While we’ve been hearing about various state primaries over the past couple of months, said primaries to select who will be running for various state and national offices, I have found that much of it has been “all hat, no cowboy” to borrow a phrase from Texas.
We’ve seen the disaster in Maine where that state’s Democrats can’t seem to find a candidate without a lot of baggage to run against Republican Susan Collins for the US Senate. We’ve seen Democrats in Wisconsin working hard to successfully kill off Francesca Hong’s run for governor there. There’s also been so many revelations about ineligible voters on voting rolls in too many states, with some having been dead for a long time and others not being US citizens.
This and many other stories leading up to the mid-term elections in November make what’s happening here in New Hampshire look tame by comparison.
We’re seeing and hearing lots of TV and radio ads aimed mostly as the Congressional races with New Hampshire’s two House District races slowly warming up and the race for the open US Senate seat starting to gain a little traction. On the GOP side we have two former US Senators running against each other – John E. Sununu and Scott Brown. Sununu served in the House for six years starting in 1997 and for one term in the US Senate after that. Scott Brown was US Senator from Massachusetts, filling the seat left vacant after the death of Ted Kennedy in 2009 after a special election. The different histories of these two men certainly make for interesting reading. At this point I think either one would serve my home state well. One of them will likely be running against present House Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH1) who is seen to be the Democrat favorite.
The race for the two House Districts is where the fun is going to be as there are a lot of people from both parties running. Only one incumbent - Maggie Goodlander (D-NH2) - is running to retain her seat. But that doesn’t mean she won’t be facing challengers. With the First District seat open there are plenty of candidates from both parties working to run in November. It is here that we’re seeing a lot of ads that seem to split time touting the qualifications of a candidate or castigating an opposing candidate for “This, That, and the Other Thing.” Seeing as the state primaries are taking place the day after Labor Day I expect the ad intensity and numbers to climb precipitously over the next three weeks. They will also be out glad-handing the voters and giving interviews and showing up at town events (like my town’s Old Home Day). I expect there will also be a few more debates.
Even with that coming up, I expect the rhetoric will really crank up once we get past the primaries and the silly season will go from being tame (and a bit bland) to full on Thunderdome-like campaigning and attack ads and “Ain’t I Frickin’ Great?” ads and so on. If nothing else, the debates will certainly be interesting.
I have no doubt it will be much the same in other states, be it for local races or Congressional or gubernatorial races.
And so it goes.
8/15/2026
8/14/2026
8/09/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
It’s the last day of the ‘Hot and Humid’ days today. We’ve been in them for four days and of course they will end just in time for us to go back to work tomorrow. Not that I’m really complaining as it is summer, after all. The A/C has kept the WP Mom cool as she doesn’t always deal well with the hot and humid weather when temps are in the 90’s and the dew points are in the upper 60’s/lower 70’s. We do have drier air moving in late today which will help things a bit.
Speaking of summer, I have to ask the same thing so many others have asked, and that’s “Where did the summer go?” It’s hard to believe it’s already August and that school starts in a few weeks. Our town also has what is called Old Home Day on the last Saturday of the month and it’s rapidly approaching.
Old Home Day is a celebration of the town by both present and past residents and the activities run the gamut of a pancake breakfast and a 5km road race that morning followed by a parade which in turn is followed by games for the kids along with vendors selling food and crafts in our village fields near our town center. There is also a concert later in the day which is then followed by fireworks in the evening.
This will be my 25th Old Home Day here in my town and I am looking forward to it even though it does signal the coming end of summer. Of course the ‘official’ end of summer is Labor Day which is on the following weekend.
I agree with this 100%.
The WNBA is what the entire country would look like if it were run by liberal white women.
Ayuh.
I find the supposed controversy about Trump’s choice to be the US Attorney General to be a “ho-hum” issue at best. One has to remember that JFK’s choice to be the US Attorney General was his own brother, Robert.
As one commenter put it:
It seems there are some job numbers that might upset some people, particularly Democrats. What might thos ‘upsetting’ job numbers be?
The shrinking number of government jobs.
While the linked post mentions that some of the job loss is seen in public schools, I have no problem with that in light of the fact that many schools have been seeing a shrinking student population. If there are fewer children in the schools then wouldn’t one of the side-effects be a shrinking number of school staff? (That certainly hasn’t happened here in my town as our student population has shrunk about 33% over the past 15 years but the staffing levels have increased over that same period of time. Why?)
Some more of that shrinkage in government jobs can be linked to DOGE and it’s previous efforts to trim federal government job numbers by getting rid of redundant or unnecessary jobs, including so-called ‘patronage’ jobs that fill no useful purposes.
I think we’ve barely scratched the surface regarding elimination of unnecessary or unneeded government jobs.
For some reason this does not surprise me in the least.
More Than Half Of New York City Students In Grades 3-5 Failed Basic Reading Tests This Year
Considering the state of the education system in New York, is it a surprise?
And lastly, there’s this I came across while indulging in one of my guilty pleasures, that being dashcam videos on YouTube.
Two things I don’t miss from the 1970’s?
Paneling and shag carpets.
The rest was pretty cool, though!
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the last of the hot and humid weather is departing...for now, the ice cream stands have been doing really well, and where the Day That Shall Not Be Named is returning all too soon.
Speaking of summer, I have to ask the same thing so many others have asked, and that’s “Where did the summer go?” It’s hard to believe it’s already August and that school starts in a few weeks. Our town also has what is called Old Home Day on the last Saturday of the month and it’s rapidly approaching.
Old Home Day is a celebration of the town by both present and past residents and the activities run the gamut of a pancake breakfast and a 5km road race that morning followed by a parade which in turn is followed by games for the kids along with vendors selling food and crafts in our village fields near our town center. There is also a concert later in the day which is then followed by fireworks in the evening.
This will be my 25th Old Home Day here in my town and I am looking forward to it even though it does signal the coming end of summer. Of course the ‘official’ end of summer is Labor Day which is on the following weekend.
==++++++==
I agree with this 100%.
The WNBA is what the entire country would look like if it were run by liberal white women.
Ayuh.
==++++++==
I find the supposed controversy about Trump’s choice to be the US Attorney General to be a “ho-hum” issue at best. One has to remember that JFK’s choice to be the US Attorney General was his own brother, Robert.
As one commenter put it:
His former personal attorney?We have to remember that JFK would be considered a right-wing extremist by today’s Democrat Party standards.
That’s a plus.
Because Trump’s standards are a lot higher than the U.S. Senate’s.
So we’re JFKs for that matter - even 65 years ago.
==++++++==
It seems there are some job numbers that might upset some people, particularly Democrats. What might thos ‘upsetting’ job numbers be?
The shrinking number of government jobs.
John mentioned the July jobs report yesterday, which showed a net reduction of 23,000 jobs, driven by a monthly 53,000 loss in government jobs at all levels. The bulk of that reduction came in the category of local government, namely public schools. Overall employment at the federal level also dropped slightly in July.Frankly, I am not displeased to see this.
Let me pause to savor that.
Digging into the numbers, overall employment at the federal and state government levels and with local public schools, are all down for the past year. That means hundreds of thousands of workers are now available for more productive pursuits. The number of federal workers has dropped by almost 11 percent since last July.
While the linked post mentions that some of the job loss is seen in public schools, I have no problem with that in light of the fact that many schools have been seeing a shrinking student population. If there are fewer children in the schools then wouldn’t one of the side-effects be a shrinking number of school staff? (That certainly hasn’t happened here in my town as our student population has shrunk about 33% over the past 15 years but the staffing levels have increased over that same period of time. Why?)
Some more of that shrinkage in government jobs can be linked to DOGE and it’s previous efforts to trim federal government job numbers by getting rid of redundant or unnecessary jobs, including so-called ‘patronage’ jobs that fill no useful purposes.
I think we’ve barely scratched the surface regarding elimination of unnecessary or unneeded government jobs.
==++++++==
For some reason this does not surprise me in the least.
More Than Half Of New York City Students In Grades 3-5 Failed Basic Reading Tests This Year
Considering the state of the education system in New York, is it a surprise?
More than half of students in grades 3-5 in New York state failed basic reading tests this year. It’s an absolute disgrace.Elsewhere in the linked post it does bring up something that could certainly have a major effect on readings scores, brought up by Stephen Miller on X:
In New York City, they spend upwards of $40,000 on each student per school year. What is the money going to? Lessons on critical race theory and gender studies topics? Social justice activism?
Reading is one of the most basic and necessary skills that schools are expected to teach children. People who cannot read are absolutely doomed in adult life.
Part of this can be blamed on draconian school shutdowns during Covid but not all of it.
--snip--
Preliminary results released this week by the state Education Department that 57% of 3rd graders, 52% of 4th graders and 57% of 5th graders failed to make the grade on their 2025-26 English Language Arts tests.
City kids in grades 3-8 saw a 6% drop in their ELA scores from last year, with just about half overall rating proficient.
Nearly 40% of children in New York State are foreign-born or the children of migrants. Of that group, about 85% are migrants from the third world. The education debate (like so many others) often disguises the real debate.I’d have to say that is a big contributing factor, particularly in New York City. It is something often overlooked. Of course the answer to solve this problems is the same whenever it comes to problems with the educational system here in the US: Even More Taxpayer Money.
==++++++==
And lastly, there’s this I came across while indulging in one of my guilty pleasures, that being dashcam videos on YouTube.
Two things I don’t miss from the 1970’s?
Paneling and shag carpets.
The rest was pretty cool, though!
==++++++==
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the last of the hot and humid weather is departing...for now, the ice cream stands have been doing really well, and where the Day That Shall Not Be Named is returning all too soon.
8/08/2026
Relationships Between Men And Woment Getting Difficult...If Not Worse
This is not the first time I have delved into this topic and I doubt it will be the last, that topic being how relationships and social interactions between men and women have been deteriorating.
Social interactions seem to have become a minefield. This is even more so in a work environment where a thoughtless word, action, or a simple misunderstanding can end a career and damage a reputation beyond repair even if after an investigation it turns out that no such thing happened.
When we look at dating, things can be even worse because expectations can be too high, and just as bad, too low.
On more than one occasion I have mentioned that it seems to many young women have standards a man must meet before she’ll even consider dating them. There’s nothing wrong with that...as long as those standards are reasonable. But when young women keep talking about men who are now referred to as “Sixers”, meaning that are at least 6 feet tall, have a six-figure income, and have six-pack abs, they are deluding themselves because the number of men in the US that meet those criteria and are available is less than 1% of male population. Add in a few more ‘standards’ and that number gets even smaller. The problem is there are millions of women competing for that small number of men that meet their standards.
A related issue is what when the women who would like to meet a guy to settle down with, particularly those who have successful careers of their own, have their own money, their own homes, etc. but insist anyone they would consider dating must have more income and more net worth than they do. (This is an aspect of hypergamy where women want to marry up, not to an equal or someone who makes less than they do.) The problem is that the wealthier women become, the more their dating pool shrinks. While hypergamy is nothing new as it has been around throughout human history, it seems to have taken on a darker meaning as as it doesn’t deal with marrying up regarding wealth or social status. They also have to be good looking, ambitious (as if they aren’t ambitious even if they’ve reached the economic stratosphere), and be willing to lavish gifts and money and anything the want before they’ll even consider spending more than one minute to get to know them.
The question we seem to hear from many of these women again and again is “Where are all the Good Men?” The problems is that there are plenty of good men around, they just can’t (or won’t) see them because they don’t meet their standards.
For men, it seems to be a “Damned if we do. Damned if we don’t,” situation. We hear women’s complaint that men aren’t approaching women anymore and they wonder why. On the other hand many of those same women castigated men on social media about being approached and told men to leave them alone. Men listened.
I could go on and on about this but I would probably get depressed or angry or both. Instead I will leave you with this from the ‘manosphere’ that might explain some of the problems and why men are keeping their distance:
Social interactions seem to have become a minefield. This is even more so in a work environment where a thoughtless word, action, or a simple misunderstanding can end a career and damage a reputation beyond repair even if after an investigation it turns out that no such thing happened.
When we look at dating, things can be even worse because expectations can be too high, and just as bad, too low.
On more than one occasion I have mentioned that it seems to many young women have standards a man must meet before she’ll even consider dating them. There’s nothing wrong with that...as long as those standards are reasonable. But when young women keep talking about men who are now referred to as “Sixers”, meaning that are at least 6 feet tall, have a six-figure income, and have six-pack abs, they are deluding themselves because the number of men in the US that meet those criteria and are available is less than 1% of male population. Add in a few more ‘standards’ and that number gets even smaller. The problem is there are millions of women competing for that small number of men that meet their standards.
A related issue is what when the women who would like to meet a guy to settle down with, particularly those who have successful careers of their own, have their own money, their own homes, etc. but insist anyone they would consider dating must have more income and more net worth than they do. (This is an aspect of hypergamy where women want to marry up, not to an equal or someone who makes less than they do.) The problem is that the wealthier women become, the more their dating pool shrinks. While hypergamy is nothing new as it has been around throughout human history, it seems to have taken on a darker meaning as as it doesn’t deal with marrying up regarding wealth or social status. They also have to be good looking, ambitious (as if they aren’t ambitious even if they’ve reached the economic stratosphere), and be willing to lavish gifts and money and anything the want before they’ll even consider spending more than one minute to get to know them.
The question we seem to hear from many of these women again and again is “Where are all the Good Men?” The problems is that there are plenty of good men around, they just can’t (or won’t) see them because they don’t meet their standards.
For men, it seems to be a “Damned if we do. Damned if we don’t,” situation. We hear women’s complaint that men aren’t approaching women anymore and they wonder why. On the other hand many of those same women castigated men on social media about being approached and told men to leave them alone. Men listened.
I could go on and on about this but I would probably get depressed or angry or both. Instead I will leave you with this from the ‘manosphere’ that might explain some of the problems and why men are keeping their distance:
8/07/2026
Friday Funny - Old Lady Scams Her Bank Manager
This one is NSFYE (Not Safe For Young Ears). You've been warned!
8/06/2026
8/02/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
The humidity has returned to the lake, something you feel the instant you step outside. However, isn’t nearly as humid as it will be over the next few days as the Weather GuysTM have said we can expect ‘tropical’ levels of humidity. That also means we might see some thundershowers as well. Not that I’m complaining as it is summer, after all.
That does mean we are running the A/C here at The Gulch, more to keep the inside air dry rather to keep it cool. The higher temps don’t feel all that uncomfortable if the inside humidity is kept relatively low. Not that I’ll let it get into the 80’s inside, but the mid to upper 70’s feel quite nice if the relative humidity is 40% or lower. If the indoor temp gets down to the lower 70’s the WP Mom feels cold.
I’m just hoping I’ll be able to venture out on the lake sometime during the week after work. As I have mentioned before, I avoid being out on the lake during weekends because of the large number of boats and the large number of Cap’n Boneheads driving many of those boats. If the weather is good enough, meaning I won’t be dodging thunderstorms, I will be out there even if it’s only for an hour.
This is something the GOP should play up in the upcoming midterms:
Serial Criminal Murders Man Hours After Jail Release
Considering how many blue states have ‘relaxed’ bail laws which allow violent criminals back onto the streets as if they are going through a revolving door, is it any wonder they have seen large increases in violent and property crimes? California also changed the limit on how much money or goods could be stolen so that what in the past had been felonies are now only misdemeanors. The result?
Shoplifting skyrocketed to the point were shoplifting ‘mobs’ would go into stores and dozens of thieves would grab up all kinds of goods and rush out the door. If they got caught and the value of the goods did not exceed a certain value – I believe it was $950 – they were charged with a misdemeanor. And with California’s bail reform laws, most of them would be released on their own recognizance meaning no bail. They would then go out and steal more merchandise. They cycle continues even today. New York City isn’t much better.
I have to wonder if Charlotte, North Carolina has one of the infamous Soros DA’s who are loath to prosecute criminals, even violent ones, because to do so goes against what Soros and all of the other Progressives/Socialists/Communists want, that being making sure that city after city becomes a hellhole that will be easier to take over.
I have to wonder how long it’s going to be before the populace starts handling this problem by both removing these deluded do-nothing DA’s and forming their own ‘Vigilance Committees’ to deal with criminals?
Yes, it’s a mystery indeed.
NOT.
If we want yet another example of just how vote fraud can influence the outcome of an election, there’s this:
People need to go to prison for crap like this.
And they wonder why we need the SAVE act to try to get this under control.
I have to say that I agree with Neo’s take on the following.
Regulating guns in the home: how far to go?
To roll back a bit to the new attack on the Second Amendment, anyone paying attention realizes that it is yet another step to stripping us of the right to keep and bear arms to make sure that if the worst happens and the ‘Feces Impact The Rotary Oscillator’ that we will be defenseless. That’s how totalitarians strip the ability of the people to defend themselves. We saw that in Venezuela when the Chavistas took power. We’ve seen that in every Socialist and Communist state throughout modern history.
Am I being over-the-top about this? Maybe...but maybe not. I’ve seen it happen again and again over the past 70 years and read the history books the described it decades before I was born. It’s the old story again and again and again. People here in the US may think “That can never happen here!” But they’re wrong. All it takes if for us to allow our rights to be stripped away a line at a time through the use of restrictive laws sold on the basis that they’ll protect the innocent. But in the end, they won’t. They certainly haven’t done so in the past. Why anyone thinks they’ll do so thisbaffles me.
It seems the side effects of Mayor Mamdami’s “Free S**t” campaign are already being felt and it’s not good.
Mamdani’s Free Ride Promise Drives Up Fair Evasion
Mamdami keeps making promises he knows he can’t possibly keep, then blames the “other people” who will no longer fund his socialist dystopia because they are either broke or have left ‘Detroit On The Hudson’.
Hmm. I think I’m going to need to buy more popcorn because this is going to get interesting to see.
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the humidity is going up, so is the possibility of some thunderstorms rolling through tomorrow, and The Day That Shall Not Be Named returns to harsh our weekend.
That does mean we are running the A/C here at The Gulch, more to keep the inside air dry rather to keep it cool. The higher temps don’t feel all that uncomfortable if the inside humidity is kept relatively low. Not that I’ll let it get into the 80’s inside, but the mid to upper 70’s feel quite nice if the relative humidity is 40% or lower. If the indoor temp gets down to the lower 70’s the WP Mom feels cold.
I’m just hoping I’ll be able to venture out on the lake sometime during the week after work. As I have mentioned before, I avoid being out on the lake during weekends because of the large number of boats and the large number of Cap’n Boneheads driving many of those boats. If the weather is good enough, meaning I won’t be dodging thunderstorms, I will be out there even if it’s only for an hour.
==++++++==
This is something the GOP should play up in the upcoming midterms:
Serial Criminal Murders Man Hours After Jail Release
About an hour and a half after a Charlotte jail, where he was being held on on weapons charges, released him on bond, David Simpson got into an argument that led him to shoot two people, killing one of them. Talk about a completely preventable tragedy.So they let a violent criminal go on bail, a criminal with the lengthy criminal record, much of it dealing with violence including a previous murder? Who thought this was a good idea?
Simpson is only 29 years old but already has a long rap sheet, according to Channel 9’s crime reporter, Hunter Sáenz. After his latest deadly rampage, authorities are holding him without bond, but had they simply done so in the first place, there would be no murder charge to worry about. They had good reason for doing so because this is not Simpson's first murder charge. He has a record of deadly rage outbursts over trivial matters.
This is the horrific reality of Democrat cities, where woke politicians and judiciary do everything they can to reward criminals for their crimes and ensure more victims.
Considering how many blue states have ‘relaxed’ bail laws which allow violent criminals back onto the streets as if they are going through a revolving door, is it any wonder they have seen large increases in violent and property crimes? California also changed the limit on how much money or goods could be stolen so that what in the past had been felonies are now only misdemeanors. The result?
Shoplifting skyrocketed to the point were shoplifting ‘mobs’ would go into stores and dozens of thieves would grab up all kinds of goods and rush out the door. If they got caught and the value of the goods did not exceed a certain value – I believe it was $950 – they were charged with a misdemeanor. And with California’s bail reform laws, most of them would be released on their own recognizance meaning no bail. They would then go out and steal more merchandise. They cycle continues even today. New York City isn’t much better.
I have to wonder if Charlotte, North Carolina has one of the infamous Soros DA’s who are loath to prosecute criminals, even violent ones, because to do so goes against what Soros and all of the other Progressives/Socialists/Communists want, that being making sure that city after city becomes a hellhole that will be easier to take over.
I have to wonder how long it’s going to be before the populace starts handling this problem by both removing these deluded do-nothing DA’s and forming their own ‘Vigilance Committees’ to deal with criminals?
==++++++==
Yes, it’s a mystery indeed.
NOT.
If we want yet another example of just how vote fraud can influence the outcome of an election, there’s this:
Mamdani's margin of victory in the New York mayoral race was 207,570My question is if they find out that all 228,000 were fraudulent and the all were for Mamdami, will the GOP do anything about it? How about the DOJ? Will the results of the election be overturned?
The amount of votes in question, per audit, is 228,000
People need to go to prison for crap like this.
And they wonder why we need the SAVE act to try to get this under control.
==++++++==
I have to say that I agree with Neo’s take on the following.
Regulating guns in the home: how far to go?
Many or perhaps most laws that restrict liberty are rationalized as being necessary and/or desirable in order to protect the innocent. The problem is how far to go, because at a certain point the infringements become unconscionable, and perhaps they don’t even prevent the behavior. These are constant issues, and not just in the field of gun control.Today, it’s guns. Tomorrow it will be the First Amendment, and we’ll see they kinds of restrictions here that have been imposed in the UK which has seen people be arrested and jailed because they expressed their opinions about how the government has screwed everything up by opening the migration floodgates and allowing the UK to become an Islamist state. Blogging or posting on ‘X’ or TikTok or YouTube opinions from your home here in the US that offend those in power, particularly the Communist wing of the Democrat Party (aka the DSA) will get one arrested and eventually imprisoned. The only freedom of speech that will exist is the freedom to parrot the Party line.
Arguments about the protective benefit of a restrictive law are nearly always used to justify infringements of personal liberty . There are terrible tragedies that appear to be preventable through restrictions on personal liberty. In the case of Colt Gray (the 14-year-old murderer) and his father Colin (who failed to lock up weapons), however, there was no law in Georgia that required such a locking-up. I see the harsh verdict in the Colin Gray trial as an attempt to rectify that, ex post facto, without actually passing such a law. In the service of this effort, another law – one I see as inappropriate to the facts of the case – was pulled into service in order to label one person, the father, as responsible.
To roll back a bit to the new attack on the Second Amendment, anyone paying attention realizes that it is yet another step to stripping us of the right to keep and bear arms to make sure that if the worst happens and the ‘Feces Impact The Rotary Oscillator’ that we will be defenseless. That’s how totalitarians strip the ability of the people to defend themselves. We saw that in Venezuela when the Chavistas took power. We’ve seen that in every Socialist and Communist state throughout modern history.
Am I being over-the-top about this? Maybe...but maybe not. I’ve seen it happen again and again over the past 70 years and read the history books the described it decades before I was born. It’s the old story again and again and again. People here in the US may think “That can never happen here!” But they’re wrong. All it takes if for us to allow our rights to be stripped away a line at a time through the use of restrictive laws sold on the basis that they’ll protect the innocent. But in the end, they won’t. They certainly haven’t done so in the past. Why anyone thinks they’ll do so thisbaffles me.
==++++++==
It seems the side effects of Mayor Mamdami’s “Free S**t” campaign are already being felt and it’s not good.
Mamdani’s Free Ride Promise Drives Up Fair Evasion
Socialism destroys society not only economically but also morally. For example, the current de facto leader of the Democratic Party, Zohran Mamdani, promised to force other people to pay for bus rides. Whether enough money can be confiscated to finance this is doubtful, but already the notion has had an effect.Yeah, like “We’re gonna make others pay for you to ride the bus or the subway even though those who we will force to pay for your fare will soon be leaving and then we’ll have to find other people to steal from because you don’t want to pay the fare yourself” is going to work. To paraphrase Princess Leia in the first Star Wars move, “The more you tighten your grip, the more the people with jobs and money will slip through your fingers…” Eventually Mamdami will run out of ‘other people’s money’ and everything will fall apart. If it happens during Trump’s term we know the federal government (meaning the rest of we taxpayers) won’t be bailing out New York City.
Paid ridership plummeted 7.7% last month compared to June 2025, when there were 1.32 million paid bus riders, according to the records — while May saw an even sharper 10.4% decline compared to a year earlier.Despite seeming to grasp the pernicious effects of moonbattery, Lieber implies that it’s okay to freeload so long as you have less money than others, demanding “the people who are on their way to office jobs, who are making a good income” pay their fare and threatening to create a system that “feels a little fairer with enforcement.”
[Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno] Lieber suggested that free bus promises that the social media-focused socialist made during his campaign last year helped normalize the idea that riders did not need to pay.
Mamdami keeps making promises he knows he can’t possibly keep, then blames the “other people” who will no longer fund his socialist dystopia because they are either broke or have left ‘Detroit On The Hudson’.
Hmm. I think I’m going to need to buy more popcorn because this is going to get interesting to see.
==++++++==
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the humidity is going up, so is the possibility of some thunderstorms rolling through tomorrow, and The Day That Shall Not Be Named returns to harsh our weekend.
8/01/2026
I Wouldn't Have Thought Of This
It seems all the war news is focusing on the situation the Persian Gulf and the ongoing war with Iran. I do hear passing references in the news about the 4-year long war between Ukraine and Russia and how it doesn’t seem to be going in Russia’s favor.
As Ukraine’s capabilities expanded, it made it easier for them to hit targets deeper inside Russia, most of those targets being oil refineries, factories, airfields, trains and trucks carrying military personnel and materiel, ships, bridges, and other targets that degrade Russian logistics and their economy. All of this affects Russia’s ability to fight their war against Ukraine. The Ukrainian aerial campaign has been intensifying even as Russia’s ability to defend against it seems to be waning.
I have to admit that one thing that caught me off guard was Ukraine’s latest targets of interest, that being the Russian equivalent of Amazon, known as Wildberries. But once it was explained, it made perfect sense.
While the Russians have been claiming Ukraine’s attacks against Wildberries is a war crime because it is a ‘civilian’ infrastructure that adversely affects Russian civilians, it must be understood that Russia has been hitting civilian infrastructure and targets from Day 1 of its ‘Special Military Operation’. These include supermarkets, hospitals, apartment buildings, malls, power stations, and so on. The list is lengthy. So how is it Russia can say that what they’ve done is not a war crime against Ukrainians while what Ukraine has done is even if a small fraction of what Russian has done is a war crime against Russians? At least Ukraine has not been targeting civilian targets like those the Russians have been hitting.
As to taking out Wildberries, I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t have thought of doing so. That Wildberreis appears to be shipping dual use goods, much of it going to the front lines, certainly makes me think it’s a legitimate target. That it also weakens the Russian economy in the process makes it a twofer.
As Ukraine’s capabilities expanded, it made it easier for them to hit targets deeper inside Russia, most of those targets being oil refineries, factories, airfields, trains and trucks carrying military personnel and materiel, ships, bridges, and other targets that degrade Russian logistics and their economy. All of this affects Russia’s ability to fight their war against Ukraine. The Ukrainian aerial campaign has been intensifying even as Russia’s ability to defend against it seems to be waning.
I have to admit that one thing that caught me off guard was Ukraine’s latest targets of interest, that being the Russian equivalent of Amazon, known as Wildberries. But once it was explained, it made perfect sense.
While the Russians have been claiming Ukraine’s attacks against Wildberries is a war crime because it is a ‘civilian’ infrastructure that adversely affects Russian civilians, it must be understood that Russia has been hitting civilian infrastructure and targets from Day 1 of its ‘Special Military Operation’. These include supermarkets, hospitals, apartment buildings, malls, power stations, and so on. The list is lengthy. So how is it Russia can say that what they’ve done is not a war crime against Ukrainians while what Ukraine has done is even if a small fraction of what Russian has done is a war crime against Russians? At least Ukraine has not been targeting civilian targets like those the Russians have been hitting.
As to taking out Wildberries, I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t have thought of doing so. That Wildberreis appears to be shipping dual use goods, much of it going to the front lines, certainly makes me think it’s a legitimate target. That it also weakens the Russian economy in the process makes it a twofer.
7/31/2026
Friday Funny - Live, Freeze, Then Die
Considering we are in the middle of summer, I thought something delving into winter might be appropriaate if for no other reason than to remind us that we complain about every season, at least here in New England.
7/26/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
It’s been a beautiful weekend up here at the lake. Warm temps, low humidity, and just enough of a breeze to keep thinks comfortable. It certainly made it easier for the folks who attended last night’s concert at out local venue. Both Styx and Chicago performed last night, the latest acts from the Before We Get Too Old Or Die tour.
The weekend traffic here has been quite heavy, more than I recall from last year. I have also noticed that air traffic at our local airport (which happens to be right next door to our local concert venue) has also been quite heavy. I haven’t seen that many business jets parked on the airport’s itinerant ramp that I can recall. I know the FBO’s at the airport are selling a lot more Jet A fuel than they ever have. (It also helps that our airport has the lowest Jet A prices in New Hampshire.)
The WP Mom and I made a trip to out local Dairy Queen to avail ourselves of their Blizzards. I prefer the Oreo Blizzard and she prefers a Butterfinger Blizzard. This we do a number of times during the season, visiting all of the local ice cream establishments and sampling their wares...for quality control, of course.
Why doesn’t any of this surprise me in the least?
It seems that a lot of conspiracy theorists who delved into the Covid fauxdemic were right, and that Fauci had a lot more to do with it and that he knew his ‘recommendations’ were absolute BS.
How much unnecessary suffering and economic disruption can be laid at the feet of Fauci, the CDC, etc. forcing us to take precautions they knew were worthless?
Tell us something that we don’t already know>
It’s Hollywood’s fault that Hollywood is dying and the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers has nothing to do with it.
I think Hollywood as we have known it is doomed, if not already dead. More production has been taking place well outside California because the producers don’t have to answer to the self-important ‘wokerati’ who have worked so hard to make movies unwatchable.
It appears the ‘wokerati’ are also busy in Washington D.C., specifically at the Smithsonian Institute where they are trying very hard to ‘Erase our Founders and Reinvent American History’. After all, if they don’t there’s no way the Communists presently masquerading as Progressives and Democratic Socialists can take over and turn the US into a new version of the USSR.
The Smithsonian needs to be revamped, purging the ‘wokerati’ who have absolutely no intention of preserving our history.
You know that judges are getting uppity and are ignoring the law when they decide they do not have to abide by the Constitution or US Supreme Court decisions because they consider themselves The Law In And Of Themselves. The latest example of that is a Biden appointed federal judge who ignored a Supreme Court ruling regarding Temporary Protected Status terminations.
It’s time to let these rogue judges know that they must follow the law, the Constitution, and the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, or be kicked out for violating of their oaths and judicial malfeasance. They cannot create laws by fiat just because they don’t like something.
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather has been awesome as has the ice cream, much needed rain will be moving in starting Tuesday, and where Monday should be called “The Day That Shall Not Be Named”.
The weekend traffic here has been quite heavy, more than I recall from last year. I have also noticed that air traffic at our local airport (which happens to be right next door to our local concert venue) has also been quite heavy. I haven’t seen that many business jets parked on the airport’s itinerant ramp that I can recall. I know the FBO’s at the airport are selling a lot more Jet A fuel than they ever have. (It also helps that our airport has the lowest Jet A prices in New Hampshire.)
The WP Mom and I made a trip to out local Dairy Queen to avail ourselves of their Blizzards. I prefer the Oreo Blizzard and she prefers a Butterfinger Blizzard. This we do a number of times during the season, visiting all of the local ice cream establishments and sampling their wares...for quality control, of course.
==++++++==
Why doesn’t any of this surprise me in the least?
It seems that a lot of conspiracy theorists who delved into the Covid fauxdemic were right, and that Fauci had a lot more to do with it and that he knew his ‘recommendations’ were absolute BS.
How much unnecessary suffering and economic disruption can be laid at the feet of Fauci, the CDC, etc. forcing us to take precautions they knew were worthless?
==++++++==
Tell us something that we don’t already know>
It’s Hollywood’s fault that Hollywood is dying and the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers has nothing to do with it.
Far from “thriving,” theaters sold roughly 770 million tickets last year — down 37% from 2019 and less than half the 1.57 billion sold at the 2002 peak. The share of adults who see a movie at least monthly has fallen by more than half. Receipts hold up only because the average ticket now runs north of $13. Charging ever more to ever fewer people is not a thriving business; it is a shrinking one, repriced. And moviegoers will tell you why they stopped coming: nearly 2 in 5 adults who attend less often say there is simply not a good enough variety of new films worth the trip.Count me among those who think movies are not good enough anymore. The last movies I saw in a movie theater were Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Yesterday (2019), and Downton Abbey (2019). I haven’t set foot in a movie theater for almost 7 years. These days I tend to stream them even if I have to wait for a few months before I can do so. It’s cheaper. I also already know if it’s a decent movie. Refreshments are cheaper (and abundant), and I can pause it any time I want to to either get more snacks or go to the bathroom. I don’t have to worry about loudmouths or people who are incapable of putting their damn phones away which can spoil my enjoyment of a movie.
I think Hollywood as we have known it is doomed, if not already dead. More production has been taking place well outside California because the producers don’t have to answer to the self-important ‘wokerati’ who have worked so hard to make movies unwatchable.
==++++++==
It appears the ‘wokerati’ are also busy in Washington D.C., specifically at the Smithsonian Institute where they are trying very hard to ‘Erase our Founders and Reinvent American History’. After all, if they don’t there’s no way the Communists presently masquerading as Progressives and Democratic Socialists can take over and turn the US into a new version of the USSR.
The Smithsonian is supposed to be a place where America’s history is celebrated and taught. It is not a place where history is censored, reshaped, reinvented, and our Founders vilified and erased. But that is what has been happening over the last few years.If they want to destroy America, first they have to destroy our Founders, paint them as criminals, judge them against 21st Century ‘sensibilities’ which is designed to reduce their stature, if not their eliminate them entirely.
“At a time when the soul of our country is being tested, our Talking About Race portal will help individuals and communities foster constructive conversations and much-needed dialogue about one of our nation’s most challenging topics: racism and its corrosive impact,” the museum began in a July 15, 2020, Twitter thread. “As an institution devoted to learning and education, we welcome those discussions while also encouraging the public to take a holistic approach and read the information in its full context,” it concluded.
Yes, that was at the same time riots over fentanyl-riddled criminal George Floyd and his 4 funerals were taking place. Democrats were kneeling and evidently the Smithsonian museums were working behind the scenes to redesign American history into their favored DEI woke narratives, which includes an inability to define what a woman is.
The Smithsonian needs to be revamped, purging the ‘wokerati’ who have absolutely no intention of preserving our history.
==++++++==
You know that judges are getting uppity and are ignoring the law when they decide they do not have to abide by the Constitution or US Supreme Court decisions because they consider themselves The Law In And Of Themselves. The latest example of that is a Biden appointed federal judge who ignored a Supreme Court ruling regarding Temporary Protected Status terminations.
A Biden-appointed judge completely ignored the Supreme Court ruling from last month which affirmed that the law does not allow for judicial review of these TPS terminations, and blocked DHS trying to end TPS for Ethiopian nationals.I have to wonder if he’s a buddy of Judge Boasberg who likes to order aircraft in international airspace to land in the U.S.?
This is the same judge who left ICE agents stranded in Africa last year when he blocked a plane of criminal illegals from being deported to South Sudan.
--snip--
The Supreme court ruled, in the case of Syrian and Haitian nationals, that neither were “entitled to orders postponing the terminations during litigation” because “The TPS statute bars judicial review of non-constitutional claims.”
[U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts] will most certainly be overruled on appeal.
It’s time to let these rogue judges know that they must follow the law, the Constitution, and the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, or be kicked out for violating of their oaths and judicial malfeasance. They cannot create laws by fiat just because they don’t like something.
==++++++==
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather has been awesome as has the ice cream, much needed rain will be moving in starting Tuesday, and where Monday should be called “The Day That Shall Not Be Named”.
7/25/2026
Small Town Doings
It was one of those small town America things that took place in my home town today.
There was nothing political about it, though there was talk about politics now and then.
It wasn’t something that made news headlines, nor can I think of why something like this would.
What is this “thing” I keep talking about?
Island Cleanup Day.
Every year our town sets aside one Saturday in July so folks from the islands on Lake Winnipesaukee that happen to be in our town can bring junk and stuff to our town docks so our DPW can dispose of it for them.
Items they bring include pieces of lumber left over from a demolition/renovations, an old charcoal or gas grill, old doors and windows, furniture that is either broken or of no more use, box springs and mattresses, bits and pieces of concrete or old bags of concrete mix that have solidified, old kayaks, jon boats, canoes, paddle boards, and even sailboats. (One islander brought in an old small catamaran sailboat, towing it behind his 26 foot runabout.) Sometimes it’s boxes of books, old TVs and radios, water heaters, sump pumps or well pumps, old pipes – both cast iron and copper, electrical cable (including old BX armored cable), and pieces of decking or from their docks. There have also been old lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and weed whackers.
This year the most common item we saw were old slider doors. Dozens of them. Why? I haven’t a clue.
Last year is was storm doors. The year before that it was old windows of the double-hung sash type.
Folks from the DPW as well as volunteers (like me) help unload the islanders’ boats and get the junk to the appropriate 30-yard dumpster or dump truck or trailer for proper disposal.
People get to hob nob, get to know the islanders and the DPW crew and volunteers. It’s something I’ve been volunteering for for over 10 years now and I intend to keep doing so for as long as I can.
I have to say that it was a perfect day for this event as it was sunny with temps in the upper 70’s/lower 80’s, low humidity and a slight breeze. I was glad to see the islanders made the best of this year’s Island Cleanup Day.
While not a town-wide event, it did show a little bit of small town America that so many of us yearn for.
There was nothing political about it, though there was talk about politics now and then.
It wasn’t something that made news headlines, nor can I think of why something like this would.
What is this “thing” I keep talking about?
Island Cleanup Day.
Every year our town sets aside one Saturday in July so folks from the islands on Lake Winnipesaukee that happen to be in our town can bring junk and stuff to our town docks so our DPW can dispose of it for them.
Items they bring include pieces of lumber left over from a demolition/renovations, an old charcoal or gas grill, old doors and windows, furniture that is either broken or of no more use, box springs and mattresses, bits and pieces of concrete or old bags of concrete mix that have solidified, old kayaks, jon boats, canoes, paddle boards, and even sailboats. (One islander brought in an old small catamaran sailboat, towing it behind his 26 foot runabout.) Sometimes it’s boxes of books, old TVs and radios, water heaters, sump pumps or well pumps, old pipes – both cast iron and copper, electrical cable (including old BX armored cable), and pieces of decking or from their docks. There have also been old lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and weed whackers.
This year the most common item we saw were old slider doors. Dozens of them. Why? I haven’t a clue.
Last year is was storm doors. The year before that it was old windows of the double-hung sash type.
Folks from the DPW as well as volunteers (like me) help unload the islanders’ boats and get the junk to the appropriate 30-yard dumpster or dump truck or trailer for proper disposal.
People get to hob nob, get to know the islanders and the DPW crew and volunteers. It’s something I’ve been volunteering for for over 10 years now and I intend to keep doing so for as long as I can.
I have to say that it was a perfect day for this event as it was sunny with temps in the upper 70’s/lower 80’s, low humidity and a slight breeze. I was glad to see the islanders made the best of this year’s Island Cleanup Day.
While not a town-wide event, it did show a little bit of small town America that so many of us yearn for.
7/24/2026
7/19/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
It’s been a gorgeous weekend up here at the lake. Warm, not too humid, a little rain on and off yesterday, and most of the Canadian wildfire smoke diminishing yesterday and gone today. It has been quite breezy, starting sometime early this morning. I really have no complaints weatherwise.
There was another artist from the “Before We Get Too Old Or Die” tour who played at our local venue, that being Bob Dylan. I have no idea how it went or how many people attended. I can say with confidence that it is highly unlikely anyone got arrested at the concert for being too rowdy considering the age of the audience.
I can say that summer is definitely in full swing up this way and so far I am liking it. Yes, the traffic is heavy and the restaurants and attractions are busy, but it doesn’t seem quite as frenetic as I have seen over the past few summers. I wish I could say the same thing about the boat traffic out on the lake as it seems there are more than the usual number of Cap’n Boneheads out there on the weekends. It’s a price we pay for living up here.
I am generally pretty careful with my money. I’m not a Scrooge, but I try not to spend money without a lot of thought going into any purchases and so on.
One of the things I have done to help protect myself is freezing my credit reports, meaning anyone wanting a copy of my credit report from the three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and Transunion – will be rejected because of that freeze. I did that some years ago because of some suspicious activity reported to me by those bureaus. I unfreeze it if I need to allow someone to pull a credit report, something I needed to do recently.
Have you ever put something away in a safe place and then forget where that safe place was? That happened to me, specifically when it came to my login name and password for access to my accounts on those three bureaus. It took a few days of looking before I found them.
You may ask why I had them written down rather than saving them using one of the password managers. There’s two reasons: 1.) I don’t trust them as they are storing the logins and passwords electronically. 2.) If I have a computer meltdown I may not be able to recover them. (I have experienced this already as I had a major computer meltdown a few years ago which is why all of this is stored on a piece of paper, handwritten, and stored “someplace safe”.)
Take this lesson for whatever you will, but that’s why I never save or create a login and password list electronically. I want them fully airgapped. Hence pen and paper. Sometimes old school works best.
I have no doubt the number they are reporting is too low.
250,000 Non-citizens Found Too Be Registered To Vote In Four States.
Considering just how lax some states are when it comes to registering eligible voters, it wouldn’t surprise me if millions of ineligible people are registered to vote here in the US.
From Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin comes this:
It isn’t just non-citizens I have problems with voting, it’s non-residents. My home state – New Hampshire – allows non-resident college students to register to vote here which can (and has) affected elections in this state more than once. It is a loophole in state law that still needs to be addressed by our state legislature despite claims by Democrats that it would violate the students’ right to vote. Changing the law here wouldn’t prevent them from voting, it would just mean they couldn’t vote here. They will still be able to vote in their home state via absentee ballot.
The debate continues about the US remaining on Daylight Saving Time year round. Some are for it (like me). Some are against it. Some just want to stop having to change clocks twice a year and spend a week or two after the change dealing with the effects.
As I have stated elsewhere, I am in favor of it because I live on the extreme eastern edge of the Eastern Time Zone. If you look at a Time Zone map for North America you will see that the Eastern Time Zone in the US is the widest one in the Lower 48 states, with New England being at the extreme eastern edge. I would rather see some sunlight later in the afternoon during the depths of winter rather than starting work in the dark and ending my work day in the dark. Folks at the western edge of the time zone would probably want to remain on Standard Time year round. Those in the middle of the time zone are probably of two minds about it.
One commenter brought up one of the arguments against the time change:
Both my state and neighboring Maine have talked about making the change to DST year round or switching to the Atlantic Time Zone and remaining in Standard Time year round. I do know that if we stated on Eastern Standard Time year round we’d be seeing sunrise at around 4AM during the summer. Thanks, but no thanks.
If anything, I think he’s underestimating the figure>
RFK Jr.: Medicaid Theft Costs $100 Billion a Year
Add into that SNAP fraud, CHiP fraud, Social Security fraud, and a few others and we’re probably talking closer to $500 billion a year.
We already know about the billion or so tax dollars being lost to non-existent child-care and “Learing Centers”.
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather is nice again, the summerfolk are spending their money, and where the prospect of Monday’s return doesn’t seem quite as awful as usual.
There was another artist from the “Before We Get Too Old Or Die” tour who played at our local venue, that being Bob Dylan. I have no idea how it went or how many people attended. I can say with confidence that it is highly unlikely anyone got arrested at the concert for being too rowdy considering the age of the audience.
I can say that summer is definitely in full swing up this way and so far I am liking it. Yes, the traffic is heavy and the restaurants and attractions are busy, but it doesn’t seem quite as frenetic as I have seen over the past few summers. I wish I could say the same thing about the boat traffic out on the lake as it seems there are more than the usual number of Cap’n Boneheads out there on the weekends. It’s a price we pay for living up here.
==++++++==
I am generally pretty careful with my money. I’m not a Scrooge, but I try not to spend money without a lot of thought going into any purchases and so on.
One of the things I have done to help protect myself is freezing my credit reports, meaning anyone wanting a copy of my credit report from the three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and Transunion – will be rejected because of that freeze. I did that some years ago because of some suspicious activity reported to me by those bureaus. I unfreeze it if I need to allow someone to pull a credit report, something I needed to do recently.
Have you ever put something away in a safe place and then forget where that safe place was? That happened to me, specifically when it came to my login name and password for access to my accounts on those three bureaus. It took a few days of looking before I found them.
You may ask why I had them written down rather than saving them using one of the password managers. There’s two reasons: 1.) I don’t trust them as they are storing the logins and passwords electronically. 2.) If I have a computer meltdown I may not be able to recover them. (I have experienced this already as I had a major computer meltdown a few years ago which is why all of this is stored on a piece of paper, handwritten, and stored “someplace safe”.)
Take this lesson for whatever you will, but that’s why I never save or create a login and password list electronically. I want them fully airgapped. Hence pen and paper. Sometimes old school works best.
==++++++==
I have no doubt the number they are reporting is too low.
250,000 Non-citizens Found Too Be Registered To Vote In Four States.
Considering just how lax some states are when it comes to registering eligible voters, it wouldn’t surprise me if millions of ineligible people are registered to vote here in the US.
From Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin comes this:
"We've identified 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote in just four states… We also worked with proactive states to identify 28,000 noncitizens on their voter rolls, PLUS 400,000 individuals that are still registered to vote that are deceased."Well, we know most dead voters vote for Democrats, a time-honored tradition in Illinois, specifically in the city of Chicago. How many times have we seen lawsuits by the Democrat Party or their mouthpieces to stop the purge of deceased voters from voter rolls? I’ve stopped counting.
It isn’t just non-citizens I have problems with voting, it’s non-residents. My home state – New Hampshire – allows non-resident college students to register to vote here which can (and has) affected elections in this state more than once. It is a loophole in state law that still needs to be addressed by our state legislature despite claims by Democrats that it would violate the students’ right to vote. Changing the law here wouldn’t prevent them from voting, it would just mean they couldn’t vote here. They will still be able to vote in their home state via absentee ballot.
==++++++==
The debate continues about the US remaining on Daylight Saving Time year round. Some are for it (like me). Some are against it. Some just want to stop having to change clocks twice a year and spend a week or two after the change dealing with the effects.
There's a bill sitting in Congress right now that could end the twice-yearly ritual of changing the clocks and keep us on daylight saving time. The strangest thing about it is that Democrats and Republicans actually agree on something. I’m almost shocked that Democrats haven’t come out to say that not changing clocks is racist or transphobic or something. But the bill passed with strong bipartisan support, the White House is on board, and after years of talking about this, it may actually happen.But first it has to make it through the Senate and I don’t have much hope there. I figure someone there will make the point in the quote above that not changing the clocks is “racist” or is a “display of white supremacy” or misogynist or fattening or something.
As I have stated elsewhere, I am in favor of it because I live on the extreme eastern edge of the Eastern Time Zone. If you look at a Time Zone map for North America you will see that the Eastern Time Zone in the US is the widest one in the Lower 48 states, with New England being at the extreme eastern edge. I would rather see some sunlight later in the afternoon during the depths of winter rather than starting work in the dark and ending my work day in the dark. Folks at the western edge of the time zone would probably want to remain on Standard Time year round. Those in the middle of the time zone are probably of two minds about it.
One commenter brought up one of the arguments against the time change:
Us geezers may remember when the government tried permanent daylight savings time during the early 1970s energy crisis. Kids going to school in the dark did not work.Another countered it with this:
Except it does in the northern latitudes both here and in Northern Europe and Scandinavia.I think that last was something that was overlooked when President Nixon order DST to remain in place all year as an energy saving measure. There wasn’t enough planning or thought put into the temporary measure. I can see pushing back the start and ending times for school, particularly for the elementary school children. In the depths of winter we do have some kids having to catch the bus in the dark and we haven’t seen any issues with that. Why would it be any different if we stayed on DST year round, at least up this way?
School districts can adjust their class schedules if the parents want them to.
Both my state and neighboring Maine have talked about making the change to DST year round or switching to the Atlantic Time Zone and remaining in Standard Time year round. I do know that if we stated on Eastern Standard Time year round we’d be seeing sunrise at around 4AM during the summer. Thanks, but no thanks.
==++++++==
If anything, I think he’s underestimating the figure>
RFK Jr.: Medicaid Theft Costs $100 Billion a Year
Add into that SNAP fraud, CHiP fraud, Social Security fraud, and a few others and we’re probably talking closer to $500 billion a year.
We already know about the billion or so tax dollars being lost to non-existent child-care and “Learing Centers”.
==++++++==
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather is nice again, the summerfolk are spending their money, and where the prospect of Monday’s return doesn’t seem quite as awful as usual.
7/18/2026
They Regret Visiting Anerica...
I have found it entertaining to watch the reactions of World Cup fans here in the US finding out that everything they’ve been told about America isn’t true. I covered this to some extent almost two weeks ago, putting up some videos showing European and Aussie World Cup tourists discovering all kinds of things about America. Many are heard apologizing to the US for believing their media’s portrayal of the US being negative to an extreme. The reality hasn’t even come close to matching the hatchet job sold to these folks.
A lot of those World Cup tourists have since returned home to Europe and are finding out that they miss America and the things they experienced here and wish that they had back home.
I can certainly understand their reactions after having been in the US for a few weeks. I know I missed the “conveniences” when I was in the UK and a few other European countries. There are more than a few ‘regulars’ I see on YT that talk about making the move from the UK to the US, and two are in the process of house-hunting in Tennessee after visiting and touring America for a few years now.
One thing I have heard more than a few of the World Cup tourists say is that the World Cup in 2028 should also be held in the US. So many of them were amazed at the stadiums and their amenities. (They really liked the air-conditioned stadiums considering the temperatures and humidity were much much higher than what they are used to.)
I have to wonder if the discoveries made by the World Cup tourists will stimulate increased tourism to the US going forward? More than a few of them have already said they’d be back to see more of America because they want to discover even more about the country they didn’t have time for during their first visit. The only regrets they have expressed about visiting America is that they wish they had come earlier and that they had to go back home.
A lot of those World Cup tourists have since returned home to Europe and are finding out that they miss America and the things they experienced here and wish that they had back home.
I can certainly understand their reactions after having been in the US for a few weeks. I know I missed the “conveniences” when I was in the UK and a few other European countries. There are more than a few ‘regulars’ I see on YT that talk about making the move from the UK to the US, and two are in the process of house-hunting in Tennessee after visiting and touring America for a few years now.
One thing I have heard more than a few of the World Cup tourists say is that the World Cup in 2028 should also be held in the US. So many of them were amazed at the stadiums and their amenities. (They really liked the air-conditioned stadiums considering the temperatures and humidity were much much higher than what they are used to.)
I have to wonder if the discoveries made by the World Cup tourists will stimulate increased tourism to the US going forward? More than a few of them have already said they’d be back to see more of America because they want to discover even more about the country they didn’t have time for during their first visit. The only regrets they have expressed about visiting America is that they wish they had come earlier and that they had to go back home.
7/17/2026
7/12/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
The weather up here at the lake has been delightful this weekend, with temps in low 80’s and relatively low humidity. That’s meant the A/C wasn’t used, the windows were open, and it’s been comfortable all weekend. The Weather GuysTM are saying we’ll likely be back into the hot and humid weather starting on Tuesday, but it is summer, after all.
The summer crowds are here without a doubt. Both our town beach and the beach at the state park down the road from the town beach have been busy, with parking lots full before noon. Lots of boats out on the lake. (It’s one reason I prefer to use the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout during the week – less Cap’n Boneheads out on the lake!)
Our favorite ice cream stand has been busy as well, and not just during the weekend.
Concerts at our local venue continue, with the latest one from the Before We Get Too Old Or Die tour being The Guess Who this past Friday and Bob Dylan playing there next Saturday night. Sarah McLachlan, she of In The Arms Of An Angel fame is playing there tonight, though she is not part of the Before We Get Too Old tour.
I will be at BeezleBub’s late this afternoon to help him christen his new grill, though my help will mostly consist of staying out of his way. That works for me!
I heard early this morning that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passed away last night.
He was a quiet powerhouse and came through when the Democrats were holding a “sham hearing against Brett Kavanaugh” and rallied the troops to fight back against the witch hunt and saved Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
When I first heard this story I can honestly say it didn’t surprise me in the least.
That Gay Cruise Ship Denied Entry Into Turkey? Egypt Just Said “No” Too.
It amazes me that ‘woke’ and ‘enlightened’ folks from here assume their sensibilities and beliefs carry weight in foreign countries. Then they’re dismayed, shocked, or pissed off when they find out that isn’t true.
It seems the EU is doing everything it can to make sure that it fails and will be a financial basket-case. Increasingly harsh environmental regulations that make it increasingly difficult to run a business in the EU or to do business in the EU aren’t helping things. (I have to deal with those growing environmental regulations at work and they are taking up an increasing percentage of my time with little to show for it.) But one of the things I think is really going to hurt the EU is their push for deep “financial surveillance” by approving the creation of a digital Euro.
Since the details are still a bit sketchy, I have to wonder if that means they will phase out actual physical money and all transactions will be electronic? If so, I can see a number of problems such an all electronic form of currency transactions will create. One of the biggest being that if the electronic exchange fails due to buggy code, hacker activity, or something as simple as a power outage, everyone depending on it will be poor because they won’t be able to access their money. It will in effect all be locked away in a digital vault that can not be opened. You can’t tell me that won’t affect people if/when it happens.
Could it be that the folks who have been telling us that a 200ppm increase in atmospheric CO2 would cause up to a 0.5ºC increase in the average global temperatures have been wrong all this time? According the some of the latest environmental lab research, it may be that climate sensitivity to CO2 is nowhere what has been claimed.
And that is the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer is now in full swing, the ice cream stands are busy, and where even Mondays don’t seem all that bad...for now.
The summer crowds are here without a doubt. Both our town beach and the beach at the state park down the road from the town beach have been busy, with parking lots full before noon. Lots of boats out on the lake. (It’s one reason I prefer to use the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout during the week – less Cap’n Boneheads out on the lake!)
Our favorite ice cream stand has been busy as well, and not just during the weekend.
Concerts at our local venue continue, with the latest one from the Before We Get Too Old Or Die tour being The Guess Who this past Friday and Bob Dylan playing there next Saturday night. Sarah McLachlan, she of In The Arms Of An Angel fame is playing there tonight, though she is not part of the Before We Get Too Old tour.
I will be at BeezleBub’s late this afternoon to help him christen his new grill, though my help will mostly consist of staying out of his way. That works for me!
==++++++==
I heard early this morning that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passed away last night.
He was a quiet powerhouse and came through when the Democrats were holding a “sham hearing against Brett Kavanaugh” and rallied the troops to fight back against the witch hunt and saved Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
==++++++==
When I first heard this story I can honestly say it didn’t surprise me in the least.
That Gay Cruise Ship Denied Entry Into Turkey? Egypt Just Said “No” Too.
It amazes me that ‘woke’ and ‘enlightened’ folks from here assume their sensibilities and beliefs carry weight in foreign countries. Then they’re dismayed, shocked, or pissed off when they find out that isn’t true.
What were they thinking, scheduling a gay cruise to visit Muslim countries? It’s not that Egypt or Turkey is exactly a craphole—both have been centers of civilization at times, and neither is crushingly poor in the way that Conan O’Brien’s and Anderson Cooper’s favorite vacation destination, Haiti, is.I wonder of they’ll learn the lesson...this time? My guess is no.
==++++++==
It seems the EU is doing everything it can to make sure that it fails and will be a financial basket-case. Increasingly harsh environmental regulations that make it increasingly difficult to run a business in the EU or to do business in the EU aren’t helping things. (I have to deal with those growing environmental regulations at work and they are taking up an increasing percentage of my time with little to show for it.) But one of the things I think is really going to hurt the EU is their push for deep “financial surveillance” by approving the creation of a digital Euro.
Europe has just taken a major step toward creating the digital euro, a project that could soon open the door to leaving Europeans’ financial freedom at the mercy of Brussels.That could mean that every single financial transaction will be open to scrutiny by Brussels, be it something as simple as paying for a morning espresso or closing a multimillion Euro business deal and everything in between.
On Thursday, July 9th, the European Parliament’s plenary adopted a text on the creation of the EU’s own CBDC (central bank digital currency), sending the file to the final stage of interinstitutional negotiations before the digital euro’s planned issuance from January 2029.
Since the details are still a bit sketchy, I have to wonder if that means they will phase out actual physical money and all transactions will be electronic? If so, I can see a number of problems such an all electronic form of currency transactions will create. One of the biggest being that if the electronic exchange fails due to buggy code, hacker activity, or something as simple as a power outage, everyone depending on it will be poor because they won’t be able to access their money. It will in effect all be locked away in a digital vault that can not be opened. You can’t tell me that won’t affect people if/when it happens.
==++++++==
Could it be that the folks who have been telling us that a 200ppm increase in atmospheric CO2 would cause up to a 0.5ºC increase in the average global temperatures have been wrong all this time? According the some of the latest environmental lab research, it may be that climate sensitivity to CO2 is nowhere what has been claimed.
New lab experiment research shows that the addition of 100,000 ppm (10%) CO2 – a volume orders of magnitude greater than today’s 425 ppm (0.0425%) – leads to a temperature change of about 1.0°C.Is what they are saying is that previous estimates of the climate’s sensitivity to carbon dioxide ignored convection and focused entirely on radiation? If that is indeed the case, then the climate cult faithful have some explaining to do...and a lot of money to return.
--snip--
“With an initial temperature of the earth plate of +30°C, a temperature increase of 1.0°C can be observed after adding [100,000 ppm] CO2.”
But this CO2-induced (or Ar or HCG) temperature change (~1.0°C) is accomplished when assessing only radiation heat transfer effects and excluding the effects of convection. In the real world, heat is not transferred solely via radiation. In fact, convection, not radiation, dominates the heat transfer process here at the surface and throughout the lower troposphere.
So when convection is included as a contributing factor in these lab experiments (see also Wagoner et al., 2010 or Seim and Olsen, 2020), the temperature effect of adding 10% CO2 is reduced to just 0.1°C. This temperature change is so negligible that it is effectively below the resolution of the measurement sensors.
==++++++==
And that is the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer is now in full swing, the ice cream stands are busy, and where even Mondays don’t seem all that bad...for now.
7/11/2026
Iran Cannot Be Trusted
Once again I have been hearing that Iran can’t seem to keep its promises about the Straits of Hormuz, with the IRGC firing on cargo ships transiting the straits. The US Navy then retaliates, taking out military targets along the Iranian coast, some of those targets being locations from which the IRGC launched their strikes.
As I have mentioned more than once, either the Iranian government is lying when they say they will abide by the ceasefire arrangements or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) is ignoring the government because various factions within the government are still fighting over who’s in power.
It still comes down to we really don’t know who is “running the show” in Iran, so making any kind of deal with whoever claims to be in charge is a crapshoot at best, and so far we haven’t seen any real ‘ceasefire’ at all. And then of course Iran fires at a number of the Persian Gulf Arab countries, tryibng to rack up as much destruction and civilian casualties as it can. Basically the strikes are terrorists attacks. Not that it’s surprising considering Iran has been a huge supporter of Islamic terror groups since 1979.
My biggest concern is that Iran will overstep which will mean the US military will pull off the kid gloves and go all in, hitting not just military targets but going after all of Iran’s infrastructure like the electrical grid, water supplies, refineries, bridges, highways, factories, and so on. We have been trying not to go that route because we know Iranian civilians with no connection to the mullahs, Basij, or IRGC will suffer. They are as much victims of the Iranian government and IRGC as anyone in the Persian Gulf states. But if the “mad mullahs” and the IRGC escalate, we may have no choice.
And once again, I am going to remind you that we have been in a de facto state of war with Iran since 1979 when they invaded the US embassy in Tehran which is considered an act of war.
Let us hope we won’t have to go that far.
As I have mentioned more than once, either the Iranian government is lying when they say they will abide by the ceasefire arrangements or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) is ignoring the government because various factions within the government are still fighting over who’s in power.
It still comes down to we really don’t know who is “running the show” in Iran, so making any kind of deal with whoever claims to be in charge is a crapshoot at best, and so far we haven’t seen any real ‘ceasefire’ at all. And then of course Iran fires at a number of the Persian Gulf Arab countries, tryibng to rack up as much destruction and civilian casualties as it can. Basically the strikes are terrorists attacks. Not that it’s surprising considering Iran has been a huge supporter of Islamic terror groups since 1979.
My biggest concern is that Iran will overstep which will mean the US military will pull off the kid gloves and go all in, hitting not just military targets but going after all of Iran’s infrastructure like the electrical grid, water supplies, refineries, bridges, highways, factories, and so on. We have been trying not to go that route because we know Iranian civilians with no connection to the mullahs, Basij, or IRGC will suffer. They are as much victims of the Iranian government and IRGC as anyone in the Persian Gulf states. But if the “mad mullahs” and the IRGC escalate, we may have no choice.
And once again, I am going to remind you that we have been in a de facto state of war with Iran since 1979 when they invaded the US embassy in Tehran which is considered an act of war.
Let us hope we won’t have to go that far.
7/10/2026
7/05/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
The Fourth of July fireworks started Friday night, with some towns having them Friday night and others last night. One of my neighbors who lives on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee had his own fireworks show Friday night which meant all I had to do was sit on a next door neighbor’s deck to watch the show. He’s been holding this show since the Bad Old Days of Covid and certainly all of the folks in this part of town have certainly appreciated it. While neither I or the WP Mom did much on Fourth, though we did partake of the Boston Pops Fourth of July concert on TV, something we’ve been watching on and off for years on those nights when we didn’t attend a fireworks celebration in person.
One thing that was nice was that Saturday wasn’t nowhere near as hot as the previous four days, being only in the mid 80’s, though the humidity was still a bit on the high side. Today was a little cooler but the humidity was down quite a bit. All in all, I have no complaints about the weather.
One the really hot days during this past week I managed to get most of my errands and chores taken care of during the morning hours before it got too hot. In a few cases that meant I was out and about a little after 6:30am and back at The Gulch before 10am. (I took a couple days off from work to give me a five-day holiday weekend. Most of my vacation time is used to extend holiday weekends by a day or two.)
Seen over at Powerline in it’s “The Week In Pictures” feature are these two gems:
I will admit that I haven’t seen the trailers for this movie, but after hearing review after review after review, I won’t be adding it to my “Must See” list...ever.
Woke Supergirl Movie Belly Flops In Movie Theaters
I have enjoyed Rick Beato’s YouTube channel for years. He’s a musician, producer, and educator about all kinds of things musical. One of the first videos of his I watched was one of his regular features - What Made This Sing Great - with the first one I caught being about Boston’s More Than A Feeling. I’ve seen him do interviews with all kinds of musicians, songwriters, and producers about a wide range of musical topics. One of my favorites was with Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, an out-of-this world guitarist and songwriter.
But the video I am writing about today is one that Rick posted a couple of days ago about AI and how too many people are using it to copy or rip off YouTube content creators.
I have to agree with Rick on this.
I have seen more than a few AI generated ‘talking head’ reports about one timely topic or subject or another. It’s one thing if they are labeled as being AI generated, but too many of them aren’t. As I have mentioned in a few other posts, all it takes is paying attention to head movements, eye blinks, and if their hands are visible, the hand movements as the AI speaks as they do not match what the AI is saying as far as cadence or tempo is concerned to determine if the talking head is AI generated.
Frankly, I find it annoying.
The World Cup has been in the news for some time and I will admit I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to it once Scotland was eliminated. But one thing I have been paying attention to is the World Cup fans who have discovered America, finding out they’ve been lied to about it all these years. I have seen numerous YouTube videos from these fans who have come from all over the world, showing their shock and amazement about what they’re experienced here in the US, including experiencing America’s 250th birthday celebration on the Fourth.
This is but a small sampling of what’s out there on YouTube about foreign visitors discovering that America is not what their news media has been portraying.
I have to agree with the following sentiment.
The ‘transgendered’ would find their lives far simpler if they’d stop trying to make their beliefs other people’s business
Read The Whole Thing.
I was wondering when someone was going to mention the following:
Europe’s Heat Wave Isn’t The Crisis — Energy Poverty Is
I admit I have had difficulty understanding Europe’s hatred of air conditioning, or more accurately, the various European governments’ hatred of air conditioning, particularly in light of the brutal heat wave they suffered last week. Knowing that some European countries’ electrical grids cannot handle the load due their conversion towards “Net Zero” systems, it really isn’t all that surprising, is it?
If they can lay blame on the US for those heatwaves it shifts focus away from the real issue. (I have to mention here that if the Euro-climate cultists want to blame carbon dioxide emissions for their heat wave problem, they should be focusing on China and not the US seeing as China has many times the carbon dioxide emissions of the US, Europe, and most of Asia. It doesn’t help that their emissions keep on climbing.)
Maybe Europe needs to get rid of the “Net Zero” nonsense and start building more nuclear. Their windmills aren’t going to be able to meet the demand, particularly when they aren’t running because there’s little or no wind.
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the heat and humidity have dropped, the A/C is turned off, and where once again Monday is coming to harsh or weekend mellow.
One thing that was nice was that Saturday wasn’t nowhere near as hot as the previous four days, being only in the mid 80’s, though the humidity was still a bit on the high side. Today was a little cooler but the humidity was down quite a bit. All in all, I have no complaints about the weather.
One the really hot days during this past week I managed to get most of my errands and chores taken care of during the morning hours before it got too hot. In a few cases that meant I was out and about a little after 6:30am and back at The Gulch before 10am. (I took a couple days off from work to give me a five-day holiday weekend. Most of my vacation time is used to extend holiday weekends by a day or two.)
==++++++==
Seen over at Powerline in it’s “The Week In Pictures” feature are these two gems:
“White Time”: Dutch professor argues that time itself is racist.Just when I thought the Left couldn’t get any crazier and/or deluded, they prove me wrong.
and
Expecting people to be on time is part of “white supremacy culture”, Duke Medical School proclaims.
==++++++==
I will admit that I haven’t seen the trailers for this movie, but after hearing review after review after review, I won’t be adding it to my “Must See” list...ever.
Woke Supergirl Movie Belly Flops In Movie Theaters
The semi-sequel to last year’s Superman stars Milly Alcock as the hard-partying Krypton cousin scrambling to find the antidote to her drugged dog Krypto.Apparently it all goes downhill from there. It seems Hollywood still hasn’t gotten the message that people want to be entertained, not preached to. It has forgotten the lesson of the late 1960’s/mid 1970’s that ‘message movies’ do not sell and is not learning it today.
Yes, that’s the film’s plot, and the dog in question was obviously CGI. That may partially explain the film’s tepid reception. This failure is far from an orphan, though.
Let’s start with the main character, a minor player in the DC Comics universe. Alcock, a relative unknown, introduced the character via a boozy cameo at the end of Superman.
==++++++==
I have enjoyed Rick Beato’s YouTube channel for years. He’s a musician, producer, and educator about all kinds of things musical. One of the first videos of his I watched was one of his regular features - What Made This Sing Great - with the first one I caught being about Boston’s More Than A Feeling. I’ve seen him do interviews with all kinds of musicians, songwriters, and producers about a wide range of musical topics. One of my favorites was with Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, an out-of-this world guitarist and songwriter.
But the video I am writing about today is one that Rick posted a couple of days ago about AI and how too many people are using it to copy or rip off YouTube content creators.
I have to agree with Rick on this.
I have seen more than a few AI generated ‘talking head’ reports about one timely topic or subject or another. It’s one thing if they are labeled as being AI generated, but too many of them aren’t. As I have mentioned in a few other posts, all it takes is paying attention to head movements, eye blinks, and if their hands are visible, the hand movements as the AI speaks as they do not match what the AI is saying as far as cadence or tempo is concerned to determine if the talking head is AI generated.
Frankly, I find it annoying.
==++++++==
The World Cup has been in the news for some time and I will admit I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to it once Scotland was eliminated. But one thing I have been paying attention to is the World Cup fans who have discovered America, finding out they’ve been lied to about it all these years. I have seen numerous YouTube videos from these fans who have come from all over the world, showing their shock and amazement about what they’re experienced here in the US, including experiencing America’s 250th birthday celebration on the Fourth.
This is but a small sampling of what’s out there on YouTube about foreign visitors discovering that America is not what their news media has been portraying.
==++++++==
I have to agree with the following sentiment.
The ‘transgendered’ would find their lives far simpler if they’d stop trying to make their beliefs other people’s business
And therein lies the problem. So many of them get in everyone’s faces about their transgenderism to the point where it is intrusive and annoying. That is not how one wins over the general population. Instead it tends to have just the opposite effect and it pisses people off. Then those same transgendered individuals claim they are being oppressed and vilified and that people don’t like them. They claim victimhood for being annoying a**hats.“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” ― George Orwell, 1984Living on a rural farm, in a small, mostly rural county, in a very politically conservative state, I only rarely see the ‘transgendered.’ I saw one such gentleman pretending to be a lady, as a customer, in the Corto Lima restaurant in downtown Lexington several years ago, and another such gentleman working as a waiter in the now-several-years-closed Applebee’s on Bypass Road in Richmond. I thought such was humorous, because neither one came anywhere close to ‘passing’ as a real woman, but I had no interactions with either of them. They were doing what they wanted to do, in a manner which had no impact on me at all. Unlike the “Party’s” most essential command, I accepted the evidence of my eyes.
That, of course, was simple: these gentlemen who thought they were ladies weren’t trying to force me to accept them as ladies. The problem today as that so many of the ‘transgendered’ are attempting to compel the rest of us to accept their delusions.
Read The Whole Thing.
==++++++==
I was wondering when someone was going to mention the following:
Europe’s Heat Wave Isn’t The Crisis — Energy Poverty Is
I admit I have had difficulty understanding Europe’s hatred of air conditioning, or more accurately, the various European governments’ hatred of air conditioning, particularly in light of the brutal heat wave they suffered last week. Knowing that some European countries’ electrical grids cannot handle the load due their conversion towards “Net Zero” systems, it really isn’t all that surprising, is it?
When temperatures elevate in Europe, political rhetoric rises even faster. Within days of the June 2026 heat wave, familiar voices rushed to assign blame. John Kerry, speaking to the BBC, labeled the current U.S. administration “dangerous and reckless” on climate.Seeing how many electrical grids no longer have the on-demand capacity to meet electrical demand should air conditioning be used, it certainly makes sense that the climate cultists would aim hatred and animosity towards air conditioning. It keeps them from having to answer the real question, that being “How come we don’t have the capacity to support such lifesaving equipment during heat waves?”
U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell declared that “Europe’s savage heat wave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it; it’s the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet.”
This hyperbole has no scientific basis. The urgency of assertions that carbon dioxide (CO2) is overheating the atmosphere is never matched in reports about cold snaps that are at least as dangerous.
The imbalance reflects an apocalyptic narrative that prioritizes fear and ideology over nuance and evidence.
If they can lay blame on the US for those heatwaves it shifts focus away from the real issue. (I have to mention here that if the Euro-climate cultists want to blame carbon dioxide emissions for their heat wave problem, they should be focusing on China and not the US seeing as China has many times the carbon dioxide emissions of the US, Europe, and most of Asia. It doesn’t help that their emissions keep on climbing.)
Maybe Europe needs to get rid of the “Net Zero” nonsense and start building more nuclear. Their windmills aren’t going to be able to meet the demand, particularly when they aren’t running because there’s little or no wind.
==++++++==
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the heat and humidity have dropped, the A/C is turned off, and where once again Monday is coming to harsh or weekend mellow.
7/04/2026
Declaration Of Independence - It's Time To Remember Why
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
7/03/2026
7/01/2026
Friday Funny (Wednesday Edition) - Air Conditioning
Considering that I am on vacation and dealing with a heat wave where temps will be in the upper 90's with high humidity over the next few days, I though this would be appropriate, particuarly in light of Justin mentioning Lake Winnipesaukee which is where The Gulch is located.
6/28/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
It’s weekend before the Fourth of July and people are already gearing up for the big party. Many of the summerfolk are already here. People are checking to see when the various fireworks shows will be taking place. I plan to attend at least one of them, weather permitting. (The chance of thunderstorms is pretty good considering how hot and humid it’s going to be here over the coming week. It will all depend upon timing.)
We’ll be seeing 90°F starting Tuesday with high humidity and higher temperatures being added to that starting on Wednesday which could last until Saturday. It looks like the the A/C here at The Gulch will be getting a workout leading up to the Fourth. In other words, a pretty normal summer week.
This also means I will check out the A/C in the trusty RAM 1500 as I usually have to add refrigerant to the A/C system every year or so. I didn’t have to do that last year so it wouldn’t surprise me if I need to take care of that this year. At least it is something I can take care of here at The Gulch.
This isn’t news to any of us space geeks that have been paying attention to the news.
Boeing’s Starliner Is Such a Disaster That We Don’t Even Have Words
I don’t know if it is just Boeing or if it’s NASA or both that have led to this piece of junk.
It doesn’t help that Boeing is the aerospace company it used to be after McDonnell Douglas took it over years ago and changed from a ‘can do’ engineering company that also built airplanes and spacecraft to one that managed to screw up the venerable 737 airliner, the mainstay of commercial aviation for decades.
Rather than wasting anymore taxpayer money trying to make this hanger queen serviceable, it would be cheaper for NASA to buy Dragon spacecraft from SpaceX...or better yet, hire SpaceX to take care of all its manned mission requirements. At least SpaceX still has that “can do” mindset that used to be part and parcel of NASA in the past and can do it a heck of a lot cheaper than Boeing can.
As someone who has been space geek since Alan Shepard became the first American in space, I have to say that NASA has become one big disappointment.
I saw this earlier last week and it took me a while to decide whether or not it was good news or bad news. Maybe you can figure out which it is.
Auto Glass Repair Businesses Suffer As Oakland Break-ins Decline
So, it’s good that people smashing glass to break into cars and trucks has declined, meaning less property crimes of that type in Oakland.
But it’s bad news for all the businesses that have been replacing all that broken glass because there’s not as much business as there was in the past.
I’m leaning more towards the “It’s Good News” side of the debate.
I have to agree with those who think that SNAP benefits should not be eligible to be used for junk food.
I had to read this three times to make sure that it wasn’t a typo or an unlabeled Babylon Bee post. But it looks like it is legit.
Don Lemon Admits Trump Is a ‘Media Genius’ Who Played CNN Like a Fiddle
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it again – Trump is like a stage magician showing the rubes (the media and the Democrats) the shiny object in his right hand, using it to distract them while with the left hand he’s getting things done.
In last week’s TOAS, I mention the underwhelming response to the opening of the new Obama Presidential Library.
Now to add insult to injury, it seems that none of the visitors to the Presidential Library could name a single accomplishment by The Won during his eight years in office.
I am certainly not going to claim it was Obamacare, something that has failed spectacularly and made medical even more expensive all while eating up hundreds of billions of dollars. I am not going to say it was all the “racial healing” he brought up again and again, because if anything, he set back race relations years, if not decades.
I will give him credit for one thing, that being the ugliest Presidential Library in US history.
Fortunately for me it is going to be a short work week as I will be taking a couple of vacation days the extend the Fourth of July weekend. As such, it means I only have to deal with Monday and Tuesday at work, and almost all of that will be paperwork.
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where preparations for the Fourth of July continue, the weather looks like it’s going to cooperate (mostly), and where the thought of Monday doesn’t bother me this week because I have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off.
We’ll be seeing 90°F starting Tuesday with high humidity and higher temperatures being added to that starting on Wednesday which could last until Saturday. It looks like the the A/C here at The Gulch will be getting a workout leading up to the Fourth. In other words, a pretty normal summer week.
This also means I will check out the A/C in the trusty RAM 1500 as I usually have to add refrigerant to the A/C system every year or so. I didn’t have to do that last year so it wouldn’t surprise me if I need to take care of that this year. At least it is something I can take care of here at The Gulch.
==++++++==
This isn’t news to any of us space geeks that have been paying attention to the news.
Boeing’s Starliner Is Such a Disaster That We Don’t Even Have Words
I don’t know if it is just Boeing or if it’s NASA or both that have led to this piece of junk.
Boeing's Starliner, originally intended to serve as an alternative to SpaceX's workhorse Dragon spacecraft, has been nothing short of a disaster.Not that it really matters all that much seeing as the ISS will only be in service for another 4 years (maybe) and the Starliner will have no reason to exist. NASA has spent a couple of billion dollars (that’s billion with a ‘b’) on this barely functional piece of junk.
It's been just over two years since the spacecraft launched to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams on board, a maiden crewed voyage following years of delays and major technical setbacks. But thanks to persistent issues with the thrusters and major helium leaks, the capsule stranded the duo in space for nine months, and eventually returned without anybody on board.
Since then, Boeing has continued to struggle to get its act together — over a decade and a half after it struck up its Commercial Crew Program contract with NASA. As Spaceflight Now reports, the long-awaited follow-up to the calamitous test flight — which won't even have a crew on board — still doesn't have an official launch date and could be as far as a year away.
It doesn’t help that Boeing is the aerospace company it used to be after McDonnell Douglas took it over years ago and changed from a ‘can do’ engineering company that also built airplanes and spacecraft to one that managed to screw up the venerable 737 airliner, the mainstay of commercial aviation for decades.
Rather than wasting anymore taxpayer money trying to make this hanger queen serviceable, it would be cheaper for NASA to buy Dragon spacecraft from SpaceX...or better yet, hire SpaceX to take care of all its manned mission requirements. At least SpaceX still has that “can do” mindset that used to be part and parcel of NASA in the past and can do it a heck of a lot cheaper than Boeing can.
As someone who has been space geek since Alan Shepard became the first American in space, I have to say that NASA has become one big disappointment.
==++++++==
I saw this earlier last week and it took me a while to decide whether or not it was good news or bad news. Maybe you can figure out which it is.
Auto Glass Repair Businesses Suffer As Oakland Break-ins Decline
So, it’s good that people smashing glass to break into cars and trucks has declined, meaning less property crimes of that type in Oakland.
But it’s bad news for all the businesses that have been replacing all that broken glass because there’s not as much business as there was in the past.
I’m leaning more towards the “It’s Good News” side of the debate.
==++++++==
I have to agree with those who think that SNAP benefits should not be eligible to be used for junk food.
Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill pressed a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) advocate Thursday on why taxpayers should pay for sugary drinks.Coca-Cola, Cheetos, Doritos, Twinkies, and thousands of other ‘junk’ foods are not necessary to meet the nutritional needs of SNAP recipients. That’s just more of our hard earned dollars going to waste and running up the size of the grocery tab while at it.
The House Oversight subcommittee examined waste, fraud and abuse in SNAP, a roughly $100 billion program that provides food for more than 40 million Americans. Gina Plata-Nino, director of policy and advocacy for the Food Research and Action Center, could not provide a straight answer on why tax dollars should cover SNAP recipients’ sugary drinks.
“You think they need Coca Cola to survive?” Gill asked. “You think that’s the most appropriate use of our tax dollars? … Do the American people need Coca-Cola to survive? You think there’s some Americans who need Coca Cola to survive? Is that your testimony? … I think most people can rationally say that you don’t need Coca Cola to survive, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I agree that we have a hunger crisis and that we need to address it by ensuring that people have the food resources that we need,” Plato-Nino said.
==++++++==
I had to read this three times to make sure that it wasn’t a typo or an unlabeled Babylon Bee post. But it looks like it is legit.
Don Lemon Admits Trump Is a ‘Media Genius’ Who Played CNN Like a Fiddle
According to one of CNN’s more infamous ex-anchors, the network’s adversarial relationship with President Donald Trump isn’t actually quite as antagonistic as it seems.It seems they didn’t realize that Trump has always known how to play the media. He’s been doing it for decades. He understands how the media works, understands how politics works...though I will admit that he didn’t truly understand how Washington works at the beginning of his first term in office. (He more than made up for that during his second term when he hit the ground running and didn’t waste any time after taking the oath of office.)
Ex-CNN host Don Lemon — no stranger to recent controversy — recently appeared on the “What Now?” podcast, which is hosted by former “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah.
The two men covered a wide range of topics, all with a heavy leftist slant, but the conversation did get a bit critical of a nominally left-leaning network in CNN.
“Did you guys at CNN ever know that [Trump] was, like, playing you guys like puppets?” Noah asked Lemon. “Did you ever figure it out at some point?”
“Oh, yeah,” Lemon replied.
The 60-year-old Lemon continued: “So, I think, honestly, they maybe knew somewhere in the beginning, but it was good for business. Do you remember Les Moonves? He goes, you know, ‘Trump is bad for the country, but he’s good for business.'”
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it again – Trump is like a stage magician showing the rubes (the media and the Democrats) the shiny object in his right hand, using it to distract them while with the left hand he’s getting things done.
==++++++==
In last week’s TOAS, I mention the underwhelming response to the opening of the new Obama Presidential Library.
Now to add insult to injury, it seems that none of the visitors to the Presidential Library could name a single accomplishment by The Won during his eight years in office.
On Thursday, Johnny Belisario, a producer for Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime, conducted a series of “man-on-the-street” interviews with visitors to the newly opened Barack Obama Presidential Center. He had one question: “What has been Barack Obama’s greatest accomplishment?”That’s sad. Just sad. For all of the things he has claimed he’s done, visitors couldn’t name a single one? I find that disturbing to no end.
The results were startling. Remarkably, none of the people interviewed — visitors who respected Obama enough to honor his legacy at his presidential center — could name a single success.
One middle-aged woman said, “Right now it is, you know, I can’t remember, it was a lot.”
A second woman replied, “I can’t think now. You caught me off guard. … Somebody help me out.”
“I’m gonna have to say just being there,” another responded.
I am certainly not going to claim it was Obamacare, something that has failed spectacularly and made medical even more expensive all while eating up hundreds of billions of dollars. I am not going to say it was all the “racial healing” he brought up again and again, because if anything, he set back race relations years, if not decades.
I will give him credit for one thing, that being the ugliest Presidential Library in US history.
==++++++==
Fortunately for me it is going to be a short work week as I will be taking a couple of vacation days the extend the Fourth of July weekend. As such, it means I only have to deal with Monday and Tuesday at work, and almost all of that will be paperwork.
==++++++==
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where preparations for the Fourth of July continue, the weather looks like it’s going to cooperate (mostly), and where the thought of Monday doesn’t bother me this week because I have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off.
6/27/2026
Nuclear Power Returning To New Hampshire (And The US)?
It looks like New Hampshire is preparing for a nuclear power renaissance, something Governor Ayotte promised when she ran for governor.
Between signing an executive order earlier this year creating a road map for next generation nuclear power and a conference this past week focusing on a return of nuclear power to New Hampshire, with the focus being on Small Modular Reactors, it shows New Hampshire is serious about bringing modern nuclear technology back to the state and to greatly expand its power generation capacity.
Nuclear power, at least here in New Hampshire, won’t be pursuing the old One Big Nuclear Power Plant model as it’s too expensive and take too long to build. SMRs can get the job done much more quickly and at a much cheaper price per megawatt-hour. The SMRs aren’t using “your grandfather’s nuclear technology”. (I have found that a lot of folks who are against nuclear power think we’ll b e building plants using technology from 60 years ago!) The new Generation III and Generation IV reactor technology is better, safer, and cost less money to build, operate, and maintain. Some of them can even use ‘depleted’ nuclear fuel from the older Generation II nuclear power plants for fuel which helps get rid of the nuclear waste problem.
Seems to me we should look more deeply into this across the nation.
Between signing an executive order earlier this year creating a road map for next generation nuclear power and a conference this past week focusing on a return of nuclear power to New Hampshire, with the focus being on Small Modular Reactors, it shows New Hampshire is serious about bringing modern nuclear technology back to the state and to greatly expand its power generation capacity.
The traditional look of nuclear power generation, with the big cooling towers, will most likely not be what next-generation nuclear energy looks like in New Hampshire.The idea behind the use of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) is that they wouldn’t be expensive to build like the previous generation of nuclear power plants like the existing plants in operation, like the one in Seabrook, New Hampshire. The would be built on an assembly line, then transported to the build site, installed, tested, licensed, and turned on. Plants like Seabrook took many years to build, in some cases due to delays caused by lawsuits by anti-nuclear organizations and hostile state legislation that destroyed funding mechanisms that greatly increased the costs of construction. (Seabrook was plagued by both of these problems which caused the original price of $800 million to balloon to $6.2 billion and bankrupted the utility company building the plant.)
--snip--
Small modular reactors were among the topics being discussed at the conference this week.
"This technology, we believe, could provide a real savings going forward," said Jared Chicoine, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Energy. "When it comes to development, we believe we're a few years away from that, but New Hampshire is taking the steps to investigate what this could mean for us in the future."
New companies like StarCube are working on advanced portable microreactors. StarCube CEO Bill Spellane said it could be some time before such technology is deployed in New Hampshire.
"There's some policy decisions that have to be made," he said. "The ISO New England queue is three to five years long. We are looking to deploy our first reactor in a slightly different way before 2030."
There are skeptics when it comes to next-generation nuclear. Some like its potential to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, but they worry about how expensive it is to produce this kind of power.
Nuclear power, at least here in New Hampshire, won’t be pursuing the old One Big Nuclear Power Plant model as it’s too expensive and take too long to build. SMRs can get the job done much more quickly and at a much cheaper price per megawatt-hour. The SMRs aren’t using “your grandfather’s nuclear technology”. (I have found that a lot of folks who are against nuclear power think we’ll b e building plants using technology from 60 years ago!) The new Generation III and Generation IV reactor technology is better, safer, and cost less money to build, operate, and maintain. Some of them can even use ‘depleted’ nuclear fuel from the older Generation II nuclear power plants for fuel which helps get rid of the nuclear waste problem.
Seems to me we should look more deeply into this across the nation.
6/26/2026
6/21/2026
Thoughts On A Sunday
It was the last day of Laconia Motorcycle Week and I can say that it has been pretty good. Yes, traffic wasn’t great at times. Local eateries were full of bikers “from away”. The same of the local ice cream stands and supermarkets. But all in all, it was pretty good. I know I haven’t had any real complaints. The only problematic weather we had to deal with was during this past Thursday when there were thunderstorms passing through and the Weather GuysTM issued a tornado watch for the entire state. During the rest of the week and both weekends the weather was quite nice which certainly helped bring out the crowds of bikers.
Not that there won’t be motorcycles around after Bike Week ends. We see groups of them around from late spring through early to mid-fall, with their presence tapering off after foliage season. New Hampshire has miles and miles of scenic roads all throughout the state, as does neighboring Maine and Vermont. That we see groups of motorcyclists traveling around, enjoying scenery, restaurants, and attractions is no surprise.
Oh, and one more thing:
It’s the first day of Summer!!
It looks like Derek Hunter over at Townhall has brought up a question too many folks in the Democrat Party have been choosing to ignore, that question being “Were Democrats Always This Dumb?”
I admit that my first thought was “No. It’s only been over the past few decades we’ve seen their collective IQ tumble.” To paraphrase one of the commenters to the piece put it, I didn’t really understand politics until the late 1960’s/early 1970’s and the Democrats didn’t seem dumb back then. Misguided, maybe, but not dumb.
Frankly, none of this surprises me in the least. The latest ‘dumb’ stuff from Germany?
German Wind Turbines Face Regulatory Shutdown Due To Excessive Noise
One would thing the Germans of all people would have figured that into their calculations when they decided to go all Net Zero. It’s only been after the fact that they started regulating noise levels from wind turbines and it’s starting to come back to bite them. (We have to remember they also planned to cut down a “storybook forest” that has been around for centuries in order to build more wind turbines.)
If they want quiet, they should consider recommissioning their nuclear power plants as they are pretty quiet and only take up a fraction of the land that wind turbines do for an equivalent amount of power generated.
It seems the Germans have fallen into the “replacing what works with things that sound good” paradigm. In this case the “sounds good” part isn’t true because the turbines are making too much noise.
Apparently a lot of people are not enamored with the new Obama Presidential Library. I think the kindest thing I heard it called was ‘monstrosity’. I have to say that it is indeed ‘fugly’.
As seen on another blog, Bustedknuckles, it looks more like a large refuse can.
How much money was wasted on this...this thing?
It was Father’s Day today and we celebrated it over a BeezleBub’s with some nice brisket he’d made. He broke out the smoker, fired it up, and a few hours later we were dining on nice brisket.
All in all, it was a pretty nice celebration and a great dinner!
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the roar of motorcycles has faded away, the traffic has died down...until next weekend, and where Monday is coming around again.
Not that there won’t be motorcycles around after Bike Week ends. We see groups of them around from late spring through early to mid-fall, with their presence tapering off after foliage season. New Hampshire has miles and miles of scenic roads all throughout the state, as does neighboring Maine and Vermont. That we see groups of motorcyclists traveling around, enjoying scenery, restaurants, and attractions is no surprise.
Oh, and one more thing:
It’s the first day of Summer!!
==++++++==
It looks like Derek Hunter over at Townhall has brought up a question too many folks in the Democrat Party have been choosing to ignore, that question being “Were Democrats Always This Dumb?”
I admit that my first thought was “No. It’s only been over the past few decades we’ve seen their collective IQ tumble.” To paraphrase one of the commenters to the piece put it, I didn’t really understand politics until the late 1960’s/early 1970’s and the Democrats didn’t seem dumb back then. Misguided, maybe, but not dumb.
It’s a rhetorical question, but it’s one worth asking: Were Democrats always like this? Did they always hate the country? Did they always side with our enemies if they didn’t like the President? Did they always choose abusers of women if they voted in the right way? Were they always willing to overlook anything, no matter how horrendous, if it was done by someone on their team? Ultimately, the real question is whether or not Democrats were always this dumb?The ‘dumb’ has been taking over the Democrat Party and is moving higher up the ‘chain of command’. That does not bode well for either the Democrats of the nation.
I’m not talking dumb, as is a stupid person, no. Kamala Harris is a stupid person, educated well beyond her intelligence, famous for tossing word salads full of empty calories and meaningless platitudes.
--snip--
Kamala Harris was chosen to be Joe Biden’s running mate because she, like a short person hanging out with midgets to seem taller, was one of the few people on the planet who could make Joe Biden seem smarter than he was.
Harris, however, was more the norm than an outlier.
==++++++==
Frankly, none of this surprises me in the least. The latest ‘dumb’ stuff from Germany?
German Wind Turbines Face Regulatory Shutdown Due To Excessive Noise
Wind turbines are not only blighting Germany’s landscape everywhere, but are also creating excessive noise.Anyone that lives near a wind turbine knows they generate noise, including infrasound that is below the human frequency hearing range. It can all have a deleterious effect on health, not just of humans but of domestic animals and wildlife, too. I find it difficult to think that Germany didn’t take any of this into account beforehand.
Germany’s online Blackout News reports that two Nordex wind turbines are exceeding the permitted nighttime noise limits at the Königseiche wind farm near Uhingen-Baiereck, (south Germany).
One would thing the Germans of all people would have figured that into their calculations when they decided to go all Net Zero. It’s only been after the fact that they started regulating noise levels from wind turbines and it’s starting to come back to bite them. (We have to remember they also planned to cut down a “storybook forest” that has been around for centuries in order to build more wind turbines.)
If they want quiet, they should consider recommissioning their nuclear power plants as they are pretty quiet and only take up a fraction of the land that wind turbines do for an equivalent amount of power generated.
It seems the Germans have fallen into the “replacing what works with things that sound good” paradigm. In this case the “sounds good” part isn’t true because the turbines are making too much noise.
==++++++==
Apparently a lot of people are not enamored with the new Obama Presidential Library. I think the kindest thing I heard it called was ‘monstrosity’. I have to say that it is indeed ‘fugly’.
The Obama Presidential Center finally opened to the public on Friday (not that you care), and the verdict from the internet was swift and brutal. People are calling it a "monstrous insult to architecture," a "concrete nightmare," and simply a "monstrosity." Social media has spent the week comparing the thing to a trash can and a dystopian movie set, which, having seen the photos, feels generous.It looks more like a defensive installation one would find on the Death Star of the Empire of Star Wars fame. I keep waiting to see the pulse cannons to deploy and fire.
It’s hideous.
Naturally, the man who helped design the building's most mocked feature has a different take. Chris Bird, the Washington structural engineer who designed the upper portion of the center's towering centerpiece, sat down with Fox News Digital just before the doors opened and insisted the design is not a monstrosity at all. It's a "grand gesture." A "bold statement." Something with "no architectural precedent."
As seen on another blog, Bustedknuckles, it looks more like a large refuse can.
How much money was wasted on this...this thing?
==++++++==
It was Father’s Day today and we celebrated it over a BeezleBub’s with some nice brisket he’d made. He broke out the smoker, fired it up, and a few hours later we were dining on nice brisket.
All in all, it was a pretty nice celebration and a great dinner!
==++++++==
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the roar of motorcycles has faded away, the traffic has died down...until next weekend, and where Monday is coming around again.
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