Quote of the Day
Work while you have the light.The South and History
Why YOU should surveil the state
Where Hailey Lives - Doc Home Equity Theft
Choose Life
Political Cartoon
Musical Interlude: Duos
Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Adult Education"
A minimalist approach to essential, transparent, accountable, flat, adaptable, responsive, solution-based government, rooted in virtuous individual autonomy, traditional values and free markets, with a bias towards reduction of government functionality, cost and scope
Quote of the Day
Work while you have the light.Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Adult Education"
FINALLY, Foreigner has been selected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 22, 2024
When i heard the Angry Orange RINO Criminal whining about the separation of his minions from the courthouse, it immidediately ttriggered in me the thought he was fantasizing a J6-style invasion of the courthouse by his mob, disrupting the administration of justice.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 23, 2024
All Presudents elected during my lifetime have sucked. Ask me if I give a damn about some overrated typically leftisr Hollywood celebrity thinks about politics. Biden's corruption is like supersizing Obama's Solyndra-style of crony capitalism. Trump has his own issues. https://t.co/p11nOtCWZU
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 23, 2024
A staatistical blip is not a trend or a trend reversal. https://t.co/e6Jgh6fetA
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 23, 2024
Trump engages in boring self-serving rhetoric. He thinks he's above the law and engages in victimization rubbish. He actually bragged about his extramarital affairs in one of his books and has political motives for denying the reality of his relationship with a porn star. https://t.co/EGrZ4SI0jT
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 23, 2024
Listening to Dumbass Trump try to deflect any responsibility for inflation when he was responsible with Dems for enacting massive unpaid spending during the pandemic when supply chains were crushed. Whereas Biden's spendaholic ways exacerbated things along wirh Slowdraw Powell...
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 23, 2024
Trump routinely lies about everyone opposing him, including Republicans. I remember during the 2016 GOP primary debate, Trump said he had bought and paid for "corrupt" Rand Paul. In reality, Paul had solicited donations for his Central American eye surgery charity. https://t.co/XNFRb1Q1kx
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 23, 2024
No, Trump didn't. and I'm a Never Trumper. He was spitballing whether things that worked on the virus like on surfaces could work inside the human body. It was stupid speculation, of course. but far from suggesting injecting stuff into the body. https://t.co/2V8NXxUB57
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 23, 2024
As a libertarian, I have mixed feelings on the the 3-part foreign aid bill. I generally oppose foreign aid. which basically amounts to international meddling at taxpayer expense, particularly in the case of developed countries like Israel & Taiwan. Victims of Russian wars differ.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 24, 2024
"Four More Years". Is that how long we have to suffer under the reelection of either Biden or Trump?
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 25, 2024
I'm rather amused that Justice KBJ repeated a point I've specifically made several times over Trump's ludicrous, self-serving absolute immunity rubbish: why did Ford pardon Nixon?
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 26, 2024
Easy. Unlike Biden, Carter named to the Fed Volcker who engaged in shock therapy in breaking the back of inflation and Carter helped deregulate trucking and airlines. Biden brought back inflation and supersized the general government.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 27, 2024
I really don't think either party wins the dog lovers vote. You have Biden's dog who wants to eat the Secret Service and the Noem/Romney wing of the GOP.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 27, 2024
Trump as usual is trying to have his cake and eatit, too. Trump as POTUS wanted to ban TikToK as a national security threat. Now that Biden has managed to do what Trump couldn't, sign a de facto ban into law, Trump opposes it. Just like infrastructure.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 27, 2024
No, there's nothing "decent" about a corrupt career political whore who buys votes using other people's money https://t.co/JMKxchVr4m
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 28, 2024
Jan. 6 was unfortunate, a poor lapse of security planning, a glorified riot where the only gunfire was from a killer cop. Dan Rather is a histrionic court historian, a contemptible mainstream media ideological hack whose lack of a moral compass justifiably ended his career. https://t.co/8uDMBbhK2I
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 28, 2024
Leftists are all about protests, unless protesters are from the other side of the ideological divide
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 28, 2024
"Jill Stein"
Jill Stein is a lying political whore. This is not about "protecting free speech"; violating university policies and intimidating others who have their own rights of free expression are abuses of natural rights.https://t.co/jmiBQlwaNm https://t.co/LhSQRNaDuC
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 28, 2024
The indisputable facts are both Trump and Biden have been failed Presidents. Trump led the spendaholic pandemic budget splurge that led to reigniting inflation (Econ 101 tells you about policy lags.) Biden's corrupt Big Green agenda, Solyndra on steroids, has worsened it
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 28, 2024
CNN poll https://t.co/3moiyEf8HO
My latest post reviews last month's Mace/Stephanopoulos kerfuffle.https://t.co/lBXExIPFob
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 28, 2024
Heaven knows Trumpkins have lately sorely tested my patience. (Incidentally, I didn't coin the term 'Trumpkin' for Trump's cultish minions; I don't know how popular the term was a few years back when I picked it up, but I borrowed it from CATO Institute executive/immigration scholar Alex Nowrasteh.) Initially it was Congresswoman MTG who decided to target Speaker Johnson over his tactics on the floor which she thinks have been exploited to the benefit of the Dems. Trumpkins have become increasingly hostile to extending Ukraine aid, with or without a border deal. The last thing we need is yet a third round of Speaker succession selection given a razor-thin, shrinking GOP House majority.
But familiar readers pf my blog and/or Twitter feed may be aware of my"connection" with Congresswoman Nancy Mace {R, SC-1). In 2015-6 I had moved to North Charleston, SC to work on an expiring government contract. Tim Scott, the 2013 Congressman was appointed by Gov. Haley to serve out retiring Sen. DeMint's term. I think the seat had been conservative Dem until the Reagan Revolution during which you saw a realignment when you saw a general poliyical realignment where white Democrats trended Republican and blacks realigned themselves with leftist Dems. Former Gov. Sanford, a pro-liberty politician, succeeded Scott in SC-1 and was my Congressman during my residence there. [Note that I had relocated to AZ the summer of 2016
Trump had disdain for the few principled pro-liberty fellow GOP conservatives and explicitlt targeted Amash, Sanford, and Massie to primart, succeeding in the former 2 cases. The Trumpkin who defeated Sanford (Arrington) lost in the 2018 general election to the Dem. Cunningham, for the first time flip in nearly 4 decades. Nancy Mace, a former state representative and a first Citadel Corp female graduate, successfully challenged Cunningham in the next election.
Nancy is sort of pro-liberty, having supported Ron Paul in 2012, but somehow transitioned to Trump in 2016. (This is something I've criticized in other libertarians reading something in Trump, a statist who claims absolute authority, who threatens trade and all but disregards international agreements; I think they read too much into his America First rhetoric) Another relevant point for the current essay is that Mace claims to have been raped at 16, and in fact as a state legislator she pushed for related exceptions in SC's abortion law.
Nancy criticized Trump's J6 behavior, enough to draw a Trumpkin challenger in 2022. But she has reinvented herself this past session, enough to draw me into publicly criticize her on Twitter/X, notably for her pushing the rubbish Trump claim that former lead Ukraine key prosecutor Shokin was a victim of Biden who had allegedly been bribed to prevent investigation of Burisma which had recruited Hunter Biden onto its board. There have been rumors that Nancy has been auditioning for the Veep slot on the ticket.
Where do I come into play? Only on a minor point: her staff had somehow procured my cellphone number, and the Android spam filter didn't catch it. It was a solicitation for campaign volunteer work, and I thought a tactful response was I'm a libertarian, and you don't want me. The staffer then did his/her best to cast her as my sleeper dream candidate. At this point, I soon discovered the text was not from MD but SC; I left SC in 2016
So the key kerfuffle motivating this essay involves a March 10 exchange between ABC New This Week moderator George Stephanopoulos and Nancy Mace where Mace took offense at rhe moderator allegedly trying to shame her as a rape victim for criticizing E. Jean Carroll, who noably won a lawsuit against Trump for sexual misconduct. [The joke involved what Ms. Carroll would do with her $83M judgment from Trump during an MSNBC primetime interview.]
First of all,I loathe right-wingers (including Trump and Mace) playing the victim card. Second, Carroll was not "joking" about Trump's misconduct; she was trying to provoke Trump by getting under his skin. I can't speak for the victims of sexual nisconduct, but I can understand where a victim of Trump wants to hit back where it hurts him most--his reputation of wealth and power. I also think it's highly hypocritical for Mace herself to put herself in judgment of Carroll the same way she stands in judgment of Stephanopoulos. I think Trump's own self-admission of imappropriate activity around women makes Trump's character a legitimate issue. Why does Mace's experience give her a wildcard excuse to avoid the issue? Doesn't she have a moral responsibility to speak out in solidarity with fellow victims? Finally, Mace's distinction between a criminal vs. civil verdict is frivolous and inconsistent. I don't think Mace's alleged rapist got convicted in a criminal or civil court. In fact, Trump was found guilty of penetrating Ms. Carroll's vagina; there's only a difference of which body part Trump used to penetrate. Mace's dissing a civil conviction in favor of the world's most powerful man abusing his authority to violate his victim a different way is unconscionable and inexcusable
I don't recall Stephanopoulos challenging Mace's rape victim claims or trying to embarrass her with a legitimate question for any Republican female politician If anything, Mace was using political correctness to intimidate Stephanopoulos from doing his job.
Quote of the Day
The heights by great men reached and kept,Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Say it Isn't So"
The latest weekly stats from CDC:
Latest news items include but are not restricted to:
The unprovoked bloated blog statistics continue. In the meanwhile, my Twitter/X account is now uner 100 impressions daily, which is probably my lowest ever, even during periods I had been shadow banned or suspended. A lot of this is just lower published tweets, in part disinterest in hot trends. I also spend a lot of time commuting to and from mu current job.
I normally avoid discussing specific vendors and their products/services, but I'm goibg to make an exception here. I'm generally a good Amazon customer and have a favorable opinion of many devices I own and transactions. I own a lot of Kindle books (like over 1000). I've been a user of the Kindle for PC app, and I normally download my newly acquired titles. Amazon is good at syncing new purchases to the app, and you can easily right-click and download. new titles. Until some time over the past 2 weeks. For all practical purposes, I can no longer use app to view my books. This doesn't mean I don't have alternatives; I can read on my Amazon Cloud reader. my Amazon Fire tablet, and (I installed and tested while writing this) the Amazon Kindle app on Android. But I spent much of one evening with literally over a half dozen Amazon employees or contractors, none of them who could explain or correct the issue I was experiencing, including the dreaded black exclamation point! You name it--they listed any BS reason you can think of it, including:
Quote of the Day
A good tale is none the worseDaryl Hall & John Oates, "Family Man"
Quote of the Day
Reading maketh a full man,Daryl Hall & John Oates, "One On One"
Quote of the Day
Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Maneater". My favorite...
Quote of the Day
Time and money spent in helping men do more for themselvesDaryl Hall & John Oates, "Did It In A Minute"
Quote of the Day
To put up with. . . distortions and to stick to one's guns come what mayDaryl Hall & John Oates, "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"
Quote of the Day
Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Private Eyes"
Mainstream pro-abort media talking points are beyond stupid. Trump's decision not to engage in national abortion policy (unlike pro-aborts looking to codify Roe) is at the heart of the correctly decided Dodd decision. Abortion was never constitutional until SCOTUS invented it.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 14, 2024
"Ukrainian Nazis" means MTG has beome Putin's useful idiot. The implicit reference to the Azov battalion brigade is Putin's rationalization for war crimes in invading Ukraine The once right-wing group has been effective in fighting Russians but has never been in leadership.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 14, 2024
Rubbish! Civil war "historian", my ass! Same with "treason". This is politically correct claptrap! Reminder: the South did not try to topple the outlaw Lincoln regime. "Heritage" is not a celebration of slavery, but Southern gentility, hospitality, music, cuisine and culture https://t.co/imwQkR51xQ
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 21, 2024
Showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people by waving their flag, defending themselves against the unprovoked aggression of war criminal Putin, is not "treason". During ou War of Independence, France was a crucial ally. No to Russian imperialism!
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 21, 2024
Showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people by waving their flag, defending themselves against the unprovoked aggression of war criminal Putin, is not "treason". During ou War of Independence, France was a crucial ally. No to Russian imperialism!
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 21, 2024
No, Trumpkin MTG is not a conservative policy wonk. Like the endlessly self-promoting Trump, she engages in deliberately provocative antics and rhetoric, such as repeating Putin's propaganda for invading Ukraine https://t.co/E6mUhnJ1X5
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 21, 2024
Noem is auditioning for the role of Trump's running mate. Trump was indicted for this hush money crime long before a single vote was cast in the 2024 primary. Cohen was Trump's lawyer and fixer; he knows Trump better than a self-serving SD governor. https://t.co/qC7ReXQMVG
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 21, 2024
Nope. A vote for RFK, Jr. is just that. I will almost certainly vote LP, not anti-vaxxer RFK, Biden or Trump. We have 2 failed Presidents on the ballot. Dems have similarly been promoting GOP Trumpkins. knowing they'll be easier to beat this fall. https://t.co/envAQ9dGJX
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 21, 2024
Quote of the Day
Give people a convincing reasonDaryl Hall & John Oates, "You Make My Dreams"
The latest CDC weekly stats:
Blogger readership statistics continue to be artificially high, and a recent work crisis kept me from Twitter/X more than usual.
My local utility for some reason is replacing its natural gas meters. I didn't understand why the utility's contractors were hassling me instead of the landlord. I think it may be to reset the pilot lights on the stove/oven. So, because work can often require driving to a worksite 2 hours away on short notice. The reason why that matters was the arrogant contractor was demanding to set an appointment when I was at home. We finally settled on Saturday morning (as granular as they get--so I was resigned to being here until 11:30 AM). I knew immediately the assigned technician was an arrogant jerk from his previsit call to make sure I was home. So the dude shows up and then asks an unexpected question--where's my water heater? I didn't know--not inside the aparment. I know because I lived in a complex a decade ago where inside the aparment it sprung a leak. In my lasr apartment it was actually on a lower-level area; I knew that from a complaint over icy cold showers one week. I guessed it was probably in the back. The guy decides to leave before I can suggest to call apartment maintenance. He hung up my followup call. I tried texting apartment management--no response. I know the contractor already badmouthed me to the utility. What I don't understand is why the freaking contractor company didn't ask this at the time they made an appointment. It's not like I've gone through this particular hassle before.
I basically spent a lot of time this past week resolving a high-profile production database replication technology failure. I interfaced with a talented client system administrator. He is much like my late best friend fellow former doctoral student Bruce Breeding who was a CPA and very detailed. Now, I am very detailed as well (I have articles and book chapters citing hundreds of publications), and I have a pertectionist streak; I would rewrite articles multiple times, working hard on readability and organization. But I was enough of a pragmatist to let a manuscript go. My SA friend went down a lot of rabbit holes: obsessive technical threads. The replication breakdown was having a real world effect. He ran into an issue with database links. I provided him a workaround, but he spent hours until he resolved the database link issue. Functionally it didn't get us to the finish line any faster. He eventually bought into my iterative approach to resolving the problem I do seem to have a talent for getting things done, for getting a project back on track, etc. But dealing with other people, especially those not reporting to you, can be challenging.
Quote of the Day
Think as you like, but behave like others."Kiss On My List",· Daryl Hall & John Oates
Quote of the Day
An invasion of armies can be resisted,Daryl Hall & John Oates, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"
Quote of the Day
Life is no brief candle to me.Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Wait For Me"
Daryl Hall & John Oates, "It's a Laugh"
Quote of the Day
Anger is a prelude to courage.Hall and Oates , "Rich Girl"
Quote of the Day
For every minute you are angryDaryl Hall & John Oates, "Sara Smile"
The Politics of Envy is morally corrupt. Even if you stole all the wealth of all the billionaires, it would only cover a few weeks of government spending. Then who are you going to steal from to fulfill bribery for votes by leftist political whores? https://t.co/bPrk1Evz1W
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 7, 2024
Congratulations to the champion undefeated South Carolina Lady Gamecocks who beat Iowa and Caitlin Clark. I thought SC dominated rebounding, especially offensive, and defense, especially passing and shooting around the goal; they largely contained Clark after the first quarter
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 7, 2024
That being said, I disagree with the way some critics have expressed themselves by symbolically targeting our flag or chanting anti-American slogans. I think those tactics are unpersuasive and counterproductive.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 7, 2024
The WWE finally let Cody Rhodes finish his story by winning the WWE title that his legendary father Dusty never got to hold, by ending a historically long-tenured reign by Roman Reigns. Ironically Bloodline rules enabled a unique all-star match with allies Cena & Undertaker.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 8, 2024
I'm relieved that Trump has embraced the principles of federalism behind the correct Dobbs decision. I'm not sure Trump deserves credit for Dobbs. Roe v Wade was never a credible decision constitutionally speaking (even RBG conceded that); but federal policy is unconstitutional.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 8, 2024
Ross Peror was a batshit crazy economic illiterate who opposed the pro-growth effects of free trade, also opposed by similarly ignorant and corrupt Trump and Biden. Don't forget: Trump once ran for the Reform Party nomination. https://t.co/rhy7K72RWK
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 8, 2024
First of all, there is NO "proof" that COVID-19 originated in a lab. Second, Rand Paul's obsession with Fauci is a type of mental illness. https://t.co/zkrSyWcJJf
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 10, 2024
I don't want to hear the Mistress of Death Kamala Harris speaking of the "right" to kill a preborn child.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 12, 2024
This is partisan rubbish. One might think from this Trumpkin that Iran got funded billions of US taxpayer dollars by Biden. Nope. The US had frozen $6B in Iranian assets. It was never US assets to begin with. It was unfrozen in relation to a prisoner exchange agreement. https://t.co/WQ1iXandWS
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 13, 2024
OH, PLEASE! Trumpkins like this are beyond delusional. Trump almost started a war with Iran by assassinating Soleimani. https://t.co/IKQSRCkunF
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 13, 2024
We knew there would be a response from Iran after the attack on its consulate. Let's hope Israel and the US do not exacerbate the situation into another regional or global war.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 13, 2024
Arizona AG Kris Mayes, a Democratic political hack, says she won't enforce abortion state law as determined by the Arizona Supreme Court. Whether or not she personally approves of the law is irrelevant. When you ignore state law, it's dereliction of duty https://t.co/qTGbTrr4bJ
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 14, 2024
Citizens have the right to vote for the candidate of the choice, regardless of constitutional criteria. I didn't expect Sununu to support a failed President Biden. If I were a Republican, I would probably say I would support the nominee but not Trump directly.
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 14, 2024
This leftist troll coveniently forgets the House passed HR 2. Majority Leader Schumer won't bring it up for a vote. I do think Trump's lobbying against the Senate foreign aid/border bill was counterproductive but dob't pretend it was HR 2 https://t.co/qHNf6NR6Gt
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 14, 2024
OK, Trump doesn't know much about history. He once infamously talked about airports during the Revolutionary War. Now he's blurring the line between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. https://t.co/nBJwmZCEeF
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 14, 2024
This is Soft Rock America. Donald Trump spitballs about the role of Gettysburg during the Revolutionary (not Civil) War. Cue Sam Cooke: https://t.co/zgkWXcbUzq
— raguillemette (@raguillemette) April 14, 2024