Guard Dog

1929 checks those boxes LOL! Actually here’s how I know there’s no such thing as time travel. Nobody was short selling US steel and Standard Oil in August of ‘29.

Vacationing Trump Says Afghanistan Better Than United States Referring to their election security. You know what he should do? Go buy an island and declare it an independent country. Make himself President for life and then open it up to immigration for any of his fans here in the US. The proverbial two birds with one stone solution!

I watched Wonder Woman 1984 last night. It was a decent 90 minute movie spread out over 2 and a half hours. And Cheetah kind of got the short shrift didn't she? I'd give it a B-.

Ugh. That was an abortion of a movie. It actually made the sequels to the original Death Wish look good. And they were terrible.

Why We Can’t Stop Longing for the Good Old Days WSJ but no paywall on this article for some reason. @Gromnir has hit this point a few times and it made me think. I was reminded of it again reading this piece. People pine for a "good old days" that, objectively speaking, were not all that good. But, individual frame of reference goes a long way to color your idea of what the "good old days" were. Especially if it's within your lifetime. Just curious though. If you could live anywhere and at any time other than this one, where do you go and why? For me it's a no brainer. I'd choose the life of a free trapper in the pre-civil war American west. Settlers had been drifting west the entire 19th century but after the end of the Civil War Manifest Destiny really hit the gas and f----d the whole thing up. I'd have loved to have seen it before that.

I watched Death Wish (the 1974 Charles Bronson version) for the first time in years today. It was better than I remembered it but misses a pretty big point: self defense and vigilantism are two different things. Not saying all his killings WERE justifiable as self defense because a couple of guys were shot in the back while fleeing and one got a second shot while down to make sure he was dead. That isn't self defense. But aside from the fact that it took place in New York where it is illegal to even think about owning a firearm (more so in the 70's than now even) most of his shootings would have been justifiable.

The treadmill bit was one small part of a $600k+ grant that was a squandered on a mostly irrelvant study. I do not give a f--k how economically important shrimp are. If studies like that need to be done they can be funded by interested parties. Not the taxpayer. This so called stimulus bill also set aside $2M to study whether or not hot tubs can reduce stress. Speaking of treadmills according to the WSJ it set aside $1.5M for a study on how quadiped reptile joints work and part of that will pay for THEIR treadmills so they can be 3D imaged while using them. You are a pragmatic guy. Does that sound like a good use of taxpayer dollars in a country that is $27T in debt AND dealing with record unemployment (meaning revenues are dropping as spending skyrockets)? We are one crisis away from hyperinflation of the dollar bur we just gave Tunisia $48M to help "disconnected youth" get internet access. I'd go sit in my hot tub to reduce my stress but I don't f-----g HAVE one because the DC Rats are giving away 28% of my salary every year. As far as changing the government rather than being mad at it, change it into what? A responsible economic manager? Which political party would that be? This bill was bi-fu---ng- partisan. That means we need to get rid of BOTH the Democrats AND the Republicans. Well, I'm trying to do just that by my voting habits. Which, I believe, several people have tryped a great deal of text expaining to me how I was wasting my vote that way.

Any idea what it can be? In 27 days he’s out of office and there is absolutely nothing anyone anywhere I can do about it. Whether or not he gets prosecuted for anything he did before after his term as president is not up to anybody that he can influence. This is a man with very little leverage over anyone. And he certainly isn’t going to get any this way. What do you think his endgame could be here?

Look at it on the bright side. At least Sudan get 700 million, Pakistan gets 10 million for gender studies, AIDS workers a broad get to buy brand new cars at taxpayer expense, and the office of budget analysis gets to have $1.5 million for a reception. Nothing like partying on the taxpayer dime. You guys wonder why I hate the f——-g government. I wonder why you don’t. When the unwashed ignorant plebeians start getting restless about the way their money is being squandered the sewer rats throw them a little bone. Here take your $600 and shut up. Now, take your $600 and stop questioning what your betters do with "their" money you dirty ignorant pesants. Never forget... your tax dollars that you worked to earn paidfor this: Life at Pacific | The Original Shrimp on a Treadmill - YouTube Oh, by the way, before anyone gets on their goddamned partisan high horse, both parties wrote and backed this BS bill. And while we're on the subject I'll just leave this here: www.usdebtclock.org In April of 1775 a militia of pissed off and resolute men started a war with the most powerful nation on earth over less. If we were even one quater the men they were the rats in DC would never even attempt this kind of bulls--t.

Obama. As bad as his authoritiaian bent was Trumps was worse because it does not even pay lip service to Constitutonal restrictions or legalities. Obama was not at all afraid to bend the law when no one was looking. Nor was he afraid to use the apparatus of government to hurt peope if it furthered his own ends. He was terrible, but Trump is worse. Plus had Obama lost in 2012 he would have walked away with his head held high. He would never have pitched this hissy fit we are getting from Trump.

Even just your familiy will be hiding and keeping quiet like Anne Frank in the basement. The Illinois state police candetect wrapping paper being torn from a mile away. They will kick down the door, shoot everyone in sight, then congratualte themselves for protecting you from Corona!

At least Ahab had a legit beef. No one bit Trumps leg off nor deprived him of what was legitimately his. Of course there is no convincing him of that.

No plans really. Just hanging out with Sunny and probably playing FO4 or reading a book.

Trump turns on Pence and staffers who say he lost I’d say this was all a joke but it’s just not funny. It’s not even sad. It’s worse than that.

I believe I do represent my views 95% of the time. Although I will admit sometimes I will stake out a contrarian position just to be the devil’s advocate. The discussion on whether Congress critters should be for bidden from trading in stocks while in office is an example of that. It’s nothing I have a very strong opinion about one way or the other. Although my knee-jerk reaction anytime the government says someone cannot do something (or must do something) is “screw you“. I do have a strong antiauthority streak. And a very strong desire to just be left alone. I do want a government that protects and respects individual rights and liberties. I also want a government that does not abuse our tax dollars. And I want 10 million dollars. The last one I believe is the one I’m most likely to get. So if we can’t get what we want I figure I’ll take the next best thing. A government that is immobilized by the infighting and intransigence of its members. The thinking being they can’t screw us if they’re trying to screw each other. Of course last night they showed everybody just tell wrong that notion is. I am a card carrying dues paying member of the United States libertarian party. I have voted for the libertarian candidate in every election since 1996 except for 2008 when I voted for John McCain. I do not think the Libertarian party would do a particularly good job running the country. In fact if they got everything they wanted all at once it would be a hot mess. However with the Democrats tilting farther and farther left in the Republicans becoming whatever the hell they are becoming the only advocate for limited government and individual liberty left in the US political spectrum is the libertarian party. That’s why I support them. In a nutshell that’s my political beliefs system. I think for the most part I have been pretty consistent.

You were wondering whether it was more important to have ideological compatible candidates who are corrupt or honest candidates who are ideologically incompatible. The short answer is it’s a false choice to think you have to choose between the two. Selecting the lesser evil is still choosing evil.

I don’t see is how we have to choose between the two. That’s the kind of “transactional thinking” Gromnir was warning against. In most respects Donald Trump was a better candidate to protect individual liberty than Hillary Clinton ever could’ve been. I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. It’s quite possible he would even have been a better candidate for individual liberty than Joe Biden. I still didn’t vote for Donald Trump. It would be a cold day in hell before I supported a man like that. If a political figure is corrupt and I really don’t give a damn where he sits on the political spectrum. He’s not worthy of the office he sits in. If you were asking me if I would rather see an honest authoritarian or a corrupt libertarian my answer would be neither. I reject the notion that it’s a choice of two. There is always a third option even if it’s only “none of the above“. Like I said your vote is your name. No candidate is owed that just because they mostly agree with you or they presume you have to pick some lesser evil. You don’t. now the great legal barbarian of the west takes that a one step further than I do. Trump is a terrible president, a corrupt authoritarian and the Republicans supported him. Therefore the Republicans deserve to lose. Can’t fault his thinking on that. But I would rather see the Republicans retain control of some of the government so the Democrats do not have total power. I’m pulling very hard for one or both of the republican candidates in Georgia to win their respective races and deny the Democrats complete control of Washington. But for what it’s worth if everything were reversed and the Democrats were trying to prevent complete Republican control of Washington I would be pulling for the Democrats in that instance. Politically united government is a thing to be feared and avoided. Just my opinion. In the particular instance of the Georgia runoff I don’t know that any of the four candidates are corrupt or not. All of them have said and done some morally questionable things from what I’ve read. I don’t think any of those four are any dirtier than the rest of the rats in the sewer

On another note did anybody watch the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn last night? I tried to get a picture of it through binoculars. Didn’t turn out so well. Was not as bright as I was expecting it to be.

Trump did not have control of his assets while in office. I’m not sure who did. The presidents finances are managed in a blind trust while they serve. When it comes to corruption in Congress there are many, many forms it can take. Insider trading is probably the least and easiest to detect. I’ll be honest I don’t really have a strong opinion on this one way or the other. But it seems like a pretty hard sell because you’re going to have to get the Congress critters to agree to do that to themselves.

I live alone these days. But I always try to make Christmas something different, something special. Even if it’s just for the critters. My first wife and I made stockings for all of our puppies. I still have three of them and put them up with a little tree every year. Desiree and Tommy of course have been gone for several years. But I still put them up with Sunny’s. I put presents in hers. She will get some scrambled eggs and steak strips added to her breakfast Christmas morning. Me too LOL. I bought the chickens a big bag of Happy Hen dried mealworms. You should see how they go nuts for that! They may not know the difference from Christmas Day and any other but it makes me happy to see them happy. The one thing I miss both this year Thanksgiving and Christmas is dinner at the VFW. A lot of the guys came and brought their families and it was usually a big cheerful party. Obviously we didn’t do that this year. Maybe next. When my first divorce was done I had a really bad time dealing with it. I was extremely depressed, terribly lonely, and completely and totally broke financially speaking. I hate to admit it but there were times during those days I started to wonder if the World would not be better off if I were not in it. For me those feelings amplified between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But there are always good reasons to go on and every low is followed by a high later. You just have to focus on the positive things in your life. And there’s always something in everyone’s life that’s a positive.

Which? if it was reasonable to keep people from profiting from their positions of influence? Well it’s already illegal to do that. It’s called insider trading and people do go to jail for that. Heck you can get dismissed from Congress for even the suspicion. The ethics committee takes that pretty seriously. Unless you’re a member of the majority party. Or the question was it OK for the government to make slavery illegal? If you ask me that should’ve been settled before the constitution was even ratified. The folks in 1788 did the country no favors by not eliminating slavery before the constitution was even ratified. I realize there was a chance they would lose Georgia and South Carolina over that. If that was the price it should have been paid. They could not have lasted on their own economically. A Civil War and generations of suffering might have been avoided. but on the other hand there are a lot of people living happy and productive lives in the United States today, particularly people of color, who would never have been born. So even in terrible things there’s usually an upside. anyway back on the topic at hand. If you want to set up some kind of a blind trust for Congress members the way the president and vice president have that would be one way to go. But you cannot tell one American they may not do some legal activity another American can do. Surely you see the legal problem with that idea right?

Not even the same thing is it? Stocks and securities are not living humans. When the president and vice president get elected to office all of their assets are placed in a blind trust and managed by someone else. I suppose you could try to do something like that for a congressman or senator. But passing a law for bidding them to manage their own assets without some alternative is a non starter. Besides some of these old birds spent 30 years in politics. Stock and securities are a vital part of retirement planning for pretty much everybody now.

My knee-jerk reaction is who the hell does the government think it is trying to tell a citizen of the United States they cannot make a legal transaction with their own money.

Correct me if I'm wrong... isn't espionage an act of war? Doesn't anyone thing the President, either of them... should say something about this? I'm not suggesting we expel all ambassadors and go to DEFCON 2 but surely there is SOMETHING they should be doing?