Tag: News

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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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Sorry Karen Bass I don’t believe you.

Karen bass

I’m sure that LAPD doesn’t either.

Here’s the super brief catch up on this story. On September 9th Karen Bass’s Los Angeles home was broken into. During the burglary two guns were stolen. These guns were in a safe, the safe was hidden away, and there were other items of value in plain view within the home however these items were not taken. In fact nothing else was taken.

At the time, I thought, “That’s really weird,” but Ms. Bass is sticking to her story. 

We’re supposed to believe that a burglar went straight to the safe, did the work to open it, and only took two guns? This doesn’t pass the sniff test.

That notwithstanding, according to CNN, the LAPD has arrested two men. 

Both suspects have latin surnames and are facing various charges related to the burglary. Something still doesn’t smell right!

With little to no description of the perps, LAPD has zeroed in on these suspects making a spectacularly quick and implausible arrest. This while other crime goes unchecked throughout Los Angeles. How is this possible?

Did the suspects walk-in to Rampart Station drunk and bragging about their burglary to the desk sergeant?

No mention is made of recovery of the weapons, Did LAPD have the suspects fingerprints on file? If so what were these two guys doing out on the streets? Were they on parole? Did they have outstanding warrants? 

I’m sorry Karen Bass, I not only don’t believe you, I can’t believe you. This whole story is simply too fantastic to buy.

To be honest, it looks like you’re trying to cover something up. I wonder what that might be.

I’m wondering if the weapons went missing a while ago and if you simply neglected to mention it to LAPD at the time? I’d be very interested to find out if the ballistics from your weapons matched other crimes predating your September 9th report of loss.

Did you pay these guys to be your fall guys? Will they actually be held by Gascón or will they be released without posting bail? Is this about your Mayoral race? Will these guys be Epsteined or simply disappear? 

If there are crimes matching your guns ballistics which occurred prior to your reported loss, there are only two possibilities. 1) You committed the crimes, or 2) You lied on a LAPD report. Either way you should face appropriate charges and that means an end to your political career.

I know that would never happen even if there was overwhelming evidence of you committing a crime.

I hate it when people in power assume that the average folks are morons.

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Wait! Is this for real?

A young man named Cayler Ellingson was run down by a drunken 41 year old over Politics?

Cayler Ellingson was 18 years old!

Shannon Brandt, the 41 year old driving the vehicle told police that he ran the young man down because Cayler was a supposed to be part of a Republican Extremist Group

There is so damn much wrong with this scenario. This happened in South Dakota. A 41 year old (even drunk) is supposed to have better common sense. Older ‘adults’ are supposed to protect youngsters not kill them over something as stupid as politics. Brandts confession to the police parrots Joe Biden’s recent Der Führer speech. Ellingson’s mother is reported to have known Brandt but the young man didn’t know him. 

This developed over some kind of unspecified political argument. Brandt didn’t use a gun, he used a car so I guess gun control is working, oh wait South Dakota is very light on gun control aren’t they?

The information from the New York Post is thin but the article is linked here. There are some other equally light stories floating around. They’ll be memory holed by the end of the week, I’m convinced of that. I think there is a lot more to this story than has been reported thus far. I sincerely question if we’ll ever have the whole story.

Biden has said nothing about it yet. Maybe he should try to mumble through some kind of comment. I doubt he will.

After all, a good democrat voter simply took out the “trash” Biden identified embodied by an 18 year old. This insanity should be laid squarely at the Biden administration’s feet. Equally culpable is the media who have banged on about this minimal threat of widespread MAGA Fascists lurking in every corner of the United States.

Is this where we’re heading? Silencing or killing one group of people who happen to have a different opinion than another group? If we fear our neighbors and are unable to speak freely to each other about differing opinions then we are not Americans anymore.  I don’t know what we are at that point but it’s not a country I want to live in.

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I’ve been reading articles from American Thinker for a while…

Yes it’s a conservative publication.

Since I’m conservative leaning, I’ve been interested in what other conservative’s thoughts may be.

Because Twitter, Facebook, Google and others have made a habit of, as Mark Zuckerberg recently told Joe Rogan, Significantly reducing article views… The places where one can see what conservatives are thinking have become increasingly rare.

This is why freedom of speech is such an important thing. We should be able to see and read anything, then be adult enough to choose what is factual and what is hyperbole.

Twitter had become an echo chamber of vitriol and extreme leftist ideologies so I left. Facebook had become a Russian Nesting Doll of weekly privacy updates that required an inordinate amount of time on my part to manage. How many privacy updates or resetting of my privacy settings should I have to endure per week to see the latest cat photo or “Curated News” feed? For this reason, I left Facebook many years ago.

We all know Google had forsaken it founding motto, “Don’t be Evil” for a more progressive motto of sell everyone to everyone else, privacy or accuracy be damned.

So, I read a fair number of articles from their sources. I don’t pay for any subscriptions because what’s on one publication behind a pay wall is probably available on another site for free.

American Thinker had been known to me for interesting takes on events. Andrea Widburg is a writer whose articles on American Thinker I’ve found particularly engaging. Much of her writing is light, gets the point across, and often there’s a certain wryness that helps a bitter truth go down easier.

I’ve enjoyed most of the posts on American Thinker over the past 4-5 years. I don’t recall when I stumbled up them or when I became a regular reader.

Lately however, the tone of American Thinker has changed for the worse. A recent article Why are Children Coming down with Monkeypox? By Mark A. Hewitt is a prime, if extreme example of the tone I’m referring to.

I can understand the author’s outrage at attempts to have pedophiles normalized. I can understand the author’s fear, or annoyance, at the LGBT community at large for fueling the monkeypox spread. I totally get why the author is pissed off and annoyed at the endless messaging about LGB and specifically Trans people and their endless silly pronouns.

My personal thoughts on pedophiles are that they should be shot if found guilty, possibly after brutal disfiguring torture. I’m very pissed at the LGBT community for not stepping up to do what they can to curb the spread of monkeypox. 

In these very pages I’ve written my thoughts, here, here, here, here, and here, and elsewhere in this blog. The Hewitt article above, for me personally, is beyond the pale. He draws conclusions that demonstrate the kind of religious zealotry the Taliban is known for.

I’ll defend Mr. Hewitt’s right to speak, but I don’t have to read his material. Had he done 30 seconds of research by going to the CDC.gov website and looked up smallpox and monkeypox then read and comprehended the associated articles he’d have realized that both have pretty much the same transmission routes. As I’ve said elsewhere in this blog it looks like the Smallpox vaccine also covers Monkeypox.

Monkeypox What to Know About Vaccines Tests and Treatment 1024x536 1

Mr. Hewitt jumped to the conclusion, that has been, to some extent reinforced by the media, suggesting that monkeypox can only be spread via sex. In point of fact, smallpox and monkeypox can be spread by prolonged contact such as kissing or cuddling. Or coming into contact with bedsheets or other items contaminated with secretions from one of the pox pustules.

What child doesn’t heedlessly jump into their parent’s arms if they’re upset or have a boo boo? Would Mr. Hewitt suggest that a child getting smallpox from a parent had obviously been sexually molested? Would he say the same of a child who got a staph infection from a parent recently in the hospital? 

Anyone who has ever had a child in their house knows that keeping a child out of specific areas such as dirty laundry, or the parents bed or even the household pet’s bed can be challenging. Additionally whatever is on a child’s hands inevitably ends up all over them and other nearby items. 

I’m not discounting Mr. Hewitt’s entire theory about potential pedophiles having access to children. I do dispute his apparent assertion that all cases of children contracting monkeypox, are evidence of child molestation. 

The problem for me is that it’s not just Mr. Hewitt’s article. This tone, in a more subdued fashion seems to be permeating the entire publication. 

It is for that reason, American Thinker is off my personal reading list. Right next to Twitter, Facebook, and many services provided by Google. I choose to be selective in how I spend my time. I choose not to waste any of it on extremists of any persuasion. Left, Right, or Religious.

Perhaps the editorial staff of American Thinker should send out some style/content guides that inform their contributors to stick to facts in articles, and present opinion in their blog area. They probably won’t, in this regard American Thinker appears to have become like every other publication. Money and Advertising clicks versus measured, reasoned, dissemination, or discussion, of verifiable facts.

It’s too bad, I’ll miss Andrea Widburg’s articles.

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Thank goodness for a hurricane

Rainyscene

I probably won’t have to water for a week or so!

FYI, I does in fact rain in Southern California. We got a nice steady rain for about 4-6 hours yesterday and into last night.

The dog was not amused about it at all. He loves snow but water falling from the sky… He spent most of the day in his “room”. He also kept looking at me as though I had something to do with it.

I don’t know how much rain we actually got, but it wasn’t enough to cause a lot runoff as sometimes happens. This was a nice constant soaking where I live, the plants in the yard are already perking up after 90°F plus temps baking them for the past week or so.

The temp dropping to 70°F with a breeze through the house after the high temps caused some shivering at dinnertime.

I’m sure in the lower areas (Off the mountain) there may have been some street flooding etc.

The rain also helped out the fire crews working the fire in Riverside County so that is another plus.

This morning it’s cool and overcast. I’ve been watching some young squirrels playing in their home tree. I guess they were cooped up all day yesterday and their mom told them to get out of the house for a while.

The dog has been talking to me all morning as Husky breeds tend to do. He’s wanting to play but when we go outside to toss the ball around he gets distracted by smells, then forgets what we were doing. He comes up to me with this “where’s the ball,” look. Even though it’s right where he left it when he got distracted. I swear this dog has ADHD.

I think everyone in the neighborhood is taking it slow this morning. They’re probably just enjoying the coolness as I am. I’m also enjoying the silence, no cars, chainsaws, hammering, or screaming nut jobs yet today.

I’m guessing that once things dry out a little, all the noise will start up, but for the moment I’m enjoying the sound of nothing except birds chirping and squirrels barking at each other in the trees.

There’s the possibility of thunderstorms later in the day. The dog will no doubt be on the couch next to me for “Protection” if that happens.

Apple had its big annual announcement this week. I’ve been reading about the new products and am thinking I’ll wait until the iPhone 15 before thinking about a phone upgrade, my iPhone 12 Pro is still working. The new IOS is supposed to be available on Monday, I’ll be waiting for a week or more before installing that as well.

I’ve found in general that I’m not intrigued by the new products. The exception is the Apple Watch Ultra. That product got my attention. I’m not going to run out a pre-order it, instead I’ll wait to see it in person. It’s a big watch and it might simply be too big for me personally. A 36 hour battery life addresses one concern I’ve had with my aging series 5. Typically if I’m wearing the series 5, I’m running it in dark mode rather than having the display always on. It saves power and I don’t mind not seeing the display until I need it.

Apple fw22 watch ultra1

That the Apple Watch Ultra is going to have recreational dive computer software available later in the year is also a plus. For me it’s a twofer. I get an Apple Watch with longer life per charge, and a dive computer. It remains to be seen, but it’s possible that they may be able to provide wireless air integration with a bluetooth transmitter on the regulator.

My faithful Sunnto dive computer and transmitter are due for a battery change and pressure test. This service costs about $300 and requires that both units be sent away to God knows where, this time. It used to be San Diego, then it was Florida, and I haven’t checked where it’s going to go this time around.

While I like the Sunnto, (this is the second one I’ve owned. The first one was lost in a fire,) this particular unit’s backlight has never been as bright as the first one. The battery changes are expensive too. I’ve been looking for a new dive computer and have discovered a number of newer units that are rechargeable and provide wireless log transfer to computers or phones (my venerable D5 requires a hardline connection). Because of the service costs on the Suunto, I’ve been considering a new dive computer anyway.

Perhaps the Apple Ultra can provide all the functionality I’d like in one neat package. It’s also cheaper than many dive computers available now.

Could it be that Apple is going to be able to change the paradigm in SCUBA too?

The Apple Watch Ultra could also address some of the navigation issues I’ve noticed while hiking in the mountains & forest near my home. I’m interested to see how the dual band GPS works. My series 5 has on occasion been completely confused about my location and I’ve resorted to a compass and topographical map to sort out the issue.

(As an aside, that’s the reason you always carry a non digital backup if you’re hiking someplace unfamiliar. I also have a HAM radio because sometimes there’ no cell service but I can usually hit a repeater. Fortunately I’ve never had to call for help but fortune favors the prepared. I typically have some food, water, and a minimal first aid kit with me as well. I don’t want to be one of those hikers who needs a risky night evacuation putting rescue personnel in more danger. I’d rather be able to tell rescue folks, something like, “I’m hurt, my location is coordinates x West y North, I can’t walk out, but I’ve got food, water, and proper clothing to wait it out till dawn. I’ll check in with you guys throughout the night on Freq xyz”. That’s just being responsible.)

Yes, I know that the newest iPhone has satellite messaging, but my radio works just fine. Even if I were to get a new iPhone, I’d still carry the radio.

In short, I think the Apple Watch Ultra might be for me. This doesn’t mean that I’m not still looking at good old fashioned automatic watches like the Omega, Ball, or others. Sometimes it’s really nice to just know what time it is…

Aside from reading articles about The Queen, I’ve successfully ignored the news this week. Although I have indulged my Reddit AITA “Am I The Asshole” addiction a few times.

I get a kick out of those articles. Some people are real jackasses!