Rebane's Ruminations

Sandbox – 28may23

[KIA – War Between States 620,000; WW2 405,399; WW1 116,516; Vietnam War 58,209; Korean War 36,516; American Revolution 25,000; War of 1812 20,000; Mexican-American War 13,283; War on Terror 7,075; Spanish-American War 2,446 (more here).  For what did all these Americans put on a uniform and die?  gjr]

Sandbox – 11may23

[According to recent surveys 49% of Americans find socialism to be an acceptable way to organize society, including the United States.  The nation’s Left, led by the patently corrupt Democratic Party, has taken over our country’s educational institutions.  With the advent of woke, DEI, critical race theory, and other harbingers of neo-Marxism, there is no more effective resistance in the land against an advancing collectivist tyranny.  The Right’s opposition, led by the Republican Party, consists of toothless self-satisfied organizations happy to repeat the same pabulum commentaries to their shrinking flocks.  gjr]

Sandbox – 30apr23

[So now outfits that collect and search internet content want to start charging AI companies that make chatbots for the data they use to train their LLMs.  Companies like Google and Amazon get this data for ‘free’ – actually, what it costs them to scrape it from the web – as it is provided also for free by billions of online consumers.  The conundrum is that the very large data repositories don’t want to drive away the AI-based search engines by making their training datasets too expensive.  Until now the whole purpose of those freely accessible datasets has been to have third-party search results point to the data that the Googles and Amazons make available.  And since it costs tens of millions of dollars in power and processing time to make a functioning LLM, everyone involved already has skin in the game.  If it ain’t broke, … .  gjr]

Sandbox – 20apr23

[In updating the government’s butt stupid department, we witnessed today a major speech by SecTreas Janet Yellen assuring the Red Chinese that that US has no intention in surpassing them in international trade and economic progress, let alone outcompeting them in military matters.  Then for what in hell are these people getting paid??  gjr]

Sandbox – 6apr23

[Good news department.  It turns out that if you drink both modestly and regularly, then all kinds of health benefits can accrue to you.  For most men that means no more than two drinks (wine, beer, whiskey) a day, and no more than one drink a day for women – a drink contains about 12-14 grams of alcohol.  Hallelujah!  (More here) gjr]

Sandbox – 22mar23

[Happy Spring!  If Trump is indicted and his trial starts going badly toward conviction, would that induce other Repubs not to throw their hats in the ring?  If so, Trump would be the hands down favorite for Republican nominee.  So if the Dems really want to run against Trump, would they not, as a tactic, want throw their case against Trump under the bus?  gjr]

Sandbox - 5mar23

[Apologies for the delay of new sand.  My malady is definitely slowing things down on RR, and I appreciate your continued hearty participation and patience.  gjr]

Sandbox - 19feb23

[Here's an interesting backlash from the more conservative faction of our nation's youth reacting to the nation's woke tsunami. (here) "'Asbury Revival' marathon worship enters 10th day, similar services grow on other college campuse."  And then take a look at what is happening with the recertification kerfuffle of the University of North Caroling, Chapel Hill as the school attempts to augment its curriculum with actual mainline courses that the Left opposes. (here) Light at the end of the tunnel? gjr]

Sandbox - 1feb23

[About time for fresh sand.   Please note the new Trump post for things Trump related.  Thanks. gjr]

Sandbox – 1jan23

[Well, Happy 2023 everyone and we might as well start the new year off with a fresh sandbox.  In the 19dec22 Sandbox Mr scenes offered an intriguing suggestion (830am) in an attempt to eliminate the detritus of TDS and things gratuitously Trump from continually contaminating practically every other topic with yet another boring lap around the Trump barn.  He suggested that RR add a Trump category and restrict posting of Trump-centric comments to that category.  I envision it being structured like the Sandbox with dated, and perhaps even topical, labels so that the comment streams don’t become too long.  I need to noodle on this and invite readers’ ideas about how it would work.  gjr]

Sandbox – 19dec22

[A continuing miss to Fox and other conservative outlets for not bringing up and highlighting daily ‘the border is secure’ lies of the anti-American Biden administration and presidency.  No president in our history has purposely or otherwise done so much damage to our republic as has this functional idiot in the White House.  gjr]

Sandbox – 5dec22

[Much appreciation for the concern shown by commenters to our pace of Covid recovery.  We have discovered for ourselves that all the stories about how it drains you of energy, and the time it takes to get back to normal are true in spades.  We felt the symptoms and tested positive on 21 November and got over the low point three days later.  But since then it’s been a real drag – every chore that requires moving your butt drains you.  Yesterday morning we did a big grocery shopping which laid us low.  Afternoon nappy-poos are a must.  This morning I tried a turn on the treadmill at half speed; could only last 15 minutes.  But we do sense that day by day we’re getting better; if we could only pick up the pace a little.  gjr]

Sandbox – 30nov22

[All the evidence for impeaching that lying SOS Alejandro Mayorkas applies doubly against Bumblebrain.  It was he who directed his DHS to open the border, let in millions of illegals, including criminals and terrorists of every stripe, fentanyl that has killed hundreds of thousands, and devastated our border cities.  Typically, the Republicans will be blowing it again if they ignore the main event and focus on the low grade ore instead.  Better yet, impeach them both - Mayorkas for following an unconstitutional and illegal order from the President to keep the border open while lying to the American people.  gjr]

Sandbox - 10nov22

[People who debate whether the glass if half empty or half full miss the point.  The glass is refillable.  A verity cherished by the Right and missed by the Left.  gjr]

Sandbox – 25oct22

[Has any reader witnessed an administration that in two years has managed to be so incompetent, corrupt, and spewing so many material lies per day?  Every commentator of conservative and libertarian persuasion has now written several articles listing in detail the Biden administrations atrocious handling of the economy, energy, crime, border, public education, drugs, foreign policy, … .  Can anyone mention ONE THING that they have gotten right?  And to cover it all up before 8 November, they and their lamestream are telling their dumber-than-doorknob constituents that everything is just hunky-dory, the country has never been better.  And to put a ribbon on it, half of America believes that horseshit.  gjr]

Sandbox – 8oct22

[In my considered opinion (nothing humble about it), more than on any proffered policy or politician, the upcoming election will be a referendum on the ability of the American electorate to govern itself.  Historically, the choices have never been more clear in which diametrically opposite way the wisdom of this crowd will choose for the country.  ‘A republic if we can keep it.’  gjr

Sandbox – 22sep22

[Bumblebrain’s foreign policy bungling and catastrophes have boosted the fortunes of America’s enemies who have now organized themselves into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of Asian nations, anchored by China and Russia with India and Pakistan already ensconced, Iran ready to step aboard, and Erdogan working to bring Turkey into the fold.  The SCO promises to become China’s answer to NATO and support its Belt and Road advances into the Middle East and Africa.  While the US continues tangled up in its political nightmare, Team Biden knows as much about this as it does about our "secure" southern border. (more here)  gjr]

Sandbox - 9sep22

[I wonder if anyone is counting Biden's daily lies.  And I'm talking only about material lies, the kind that affect our current or future QoL because they impact policy and legislation; and not political campaign or bombast promises that have not come true or have no chance of being realized.  Examples are, 'Our borders are secure', 'Taxing something does not affect its supply/availability', 'Injecting excess cash (not supported by increased production) into an economy does not cause inflation'.  I would like to see these lies, including their daily repeats, be tallied somewhere, mainly because these affect the beliefs of the lightly read population, especially before an election.  gjr]

Sandbox – 1sep22

[No doubt Jackson, MS (thanks for correcting my MI blooper) is also a shithole city under Democrat rule, and has been for decades.  Today’s water system breakdown is typical of how Soviet-style jurisdictions took care of their infrastructure with public monies going mainly into the pockets of corrupt politicians.  Today’s mayor of Jackson is Chokye Antar Lumumba, a proud textbook socialist who describes himself as a “progressive, socialist, and political revolutionary”.  Like with most of his ilk, maintaining a functioning infrastructure is not high on his governance to-do list.  Again, the overwhelmingly black residents of the city continue to bring it on themselves.  (more here) gjr]

Sandbox - 14aug22

[Been on travel the past week with connectivity a sometime thing.  Will be home soon, so everyone try to keep a lid on it until then.  Anyone know who is the foul-mouthed jerk ‘Donny Jr’?  gjr]

Sandbox – 3aug22

[As RR has argued for some years now, we Americans are competing with our enemies to see who will be the first to destroy the historical United States of America.  So far, we are winning.  Thomas Sowell echoes this with his 3aug22 ‘The Point of No Return’ that opens with, “This is an election year. But the issues this year are not about Democrats and Republicans. The big issue is whether this nation has degenerated to a point of no return -- a point where we risk destroying ourselves, before our enemies can destroy us.”  gjr]

Sandbox – 23jul22

[I suppose the one-sided discussion of Trump’s purported lies and lying will continue (Biden's lies are off limits).  Have any of the discussants considered what possible rewarding endpoints there are to such an ongoing debate that is now easily several years old?

In a 2024 Trump/Newsom contest, who would ever want to vote for a lying politician who has no other accomplishment besides always raising taxes and increasing regulations?  gjr]

Sandbox - 11jul22

[Apologies for letting the last sandbox get a little odoriferous.  I wonder how many of our Ruminators are planning on setting up bond ladders for the continuing rough ride in the securities markets.  gjr]

Sandbox – 26jun22

[It appears that the pro-abortion Left is continuing to violate laws and practice violence in demonstrating its opposition to the SCOTUS ruling that overturned Roe v Wade.  Compare the coverage of these protests on the various ideologically oriented media outlets.  None of the protesters seem to know what the ruling really said and how it preserves democracy in the land. gjr]

Sandbox – 16jun22

[Millions of workers are in their hammocks enjoying govt checks and depressing the labor participation rate to 62.3% from 63.4% at the end of Trump’s administration during which time it was increasing for the first time since the 2008 Great Recession.  Yes, during the entire ‘Obama recovery’ more and more people were leaving their jobs.  The participation rate includes worker with jobs and those actively looking for jobs.  This makes the cited 3.6% unemployment rate a hokey statistic; millions more are sitting on their butts enjoying govt handouts while employers are looking for workers and paying excessive wages to those working.  These high labor costs are another one of Biden’s Blunders which contributes to our soaring inflation.  Bumblebrain has given new meaning to ‘loser’. gjr]