Saturday, May 11, 2019

The World Needs More Underdogs Not More Victims

Boy, the MSM has been uncharacteristically quiet about the most recent school shooting haven’t they? I suppose it may have something to do with how the perps obtained the guns – stolen from parents who had purchased them legally. More likely it has more to do with the fact that at least one of the two villain shooters is a member of the newest protected fringe identity group: Girls-to-Men. Or is that boys-to-Womyn? It’s so hard to tell which way the kids are going these days. In any event I’m willing to bet the shooters cover at least 2 letters from the LGBTQIA alphabet. I couldn’t tell you for sure which color they represent in the Pride flag, but they’re in there somewhere.

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And the fact that at least one of the two yoots responsible for the shooting was a rabid anti-Trumper, Christian-hating leftist doesn’t help either. The fact that she/he was the daughter/son of *criminal illegal alien from Mexico* who was jailed for a weapons offenses and domestic violence and deported TWICE is likewise unhelpful to the left’s whiney narrative.

Then there’s the issue of the student body at the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) school where the shooting occurred. They refused to accept their designated roll as victims…

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Cripes, these nerdy smart kids don’t make very useful ‘survivors.’  

It must be terrifying for the MSM when the youngest generation appears to have better sense in their teens than they’ve been able to muster even in their dotage. But then, it is a STEM school, not a J-school.

So it looks like this is the best they can come up with: “Students who tackle shooters die as heroes. Some experts worry ‘we’re setting our kids up to be martyrs.’”

“Experts” say:

…the feeling of needing to fight back stems primarily from an active shooter response protocol embraced by many schools and workplaces called "Run, hide, fight," which encourages those in the path of an armed intruder to flee or hide by doing things like using furniture to barricade doors, and as a last resort, to attack the assailant.

Reality, however, says it’s more likely “based on instinct as opposed to a planned-out action as a result of active shooter training instituted at the school.” Imagine that – the hero response being instinctual in some people?

Image result for hero in history quotes

That really doesn’t fit well with the left’s twisted world view where you are either a villain or a victim and there’s no place for heroes.

Image result for villain or victimThe world needs more Underdogs, not more victims

Friday, May 10, 2019

FLOTUS Friday: True American Patriot Edition

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a proper FLOTUS Friday, so here goes.

Image result for melania trump

The MSM love to snipe that the anti-bullying message embedded in Melania’s BE BEST campaign should be taken to heart by our President. They mistake his online insults as bullying rather than a counterbalance to their 99% negative coverage. Oh, my bad…I exaggerated. A bit.

Furthermore it’s possible to consider their own snarky stories about our FLOTUS a little over-the-top in the bullying department as well.

The third Mrs. Trump is private and reserved, and seems to like it that way. The expertly crafted photos, ostensibly edited to protect the privacy of the minors, thoroughly encapsulate how Trump has defined the undefinable role of first lady thus far: She’s there. But, like, not really. – WaPo

That, mind you, is ostensibly neutral reporting. And criticizing Melania for, well, not being Michelle Obama seems both unnecessary and unhelpful.

Former first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign represented a hard-to-argue-with olive branch of her husband’s Affordable Care Act.

With olive branches like that I vote to continue the war

And criticizing her for not being a front for the President’s policies - like Michelle certainly was for her husband’s – seems disingenuous at best.

Unlike past first ladies of the modern era, Trump did not have a hand in building her husband’s political career. “That was never a role she played and therefore may not be a role she’s comfortable with and even resists.”

You know if she had chosen a more active role they would have criticized her for being nothing more than a tool at the mercy of her husband’s evil misogynist ways. Melania is far too smart to let them put her in that corner. But more importantly Donald Trump, unlike all modern presidents, didn’t have a “political career.” He was a builder and entrepreneur until Obama tried to fundamentally transform America into a Latin American socialist paradise. The Donald had no political career until he determined that everyone else running was beholden to everyone and firmly entrenched in the swamp that is the Deep State. That’s when he determined that he was the only one who could transform it back.

For that we will be eternally in your debt, President Donald J. Trump.

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And we thank you too Melania, for sacrificing at least 4 and hopefully 8 of your best years to do something you never imagined, wanted or sought in order to help your husband Make America Great Again.

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For that you are a true American hero and patriot.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

There’s Crazy, Plain Crazy and Then There’s ‘Rationally’ Crazy

This short entry on Instapundit made me LOL. I’ve taken the liberty of reposting it in one of Glenn Reynolds’ own favorite formats - the shot/chaser.

Image result for espresso shot with a morning chaserAn espresso glass for those mornings when a shot just isn’t enough

SHOT: Survey suggests shame around mental illness fading in U.S.

CHASER: YEAH A LOT OF STUFF SUGGESTS THAT

Ain’t that the truth. Or at least some people’s truth. If we can normalize the current fad of transgenderism what can’t we normalize? Naturally this ‘survey’ doesn’t distinguish between types of mental illnesses, so for the purpose of asking the question, anxiety is comparable to psychotic schizophrenia. In more normal times that point alone would disqualify the survey results as having any merit. But in these post-normal times where all things are morally equivalent we will be judged on how well we manage to suppress our frontal lobe capacity to use our God-given facility of judgement.

I’m not sure if this video explains the cause or the effect of this survey, possibly it’s both.

While the most common reactions to the video tended along the lines of “remember when chimps used to play outside?” and “wait till he learns to read and write and starts leaving comments,” I think the bigger question is “have chimps already learned to code?” That would explain a lot.

Image result for that explains a lot

There is some good news however, it appears that not all survey respondents have been brainwashed to the extent that they can no longer exhibit rational judgement.

“Even so, almost half (49 percent) would be uncomfortable dating someone with a mental disorder.”

Image result for my crazy ex

That in itself might help reverse the upward tick in mental illness for future generations.

And speaking of differentiating between the various forms of cray-cray let’s be clear; there is the bat sh*t Trump Derangement Syndrome crazy that ultimately causes you to be a danger to yourself and others. And then there’s the “rationally crazy” kind that tends to help you accomplish your agenda.

China will seal a trade deal with "rationally crazy" Donald Trump as early as Friday, or soon after, because both sides want a resolution to their dispute, according to Li Daokui, a former adviser to China’s central bank.

"President Trump appears to be crazy but I call him rationally crazy - he wants to squeeze a better deal for the US," Li told Bloomberg Television in an interview in Beijing Wednesday. “The two sides, President Trump and China, at the end of the day are rational.” - Bloomberg

Image result for trump crazy like a foxOur President, crazy like a fox

Do you think he’s just an accidental billionaire?

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Because Humans Are That Stupid Sometimes

What if the global warmists are entirely wrong? What if it’s all been an optical illusion?

The trapped water confuses people's senses as they gaze down, with visitors clearly mesmerised by what they're looking atLike this “people under water” illusion created by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich. Visitors can either stroll into the “swimming pool” - an empty room - and gaze up at the rippling water effect, or look down from above.

What if instead of the oceans rising because the ice caps are melting at an alarming rate they are actually shrinking?  And what if it’s all due to those troublesome tectonic plates that created those same oceans billions of years ago - along with all the mountains? Yes, those same tectonic plates that to this day hitch a ride on a slow moving conveyor belt that still causes inconvenient earthquakes and volcanic eruptions when they get to the end of the ride. Wow! Wouldn’t that be something?

A tectonic plate may have peeled apart—and that could shrink the Atlantic Ocean

…If confirmed, the new work would be the first time an oceanic plate has been caught in the act of peeling—and it may mark one of the earliest stages of the Atlantic Ocean shrinking, sending Europe inching toward Canada as predicted by some models of tectonic activity.

Oh boy! New models! How can politicians shamans scientists use this to more effectively control our lives?

Duarte presented some strong arguments, he says, but he cautions that the model needs further testing…“It’s a big statement,” Duarte says of the conclusions, acknowledging that he and his team still have work to do. “Maybe this is not the solution to all the problems.”

Of course it’s not “the solution to all the problems.” In order for that to happen we will have to figure out how to use this information to develop a comprehensive theory that demonstrates that the earth is dying and it’s all due to you using too much toilet paper, eating too much meat, driving your own car and heating your home with evil carbon fuel. Until that time it will remain just another theory of things.

And when this latest delusional thing becomes a real theory, we will need a new shaman leader. Perhaps maybe by then one of the Wee Wons will be old enough to lead us into that promised land of their father and show us to the land where the oceans begin to recede and the planet begins to heal.

Image result for barack obama with daughters

Yeah, because humans are just that stupid sometimes.

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Don’t Get Your Panties In A Bunch

How quickly we’ve moved from the Russia! Russia! Russia! Collusion! Collusion! Collusion! offense to the “Trump could still have obstructed justice — even if he didn't break the lawdefense.

Image result for Hillary claims trump obstructed justice meme“Any Person Other Than Trump Would Have Been Indicted For Obstruction”  – Hillary Clinton

Logic aside, apparently you needn’t have a crime in order to commit obstruction, as explained in this WaPo piece: Barr is wrong: Obstruction of justice doesn’t require another underlying crime.

“It is black letter law that a defendant can satisfy the corrupt intent criterion for obstruction even if the defendant himself committed no underlying crime.”

He cites Hip Hop mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick as an example (which I think in this context is racist but that’s the WaPo’s problem).

Former Detroit mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick went to jail for obstructing justice in 2008 after he lied under oath about an extramarital affair.

Regardless of the ex-mayors race that’s a really bad example as Kawame was convicted on a total of 24 federal felony counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering - in addition to obstruction of justice and perjury. So I’m not sure I’ll put much stock in the author’s legal opinion even though he is “an assistant professor of law at the University of Chicago.” So was Barack Obama and we’ve seen how much he knew about constitutional law.

But getting back to the issue at hand, I see that 426 former federal prosecutors have signed onto a “bipartisan” statement declaring that the behavior described in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report would have resulted in obstruction of justice charges had it not come from a sitting president. Given the number of cases of prosecutorial overreach and outright malfeasance that I personally know of this does not impress me in the least. So my advice to this - I’m willing to guess predominantly Democrat leaning - batch of former prosecutors: don’t get your panties in a bunch.

And regarding their claim that “unchecked obstruction—which allows intentional interference with criminal investigations to go unpunished—puts our whole system of justice at risk,” what about Hillary? She actually deleted emails after a federal investigation was underway. If “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case” against a presidential candidate who BleachBit evidence I fail to see why they would “bring such a case” against the guy who actually won the presidency and did not erase any evidence, remove any investigator,  denying access to any documents or fail to make staff lawyers available to the special prosecutors.

But that’s just me, what do I know? I don’t have a law degree that I can fling around like a partisan noose.

Monday, May 6, 2019

Postmodernism: The Path to Truthiness

“We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.”Pope Benedict XVI

For purposes of our discussion, postmodern politics began with The Big Lie that there is no such thing as absolute truth, only your truth, my truth…whatever.

Image result for "my truth" "your truth"

If Alan Bloom could see us now: things have turned out much worse than he imagined. The Big Lie has become so accepted that the Oxford English Dictionary named “post-truth” the word of the year in 2016.

Post-truth – an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’.

So Joe Biden is free to continue to tell middle America that they are hurting more now than they were when he and BO ran the country. Because that’s his truth that he wants you to accept it as your own.  And Hillary is still free, at least for now, to tell her truth that the election was stolen from her even though she was the architect behind trying to steal it from Donald Trump. Because today absolute truth doesn’t exist, certainly not for political purposes. It has been replaced by truthiness : “the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true.”

Image result for truthiness colbertThe 21st century: when comedians defined the political landscape

Because Hillary feels that she was screwed that makes it her truth and she’s still taking every opportunity to whine about it. Be it in her WaPo OpEd or her blathering from the stage of the Bill and Hill Endless Tour of Former Democratic Icons, where all the seats are cheap.

I note that Bill is no piker in the truthiness business either, adding his 2 cents to the mix: “These people, they don’t believe the same set of rules apply to them that apply to everyone else.” Who says irony is dead?

But back to Hillary’s op-ed, which is much easier to read once you accept the truthiness principle:

The House has already passed sweeping reforms that would strengthen voting rights and crack down on corruption, and now is the time for Democrats to keep their foot on the gas and put pressure on the do-nothing Senate. It’s critical to remind the American people that Democrats are in the solutions business and can walk and chew gum at the same time.

It does seem, looking at the current roster of Dem 2020 presidential candidates, that the primary requirement this time around is precisely that: walking and chewing gum. They wish they had imposed that standard in 2012. Related image

We have to get this right. The Mueller report isn’t just a reckoning about our recent history; it’s also a warning about the future.

It’s not so much a reckoning about our recent history as it is about yours, Hilz. Make sure you’ve got some good lawyers lined up.

Watergate offers a better precedent. Then, as now, there was an investigation that found evidence of corruption and a coverup. It was complemented by public hearings conducted by a Senate select committee, which insisted that executive privilege could not be used to shield criminal conduct and compelled White House aides to testify.

Why is it that every time she talks about criminal conduct we find her in the middle of it?

Image result for hillary clinton watergate fired

And my very favorite line:

This is an urgent threat. Nobody but Americans should be able to decide America’s future.

That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you for years!  But no – Hillary and company want more illegals in the country to do the work that Americans are unwilling to do: vote for Democrats. Build the damn wall! If we can no longer have concrete truth at least give us a concrete wall. 

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Sunday, May 5, 2019

Choose Life: Definitely Better Than Pale Death

Today I’m going to ‘mindfully’ ignore Hillary’s ongoing whining, whimpering and general lamentation. Today I choose life over the Pale Death.

And to that end I’m going in search of my current horticultural obsession, the lovely but elusive Origanum 'Kent Beauty.' I first discovered this flowering herb about 10 years ago – my how time flies! – and most years have had to mail order the plants at a ridiculous price. Recently I’ve found them sporadically at one of 3 nurseries around here, but you have to get there at just the right time because they disappear immediately.

This is why I’m obsessed: flowering oregano is a plant that starts out very pale and delicate looking

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then slowly develops into stunning blossoms with purple bracts

Ornamental Oregano 8

on a vine-like stem

Ornamental Oregano 7

until such time as they grow into densely textured mounds of drooping hop-like flowers in soft tones of sage green and dusty pink.

Image result for kent beauty flowering oregano fall colors

They are technically perennials, but not reliably winter hardy in Michigan so I need to search them out each year (their seeds are sterile) to populate my planters.

My deck , several years ago, overflowing with flowering oregano, coleus, red cordyline, baby petunias and Superbena verbena.

You can use these beauties haphazardly in cut flower arrangements and still end up with a pretty, fragrant nosegay.

This lovely needs very little attention, it’s relatively drought tolerant, plays well with others, and gives you cascades of hop-like flowers that start out green, change to pink and finally to antique rose late in the season. When fall comes on - if you haven’t had too much rain or overwatered them - the flowers will dry on the plant and turn a vibrant deep rose color that lasts for another month or so, like certain varieties of hydrangea.

Related imageA newer variety: Origanum ‘Kirigami’Image result for kent beauty flowering oregano fall colors

You can pick them at this point and bring them inside where they will dry beautifully, all by themselves. They are unapologetic show-offs. Definitely worthy of a search. 

Ornamental Oregano 10

You can go on a mission today too: go find the flower of your dreams. Or, like Hillary, you can stay hermetically sealed in your alternate universe bubble where the only choice is Pale Death.

Mountain Brewery's Pale Death Belgian Style Imperial IPA: "tropical, dank, forested aromas brought on by a mountain of Mosaic hops, the rider was Death, and hell followed him."

 Image result for pale death ipaDefinitely Hillary’s kind of drink.