Where has all the money gone?

 There is a quote attributed to a number of people that says

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.

Something has become very clear -- President Trump is adept at getting people to remove doubt about themselves by forcing them to commit what in sports is called an "own goal" -- sending the ball or puck into their own goal, thus scoring a point for the other team.

It would be funny were it not so sad to watch Democratic Senators grill Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his plan to reign in the Pharmaceutical-Industrial Complex. Those Senators brought their bank accounts into the spotlight.

Among other things that have come to light is the news that USAID has given more than £2.6 Million to the British Broadcasting Company, the BBC. As part of the effort to reign in wasteful spending, the Trump administration wants these payments suspended.

In a not very-well-thought-out move, "The Beeb" has been reported as saying that if such funding is cut, they will no longer portray President Trump in a positive light. It is hilarious to think the BBC would ever portray Donald Trump in a positive light. The day that happens is the day that most of their staff goes for voluntary root canals.

The more important issue is that the BBC has admitted to the world that they are nothing but prostitutes selling themselves to whomever pays them. I don't think that is the message they wanted to send.

The BBC says those funds supply 8% of the budget of a charity called the BBC Media Action. That agency said this week

A free press is essential to freedom and democracy – and 75% of countries around the world do not have a free press.

BBC  Media Action supports local media around the world to deliver trusted information to people most in need.

Like many international development organisations (sic), BBC Media Action has been affected by the temporary pause in US government funding, which amounts to about 8% of our income in 2023-24.

Even if such efforts are needed -- and are successful -- why does the United States Government need to pay a British agency to spread the money around the world? Any bets that USAID directly sends money to the same places?

At a BBC town hall in Glasgow, the BBC started out by  attacking President Trump, which raised a backlash.

Is a "free press" is really "free" if it is being subsidized by the government? He who pays you, controls you. Just look at the people upset by the auditing of US Government expenditures.

A few days ago I read a comment online that the United States should continue all aid spending because we "have the money." A $36 Trillion deficit says otherwise. How much of that money is being kicked back to those who should be keeping a better eye on things?

It is about time that all government spending be audited.

How to kill time without really saying anything

Oh come on now.

 

My oldest granddaughter has liked to dance since she was old enough to stand. You could see it coming. A good tune would come on. She would stop what she was doing. Her face would get a look of "Hmmm, what is this?" Her shoulders would start going in circles, one going up as the other was going down. Then the movement would work its way down her body and find its way its way to her feet. She would improvise some dance steps and spin in circles.

One time I managed to get a video of her doing her dance while grooving to Sinatra's I've got the World On A String. It was so cute I wanted to share it on Facebook. The video had no sooner uploaded when I got a message saying that the video contained copyrighted material and could not be shown.

While disappointed, I had no real problem with that. The video was forty seconds long and while there was indistinguishable conversation in the background, the song was clearly heard. It is intellectual property and they have to draw a line somewhere.

Rick Beato is a music producer in Atlanta, Georgia. He also teaches college courses in Music. He has a web site, rickbeato.com,  where he offers many resources for music education. He also has a YouTube channel where he offers many different videos for the musician or anyone interested in music. He has technical discussions. He has a series called "What makes this song great" where he disects famous recordings and explains what makes them work. While you may not be interested in every video he has done, you are sure to find something to catch your interest.

Rick Beato

He has a number of videos where he ranks what he considers to be the best example of a particular element. His videos include The Top 20 Rock Guitar Solos of All Time, The Top 20 Rock Guitar Solo Outros of All Time, The Top 20 Rock Bass Intros of All Time, and many more.

Beato has done enough videos that he knows those artists who will be trouble to him. Some artists just do not want you to even think of their music when you are anywhere near YouTube. As such he does not have a problem with that. He will just avoid those artists or find a way to work around it.

He understands the concept of intellectual property. He has had videos demonitized, about which he doesn't really care. However he has had some videos removed altogether because the music publisher or group representative got their knickers in a knot.

What happend to you?

When I transferred to California State University, Sacramento, in 1977, a friend and I were going to share an apartment. While I got the apartment, my friend ended up renting a room in a house nearby.

That house was owned by a couple who had a son about my age. The parents themselves had moved away or were on an extended trip. Most of the people in the house were also students at Sac State.

I spent a lot of time at the house. Another person who spent a lot of time at the house was Les, a guy who lived down the street from the house. Les was about two and a half years younger than I was. He was a friendly guy who had the bug to be a performer or public personality of some sort.

I was told that Les thought of being a stand-up comedian and had tried some of his routines on the denizens of the house albeit unsuccessfully.

This sums it up rather well.

Victor Davis Hanson has a piece in American Greatness regarding the soft coup against President Trump. It is well worth a read.

What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Now!

One of the rock and roll classics from the early 1960's is He's a Rebel by the Crystals. You know the song. The girl singing it loves her boyfriend. The big thing she loves about her boyfriend is that "he never ever does what he should." He doesn't take guff from anybody. Society does not like him, and the singer is not going to listen to a society that says her boyfriend will "never ever be any good."

Let's fast forward a few years. She gets the rebel to marry her. Then she finds out that when he says he does not take guff from anybody, that includes her. He starts knocking her around a bit. She becomes a feminist and blames his actions on his "toxic masculinity." She blames society for encouraging that toxic masculinity. Society -- that society she ignored when it told her he was bad news -- is now responsible for his behavior.



Tim Newman has a post today about a woman who applied for a job at the kind of company she always wanted to work at. It turns out that one of the people in the HR department of that company is a guy she had met through an online dating service. Besides the fact that Fate used its incisors in the woman's gluteus maximus, the interesting thing is where she said why she "unmatched" with him:

But as we chatted back and forth over the weeks, I realised he’d never really done anything off the expected life plan. He’d never messed up. He’d never travelled or been arrested or even bared his bum in public.

In short, he was too straighty-one-eighty for me.

I like my guys to have a past. Some perspective on life so they know what they’re doing is the right thing for them. I want them to have stories about being arrested in Amsterdam or streaking at the soccer in Rio.

She called the guy a "snoozefest."

I knew a young woman in the '70's who talked about how her boyfriend would hit her. She was not complaining. In fact, she said she could not have any respect for a guy who would not hit her.

Meanwhile I was raised to never hit a woman. But now I have none other than Gillette telling me I need to change my sexist ways. A marketing department run by a feminist had a guy from India telling American men that they should be better. Fortunately for the women in the video they have black men -- like those rappers who sing about bitches and ho's and the NFL players who knock their girlfriends unconscious in elevators -- to protect them.

So women tell us they like "bad boys," but they decry "toxic masculinity." And they celebrate women who act they way they say they hate men to act.

Hopefully their inanity will speak louder than their words.

How's that again?

In 2003, President Bush authorized an attack on Iraq because of that country's arsenal of "Weapons of Mass Destruction." US intelligence services said Iraq had weapons of mass destructions. The intelligence services of just about all of American's allies said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Now it is generally considered that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. This was said to be a failure on the part of Western intelligence agencies, especially those of the United States. In fact, this was looked as as one more intelligence failure that came to light after 9/11.

A former British intelligence agent help prepare a fraudulent dossier as a political weapon to use against Donald Trump in the 2016 election. This dossier was used, by American intelligence agencies, to get warrants from the FISA court against a low level person associated with the Trump campaign. While this person did not personally work with Trump, this was a high level warrant that authorized spying into all aspects of that person's life. In fact, this warrant authorized spying into all aspects of the lives of anyone with whom this person communicated. If you were the president of this person's child's school's PTA and he sent you an email, your entire existence could come under the scrutiny of the United States intelligence community.

President Trump meets with Vladimir Putin. In public remarks, Trump does not speak highly of the American intelligence community.

Now leftists and never Trumpers are coming out of the woodwork saying that the President has committed treason.

Leftists, who have long considered Joe McCarthy as an evil person for trying to ferret out Soviet (Russian) involvement in trying to subvert the United States, are now howling about how Russia is trying to subvert the United States. RINO's, who are more concerned about being invited to the right cocktail parties, are howling in harmony with the leftists. I saw a post on Facebook today from Mitt Romney condeming Trump for meeting with Putin and not speaking in support of the American intelligence apparatus (I like these post from Romney because of the comments, of which at least 75% tell him to shut up in some form or another.)

If Trump spoke from a distance of how bad Russia is, his political enemies would condemn him for trying to start a war. When Trump meets with Putin to try and facilitate a peaceful co-existence, his political enemies say he is in Putins pocket and is working against the United States. Is it any wonder that the American public no longer cares what any of those people have to say?

It has been years since I saw the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I can't help but think that this could be remade as Mr. Trump Goes to Washington.

If the elite want a revolution, they can start one very easily -- just not in the way they have in mind.

Comparisons

Art

Humor

Journalsim

Incitement to violence

How's that again?

I am sure you have seen this bumper sticker:

Well, the people who brought you that sentiment also bring you this one:

You see, it is tolerant to accept someone who would rather kill you as look at you. But if you are hateful enough to point out that such as person does want to kill you, then you are intolerant. And that can't be tolerated.

You must be have an open mind and listen to people's opinions. If you disagree with a liberal, it must be because you have a closed mind and therefore liberals don't have to listen to you.

Frankly, I think this meme is the most accurate:

Well alrighty then.

As I was looking at FaceBook this morning, I came upon this meme:

Anyone who follows the truth at all knows that Donald Trump treats his people fairly. He listens to the people who actually do the work at his sites. Trump asks for their suggestions and often implements them.

The left, however, would rather listen to a former community organizer who has never had a real job in his life -- the only Editor in the history of the Harvard Law Review who never had an article published by the Harvard Law Review.

I wanted to post this video in response to the meme:



Perhaps you have seen the video already. The feelings and story outlined in the video are not unusual among people who have worked for Trump. I challenge you to find similar heartfelt gratitude expressed for Hillary Clinton.

I could not remember the name of the video, so I Googled "Trump Restoring America."

The results I first got were: "Showing Trump Destroying America Show instead results for Trump Restoring America."

I finally found the video. I copied the link into FaceBook and typed some comments to go along with it. FaceBook told me that the link was not available, or was not available to posted:

"Unable to post comment. Try Again"

Trump supporters get assaulted, but we are constantly being told that it is Trump Supporters who are causing the violence. Trump fills arenas with overflow crowds while Hillary can't fill a phone booth without paying people to be there, but we are told that Hillary had been ahead in the polls. We are told that Hillary did not commit any crimes with here emails and was "only" extremely reckless, and we are supposed to have great confidence in her. We find out that the DNC sought input from CNN to prepare questions for Republican debates and fed Hillary questions ahead of Democratic debates, but we are supposed to believe what the media tell us.

And Trump is the dangerous one who will be the downfall of modern civilization.

Oh, how I pray for the right outcome in tomorrows election.

I'm from the government. I'm here to help.

A high school friend on Face Book posted one of those videos. You know the ones, they are not really videos but rather Power Point presentations that are turned into videos.

This video was one of those heartwarming stories with a “why can’t more people be like this?” message.

Par For the Course

I just came upon this video. I think it speaks for itself.

Young Yoof

The future of Great Britain is secure.  Here is the proof; articulate, well spoken, well versed, reasoned, and logical, all wrapped up in the loveliness that is "Holly."



Next British referendum suggestion:  Should we bring back National Service?  (Hell yes).

I'm Speechless

Tell me that this is a misprint or a bad dream.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - CoxHealth is about to hire 100 nurses from overseas. The health system said over the past years it has experienced growth all across the board: A 10 percent growth in admissions to a 10 percent growth in emergency departments.

 

Chief Nursing Officer Karen Kramer said CoxHealth is trying to be proactive. Kramer said CoxHealth began recruiting it realized the region is tapped out of nurses. The nursing officer said Cox College is looking to expand it's programs but it will take years to increase numbers.

There is no "nursing shortage" in the Ozarks. The PROBLEM is that you guys pay chicken scratch and won't address staffing ratios. The patients are sicker, have more comorbidities, and you expect us to cater to them as if they were vacationing in a five star hotel. We can't safely care for 7 or 8 patients when they're that sick. There are shifts when 4 or 5 patients are too many. PLUS, we can drive to Memphis, Tulsa, or Little Rock and be paid TWICE what you pay, you effers.

Go ahead. Import your foreign nurses. Drive wages down even further. You anticipate that you can work the little brown people half to death and they won't complain, hmm?  Cox Health, you are a racist pigs.

More Government Treachery

This is the kind of crap that will propel Trump into the White House, whether we like it or not. From Forbes:

"Experts both for and against the rule I have talked to agree its broad reach could extend to financial media personalities who offer tips to individual audience members, a group that includes not just Ramsey but TV hosts like Suze Orman and Jim Cramer, as well as many other broadcasters who opine on business and investment matters. They would be ensnared by the rule’s broad redefinition of a vast swath of financial professionals as “fiduciaries” and its mandate that these “fiduciaries” only serve the “best interest” of IRA and 401(k) holders. 

The main focus of the Labor Department rule has been its likely effects on brokers and their customers. The rule creates a presumption against brokers taking third-party commissions from mutual funds they sell to savers. Because of this, savers who currently pay only a small commission on the execution of an order may have to pay a much larger fee based on a percentage of their assets, which would drive some brokers to simply stop serving middle-income investors. As I note in a new report for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, similar restrictions in Great Britain have caused a “guidance gap” in which brokers have largely stopped serving brokers with assets less than £150,000 ($240,000)."

What fresh hell is this? Ramsey has a ton of listeners, me included. I've learned a lot from him about a wide variety of financial matters. Also, the fees I pay my personal financial advisor are high enough, thank you. The middle class/working class is SO screwed.

Coming to a Tax Assessor Near You

When was the Fourth Amendment repealed?



HT NoisyRoom.net

Better have your blood pressure meds handy when you watch this.

I know it is redundant to say that Bill Whittle has a good video, but Bill Whittle has a good video. I appreciate how he exposes the facts and puts things into context.

A Tale of Two Cases

The man saw some teenagers breaking into cars in his neighborhood. He did not call the police; instead he went out and confronted the teens. He said he had a gun and that the teens would wait there until the police responded.

This was not a “stand your ground” situation. The man with the gun initiated the contact.  It would not have made any difference anyway, as this incident occurred in New York State – which does not have a “stand your ground” law. New York does allow lethal force if there is absolutely no route of escape. Again, though, the man with the gun initiated the contact.

One of the teens ran at the man with the gun. The teen did not make contact with the man with the gun, but the man shot the teen in “self defense.”

Can Someone Explain It All To Me?

I am at a loss to understand events of this past week. Several American Embassies around the world were attacked. Four people, including an Ambassador, an Ambassador, were murdered.

 Until 1979, during the term of the second worst President in U.S. history, such actions would have been considered an act of war. Today, however, the perpetrators of those acts are considered poor innocent victims of having their feelings hurt. Everyone knows you are justified in committing murder if your feelings are hurt.

 I know such an irrational view from the current administration is to be expected, but such a view seems to be the norm from the denizens of Hollywood and the news media – those who purportedly are the most concerned with the freedom of speech. Christiane Amanpour said, “There is also 100-year law by the United States Supreme Court which says you can't cry fire in a crowded theater.”

 Is there such a law? No, that statement is attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes as part of the Supreme Courts decision in the case Schenk vs. United States in 1919. Charles Schenck distributed leaflets arguing against the draft during World War I. For his actions Schenck was charged with violating espionage laws. He argued that his actions were protected by free speech. Holmes stated that in times of clear and present danger certain restrictions can be imposed. Such a restriction could be described as someone falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. Note that the word falsely is often left out of the quotation. If there was a fire in a theater, shouting “fire” could be considered appropriate.

What is the danger of falsely yelling fire? It could cause panic by making people be in immediate fear for their lives resulting in injury and death for no justifiable reason. That would be a clear and present danger.

Does this apply to the video and the attacks on the embassies? Is it reasonable to assume that mature adults will go on a rampage and commit murder because their feelings are hurt?

President Obama stated, “We stand for religious freedom. And we reject the denigration of any religion — including Islam.” Does the United States reject the denigration of religion?” No, if someone denigrates Christianity the government gives that person money. 

What happens if a conservative Christian objects to government grants paying for “art” such a crucifix in a jar of urine or a painting of the Virgin Mary smeared with dung? Those people are accused of trying to deny others their right of freedom of speech. The arguments I heard against those grants asked, “Why can we not use government funds for something that supports religion but it is acceptable to use government funds to insult it?” When it comes to Judeo-Christian values, the liberal mind sees an unwillingness to pay someone else for speaking against those values as denying that person the right to speak out against those values. 

How can it be that liberals say, among other things, that the producer of an anti-Mohamed video should be charged with murder? Did that producer tell those people to attack the embassy and commit those murders? Did he tell those people to go out and act like uncivilized animals? No, he made some insulting comments that hurt the people’s feelings. However, how many leftists in the U.S. have flat-out called for the deaths of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan? Oh, but that is acceptable political discourse (but disagreeing with Obama policies is inciting violence against the President).

I personally do not believe in insulting another’s religion for the sake of insulting another’s religion. However, it makes no sense to avoid calling a group of people a gang of murderous thugs because that might hurt their feelings and make that group of people act like a gang of murderous thugs. There comes a time that the truth must be told.

Using the logic of the left, if abortions cause shootings and bombings at abortion clinics then abortion clinics should be illegal. I am sure the left will get behind that idea in a hurry. What is the left’s reaction to those crimes? They hold anyone and everyone who speaks out against abortion responsible – even though the reaction of conservative political and religious leaders is almost exclusively that such actions are crimes that should not be tolerated and those responsible should be punished to the fullest extend of the law.

Now I realize that those on the left who are selectively outraged will be among the first to fall if a totalitarian society comes to the United States. I will be laughing at them from beyond the grave, as I am sure that I will go down during the fight.

 It is just so saddening that western society, the greatest society in the history of the world, the society that has given freedom and prosperity in greater amounts to more people is being washed away to protect the tender feelings of those who want subjugate the world.

And those who always seem to bemoan the denial of rights are leading the cheers for it all to happen.

Reason Number 989,998 Why The UN is Irrelevant

And preposterous, and specious, and nugatory.

Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, came to Canada at the behest of the various despots and potentates who make up the UN Human Rights Council, in order to point out what he called “unacceptable” rates of food insecurity in this country.

His solution is to increase social assistance and minimum wage in line with the cost of living. Taxes would be imposed on fatty foods and soft drinks; land zone policy would be amended to bring fresh food outlets to “food deserts”; food subsidization programs for remote regions should be enriched, as should support for First Nations trying to access “traditional foods.”

Needless to say, the Harper government was none too thrilled at being lectured by one of their least favourite organizations. Jason Kenney, the Immigration Minister, called Mr. De Schutter’s visit “completely ridiculous” and said he should focus on countries with widespread hunger issues. “It’s not an intelligent use of resources,” he said.

Read it all, it's delicious.