There are 7 billion people on the planet.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Donald Trump's tweets, Wonder Woman, Women keeping fit to please their husbands
Here is a podcast featuring Mollie Hemingway and David Harsanyi, both of whom are senior editors as The Federalist, which is one of the best websites on the internet. Mollie is clearly one of the most knowledgeable people analyzing politics. I have enjoyed following David since his days at the Denver Post. I am sorry David is having such a hard time appreciating the Trump presidency, although he does like the Gorsuch nomination. I like his sense of humor.
On this podcast they discuss Donald Trump's tweets and the bad way the media has functioned for many years. Now every Republican will be asked by the media to comment on Trump's tweet about Mika's facelift mishap. My reaction was to immediately chuckle when I saw the tweet. However, it detracts from the other things Trump is doing, such as today's immigration legislation.
A woman named Inez wrote a story at The Federalist about the importance of married women keeping fit to please their husbands. We are supposed to pretend that sex itself doesn't exist. The media has had a big fit over the Inez article.
Mollie liked the Wonder Woman movie!
"Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray!"
https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/PPY7423728105?selected=PPY1424426314
On this podcast they discuss Donald Trump's tweets and the bad way the media has functioned for many years. Now every Republican will be asked by the media to comment on Trump's tweet about Mika's facelift mishap. My reaction was to immediately chuckle when I saw the tweet. However, it detracts from the other things Trump is doing, such as today's immigration legislation.
A woman named Inez wrote a story at The Federalist about the importance of married women keeping fit to please their husbands. We are supposed to pretend that sex itself doesn't exist. The media has had a big fit over the Inez article.
Mollie liked the Wonder Woman movie!
"Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray!"
https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/PPY7423728105?selected=PPY1424426314
Illegal immigrant criminals day in Congress
Trump gives voice today to victims of illegal immigrant crime. We actually have a president who wants to protect American citizens from criminals! Two bills are coming up for vote in Congress today. One is Kate's Law, and the other is No Sanctuary for Criminals. Bill O'Reilly is a guest on Laura's program, as is Eric Bolling. Both cannot see how any politician would be able to vote against either of those laws and still be re-elected.
I have noticed that every time Rand Paul meets in private with the president, he comes out in praise of how open Trump is to his ideas. Rand Paul is obviously very sharp. He has suggested that the healthcare bill be divided into two parts. One would be repeal of Obamacare, which would get support from Republicans. The other would be spending, which would get support from Democrats.
Even though the two bills on illegal immigration are going to be big winners for Trump, he spends time this morning talking about Mika Brzezinski's face lift. Laura believes the White House, from Trump on down, needs more message discipline. When she worked for Reagan, they agreed on a "message of the day," which was enforced at every cabinet department.
I have noticed that every time Rand Paul meets in private with the president, he comes out in praise of how open Trump is to his ideas. Rand Paul is obviously very sharp. He has suggested that the healthcare bill be divided into two parts. One would be repeal of Obamacare, which would get support from Republicans. The other would be spending, which would get support from Democrats.
Even though the two bills on illegal immigration are going to be big winners for Trump, he spends time this morning talking about Mika Brzezinski's face lift. Laura believes the White House, from Trump on down, needs more message discipline. When she worked for Reagan, they agreed on a "message of the day," which was enforced at every cabinet department.
When brain wiring goes haywire to cause persistent pain. How to fix it!
Beth Mole reports at Ars Technica,
Chronic, aching pain after an injury or operation may be all in your head. Researchers now think they’ve figured out exactly how brain wiring goes haywire to cause persistent pain—and how to fix it.Read more here.
In mice with peripheral nerve damage and chronic pain from a leg surgery, a broken circuit in a pain-processing region of mammalian brains caused hyperactive pain signals that persisted for more than a month. Specifically, the peripheral nerve damage seemed to deactivate a type of interconnected brain cells, called somatostatin (SOM) interneurons, which normally dampen pain signals. Without the restraints, neurons that fire off pain signals—cortical pyramidal neurons—went wild, researchers report in Nature Neuroscience.
But the circuitry could be repaired, the researchers found. Just by manually activating those pain-stifling SOM interneurons, the researchers could shut down the rodents’ chronic pain and keep the system working properly—preventing centralized, chronic pain from ever developing.
“Our findings suggest that manipulating interneuron activity after peripheral nerve injury could be an important avenue for the prevention of pyramidal neuron over-excitation and the transition from acute postoperative pain to chronic centralized pain,” the authors, led by neuroscientist Guang Yang at New York University School of Medicine, conclude. Yang and his colleagues envision future drugs or therapies, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, to tweak the activity of the interneurons to prevent malfunctioning pain signaling.
She's "values-ist"
Bookworm links to a new Prager U. video by Andrew Klavan discussing fake news.
Then Bookworm adds,
Then Bookworm adds,
What Klavan missed is that there is a type of fake news that the media consistently uses that goes beyond what he identified. Klavan identified two primary tactics: (1) assigning relative values to stories (e.g., front or back page status) and (2) using emotionally colored adjectives (e.g., calling Tea Partiers racists or Occupy people heroes).Read more here.
In addition to the above tactics, the mainstream media also perverts langauge itself to create out-and-out lies or, to use the modern term of art, fake news. To explain what I mean, lets turn to illegal entry into the country, which is framed (wrongly) as an “immigration” issue. And speaking of framing it as an immigration issue, conservatives, as they always do, have fallen into the Progressive nomenclature trap.
In the old days, when there was a societal consensus that it’s a bad thing for people to sneak into a sovereign country without that country’s permission, those sneaky people were called “illegal aliens,” which was a perfect descriptive term. They were here illegally and, being illegal, they could not be “immigrants.” In a sovereign nation with border control laws, an immigrant is someone whom the government welcomes into the country through its legal process; an alien is a non-citizen who has no right to be in the country.
Progressives, with their push to use newly arrived people, whether here illegally or not, as ballast for permanent Democrat party votes, fully understood the accurate import of the term “illegal alien.” That’s why they started calling those people “illegal immigrants.” Yeah, sure they’re illegal, but they’re still immigrants, just like all the rest of the teaming masses who arrived at Ellis Island legally and gazed up at the Statue of Liberty. (And to anyone wondering, Emma Lazarus’s nice poem at the statue’s base is not the law of the land. It’s just a nice poem that was written with one group especially in mind: those Jews who escaped the pogroms in Poland and Russia and came legally to America.)
By changing the language, Leftists shifted the argument from illegality to immigration. And once having down that, they used two tiers of guilt on Americans. Tier one is that we’re all descended from immigrants in one way or another, unless we’re Native Americans (who also immigrated here, albeit in prehistoric times). Who are we, then, to sneer at the latest crop of immigrants? Tier two is about those native Americans. Because we immigrated here illegally as to them, and stole their land, we have no moral standing to argue about the latest crop of illegal immigrants.
Once Progressives had milked the “immigrant” language shift dry, they attacked the illegality part. For some time now, those former “illegal immigrants” (who actually are “illegal aliens”) are referred to as “undocumented immigrants.” (And again, conservatives too often have blindly accepted this change in language.) With this new phrase, the subliminal message is that these people aren’t actually here illegally. They just forgot to do the paper work. It can happen to anybody.
I’ll add here, as I always do, something that’s important to the next part of my discussion: I am not anti-immigrant. As the child of immigrants, I’m not that hypocritical. I’m also fully aware that America’s vitality stems in significant part from the new blood constantly flowing in and revitalizing stultifying institutions. I’m also not racist. Provided that people newly arrived in America work hard, stay out of trouble with the law, and embrace American values (at least in the metaphorical town square), I couldn’t care less about race or country of origin.
What I am, rather than racist, is “values-ist.” If you come here and attempt to destroy American values, I don’t like you. Again, I don’t care where you’re from, what race you are, or what creed you espouse. I care deeply, though, when you attempt to force Americans to practice your faith, rather than accepting American pluralism. When Muslims take over New York streets, they’re forcing their faith on us. When Muslims successfully insist that stores selling sex appeal hire hijab wearing women, they’re forcing their faith on us. (I hate Abercrombie, but Progressive Supreme Court ruling notwithstanding, I believe it has a right to enforce an image. I would therefore also reject an Orthodox Jewish girl trying to force her way in — although the nice thing about Orthodox Jews is that they don’t do that kind of thing. They understand the correct important of the First Amendment, which is their right to be left alone and not to be deprived of basic civil rights in their dealings with the government.) Values-ist, not racist or homophobic.
The Left doesn’t just lie by reclassifying a whole group of people who, by their daily existence in America, are an offense to law and order. They also lie by mis-describing those who say, as I do, that the issue is not immigration, but illegal immigration.
"The single payer calls the shots."
Abe Hawken reports at Mail Online about a baby diagnosed with a rare genetic defect, who is on life support. The parents live in the UK, and they want to bring their son to America for an experimental treatment. But, as Stephen Green says at Instapundit, the single payer calls the shots." Read about the case here.
The Jewish Shindler
Why does it take a Jew to have the courage and compassion to rescue Christian girls being forced by ISIS to become sex slaves? Where are Christians? Bradley Martin writes at The Federalist,
At a high-end car and motorcycle dealership in Montreal, a Canadian-Jewish businessman has made it his mission to save Christian and Yazidi girls from ISIS.Read more here.
From Breitbart: China’s National Oil Company Suspends Sales to North Korea
John Hayward reports at Breitbart,
Hayward looks at many angles to explain what is going on. This excerpt may explain:
Reuters reported on Wednesday that China’s state-controlled National Petroleum Corporation has suspended fuel sales to North Korea for an undetermined period of time. CNPC is the primary supplier of fuel to North Korea.
Hayward looks at many angles to explain what is going on. This excerpt may explain:
“It is a wrong perception that North Korea is completely dependent on China,” said defector Ri Jong-ho.Read more here.
He said dictator Kim Jong-un’s plan to replace Chinese oil with imports from Russia has been moving ahead at full steam since 2014, when a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea “infuriated” Kim and prompted him to begin viewing China as an “enemy state.”
If Ri’s assessment is correct, then some of the public confusion from the Chinese government over suspended fuel sales to North Korea might be due to the reluctance of Chinese officials to admit they have lost much of their leverage over Pyongyang. China has traditionally profited greatly from selling itself as the last resort for curbing the worst excesses of the Kim regime. If that posture is now a bluff, Beijing will not want it to be called, and the current suspension of fuel sales might really be best understood as apprehension over North Korea’s willingness and ability to pay.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
South Korea President coming tomorrow, Zuckerberg is now a welfare rights organizer
Someone is claiming that because of Artificial Intelligence, 40% of all jobs in the US will be replaced by automation by 2030. Mark Zuckerberg proposes a guaranteed annual income. Elon Musk says 12 to 15 percent of the workforce will be obsolete within 20 years.
Supposedly this idea has already been tried on a small scale in Canada, Finland, and the Netherlands. Senator Moynihan and President Nixon proposed it in 1970, but it failed to pass the Senate.
You think we have it bad? Venezuela had 700% inflation last year.
The new South Korea President is coming to the White House tomorrow. Did you know that 20 million people live in Seoul? I didn't.
Supposedly this idea has already been tried on a small scale in Canada, Finland, and the Netherlands. Senator Moynihan and President Nixon proposed it in 1970, but it failed to pass the Senate.
You think we have it bad? Venezuela had 700% inflation last year.
The new South Korea President is coming to the White House tomorrow. Did you know that 20 million people live in Seoul? I didn't.
Unmasking Americans, repealing and replacing Obamacare
On The Story with Martha MacCallum, we learn that Susan Rice is toying with the identity politics excuse for why she is being subpoenaed. They're coming after me on the crimes I committed (unmasking American citizens) because of my gender and my race.
Rand Paul and Donald Trump have discussed proposing an idea: break up the healthcare into two parts, a spending bill and a repeal bill. The repeal bill would please Senators like himself because it would lower taxes, regulations, and premiums, and also reform Medicaid. The spending part would get support from Democrats. He thinks it could be passed as early as Friday.
Then Martha had on John Barrasso, a Senator from Wyoming, who is, like Senator Paul, a doctor. He was enthusiastic about several aspects of repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Rand Paul and Donald Trump have discussed proposing an idea: break up the healthcare into two parts, a spending bill and a repeal bill. The repeal bill would please Senators like himself because it would lower taxes, regulations, and premiums, and also reform Medicaid. The spending part would get support from Democrats. He thinks it could be passed as early as Friday.
Then Martha had on John Barrasso, a Senator from Wyoming, who is, like Senator Paul, a doctor. He was enthusiastic about several aspects of repealing and replacing Obamacare.
No Sanctuary for Criminals!
Do we want good relations with all countries? Of course, but is Trump being hampered by the media from establishing a good relationship with Russia? The G-20 conference is coming up in Germany. Will Trump be inhibited by the Mueller investigators in establishing a relationship with Putin there?
Laura is critical of the supposed legislative genius Mitch McConnell for not producing a good bill for the president to sign on healthcare.
Congressman Andy Biggs is a guest on today's show. He is from Arizona and is one of the people trying to get good legislation preventing criminal aliens from coming into America. There is a bill entitled No Sanctuary for Criminals. Other bills are coming out this week named after people who have been victimized by criminal aliens.
Laura is critical of the supposed legislative genius Mitch McConnell for not producing a good bill for the president to sign on healthcare.
Congressman Andy Biggs is a guest on today's show. He is from Arizona and is one of the people trying to get good legislation preventing criminal aliens from coming into America. There is a bill entitled No Sanctuary for Criminals. Other bills are coming out this week named after people who have been victimized by criminal aliens.
We are meant to be where we are. What do we do with this opportunity?
Andrew plays an audio clip of Jum Acosta of CNN demanding that the cameras be turned on at the White House press briefing. It reminds Andrew of Dan Rather, "the father of fake news."
On Tucker Carlson's show, Brit Hume said, "No reporter should be relying on White House Press Briefings to get news. If you have a good question, you don't want your competitors to know what story you are working on."
Andrew said when the media really disgraced themselves was during the Obama administration eight years. Trump walks through the doors and suddnely he's a Russian spy!
On Tucker Carlson's show, Brit Hume said, "No reporter should be relying on White House Press Briefings to get news. If you have a good question, you don't want your competitors to know what story you are working on."
Andrew said when the media really disgraced themselves was during the Obama administration eight years. Trump walks through the doors and suddnely he's a Russian spy!
God, Family, Country
Guest post by Suzann Darnall
My husband and I just got home earlier this week from a visit with my parents. We are now in the process of preparing for a visit from one of his older sisters. So, family is very much on my mind. And, with thoughts of family always comes thoughts of how much my family has been blessed, so God comes right along for the ride on my brain-train!
As we are heading into the start of July, I naturally think of Independence Day, too. A visit to my folks was a definite preparatory event for celebrating the Fourth of July! Mom and Dad have a home bedecked with antiques, art, family history, military memorabilia, Christian keepsakes, various collectibles, and Americana. It is like going to a miniature museum. There is something fascinating in pert near every corner of just about any room. Even the front porch and backyard are bedecked with mementos and crafts. There are so many memories and new experiences each time I walk through their door. But, above all else one is reminded of God, family, and country.
We are a very patriotic bunch. My family very much values freedom. It is freedom that allows us to worship our God as we will. It is this great country and its founding which allows us the freedom to live where we chose and raise our families as we wish. Our family literally spreads from coast-to-coast of this beautiful and bountiful land. We have a niece who lives in Maryland and I have a brother who lives in Oregon. My husband has siblings who reside in West Virginia and I have family living in Colorado. We then have more siblings, nieces, and nephews scattered about, as well as our children and grandchildren living right here in Texas.
My parents are preparing to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. I made them a quilt as our gift. Its theme is “Somebody in Texas loves you.”. I included pictures of my husband, our daughters, our sons-in-law, our grandchildren, and myself. I also had each member of the “Texas contingent” share a message for my folks. The quilt has pictures on one side and messages on the other. It is done in all red, white, and blue Texas or western-themed fabrics. It reminds me of family and freedom.
Why? ‘Cause not only do my husband and I now live in Texas, as well as both our daughters, but two of my brothers were born in Texas, as well as all of my grandchildren. Also, as I grew up, we lived in Texas three times when the Air Force stationed my father here. And, I can never think of Texas without being reminded of the Alamo, another fight for freedom from oppression. It strides side-by-side in my mind with the American revolution. People willing to give their all to achieve liberty. Not just the men, but the women and children sacrificed as well. We must never forget that families lived where battles were fought on American soil and families were inside the Alamo walls. The cost of freedom is a family expense. Always!
So, as I savor the memories of my recent visit with my parents in their home which is such a charming and interesting tribute to God, family, and country, I will also be sharing Texas and our family with my sister-in-law and her oldest grandson. We will do lots of familial visiting, go see the Alamo, and celebrate Independence Day a bit early by attending the Annual Wimberley VFW July 4th Pro Rodeo. We will attend church together on Sunday. We will, in short, celebrate God, family, and country! We will just do it a tad more Texas-style!
My husband and I just got home earlier this week from a visit with my parents. We are now in the process of preparing for a visit from one of his older sisters. So, family is very much on my mind. And, with thoughts of family always comes thoughts of how much my family has been blessed, so God comes right along for the ride on my brain-train!
As we are heading into the start of July, I naturally think of Independence Day, too. A visit to my folks was a definite preparatory event for celebrating the Fourth of July! Mom and Dad have a home bedecked with antiques, art, family history, military memorabilia, Christian keepsakes, various collectibles, and Americana. It is like going to a miniature museum. There is something fascinating in pert near every corner of just about any room. Even the front porch and backyard are bedecked with mementos and crafts. There are so many memories and new experiences each time I walk through their door. But, above all else one is reminded of God, family, and country.
We are a very patriotic bunch. My family very much values freedom. It is freedom that allows us to worship our God as we will. It is this great country and its founding which allows us the freedom to live where we chose and raise our families as we wish. Our family literally spreads from coast-to-coast of this beautiful and bountiful land. We have a niece who lives in Maryland and I have a brother who lives in Oregon. My husband has siblings who reside in West Virginia and I have family living in Colorado. We then have more siblings, nieces, and nephews scattered about, as well as our children and grandchildren living right here in Texas.
My parents are preparing to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. I made them a quilt as our gift. Its theme is “Somebody in Texas loves you.”. I included pictures of my husband, our daughters, our sons-in-law, our grandchildren, and myself. I also had each member of the “Texas contingent” share a message for my folks. The quilt has pictures on one side and messages on the other. It is done in all red, white, and blue Texas or western-themed fabrics. It reminds me of family and freedom.
Why? ‘Cause not only do my husband and I now live in Texas, as well as both our daughters, but two of my brothers were born in Texas, as well as all of my grandchildren. Also, as I grew up, we lived in Texas three times when the Air Force stationed my father here. And, I can never think of Texas without being reminded of the Alamo, another fight for freedom from oppression. It strides side-by-side in my mind with the American revolution. People willing to give their all to achieve liberty. Not just the men, but the women and children sacrificed as well. We must never forget that families lived where battles were fought on American soil and families were inside the Alamo walls. The cost of freedom is a family expense. Always!
So, as I savor the memories of my recent visit with my parents in their home which is such a charming and interesting tribute to God, family, and country, I will also be sharing Texas and our family with my sister-in-law and her oldest grandson. We will do lots of familial visiting, go see the Alamo, and celebrate Independence Day a bit early by attending the Annual Wimberley VFW July 4th Pro Rodeo. We will attend church together on Sunday. We will, in short, celebrate God, family, and country! We will just do it a tad more Texas-style!
Fanning the flames of the culture wars
Some excerpts from a column written by William McGurn at the Wall Street Journal:
...What makes issues such as abortion and marriage so contentious is that the opposing moral positions cannot be reconciled. The beauty of democratic politics, however, is its recognition that what free people want and what they will settle for as reasonable are two different things. Justice Kennedy’s unfortunate legacy on these hot-button issues is to take compromise off the table and thus ensure anger and ill will.Read more here.
...Anthony Kennedy is an educated man who writes in the smooth tones of Stanford and Harvard Law. The effect, alas, is no less noxious. Next time America’s corrosive politics comes up, it’s worth remembering that the justice so often hailed as a “moderate” or “centrist” has done as much as any to fan the flames of America’s raging culture war.
Why is Trump publicly threatening Assad over chemical weapons use?
Another important article by Sundance today at The Conservative Treehouse. He analyzes what Trump is up to in publicly threatening Assad over chemical weapons use.
Read the whole thing here.
Read the whole thing here.
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