Post #5368 M: California Leavin'; McClanahan on Leftism and Evil; Vaccine Mandate Debate Among Libertarians

 Quote of the Day

One never notices 

what has been done; 

one can only see 

what remains to be done.

Marie Curie  

Political Cartoon

McClanahan on Leftism and Evil

Vaccine Mandate Debate Among Libertarians

Choose Life

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

Chic, "Le Freak".  And that's a wrap on 1978.

Post #5367 M: McClanahan on Monuments; Woods on Dealing With Cancel Mobs; On Babies Born During the Pandemic

 Quote of the Day

Rather than love, 

than money, 

than fame, 

give me truth.

Henry David Thoreau  

McClanahan on Monuments

Woods on Dealing With Cancel Mobs

On Babies Born During the Pandemic

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of AF Branco via Townhall

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers"

Post #5366 M: Stossel Sues Facebook; McClanahan on Sarah Silverman's Secession

 Quote of the Day

I'm willing to admit that 

I may not always be right, 

but I am never wrong.

Samuel Goldwyn  

Stossel Sues Facebook

McClanahan on Sarah Silverman's Secession

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

Donna Summer, "MacArthur Park"

Post #5365 Rant of the Day: Tom Woods, Anti-Vaxxer

 Let me start by pointing out -that contrary to what you might read elsewhere, libertarianism isn't necessarily opposed to vaccine mandates. True, we do believe in the autonomy of the individual, including the right to do things risky to oneself (e.g., injecting steroids or illicit drugs). But we have other principles, like the non-aggression principle: you don't have the right to impose yourself on the natural rights of others. Your decisions can impact others; for example, if I caught COVID-19 through public exposure, it's one thing. I could/should do the responsible thing of quarantining myself, not propagating the contagion to others. Others include (but are not restricted) the immuno-compromised, those who are physically intolerant of vaccines, babies with immature immune systems, and the elderly, those who are unduly at risk from potential exposure and are somewhat dependent on herd immunity. 

Another example of what economists call negative externalities is when the costs of your unduly risky behavior affects others. Say, for example, you as an unvaccinated COVID-19 patient occupy one of a limited local resource of hospital ICU beds, now operating at full capacity.  Others in a  critical condition may not survive a delay in procuring alternative long-distance accommodation. By not taking one or 2 jabs, of relatively minor cost and inconvenience, you are taking risks multiple-fold higher of getting COVID-19 and much higher of hospitalization and death. 

Bob Levy addresses this as follows:

Here’s the controversy: If the vaccine causes no appreciable injury, can you still refuse to be injected, notwithstanding that you might be visiting significant risks on others? ...Occasionally, however, advocates of limited government will condone directives to engage in benign activities (even when not cost-free) if failure to do so might cause injury to innocent bystanders. Safety requirements for nuclear power plants would be one example, or obligatory pollution controls.... It’s more complicated when government compels conduct that might minimize or alleviate future harm...When rights theory doesn’t provide adequate guidance, defenders of liberty often look to utilitarian, cost-benefit tradeoffs....[W]e are in the midst of a health emergency, which means that suitably modified, narrowly-tailored, time-limited rules may be justified.

Again, to quote others:

[O]ther libertarians say it doesn’t justify exposing others to the virus. These libertarians defend mandatory vaccination not by reason of promoting public good but on the ground that vaccine refusal puts others, including those who can’t get vaccinated for medical reasons, at risk.

Libertarian philosopher Jessica Flanigan has likened vaccine refusal to firing a gun into the air on Independence Day, inadvertently injuring innocent bystanders.

“Citizens do not have the right to turn themselves into biological weapons that expose innocent bystanders to undue risks of harm.” Flanigan wrote in a 2014 journal article, "A Defense of Compulsory Vaccination.” 

“Libertarians have the view that we have limits to how much risk of harm we can impose upon other people,” said Jason Brennan, a libertarian philosopher at Georgetown University who made the “libertarian case for mandatory vaccination” in a 2016 journal article.

“The real complicated question is: At what point do we think other people are imposing a sufficiently high risk of harm onto third-party bystanders that the people imposing that risk can be interfered with as a way of protecting others?” Brennan said in an interview.

Ilya Somin, one of my favorite pro-liberty legal scholars (e.g., from Volokh Conspiracy), applies a cost benefit approach in the clip below. (Note that the progressive moderator tries to get him to agree to extend the mandate to face mask wearing, and Somin refuses. I've made a related argument that face mask policies are mostly Kabuki dances, with conventional/cloth masks not filtering well in either direction against bioaerosols, maybe some virus-laden respiratory splatter from sneezing, coughing, yelling or talking loudly, singing, etc. If you're going to mask, use more effective surgical masks or N95 respirators.

Tom Woods, like his frequent guest comedian Dave Smith (quoted in the above-cited Farivar post), Ron Paul and other populist "bodily autonomy" libertarians, is a staunch COVID-19 policy opponent. Listeners to his daily podcast (and I have mentioned this in past posts) know that Woods himself caught COVID-19 probably on a recent trip to Vegas, including the complications of COVID pneumonia that knocked him off his podcast for over a week. Tom, for unclear reasons, has been hostile to taking a COVID vaccine from the get-go and basically said, post-infection, that he refuses categorically a follow-up jab, despite compelling evidence from Israel and the CDC of superior protection with an additional jab, insisting, like Rand Paul, Tom Massie and other pro-liberty celebrities who have also been infected, that natural immunity is sufficient. Don't quote these figures, but the data I've seen show reinfection or vaccine breakthroughs at up to 2%, much lower than for never-infected, unvaccinated. By getting a jab, Woods could lower those risks somewhat, although the net benefit is lower than if he had not been infected. So, yes, he is also less likely to transmit the virus. Personally, in his circumstances, I would take the jab.

Tom just completely ignores the contagion effect; he'll tell you vaccination for kids is ludicrous because of low risk, but viruses can spread across kids, including those with high health risks, and kids can spread it to those in higher risk categories like parents, grandparents, and others. (I know: my oldest nephew and his wife caught it from their school-age kids, and unlike Woods, they have subsequently been vaccinated). I know: I think I caught all the usual childhood diseases like mumps, the measles and chicken pox, not from my nuclear family, but as the first-born going to school. Today, some of these diseases are preventable, like the measles. Fundamentally, I don't think Woods understands the science behind vaccinations and infectious diseases, and his dismissive attitude is counterproductive in the midst of a pandemic.

But Tom has been fighting "unreasonable" vaccine mandates for presumably public sector employees and for schools and universities. To him, proactively protecting yourself and others from spreading a deadly contagion is an unthinkable transgression against liberty. People are quitting or getting fired from jobs or college over a jab or two. He recently did a podcast providing a college alternative offering mandate-resisting college students a partial scholarship. And heaven help you if you promote, gasp, vaccine passports (travel or public accommodations). Never mind the libertarian concept of voluntary association. Maybe I don't want to have Woods and his fellow self-serving, creepy anti-vaxxers imposing their disease on other people, including my relatives and friends.

There are other casualties of this pandemic, of what Bastiat famously called the unseen, opportunity costs of these pandemics. I personally haven't seen my personal physician in over a year over the duration of the pandemic. Many people have gone without medical visits and treatments because of how this disease has hampered hospitals, clinics and doctor offices. How many people have undiagnosed serious health issues that are more difficult to treat in later stages? Anti-vaxxers have contributed to prolonging this pandemic and delaying achievement of herd immunity. Scientifically illiterate clowns like Tom Woods are part of the problem, not the solution.

Post #5364 M: McClanahan on the Filibuster; Woods on an Alternative to College; Ron Paul on Whether the CDC Director Follows the Science

 Quote of the Day

Once you have mastered time, 

you will understand how true it is 

that most people overestimate 

what they can accomplish in a year 

and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!

Anthony Robbins 

McClanahan on the Filibuster

Woods on an Alternative to College

Ron Paul on Whether the CDC Director Follows the Science

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Tom Stiglich via Townhall

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

Anne Murray, "You Needed Me"

Post #5363 J

 Shutdown Diary

The latest stats from WaPo:

In the past week in the U.S. ...

New daily reported cases fell 19.4% 

New daily reported deaths rose 0% 

Covid-related hospitalizations fell 7.2% 

Among reported tests, the positivity rate was 6.9%.

The number of tests reported fell 19.1% 

In the last week, an average of 646.9k doses per day were administered, a 15% decrease  over the week before. An average of 173.9k adults received the first dose in the U.S. over the last week.

From CDC;

Again, all the stats are headed in the right direction: decreasing cases, hospitalizations, test positivity rate, and tests, not to mention a leveling off of the death rate (I expect us to see decreasing death counts over the days ahead). Note that I'm talking national statistics; the Delta wave may still be rising in largely unvaccinated regions/states, although in researching the DeMonia tragedy, it seemed like lower-vaccinated Alabama had subsequently come back within hospital capacity. But we are seeing aggregate numbers fall from about 160K to about 130K a day. The vaccination numbers continue to disappoint  other than the fact now fully two-thirds of adults are fully vaccinated and three-quarters are at least partially vaccinated.

The big news on the vaccine front continues to be booster shots, with the CDC director expanding the scope of boosters beyond senior citizens and the immuno-compromised to many in the "essential" workplace. We still don't have word on booster approvals for Moderna and J&J. I have an eligible female relative living in assisted living who was scheduled to get her Pfizer booster last week, but somehow the vendor brought Moderna doses to the facility (which is so wrong on multiple levels, unless he was giving out initial or second shots for the few unvaccinated). My RN sister, 14 months younger, took the J&J vaccine; we still haven't gotten word from FDA/CDC on mix-or-match boosters, so she'll have to wait for approval.

I have a nuanced stance on the political issues. I do think evidence of past infection should serve as a waiver against mandates. I still believe Biden's OSHA mandate not only violates the Constitution's vesting health security with the states but lacks statutory authority. Defending the mandate as against grave danger in the workplace is ludicrous on its face except for positions involving interpersonal contact like in the health professions, meat packing, grocery or sales cashiers, etc. Infections requiring hospitalization increases with age but is less than 1% for those under 40. Breakthrough or reinfections range in the up to 2% range. Make no mistake; you don't want to get infected, especially if you have serious health issues like obesity or diabetes. But with most adults being vaccinated already (and presumably most in the labor force, although I haven't seen statistics on this), the idea of the workplace being a super-spreader location (with some exceptions, noted above) is nonsense. My oldest nephew did not catch COVID-19 from his work but from one of his school-age daughters, and Biden's mandates don't control for the home/social environment. And of course in a lot of professions (like IT) you often work remotely or not in close contact with others. (When I've worked on site they've even alternated cubicle occupation so social distancing.) I don't think OSHA has released its relevant rule yet, which will determine future legal challenges.

I'm still astonished at the resistance to vaccinate even in the health profession and assisted living facilities. Twitter still has relevant hot trends, noting lawyers arguing Biden's OSHA mandate will prevail in court and protesters against vaccinated-only seating at a Staten Island food court. The latter was fairly stupid; the food court was operating more on a honor system, and this was a municipal, not a food court, policy. The protesters should have picketed city hall.

Life's Little Problems

My cloud computing client change mentioned in  a recent post proved to be a little complicated. I seemed to be tied into their somehow hosting the logical drive (P) on a limited capacity flash drive (instead of one of my hard drives) and I ran into an application issue complaining about storage capacity to do something. So I ended up going with the mirror vs virtual drive alternative and reconfiguring 4 major applications to run off workfiles on the mirrored drive, which didn't seem to be configurable but developed a separate mountpoint. Not sure if I could implement something like a symbolic link to avoid mountpoint migration, but I ended up doing the latter. I was really more worried about configuring the applications correctly so my workfiles were replicated to the cloud. 

I did file a ticket asking the vendor how essentially to do a migration of mirroring constructs across clients (i.e., emulate client 1 behavior in client 2); all they sent were linked to 2-3 items involving preparing for the migration in general terms. What happened was I wasn't aware of the transition and found the client replaced. The canary in the coal mine was I had listened to podcast episodes which I subsequently deleted and my cloud account didn't process the deletions, like they had under the old client. At least now I'm seeing some file updates getting promoted to the cloud (the online drive has a section on recent file updates), bur I'm not sure yet all the files have been synced.

One of my older laptops is giving one of those "end of lifetime" Windows lifetime notices. I was running into startup issues on the laptop, preventing regular patching but I think the real issue is that I haven't been able to install a feature update on Windows 10 (versus other patches) in a while. So it's working on one as I write

Reader Note

It's not a lock but it looks like my monthly pageviews will rebound to the 2000+ level for the month; I'm up about 200 views over last month's figure already. . It's still inconsistent; I haven't had a daily post reach double-digits for about a week. On post publication, it's unlikely my streak of 50+ posts will extend beyond 2 months. 

Entertainment 

Well, the WWE Extreme Rules PPV is history. I was pleasantly surprised by the Charlotte Flair (champion)-Alexa Bliss match. On paper, this was a David/Goliath mismatch: Charlotte/Ashley is 9 inches taller than the petite Alexa. Almost everyone I saw commenting in advance of the match seemed to think Alexa was going to take the match. I was worried about WWE working the Fiend gimmick into the match itself. In fact, Alexa accomplished some credible moves, counters and near-falls. Thankfully, Charlotte did win the match. They did work in some of the creepy rag doll (Lily) storyline, post-match, with Charlotte dismembering the doll, sending Alexa into an inconsolable rage attacking Charlotte. Not sure where they take the story from here. I know months back there was a rumor of a female wrestler playing the Lily character. But personally I find the double-ponytail schoolgirlish image of Alexa's character a little creepy. Maybe Alexa will develop Lily as an alter-ego, similar to Bray Wyatt's Fiend character.

The Lynch/Belair rematch was much more credible than Lynch's squash match win of the title. The question is how you hook the match without damaging either character, Well, to be honest, the question was if and when Sasha Banks reenter the title picture; in fact, Sasha Banks was trending before Sunday's PPV, so a lot of fans (not just me) felt Banks' intervention for her lost Smackdown championship was logical and predictable. I didn't expect Lynch to job the title that soon. Banks could play a babyface to Lynch's heel, no doubt peeved by Lynch getting the title rematch she deserved, although she still has a score to settle with Belair since Wrestlemania. Maybe they'll make the next Lynch defense a triple threat. 

I was not thrilled by seeing the New Day, reunited with WWE champ Big E, battle Styles, Omos and Lashley. Now Big E was a solo act before joining the New Day novelty gimmick for a long duration. So Big E has spent much of the past year reestablishing his solo credentials, he finally wins the title, and then two of his major post-win patches are as part of the New Day? The PPV match seemed more of a setup for Lashley's contractual rematch, presumably on Monday's RAW episode.

The other matches were predictable; I didn't expect the Usos to job their recently won tag belts. It's nice to see Liv Morgan getting more of a push.

Hallmark is starting to promote this year's Countdown to Christmas just under 4 weeks away.

Post #5362 M: Tom Woods on Labor Unions and Myths

 Quote of the Day

The proposition that the people are the best keepers of their own liberties is not true. 

They are the worst conceivable, 

they are no keepers at all; 

they can neither judge, act, think, or will, as a political body.

John Adams  

Abbeville Institute This Week

Tom Woods on Labor Unions and Myths

Tom Woods on Labor Day Myths

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Al Goodwyn via Townhall

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

Nick Gilder, "Hot Child in the City"

Post #5361 Social Media Digest

Twitter 

Most of the Latinos I've met in college and the workplace are hard-working and religious, not a fit with today's progressive Democratic Party, which in fact has opposed foreign work visas. Ms. Stefanik's nativist fear-mongering is politically suicidal and self-fulfilling.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 19, 2021

Maybe she's a better investor than your sorry, envious ass.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

The minimum wage is a crime against the unemployed. Everyone can negotiate their wage except those with limited job experience, who find themselves priced out of the job market. With "friends" like you, who needs enemies?

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

Price-fixing results in one of 2 outcomes--surpluses when above the market price or shortages below the market price. You're basically advocating the latter. The real answer is NOT a counterproductive decision of progressive political whores but opening the market to competition.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

Oh, cry me a river. The Dems control the White House and the Congress, not to mention the press and social media, and you don't want the opposition to have a voice. How pathetic and hypocritical.

Chuck Todd

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

Yeah, right. The affirmative action industrial complex demands an awards quota. If the system was racist, there wouldn't have been nominees. These awards should be about individual performance.

"#EmmysSoWhite: No actors of color won an Emmy, despite a record nominee lineup"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

Trump is a whiny bitch who resents McConnell's post-Jan 6 rebuke, even as McConnell fended off Trump's conviction for his unconstitutional misconduct. Trump is the royal "we" who confounds his personal with the national interest. No one wants to be Trump's bitch. https://t.co/ZJuryS36vg

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

Because Biden is raising trillions in funding for his own political causes.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

It's amusing for all the FNC bashing by partisan Dems, the one poll that shows Biden with 50 or better job approval comes from Fox News.https://t.co/UQ3nG18Faa

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 20, 2021

You might think that the Breitbart author might suggest that leftists want anti-vaxxer right-wingers to hurry up and die so they can spend right-wing inheritance taxes. #sarcasm

Breitbart

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 21, 2021

It appears TX Gov. Abbott faces a bigger challenge from a shirtless actor for his own party's nomination than any prospective Dem challenger.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 21, 2021

Simple: Barry's Presidency set him up.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 21, 2021

It's not difficult. Ashli Babbitt, unlike you, is a USAF veteran who was honorably discharged. She exercised her First Amendment rights. Unarmed, she was murdered by the Capitol police. It doesn't make her a hero, but a victim.

Your tweet makes you an asshole.

Period.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 22, 2021

National statistics show more whites are killed than blacks by the police in total number but proportionately more blacks are killed. There are 4 times more whites in the population, but the rate of blacks who are killed is double.https://t.co/M9SuNTxvXt

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 22, 2021

A black Capitol policeman murdered Ms. Babbitt.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 22, 2021

No, you #Twidiot. Over 90% of those arrested by the police were, like Ms. Babbitt, one-off arrests, not part of any organized plot, but opportunistically took advantage of an outmanned, incompetently secured Capitol. The only one directly killed was Ms. Babbitt.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 22, 2021

Trespassing is not a capital offense. Of course, you hypocritical #Twidiots only recognize that when the victims of police violence are black.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 22, 2021

Nope. The homicidal cop was not being threatened by an unarmed woman. If Ms. Babbitt were black, you goddamn leftist hypocrites would be calling to defund the Capitol police.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 22, 2021

Actually Obama is the all-time leader adding over $8.5T, and the Democrats controlled the House for Trump's last 2 years, roughly $5.3T of the $7.8T figure you cite.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 23, 2021

Yes, the super-spending Dems controlled the House over the last 2 fiscal years, some $5.3T of the claimed $7.8T under Trump. That was before the wild spending sprees by Biden on "infrastructure" & "budget reconciliation" with razor-thin Congressional majorities.

"7.8 Trillion"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 23, 2021

Unfortunately, the MAGA cultists are the squeaky wheels and swamp the GOP activists. Like 3-time loser William Jennings Bryan, Trump can probably gain a third nomination, but it would be politically suicidal without an unlikely flip in independent voter support.

"Michael Cohen"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 23, 2021

Lt. Col. Hague doesn't seem to understand the concept of fitness for duty. We saw COVID-19 spread on the USS Theodore Roosevelt early in the pandemic. The idea Hague could become a conduit for preventable mass infection is not in the interests of national security.

"Hannity"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 23, 2021

What's the Congresswoman doing in the Senate? The 2 GA senators are Dem.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 24, 2021

There's something worse than murder? Let me guess: you want to kill a baby to save her from a difficult life? How "loving" are you!

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 24, 2021

Human life begins at conception. Scientific fact. Deal with it. Justifying genocide of the unborn means your morals are all fucked up.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 24, 2021

“The Women's Health Protection Act”. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig. "Kill Even More Preborn Babies. Genocide Act". King Herod was an amateur compared to today's massacre of innocents.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 24, 2021

Biden is too easily manipulated: no credibility. When even the photographer of the infamous pictures says that he saw no one being whipped.https://t.co/xs0y6KT5FS

"President Biden says US border patrol agents using horses to chase Haitian migrants is 'beyond an embarrassment'"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 24, 2021

Well, either the meme maker was charging her by the letter out of her own pocket, or her act includes impressions of Joe, Jill and Hunter Biden.

"Lauren Boebert' pic.twitter.com/kw4bkvGIWg

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 25, 2021

My latest essay takes on the Milley kerfuffle. I share Milley's concerns about Trump's behavior and his intentions to defuse tensions with China, but he violated the chain of command and must resign or be fired.https://t.co/OeelMSoLZk

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 25, 2021

Professor Kingsfield from the Paper Chase. He would take contestants with a mind full of mush and if they survive, they'll leave questioning like a lawyer.

#ShouldHostJeopardy

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 25, 2021

I'm a NeverTrumper but this partisan Dem troll is deliberately lying.

Sicknick died of natural causes (minor strokes) on Jan. 7, no evidence of internal or external injuries or skin abrasions from the bear spray.#TrumpRallyhttps://t.co/9IOi64EwKs https://t.co/zFhDX1qBph

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 25, 2021

If Garland starts engaging in victor's justice by going after Trump, the next GOP AG will go after Obama and Biden.

"Merrick Garland"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 26, 2021

You can argue that health security is a legitimate responsibility of STATE government, but not of FEDERAL government, so the 1906 case is not relevant under the 10th Amendment.

"Biden's vaccine mandate for workers is supported by legal precedents, experts say"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 26, 2021

Post #5360 M: McClanahan on the Founding Generation; Woods on Stockman and Federal Reserve Reform; Unconstitutional Car Confiscations

 Quote of the Day

Blessed is the man, 

who having nothing to say, 

abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.

George Eliot  

McClanahan on the Founding Generation

Woods on Stockman and Federal Reserve Reform

Unconstitutional Car Confiscations

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of AF Branco via Townhall

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

Exile, "Kiss You All Over"

Post #5359 Commentary: The Post-Jan 6 Milley Kerfuffle

 The latest kerfuffle focuses on 2018 Trump-nominated Joint Chiefs of Staff, (Army) Gen. Mark Milley and contacts between Milley and Chinese counterpart PLA Gen. Gen. Li Zuocheng, particularly two calls (before and after last year's election), according to Bob Woodward's newest (co-authored) book.

The context was that intelligence had picked up Chinese concerns over US military exercises in the disputed South China Sea region. Trump's erratic behavior and threatening, anti-Chinese rhetoric led Chinese leaders to worry about a prospective US attack. The authors suggested that Milley had reassured Li, based on their 5-year professional relationship, there would be no surprise attack, and in the context of the second call, deferred military exercises in agreement with local commanders and pulled a "Schlesinger", ensuring that any Presidential order to launch a nuclear strike had to come through the chain (meaning Milley, not directly from Trump).

Trump responded to the revelation by denying he had any intention of attacking China and accused Milley of treason. There is also a thread between Speaker Pelosi and Milley over Trump's state of mind after the Jan. 6 uprising.

Let me repeat what I wrote earlier this week:

I think Milley was out-of-line; if there was a diplomatic issue, it should have been handled by Secretary of State Pompeo, if Trump issued an illegal/unconstitutional order to initiate war without a Congressional declaration, Milley could have resisted compliance. But it was not Milley's place to stand in judgment of POTUS. Milley should resign or be fired

Let me first say Trump/Republican claims that Milley engaged in treason are nonsense. For one thing, we are not at war with China. Second, you can argue Milley's intervention sought to defuse possible preemptive Chinese attack given uncertainty of Trump's impulsive decision making and a potential "wag the dog" scenario. Keep in mind that Trump liked being perceived as unpredictable, which he believe was a position of strength; also, Trump has engaged in undeclared war drone and other military attacks. Third, Milley never said he would refuse a lawful order from Trump. Fourth, one could argue Milley's contacts with Li were a known pattern of behavior and Milley likely had the delegated authority to do things like reschedule military exercises.

The issue I have is there is no constitutional basis for Milley's operating outside the chain of command. Ir was not his competence or place to judge Trump. Now if Trump did issue an illegal order, Milley could refuse such an order. under the Constitution. I haven't seen evidence of such an order. Milley did not seem to report his contacts to POTUS or the Defense Secretary. Foreign relations are handled by POTUS and the Department of State. It's one thing for Milley to advise POTUS and Congress on military matters and status, perhaps troublesome orders from the President. But his personal opinion on Trump's behavior over the election and Jan. 6 uprising is irrelevant and fundamentally inconsistent with our tradition of the military reporting to civilian national leadership. 

Biden should replace Milley. I question Milley's commitment to civilian leadership, his personal agenda over the elected President's. I fully concur with impeachment witness Vindman on this.

Make no mistake. I have been highly critical of Trump's misconduct in office. I supported all counts of his impeachment and conviction. I have been highly critical of his purported foreign policy, which among other things was confrontational with our European allies.

But for the most part, Trump was one of the few Presidents in my lifetime who never started a new war and in fact set the stage for our withdrawal from Afghanistan.  I know Trump made a lot of bad decisions after losing his reelection, but I don't believe for a second he wanted to start a war with another nuclear power.

Post #5358 M: Tom Woods on the American One Party State; Oregon Deregulates Mushrooms

Quote of the Day

Blessed is the man, 

who having nothing to say, 

abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.

George Eliot  

Tom Woods on the American One Party State

Oh my God! I can't stress enough how much I disagree with Gottfried, at least when he talks about immigration, the election, etc. Maybe I'll have to write a rant or two.

Political Cartoon

Oregon Deregulates Mushrooms

Choose Life

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

A Taste of Honey, "Boogie Oogie Oogie" 

Post #5357 M: McClanahan on American Conservatism; AI and Human Rights At the Movies

Quote of the Day

We didn't lose the game; 

we just ran out of time.

Vince Lombardi  

McClanahan on American Conservatism

AI and Human Rights At the Movies

Political Cartoon

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of  1978

Frankie Valli, "Grease"

Post #5356 M: George Will's Journey Has Become More Libertarian; McClanahan on Leftist History Academia; Ron Paul on the Justice For J6 Rally

 Quote of the Day

Insanity: 

doing the same thing over and over again 

and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

 George Will's Journey Has Become More Libertarian

 McClanahan on Leftist History Academia

Ron Paul on the Justice For J6 Rally

 Choose Life

 Political Cartoon

 

 

                                                          Courtesy of Margolis & Cox via Townhall

 Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

The Commodores, "Three Times a Lady"

Post #5355 M: Military Spending; Stossel on SSP and Education Choice; McClanahan on Whether Gray Lives Matter

Quote of the Day

Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, 

and then you destroy yourself.

Richard Nixon  

Military Spending

Stossel on SSP and Education Choice

McClanahan on Whether Gray Lives Matter

Choose Life

Gives a whole new meaning to "grow some Funk of your own" ....

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

The Rolling Stones, "Miss You"

Post #5354 J

 Shutdown Diary

The latest stats from Washpo:

In the past week in the U.S. ...

New daily reported cases fell 0.2% 

New daily reported deaths rose 20.9% 

Covid-related hospitalizations fell 6.2%

Among reported tests, the positivity rate was 8.3%.

The number of tests reported fell 5.1% 

In the last week, an average of 777.0k doses per day were administered, a 9% increase  over the week before. An average of 256.2k adults received the first dose in the U.S. over the last week

According to CDC:

It looks like we are on the decline from the peak of this wave; deaths tend to be a lagging indicator of serious infection. If my interpretation is correct, we should see falling death rates within the next 2 weeks. But declining hospitalization, positivity rates , and number of tests are positive signs we have finally turned the corner.

The big news obviously the FDA advisory panel's recommendation against a blanket approval for COVID-19 booster shots, apparently unswayed by Pfizer's data and/or Israeli data behind its approval for 50+-age adults. They did approve it for 65+ age adults and the immuno-compromised. The FDA could override the recommendation, but it's not likely to.

The politics on both sides of the vaccine policy debate annoy me. I don't like Biden's unconstitutional power grab to use OSHA to mandate large-enough (100+) worker companies to require proof of vaccination. That has apparently strengthened a black market in fake vaccine cards, certainly already stoked by employer or college/school pre-OSHA mandates. Now keep in mind a chunk of the unvaccinated are younger school age kids under 12. There is a rumor we could see an approval for these kids maybe as soon as Halloween or so, although most estimates I've seen have been early to mid winter. [As I write Monday, Pfizer reports success in its age 5-11 child vaccine, reportedly one-third the adult dosage. Presumably it's delivered its data or is in the process in submitting it to the FDA.]  As to adults, there are debates on exceptions for health intolerance and/or religious exemptions. (I'm not aware of organized religions opposing vaccines in concept, maybe Christian Scientists ) Red state governors are not only dismissive of calls for vaccine mandates for residents, but even public sector employees. And don't even start talking about vaccine passports; many libertarians, like Tom Woods, and GOP politicians will have a meltdown. (Personally I don't like the idea of having private sector companies being held liable for federal/state enforcement of mandates.) I would generally prefer a carrot vs. stick approach  to mandates. I really don't see police strapping adults down to be forcibly jabbed. I think it's more likely to be more of policy alternatives like tax penalties, healthcare surcharges, or public facility/event admission qualification. 

Life's Little Problems

The Windows iTunes desktop client has been mentioned in my sister SoftDoc blog on multiple occasions. (I used to own an iPod Shuffle;) I've run into various issues over the years, in particular, troublesome upgrades (a recurring one was the install process would hang and tell me it was looking for some file that didn't exist); when I migrated my music libraries to my new main workhorse PC, playlists were more difficult to transfer. (Sure, it's easy to create new playlists, but I've got some playlists with hundreds of tunes.).  Currently I use VLC player on my cellphone for the music collection on my soundcard; I can use iTunes on my PC for music, but now I'm using it mostly to play my podcasts.

I've experienced some occasional weirdness with podcast functionality (and also possibly in conjunction with my cloud backup solution). To give an example, I've sometimes discovered dozens of (unwatched) episodes in my recycle bin, I've also seen dozens of episodes suddenly replicated in podcast storage, and over the weekend I found hundreds of old Tom Woods podcasts were being uploaded de novo to the cloud (I routinely back up my music/podcast collection), so apparently they were recently downloaded without any action on my part.

But the focus of this discussion is the podcast interface. (Getting there is sometimes a usability issue. The default is music and you have to pull down a menu to switch from music to podcasts. On frequent occasions, I've found it difficult to get the menu to pull down.) Typically I'll see a list of podcasts for which I hold subscriptions, and I select a title to see a list of available episodes.

I've seen weird things. One is I don't have  backlog of Fox News Sunday episodes. So usually the most recent podcast will download between Sunday to Tuesday. The issue is I've sometimes seen the podcast title disappear after I've listened to and deleted the most recent episode, without any unsubscribe action on my part. If necessary, I was prepared to resubscribe, but it seems like iTunes remembers I'm subscribed and the title reappears with the next episode.

Then there was this past weekend when I noticed at least a half dozen podcast showed a status of "Not Subscribed", with no action on my part. What the devil? I clicked on the podcast settings (left gear-like button on the right side of the podcast episode header.) There is a third item "Subscribed" toggle switch. Sure enough, it was toggled Off--but worse than that, it seemed locked because I couldn't toggle it back on. How do I fix this? Delete the podcast and resubscribe? I decided to wait and see what happened if and when the podcasts released new episodes. In fact, all the "not subscribed" podcasts downloaded the episode, and the status now correctly showed as "subscribed". Somehow the problem corrected itself. I must have spent an hour looking for tips on how to unlock that toggle switch, and none of them had worked.

The next issue dealt with a recent change to one of my cloud computing subscription clients; I won't identify the well-known vendor, but for some time they used  a backup solution that worked well; I have most of my workfiles under an umbrella folder. They've now redesigned the local drive to be virtual, streaming architecture, although they have a mirroring option. I think they automatically converted me to run off their new architecture. Suppose the drive is mounted under P letter. I can see the cloud drive files under P. The problem it doesn't seem to mount my local folders/files as specified during setup, so my guess is I'll need to relocate, say, my iTunes folder to the mirrored location and reset my location in iTunes to run off the new location if I want my new/changed/deleted (e.g., podcast) files to be synced with the cloud. I found I could force a sync by robocopying my umbrella folder to the relevant P drive folder. That's not a good solution for me to put in a task scheduler, because the vendor sometimes requires me to sign onto my cloud account via popup. The vendor could have done a better job transitioning users and setting expectations with respect to the client software. 

Miscellaneous Items

It looks like my blog readership has improved over last month, although things could change in the last third of the month--maybe reverting to the long-term mean assuming the current trend continues. I have now passed the 400 post mark for the year, meaning I'll probably hit 500 by late fall, with last year's count possible this year.

I have to admit I'm still baffled by WWE booking. Big E brought his newly won WWE title to Smackdown and got himself in a brawl against Reign's bloodline faction (for vague reasons), teaming with Finn Balor. Long story short, that set up Reigns and his cousins against the  reunited New Day (including Big E) on Monday's RAW. I thought they were saving that for Survivor Series.  What was really interesting was how a vengeful Lashley intervened, setting up a triple threat with  Big E and Reigns. Now you know they aren't going to let Reigns job the match, but I loved the matchup versus the original 6-man tag match.

Post #5353 M: McClanahan on Whether Milley Committed Treason; Illinois Pension Tsunami; Trump Critic Republicans Face Career Ending Challenges

 Quote of the Day

I am not a friend to a very energetic government. 

It is always oppressive. 

Thomas Jefferson

McClanahan on Whether Milley Committed Treason

I'll probably write my own one-off post on the Milley accusation over the week ahead. I have a more nuanced position but basically concur with McClanahan's ending summary. I think Milley was out-of-line; if there was a diplomatic issue, it should have been handled by Secretary of State Pompeo, if Trump issued an illegal/unconstitutional order to initiate war without a Congressional declaration, Milley could have resisted compliance. But it was not Milley's place to stand in judgment of POTUS. Milley should resign or be fired

Illinois Pension Tsunami

Trump Critic Republicans Face Career Ending Challenges

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Al Goodwyn via Townhall

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

Andy Gibb, "Shadow Dancing"

Post #5352 M: Holding Federal Agents Accountable For Misconduct; Rev. Sirico Remembers 9/11; McClanahan on Washington v. Lincoln

Quote of the Day

Work like you don't need the money. 

Love like you've never been hurt. 

Dance like nobody is watching.

Mark Twain  

Holding Federal Agents Accountable For Misconduct

Rev. Sirico Remembers 9/11

McClanahan on Washington v. Lincoln

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Gary Varvel of Townhall

Musical Interlude: #1 Hits of 1978

John Travolta & Olivia Newton John, "You're the One That I Want"

Post #5351 Social Media Digest

 Facebook

Twitter

What, is this a "turn the other ear" match?

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

I agree. I think Biden won by more than 4.5 points.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

Well, Stormy Daniels had to be paid a lot of money

"F Trump"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

Tulsi is too much of a statist for us libertarians. But she was the sole voice of reason among other Dem primary POTUS political whores, including Biden, in terms of a non-interventionist foreign policy. Only one with military service since John Kerry.

"Tulsi Gabbard"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

The idiot leftists bashing Ms. Gabbard are in a state of denial over what happened 20 years ago.

"Tulsi Gabbard"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

Oh, I'm a libertarian, but I've had my fill of crackpots like Ron Paul trying to rationalize crimes against humanity by Al Qaeda with blowback, etc. I agree with non-interventionist policies, but what happened on 9/11 is inexcusable, plain and simple.

"Tulsi Gabbard" https://t.co/596s0q0Kog

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

I usually respect Wallace, but his "analysis" is shoddy. We don't even have a COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 12. I've been in the workforce since the 70's and I've never been asked about vaccine status. Many jobs are remote or isolated. Over 75% adults vaxxed.

"Chris Wallace"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

I see the Washington NFL franchise still doesn't a team name. I understand the political correctness issue, but never understood why they didn't simply rename them the Tribe.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

Well, Christie is right: Trump was a better choice than Hillary Clinton, but that's not saying much. It's like preferring hurricanes over tornadoes. The fact is other Republicans had no answers to a corrupt former Dem's hostile takeover.

'Christie"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

What Wallace and Breyer don't note, of course, is the Dems went nuclear on SCOTUS over the Bork and Thomas nominations and ever since. Even as late as the Clinton Administration Bader nomination, she got 96 votes, most of Republicans, not sharing her views.

"Chris Wallace" https://t.co/MOZ5VVUqS6

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

This obsession over the failed Garland nomination to replace the late Scalia's seat in an election year ignores the fact most such confirmations occur when the POTUS and Senate were of the same party. Hypocrite Biden in 1992 ruled out Bush nominations.

"Chris Wallace"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

This obsession over raising corporate taxes is based on envy, not good economics. When you raise taxes, you increase business costs; it is bad for economic growth. It makes you less competitive in the global economy. If you have a tax, make it low and flat.

"House Democrats"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

I was wondering why so many #TwIdiots over the weekend were obsessed over copulation practices of POTUS.

Alabama https://t.co/UC4G23wBZ1

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

A rare voice for fiscal sanity from the Democratic Party. Leftists do what they always do with heretics to Statism--engage in the politics of personal destruction. If I were Manchin, I'd give the bastards something to talk about: flip caucuses.

Epipon https://t.co/9oA6O1fzN9

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

Grow up, lady. (I'm trying to be polite. A different word comes to mind in discussing you.)
I know you must be offended like that other political whore Barbara Boxer who got offended when a military officer referred to her as "ma'am" out of protocol.

"House Democrats"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

You're stupid beyond the usual brain-dead Dem. A terrorist attack is what happened in Oklahoma City. What happened in Dec. 6 was more of protesters run amuck. The only one killed was by police. There was modest property damage.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 12, 2021

Hypocritical leftist #Twidiots are mocking Justice Barrett's concerns about the court being seen as partisan while they routinely discuss packing the court, smear GOP nominees with libelous lies, & vote against qualified jurists for purely political reasons.

"Amy Coney Barrett"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

The House Democrats are fixated on economic suicide. The tax reform under Trump made the US economy more globally competitive. The Comrade Bernie rhetoric by this #Twidiot ignores the facts higher taxes don't mean higher revenue, they get passed on to others

"House Democrats" https://t.co/SexfhhCNdx

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

Oh, wow. Biden is so STUPID you can't make this shit up. He's trying to defend his vaccine mandate on the grounds of protecting the vaccinated from the unvaccinated. Never mind that's the reason for getting the vaccine! And the fact vaccine breakthroughs are rare!

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

Well, the fact is that Obama was a habitual liar. And so is Biden. Just take his vaccine mandate flip-flop.https://t.co/e9YyFIpBz6

"Joe Wilson"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

Gorsuch and Barrett were confirmed by a majority of Senate votes. Garland wasn't.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

Actually the 3 liberal judicial whores (Breyer, Kagan, Sotomayor) ARE partisan hacks. Their support of the rent eviction moratorium directly violated the fifth amendment and the whole notion of contract law.

Gorsuch https://t.co/XARTkJYGEM

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

I've never understood rival Texas A&M Aggies. My BIL posted a picture of Aggie yell leaders. I responded: "Call me sexist, but I prefer chicks as cheerleaders."

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

Franken's only contribution to public service was rightly stepping down.

"Al Franken"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

I'm a NeverTrumper, but the Dems are engaged in a show trial.

"Mark Meadows"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 13, 2021

What is this Melania Trump Derangement Syndrome about? Isn't it bad enough she was humiliated by her husband cheating on her with a porn actress months after the birth of their son? I don't blame spouses for their husbands' behavior in office, even Barry's and Joe's.

"Melania"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

So, let's get this straight: this leftist political whore is giving Trump the credit for getting us out of a war Barry Obama promised to get us out of, but ended up killing more Americans that Bush and Trump together. All because Biden fucked up its exit on his watch

"Ted Lieu"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

I wonder if the IRS let her write off the cost of her dress for promoting its services.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

I think you've confused the mother with the daughter.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Another challenge is if they move on with the rumor of turning Keith Lee heel, bringing two big men into a title match.#WWERAW

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Wow, the storyline sucks. Lashley beats Orton clean, but knowing Big E is out there with his briefcase, Lashley goes after Orton's tag partner Riddle and in the process injures his leg. Big E cashes in his title shot and eventually lands his finisher.

#WWERAW

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

I thought the picture The Babylon Bee showing AOC wearing a "Tax the Rich" white dress was some photoshopped image for sarcasm. But, no, it's for real. AOC has now introduced political bumper sticker fashion.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Morally corrupt, economically illiterate AOC is now a living billboard of commie slogans. We now have trite bumper sticker fashion. I honestly thought the first time I saw her it, some conservative had photoshopped it. No, AOC is really THAT stupid.

"Tax the Rich"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Oh my God, marks are so gullible. WWE did this for ratings against Monday Night Football. The story had Lashley injuring himself going after Riddle, knowing Big E was in the building. If you didn't know this was scripted, I've got some bad news about Santa.

"HE DID IT" #WWERaw https://t.co/hZNYQOQ369

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

I'm sure Trump claimed he had huge testicles before he took the vaccine. #sarcasm

"Tucker"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

The idea that "paying your fair share" means "the other guy pays for what I choose to spend" makes you a corrupt freeloader, a hypocrite, and a thief. It costs government twice as much as the private sector, and government service sucks.

"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

One of the legal bloggers at the Volokh Conspiracy argued red states suing Biden's OSHA vaccine rule will lack legal standing. I do think that health security is a state responsibility under the Tenth Amendment, The feds have a narrow path of immigration & interstate commerce

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Just a reminder that filibuster "reform" is a double-edged sword and any attempt to overwrite traditional state election reforms will be ruled unconstitutional.

"Senate Democrats"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Biden says Larry Elder is a clone of Donald Trump. Biden needs to get his eyes checked. #sarcasm

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Why are people fixating on Goldberg v Big E? Both are babyfaces. Goldberg's promo for a Lashley rematch said he wasn't looking for another title shot. There's Lashley's rematch, Sheamus, Orton, Kross, there are rumors over Keith Lee going heel, McIntyre, etc.

"Goldberg"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

The FDA is now playing Whac-a-Mole with scientifically illiterate rap singer misinformation.

"There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause male fertility problems, the CDC says"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

How many Democrats voted for her? Leftist hypocritical #Twidiot.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

There are words to describe Trump's behavior on Jan. 6 and they don't include "patriot".

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

A soldier cannot obey an illegal order.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

This is Soft Rock America.
Trump told Pence if he couldn't do a small favor like help him overthrow the government, they couldn't be friends. Whereupon Pence sang a classic War tune;https://t.co/Zpq6GGnAab

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

My first college girlfriend was a Catholic Pentecostal. One date I attended her service. One guy started speaking in tongues; I was not impressed. She shot me a dirty look, got up and started speaking her own gibberish. The date didn't end well.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

I've got a cross, garlic and holy water. I've seen it work in the movies.

#DeepThoughtsFromVaccinated

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

Nope. I'm a NeverTrumper, but the Dems' charge and presentation sucked.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 14, 2021

The leftists are still trying to blame Pence for the protester uprising on Jan. 6. Forget the fact that BEFORE the vote, Trump had explicitly thrown Pence under the bus & some rioters wanted to hang Pence. Pence was under tremendous pressure not to do what's right.

"Dan Quayle"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

I'm pro-vaccine and do not recommend ivermectin to treat COVID-19 based on limited research to date. Some drugs have formulations for different species. Ivermectin has approved formulations and applications for human use. I do not know the specific context of Rogan's use. https://t.co/W4cwPIWIfq

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

It's not surprising that Trump accuses Milley of treason. He fired Comey for not being his bitch. He confounds loyalty to the office as personal, not constitutional. Post-election Trump was unfit for duty and should have been removed from office. (Even pre-election.)

"Flynn"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

Not surprising (but tragic) that Newsom, Dictator of the People's Republic of California, defeated the recall in a state where Dems outnumber Republicans 2-1. I was smart enough to leave the state in less than 2 years (2001). I wish it would secede from the US.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

Did the Trumpkin bimbo really misspell "martial"? And you thought Quayle had a spelling problem...

"Marjorie Taylor Greene" https://t.co/WNSaQLlvOr

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

And you thought "public service" is an oxymoron.

"Patriotic Education"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

You couldn't pay me to attend a symposium featuring prominent Trumpkins.

"Patriotic Education"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

And the Jeopardy question is:

Where is the least likely place on earth a space alien would find signs of intelligent life?

"Senate Intelligence Committee"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

My latest rant isn't about the GML guys but popular libertarian Tom Woods and his defense of crackpot conspiracy theorists like Ron Paul. https://t.co/CL7SciLOTE

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 15, 2021

Wow, I don't think I've spent more than $200 on a suit vs. $6-17K on a Brioni. Think Trump is pissed off enough at Mitt Romney over his impeachment votes? Well, Romney didn't buy anything from the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, made in China.https://t.co/Rg7vYGTGx0 https://t.co/qejRhracDr

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 16, 2021

I'm one of over 100M men who have taken mRNA vaccines without experiencing swollen testicles. Of course, most of us also know how to use condoms. #sarcasm

Nicki Minaj

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 16, 2021

This is Soft Rock America. Roger Stone was on the radio; cue Donna Summer:https://t.co/eP08ofRahZ https://t.co/UKYgPGZqi4

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 16, 2021

D'Souza reminds me of a guy in my freshman philosophy class who smugly confronted the professor, "Dogs can think; prove they can't!" Many of our classmates (not me) were like, "Dude! That's deep..." I'm like "Freshmen can't think; prove me wrong."

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 16, 2021

This is a pretty stupid tweet, even considering it's from Dinesh D'Souza. Did Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend ever go to the doctor over his swollen testicles? The timing of the vaccine shot may have just been coincidental with other, unrelated. preexisting (?) health issues. https://t.co/1wYHrrkZl4

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 16, 2021

Whereas leftist #Twidiots are bashing The Federalist Society, they hypocritically ignore their hero, Merrick Garland, is cited by TFS on its website as a contributor, has a profile there, and has moderated a number of their events.https://t.co/SqpKE9HJ5H

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 16, 2021

I'm amused by this alliance between Nicki Minaj and Tucker Carlson. I would be willing to bet there's not a single Minaj tune on Carlson's playlist

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 16, 2021

First, airlines are private-sector companies who have a right to implement safety policies for their employees and customers. Second, restrictions in one mode of travel don't exclude movement by others, such as use of roads, ship or rail.

Madison Cawthorn https://t.co/qIAkVYEqgf

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 17, 2021

I'm somewhat amused if Ms. Rubin was naïve enough to believe unsolicited emailed rants would be held confidential. I'm instantly suspicious when a "conservative" uses politically correct language like "misogynist" and implicitly suggests anti-Semitism (Yom Kippur).

"Politico"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 17, 2021

No doubt "conservatives" would argue that workers were lured to immigrate here for the free COVID-19 vaccines paid for by American taxpayers. #sarcasm

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 17, 2021

The Trumpkin bimbo is beyond delusional. You have to admit she's had as many bills passed as she had her whole life before Congress.

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green appears on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast and said she has been 'the most effective member of Congress' this session"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 17, 2021

The "Good Morning Liberty" guys recently ranted over NPR coverage of an Alabama man's death; the man had to be admitted to a MS ICU since COVID-swamped Alabama didn't have an available ICU for his heart condition. I rant about the GML guys.https://t.co/3HXCm0Rt3L

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 18, 2021

I'm playing the world's smallest violin for the J6 protesters. Trump's election fraud scam was obvious to anyone with an IQ above a turnip's. It was a face-saving excuse for sore loser in a Trumper tantrum over loss

"Demonstrators attend DC rally in support of January 6 rioters"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 18, 2021

It's about time there is some accountability for the collateral damage caused by unconstitutional drone strikes. The former President actually tried to suppress reporting on the civilian casualties to his war crimes.

"Schiff"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 18, 2021

No doubt Trumpkin bimbo Marjorie Taylor Greene points to the evidence of all her phantom committee votes as the "most effective" Congressman on Capitol Hill. #sarcasm

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 18, 2021

Dems are in a state of denial over Clinton's impeachment. No, it wasn't about consensual extramarital sex. It was about sexual misconduct in the workplace and obstructing justice. Many CEO's have been fired over what Clinton survived.https://t.co/0oYvmVOyxK

"Monica Lewinsky"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) September 18, 2021