If the topic involves the "wild West" I generally recommend the book "The Not So Wild, Wild West: Property Rights on the Frontier" by Anderson and Hill.

As to why people love firearms (I don't think Americans are alone in this at all) I could go on for pages. There's a lot to love.

I am reminded of the classic Onion article "Desperate Vegetarians Declare Cows Plants"

If you haven't seen Vice Travel Guide: North Korea, please do so. Actually, watch every episode of Vice Travel Guide, and prepare for a wild ride.

Humans = fun ∴ Babies = fun. How anyone can have just one baby is beyond me because humans are awesome.

"When something goes wrong, they unceremoniously replace the leader... "

best line.

Canuckle Head 6'1, 235 lbs.
Artor 6'1" 250 lbs
032125 6'1" 240 lbs

Am I detecting a trend? My dad swears there is a specific danger of heart attack for men who are large framed and muscular everywhere but specifically carry all of their fat in the belly. I believe this would be mesomorphic.

There is in my house. I must share thirty hugs a day. Hug's aren't just free, they actually break the law of conservation of energy.

I have rectangular plates just because they fit better between desk edge and keyboard. I keep hoping someone will address this new reality with a triangular plate.

Could have sworn I commented on this.

Even if they used rodent fur intentionally, I would have no f***s to give. It tastes good and hasn't killed me thus far.

Now that is courage.

Well it is Thailand, so we all saw the punchline coming.

It's not the high minded heroism that we're all spoon fed, but it's much more plausible. We were just men who were willing to take risks for a steady paycheck, not much different from coal miners or bridge builders.

The ideological superstructure and post rationalization involved is amazing, though.

This trend was known when I went into the army in the early 00's.

If you had asked me in 2002, I would have taken this as evidence that the US military has become a respectable institution of intelligent professionals. I would have concluded that our military is the best in the world, and that this is one more sign of America's great system.

Today I see this as evidence that our economy is so broken, that men with bachelor's degrees have little hope of finding gainful employment outside the massive, bloated government industrial complex.

Military life is largely banal, family-shredding and dangerous work. 90% of the soldiers that I served with, when pressed, admitted that they joined up because they felt they had nowhere else to go.