Moving along from Epstein

 

Steve Bannon claims that the GOP will lose 40 seats because of this.

The story never mattered that much to me. Of course Trump is right on this one. The big scandal here is underaged girls, right? The girls were 16+ according to one source. If that is true, this is all over a matter that would be considered statutory rape. It's a bit much to decide the future of the country on; but for some, it could be that important. Whatever.

At any rate, no Democrats will ever go to jail over it. So if the GOP loses 40 seats over THIS, then what good was that majority in the first place? There's a lot more pressing issues than statutory rape. That may seem insensitive, but this is the real world. Besides, sometimes Bannon is just plain full of shit.

 

 

Starship Update (along with other stuff)

 

Which I've not embedded. We'll hop on over to the relevant parts right away.

 

Open source phones

 

He says you won't have to go caveman. That's good to know. This phone I got from him has a few quirks. Maybe it isn't caveman, but it isn't quite what it was billed to be. Nevertheless, it is far better than being tracked relentlessly by the Big Tech Corporations.

 

 

Another misadventure that has a familiar pattern to it (corrected)

 

There are these history videos on Prime, which is a way to get acquainted with the subject without actually reading about it. That will probably result in a sneer or two about that source of information, which may have a somewhat leftist slant to it. Obviously in the case of Theodore Roosevelt, one can detect the admiration for the guy. But this same guy changed American history in a very bad way, in my opinion.

 

Thanks to Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson won the presidency in 1912. Wilson was a consummate jackass. After running as a peace candidate, he managed to get the nation involved in the First World War. Was that war inevitable for the USA? After the war, there was a great many who thought America's involvement in that war was a mistake. Indeed, it was.

However, it spawned the Isolationist Movement, which was equally disastrous. America was so unprepared for war in the late 1930's that newly minted recruits couldn't practice with real weapons nor bullets. Meanwhile, Hitler and his Japanese allies were hell bent on conquering the world. What was needed was vigorous preparation and will to prevent the war that did occur. The Isolationists of the First Second were as wrong as the Interventionists in the First World War. America should've stayed out the First world War, which may have ended in a stalemate. (and no American involvement, and subsequent Wilsonian nonsense.)

Roosevelt ran for the 3rd term in 1912, as mentioned. The video said that the nation should prepare for war. However, if Roosevelt had been elected instead Wilson, he may well have charged into war a lot sooner. Roosevelt was right to have the nation prepare for battle, but the trick is to prepare for what hopefully will not happen. If America was sufficiently strong at that time, there wouldn't have been any attacks, and America might well have stayed out of the war.

 

History repeats, it is said. Trump ran as a Peace candidate, and now he getting the country involved in Ukraine. This is not our war, and so far, it is a lot like the First World War. It is a stalemate. The best solution is to let them fight it out, and then negotiate it as an end between themselves. Meanwhile, America should rebuild its inventories of spent weapons. We are getting our national defense into a bad situation here, or so I worry. Ukraine is not NATO. There are plenty of nations that ARE. Build up THEIR defenses, and be on guard for any attack west, should Russia prevail in Ukraine.

Instead, we are jumping in. I've got a really bad feeling about this.

What do the words mean?

There's a lot of verbiage out there, but what good is the verbiage if the verbiage doesn't convey any meaning? Rush Limbaugh used to say "words mean things". Evidently not anymore. Words are used to mislead as well as inform. Much too often, the words are meant to deceive.

What does "conservative" mean? What does "liberal" mean? What does "fascist" mean? What does "socialist" mean?

There are those who call themselves "conservative", but it seems ludicrous. There was this Martin character in the DNC brass who said that there's Democrats who are "conservative". The words Democrat and Conservative don't go together. It's like oil and water. Democrats will say that "right wing" is "conservative". How can that be? Ah, but the preferred orentation amongst the Democrats is to be "progressive". Whatever the hell that means.

 

The confusion isn't limited to the Democrats. There does seem to be some confusion about what MAGA really means. It seems that you cannot be MAGA unless you think that Epstein was working for the JOOOOOOOOOOOS, and MAGA types had better fall into line, or be confused with the conspiracy to enslave America to the Jewish inspired info ops. One can get VERY confused reading the stuff out there. There's no limit to the abuse of the tactic of mass confusion of the populace. Maybe one can just tune out.

 

That tuning out idea just occurred to me. The modern day world wide web is getting to be just as bad as the legacy media. The way to deal with the modern media is to shut the damned TV off. It's beginning to seem that way with the internet too. What a shame. The internet seemed like a good thing for awhile, but the dark side emerged, and has ruined it. You can tell from all the angst it produces. The angst is from all the mass confusion. Which in turn comes from the lack of meaning. Just use the correct words please, and cut the crap with the word games.

 

 

 

Name this

KJP

 

What would you name this alpaca? pic.twitter.com/tPsT32MfCp

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) July 13, 2025

The UK is really screwed up.

 

Flies are attracted to shit, aren't they? Which are the flies, and which is the shit? Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference. Has the UK turned to shit? Maybe, but I've never been there. Saw something on the web which shows how they arrest people for simply saying the wrong thing. Yep, sounds like a liberal paradise to me.

What's your advice for these people? pic.twitter.com/vKzKqCgEwt

— Wake Up America (@_wake_up_USA) July 13, 2025

Maybe the pinkos want to go gangsta

Call me dumb if you feel that you must

 

Up until 10 seconds ago there was unanimous agreement that Epstein was a pedophile and child sex trafficker with high profile clientele who all must be exposed and brought to justice. Now, out of the blue, we're being told that none of that is true and anyone who believes this…

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 13, 2025

But where exactly is this happening "on the right"? By the way, I've asked why those "on the right" keep on using the leftist's terminology of "right-v-left"? Methinks that somebody's not asking the right questions.

An example is the OJ Simpson trial, in which Simpson was found "not guilty". The verdict was "not guilty", as opposed to "total innocence". I accept the verdict even if I disagree with it. Likewise, I can disagree with what the DOJ has done in the case of the Epstein files, but that doesn't mean that I believe what they say. Nor would I claim it so.

Of course, those who defend the DOJ might do that. Just as there were those who claimed that OJ Simpson was wrongfully accused of the double murder of his wife and Ronald Goldman.

P.S.

Steve Bannon has said some questionable things. That dude, and other self-proclaimed "influencers" aren't going to control what I think. Steve Bannon is entitled to say whatever the hell he wants, but I'm not obligated to believe a single word of it. I'm going to think whatever the hell I want. So should everybody. Just because Steve Bannon says something doesn't mean that it's the Gospel Truth.

The Small Modular Reactor design is already in production in Japan

 

Why not here? We should buy as many as we can get from the Japanese. If they'd sell them to us, of course.

High Temp Gas-Cooled Reactors Can Help Open the Door to an Abundant and Expansive Human Future https://t.co/3lW0qyLg9W --- This looks like a great idea...

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 14, 2025

Occasional Cortex wanders over into Snagolopulous territory

 

She can be sued for defamation! Rut roh!

Assassin's connection to Tampon Tim makes this his political albatross

 

The pungent burning smell is Tim Walz's political future going up in smoke. The political left has gotten very quiet. That's good. They make too much noise anyway.

All of monetary policy is "magic money"

 

The Federal Reserve regulates the monetary supply through debt. The only difference between that and printing greenbacks is you have to pay money for the debt, and the greenbacks cost almost nothing. It's magic money in any case. The "full faith and credit" of the USA backs it up, and the world takes the dollars gladly. But that may be changing, because Congress won't control the pork.

Elon Musk just exposed what he calls a massive Federal Reserve scam—accusing the U.S. government of creating "magic money" out of thin air.

According to Musk, the government operates "magic money computers" that generate cash from nothing and distribute it at will.

These… pic.twitter.com/GBUhe1jlJy

— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) March 17, 2025

Singularity may be near, things are already shaky as is

 

Your trusty Wikipedia discussion of what Singularity means...

 

 

There was some talk in recent years about a technological based singularity, in which change occurs so rapidly that you cannot keep up,or predict it. At least, that is my recollection of it.

 

Assuming this is correct, then it seems to mesh with recent developments. With the release of the Grok 4, it is postulated that artificial superintelligence may be in reach, and soon.

 

If that happens, who can predict what will develop from it?

 

On the human front, the BRICS nations are starting to flex their muscles. Meanwhile, there is an unpredictable element in America with the clash between MAGA and the so-called "progressives". Besides that, there is a clash WITHIN so-called MAGA about the Epstein files.

 

Progressivism is just a soft word for communism, as far as I'm concerned. Most people just seem to be full of beans and other things.

 

The world is looking scary. But should this be a cause for alarm? Elon Musk would seem to be asking everybody to trust him.

 

Too much complexity in the world. Maybe it is the modern version of the Tower of Babel. It will all come tumbling down. I'm all for improving technology, but Murphy's Law kicks in because if it can be put to evil use, it probably will be.

The "Towel" of Babel has just fallen! That is to say, I just corrected a typo.

Got a Grok it in your pocket?

 

No? Tesla may put these in their cars. No telling what they may be able to do for you. Know what I mean, Vern?

Grok 4 is literally #1 on every single major benchmark.

Read our blog: https://t.co/lixthUXBcL pic.twitter.com/ZZ744igpBu

— Eric Jiang (@veggie_eric) July 12, 2025

King Canute and the tides

I don't post much on X. I just post something and embed it here, where I pass my own sort of gas. I mentioned the joke on the last post, and what came forth from it.

 

The flatulence that was emitted had to do with a process which people do not appear to understand. The ignorance out there may well explain a lot. As for me, I really don't know how this social media thing works, nor do I understand how all the popular apps work. So I am a bit bewildered by it all. Anyway, I went looking for the thread to find out where this went, but all I can find is a bunch of ignorant nonsense.

I support this 💯. Doesn’t
Congress have to pass it!
Can the President do it
himself?

— American woman (@badmoonrising31) July 11, 2025

Did somebody just play a joke on me?

 

It looks like I won a "prize", but the prize may be the joke.

 

🚨BREAKING: President Donald Trump says, he will pass a constitutional amendment for Term Limits for all members of Congress.

Do you support this?

Yes or No pic.twitter.com/VFOoLB6TnF

— Tucker Carlson News (@TuckerCNews) July 11, 2025

P.S. - What's the deal, here?

7/13/25: As can be seen, I made fun of something because it is preposterous, and purportedly came from Trump. It was irreverent towards our dear leader, and I do regrets it very mucho. /not

Anyhoo, it MAY be fake news, but I haven't checked it out. In that case, I am truly sorry to offend the delicate sensibilities of certain folks who claim to be MAGA, but aren't really. Lots of bravo sierra out dere. BTW, I'm not using any "enhancements" here, in case you're wondering. Just always little old me.

The thing that set me off a bit was the idea that the President cannot amend the Constitution at all. The process is beyond the Presidency. This belongs to the Congress and the States. For him to claim that he could do this on his own is a bit startling. Of course, maybe he didn't say it, or he didn't mean it that way. We The People should be jealous of our inheritance. It is precious. If one man can undo over two centuries of freedom in our country, then we are no longer what we once were.

er... I forgot. Elon Musk purportedly noticed my tweet and retweeted it. I cannot find that, which is why I think it may be a prank. There... now I am done with this.

Mamdami cannot win a majority--- not even in New York City

 

New York City has ranked choice voting? If this remains in place at the general election, then Mamdami could be elected mayor with less than 40% of the votes.

In that case, ranked choice voting enabled a communist to win a general election. Good enuff reason to ban it.

Despite what you may be thinking, this could work

The only difference between Abe Lincoln greenbacks and the way we do it now is that the greenbacks didn't require debt. We get nothing for the borrowing, and we spend the interest money for no reason whatever except to make some other folks rich.

 

Big: Treasury Posts Unexpected Surplus for June, Thanks to Tariffs https://t.co/aXdCegudPw --- If greenbacks ( like Abe Lincoln did ) were used to pay off ALL DEBT, America could save $1.2 trillion in useless expenditures. With DOGE cuts, yields balanced budget. Dream on.🤣

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 11, 2025

P.S.

Constitutional Amendment to go with the Greenback idea. It will keep Congress in check so that they won't sell off all of our assets to pay for their pork. No debt may issue unless it is to keep banks solvent as per the original intent of the Federal Reserve. Repeal Humphrey-Hawkins, as the Fed must not manage the economy. Let elected officialdom "manage" it. Congress would be lucky if they could manage a bowel movement.

Yes, but he should include a mandatory federal balanced budget.

— Peter Williams (@petevwilliams) July 12, 2025

Swamp's gotta swamp

Methinks there could another info-op going on. How much of this MAGA outrage real? If it's real, the Blondi is on the way out. But the Swamp may want to pull another fast one by saving Cornyn.

 

https://t.co/tZg6aqyqaF --- Hey, if you going to go for the win right now, put Gaetz in there. But Gaetz cannot get confirmed, that's why Blondi's is there. Big no-no on Paxton, he's gotta get Cornyn out of the Senate. Bongino must've blew a gasket to cause this sheetstorm.

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 12, 2025

The plot thickens?

7/11/25:

 

While I was rasslin' with my scooter yesterday and this morning, a thought occurred to me. It was related to a poll of expat Americans who were thinking of ending their citizenship. What a bunch of ingrates!

 

The world is full of ingrates... The world should be THANKING America, not condemning it. If it wasn't for America, the Nazi's and the Japanese would've have won the war. America made the difference. No way Russia could defeat Nazi Germany. Even with a lot of help from us (even before the entry of the USA ), the Russians got the benefit of Lend-lease. The Brits couldn't have beaten them by themselves, nor with the help of Russia. The best that they could've done was another World War I type of war with a stalemate.

 

As for the Japanese, the Chinese could NOT have defeated them at that time. America got a little help with the Japanese, but essentially we whipped their Navy by ourselves.

 

Imagine what the world would've been like without America... Especially in the aftermath with the Marshall Plan. Especially after the victory in the Cold War. Of course, our own internal enemies are present with their propaganda and such. They've managed to get the entire country so down on itself that the Red Chinese could win the next war without having to fire a shot! By the way, this has always been a goal of the commies. People these days simply do not know the misery they're setting themselves up for if the commies pull that off. They need to appreciate this country. What a bunch of ignorant ingrates and fools for falling for commie propaganda.

 

It wouldn't have happened just a couple generation ago. We need to firm things up at home. People need to reminded of how blessed they are to be in the good 'ol USA.

 

7/10/25:

 

Methinks this is a plot to depress Trump's approval numbers in the polls. It's always about the next election.

 

7/9/25:

 

It may be a bunch of weasel words, but if the DOJ found no evidence, then that is all that they have to say. The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

 

If you can't prove the charges then what are you supposed to say? You can run hearings until you're blue in the face. If someone is determined enough, they can whitewash the thing so clean that you'll never find it. It seems ridiculous to sit there and claim that the Trump DOJ is withholding evidence, or covering up anything unless you can prove it. On the other hand, if the client list does exist, an innocent explanation for its absence could exist too. Not defending any true mis-steps that may well be. But what do you expect from a corrupt government? They're not going to confess any crimes, you know.

 

7/8/25:

 

Obviously the Epstein investigation is holding back something. Obviously, Bannon has some connection with Epstein. Obviously, Bannon has a connection with Trump.

What is not obvious is whether or not that Bannon is a pedo himself. Otherwise, it is all guilt by association. If there's something I'm missing, by all means, let somebody say so. Because this proves nothing to me. Of course, I could be missing something. However, I'd prefer to have stronger evidence than this. Did Bannon go to Epstein's Island? Did Trump? If they didn't, then where is the controversy?

There actually could be a good reason to withhold information. It may protect somebody who should be held accountable, but larger issues could be involved. Sorry to disappoint. This stuff was predictable, and it is why I didn't go chasing after it for this long. Only now have I ever posted on the Epstein thing. The Epstein thing isn't going to result in any scalps, because the scalps are probably too important to be taken.

We live in a real world here, folks. I'm not condoning it. Just explaining it, or trying to.

Starbase Update, 7/9/25

NASA SpaceFlight Channel on YouTube

 

@6:22 mark, there's the ship static fire adapter--- not enough info here on how that is going to be worked out

7/10/25:

There's something not clear about the write-up down below. NextBigFuture's Brian Wang says it will help with the type of problem that plagued Ship 36. Then he mentions the transfer tube that is as big as Falcon 9's booster stage. If it is that big, does it fit on the Ship or on the Booster? The Booster isn't blowing up. It's the Verson 2 Ships that keep blowing up. It's not clear how this fixes the Ship failures of late.

SpaceX Redesigns to Stop Starship Failures by NextBigFuture

By Brian Wang

Read on Substack

Say it ain't so Mr. President

 

Sometimes you can get stuck on a set of assumptions that may prove to be wrong. The assumption that MAGA is really about what it says its about, and Trump is following that without fail. Is MAGA being sold out, and is just another con job? It says so here.

But what makes this hard to believe is the hysterical opposition of the political left. They LIE all the time. Surely Trump isn't lying about his core principles? Or is he? Trump is going to arm Ukraine. Weren't we done with this kind of crap?

I warned people for months that the MAGA influencer crowd would degenerate into another Con Inc scam where people would take money from the GOP establishment & corporations & foreign governments to sell out the movement.

Who was right and who was wrong?

— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) July 9, 2025

Elon Musk's X won't let me embed this

 

Supposedly, X has become some sort of right-wing extremist haven. Well, if this cannot be embedded, then they've still got censorship over there.

With the politial left, censorship is TOTAL. X may have loosened up the speech a bit, but not completely.

So Musk wants us all to believe that he's the super patriot. He's not alone. From the way they're talking, the political left consider themselves the heirs of the Founding Fathers. Yep, they could be singing Yankee Doodle Dandy on July 4th. These are the same guys who want to pull down all the statues.

The political left only supports the Constitution when they're out of power. That ought to tell you something, but if you're on the left, you're only high-fiving each other for these antics when it is out of sight and out of mind. Censorship helps them hide what they're really up to.

Oops! Tried it again, and this time it worked. It happened when I got out of James Wood's thread ( I think ). It doesn't invalidate my point. This has been happening a lot. RUN YOUR BUSINESS, ELON.

pic.twitter.com/yzdrXlkCCp

— Greg Mamishian (@GregMamishian) July 8, 2025

Somebody left the cake out in the rain...

LA mayor Karen Bass is worried about gangs making a living. They don't bake cakes there... What's she really worried about, eh?

 

Remember the Time LA Mayor Karen Bass Barged Into MacArthur Park and Ordered the MS-13 to Leave? https://t.co/3SaUYnfBx9 --- Wow, the so-called "racist" Trump actually cares about McArthur Park. It's only full of gangs and such. Why can't Trump leaves the gangs alone???

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 8, 2025

The political left is just plain crazy

7/8/25:

 

11:25 AM:

 

Just to illustrate how crazy they are, they are leaving themselves open to an accusation of sabotage in the drowning deaths of those girls in Kerrville Texas.

 

There's a story right here, which says that the officials in that area can't or won't answer questions about what was happening at that critical hour in which the waters were rising rapidly.

 

Could there have been a refusal to inform based upon malicious incompetence? In other words, did somebody refuse to raise the alarm when it was appropriate to do so?

 

This may be dismissed as conspiracy theorizing, but wait. Didn't the Democrats say that there needs to be BLOOD or VIOLENCE or something like that?

 

This isn't a direct accusation. Just using the situation to illustrate how foolhardy they are to talk the way they are talking. Anything that happens can caused suspicion to be directed towards them. If that happened, who would be the fault for that, hmmm????

 

 

6:59 AM:

 

Let's see: by her calculations, only white folks should care about other white folks, because white folks don't care about any colored folks. If everybody thought that way, there'd still be slavery in this country. Seems like loss of life is a universal tragedy, unless we have something like separate but equal again. If she's claiming that they're white supremacist, what is her evidence?

 

Dem Houston Mayoral Appointee, Princeton Fellow, Slams Girls Killed in Texas Flood for Going to 'White Only' Camp via @WestJournalism https://t.co/SE81pKb9Di -- Wasn't Princeton supposed to be one of those prestigious institutions? The quality of their alumni needs improvement.

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 8, 2025

 

7/7/25:

 

No way the system is rigged against them. They're the ones setting up drum-head courts and such. Sheesh.

Democratic Lawmakers Disturbed as Their Own Voters Demand Violence: 'There Needs to Be Blood' via @WestJournalism https://t.co/nH6r3LMzTj --- The article says that some Democrats think that the system is rigged against them. That's really crazy. The system is rigged FOR them.

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 7, 2025

Flooding down in Texas

The political left is all wet on this one. Folks are talking out their backsides on this, since they don't know the area. Floods can come up really fast. It could be a matter of minutes, and you can be in big trouble. It goes with the territory. It's like tornadoes and such. You can predict them up to a point, but not with that kind of precision. If you get caught in a bad spot, well, there's no one to blame.

 

You cannot move out of the area. Any new areas have their own issues. California has fires and earthquakes. Not so much here, but we do get floods. It goes with the territory. If you've got a thing about it, then you can roll the dice elsewhere. You pays your money and you takes your chances. It's life.

One of the crazy things that the left is pushing was covered in a previous post. The left may want these kinds of things to happen so that they can make political hay out it.   Some of their ideas involve SABOTAGE.

The idea that you can prepare for all eventualities it probably not feasible. Safety is a relative thing. Perfect safety all the time may not even be possible.

Elon Musk's Third Party

 

Trump calls third party bid "ridiculous".

History shows that a third party bid can have an impact. The GOP itself got its origins as a result of the sectional controversy that preceded the Civil War. Lincoln doesn't get elected President without the fracturing of the Democrat Party.

Woodrow Wilson got elected because former President Teddy Roosevelt's third party bid for office. The GOP party was split that time. Roosevelt got on Mt Rushmore for this???

Richard Nixon got some help from Dixiecrats when the Solid South abandoned the Democrat Party. Democrats have run hard left since then.

If you wargame it, what would be the likely outcome of a strong showing by a new party? Musk may try to peel off never-Trumpers, but Trump won't be on the ballot in 2028. In my opinion, the GOP will revert to its old ways. Therefore, I don't think it will have much of an impact. If a Trump clone comes along, it may come down to how well Trumpism plays in 2028.

The midterms won't matter. The bigger impact will be on the Electoral College. Musk may try to be a spoiler, but it won't come out well unless the Democrats split up. Nothing good can come from this for the so-called right. Musk may want to be like the Liberatarians, who have always been around.

Up the proverbial crick without a paddle

Let's get personal

This is going to be a bit of a personal post. Why make one? Well, it is being mentioned as being a personal type of post because this isn't really supposed to be Facebook. There is no need to share every damned thing with every damned body. However, that may be a bit of a flawed attitude. One thing that it could definitely be is dysfunctional. There are times when you must mention something. The trick is to know when to say when.

That time may be now, as far as this blog is concerned. So here goes.

There have been other times when I mentioned personal stuff on this blog. I shared the fact that I got diagnosed with cancer, and it was life-threatening. It might be useful to the readers to know if I should not blog anymore. On this side of eternity, one is able. On the other side, it is no longer possible. As of now, I am still around. That isn't going to be a permanent situation. Everybody has to go through this little bit of reality at some point.

There is no mention here of impending doom. However, the progress of things are in an unfavorable direction, which is unavoidable. It may be delayed for awhile, but it is inevitable at some point that it will no longer be delayed. Although doom is not imminent, at least not to my knowledge, there are some issues that are making themselves known.

One issue is a lack of mobility. It's getting harder and harder to get around. To that end, I've been casting about for solutions to this issue. There's solutions out there, but those solutions are on a continuum of feasibility.

It is always handy to have someone around. There's Wishbone, who is right next door. But he's got his problems too. Everybody does. You can ask for favors from folks, but let's face it. If you ask for favors, you will be called to do a favor from time-to-time. I don't really like to ask, but there are times. If I need a ride, I can ask. While I was still in Houston, I could get Uber to take me somewhere if I didn't want to ask. Or a cab. However, out here in the Hill Country, Uber isn't really available. Maybe that would be a possible solution if a request to send an Uber all the way out from Austin to come pick me up, but that would seem absurd. Indeed it would be.

What other solutions are available?

Personal transportation is pretty handy. I can still drive. My van is still operational. But what if it breaks down? You can get help from the insurance policy with a road service contract. In case of a breakdown, just call the service, and if you need a tow, then it is possible to use that means to get around to a repair shop. Indeed, I've done that before.

This post is getting long, so maybe I'll shorten it up a bit. There are times when you can't drive, and somebody may not be handy. Then what? If all other solutions won't work, then try a motorized device. With that in mind, I purchased a small scooter. I had one of these back in Houston. I decided I couldn't keep it anymore, and gave it away. Now I can use one again, so here we are. A small scooter may have enough range to get to a nearby grocery store. Or around this property. Actually, this property is rather large. Not large if your mobility is still good. But mine isn't.

E-bikes are a popular item these days. The scooter wasn't all that much, but it may not be good enough for all possibilities. An e-bike would have greater range than this electric scooter. It can go faster, too. Maybe a scooter would be better for really short trips, and an e-bike with a top speed of 30 mph could be good enough for longer trips.

Next up is the problem of storage. Where do I keep these gizmos? It's a bit too crowded in here for all of them, but perhaps one can be inside, and one could be in the van.

But what if the scooter breaks down? Use a cell phone, I suppose. Geez, I think I worry too much.

Flood waters prove deadly in Texas Hill Country

 

Girl's Christian Camp Washed Away: Dozens of Campers Missing as Texas Sees Devastating Floods https://t.co/2miiDK0Y5j --- Hilly areas and sudden downpours don't mix. Fast moving water really is dangerous. Too easy to underestimate the risks.

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 6, 2025

What happened to Ship 36 and what to do about it

Use all metal containers, and pay a small weight penalty.

 

Slow motion coup d'état

7/4/25:

The Declaration of Independence... Is it out of date? There are those who act as if it has. There are those who still believe. What say you?



12/23/13:

You may have heard of Angelo Codevilla.  He wrote an article about the ruling class that Rush Limbaugh refers to from time to time.

My impression, after reading the second time, is that the ruling class is overturning the rule of law and making themselves the law itself.  Clearly in opposition to the Constitution, which is intended to be a government of law as opposed to a government of men, and thus overthrowing it as the Constitution is sovereign.

They want to rule over us, not with our consent as stated in the Declaration of Independence.  Note what they did in Utah.

They don't like us much either:

In sum, our ruling class does not like the rest of America. Most of all does it dislike that so many Americans think America is substantially different from the rest of the world and like it that way.

The rest of America is the "country class"

the country class is the other side of the ruling class's coin: its most distinguishing characteristics are marriage, children, and religious practice. While the country class, like the ruling class, includes the professionally accomplished and the mediocre, geniuses and dolts, it is different because of its non-orientation to government and its members' yearning to rule themselves rather than be ruled by others.

The ruling class is the minority, but they are organized and determined.  The country class needs to unite, or it will be forever doomed to subservience to the ruling class.  The safety is in the Constitution, which is being shredded on a daily basis, and it is no accident who is doing it, nor why.  It's the ruling class.  They are doing it for themselves regardless of what their rhetoric is to the contrary.

Making the complex more simple? Let's get to the point.

Video: Why you can't manufacture in America

Reaction: Takes too long to get to the point, and even at 15 minute mark, there's no answer to the why you can't manufacture in America.

The guy doesn't know what he is doing. But nobody else does either. This is by design.



Note: There's a lot of celebration about now with the Bill with Many Adjectives passed. There is also a lot of sad faces. AOC was doing her "silly girl" routine with a crying jag. Boo-hooey.

An ad hoc definition here of economics is the management of scarcity. Scarcity can be managed top-down, with some authority who will distribute the scarce goods according to an arbitrary system. Or goods can be managed through the price system. The latter is free, the former is not. Which is better? It seems that the free side is more productive, because people respond to incentives.

How does this relate to the point? The question is why you cannot manufacture in America. There is no incentive to do so, otherwise decision makers WOULD DECIDE to be manufacturing in America, as opposed to elsewhere. The incentives are gone.

You can't manufacture in America because to manufacture means to have self-reliance. Trading is not in the spirit of self-reliance. If you trade for your existence, then you are always dependent upon the source of supply. If the supply comes from someone else, then you are dependent upon someone else. We don't manufacture in America anymore because we lost our sense of independence. It has been drummed out of us by the decisions of the leadership. The leadership has believed that to develop dependence is a good thing, but that dependence has a downside---dwindling freedom.

Tariffs won't solve the dependency problem. Indeed, dependency is a feature, not a bug--according to policy makers. There will have to be a major reordering of the society in order to bring back manufacturing. It won't happen because most people don't want it. They prefer their bondage. Indeed, that is what the leadership wants. Whether or not they really know that they've done this is another topic.

Spidey might feel at home there

 

WE’LL BE FIGHTING GIANT MARTIAN SPIDERS, WON’T WE? NASA’s Curiosity rover takes a closer look at ‘s https://t.co/6x0AjgY91s --- Well, there was a movie in which they had to fight a spider like creature. It was called the Angry Red Planet. Saw it at the Yale Theater in Houston

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 3, 2025

Note: This was not the strange dream I had recently.

How will the "Culture War" end?

Re-posted:

With a bang or a whimper?

Remember when the term "culture war" was popularized?  It was Pat Buchanan's speech at the Republican National Convention in 1992 that brought the term to the forefront.  Conditions seem to have gotten much, much worse.

But it really isn't a war.  Words like "war" are continually being dropped into the national conversation.  The purpose of which seems to draw attention to the one using the word.  What if one of these days, somebody threw a war, and nobody came?  What a day that would be.

People like peace and quiet.  Real wars are a messy business.  It never became popular.  Even a "good war" like World War  II was said to be, was met with monster celebrations when it was finally over.  The people who clamor for war, a real war, are in the minority.  War is never going to be popular, and rightly so.

But you have to be prepared for trouble, because trouble has a way of finding you.  The ancient Romans had a saying: if you want peace, prepare for war.  Weakness invites attack.  It is a law of nature and of war itself.  No predator will attack the strong point, but rather the weak one.  The moral being, don't be weak.

It has been noted that highly aggressive people will ignore you if you are perceived as weak.  Standing up to the bully will make him friendly, the old saying goes.

Which way the "culture war" ends is anybody's guess.  But the most optimistic scenario is one in which people are inclined to talk rather than kill each other.  People will talk when killing is not an option.

Disarming the population seems a way towards that end.  But that only leaves the most aggressive people in control.  At that point, talking will no longer be allowed.

It is a knotty problem, hard to solve, make no mistake.  But give me my opportunity for self defense, and I will be happy to take the risks.  Better to live and die free than to ever be anybody's slave.


Update of the post on 7/9/18:

Who's winning the Culture War? Maybe the so-called "right" is winning. I'm thinking that it is already lost to a certain extent. It's just a matter of how bad the loss will be. At best, we may be able to cut our losses.

She OWNS Him: As UPenn Bends the Knee, Keith Olbermann Can't Stop Crying About Riley Gaines https://t.co/W142HtiqK8 --- Culture war rages on.

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 2, 2025

Dave Mason Band - Feelin' Alright w/Mark Farner, Rick Derringer & More 9/2/2011 HIPPIEFEST 2011

Feelin' Alright  Not feeling too good myself.

11/5/15::



Update: 7/2/25:

The original post was about the time that I had to quit doing deliveries. At that point, I could no longer support myself. The cash burn started from that point on. In less than a year, I was out here in the Texas Hill Country.

I got my cancer treatment, so I'm still around. However, there may be a problem. The doctors aren't sure that I'm still good. Neither am I.

But that's not the real reason I'm updating this. The song is about the man's dreams. He had a strange dream. What if it's like the dreams in the Bible? Like Pharoah's Dream. Nebuchannar's Dream. Well, I had a strange dream lately, and that made me think of this song. When you have a really strange dream, you wake up and it makes you think of its meaning. Know what I mean, Vern?

How SpaceX may be able to get back on track quickly

 

They may channel "McGuyver", a name that I haven't heard for awhile.

Elon Musk Pledges to Launch Third Party if Big Beautiful Bill Passes Congress

Conservative Treehouse blog

Comment:

Alas! Elon Musk is going off the rails a bit. Maybe he always was. The main thing he has ever done that interested me much was his rockets. At one time I was somewhat interested in the electric car angle, but I didn't quite believe in what he was doing with his ideas. It seems that he never quite delivered on his promise of an affordable electric car. It still hasn't happened as far as I can tell, but all cars seem to be expensive these days. Now his rockets are blowing up. To summarize, he seems to over-promise and under-deliver with respect to his projects.

His foray into politics and governance hasn't gone particularly well, either. I'd say he ought to stick to the knitting as the saying goes, and concentrate on his companies a bit more. Especially his rockets. After all, he said that he would do that. Now this comes down the pike.

Update after a little while...

The bill may not be beautful, or much of anything good. Given the track record of the government, it may be ugly as sin. As for Elon Musk, he may have a point about it costing too much, but as Trump said--- he gets a lot of government bucks too.

Musk can do whatever he wishes. But if he's going to get into politics, perhaps he should consider hiring someone to do the job for him. He's getting into a lot of scrapes lately.

With respect to a certain criticism

 

I wrote before that I thought that the bombing of the Iranian nuclear bomb plants was a good idea. It seems that some folks think that Trump and the rest of the crew in DC have been co-opted by the Israelis to do their work for them. Perhaps the crew in DC are even compromised somehow by the JOOOOOZ.

I won't comment upon that one. That's because I try not to speculate, but sometimes I do anyway. When I do indeed speculate upon a matter upon which I know something about, I try ( but not always succeed ) to remember to add a speculation alert. I know of no evidence to support that Trump is beholden to the JOOOOOZ. But I cannot prove it one way or another.

Also, for the record. Neither am I. In fact, if anyone tried to get me by the gonies, they find an unwilling participant. That's putting it mildly. I'm just as likely to try to hang them with the rope that they are trying to ensnare me with.

So I repeat, and just referring to myself, that I think that the bombing was a good thing for OUR country---the good old US of A ( or what's left of it). If it helps the JOOOOOZ, then that is just a coinky dink.

Mamdami doesn't hide what he is

 

Neither did Adolf Hitler. Nuff said.

"Seize The Means Of Production": Mamdani Lays Bare His Agenda by Quoth the Raven

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." -Maya Angelou

Read on Substack

Correction: He's not hiding it yet. But he may try to.

A thoroughly mixed up situation

Just saw a sentence on Conservative Treehouse that got me thinking. Quote: "In the bigger picture Canada has a serious problem."

 

Yes, don't we all? Just from my own point of view, I've got a problem. Actually, more than one. Anyway, the problems seem to be accelerating. The problems appear to be everywhere and all the time. In other words, the shit may be getting ready to hit the fan.

It may be a matter of what turd drops first.

From certain points of view in other parts of the world, the turds are always dropping. The splatter may have a way of spreading around.

But we care about the matters closest at hand. As long as the splatters don't come this way, everything is coming up roses.

There are those who forever may be able to dodge the splatter, but alas! Probably not me.

Eventually we are all going to get it. One way or another. It may sound morbid, but that is the way it is.

Mamdami and Sacco and Vanzetti

 

We may well be in danger of stepping into some really deep doo-doo, you people. We need to know who these people ARE. It so happens that AOC endorsed this guy, but does she even know what she is doing??? Do we actually know who AOC IS??? We never did know who Obama really was, and elected him president---twice.

Do the people know what they are doing???

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani proposed replacing a memorial honoring Christopher Columbus with one dedicated to convicted murderers Sacco and Vanzetti. Who were they? by Conundrum Cluster

Terrorists caught red handed become victim-martyrs for a new religion

Read on Substack

The Untold Reason for Mamdani’s Mayoral Win

The Untold Reason for Mamdani’s Mayoral Win: The New York City mayoral Democrat primary race results have shaken the political world. Candidate Zohran Mamdani, described as a Marxist Muslim, was five months ago languishing in also-ran territory at one percent in the polls. A most recent poll...

Comment:

The author believe the pinko jihadist won because of charisma. Maybe he got the silly girl vote. I can't see any guy voting for that guy, unless he is a bit light in the loafers. Remember one thing before you criticize ME. It's HIS theory, not mine. The charisma part---the silly girl part was indeed yours truly.

New York City Ups the Ante on Madness

New York City Ups the Ante on Madness: The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, now has a mirror image in Zohran Mamdani, who is looking like the presumptive Democrat nominee for New York City mayor.  That Mamdani should have ever reached this level of influence is a troubling and dange...

Comment:

Yep. The "moderates" are lining up behind this fraud. Clinton gave his good wishes to the fraud. Cuomo is lining up with this fraud. The Democrats are to blame for this. The commies are behind this. These days, the commies, democrats, and jihadists are are on the same team. Now tell me I'm wrong to say that the leftist paradigm always favors the commies. Why would any sincere conservative use this model of political discussion? This model of left v right and the so-called middle?

I agree that China is a threat to the US

NOTE: This is a Twitter embed. I have been having issues with X, as it won't always allow me to embed a post.

 

Kyle Bass' warning about China.

https://t.co/sDZfvJ7F9I --- to paraphrase Kyle Bass: To allow China to take over Taiwan would be an existential threat to the USA. Also, China intends to do just that: to threaten the USA.

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) June 29, 2025

Want clean energy?

 

Here's a better alternative than solar and wind... Disclosure: I own (1) share. Think of it this way: you owe it to yourselves to find out if this will work.

Something's going on

 

With respect to this blog. I won't go into specifics, but there does appear to be some monkey business out there.

Just saying that so that if anyone is wondering about anything.

Update a bit later...

Ok, I'll describe the situation briefly. There's a huge discrepancy in the audience numbers from figures that Google supplies itself. Both of these cannot be right. So it is saying something that these numbers do not add up. What it says I don't know.

No credibility on the left

Question:

 

Who is David Hogg, really? Generally speaking, I don't give these school shootings much of my attention. If the schools wanted to stop school shootings, they could. My thinking is that they'd rather posture about anything bad that happens, and are really okay with them happening as long as the shootings could be exploited for politics. That's what it seemed to me to be like with this David Hogg. He parlayed his "victimhood" into celebrity, which is the only claim to fame that he has. He has made a career out of hiding in the closet while a mass shooter was on the loose. Big hero.

Schools could stop it by hiring security. It probably costs less to hire a few security guards than it does to hire a teacher, or especially an administrator. Anyway, David Hogg has no credibility. He is the archetype of the left, who can't get beyond their professional victimhood. They cannot offer alternatives that actually work to solve real problems in the real world.

Ok, pack it up. Found the tweet of the day. pic.twitter.com/MIlF8Vn6Qk

— Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) June 27, 2025

Who is Joy Behar?

 

This woman runs the TV Show called The View. Or she co-hosts it with Whoopi Goldberg. Whatever, just making it clear who I'm referring to.

The question arose as to who this woman is. She appears to be of Italian descent. Her name sounds Spanish, but is not written that way. Her maiden name is more Italian sounding ( not that I know that much about Italians).

She may be Roman Catholic, or once was. Actually, the Roman Catholics are having an identity crisis of their own. In my opinion, they've lost the plot, like so many others in Western Civilization.

Now she is married to a guy named "Janowitz". Is that Jewish? If so, why did she retain the name "Behar"?

This is what I could find in a few searches. I suppose I could find more, but a general impression emerges here. She makes her living trashing traditional America. Why wouldn't she? She isn't of the group of peoples who are what most of traditional America used to be--- white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.

But that era of the WASP has gone on by. Upon what will you build a civilization then? The Greeks and the Romans! That's what I saw on TeeVee yesterday. The Founders studied the ancients. The WASPS weren't around back then. America was largely organized upon the basis of civilization that had nothing to do with Behar likes to screech against. When she does do what she does, it is on the whole no different than what the WASPS did. What a hypotwit.

Jamaal Bowman is claiming to be unfairly treated?

 Wasn't this guy caught doing something improper at an exit/entrance to the Capitol Building in DC, and then LYING about it?

He claims that Mamdami is a victim of a slur, but isn't he just lying again in order to escape responsibility?

There is a saying that is apt here. Tell a lie about a conservative, and he'll get mad. Tell the TRUTH about a leftist, and they'll get mad.

The left cares nothing for the truth. The truth is in their way. Communism teaches you that it is okay to lie, if it advances their cause. Communism is about class warfare. In Warfare, the truth is the first casualty. How can the left wage class warfare without lying about themselves and their true intentions?

The left hates this country. It is all over everything they say and do. The left needs to fool people in order to have cover for their nefarious deeds.

Recent mayoral primary in the Big Apple may not be what it is cracked up to be

6/27/25:

GenZ did it! To zero in a bit further, a dollar to a donut that it is some dumb-ass white girl liberals who did it. Maybe even Jewish white girls. They need some "meaning" for their lives. /snark



6/26/25:

There may be an opportunity there for the former Guardian Angel Republican challenger.

Note:  X is blocking my embeds now.   Therefore, there's just this link.

Update a little while later. Looks like I will be using the Truth site more, so I introduce my new digs at Truth with this embedded "truth".

DOJ employee who got fired was undermining POTUS

NOTE: Looks like I can embed this post, but the blockage of others continues.

 

I read through the "whistleblower" report published by NYT today and it's clear the source--Erez Reuveni, a career DOJ official fired in April for insubordination--is cut from the same mold as Jim Comey, Sally Yates, Rod Rosenstein, and Andy McCabe: an internal DOJ saboteur… pic.twitter.com/y0vgr8Q4UY

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) June 24, 2025

DataRepublican 1, CODEPINK 0

6/27/25:

Codepink will sue...

Seems like I read somewhere that China really wants to suppress ANY criticism of it. With that in mind, the lawsuit begins to make sense. As an example, Disney is scared shitless of the Chinese... Won't meantion any of the three "T's".

6/26/25:

This victory only matters if the truth matters. Unfortunately, truth is a bit hard to find these days. Especially in the Establishment Media.

 

Judicial Supremacy may have lost one at SCOTUS, but a problem remains

 

Is Trump really fighting the Judicial Supremacists hard enough?

The Post Christian West is deeply uninterested...

 

Why is that?

Should illegals count in the census?

 There's the law, then there's common sense.  Common sense would recognize at least some limits to what the Democrats can do to evade the spirit and letter of the law.

Comment:

Trump wants to exclude them all.  Democrats will want to include them all.  Could there be a compromise?  Yeah, I would think so.  But it may not end well.  The 3/5ths compromise did not work out too well.

AOC isn't the problem

 

Gullible people who fall for her schtick are the problem. Sowell does a great job here, but who will see it? Only the intelligent and well-informed will see it. The gullible will fall for AOC, just watch. The gullibles are those who for whatever reason, will not inform themselves; or for whatever reason cannot inform themselves. Leftists take advantage of the weaknesses of gullible human beings; or the complacency of the rest who could oppose them, but won't. The leftists are far worse predators than any capitalist ever thought about being.

Land grab? Maybe that has already happened

Here's a long essay on a subject that interests me somewhat, but that I don't know enough about in order to make a reasoned opinion at this time.

 

It is about public land sales in the West.

Texas was mentioned, and I can discuss a bit about that. When Texas entered the union, it retained control over its public lands. This is not the case for many states out West. Consequently, the Federal government controls the lands out west. Therefore, the issue has been raised in the recent budget talks as a means to solve a few problems with the sale of these public lands.

In addition, there may have been some mention ( not in this essay, but I did not finish reading it ), of the MINERAL RIGHTS in these lands. The MINERAL RIGHTS can be very valuable.

Locking up these MINERAL RIGHTS may not be such a good idea. That is where I'll throw my two cents in.

Lefties love to keep the lands public. Crooks and traitors might be willing to part with these lands in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of the country. Lefties might prevent some of that, but at what cost?

Naturally, a decent person wouldn't want bad people making public policy. But no policy should be sacred, particularly if that policy is part of the problems that we are having. Our current policy in many respects, leaves a lot to be desired.

That's all for now.

Are the Amish capitalists or socialists?

At first blush, it would seem to be a silly question. If you asked an Amish, they'd probably look at you sideways, and ask you what you mean. They don't teach Amish these things, I'd imagine. It has no relevance to them.

 

It's still a worthwhile question. The people are acting collectively, which is a socialist idea. But they own their own properties, which is a capitalist idea.

 

Even the Pilgrims tried socialism by making the land collectively owned. But it didn't work. Rush Limbaugh discussed this is his book "The Way Things Ought To Be".

 

There are admirable things about the Amish way of doing things. However, I have no great hankering to become one of them.

 

The average person should not look to Washington DC for answers. The Democrats are the party of top-down government, which is a really bad way of doing things.

 

Rather, America should be a place where the Amish can show you another way of organizing a community, and it doesn't have to involve Washington DC much, if at all. But Washington DC being the way it is, will probably try to go after the Amish in the future.

 

The political left may pretend to give a damn about the people, but it is all a great big fat lie.

 

Let the people go.

 

A commie mayor of New York may cause some Yankees to flee to Texas

Texas means "friend", but there are some things you might want to consider before moving here...

 

Party in the CIA --- Weirdly Al

They really didn't bomb those Eye-Rainians, did they??? Nobody even got wasted. No dead bodies means it was a fake. Note:I forgot the snark tag... Or did I have to mention it??? You don't think I would really knock the CIA, didja? Or didn'tja? heh.

 

Are white progressives racists?

 Their political gatherings aren't very inclusive.  /snark

I'm not Lord Vader. I can't back that up.

Never did master that choking maneuver. Too bad. It would've really come in handy sometimes.

 

So what if Trump bombed the Iranians?

 

Nobody complained when Nixon raised the notch up to Defcon 3! To save Israel. By the way, I remember it well, cuz I'm an old fart now. Cry me a river, lefties.

 

 

How Richard Nixon Saved Israel in 1973 by Roger Stone

His actions in the 1973 Yom Kippur War were instrumental in ensuring Israel’s survival.

Read on Substack

 

 

Don't be so impressed with these technological terrors

 

Just watched an episode on Tubi, which was about the feats of the ancients. The ancients built acqueducts, pyramids, monuments, and moved impossibly large objects without machines.

The modern world is overly impressed with its machines. This may bore people, but when I was in high school, you had a choice of using a slide rule or a calculator while taking a test. Calculators back then were pretty expensive, and I couldn't afford one. So I had to use a slide rule. But not to be ashamed. Slide rules were used extensively in putting a man on the moon.

I'm still not impressed with AI, but I worry a bit about it. If it does reach its hyped capabilities, it may become a danger. Even if that danger is avoided, I worry that people are becoming too dependent upon these machines.

People can still do amazing things without the machines. If we become too dependent upon machines, what happens if someone pulls the plug? You can't pull the plug on a slide rule, but a computer needs a source of power. If you pull the plug on a computer, it is useless.

Reminds me of this scene from Star Wars:

Ideology can make you stupid

3/27/16:  I can think of nothing more ridiculous than this.

Enough of this stupid shit.  ( 6/24/25:  link isn't good anymore.  must not have aged well, but they are liars anyway.)

You can allow guns at the convention, but they must be police officers.  Not ordinary people..

I am for the 2nd amendment, but this is ideological idiocy.  Common sense should prevail.

This is one for this list.

Trump flips the script

 

Schumer called him "TACO", which meant that "Trump Always Chickens Out". It was a poorly prepared dish, as Surber says that TACO really means that "Trump Always Confuses Opponents". And now Trump is eating their lunch.

Trump Always Confuses Opponents by Don Surber

The TACO that helped him end Iran's nuke program

Read on Substack

Beware of the company you keep

In addition, who you do business with. Trump's critics sound quite disloyal to me. Not a loyal opposition at all. Update later.... Ah! Someone says what I just tried to say, and does it so well. Why align yourself with the Axis of Bad?

Hobgoblins

6/23/25:

The thought occurred to me that the Democrats cannot do a better job of promoting Trump than what they are doing.

Trump announces Cease-fire in the Iran-Israel war. Our part in it was supposed to cause another trillion dollar boondoggle of nation building. But that hasn't happened, and won't happen. The hobgoblin is the non-stop opposition to anything that makes sense, especially if it is promoted by the Orange Man Bad.

The end of the nuclear missile ambitions of the ayatollas seems like a no-brainer. Why would anybody oppose that? But there are those who will oppose it on the basis of some sort of "principle" which has no evidence in reality. I'm writing this poorly, and words are failing me lately. Basically, the left is opposing Trump just to be opposing him. Fellow GOP'ers are joining in on some notion that this military operation is a bad thing, which does not make a whole lot of sense once you consider the benefits. I suppose the idea is that we all must suffer a lot of nonsense in order to be good people. Balderdash!

5/8/21:

Seems like there is this quote out there that says something to the effect that a "foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds." That correlates into the latest blurb I've seen on the web about the big miss on the employment report. The blurb said that the White House thinks that this is evidence of not enough spending.

That is enough to gobsmack Godzilla. Not enough spending?! Yeah, it qualifies as a real live hobgoblin. If these small minded people think that there's not enough spending, then who or what can say otherwise?

Fact, evidence, reason are all going out the window. Full blown insanity has taken over. The big question is this: how long are they going to be allowed to do this before somebody puts their foot down?

If the Liz Cheney types want to let go on this way, there may not be anything left before the sanity resumes.

Message to liberals: If you thought that a million jobs were going to be created in April, but it was only one quarter that, it may be time to rethink your plans. You'd think. Time to shake free of the Hobgoblins.

The recent military action was a good thing

Lately I wrote that I had something of a writer's block. Maybe a kick in the pants was needed. Not sure that this was true, but perhaps it was.

The kick in the pants is the worry about my own country. If there was anything that should unite the country, it should be that it is under threat. The left loves to do this by saying the threat is from the so-called political right. I've written many, many times that this is a demonstration of leftist politics. That we should be talking about freedom, not left versus right. That Ronald Reagan said that in his famous speech that launched his political career, and that people should take it to heart.

People don't see that threat. It may be the case then, that this blog has failed. However, this blog is tiny in size. For as far as I can tell, I may be the only one in this country that is defending that point of view.

You will hear the constant propaganda of the political left on the media. But the so-called political right does have some voice on the internet. Of course, the political left would like to shut that down. They did in fact shut it down to a certain extent during the Biden Administration.

In recent polls, assuming that they are accurate, which may or may not be the case, a majority of the older generation, of which I am a part, tend to trust the media. What a disaster that is!

If it weren't for the relative freedom of the internet, the freedom of this country will have died already.

By the way, why do I write the way I do? I shall describe something of myself to give readers an understanding of where I am coming from...

I began schooling when prayer in school was still legal. Each day began with the Lord's Prayer. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Christopher Columbus was still a hero, not a villain. Homosexuality was not only a sin, it was a mental illness. The idea of same sex marriage would have been considered a joke. Men competing with females would have seem bizarre.

Therefore, to me it is a disaster that the majority in my generation have allowed themselves to persuaded to be a part of something that is diametrically opposed to those characteristics of our nation when we were still just beginning in life. Our generation has repudiated their own history. Why would we do that??? I think it is propaganda of the media that many in my generation have accepted as being true.

Therefore, America is a bad place, and my generation believes it! Why??? We weren't taught to hate our own country. But the left surely has been successful in turning my generation against its own country. That's why it is a disaster. We should be a bedrock, but instead, we are a weak link.

I look at my own family members of my generation, and I am absolutely aghast at how easily they have accepted a lot of communist propaganda. They wouldn't have done that in the sixties. Not a chance! Why now?

Perhaps they believe what they see on that old boob tube. It is not called a boob tube for nothing.

But we should know better than that. It is an increasing disaster. It's not likely to get better either.

The left may well make the recent military action into a great crime. I don't know how it should be considered a crime to defend your own country. But that is where we are today.

The political left has done this to us. Why can't we see it? It is a matter of great puzzlement to me.

Why would people listen to enemies? Where is my generation? It is lost like the rest of the nation... I'm not sure we are going to get it back. But I'm glad that there is somebody trying.

Checking in, 6/22/25

The drought in posts continues. Yet, I must put something out there, lest anyone think the blog has died. The news of the death of this blog is greatly exaggerrated. I intend to keep going.

The problem is what do you say when you don't really know what to say? The best thing when you don't know what to say is to say nothing. But you don't always have that luxury.

 

The reaction to the bombing of Iranian complex, in which it appears that the Iranians sought an atom bomb, has something of a logic to it. But why not mention a whole-hearted approval?

 

One cannot be glad when one approves of violence visited upon another. But what else can you do with someone who has proven again and again that they will resort to violence, and that appears to be what kind of regime that Iran has now? You could hope for better behavior from them, but the evidence shows otherwise.

 

I'm not suggesting one get guilt-ridden over the matter. The political left likes to do this, especially of the dropping of the Atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is regrettable, but is it better to have let the Japanese off the hook? The Japanese were horrific in World War II. You cannot judge the way they are today, and compare it with how they would've reacted back then. Based upon what was known about them at the time, they would've fought ferociously for as long as they were able.

 

As for Iran, we've been hoping that they would eventually become reasonable, but that doesn't appear to be the case. When they reached for the atomic "gun", the only possible course of action was to take the gun away from them. Iran still stands. Hopefully, reason will prevail. But we are not gifted with perfect knowledge of the future, and hindsight is 20-20 as the saying goes.

 

 

Update a few hours later...

 

All of the above comment was made before the world reactions to the strike... There will be a blowback effect, and that is the wild card here.

 

Iran and its allies are in a geopolitical struggle with the USA and its block. It's a bit like Cold War 2. The first Cold War involved a number of proxy wars involving the communist block and the "free world". I use the term "free world" because there "free world" has lost its way.

 

Cold War 2.0 may go a different way than the first one. As the USA has moved to less free, the commie world has moved more towards free markets. It's a more even fight.

 

It shouldn't have been, but there it is.

 

 

Crapping on a benefactor is a recurrent phenomenon

 Can't help but notice it.  It isn't an isolated event.  Just have a close look around and maybe you'll notice it a lot.  

Update after a little while...

Just to clarify, try looking in the mirror sometimes. No, I'm not on a high horse here. I think almost everybody does this, unless those who do not, who make it a part of their natures to be grateful. I'm not claiming to always be grateful, or being even slightly grateful. So, this is not a high horse sermon.

A Clockwork Orange analysis

Here's a post that seems worthy. Not from me, because I have nothing really interesting to say these days. But from the video itself.

 

I'm getting to be rather picky. Everything dissatisfies me. But not this.

A brief comment somewhat later...

There's a lot of reaction videos out there. Anybody who wants to can do that, so I figure maybe I can do it too.

Not that anybody'd be interested. Why would anybody be interested in what I thought? That's what I'd call a "good question".

Interest rate follies

Opinions are like a-holes. Everybody has one. Here's mine. The opinion, that is.

 

Everything that Trump needs is in his own hands. Just print money without borrowing. The only difference is that it isn't backed by debt. What is so sacred about debt? The idea that debt will restrain government has already gone out the window. Indeed, debt is being used to repudiate debt. Debt implies interest payments, which become so onerous that the debt can never be repayed.

Something has to back the currency in order for people to have confidence in it. That will be the objection to such a strategy. Why should anybody have confidence in it now? The debt won't be paid. Maybe issuing currency won't solve the problem, but the current method isn't working either.

Issuing debt will be an end-run around the Fed. The Fed is abusing its power. If you have the gonads to do what is needed, you ( meaning Trump ) will issue the currency like Abe Lincoln did at the beginning of the Civil War.

Issuing Greenbacks might be overturned, as it was back then. However, if Trump ever did this, he should never back down as Lincoln did. Trump could tell Congress to stop him if they can, and just do it. Like a lot of things he COULD do, but won't. That's because he's afraid they'll call him a King. But they're going to do that anyway.

Tracking device on killer shows a lot of red flags, but that's not the whole story

Notice anything about the story??? We live in an increasingly fishbowl kind of world of no privacy whatever, but the government doesn't want you to know that. So they phrase this story in a way that won't say that the device being used to set up a travel history and tracking is nothing other than the alleged killer's cell phone.

 

But they'll say that it is being used for a good cause! My argument to that is: If the authorities cannot do their jobs without impinging upon our freedom, then whatever good it does in this case won't be worth the cost to us of our freedom. Just my opinion...

https://t.co/R1Y8virpGw --- The authorities don't want you to know the full story. Doesn't surprise me. Governments lie their butts off.

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) June 19, 2025

Ooof. That's gonna hurt

Starship blew up again. Oh, my. It happened AGAIN. What's up with those guys?

 

Scott Manley seems to think that may look a lot worse than it really is. I'm of the opinion that is may be WORSE than what it appears. A string of failures is not a good look.

There could be a delay of several months depending upon how much damage was done to the facility. Not to mention that they've got another problem to solve with this cursed ship.

You can't stop the clock

 

There seems to be a paralyis of analysis going on these days. However, you do not have infinite time in order to get on with it. That is, unless the intention is to do nothing at all. With respect to anything significant on just about any subject, I suspect that nobody really wants to make their move. But the clock is ticking.

Just scanning the news seem to indicate that major initiatives cannot be followed up on. No need to identify them. We all know what they are.

The Phenomenon of Useless People - by Robert Ringer

The Phenomenon of Useless People - by Robert Ringer: I’ve always been fascinated by the phenomenon of useless people.  The evidence suggests that uselessness has nothing to do with a person’s occupation, because there are useless people in all fields of endeavor — useless waiters, useless teachers, useless plumbers, and useless doctors, to name but a few with whom I’ve had firsthand experience.  Even …

Comment:

I'm glad he has something to say. A cat seems to have swallowed my tongue these days. Is uselessness contagious?

Fishbowl world

The video below is a procedure to remove stuff off your disk. It's about the only thing that Microsoft is good for as far as I'm concerned, and there's an equivalent for Linux, but I haven't tried it yet. More below. Here's the vid.

Microsoft, Apple and Google have crossed the lines into evil. They've turned our country into a fishbowl, where there's no privacy whatever. Actually, we already had a fishbowl. But the fishbowl has gotten infinitely worse. A fishbowl is not what the founders had in mind when they made this country. It's one of the reasons that things are falling apart. One of many reasons. But I repeat myself.

Time to get away from MAG

 

MAG defined: Microsoft, Apple, and Google. This AI stuff is out of control. Reminds me of the government. Might as well BE the government. Know what I mean, Vern?

Checking in, 6/16/25

 

The drought of posts continues.

The biggest news item is the war, which some are calling a World War already. It would seem that any future war, if there isn't already one, will be a world war.

The casualty in war is the truth. How do you get the truth about what's happening in the war? Both sides will lie, or it isn't a war.

I don't have much to say about it because there's no way to really know what is going on. It is a matter of state, and war is a matter of state. Which means you and I get the mushroom treatment.

The war in Ukraine is several years old, and appears to be getting worse. Maybe it is about to hit the decisive stage, but who knows? Both sides say that they're winning.

As for Israel and Iran, the same will likely be the case. Israel will claim victory, but it looks like Iran is still fighting. Did Israel bite off more than it can chew?

Of course that means that the USA will get involved. Evidently our government will tell us that they tried to keep us out, but we have to enter. That is what I suspect anyway.

One would think that an air war could end it, but in the history of war, no air war has ever been enough. Things could get pretty hairy, if you know what I mean. One way to end a war was to use a nuke, but that has been forbidden ( I blush as I write this) by the "rules" for many years now. One way or another Iran was going to use them, and that's the problem with nukes.

There's no way their program was peaceful. They fully intended to nuke Israel because they figured they could stand the response from Israel.

Israel is said to have nukes, but they have denied it. So what will Trump do?

Not a pretty picture. The war will get settled one way or another. Countries cannot afford to lose wars, and a loss has to be forced on a country before it will capitulate.