Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Legal Scholars Bubble Life

Posted: December 6, 2019 by datechguy in Uncategorized

One of the advantages of living in an incredibly blue state while being an actual mass going practicing Catholic (as opposed to whatever Nancy ‘Don’t say I hate that coward Trump because I’m a Catholic oh and btw abortion is WAY cool‘ Pelosi is) is that it’s almost impossible to live in a bubble. You are constantly surrounded with people who don’t share your opinions or faith. This also means that you can spot someone in a bubble really quick.

I don’t know if Ann Althouse is a practicing Catholic but she can recognize the bubble when she sees it:

That’s a well-crafted joke, I said out loud when I watched it. But, oh, what a mistake! I don’t know if she wrote that joke all on her own or if she tested it on others, like a stand-up comedian. But I bet if she tested it, she tested it within a cocoon. I think you can tell by her demeanor that she believes it is a killer joke, and it would kill in the law-school, academic context.

And because the joke was created within the bubble the idea that it might not play well outside of it.

Let me finish up here by saying that I agree that the outrage is fake, but just about everything in the discussion of Trump is fake, and the pro-Trump side should fight hard. Karlan intended a hurtful slam, a winged zinger that would have the whole world laughing contemptuously. Watch that clip again. She believes she’s got something. But it was too good of a line. Everyone noticed. And now, it’s almost the only thing that was noticed in all that tangle of law/”law” that the professors strewed before us yesterday.

So it was a big fail for the anti-Trump lawprofs. The look of it from a distance was that they hate Trump and they were called by politicians who hate Trump to express hate for Trump.

emphasis mine

Think about it for a second. In a situation where you are trying to convince the voting public or at least reinforce the idea to your members that Impeachment is a good idea you manage to make the most memorable and quoted moment is a lame joke about a 13 year old kid that got a response from the 1st Lady and made their profession in general and those folks in particular look like a bunch of asses.

I suspect that’s why Nancy Pelosi immediately did this:

“Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders, and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment.” Thus spake Nancy Pelosi from the Speaker’s Balcony in the Capitol on Thursday.

Let me rephrase this in a way that reflects the reality

“Sadly yesterday was a complete disaster so let’s change the subject and get this damn impeachment business over with before we get any more defections or create any more ads for the GOP in 2020”

Nancy is old enough to have lived outside of the current bubble world when what is now considered conservative culture by the left was America’s culture. She knows how all this is playing which is why she tried to fend it off as long as she could within her caucus.

As I’ve said before it’s a losing hand but Nancy is playing it out as best as she can.

Angela Merkel vs. Rob Schneider on free speech

Posted: December 5, 2019 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
Tags: , , ,

Angela Merkel and Rob Schneider both made a big splash on the internet recently with comments regarding freedom of speech.  One demonstrated a remarkable understanding of the concept, the other proved not to understand the concept at all. 

You’d expect the Chancellor of Germany to be the individual who understands freedom of speech, however, this Breitbart article ‘Freedom of Expression Has Its Limits!’ – Merkel Rails Against Free Speech proves she holds some dangerous misconceptions.

Chancellor Angela Merkel railed against free speech in the German parliament, declaring that freedom of expression which offends “the dignity of other people” must be censored to secure a truly free society.

“We have freedom of expression,” the migrant crisis architect began dubiously, in a speech to the German federal parliament, or Bundestag, uploaded to social media by state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

“For all those who claim that they can no longer express their opinion, I say this to them: If you express a pronounced opinion, you must live with the fact that you will be contradicted. Expressing an opinion does not come at zero cost!” she warned ominously, to applause from the assembled politicians.

“But freedom of expression has its limits. Those limits begin where hatred is spread. They begin where the dignity of other people is violated!” she continued, gesticulating wildly.

“This house will and must oppose extreme speech. Otherwise our society will no longer be the free society that it was,” she concluded, somewhat contradictorily.

This Tweet from Rob Schneider had me cheering because he posses an understanding of freedom of speech that is comparable to that of the founding fathers of the United States and the framers of the First Amendment.

Angela Merkel should carefully study this Ben Franklin quote, and so should progressive college professors and their badly misinformed snowflake students.

Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.

Here is a George Washington quote that should be spread far and wide on college campuses.

For if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.

Since students have been brainwashed by multiculturalism into not respecting white males, here is a Fredrick Douglass quote they should take note of.

Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. They know its power. Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, founded in injustice and wrong, are sure to tremble, if men are allowed to reason of righteousness, temperance, and of a judgment to come in their presence. Slavery cannot tolerate free speech.

DaTechGuy Quick Thoughts, Ignoring Impeachment Fiction, NBA Dunks Replay, Trans Gynecology, A CW flashback and the left as they are.

Posted: December 4, 2019 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Almost 50 years ago I would come home and be glued to the TV set watching the Nixon hearings. During the Clinton impeachment I watched every bit of the testimony I could. Despite being laid up an unable to work with an awful lot of time on my hands I’ve not watched five minutes of the political theater that the Democrats are putting on, nor do I intend to. I’m no Christy Mathewson but I know the difference between a real game and a fixed one. If I want fiction I can watch Maverick.

Looking at the James Harden Dunk that wasn’t allowed. Isn’t the whole point of replay to get calls right that are wrong?

I know this person is Canadian and not American but if I’m Trump I link the left to the whole Transgender demands a Gynecologist business.

Did you know it was less than a year ago that the Conventional Wisdom was that the the 2020 Democrat nomination for president was Kamala Harris’ to lose? Well she managed to lose it before the 1st vote was cast.

Finally Last week a reporter from Legal Insurrection who had previously been credentialed for a American Muslims for Palestine conference was ejected because they were afraid of negative coverage from her.

That’s why this video was leaked by someone rather than simply reported on.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Nothing is more frightening to the left that to be shown unfiltered as they are.

Was Secretary Spencer any good?

Posted: November 30, 2019 by ng36b in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,
At Sea – Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, right, speaks with Carrier Strike Group 8 Command Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Bates in the in-port cabin during Spencer’s visit aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, Feb. 25, 2018. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kaysee Lohmann

Now that Secretary Spencer is officially no longer the Navy Secretary, I’m able to openly ask the question: why is everyone up in arms about him being fired? People (military and non-military) were hot and bothered by it on Facebook. Perhaps I’m a cynic, but I’ll ask what should be the most important question: what, exactly, did Secretary Spencer do as SECNAV for two years?

If we judge his tenure by the shape of the Navy, it isn’t pretty. US Ship Force levels have been relatively flat. This is made worse by the continued deployment of ships to respond to, basically, everything around the world. The Joint Staff uses a process called “Global Force Management,” where each Combatant Commander requests presence of different forces. Aircraft Carriers in particular are the subject of much discussion, and when one breaks (like the Harry S. Truman), you have people arguing over how to surge another carrier out, rather than discussing whether a carrier is even needed in the first place. This causes our carriers and other ships to wear out, and given we can’t build them fast enough, we are left with a Navy full of worn out ships and crews.

Secretary Spencer had to have seen this, and yet in two years, we haven’t had any change. His long range ship building plan put us at 355 ships, maybe, in 2030. We’re building 10 ships a year…maybe. While it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, China is set to overtake the US in ships by 2020. Numbers don’t account for crew readiness and weapon systems, but here again, the US is using relatively expensive weapons while China and Russia crank out increasingly cheaper missiles. Quantity becomes its own quality, and bankrupting the country to win the future fight isn’t a good option.

We could tackle this problem in a lot of ways. Building different ships, for example smaller carriers, would help get more ships to meet global requirements while saving higher-end ships for the big fight. Building a better shipyard infrastructure (getting away from having only a few places we can build Navy ships) could help lower the cost. Sharing ship designs with allies, similar to the F-35 program, could lower cost and make overseas repairs easier. Or perhaps we add in diesel submarines to help bring more submarines to the fight. Or we could build some smaller vessels, like the PCs of old, but with advanced striking power, to get a cheaper vessel that can fight in the littorals (the Littoral Combat Ship is anything but small or cheap).

But we have no innovation. The Long Range Shipbuilding plan sticks to traditional platforms, just calling for more of them. The one different platform, SSGN (converted ballistic submarines that shoot Tomahawk missiles and deploy SEAL teams) are going away, to be replaced by smaller Virginia submarines with specialized modules. Slightly innovative, but not enough to deal with China and Russia, who are designing very different Navies to fight very different wars in the future.

And how is that new carrier catapult working out? Even Bob Work was able to get LCS module price back on track.

We didn’t get much with Secretary Spencer. Our Navy isn’t in great shape, and ground wasn’t laid to make it much better. When the Secretary then decides to openly disagree with his boss, what did he expect would happen? If your boss is telling you to do something, and its not illegal, you get to disagree in private, but if he insists, then you get to resign.

For everyone mad about Secretary Spencer, I have to ask why. Is it because it was Trump that fired him? Did you really think Spencer was doing a good job? Because while I have some issues with Secretary Mattis leaving (I would prefer he stay on), I don’t see how Secretary Spencer was making our Navy great again.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency.

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