Rebane's Ruminations

Sandbox - 16jan20

[Anyone willing to offer a guess as to the date on which the Senate will deliver its verdict?  I'll even take your MAB numbers to see who has the most accurate view of when this kabuki performance will end.  gjr]

Sandbox - 11jan20

[Many apologies for letting the last sandbox get a little soggy.  So many issues, so little time.  gjr]

Sandbox - 1jan2020

[Well, we finally made it to 2020.  Can anyone imagine that this may be the first year during which our progressive commenters discuss issues instead of arriving here to exchange ad hominems?  We continue to hope that they have the ability to do that. gjr]

Sandbox - 26dec19

[I solicit nominations for the next Democrat/lamestream Big Lie re/issued before New Year's Day that will impact the largest number of the nation's light thinkers.  The same invitation is issued to our leftwingers about Republicans.  gjr]

Sandbox - 19dec19

[Now that the impeachment kabuki has ended, the Senate trial will begin.  But before that can proceed, Pelosi will try to squeeze some more preconditions out of McConnell before forwarding the House’s articles of impeachment.  The cynical humor of the whole process goes on with Democrats continuing to accuse Republicans of unfairness along every step of the way, paying no never mind to having conducted the most blatantly partisan, unfair, and corrupt congressional circus in Congress’s long history.  But the real story is again the ever-widening chasm between what now clearly are two Americas attempting to share the same government and territory while holding diametrically opposite worldviews and objectives.  gjr]

Sandbox - 13dec19

[“But Conservos made zero, ZERO arguments regarding the constitutionality of what Trump has been doing...”  One of our liberal commenters sought to make a curious point with this statement re Trump being impeached.  There is nothing in the Constitution about a president’s ‘abuse of power’ or ‘obstruction of Congress’ – these are political charges fashioned entirely out of whole cloth by Democrats desperate to somehow cripple the president going into the 2020 election.  Therefore, ‘constitutionality’ need not even enter into any defense argument.  Just pointing out the Democrats’ political perfidy is enough to indict their motives.  gjr]

 

Sandbox - 3dec19

[From the last Sandbox I will repeat my 920am invitation.  'Paul, you guys continue going after the low-hanging fruit on Trump. Why don't you instead take on something more meaningful to Americans? - your assertions that tax rates don't affect economic behavior, or 'border walls don't work', or more regulations encourage commerce and entrepreneurial activity, or capitalism has created all the world's ills, or bigger government taking on a bigger share of the economy is better, or people are indifferent to living among others more like themselves, or ... .  There are so many things you guys believe in that you should really attempt to substantiate instead of displaying your ongoing spasms of TDS.' gjr]

Sandbox - 22nov19

[In addition to all the other issues that need to be covered, I draw your kind attention to the 22nov19 update of the most recent 'Ruminations'.  gjr]

Sandbox - 15nov19

[From the comment stream under 'America Askew' it's interesting to note that no one cares much about how California's electorate is composed.  California is not the only state that both invites and enables voting by the disenfranchised among us.  Please post your belated concerns under the referenced commentary, and your 'here's why I don't give a crap' hereunder.  gjr]

Sandbox - 8nov19

[So what's Bloomberg's entry into the Dems' presidential race going to do to the Dropout Derby?  Will there be a rush to the exits by those who can't get traction?  How will the current 'Final Four' go after the new white billionaire vying for office?  gjr]

Sandbox - 31oct19

['In life it's important to know when to stop arguing with people, and simply let them be wrong.' - an old shibboleth with conditional wisdom.  Doesn't deciding when to stop arguing also depend on who all are listening to the argument?  gjr]

Sandbox - 24oct19

[Power still out on Cement Hill with no wind, while Sonoma County burns.  Am looking for local readers' reports on the return of power.  gjr]

Sandbox - 19oct19

[Trump keeps sticking his foot in it at every turn.  Now enough crap is starting to pile up so that a significant number of Rs are starting to voice opposition.  That can mushroom in the Senate and end his administration.  Right now the immediate pile consists of 1) Ukrainian pro quids per Mulvaney, 2) Abandoning Kurds in Syria, and 3) holding the G-7 in his Doral digs.  All of which could have been avoided if someone would only tell him, 'Mr President, STFU!!'  gjr]

Sandbox - 8oct19

[On the face of it I am not in favor of withdrawing US troops from Syria, especially viz the Kurds.  My own long-stated Rebane Doctrine is that the US must continue its role as the world's white hat policeman (hegemon) using responses and methods that will evolve with needs and time.  But before we continue hyper-ventilating on the withdrawal, can someone cite the exact parameters of Trump's withdrawal announcement - e.g. is it more than pulling a few tens of troops back from the 20-mile buffer zone?  gjr]

Sandbox - 3oct19

[I did my best to remove some of the irrelevant and ad hominem comments from a couple of my topical commentaries.  Please continue posting your comments under the appropriate recent topical posts or in the Sandbox if I have not recently covered the topic of your interest.  Thanks. gjr]

Sandbox - 25sep19

[Anybody have any thoughts about a workable public policy that would sufficiently shield  PG&E so that it doesn't have to conduct its CYA power outages?  gjr]

Sandbox - 18sep19

[The Union tells us that there will be demonstrations 'Striking for the Earth' at the NC and GV city halls this Friday.  These deluded citizens have no idea that their anthropomorphized Earth doesn't give a big rat's ass about ongoing climate change.  And what still eludes these sincere but factually deficient folks is that consensus science is NOT science - discovering ground truths about our universe is NOT a democratic process.  gjr]

Sandbox - 12sep19

[Back from our travels, and lots of insights about what's going on in the minds of many Europeans.  gjr]

Sandbox - 5sep19

[Apologies for the delay in providing new sand.  You all seem to have covered every imaginable issue in the last Sandbox.  And there is more to be said about it all.  Haven’t heard of more dropouts in the derby beyond Gillibrand - we’ll update scores when I get home.  Sally forth!  gjr]

Sandbox - 28aug19

[How come none of our liberals respond to all the illegal alien rapists and murderers who are continually getting caught and arrested?  How would they respond to a pack of progressive lies like this yayhoo dispenses in his 'Capitalism's Last Gasp'?  BTW, we're going on a little trip that promises iffy connectivity, so please be patient.  Vielen dank.  gjr] 

Sandbox - 20aug19

[I suppose doing the poll dance will continue as the hot topic and entertainment du jour.  At this stage of the campaign, that's much like watching 'snow' on a TV with signal loss.  gjr]

Sandbox - 11aug19

[Gun confiscation in disguise is the topic du jour, and the disguise has now become a very thin, translucent veil still useful for fooling some of the people all of the time.  gjr]

Sandbox - 6aug19

[We will now have to dissect the when and how President Trump was the prime cause of all these massacres.  And one thing is clear to many of our tight thinkers, the man is able to make such things happen in cities where he previously held a campaign rally.  So finally, after all the years of mass shootings, we have identified their cause.  Socialist science marches on.  gjr]

Sandbox - 2aug19

[Interesting discussion from the last sandbox on Baltimore, shithole cities, and the misguided attack on Kushner and other investors in companies willing to provide housing in crime and drug infested ghettos.  The simple-minded accuse such investors of being "slumlords" with the same logic that investors (like me) can be accused of causing the opioid epidemic by investing in pharma companies or killing women and children in the mid-east wars by investing in defense industries.  Go figger.  gjr]

Sandbox - 28jul19

[Was going to intro this sandbox with a comment on the current Trump/Cummings imbroglio, but reader Todd Juvinall's comment in the last Scattershots covers it pretty well.  "Elijah Cummings district is truly a shithole district. Most of the urban blight is contained in the areas represented by the Con Black Caucus. With over 40 members I have watched them most of my political years and they are as impotent (as) Steve Frisch. Their districts are shitholes. We see the same thing now in LA with the Hispanic Caucus. If they would cast off their leftist robes of failure and embrace Republican values and ideas they could revitalize their shitholes. But they won't. The press is siding with these failed politicians against Trump. He sure says what is true."  gjr]