The answer is clear: we must enact common sense controls on rental pickups. Only the police and military need such large, high-capacity delivery vehicles.

31 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in Uncategorized
The answer is clear: we must enact common sense controls on rental pickups. Only the police and military need such large, high-capacity delivery vehicles.

31 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in News and Notes
≈ Comments Off on Offended??? Goodbye Free Speech in America
Tags
America, culture, fear, free-speech, freedom, political correctness, politics, society, The People
A perhaps fitting release for Halloween: An eye-opening, if slightly demoralizing study from Cato, finds Americans live in fear of words. (Carlin got this years ago).
Americans Say Political Correctness Has Silenced Discussions Society Needs to Have; Most Have Views They’re Afraid to Share
Nearly three-fourths (71%) of Americans believe that political correctness has done more to silence important discussions our society needs to have. A little more than a quarter (28%) instead believe that political correctness has done more to help people avoid offending others.
The consequences are personal-58% of Americans believe the political climate today prevents them from saying things they believe. Democrats are unique, however, in that a slim majority (53%) do not feel the need to self-censor. Conversely, strong majorities of Republicans (73%) and independents (58%) say they keep some political beliefs to themselves.

If one loose cannon sets off a state of emergency in your state or at your “school,” you may have a worse problem that just him. Florida Today.
This kind of goes with the failing schools and falling IQs thing.
Americans used to bravely stare down bears, whales, and British troops. Now they recoil in horror and fear from pronouns, banana peels, and geometry.
Anyway, thank God nothing offensive ever appears at this site. For instance,
Nothing offensive about these Happy Halloween Tunes!
Happy Halloween, wimps…
Bonus:
Carlin of the euphemisms/YouTube.
31 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on Happy Halloween!
Tags
Fun night, Samhain, All Saint’s Eve. Have a great day, night, and time, regardless.
And Don’t Forget:
Really, really good stuff…

Hays Post.
No. 1,501 and rock’n on!
30 Monday Oct 2017
Posted in Other Columns
Based on 550,492 individuals in 123 countries.
The Working Data. (Click “National”).
A few national examples (rounded):
Brazil = 85
Canada = 100
China = 106
Germany = 100
Kenya = 72
Mexico = 88
UK = 99
US = 98.
I’m a little surprised the USA came in as high as it did. I would not be surprised if that number (and the global average) slips a little with each coming decade and/or generation. Are these scores, like age, just numbers?
A few thoughts:

Becker/Lynn/Unz.
Was Idiocracy really just a comedy or could it have been a documentary?
30 Monday Oct 2017
Posted in Legal/Political Columns
≈ Comments Off on The Return of Everyone’s Favorite Political Game – Whack-a-Bill!
Where’s the Bill? Who got the Bill? Anyone seen it? There it is! Nope. Too late. You gotta be quick with the mallet.
This time it’s the GOP’s super secret tax legislation.
Rank-and-file House Republicans are increasingly alarmed by the secrecy shrouding the massive tax bill their party leaders plan to ram through Congress next month.
Just days ahead of the legislation’s release, GOP members of the House Ways and Means Committee are still in the dark on numerous details being ironed out by the powerful tax-writing committee’s chairman, Kevin Brady (R-Texas), and his staff. And they’re blaming the panel’s top-down approach for the uncertainty.
“There are a lot of open issues,” said Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), echoing comments made by several of his colleagues on the committee.
Heading into the weekend, question marks remained on at least two high-profile proposals to offset the cost of slashing individual and business tax rates: curbing federal deductions for state and local taxes and business interest as well as potential changes to taxing retirement savings.
The uneasy feeling among members extends to their tax aides, who’ve been excluded from a recent series of hours-long member meetings with Brady and his tax counsels.
Alarm? Exclusion? Ha!
An unnamed source tells me the Bill is currently held up in a vault in the Congressional basement, next to the Shrine to Baphomet.
Really, who needs details. These arch-conservative geniuses played Whack-a-Bill with the ObamaCare thing earlier in the year and that worked out just as planned. Nothing to worry about.
Whack-a-Bill™ is like the old Whack-a-Mole game at the county fair – except it’s legislation, your money and rights, instead of a fake plastic rodent.

Older version seen here. The Daily Beast.
Whack-a-Bill™ reminds you that your vote counts…
30 Monday Oct 2017
Posted in Legal/Political Columns
≈ Comments Off on Tin Foil Hat Land: Those CRAZY Conspiracy Theories
Tags
civil liberties, conspiracy, crime, government, justice, law, Mueller
You see, according to the statists, any independent thinking about or criticism of anything coming from the government constitutes a conspiracy theory. Such is synonymous with insane nuttery. All utterances about anything from the government are the literal God’s honest truth (Nature’s truth, whatever).
It works like this:
Mueller and the Government may have (may have) violated Paul Manafort’s civil rights:
Ex-campaign adviser Paul Manafort turned himself into the FBI on Monday after being indicted for money laundering, and a slew of other financial crimes. The feds alleged he illegally funneled millions of dollars of payments into offshore bank accounts in order to avoid detection by U.S. authorities as it related to his work on behalf of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. While the indictment containing Manfort’s alleged criminal activities is very detailed, and well-documented, there is one area that could hurt Mueller’s investigation. Mueller’s team may have obtained evidence in the raid of Paul Manafort’s home that was not covered by the search warrant. That could be problematic.
In a surprise raid on July 26th, FBI agents busted into Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Virginia to collect documents and other materials related to the FBI probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians. At the time, Manafort’s attorney raised concerns about how the raid was conducted. In order for the feds to obtain a warrant, a federal judge would have to determine that probable cause existed that a crime was committed. As part of the warrant, investigators attached an affidavit which contained a list of items that FBI agents hoped to collect. That’s where the trouble appears to be in Manafort’s case.
As a legal website, we were immediately drawn to the revelation that evidence was collected that may not have been covered by the warrant. That’s a serious development, and one that Manafort’s attorneys will no doubt seize upon. But, is it necessarily illegal? Did the agents do anything wrong? It’s not clear. It certainly could raise some serious constitutional issues that could taint the investigation.
That Manafort, et al, Conspired Against the Government….
Manafort and Gates were charged in a 12-count indictment with conspiracy to launder money, making false statements and other charges. They are expected to make their first court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson at 1:30 p.m.
The charges against Manafort and Gates did not reference the Trump campaign, a point President Trump noted on Twitter Monday. “Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????” Trump wrote.

Dept. of Justice [SIC].
There you have it. The government concocts a 31-page narrative of allegedly suspicious behavior – a conspiracy against it (not the normal other way around). That’s perfectly reasonable and lawful; might as well dispense with the formality of a trial. Done deal. No conspiracy craziness here.
On the other hand, if you dare to mention that … what’s it called again? That Constitution, those rights people supposedly have in a free country, then you are a nut. In fact, any outside, critical thinking is evidence of insanity. Call the men in the white coats. You should be ashamed of yourself. Many of your liberal and conservative friends will point this out to you. Get it straight.
Something about the goose and the gander…
29 Sunday Oct 2017
Posted in Other Columns
Politics! Guns! Cigars!
There. Got that out of the way…
Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon, 1978.

Zevon (RIP)/Asylum.
Werewolves, Alternate Take, Zevon, 2007 Release. I know more than a few people don’t like this version. Then again, more than a few people can be wrong. Cool, jazzy, and you always have the ability to listen to the damned original…
Long Cool Woman, The Hollies, 1971. No Halloween, per se, but fits with:
Devil Woman, Cliff Richard, 1976.
Evil Woman, ELO, 1975. All these women…
Legend of Wooley Swamp, Charlie Daniels Band, 1980. Lucius Clay approves.
Monster Mash, Misfits, 1997. Yeah, I have trouble understanding the words too.
Mash, Original, Bobby Pickett (with Dick Clark), 1962. Classic; those facial expressions.
Thriller (Full), Michael Jackson, 1982. Before we knew the real MJ (RIP) horrors. With commentary from Price (RIP).
Poison, Alice Cooper, 1989. A few Cooper songs I could have gone with; I chose this one.
Ghost Riders in the Sky, Johnny Cash’s Version, 1979. Scary with a message.
The Time Warp, RHPS Version, Richard O’Brien, 1974. No need to suffer a theater full of freaks. (They still do that?) You’re welcome.
Blue Moon, The Marcels, 1961. Shout if you know why I included this one.
Nightmare on My Street, DJ Jaz Will Smith, 1988. Just remembered this one!
Pet Sematary, The Ramones, 1989. My personal favorite – possibly tied with Werewolves.
Sematary, Last Live Show, 1996. You don’t know this…
Stranger in Town, Extended Studio, Toto, 1984. Is your hero a criminal?
Here Comes Santa Claus, Gene Autry, 1947. Oops. Too early – for another week or two…
What’s that? 17? So many more I could add, even by the above artists. Feel free to throw out some suggestions in the comments – here or on FB. The more the merrier. Scarier. Whatever.
Have a great Halloween!
The cigar-chomping, government-bashing, culture-questioning madness shall resume soon.
* If you like/love these, please consider buying a CD or download. Show the love. If you don’t like ’em, consider North Korea…
29 Sunday Oct 2017
Posted in Legal/Political Columns
≈ Comments Off on Tricks for You, Treats for Them
Just in time for Halloween the Senate has approved a Bill, destined to become law, which would shield banks from class action law suits.
Banks, credit card issuers and other financial companies will be able to block customers from banding together to sue over disputes, after the U.S. Senate on Tuesday narrowly killed a rule banning the firms from using “forced arbitration” clauses.
Republican Vice President Mike Pence appeared on the Senate floor at 10:11 p.m. EDT (0211 GMT) to cast the tie-breaking vote as the chamber’s president and approve the most significant roll-back of Obama-era financial policy since President Donald Trump took office vowing to loosen the leash on Wall Street. The final count was 51 to 50.
The Republican-dominated House of Representatives has already passed the resolution repealing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule released in July, which also bars regulators from instituting a similar ban in the future.
Class actions are a mixed bag. But, in some cases, they do represent an easier way for multiple defendants to air real grievances, usually against a much more powerful plaintiff. An example:
Mega Bank X illegally created a million plus fake accounts in order to boost fees and manipulate earnings, their customers none the wiser. Said actions, already illegal, had financial ramifications for many of the unaware marks customers. The government, caring nothing for justice, mildly slapped Mega Bank’s wrist, as the guilty executives rode into the sunset with million$ in bonuse$. Many marks customers felt robbed, as they were.
In this case, which I did not make up, a class was formed from the affected victims and proceeded to court. Such action will not be tolerated much longer. The banksters own the government and write most laws for their benefit – not yours. Your job is to suffer and pay and keep quiet.
Oh, and to vote. Please vote. Your vote counts! You must legitimize the system that robs you. It’s your civic duty. And you get a little sticker – just like second grade.

InfoWars.
Now, speaking of Halloween: I have a special feature coming shortly. Stay tuned.
28 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted in Legal/Political Columns
Interesting
Following yesterday’s comments by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, where he agreed with the position of President Trump that all JFK documents should be released, President Trump tweets the documents are forthcoming: (Link To Trump Tweet) And within minutes….
via BREAKING: President Trump Releases ALL JFK Files… — The Last Refuge
28 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted in Legal/Political Columns, Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on Catalonia Illustration : Dialectic vs. Rhetoric in Political Argument
It works like this:
Democracy Discussed:
Dialectic
Pro: The people have decided. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Self-determination. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Freedom. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Natural rights. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Et cetera. Blah, blah, blah.
Con: The law! Muh Constitution. ORDERED Liberty. The poor King… Blah, blah…
Rhetoric

The Sun/Reuters.
Both are effective but one kicks, eh?
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