Thoughts On A Sunday

The last real weekend of summer winds to a close and it is going out with July-like weather with temps in the 80’s, humid, and a lot of sun. We managed to make it out on the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout late this afternoon after most of the weekenders were off the lake. While it was only a one hour jaunt, it was enough for us to feel refreshed. Tomorrow will be a similar day weather wise, so I’m hoping to make it out on the lake again after work.

******************

I find the timing of the release of the letter accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault back when he was a teen a little too convenient. First, it was an anonymous accuser which lends no credence to the allegations. Then, when the accuser’s identity is finally revealed it turns out to be liberal professor.

Teen indiscretions are usually the result of immaturity and poor decision making (a characteristic of adolescents). But that is supposed to condemn any teen making that kind of mistake for the rest of their lives? If so, there are plenty of people on the Democrat side of Congress who should be kicked out for far worse behavior.

One would think that anyone who continued to commit such acts after their teens would already be in jail or fit for no other work than something menial. But since there have been absolutely no reports from anyone anywhere that Kavanaugh has done anything like this since this incident (assuming it’s true), does it disqualify him from being confirmed? If the answer is yes, does that mean we need to dig deeper into a nominee’s history to see if he or she ever stole candy from a store when they were 4 years old?

This is Progressive desperation, pure and simple.

******************

It seems that no matter how much the US reduces emissions, we’re still guilty of being the biggest polluters on the planet even though the US has had the largest reduction in things like carbon dioxide in the world while countries like China and India have increased their emissions across the board.

If the US reduced its emissions to zero, it wouldn’t be enough for the watermelon environmentalists. For the US it’s always a lose-lose situation when it comes to these idiots.

******************

The New England Patriots folded like a cheap suitcase in the rain in their game against Jacksonville. It appears neither the offense or the defense worked.

They need to get their house in order because right now nothing seems to be working.

******************

The latest bright idea that comes from the Antifa playbook? Sneaking up and stealing the handguns from citizens who are openly carrying their firearms in their holsters.

So these self-righeous Progressive vigilantes are going to try to pick on those that are amongst the most prickly of citizens that are willing protect their Constitutional Rights? Have they really thought this through? They seem to think this is going to be easy-peazy: just saunter up to someone that’s open carrying, rank out their firearm with the carrier just willing to stand there, then stand there some more while the nitwit fumbles with the phone to get a good picture, then stand there as the perp (for that is what they are now – stealing private property but oh, never mind about that pesky Right to Private Property stuff – evil and greedy Capitalist anyways. POWER TO THE PEOPLE!) walks to the nearest garbage can, and then quietly allow them to walk away.

That is more likely to get them ventilated with one or more well placed rounds. Of course they think that only they will be the ones taking any action. Try to take someone’s legally owned and carried firearm from them and you are likely to be met with force, most lilely lethal force.

******************

Are one-third of college freshmen mentally ill?

Of course not. It’s probably closer to one half, particularly when you look at the students at colleges like Berkeley, Brown, Evergreen State, and a whole host of other Progressive campuses.

But the chances are many of those college freshmen didn’t become mentally ill until after they had been indoctrinated by Progressive academics.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer lingers, boating is still good, and most of the summerfolk are gone until next year.

Thoughts On A Sunday

It has gone from summer to mid-fall weatherwise in just a couple of days, with temps falling from highs in the upper 80’s/lower 90’s to the mid 60’s. Nighttime temps have been in the upper 30’s and lower 40’s, making for chilly nights. However we’ll be back in the 80’s after we go through soaking rain that is the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon.

It has been quiet around the lakes as the summer season has ended. Many seasonal businesses have already closed their doors, though a few will remain open until Columbus Day weekend to cater to the leaf peepers – tourists visiting to look at the fall foliage.

******************

Listening to the campaign ads for those running for a number of state and federal offices, they separate out into two distinct groups – those focusing on issues that most of the people in New Hampshire find important, and those who detest Donald Trump with a passion and ignore what is important to people here.

One gubernatorial candidate has lambasted the incumbent governor for vetoing two renewable energy bills that would have forced consumers in the state to pay much higher electric rates in a state that already has electric rates that are 50% higher than the rest of the nation. She decries giving breaks to the existing utilities but wants to subsidize other utilities that cannot make it without state mandates, citing the loss of jobs if it doesn’t happen. But she ignores the loss of jobs or stagnating job growth because companies and corporations will not expand into New Hampshire because of the obscenely high energy costs. It will be a short term gain that will lead to a long term loss.

Then there’s one of the Democrat congressional candidates who is basing her entire campaign on fighting Donald Trump, seriously weakening everyone’s Second Amendment rights and destroying the NRA. This in a state with very strong Second Amendment support, including constitutional carry, the lowest crime rate in the nation, and rated the safest state in the country. Yet she sees mass murder and showdowns at high noon around every corner if we don’t disarm law abiding citizens. It doesn’t help that she’s also a carpetbagger, having moved into New Hampshire just long enough to establish residency so she could run for office. She has been living in Washington DC for years, was part of the Obama Administration, and originally hails from Illinois. But she figures she can fool “the rubes” into voting her into office so she can keep pushing the Progressive agenda.

We only have a couple of more days to listen to this, and I’m hoping we won’t have to listen to it after this Tuesday.

******************

Could Alzheimer’s be caused by an infection?

While no one has looked closely as this as a possible cause up to this point, it looks like some research will now be pointed towards investigating the possibility. If it turns out it is caused by an infection or series of infections, then treatment or preventative vaccines may become a reality.

As Glenn Reynolds often says, “Faster, please.”

******************

I guess the Left has figured that if they can’t convince GOP senators to vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court through reason and logic (yeah, right), then they’ll use insults instead.

Yeah, that’s a winning strategy.

******************

As I have opined more than once, too many people are addicted to the use of their cell phones. I have called it “electronic fentanyl” more than once, seeing people’s reaction when they are deprived use of their phones even for brief periods. They start jonesing for a fix.

It’s now being recognized as an addiction, at least according to this article from Proceedings Magazine posted by the U.S. Naval Institute.

The first cell phone hit the market in 1973, and 40 years later, more than half the U.S. adult population was carrying a cell phone in their purses or pockets. Today, that number is closer to 95 percent, with 77 percent of Americans owning a smartphone. But does this technology work as it originally was intended—to enable us to communicate better? Or is the increase in personal technology a sign of mass addiction?

I believe it’s both, though at times I have to wonder that even though it helps us communicate more, it does not necessarily help us communicate better.

******************

What would it take for us to see a resurgence in nuclear power in the US? MIT has a few ideas.

Probably the biggest factor to overcome is the irrational fear of nuclear power that was instilled by anti-nuclear wackos decades ago.

With the newer technologies and the move away from One Big Plant to A Few Small Plants on the same site, safety, reliability, and a means to reduce or eliminate high-level nuclear wastes as well as zero-carbon energy, nuclear looks much better to me than all of the wind/solar renewables put together.

******************

Is it any wonder that an increasing number of 18-29 year olds in California are getting ready to leave? They show a high dissatisfaction with the conditions in the Pyrite State, between sky high housing prices that put home ownership out of reach, high taxes, ridiculous and mind-numbing regulations that stifle businesses that induce them to leave.

That California is losing that demographic spells major trouble in the not so distant future. If you lose the group that will be starting families to other states, you will soon have a population that is increasingly aging population even as your total population decreases.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the summerfolk have gone, seasonal businesses have closed their doors, and where fall will be here soon enough.

Thoughts On A Sunday

The last ‘official’ weekend of summer is upon us and people have been taking advantage of the great weather, getting as much recreating in as possible before Monday comes to a close.

This weekend has also meant a number of people traipsing in and out of The Manse now that it is on the market. That we’ve had as many as we have means either the market is really hot, our realtor is really good, or a combination of both. In either case, all we can do is hope that an offer from someone is forthcoming.

******************

How many of us have heard the lament “Things were a lot better back when I was a kid/teenager/college student/etc.”? More than a few of us, I’d wager. There were some things here and there that were better, or so our rather foggy memories tell us. But there were also a lot of things that were not. There are also a lot of things that exist today that make things better than they were “back in the old days”.

Here are Seven Ways Life Is Better Than They Were 40 Years Ago.

While I agree with the items on the list, some are far more important that the others, three of them being #3 – Advances in Medical Science, #6 – the Soviet Union is Gone, and #7 – Instant Communications, there is also a downside to some of them. We certainly see the downside of instant communications, between ‘phubbing’ (phone snubbing), cyber-bullying, and the addictive nature of the ability to be in constant communication.

******************

If we need yet another example of the failures of socialism, try this one on for size:

It appears that Venezuela is looking more like North Korea, at least when it comes to keeping the lights on.

Early on the morning of August 31st, Maracaibo was lit up, possibly for the last time in a few years, by a chain reaction of substation and transformer fires, even melted power wires in the streets, as the final phase of communist mismanagement of the energy supply morphed into complete disaster. Bonus – the Cubans have been “helping” Venezuela manage its electrical grid since 2010.

Brownouts and blackouts have become increasingly common over the past few years, and now, the locals desperately suck whatever power they can get, whenever they can get it, until the substations, transformers, and wires fail under the peak loads. When a three-phase distribution system goes out of balance due to one phase failing, the voltages and currents on the other two phases increase dramatically…

Rather than admitting they are incompetent, the Powers That Be in Venezuela blame foreign sabotage. However, unwavering belief in socialism does not trump the laws of physics or the law of supply and demand, hence Venezuela’s decaying infrastructure. And once the lights finally go out, Venezuela will look just like North Korea from space – dark from border to border.

******************

I watched a good portion of John McCain’s memorial service off and on, and found it interesting that political opponents who excoriated him for all kinds of reasons were all of a sudden singing his praises. Where was all of this when he was alive?

The media played up the “He’s a good Republican – he’s dead” angle for all it was worth. Other media did their best to find as much dirt on the man as they could in an effort to tear him down. It’s obvious they never heard the old aphorism about not speaking ill of the dead.

I remember a blog post from some years ago where a commenter called John McCain “a cowardly old man”. The replies to that comment blasted the moron, reminding him of the ordeal McCain was put through while held captive at the Hanoi Hilton. That’s assuming of course the moron even knew about it.

******************

The Other McCain covers the “Fake New, Real Hate” meme. It paints fake news as new ‘policies’ that the Democrats then use to slam Trump. And when the stories are found to be false, the media cooks up new fake news and the process repeats itself.

Is it any wonder that trust in the media has tanked and is still heading downwards?

******************

Because it’s the Labor Day holiday weekend, I am cutting this week’s TOAS a bit short. Still have things to attend to for tomorrow’s showings. Hopefully we’ll get a bite on The Manse.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summerfolk are partaking of last gasp summer activities, the summer businesses are raking in as cash as they can, and where the traffic heading southbound tomorrow afternoon is going to be epic.

Thoughts On A Sunday

It was our little town’s Old Home Day yesterday. The activities encompassed an early morning 5K road race, a parade, a pancake breakfast, and a number of activities that spanned the range from our local library’s book sale, one of our local church’s flea market/fair, exhibits from our local historical society, numerous food and craft vendors, games for kids 2 to 99, a number of bands playing at the bandstand, and at the end of the day, fireworks.

Some friends from downstate made the trip up to enjoy the festivities. While their home town also has an Old Home Day, it is far more commercial and not nearly as encompassing of all age groups as the one here in our town. It was one of the first thing they noticed as we made the rounds.

It also seems fitting that our Old Home Day takes place the weekend before the kids return to school. Call it a way to close out their summer vacation and getting mentally prepared to start school. It’s also one of the last weekends of the summer season for a lot of the summerfolk as their kids are also returning to school.

The Labor Day weekend is usually seen as the ‘official’ end of the summer season, though many of the summer businesses will remain open for a few more weeks, though only on weekends. The unofficial end of summer is usually around Columbus Day weekend as that’s when a lot of summerfolk close up their camps and cottages for the winter. Most of the remaining boats are also pulled out of the water to be prepped for winter storage.

I expect that I’ll be hearing Don Henley’s Boys of Summer on the local radio stations starting any day now.

******************

With the passing of Senator John McCain, I expected plenty of coverage by the media and on the ‘Net. Unfortunately a lot of the people on the ‘Net dug deep into their “hateful derangement” vault and excoriated McCain, his family, and extended it to White House press spokesman Sarah Sanders by slamming the condolences she posted on Twitter. It proves to me that too many people are suffering from serious mental issues.

While I didn’t agree with John McCain on a number of issues, I did respect him. I voted for him in the 2008 New Hampshire Primary and the presidential election later that November. I defended him in some comment threads where more than a few Leftists tried to paint him as a “cowardly old man”, either not caring or not knowing his history as a POW and the torture he endured at the hands of the North Vietnamese.

******************

Playwright Neil Simon has passed away. He was 91.

As Ed Driscoll reminds us, “…[he] was often called the world’s most popular playwright after Shakespeare.”

******************

Apparently the “record-breaking” temperatures seen this summer across the US weren’t all that record breaking…unless those looking at the records stopped looking prior to 2000.

The summer of 1936 was far worse, with temps in some cases over 100 degrees F from California to Virginia and Texas to Minnesota for days on end.

But according to the warmists none of that matters. The past can be ignored as long as the narrative is served.

******************

South Africa is one step closer to becoming Zimbabwe South.

******************

You might call this a Tale of Two Professors, one local to us here in New Hampshire and the other at the University of Kansas.

The heart of the tale is the Second Amendment, where one professor is a wholehearted supporter of the people’s right to bear arms and the other has no like of the Second Amendment and seems to think that everyone who legally carries a firearm on campus is a threat to his personal safety. Because of that threat he no longer has personal office hours and will only deal with students via e-mail or Skype.

Is it paranoia or is it virtue signaling? Of the two I’d have to guess it’s more the latter than the former.

******************

One thing the media and the Left are choosing to ignore in regards to the convictions of Cohen and Manafort (and the hung jury for other of the charges against Manafort) is what laws were actually broken? David Starr hasn’t been ignoring it and has been asking the questions that everyone should be asking. The questions point to something that makes both prosecutions seem more like part of a witch hunt aimed at taking down Donald Trump. Certainly they were far out of the scope of Special Counsel Mueller’s investigations. Are these prosecutions nothing more than leverage to get Cohen or Manafort to implicate Trump? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time an overzealous prosecutor has pulled that particular stunt, even if there was nothing there for him/her to use to get their target.

That this investigation has been dragging on since shortly after Trump took office and to this point has found nothing that implicates Trump in regards to the focus of the Special Counsel’s original purpose should tell us something: There’s nothing there.

If anyone were investigated long enough the investigators would find something on them, even if it were only something embarrassing, but not criminal. But if it’s part of a witch hunt, even the embarrassing can somehow be turned into something that appears criminal. More and more Mueller’s investigation is looking like this – finding embarrassing information that isn’t criminal but is being massaged to make it look like it is.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the summerfolk have been out on the lake in droves, the weather has been spectacular, and another Old Home Day has gone off without a hitch.

Thoughts On A Sunday

With the exception only a few minor touch-ups, the work on The Manse in preparation for selling has been completed. All the painting is done. All the repair/renovation tasks have been completed. The Manse has been cleaned top to bottom. The over half of the feline compliment will be staying at relatives while The Manse is being shown. (Three will be staying here because they require special care that does not lend itself to being performed by others unfamiliar with their needs.)

With the real estate market as it is, our realtor expects The Manse will sell quickly.

******************

As bad as this story is, I have to say I was not surprised by the outcome. Worse, I could be tempted to say they had it coming.

A naïve American couple believing that “evil is a make-believe concept” found out the hard way that evil exists and is deadly.

They decided to prove their belief by biking across Africa, parts of Europe and into parts of the Middle East and southern Asia. They ended up being stabbed to death by ISIS fighters while riding across Tajikistan near the Afghanistan border. So ended their naiveté.

From reading the post by Sarah Hoyt and an article posted by the Daily Caller, it appears that these nominal adults were more like children who never had to face adversity, were never left unsupervised, or ever experienced unkind words.

First, how protected and innocent do you have to be to think the worst evil in the world is “ax murderers” and not the men who smile and smile and are villains. And second, how can you think that everyone – everyone – is wonderful and generous and kind. Sure, when you travel through as a tourist, you will mostly be tolerated and treated nicely. Sure, most humans are fundamentally decent, for a given description of decent. But consider that these twits were bicycling from the tip of Africa to the North, and yet had no concept that not only evil does exist but a lot of societies are set up in such a way as to be evil to women, to children, and even to the men who are — by and large in such societies — in charge. How could they be so blind unless they were looking at the world through the eyes of kindergartners convinced that because someone smiled and gave them cookies they must be nice?

The problem is that there far too many people just like this young couple who cannot conceive of the possibility that people they don’t even know would have no problem robbing them, beating them, raping them, or killing them. If they are naïve about things like that, then what else might they believe that “just ain’t so”, to paraphrase Ronaldus Magnus.

******************

Steve MacDonald ponders the real reason why the Washington Post, CNN, and BuzzFeed want the name and addresses of the jurors of the Manafort trial. The reason is simple, really.

Intimidation.

They want guilty. To make sure they get there they are willing to unleash liberal mobs on the homes and lives of innocent jurors to get what they want.

The judge, himself, says he has US Marshall protection 24-hours a day because he has been threatened.

Ladies and gentleman of the public jury, this is the promise of Liberal rule. It has always been and always will.

If you do not care now you will be made to care after it is too late to stop them.

So the media wing of the DNC has tasked itself to make sure the verdict turns out the way their political masters want in a trial that never should have taken place because it was well outside the scope of Robert Mueller’s mandate.

Too bad they didn’t get their way…NOT.

******************

It’s hard to believe how quickly summer has been passing. It seems it was only a couple of weeks ago that it was Memorial Day and a few days ago we were celebrating Independence Day. But Labor Day is only a couple of short weeks away and the kids start school next week

While I haven’t been out in the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout (aka The Boat) nearly as often as I would have liked, I’ve still managed to get out at least twice a week on average. Work prepping The Manse for sale has taken up a considerable amount of time which cut into some of the time I would have spent out on the lake. But now that The Manse is finally going on the market I plan to make up as much time as I can over the next two months and spend more time out on the lake before The Boat is pulled out of the water and prepped for winter.

And so it goes.

******************

Are people obsessed with cats?

Yes. Yes we are. What’s it to ya?

Considering that the feline contingent here at The Manse numbers seven, I’d say the WP family certainly is.

******************

To quote Squidward, “Just when I thought they couldn’t get any stupider.”

In this case, the California legislature passed a resolution that demands that Congress and President Trump “apologize to illegal aliens, including MS-13”.

Really? Apologize to people who broke our laws just coming into the US they way they did, and others who have committed violent crimes after breaking our laws just coming into the US the way they did? I think there can no longer be any doubt – California is being run by the inmates of an insane asylum.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather has turned pleasant, people are running around trying to enjoy one last week of summer vacation, and where summer is running out all too quickly.

Thoughts On A Sunday

Just when you think you’ve gotten everything taken care of in regards to prepping your home for sale, you find something else that needs fixing. Such was the case this past week when I found a last minute repair that needed doing. It was something a bit past my abilities and skill to attend to, so a call went out to one of our more skilled local handymen to deal with it. The need for the repair delayed listing The Manse for another week. While much of the repair has been done, there are still a few more details to complete, something that must wait until things dry out a bit after the rain we had over the weekend.

And so it goes.

*****************

When anyone looks at data from any kind of source, in many cases it is not the raw data but data filtered and massaged. Sometimes such filtering removes important information that leads to improper conclusions.

It is no different when it comes social media, where posts are censored, ‘tweaked’, or outright banned. How does this skew the ‘conclusions’, or in this case, the message being but forth?

It’s simple, really.

It silences dissent. But that’s the point, isn’t it?

*****************

This isn’t exactly news to me and it’s something I’ve been complaining about for a long time.

A couple of studies have found that smart phones harm the dining experience.

That certainly has been my experience and it is one reason one rule we have instituted at our family gatherings is all phones be put away for the duration. No texting. No Facebook. No Instagram. No e-mail. No web surfing. The same rule should apply when eating a meal at home or at a restaurant. If people are gathering to enjoy each other’s company, they should actually be there, not stepping into cyberspace and leaving the real world behind.

*****************

Yet another energy project that can help northern New England bring cleaner electricity, much needed electricity, has been targeted by the Neo-Luddites who will not sanction energy projects of any kind, with the exception of politically correct (and very expensive and unreliable) ‘renewable’ energy sources. (Hydro is not politically correct which is why a separate bunch of Neo-Luddites killed a new power line that would have brought massive amounts of hydro-electric power into New England.)

This same group worked hard to kill the Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline that would have greatly increase the availability of natural gas from Pennsylvania in New England. At the moment the only natural gas pipeline into New England is at full capacity and cannot meet the demand. This forces New England to import natural gas from Yemen during winter to meet the high demand. This means we pay much higher natural gas prices than the rest of the nation even though domestic natural gas is cheap, and that suits these Neo-Luddite watermelon environmentalists just fine.

These jerks will not be satisfied until we are paying the highest electric rates in the nation (Oh, wait, some us already are!) for unreliable electricity that will not meet the demand and will damage our economy, all to meet some pie-in-the-sky dream of 100% renewable energy powered by unicorn farts.

*****************

This stuff writes itself.

The RNC has been running some ads that Chicks On The Right have stated are absolutely awesome. The kicker?

They’re using video from the Left that shows just how cray cray they are. Other than some narrative they’ve been able to use video created by the Progressives and their minions.

How better to run a campaign than to use your opponents’ own invective against them?

*****************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where it’s rained all weekend, the work on the house continues, and where summer is slipping by to quickly.

Thoughts On A Sunday

The last few bits of work to The Manse are close to being finished, with one last bit of painting to be finished and parts of our office and the last of my ham shack to be packed away. One or two last trips to the dump and everything should be done.

It’s been a long haul to get to this point, with work starting back last September with initial cleanouts and brush cutting, followed by new roofing installed on the Official Weekend Pundit Garage and The Manse’s driveway being rebuilt and repaved. Repainting the interior of the house, removing and refinishing the heating baseboards, replacing and refinishing some of the woodwork started in the spring. More landscaping work and repair of the decks started in the spring, and then refinishing the decks and some of the front steps were completed last week.

Doing it a little at a time was far less daunting than trying to get everything done in a very short period of time. I’m just glad it’s almost over.

******************

Do they hate you?

Yes. Yes they do.

How much?

This much.

Any questions?

******************

Then there’s this little bit of violence baiting from Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes making a lame and very poor ‘joke’ about Senator Rand Paul’s beating at the hands of a neighbor.

On has to wonder when the violent rhetoric will be surpassed by actual violence against Republicans/conservatives/’not’ Democrats. We’ve already seen the so-called ‘antifa’ fascists beating anyone they disagree with, meaning anyone who isn’t an anarchist/communist/Progressive.

******************

I found it interesting that Candice Owens had her Twitter account suspended for posting tweets identical to those of new NYT editor Sarah Jeong. The only difference? Owens changed the word “white” in Jeong’s tweets to “black” and “Jews”.

So why wasn’t Jeong’s account suspended?

Because at Twitter, bashing white people is perfectly acceptable behavior, even though it’s just as racist as bashing any other ethnic group.

******************

I think David Starr is right on the money with this – Vote all the bastards out!

******************

We also need better federal judges, something that President Trump is working on, because apparently at least one of them doesn’t understand federal law.

In this case we have a judge who has ordered DACA to be reinstated even though it isn’t covered by statutory law, was created out of thin air by President Obama even though he knew it was both unconstitutional and against the law.

The judge’s excuse for his ruling? ICE didn’t explain their rationale for suspending DACA. Did they really need to?

******************

It appears the Left is starting to let their mask slip. In this case a Santa Barbara, California city council member came right out and told everyone “Unfortunately, common sense is just not common. We have to regulate every aspect of people’s lives.”

And there you have it. “We have to regulate every aspect of people’s lives.” This Progressive asshat believes no one is capable of running their own lives, so he and others like him will have to do it for us. I have no doubt that many of his fellow travelers believe exactly the same thing and are working to make sure they will take control of everything.

One unintended consequence of something like that? Armed rebellion by those who will not submit to their control. And the first victims of that rebellion are likely to be the very people telling us they are going to control our lives because we are incapable of running them ourselves.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer continues, work on the Manse is almost finished, and where I really need to get back out onto the lake.

Thoughts On A Sunday

The long run getting The Manse ready to sell is coming to a close. All of the painting has been completed with one small exception, and that will be done later this week. All of the interior renovations are complete so all that’s left is a top to bottom cleaning, some staging work (curtains, throws, a few pillows, and a couple of runners), and packing up anything we won’t need until ensconced in The New Manse.

The realtor will be by to take photos once everything is staged and we’ll then be on the market!

******************

I came across a great YouTube channel for those of you interested in guns, interactions with police, how to properly carry concealed, firearms training, and general Second Amendment issues. It’s called Mike the Cop and he has a great series of videos that I have been enjoying over the past week or so.

Check him out.

******************

Want to know what it would be like to work under a communist government? Then all you have to do is work for the City of New York under Comrade Mayor de Blasio.

It appears that he and his underling oligarchs are more interested in “getting theirs” rather than actually doing their jobs and helping the people of New York City. Between that and the Comrade Mayor doing his best to handcuff the NYPD and bring NYC back to the Bad Old Days of the 1970’s.

******************

Was Barack Hussein Obama the worst US President ever?

Yes.

Considering the damage he did to this country, between his disastrous domestic policy, the economic pain he caused due to his incompetence, his disjointed foreign policy that insulted and disrespected our allies and sucked up to our enemies, he was easily the worst president in US history. And somewhere, Jimmy Carter is celebrating, chanting “I’m Number Two! I’m Number Two!”

******************

Has California become a ‘No Go’ zone for Republicans? From some of the actions that took place this past week, I’d have to say that it’s likely. Stacy McCain has come to that conclusion.

This week, a vandal destroyed President Trump’s star on the Hollywood “Walk of Fame.” Thursday night, Elijah Schaffer and Joy Villa were recording a video at the site (Schaffer hosts a YouTube channel called “Slightly Offensive”) when they were surrounded by an angry mob of Democrat thugs. Being a Republican is more or less considered a “hate crime” nowadays in California, and Schaffer was wearing a red-white-and-blue Trump jersey. The mob started chanting “F–k Donald Trump” and — because they’re Democrats, and therefore thieves — one of the thugs stole a $3,000 camera from Schaffer’s crew. This led to a brawl and police are now looking for two suspects.

At this rate I have a feeling that California will devolve into mob rule not unlike the Reign of Terror after the French Revolution.

******************

If anyone tries to convince you that renewables generate cheap electricity and are the wave of the future, point them to this post at Jo Nova that shows that just the opposite is true, at least in Australia.

Of course I would expect our home grown renewable fanatics will make the claim that “It won’t happen here because we’ll do it better”. But unlike them, most of us know that won’t be the case. It will be no different than what Australia has experienced. It will also be the same as what Germany has experienced, that being exponentially increasing electric rates, higher dependence upon non-green electricity sources because the renewable energy is not dispatchable and woefully unpredictable.

******************

Is it possible for any state in the US to be “too white”? According to “experts”, my home state of New Hampshire and neighboring states of Maine and Vermont are too white and they feel they need to “fix” the problem.

Excuse me? How are they going to do that, forced relocation of minorities into those states? It almost seems (to me) that’s what they’re advocating. I’m sure that will go over well with the folks being relocated.

How is that not racist?

In a truly diverse world, we look up to actions and ideas with an eye toward that old saw “judge them by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”

The Diversity movement doesn’t work that way. The colorblind world is all about color. It’s about numbers. Butts in seats, or in front of classrooms, or at our workplaces.

What about Live Free or Die?

In a genuinely free society, people go where they want for reasons that are their own.

And in a truly diverse world personal preference would drive demographics and that would be good enough. Sorry, say the “experts,” it’s not.

Super-white New Hampshire (with its White State-Potato) needs to get more people of color to come and live here.

“What, we’re going to get a new home? Really? Where? New Hampshire? Are you effin’ kidding me? It’s goddamn cold up there! Why the hell would we want to go there? We like it right here where we are! What do you mean we don’t have a choice? Oh, we do? We can choose where we’re going to go? Great! What are our choices? Wait, what? New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine? That’s it? What the f**k?!!! That isn’t any better! Why the hell are you doing this to us? What did we ever do to you? Diversity? F**k diversity! We ain’t goin’ nowhere!!”

Yeah, that’ll work.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather has become more pleasant, the work on The Manse is almost done, and where once again I am looking forward to going into work so I can get some rest.

Thoughts On A Sunday

The rains arrived with a vengeance this morning. Not that I minded its arrival. We’ve needed the rain as it’s been rather dry here the past month. However the rain brought all work outside The Manse to a halt.

There’s still some painting and repairs to complete before The Manse goes on the market and we really didn’t need yet another delay. We are already three weeks behind schedule and the ‘hot market’ window will be closing when school starts late next month.

******************

With the ongoing debate about energy, specifically the means of generating electricity, the push seems to be for expanding renewables in favor of other more traditional technologies like oil, coal, natural gas, and particularly nuclear.

While renewables sound appealing, the reality is that they aren’t all that great (with the exception of hydro), particularly when you look at the costs. The cost of maintaining the renewables like wind and solar is much higher than originally forecast and their service lifetime is shorter. Because of the intermittent nature such renewables, meaning they cannot be counted on to generate power at any specific time, something that makes them non-dispatchable. The rest of the system has to adjust to the variable nature of renewable sources, making the system less stable.

Another downside to renewables – subsidies.

While many utilities receive subsidies of one form or another, renewables cannot exist without them. The others can, even nuclear. (Yes, the federal government heavily underwrites the storage/disposal of spent nuclear fuel, but that’s under federal non-proliferation laws.)

With all of that in mind, nuclear is one of the best non-carbon energy sources available. And if Elysium Industries has its way, nuclear power may be on the brink of a resurgence.

While a number of companies have been working on next generation reactors, many which have yet to build their first prototypes, Elysium is building upon already proven molten salt technology using materials that are already nuclear qualified. While it is taking a slightly different path in regards to the molten salt, preferring to use chloride salts rather than the fluoride salts of other reactor. As molten salt thorium reactors have a number of advantages over uranium/plutonium reactors, I think it is time that we make the move in this direction.

******************

Why doesn’t this surprise me?

If you have the misfortune to be a young Republican in Washington, DC, or worse, a Trump staffer, the dating scene is all but non-existent. Considering the atmosphere in the District, particularly after eight years of the Obama Administration and the entrenched Deep State it left behind, that Republicans are in effect social outcasts is to be expected. After all, they are not of the proper political ideology and do not live within the constantly shifting confines of the Left’s paradigm. They are the untermenschen of Washington, to be devoutly ignored, minimalized, and disparaged.

Yet another gleaming example of the intolerant Tolerant Left.

******************

After the Supreme Court decision that allows states to collect sales taxes from other states where their residents make Internet purchases, one has to think that the 45 states that do have sales taxes expected the revenues to start rolling in once they enacted legislation to collect them. However they may find that a few states, particularly those 5 states that have no sales tax of their own may balk at collecting them for the states that do. That’s certainly the case with my home state of New Hampshire.

While New Hampshire doesn’t like the idea of collecting revenue for other states (and there has been a NH Supreme Court decision – Town Faire Tire vs. Massachusetts Department of Revenue Administration - that have stated that New Hampshire doesn’t have to), it may be forced to do so. However that won’t come without a cost for those states demanding our state do so.

Since New Hampshire does not have a system in place for collecting sales taxes, retailers will have to invest time and money to install the software in their systems to do so as well as pay for the constant updates that will be required to keep the tax requirements up to date. So what plan does the state legislature and the governor have in mind to deal with this?

Make the states demanding we collect sales taxes for them reimburse all of the businesses for the expenses they incur to implement the collection of those taxes. They will also be required to present themselves to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office and prove they have the legal circumstances to ask for the collection and aren’t unfairly targeting small businesses.

How many states will want to go through all of that to collect what will in the end be less than what they think they will get? (I expect that California, Illinois, and Connecticut will do so because they desperately need the revenue. And maybe New Jersey. Of course there will be many different sales tax rates in some states, between the state, county, and municipal sales taxes that exist that have imposed.)

As one commenter to the linked post suggested, “Ironically, my fee, for administration and management of your taxes, is the EXACT amount of your taxes...PLUS postage.”

******************

I haven’t quite figured out the math, but so far no one has been able to explain to me how it is that having more than one job lowers the unemployment rate. Does the Department of Labor automatically assume that one job filled equates to one person? Or do they look at how many people are looking for work versus how many people have jobs?

Senator Elizabeth Warren seems to think that all of the real reason the unemployment rate is so low is because everyone is working more than one job. This is a similar point that Congressional hopeful Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has brought up as well. What makes it worse is that she has a degree in economics and should know better. But she’s pushing the Progressive narrative and purposely ignoring real world economics as a means of gaining elective office.

To this point I haven’t seen where having more than one job affects the unemployment rate. Using Warren’s and Ocasio-Cortez’s reasoning, we could have a theoretical unemployment rate in the negative numbers if everyone capable of working had more than one job. The labor participation rate could exceed 100% under that same reasoning.

Does anyone else see a problem with this?

******************

Oh, noes! Colorado snowflakes has a sad because Starbucks has released a coffee mug showing that state’s oil and gas industry.

The blue Colorado mug, part of the coffee giant’s “Been There” series touting the distinctive features of U.S. states and cities, included drawings of bighorn sheep, pine trees, mountains, skiers — and a drilling rig.

Losing their minds over a friggin’ coffee mug? These folks need to get a life.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the rains have arrived for the next couple of days, all outside work has come to a halt, and where once again I look forward to Monday because it means I can get some rest at work.

Thoughts On A Sunday

Another weekend winds to close, meaning that the work I’ve been doing to prep The Manse for sale is slacking off. Work intrudes on doing the work that remains. Little will be done tomorrow due to other commitments and Tuesday looks doubtful as thunderstorms are forecast for the afternoon, meaning any work to be done after work is likely to be pre-empted by Mother Nature.

Isn’t that always the way?

******************

Could it be that women are avoiding STEM careers not because they aren’t interested, but because they are dissuaded by college professors outside the science fields?

It doesn’t surprise me if this is indeed the case. After all, things like engineering “is only for those who enjoy “rote” work. Engineering is not creative. There’s only one right answer. You’ll live your life in a cubicle. It’s dehumanizing. You’ll never talk to anyone. And, of course, it’s sexist. All this from professors whose only substantive experience with STEM is a forced march through a single statistics course in college, if that.”

I find it amusing that some of these professors seem to think that engineering has “only one right answer”. Not in my 40-some years of engineering it doesn’t. What a lame claim.

******************

Wirecutter gets into the whole “Why do women always try to change the man they’re involved with?” thing. As he writes:

It seems like damned near every relationship I’ve been in, the woman felt like I could be improved on. I never could understand that s**t – you got together because you like each other, but after you get together you find out that you’re basically just the rough draft. Sure, there’s always something about the other person that you don’t care for, but with guys it’s different. Sometimes we just accept the fact that that’s the way that particular woman is and hey! accept her for who she is. Other times we just figure it ain’t worth the f**king time and effort so we just deal with it. If she blows monster farts right before she wakes up, get up before she does. That’s dealing with it.

I’ve been involved with a few women like that and the relationships didn’t last as it was quite apparent to me that weren’t really interested in me as I was. They wanted to turn me into someone else, someone that was nothing like the real me and that wasn’t going to happen.

******************

If you need any more evidence of the fake news being put forward by the MSM all one needs to look at the Washington Post’s story that got it wrong about US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

With their ‘layers and layers of fact-checkers’, you’d think that could have got this one right, wouldn’t you? But then again, it doesn’t fit the Progressive narrative so the facts must be ignored and the hit piece on Nikki Haley must be published. Too bad it backfired on them…again.

******************

See what happens in the real world when Progressives run cities? In case you didn’t know, nothing good. Between rising crime rates, shootings, feces in the streets, increasing numbers of the homeless, decaying schools, and rising taxes, endless examples show us that the Blue Model just doesn’t work.

******************

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer continues apace, NASCAR returns next weekend, and where Monday is getting here none too soon. (I need to rest!)