Sunday, May 31, 2015
Friday, May 29, 2015
Summer reading assignments
Does your child's school assign books for students to read over the summer?
Do you review titles and contents before your child undertakes the assignment?
You may be amazed at the kind of social indoctrination your young students are being told to immerse themselves in.
For example, Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher is among the books rising 11th graders get to choose from at at least one Gwinnett County, Georgia public high school.
Here's part of how Amazon.com pitches Almost Perfect:
Do you review titles and contents before your child undertakes the assignment?
You may be amazed at the kind of social indoctrination your young students are being told to immerse themselves in.
For example, Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher is among the books rising 11th graders get to choose from at at least one Gwinnett County, Georgia public high school.
Here's part of how Amazon.com pitches Almost Perfect:
Whether you’re trans, gay, lesbian, bi, queer, questioning, or straight, this winner of the Stonewall Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award will make you marvel at the beauty of human connection and the irrepressible nature of love. Everyone has that one line they swear they’ll never cross, the one thing they say they’ll never do. We draw the line. Maybe we even believe it. Sage Hendricks was my line. Logan Witherspoon befriends Sage Hendricks at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. As time goes on, he finds himself drawn to Sage, pulled in by her deep, but sexy feminine voice and her constant smile. Eventually Logan’s feelings for Sage grow so strong that he can’t resist kissing her. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she was born a boy...
The end may be closer than you think
Rasmussen: Most Democrats think illegal immigrants should vote.
Might as well say most Democrats are idiots, and are ready and willing to betray America.
Might as well say most Democrats are idiots, and are ready and willing to betray America.
No charm in this second assessment
Last month, so many told us to shrug off those ugly GDP first quarter numbers.
Now?
Even the government says the numbers were worse than first thought.
Now?
Even the government says the numbers were worse than first thought.
Real gross domestic product -- the value of the production of goods and services in the United States, adjusted for price changes -- decreased at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis... The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, real GDP increased 0.2 percent.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Water barrels
Natural water sources are in short supply within easy walking distance from where I live, so I got the idea a couple years ago to put together a couple of water barrels to create a little backup supply for plant watering and other non-potable uses.
Well, it's been an off-and-on effort, but I finally came across a simple rubber water diverter and intake connection inserts that struck my fancy.
I now have two water barrels up and running, and plan to add a third that feeds off the overflow from the back porch barrel.
For those not initiated in the ways of water barrels, clean rainwater can be kinda dirty by the time it rolls off a roof and down a gutter and downspout. That's why I stress the water barrels are intended for non-potable purposes.
Well, it's been an off-and-on effort, but I finally came across a simple rubber water diverter and intake connection inserts that struck my fancy.
I now have two water barrels up and running, and plan to add a third that feeds off the overflow from the back porch barrel.
For those not initiated in the ways of water barrels, clean rainwater can be kinda dirty by the time it rolls off a roof and down a gutter and downspout. That's why I stress the water barrels are intended for non-potable purposes.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Old truth, contemporary application?
Via Twitter:
Voltaire explained the government global warming strategy
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
— Steve Goddard (@SteveSGoddard) May 25, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Holiday death tolls
Nice try, Baltimore.
But Chicago still reigns as top progressive city when it comes to holiday weekend shooting deaths and woundings.
But Chicago still reigns as top progressive city when it comes to holiday weekend shooting deaths and woundings.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
The Left wants a draft
The Left increasingly sees military as a tool for forced social change.
Women in combat, gay and transgender acceptance, anti-Christian dogma...
Now that these and other PC views are getting embedded in the services, no one should be surprised that the Left now ramps up efforts to start selling America on reviving the draft.
The Left's primary desire in reviving the draft, I suspect, is not because it's vital to the defense of America, but to force wide exposure to what amounts to a year or two or three of Pentagon administered progressive-themed reeducation camp.
Might also serve a purpose to make some of the unemployed youth vanish from federal unemployment stats for a time.
Can you imagine the sorry draftees that would be pulled into the ranks with a draft? All for the sake of diversity, of course.
Then again, dodging the draft might be easier in our progressive era.
Don't wanna serve? Get a quick diagnosis in ADHD or some kind of bi-polar malady, and get the doc to prescribe the proper meds that are on the military's no-go list.
Women in combat, gay and transgender acceptance, anti-Christian dogma...
Now that these and other PC views are getting embedded in the services, no one should be surprised that the Left now ramps up efforts to start selling America on reviving the draft.
The Left's primary desire in reviving the draft, I suspect, is not because it's vital to the defense of America, but to force wide exposure to what amounts to a year or two or three of Pentagon administered progressive-themed reeducation camp.
Might also serve a purpose to make some of the unemployed youth vanish from federal unemployment stats for a time.
Can you imagine the sorry draftees that would be pulled into the ranks with a draft? All for the sake of diversity, of course.
Then again, dodging the draft might be easier in our progressive era.
Don't wanna serve? Get a quick diagnosis in ADHD or some kind of bi-polar malady, and get the doc to prescribe the proper meds that are on the military's no-go list.
Obama's Syrian refugee airlift
Obama's been airlifting Syrian refugees our way for a while.
But it's apparently not going nearly fast enough to satisfy some Democrats.
Some Senate Democrats, including Dick Durban of Illinois, want at least 65,000 Syrians resettled here in the U.S.
What are the chances the Obama team can vet its Syrian refugees any better than it's vetted its so-called "moderate" rebels in Syria?
Once armed by the U.S., those "moderate" rebels oft seem to pack up their stuff and crossover to ISIS or al Qaeda.
How many Jihadists would love a free flight to the U.S. where they'd find a stack of public assistance benefits waiting, allowing them to embed nicely before resuming their Jihad in the heartland of our nation?
For a refresher on Dick Durbin and some of his political allies back home in Chicago, check out this clip from May 2013.
But it's apparently not going nearly fast enough to satisfy some Democrats.
Some Senate Democrats, including Dick Durban of Illinois, want at least 65,000 Syrians resettled here in the U.S.
What are the chances the Obama team can vet its Syrian refugees any better than it's vetted its so-called "moderate" rebels in Syria?
Once armed by the U.S., those "moderate" rebels oft seem to pack up their stuff and crossover to ISIS or al Qaeda.
How many Jihadists would love a free flight to the U.S. where they'd find a stack of public assistance benefits waiting, allowing them to embed nicely before resuming their Jihad in the heartland of our nation?
For a refresher on Dick Durbin and some of his political allies back home in Chicago, check out this clip from May 2013.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Revolutionary change is farther along than you may realize
Washington DC is not out of touch. It's more like big political parties and big bureaucracies now seem to think they're big enough to steamroller over the wishes and intent of we the people, thinking they can hide their treachery under shrouds of secrecy.
It's not often you'll find me quoting from left-wing Daily Kos, but when I do, it's probably a sign how far out of line things really are.
This is one of those occasions, as Kos details the odd and unsettling secrecy surrounding the emerging Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact:
The Republicans now in lockstep with Obama are the same ones who last year assured us we could trust them to hold Obama's rogue actions in check if only we gave them a senate majority.
Now that they have that majority, these Republicans snuggle up close to the president's agenda and press it forward in ways even Democrats seem to know is unwise.
We're witnessing fundamental change in American government. And no, it's not one working in favor of we the people. Quite the opposite, actually.
It's not often you'll find me quoting from left-wing Daily Kos, but when I do, it's probably a sign how far out of line things really are.
This is one of those occasions, as Kos details the odd and unsettling secrecy surrounding the emerging Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact:
Senators are forced to go into a classified viewing room in order to read the full text of the document, but are not allowed to bring in key staff or take notes on what is included in the bill text. Not only this, but as you would assume for classified documents, elected officials are unable to speak to anyone without proper security clearance about the specific details of the trade negotiations without suffering potential criminal legal ramifications. This becomes a serious issue when dealing with complicated and technical negotiations regarding the largest trade deal in American history. It also raises serious questions about the legislative process and democracy generally when the public is unable to view the content of a bill introduced in Congress, but foreign government officials and private corporations are.We're not talking nuclear secrets or national security. This is supposed to be a trade treaty. And Republicans have locked arms with Obama to push it forward with deeper secrecy and less accountability than even most among the president's own party will tolerate.
The Republicans now in lockstep with Obama are the same ones who last year assured us we could trust them to hold Obama's rogue actions in check if only we gave them a senate majority.
Now that they have that majority, these Republicans snuggle up close to the president's agenda and press it forward in ways even Democrats seem to know is unwise.
We're witnessing fundamental change in American government. And no, it's not one working in favor of we the people. Quite the opposite, actually.
Another knife in the back
Last year, the Republican establishment assured Americans the best way to hold rogue Obama presidential actions in check was to vote in a Republican controlled senate to work in concert with a Republican controlled House.
Post election passage of CRominbus, rising out of the Republican House late last year that including funding for key Obama programs, was the first major sign of how badly we'd been snookered.
Then came passage of longer term funding, facilitated by Republicans in Congress, for Obama's executive amnesty program that Republicans campaigned last year saying they'd stop.
Now?
Senate Republicans soundly just gave Obama wider executive powers to "fast-track" a secretive new trade deal that even the president's own party says is poison to America.
Thanks to Congressional Republican stupidity, the anti-Obama voter in 2016 may also be an anti-Republican one as well.
How much more harm can Obama do now that he has McConnell in the Senate and Boehner in the House working in full complicity toward what Obama once called his plan to fundamentally change the United States of America?
Post election passage of CRominbus, rising out of the Republican House late last year that including funding for key Obama programs, was the first major sign of how badly we'd been snookered.
Then came passage of longer term funding, facilitated by Republicans in Congress, for Obama's executive amnesty program that Republicans campaigned last year saying they'd stop.
Now?
Senate Republicans soundly just gave Obama wider executive powers to "fast-track" a secretive new trade deal that even the president's own party says is poison to America.
Thanks to Congressional Republican stupidity, the anti-Obama voter in 2016 may also be an anti-Republican one as well.
How much more harm can Obama do now that he has McConnell in the Senate and Boehner in the House working in full complicity toward what Obama once called his plan to fundamentally change the United States of America?
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Water gun ban
The Boy Scouts have banned squirt gun fights, apparently because pointing a water gun at someone is not a kind act.
Do scouts still offer "totin chips" - the privilege of packing and using a knife or an ax after passing a test demonstrating knowledge of proper protocol and rudimentary skill?
I'm fearing the "totin' chip" may be the next to be banned in the increasing PC Boy Scouts.
Or maybe it'll be campfires. After all, fire is scary and dangerous. And, in the minds of many, especially progressives, probably contributes to global warming.
Do scouts still offer "totin chips" - the privilege of packing and using a knife or an ax after passing a test demonstrating knowledge of proper protocol and rudimentary skill?
I'm fearing the "totin' chip" may be the next to be banned in the increasing PC Boy Scouts.
Or maybe it'll be campfires. After all, fire is scary and dangerous. And, in the minds of many, especially progressives, probably contributes to global warming.
Twisted justice
Questions are raised.
Is Baltimore's prosecutor seeking justice in prosecuting cops in the Freddie Gray case?
Or is she more motivated in seeking to rescue her husband's political career?
The Daily Caller notes:
Is Baltimore's prosecutor seeking justice in prosecuting cops in the Freddie Gray case?
Or is she more motivated in seeking to rescue her husband's political career?
The Daily Caller notes:
In the May 8 motion, the officers’ attorneys argued that Mosby was biased against their clients because her husband, Nick Mosby, is a city councilman who represents the area where Gray was arrested and where riots occurred. The argument was that Nick Mosby would suffer politically if the officers were not charged in the case and that charges would help quash civil unrest in his district.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Rand Paul's big miss
Don't think Rand Paul's gonna woo many voters with his latest attempt at anti-Hillary spin..
“I’ll ask Hillary Clinton, what have you done for criminal justice? Your husband passed all the laws that put a generation of black men in prison. Her husband was responsible for that,” Paul is quoted as saying at TheHill.com.
Seriously?
Maybe Paul's not old enough to remember how out of control some of America's urban centers were in the early 1990s. Gangs were running wild, the crack epidemic was taking a mounting toll.
I was a news reporter in Atlanta in the early '90s,, and I recall how gangs controlled many an Atlanta public housing project. As a reporter in the city then, I recall several cops being killed in the line of duty. And there were what almost became "routine" drug related killings, not always confined to the "bad" 'hoods.
Rand Paul now plays the revisionist historian in the worst way. And Rand has to know, in the '90s, Bill Clinton was just one of the players behind tougher laws that helped, for the time, turn back a tide of violent crime that definitely needed turning back.
Many of the tough anti-crime legislation of the '90s were passed on the state level, California's "three strikes" law is just one example. And Bill Clinton was not in the mix.
“I’ll ask Hillary Clinton, what have you done for criminal justice? Your husband passed all the laws that put a generation of black men in prison. Her husband was responsible for that,” Paul is quoted as saying at TheHill.com.
Seriously?
Maybe Paul's not old enough to remember how out of control some of America's urban centers were in the early 1990s. Gangs were running wild, the crack epidemic was taking a mounting toll.
I was a news reporter in Atlanta in the early '90s,, and I recall how gangs controlled many an Atlanta public housing project. As a reporter in the city then, I recall several cops being killed in the line of duty. And there were what almost became "routine" drug related killings, not always confined to the "bad" 'hoods.
Rand Paul now plays the revisionist historian in the worst way. And Rand has to know, in the '90s, Bill Clinton was just one of the players behind tougher laws that helped, for the time, turn back a tide of violent crime that definitely needed turning back.
Many of the tough anti-crime legislation of the '90s were passed on the state level, California's "three strikes" law is just one example. And Bill Clinton was not in the mix.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Looks like it might rain
It's been a week or more without meaningful rainfall.
Now the wind's blowing. Sky looks promising.
But the Weather Channel gives rain a zero percent chance in this Sunday 5 o'clock hour here in this Atlanta suburb.
I set up a couple of rain barrels last week. Would love a chance to check their fill rate.
Update: We're about 30 minutes into a decent little shower that started just before 6 o'clock. No need to run sprinklers tonight.
Now the wind's blowing. Sky looks promising.
But the Weather Channel gives rain a zero percent chance in this Sunday 5 o'clock hour here in this Atlanta suburb.
I set up a couple of rain barrels last week. Would love a chance to check their fill rate.
Update: We're about 30 minutes into a decent little shower that started just before 6 o'clock. No need to run sprinklers tonight.
Indoctrination. I see no other explanation
Via Twitter:
And no, the unfounded adoration isn't just confined to Hillary. DC's full of these people. And they're not just Democrats.
@LessGovMoreFun @JerzyLuv2A @greta
#WhyImNotVotingForHillary pic.twitter.com/WPKZWngQ9U
— Sursus Ex Servitutem (@BootStrapzOrg) May 15, 2015And no, the unfounded adoration isn't just confined to Hillary. DC's full of these people. And they're not just Democrats.
"Chumps"
The university graduating Class of 2015 is the most indebted in history.
And Bill Bonner notes:
I can't imagine what it's like to be a new grad today. Racking up all that debt, only to find you're no better than a rat on the thread mill, and even then, can't keep up.
And Bill Bonner notes:
If you’ve studied the sciences or engineering (especially petroleum engineering, according to a study done by Georgetown University) maybe you’ll be able to earn enough to pay back your student debt.
But most of you have wasted your money with degrees in subjects that won’t help you understand the real world we live in or earn an extra dime in it.
Many of you have spent the best years of your lives… and borrowed a fortune… to learn things that aren’t true.A second installment of Bonner's student debt tirade can be found here.
I can't imagine what it's like to be a new grad today. Racking up all that debt, only to find you're no better than a rat on the thread mill, and even then, can't keep up.
Cheap hammock from Amazon
The low price lured me in. $16.50 for a hammock on Amazon, shipping included. I wasn't sure what to expect from something that cost less than a single dinner at most restaurants, but my initial impression is that the Yes4All hammock gives decent value for the money.
No, it's not the higher end fabric or cordage found in more expensive hammocks, and while the ends are triple stitched, the sides are not. Still this budget item seems to fulfill its intended function.
I set the thing up in the backyard and gave it a test. Cord and fabric seems to stretch (I hung the
hammock using Atlas straps, so it wasn't the straps that were stretching). I swapped out the cord on each end of the hammock with some slightly better remnants I had, giving a more toned down look (my hammock is forest green and black cord looks better in the wild than the stock white). I also tied off the cordage shorter than the way it came; the original length seemed excessive.. I had to reset the stretched hammock on my hanging straps several times in the first couple of hours of afternoon of break-in, but only had to reset for additional stretching once using it overnight, so their seems. to be a limit to how much it will stretch.
The steel carabiners seem robust, but heavy. The ones that came with my hammock also have some rough edges where they clasp, and might have snagged the Atlas Straps if I wasn't being extra careful. I will probably swap them out for something lighter.
Some reviewers on Amazon commented this hammock is a bit short compared to some others. I'm 5' 9", and there was plenty of room to spare. I like the shorter length, as a rainfly will give better coverage on the ends. The hammock is large enough to accommodate an unaltered USGI foam sleeping pad, providing for economical underside insulation on cool nights.
Really, there's nothing to complain about. Best I can tell, it's a solid deal at the offer price. How well it will hold up under regular use, I can't say. But as a spare, for a guest camper, or something to stick in a bugout bag until something better can be acquired, this should do fine. It might also make a good test subject for someone unsure about hammock camping before buying a more expensive one. Having a pleasant night in this, I may go ahead and spring for an ENO SingleNest.
Meanwhile, I think this budget hammock will store well behind the seat of my pickup, along with a set of cheap cargo straps from Harbor Freight for hanging. Never know when or where I may get the urge to nap, or decide to overnight at a property I'm renovating.
No, it's not the higher end fabric or cordage found in more expensive hammocks, and while the ends are triple stitched, the sides are not. Still this budget item seems to fulfill its intended function.
 |
| Yes4All hammock with sides folded over inserted USGI foam sleeping mat I already had. |
hammock using Atlas straps, so it wasn't the straps that were stretching). I swapped out the cord on each end of the hammock with some slightly better remnants I had, giving a more toned down look (my hammock is forest green and black cord looks better in the wild than the stock white). I also tied off the cordage shorter than the way it came; the original length seemed excessive.. I had to reset the stretched hammock on my hanging straps several times in the first couple of hours of afternoon of break-in, but only had to reset for additional stretching once using it overnight, so their seems. to be a limit to how much it will stretch.
The steel carabiners seem robust, but heavy. The ones that came with my hammock also have some rough edges where they clasp, and might have snagged the Atlas Straps if I wasn't being extra careful. I will probably swap them out for something lighter.
 |
| Plenty o' space in this single-style hammock, the inserted milsurp sleeping mat shows scale. |
Some reviewers on Amazon commented this hammock is a bit short compared to some others. I'm 5' 9", and there was plenty of room to spare. I like the shorter length, as a rainfly will give better coverage on the ends. The hammock is large enough to accommodate an unaltered USGI foam sleeping pad, providing for economical underside insulation on cool nights.
Really, there's nothing to complain about. Best I can tell, it's a solid deal at the offer price. How well it will hold up under regular use, I can't say. But as a spare, for a guest camper, or something to stick in a bugout bag until something better can be acquired, this should do fine. It might also make a good test subject for someone unsure about hammock camping before buying a more expensive one. Having a pleasant night in this, I may go ahead and spring for an ENO SingleNest.
Meanwhile, I think this budget hammock will store well behind the seat of my pickup, along with a set of cheap cargo straps from Harbor Freight for hanging. Never know when or where I may get the urge to nap, or decide to overnight at a property I'm renovating.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Poor, poor Michelle O
It seems Michelle Obama says she has it rough as First Lady.
A while back, we collected and shared a series of official White House photos that detail some of the hard work Mrs. Obama partakes in.
There's stunts with TV talk hosts, photo ops with football players, doing bunny dances with little kiddies...
Potato sack racing can take a toll on a person.
Yeah, Ol' Michelle's got it rough.
A while back, we collected and shared a series of official White House photos that detail some of the hard work Mrs. Obama partakes in.
There's stunts with TV talk hosts, photo ops with football players, doing bunny dances with little kiddies...
Potato sack racing can take a toll on a person.
 |
| Official White House photo |
Yeah, Ol' Michelle's got it rough.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Trans Pacific Partnership - Sent this to my senators this morning
More treachery afoot in Washington DC. Congress and the Exec Branch appear to be working in concert to orchestrate the next leg-down in America's standard of living on behalf of their corporate cronies.
Sent this letter to Georgia's senators this morning:
Enough is enough.
We don't want another item rushed through Congress where we, as the people, are not allowed to see the content prior to passage.
This things have a way of turning out to be the opposite of what was claimed prior to the vote.
Based on available information, the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership pact appears packed with content detrimental to these United States.
It is disappointing to see Republican leadership taking its cues from Barack Obama and trying to rush through passage.
This is not how America's supposed to be governed.
The madness has got to stop. This treacherous trade treaty must be defeated before it takes declining America on its next leg down.A similar email was sent to my Congressman yesterday.
Our America is being gutted to the bone to benefit those with greedy self-interest, yet too many people, including many of those who see it for what it is, still fail to raise their voices to object.
OMG, the oceans are rising!
When you get past the alarmist headline that states "Sea Levels Rose at Faster Pace", you can look within this Wall Street Journal story to see the data presented.
"The revised estimates showed that the average global sea level had increased by 2.6-2.9 millimeters a year between 1993 and 2014—less than the previous estimates of 3.2 millimeters a year," says WSJ.
Be generous. Give the estimate 3 millimeters a year. That's less an 12 inches in a century. And that's assuming this recently reduced estimate is accurate.
Earth's oceans have been rising and falling since the earth's had oceans. Why does do the global warming gurus have so much trouble with this?
Note: If the link says you need a subscription to see the story, try copying the text within one of the quotes here and paste it in a search engine. Chances are, you'll get linked to the WSJ story where you can open it.
"The revised estimates showed that the average global sea level had increased by 2.6-2.9 millimeters a year between 1993 and 2014—less than the previous estimates of 3.2 millimeters a year," says WSJ.
Be generous. Give the estimate 3 millimeters a year. That's less an 12 inches in a century. And that's assuming this recently reduced estimate is accurate.
Earth's oceans have been rising and falling since the earth's had oceans. Why does do the global warming gurus have so much trouble with this?
Note: If the link says you need a subscription to see the story, try copying the text within one of the quotes here and paste it in a search engine. Chances are, you'll get linked to the WSJ story where you can open it.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Persecuting Pam Geller for daring to predictably lure attackers into play
Can't get over how the Left and its Left leaning media worked overtime last week to vilify and persecute Pam Geller as a provocateur in the thwarted Islamist attack at the Mohammed cartoon contest in Garland, Texas.
The Lefties, it seems, were eager to latch onto any so-called conservatives they could enlist to the cause.
I see where Talking Points Memo was able to scrounge around and find seven conservatives who are critical of Pam Geller's confrontational approach to Islam. For those not going to the link, here's the list: Greta Van Sustern, Bill O'Reilly, Donald Trump ,Geraldo Rivera, Bill Donahue, Martha MacCallum, Rev. Franklin Graham, and Laura Ingraham
I got a chuckle that Geraldo Rivera is now touted as a conservative.
Or that Bill O'Reilly, after a recent bashing campaign over his actions in Argentina 30 years ago, is now a bastion of credibility to be commended by the Lefties at Talking Points for his wisdom.
Super self-promoter Donald Trump also made the list.
And I'd expect members of the Christian clergy to have tactics different than Geller. Especially guys like Franklin Graham, whose Samaritan Purse organisation often has people in harm's way, and sometimes under direct fire overseas from Islamic factions.
There's something about conservatives the Left fails to understand. Conservatives tend to be free thinkers, at least freer than their counterparts on the Left. So, yes, expect some differences of opinion from time to time.
Geller's tactics may be distasteful to some. Some might even call it hate speech. But the fact is is, followers of Islam behaved exactly as Geller says they do. The attack on the cartoon contest only shows Geller's warnings aren't based in hysteria or paranoia.
There are Muslims out there bent on behaving in line with teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, and are dedicated to killing those infidels who won't submit.
Maybe the hard truth about radical Islam is too hard for many, including some conservatives, to accept. The naysayers may be a lot like those who brushed off the Nazis rise to power in Germany in the 1930s. Back then, Winston Churchill played a role perhaps comparable to the one now played by Pam Geller.
Ol' Winston was shoved off to the sidelines, his warnings of a rapidly rising fascist threat were largely dismissed by the mainstream as the Brits who, still remembering the carnage of WWI, sought what they thought a wiser, more peaceful appeasement orchestrated by Neville Chamberlain.
In the end, it wasn't Chamberlain who saved Britain from a Nazi onslaught.
The Lefties, it seems, were eager to latch onto any so-called conservatives they could enlist to the cause.
I see where Talking Points Memo was able to scrounge around and find seven conservatives who are critical of Pam Geller's confrontational approach to Islam. For those not going to the link, here's the list: Greta Van Sustern, Bill O'Reilly, Donald Trump ,Geraldo Rivera, Bill Donahue, Martha MacCallum, Rev. Franklin Graham, and Laura Ingraham
Or that Bill O'Reilly, after a recent bashing campaign over his actions in Argentina 30 years ago, is now a bastion of credibility to be commended by the Lefties at Talking Points for his wisdom.
Super self-promoter Donald Trump also made the list.
And I'd expect members of the Christian clergy to have tactics different than Geller. Especially guys like Franklin Graham, whose Samaritan Purse organisation often has people in harm's way, and sometimes under direct fire overseas from Islamic factions.
There's something about conservatives the Left fails to understand. Conservatives tend to be free thinkers, at least freer than their counterparts on the Left. So, yes, expect some differences of opinion from time to time.
Geller's tactics may be distasteful to some. Some might even call it hate speech. But the fact is is, followers of Islam behaved exactly as Geller says they do. The attack on the cartoon contest only shows Geller's warnings aren't based in hysteria or paranoia.
There are Muslims out there bent on behaving in line with teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, and are dedicated to killing those infidels who won't submit.
Maybe the hard truth about radical Islam is too hard for many, including some conservatives, to accept. The naysayers may be a lot like those who brushed off the Nazis rise to power in Germany in the 1930s. Back then, Winston Churchill played a role perhaps comparable to the one now played by Pam Geller.
Ol' Winston was shoved off to the sidelines, his warnings of a rapidly rising fascist threat were largely dismissed by the mainstream as the Brits who, still remembering the carnage of WWI, sought what they thought a wiser, more peaceful appeasement orchestrated by Neville Chamberlain.
In the end, it wasn't Chamberlain who saved Britain from a Nazi onslaught.
Another stolen gun recovered
A gun reported stolen in Alabama has been recovered from the butt cheeks of a suspect in Jersey.
The UK Daily Mail notes:
Encouraging to see more media accounts involving armed suspects now seem to note when recovered guns were previously stolen, rather than leave the assumption that they came into criminal hands by way of a lawful source.
The UK Daily Mail notes:
Darquan R. Lee, 21, was being booked into Cumberland County Jail in Bridgeton, New Jersey, on a contempt of court warrant when the weapon was discovered.
When he arrived at a police station he asked to use the bathroom, but when officers said he would be patted down and searched beforehand, he quickly decided he didn't need to go.
According to NJ.com, it led police to believe he was hiding something inside his 'anal cavity'.
Jailers were warned Lee could be hiding contraband, but during a search they found the .25-caliber automatic handgun 'shoved' between his butt cheeks.For the record, stolen guns don't move through any background check system. Each time a gun in criminal possession is shown to be stolen, it further dings the credibility of the hysterical "more gun control" crowd.
Encouraging to see more media accounts involving armed suspects now seem to note when recovered guns were previously stolen, rather than leave the assumption that they came into criminal hands by way of a lawful source.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
"Climate Change" - a tool to coerce political authority
Some interesting comments from a UN "climate change" guru.
Quoting from Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN’s Framework on Climate Change:
These wannabe global central planners know their game could never be sold on the merits of economic transformation.
So they need a hook, and they swear we'll all cook if we don't give them what they want.
Yes. She really is obsessed with transforming the world economy.
Quoting from Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN’s Framework on Climate Change:
In Brussels last February she said, “This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years since the Industrial Revolution.”
These wannabe global central planners know their game could never be sold on the merits of economic transformation.
So they need a hook, and they swear we'll all cook if we don't give them what they want.
Yes. She really is obsessed with transforming the world economy.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Assessing Jade Helm
The political Left is all giddy over the "right wing conspiracy theories" rooted in a planned multi-state military exercise this summer.
But Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) says he understands why people are cautiously suspicious.
Gohmert issued a statement yesterday regarding Jade Helm which says, in part:
Over the past few weeks, my office has been inundated with calls referring to the Jade Helm 15 military exercise scheduled to take place between July 15 and September 15, 2015. This military practice has some concerned that the U.S. Army is preparing for modern-day martial law.
Certainly, I can understand these concerns. When leaders within the current administration believe that major threats to the country include those who support the Constitution, are military veterans, or even ‘cling to guns or religion,’ patriotic Americans have reason to be concerned. We have seen people working in this administration use their government positions to persecute people with conservative beliefs in God, country, and notions such as honor and self-reliance. Because of the contempt and antipathy for the true patriots or even Christian saints persecuted for their Christian beliefs, it is no surprise that those who have experienced or noticed such persecution are legitimately suspicious.
ISIS brags
Seems the Islamic State is ramping up the propaganda after the thwarted attack on a comic contest in Garland, Texas left two wannabe Jihadists dead.
So what if ISIS claims to have "71 trained soldiers in 15 states"?
I think ISIS wants us to think it's more sophisticated than it is. One best not try to assess ISIS by how deep or wide its organisation is. Think of it more along the lines of a broad umbrella with freelancers willing to do the dirty work - with or without direction from the top.
So what if ISIS claims to have "71 trained soldiers in 15 states"?
I think ISIS wants us to think it's more sophisticated than it is. One best not try to assess ISIS by how deep or wide its organisation is. Think of it more along the lines of a broad umbrella with freelancers willing to do the dirty work - with or without direction from the top.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Shhh. Don't tell anybody. It's secret
Today's government crowd in Washington certainly loves keeping secrets from us.
Just look at the trade pact Obama's trying to shove through.
Oh wait, you can't see it. It's all secret.
What's the obsession with secrecy all about?
It's a warning sign for the rest of us.
A government obsessed with secrecy is oft a government up to no good.
Consider this case study from the 1930s.
BTW, lapdog John Boehner is pushing hard to get Obama's highly secretive pact passed.
Just look at the trade pact Obama's trying to shove through.
Oh wait, you can't see it. It's all secret.
What's the obsession with secrecy all about?
It's a warning sign for the rest of us.
A government obsessed with secrecy is oft a government up to no good.
Consider this case study from the 1930s.
BTW, lapdog John Boehner is pushing hard to get Obama's highly secretive pact passed.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Understanding the sheeple, but not tempted to join them
As previously mentioned, my time's being consumed with the renovation of a couple of rental properties. The one I'm doing now is getting a top to bottom make-over. Repair of cedar siding, some plumbing fixes, new sliding glass doors to the deck, rehabbing the deck as well... and that's maybe a third of the "to do list."
Needless to say, that means less time for reading and blogging.
And I've found, if you do turn off the macro-view input of how perilous the times are, things can seem very normal, even serene, as I go through a day of work doing things I enjoy doing.
To me, this helps explain the sheeple syndrome that grips America. Spring's here. Weather's warming. Grass and trees are greening. The sky's still blue. The average low-info American sees no reason to disrupt his/her ignorant bliss by disturbing it with stark realities of political events and economic circumstances. That stuff, if they're aware of it at all, seems to be matters going on somewhere over the horizon. It comforts the sheeple to stick to their backyards.
While I've seemingly been distanced enough to catch a glimpse of this sheeple mindset, I've not shut myself off from broader issues. I still make some time each day for catching up on the day's events; Don and I continue to do our weekly webcast.
Iran now stalks shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, and went unchallenged when it seized a cargo ship and crew this week. Russian Bear bombers now encroach on U.S. air defense zones unchallenged by U.S. fighter interceptors. Europe struggles to keep up the appearance of a functioning economy, and even negative interest rates there can't seem to trigger a real rebound. The week the Fed also seemed to distance itself from the long touted ambition of a U.S. interest rate hike in 2015. All the hype of a growing U.S. economy was dashed with a flat GDP in the first quarter.
Then there's the mess in Baltimore, or the ludicrous antics of Hillary Clinton who seems more the out-of-touch one-percenter progressive who grows ever more desperate as she attempts to show some relevance in her quest for the White House.
Plenty of other stuff out there that can put a damper on your attitude. But, trust me, it's stuff you're better off knowing in the long run.
America continues in decline on many levels, and at an escalating rate. Fooling yourself with ignorance is a sucker's game.
Get engaged, stay engaged. Be the informed electorate the founders intended to keep this country on course.
Soon enough our national (and international) dysfunction will show itself in the ugliest of undeniable ways.
Don't be taken by surprise when it does.
Needless to say, that means less time for reading and blogging.
And I've found, if you do turn off the macro-view input of how perilous the times are, things can seem very normal, even serene, as I go through a day of work doing things I enjoy doing.
To me, this helps explain the sheeple syndrome that grips America. Spring's here. Weather's warming. Grass and trees are greening. The sky's still blue. The average low-info American sees no reason to disrupt his/her ignorant bliss by disturbing it with stark realities of political events and economic circumstances. That stuff, if they're aware of it at all, seems to be matters going on somewhere over the horizon. It comforts the sheeple to stick to their backyards.
While I've seemingly been distanced enough to catch a glimpse of this sheeple mindset, I've not shut myself off from broader issues. I still make some time each day for catching up on the day's events; Don and I continue to do our weekly webcast.
Iran now stalks shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, and went unchallenged when it seized a cargo ship and crew this week. Russian Bear bombers now encroach on U.S. air defense zones unchallenged by U.S. fighter interceptors. Europe struggles to keep up the appearance of a functioning economy, and even negative interest rates there can't seem to trigger a real rebound. The week the Fed also seemed to distance itself from the long touted ambition of a U.S. interest rate hike in 2015. All the hype of a growing U.S. economy was dashed with a flat GDP in the first quarter.
Then there's the mess in Baltimore, or the ludicrous antics of Hillary Clinton who seems more the out-of-touch one-percenter progressive who grows ever more desperate as she attempts to show some relevance in her quest for the White House.
Plenty of other stuff out there that can put a damper on your attitude. But, trust me, it's stuff you're better off knowing in the long run.
America continues in decline on many levels, and at an escalating rate. Fooling yourself with ignorance is a sucker's game.
Get engaged, stay engaged. Be the informed electorate the founders intended to keep this country on course.
Soon enough our national (and international) dysfunction will show itself in the ugliest of undeniable ways.
Don't be taken by surprise when it does.
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