Thoughts On A Sunday

It’s been a quiet weekend for a change, with no real chores needing attending to or places I needed to be. There’s also no football games other than the Pro Bowl and I have no plans to watch it. Weekends like that don’t come along very often so I am enjoying it as much as I can.

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

Seen at Powerline:

NFL has changed the name of the Super Bowl to New England Patriots Invitational!

Hmm. Seems about right considering that out of the 53 Super Bowl games, the Patriots will have played in 11 of them.

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

Some people are saying that President Trump has caved in to Pelosi and Schumer, funding the government without any promises for funding a wall. But others are saying he has done no such thing because the funding Trump has signed is only good for three weeks and that it is a calculated move on his part.

Of the two options presented, I am more inclined to go with calculated move as Trump is not one known to cave when there’s something he really wants. Too many people are judging Trump as if he were the usual Washington politician. After two years in office one would think that the Washington establishment/media/insiders would have stopped trying to fit Trump into the usual political pigeonholes because he doesn’t fit into any of them. But they haven’t which is why they constantly underestimate him.

Keeping that in mind, what Trump has shown is that he’s open to compromise and negotiation and that Pelosi and Schumer are not. He’s the adult in the room and they’re the spoiled children throwing temper tantrums unless they get their way.

Should the Nancy & Chuck show drive the government back into shutdown it will be them taking the heat, not Trump. He’ll be able to show he made the effort to solve the impasse and Pelosi and Schumer are being closeminded and stubborn, not for the benefit their constituents but for their egos.

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

Are we seeing another victim of the Mueller investigation’s overreach in the person of Roger Stone?

Yes. Yes we are.

Has he been charged with activities that could be part of the alleged collusion between Trump and the Russians? No.

Has he been charged with crimes that are tied in to Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016? No.

Was he charged with helping the Trump campaign ‘steal’ emails from the Democratic National Committee or their publication by Wikileaks? No.

So what’s he being charged with?

There is nothing wrong with what Stone did. Mueller charges, rather, that Stone lied to a Congressional committee about his actions. If that is true, Stone is in trouble. But the charges against him do not support the theory that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to invade the DNC’s email system. On the contrary, the Stone story is just more confirmation that the Trump campaign had nothing to do with it.

That’s it? He allegedly lied to Congress about his actions even though those actions weren’t themselves crimes? So as it has been pointed out before, he’s possibly guilty of a process crime, not an actual crime.

That’s pathetic…and desperate on the part of the Mueller investigation.

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

Here’s yet another history lesson that will be devoutly ignored by the socialists amongst us. The latest lesson? Another nation having run its course of socialism – Venezuela.

A very wise person once said that "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." Venezuela has reached that point and now is paying the price, for once you're out of money in a socialistic country the only thing left of value is blood. It is indeed a tragedy as this nation was once South America's wealthiest.

Venezuela's dictator, Nicolas Maduro, is fighting to retain power. At least four people are dead in rioting that broke out today. Millions have left the country due to a failing economy, hyperinflation, no food, no medicine … you know, socialism at its best.

Fraudulent elections have a way of supporting socialism and Venezuela is no different. The Presidential elections last May were plagued with allegations of fraud and rigged voter registration.

This is the path that those like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Occasional-Cortex, and Nancy Pelosi would like to see the US go down. But of course they believe it won’t happen like that here because they’re smarter than the others that have gone before them.

Yeah. Right.

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

I don’t know if you have experienced this:

You get a call from a phone number you don’t recognize and when you answer it you find you are being asked if you are in pain.

I certainly have, sometimes as many as three times a day. So has David Starr and he’s tired of it.

I am getting a phone call every other day now. It's a robocaller who starts out asking if I am feeling any pain, and goes on to point me toward a pain clinic that will prescribe any kind of happy pill I might want. I wonder how many opioid addicts get started by such drug pushing robocallers. For that matter how many opioid addicts get started at those pain clinics…?

Another question to ask: Who is paying for these robocalls?

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

It looks we’ll be heading back into the deep freeze later this week. While we won’t see the kind of temps that the upper mid-West will be experiencing – they’ll be experiencing temps as low as -30°F, and that’s before any wind chill is factored in – and we’ll be seeing temps in the single digits below zero. Though with wind chills we might see down to -20°F. It will mean I might need to start up the trusty RAM 1500 a few minutes before I depart from The Gulch for work.

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

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where bobhouses are dotting the ice, ice fishing has been increasing daily, and where we’re looking forward to the Ice Fishing Derby in a couple of weeks.

Thoughts On A Sunday

As I write this we are still experiencing snow, now mixing with sleet. We got about 10 inches of snow before the sleet started mixing in. While I have shoveled around the environs of The Gulch, there’s still more to move.

I did leave some snow behind, but it was with a purpose in mind, that being as a buffer should the sleet change over to freezing rain. That snow will make it easier to keep the driveway and walkway from becoming a sheet of ice, allowing me to remove it once the snow/sleet/freezing rain ends this afternoon.

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

It’s Playoff Sunday, with the NFC and AFC championship games taking place today. These games decide who will be playing in the SuperBowl in two weeks.

I am not as interested in the NFC game because my favorite NFC team, the Philadelphia Eagles, isn’t playing this year, having been eliminated last week. However the AFC game is one the WP Mom and I will be watching intently as it’s between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs are three point favorites, but as many have learned over the years, never underestimate the Patriots.

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

Since Trump has called the Democrats’ bluff, offering a compromise in regards to the DACA and TPS programs in regards to illegal immigrants, one they rejected out of hand, it appears the Dems are ready to double down on stupid.

At a Thursday conference, some Democrats floated the idea of forcing cancelation of the SuperBowl as a means of ending the government shutdown.

Yeah, that’ll work…NOT.

One way to make sure a good portion of Americans never vote for Democrats again is to screw around with the SuperBowl.

While the NFL has tarnished its image by caving in to BLM protests, a lot of people will gladly back up the NFL if the congressional Democrats go full ‘stupid’. So will a lot of corporations that spent millions of dollars on ad buys for the big event. I would also expect millions of dollars of campaign funds to not make their way to Democrat coffers if they actually did this.

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

I find it interesting, but not surprising, that US CO2 emissions have been rising as nuclear plants have been closed. What makes it worse is that some plants are being closed prematurely, not for technical or safety issues but purely political reasons.

Trying to force US energy production towards renewables, a technology that isn’t as green as proponents keep claiming, isn’t nearly as efficient as claimed, and is nowhere near as reliable as proponents want it to be. They have to be backed up by fossil-fueled plants using coal or natural gas, hence more CO2 being emitted.

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

Is the whole kerfuffle about the border wall really nothing more than a Democrat scam? It is, according to Harry Reid.

What's in the news day and night? The wall.

It's all anyone talks about or thinks about or debates. Have you heard? The U.S. government is partially shut down over the wall.

But it's all a massive liberal scam. A Ponzi scheme. Pure fraud. Bernie Madoff couldn't come up with a better scam.

Because the same liberal politicians and donors who scream about the "racism" and "immorality" and "ineffectiveness" of a wall all live behind walls.

President Trump needs to buy TV infomercial time and run a 30-minute TV show in a Ross Perot fashion -- featuring aerial views of the mansions and estates of liberals, protected by walls, gates, and armed guards. You know, the exact same protections they don't want you and me or our children to have.

Exhibit A is Harry Reid, the Democratic former Senate Majority Leader from my home state of Nevada.

Read the whole thing.

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

Does it really surprise anyone that families are pulling up stakes and leaving states like New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and Connecticut?

Considering the confiscatory taxes, business-hostile policies and regulations, profligate state spending, and willful lack of economic understanding, is it any wonder people are leaving those states? Why remain someplace where the government is doing everything it can to damage the economy, make it more difficult to do business, and make day to day living more expensive?

The thing that makes this even more ironic is that the governments in these states think that by doubling down on what they’ve already done they can somehow make things better, not understanding that their previous actions are the very things that caused the decay of their state.

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

With the inclement weather we’ve experienced it behooves us to take a look at Skip Murphy’s take on the media feeding frenzy such weather events create.

It happens every time we have a significant snow event, one that most of we New Englanders see as part of a normal winter. To hear the news media you’d think snowstorms like these have never happened before and that everyone is gonna DIE unless we stay in and watch their news coverage.

Yeah. Right.

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

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the snow and sleet are still falling, the temps are going to drop to single digits with well below zero wind chills tonight, and where dreams of this coming summer’s boating season fill our dreams.

Thoughts On A Sunday

Winter temps have returned with a vengeance, with our overnight lows in single digits above and below zero. The lake is quickly freezing, with the bays and coves already solidly frozen over and the main part of the lake following suit.

We did see one optimistic ice fisherman arrive at our town docks, towing his bob house behind his truck. But once he saw the ice wasn’t as far out or as thick as he might have thought it was, he decided it probably it wasn’t a good time to put it out on the ice and drove off, taking his bob house with him.

One positive thing about the cold temperatures – the LA Chargers aren’t used to playing in temps this cold which might give the New England Patriots an edge when they play them this afternoon.

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

David Graham asks Why hasn’t Trump folded?

Why fold when he’s winning/

I have had conversations with a number of my liberal friends and they lay the blame for the government shutdown on Trump. But I reminded them that the story has two sides and that Pelosi has the mistaken impression that she runs the government. He knows that if he capitulates and gives Pelosi and Schumer what they want that they will kill any attempt to discuss funding the border wall. Everyone else knows it, too.

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

I keep waiting for the miracles of the 21st Century to arrive and I have to admit to some disappointment that some of those miracles are nowhere to be found. Things like flying cars, colonies on the Moon and Mars, and nuclear power everywhere should already be here, yet we are without those things.

But every now and then one of those 21st Century miracles appears suddenly, catching us off guard. The latest ‘miracle’? How about wood that is stronger than most metals.

Engineers at the University of Maryland have found a way to make wood more than 10 times stronger and tougher than before, creating a natural substance that is stronger than many titanium alloys.

"This new way to treat wood makes it 12 times stronger than natural wood and 10 times tougher," said Liangbing Hu, the leader of the team that did the research, published in the journal Nature. "This could be a competitor to steel or even titanium alloys, it is so strong and durable. It's also comparable to carbon fiber, but much less expensive." Hu is an associate professor of materials science and engineering and a member of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute.

This certainly looks promising.

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

It’s one thing to be accused of fearmongering in the cause of promoting AGW, but it’s an entirely something else to be accused of ‘factmongering’, using facts to “cause irrational calm and complacency.” That’s so much worse than fearmongering, using misinformation to cause irrational fear and panic.

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

The picture at Climatism should put the green energy scam into context.

Call it a perfect illustration of why green energy isn’t as green as proponents make it out to be.

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

Then there’s another looming green energy crisis, in this case what to do with all of the solar panels out there when they reach the end of their useful life cycle? They cannot be merely disposed of in a landfill because they contain a number of toxic substances, meaning the panels must be treated as toxic waste. Did anyone think of this problem when they were promoting solar as an alternative energy source, or did they merely kick this problem down the road like so many others have been?

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

And now it’s time for me to put down the laptop and pay attention to the Patriots/Chargers game, so that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the temps are frigid, the skies are bright, and where Monday is returning all too soon.

Thoughts On A Sunday

Here it is, the first TOAS of 2019.

I wish I could say that with the change from 2018 to 2019 that there have been profound changes for the better, but six days into the New Year it doesn’t seem that that’s the case. There appears to be a lot of the Same Old Same Old.

Even with the change of the majority in the House of Representatives down in the Swamp, or here with the New Hampshire legislature, I doubt we’ll see anything new. Only the faces and the names will have changed. For the most part it’ll be easy to predict what we’ll see both from Congress and from the state legislature.

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

One thing the new members of the House need to learn is that the rhetoric they used while campaigning (and during their prior protests/community organizing/general PITA efforts) doesn’t always play well on The Hill. One thing that draws the wrong kind of attention is when a representative uses invective aimed at the President that would be better left to their constituents. They have to understand that the rules on The Hill are different from what they’re used to and that those rules won’t bend to their will. Flouting them is a great way to end up being censured by the very people they may consider their inferiors.

That’s not a good way start their congressional careers. Now if only some of the veteran Representatives (like Maxine “Mad Max” Waters) understood that.

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

Is it possible Netflix could go the way of Sears?

The consensus appears to be “Yes”.

Unless it can rein in its debt and get its fiscal house in order it may find itself in financial trouble pretty darned quick.

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

It seems that “Alex from the Bronx” Occasional-Cortex is the gift that keeps on giving.

She continues to display her expansive ignorance about how government works and keeps digging the proverbial hole even deeper with each tweet.

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

It may be time to finally stick a fork in Twitter as it seems that posting facts is considered “hateful conduct”.

The victim of censorship by Twitter in this case is feminist Megan Murphy who had her account suspended because she tweeted that “men aren’t women”.

This is yet another example of “Just when I thought they couldn’t get any stupider…”

At this rate no one will be able to tweet about anything without running afoul of Twitter’s Terms of Use. So what use is Twitter under those conditions?

While this incident occurred a couple of months ago, it seems the problems with Twitter have only gotten worse since then.

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

Is CNN going to go the way of the Dodo and Passenger Pigeon?

Their ratings continue to suck, with very few actually watching the news network by choice.

When CNN is being beaten by the Hallmark Channel, History Channel, and TNT you know they’re in trouble.

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

The government shutdown is being blamed on President Trump when in fact that it can be laid entirely at the feet of the House. When they say it’s up to the President to compromise on this matter, they are reverting to the Obama definition of compromise – Sit down, shut up, and give us what we want.

But when the Democrats won’t even discuss the matter with the President and choose to ignore the realities of what’s been happening on the southern border, then the fault is theirs and theirs alone.

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

This explains everything in regards to the Progressive Left.

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

And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the lake has not yet frozen over, our local ice fishing derby is less than a month away, and a lot of people are wondering if we’ll be able to pull it off.