by the way, as someone who owns over 150 guns i consider myself something of a 'gun nut'. i like to think i know the history of guns though i will claim the mantle of 'expert'.

Can Bill Gates buy a decommissioned Russian air craft carrier for his personal use?

A myth, as far as I can tell. Most presidents are in their 50s or 60s when they take office. Most people in their 50s or 60s will look far more aged eight years down the line than younger people over that same timespan.

GQ: How old do you think the Earth is?
Marco Rubio: I'm not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I'm not a scientist. I don't think I'm qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries.

Of course, you'd have to explain to Americans that infrastructure costs money in order to do that.

GQ: How old do you think the Earth is?
Marco Rubio: I'm not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I'm not a scientist. I don't think I'm qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries.

Can Bill Gates buy a decommissioned Russian air craft carrier for his personal use?

It really is a city built below sea level at this point. (Well, technically it was built above sea level, but it was a castle built in a swamp, so naturally it sank.)

no. it was founded on high ground at a bend in the river, high ground that doesn't flood even in hurricanes. its the french quarter. all the land around it is at or below sea level except for a strip along the river going north, which is called uptown, where the middle class and well-to-do were concentrated until post WWII spread of the city. that spread is mostly below sea level, especially mid-city (some parts are 8 ft. below sea level) and most of the land in the northern part of the city, including lakeview, which got some of the worst of the flooding when the levee was breached during katrina; and east new orleans, which got terrible flooding also from the levee breaches.

fa la ba la

Well clearly there's a process. I know some restored tanks are capable of firing their main guns. Jacques Littlefield has over 150 military vehicles in various states of restoration. (Including main battle tanks that are only a generation out of date)

One of my all time favorite books.

True about Clinton, though the 180 turnaround in his eating and conditioning habits after his heart attacks mostly account for that.

Sam - Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson. In the book one of the Villains actually has bought a US Aircraft carrier in the dystopian future.

And I think we're all pretty solidly on the same ground that everyone has the natural right to carry around a mid-sized stick, right?

Wasn't that villian modeled after L. Ron Hubbard?

Many years ago I was the night manager at a gas station in a sketchy part of town. One night I had to call the cops when some loony carrying a mid-sized stick kept approaching customers at the pumps, asking (or maybe 'asking') for money.

GQ: How old do you think the Earth is?
Marco Rubio: I'm not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians

He wouldn't have been able to get away with that if everybody was carrying a stick.

Wade Hampton was able to equip a larger than brigade sized force out of his own pocket in 1860. Including IIRC two batteries of artillery.

He hadn't done so before 1860, but there was no practical impediment on his buying them.

Also during the civil war there were cases of unit commanders buying better than standard issue arms for their units. Wilder's brigade comes to mind.

To turn it back to politics it does feel a bit like a Libertarian utopia with the central government largely gone and people able to become members in pocket nations and such (though I am not saying it is in fact what Libertarians want or anything like that - I'll let them tell us their feelings).

Am I the only secular non-theist on the board here that doesn't find Rubio's answer to that question particularly vexing? If more politicians would answer such questions with what amounts to "not my job, dude; go ask a scientist" we'd be better off with science policy, right?

Was Hampton's purchase before succession?

Am I the only secular non-theist on the board here that doesn't find Rubio's answer to that question particularly vexing? If more politicians would answer such questions with what amounts to "not my job, dude; go ask a scientist" we'd be better off with science policy, right?

Am I the only secular non-theist on the board here that doesn't find Rubio's answer to that question particularly vexing? If more politicians would answer such questions with what amounts to "not my job, dude; go ask a scientist" we'd be better off with science policy, right?

It's fine as long as he would stick to it. It also depends on what sort of scientists he'd be hiring.

Except that he refers theologians before he refers to science. It's an obvious dog whistle.

Least Used? when my brother died i inherited his 8 gauge goose gun. that sumb8tch has a mean kick. it's a d8mn cannon. took it out once and that was that

Actually, I hadn't. But now that you mention it, I see that it is true. Any ideas why?

At the danger of inciting Ray or David

I read that book years ago. I guess I should read it again.

no. it was founded on high ground at a bend in the river...

Fair enough, but that's like arguing that Atlanta is still a city built around Terminus.

Here's an interesting fact for you; the question of creation, which is what Rubio was answering, *is* a theosophical question, not a scientific question.

rubio is working to avoid alienating the evangelicals who vote in the primaries and caucuses. that anyone look at this from any other perspective is just silly.

ground swatting of fowl is just wrong.

good (and others)

be careful about asking my shooting. i love talking about great shots of once upon a time either by me or those around me.

Part of it is that all else being equal, people prefer candidates that look like them, only taller/stronger/fitter.

Most men these days don't have facial hair, so there's no real advantage for a candidate in having a beard and/or mustache. If hipsters ever become the majority, that'll probably change.

Show me where Rubio said anything about "6000 years?"

ground swatting of fowl is just wrong.


Well, I can't say I've ever done it, but if I were to make an exception, it'd be for geese. Those things are at best a half step above vermin in my eyes.

Right, but he was asked about the age of the Earth. I'm sort of splitting hairs, but on the other hand a key part of a science-based approach is differentiating between the Earth and "creation".

I think bunyon's salient point is that theologians shouldn't be involved with a science-based discussion of the age of the universe.

the last president with facial hair was ... taft.

the last president with facial hair was ... taft.

Shut yo' mouth!

rubio is working to avoid alienating the evangelicals who vote in the primaries and caucuses. that anyone look at this from any other perspective is just silly.

He's jus' talkin' bout Taft!

It's not an interesting question and one I don't think I or anyone is qualified to answer for everyone. Let the theologians discuss it. If someone asks you what your wife/husband/significant other is, do you answer "an organic organism composed primarily of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen?"

Well I certainly agree with this, but doesn't it make the answering of the question with a great deal of rigidity by a politician, especially in the service of placating a particular constituency, even sillier?

Sam - Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson. In the book one of the Villains actually has bought a US Aircraft carrier in the dystopian future. And the villains "Minions" have an extreme case of glossolalia. It all makes sense and is a really good book.

My answer is 8 words, Rubio's is 165.

I think you'll find it's Neal Stephenson.

Is there a brevity award?

Once you outlaw sticks, only outlaws will have sticks.

Again, this is a crap question and this answer isn't that bad.

It wasn't an answer. It was Rubio dancing as fast as he could so as to NOT answer it.

My answer is 8 words, Rubio's is 165.

You see the monsters you're hunting, I suppose.

swoboda

i am a hard core gun safety guy so i don't find those stories amusing.

i figure it was 90-100 yards with a 12 ga shotgun slug with the deer in full jump over a ditch so the buck was midair. and it was not full profile

He throws in, unbidden, that bit about "seven days or seven ages." That's the general position of faith taken by the Christian left on the subject. It posits that 1) the world is millions of years old, 2) evolution is the primary means of adaptation of life to environment, and 3) this is all part of God's plan and creation, which is told by allegory in Genesis (which shouldn't be taken as literally true in the sense of "days.")

Rubio, a Cuban-American, made a comparison to the strategy employed by the Communist Party in Cuba where schools encouraged children to turn in parents who criticized Fidel Castro.

“Of course, I’m not equating the evolution people with Fidel Castro,” he quickly added, while noting that undermining the family and the church were key means the Communist Party used to gain control in Cuba.

“In order to impose their totalitarian regime, they destroyed the family; they destroyed the faith links that existed in that society,” he said.

Although the evolution issue is “obviously” on a “much smaller scale,” both matters are related to the “fundamental question of who is in charge of the upbringing of children. Is it parents or is it the government? I believe it’s parents. And we should do nothing in government that undermines that relationship.

“And there are parents that passionately believe in this and they should be given the opportunity to teach that to their children without someone undoing it,” Rubio said.

Is the Catholic Church the "Christian left" nowadays? Rubio is a Catholic. The Church teaches that the Bible is not incompatible with the Earth's age of 4.6 billion years. Period.

If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."

Is the Catholic Church the "Christian left" nowadays?

Marco Rubio - Senate Committee assignments:
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
Subcommittee on Science and Space
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security