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Guard Dog

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    Politics 2017 part II

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Great opinion piece: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/7/george-orwells-1984-book-awakens-liberals/

     

    I must admit I find the irony of the left "rediscovering" Orwell, Huxley, & Sinclair to be as thick as buttercream frosting. After years, hell, generations of enthusiastically advocating  for a near totalitarian Federal Government that ignored it's Constitutional restraints and ruthlessly prosecuted political dissent (not with prisons or labor camps but with the IRS) all while spying on the communications of every American the left is waking up. Now that someone they don't like is in full control of this monster they have created they are railing against the dangers of overreach.

     

    I'd be more encouraged except that I know nothing has changed. They read books like 1984 and don't see themselves in it, only the politics they don't like. And the right is the same I'm sorry to say. Oh there has been some vocal dissent in the Congress to what Trump is doing . That at least is better then the fawning praise Obama received when he ignored the 10th Amendment, the 5th Amendment, the 4th Amendment, the 2nd Amendment, and helped Congress warp the Commerce Clause into something unrecognizable. But as I've said many times the real danger of overreach is when people like the outcome.

     

    Even the right of center members of this board like WoD (who is no fool despite the grief he takes here) should be doubly  suspicious of Trump given his background and his politics looks to be giving the government the benefit of the doubt when it's his "side" in control. The truth is they are ALL villains. The may not start out that way but the notion of "forcing" you to do something because they know best for you is  no less terrible no matter who is doing  it. Restricting the freedom, movements, access to information and knowledge or economic opportunities of US Citizens and legal US residents and visitors is terrible no matter who is doing it. Infringing on rights (which, as is enshrined right in that annoying Constitution) do not come from Governments or anyone else but from God and are yours from the moment you are born, is a terrible thing.

     

    I'm glad to see the left "re-discovering" the evils of totalitarianism (even in small amounts... a nibble of poison is still poison) but I'm not hopeful they will learn from it. The left more than anyone else still suffers from Hayek's "Fatal Conceit": they believe they are smarter than everyone else,  better educated than everyone else, therefor they should rule everyone else.

     

    OK, that is my morning rant. Carry on everyone.

    • Like 2

    alternative facts

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

     

    You are wrong Gromnir. There really WAS a Bowling Green massacre. Last September Ohio State beat them 77-10, That must be what Conway was talking about!

    possible.  am knowing ohio state has more than a few student-athletes who likely scored worse on their sat/act than would the typical somali refugee, but as flagrant as is urban meyer's abusing o' ncaa regulations when he were at florida and now at ohio st. is hardly rising to the level o' terrorism.  close, perhaps.

     

     

     

    Only if you are a Michigan fan.

    Politics 2017 part II

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Everyone is in a tizzy over Trump criticizing Judge Robar on Twitter. It was a low class thing to do. But they took no issue with Barack Obama criticizing the Supreme Court during a State of the Union address over the Citizens United ruling. I guess it's only a bad thing when you don't like the President doing it. Kind of like when Barack Obama banned refugees from Iraq... twice. And Cuba at the end.

     

    You know the biggest problem with politics in the US today? There is no "good" side. Both sides of this duopoly are completely populated by rabidly power mad would-be-tyrants looking to screw everyone else over to the mindless cheers of the sycophants who supported them. Barack Obama was one of the worst Presidents in living memory because he was so abusive of the authority of his office. My God he was using the IRS as a sick form of "thought police" and was all for using weaponized drones to kill America citizens with no due process of law. He considered using the US Military again protesters in Nevada and actually had to be talked out of it. And now we have Donald f-----g Trump and his first three weeks are making the Obama years look like a preview of coming attractions.

    • Like 3

    earth day 2017

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

     

    Hopefully that march will have a fun turnout. Hopefully will come across some sneering about how one doesn't protest as they have jobs (though, I guess those people aren't lucky enough to have vacation days ? :p) so salaries can be compared

    The 22nd is a Saturday. 

     

    Amusingly, the Saturday immediately before that is also a target date for some significant anti-Trump activity.  The 15th is traditionally the day that income tax filings are due (the actual date this year will slide to the 18th because of the weekend and a DC-only holiday, but the 15th is generally still thought of as "Tax Day"), and, of course, he still refuses to release any of his tax information. 

     

     

    Nice to see you back around Enoch. We haven't heard much from you lately.

    What you did today

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    I rained last night. Then got cold. Below freezing cold. So I walked out back this morning to feed the chickens (not one of whom bothered to leave their heated house) and slipped in ice on the porch steps. No now I mave the makings of an ugly bruise on my hip and I am already getting sore.

     

    I hate getting old. 10 years ago I would have jumped right back up and laughed about it. 20 years ago I'd have caught myself before falling. Now, I'm just going back to bed.

    Politics 2017 part II

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

     

     

    Guys this is huge news and a very interesting development,   a federal judge has temporarily halted the Muslim travel ban "Federal Judge James Robart, a George W. Bush appointee who presides in Washington state, temporarily stopped the order" 

     

     

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38864253

     

     

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/federal-judge-temporarily-halts-trump-travel-ban-nationwide-ag-says/

     

    I notice how you pointed out that the judge was a Bush appointee. That is not supposed to matter. As Gromnir put it earlier, a judge is a judge first. If they law is not applied equally then there is no law.

     

    Nope, I didnt point it out. Thats directly from the CNN article, paragraph 3. I was merely quoting to set context for the article 

     

     

    Sorry Bruce, I stand corrected.

    • Like 1

    Politics 2017 part II

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Guys this is huge news and a very interesting development,   a federal judge has temporarily halted the Muslim travel ban "Federal Judge James Robart, a George W. Bush appointee who presides in Washington state, temporarily stopped the order" 

     

     

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38864253

     

     

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/federal-judge-temporarily-halts-trump-travel-ban-nationwide-ag-says/

     

    I notice how you pointed out that the judge was a Bush appointee. That is not supposed to matter. As Gromnir put it earlier, a judge is a judge first. If they law is not applied equally then there is no law.

    Politics 2017 part II

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Speaking of fake news the NY Times has omitted the book Gosnell by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer from it's best seller lists even though USA Today as it at #1 non-fiction and Amazon has it at #3. I guess they only rate books they approve of us reading.

     

    Also in the fake news category the UK Daily Mail ran a story that Gorsuch ran a club in his high school called "Facisim Forever". That of course is not true. Not that a story being false has anything to do with running it.

     

    Also apparently protesters at UC Berkley were going to have a demonstration and burn Yannopolis's book because he's a "nazi". It's amazing they are not self-aware enough to see the irony in that!

    • Like 2

    Politics 2017 part II

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

     

    YES! This is a BIG win for the good guys! :http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/federal-judge-rules-against-federal-election-commission-300401603.html

     

     

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A federal court judge yesterday issued an unprecedented ruling that could open the way in 2020 for the first serious challenge in decades by an independent candidate for president.

     

    In a blistering 28-page decision, Judge Tanya Chutkan told the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that in its rejection of a complaint by Level the Playing Field, a non-profit group trying to open up debates to a third candidate, it had acted in a manner that was "arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law."

     

    The Judge ordered the FEC to "reconsider the evidence and issue a new decision consistent with this Opinion within 30 days."

     

    Judge Chutkan blasted the FEC for its "refusal to engage in thoughtful, reasoned decision-making in either enforcement or rulemaking in this case."

    The complaint, filed in September 2014, focused on rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) that have blocked independents from the final fall debates for the past quarter-century.

     

    Step 1 to breaking the Democrat/Republican duopoly is to get Libertarian and Green Party candidates on the stage. Gary Johnson was on the ballot in all 50 States in 2016. There is no good reason he should not have been invited. 

     

    Not saying that would have gone well necessarily.... but still

     

    This poses an issue... On one I do think stepping out of a two-party system is for the best, and there should be a chance given to more parties than just the Dems and Republicans; but living in Argentina where we've always had multiple parties in the running, we've had to sit through twelve years of Kirchnerism not least because the opposition was divided between several smaller parties, none of which wanted to unite or give up their part for the sake of a "greater good". Trump could very well slip into his re-election by finding himself pitted against several "weaker" candidates instead of a unified opposition against him.

     

     

    It won't be a free for all. There will still be a standard. I've always thought ballot access should be the standard. If you can get on the ballot in all 50 Sates then every voter can vote for you. You should be in the debate. There are only four political parties in the US with the wherewithal to get a candidate on the ballot everywhere. The Democrats. the Republicans, the Libertarians, and the Green Party.

    What you did today

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

     

    Huh, you can use sickdays to be free from work, without being ill? We don't really have a limit on how many sickdays you can have per year, just that your employer eventually will demand doctors notes to prove that you really are ill. On the top of my head, I've had 20-25 days I've been ill this year, flu and stomach bugs mostly. Not counting my sickleave for my back that is.

     

    What kind of a job do you have? Don't you worry about infecting your coworkers?

    I'm sure it varies from company to company, but yeah, I can "call in sick" (using one of my 5 sick days) and nobody blinks an eye or expects me to prove it. On the flip side, if I took over one month off due to various illness I would probably be shown the door. :lol: I work in an office and I don't really worry about infecting others. They are always already sick before Ill even sniffle.

     

    When I get sick I come in early and make phone calls on the desk phones of everyone I don't like.

     

    And that is a hell of a lot of phone calls!

    • Like 3

    Politics 2017 part II

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    YES! This is a BIG win for the good guys! :http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/federal-judge-rules-against-federal-election-commission-300401603.html

     

     

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A federal court judge yesterday issued an unprecedented ruling that could open the way in 2020 for the first serious challenge in decades by an independent candidate for president.

     

    In a blistering 28-page decision, Judge Tanya Chutkan told the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that in its rejection of a complaint by Level the Playing Field, a non-profit group trying to open up debates to a third candidate, it had acted in a manner that was "arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law."

     

    The Judge ordered the FEC to "reconsider the evidence and issue a new decision consistent with this Opinion within 30 days."

     

    Judge Chutkan blasted the FEC for its "refusal to engage in thoughtful, reasoned decision-making in either enforcement or rulemaking in this case."

    The complaint, filed in September 2014, focused on rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) that have blocked independents from the final fall debates for the past quarter-century.

     

    Step 1 to breaking the Democrat/Republican duopoly is to get Libertarian and Green Party candidates on the stage. Gary Johnson was on the ballot in all 50 States in 2016. There is no good reason he should not have been invited. 

     

    Not saying that would have gone well necessarily.... but still

    • Like 3

    edumication fael

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted · Edited by Guard Dog

    The US Military is a big fan of using both the carrot and the stick in equal measure. Most other institutions of learning seem to rely on one to the exclusion of the other in my experience.

    edumication fael

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

     

    It wasn't until I got into the Marine Corps that I leared the single most important lesson of my life: Doing just good enough to get by was not good enough. In college I got a 3.0+ all the way through. I'm not one to blame my parents for anything but I think they did me a disservice by allowing me to think a C was a good grade. It really isn't. In the military if you are not excelling you are failing. Now the military is able to motivate someone in ways no public school ever could.

    How so? Honest question.

     

    I know, different countries and cultural differences and all, but overall I found my time in uniform *extremely* demotivating. And the most valuable lesson I learned is maybe... "I really ****ing hate long runs".

     

     

     

    Oh it's not the PT. By the time you've been in a little while you're in good enough shape you can run anywhere. If you enlist with the guarantee of a certain job/school/ MOS it on you to actually PASS. You only get one shot. If you fail then the Corps will pick a new job for you. And you can bet it will not be one anyone else wanted. Don't think infantry either. There are many MOS much, much worse than infantry. Now THAT is motivation.

    edumication fael

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    I was reading KP's post and saw a little bit of myself there too. Minus the drugs of course, never touched them. But I was smart enough tp get by with C's and not exert any real effort. It wasn't until I got into the Marine Corps that I leared the single most important lesson of my life: Doing just good enough to get by was not good enough. In college I got a 3.0+ all the way through. I'm not one to blame my parents for anything but I think they did me a disservice by allowing me to think a C was a good grade. It really isn't. In the military if you are not excelling you are failing. Now the military is able to motivate someone in ways no public school ever could. But as I know Hurlshot has pointed out many times an engaged parent can do a heck of a lot to improve a student's academic perfromance.  

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