10/19/2014

Thoughts On A Sunday

The last of the foliage is changing from green to yellow and orange, meaning we're at or just past peak color here on the south side of Lake Winnpesaukee. The on-again/off-again sun and rain certainly made performing yesterday's chore a little problematic, but it didn't stop them from getting finished.

I believe with this on/off weather that the last of the warmer weather is gone and the cooler fall temps will now prevail.

At least we get our first delivery of firewood in a little less than two weeks. It will be about that time I'll start sealing up some of the windows in preparation for winter.

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Talk about cognitive dissonance!

After decades of promoting equal rights between the genders, and having de facto achieved it, the radical feminists are now claiming in a backhanded manner that women aren't really equal and never will be because they're too weak to say 'No” to sex.

Really? Almost 100 years of progress towards equality between the sexes and now they're saying, in effect, that women aren't equal and are incapable of being equal.

These crazies have got to get their stories straight.

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I agree with Ron Fournier on this one: We don't need an 'Ebola czar'.

All of this should be handled by the President, and if not him, his national security advisers, his cabinet, the CDC and/or FEMA. We don't need yet another unvetted Obama yes-man to further muddy the waters. There is an already established chain of command when dealing with such issues, but it appears that yet again the President doesn't want to deal with the explicit duties of his office. Instead he's doing the equivalent of outsourcing the work to a crony with no security or medical background.

And he wonders why nobody trusts him anymore.

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First we have to worry about low information voters. Next, we have to worry about low information media employees, in this case CBS staffer Katy Conrad.

From the Instapundit post linking to this comes the best comment of all: “The sad part of it all is that Dr. Paul is more qualified to talk about ebola than the administration’s ebola czar.”

Heh.

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It appears some of our less mature residents here in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire decided it would be a good idea to party hearty, consume too much alcohol, and then riot.

The annual Keene Pumpkin Festival is usually an excuse for Keene State College students to party, and for the most part things do not get out of hand. This time was different.

While visitors were in the downtown area enjoying the festivities, a few blocks away hundreds of college students turned an otherwise festive event into a violent confrontation with police, hurling rocks and battles at both police and each other.

All it takes is immaturity with an added dash of illicit alcohol and things turn ugly.

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The always insightful KC Johnson asks and answers the question “Is Left Losing Its Mind Over Campus Sex?”

Unfortunately the brief answer is “Yes.”

Basically the colleges should tell the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights to “bugger off”, stating as a reason that they will not be a party to the denial of constitutional rights of students accused of vaguely defined sexual assault just because some self-important bureaucrat in Washington is telling they have to.

As we have already seen, an increasing number of colleges and universities are running afoul of the Law of Unintended Consequences, being sued by male students who were expelled or otherwise sanctioned without due process and no recourse for appeal. This will cost those institutions of higher learning millions and further damage their reputations.

(H/T Instapundit)

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From direct experience I know this to be true.

According to a Pew Research Center study, Republicans are more informed than Democrats.

What makes this even more interesting is that the Pew Center is a left-leaning organization.

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If you think Obama is bad now, wait until after the midterm elections.

Between immigration, increasing health insurance premiums, more health insurance cancellations, naming a new Attorney General, the release of the Army's Bergdahl investigation findings, and telling us jjust how dangerous ebola really is, the President is going to drop a ton of these after election bombs on us and Congress.

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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Considering the black vote is very important to Democrats, the only hope they have of retaining a majority in the Senate, many believe the Democrats will turn the race-baiting rhetoric up to “11”.

I'm not sure, but I think their race card has hit its limit and can no longer be used by the Democrat Party. But that won't stop them from trying to inflame racial tensions, even if it means making stuff up.

One example of that is the latest NYT piece about the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, MO that has so many holes in it that if it were a boat it would sink right to the bottom. It is an inflammatory piece whose sole purpose is to stir up racial tensions.

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Another tactic being used by the Democrats to get out the vote is the now long-in-the-tooth “War on Women” meme. The problem is that very few are buying it, particularly women.

Are women wising up to Democrats? Certainly, they must understand just how bad Obama’s policies have been for them, particularly economically. It’s all nice and good to push the “pay gap”, among others, but like so many other memes Obama and the Democrats push, it has become extremely patronizing, showing a belief that women aren’t competent enough, are too delicate and fragile, are simply hot house flowers who need to be Taken Care Of by government. The rhetoric emanating from Obama and Democrats positions is unempowering for women. The economy under Obama has been less than good for women (well, most Americans).

Women still tend to do most of the shopping and cooking. They see the price rises. They see the buying power of their money decreasing. They have real world concerns. Yet, Obama and the Dems patronize them, and apparently think things like free contraception, sterilization, and abortion are the top issues for women.

The Democrats haven't quite figured out that the facts have overcome their rhetoric and that the very people they're trying to get to vote for them aren't listening anymore.

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David Starr has a small bit of advice for those of you out there with built-in webcams on their laptops (this also applies to tablets, phablets, and smart phones: cover the camera with tape when you're not using it.

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By way of a rather convoluted series of links starting at Maggie's Farm, the Assistant Village Idiot, and finally to the Wall Street Journal comes this quote from Roger Scruton's new book, HowTo Be A Conservative:

Conservatism starts from a sentiment that all mature people can readily share: the sentiment that good things are easily destroyed, but not easily created. This is especially true of the good things that come to us as collective assets: peace, freedom, law, civility, public spirit, the security of property and family life, in all of which we depend on the cooperation of others while having no means singlehandedly to obtain it. In respect of such things, the work of destruction is quick, easy and exhilarating; the work of creation is slow, laborious and dull. That is one of the lessons of the twentieth century. It is also one reason why conservatives suffer such a disadvantage when it comes to public opinion. Their position is true but boring, that of their opponents exciting but false.

Yup. I'd say that's pretty much spot on. While I don't usually agree with Scruton on many issues, on this particular one I do.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the fall weather has finally arrived in spades, the temperatures are falling, and the last of the boats are being pulled from their summer berths.