Scattershots – 2feb2017 (updated 5feb17))

George Rebane

More signs of our times.  SESF Executive Director Russ Steele and I along with our brides attended a robotics competition last Sunday at the Folsom campus of Intel Corporation.  One of the teams competing was from Nevada Union HS, and we were there to root for the home team.  They did quite well, but I’ll let Russ fill you in on the details since he is preparing a piece on the event.  SESF has been deeply involved in STEM education of our county’s youth.  SESF writes and funds the annual TechTests and TechTestJrs merit exams, give seminars on taking tests, and run the TechMentor program for special students.  But nationwide things are not looking all that good, since our K-12 school systems turn out overwhelming numbers of kids who can’t read, write, or reason (more here and H/T to a reader for this latest heads up).

The leftwing mobs protesting free speech on campuses are growing more brazen as witnessed at UC Berkeley yesterday.  Now violence is becoming the norm with fires, rocks, and broken windows as the campus police stand by helplessly not certain whether to enforce the law or run and hide.  One of my current books has been Der Führer (1944) by Konrad Heiden, a detailed history of the rise of Adolph Hitler and National Socialism in prewar Germany.  Today’s headlines reflect mirror images of how our radical (or is it normal?) Left dispatches its ideological opponents similarly to how the SA brown shirts shut down opposition to the Nazis even before they were known as Nazis.

Today one of NPR’s daily hit pieces on Trump featured a Democrat senator opposing Judge Gorsuch for being "out of the mainstream" since he is not a supporter of Roe v Wade.  Mainstream?  Yes, as the litmus test the senator cited that 80% of Americans support RvW.  Someone should inform the beltway sequestered politician that 99.9% of RvW supporters have no clue as to what that law actually provides for, and what factors comprise its deceptively named ‘women’s healthcare’ issue.

A learned friend and RR reader sent me a couple of documentaries, both rather long and informative, but that’s the price of completeness.  The first entitled ‘Death by China’ covers the enormous problem of jobs and China’s impact on America’s growing systemic unemployment.  This, as longtime readers will recognize, is one of RR's seminal themes which the data presented in this video corroborates.

The second documents the abhorrent science behind the global climate change hysteria.  RR has presented detailed analyses of the so-called global warming issue, among these being our lack of a workable atmospheric science upon which we can build reliable general circulation models (GCMs).  The interviewed scientists take us through the latest in the development of climate data, the known science, and the dysfunctional GCMs which are used to create the catastrophe graphics to fuel the politics and policies of central planning and globalization.  The documentary – ‘Doomsday called off’ - should be of special interest to the liberal bobbing heads who can do nothing more than interminably parrot ‘Consensus science! Consensus science! Consensus science! …, Aaaawkk!’  Spoiler alert: Besides the dreadful condition of the GCMs, you’ll learn that histrionics based on surface temperatures just won’t do.  (for more, search RR with ‘global warming’)

[update]  And this just in on how companies, especially the highly regulated ones, view employees as the cost they are, and then do everything they can to keep such costs flexible so that they can respond to the ups and downs of the marketplace.  The solution increasingly adopted by firms is to hire contractors to fill needs which may not be permanent. 'The End of Employees' details this approach which is alarming to many workers of moderate and/or limited skill sets.  All of this is of a piece (see the China report above) with factors that exacerbate our growing systemic unemployment.

[3feb17  update]  ‘Replace ObamaCare, Don’t Rename It’ advises Phil Gramm, former senator and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, because “trying to cure all the program’s ills will only make them worse – and the GOP will get the blame.”  He also informs us that Obamacare added only 2.3M to the private insurance rolls, and those at a cost of $29,130 each.  Why?  Because the normal accretion (even after failed Hillarycare) to such rolls occurs after each recession without any help (interference?) from government.  The main effort here is to repeal Obamacare’s impact on taxes, rationing, coercion, and economic stagnation.  The GOP’s solution should have a more cost-efficient pre-exisitng conditions proviso, improve Americans’ ability to keep their insurance when they get sick or change jobs, and provide Medicaid block-grants to the states.  “If they try to do more, they will be in danger of only changing the name of ObamaCare.  They would then own a program that is (still) detrimental to freedom, fiscal responsibility, and economic growth.”

[5feb17 update] Readers informed me that some of the liberals’ local leading lights went into histrionics responding to my 4feb17 column ‘Calexit and the Great Divide’ in The Union (and here).  It’s hard to tell whether these worthies are really smarter than their effluent indicates and just playing to their information under-loaded base, or whether they share in those deficits.  The critiques underscored a gross misunderstanding of the US Constitution along with what I said in my column.  The former is abundantly evident in these pages, and the latter is a perennially seminal characteristic of the progressive – ‘We know what you really meant.’  Armed with these, critics proceeded to fabricate their version of my column.

The most astounding aspect of their denials is that they all missed the Calexit gorilla in the room as the most prominent exemplar of the Great Divide.  This movement, now attempting to gather over half million signatures, was the highlight of my column.  And they totally missed it, apparently because the sheltered channels through which they are ‘informed’ never mentioned that little embarrassment to those globalists who have denied the now fully grown schism in the land.

Among the many things of which I was therein accused was the new charge that I am now also “craven” for “enjoying the benefits of American values while trying to deny those benefits to posterity.”  You literally cannot make this stuff up, but they can; it is of a piece of the Left’s growing assault on the Trump presidency.

 

Comments

[Walt]

The bastard apparently has no problem with ID theft so his "people" can acquire jobs and benefits. GGgggrrrrrr..... By any means necessary. HELL!! He harboring fugitives! The worst part is his constituents and other elected officials most likely won't do shit about it.

[Walt]

At least the PATRIOTS WON!!!!

[Todd Juvinall]

Great game!!!

[Todd Juvinall]

Paul Emery, that was Thursday. You are desperate. And he is still the President.

[George Rebane]

PaulE is probably right that Trump is starting his presidency with historically low poll ratings. And then we remember that he also was the candidate with historically low poll ratings.

[ScenesFromTheApocalypse]

I'll bet the Russians had something to do with this.

https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/828424859776585730

[Gregory]

Trump is probably the first candidate to have 96% of journalists contribute to his opponent.

[Bill Tozer]

Bill Tozer
Re: Update Calexit 2/5/17.

It was not lost on moi that the topic of Calexit was avoided at all costs in the Union. Rather than being presented as evidence of the Great Divide, the catalyst for gathering petitions for Calexit was never discussed. Maybe because the Immigration pause is the topic of the week(s), but I think not.
Crickets on Calexit, crickets on Berekely, crickets on organized riots and carnage funded by liberal/progressive groups. It's all crickets and not even a word of disassociation or condemnation of the violence. Zero. It's like what is going on on TVs across the land does not even exist to them. Let's not talk about it. The ends justifies the means.

Thus it is so. Their word "sustainable" requires uprooting capitalism, culture, borders, individual freedoms, The Founding, and everything moored to what was once viewed by all for over two centuries as The United States of America. Unmoored from history, unmoored from yesterday. Unmoored from the word "no". The world begins today and it looks like the real demagogues are not the Tea Party folks, nor the Clingers, nor the
Deplorables.
They accuse others of what they see and hate about themselves. The Leftists are full of hate, but will deny it to the death as they pound on the Irredeemables verbally and physically. As they scream "fuk you" at us, they say fuk you wth their fists. Trump was right. Hillary (and the Dangerous Left by extension) have much hate in their hearts. They see us truly as Irreedemable. Let that sink in.

A Seattle college is using a freshman psychology book that describes the beliefs of progressives and conservatives and we right wing nuts are now classified as subhuman. Straight from the text, straight up. Subhuman. We fit the definition. Liberals are human, their thoughts and beliefs are correct and fit the definition of human. A horrified friend called and read 3-4 paragraphs straight out of her grandson's college book. I told her again, that Grandma is the enemy. Grandma is white, rural, fiercely independent, and has not denied believing in God. I told her it's not the kids fault. It is what they were taught and are being taught today. All the commies and Nazis and fascists and socialists grap the toddlers first and unmoor the young ones' ties to their subhuman family. Starts early in elementary school.

Great Divide? What Great Divide?

[Bill Tozer]

On a brighter note, there was only one person in America from any party that would have dared on a nationally televised Presidental debate to walk over to his female opponent and call her a liar and a person with much hate in her heart. He knows what's going on and going down. And he knows what must be done. No one else can.
I just love my little street fighting man with sticks of dynamite in his back pocket. :)

https://www.facebook.com/RowdyConservatives/photos/a.217983685002343.55586.217926015008110/1022140707919966/?type=3&theater

[ScenesFromTheApocalypse]

H1B article from Huffington Post.

https://archive.fo/x0i4u

[Paul Emery]

George 8:17

That is a point well taken George. I acknowledge that Trump is a new kind of critter. My guess is that he has acore support group of around 28%. The rest can and likely will j ump ship, as they are staring to do, when his message gets told and tired and the results spotty at best. He is in my estimation a pop star that scored a big hit in 2016 that will fade from the charts over the next year or so.

[BradC]

Re: Trump ratings - Any Prez can draft executive orders (most of them penned by Trump to appease the meatheads in the dirt zipcodes who voted for him). I want to see what Congress does on the big stuff - tax reform, for instance.

[George Rebane]

PaulE 1051am - The luster of all presidents fade as their terms mature. But if he accomplishes even a fraction of what he promised, he will be revered by the conservatives and libertarians of the land, and envied by the rest. In any event, your more dire prognosis is not shared by the Democrat Party which today is scared shitless about their future and desperately organizing to do everything possible to stop Trump in his tracks. Were they of a mind with you, they would just stand back and let their denigrated 'blowhard' plow ahead to eventually crash and burn. But in their heart of hearts they know better - if Trump succeeds they are political dead meat in America, to be replaced with something new to succor their base.

In another comment stream Mr Tozer contributes this corroborating piece.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/columnists/2017/02/04/wave-illiberalism-present-liberal-quarters-today/97407608/

[Paul Emery]

George

I agree with most of what you say. The Democrats as the opposition party in our sadly confined two party system has to redefine itself and not just rely on the likely Trump collapse. The Republicans have replacements as evidenced by their lively primary session and the Dems have little on the bench to replace their aging and infirm. They are rumblings in the grassroots nationally, evidenced by local organizing efforts that will be on display tonight at the Nevada Theatre when they gather for a follow up to the women's march last week. Third party options are pathetic with the national Libertarians showing themselves to be impetant and the Greens hollow withour Nader.

You write and I agree that "The luster of all presidents fade as their terms mature." however Trump is starting with historic low support so there's not much shine in his luster and it's already fading so he has little room to fade without losing his shakey support from the Repub mainstream who became reluctant warriers for the Trumpdom march and can easily slip away if his polls slip much more.

As a loyal contributer I'll be around for the blow by blow and keep your blog informed.

[George Rebane]

PaulE 1149am - Excellent! Hereabouts we want to eliminate as many blindspots as possible.

PS. It still appears that the Dems don't believe in Trumpdom's natural demise "if his polls slip much more", else they would not be so worked up about giving those polls a good push in the proper direction.

[Paul Emery]

Trump mouth may have reacted an all time low with this exchange on O'Reilly:

"He's a killer though. Putin is a killer," O'Reilly told the president.

"There's a lot of killers," Trump replied. "What, you think our country is so innocent?"

Remarkable response from Gen Barry McCaffrey

Ret. Gen. said President Trump telling Bill O'Reilly that the U.S. is not "innocent" in a discussion about Putin being a killer is one of the most anti-American statements he has ever heard.

"One could argue that's the most anti-American statement ever made by the president of the United States, to confuse American values with Putin," the retired general said Monday on MSNBC.

[ScenesFromTheApocalypse]

12:17PM It would be interesting to see who killed more civilians last year. Putin or Obama. My bet is the guy who had 26,000 bombs dropped, although nothing is certain in this world.

Meme du jour.

https://i.redd.it/o5kcx74npaey.jpg

[Paul Emery]

It's not the body count that is important its the unbelievable stupidity of making such a statement (Trump)

[ScenesFromTheApocalypse]

12:38PM.

I don't doubt that telling the truth can be a revolutionary act.

Here's an interesting point. I don't know if I believe it, but it's worth considering.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C39rWZfUoAEi82h.jpg:large

[George Rebane]

Re PaulE's 1217pm - Methinks MacCaffrey misspoke. President Trump's comment was meant to communicate that we cannot base our foreign relations only on how many of their own other countries kill, but to satisfy the more immediate needs of our national interests (else we would never have even recognized Red China).

[Paul Emery]

Well George you should apply to Trump and become his advisor because Trumpmouth is a big problem. Reminds me of a Mose Allison lyric

"Your mind is on vacation and your mouth is working overtime...

[Bill Tozer]

"Your mind is on vacation and your mouth is working overtime..."

Priceless coming from the punchdrunk one.

[Paul Emery]

But I coulda been a contender Bill

[Bill Tozer]

Finally Paul, you lightened up and showed some humor. It's about time, knucklehead. That changes everything. So, I never did think you were a real liberal at heart. Those wingnuts that were deprived a funny bone at birth. Life ain't fair and it's a heavy burden to bare, judging by the bedwetters's faces.
You Iike Uncle Sam the Proctologist to stay out of your thing. I get it. You tipped your hand by going for Gov. Gary over Dr. Franken Stein, the green socialist. But, if only Gov. Gary was more green.....I bet you wrestled hard weighing the pros and cons.

Smack 'em' in the chops, President Trump. And get those America Haters out of State and Intelligence. Like, today. Thankyou.

"From The Emperor God Trump's lips to your ears." -----Anonymous

[Paul Emery]

Bill

Being a Green Libertarian is a special cause. One of our (I don't know how many "we" are is:

"A community only has as much government as it deserves" (I made that up)
Ponder on that for a bit. I'm open for questions. Lets continue this on the Sandbox