August 12, 2019

El Paso and Trump? And What Rhetoric Causes the Shooting of Whites?

Selwyn Duke

Ever since the El Paso shooting, talk of racism has been ratcheted up. Racism certainly is a problem, too, one accompanied by another problem: Those talking most about it appear to know least what it actually is. But try this on for size:

How about when you emphasize only the relatively rare killings committed by one particular racial group while ignoring murders in which its members are victims, in order to make it appear a unique threat?

For the uninitiated, that group would be whites. Of course, not only is the above happening with respect to them, but the El Paso shooting is also being used to demonize effective anti-illegal-migration rhetoric. The argument is that "Trump’s racist rhetoric” inspired the murderer to target Hispanics.

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There’s ‘no way’ Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, a former NYC jail inmate says

Dana Mathewson

There's lots of commentary about Epstein's "suicide" on the Internet these days, with my favorite comment so far being along the lines of "Very few people were surprised by Epstein's suicide, except for Epstein himself."

Here's some "insider information" by a man who says Epstein's death could not have been suicide:

There’s no way that man could have killed himself. I’ve done too much time in those units. It’s an impossibility.

Between the floor and the ceiling is like eight or nine feet. There’s no way for you to connect to anything.

You have sheets, but they’re paper level, not strong enough. He was 200 pounds — it would never happen.

When you’re on suicide watch, they put you in this white smock, a straight jacket. They know a person cannot be injurious to themselves.

The clothing they give you is a jump-in uniform. Everything is a dark brown color.

Could he have done it from the bed? No sir. There’s a steel frame, but you can’t move it. There’s no light fixture. There’s no bars.

They don’t give you enough in there that could successfully create an instrument of death. You want to write a letter, they give you rubber pens and maybe once a week a piece of paper.

Read the rest here: https://www.foxnews.com/us/theres-no-way-jeffrey-epstein-killed-himself-a-former-nyc-jail-inmate-says

Now, I know a lot of people are muttering about "Arkancide." But there's another possibility, which is that Epstein was removed from the jail and a look-alike, already dead, was substituted for him. Remember, the jail was understaffed and he wasn't being checked on. Take a look at this report from an anonymous prison worker, posted ten minutes before the body was discovered:
Not saying anything after this pls do not try to dox me but last night after 0415 they took him [Epstein] [to] medical in a wheelchair front cuffed but not 1 triage nurse says they spoke to him. Next thing we know trip vans show up? We do not do releases on weekends unless a judge orders it. Next thing we know, he’s put in a single man cell and hangs himself? Here’s the thing, the trip van did NOT sign in and we did not record the plate number and a guy with a green dress military outfit was in the back of the van according to the tower guy that let him through the gate. You guys I am shaking right now but I think they switched him out.

OK. He's not saying they DID do a switcheroo, only that they MIGHT have done it. Sounds pretty dicey. Lots of people would have to eventually have been paid off, and how much money remains in the Clinton Foundation? Because if this IS what happened, the switch would be found out soon enough.

I think this guy is adding two and two and coming up with six. But here it is, anyhow.

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The Drone Factory

Timothy Birdnow

Here is a long erticle - a speech by one Nancy Carlsson Page, an early childhood development researcher. While I suspect she's probably a liberal, she thinks the schools are not just tough on little kids, especially the Kindergartners, but are downright abusive.

From the article:

So never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen the situation we find ourselves in today.

Where education policies that do not reflect what we know about how young children learn could be mandated and followed. We have decades of research in child development and neuroscience that tell us that young children learn actively — they have to move, use their senses, get their hands on things, interact with other kids and teachers, create, invent. But in this twisted time, young children starting public pre-K at the age of 4 are expected to learn through "rigorous instruction.”

And never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that we would have to defend children’s right to play.

I agree; we are demanding too much of the younger kids, certainly. I hear parents complain all the time about the mountains of homework their children have to do, and how stressed out the little kids are. That is not a good thing; the whole concept of childhood, not as a matter of age but as an institution, was predicated on shielding children from certain hardness until they were emotionally mature enough. It is at least part of the reason why schools take so many vacations - and take that long summer one. Yes, the summer vacation was designed to allow farm kids to help around the farm, but it was also intended as a means to give the children some freedom. My fondest memories were never in school, but during that wonderful time after Memorial Day when you were free. Our modern educrats have tried very hard to steal that. My niece, for instance, is going back to school next week (she's in high school). That is just too early, but the Teacher's Union wants the extra money, and the Progressives want extra time to brainwash the kids.

At any rate, the article continues:

I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams that we would have to fight for classrooms for young kids that are developmentally appropriate. Instead of active, hands-on learning, children now sit in chairs for far too much time getting drilled on letters and numbers. Stress levels are up among young kids. Parents and teachers tell me: children worry that they don’t know the right answers; they have nightmares, they pull out their eyelashes, they cry because they don’t want to go to school. Some people call this child abuse and I can’t disagree.

I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams that we would be up against pressure to test and assess young kids throughout the year often in great excess — often administering multiple tests to children in kindergarten and even pre-K. Now, when young children start school, they often spend their first days not getting to know their classroom and making friends. They spend their first days getting tested. Here are words from one mother as this school year began:

"My daughter’s first day of kindergarten — her very first introduction to elementary school — consisted almost entirely of assessment. She was due at school at 9:30, and I picked her up at 11:45. In between, she was assessed by five different teachers, each a stranger, asking her to perform some task.

"By the time I picked her up, she did not want to talk about what she had done in school, but she did say that she did not want to go back. She did not know the teachers’ names. She did not make any friends. Later that afternoon, as she played with her animals in her room, I overheard her drilling them on their numbers and letters.”

I have no doubt that's true. What is the end result? Kids come to despise learning. It becomes a horrible chore, a burden, something that they are forced to endure. Instead of developing an inquisative nature, a curious nature, they think of learning as a grim exercise.
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Not so Renewable Energy

Timothy Birdnow

Here is another brain-dead story about the glories of "renewable energy". The claim is that India is now using large amounts of solar power, and how wonderful it is.

left the following comment:

And how much pollution does it take to manufacture these big, spiffy solar panels? How much to maintain them? None of this is ever mentioned when discussing the actual costs - both financial and environmental - of "renewables" which are anything but (the require an enormous investment over time). And all these panels destroy habitats. Oh, and they only work some times, so you still have to have coal fired backup power sources. Yeah; real "sustainable".

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August 11, 2019

Hawaiian Party Cake -- Provender and Potables Section

Dana Mathewson

This is obviously one for our Provender and Potables section. I've threatened to post a recipe once in awhile -- just as a relief from the political slings and arrows that beset us these days.

And, being one who's never shied away from a bit of harmless nepotism, this is one of my wife Martha's specialties. Indeed, she baked up three sheet pans of this and took it to the most recent dance played by the Classic Big Band so everyone could enjoy and celebrate Martha's birthday (on that night) at the same time.

Servings: 16 large pieces or 24 medium pieces
Time: Under an hour, plus chilling time

Ingredients:
1 pkg yellow cake mix and, as called for on box:
     Egg(s)
     Vegetable Oil
     Water
2 cups vanilla pudding (I used 4 of the snack size containers)
2 large cans crushed pineapple in light syrup
1 large tub Cool Whip, thawed
1 ½ cups coconut
2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a jelly roll pan by spraying lightly with
Pam.
2. Make the cake according to the package directions. Pour into the prepared pan, shaking to make sure it settles evenly. Bake for at least 8 minutes or until the cake begins to separate from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
3. Cool cake on wire racks. When thoroughly cool, invert on to a decorative serving tray.
4. Meanwhile, strain the pineapple and squeeze it thoroughly, letting ALL the liquid drain out.
5. Spread the vanilla pudding on top of the cake.
6. Sprinkle the pineapple evenly over the pudding.
7. Carefully spread the Cool Whip over the pineapple and down the sides of the cake.
8. Sprinkle walnuts evenly over the Cool Whip.
9. Sprinkle coconut evenly over the everything.
10. Chill for at least an hour before serving.
Your comments will be welcome.

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China increasingly hostile to Christians, God

Dana Mathewson, with hat tip to wife Martha


China censors 'Bible, 'God' from children's books: report


I would like to see President Trump use this in his negotiations with the Chi-Coms. Tell 'em he'll hike tariffs if they keep doing this.
China is removing religious references from children's books, according to a watchdog group.

The Ministry of Education is censoring words like "Bible," "God," and "Christ" from classic children's stories designed to help middle schoolers "understand other cultures," Asia News reported.

The Communist Party government swapped out "Bible" in "Robinson Crusoe" written by Daniel Defoe for "book."

Chinese officials changed "when a star falls, a soul goes to be with God" in "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Anderson to read: "when a star falls, a person leaves this world."

Asia News also notes censorship is happening at the university level, where professors have banned classics with religious references such as "The Count of Monte Cristo" by A. Dumas, "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy, and "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo.

https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/china-bible-god-censor-children-book

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Guns don't Kill People, Knives Do!

Timothy Birdnow

Don't confuse us with the facts!

Knives Account for 3 Times as Many Murders as Rifles Do According to the FBI

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Another Day, Another Biden Gaffe

Timothy Birdnow

And the hits just keep coming with the Biden gaffe machine:

The Blaze:

The Democratic front-runner claimed in Iowa over the weekend that he was vice president when the Parkland tragedy, which resulted in 17 deaths, happened last February.

"[T[hose kids in Parkland came up to see me when I was vice president," Biden told reporters, later adding that lawmakers on Capitol Hill were "basically cowering, not wanting to see them," according to Bloomberg.

Can we afford to trust a guy who can't remember his own Vice Presidency with the nuclear codes?

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Epstein Offs Himself; One Less Scumbag to Worry About

Timothy Birdnow

CNN is reporting that sex trafficking pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has committed suicide. Bill Clinton's whereabouts are undetermined at the time of death.

From the article:

Epstein, who was awaiting trial on federal charges accusing him of sexually abusing underage girls, was found unresponsive in his cell at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal detention facility, around 6:30 a.m. ET., the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.Staff at the facility started life-saving measures, and Epstein was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the bureau said in a news release.No foul play is suspected in his death, a federal official told CNN. The bureau's release called it "an apparent suicide," and said the FBI is investigating. Authorities believe Epstein hanged himself, a law enforcement source said.

If true, this is very convenient for a lot of powerful people; Epstein had "entertained" so many, most especially the former President and poster boy for sexually transmitted disease prevention. Epstein's death is very, very convenient.

Was it suicide? If so, was it a  "Frank Pentangeli" moment (that is from the Godfather Part II where Consiglier Tom Hagan promises an easy go for Pentangeli's family if he kills himself.) Or it might be exactly what it appears to be; a coward's way out for a scumbag. Any way you slice it, Eppstein didn't even have the decency to allow his victims to see some sort of justice. He's rotting in Hell about now, if he is in fact deceased.

They ought to display his body over a sewer, so people can spit on it or worse.

BTW, Epstein's Wikipedia page says he was interested in eugenics and "transhumanism" and planned on performing mass impregnation of women with his semen. In short, the guy was a nihilist and screwball as well as a dirtbag.

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"The Hunt" Cancelled

Judson Phillips observes:

The release of the movie, "The Hunt," about a bunch of liberals hunting Trump supporting "Deplorables"has been cancelled.

In a sane or at least non-woke corporate world, the executives who approved this idiocy would be fired. Instead, their bosses are going to console them over cocktails, saying what a pity all of these ignorant Trump supporters forced them to cancel the release.

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August 10, 2019

This ain't Heaven, it's Iowa: a Real Field of Dreams Game

Timothy Birdnow

This is an intriguing idea:

Yankees, White Sox to play MLB game at 'Field of Dreams' cornfield during 2020 regular season

From the article:

"Dreams," for those unaware, tells the classic tale of a corn farmer and his family hosting dozens of spirits after he inadvertently opens an interdimensional portal that connects our world with the spectral plane.

Baseball is nothing without its ghosts, and so it should come as surprise to no one that MLB intends to play a regular season next season on the field on which Dreams was played on. Here are some more details, courtesy of Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci:

Under a backdrop of corn as high as an elephant's eye, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox will play a regular season game Aug. 13 next season on the diamond in Dyersville, Iowa, where the movie "Field of Dreams" was shot in 1988, multiple sources told SI. The game will be broadcast by Fox.

It should be  Cubs versus the Cardinals; after all, it's not set in Heaven but Iowa.

Be that as it may, this is a good idea, although I fear the logistics are going to be difficult. The field is actually just outside of Des Moines, as I recall, and getting there will be no small shakes - especially for fans. But I'm glad they are doing it.

Here is the press release from MLB:

FOX will provide exclusive national coverage of "MLB at Field of Dreams," airing at 7:00 p.m. (ET)/6:00 p.m. (CT). The event will be considered a White Sox home date, with the Thursday game followed by a Friday off-day before the two Clubs resume their three-game series at Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday. Information on the limited ticket availability will be announced by MLB in the months ahead. "MLB at Field of Dreams" will be presented by GEICO and be a part of the GEICO Summer Series. Later this month, MLB will begin construction on a temporary 8,000-seat ballpark on the Dyersville site. A pathway through a cornfield will take fans to the ballpark, which will overlook the famous movie location. The right field wall will include windows to show the cornfields beyond the ballpark. Aspects of the ballpark's design will pay homage to Chicago's Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox from 1910-1990, including the shape of the outfield and bullpens beyond the center field fence.

Let's play ball!

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Biden Identifies JFK, Jefferson as his Favorite "Non-Presidents"

Timothy Birdnow

Yet more proof that Uncle Joe Biden is flying with only one propeller.

Biden Names His Favorite ‘Non-President’ Political Figures: Thomas Jefferson And JFK….

From Weasle Zippers:

Biden is asked to name his favorite historical figure who was not a president.

He names Jefferson and Kennedy anyway.

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) August 8, 2019

Biden had a brain tumor long ago, and he appears to be sliding into senility. He recently stated That "poor kids are just as bright as white kids". Guess white kids growing up in South St. Louis are really hidden millionaires.

While the media did report the poor kid/white kid gaffe, a Google search turned up almost nothing on the misidentification of Jefferson and Kennedy as non-Presidents.

Yes, Biden may have misheard the question, but he may, more importantly, have misunderstood, which may mean he has cognitive difficulties. Do we really want a President who can't understand the spoken word? Is that the best America can do?

Will Biden launch a nuclear strike on Russia when he overhears a football game discussing Rushing yardage?

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August 09, 2019

Man who asked Walmart clerk for 'anything that would kill 200 people,' explains his actions

Dana Mathewson

"Florida Man" strikes again. It must be the heat...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Port St Lucie Police say there was no credible threat found when a man asked a Walmart clerk Tuesday night about a gun that could kill 200 people.
Phil Atte, of Port St. Lucie, was not charged, and later said he did to make a statement against the sale of certain guns.

"I’m in a Walmart a few days after el Paso and I’m seeing a white nationalist looking guy purchase a gun and I got mad,” Attery says.

Attey, told WPTV that what he said at Walmart "was in poor taste."

Poor taste -- ya THINK?

This is short but contains a video. At least this idiot wasn't wearing a MAGA hat! BTW, I took this right off the newspaper's article and take NO responsibility for the typos in it.

And I think it's too bad that there's nothing about the Walmart clerk's response. He could have steered the guy to the shelf with Roundup, after all. In fact, maybe he did! https://www.wptv.com/news/region-st-lucie-county/port-st-lucie/police-seek-to-id-man-who-asked-walmart-clerk-for-something-that-would-kill-200-people

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Sanders and Little Green Men

Timothy Birdnow

Anybody else wonder why that little bird keeps popping in and out of Bernie Sander's head?

Bernie Sanders Pledges to Release Any Information About Aliens If He's Elected in 2020: Report

From the article:

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT) says he's prepared to disclose any government information about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) — but only if he wins, and mainly because his wife, Jane, asked him to.

"Well I tell you, my wife would demand I let you know," Sanders told podcast host Joe Rogan on Tuesday (Aug. 8), according to Fox News, even promising he would announce the findings on the podcast. (You can see the full podcast here.)

Rogan asked if Jane was a "UFO nut", which Sanders denied. Jane, however, has been pressing the candidate about what information he might have right now, as a senator. "She goes, Bernie, 'What is going on [that] you know? Do you have any access?'" Sanders said.

If the Bern wins the election these aliens will probably take steps to exterminate mankind for being a dangerously unbalanced species.

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Mass Shooters; Minorities Need Not Apply?

Timothy Birdnow

Recently on Facebook a commenter stated:

And typically mass shootings are done by white males.

I replied:

The Majority, Sherri Gleason, but not all. Remember Christopher Dorner? He was the L.A. cop who went on a murderous rampage. And don't forget Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, the D.C. snipers.And Colin Ferguson, the black man who massacred people on the Long Island subway train in 1993. There are a number of black mass shooters. The media doesn't like to report on them, though. But of course, we have shootings of innocent bystanders all the time in Chicago, in St. Louis, etc. by black people.

Oh, another point to ponder; Asians actually make up the highest percentage of mass shooters compared to their overall numbers. See this article from Slate. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/what-the-white-mass-shooter-myth-gets-right-and-wrong-about-killers-demographics.html See the data from Mother Jones, too. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/what-the-white-mass-shooter-myth-gets-right-and-wrong-about-killers-demographics.html

Whites commit the most mass shootings because whites are the majority of the population.

And even if true, it should be kept in mind that when you tell white males they are dirtbags, with white privilege and toxic masculinity, you are encouraging the more unstable to go out in a blaze of glory. It's why the white male population is the only one declining in America.

The Mother jones survey - which is used as the bellweather for all discussions on mass murder - relied on news reports, too, so it is hardly a complete picture, especially in the ghetto, where a shooting of four or more (the FBI definition of a mass shooting) is a non-story.

https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/oct/06/newsweek/are-white-males-responsible-more-mass-shootings-an/ Politifact makes the case:

Duwe pointed us to an essay he penned for Reason magazine in 2014, in which he argued Mother Jones has low-balled its tally of mass shootings as a result of relying solely on news coverage as its source of data. Duwe believes this creates a false impression that mass shootings have been on the rise (a claim that’s beyond the scope of this fact-check).

"The main concern is an underreporting problem that gets worse the farther back in time we go," Duwe told PolitiFact. "This creates problems when it comes to drawing conclusions about trends in the prevalence of mass public shootings."

End excerpt.

I suspect mass shootings are far more equal opportunity than the media will tell us.

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Lawyer Blames Trump for Crazy Vet's Assault on Teen Boy

Timothy Birdnow

Here's a doozie; a crazed veteran assaulted a boy for not removing his hat during the playing of the national anthem and his lawyer blamed...wait for it...Donald Trump!

From Pluralist /the assailant - Curt Brockway - is a vet with traumatic brain injury. He attacked the youth because, as his lawyer tried to claim, Donald Trump, the Commander in Chief, has made statements indicating to the Montana resident that people who disrespect the flag or the national anthem should be punished.

They have officially accused Trump of every crime now, I suspect.

So, a guy who should have been kept out of the general public is set loose, attacks a thirteen year old boy, and it's Trump's fault because the guy was so crazy he thought the President was calling for him to beat the kid up. Is this argument remotely rational to anyone? Was Jody Foster responsible for the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan? John Hinckley claimed she was. Was clown college responsible for John Wayne Gacy murdering all those teenage boys? Is anyone blaming Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders for the Dayton Ohio shootings?

The judge in this case should order this line of defense be disallowed. It's defamatory, it's stupid, and most of all it's ridiculous.

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The Domestic Terrorism Con

Timothy Birdnow

Here is a very thoughtful essay on a scheme to allow an offricial designation of "domestic terrorists" so as t o make it a Federal crime.

As the author points out, it already IS a crime. This is a solution searching for a problem.

From the article:

Adding its voice to the growing chorus demanding stronger laws targeting politically motivated violence, the FBI Agents Association called on Congress to make domestic terrorism a federal crime. The members of this chorus are, to various degrees, sincere, panicked, and self-serving, but they all have something in common: they're advocating a very bad idea that's bound to threaten liberty more than it hampers terrorists.

"Domestic terrorism is a threat to the American people and our democracy," said FBIAA President Brian O'Hare in a statement. "Acts of violence intended to intimidate civilian populations or to influence or affect government policy should be prosecuted as domestic terrorism regardless of the ideology behind them. FBIAA continues to urge Congress to make domestic terrorism a federal crime. This would ensure that FBI Agents and prosecutors have the best tools to fight domestic terrorism."

Coming is it does from a labor union representing law enforcement agents who would gain another law to enforce if heeded, the statement can fairly be interpreted as an answer to the question: "Siri, what's an example of rent-seeking?"

[...]

For starters, it's not clear that there's any need to pass more laws against crimes like the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that occurred over the weekend. Murder and related forms of mayhem are already illegal in every state, and there's no reason to believe that the federal government is better prepared to prosecute crimes than state and local authorities, who have long experience investigating such acts and bringing their perpetrators to trial.

Some advocates of a federal domestic terrorism statute concede this point, but still want a new law for largely symbolic value.

Yeah, so why do it? Here's an example of our post-modern thought process in action:

McCord does acknowledge First Amendment concerns that would prevent the designation of domestic groups as terrorist organizations the way the United States government tags foreign groups. For example, even while ruling that the government could penalize assistance given to foreign groups designated as terrorist organizations, Supreme Court justices noted in 2010 that they "do not suggest that Congress could extend the same prohibition on material support at issue here to domestic organizations." But she still thinks it right to pass a law if only to put domestic terrorist acts "on the same moral plane" as those committed by largely Muslim attackers overseas.

Got that? It's not fair Islamic terrorists are tarred with that and people in the U.S. aren't.

The proponents of this address civil rights concerns by promising "adequate oversight". What does that even mean? I seem to remember the very same people resisting the Patriot Act because there is no way to adequately oversee such a law. In many ways they were right; we've ended up with Federal databases on all American citizens, "eye in the sky" hidden cameras, domestic spying via metadata use and tapped phone lines, etc. We had IRS abuses of political organizations. We had the FBI spying on the Trump campaign. But now the Left wants to impose all of that. Why?

Because Barack Obama weaponized law enforcement at the Federal level and there basically is a shadow government there still. His people are all embedded, and the Left knows it. They want to empower the Feds so as to suppress opposition - political and otherwise - and they don't care about civil liberties. Socialists never do.

Liberals never want to enforce existing laws; they always want new, more intrusive laws. Then they enforce them haphazardly, so when they don't work they can demand more laws and continue to tighten the noose around our collective necks. it's fabian socialism, creeping socialism. Tyranny doesn't come into the world full grown, but is born and slowly nurtured over time. That's the idea here.

I would argue this is not only unnecessary but is of evil intent.

One question; will they list Antifa as a terrorist organization?  Who is going to make that determination. If they do, will they round Antifa and BLM up and ship them to Gitmo?

And what of Federalism? This is another assault on the rights of the states.

It's a bad idea whose time should never come.

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August 08, 2019

Wurst Idea Ever? Germany to Tax Sausages to Fight Climate Change

Dana Mathewson -- for our Provender & Potables section

All I can say is, don't move to Germany! This just in from Breitbart News:

German legislators have proposed raising the sales tax on meat from seven percent to 19 percent to fight climate change and improve animal welfare.

Research has shown that greenhouse gas emissions from livestock account for a higher percentage of total global emissions than the world’s 1.2 billion automobiles, a fact underscored by some German Greens who are pushing for higher meat taxes.

United Nations report from 2012 found that the earth’s cattle population generates more carbon dioxide than automobiles, planes, and all other forms of transport combined. Moreover, the cow pies they deposit and the wind they break produce a third of the world’s methane emissions, considered 20 times more detrimental to the environment.

According to Germany’s Federal Statistics Office, slaughterhouses in Germany killed 29.4 million pigs, cows, sheep, goats and horses during the first six months of 2019. During this period, Germany produced 3.9 million tons of meat, led by pork, the primary ingredient in German sausages.

"I favor abolishing the VAT reduction for meat and using it (the increased revenues) instead for more animal welfare,” said Greens agriculture spokesman, Friedrich Ostendorff.

The idea of raising meat taxes would be to reduce livestock numbers — as well as their gaseous output — by discouraging people from eating meat.

Last June, Germany’s Green party vowed to ban industrial farming to reduce global warming if it ever were to come to power.

The measure was proposed by Katrin Goering-Eckardt, the party’s leader in the Germany parliament, as part of a massive €100 billion project to finance climate initiatives.

Even prior to this, in 2013, the Green party had sought to launch a weekly, meatless "veggie day,” a project that reportedly failed to garner much support from ordinary citizens.

 I should hope not!

When you read the article, found here https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/08/08/wurst-idea-ever-germany-to-tax-sausages-to-fight-climate-change/ you'll see that the New York Times (no surprise) pushed the same idea here. It didn't catch on here either.

And you'll learn, if you didn't already know, that The Lightbringer pushed the idea of our learning to eat less beef. Nothing about his cutting his own consumption of wagyu. But the aristocrats never have to follow the same rules as the proles, after all.


Power Line reports now that the idea has been shot down, at least for now. https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/08/germans-rebel-against-tax-on-meat.php

I'm still not moving there.

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Second Amendment bars many gun restrictions being proposed after mass shootings

Dana Mathewson

This is a good article from Fox News correspondent Judge Andrew Napolitano. There may be a bit of inaccuracy here and there when he says "the President did this or said that," but he's accurate in his Constitutional arguments.

Last weekend's mass murders in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, have produced a flood of words about everything from gun control to mental illness to white nationalism. Most of those words have addressed the right to keep and bear arms as if it were a gift from the government. It isn't.

The Supreme Court has twice ruled in the past 11 years that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual pre-political liberty. That is the highest category of liberty recognized in the law. It is akin to the freedoms of thought, speech and personality.

That means that the court has recognized that the framers of the Constitution did not bestow this right upon us. Rather, they recognized its preexistence as an extension of our natural human right to self-defense and they forbade government – state and federal – from infringing upon it.

It would be exquisitely unfair, profoundly unconstitutional and historically un-American for the rights of law-abiding folks – "surrender that rifle you own legally and use safely because some other folks have used that same type of weapon criminally" – to be impaired in the name of public safety.

It would also be irrational. A person willing to kill innocents and be killed by the police while doing so surely would have no qualms about violating a state or federal law that prohibited the general ownership of the weapon he was about to use.

With all of this as background, and the country anguishing over the mass deaths of innocents, the feds and the states face a choice between a knee-jerk but popular restriction of some form of gun ownership and the rational and sound realization that more guns in the hands of those properly trained means less crime and more safety.

We know this because in the first Supreme Court opinion upholding the individual right to keep and bear arms, the court addressed what kind of arms the Second Amendment protects. The court ruled that the Second Amendment protects individual ownership of weapons one can carry that are of the same degree of sophistication as the bad guys have – or the government has.

The government? Yes, the government. That's so because the Second Amendment was not written to protect the right to shoot deer. It was written to protect the right to shoot at tyrants and their agents when they have stolen liberty or property from the people.

I don't think the judge particularly likes the president, but he does like the Constitution, and that's all that matters here. I highly recommend this article. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/judge-andrew-napolitano-a-few-words-about-guns-and-personal-liberty  This doesn't mean we can roll over and go to sleep, expecting the Constitution to protect us; we need to actively protect the Constitution, because the Left is hell-bent on destroying it.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 11:55 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal Leanings of the El Paso Shooter

Timothy Birdnow

While the news media continue to paint the El Paso shooter as a "right wing White Supremacist" the reality is the killer held some very liberal positions on a number of issues.

Breitbart reports:

A closer look at the manifesto attributed to shooting suspect Patrick Wood Crusius shows that the author did not have a coherent political viewpoint. While the text contains racist language targeting the Hispanic community, it also evidences hatred toward what the writer labeled "average Americans” and calls for a decrease in the general American population. Missing from much of the news media coverage is that the manifesto promotes far-left policy prescriptions including universal healthcare and a socialist-style "universal income.”

[...]
more...

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:14 AM | Comments (127) | Add Comment
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