Guard Dog

As a side by side comparison? No, not even close. When Trump succeeds it' almost in spite of himself. Don't get me wrong, he's not stupid. And there is more shtick to his words and actions than folks will credit. But a master manipulator or power driven despot he is not. On the upside if he does this he will give me a perfect answer once and for all when people ask "why don't libertarians support the republicans?'

Jar Jar enabled Palpatine to take power. THAT'S the reference. He's the GOP in one character, not Trump.

So it seems Trump will invoke emergency power to build a wall. So the Republicans who railed against the tyranny of Obama's executive overreach (and it WAS make no mistake) have responded by raising a new tyrant. Well done to the new leader of the GOP: The problem is this is not the end of it. Now a precedent is set. The next President might, no almost f-----g certainly will go farther. Democrats have never been afraid or unwilling to wield power and impose their will at gunpoint. And so we slouch even further down the road to autocracy and while the MAGA crowd cheers the seeds of our destruction are sown. In all seriousness if you can't put toothpaste back in the tube them squeezing even more out was probably a bad f-----g idea don't you think?

Today I learned the meaning of the word "retcon". Somehow I made it is through 47 years without knowing it was even a thing. Some folks have waaaayyy to little too much time on their hands.

He needs to pick a lane. I know why he made the move. He annoyed a lot of LP types during the campaign and his path to a 2020 nomination was rocky to say the least. To say nothing of the endless and endlessly tedious LP self flagellation over who is or isn't "libertarian enough". The problem is by running with Johnson he burned his bridges with the GOP so he is the proverbial man without a country now. I hope he gets in and I hope he makes trouble. I'm not going to vote for him in the primary because I can't. But I wish him nothing but well.

In other important news: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article226148250.html tick tock tick tock tick tock....

My advice to everyone everywhere, because the collapse of the dollar if it happens will not just be a US event, is this: Dedicate a portion of your investments to things that have real value and are not tied to any currency. I'm talking about real assets and commodities here. Gold is a little over priced IMO but that is a good example of something. Real estate is my vehicle of choice right now. Don't go into serious debt. If you are already focus on getting out. This is a biggie. If you have equity, don't borrow against it. At least not long term. If you are not learning about blockchain and crypto currency you really need to be. I'm not saying buy into it. But you should have an understanding of what it is and how it works. I have a very strong suspicion that is a game changer in more ways than people realize. Save some of your income right now. This very day if you are not already doing it. Even if expenses are tight, find a way. And put it somewhere safe. An insured savings account if you have no better ideas. A safety deposit box, whatever. Have access to cash in an emergency. Keep at least a weeks worth on nonperishable food in your house if you can. This might make the rest of the list sound paranoid but it' just good sense. I have a stockpile of food, ammunition, and other things most of you would not even believe if I told you the truth about ti. Well, it costs nothing to store stuff like that and better to have it and never need it than the alternative. Just my $.02

It has already happened Keyrock. It's done. The train is on the track and heading towards the unfinished bridge. It am still be stopped but it won't be. What the next Congress & President need to do is look the US Electorate in the eye and say "No, you can't have a Green New Deal". "No you can't waste money on walls" "No you cannot have medicare for all". " "No you cannot have free college" "No you cannot kick illegals out or stop them all. We need to get them work permits, get them working and paying taxes" "No you cannot have US troops deployed to 160+ of 206 nation in the world." "No you cannot keep starting or involving yourself in new conflicts" "No you cannot tax income of anyone at 70%. Or owned wealth. It only drives it out of the country" "If the United States is going to survive as a political entity we need to cut spending. By a LOT." "We need to remove impediments to economic growth like tariffs and taxes. We need more free trade not less" "We need to curtail defense spending by a lot. We need to shift defense spending focus away from tactical superiority and refocus on strategic superiority." "We need to gradually reintroduce limitations on banking investments." "After our economy begins to grow and spending deficits begin to decrease THEN we'll talk about public spending on infrastructure." None of the candidates so far are saying this. Tick tock tick tock...

That and the fact that they keep kicking the debt ceiling oil barrel down the road (I prefer 'oil barrel' to 'can' as kicking a steel barrel would be more painful than a small aluminum can. Plus calling it a can makes the issue smaller than it is.) instead of dealing with it. I don't want to go default on it, that would be the extreme of extreme last resorts, but repeatedly playing chicken with the debt ceiling isn't good in the long run. At some point, neither side is going to blink, or they blink too late. The outcome is as assured as it is inevitable. Most of the folks in DC believe that as long as the dollar is the world's reserve currency and the currency of international trade it will never collapse. Then they can simple monetize debt (flushing fictional cash into the economy and dealing with inflation and currency devaluation after) whenever they need to. And they are likely right as long as that doesn't change. Meanwhile Bitcoin is beginning to trend upwards again. And a number of nations are beginning to accept bitcoin in trade transactions. I'm sure that's nothing for Americans to worry over right? After all who tweeted what about who is far more important.... tick tock tick tock tick tock....

Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, whomever comes next... it's all irrelevant. Everyone thinks it matters. I used to be the same. It doesn't. THIS matters: http://www.usdebtclock.org/ Tick... tock... tick... tock... No one laughed at Noah when the first drops started to fall

Taking the next three days off work to go to Brownsville for fence building. I'd rather be in my warm, dry office, but spring waits for no one.

Now reading this: Interesting stuff. A lot I didn't know. Also reading this: It's a (very) basic and 35k' overview. But it's a subject I know very little about and in truth have been pretty dismissive of. More and more I think that would be unwise in the future.

It's cloudy, rain expected later. And to make things worse it's a few ticks below freezing. But f--k it. That fence ain't gonna build itself.

That sucks Azdeus, hope it heals quick. In the meantime forget the pain killers. Let me tell you about the wonderful anesthetizing qualities of fine single batch bourbon whiskey.

I'm sure I told this once already but I once saw two guys carrying a hand truck. It was either at Camp Foster or Camp Schwab I forget.

You see Malc... that is why the US is the greatest country on Earth. That girl just got here and already she's back to a healthy weight, found a job as an internet porn star, and has already become a meme! USA, USA, USA In all seriousness you didn't need to go to snopes. It's an internet meme.... nobody with a brain took it seriously to begin with!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGfx3QAV64M

RIP Frank Robinson. 14X All Star Gold Glove in 1958 World Series MVP in 1966 NL MVP 1961 AL MVP 1966 (the only player in history to win the MVP in both leagues) Triple Crown winner in 1966 First black manager in MLB history AL Manager on the year in 1989 First Ballot Hall of Fame in 1982 His number 20 has been retired by three teams, the Reds, Indians, and Orioles. Assistant GM of the Orioles 1995-1999 MLB Vice President on on-field operation 1999-2002

And that's where you're wrong. Just ask Gil Fulbright: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb8StPZOgo8