Category: Government

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Just a random thought about Twitter.

I’ve noticed that more and more politicians are claiming that Twitter is becoming more bigoted.

I’m looking at you Adam Schiff!

Adam schiff

What I wondered is this;

What would happen if people just randomly sent a tweet to people like Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters, John Fetterman, Katie Hobbs, Nancy Pelosi, and whoever else popped to mind saying, “I Don’t like you.”

Nothing more than that. I realize that my list is all Democrats but hey why not give every politician the same treatment equally?

What would happen on Twitter? It’s not hate speech, it’s not a threat, it’s not a call for violence, or any of the other “banned” interactions. It’s simply telling the person in question unequivocally that you, as a person don’t like them. 

This could be for any reason, you don’t like their politics, you don’t like their stance on gun control, you don’t think they’re doing a good job, whatever the reason, a simple generic, “I don’t like you,” shouldn’t be banned, it’s not bigoted, and it leaves the interpretation of your message open to the recipient.

Given that so many of these people seem to live for the adulation of the press, and attention from the public. I’ve wondered what receiving thousands or millions of generic messages like this would do to their collective psyches.

These people claim to want to protect democracy, how would they react to a completely egalitarian registration of people simply not liking them? What would they do if a preponderance of “I Don’t Like You” messages was all they received via their Twitter feed? I wonder if they’d get the message.

In the case of Adam Schiff who is claiming that he’s getting more bigoted remarks in the wake of Elon Musk taking the helm of Twitter, I think that perhaps Mr. Schiff is missing the point. Perhaps it’s not bigoted, perhaps the negative comments have nothing to do with his religion or appearance, but instead have to do with him personally. 

I find Mr. Schiff to be a thoroughly unlikable person. Every time I’ve seen him giving speeches or appearing on chat shows he simply comes across as a nasty piece of work. So I don’t like him. Politically, he’s milquetoast except in his rabid hatred of all things Trump. To see him whining on CNN about bigotry on Twitter does nothing more than than confirm to me he’s a weak individual struggling to hold onto power.

Most of the rest of the Twitterati, (of which I was one,) have lived under draconian, arbitrary, capriciously enforced “rules”. Twitter users could say, “I wish Trump was dead,” or “All infidels in Synagog X should be killed.” But other Twitter users couldn’t say The Transgender agenda is more far reaching than has been said and I think they’re after our kids. A Twitter user who said something negative about transgenders would be banned instantly.

Now that censorship is not protecting Adam Schiff from real people that don’t like him, his feelings are hurt and he views people speaking their mind as an affront.

I think Adam Schiff should grow a pair, and perhaps should grow some thicker skin too. If he actually believes in what he’s doing and is committed to his position, then it doesn’t matter what people say about him.

That’s what I mean by saying he’s proving to me, with every single appearance where he’s bitching and whining about bad things being said about him or to him on Twitter, that he’s a terribly weak individual with weak commitment to his values. He’s changeable as the wind, last month he liked Twitter, because he was protected from the slings and arrows of the American Public. This month Twitter is bad, for no other reason than he gets to see what people really think.

Politicians getting direct engagement from their constituents could be a good thing. If for no other reason than politicians would have a less filtered and isolated view of what is important to the people they govern.

I suppose this was why I was thinking about a simple concise message, “I don’t like you,” might be useful. It’s up to the politician to reach out and ask why. If they choose not to engage, then the American People would have another valuable data point for the next election.

On the other hand, if a politician chose to ask why 900,000 people sent him or her, “I don’t like you,” on a particular day and found that their position of a particular issue had been misreported. They would have the opportunity to explain themselves and perhaps get a message back from the American People that said, “Okay I get it. Thank you for the clarification.” They may not win everyone over, but at least they’d be in contact with the people and not acting as if they lived in a bubble.

If we’re really all about democracy then let’s be democratic.

It is things like this thought that make me almost ready to engage in Twitter again. I just can’t quite decide if it’s worth my time or effort yet.

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Ding Dong The Witch is gone…

I couldn’t help myself! 

Nancy Pelosi is stepping down. 

NancyPelosi20221117

This fossil has been banging around Congress for 35 years it’s about damn time that she stepped aside. I can only hope that she retires completely soon.

She said something that as humiliating as it is to admit, I agree with. 

It was something like, it’s time to pass the torch to younger politicians.

I agree wholeheartedly.

It’s time to move the old fossils out of Congress.

I also think it’s time to remove the lobbyists as well. Our leaders shouldn’t be listening to specialized well funded lobbying organizations. The leaders should be listening to the people of their states and making decisions that are in the best interests of the people, not special interest groups.

I’m not holding my breath about the lobbyists being done away with, but Nancy getting the hell out of the way is a good start!

I’ll try not to dance when Nancy hands the gavel to someone else.

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Please Don’t

I wish I could speak directly to Donald Trump.

If I could, I’d tell him the following:

Please don’t run for President again. It’s nothing personal. The last two, maybe three, years of your presidency I did feel hopeful, I felt that the country was on the right track. I loved your “Mean Tweets” and almost always enjoyed hearing you smack down the media.

I felt that finally someone was at least half way concerned about the American People in Washington and waited with gleeful anticipation for Nancy Pelosi’s head to explode when you pissed her off. That woman literally hates your guts!

That being said, I don’t think you should be president in 2024. Had you won in 2020 I’d have a different opinion and be looking forward to maybe a DeSantis presidency in 2024.

You see, after watching what Congress did in the last year of your presidency and how laser focused they were on destroying you, instead of doing their job, followed by  four years of the shitty Biden administration. I think that, should you get elected in 2024 you’ll be a distraction and unable to force Congress to do the work they were elected to do.

America can’t handle another four years where nobody is at the helm. Or where there’s constant distraction for the business of the nation. I personally believe that you have the best of intentions  and that you’d be trying your level best to steer the country away from the shoals. The Biden administration has in my opinion set course directly for a large reef and lashed the wheel to that course.

Sadly, I think that if you won the election you’d be limited by the enemies you’ve made. There are far too many people throughout the government that would happily throw a monkey wrench into whatever plans you have, no matter how good or beneficial a plan might be. These people are so vile they’d happily destroy themselves just to make sure you don’t succeed. They’re also very willing to take the rest of the citizenry to whatever hell they end up in just to see you fail.

Our government is no longer for and by the people. I don’t know who, or what, our government serves, but it isn’t us. Apparently, there are an unbelievable number of frankly stupid Americans running around that want something much different than the America I grew up loving and believing in. 

Admittedly, I may have a somewhat nostalgic view.

I don’t think another Trump presidency can fix what’s wrong in America. I’m no longer believe that what’s wrong can be fixed. The fractures are too deep, the wounds too infected.

Honestly Sir, I think you’d be better off just walking away. There are times when you just have to let a dumpster fire burn. 

Spend time with your family, enjoy the grandchildren, play golf and enjoy your successes. Don’t expose yourself to the parasites and vermin. They’ll destroy themselves in due time. It’s not for either of us to try to stop the lemmings from running off a cliff into the sea.

You have the wealth and resources to go anywhere in the world. I wouldn’t blame you if you liquidated your financial holdings in America and took your family to another country entirely. Switzerland seems to be pretty free, albeit expensive.

For my part, I’m looking for a quiet corner of the country where I can live in peace, relative safety, have the ability to defend myself, and hopefully die, before the inevitable destruction of America comes.

Respectfully Mr. Trump, all the best.

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Election Day!

Happy Election Day!

It’s a cold rainy day here on the mountain. On the plus side, at least I’m not having to walk through snow to the polling place and back. Yes, I’ve done that in past elections. It’s been raining enough here that if it was only a few degrees colder we’d have a foot or more of snow.

If it’s raining where you are, don’t let that stop you from casting your vote!

I don’t buy the hyperbole about voting for the soul of the nation. 

In fact I don’t care what your politics are, or your party preference. 

What I do care about is that you vote. Vote your conscience, vote for candidates that represent your beliefs, vote because it’s your civic duty.

If you can’t be bothered to do this one thing, then you have no voice and I’m not going to listen to you whining about the results after the election.

IVoted

Personally, I’m hoping to see Gavin Newsom tossed out, unfortunately here in California that won’t make much of a difference because there are a lot of bad ideas that have ossified into the dreaded, “We’ve always done it this way,” mindset in this state.

I would enjoy seeing Gavin standing there with his hair blown back in surprise. I know it’s kind of a cheap shot but I’d love to see his smug arrogance take a nice uppercut. For clarity’s sake, I’m not advocating physical violence to Gavin, I’m speaking metaphorically about his attitude and arrogance taking a hit.

There was a time when such disclaimers weren’t necessary, these days though, people seem to be searching for anything they can spin into something it’s not.

I pray that Newsom takes such a drubbing that any presidential aspirations he may have, get flushed down the toilet. The whole country knows what Newsom has done to California. I’m hoping that they remember it in 2024 and decide they don’t want the rest of the country to follow California’s lead. Let the wonder that is Kamala Harris be a warning to everyone.

I’ve been fascinated by the Democrat messaging over the past week or so. (Spending hours on end in a car means you listen to a lot of radio.) The message seems almost like they’re expecting to take a major hit. Some candidates sounded like they just expected to win without really putting in the work.

These candidates seem quite surprised that they’re being challenged strongly by their opponents. When asked why their opponent is doing so well in polls they’re unable to answer. To me that speaks to a profound disconnect between the incumbents and their constituents. In a nutshell, that’s the answer.  Many of them appear to be blindsided that their voters are interested in much more basic issues than special interest stuff. Most of us are really focused on basic necessities.

How can so many candidates have missed or ignored that?

The Republican Party appears to have capitalized on the concerns most Americans have. What remains to be seen is if they were lying to get into office or if the candidates really meant what they said on the campaign trail. 

Time and vote counts will tell.

There was a piece in Politico that says in part, “The 2020 presidential election was rife with allegations of voting machine hacks that were later debunked. Yet there are real risks that hackers could tunnel into voting equipment and other election infrastructure to try to undermine Tuesday’s vote.” 

That one was a head snapper. I thought there was no possibility that the election could be tampered with. Isn’t that what we were told after the 2020 election? So what’s changed?

More from Politico

Wireless modems enabling hacks of voting machines or vote tallies

At least seven states and Washington, D.C., use wireless modems to transmit unofficial election-night results to their central offices. These modems use telecommunications networks that are vulnerable to hackers, and malicious actors could exploit them to tamper with unofficial vote data, corrupt voting machines or compromise the computers used to tally official results.

Really? So are we to assume that since the 2020 election which was “perfect and secure”, that some states have taken steps to make the voting process more vulnerable? If these states haven’t made the process less secure, then can we assume that these states were as vulnerable in 2020 as they are today?

Does that mean that law suits filed by Trump which were dismissed as having no standing should be re-evaluated? 

I’m sorry, but I’m kind of a binary guy. Either something is a problem or it’s not, Politico seems to be playing both sides depending on which party wins. How about we just settle for reporting the actual facts, and let the chips fall where they may? That would seem to be a simpler way to deal with politics and life in general. 

President Biden’s speech may have muddied the voting waters as well. Listening to his speech I couldn’t help but think he was setting us all up for endless challenges about ballot counts and election integrity. As if we haven’t had quite enough of all of that over the past two years. What happens when the Democrats become “Election Deniers”? How does that play out?

If both parties become election deniers, does that mean both groups are domestic terrorists?

I’m looking for a change in this election.

I’d like to see someone tap the brakes on the excessive spending in Washington.

Instead of hiking the interest rates to curb inflation, how about we fix the supply chain issues? More products on the shelves and in the pipeline would also curb inflation.

I hope that our politicians pay more attention to the immediate issues that we’re all facing.

Go Vote, and have a good day!

 

The rain has picked up quite a bit. The normally dry creek bed behind the house is roaring, rocks the size of small cars are tumbling down the mountain. It’s causing the ground to shake almost as if there’s an earthquake.

When I think of all the water rushing down to the desert floor, I’m hoping that it makes it into the ground and replenishes the aquifers a bit.

Before all the streets and rain culverts, water ran down and soaked right in. On old aerial maps a perfect example of an alluvial plain was clearly visible. Today, with all the streets, parking lots, and pavement, localized flooding is becoming more common at the base of the mountain. Builders and City officials literally paved over the alluvial plain and now spend tons of taxpayer’s money combating the flooding. It would have been simpler to take the hint from nature and not allow building there in the first place.

For all our knowledge, humans miss the obvious more often than not.

I’ve often thought there should be wilderness buffer zones between communities. I picture areas that provide habitat for wildlife and access for runoff to soak into the ground. Zones as I envision them, would provide places for walking, hiking and communing with nature. I’m not talking about miles wide buffers, I’m talking about 1/4 of a mile or so green belts.

I guess the problem is that some people would see wilderness areas as places to dump their trash and do bad things.

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What a surprise… As if anyone expected anything different.

Color me surprised

There is no doubt Democrats, are quite orgasmic over the January 6th committee issuing a subpoena to former President Donald Trump.

As if there was ever any doubt that’s exactly what they would do.

Was anyone surprised? Did we need the theater? Did we need to waste  untold millions of dollars? Did we need to see the further debasement of the the rule of law? Does anyone believe that the timing of this is anything more than a “Hail Mary” play just before the midterms?

Liz Cheney is toast, this is her last grandstand play and I hope that we never see her in the political arena again. The rest of these “lawmakers” and I’m bastardizing the term by applying it to them, are probably toast as well.  Not over the Jan 6th committee bullshit but over terrible policies and lack of service for their constituents.

Surely all, but the most rabid supporters of the Democrat party realize at some level, the January 6th Committee was a Soviet style, kangaroo trial. Hopefully everyone finds it as distasteful as I do.

Nothing I’ve heard or read of the “testimony” in this hearing appears to be anything more than hearsay, and as such, is inadmissible in actual court proceedings.

This whole Jan 6th hearing has been beneficial in one way. It has provided ample demonstration to America of the absolute rot in our government.

I don’t mean to say that the government is rotten because the hearing is about Trump,

It was the manner in which the hearing was carried out. Closed door sessions, allegations made with no opportunity to rebut or cross examine, witnesses whose testimony was second hand, various people referenced in testimony who were not called as direct witnesses.

This is not justice, nor is this hearing indicative of the American Justice System we portray to the world. This is exactly the kind of Stalin-esq hearing that American denounced during the era of the U.S.S.R.

The Jan 6th hearing and all the protestors being held in what amounts to a gulag speaks to me of a system that is corrupt beyond imagining.

If there is a “Red Wave” in November I will tune in to C-SPAN every day to watch the hearings investigating the Jan 6th committee and every single member of Congress responsible for it.

My problem is this;

I don’t think that Congress should be investigating Congress. That’s having the fox guard the henhouse.

I’d be a lot happier if the Supreme Court of the United States oversaw the State Supreme courts, and State Attorneys General investigation into Congress.

I think looking at their actions over the past 8-10 years would be a great start. Every state has an interest in the integrity of Congress, and 50 states looking at Congress at the same time, pulling on threads, digging into facts, might have a chance of burning out all the corruption and saving our Constitutional Republic.

No doubt this would take a lot of resources. However, I think the American People need to see that justice is served to all regardless of their station in life. It would go a long way toward restoring the people’s faith in government, if corrupt members of Congress were marched off to prison, just like everyone else.

Just to make it fair, I’d like to see Congress members accused of corruption, tired by jury outside their home states.

Hell, I’d volunteer to sit on a jury of a Congress member. I’d hear the evidence and vote based on the evidence presented. I’d be in favor of any guilty Congress member serving out their time in general population federal prisons.

I know, that probably makes me a radical, and 15 minutes after I post this, the FBI will be kicking my door down.

Our Republic is worth it.