Wednesday, November 30, 2022

God’s Gifts


"
The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe." - Albert Einstein

I am not a religious person but I do find it remarkable that man inhabits an ecosystem that enjoys a plethora of possible providential coincidences … any of which, if missing, would likely doom us. 

And there are other, often man-evolved extras (primarily, I think, stemming from man’s obsession toward species survival), which make our lives on Earth much more livable and tolerable. 

I have listed below many of these gifts, generally in order of importance, with a line separating those which seem essential versus those that are just palliative (the latter, collectively may be called civilization):

- Gravity/Celestial Dynamics – Otherwise the Earth and all of its creatures would go flying off into space

- Electricity/Magnetism – Otherwise the Sun’s cosmic rays would strip away our atmosphere and cook us all like so many shish-ka-bobs

- Atomic Fusion/Fission – Otherwise our Sun would be provide us no warmth, light, or sustenance … with predictable results

- Photons/Electromagnetic Spectrum – Otherwise we would be without light and all the benefit that light and other radiations provide us

- The Limit of Speed (Speed of Light) – Otherwise all the radiation from all the universe’s sources would be instantaneous and very likely lethal

- Number and Variety of Elements (Periodic Table) – Life could not exist without this wide array of elemental building blocks

- Earth’s Self-Regulating Atmosphere – Without these feedback mechanisms (including the ozone layer), our planet would be as devoid of life as Mars or our moon

- Carbon dioxide — the basis of all nutrition and thus life itself

- Photosynthesis – Otherwise the source of all nourishment on Earth would not exist and carbon dioxide might smother our atmosphere

- Light Ice – Ice, strangely, being lighter than water, floats and insulates the water beneath it … otherwise, life might only exist within our tropics

- Combustion (Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide Cycle) – Otherwise energy and what it brings to life (locomotion, warmth, etc.) would be very scarce

- DNA/Evolution/Organic Chemistry – Otherwise life, if it existed at all, would be extremely primitive and short-lived

 - Vast Variety of Molecules/Inorganic  Chemistry – Otherwise, most of our planet’s basics (water, carbon dioxide, ozone, etc.) would not exist

- Water's Capillary Action -- Otherwise water and its solutes could not travel against the pull of gravity and most plants would not exist

- Carbon-Based Life Forms – Other-element-based life forms are problematic and, if sustainable, would be quite inefficient

_________________________________

- The Concept of Time – Keeps man grounded relative to his limited lifespan

- Human Procreation/Sex -- Enables man to ensure the continuation of his species

- Crop Cultivation – Enables man to manage his carbohydrate food supply and thus to multiply and prosper

- Animal Husbandry -- Enables man to manage his protein food supply and thus to flourish

- Language/Writing/Information Technology -- Enables man to pass on useful information efficiently and thus maintain a knowledge base

- Man’s Creativity/Tool-building Genius -- Enables man to multiply his muscle and brain power and thus to thrive

- Man’s Work Ethic -- Enables man to better utilize his time and thus be more productive

- The Scientific Method/Mathematics -- Enables man to better understand his condition and thus control life’s randomness

- Doctoring/Medicine -- Enables man to survive longer and therefore magnify his productivity with experience

- Money/Accounting/Economics -- Enables man to understand and organize his endeavors better and thus to prosper

- Social Organization/Government (occasionally benign) – Enables better cooperation and efficiency within man’s societal groups

- Man’s Emotions (Humor/Love/Fear/Hate/etc.) – Inspires man to higher levels of achievement

- Religion/Ethics – Meant to provide the society of man with more benevolent motivations and, thus, less self-destructive strife ... and religion helps mankind deal with the vagaries and randomness of life

- Beauty/Aesthetics – Provides man with a more satisfying life experience and an avenue to celebrate his uniqueness

- Taste Buds/Odor Receptors – Motivates man to eat a wider variety of foods and therefore achieve better nourishment

- Music/Harmonic Scales – Provides man with a more relaxing life experience and, therefore, less anxiety

- Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches – on toasted rustic white bread with fresh ground pepper and lots of mayonnaise


STAND UP FOR HAPPENSTANCE!


Babylon Wasp

                    

In order to rationalize the estimated number of genders … 81 is the current count … scientist have had to “discover” eleven extra chromosomes M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V and W to add to X and Y.


Actually 13 chromosomes (taken 2 at a time, allowing duplicates) are a little too many … as they would allow for 92 genders … 11 more than needed. (Please don’t tell the woke crowd!)


STAND UP FOR CHROMSOMES!


Headlines

 


Walker to Trump: Please phone in

Elon Musk says Apple has threatened to remove Twitter app

Top Dem: Biden probably doesn’t have votes to pass gun control in lame duck session

McCarthy: If GOP play games, Dems could ‘end up picking’ the speaker 

Supreme Court responds to lawmakers on ethics complaints

‘Losing is not an option’: Russian analysts fear a ‘desperate’ Putin as Ukraine war drags on

‘Non-binary’ Biden senior energy official charged with felony theft

Pence: Trump should apologize for ‘white nationalist’ dinner

NATO must ramp up arms production for battles ahead, Ukraine says

U.S. could give Ukraine energy help as country freezes; rumors of further Russian mobilizations grow

EPA to spend $13 billion for whatever ‘environmental justice’ is 

Musk frames Twitter woes as ‘battle for future of civilization’ …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Rioting



There is serious rioting in China, Brazil, Iran and, likely soon, in Russia. 


In other developments, when Biden was asked to comment on this growing discontent, he responded, “chocolate, chocolate chip.”



STAND UP FOR AWARENESS!


Apt Analogy


Picasso paintings


Conventional thinking in an unconventional world!



STAND UP FOR CONGRUENCE!


Quotable Quote

 

Putting dry ice in water making CO2

Instead of maligning carbon dioxide and labeling it an air pollutant, we should be worshiping it as the progenitor of all living things. — Fletcher



STAND UP FOR CO2!


Headlines

 


The GOP’s great party reckoning takes place at the state party level

Kremlin denies Russia is about to withdraw from nuclear power plant; ‘ugly’ clash erupts between Kyiv officials

SEC chair plans to unveil big changes after FTX implosion

West has ‘misplaced optimism’ in ability to defeat Russia: German MEP

Mexico’s president leads massive march in support of his government

The U.S. is ‘certainly’ still in a COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Fauci says

McCarthy struggling to obtain 218 votes in House speaker’s race

Trinity College dean backs woke sermon claiming Jesus had ‘trans body’

Fauci on COVID lab leak theory: “I have a completely open mind’

UK property demand slides 44% after market-rocking mini-budget

Unredacted CDC docs reveal how Fauci attempted damage control on Wuhan Lab Leak Theory

Donald Trump: Kanye West ‘a seriously troubled man’


STAND UP FOT AMERICA!


Monday, November 28, 2022

Today’s Poser


At the Foxconn factory

Because of China’s COVID lockdowns, workers at the plant that makes the Apple iPhone have been rioting … and are beaten if they try to escape.


Can this be construed as these popular smart-phones are being made with “slave labor?”



STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS!


Today’s Poser

 


Pilgrim, did you ever get that sinking feeling that the media was leading you around on a leash?



STAND UP FOR FEW CONSTRAINTS!


More Cute Animals

 

From Woodsterman blog


And we thought cats liked us exclusively …



STAND UP FOR HEAD RUBS!


Headlines



Conservative states are blocking trans medical care. Families are fleeing.

Walmart overtakes Amazon in shoppers’ search for Black Friday bargains.

Republicans put 42 Biden administration officials on notice

Graham: Marriage bill ‘fails to protect those with traditional views’

Protests spread across China over zero-COVID policy

The November jobs report and the Fed mean most to the markets in the week ahead

Dems’ ‘war room’ countering investigations into Biden family is led by operatives tied to CCP influence groups, George Soros

UK foreign-born population up by nearly 400,000 since census

Germany needs ‘better rules’ for citizenship, Scholz says

U.S. issues expanded licenses to allow Chevron to import Venezuelan oil

Four out of ten small businesses are struggling to pay rent this month

UK: Russia hitting Ukraine with old nuclear missiles — minus warheads


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Babylon Wasp

                     

President Biden has decreed that America will only have electricity during sunny days and windstorms,



STAND UP FOR DENIERS!


Quotable Quote



”Scientists” who are unable fully to explain the reasons for our past ice ages … cannot accurately predict our future climate. — Fletcher


See: Live Science site



STAND UP FOR REAL SCIENCE!


Powerline Chart

 



Even more clear who is driving the climate change agenda …




STAND UP FOR CLIMATE SANITY!


Headlines



Newsom told the White House he won’t challenge Biden [in 2024]

Tech’s reality check: How the industry lost $7.4 trillion in one year

New Trump Special Counsel Jack Smith was involved in Obama-era Louis Lerner IRS scandal

70 percent of children age 7-12 now afraid of climate change — survey

Merkel: There was nothing I could do about Putin

Black Friday online sales to hit new record, expected to exceed $9 billion

Biden promises gun control push during lame-duck Congress

Mike Lindell says he’ll announce bid for RNC chair on Monday

Russian reservists being ‘killed in large numbers in frontal assaults’

Donald Trump dined with white supremacist, Holocaust denier, Nick Fuentes

Beijing grinds to a near halt as China’s capital city battles COVID with more lockdowns

U.S. bans new equipment sales from Huawei and eight other Chinese companies


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Saturday, November 26, 2022

Obvious Truth



Despite Himalayas of evidence to the contrary, many Americans, mostly of the liberal persuasion, continue to believe anything and everything their media and government tells them … and get indignant if anyone, mostly conservatives, questions these sources.


What does it take … a 2x4?




Afterward:  And anything said on FOX and Breitbart is automatically a lie …



STAND UP FOR HEALTHY SKEPTICISM!


Powerline Pic

 


One of these days … pow!




STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Interesting Factoid

 


Things are seldom what they are made out to be in the media.” —  Fletcher



It is estimated that as much as 70% of the billion$ of U.S. aid to Ukraine is not reaching its intended purpose.



STAND UP FOR AUDITING!


World Cup Housing



Thinking about attending some of the World Cup games in Qatar? Unless you are Elon Musk, prepare to pay $200 per night to stay in one of thousand shipping containers … se:  Daily Caller article





STAND UP FOR LUXURY!


Headlines



Climate advocates see a path forward in the farm bill: lining farmers’pockets

Retailers are under pressure to turn deep discounts into Black Friday sales

Sen. Schumer looks to change Senate 
Democrat leadership

Railway strike seen as increasingly inevitable

Federal judge rejects push for DeSantis testimony

Beijing grinds to a near halt as China’s capital city battles COVID with more lockdowns

House Republicans to fight for secret Hunter Biden bank records to show suspicious payments to Joe

Amazon workers strike across world

Protesting workers beaten in China iPhone factory

Binance deploys $1 billion to keep crypto industry afloat after FTX collapse

Louisiana AG: Fauci could not recall key details during deposition

Biblical floods sweep across Saudi Arabia after King prays for rain …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Friday, November 25, 2022

Spider Senses



Have you noticed Pilgrim that some of Trump’s pragmatic policies … Iran, China, trade, COVID … are seeping their way into the Biden administration? Maybe even without Sleepy Joe catching on?


But not yet that climate change thingie …



STAND UP FOR TRUMP’S POLICIES!


Occupational Hazard

 



Rehearsing for Hunter Biden?



STAND UP FOR POLE DANCING!


Headlines

 


Murkowski, Peltola win in Alaska

Fed officials see smaller rate hikes coming ‘soon,’ minutes show

Pentagon refuses to provide key details about $38 billion Ukraine funding request

Railway strike seen as increasingly inevitable

Arizona governor welcomes successor although GOP candidate has not conceded

Mainland China’s total daily COVID cases soar above Shanghai lockdown highs

Disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried showered leftist media orgs with money

Most GOP voters want to replace McConnell as majority leader

Colorado gay club shooting suspect held without bail

Russia risks causing ‘nuclear and radioactive catastrophe’; Kremlin says Kyiv can end the ‘suffering’

Georgia Supreme Court reinstates state’s ban on abortion after six weeks

Poll: Donald Trump has 30-point lead over 2024 primary field


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Thursday, November 24, 2022

A Thanksgiving Thank You



An Ukrainian mother and child refugees, Tanya and Arinochka, have been staying with us for close to two months in our extra basement apartment. Today, Thanksgiving, we had them join us for turkey and all the fixings.

After we had finished dessert, Tanya gave us the following hand-written note:

Arinochka and I are very grateful to this warm, sympathetic native family, for the fact that they treated us like family members, for doing everything to make us feel at home.  Happy thanksgiving. Thank you for letting us be part of your family.  We love you all.


No, no, thank you Tanya for opening our eyes a lot further.



STAND UP FOR UKRAINE!


Eternity is a Very Long Time

 


Most religions promise their loyal followers that, if they follow their pious tenants, they will spend eternity in some sort of nervana.


Now eternity is an awfully long time and most religions do not provide specifics as to how their faithful will occupy themselves for forever and ever.


However, there is one exception … Islam promises 72 virgins to its martyrs. But, 72 virgins might keep martyrs occupied for a few years, even decades … but not for eternity.


So, Pilgrim, I am unable to imagine what I might do for even a few centuries let alone for eternity … so I think I might opt out of this eternity thing. … not that this means I will start living my life like a politician or something.


Just let me live and die in peace … and let that be it.



STAND UP TO ETERNITY!


Happy Thanksgiving!



Pilgrim, thankful we’re not in Kyiv …


Afterward; Another Tradition …




STAND UP FOR THANKFULNESS!


Headline

 


Drones over D.C.: Senators alarmed over potential Chinese spy threat

Mortgage demand rise 2.2% as interest rates decline slightly

KJP loses it — snaps at reporter who asked question about COVID origin

Colorado nightclub shooter is non-binary

Virginia police: Multiple people killed in WALMART shooting

New York governor signs first-of-irs-kind law cracking down on Bitcoin mining

SCOTUS orders Trump tax returns to be turned over to House Dems

McCarthy calls for Mayorkas to resign, threatens impeachment

Why cheap U.S. gas costs a fortune in Europe

Ukraine says Russian missile strike on hospital killed newborn; Ukraine to set up winter shelters

The number of alleged illegal alien population likely three times higher than the oft-quoted ‘11 million’

Violent protests at Apple plant in China … Workers beaten …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Garland’s Special Persecutor

Jack Smith, aKa “the executioner“

Went searching the internet recently for background on Jack Smith, the new Special Counsel appointed to investigate Donald Trump for secreting classified documents at Mar-a-Largo … and for inspiring the Jan 6 “insurrection.” Typical of Google’s algorithms, all I could find were puff pieces by the sympathetic  media. However, going to my email, I found a Howie Carr link to two more revealing references to why this legal gunslinger had been chosen. Here they are … and a summary of what they reveal:


- While at the DOJ, accused of collaborating with the IRS’s Louis Lerner to target conservative non-profits. Later Lerner was found in contempt of Congress but allowed to retire with full pension to live on Martha’s Vineyard.

- While in the DOJ pursued the prosecution of Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens resulting in his conviction and reelection loss. … only later to be exonerated due to prosecutorial misconduct.

- Also while in this position, prosecuted Virginia Republican Governor Bob McDonald for accepting gifts in exchange for favors. This conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision.


For the details of these transgressions, see: Just the News … and: The Free Press.


This seems a more bloodthirsty choice than the last Special Counsel going after Trump, Robert Mueller.



STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Trusting Science



The fact that physicist got the atomic bomb right gave the world faith in science. This allowed pseudo-scientists in climatology, economics, epidemiology and political science to ride in on these coattails … claiming infallibility.


We know now that this is just a whole load of horse pucky.


From Woodsterman blog



STAND UP FOR REAL SCIENCE!


Quotable Quote



Efficiency and convenience are the insidious enemies of election integrity. — Fletcher


See; American Thinker.



STAND UP TO VOTER FRAUD!


Today’s Poser

 


When Alexa asks you a question, do you need to include “thank you” with your answer?



STAND UP FOR TURING TEST?


Headlines



The White House girds for combat

Bitcoin hits 2-year low as $1.4 trillion wiped off crypto market this year after FTX collapse

Federal judge: Jen Psaki must be deposed in lawsuit over Big Tech collusion, censorship

Jim Jorden: Jack Smith tried to find ways to target conservatives

California Republican who voted to impeach Trump wins re-election

U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil,  Chevron and ConocoPhillips challanged over ‘secretive’ tax practices

Biden agrees to pay ‘climate reparations’ — but China, the world’s biggest polluter, won’t have to pay

MA taxpayers asked to pay $139 million to house illegal aliens

Defeated president contests Brazil election

China may have ‘passed the pont of no return’ as COVID infections soar

GOP challanger concedes race for Wisconsin Secretary of State

Ukraine winter hell …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Elon Musk on Voter Fraud

 

From Woodsterman blog


Does he know something?



STAND UP FOR PAPER BALLOTS!


Woodsterman Pic

 



Perhaps the fat political donations were the real objective all along?



STAND UP FOR TEXAS!


reddit Pic

 



Downtown Tehran, Iran these days …


… and President Biden stays mum!



STAND UP FOR FREEDOM!


Obvious Truth



The attempted persecutions of Donald Trump are obsessive and far exceed the limits of justice … and for what? Loving his country and doing a crackerjack  job of running it for four years?

And the lunatic Left cannot give meaningful rationales for such attempted subjugation. 

Doubt me? 

Ask them … all their reasons are either trivial or imagined!

Need more evidence?

These same never-Trumpers overlook mountains of hard evidence that the anti-Trump … by the name of Joe Biden … is corrupt to his very core … and running the country poorly.



STAND UP TO OBSESSIONS!


Monikers



Since Kanye West changed his name  to “Ye,”  his new motto is “Judge not, lest Ye be judged.”



STAND UP FOR MONIKERS!


Headlines

 


Ron Klain finally gave progressive access to the White House. His departure could risk their support — and party unity.

Bitcoin drops to 1-week low, either slides 7% as FTX collapse ripples through crypto market

Biden turns 80

Disney boots CEO

Gay club shooting suspect evaded Colorado’s red flag gun law

Layoffs are mounting and Main Street still can’t find workers to take jobs

Report: Iran, China are using American private investigators to spy on dissidents

Donald Trump: ‘I’m not going to partake’ in special counsel investigation

Germany mulls policy change to avoid trade war with Biden

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has a ‘lucky’ escape; Russian shelling intensifies as winter nears

Nikki Haley hints at 2024 presidential run

House Democrats beg Joe Biden to open Obamacare to DACA illegals


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Monday, November 21, 2022

Carnac

  


The Answer: Axiomatic


The Question: What’s the brand name of a gasoline-powered hatchet?



STAND UP FOR GASOLINE!


More Cute Animals


Fro daily timewaster blog


Off to the hunt!



STAND UP FOR BEAGLES!


Interesting Factoids



As of late August (pre-Musk) the median salary at Twitter was over $146 thousand per year. This did not include free daily lunches ($25 @) and valet car service. See: ZIPPIA site.


Afterward: I wonder how big unemployment checks are in California?



STAND UP TO SNOWfLAKES!


Headlines

 


Summit yields ‘historic win’ for climate payments, but also a push for natural gas

Trump snubs Twitter after Musk announces reactivating of ex-president’s account

Judge orders unsealing of documents related to Jeffery Epstein and his associates

Sen. Lisa Murkowski takes narrow lead over Kelly Tshibaka after more ballots counted in Alaska

Turkey strikes Kurdish extremists after Istanbul explosion

Is the Fed ‘going rogue’? Calls heat up to back off quest for 2% inflation

3 Republicans say they won’t support McCarthy for speaker

Rivals take shots at Trump at Republicans’ Jewish Coalition

Police: 5 dead, 18 injured in Colorado LGBTQ nightclub shooting

Kim Jong Un reveals his daughter to the world at latest ballistic missile launch

Report questions Biden’s push to install E-car chargers at gas stations

World Cup of conflict kicks off …



STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Sunday, November 20, 2022

Happy 80th Birthday



President Biden celebrated his 80th birthday Sunday. He actually thought it was his 60th and asked if Sam (Bankmzn-Fried) and Corn Pop had been invited.



STAND UP FOR OCTOGENARIANS!

(I ARE ONE, AFTER ALL))


Babylon Wasp

                   


Attorney General Merrick Garland has issued a shocking retraction! Due to a clerical error and a migraine headache, his announcement of a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump was a mistake. AG Garland really meant to indicate that the real target was Hunter Biden and all his close relatives.



STAND UP FOR RETRACTIONS!


Oops!

 

From Powerline blog


One more strike and Forbes is out!



STAND UP TO SCAMMERS!


Headlines

 


Voters who backed GOP governors helped keep Senate blue

Attorney General Garland names Jack Smith special counsel in Trump criminal probes

Sen. Cruz introduces bill denying federal funds to Washington, DC if they let illegals vote in elections

Senate Republicans ‘starting talks’ on amnesty for DACA illegals

Holmes gets more than 11 years in prison for Thermos scam

Upstate New York hit with 4 feet of snow in historic winter storm

House Oversight Committee plans on subpoenaing Hunter Biden but not Joe

Harvard poll: Donald Trump up 18 points over Ron DeSantis in hypothetical matchup

John Kerry comes down with COVID at climate summit

GOP operative convicted for funneling Russian donation to Trump’s 2016 campaign

Top Wall Street banks to take paper losses of $17 billion in mortgage-backed securities

NKorea test-fires ICBM with range to strike entire U.SA …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!