Rebane's Ruminations

Sandbox – 2jun25

[Low cost vs affordable housing is available in the re-introduction of ‘carriage houses’.  The folks in Noblesville, Indiana are discovering that “these units cost considerably less than single-family dwellings and create accessible points into and out of homeownership while preserving neighborhood character. They also have the potential to provide rental income to help property owners afford their mortgages.  Few cities and towns are immune from rising material costs and expensive land. But we control zoning and permitting. We should expand housing options without compromising community character.” gjr]

Sandbox - 19may25

[Thoughts on the new 'Executive Branch' exclusive club in Georgetown started by Donald Trump Jr et al that has a membership fee of $500,000 which will allow members to network and mingle with administration officials out of the public eye?  (more here) gjr]

Sandbox - 1may25

[Apologies for letting the last sandbox become a little overused and festered.  Here's some fresh sand that I'm sure will be welcomed.  gjr]

Sandbox – 9apr25

[Did I miss any of our commenters noting the evil Democrats led by Bumblebrain handing out Social Security cards (numbers) to millions of illegal aliens over the last four years?  Most of these were also accompanied by drivers’ licenses and get-Medicare-free cards.  All this activity to bolster Democrat voter ranks was made public by DOGE and reported on Fox News.  In response the lamestream has broadcast the sound of silence.  gjr]

Sandbox – 23mar25

[Nobody seems to know how to address the issue of federal district judges assuming executive branch prerogatives from the bench.  Both Right and Left are haranguing each other on the question of who, the President or the judge, is actually abiding by the laws of the land.  The proper way to approach the solution here is for SCOTUS to first rule on whether such district judges have any standing in general to rule on federal policies.  The proper ruling would be for SCOTUS to make it clear that they have no standing on matters outside their district, and most certainly not on matters that involve federal policies, be they originated by Congress or the Executive.  Keep these black-robed two-bit lawyers in their sandbox.  gjr]

Sandbox – 8mar25

[‘Making English Our National Language Is One Step Toward A More Unified Country’ is a true statement, and long overdue.  I grew up in a bilingual environment, speaking only Estonian at home with my parents.  But we all recognized the importance of speaking English as one of the main bonds unifying us as Americans with everyone else in the country.  gjr]

Sandbox - 25feb25

["OpenAI announced a partnership with Estonia to roll out ChatGPT Edu in all secondary schools, starting with 10th and 11th graders by September 2025, as part of the country’s AI Leap 2025 initiative to provide free AI tools and teacher training." (more here)  And now for a bit of levity, enjoy this.  gjr]

Sandbox – 1feb25

[No one knows how to price their AI-enhanced productivity tools like the MS Copilot.  One of the problems is that it’s hard to tell how much benefit a desk worker gets out such a tool for the various prices charged.  I tried it about a week ago to help write a post (here), and it produced what was obviously low-grade ore.  Now China enters with its DeepSeek at markedly lower costs but nobody still knows how to rate the benefits.  Meanwhile we’re concerned about DeepSeek vacuuming up Americans’ information and thereby compromising our national security. gjr]

Sandbox – 22jan25

[I think the Dems will put up a greater and more desperate ‘resistance’ to the Trump2 administration that they did to Trump1 and also the interregnum Trump.  The poor bastards have nothing else to offer thinking Americans – i.e. no policy alternatives that anyone who pays attention would accept.  All they have left is a pathetic program of digging up dirt that doesn’t stick to anything that Trump proposes.  And that effort is patently silly to all except their own hard core socialists/communists and media lackeys.  gjr]

Sandbox - 12jan25

[I'd be interested in readers' comments regarding the information content of today's interminable news conferences during which dozens of bureaucrats high and low take turns expressing their compassion and prayers for the victims, describing how hard everyone in their department/agency is working, how smoothly every level of government is coordinating with every other, and admonishing people to prepare and evacuate when told to do so.  Always omitted is information about the current location/boundaries of the fires and what direction they are spreading and/or predicted to spread.  The information-free images shown ad nauseum are of anonymous burning houses and hillsides while field reporters ask victims how they feel about having lost everything. gjr]

Sandbox - 30dec24

[Well, the congressional Repubs can really futch up President Trump and the country if they don't settle quickly on selecting a Speaker.  Operational competency of our political parties is in the toilet.  The Dems have historically led the way, but the Repubs are doing their best to now take the title.  gjr]

Sandbox - 14dec24

[Union columnist Darrell Berkheimer posted a good piece here in today's (14dec24) edition of the newspaper on 'Our slide toward ignorance' - worth a read.  gjr]

Sandbox – 1dec24

[Democrats and their media mouthpieces are having a hell of time figuring out why Kamala lost, having forgotten their own dismal assessments of the cacophonous cackler.  And to add to the comedy of Left, there is still a contingent of progressives who are contemplating various political futures for the woman.  None of them understand how inappropriate she is as a candidate for any elected office.  gjr]

Sandbox – 13nov24

[Am considering starting a series of posts about the progressive’s promised ‘resistance’ movement against Trump’s administration.  These posts would be a place under which to gather thoughts and comments about this newest phase of anti-Trump doings by our Left.  Any thoughts?  gjr]

Sandbox – 24oct24

[As Lenin, Stalin, and Saul Alinsky counseled, accuse your opponent of advocating and doing the same things that you do.  Hence, now Kamala and gang promote the same longstanding Trump policies, and accuse Trump of being a Hitlerian “fascist” who will institute an autocratic government dedicated to centralized control, implement the socialist policies long-claimed and practiced by Kamala and the Democrats, and then use the military to imprison opponents.  In the interval, their campaign will permit no questions about their plans and policies, only focusing on disparaging Trump, the destroyer of democracy, this as the Republicans continue to outline their policies and seek symmetry from the Left.  The same response is seen in these pages from our TDS suffering leftwing readers; they will not touch policies but ape their dear leader in continuing to disparage Trump’s character.  gjr]

Sandbox - 8oct24

["The Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to John J. Hopfield of Princeton University and Geoffrey E. Hinton of the University of Toronto for discoveries and inventions that formed the building blocks of machine learning underpinning many of today’s most powerful artificial intelligence models."  Well sumbich, the Nobel Prize mavens are finally muscling in on computer science, a field they have ignored for decades.  Now they are claiming that recent advances in AI really fall under the umbrella of physics (come to think of it, doesn't everything?).  Well, this should get them more attention where it's needed.  It will be interesting to watch for the reaction from the computer science folks administering the Turing Award.  gjr]

Sandbox - 25sep24

[Argentina just revived its housing and real estate markets by eliminating rent controls.  Most people with a 3-digit IQ know that govt control of rents totally mangles the housing market, constricting supply and reducing the quality of properties already rented.  Yet both our federal and several state governments are proposing rent controls in order "to make housing more affordable" for the financially disadvantaged.  It, of course, does nothing of the sort.  So my question to all of you astute observers of the nation's political goings on is 'Where on the evil-to-butt stupid spectrum do most main street Democrats reside?' gjr]

Sandbox – 15sep24

[Kamala tells us we’re not going back to Trump’s bad old days.  That means we’re not going back to historically low inflation rates, low interest rates, lower taxes, less regulations, secure borders, peace in the world, wages that outpace inflation, budgets to rebuild our military, fewer illegal aliens, … .  Yep, that woman really knows how to sell us her brave new tomorrow.  gjr]

Sandbox – 4sep24

[The administration’s sleazebag liars and their media minions are promoting their Big Lie du jour by claiming that under Bumblebrain’s watch grocery prices have decreased.  In reality nothing could be further from the truth; grocery prices have risen markedly under Biden, they continue to grow, but today at a slightly lower rate.  The Democrats know that their lightly read voters aren’t bright enough to pick up the difference between inflation levels and inflation rates, easily confusing the two.  The lamestream media moguls, of course, will just repeat White House lies, never clarifying anything that may jeopardize reliable votes for leftwing causes and politicians. gjr]

Sandbox – 31jul24

[Have no idea why Trump has ‘buried’ the Project 2025 position paper generated by Heritage.  Its purpose was to elicit public discussion of conservative oriented policies, most of which Trump et al continue to endorse.  Such peremptory emotional eruptions by our former president continue to give me pause about his chances this November. (more here)  gjr]

Sandbox – 8jul24

[‘Sweden Is Safer in the Summertime, But No One Wants to Face the Reason Why’  Another reason to be an Islamophobe.  gjr]

Sandbox – 17jun24

["Relocation firm moveBuddha looked at searches for 100,000 moves just this year, and five of the top ten were people looking to get out of the Golden State for almost anywhere else. "5 of the top 10 exit metros are in California, the firm reported on Monday. 'Los Angeles has the highest interest in outbound moves, with 42% more outbound inquiries than runner-up San Francisco. Per capita, the prize goes to San Francisco.'" (more here)  And NPR reported this morning that Sacramento's legislative rock apes are planning to start paying farm field workers their regular pay is they are prevented from working by a "natural disaster" like a heavy rain, flood, cold weather, etc.  The given reason is that we (Californians) want to "earn their trust" and stay in their goodwill.  Of course, the added taxes required and increased debt encountered from all this will just goose the state's exodus rate.  gjr]

Sandbox – 2jun24

[A Clarion Call for Rearmament - “Sen. Wicker, ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, rolled out a report detailing why America’s military budget is inadequate for the “world in which we find ourselves.” America’s military isn’t equipped to deal with potential wars on two continents at once, much less the new threats in space and from artificial intelligence. Mr. Wicker proposes an additional $55 billion for the Pentagon in 2025, a total of $950 billion, as part of a new ‘generational investment.’” (more here)]

Sandbox – 7may24

[Islamophobia?  Actually, for non-Islamists there is no such thing when we recall that the definition of ‘phobia’ is an unreasonable fear.  A correspondent sent a revealing video (here) of British Islamic scholar Anjem Chaudary calmly describing a Europe that will soon succumb to Islam and sharia law.  “Democracy will most likely be replaced by Islamic Sharia law in the UK, Belgium and France within 15-20 years.”  This prediction is supported by this week’s local elections in the UK – ‘U.K. Local Elections Yield Ominous Islamist Success’.  gjr]

Sandbox - 19apr24

[Hard to say what hasn't been said?  Have at it.  gjr]