10/13/2019

Thoughts On A Sunday

The fall colors are very close to peak and the leaf peepers are everywhere, though they aren’t crowding our restaurants like the summerfolk do. But since they’re only here for a week or two, we can deal with it.

I was hoping to get at least one foliage trip out on the lake this weekend, but a busy schedule and not always optimal weather prevented a timely cruise. It’s also a bit frustrating as the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout will be pulled from the water this coming Tuesday, almost a month earlier than usual.

I stopped by the boatyard which handles the winterization and storage of the boat for me, making an appointment to have the boat serviced and stored. The proprietor told me he was seeing a lot of boat owners pulling their boats much out earlier than usual this year which has meant he and his staff have been overwhelmed and his itinerant boat trailer lot is full, leaving no room. He’s had his crew working overtime to stay ahead of the workload. Could this be some subconscious reaction to a possibly harsher (and earlier) than normal winter?

Only time will tell.

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


Speaking of a harsher than normal winter, it might be time to for all of you to consider getting snow tires for the upcoming winter, at least in areas that see regular snowfall. While all-season tires are a decent compromise in some parts of the country, honest to goodness snow tires can make the difference between getting stuck and getting home in the northern climes.

If predictions about an extended solar minimum are correct, we are likely to see colder and longer winters for the next few decades. Winter tires will become a necessity for more of us as time goes on.

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


One thing anyone considering creating Gun Free Zones has to keep in mind before doing so is what kind of obligations and liabilities they will likely be taking on, particularly as lawmakers in Michigan consider legislation to make commercial property owners declaring their properties gun free zones liable for security and any injuries on their property. It makes sense when you think about it.

If property owners (including government) strip away the right of patrons and visitors to protect themselves by bearing arms, then it should be up to them to provide protection. Those failing to do so should be held liable, period.

How many would declare their operations gun free zones under those conditions? My guess: very few, if any.

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


Women are finding out that they can’t have it all, despite what they’ve been told.

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


The Left still tries to sell the lie that rent control will somehow lower the cost and increase the availability of affordable housing. This, despite that fact that it has been proven on more than one occasion that rent control doesn’t work, doesn’t lower the cost or increase the availability of housing. It tends to have just the opposite effect.

Reams of research show that removing rent control laws raises rental property values, encouraging construction and leading to an increase in the supply of rental housing. That increase in supply, if not artificially restricted, puts downward pressure on rents.

A Stanford University study published in March found that rent control in San Francisco reduced the supply of rental housing by 15 percent. “Thus, while rent control prevents displacement of incumbent renters in the short run, the lost rental housing supply likely drove up market rents in the long run, ultimately undermining the goals of the law.”

“In addition, the conversion of existing rental properties to higher-end, owner-occupied condominium housing ultimately led to a housing stock increasingly directed towards higher income individuals. In this way, rent control contributed to the gentrification of San Francisco, contrary to the stated policy goal. Rent control appears to have increased income inequality in the city by both limiting displacement of minorities and attracting higher income residents.”

With the state of Oregon imposing statewide rent control we are about to see a large-scale experiment in rent control, one fated to fail just like all of the others have. What’s worse is that one of the Democrat presidential candidates have proposed nationwide rent control (I don’t recall whether it was Sanders or Warren who suggested such a stupid thing), which will kill development of affordable rental housing everywhere. Then again, no one ever accused any of the Democrats of having any understanding of real world economics.

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


I made a trip down to southwestern New Hampshire today, visiting the In-Laws and taking them out for lunch. I had to brave the leaf peeper traffic, but fortunately for me it was heading in the opposite direction, so I didn’t have to deal with much in the way of delays or slow traffic. It also helped that I knew many of the back roads, so I was able to avoid most of the tourist traffic. The fiery foliage colors certainly made the trip down and back worthwhile.

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


Yet another clueless Democrat Congresscritter doesn’t seem to understand that Congress has no arrest powers. The clueless Democrat?

Rashida Tlaib.

As Rick Moran calls it, it is “a quick way to a major constitutional crisis and perhaps even civil war.”

What is “it”?

Arresting and jailing White House aides who refuse to comply with subpoenas and testify in the House impeachment inquiry.

One of my biggest problems with this is that Congress doesn’t have arrest powers. My next biggest problem is that there is no impeachment inquiry because the House never voted on the matter. No vote, no inquiry, period. So how can someone be arrested for refusing to comply with subpoenas for an inquiry that doesn’t exist?

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


And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the fall foliage is spectacular, the lake is being emptied of boats, and where one of my favorite ice cream joints is closing for the season.