Hi folks! Have you heard about our Assembly Bill AB-5? You know, our law that passed our commie legislature a few years back that ups the amount at which felonies are triggered here in the once-Golden State of California?
No? Well it goes like this: If you steal over $50 anywhere else, it's a felony. Here? It's now....$950.00!
Why? Some Progressive somewhere decided that homeless people need to eat. And since they don't have any money, they have to steal. And it's just plain unfair to jail them for stealing $50. After all, they're probably stealing from somebody who stole it from somebody else, right? And the cost of food is waaaay up, doncha' know. And we need to be more understanding, right?
Unless you're the shopkeeper who watches a gang of shoplifters steal you blind and not be able to do anything about it. And you can't do anything about it, because if you call the cops, all they'll do is write the thief a ticket. If the thief(ves) is still around, that is. And even if he is, he'll just get a court date. And if he doesn't appear in court? Nothing. Zip. Nada. There's no mechanism in this law, no procedure, to issue a warrant and hunt them down. They just get away with it. Over and over.
And over.
Sooooo, I'm thinking that working for a living is just plain dumb. You may be thinking that as well. How about we just start stealing for a living? After all, it seems to be State-sanctioned! Need a nice country ham? Albertson's has nice juicy ones I hear. Need a quart of Jack Daniels? There's a liquor store right down on the corner just awaiting your visit. Need a new TV? Best Buy has a nice selection. So does Costco. And remember, it's best to shop at your local stores. We like to keep the business local, now don't we?
So, boys and girls, and those who aren't either but "identify" as the other one, or something, you're witnessing the Beginning of the End of California. And I tend to think it's Suicide By Success. The more successful we get, the more people want...of stuff other people have. We Californians have chosen full-on, all-out socialists to (mis)manage our once-great State. And we're now paying the price. And that price is yuuuuuuuge!
Seven Fortune 500 Companies have already bailed on CA, including Toyota, Carl's Jr., Occidental Petroleum and Nabisco. We've lost more than 1,000,000 of our middle-class citizens to other states. And we've been forced to accede to dozens and dozens of stupid, wasteful and downright idiotic laws.
Laws which have divided us, and which will continue to do so as we further devolve into a quagmire of socialistic hedonism. But at least we do not yet have to buy a license to gaze at the stars. New York City just passed that law. It's true, I'm sorry to say. If you want to gaze at the stars in Central Park, you now have to buy a license. No, I'm not kidding. California, are you listening? There's another law you've so far missed passing. Get to work. You're missing out on another prospective revenue stream...
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
It's Twitter's Fault!
Twitter shall be the death of us.
Extreme? Yeah, okay. A bit extreme. But hey, you have to agree that the arrival of Twitter on the scene a decade or so ago has dramatically changed our interpersonal discourse, right?
Just think: hardly a day goes by where some politician or celebritard or actor/actress gets all pissed off about something or other and fires up his or her (or its - gotta' remember California, doncha' know) little twitter-er-er. He/she/it then conjures up a bunch of inane crap and sends a little tweet message off into the ether. It then offends nearly everyone and the witless bozo who sent it has to then apologize and grovel profusely. And then loses his/her/its job or movie deal or elected office and has to move to Siberia.
Oh wait. That's in Russia. Can't do that. We're told we have to hate Russia.
But I submit that the fatal flaw in Twitter is that it offers the chance to forego contemplation and just go off half-cocked and say whatever's on your mind at the time.* And many do. Verrrrrry many do. Behold:
* There are 262 million international Twitter users, representing 79% of all accounts.
* There are 14.1 million Twitter users in the United Kingdom.
* There are 48.65 million active U.S. Twitter users.
* 42% of American Twitter users Tweet daily (wow!).
* That represents some 22% of all U.S. adults (wow, again!).
* 44% of active U.S. users are 18 - 24 years-old.
* 36% of active U.S. Twitter users are Democrats, only 21% republicans (maybe because they have to work?).
* Most prolific U.S. users are women who Tweet about politics (10%!).
* The average U.S. user Tweets only 2 x per month.
* The most active U.S. users average more than 138 x tweets per month.
And perhaps the two most important statistics to be gleaned from my exhaustive research:
* 80% of all U.S. Tweets come from only 10% of all U.S. account holders.
* And fully 12% of all Americans get their news, international, national and local, from Twitter!
There's an old axiom in business: 80% of your business will come from only 20% of your customers. And so it is in life. In this case, 80% of tweets once again come from only 10% of all account holders. And this makes my point. Only a tiny fraction of our Country seems to be tweeting, and a much tinier percentage of those tweeters seem to be demanding all sorts of political, economic, social and environmental change.
So let's take a look at what we've learned here today. In other words, only a very few people are banging the drum. A collection of predominantly young, mostly un - or underemployed, overwhelmingly Liberal and likely under-informed voices are getting inordinate attention. The twitterer-er-er's tail wagging the Nation's dog, so to speak. And I, for one, have grown weary of a few perennially offended, under-informed, hyperbolic weenies demanding to decide how we, the vast majority, should vote and eat and travel and live and love.
Count me among those who lives to defy those who just want to be left alone to live my life...
* The exact reason I refuse to open a Twitter account.
Extreme? Yeah, okay. A bit extreme. But hey, you have to agree that the arrival of Twitter on the scene a decade or so ago has dramatically changed our interpersonal discourse, right?
Just think: hardly a day goes by where some politician or celebritard or actor/actress gets all pissed off about something or other and fires up his or her (or its - gotta' remember California, doncha' know) little twitter-er-er. He/she/it then conjures up a bunch of inane crap and sends a little tweet message off into the ether. It then offends nearly everyone and the witless bozo who sent it has to then apologize and grovel profusely. And then loses his/her/its job or movie deal or elected office and has to move to Siberia.
Oh wait. That's in Russia. Can't do that. We're told we have to hate Russia.
But I submit that the fatal flaw in Twitter is that it offers the chance to forego contemplation and just go off half-cocked and say whatever's on your mind at the time.* And many do. Verrrrrry many do. Behold:
* There are 262 million international Twitter users, representing 79% of all accounts.
* There are 14.1 million Twitter users in the United Kingdom.
* There are 48.65 million active U.S. Twitter users.
* 42% of American Twitter users Tweet daily (wow!).
* That represents some 22% of all U.S. adults (wow, again!).
* 44% of active U.S. users are 18 - 24 years-old.
* 36% of active U.S. Twitter users are Democrats, only 21% republicans (maybe because they have to work?).
* Most prolific U.S. users are women who Tweet about politics (10%!).
* The average U.S. user Tweets only 2 x per month.
* The most active U.S. users average more than 138 x tweets per month.
And perhaps the two most important statistics to be gleaned from my exhaustive research:
* 80% of all U.S. Tweets come from only 10% of all U.S. account holders.
* And fully 12% of all Americans get their news, international, national and local, from Twitter!
There's an old axiom in business: 80% of your business will come from only 20% of your customers. And so it is in life. In this case, 80% of tweets once again come from only 10% of all account holders. And this makes my point. Only a tiny fraction of our Country seems to be tweeting, and a much tinier percentage of those tweeters seem to be demanding all sorts of political, economic, social and environmental change.
So let's take a look at what we've learned here today. In other words, only a very few people are banging the drum. A collection of predominantly young, mostly un - or underemployed, overwhelmingly Liberal and likely under-informed voices are getting inordinate attention. The twitterer-er-er's tail wagging the Nation's dog, so to speak. And I, for one, have grown weary of a few perennially offended, under-informed, hyperbolic weenies demanding to decide how we, the vast majority, should vote and eat and travel and live and love.
Count me among those who lives to defy those who just want to be left alone to live my life...
* The exact reason I refuse to open a Twitter account.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
UFO's Are Real!
I'd like to say that I've not only seen Unidentified Flying Objects, I've met with their occupants, ala Close Encounters of the Tres Kind, got to know them pretty well, have to say they're really nice folks, and am pleased to say we got along just famously. And on multiple occasions.
I'd like to say that, but I can't.
But I can say that my first cousin was a guy named Kenneth Arnold. He was a cartographer (map maker) for the U. S. Army Air Corp, post-WW-II. He was flying around in Washington State near Mount Rainier on June 24th, 1947, when he observed at least 9 "flying discs" streak across the windscreen of his small plane, he said. He later commented that his rough calculation of the time it took for them to traverse between two distant mountain tops, a distance he knew well, led him to believe these "saucers" (they "skipped" along, he said) were travelling at about 900 miles per hour.
He later revised that number upward to 1,300 mph!
It's important to note that at this time the fastest fighter plane we had in our arsenal was the F-86 Saber Jet, which could reach about 600 mph. Faaaarrrrrr less than the observed speed of these first "UFO's."
So cousin Kenneth (true story) was the guy responsible for naming these uninvited visitors "flying saucers." And we've been using it ever since. He later told me that he was sorry he had done so. In fact, he told me the entire story whilst building his own airplane in the basement of his Kansas City, Kansas home.
No, I'm not kidding.
Cousin Kenneth was later surprised to learn that his little home-built aerobatic airplane was too big to exit the basement door. Duh! He had to disassemble it, remove it piece by piece, and then put it back together outside. Where it belonged. Proof, I think, that some folks are really, really bright in some areas, and no so much in others...
But cousin Kenneth was indelible in his retelling of his by-then famous encounter. I was transfixed to learn all the juicy details about a subject which would later prove of great interest to me. And to everybody else, it seems. And I've been studying it ever since.
Maybe you have as well...
Even a casual analysis of UFO's in our society will show that we're up-to-here in sightings. More than 10,000 since 2015 alone. They seem to be everywhere! Even the Air Force has recently been forced to divulge via FOIA requests that a purloined bit of video from 2004 showing two F-18s flying off of southern California, and their unprecedented encounter with a "tic tac-shaped" UFO doing all sorts of physically impossible things, was absolutely genuine. So, are UFO's real? According to the Navy, absolutely. So what do we do about it?
My opinion is, and always has been, that our Government has been disavowing the reality of UFOs for decades because it either:
A.), cut a deal with our intergalactic travelers way back when to permit them to peacefully traverse our skies without impedance, flitting around all thither and yon, which they've been doing ever since, or;
B.), it has no idea what they are or who they are, or why they're here or where they come from, and it's afraid to tell that to the public.
Think about it: "Hi, I'm here from the Government. All those things flying around up there? Yeah, we don't know what they are either..." Not a good look.
So as I said, I've researched this matter in-depth for my entire life. And I believe these things are really visitors from someplace else, possessing knowledge and power that far exceeds our own. And I believe they've been visiting here for hundreds, and possibly thousands of years. And I believe they may have even had a hand in helping to shape us as we morphed from early hominids and into Homo sapiens sapiens. Those interested in learning more about that possibility should reference the "Twelfth Planet" and other writings by famed historian Zecharia Hitchens. His work on ancient Sumeria is fascinating.
As an effort to provide some evidence, just think about how rapidly we progressed technologically as a society in the period immediately following the purported crash of a UFO in Roswell, NM in July, 1947. The immediate development of the transistor was followed rapidly by all sorts of new and exciting advances. Just imagine: only 22 years after Roswell, we landed on the moon. Who among us believes we would have evolved that rapidly from the analog mechanization of the Korean War? From F-86 Saber Jets to Saturn 5 rockets in 22 years? I do not.
So, in summation, UFO's are real. But not all of what they've brought us was good. Oh no, fellow Pilgrims. Case in point:
Both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Albert J. Gore were born 9 months after Roswell...
I always thought they looked a bit strange...
I'd like to say that, but I can't.
But I can say that my first cousin was a guy named Kenneth Arnold. He was a cartographer (map maker) for the U. S. Army Air Corp, post-WW-II. He was flying around in Washington State near Mount Rainier on June 24th, 1947, when he observed at least 9 "flying discs" streak across the windscreen of his small plane, he said. He later commented that his rough calculation of the time it took for them to traverse between two distant mountain tops, a distance he knew well, led him to believe these "saucers" (they "skipped" along, he said) were travelling at about 900 miles per hour.
He later revised that number upward to 1,300 mph!
It's important to note that at this time the fastest fighter plane we had in our arsenal was the F-86 Saber Jet, which could reach about 600 mph. Faaaarrrrrr less than the observed speed of these first "UFO's."
So cousin Kenneth (true story) was the guy responsible for naming these uninvited visitors "flying saucers." And we've been using it ever since. He later told me that he was sorry he had done so. In fact, he told me the entire story whilst building his own airplane in the basement of his Kansas City, Kansas home.
No, I'm not kidding.
Cousin Kenneth was later surprised to learn that his little home-built aerobatic airplane was too big to exit the basement door. Duh! He had to disassemble it, remove it piece by piece, and then put it back together outside. Where it belonged. Proof, I think, that some folks are really, really bright in some areas, and no so much in others...
But cousin Kenneth was indelible in his retelling of his by-then famous encounter. I was transfixed to learn all the juicy details about a subject which would later prove of great interest to me. And to everybody else, it seems. And I've been studying it ever since.
Maybe you have as well...
Even a casual analysis of UFO's in our society will show that we're up-to-here in sightings. More than 10,000 since 2015 alone. They seem to be everywhere! Even the Air Force has recently been forced to divulge via FOIA requests that a purloined bit of video from 2004 showing two F-18s flying off of southern California, and their unprecedented encounter with a "tic tac-shaped" UFO doing all sorts of physically impossible things, was absolutely genuine. So, are UFO's real? According to the Navy, absolutely. So what do we do about it?
My opinion is, and always has been, that our Government has been disavowing the reality of UFOs for decades because it either:
A.), cut a deal with our intergalactic travelers way back when to permit them to peacefully traverse our skies without impedance, flitting around all thither and yon, which they've been doing ever since, or;
B.), it has no idea what they are or who they are, or why they're here or where they come from, and it's afraid to tell that to the public.
Think about it: "Hi, I'm here from the Government. All those things flying around up there? Yeah, we don't know what they are either..." Not a good look.
So as I said, I've researched this matter in-depth for my entire life. And I believe these things are really visitors from someplace else, possessing knowledge and power that far exceeds our own. And I believe they've been visiting here for hundreds, and possibly thousands of years. And I believe they may have even had a hand in helping to shape us as we morphed from early hominids and into Homo sapiens sapiens. Those interested in learning more about that possibility should reference the "Twelfth Planet" and other writings by famed historian Zecharia Hitchens. His work on ancient Sumeria is fascinating.
As an effort to provide some evidence, just think about how rapidly we progressed technologically as a society in the period immediately following the purported crash of a UFO in Roswell, NM in July, 1947. The immediate development of the transistor was followed rapidly by all sorts of new and exciting advances. Just imagine: only 22 years after Roswell, we landed on the moon. Who among us believes we would have evolved that rapidly from the analog mechanization of the Korean War? From F-86 Saber Jets to Saturn 5 rockets in 22 years? I do not.
So, in summation, UFO's are real. But not all of what they've brought us was good. Oh no, fellow Pilgrims. Case in point:
Both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Albert J. Gore were born 9 months after Roswell...
I always thought they looked a bit strange...
Friday, January 24, 2020
We're Safe...
...if only for a little while.
Yes, my fellow Patriots, it just struck me that for this week, and next, and perhaps the one(s) after that, the Congress of these here United States, the very same one we pay so dearly to fund, is completely engrossed in trying to either convict The President of the United States of abuse and corruption and frog-march him from the Capitol Building, or acquit him, to the everlasting shame and guilt of the opportunistic miscreant bozos who sought to oust him via this bogus impeachment sham in the first place.
(Yes, I am, the Certified Master of the Longish Sentence. Back to enlightened pontificating...)
Anyway, for now you and me, the taxpayers that keep this boat afloat, the 53% of American wage-earners who actually pay all the income taxes, are safe for now from the sophomoric drunken spending spree that so defines The Swamp. Why? Because all of Congress is enmeshed in an impeachment trial. And because of that...
* They Will Not pass any new laws this week or next.
* They Will Not pass any new taxes this week or next.
* And they Will Not legislate any new rules or regulations this week or next.
And thus, our lives, yours and mine, are relatively safe from the nonsense that regularly infests the District of Columbia.
Remember Will Rogers, our Prairie Poet's famous quote?
"We're lucky we don't get all the Government we pay for!"
Now, if we could just figure out a way to have some of this same activity visit itself on Sacrataxyou. We Californians could use some same relief from the incessant "Venezuelanization" of our once-Golden State.
Oh yeah, on the way out the metaphorical door, I'd like to pass along the famous quote from famous 19th century New York newspaperman and politician Gideon J. Tucker:
"No man's life, liberty or property are safe so long as the Legislature is in session."
Count yourself among the fortunate. We're safe. But only for a little while...
Yes, my fellow Patriots, it just struck me that for this week, and next, and perhaps the one(s) after that, the Congress of these here United States, the very same one we pay so dearly to fund, is completely engrossed in trying to either convict The President of the United States of abuse and corruption and frog-march him from the Capitol Building, or acquit him, to the everlasting shame and guilt of the opportunistic miscreant bozos who sought to oust him via this bogus impeachment sham in the first place.
(Yes, I am, the Certified Master of the Longish Sentence. Back to enlightened pontificating...)
Anyway, for now you and me, the taxpayers that keep this boat afloat, the 53% of American wage-earners who actually pay all the income taxes, are safe for now from the sophomoric drunken spending spree that so defines The Swamp. Why? Because all of Congress is enmeshed in an impeachment trial. And because of that...
* They Will Not pass any new laws this week or next.
* They Will Not pass any new taxes this week or next.
* And they Will Not legislate any new rules or regulations this week or next.
And thus, our lives, yours and mine, are relatively safe from the nonsense that regularly infests the District of Columbia.
Remember Will Rogers, our Prairie Poet's famous quote?
"We're lucky we don't get all the Government we pay for!"
Now, if we could just figure out a way to have some of this same activity visit itself on Sacrataxyou. We Californians could use some same relief from the incessant "Venezuelanization" of our once-Golden State.
Oh yeah, on the way out the metaphorical door, I'd like to pass along the famous quote from famous 19th century New York newspaperman and politician Gideon J. Tucker:
"No man's life, liberty or property are safe so long as the Legislature is in session."
Count yourself among the fortunate. We're safe. But only for a little while...
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Trump is a Magician!
I have to say, I always thought Trump was a whiz at bizz, a marvel at marketing, and a force of nature almost without equal.
He proves that every time he packs a football stadium with excited fans, with thousands more outside clamoring to get in, and speaks extemporaneously for an hour and a half, no notes, to screaming, appreciative crowds.
But I never though he was a magician. Until now, that is...
POTUS Trump has managed to finagle the Democrats...using magic, I assume...to mourn the loss of the World's Greatest Terrorist. Trump just took out an Iranian turd named Salamander, or something like that, and one of his terror buddies, in a supremely violent and massively yuuuuuge fiery drone strike just outside of the Baghdad Airport.
This guy has been Iran's chief terror general for more than two decades. He's been responsible for nearly every terrorist attack on U.S. interests since Reagan was in office. He's "credited" with killing at least 600 of our soldiers. For instance, he was involved in the planning for 9/11. He orchestrated the murderous Benghazi fiasco so damaging to the credibility of the Obama Administration. And to the four brave soldiers who died due to Obama's depraved inaction. He just micromanaged the attack on the our Baghdad Embassy. And his name was placed on a list of international terrorists by Obama and his sycophants years ago, making him eligible to be erased in a puff of smoke at anytime he poked up is terrorist head.
Poof!
Obama could have done that on several occasions, he's stated, but didn't. So did Bush. In fact, nobody except Trump has so far had the cajones to pull the trigger on on this maniacal killer. Until now, that is...
Trump just did. And one would expect that all our political leaders would rally behind our Commander in Chief to applaud our having finally, FINALLY brought this mass murderer to his demise. Just like they did when Obama let the air out of bin Laden. Permanently.
Except one would be wrong...
Trump has apparently used his magic to get Democrats to mourn the loss of Iran's great terror leader. The 2nd in command of Iran, we've been told. That same country which calls for our demise. Repeatedly. "Death to Americans!," they shout, repeatedly. The usual Cable Commies like CNN and MSNBC openly mourned his death. In fact, I even thought they might delay Trump's impeachment trial so they could all travel to Tehran to attend Salami's funeral.
Imagine being hated so very much that your enemies would wring their little manicured hands and adorn themselves with sackcloth and ashes over this terrorist bloodsucker.
That's where we are.
And now in follow-up our very own San Fran Nan Pelosi, Speaker of the House, prepared legislation to limit Trump's future actions as regard to Iran in an effort to hamstring him politically. She wanted the House to pass a new law prohibiting Trump from using our military to fend off Iran. In a purely symbolic gesture. With no force of law or effect. Just at exactly the same time that Iran is shooting missiles our way. From Iran. Imagine that.
Like I said, Trump's a magician. How else could we possibly view a spectacle such as a bunch of Democrats all weeping and gnashing of their teeth at the loss of the World's Greatest Terrorist?
He proves that every time he packs a football stadium with excited fans, with thousands more outside clamoring to get in, and speaks extemporaneously for an hour and a half, no notes, to screaming, appreciative crowds.
But I never though he was a magician. Until now, that is...
POTUS Trump has managed to finagle the Democrats...using magic, I assume...to mourn the loss of the World's Greatest Terrorist. Trump just took out an Iranian turd named Salamander, or something like that, and one of his terror buddies, in a supremely violent and massively yuuuuuge fiery drone strike just outside of the Baghdad Airport.
This guy has been Iran's chief terror general for more than two decades. He's been responsible for nearly every terrorist attack on U.S. interests since Reagan was in office. He's "credited" with killing at least 600 of our soldiers. For instance, he was involved in the planning for 9/11. He orchestrated the murderous Benghazi fiasco so damaging to the credibility of the Obama Administration. And to the four brave soldiers who died due to Obama's depraved inaction. He just micromanaged the attack on the our Baghdad Embassy. And his name was placed on a list of international terrorists by Obama and his sycophants years ago, making him eligible to be erased in a puff of smoke at anytime he poked up is terrorist head.
Poof!
Obama could have done that on several occasions, he's stated, but didn't. So did Bush. In fact, nobody except Trump has so far had the cajones to pull the trigger on on this maniacal killer. Until now, that is...
Trump just did. And one would expect that all our political leaders would rally behind our Commander in Chief to applaud our having finally, FINALLY brought this mass murderer to his demise. Just like they did when Obama let the air out of bin Laden. Permanently.
Except one would be wrong...
Trump has apparently used his magic to get Democrats to mourn the loss of Iran's great terror leader. The 2nd in command of Iran, we've been told. That same country which calls for our demise. Repeatedly. "Death to Americans!," they shout, repeatedly. The usual Cable Commies like CNN and MSNBC openly mourned his death. In fact, I even thought they might delay Trump's impeachment trial so they could all travel to Tehran to attend Salami's funeral.
Imagine being hated so very much that your enemies would wring their little manicured hands and adorn themselves with sackcloth and ashes over this terrorist bloodsucker.
That's where we are.
And now in follow-up our very own San Fran Nan Pelosi, Speaker of the House, prepared legislation to limit Trump's future actions as regard to Iran in an effort to hamstring him politically. She wanted the House to pass a new law prohibiting Trump from using our military to fend off Iran. In a purely symbolic gesture. With no force of law or effect. Just at exactly the same time that Iran is shooting missiles our way. From Iran. Imagine that.
Like I said, Trump's a magician. How else could we possibly view a spectacle such as a bunch of Democrats all weeping and gnashing of their teeth at the loss of the World's Greatest Terrorist?
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
"Impeached for Life"
So said one Speaker of the House San Fran Nan Pelosi, on a national late-night TV talk show, about her nemesis, POTUS Donald J. Trump.
She said:
"He has been impeached. He's been impeached for life. They can never erase that."
Vindictive much?
Now, I'm just a country boy who's been paying attention to the goings on in Washington, the District of Columbia, our Federal City, for my entire life. Sort of like a sport with me. Because I have to pay for it, I might as well enjoy it, right?
In fact, I used to live there for a time whilst protecting my Country from communism. I was doing my part serving in "military intelligence." No jokes, okay?
A friend once asked me how long I had lived there. I answered, "Too long." I'm pretty sure there's a conservative there somewhere. I just never found one. So I have a bit of an opinion about whatever might emanate from that august locale. And what's been emanating from there of late is the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.
Now then, if I were accused of a crime, the Constitution tells me that I'm guaranteed a fair trial (denied to Trump during the impeachment process). One where I'm to be judged by a panel of my peers. One where my lawyers get to represent me and I get a chance to defend myself (denied to Trump during impeachment). One where I get to call my witnesses (denied to Trump). One where I get to face my accuser (including whistleblowers, BTW, denied to Trump). And one where, if I'm found Not Guilty, the stain of any accusation is washed away and I'm then no longer tainted by any claim (unless you're asking Pelosi).
But not in this case, apparently.
No, no, no! In the case of the impeachment of Trump, we're told by Pelosi and her sycophantic Democrats in the House of Representatives that his impeachment is forever! That he'll never be able to wash away the stain of impeachment. Never! Hmmm.
Sort of like when you walk thorough the park and happen to step in dog s**t. You can wipe it off your shoe, but you can never remove the scent.
Sort of like that, I guess...
Now then, since he's being accused of two "crimes," which they aren't (one is doing something they didn't like, and the other is his failure to do something they asked of him), then he should be able to put on a defense, and then be found Not Guilty if that's the view of his Senate "jurors."
Except his "jurors" in this case are Senators, including four who are running against him for President. I'm not so sure they're going to be impartial, are you? And also worthy of note, six of the seven Democrat House "Managers," those who Pelosi chose to deliver the House's case against Trump, have already voted to remove him via previous impeachment votes. Some on multiple occasions. Some have made it their primary reason for existence to oust Trump from office. Some even ran for office with the stated goal of Trump's impeachment.
I'm sure you'll recall CA Rep. Maxine Waters bleating out "'Peach' fawty fie! 'Peach fawty fie!" at every one of her fundraisers, right?
Impartial much?
So I'm thinking we're on the cusp of a new way of doing things in the House of Representatives. It's impeached Trump for non-crimes, which is a Constitutional no-no. And refused to allow Republican House members to put on their defense. Another no-no. So what's to prevent some future House from doing the very same thing? As in, a Republican House impeaching a Democrat President for simply pissing them off? After all, that's why they impeached Trump?
I say, nothing. Nothing will impede them from payback. And payback's a bitch, as they say. And don't listen to any Republican tell you that they'll rise above such petty partisanship. Do you believe that? I don't. I'd say they'll impeach the next Democrat for whatever minor slight, or off-center comment, or failure to accede to their partisan demands. Or for Just Plain Nothing.
I would. Wouldn't you?
So listen up, America! You're a witness to the New Way Of Doing Things. Prepare for the Department of Impeachment! It might even wind up to be a Cabinet position. I'd say whichever Democrat wins the Presidency in 2008 (unless Don Jr. chooses not to run for a second term) should gird his or her...or its (gotta' remember California!) loins and prepare to be impeached. He/she/it has it coming.
And it will be soooooo entertaining to watch...
She said:
"He has been impeached. He's been impeached for life. They can never erase that."
Vindictive much?
Now, I'm just a country boy who's been paying attention to the goings on in Washington, the District of Columbia, our Federal City, for my entire life. Sort of like a sport with me. Because I have to pay for it, I might as well enjoy it, right?
In fact, I used to live there for a time whilst protecting my Country from communism. I was doing my part serving in "military intelligence." No jokes, okay?
A friend once asked me how long I had lived there. I answered, "Too long." I'm pretty sure there's a conservative there somewhere. I just never found one. So I have a bit of an opinion about whatever might emanate from that august locale. And what's been emanating from there of late is the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.
Now then, if I were accused of a crime, the Constitution tells me that I'm guaranteed a fair trial (denied to Trump during the impeachment process). One where I'm to be judged by a panel of my peers. One where my lawyers get to represent me and I get a chance to defend myself (denied to Trump during impeachment). One where I get to call my witnesses (denied to Trump). One where I get to face my accuser (including whistleblowers, BTW, denied to Trump). And one where, if I'm found Not Guilty, the stain of any accusation is washed away and I'm then no longer tainted by any claim (unless you're asking Pelosi).
But not in this case, apparently.
No, no, no! In the case of the impeachment of Trump, we're told by Pelosi and her sycophantic Democrats in the House of Representatives that his impeachment is forever! That he'll never be able to wash away the stain of impeachment. Never! Hmmm.
Sort of like when you walk thorough the park and happen to step in dog s**t. You can wipe it off your shoe, but you can never remove the scent.
Sort of like that, I guess...
Now then, since he's being accused of two "crimes," which they aren't (one is doing something they didn't like, and the other is his failure to do something they asked of him), then he should be able to put on a defense, and then be found Not Guilty if that's the view of his Senate "jurors."
Except his "jurors" in this case are Senators, including four who are running against him for President. I'm not so sure they're going to be impartial, are you? And also worthy of note, six of the seven Democrat House "Managers," those who Pelosi chose to deliver the House's case against Trump, have already voted to remove him via previous impeachment votes. Some on multiple occasions. Some have made it their primary reason for existence to oust Trump from office. Some even ran for office with the stated goal of Trump's impeachment.
I'm sure you'll recall CA Rep. Maxine Waters bleating out "'Peach' fawty fie! 'Peach fawty fie!" at every one of her fundraisers, right?
Impartial much?
So I'm thinking we're on the cusp of a new way of doing things in the House of Representatives. It's impeached Trump for non-crimes, which is a Constitutional no-no. And refused to allow Republican House members to put on their defense. Another no-no. So what's to prevent some future House from doing the very same thing? As in, a Republican House impeaching a Democrat President for simply pissing them off? After all, that's why they impeached Trump?
I say, nothing. Nothing will impede them from payback. And payback's a bitch, as they say. And don't listen to any Republican tell you that they'll rise above such petty partisanship. Do you believe that? I don't. I'd say they'll impeach the next Democrat for whatever minor slight, or off-center comment, or failure to accede to their partisan demands. Or for Just Plain Nothing.
I would. Wouldn't you?
So listen up, America! You're a witness to the New Way Of Doing Things. Prepare for the Department of Impeachment! It might even wind up to be a Cabinet position. I'd say whichever Democrat wins the Presidency in 2008 (unless Don Jr. chooses not to run for a second term) should gird his or her...or its (gotta' remember California!) loins and prepare to be impeached. He/she/it has it coming.
And it will be soooooo entertaining to watch...
Saturday, January 18, 2020
"May You Live In Interesting Times"
The foregoing is an old Chinese curse. Upon first blush it sounds like a warm wish for good tidings. Wrong-o! Since the Chinese are "inscrutable," whatever that means, they tend to hide their true feelings so as not to overtly insult their counterparts. While, occasionally, knifing them in the back. But what they really mean with that admonition is, "may you live in dangerous and chaotic times."
And boy, are we ever!
Things were pretty tame back when I was growing up. With exception of the occasional war, we just played outside after dark and drank from garden hoses and ran with knives and rode around in the back of pickup trucks. We were just normal, everyday Americans, living normal, everyday American lives. Such a shame that this same sort of life is no longer available to our kids of today...
So I got to thinking, what have I experienced that's become more "interesting," in the Chinese sense of the word, since I've become aged and infirm? Here's a partial list:
- When I was young there were just boys and girls. Now? There's like 57 genders, they tell us, and perhaps as many as 100! Hard to keep up, it is, especially for old folks. Now that's interesting!
- When I was coming up everybody had guns and nobody got shot. Now? The "more equal than us" we've let manage things are letting hardened criminals out of prison by the tens of thousands and doing their very best to disarm us, and folks are dropping like flies. That's damned interesting!
- It used to be that Democrats and Republicans were both flag-waving, military-loving, patriotic Americans. Now? Republicans are flag-waging, military-loving, patriotic Americans. That's seriously interesting, doncha' think?
- It used to be that impeaching a President was reserved for "High crimes and misdemeanors." Now? Impeachment has been reduced to a kind of "sport," with actual crimes just optional...
- It used to be that boys peed in the boys' room, and girls peed in the girls' room. Now? Everybody pees wherever the Hell they want. That's interesting, sadly.
- On the subject of cars, it used to be that people actually enjoyed driving (like me!). Now? It seems that some would actually rather let a satellite up in the sky drive their little electric cars around for them. That's scary! And interesting...
- It used to be we'd cured typhus, and the bubonic plague, and whooping cough, and polio, and tuberculosis, and measles. Now? Take a trip to Lost Angeles. You could contract any or all of the above listed diseases by just walking down the street. Interesting?
- It used to be that folks worked hard to get ahead and become successful and wealthy. Now? It seems that some would rather just bitch and moan and complain that some others are well off and that they aren't, and wish those other folks' taxes raised to punish them for being successful. That's interesting.
- It used to be that dropping a piece of paper on the sidewalk in San Francisco would get you a ticket for littering. Now? Taking a s**t on the sidewalks of San Francisco will get you applause. Unfortunately, that's far too interesting.
- The climate when I was growing up was just fine. Very enjoyable. Now? The climate is just fine. Very enjoyable. Any questions?
- It used to be that calling somebody a socialist was a terrible insult. Now? Calling somebody a socialist is a complement and calling somebody a capitalist is a terrible insult. Now that's interesting.
- It used to be that Hollywood actors and actresses were smart enough to know that if they spouted their political opinions, Right or Left, although almost always Left, they'd piss off half the Country. Now? They've pissed off half the Country. And they keep on doing it. Far, far too interesting...
- It used to be we depended on those fun-loving sheiks in the Middle east for our oil and gas. Now? We depend on new, high-tech, and ultra-safe petroleum extraction methods for our oil and gas and are completely and totally self-sufficient. In fact, America is now a net petroleum exporter! That's very interesting!
- It used to be when there was a girls' track meet, you could be pretty sure all the participants were girls. Now? The winners are generally the tall ones with beards. I wish that wasn't so interesting.
- It used to be that folks had pretty well gotten over that whole racism thing. Now? We elected a guy awhile back who reignited it and we've been paying the price for his having done so ever since. Interesting?
These are just the ones that I could think of right now. There may be more. In fact, I'm pretty sure there will be more. Stay tuned. Because I want your life to be "interesting" as well...
And boy, are we ever!
Things were pretty tame back when I was growing up. With exception of the occasional war, we just played outside after dark and drank from garden hoses and ran with knives and rode around in the back of pickup trucks. We were just normal, everyday Americans, living normal, everyday American lives. Such a shame that this same sort of life is no longer available to our kids of today...
So I got to thinking, what have I experienced that's become more "interesting," in the Chinese sense of the word, since I've become aged and infirm? Here's a partial list:
- When I was young there were just boys and girls. Now? There's like 57 genders, they tell us, and perhaps as many as 100! Hard to keep up, it is, especially for old folks. Now that's interesting!
- When I was coming up everybody had guns and nobody got shot. Now? The "more equal than us" we've let manage things are letting hardened criminals out of prison by the tens of thousands and doing their very best to disarm us, and folks are dropping like flies. That's damned interesting!
- It used to be that Democrats and Republicans were both flag-waving, military-loving, patriotic Americans. Now? Republicans are flag-waging, military-loving, patriotic Americans. That's seriously interesting, doncha' think?
- It used to be that impeaching a President was reserved for "High crimes and misdemeanors." Now? Impeachment has been reduced to a kind of "sport," with actual crimes just optional...
- It used to be that boys peed in the boys' room, and girls peed in the girls' room. Now? Everybody pees wherever the Hell they want. That's interesting, sadly.
- On the subject of cars, it used to be that people actually enjoyed driving (like me!). Now? It seems that some would actually rather let a satellite up in the sky drive their little electric cars around for them. That's scary! And interesting...
- It used to be we'd cured typhus, and the bubonic plague, and whooping cough, and polio, and tuberculosis, and measles. Now? Take a trip to Lost Angeles. You could contract any or all of the above listed diseases by just walking down the street. Interesting?
- It used to be that folks worked hard to get ahead and become successful and wealthy. Now? It seems that some would rather just bitch and moan and complain that some others are well off and that they aren't, and wish those other folks' taxes raised to punish them for being successful. That's interesting.
- It used to be that dropping a piece of paper on the sidewalk in San Francisco would get you a ticket for littering. Now? Taking a s**t on the sidewalks of San Francisco will get you applause. Unfortunately, that's far too interesting.
- The climate when I was growing up was just fine. Very enjoyable. Now? The climate is just fine. Very enjoyable. Any questions?
- It used to be that calling somebody a socialist was a terrible insult. Now? Calling somebody a socialist is a complement and calling somebody a capitalist is a terrible insult. Now that's interesting.
- It used to be that Hollywood actors and actresses were smart enough to know that if they spouted their political opinions, Right or Left, although almost always Left, they'd piss off half the Country. Now? They've pissed off half the Country. And they keep on doing it. Far, far too interesting...
- It used to be we depended on those fun-loving sheiks in the Middle east for our oil and gas. Now? We depend on new, high-tech, and ultra-safe petroleum extraction methods for our oil and gas and are completely and totally self-sufficient. In fact, America is now a net petroleum exporter! That's very interesting!
- It used to be when there was a girls' track meet, you could be pretty sure all the participants were girls. Now? The winners are generally the tall ones with beards. I wish that wasn't so interesting.
- It used to be that folks had pretty well gotten over that whole racism thing. Now? We elected a guy awhile back who reignited it and we've been paying the price for his having done so ever since. Interesting?
These are just the ones that I could think of right now. There may be more. In fact, I'm pretty sure there will be more. Stay tuned. Because I want your life to be "interesting" as well...
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
The "U-Haul Factor"
I've been alerting all my Pilgrim buddies that folks are bailing on California like rats from a sinking ship.
I've been doing that for years now, and more than a few have paid rapt attention. So much so it seems that many are taking my advice and leaving. And thus the cost to leave has gone up significantly. And that's because those thinking of bailing are not the only ones who want to escape...
Huh? It now costs more to leave because more want to leave? It's a good "teachable moment," as ex-POTUS Obama used to say. Stay tuned...
I created a comparison a few years back to explain what I then called the "U-Haul Factor." That's very simply the difference between what it costs to rent a U-Haul truck to go one-way from Lost Angeles, as an example, to somewhere else, anywhere else, versus what it costs to go from that "somewhere" back to L.A. The theory is based upon that old "supply and demand" economic theory that anything in greater demand will always cost more and generally be more difficult to obtain. Gold, for instance. And Rolls Royces.
And cocaine...
This theory used to be taught in Economics 101, as I'm sure you know. Now I believe it may have been replaced by "gender studies," or "climate chaos," or "wealth redistribution," but I could be in error. And considering that I am a gen-u-wine graduate economist, and actually know what I'm talking about on this one single subject, that doesn't often happen.
Well now I have accurate data to prove that folks are rushing headlong from this, the once-Golden State, to greener pastures. And almost any pasture is greener. We can now compare the exact difference between leaving here and coming here, if you use a U-Haul to do it. And that difference is expressed as a "factor." As in, a multiple of the cost of going versus coming.
Example: Let's say you want to travel to Houston from Lost Angeles. Your U-Haul 26-foot truck, one-way, shall cost you $3,965.* Now let's say you'd like to come back (although I can't imagine why). That will set you back...ready for it?...$967. That gives us a "factor" of 4.1:1. Or, it costs a bit over four times as much to go from LA to Houston as it does from Houston to LA.
Another? Sure. If you wish to leave San Franpoopville, your truck to Houston will set you back $4,575. From Houston to SFO? $1,115, for a "factor" of 4.1:1. Again, four times as much to come here as to leave.
Why the yuuuuuge difference in price? In an ideal world for U-Haul, it would likely prefer to have a close balance in the flows of one-way truck rentals between any two major cities (or states) to maintain balanced truck inventories in both locations, and would probably then charge about the same one-way rental rates for trucks going in either direction. But when relative demand is significantly different, that difference is reflected in a yuuuuge imbalance in truck inventories (over supply in one location, under supply in the other), which then leads to the dynamic, market-based pricing displayed above.
In other words, somebody has to drive that one-way truck back to where it came from. So the inflated price U-Haul charges reflects that attempt to readjust inventory. And the inflated price people are willing to pay reflects the extent of their desire to leave.
What does that also tell you? It tells you, in hard and fast economic detail, at least in this one example, that four times as many people are leaving as coming. That's not an exact, take-it-to-the-bank statistic, but it is sure as Hell interesting, isn't it? And it also indicates that middle-class folks, those most likely to use a U-Haul, are the ones leaving. And it seems to show that this one simple yardstick may be telling us all we need to know about people "voting with their feet."
Of interest, the last time I cogitated on this data was 2015. Back then, the ration was more like 2:1. Shocker! In short, the desire to leave CA by U-Haul has doubled in the past few years!
People are moving all the time. They do that. It's a free country. Not as much as it used to be, but still relatively free. But we don't often have an accurate gauge as to where, and via what method, and how much it might cost. And now we know that people are so damned anxious to get out of this failed "paradise" that they're willing to be raked over the coals by a truck rental company to do it.
Somebody up there in Sacrataxyou ought to take a look at data such as these and do some rapid changing of our laws. Otherwise there won't be anyone left here in this failed experiment except sign-twirlers and Starbucks baristas...
* U-Haul, 2019
I've been doing that for years now, and more than a few have paid rapt attention. So much so it seems that many are taking my advice and leaving. And thus the cost to leave has gone up significantly. And that's because those thinking of bailing are not the only ones who want to escape...
Huh? It now costs more to leave because more want to leave? It's a good "teachable moment," as ex-POTUS Obama used to say. Stay tuned...
I created a comparison a few years back to explain what I then called the "U-Haul Factor." That's very simply the difference between what it costs to rent a U-Haul truck to go one-way from Lost Angeles, as an example, to somewhere else, anywhere else, versus what it costs to go from that "somewhere" back to L.A. The theory is based upon that old "supply and demand" economic theory that anything in greater demand will always cost more and generally be more difficult to obtain. Gold, for instance. And Rolls Royces.
And cocaine...
This theory used to be taught in Economics 101, as I'm sure you know. Now I believe it may have been replaced by "gender studies," or "climate chaos," or "wealth redistribution," but I could be in error. And considering that I am a gen-u-wine graduate economist, and actually know what I'm talking about on this one single subject, that doesn't often happen.
Well now I have accurate data to prove that folks are rushing headlong from this, the once-Golden State, to greener pastures. And almost any pasture is greener. We can now compare the exact difference between leaving here and coming here, if you use a U-Haul to do it. And that difference is expressed as a "factor." As in, a multiple of the cost of going versus coming.
Example: Let's say you want to travel to Houston from Lost Angeles. Your U-Haul 26-foot truck, one-way, shall cost you $3,965.* Now let's say you'd like to come back (although I can't imagine why). That will set you back...ready for it?...$967. That gives us a "factor" of 4.1:1. Or, it costs a bit over four times as much to go from LA to Houston as it does from Houston to LA.
Another? Sure. If you wish to leave San Franpoopville, your truck to Houston will set you back $4,575. From Houston to SFO? $1,115, for a "factor" of 4.1:1. Again, four times as much to come here as to leave.
Why the yuuuuuge difference in price? In an ideal world for U-Haul, it would likely prefer to have a close balance in the flows of one-way truck rentals between any two major cities (or states) to maintain balanced truck inventories in both locations, and would probably then charge about the same one-way rental rates for trucks going in either direction. But when relative demand is significantly different, that difference is reflected in a yuuuuge imbalance in truck inventories (over supply in one location, under supply in the other), which then leads to the dynamic, market-based pricing displayed above.
In other words, somebody has to drive that one-way truck back to where it came from. So the inflated price U-Haul charges reflects that attempt to readjust inventory. And the inflated price people are willing to pay reflects the extent of their desire to leave.
What does that also tell you? It tells you, in hard and fast economic detail, at least in this one example, that four times as many people are leaving as coming. That's not an exact, take-it-to-the-bank statistic, but it is sure as Hell interesting, isn't it? And it also indicates that middle-class folks, those most likely to use a U-Haul, are the ones leaving. And it seems to show that this one simple yardstick may be telling us all we need to know about people "voting with their feet."
Of interest, the last time I cogitated on this data was 2015. Back then, the ration was more like 2:1. Shocker! In short, the desire to leave CA by U-Haul has doubled in the past few years!
People are moving all the time. They do that. It's a free country. Not as much as it used to be, but still relatively free. But we don't often have an accurate gauge as to where, and via what method, and how much it might cost. And now we know that people are so damned anxious to get out of this failed "paradise" that they're willing to be raked over the coals by a truck rental company to do it.
Somebody up there in Sacrataxyou ought to take a look at data such as these and do some rapid changing of our laws. Otherwise there won't be anyone left here in this failed experiment except sign-twirlers and Starbucks baristas...
* U-Haul, 2019
Monday, January 13, 2020
The Dinosaur Media...
95% of all American journalists admit to being registered Democrats. Proudly.
And 92% of all news stories since Donald J. Trump was elected POTUS have been negative.
Perhaps the one might have something to do with the other? Ya' think?
Let's all stop for a minute and cogitate on this little factoid: There exists a "bubble" of political and media and economic and educational and entertainment elites situated along a 50 mile-wide strip from the Canadian border south down along the Left Coast of America, through San Francisco and Santa Monica and Lost Angeles and San Diego, all the way to Meheeeeeeeko. And also in the majority of the original 13 colonies, plus Washington, D.C. Nearly all of the political and economic decisions for America are made within these arbitrary geographical confines.
And nearly all of the news we ingest every day is made...and reported...within, and from, this self-same area.
So what is the rest of our Country to do? The people living in the 85% of America where the economic and political decisions are not being made? Where nobody asks their opinion, nor wants it. (When was the last time YOU got a call asking your opinion from a major pollster?) Where folks are looked down upon and condescended to by those self-same elites. Where they are referred to by the "more equal than you" as "toothless, pickup truck-driving, gun-owning, bible-thumping rednecks" living in "flyover country."
Remember Obama saying they'd be clinging to their religion and their guns? And remember how the MSMedia lauded him for that comment? It would seem to me that this is your basic tail wagging the proverbial dog. Whaddayou think?
I'd say the elite swells in the "bubble" are presuming a bit too much. So much so that those "flyovers" rebelled in 2016 and elected Donald J. Trump to carry their torch. To go to D. C. and clean up the swamp (it actually WAS a swamp; it was dredged out from the Chesapeake Bay backwater and turned in to our Federal City by our Founding Fathers). And despite heroic efforts by the entrenched swamp-dwellers and media bomb-throwers, ably aided by their Democrat-appointed Federal judges, who have proudly thwarted nearly all of Trump's legislative efforts, he's been able to accomplish an enviable list of achievements since assuming the Oval Office. And that so pisses off those media and political and economic elites that they just cannot stand it! So much so that they just impeached him. Sort of. Knowing that such an impeachment had no, as in ZERO, chance of success. And even in doing this rather straightforward task, they've blown it bigly.
And they'd better get ready, because they're about to get another four-year dose of what's been ailing them...
The "Dinosaur" media in our Country has besmirched itself by engaging in a multi-decade collaboration with the Democrat Party. Their reports cannot be believed due to their unmitigated bias against the Republican Party and all Republicans and conservatives everywhere. And they don't seem to even be trying to hide it anymore. But I'd say it's starting to lose its effectiveness. The American People are on to them. They're wise to this little not-so-secret - secret. And it shall seal their doom...
It must really be tough to face an opponent you hate, one you so completely despise, that you just cannot wait to unseat. To make this nightmare go away. But the challengers they're choosing to face him this November are beaten before they can even start. I'd feel sorry for them, except they deserve all the vitriol and angst and hand-wringing they'll surely face.
Us old folks need lots and lots of free entertainment. And I'm going to sit back, open a cool, refreshing adult beverage, and really enjoy watching this one unfold...
And 92% of all news stories since Donald J. Trump was elected POTUS have been negative.
Perhaps the one might have something to do with the other? Ya' think?
Let's all stop for a minute and cogitate on this little factoid: There exists a "bubble" of political and media and economic and educational and entertainment elites situated along a 50 mile-wide strip from the Canadian border south down along the Left Coast of America, through San Francisco and Santa Monica and Lost Angeles and San Diego, all the way to Meheeeeeeeko. And also in the majority of the original 13 colonies, plus Washington, D.C. Nearly all of the political and economic decisions for America are made within these arbitrary geographical confines.
And nearly all of the news we ingest every day is made...and reported...within, and from, this self-same area.
So what is the rest of our Country to do? The people living in the 85% of America where the economic and political decisions are not being made? Where nobody asks their opinion, nor wants it. (When was the last time YOU got a call asking your opinion from a major pollster?) Where folks are looked down upon and condescended to by those self-same elites. Where they are referred to by the "more equal than you" as "toothless, pickup truck-driving, gun-owning, bible-thumping rednecks" living in "flyover country."
Remember Obama saying they'd be clinging to their religion and their guns? And remember how the MSMedia lauded him for that comment? It would seem to me that this is your basic tail wagging the proverbial dog. Whaddayou think?
I'd say the elite swells in the "bubble" are presuming a bit too much. So much so that those "flyovers" rebelled in 2016 and elected Donald J. Trump to carry their torch. To go to D. C. and clean up the swamp (it actually WAS a swamp; it was dredged out from the Chesapeake Bay backwater and turned in to our Federal City by our Founding Fathers). And despite heroic efforts by the entrenched swamp-dwellers and media bomb-throwers, ably aided by their Democrat-appointed Federal judges, who have proudly thwarted nearly all of Trump's legislative efforts, he's been able to accomplish an enviable list of achievements since assuming the Oval Office. And that so pisses off those media and political and economic elites that they just cannot stand it! So much so that they just impeached him. Sort of. Knowing that such an impeachment had no, as in ZERO, chance of success. And even in doing this rather straightforward task, they've blown it bigly.
And they'd better get ready, because they're about to get another four-year dose of what's been ailing them...
The "Dinosaur" media in our Country has besmirched itself by engaging in a multi-decade collaboration with the Democrat Party. Their reports cannot be believed due to their unmitigated bias against the Republican Party and all Republicans and conservatives everywhere. And they don't seem to even be trying to hide it anymore. But I'd say it's starting to lose its effectiveness. The American People are on to them. They're wise to this little not-so-secret - secret. And it shall seal their doom...
It must really be tough to face an opponent you hate, one you so completely despise, that you just cannot wait to unseat. To make this nightmare go away. But the challengers they're choosing to face him this November are beaten before they can even start. I'd feel sorry for them, except they deserve all the vitriol and angst and hand-wringing they'll surely face.
Us old folks need lots and lots of free entertainment. And I'm going to sit back, open a cool, refreshing adult beverage, and really enjoy watching this one unfold...
Sunday, January 12, 2020
The Shi*ty by the Bay...
As you know by now, San Francisco has become a blighted, messy, dirty, dangerous, unhealthy, unsanitary, poorly managed, scary and shockingly filthy city. Unlike how it used to be. Back before it was openly run by socialists. The City by the Bay. How sad...
I'm sure Tony Bennett is weeping openly...
And you for sure know all that, even if you've been living in a dumpster behind the closest Costco, because I've told you about it. On multiple occasions. And I know you read every single one of my postings religiously, so this won't be much of a surprise to you. But to others? Those who choose not to avail themselves of the supreme wisdom contained via these lovingly forwarded electrons?
Whoa boy...
Lemme' bring you up to date anyhow. San Francisco is a Tale of Two Cities. Because of their Silicon Valley tech sector they're bringing in more cash than ever before. They're awash in it! Yet, they've elected the most extreme Left-wing leaders imaginable. So much so that so-called "quality of life" crimes, like urinating and defecating on the streets, or shoplifting, or pickpocketing, is now A-okay. They now blow all their resources on curing "climate change" and suing Trump and other Progressive goals, instead of making their City more safe and livable.
The situation is so serious that SFO has lost several large conventions in the past year, including the American Medical Association (economic impact: $40 million) and Keith Ellison's Oracle Corp. (economic impact: $60 million), due to their fears about personal safety. More lost convention business is expected.
California's crazed goons up there in Sacrataxyou passed among the dumbest of new laws possible a few years back. It was called "AB-5," or Assembly Bill Numero Cinco, here in the land where illegals are treated better than citizens. And it contained just about the stupidest new rule imaginable...
In most American locales a petty crime does not necessarily trigger a "felony" ruling unless one steals or causes damage of more than a combined $50.00. Under that amount it is a misdemeanor. Over that, a felony.
That's the way it used to be in CA. Used to be, that is, until SFO's new socialist (seriously!) District Attorney, the guy who decides whom and what to charge with a crime, decided that homeless people, of which it has more than its share (more than 7,000, we're told!), MUST steal to eat because they're, ummm, homeless. Got that? And the fact they're homeless must be the fault of those who are stolen from, I guess. And so the bar must be raised from $50.00 to...wait for it...$950.00 before a felony is reached.
I'm sure Tony Bennett is weeping openly...
And you for sure know all that, even if you've been living in a dumpster behind the closest Costco, because I've told you about it. On multiple occasions. And I know you read every single one of my postings religiously, so this won't be much of a surprise to you. But to others? Those who choose not to avail themselves of the supreme wisdom contained via these lovingly forwarded electrons?
Whoa boy...
Lemme' bring you up to date anyhow. San Francisco is a Tale of Two Cities. Because of their Silicon Valley tech sector they're bringing in more cash than ever before. They're awash in it! Yet, they've elected the most extreme Left-wing leaders imaginable. So much so that so-called "quality of life" crimes, like urinating and defecating on the streets, or shoplifting, or pickpocketing, is now A-okay. They now blow all their resources on curing "climate change" and suing Trump and other Progressive goals, instead of making their City more safe and livable.
The situation is so serious that SFO has lost several large conventions in the past year, including the American Medical Association (economic impact: $40 million) and Keith Ellison's Oracle Corp. (economic impact: $60 million), due to their fears about personal safety. More lost convention business is expected.
California's crazed goons up there in Sacrataxyou passed among the dumbest of new laws possible a few years back. It was called "AB-5," or Assembly Bill Numero Cinco, here in the land where illegals are treated better than citizens. And it contained just about the stupidest new rule imaginable...
In most American locales a petty crime does not necessarily trigger a "felony" ruling unless one steals or causes damage of more than a combined $50.00. Under that amount it is a misdemeanor. Over that, a felony.
That's the way it used to be in CA. Used to be, that is, until SFO's new socialist (seriously!) District Attorney, the guy who decides whom and what to charge with a crime, decided that homeless people, of which it has more than its share (more than 7,000, we're told!), MUST steal to eat because they're, ummm, homeless. Got that? And the fact they're homeless must be the fault of those who are stolen from, I guess. And so the bar must be raised from $50.00 to...wait for it...$950.00 before a felony is reached.
$950.00!
That's a lot of pancakes or cigarettes or hamburgers or t-shirts or shoes or whatever. And when the cops are called, the perp simply gets a citation, if he's still around. A ticket! And if the Bad Guy doesn't show up for court? Nothing. Nada. Zip. There's no procedure in this new scheme for follow-up. No warrant to be issued to drag the perp kicking and screaming into court. The criminal simply gets away with it. Scott free. Over and over. And over.
Hmmmm.
This new law has caused chaos all across the state. Car burglaries are up 76% in San Fran. Some 70 cars per day are broken into there every single day! The best that SFO's cops can do - their hands are tied, remember - is to issue warnings not to leave ANYTHING in your cars. There are light pole signs all over the city alerting visitors to this admonition. And get this: Less than 2% of reported break ins are prosecuted!
And the Bad Guys from San Fran are now taking their show on the road. Their modus operandi is to rent a car in San Fran using a stolen credit card, drive it to L.A., then abandon it once they've wrecked havoc. They've now been reported breaking and entering cars all across Lost Angeles. Its car burglaries are up more than 60% in the past year. And L.A.'s cops cannot respond, either.
And to add insult to injury, one must prove that their cars were locked before the cops will even take a police report when a perp breaks your window to get in. A simple question: how does one go about proving their cars were locked before they were broken into? Just another insulting law coming your way from your friendly socialist law makers...
Just think: gangs of shoplifters swarming stores, grabbing everything of value, but only up to the amount of $950 (they usually have one of their gang stationed with a calculator near the front door, adding up the booty as its grabbed). Just before that magic "felony" number is achieved, they simply leave the store as they came. With the shopkeepers watching. Unable to do a damn thing about it. Is this Calcutta? Is it Caracas? Is it Medellin?
And so, my friends, just a little reminder: when planning your next vacay, I'd suggest you leave SFO off your list. Unless you enjoy dodging piles of human excrement and avoiding thieves, that is...
Hmmmm.
This new law has caused chaos all across the state. Car burglaries are up 76% in San Fran. Some 70 cars per day are broken into there every single day! The best that SFO's cops can do - their hands are tied, remember - is to issue warnings not to leave ANYTHING in your cars. There are light pole signs all over the city alerting visitors to this admonition. And get this: Less than 2% of reported break ins are prosecuted!
And the Bad Guys from San Fran are now taking their show on the road. Their modus operandi is to rent a car in San Fran using a stolen credit card, drive it to L.A., then abandon it once they've wrecked havoc. They've now been reported breaking and entering cars all across Lost Angeles. Its car burglaries are up more than 60% in the past year. And L.A.'s cops cannot respond, either.
And to add insult to injury, one must prove that their cars were locked before the cops will even take a police report when a perp breaks your window to get in. A simple question: how does one go about proving their cars were locked before they were broken into? Just another insulting law coming your way from your friendly socialist law makers...
Just think: gangs of shoplifters swarming stores, grabbing everything of value, but only up to the amount of $950 (they usually have one of their gang stationed with a calculator near the front door, adding up the booty as its grabbed). Just before that magic "felony" number is achieved, they simply leave the store as they came. With the shopkeepers watching. Unable to do a damn thing about it. Is this Calcutta? Is it Caracas? Is it Medellin?
And so, my friends, just a little reminder: when planning your next vacay, I'd suggest you leave SFO off your list. Unless you enjoy dodging piles of human excrement and avoiding thieves, that is...
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Yes Virginia, They're Really Coming for Your Guns...
I wonder what might happen if Democrats get their way and guns are outlawed. Or even certain guns. And attempts at confiscation then ensue.
And people with guns...are sent to the homes of people with guns...to confiscate the guns...of the people with...guns...
Let that sink in...
We all know that the thousands and thousands of anti-gun laws in our country are focused exclusively on law-abiding citizens. We know that because criminals don't obey laws. That's why they're called criminals. Duh! They just ignore them. As if they didn't exist. Because for them, they don't.
The Bottom Line is: Only law-abiding folks obey laws. Those who ignore the laws will not be affected by any new ones you might wish to shovel upon them. Got it?
So the more than 25,000 anti-gun laws we now suffer were enacted solely to limit and frustrate the actions of those self-same citizens who enjoy the iron-clad protections of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and would like to enjoy them. And the alarming current trend toward new and even more restrictive...or even confiscatory...laws are beginning to cause a backlash.
One can only imagine why these Liberal-types are trying to so hard to disarm America, at the very same time they're trying to empty our prisons of hardened criminals. Maybe they think we'd be more easily managed?
Just imagine: Every single Democrat candidate for POTUS 2020 has stated that they are planning to outlaw certain firearms if elected, and perhaps confiscate them. Despite SCOTUS rulings that guarantee each American the Right to own and use a firearm,* the Democrat candidates intend to ignore them.
They ignore the Constitution quite often, don't they?
What do you think citizens might do if a law enforcement officer shows up at their front door to seize their firearms? Oh yeah, some will comply. A percentage would of course comply. But a percentage would not. Let me lay out a scenario for you. What would armed law enforcement officers...members of the community, all...do if sent to seize their next door neighbor's guns? Maybe the same guy they go hunting with? Or attend church with? Or maybe work...for! And maybe those charged with enforcing them are just tired as Hell of having a bunch of unconstitutional laws stuffed down their throats and intend to plant their feet?
That same scenario is playing itself out right now in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It's just elected a Democrat-controlled legislature for the first time in over 30 years. And under its gun-hating (but abortion loving!) Democrat Governor Northam, who's quite fond of appearing in Blackface, it has just outlawed, and intends to confiscate under some sort of "buy-back" program,** what it calls "assault weapons." It hasn't defined "assault weapons," but it intends to confiscate them. And the legislature just voted to set aside $250,000 to cover the costs of jailing scofflaws who refuse to hand over their legally-bought, legally-owned and legally-used AR/AK-style semi-automatic rifles.
Let me throw a little factoid into the mix right here and now: Virginia's lefty government does not know who owns what guns (because the forms one much complete to legally purchase guns in America is destroyed after 30 days, per current Federal Law). So it doesn't know where to go to confiscate them. It will have to demand, via its new laws, that its citizens march right on down to the sheriff's office and hand them over. Or at least register their ownership prior to attempting to fight the confiscatory order. And if they don't? Hmmmmm...
Virginians don't much care for these new laws. So much so that more than 91% of its counties and cities, some 118 so far, have declared themselves "2nd Amendment Sanctuaries." And their sheriffs have stated flatly that they will not follow their legislature's orders regarding unconstitutional gun seizures. I simply cannot wait to find out how this unfolds.
BTW, if cities and counties and states can declare themselves illegal immigrant "sanctuaries," as more than 250 so far have, including the dumbass state in which I'm currently held hostage, then those same locales can surely declare themselves gun rights sanctuaries, right?
We've told by some that so-called "assault weapons" must be outlawed and seized. And that's even though long guns of all types are used in less than 3% of all shootings.*** That's unacceptable, they tell us. Did you know more people die each and every year due to fists and clubs than due to long guns of any type?
Let me pose a scenario for you: Even if only 3% of all legal gun owners refuse to turn over their guns to the authorities and mount a defense, a bullets-flying defense, a blood-spurting defense, a knock-down, drag-out defense, how many people do you think might die as a result of that stupid, ill-fated effort?
BTW, 3% of our gun owners constitute more than 10 million people!
Consider this as I head out the metaphorical door. 100+ Million Americans own more than 429 Million guns. You do the math. Perhaps we should all be investing in hospital stocks. Or maybe J&J for bandages. We're going to need plenty of hospitals and bandages once the confiscation effort begins...
* SCOTUS ruling, "Washington D.C. v. Heller, 2008"
** Kinda' tough to "buy-back" something it never owned, right?
*** FBI, 2018.
And people with guns...are sent to the homes of people with guns...to confiscate the guns...of the people with...guns...
Let that sink in...
We all know that the thousands and thousands of anti-gun laws in our country are focused exclusively on law-abiding citizens. We know that because criminals don't obey laws. That's why they're called criminals. Duh! They just ignore them. As if they didn't exist. Because for them, they don't.
The Bottom Line is: Only law-abiding folks obey laws. Those who ignore the laws will not be affected by any new ones you might wish to shovel upon them. Got it?
So the more than 25,000 anti-gun laws we now suffer were enacted solely to limit and frustrate the actions of those self-same citizens who enjoy the iron-clad protections of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and would like to enjoy them. And the alarming current trend toward new and even more restrictive...or even confiscatory...laws are beginning to cause a backlash.
One can only imagine why these Liberal-types are trying to so hard to disarm America, at the very same time they're trying to empty our prisons of hardened criminals. Maybe they think we'd be more easily managed?
Just imagine: Every single Democrat candidate for POTUS 2020 has stated that they are planning to outlaw certain firearms if elected, and perhaps confiscate them. Despite SCOTUS rulings that guarantee each American the Right to own and use a firearm,* the Democrat candidates intend to ignore them.
They ignore the Constitution quite often, don't they?
What do you think citizens might do if a law enforcement officer shows up at their front door to seize their firearms? Oh yeah, some will comply. A percentage would of course comply. But a percentage would not. Let me lay out a scenario for you. What would armed law enforcement officers...members of the community, all...do if sent to seize their next door neighbor's guns? Maybe the same guy they go hunting with? Or attend church with? Or maybe work...for! And maybe those charged with enforcing them are just tired as Hell of having a bunch of unconstitutional laws stuffed down their throats and intend to plant their feet?
That same scenario is playing itself out right now in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It's just elected a Democrat-controlled legislature for the first time in over 30 years. And under its gun-hating (but abortion loving!) Democrat Governor Northam, who's quite fond of appearing in Blackface, it has just outlawed, and intends to confiscate under some sort of "buy-back" program,** what it calls "assault weapons." It hasn't defined "assault weapons," but it intends to confiscate them. And the legislature just voted to set aside $250,000 to cover the costs of jailing scofflaws who refuse to hand over their legally-bought, legally-owned and legally-used AR/AK-style semi-automatic rifles.
Let me throw a little factoid into the mix right here and now: Virginia's lefty government does not know who owns what guns (because the forms one much complete to legally purchase guns in America is destroyed after 30 days, per current Federal Law). So it doesn't know where to go to confiscate them. It will have to demand, via its new laws, that its citizens march right on down to the sheriff's office and hand them over. Or at least register their ownership prior to attempting to fight the confiscatory order. And if they don't? Hmmmmm...
Virginians don't much care for these new laws. So much so that more than 91% of its counties and cities, some 118 so far, have declared themselves "2nd Amendment Sanctuaries." And their sheriffs have stated flatly that they will not follow their legislature's orders regarding unconstitutional gun seizures. I simply cannot wait to find out how this unfolds.
BTW, if cities and counties and states can declare themselves illegal immigrant "sanctuaries," as more than 250 so far have, including the dumbass state in which I'm currently held hostage, then those same locales can surely declare themselves gun rights sanctuaries, right?
We've told by some that so-called "assault weapons" must be outlawed and seized. And that's even though long guns of all types are used in less than 3% of all shootings.*** That's unacceptable, they tell us. Did you know more people die each and every year due to fists and clubs than due to long guns of any type?
Let me pose a scenario for you: Even if only 3% of all legal gun owners refuse to turn over their guns to the authorities and mount a defense, a bullets-flying defense, a blood-spurting defense, a knock-down, drag-out defense, how many people do you think might die as a result of that stupid, ill-fated effort?
BTW, 3% of our gun owners constitute more than 10 million people!
Consider this as I head out the metaphorical door. 100+ Million Americans own more than 429 Million guns. You do the math. Perhaps we should all be investing in hospital stocks. Or maybe J&J for bandages. We're going to need plenty of hospitals and bandages once the confiscation effort begins...
* SCOTUS ruling, "Washington D.C. v. Heller, 2008"
** Kinda' tough to "buy-back" something it never owned, right?
*** FBI, 2018.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
The Redistribution of Wealth
We're constantly told that our Country is unfair and needs to get on board with the "redistribution of wealth." What that means is take some more money from those who "have," and give to it the "have nots." As if that's fair somehow. Well, Pilgrim, if that basic premise is true, I suggest it's no true no longer. Why?
The Federal Elections Commission just released its Fourth Quarter 2019 Report listing the funds raised by all the candidates for POTUS 2020.
It listed the Democrats and the DNC as having raised some $400,000,000.
It stated that Trump and the RNC raised a whopping $467,000,000!
And these eye-popping numbers represent just the 4th Quarter! If you add in all the bucks raised during the earlier parts of 2019, we're looking at something waaaay north of $1 Billion Dollars raised thus far, and we've really just begun...
The Sanders campaign reported raising $34.5 Million The Bootygaggg campaign, $24.7 Million. Biden? $22.7 Million. And Warren raised $21.2 Million. Whew!
Trump? $103 Million. With more than $200 Million cash-on-hand. Plus all his other, ummm, cash on hand. Hmmm.
Remember, this guy self-financed his 2016 POTUS run, so I imagine he's still got some cash on hand...
All of the money was contributed by the fat cats on Wall Street, and hedge fund managers, and university and college professors, and union bosses and their serfs, and Hollyweird celebritards, and the rest mainly by folks just like you and me. Bernie's campaign just reported that his average contribution during this period was $18.02. And that his average donor was a teacher. Hmmm.
These same teachers are likely teaching our kids. Scary...
(Disclaimer: Three-fourths of my progeny are school teachers, and they promise me they're not a part of this problem.)
It seems to me that this scenario we're watching unfold represents the Great Redistribution of Wealth the liberal-types have been calling for all these years. Over $1 Billion Dollars has been redistributed during this campaign thus far. From those who claim - loudly - that they've been deprived of all this wealth. Yet they're giving it away! Confused yet?
It seems that this wealth redistribution deal is sort of bass-ackwards. Politicians beg for our money. And that money seems to still be flowing from the "have nots" to the "haves." And from the "haves" to the "haves." From the less well-off to those with plenty of moolah. And from those with oodles of cash to those with equally large bank accounts. Is this just a continuation of the way things have always been?
Yes. Yes it it.
Hedge fund managers make up a yuuuuge percentage of the donations making their way to candidates' coffers. And Fortune 1000 CEO's. And privileged professors and actors and media-types. And the rest comes from folks like you and me, the "have nots." So are we not "redistributing" our wealth, just as the protesting masses are demanding?
By the time this 2020 POTUS campaign is finally over, there will have been far more than $2.5 Billion Dollars amassed and redistributed by the various and sundry political campaigns. That's Two Thousand Five Hundred Million Dollars!
Hey America! We don't need no stinkin' wealth redistribution plan! We've already got one!
The Federal Elections Commission just released its Fourth Quarter 2019 Report listing the funds raised by all the candidates for POTUS 2020.
It listed the Democrats and the DNC as having raised some $400,000,000.
It stated that Trump and the RNC raised a whopping $467,000,000!
And these eye-popping numbers represent just the 4th Quarter! If you add in all the bucks raised during the earlier parts of 2019, we're looking at something waaaay north of $1 Billion Dollars raised thus far, and we've really just begun...
The Sanders campaign reported raising $34.5 Million The Bootygaggg campaign, $24.7 Million. Biden? $22.7 Million. And Warren raised $21.2 Million. Whew!
Trump? $103 Million. With more than $200 Million cash-on-hand. Plus all his other, ummm, cash on hand. Hmmm.
Remember, this guy self-financed his 2016 POTUS run, so I imagine he's still got some cash on hand...
All of the money was contributed by the fat cats on Wall Street, and hedge fund managers, and university and college professors, and union bosses and their serfs, and Hollyweird celebritards, and the rest mainly by folks just like you and me. Bernie's campaign just reported that his average contribution during this period was $18.02. And that his average donor was a teacher. Hmmm.
These same teachers are likely teaching our kids. Scary...
(Disclaimer: Three-fourths of my progeny are school teachers, and they promise me they're not a part of this problem.)
It seems to me that this scenario we're watching unfold represents the Great Redistribution of Wealth the liberal-types have been calling for all these years. Over $1 Billion Dollars has been redistributed during this campaign thus far. From those who claim - loudly - that they've been deprived of all this wealth. Yet they're giving it away! Confused yet?
It seems that this wealth redistribution deal is sort of bass-ackwards. Politicians beg for our money. And that money seems to still be flowing from the "have nots" to the "haves." And from the "haves" to the "haves." From the less well-off to those with plenty of moolah. And from those with oodles of cash to those with equally large bank accounts. Is this just a continuation of the way things have always been?
Yes. Yes it it.
Hedge fund managers make up a yuuuuge percentage of the donations making their way to candidates' coffers. And Fortune 1000 CEO's. And privileged professors and actors and media-types. And the rest comes from folks like you and me, the "have nots." So are we not "redistributing" our wealth, just as the protesting masses are demanding?
By the time this 2020 POTUS campaign is finally over, there will have been far more than $2.5 Billion Dollars amassed and redistributed by the various and sundry political campaigns. That's Two Thousand Five Hundred Million Dollars!
Hey America! We don't need no stinkin' wealth redistribution plan! We've already got one!
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