Watch This, and Take Heart

There are ways out of the mess we are currently in.

Some Randomness for Thanksgiving

My husband talked me into picking up a new TV last night. The prices really were amazing, with features like built-in Roku, an WiFi recognition. The machine, a 43-inch screen size, was $299. 

And the light weight! I remember a mid-80s TV, that 2 men were needed to move it in. Any fewer meant a likely hernia. 

But the biggest surprise to me was the price of running it. Older TVs ran HOT. I used to use the top of those boxes as a food warming tray. You can see the difference in the Energy Guide:

That’s a bargain, and more than justifies the cost.

Have you been looking at the locations of "random" violence perpetrated against non-Black people lately by people of other ethnicities?

It's cities, with 'vibrant' downtown shopping.

Why?

Because the Government controls the security of the cities, and is remarkably resistant to providing adequate protection to Actually Non-Violent People using those spaces.

In contrast, the malls and shopping centers are Privately Controlled, and the customers' security is protected by Mall Cops. Which, despite their reputation, are generally pretty good, not inclined to hassle people without cause, and quite responsive to theft and threats of violence. YMMV, but that's generally what I've seen in my experience.

The one mall that had major issues of theft, violence, and other problems, was - at one time - the most luxurious mall around, the Randall Park Mall. There, the problems were:

• Teens/20-somethings using it as a hangout place.
• Roving groups, walking 3-5 abreast, forcing shoppers aside, and often causing injury. I actually experienced this, twice, before re-directing my shopping dollars to safer venues.
• Theft. A MAJOR issue. The 'kids' casually took stuff, often using the 'blitz method' - multiple kids coming in, some of them taking stuff, others being used to shield others from cameras or clerks. Then, quickly, all leaving, often handing off the stolen merchandise to still others, leaving them with no evidence on their person, and threatening court action for bias against them if the stores tried to pursue charges. It didn't have to happen very often for the stores to decide not to renew their lease. At that point, Randall owners had a hard time finding other stores to fill that space.
• The other big theft attraction was the high-value merchants - jewelry stores, electronics stores, and those selling high-priced merchandise. Those were attacked with a blitzkrieg smash and grab tactic. Very effective in chasing away both stores and customers.
• The other theft issue, and a major reason they lost customers, was the presence of large male people, often in groups, who would swoop down on customers when they reached their cars, and take the shopping bags. Sometimes took the entire car/SUV. Threatened violence, and - too often - delivered on that threat.

As the reports usually involved Urban Youths, the publicity centered on the demonstrated bias of the mall - how DARE they identify the crooks as Not-White!

Which, they were. Didn't matter, the lawyers got involved, and it was Open Season for People Who Were Not-White to take advantage of the mall's hesitancy to act to protect their merchants.

So, the mall died. And, thanks to similar tactics, many of the malls are no longer in operation. A bonus is that the shopping strips have managed to pick up the niche. It's more work and less payoff to hit those stores, so they have lost opportunities to steal after the demise of many malls across the country.

The central cities, with their efforts to increase shopping within a very small area (as the cost is high in the central cities, and competes with office space), have - once again - created The Perfect Place for Crooks and Vandals to Congregate. Leading to the massive losses in many major cities, as well as accusations against cops, followed by pulling back the cops from acting, leading to - you guessed it - more violence and looting.

This was delayed, as I had some ambition, but no follow-through. I'm clearing up old tasks today, so here it is.

The Best Practice to Follow, For Now

Just like in the old Hippocratic Oath:

First, Do No Harm.

I have no way of verifying this report - although The Gateway Pundit has been in the forefront of many stories, they have pushed some that proved to be more rumor than fact.

But, I DO, personally know, that the Official Line on Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is dead-on wrong. It has some connection to eye problems, including blindness - for LONG-TERM use. Under the 5 year mark, it's just not likely. And, with proper monitoring by an opthalmologist, it is as safe as any medicine can be.

I've been on it for daily use, for almost 2 years. I take it for RA symptoms, and it does help manage the swelling, redness, and inflammation in my joints. I anticipate taking it until it is no longer effective, or until side effects show up.

There really was no need to intubate and ventilate ALL Covid patients when they were first admitted. But, many hospitals did. There is some evidence that the treatment made the situation worse, and may have significantly contributed to the deaths of many patients.

But, few autopsies were done. Most people accepted that their loved ones had been given the best treatment possible.

My mother had that belief - that her doctor's treatment plan was optimal for her. Even when she suffered a stroke, and she was not immediately sent to the ER, she refused to even consider a 2nd opinion. Even after her death, her husband and others in the family had nothing but praise for her doctor.

A psychologist could probably explain this as a matter of what economists call "sunk costs". When you have committed time and money to a particular plan of action, you become extremely resistant to even considering a change, however minor. Indeed, you may become quite angry about any deviation from a course that is sailing straight towards the iceberg.

How low that course takes this country is completely in God's hands, although I have to believe that He wouldn't mind a little assistance in the process of alleviating the pain of His people.

The Epidemic of my Youth

I'm not referring to Smallpox or Polio. I'm writing about an influenza breakout in 1968, popularly called the Hong Kong Flu.

I got that variation - none of the rest of my family did, in great part to my mother's efforts to isolate me in one room, follow my every deviation from that isolation with sprayed disinfectant (Lysol), and scrub down every item I touched.

I'd been stricken while at school. I went to the nurse's office, and she put me on a bed and called my parents - although, despite complaining about being cold, she never did take my temperature. Well, it was a full house, some of them spewing, so I imagine she had better things to do. My dad left work to pick me up and take me home, where I stayed for the next 2 weeks.

If I remember correctly, she even washed all my clothes and bedding separately, in hot water and bleach.

Plus, I remember the convalescent foods she delivered to my bed:

• Soup and crackers
• 7-up and ginger ale
• My favorite - grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup
• Buttered cinnamon toast

By the time I was up and around, and eating regular solid foods, I was just congested and very tired. As I recall, I was down for about 2 weeks, and easily tired for several weeks after that.

But, I recovered, as did most generally healthy people. About 100,000 in the USA did not, that year, mostly - you guessed it - the old and infirm. Not the young and previously healthy.

Worldwide, the toll was higher in some countries, although not as high as Covid. However, we have MANY more fragile elderly. That was rare in my day - either you were a healthy senior, often working and maintaining your own house well into old age, or you died off fairly quickly.

We also have many more younger people in poor health, whether cancer survivors (in my day, most people with cancer - no matter what their age - died fairly quickly), immunosuppressed, cardiac problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases.

So, the high numbers of deaths in the early months of the Covid epidemic hasn't truly surprised me; those that died were generally not as healthy as the average person of 1968. The numbers of dead has also shrunk since hospitals stopped putting patients on their backs (easier to for nursing staff to handle the use of a ventilator). When they switched to laying them on their stomachs, percentage of deaths dropped.

Such a simple thing to make such a difference. But, that is often the case in medicine - as, for example, the earlier change to frequent hand-washing in those caring for the sick.

I got sick in late November; I can date my illness so precisely, as, in the middle of my bed stay, the Elvis TV special was on, and my father thoughtfully brought up the black & white portable set to the bedroom. My mother also delivered fresh books to my bedside when I ran out (I read omnivorously). Really, the family all took very good care of me, although not venturing into the room of "The Unclean" unless absolutely necessary.

I returned to school for just a few weeks before Christmas. I really wasn't up to speed until the New Year.

No antivirals. No decongestant (most of which didn't exist then). Just good old-fashioned home nursing.

Intellectual Freedom, My A$$

This link at Bookriot is filled with the Virtue Signaling garbage of those on The Left who wrongly believe that they are THE One Person That Keeps the Forces of EVIL from taking over all the world's 'conversations'.

And, by 'conversations', they mean - B***h, you BETTER parrot what I TELL you to.

 These complaints are coming from grown adults who may or may not live in a community and more often than not, they’re aligned with right-wing groups funded by a lot of dark money. Moms of Liberty — currently putting a bounty on teachers who talk about systemic racism — is but one of many of such groups across the United States, typically spearheaded by a failed or hopeful politician.

 Honey, nobody give a rat's a$$ what a teacher talks about in school, as long as she/he/zit is responsible, and actually TEACHES: Class, here is what The Left says Systemic Racism is. Here is why The Right doesn't agree. Now, go home, talk to your family, and get their thoughts on it. The test will only ask for you to be able to list the main points of each side. You can take any side, or hate/love them all.

If that were all, no problem.

But, that's not what happens. Kids are FORCED to take a side (and they BETTER take the 'correct' side), in front of the class. Group pressure is used to keep people from openly supporting the OTHER side - opposite what the teacher supports.

And, you might ask, how ever will they know what the teacher thinks?

• Posters
• Bumper stickers
• Videos supporting that side shown in class
• T-shirts/buttons/open advocacy

And, of course, the fake-friendly reassurance by the "impartial" teacher that she is JUST FINE with alternative viewpoints.

Right. Sure. Like that won't put a target on the kids' head. And, all the suckups eager to get the teacher's approval eagerly labeling them EVIL, and taking revenge via social media.

The Twitter link in this is to a picture of masked Proud Boys.

They share information across public and private social media tools (here’s a great example of an extremist group gearing up their followers to at protest one school board meeting this week). These groups put board members in a position of being on the defense, and in many cases board members need to be escorted to their vehicles after a meeting because their literal safety is at risk.

Their LITERAL SAFETY? Get real. At that meeting, no violence.  

In the first example of those Extremists, in IL, despite some efforts, they weren't in evidence at the meeting:

Members of the Proud Boys — a far-right neo-fascist group which has recently latched onto school board protests around the country — promoted the meeting on a messaging app commonly used by far-right activists and urged each other to attend, according to screenshots posted to social media. It’s unclear whether any members of the group showed up.

OMZ! INVISIBLE EXTREMISTS! How terrifying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, if parents don't give in to The Leftists, they are Endangering Their Children's Mental Health!!!!!!!

...the same groups that are pushing anti-antiracism with their anti-“CRT” movement that conveniently includes anyone who isn’t straight, too, is going to start coming hard for mental health. They’re already protesting social emotional learning, and the next logical step is the books that talk about mental health.

OMZ!!!!!!!!

The people who want even very young kids to be exposed to the idea that they can LITERALLY switch their sex/gender (Hint: they cannot), and who dissolve into tears at any opposition (when they aren't committing assault on opponents), are going to be in charge of Mental Health.

Sounds legit to me. 

Other concerns about censorship are just too ridiculous for words. Parental concerns about some rather explicit literature in school libraries is waved away as The Worst Thing Ever! The concern of Leftists:

...those same books are on a frequent-flier list of books currently facing challenges or bans across the country, the titles gaining notoriety through social media memes and out-of-context quotes from the book’s more suggestive passages. While some of the passages are explicit, depicting sex as either trauma, discovery or both, none are prurient, gratuitous, obscene or pornographic. None, for example, approach the violence and prurience of Popeye’s rape of 17-year-old Temple with a corncob in Faulkner’s “Requiem for a Nun,” following which Popeye pimps out the girl so he can watch. None include the copious use of the N-word and the latent racism of Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn.” None approach the irony of the “Nausicaa” episode in James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” where Leopold Bloom masturbates to Gerty MacDowell’s leg. None quite approximate the male brutality, serial rape and police-state themes of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Those books, all by white authors, three of them male and dead, are frequent, never-noticed titles on high school reading lists. 

Yeah, because NONE of these parents would ALSO be against many of those books by White authors.

/sarc

There is censorship - government action to prevent adults from reading what they choose. And, then, there is Not-Censorship - PARENTS making the decision that the media is not appropriate for children in a school library, and voicing their concerns at the public forum designed to hear those concerns.

You are, in fact, free to read what you like in America.

You are not, though, able to force the rest of us to pay for it. Or, to force topics so adult on the legally minor, against parents wishes.

There was a time when adults would sue for their right to buy non-community-approved books, for consumption in their own homes. They won in court. From there, it was a short step to making sure that libraries had that same media available in libraries, where it would be placed in the adult sections.

Now, they want to force schools to have books with adult themes/language to be in school libraries/booklists, whether or not parents approve of those choices.

News Flash - if The Left wants children to have exposure to sexually explicit literature, they need to make their OWN kids, and put those values into practice. Leave other peoples' kids alone.

The Stupid is Strong with this Prosecution

I'm amazed that even TWO jurors are holding out for conviction - and, it's said that they are doing so to prevent being targeted for mob action.

Now, it's 50-50 that this will  be a hung jury. That would leave it to the judge to step in, and provide a directed verdict, freeing Rittenhouse. Well, freeing him to face many, many civil suits. If he is not tied up in various courts for some time, it won't be the fault of The Vindictive Left.

This is not new. The Dems have been doing this for some time.

Also, they have been using mob action to bypass fair trials. The "change" that supposedly occurred during the Kennedy years and shortly after, during LBJ's term of office, whereby the GOP became the "Bad Party" that contained all the Racists, and the Dems became the "Good Party" that just LOVED Black People (yeah, right), was always false.

This trial was 100 years ago. When the mob gathered outside of the courthouse, the judge ORDERED the jury to convict - which, they did. So, jury intimidation is not a new practice for the Dems and their allies.

Will there be a secession? Unlikely, at least in the armed, Blue vs. Grey sense.

However, one of the commenters points out, that this split in orientation is NOT by region, but a case of the very big cities against the rest of us. What MAY happen is that the states dump the big cities, and go their own way. Just cut them out of the equation, and run the state without their vote or input.

The fact is, most large cities are a drain on the state's finances. They COST more than they contribute. So, reconstituting separately from the large cities might be the smartest thing ever.

Most of the more profitable businesses moved out, long ago. The airports located outside of the city's boundaries, in many cases (In Charlotte, NC's case, part of the city airport land is actually located in SC. Amazingly, the two states have cooperated in sharing planning, revenue, and other issues.)

So, dumping the cities might be the best thing that ever happened to the residents. It would be a massive wake-up call for all involved. Many of them, deprived of the influx of cash from the state and county, might eventually become another Detroit - depopulated and actually functioning BETTER without all the "helpful government".

Here is the Detroit The Left would LIKE you to think of, when you hear about the city:

But, here is the REAL Detroit.

Outside of the central city parameters, essentially depopulated.

Here's a link to information about the partisan folks that are skewing news coverage.

Here is the actual downloadable report.

Another CYA report The Left would LIKE you to buy into.

I really can't wait until all of these Lying, Cheating politicians are out of office (particularly if they are replaced with some honest outsiders). The opportunity to clear the air about racist accusations, and correct a very dishonest record would be priceless.

However, any hope of honest elections is far away, as long as the FEC is permitted to 'include' foreigners as voters, for the purposes of ballot initiatives. What part of "voting rights are for actual CITIZENS" is not completely clear?

I would love to see the opportunity for court oversight of elections, but I am not all that confident that they would do the job correctly. However, the principle of Federal oversight of elections, when they disenfranchise citizens, is clear, well-established, and both has precedent and black-letter law on its side.

I'm re-reading Enemies Foreign and Domestic, by Matt Bracken; I enjoyed it the first time, and it's both been long enough for me to enjoy reading again, and a good book - interesting and timely - enough so, when I am waiting online or on the phone, I will be lulled into a mood that will resist the urge to jump down the throats of those making me wait.

In short, I'm using it as a pacifier. Well, it beats taking up smoking again.

Pearl Harbor Day, From the Perspective of My Parents

They had very different experiences.

Dad had already been drafted, about 6 months before. He always said that he thanked God for that happenstance, as it gave him time to be trained for his eventual job in the Artillery.

At that time, America was at peace. Europe was already engulfed in military action, and stories (and refugees) were streaming out, telling of atrocities and horrors. But, it didn't affect that many Americans, and most of the country was determinedly pacifistic.

After the country's experience in WWI, most Americans were resolute in their belief that the USA ought to stay out of troubles in other countries - both Republicans and Democrats were generally opposed to military action.

So, even though my Dad was serving in the Army, he - like most of his unit - fully expected to serve their term without seeing action. For my Dad, and a lot of others, it was easy money. And, as their housing, food, and medical needs were taken care of, the money was theirs to spend freely. Which, most of them did.

My Dad, an experienced poker player, made a fairly good addition to his income off the nearby games. He sent some of it home for his mother (who still had 2 kids at home), and used the rest for fun.

When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he, like most of the rest, were glued to the radio. They knew that this would likely be a game-changer. What most of them didn't expect is that they would be also declaring war on Germany and Italy. Their beef was with Japan. This experience is similar to what we felt after 9/11 - why the hell did we go to Iraq, rather than to Afghanistan (and Pakistan, that never got the payback they deserved for facilitating bin Laden's plans)?

Dad had time to digest the news and prepare for war. It was several years before he landed in Europe, in 1943. He made it in time for a fair amount of hostile action, including the Battle of the Bulge. He was cold, wet, dirty and miserable. As part of the Artillery units, he was generally a little further back from the Front. It was dangerous, but not as bad at those who flew the planes into the enemy's cities, or who were face-to-face with their opponents.

No, his war was mostly flash and boom. A LOT of boom. He lost a significant part of his hearing in that war. After, he was less social in groups - he couldn't hear well enough in noisy environments to participate. Only in small groups, or away from the noise, could he be a part of conversations.

I'd always thought of him as shy. It probably was less shyness, than inability to hear clearly. From stories he later told of his wild, mispent youth (gambling, drinking, and driving fast cars for his bootlegging buddies), he came home from the war a different man.

Mom was only 13 on December 7, 1941. She was in 7th grade at St. Luke's School, in Lakewood, OH. Her experience was very different.

Her only brother was 4-F for vision. He worked as a welder at a J & L Steel, where his Dad used some influence to get him a job. As he was otherwise fit for duty, he was isolated from the hazards, and yet able to fully participate in life. He really did have horrible vision, so there is no doubt the military made the right decision, but he always felt he had something to prove to the world about his manhood.

Without having personal worries about loved ones in danger, my mother threw herself into fully enjoying the war years. That sounds callous, but she was a kid - and a fun-loving, outgoing one, to boot. She was a temperament similar to Scarlett O'Hara, who fretted that "silly war talk" would spoil her fun. She had a lot more compassion and character than Scarlett, but definitely could relate to her desire to ignore the more unpleasant parts of war.

She went to an all-girls school - St. Theresa's Academy - now defunct. Her brother and sisters had attended Holy Name, a coed school, but transportation difficulties made that a less attractive option. Besides, her best friend was already enrolled, so she joined the crowd.

Mom was NOT the academic type. She made OK grades, but found the classes boring. She was always up for a prank or mischief, even in school. Because she really was a nice girl, if more than a bit frivolous, she kept out of serious trouble. 

St. Theresa prided themselves on producing Nice Catholic Wives and Mothers. My mother was a stellar example of their work. She married at 19, less than a year after her graduation, and stayed married for 46 years. My father was in love with her to the end.

Mom participated in metal scrap drives, meatless Tuesdays, and other Support the Troops activities. One of the funniest things she did was to persuade her parents to host a party. With all her classmates in an all-girls school, they were woefully short of men.

That's when my mother had the bright idea of calling up the local Coast Guard station, and inviting any of the guys to a party.

Fortunately, my grandparents took their job as chaperones seriously, and - once the guys saw how young the girls were, and that they were being watched over at a no alcohol party - the older and wilder ones left, and the younger guys who stayed had a wonderful time.

My mother's reputation as a party-planner was made for all time.

Mom did pick up a boyfriend in high school. By the time she was 16, they were engaged. They broke up shortly after the war was over, when her Navy fiancee returned. A few months later, after graduation, she met my Dad, and only a few months later, they eloped.

For Mom, the war years were exciting. She would sing the songs of her teen years around the house. She had nothing but good memories of that time. She'd been safe, warm, and reasonably well-fed throughout.

My Dad had a different experience. He talked little of most of the war, focusing on a few of the funny stories of that time. There weren't many. Like many who slogged along, he spent most of the war uncomfortable, when he wasn't in danger. He'd been dirty for long periods of time, and often cold and wet.

The local infrastructure, by the time he got to see it, was trashed. The food he ate was mostly 'chow'. There were few nights in beds, little rest, and not much to see in the local environment that would have been worth going back to visit later.

Caring Vs. Rationality

Humans are funny. They take it as a given that caring about other people - or, at least, pretending to care about them - is hugely important in a leadership role.

Why?

A lot of that goes back to tribal considerations. In small societies (tribes), where the bonds that hold people together are largely kinship ones, it is important to openly speak and demonstrate through actions that you care about your kin's well-being.

Women do this well, for the most part. Only when they see an edge to be gained in status position, will women engage in the openly hostile 'mean girl' activities. Generally, those actions will take place in a wholly female environment. When men are around, those same women will display completely fake, psuedo-loving demeanor towards their victims.

The victim, naturally, takes this personally. That person often spends large amounts of time trying to analyze the situation, dissecting the interactions, and attempting to find a REASON for that hostility, and the 'fake-nice' in public vs. the maliciously hateful in private.

There is no personal reason. That bully has just determined that the victim can be destroyed, and that it would be to the bully's advantage to do so.

For that reason, the vics are often seemingly no different than the perps. They are in the same range of looks, intelligence, and personal charm. In short, a competitor, not an ally, and, therefore, needing to be taken down to solidify the perp's position.

This is the way that humans have functioned from the earliest days on this planet. And, despite the growth of what has been called civilization (the clumping of often unrelated people within a geographically limited space, a process that only commenced after agriculture was firmly established), that's the primarily the way it continued to function.

Even in the era of consolidated kingdoms, and the early days of empires, affiliation by kinship, including the extended kinship of connections by marriage, was the primary method for organizing the rule of the many by the few.

The Greeks were one of the first to try a different method. They established rule by citizens - all the property-owning men within the confines of the city-state. All had equal say in the government, all had equal responsibilities for defense, contribution to the public treasury, and administration of the city-state, either personally, or through their delegated representatives.

In effect, they extended the concept of 'related' to include those men living in close proximity, who had a property stake in the outcome of the city's well-being. The tight bonds of DNA-related kin were loosed, and citizens were expected to put the good of the larger group ahead of the smaller kinship group.

Naturally, given human nature, it was a not-always-successful experiment. Despite the ideal that rational decision-making should overrule the desire to see one's own family prosper, well, genetic connection is a powerful force.

The Romans extended that experiment to include a larger territory, and, eventually, an empire. Again, they experienced mixed success in defeating the natural desire of men to benefit their closest relations - particularly when it came to the elite (not too different from today).

That ideal waxed and waned over centuries. It was ascendant during the so-called Enlightenment years, and that's when the ideal crossed the Atlantic, and found a home in America.

America was made for the Greek-Roman method of ordering society. As only a small part of any family from the European continent even made the ocean voyage, and the frontier was luring them to travel even further, Americans tended to substitute a sort of "kinship of small towns" for the closeness of an extended family. Places in the Eastern seaboard still wanted to know "who is your family?", but those living along places west of there were more likely to have a more sturdy identification with their fellow citizens of the town, and, more distantly, the state or region.

Only the Mountain dwellers - those who lived in a more isolated environment - still retained the strong kinship groupings, the clans with their suspicion of outsiders.

How does this affect public life?

It meant that men, for the most part, interacted with other men who had no family connection to them. They were forced by circumstances to appeal to more impartial law and rational argument to sway others to go along with their desires. It meant that - ideally - they worked to set the law, and not personal connections, as the main means of interaction in the public sphere.

So, what about women?

Their affiliations, and connections, were based on emotional ties:

• Family was first. No matter whether or not they liked you, or agreed with you, a woman would preferentially defend those who were kin.
• Neighbors were next - these were people you knew, and often had some emotional connection with. Your children played with them; later, they might marry and form connected families.
• Church connections - most women were fervent believers. They were the backbone of their church, and whose work depended on managing the interpersonal relationships with well-established norms of behavior. How other women felt about you would determine whether your cause was backed, or rejected.
• School connections - women in America are, and have been for some time, MORE likely to have completed a higher educational level than their husbands. Women often make friends in schools (public or private, secondary or college) that last the duration of their lives. Such friends often serve as quasi-sisters (in colleges, sorority members refer to each other as sisters).

Well, those women, after a LOT of nagging, got the vote. They first used it to elect Harding; later choices were no less disastrous. Candidates promising to replace a perceived not-adequate husband-protector were generally the favored choice. Little by little, women replaced impartial rule of law with promises to 'take care' of people. More laws, more restrictions on freedom, and more heavy-handed promises of perfect safety.

In today's world, the tightest connections for Elite women are among the Wine-Moms, who band together against an often faithless world of men. These are emotionally entangled groups, who are no less likely to take on quixotic quests against The Patriarchy. Or Ex-boyfriends or Ex-husbands. They have the same reckless disregard for loss of life or reputation that those who ordered The Charge of the Light Brigade had. When women take on other quests, they bring the same sensibility to those efforts. Anything goes, winner-take-all, and use the club of "Caring" to beat your opponents.

Fairness, rationality, and rule of law are unimportant to such women. Their only concern might be - will I get caught? Upholding 'The Sisterhood's Goal' is paramount, no matter what the risk.

Their philosophy has oozed into other facets of life - at work, in politics, and, most damagingly, in the development of their children's moral values. In the absence of men in the home, Mom's ethos rules. That ethos is personal, petty, and highly partisan.

And, there you see the distorted underpinnings of the emotionally-driven approach to public life. It's time to dismantle the Deep State, sharply reduce the size of government - at ALL levels, and to Starve the State.

It IS Getting Colder in Cleveland

It's a yearly thing. Cleveland is heavily affected by the winds traveling from the Arctic, through Canada, across the Great Lakes, and hitting Cleveland with LOTS of snow. See the map below to get a sense of how the latitudes of Europe and the Mediterranean are comparable to the USA.

As you can see, the area of Northern Ohio is approximately in the Balkan region (that region has some brutal winters, in part due to latitude, but also because it's a generally mountainous region).

And, having lived for over 15 years in SC - part of that in the steamy, swampy region known as the Low Country, I'm feeling the cold this year. I'm trying to keep from setting the thermostat higher, given the issue of fuel prices.

So, this morning, I had been planning to switch from my nighttime Fabletics pants (VERY comfortable for sleeping in), and said, "Hey. Why don't I just put on a pair of pants OVER them?"

So I did. And, am toasty warm.

And, drinking my coffee.

I noted that Trump got one of the lawsuits against him dropped. He's hanging tough on the rest, at present.

It's clear that the Left, and the Deep State, just doesn't understand him. They use their usual tactics of lawfare and intimidation, and are astonished - and teeth-grindingly mad - when he doesn't quickly fold.

Guys.

He's BEEN sued before. He's BEEN dragged into court. He is not afraid of the publicity, nor of the cost (when you take as many risks as he does legally, you budget for legal costs as a matter of normal overhead).

He's stubborn. Not ridiculously so, as he has pivoted, when necessary. But, when he digs his heels in, he does not give up when pressure is applied.

Notice that he doesn't generally comment on the ongoing cases, other than to assert that the charges/suits are baseless, and he will win in the end. But, he's very vague on what he says (that's probably something his lawyers drilled into him).

Trump is a guy who can prioritize. Focus on the essential things, and ignore the rest, after he turned them over to his lawyers or delegates.

It's a mode of functioning in a chaotic situation that works for him. Generally.

Bullying in school is a massive problem. It always was there, but the last 20 years or so have ratcheted it up to the size of a galaxy. This story, about an autistic student whose torture by other kids was ignored by staff and teachers, is heartbreaking. After her parents had tried to alert the school to the extent of the problem, and getting no resolution, the 10-year old girl resorted to suicide.

This is why alternatives to government schools have to be available - private, charter, and virtual/homeschooling options. Only after the schools face the consequences of pandering to influential families, and sweeping the CRIMES of their children under the rug, will this stop.

I had no idea that this was "A Thing". I'm a curly-haired girl - it's more wavy than curly, now, but as a kid, my hair was very fine, curly, and snarled in the morning. It took some gentle care to untangle it, and get ready for school.

Yes, my hair did look like that. The color, too.

It's not just a 'Black Girl Thing'. Kinky hair is relatively common in Irish families, too. And, with the increasing prevalence of mixed-race families, it's an issue that hits across cultural lines.

Here is an interesting article about the difficulties of reducing pollution and energy use in the fashion industry. It looks at the potential for new technologies, some relatively quick fixes, and the way the industry works that makes a lot of that reduction a pie-in-the-sky dream. (My Bolding)

In the short term, polyester made from recycled water bottles does have a lower carbon footprint. But once it's made into fashion, it can never be recycled again—the next stop for such apparel is the trash. Less than 1 percent of all clothing is currently recycled into new clothing. And nobody has actually done the calculations to confirm whether recycling polyester into polyester would lower our emissions—it’s a pretty energy-intensive process.

 The thing is, the most common part of today's clothing is that it involves MIXED fibers - linen, wool, cotton, plus the addition of polyesters, lycra, and spandex to make the clothing more comfortable, keep the shrinkage down, and make a smoother fit. The stretchiness of the fiber mixes means that wear on the seams and stress points is less. These manufactured fibers just wear better than the natural ones.

I remember, years ago, reading an article about those new fibers, and how they affected the wear of many items - in that case, bedsheets. At one time, you could only get so many uses out of sheets - the laundering process wore down cotton fibers to the point that the sheets had to be thrown away, or at least, made into rags, within a year or two, depending on the quality of the original sheets.

Today's fibers have superior durability - I have sheets from the 1980s that are still in good shape - that's 40 years of use. And, as frequent washing has less effect on longevity, we can launder more often, and have a fresher and less bacteria-laden home environment. Now, that's a game changer.

When I was a kid, charities would collect clothing for poor people in other countries. The collection drives were always accompanied by pitiful pictures of people in rags.

Not today. Poor people the world over have clothing that is indistinguishable from that of the more industrialized countries. OK, in some cases, with less ability to wash clothes, maybe a little more soiled, but without holes.

Also, mixed fibers are important to the ability of moisture to be 'wicked', or moved away from the body to the surface of the clothing. Colors are brighter, and less vulnerable to fading. The clothing wrinkles less, and can generally be worn without ironing.

These features are what make today's clothing a completely different experience from yesterday's single-fiber-type apparel.

One thing that might reduce clothing purchases is finding ways to help people get their weight gains under control - a common reason for buying new clothes is that the old ones, while in good shape, don't fit.

UPDATE: It's late afternoon - 4:19 EST - in Lorain, OH, and I just woke from a short nap. I'd headed to bed, because my morning was so full:

• Church this morning at St. Mary's on the Lake
• Followed by a fruitless search for some inexpensive rock salt. You can get pricier magnesium chloride, in smaller containers, but no 50# bags of old-fashioned sodium chloride. Not nowhere, not no how.
• I did manage to find a nice pair of snow boots, for a decent price. But, no driving gloves. The gloves I brought with me are not suitable for that purpose.
• No 'winter underwear' - that would be thin undergarments - tank tops, camisoles, or tiny tees, meant to provide extra layers to keep you warm when - not IF = the cold drops into the teens or below.
• Driving home in honest-to-goodness snow. No, it didn't stick, but the sloppy, wet snow made driving a bit of a challenge. At one point, I had to brake, and had a moment of panic, when the car skidded forward. Fortunately, the ABS - anti-lock braking system - kicked in, and I avoided disaster.

All that drama and running around left me exhausted.

The Best Piece I've Read Yet on the Shipping Crisis

From a trucker with some insight on the multi-faceted problems.

It's complicated, and has many parts, but here's the bottom line:

The Likelihood of Anyone Getting Large Items, Anytime Soon, is Pretty Much Nil

Now, that means:

• Large equipment for business - nope
• Large appliances - nope
• Heavy items, that would be very expensive to ship in by airline - nope
• Any bulk item, that is container shipped - nope

Those items that are small enough to be shipped - in relatively small quantities - by air, MAYBE.

So, what this means is: if the item is not already in an American/Canadian/Mexican store or warehouse, it ain't gonna arrive in the near future.

I bought a snowblower this week - cordless type, a Ryobi. It was one of the smaller models (if I have to lift it at some point, it has to be light). It cost $419 + battery and charger. A good price.

And, in the store I was buying from - Home Depot - it was a floor model. The number available was limited. The higher-priced models are there, but the cheaper ones are in limited quantities, and will be going fast.

If you live in an area hard hit by snow most years, I beg you - buy NOW. They will probably NOT be available in a few weeks, at most.

How do I know this?

I tried to buy the same model at Lowe's the day before - there were none in stock - anywhere - and they didn't expect more in the near future.

The same is true for a lot of stuff, particularly those things that are seasonal. Which means, Christmas is gonna be, for most people, the real wake-up call. They will head to the stores, expecting to be able to find what has been advertised, and it will not be there.

Yeah.

It's gonna be like that. Only for more than a single toy. A hell of a lot of those things that you normally buy for Christmas will NOT be there.

Are YOU Feeling the Heavy Hand of Tech Censorshp?

Don't be so sure that you are not.

One of the points mentioned in this post - that Google-linked mail servers routinely send Non-Leftist email to the Spam Folder - is one that I will be checking on today. I know that I am flooded with email (you cannot escape being on the radar, if you sign up for coupons or loyalty discounts). I hadn't checked to see if there was a political slant before.

If you're like me, you are more concerned about weeding out your email inbox, than to ensure that you get all the email that's intended for you. [Just yesterday, I Unsubscribed from a multitude of sources, as I do quarterly.]

But, I had never considered that I was being blocked from receiving it, based on the political affiliation or cultural viewpoint.

I have a LOT of technology in my life:

• Email - Gmail, Yahoo, ProtonMail, and all those associated with work in some way
• Amazon Echo - we have 2 devices, one in each home, and I also use the phone app for managing lists, home technology (smart plugs/lights), and my home security system.
• SimplySafe - it was easy to install, fit my needs at the time, and priced right.
• Home network
• CaptionCall VOIP - it allows me access to a captioning phone, no matter where I am, and also includes a home-based "landline". The ability to have a phone with a screen, that also acts to take messages in both audio and text format, as well as providing a local number, all for no monthly cost (as a hearing impaired person, this is funded by the government) - well, it's worth all of the vulnerability to oversight.
• I use an IPhone. It's the only brand that consistently is usable by my hearing aids. I've tried Android (other types are definitely NOT compatible). So, whatever the downside of supporting the Chinese-gulag-enabling Empire, I choose to make that compromise.
• I have an Amateur Radio license, a GMRS license (it covers my whole household), and am, thereby, in the FCC database. Should the government come around to confiscate my communications device, I think I'm going to have to inform them they were tragically lost in a boating accident, in a very deep lake.
• I blog under my own name. I use social media, mostly for connecting with family and friends (Life being what it is, social media is one of the easiest ways to keep in contact. For example, I recently heard on FB that a cousin had suddenly died, which I would likely not have heard about otherwise.)
• I'm on a lot of sites strictly for device support. The information for those devices is often registered on those sites.
• I use various videoconferencing services - Microsoft Work, Zoom, Google Duo (I have family with Android devices, and Facetime doesn't work with that), Facetime. Those are just the ones that I can think of, off the top of my head.
• I share documents online, have signed up for Slack, which is an asynchronous collaboration app.
• My medical information is online; my taxes are filed online; my business and banking, my income from pensions and social security, my PayPal account - all are online, and vulnerable to hacking, whether from private individuals or groups, foreign actors, my own government, or the businesses that I interact with.

Looking at this list, it's hard to imagine that I'm still, in any way, undercover. In some ways, I'm surprised (and, maybe, a little insulted) that I have NOT been banned, censored, or otherwise kept from participation in the tech world.

When possible, I'm going to purposefully choose alternative services/apps. Sometimes, as with my hearing aids, there really is no alternative platform or app. One thing I can do is to work on getting Linux working on my Pi, and look at finding an older model laptop/desktop for experimenting with the operating system and its applications.

Meme Thursday - 11/11/2021

And, have a Happy Veteran's Day. Don't forget to tell them how much you appreciate their service.

Google, for once, actually has a Doodle that shows some understanding that veterans are not all crazed killers. The Doodle shows a vet's face, with the body part split between their service uniform and the work they did after the service. It will likely not surprise you that the faces are Black man, White Woman, Black/POC man (it's hard to judge his ethnicity precisely), Black woman, Disabled White man, and Asian man. The only White man is safely depicted as disabled (the threat of violence has been neutered).

This is ridiculous - even now, 71% of active-duty men are White, about 53% of the military women are White. Just under 17% of military are Black men, yet the Doodle shows that percentage as 1/3, over twice the representation. And, Black women comprise 29% of military members, yet they are shown as 1/2 of the true percentage.

On to the Memes of the Week!

Reality Bites is a new comic - I'm looking forward to more of the guy's work. If you want to check it out, here's the link - feel free to drop a few dineros in the tip jar.

I seldom agree with Meghan McCain, but she was right about this.

I'm not adamant about holding off until Christmas, but the day after Halloween (or even jostling for space on the shelves with jack-o-lanterns) seems unduly early. Don't forget to get the shopping done early, if the product is being shipped from abroad. Even better, buy American-made, if you can. Or, do what we have done in the past (we were absolutely broke at the time) - hit the local resale shops. There are a LOT of toys and new/nearly new clothing there, and with the bonuses of saving money and keeping that money out of China's hands.

This one expresses my thoughts on the status of those "women".

Yes, it IS rushing Christmas, but so funny.

This guy is my hero. He both worked at NASA, and invented a toy beloved of families that specialize in Family Wars. My kids are partial to Nerf Wars, and own an impressive array of munitions and ammo, but we also enjoy the water gun fights.

When the I'm-a-Christian-so-I-can-tell-you-how-to-live people start whining about how Christians SHOULD behave, this is my response.

Have to love a company that doesn't take itself too seriously

And, with that thought, I'm off to indulge in some serious work avoidance.

Wading into the Infrastructure Mess

To begin with the Cargo Crisis on the West Coast:

It didn't start yesterday; it will likely take YEARS to unravel and make the shipments function correctly.

So, what is going to happen in the meantime?

America is going to have a LOT less foreign-made products in its supply chain.

That's going to hurt the mega-stores - Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, Lowes, and Amazon - a lot. Perhaps too much to continue competing with the smaller retailers.

Tech items will not be built overseas. HOWEVER, it is possible for the chip and other smaller components to travel to the USA via other means - mostly plane. Assuming that the Biden administration doesn't completely kill the airline industry (that's a BIG assumption for a malevolent and incompetent group of people), we may be able to give a big jump-start to American manufacture.

That's assuming that this ID-Ten-T's can be rooted out ASAP.

This has, then, major potential to boost American manufacture AND to de-corporatize American food production. And, let's be honest - SOME American companies and farming businesses may fail, perhaps never to return.

That's the natural course of American business - the long rise, and the precipitous fall. Birth and Destruction.

Unlike the Marxist Strategy explained by Yuri Bezmenov. Which one succeeds is - at this point - up to God. And, maybe, a few Patriots. Here is the previous post, that explains the Four Stages more fully.

Conspiracy Theory? Or Actual Conspiracy?

This is the central concern.

IF the events of January 6 were, in fact, an insurrection (a PLANNED takeover of the government), where are the FACTS of that accusation?

To date, other than low-level plea bargains for trespassing and some simple (NOT assisted by weapons) assault, there is NADA. No evidence, no confessions, no proof. In fact, what proof HAS been found tends to support the stories of those arrested.

And, yet, the accused languish in jail, in appalling conditions, and with no timeline for scheduling trials.

That last is hard for people to understand. Go ahead, ask people. "What charges have been brought against the people arrested on January 6". You will hear, variously:

• Insurrection
• Riot
• Vandalism
• Trespassing
• Assault
• Threats
• Theft (apparently the Marginally-Functioning Speaker Pelosi took off running away without securing her office - computer, papers, files). They have only recently charged a mother-son duo who are claimed to be the responsible parties (after having broken down the door of an Alaskan couple who they suspected were responsible, but were innocent of the charge). And, despite reports, the laptop was not Pelosi's work computer, but one used for PowerPoints (Perhaps the couple charged can argue that they were attempting to stop a homicide? Death by PowerPoint?).

Initial charges were spread liberally.

D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department released a list of suspects and the crimes they are arrested on suspicion of. The charges include: 

63 instances of curfew violation (The city ordered a 6 p.m. curfew when chaos broke out.) 

25 instances of unlawful entry 

One instance of crossing a police line 

Four instances of carrying a pistol without a license 

One person arrested on suspicion of defacing public property and assaulting a police officer

The overcharging, and wrongful charging, is widespread. One man, who has since died, was, by the video evidence - which the prosecutors had access to - not guilty of what he had been charged with.

And, yet, very few of those arrested have been charged with serious offenses. Only those who finally caved to the plea deals have been convicted of anything - mostly parading, picketing, or demonstrating.

Parading? Yeah, it's apparently a crime - who knew?

Here's the searchable list of plea bargainers.

This scattershot approach to prosecution - charge with anything even remotely connected, proof or not - is not limited to the 1/6 protests. It's common procedure, at every level of government, and not limited to actual felons, but for many low-level misdemeanors, as well.

The only people who have generally not been targeted with this practice are the protesters of The Left - BLM, AntiFa, and their cronies. A lot of that is due to the long-term Soros scheme to capture the offices of District Attorneys, and use them to steer the judicial system to favor the Left, and disfavor the Normals.

A nice explanation on the practice of pretrial detention is available in pdf form here (from A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual, published by Columbia Law).

Here's a post on Heritage Foundation about the Right to a Speedy Trial. It does break down the issues in understandable terms, including pointing out that courts are loath to find a speedy trial violation, as it would preclude ANY future trial, unlike most violations of accused's rights.

I hadn't known this was a major issue before, but there is a group (There is ALWAYS a group!) dedicated to fighting pretrial detention, which the group believes is over-used and often abused. It appears to be a group mostly concerned with Americans imprisoned without trial in foreign countries, and minorities in America. However, the work also could benefit NLDs (Non-Leftist Dissidents).

They do, however, operate under the belief that "Innocent until proven guilty" is a universal value, which makes them either delusional or naive.

Pretrial Detention is the Ultimate Catch-22. Detainees are told that they can be released very quickly - BUT, only if they plead guilty to at least one charge. It's Carrot-and-a-Stick in action. Plead, and we'll both reduce the charges, AND recommend minimal sentencing (often time served). Fail to take them up on the 'generous' offer, and you will rot in jail for LONGER than you would have served if you had just accepted the offer.

However - and this is the Catch-22 - you cannot later come back and argue that you were innocent. Having accepted the guilty plea cancels out that right.

I've been following the Rittenhouse trial on several blogs - the Powerline coverage is excellent. In the video posted there, I noted the role of the blonde lady near the front of the courtroom. This is a very sophisticated use of technology; she has been coordinating the court display of video for the audience, those testifying, and the jury to see. The lawyer has clearly practiced with the integration of his questions and the video - and he is masterful. I'd hire him in an instant to defend me.

Advice from the Movies and Popular Culture

Towanda! You can push a peaceable person just so far, and no farther.

Was it over? WE say when it's over.

If you're going to go down in flames, be sure to sing the song of your people.

Speaking of anthems:

Or, a more current one: 

Rude Refusal to Respect the Elite is in our DNA.

Totally Unbiased and Heartfelt Advice to the Dems

You need to ignore old people like James Carville (who is a White Southerner, and therefore, completely RAY-CIST).

Pay absolutely NO attention to those weaklings who won't strike when the Leftist Tide is ascending. You need to double-down on the Woke Talk, the Refusal to Give In to the Hateful Few who aren't completely on board with Transwomen in EVERY place Cis-Women USED to keep them out of.

You need to push - Harder, MUCH Harder - on Climate Change. Don't let those GOP/Nazi Troglodytes tell you that it's too expensive or will cripple an already weakened economy.

You PUSH that Green New Deal, ya' hear? Don't back off ONE silly little millimeter!

Complete and Unending Victory is within your grasp! You just have to Hold the Line!

Once is Happenstance...

Twice is coincidence, the third time is Enemy Action.

I'm not generally inclined to see conspiracies around me. Most of life is happenstantial. Odd things do occur, sometimes more than once.

But, the ship-busting activities of the last few years do give me reason to doubt that this is just happenstantial. We've lost multiple ships in a relatively short time period - Bon Homme Richard, a sub, and the Navy cruiser Antietam. Plus some other "incidents" that resulted in damage, injuries, and, in some cases, loss of life.

SOME of it could be the caliber of military we have been soliciting. Most, like my son, were of the same ability levels as those formerly serving. But, too many are being recruited for reasons other than competence or character. That, and the dubious incentives for promotion, have contributed to the loss of morale and disinclination to stay in service for the long haul. Many of today's military are leaving when their enlistment is up, biding their time until they qualify for retirement, or actively seeking out other opportunities in civilian life while still employed.

What they are not doing is making waves. They are keeping their heads down, and going through the motions of compliance. So, until they are either faced with an unacceptable command, or they have a graceful exit, they are not openly complaining.

All of which makes it impossible to tell what level of resistance is present.

Keep an Eye on This Guy

He is both engaging and makes his case without bombast or exaggeration.

Another breath of fresh air from FL.

"The Equivalent of Blackface"

I've been saying this for years. If Blackface is a bad thing (and, I believe that it is, although I don't believe in retroactive punishment for it), then using exaggerated makeup, padding, and use of feminine attire to assume a psuedo-female persona is wrong.

We women are expected to treat this parody of feminine appearance aw normal - which it is not.

Drag is offensive. It is NOT an "Homage" to Women. It is a stereotyped, over-the-top impression of what a MAN thinks a woman is. It is reduction of the complexity of femininity to a one-dimensional focus on superficial appearance.

And, like Blackface, it's time Drag stopped being treated as 'funny or cute', and was treated like the offensive celebration of stereotypes that it is.

And, as for the use of surgery to mimic the appearance of a woman, other than those few individuals whose sexual identity is ambiguous as an accident of birth, it has to be treated as a mental/emotional aberration. They may chose to live their lives putting on a superficial appearance as a female, and, in some cases, even being given a cover (driver's license, etc.) as a legal fiction, but they are NOT women.