Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

A political horror story – what Massachusetts would be like if Maura Healey wins the governorship

Posted: October 27, 2022 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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In honor of Halloween, I wanted to write a scary article.  The most frightening article I could come up with is what conditions would be like if Maura Healey is elected governor here in Massachusetts.  A careful examination of her campaign website will demonstrate just how horrific life here would become if she were elected.

Maura Healey is very much a hard left ideologue, in the same mold as Barack Obama and Joe Biden.  As Attorney General here in Massachusetts, she sued the Trump administration every time a non-progressive policy was implemented.

If elected governor, Maura Healey will cripple the economy of Massachusetts by enacting every single hardcore socialist economic policy, such as wealth redistribution.

Maura will also take a close look at our tax policy to make sure it addresses today’s extreme concentration of wealth and income such that our sources of revenue and our expenditures lead to a fairer and more balanced economy. 

Approach all efforts through an equity lens, ensuring that everyone in Massachusetts has the opportunities to access high-quality jobs and careers by supporting wraparound services like child care and living stipends.

Maura Healey is a climate change zealot.  As governor, she will destroy this state’s economy by enacting every single green energy wet dream.

The climate crisis is our greatest risk and our greatest opportunity. Our choice is clear: to protect our families, communities, and the environment that sustains us, we must rapidly transition to clean energy. As Governor, Maura will make climate change a top priority. She understands the critical urgency of this issue and she knows what is at stake—especially for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable communities. The actions we must take now to protect our families and communities from climate change also present a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a healthier, more equitable future and to position Massachusetts as a global leader in clean energy technology and innovation. She will make that vision a reality by innovating state government, working directly with communities, implementing science-based policy, partnering with clean technology businesses, and supporting clean energy research and development. 

As Governor, Maura Healey will turn Massachusetts into s sanctuary state.  She championed the effort to grant drivers licenses to illegal aliens.

Abortion is another issue where Maura Healey demonstrates extreme zealotry.

Maura knows that reproductive freedom is under threat like never before. It’s a direct attack on women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. With Roe v. Wade overturned, our next governor needs to continue to protect access to safe and legal abortion in Massachusetts, break down systemic barriers to these services, and expand access to comprehensive reproductive care for all.  Maura will work closely with legislative leaders, public health experts, and advocates like the Beyond ROE Coalition to ensure Massachusetts remains a beacon of hope for all who are seeking care.

If the worst comes to pass and Maura Healey is elected governor, Massachusetts will rapidly become a third world toilet very much akin to California.  Geoff Diehl, Healey’s Republican opponent is a worthy candidate who will be a good governor. Diehl is poling within striking distance.  Those of us who are sane must do our best to help Geoff Diehl get elected. 

A wake-up call in China

Posted: October 25, 2022 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
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By Christopher Harper

Many analysts are wringing their hands about the elevation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to an unprecedented third term as head of the Beijing government.

The United States should worry about his intentions because Xi has made it clear that he’s a bad guy. Our government has failed to see that in Chinese leaders like Xi since we have played footsy with them over the last 50 years, hoping to make friends and allowing them to steal, murder, and pillage at home and abroad.

During the four summers I traveled all over China, I saw the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Chinese build stuff well, particularly roads and bridges. But the country has overbuilt high rises in an investment boom, leaving many vacant apartment complexes.

I remember one Chinese guide asking me: Do you know the Chinese national bird? The crane. The construction crane.

Because of the overbuilding inside China, jobs had to be found for trained construction workers. That helped to create the Belt and Road campaign—a mixture of exporting jobs and gaining allies with massive building projects worldwide. Instead, many developing nations owe Beijing billions of dollars from loans, creating far less benefit than Xi wanted.

Many of my students came from wealthy families who made their money in the private sector. Xi has moved away from the recent trend toward capitalism, potentially alienating those with money.

Although the Communist Party holds almost absolute control over the people, few become members. Virtually all my students hated the mandatory class in the philosophy of Mao, which is required in all universities.

Although the Communist government doesn’t tolerate political dissent, there seems to be a growing resentment of President Xi, particularly after his total clampdown during COVID. Nevertheless, dissidents have become more public, particularly outside the mainland.

More importantly, Xi pushed out or passed over many influential people inside the party. It will be challenging to determine how his actions in the party may ultimately hurt him, mainly since his new economic team seems quite unprepared for the road ahead.

That lack of confidence sent the New York and Chinese markets spiraling downward within hours of Xi’s ascendance.

China also faces some internal economic woes. The one-child policy, which was only recently changed, has left China with an aging population with huge benefits and a dwindling younger population that want office jobs rather than assembly line work.

Although the Chinese military buildup, particularly air and naval, should concern the United States, China hasn’t fought a war in decades. That means no one at the top of the military food chain has experienced the fog of war. That’s a huge minus for China—one quite like what we’re seeing with Russia in Ukraine.

Perhaps most important, the United States knows China is an enemy—not a friend. That’s an important realization. We cannot depend on China for critical minerals. We cannot rely on shipments of anything from China, as we saw during the supply line crisis during COVID.

All told, the elevation of President Xi should worry the United States. But it also serves as a needed wake-up call.

Report from Louisiana: Low Water

Posted: October 24, 2022 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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Low water in the Atchafalaya Basin: all that green? That should be well under water.

By: Pat Austin

ARNAUDVILLE LA – We have been in south Louisiana this week, around the Atchafalaya Basin which is absolutely the lowest I’ve seen in years. There is dry land out there where I have never seen dry land before. It is much the topic of conversation around here; for some, the fishing is great because of this. Others lament cancelled cruises and others worry about the effects on their businesses.

It is a bit shocking to see dry, cracked land and cypress stumps that have previously been completely under water.IA large part of this is due to the ongoing drought throughout the entire country which has resulted in low water in the Mississippi River.

Everything is connected.

No rain throughout the country means water levels in the northern end of the river are the lowest since 1988. Down closer to the Gulf, it is reaching 2012 low water levels. This is all problematic because now barges struggle to get through the river. Fewer barges can go through and the barges must carry lighter loads. Barges that ignore the low-water restrictions find themselves grounded, stuck in mud. Supply chain disruptions are the result.

The USS Kidd, a WWII era destroyer and now museum and tourist attraction, sits on dry land in Baton Rouge due to the low water.

Low water in the Mississippi means low water in the Atchafalaya Basin. This affects the fishing and seafood industry, tourism industry, and much more.

There is precious little humans can do about all of this; what is needed is rain, of course. Jeff Graschel of the National Weather Service explains:

“There’s not any long-range models that are giving us any occasions for rainfall that’ll generate runoff to help and alleviate low-water conditions right now,” he said. “Obviously everybody’s watching that very closely.”

He explained that the rain would need to occur in the upper section of the river valley, such as Illinois, for the effects to be felt further south. Rain that falls in south Louisiana does not drain through the Mississippi, save for what lands directly in the river.

For now, all anyone can do is wait for rain.

Five Under the Fedora Thoughts Mays and Brady, McDonalds, Wendy’s and Church, Mitch being a Bitch, No Regrets and an oddity

Posted: October 23, 2022 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Today Tom Brady the Greatest Football player who ever played the game only managed 3 pts against a horrible Carolina team that just traded away their best player.

The last time Brady had a losing record this late in a season as a starter is never.

Willie Mays lost it all at once, Brady hasn’t quite lost it but I suspect his marital troubles have been enough to make the difference since his biggest strength has always been his head

This week both McDonalds and Wendy’s had no carbon for their soft drinks, McD’s gave out cans, Wendys had vitamin water.

Meanwhile the part that my church’s furnace needs to be fixed has not come in in the two weeks since the furnace broke and the heating guy ordered it.

I’m old enough to remember when the US wasn’t a 3rd world nation on this stuff and if you were alive during the Trump years so do you.

With the Democrats in full retreat the decision of Mitch McConnell to pull funding for General Don Bolduc in NH is inexplicable. Well maybe not.

If he things he has the majority in hand he just might figure he would rather risk a deep state democrat than a Trump loyal member of the GOP not part of the establishment.

Given what we’ve seen from the justice department under Merrick Garland I’m totally convinced that Mitch deserves a statue for keeping him off the supreme court but this is a BS move, particularly when for decades we conservatives have been urged to hold our noses to unite against the left.

I keep hearing people say they regret their vote for Bush or Romney or McCain.

I don’t. Gore in office on 9/11 would have been a disaster. Not only were both Romney and McCain were better than Obama but I suspect a lot of the recruitment of folks willing to sic the FBI on pro-life survivors of concentration camp from Obama.

The were all the right choice given the alternative and I don’t regret it one bit. What they did afterwards doesn’t change this.

Finally I’ve come down with Pneumonia. I’ve spent more time sick in the last month than I have in years

I went to urgent care this morning and there was quite a crowd and a very long wait, the nurses and the NP was flat out but were doing the best they could.

There was one oddity. In the three hours I was there A lot of patients came and went but with a single exception all of them had one thing in common.

All were white.

Now 35 or 40 years ago demographically this would not have been se odd, but as a person who works in a place where you can count the white folks on the fingers of one hand I found it VERY odd and living in the town with a large Spanish speaking population I found it very odd

This was not a high end place, nor somewhere that didn’t take Mass Health nor was this demographic split the case the last time I was there three weeks ago. Yet this time there were no black or brown or even Asian faces there among the patients..

It doesn’t really mean anything and as I said it’s not the norm for the place but it was so unusual in my town these days that it really jumped out at me

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