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 Now I believe it may have been replaced by "gender studies," or "climate chaos," or "wealth redistribution," but I could be in error.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
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
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!
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Chuckmeisterly Resolutions, 2020
As you may know, The Chuckmeister issues his annual New Year's Resolutions each year about this time. And he nearly always keeps them. Because he's an Eagle Scout and an Army (Lone) Ranger. And he identifies as a mixed-martial arts expert and professional bull rider. So it's a good idea to pay rapt attention to the miscellaneous ramblings of his troubled, but omniscient mind, lest he be found prescient in his many and varied musings, and you be found wanting on an issue. So pay attention, Pilgrim, whilst he pontificates away...
(Doncha' just luv people who refer to themselves in the third person?)
1. My first resolution is to gain 10 - 15 pounds during 2020. I know that the general idea is to try and LOSE weight going in to each New Year, but that never works. It doesn't work for me, it doesn't work for you. It only works for Weight Watchers' and Nutri Systems' bank accounts. So the best idea is to just forget about that whole weight losing thing and enjoy lots and lots of yummy food. And booze, too! None of that light beer for me! That's what I'm going to do. I suggest you do so as well...
2. I'm resolving to find one of those UFO's we keep hearing about, make contact with it, establish lasting friendships with its occupants, reach an agreement to represent them as their agent, and then proceed to line up a book deal and a whole bunch of TV appearances and maybe a movie or two. Oh yeah, and that Oval Office greeting with the POTUS. I tend to think this might be a big deal...
I should add that I truly hope that the occupants of the flying saucer I locate are those little "Greys." I find the "Reptilian" variety you read about oh so scary...
3. I resolve to hunt down a cryptid, better known as a Bigfoot (or Yeti, or Yowee, or Skunk Ape, etc.), and capture it, and tame it, and train it, and then make arrangements to represent it as its agent. Like the UFO folks, I'll bet my own personal Bigfoot becomes a media sensation. Whaddayou think? Can you see a nice variety show starring the "Little Greys," featuring "Biggie?"
I'll have to teach them to sing first, but that shouldn't be too awfully difficult...
4. I resolve to finally finish digging and filling my moat. You know, the one around my fort here in Murietta. The fort that shall protect me and the other members of the Resistance from those hellish freaks who write those oh so dumb laws up there in Sacrataxyou. I'm about half way through, but my back's been bothering me of late, so any help you could offer would surely be appreciated.
Be sure to bring your own shovels...
5. If I have any time left over, I'll resolve to find out how they really built those pyramids way back when, and what happened to Amelia Earhart, and Flight MH370 while I'm at it, and whether ghosts are real, and where they hang out between seances, and where that Ark of the Covenant's been hiding all these years, and why becoming a Hollyweird movie or TV star tends to make one dumber than a rock and tweet all sorts of inane crap at every opportunity.
6. And finally, given that those previous resolutions are pretty much guaranteed to keep me busy this year, I wish to only add the resolution to more fully appreciate you and all the other nice folks who decide to read the simple-minded effluvia I send along via this unassuming little blog.
I'm off to a good start...
- The Chuckmeister
(Doncha' just luv people who refer to themselves in the third person?)
1. My first resolution is to gain 10 - 15 pounds during 2020. I know that the general idea is to try and LOSE weight going in to each New Year, but that never works. It doesn't work for me, it doesn't work for you. It only works for Weight Watchers' and Nutri Systems' bank accounts. So the best idea is to just forget about that whole weight losing thing and enjoy lots and lots of yummy food. And booze, too! None of that light beer for me! That's what I'm going to do. I suggest you do so as well...
2. I'm resolving to find one of those UFO's we keep hearing about, make contact with it, establish lasting friendships with its occupants, reach an agreement to represent them as their agent, and then proceed to line up a book deal and a whole bunch of TV appearances and maybe a movie or two. Oh yeah, and that Oval Office greeting with the POTUS. I tend to think this might be a big deal...
I should add that I truly hope that the occupants of the flying saucer I locate are those little "Greys." I find the "Reptilian" variety you read about oh so scary...
3. I resolve to hunt down a cryptid, better known as a Bigfoot (or Yeti, or Yowee, or Skunk Ape, etc.), and capture it, and tame it, and train it, and then make arrangements to represent it as its agent. Like the UFO folks, I'll bet my own personal Bigfoot becomes a media sensation. Whaddayou think? Can you see a nice variety show starring the "Little Greys," featuring "Biggie?"
I'll have to teach them to sing first, but that shouldn't be too awfully difficult...
4. I resolve to finally finish digging and filling my moat. You know, the one around my fort here in Murietta. The fort that shall protect me and the other members of the Resistance from those hellish freaks who write those oh so dumb laws up there in Sacrataxyou. I'm about half way through, but my back's been bothering me of late, so any help you could offer would surely be appreciated.
Be sure to bring your own shovels...
5. If I have any time left over, I'll resolve to find out how they really built those pyramids way back when, and what happened to Amelia Earhart, and Flight MH370 while I'm at it, and whether ghosts are real, and where they hang out between seances, and where that Ark of the Covenant's been hiding all these years, and why becoming a Hollyweird movie or TV star tends to make one dumber than a rock and tweet all sorts of inane crap at every opportunity.
6. And finally, given that those previous resolutions are pretty much guaranteed to keep me busy this year, I wish to only add the resolution to more fully appreciate you and all the other nice folks who decide to read the simple-minded effluvia I send along via this unassuming little blog.
I'm off to a good start...
- The Chuckmeister
Thursday, January 2, 2020
An Existential Threat...
First of all, let me send along my personal best wishes to you and yours for a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Great! Now that that's out of the way, lemme' transmogrify to the subject of this unassuming little rant.
How many times have you heard the term "existential threat" in the last year or so?
100? 1,000? More? I would suggest it's mucho more. And that's because it's become the favorite, go-to word of the "Progressive Left." And if you watch cable TV no doubt you've heard it to the point of gag level. Everything that the Republicans do, it seems, is an "existential threat" to something or other. To life. To liberty. To humankind. To our very way of life! To planet Earth!
So-called "climate change" is one of those "existential threats," it seems. And America is completely, totally at fault. And that's despite the fact that China and India are to blame for more than 50% of all atmospheric pollutants. But most importantly, Trump is an "existential threat" as well.
They never explain quite how, but God knows, they believe it is and he is.
Perhaps these feckless bozos are unaware that "existential threat" means an end to life as we know it. As in, dying. Being wiped out. Like a nuclear blast. Or a comet strike. Nothing left but rubble!
Oh yeah, and Starbucks coffee shops...
They've even told us, with straight faces, that the World only has 12 years left to "live." They say unless we stop all air travel and train travel and do away with SUVs and stop using oil and gas and start using windmills and solar farms, we'll all perish. As in, go away. Poof! Oh yeah, and some say it's less than 12 years. Some say only 10. And some say it's as little as 8 years!
Imagine that: Unless we revert back to the pre-Industrial Age, we'll be dead by the time Donald J. Trump completes his second term...
But to them, it means he's messing around with the laws and rules and regulations that they hold dear. And taking liberties with policies and procedures that they think he should leave untouched. And they've got to somehow force him from office before he actually FIXES stuff. 'Cause that would prove that an ordinary businessman can come to D.C. from somewhere else and then fix stuff that a whole cadre of politicians who've infested Washington, D.C. for forever have screwed up. Mightily. And something tells me they're not going to be successful.
Whaddayou think?
Great! Now that that's out of the way, lemme' transmogrify to the subject of this unassuming little rant.
How many times have you heard the term "existential threat" in the last year or so?
100? 1,000? More? I would suggest it's mucho more. And that's because it's become the favorite, go-to word of the "Progressive Left." And if you watch cable TV no doubt you've heard it to the point of gag level. Everything that the Republicans do, it seems, is an "existential threat" to something or other. To life. To liberty. To humankind. To our very way of life! To planet Earth!
So-called "climate change" is one of those "existential threats," it seems. And America is completely, totally at fault. And that's despite the fact that China and India are to blame for more than 50% of all atmospheric pollutants. But most importantly, Trump is an "existential threat" as well.
They never explain quite how, but God knows, they believe it is and he is.
Perhaps these feckless bozos are unaware that "existential threat" means an end to life as we know it. As in, dying. Being wiped out. Like a nuclear blast. Or a comet strike. Nothing left but rubble!
Oh yeah, and Starbucks coffee shops...
They've even told us, with straight faces, that the World only has 12 years left to "live." They say unless we stop all air travel and train travel and do away with SUVs and stop using oil and gas and start using windmills and solar farms, we'll all perish. As in, go away. Poof! Oh yeah, and some say it's less than 12 years. Some say only 10. And some say it's as little as 8 years!
Imagine that: Unless we revert back to the pre-Industrial Age, we'll be dead by the time Donald J. Trump completes his second term...
But to them, it means he's messing around with the laws and rules and regulations that they hold dear. And taking liberties with policies and procedures that they think he should leave untouched. And they've got to somehow force him from office before he actually FIXES stuff. 'Cause that would prove that an ordinary businessman can come to D.C. from somewhere else and then fix stuff that a whole cadre of politicians who've infested Washington, D.C. for forever have screwed up. Mightily. And something tells me they're not going to be successful.
Whaddayou think?
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