Former Senator Barbara boxer lectures a priest and a philosopher on science

In this five minute video former California Senator Barbara Boxer attempts to take down Alex Epstein, author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, and Father Robert Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, a conservative organization that brings religion and free enterprise together. I have never been an admirer of Boxer, and have never thought much of her intellect or judgment. Due to the tempo of these times, in my defense, I say that not because she is a woman. That is not my thrust. I say it because she comes off like a ditzy broad.

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I was once a counterfeiter, and the rise of the Reds

Stepping Stupid

I have a lot of little things to write about, and a few big things that take research. Guess what I am doing today? Anyway, our Chamonix traffic tickets reminded me of this.

Back in the 1970s I worked for an oil company in the downtown area of Billings, Montana. I parked a few blocks away in a non-metered area. While that was going on, the Billings Police Department announced a program called “STEP”, or Selective Traffic Enforcement Program. The great minds behind it thought that if they selected an area, in this case downtown Billings, and ticketed every offense they saw, no matter how small or insignificant, that people would behave better.

I am not kidding. They thought this was a good idea.

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Maudit piège à vitesse

Today we received notice from Chamonix, France authorities that we are being ticketed for two moving violations back in May, each in the same spot, one the day we arrived there and the other the day we left. One ticket is for 60 kmh in a 50, the other 63 in a fifty. Translated to mph, that is 37 mph in a 31, and 39 in a 31. The fine for each violation is €135, or about $147. Since we were driving our daughter’s car, we have to make sure that authorities know it was us and not her. At this point I have given her a photo of my driver’s license and told her if need be I can also do an affidavit that I was the driver. The laws in France are tough on moving violations, and I imagine it would affect her insurance as well.

Come to think of it, it will affect our insurance too, if word gets back and these days, you know it will.

When I saw the large fines versus the minor violation, my first thought was maudit piège à vitesse, or goddamned speed trap. (That is Google translate, so don’t blame me if it is inaccurate.) There is nothing we can do about it as we have to protect our daughter, and even though the offense was minor, that is not an argument in our defense. We are out $294.

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The Ludlow Massacre, April 20, 1914

April 20 is a popular day for fake events, such as the 1999 Columbine massacre, the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the 1978 Korean Air jet being forced down in the Soviet Union. It is also Hitler’s (supposed) birthday. The Ludlow Massacre also happened that day.

First, the symbolic significance of that day?* The only thing I have ever suspected is a numeric connection. In a non-leap year, it is the 110th day of the year. Eleven is a heavily used number in freemasonry, along with eight and 33. That’s all I can do is suggest that, as many of the events attributed to that day are famously fake.

I read the Wikipedia piece on Ludlow last week,  and have been sitting on it to let it percolate. Much of it seems very odd. The official story, and what I have believed without evidence or research for years, was that the Ludlow victims were machine-gunned down by Rockefeller agents. According to my reading, two children, Joe Petrucci, age 4, Frank Snyder (11) died of a gunshot wounds. Five other adults were shot to death. The remaining 13 died of asphyxiation and/or fire. All but two (11) were children.

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Nuggets win, city is fired up!

I just learned in the past few weeks that the city of Denver has a basketball team. They are called the Nuggets. Last year I learned that Denver also has a hockey team, called the Avalanche.

At the gym a fellow told me that eleven people were shot in the subsequent downtown celebration after the Nuggets’ win last night. Now they are saying nine. I’ll take their word on it despite the suspicious numbers.

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A dog encounter

Last Saturday my wife and I, imagining that even in our seventies we are not frail, went on a five-mile thousand-foot hike, climbing Mt. Lagalt. It is but a mile drive for us to get to the trailhead, a wide and gracious uphill climb that at a certain point becomes a narrow and steep climb. It is not dangerous, but the last part, the ascent, is a bit of a challenge. You’ve probably no idea if you are younger, but at our age, the concept of a mile becomes longer than ever before. Each of us were runners in our younger years, and a mile meant nothing. In my best days, not even approaching the really good runners I realize, I was doing 7.5 minute five mile runs, and shorter runs on occasion at 6.5-minute miles. Those were the barriers that I never broke.

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If I fell*

Yesterday my wife and I were working on our back deck, she making planters while I tried to clean out a problematic gutter that sits over the ell part of the deck. I had to borrow a 13 foot ladder from our neighbor Tom, but before that thought that an eight foot step ladder was enough to reach a gutter twelve feet high. In fact, the eight foot ladder was enough, but only if once on the highest step I made no movements, used no force and applied no pressure to the various pain-in-the-ass parts of the gutter that clog up every year. (I have an extension ladder, but cannot lean it into the gutter and accomplish anything without damaging it.)

One time on  descent from the eight-foot ladder, I said to her:

I would not like it if I fell.
The reason why I cannot tell.
But this I know and know full well,
I would not like it if I fell.

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The Streisand Effect

 

Prior to discussing the Streisand Effect, I am reminded of radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, heard on weekdays on SiriusXM channel 111. She is currently 75 years old and going strong. Back before the proliferation of Sirius channels she was usually heard on AM radio. The program was very popular. Even as I was a liberal at the time, and her advice very conservative, I liked her and had very little trouble with her advice, which was stern, sensible and straightforward.

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Locked down with TSA in Salt Lake City

This is purely a personal complaint so don’t read it if you’ve better things to do (and you know you do).

Over our years of traveling we have been many places and gone through customs in every imaginable form. People who work customs are just doing a job, one that is highly routine and boring. They have to look at our passports, run them through scanners, ask us perfunctory questions. No, we are not carrying large amounts of money and have not purchased jewelry, and are not bringing in oranges or yams. We are tourists, and not on business.

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A shocking graphic presentation of our Climate Emergency

If you are sharp of eyesight, you will note a slight uptick in planet temperature from 1880 to 2020. There is a word for this change from 57 degrees to 59 degrees over that 140 year period: Imperceptible. The human body cannot distinguish such slight temperature anomalies.

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