That was Biden’s advice to those who lost jobs as a result of his anti-oil policies.
Blog News
Too Much Heat
It seems like I am forced to remind my readers of this from time to time. The last time I was forced to do so was more than 2 years ago, so we are doing pretty well. We discuss a lot of controversial topics here. Everyone’s opinion will vary on these topics.
I encourage debate here. Whenever there *is* debate, you can expect that people will vigorously defend their positions. That’s the nature of the beast. I allow comments here, even those who disagree with me. It was Ronald Reagan who had my two favorite quotes about disagreement:
“Harmony requires differences to be joined in pursuit of higher ideals.”
“The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20% traitor.”
So it’s important to remember that as we comment here. I want to maintain a level of decorum and civility on the blog and its comments. That’s why I have established rules for commenting on this blog.
The heat here has been increasing for months, and I have decided that this friendly reminder is needed.
One of the biggest rules here is- no personal attacks, and especially not on the person who is paying the bills here- me. This is a permanent link to the rules of commenting here at the blog. They are there permanently for your reference. They are simple and easy to follow. I like the way that Miguel over at the now defunct gunfreezone put it: don’t be a dick. If you want to know what it means to be a dick, read on.
The overriding concept here is that I am paying for this server, the software that runs it, and providing the content. Since I am the one paying for it, that makes it mine. Some people have a problem with this and begin shouting about free speech. Free speech doesn’t apply here on my property. Want free speech? Pay for your own blog. I will even rent you some server space. You can say whatever you want on there, including calling me names. Your space, your rules.
I allow comments here because I enjoy the back and forth of a good debate. However, commenting here is the virtual equivalent of talking to me while sitting in my living room. Debate is a good thing. A well reasoned debate changes minds and can influence the opinions of others. If you make a good case for your opinion, you can win over the opinions of others by presenting them with a perspective or situation that may not have occurred to them. Name calling and shouting at people does not change the opinions of others, generates hard feelings, and is nothing more than chimps shouting and flinging poop at each other inside of the monkey house. It accomplishes nothing but the generation of hostility.
If you and some of my acquaintances are sitting with me in my living room having a conversation, there are things that you wouldn’t say without expecting either a punch in the mouth or being asked to leave and never return. Try to think of comments here as a face to face conversation and don’t type a comment here that you would not say to someone’s face while sitting in their own home.
So with that out of the way, here are the rules for commenting on this blog:
- The owner of this blog (me) has the final say on what you can and cannot post. It’s my house, I make the rules. Content here is moderated, and I will not be approving any comments that I find, in my sole judgement, to be unworthy. If you make a comment here and it doesn’t appear within a few hours, it likely wasn’t approved for some reason. Or it wound up in the SPAM filter for some reason. You can always drop me an email and ask.
- Deliberately posting statements that are aimed at insulting the blog owner (me) will get your comment tossed in the trash. Feel free to disagree with me, just don’t call names or impugn my character. If I wanted someone to purposely insult me, I don’t need to pay for a blog server, I can just go to my ex-wife’s house for free.
- Don’t deliberately insult others. No personal attacks. Feel free to attack ideas. Heap scorn on silly or illogical opinions, just don’t make it personal.
- If you are making a comment about one of my posts, it should be made on the post that you are commenting on, not on another, unrelated post. Offending posts may be deleted or disallowed, purely at my discretion. This is an attempt to both maintain readability and to reduce trolls.
- No spam. If you come on here to sell your product or website, that isn’t going to be allowed. This is an ad free site, because I hate all of the ads on the Internet. I don’t make money on this Blog, and no one else does, either. Including you.
- If you demand that anyone provide evidence for an assertion that they are making, then you must hold yourself to the same standard when making a counterargument. It takes time and effort to research sources, and replying with “Nuh, uh, I refuse to believe that” while not providing sources of your own to refute them is how an 8 year old debates. If you demand that the person with whom you are disagreeing show their work, so do you.
- Usually, I just don’t approve comments that are out of bounds. If you are close to the line, I may approve it with a warning. If repeated out of bounds comments become tiresome, I will warn you.
- If warnings don’t work and you keep at it, I will ban you from ever posting on this site again. I know that you can pull tricks like IP spoofing, changing your name, etc. So don’t think doing that is going to earn you “I’m so clever” points. It doesn’t make you clever, it makes you an asshole.
- Too many people using those tricks to circumvent the rules is what got us full time moderation, which is a major pain in my ass, and a major time waster for me.
- When in doubt, please refer to rule #1. These rules can change with no notice, and rules may or may not apply retroactively. That’s up to me. See rule #1.
Sometimes, your position isn’t based in facts. Some arguments, by their nature, can’t be based upon facts. They are opinions. Opinions, being not factual, can vary widely. Yours can be true for you while not being true for others. That doesn’t mean that you get to insult others for having an opinion different from yours.
Look, I work a full time job, run 2 businesses, and I am now back in full time college student mode. In my remaining time, I have husbandly duties, household maintenance, personal maintenance, the duties of being a grandfather, and I still need time for hobbies and sleep. The maintenance of this blog takes time from all of that.
I have always said that, should this blog become too much of a time waster and no longer be fun, I would pull the plug. I have also said that too many people dodging the rules would result in me requiring registration of user accounts. I don’t want to do either of those, but I can’t let arguing with strangers on the Internet become a full time job.
I have locked comments on the most recent post that has been generating overheated comments. Don’t try to dodge the lock by commenting on that topic on other posts. That comment will not be posted, and you may catch a warning or a ban- even a ban without further notice.
Anti American left
Karens
This woman is upset that the FHP arrested an illegal who was driving with no license, no insurance, and unregistered tags. She feels that the cops should have just given him a ticket and let him go.
I saw this situation many times, back when I was a fire paramedic. This is what they do- The scam here is that an illegal buys a van with a valid plate from someone who is legal. They leave the tags on the vehicle, because they can’t get new tags or insurance without a valid license. They use the vehicle until it either gets impounded or in an accident. The driver they hit is left holding the bag, unless they have uninsured motorist coverage.
When they get in an accident, they give the fake name. They get a ticket for canceled tags, for the accident, for no insurance and for no driver’s license. The tickets require a court appearance. They don’t show up for the hearing, and an arrest warrant is issued, but they already have a new identity and vehicle. They are never seen again.
I know, because I saw plenty of people fall victim to that scam. It also happened to me once: July 4, 2002. I was rear ended by an illegal, he had no insurance, and he never showed up to court. The new bumper for my truck cost me $1000 that I had to pay myself. That’s why I still carry uninsured motorist coverage to this day.
She is literally defending a criminal.
Uncategorized
Tyranny in Europe
The Right to Bear Arms that is protected by the Second Amendment is the safeguard, the one right that protects all of the others. Once a people have been disarmed, they no longer have rights. What they are permitted to do is only at the pleasure of whatever government official wants to get his dictatorship on. I am quite sure that the regular readers of this blog are aware of this.
Gun ownership has been severely restricted in the EU. It’s nearly impossible for a subject of the EU to own a firearm, and the noose has been getting tightened to the point of a near ban.
Now it should come as no surprise that the EU has just created a law permitting the arrest of any journalist, if government officials deem it to be in the public interest to do so. Odd that the left is screaming about Trump being the Fascist, isn’t it?
Cops
In The Finest Tradition
Cop takes cover behind a woman. I applaud shooting the robber, but any man (especially a cop) who takes cover behind women and children is a pussy.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had to say this. Remember the time cops in South Florida hid behind cars filled with soccer moms?
EDIT: Comments here have crossed the line and are generating more heat than light. With that, comments on this post are now closed.
Communism
Socialism is Populist Communism
For years, I have been telling you that we are seeing an attempted Communist coup. They keep telling us what they are going to do, but too many people simply aren’t listening.
Anti American left
Schadenboner
The left is going nuts, claiming that Trump’s use of the DC National Guard is a violation of the posse comitatus act, and I find it hilarious because the posse comitatus act restricts the use of the U.S. Army and Air Force in domestic law enforcement activities, unless specifically authorized by Congress.
That doesn’t include the National Guard, because the NG is not the Army, it is a militia. More importantly, the DC National Guard has been authorized to conduct law enforcement. The Department of Justice has long taken the position that it can operate in a “militia” status, not subject to the Posse Comitatus Act, thus allowing the president to potentially use it for law enforcement purposes without triggering the Act’s restrictions.
Meanwhile, the left has been trying to explain for years that the militia is the National Guard, and therefore the Second Amendment only applies to the Guard’s members.
The left appears to have forgotten that the NG was called out for law enforcement in DC once before during Trump’s time in office…
Antigun
Father of Twenty?!?!
A man in Atlanta, father of 20 children, was shot and killed while in the commission of an armed robbery of an armed person who had just gotten off of a Greyhound bus. An obvious failure in his victim selection process. Hundreds of people showed up to mourn him. Here is a picture of ten of his kids at the memorial:
The man’s family is blaming guns and demanding that the state not allow people to defend themselves with legally carried firearms. They are also saying that Greyhound should not allow people to carry guns on their buses.
Hightower added that he is pushing Greyhound to end its policy allowing guns across state lines and urging Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to tighten gun laws to keep firearms away from young people.
The hardworking black men of Atlanta need to have their workplaces secure from the dangers of armed potential victims.
Anti American left
“Book Bans” again
This story about schools removing books from schools when those books are age inappropriate is just stupidity on display.
Stephana Ferrell believes banning books from schools, especially without a thorough review process, infringes on her children’s freedom to learn.
When Ms. Ferrell (and you know it’s either Ms., or Stephana was born with testicles) tells e that her opinion on her children’s freedom to learn extends to the following books, I will believe her.
- The Way Things Ought To Be, Rush Limbaugh
- The Liberator Code Book: An Exercise in the Freedom of Speech, Cody Wilson
- The Turner Diaries, William Luther Pierce
- The Bible
- The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump
I am betting that those books will never be permitted in school libraries if Ferrell is in charge. The only books that the left are interested in are those on the joys of communism and sexual perversion.
Economy
Another Trillion
It didn’t make major news, but it should have. The US government borrowed another $724 billion last week when it sold large amounts of government paper. The odd thing is that the Treasury and the Fed appear to be coordinating their efforts in transitioning US debt from long term bonds into shorter term T bills.
This means that the national debt has grown to $37 trillion. Six years ago, we were at $23 trillion. We hit $36 trillion in late November of last year, meaning that this last trillion in debt was borrowed in just 9 months. We are doubling the debt every 8 to 9 years, and have been for decades– since Nixon took us away from the gold standard.
Of course, this sort of thing can’t go on forever, and whatever can’t go on forever has an end. When is the end coming? In 1891 Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a short story called “The Bottle Imp” that reminds me of this.
The story is about a working class native of Hawaii who buys a strange bottle from a sad, elderly gentleman who credits the bottle with his wealth and fortune, and promises the imp in the bottle will also grant the man his every wish and desire.
Of course, there is a catch, as there usually is in these stories — the bottle must be sold at a loss, i.e. for less than its owner originally paid, or else it will simply return to him. The currency used in the transaction must also be in coin (not paper currency or check). The bottle may not be thrown or given away. If an owner of the bottle dies without having sold it in the prescribed manner, that person’s soul will burn for eternity in Hell.
The bottle was said to have been brought to Earth by the Devil and first purchased by Prester John for millions of dollars; it was owned by Napoleon and Captain James Cook but each sold it. At the time of the story the price has diminished to eighty dollars, and declines rapidly over the course of the story to a few pennies.
The problem here is that as the price approaches a penny, it will become harder and harder to sell the bottle, as the buyer will be in fear of being left holding the bag.
This tale reminds me of our current national debt. As our debt increases, the interest payments will balloon. They can only get so large before default is inevitable. At that point, anyone in possession of a US bond will be stuck with worthless paper. Because of this, the returns for these bonds will have to increase, so as to entice people in taking the risk of buying them, which will make the interest payments higher, thus making the end that much closer.