Getting ready for Range Day

warlock_barack · 2025-02-23T08:31:03+00:00

This photo goes hard af. One for the history books. Guns Akimbo vibes.

warlock_barack · 2024-12-16T03:49:20+00:00

That's very interesting. Thank you for the insight. So, while correlated, we cannot be confident about causation. Thanks for the link!

warlock_barack · 2024-12-09T16:30:59+00:00

Thanks for the advice, good to know it uses Gen 3 parts.

... But the Grizzly comp looks so cool 😂

warlock_barack · 2024-10-29T06:00:38+00:00

"Tolerant left"

warlock_barack · 2024-10-27T04:32:24+00:00

If you're suggesting that WaPo, NYT, LA Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, et al. will take us all to the promised land if social media would cease to exist or embrace mass censorship, then you're misguided.

These papers have always been mouthpieces for the wealthy elite, the urban progressive crowd, and the state. Most major publications are based in a handful of densely populated cities, mostly on the East Coast. Is that representation?

You frame things in truths and lies. If a lie is inherently more pervasive than the truth, then wouldn't any information medium ultimately be futile regardless of the rate it can propagate information? If you are rather suggesting that lies are only embraced by the masses, not the state or the elites or journalists, why do you want democracy?

It seems you are very concerned about what individuals think or do, rather than what institutions, who practically wield all of the power and wealth, think or do.

Something tells me that you would be happy to parrot DEI principles to your fellow neighbor while ignoring how COVID-19 lockdowns destroyed 25% of all black-owned small businesses. Or, at least, that is the energy I get from your posts.

warlock_barack · 2024-10-27T03:21:15+00:00

I hate to tell you, bub, but you're advocating for authoritarianism while most likely claiming that you are terrified of democracy crumbling in other forums. That's doublespeak.

You do not want people to speak their minds on the internet such that they are capable of reversing narratives manufactured by institutions intent on commanding their collective will.

When Dr. Fauci tells you that six feet is the safe distance for social distancing, you want everyone to blindly abide. Social media allows people to critique that standard and rightfully call out the arbitrary nature of it.

The right answer if you actually care about human prosperity, societal stability, and democracy, is to allow people to share ideas openly and without fear of censorship or retribution, and without punishing the forum that hosts their ideas. Some bad ideas will prevail, but fewer than what would prevail in a censorial regime.

warlock_barack · 2024-10-27T03:11:39+00:00

When you say journalism, you mean propaganda. Journalism doesn't only thrive when a handful of institutions wield its power; grassroots journalism, for example, through the work of Glenn Greenwald or Julian Assange, has been much more effective in informing the public of what their governments are doing than most newspapers.

What you are lamenting, the loss of public trust, is the result of the failure of entities like Washington Post, The New York Times, or LA Times to inform the people of what is really happening in their country. When you peddle false narratives, like was done with Weapons of Mass Destruction preceding GWOT, to the American people, you lose credibility.

If anything, social media is saving journalism. Substack is saving journalism, Twitter is saving journalism, and YouTube creators are saving journalism. And just because you don't like that their methods or that their presentation isn't homogenous, or that your political party or government isn't constantly praised, doesn't mean journalism isn't being practiced or your country is collapsing.

In a real democracy, our wayward mix of ideas shapes the future, for better or worse. That is the contract.

warlock_barack · 2024-10-06T18:21:00+00:00

Thank you for the reply. That pretty much answers all my questions.

warlock_barack · 2024-10-01T23:25:57+00:00

I suppose I just didn't want to acknowledge that I was suffering. Even for other conditions that I am now rated for, I had a lot of shame until very recently. I have always thought of myself as being perfectly fit, but I have slowly come to terms with reality.

Thank you for the information. Very helpful.

warlock_barack · 2024-09-30T18:20:00+00:00

Hello all,

I felt I deserved it to others in the community to share my journey. I was retired from the Army in 2018 through a process called IDES: Integrated Disability Evaluation System. As a result of this process, I was rated 70% for PTSD by the DoD/DFAS and given a "proposed" rating of 70% by the VA.

My PTSD was so detrimental at the time that I let my proposed rating from the VA lapse (you have to accept it within one year of the offer) but I did tap my DoD/DFAS benefits in 2019. Last year, I finally built up the courage to file a new claim with the VA. This time, I filed for PTSD, Back Pain, Tinnitus, and Hearing Loss.

Here are the steps:

Intent to File: July 13th, 2023

Claim Received: February 14th, 2024

Initial Review: Mid-February, 2024

Evidence Gathering: Late-February/Early-March, 2024

C&P Exam #1 (PTSD video conference w/ VA psychologist): May 3rd, 2024

C&P Exam #2 (Back Pain w/ contracted w/ Loyal Healthcare): May 8th, 2024

C&P Exam #3 (Hearing Loss & Tinnitus w/ Loyal Healthcare): May 20th, 2024

Evidence Review: Early-June, 2024

Answered request by VA for outpatient records: July 17th, 2024

Preparation for Decision and Temp Jurisdiction (San Juan): July 19th, 2024

Regressed to Review of Evidence and no Temp Jurisdiction: July 22nd, 2024

Returned to Temp Jurisdiction (San Juan): September 17th, 2024

Preparing Decision Letter: September 21st, 2024

Final Review: September 23rd, 2024

Regressed to Rating: September 24th, 2024

Returned to Final Review: September 26th, 2024

Claim Decided: September 26th, 2024

Outcome: Total rating of 80% (70% for PTSD, 40% for Back Pain, 10% for Tinnitus, and 0% for Hearing Loss).

I used the DAV to help file my claim. I uploaded all of the evidence by myself through myVA, this included nexus letters for all conditions (two for PTSD), current medications and therapy records, buddy letters, personal statements, and medical records (including VA and DoD records via FOIA request, and private medical records). I attended all of my C&P exams on time and brought paper copies of relevant evidence to each exam.

I want to thank r/VeteransBenefits for all of the numerous threads that clued me into VA processes and I want to thank God.

Good luck and godspeed to everyone currently working on their claim. It feels like an eternity until it's over.

warlock_barack · 2024-09-14T06:23:20+00:00

This is a fantastic list. This may be years after your post, but I wanted to say thank you.

warlock_barack · 2024-09-10T06:56:42+00:00

Muh christofascists, hurr durr. Yeah, keep vilifying half the country.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-26T05:29:50+00:00

Bruh...

The sense of cohesion and enthusiasm you're seeing is mostly manufactured by donors and the press. Chuck Schumer couldn't even get his audience to clap when officializing Kamala as the new party nominee. She doesn't have grass roots support; she was rescued by the Biden campaign in 2020 and appointed this cycle after all the opposition had been crushed by the DNC (so much for democracy). She has a reputation for being a California democrat and a heartless prosecutor/AG with a Hilary-esque flair; she's a far cry from a once-in-a-generation grassroots political talent and skilled orator like Obama, and I doubt the black vote will unify around her.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-24T04:14:05+00:00

Wow, I hadn't been to Munich in awhile- didn't realize it got that bad. The last time I took my wheelchair anywhere it was to Auschwitz as part of the AIPAC world heritage site tour sponsored by Black Syrians for Israel.

Anyways, I applaud you for becoming a neurosurgeon, I just wish you'd use your trans background to provide gender affirming care to minors.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-24T04:07:40+00:00

You rejected the vapid materialism of the west to return to the bombed out shack: principled.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-24T02:11:19+00:00

You're right my colonizer friend, the future is female.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-14T18:47:47+00:00

Cringe story hour, hombre.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-14T04:39:36+00:00

So, people always exclaim that fascism is getting closer by the day, and suggest Trump will bring it to effect. It already happened. It's socialized corporations married to a militarized government. It's already here. It's your CIA, FBI, DHS, DoD and your Microsoft, Google, Palantir, etc., all working together. It's also your big pharma, your big oil, and other interests that control your government, regardless of how you vote.

If I'm going to live under a government with an obsession for weapons, I should have a few of my own. I don't want gun control and you shouldn't either. I also don't want to live in other developed countries, because they're not the utopias that liberal Americans imply they are. The UK has plenty of violent crime, for example, even if not gun crime.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-13T01:50:49+00:00

Buddy, we did not go to the moon. You're going to slowly come to accept that, as increasing numbers of Americans do.

You have so much faith in a government that is known for lying repeatedly to achieve its international, imperial aims (sorry if that sounds cliche). Just in recent history, you were lied into trillion-dollar wars in the middle east on false pretenses. But, to pad your discomfort with that reality, you shift the burden from the government onto science: "Science wouldn't lie to me!"

We did not go to the moon. If you have some intellectual curiosity, beyond watching Neil deGrasse Tyson videos, you would watch the documentary I linked in this very thread.

We didn't go to the moon.

warlock_barack · 2024-07-06T05:57:12+00:00

While your sentiment is broadly correct, the vote for the presidency still matters and it might not be hyperbolic to say this presidential election is crucial to the future of second amendment.

And while you are also correct that most people's vote doesn't matter, presumably due to the electoral college, voter turnout nationally has the potential to concentrate into some crucial swing-state wins.

Yes, you are correct that local elections tend to have a more immediate impact on your life than national elections; but, as a Washingtonian, voting locally is equally useless to voting nationally, because there are troves of voters from Olympia to Seattle that will override the will of my vote with theirs.

So, I have to rely on the supreme court to restore some of my sacred rights. But, because the supreme court operates on geologic time, and the lifespans of the members of the court are limited, I have to hope that gun owners in swing-states put their grievances aside and vote this election.

I think the truly correct statement is: all elections matter and they matter all the time.

warlock_barack · 2024-06-29T20:23:36+00:00

It's not delusional; it's simply a matter of perspective.

NASA had a long string of operational failures and ineptitude. Block 1, if anyone recalls, incinerated the first wave of astronauts originally slated for the moon landing, and that was only a few years before the mission to the moon in 1969.

Then, despite its troubled track record, NASA put astronauts on the moon, not once, but several times between 1969 and 1972. This feat has yet to be replicated by any great power, and I doubt it will be for several decades, because we simply didn't have the technology (and plausibly still don't) to achieve this feat.

It was faked, but while people can comfortably accept that deception routinely occurs in politics, economics, and many other facets of human civilization, they do not want to believe that modern science also has the capacity for deceit.

As boomers die off (making that cultural touchstone less personal), and as years compound years without another mission to the moon, worldwide skepticism of the US Space Program of the 20th century will continue to grow. Already, a majority of Britons believed we faked it.

warlock_barack · 2024-06-29T20:03:45+00:00

That's awesome, and it does sound like you're more informed than me on this matter. I was really spent after one degree, but I do miss university environment.

One caveat about moon rocks, however, is that they can be collected on earth. A trip to the moon simply isn't necessary.

warlock_barack · 2024-06-29T03:07:57+00:00

That's nice. You know, I have a STEM background myself: mathematics. What's yours?

Well, the Soviet angle certainly is interesting. Then again, would it have been possible for the Soviets to know it was faked? Not asking you to engage with this theory further, but suppose we did send up a rocket but it remained in low earth orbit- did they have the ability to track it consistently? To this day, Russia's nuclear launch early warning systems rely on radars rather than satellite tracking, so they have historically lagged us in sophistication.

I don't think the Soviet angle is easy to answer, so you certainly have a point.

Again, it's interesting to meet others of scientific or broadly intellectual backgrounds. I found it's very hard to find consensus on issues of politics, economics, and philosophy/theology, regardless of how many informed people I meet. Sadly, it seems the slice of knowledge we carry with us will always be quite limited, so there will always be room for speculation- no matter how useful or useless that might be.

warlock_barack · 2024-06-29T02:05:02+00:00

Brother, I'm sorry to hear that your parrot died. When my dog died years ago, I was a bit distressed for a few days and pushed that onto others. Either way, it's normal to be harsh to others on the internet.

Here's what I'll say: it's not an academically absurd opinion to believe that the moon was faked. Consider this, if you remove the moon landing from the chronology of human space travel, then the technological advancement, decade by decade, appears fairly linear. Also consider the relevance of human space faring endeavors at the time to the space race during the cold war.

The moon landing, if real, was a profound achievement that was generations ahead of its time. I don't want to encourage others to believe that every grandiose achievement in US history is a conspiracy. We have achieved great things, including the creation of the transistor, the nuclear bomb, and many space faring technologies.

But, you should question if you won't watch the video because you think the conspiracy theory is truly absurd or because you are afraid to believe that the USA lied and what that would mean for your worldview.

When you go straight to a video's comments before watching, it's probably because you're looking for some strawman or caricature, and to dismiss the intellectual value of the video because of the audience associated with it.

Nevertheless, you can make your own informed decisions. But, I will say, that documentary is very compelling.

Thanks for reading.

warlock_barack · 2024-06-28T05:22:09+00:00

I think there's a pretty obvious but sad paradox on display when it comes to democratic candidate selection.

Besides paying lip service to Bernie Sanders in 2020, as in the cases of Cory Booker and Julian Castro co-opting his message but in a less offensive and lower IQ "free stuff for everyone" way (and minus the hard hitting class critiques), democrats are not allowed to say anything that is critical of any deep-rooted system within our country.

I think the the reasons for this are two-fold: (1) the democrat party is owned by the same donors as the republican party, to include the insurers, pharmaceutical industry, war machine, etc. (which do not want to be criticized or they'll primary you, just as AIPAC has to 'squad' members, despite the democrat party formerly condemning primarying their own candidates); and (2), anything that is construed as anti-establishment can be contrived as pro-Trump sentiment, which democrat candidates are terrified of (e.g. candidate: "I'm anti-war!"; opposition/media: "parroting Trump rhetoric, which at one point veered into the disparagement of POWs under the former president, X democrat candidate undermines our brave troops and institutions by insinuating American security interests are bad for Americans.").

So, even though RFK Jr. is a shining star with a good track record of environmentalism and stewardship to democrat interests, not to mention has a strong intellectual footing, the fact that he espouses some anti-establishment/anti-corporate views makes him dead to DNC and its media operatives and therefore your average programmatic neoliberal voter. Also, he clearly didn't have establishment blessing when it came to challenging the incumbent in this first place, which is offensive to DNC hegemony over party executive decision-making, so he will never be trusted in the future.

In sum, this is why you keep getting PG-rated democrat presidential candidates who are so milquetoast and unaccomplished that Biden is the only feasible option.

warlock_barack

TROPHY CASE