FBI Now Formally in The Leakage Business

 Same as it ever was I guess with anything having to do with Trump being quickly leaked to a hostile press. Since the letters in question were taken by the FBI and held in no one elses possession, there can be no doubt whatsoever who is doing the leaking. Not only is the FBI Bidens personal gestapo, I guess they will soon be joined by those 88,000 new Stasi IRS agents.

Fun With Headlines - Pandemics

 The Chinese ae buying a large parcel of land in Florida to be used as  a disease research center.

Chinese Biotech Firm with Deep Links to China’s Military and its COVID-19 Program Just Bought Land in Florida for a Massive Research Complex

So the next pandemic leak will be centered not in Wuhan, but in Florida, a strongly red state.

NICS Checks, Aug 2022

 Here's the numbers, and the curve is following a normal shape in spite of Slo Joes ranting and the ATF trying to define spitballs as WMDs:

Ho Hum I guess.

What Is Capitalism?

 Any discussion of the shortcomings of Socialism takes about 3 statements to devolve into the hoary whine that "real Socialism" has never been tried, always because "the right people" are never put in charge. This is then extended to argue that "real capitalism" also has never been tried because when it has, it quickly results in something like an oligopoly with a handful of the very rich oppressing the remaining 99% of the population.

The best example of this was the Russian nationalization of agriculture in the early 30's (I think). Instead of hundreds of farmers jointly providing food for a large part of the world, they got 60-odd years of "bad weather" with instead of many well-to-do farmers, they got one VERY well-to-do oligarch commissar.

If you ask what Socialism is, you get a word salad about a happy and prosperous land in which no one is wanting, and recommendations to read a large stack of thick books starting with Das Kapital. Ask what Capitalism is, and the left will describe a system that works much like the old Soviet Union, only with results that almost exactly mirror that system.

Let me try to simplify: Capitalism is trade with some rules to keep people honest. That's about it. Socialism is absolute rule of law with trade being incidental to the rules. No matter what, some government intervention is necessary, on one end to prevent actions that impede trade, and on the other, permitting some trade to keep the peasants from either revolting or simply starving to death.

Here's a simple graph:

All economic systems fall somewhere along the line. None actually fall at the ends as the shortcomings of the extremes become quickly apparent. If you have a belief in the ability of government to treat its people fairly and equitably, than you may be comfortable along the upper end of that line. I don't trust the government to walk across the street with a burnt match so I'm closer to the lower end. 

EDITED to use improved graphic. The names I included are not to be thought of as the last word on any category, but are some that seemed to fit. Stalin, however, holds the far left down quite securely.

QOTD - Transportation

 Jon Caldera has an article explaining, yet again, why transportation in Colorado doesn't seem to be getting any better. Here's a nice money quote:

When your veins are bulging during your next parking-lot-on-the-highway moment, remember it’s not because we have too little money going to “transportation.” It’s that the money that should go to expand that highway went to a bike path or trolley car that statistically no one is using.

 I, personally, suspect that no one working at CDOT actually owns a car. The peons live in a high rise apartment complex about 2 blocks from their HQ building, and the management all have chauffer-driven SUVs. Suburbans for the middle management, and Escalades for the upper ranks.

Womens Problems

 Women only have 2 problems: #1: How to attract men, and #2: How to make them go away. 

Nearly all women have worked out solutions to these problems with varying degrees of success.

All other problems a woman might have can be solved by applying their solutions to items 1 or 2.

If you reverse the words "men" and "women", nothing else seems to change.

New Improved Lie Detector?

 The technology to detect mental problems via a skin sensor is out there, it only needs a careful analysis to move from detecting Parkinson's to detecting purposefully generated falsehoods. An AI could probably knock this out in a day or so.

Imagine a politician making a speech behind a podium with contact patches embedded in the speakers surface. Imagine politicians making every speech like an Italian, hands flailing in the air to emphasize every point, and to avoid touching the contact patches.

NICS Checks Jul '22

 July numbers are out a day early showing another decline overall. 

Slightly higher than what would normally be expected, but nowhere near breaking the '20 and '21 records. 

Trump/Gaetz

 At Scot Adams suggestion:

AGM is bunk

 Which I've been saying for a good long time myself. Quick summary:

As I have been pointing out for two decades (see, for example, here, here, here, and here), the claim that “climate change” is primarily driven by humans burning fossil fuels and that computer models prove that this anthropogenic climate change will be catastrophic are all claims are based on four decades of Lysenkoism posing as science.  

Full article here. 

Omicron Delta Kappa

 Wasn't that Fauchi's fraternity back in med school?

NICS Checks - June

 The Juns numbers are out and are showing a modest uptick in checks which is historically near normal for this time of year. Bidens "historic" gun bill doesn't seem to be triggering much in the way of panic buying although supplies are still scarce and overpriced. I actually saw small pistol primers on the shelf at a Big Box sporting goods store last month, priced at $10/hundred. Harumpf.

Midnight Visits By The U.S. Stasi?

 Well, if no one dares complain, then I guess it must be legal.

Tinfoil Hat Department

 Could it be that the Dems have figured out that they can get around the unpopularity of packing the supreme court, by egging their followers into assassinating some sitting conservatives so that Biden will get to name their replacements?

Update.

Nah! Who'd do a thing like that?

NICS Checks for May

 Bright and early, here they are. May saw 2,340,383 checks performed, of which 1,638,681 (give or take some) represented gun sales. Note that this years curve is following the usual pattern, snd dropping as the summer arrives. Of course this could change next month with the Dems usual squeals for more gun bans arise following the Uvalde school shooting. 

Could be worse. Up in Canada Justin Tru-dope is calling for a moratorium on the sales of all handguns, which I'm having a hard time seeing that come to fruition. Down here the more radical elements are calling for more oppression of gun owners, and stronger protections for criminals with the usual suspects announcing drinks at 5 to see if they can work out something both stupid and evil*.

So far I'm not seeing much real support for any of that either and if the noise dies out, as it usually does, next months number should be slightly less than this month.

Of course the thought of arming some of the school staffs has again reared its head, so here's my contribution:

*There is a quote out there that sometimes get attributed to Republican Senate Leader Everett Dirksen and sometimes not. The quote is that there two parties in Washington — the stupid party and the evil party. Every once in a while the stupid party and the evil party get together and do something that is both stupid and evil. In Washington, that is called bipartisanship.–Erick Erickson, “It’s What Happens When the Stupid Party and Evil Party Get Together,” April 12, 2011.