Submarine

There's been a fair amount of coverage of the story about  the missing submarine over the past few days.   While I personally would consider going down in a submarine to be absolute torture, I do understand the desire to see things that most will never see.   

 

What I've noticed on social media is a fair amount of people who are saying something like, "Well it's just a bunch of rich people, they just got what they deserve.".     My first thought is that the people who say stuff like this are simply inhuman without a shred of empathy or decency.     I can't imagine a more horrible way to die.  Being trapped in a tiny space, full of other people, with little or no hope, and the slow inevitable buildup of CO eventually killing them.   Of course, if there was a catastrophic failure of the sub, at least they'd be crushed by the water pressure quickly.    Either way this is a horrible tragedy for those on the sub, and for their families, and having to watch idiots on social media trash them seems to add insult to injury.  

I think that our society has an attitude toward anyone who is "rich", that is severely warped.   Starting with the notion that other people's wealth is simply a resource waiting to be tapped for others to benefit from.   Or the notion that people shouldn't pursue their dreams and have adventures with their own money.   As someone who's claustrophobic, I can't imagine willingly putting myself in a tiny submarine or space capsule.  But I also acknowledge that it would be incredibly cool to go to space, or dive to extreme depths in the ocean.    The fact that these people have the wherewithal (assuming that they were all "rich") to fulfill their dreams of an adventure that few will experience, is something that I "ency".    A family friend dreamed for years of taking an extended trip by boat.   When he retired, he took the necessary training to be qualified to drive the boat, bought a boat, and circumnavigated the eastern half of the US.   Not my dream, but I love the fact that he was able to fulfill his dream.

Ultimately I believe that the social media scolds probably need to shut up.   They need to show some respect for the (likely) dead, and for their families.    These people knew the risks they were taking, and they went anyway.   Taking significant risk in order to fulfill your dreams or goals is something to be admired, not ridiculed.  

UPDATE

We learned yesterday that the US Navy knew that this submarine had imploded several days ago, but for some reason this information wasn't immediately released.    Days of wasted searching, days of leaving the families in limbo, days of hiding the Truth.   Obviously one wonders why the Biden administration chose this path.     The "good" news, is that the passengers were spared a lengthy, horrible death. 

Lies

 Over the past couple of days Biden has been on a bit of a roll.    

He conjured up truck’s wander through NYC and Philadelphia selling guns to anyone who wanted them.

He ended his speech with “God Save the Queen”

And he tweeted out the guns are the number one killers of children.

Two of these three are simply false, while the third is simply nuts.

We’re left with two choices.  Either Biden just makes up stupid lies when he thinks it’ll help him, or he’s got some form of dementia and doesn’t know what he’s saying.

On a related note.   Apparently Hunter Biden deserves Secret Service protection for his court dates in his fight to not support his child.    Apparently the MSM doesn’t take Hatch Act violations in the Biden administration as seriously as they did in the Trump administration.

What the hell has happened to our country when these two ancient buffoons (Biden and Trump) are potentially our next two presidential choices?

 

Update:

 Biden and Fetterman did a joint press conference about a bridge collapse.   Fetterman (as in virtually every public speaking opportunity) was incoherent, dressed like he's homeless, and looked completely incompetent.   It's kind of sad that the DFL put so much effort into getting this guy elected, given the fact that his medical condition seems to indicate that he's not currently qualified to do his job.   I feel nothing but empathy for him, as he's simply been used by the DFL as a pawn.     It's also damning that the GOP couldn't find a candidate that could beat him. 

Fake News

 Are the MSM and the APL so desperate for things to bash Trump with that they'll sink to telling bold faced lies?  Apparently, the answer is yes.   

Trump did a campaign stop in a restaurant and because of the inconvenience he said he'd pay for everyone's food.   Seems like a nice gesture, it'd be interesting to see of Biden does the same.  

But since the MSM didn't see Trump pull out his wallet and hand over payment, the story was that Trump didn't pay for everyone's meals.   The reality is that the meals were paid for by one of Trump's staff, and the Trump campaign ordered take out from the restaurant as well.  

Look, I understand that dislike of Trump from the MSM and APL.  I agree that there is plenty about him to dislike, and have no problem with reporting on those things, when they are True.  But this, is simply absurd.  

Speaking about real news that'll be under reported by the MSM.  There's video of Biden inappropriately touching (groping) Eva Longoria's breasts. 

The Rich

 When people (on the left in particular) talk about "The Rich", they tend to focus on "The Rich" that they perceive to be "conservative".    They rarely use "The Rich" on the left as examples.    One family who seemingly gets a pass is the Soros family.   We just saw news that the old man Soros is turning his empire over to his son (a son who's done nothing to earn this vast wealth FYI), and that the son is promising to spend even more obscene amounts of money to reshape the US to fit his personal ideological views.  It's strange that when complaints about too much money on politics happen, the left tends not to use Soros as an example.  

Maybe it's because the Soros family has been especially focused on buying themselves DA's across the country.    I just saw a story today where one of these Soros DA's plea bargained a multiple murderer down to a manslaughter charge which couls see him released for jail in as little as 4 years.   There are plenty of other examples of these DA's literally rewriting criminal law based on what and how they choose to charge criminals.   Maybe, this is what the APL wants.

Election Security

 Regardless of how you fall on the existence or amount of election fraud or irregularities in the last couple of elections, I would hope that we could agree that the security of our elections is something to be highly valued.   Once the electorate loses confidence in the security of our elections, and the accuracy of the counting process, we will find it difficult to engage people in the process.

So, we see reporting from CNN, that the state of GA has known for a couple of years that their Dominion voting machines/system is vulnerable to being hacked and they have decided NOT to implement any improvements or corrections prior to the 2024 elections.   My first question is why would anyone be this cavalier about election security.   Why would a state choose to ignore a known vulnerability when they have the ability to fix it before an election?    Could it be that the DFL powers that be (locally and nationally) are satisfied with how the system has performed for their candidates and don't want to risk that changing?   

Personally, if I lived in GA, I think I'd be pissed. 

Choo Choos

 Lots of folks on the left love them some choo choos.   They are convinced that if we just build more choo choos, that everything will be better.    They believe that spending billions of dollars per mile for choo choos that are mostly empty is a great way to spend money.   

I saw a story last night on the news that pointed out how stupid this attitude is.   Next weekend we have several events in downtown Minneapolis that will likely be well attended.   One in particular stands out.  There is a sell out concert at the 50,000 plus seat stadium which will likely not end until 10:30 or 11:00.  I suspect that a lot of people (Like me once) will decide that it makes sense to take the choo choo into downtown to save money on parking, and to avoid the heavy traffic.  Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?   It would be reasonable if the choo choos didn't stop running at 11:30, and the transit folks aren't going to schedule extra choo choos to handle the tens of thousands of people.    As I said, I bought this line of bullshit once, and ended up waiting in line after a concert, longer than the headliner performed.  To be polite, it's an absolute joke.   

But wait, there's more.  Apparently the federal government is still dangling billions of dollars so states will build MORE choo choos.  So our fearless legislators decided that it didn't make sense to let those billions of dollars go elsewhere and decided that we needed a choo choo that went to Duluth.    Don't get me wrong, Duluth is a very nice city, but people rarely go to Duluth.   They go through Duluth on the way to the north shore, the BWCA, or Voyageurs, but rarely do people stay in Duluth.  FYI Duluth is about a 3 hour drive from the cities.   So this hypothetical choo choo will not be a 200 MPH bullet train, nor will it be nonstop.   Most passenger choo choos are limited to 80 mph, while the speed limit on i-35 is 70.    So the trip might be a little quicker if it was nonstop, but all in a few stops and a 3 hour trip easily becomes a 4 hour trip.    Then you still would likely rent a car in Duluth to get around.  In short, the state is going to spend billions of dollars (and if past history gives us any insight, will likely be vastly over the estimated cost), on a choo choo that is slower than driving, and that will likely cost as much or more than a tal=nk of gas.   

Just keep repeating "Choo choos, are awesome." over an over and maybe you'll be brainwashed into believing the propaganda. 

It'll be interesting

 To his credit, Dan has been consistent in advocating for parents and physicians to play a major role in deciding whether or not it is appropriate to "transition" young children.   I've always felt like Dan's position left room to support parents and physicians who made the decision not to "transition" young children.  While I don't agree that young children should ever be subjected to irreversible medical procedures, at least Dan seemed to leave room for actual choices made by parents and physicians.  

Now that CA appears to be passing a law that will charge parents with child abuse of they don't make what the state considered to be the "right" choice, and the Biden administration asserting again that children are really not the "property" of their parents, and that they "belong to" the state (all of us).    I guess we'll see if Dan continues to advocate for the parents and physicians to actually have an actual choice based on what they believe is best for a young child, or if he'll fall in line with those who want to eliminate choice on the part of the parents and physicians. 

NCAA

 https://www.thefp.com/p/the-ncaa-and-the-cavender-twins

 

 I saw an interesting article yesterday about the NCAA and the new world where NIL is a thing.     It seems that the problem is that some of the highest earners in NIL money just coincidentally happen to be attractive, blonde, female athletes who have developed massive social media followings and who are getting attention for their looks, rather than their athletic prowess.    The examples they used are the Cavender twins who were average basketball players, and Olivia Dunne who is an average to slightly above average gymnast.   The problem that the NCAA seems to have is that the unregulated NIL marketplace has allowed certain female athletes to cash in on their looks, not their skill.   Now, for those who value the free market this doesn't seem to be a huge surprise.   "Hot girls" cashing in on their "hotness" is a big market right now.    I suspect that it won't be long before this phenomenon is classified as somethingism.     Someone'll make a big stink because XYZ black athlete or ABC unattractive athlete doesn't make as much in NIL money as Dunne.   This will likely lead to the those who are high earners being forced to contribute a portion of their earnings to those who aren't as lucky.   

IMO, the problem ins't so much a "hot girl" problem as it is an "NCAA dropping the ball" problem.    But hey, that's just me. 

It's funny how things change

 Back in the '50's and '60's much of youth culture was about rebellion against societal norms and values.   Or to put it another way, it was a rebellion against conservative values and a move toward more liberal values.    Back then rebels were lionized and embraced.  Now, not so much.    We saw how folks who (correctly as it turns out) rebelled against the jab were and are treated.  We're seeing how some MA students who didn't like being forced to wear certain clothes and participate in a pride celebration has got people in a tizzy.  What is different, what changed?  I think that those in power are the difference.  The rebels of the "50s and '60's are now those in power and and have managed to shift much of society to a more liberal worldview, and they are much more willing to fight against those that rebel against their worldview.   

I wonder if the rebels of the 21st century will eventually gain power like the rebels of the 20th. 

Hilarious

https://twitter.com/realjameswoods/status/1667181223800713217?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

This video is an absolutely hilarious look inside the mind of a lefty.    Her complete lack of awareness, coupled with her confidence that she cannot be wrong is priceless.  

Polls

 Polls can be contentious.  Some folx will take poll results that support their position, and cling to those results.  Others will dismiss polls altogether.    I think polls can be valuable as snapshots, and potentially as a measure of trends.   Obviously there are good polling techniques and bad polling techniques, which might cause one to be suspicious of certain poll results.  

https://www.prri.org/research/the-politics-of-gender-pronouns-and-public-education/

Take this poll for example.   It is showing that the number of people who believe that there are only 2 genders is increasing.   I think the interesting slice of the demographic pie is Gen Z.   Gen Z respondents who believe that only 2 genders exist went up by 14 points.   I could be wrong, but that seems like a significant jump.   Gen Z and subsequent gens are the people that the APL tells us are getting increasingly liberal and who will eventually tip the scales to the left.   I can't help but wonder if that result is as set in stone as some think it is.

Obviously this is one poll, one snapshot if you will, of a certain group of people during a certain time period.   Obviously we'd need to see these results polled over a period of time using the exact same methodology before we could begin to see potential trends.  So obviously, I'm not trying to pretend that this is something that it is not.

But, I do wonder if the fact that they have a front row seat (as it were ) to how this is playing out in real life might be sending a message that they are not seeing "good" results among their peers.  It's early in this conversation, and it'll be interesting to watch how this plays out.    It'll also be interesting to watch what happens if The Science is demonstrated to be wrong on this, and how the APL will take care of the folx who made irreversible changes to perfectly healthy and functioning bodies. 

Impeachment

 We keep hearing about this document that "proves" that Joe Biden accepted a $5,000,000 bribe exists. and will be revealed at some point.   We've also heard some GOP lawmakers promising impeachment for this.  As usual, I think I'm in more of a wait and see mode right now.  

I've been consistent that I do not think that Biden should be impeached on some petty, political, bullshit charges.  I still believe that.   However, if there really was a bribe paid that is a completely different story.  We already know that Joe used his influence to get the government of Ukraine to interfere in the prosecution of someone, this is pretty much undisputed.  If it can be demonstrated that he took money for his influence, then he should answer for it.   

It seems like this circumstance raises a question.   "Can a POTUS be impeached while serving as POTUS for acts he engaged in while he was VPOTUS?".    Much like the persecution of Trump, can one be impeached for acts engaged in prior to assuming the office currently held?   

My first instinct is to think that impeachment should be reserved for acts engaged in while one is serving in the office they currently hold.    The impeachment language is pretty vague, which probably precludes a definitive answer.   

In this case, I personally think that Biden should be investigated by a special prosecutor and if appropriate pursued under criminal law rather than impeachment.   Primarily because I don't think that getting removed from office with less than 2 years left in his term is adequate punishment for selling influence as VPOTUS.   

Now for my hot take.   Given the fact that it is likely that this trend of trying to prosecute one's political opponents for relatively minor offenses is likely to continue, I think it's time for a discussion of some sort of limited immunity for POTUS/VPOTUS.   Obviously, things like rape/murder/bribery/manslaughter wouldn't be covered, but I think it'd be possible to come up with language around some of these "technical" crimes that would slow down this trend.     For those of my readers on the right, I understand that this might let a DFL POTUS "get away" with something down the road, and I think I can live with that.  

At the end of the day, after all of this, I still think it's best to wait until we get more details before rushing into impeachment.  

Regarding the inevitable, "What about Trump and his classified documents?" questions, my positions stays the same.  Under our current law, Trump's alleged misdeeds should be handled through the criminal justice system.   Indict and try him and let the evidence speak for itself.    Personally, I do not believe that it's possible to find an unbiased jury which seems to be a problem.   I also find the existence of precedent for president's having wide latitude in classifying and declassifying documents to be a pretty big hurdle for the prosecution.   My main point remains, that this is something that needs to be handled in criminal court, or immunized, not through impeachment. 

BVMLTT

https://twitter.com/efvnation/status/1666602784030875649?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw 

I know we need to listen to black voices, and all of that.   But is there ANY circumstance where a black voice is justified in referring to ANY woman as a "F###ing Ho" or a "$5 Ho" when the woman has done absolutely nothing to the black voice?  

Random stuff

 https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/blm-finances-under-fire-only-33-of-donations-given-to-charities-as-execs-paid-millions-black-lives-matter-racism-bankruptcy-deficit-fundraising-fundraisers-george-floyd-breonna-taylor-patrisse-cullors-tamir-rice-fraud-scam

 

The story of BLM groups and their hundreds of millions of dollars may never be completely told, but only giving 30% of the money to "charity" is an abysmal track record.   

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-mass-gains-of-antarctic-ice-sheet-greater-than-losses

Remember all the hysterical folx prating about how the Antarctic ice sheet was going to end civilization as we know it, well NASA data would seem to dispute their claims.  

https://moco360.media/2023/06/06/protesters-converge-on-mcps-headquarters-over-lgbtq-book-opt-out/

Whatever is the left to do when the "White Christian" trope turns into brown Muslims?   Obviously, I disagree with much of what Islam teaches, but I simply can't believe why religious Muslims would support leftist political candidates in large numbers.  

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/non-binary-ex-biden-official-sam-brinton-arrested-again-fugitive-justice

This one is the gift that keeps on giving.  

https://unherd.com/2023/06/was-new-atheism-a-mistake/

It's always interesting when people who have militantly supported a worldview for years, and led millions of people to believe that worldview, finally realize that they might have been wrong.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-truth-about-puberty-blockers-overdiagnosis-gender-dysphoria-children-933cd8fb

Gerald Posner reaches the same conclusion as many/all European national health services regarding "gender affirming care.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/06/07/he-went-undercover-expose-rubber-stamping-trans-surgeries/

I know that the folx who automatically dismiss anything from a source that they find unacceptable as being 100%  false regardless of the content, will not even bother to read this.  But I thought I'd include it anyway.

"If confiscation of guns saves just one life it will be worth it."   Wouldn't that same logic apply to our open borders?  "If deporting all illegal aliens saves just one life wouldn't that be worth it?"

https://notthebee.com/article/this-liberal-woman-wants-to-find-a-man-with-traditional-values-who-isnt-a-conservative-

Various versions of this video show up more and more often.  Liberal women who have spent their 20's and 30's going along with what culture tells them they should be doing for fulfillment, who then get upset that the men they think they deserve aren't interested in them. 

Champions!!

 When the Super Bowl winning Chiefs visited the White House recently, I have to give a shout out to kicker Harrison Buttker.  He wore a tie with a pro life slogan on it, as well as a lapel pin in the form of the feet of a 10 week old baby.   Pretty impressed that he chose to make this subtle, statement in what would certainly have been an environment hostile to his worldview.  

Some might argue that even going to the event was a poor choice.  I disagree.  The office of POTUS should be accorded some degree of respect, regardless of who the temporary occupant is.  I believe that it is an honor to be invited and that it is perfectly reasonable to accept that honor.   Some might complain that he wasn't vocal enough.  I disagree.  He was in a position where his message was clearly visible to everyone, and sometimes it's possible to more effectively communicate one's worldview without yelling, screaming, threatening, burning, or looting. 

It Appears

 I've seen multiple posts of a video that appears to show a man being arrested for reading from the Bible in a public space during a pride event.    If this is actually what happened, this seems to be a direct violation of his 1st amendment right to free speech, at a very minimum.