JPost: Turkey is fomenting a 'crisis' in the Agean to claim it is breaking a non-existent blockade.

Machiavelliwar comments on Aug 13, 2020:

I think there is a psychological and tactical reason for aggressive States to always feel surrounded. It justifies their acting aggressively. This neighborhood is so fraught.....I almost never try to figure anything out, just keeping up with the news is test enough for me! ! Do you think the ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 14, 2020:

@Machiavelliwar Howdy again. The news this morning is that Bahrain and Oman are joining the agreement. Maybe it's more than was portrayed in the Bloomberg article.

Lifezette: Major League Soccer let Texas fans into the stadium.

Tycho comments on Aug 13, 2020:

But what do these sports franchises think they'll gain by supporting BLM and kneeling during the national anthem? Are they willing to go broke for being woke? None of this makes any sense to me..

timon_phocas replies on Aug 13, 2020:

Howdy @Tycho, Sports franchises depend on urban governments, which are mostly leftist, for support (stadiums, parking, concessions, security, etc.) They want support from news media, which are mostly leftist. They get their players from the universities, which are overwhelmingly leftist. They don't want nasty, violent protests/riots messing with game coverage. So they cave.

JPost: Turkey is fomenting a 'crisis' in the Agean to claim it is breaking a non-existent blockade.

Machiavelliwar comments on Aug 13, 2020:

I think there is a psychological and tactical reason for aggressive States to always feel surrounded. It justifies their acting aggressively. This neighborhood is so fraught.....I almost never try to figure anything out, just keeping up with the news is test enough for me! ! Do you think the ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 13, 2020:

Howdy @Machiavelliwar, Tough to say. All totalitarian states like to portray themselves as surrounded by enemies. Turkey has had diplomatic relations with Israel for decades. I think it would be hard for Turkey to condemn the UAE for having diplomatic relations with Israel.

Bloomberg: Israel and the U.

Machiavelliwar comments on Aug 13, 2020:

What do you think the chances are for there to be a real embassies in each other's Countries? Jared was sent to find a deal in the Middle East....none saw this coming? Or did you hear a whisper?

timon_phocas replies on Aug 13, 2020:

Howdy @Machiavelliwar, I've read that Israel has had an unofficial presence in the UAE for the last few years. This is part of a raproachment between Persian Gulf Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. There are articles about military cooperation. All unofficial, of course. These unofficial ties began with Obama's tilt towards Iran. Iran has been a regional hegemon for millennia and the Arabs are afraid. The UAE might be allowed to have diplomatic relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia cannot, being the Guardian of the Holy Places of Islam.

RedState: Nightly riot report from Portland.

Bay0Wulf comments on Aug 13, 2020:

GOOD! EXCELLENT!!! “... Should Have Been Done Long Ago ...” The police should have Fire Trucks with High Pressure Water Cannons behind them blasting the streets clear over their heads. Including these people pretending to be PRESS. Those “PRESS” People should be being pulled aside and ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 13, 2020:

Howdy @Bay0Wulf, "The police just charged out and fucked some people up. A lot of punches to the head tonight." A lot of punches to the head... Multnomah County Department of Justice said they would release any rioters arrested for attacking a police officer. Do you think the police are making sure there's a physical penalty even if there's no legal penalty?

StrategyPage: Cyber war status.

Machiavelliwar comments on Aug 13, 2020:

So that means Crypto is backed by government's intelligence ops, using it for undetectable payments? I wondered, as there is (or was) an ETF that was filled with different crypto companies, that stopped trading. After a story about thieves with one of the companies. All is dark, for a month or ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 13, 2020:

Howdy @Machiavelliwar, I remember a story that surfaced a couple of years ago. It involved Russian agents using Virtual Private Networks and crypto-currencies uncovered by US Intel. It was intriguing because both technologies were said to be unbreakable at the time. So there are wheels within wheels in the electronic frontier.

Kamela Harris accused Biden of racism, sexism and even sexual assault during the presidentual ...

DotBunn comments on Aug 12, 2020:

You really believe that demented old man chose her? Who is really making the decisions?

timon_phocas replies on Aug 12, 2020:

Howdy @DotBunn, 1. Hey, it's a joke. 2. Harris was the best pick of a poor field. Susan Rice is a career bureaucrat and has repeatedly (and patently) lied before cameras. What a B-roll for an attack ad that would make. Karen Bass is a strident Fidel Castro defender and has ties to Scientology. Stacy Abrams has never admitted she lost the gubinatorial election in Georgia. Fauxcahontas, the fake Cherokee princess, has a background almost entirely composed of lies. Gretchen Whitmer is not Black. At least Harris won elections in a major state. 3. You're right about doddering Joe. I doubt he can navigate a McDonalds menu.

DailySignal/VDH: China on the move, and without apology [dailysignal.com]

Machiavelliwar comments on Aug 10, 2020:

You should be trying to get info out of the Wall street, Stock Market sites! It is so unreported, I have to go to odd sights, just to get info on what is being reported on Chinese moves in the world of money, Banks, Hong Kong, etc. I tried to divest from the big Chinese CCP controlled Companies. I ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 10, 2020:

Howdy @Machiavelliwar, I have heard a lot reports of the Trump administration preparing to give tax credits to cover losses from divesting from Chinese operations.

Townhall: Lies, damned lies, and fantasies.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Aug 9, 2020:

In fairness, he's senile.

timon_phocas replies on Aug 10, 2020:

Howdy @ThomasinaPaine, In fairness, even when he wasn't senile he wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box.

TheDispatch: Is Belarus' dictatorship about to lose the election?

Bay0Wulf comments on Aug 8, 2020:

Okay Belarus ... well, there’s a place I haven’t been looking at in a long time ... in fact, politically, probably never ... even when I was watching the USSR/Russia carefully. The articles were interesting. I’d think that if the People of Belarus are looking to the USA to carry any weight ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 8, 2020:

@Bay0Wulf Ack! Don't know whether that was a fat finger or the notorious Auto-correct.

TheDispatch: Is Belarus' dictatorship about to lose the election?

Bay0Wulf comments on Aug 8, 2020:

Okay Belarus ... well, there’s a place I haven’t been looking at in a long time ... in fact, politically, probably never ... even when I was watching the USSR/Russia carefully. The articles were interesting. I’d think that if the People of Belarus are looking to the USA to carry any weight ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 8, 2020:

Howdy @Bay0Wulf, I've seen a few headlines about Belarus' elections. I'd always thought of Belarus' as a "safe" dictatorship for Putin. The appearance of a rash of headlines might mean it's getting close to a critical mass, so I posted these articles. The articles I came from RealClearWorld.com. Like other RealClear sites, they try to present articles from both sides, and I thought they would provide a more balanced view of what's going on. I haven't read enough from TD to have an opinion of their authority.

India surpasses 2 million cases as health volunteers strike [news.yahoo.]

timon_phocas comments on Aug 7, 2020:

ICE raided the beef plant in my town back in the Bush years. Shut down the largest employer in town. The worst part was uncovering rampant Social Security and identity fraud.

timon_phocas replies on Aug 7, 2020:

@B1967 Howdy, The illegal gets an existing SSN. Two, three years later some schmuck in Illinois gets an IRS audit for not reporting his Colorado income (based on that purloined SSN). And then there are the credit cards and other scams... But remember, illegal immigration is a victimless crime.

RCInvestigations: Durham's colleagues expect him to release bombshell reports before Labor Day.

toronto_Georgia comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Hail Mary Full of Grace!!! I am not Catholic, but boy am I praying, and praying, and praying, along with millions of others that Durham does release that Report before Labor Day!!!! If God is with this Administration, if God wants to save this Republic let the TRUTH roll out Loud and Clear.

timon_phocas replies on Aug 7, 2020:

Howdy @torontogal4388, Amen, sister!

VDH: Truman's tough choices about Japan and the atomic bomb. [foxnews.com]

Afterthought comments on Aug 7, 2020:

Not to be a pest, but is there a hook here to a discussion of contemporary problems? In other words, is he advocating that Trump take actions to win the war against the Enemy that in prospect would seem questionable but in retrospect will be understood as necessary? I'm not reading the ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 7, 2020:

Howdy @Afterthought, I posted the article because it was an intelligent and original article about ending the Pacific War. Truman has been overlooked as a leader, but he studied thorny problems, made the best decision he could and moved on. Admirable, really. I also posted the article because US use of atomic bombs in 1945 is shrilly denounced every August. It's a bit of a historical pet peeve to me. This article was a rational discussion. If you want discussion, that's what we're here for.

OOPS Poor Joe Biden.

iThink comments on Aug 5, 2020:

My wife has Alzheimers. I managed her care on my own for as long as I could. 2 years ago her needs came to a point where I could no longer manage it on my own and I had to place my wife in a memory care facility. As much as I dislike the man I pity Biden the journey he is taking. I recognize in ...

timon_phocas replies on Aug 5, 2020:

Howdy @iThink, We went through that with my Mom. Sad descent of a smart, creative, capable woman into incoherence. I was convinced of Biden's dementia when I saw him speak at a podium. He fumbled a phrase. A confused look flashed across his face. His wife was near, looking up at him with an adoring gaze. He flicked a glance at her, then back at the crowd, and then at her again, then he walked away with her. I think she was using that adoring gaze to defuse combativeness.

Does it matter that George Floyd contributed to his tragic death?

WilyRickWiles comments on Aug 4, 2020:

@Admin, your just-so presentation of this story has me asking more questions about you than George Floyd. This may be off-topic, but have you ever worn blackface before?

timon_phocas replies on Aug 4, 2020:

Howdy @WilyRickWiles, I know I'm not @Admin, but your off topic question does elicit an off topic rejoinder. No I've never dressed in blackface, but I did dress in drag and sing, "I Enjoy Being A Girl" (Rogers & Hammerstein, Flower Drum Song). Does that count? Eh, voice majors do strange things...

VDH: Summer of Cultural Suicide.

jakuboj comments on Aug 3, 2020:

Looked interesting but it wouldn't open.

timon_phocas replies on Aug 3, 2020:

Howdy @jakuboj, I added another link. This time through the Washington Times.

NASA's Juno probe images of Ganymede, including the first ever taken of its North Pole.

CookieMonster comments on Aug 2, 2020:

All these worlds I leave to you, accept Ganymede attempt no landings!

timon_phocas replies on Aug 2, 2020:

Howdy @CookieMonster, Arthur C. Clark, sequal to 2001 A Space Odessey?

Well, I know there’s a lot of people .

coalburned comments on Aug 2, 2020:

I have no problem with people defending themselves or their property when attacked. Actions have consequences.

timon_phocas replies on Aug 2, 2020:

@Bay0Wulf Howdy, I am reminded of when a female reporter filmed a Marine sniper in action and then asked him what he felt when he shot someone. His answer was, "Recoil."

DefenseNews: the USMC rebuilds itself.

Machiavelliwar comments on Jul 25, 2020:

Are these forward Marine placements, to be in Countries like India, or Taiwan?

timon_phocas replies on Jul 28, 2020:

@Machiavelliwar Howdy, The India/Chinese border has been simmering for sixty years. The border agreement has been in place for about long. No military weapons (firearms, infantry support weapons, etc) within a kilometer or so of the border. There have been shoving matches and fisticuffs as Indian & Chinese patrols encounter each other. Evidently the Chinese haven't been getting the best of these encounters so they used clubs and smoke hardened spears. The Chinese have followed a salami slicing approach to the disputed borders. They always patrol just a little deeper into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. They build road nets and support facilities the same way. India has responded by building their own road and support networks. If it does come to a clash it won't be like 1962, when China had the only support network. India has some unappreciated advantages in a potential matchup with the Chinese. The have their own population of high altitude citizens to recruit from. There are Gurkhas in the Indian army. The Chinese have been ethnically cleansing Tibet and so they don't. PLA units have to be acclimated to alpine altitudes before they can train to shoot, move and communicate in them.

GatewayPundit: The curious silence of the traitors.

Edgework comments on Jul 28, 2020:

My money’s on Sally Yates. She’s the big fish with direct access to all the whales. She’s culpable enough to be at serious risk, but an insider deep enough to bring down the whole house of cards. In addition, she doesn’t have an Ivy League pedigree, an important consideration when it comes ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 28, 2020:

Howdy @Edgework, They may implicate Obama. That's already been done by meeting notes, but somebody fingering him would be very useful. I think, however, the worst penalty the Blessed Saint Barry would have to endure is a silent retirement. It would be very satisfying to see a few of those smug posers do the perp walk.

RedState: RedState report on last night's riots.

Naomi comments on Jul 26, 2020:

Wow, this is crazy stuff! So, what is it exactly that the rioters want out of this madness?

timon_phocas replies on Jul 26, 2020:

Howdy @Naomi, I think their immediate goal is to defeat Trump in the upcoming election. Their longer term goal is the overthrow of the US. There's a money quote from a founder of Black Lives Matter, "we're trained Marxists" Google the phrase. Patrisse Cullors shows up with her money phrase and an expansion on it. They are revolutionaries. They're well funded and internationally organized.

You no longer have any legal rights. [nytimes.com]

timon_phocas comments on Jul 25, 2020:

The local Court House is a stately old building done in Greek revival. A temple of justice, as it were. I would be arrested and imprisoned if I attempted to burn it down or throw incindiaries at it. Why should those actions be considered a civil right in Portland?

timon_phocas replies on Jul 25, 2020:

@WilyRickWiles Howdy again. People wearing helmets, masks and sporting armor are hard to identify. All you end up with are height and build. You get a lot of false positives when that's the extent of your knowledge.

You no longer have any legal rights. [nytimes.com]

timon_phocas comments on Jul 25, 2020:

The local Court House is a stately old building done in Greek revival. A temple of justice, as it were. I would be arrested and imprisoned if I attempted to burn it down or throw incindiaries at it. Why should those actions be considered a civil right in Portland?

timon_phocas replies on Jul 25, 2020:

@WilyRickWiles Howdy, Attempted arson of federal property is a federal crime. Assaulting a federal officers in the process of performing their duties is a federal crime. Stabbing someone on federal property is a federal crime. You don't have to be on federal property to be arrested for a federal crime.

DefenseNews: the USMC rebuilds itself.

Machiavelliwar comments on Jul 25, 2020:

Are these forward Marine placements, to be in Countries like India, or Taiwan?

timon_phocas replies on Jul 25, 2020:

Howdy @Machiavelliwar, I have heard of no plans for deployments to Taiwan. I think India would be out of WestPac

Space.com: NASA asteroid camera catches Chinese Mars probe on it way to Mars [space.com]

Machiavelliwar comments on Jul 24, 2020:

Thank you. I will follow. Have an affection for our Mars rovers. a Chinese intruder will be interesting. Is there any more info on the Chinese Other Side of the Moon activity?

timon_phocas replies on Jul 24, 2020:

Howdy @Machiavelliwar The Chinese have released a handful of photos, but nothing more.

Is it fair to call AOC a "Fucking Bitch"?

timon_phocas comments on Jul 24, 2020:

Is this a continuation of your previous question? If males are lust-driven Neanderthals, why would MS Ocasio-Cortez expect any other behavior?

timon_phocas replies on Jul 24, 2020:

@SpikeTalon, Ah yes, the taxanomy of invective.

What has been the long-term impact of the MeToo movement?

timon_phocas comments on Jul 23, 2020:

The #MeToo is kind of paradoxical. On one hand they utterly reject codes of gentlemanly manhood as a hopelessly outdated form of male domination. On the other hand they demand gentlemanly restraint from every man they encounter. At the bottom of this paradox is a rejection of traditional ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 23, 2020:

Howdy @ThomasinaPaine, I was speaking of #MeToo, not first wave or equity feminism. I believe the point is valid. #MeToo is demanding moral behavior without the moral values that make it important.

I think the nightly riots in Portland are not being effectively subdued.

Bay0Wulf comments on Jul 23, 2020:

Maybe. In the meantime, I expect that these Riots will make a great example to point to and ask; “Is THIS What YOU Want? Then, VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!” The Mass Media has been muzzling the coverage of this stuff ... because otherwise this would be like the 60s and 70s Vietnam War Coverage ... I ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 23, 2020:

Howdy @Bay0Wulf, I think you're right. It looks like they've given Trump his campaign theme. Traditional media won't want to cover it, but they don't have a media monopoly anymore. They have a pretty big advantage, but people don't trust them very much. Conservative radio, Christian radio, Fox cable channels, and the various kinds of internet media offer alternative voices. Let's hope it leaks through.

GatewayPundit: CCP admits the Three Gorges Dam deformed under flood pressure.

Thasaidon comments on Jul 22, 2020:

If that goes. It will be a big disaster. Traditionally Chinese people counted flooding as the worst possible calamity.

timon_phocas replies on Jul 23, 2020:

Howdy @Thasaidon, A third of China's population lives down stream of Three Gorges. I think the CCP may fall if that dam fails. They're not Communist anymore. Their claim to legitimacy rests on prosperity, competence and nationalism. All of those would take devastating hits

Townhall: The nightly riots in Portland continue. [townhall-com.cdn.ampproject.org]

Bay0Wulf comments on Jul 22, 2020:

I could never do the job these Federal Forces are having to deal with. I’d be outside the building with a shotgun daring people to get within range and firing on anyone stupid enough to do it. I doubt I’d be loaded with beanbags either ... Maybe I’d try to be nice and use “grazing” ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 22, 2020:

Howdy @Bay0Wulf, US Marshalls have an unofficial motto, "FAFO." It translates as, "F**k Around & Find Out." If you interfere with their duties you will "find out." I think I'd start shooting rioters with oversized paintballs. A bean bag sized dye packet should do the job quite nicely. Then I'd go about arresting tie-dyed suspects. And like the DHS chief said, you don't have to be on Federal property to be arrested for committing a federal crime.

Protestantism’s troubling history with white supremacy in the US [theconversation.com]

timon_phocas comments on Jul 19, 2020:

The Southern Baptists split from the American Baptists in 1840 over slavery. Joseph Smith was racist and so the Mormans carried that forward into 1970s. But those are the only things I remember that were truly racist from a denomination. The writer paints an overly broad brush when he accuses ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 19, 2020:

Howdy @Tycho, Interestingly enough, my birth family was Morman as well. I was surprised to learn that Joseph Smith was an abolitionist and had raised African Americans to the priesthood. Pleasantly surprised. The change seemed to come with Brigham Young and Missouri (a slave state). That and his hostility to Abraham Lincoln and Republicans in general.

Protestantism’s troubling history with white supremacy in the US [theconversation.com]

timon_phocas comments on Jul 19, 2020:

The Southern Baptists split from the American Baptists in 1840 over slavery. Joseph Smith was racist and so the Mormans carried that forward into 1970s. But those are the only things I remember that were truly racist from a denomination. The writer paints an overly broad brush when he accuses ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 19, 2020:

Howdy @Jaster_Mereel, Morman's followed the doctrine of the Mark of Cain and the Curse of Ham up until the middle 1970s. Blacks were considered inferior and not allowed into the priesthood. When Joseph Smith founded his religion most converts were from New York and anti-slavery. He ran for president as an abolitionist. After Brigham Young took over he changed that to slavery being ordained by God. When the Republican Party was founded, its platform included the "abolition of those twin relics of babarism, slavery and polygamy." The former was general, the latter was aimed squarely at Brigham Young and the Mormons.

So, if I'm white, I'm automatically a white racist.

timon_phocas comments on Jul 18, 2020:

And you thought it was hard to succeed. Look at that, we're already supreme at something. We're so supreme we're supremacists. Without even trying.

timon_phocas replies on Jul 18, 2020:

@Naomi Howdy Naomi, God brings moments of beauty every day. My job is to appreciate them. Joy to you.

George Friedman: China and the Thucydides Trap.

EricJohnson comments on Jul 17, 2020:

Many thing are going wrong for the Chicoms: flooding of the 3 Gorges Dam,plague of locusts.

timon_phocas replies on Jul 18, 2020:

Howdy @EricJohnson, Wow, just looked up the danger to Three Gorges Dam. If it fails, massive, world changing problems. Wow.

Blaze: Top Biden aide admits Obama administration's response to H1N1 epidemic was botched.

Serg97 comments on Jul 17, 2020:

I do not recall a major use of protect equipment during H1N1!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not recall any "social distancing" during H1N1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not recall any "lock downs" during H1N1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not recall testing for H1N1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not recall any border closures...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 17, 2020:

Howdy @Serg97, You have to remember that the holy Saint Obama was in charge back then. And no untoward news was allowed to ruffle the serenity of his mandate of heaven. Once Obama's serene reign was past, they could start pillorying everything Trump does.

"Similarly, the Antifa terrorists were released with no bail requirements.

NuuzJunky comments on Jul 14, 2020:

They should send Antifa to Gitmo. I bet they would change their tune real quick.

timon_phocas replies on Jul 14, 2020:

Or convert to Islam

Federalist: Yesterday was the first day of the rest of the Democratic National Convention.

Tycho comments on Jul 14, 2020:

I think the current buzz-word is "re-imagining..." whatever. Re-imagine the police, re-imagine the economy, re-imagine health care, re-imagine govt. intrusion into our lives. To "re-imagine" means to bring into line with Marxist thought, I imagine.

timon_phocas replies on Jul 14, 2020:

Howdy @Tycho, Then let's re-imagine Pelosi as Trump's poodle...

RedState: Minnesota Governor asks for Federal Disaster Relief to rebuild after riots.

Machiavelliwar comments on Jul 11, 2020:

In the 1960's Ca. Had a Democrat Boss Man and head of the Legislature, who would say, "if you cannot curse a fellow and call him names, then take his money, you do not belong in politics" (paraphrased). These Dems are lacking in the skill to even calculate the effects of their actions. Wonder if ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 13, 2020:

@Machiavelliwar Howdy, grew up in the late great state of California. Unruh was a good one for pithy quotes

A long time agon, about four years, I was discussing my belief in God with this one guy who claimed ...

timon_phocas comments on Jul 12, 2020:

King David is not only the stripling who killed a giant with a sling and a rock. He's also the king who had a faithful captain murdered to cover up his own adultery with the captain's wife. So yes, God does forgive murderers who accept their guilt, change their behavior and trust in Him.

timon_phocas replies on Jul 12, 2020:

Howdy @Grandoodle, "No 'get out of jail free card'." No indeed. Nothing even close to it. And yet if it were not for God's mercy there would be no way to approach Him. We would be lost forever.

RedState: Minnesota Governor asks for Federal Disaster Relief to rebuild after riots.

Bay0Wulf comments on Jul 11, 2020:

Good ... Now ... let’s see how Pelosi and the House try to work their way around this ... You know Pelosi and the Dimwits will do it ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 11, 2020:

Howdy @Bay0Wulf Yes, and she'll name it "the saving puppies and kittens act "

RedState: Minnesota Governor asks for Federal Disaster Relief to rebuild after riots.

Machiavelliwar comments on Jul 11, 2020:

In the 1960's Ca. Had a Democrat Boss Man and head of the Legislature, who would say, "if you cannot curse a fellow and call him names, then take his money, you do not belong in politics" (paraphrased). These Dems are lacking in the skill to even calculate the effects of their actions. Wonder if ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 11, 2020:

As a recovering Californian was that quotation from Willie Brown or Jessie Unruh?

DailyMail: "Escape from New York" is looking more and more like a documentary.

Litenbrite comments on Jul 10, 2020:

I would like to leave my country for the same reasons, but where could I go

timon_phocas replies on Jul 10, 2020:

Howdy @Litenbrite, There are some hopeful signs here in the States. Political fundraising for mealy mouthed local politicians is crashing. They might have to pay for bowing down to the radicals. The Labor Party went radical left and paid for it with the worst election since WWII. Our Democratic Party is making the same move. Maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised in November.

Quillette/Margaret Wise: I was cancelled.

Bay0Wulf comments on Jul 9, 2020:

She’s disturbed that relatively “Liberal-Left Pseudo Intellectuals” are Cowards and didn’t stick up for her? Does she really fail to recognize that the “Liberal-Left Pseudo Intellectuals” CREATED the Monster that they now Cower in Fright before? That SHE was one of those? It is ...

timon_phocas replies on Jul 9, 2020:

Howdy @Bay0Wulf, the old saw says a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged by reality. It seems there is a steady trickle of leftist/libs who've been mugged by the Jacobins and find themselves on our side of the argument.

The first slave ship came to Jamestown in 1619.

warminster100 comments on Jul 6, 2020:

America was initially inhabited by people fleeing religious persecution in Europe. They were the Puritans and Huguenots. One of my ancestors was a Huguenot hung by the south in the Civil War for aiding the slaves escaping to the north.

timon_phocas replies on Jul 6, 2020:

Howdy @warminster109, A proud heritage indeed.

DailyCaller: WaPo's vaunted fact checkers biff another one, cover it up with a "misleading" ...

MaskedRiderChris comments on Jun 29, 2020:

It's routine by now that these idjits are always proven wrong, isn't it?

timon_phocas replies on Jun 29, 2020:

Howdy @MaskedRiderChris, Yep, just another branch of the Ministry of Truth

[youtu.be] Wow 😲 this was in 2017

TimTuolomne comments on Jun 27, 2020:

As much as I fear Mr. Hanks lacks the intellect to understand Constitutional principles, from which he enjoys a lavish lifestyle, he is correct that sociopathic depravity is a human variant within a few percent of the population that exists everywhere in humans, not just Hollywood. Some are ...

timon_phocas replies on Jun 27, 2020:

Howdy @TimTuolomne I truly appreciate your insights. Thank you

Wired: A space startup is testing an air breathing rocket engine.

warminster100 comments on Jun 26, 2020:

No air in space.

timon_phocas replies on Jun 26, 2020:

1st stage only

StrategyPage: Who's On First in Libya.

BikerPetehall70 comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Typical results of Short slighted us foreign policy

timon_phocas replies on Jun 23, 2020:

Howdy @BikerPetehall70, I will freely admit the US bears plenty of blame. But one of the reasons Obama was intervened was the urgent pleas from the UK and France. French special operators worked with Berber and Taureg tribes. The French air force used their precision guided munitions to support anti-khadaffi revolutionaries. UK subs shot off most of their inventory of Tomahawk missiles for the same purpose. The main US component was aerial refueling. I may have heard about some US special operators operators acting as tactical air controllers in the advance from Benghazi, not sure. My daughter was serving aboard the USS Kearsarge (an amphib LHD). They were there to monitor and provide options if the president wanted them. I have not heard of any active involvement by US Marines.

Long video.

DeplorableToo comments on Jun 22, 2020:

So, essentially if you are on Probation or Parole, and you are violating the terms and conditions of that Probation/Parole, by driving intoxicated you shouldn't be arrested? Because a policeman should not be called out, show up, and find you in violation of that Parole/Probation? You should be ...

timon_phocas replies on Jun 22, 2020:

Howdy @DeplorableToo, Yes, their assertions are perfectly reasonable if, say, this is a guy coming home from an office party with no prior arrests. When it's someone with a long rap sheet sprinkled with violent incidents, and on parole to boot... that's when the narrative falters. But at least they watched the video. I was intrigued by their read of the Democratic party. How it ditched the urban electorate and industrial unions to ally itself with the finance on the east coast and and high tech on the west coast.

FT: China's mix of pride and paranoia. [ft.com]

WayneHawthorne comments on Jun 14, 2020:

Was there a particular story you were pointing out? All I got was the entry splashpage.

timon_phocas replies on Jun 14, 2020:

Howdy WayneHawthorne, Odd, it worked in Real Clear Politics. I copied the text in a comment for you.

IS IT TIME TO THINK THE UNTHINKABLE?

ChrisODonnell comments on Jun 14, 2020:

Americans have a very inflated view of themselves.

timon_phocas replies on Jun 14, 2020:

The better to match our physiques?

SoFMag: COVID and riots are driving record gun sales with a large cohort of first time buyers.

MaskedRiderChris comments on Jun 6, 2020:

Doesn't surprise me. If I had the extra money lying around, I'd put it towards a gun and learning to use it and take care of it, right now, as well. Not to say that I distrust the police, it's more accurate to say that I know they're overtaxed and stretched thin right now. But even in this case? TX ...

timon_phocas replies on Jun 6, 2020:

Howdy @MaskedRiderChris, Colorado has a "stand your ground" law, meaning you can defend yourself if you are attacked in your house, somewhat more vaguely if you are attacked on your property. If I exercise these statutory rights I expect to be interrogated, possibly arrested. Who knows?

Do you see the tragic killing of Floyd George more an act of pure evil or pure incompetence?

BikerPetehall70 comments on Jun 4, 2020:

Why are American cops so highly strung,

timon_phocas replies on Jun 4, 2020:

Howdy @BikerPetehall70, There has been a steady trickle of police deaths in the last few years. A trickle gradually increasing. Long term perception of police persecution of African-American men morphed into an undercurrent of actively resisting, of killing police.

WashTimes: Antifa planned national anti-government insurgency for months [m.washingtontimes.com]

RobBlair comments on Jun 4, 2020:

I see no reason to discard the white supremacist agitation as well. Without question they seek to sow strife in the black communities and have planned for the initiation of a second civil war, the Boogaloo, since inception. Putting Antifa on the same team with the White supremacists seems to be a ...

timon_phocas replies on Jun 4, 2020:

Howdy @RobBlair, Charlie Mason and 'helter skelter' all over again. I don't care whether they're right-wing or left-wing barbarians. Arrest them, cuff them, perp walk them on prime time, try them and send them to prison for a long time.

KurtSchlichter: Gropey Joe has only bad choices in front of him.

Edgework comments on Jun 4, 2020:

Kurt Schlichter’s attitude towards the left and their agenda should be the template for all who oppose them. Like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, he uses pure Alinsky tactics without remorse or apology: ridicule the agenda, attack all who support it. It helps that, like Rush and Ann, he’s funny. ...

timon_phocas replies on Jun 4, 2020:

Howdy @Edgework, Amen, Brother. They can't stand being ridiculed.

Poor Maize Hirono. To say she’s stupid is generous. How stupid is she?

TimTuolomne comments on Jun 4, 2020:

Yup. Protected by a wall of false assumptions that will only be broken in the most dire of consequences.

timon_phocas replies on Jun 4, 2020:

Howdy @TimTuolomne, William F Buckley used the phrase, "invincibly ignorant" (cadged from Augustine) to describe people like Maize.

What advice would you give to people who are stressed out over the recent protests and riots?

timon_phocas comments on Jun 3, 2020:

We've been through this before and then moved on. 1968 was a terrible year; political upheavals, military defeats, assassinations, the National Guard was repeatedly called in to control riots, communist student oganizations morphed into terrorists. And it wasn't just the US. In the spring ...

timon_phocas replies on Jun 3, 2020:

Howdy @WilyRickWiles, It happened to members of SDS and even the Weather Underground. It happened to Eldridge Cleaver and David Horowitz. Some radicals, like Bill Ayers, became the establishment sponsors of new progressives. Life does have a way of taming us.

JohnNolte: If you vote for leftists, decade after decade, to run your cities.

Xtra comments on Jun 1, 2020:

These observations are relevant and accurate and have been overlooked/ignored forever. Do you think it's just an inability to connect the dots?

timon_phocas replies on Jun 1, 2020:

Howdy @Xtra, I believe the MSM provide a propagandized version of events. The "dots" that are presented are that America is racist, cops are brutal bigots, protests, even violent protests, are justified. People can only connect the dots they are aware of.

The Minneapolis Riots of Peace - YouTube

WorldSigh comments on May 30, 2020:

Link insurance https://youtu.be/GbJ_A74KZuM

timon_phocas replies on May 30, 2020:

Gives a whole new meaning to the term, "Minnesota Nice." The 1968 election was affected by the riots that year. They helped Richard Nixon get elected.

VDH: The Doctrine of Media Untruth.

MaskedRiderChris comments on May 26, 2020:

I admit that I thought I'd figured this out a long time ago, but then Donald Trump took office and it became so exceedingly obvious that one would have had to have been either willfully ignorant of these tactics or completely unaware of them. The latter can be fixed by education; the former, not so ...

timon_phocas replies on May 26, 2020:

Howdy @MaskedRiderChris, You're right. It's been true for a long time. But I think it's become too blatant to ignore, even for people who don't pay attention to the news. Maybe it's a turning point.

Interesting Engineering: NASA develops kilowatt class nuclear reactors for Mars.

kresica comments on May 23, 2020:

..very good question..

timon_phocas replies on May 23, 2020:

Howdy @kresica, There are plusses and minuses to using solar vs nuclear. Solar would require no fuel and therefore no mining and refining. OTOH, it would take a vast acreage for the panels, plus battery packs, to support communities. Solar panels do require maintenance. Nuclear wouldn't need the acreage or battery packs. If you're talking about manufacturing either energy source on Mars itself, it would be a wash. Both energy sources would require, mining, transport and manufacturing infrastructure.

PopularMechanics: Magnetic North is a blob of molten iron sliding towards Siberia.

coalburned comments on May 20, 2020:

When I got my captain's license a while back we had to learn to account for this difference because the USCG didn't want people to be unable to find their way if their GPS broke. Bear in mind, this was before smart phones were ubiquitous, and GPS technology wasn't a given on every vessel. It was on ...

timon_phocas replies on May 20, 2020:

Howdy @coalburned, Yep, converting those degrees, minutes and seconds into coordinates is tough in the daylight when when you're calm. Doing it in a emergency?

Monday morning bonus! Imagine all those combustion engine hating lefties, that bought Musk's cars ...

angelo comments on May 18, 2020:

Do these people have any idea at all how electric cars are built using fossil fuels to build and power them?

timon_phocas replies on May 18, 2020:

Howdy @angelo, Elon Musk's businesses all live off the government. Tesla depends on tax credits to every buyer of electric cars. California offers state tax credits as well. Solar City depends on tax credits and PUC regulations forcing power companies to purchase electricity trickling in from roof top installations. SpaceX gets development money from the US government and then sells launch services to the goverent (as well as other governments and anybody else with the cash). StarLink, with a projected satellite constellation of tens of thousands, could only have been approved if somebody in the US government was enthusiastically pushing for it. This is not the first time this has happened. JP Morgan built US Steel into a near monopoly but never had antitrust problems. He made sure US Steel was very solicitous of the US Navy. This does not mean I admire Elon Musk any less. He is relentlessly innovative and he is remaking several industries in his own image. But we have to recognize he has identified federal and state governments as the source of cheap capital and his best customers.

After Year of Deadlock and Days of Delays, Knesset Swears in New Israeli Government [jpost.com]

angelo comments on May 17, 2020:

What's are chances he will be found guilty? I think it's a similar witch-hunt to Trump's in the US.

timon_phocas replies on May 17, 2020:

Howdy @angelo, Netanyahu been pursued by these charges for at least ten years. He says they're politically based. Ynetnews (liberal) says they're substantial. Jerusalem Post (more conservative) doesn't. So it sounds political to me.

Israel eyes closing down evangelical channel

timon_phocas comments on May 15, 2020:

1. There's a dynamic tension between secular and Orthodox Jewishness. One point of agreement is that neither like Evangelical Christianity. 2. I have seen any number of secular Jews, a fair number of Orthodox Jews, even a few Buddhist Jews. But the one thing you cannot be is a Christian Jew (at ...

timon_phocas replies on May 16, 2020:

Howdy @Naomi, Well, first of all, thank you very much for your kind words. But I must hasten to add that I am anything but but omniscient. Just ask my wife...

The swamp is draining itselfhttps://youtu.be/q_nA6sxTMqs

Xtra comments on May 14, 2020:

I wonder why no one has pulled Schiff's security clearance. We have years of tape demonstrating a pattern of consistent lying. His character does not warrant Trust.

timon_phocas replies on May 14, 2020:

Howdy @Xtra, Schiff is a politically powerful Democrat. That's why he still has a security clearance.

US news.

Serg97 comments on May 7, 2020:

WHAT?? another "you have to pass it to find out what is in it" bill?? Obviously, written in "legalize" so no one will ever prove what it says!!! All legislative bill should be limited to NO MORE THAN 100 WORDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

timon_phocas replies on May 7, 2020:

Howdy @Serg97, As a variation on that thought, I think we should have an amendment saying no law can be longer than a trained calligrapher can write in a forty hour work week. I've done calligraphy and it's slow, exacting work.

VDH: They have come not to praise Joe Biden, but to bury him.

Pjharwood comments on May 6, 2020:

The story seems to taken down. 😡

timon_phocas replies on May 6, 2020:

Howdy @Pjharwood It seems to have vanished from the NRO site. I put in another URL from the WashingtonTimes. That seems to work

VDH: They have come not to praise Joe Biden, but to bury him.

govols comments on May 6, 2020:

Page not found?

timon_phocas replies on May 6, 2020:

Howdy @govols, It seems to have disappeared off the NRO site. I added a second IRL pointing to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that seems to work.

I like to remind people that partisan politics are what is tearing our country apart by causing ...

timon_phocas comments on May 2, 2020:

We already have term limits. They're called elections. Term limits haven't made California less corrupt. They haven't made Colorado less corrupt. They've made appointed bureaucracies and political machines more powerful.

timon_phocas replies on May 2, 2020:

Howdy @Tati, 1. Jerry Brown, Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, all in their late seventies or eighties have dominated California politics since the 1970s. It's the most expensive state for media, yet they still run things. Governor Gavin Newsom is Nancy Pelosi's nephew, BTW. Term limits only served to move Willie Brown from Speaker of the House to San Francisco mayoralty for as long as he wanted it. 2. California politics are dominated by public employee unions. CALPERs (California's public employee retirement system) is California's largest outstanding liability ($1.5 trillion). They "balanced" it by passing a large "temporary" increase on upper income earners. I say "temporary" because it's about to sunset and California now has a Covid recession. Look for it to be made permanent. Look for those high earners to leave (my relatives are doing just that). 3. I live in Colorado. Term limits passed in 1990. A retired state senator I know says the current legislators have no institutional memory. They are proposing laws that were already passed years ago. Legislators come and go, staffers stay forevermore. Guess who accumulates power. 4. Colorado Department of Transportation ignores what people want. We want better roads. In the old days legislators got 20 years seniority and could influence CDOT because they knew how to draft budgets . These days, 3 terms and they're out.

AndrewMcCarthy: the "why" of Flynn's perjury trap interrogation.

dd54 comments on May 2, 2020:

The slimey swanp creatures will use anyone and anyrhing to maintain power

timon_phocas replies on May 2, 2020:

Howdy @dd54, Federal prosecutions have something later like a 98% success rate. That's because a no-holds-barred culture in the DOJ. After all, if you're not cheating, your're not trying hard enough. The outside world doesn't complain much, because it feels good to crush organized crime with any means necessary. But this culture pervades most of the DOJ. We saw this in the case of Richard Jewell (96 Olympic Games bombing) and Senator Ted Stevens (corruption charges, overturned for prosecution misconduct). I think the FBI got used to using this approach and just naturally used it to go after Trump. If you view Trump as just another crime boss, why shouldn't you break laws to go after him?

townhall.

MosheBenIssac comments on Apr 24, 2020:

It was spreading in Los Angeles county California in mid to late December

timon_phocas replies on Apr 24, 2020:

Howdy @MosheBenIssac, It was spreading through the University of Northern Colorado in November and December. A lot of Chinese students attend UNC. It was diagnosed as just another particularly nasty flu. The "experts" mistook the middle phase of the epidemic spread as the beginning and then extrapolated scary numbers from there.

Hippodrome anyone

Clarken comments on Apr 21, 2020:

But then there's also the endurance issue. How far can something that big run & swim? Obviously cannot bike - unless well trained.

timon_phocas replies on Apr 21, 2020:

Hippo would obviously have to use a Schwinn...

AIM: Wuhan Pastor's letter to his congregation. [advancingnativemissions.com]

Naomi comments on Apr 19, 2020:

Hello. The Christians in China are being persecuted by the government, no? I wish them well.

timon_phocas replies on Apr 20, 2020:

Howdy again @Naomi, And the Falun Gong (Buddhists, I think). Big Brother demands exclusive worship wherever he reigns.

AIM: Wuhan Pastor's letter to his congregation. [advancingnativemissions.com]

Naomi comments on Apr 19, 2020:

Hello. The Christians in China are being persecuted by the government, no? I wish them well.

timon_phocas replies on Apr 19, 2020:

Howdy @Naomi, Indeed they are being persecuted, Naomi. What I've read in the book of Acts, and in the works of Tacitus and Pliny is being lived out before my eyes. It is tragic, heartbreaking, and strangely affirming. Jesus told us that if the world hated him, it will hate us as well. That Chinese pastor is a great soul, and the Chinese government hates him because of it.

StrategyPage: battery powered subs, Japan gets there first.

Naomi comments on Apr 17, 2020:

Hello. It is said that lithium-ion batteries are the future. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for their contributions to the development of the lithium-ion battery, the world's most powerful battery, and faster-charging, ...

timon_phocas replies on Apr 17, 2020:

Howdy @Naomi, Yes. Submarines powered by the same kinds of batteries as are in cell phones. And only Japanese engineers could figure out to make the necessary loong underwater USB cables... 😆

SoFMag: Admiral James Stockdale. A modern model of inspirational leadership. [sofmag.com]

cRaZyTMG comments on Apr 15, 2020:

Compare this man's life to the traitorous John McCain

timon_phocas replies on Apr 16, 2020:

Howdy @cRaZyTMG, John McCain's behavior in Hanoi was comparable to Stockdale's. He was was the son and grandson of admirals. His father was CINCPAC at the time he was shot down. His captors knew this and treated him with ferocious cruelty that crippled him for the rest of his life. McCain met that ferocity with an unyielding, stubborn resistance. We saw that same stubborn resistance in the last year's of his life when the Republican Party turned away from him. A person's greatest greatest strengths are often their greatest flaws as well.

Viral news

Clarken comments on Apr 15, 2020:

One of the 4000 who died previously and were just added to NY's death count. Doesn't matter that he was in Miami, Florida. He's FROM NY. Just like it doesn't matter if he died FROM Coronavirus or WITH it. If that doesn't make sense, it wasn't intended to. They don't have to make sense.

timon_phocas replies on Apr 15, 2020:

It's financial. Medicare will pay 13k to a hospital for bacterial pneumonia and 39k for a ventilated wuflu patient.

My son-in-law is a sheriff's deputy in a large, basically empty county in Montana.

Bay0Wulf comments on Apr 13, 2020:

“county public health nurse”? Is that a “thing”? I grew up and now live pretty rural but I’ve never heard of this type of bureaucratic title. I guess I suspect she’s either elected or ... the only game in town. While I think they ought to get rid of her at the first opportunity, I ...

timon_phocas replies on Apr 13, 2020:

Howdy @Bay0Wulf, The sheriff is the highest elective official in a county but doesn't have authority over the public health nurse. The county commissioners have authority over the public health nurse but they're not in session all the time. I think there are a lot of old, old public health laws, enacted after the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, that are pretty draconian. The current "pandemic" is being hyped as the worst calamity since the midieval Black Death. I'm thinking the public health nurse is reacting to the hype. She is being talked down from some extreme positions. Pastors are being allowed in their churches, just no meetings. People have long memories in that little town. She may want to retire some place else.

My son-in-law is a sheriff's deputy in a large, basically empty county in Montana.

Clarken comments on Apr 12, 2020:

300-odd and 900-odd people? Sounds more like 1-odd plus 1199-normal people. Can't they get her fired? I mean, who pays her and gives her any kind of authority?

timon_phocas replies on Apr 12, 2020:

Howdy @Clarken, The drama is still unfolding. It will take awhile. Civil service protections and all that.

New info on the SpyGate front.

Xtra comments on Apr 11, 2020:

I think it was Billy Sunday who said there is going to be a Payday someday. I hope this one comes prior to the final judgement.

timon_phocas replies on Apr 11, 2020:

Howdy @Xtra, Yep, it's Saturday night, but Sunday's on the way!

ArsTechnica: Boeing's fall from grace.

kresica comments on Apr 11, 2020:

That's pretty much what I had in mind on that matter, only the final end came in more earlier.. . As I see it, "Boeing" is just the first major player in the space-industry that, at the end of the day, wasn't able to keep up with ongoing changes in the open-market. Outsourcing of traditional ...

timon_phocas replies on Apr 11, 2020:

Howdy @kresika, American aerospace underwent a massive consolidation after the fall of the Soviet Union. The Pentagon sort of shepherded this process. They wanted keep as much as possible of the defense industry viable. There was also competition in commercial aircraft from Airbus to consider. Lockheed Martin seems to have preserved its culture, as has Northrup Grumman. They're too slow and unwieldy but they still know how to manufacture things. Boeing, however, seems to have lost it. The KC-46, the 737-Max, and the Starliner are all flailing.

Why is it so difficult to distribute wealth in a manner that ensures a basic minimum standard of ...

timon_phocas comments on Apr 8, 2020:

I would submit that modern capitalism had done just that. We don't have private jets and private islands, but we are fabulously wealthy judged by historical standards. We live lives that are better than Roman emperors'. Better water, better food, better shelter, real medicine (to name just a few). ...

timon_phocas replies on Apr 9, 2020:

@Naomi howdy, The homeless issue is a complex set of problems. The first started in the late 1960s. The American Civil Liberties Union started suing state governments because they were keeping patients in mental hospitals. In effect, imprisonment without cause. This coincided with a shift in treatment from psychiatry to pharmacology. At any rate, the ACLU lawsuits were successful, both legally and as fund raising. Governors came to see this as a win-win. They got to stop paying people who lost lawsuits and they got to stop paying for mental hospitals. Hospitals closed and patients hit the streets. They became the first cadre of the homeless population. The second cohort of the homeless population comes as a result of the opioid crisis. Sixty-seven-thousand people died of opioid overdoses in the US in 2018. The overwhelming majority of those drugs flood over our border with Mexico. We're losing the equivalent of our losses in the Vietnam War every year to this plague. Drug users compose the majority of the homeless. Colonies of drug users live in most permissive cities in the US. And that's the operative phrase, "permissive cities." Here we enter into the political worldviews of the people running those cities. They believe homelessness and squalor are inevitable results of capitalism. Seeing beggars and people huddled under Bridges and overpasses affirms their worldview. They order the police not to "harass" the homeless. In other words, to not enforce laws. The last cohort of the homeless are economic. Some see it as a way to live cheaply by not having to pay rent. My grandfather and father did that in the Great Depression. The rent issue is, at least in part, a function of zoning and environmental regulations. Solving the homelessness problem will mean tackling all these issues. That's my opinion, anyway.

Dispatch: the China Problem is more than just COVID19 [thedispatch.com]

Xtra comments on Apr 1, 2020:

"It will also be tempting to isolationists and bigots and protectionists to go after all of China rather than simply its malign policies and enterprises." Thanks for the important reminder!

timon_phocas replies on Apr 1, 2020:

Howdy @ Xtra, This article was carried on Congressman Ken Buck's FB feed. He's part of the Republican Freedom Caucus and he's one of the representatives I trust. I've met him a few times. In the old saying, he's got sand (he's a man of substance).

Was the American Revolution a progressive or a conservative movement? What is your interpretation?

timon_phocas comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Howdy @Naomi, I always appreciate it when you open an intellectual jar of worms. The American Revolution was as complicated as any in history. It has been described variously as an economic, ideological, religious, cultural and racial conflict. It was all of these, depending on where you ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 26, 2020:

Howdy @govols, Yeah, I think that's probably it. Another aspect was the dirisive attitude of the British towards their colonials. There's a new biography of Mary Ball Washington (George's mother). It includes a fascinating tidbit. It was the official policy of the Royal Navy to treat American midshipmen worse than Caribbean slaves. There are memos to that effect still on file. That British attitude is also displayed in their refusal to seriously consider George Washington when he applied for a commission in the Royal Army after Monongahela. Many colonials considered themselves good Englishmen. They were shocked into considering themselves Americans by British attitudes. Ben Franklin wrote about this in his autobiography.

Was the American Revolution a progressive or a conservative movement? What is your interpretation?

timon_phocas comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Howdy @Naomi, I always appreciate it when you open an intellectual jar of worms. The American Revolution was as complicated as any in history. It has been described variously as an economic, ideological, religious, cultural and racial conflict. It was all of these, depending on where you ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 26, 2020:

@Naomi Howdy again. Yes, you're right. Most histories say the American population was divided into thirds supporting, opposing and indifferent to the Revolution. At least at the beginning. There were many loyalist fighters and loyalist formations. Fewer than revolutionary formations, but significant.

NRO: DOJ, AG Barr file statement of interest in female athletes' lawsuit in Connecticut.

RobBlair comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Can we get rid of section 9? I don't want this argued on the Federal level. Let the bad states do stupid and leave the rest of us alone.

timon_phocas replies on Mar 26, 2020:

Howdy @RobBlair, I believe AG Barr is saying biological males competing as females could destroy Title IX female athletic programs.

Was the American Revolution a progressive or a conservative movement? What is your interpretation?

timon_phocas comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Howdy @Naomi, I always appreciate it when you open an intellectual jar of worms. The American Revolution was as complicated as any in history. It has been described variously as an economic, ideological, religious, cultural and racial conflict. It was all of these, depending on where you ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 26, 2020:

@Naomi Howdy again, "Mercantilist policies" Manufacturing was deliberately limited in the colonies. And all offshore trade was limited to Britain. This was designed to funnel colonial trade to UK trading houses and factories. Typically, rich people sent lists to a trading house in the UK. The trading house bought the items, packaged them and shipped them to America. There were markups all along the way, passed on to the colonials. You were never sure you'd get what you ordered. It took months to send the order, get replies, send approvals and receive the goods. It was very profitable for UK trading houses. It kept many ostensibly rich men in perpetual debt to the trading houses. It was infuriating to a serious entrapenuer like Washington. Getting around this cumbersome system led to a whole class of very profitable smugglers, Samuel Adams among them, who in turn helped lead the Revolution. Oh, and about your"brains." I just have a peculiar bent of mind towards history. The only time it's proved profitable to me is when I need to bore a child to sleep. Nap times and the Neo Babylonian Empire... Your brain is just fine.

Conventional Capitalism is Dying

timon_phocas comments on Mar 23, 2020:

Howdy @WilyRickWiles, I could not get past the Australian's paywall. I think capitalism is deeply persistent because it's part of human nature. I remember working on my father's orchard. We had particular problems with a weed called Johnson Grass. It spreads with seeds or by root ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 23, 2020:

@WilyRickWiles Thanks

RealClearDefense: Marine Corps Commandant plans to radically reorganize the Corps.

RobBlair comments on Mar 18, 2020:

Why would a military choose to be defeated in detail?

timon_phocas replies on Mar 18, 2020:

Howdy @RobBlair, Nobody wants to fight China on the mainland. They've run exhaustive wargames and there's no way to win. But China is dependent on imports that run through the South China Sea. I think that's where they're thinking the battles will be. No scope for division sized formations. There's an interesting article on China's concept of fighting the US in "War on the Rocks." China looks to prevent the US from getting information for its precision guided weapons. "Informational War"

Inverse: Honeywell claims top spot in quantum computing.

Xtra comments on Mar 16, 2020:

I didn't know that Honeywell was even in the race.

timon_phocas replies on Mar 16, 2020:

Howdy @Xtra, Honeywell was a leader in mainframe computing. Ford was a Honeywell shop for decades. So they have a long history as a technology innovator, but we normally don't think of them in this field anymore.

The People's Republic of China is amazing.

CuriousFury comments on Mar 14, 2020:

huh, but the.exact things happen here in usa.surveilance at every register. radio frequency emiters in multiole pockets and vehicle. "dummy cameras" at every intersection as well as 3 or 4 looking at your crotch and face as you surf the web on your phone. all data mined in the name of patriotism?? ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 15, 2020:

Howdy @CuriousFury, I suppose the difference between the commercial databases here and those in China is all the databases belong to the Communist Party in China. You're right the their potential is frightening. My point is all this Orwellian frightfulness was useless.

NY Metro City Enforcing CURFEW, ALL Bars Shuttered, Entire Town Ordered To Quarantine Over COVID19 -...

iThink comments on Mar 15, 2020:

maybe this is what we need in order to get White people to breed again - expect a boom in new births 9 to 10 months from now...or more depending on how long folks are shut in. Ha!

timon_phocas replies on Mar 15, 2020:

1. Well, there was a baby boom after the NYC electricity blackouts in 1964. 2. County and local governments have quarantine powers under 19th and 20th century public health laws.

CoffeeOrDie: speaking of strong women. [coffeeordie.com]

RobBlair comments on Mar 10, 2020:

"“Each class I recycled with had a new batch of men and young soldiers, and each and every one of those got to work next to a female who was carrying the same weight, who was doing the same thing that they were,” Jaster said about her time in the course." - I support that standard. How'd she ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 10, 2020:

I'll have to read it again, but the bronze star is given for exceptional achievement, when it's for exceptional achievement in combat it comes with a 'V' device.

KSL.

MosheBenIssac comments on Mar 8, 2020:

The EU would not help Turkey with the financial burden of all those refugees. And now Turkey is fighting Russia via Assad and where is the EU? The EU's default answer is to have more meetings. Who is going to die for the EU? And what military does the EU actually have? This is a manifestation of the...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 9, 2020:

Howdy @MosheBenIssac, The EU pays something like a billion Euros a month to Turkey for keeping Syrian refugees. Despite that, Erdogan uses the refugees as a convenient football whenever he wants to pressure the EU or NATO.

KSL.

Xtra comments on Mar 8, 2020:

Remind me again why were keeping nukes in Turkey?

timon_phocas replies on Mar 8, 2020:

Howdy @Xtra, Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if we've been slowly dismantling them.

VDH: Plagues and Panics, Past and Present. [nationalreview.com]

Clarken comments on Mar 8, 2020:

Good article looking at the ancient to modern history of epidemics. You'd think today's technology would actually keep people from panicking. But it only seems to contribute to the hysteria. I doubt that there has been a time in history when one was used in such a political way as it is being ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 8, 2020:

Howdy @Clarken, Plagues have been exploited for political purposes all through history. The plagues of the late Middle Ages were the occasion for pogroms against Jewish quarters of cities. Nothing new under the sun, as Solomon famously wrote.

Smoke signals. Not just for the Vatican.

Bay0Wulf comments on Mar 4, 2020:

That ain’t “cooked”. That’s destroyed ...

timon_phocas replies on Mar 5, 2020:

Howdy @Be0Wulf, Burnt offerings?

Anti Corona virus throat spray. Use 3 times a day...

Lt-JW comments on Mar 2, 2020:

🤣🤣🤣 double action, as it boosts transatlantic US UK trades too

timon_phocas replies on Mar 2, 2020:

Howdy @Lt-JW, I'm certainly willing to use Scottish single malt whiskey. All for the cause of transatlantic solidarity, of course...