Quote of the Day
He left us and we rejoiced;Gene Autry - Up On The House Top (Ho Ho Ho)
No. The right to self-defense and for other purposes like hunting and to resist tyranny is natural, not subject to a self-serving tyrannical authority. This has precedence in English history where royalty disarmed the public to prevent rebellion https://t.co/tNTr7HKewx
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
I'm tired of leftist propagandists like this troll engaging in misleading rhetoric. In fact, many of the Nordic countries are more free market than the US & less progressive taxes. The 70s flirtation with socialism was unsustainable.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
See Swedish scholar Johan Norberg for more. https://t.co/v8PWbHFw3e
The only thing twice-impeaches 34-count convicted felon RINO "Heel Spur" Trump knows is how to manipulate social media. He manipulates stupid gullible minions like the OP troll.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
OMG, 8 years each of Obama or Trump are already 8 years too much! It already seems 8 years with Trump because he's been dominating news coverage with all his criminal and civil trials and idiotic pep rallies.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
"Trump 2028" https://t.co/jUf4lvmqDY
More like "Impeach Trump Now 2025"
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
"Trump 2028"
This is Soft Rock America. For some reason, Charlene is trending , and I loved her 1982 pop hit:https://t.co/EmBTppU8w9
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
Another distinction is that alleged Trump sexual misconduct charge for behavior in 1995/6 could not be filed in criminal court because of the statute of limitations and requires a greater burden of proof. Ms. Carroll filed a civil case under NY law
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
I don't think Obama has ever shopped in a dollar store. For one thing, I don't think they carry arugula.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
My latest essay is a critique of some high-profile Trump Cabinet picks who should be rejected.https://t.co/hyDA428weT
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
The idea of Trump v Obama in 2028 makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
"22nd Amendment"
First of all, services are businesses. Second. surpluses or profits aren't evil; the can be saved for a rainy day like recessions or financing tax cuts. The post office monopoly is both obsolete and anti-consumer. The federal taxpayer should not bail out an unsustainable USPS.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 16, 2024
Unconstitutional. Dems would need a supermajority to pass a relevant constitutional amendment which is politically impossible and would be opposed by red states even if it passed in Congress. https://t.co/TRTYgPw9CN
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 17, 2024
The federal government has no constitutional authority to meddle in healthcare or education. There is no more a "right" for "free" healthcare or education than a "right" for "free" lodging, meals, or utilities. Leftists want you to believe government monopolies are "best". https://t.co/7Dp9slcOMG
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 17, 2024
Apparently a satirical website started a false rumor that Rob Reiner would set himself on fire if Trump was reelected.https://t.co/TeEIkT7Zxo
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 17, 2024
This is Soft Rock America. Despite false rumors, Rob Reiner has not set himself on fire after Trump's win, and Billy Joel reminds us neither did any of the rest of us. https://t.co/ebcD5yjbVA
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 17, 2024
National Review notes for the first time in his political career, Trump has a (+2) net favorability rating. What they don't tell you is like the popular vote, Trump failed to meet or beat 50%. Some people can't make up their minds. No opinion after 8 years?
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 17, 2024
i'm personally sick and tired of RINO Trump abusing the legal system. I knew of the late campaign surprise poll showing Harris leading Trump in Iowa. I personally thought it was an outlier. Some polls are just wrong. Trump won the state anyway. Frivolous!
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 17, 2024
"Des Moines Register"
There is no "mandate". trump won a plurality, not majority of votes, the GOP lost 4 Senate seats in purplish states he won, and the razor-the majority in the House barely changed. He did worse than any two-term President in recent American history. GOP needs to compromise.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
I'm relieved. I thought for a second Dumbass Trump would choose Walker to be Ambassador to Georgia. #sarcasm
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
"Herschel Walker"
Paul Ryan was the best Speaker this century. Johnson needed Dems to save his job from MTG's motion to vacate. Ryan was reading Ayn Rand while Trump was looking for their cartoon versions. Ryan had plans to reform entitlements while Trump built a $7.8T debt
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
Proof again of the utter stupidity of Trumpkins. They flunked basic math. The GOP had more senators and representatives in the 115th Congress. RINO Trump was the reason we didn't get serious reform done; Trump ruled out tackling the 70% of entitlement spending in the budget
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
No, Trump was not convicted of rape; OP flunked reading comprehension. "The verdict was split: Jurors rejected Carroll’s claim that she was raped, finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse."https://t.co/O6JmD3I4Qr
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
Judge Merchan rejected Trump's excuse of Presidential immunity. There is no official duty for Trump's signing off on falsified statements calling hush money a business expense. I think Trump's best strategy is to dispute the novel felony designation. I suspect a light sentence
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
Note that the employer share of payroll taxes is not taxed. The problem is that payroll taxes and other income (including benefit taxes) no longer pay for existing retiree benefits for a growing number of retirees and we are draining reserves to cover the rest.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
I happen to agree that Mace's focus on restroom privileges for the new trans-Congresswoman from Delaware is insensitive. Note, however, that Mace was a 16-year-old rape victim and she may have safety concerns about born male persons in women's restrooms. https://t.co/3ourfCbaRT
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
Well, there's a kerfuffle over the lyrics to the children's classic Christmas song "Up on the House Top". Is it "Old St. Nick" or "Good Saint Nick". I went to Gene Autry's original hit. The answer is BOTH. He sings "Old St. Nick" first.https://t.co/pjnXvwtTGo
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
"Old Saint Nick"
My favorite FedEx story: I used to work at a computer timesharing branch. We had paychecks FedEx-ed overnight. So, I answered an ill-timed sales call from a FedEx sales guy. i said, "Why are our paychecks still grounded in Memphis?" The poor guy was in a state of denial.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
My ancestors emigrated from Quebec in the nineteenth century and never looked back. What is even crazier than Dumbass Trump spitballing about Canada as an American state is the fact he still has a first-grader's understanding of the trade deficit.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
"51st state" https://t.co/jGldpU6b9N
Well, the cited SCOTUS decision is rooted in English common law. Kings once disarmed the population to control against rebellion. Our Bill of Rights was largely about protecting individual rights, not constraints on individuals. Guerilla tacrics were used during our revolution pic.twitter.com/vDV0WLLFz6
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
Well, some things have improved in the USPS, including reducing busy work in sending and tracking packages. On Monday I mailed small packages to 6 siblings, and one sister could already see it in informed Delivery within hours.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
Interesting. Zero Hedge published a debate on Musk/X. Just a response to David Karpf; I have occasionally been critical of Musk, especially his embrace of Trump. X has been more tolerant than the prior regime which suspended my earlier account over 6X.https://t.co/6k2nZZUJFu
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
The ironic thing is that Gaetz' resignation from Congress was motivated by the belief that it would kill the release of the House Ethics committee report. Recall when Gaetz was still Trump's nominee as AG, the House was pushing back against the report's release to them.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
The motivation was a false safety issue with the DTP vaccine in the early 80's and a flood of lawsuits. A VICP program was set up to compensate for vaccine injuries. The point was to encourage vaccination development like the COVID vaccine which has saved over a million lives.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
I love Thomas Massie, but he implies the COVId-19 lab leak hypothesis is factual but the zoonotic hypothesis is far more likely including recent Wuhan lab disclosures. Massie is an engineer, not a scientist.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 18, 2024
No mandates except for government. SCOTUS stopped over large employers https://t.co/yA5ZxyA3iI
My latest post is my mock annual award for Republicans behaving badly. Did your choice(s) match mine?https://t.co/kO21asiJz2
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 19, 2024
Trump nominated Gaetz knowing Gaetz was being investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Who the hell is vetting his Cabinet choices?
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 19, 2024
"Matt Gaetz" pic.twitter.com/9dO8mC2b7P
You know what Trump must be thinking:
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 19, 2024
"Damn! I'm going to have to delete Matt's emails!"#sarcasm
"Matt Gaetz"
Just how popular you Dems will be: you're the ones without the funds you promised the people for their votes
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 19, 2024
"If the federal government shuts down Sunday, numerous publicly funded agencies will stop work and their employees won't be paid, but Social Security checks will still go out."https://t.co/ez0anczwYw
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 19, 2024
Trumpkins are in a state of denial about Trump's classified data and Georgia election cases. All Trump really won was a deferment. A first-year lawyer could probably win these cases.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 19, 2024
"Fani Willis"
Musk isn't POTUS and he's not in Congress. Bernie knows this; he's just using the kerfuffle to push his corrupt Politics of Envy.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 19, 2024
Musk's wealth is in his investments. The Fed's policies inflate assets, not to mention the EV subsidies Bernie and Dems voted helped.
"No Bernie" pic.twitter.com/EPIH8MT7dp
It seems like the former POTUS who wrote "The Art of the Deal" couldn't negotiate a deal with his own caucus.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
"38 Republicans"
No.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
RINO MAGA want to support RINO Trump in backing a crackpot anti-vaxxer RFK, jr. Just a reminder, like Trump, RFK was a registered Dem, the latter until he went independent last year
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
I still see Dems on X extol the virtues of Biden's economy. They're in a state of denial of why Biden has at under 39%, why the household survey shows more unemployed, why unemployed are staying longer on relief, why the Fed cut rates with inflation still a risk, real income down
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
Pence is correct. But the same was true of Trump. Where was Pence while Trump piled up a $7.8T debt? https://t.co/YqHz162Vel
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
Note that Trump is already 78 and will also pass 80 by mid-term. But the dude has been batshit crazy for years. How will you know if he gets any worse? The dude nominated Gaetz and Hegseth to his cabinet.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
Well, Nancy Mace has a point, and Justin Amash pointed it years ago before RINO Trump had him primaried. Leadership left ordinary legislators out of the loop and left them with "all or nothing" votes on sprawling bills. https://t.co/MCzyPBB1ln
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
Trump had better be wary of voters' unrealistic expectations. Countries, with their own struggling economies, will retaliate on Trump's tariffs with their own tariffs/quotas, etc., costing American jobs. Trump can't count on China buying more Trump debt or consumer spending.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
Trump is trying to scapegoat Roy--old news because RINO Trump tried to primary Roy back in 2022. Trump doesn't have a plan to cut the massive deficit. Roy, unlike the $7.8T man, wants a balanced budget amendment. Roy is a real conservative, not a tariff and spend phony. pic.twitter.com/64N2HPwMR5
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
(2/2) there is no zero-sum between entitlements and renewing tax cuts. Senior entitlements (and Medicaid) are about $2.5T (2022) vs. $6.765 Spending. About 40% of revenues come from payroll taxes. Individual taxes account for about half of revenues, most of that upper income.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 20, 2024
Not true, Demwit! The best returns over the past century were under Calvin Coolidge (30.67% annual stock gains) then Ford (18.4% gains). Not to mention, Dem POTUS mostly overperformed with a split or GOP-controlled Congress. The fact is, Biden is an economic illiterate.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
WWE again had their Lucy pulling the football away from kicker Charlie Brown gimmick. Yup, they flirted with Tiffany Stratton cashing in her MITB contract against Nia Jax again.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
Putting Cherokee Lizzie in charge of Senate Dems is like a MAGA wet dream. pic.twitter.com/4mJYLqKcgl
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
Well, Rand Paul is right; we do need to gradually raise social security eligibility age given longer lifespans. i know at least one person who filed early (62) and is still collecting at 88. But it's going to take more than that to shore up the long-term financing. https://t.co/RylQQKhRis
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
Rand Paul is an enigma. I love his libertarian side, but somehow he's made peace with Trumpkins. How he can deal with an authoritarian like RINO Trump is beyond me. Kash Patel is an unqualified political hack Trump loyalist https://t.co/k2u8SvCCo2
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
Here is a prime example of leftists revealing their inner asshole. This troll is referencing a neighbor's assault over Rand Paul's handling of yard waste. The attack broke ribs, Paul caught pneumonia and had to have part of his lung removed.https://t.co/390PZPiQO5 https://t.co/YquYGiuldr
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
No. Scholars suck at rating Presidents. Historian Brion McClanahan has debunked most of these rankings, reflecting an activist bias. Biden is mediocre objectively speaking. Harris did better against Trump than Biden would have. There're reasons why Biden's approval < 40%. https://t.co/wbZbdtLROP
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
It's really amusing how leftists have lost touch with reality. i'm Never Trump, but anyone thinking the mainstream media treated Trump better than Biden is crazy. Biden is over 80, the oldest POTUS ever objectively speaking in the world's toughest job. https://t.co/VkF0oUv46W
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
The late Rickey Henderson is the MLB career stolen base record at 1270 (the second is Lou Brock at 938). He also stole over 100 bases 3 times in the early 1980s, including a modern era (1900s-now) season high 130 in 1982. Thought and prayers for his surviving loved ones.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 21, 2024
After going through yet government shutdown drama, for god's sake, can we do away with these symbolic votes that are mere rounding errors off a $1.9T Biden deficit?
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
Biden is a political parasite who has done nothing memorable to show for his career in politics.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
i am not going to debunk every lie Trump tells or his gullible Trumpkins like this troll repeat.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
No, the J6 Committee did not destroy "evidence". it has been debunked.https://t.co/bUPxvh542u https://t.co/4TogazRXIZ
As a custodian?
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
My Texas Longhorns beat talented Clemson. After an opening touchdown drive against a great Texas defense, Texas scored on multiple consecutive drives with an awesome rediscovered ground game. Clemson was on a second half comeback until a near goal line stand & breakaway TD rush.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
Before adding new benefits (which Dems have always done without paying for them, sort of like feeding kids dessert before dinner) you damn well better shore up finances with modest tax hikes, raise taxable bases, reform adjustments to benefits. Everyone must pay their own way.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
The Senate insanely added millions (already with generous public sector pensions) to full social security benefits, escalating the day of reckoning for a system of payroll taxes already insufficient to pay for existing beneficiaries and reserves melting like snow.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
Trump already is the face of the Ugly American. Carter's rightful return of the Canal was a highlight of his presidency.https://t.co/VQ69KJxJk1 https://t.co/ZEvd9tkG4k
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
Because they think the problem is not with their Congressman but with yours.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
Trump is a hypocritical political whore. He knows
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) December 22, 2024
tjat he set a one-term debt record of $7.8T. He talks about "The Art of the Deal" but he sucks at negotiating with Congress and he wanted Biden to take the political heat. We know more debt to come.
"After Debt Ceiling Betrayal"
Quote of the Day
Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea,
Gene Autry - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
The latest CDC weekly stats:
Latest COVID news items include:
The blog readership is back to the recent normal pageviews. I expect to publish a couple of essays off the coming week and should easily surpass the 500 post goal this year. for a number of weeks on X I straggled to get a viral tweet/post (of 1k impressions) I got my second big one, this time for over 10K. Odd. you never can tell what will capture the attention of other X users. In this case, I debunked a claim that Rob Reiner would set himself on fire if Trump won the election. I 've gained a little surge of followers after being stuck under 50 for a while.
Well, after the Texas Longhorn's overtime loss in their first season SEC championship game (in overtime), Texas played Clemson in the home "wildcard" game in this new format of the college football playoff. Texas has one of the strongest, if not the strongest, defenses in college football. but it didn't look like it when Clemson chewed up half the clock on the opening touchdown drive. But Texas answered with a streak of scoring drives, largely on a great running game which went AWOL against Georgia. But after a pick-6 and resurgent Clemson offense in the second half and a sputtering Texas offense, Clemson seemed poised for a comeback in the fourth quarter when Texas stopped Clemson near the goal line and had a breakaway touchdown run.
There are certain tech workarounds I've discovered on my own. for instance I like to use Joplin to webclip things I'll clip posts for sources I use in my blogposts or transaction receipts.) But occasionally the extension fails in Chrome (the button to save does not appear). So, I used an old tech trick in this context: I'll toggle the extension on and off. A similar concept involves a "remove duplicate messages" add-on on freeware Thunderbird. (sometimes Thunderbird will hiccup and download messages again).. Every once in a while the add-on option disappears from the interface. i find that flicking the add-on odd and on plus restart Thunderbird will resolve the issue.
I'm getting increasingly annoyed at paywalls. For example i ran into 2 or 3 in compiling my COVID bullet lists above. I refuse to pay for the promotion of their content. A similar thing on X/Twitter, For instance, the WSJ was trending on a story that staff has been covering up Biden's aging/cognitive issues but when you click on the link you get a teaser lead-in and a hard sell to subscribe. ironically, i was one of the first paying customers (I think it cost about $49/year (not one of those gimmick teaser rates: they just kept raising the rate to a point too high)). WAPO did a similar thing. I always thought they should implement something like a nickel or dime per pageview but the idea I'm going to pay over $100 to see a single story is unrealistic.
Amazon has mostly resolved my Prime membership refunds for memberships they canceled, the first when I didn't recognize the charge. I think they still owe me the sales tax on the first cancellation but that may be in process.
Quote of the Day
Everyone thinks of changing the world,
NewSong - The Christmas Shoes
This song always gets me. I'll never forget the first time ii heard it. I was filling up a rental on a business trip in LA. i had to stop whay i was doing to finish listening to the song.
Quote of the Day
The manner in which it is given
Judy Garland, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
Quote of the Day
Pentatonix - Where Are You, Christmas?