Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others.
~ Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The Silicon Graybeard Blog, and Why I Am Obviously Brain-Dead

I can't believe it, but it is true. The blog called The Silicon Graybeard is the first thing I check every day I access the Internet, usually right after I check my email, but sometimes even before. The gentleman that owns the blog is incredibly bright, with such a wide variety of interests and hobbies (he is recently retired) that there is almost always a post by him that fascinates me, whether it is political, economic, social, or technical. He was an engineer in the space/aerospace industries and lives in Florida fairly close to Cape Canaveral. Two of his many hobbies are shooting, along with reloading his own ammunition - two of my personal favorites.

I neglect my own blog horribly, in the belief that there are very few people - even family and friends - who read it. Nonetheless, I happened to read an old email from Google concerning a feature they provided on blogs that are created on blogspot.com. I went to my blog to add that feature ("featured posts") and noticed - to my horror - that I either a0 never added SiG's blog to the list of those I followed, or somehow accidentally (although I don't think that is possible) deleted it. Perhaps when I deleted a couple of other blogs that were abandoned by their owners/authors several years ago (like Hell On Earth, which I really miss).

If the Graybeard ever wanders back over here (I think he visited once), I hope he reads this. No, actually I believe I will write to him (not on his blog - too embarrassing) via email, since we do exchange them from time to time.

Someday perhaps I will write about taking PPIs - proton-pump inhibitors, which reduce stomach acid (I have suffered with acid reflux and Barrett's esophagus for many years now) - and how I recently discovered that a number of serious, peer-reviewed scientific experiments have been done on them, and there is significant evidence to indicate a very strong possible (not proven yet) connection between taking PPIs and memory loss/dementia. One study (using rats, which have been used in human medical research for many, many years) showed that there was a proven link between the intake of PPIs and the beta-amyloid tangles that are indicative of Alzheimer's.

I have taken PPIs for over fifteen years, at relatively high dosages, and I exhibit short-term memory loss far earlier than is common (since my early fifties, but much worse now in my mid-sixties). I have stopped taking them, and have gone back to using H2 receptor antagonists (Zantac in particular) which does not work very well for me. However, I would rather suffer from frequent (daily) heartburn that from worsening dementia.

My oversight in not listing The Silicon Graybeard blog on my blog may simply be due to these issues. It certainly wasn't from a lack of interest or from not valuing the blog, because I do, and I recommend it to anyone who reads my pitiful excuse for a blog.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

It's Not About Trump

In checking in on a young lady whose blog - Gunslinger's Journal - I read whenever possible, I saw a post where she copied and presented an article written for The American Thinker by Sally Zelikovsky titled "Trump's Invisible Shield". I liked the article well enough to step out of lurk mode and write a comment - but on Gunslinger's blog, not American Thinker.

It was just a tad too long to fit in the space allotted for a comment, so I trimmed a bit off. Since it is something dear to my heart and certainly appropriate for these few weeks remaining in what might be the last (unsuccessful) attempt at a real election, I decided to post my comment here, for the one or two people who stop by to read my pathetic scribblings. (There might have been two or three more, if I had maintained any sort of schedule instead of abandoning this blog for weeks or months at a time. Can't blame them.)

Here it is in all its gory glory, but do please read Sally's article before you waste time on this:

FWIW, (not much to anyone, save the author, perhaps) I agree. Frankly, even though I am only marginally informed about what has been taking place during this election, I have developed a respect for Trump and his willingness to stand up for what is right. I am willing to bet that whatever waffling he has engaged in was probably at the behest of his campaign staff, rather than a weakness in his principles.

I realize - from having family relations who are Democrats - that many Dems would vote for a steaming pile of bloody, wormy dog feces if it is running as a Democrat (amazing resemblance to the current candidate, don't you think?), however, there are actually Democrats - including minorities - who have tired of the constant betrayal by their Democratic "representatives", who are anything but, and they also see Trump not only as a giant "F U", but as the last hope of ever having any say in their own governance.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't a pessimist, but I would rather be pleasantly surprised than have hopes dashed by reality. I will cast a vote for Trump, who - no matter what his faults, likely no worse than those of all but the best of us - shows more character, more integrity than any of the politicians currently holding office in the White House, Congress, or sitting on the bench at the SCOTUS (and yes, they are all politicians, too, no matter they are appointed).

The Gore-Bush election will probably prove to be the last quasi-legal, real election this country experiences until such time as the citizenry grows big enough balls (or desperation) to revolt, and form a new government. I fear - truly fear - this sham has already been decided.

I believe history will show, once actual history becomes possible again, instead of lies and propaganda, that Obama was ineligible, but allowed to circumvent the Constitution by a cabal of the lowest scum in politics - Pelosi, Reid, McCain - a willing accomplice - and others, to run and be "elected" in spite of that fact. 

I believe history will show he is a half-black queer who participated in a sham marriage to a transgendered, or at least cross-dressing, person of XY chromosomes, with two adopted children whose DNA may not match either he or his tranny companion in crime.

The incredible scope of the deception he has been assisted in fostering upon the citizens of this country puts the "big lies" of Hitler and Stalin to shame. It is no wonder he and the scum who have assisted and elevated this honor-less piece of Communist filth have no respect for the rest of us. In truth I believe we had scant choice and no ability to change or resist the sick charade that was perpetrated upon us, and the manipulation of the media and most of our sources of information made questioning the whole scam a matter of "conspiracy theory" - that lovely twisting of language and logic which has been used to cover the tracks of some of the most horrendous crimes against humanity.

I doubt I will live long enough to see our situation deteriorate to the point where Americans are desperate enough to revolt, if ever. I'm afraid it is much more likely we will end up suffering like the Russians under Stalin, the Chinese under Mao, and even the cambodians under Pol Pot - who were openly massacred with almost no resistance at all. And our "Walter Mitty's Second Amendment"  won't save us. Being gun owners who fully accept that the Second Amendment was written about fighting tyranny, not duck hunting or even self-defense, there still may be too few of us willing to form anything more than a tiny insurgency, easily contained or squashed by a raging police/surveillance state such as we may well face if Clinton returns to the White House next January. Obama has already handed control of our Internet to an international group which certainly does not have our country's (as opposed to our government's) best interests at heart. All part of his plan to assist Soros in HIS plan to destroy America. Can't have a country thinking it is exceptional - as in "an exception from wanting to be ruled by a global oligarchy of power elite".

A Trump presidency will not be a cure-all, and he would have an uphill fight against the entrenched elites in government, against the bureaucrats who rule us by regulation and fiat, in any attempt he makes to save America from the damage, the " (muslim?) fundamental(ist) change" Obama promised us in a rare utterance of truth. Nonetheless, "'Tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished."

[This has been edited with a few extra sentences not included in my comment on Gunslinger's blog. I have room here on mine that I didn't have on her comment section.]

Saturday, October 1, 2016

While few were paying attention

I'm sure our feckless leader is as pleased as Punch that he was able to pull off transferring control of the Internet to ICANN . Our lickspittle members of Congress don't appear to be doing anything to stop this illicit transfer of power, and a federal judge has denied a petition by several states' AGs (Attorneys General). http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-01/judge-denies-attempt-block-transfer-internet-oversight.

I can't remember - and I'm too lazy to check at this time of night - whether I posted it here on my blog or as a comment on someone else's, but I stated previously that Obama's appointment of around 300 (IIRC) federal judge positions during his almost eight years in office is much more dangerous and damaging than his two appointments to the Supreme Court. The federal courts make decisions almost daily which significantly affect us, and ultimately can only be overruled/overturned by the Supreme Court. The biggest problem is that the SCOTUS (although I prefer "SCROTUS") only chooses to look at a handful of all of those lower court decisions, and of those few, I would imagine a good number of them aren't prosecuted because the defendant lacked the means, couldn't afford the costs involved.

I don't know enough to form an opinion about how this will first present itself in the way of the disruption of the 'Net as we know it, whether access will be taxed or require fees being paid, and whether or not ICANN, the U.N. or some other group decides to limit conservative speech, speech about islam and muslims, speech about real (mostly Christian or Jewish ) religions that please or displease our new masters, since they will certainly use it to beat us. Parts of the world actively beat us down, while some parts are uplifting, and show what can come from goodness, from logic and reason, from a willingness to fight the attempts to degrade America, bringing her down to third-world status.

Stay tuned. We live in interesting times.