Biden fear mongering Covid hoax No. 2

[TX1972]

I’m socially liberal - meaning I try not to judge what people do in their personal lives and I’m fiscally more conservative. I believe that we should balance a budget by increasing revenue and decreasing expenses.

I try not to call people names and try to understand before being understood.

Dr Fauci worked for 7 different administrations both Republican and Democrat. He served this country and you may not agree with his real time analysis- that was a world view not just a US view - but it seemed to me he was working for a population's safety more so than an individual’s freedom which was his job.

Basic research was done on drugs and were found at the time with the strains of COVID that were being tested to not be as effectual as other drugs - was that the influence of Big Pharma - perhaps - but if you research who they back politically with their money it is very much BOTH sides of the aisle. If you research who got rid of campaign finance reform…both sides with the help of a right leaning Supreme Court.

We are the most medically advanced country on earth (broadly speaking) but we had a death rate from Covid that resembled the 3rd world.

I don’t hate the other side or believe everything I hear, see, or read from one source. I do believe in facts and I also believe that “alternative facts” were introduced by the Trump campaign to explain some inconvenient truths about their 2016 victory.

I hate where we are as a country because unless we lower the temperature and start governing from the middle our future will be challenging.

Signed

The pinko, liberal, scum of the earth.
(Really I’m just center left which used to be ok)

I'm socially libertarian. I believe that people should do as they please as long as they don't harm others. Dr. Fauci is a bureaucrat who longed to "save" the world. That's why he insisted on backing "gain of function" research to CREATE a pathogen and then a vaccine. He wasn't allowed to do it here (thank you Barack Obama). Unfortunately $600,000. to the Wuhan Lab of Virology was enough to do it in China. Dr. Fauci's ex boss was Robert Gallo. Gallo's refusal to acknowledge the Pasteur Institute's isolation of HIV delayed the introduction of a blood test. Which caused many hemophiliacs from contaminated Factor 9. Bureaucrats often long for glory.

 

[HornVol]

I'm socially libertarian. I believe that people should do as they please as long as they don't harm others. Dr. Fauci is a bureaucrat who longed to "save" the world. That's why he insisted on backing "gain of function" research to CREATE a pathogen and then a vaccine. He wasn't allowed to do it here (thank you Barack Obama). Unfortunately $600,000. to the Wuhan Lab of Virology was enough to do it in China. Dr. Fauci's ex boss was Robert Gallo. Gallo's refusal to acknowledge the Pasteur Institute's isolation of HIV delayed the introduction of a blood test. Which caused many hemophiliacs from contaminated Factor 9. Bureaucrats often long for glory.

I'm a Libertarian Nationalist. I believe you should be able to do whatever you want as long as you don't make me pay for it ( in any way) or mess with children or harm others.. I believe the United States of America is easily the greatest country in the world made possible not by government, but because the limited aspect to self governance.
I believe "the right" wants to be left alone and live their lives and raise their family in this wonderful country. I believe the left cant allow that to happen and is pushing its thoroughly tested and failed theories onto the rest of us for now 50 years.
I believe the balance of power has tilted far to long to providing a permanent political and administrative state that taxes too much and attempts to involve itself into far too many areas , with disastrous results that it creates and never fixes . I believe our elected leaders long ago stopped representing the citizenry and have become beholden to the administrative state, crony capitalists and big money institutions . I believe the solution for us to return to the golden days is to provide states the most autonomy in running their day to day business and de-emphasize the central state.
I hold both parties to blame but both parties ignore the current situation in their own way rendering the election process futile.

I encourage the opportunity to provide at least 1 state pure autonomy to showcase what freedom, education, family, taxation , commerce and stability can be without the corrupt yoke of one size fits all government (COMPETITION)

 

[clob94]

I'm a Libertarian Nationalist. I believe you should be able to do whatever you want as long as you don't make me pay for it ( in any way) or mess with children or harm others.. I believe the United States of America is easily the greatest country in the world made possible not by government, but because the limited aspect to self governance.
I believe "the right" wants to be left alone and live their lives and raise their family in this wonderful country. I believe the left cant allow that to happen and is pushing its thoroughly tested and failed theories onto the rest of us for now 50 years.
I believe the balance of power has tilted far to long to providing a permanent political and administrative state that taxes too much and attempts to involve itself into far too many areas , with disastrous results that it creates and never fixes . I believe our elected leaders long ago stopped representing the citizenry and have become beholden to the administrative state, crony capitalists and big money institutions . I believe the solution for us to return to the golden days is to provide states the most autonomy in running their day to day business and de-emphasize the central state.
I hold both parties to blame but both parties ignore the current situation in their own way rendering the election process futile.

I encourage the opportunity to provide at least 1 state pure autonomy to showcase what freedom, education, family, taxation , commerce and stability can be without the corrupt yoke of one size fits all government (COMPETITION)

1 state should do it. Texas.

TEXIT now and let's be a small government, fiscally conservative, leave me alone and I'll leave you alone, state.

A guy can dream.

 

[Etlonghorn]

1 state should do it. Texas.

TEXIT now and let's be a small government, fiscally conservative, leave me alone and I'll leave you alone, state.

A guy can dream.

It will happen. Probably sooner than we think. To paraphrase Alexander Tytler, Democracy can only last until the masses realize they can vote themselves entitlements and F$&K everyone else.
We’re there for the most part. I believe we’re a lot closer to the inevitable breakup with the crazy bitch than anybody thinks.

 

[TX1972]

It will happen. Probably sooner than we think. To paraphrase Alexander Tytler, Democracy can only last until the masses realize they can vote themselves entitlements and F$&K everyone else.
We’re there for the most part. I believe we’re a lot closer to the inevitable breakup with the crazy bitch than anybody thinks.

Alexis de Toqueville.

 

[hornyheart]

Freedom is subjective and always a compromise.

One person's "Freedom" to not wear seatbelts for example, then imposes on another's Freedom - to be free of the expense of caring for the disability that comes with that decision...or perhaps we should just let all the poor bastards that wind up with head injuries die in the streets - good riddance - unless of course it is your mom, or your sister, or you.

Why should my rights as an adult human be trampled on because of someone else's religious beliefs - yet if I were to impregnate my wife (even though protection was used) that fetus' rights some how trump mine and my wife's rights in this state - what business is it of the State to tell me how or when I should procreate and how I should make decisions with my doctor and my partner?

Why can't my non-binary, transgender, gay child be allowed to choose their identity without bigotry, bias, or the state creating laws to decide that their healthcare choice is somehow "endangering" them, when it is in fact the exact opposite - this is a position supported by most doctors, the AMA, the APA, and the American Endocrine Society . I didn't ask for a LGBTQ+ child...I'm a straight, white, married man, who happened into a circumstance that as a parent is extremely challenging. But as a father all I can hope for is my child's happiness and for the State not to make laws disenfranchising them and their rights (my rights as a parent).

What about the freedom to read? Books are being banned all over this country because they don't agree with someone's political, lifestyle, or religious views, that is not Freedom, that is fascism. If you don't want your kids to read about someone who is gay or black or somehow different, tell them not to.

I believe in the 2nd Amendment, and although I'm not a gun owner, I support gun rights, but like anything else it is not an absolute. Not a sane person would argue that every person in this country has the right to own a nuclear weapon. Or, should have the right to own and use ballistic missiles at their whim. So, it comes down to degrees. Weapons of war belong with the military, in my opinion, and reasonable people can debate where the lines are drawn.

Yes, I'm center-left - all the positions above are more center than truly left. I think the far left is just a ****ing crazy as the far right. And not too long ago I was able to have civil, albeit, animated discussions with my friends on the right and we would debate. It was always with respect. Now it is impossible. The rhetoric has gotten so vial and vitriolic that it winds up in a shouting match every time - and these are life long friends of mine. It seems I can only talk "politics" with those that agree with my point of view - which is both boring and non-productive. Typically, I stay off message boards and social media because I can't change opinions (which I won't today, I know.)

Small government is great until disasters happen, or wars happen, or an extreme political party begins to take away the rights we hold dear - although I will admit rights, sometimes like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. Big government sucks because it is wasteful and slow and bureaucracies kill ingenuity and the soul. I don't have the answers, but I do know is that demonizing Americans (yes, I am a "true" American who loves his country deeply) because we happen to hold a different belief system or different values is the path to destroying the greatest country the world has ever seen and that would be a damn shame.

 

[clob94]

Freedom is subjective and always a compromise.

One person's "Freedom" to not wear seatbelts for example, then imposes on another's Freedom - to be free of the expense of caring for the disability that comes with that decision...or perhaps we should just let all the poor bastards that wind up with head injuries die in the streets - good riddance - unless of course it is your mom, or your sister, or you.

Why should my rights as an adult human be trampled on because of someone else's religious beliefs - yet if I were to impregnate my wife (even though protection was used) that fetus' rights some how trump mine and my wife's rights in this state - what business is it of the State to tell me how or when I should procreate and how I should make decisions with my doctor and my partner?

Why can't my non-binary, transgender, gay child be allowed to choose their identity without bigotry, bias, or the state creating laws to decide that their healthcare choice is somehow "endangering" them, when it is in fact the exact opposite - this is a position supported by most doctors, the AMA, the APA, and the American Endocrine Society . I didn't ask for a LGBTQ+ child...I'm a straight, white, married man, who happened into a circumstance that as a parent is extremely challenging. But as a father all I can hope for is my child's happiness and for the State not to make laws disenfranchising them and their rights (my rights as a parent).

What about the freedom to read? Books are being banned all over this country because they don't agree with someone's political, lifestyle, or religious views, that is not Freedom, that is fascism. If you don't want your kids to read about someone who is gay or black or somehow different, tell them not to.

I believe in the 2nd Amendment, and although I'm not a gun owner, I support gun rights, but like anything else it is not an absolute. Not a sane person would argue that every person in this country has the right to own a nuclear weapon. Or, should have the right to own and use ballistic missiles at their whim. So, it comes down to degrees. Weapons of war belong with the military, in my opinion, and reasonable people can debate where the lines are drawn.

Yes, I'm center-left - all the positions above are more center than truly left. I think the far left is just a ****ing crazy as the far right. And not too long ago I was able to have civil, albeit, animated discussions with my friends on the right and we would debate. It was always with respect. Now it is impossible. The rhetoric has gotten so vial and vitriolic that it winds up in a shouting match every time - and these are life long friends of mine. It seems I can only talk "politics" with those that agree with my point of view - which is both boring and non-productive. Typically, I stay off message boards and social media because I can't change opinions (which I won't today, I know.)

Small government is great until disasters happen, or wars happen, or an extreme political party begins to take away the rights we hold dear - although I will admit rights, sometimes like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. Big government sucks because it is wasteful and slow and bureaucracies kill ingenuity and the soul. I don't have the answers, but I do know is that demonizing Americans (yes, I am a "true" American who loves his country deeply) because we happen to hold a different belief system or different values is the path to destroying the greatest country the world has ever seen and that would be a damn shame.

I respect what you've said- but the polarization of politics done purposely by the establishment and the media is total and complete. There's no going back. When "they" started doing this to "us", I think their intentions were to create a "sports franchise" model- where both teams compete to beat each other in different "events" but at the end of the day, still like and respect each other.
I don't think "they" meant for it to go this far.

But it has. And like any abusive marriage, there's only 2 ways it ends.

 

[hornyheart]

I respect what you've said- but the polarization of politics done purposely by the establishment and the media is total and complete. There's no going back. When "they" started doing this to "us", I think their intentions were to create a "sports franchise" model- where both teams compete to beat each other in different "events" but at the end of the day, still like and respect each other.
I don't think "they" meant for it to go this far.

But it has. And like any abusive marriage, there's only 2 ways it ends.

So, Civil War? Man, that is both fatalistic and sad. Give up because it’s too hard? Doesn’t sound like the great American spirit to me. Sounds a bit snowflake-ish.

You sound like a rational human. Your way “they” win. America the beautiful as imperfect as she will always be is still better than any other country out there if we fight for her.

I wish you well, and hope if we ever meet you don’t blow my head off - I will be unarmed. lol.

 

[clob94]

So, Civil War? Man, that is both fatalistic and sad. Give up because it’s too hard? Doesn’t sound like the great American spirit to me. Sounds a bit snowflake-ish.

You sound like a rational human. Your way “they” win. America the beautiful as imperfect as she will always be is still better than any other country out there if we fight for her.

I wish you well, and hope if we ever meet you don’t blow my head off - I will be unarmed. lol.

I would like to point out that I offered two solutions. It was your prerogative to gravitate toward either of those two solutions.

You chose the violent one. Am I to read into that as a preference of yours? Again, any dimebook psychology guide would say that when given 2 choices and a person decides to single out 1, even if in mockery, they have a predilection to that choice.
I've said I am advocate for a peaceful divorce. I've said it for years. Going back the when Rick Perry was governor. I can see the writing on the walls. Yes, we are Americans. Yes, we are supposed to be "different" than the rest of the worlds citizens.
But we are also humans. And there's no escaping human nature. It's biology, bro. It's science. (Trust the science??)
I've seen other countries go down this road. (Granted, none like America)
But I've watched first hand, in a couple of instances. The rhetoric is the same. Muslims in northern Sudan vs Christians in southern Sudan. Two TOTALLY separate, non-blending ideologies- at contretemps. The bloodshed ended up being other worldly. There's 50 million people between those 2 nations and over 1% of the population was killed. Poof. Massacre. That's 5 DKRs filled with dead bodies.
Everybody saw it coming. The rhetoric. The media stoked it. The outside entities fanned the flames. USAID flat the fvck out told us "these fvckimg guys hate each other and there's no going back". Then one day, boom- the Bentiu massacre happens and it goes from bad to worstest-est.

This is where we, America, is/are right now. Politicians used to be made fun of by the media- both sides of the aisle. Remember Dana Carvey doing Bush and Phil Hartman doing Clinton?
Then one day the media shifted and got nasty. Then nastier. Then they just stopped making fun of one President altogether (because he was a black man and that was a touchy area). And now look- there's a 24 hour media news cycle that's been going on non-stop for 9 years, full blast, no-holds-barred sh!t show where "if you're not on OUR side, your a racist, Marxist, xenophobe, homophobe, deplorable."
Bruh- I've fancied myself a Reagan Democrat from the time I was 12 years old. I haven't shifted much on ANY issue for 30 plus years. Don't care who married whom. Don't give a sh!t what you do to your body (just don't ask me to pay for it). Stay off my fvcking lawn and nobody gets hurt.

But now I'M the bad guy.
This is Spain 1936. This is Sudan 2014. Algeria 1992.
We WERE unique and exceptional. We WERE the poster child for what a constitutional republic can do. And we can be one again.

How?

Peaceful divorce.

 

[outhereincali]

I would like to point out that I offered two solutions. It was your prerogative to gravitate toward either of those two solutions.

You chose the violent one. Am I to read into that as a preference of yours? Again, any dimebook psychology guide would say that when given 2 choices and a person decides to single out 1, even if in mockery, they have a predilection to that choice.
I've said I am advocate for a peaceful divorce. I've said it for years. Going back the when Rick Perry was governor. I can see the writing on the walls. Yes, we are Americans. Yes, we are supposed to be "different" than the rest of the worlds citizens.
But we are also humans. And there's no escaping human nature. It's biology, bro. It's science. (Trust the science??)
I've seen other countries go down this road. (Granted, none like America)
But I've watched first hand, in a couple of instances. The rhetoric is the same. Muslims in northern Sudan vs Christians in southern Sudan. Two TOTALLY separate, non-blending ideologies- at contretemps. The bloodshed ended up being other worldly. There's 50 million people between those 2 nations and over 1% of the population was killed. Poof. Massacre. That's 5 DKRs filled with dead bodies.
Everybody saw it coming. The rhetoric. The media stoked it. The outside entities fanned the flames. USAID flat the fvck out told us "these fvckimg guys hate each other and there's no going back". Then one day, boom- the Bentiu massacre happens and it goes from bad to worstest-est.

This is where we, America, is/are right now. Politicians used to be made fun of by the media- both sides of the aisle. Remember Dana Carvey doing Bush and Phil Hartman doing Clinton?
Then one day the media shifted and got nasty. Then nastier. Then they just stopped making fun of one President altogether (because he was a black man and that was a touchy area). And now look- there's a 24 hour media news cycle that's been going on non-stop for 9 years, full blast, no-holds-barred sh!t show where "if you're not on OUR side, your a racist, Marxist, xenophobe, homophobe, deplorable."
Bruh- I've fancied myself a Reagan Democrat from the time I was 12 years old. I haven't shifted much on ANY issue for 30 plus years. Don't care who married whom. Don't give a sh!t what you do to your body (just don't ask me to pay for it). Stay off my fvcking lawn and nobody gets hurt.

But now I'M the bad guy.
This is Spain 1936. This is Sudan 2014. Algeria 1992.
We WERE unique and exceptional. We WERE the poster child for what a constitutional republic can do. And we can be one again.

How?

Peaceful divorce.

I gotta ask are you saying that's it's ok if Texas seceeds from the union?

 

[Lampasas]

I would say it's preferred by most....
... but lots of folks in Austin and Houston might prefer annexation by California.

 

[clob94]

I gotta ask are you saying that's it's ok if Texas seceeds from the union?

That.

And I'll take it a step further- I think that any state that wanted to follow should be allowed.
Look, we can still be neighbors. Still work together on things. We will just not impose upon each other.
Cali- I want you to think about something for a second-

Why does aggy act the way they act about Texas? Because Texas sees them (and treats them) as inferior. If you spend generations being made to feel inferior, eventually, you lash out and do something stupid.
Now, where did the term "flyover country" come from? Was it created by the folks that live in middle America? Or was it created by coastal elites that only flyover our area to visit the opposite coast?
Now expound upon that.

 

[hornyheart]

I would like to point out that I offered two solutions. It was your prerogative to gravitate toward either of those two solutions.

You chose the violent one. Am I to read into that as a preference of yours? Again, any dimebook psychology guide would say that when given 2 choices and a person decides to single out 1, even if in mockery, they have a predilection to that choice.
I've said I am advocate for a peaceful divorce. I've said it for years. Going back the when Rick Perry was governor. I can see the writing on the walls. Yes, we are Americans. Yes, we are supposed to be "different" than the rest of the worlds citizens.
But we are also humans. And there's no escaping human nature. It's biology, bro. It's science. (Trust the science??)
I've seen other countries go down this road. (Granted, none like America)
But I've watched first hand, in a couple of instances. The rhetoric is the same. Muslims in northern Sudan vs Christians in southern Sudan. Two TOTALLY separate, non-blending ideologies- at contretemps. The bloodshed ended up being other worldly. There's 50 million people between those 2 nations and over 1% of the population was killed. Poof. Massacre. That's 5 DKRs filled with dead bodies.
Everybody saw it coming. The rhetoric. The media stoked it. The outside entities fanned the flames. USAID flat the fvck out told us "these fvckimg guys hate each other and there's no going back". Then one day, boom- the Bentiu massacre happens and it goes from bad to worstest-est.

This is where we, America, is/are right now. Politicians used to be made fun of by the media- both sides of the aisle. Remember Dana Carvey doing Bush and Phil Hartman doing Clinton?
Then one day the media shifted and got nasty. Then nastier. Then they just stopped making fun of one President altogether (because he was a black man and that was a touchy area). And now look- there's a 24 hour media news cycle that's been going on non-stop for 9 years, full blast, no-holds-barred sh!t show where "if you're not on OUR side, your a racist, Marxist, xenophobe, homophobe, deplorable."
Bruh- I've fancied myself a Reagan Democrat from the time I was 12 years old. I haven't shifted much on ANY issue for 30 plus years. Don't care who married whom. Don't give a sh!t what you do to your body (just don't ask me to pay for it). Stay off my fvcking lawn and nobody gets hurt.

But now I'M the bad guy.
This is Spain 1936. This is Sudan 2014. Algeria 1992.
We WERE unique and exceptional. We WERE the poster child for what a constitutional republic can do. And we can be one again.

How?

Peaceful divorce.

Sorry if I misread you but I don’t want a Divorce…I’m all for marriage counseling. I don’t believe the majority of the state want to secede, but a very small minority.

I don’t believe we are beyond repair but I do believe there has to be change in our political systems. Things that a prescribed in an earlier post. I wish you nothing but peace and hope we can meet as friends because I have lots of friends of all persuasions-because I am liberal minded which in its non-political sense just means free thinking.

 

[oldhorn2]

Pretty sure the idea that syphilis came from the new world to Europe has been debunked.

 

[clob94]

Pretty sure the idea that syphilis came from the new world to Europe has been debunked.

Funny you mention that- I've got a buddy that lives in Brussels and he will confirm that the new syphilis in Europe did not come from the new world. Instead, it came from North Africa and the Middle East. In fact, he said "this is what happens when we don't make enough babies".

 

[TX1972]

Pretty sure the idea that syphilis came from the new world to Europe has been debunked.

Huh. The first epidemic of syphilis in Europe was Naples, 1495. When France invaded, with Spanish mercenaries.

 

[oldhorn2]

Lots and lots of evidence that syphilis was in Europe and Asia Looooong before Columbus . The reason that 1495 epidemic got so much press was simply that....press! The newly invented printing press cranked out news.....which had been unavailable before.

In fairness, there is also lots of evidence of syphilis in the New World as well before the Colombian exchange. Bottom line.....we have no proof it was not everywhere all that time.

 

[clob94]

You're wasting your time trying to explain common sense to the knuckle draggers on here.

For you, peaches...

 

[Etlonghorn]

For you, peaches...

View embedded media

But they were just following the science and there were a lot of mistakes made during the time of the Vid. They really didn’t mean it and WE should all forget about that…

 

[freeper]

Lots and lots of evidence that syphilis was in Europe and Asia Looooong before Columbus . The reason that 1495 epidemic got so much press was simply that....press! The newly invented printing press cranked out news.....which had been unavailable before.

In fairness, there is also lots of evidence of syphilis in the New World as well before the Colombian exchange. Bottom line.....we have no proof it was not everywhere all that time.

Well since this thread took a turn into history. Some of y'all might not recognize the significance of this date.

If you live in the Americas, today marks the 571st anniversary of one of the most momentous days in Western History. The Fall of Constantinople on May 29th 1453, triggered a series of events that eventually led to Columbus sailing west and the Discovery of the New World. Absent the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire, Portugal and Spain likely remain European backwaters, content to get their luxury items from the East via the traditional Venetian and Genoese merchants who dealt with the Byzantines and the Turks alike. With the Fall of Constantinople however, the ancient Silk Road trade route was severed to Western Christendom.

The subsequent jizya (tax) imposed on trade by the new Muslim overlords of Constantinople, eventually gave Europeans like Columbus the impetus to consider alternative trade routes with the Far East and South Asia.
Fast forward 39 years and Europeans are feeling the effects of the higher taxes on trade and the cost of shipping trade goods from the Far East to Western Europe. These costs fell heavily on those Europeans located the farthest from Constantinople, which means the French, the English, the Spanish and the Portuguese. At the time, Spain and Portugal were comparative European backwaters, and generally poorer than their European neighbors. The Fall of Constantinople had also reminded Christian Europe that while Islam had been stymied in the West, where Isabella and Ferdinand were then fully engaged in the Reconquista, at the end of the 15th Century, in the East, what had once been one of the great cities of Christendom remained in Islamic hands. This was a situation that devout Christians were determined to remedy, but while they had the necessary zeal, they lacked cohesion of planning and financial means.

Isabella particularly and Ferdinand generally wanted to find a way to retake Jerusalem. It was felt that it might be necessary to reconquer Constantinople in order to provide easier access to The Holy Land. To do so would require enormous commitments of money and manpower. Isabella and Ferdinand were devout Catholics who believed that retaking Jerusalem would virtually guarantee their seats in Heaven while also satisfying their more earthly objective of smiting the infidel Musselmen. Isabella was shrewd enough to realize that if Columbus could find a new route to Asia and cut out the Muslim and Italian middlemen, not only would Spain reap the benefits of not having to pay onerous shipping rates and taxes, she would also profit from any valuables that Columbus might discover in his travels. If this gamble paid off, then Isabella and Ferdinand would realize the wealth they needed to continue the conflict with Islam and that is the main reason that Spain financed Columbus' voyage.

The ever present conflict between Islam and Christendom gave the Spanish Conquistadors all the motive in the world that they needed to go forth and win souls for the Christian faith. I use the example of Columbus' voyage to explain to my students in US History, why context in history matters, and why they aren't in social studies anymore....

 

[clob94]

Well since this thread took a turn into history. Some of y'all might not recognize the significance of this date.

If you live in the Americas, today marks the 571st anniversary of one of the most momentous days in Western History. The Fall of Constantinople on May 29th 1453, triggered a series of events that eventually led to Columbus sailing west and the Discovery of the New World. Absent the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire, Portugal and Spain likely remain European backwaters, content to get their luxury items from the East via the traditional Venetian and Genoese merchants who dealt with the Byzantines and the Turks alike. With the Fall of Constantinople however, the ancient Silk Road trade route was severed to Western Christendom.

The subsequent jizya (tax) imposed on trade by the new Muslim overlords of Constantinople, eventually gave Europeans like Columbus the impetus to consider alternative trade routes with the Far East and South Asia.
Fast forward 39 years and Europeans are feeling the effects of the higher taxes on trade and the cost of shipping trade goods from the Far East to Western Europe. These costs fell heavily on those Europeans located the farthest from Constantinople, which means the French, the English, the Spanish and the Portuguese. At the time, Spain and Portugal were comparative European backwaters, and generally poorer than their European neighbors. The Fall of Constantinople had also reminded Christian Europe that while Islam had been stymied in the West, where Isabella and Ferdinand were then fully engaged in the Reconquista, at the end of the 15th Century, in the East, what had once been one of the great cities of Christendom remained in Islamic hands. This was a situation that devout Christians were determined to remedy, but while they had the necessary zeal, they lacked cohesion of planning and financial means.

Isabella particularly and Ferdinand generally wanted to find a way to retake Jerusalem. It was felt that it might be necessary to reconquer Constantinople in order to provide easier access to The Holy Land. To do so would require enormous commitments of money and manpower. Isabella and Ferdinand were devout Catholics who believed that retaking Jerusalem would virtually guarantee their seats in Heaven while also satisfying their more earthly objective of smiting the infidel Musselmen. Isabella was shrewd enough to realize that if Columbus could find a new route to Asia and cut out the Muslim and Italian middlemen, not only would Spain reap the benefits of not having to pay onerous shipping rates and taxes, she would also profit from any valuables that Columbus might discover in his travels. If this gamble paid off, then Isabella and Ferdinand would realize the wealth they needed to continue the conflict with Islam and that is the main reason that Spain financed Columbus' voyage.

The ever present conflict between Islam and Christendom gave the Spanish Conquistadors all the motive in the world that they needed to go forth and win souls for the Christian faith. I use the example of Columbus' voyage to explain to my students in US History, why context in history matters, and why they aren't in social studies anymore....

I knew the part about seeking trade routes to the west because of the fall of (now) Istanbul...but I THOUGHT part of it had to do with the Holy Roman Empire and the Hapsburgs and Charles V and all that. They didn't want to continue to cede power to those cats.

Also- I'm in the market for a place in Europe and after thumbing through (literally) a thousand listings- I've learned a few things.

1. Realestate over there isn't like it is over here.
2. You can pick up a 16th century castle in France with 15,000 Sq feet, a moat, and 5 hectares for about a million five.
3. If you want to know when the country came into money- just look at when all the castles were built.

It's fascinating to see this BOOM of castles being built during certain periods in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. And then "poof" all the extravagant building stops for a hundred or two hundred years.

 

[oldhorn2]

I knew the part about seeking trade routes to the west because of the fall of (now) Istanbul...but I THOUGHT part of it had to do with the Holy Roman Empire and the Hapsburgs and Charles V and all that. They didn't want to continue to cede power to those cats.

Also- I'm in the market for a place in Europe and after thumbing through (literally) a thousand listings- I've learned a few things.

1. Realestate over there isn't like it is over here.
2. You can pick up a 16th century castle in France with 15,000 Sq feet, a moat, and 5 hectares for about a million five.
3. If you want to know when the country came into money- just look at when all the castles were built.

It's fascinating to see this BOOM of castles being built during certain periods in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. And then "poof" all the extravagant building stops for a hundred or two hundred years.

Clob

While you are looking for real estate, I suggest you also look into the local gun laws of the area. Europe aint Texas when it comes to the idea of personal self defense. You could be in for a very lengthy period waiting for permits and such. Also, I am sure you do not need any heads up on the trials and tribulations of trying to have renovations done in quaint villages of beautiful Europe......hell you even have to check out how to move and how much money you can move in and out of your country of choice. I suspect you already have that worked out....

 

[oldhorn2]

Hey Freeper....wasnt it the 2nd Crusade that seemed to only get as far as attacking the Byzantine empire?

 

[clob94]

Clob

While you are looking for real estate, I suggest you also look into the local gun laws of the area. Europe aint Texas when it comes to the idea of personal self defense. You could be in for a very lengthy period waiting for permits and such. Also, I am sure you do not need any heads up on the trials and tribulations of trying to have renovations done in quaint villages of beautiful Europe......hell you even have to check out how to move and how much money you can move in and out of your country of choice. I suspect you already have that worked out....

I have.

I've got some relationships with the Gendarme in France- from way back-
In Portugal I've got relationships with the private company in charge of issuing Visas for land/home owners in Portugal from other countries.
The French require you use suppressors on your rifles when hunting- and if you live in the country- it's basically a requirement that you own a shotgun to keep foxes and wild boar off your land and away from your farm animals.

Also- when you ship a container over there, it's REALLY easy to disassemble Glocks and AR's and spread their pieces around to make them impossible to detect. I've got a lamp post that doubles as an AR barrel.....

 

[Etlonghorn]

I have.

I've got some relationships with the Gendarme in France- from way back-
In Portugal I've got relationships with the private company in charge of issuing Visas for land/home owners in Portugal from other countries.
The French require you use suppressors on your rifles when hunting- and if you live in the country- it's basically a requirement that you own a shotgun to keep foxes and wild boar off your land and away from your farm animals.

Also- when you ship a container over there, it's REALLY easy to disassemble Glocks and AR's and spread their pieces around to make them impossible to detect. I've got a lamp post that doubles as an AR barrel.....

Oh damn!! Clob just sent the 9.95ers into a panic attack talking about hypothetically shipping firearms to a foreign country.

 

[clob94]

Oh damn!! Clob just sent the 9.95ers into a panic attack talking about hypothetically shipping firearms to a foreign country.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to get weapons into western Europe. Just look at what the hadjis did.

 

[weevilcatch]

Well @danhorn can you give us an update on the vax, Fauci and masks? 😂

 

[clob94]

Well @danhorn can you give us an update on the vax, Fauci and masks? 😂

I think Dan is no longer with us. Covid got him.

 

[2300 Nueces]

I think Dan is no longer with us. Covid got him.

You sure it wasn't the 50th booster that got him? I hear the cure is worse than the disease.

 

[weevilcatch]

I think Dan is no longer with us. Covid got him.

Well that would suck.

 

[Lampasas]

Well that would suck.

which part?

 

[JasperNewton7]

Hopefully not. Life is a precious commodity. He may have succumed to the brainwashing but maybe that was all.

 

[clob94]

I think Dan is no longer with us. Covid got him.

Double entandre.......

 

[outhereincali]

Hey c'mon gang covid is the real deal. I followed all the instructions. Took 2 shots acquired and then I took it again 3 months later.

But my niece who has stage 4 breast cancer got it and it spread . She didn't have an immune system. I was out for a week and it wasn't any fun. Like I said it's the real deal.
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[clob94]

Hey c'mon gang covid is the real deal. I followed all the instructions. Took 2 shots acquired and then I took it again 3 months later.

But my niece who has stage 4 breast cancer got it and it spread . She didn't have an immune system. I was out for a week and it wasn't any fun. Like I said it's the real deal.
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Do masks prevent the spread?