Memorial Day

I think this says it best.

Thoughts On A Sunday

This weekend signifies the unofficial start of summer. Certainly the weather on Saturday was summer-like, with temps in the mid 90's and dew points in the 60's. At least today was about 20 degrees cooler.

There were plenty of boats and jet skis on trailers to be seen as folks headed to the lake. The town beach was busy even without the benefit of lifeguards. (They don't start for another week or so.)

I ushered in summer's start by stopping by one of the seasonal ice cream joints and partaking of a chocolate frappe, one of their specialties. One taste and I knew summer was here.

Not a bad way to start the summer.

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Every time I think Katie Couric can't do more to damage her reputation, she proves me wrong. Her latest (and ongoing) slide to the bottom is a manifestation of her longstanding hatred of guns and her efforts to inhibit or outright do away with gun rights.

I won't dignify her efforts by calling it journalism, yellow or otherwise, much as Matt Continetti has opined.

As Ed Driscoll noted, “Just think of her as a Democrat operative with a byline, and you really can’t go wrong.”

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Michael Crichton predicted the fall of the main stream media way back in 1993.

In 2008, it looked like he was right as a number of news media giants felt the onslaught of newer and more timely sources of news and opinion. While his timeline was off a bit, it has been only the in the past few of years we've seen his predictions coming to fruition.

Today many of the news giants he castigated are shadows of their former selves, with falling revenues and circulation, declining staffing levels, all while TV evening news viewership has been plummeting as the people become even less trusting of the pablum and editorializing that has been masquerading as news.

I don't feel sorry for them because their problem has been self-inflicted.

(H/T Ed Driscoll at Instapundit)

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From the “Gee, I could have told you that!” files.

It turns out that Millennials views on socialism change: At first they love it. Then they get jobs and they realize they're the ones who will be footing the bill to pay for it all. It doesn't look all that great when the bill comes due.

My youngest sister was a dyed in the wool socialist once she graduated from one of the hoity-toity women's liberal arts colleges. Then she got a job and saw how much the government was taking from her paycheck to pay for all those government programs she thought were great. The viewpoint always changes when you're the one who has to foot the bill.

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It turns out wind power isn't all it's cracked up to be, being a lot more expensive than many were led to believe. That's how Denmark sees it.

Denmark has led the charge for renewable energy, but now the green policies have become too expensive.

In 2015, Denmark set a new world record by generating the equivalent of 42.1% of the country’s total energy consumption by wind. Denmark is also the world’s largest exporter of wind power equipment. So it’s fair to say that Denmark is perhaps the world’s leading wind power nation.

[An] analysis showed that in 2014 a staggering 66 percent of the average Danish electricity bill went to taxes and fees, 18 percent to transportation and only 15 percent of the price was for the electricity in itself. Only Germany came close with 52 percent in electricity taxes.

Yeah, the energy produced is cheap but the government taxes the bejeezus out of it to make it very expensive. Weren't renewables supposed to be cheaper than traditional sources?

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Solar doesn't get off the hook as it turns out it can be bad for the environment.

All one has to do is look at what happened in rural Buffalo, Minnesota to see what solar advocates won't tell you about the downsides of this supposedly 'green' technology.

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I think these are the same folks who want to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

Eighty percent of Americans want to label all foods that contain DNA.

Wouldn't be easier and cheaper to label the foods that don't? It would certainly take a lot less effort.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer has started despite what the calendar says, the weather is cooperating (for the most part), and where the call of the lake is getting stronger every day.

Ignore The Truly Important Stuff At Your Own Peril

Reading the various posts, reports, and opinion pieces about the insanity that calls itself Political Correctness or White Privilege shaming or Microagression or Transgender Bathroom Rights or Virtue Signaling or Crypto-racism or a host of other nonsensical names for issues or grievances that should reside only in the realm of dark fantasy, or worse, chronic self-delusion, one has to wonder just how disconnected from reality the folks who think all of this stuff is important happen to be.

There are issues that are far more important than these made up or trivial 'problems' that are driving people to waste enormous amounts of time, effort, and money to address. It's like some outside force has deranged a portion of our population in order to draw attention away from the things that truly deserve our attention and efforts.

Who cares about the whole bathroom issue when we have mortal enemies looking to bring about our destruction. These same folks have no problems beheading, drowning, burning, or stoning anyone they dislike...and they dislike us a lot.

Who cares about microaggressions and safe spaces when we have a government that does not have the American people's best interests at heart, proven by the illegal and unconstitutional actions it has taken to tighten its control over our legal system, our economy, and everyone who is not “Them”.

Why waste time and effort on political correctness, and particularly politically correct speech that is supposed to offend no one (but offends everyone) when we have forces within this nation working hard to undo two centuries of human progress by making it illegal to use modern high-energy technologies like nuclear power, natural gas plants, and other needed power generation means and force us to use expensive, intermittent, and wholly inadequate technologies in their place all while telling us “It's good for you”...but not for them, of course.

It seems the things people are being told are important, aren't. The things that are truly important we're being told are racist/genderist/white privilege-driven oppression of non-Western cultures that are worse than ours but are held up as superior ours, particularly that of our mortal enemies.

The people wasting time and effort really don't realize or don't care that it is they who would be the first victims if our culture, our civilization collapses as they have been working so hard to cause. (It could be called yet another case of “Be careful what you wish for.”)

No one would be interested in saving them because everyone else would be too busy trying to survive to give a s**t about their issues.

So be it.

More Thoughts On Brexit

In a little less than a month's time, the voters in the UK will be deciding whether or not to leave the EU. There have been all kinds of speculations about the effects should the UK depart. Some have been over the top with predictions that it will lead to World War III. Others have predicted the collapse of the UK economy (something that would also bring down the EU because of the level of goods and services the UK provides).

I have always thought the UK could do quite well should it leave the EU, forming separate trade agreements with many former members of the British Empire, the so-called Commonwealth nations - Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – and maybe even India. This has already been suggested by others, but I think maybe it doesn't go far enough.

As I have mentioned more than once, perhaps it would be better to form a new Free Trade Agreement, a somewhat broader version of NAFTA that removes (or at least greatly reduces) all trade barriers between the signatories. I think that in the long run all of the participating nations would benefit.

So, if the UK leaves the UK, I think we should consider asking the UK to join NAFTA, opening a much broader market for the UK and the present NAFTA members (Canada, Mexico, and the US). I would even go so far as to suggest asking Australia and New Zealand to do likewise. It could create a large and powerful economic bloc while showing the EU that “it ain't all that.”

I won't make the same mistake the EU made by suggesting a unified monetary system. We've already seen how that's played out in the EU. At least the UK didn't make the mistake of abandoning the pound which is why I think it's in better shape than it might have been otherwise.

The EU's loss could be our gain.

Thoughts On A Sunday

It's the weekend before Memorial Day weekend and the activity we've been seeing here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire has been frenetic. A large number of summerfolk have been here getting their cottages and camps squared away for the start of the summer season. Supermarkets, big-box home improvement stores, and boat yards have been busy all weekend at a level not seen since last summer.

Most of the seasonal establishments are open, at least on weekends, and will be open full-time starting next weekend.

The farm stand run by the farm where BeezleBub works saw a spike in business over the weekend as have a number of others around the lakes.

It's shaping up to be a good summer, weather permitting.

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With the air travel meltdown caused by the TSA screeners, one has to wonder what real purpose they serve. While most airports had their own air travel security personnel performing screening, that all changed post-9/11 because the government felt it had to “Do Something!” Too bad it was the wrong things.

As I recall, tests of the efficacy of TSA screeners has shown them to be particularly ineffective in preventing banned objects and substances from making it on board aircraft. All the TSA has managed to do is add yet another couple of layers of bureaucracy to security which in turn has made it less responsive, more intrusive, less flexible, and less effective. So why are they still running such an important security function?

It might be better to hand air travel security back to the airports because, if for no other reason, no two airports have the same security requirements or problems. All the TSA is at the moment is an inertia-laden bureaucracy that is eating up billions of taxpayer dollars, yet providing little in return. Maybe it's time to get rid of the TSA.

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To paraphrase Glenn Reynolds, “Didn't Paul Krugman used to be an economist or something?”

These days he sounds more like “a 19-year-old cultural-studies major,” particularly in regards to labor economics.

Indeed.

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“You will teach only what has been approved by the commissars. No other points of view will be tolerated!”

Sounds like something from the old Soviet Union, right? However, would it surprise you to find that instead is the new policy of the Portland, Oregon school system? Apparently they have banned all climate change skeptic material from be presented in their schools.

They're just like San Francisco, but without the tourist attractions and even less logic or reasoning abilities. Oh, and science need not apply...unless it is the politically correct science approved by the appropriate review committee and signed off by the commissars.

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Despite what guilty white liberals have been telling us, it appears that 90% of Native Americans have no problem with the name Washington Redskins, except maybe for the 'Washington' part.

Same here. They should just be called the Redskins.

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Is there anything climate change can't do?

The latest claim: Climate change is causing more young girls to be raped.

Other claims I've seen: It causes male pattern baldness, erectile dysfunction, halitosis, kidney stones, gout, below normal birth weight, above normal birth weight, drought and floods at the same time in the same place, tall people, short people, warm winters, cold winters, GM's bankruptcy, a higher divorce rate in Maine, and Dennis Rodman, just to name a few.

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Is the Huff Po Editorial Board sexist and racist?

Why, yes, Yes it is. Here's the proof.

'Nuff said.

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File this under “No S**t, Sherlock!”

French greens are being told that wind and solar cannot replace French nuclear reactors.

Obviously they don't like the idea.

It's not a matter of politics or ideology, but one of numbers. The numbers show that the 75% of electrical power generated in France by nuclear power can not even come close to being able to be replaced by wind and solar. There just isn't enough available land or energy density to equal the electrical power generated by nukes.

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Why is Donald Trump gaining more supporters? Could it be because he hates the press just as much as most Americans and is using that hatred as a campaign strength?

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Even Time Magazine realizes that Venezuela is on the verge of collapse. They even acknowledge that it's problems have been self-inflicted by a political elite who haven't a clue about how economies and markets work.

Of course President Maduro still blames all his country's problems on the US. It couldn't possibly be because both he and his predecessor Hugo Chavez didn't know what they were doing.

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Tom Bowler asks the question What can gold do for our money?

Quite a bit, actually. Swing buy and read the whole thing.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the summerfolk are working feverishly to get ready for Memorial Day Weekend, the boat yards are working overtime to get boats ready for summer, and where, once again, Monday is returning all too soon.

Will Brexit Save The UK?

The question about whether Britain will exit the EU will be decided on June 23rd when British voters will vote on the so-called 'Brexit' referendum.

Many in the UK see their membership in the EU as having done nothing but weaken British sovereignty and seen their rights whittled away by the unelected bureaucrats in Belgium. While talk of Brexit has been around for some time, many think the Syrian refugee crisis was the last straw for British citizens. After years of Islamafication by Muslim immigrants unwilling to assimilate into British society, calls for sharia to replace British law, and spreading no-go zones for non-Muslims in numerous towns and cities across Britain, is it any wonder that the latest push by the EU to accept Syrian refugees may have tipped the scales in favor of Brexit?

The refugee crisis is merely the latest factor affecting the Brexit question, but not the biggest by any means.

The British people seem ready to leave the European Union through a historic June 23 referendum, because they are tired of the high-handed tyrannical regulations, clauses and counter-clauses, emanating from the EU Council on even the simplest aspects of their everyday lives.  They have determined that leaving the EU will be the best step toward reclaiming their nation's sovereignty and democratic rule in all matters of immigration and border control, their economy, free trade, and national security, and they are proudly waving the Union Jack, as they tell their would-be masters in Brussels to go to hell, declaring their independence.

While some have tried to make the case that leaving the EU will have devastating effects on the British economy, others have countered that argument by pointing out that much of the EU's trade is with the UK and it wouldn't be easily replaced. Yet others have have suggested any lost trade might be made up for by entering a free trade agreement with Canada, Mexico, and the US, in other words extending the NAFTA agreement to include the UK.

Of course President Obama's 'warning' to the British people that Brexit could seriously damage the relationship between the UK and the US may have actually helped the British voters to vote in favor of it if for no other reason that he has already severely damaged that relationship all by himself. They also know he's a lame duck and won't be in office come next January. That alone would probably heal some of the wounds he inflicted upon the relationship between America and the Mother Country.

Frankly, I think it is in Britain's best interests to divorce itself from the EU as the EU certainly does not have the UK's best interests at heart. Of course my opinion means nothing in regards to Brexit. I'm just an Anglophile Yankee who wants to see our cousins free themselves from the increasingly dictatorial EU, preserve that which defines them as British, and bring them closer to their North American cousins.

Is There Such A Thing As An Accurate Climate Model?

John Hindraker ponders the question “Does an accurate climate model exist?”

The short answer: No.

Global warming alarmism is predicated not on observation and empiricism, but on models and religious faith. The problem is that the models have now been around long enough to be either confirmed or falsified, and they are refuted by observation. The alarmists have tried to blur this fact by surreptitiously changing land temperature records to make the past look cooler and the present warmer, but this is at best a holding action.

Our one accurate, transparent and un-tampered with set of data–satellite temperature measurements–is now 37 years old. That is enough time to test the alarmists’ models, which rely on fanciful positive feedback effects to magnify the small and almost certainly beneficial consequences of increased atmospheric CO2 into a nightmare scenario. So how do the alarmists’ models stack up against observation?

Not surprising to me, they don't. Only one, the Russian INM-CM4 model, even comes close. Then again, the Russian climate scientists and scientists in related fields like meteorology, geology, and physics have not hopped onto the delusional AGW bandwagon. They didn't 'adjust' data to make the models give them the answers the Warmists demand. They used raw unadjusted data sets, when available, and created their own models. They didn't include the unproven positive feedbacks in their model that exists in so many others and, lo and behold, their model tends to follow the data from the satellite-based measurements, including the so-called 'pause' in seen over the past 18+ years.

So who do you believe? The folks yelling and screaming at us that we're all doomed unless we take drastic actions to slow the projected increase in global temperature by 0.1ºC by the year 2100, those projections made by models that so far don't match reality? Or do you listen to the folks whose model more closely reflects reality who are telling you that there's little to worry about because what climate change that has taken place is due to natural causes and isn't going to turn the Earth into one big desert swept by hurricanes, tornadoes, and sandstorms until the the seas rise due to all the ice melting and drown what's left?

I know which one I am more likely to believe.

Modeling Is Not Science

When is science not really science?

When all that really happens is the endless use of defective models that in no way reflect reality being used to push forth defective hypotheses.

...climate change science accounts for fully 55% of the modeling done in all of science. This is a tremendous concentration, because climate change science is just a tiny fraction of the whole of science. In the U.S. Federal research budget climate science is just 4% of the whole and not all climate science is about climate change.

To summarize, it looks like something like 55% of the modeling done in all of science is done in climate change science, even though it is a tiny fraction of the whole of science. Moreover, within climate change science almost all the research (97%) refers to modeling in some way.

So no other endeavor of science uses the level of modeling that climate science does, not even quantum physics which uses modeling to predict what kind of effects will be seen when instruments like the Large Hadron Collider are used to research the nature of our universe. Even astrophysics, astronomy, pharmaceutical research, genetics, bioengineering, or nuclear engineering come nowhere near to using modeling to the level of climate change research.

What makes this worse is that much of the data being used to model climate change is suspect, something brought forth in the Climategate e-mails. Yet we are supposed to believe that hundreds of models of climate change that have so far failed miserably to predict anywhere near what has actually happened are expected to be taken as gospel. We are expected to take draconian measures to prevent what these awful models are telling is going to happen.

That's not science. That's a con game.

Billions of research dollars are being spent in this single minded process. In the meantime the central scientific question – the proper attribution of climate change to natural versus human factors – is largely being ignored.

Of course it's being ignored. There's no money or control to be gained if this “unprecedented” climate change is all part of a natural process and any human influence is minimal and local at best.

Thoughts On A Sunday

The weekend looked promising.

The weather was supposed to be good for Saturday but cooler, wetter, and windier on Sunday. I had finished doing my bi-weekly run to the Big Box Discount Store and was on my way home.

While waiting in line at one of the traffic lights along US Rte 3, I heard a screech of brakes, an impact, then felt a BANG followed just as quickly by a second, but smaller bang.

Yes, I was involved in a chain reaction accident.

Fortunately I was driving the trusty F150 and it came out of this with nary a scratch, the only signs being a creased rear bumper, and in the front a mangled license plate and damaged fascia on the front bumper. The car in front of me also had minimal damage from what I could see. However, the car behind me was totaled. The fourth car, the one that started the whole thing, was barely scratched with what appeared to be superficial damage to grill and front bumper.

Not a good way to start the weekend. At least no one was injured.

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I think we can say this is a perfect example of twisted socialist thinking.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is threatening owners of idled factories with arrest unless they start production again.

While he claims they are “trying to destabilize the financially stricken country by exacerbating shortages of goods from foodstuffs to medicines to toilet paper,” one has to wonder whether he realizes that factories can't produce anything if they have neither the raw materials or electrical power needed to run the factories. With factory owners unable to buy the materials needed because they have little or no access to foreign currency, one has to wonder if Maduro truly understands that no matter how much he threatens the owners they can't make anything under those circumstances. Or is he playing to his supporters and hangers on with this rhetoric, knowing the factories are incapable of producing anything?

Either way it makes him and the socialist economics forced upon Venezuela by him and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, look like total failures. Once again we see proof that socialist economics doesn't work, has never worked, and will never work. Of course that won't stop others from trying them again...and again....and again.

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“We're running an [effin'] casino.”

A tell all book by a congressman opens the doors to proof that what we've believed about Washington DC is true.

The veteran politician lays bare a rotten and corrupt Congress enslaved by lobbyists and interested only in re-election in an anonymous, 65-page manifesto called “The Confessions of Congressman X.”

The House member — a Democrat who is either still in Congress or served sometime over the past two decades — says more time is spent fundraising than reading bills and calls Washington a “sinkhole of leeches.”

The title of one chapter sums up his view of congressional leaders: “Harry Reid’s a Pompous Ass,” he says of the Senate Democratic leader. [We already knew that. - dce]

Voters are described as gullible, know-nothing jerks, while the only people who count are the big donors who pour billions of dollars into lobbying.

“Voters are incredibly ignorant. It’s far easier than you think to manipulate a nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep who crave instant gratification . . .,” vents Congressman X.

A lot of this also explains why Donald Trump has gained a lot of traction with the American people, stated the congressman.

I wish I could believe a lot of this was merely sour grapes, but I know it's not, and that's why we are in the trouble we are.

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By way of Glenn Reynolds comes The Week In Pictures: False ID Edition from Powerline.

My two favorite: This one and this one.

All of them are pretty good, so head on over and get your fill!

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Here's one celebrity who isn't drinking any of the of the SJW Kool-aid and spends more than a little time shredding SJW's and liberals in general.

Smashing Pumpkins co-founder , songwriter, guitarist, producer, author, poet, tea shop owner, and pro wrestling mogul [Billy Corgan] went viral Thursday as he took aim at the 2016 presidential race, “social justice warriors,” drones, political correctness, and Bernie, among many other hot topics.

On Thursday, he slammed “socialist” presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and accused liberal activists of infringing on free speech. “The tactics in the social justice warrior movement are to stifle and shut down free speech,” the singer said Thursday during an appearance on Infowars, the online network run by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

And so it begins.

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Blame the parents.

I already do.

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Isn't it amazing how those who try to convince us there are no differences between men and women change their tune when those differences work in their favor?

Between the whole bathroom kerfuffle, making women register for the draft, or the doing away with single sex organizations on college campuses, it seems the differences appear and disappear depending upon whether it benefits or hurts women.

I wish someone would make up their frickin' minds.

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David Starr delves into the question “Where have all the retail sales gone?”

His explanation certainly strikes a chord in this household.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where we see more boats heading to the boat ramps, some of the summer attractions are open on weekends, and where better weather is on the way.

More Americans Of Retirement Age Continue Working

Considering both the uncertainty of pensions, Social Security payments, or financial problems along with longer longevity, it's not really a surprise that more people are working past age 65.

Almost 20 percent of Americans 65 and older are now working, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the most older people with a job since the early 1960s, before the U.S. enacted Medicare.

Because of the huge baby boom generation that is just now hitting retirement age, the U.S. has the largest number of older workers ever.

While the article goes on to detail a wide range of reasons people have given for working past 65, or in some cases, not planning to retire at all, one cause I did not see mentioned except briefly: some employers know they may not be able to find someone to replace the retiring employee so they offer incentives for them to stay on, even if only part time. I have seen this, with my employer having offered incentives to one employee and a family member having been convinced to continue working on a part time basis because there was no one available to replace them and their expertise.

Another set of reasons some choose not to retire, or after having retired, return to work: they really like what they're doing, miss what they used to do, or in some case, find retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be. While some of these will stay within the profession they they made their career for decades, some take the opportunity to make a career change, pursuing a new career or reviving an old interest that had to be put aside in order to provide for a family. I know more than a few friends and family who have said retirement was “the worst decision they ever made.”

I see no reason this trend will not continue to grow.

Stupid Science Questions

Ross Pomeroy has collected a number of science questions that need answering.

Ot should I say stupid science questions.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Do math majors in college graduate with a degree or with a radian?

Is Black Lives Matter similar to dark matter?

If parallel universes exist, is there a parallel universe in which parallel universes don't exist?

If particles do not exist unless observed, why can't I close my eyes and walk through walls?

'Nuff said...for now.

Another Proof The Actual Minimum Wage Is $0.00

If anyone tells you the higher minimum wage passed in California and New York will have little effect on employment, you can point to yet another news story that proves just the opposite.

While McDonald's has been using ordering kiosks for years in Europe, they have started deploying them here. That's not really news.

However, Wendy's has announced it will be installing ordering kiosks in all 6000+ of its stores across the nation.

Yet another business is proving to the deluded Progressive economic know-nothings that the actual minimum wage is $0.00 no matter what the minimum wage laws say it is.

Thoughts On A Sunday

It was a busy day around here yesterday, between major cleanups in and around The Manse, helping a new neighbor move in next door, prepping the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout (aka The Boat) for a trip to the local boatyard for some maintenance and a new canvas cover for the cockpit, and helping BeezleBub get things ready for a gathering of this year's crop of new farmhands. It left little time for much of anything else.

Obviously there was no post yesterday, but I was more than willing to make the trade off so we could get things done.

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Seeing the GOP establishment trying to distance itself from the presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, shows just how disconnected they have become from much of their base. I'm not sure what that means in relation to the survival of the GOP as a party. Whether this schism between the American rank-and-file and the party leaders will act as a wake up call to the GOP leadership or lead to it becoming irrelevant as the rank-and-file 'take their business elsewhere'.

The political elite are fooling themselves if they think the great unwashed masses will blindly follow them even as they lead the country into ruin. Frankly, the average American appears to have lost faith in our political and governmental institutions, and rightfully so. It's time for the party leaders in both parties to put up or shut up.

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Some people find it hard to believe that HuffPo columnist Justin Curmi doesn't believe we have the right to use lethal force to defend ourselves against violent criminals trying to do us or our loved ones harm. He believes the criminal's rights outweigh our own and that they have a right to a fair trial rather than being killed by someone they're trying to harm or kill.

Despite numerous court cases and legislation stating that we do have a right to use lethal force to protect ourselves. Instead we're supposed to let these violent miscreants have their way, let them harm or kill their victims, and only then can anyone act, arresting them and giving them a fair trial.

This guy is seriously deluded. Perhaps we should move him someplace nice like Detroit, the South Side of Chicago, South Central L.A., or other bastion of violent crime and let him live up to what he believes. One of two things will happen – he will get beaten or murdered, in which case the problem takes care of itself, or he'll wake up and realize that the only one capable of defending him is himself, and that sometimes you have no choice but to use lethal force.

Of the two, I'm betting on the former.

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As a twofer from Weazel Zippers comes this bit of irony by way of Cap'n Teach.

Obama believes Trump's record “Needs to be examined....”

Yeah, how about your record, pal? Yours has never been anywhere near as good as The Donald's.

If this isn't a case of the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is.

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A single image in this post shows us the glorious future of Socialism and its success in Venezuela by bringing the people the abundant fruits of government control of all aspects of the economy.

Not.

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From the “Just When I Thought They Couldn't Get Any Stupider” Department comes this gem:

Apparently the trees in our national parks are racist.

The cause? Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.
Talk about a race to the bottom!

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As if you need any other proof that Hillary isn't the right person for the job at the Oval Office, here's a video showing her lying for 13 minutes straight.

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To quote Glenn Reynolds, they said that if I voted for Mitt Romney, the esx police would be out in force, and they were right!

The state senate in the ironically nicknamed Constitution State passed its version of the Affirmative Consent Law. This ought to do for sexual relationships what the Salem Witch Trials did for people who were disliked by their neighbors.

Since it is quite apparent the Connecticut legislature (dominated by the Democrat Party for decades) has no interest or understanding of the Constitution, they should pass legislation changing their nickname back to the “Nutmeg State”. It seems more appropriate somehow.

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Skip at Granite Grok points us to a study that shows that while only a fifth of the US population lives outside the suburbs and cities, about half of the military recruits come from that one-fifth of the population.

The reason? Many urban and suburban recruits are rejected because of the poor quality of their education. While rural schools spend less per pupil than suburban and city schools, they get more bang for the education buck and actually teach their students what they need to know to survive in the real world. That includes the military.

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I have a feeling this is going to backfire big time and the taxpayers are going to have to pay...and pay and pay.

What's “this”?

A plan put forth by Obama's Housing Secretary Julian Castro's idea to force suburbs to become less white and less wealthy.

Yeah, that ought to work...just as well as government control of the economy has worked in Venezuela.

As always, there will be unintended consequences that will do far more harm than good. Then again, that's exactly what Obama wants as part of his mission to “fundamentally transform America.”

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee where more boats have been appearing on the lake, preparations are being made to reopen summer camps and cottages, and where Ciderbelly Donuts will soon be reopening!

Sam Says...

You don't argue with Sam.

The End Is Near For Venezuela

Way back on June 14th of 2002, my dear brother penned a post that explained a very simple truth that is still as true today as it was almost four thousand years ago: Beer is the elixir of civilization.

I won't go into any detail about his post as you can read it for yourself. However, I can use his treatise to prove the truth of a prediction that some may find a little whimsical, but no less true for all that.

The prediction: Venezuela is at the cusp of total collapse.

How do I know this? It's simple really.

They've run out of beer.

Venezuela's largest privately-owned beer company has stopped producing beer after running out of malted barley (or, more specifically, running out of foreign currency with which to buy malted barley).

The company, Empresas Polar, stopped production yesterday—it warned last week that it would run out of malted barley by then.

Polar is putting "your drunk uncle's favorite political forecast to the test," Francisco Toro of the Caracas Chronicles wrote. "You know the one I'm talking about, right? That one uncle of yours who gets drunk at every family gathering and starts to rant about how the only way we're going to get people mad enough to take to the streets and overthrow the government is if the beer runs out? Well, here you have it Tio."

No beer, no civilization. Therefore Venezuela, or more particularly, the Chavistas and President Maduro are doomed.

They can't say they weren't warned.

Thoughts On A Sunday

The weather was glorious yesterday, allowing me time to continue prepping the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee for the upcoming boating season. It still needs to make a trip to the local boatyard for some work and to the canvas shop for a new cockpit snap cover. Hopefully that will be taken care of some time in the next two weeks.

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This will be a somewhat abbreviated edition of TOAS due to other duties that, unfortunately, take precedence. Sometimes, life gets in the way!

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Here's a twofer in regards to climate change, or at least in regards to some of the junk science that states that we're all DOOMED, at least according to notoriously and fatally flawed climate models.

The first states that yet another climate model says our oceans will be depleted of oxygen due to CO2. The cure? Send money.

No surprise there.

The second looks into how government has corrupted climate science for political gain.

Again, no surprise there.

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Skip shows us how Democratic Socialism as promoted by Bernie Sanders (with help from Hillary) has only one outcome: Venezuela.

Why would anyone want too emulate a failed and morally bankrupt ideology that brought about the downfall of yet another formerly wealthy country and turned it into a poverty-ridden hellhole?

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Why doesn't this surprise me?

The proportion of Americans who volunteer is higher than the number who vote.

I have already hazarded a guess as to why this is so.

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It looks like yet another Blue state is going to fall for the Affirmative Consent con job.

Connecticut is considering its own version of Affirmative Consent legislation, something based upon crime 'statistics' that came from a flawed and self-selecting poll. (Even the organization who conducted the poll have stated their results should not be used for such purposes because they know it is seriously flawed and misleading.)

To quote Glenn Reynolds, “They said that if I voted for Mitt Romney the government would outlaw sex, and they were right!”

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And that's the abbreviated news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather can't quite seem to make up its mind, the boating season draws closer, and where for the eighteenth week in a row Monday has returned all too soon.