugene or Portland. But there were people here. Just saying...
Mike

Understood, Mike - my Masters in Remote Sensing included a dissertation on the Glacial Lake Missoula Floods and the Fort Rock water marshes, so I can hardly be unaware of the earlier inhabitants of the state. I've spent a lot of time in the UO library in Eugene with those early people, and I'm currently engaged - it seems to have lasted forever - with some learned folks about the early population of the Americas, a subject that has facinated me for the last sixty-something years.

Even geologically-recent events like the eruption of Mount Mazama are part of the oral history of people who still live in that part of the state.

 

[DuneHopper]

I'm back for a moment, @tac enjoy, and try not to take life so serious.
Gave a little add on for your membership, don't try and figure me out you wont.
But I have no hard feelings towards you, I just don't agree with you.
If you knew who I was this would make more sense, but hey have a good evening brother.

 

[tac]

Hang in there tac.
We'd hate to lose you.

I'm not going anywhere unless I get banned by the management for fomenting violence. I put up with haters on a number of US-based sites, most of whom want to know why I'm posting on a US-based forum in the first place. Personally-directed hate is something I can deal with via the ignore button. Nationally-directed hate is something I just don't understand, and it's not something that I engage in - in the least - no matter what my private opinion might be about this or that country. Censure of the two nations that have stood alongside the USA in two world wars and numerous conflicts since then is not something I can deal with easily, so I point it out. Having served under US military personnel, with US military personnel and commanded US military personnel, as well as Canadian and UK, I obviously have my own POV about that one. I exercise the ignore button if it continues.

As to why I'm here, well, that's a reasonable question, I 'spose, so I'll answer it as best as I can.

1. We live here in the yUK because we have to, not because we want to. If things had worked out back in 2000, when I retired from the Army, I'd be writing this to you from our house in Ontario, not this place. Do you imagine that I actually enjoy the laws that I have to comply with? Especially since they are entirely the results of the ineptitude of the police authorities who issued gun permits [for want of a better word] to a known sociopath [Michael Ryan - Hungerford 1986] and pedophile/sociopath [Thomas Hamilton Dunblane - 1996].

2. I've been a shooter since I was six years old - that's now sixty-six years ago. Shooting really is part of my life, then. Here in yUK things were and are very different to the USA, as I often remind you. So I enjoy talking about guns and shooting with an audience who live and breath guns and shooting. An audience that lives in a country where, for the most part, all you need to buy a gun is a state driving licence and a clean record.

3 I know full well that some of the things I've posted here make you shake your heads and ask 'why do they let that happen?' The answer is simple, we 'don't let that happen'. The law-makers make their decisions without asking the population, then make the laws, and the law requires compliance, else you are breaking the law. Breaking the law here can be VERY painful indeed.

4. And BTW, lawmaking has nothing in the least to do with the Queen, or the royal family, or the 'aristocracy', or even politics. It is often ill-advised and/or based on trends in criminal activities, but having been made, is very difficult to change or get rid of.

As I noted in another post, anybody who doesn't like what I write is welcome to use the 'ignore' button.

 

[SUPER X]

I'm not seeing "Limp wristed panty wastes. I imagine it's a different mind set in the UK. A smallish island totally separated from the major continents of the world. A civilized society starting how many hundreds of years ago? They still bow and respect royalty, that certainly didn't treat the people all that well a couple hundred years ago. It's a different mind set in America. We have been told for 200+ years we have an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! We have an absolute right to protect ourselves, families and homes with deadly force if called for! I don't know? Have subjects of the crown ever had such words to live their lives by? Any such thing now that the people of the UK have to lean on, or shout out to the elected leaders? Nope, not panty wastes or limp wristed, just conditioning through 100s of years to not stand up to the government.

Our rights in the constitution and Bill of rights were written by people that no longer would be conditioned and oppressed .

 

[DuneHopper]

@tac Tried to be nice, to keep the peace even extended a year membership for you as a olive branch. Even know you made it personal and attack me in a open forum when I only addressed a country. I let it slide for the benefit of keeping the peace and tried to bring the threads back from where you took it.. You wanted to be on ignore. You get what you asked for. I have no hard feelings, I also tried to keep things civil to keep the thread open and going. But no reason to allow others to disrespect me either. I only have one person on ignore now. Done trying to be nice to people, everyone wants to be a victim, no one wants to solves problems, so I solved letting this site turn backwards.

 

[DB is Here]

@tac I do enjoy your commentary and stories. When I was in the Air Force 88-92 (Desert Storm) I had the opportunity to meet and serve with a few from your Royal Air Force. All of them we're Damn good guys. The Brits are solid...ruling class aside.

 

[11Charlie]

Lets remember rule 1 gentlemen! Be excellent to each other. We are here to have discussions and may not always agree with each other. Lord knows I don't agree with a lot of things posted.

Keep it friendly and thank you!

 

[tac]

@tac I do enjoy your commentary and stories. When I was in the Air Force 88-92 (Desert Storm) I had the opportunity to meet and serve with a few from your Royal Air Force. All of them we're Damn good guys. The Brits are solid...ruling class aside.

I saw what you did there! No. 617 Squadron RAF, known as the 'Dambusters' from their WW2 exploits, took part in both GW1 and 2 -



Back in the '80's, I was the Operations Officer of No. 2 Sqn RAF, a fast-jet recce squadron flying BAe Jaguars, and later on, in Northern Ireland, I was again OO. Both posts were held by Army personnel, since both were supporting the 'green' warmaking effort.

I always got on well with RAF people - I even married one!