How many times have you heard the plea, but if it only saves one life, along with the lefts next proposed ban. How many pleas have heard the plea to ban all assault weapons, despite the fact only circa three hundred people a year are murdered by all long guns?
The next ban, from CBD Ace of Spades:
This state senator is a Democrat who is pro gun-rights, although this is Vermont, which may be the nuttiest state in the union, so it’s not surprising.
Bill would ban cellphone use for those under 21
The case for banning cell phones:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Drivers distracted by talking or texting on cell phones killed an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 to 2007, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Looks to me like Joel Kotkin has this one mostly nailed down:
Until just a few years ago, the need for economic growth to sustain societies was almost universally acknowledged. This was not just gospel on the free-market Right. Whatever its failings, 20th century socialism was growth-oriented and espoused the notion, however poorly realized, that greater material progress was critical to expanding working-class wealth.
Now political leaders in France, Iceland, as well as the European Commission increasingly believe, along with influential economists such as Joseph Stiglitz, that growing the economic pie should be supplanted by such goals as better health care, less inequality, and fighting climate change.
Many, particularly on the environmental Left, go even further and advocate “de-growth,” essentially urging societies to consciously reduce their economic wealth. This agenda requires that energy, housing, food, and other consumption costs steadily increase, or be legally prohibited, so that ordinary people will be unable to eat meat regularly, use more energy, live in larger spaces, and travel freely. There’s even a quaint notion that we need to return to a more primitive state of existence, essentially cancelling out the progress of the last few centuries. America’s Green Party, for example, would seek to limit long-distance trade entirely in favor of a feudal economy that is “largely self-sufficient in the production of its necessities.”
Even in the United States, where growth has long been an unquestioned priority, virtually none of the leading Democratic candidates for President even mentions the word. Vice-President Joe Biden, the leading “moderate” in the Democratic party primaries, has explicitly stated that he would wipe out fossil fuel employment in the country to pursue a green agenda.
The American Left’s abandonment of economic growth marks a dramatic shift from the approach of Bill Clinton, or even Barack Obama. In the 1990s, progressives still believed that economic growth was indispensable for improving the lives of the middle- and working-class families. Now, rather than seek to outperform the somewhat more robust economy and modest uptick in blue collar jobs under President Trump, progressives focus mostly on identity issues, environmental piety, and income redistribution.
Fundamentally abandoning growth means the effective end of the old social democratic program. Many self-defined socialists—typically academics and media personalities rather than industrial union leaders—reject the fundamental Marxian emphasis on “materialism” in favor of low growth “sustainability.”
The clue of course is that the people pushing for these destructive policies never seem to live within the restraints they want to place on everyone else. Witness for example the mansions occupied by Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Bernie Sanders.
the fact has always been that these people are about the destruction of the middle class. That’s why their policies always seem to end up with that destruction as a direct result.
the thing is, the working class has started to catch on to this including a lot of rank-and-file Democrats which in turn precisely explains the rise of people outside the political establishment of both parties, such as, but not limited to, Donald Trump.
Which in turn explains the resistance to anyone operating outside the political establishment. The rabid, foaming at the mouth attempt to remove a duly elected president for example.
I was never a huge fan of Rush like some of the fanatics, but I always admired their work, Peart particularly so.
Like anyone else I had favorites of their material, my personal favorite being “Time Stand Still”, which I consider to be a work of genius..
In truth, though, what I really admired about the band and Peart in particular was the dedication to the craft. One can’t help but respect anyone so dedicated, and for the most part that’s true whatever their craft happens to be.. The guy literally oozed with it.
A final thought… My older boy made mention of his passing this evening and made mention of the track that he laid down with the group Vertical Horizon… (Another group I never really got into….)
The track is called ‘Instamatic”… I found myself attracted to the track based on the back story. Apparently a promise was made before he stepped away from Rush that he would come and do a track with VH. He did that track, and did an absolutely stupendous job on it despite his pain, all for a promise. He promised he was going to do it and by God he was going to do it.
As I said, dedication to the craft… But more, someone who kept his promises.
The memories are mostly instamatic. Seems an appropriate tune to put in here.
It is an amusing question…
Which is more inept… the security staff at the Manhattan Correction Center, who did anything but protect the late Jeffery Epstein, or the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court rubber stamped four different legally defective FISA application by four different judges violate Carter Page’s Fourth
Amendment rights?
From Margot Cleveland, Federalist:
That question was key! But the IG report merely noted that it “did not find a written response to this specific question, and the [Office of Intelligence] Attorney did not recall a response,” before noting the attorney said he later learned that some of the sub-sources were “‘definitely’ in a position to have had access to the information Steele was reporting,” and that they provided that information to the FISA court.
But merely being in a position to have access to information is insufficient. The government needs to establish either the reliability of its sub-sources or provide corroborating evidence, and it did neither.
How did the FISA court miss this fatal flaw? And not once, but four times! The
The same mistakes against the same victim by four different federal judges can not be explained away by mere coincidence.
Let us forget for just a moment, the number of troops committed to the Middle East by Barack Hussein Obama. let us also forget for just a moment the number of troop commitments that were not needed as a result of the actions of the Trump Administration.
Let us also be kind enough to ignore the whinings of the skulls full of mush at the various elite universities, all of them supposedly scared to death about being drafted, which of course was never going to happen.
I wonder how many of you know who Newton K Baker was. It’s not a name you often hear, particularly you never hear the name in the government-run places of higher education.
Newton K Baker was a progressive Democrat. He was of the variety that would fit directly in with today’s progressive. He was a pacifist.
Ready? It was Newton K Baker as created the modern military draft. and as a result it wasn’t the leftist Elites that went to war, it was Joe and Jane everybody.
Now maybe you understand why you don’t hear the name very much.
I wonder how many of the whiny brats currently attending Princeton, and wandering in and out of Woodrow Wilson Hall on that campus, would have a clue as to the history involved.
I rather doubt it.
Video taken outside Jeffrey Epstein’s cell mysteriously is erased.
The revelation comes after Assistant US Attorney Jason Swergold told White Plains federal Judge Kenneth Karas in December that the footage was missing — and then backtracked the next day, claiming it had been preserved.
In a Thursday filing, Swergold admitted that the Metropolitan Correctional Center had preserved footage amid the investigation — only it was the wrong cell in the Lower Manhattan jail.
“The Government has learned that the MCC inadvertently preserved video from the wrong tier within the MCC, and, as a result, video from outside the defendant’s cell on July 22 – 23, 2019 (i.e. the requested video) no longer exists,” the letter reads.
Rosemary Woods was unavailable for comment.
This is been making the rounds, and was mentioned already a couple of times on Fox this morning:
For the sake of discussion let’s assume that the the thing that what we see here is true.
It seems to me the only way Iran had out of the box that it created for itself, while still surviving.
There is no way that Iran would have survived an attack from the United States. At the same time, if they didn’t respond with some overt show of force the natives most certainly would have become restless to the point of overturning the Iranian government.
By the way on other matters, does anybody truly think that the earthquake outside their nuclear power plant was merely a coincidence? The timing of that would seem to stretch credulity just a little bit. that said, let’s consider a couple of alternative scenarios both of which I consider to be highly plausible given the circumstances…
One alternative that seems to me to be quite believable is that there has always been nuclear experimentation at the site. Recent events caused the mullahs to hit the panic button and demand results from the scientists working there. In their hurry, they screwed up. Boom.
The other possibility I can think of is sabotage. Was that created by Western interests or by iranian citizens who finally crossed the international enough line, would seem an open question.
Now before some of you get started, I’m not claiming any of this is true. I’m simply offering what I consider plausible conjecture.
Then to add to the highly improbable list of coincidences, that plane crash.
One point about that stands out in my mind…. the fact that it was a Ukrainian flight. Not a Russian flight. A Ukrainian flight full of westerners at that. Canadians, Germans, Ukrainians of course, and a few Brits. Then there’s the idea about Iran refusing to turn over the black box. Has David suggests, somebody knows what’s on there and doesn’t want it revealed.
The highly unlikely list of occurrences in the last 48 hours alone would over stuff a James Bond movie script. It’s almost impossible to believe that it’s all coincidence. We are definitely dealing with levels of 3D chess, beyond mere mortals… And it’s a sure bet that if they knew, the Democrats would never approve of any of it.
Ukrainian International Airlines 752 crashed after departure from Tehran with no survivors, from Fox News:
Iran is refusing to hand over the black box of the doomed Ukrainian airliner to Boeing amid an investigation into what caused the crash that killed all 176 people aboard the flight out of Tehran early Wednesday, according to a report.
[…]
Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Tehran’s civil aviation organization, told Mehr news agency in Tehran that Iran has not made a decision on which country or international authority it would send the black box to for its data to be analyzed, Reuters reported.
It seems that Iran already knows the cause, and Ukrainie has suspicions, via Instapundit:
Iranian authorities, and apparently Ukrainian as well, are blaming mechanical issues. It’s a catch-all term in this case describing a series of events that are exceptionally unlikely, including most notably the aircraft transponder’s abrupt cessation of activity at about 8,000 feet following an entirely normal departure and ascent; and the aircraft’s recorded descent consumed in a fireball.
Neither of these outcomes are at all within range of ordinary possibility.
One more datum: UIA quickly terminated all service to and from Tehran, which is not done over mechanical issues.
This stuff isn’t rocket science, kids:. Jihad Watch:
Australia has just arrested a number of arsonists who are accused of setting the wildfires that are ravaging the country. Could they have anything to do with the fact that jihadis have identified setting fires as a tool of jihad?
This has been a threat for years.
“‘Unleash Hell’: New Al Qaeda magazine describes in detail how to start huge forest fires across the U.S..with instructions on how to make ’ember bombs.’” — Daily Mail, May 3, 2012
“ISIS-linked media: California fires are retribution for Syria,” Preston Business Review, November 15, 2018
I mentioned recently that we haven’t seen much in the way of names and motives for these fires coming out of Australia. Somebody asked me what the names would provide. give me the history of the thing, I’d say that’s obvious, wouldn’t you?
Has anyone noticed?
The same people who are all bent out of shape about Trump threatening cultural sites in Iran are the same ones who are busy tearing down statues here in the ‘States.
So the New York Times decides to fact-check Mike Pence, and gets it completely wrong:
In a series of tweets on Friday defending President Trump’s decision to authorize the drone strike that killed Iran’s top intelligence commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Vice President Mike Pence reeled off a list of some of General Suleimani’s most notorious attacks and machinations. Mr. Pence described “an evil man” who had threatened American national security interests for decades.
In one of his tweets, Mr. Pence claimed that General Suleimani helped 10 of the men who would go on to carry out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks cross through Iran and enter Afghanistan. That does not match established historical accounts of General Suleimani or public United States intelligence about the hijackers.
Of course the “public record” doesn’t back him. Aren’t you the “public record”, New York Slimes?
National Review looks at the situation and says:
“Really, it’s remarkable that so many journalists are seemingly unaware that the 9/11 Commission Report found that 8 to 10 hijackers — of 19, not twelve — traveled through Iran to Afghanistan with the help of the Islamic Republic.”
The fact of the matter is that if it’s terrorism in the middle East, Iran is up to its eyeballs in it, and that’s always been the situation since day one back in the days of Jimmy Carter. If the little paragraph factory in Queens was anything better than a left-wing propaganda rag, they’d have been reporting on this for the last 40 years, as other news outlets have done.
Now who I am to tell a famous rock star like Meat Loaf what to think, and say, about the spoiled climate brat Scoldilocks, b/k/a Greta Thunberg? Meat Loaf:
Rock Legend Meat Loaf Says Greta Thunberg ‘Has Been Brainwashed’ and the Snowflakes Freak Out
[…]While some might say he’s just saying the obvious, rock star Meat Loaf says that Greta Thunberg, the child climate activist being exploited by the media and the political left at the moment, has been brainwashed to believe that climate change is real.
“I feel for that Greta,” Meat Loaf told The Mail. “She has been brainwashed into thinking that there is climate change and there isn’t.”
Greta Thunberg was recently named TIME Magazine’s Person of The Year.
I take issue with Meat Loaf’s use of the phrase Brain Washed. ‘
At sixteen, Thunberg is old enough to kiss. However that is about it. If she has been brain washed, it wasn’t done by her school. She barely seems to attend classes. Moreover, does she even have enough matured brain matter to be even capable of being brain washed? In the United States, she legally considered a child, too young to held accountable for her actions. She is too young to drive, drink or serve in her nation’s military. She can recite what she as been told, but surely doesn’t understand it. Thunberg is no climate prophet. If she were mine, I’d send her to bed without her supper. And you?
Nancy Pelosi H/T Donkey Hotey
With San Fran Nan, b/k/a Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, promising to invoke the War Powers Act to protect the capital of state sponsored terrorism, Iran, and the media caterwauling about President Donny’s threat to strike Iran’s cultural targets, Liz Sheld gives us a pity little target list:
Two dozen missiles or bombing sorties could wipe out Iran’s economy in a matter of hours. Fewer than a dozen power plants generate 60% of Iran’s electricity, and eight refineries produce 80% of its distillates. A single missile strike could disable each of these facilities, and bunker-buster bombs of the kind that Israel used last month in Lebanon would entirely destroy them. Without much effort, the US could destroy the Port of Kharg from which Iran exports 90% of its hydrocarbons.
Despite Nan’s wet dream of rending the President impotent via the War Power’s Act, their no law Nan can pass that would void the President constitutional power and duty to defend the nation. Whenever Iran attacks the United State, which has been often, the President of the United States has the power to respond. Moreover the target is short enough to handled on single day by one naval vesse
Watch the opening monologue from the Golden Globes, as delivered by Ricky Gervais. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.
https://youtu.be/CsHAt-HYQa8
After this, he’ll probably never get any work in Hollywood again.
Then again, he’ll be making substantially more on the comedy circuts than will, for example, George Lopez, who for the life of him, still can’t figure out why people don’t like him very much.
There’s always after thoughts on something so major, so let’s knock down a few of them here:
# If Trump is a tool of Russia, how can he be accused of starting a war with a Russian Ally?
# Pay particular attention to the identities of the people who are objecting to this thug being killed…
China, Russia, Iran, and the Democrat Party.
Instructive, that.
# The Democrats are complaining that Trump went around Congress as regards to a single drone strike. they’ve apparently forgotten that Obama did it over 2800 times.
# What a difference a couple of decades makes…
https://youtu.be/SlK8QI9QqQc
