Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Heroes

As far back as history has recorded, human beings for the most part have had to struggle every day just to get barely enough to eat and survive.  People led uncomfortable and difficult lives.  Mortality was high.  Things started changing in the late 1700s thanks to the Industrial Revolution, first in England and then in the United States.

People now think that crises happen on Twitter and Tik-Tok.  They make heroes out of movie stars and pop singers for singing controversial lyrics.  The real heroes stormed the beaches of Normandy and ran into the Twin Towers never to be seen again.

We are so pampered that we fret over things that would seem insane even to my parent's generation, who came out of The Great Depression and World War II.

It is time to have some perspective.

--

Friday, June 24, 2022

The American Innovation and Choice Online Act: What it Does and What it Means | Bipartisan Policy Center

I keep hearing radio commercials on conservative talk shows saying that this will destroy innovation and that people should call their senators to oppose the bill.  I have no idea.

https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/s2992/

Thursday, June 23, 2022

This is why Asians are smarter than you!


I would not want to live in a society where my entire waking existence must follow the demands imposed on me.  I had a similar experience in medical school, which I found exhausting, and which is partly why I dropped out.  The other reason was that I didn't like it very much.

I'm going to assume that some societies have greater competition for fewer resources, leading to extreme situations like this.  What happens if you are one of the people who don't measure up?   Surely, not everyone passes.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Re: Watch "White House Admits It Lied About Vaccines; Study Shows 49% of Biden’s Followers are “Fake Accounts”" on YouTube

It is my understanding that the Trump administration was leaving some distribution details up to the states.   If true, this is probably a good thing.   I only think this because I heard all sorts of cries from the political left to federalize the distribution plan.  When I heard Biden say there was no plan, I assumed that this is what he meant.   However, I think that his statement is highly misleading.

In terms of the public not respecting a liar, I think that all politicians engage in a large amount of spin.  However, the Biden Administration seems to frequently make statements that are either demonstrably false or extremely misleading.  

On Tue, Jun 21, 2022 at 5:18 AM Albert twrote:
The democrats can't stop lying, but what else have the got? Unfortunately, when politicians are willing to lie, they have no honor and your well being as a citizen means little to them. Citizens simple become part of the voter plantation, a tool to keep and stay in power.

It's hard to respect a government which is willing to lie and deceive their citizens. People feel it deep in their core. No one with a reasonable mind respects a liar.



Monday, June 20, 2022

Fredrick Douglas



Re: Transgender Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John

I should clarify my position.

If men want to dress like women, it is a free country, but I think that this is some type of mental illness.  I do not believe that men can become women.  It is pretty clear what a woman is in regard to reproduction.   If I were to surgically alter myself to look like a dog, that would not make me a dog, no matter how much I wanted to be a dog.

There are slight differences between the brains of men and women.  I have heard that transgender people are more likely to have brains that resemble the opposite sex.  There are effeminate males and masculine women.  There is a normal range of human behavior.  However, one's mental state or preference does not make someone the opposite sex.  

However, my issue is not with human behavior but with coerced speech.  If I don't call a 'he' a 'she' then I am labeled as a bigot.  The actress Gina Carano had her career ruined for not using preferred pronouns. Jordan Peterson became famous for opposing speech laws in Canada that would force him to use preferred pronouns.  They want to force us to lie to protect people's feelings.  However, I am not going along with this insanity.

--
Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com


On Mon, Jun 20, 2022 at 9:55 AM Steve wrote:
>
> thanks for the comment...pretty sure I can never watch this and be fine
>
> you have made my time more worthwhile, and I appreciate it
>
>
> On 6/19/2022 8:18 PM, John Coffey wrote:
>
> In response to ...
>
>
>
> I wrote:
>
> 9:35 I missed the use of the plural "them" and the whole transgender subplot, or that this was a transgender actor. I liked the episode quite a bit regardless. I didn't feel like I was being lectured to in order to push an agenda, which happened all the time on Discovery, and would be a negative for me. Speaking of which, I don't like being lectured to that I must distort the English language to conform to a leftist agenda.

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review | "The Serene Squall"

In response to ...



I wrote:

9:35 I missed the use of the plural "them" and the whole transgender subplot, or that this was a transgender actor. I liked the episode quite a bit regardless. I didn't feel like I was being lectured to in order to push an agenda, which happened all the time on Discovery, and would be a negative for me. Speaking of which, I don't like being lectured to that I must distort the English language to conform to a leftist agenda.

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Comments to Biden emergency oil power

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Larry 


        • 4 hours ago
          Democrats totally lack any logic in their brains.  They are unable to connect the dots and see the consequences of their policies. Like defunding cops wouldn't result in an increase in crime. Like stopping oil exploration and development wouldn't result in increased prices. Like spending trillions of dollars wouldn't result in high inflation. Like decriminalizing shoplifting wouldn't result in an explosion of shoplifting. Like decriminalizing drugs wouldn't result in more dealing, crime to support habits, and overdoses.
        • 4 hours ago
          Waging war on fossil fuels decades before alternatives are sufficient is just like pulling troops out of Afganistan before removing military equipment and evacuees. That's Joe's way, backwards logic.
          • 3 hours ago
            Can you imagine our troops waiting around for 8 hours for their tanks and trucks to be recharged??? Sitting Ducks.
            • 4 hours ago
              A poster earlier - "he sold the mule and bought a plow"
          https://www.foxnews.com/media/big-oil-exec-biden-failure-plan-now-significant-emergency


      Boosters and Covid

      ---------- Forwarded message ---------
      From: Larry 

      Dunn said hospitals in Utah have been "stable" until this week. The state dashboard reports a 27.3% increase in the seven-day average of COVID-19 hospitalizations, and a 35.3% jump in seven-day average cases in the ICU.

      "The silver lining in this increase is that it's definitely not as steep," she said. "It's happening at a slower pace."

      Dunn said the increase in cases could be from new Omicron subvariants and vaccination/booster shot immunity wearing off.

      "We're starting to see that increase and with that, an increase in positivity," said Dunn. "So we're now seeing 25% to 30% positivity."

      She said current positivity rates mirror similar peaks seen in early 2021 and beyond.

      "The people-over-people method is up 625% since April 2," she explained. "The testing-over-testing method is up 850%."




      Monologue: The Party Is Over | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

      New Rule: Democracy Dies in Dumbness | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

      Thursday, June 16, 2022

      "2000 Mules"

      I watched the Dinesh D'Sousa documentary "2000 Mules."  (https://2000mules.com/)   Although the 90-minute video is maybe 30 minutes longer than it needs to be, it does a very effective job of making the case that the 2020 election was stolen.

      It is almost certain that President Biden won the popular vote.  However, Presidential elections aren't decided by the popular vote, but by the Electoral College.  Because certain "Battle Ground" states were very close, it would have only taken relatively small shifts in five key counties in those states to swing the election.  We have heard about some election weirdness in some of those counties, but none of it seemed like it was enough to claim widespread election fraud.

      Apparently, there is geo-tracking data available on all of us that can be purchased.  An organization called "True The Vote", purchased this data, and claims to have found evidence of widespread "mules" who stuffed election drop boxes with votes.  They set a very high bar for what they consider to be "evidence".  We have cases of people visiting 30 drop boxes while going back and forth to "non-profit organizations."  There is no plausible reason for people to visit so many drop boxes.

      Most of these drop boxes only existed because of COVID.

      The documentary only has videos of about a half dozen people stuffing drop boxes with votes.  This is illegal even if the votes might have been legitimate.  Most of these people were wearing rubber gloves so as to not leave fingerprints.  They also took photographs of themselves dropping in votes, reportedly because that is how they got paid.  The documentary also has a couple of whistle-blowers who explained how the scheme worked.  One person's job was to pay the "mules."

      Dinesh D'Sousa crunches the numbers, and even by the very high bar for "evidence" set by "True The Vote", the number of votes cast illegally easily would have been enough to sway the election.  He also goes into detail about the people who funded these "non-profit organizations."

      The documentary also finds people in nursing homes who were too far gone to have voted but somehow voted anyway.  One lady in a nursing home said that she didn't want to vote but a nurse made her vote, which is also illegal to coerce someone into voting.

      Although I am convinced, my opinion is very much dependent upon the idea that the documentary is telling the truth.  I have little reason to doubt it, but I can't rule out the possibility that someone is lying.

      Wednesday, June 15, 2022

      Elon Musk Shocks the Media by Announcing His 2024 Voting Plans

      "Like Watching the Biden presidency"

      Re: Douglas Murray: Why conservatives will win the war on the West

      I get the impression that this experiment is self-government has completely failed.  The United States was founded on the principle of limited government, with the federal government only having limited powers granted by the Constitution.  However, any limitation on federal power has been mostly ignored for the last 90 years.

      It only takes a well-motivated minority using intimidation to control a society.  The communists used to talk about how they only needed the support of 10% of the people.  This does not bode well for our future.  The far left seems to be winning.

      I try to not dwell too much on politics because no amount of politics is going to change my life for the better.  Only I can do that.

      On Wed, Jun 15, 2022 at 1:08 AM John wrote:


      Douglas Murray: Why conservatives will win the war on the West

      Sunday, June 12, 2022

      DOOCY MICDROPšŸŽ¤ “That’s NOT True”

      The fight against climate change is a fight against capitalism | openDemocracy

      Socialism is the only realistic solution to climate change | Climate & Capitalism

      To Stop Climate Collapse, We Must End Capitalism - Intelligence Squared

      This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate: Klein, Naomi: 8601422216721: Books - Amazon

      The most important book yet from the author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, a brilliant explanation of why the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core "free market" ideology of our time, restructure the global economy, and remake our political systems.

      Wednesday, June 8, 2022

      US: Chinese govt hackers breached telcos to snoop on network traffic

      Fwd: Hollywood changes

      ---------- Forwarded message ---------
      From: Larry 

      A great response to an interesting comment thread dominated by a commentor  named Gemma and responses to her

      Jamicyn  Gemma  3 days ago

      Perhaps it's more difficult for you to see depending on when you grew up. For most who grew up during the millennial generation or following generations proceeding I'm sure it would be difficult to see what people are describing as woke in the entertainment industry. For those of us who are a bit older and subsequently grew up during a period when these things didn't exist; it's disheartening to see things we grew up with as children changed to suit a specific narrative. Some of us remember characters, like for instance in the Star Wars franchise, we watched these characters grow to become the extraordinary heros we've come to love. In today's Star Wars franchise we see a female character who never developed as a character. She never overcame any struggles or failures she simply was strong only because she was a female; which those at Disney who were involved in the project admitted was their intent. So for many of us I suppose that grew up in a different time the world has become a much different place and not necessarily for the better.



      Read the thread and Gemma's comments and peoples responses

      Nolte: Woketard Leftists Whine as 'Top Gun' Continues to Overperform (breitbart.com)



      Tuesday, June 7, 2022

      Fwd: Studies on Mask usage

      Correlation is not causality.  You could have more mask usage in higher-risk areas.

      Previous studies showed some benefits from mask usage.  If there is no benefit, then we need to know that.  However, I think that there is a pretty good reason why everybody at the hospital is wearing masks.

      ---------- Forwarded message ---------
      From: Larry 


      If studies showed masks did not limit covid spread, that would be extremely frustrating. If they showed mask use increased covid spread, it would be horrendous.


      William Barr | The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 125

      I heard this on the radio and then watched the video.  William Barr has some interesting insights about the working of the Trump administration and the law.

      Monday, June 6, 2022

      Common Sense gun laws

      ---------- Forwarded message ---------
      From: Larry

      Florida congressman Matt Gaetz attempted to insert an amendment to the proposed bill declaring that "Congress disfavors the enactment of laws that authorize a court to issue an extreme risk protection order, also known as Red Flag laws, in the States because such laws trample on an individual's due process and Second Amendment rights."

      "You know who didn't have due process?" Cicilline continued. "You know who didn't have their constitutional right to life respected? The kids at Parkland, and Sandy Hook, and Uvalde and Buffalo, and the list goes on and on."

      "So spare me the bulls— about constitutional rights."


      On Mon, Jun 6, 2022 at 8:53 AM Larry wrote:

      The Cheese Caves of the United States

      Saturday, June 4, 2022

      Re: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review | "Memento Mori"

      Some people dislike Discovery for its obvious Woke agenda.  Nobody is against representation, since Lando Calrissian and Princess Leia are fantastic characters.  However, when it is obvious that they are pushing an agenda, the audience feels like it is being lectured to, like the time Disney/Lucasfilm said that they weren't going to hire white males.  Racial discrimination is still discrimination no matter who it is against.

      I complained about Star Trek Discovery season 4 having a bridge crew that was all female.  It is The Ride of the Valkyries.  All the males were either passive or gay.  How is this "representation"?

      Nevertheless, I think that Season 2 of Discovery is considerably better than Season 1.  I really enjoyed it.  I also think that Season 3 is an improvement.  I wasn't near as fond of Season 4, but I still found it enjoyable.

      Season 2 of Star Trek Picard makes for passable entertainment, but it feels borderline mediocre.  It is essentially a remake of The Voyage Home with a Borg plot. 

      --

      On Sat, Jun 4, 2022 at 6:41 AM Steve wrote:

      thanks john I will give s.n.w. a try   had not watched trek since discovery.

      (yuk)  well I enjoyed picard season 1 havent paid for season 2 because of discovery

      On 6/3/2022 7:18 PM, John Coffey wrote:

      The new series "Strange New Worlds" has been knocking it out of the park.  This is interesting since I wasn't too excited about the first episode, and I assumed that people were drooling over it for the simple reason that it didn't suck.  It is certainly better than Star Trek Picard and less controversial than Star Trek Discovery.

      Wednesday, June 1, 2022

      Have the Boomers Pinched Their Children’s Futures?


      The video is a bit long, but it highlights the problems with demographics and government spending, population expansion, the welfare state, and inflation.

      Although the video is about England, it applies equally well to the United States.  Although England has a National Health Service which is unsustainable, around 60% of health care spending in the United States is funded by the government.  Regardless of which country you are in, the government is not going to have the money to keep all its promises.

      These kinds of problems aren't unique to the United States and Great Britain.  It is happening everywhere.  China faces a demographic crisis because there aren't enough young people to support its aging population.

      I was a little bit disappointed by his Climate Change views, calling it an emergency, but he points out that the next generation will have to produce 88% less carbon dioxide.  This is completely unfeasible.  A great many people are going to freeze in the wintertime.  Far more people die from cold than they do from heat.

      Population increase has always been a concern of mine.  It puts pressure on finite resources and makes them more expensive.  The cost of housing has reached insane levels, as have the property taxes on those houses.