And it’s going to be a hot one. Yesterday was hot and humid with fluffy clouds for an occasional break in the brain boiling sun. Maybe today will have some clouds too.
Whatever the weather, we’ll be taking some time to acknowledge what we’ve had, and what we’ve lost. Tomorrow we’ll have a community celebration that will involve lots of fire and explosions. Hooray!
——————————————————-
I did get a bunch of small things done, and then our guests arrived. I got the A/C in the garage plumbed in, and closed the holes in the ceiling. Two units are running, but it isn’t cold, it’s cooler, but not as much as I hoped.
I did test the irrigation pump, and despite being under water for two or three days, it ran. I need to prime it and finish the intake pipe change I started to make, and test it to see if it is still moving water, but at least it spun up, and didn’t sound any different from before the flood.
I took some time to decorate my dock with red white and blue bunting. I’m flying an extra flag today too. We are across from our neighborhood fireworks show, so a lot of people will see my decorations. Love my country, hate…
Hung a string of lights back up over the deck. They are pretty and festive, and useful as the deck has steps.
Did some small and general “yard work” things including killing a bunch of wasps and soaking their nests with poison. One stung me, so I ended them. The roll-on version of “Fire Out” topical analgesic doesn’t last as long as the product with little glass ampules that you break and wipe on your sting. Helps, works great while it works, but doesn’t last. I’ve mentioned the other product before, when talking about my septic guy and fire ants. (Can’t find a package at the moment to look at the name.)
I’m getting really annoyed with the people who are suddenly saying “oh my, look at bidden, he’s a confused old man!” We’ve been saying that for a long time, but NOW you decide to notice? Either oblivious or mendacious, neither is good when considering the President’s fitness for office. In other words, you should have noticed before now, or you are a lying sack of sh!te.
Next week I’ll take up shouting at clouds and shaking my fist at the sky.
Meanwhile, I’ll stack. In an uncertain world, where everyone seems to have gone mad, or is getting mad, it makes me feel better to know my family can eat well.
It’ll make you feel better too!
nick
It’s General Election day in UK, so the populace will attend their allocated Polling Stations to cast their vote.
I say “allocated polling station” because the voting card you receive identifies the place where you will vote. This place, often a school, keeps a list of people registed to vote who live nearby. The polls are open between 07:00 and 22:00 on polling day, and your vote must be cast within those hours. No multi-day voting here.
You attend the polling station, and identify yourself to the invigilators (local government employees), ater which you are issued your paper ballot(s). This year, for the first time, photo ID is required for this. You take the ballot paper(s) to a cubicle, mark them appropriately, fold them, and place them in the official ballot box(es). Note: in all this I use optional plurals – depending on the election, there can be one-to-several ballots, one per race contested. We do not use omnibus ballots. Nor do we use voting machines – it’s all manually-marked paper ballots.
Once this is completed, your civic duty is done, and you may go about your business. On exit, you may be asked by party representatives about how you voted. You are not obliged to tell them anything – indeed, there are severe limits , by law, on what you can tell them. In past years, pre-pandemic, I would say no more than the equivalent of military name, rank and serial number. Now, of course, as a postal voter, I would not be issued ballot papers if I attempted to vote in person.
W is tasked with voting in person today. And, as a childminder, she has the day off, since children are excused school, and the schools are often used as polling stations. Our local polling station is a sports pavilion.
I’ve described the UK postal voting procedure before. Regardless of how the vote is cast, at counting time, a largeish number of volunteers assemble at a central location, and proceed to count the ballots. Manually – we do not use any form of mechanical or electronic assistance. The aggregate totals are finally passed to a bureaucrat, the Returning Officer, who is then tasked with announcing the total votes cast per candidate. Absent appeals (infrequent) that concludes the process.
Despite the manual processing, results can be declared in as few as 3 to 4 hours, and only constituencies that are large in area, or have other similar problems, are likely to declareafter lunch the day after polling.
G.
John Morgan is busy. His efforts with regard to weed legalization led to an initiative appearing on the Florida ballot this Fall.
Just what Florida needs. I know several couples whose marriages have been damaged or destroyed by weed, starting with the wife getting a little too curious. “They’re only gummies …”
The Morgans used to be Charlie Crist’s Kenny Boys. Crist and the rest of the Dems are done for at least a decade, however, so they’ll need to work the Republicans for a while.
Aborted fetal tissue does not go into the jabs.
There is enough to worry about in the “vaccinations” if you’ve already left the Control. Don’t go all religious now.
The inner-tubes are alite today with “plugs is going to drop out.” Sure, then in the same sentence: “The Kackling Kamel will replace him.” No one wants The Kamel except the loony left Amish nutroots. The Kamel and plugs mentioned in the same sentence is fake news. It’s probably a fund raising stunt.
Trump is Bad Daddy.
People wanted to stretch out the pandemic status quo as long as possible. Despite losing his nerve early on, eventually, Bad Daddy would have made everyone go back to work.
Four years ago, Biden offered student loan repayment, restoration of the SALT deduction, and paper millionare status for every homeowner.
I would expand that some and make it landowner or paying taxes. The taxes being from payroll or from tax filings. Landowners already pay taxes. Too many people on the public dole, who get massive tax refunds without having paid any taxes, have no problem voting for issues that will get them more money. After all, they think it is free money from the government.
What is public assistance? Money from the government? Social Security? SS Disability? VA Benefits? All those are money from the government.
I know of two people who live entirely on their VA disability money. I live entirely on social security and VA benefits. Is that considered public assistance? Or are you just considering the welfare leaches? How does someone quantify the welfare leaches? I know of one family that takes leaching to a really high level by gaming the system.
I would add a couple of simple questions to the voting requirements. A simple economic question regarding taxation. If an item on the shelf is selling for $48.99, tax rate is 10%, is two $20 bills and one $10 bill enough to purchase the item? Fail the question, no voting allowed. It is surprising the number of high school seniors that would get the question wrong.
Mine was more of an inspection rather than a clog. I got three pictures from the procedure. One image of one of the polyps that was removed, the appendiceal orifice (which means they made it all the way), and the internal hemorrhoid. It is amazing the quality of the pictures with that tiny camera. I suspect the development of phone cameras has really improved medical imaging.
Considering the medical technology of today versus what was available for my grandparents. Back in the 1920’s barely more than 100 years ago, problems that are easily detected and corrected today would have been almost fatal back then.
My knee replacement allows me to continue movement whereas back then I would have been a cripple with a rigid leg. Without a financial support system, I would have had to rely on family for basic living needs or just die.
Many cancers that when detected early can now be treated. Back 100 years all cancers were fatal, and generally painful. People died of “consumption” which was a popular term on recorded deaths.
A simple cut, which got infected, might have been fatal 100 years ago. Major head trauma was generally fatal. Heart attacks were not survivable.
I vividly remember the fears in the 1950’s from polio. People crippled for life, or dead. Then the vaccine arrived, three painful injections. The relief that everyone had because of the development of a way to prevent a very crippling disease.
Modern medical technology, diagnostic tools, treatments, and knowledge, including vaccines, have allowed people to live longer, and live better. It is simply amazing.
@Lynn
“I think that one should be a citizen and a land owner to vote in the USA.”
Landowner won’t pass, but I would advocate that taking public assistance as primary support should be contingent on giving up voting rights.
It would take a PLT judge about five minutes to rule that an illegal alien invader who “identified” as a U.S. citizen should be allowed to vote. Then about five years for the court case to work it’s way to SCOTUS and get finally overturned.
In the excellent movie “Absence of Malice”, Paul Newman’s character asks Wilford Brimley “Where do I go to get my reputation back?”. He gets no affirmative answer. Similarly, all of the election fraud that Democrats are perpetrating have no recourse after the fact, or no recourse that is not incredibly complicated and expensive. The balance for that should be that election fraud is a capital crime.
Given the massive voting fraud already in place for the upcoming election, FJB has already won. All he has to do is remain above the grass to stay in office.
I really hope for a massive and visible Trump landslide to foil their plot.
True.
Some caveats:
They redefined the word “vaccine” after a couple of centuries of common use. Now includes any medical treatment, no matter how novel, as long as you can convince/bribe a government official to believe it has a positive impact on the immune system. Not a net positive impact; it can kill people as long as they don’t die of the original disease.
Some (most?) doctors are basically drug pushers for big pharma. Obamacare pushed them into big practices where they are cogs in a machine, and Standard of Care makes them automatons. Fill out a questionaire, prescribe a drug, Next patient. They’re trapped in their job by Obamacare and student loan debt.
@Ray Thompson
“What is public assistance? Money from the government? Social Security? SS Disability? VA Benefits? All those are money from the government.
I know of two people who live entirely on their VA disability money. I live entirely on social security and VA benefits. Is that considered public assistance? Or are you just considering the welfare leaches? How does someone quantify the welfare leaches? I know of one family that takes leaching to a really high level by gaming the system.
I would add a couple of simple questions to the voting requirements. A simple economic question regarding taxation. If an item on the shelf is selling for $48.99, tax rate is 10%, is two $20 bills and one $10 bill enough to purchase the item? Fail the question, no voting allowed. It is surprising the number of high school seniors that would get the question wrong.”
Social Security? SS Disability? VA Benefits? All those are money from the government.
These are for the most part only money from the government in the sense that the government writes the checks, but the funds come from contributions made by the beneficiary. They are not “public assistance”.
I say “for the most part” because SS Disability is corrupt and has needed reform for at least half a century. There are both people who have been wrongfully denied benefits, and many more who have gamed the system with the help of shady doctors and lawyers.
One huge accomplishment for Trump was that he is the only president in decades that made any headway in improving the VA.
As far as SS is concerned, both halves (employee and employer) the retirement portion should be credited to the individual as a true retirement account, with interest paid at a real rate above inflation. Withdrawals after retirement should not be taxable at any level–the taxes have already been paid–until that account is depleted. People who get the minimum social security despite not having paid enough in taxes are on public assistance.
@Nick
“I got the A/C in the garage plumbed in, and closed the holes in the ceiling. Two units are running, but it isn’t cold, it’s cooler, but not as much as I hoped.”
If two A/C units working properly cannot get you to a reasonable temperature, is there too much solar heating? A south-facing wall is a solar collector, and an IR thermometer or camera will show you heat transfer. Too late to plant a tree twenty years ago to shade the garage, but you can consider thermally reflective paint, radiant barriers, or even something as simple as a lattice trellis attached to the outside to reduce direct sunlight.
The eternal meaning of Independence Day (2)
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/07/the-eternal-meaning-of-independence-day-2-10.php
Quote and link to Calvin Coolidge speech of 1926 celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The eternal meaning of Independence Day
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/07/the-eternal-meaning-of-independence-day-17.php
July 9, 1858, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas speech and reply by candidate Abraham Lincoln the followng day.
Notable for Douglas defense of “half slave and half free” as “diversity”. Good history to pull out when someone waxes eloquent on the wonderfulness of diversity.
“Moderna and Pfizer used aborted fetal tissue to develop the mRNA jabs.” Not in the actual ‘vaxx.’
– hence my “no matter how far removed…”
—————
The UK method is simple and sensible. There is a small matter of scale… and of course under the most recent US rules, it would be much harder to cheat. “Colin” the voter might approve of beef juice on kibble for everyone, but the rest of the area’s residents might prefer something else.
—————-
It struck me when I was in school and learned about exit polling, the big three TV networks, and the company that tabulates the votes, how easy it would be to influence results, or just fabricate them entirely. Growing up in Chicago further cemented the idea that vote fraud was common.
—————–
84F, blue sky with fluffy clouds.
——————
Dog goes nuts when seeing my sibling’s spouse. F’ing dog.
n
And if you can plant something like morning glory on the trellis, then next year it’ll be twice as effective.
excerpt from Lincoln’s speech above:
@drwilliam, the garage is not insulated, and is probably getting a lot of heat transfer. I was hoping to just overpower that when we want to play pool, but I think it’ll take more cooling that I have. At least until I can get some more insulation installed.
As I expose walls, the plan is to insulate. I’ll have to take another look at the attic, it’s floored but may not be insulated. The parts I”ve looked at did have at least a minimal insulation.
I don’t know where my IR gun is, I think it may be in a pelican case with other test equipment… or it might be in my traveling tool box. I can look in the traveling box, I brought it up here. Good idea to check…
n
Then my wife is one of those on public assistance by your definition. Her SS is based on 50% of mine, minus 25% because she started at 62. She worked some, but not nearly enough to cover what she is getting. We both chose for her to stay home and take care of our son.
Should she be denied voting?
Her situation probably is the same as many families. I know of several.
Let’s remember to eat our vegetables this year, not elect them.
–Rob Schneider
https://twitchy.com/samj/2024/07/04/rob-schneider-meme-dig-at-biden-n2397986
RFK defends himself:
https://hotair.com/headlines/2024/07/03/rfk-no-i-didnt-eat-a-dog-n3791354
Better than the Joe Biden version:
“The article is a lot of f*cking garbage. I didn’t eat a dog… I don’t remember eating a dog… Jilly, did I eat a dog? My dogs eat people! Ask the Secret Service. What a bunch of cr*p! No, what’s that… Jilly, I need a change!!!”
Reporting results on the east coast before the west coast polls close I feel influences the west coast (think about Hawaii). I really don’t like the networks predicting an outcome. I feel that no reporting on the election should be reported until polls have closed in all the states.
A blast from the past: https://www.dailypundit.com/dailypundit.wordpress/2017/07/04/8259/
And the student loan debt funds Obamacare under the machinations required to get the program through the Senate on Reconciliation.
Real estate is another limiting factor for careers. I speak from personal experience when I say that desirable places to live with heavy tech or finance industry employment are not great places for doctors to practice in the traditional way since the hottest companies in the S&P 500 right now generally skimp on benefits, my own current employer included, and reimbursements suffer as a result.
That is a goat in the Vanity Fair picture.
Arturo’s in Weslaco serves Cabrito, complete with charro beans and tortillas for $35.
I imagine that there are more places offering the dish on the other side of the border.
We are in Arturo’s about once a year. I’ve never seen the Cabrito served, but I imagine that is the purpose of the smaller private rooms around the perimeter of the main dining area.
My wife got curious about the menu entry last year and hit the Interwebs.
True. I am lucky that my wife’s works for a smaller org, and they have truly excellent health insurance. A true PPO plan. They absorb a lot of the cost. Heck she also has a pension plan, in addition to a good 401k match. The pension won’t set us up for life, but it will at least pay for insurance premiums.
Why You Should Read The Federalist Papers This July Fourth — And Where To Start
https://thefederalist.com/2024/07/04/the-federalist-papers-are-the-cure-to-americas-rampant-political-illiteracy/
spoiler:
2, 6, 10, 51
It has often been recognized that legal immigrants receive an education in the history of the United States that makes them more knowledgeable than the product of the public schools in the U.S. That was true before the depredations of the Democrat/communist-front teachers unions of the last two generations and is even more true now. There is no topic more important: the study of American history and government should be pervasive throughout the twelve years leading to high school graduation and some level of proficiency should be required to graduate. What is proficiency is debatable, but I would submit that at least a third of the electorate is now below that level. I suspect that the average sixth-grade graduate of the nineteenth century had a better grasp of the structure of the U.S. government.
YES!!! I grew up there too, I agree 100%.
@Greg Norton
Goat used to be an inexpensive dish in some parts of Mexico, but like skirt steak and chicken wings in the U.S., it has become much more expensive due to demand. Some years ago I ate at a restaurant in Monterrey whose specialty was cabrito served whole for the table. My companions were Mexicans and it was a new experience for both. The consensus after the meal was the result did not justify the cost, which was about equivalent to a nice seafood meal. In that city, at least, it seems to have become a rite of passage for graduation celebrations.
I order the Chicken Mole at Arturo’s.
@Ray Thomas
Intact families. What an archaic concept. Single breadwinner. How quaint.
No, she keeps voting. The FICA spousal benefit recognizes the contribution of a caregiving spouse who did not work outside the home. By the time this situation is considered as a reason for limiting voting rights, we should have purged millions of others.
Good question that illustrates why, after decades of legislative sausage-making have given way to secret off-site 1200-page Democrat bill factories with hidden intact goodies for the rich and connected, we can write better laws but they ain’t going to be a short paragraph.
I’m used to employers skimping on benefits since I got my career restarted, but compounding the problem at the current place is that management is very into agenda and sets tight rules for the HSA.
I do not qualify for the HSA because my wife’s Federal BCBS is too generous.
@Greg Norton
I have a friend from Oaxaca who is a brilliant chemist. I was honored to be his guest at a restaurant that reminded him of his mother and sisters’ cooking. After some discussion with the waiter and a table visit from the chef, we had an array of food and sauces that was an education as well as a fine meal.
https://www.foodrepublic.com/1294179/moles-of-oaxaca/
Time to stir the beans and flip the steaks in the marinade.
If anyone can remember enough of JEP’s post on the schoolmaster that led his young charges against the British to find a link, please post it.
No. As part of a couple, she paid a fair share of Federal Income Tax which is where the SS money originates.
Helvering v. Davis established SS as “general welfare” spending, everyone getting the check is on “public assistance”.
Flemming v. Nestor gave Congress the final say of who gets what amount.
The “trust” is all kabuki since those two decisions. Congress could set the payout at zero for everyone with a majority vote. A 2/3 vote would only be required if the President didn’t go along.
It’s Thompson.
Yes, I am old, quaint is debatable.
Over The Hedge: Denial
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2024/07/04
The T-Rex suit must have a huge speaker in it according to Wine-Box Lady.
I’m getting really annoyed with the people who are suddenly saying “oh my, look at bidden, he’s a confused old man!” We’ve been saying that for a long time, but NOW you decide to notice? Either oblivious or mendacious, neither is good when considering the President’s fitness for office. In other words, you should have noticed before now, or you are a lying sack of sh!te.
Next week I’ll take up shouting at clouds and shaking my fist at the sky.
Bidden has been confused all of his life. I remember him conspiring with the other dumbrocrats when he led the Senate confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas and invited Anita Hill in to turn them into a public spectacle.
@Ray Thompson
“It’s Thompson.”
Don’t know how I made that error–you don’t look anything like him.
Do you play the flute?
Only because Roosevelt lied to the taxpayers.
“Reminder”
https://areaocho.com/reminder-5/
“They want you dead”.
Yes they do.
They are hoping for a world without the rule of law where they can go to certain doors and kill everyone inside.
Plenty of room if the suit is a fan-type inflatable.
I’m just curious how the day of election was chosen to be the same day as the start of “end of empire”. Not snark, really. To an American of many generations it seems rather odd.
I am on the third season of Battlestar Gallactica on Prime. The anachronisms between a deep dark future and the present day are very subtly done. Masterfully done.
They are hoping for a world without the rule of law where they can send people through certain doors and kill everyone inside.
FIFY
Everyone should have a hose bib near the front door to keep the porch clean.
“anachronisms”
analogies?
Well, I spoiled my supper.
Snacking for lunch included seriously good cherry frozen yogurt. It’s locked back in the freezer but I hear the dulcet persuasive tones…
@crawdaddy:
No idea, But it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the PM picked it at semi-random. By long-established convention, Election Day is a Thursday, but other than that…
The only fixed point is that the election has to be before the end of this year, because of the maximum 5-year term of a parliament.
G.
Overturning Chevron May Prove Pyrrhic
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/overturning-chevron-may-prove-pyrrhic/
A good historical overview, and properly decries a return to the courts extrapolating the law.
The correct interpretation is that when Congress does not do it’s job, neither the Executive nor the Courts can do it for them. Separation of powers says that congressional power cannot be ceded to the other branches.
If a law if poorly written, it should go back to Congress.
If some cases are outside the boundaries of the law, then the law does not cover those cases. Congress can write new law, but neither the Courts nor the Executive can make it up.
And a good friend with a feral hog “problem.”
From 2011, until its repeal by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011, provided that, absent a two-thirds majority in the Commons, a Parliamentary term was 5 years.
G.
I suspect that, while the British do have some inkling of the history of America, the 4th of July is not really a significant date to most of them. Sort of like Guy Fawkes day to me. If I wasn’t reminded of it I wouldn’t remember it at all.
Lights dimming all across the nation as ABC News uses massive amounts of AI to prepare the video for Friday evening broadcast.
https://hotair.com/karen-townsend/2024/07/04/about-the-stephanopoulos-interview-with-bidenchanges-have-been-made-n3791371
George Steponpotamus, best known for wearing out multiple sets of kneepads in the Clinto Oval Office and making crotchless underwear part of the dress code for WH Communicatins Director, complained that Google is just barely providing them with the computational power to simulate the interview results ahead of the actual interview, but brags that eventually the technology will be so advanced that the actual interviews will not be necessary.
“I’m sharper than any tack ever made!” roared FJB as he reminded GPorgy that his one-page solution to Fermat’s Last Theorem will be published ”any day now” by Unscientific American. He nibbled on railroad spikes and offered to shown off the 16-penny nails caught in his Kevlar Depends, but the clock chimed 4PM.
Brit Hume assesses Politifact
https://x.com/brithume/status/1808482464962064638
With the ABC interview there is no rule against an earpiece. Which Spongey will almost certainly be wearing. There may even be electrodes that can be remotely activated attached to his manhood so he can stay awake.
MORE SLEEP?!
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/04/us/politics/biden-governors.html
Mr. Biden said that he told his staff he needed to get more sleep, multiple people familiar with what took place in the meeting said. He repeatedly referenced pushing too hard and not listening to his team about his schedule, and said he needed to work fewer hours and avoid events after 8 p.m., according to one of the people familiar with what took place at the meeting.
“Nine Ukrainian Jets Destroyed In 24 Hours, Russia’s Military Says”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/nine-ukrainian-jets-destroyed-24-hours-russias-military-says
“The Kremlin has continued to signal to the West that the dozens of US F-16 fighter jets currently being prepped to transfer to Ukraine are as good as dead on arrival. Past weeks of media reports have indicated that a handful of European countries will begin sending F-16s by some point this summer, when Ukrainian pilots complete their training on the advanced fighter.”
“Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it launched a major attack on an airfield in central Ukraine, which destroyed and damaged seven Ukrainian fighter jets. The location was identified as the Myrhorod airbase in the country’s Poltava region. Two more were reported shot down in a separate operation.”
More good after all of the bad.
What? Politifact has a bias?
I’m shocked. Shocked!
Welcome to the party, pal … er Britt.
Welcome to funkytown “over-the-air” (ota) tv follies.
I’ve been watching Defy TV broadcast of A&E library shows for some time, including block-programmed American Pickers. Storage Wars, Forged in Fire, and Pawn Stars and others. Too many commercials, but good fare for the kitchen and shop tv’s–keep it in the background until an interesting segment turns up, then watch for a few minutes.
It seems that Defy TV was replaced by Ion Plus on July 1. I didn’t know until yesterday when I tuned into MacGuyver Lite. No, just no. With or without the dwarf. Didn’t care much for the original, either. Something about no guns but no compunctions about explosive devices flinging bad stuff around.
Seems Defy TV was sold off to another media company, truncationally rebranded as Defy, and [insert puty face here] the local result for me was it moved to a different part of the ota dial apparently serviced by a powerful 4W surplus CD transmitter in a refurbished kybo in someone’s garden. They immediately showed their programming brilliance by running the schedule through a saladmaster, apparently after removing Forged in Fire.
In other ota TV news H&I ended Terminator: The Sara Connor Files and replaced it with a scary people with sah-wards show. Not much of a loss, since TTSCF ended badly after three years and recycled too fast even limited to two episodes per week.
It is all about ratings and ad revenue. Old school.
Weigel has featured “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” in the 12AM ET/11 PM CT Saturday time slot on MeTV for several years.
The Weigel MeTV Toons network is brilliantly done. We couldn’t believe how much non-PC material randomly popped up in the old shows last weekend.
Oh, and Scrappy Doo-free “Scooby Doo” episodes.
Yes, “Harvey Birdman” showed the gang finally busted for weed, but the best part of the show was Scrappy’s fate.
Puppy Power!
https://twitchy.com/aaronwalker/2024/07/04/ooof-see-the-absolutely-brutal-cover-the-economist-ran-to-critique-bidens-health-n2397993
Fake. Real ones have tennis balls on the leg tips.
We have reprogrammed dog DNA, and they have reprogrammed ours:
https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1807137207838466474
Observe how the small child who is too young to crawl nevertheless attempts to throw the ball.
Good boy!
>> Some (most?) doctors are basically drug pushers for big pharma. Obamacare pushed them into big practices where they are cogs in a machine, and Standard of Care makes them automatons. Fill out a questionaire, prescribe a drug, Next patient. They’re trapped in their job by Obamacare and student loan debt.
Thank goodness for concierge physicians. Worth every penny.
Elections in Canada are much the same as in the UK. ID is required and your name has to appear on the voter’s list.
There is provision on the income tax form to have your name placed on the voter’s list.
Paper ballots, federal and provincial elections are for for the local MP or MPP.
Municipal elections are a bit different. Still a paper ballot but area for candidates running for different offices. Counted by machine.
For federal and Provincial(?) elections scrutineers from each official party MUST be present when the ballots are counted.
There is nation wide blackout on election results until the last poll closes on the west coast. In fact the government can get a majority just with the seats in Ontario and Québec.
It’s not that there isn’t election fraud, it is just harder to pull off.
One serious defect is that while you have to be a citizen to run and vote, you do not have to be a citizen to choose a candidate and that is causing real problems in some areas.
“Elon Musk vows Bill Gates will be ‘obliterated’ if he doesn’t stop shorting Tesla”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/savingandinvesting/ar-BB1plzWz
“Elon Musk gave Bill Gates advance warning on Tuesday not to trifle with him again. The Microsoft co-founder faces annihilation if he makes any further attempt to bet against Tesla.”
“That’s because Musk believes he will have transformed the carmaker into an AI colossus worth a staggering $30 trillion as soon as Tesla completes its pivot from selling EVs first and foremost to operating a lucrative fleet of robotaxis and humanoid robots.”
So when Tesla releases the Tesla Bot in December 2024, how long until the human extinction event ?
Sounds like my neighborhood is being invaded. Luckily the continuous mortars are holding them off.
Fairly quiet night at the lake. Our big local fireworks are tomorrow night.
There were some decent semi-pro grade shots around 930.
It was crazy hot so I mostly chatted with neighbors and sat around.
Not a bad day.
Radio tonight was poor. Although one guy from NZ was booming in, he was having a rag chew with a guy who was too low in the noise for me to hear what he was saying only that he was talking. The interesting thing was that the loud signal was answering the guy’s question about the Youtube channel he runs. He has about 60K subs, makes about $1200 a month from ad revenue, but pulls down huge sums in patreon and paypal [tips]. He wouldn’t mention the number ota, but insisted it was significant. Seemed like his channel was mostly about ham radio. Youtube has become a viable career path for the people who are good at it, across many fields and topics.
Unfortunately from watching other popular channels, youtube is a fickle and sometimes randomly mean mistress and they will kill your channel without a second thought. No career security there.
Time for a shower and bed. I do hope the skies clear one of these nights so my guests can see how cool a big telescope can be…
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Have y’all followed the UK election results? First, to put this out there: the Tories (conservatives) have been in control. Under their leadership, there has been an absolute flood of immigrants. This despite Brexit, which should have given the UK the ability to close its borders and deport illegals.
The only positive note (since I’m more interested in Scotland than other parts of the UK) is that the SNP – which is *very* far left – also lost seats to Labour.
So now Labour is going to be in charge. Labour, which seems to be dominated by progressives. The chances that they will do anything useful seem…unlikely.
I trust Russian propaganda reports exactly as much as I should. That said, handing F-16s to hastily trained pilots seems like a bad idea.
Now that the US has dropped the idiotic restriction about attacking Russian logistics, drones are the way to go. Thousands and thousands of cheap drones.
“The Supreme Court Fires a Warning Shot at Jack Smith (A Deep Dive Into the Immunity Decision)”
https://twitchy.com/aaronwalker/2024/07/04/supreme-court-to-jack-smith-were-on-to-you-a-deep-dive-into-the-presidential-immunity-decision-n2397941
“First off, this arises from Jack Smith’s D.C. indictment of Trump for activities related to January 6, 2021, where Smith is basically trying to make it a crime to dispute an election. Still, while the other criminal cases—including the Manhattan case where a jury rendered its verdict—wasn’t technically on the docket, those cases might be affected by this. In other words, the Supreme Court might have also ‘spanked the Fani.’”
“In any case, this is a Roberts opinion. The rule in the Supreme Court is that the most senior justice in a majority decides who writes the opinion and while Roberts is not chronologically the most senior—Thomas is—a chief justice is always considered the most senior even if he or she started yesterday. Roberts seems to love to write the blockbuster legal opinions, though we don’t blame him for that. And while Roberts can be infuriating, we think this opinion was very good doctrinally, and a ‘B’ in terms of the quality of writing. Not spectacular, but well done.”
Hat tip to:
https://drudgereport.com/
Hurricane Beryl:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT02/refresh/AL022024_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind+png/144818_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png
They just moved the top edge of the cone to Houston.
South Texas may get a LOT of rain next week.
So when Tesla releases the Tesla Bot in December 2024, how long until the human extinction event ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimus_(robot)
$25K each. Tesla expects to have hundreds of thousands of them on their production lines in a coupe of years. Way cheaper than humans, no vacation, no showing up drunk, no not showing up, no getting hurt on the line, etc.