Voter ID. Part 6.02X10^23 and Other Stuff

The Beer:  We move into the Houston house Friday.  I hope to be brewing for the first time in months before October.

The Bicycle:  Heart rate issues persist, but I think I understand them.  At any rate, here is no blockage an no damage.  So it is back to the ride.

The VRWC:  The arguments against voter ID have always been absurd on their face. While requiring government-issued identification for voting in their own elections, they continue to be against ID requirements for governmental elections.  Are they disenfranchising their own membership?  It makes clear that the voter ID argument is for nothing more than helping ensure voter fraud cannot be caught or prosecuted in any significant numbers.  Those caught can be termed a "one-off".  With a compliant media, there's no way this isn't a win for Democrats.  Unless we pound on the hypocrisy to our friends and neighbors, they Democrats will continue to control the conversation.

Heading further down that same path, I had a conversation with a Wisconsin friend today who brought up Scot Walker running for POTUS.  She argued, in part that he should not run because he is not college-educated.  Claims the Left will beat him to death with it because they equate college with "smart".  I counter with this:  First, college education does not and has never been equated to "smart"  I know some brilliant people who lack a college education and some PhDs who are dumb as a bag of hammers.  Second, the Left, in true Alinsky fashion ridicules anyone with whom they disagree and in particular, calls them stupid.  Reagan was "stupid", Bush 41 was "stupid", Bush 43?   "Stupid".  Every single Republican is "stupid"  Now, I refer to the Republicans as "The Party of Stupid", but that will be discussed further in a few minutes.  But it is not possible for every Republican to be "stupid".  At least one must be average or above.  But in fact, there are many brilliant Republicans and Conservatives.  My point here is that the Leftists will try to portray any Republican candidate as "stupid".  Or evil.  Or stupid and evil.  Again, a compliant media makes this a win for Democrats.  We on the ground have to make our case to our friends and neighbors.  No one else will.  The important thing for Republicans to do is stay on message.  A strong, well-communicated economic  Conservative message resonates with nearly all Americans.  Republican candidates must stay on a Conservative message.  Moving to the center DOES...NOT...WORK.  It didn't work for Bush 41 in his second term.  It didn't work for Bob Dole, it didn't work for Romney.  It will not work for the next candidate.  Conservative message.  Pound it.  No distractions, no apologies, no moving to the Center.  Pound, pound, pound..  This is what wins.  Anything else loses.

Trayvon and George

My take on the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Shut the Hell up. I don't care who was right or wrong any more. It is done. A young person is dead, whether angel or thug, his family lost their child, regardless of what you or I may think of them and their response. A man has taken the life of a child and will have that on his conscience, right or wrong, for the rest of his life. His life as he knew it is over. So are the lives of his family. The Race Hustlers and Poverty Pimps are further dividing this country by ripping open old wounds and throwing gasoline on smoldering embers. 

I understand tomorrow is some kind of national rally. Stay home, no matter what side you are on. Spend time with your children and loved ones. See friends and enjoy them. It will do far more for this country.

A Letter to the Editor

Vince Schmuki wrote this.  We'll see if anyone (other than me) publishes it.  Good stuff.

Letter to the editor for publishing:

The outcome of the George Zimmerman case has many people locally and nationally in an uproar. The outrage is real and that alone should cause many questions to be asked. Racial hatred and injustice has been with us always but it does appear to have reached a fevered pitch.

 

Locally, outrage was displayed over a white woman street musician, Cassandra Struve, who received a beat down at the hands of two black women outside of the main gate of Summerfest recently for having the audacity to play "black" music. Oops, I forgot, there was barely a mention of the incident outside of a Fox channel 6 news report. Nothing to see here folks, just move along now.

 

Then there were the 72 shootings in Chicago over the 4th of July weekend. Where was the outrage and the parade of reports decrying dozens of lives snuffed out? Just another busy weekend of largely black on black murders in the windy city -- apparently hardly newsworthy or worth discussion based on the media’s lack of outrage.

 

So while there is much to be outraged about, the general consensus is that unless an ulterior political agenda can be served, the everyday violence passes by with nary a peep or a cavalcade through the streets as is so popular. Reverend Al has offered to live in Chi-town for a while but rare is the soul who stands up to offer real pathways to peace. Quite frankly, even Sharpton’s gesture appears to be more press posturing because unless he plans to put roots down in the midst of the trouble, it is likely that little will have changed once his photo op is over and he has moved on.

 

The media, in large part, are the enablers of this show of shadows. Picking and choosing who the performers will be in their scripted play for the week. Turning and twisting public opinion to meet their template.

 

ENOUGH OF THIS SHOW! Let’s have some real community leaders stand up to racial violence of ALL kinds. Let’s turn to the graves of true leaders of the past who did not seek out power through the color of one’s skin but sought and encouraged all members of society to truly rise above the level of one’s skin covering and to treat one another by the character that lies buried beneath. Let’s turn to those who understood, that to seek the truth, the show must not go on. To those who truly understood, “To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth”!

The Real Problems Are Not George Zimmerman

This is an extraordinary piece posted on Facebook by Pam Stevens.  The state-run media are afraid to talk about this stuff and the government derives its power from it.

Well I knew I would get questions from some on my friends list asking me why, why, why are you coming down on Democrats in the black community and black people. They ask me if I am really black. I am American STOP labeling me. We are the only race of people that are EXPECTED to act a certain way because of our skin color, no matter how we were raised or what our values are. THAT IS RACIST! DUH! No one is going to take away my freedom to think for myself. I was raised to see through people like Sharpton and Jackson and yes our President to. If they cared about black people they would be in these communities everyday telling these criminals to get out. If they cared about black people they would be supporting school choice because of the dismal graduation rate in the black communities. If they cared about blacks they would be telling Planned Parenthood to get OUT of the black communities and to stop killing our black babies. If they cared about blacks they would be telling the government to do something about the black unemployment rate instead of just handing out entitlements to keep blacks on the plantations. Don’t you see this is slavery? Democrats CONTROL the black communities and LOOK at the results. I love ALL of my friends and family, but I will not remain in bondage for you or anyone else. I left the plantation and more than anything I wish you would to. Think about our morals and how we were raised, then tell me how you could support a party that believes we are “different” than every other American out there. How could you support a party that believes we are not capable of making a school choice for our children and they know how to raise our babies better than we do? How can you support a party that believes in tearing down the sanctity of the American family? How can you support a party that thinks so little of us that they believe we are not capable of earning living without living off of the government? How can you support a party that supports an organization that was started to KILL ALL black babies, and that kills more blacks in one year than the KKK has done since the 40s? How can you support a party that sees what is going on in the black communities that they control with the crime and killings, and they do NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!! They are happy to see the destruction of the black family in the black communities and you ask me WHY? Well I ask you, How?

The following statement is from one of my FB friends Twinn, and I think he sums it up very well. 

BEFORE YOU JUMP DOWN A BLACK REPUBLICANS THROAT, question your Democrat party, asked them how come black males deaths gets no respect in the justice system?.......ask your Democrat Mayor, how come you're not doing anything to stop the tide of violence in our Black community?......... Ask Jesse or Sharpton, where were you when a 2, 3, 4 or 5 year old black child was gunned down.......ask the public schools, how come our black children aren't learning anything?.......have any of you BLACK DEMOCRATS on this site checked the latest black body count piling up this year?...........MY GUESS PROBABLY NOT! OUR VALUE IS DROPPING IN AMERICA AND GUESS WHY?........95% OF US GIVES OUR VOTE AWAY TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, WITHOUT QUESTION, WITH A TRACK RECORD LIKE THAT. THE DEMOCRATS REALIZE NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, or SAY TO YOU DOESN'T MATTER, BECAUSE YOU WILL VOTE WITHOUT QUESTION. IN THE MEAN TIME BACK IN BLACK LAND the bodies are still piling up. RUN THAT BY ME AGAIN WHY YOU'RE JUMPING DOWN A BLACK REPUBLICAN'S THROAT!

Why Do We Remain?

The United States has been engaged in combat in Afghanistan since 2001 and Iraq since 2003.  I supported both of those missions and still believe they were the right thing to do.  But here we are ten-plus years later.  The Afghans remain in the stone age (we couldn't bomb them to that age, they were already there), Saddam and his regime are gone from Iraq, yet we still have troops in both places.

With the unrest in Syria and now Egypt, I suppose I can understand the reason for troops in Iraq.  But to what end in Afghanistan?  There is no clear national interest.  The Taliban remain in-country, but are far weaker and will be unable to mount a wave of terror against the US.

I will not go for the emotionalism of the human cost - you can read about that in the sock-puppet media.  It's an all-volunteer force.

There is no national interest in the Middle East any more.  I believe we have a moral obligation to Israel, but that's just me.  Otherwise, "declare victory an bring them home".

July 4, 2013 - Dependence Day?

I would normally write some sort of Patriotic posting today.  But I can't bring myself to do so.  We live in a de facto police state, tens of millions to hundreds of millions rely on some sort of direct payment from government to meet their daily needs.  This is no longer the "land of the free and home of the brave".  It is the land of the dole and the home of the dependent.

Abortion and Rape

The argument the Left loves to use for abortion is, "what about rape and incest?"  Counter it with, "where is the line?"  If moments before birth is OK, then what about during and after the birthing process?  What about in the brithing process?  Immediately following?  Could make for an interesting conversation..

Airports and the Police State

The Beer:  for those of you who do not know, I have relocated to Houston, TX.  My brewing gear is packed away.  I am jonesin' to brew up a batch.

The Bicycle:  there are better places to ride than Metro-Houston, but they are working on consolidating the system of park trails to allow a person to cover virtually the entire area.

The VRWC:  Are not airports a microcosm of the Big Government Police State we now live in?  I arrived at Houston Hobby for a return trip to Wisconsin today at 0200 for an 0515 flight.  I realize we are told to be at the airport at least 2 hours early and I was more than 3, but that is not the issue.  I was prepared to wait at the airport as being awake and waiting in my hotel room wasn't something that interested me.  But I was not prepared to be one of about 4 people in the entire airport.  No security that I could see (maybe they were that good), no TSA, no ticket agents.  Just me, a nice young lady and a couple of janitorial staff.  It would have been quite easy to walk past the checkpoint and into the concourse if I were a nefarious-type.

At about 0300, TSA started to show up, but they were not going to open the checkpoint until 0415.  I guess I am probably OK with that because I made it to my flight with no problem.  But some ended up very close because behind me, the line got quite long and there was only one lane moving through the checkpoint.

But here is what just flat pissed me off.  I went through the x-ray (intrusive enough), then was told to "assume the position while some self-important TSA agent right around my age decided he needed to cop a feel.  What was he going to find on my shoulders?  But he was very officious and important about it and was "kind enough" to let me pass through.  As I am standing there gathering up my crap and putting on my sandals, I realized how much I resent living in a police state after spending 6 years of my life in service of that same state (pre-police).

Short of being taken away in the middle of the night, I don't know how many more Liberties we can give up.  We have been given "false Liberties" like a "right" to abortion, "whistleblower protections", "clean air and water" by government, but we have given up our God-ordained Constitutional Liberties.  We can "marry" whomever or whatever we choose, but can't use the dreaded "n-word".  We are assumed to be guilty of terrorism as we pass through an airport checkpoint, we must support abortion whether our conscience agrees or not.

Many have claimed over the last few decades that we were living in a police state.  It is now true.

Government Corruption Writ Large

As thinking people see the red flags associated with (alleged) Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW), while Germany moves away from "green energy" (another scam) and seeks to weaken onerous emissions regulations, The Chosen One has decided he will dictate further how we will live our lives.  By "Executive Order" (let's call it what it is: "dictat"), he has decided he administer the coup de grace to the US economy through new carbon emissions regulations.  It's not enough that Obamacare will throw millions out of their medical insurance - and possibly their jobs - and adversely affect the financials of small business and medical providers.  Now it is necessary to make energy more expensive and less available, effectively murdering those most vulnerable - the old, sick and poor, for without cheap, abundant energy, the basic needs of those people will go unmet.  They will be unable to use air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter.  Food will become far more expensive.  Jobs will become scarce as those who remain in business scramble to cut their other costs as the cost of electricity will "necessarily skyrocket".

So, here we are.  It has been a couple days since I started this post and I continue to try to get my arms around my thoughts.  The Chosen One has laid out his plan.  The choir has chimed in, thanks to the media.  "Expert Analysis" consists of one side of the equation.  The acolytes tell us that only those "anointed" as "Climate Scientists" are allowed to make any statement at all regarding (alleged) climate change...unless, of course they believe in (alleged) climate change.

The World Bank has just taken any ability to be lift from poverty, the world's most vulnerable.  The unwillingness to finance new coal-fired power, which can provide cheap energy to places like Eritria, Afghanistan, Central Africa and the like forces them back to dung fires for cooking and the short life spans that go with it.

The last 5 years have filled me with more foreboding, with a greater sense of impending doom than any time in my 57 years.

Of Germany, Coal and "Green Energy"

The Beer:  Still waiting for my 15 gallon fermenter and other things to start brewing again.

The Bicycle:  I might get out for 20 later today.  Still a little sore from finishing the fence yesterday.  (Thanks for the help, Jim)

The VRWC:  Following the disaster at Fukushima, Germany caved to the anti-nuclear luddites and decided to begin a phase-out of nuclear capacity.  The propaganda was that it would be replaced with "green" alternatives.  The reality appears to be different.

The German Energy Agency doesn't seem to keep easy-to-find statistics on its website, but articles from DW and Reuters indicate Germany is somewhat over-capacitized.  Even with a phaseout of nuclear power, Germany has been able to continue exports to other EU members notably, Austria, Netherlands and Switerland.  Germany also imports from France.  But the real "kicker" here is how Germany is replacing its nuclear capacity: Coal.

Now, I have no issue with coal-fired power generation, though I agree it is the least clean of the alternatives. But the irony in shutting down safe and reliable nuclear generation only to replace it with coal is more than delicious.  After shutting down 50 TWh of nuclear and Germany replaced it with 50 TWh of "renewables" and about 25 TWh of coal.

So why coal?  Coal is cheap an abundant and Germany is awash in the stuff (as is most of the world).  But more importantly, knowing that as much "renewable" was installed as nuclear was removed, it speaks to the unreliability of wind and solar.

I will add that of the 3800 TWh available in Germany, almost twice as much is imported from France as is generated by Germany.

Keep all of this in mind as the Obama Administration pushes their carbon taxes, "green energy" initiatives and their hatred of all energies fossil or nuclear.

Fox News and Leftists

The Beer:  It will be a time before I brew again.  Big changes may be coming.

The Bicycle:  Those same big changes may keep my cycling to a bare minimum.

The VRWC:  The Leftists have a very difficult time with Fox News.  It really doesn't matter what the news is, they feel a need to discredit Fox.  The "Faux News" meme and screams of FOX LIES! FOX LIES! FOX LIES! that ring out any time there is a political story critical of the Left have become neuroses.  The Leftists can't help themselves.  The claim that "Fox went to court to be able to lie" is demonstrably false.

Now, I am not a psychiatrist or anything of the sort (people become psychiatrists because they need one), so defining exactly what mental illness infects Leftists is something I am unable to do.  But I can give an example.  Everyone remembers the "cool kids lunch table" in junior high school.  Many wanted to be part of it and it did not matter what had to be done to get there.  They were the "smart", "cool" kids people wanted to hang with.  As many of us became older, we recognized them for what they were.  Self-centered, self-aggrandizing children who wanted "followers".   Sound familiar?  Today's Leftists are no different.  They make the claim of being smarter than everyone else with no evidence whatsoever.  Others buy into it because they want to be seen as "smart".  The Left is self-congratulatory, as evidenced by the plethora of "awards" presentations by the Left (especially the Hollywood "elite").   Anything that indicates the Left might not be as smart, all-knowing and all-seeing or otherwise all-wonderful must be countered because if one falls, they all fall.  This is why you no longer see "no blood for oil".  It is why Code Pink doesn't invade Obama press conferences.  Why excuses are made for continued Bush policies and failures to immediately end all war, fix the economy, close GITMO.  Here is where Fox comes in.  Fox doesn't cover up Obama's (or anyone else's) political failures.  They call the news like it is (not to be confused with their opinion shows).  It shows the Left in a negative light and they can't stand it.  Consider how you would feel if you knew you were only "smart" because you associate with the "smart" people.  When those "smart" people are shown to be not-so-smart, well....you see where I am going with this.  Can't counter the fact with fact, so just call it a lie.

Smart.

The Madness of Gun Control Legislation

The Beer:  As soon as I get my 15-gallon fermenter, I will be brewing my next batch.

The Bicycle:  Finally.  I have been out twice.  I am in shape, but that shape is round.  I need a heart rate monitor.

The VRWC:  Politicians play on emotions.  It has always been that way.  They understand the herd mentality of the citizenry.  So, "Never let a good crisis go to waste" is no surprise.  Neither is the current rush into undermining the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.  The madness is evident in the polling.  Reading through the polls, it become clear that the questions are phrased such that one must choose between the right to own a gun and "public safety".  But this is a false choice.  There is no link between legal gun ownership and gun violence.  In fact, the opposite appears to be true true.

Call it what you will, but the current fervor for more gun laws is driven by emotion.  If you want conspiracy theory, try this.  During the Obama Administration:

• Rep. Giffords is shot during a public appearance on January 8, 2011.  The administration calls for gun control measures, but it gets no traction.
• On July 20, 2012, a man dressed in body armor shoots up a theater in Aurora, CO.    Again, there are calls for firearms restrictions, but no new legislation.
• December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza kills his mother, twenty children and six adult staff.  
• In between these, there is a thwarted mass shooting at a mall in the Portland, OR area. 

The administration and the media have continued to throw gasoline on the emotional fires.  The President continually exploits the victims for political gain.  

According to Mother Jones, mass shootings are up significantly since 2008.  Is it coincidental that these all happen under an administration hell-bent on "gun control"?  Each of the above shootings, more heinous than the previous.  Coincidence?  Or pattern?

The Facebook Time-Suck

The Beer:  If it ever warms up in these parts, I'm ready.  I also have a 15-gal food-grade poly tank coming to use as a fermentor.  Bigger batches,more beer.

The Bicycle:  Again, I am ready, but the weather isn't.

The VRWC:  Why would I put together a thoughtful post here when I can dump some one-liners onto Facebook?  To start with, 5 minutes turns into 2 hours.  I don't care about other peoples' drama and while there are good things on Facebook, the amount of time it takes from my other, value-added activities is substantial.

I have only suspended my account and can go back.  But why?

Sequestration - Day 6 Becomes Randsquestration

The Beer:  A clone of Sam Adams Utopias has turned out well.
The Bicycle:  Got it started last night on the trainer.  Just need to keep going.
The VRWC:  Rand Paul filibustering Brennan for CIA Director.  Much of what I have heard centers on Constitutional Rights and due process regarding drone strikes.

Sequestrageddon - Day 5

Meh.

Day 4 - Sequestregeddon

There appears to be food on Day 4.  Power is still on and no foreign forces have captured any US soil.  The air and water remain safe to drink and to my knowledge, no nuclear power plants have spawned Godzilla.

Sequestration - Day 3

Sun came up and is tracking as it has the last two days.  Power is still on.  I was able to get two Egg McMuffins (Marcis Registradis - did I spell that right?) at 0800 today.  I spoke with Dell about the keyboard issue and they seemed certain FedEx would be operating over the next few days.  TV appears to be broadcasting and the newspapers were published.

Maybe because it's Sunday and all the Federal Workers and teachers are off?

Sequestration - Day 2

The Beer:  I brewed with my nephew several weeks ago.  The beer was undrinkable and I hoped it would age into something that was better.  It has not.

The Bicycle:  Goes up on the trainer today for riding until it is warm enough for outside.

The VRWC:  The sun came up and appears to be moving across the sky toward the west and an almost sure sunset.  As I drove to and from work, I came across Law Enforcement (not in a bad way) and the traffic lights appear to be working.

I am certain the proof will be Monday when schools do-or-do-not open.

Sequestration

Republicans will cave, fearing the repercussions of taking blame for sequestration.

$85 billion in "cuts" (no other entity describes a reduction in the rate of increase a a cut) is nothing in a trillion dollar budget.  The fiscal armageddon described by the government is just another fear tactic.  Federal employees will not need to be furloughed, but they will be for political gain.  Sequestration would spell the end for the GOP and conservatism generally.  Why?  Because for decades, Republicans have described themselves as "conservative", but helped continue down the Big Government path.  Any time the Democrats blamed Republicans, the GOP failed to defend itself or they caved to the pressure.  Bottom line, no one believes Republicans anymore.  No one believes what the Party says.  $85 billion in cuts.  The end of government funded research, teachers and firefighters laid off.  Cats and Dogs...Living together....Mass Hysteria!

It's all bullshit.  It's a lie, yet the Republicans have again failed to defend their position to the public.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise and just as predictably, the GOP will have caved and government will continue its inexorable climb to control your life and your wallet.

Scalia and the Voting Rights Act

I'm sitting here late, with a beer in front of me and the cycling season not far off.  I also have a new computer with a "chicklet" keyboard that routinely misses th "s" and the "e".  So if you se a missing lettr, I got tired of chaing it.  The ber is a Porter, Home Brewed.

I've needed to get back to this because the thought left on Facebook are incomplete.  They are snippets of idea that I never really fleh out.  It is a corruption of the creative process.

Onward.

Scalia spoke truth about racial entitlement.  How do I know it was truth?  It brought out the race-baiters.  All of them, claiming to be "Civil Right Leaders".  Indignant that anyone would claim that there is racial entitlement in this country.  At the front of the line, those "great protectors" of "Civil Rights", Jesse Jackson, Ben Jealous (what a perfect name for him). "They spit on me" John Lewis, coward and liar.  And let's not forget Al Sharpton.  He of the Tawana Brawley lie.  They ride around in their fancy limos, wearing their $3000 suits, claiming to protect Black folks from Whitey who wants them back in servitude.  These guys don't care about other Blacks.  They don't care about Civil Rights.  They care about how much money they make and how to ensure that gravy train continues.

Racial entitlement?  Plenty of that.  Race-based defacto quota systems at Universities and in hiring.  Race-based academic achievement standards.  Race-based voting requirements.  Voter ID.  Funded and directed by the Democrat Party, these race-baiters and their programs help drive more dependence, bigger government and more unthinking, uncritical generations of Democrat voters.

Scalia spoke truth.  It's obvious.

Corporations and Government

This contains some serious absurdity.

The very idea that anyone other than the consumer pays the tax is ridiculous on it's face.  Taxes are a cost of doing business.  The cost of doing business is always passed on to the consumer.  If it is not, the business goes bankrupt.  The author claims that all economists reject this idea.  They might, but they're wrong.  He uses the example that if a "corporation" raises prices due to increated corporate tax, a small company will undercut them.  That is true until there is no where to go.

(Corporations) are legal entities that exist only because governments permit them to and are artificial vehicles through which sales, wages and profits flow.  I submit this is one of the greater absurdities in the column.  Corporations are not "allowed" by government.  Their incorporation provides them with certain tax treatment, but they are not "allowed". 

People will do business with each other, regardless of what government does or does not allow.  It is either business done in the open or "underground".  you have something I want or need and rather than take it from you by force, it is much more simple to trade for it.  I can trade my labor to my employer for something of value (money), then give you that money for something you have that I want.  We both retreat alive and have something of value that we did not have before.  What I provide you can be anything agreed upon as having a value equivalent to that which you are supplying me.  We can pay the government for the "privledge" of doing business (taxes) or we can be far enough underground to avoid them. 

Fiscal Cliff Deal

$600 billion in new taxes and a paltry $15 billion in spending cuts.  Outrageous.