6/12/2016

Thoughts On A Sunday

It was Graduation Weekend here abouts, with the WP Great-Niece matriculating from our high school. The family gathered to celebrate with a cookout. I only wish the weather had cooperated a bit more as it was chilly and windy throughout the day of celebration.

At least we'll have good weather through the week which will be a boon for Motorcycle Week.

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The action against the Orlando shooter hadn't even been concluded before the Usual SuspectsTM started screaming about imposing more restrictive gun control measures.

The shooter was nominally an ISIS supporter. The FBI had questioned him at least three times and came to the conclusion he wasn't a threat. (It's quite obvious they were wrong.) Though he did legally purchase the guns he used, had he not been able to do so he would have likely found another means of getting the guns he wanted. If he hadn't used gins, he would have found some other way of pulling off the massacre.

If anyone inside the club had been carrying their own legal weapons, chances are the twisted miscreant would not have been able to rack up the body count. (I have to wonder whether Pulse was one of those establishments that were so-called 'Gun Free Zones', which freely translates into 'Free Fire Zone'. Insensitive? Maybe. But that doesn't make it any less an important factor if that was indeed the case.)

Taking guns away from law abiding citizens protects no one...except the government.

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You know network TV is getting desperate when it has to dust off old TV game shows in an effort to retain viewers. In this case ABC has resurrected The $100,000 Pyramid and Match Game. They've also spun a version of Family Feud using TV families from some of their sitcoms.

Sad.

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I've had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people I would not normally have the chance speak with. (By this I mean I would never have met them but did due to a certain family emergency which I will not go into here.)

One of the topics I managed to address while talking to them was the upcoming presidential elections. While more than a few expressed their opinions about who they were going to vote for, the one thing I heard again and again was that they weren't particularly enthusiastic about their candidate of choice. My impression is that many weren't particularly enamored of any candidate. Of those, I did ask “If you had the choice to vote for 'None of the Above', would you?' Almost every single one of them said they would.

I keep thinking “None of the Above” should be a valid choice on any election ballot. Should “None of the Above” win with a majority – but not a plurality - then the election for that particular office would be declared null and void and a new election would have to be held with these two stipulations: 1.) The new election would be held in one month's time, 2.) None of the candidates who ran during the first election would be eligible to run in the second election.

Would it cause chaos if “None of the Above” won? Absolutely. Would it be expensive to run a second round in order to fill that office? No doubt. But it would also serve as an object lesson for potential candidates that no amount of glad-handing, campaign spending, or shifting positions are enough to get you elected if no one really likes you and the voters have a choice that doesn't include any of the candidates running.

I know I am sick to death of having to choose the lesser of two evils during an election. I would prefer to let them know we don't like any of them without having to resort to staying home and not voting, which actually does nothing to show our displeasure. “None of the Above” would send a clear message to all candidates, that being “We don't trust any of you lying bastards!”

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On more than one occasions I have opined about why men are not pursuing marriage these days. It breaks down to one simple factor: There's nothing in it for them other than misery, pain, and loss of financial assets. Why would men willingly put themselves through that knowing it's a no win situation for them?

What's worse is the very women these men are avoiding are asking why they can't find any good men, not understanding that they're out there, but that they want nothing to do with them. I think much of this is seen much more often in urban and larger suburban areas and not so much in the smaller suburban and rural areas. That right there may be a reason for the smart men to seek mates out in the country and to avoid the cities.

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Should the citizens in the UK vote to leave the EU (the so-called 'Brexit'), they will be leaving at just the right time. The EU is in shambles, between a lackluster economy, increasing numbers of draconian regulations and laws that make running businesses increasingly difficult, and a collapsing social welfare system that is being strained to the limit by 'refugees' who have no plans to integrate themselves into the society which has taken them in, the UK will be saving itself from the EU's self-inflicted demise.

At least the British were smart enough not to get involved with the unified monetary system – the 'Euro' – and kept the pound which helped cushion some of the blow from Brussels' short-sighted monetary policies.

Come June 23rd we'll find out if the UK will sever itself from the anchor around its neck that is the EU.

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If the Yalies who are demanding to remain ignorant really desire to remain that way, who are we to deny them the opportunity?

My only suggestion would be that their transcripts and diplomas be annotated with something along the lines of “This graduate demanded to be allowed to remain an ignorant, self-important, overly sensitive ass, but was willing to shell out $60,000+ per year to do so. Who were we to say no? This qualifies this graduate to become a barista or a pizza delivery driver. Whatever you do, don't hire them to fill any positions that would give them the power to fuck up our nation or its economy with their self-imposed ignorance.”

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This overweening attention on the so-called “Rape Crisis” on college campuses has had one intentionally overlooked side effect, that being how it hurts actual victims sexual assault on campuses.

Not that any of the Social Justice Warriors who have been pushing the “1 in 4” hype really give a damn about actual assault victims. Not that there are anywhere near that many actual victims, but those that are actual victims aren't being taken seriously because the SJW's have so poisoned the public's perception. These victims are marginalized and do not receive the attention and help they really need.

It's the Law of Unintended Consequences showing the SJW's...nothing. The SJW's don't care.

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David Starr delves into what makes good teachers. I'll give you a hint: it isn't more money.

Bottom line, I don't think good teachers are born or trained.  Good teaching happens when the teacher knows his subject thoroughly, and cares about his students. 

Indeed.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the cool weather is leaving, the motorcycles are arriving, and the rumble of all those engines signifies large amounts of tourist dollars filling our coffers.