PN:
Joe’s Comment – Apropos. There are no adequate substitutes for experience. However, experience has a cost.
Jordan Peterson
Our hero. He is really doing the rounds.
Here he is with Dr. Oz:
The long version – a conversation with Dr. Oz.
Dr. Peterson is getting his delivery down:
Kavanaugh Redux
Joe and I always listened to Dick Morris, even when he represented the Clinton machine back when Slick Willy was le grand fromage. Morris, however, wasn’t slick. More like oily. If you know what Joe means. Morris was often regarded as an obsequious toady. Not quite a modern version of Uriah Heep.
Charisma aside, Mr. Morris has an insightful analysis regarding everything political.
Joe and I have come to accept him and relish his unique perspective on the politics of the day in America.
Long ago when he first left the Clinton Mob, he was a regular on Fox News. His views were sometimes unpopular (as was he), but always interesting, cogent, and never meretricious. Unlike the Lefty / Progressive ass-wipes Fox News uses as pundits today, Mr. Morris is smart and savvy.
The following video shows an ecstatic Dick Morris reveling the political genius of President Donald J. Trump visa vie the Judge Brett Kavanaugh nomination and subsequent confirmation. The Damn Democrats brought this on themselves, the emotional and sadly dimwitted fools. It was Harry Reid (D – AZ) who invoked the “nuclear option” which permits confirmation with a 51/49 vote versus the previous 60/40 requirement. The “chickens have come home to roost!” as another fabled Democrat, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright once preached. Remember? That was the “God damn America” speech that ol’ Jug Ears wasn’t there to hear (Obama was a polished liar well before he became POTUS).
Here’s Dick Morris grinning his head off:
Another perspective is from Janice Fiamengo of the University of Ottawa. Her rational anti-feminist stance has made her a stalwart and dependable megaphone for the “other” viewpoint.
You know, the viewpoint that isn’t politically correct.
The viewpoint that (holy Mother of doG!) men are human (too).
Dr. Fiamengo uses her imagination and knowledge of the human condition to present a “what if” scenario that is plausible.
Joe and I know that it is more than plausible. We’ve seen it up close, though not personal in the direction she presents it. Believe us or not, the direction we experienced was reversed.
What is worth hearing is her analysis of the meaning behind the current hysteria, especially the man bashing aspect.
Well worth the listen:
On a lighter, more celebratory note, there is always the “Hitler in the bunker” mime. Joe says we better name it, because (he thinks) it might not live long and prosper on YoubeTube.
The Left / Progressive movement really has no sense of humor:
Finally, and with great enthusiasm, Joe presents some of the best Kavanaugh related cartoons we’ve seen. Priceless! –
Joe kept the zinger for last –
Trump@War
Joe and I are movie buffs.
Nothing more fun than a believable action-packed thriller.
We watched this movie released by Steve Bannon (former campaign advisor).
Amazing.
All factual clips.
Real data.
Well tailored propaganda.
I thought Joe was the only person who would jump out the window with his hair on fire and a live chicken in his shirt.
Seems I was wrong….
Nice timing for release. Hope “We The People” have a chance to see it before the election in November.
Joe and I have been binging on politics in our modest way since we retired from TELUS in 2002. The late Charles Krauthamer in his collection of essays and opinions (Things That Matter) impressed us with the reality and gravity of the necessity to do your part by learning enough to participate intelligently in politics. We are still learning. We are still keen to learn. And participate.
Several quotes from Mr. Krauthammer’s book that resonate –
“You can have the most advanced and efflorescent cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away. This is not ancient history. This is Germany 1933.”
“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”
“Intelligence is a capacity so godlike, so protean that it must be contained and disciplined. This is the work of politics—understood as the ordering of society and the regulation of power to permit human flourishing while simultaneously restraining the most Hobbesian human instincts. There could be no greater irony: For all the sublimity of art, physics, music, mathematics and other manifestations of human genius, everything depends on the mundane, frustrating, often debased vocation known as politics (and its most exacting subspecialty—statecraft). Because if we don’t get politics right, everything else risks extinction. We grow justly weary of our politics. But we must remember this: Politics—in all its grubby, grasping, corrupt, contemptible manifestations—is sovereign in human affairs. Everything ultimately rests upon it. Fairly or not, politics is the driver of history. It will determine whether we will live long enough to be heard one day. Out there. By them, the few—the only—who got it right.”
There is much much more in the book, but you get the picture.
A modern scholar of American founding documents, MB, puts this statement forward –
“I often hear, usually implied, that ‘our leaders, they know what their doing,’ or ‘my party is in power, all is well;’ and they forget that the electorate must be vigilant and informed. A free people must be informed and virtuous, or they must be slaves under the masters they have cultivated.”
Joe and I think that it is this spirit that Mr. Bannon wishes to plant, cultivate, and nourish to fruition in the American public. Hence the release of his opus: not too early and not too late, but just right. Goldilocks it be:
Joe and I thought the movie fascinating and well worth the time invested.
The 2018 mid-term election is going to be a barn burner……
Steve Bannon
This is a real salt of the earth guy.
What some call “Dirt People”.
Joe and I are, too.
Steve Bannon is very intelligent. Very knowledgeable. Very capable.
He created the movie above, “Trump@War”
Joe and I can only aspire.
We, too, favor the nation state.
There are barriers to a global governance schema that cannot be overcome without the use of force. Coercion negates freedom. QED.
Ben Shapiro
We are a fan.
Machine gun delivery.
Ultra quick processor – high IQ, high moral standard, highly educated, very knowledgeable, very virtuous.
This is a recent (just before Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmation) presentation at the U of Southern California.
His basic ideas and presentation are getting more refined every appearance:
Tucker Carlson
Joe and I have been a TC fan for many years, since he was on “Crossfire”, a CNN debate program in the early ’00’s.
He is another quick thinking machine gun paced emotionally charged speaker.
His professed political framework is Independent.
He discusses politics and his new book “Ship of Fools” with Derek Hunter of Daily Caller. Tucker is the co-founder of Daily Caller.
His insightful remarks about the basic differences of Liberal vs Conservative / Libertarian is particularly cogent. A fun and informative interview:
Joe’s Garage
One particular irritant in Joe’s life is poorly designed and produced products. Whether a water tap, a vehicle (part or whole), a pen, an electronic device (computers come to mind….. Joe has a computer graveyard), a piece of paper, anything that was designed and manufactured that does not meet consumer’s expectations or advertised performance.
Really, really pisses Joe.
The latest burr under Joe’s saddle is the South Korean company Samsung.
Joe and I have had mixed reactions to Asian company products over the years.
A Honda 50 Cub was the first scooter we drove, and we still marvel at the awesomeness it was: efficient, capable, reliable, and economical.
A few years ago the Whirlpool dish washer in our tiny gallery kitchen shit the bed. Actually, it was the old 100 ampere panel that shit the bed, but Joe was dozy and we replaced the dishwasher before we figured it out.
The replacement was a $800 CDN Samsung magic dishwasher. It sanitized. It saved energy. It crystal cleaned. It stainless steeled. It shit the bed at 11 months.
The cluster fuck with Samsung took 6 weeks (wait for serviceman, no parts in North America, argument about warranty) before Joe lost his temper.
We told Samsung we were done. We told Home Depot we were bringing the little darling back. Samsung didn’t like it. Home Depot told them what for. We settled on a $1,000 CDN non-Samsung replacement. Joe was satisfied, if not happy. Home Depot was OK. Samsung can go to Hell.
This was not the first Samsung happy happy joy joy….
and it wasn’t the last. The last happened two weeks ago. The lovely Samsung 58″ Smart TV® we bought 2 years and 11 months ago shit the bed. Manhandle the TV off the highboy dresser, disassemble the incredibly cheap plastic housing, pull the power supply from the board, and test it for outputs. The power supply is kaput. A quick check on the Internet for Samsung LED TV power supply problems returned 5.74 MILLION hits. Oh shit.
Further investigation says the power supply is only a symptom – the LED driver board is toast, and a new power supply will fail after a few whiles (thanks Donny). Not to worry! A complete set of three boards and LED driver can be had from the good old US of A for a mere $300 USD. The Canadian translation of the same thing is over $700 CDN. Poop. A little bitty tv let me down….
Joe (and I) have parted company with Samsung. We will never entertain the purchase of a Samsung device again. Don’t even try to change our mind.
Amazon had a nicely described 55″ LED 4K Smart TV with Roku and a 5 star rating for a reasonable ransom. Click. And click for a wall mounting assembly too. Let’s go first class.
The TV arrived in a little over a week. Looks good!
Opened the wall mount. Cheap yet well made. Looks good!
A few basic assembly steps, a tape measure and level, a few basic hand tools, and we’re off to find the wall studs to mount the mount.
That’s when the train came off the rails.
With a small drill bit, a knuckle, and some rap-rap-rap, Joe found a stud. Marked it. Placed the level on the wall, and drew a horizontal line for 20 inches or so in what we thought was the correct direction.
At 16 inches we plumbed, rapped, banged and drilled. No stud.
WTF?
Maybe we’ve got us a 2 foot stud wall. Not usual, but not unknown.
We measure out 24 inches. We repeated the mining expedition to find the stud. No stud. WTF squared.
How about 18 inches? Never heard of that, but try again. No stud. WTF cubed.
How about 12 inches? I’ve heard of that and so has Joe. Heavy duty! One foot spacing on studs is for serious loads. Let’s try at 1 foot. Not a stud to be found.
Joe has a temper.
When the temper flairs, the berserker fire is ignited.
Joe the Berserker gets results.
One blow of Thor’s Hammer and the stud is found.
As the picture indicates, we found the stud at 9 ¾ inches. That’s 247.65mm. Two new ones on both of us. Some day we’ll strip the drywall off to find out what up?
Joe wonders if Samsung built this house.
We finally got the TV up and running.
Don’t ask how long it took.
We could certainly drink a beer…..
POLITICS, POLITICIANS, WACKJOBBERY, HUMOROUS, STUPID
SUNDAY SERMON
The sermon today features an incredibly prescient thinker, George Gilder.
His latest book “The end of Google” is featured in this discussion with Peter Robinson of the Heritage Foundation. In the interview, the future of cloud computing, the concepts of “blockchain” and “Bitcoin”, and the physical limitations of current computer hardware, architecture, and theory are defined and analyzed. An enthralling primer for tech wienies like Joe. And me. Much more George Gilder available on YoubeTube:
WEATHER (OR NOT)
This week in Vernon BC was quite chilly.
The sun came out from time to time, but Joe and I remember clouds most every day.
Cool at night. The furnace has been in and out every day and all night.
Seems the global warming the UN is proclaiming an imminent catastrophe has forgotten or bypassed the Okanagan Valley.
Maybe Indian Summer (racist!) is here but hiding?
April bound, we am.
Hope springs eternal in my breast….
Spring is the eternal hope in Joe’s.
Joe (Eskimo) Mekanic
p. s. Ramirez is a ray of sunshine –
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