75F and HUMID this am. Still overcast too. Basically, yuck.
Very little reporting on any protests/riots for May Day. Wonder why that is? Gateway Pundit has some links to primary sources, ie. twitter accounts showing lots of smoke and angst in different cities around the world. I’m not linking because they have about 40 things adblocker stops and 20 scripts for all the garbage providers. No way to know if this was more or less than usual.
Which brings up the subject of disintermediation and it’s mirror- mediation and the ‘media-ation’ (for a really ugly word) of our society. Almost every experience of the world is mediated. Both in the sense of someone getting between us and the experience, and in the sense of ‘shaped by the media’. They have created a world that reflects their philosophy- there really IS NO objective reality any more for most people in the West.
The May Day is an example. Many media outlets were calling it a ‘celebration’ or a ‘holiday’. I even got an email newsletter/flyer wishing me a Happy May Day, FFS. No history, no context, and an attempt to change the perception (with possibly a bit of gaslighting) where there was coverage at all.
Now, I’m not unhappy that the foot stomping mental toddlers didn’t get the attention they wanted, in THIS case. But it is a disturbing glance behind the curtain. What ELSE is going on in the world that no one is seeing? What will the world look like when the current trend to ‘de-platform’ conservative voices becomes more effective?
How will you pass on your values in the face of a complete media blackout of any conservative view? What can be done to disintermediate the public sphere? Or our lives?
n
It is 51ºF and raining in Vegas. That is nusual for this time of the year. I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
75º and sunny today, but we expect rain this evening. Forecast was gloomy enough that I drove to work instead of rode. THAT means I get to run at lunch time instead of walk. Good day.
@Nick’s post seems mighty relevant when I consider another discussion I’m having in regards to swearing in the public space. One of my friends (rather liberal and PC) doesn’t understand what makes one word acceptable (poop) and another unacceptable (s#!7). I’m saving up for this evening when I’ll have time to go into things like the N-word, Spic, Dyke, Herm, Wop, Retard, and every other derogatory term that exists.
Society establishes norms. They’re not written down but are understood by society as the correct way to behave in polite company. Swearing is one of those unwritten things that we have that shows we know how to get along. Now, norms should be questioned. Frequently. But they are well established, and conformance to norms in most cases signifies that you’re willing and able to get along with other people. Violation of norms is a challenge to the norms and to society.
So I am training my children to evaluate the behavior of those around them. Those that observe social norms and make some effort to fit in are worth knowing and understanding. Those that reject the norms are probably trouble and should be avoided.
How does that fit the news cycle? My kids can smell a lie like a fart in a car. We turned on the news the other day and my 6yo daughter remarked almost immediately “she’s lying”. It was some politician. Of course, she was lying. But that’s the first step in recognizing the truth. Evaluating a lie is an art, and knowing the reason for the lie can help discern the truth.
Chrome with Ghostery blocks the cookie and I never see the checkbox.
One thing, and it was mentioned in a scifi novel, it’s very hard to lie to americans with images, especially moving images, unless you are First world and have the same level of saturation with media.
First world is very practiced at manipulating media. Third world, not so much. They will get better though.
n
(I’m thinking specifically of china using the clone tool on missile launchers, some ME sh!thole trying to pass off a rusty old hulk as victim of a rocket attack, hand lettered signs ‘baby milk factory’, etc.)
I read the Boy Scouts are now WOKE. They will allow girls in and change their name to Scouts – BSA. Another WOKE Progturdian social experiment. No more fart jokes and peeing behind a tree for the boys. I was never in the Boy Scouts, but geez, who would want their little boys in this org now? I guess the Girl Scouts will now fold.
I read the Boy Scouts are now WOKE. They will allow girls in and change their name to Scouts – BSA. Another WOKE Progturdian social experiment. No more fart jokes and peeing behind a tree for the boys. I was never in the Boy Scouts, but geez, who would want their little boys in this org now? I guess the Girl Scouts will now fold.
Does this mean that the Boy Scouts get the cookie marketing operation?
I always feel bad for the Boy Scouts selling the popcorn.
Long article on Scouts – BSA from MSNBC indicates two things – Girl Scouts USA is not a part of the plan (and are, in some regions, very worried about attrition to Scouts – BSA) and Scouts – BSA will be organized into male and female units.
Side note – Greg Norton – my boys always did a land office business in the popcorn. Way more individual sale than my daughter ever managed with the cookies – part personality, I’m sure, but also because we had a “where does your money go?” sheet we sent out with the boys that made it clear the popcorn was a much better deal for the consumer, the scout, and the unit.
Another side note – isn’t May 1 officially “Law Day, U.S.A.” in the U.S.? Specifically designed to thumb the American nose at those military parades in Moscow during the Cold War in the 50s.
Case Study #1. He’s 36…is that a millennial? Anywho – he’s been living in shared rented housing for 3 years. What was he doing before age 33 – living at home? At 33? And he wonders why he’s not successful?
Case Study #2. Master’s in broadcast journalism. Yeah, I have no idea why he can’t find a job /sarcasm.
Case Study #3. 26 years old and 1 year of college. She wonders why she can’t find a good job…
Home ownership isn’t a right. I didn’t buy a house until I was 28. I didn’t consider myself treated unfairly because I lived in a dorm/apartment at school and then apartment afterwards.
This whole article illustrates why I’ve told my soon-to-be 9th grader that if he goes to college (he is), I will only pay for a degree that has potential to help him earn a decent living. Engineering, sciences, some business, etc. If he wants to get a basket weaving degree, fine. He can go into debt and pay for it.
Btw, he wants to be an astrophysicist. His fallback is engineering. He’s a smart kid. More importantly, he is developing the good study/work habits he will need in the future to achieve his goals.
OK, I will weigh in on the changes in the Boy Scouts of America. Having spent some time in other parts of the world where they have Scouts and Scouting, not Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, the exclusion of girls has been a mystery to me. Also, as a former Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader at various levels, it was problematic for me. My daughters were at all kinds of Cub and Boy Scout functions and participated as unofficial Scouts. They would have jumped at the chance to join.
Tried Girl Scouts, didn’t like it. Mom was even a GSA leader as well as in BSA. GSA was not a good fit for my girls. Different organization and thus different feel to it. GSA seemed more fragmented than the BSA, but that might have been a more local issue.
We were not unique either, there were always girls around and they boys didn’t have a problem with it. Girls could join Explorers and Venture Crews even then.
This could very well be a good thing. Much of it depends on implementation. Letting girls join and officially participate is good, as there was nothing in the program when I was involved that a girl could not do.
This is just the opinion of someone that has been involved with the BSA in the past. I
know that there will be those in and out of the BSA that will hate this. There were those when I was in that hated having women leaders, but that has worked out well.
Side note – Greg Norton – my boys always did a land office business in the popcorn. Way more individual sale than my daughter ever managed with the cookies – part personality, I’m sure, but also because we had a “where does your money go?” sheet we sent out with the boys that made it clear the popcorn was a much better deal for the consumer, the scout, and the unit.
The popcorn seems like a tougher sell around here.
My daughter is in Girl Scouts, but my son never got interested in Boy Scouts.
Hmmm. Unplanned internet outage in the Steel City. Our Picksburg office is complaining about not getting a connection, so they cannot process orders. They’re waiting for us to fix it.
It’s probably nothing.
I was a cub and then weablow (sp?) but Boy Scouts was hard and had actual requirements beyond making shrinky-dink ornaments at my buddy’s house with his (probably) alcoholic mom.
So far the girls are on the GS path, and it looks watered down and over regulated to me. The girls are petting animals at the rescue facility, while the boys are doing cool stuff…
But that’s a 10k foot view.
n
@Nick, your 10k foot view is similar to my girls experience. BSA did fun stuff, GSA not so much.
My eldest is excited about getting to do the pinewood derby as a scout instead of as a family member.
I should mention that she wanted to leave girl scouts even before her brother started cub scouts. They don’t do anything fun. Then the girl scouts in this area just disappeared.
I like the idea of keeping them separate, but I don’t believe I want them to not be allowed to do the same kinds of things.
Nope, when and where I grew up, instead of Wop, it was Da(y)g0. Also Pollack, Lugen for Lithuanian, and Bohunk for Bohemian.
Outside of that, the term PC had not been created.
Kids need sex segregated activities. Even prepubescent boys act differently around girls.
Girls do too.
WRT insulting names, CowboySlim wins the internets in my book with Lugan, a slur I’ve not heard in the wild, but was informed by family was a deadly insult! Also, according to family legend, ‘you can’t kill a lugan with an axe.’ Seems our heads are too hard… or skulls too thick, or something.
n
Oh no ! My webhost, http://www.pair.com, has been acquired by some unknown to me company, Liberated Syndication (Libsyn).
https://blog.pair.com/2018/01/03/podcast-host-liberated-syndication-acquires-pair-networks/
I have been running my websites though Pair Networks since 2000. I have a dedicated managed server that I pay $300/month for. Now I have to look for a new host as the new owner always messes with the server company. I have been watching Host Gator for quite a while now. I have extensive C++ code and custom databases on my main website and need the compiler support for this. Sigh.
https://www.hostgator.com/
This Life Scout (why I didn’t finish my Eagle Scout is a long story), Order of the Arrow, Certified Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leader is going to keep his opinions to himself regarding the ruining of Scouting by the (insert your favorite progressive group).
Too bad the vast majority of Boy and Girl Scouts haven’t a clue about who Lord Baden Powell was (did you know he liked some facets of Fascism?). He and his Sister have been spinning in their graves for many years.
References:
https://www.biographyonline.net/humanitarian/baden-powell.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baden-Powell,_1st_Baron_Baden-Powell
I am also a Life Scout, switched to Explorers when I was about 14. It was about computers and electronics, and I think the meetings were the same night.
My take so far is that if the girls wanted to do the same exciting and physical stuff as the boys, why doesn’t GS allow it? if that is indeed the reason, and not just “you can’t have nice things that I can’t have…” In the long run, it dooms GS to irrelevancy if they can’t meet the needs and desires of girls.
If it’s a problem of not having the skills in the leadership, again, GS problem. You don’t magically get camp leaders without training them up.
My aunt and her partner have more lore and knowledge than 10 other people, but they are too old and fat to lead trips in the woods or canoeing. If GS management decided to stop doing those things, that created the skill gap (since girls aren’t learning, there won’t be adults with the skills.) If they no longer have the institutional knowledge, then send some adults to be trained by the BS camp leaders.
n
I have been running my websites though Pair Networks since 2000. I have a dedicated managed server that I pay $300/month for. Now I have to look for a new host as the new owner always messes with the server company. I have been watching Host Gator for quite a while now. I have extensive C++ code and custom databases on my main website and need the compiler support for this. Sigh.
A hosted site running compiled binaries out of cgi-bin is a big security risk anymore. SQLServer isn’t a big deal, especially now that the backside was ported to Linux, but it will be pricey.
I’m guessing moving to PHP with a MySQL back end is out of the question. However, if you want to try, XAMPP is a painless introduction to that world.
I appreciate the appreciation expressed above. I was living in Chicongo from 1948 to 1962. We had most minorities in their own neighborhoods. We also had chinks, nips, and wejees. No Mexicans then (now beaners), so spics were Puerto Ricans. Yes, and hillbillies were just that, not rednecks.
Whoa! Worse than I imagined…
https://pjmedia.com/trending/ut-austin-masculinut-ad-campaign-treats-masculinity-as-a-mental-illness/
I can’t say how bad it is to be afflicted with the mental illness of masculinity. The outcome is NONE! Accept the fact that mental health, as compared to physical health, is a fraud. There is no thing as mental health. For example, it has never been prevented with inoculations or vaccinations as polio has been prevented. Nor, has there ever been a cure in later life through surgery as sometimes cancer can be resolved through surgical removal.
Outside of that, myself and other sufferers will be relegated to misery for the rest of our lives.
“Fact Checking the Media Claim I am “far right” or “ALT-RIGHT”” by Scott Adams
http://blog.dilbert.com/2018/04/30/fact-checking-the-media-claim-i-am-far-right-or-alt-right/
“If memory serves me, I registered Independent and voted Democrat at least twice. I have never voted Republican, as far as I can remember.”
“I favor inexpensive or free medical care for all citizens of the United States. It would be hard for me to see America as “great” without it. But unlike Bernie, I don’t see a way to get there by increasing taxes.”
“I support lifetime free college and vocational training for Americans, but not if it raises taxes. As with the healthcare topic, I believe technology can deliver a free option if we make it a national priority. I recently bought a commercial VR (virtual reality) system for home entertainment, and let me tell you…holy cow. We are not far away from watching a history lesson while being in the scene itself. At the moment, in-person learning is still better than a talking head video. But VR and other advancements will flip that around at some point soon.”
Wow, he is an even bigger lib than I thought.
However, he is very pro gun.
Amazon is down to 20 cities for HQ2:
https://www.amazon.com/b?node=17044620011
“Amazon HQ2 will be Amazon’s second headquarters in North America. We expect to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs – it will be a full equal to our current campus in Seattle. In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.”
Yup, Austin, TX is still in the list. So is Dallas.
A hosted site running compiled binaries out of cgi-bin is a big security risk anymore. SQLServer isn’t a big deal, especially now that the backside was ported to Linux, but it will be pricey.
I’m guessing moving to PHP with a MySQL back end is out of the question. However, if you want to try, XAMPP is a painless introduction to that world.
I ain’t rewriting nothing. 20K lines of server side C++ code is 20+ years of getting our website to do exactly what we want it to do. In fact, the code is not even very C++ specific, more just C that is really cleaned up.
“Hurricane season starts in less than 30 days, but don’t panic!”
https://spacecityweather.com/hurricane-season-starts-in-less-than-30-days-but-dont-panic/
“We are now just less than one month away from the beginning of hurricane season (June 1). Despite what you may have heard, forecasters have very little sense of what will come this season, as there aren’t any strong climatic signals at this point. The most probable outcome is a near-normal, or slightly more active season than normal in the Atlantic, but this really means nothing. If just three hurricanes form in 2018, but they’re all in the Gulf of Mexico, that’s a busy year. If no hurricanes come into the Gulf of Mexico, but a slow-moving tropical storm stalls over Houston, that’s a really busy year. The bottom line is that you should have a plan for this if you live here.”
“1. If a hurricane threatens, will you evacuate from the storm surge? If so, where will you (and any pets) go? How will you get there?
2. If you’re staying behind, the time to load in supplies is not 24 hours before landfall. The stores will be picked clean by then.
3. Buy flood insurance now. It takes 30 days to kick in.”
Check ! Check ! And check, all three are positive. I do probably need to go around to the eight LED lanterns and check their D cell batteries.
I am ready to panic (grin). I have found a high ground (3 ft higher than my office building !) house to purchase and move to but the small problems are many. Including the fact that the laundry area is at the back of the detached garage. I am thinking about making a lowball offer.
https://www.har.com/5902-Evening-Sun-Court/sale_52037192
Yup, Austin, TX is still in the list. So is Dallas.
I hope not Austin. They would probably end up on our end of town. South of downtown floods this time of year, and Bezos, being a space geek, probably knows exactly which hotel in Round Rock hosts NASA Mission Control failover when a storm threatens Houston.
Amazon wants to be the Big Kahuna wherever they land. That would be hard in Dallas.
For the price of batteries I would just replace all the batteries and be done with it. Cost would not be that much and well worth the peace of mind in my opinion. None of my lights have batteries over two years old with the exception of the lithium batteries.
Would Austin’s airport support Amazon? I would think that Amazon would want a major hub close to their facility. DFW may be too far away. There is also the question of I-State capability. I-35 is a rut, a slow rut, except between 2:00 AM and 2:47 AM. (Well not quite, but you get my drift). Amazon would need major routes to get trucks in, and out, of their facility. Would Texas build a six lane I-State between Austin and Houston? If they would it would take 20 years to complete.
I don’t see Austin making the next round of cuts. Too many issues. But what do I know?
Speaking of batteries, I noticed that Lowes has SureFire A123 batteries in the checkout lane, both in an 8 or 10 pack and in singles. Don’t know what is a good price, but you might check out the online store….
n
Would Texas build a six lane I-State between Austin and Houston? If they would it would take 20 years to complete.
Texas is building a new East-West interstate, I-14, north of Austin. Actually, it is just south of Temple. I suspect that it is actually an I-10 bypass.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/31.1213388,-97.8500175/31.0486371,-97.4635336/@30.8172127,-97.9874984,9.25z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0
and
https://www.equipmentworld.com/fast-act-creates-future-i-14-from-central-texas-corridor-us-190/
Would Austin’s airport support Amazon? I would think that Amazon would want a major hub close to their facility.
Austin’s airport is a work in progress. The upside is that they have plenty of land available to build.
If Amazon did end up here, my guess is that they would probably build on the other side of Georgetown, where the toll road to the airport meets 35. Plenty of space is available, a small airport sits at the interchange, and the Expressway people have the land to build a train to the airport on their right of way.
Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me Bezos simply bought the toll roads east of 35.
I hope not Austin. They would probably end up on our end of town.
I see the Amazon HQ2 on the southeast side of Austin, out past the airport on 71. Probably halfway to Bastrop. Somewhere that they could pickup a few thousand acres for a couple of bucks per ft2. 3,000 acres at 3 $/ft2 = $400 million, chump change for this crowd.
Texas is building a new East-West interstate, I-14, north of Austin. Actually, it is just south of Temple. I suspect that it is actually an I-10 bypass.
Finished I-14 roadway currently runs from Killeen to Belton. East of I-35, crews are pushing out with limited access freeway along 190, starting at the Temple Mall.
“19 Best Science Fiction Horror Books”
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/19-best-science-fiction-horror-books/
I have read seven of these. “Leviathan Wakes”, “The Andromeda Strain”, “The Girl with all the Gifts”, “I am Legend”, “I have no Mouth and I must Scream”, “The War Of The Worlds”, and “The Tommyknockers”.
“World War Z” is in my SBR (strategic book reserve).
And speaking of Austin TX the spousal unit and I will be heading out to Austin next Tuesday after an overnight stop in Nashville to see the grand child. Will spend the night on the west side of Nashville, about 12 hours to Bryan TX the next day to stay with brother in-law. Thursday we head to the southwest side of Austin for three nights in a hotel. Will be attending the wedding of the daughter of some long time friends, such wedding being in Spicewood. Sunday we head to San Antonio to visit MIL for a couple of days and some repairs on her house. Then off to Alvin TX to visit ex-MIL so she can see grandbaby’s pictures. Will spend the night somewhere in the area. Then off for the journey home. Will get to Birmingham the next day to spend the night. Home on Friday.
Long trip, not looking forward to the drive and all the AIS time. Looking forward to some Taco Cabana tacos however along with some good Texas BBQ. Will be visiting a friend from the USAF in the ’69-70 time frame for a dinner while in Austin.
I’ve read several. That doesn’t mean I remember what I read.
“Who Goes There?”
“The Andromeda Strain”
“The Day of the Triffids” (I think)
“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (er, in 8th grade or so)
“Frankenstein”
“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” I just remember it as weird.
“The War of the Worlds” and of course “The Time Machine”
The rest are too recent…. I quit buying from the SFBC about 2002. They still say I owe them $3.20. We are both stubborn. 🙂 I have about 25 feet of shelving full of un-read books.
Bezos, being a space geek, probably knows exactly which hotel in Round Rock hosts NASA Mission Control failover when a storm threatens Houston.
Backup mission control for the Shuttle was at White Sands, NM. The ISS plan is for the team to ride it out in Houston (mission control is on the second floor of and already elevate building with high ceilings) with Moscow to take over if needed.
Amazon would need major routes to get trucks in, and out, of their facility.
This is HQ2, not a distribution facility. Amazon has 2 big distribution centers in Houston and 3 or so around Austin/San Antonio.
OK. All the stuff I have read talked about 50,000 jobs, at least when Knoxville put in their stupid bid, so I figured it would need to be some sort of warehouse.
Speaking of Spicewood, when you get to 281 you can make a right turn and go about 6 miles (just a guess) north to the Bluebonnet Cafe. It’s just over the bridge. On your right. It’s been there for 70?? years? Good chicken fried steak and if you like pie, they make pies there. Cash only.
Taco Cabana…. I get teased because I always order the Carne Guisada plate. I hear the other food is good. I might try some of it someday.
I can’t think of a bad Mexican restaurant in SA. Overpriced, sure. We tend towards the hole in the wall places where Grandmother is in the back making the tortillas.
Have a safe trip!
Long trip, not looking forward to the drive and all the AIS time. Looking forward to some Taco Cabana tacos however along with some good Texas BBQ. Will be visiting a friend from the USAF in the ’69-70 time frame for a dinner while in Austin.
Spicewood isn’t far from Marble Falls. I’ll second the Blue Bonnet Cafe if you have free time.
“World War Z” is in my SBR (strategic book reserve).
I didn’t hate “The Rise And Fall Of D.O.D.O.” if you need another for the reserve.
I wasn’t sure going in because I considered “Seveneves” to be a tremendous waste of money. Stephenson had a collaborator for “D.O.D.O.” so maybe that was the reason.
19 Best Science Fiction Horror Books
I’ve read:
World War Z (I wasn’t onboard for the movie so much)
The War of the Worlds (many times, all the movies, TV show, Jeff Wayne’s album)
Frankenstein
I Am Legend (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air ruined another movie, ie, I, Robot, WW West)
The Day of the Triffids (movie scared the poopy-doops out of me as a kid)
The Andromeda Strain (another great movie, too)
Leviathan Awakes (I’ve read all the Expanse novels now, the new one this year is listed at $15.99 for Kindle. Yikes!)
Infected (a great series, I’ve got Sigler’s Earthcore on my Kindle. My daughter loved the GFL series)
This is HQ2, not a distribution facility
OK. All the stuff I have read talked about 50,000 jobs, at least when Knoxville put in their stupid bid, so I figured it would need to be some sort of warehouse.
I wonder how many people it takes to maintain http://www.amazon.com ? It is truly a work of magnificence. I have read that it is about a quarter million servers and the largest Oracle database in the world.
I also wonder if Bezos is thinking about leaving Seattle with all of the new city taxes coming online. And I just saw this.
http://komonews.com/news/local/amazon-fires-back-at-seattles-proposed-head-tax-pauses-construction-projects
So the kid who got caught planning a terror attack was led along and coached by an FBI informer until they had enough to wrap him up. Or so it reads in the article…
I guess that’s good.
n
I also wonder if Bezos is thinking about leaving Seattle with all of the new city taxes coming online. And I just saw this.
A “head tax” is an interesting way around the income tax prohibition in WA State, but I don’t think it will stand up in court unless it applies equally to all companies in the city. Seattle keeps trying, I’ll give ’em credit.
The Progs just got their way with new property taxes for schools state wide.
WSDOT recently dug Bezos a $4 billion tunnel under the city and put a new floating bridge across Lake Washington to Lake Union (Amazon HQ area) from Medina. $20 million/year. He’s still ahead.
As did I when I lived in SA. TecoMelina downtown was really good.
I have eaten there before. When I lived in SA I would take the boat and go camping at Inks Lake State Park. I had a annual pass for the park. Always did like Marble Falls area. Blanco is a good location.
Very little reporting on any protests/riots for May Day.
New Orleans a scene of May Day demonstrations
“Dozens of protesters”–given the MSM’s tendency to inflate the number of participants in these demonstrations, it’s likely that the media outnumbered the participants.
The Hidden Truth (2 Book Series)
The blurb:
Discover The Hidden Truth!
A ruthless high-tech conspiracy rewrote scientific history.
A young man in Appalachia finds a forgotten book in an old library – a book that could unlock The Hidden Truth.
The conspiracy suppressed a crucial paper by Oliver Heaviside. Three other scientists, Maxwell, Hertz, and FitzGerald, died – or were killed – before they could complete their work. Once is happenstance, and twice is coincidence, but three times is enemy action.
Who is this enemy? How have they corrupted, not just science, but also society? And what will happen when the conspirators become aware that someone else is seeking…
The Hidden Truth?
I just wish he’d get around to releasing the next book in the series!
A “head tax” is an interesting way around the income tax prohibition in WA State, but I don’t think it will stand up in court unless it applies equally to all companies in the city. Seattle keeps trying, I’ll give ’em credit.
I can just about guarantee that if Seattle gets away with it that Austin will do it too. And Houston / Dallas. In fact, Houston has been talking about a head tax for decades.
“Fact Checking the Media Claim I am “far right” or “ALT-RIGHT”” by Scott Adams
http://blog.dilbert.com/2018/04/30/fact-checking-the-media-claim-i-am-far-right-or-alt-right/
What do all the Liberals want to tax only the “rich” ? Even Scott Adams says that. California has all of these taxes that do not start until one has a million dollars in income. That is not fair.
The USA Constitution has equality all over it. I believe that equality extends to taxation also. I think that these disproportionate taxes on income are unconstitutional. If one person pays 10% of their income then all people should pay 10%.
Instead, we get these taxes where half of the country is not paying a penny and feels that Uncle Santa should pay for this, pay for that, etc, etc, etc. Exempting large numbers of people from paying taxes is very dangerous because people do not feel part of the taxed, rather part of FSA (free stuff army).
To me, the fairest taxes are use taxes such as gasoline tax, vehicle tax, sales tax, property tax, etc.
I just wish he’d get around to releasing the next book in the series!
I am still waiting for David Gerrold to put out Chtorr book #6.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0553277820/
According to the chit chat on author boards, everyone is waiting for Gerrold, and no one expects it anytime soon… possibly never.
n
David Gerrold Says The Next Chtorr Book Will Be Finished In September
“Forget The Winds of Winter! There’s one book that fans have been awaiting fervently, for years, now—and it’s finally coming. David Gerrold tells io9 that A Method For Madness, the fifth book in his Chtorr series, will be done in a couple of months. ”
Note that this article is from 2015.
Bodies are funny things. I felt a cold coming on last week, but there was just so much to do through the weekend (having to do with winding down my wife’s business) that I had no time to be sick. So I wasn’t. We were finished on Monday, so Tuesday – yep – I have time to be sick now. So I am… Dunno how that works – little messages to the viruses “wait just a couple of days, then we’ll party”?
I don’t have a problem with BSA admitting girls, as long as they segregate into boys and girls troops. I was in a troop that did a lot of hiking and camping – carry everything you needed – that was fun stuff. Then later I was in a troop where the idea was to throw everything into a pickup, drive somewhere and camp. That somehow missed the point of it all.
@Lynn: Changing hosting providers is a pain. That said, I’ve been on AWS for a long time, and I’m really happy with them. Worth a look, anyway…
My son was in Cub Scouts – from Tiger through Webelos 2 and received the Arrow of Light. I was either a Den Leader or Assistant Den leader the entire time. We both highly enjoyed the experience.
He quit Boy Scouts after almost one year. He just didn’t enjoy it, for many different reasons. He did try two different Troops, but it just didn’t jive with him.
As for BSA changing their name and allowing girls to join? I don’t agree, but I don’t have a dog in that fight anymore.
WRT the “new Scouts”: I cannot imagine a girl using a slit trench on a camping trip. They’ll have to bring along a Port-A-Potty for them.
I don’t know about that. I’ve taught both my daughters how to pee in the woods.
First step? Make sure there are no boys around.
Still not sure how I feel about the whole thing. There are traditions that have values. There are also traditions that indicate withholding something from someone based on some physical characteristic isn’t quite right. (Nor should someone have special consideration based on a physical characteristic.).
First step? Make sure there are no boys around.
lol! Or bears!
If the Scouts are separted by sex, who leads the girls? The same peeps from the Girl Scouts? Some guy? I hope it doesn’t turn into a disaster.
As do I.
One of the last places a boy can be free to express the fundamental characteristics of his natural life will go away. Boys and the men they grow into are DIFFERENT from girls and women. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, they develop from different starting points, at different rates, and toward different ends. BSA is, not coincidentally, one of the last bastions of western cultural tradition.
There are a million venues where the sexes can mix, and only a few where they can be separate. That is, in the modern western world. Without strong men, western women are sooner or later going to discover what rights they have under islam and sharia law, and then sex segregation will be mandatory again. This will not be a happy day for them.
We have lots of experience with what works, in education, in creating a free western society and culture, and in growing functional adults who can carry on that society and culture. We also have much recent experience in how to destroy those things. Denying reality, and training people to hold lies in their heads is one way to destroy mental health and the society that depends on people acting in concert.
This change in BSA is another attack on the institutions that provided the continuity of western culture. Church, school, (fraternal organizations- almost all of which had civic benefits), and now voluntary associations.
All I ask in proof is to LOOK AROUND. Are we better or worse off as a whole, after changing these things? Primary sources. Disintermediated experience. LOOK. Are people healthier or not after agribusiness got into the ‘nutrition’ field? Are students ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ and advancing the body of knowledge or not (generally speaking)? Has the move away from phonics led to more literacy or less? How about rote learning of math? Do today’s students, with ‘self directed learning’, in ‘peer learning’ groups, have a better knowledge of science or worse? Do today’s students, with no training in the western traditions of thought and literature have a better understanding of the society they are inheriting or worse?
Has the soft racism of ‘diminished expectation’ and the social engineering projects of the civil rights movement led to success for “minority” citizens or has it destroyed their historic institutions, communities, and families? (again, in general)
The mantra of the age is ‘more more more’. MORE help for the ‘disadvantaged’, more money for this, more money for that, more laws, more agencies, more MEDIATORS. The farther you get from anything, the less likely you are to understand it. Adding layers of people between the ‘problem’ and the ‘solution’ just doesn’t work.
Someone proposed that one of the indicators of when a society will collapse is when they start diverting a larger and larger part of their money/capital into monumental projects that take is out of circulation and don’t put it to use to generate more money. Incan pyramids, egyptian monuments, easter island, mound builder cultures, and the like. We are also diverting our HUMAN capital into non-productive monument structures. HUGE amounts of energy and creativity are diverted to monuments to ‘diversity’, ‘social justice’, ‘inclusion’, climate change, (and possibly all the financial engineering efforts where the only input or output is money.) Like resources frozen into physical monuments, or literally buried, humans get frozen into bureaucratic structures that soak up their energy, life, and creativity.
Dis intermediate.
n
(I’ll beat this thing bloody)
Ah – blame it on my old age. Something girls should NOT do the same as boys. For example, women should not go into the woods during estrus or menstruation. Thanks, MrAtoz, for mentioning bears. I giggled & thought about coyotes (in our area) or wildcats (rumored). Then I thought about fieldwork in the service & lectures when I got to a trans unit with females. There are times when it presents a significantly higher risk. This should be considered when girls go camping with other scouts.
Which is another reason men and women are not (and never can be) truly equal. We have to be treated differently because we ARE different.
Some things to think about, @Nick. At first glance, I find nothing wrong with your statements. I don’t see anywhere it’s even weak.
@Nick +∞
Vive La Différence
Like I have said many times before, stop tolerating the intolerant. The longer this abomination (obomanation) continues the worse the final judgement.
Today’s Non Sequitur comic is very appropriate.
@Lynn: Changing hosting providers is a pain. That said, I’ve been on AWS for a long time, and I’m really happy with them. Worth a look, anyway…
I would like to go with AWS but at last glance, they did not support C++ server side apps.
According to the chit chat on author boards, everyone is waiting for Gerrold, and no one expects it anytime soon… possibly never.
I figure that David Gerrold will die some day and that his son will publish books 6, 7, and 8 as they are today. Gerrold claims that book 7 and 8 are complete already. But, book 6 deals with insanity and he is having trouble with being convincing.