Guard Dog

It amazes me to no end. Forget for a moment that Trump did some seriously wrong stuff. And is getting away with it. Just set that aside. It amazes me that the Vice President's son, who knows s--t-all about energy is paid (according to some) $50k a month. to be on the Board of Directors of a foreign energy company he had no prior dealings with. Sure, international business was his business but none of it was in Europe and none of it was energy. Now the Republicans assume automatically it was dirty. The Democrats all assume it smells like rosewater. Nothing is ever wrong when my tribe does it, etc. But the mainstream media, whose job it is to be curious and shine the light of truth just looks the other way. It is not at all a stretch of logic to think maybe something was wrong. That maybe Ukraine was buying favors from the Obama admin by hiring the Vice President's son as a well paid ringer. Especially when a Ukrainian prosecutor looking into it is fired and the Vice President publically brags about demanding it. Is it really such a leap to think something is not on the up and up here? Of course none of that justifies soliciting an investigation for electoral benefit. Nothing could have come of it. It was over. They got away with it. It just amazes me how so few question whether something wrong was done. It doesn't matter. There are few honest people between the Potomac and the Anacostia.

Government loves one thing above all else... money. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/480851-global-digital-tax-talks-to-move-forward Businesses have to EARN your money. They receive what you pay them willingly. You know P... P.... Profit (you have to imagine a millennial sneer spitting that word out). Governments just take it. By force even. Yet somehow some people find that virtuous.

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/01/30/staff-ncos-required-to-earn-college-degrees-the-top-enlisted-marine-could-see-it-coming/ Sounds like some REMF BS to me

I watched Picard episode 1 last night on Amazon after I saw Zor's post. I have a mixed opinion of it. Some things I liked, some I didn't. The plot was intriguing enough to keep me interested. I wasn't expecting them to go Blade Runner but here we are.

Ideally that is what a Representative should be doing. A Senator however is a different story. The 17 Amendment was a mistake I think. The US would be better served if the Senate were the representatives of the State governments. Plus that should invest voters more in the outcomes of their State legislature elections. As for Rand Paul I guess the apple fell farther from the tree than I thought. Or he just found integrity too expensive a trait to maintain.

Knockdown power. A heavier projectile, depending on the propellant charge & weapon barrel length, at roughly equal velocity will have better stopping power. It will likely come at a cost in range. The M-16/M-4 using 5.56mm has a max effective range of 800m. The 7.62mm used by the AK variants has a max effective of 300M. But in truth hitting a man sized target with a M-16 at 800m is more luck than skill. With an M-4 with it's short barrel it's just not happening.

Am I the only one worried about this? https://www.crfb.org/papers/cbos-2019-long-term-budget-outlook?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvc_xBRCYARIsAC5QT9m7GXZcO2z212uMuldNF27QsYBXnS27UfVBlwrPuwil26NG9oxa-fAaAtJxEALw_wcB The outcome of the election is not going to fix this. If Trump wins he will still blow money like a drunken sailor on a 96 hour shore leave. If a Democrat wins, especially one of the two crazy leftwingers spending will skyrocket over that. Bloomberg might be pragmatic enough to rein spending in but not if he is serious with his campaign commercials. The biggest step would be to get out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and the two dozen or so other entanglements that seldom make the news. But only one candidate is promising to do that and she has no shot. It may be this avalanche cannot be stopped. Well, those of you who have investments in the US might want to consider your strategy. Speaking for myself I have gotten out of the stock market all together. 100% of my portfolio is real assets not tied to the US Dollar. And I would avoid bonds because a default is not impossible. Just my $.02

Sad to see Indycar, Formula 1, and Nascar Driver John Andretti passed away. Colon Cancer. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/motorsports/indycar-nascar-driver-john-andretti-dies-after-long-public-battle-with-cancer/ar-BBZusEO?ocid=spartandhp

It's almost time for the 2020 Baseball thread. Camps open in three weeks!

We blame Canada for everything here in North America. There is even a song for it

Nah, just sarcasm

When did Noah build the Ark? Before the rain!

I didn't know service of a lawsuit was optional. Well... not for everyone I guess. https://nypost.com/2020/01/29/hillary-clinton-refuses-to-be-served-tulsi-gabbards-defamation-lawsuit/

The State Assembly is back in session. They are starting to spend the taxpayers money again so I have actual work to do again.

Can't be that. The poll was in Great Britain. They are already hip deep in political parties.

I guess they could try dictatorship for a while and see how that works out. God knows there are plenty of would-be dictators out there.

That is a good point

Yeah I know there was a lot more to it than facebook trolling. That part just strikes me as so laughably stupid that it shouldn't have been near as effective as it was.

It's hard to believe the Russian masterplan was to go on social media and troll. Post fake stuff and stir everyone up. That's it? That's the best you can do? The KGB would be rolling over in their grave. It's even harder to believe that that BS was actually effective. Seriously Americans, WTF? I thought we all reached a point where every one knows not to believe crap you see on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Aren't we just a Company of Fools after all? As far as hacking the DNC & RNC and leaking their e-mails, they are private entities. Had they had better security SW it wouldn't have happened. Had the DNC staff exercised just a modicum of the professionalism most folks take for granted there would have been nothing to release. But, they are nasty and condescending people and couldn't help themselves.

45 Presidents but through most of the first 42 an otherwise friendly Congress has been willing to take them to task. The Democrats had a hammer lock on 87th & 88th Congress and still fought Kennedy over everything. Andrew Johnson is back in the news again. His own party impeached him. Based solely on my own historical recollection (take it for what it's worth) it seems to me a friendly Congress looking the other way while a President does whatever the hell they please is a fairly new development. Mainly 43, 44, & 45.

You misunderstand. I was not drawing any comparison between Trump and Obama. My point was moral outrage at the abuse of power of a President (or anyone else) is entirely based on which team that President (or anyone else) plays for. In '73 is was a Republican, Howard Baker, who brought the tapes to public knowledge. After that the Republicans turned on Nixon and he resigned and fled. There are no such people in the House or Senate today. Whatever integrity they had they sold cheaply. And it the President were a Democrat the Democrats would be doing everything Team Trump and the GOP in the House and Senate is doing. There are no angels in hell. Just quarreling devils.

To say nothing of productivity.

It's not illegal if the President does it. The best interest of the President is the best interest of the nation. That is some scary s--t. I was staring at my radio with my jaw hanging open. You know he's going to get away with this. And when he does a precedent is set. THAT is scary. Now think about this for just a moment. If all of the facts of the case were the same and the President was Barack Obama and the Democrats controlled the Senate those same Democrats prosecuting Trump would be defending Obama even in defiance of logic and the Constitution. Just as the Republicans are doing. Remember that next time you tell me it's necessary to choose the lesser evil. Because if that is true then there isn't one.

We used to watch Barney Miller when I was a kid. I would have been about 10 when it ended. I don't remember the finale but I do remember liking the show. Breaking Bad is still on my "to-do" list. I've never seen an episode. I remember liking the ending to Miami Vice. That show had really lost it's way after the whole amnesia storyline. Crockett & Tubbs walking away from it seemed right. I haven't seen the last season of The Americans yet but from what I heard everyone like how it wrapped up. As for bad endings, did you watch Seinfeld? IMO that ending was like dropping a turd on the floor as you left the room.

Da!