Friday, July 9. 2021
 Textbooks say most birds can't smell. Scientists are proving them wrong
Opulent 2,000-year-old ‘city hall’ unearthed near Western Wall in Jerusalem
Children face just a one in 500,000 risk of dying from Covid, studies show amid growing row over whether youngsters should be given vaccines
It’s Critical Race Theory That Is Un-American, Not Laws Banning It
The CRT backlash and progressives' big lie about the culture war
Teachers’ Unions Deceive on Critical Race Theory
Washington Post: Calling food 'exotic' is racist
I Could Lose Everything After ‘Devastating’ End to 8-Year Court Battle Over Same-Sex Wedding, Florist Says
Squad Member Rep. Cori Bush: “American freedom … is for white people … Black people still aren’t free”
Minneapolis: ANOTHER PEACEFUL NIGHT AT THE PEACE GARDEN
"We think, condom on a banana, and that’s enough, and then we’re confused as to why there’s a consent problem. We’re still teaching the golden rule and we should be teaching the platinum rule: to treat others the way they want to be treated."
What?
CRISIS BY DESIGN: When Stores Close Due To Rising Crime, Urban Blight Is Back — And It Will Get Worse.
Tucker Carlson Responds To Unmasking In Blistering Monologue, Discusses With Glenn Greenwald
Now they call being a Republican treason
Hunter Biden's artwork sales grift falls under ethics scrutiny
Thursday, July 8. 2021
We typically do the hike in the Spring, but with Covid we've missed 2 events which involve traipsing amidst the urban confines of New York City.
This year, it appears we are going to be able to have an Autumnal Perambulation. While we've done parts of Greenwich Village, the conversation right now is that it's hard to really "do" the Village completely. So why not give it a shot?
I've already lined up about 20 stops which include a few interesting historical sites, architectural sites, restaurants, bars, and museums. We've enlisted our good friend, the Manhattan Contrarian, to assist us in finding the best stops. Some we've seen already (that's OK, I always enjoy visiting interesting places more than once, and I'm sure we'll be accompanied by new people who haven't seen these locations), and others will be newly 'discovered' by myself, BD, and MC.
We just need to pin down a date, but I'm guessing late September or early October will work best. Not too hot, not too cold. As usual, rain or shine (I still think the best hike was the last one, which was done in the rain and was very enjoyable, nonetheless).
Hopefully we can choose the date and start making solid plans early this year - hope we get to see all our regular attendees, and I'm hoping more will join us!
Most people are discriminated against in some ways. Scott Adams suggests adding intersection categories (such as too short, too fat, too white, too bald, etc), at the 23:40 point, at his podcast.
Sunday, July 4. 2021
 Doing some reading, and musing, on this 245th year of the greatness which is our fine nation. Right now, we live in a world where we're supposed to be humble, and there are factions which would prefer to not tout American Greatness. Still others believe our best years are behind us. My view is some of our best years are behind us, but our very best is still ahead, as long as we understand where we've come from, and the principles for which we stand.
I don't believe in being humble about our national identity. No other nation has done many of the things our nation has. Our Constitution was one of the very first, and certainly the first that enshrined individual rights as primary over the predations of a government. Our Constitution started a period of constitutional revolution which spread around most of the world at that time. And while our nations' flaws are evident, we are among the few nations which air our dirty laundry, not proudly, but to learn and improve. Other nations can point to civil or human rights failings we have now, or have had in the past, but none of them have a track record better than ours improving these rights.
Continue reading "Happy Independence Day"
Thursday, July 1. 2021
 Physician Practice Acquisitions Accelerated During COVID-19. A new study shows an acceleration of physician practice acquisitions, leading to nearly half of US physician practices being owned by hospitals and corporations.
It is a short easy read and is chock full of information that challenges the woke narrative
How did Bill Cosby's conviction overturn happen? Legal experts weigh in
Vogue declares Jill Biden 'a goddess' and puts her on their cover as the epitome of style
Supreme Court Says Students Who Identify As Teachers Must Be Allowed To Use Teacher's Lounge
Majority of liberal college students not proud to be American, favor socialism, NDSU survey finds
If Trans Women Are Women, What Does That Make Women?
Crime: What Was California Thinking?
HOW LOW CAN HOLLYWOOD SINK?
California: Put your masks back on, and don’t whine about it
Global Warming 33 Year Birthday a Celebration of Failures
Via Schneiderman:
Berry claimed she'd been 'set up' by organizers who knew she would hate standing on the podium as the Star Spangled Banner played.
'I felt like they did it on purpose,' she moaned.
Really, Gwen?
You think the people running a huge and very complex logistical operation like the US Olympic trials during a global pandemic had nothing better to do than secretly plot to annoy you, the third best female performer at the Hammer?
God, the mind-blowing dismissive arrogance of this statement. No offence, but to borrow a line from Top Gun, methinks your ego's writing cheques your body can't cash.
NSA VS. TUCKER: AN UPDATE [UPDATED!]
If the Woke Revolution Cancels Truth Itself, What Then?
Kamala Harris Has a Big Problem
The incredible shrinking Kamala Harris
Putin Declares The Age Of American Dominance And Leadership Is Dead…
Monday, June 28. 2021
This is not a follow-up to the post on cryptocurrencies, but it may as well be in some ways. When you consider the fact that only our government can print legal tender (Constitutionally true, but factually not exactly true, since lots of non-governmental resources are often used as 'money' - think stocks, bonds, mortgage swaps, etc.), placing your trust in anything the government does or provides is rather foolish. Markets survive on trust. Without trust, no market works. The legal and regulatory frameworks which underpin markets are useful and beneficial, but they change frequently (and sometimes not a little), so saying the markets survive because of them is not true - if anything, they survive because markets do need some small level of enforcement mechanisms to function efficiently.
At any rate, the reason I'm writing this is because of my most recent experience with government. Applying for unemployment. I've had my problems with the postal service (government run is a disaster which costs us billions a year in tax dollars that are wasted), Amtrak (government run money losing crap service), the DMV (no explanation necessary), and a host of other government services. So when I'm told "the government can provide..." I scoff. I reject unequivocally. Government is a failure on many levels, and the sooner we understand this the better, because government is not the solution. It's the problem.
I ended my employment in February. I applied for unemployment, but was rejected (as I should have been) because of my severance payment. However, protocol requires certifying on the first eligible day. So I was to reapply in June, after the severance ran out. Which I did. And nothing happened. After a week, I checked in and found a hold on my account and a number to call. After 2 hours on the phone, during which I was transferred twice and then cut off, I finally reached a competent and friendly woman who did all the legwork needed, and took my number in case we were cut off, to determine that the state and completely botched management of my claim. It now turns out I'm owed back unemployment insurance because they misfiled my claim and as a result I lost out on 24 weeks of coverage that I was entitled to due to the pandemic. I should note, that once she'd solved all my issues, I was cut off a second time. Thankfully without a need to call back, though I should say hopefully.
At this point, I should note that in the 5 months I've been laid off, I've now spent 5 hours on the phone with NY State Unemployment trying to solve problems with my account. The idea is to get me back to work - and those are 5 hours I could have spent productively elsewhere...even searching for a job or replying to other inquiries I'd engaged.
One may be inclined to say "would you rather have the 5 hours back or solve the problem?" I'm inclined to reply I would prefer to not have had the problem and not wasted the 5 hours - which were not my fault, but due to a bureaucratic error on the part of some unknown official somewhere who hit the wrong processing button.
Errors happen. They happened even in private business, I remember enough that I had to fix at my old job. But the point is private business is far more accountable and I am willing to believe that there is a fraction of the errors or problems that I've experienced with government work, in private industry.
Unaccountable and faceless bureaucrats, or as my father-in-law likes to say "Assholes with a clipboard" cause more problems than they solve. If they didn't, the Soviet Union would still be around.
Friday, June 25. 2021
Your Fault: Crushing Climate Impacts Sooner Than Feared
Spotify Bans Song For Having Lyrics Critical of BLM…
Homicides Have Skyrocketed in These Six Democratic Cities; Black People Are Disproportionately the Victims, Data Shows
Standing Up to the Gender Ideologues: a Quillette Editorial
The controverted speech in question was contained in a 2019 blog post, in which de Wahls wrote that “a woman is an adult human female (not an identity or feeling),” and that trans women are “biological males [who] choose to live as a woman, or believe they actually are women.” These are statements that almost every person knows to be true, but which have become unfashionable to say out loud in highly progressive subcultures. And so, when a handful of people raised a fuss about de Wahls’ work being sold in the RA gift shop, Academy officials not o nly purged de Wahl from their inventory earlier this month, but peacocked their reasons for doing so.
Green New Deal Illinois Style: Unions Battle Greens Over How To Screw Taxpayers
The Republic Is Preserved – But The Democrats Will Try Insurrection Again
US has lowest levels of public trust in media among 46 countries: Reuters survey
Attack Damages Iran’s Nuclear Centrifuge Manufacturing Facility
Thursday, June 24. 2021
Republicans Are Not Responsible for the Democratic Party’s Crime Problem
Big surprise that there is a significant portion of the population whose behavior is deterred by serious policing and rough justice. Whenever I think about the topic, I realize it's why I keep it straight with my taxes.
Avoiding criminal behavior has worked out well for me. Speeding is my main issue. Not reckless, just driving fast when I can.
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High Cost But 
Legal lunacy: